Embrace The Season

With one semester half way out the door, I find myself more relaxed than ever. This weekend I had a serious case of "couch back" as I was almost unable to move to trying to complete all my homework before tomorrow's final. I still need to review some material, but at this point I know I only need a low C to make an A, so I'm living dangerously…sort of. Over the weekend I started searching for cross stitch blogs, mostly just to see what all was out there, who was working on what, etc. But, what I found most amazing was that EVERYONE was posting about how busy they were, how sorry they have not posted in a while, and so on. And, what I realized is, Christmastime is BUSY. We are running from place to place, trying to buy gifts for this person, put them in the mail for another, decorate Christmas trees and homes, all while keeping up with our usual routine, and in the middle of a time when daylight hours are at their lowest. I confess, sometimes I am amazed I get a thing done at all some days, what will the light fleeing as early as it now does.

Anyway, instead of bore you with my tales of vectors and equilibrants, I thought I would post some photo updates of my Emily Dickinson sampler. I confess, I am amazed at how fast it is going for me. I have yet to make any more big mistakes on it - fingers crossed! - and have found it very easy and relaxing. One new thing I am trying is working with multiple colors of floss at once. I think it has been a lot easier and helps to keep my work from being so messy and knotted in the back.

As you can see here, I have several colors going at once, and have attempted to begin working this sampler in small squares now that I have the reference point of the trees and bee hive.

I just LOVE these little bumble bees!

 I think the cats have really been enjoying the colder weather. I brought out their winter beds a few weeks ago, but only Annie cares to sleep in them. I think she must be very cold natured because if she is not sleeping in my bed with me, she is in her own bed in the living room. The cold weather always makes them less active at night, unlike the hot summer when they just cannot settle down. When it's time to go to bed we all four cuddle up in the bed and fall right to sleep. It's all very sweet and cozy.

Of course, these two hardly utilize their beds. Ollie (the orange) only likes his window perch, and Frankie loves to lay on the guest bed. Obviously they like to get up on the furniture too. What can I say, I just cannot tell their little kitty faces no. :)

Now, I had promised to post pictures of my Christmas tree earlier and so, here it is!

It's actually not a bad little tree, but does it ever lean! It's like the Leaning Tower of Christmas! The only reason I can figure as to why it does this is because it is so young. Those ornaments are not even that heavy, so it is obviously not a "sturdy kind, that doesn't mind the snow". Still, it was only $20.00 and I could fit it in my little corolla, two very important factors. 

Well, this time tomorrow I will be a free lady. No more school until 1/17/2012! Hip Hip - Hooray!!!

Running On Empty

I'm sorry I keep posting with sole regard to my lack of energy these days. I'm sure there are many more people who have even less free time than myself. Still, I have to say (and since no one really reads this blog, what does it matter right?) that I am TIRED! I'm at that point in life where three months vacation would not be enough to get you back on your feet again. How do you make it past the "I'm just barely getting by" stage? I have no clues, and for as many people as I have talked to, I have yet to find any answer besides take it one day at a time. Is this exhaustion worth my new found freedoms? Some days I would say no, but for the most part, yes, I do find it worth it.

In other news, I have been tired while at my cross stitch and even accidentally stitched an entire tree incorrectly. So much so that I had to go back and cut out all my work to begin again, which, I must say is no fun at all. Still, progress is being made. I thought of posting a picture of it tonight, but that would involve more steps than one, and that is just one too many right now. Hopefully I will get a post in on my work later on in the weekend.

Also, the cold weather has settled in here. And while it is normally chilly during this time of year, as of now it is 20 degrees below the average high, and that is just downright cold. The heater has gone up and I find it harder to keep the place as warm as I would like it. I wonder what my electricity bill will look like?? Accordingly, my hair has become more dry and full of the fun static we all know and love. I think I am going to take the advice of a coworker and buy a spray bottle to spritz on the cat beds (also full of static) and my hair so as to keep some moisture about the house. She sprays the water on her floors to keep up the humidity, but as I have all wood flooring, that trick will not work for me. I could buy a humidifier, but I will only resort to that if I get desperate.

