Incoherent Scribblings

Protected: Grief Beyond Words

In Memoriam

Harley
August 2001-September 30, 2007
Rest in peace my baby.

Friday on a Thursday

Ta da! Here is my Friday Cactus complete on a Thursday! (Actually I finished it on Tuesday night and photographed it Wednesday, but that is neither here nor there.) It was really fun to stitch this and was a great way to get back into the stitchy swing of things.

After almost two weeks, I suppose I finally have a few minutes to do a quick recap of everything that has been going on in my life… Besides, I think I am about as settled in as I can get without furniture.

The drive southwest was a long one. The tripometer on my car had almost reached 1100 miles (that’s over 1700 kilometers) when I pulled into West Texas Town 19 hours after I left my driveway in Small Town, Iowa. My mom and stepdad came along with me in my aunt’s van and it was stuffed to the gills with my things. Even so, I still had to leave quite a few things (mainly furniture) behind that I had originally planned on taking because my little car was full of cats! (Remember how I said that I only taking four cats? Well, I couldn’t bear to separate the kittens and, long story short, now– including me– we are six.)

I started my new job last Monday and everything at work since then has been sort of a blur. I began by attempting to clear my new office of my predecessor’s left-overs, but since there may be some valuable job-related materials amongst all the junk I have been painstakingly going through everything. In addition, I have been brainstorming with my new boss about things I want to accomplish in my position. Though I go to bed each night exhausted, I am so loving it!

My apartment is small, but it is a very funky part of town and it is quite convenient to the university. I have not yet met my landlord, nor have I paid a dime in rent or signed a lease. I was quite alarmed at this the first few days that I was here, but then I was told not to worry. Things here in West Texas Town get done, but apparently no one is in too big of a hurry to do them.

As a result, I am waiting (rather impatiently) to get my telecommunications center (phone/DSL/cell) set up. It was supposed to be done on Wednesday, but as you may have guessed that didn’t happen and I am still waiting.

However, I fear that the problem may not necessarily be the phone company’s fault. (GASP!) I do not live in an apartment complex. Rather, I am one of three apartments in a tiny building in an alleyway. As I have not yet met my landlord, I didn’t even know my physical address until I asked the mailman. After that I decided to get a PO Box, but the phone company and the UPS man still need to know where I am physically located nevertheless.

In amongst all of this chaos, Harley managed to fall ill again. This time she has a problem with her eye. Originally we thought she may have torn her 3rd eyelid, but when it didn’t heal we began looking at the possibility of infection. Unfortunately, she has not responded very well to the antibiotics thus far. Yesterday we put her on something stronger and took some blood. As I am prone to do with my kitties, I fear the worse: A diagnosis of cancer.

Mouse will be visiting our new vet (we’ll call her Dr. M) tomorrow because it is time to refill her thyroid medicine prescription. Luckily, (mostly for Dr. M who has not yet met Mouse) she doesn’t need her blood drawn until February so Dr. M is just going to have a quick look at her and refill the meds.

I still want to fill my readers in on some of the fun and interesting experiences I have had over the past two weeks learning about life in West Texas and it will come… eventually.

I promise.

September SAT

Last weekend was SAT weekend and I had two goals.

First up, I wanted to finish the backstitching on the “Poet’s Heart” band that I have been working on. This goal was easily accomplished in about one hour. (Sorry for the goofy picture, but I am sans scanner at the moment and my camera’s rechargeable batteries are in dire need of replacement!) I really love the way this piece is turning out and can’t wait to get it finished so that I can hang it in my new office!

My second goal was to simply work on (and perhaps finish) my Friday Cactus. Well, I didn’t finish it as I 1.) was invited for a “girl’s night out” with some colleagues on Friday evening (more on that later), 2.) was taken on a scenic tour of the area of my new home on Saturday, and 3.) decided that I needed to do a little in-depth cleaning of my new apartment on Sunday.

However, I have probably reached the 75% mark on my Friday Cactus, so I plan to continue working on it until I am finished. Hopefully I will have a happy dance before the end of the week! Stay tuned…

Southwest Kitchen

More on this later, but this is a short note to say that I am moved and starting to settle in. Now on to the really important stuff… Stitching!

After not touching a needle for a week, (Withdrawal was starting to settle in) I finally picked up my needle and started something new: A little piece for my new kitchen.

My new apartment is cute, cozy, and has a retro-kitchen… in that lovely(?) avocado green (DMC 471) color that was so popular in the mid-seventies. However, while I was cleaning said avocado green counter top, it occurred to me that the color was not dissimilar to the color of the cacti that I have been seeing around my new West Texas home.

This gave me an idea: Instead of looking at my kitchen and seeing puke green, I should embrace the color as the basis of a southwest decorating scheme for my kitchen. With this thought in mind, I immediately remembered some patterns I had seen in the March 2006 issue of Cross Stitch & Needlework. Minutes later I was rummaging through my yet-unpacked cross stitch stuff and found what I was looking for.

“A Taste of the Southwest” was designed by Laurel Blake and is a series of seven southwest designs, including cacti, pottery, chili peppers, and horse shoes. As shown in the magazine, the charts are designed for a different dish towel every day of the week.

I have chosen to start with the Friday Cactus, but will leave the day of the week off. (The rest of the series may be stitched at my discretion.) After I finish the stitching, I plan to finish it into an ornament/wall hanging and display it in my kitchen.