What's your funky Inner Hair Colour Quiz

Your Hair Should Be Blue

Wild, brilliant, and out of control. You're a risk taker with an eye to the future.

Monday Morning

It is the last day of March ....

4:30am     The alarm wakes me at its customary time
5:50am     I am on the platform awaiting my train
6:56am     We pass my friend's train stop.
                  Pre-dawn lavenders and purples flow over the buildings
7:17am     I see my first glimpse of the sun
7:21am     The train pulls in and I walk down to the bus stop
7:34 am    I feel the first brief warmth of the suns rays on my skin.
7:48am     I am at my desk.

It looks like it will be a warm clear day - but for now I have had less than 2 minutes warmth of the sun on my skin.

Too many shadows and valleys in the city.

Daylight Savings in in force for another week yet.

Next year it is rumoured to be extended into May .....

Oh this is evill .....

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=233168.0

Short Story

I love this - especially for those who remember the old days of Bulleton Board discussions ...

http://www.abyssandapex.com/200710-wikihistory.html

This is Brilliant !!!!

For all Firefox Users ....

You *need* this add-on !!!!!

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1117

Fox Clocks !!! It lists across the bottom of my screen what time it is right now in any part of the world I want to look at.

I've got me, Claire and Kerry listed.  Now you US-based people - what time zone are you each in?  I get the whole Central vs US Central vis Pacific thing alll confused !!!!!!

The Melbourne Trip - Part 3

EASTER MONDAY

The last day of the Con and Stephen had agreed to help run an 8am session ... the alarm went off at 6am.  Do you know I'd forgotten how much fun it was to kick someone ELSE out of bed when the alarm goes off !!!  To be able to stretch and lie-in and listen tot he sounds of someone else showering .....

After my shower we headed out and stopped at MacDonald's for breakfast on the way.  Again Stephen laughed at watching my stomach battle my ethics.  My stomach of course won.

When we got there I was nabbed by a group and asked if I wanted to join them.  The group was some of the friends I met during the weekend and they specifically wanted *me* to join this game !!!  Well I was flattered into it - what can I say.  This one was called "A pointless Fairy Tale' and it was more a tabletop game.  Again I was typecast !!!!  I was the red-headed fiery kitchen hand" with my cleaver and needing to revenge my parent who were killed by the Bandit Queen !!!!

I gained kudos for my description of the ultimate lamb pie and we were the only group to complete one of the tasks because I distracted the fairies with a cookie I had baked ..... I described the cookie too :) :)  Random's housemate (the one in the boxer shorts) was also in this game as The Penniless and disguised Prince.  We also had an Ugly Carpenter, a Peasant Girl (played with great gusto by a 20 something year old boy - he could simper and skip better than I could !!!!) and a One-eyed Sheep Farmer !!!!

Lots of fun and merriment!

I returned to the hall to find that Random's game hadn't run after all so they were all just sitting around and chatting.  I joined in and I noticed my blood plums were on the table, so I nabbed one.  Many ribald comments ensued about the ripeness of my plums!  Adam, the guy who played my husband on Saturday night's game swooped in and snaffled a plum saying "I have indeed sampled her plums previously and I can recommend them - they are indeed superb".  So yeah more comments and an easy camaraderie.

As Stephen and I had discussed,b y coming in with him, I had gained easy entry into his group of friends.  Keeping or establishing my own place amongst them as an individual was up to me and my actions.  I think by the end of the weekend I was definitely accepted.  I exchanged emails with a few too.  So new friends are always good :)

I was chatting with a guy called Chris - very very good looking guy who can cook!  We were trading recipes earlier in the weekend.  He was feeling morose and saying that found it hard to attract women ..... (the look of utter incredulity of my face was unnoticed by him).  He went on to talk about crazy ex-partners and everyone else at the table agreed.  I didn't.  He informed me I was soooo lucky not to have a crazy ex in my background.  We then agreed that there's nothing so nasty in the world that a good steak/stake couldn't fix!

Around lunch time Stephen and I headed out and did some more mundane arrangements and packing of his stuff for the move.  Mid afternoon I received a phone call from Paul.  I moved away and took the call and it quickly turned very very nasty !!!

Paul was on a huge jealousy kick - what do you see in this guy? Is he bigger than me? Is he better in bed than me? 

Ummmm Paul you split up with me at Christmas time - this is not an appropriate conversation for us to be having.

The questions got even more nasty and pointed out that was I aware I been bought like a whore for the weekend.  I pointed out that this line of questioning was unhealthy and I would not answer such questions, nor had he any right to ask them. 

