Goodbye Mr. Furry Diabetes

 

Neko
June, 1999 - 20th of August, 2011

Apparently cancer won and Neko had to be put to sleep this morning.

Good grief!

That's it! I have gotten old!

I have celebrated my birthday (32 years, yikes!) stitching "Rose Sampler" and noticed that I simply can NOT count. Or then little stitching gnomes restitch that thing when I am not watching...

There are extra rows between the alphabet (which is easy to fix, the sampler just will be longer) and it seems to me that they are also too close to the left border... AAARGH!

Regardless, progress!

(Previous pictures can be found here.)

Star Sampler WIP

I got stuck in a rut after I started "Star Sampler" (Stitch-A-Long by Periphaeria Designs) and haven't touched it since... before yesterday!

Nice progress I must say even it didn't feel much.

I have been under the weather for few days, mainly because my neck hurts and I am quite tired. GP thinks it's laryngitis, I think it's thyroiditis (in my opinion my thyroid wouldn't hurt if it was laryngitis), but we are none the wiser before Tuesday... which has meant that I haven't been stitching much.
I did stitch one sampler the other day, which I can't show as it's one of my designs, but didn't got much progress in it either. Wanted to stitch one corner tile, but made about half of it... but, hey, I can always share a material toss!

Cats, Hedgehogs and a Squirrel

I thought I was looking after these guys...

... but it seems that I am also personal slave for two hedgehogs and personal lifesaver for one squirrel who loves cat food...

Yes, that squirrel is in a cage of a kind: my mom has outing space for cats on the patio. They can get out and in by themselves as long as the living room window is open.

It just isn't squirrel proof.

Rose Sampler WIP: Swallows and Stupid Frogs

Despite being sick I have actually stitched! Monday I slept and rest and yesterday I stitched some (it's less painful for me to sit upright). Today I stitched some more (between six and eight, I woke up before five am - after whopping 3½ hours of sleep)!

I had a major stupidity related frog yesterday as I was certain that the brown part of the vine couldn't be GAST's Woodrose as "Woodrose is not that dark". Well, I spend over half an hour frogging those tiny stitches and then stitched that part again... and realised that it had been Woodrose after all! It just looks much darker in small areas (that branch under the birdies is stitched with Woodrose too, as odd as it may sound).
And when I was restitching that brown I realised that I had misplaced some of the leaves on the vine.

Rippit, rippit!

Once again starting point and point just before taking the picture.

At this point I have to admit that my alphabet is off by one thread, luckily it just doesn't show that well over one. And the other swallow is too big. There was some odd miscalculation, but I can't put my finger on it (its tail begins from correct place, but its tail is two rows too tall which also led me to make it a bit heavier than it should be - but if you look at the preview that bird does look bigger and heavier in any case).

Now I am changing project for some time. Maybe just for few hours, but I need some variety.

Stitchy content!

I stitched yesterday... Yes, I have a WIP picture to show you! No, it's not the end of the world yet, at least I hope so.

Beginning and an end (before next day off):

(Direct link to WIP pic in here. Ovi has started to suck big time....)

That vine looks much better colour wise now that I started the alphabet. It's possible that it may eventually become a balanced combination!
I am still undecided about which colour I will use for the dots on the scalloped edge. Maybe I use the one I use for the roses and leave the middle stitch unstitched... not sure, will see later when I have more colours in this to compare.

I did this after finishing one exchange item I had to replace and I forgot about the replacement for a while (*innocent whistling*), I guess I thought I had sent it as it was almost finished.
Though I need to finish finish it still. Was thinking of doing it today, but I am way too tired to focus. Something has been bugging my throat/ neck area last week and I think I am getting sick again... work wasn't busy enough to justify this level of exhaustion.

I think I have found my mojo!

I was stitching something over one the other day on my break and realised how much fun it is and how much I have missed it... and I think I found my mojo there and then!

I want to pick up Rose Sampler again! Never got far along with it, but that just means there's more fun left!

