September Weekend SAL: The End

Noticing that I only stitched one night whilst playing WoW and chatting I got tons done. If I had got the opportunity to stitch every night I had done two of these.

How cool is this:

A Blackwork Music Video?

Writer's Block: Bitter aftertaste

 

Basically I have never gave a damn when it came to roommate's or friend's musical preferences - though admittedly I do not think too highly of a person who listens solely of one artist or genre. Being a person with very varying musical taste I find it disturbing that there is someone who can be so limited, strict or just plain boring.

When it comes to love music has played a big part and it has usually been unifying factor (excluding Dan's love for Mozart, whereas I can not stand most of Mozart as it shuts my brain): without my love for music I had never ever met or got to know Sonnenschein or Wolfie (in Wolfie's case this is more than true).

Though we have never discussed much about music with Mr. Wonderful we seem to share at least some preferences (soul, jazz etc.) and the differences we have haven't been an issue.

I have also found several music styles I love because of love. Had I ever learned about Indian, Brazilian, Thai or Nigerian modern music without the persons who matter the most, I can not say, just assume that I hadn't.

But detract? I would love to say that am too stubborn to that, but I have to say that in a way it happened back in past as I want to please the person I love too much and thought that suppressing my own personality to support the one I loved was a good idea. Well, it wasn't and I learned my lesson: music is a big part of who I am and one should be able to enjoy the music one loves.

Go nuts...

... eatMacadamia.
I like musicians who share their music under Creative Commons.

Lethal cuteness ^^

Long time, no kitty pictures...

 
 

I just had to share these shots of their tender moment. ^^ (Her Highness has fatty acid suplement all over her head (you can guess that she does not like to take it) and Neko likes to help her with it.)

In addition to this today has been peaceful: I have experienced few Bricanyl induced muscle cramps (known side effect, I will fight against them with magnesium) and first afternoon when I am not tired when I get back home. I even had energy to stitch a bit - after two hour nap... *grin*
Budesonide is kicking in. I may actually feel like a healthy human being some day in far distant future.

(Regarding the current track: Get it (and few others) for free from O Teatro Mágico's home page (under musicas.)

When it comes to music

David D'Or, man with a voice of an angel (and eyes to (almost) die for). Don't believe me? Click and try.

Once again I have the need to recommend music... Matisyahu (at Wikipedia).
Firstly, he makes good music. Secondly, he makes good music with religious influences, which is a real skill. Thirdly, he's quite a curiosity: Chabad Lubavitch (ie. extremely orthodox) reggae artist. (When it comes to Lubavitch Jews I have to admit in first contact they may look like a pile of fundamentalist, but since I have learnt more about them I have become to admire and respect their way of living (that may surprise you, I know).)

Music....

Let me recommend something: Bugotak - Maadai-Kara (Mission Impossible). I heard this while listening Last.FM's global tag radio (Asian being the specific tag).
Bugotak has also few other tracks for free download so grab them if you like this!

Who ever you are....confess!

Who admits being flying dutchman? I checked my Johari window today, and I am curious to know. *g* (Hmm, I know at least two persons to whom dutchman could apply, though remotely... and with my guessing abilities person X probably is someone completely different.)

Free music, anyone?

Last.FM: Free Weekly Downloads (100% legal...)

I'd like to recommend

• All:My:Faults for somber moments.
• The Bastard Fairies (especially We're All Going To Hell) for less serious phase(s).
• Project Retouch for relaxation purposes.

(I need a new hard disk!)

Quotes

"If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live."
-- Lin Yutang

"I think that we're all mentally ill; those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better -- and maybe not all that much better, after all."
--Stephen King

"I have to remind myself that some birds weren't meant to be caged.Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knew it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. But your world is just that much colder and emptier when they're gone."
-- Stephen King (in Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption)

And last, but not least...

I have been thinking of my negative result in latex prick and I have to admit that I want to get positive result from that epicutane.
Not because I love to have 'odd' allergies, but because it would provide a simple answer to some tricky questions.

