Fathers Day, Patriotic Charts & General Stuff

Belatedly! There's a quick Father's Day chart in my Freebies, as well as several red/white/blue patriotic charts from last year.

Have not done any stitching at all in past couple of months. My hands & eyes just bother me too much at times. I have read a couple of books recently, something I rarely do any more because of serious eye issues that cause my eyes to tire and go blurry very quickly. But it was nice doing that once again - for a change.

The resident raccoons have produced their newest litters. I love seeing the still-nursing but rapidly growing and now solid-food eating kits the Mamas bring to my patio in search of handouts. In fact, one of the mamas will lay on the patio nursing them. It looks like one huge ball of fur! She has a den somewhere around the yard. Guess she's too lazy to gather the kits and go home to do it. While the kits wander a bit to nibble on kibble, she'll lay on her belly eating whatever is within her reach. It is sooo funny.

Photos: I have so far been unable to d/l promised photos to computer. Good thing I have a 4BG memory card. Eventually.

I accepted a custody case a couple of weeks ago. A fact situation completely in my client's favor has already turned south and the case is going to be several times more complicated (and thus far more expensive) than I originally could have anticipated. I swore after my last custody case 3 years ago (actually 2 at the same time), I would never do one ever again. I wish I had listened to myself.  I only took it on as a favor to a friend. I will never get paid for the time I've already put into it - and it's just getting started.

My brother called this evening on his way home from the airport. He'd been in NYC with an orchestra playing for some upscale anniversary party whose guests included The Donald & Michael Douglas. He's played so many of these types of affairs it's just all in a day's work for him. He was more interested in finding some well-known local eatery he and my DD ate in when they both happened to be in NYC at the same time a couple of years ago. He just found out he'll be playing back-up for Alicia Keys on the BET Music Awards  June 27th. Now that my VCR has completely died, I've got to figure out how to record on my DVD. Wait, I've now got a VCR/DVD combination (which I finally set up after about 18 months of just sitting in the box - until my solo DVD player died a few weeks ago - the separate VCR quit working at least a year ago.) Don't ask.

The Office of Emergency Management contacted me earlier this month offering to pay my registration fee and parking to  attend a 3-day State Citizens Corps Conference in Dallas next week, being sponsored by VOAD (Volunteer Disaster Assistance) and the Citizen Corps, among other emergency and disaster volunteer groups. Should be really interesting. See the agenda here: 2010 State Citizen Corps Conference

Now if I could only get the OEM to actually hire me.

I went storm spotting !!

Didn't need to chase. It came to me!!

Did  you notice in my previous blog that nothing had happened in North Texas despite predictions and I think I said nothing was on radar. Uhhhh.... Things change dramatically - almost instantly!

See my EMVolunteer Blog.

I have photos ... I really do ...

of a couple of recent stitch finishes (the stitching is finished anyway), and my absolutely beautiful orchid, which surprised me earlier this spring by sending up a bloom shoot then bursting out in the most beautiful display of orchid colored phaelanopsis I have ever had the privilege to witness in my own window. The photos are still in my camera ... but soon.  Knee is better. I haven't been back to doctor. After 4 or 5 weeks of staying off it I recently managed to get around the super Wal-Mart - slowly - and even for a while without favoring it - but it made itself known all to often and is still a problem. The only stitching I've done in the past month is on a small Kooler possum hanging from a branch. It says "playing possum." I'm going to replace that with "Hang in There," do a simple ornie finish then hang from the light above my bed. My thumbs continue to give me such a time that it's a few stitches and I'm asleep. Past couple of weeks I've spent a lot of time monitoring radar,  Weather Channel, Wunderground, local news, etc. So far DFW has just been dern lucky to have dodged the bullets that have been focused on the south and Oklahoma, with such devastating results. My best to all those affected by the recent outbreaks of severe weather and tornadoes! 

