Happy Dance Part 2!

Oh happy day!! I finally finished the middle section of the China piece. Once I started backstitching on it, it went really fast. As hard as it was to stitch, I'm really glad I stuck with it. I think it turned out really well. Now that the middle section is finished, the rest of the cross stitching is going really well. I can honestly say I see the end. And getting so close to finishing this is making me excited about stitching other pieces. Maybe I'll dig out another UFO to finish.

Thoughts on a Movie

I've gotten bogged down again on the China piece. I've promised myself that as soon as I finish here, I will go in and stitch on it. I'm also going to try to keep up with this blog more often. That means some of what I blog about won't be cross stitch related but I hope it will be interesting.

I saw a very good movie over the weekend. Now I love a good action, end of the world movie. I'm really not into so-called chick flicks. Oh, I'll watch them at home but I usually won't go to see them in a theater. So this weekend Dave and I went to see District 9. It was just my kind of movie. Lots of action and aliens. Also lots of violence and raw language (which I do NOT like but when spoken with a South African accent it wasn't so easy to understand what they were saying). All this being said, I've been thinking about this movie all weekend. On the surface. it was humans vs. the aliens vs. big business. But on a deeper level, it really made me think about just who are the real monsters. Often we're afraid of people or things that we preceive are different from us. They may look different or sound different or act different. But strip off all the outer trappings, and I'll bet we'll find that they are just like us. They want a home or family or love. But we label them and try to push them aside so we can't see them. I know I'm guilty of it sometimes. From now on, when I'm tempted to do that, I'll try to remember District 9 and the lessons I've learned from it.

Happy, Happy Dance!

Yes! I'm happy dancing all over the house. I finally finished the cross stitching of the center section. I was bound and determined to finish it yesterday. I decided I just needed to suck it up and finish it. So I spent several hours just working on it and voila! It's done. I even managed to start the backstitching on it. That should go considerably faster than the cross stitching. I know, I know. Famous last words. But I can see the end. So let's boogie together and celebrate!

A Little MORE Progress

Ok, I feel like this piece has become my very own Sword of Damacles. It's just hanging over my head waiting to drop. It seemed so easy when I first started it. It never occcured to me to check and see just how many quarter stitches there were in that center section. No wonder the designer looked at me like I was stark raving mad. But I'm almost done with that area. After that it should be smooth sailing. I really would lke to finish it soon. I spent last Friday organizing my stash and found so many projects I want to work on. But I really, really feel obligated to get this one done first. Maybe that's my incentive to finish it. I can start a new one when I get this one done. Or at the very least, I can return to stitching on CDC or finish the Michael Powell design. I only have a little backstitching to do on it and when it's done, I have plans to frame the 3 I have stitched. So while the race is on today, I think I'll stitch a ittle.

Where Has the Time Gone?

It hardly seems like more than a month has gone by since I updated my blog. It seems like this summer is flying by much faster than previous ones. Is this what happens the older you get? Probably or so I've been told. We spent the 4th of July weekend with our oldest son, Brian, and his girlfriend in Flagstaff. It was a very relaxing weekend. We went to the parade on Saturday. Didn't do fireworks cause they were fake. Apparently the woods are so dry up there, that they run the risk of forest fires with fireworks. So they put on some kind of light show. Not my style. Then on Sunday we went to the Grand Canyon. Now I know some people just think it's a big hole in the ground or just a big ditch but that is so far from the truth that it's laughable. It is truely magnificent! This picture does not even begin to do it justice. In the other picture, Brian is sitting next to David and his girlfriend, Alysha, is sitting next to him. The other couple is one of Brian's roommates, and his girlfriend. We hadn't had the opportunity to let Brian entertain us before, that it was very nice for a change.

I'd like to take one more trip before Sherrie returns to school. She's our pet sitter so I'm trying to take advantage of the time she's here. I'm thinking Vegas. Are you listening, David?

Guess Where I've Been!

I just got back from a wonderful week on the Big Island of Hawaii. Dave and I decided on the spur of the moment (ok, 2 weeks in advance is spur of the moment for us) trip to Kona, Hawaii. It was fantastic! We thought Honolulu would be too crowded this time of year and I really wanted to see the volcano so it was off to Kona we went. The weather was beautiful, in the 80's and no rain except for the last day. I was so not used to the humidity. I kept wanting to take showers to cool off. On Monday I think I took 3 of them altogether. We had a balcony where I spent every morning reading my Bible and it was so peaceful with the sound of the surf in the background. The beaches were mostly lava rock or black sand, very few white sand beaches. We went to the top of Mauna Kea for the sunset above the clouds and stargazing (14,000 feet above sea level). It was weird seeing both the North Star and the Southern Cross in the sky at the same time. We spent all day Thursday on a tour of Volcano National Park and then went on a night time hike to see the lava flow into the ocean. I think that was my favorite day. We also went snorkeling Friday. The fish were gorgeous! I can't think of anything I would have left out. If you ever get the opportunity, I highly recommend a trip to the Big Island.

Spring Fever or Stitching Slump?

I seem to have come to a halt on most of my stitching. I've stitched a little on the China piece but right now I can't see that I will finish it before their anniversary. I haven't picked up Cirque des Carreaux in a month. I wanted to finish the China piece first before I worked on CDC again. So I'm not sure if I'm in a slump or just feeling spring fever. My allergies have really been bad and my eyes just don't want to focus well. I do need an eye exam and I plan on going back to the Varilux lens I had previously. These new-fangled bifocals just aren't doing the job. I have been doing some knitting at night. I hope to get a baby blanket done for Chris' sister-in-law. Mainly I've been reading. Dave had bought us a Kindle 2 when they came out and we've both been doing a lot more reading lately. I know I'll get back to stitching eventually. I do miss it. It's just right now other things are taking a priority in my life.