If latex set turns out to be negative in epicutane there will be so many questions and so few answers... Like

• Could it be some chemical compound used in natural rubber products which causes the problems?
• Could it be some compound which comes from equation warmth + moist + latex (+ lubricant - as I got first symptoms from condoms, and they have lubricant on the surface (unnecessary stuff if you ask from me...))?
• Am I just oversensitive to certain chemicals? (As, admittedly, I have got respiratory problems from a lubricant used in polyurethane condoms... I know, too much information. *grin*)
• Why the heck I get symptoms from foods which are known cross reactives with latex allergy?

It sounds crazy, to want to have some medical condition just to explain things, but I prefer to have familiar Hell than unknown one...
We'll see it in next week.

SW's Solos. SAT. Finishes! O_o

It's good that I've spent my stitchy money for the month already... otherwise I'd have been obliged to buy this. (*sob*)

Otherwise... must-be-finished-last-month project hates me, or the design just isn't compatible with my brain wave patterns. Counting mistake after another, followed by frantic frogging, and now it seems to me that I've to leave the other half completely off because I'll run out of floss otherwise (and as I use hand-dyed...), which also means that I've frog quite bit... It hates me and I've become to hate it, I just want to get it finished.

As you may have guessed by now rotation is out of the window at the moment, though I think I can get back to it in the end of the week (I'll knit bits_2_whole's warmers daily, in between stitching, due the problems with brain shutdown when knitting plain knit - and with that method I may actually finish them on time, though I still have to figure out the problem with lacking few necessary rows (no, I can't just knit them because they'd get too long)).

And I need to decide my SAT piece for this month, as this weekend will be the third weekend of month... Either Alter Echo or Ezmeralda's House - or maybe I just stitch pile of exchange items (but that'd be so boring, no pictures and all that )...or maybe I'll stitch Futurecast.. or stitch one or two biscornus á la snowprincipessa... Decisions, decisions Help!

Finishes!

Official ornaments for my parents are now finished: 1998 Christmyth, which I stitched earlier this year, and Santa's Trimmings ([gutter] who would have guessed that Santa is into BDSM? [/gutter])

      

Though, as you see, Santa is framed, as I happened to have suitable frame and I wasn't in the mood to try that method I intended to use.

Cats and music

If you want your cats to be nice and quiet, in other words make them sleep, try Gotan Project.
In our household it has this effect:

Good Monday to all

No stitching today (or rather yesterday), but I did some more rearranging, designed gazillion more biscornus and noticed that LJ also allows image tags in sidebar...
So, in case you want to know what I'm listening to at the moment, and don't bother to pop by at my Last.Fm profile, my recent tracks are here to stay (under rotation). *grin*

SBQ and being tagged

Today's

Stitching Bloggers Question

was suggested by Vash and is:

Which way do you stitch, i.e. do you stitch /// followed by \\\ on top, or the other way around \\\ followed by ///? Are you left- or right-handed and do you think that this affects the way that you stitch?

I'm officially right handed, but I'd say I'm more or less ambidextrous (right hand is still dominating as I'm used to use it (in a different world I might be lefty)), and either I'm closet lefty or or just prove that how your legs go has nothing to do with your dominating hand... as I stitch \\\ and ///. In my eyes stitches are supposed to go like that, and /// + \\\ would just look wrong - though I think I should stitch one piece like that, just for practise's sake.

Tag

Ash tagged me so here it comes...

The rules; List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether or not they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to

First, what is definition of right now? This week, this month? Now let me consult my Last.Fm account... Winners for week ending 15th of October are:

1. Queen – I'm Going Slightly Mad (played 6 times)
2. t.A.T.u. – 30 Minutes (played 5 times)
3. Julie Andrews – A Spoonful of Sugar (played 5 times)
4. Sarah McLachlan – When She Loved Me (played 4 times)
5. Candy Dulfer – I Can't Make You Love Me (played 4 times)
6. Initial D – Love & Money (played 4 times)
7. t.A.T.u. – Loves Me Not (played 4 times)

But, I'd also like to throw highly improvised list of what I'm into right now:

• Carlinhos Brown - Argila
• The Crüxshadows - Even Angels Fall
• Nightwish - Angels Fall First
• Morcheeba - Public Displays Of Affection
• Chico Buarque - Olha Maria
• Ofra Haza - Trains Of No Return
• Peter Gabriel - I Grieve

Fact is that with seven songs you can't even scratch the surface of my taste, or even current musical habits.
If you want to know more about my listening habits click this link.

