Incoherent Scribblings

2005 Resolutions Revisited

As you can plainly see by the progress scan on the left, I fully intend on having one more happy dance before the end of the year!

My MS Snowman is about 90% done and while I am not sure if I can have him done tomorrow, I am pretty sure he will be done by Tuesday. I don’t really have too much to say about him except that I am pretty sure that once he is done I will finish him into a wall hanging and I just might give him to my niece, but I wouldn’t count on it!

Since Christmas is mostly non-existent in my household, I think tonight is a great time to go over the stitching resolutions I made a year ago, so here goes!

2005 Stitching Resolutions:

Finish/Frame past pieces.

Mostly Accomplished! Before I joined the SBEBB I still wasn’t very good about finishing/framing, but once I joined the board I started learning some finishing techniques and have really made a dent in my WTF pile.

Do a “Mother’s Day” sampler (and finish it before Mother’s Day.)

Accomplished! I didn’t stitch a sampler, but I did stitch something for Mom (”Girl’s Time Out”) and though I got it framed by Mother’s Day I haven’t had a chance to give it to her yet. (She will finally be receiving it in a couple of weeks.)

Find out more about Round Robins and maybe join one.

Accomplished! Not only did I find out about round robins this year, I went a little crazy and have participated in (or am still participating in) four. Though the first two didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped, I must admit it wasn’t that bad: After all, the pieces were returned to me.

Try beading.

Accomplished! Since “Passing Admirers” didn’t call for too many beads, I am still a novice, but I can honestly say that this year I learned how to add beads.

Experiment with specialty threads.

Accomplished! So far I have only done metallics, but I still think it qualifies.

Experiment with specialty stitches.

Mostly Accomplished! I started doing some hardanger, but it didn’t last very long. However, the important thing is that I learned the basic techniques and so now when a sampler calls for some hardanger I have an idea how to do it.

Subscribe to a stitching magazine.

Finally Accomplished! My subscription to The World of Cross Stitching started this month.

Sort through, sell off, and/or trade my unwanted patterns.

Not Even! I have sorted through my patterns a couple of times, but my stash is still small enough that I can’t bear to part with anything… yet!

Finish what I start!

Mostly Accomplished! I finished “Passing Admirers” and except for a small project that I retired to the UFO pile a couple of months ago (I may actually finish it after all… still thinking about it.) the only thing I have are WIPs.

As I look at this list I must say that I am quite proud of all of things I managed to accomplish this year. Let’s hope I am as productive in 2006!

Christmas Quiz

Merry Christmas!

Your Christmas is Most Like: How the Grinch Stole Christmas

You can’t really get into the Christmas spirit… But it usually gets to you by the end of the holiday anyway.

Casual Christmas?

Over the past few decades many places in the world have developed a much more casual attitude concerning the way people are dressed for different occasions. Once upon a time people would dress quite formally if they were traveling by airplane, but today comfort rules in economy class. Similarly, the phenomenon that is known as “Casual Friday” in the workplace allows many people to leave the tie or high-heels in the closet one day a week and don Birkenstocks instead.

However, the one place that I never imagined that the ultra-casual clothing trend would be able to infiltrate was church. I will be the first to admit that I haven’t been to church for a long time, and so times may have changed, but the last time that I attended church it still wasn’t really acceptable to attend worship in casual clothes.

Now back when I lived in Small Town, Iowa, I belonged to a pretty laid back congregation: The pastor and most of the congregation were young and as a result, from time to time people would attend church in informal attire. I don’t ever remember seeing anybody in jeans or sweat pants, but most of the men didn’t wear ties, the ladies often wore pants, and on occasion a sleepy toddler would show up in his or her pajamas.

The more conservative members would sometimes complain that people didn’t dress as “properly” as before and from time to time we would hear reminders that God only listened to the prayers of people that showed their respect by dressing properly, but overall the issue of how to dress for church really wasn’t one. However, even if people were tempted to “dress down” for a normal Sunday service, I personally don’t think anyone would have considered going to church on Christmas in anything less than their “Sunday Best.”

As I am sure is the case with many others, at our church the Christmas service was more than just a mere worship service. There was a social hour with coffee (and punch) and cookies beforehand, the children’s Christmas pageant took place, the choir sang more than just their usual three or four hymns, and it was one of the few occasions where communion was offered. In my mind it was most impressive service of the year and the members of the congregation marked it as such by dressing in their finest.

