Winner, winner

Jess of Tat-ilicious made me a winner!

Yup, I won her recent giveaway, and she sent me some cool stuff.

Some of her gorgeous hand dyed thread - yum! The green and purple one is called Purple Mountain Majesty, and the other pinky gold & burgundy one is big ol' hank of Torch Lily! (I need to keep Miss Lily away from this. Don't want her to carry a torch for it - or carry it off!)

Plus Jess sent me a buncha beads and neat findings! Wow - I'm a happy camper!

I'm doing a bit of tatting for a friend, a present for her since she has a new grandchild. My friend makes custom christening gowns and asked for some tatted edging for the top and sleeves. So I'm making the top edging here, some that Jon diagramed. Oh - the shuttles are ones I picked up at Tat Days, done by Shuttle Lab Trends.

It's a bit cooler here and some of the leaves have started to change. These are dogwoods, which produce berries that the birds feast on. The leaves will get much redder before they're done.

We've turned off the air conditioning and have the windows open night and day. I love fall!

Cisco is trying to ignore Vader making a fool of himself hiding under my ottoman.

Replacement winner

Since I never heard from Sheree, I had to draw for a new winner for my 400th post contest.

And the new winner is - Marty!

Marty - I don't have your email addy, so I need you to contact me ASAP. I want to get these Workbasket magazines in the mail to you.

Congratulations!

Winner - MIA

I haven't heard from the winner of my 400th blog post giveaway yet.

Sheree is MIA. Sheree, if I don't have an email from you in 24 hrs, I'm going to have to draw another winner. Sheree, where are you?

What many folks who comment may not know is that we bloggers do not always get your email address when you comment.  Many IDs are sent up without a email defaulting into my "from" box; instead of your email address, I get "no-reply blogger."

I don't respond to every comment, but there are some I respond to, or want to. If I've never gotten back with you, I don't have your email addy. A response to "no-reply blogger" goes into the ether of the internet.

Do me a LARGE favor and look at the tutorial here. Change your email settings as described. Your email will not be visible in the blog comments, but I WILL receive your email address and can respond from my own email.

And if you win a contest, I can notify you directly!

Winner, dinner, new family member

First - business. I promised a winner of my 400th blog post contest.

And the winner is...

Sheree

Sharee, I don't have your email addy. Please contact me with your snail mail addy, and you'll be enjoying some old Workbaskets soon!

This is a quick post as I am not just prepping for Tat Days, I'm leaving in a few hours to pick up some guests at the airport. AND it's Larry's birthday, so we will have birthday doin's tonight. My guests will stay with me until Tat Days starts.

I just picked up a red velvet cake for Larry. He has requested the following meal: pan fried pork chops with homemade gravy (known as "the good pork chops"), homemade mashed potatoes, broccoli and sauce, and cantelope. He is 24 today. Happy Birthday Larry!

We have a new family member - a tiny kitten named Lily. Curly brought her home, and I was prepared to send back this scrawny 10 week old beastie. But she has charmed me.

She's very friendly and loves people. I think she's a cross between a lilac point Siamese and a tabby. Larry says she's weapons-class adorable.

Vader hates her with a white hot hate. He hisses and puffs up when she's near (she doesn't get within 10 feet of him).  He'll get over it. Cisco isn't wild about her, but he isn't really upset. The funny part about Vader's anger is when he was a kitten, he was hell on the other cats, made them miserable. Kitty Karma, y'know.

Before I head off to Tat Days, I thought I'd share this little lovely - a fairy ring in a neighbor's yard.

Hope to see you at Tat Days!

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Woo-hoo - I'm a winner!

JB had a 3 year blogaversary contest. And I won! Here's what she sent me - it was a lot!

Wow! JB sure is generous! She sent me a big bag of rainbow beads, some bangles for tatting on, a pale blue Starlite shuttle, a very nice note, a great green pendant on a leather cord (a Marilee Rockley pattern), and a gorgeous tea towel that JB machine embroidered with my initial. I love all of it, and will use every piece with joy.