If you read this and haven't done it yet, you're tagged.

My two cents, off to make some coffee.

The Persistence of Memory

Once again I remember why I ceased to listen any music in last autumn. Because it hurt so much, everything reminded me of someone I knew I'd never have in my life for real, even I had to live in hope out of love for him.

Alegría is not a sad song, but it brings tears to my eyes. It reminds me of the happiness I (/we) had (not so long ago), it reminds me everything I (/we) lost. It reminds me of love I was able to feel, an the courage it gave me.
And I can't get one sentence out of my mind: "When will my dear Princess cry her cute eyes out because of me?"

On a less teary note: I was actually thinking connection between music and memories last night when I was listening Pain Of Salvation.
Second Love is song which connects to two different individuals in my personal history. Sonnenschein introduced that song to me, and Wolfie... well, listens PoS too.
I've always loved that song because of its melancholy, because of the lost love and the pain it brings.

Lost love has always attracted me, maybe that is why I seem to be unable to have steady relationship with anyone. Maybe my unconscious self is driven by melancholy and sorrow, maybe I'm not meant for lasting happiness.
It might explain my love for black, it might explain my attraction towards horror and darker side of human mind. I get my satisfaction from there where it feels like home...

But I digress...

Every time I hear Undertow I have the same image in my mind... His phone waking him up in the morning with that tune. It's sunny outside, I lay on my (right) side, wrapped in blanket and I see that phone (orange and white) on the chest of drawers. I even remember the scent of that room...

Love is frail, but memories are persistent. And sometimes memories give you strength, sometimes they make you want to bury yourself under blankets and never come out.
Actually I'd like to bury myself in someone's arms at the moment and just be there. But it's just me and cats - and the music. Some day I can listen this song with smile on my face, but that day is not this one.

Findings

I'm forced to use my laptop's music library at the moment, as I can't scrobble music from my desktop (and that is important, I love my statistics) before I get another (longer) cable (from bits_2_whole) to attach it to HP and move modem next to desktop etc... anyway, even it means radical reduce in my choices it can be also a good thing. I found something today.

Where There's Gold by Seal

Where there's cold you'll find a way to justify the loss
Where there's cold you'll find your way
Maybe soon you'll realize with what let comes a cause
Time to pay, time to pay

When there's nothing left to buy, it's only love that gets you high
When you need to have that feeling once again
When there's no place left to roam follow your heart to bring you home
If you've taken all and eaten you can take
You can lift your head

Pray that you will find the strength to keep you hanging on
Pray that you will help someone to find out what was wrong
Only lies can make it go away

All the things you think of now you know that you were wrong
All the things you have to say
Then, by chance, you find a message written on your phone
Clear your day, clear your day

When there's nothing left to buy, it's only love that gets you high
When you need to have that feeling once again
When there's no place left to roam follow your heart to bring you home
When you've taken all and eaten you can take
You can lift your head

Pray that you will find the strength to keep you hanging on
Pray that you will help someone to find out what is wrong
Only lies can make it go away

Roll up your head young girl
Come and said roll up your head young girl
Come and said have some fun and happiness in this world
For every man, woman, child and girl
While youz either fight or its over
***
Virtual ways

When there's nothing left to buy, it's only love that gets you high
When you need to have that feeling once again
When there's no place left to roam follow your heart to bring you home
If you've taken all and eaten you can take
You can lift your head and pray, pray

No, I'm not in love with anyone else than life itself, but I think this will become one of my 'power songs'.

O_o

My ISP has customer service!