Busy Bee

"Busy" is the perfect word to describe my life these days. Two jobs, graduate school online, a house to take care of, cats to feed, errands to run, not to mention taking care of my own health (which use to include simply eating well and vague promises of a trip to the gym before I was diagnosed with PCOS). I have always found it interesting house easily procrastination comes to the person with too much to do. And once it hits, well, he likes to hold on tight. So, I took a step back and evaluated what was the most important right now. For the time being, I have decided to let my dreams of the little cottage garden I have so wanted around my house to fall to the back burner. I hope that one day I will have time to make a little Jane Austen space for myself, but as of right now I neither have the time nor the money to devote to it. Still, I hope to have a summer vegetable garden this coming year, but we will see how things go. Mostly, I try to think of it as one day at a time, one thing checked off a never ending list. My mom had a mug when I was little, a Mary Engelbreit mug with the quote: "A man may work from sun to sun, but a woman's work is never done." Even as a young child I saw the logic in this little sentence, but was not until I bought my house that I realized truer words were never spoken; and it made me tired! One day at a time…

What with the cold weather settling in, I feel more at ease. Comfortable in my small, cozy little home. I even bought a Christmas tree as I just couldn't help myself. It is real, and even still has it's root ball, so I don't have any trouble with pesky dropping pine needles. I would have posted a picture of it, but I have not finished decorating it yet. I hope to get this accomplished over the weekend, and post a picture of it then. My only challenge is to keep Annie, my youngest, from digging in it! Another thing I like about the weather is being able to comfortably use my kitchen. Tonight I made lasagna for mom and dad, and I found it very pleasant, even though I was running about the house. I rarely have any guests at my house, too much trouble I guess, and so I think we all found the novelty of eating together once again very enjoyable. Also, I know they rarely eat at home anymore, so I'm sure they were happy for a home cooked meal. I'm actually surprised it turned out as well as it did. All in all, I am very pleased with the evening's meal and company. I should have taken photos of the homey table, dressed with simple dishes and linens, but in the rush I completely forgot. I think my domestic skills get an A+ tonight.

As for my stitching, I did indeed begin a new project over the weekend.
It's called "The Pedigree of Honey".

A sweet little sampler from one of my cross stitch magazines, it has a quote from Emily Dickinson, and simple, soft colors. I have found it such a joy already and I have only finished the bee hive!

 It is fairly fast work, so who knows, I may even be done by Christmas!

Hot Chocolate and Cross Stitch

     Lately the cold has set in here and time has been slipping away. I get nervous about all the things that must be done. Work in the garden, school work unfinished, the house slowly becoming dirty again. And, what with the shorter, colder days ahead…well, let's just say I am looking forward to the finish of school. At least that will be one less thing off my plate! While my mind likes to ramble incessantly during the day, at night, I tend to calm down and be at peace with my mild procrastination. Tonight "Gone with the Wind" is on the television, and I couldn't help but tune in. I have really loved this movie since middle school, and I each time I watch it I gain a deeper and deeper understanding of the characters and their own unique situations. I have yet to read the book, but I do own it. I hope to get to it someday. There is nothing so pleasant as sitting under a warm blanket, cross stitching while watching classic movies. It is really THE perfect winter-time activity (although, I could make a case for cross stitching being the perfect activity at any time of the year!). Something about the rhythmic up and down of the needle gives me peace. Which, honestly, is something I could really use at this time. Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and if your family it like mine, there is a lot of cooking done by only one or two dedicated persons. In this case, the dedicated person is my mother. I am dedicated to her, so in a way I am de facto dedicated to the Thanksgiving preparations, although I really cannot stand the whole family gathering for too long. I guess it is the noise of it all that is so wearing. Still, I will admit that it is nice to see everyone and catch up with their lives. What I can tell you is that the Holidays are never a time of relaxation for me and my mother. While the men drink and smoke on the patio (as is the southern way) and the women sit and discuss inside, my mother and I will be cleaning for the rest of the day and then, the following morning, taking down all of the Thanksgiving decor and setting out all of the Christmas bits. I will just leave you with the fact that my mother has a whole storage unit full of decorations and it ain't small…

Oh, I am becoming exhausted just thinking about all the work ahead! So, let me stray away from the topic at hand. Tonight, while enjoying my movie and cross stitch, I also whipped up some Peppermint Hot Chocolate complete with old fashioned marshmallow and chocolate covered peppermint swirly stick. You can get the trio from Williams Sonoma, but it will cost you a pretty penny! Still, it is very much worth the dough. It's not too sweet and it is not too like (like some european drinking chocolate I have had). It is the perfect thing to sooth the soul and lift the spirits. The weather outside may be bitter, tomorrow may hold some unpleasantness, but for now I am thoroughly entranced by the solicitude around me.

