Expansion Teams

Posted on 2026-06-02 by Holly

I am not sure why, but there seems to be something in the brain of those who write various sport columns in papers that think that expansion teams are there simply as fodder for the first few years. That – and they are in love with the New York Liberty. Which is not leading the league and isn’t going to be. 

First, let us look at the Lynx. A team that is doing amazing in spite of being down three key players. GSV faces them on Thurs and I don’t expect it to end in sunshine for my team. The moving on to Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire. Both are doing well. We faced the Fire tonight, got ahead, almost blew it, then recaptured a serious lead. 

One other thing of note – similar to the last time this happened – a former Valkyrie – Carle Leite is now playing for the Fire. The PR people had put together a great clip of her from last year playing for the Valkyries – and the crowd gave her a huge ovation. Didn’t mean we wanted her to beat us – just a recognition of a good player. They also recognized the manager for the Fire (who was the deputy for GSV last year).

We enjoyed the game, got our hokey sunglasses and are actually glad we have a few days break before the team is back in town.

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And then there is Sherlock

Posted on 2026-05-31 by Holly

Continuing the Owl Forest theme, Part 3 was released on the 29th. I started it yesterday and finished this section today. This added two lap posts, the people by the door and the instruments…

–

This section was only about 1600 stitches. It is hard to tell because the PK loading has been challenging on occasion. I suppose I could use SAGA ….

 

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Stitching in Sunshine

Posted on 2026-05-30 by Holly

Done!

The pattern is from Owl Forest. Stitched on Citrus from Forbidden Fiber Co with the called for DMC. Even using B5200, the white doesn’t show up all that well (fabric in the hoop and lace below her feet… 2970 stitches in total

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All the floss

Posted on 2026-05-29 by Holly

or not, as the case may be.

It was errand day. My plan had been 1) post office 2) Micheal’s 3) breakfast out with Alex 4) Ralley’s 5) Starbucks 6) Sprouts 7) Petfood Express (cat food) and home. I even managed to hit every place on the list – except for the Post Office. The two packages I had planned on mailing are sitting, waiting for me. Somewhere in the house. Argh!

However, Michaels (Pinole) didn’t have all the thread colors I needed. I had actually gone through my master set and made a list of anything missing. Of course, what they didn’t have was what I needed for the needleworker. Argh.

But Michaels in Emeryville had it, so that trip, high time suck, low cost, was worth it. As were the lovely peach pastry pockets from Acme Bakery.

 

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Back to Ballhalla

Posted on 2026-05-28 by Holly

and the pun is starting to get old, in this second season of the Golden State Valkyries. Yes, I know that is a take off on Valhalla, but still…… marketing, yes? Just one more sweatshirt..

We took BART & Muni to the Chase Center. The Valkyries lost to the Fever in their first match-up this season.  Expectations were high. The crowd was insanely rude for San Francisco. Apparently everyone decided that they were fine with Monique Billings (former #25 for the Valkyries and now #25 for the Fever) but NOT ok with Clark (#22 for the Fever) vs our #22 of Veronica Burton. I haven’t ever heard this much “booing” out of the crowd. Normally they cheer for all the starting players…..

The game was extremely close – the referees were the usual not great.  The Valkyries pulled off a win in the last few seconds 90-88. Seriously, the last few seconds.  Unlike many of the fans, we hustle right out when the game is over since even a couple of minutes winds up meaning getting home a lot later. We literally ran for the Muni, caught the Blue line at Powell Street with a change at Lake Merritt since the Red line (direct one) doesn’t run on weeknights. Catching the Orange line right across the platform was easy and we were comfortably seating and got to watch the scramble @ 19th Street for everyone who waited for the Yellow line across the bay. I will take riding an extra stop out and back any evening  over hanging out on a platform with a crowd of fans…

and yes, I wear a mask from leaving the car to returning to the car at the end of the evening.

Otherwise, I spent the day on a new project (because old ones why?) called Stitching in Sunlight from OwlForest, And then I ran out of 3346, Since there are only five colors (and this is the one for all the greenery as well as her dress) it isn’t like I can substitute without it being obvious.