Whole story short: when we separated there was no change in customer info of this connection (in other words: it was left under Dan's name), and it was ok with him, "As long as you pay the bills". During these two years there weren't any problems, and as I know everything necessary about Dan I was able to handle possible problems with the connection.
Then... I called to technical support, as mentioned in previous entry, and the guy called me back and told me that they're changing the connection type in our house from HomePNA to ADSL. As he was unaware does the protocol change (well, duh, of course!) I gave a call to customer service and asked about the change... turns out they had sent modems and all necessary info to customers, but the problem was... in Finnish Post. They had delivered the parcel, but to Dan's new address and not to me (bills do come to my mailbox anyway, isn't it wonderful? *grin*), and as Dan is not most patient person, and has bad habit to assume the worst about me sometimes (even he knows there are things I'd never do he seems to assume that I can change), he had sent the box back and cancelled whole friggin' account (by accident, I presume, as his practical skills are even worse than mine and he has problems to understand what he reads - or he lacks stamina to read everything, anyway...) from end of August...
Fortunately this extremely nice customer service person did her work. She called to Dan, had the account cancellation cancelled, changed the account under my name and sent the modem to me (it should be here in next week).

And... when I'm back I'm not with that 256kB/s line, it'll be 1MB/s. It's only 5 euros more (24,90€) per month and I couldn't resist the temptation.

This'll also mean that I'm in the brink of building WLAN for myself (Demon's Den as network name sounds good, don't you think? (As most of you know me under nickname of female demon)) which means that I'll be using mostly my laptop and old desktop may become a server...
Then I only need to connect computers to my stereos (to be able to listen from my music library trough stereos and scrobble it to Last.FM) and I'm in seventh heaven.

I just hope nothing goes wrong anymore.

Do I really have music this good?!

I happened to notice that I've quite many unripped CDs in my shelf and decided to prevent boredom (and broaden my playlists at Last.Fm a bit) by ripping them. Started with few jazz albums I own and noticed something... I've good taste when it comes to music (and good luck when buying compilations from sales).

I've to confess that blogging tune for this entry reminds me of certain someone... *devilish grin*

It's a cruel world...

It's so wrong! I found the perfect fabric for Ezmeralda's House, but it's limited edition, and as I just placed a small order *coughs* I can't afford to order Atlantic Storm. (I love this emoticon, it's so overdramatic. Just like me. *grin*)
Maybe I've to hope that it stays in stock some time... *fingers crossed*

Note to self:

Renew my Last.FM subscription before 30th of September.

In other news: It seems that I'm going for a coffee in Friday with a 46 XY karyotype.

Links, topic for the day and music

Hih, useful link for me (found from english): Dictionary of English slang and colloquialisms of the U.K..
Useful? Yes, I just can't understand slang even my English is somewhat tolerable. But then, I try to avoid using slang anyway.
Ok, I admit using slang when talking in Finnish (well, and in IRC, but it's almost talking *ahem*), but otherwise I more or less dislike it. (Though there are exceptions. If person's language is mostly 'pure' and one's able to produce beautiful language I don't mind some slang.)
Hypocrite opinion from non-native English speaker? Maybe, but then, I'm consistent. I also dislike slang in written form of communication in Finnish. (And then... I have bad habit of using dialects when writing (in forums) in Finnish...)

Language/grammar nazi in person here. Nice to meet you all.

Our topic for the day is...

Why it seems to me that about half of the blogging society (at least this seems to be trend in stitching bloggers) has huge amounts of stress at the moment? Or do I notice it easier just because stress is very much there in my life at this moment? (Having issues with my own economic crisis and Wolfie is dead tired/stressed out because of the project he's working in (not to mention that I might be there already without these problems *sigh*) - or more like because of his boss... It breaks your heart, really, to see his that exhausted and not being able to to anything, anything else than give my words to him. To tell how dear he is to me. To listen. (Yes, I know these are the basics, and I couldn't do more from afar etc., but I'd really like to be able to do more. To be there.))

And if I'm not seeing things why now? So many people at the same time? As it seems to be thing on this side of the equator, and we're supposed to have a summer here. Summer should be happy time, time of leisure, shouldn't it?

And then for something completely different...

Police is your friend (It's *.pdf file so be forewarned - and free ad: FoxIt Pro, for senile old computers like mine is (it's really good software, btw)).

Music

I've blogged about music quite much lately (I do know why it's so - very easy to deduce if you know thing or two). Only little notions, but anyway... It's interesting how certain songs represent certain people or certain times.
Mandalay's Beautiful was echoing in my head last night, because it was last song I listened before going to bed, and because (you all know where this is leading to) it reminds me of certain someone. *coughs*

"Do you know you're beautiful/ You are, yes you are."