That black fuzzy thing in the picture? That's Vader's tail. He insisted on being part of things.

I also got a little shipment from Lady ShuttleMaker - one of the last of the original hook pins, and some Juicy Grapefruit. Mmmm, juicy.

And I'm tatting. I making SSSRs, which are soooo easy and fun. I use a paper clip to help me tat the second side. Cool, huh? I'm tatting with Lizbeth Juicy Watermelon.

I wanted to show you this pretty tree near my house. Isn't the orange color lovely?

Tomorrow?  International Tatting Day! Tatting and..

Yum!

Joy in the post

I came home from work and did the happy dance. Why? This is why!

The postman brought me a package - my ChocoLove winnings from the lovely IsDihara! Even Cisco is drooling at my loot!

See what I got? Orange Peel Dark Chocolate, a chocolate themed journal, AND CocoLime HDT, dyed by Miss Tatskool. This of course feeds my HDT addiction, which is almost as bad as my addiction to chocolate. And what shall I do with think journal? Me thinks I should use it for drawing up tatting patterns. Score!

Thank you so much, IsDihara. You are a generous lady!

Cisco remained on my desk, staying true as a card carrying member of both FAPUC and FAPR. Don't know what those organizations are? Why, Felines Against People Using Computers and Felines Against People Reading, of course. He stands in front of my keyboard and computer screen so that I will pet him rather than work online. I don't know where he keeps the cards for the organizations, but he obviously puts them somewhere.

Today Moe came with me to work. (Winter break - don't ask.)  I took him to the metro station and got him on the train line to visit my mother who's staying across town for the winter. Don't worry, I didn't make Moe change trains without me. He spent the day hanging out with Mom, going to the farmer's market, doing a movie, and visiting with her cat Honey. After that, he was put back on the train & I picked him up on the other end of the line. It was good for Moe to ride the train alone - he's 14 and ready for a bit of independence. He had a good time!

It's warming up here is Hotlanta. The daffodils are starting to bloom in front of my company's headquarters. There should be a ton of them opening up this weekend - gorgeous!

Lookie what the post brought!

Today I feel like a lucky lady.

Because today I received a prize package! Containing one of the elusive, much desired, hand made by "i'm in the garage", Pop-A-Bobbin shuttles!

(Feel free to envy me. To be honest, I don't deserve such goodness.  But it's so much fun!)

Some time ago, Sally from Tat's Heaven had a contest. And I won!  How cool is that?  I didn't bribe Sally or anything, I promise.  She was having a 100th blog post give-away, and all I had to do was comment.  Hmm, I think that's in my limited skill set!  I was astonished to see that I had won.  She's a nice lady, that Sally.

So when I got home today, I found a lovely package waiting me, with English post marks.  I dug right in.  Woo-hoo!

Not just the gorgeous Pop-A-Bobbin, but a wonderful handmade box covered in Sally's tatting.  And a delightful card congratulating me on winning.  Sally, you have exceptionally fine manners.  I should be sending YOU a card.

I opened the box, and found my Pop-A-Bobbin, made from cedar.  Isn't it pretty?  And I was able to pop the bobbin post right out, no problem.  (Moe got in on the action - he had to do it too.  He liked it!)  Isn't the box nifty?  And look at the lovely heart Sally tatted for me - makes me feel loved and all snuggly just looking at it, like a big hug.

Sally, you are too generous.  Thank you so much.  I can't wait to try out the Pop-A-Bobbin shuttle.

But that's not all the post brought.

Earlier this week, I received some thread as part of The Thread Exchange.  Melissa sent me some pretty Lizbeth and Anchor variegated thread, both size 40. Mmmm, makes me kind of salivate thinking about it.  What can I make?

The bad kitten got in on the act too....

