Looong Weekend

Thursday was my natal anniversary, aka birthday. I decided to take it as a vacation day. And since it was the Thursday before a holiday weekend, I took Friday off as well. This was a good plan.

Thursday, CD also took the day off and we just spent time together. We went out to lunch, played games, and just enjoyed each others' company.

Friday, I went to get my jewelry cleaned. This used to be a minor task. CD bought insurance on my jewelry when he bought it from a chain. I take it to get cleaned and inspected every 6 months and all repairs are free. Except. The two closest stores closed. On the bright side, the next closest store is in Greensboro.

After, I met part of my family for lunch. They picked a place close to where I was going to be and close to the highway, so I could make my way home again. It was a lovely. Dad and K gave me a bracelet he bought in Texas in 1977. It's turquoise and coral chip Kokopellis silver cuff bracelet. They also gave me a book about the Acoma people. They gave me a phenomenal photo of some Acoma pottery for Christmas.

CD gave me the soundtracks for the 1st two Hobbit movies and RG gave me Elle King's cd, and a book from my Amazon list.

Saturday was TriTatters. I managed to make one ice drop and got some sea glass from Carolyn. I started an ice drop with one of those but they are larger than my usual glass and I'm adjusting to fit. I don't think I've made it large enough.

I want this book (one of the tatters brought it to the meeting)

It was a lovely meeting. I helped someone with a current project and showed her how to make Martha Ess's half-braid bracelet. She wants to make one for her daughter, to recognize her daughter's getting her prize job. The tatter, we'll call her R, is still learning and this is a pattern well within her skills. She was so thrilled. I love helping people like that.

Sunday was Pathfinder, Tears at Bitter Manor again. We haven't played since February and one of our players had to bow out (his wife is sick - I hope it's nothing serious, but he just wanted to be there for her). We played without him but we spent lots of time socializing and didn't get a lot of play in. We did get through 2 battles and I almost killed the barbarian. Concentrated fire is very bad. Of course, I targeted her because she was the most likely to survive.

Monday, a few of us got together and did some computer gaming in Lord of the Rings Online. It was lots of fun. We hadn't had a chance to play together in ages.

Today, a new staff person joined us at work. I finally have another woman in the office.

Pictures

more pages from the coloring calendar

storm clouds

mock cable stitch gauge in progress

A day late, no dollar involved

Wednesday afternoon, was the retirement celebration for my coworker, Jim. Here's a picture of his card and a slice of his cake. It was tasty, btw.

Wednesday night I and JJ went to a stories and music of Scotland talk. A group is trying to raise enough money to endow a chair to study Scot and Gaelic life in North Carolina. It was really warm that day, so I just wore my shawl, no jacket. As I left work and went to meet JJ, I realized, 'uh oh, it's really cold and windy. I'm going to freeze tonight.' We left supper (running late) and it was more of the same. The stories and music were very interesting and I stayed just a little too long.

JJ walked with me to the bus stop and I had juuust missed the bus, and the next one was in an hour. At least, it was much warmer on the walk to the bus stop. We went across the street to grab a drink and sit somewhere warm. And it was frigid again when we returned to the bus stop, but the wait was only a few minutes.

Thursday was Deadlands. SR and I worked together to take notes using Google Docs. It's different, but effective.

Friday, pretty much at the last minute (only a few hours before it started), I found out about a Scot/Irish/Appalachia music ties, with a dip into Cajun. I alerted JJ and he joined me. There was a reception with Irish food beforehand (corned beef sliders, raw veggies, potato nibblies, etc) and both people were from the same area of Ireland. They are a wife and husband poet and poet/musician. We had a lovely time. It wasn't as late and it wasn't as cold, so it was easier to wait.

Saturday we were supposed to play Pathfinder, but MC just got married the week before so instead RW ran Mermaids for his daughter, her friend, RG, and I. CD kept RG's dog occupied while we played. After, we played LotRO. We were trying finish a particular quest. Alas, we weren't quite up to it and kept dying. We played a bit too late trying to finish it.

I was wiped out Sunday with a migraine. As a result, I got almost nothing done.

Got some stuff done, including gathering up my tax info and Mom's. However, I decided to use a tax preparer for Mom's since frankly, hers is more complex than I'm used to. I went by the place today but didn't have mom's id so I need to go get that before the tax prep person can really start (pesky id theft worries).

 Here are some spring pictures.

this is what is turning my car chloris

 And here's a picture of all of my buffboo yarn, both teal purple. I've wound them into balls.

Thanksgiving and other stuff

For US-type people, Thursday is Thanksgiving. I have noted which stores will be open on Thursday, because I will NOT be shopping at any of them this holiday season. This is a bit hypocritical of me because I am going out to eat on Thursday. I am thankful for the staff who are making my meal possible.

Last Thursday, I had a 'fun' migraine; my head did not really hurt but I suddenly lost half my field of vision. Thankfully (there's that word again), Excedrine migraine took care of which. I am especially thankful because I was out to eat before gaming and driving with half your field of vision gone seems like a really bad idea.

