Moving time!

I am prepping to move into my new-to-me condo on  Thursday of this week. I'm a touch busy.

The carpet was laid in the bedrooms last Monday. I got the thickest pad I could, so the footing there feels lovely and squishy.

This is but a nightmare of a memory now

The electrician came last Wednesday to install many light fixtures and remove a) that aesthetic horror of a fan in my bedroom (see above) and b) lots of my money.

See how nice my kitchen looks now? I added pendants and under cabinet lighting, plus I replaced DREADFUL track lighting with something more discrete.

At home, I'm packing things and deciding what I can truly live without until after the move, like hair curlers and spices. And drinking glasses. Also what is all this shit in my freezer? Who knows?

So I'm trying NOT to buy anything that I absolutely can't live without, mostly food. Cat food is an essential item - the cats do not like to wait. Lucy meows at me piteously in the morning like she is STARVING and then I go down and find her bowl is half full and I'm without real sympathy. Bitch that I am.

Lucy - I do not feel sorry for her

There really are some weird things in my refrigerator/freezer. Why did I buy that prosciutto and cheese log? And all these eggs? Why do I have 4 different kinds of mustard? And frozen fried cheese ravioli - why? Goat cheese with cranberries on it?

There seems to be a cheese theme here.

I also have lots of frozen veggies with cheese sauce. Cheese and broccoli - yum. But I also have like 4 individual 1 lb. packages of frozen ground beef, uncooked. What the hell? And packages of Hot Pockets. I've never eaten Hot Pockets in my life. These must be Moe's - they need to go to his house.

I think hoarding all this stuff goes back to the days of having All The Stooges in the house, as They Ate Everything. So I had to Be Prepared. Even now they show up at my house and stand in front of the open refrigerator, noshing on whatever is there.

St Paul's Cathedral from One Change Place

Oh, I forgot to show pictures from my recent visit across the pond! I was in London on business, and made a side trip to visit an Old Git!

Recognize anyone? Recognize the decoration on her blouse? (This is in her own garden.)

Jane was kind enough to take me to Anne Hathaway's cottage, which is SO beautiful. No, not the actress - Shakespeare's wife.

The cottage is quite lovely, especially the gardens. Really grand to be there. I got in a nice visit with Nick as well, and Tilly allowed me to pet her. I felt honored.

But now I must get back to The Horror of Packing. And someday, perhaps even this month, I will tat again....
 

What's that Crazy Mom been up to?

I'll bet you thought I just gave up the ghost. No, I've been busy.

I've been VERY busy at work. Lots of things to do, but I like it a lot. We are moving to a different floor in the building - below is my view from my office. Note that I said office - I won't be in a cube - hurrah!

I've been dating a bit. On and off. Mostly off. Mostly guys I'm not interested in - and then there was that guy who as soon as he met me, he kissed me stuck his freakin' tongue down my freakin' throat. EWWWWW!!! No second date with that one. Yuck.

I've been dealing with the Stooges.

Larry has had some very serious health issues that required 2 hospitalizations - and he has no health insurance. I flew down to FL to be with him during the first - and scariest - of the hospital visits. And now he has no job, so we moved him back up to Hotlanta to live with his brothers. He's going to be ok, needs to get a job and concentrate on getting better.

Moe has graduated from high school!  DH The Ex and I saw him do it and were very happy to have the youngest done. As to what he will do now - I have no idea. He has not applied to a single college. SOOOO frustrating. Get a job Moe! Go to college!

 

Curly - remember my frustrations with Curly? Cross your fingers, the worst of that seems over! Curly is working selling mobile phones and plans for a big company, does a great job for them, they want him to be store manager soon. He's taking his meds! He's got a girlfriend with personality and ambition! He seems grateful for things I've done for him! He calls me up and tells me he loves me!

All the Stooges are now out of my house. They have moved in with DH The Ex, who lives nearby in a nice brick ranch with a big yard. DH The Ex volunteered to do have them all. We are on good terms - of course, he wants me back big time. That ain't happening.

I've tatted a little tiny bit. Here's something I made for one of the guys I've been going out with.

And I'm teaching again at Tat Days - I'm doing 2 of Nina's gorgeous patterns.

I've had my own share of health issues - no worries, I'm fine! But I had a stay in the hospital too, had cellulitis. I had my laptop with me and worked the entire time, 'cause that's what I do. (And why my company loves me...) And I had this lovely view:

This is not abstract art - it was a lovely view of the hospital roof

I'm better. Really I am. I was annoyed to have to be there.

