Just Because I Like Them

A post about giraffes? Yes, just because I like them. I think it's because of their color. I love any shade of orange/rust/brown. Maybe it's their unique body shape or the lovely pattern on their spots. I recently discovered that a giraffe is not simply a giraffe. There are six rather distinct (at least to another giraffe anyway) varieties.

From top: Rothschild's, West African, Reticulated, Masai, Cape and Angolan . They vary only slightly in pattern/color but it was very interesting to learn this.

I've been making doll clothes lately too. Not that I make any money selling these, but just because I like them! A princess seamed 1893 gown. Maybe now that I've finally drafted some patterns that fit this doll, she may get a more complete wardrobe.

The weather has been brutally hot and humid this past week so I actually hid inside under the ceiling fan with a bit of...............hahhhhhhhhh, is it really true???????????

CROSS-STITCH. A little Patriotic finish from "The Sampler Girl" and a start on "Quaker Friendship Sampler" by The Goode Huswife. I'm using Threadworx "Morning Garden" on 28 count cream linen.

During my breaks from stitching and admiring giraffes I made a little blueberry cake. Much more blueberries then cake in this one! I even ventured into the mysterious world of yeast dough. Barbara, I curse in your general direction for getting me hooked on this. Now my freezer is filled with little bags of pizza dough-balls. I had much better luck with the white flour variety then with the whole wheat. Can anyone explain this to me?

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Yeah, RAIN!!

I'm not usually a big fan of rain, although I do love a good rumbling thunderstorm every once in a while. It finally rained last night.

Since I got around to planting the vegetable garden last week I was dreading having to drag buckets of water out there. What about the garden hose, you say? Well, our garden hose only gives hot water. One of the (many) pitfalls of getting that "friend of a friend" to fix the plumbing last year. I've had many a nice dream about installing a huge in-ground swimming pool and then joyfully filling it from our steaming garden hose. No such luck on that one though.

My latest gardening venture has been "fairy gardens". To me they look more like dollhouse settings moved outside.....so that's exactly what I did.

A bit difficult to see the little bench and the wheelbarrow from this photo. Finished another pair of what I call "crock socks". They are soft , comfortable and cottony. This pair knitted from Premier Yarns Deborah Norville Collection Garden Yarn in "Sea". Immediately started another pair from Plymouth Happy Feet color #25You would think they could come up with a wonderful name for this amazing color combination. Something more exciting then #25.

The rainy weather brought me indoors earlier then usual and I was finally able to get over procrastinating and finish a Summer dress for my 16" doll. This one is circa 1895 of a finely striped cotton.Oddly enough there has been no cross-stitch going on. I did start another gymnast design but I haven't photographed her yet. Waiting for the inspiration (or Crafting A.D.D.) to hit me.

The pets continue to thrive although they are not too fond of this hot, humid weather. Lots of lounging and relaxing going on.

The Good, The Bad, And The Hot Pink!

Finally finished the cross-stitch of gymnast Anastasia Grishina. It was a tight squeeze on fabric I cut too small. I've had a problem with that lately. Some sort of "math-block" thing. Instead of putting her in a frame, she'll become a pillow using this fabric as a border and backing.

A roller coaster ride of a week. The weather finally turned nice this weekend, but I've been such a wreck emotionally. Talked to my mother on Tuesday and after 20 minutes of discussing the weather, the garden and the malfunctioning washing machine she suddenly announces that she has just returned from a doctor visit and that she was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. I am devastated. She, on the other hand, is quite relieved. For about five years now she has struggled to knit, to write clearly and most recently to walk at a normal pace. She said she thought she had a brain tumor! Now for my mother to say such a thing is really out there. She is the rock of the family; never an outward emotion about her. So for five years she's been suffering silently thinking she had a brain tumor. I really don't know what to make of all this. Since a few days have passed I can now see her 'happiness' in receiving this diagnosis, rather then the horrible one she expected. I spoke to her Friday, after one full day of the medication, and she said she had written a check. OK, in the ordinary scheme of things this is not a big deal. But she had been foisting off that duty to my father in order to hide the fact that she could only print her signature, and quite poorly at that. This is a woman who grew up in the Catholic school penmanship tradition of the 1930's and 40's. She was also a teacher for 20+ years. So to sign her name rather then print it was a huge turning point. I am wondering if the drug could be that effective in one day, or maybe she is just more confident now in her own abilities. Any one out there with Parkinson's or a relative with this disease feel free to fill me in.