 

 

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Winter Girl

Posted on 2026-05-27 by Holly

which is the fourth in this SAL from Barbara Ana. Not only did I manage to finish her today, but also (surprise) did the backstitching for all four panels. It isn’t really obvious, just the legs on the bird and the key hanging above it. It is all the called for DMC 

started 20 May, finished today! 

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Coffee Quaker

Posted on 2026-05-26 by Holly

and this is another coffee quaker – which may leave me with only 2-3 similar ones that I just might stitch.

stitched on (I think) 18 count vintage country mocha with threadworx floss. It didn’t take all that long, being barely 2k worth of stitches. I found the pattern by Wallflower Needlart on Etsy.

 

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Memorial Day 2026

Posted on 2026-05-25 by Holly

In the US, as many a pundit and columnist will tell you – this “holiday” has changed over the years from remembrance of those who lost their lives in military service to yet another 3-4 day weekend complete with sales.

I can shop or not shop at Christmas sales – even tho it has nothing to do with me. But as a military veteran – I just can’t fathom remembering those who have died by going shopping.  Instead I think of those who died in long ago wars, those in more recent service and respect most those eulogies delivered by those who also have worn the uniform.

It is also worth remembering that not everyone buried in one of the National Cemeteries died in combat. Veterans also have the right to be buried there. The closest one to here is at the Presidio in San Francisco, next nearest is Sacramento. If I was years younger, I might go assist on one of the clean-up crews. But now? I am not looking to get planted there any time soon, so I think I will pass this year…..

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Hanging around

Posted on 2026-05-24 by Holly

We have this lovely corner seating area and table in the room off the kitchen. Said particular space is a combination dining area, George’s office/desk, and is also graced with two built in full height cabinets complete with cupboards, drawers and a center shelf which can rapidly become full of “everything.”

Right after the pandemic, or during it perhaps, I stitched a couple of moderate to large size samplers and stuck them up on the wall. Fast forward a couple of years or so. This past fall I stuck a few more pieces in resin frames and hung them with sticky hooks. This is earthquake country. We have plaster walls. Stick on hooks might not be pretty but does the least damage. Anyway – earlier this week I finished Gorgeous by the Artsy Housewife and decided to stick it up on the wall to join a couple of things already hanging there –

The middle flamingo is also the same designer whiles the bottom design is from the WitchyStitcher and is “Nightmare before coffee”.

And in case you didn’t get the theme, today I added this small one below the Quaker that has been up for a while –

The top one says “I love you more than coffee, just not always before coffee” and the new addition below it proclaims “I don’t have a problem with coffee, I have a problem without coffee.

And finally, the large Tempting Tangles Coffee Sampler has been joined by a number of smaller works –

Death before Decaf and the Owl also have been hanging for a while. The “Jurassic Perk” comes from Silver Creek Samplers. On the other side there is Coffee Bird,  Coffin Bound Coffee Co & “May your coffee kick in before Reality does.”

This leaves me with space for the several more waiting to be framed. And then there are a couple of patterns I just purchased today……

 

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Listening to Books

Posted on 2026-05-23 by Holly

I became a serious fan of audiobooks in late 2004. I was back from my 16+ months in Kuwait  Starting that fall, I was living in Heidelberg and working in Landstuhl, a mere 75 miles down the A6 in the direction of (pick one – Kaiserslautern/France/the end of the earth). It was about an hour – give or take on the Autobahn. Looking it up now, it would be more like 90 minutes – apparently a portion of the A6 is under construction. Anyway – where was I? Oh yes. A car with a CD player, a library which had books on CD for check out and an hour drive each way. No problem – I could listen to 2 CDs each day, finishing your average mystery or Sci-Fi book of 8=10 hours in a week.

I actually bought a fair number of books on CD as well. Recorded books had more than the occasional sale, postage was cheap to APO boxes and the library was more than interested in taking books, should I actually be willing to give any up.