Oh, and I spent ANOTHER 2 hours on the phone with AT&T and Dell yesterday once again trying vainly to solve the problem with my DSL, which I've been paying for but haven't been able to use since January. It might be a software problem, like the ethernet driver. After 45 minutes the tech at AT&T said I'd have to call their ADVANCED Tech Support - at $115 minimum. Then sent me an email asking me to confirm my problem had been resolved. And while Dell has free driver downloads, apparently I'm going to have to PAY them to tell me which one is the one I need. Or it could be something else entirely, and even a new ethernet card might not work.

In the meantime, I finally learned that my house is cell phone dead zone. I've always had issues, but now it just won't work at all!  I SOMETIMES can get a network connection standing in the middle of the driveway - for a couple of minutes then it goes dead. Even the fancy new loaner from T-Mobile wouldn't connect.

A Volunteer of the Year

I do volunteer work with the Arlington Office of Emergency Management and am a member of CERT (Community Emergency Response Team.) I was invited to an appreciation luncheon on Monday. In the past these have been for all volunteers and after work, so I found a noon lunch sort of odd. I almost didn't go. I have been hobbling for the past month due to an apparent torn cartilage in my knee so I've been carefully staying off my feet as much as possible with the intent that it will heal without surgery, which for me is simply not an option. I even cancelled the MRI which would only confirm whether or not I needed surgery, and since that's not an option why waste that $334 up front payment.

Anyway, the walk from car to Office really wasn't something I really wanted to do.  However, I was fortunate to find a parking spot right in front of the building and was very surprised to find only 6 volunteers were invited. The head of the Office of Emergency Management then announced that rather than name one CERT Volunteer of the Year, because we all contribute in such different ways, we were all named Volunteers of the Year and received a Certificate of Appreciation. The entire staff was present, and the woman among them had cooked the enchilada type entres and the guys chipped in for rice, beans & chips. 

After lunch we were told we would each be featured in the City's online newsletter. Here is THE LINK to mine.


While staying off leg, and because my computer is still giving me problems, I took the opportunity to do a lot of stitching, finally finishing a Christmas gift from last year, doing a bit of work on the project for my new SIL, and in a 3 day marathon stitching session, stitched a Marjolein Bastin bit for myself (eventually I'll get a photo of it.) In fact, I did too much stitching and have aggravated the tendon in my thumb, which previously caused "trigger thumb" and required a steroid shot to eventually heal. OWWWWW!!!  Not doing THAT again, so I've had to quit stitching - again. Using the computer mouse aggravates thumb as well. So other than sit, watch TV and eat too often, I am totally BORED.

Updated My Other Blog

I've finally updated my Adventures of an Emergency Management Volunteer blog.

In Their Ducky Best

Something small and cute for whatever. Enjoy.

Also check out last year's Easter freebie "He Lives" .

Do Some Well-Meant Comments Catch You Off-Guard?

I was at Wal-Mart Saturday to buy a power strip. I was meandering through the towel aisle when a woman asked if I knew where the children's towels were. I admitted I didn't know anything about children's towels, thinking something larger than fingertip but smaller than bath. Apparently they are full size with cute appliques. I commented it had been a long time since I'd had a child to buy for, and she said something about future grandchildren. Now there's where I made the mistake. I should have just smiled and nodded. Instead out of my mouth comes "I won't be a grandmother." A look of "oh my, what have I said" crossed her face. So I quickly added, "My daughter decided a long time ago not to have children." Something about surely not. But I assured her I had had about 15 years to come to terms with that reality. She murmured something sympathetic and we parted. I think I made it about 5 steps before my eyes totally welled up with tears. At least I didn't burst out sobbing in linens.

I had such wonderful grandmothers, both who passed by the time I was 20. I still miss them very much. I had been looking forward to being a grandmother since DD was in junior high. I even started a cross stitch Peter Rabbit quilt way back then. Twenty-five years later, those stitched pieces still sit in a plastic bag waiting in vain to be turned into a special grandchild quilt. Learning that DD didn't plan on ever having children was like taking a good hunk of what I thought and planned my future life would be and applying a hatchet to it.