I went to see Mom this past weekend. I saw something shocking; I saw gas for less than $2/gallon. I'll pause while you recover from the shock. We did a little shopping (I needed some electrical tape) but mostly we worked on organizing her yarn stash. Considering she mostly 'inherits' yarn, her stash is quite large.

Here's something cool; a huge archive of American (US I think) folk and blues music available online for free. Here's the story about it.

I had a dental appointment on Monday, so the only tatting I've really done are the little 1-ring, 5 -picot flowers. Strings of them. My mouth is still a trifle sore.

flowers, late blooming

sunset

sunset and autumn leaves

just outside my office

On Friday, as I was walking home in the dark, I managed to miss the sidewalk. It was on a downslope and not only did I fall down, my shoulder/teardrop purse tried to flip over my head. My hair got caught, but luckily I was with someone and she untangled my hair so I could move. I scraped up my knee and my iPad popped right out of the hardshell/keyboard case. On the bright side, it fell on my notebook and only cracked one corner of the screen. I didn't rip my pants either. I'm still a tiny bit sore, though.

And in other news, I've broken 21000 words in my Nanowrimo. But writing meetings are hard.

Poncho and Tat Days Prep

Shockingly, I recently ran out of notecards. Or at least, if I have more notecards, I cannot find them, which amounts to the same thing. Luckily, I am prepared. I have a pad of decent quality watercolor paper, 6"x9", and washi tape and rubber stamps and bits of tatting. Between these elements, I can make my own notepaper. The drawback is a lack of envelopes. However, as per this blog, there's a solution for that. I often use old calendars and maps.

Here's an analysis someone has done, attempting to use Spotify to identify timeless music. It's interesting and it might be possible, due to modern technology. The only other way to measure how popular an older song is (to my knowledge) is it still being purchased? If I'm wrong, please let me know. I'm curious about this.

CD, my SO, made another chocolate chess pie. This one was ever better. It was lighter and the crust was softer. I don't like hard pie crust. He used grated frozen butter and frozen vanilla vodka and colder dough means softer crust.

My boss turns 50 this week, so the office got together to celebrate. Monday evening, three of us decorated his office with balloons, caution tape, etc. At lunch, the people who share an office with him added more. We had cake, ice cream, nuts, chips, and CD's pie. We were supposed to have punch but the woman making it dropped her punch bowl and it broke. Luckily, it wasn't an antique or anything like that.

picture from iPad game, Neko Atsume

And this arrived this week

Pretty

Remember the cape from last year? My...additions are complete. Bwahahahaha.

And coincidentally, Michael's had Aunt Lydia's Mexicana thread in size 10 on sale, $2.93 each if purchasing 3 or more, compared to the usual $3.49. No connection. At all. Really. I mean that.

I've been trying to write in my journal again. This blog , with daily journal prompts, is inspiring.

Someone save me. My eye was caught by a small Dr. Who sampler, I now want to do a larger sampler with the transcript from Blink. There are some obstacles; one, what fabric would I use; two, do I do the entire transcript or just the Dr's lines; and the hardest one to overcome, time.

British Library published public domain pictures. Much fun.

1st Spam Comment & Mythic Frustration

I'm been making blog entries for..awhile. And this weekend I got my 1st spam comment. Huh. It's a milestone, of sorts.

Television: This weekend, Chris and I watched the History's channel special "Search for the real Wolfman." It was broadcast before Halloween but it took us awhile to watch. They had a retired police detective & a cryptozoologist examining the case of The Beast of Gévaudan(wikipedia article includes information from show). I was disappointed and frustrated by it. Partly, I blame editing. There was a lot of repetition. How many times do you need to repeat '102 villagers, mostly women and children were killed'? I really don't think that you need to say that more than once every 15 minutes.

The cryptozoologist would say something that made sense, like 'extinction may not be what we thought' or words to that effect (see coelacanth as example of 'extinct' animal). Not two minutes later, although probably taped days apart, he'd say 'it looks like the attack could have been by this animal; but it's extinct.'

The were 2 incidences in the show though that really, really frustrated me. They tested the silver bullet, to see just how deadly one is; as Jean Chastel is credited with finally killing the beast with a silver bullet; the attacks stopped after he killed it. EXCEPT! They tested a silver rifle bullet, not a silver musket ball. That is a tremendous difference that makes their test nigh onto useless.

The other was the way that they stated their conclusion. If they had said 'we are satisfied that we have found the most likely scenario', I'd accept that. I may not agree with it, but I accept it. But they did not. They stated categorically that they had found the solution and frankly, I do not think that is realistic, especially with the History Channel showing a disclaimer in fine print below them. They have a hypothesis which seems to fit all the evidence, but they did not find categorical proof. At this late date, categorical proof would be hard to find indeed. Even the bones of the creature that Chastel took to the French court may not be enough.

Celestial bodies: I would love to catch the Leonid meteor shower, but I'm just not awake at that hour. And definitely not awake & far enough away from light pollution at that hour.

Do you like gargoyles? Then you should see this page of examples, both classic and modern. I did not realize that some of the gargoyles that I had seen so often were from the Notre Dame in Paris.

