I was cleaning the living room earlier today and I finally piled up all the designs I bought from eBay during December... the pile was about 30 centimeters high (and as it consists of booklets and leaflets you can imagine how many patterns there are...) and it doesn't include those Wentzler's I bought for Linda and few frog booklets I sent to US.

I need to list them, which doesn't sound like a very enjoyable task, and then I need to find a place for them from my craft shelf... which will be yet another achievement, but the main thing is: loads of beautiful stash and it is all mine!

Never say "never"

I have proved this true once again: you remember how much I hate vacuum cleaners?

You do? Great.

What if I tell you that I have one nowadays?

While I was still looking for a job I was watching Home Shopping Network one day and saw one product which raised my interest for three reasons: it doesn't have dust bag (if that is the word) so no need to run in stores to look for replacements (you know how much fun that is...), it has a HEPA filter and it filters the "sucktion product" through water which should catch most dust particles on their way (in a regular hoover smallest parts go through the whole system and it's bad for an asthmatic person).
Well, after thinking of it for few days I got it.

As surprised as I am it actually is a pleasant product to use (no dust smell when hoovering and no coughing), it works like a charm and it reveals amazing things about the lifeform called "cat hair".
You can sweep the floor twice and still you have two egg-sized furballs in the water container when you have hoovered living room floor.

I am afraid that this thing may make me clean more often (well, Mr. Wonderful has that affect too: he is NEAT)...

Anti-recommendation

Never ever buy Deltaco's NBCL-1 Notebook Cooler Pad. It will be the stupidest way to burn your money.

I bought the first one about ten months ago and the second one I got when the first broke down is soon unusable because the fans have begun to screech.

It is cheap, for a reason. That reason being: it sucks.

Graah!

I just love all the extra expenses which come out of the blue.

My beloved Photosmart (735) decided to be moody and not work (it worked fine after I had made the decision to buy new one) at all (it merely booted and then got stuck), so, after a little phone call (I needed to fix a temporary loan-of-a-kind) and a bitter visit in PD's PayPal account I should be soon proud owner of a brand spanking new (gosh, I *love* that phrase *g*) HP Photosmart R827.
7,2 megapixel digital camera only 149 euros ($205.4)! O_o Even better... its normal price is actually 349 €, but as it's not manufactured anymore the distributors want to get rid of those ones they have.

Yes, in theory there was no need to buy a new camera, but when I begun to think of the situation when my camera breaks down just before deadline I managed to convince myself that I need to get a new camera.
And it's so tiny! And light! And k3wl! Shiny!

Life goes on

I have another job interview in Friday. That place would be located wonderfully regarding commuting and actually everything... in Helsinki downtown. Right in middle of things and close to Helsinki Central Railway Station, which means that it's close where my bus stops.
This gives me a great excuse to visit hairdresser and get my hair cut to decent summer length (*short*) and maybe do some clothes shopping...

Speaking of shopping I (finally) purchased cooling pad (it was cheap) for my laptop and, gosh, I just love it! I can actually keep my hands on the laptop when I type without getting burn marks on my skin (not to mention how quiet this is now).

New to-do

Owls symbolize wisdom, but it's not my reason add this to my to-do list (though I like the thought): Monochrome owl (*.pdf version in here).
It's just perfect if you ask from me.

Oddity

It is always as annoying and entertaining to hear from someone you have noticed you can't stand that you are odd.
Heck yes I am odd, tell me something I don't know!

What makes it sad is that my oddity is all about the fact that I think differently and appreciate different things than majority. But, these incidents also make me believe that I really have made the right decision with that break from the dating game.

Humans, can't live with 'em, get into prison if you kill 'em can't kill 'em...

And there was much rejoicing!

Remember this?
Guess what bits_2_whole gave me as an early birthday gift?

...

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I am sure you can guess...

...

...

Really...

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...

I got a wireless USB adapter! Ladies, gentlemen and androgynes we are finally in Wi-fi time!

Happy birthday...

... to me. Exactly two months too early, but happy birthday to me nevertheless: my baby is home! Even better, my baby works!

Masa is happy too, he got printer's box to play and sleep in... (You know, it's like the best toy/ place ever: a cardboard box. *HUGE* cardboard box.)

And... I love and deeply adore myself Lady P., she let me buy some yummy Crescent Colours silks from One Star's Light Needlework Supplies (have you noticed that I like to buy my things from my distributors?) - what made it even better was that my lovelies are already in the mail even I ordered them this afternoon (notice the time difference between OSL and me). ^^

TNT: what it was?

TNT: I had already forgot whole thing... Do you know what this little thing does?

