Checking in...

A group of us from The Wagon got together today yesterday (didn't realize it's after midnight!) at Susan's place on the south side of Chicago for a stitching day. I brought the kids (although I think the teenager would have preferred to stay home) and Chrissie. Oh yeah, and some stash in search of new homes LOL.

With the exception of beads and Wisper, Chrissie's dress is complete! I'm saving the Wisper for the end, even after the beads, and I just haven't bothered to pull beads out of stash. Besides, it's easiest to do those in the office kitchen where I don't have to worry about other stuff on the table in front of me (I'm absolutely TERRIBLE about keeping my desk clean enough!) I also did her boots and am now on wings.

It was awesome seeing the gang and getting out for the day. I wish I could host a day but I know that won't happen while we live here. If nothing else, there's not enough parking.

On the health front... aside from one very inconvenient side effect, I'm doing really well post-op. At the last visit (in May) the doctor gave me Questram to help deal with that one. It apparently binds the excess bile in your system and helps to lower your cholesterol at the same time. Cholesterol is not an immediate concern for me but there is a family history, so may as well be proactive, right? Anyway... Nasty vile horrible stuff. It's a powder that you mix into a non-carbonated liquid to drink. Vaguely orange tasting, gritty as sand, and makes me gag. I've been taking an over the counter fiber supplement in capsule form instead, which is doing a decent job of counteracting the particular side effect but of course doing nothing for the real cause of that effect. A friend just recommended buying high-pulp orange juice and mixing it with that in hopes that the pulp will help to disguise the grit. It's worth a shot, I guess. If not, maybe the next step is smoothies. Of course, if the fiber tabs are enough, I suppose I don't really need the Questram, right?

- posted @ Sun, Jun 22,2008 - 00:02:20     | | Permalink

 
Oh, gee, is it that time already?

Yeah, I guess May is almost over.

The good news is I have been stitching. Not as much as I'd like, but that's the case no matter what's going on. Even when I was in the hospital and the only thing stopping me was a need for morphine.

Other good news is that my Pogo league is doing well. We still don't have as many players as I'd like, but I know that will come. I've almost got my host-in-training ready to fly on her own, which will give us the chance to have mid-day and early evening tournaments.

The not-so-good news is that I have more meds to take after my recent follow-up with the internist. Some will either phase out entirely or reduce drastically as my body adjusts. Others will depend on how my body adjusts.

ANYWAY...

My goal for June is to stitch every day. Even if it's only for 15 minutes. The biggest obstacle is actually getting started each time. But of course I know I'm not alone there.

- posted @ Sat, May 31,2008 - 23:03:38     | | Permalink

 
DMC

As Whiz said, don't panic... I received the following email today from DMC. (I signed up for their mentor program a while ago):

In recent days, there has been a significant amount of information in the form of press releases, media reports, etc. regarding financial difficulties and operational restructuring plans at the DMC corporate offices in France. Those activities and court filings within the legal system in France are directed towards seeking a formal resolution for two divisions within the DMC Corporation (Sportswear fabric and a small chain of retail stores found only in France) that are not related to the embroidery thread and craft activities, which remain the core business of the corporation. In addition, the U.S. division of DMC operates as a separate legal and financial entity with its own financing, receivables, payables, etc, and as such, is not included in any legal filing or petitions to the courts that may occur in France. We are financially secure and fully prepared to conduct business as usual here in the U.S. DMC has been manufacturing needlework threads for 262 years and we remain committed to providing stitchers with the highest quality embroidery floss, specialty threads, needlework fabrics and other supplies they need to continue to enjoy the wonderful art of needlework. We look forward to continuing to serve all of our customers and loyal users of DMC products into the future.
Joseph D. McCabe
President/CEO
DMC, Inc.

- posted @ Wed, Apr 30,2008 - 14:33:45     | | Permalink

 
She lives!

I finished ripping out all the stitching which colors I didn't like and today finally was able to put new stuff back in. Yay me.

Even without the mega-frog, I don't think I'd have been doing a lot of stitching the last month anyway. I've spent the last 30 days setting up and managing a new gaming league that plays in Pogo's rooms. I'd been hosting for another league for most of the last year, but some friends and I decided to split off and make our own. It's slow starting (especially since we decided that we would not actively approach anyone that was a member of the source league) but fun. We really do need more players, though.