Music: FYE is having a CD sale right now. I don't remember why we went by the mall yesterday, but when we spotted that we stopped in to look. I bought a few. *ahem* Although one of them is a Christmas present.

music video of the day: Irish pipes

sorry, still not really posting.

Morning Music soundtrack: Here With Me (Dido), Second Nature (Clannad), Out of the Gene Pool (Jeff Foxworthy), Happy Now? (No Doubt), You Thought (The Go-Gos), Time Will Crawl, The Rum Tum Tugger,& ending with Deep in the Heart of Texas (Gene Autry).

books: I finished Wild Magic last night & brought More Than Honor to read today. I wasn't in the mood for the 3rd story so I finished it a little sooner than I expected (at lunch). Although I did entertain myself imagining a fictional occurrence in which Commander Leary from the RCN series, Emperor Roger McClintock, Admiral Honor Harrington & Imperial Auditor Lord Vorkosigan meet. Since the science of their various star travels are mutually incompatible, it's obviously impossible in any of the world settings.

computer games: I started a new game of Tradewinds 2 (warning, pop-up). I've unlocked one captain, I wonder how to unlock the other one.

tv: I started to watch Dr Who but I wasn't up to it. I really don't like the flashback-style of tv show. I then watched a little Perry Mason, then flipped around. I couldn't settle on anything & finally turned it off.

tatting: I finished the snowflake using the vintage thread. It's a little large (ie larger than a fingernail, even my thumbnail, for such a simple pattern) but it still looks pretty good. I need to clip the loose threads.

I spent some time downloading my camera's contents & then editing the pictures. I put a load of laundry into the machine but the jeans hadn't finished drying by the time I went to bed. That's what I get for having some jeans that demand 'tumble dry on low'. For supper, I had the other sweet potato that I bought at the dining hall farmer's market. I baked it much better this time. With my oven, an hour is better than 45 minutes.

clothes: navy loafers, socks & slacks; same watch & hematite band; light blue 2005 NCAA men's basketball champs polo; lapis bead earrings; lapis ring; blue stone & white bead necklace (still without pendant); & loose hair (thought about braiding but no time to find an elastic).

The day after All Saints Day: another typical day. I woke up late, rushed through my morning ablutions, made sure that I had my bus pass & id card as I walked out the door, and turned on my mini-iPod as I headed for the bus stop. I was running late, so I turned my music to the Wake Up playlist (mostly high energy songs) and Eternal Flame came on. I decided that wasn't upbeat enough & hit next. Redneck Woman came on & that got me hustling to the stop. Caught the bus & read on the way into work. My current tatting (until I get beyond the pause in my necklace) is too sensitive to try on the bus. I have to really watch my tension when working with metallic & nylon filaments.

The bus dropped me off very close to work. I waved to the guy in the copy center (we have the same director), actually I made a face at him until he looked up & waved back. Pausing by the paper rack, I picked up 4 of the campus papers; one for me & three for whoever else in the office wants one. Diving into the Pit Stop, I bought my usual 4 Sunbelt granola bars (one Oat N' Honey, one chocolate chip, one fudge dipped coconut & one fudge dipped chocolate chip) & my Diet Pepsi Max (it used to be whatever diet vanilla soda they had but the companies stopped producing them). The lines for the registers in the Pit Stop were long so I went to a register in the main part of the store. The cashier looked mildly bored, so I gave him something to do. I gave exact change, grabbed my receipt & off to my building.

I waved hi to Tabitha as I came in, dodging tables. Down the stairs & swipe my id card to unlock my office door. The lights were already on, so I put down my bag, noting that I had a voice mail message waiting, laid the newspapers out, grabbed the leftover paper from yesterday & headed down the hall to turn on the other lights. I called hi to the other people who'd already arrived & put the old newspapers in the recycling before grabbing a bottle of water from the tiny office refrigerator (we have a water cooler but I'm bad about remembering to drink, so I refill my soda bottles with water & put them in the fridge until I'm ready for them). I hang up my jacket & sweater in the closet & return to my desk to turn on my computer.

That's the start of my day.

Music: Morning commute today started with Redneck Woman, followed by Mony, Mony, at which time the bus came. Over the sound of the engines I could barely hear Backdoor Lover, White Wedding, Hey Good Looking, Everything Hurts, and then I could hear Candyall Beat Remix as I disembarked. Rock Around the Clock took me into my office.

books: I read vol 5 of Fruits Basket this morning. I don't know what I'm going to read next.

gaming: Last night was a meatgrinder. Our characters earned & used Hero Points like mad. It was 9 or 10 rounds of nothing but combat. Okay, very little besides combat. We ended last session with fiery demons emerging from the chest of the villainous, mystically-powered robot. Last night we fought them as we tried to close the gate. Rosemary's character, Lady Celtic, finally figured out how to do it. We have to find the chief bad guy's, Eyekiller's, fetish, where he keeps his soul & destroy it. Among other things, Totem got turned into a pigeon (but still helped by using her acrobatic bluff a couple times to redirect Eyekiller's attack onto his own demons) and Lady Celtic was transformed into a cat. Since she could still think, she continued to work on the gate shut down. Once she figured it out, she used her transform power to become a monkey. Now able to make gestures, she regained her magic and used to heal Momento Mori & wake him up.

