Odors, Etc.

Thank you to my health helpers out there. Because of your comments, I decided that I'm not crazy (in my nose, anyway) and I emailed my doctor. We'll see what he has to say about my stinky nose.

I have to tell you how the stinky nose thing started. Let me preface my little tale by assuring you that I'm not trying to be mean or ultra-judgmental toward anyone. What I am is shocked and appalled about a student's situation.

Over the last three years that I've worked at my morning school (I drive from one school to another at noon), we've had a student who has often smelled absolutely horrible (words can't describe it). It got so bad a couple of weeks ago that every room she was in smelled horrible also. Parents and students who were at school for the science fair were asking, "What is that smell?" This poor nine-year-old girl comes with four other kids to a small reading group in my room, and at times all of us (including me) have had to find ways to cover our noses and/or scoot inconspicuously away from her. The kids in her class have started making faces and ostracizing her. (The counselor has stepped in with some tolerance education for the other students.)

Teachers and the counselor at our school have spoken to the student (over four years) about the benefits of bathing and wearing clean clothing, generally to no avail. The principal has also had conversations with the student and her mother (many times) about the problem, again with little relief. In fact, the mother refuses to take any responsibility for making sure her daughter is bathed and that her clothes are laundered. She's too busy. As a mom who probably over-bathed her kids, I find this entire situation unbelievable. All I can do is imagine what their house must be like (but not for long). And how could you ignore the fact that your child is filthy? What is wrong with this mother??? (And some info: We've been informed that Social Services isn't interested in grooming. They will step in if the child is in danger due to neglect or abuse.)

So, back to the stinky nose (sighing and stepping off of soapbox, but I could step back on at any moment) ... I thought that the smell in my nose was the smell of my student that I couldn't stop thinking about. In short, I thought that I was imagining the smell in my nose. Then I thought that I was smelling myself.

This isn't the first time that I've thought I was imagining something that was wrong with me. In fact, I try for quite a while to talk myself out of whatever is ailing me. I know other women who do the same thing. I'm not sure what this means, but it makes me think too much. Do we just hate being sick? Do we hesitate to bother a doctor with our complaints? Do we hate to spend the time and money to have a complaint investigated? Do we hate to spend the time being sick? For me, it's yes to all of those things. I wanna feel fabulous all the time, and I'm pretty sure that I can play a large part in making that happen by talking myself into feeling good and/or talking myself out of feeling bad (this does not work with shingles).

Sorry this has turned into a rambling blah-blah-blog. I'm truly distressed by the fact that so many kids are handicapped or enabled or just plain ignored by their parents. This has been just one story. There are many, many others. Tomorrow I'll find something happy to say about stitching.

Too Much Fun

Well, kids, I have so little stitch-type stuff to report because I've been involved in having some fun (gasp). I know! I'm one of those people who think that, to quote Commander Cody, "You can't never have too much fun!" In my warped and twisted brain, almost everything can be fun, but sometimes it takes a little effort. And then there are the times that require much effort. But I digress.

I was busy most of the long weekend dog-sitting and hanging around with the man I hang around with, so that was pretty fun. Nothing terribly exciting, mind you, but I did purchase two fancy carbon monoxide alarms (woop tee doo) and priced a new, very quiet, garage door opener (yawn). Don't you hate to spend hundreds of dollars on things you can't stitch? Having fun while buying a garage door opener will be a situation that requires some work to enjoy. I'm thinking about that so I'll be ready when it actually happens.

Speaking of hundreds of dollars, the bills have started arriving for my unviewable-because-it's-on-the-inside nose remodeling of about a month ago. Who knew that becoming headache-free would cost so much? Truly a surprise to someone who has so successfully avoided surgery for decades. And here's a strange problem: I've been smelling a bad smell almost constantly for about a week. I usually have a great sense of smell (which can be a handicap when sitting next to a person of the pungent variety), but I can't rid myself of this odd, yucky smell. Just to let you know that I've covered all the angles, I've asked people I know and trust to smell me to see if it's me. It's not, and they would tell me if was. Could it be my upper lip? The inside of my newly remodeled nose? I have no idea! So anyone out there who has some advanced degree in odors and their origins, please fill me in.

