Welcome Back!

Welcome back to Crossed Purposes.  Not only to my readers, but also to me. Since I've been gone so long, I'm going to write shortly about lots of different things.  I will be writing on a more regular basis, though, as I have a De-Stress assignment for one of my classes and I've chosen to write as my new de-stressing activity.  Blogging has the added bonus of getting back in touch with you, my neglected readers.

College
I can't believe summer is unofficially over. I started my third semester of college courses this past Monday.  Unlike the Spring semester, where I masochistically took College Algebra and English Composition & Literature at the same time, the Fall semester will have a much slower pace.  Women's Health Issues and US Women's History are both courses with minimal homework and fun class time.  Oceanography will take more studying and homework time, but it's a physical science course that I need to get my Associates degree.

Chet's Protege
As those who read my previous post know, Chet passed away on June 19. I still miss him, but he remains with me in the most important way. Kasey and I went to visit a fun pet boutique in West Annapolis shortly after Chet died, only to find Woofs & Whiskers was closing its doors to allow the owner to pursue other opportunities.  Everything was 60% off and I picked up this little guy.

I've named him Beetle-Bug, after You-Know-Who, and he sits on the bookcase in my bedroom keeping watch over me and Kasey. He's a Webkinz, but I haven't bothered to go to the website to register him.  I always think of my Chetter-Bug when I see Beetle; he makes me smile. 

 Ravelry & Knitting
To my cross-stitch and needlepoint friends, no, I have not picked up my needles since last October.  Or, rather, I have a new type of needles! I learned to knit on December 30th of last year and have been going gangbusters with my new yarn addiction.  The County Fair is two weeks away and I've been knitting up a storm.  I finished two small projects this weekend and have a shawl on my knitting needles.

< If you knit or crochet and don't know about Ravelry.com, you need to go there! I'm warning you, though: It's ADDICTIVE.  I take no responsibility if you stop playing FarmVille or Mafia Wars and hang out on Ravelry all day. There are thousands of free patterns, discussion forums, and groups that cover every topic (Proof: I belong to Grammar Nerds, NCIS, Golden Lovers, and Child-Free by Choice, just to name a few).  All of my knitting projects are listed there, with project details and pictures.  It's a very helpful tool for tracking my stash and noting what I like/don't like about patterns and yarns.

This is what I've been up to with my new needles:

 These are my first two knitting projects, scarves for Anna & Caleb

I used the leftover yarn from my 4th project, a shrug, to make this hat. It's my 2nd project that has cables.


This cute little bowl was a quick knit. I started it Friday night and finished it in a few hours. I only made it, though, because there's a Felted Basket category at the County Fair.


This is my silk shrug. A friend wrote an easy pattern for me to make a warm shrug from some gorgeous yarn I purchased. The wool/bamboo blend is very warm, so this version, done in silk was supposed to be my warm-weather shrug. Who knew an open weave done with silk would be just as warm as the wool blend? I still love wearing it, although it's now put away until Fair entry drop-off. I don't want anything happening to it between now and then.


My youngest brother, Ben, is modeling my Basket Whip Cowl and making faces at me. Anna and Bre saw this and now they both want one. I have to find the right pink yarn for Anna's. Bre is a bit easier; I have her favorite colors in my stash already.


I'm entering my Summer Shawl in the Child's Shawl category only because it turned out smaller than I'd hoped. I later found out that it has a tighter weave because I twisted the purled stitches. It gives the fabric a very pleasing texture, but doesn't stretch as much. It's made with sock-weight yarn, so maybe that's a good thing.


The Lucy Bag was my 3rd knitting project. This was the reason I wanted to learn to knit in the first place. Several ladies in the knitting groups I stitched with had these bags and I wanted one. After knitting it, the bag is washed in hot water to felt the wool. I'm also in the process of making a felted backpack.


I can't wait to see Grandma's face when she gets this scarf. The yarn it's made from, Penthouse Spun Silk by Neighborhood Fiber Co. is my favorite yarn. See? My fiber addiction hasn't changed much. I'm still a sucker for hand-dyed silk! The scarf is about 6' long and the close-up shows the stitch definition.