When we left off, Totem had figured out that the best person to get the fetish was either Wraith, who's out of duplicates until he can make some more, or her heir, Jason. His patron/totem is Anubis/Coyote so he has an affinity for realms of the dead & trickery. Alas, Totem saw no way to get a message to Jason or to summon him. I may be using a hero point for that.

clothes: black jeans, socks, suede shoes & polo (Geoff); hematite band & earrings (silver hook, silver bead, square hematite? bead, silver bead, larger hematite sphere), braided silver ring & both match bangles, labradorite pendant (mostly hidden by collar) & my hair in a ponytail, using one of the clasps from Bronze Jewellers.

Packed: I am, mostly. I still need to pack my jewelry & I'm missing some game stuff. I need to find that, really. A lot.

Joe came over & all three of us went to Rockfish to eat. I spent too much money but the food was very good. I had the grilled tilapia with the maple glaze, creamed corn & whipped potatoes. We talked about Witch Hunter, the new Living Forgotten Realms campaign coming next year, the end of LG, and Blackmoor. Yes, it was a lot of gaming conversation.

Morning commute soundtrack: Mr Brightside, Time Warp, Along Came Jones, Pass It Around, Pep Vim & Verve, & Ya-ya by Lee Dorsey.

tatting: I finished the 2nd attempt at the pendant. It's too big. So I've loaded the beads for a 3rd try.

I spent most of yesterday, off & on, feeling like I still had something in my eye. It wasn't painful enough to actually be anything, so I thought it was kind of like a ghost of the pain from Tuesday night. This morning I noticed that I have a sty on my eyelid. I blame my father. I inherited a tendency towards sties from him.

I got my bus pass replaced yesterday. This one has an intact magnetic strip. We'll see how long it lasts. If it turns out to be a problem with the fare boxes, this one should start to peel in about a month.

letters: I only have the letter to my namesake left to write. I need to see if I have any stamps to mail the letters. If not, then I need to run to the post office to get some.

books: I finished Risky Business, the 1st book in the Dangerous anthology. Then I figured out that I wasn't really in the mood to read the other 2 books. Oh well. I need to write & tat, anyway.

clothes: navy loafers & slacks; navy, short-sleeved, shawl collar linen jacket over horizontally striped tank in navy, country blue, light blue & white; brown belt (hidden by the jacket), lapis lazuli bead earrings; lapis lazuli flower ring; hematite band; silver cuff bracelet; the blue barrel bead necklace from Dad; & my hair is loose; at least until I feel like putting it up.

I made it to the craft store last night. I spent too much time & a little too much money (yeah, I know, you're shocked). At least, I spent most of it on either 'need it to finish my entry' or stuff that was on sale or only $1. I was too tired to cook & didn't have enough time for a restaurant (& wasn't really in the mood either, not even take out), so I stopped by the grocery store & bought a frozen dinner. They were on sale so I bought 3 of them & I'm having one for lunch today; using my new lunch bag I got from the charity fair on Monday (kick off of the SECC campaign).

It's a fairly big deal; the State government decided a few years ago to consolidate the charity giving of its employees & to reduce/stop solicitations at work. So employees can make payroll deduction contributions to any of about 550 charities. Anybody can contribute, but only state employees can do payroll deduction. The charities range from local, city-based to international, from children, to disabled, to seniors, to health-based, to environmental & everything in-between. About 86 cents of every dollar goes to the charities, with no further overhead. The charities have to guarantee that no more than 25% of their income goes to overhead. If they go over that, after being approved, they go on probation for a year. If they continue, they go off the approved list. Since the money is payroll deducted, the state collects the money in interest-bearing accounts and distributes it on a quarterly basis. The interest also goes to the charities, based on % of the money sent (so if 10% of contributions go to the United Way, then 10% of the interest does, too). Since the money is guaranteed, per quarter, the charities can budget based on that income.

site of the day: find out about the eco-labels on your food, how accurate & truthful are they? Is that milk really organic?

Morning Commute Soundtrack: The Cry of the Wild Goose, Walk Away, Hazy Shade of Winter (Bangles), Losing Grip, In the Jailhouse Now (Gene Autry), Where Do We Go From Here, Rest in Peace, You're A Star, Vacation, & finally, I heard most of Bat Out of Hell before I got into my office.

While the washing machine & dryer did their work, I watched Bones, Cold Case, & Reaper and worked on a mini-memory book and my necklace. I did about 3 pages of the memory book & really hated the 3rd page that I did. So I stopped. I turned to my tatting.

tatting: I found some large beads that might do as the center of the bauble as well as a bag of glass globs & small marbles. The bag included some small black marbles which what I decided to use ($1 for bag versus $2 & $4 for the large bead packages, *sigh*). I loaded the thread with copper & black seed beads (1 copper, 4 black & 3 copper) and did the 1st ring for the bauble. And it's too small. The size 12 perle is quite a bit smaller than the Olympic that I used before. So I started loading the thread again (using my brand new big eye beading needle - boy is it easy to use), without taking the old one apart. I'll wait to do that until I'm completely done.