So there was functionally NO stitching done in April, which is good cause there weren't any goals either LOL.

Not going to set goals for May beyond "stitch something, anything". I think I can manage that one? :D

- posted @ Wed, Apr 30,2008 - 00:18:23     | | Permalink

 
NOW where's my frog repellent?

Chrissie the Christmas Elf does NOT like me..... I've done a TON of frogging, I'm very unhappy with the reds chosen by Nora - or else by the dye lots I ended up with, I don't know which is to blame.

So far I've changed CC Cupid to WDW Turkish Red. I'm also going to swap out the CC Pink Champagne, but I haven't decided what I'm gonig to use instead.

Cupid was TOO dark and almost indistinguishable from Bing Cherry, despite being a lovely bright to blood red on the card. Turkish is closer to what I wanted and is definitely visible against the Bing. And then the Pink Champagne is just like OMG wrong to my eyes, even without changing the Cupid out.

So no status pics yet because it doesn't feel like there's much status to report. Unfortunately, I probably could have been done by now if I wasn't so dissatisfied with the colors....

- posted @ Tue, Mar 25,2008 - 23:16:34     | | Permalink

 
Gettin my groove back

Until yesterday, I've barely touched a needle since getting out of the hospital. The sudden change? I'm going out of town this weekend and I knew I was going to want to stitch on the plane.

So I started Mirabilia's Christmas Elf Fairy. I'm using 32 count opalescent white Lugana and all the called-for Crescent Colours. I bought replacements for the colors that were completely missing before the Abstinence Challenge began for the year, but I suspect I'll have to replenish some of the more heavily used ones. We'll see how much I get accomplished this weekend.

Oh, and I had to completely turn off commenting on my Gallery. I discovered hundreds - yes, hundreds - of drug spam comments. And since I don't see an option within this program to limit commenting to registered users or allow admin review before posting, I decided shutting it down was the better option. I'd only gotten 3 or 4 legitimate comments total, so not a terrible loss.

- posted @ Thu, Mar 13,2008 - 23:57:41     | | Permalink

 
Whoa....

Have I really not posted all month???

Yes, February sucked. It started out with a visit to the emergency room for jaundice (because I couldn't get my PCP on the phone and the internist told me to just go to the ER) and ended up spending almost a full week inpatient with gallstones. After a hell-session of an ultrasound, where I swear they were prospecting for gold, they finally told me that I had a fairly large stone blocking the common bile duct so my liver wasn't draining appropriately.

They performed an ERCP and tried to remove stones but apparently couldn't grab anything. They'd already decided by then, though, that the gallbladder had to go. Both parents had theirs removed in their 40s, I've been having issues with it for over a year (although I didn't realize that's what it was we'd just started testing to find out what was going on), and as long as I now had an acute attack, it was time to take advantage of insurance rules and get rid of the bugger.

The good news was that I did actually take stitching with me when I left that Saturday morning, so I was able to be somewhat productive. My family brought me a book and some puzzle magazines and pajamas (because hospital gowns suck something terrible, even when you're essentially bedbound for 5 days). And I pretty much lived on IV fluids and morphine.

However, I didn't finish my project. I might have, if I wasn't drugged and if I had one of the colors I needed and the personalization. Whoops. And I haven't touched that project since getting home. So no finishes at all for February. At least I didn't project one... I don't think.

On top of it, my teenager is in the school musical - which stages NEXT WEEK!!! - and evening free time has been virtually nonexistent with having to shuttle kids around.

So I would really appreciate February ending and leaving all this insanity behind me, okay?

- posted @ Fri, Feb 29,2008 - 15:44:00     | | Permalink

 
January recap, February Goals

Well, it seems I didn't set any goals for just January. I set year-longs, but not monthly.

I accomplished:

• Autumn's Sunset - 37.0 hours (thanks to a couple long weekends)
• Baby Footprints - 6.75 hours
• Pamela Kellogg Mystery Stitchalong - 8.5 hours

February goals:

• 20 hours on Lady of the Flag
• 10 hours on Mystery Stitchalong

- posted @ Fri, Feb 01,2008 - 11:31:33     | | Permalink