Tale of a Shooting Star…

While exasperatedly trying to get the dog to go outside last night, I sat down on the step and decided to just take in the scenery. As I did so, I realized that the fireflies were out in full force, so I let my eyes unfocus and tried to see as much of the backyard as much as possible. Wow, there were just little random twinkles all over. All I could think of is faerie lights; that’s what it made me think of. What a simple beauty nature has when you stop to pay attention. 🙂

In the meantime… my kingdom for some doggie valium! Phoebe has really decided to be a pain again. She’s been fussing about her nails for the past couple of months, so we kinda gave up trying to get them under control. She won’t even deal with grinding since Terry accidentally got the grinding wheel caught in her fur the last time. That was it for her. So, I decided that I was going to start clipping her nails again. And for a few days that seemed to be working. I could get anywhere from 1 to 3 toenails clipped in a day. And then, suddenly and for no apparent reason (I didn’t clip the quick or anything), she’s back to not even letting me touch her nails again. *sigh* I swear, all I need is one really good (but safe) dose of doggy valium a month to knock her out for a while so that I can clip all of her nails! They’re starting to get too long now and some are vaguely starting to curl. Taking her to the vet or a groomer to do it is not an option, since she gets frantic about anyone else working on her nails, as well.

So, I know that no one really reads my blog, but if someone reads this and knows of a way to handle this, I would greatly appreciate some advice!

My online friend Marietta just had a lovely article about her published in a newspaper in her home state of Connecticut. Check it out:

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Surround-sound for the out of doors: The pealing of carillon bells inspires a devoted following
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By Katherine Didriksen
Special Correspondent

July 6, 2005

STAMFORD – Perched hundreds of feet in the air, Marietta Douglas moves her hands up and down the two-tiered keyboard and pumps a series of foot pedals in an organized frenzy.

As sweat drips from her brow, twilight overtakes the city.

She coaxes the sound of bells into the air. The ringing of the 56 bells drape downtown Stamford with the rippling strain of Jean Joseph Mouret’s “Fanfare (Rondeau).” Douglas, a Greenwich resident, is one of a select group that will climb to the top of bell towers for the love of a rare instrument: the carillon.

“It was just so intriguing that I took to it immediately,” said Douglas, 45, who has played since her freshman year at Smith College in 1977. Nearly 30 years later, Douglas is the carillonneur for First Presbyterian Church in Stamford and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in New Canaan.

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My Chadwicks replacement order arrived today and 8 out of the 10 pants are keepers! Hallelujah! I just tripled my wardrobe of pants… woohoo! Now I can do a big load of laundry and then relax about the clothing issues for a while. These should last me into the fall, as well, fortunately. Of the two that didn’t work out, one fit oddly, gapping around the waist, and the other was white and totally see through! How do you ladies manage white pants? Because I truly can’t figure it out.

I worked on my July Exchange Gift last night and the blanket stitch flower hardanger filling that I’ve been avoiding really isn’t that bad. I had a feeling that would be the case, but it sure does require a whole lot of stitching. I actually didn’t finish it last night. Pulled a LONG strand of #12 pearl cotton and still didn’t make it through more than just over half of the flower. By the time I was done, I was totally exhausted, so I stopped. I’ll have to continue tonight and see how much I can finish, as the deadline is coming soon and I have to stop procrastinating! Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that I still have the pins and needles in the left hand today. I know it’s a symptom of carpal tunnel, but I haven’t been spending that much time stitching this week and I have spent much less time on the computer today, so I’m really starting to think that it’s a pinched nerve.

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Usually, I would say good, Good, GOOD! However, this week, I think I’m going to opt for oh-so-BAD. It may not necessarily have been a whole lot better if I had two more days this week, but a short week with so many deadlines coming up and not enough time to meet them is certainly cramping my work.

The awful thing is that I have deadlines at home to meet, as well! I’m fighting pins and needles in my arms today from overdoing typing, stitching and everything else requiring manual dexterity, but I don’t have the time to rest. I have the models finished (hallelujah!), so that’s one worry off of my mind. However, now I need to focus on just finishing the three small hardanger squares left on my July Exchange Gift so that I can finish it and the little companion pincushion and get them in the mail in a week or so. I’ve been avoiding it because it’s an advanced filling design that I’ve never attempted before and about which I’m not feeling terribly confident. After that, I have the Chatelaine tiny mandala garden that I want to complete before we go to Connecticut in August for the first weekend of the Sudberry House garage sale. I at least need to have a reasonable amount done to be able to pick a box that will match the design.

