Just FYI

It is not a good idea to practice one's bagpipes within 25 feet of the glass-break sensor.

Grading jail

Grading jail is the pits, but at least it means I am almost done with this term! Two courses are graded and two more to go. I can't believe how utterly disorganized I was this fall. Sigh.

Anyway, I took some time this morning to work on the Tudor pincushion. One more side of Ceylon stitch and then the lacing, and finally the center interlaced stitch.
Then I thought I'd work on Eldest Daughter's change purse. Well, I should have thought a bit more, because I made a mess of it. While I was doing that, Kitty Mama was sitting on the sewing table right next to my machine, watching the needle and thread going up and down, up and down--and finally it got too much for her so she whacked at it. That sent my little box of pins flying all over the place, and I had to stop to pick them all up. Just as well, I have to unpick what I did anyway.

All three kids are coming home Wednesday for Thanksgiving, which means time to CLEAN. Did some today while avoiding grading. But now there's no avoiding it, since they are due tomorrow night at 11 p.m.

This fall I have been taking bagpipe lessons and have progressed to the full pipes, yay. Only I am not having a lot of success on the full pipes yet. Arrgh! This whole venture was going to be a surprise for Spouse, who gave me a practice chanter three years ago, and I was able to keep the lessons and practicing secret until last week. I had ordered a new reed for the practice chanter and an easy reed for the bagpipe, thought I was so smart because I had them sent to my parents' house instead of HomeCity; but the vendor let the cat out of the bag by calling my house to thank me for my purchase and guess who answered the phone? Oh well. I think that the secret was bound to come out anyway because it's a lot harder to hide a set of pipes than it is to sneak the practice chanter in and out of the house. Spouse is excited about it anyway. It sure is great fun.

Pretty stuff

I made this cream dupioni silk cosmetic bag for Best Friend and sent it to her (a saga in itself) for her birthday:
Here is the embroidery on Eldest Daughter's change purse; the silk is the same fabric as her cosmetic bag with the peacock feather:

Other than that, I got nothin'.

Blog hiatus

Sorry, but I can't find the time to blog--or to post kitty pics--until the end of this term. Teaching four courses, participating in grants, supervising MS students, commuting, and dealing with a sick kitty is just sapping all my time.

Maybe December...

Students, sigh.

One of my favorite exam questions begins "You are given the task to optimize the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow."

I shall have to change that to a more boring example, I guess, since 30% of my class didn't know what a swallow was, and another 10% didn't know the meaning of "unladen." So I estimate probably 99% didn't know the source of the "unladen swallow" reference. Sads. Gone are the times when at least one smartaleck would ask, “An African swallow or a European swallow?”

However, my undergrad data mining class is well aware of the significance of the number 42, and for that I am grateful.

Pictures from the conservatory

Youngest Daughter and I visited a conservatory near her school last week and saw some really pretty flowers, and a panda made of plants!

The Secret Project Unveiled

I know, I know--it has been ages since I blogged, both here and on Kitty Son's picture blog. My schedule this term is so awful that there is no time in the beginning of the week, and at the end of the week I am utterly exhausted.

Today, for example, the day after teaching three classes (two in a row!), I was pretty much useless until 3 or 4 p.m. My feet hurt (I came home last night and took some Tylenol), I was tired and sleepy, and my brain was just mush. I have managed, though, to finish grading for one class. Three to go.

Last weekend I went to see Youngest Daughter and we saw Wicked, the musical about the Wicked Witch of the West. It was a great show, even if I did have to run up four flights of stairs to get to my seat before the overture started (they shut the doors and don't let anyone in for 12 minutes once that starts!). We went apple picking, made our way through a corn maze, toured a conservatory, and took a walk in the local park. I taught YD how to make chicken pot pie, roasted red potatoes, baked chicken breasts, and shortcake. We went to Dick's and got her a bike. It was a packed weekend!

On Sunday we stopped by Val's house and gave her the Secret Project (here, too), which I made (and FINALLY finished) for her wedding present. Here it is--eighteen hearts, embroidered in different stitches and colors, alternating with pink heart-print squares.
So the secret is revealed, and best wishes to Val and Mike for a long, happy life together.

