Two left feet

Posted on 2023-08-09 by Holly

That is literally what I had in my hand as I headed for the door early this morning. Or rather – two left sandals. Since, obviously that was not what I intended it caused yet another trip up the stairs and into the house. Now, if these had been some kind of generic slip on – kind of like hotel slippers I might have gotten away with it – but since one was a brown Keen and the other another similar brand in blue – it wasn’t going to work for me, even if they had fit.

At least my local coffee shop was already open and ready to make a latte for my second trip of the week into San Francisco. With only a moderate backup at the Bay Bridge Toll Plaza and the now expected detour on the way into the city, it could have been worse.  My appointment went smoothly, no labs were needed, and I scored some lovely vegetables and fruits at the Farmer’s Market on the way home (along with a stop at Acme…). 

Other than that, I finished Part #2 of Tiny Modernists Halloween SAL

and a reasonable number of stitches into the Ducks

The young punk’s head is stitched and I have made a start on his passenger’s glasses and bill.

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Ship a’sailing

Posted on 2023-08-08 by Holly

Part 7 of Treasure Island. Managed a few stitches on it yesterday.  After putting in almost 200 stitches on the Ducks (see below) I decided that this part needed to be done so that I don’t have to think about it for another week.

and here is how far I have managed on the Ducks…

as you can see, I have managed a good portion of his bill, face & sun glasses….

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Eyes painfully open

Posted on 2023-08-07 by Holly

Ah yes, an early drive to SFVA followed by waiting followed by getting my eyes dilated. Again. Other than the fact that it is not fun having a blinding light shone in one’s eyes while tears run down your face.. there is the slight problem of managing to drive home afterwards.  The last time I did this which was a month ago, I had a dental appointment that afternoon. Those eye drops had long since worn off by the time I was headed home. 

Not so this time. Two -> four hours I was told till those drops wear off. That was six hours ago and my eyes are still looking like they belong to someone trapped in a dark basement horror show.  I don’t have prescription sun glasses so I was gifted one of those curled up plastic sunshade thingies that you are supposed to stuff between your eyes and glasses. It helped some for directly incoming light but nothing for everything above, below, and to the side. I still managed to drive home carefully figuring that the lighter traffic of late morning would be better than waiting. 

Friday is surgery day. George will be driving me home so that pesky dilation won’t matter.

 

 

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Picking a Botanist

Posted on 2023-08-06 by Holly

The most recent Greenhouse of Oddities (#9, released this past Friday) provided a choice between two men as a botanist; George Washington Carver or Charles Darwin. Both are interesting, I went with Carver. Partly out of interest and partly to avoid white hair and beard.

There are only two more releases to go. And backstitching, I can’t forget about the backstitching…

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It is coming together

Posted on 2023-08-05 by Holly

the last bit of the July border on my Royal Garden SAL

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Would you believe

Posted on 2023-08-03 by Holly

that I received a heavy package in the mail. No recognition on my part as to the return address. Not a name, just a street address.. Opening it up – this is what was inside –

one each, ugly large glass “award” from Royal. Engraved with BOTH my name and George’s.  Now it would have been nice had it show up – oh let us say – in April or May – sometime reasonably soon after that Symphony TransAtlantic sailing in March. Or that it would have been in the much older and elegant style. OR … and this is the big one – that the certificate for a “free cruise” would be good for a year from receipt, not a year from this past March. Really?

For now it is on top of the bookcase in the TV room. not particularly visible to anyone….

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so many dogs

Posted on 2023-08-01 by Holly

I just couldn’t resist this photo –

after finding it in my email + having had it texted to me several times. It seems that the green of Golden Retriever originated in Scotland in the 1800s. And so there was a worldwide gathering/return to the breed’s origin/total chaos event at the end of July.

It was real, but to me the whole concept seems like one of those – what do you get when you combine 500 Golden Retrievers, rain, and an outdoor setting? Not just chaos, but happy, wet, totally stinky dogs….

 

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More Greenhouse

Posted on 2023-07-26 by Holly

and I keep adding a bit here and there to Lola Crow’s Greenhouse of Oddities.

You can see that big, lovely bit of poisonous plant dripping a bit of blood in the middle. I actually finished this up on Monday, but figured it was better to highlight a finish.

and also I have made it around on the corner on Royal Gardens!

As well as having gotten back to those Scootering Ducks! I am gradually sneaking up on 75% complete. The catch here is that everything left is confetti….

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Treasure Island – Part 6

Posted on 2023-07-25 by Holly

Another one of my SALs that had another section released last week is this year’s Owl Forest’s Treasure Island. So far I am keeping up – but not sure that is going to be the case for the long run. It is a moderate amount of stitching.  Yesterday I got started on the first of the two “gentlemen”

by started –  I meant that I managed his white hair and extending the border down the side. Today I stitched the rest of him – the dude in the lower portion with the two flasks.. the gentleman above him is from a month ago.  To add insult to injury, there was a second guy this time time which I tackled  –

and just finished. That is the guy over there with the Rum….

Six down of 17 ….

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All 4 elements

Posted on 2023-07-24 by Holly

And finished!

I am rather pleased….given this is over 10″ wide – I am thinking about a 30 cm wide round hoop/frame….