Fast forward through CD -> MP3 disks thru phone apps downloads, and lack of CD players in all the current laptops. Meanwhile, I still have an extensive collection of books “on tape” as I still think of them even though few are actually on cassettes. But my fancy, retro looking CD/Record/Tape player can actually play them.

Of course, it is retro. It doesn’t play MP3 disks…. which is a serious problem for about half of what I own.

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The Hayward

Posted on 2026-05-22 by Holly

I am sitting at the table, eating my oatmeal drinking a cup of coffee. On the table next to me is a copy of “Berkeley Engineer” with a picture on the front of what looks like a stereotypical mad scientist. It is a great photo. The mag is actually from Cal’s College of Engineering.  It is fun, and interesting as well as an obvious sales pitch for Engineering and the other affiliated colleges as to their awesomeness.

On page 4 there is a small article called “When the shaking stops.” Taking a look at the health care system (which is already poorly distributed in the East Bay) the author comes to the conclusion that a 7.25 magnitude. quake of the Hayward fault would effectively wreck the East Bay’s health care system.  Well, duh. Perhaps even more than the infrastructures of the actual facilities, is the serious problem of transportation. Patients, staff, and supplies have to be able to get to facilities. Cue hills, tunnels, bridges, overpasses and underpasses.

Did I mention that I am sitting at our breakfast table? I can look out the window and a bit east up the hill/mountain. The fault passes less than 500 feet east of our house, up the hill from us, below the peak. It passes under a number of important structures from south of us to include several freeways, overpasses, tunnels, (the Cal Football Stadium which we can hear from our house on game days).

Our house was built in the 1930s. In 2017-18 we did major work including replacing the complete foundation, anchoring the house & the driveway. We have shutoff valves (standard here) on the gas lines. But there are houses above us on the hills – between us and the fault – which I don’t think are anywhere near as shake worthy.

Still – I would rather be at home when “the big one hits” than I would be on BART under the Bay or on one of the freeway over passes, Would it be devastating? Yes, Would the extensive health care facilities in San Francisco be of support? Probably not, our evacuation plans make extensive use of ground transportation. (see bridges, tunnels, overpass issues above).

Where does this leave me? With food, water, and enough craft supplies to last the rest of my lifetime…..

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Three sisters

Posted on 2026-05-15 by Holly

and there will be a forth – there are just a couple of other things I want to stitch first.

The first two have been done for a while, and I just finished the Fall Girl today. Stitched on 18 ct Vintage Smoky White from Zweigart (or something similar) with 2 strands of the called for DMC.

In case you wanted to see her more clearly ….

This now leaves me with only two WIPs – the Magen David which is still sitting at 16%. And the Frame for the LolaCrow Museum piece which is now at 82%

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Find My…

Posted on 2026-05-14 by Holly

there is a lovely Apple App that lets you locate wayward electronic items. Not people, unless they happened to have your phone/iPad/Mac on their person, but at least it lets me find my phone which is obviously hiding in plain sight.

This was a day of up and down the stairs so often that I started to think about the children’s nursery rhyme about meeting yourself coming and going. At some point I set my phone down. It is my “everything” as it is a phone wallet. So if I can’t find my phone, I am also missing ID and credit card/s. Add to the level of discouragement – I think I had set it on silent while at Costco.

Forcing the sound to play, I trudged upstairs again. Into the craft room which I had already checked three times. Oh, snap. It was right there, in plain sight. If you consider plain sight on the seat of a chair which had the back facing the door. The chair in front of the sewing machine and serger. Not the one in which I normally sit.

Now, if I could also get this particular app to “find my husband” or “find the cat……

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Less than Stellar

Posted on 2026-05-13 by Holly

Performance by the Valkyries. They were on fire for the first quarter, slowed in the second, lost the lead in the third and never caught up. Some of it seemed to be more involvement with fancy footwork and taking a chance rather than feeding the ball to someone else. And some of it just seemed to be wasting too much time passing the ball around looking for that opening. Not all that many 3pts attempted.