As is the case in most of Europe, regular church attendance in Germany is very sparse and I confess that I have not yet experienced a German church service. However, though we are not even remotely religious, tonight A. asked me if, as a cultural experience, I would like to attend Christmas Eve Mass. (Amusing, since when I did go to church I wasn’t even Catholic!) I did seriously consider it… until I realized that I had nothing to wear that was even remotely appropriate for the occasion and I just couldn’t fathom going to church in anything that couldn’t be considered my best!

Scared Snotless

I have had the pleasure of battling a cold for the last couple of days. I actually haven’t felt too bad. Oh sure, my head feels like it is going to explode and I have only been able to breathe through my left nostril, but I can still function.

Last night, however, my stuffy nose abruptly changed into a runny one. I was lying in bed half-awake, trying very hard to ignore the fact that the cats were messing around, when suddenly the dam that was blocking the air passage of my right nostril let loose. I grabbed a Kleenex before the river of snot made a puddle on my pillow and after I dabbed up what was dripping from the end of my nose, I decided it would be a good time to blow it.

I have never been a quiet nose-blower: I blame this fact on my father who measures his success not only by how damp his snot rag becomes, but also on how much noise he can make with his honker. Therefore, when I sat up at a little after 4 am this morning and blew into my Kleenex, I am a little embarrassed to say that it sounded not unlike a fog horn.

In fact, apparently it sounded so much like a fog horn that I managed to wake A. up from a deep sleep. He sat straight up in bed and with those big scared eyes that one only can manage when being woken up from a dead sleep, looked around while wildly mumbling, “What?! What was that?!”

It took me a couple of seconds to realize what he was talking about, but when I did I laid my hand on his arm and said, “It’s OK. I just blew my nose.” To which he replied, “That was you?!”

Christmas Meme-ories

Today I am using the lazy way to qualify for my Holidailies entry. Yep, you guessed it, it’s a meme!

1. What is your favorite Christmas carol/song?

“Do You Hear What I Hear?”: I have always been partial to this Christmas carol, but my favorite version stems from an 8-Track (Yikes! I remember 8-Tracks! Does that say something about how old I am?) that my grandparents had with a bunch of Christmas carols being sung by some “classic” country music stars. I think Gene Autry sang it, but I can’t be sure. (Disclaimer: I am a heavy-metal-head rock-n-roller and as a general rule, I do NOT like country music!)

2. White lights or multicolored?

Multicolored ones that have a variety functions from an epileptic blink to a slow fade.

3. Do you have a cut tree, live tree, or an artificial one?

I personally haven’t had a tree of any kind for about ten years. The last tree I had was a little tiny cut Charlie Brown tree. Scooter was a kitten at the time and he had great fun climbing it. If I ever put up a Christmas tree again though, it will be artificial… real trees are so messy!

4. Eggnog, mulled cider, or hot chocolate?

Hot chocolate with a shot of Bailey’s Irish Cream or Amaretto and whipped cream on top.

5. Do you decorate your house with lights?

Nope.

6. Do you write a Christmas letter?

Nope.

7. Do you like receiving Christmas letters/photos?

I am not sure I have ever received such a thing.

8. What is your favorite Christmas story/movie?

Does The Nightmare Before Christmas count? However, if you are talking TV Christmas specials, I am quite fond of The Grinch, A Garfield Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

9. Have you ever made a gingerbread house?

No Way! I hate gingerbread!

10. Poinsettias or holly?

Neither.

11. Do you display a nativity scene?

Nope.

12. Do you bake Christmas cookies?

Sometimes, but not this year.

13. Ham or turkey?

I don’t like either and usually when we have Christmas Eve at my mom’s she makes chili and potato soup. (I don’t like either of those either.)

14. In what languages can you wish someone a Merry Christmas (without cheating)?

Merry/Happy Christmas (English)
Frohe Weihnachten (German)
Joyeux Noël (French)

15. Do you know all the words to “Jingle Bells?”

The first verse, definitely. The second verse, partially. Are there more verses? If so, no.

16. Do you put presents under the tree?

If I had a tree, I would.

17. How do you eat a candy cane?

If I wrote it down here, I would have to label this entry as “adult.”

18. What is your biggest holiday pet peeve?

Feeling pressured by American culture to buy gifts for everyone I know.

19. What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

Honestly, I don’t think I have one.

20. What was the best present you ever got for Christmas?

I would say my engagement ring, but I didn’t get it until about a week after Christmas, so I will have to say an emerald “promise” ring given to me by my ex. (So much for his promises!) I hinted for many months that I wanted it and amazingly, he got the hint! I still have the ring, but for obvious reasons, don’t wear it anymore.