This last picture is my Cinderella Cotton Slipper. I call it that because it has thwarted all my efforts to knit a mate for it. I have tried about 8 times and end up with too many stitches on my needles every time. I don't know why I'm having such difficulty when the first one was so easy, but I will get back to it at some point.



Life in General
Kasey and I are adapting to apartment life. Believe it or not, we're still not settled in 100%. I'm contemplating another rearrangement of the living room furniture.  Most importantly, though, Uncle Wes & Mom put the house on the market this week.  It saddens me that property taxes are forcing the sale of a home that's been in our family for over 60 years. Nana & PopPop paid $1,250 for 2 acres on the water in 1946, when only "river rats" lived on the water. Today, now that every yuppie in Anne Arundel County wants waterfront property, its assessed value is $1.6 million, but it is on the market for $685,000.  Talk about over-inflation!  Sooner or later, I have to get the rest of my belongings out of the house. Right now, though, I have nowhere to put them. I'm still looking for an affordable storage unit in the area.

Oh, yes, Kasey Kay.  You all want to hear what my Punkin' Head has been up to, don't you?   Well, on May 1st she proved what an awesome Golden girl she is by earning her AKC Canine Good Citizen title on her first try! She's now, officially, "Kasey Kay, CGC."

She still only gets groomed by Mike at the Muddy Paw Wash (Bark 'n Bean). We go the first week of every month, since she's out and about with me all the time.  I have to call ahead to make sure he'll be there because Kasey misbehaves for everyone else.  Don't believe me?  Well, she sits down at every opportunity, turns around when they don't want her to, and spooks at the drier.  She's not bad, but it's very irritating.  She's hilarious when Mike grooms her, though.  She stands like a pro and stays on the grooming table to be dried, but, if he walks away for a split second or doesn't pet her enough while she's being dried, she barks at him!  She's a demanding little wench, I tell ya!

It's time for bed here, as tomorrow is an early day. Not only do I have to be at dialysis before my usual time, but I have another appointment in the morning.

Sweet dreams & I'll be writing again soon.

October 7, 2008

I stayed up all night to complete Native Wolf Totem, with the charm getting applied at 7am. This is my 38th stitching finish of the year. It feels very good to take a two-year-old UFO and make it a finish!

I had some errands to take care of when I woke this afternoon. Luckily they were all within a couple miles of home. I sorta made a big circle around the house. First, I stopped at the pharmacy in West Annapolis to pick up my liquid calcium. Then I went to the library, where I successfully disputed one fine and paid another. I went down the street to the post office to send the last of my outstanding trades and some game obligations. From the post office I went to the bank. I had to drop off the form giving authorization to add Uncle Wes to my bank account so that he can access it to take care of bills when I'm ill.

I also asked the lady at the customer service desk what I could do when there's a long line because I can't stand that long without almost passing out. She told me to come directly to the customer service desk and they will get an available teller for me so that I don't have to stand in line. I talked to the doctor about what happened and he believes that my blood pressure dropped. He said I was lucky to get back to the truck because that sudden drop in noise I described IS what happens right before you pass out.

Can you guess what my last stop was? If I say "there's a certain convenience store between the bank and home" I'm sure it's obvious. I purchased two half-gallons of my lemonade tea, one for today and one for tomorrow, along with my 10" Italian sub with bacon and extra mayo! I ate half of it as soon as I got home. Mmmmm!

I spent the remainder of the day watching television, including the Presidential debate; hand-writing my daily updates; browsing online; and taking care of email while IM'ing with friends. I haven't decided whether to go back to one of my two WIP's (Baby Kasey and Take Time to Stitch Too) or to set my sights on Deftly Wrought. I told myself I would finish everything I started and not add any UFO's this year, so DW has to get done. The only other project I've started that isn't done is Good Dog. That one is too small for a QSnap so it will have to wait until my fingers heal.