Why? Because I'm doing it over one! (And those yummy overdyeds help, I think. )

The only thing keeping me from stitching the night away is that I have been working like crazy (read: /me really tired) and there is one more early morning tomorrow... Work, gah!

Unconscious Mutterings

Week 438

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Diligence :: Durability
2. Volume :: Sound
3. Hospital :: Ward
4. Binge :: Eating
5. Loyalty :: Trustworthiness
6. Pediatrics :: Kids' medicine
7. Authorize :: Allow
8. Cage :: Nicholas
9. Studious :: Considered
10. Transfer :: -ence

Booking Through Thursday

Interactive

With the advent (and growing popularity) of eBooks, I’m seeing more and more articles about how much “better” they can be, because they have the option to be interactive … videos, music, glossaries … all sorts of little extra goodies to help “enhance” your reading experience, rather like listening to the Director’s commentary on a DVD of your favorite movie.

How do you feel about that possibility? Does it excite you in a cutting-edge kind of way? Or does it chill you to the bone because that’s not what reading is ABOUT?

Well... I am quite sure I won't be too fond of e-books, even though I admit I have never even tried. They just lack few of the important things about literature: feel and smell.

You can't fondle an e-book, you don't feel the scratchy paper in your fingertips when you turn the page... and I don't dare to think how a reader would look like if you eat when you read (which is fun).

If I want to watch videos I check Youtube or put DVD in player.

And when it comes to commentary: Stephen King does that in his books. In written form. And I enjoy them.

I do enjoy listening his feature commentaries on DVDs, but a movie is a movie. Moving pictures are all nice and such, but books have their charm because they are good at what they are and have been for centuries.

Call me traditionalist, but that is not always a bad thing.

Stitchy things, flowers and iGoogle

First a word from our sponsor: My alter ego is looking for model stitchers so if you want some fame and bragging rights you can find the details under this link.

Hibiscus

I have always been more as a brown thumb than green one so what I found from our bigger hibiscus the other day made me really happy...

I have never ever seen blooming hibiscus and always thought it would be difficult to make blossom... but this bugger did this all by itself!

iGoogle

I've been using iGoogle for a while and am really happy with it (because I can see feeds (now that I have slowly migrated to Google Reader), email and news in one place without having to run around internet) with one exception... lack of really nice themes so one night I made one myself!

It's from a picture I took at mom's cabin 2008 and you can find it from the database as Chive Flowers.

Unconscious Mutterings

Week 437

I say ... and you think ... ?

• Adventure :: Tale
• Truth :: Dare
• Expose :: -d
• Applause :: Clap
• Hostility :: Emotion
• Sauce :: Chili
• Constipation :: Trouble
• Explore :: Find
• Senator :: -
• Children :: Kids

Writer's Block: Globetrotting

 

Goodness... there are so many places I would love to visit (as my friends know I am sucker for free trips *grin*).

Though, for some odd reason (as I am not huge US buff, rather quite a critic) I would visit New York, New York, US of A.
My life has been revolving around it in odd ways last ten or so years so I guess there is some reason for that and I should see what that reason would be.

 

Writer's Block: The long and short of it

 

I think it's Stephen King's The Stand's longer (1990) version. Its Finnish translation has 1344 pages.

 

Shortest... probably any of the parts of Stephen King's "The Green Mile". Usually I really don't consider anything less than 300 pages a book, but this makes an exception.

 

Blog Secrecy Act I

...it happens that I got to hear that some diwmit lacked common courtesy in such measures that certain people connected to my life had been told about basically everything I had been blabbering about at Facebook.
This person never made any indications that one knows people I know and apparently this person's sole fun was to hunt down my life... based on things I heard.

It makes me sick to even think of that. It makes me sick to think that someone has such devious mind that they get kicks out of my ultimately dull life and find it worth to be blabbed about. It makes me sick that some people have no guts to tell that someone that they are a guttless dimwit for doing so. And it makes me sick that some people really just are THAT stupid.

Anyway, this all lead me to be WAY more cautious at FB and hide certain blog posts and when I blog about certain things it'll be friends-only from now on.

