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Thursday May 28, 2003 PM
I'm getting ready for bed
somewhat early, since it will be another early morning for me tomorrow...I
got quite a bit accomplished today! ;-)
The last Alphabet for Alphabets - Fun and Fabulous came back from the
designer who was proofing it for me. Thank you, Lori Beth!
I'll get finish getting the
book ready for the printer this weekend.
Well, it's another early morning tomorrow...she said, whining piteously! LOL
;-(
Oh, and I never did get around to figuring out that File Organization
program! *VBG*
Have a happy Friday!
******************************************************************
Thursday May 28, 2003 AM
Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, I'm having to get up early due to a
scheduling situation...which had me at the computer by 6:15AM. I wouldn't
mind it if we had been able to get to bed early last night! Anyway, I've
discovered just how long the day can feel, when you've put in almost a full
day by the time lunch rolls around! LOLOL I'm getting along today by
promising myself I'll sleep in on Saturday and Sunday. Isn't self-deception
a wonderful thing?
Today I'm going to tackle a new program that I have for organizing files.
There are so many files associated with various aspects of *FtT* and I need
to get a handle on it before things REALLY get going! This program looks
pretty good but was designed by German engineers (no offence intended to any
one of either persuasion). However, as a needlework designer, I'm not
finding it (dare I say) extremely intuitive? *VBG* Add to that, small
translation quirks...
;-)
Have a happy rest of Thursday!
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Tuesday May 27, 2003 PM
I'm getting ready to go to bed...and don't feel that I got a lot
accomplished today. I'd really like to take a day off but have so many balls
up in the air...sigh...
I need to start tomorrow with a *Plan of Action* . Hmmm....
I need to put the finishing touches on *Alphabets - Fun and Fabulous (need
to double check that Fabulous is properly spelled! LOL)
Have a happy Wednesday!
******************************************************************
Tuesday May 27, 2003
I'm up early this AM (for me), after going to bed pretty early last night.
;-)
I had 2 great phone visits with friends, Bonnie McCaffrey (of Fantasy Floral
Fame...try saying that three times, fast!) and Ken Davis (who created the
EasyGrapher charting software), as part of the *Following the Thread*
preparation. They were both a lot of help and it was just plain fun to visit
with them!
Jeffrey did some *FtT* writing for me. It will probably end up being ghost
writing. LOL It was a great help and he brought a fresh eye to it. Thank
you, DH!
I AM starting to panic as Columbus and then Charlotte loom. I think I'm
going to focus on *FtT* today and then start a serious countdown list for
Columbus tonight or tomorrow.
Have a happy rest of Tuesday!
******************************************************************
Sunday May 25, 2003 AM
Last night I DID remember to turn off both alarms, so I was able to sleep in
a bit longer than usual. ;-)
I have a LOT to do and really have an overwhelming desire to chuck it all
and play hookey! LOLOL NOT a good thing!
Jeffrey and Guido worked very hard in the yard yesterday and they got quite
a bit accomplished. Jeffrey and I discussed the steps leading up to the
apartment door...we're going to have to re-build them. Poor Jeffrey ended up
doing it by himself the first time because I was out of town on an extended
job...and I had to explain it all over the phone to him! What a hassle. This
time it should be much easier since I'll be here and can do the riser layout
for him and be a second pair of hands, etc.
We are planning to make a quick run to buy more basil for the garden, which
I am pleased to say is doing well.
I have quite a bit to do to prepare for my appointments tomorrow, as well as
continuing work on the *FtT* web site, but the end is in sight!
Have a happy Sunday and a safe and happy Memorial Day!
******************************************************************
Saturday May 24, 2003 AM
I'm up earlier than I planned because both alarms went off (not
planned...sigh...) and I'm not any good at turning over and going back to
sleep...unlike everyone else in the family. Guido got up with me but when he
realizes I'm not going to fix him breakfast (Jeffrey does all of the
cooking! LOL) he'll go back up and spread out on my side of the bed. ;-(
I got my hair cut very short (for me) yesterday but I'm happy with it.
Over-reaction to haircut delay? Jeffrey, with his finely honed husband
survival skills, announced it *wonderful* and Guido thought I smelled pretty
interesting. Mams'elle didn't offer an opinion either way. *VBG*
I have a lot of *Following the Thread* stuff to do this weekend and I'll be
working on the eCommerce site I run. I told Jeffrey that I couldn't be
interrupted because when adding pages and new items for sale, if you get
interrupted anywhere in the process, it can be a disaster!
I did have a number of small, but significant breakthroughs yesterday in *FtT*.
I am certainly learning a LOT on this project, most of it having to do with
websites and things such as ASP (Active Server Pages). I don't really
understand them yet (I did bought 3 books on the subject) but I have figured
out how to use the software that uses them! *YIPPEE*
Have a safe and happy Saturday!
