Incoherent Scribblings

Five Things…

…You probably didn’t know about me.

1.) I am a “power sleeper.” I seldom have problems falling or staying asleep. Even when I am not tired I can sleep for 10-12 hours a night. I can even take a nap during the day and still have no problems falling asleep at night!

2.) I have never had the chicken pox. When I was a kid my mom exposed me to them several times and when I was 16 my sister had them quite severely… but I still didn’t get them. Now, because of my age, I am actually afraid of getting them. Note to self: Must look into getting a chicken pox vaccine.

3.) I am allergic to cherries and cherry flavoring. I hadn’t had a major reaction for quite a few years, so the other day I tried my luck. I broke out in hives all up and down my arms. I guess I am still allergic after all…

4.) When I worked at Chain Restaurant ABC 10 years (and about 15lbs) ago, the manager of the local Hooters was eating lunch at our bar one day when I was working and offered me a job. I seriously considered the offer, but I didn’t take it.

5.) There was a warrant for my arrest once. I was supposed to go to a court as a result of an auto accident that I was in. The day I was supposed to appear the judge was on vacation. My court date was rescheduled but I didn’t appear because by that time I had moved out of state.

SBQ and PSN

Today’s SBQ is:

Do you like to buy “chartpacks” that include charms, buttons, and/or beads or do you prefer to gather all materials yourself?

For the most part, I like to buy chartpacks. I don’t have many stitching “accessories” like buttons, charms, or beads in my stash nor do I have a real LNS available within driving distance. Therefore if I want to buy those things, I have to order them. As a result, if I find a package that already has everything together with the pattern it is quite convenient. The only downside in my opinion is that sometimes I think chartpacks are a little overpriced.

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Personal Stitching News:

Biscornu: I finished the biscornu for my Biscornu Exchange that posts on February 28. I know my partner will absolutely adore it because it is so precious!

“Celtic Spring”: I have been working on the gold braid in the back of Mae’s skirt. This weekend is the SAT over at the Robin’s Nest and though I have not yet set a goal for how much I want to do, I will be diligently working on Mae.

“Romantic Stitcher”: I went to my LQS (Local Quilt Shop) that stocks DMC to get some DMC 100s and guess what? They didn’t have the 100s in stock. The nice lady ordered them though so I will get them in a week or so.

“Poet’s Heart”: I started this piece Sunday evening and stitched on it for about 2 hours. It is a yellow blob that doesn’t yet warrant a progress pic though.

A Deadline for Celtic Spring

So, you know that rotation plan I had last week? Well, it went well until I got back to “Celtic Spring” and then I got stuck in the golden swirls of Mae’s dress.

As promised, I finished the stitching for the Biscornu Exchange. I haven’t done the finishing just yet, because I am currently contemplating the colors for the hand stitching. The biscornu has two colors and I am trying to decide between using just one color to stitch the biscornu’s sides together and using both colors in a clever fashion. This week’s plan includes finishing the biscornu.

I also started “Romantic Stitcher” last week. I only stitched on it for about an hour and a half, which resulted in it looking like a light gray blob on a piece of “barley” fabric. However, a few things have already been discovered relating to “Romantic Stitcher.”

First off, Isabelle so kindly suggested that I name my stitcher Renée. I had been contemplating calling her that, but she just doesn’t feel like a “Renée” to me. Instead, I thought it might be fun to do a play on the title of the pattern and call her “Roma.” But fortunately for her, I just didn’t think that the poor lady would like to be named after a tomato. Then I noticed that there are also roses in the scene and thought she might like to be named after a flower, so I chose Rosa. From now on, when I talk about “Rosa” I am talking about my “Romantic Stitcher.”

Secondly, when I was visiting Dawn I realized that she had five bobbin boxes to my four. When I asked her why she had more than me she pointed out that she also had the DMC “100s.” I have never come across a chart that called for the DMC 100’s, so I never bothered to buy any.

Well, you guessed it: “Romantic Stitcher” calls for 151 and 168. Apparently Dawn sent me a few because I did discover that I had 168, but not 151… And I needed 151. I set Rosa aside until I can pick up those colors and after those two steps in my rotation, I started working on “Celtic Spring” again.

By the end of that day I could see the end of the front part of Mae’s dress. I then decided that I would focus on that area until I finished it. And, as you can see by the progress scan, I did too. (That’s right I said “scan!” I am using my sister’s old scanner until I move.)

As I said, this week I plan to do the finishing for the biscornu. However, as far as actual cross stitching goes, I will start “Poet’s Heart” later this evening or tomorrow. After that, it is back to “Celtic Spring” because I am ready to predict a Happy Dance Day for Mae: No later than March 11, 2007.

On Marital Status

I’ve been thinking a lot about my marital status lately. What exactly am I? Married? Divorced? Separated? Single?

My marriage is over and has been for many months now, but legally I am still married. I have to wait until I meet state residency requirements before I can file for divorce in the United States and in Iowa you have to be a resident of the state for a year prior to filing. However, residency requirements vary from state to state, so if I move to another state soon I may have to wait even longer to get divorced.

Divorce: The term doesn’t have as many negative connotations as it once did and I have even read that once-divorced people can be in high demand since they have “proven” that they are able to commit, but I don’t like it.

I can understand people that refer to themselves as divorced, especially if there are children involved, but I dislike the word “divorce” for unconventional reasons: I do not now, nor have I ever liked the idea of being identified by my marital status… whatever it may be. By the time I was in my teens I refused to be called Miss and apart from the fact that I will never change my surname, I will never accept the title Mrs. for any reason. In my opinion, my marital status is private information and unless I choose to share it with you it is none of your business.

I suppose separated is probably the most accurate term, but I don’t like it either. If I hear that someone is “separated” it indicates to me that the person thinks that he or she needs some space and may eventually reconcile with his or her partner. In my case that it absolutely not true because, in my mind, my relationship with A. ended the moment I boarded the plane for the U.S.

For all practical purposes I guess consider myself single because in some ways it is like I was never married in America. Though we got married in the States, A. and I only lived together as husband and wife for approximately six weeks before we flew off to Europe. We never filed taxes together, we never bought a car together, we never signed a lease together, we never had a bank account together, or any of those things that married people do or have together in modern-day America.

The situation is complicated and I suppose in some ways it doesn’t really matter what I say, but when I meet new people or reconnect with old acquaintances I just don’t feel like any answer I give is honest right now.

My Candy Heart

As you know, Valentine’s Day is coming up. Well, let me tell you how I feel about it:

Your Candy Heart Says “Get Real”

You’re a bit of a cynic when it comes to love. You don’t lose your head, and hardly anyone penetrates your heart. Your ideal Valentine’s Day date: is all about the person you’re seeing (with no mentions of v-day!) Your flirting style: honest and even slightly sarcastic What turns you off: romantic expectations and “greeting card” holidays Why you’re hot: you don’t just play hard to get - you are hard to get