They have moved my cousin into hospice care, a lovely facility.  My mother went to see her today, but I haven't heard from her.  Folks say my cousin just looks like she's sleeping and will wake any moment.  And we pray that she does.

Who knows what tomorrow's post will bring?

The postman cometh

I got home yesterday and found the postman had brought a package. For ME!

A few weeks ago I won a contest, one done by the lovely Mme. Fox. She had a wonderful English Aero shuttle which she gave away by random drawing - and I lucked out as the winner!

And here is the shuttle - if you look carefully, you can see that it says AERO on top and ENGLAND below. It's very nice. I didn't have an Aero shuttle before. I know many folks swear by them, so I'll have to try it out.

But that's not all the postman brought me. (I typed brang. Really. Oops.) Because I received a lovely package, the contents of which were all wrapped up and tied with a blue bow. And when I unwrapped everything, I was astounded.

Do you see why?

Sweet Fox has sent me a multitude, an abundance, a plethora of goodies, far more than I deserve. In addition to the Aero shuttle, this is what I got:

• A Canadian key chain in the shape of a key, with hearts and a maple leaf on it. (Moe started singing "O Canada" when he saw it.)
• Two vials loaded with beads. These beads are begging to be made immediately into Jane Eberol's Winsome Drop earrings.
• 5 plastics rings to be tatted over - earrings and a pendant, perhaps?
• Six, count 'em, SIX thread samples of variegated Lizbeth thread in size 20. And not piddling amounts of any of them. Probably at least 20 yards of each.
• A lovely embroidered burgundy bag to put goodies in, or to use as a gift bag.
• And, last but certainly not least, some of Fox's exquisite tatting. A gorgeous round motive, and a beaded heart one. Ms. Fox. you do very fine work.

Aren't I a lucky lady? Thank you, thank you, thank you to my dear Fox!

Switching gears....

Moe told me a terrible joke, which I'll share.

A kid was dressed as a pirate on Halloween, with sword, hat, fake parrot, the works. So he went to a house for Halloween goodies.

"Ahoy matie!" said the homeowner. "Great costume! And where are your buccaneers?"

"Under my buckin' hat!" replied the kid.

Until later....

I'm a lucky woman

I came home yesterday after a loooong day in the office, and found a package waiting for me.  A package in a lovely pink mailing envelope.  "What could it be?" I wondered.  So I opened it.

It was a lovely prize from Tatting Chic!

I had won Tatting Chic's contest recently - and her's what I won.  A great book to help teach tatting, Learn To Tat, complete with DVD.  An EZ-Bob, loaded with green size 10 Manuela thread.  And an Aero type shuttle with an extra bobbin.  Isn't Tatting Chic generous?  I love this!

Now comes the confession. I have never owned an Aero shuttle - so this will be a nifty thing for me to try!  And the same is true for the Manuela thread - never tried it!  I guess I'll have to wind up one of those bobbins with that pretty green thread, won't I?  I saw a heart pattern in the Learn To Tat book that would be just the thing to make.  And I have several friends to loan this book and DVD to - so this is so great!

Thank you, Tatting Chic!  You are such a sweetheart!  Here are some flowers for you - azaleas near my house.

And I was happy.  I went to bed happy, and trudged off again to work today. Another long day.

And I got home to find ANOTHER package waiting for me.  I hadn't won any more contests, so I was clueless.  I was expecting nothing.

And I opened the package. 

I found an enormous surprise of tatting goodies from Heather, of The Tarnished Tatter.  Look at all this!!!!  Click on the picture and see it all!

Here's what she sent me:  Three skeins of lovely pastel HDT, her own.  A spool of white silk thread.  A large spool of gold thread.  Heather's own picot gauges, made for every size.  A pretty golden filagree shuttle.  Her great book - Afternoon Tatting.  Two lovely tatted birds - a hummingbird and a swan - to be worn as pendants, with the ribbon and silver ring to hold it.  And, from Miss Tatting Tea Tuesday, tea and hot chocolate, and lots of it!