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Friday May 23, 2003 AM
I'm up bright and early today because I have a long overdue hair appointment
(finally). How overdue? you may ask. Overdue enough that I have been having
stress dreams about it! LOL
Have lots of work planned for
the weekend with two different *FtT* appointments on Monday. Ah, the joy of
being self-employed! One of my appointments on Monday is with Ken Davis of
Easy-Grapher and we were laughing that the challenge of Memorial
Day weekend is trying to get enough work done when the spouse is home! *VBG*
I think I'll try to finish up
Alphabets - Fun and Fabulous (Blue) so I can get it to the printer ASAP,
since it is the big new project being introduced at Columbus.
Have a safe and happy Friday!
*******************************************************************
Wednesday May 21, 2003 PM
Other than the fact that the Columbus Trade Show is barreling down the road
at me at a high rate of speed...and I'm standing there, wide-eyed and
Bambi-like, things are going well! *VBG
I didn't get out to the garden today, but WILL tomorrow...cross my heart!
Need to check on the basil...make sure it doesn't bloom/go to seed...
Got a fair amount of work done, but still have lots to do...actually have
two different work-related appointments for Monday, Memorial Day. When I was
in theatre, I got into the habit of working on holidays...and haven't been
able to break it....sigh....
Have a great Thursday!
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Tuesday May 20, 2003 PM
Today I spent mainly on *Following the Thread* and believe me, if you are
tired of hearing about it, I'm more tired of dealing with it! LOLOL However,
I can assure quilters and needleworkers alike, you'll be real happy, once I
get it up and running!
Carol Miller, Dean of Quilt University, has been helping me with it today. I
am really enjoying getting to know her...she has a wonderfully wry sense of
humor and a very sharp eye for detail. Her innovative thinking has really
helped me with the development of *FtT*.
I am a complete fan of QU, currently taking a class and loving every moment.
I can't believe what a wonderful resource it is and how reasonable the
classes are. I've probably taken about a dozen classes so far and each has
been excellent.
It has been raining so I haven't gotten out to check on the garden. Weather
permitting, it is a high priority for tomorrow.
We had a bird trapped between the first and second floors in this old house
last week...don't ask...and I'm happy to report it escaped Saturday morning.
I had to drag Guido away and lock him in the kitchen. No small feat
considering he is 180+ lbs. I was able to catch the poor bird and get him
out the front door where he flew away, looking no worse for wear. That
brings the count of fugitive birds to about 5 this spring...so
far....sigh...
Have a happy Wednesday!
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Monday May 19, 2003 PM
Well, today after a marathon work session, starting at 6AM and ending at
about 9PM, all of the Alphabets for the new book have been proofread,
corrected and printed. I have just the 2 specialty alphabet pages for set-up
and I waiting for one of them to be OKed by an expert. I did take a 2 hour
break in at lunch time.
;-)
My favorite new alphabet is Gallery which is in 2 sizes.
I feel like I have a major
load off of my chest. I still have to do a final Proofreading and print
laser copies, but the hardest biggest job is over. I spent all day listening
to Blues Guitar in internet radio while I worked. Have I mentioned how much
I like internet radio? *VBG*
Tonight I'm going to shovel off my desk and get organized for the final push
on *Following the Thread*
We leave for the Columbus Show in a month and, boy do I have a LOT of work
to get done...sigh....Still, the most important part, Alphabets - Fun and
Fabulous is close enough to be called done!
Jeffrey just got home from his rehearsal and we're going to make a Wal-Mart
run. We're part of the shop at midnight crowd! LOLOL
Have a safe and happy Tuesday!
*******************************************************************
Saturday May 17, 2003 PM
I have been working on the eCommerce site I run for my friend Meredith. I
have added 6 new pages of canvases, Holiday Ornaments...with many more
designs yet to add.
I printed out all of the new Alphabet book pages...now I have to proofread
them, making sure that I have all of the letters of the Alphabets...and in
the right order!
I plan to work on Meredith's site tomorrow, weather permitting, and then
gear up on getting ready for Columbus AND getting *Following the Thread*
ready to go. Next week should be a busy one.
Have a happy Sunday!
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Friday May 16, 2003 PM
Well, I got up this morning and buckled down to work. Between my faster
computer (worth every penny, I'm happy to say) and the dual monitors, and a
bit of determination...I was able to finish initial drafts of all of the
pages for the new book, except for the two Specialty alphabets. Now I'll let
things rest for a few days and then start the tedious process of proofing
the pages. I'd LOVE to get the book to the printer before the end of the
month. With this progress, it may be a realistic goal!
The peonies are starting to bloom and Jeffery put a big vase of them in the
living room. Most of the plants in the veggie garden are looking good, as
well.