     This is will be a "free-style" sampler. Basically, I couldn't decide which of my patterns to start on, so I took an old piece of linen from my mom's old cross stitch collection and began stitching various alphabet fonts. The British Cross Stitch magazine I subscribe too always gives a new chart in each magazine of the alphabet in a different font, and I decided to stitch them all so I would have a little reference piece. I have no idea what kind of floss I used as it was on an old and unlabeled bobbin, but it was the prettiest color of hand died blue (the color variation is normal). And what better way to use up unknown floss than in a sampler of my own creation. Now, that I have finished this alphabet, I think I will move on to another project, but I am excited to have this because now every time I become bored or stressed for time, I can do a little stitching on this. I will let you know when I choose my next pattern.

     Because this is mostly just for practice I wanted to work on neat stitching. While the front appears neat, if you look on the back...

     ….you will see that the top three rows are slightly more messy than the bottom two. I really tried to be conscious here about "sewing in" the tails of old and new floss so there was less mess and lumps creeping through my work. While I think it would have been neatest to cut the floss after the completion of every letter, I think It worked out well enough this time. Compared with some of the items I made when I first began stitching, I think this is neatness at it's finest. I am planning on taking my needlework to mom's tomorrow, that way I will have sometime to focus me if the television and people get a little too zealous.

A Feast of Rubies

I have always found it amazing how memories can come rushing back to you with the slightest influence. I bought a pomegranate last week at the grocery store on a whim. Unfortunately, as is what happens with most all of the fresh produce I buy, it was left on the kitchen counter for almost a week before I thought of it again. I look forward to the days when my life will be more predictable, and stable, but for now, what with school and two jobs, my life is stressed at best. But, back to my story. I thought about the pomegranate this morning after my alarm went off. I cannot even tell you why I started thinking of it. However, I knew it would be going bad soon, if it wasn't already, and decided to take the time to cut it up while making my usually morning tea. The second my knife slid into the juicy flesh it all come back to me. A shabby sofa, the whirr of an old white fan lazy rotating in the warm summer heat, and a little girl named Monet. I had never seen a girl with such red hair before in my life. She was fair skinned, curly haired and I was instantly intrigued by her. How we met, I don't remember, but what I do remember, is that she introduced me to the ruby goodness of the pomegranate. I had no idea what it was, but as we lounged about her living room she offered me a section of the most interesting fruit I had ever seen. Her mother worked at the local Albertson's and I guess had more knowledge of the limited speciality bits they received. She showed me how to eat it, and I hesitantly put a little kernel of fruit in my mouth. Thinking back on it now, I must have been very enamored by her because I have never been adventurous when it comes to food, and yet I remember eating it as if it was nothing. I was surprised by a tarty sweet burst of liquid in my mouth, and I remember being curious by the fact that I had to in fact eat another kernel, that the enjoyment was so fleeting. So, I popped the seedy center out of my mouth and reached for another piece. To this day I cannot see a pomegranate without thinking about Monet. What happened to her? Why didn't we remain friends? I cannot say. My memories of her are so few and yet so happy. We were just kids having fun during the summertime. Walking to each other's houses, having lunch together, playing with her pet hamster, who I believe would stay perched on your shoulder for hours on end. So, as I sit here on this quiet grey afternoon, I think about pretty Monet with the red curly hair and pale pale skin and smile.

I Like A Bit Of Casual Alcoholism...