You know what? After thinking about it, I don't care for DW like I did when I purchased the chart. I started it late last year before I became comfortable with the notion that it is okay to change colors or stitch with a different kind of floss than what the designer intended. There would be alot less red in it if I were just starting it today, that's for sure! Just looking at it takes my stitching urge away so it's going back in my UFO drawer. As for adding UFO's, I'm not really, because DW was started in 2007. With Native Wolf Totem being completed, that's one less UFO anyway, so DW can take its place in my UFO count.

August 30, 2008

S.E.X., R.A.K., trade...three different ways to enhance your stash and all three happened to me today!

Uncle Wes drove me to the Macaroni Grill in Annapolis this afternoon to meet the two Carols from the Heirloom Stitchers group. We had lunch together, along with Carol Bo's son Raymond, and spent the meal chatting together. Carol's husband and F-I-L arrived for their own lunch and Ray decided he wanted to stay with his dad while us three ladies went to Catonsville to raid the LNS.

Now comes the S.E.X. (that's Stash Enhancement eXperience for those of you with a dirty mind!)...Carol Ba couldn't believe that I planned on going to the LNS with only five dollars but that's exactly what I intended to do. She told me to buy whatever I wanted and she would spot me until I get paid on Wednesday, so I purchased enough Soie d'Alger to get started on both Common Ground and Queen of the Needle by Just Nan. I also picked up 2 small "Doodles for leftovers" kits by Hob-Nobb Designs, a container of Thread Heaven (mine disappeared), a new Needle Nest, Lizzie Kate's "Housework Never Killed Anyone (but why take a chance)" Snippet, an acrylic 12" ruler that holds a stitched band in the middle, and a purple needle minder. Carol Ba and I are both purple fanatics, so we split a two-pack of needleminders between us. Of course, there were other things I ogled and fondled, but I contained myself and spent just under $60 for all of the above.

Here is a close-up of the Hob-Nobb embellishments. I couldn't resist these two charts. I enjoy doing these "Doodles for leftovers" charts because they don't tell you specific colors to use. Rather, the idea is to use whatever is in your stash, hence "for leftovers."

When we got back out to Carol Bo's truck following a jaunt into the adjacent yarn shop, she said "You've been RAK'd!" and placed Just Nan's "When Barnabee Met Bella" biscornu chart and the WDW fabrics for it on the seat between us. This was one of the charts I had ogled and put back. The fabrics are 30ct Morris Blue and 30ct Lilac. This is going to be gorgeous when completed, so now I have to get the silks for it!

Speaking of silks and Just Nan, I know I said I was going to stitch Common Ground in DMC but I have since changed my mind. Or had my mind changed for me, whichever you prefer. Kathy Y brought her Common Ground to the last Heirloom Stitchers meeting. She is stitching it with the silks Nan calls for. We were both astonished to see the difference between the silk and the DMC conversion I used to start mine. It was so drastic that I have decided to frog the small amount of border I have stitched and re-start using the recommended silks. I was able to purchase one of each green needed, so I will probably begin on that early next year. I still have 72 finishes to do to meet my goal for this year so I won't be starting any more large projects until 2009.

Carol Ba had a birthday party to go to so Carol Bo and I headed back to my house where we picked up a very excited Kasey Kay and took her downtown. Kasey and I gave Carol a walking tour of part of Downtown Annapolis and City Dock. We checked out William Paca's house, the Paws Pet Boutique on State Circle, and then headed over to the Starbucks in the basement of the Maryland Inn. Carol is very interested in architecture, so I knew she'd enjoy being in the basement of such an old building. Kasey accompanied us in her "assistance dog in training" capacity. She was so well-behaved that none of the employees even realized she was inside the building. We were on the other side of the fireplace so they couldn't see her once we sat down. Kasey did very well on her extended "stay" and didn't try to get up to greet newcomers, just rolled onto her side to accept their adjulation and petting.

Carol had to get back home before Ray started driving George crazy asking where she was, so she dropped Kasey and me off at home and headed back to her house. I have to thank both Carols for their wonderful company and gifts today. I appreciate it so much and it was nice to get out of the house.