Okay, back to taking it one day at a time. Right now, that may be more like one hour at a time! And with that, I have 2 minutes to get my head on straight and run down the hall to a meeting. Somebody breathe for me, okay? 🙂

Well, Friday through Sunday were REALLY busy. Yesterday and today were perfect for vegetating. 🙂

Friday was long… very long. We weren’t able to leave work until sometime after 2:30. After that, we tried to get the oil changed in the truck, but all of the local Jiffy Lube places were running a 30 minute or more backup. We ended up skipping that part, but we did get gas on the way to CompUSA to pick up another firewall for home. Ours died the other day and the replacement wasn’t shipped when it was supposed to, so we had to buy another one to have something protecting our servers over the long weekend. We ended up finding just the right firewall, which was a lower level version of the replacement we had ordered (which finally arrived today), so it will make a good backup solution should we ever need it again. Anyway, by the time we got home, Terry configured the firewall, we ate some semblance of dinner and then packed up the truck, we didn’t end up getting on the road until 7:00 PM. We made the trip in 3.5 hours both ways, so it wasn’t too bad, but 10:30 PM is a little late to be getting in when it’s a long end to a long week.

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1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.(Keep this In mind if you are one of those grouches)
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain get idle. “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with him/her.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on.The only person who is with you your entire life is yourself. LIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health.

Okay, I am honestly not a clothes horse. I just wanted to put that disclaimer out there. I have only recently thrown out shirts from within my closet that have been worn since high school.

That said, this attempt to find the new me and expressing part of it in clothing is a bit expensive! I only have 4 nice pairs of pants for work, which means I’m doing a lot of laundry and I’m afraid that the fabric is going to start to wear prematurely. That said, a Chadwicks clearance catalog arrived in my mailbox on Monday. I spent Monday night compiling a $250 order. That may seem like a lot of money, but it included 6 pairs of pants, a skort, 3 skirts, 2 pairs of shoes and 8 or so tops. I mean, come on… that’s quite a deal! Anyway, everything arrived yesterday, so I spent a while in the evening trying everything on. None of the pants fit. I’m used to having to order talls to get the proper length, but their talls are a couple of inches too long! The one skirt also was shipped as 12T instead of 6T. No way, folks. That and one of my shirts didn’t come; instead I got someone’s 2XL blouse. LOL. One pair of shoes didn’t fit; the other are a little on the big side, I think, but I don’t really care because I love ’em anyway! They have a stacked heel and I don’t normally wear heels at all, so I felt kinda sexy on Friday when I went into work with a skort and heeled sandals. 😉

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Well, barring any sudden changes in health, attitude or whatever over the next couple of hours, we will be making the 4 hour trek up to my parents’ house tonight for the weekend.

My list making for the trip didn’t begin until late last night, which didn’t help my anxiety at all. I was still sitting on my computer at 11:00 PM, trying desperately to make my original logo concept for my mom’s business work. I ended up laying my head down on the keyboard in disgust because I don’t like it and it’s just too bad for now. I guess I need to remind myself that it’s just a first draft and I’m not always going to get it perfect on the first try. I think I’m spoiled because my last logo creation attempt turned out to be a snap.

Anyway, most things are mostly packed. Toiletries are almost packed (ran out of time this morning before we had to leave for work), clothes are all packed, dog stuff is packed. And, of course, my needlework bag was the first thing I packed. I started on that on Wednesday because I knew I wouldn’t have time to stitch before we left anyway. Hey, a girl has to have priorities! 🙂 Besides, stitching saves my sanity, so it’s much more important to focus on that than the smaller stuff. Okay, well prescription meds aren’t smaller, but you know what I mean.

I’m hoping to finish the last of three small projects in my latest model stitching job. I’ve picked up two designers since I started my Silver Needle hiatus. The really nice this is that I like both of these designers’ work, so stitching models for them is a pleasure. That makes three designers now, each of whom are kind, caring and do beautiful work. That should suffice for now. 😉

Well, back to the grind. Lots to do before we leave and the clock is ticking…