This weekend I plan to really focus on some of my other work. I was hoping
to do computer work, weather permitting...but the local TV stations aren't
being very optimistic...sigh....If it rains, I guess I'll have to paint!
LOLOL
Have a happy Saturday!
*******************************************************************
Thursday May 15, 2003 PM
After dinner, on impulse, I
decided to start on the pages for the new Alphabet book. Boy does it go
quickly with dual monitors. I'm majorly pumped because I got a big chunk
finished...I haven't proofed them, but at least the graphs have been made
and the pages laid out. Yay!!!!!!
I was listening to Classic Blues on Internet Radio while I worked on the
Alphabet book. Have I mentioned how cool Internet Radio is? LOL Tomorrow
morning I might switch to Classic Rock or Heavy Metal! Something with a
beat!!!
I think I'm going to try to get to bed early for me (before 1AM) and then
get up early in the morning and get back to work. It would be a major boost
to my morale to have most of this finished, and just needing to be
proofed! I'd like to get it to the printer BEFORE leaving for Columbus!
LOLOL
Then maybe I'll get off of my duff and start painting canvases...Columbus is
about a month away...sheesh......
Have a happy Friday!
*******************************************************************
Wednesday May 14, 2003 PM
In a sudden flurry of
activity, *VBG* , I designed 5 new Alphabets for the Blue (Fun and Fabulous)
book, including a Signal Flags alphabet. I also designed the Cover and the
Page template. Next, I have to create all of the Page graphs, and export
them into the pages for the actual book files. It is a lot of work completed
but still a lot of work to go.
Jeffrey and I just spent an
hour working on *Following the Thread* technical stuff...making enough
decisions that I can get another test run done tomorrow so we can evaluate
tomorrow night.
I had a wonderful talk today with one of my favorite Quilt Artists about
*Following the Thread*. I'll be coy here and just give initials...BLM...LOL
We actually met for the first time at Houston last fall and it was great to
talk with her today.
More and more, *FtT* is falling into place, I'm happy to say, and I'm
getting an exciting response from the few people who know the details.
I had been going to start on
the Alphabet page graphs tonight, but it is midnight and I'm pretty tired,
so I'll let Jeffrey play on the computer and I'll go read my book.
Have a happy Thursday!
*******************************************************************
Wednesday May 14, 2003 AM
The garden is doing well and the peonies are starting to bloom. We saw a
beautiful shaded one at the nursery when we were buying the last of the
plants for the Veggie Garden. I think I'll try to save up for some fancy
ones next spring. All of ours have been *donations* from friends. LOL
We have been dealing with all of the AC questions, one step at a time. One
of the issues (Jeffrey's car AC) resolved itself last night when the car
caught fire in the parking lot while he was teaching his summer extension
class. So....I guess we won't worry about fixing it! *VBG*
I'll be getting back to work on the next Alphabet book today. I haven't even
designed the cover yet (usually I design the cover first!) I'm going to sit
down now and work on a To Do List for today.
I have been working on
*Following the Thread* and am waiting for various bits of information before
I move on to the next step. It is like moving LOTS of puzzle pieces
around. I have many small sections assembled but need many more and need to
complete the final assembly, but don't quite have the last pieces. Sigh.....
Have a happy Wednesday!
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Sunday May 11, 2003 PM
I hope all of the Mothers among us had a WONDERFUL Mother's Day! I had a
nice phone visit with my MOM and my sister, the MBA. ;-)
Jeffrey and I worked in the vegetable gardens yesterday and today. I'm
really excited. We didn't do anything last summer, so there were a lot of
weeds and other things to remove. The Lemon Balm had taken over, as well.
We planted herbs, peppers, yellow tomatoes, and Roma tomatoes, with
beautiful marigolds in the corners of the beds. Our show schedule this
summer is much less demanding than last year, so I hope that we'll be able
to take care of it and enjoy it!
Meanwhile, we are having REALLY bad air conditioning karma. Every A/C system
in our lives is on the fritz...sigh....
I've been working on *Following the Thread* and it's getting closer...and
closer...and closer....*VBG*
Have a happy Monday!
*******************************************************************
Friday May 9, 2003
YIKES! Between the weather, letting Jeffrey play his B'day game, and hours
on the phone working on *Following the Thread* I'm really behind!
I have come a long way on *FtT* and the pieces are continuing to fall into
place nicely...it's just that this project seems to be the equivalent of one
of those 1000 piece puzzle sets my Mom likes so much...sigh...
I have promised myself time in the garden this weekend. The plants we bought
two weeks ago are looking pretty bad. ;-(
We'll also put the house
plants out. This is poor Jeffrey's Summer Vacation...all three days of it.