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and the fire element

Posted on 2023-07-23 by Holly

This piece, as I have mentioned in previous months, is called 4 Elements. It is by Satsuma Street. As it is another one of those “a bit larger than I would otherwise want” type pieces, I have been glad it has been released in four ports. Fire is the last of the four. As each segment has been around 5000 stitches and close to full coverage, adding it in to what might laughingly be called my rotation has been tricky.

But here we go – about ½ complete on the sun. It has been a long day…

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Headed to the corner

Posted on 2023-07-22 by Holly

I haven’t posted much about the July portion of the Royal Gardens SAL Perhaps it is because I am just finishing up the last bit of June (that portion of the border coming down to the corner). Each one of these sections is a bit much. Frankly – there are about 30k stitches in the first six months. Admittedly, that might not be that bad if this was one’s only project. But, since I am now more than ½ way through – I want to be completely caught up before heading out on travels this fall.  Anyway – here we are –

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Alternative Libraries

Posted on 2023-07-20 by Holly

I just can’t resist.

As I mentioned a couple of years ago, we put up one of the “wee free library boxes” down at street level near our mailbox.

There are a number of them in our neighbor. Some seem to see a lot of book swapping; a number get filled with reading material it seems that no one wants.

And then there is this one!

which is cheerfully painted and several blocks up Euclid from our house. *

 

(* we didn’t have a dog along and no books were taken)

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Flowers

Posted on 2023-07-19 by Holly

This lovely bouquet of flowers appeared on our doorstep today. It was sent by a friend and fellow stitcher who decided that I needed cheering up. I like doing things for other people, but often feel guilty when anyone does something obviously lovely and unasked for me.  The flowers are gracing our large table and I have already stopped several times a day just to smell them.

I headed back to the Fox&Rabbit Royal Gardens and actually started the July portion of the SAL.

before going on a hike around the neighborhood and up into the hills with George this afternoon.

 

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Greenhouse – 7th Planting

Posted on 2023-07-18 by Holly

And another portion of the Greenhouse of Oddities has been released. But since that was last Friday and stitching wasn’t really high on my list of priorities after getting home from cataract surgery. it took till yesterday till I got started on this section.  Backstitching not done, but the skeleton bench and more weird (and probably toxic) plants completed.

I wish I could say that I am having fun with the 4x a day eye drops, but no….

 

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She is done

Posted on 2023-07-17 by Holly

and I just finished her –

Summer Cat by Barbara Ana. The fabric is one of the DMC printed 14cts that they came out with in the last couple of years and is stitched with all DMC. I even completed the backstitching….

Now, I am just watching the CreativePoppy site for Autumn Cat which I am sure will show. up sometime in the next month or so….

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Summer Cat

Posted on 2023-07-16 by Holly

Thinking back to earlier this week – I guess I really don’t notice my eyes. They are just there. My glasses are on/off my face depending on what I am doing and which method seems to get the best result.  Obviously, driving a car calls for glasses. Knitting or stitching? Depends.

I have a relatively simple scarf that I have been knitting on Sundays when I head to Avenue Yarns for the Sunday morning knit group.  I think I have maybe an hour left on it. Then I probably should find another partially done project and work on that…

I am ending the day at 88% on the Summer Cat – another Barbara Ana with only about 700 stitches to go. The rest of the cat’s face, the hat and all the things she is holding in her second hand.

Oh, yes, eyes. My left eye still feels weird. Maybe it is just the bit of ache or soreness, but most of the time it feels like almost like my 20s when I wore contacts – just the feeling that something just might be floating there. There isn’t. No signs of infection, irritation or subluxation of the newly implanted lens. But it is coming close to driving me nuts… Hopefully it will be better tomorrow….

 

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Not particularly

Posted on 2023-07-14 by Holly

much fun at all.

Admittedly, it wasn’t exactly a poke in the eye with a pointy stick. More like a series of something or other under just enough sedation that I didn’t run screaming from the operating theatre.

Cataract surgery, my friends. It comes to many of us as we age. That little lens inside the eye first stiffness making focusing more difficult. Then, for some of us, it starts to darken. The whole change is pretty gradual, but I had noticed that my night vision was seriously compromised and that my color sense wasn’t as acute.

And no, I did not attempt to drive myself home. That service was provided by my dear husband.  And then there will be eye drops 4x a day for the next week. What a joy.  It isn’t really pain, more like a dull ache in my eye socket.  But I think it may just turn out to be worth while. 

That color change I mentioned? The difference between what I see with my eyes is stark.  I noticed it looking at my phone screen. For those who can deal with DMC –  the screen color with my new “improved” left eye is B5200 while my right eye is registering the color as ecru….

 

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Stitching cats

Posted on 2023-07-12 by Holly

I am thinking this will be a series of four. Spring cat is already done – and I have a good start on Summer Cat.

 

the 1700 stitches today were mostly in her skirt, but also the sailboat and the start of the sun in the sky.

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A call

Posted on 2023-07-11 by Holly

As I mentioned (I think I did….) that I was seen in the cataract clinic yesterday. After going through the testing and jumping various hurdles, I was told that the surgery schedulers would call me and arrange surgery date/s sometime in the next 2-4 weeks for my first eye, then 3-4 weeks after for the second. Ok, that is later than I want but hey – I should be done by fall.  I did tell them that we lived close and I was ok with relatively short notice.

Well, today I received that short notice. They had an opening tomorrow (Wednesday) and one for Friday.

Huh.

As tempting as it would be to just get it over with tomorrow, it sounded like Friday would be better for George since I obviously would need a ride home. So Friday it will be.

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