He got nastier again (which I wont write here) and I hung up on him.  I then turned my phone off and walked back to where Stephen was.  He said "oh love" in a very compassionate voice and held me until I stopped trembling.  He then took me to the nearest Hogs Breath restaurant and fed me steak :) :)  We decided it was all Chris's fault for discussing crazy ex-partners :)

We went back tot he apartment for a while so I could have some time out, changed and went out to the after Con party that night.

Had sooo much fun with these people that over the course of the weekend I could now call friends :)  Some were mere acquaintances, but most I could remember the names of and smile and nod in passing, I could join in many of the conversations.  I was no longer an outsider or "Stephen's friend".  It was really good.

The evening was marred a little by some drunken louts.  The Con goers always apparently book out the beer garden (outdoor area) of one of the local pubs or their party.  This time the garden was invaded by a bunch of drunken louts and their ladette girlfriends!  They were already too drunk to stand a lot of them and yet the bar (contrary to Australian liquor laws) kept serving them.  We moved the tables and chairs creating an obstacle course between them and us.  You could see them walk into the men's with full glasses of beer and spirits and the sound of smashing glass and they would come out again without the drink and with their fly's undone.  We just huddled in our own corner and attempted to ignore them or treat them like a new variety of bovines ....

Many stories and discussions were had that evening and at least a half dozen of my new friends urged ,e to agree to go to the next Con - which is in Canberra in June.  They then used this to try and convince Stephen to come across the country for it too :) :)

One of the stories I was told was from the Trivia Night on Saturday night (we were playing the Steam Punk free form).  The last round which was worth double points was called "Muggle Studies" and had questions such as: Who won last year's Survivor?  Who were the two boys ejected from the Big Brother House?  Name the finalists in "So you think you can dance ???

Like true geeks and nerds and friends of mine everywhere -t his was the lowest scoring round of the entire evening  !!!!

There was also a very very interesting conversatyion on having gaming-friendly partners. Gaming is these people's hobby.  They spend time writing the free forms, or creating characters or creating costumes, and most of the Con are on Public Holiday long weekends.  They discussed friends and people they knew that had partners that were barely gaming-tolerant or were worse, actively anti-gaming.  One guy was booked in and paid for the Con but 2 days before the event his wife decided that they needed to visit her parents for all of Easter (in another State).  It reminded me of the SCA where I saw similar conflicts.  And I guess even with stitching, where you hear of people who hide their latest purchases from their partners or lie about how much stash they have.

Very very sad case to be in.  But then the conversation turned happier as they then discussed absent friends who has gaming friendly partners.  One woman's husband really didn't see what or why she gamed, but he was prepared to accept it and what went with it and he knew enough of the lingo and always packed her off to the cons with all of her equipment and a packed lunch every day :) :)

The evening ended early when the skies opened up and the rain bucketed down !!!!!  And of course the drunks were in the part of the garden under shelter - and *we* were out in the rain !!!!  Oh well :) :)  Took nearly half an hour for all the farewells ot be said, and the hugs exchanged and the "what are you running in June?"  "when are you running the sequel to this game"?

When we got back to the hotel Stephen made me a cup of tea and asked if I would like a male opinion on my afternoon phone call.  I really didn't want to discuss it, but I did.  And Stephen gave insightful comments.  He didn't just give me tea and sympathy, nor did he rant and rage and threaten bodily harm!  Instead he asked thought-provoking questions and helped me sort out in my own mind just what the heck was going on!!!!!!  He was sweet.  We talked long into the night yet again ......

Until we actually noticed that one edge of the bed was damp and there was a one metre wide damp stain on the floor.  The roof had leaked during the rain storm earlier in the evening.  So we rang the manager and left a message, moved the bed and snuggled away from the wet spot.

TUESDAY

Again late to rise and a gorgeously long luxurious brunch.

I adore brunch - its definitely the most civilised meal of the day !!!!  The Con was over and this was our last day in Melbourne so we went shopping :)  I bought a couple of gifts for Alison who was looking after Trubby for me .... he enjoyed showing me new shops and just wandering in to whatever shop took our fancy ..... we both shopped at will and that's when he sneakily bought the little Tigger for me !!!  It was a very very relaxing day.

We even discussed the fact that we were getting on soo well and neither of us had felt the need to run away or manufacture an excuse for "me time".. Also we discussed the fact that neither of us would have to manufacture an excuse except to say "honey I need some me time".  It just felt sooo right and soooo goood.