Now it's time for ANOTHER Secret Project!

Ten years later

but it feels like it just happened.

God rest the souls we have lost.
God preserve our nation.
God protect our troops.
God judge those who murder innocents in His name.

Month 16 is done!

Month 17's stitches will fill in the bottom right, between the strawberries and the big motif, and also the spot to the left of the pansy. There's one more month to go, but I'm not sure where the stitches for Month 18 will fit--there are no more designated spots on the sampler. I guess it's a surprise!

Got a scare after I finished the Month 16 set. I embroider in my sunporch, sitting in the rocker that was a honeymoon present from Spouse. Next to the rocker is Youngest Daughter's art table, and that's where my cutting mat is, and the ziplock bags with linen and silks are sitting there while I get traveling projects set up for this fall. I'd set my half-filled mug of tea on the mat, turned around to straighten up the sewing table, and heard "clunk!". Kitty Son, ever so graceful, had jumped up on the art table and sent my tea flying. The mug ended up on the floor (not broken, thank goodness) and tea was everywhere. Thankfully, my linens were in bags and the splatter did not reach to the sampler. The surge protector and my phone charger got soaked so they are drying out. What a close call.

More plaited braid, and figure eight interlacing, and ...school is starting...

Top is plaited braid, bottom center is figure eight interlacing. I am up to Month 15 of 18 in this online class. It's a lot of fun! Wish I had more time to play around, though.

But, the time for play, if there was one this summer, is gone now. Classes start Monday and I need to get syllabi and class materials ready. I am teaching four courses this fall, unfortunately, which means I will be crazy busy.

Kitty Mama had surgery Tuesday on her mouth (several teeth removed) and it looks like she has oral cancer. That's bad. She is recuperating pretty well from the surgery; at the moment, she is curled up on a cot upstairs by the window, sleeping in the sunshine. I hate the thought that I will be gone four days out of each week and not here to pet her and love her up. :-( I may decide to commute more often this fall. Depends on how things go.

Plaited braid!

Bad picture, but Month 12 is done!

Next....plaited braid.

Get Out of Jail Free

Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

Free at last, free at last. Well, until Labor Day. I am DONE GRADING. The class is OVER.

Now, time to do nothing for the rest of the day, because I am done in. Nothing else to report, no stitching done, no cleaning done, just grading done. Maybe tomorrow I'll do something useful but I am not promising anything, because I feel like this:

Grading done for this week

I was exceedingly diligent and spent today finishing my grading for this week. Yay! One more assignment, one set of team presentations and team reports to grade and this class is DONE. THANK GOD. What a slog.

One student has been AWOL for the entire term. We have what we call "early alerts" where we send notices in the third week to students who are underperforming, and notify their advisers that they are at risk. I sent one for him in Week Three, and when I got no response I took a look at his record. It turns out he didn't have the pre-requisites for this class anyway, so I asked his advisers if we could do an administrative withdrawal. Unfortunately, we don't have that option. Well, he finally sent me an e-mail asking if I could make up a special plan for him to do all the coursework before the grading deadline. He thinks he has three weeks to finish everything, but he's wrong--grades are due the 22nd. I wrote back and said no, I wasn't going to do that--and he promptly sent me another e-mail asking me to reconsider. It didn't take me long to say no again. Amazing how deep a hole some of these kids manage to dig for themselves. His job is dependent on finishing his degree, and I know from his advisers that he has blown off all three courses he signed up for this summer. He is going to learn a really hard lesson.

Anyway, since Eldest Daughter's birthday is over and she's gotten her present, I can show it off now. I made a cosmetic bag based on Kelly Fletcher's pattern from her Stitch and Thimble quarterly (issue 3), only I made it out of yellow/green silk dupioni with an embroidered peacock feather instead of a flower. We put a silver dollar and a brand new penny inside, stuffed it with tissue paper, and sent it off priority mail. I let ED's boyfriend know it was coming, and bless his heart--he ran after the mailman to get the package before it got sent back to the post office. Of course I forgot to take a picture of it all ready to go, but here is one I took right after I'd finished whipstitching the lining. It looked a lot better all pressed and stuffed with tissue.