Kasey and I walked down to the mailbox around 8:00pm to see what goodies the mailman left us. My trade from Nancy K arrived! I am sending Nancy 24" of Aida band and a chart and she sent me the American Sampler by Leisure Arts and The Quiltmaker by Told in a Garden. I saw this TIAG chart and fell in love! Each side is twenty miniature quilt squares and there is a pen-and-ink print by Greg Kempf to frame between the two sides. Kempf is an Amish artist who uses his talent to show his people to others who would otherwise never get to see them. The American Sampler is another wonderful addition to my collection of patriotic charts and kits.

So there you have it: S.E.X., a RAK, and a trade; the different ways my stash was increased today. It was alot of fun. It wore me out. I wouldn't change a thing about today! Thank you Carol, Carol, and Raymond for getting me out of the house today. Now I'm probably going to have to sleep all day Sunday to recover!

August 4-9, 2008

I received a call Monday morning that threw the beginning of this week all out of kilter. My mom's neighbors, who I gave my Saluki to almost two years ago, needed a dog-sitter Tuesday so that they could drive to New York. I agreed to watch Shandi and Nemo for them and drove up to Mom's Monday night following dialysis. All I had to do was feed the Salukis in the morning and take them for a walk a few times during the day. Joe and Susan were paying for my gas to get there and back, so how could I refuse?

The bonus was that it gave me time to spend with Mom, which we mostly spent playing our new favorite card game: Skip-Bo! I also went to Mom's office to eat lunch with her Tuesday afternoon between walks with Nemo and Shandi. I stopped at Wawa (I'm still addicted to their subs & Lemonade Tea) and bought for both of us.

I had the house to myself all day while everyone else was at work so I did some stitching on Mount Coot-tha by Dinky-Dyes Designs. This is the project I got frustrated with a few weeks ago and set aside. There isn't much progress, but at least I didn't have to do any frogging this time!

Sarah dropped Anna off this evening and we all shared in watching her. She helped me do some of my stitching again and then she and Mom and I went into Mom's bedroom to watch Shrek. Unfortunately, Mom and I were the only ones who fell asleep. Little Miss Anna Lynn watched the entire movie again. I'm beginning to think that letting her watch a movie at bedtime is simply cause for her to stay awake longer. They don't seem to make her sleep at all. As a matter of fact, when she catches one of us not paying attention she pats us until we acknowledge her and look at the television screen! It's really funny to see, but not if you're the one she's waking up and you only had 4 hours of sleep the night before!

In other happenings Monday and Tuesday: my laptop had a brain fart! I spent a majority of my free time trying to fix a problem with my main user profile in Vista. After installing McAfee, scanning twice for a virus or other malware, restarting several times, creating a new user profile, and even going back to Sunday's restore point, the problem wasn't solved. Every time I started the computer it said that my user profile opened incorrectly and a temporary profile was created, but all changes would be erased when I logged off/shut down. Finally, I e-mailed Dad!! He was working in New Jersey for the week and I didn't want to call him in the middle of a meeting.

He contacted his company's IT people and their suggestion put me on the right road to solving the problem. THANK YOU, DAD!! In the end, I had to rename my old profile, restart the computer (which caused another profile with my original name to appear), and copy all my info (15,301 files) from the renamed profile to the original name. It took me until 5pm on Tuesday to finally get everything back to the way it was. The only files that were lost was the information in RoboForm, but I'm re-entering all my passwords to websites as I need them.

Now I just have to back everything up! I think an external hard drive is on the top of my Christmas list this year!

I came home Wednesday in time for dialysis and stitched a little more on MCT. Wednesday was also my Grandma Murchake's 75th birthday, so I called to wish her a happy day. She said that she wishes all of us would forget it, but everyone keeps reminding her each year. I told her there was no chance of that because we all love her so much

It wasn't until late Wednesday that I remembered I was supposed to go to Partners In Care for lunch on Thursday with the ladies in the office. Can you guess where I stopped to buy my meal? Hehe!! I arrived early so that I'd have time to visit with everyone and browse the Upscale Retail Boutique. I came away with some frames that I'll be able to use for stitching-either now or in the future. Some may get painted/refinished, but they all have potential. I picked out one CD of classical music to relax with at dialysis and they also had books at BOGO! I found two that I was especially interested in: a book of Colonial Maryland Houses and The Most Complete Food Counter. I even picked up some romance novels to keep me occupied when I'm in a stitching slump. All of this was under $20!