    This morning I was greeted by a friendly frost outside my window. It is actually the first piece of winter white I have seen since I have been here. The blue sky peaked out of the clouds for a few hours, and made our trip to Trentham very enjoyable. Lynne and I left the house around 11am for a wonderful day of shopping and errands. Our first stop was the local pet store, "Pets A Home". Of course I couldn't help but splurge on items for the cats, which I am sure they will love. Our next stop was the Trentham Gardens. There are actual English gardens there, but Lynne and I have yet to visit them. It would not be at all in bloom at this time of the year anyway. Along with the gardens, there is an area of outdoor shopping that we lingered through all afternoon. We headed home around 3:30pm, but made a quick stop at the allotment to pick up some vegetables to go with our pies for dinner. While there I met a very nice local gardener named Terry. While this day remanded very quite, I do hope Jess and I will be able to go to Shrewsbery tomorrow (there is a forecast of snow and rain). Keep your fingers crossed!!

My bit of English frost.

Trentham Shopping.

YUM! Pie Minister!

Brussel Sprouts at the allotment.

Lynne's Water has yet to thaw.

Lynne and her shed!

Leeks.

Terry!

  

One Hot Biscuit

     While yesterday was all together fun, I was unfortunately so busy that I complete forgot to post to my blog! Today, however, was much less…riveting, and I therefore now have time to blog. Yesterday I was suppose to go to Shrewsburry with Jess, but the weather was unexpectedly disastrous. Actually, I'm sure the roads were fine the longer the day went on, but in the morning the roads were slick. Only a thin layer of ice caused a 7 car pile-up, and the roads were completely shutdown.
     Needless to say, we stayed in all day. The day wasn't completely shot however as I decided to make delicious Southern Biscuits. They actually turned out okay when you consider that the oven went out as they were baking.

     Today was VERY rainy. Anne and I were suppose to meet at 11am to go to Market Drayton and see the Wednesday Open Market; but the rain never stopped pouring. Anne and I spent the day watching TV and chatting in front of the fire, and it was really lovely. I worked on my stitching all day, and now feel so refreshed. Hopefully I will have more to report tomorrow!

So Glad To Be So Cold

     Today was a relatively early morning for me. Before we all went to bed, we had planned to be out of the house and off to Birmingham by 10am. However, by 9am no one had even begun to stir, so I got on the computer and fiddled around, bought my text books, and headed into the kitchen. In the end, we left the house around 11:30am. It was an amazingly quick hour long drive to the city, but I think I am still being haunted by the ghost of jet lag, because by about 11am I am completely exhausted, even when I have had a full night of sleep.

     We reached Birmingham at half passed noon. I was amazed when Lynne and Jess commented on the amount of crime in the city, but once we arrived I could see what they meant. There were no robbers that I saw of course, but the city was a sharp juxtaposition of new and old which can often create a feeling of smallness among tourists. Still, I found many parts of the city to be beautiful. It was, like most big cities, very dirty and cram packed with people and gave off an almost palpable taste of electricity. Most of our day was consumed of wandering from shop to shop. I found some great baby clothes for little Casper, Jess and Lynne had a religious experience in Forever 21, and Dave bought a nice sweater from Gap. 

     The only draw back of the day was my being completely over-heated. Once we entered the huge 4 story mall, I was blasted with serious heat. While it felt good when I first stepped in, by the time I found I store I wanted to visit I was sweating profusely. I was so so so happy when we got to leave the mall. I stuffed my blue jacket in my shopping bag, and walked the rest of the day around Birmingham wearing just a turtle neck and thin black cardigan. Lynne seemed really concerned at first, because it was a very windy and cold day, but I reassured her that I was truly about to ignite; everyone else stayed huddled in their coats, gloves, and scarves.

    We came to the canals of Birmingham at sun set, and took a quick walk around a small area of these canals, and I took a lot of different photos of this interesting area. Unfortunately, they we underdeveloped, so I didn't post them. When the sun had set, we made our way to a good looking restaurant, a burger restaurant, and each had a wonderful meal. Lynne, Dave and Jess had burgers and I got a very tasty salad. At the end of our meal I was finally room temperature again, and willingly donned my jacket and gloves for the long trek back to the parking garage. 

Ugh, politically correct toys.

Las Vegas? Planet Hollywood? Who knew they had just copied this design?

The crowed four story mall.

The whole dollar pound store thing, really must be a universally loved idea.