...now only thing I need is suitable adapter and I'll get rid of that annoying cable which hangs in HP's hiney... (Yes, shock and awe, it is white, but it was free. *grin*)

SIL: By the way, I'm beginning to doubt that SIL reads my blog. She has been using $NAME-2-BE lately... after that little rant of mine.

Cortisone: Kills. My ovaries got upset and they have tried to murder me last two days... I had already forgot how much something can hurt.

Official YouTube: o.O! (It's about 9 minutes long...)

'tis the season...

Tabloids scream: "Every fifth Finn spends too much on Christmas/ Yule presents!"
And I giggled inside of me... one of the reasons being that I got gifts to three kids with 16,5 euros (good quality children's books, so I'm amazed).
But my shopping trip made me also think... why I give presents to people I don't know? As it's general pain in the hiney to guess, and I fail to see the general point in giving gifts to my nieces and nephew just because they happen to be related.

I also bought things for me... (that big one) (I kind of collect tin containers, though usually old ones, but cuteness/etc. can also be a factor) ^^ (Ok, I admit... I bought something else too: this. As you may guess my latest new userpic is result of playing around with it.)

Things you find trough Google's image search

The Dance Of Colors.

Wild S.E.X., and 'Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me. Happy birthday dear me...'

Happy birthday to me.

I've to admit that it has been heart warming to receive whole bunch of birthday wishes (Thank you all. They mean very much ^^). First ones (actually Angela was the first one few days back) I got from Wolfie, just when day changed from 2nd to 3rd. And what surprises me is that my father remembered my birthday, it hasn't happened in years - ~14 years if I'm not mistaken. (As usually he remembers it only because I remind of him.)
Talked about this with Wolfie and he had an interesting theory: people learn to appreciate those things they're afraid to lose when they're in danger to lose them.

According to my mother it rained when I was born... it was supposed to rain today, but it didn't, and minutes before dusk it looked like this:

Rainy? Though it's possible that there'll be another thunderstorm during evening - or at least some rain.

And as I'm fond of memories... how was my life year ago? Hmm, even situation is what it is I'd like to say that my life has gotten, if not better, more balanced at least.

Then to this day. As we know my plan was to go to PINN's... Failed. Why?
Because they don't have store in former WTC anymore!
But fear not! I went to bookstore to sooth my nerves and guess what I found? Ten points, cross stitch patterns! So, I spent ~2000 BHTs (equals 41 € or $52.5) on S.E.X.. *ahem* But they're that kind I can't get from anywhere else, so I had to.
And you know, those 'magazines' and booklets contain unbelievably many HUGE projects so I just purchased opportunity to have something to do for next five years.

For example this project doesn't look that big when you look at the finished item, but as you see, the design takes two huge pieces of paper to fit in (that pink thing is A4 sized magazine for a comparison):

   

Size of that design is 'modest' 210x460.

And to my picture loving readers... My shopping spree.

As a curiosity I also seem to have few designs of king of Thailand. Which leads as nicely to... In addition being my birthday today is Monday, which is Yellow Day in Thailand.
Yellow is king's colour and as he was born in Monday... This is how streets look like (not everyone wears yellow in Mondays, but you can see surprisingly much of it in this spesific day) in Mondays (picture in question is from soi which goes behind this building)

Official quote of the day

"If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow."

Latest addition to family

Actually Wolfie gave (he's a sweetheart) this to me few days ago: my new baby, external ~11GB hard disk. ^^

Btw

1. Exploding feeling is gone. I just needed time alone, and concentrate on what's important... In other words: stitch Alter Echo.
2. New fruit in my list:

   

   Wolfie brought some jackfruit when he came back from work today.
   It smells and tastes like wine gums. ^^ Though it's too sweet to be consumed in bigger amounts. But what's important is that I haven't had any allergic reactions here from things I've never tasted before this trip. (I've had two reactions: one from popcorn in movie theatre and other in Japanese restaurant for reason X.)

And now... maybe some coffee, maybe a DVD on a player and off I stitch. Is there better way to celebrate your 27th?

Aftermath of the Olympics

Latest, and last issue of Stitching Olympics Gazette.

And I've noticed that I got something more than few finished projects... Stress injuries

1. in my left hand, in joints to be exact - from holding my frame too tightly
2. in right shoulder blade which causes pain on the front because my muscles don't know which of them are hurting and which not
But hey, I brought fame and fortune for myself and People's Republic of Noncencia (Nationstates anyone?) and injuries are part of the fun in sports.

nectarfizz has pampered cross_stitch's Olympic stitchers with these nice images (more pictures for my user info!)



Nothing beats self-praise.

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I seem to have good gadget phase as now I'm officially proud owner of Palm (got my mom's as she doesn't need it and I do (I don't need it, but I've use for it)).