That night he took me to his favourite restaurant on Lygon street - a very old-fashioned steak and pizza place.  My mouth was watering with all of the hand made pizzas being made - large and generous with the toppings and the smells were heavenly !!!!!!  Mind you my Veal Scallopine al Fungi (I think that's how it was spelled) just melted in my mouth when it arrived.  Truly a wonderful place to eat !!!! And not that expensive.  The entire meal including drinks was under $50.

Back to the apartment and we packed and then settled in for an early night ..... and then talked until late in the evening.


WEDNESDAY:

Al;arm went off at 4:30am.  I grumbled,  It was my turn to get kicked out of bed.  So we up showered drank a cup of tea, packed the car and I was delivered to the airport.  I was sad.  I pouted.  I He tickled me until I laughed.  He said he had to or we would both cry.

I got onto the plane and he drove out to his old house. I got into work around 9:30am in Sydney and he finished packing his car and left Melbourne around 12:30pm.

While he still had regular mobile coverage he txted or rang me every time he stopped for fuel or rest. I haven't heard since he left Port Augusta 10pm Thursday night.  43 hours ago.

I've had a very busy time at work and finished and presented my presentation - did well apparently.

Received a call from a pay phone last night at around 10pm and, thinking it was Stephen I answered it.  It was Paul.  I found a nasty email waiting for me when I got into work Wednesday and I had blocked his numbers on my phone since.

He used the payphone instead.  He has known me for nearly five years now.  He knows how to press my buttons, he knows exactly what to say, to tell me what I want to hear.  I just can't believe him and I hate being emotionally blackmailed.  He knows how to get to me and make me confused.

I cried all last night and I was still very confused this morning.  I went food shopping on autopilot.  I felt nothing.  I was numb.  Mum rang me, in a panic.  Its sometimes unfair having a psychic mother !!!  I talked it all out with mum and she helped me sort it all out in my head.  To see behind the lies, to see behind the platitudes ....

I'm still not fully OK - but I'm better and I needed to write all of this out while it was fresh in my head.  I wanted the walk down memory lane - to remember how good it felt and to act as a reminder in future.

Spose I'd better go and get some stitching done :)

The Melbourne Trip - Part 2

EASTER SATURDAY

After a few hours sleep we went out to a few of Stephen's old haunts as he started collecting and arranging stuff he would be taking back to Perth with him.  He also showed me a few of his favourite shops over the other side of town including the most delicious coffee tea and chocolate shop !!  I bought some Raspberry and Lime tea, some Rose Grey tea, some Strawberry and Pepper dark chocolate and some Mango Chili dark chocolate.

We also went out to lunch at his favourite food place there :)

From thence we went around his other local shopping haunts and bought bread crackers, cheese fruits etc (including finding some gorgeous blood plums !!! I can *never* find blood plums these days !!!!!!!

After lunch and getting sick of the insane crowds in the shopping centres and the roads, we headed back tot he Con.  Spent the afternoon snacking on fruits and cheese and crackers and just chatting with people.  Really had a great chance to talk in depth with some of Stephen's friends and made a few of my own :) :)

We were getting on towards 7pm when a couple of GMs came up and started hassling the group to join in their free form.  What sort is it?  Steam punk cyber punk film noir ......  Steam Punk ??  My new favourite thing ????  Turns out this was a new gaming style no-one had done before ..... I looked at Stephen and he laughed at howe eager I looked so we signed up !!! 

I later found out he had been specifically approached and told then that it was up to me - as he was in Melbourne to be with me and the Con was secondary. He was a complete gentleman and if I'd have said no he would never have mentioned playing that free form again ...

I think I was typecast - my character was a transit officer called Nikita who travels the trains looking for fare evaders and shoots first asking questions later.  a guy called Adam was playing Ilya my husband and we hammed it up all evening long with really really bad accents !!!  Mind you I got some kudos for using my bad accent to mangle information that I was passing along to other players :)  It was fun.  I didn't solve the murder, and I was not the best player, but I wasn't the worst either nor did I destroy anyone else's fun so I think that's OK for my first free form in 12 years !!!!!

Again got back to the apartment full of energy and chatted and talked and discussed the game for hours !!!!  Again Stephen disappeared and came back with two tubs of ice cream and an Easter egg for me that was larger than an Ostrich Egg !!!!  Happy Easter  !!!!!!

