As Real Life is Wont to Do

It sort of got in the way of my designing plans. Please be patient. Thanks.  -LindaMc

Poll Closed Early - Fall Wins!

Thank you everyone for voting! Fall is the clear winner! I've got something in mind so check back in a week or two. Oh my, I've got an idea for a Halloween freebie as well! Because there is some sort of glitch in the poll counter, I've decided to close the poll early. Again, thank you for voting and check back soon. -LindaMc

Poll for new freebie

In honor of my 10,000th hit, I'm giving my visitors the opportunity to vote on the theme for a new freebie. The poll closes Monday, August 9th. If you'd leave a comment on what you'd like to stitch as a fall, Halloween or Thanksgiving freebie, I'll include some of those suggestions as best I can. Thanks!

WOW!! 10,000 hits!

I started the blog in April, 2009. I figured a few people would stumble across it, primarily because I occasionally post freebies. But 10,000 hits!! Believe me, my life is much more dull and occasionally much more interesting than anything I post here. It frequently seems like that Chinese curse "may your life be interesting." But I'm quite sure no one really wants to read about it.

THANK YOU for all your visits! I think to celebrate, it's time to design another freebie! Stay tuned.

Prairie Schooler Stitching

It's been months since I stitched anything, but when the new Prairie Schooler releases came out a couple of weeks ago I was off to LNS to purchase October. Kathy at Stitch Niche was already sold out and was reordering. So I brought home a February release: Signs of Spring. I loved the little mini card! I quickly discovered my eyes just would NOT handle the symbols used and ended up just recharting them so I could see the dern symbols. My Group vent ended up with a reply from Nancy about symbols being her bugaboo. I can understand her dilemma, but for me it was a NECESSITY. I've already stitched rooster, chicken and ducks. I think I'll do the sheep, or maybe the double rabbits, but I'm not fond of the bigger rabbits. I'm stitching on 14ct aida that must be a blush. I've had it soooo long I haven't a clue. I'd stitched the minicard back in February on that and it looks nice. Not particularly happy with the newest results, but I'm not starting over at this point. I've discovered that even the slightest bit of stitching is killing both hands, which is likely why after a surge of stitching in January & February, I haven't stitched anything since. Now that I've found the memory card reader, I can start uploading some photos - at last! There's a new freebie on the PS site - the 2008 minicard Snowman.

Once Upon a Time I Wrote a Book

Well, actually I've written 3 of them. The first two barely past chapter 2 or 3, though #2 is still up there in my head somewhere. The last I wrote is several hundred paperback-page equivalents, in about 20 long chapters. That last one had promise, but it includes a bit of a mystery and since I don't read mysteries I couldn't figure out who done it nor why, so I skipped that chapter and wrote the last 2 instead. A year or so later, I figured out who and why, but I never went back to write the prose. It suddenly occurred to me the other day that I had probably lost it when my hard drive crashed in January. Yes, BUT I'd saved it twice on 3.5" floppies. Those I still have. After a scare with having to convert from Word Perfect to Word, I got it copied to my new hard drive. In doing so I learned just how long ago I wrote it: 1991-1992. THAT long??

EIGHTEEN YEARS!

Yet I remembered every word as if it was just last night I typed thought on keyboard. Turns of phrases that still linger in my brain, little scenes and quirky characters of no importance that I wrote just to see if I could. A warm and soppy ending that no matter how many times I read it, I still get warm & tender tears.

EIGHTEEN YEARS!

I knew at once that it is a story I could not write today. That was almost 1/3 of a lifetime ago when I was at one of those cross-roads in life. My daughter had gone off to college a year or two before. I was ready for and looking forward to new experiences. That was back when I still had certain expectations and dreams that still had a chance of coming true. But, they never did. I am at a much different place in my life now. In some ways it was interesting going back and remembering what was going on at the time. In other ways depressing to realize all those years had passed with so little to actually show for them, dreams and expectations from 1992 that never materialized or came true. And never will. Somewhere along the way they simply disappeared into the mists of some alternate universe for some other Linda to achieve and enjoy. In this one they just disappeared. Many with torrents of tears. Others with resignation and the knowledge that most of us are not the masters of our universe, merely bits of star dust that drift aimlessly on the solar winds seemingly forever. Some are fortunate to land in fertile lands and flourish and experience fully. Some bounce from rocky outcrops to sterile soils, from no where to plant even a tentative toe to getting knocked about willy nilly. Somewhere along the way I simply quit dreaming. At times just getting through each day became the only goal I could hope for. Nowadays, it frequently seems my only goal and hope is to get through one major hurdle or crisis before the next one hits.

It was interesting to read my book again, but it's left me in such a out of time/out of place mood that I wish perhaps I had not. The inevitable next crisis hasn't helped.

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.