Plus a lovely letter.  Isn't Heather the best?  I was stunned, blown away.  Here are flowers for Heather!  Thank you so much, Heather!

With these two packages, I feel very loved.  And very lucky!  Thank you TattingChic and Heather!  Go visit both of them and tell that what lovely people they are!

Drum Roll Please....

The winner of my Workbasket giveaway is....

Kimberly!!!!

Kimberly said:
Love your blog...congrats to 100 posts. Hope you continue on! Would love to win the WB magazines.

~Kim
 
I'll be contacting Kimberly and sending off her lovely selection of Workbasket Magazines shortly.
 

And because I had so many entries, there is a second prize going to:

'RainbowRose' Connie Faulconer

Connie said:
Oh I do hope I'm not too late in entering this! Please do enter me if not too late!

Connie - contact me (my email is on my sidebar) with your snail mail addy so I can get you your prize.

In other news.....

I am missing Glee, but loving Archer.  Archer makes me snort.  It's a fake spy cartoon and SO not politically correct.  Archer is brainlessly super macho.  Here is Archer showing off where he keeps a gun.  Really.

I am torturing the Stooges by threatening them with The Toe.  The Toe (which is now sans toenail - gross, but doesn't hurt) scares them.  ("Want to touch my toe?" "Get that toe away from me!")  Hee.

toodles - and congrats to the winners!

A better day in which I say Squee!

Things are a bit better at my house.  The job situation hasn't changed, but I did get pulled aside by my boss today and she apologized for how this happened.  Things were out of her control and she was forced to do this.  She told me that she would never have told someone this on a Friday afternoon, but her management made her.  She did offer me some additional time off without charging it to my vacation.  It's better than a poke in the eye.

Oh - and my management duties?  Will have to continue.  They fall under "other duties as assigned".  Ain't life grand?

But not all is icky....
I had a terrific surprise waiting for me when I got home yesterday.  I was one of the winners for Heather's Birthday Giveaway recently, and my package arrived.  Bonus!  I got the goodie bag!  Heather was soooo generous to me.  She gave me 2 packages of pearl beads (which I've already got on a shuttle), 2 skeins of her gah-juss HDT - Stormy Skies and Mulberry Dreams - in size 30, and a dynamite handmade crimson shuttle.  I'll be seeing how this red baby flies really soon!

Made me feel really lucky - and really blessed.  Thank you Heather - you are so generous.  If your birthday was even a tiny bit as good as your gift made me feel, then you had a truly wonderful day.

Another bonus awaited me today when I got home.  Like you, dear readers, I read a lot of blogs.  There are a few that are daily must read blogs.  You know these blogs - you feel like you really know the writer and have to know more about them.  One of my all time favorite bloggers is Blackbird.  I love her work.  She and I share the certain things - three sons, a long commute, a love of family, etc.  So I was reading her blog today and suddenly I stopped short and shouted Squeee! 

Because Blackbird has given me an award!  It's the Honest Scrap Award. 

Scrap means left over, fragments, discarded material. Many times truth and honesty are discarded material, considered fragments and left over. People like us need to tell it like it is, and let the scraps fall where they will.

(In typing the name of the award, I initially mistyped it as the Honest CRAP award. Heh.)

I'm honored.  Blackbird, you are far too kind.

Here are the rules:
1. Thank the person who gave the award and list their blog and link it.
2. Share "10 Honest Things" about yourself.

3. Present this award to 7 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you.

4. Tell those 7 people they've been awarded Honest Scrap and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

Okay, so I've got to be honest.  Do I have to?
 