EASTER SUNDAY

Arose late, had a snack of fruit and crackers etc and then drove the two hours to Ballarat.  Well Stephen drove and sang bad country music and I threatened him with dire consequences until he changed the music !!!  We drove past a sign that said "Pure Indulgence Tour".  Sounded like my weekend so far :) :) :)

We met up with friends of mine Kim & Ian.  Again we met through the SCA but these are true friends of mine in so many ways and I hadn't seen them in person for four or five years now.  Lunch was again superb !!!!!  And again the chatting and catching up and bad puns and quoting of The Goon Show went well into the afternoon !!!!

We drove back, wandered around Lygon Street, had a light supper and headed back to the hotel.  We were snuggled in watching the beginning of Miyazaki's Spirited Away when my phone rang.  It was Paul and he sounded strange and very stilted.  He was obviously embarrassed and wanted to say something but could not tell me what it was.  I struggled to find out what he rang me to talk about but eventually let it go and hung up and went back to the conversation with Stephen over Miyazaki's styling and how Studio Ghibli has changed over the years ..... Stephen noted my mood had turned pensive and suggested we turn in for the evening as we had an early start in the morning.  He didn't asked what was troubling me but he cuddled me until I fell asleep.

The Melbourne Trip - Part 1

Well Kay asked for a blow-by-blow account so here it is :) :)  Please remove small children and those faint of heart from the room before reading further.

THURSDAY

Checked my mailbox and had received some Easter goodies from mum (via Karen @ Stitching Post) in the mail. Had a long and tiring day at work and then headed out to catch the bus to the airport.  Stuffed up a bit (standing at the wrong bus stop) and had many heart palpatations as I'd never done this before, didn't know the route etc but all went well.

Got everything done well in time but the plane itself was delayed. My plane didn't leave Sydney until after Stephen's had arrived in Melbourne !!!!  Oh well he and Random had some food and caught up while waiting for me.

I arrived an hour late, we traded some quips and some hugs, headed out, dropped Random off, I met his housemates.  One whom was dressed when I walked in but 10 mins later was walking around in his boxer shorts with a block of chocolate in his hands.  If I wasn't so tired and if I didn't have my arms and attention full of Random's four cats, I might have been more impressed :)

Stephen and I headed out.  Instead of a hotel, Stephen had arranged and paid for a sweet little serviced apartment. The room was absolutely lovely !!! 

I kicked off my shoes and laid down on the bed and closed my eyes.  I was soooo tired.  I heard Stephen moving around, putting things away rummaging around and then he presented me with a lovely cup of tea.  Her had brought his favourite tea with him and remembered how I liked it. 

We snuggled up in bed and chatted and talked until around 3am in the morning ....

GOOD FRIDAY

My body clock woke me up at 4:30am. I tried ignoring it but it didn't work. I eventually got up, sat in a pool of sun near the window and stitched for hours.

I got Stephen out of bed at 10am (8am according to his body clock - did I mention he was living across the other side of the country??) and we walked around the corner to Lygon Street and brunch.  Lygon Street is my favourite place in all of Melbourne.

From thence out to the Con where I had promised to deliver Stephen by midday.  We arrived at 11:59 and 23 seconds in front of Random :)  Met some more of Stephen's friends and they all tootled off to run/play games and I sat down with Stephen's laptop to write some more of my work presentation.

I felt really strange - here I am at a conventionfull of nerds and geeks and people who are like me and I'm writing up a work presentation instead of running around having fun !!!

Something's wrong with the world - I'm alll grown up !!!!

Oh welll that came to a crashing halt an hour later when the laptop battery died (guess who had forgotten to bring the power cord).  Oh well - I wandered out to the organisers and volutneered to give them a hand.  Ended up down in the canteen (you'll always find her in the kitchen at parties .....)

Rand into an ex-SCA old friend of mine.  Well actually he was a friend of both mine and my husbands and I hadn't seen him since I left the SCA.  Turns out *he* left the SCA around the same time for similar reasons !!!  So we had a good catch up and what each had been doing, and he and his girlfried and now married and they have a lovely little two year old daughter .....)

And then a funny thing happened that afternoon.  Taffy was a kitchener in the SCA like me, and we had shared many kitchens in the 1990s.  As the afternoon wore on and the canteen became more busy as games finished or took a break, we fell back into the old routines and the old comraderie and the old patter even.  The woman running the canteen Angie was amazed.  She is usually run off her feet and has five or six people she has to direct and herd like cats by that time of the afternoon.  Taffy and I were doing the kitchen dance alone and well and thoroughly enjoying ourselves.It was a great afternoon.  By the time Random and Stephen came looking for me I almost danced out of the kitchen !!!!

