Incoherent Scribblings

If you will look over in my sidebar you will see I have added a new area entitled “My Rotation.” This details my newly conceived rotation plan that goes into effect as of today.

I am not sure how well it will work, but I have finally decided to try a daily rotation. All four of my current WIPs are included along with two projects that I have not yet started. The two that I have not yet started are TW’s “Above the Clouds” and Donna Vermillion-Giampa’s “Four Seasons Cats.” They will be started on their appropriate days, but probably not until next month as I want to spend some quality time with “Celtic Spring” and “Fairy Flora” first… Not to mention that the others still need to be kitted up!

So, in keeping with my new rotation, today I have been working on “Fairy Flora.” (Hereafter known as “Flo,” but not Aunt Flo! :lol:) I actually started this project Tuesday evening by dyeing some fabric for it. I call this fabric “Forest Fantasy” and you can see a scan of it here. Once I got the fabby dyed, cut, and zigzagged the edges, I finally started the stitching yesterday and have continued on into today. I have now invested seven hours, thirty minutes into Flo and have a pretty decent chunk of her dress done.

Though I am a little sad to put Flo away, tomorrow I will be working on the long-neglected “Stiefmütterchen.” I have been doing this as a SAL with Susie, but haven’t stitched a pansy on it since November. Because Susie just had a baby in February, I am not sure how long it will be before she is able to stitch regularly again and I really want to get this piece out of my WIP pile, so I am going to go ahead and stitch on it alone from now on. The flowers on this piece stitch up pretty quickly and I have almost half of them done, so I think with some regular attention I can probably get this piece finished within a couple of months.

Then on Saturday I will work on “Celtic Spring” and since I am caught up with my robins and exchanges, I also think I will stitch on it for this month’s Stitch-A-Thon over at the Friends Gather BB. This will be the first month that I have participated in the Stitch-A-Thon and I am not sure how many hours to aim for, but I am going to try for between 5 and 10 hours.

And then on Monday I will go back to “Catch the Wind.” As much as I love this piece, I am glad that I took a little breather from it this week because I needed the time to decide which girl to stitch next! Thanks for all of your input about who I should start next. And the winner with four votes to three is… Anna! It seems to me that the readers of this blog are getting to know me better and better: Anna is who I wanted to start next all along anyway!

When I was home, Mom kept telling me that I should make a list of (non-perishable) foodstuffs that I couldn’t get here in Germany so that I could make myself a “care package” to bring back with me. When she made that suggestion I was highly amused because I had planned all along to make sure I brought some contraband back to Germany with me in the from of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, and Skippy Peanut Butter. (I managed the Reese’s and the Mac and Cheese, but not the peanut butter.)

Of course when I was in the grocery store at home the sheer amount of things that I couldn’t get in Germany was overwhelming: So overwhelming in fact, that I ended up gorging myself on lots stuff that I don’t really even like all that much. (Remember the Cheetos?) Of course, I also bought quite a few items that I had been pining away for, but I ate them long before I could even consider turning them into a care package.

However, now that I have been back to Germany for a while, I have had a chance to really think about what the contents my perfect “care package” would be. And as a result, I have decided to post the contents here in case any of my friends or family in the US would like to one day surprise me with any or all items as a gesture of their love and friendship.

So without further ado, Renée’s perfect care-package from the US would contain:

Top Three Items:

1.) Kraft Macaroni and Cheese

Though any variety is acceptable, it MUST be Kraft and I am particularly fond of “White Cheddar” and “Spirals.”

2.) Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Don’t be fooled if they tell you that I can find them here. They can be found occasionally but are usually months if not years old! And believe you me, nothing is worse than a stale peanut butter cup!

3.) Skippy Honey-Roasted Nut Chunky Peanut Butter

I think the specificity speaks for itself.

Other Desirables:

Jell-O Instant Pudding

The problem with pudding in Germany is that they have only a limited flavor selection and I haven’t found any instant. My two favorite Jell-O Instant pudding flavors are Pistachio and Coconut Cream.

Stove Top (Chicken Flavor)

I have learned to make a mean stuffing from scratch, but nothing beats good old-fashioned Stove Top!

Prego Spaghetti Sauce Flavored with Meat

This is probably a long-shot due to the fact that glass jars are probably a little risky to send via airmail, but I still think it is worth mentioning.

Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing

Pre-made in the bottle only please: Finding proper mayo to make it from the package presents only another problem.

Club or Town House Crackers

The things they call crackers here are nothing but a sad joke.

Fruity Pebbles

The breakfast of champions!

Strawberry Quick

Granted they have Strawberry Yogurt flavored Quick here, but it just isn’t the same.

Pure Cane Brown Sugar

Brown sugar is made from sugar beets here and just doesn’t pack properly.

Quaker Fruit and Cream Instant Oatmeal

No “Banana’s and Cream” though!

There you have it… I will now be eagerly awaiting the postman every day for the next few months, so please don’t disappoint me!

It’s Wednesday once and again and time for the SBQ. This week’s question is:

Do you stitch “over one?” If so, describe your experiences. If not, have you considered it? (See an “over one” diagram.)

I have only stitched “over one” a few times. Since I don’t have the best eyes in the world, at first I was worried about being able to see (or rather NOT being able to see) the stitches, but then I realized since I am nearsighted and seeing up close isn’t really a problem for me it shouldn’t be an issue.

The first time I stitched over one I did it on 22 count Hardanger cloth. I chose to use 22 count because I wanted the stitches to be big enough that I could get a feel for the whole process. I learned some valuable lessons from that project (for example, the “continental” method of stitching prevents the stitches from getting lost within the weave of the fabric) and I liked the results enough that I have stitched over one a couple more times on 28 count since.

I also have some more over one stitching planned in the near future. I recently bought a kit that is supposed to be stitched with silk threads over one on 32 count fabric. I am really looking forward to stitching this project, but I am pretty confident that in order to do stitches that tiny I will need some sort of magnifying glass!

After some good-natured jabs from Hubby surrounding my recent purchase of “Angel of Spring” and TW’s “Petites: Book 1, Castle and Dragon” in addition to all the stash that I bought while I was in the US, I am hereby officially committing myself to “The Wagon” until my birthday (May 22)… With some exceptions of course!
For example, I can continue to receive The World of Cross Stitching because I have a subscription to it. I can also buy fabric and floss, but only if necessary. However, I am not allowed to acquire any beads or metallics because I have to order them online and I believe it is too great a temptation for my clicky finger to throw some other things in my shopping basket while I am at it. Besides, I have all the beads and metallics I need for “Celtic Spring” and “Fairy Flora” (both of which I have started since I last updated by the way) and I am not planning on adding anything else to my rotation that needs beads or metallics right away anyway.

Once my birthday arrives I am allowed to order some things and afterwards we will see if I can perhaps remain on The Wagon. Wish me luck and I hope that I can count on your support…

In the 1980s some of the most significant moments of librarianship since the introduction of the Dewey Decimal System occurred: Not only did libraries around America start replacing their traditional card catalogs with computerized systems called OPACs, they also took the opportunity to input their patron data into computers and issue bar-coded library cards.

During this time my hometown library began building an extension to its existing building and though they didn’t introduce an OPAC right away, by the time the renovations were complete in the mid-80s the library had computerized its patron data.

However, even though the library had its patron data computerized, physical library cards were never issued: When you went to check out a book the librarian didn’t even ask for your name. She just typed it into the system because, as in often the case in a rural community of about 2,000 people, she already knew who you were.

I think that I last visited my hometown library about five years ago and I don’t think I have checked out any books since about 1992, but one afternoon when Mom and I went the library I came upon a couple of books that I wanted to check out. Mom would have to return them for me anyway so she was prepared to check them out, but I was curious about whether or not I still happened to have a library “card.”

As we say at home, the library assistant is an “import:” She moved to Small Town Iowa after I left home and though she knew my mom, she didn’t know me. Apparently she didn’t know that my mom was remarried and attempted to find my name under my mom’s “new” married name. I corrected her with my last name and sure enough, I still had a library card!

She remarked that it sure had been a while since I checked out a book and asked if my telephone number and address were still correct. I replied that I hadn’t lived at that address for quite some time, but essentially since it was my dad’s address it was correct.

At that point the library assistant asked me if I was away at college. I had to chuckle as I told her that not only had it been a while since I was away at college, I didn’t even live in the United States anymore! Mom would be checking the books out and I was just curious if I was still in the system.

I heard the library assistant remark that they really ought to clean up their patron data files a little more often as we left and it made me wonder if the next time I go back to my hometown library my library card will have finally expired.