Mostly Talk

I was so surprised to be a winner of a drawing at Shirley's (winners are announced toward the bottom, along with Shirley's choice of designers this month at 40% off, who sells everything at 25% off her listed prices and charges only actual postage. She knows me so well, she knew I would love this pattern, bless her heart. I always give her a plug, though she doesn't even know it. She's as sweet as they come.

I need to have my head examined, blogging as I'm doing at this hour when I'm running a 24 Hour Challenge on the Friends Gather BB the 2nd weekend of every month. It's tons of fun to see what everyone comes up with in their chosen 24 hour period of time.

Ladies, I don't know if I'm going to meet the challenge myself but I'm sure going to give it a try! I picked one that's a bit of a challenge for a quickie, and like a fool, I went along for the fun of buying our granddaughter a beautiful car. She's such a great kid, and she won't turn 16 till next January, but we found just what she wanted with low mileage and in perfect condition at a good price. She has her driver's permit, so she is driving with adults only. Her mother is going to drive it to work and back to save on gas (over her SUV) till Moriah turns 16. It's a black 2001 Grand Am with a spoiler, sun roof, nice sound system, and the works---only 30,000 miles on it---a leased car. She's as happy as a clam, just having it waiting for her. Now I'm thinking of how inept I am, waiting so long to realize (just this morning) this was the Challenge weekend and now thinking I'll be up all night trying to get mine done (didn't get the first stitch in yet), but priceless moments like that with our granddaughter are only once in a lifetime. We kept it a secret, and the moment she saw it, she squealed and laughed in delight. It was worth all our searching for the right one. We all call her the princess, and she revels in it, but she's a hard worker in school and is a gifted softball player on an elite softball team She's only a freshman, but she already has college scouts talking to her.

Changing the subject, I like to read when I'm not buying or fondling stash or stitching it. I had read about a fellow stitcher reading the Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove series, and how they were so enjoyable. Anal as I am in reading series in order, I started with the first, 16 Lighthouse Road. I love stories that take place in the ocean or in scenic coastal towns, mostly because I've spent very little time, except a few vacations, near the sea. I live in the flat plains of the Midwest, USA, which is a far cry from coastal areas, although there is a certain mysterious beauty to the black, fertile soil that yields one of the world's most beautiful crops---miles, endless miles of field corn. Reading that first book, when my primary interest in books is historical fiction, mysteries, suspense/thrillers, I thought 16 Lighthouse Road was a "no brainer," just too neat & tidy to suit me, or as I call it, "milk toast," and a reading friend of mine says, "soupy." I had already bought the entire series on half.com where I get used books for a song. I picked up the 204 Rosewood Lane (Grace's address), #2 in the series, and it drew me in. Grace's husband in the first book had mysteriously disappeared after he and Grace had been together for 30 some years, and their oldest daughter had just announced that after years of trying, she was going to make them grandparents. It dawned on me that not everything was so neat & tidy. Just because Grace was making a new life for herself, there was that lingering longing to know what happened to the guy. There were other loose ends when I began thinking of them, and the prologue in the 2nd book started naming off the continuing saga of different characters I had come to know. Damn if I didn't cave and decide to read 'em all after all. I'm going to get to know the whole neighborhood, after all, and I love the names of the addresses: 311 Pelican Court, 44 Cranberry Court, 50 Harbor Point. Books emanate a feeling within the reader, and these books are now what I think of as comfort books, something new to me.

This reminds me that I have tons of sea-related cross stitch patterns, including nearly all the Mirabilia mermaids, but even more of other designers' ocean and seaside designs. Now to do them before I croak.

Oh, and one more line of discussion I wanted to bring up. I've noticed that there are many discerning stitchers who are not tempted by kits. I really, really love 'em, and I'll explain why. I feel I'm pretty discerning too, and my stash is something to behold, which I'm sure is a common denominator among stitching bloggers. Though most of my stash does not consist of kits, it has taken me time and bucks to track down the fabrics and embellishments to do many designs, so I hesitate to say how much my inventory software program tells me I have invested in expensive fibers, etc. It makes me sick to look, so I avoid doing so. Just recently, I have noticed the beauty of some kits, like the Charles Wysocki's kits of his art, which is timeless. I only buy kits I love and are cheap. Guess how long it takes me to track down what I need to do a design I'm in love with? Nada.

Now, I have to get busy, and I'm yawning. Holy cow! Maybe I should do one of those little pillow designs in the "Dear Diary" series by Little House Needleworks instead of the design I planned to do. Help!