A bit later we were preparing to go and Stephen headed off for a little minute leaving me alone in the main hall.  I was immediately beset by GMs needing another player in their freeforms and vying with each other to have me play in their games.  I replied that although I would like to I'm afraid I cannot because I currently hold a man in thrall.

Enthralled??  My lady that is a very strong word !!! In what way do you hold a man enthralled ???

Easy I replied, I have his laptop!

Hearty laughter all way around until Stephen came back in, offered me his hand and we started to leave.  As the laughter abruptly ceased we looked around to see the same group standing their with their mouths hanging on the floor.  Stepehn murmured that I (Mel) certainly knew how to keep men gobsmacked and what salacious tale had I been telling this time ???

Int he car I told him and he roared with laughter - apparently he's known around the con circuit for always being on his own and never letting his laptop out of his sight ..... oh well.

Went around the corner to another fantastic restaurant - and had an early dinner and then a long walk around the area, admiring stuff in shop windows and chatting and talking. 

Went back to the apartment and chatted and talked more and then Stephen put the television on to catch the news and I pulled out my cross stitch and did some more ..... talk about a domestic scene !!!  It was so right and yet soooo domestic that my skin began to crawl .... Stepehn looked at me and laughed his arse off - too domestic for you my dear ???  He then made a few suggestions and we will pull the cutrtains for a few hours.

I woke up around 11pm to see Stephen walking back into the room.  He had been around to Lygon St and bought me a pint of New Zealand Ice Creamery Chocolate Ecstasy.  He thought I'd like some, so he went and bought me some.  And again we sat up and talked long into the wee small hours of the morning ......

Soooo sweeeet !!!! This is what Claire and Paula were telling me about when discussing the "small things that count" :)

Web Stuff

Coming back to earth and getting life sorted again.

Pics are of a little Gund Tigger Stephen bought me last weekend in Melbourne.

Two web things that I liked this morning:

http://www.twolumps.net/d/20080324.html

http://waiterrant.net/?p=625

Off to hang washing out and perhaps eat some food ...... and check my mobile - Stephen is *still* out of communications range - its been over 39 hours now - how big is the Nullabor Plain anyway ......

Rare Book Presentaton

On the paranoia that I don't want to lose this yet again :) :)

This is an oral presentation so the words are mainly memory joggers and may not make all that sense.

Or it could just be that I'm brain dead.  If you find anything seriously worng please let me know.

I'm home .......

Well I'm at work anyway - about to head home shortly ....

I had a fantastic Easter !!!!!  It was a really really good time !!!!

Had lots of fun, was very much indulged in all manners, caught up with some good friends, made some more great friends, and ate some glorious food.

Will blog about it all later.

Only jarring notes was Friday's presentation hanging over me (which I worked on over the weekend only to find that none of the work was saved to my USB key - and Stephen and his laptop are half way across the nullabor now and I have to hand in a first draft tomorrow morning).

Also received a couple of jealous nasty phone calls from Paul (ummm you broke up with me at Christmas remember!)

Other than that I had a ball, none of my worries or fears came to pass and I was very very sad to leave this morning....

Sounds like the next get-together might be in early June depending on how things pan out :)

Hobbs the Liger

For all cat lovers ......

http://www.lionlamb.us/hobbs.html

Names

What Melissa Means

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.

Thanks to Claire: http://www.blogthings.com/whatsyournameshiddenmeaningquiz/

Well its mostly right - don't know about not rocking the boat though :) :)  And of course these things never take your neuroses or hang ups into account do they?

Moving

Response to "contacts only" on Hilary's comment: What's this????? Have you made the decision to up sticks and go to Melbourne then?

No {LOL}  I've decided to pick up sticks and move into Sydney!  If I add up the rent I'm paying now, petrol and other travel costs combined together I could probably rent a small unit within walking distance to work.  Money wise I wont be making any great savings, but I'll get my weekday life back :)

Basically I'm tired of having a communal driveway.  I'm tired of taxis refusing to come up the driveway to the house.  I'm tired of not being able to do anything during the week. I'm tired of having to take a whole day off work to arrange a plumber or the electrician.

The final straw was a letter I just received from the Real Estate agency.  The Landlady is increasing the rent here again. That's twice in the last six months.  And yet she *still* hasn't fixed the storm damage from last June !!!!