A few pet snaps to brighten a rather rambling and awkward post.

A Leap Forward

Just a quickie update on the progress of the gymnast cross-stitch, Anastasia Grishina of Russia.


Since it is National Chocolate Chip Day (according to the Food Network Site) I baked these very easy Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies. Just a store-bought banana cake mix, with two eggs and 1/2 cup of oil. Then add chopped walnuts and chocolate chips. Mix thoroughly and drop tablespoon-sized blobs on a cookie sheet. Bake 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.

My dear friend Karena stopped by today with her daughter, one of my gymnasts, Allie. They brought me this beautiful card and some lovely flowers and delicious strawberries straight from their garden. Karena has been my friend for about three years, but it feels like I have known her all my life. There is a special bond that goes beyond our passion for gymnastics. She always knows exactly the right time to call or e-mail me and has just the perfect thing to say to brighten my day. I don't know what I would have done without her love and support these past few months. Thanks Karena!

Barking Up The Wrong Tree

All of my cats are pretty well-behaved, as cats go. They are "trainable". Actually they have trained me to accept whatever they do as correct behavior. They don't poo in the potted plants, they don't fight with eachother (much), they don't howl at all hours of the night (although I love the sound of their voices anytime). They pretty much stay within the boundaries of the yard and the designated areas of the back field. I've lost too many beloved cats on this street. There isn't much traffic here but the dozen or so cars that do go by each day seem to think this is a drag strip designed to test the speedometer capacity of their vehicles. Of all the cats my one and only orange kitty (first ever orange kitty too) Carmella tests the limits of the boundaries most frequently. There are times when I call and call for her; rattle the cat food tin and no response for nearly an hour. Just where is it that she's getting too? Not the barn or the shed. Not under the car or the patio chairs. Not in the field or God forbid, in the street. Here she is. This seems to be her new hang-out. The oldest, largest tree in the yard. Conveniently located next to a prime bird feeder for an excellent view of the "catch". Elliot takes a less subtle approach.

Well, I haven't been barking up the cross-stitch tree much either! Still obsessed with socks. Round and round I go and my next start will be pair #20

Two weeks ago I was glued to the computer following the Gymnastics European Championships. I was quite pleased with the results, especially of these two cute little Russians from the Junior squad. Anastasia Grishina and Viktoria Komova. I remember seeing Viktoria's mother compete back in the day..........1983 USA vs. USSR competition. Here is my near-finish of my latest gymnastics design, Grishina in a split leap during her Floor Exercise routine. She won a gold medal on this event at Europeans. Next up is British Champion Beth Tweddle.

The sun is shining and it's nearly 80 degrees F. The storms are rolling in though, so it's outside for a few more hours of stitching or knitting or just watching the cats lounge around.

Thank You Mother Nature!

I've had friends tell me lately that they are feeling God moving in their lives. Some through people returning from their past, others through certain positive events in the jobs or personal lives. In my case I am seeing God's work through Nature. I have never put much value (and even moreso in the past months) in the "artificial world". You know, those things conjured up through greed and publicity and egotism. I held out hope that I would soon see an outward sign that my patience would be rewarded. And now I see it! Everywhere throughout my yard things are blooming and growing and moving forward with Life, despite the heavy burden of that artifical world. For some reason things seem greener this year; brighter, more healthy. Plants that have lay dorment for years are suddenly re-blooming without any help from me at all! There are colors of irises that I thought were long-gone. My treasured gift from my gymnasts, the azalea bush, is in rare form this Spring. The tulips put on a display that I haven't seen since they were first planted over 10 years ago.