Stash Stash Stash

As I am still lacking of actual stitching content it's time for another unblogged stash addition: more goodies from 1-2-3 Stitch! (We all love our stash anyway, don't we?)

I just see myself using that linen band for some ornaments... little this and that here and there and it will look fab!

When it comes to blog related stuff... there are certain things I won't post to public anymore for reasons disclosed some of these days in a friends-only post, so if you want to keep in touch with everything that is going with my life you will need a LJ username and get on my LJ friends list. (Of course I need to kno who you actually are too. Demanding, aren't I?)
Not that there are that many of those coming or already protected, but still. And you can never have too many usernames in various places, can you? *grin*

Unconscious Mutterings

Week 436

I say ... and you think ... ?

Circles :: Running around in...
Born :: Yesterday
Teddy :: Roosevelt
Comfortable :: Pleasant
Chaste :: Belt
Burned :: ...down
Blouse :: Shirt
Threats :: Violence
Cuddly :: Me
Condemned :: Damned

Booking Through Thursday

Reviews:

Do you read book reviews? Whose do you trust? Do they affect your reading habits? Your buying habits?

In general I don't read book reviews, but I am glad I trusted one review in Helsingn Sanomat (link is to internation edition, the review itself was in the Finnish version). It was about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's "Half of a Yellow Sun".
Incidently it happened shortly after I had met Husband and I made a mental note based on the review that when I see the book, I must buy it. Finally got it last year, as couple of other her books and realised that I had found yet another favourite author for myself.

Her writing style is captivating and you just yearn more and more after getting the first sip and I can nothing but recommend her books.

Blog life. And what happens when a crazy stitcher travels.

I haven't actively read blogs in a couple of years (yikes!), I think that more or less after spring 2008, that spring when I first realized that there is something wrong with me and got lost in my brain fog.

2008.

Three years ago.

I met Darling Husband that same year, even it feels like yesterday.

Anyway, today I started, out of the blue, collect all my feeds from Bloglines to Google Reader as I decided it would probably be better in the end as I have my calendar at Google too and this way I can get most of my necessary stuff on my iGoogle.

There was abandoned and hijacked blogs, which I just skipped, but many of those blogs I used to read are still going strong so do not wonder if a new, yet familiar sounding name starts commenting. It's just me coming back.

My first anniversary with thyroid meds is on Wednesday and I am still surprised how much the whole thing has affected to my life. And how much it still affects. But life must go on and with time things will get easier, I hope.

Travels

My mom and I went to Tallinn earlier this month: ate like horses in an medieval restaurant (see the virtual tour here. In addition to great surroundings (this time we at at Krusensterni Saal) they serve great food), bought Estonian cheeses, dark roasted coffee and... I found craft magazines.

In other words: Estonian beading magazine and Russian Susanna and Cross Stitcher.

And we are going to Tallinn again soon as we, or rather my mother, got two free ferry tickets from tax free (this company gives free cruises after using certain amount of money in their tax free store). We are going to hit one shopping mall... there is a craft store too. Guess where I am going?

Unconscious Mutterings: Week 435

After a long hiatus, memes are back!

1. Decoder :: Enigma


2. Cake :: Yum!


3. Sense :: ...and sensibility


4. Geek :: Greek


5. Cousin :: Relative


6. Goggles :: Beer


7. Social media :: Facebook


8. Butterfly :: Wall


9. Search :: Look for


10. Manicure :: Pedicure

Writer's Block: Spellbound

 

Stephen King springs to mind without any effort.
I have loved his books since my brother first introduced me to "Night Shift" at mature age of ten and now, twenty one years later I still love his books and when ever I find movies or series based on his books on DVD I get them if I just can afford it (and they are reasonably priced).

When I was younger I used to say that I would marry that man without hesitation if he wasn't already married.
If I wasn't happily married I would still have that opinion. *grin*

Another talented person I admire is Teresa Wentzler whose art I just love and am jealous of her design skills (admittedly her style is her style, my style is my style and I am excellent in my own style).

But still.... Mr. King takes the cake when it comes to talent.