In fact she's not intending to - she plans to put a fence around the rubble where it sits and call it a feature!

So yeah, I've been getting disillusioned about the commute for quite some time and this latest rent increase is the last straw.

Of course having said that, I still have to find a place that will accept Trubs ..... and Sydney is a very tight rental market right now - very few places and very high rent.  I'm just hoping I have a few things working in my favour.

Mel's Sunday Update

The only stitching I seem to do lately is either during the train commute  (which I am certain is frog infested) and at home on the weekends.

However after coming home ill on Thursday afternoon I managed to get some stitching in on Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon. I had *two* finishes !!!!!!!

And aren't they just the antithesis of each other LOL !!!  One I cannot show as it is a gift for a non-stitching friend.  The other is How Do I Love Thee by Designs by Lisa.

The whole frog-infested saga can be seen HERE.

Finished album is HERE.

I sent an email to  Kathy at DesignsbyLisa showing her my finish and commenting on the hassles I had because of not knowing I needed a second skein ...

Her response:

I realize I didn't note the amount of threads needed.  This is the only design I have only used two colors, and I guess it would have made sense to list how many skeins needed.And a model stitcher stitched it for me, and I thought I had only sent her one skein.  Regardless.....an easy fix, and I can put it on my site for additional people to see.  Thanks for pointing this out!

So that is good news.  Thank you sooo much for RAking me this chart and threads Chele - it has indeed brought some Romance into my life which I was completely *not* expecting.  So time to RAK this chart off to someone else who needs some romance - the only catch is that I think it only works if you stitch it up right away - so know anyone who fits that criteria ????

Now I'm off to stitch on Claire's RR piece.  It is supposed to be posted out on Friday (Good Friday) - gee did I stuff up the timetable :)  I will attempt to get this out to Laura on Wednesday before I go - but if I don't then I will post it next week when I return.  I will not be taking it to Melbourne with me :) :)

I still have about 8 hours of stitching left to do on it - hopefully getting a good chunk in this afternoon ....

Off now to write up my Rare Book Summer School presentation and then tidy up a bit (as I look around at my bombshell of a home) and then stitch on Claire's RR piece.

This remind you of anyone ....

http://thedevilspanties.com/d/20080315.html

Intolerances

Interesting thoughts this morning as I'm discovering just how intolerant I am at times :)

Living on my own with just Trubs for company its amazing how set I've become in my ways ....

So here's a question for everyone:

Name the five top things you would or do ban from your home?

Mine are:
1. The sounds of greensleeves .....
2. All mention of all codes or forms of football
3. Smokers (OK as friends but no smoking in the house - regardless of *what* you are smoking)
4. Pet haters. People who cannot and wil not understand why the rest of us choose to live with separate species in our homes (this does not include spouse or children)
5. The colour pink.  Especially Barbie Pink and pastel pinks :)
6. Hip Hop, the new definition of R&B and crap rap :)

OK who's next ???

OK last one .....

I heard earlier this week that Gary Gygax died.

I wanted to say something about this, as he and his creations helped form a core part of my personailty and interests in the world.

THIS BLOG says it so much better than I ever could.

And THIS ONE was very much atrip down memory lane - especially as a teenager in the 80s who was into 2nd gen AD&D in a big way wth hand drawn maps, swapping quests and modules with kids from other high schools etc  :) :)

I adore these ....

Yes I am addicted to blog surfing .... but ....

LOOK AT THESE !!!!!

I can't choose between Theobromine or Dopamine .....

Oh I can't wait until I can go shopping again......  I really love these :)

Oh the irony .....

I found THIS after being on line blog surfing for over 2 hours .....

Oh the irony!

*NOT* Child Friendly !!!!

I'm down with a tummy lurgy at the moment.  Came home early with it yesterday - dry crackers and boiled water for me for the next day or two still I think.

Also coming home early yesterday, I was forced to back down a driveway and when you combine my bad driving skills at reversing with an upset tummy well you can guess the consequences.

I just tapped the front corner of a parked car.  Enough to put a fist sized dent just in front of the drivers side front wheel arch.

There were other extenuating circumstances like the f'wit who was forcing me back down the driveway, but the upshot is I was at fault. I did not take "due diligence" to miss the parked car.

Oh well, all sorted out with the insurance companies and I've taken Salem in and got her assessed by the smash repairers.  I figured seeing as I've got to pay the $500 excess for being "at fault" I may as well get my car fixed too.

I also spoke to the bank and got the finances sorted out and I can afford it.  It will put back the great Personal Loan payout by a month or two but because I had been good there, I could tap into that now.