Here goes:
1. I've been stress eating lately and it's bad things.  Candy bars.  I've got type II diabetes (though usually it's well managed) and candy is BAD for me.  Got to stop.
2. I see people dressed beautifully at work and say to myself "They make more money than they have a right to", when really I'm just very jealous.
3. I love singing harmony to all the songs on the radio when I'm driving alone.
4. Things that are awesomely good make me get teary.  I'm kind of a sap.
5.  I don't like my given name.  But who really does?
6.  I'm a loyal friend.  I treasure all my friendships and feel lucky to have them.
7.  I love reading good southern literature, like Flannery O'Connor and Thomas Wolfe. (I lurve Flannery.)  I also love classics, like Dickens and Victor Hugo and Jane Austen.  I'd like to teach a class on Christian symbolism in Southern Literature.
8.  I have freckles and am a natural redhead, though my hair has turned from auburn to brown in my old age.
9.  I wish to God that DH and I were on the same side of the political fence.  I'm one way.  He is - something else.
10.  Though The Stooges can each make me crazy, I adore them all and would do anything for them.  I would die for my boys.  And all of my family.
 
And for the list of great Bloggers, drumroll please!
 
1. Victoria.  Love her art, love her aesthetic.
2. Julia.  Wow - can she ever sew.  And such a nice lady.
3. Grumpy Granny. An old friend from way before the Internets. We go back to before the Carter Adminstration.  Always encouraging.
4. Fluid Pudding.  Makes me snort.
5. LadyShuttlemaker.  I feel a real kinship with her. And I love all her work.
6. Heather at the Tarnished Tatter.  We've been sharing some great and funny emails.  And such a good mom!
7. Ree the Pioneer gal.  Love me some Marlboro Man and those kids.
Badger and Jen from KnitterKnitters were already awarded - I love them too!
 
All right bloggers - go to it!
 
And I leave you with a funny, a not safe for work funny.  A Thanksgiving NSFW funny.
 
Before you see it, you have to sing a Sesame Street song.
 
One of these things is not like the others
One of these things just doesn't belong.....
 
Now look here!
 
Hee!  Now I have to go and start defrosting a big turkey....

Happy happy, Joy joy

I'm a happy camper!


And why?


It's not because of Curly and his fun.  I took Curly to see Dr. W and got Curly's medicine changed.  Hopefully things will be better for Curly.  But no Valium for me.  Damn.


It's not because of Moe and his fun.  Moe is working hard to remain in 7th grade forever.  I can't get him to write anything to save my neck.  He refuses to do homework.  I finally found something to motivate him - the threat of withholding birthday party and presents.  His birthday is this weekend - what can I use after that?


It's not because of work.  Like any of that is fun.  (My brother in law's theory of work is - if it wasn't shit, they wouldn't pay you.  And it's true.) (If it was fun, it wouldn't be called WORK.) I finally moved into the other building and unpacked my boxes today.  I did get a bonus when I moved - they gave me a flat screen monitor, instead of that humongous boat anchor I've been staring at.  Here's where I live at work:

Not great, but not awful.  Some folks are sharing. I supervise a group, so I rate a better space, no sharing for me.  And I found a place to hang a certification or two.  Added bonus - I can stand up and see a window.  Woo-hoo!  (You just don't know.  I've been in the interior of a converted factory for over 3 years.  This is a step up)

Unfortunately, my user community is quickly discovering where I live in the building.  Damn.  They hunt me down like a dog.  Can't a girl have a peaceful day?

I'm not happy because of watching Mad Men either, though it was mighty good last night.  And I went out to turn myself into a Mad Men character online - see how cute I am?  I'm sure you'll recognize me when we meet.

Mmm, that's a good cupa joe.

No, I'm happy because the mailman came and left me a package!  For little ol' me.  A special prize - that I won on LadyShuttleMaker's last Mondo Monday Giveaway.  I won this:

Yup, it's one of her precious and wonderful handmade ceramic shuttles!!!  Isn't it gorgeous?

Hmm, what should I tat with it?  I've shown you some of LadyShuttleMaker's lovely Marina HDT (purchsed earlier on etsy.com).  Maybe I'll use that.  I've come up with a cool idea for tatting something nifty for presents and I'll share it with you on another post.  The possibilites are endless.