Finally, I'll be stitching on Lo How a Rose tomorrow night instead of tonight. I've decided to have a little fun with my sister instead! Yes, kids, I'm going to leave my house on a school night and go listen to some friends play music and maybe enjoy an adult-type beverage (another gasp). I know! It's rather shocking! Wonder if anyone I know will still recognize me. I think I'm gonna have to chant on the way there, "It's good to get out ... It's good to get out ... "

Lo How a Rose - Week 4: Letters Only

As you can see, it was letters only that were stitched in LHAR ... with no boo boos ... or none that I've found yet. Since it worked so well, I may have to continue with letters for another day and then have a flowers-only stitch day. Whew! Thank goodness there's a plan in place for the next two weeks! ;)

I'll bet I don't even have to report that I'm back in Eden, in the last section of ATS. I've been discussing the filling-in of the grass with my sister, and I think I have myself settled on what I'd like to try. Siobhan also told me what she did, and I've seen a couple of other finished pieces online. If you have some experience with that last section you wanna share, please feel free.

It's one of those cold, cloudy, breezy Saturdays. Since it's Valentine's Day, I'm baking the man I hang around with an apple-blackberry pie. We're gonna have some tasty chile, cornbread (of course) and some of that too-yummy-for-words pie with ice cream. It'll be nice to sit in front of the fireplace on a cold night and maybe watch a movie ... or not.

Thank you to everyone who leaves kind comments. They're fun to read, informative and much appreciated.

Happy Valentine's Day

Final Phase

I couldn't resist a quick update. All day yesterday, I could think only about finishing that next-to-last section of ATS. So I got home as soon as possible (gee ... almost 7 o'clock), put my ass to the purple chair and finished the pretty little scene (woo hoo!).


Just to give it a little perspective, here's the whole Garden so far ...

Sorry for the blurry pic ... I think I have a problem standing still enough while clicking. But you get the idea. And don't you love the wrinkles and the tangle of threads and needles on the left? Stitching in-hand creates wrinkles, and keeping fibers ready to stitch on needles stuck into my work is my version of convenience. Prettier, wrinkle-free, uncluttered pictures will come at the end. So on to the last section! People have been telling me the ways they've chosen to fill in the last section, and they've caused me to start plotting my own fill-in plan. Before sharing I'll try a little to see how it looks.

Last night was supposed to be Lo How a Rose SAL night, but Adam and Eve and friends tempted me away. Now I'm off to spend some hours on LHAR, take a break from Eden, and think about the upcoming long weekend. My hopes for a blizzard with accompanying snow days will remain unrealized for the near future ... dang it.

Here, Kitty Kitty

While I was stitching that cute lion with the monkey face, I kept thinking, "here, kitty kitty", and eventually he appeared. The only things missing from this lovely little among-the-flora-and-fauna scene is the lady, a ginger-colored sheep and a blue bird sitting on the lion's butt. I like it, and I won't subject you to a long-winded explanation about what I did (or unsuccessfully tried to do) to the moon. Let's just say that I have a left-brain issue concerning symmetry. But then you know this because I've already told you how I readjusted the whole damn border. This pic shows my progress on page three of the four-page chart. My mom, who is retired and has become Super Stitcher (I think she's secretly stitched SS on her undies), is quickly moving through page two. And she just started the sampler at Thanksgiving!!! Can you believe that? I'm working to keep ahead of her in an attempt not to be the slowest stitcher in the family ... even though I am (sniff ... I feel so genetically cheated). My sister is on the last section but we haven't had a progress report lately. Maybe we can eventually do a three-way finish pic.


See the grassy area at the bottom? That's eight out of ten rows of dull fill-in. I've read about how many of the stitchy bloggers hate to fill in, and I'm right there. So, in an effort to make it not-so-dull, I've been stitching a few cute little fun-to-stitch things and then filling in a needleful of grass. Then I go back to the fun stuff for a little while. I'm the queen of deal-making with myself, so that's the deal. I'm not sure what will be arranged when I get to the last section pretty soon. It has lots of cute little things to stitch, but it's completely filled in with two colors of green. I've seen one completed piece with just the cute stuff and no filling. Anyway, thinking about all the filling-in to come got me to thinking about these two stinkers ...