Upshot is no-one was hurt, all is sorted and I can pay the $500 without going into more debt or borrowing it from family.

Tummy was roiling again this afternoon, so I spent a quiet afternoon stitching and watching episodes of the 1985 season of Twilight Zone.

Here's what I stitched in the last few hours, from start to finished.


I'm going to give this to Stephen as his Easter present.  I know he will take it in good humour and was actually hinting that he would like one ......

Seeing as he looks at my albums, I'm not going to put this into my finished album until after I give it to him next weekend.

FOTM

Dinky Dyes Silk 137 Riverina
GAST 0890 Jasmine
Six Strand Sweets 1018 Green tea Ice Cream
GAST Daffodil
Carrie's Creations Dusty Mauve
Carrie's Creations Sage Grass
Crescent Colours Shamrock
Olde Willow Stitchery 202 English Quaker Rose

Floss of the Month Club from Down Sunshine Lane.

Mum/Denise and I are both in this club but we receive different threads in our packets so here is way for us to share our pretties :)

Gibber gibber !!!

It appears I will be spending Easter in Melbourne.  A good friend offered me airline tickets and accommodation and then spent three hours on the phone last night enticing me with the promises of delights of choclatiers ...

This afternoon I said yes.  20 minutes later the flight details arrived in my inbox.  Apparently I'm flying down after work on Thursday night and coming back the following Wednesday morning.

I'm stunned and amazed and really can't quite believe that I'm awake .... but you can't wipe the smile off my face either :)

Manuscripts exhibition State Lib Victoria

Some photos at the state Lib exhibition. These are not the best photos but I was *not* going to use a flash on these works !!!!

Melbourne Sightseeing

The view from my hotel window out over Melbourne ... this is on the fringe of the CBD looking out over the burbs .....

These were taken on a 2 block radius around Melbourne CBD on the morning of 15 Feb 2008.

Rare Book Summer School

Melbourne 11-15 Feb 2008.

I am using this folder as a storage area for these photos so Nicola can nab the ones she wants for her presentation.

Picture This

A plump woman in her mid 30s with vibrant dark purple hair, wearing all black. Her clothes are black. Her backpack is black.  Her MP3 player and ear buds are all black.  Coming out of the ear buds is Ziltoid the Omniscient (Devin Townsend - comedic heavy metal).

And she is calmly stitching a sweet little cherry and chocolate design on light pink fabric with the words "How do I love thee, let me count the ways" clearly emblazoned ....

Apparently it confused lots of passengers on the train this morning .......

Valuable Advice

You've heard the one that says "Don't drink and Drive" ???

I have a new one:

Don't Stitch and Txt !!!!!

I was txting with two good friends on the train this morning and stitching in between txt messages.  I was packing up as the train pulled into the station and discovered I made a mistake right back at the beginning and will need to frog almost everything I stitched this morning.

So next time you consider txting while stitching, I say DON'T DO IT !!!

Regards

From Little Things ...

Woke up this morning very yucky.

Bad period.  Crampy, Yucky, Messy. Blah. 

Had shower. Gave up. Went back to bed.

Got up at a decent hour (nearly 9am).  Made breakfast, showered again, took drugs (Naprogesic) and decided I'd better be useful.

Went shopping for cat food and cat litter - Trubs lets me know when she's low on the first and needs changing on the second!

Today I have:
* bought Trubs specialist dry food and food for birdies (shop is out of my way normally)
* checked in at framers (Fireflower still not ready)
* claimed money back from my health insurance fund (again only open 9-5 Mon-Fri - when else can I do this?)
* bought new work shoes (something I was putting off)
* bought 5 new T-shorts (relegating the last of the SCA T-shirts to the rag bag)
* bought assorted vitamins and stuff for general good health (looking after me)
* bought food, bought cleaning products, bought Trub food and cleaning stuff.
* Changed health fund insurance companies (had been meaning to do this for six months)
* Changed mobile phone plans (ditto)

So out of a day I took off work because I was feeling too miserable and too messy to spend 2 hours on the train .... I got a lot of procrastinated projects done.

My new health insurer has all the benefits of the old, plus added benefits all for a lower fee per month.  Also I can claim money back over the phone instead of having to go into a stupid branch on my one day off a month!  And they will pay towards my remedial massage up to $400 a year.