I've got enough of the silk left to do a change purse and maybe a jewelry pouch--we'll see. I was a little unsure how this was going to turn out, especially since I needed to interface the silk, but it worked great! Really easy directions.

Also finished Month 13 of the goldwork sampler and then was taking a deep breath to start the plaited braid (Month 14) when I realized I'd skipped the Month 12 stitches. Reprieve! Temporarily, that is.

Happy Birthday, Eldest Daughter!

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday, Eldest Daughter
Happy Birthday to you

May you live long with us
May you live long with us
May you live long, may you live long
May you live long with us

Njech nam zhye stolat
Njech nam zhye stolat
Njech nam zhye stolat Eldest Daughter,
Happy Birthday to you!!

Miss you, love you, have a wonderful day--

Love, hugs, and kisses,
Momma

Students, sigh.

I think I should write up something for students so they know how to communicate and interact with professors. It would go something like this:

1. Pay attention to how your professor wants to be addressed. When I introduce myself to the class as Dr. LastName, don't send me e-mails addressed to me by my first name--or to Mrs. LastName.

2. You are not your adviser's only student. Don't expect that your report/proposal/paper is going to be read the same day you sent it.

3. Be polite and careful with your tone in e-mails. Think of your professor/adviser as your boss. Would you be snarky to your boss?

4. Professors have families and lives outside of the university. Don't ask for an appointment before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m., or on weekends.

5. When you have an appointment to see your professor, show up. If you can't make it, have the courtesy to notify your professor. Sometimes your appointment is the only reason they come to campus that day.


I have gotten four e-mails from students in the past couple of days complaining about their grade, or asking if I've read the report they sent to me only hours before, or annoyed that I didn't respond to their grade complaint e-mail within two days. I swear, sometimes it's like being pecked to death by ducks.

Peck, peck, peck.

I've got another rule but it's not about communication. If you are a grad student, don't even THINK about handing in a paper or essay without references. Those references had better be cited in the text, too. I've had to explain that too many times this summer.

Saturday, day after Friday

Spouse and I went to see Captain America last night. I liked it, he didn't--although most of his complaints seemed to be about everything but the movie: the seats were uncomfortable, the theater was too warm, the previews too long--but the popcorn at least was great! On the way home we were talking about remakes of TV shows, and I got this brainstorm--someone should make a movie of the old Man from U.N.C.L.E. show. Who could play Napoleon Solo? I was thinking Aamir Khan; Son suggested Karl Urban. For Illya Kuryakin, maybe Chow Yun Fat? Although he is a good 7" taller than Aamir...or, as Son suggested, maybe the actor who played Chekov in the new Star Trek movie. Ian McShane would be a great Alexander Waverly. Too bad I don't know any producers!

Today I need to get the last lecture ready for the online class, grade the next-t0-last set of assignments and discussions, work on the grant proposal, and do some laundry. We've got all the new drawer pulls installed, and the bedroom furniture looks really nice. Now to clean out all those drawers (ew).

Youngest Daughter is spending the weekend on the Jurassic Coast. Sounds like great fun! I hope she finds a fossil or two.

I'm almost done with Month 13 on the goldwork sampler, once I get the braid stitch done on the middle motif at the bottom. Next month is plaited braid stitch. Normally I don't practice these stitches before I put them on the sample, but I think I will need to practice that one.

A pretty productive day

Got up early, worked a bit on the sampler, worked a bit on another project, then did some editing on the grant proposal, and then read a master's thesis, ran the analysis for the data, wrote up my comments, and sent them off to the student.

Also replaced 8 drawer pulls on my dresser (yay for the internet, for finding drawer pulls that would actually fit--because of course our pulls are non-standard!).

Kitty Son likes the extension on my Needlework System 4. It gives him more room when he is sitting on my lap.

Goldwork sampler update and more whining

I've gotten to the 11th month on the goldwork sampler--next is Guilloche stitch on ladder, which will go on the right side by the strawberries. There certainly is a lot of ladder stitch! That's a good thing in a way, because I find that the left side of the ladder isn't quite as nice and neat and tidy as the right side, so I get more practice.