Those lyrics are very simple (try to google them), but it's very beautiful song for reason or another. And it reminds me of Wolfie, for a reason.

Btw

Money, money, money... Part one in my fight with the welfare and SII is over, I've money on my account again. Now I can almost breathe.

S.E.X., music and ngh

I found saviour in my dark path of not having good Finnish ONS: Kirjokas.
First of all, DMC 0,80€/ skein (which is real bargain in this part of the World), no postages, fast and good customer service and good storage (just because they carry Dragon floss)... They also have English version of the store, so do pop by. (Like Moomins? Click.)

So, I spent few euros and got flosses for Alter Echo. It turned out that I want to do it with three colours, instead of two. I'll use those given 815 and 841, but I'll stitch text with 902.
309 is nice colour, but I was unable to find anything suitable to go with it, so I let it be.

...and as Kirjokas has minimum order of 10 euros I purchased some Dragon Floss to fill the gap...

      

I placed an order in Thursday, she got payment and posted them in Friday. They came today.

More chocolaty music...

Flying Carpet has a new buddy: Desire.

"...I desire you more than food or drink.
My body, my senses, my mind,
Hunger for your taste.
I can sense your presence in my heart.
Although you belong to all the world,
I wait in silent passion,
For one gesture, one glance."

This is chocolate to your ears, and other senses.

In other news

I don't feel good at all. Migraine, yes, but why are my muscles etc. aching? I'd almost live with exploding head, nausea, upset stomach, dizziness and tiredness, but sore muscles/ throat/ joints and unstable body temperature make it odd and really annoying.
With some luck I found summer cold in Saturday in my trip to grocery... it rained, and even I used umbrella I was soaking wet when I got back home. And first muscle aches came during that night...
Anyway, not my usual migraine. Usually I can at least stitch or write emails, but no... Wrote one email yesterday for about 12 hours as I lost my skills to understand what I had wrote (I do excessive amounts of proof reading, see), not to mention that half an hour writing three sentences took today (you don't want to know how long it took write this entry)... And can't even think of stitching. Or coffee.

Ngh.

Naah, goal check

I know it's not end of the month yet, but changes in routines can be refreshing. (And anyway, insecurity attacks need some cross stitching to be cured - though those I love yous helped a lot, actually very much (Needy? Me?) - even it's not actually cross stitching, just gridding.)

First, what did I say about May?

• Actually I think it's better for me not to have any for this month. You all know why. (And those non-stitching goals for Jenna. )

Well, it was good not to have more goals, though my non-stitching goals have been moved to be June goals.
So, what I intend to do?

June goals

1. One medal from Stitching World Cup with Alter Echo (though AE will be part of July goals also).
2. Stitch Recipe Exchange item.
3. Fulfill my non-stitching goals.

   And in case I've time/ inspiration

4. Jaffa from Silhouettes
5. The Greatest Treasure

Music, anyone?

Miasmah.com, music under Creative Commons License.

S-A-T: Epilogue

It all started from this...

This is what I had few minutes ago

Not that much, but my Stitch-A-Thon goal was to cure my mojoitis and it seems to me that it worked.
And I had good reason to be slow. I've had a migraine today because I stayed up after 3 am today. I slept 7 hours, which should have been enough, but apparently I'm getting old and grumpy.
Or maybe I just should obey my migraine head and try to live like a good person.

Though... it was worth it. First time, in that 40 years we've participated, when Finns success in ESC. It wont probably happen again during my lifetime. (No, choice of blogging song has nothing to do with my lifetime or being old and grumpy.)
Anyway, metal (though Lordi is categorized as hard rock, I think) is what Finns do best. Long, cold, dark winters; short, warm summers without any actual darkness... We just don't know how to do good pop because we're not cheery enough.

Nrrd in love

Isn't this cute or what? ^^

And while talking of nerds in love... Meu Lobinho just knows how to be cute. ^^
I wished him good night (in Portuguese - just because I can, and little things are important) few hours ago, and just thought aloud in that SMS that I should improve my Portuguese... And what did he do? Yes, he gave me short lesson of diminutives before hitting the sack. ^^

Just about the most wonderful thing you can do for knowledgeholic like I am. ^^