He starts teaching Summer School on Tuesday, bless his heart.
I need to get those new
canvases painted. I had a chat with Von, one of my good buddies and the NW
person at How 2 Books...and said that the Columbus Show was a big yellow bus
headed my way at a rapid clip! Can you believe it? She had the gall to laugh
at me!!! And after I named some Alphabets in the new book after
her!!!!!!! Hurmph....LOLOLOL
Have a happy Saturday!
*******************************************************************
Wednesday May 7, 2003
We are in the middle of 4 days of predicted heavy thunderstorms. Yesterday,
by some fluke, things were relatively quiet, meteorologically (sp?)
speaking, so with many SERIOUS deadlines hanging over my head, I felt
compelled to make the most of the computing opportunity, since I turn off
and unplug everything during electrical storms.
I started at 10AM and worked till 3:30AM with only about 3 hours off the
computer (including letting Jeffery play his new game). Needless to say, I
was toast by the time I quit! I went upstairs to bed and discovered Jeffrey
was still awake and reading! LOL Now, understand, Jeffrey had to be up at
7AM so he could give an 8AM final today...and I am his back up alarm
clock...! Anyway, shortly after we turned the lights off, all H**L broke
loose with one of the most intense storms I have ever seen. It started with
no lighting, but the looooongest, deepest thunder-roll I have ever
heard...if it were a Special Effect, they would have re-edited it to make it
more realistic. ;-) Well, that continued with lightening, after a while, and
then went on...and on...and on...
It had stopped by the time poor Jeffrey was rolling out of bed at 7:15Am but
all I can say is YIKES! Things are looking gray today but no thunder et al,
yet, so I'll continue computing as long as I can.
Have a happy Tuesday!
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Tuesday May 6, 2003 AM
It looks as though the
weather is going to be INTERESTING for the next few days...and my computer
time limited. The good news is the Tone Alert Radio works very well, the bad
news is she's getting overworked. I'll post as often as I can, but with the
cost of the new computer and the wiring in our 100 yr old house, I'm
spending a lot of time with everything unplugged. ;-)
On the plus side, as a result of not being able to compute, I have 4 NEW
canvas designs in process...and I'm pretty excited about them! Also, last
night was a milestone in the continued preparation for *Following the
Thread*! Thank you, tall dragon! LOLOLOL
I'm off now to call my
sister, the MBA, and tell her we are all OK...she has been watching the
weather on the Weather Channel and is worried!
Have a safe and happy rest of
Tuesday!
*******************************************************************
Sunday May 4, 2003 PM
Between Jeffrey playing his birthday game and the T'storms, it has been hard
to get online! *VBG*
We had a very nice B'day dinner at our favorite, Sunny's Bar-B-Q.
I'm staying up late tonight to try and get organized for the upcoming
week...I really need to get more focused. I'm working with Jen A-S tomorrow
night on *Following the Thread*, if the weather cooperates. Meanwhile, I
just heard thunder so....
Have a safe and happy Monday!
*******************************************************************
Saturday May 3, 2003 After Lunch
Things are a bit slow today.
;-)
Tomorrow is Jeffrey's
birthday and on our late night expedition to the Great Wall last night
(Wal-Mart, where we are a part of the shop at midnight bunch) I bought him a
new Shoot-em up computer game for the big day. He was kind enough to choose
one that he thought I'd enjoy, too. *VBG* Anyway, I let him play after we
got home last night and again this AM, so I'm just now getting started on my
computer work today...but I'm not complaining because I can hear him running
the vacuum cleaner upstairs! LOL
I'm starting to feel the pressure about getting everything taken care of
before the Columbus show...sigh...I even had a stress dream with the Tall
Dragon in it. When I talk with her next week, I'll try to remember to tell
her. I know it will make her laugh!
Have a happy rest of
Saturday/Derby Day!
*******************************************************************
Friday May 2, 2003 AM
I spent yesterday struggling over how I wanted to handle the BB/Forum that I
had decided *Following the Thread* HAD to have! LOL Finally, with help from
another designer friend (who had been emailing links and suggestions ALL
day, bless her heart), I quit waffling and made a decision. I'm not usually
indecisive, but yesterday was sure a personal best for me! YIKES!
We had a series of T'storms yesterday and last night...our TAR (Tone Alert
Radio - emergency radio provided by the county) really earned her keep. I
always think of her a Good News/Bad News kind of things...the Good News is
she can warn you of the bad weather...the Bad News is that you live in a
place where that is sooo necessary, the county provides one free! LOL
One of the important *FtT* pieces I had been waiting for arrived
yesterday...and is GREAT! so *FtT* is coming along nicely...but did I finish
that Specialty Alphabet? of design any HPC for Columbus? Nooooooooo....sigh.....
Have a happy rest of Friday!
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