I've also set up a surface embroidery project for those days when I don't feel like doing goldwork. Then there's the Secret Project which needs some attention--I'm not all that skilled at piecing, which is the next step in that project. I think I'll have to rip out what I've done and baste the pieces by hand before doing them on the machine. Can't stand sloppy corners!

The whine is about teaching--still in grading jail and grousing about only having a week or so off before the fall term starts. Ugh.

Today's chores are finishing the laundry, finishing this week's grading, working on the grant proposal, and the fun part: going to my brother's brass band concert tonight at a local sports arena.

Month 8 progress

Here is where I am with the gold work sampler. Getting there!

I've been relaxing this week, sort of, concentrating on the grant proposal and the current grant work once I had the assignments from last week graded. I still have grading to do; I'll probably do that tomorrow.

One of my colleagues came back from a review panel for a major national agency, completely incensed and upset at the review process. Increasingly, it seems, grants are only for top faculty at top schools. The rest of us haven't got a chance--and not only do we not have a chance, the reviewers spent valuable taxpayer time making fun of those of us who dared to write a proposal. The snobbery that has come through in the last few grant reviews that I have seen is just disgusting. So, we are going to look elsewhere for funding. Why put ourselves in the position to be ridiculed? We spent hours and hours writing and rewriting, carefully considering all the requirements of the grant solicitation and trying to put forward a novel and well-crafted proposal. It's bad enough to get a rejection; there's no need to be nasty about it.

Update on goldwork

since I forgot to post the pic yesterday.

I'm up to Month 7 in the goldwork stitches. Today I did the half diagonal guilloche and the Ceylon stitch. When I did the guilloche, I sort of made it too wide and short--so I did another on the other side of the flower. That was a fun stitch!


Back to grading/grant proposal jail until tomorrow!

Reunions, goldwork, and nearly to the end!

On Saturday my mom and I drove to our family reunion (my grandmother's side) in the eastern part of our state. Eldest Daughter and her boyfriend came west to meet us, which was wonderful. We spent a delightful, if hot, afternoon with relatives we'd never met and some we knew well. We even got copies of photos that we had never seen before--I will post one really cute one of my great grandmother as soon as I get it scanned. Most important, we got e-mail addresses and one is really critical. I had a feeling my great-great-grandfather must have kept a diary, especially of his three years in the Union cavalry, and I was right. One of our many cousins has volumes of his writing. The difficulty is in getting it copied! She also has a remarkable photo of him on horseback at the 50th anniversary of Gettysburg. I saw a photocopy of the picture, but would love to get a digital scan of it. Worth a try!

Speaking of ancestry, one of my most famous ancestors is the Colonial poet Anne Dudley Bradstreet. In the presentation I did for my family I showed them this poem of hers:

By Night When Others Soundly Slept

By night when others soundly slept
And hath at once both ease and Rest,
My waking eyes were open kept
And so to lie I found it best.

I sought him whom my Soul did Love,
With tears I sought him earnestly.
He bow'd his ear down from Above.
In vain I did not seek or cry.

My hungry Soul he fill'd with Good;
He in his Bottle put my tears,
My smarting wounds washt in his blood,
And banisht thence my Doubts and fears.

What to my Saviour shall I give
Who freely hath done this for me?
I'll serve him here whilst I shall live
And Loue him to Eternity.

My cousin Barbara read me a diary entry from my great-great-grandmother Dency that was a prose version in a similar vein. Barbara is going to send me a copy and I'll post it. Essentially, it's Dency's account of a rare afternoon alone when she cried out to God to give her a sign that He had forgiven her sins. What a wonderful window into my great-great-grandmother's life and faith!

Back to current times, Youngest Daughter is off to Florence this coming weekend, lucky duck, by way of Pisa. My class is in Week Eight thank God but I still have assignments to grade and need to work on a grant proposal today. Time to get cracking!

Progress and to-do list

I finished the pillowcase Sunday, and it's ready to ship to Youngest Daughter--with a tiny, hidden message from a mom who misses her. She called and asked for some things from home (apparently, she is going to introduce her British friends to s'mores but cannot find the proper graham crackers) so I will ship it with her other stuff instead of keeping it until she gets home (which was a great idea, Rachel--I have another project I think I will make a great welcome home gift).