For my second try, I'm using 2 copper, 5 black & 4 copper beads and 10 ds instead of 6. We'll see if that works. I started loading the beads this morning but I had to get ready for work & did not finish.

letter: I've finished writing to my Mom's sisters now. I've started Aunt Lillian's letter but have not finished it yet. I'm going to try to mail my aunts' letters today. I still have Aunt Evelyn's, my niece's & my namesake's letters to write. I want to have them all done before I leave town.

books: I'm still reading Witch Hunter and I've sent them some errata. I haven't bothered with the typo's or anywhere in which the intent is obvious. I've only included things like the example contradicts the rule or the rule needs some expansion. In one case, I sent in a question that specifically relates to the shared world campaign, Dark Providence. I've also dipped into 1633 though and I brought a Nora Roberts anthology to work with me.

clothes: Since I'll be packing tonight, I'm keeping all my jeans for the trip. I've set out the slacks to wear to work. Today though, I'm wearing a dress. It's the blue one (like I have more than one) with the cream flowers that I wear under the navy, batiste kimono blouse. I rather think that the navy loafers detract but 'oh well.' I was going to wear my 'new' (mom gave them to me, they belonged to her but she never wears them) navy enameled earrings but they just didn't suit. Instead, it's the textured navy metal with the textured, brass cut-out over it earrings, flower fairy pendant, lapis lazuli flower ring, flower band, hematite band & my hair up in a ponytail/bun held by 2 cream curvy hairsticks. No clip watch today, I don't have anything to clip it to.

Not much has happened since last night. I watched some M*A*S*H*, tried out the cd of games that my Aunt gave me & went to bed. I did get a little writing done, so I did something productive. This morning I finished loading the dish washer & set it to run as I left for work.

letter: I wrote to my Aunt Dot while checking the weather on tv. I've finished the letters to my Dad's sisters & really need to go ahead & send them. I still have my Mom's other 3 sisters plus my two great-aunts.

I missed the family reunion. That's what happens when you stay up until 2 am and your body insists on getting up about sunrise. You need a nap in the middle of the day. At least I was awake & alert for the drive home. That's of at least moderate importance (assuming that not falling asleep at the wheel is important).

tatting: I have one more chain with bead & then another 10 rings & 'bald' chains to do & the necklace will be close to finished. After that, I need to either find/buy or tat a pendant.

Morning commute soundtrack: All the Things She Said, Vacation, Me & Bobby McGee (Joplin), You're A Star (Josie), The Wolfrider: The Hunt, Silent Running, Wrap It Up, She's a Low Down Momma, & then into but not through Shady Grove.

clothes: black ~slippers, black rayon shirt (worn open), black slacks, bright rose pink sleeveless sweater tank with round neckline with pink ombre ribbon threaded through it & tied in a bow to one side, black tatted necklace & earrings, black stone ring, hematite ring, fem/dancer ring, silver clip watch & (it's cool enough this morning - I'm not sure about this afternoon) black texture striped trouser socks.

I got another 2007 quarter yesterday, a Wyoming. I collect 2 of each of the State Quarters. I'm up to date until this year. I have the 1st two of this year but not Idaho yet. I need another Wyoming, both Idaho's & both Utah's. I really wonder why I haven't gotten them. The year is drawing to a close, after all.

Morning commute soundtrack: In the Jailhouse Now, Somebody Told Me, Wasted Youth (prologue), Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On, BackDoor Lover, Bomshel Stomp, DuJour Around the World, You're A Star (2 Josie & the Pussycats Songs, out of 215, in a row, 2 total), You're My Sugar, I'm Just a Girl & I started I'm a Woman as I entered the office. I restarted that one for my evening commute soundtrack.

TV: I watched the new Bionic Woman & the new detective series Life. Alas, that means I was up to 11, just from watching TV. Then my depression kicked in & I couldn't get to sleep until after midnight. *sigh* Being short of sleep doesn't help.

books: I read more of Witch Hunter. And some of Grantville Gazette #6. That's pretty much it.

I met with a MetLife agent yesterday. We talked about life insurance & retirement investing (that's investing money to live off of when I retire). I need to see if I have whole life or term life (he defined what those were & now I even understand them. Wow). Once they see what I have, they'll advise me whether it would be better to move my investments to them or keep them where they are & whether I need different life insurance. Yep, I'm getting old.

I'm supposed to meet Dad for supper tonight. But first, I have to get some things done about my car.

tatting: My neck is about 17" (for purposes of the necklace length, it isn't really that long). 5 rings is 1". It's only 49 beads but for the sake of math, we'll call it 50, so about 5 beads per inch (1 bead per chain), that's another 10". I need about 3" (or 15 rings) of 'bald' tatting on either side of the beads to make them balanced. Now that I know that, I can resume tatting.

clothes: black ~slippers, faded black slacks, grey polo (2002 Ren Festival), black bead bracelet, onyx earrings, labradorite pendant (it's very small), hematite band, clip watch & braided hair.