It takes a couple of hours to get to Chase Center, It takes a good hour to get back provided one heads out the door immediately and catch the first Muni. Then there is the car ride…

Anyway – other than that – I managed a few more stitches on Fall Girl (part 3/4) by Barbara Ana which is now at 70%.  Enough on the frame of Museum of Curiosities (now at 80%).

Mostly, I need sleep…..

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Books dropped off….

Posted on 2026-05-12 by Holly

It was another quiet day of stitching and computer games.  Except for the cat demanding pets, food, and lap, (rinse  & repeat).

But mostly, it was book delivery time at 1530. I had a wait outside the pre-school till the Eldest came out with the boys. The youngest was clinging while Lev had taken a tumble, hit his face and was now sporting bandages. The books seemed so little and unimportant in the face of everything else.  Strapped in their car seats for the ride home, each was fine with taking a book. I was glad the bundle had four.

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Lev is 5

Posted on 2026-05-11 by Holly

Everyone remember the pandemic? Lev was born in May 2021, about a year in and at the point where things were still nowhere near normal.  He now has a younger brother, goes to preschool, enjoys ball sport and the playground and is thoroughly enamored of Paw Patrol.

Which can explain a few of his birthday gifts. Along with some sensible clothes (in color blue which is his current preference),  and some bath tub toys because you can never have too many small, silly duck-like creatures.

Dinner was burger and fries (heavy on the fries).

And then, of course, I found the pack of books i had been saving for him about an hour after they headed home….

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Going to the game

Posted on 2026-05-10 by Holly

which in this case is the season opening of the Golden State Valkyries (WNBA = professional Women’s Basketball for those of you outside the US/Canada or not particularly following sports).

I splurged last year on season tickets and did the same this year. I wasn’t back for the preseason game so was delighted to find tonight that just about everyone seated around us has returned for another season.

Getting there is not as complicated as it could be. As a senior, the BART price is more than reasonable. Station parking is free after 1500 during the week and all weekend. But it does take about 90 minutes all told from leaving the house to getting off Muni at the Chase Center.

The energy was high. The Valkyries won (95-79) and our timing was perfect for all the connections heading back.

Otherwise – my assistant was trying to “help” me sort CDs

my assistant….

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Really helpful

Posted on 2026-05-09 by Holly

Not.

It is not that I don’t need to do some major cleaning and organizing in my craft room. Actually, I really, really need to get started.

So today I thought I would start out small. Relocate the Radio/CD player from the top of a built in to the top of a cart next to my desk. This would put it within reasonable reach and make it much more likely that I would use it to play some of the music I have on CDs.

My helper

Step 1) move the current small chest off the top of the cart. Come back and remove the cat. Take off the second container, And move the cat back to the floor. Go to unplug the Radio box, move the cat out from behind a bin so that I can get to the outlet.

2) decided that I need to move the extension cord. Pull out the under desk things stored so that I can get to the outlet. Move cat out of the way. Get the extension cord ready to plug in, haul cat out from behind the desk where he is blocking my access to the outlet. Put containers back under the desk. Remove two, haul out cat, put containers back…

3) plug in radio/cd player – then hunt for the audiobook I wanted to play.

No surprise, the cat is sitting on it…..

 

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all the browns

Posted on 2026-05-08 by Holly

Since I have stitched four of her previous SALs, I decided that this one would be fun as well. Who? Oh, LolaCrow (previous include Haunted Library, Greenhouse, Aquarium, Birds). This one is critters, museum based started with prehistory and moving forward.

So here I am, stitching what I think are going to be display areas. They are all the browns. With black as the accent.

..

there are six arches all told plus a huge whack of stitching up on top. This is ~ 3k’s worth with just as much to go…

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Mostly game day

Posted on 2026-05-07 by Holly

There are those days where it seems like more effort than I would like to accomplish anything. Perhaps it should be laundry. Or cleaning.

Or maybe just play computer games….

and the day is gone!

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