Crafty Musings...

I'm taking Granny to buy some embroidery floss today. Maybe that will put me back in the mood to do crafts. Lately I've been on a reading kick and have been playing far too many computer games.

Mantrap, etc.

Whew! This is looking like it's gonna be a busy month! I have a thesis defense to attend this week, possibly going to visit one of my friends this weekend, starting a noncredit college course this week, have my cousin's rehearsal dinner and wedding later this month, and just today, committed to reading Little Dorrit.

Among these things, I'm going to somehow try to squeeze a few hours in at my job, continue working on short stories (and hopefully the novella) and work on my various and sundry craft projects.

Following up on Mantrap, I'm enjoying it. I'm finding that I rather enjoy Sinclair Lewis' style. I'm kind of a sucker for the 1920s American lit (which probably seems odd, considering I'm planning to read an English novel from the 1800s next). I'm less than 20 pages from finishing Mantrap, so I hope to finish it tonight.

In other news, I visited Barnes and Noble again today. Didn't buy anything, but I saw a ton of cool books! I did purchase a new crochet book at a crafts store. More projects on the way :) Also, since I went with my mother and grandmother, we ate out. We decided to share this dessert called "Bananas Foster," which is sort of starting to sound familiar now, but I don't think I'd ever heard of it before. Anyway, the thing was covered in this really delectable caramel-rum sauce, which my grandma (who could easily have been a spokeswoman for the WCTU had she been old enough) was afraid to eat. She said she'd never had any alcohol in all her life. My mom winked at me and said, "well, then maybe it's time you tried some." I told Grandma that it was probably made with rum extract instead of the real stuff. Mom and I both reassured her that even if it were made with real rum it wouldn't be enough to do anything to her and that we weren't scared of it. Grandma kind of rared up at that one and protested, "Well, I'm not scared of it either."

I can't believe my mother was trying to corrupt hers with desserts.

True Colours Thursday on Saturday--Craft Edition

Once again, apologies for the lateness of my post. At least I'm a day earlier this week! Here are a couple of crafty shots of projects I'm working on.


This is some embroidery floss I have separated out on a card for a large counted cross stitch project I'm working on. I bought the kit for $3 at a church rummage sale. Didn't stop to consider what an overwhelming project it might become! I'm guessing this particular kit would probably cost at least $20 retail, so I got a really good deal on it, even if it does take me a while to use all those colors!


And speaking of taking a while, these blocks are granny squares for an afghan that I started literally years ago. I was probably in community college at the time so... I could have started it seven years ago? Anyway, I didn't use a pattern, but I decided to make a granny square of each of these rainbow colors and then crochet them together with brown yarn to make an afghan. If I ever get the thing finished, I'm planning to donate it to a charity.

True Colours Thursday is hosted by friend Blue.

I've Got Valentine's Plans! (But Not What You Think)

Well, my grandma and step-gramps just stopped by to visit... and to ask if I would watch my cousin (the one with Down's syndrome) tomorrow night. Fortunately, I didn't really have anything going on. This might be a great opportunity for me to get some Bourne Identity reading in. I might bring a craft along as well. I remember how incredibly sleepy I was the last time I watched her when my grandma got home late; hopefully I don't get so ridiculously sleepy tomorrow night. I guess it'll be a nice way to spend Valentine's, all in all.

True Colours Thursday--Pink!

I'll admit it's not my favorite color, but I do have a few pink things...


This is a "yarn backpack" that I got for Christmas. When the weather warms up, I hope to pack a project or two and go to the park!


I love this book. It's a collection of creative nonfiction stories that one of my professors introduced me to in college. Actually, it was one of the required texts for the course. Bradway is truly an inspiration to me. I love her style, and the monochromes that provide a backdrop for each chapter are priceless. Since the book was published on a small press, I'm not sure how easy it is to obtain a copy of it, though.

True Colours Thursday is the brainchild of friend Blue

Quarter-Life Crisis

Okay, so maybe I am sort of quarter-life crisis-ing. After all, I have started a mental list of moderately unrealistic goals, and I've been poring over my atlas, dreaming of trips I'd like to take in the near future. Still, I don't think I'm taking it that bad...

* * * * * * * *

A few days ago I ordered some craft supplies from a company in Wisconsin called Herrschners. I was so excited when I received an email saying that the order had been shipped. I had it sent to my mom's work, since it would be delivered UPS, and I might or might not be home when the package would arrive. So, when my mom came home for lunch today carrying a large cardboard shipping box, I figured it was my Herrschners order. It was! I was so excited. I took the needlepoint pillow kit out of the box. Then I took out the aida cloth. I decided to put the embroidery floss into a Ziploc bag to keep it all together for when I decide to cross stitch my African elephant from my safari book. As I was digging out handfuls of the DMC floss, my hand kept getting snagged on the various ads and other crap that comes along with a shipment and its invoice. I just haphazardly threw most of these papers out, until I encountered the AARP Financial Life Insurance Program card. So Herrschners assumes that because I order cross-stitch supplies that I am retirement age?

Now I'm really alarmed.