And I'm in a slump, in case you can't tell. I haven't finished anything in over a month and I'm very frustrated. I've spoken to the ladies in my private group about taking a stitching hiatus because I'm not staisfied with it right now. I know I probably just need a finish-fix, and that was what I was attempting with "Good Dog" but that project stalled at the backstitching. I have a serious case of Stitching ADHD! I can't settle on any one project, therefore I finish nothing. That just exacerbates my frustration!

Friday started out fairly normal, except I was once again awake before noon. I went to dialysis as usual. I even worked on the border of Mount Coot-tha. The picture is my progress from Wednesday and Friday. After dialysis, I came home to change clothes and go have dinner with Uncle Wes at Eastport Yacht Club. Friday was Wessy's 55th birthday and it was also 8-8-08. There were eight EYC members with the same birthday, but only 2 or 3 of them were there that night. We watched the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics and were just amazed at the artistry. The thing that got the standing ovation, though, was the Budweiser commercial (debuted during Super Bowl 2008) where the Dalmation trains the Clydesdale, Hank, to get a spot on the Budweiser hitch. Laughter erupted at the "high paw/hoof" at the end.

I drove home passing through Downtown Annapolis and noticed how cool it was for an August evening and decided it was too nice to stay home. I went back to the house, told Kasey to get in the back of the truck, and we went downtown for a couple hours. We walked from the far end of City Dock to the top of Main St and back, then half way back up Main St to get Kasey's birthday ice cream. I know I said I was going to get her some Frosty Paws, but I never made it across town to the one store that sells it, so I got her a 1/2 scoop of vanilla in a bowl instead. A very nice couple held her leash for me so that I could go in the shop to get the ice cream. She had an audience while eating it, but she comported herself like a lady. There were a few comments made about how calmly and nicely she was eating it, while other dogs would be gulping it down and making a mess.

We returned home around 10:30pm and Uncle Wes came in the door less than five minutes behind us. Needless to say, after all that walking, Kasey and I were both wiped out. I think she might have gone outside once after that, but she spent almost the whole night laying on the cool tile of the bathroom floor.

Saturday was a usual weekend day for me: nothing planned, so just stayed in bed for a couple hours to read. When I finally got up around 1pm I started watching the Olympics. I have my DVR set to record the events I want to see. I finally got to watch the Opening Ceremonies in their entirety and it was an absolute feast for the eyes! I couldn't hear the explainations at the yacht club Friday night, but now that I understand the meaning behind everything as its happening it's even more beautiful. The precision with which everything was done was awesome! BRAVO!!

My friend Daniel called around 4pm to ask if I wanted to go to dinner. He asked me to pick a seafood resaturant because he hadn't had crabs in over a year. I checked online for some phone numbers and made phone calls to several restaurants on Kent Island. Then I found some magazine ratings. They were especially helpful because they ranked restaurants by including the average price of the entrees. I chose the Kentmoor Restaurant (sorry, no website) because it is right on the Chesapeake Bay.

We ordered the crab dip, which was very good, by the way! And we got a dozen steamed medium crabs. We each had a pitcher of our beverage of choice (Mountain Dew for him, Iced Tea for me) to help douse the burning from the Old Bay seasoning. Dinner was great until I got up while my foot was asleep and twisted my ankle. I was able to drive home, but I had to sit with my foot elevated for the remainder of the night. Lucky for me I had Olympics on the DVR to watch so they kept me occupied.

August 2, 2008

I have to admit that I still didn't get much stitching done. I was out all evening, so the only work on Good Dog was done in the early morning hours before I went to sleep. I have alot more backstitching to do, but I'm pretty sure I can line the stitching up with the pre-printed mat. I feel a little better after studing the model picture and noticing that theirs doesn't line up, either. I've extended my stitching a few extra lines so it'll line up a little better than the model.