Something is moving, awakening and it's telling me to do the same. All this time of idleness, of anger, of stress has to be left behind. What a waste it has been. There is a stack of letters that need to be answered. All the dolls could have had complete new wardrobes by now. There has been time enough to make each and every one of my friends a cross-stitch gift and a pair of socks. Time to finish painting this room, to fix the front fence, to lose some pounds and get in shape again. I've wasted it all. Did I think I was achieving some sort of "victory" by wallowing in my self-pity? Was I proving some sort of bizarre point by closing myself away? The plants and the flowers are telling me otherwise. They are telling me to get up off my roots and bloom!

Love/Hate

That describes my relationship with my new found habit/obsession Facebook. My sister-in-law got me into it under the pretense of sharing family photos with those back home in New Jersey. To say the whole set-up makes me slightly uncomfortable is an understatement! Imagine if you will a dinner party where I invite all my geeky gymnastics friends, my compulsive cross-stitch friends (all a mix of Americans and Europeans), my sister-in-law, my 12 year old niece, my 80 year old aunt, long-lost high school pals, my co-workers and my boss. Is this really a group that I want all together in one place conversing about me?! Well, that's Facebook. And that search feature. How many long-forgotten (not really) names have I typed in there with trembling fingers? Half those people I didn't want to speak to way back when. Why in the world would I want to know about them now. Facebook did serve it's purpose for me this week though. I "outed" a lady who's owed me money for doll clothes to the tune of $192.00 since November. Her daughter promptly "un-friended" me but she did finally make a PayPal payment grudgingly this morning.

Under the topic of 'Problems Solved', first of course was the $192, then there was the huge Hobbs doll that went out in the mail to my mother's house to be hidden...if an 18 x 18 x 29 box is hide-able. Back to Love/Hate, mostly hate. The Post Office. Not only have their rates gone up consistently every year, now they are thinking of doing away with my favorite mail day, Saturday. Then there is the latest ploy using the ever-popular scare tactic "terrorism". It seems that now all Customs forms must be filled out on line, then printed out on the home computer and brought to the Post Office. I don't have a printer at home, so am I now excluded from mailing internationally? I was informed by the postal woman (complete with eye-rolling and exasperated sighing) that she would now have to convert my hand-written Customs form on to her computer and weigh the package and then calculate my postage. Hmm, sounds an awful lot like WORK to me. Isn't that what she's getting paid for? Preventing terrorism indeed. You would think the Post Office would like a face-to-face encounter with anyone trying to mail something dangerous or illegal. With the Internet-only method what is to prevent them from filling in 'chocolate chip cookies' on the line for package contents, when the box really contains Anthrax or a bomb? Then they simply pay for it on-line with some random credit card, dump it off at the Post Office and run like he**!

OK, enough of the Hate, how about some Love. Spring is really here.

I actually tilled up the vegetable garden today and spend most days outside with the pets,either knitting socks of stitching.

(notice Elliot in the background?)

It's been mostly socks lately.

New starts: Men's socks in Lang "Color Aktion" #235 and anklets in Red Heart, Heart & Sole "Berry Bliss"

Boy's socks in hand-dyed from Etsy. Cedar Grove colors for my nephew.

Re-do of my very first pair for my mother. Sock Ease "Cotton Candy"

My head is filled with inspiration for cross-stitching, but I just can't get my hands to catch up with my brain.
The Red Bud trees are in full bloom, the Red Wing Blackbirds are back and my little vegetable seeds are sprouting.

lettuce

I am also starting some Zinnias and the ever-popular Cat Nip. My larger Cat Nip plants usually over-Winter here pretty well. They get their little green sprouts very early in the Spring, but the cats just don't give them a chance. As soon as a new leaf appears, it is promptly eaten! The zinnias will be hot pink and lime green. I still haven't bought the seeds for the Zinnias I really want, Queen Red Lime, which are both hot pink and lime green in one flower. My $80+ worth of pink daffodils turned out to be mostly yellow/orange with a few muted pinks thrown in. They are still very pretty and I was able to reclaim a long-neglected area near the shed.

Just going on and on today. I think it's because I feel so much safer here then I do on Facebook. Yes, Facebook is more modern, more hip, more now. But when have I ever been any of those things?