Her pillowcase is a charming pattern, I think, and it was (mostly) a pleasure to embroider.


I also finished the silver guilloche in the Tudor pincushion, having figured out a way to get more consistent results on that stitch. Now I need to do the gold border, and the silver interlaced stitch in the center.
I've got to print out the directions for the next set of goldwork stitches. And, I need something I can work on without needing directions--a pick up and go project. I've got several in mind, but they all need some sort of setup. Maybe today I can do that, after I read through and comment on three masters' project reports, write something on the NSF grant, and work on the graph mining research. Oh, and start cleaning the sunporch so I can get YD's futon frame out of there and take it to my dad on Saturday for some repair. I'd like to do some sewing on the Secret Project but first I need to get a bobbin winder because my sewing machine suddenly refused to wind bobbins.

It's hot as blazes here, and I am very thankful for the air conditioning we installed last year. What a blessing that is!

In grading jail

and lecture-prep jail. Since I got home Tuesday night, I've had to catch up on laundry and reading class discussions, and getting a tooth filled (OUCH), and now grading. Monday starts Week Seven (YAY! ALMOST DONE!) and I need to have a lecture ready.

Wednesday I cleaned out three more shelves of books. So far we've donated 152 hard cover books and 279 paperbacks. I have four more bookcases (and one shelf) to go through, plus a big Rubbermaid tote upstairs in the hall that is full of children's books. Tomorrow I will tackle the bookcase in the sunporch that has my engineering texts in it.

Next Saturday (the 23rd) is our family reunion (my maternal grandmother's side). I want to set up a slideshow of photographs I've scanned, and print out stories that I've collected on different ancestors. Eldest Daughter is meeting up with us there, and it will be great to see her!

No embroidery pics today--I've not done much. Maybe tomorrow, if I can get out of grading jail!

Atlantis, launched

From the Cocoa Beach Pier.

Back again and leaving again

I got back Friday from the City Too Very Far Away where Eldest Daughter lives, and from where Youngest Daughter departed to spend two months studying abroad in England (henceforth known as the Country Too Very Far Away). Unfortunately, I didn't finish YD's pillowcase in time. It lacks the peacock blue filling between the dark gold zigzags and the dark red outlining on the very last fan. Sigh. All in all, about 90 minutes' worth of work. But, since I am leaving tomorrow for another trip (going to try, for the third and last time, to see the shuttle launch), it won't be finished until I get back next week.

YD is safe and sound in her dorm, despite various adventures with the allergy serum vials (which arrived safely chilled, thanks to her heroic efforts to keep them cold). She called home yesterday for Independence Day, and we had a nice long chat. One thing she was shocked about was the cost of school supplies. We will have to send a care package (once the pillowcase is done).

I spent most of today in grading jail. Tonight I will have to work on next week's lecture because I won't have time on the road.

On the Blessed Fourth, we remember and reaffirm

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

---

The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

Column 1
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton

Column 2
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton

Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton

Column 4
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean

Column 5
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark

Column 6
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton


Happy Independence Day! May God bless these United States of America

Back from the conference

and almost ready to take off again, to visit Best Friends in Williamsburg. But I've gotten some time to work on Youngest Daughter's pillowcase, as I'd like to have that finished before she leaves on the 28th. Here is Fan #2; I have almost all the green leaves completed since I took this photo, and the Greek key on the bottom is done up to the edge of the hoop. Tomorrow I will do the outline of the fan before I tackle the branch and the insides of the blossoms.

I am resisting the urge to start yet another project as I have four ongoing--the pillowcase, the Tudor pincushion, the goldwork sampler, and the pansy fan, which has been languishing in the sewing center for months and months. The pincushion and sampler (and the smaller pincushion I have not started yet) are from the goldwork class I am taking. I have the Secret Project to finish up (needs to be sewn together). Other unstarted projects: I have two Needlework Nibbles from Thistle Threads to do, the snail and the tulip slip. Youngest Daughter wants a nyan cat purse. I have a set of napkins to monogram for Eldest Daughter, and a shell paperweight for Son. Then there's the medallion and Indian dancing girl and another Secret Project. That's a list that will take me years, I think!