However - one of the biggest things that I've been doing is finding new housing - for me, not the Stooges, just me and the cats. And I've found a place.

A condo just for ME!!!!

In this complex.Yes, this is the view from the 2nd bedroom.

With this view at night from my balcony.

This is the daytime view from a different angle - you can see the Hotlanta skyscrapers.

The condo is in a part of Hotlanta that's its own little city, considered one of the top 10 most walkable urban areas in the country. More than 40 restaurants within walking distance. Seven miles to my office. A block to the subway. It's safe. It's artsy. It's hip. It's not in the cultural desert that I've been living in. And no real maintenance. I'll close on it very soon - and I'll have it totally paid off by the time I retire. Woo-hoo!!!!

Oh - and I'm heading to London Monday on business - I have to hire a new staff member in that office. Across the pond I go!

And that Saturday - I'll see Jane!!

Tatting the Twirly

I'm tatting Jane's lovely Twirly pattern. Jane has the nicest patterns - so clever, and a real pleasure to tat!

This is done in Jess's HDT called Queen Anthias. I'm sorry for the color on this - it's taken by my cell phone under fluorescent lights. The thread is really a bright pink, yellow, and purple. Oh, and the top shuttle is one I blinged a long time ago.

Here's another bit with the same HDT. This is my own Dainty Heart pattern.

Here's what's happening on the home front:

Curly is getting Out Of The Pokie on Monday. I have to retrieve him early in the morning, and will be taking him to see his probation officer immediately afterwards, before I come home. And Curly says he wants to take his meds regularly, so I have an appointment for him with his psychiatrist on Wednesday. I hope Mr. Curly has changed his ways. He turned 21 yesterday, while incarcerated.

Larry has moved out! He is now living with roommates in Florida, having taken an enormous pile of crap out of my house. I hope he finds it satisfying and is happy. He tells me that he is a better cook than any of his roomies, so I feel I've accomplished something!

After Larry moved out, DH and Moe cleaned out his basement area, and lots of things were discovered. So that's where all those forks and plates were! Also discovered: a leaky water heater. Sigh. I purchased a new one last week and Moe and DH have installed it. At least I don't have t worry about that appliance...

I am seriously job hunting. No raise in 6 years with the cost of benefits going up exponentially takes a toll on me. Makes it hard to pay the bills, much less feel good about myself. Fortunately, it seems my skills have real value again. I've been doing phone interviews, and I have a face to face interview this afternoon at a company I'm excited about. This is for a full time position and the commute would be better. Cross your fingers for me!

Lily continues to be silly and to be her own bad self. But she's so cute!

People you see at Tat Days

You meet a lot of fun people at Tat Days.

Like Jane and Georgia. They are the best tatters - and so much fun to be around.

And Marilee and Sue Anna. They brought some of Marilee's lovely HDT to share.

Here's cute Livi and her mama Jess. Jess had yummy thread to sell!

Isdihara (AKA the best roommate EVER) and Anita. They're in the same VA lace guild.

Nancy and GR-8 brother Randy. Da Udder Brudder was recovering from an accident - we missed you Gary!

Krystal Dawne's mama Karrieann, working on an angel in my class.

Arlene, showing off the bracelet she made in my class. Isn't it cute? Arlene is the nicest person.

Spouses David and Sharren were there. Sharron is a hoot, and David is a dear. He's her tatting sherpa!

President Donna at the podium, with new president Teresa on the right. This was at our banquet. These are NOT stuffy people. There was MUCH laughter at the banquet.

Here are folks going to the banquet - Isdihara, the lovely HJ Hess, some unknown lame tatter, and Susan Fuller (who wrote Heart's Desire!)

More folks at the banquet - Hannah Lindhom (of Sweden), Linda Adair (Gina Brummett's sister), Sally and Riet. Hannah's sister Sara Bergman's dark head is in the foreground, next to Laurie Simmons, Gina's daughter.

Hannah provided entertainment for us at the banquet! She was quite good.

Folks gathered to have fun afterwards. Front - Isdihara, Jane and Sally. Back - Karey, some old fool, HJ Hess, and Sue Anna. Don't worry - we were toasting with grape juice. Ms. Hess's TBH took the picture.

After all the fun, I had to buy a few things. The loose HDT is from Jess, the bagged HDT is from Karey. Yes, that's a GR-8 double shuttle, in ebony! Plus books, beads and more shuttles - woo-hoo!

It was TONS of fun. For those who haven't ever been to Palmetto Tat Days, you should at least try and go some day. It's worth it!