I would have made a wonderful grandmother.

I thought I had, but obviously I've never really come to terms with it.

Computer : ( Spring??? Stitching : )

The hard drive crash has just left me totally deflated and depressed - as if I wasn't already depressed enough. I'm still on dial-up. Just loading the compose Post screen here on Blogger took almost 2 minutes. I can't visit other blogs because of the time they take to load. I mostly now just check email, do the occasional jigsaw on Shockwave.com (I play Minesweeper or Spider Solitaire while I wait for it to load), read a few posts on 123MB, pay ebills and that's about it for the internet these days. I didn't even turn it on yesterday.


The last day of winter it was 72 degrees. The first day of spring I had 1/2 inch of snow!! I decided it was appropriate to be out and about in 34 degrees with a 25 mph north wind and went to Joann's for floss.

On the 10th, while I was looking for the new bird feeder that had disappeared the same evening I put it out, I discovered a dead raccoon just beyond my patio. I was fairly sure at the time and because I have not seen her since, I've sadly confirmed that it was my favorite little gal, the one born and raised in my back yard who always seemed to be happy and smiling as she sat beside the step and used the step as her table to eat from. She had the most sweet and genteel manners. Yes, I cried. I am going to miss her. I could not see any fight marks. When Animal Control arrived, I asked about possible rabies, but was told unless other raccoons were dying it was unlikely. While he was here the lady up the street came down to see if she could get a large animal trap. Something big had killed her cat within the last day or so. (We've had coyotes in this urban neighborhood before, and I lost my sweet Charity to a large predator 3 years ago myself.) Consequently, later that same evening I was shaken when I found and treated a large puncture wound in Brulet's head (my neurotic flame point Siamese.). At first I thought I was treating yet another Henna scratch (she's very territorial and uses Brulet for batting practice) when I found instead a fresh bite from something bigger than a house cat. I kept him in most of the next 2 weeks just to make sure neither of us had been exposed to rabies. Though I looked carefully for other bite wounds, it was 3 or 4 days later when I noticed the lump on his ribcage which he would NOT let me near. At first I thought it was a broken rib, but when the lump got bigger I realized it must be an abscess. If necessary, I would have taken him to the vet, but it has since opened, drained, and is healing well.

I've been keeping the cats INSIDE as much as possible. Henna, who eats and sleeps and gets her exercise by taking out her frustrations on Brulet, doesn't mind. Brulet has driven me CRAZY wanting OUT OUT OUT!!! Even if I check around for frantic cat before I open a door, he can zip past before I can stop him.

I've been to 2 all-day severe weather / tornado conferences the past couple of weeks. If I had to do it over (and was even just 15 years younger), I skip the law degree and major in emergency management instead. Back when I was having to make life choices, that wasn't even a degree field. If the degree was offered locally, I might consider it even if there is no possibility of ever actually working in the field. I know the staff at the local Office of Emergency Management. Except for a perhaps 40 year old manager, the avg age of the rest of them is between 30 to 35. I'm still hoping to go storm chasing with one of the RACES guys.

I have been stitching on the fishing trawler from Sea Scenes that I'm making for my new son-in-law. It's taking a LONG time because I just can't keep focused while stitching on it. I've made no attempt to redesign what I had started for the wedding project for my DD. I'm just too bumfuzzled. A couple of weeks ago I stitched and simply finished the new Prairie Schooler freebie (now hanging from a push pin in the wall above my bed), and yesterday I spent way too much time stitching a small cat sampler just for the heck of it. I'm going to redesign a couple of the cats to look like Brulet and Henna. One already looks like Timmy, my long-term "stray."

One day I'm going to d/l photos from my camera and post some SMALL ones.

Happy spring!