Cisco and I have finished my latest version of Mary Konior's large cross.  I'll post it later.  Now I'm working on tatting up another cross of my own design.  I hope to have that pattern for you very soon!

Hey - you can be a winner like me!  Hop on over to LadyShutlemaker's blog and enter to win this week's prize - a great bead spinner.  Ooooo I wonder if it would be too greedy of me to enter?

And so - a little Happy happy, joy joy - with Ren and Stimpy! Enjoy!

Happy, happy, joy, joy

| MySpace Video

I'm a winner!!!!

I never win anything.  I've bought lotto tickets galore - I never even win a free ticket.


But not today.  Today I'm a winner!


Here's what I won

Yup, I'm this week's winner of LadyShuttleMaker's Mondo Monday Giveaway.  How great is that?  I've positively drooled over her shuttles.  And now this pretty one will be mine.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Miss LadyShuttleMaker.  You made my day.  You are so very generous with your talents.

And Internets, YOU can be a winner too.  Just hop on over to LadyShuttleMaker's place and enter.  It's easy as pie!  And who knows? Maybe you'll win this Monday's prize!

I kinda needed a pick-me-up.  DH is out of town all week, so I'm manning the fort against the heathens.  After I drove home from Charleston on Sunday with grumpy Curly in the car ("Don't TOUCH me!" "Don't TALK to me!" "Why won't you let me DRIVE?!"), I came home to find two disasters.  One was immediately apparent - none of the cats were in the house.  Cisco and Sophie were quickly located, but Larry's cat, Sylvia, has not been seen.  We found some of her under-fur in the front yard and we have coyotes here, so I fear the worst.  Larry didn't go with us - he had to work, but otherwise was home, so he should have paid attention.  And she's his cat.  I can't think about it, though.

The other disaster only became apparent after I went grocery shopping and we went to put groceries in the large chest freezer.  That's when we found it was completely defrosted.  It was plugged into a special power strip and the strip had gotten tripped, probably on Thursday or Friday.  I was able to rescue a ham and about $20 worth of meats and vegies, but that's it.  After I finished pitching stuff, there was a soup of melted ice, popsicles, and ice cream in the bottom that had to be cleaned out right then.  Ugh.  What a mess.  The freezer had been mostly full, and I'll bet I lost $400 worth of food.  After that, watching Mad Men wasn't much solace.  Monday I got to work and was told I have to move my personal office to a cube in another building on Thursday - get your own boxes to pack your stuff.  It's great working for a semi-governmental agency.

*Sigh*

Last night Curly threw another one of his fits and sorta lost his little mind.  He smashed his acoustic guitar on the sidewalk and talked about suicide.  The triggers were A) not getting a solo in chorus and B) me turning off his cell phone when he flat out refused to do his chores. I finally got him calmed down and into bed, but I thought for a while I might be spending another night doing intake at a local adolescent psychatric institute, something I've had to do before.  The suicide talk I take seriously, but he assured me that his thoughts on this were not current, he was talking of old thoughts.  I checked to make sure he was asleep before I could go to bed.

Being Curly's mom is hard. 

DH isn't very helpful with when Curly gets like this, he mostly yells.  As parents, we all do what we know, and DH had some pretty bad parenting examples.  His stepfather didn't have clue how to deal with teens. He just screamed at them. DH means well, he's just clueless.  So it's up to me.

Curly's a bit better today.  He taped his guitar back together and is now composing a new song. (He's very creative and really writes terrific lyrics - and I've told him so.)  And he has an appointment with his psychiatrist Saturday.  We will be making some medication changes.

I'm fairly stressed, but will be ok.  It's nothing I haven't dealt with before.  And this is one reason I can't tat (or do some other things) as often as I'd like.

Tomorrow - packing my office.  And as Scarlet O'Hara said, "Tomorrow is another day."

Anyhow, thanks, LadyShuttleMaker, for making my day BETTER!