They're both solidly stitched on 36-count linen over one, and that was more filling (yawn) than I've had to do on anything else. In fact, these two little samplers turned out to be true BAP's. So if I finished these two, certainly I can get through one section of ATS, right? By the way, I have another one of these ready to go but other things have cut into the projects-in-waiting queue.


And to you experienced (or just younger) bloggers: I really wanted to put these two pictures next to each other, but I couldn't figure out how to do it. I continue to be technologically challenged, so it's not as cool as I wanted it to be.

I'm off ... school tomorrow, and not a snow day in sight! We really need a good blizzard around here.

Lo How a Rose - Week 3: Can I Count?

Here we are after my third week of stitching with the Lo How a Rose SAL, and I still can't count! I had to unstitch and restitch two separate areas, and then I decided to just leave one boo boo in because I'd gone to far to make going back worthwhile (to me, anyway). Even though counting seems to be a challenge, I'm loving the colors.

As I was thinking of Brightneedle and counting, I remembered the difficulties I had with this piece called Sunshine and Shadow ...

I got cocky while stitching this one and decided to work from two different corners (you can see where this is going, can't you?). Because I had made too many of the little checkerboard-type border squares, I found that the two parts I was stitching were gonna miss each other by about ten threads. Bummer. So reverse stitching became the task of several days, because about a third of those cute little over-one motifs had to be removed. Can you say "frustration"? I knew you could. Frustration wasn't the only f-word used during that time. Deep breaths help sometimes, as does vodka. Cocktail, anyone?

Meanwhile, back in the Garden, life is good. I've decided to stitch tonight and have a little show and tell tomorrow. I had the day off on Tuesday after a little torture session (painkiller required) with the nose doc, so I got to stitch for a few hours (my reward). It felt like playing hooky, and I love that feeling.

I'm gonna refrain from commenting on the lady with 14 kids, counting the eight new babies. Everything I have to say, including my many questions, would sound hideously judgmental. And as my mom told me when I was a bitchy, know-it-all 14-year-old, "It's not necessary that everyone knows what you think." I think of that advice before opening my mouth during a potentially controversial discussion, and I'm certain that it's saved me from tasting my toes on more than one occasion. Isn't my mom smart?

Happy Friday!

Too Much Info

Before I get into the too-much-info portion of my blah-blah-blog today, I have to fill you in on Super Sunday. First, I kinda wanted those Cardinals to win ... they were the underdogs and the team from out west. They put up a good fight, huh? Then there was stitching during the Super Bowl. It was a complete non-issue! Isn't that great? Of course, there was so much going on (two men, two dogs, food, beer, game, commercials, etc) that I had to unstitch and restitch more than once ... duh ... because I was rather distracted. But the point is, it was no big deal. Fabulous!

And now for TMI. I rarely answer lists of questions, but as I was visiting Anna one day, this looked interesting. So here goes ...

Things you’ve already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to: leave in plain font

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band
4. visited Hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than you can afford to charity
7. been to Disneyworld – Hell, I didn’t make it to Disneyland until I was 41!
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis – and a tarantula named Rosie
10. sang a solo – not what you’re thinking … junior high choir class
11. bungee jumped
12. visited Paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea – complete with a waterspout!
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. grown your own vegetables
19. seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch hiked – Sorry, Mom, but it was that bitchy know-it-all 14-year-old who used to live at your house.
23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill - Do people not do this?
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon
28. ridden a gondola in Venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise
33. seen Niagara Falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. seen an Amish community
36. taught yourself a new language – I’m not counting the Spanish I learned in junior high and high school.
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied – Having it doesn't guarantee satisfaction.
38. seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing – not really high rocks
40. seen Michelangelo’s David in person – I wish everyone could hear my mom talk about the time she saw David!
41. sung karaoke – not a chance
42. seen Old Faithful (geyser) erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. visited Africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance – my poor mom
47. had your portrait painted
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. been to the top of the Eiffel tower in Paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theater – source of many a story …
55. been in a movie - only Grandpa’s home movies
56. visited the Great Wall of China
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited Russia