Morning commute soundtrack: (my "Wake Me Up" playlist) Walk Away, Mr. Brightside, Me & Bobby McGee, You Wanna Get Me High, Too Bad About Your Girl, Roses Grow, I Want To Be Peter Lorre, Just Like a Pill, I've Got a Theory, & started Head Over Heels as I arrived at work.

TV: Watched the new episode of Bones & nothing else of real interest.

books: finished Sex & the Psychic Witch. It was a pretty good story but more sex than I found enjoyable. I really do read romances for the plots. I started Thraxas and the Sorcerers and read one of the ebooks that I bought. Started reading Witch Hunter (gamebook).

clothes: black ~slippers & jeans, Vorkosigan polo, plaited hair, silver pendant (which is upside down I just realized), Celtic knot ring, ~rope band, hematite band, silver chain bracelet, clip watch, & ~filigree earrings.

And I'm fighting off depression. Again.

Chris's game: It was kind of quiet, no combat. Instead, we went over what we'd learned with the dwarf commander and he told us the origin of the wheel of cities. He also got Deriot (Diana's character) very, very drunk. He offered the entire group this unusual...wine. Even immunity to poison only helped, did not avert the effects. Chris had everybody do all three saves, reflex (Deriot auto-failed and sprayed most of her drink), will & fort. Deriot ended up singing bawdy songs in funny languages, until she passed out.

Our characters also reported for their new duty. Their orders got mixed & they ended up in the port town, as constables. As in fact, the entire force of constables. Pity the poor confused constables being given scout duty, somewhere on the front lines.

Morning commute soundtrack: Hazy Shade of Winter (Bangles version), Eddie, Bat Out of Hell, Gone to California, Now You See It (Now You Don't), Let's Dance, 3 Small Words & Khavi: Marching Orders.

books: I bought & read Making Money last night, before & after gaming. The bookstore had it on sale, and signed. I only went in to buy a Divine candy bar, but alas, I succumbed to the lure of the latest Terry Pratchett book. And stayed up until midnight to finish it.

writing: I talked to John a little bit after the game & I thought of what to do next with my story. I'm working on the prologue. I don't want to go into too much detail.

tatting: I started the necklace (black thread & black/copper beads) and was only halfway through the first ring & realized that I had 48 of the beads on the ball thread & 1 on the shuttle. Oops. So I retro-tatted and moved the stray bead to join the other 48.

I've decided to do a simple 3 ds (3 p separated by 3 ds) 3 ds ring with 4 bead 4 chain edging for the necklace. I'll add a flower, or maybe a bead & flower at the center when I'm done. I got the idea from the the gold necklace in Lyn Morton's book. If I get really ambitious, I'll join a strip of split chain to it (based on Lyn Morton's choker from the same book).

clothes: black ~slippers, black jeans, dusty rose wrap blouse over grey floral tank (which I was little doubtful about because it's very snug & women of my figure should be very careful about snug, but one of my coworkers said that it's very slimming), silver harp pendant on silver chain, triskele earrings, Celtic knot ring, hematite band, silver band w/ silver ~cord impressed in it,

Somehow, between the time that I got off the bus & the time that I actually to work, I acquired a huge blue inkstain on the heel of my hand. Washing it at least reduced it to a smaller, fainter, purple stain. I just want to know where I got it.

It started raining on the way home last night. It was still raining, sort of, when I disembarked the bus & the car passed it, narrowly missing me. It's a 2-lane road, so the car crossed the double yellow line to do it. Apparently, the driver never learned the lesson about not passing a stopped bus, because you know THERE MIGHT BE SOMEONE GETTING OFF OF IT! The 2nd car that was passing it, stopped to let me finish crossing the road. Anyway, the rain wasn't enough for me to put up my umbrella. I had it out, but not up.

Gaming: Diana picked me up from home yesterday and we were on the highway by 6:54. Alas, traffic was really bad (everyone's forgotten how to drive in the rain, again - and this wasn't even a heavy rain). We stopped to pick up some supper & a couple sodas (Arby's & a gas station respectively) and made it to David's a little after 7. Chris & Rosemary showed up a little later, bringing supper for me, too. Ooops. I'll eat it for lunch today.

We were a little late getting started but apparently David has not finished mining my character's backstory for plot. For our first adventure involving the probationary Freedom Leaguer: Kodachrome (Diana's new character), we're trying to stop a robbery. Lady Celtic (Rosemary's character), while investigating the attempted theft of the Staff of Ra, has found more thefts dating back for months. The stolen artifacts are Native American & Egyptian, and they all have some magical connection or potential. In addition, they all have travel elements. She also finds newspaper coverage of an exhibit to open in Phoenix that has what looks like another prime target, a ceremonial coyote mask.

We guard, Kodachrome gets knocked unconscious by having all the air sucked out of her lungs. We fight 4 elemental types but are holding our own when time was called. We'll pick it up again in 2 weeks. Or whenever we meet again.