This afternoon was alot of fun. My friend Daniel and I went to Sakura Japanese Steakhouse for a wonderful meal that was cooked right before our eyes. The chefs always put on a great show and the food is perfectly cooked. We both enjoyed some Green Tea ice cream after our shrimp and scallops.

Then the skies opened up and we had hail here in Annapolis for the first time in years that I could remember. I shot this picture looking through the windshield of my truck, so there are fuzzy dots where raindrops fell. But you can see the ice on the ground in August!

We went Downtown where I took some pictures of the skies as one thunderstorm was leaving and another was approaching.

This is Spa Creek, looking over towards the Eastport section of Annapolis. The bright white of the cloud caught my attention. This is the tail-end of the storm that dropped the hail upon us.
I turned around from snapping the previous picture and this vista was a treat for the eyes. In the background you can see the dome of the State House. This building is the oldest wooden-domed building still in legislative use in the United States. It was inside that George Washington resigned his commission in front of the Contintental Congress and was also the capital of the United States from November 1783 to August 1784. Currently undergoing a major renovation, the State House is closed to all but construction workers. Even the Governor had to move to temporary offices in one of the legislative office buildings.These mallard hens were resting on the dingy of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Skipjack, Stanley Norman. You can see the waters of "Ego Alley" behind them. This stretch of City Dock became known by this moniker because of boaters' habit of trolling up and down it, just to be seen. There was a restaurant/bar by the same name but its owners came under fire from many locals after trying to trademark "Ego Alley" as their own. Walking around City Dock, there was no Ego Alley except the waterway so it looks like the locals won!
We saw All Shook Up! at the Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre and thoroughly enjoyed the show. There was a rain delay that made the show start about 45 minutes late but there were no complaints. That's the way things go when you enjoy Theatre Under the Stars™! This show was hilarious and I will probably volunteer to do house so that I can see it again. The audience erupted into peals of laughter throughout the performance. We were advised before it began that some modifications had to be made in some of the dances for safety reasons (the stage was still a little wet) but it was still a wonderful show!

All Shook Up, the 2005 hit written by Joe DiPeitro, brings the fifties and its most famous rock star back to life. But it’s not a biographical review. It’s a story depicting a small town that’s in for the kind of excitement they haven’t seen in a lifetime – and more love triangles than you could possibly imagine.

Somewhere in a dreary little town in the Midwest in the 1950's, Natalie, a mechanic, dreams of passion and adventure. Sitting with friends in Sylvia's, the local honky-tonk, they’re suddenly interrupted with a roar as Chad, a roustabout, arrives on his motorcycle. And what a strange coincidence – Chad needs a mechanic to fix his bike! When Chad learns that excitement is outlawed under the Mayor's strict rules, Chad promises to breathe some life into this sad, little town.

He touches a broken-down jukebox, and it immediately comes to life. Natalie and Chad go off to work on Chad’s bike, and she tells him of her dreams. Meanwhile, Matilda the mayor, Earl the sheriff and Matilda’s son Dean arrive and scold everyone for their dancing and singing, then head off to find the town’s new menace. That’s just the beginning. The story is so full of real, secret and unrequited love among an incredible cast of townspeople that you’ll have to pay real close attention to keep up with it.

And at the same time, keep a special eye out for who’s dressed up as whom! Of course, you’ll be treated to a whole host of The King’s biggest hits throughout the story, from Heartbreak Hotel to Hound Dog, Teddy Bear to Blue Suede Shoes, and Love Me Tender to Devil in Disguise – and more than a dozen others. Will true love prevail? Will the power of music win the day? Will this small town survive getting all shook up? You’ll learn all the answers when everything comes to a head in the finale at the Fairgrounds.

The large cast includes ASGT veterans and young performers from the greater Annapolis area, a number of whom are pursuing theatre degrees in college.

Left to right: TJ Touzin (Sandra), Vince Musgrave (Chad), Ali Guidry
(Natalie)

Synopsis & picture from ASGT's website.