Lily (who Larry calls 'weapons-class adorable') didn't care about tatting. She was home sacked out.

Visitors plus quick Tat Days update

I've had company. Some of you may know who it was - but now you all know that I had sisters Jane Eborall and Sally Kerson visiting from England.

Sally and Jane, in my kitchen!

 They are loads of fun. And really really nice, delightful house guests.

Jane is a card. They had fun with me for a few days, then we went up to Tat Days. Before we left, I did have to do a counting of my cats to make sure all three were there - the sisters threatened to kidnap Lily!

Isdihara and Anita mug for me

Palmetto Tat Days is the most fun! There were lots of folks there. One hundred and one tatters, plus spouses and vendors. It was phenomenal.

One of my student's work in progress

There was lots of tatting done. I taught 3 classes, all my own patterns.

just a few of the items...

We had a silent auction and a big live auction. The auctions all are for scholarships so that folks can attend Tat Days who might otherwise not be able to afford to, a terrific cause. For many of us, Tat Days is respite from our regular stressful lives.

Arlene, Carol, and Marsha working away in my class

There was more tatting....

Hand dyed thread from Jess! Good enough to eat.

And lots of things to buy. My bank account now has a hole in it.

This ain't all, folks

It was over all too soon. I came home with tons of purchases, plus - swag galore!

I'll update you later with all the details. Can't wait 'til Tat Days 2013!
 

A bit of news

Let me start out by saying that the Palmetto Tatters Guild has posted the teachers for Tat Days 2011. And this year, I'm one of them.

Yup, they liked several of the patterns I submitted. I'm tickled pink. So tickled that I've been clicking on the PTG site several times a day to see if they had posted the teachers' names yet. Because I Want To Be Famous. (Or sumpin' like that.) Post, dammit! Post! I'm Somebody Now!



(The very nice ladies at the PTG are actually VERY prompt. Ridiculously prompt, in fact. The reason for impatience are mine alone.)

Tat Days 2011 - Tatting in a Winter WonderLand

I'm sad that my buddy Jane Eborall is not teaching this year - her schedule did not permit it. And Stratford Upon Avon is not exactly a hop, skip and a jump from Toccoa, GA, where the conference will be. As for me, I will merely hop in my car and motor on up in a jiffy. We will miss Jane. Come back, Jane!

But if you want to see MEMEMEME! in September, come to Tat Days 2011 and take one of my classes. (I'm teaching four.) Or don't take my class, and just come anyway! I promise, you'll have a lot of fun!

In other news, Curly is home sick and miserable and blames me for his misery, since he is living in a tent the back of our yard. I had to remind him that it was not MY behavior that landed him there, it was his own bad choices. And then I handed him some medicine and locked the door behind him.

Moe is being confirmed at church on Sunday, Easter, and my mother is breezing through for the event. Of course, she is staying with my sister across town. I think the earth would crack and swallow up Hotlanta before she would spend the night with us. C'est la vie. It's nice she could come, at least for an hour or two. And now I have to shop for Easter clothes for me and Moe!

I'm on round 3 of the Daffodil doily, and I would be a lot further along, but in round two, I made a big mistake. And did I cut it out? Noooooo - I carefully picked out 5 rings and 5 chains. My fingernails are worse off for it, let me tell you. But I did NOT cut my thread.

And now I'm made another mistake at the start of round 3 and will have to pick out the first chain and ring, and part of the last chain of round 2. (I climbed out rather than cutting the thread - wouldn't you?) Arrgh. But boy, I love this Spring Garden thread - so pretty!

New necklace

I whipped up this little goodie this week. mostly while riding the train.  (See, I use my time wisely.)

It's super simple - I tatted it in DMC Perle 8 with size 10 glass beads and a magnetic clasp.  The pendant is one I found at Michael's - it's by Blue Moon. 

The basic pattern is R 4-4-4-4, with a little bead at the top of the ring.  The chain is 4-4, with a bead in the only picot.  Too simple for words.  I did use a SCMR to attach the pendant - all done with chains of 4 ds separated by a bead, until it was long enough to attach the pendant.  True confessions - I took the ball thread off the shuttle here and threaded it through the hole in the pendant before closing the SCMR.  I am not as fine a tatter as Queen Jane, who I'm sure would have come to a better solution.

I'm very pleased with my necklace.  It's very light and super cute. I wore it to church this morning, and on the way there I said, "I'm really diggin' my new necklace."  Moe said, "It's a good thing it's not diggin' into your neck."  Hee.