My new phone plan kicks on 25th March and will include a few hundred free txts a month!  This is another procrastinated project.  My txting has been steadily increasing every month with my bills getting larger and larger .... this month sky-rocketed and that forced me into action.  So after 25 March I can txt as much as I like every month :)

The T-shirts are an emotional moving on for me.  They are the last constant reminder of my old life.  There was a time where the *only* T-shirts I bought were commemorative SCA event T-shirts.

I stopped attending SCA events in 2001 so my T-shirts are getting rather old and tatty.  I finally did it today.  I bought new T-shirts.  I happen to loathe clothes shopping but I've kept the rest of my wardrobe up to date except for the T-shirts.  Even late last year they were at the stage where Paul would not be seen out of the house with me until I changed out of my T-shirts :) 

Something clicked today.  Something made it easier to let go of some imaginary feelings and move on.  I dealt with issues that I had been avoiding.

A good thing.

Oh and the pics of the spiders?  My house seems surrounded by them !!!!!  I could draw a long bow of allegory and make comments of spiders and webs and weaving and being industrious ... but I can't be bothered. 

I'm off for another shower and some more naprogesics and a good lie down .....

EDIT:
And in the manner of all such things, at 6:00pm at night I disover that my lights fuse has blown sometime during the day.

I have no idea how to change a fuse and this one looks really blown - black soot and some areas the enamel has come off down to bare metal .... so the landlady has called an electrician who will come out tomorrow afternoon sometime.

No stitching for me tonight.  I do have power though so still the internet, and cooking facilities and a hot shower for the morning.  Oh well maybe I just need an early night :) :)

Monday Morning

Walking past the Coffee Cart on the way into work I noticed the three gorgeous guys there were wearing identical T-shirts that said:

Good Food comes from Good Stock

One of these days I'll get my mind out of the gutter and find out what they are really advertising :)

Caught the culprit

This week' I've been working on "How do I Love Thee by Designs by Lisa.

WIP pics here.

Chele RAKed me with this one with the comments "I think you should stitch this pattern for YOU! ... For every stitch, think of another person who loves you just the way you are right now!"

Well, with such a kind message how could I do anything but start it immediately - after all Chele RAKed me the threads as well as the chart.  So I did a floss toss that night and started it on the train the next day.

All was going well until the morning of the third day - the train was just pulling into the station when I put the finishing touches on the main heart motif and was admiring it before I put it away when I thought the heart was looking a little squashed .....

I had missed out an entire row in the middle of it.  I had to frog the entire top of the heart.

Well no pun intended but I didn't have the heart for it .... so I left it alone until the cricket started this afternoon. I frogged and restitched large sections of the heart and continued on.

I was interrupted by Trubs about a half hour ago - she was being too athletic - that meant she had live prey.  She was playing with a frog.  My cat, my friend, my sleeping partner brought a frog into my house !!!!!

I took a pic of the little feller before I put him back outside.  Trubs is now scratching at the back door because I've got her locked in until the frog makes his safe escape .......

I figured it was as good a time as any to show an update of today's stitching. There is very little of the red thread left.  Its CUPID by Crescent Colours.   I suspect even if I hadn't made a stupid mistake, I still would not have had enough thread to finish the entire design.

Nowhere on the chart does it mention that you need more than one skein ...... {sigh}

Well after chatting with two LNS stores I finally found a second skein of CUPID today .... mum has one !!!  She's posting it to me sometime this coming week.

Birds

No matter how much I winge, rant, rave or vent .....

there's is nothing in my life so bad that session of hand feeding wild parrots cannot fix.

Equanimity is restored (even if I am on dial up speeds for the next 2 and a half weeks)

Today's music squabbling lorikeets with accompaniment by Enya .....

Lust List - Threads

ThreadworX 6 stranded cotton 1025 Blue Navy

1 skein Northern Pine: Blue Bayou

A listing of threads needed for charts in my stash that I would like to stitch. This is my go-to list when I see items come on special :) The list is broken into two sections:

REGULAR A-Z
Threads needed to kit up charts in my stash. Although the threads are listed via manufacturer to make it easier to sort through for the sales, each one does list the project it will be used for.

KITS $$ LOWEST - HIGHEST
The kits (as opposed to single threads) are listed at the bottom of the page. Some of the items in the kits have more than one colourway option. In every case I have left the option of the colourway choice up to the buyer. I figure if, in the unlikely even someone actually spends serious money on a gift for me, then they can choose which colours they like would to see the item stitched up in :)

Otherwise when I buy it myself (see above reference to sales season!) then I can decide on the day I purchase it :)