Morning commute soundtrack: Complicated, My World, You're My Sugar, Tuscaloosa, Turn Around, Gone To California, Run, Run, Run, & Roll Over Beethoven. They're all part of my 'Wake Up' playlist.

books: I finished In the Heart of Darkness & started Destiny's Shield. I dipped into Diplomatic Immunity & read a few more pages of The Marriage Spell.

tatting: I started undoing my bauble & I almost have the 2nd ring completely retro-tatted.

clothes: black loafers & socks (too bad the socks are thin & the loafers flop on feet cause they're a scoche too big), black jeans (that really need a belt), black Origins shirt, red bead bracelet, dragon earrings, pendant & 3 rings, hematite band, & braided hair held by grey elastic.

It's supposed to be warmer today and maybe we'll have some rain. There were a few sprinkles yesterday but nothing really worth calling rain, or even a heavy mist. It was more suggestive of rain than being actual rain. It's certainly overcast enough to indicate rain. But I've been fooled before.

I tried to forget my id badge & bus pass again today. I remembered my umbrella & walked out without the other stuff. I recalled the lack fairly quickly but it was enough to make me worried about catching the bus.

Mutants & Masterminds tonight, I must remember to email Diana to see if she can give me a ride. If so, I still need to go home to pick up my character stuff & my laptop (to take notes).

Morning Commute Soundtrack: Pep, Vim & Verve; You Thought; It's My Life; Along Came Jones; Coda; The Men of the West; Sweet Little Sixteen; You're in the Doghouse Now; Too Bad About Your Girl; Canadian Idiot; Pretend to be Nice; & Imaginary (or rather, part of it).

tv: we watched Man of the House; even as badly edited as it was, it was an entertaining movie. I think I'd like to see it without the commercial editing, at some point, though.

books: I finished String of Lies & started In the Heart of Darkness. I read a little more of the Shadowrun rulebook on the way into work.

clothes: lime green tank, black rayon blouse worn open over the tank, black jeans & ~slippers, clip watch, pewter cuff bracelet (hidden by the blouse unfortunately) engraved with dogwood blossoms on either end, Fem/dancer ring, flower band, hematite ring, silver hoops (but the clip fasteners for the posts is a little tight & uncomfortable), wet braided hair & 3 ages of women pendant worn on a short chain.

News: Robert Jordan died day before yesterday. Now The Wheel of Time series will never be finished.

Morning Commute Soundtrack: It's Raining Men, Get the Party Started, Love Song, Stupid Girls, Don't Let Me Get Me (4 in a row by Pink, huh), Sister Rosetta (Capture the Spirit), You Had Me & I started Pon De Replay when we arrived. I sat somewhere different on the bus & could actually hear my music this morning.

tatting: I finished the heart yesterday on the way home, plus a single ring flower (emptying one shuttle) & emptied the 2nd shuttle by doing a red butterfly. I loaded some beads on some pastel variegated Olympus to make one of Karey's baubles but without reading the pattern. That was a mistake. I started tatting, got through the ring, looked at it without closing & went 'uh, that doesn't look right. Guess what I'll be undoing.

I almost missed the bus this morning. I had to take out the trash, take the recycling to the curb & I tried to forget my id & bus pass. I remembered them after I had locked the door, so I had to unlock it, dash in & get my badge.

Food: Sunbelt has changed the packaging on their Oats and Honey & Chocolate Chip chewy granola bars. My breakfast consists of 4 chewy granola bars; one each of Oat & Honey, Coconut Fudge, fudge dipped Chocolate Chip & Chocolate Chip. Instead of white with colored ends (green for oats & honey and blue for chocolate chip), the ends are more like pantone green & blue (colored but with white dots breaking it up).

We had chicken last night and broccoli. The broccoli had been in the freezer a little too long, but it was still edible. I think that I'll put some of the leftover chicken in the freezer. I'll be having at least one leg for supper tonight.

books: I finished my bedside book, Guards, Guards and I started Magic Lost, Trouble Found last night.

I had to wake up to empty my bladder this morning, one of the reasons that I have a nightlight in my bathroom. As I snuggled back into my still warm covers and started to doze off, I heard something horrifying. My alarm clock going off. My immediate thought 'oh hell, no!' Alas, it was yes.

And all this after having dreams of fighting with the copier. I dreamed that the original was set in place and the pages to be copied had to be fed. The stupid things kept catching and fan-folding on me. Driving me nuts. Of course, my boss is standing there, impatient to get his copies.

clothes: black ~slippers, black slacks, black Origins shirt open over grey floral tank, Celtic knot earrings & ring, Celtic knot star/moon/tree pendant, clip watch, hematite ring & hair in ponytail/bun held by two black hairsticks with brown leather decorative wrappings on the end.

It's cool! This morning my nose even got cold! I sat outside at lunch, in the shade (sun & black clothes still was a little too warm) and just gloried in the beautiful weather. Fall may finally be on its way.

Commuting music: Pon De Replay, Walkin' After Midnight, Before He Cheats & I started Get The Party Started before the noise from the bus drowned it out.

