Happy Halloween!

Me (Princess), My Oldest Bro (Football Player),
My Sis (Daffy), My Baby Bro (Devil) - circa 1977-78

Daffy and Devil started out being costumes for us older kids. When we outgrew them, they were passed down to the younger ones. Each year after Halloween, they were put back into the boxes they came in from the store. My parents then put them away until the next year. We wore those costumes for years!

Marvelous Monday Update 10/27/08

Fallen and Can’t Get Up
“I’ve fallen and can’t get up!” How many of us remember that popular TV commercial? Years ago, I tripped over the sidewalk in my front yard, twisted my ankle, couldn’t get up, and had to call my sister to come take me to the ER. Ever since that time, she mocks me by saying: “I’ve fallen and can’t get up.” Anyone who’s known me for a long time, knows my propensity for clumsiness and hurting myself.

Last week, I swept the leaves out of my garage... the hazards of leaving the garage door open all day. As I took a step backwards, I tripped over a pallet and fell backwards onto my rump... lots ‘o padding, no damage there... but did manage to scrape my elbow on the corner of the pallet before it smacked down onto the concrete. In retrospect, it’s probably good the pallet broke the fall of the elbow. So, I’ve been nursing abrasions, bumps, and bruising on my elbow. Once again: I’ve fallen...


Just Call Me Grace
“Good going, Grace”… That’s the nickname my family has dubbed me due to my clumsiness, as previously mentioned. Last Wednesday morning, the C-gene reared it’s ugly head. In my rush to get ready for work, I slammed... not just stubbed, but slammed.. my baby toe into the door jam going into the bathroom. I have a high pain tolerance, but it was all I could do to make it to my sofa and sit down. “Deep breath... breathe it out... In and out... Yeah, that’s it.” That’s what I was telling myself while pain was screaming out from the end of my toe. I actually felt light headed for a bit. Fifteen minutes later, I could finally breathe normally and was able to move my toes. I didn’t break it, not that anything could’ve been done if I had. “Pinkie” let me know all day that she did *not* like having the end of the shoe push against her whenever I walked around. Turns out, I bruised the joint where the foot connects to the toe. Ouchie.


Freecycle Update
Much to my surprise, I received a response to my email to the state’s outreach coordinator asking what happened. I wrote a long email back detailing all the ways that the “owners” do not follow Freecycle guidelines for sanctioned groups. In my email, I included copies of emails received from the “owners” as evidence against them. (There's something to be said about the CYA folder) At this point, I don’t really care if I’m re-instated or not... at least the outreach coordinator has the information.


Dating
There seems to be some confusion as to the "dating" stories I've posted lately. They are NOT mine! LOL... I know I've had some doozies, but at the bottom of each post is a notation where the story came from. I post them because I find them extremely funny... and true. Sometimes, I'll leave commentary. Other times I won't.


Weather
Had some wacky weather this past weekend. Saturday was pretty nice: Sunny with temps around 51F. A switch was flipped on Sunday as the cold front came through. Mostly gray and overcast, winds whipping around so hard that my backyard is filled with small tree branches and I could hear the house creaking and groaning. The sun came out briefly and then came a downburst of rain and snow. Sun, wind, rain & snow... imagine that!


Froggie Froggie

I couldn't pass this little guy up when I saw him while shopping. There's a button on the back of his head that makes a realistic froggie sound and turns on a little green light under his chin. It's got a tiny keychain clip that would be perfect for scissors. Isn't he cute?


Giveaway
I came across an interesting giveaway being sponsored by Jo-Jo at A Mom's World of Madness and Blessings. It's her first one, so if you like giveaways, check it out. :)


Stitchy Stuff
I finished both Joy's into ornaments. Only one is pictured, but they both look the same. The oval shape was a bit of a trick to accomplish, but I succeeded!

Joy
Designer: ???
Fabric: 14ct white opalescent aida
Fibers: DMC floss
Time: 3 Hrs to Stitch
Embellishments: Pre-made cording

Update: This ornie winged it's way over the big pond to the UK and now has a new home with Sharon for the ornament exchange on the CSC board.

Worst First Date #7 - Best Conversationalist

A few weeks ago, I went on a date with a guy who spent 3 hours discussing the technical minutiae of computer installation.

I got lost after the first five minutes, couldn't ask any questions because I didn't have a clue what he was saying, just kept saying "mmhmm", and he decided I was the best conversationalist he'd met in years!

Adding insult to injury, when the date was over, he expected me to pay half. I am willing to go out with a bore a second time, to see if he was just nervous on the first date, but I'm not willing to pay for the privilege of being bored stiff!

From: So Suave

Duty Relief

I’ve been moderator for my local Freecycle group for over two years, and have done 95% of the work to ensure the group ran smoothly and according to the rules the Freecycle organization has in place. During the years I moderated, I tried on several occasions to contact the “owners” of the group with no avail. All I had was a generic “owner” email address and no one ever responded. So I used the website set up by the Freecycle organization to moderate the group. Several months ago, chaos erupted when the “owners” suddenly appeared on the radar and appointed a new moderator who caused all sorts of problems on the group. This person was banned, and others were appointed. In my mind, I often questioned *where* these moderators came from since there was never any posting on the group asking for volunteers. It has been brought up in the past that these mods were family members of the “owners”. In addition, they obviously didn’t read the moderator “rules and responsibilities” set forth by Freecycle. With the “owners” and new moderators, inconsistencies in moderation caused problems to arise. I did my part to bring these issues to the attention of the “owners” and was met with disapproval. It was at this point, I seriously started questioning my involvement in a group where the “owners” did not want input, nor were their intentions to be consistent in moderation or following the rules the Freecycle organization set forth in order to be sanctioned by them.

During this same time period, I was admitted to the international moderators group where mods “met” to discuss issues with moderating Freecycle groups, and found that my moderation techniques were in line with other Freecycle groups.

While I feel the premise of Freecycle is a good one, and I like to do my part in re-use/recycle, and helping the community in general… the mentality of my local group is “Gimme, gimmee, gimmee” and there are those who don’t have the common courtesy to pick up items when they said they wanted them (common complaint among members). The “owners” seriously lack communication, (Freecycle) education, and support skills.

Late last night, I received a generic message from Yahoo that my membership status on the Freecycle group was changed from “moderator” to “member”. Did I mention lack of communication on the part of the “owners”? Shortly after that, I received a short email stating: “You may remain a member, but your services as moderator are no longer needed.” LOL, this came from the “owner” who not even two months ago was singing praises to me about taking care of the group.

It really should not have come as a surprise to me, and I was a bit shocked at the time. I took a moment to write a well thought out response to the “owners” and the state outreach coordinator, not that I expect anything to come of it. That’s just what I do when I feel injustice has been done… I write letters.

Upon waking up this morning, I was kinda relieved that I didn’t have to deal with the complaints about other freecyclers and more recently, questioning from the “owners” as to why I rejected this post or that post. I am still contemplating whether or not to remain a member, whether to start a new group, or to become more active in the other group that works on the same premise but aren’t sanctioned by Freecycle.

Marvelous Monday - P.S.

It was just announed that I am the featured Blogger-of-the-Month for the stitchingbloggers group. How great is that?! Definitely a Marvelous Monday!

Thank you, Sharon!