I have an entry for yesterday, I just need an internet connection with my laptop long enough to post it. If all else fails, I'll load it to my thumb drive and use a computer lab.

tatting: I failed, once again, to get anywhere on Jane's wheelbarrow. Apparently, I've forgotten how to read a pattern. So I've put it aside & I'm doing a heart from Martha's Tat's Amore. I've started the small scallop heart & by the time I finished my commute this morning, I'd finished the 2nd row.

Books: I read Excalibur Alternative online from Baen's library. At lunch, I finished on of the books that I started Saturday, Touch of Darkness by Dodd.

site of the day: fill out the form using the drop down menus

clothes: black ~slippers (I could have worn socks today, it's cool enough), black slacks, black v-neck tank, sage green rayon shirt machine stitch 'sketched' blocks of leaves & geometrics, emerald pendant & earrings, hematite band, red stone ring, silver clip watch & red wood hairstick in ponytail/bun.

Chris stopped by BJ's on the way home & picked up a couple steaks. He paid about $2 less than for the last ribeyes that he bought at the grocery store. That doesn't sound like much until you realize that these two steaks were each about the size of the two ribeyes. Even as hungry as I was, I only ate half of my steak. I have leftovers for tomorrow's lunch. Today, it's my supervisor's birthday, so we're taking him out to lunch, so no need to pack one today.

tv: We watched The Closer last night. I almost didn't stay awake long enough to see the end. I only made it because it took me longer than I thought to slice up the leftover steak & put everything away. Kyra Sedgwick is, as typical for an actress, an attractive woman. Their makeup & costume people do a good job of making her look average, or only moderately attractive.

They finally had a couple new episodes of Pop-Up Video last night. We also watched Storytellers on VHI, with Ringo Starr & the All-Stars. The only problem with that group is I get a nagging feeling that I should recognize all of them by sight.

books: I borrowed Academ's Fury from Chris yesterday & I finished it last night. It's the sequel to Furies of Calderon. For some reason, Chris acted surprised that I finished a book in one day. I'm not sure why. I usually finish a book in one day.

Tatting: I've started flipping through the Workbaskets & noting down which ones I have now. I left a message with Steve for Anitra to send me the list which ones she is missing.

clothes: ~slippers, black jeans, black golf shirt (what is the difference between a golf shirt & a polo shirt? Which one am I wearing?) embroidered with 'The Carolina Renaissance Festival 2001' in purple, thin silver chain bracelet, fem/dancer ring, hematite band, ~rope band, Celtic knot star/tree/moon, triskele earrings & braided hair.

Gaming: Diana was able to make it & has changed her lab so Mutants & Masterminds will continue to be Thursdays. We introduced her new character, by rescuing her. We had a hard time getting started and stopped the game at 10 pm in mid-fight. We recognize her kidnappers as part of group hired/created by a company that wants to create superheroes. Since she's a recent addition to the superhero ranks, they grabbed her to find out how she became one. Her origin is very traditional; she was experimenting with a new color photography developing process and had an accident. After the accident she changes colors and has a different set of abilities & powers.

Music: this morning's iPod playlist started with Worm in the Wood, a Kipling poem sung almost a cappella (if there's just a background drum beat, is it still a cappella?), Vacation by the Go-Go's, She's My Baby by Tennessee Ernie Ford, Deep in the Heart of Texas by Gene Autry, God Is a Bullet by Concrete Blonde, I've Got a Theory from the episode of Once More With FeelingBuffy, Not the One by the Donnas, Space Oddity by David Bowie & ending partially into Take Me to the Backseat by the Donnas.

books: I bought and read The Marriage Spell, staying up a little too late after gaming to do so. The author, Mary Jo Putney is on an email list that I'm on, I'll have to tell her how much I enjoyed it. It's an alternate history book set during the Regency. In this book, wizards openly, if discreetly, exist. Abigail, the heroine, is a gifted healer who, at great risk, saves the hero Jack Frayne when he's on the brink of death. The price she sets is his hand in marriage but knowing that like most of England's aristocrats his distaste/dislike/negative emotion of choice for wizards, she posits that once she has a child she'll gladly settle in the country and they'll live apart. That will preserve his good name &/or reputation. However, there's more to it than that, like Jack's own suppressed magical ability. Like I said, it's a good read and unlike so many heroines, Abigail is not TSTL (Too Stupid To Live).

I brought an anthology, Lovescape, to re-read for my commute today. The first story, by Anne Avery is unusual in a couple of ways. One: it's a series of emails exchanged between an architect & an interior designer. Two: both of them have a serious obstacle in their life (I won't reveal it, it ruins the plot).

tatting: I finished the cross. Sort of. I did the last ring & realized that when I started it that I had screwed it up. I started with two chains & a small ring when I should only have done a single chain. *sigh* I've been getting emails from the instructors at Palmetto Tat Days; telling/reminding me what supplies I'll need. It's in 2 weeks so I really need to get my crap together.

clothes: ~slippers, black jeans, dark aqua/grey/purple/blue/black silk blouse with short sleeves, clip watch, loose hair (although I'll probably braid it again later), onyx pendant & earrings, black stone ring, fem/dancer, silver hash mark ring & hematite band.