The best course of action, I suppose, is to finish the pillowcase, then the pansy fan. The goldwork class has another three months to run, so maybe by the time I have the fan done I will have all the goldwork lessons to do. I've been busy on the home front, too. I cleaned up the dining room and packed away the ceramics, pictures, etc. The cats are entranced with all the bare horizontal surfaces. Also bought new drapes for the dining room and kitchen, although the kitchen ones are not up yet. When I get back from all my travels, I'll do the same clean-and-declutter in the living room. Getting ready for someday moving, figured I'd better start now.

My online class is going fairly well so far but man, I really would rather not have to do it. Just pay me the money, let someone else do the teaching! Kind of think that would not go over too terribly well. Sigh.

Mall madness

At the end of this month, Youngest Daughter is heading to Cambridge for two months of study abroad. We are gradually getting her ready to go--this week was the allergist visit and preparation for having her allergy shots in England, and the requisite visit to the mall for clothes shopping.

We picked up my sister-in-law and made our way to the Big Fancy Mall in our area. Started off well, as YD found a pair of shoes she liked, a couple of pretty dresses, and a lacy white sweater. Since it was lunchtime, we headed over to a nice restaurant for lunch. No sooner had our appetizer arrived then my phone went off--it was the sponsored research officer at Uni with an urgent request. The grant proposal we were handing in had an error in one of the tables, and guess who was the only person with the original file? The only person who could fix it? Sigh. We gobbled our lunches, threw the leftovers in a doggie bag, and ran back to the house so I could take care of the offending table.

Then we headed back to the mall and spent a few more hours shopping (with a welcome break for liquid nitrogen ice cream, which made YD and me really lonesome for Son--his chemistry frat at Uni would do liquid nitrogen ice cream fundraisers each term, and we loved helping him with those). YD did pretty good! She got dresses, a couple skirts, sandals, and a shirt. One skirt needs some repair (50% off!) so I need to pick up some thread to match it, which is today's errand, along with getting new foam for our sofa cushions.

All three of us were footsore and weary by the time we were done but she did a great job finding sales, so this trip was a huge success AND we got the grant proposal sent off with correct information in it. Yay!

Silver stuff!

Before I tackled the dining room today, I spend an hour or so doing the silver guilloche on the Tudor pincushion. It turned out okay. Surprisingly, the first one I did looks the best! Can you tell which one it is?
I'm going to live with the other three for a day or two and then decide if I'm going to yank them out and re-do them.

It took me three hours to clean up the dining room--well, all but one corner of it. I dusted, swept, wiped down, discarded, wrapped up and packed stuff away. I still need to wash the chandelier and finish that one corner where the tools are from working on the kitchen (and a few other things, like CD towers). The goal is no clutter. We'll see how well that goes.

Today was the first day of the summer session. So far, 11 posts in the "introduction" discussion. I sure hope this class goes smoothly because teaching is just about the last thing I want to be doing this summer. Cleaning is too, for that matter. Well, cleaning is ALWAYS down low on my list.

Saturday after the craft show (where I bought my mother a present) we made plans to go see the new Jane Eyre movie. Tonight's the night! Time to go get ready--I'm glad it's still at the movie theater.

Kitty Son usually keeps me company in the sunporch while I'm embroidering. We have a couple boxes of books in there ready to go to the used bookstore, and he fell asleep like this today--a new kind of headboard, I guess! Eldest Daughter said her kitty did the same thing the other day. Weird.

Fanning

I finished one of the three fans on Youngest Daughter's pillowcase. Yay!


Yesterday my SIL, YD, A, and N accompanied me to the big artsy craft fair in the town where I grew up. Usually every year there is a "theme"--or seems to be--where one type of craft appears to dominate. This year it was scarves. Handpainted silk scarves, handwoven scarves, scarves of all types. We stopped at one booth to watch the vendor making a two-ply yarn of wool and silk/wool blend, using a small portable spinning wheel. She gave us a short lesson on spinning wheels in general, which was really interesting.

One booth had these handmade dolls that were, well, creepy. I wasn't the only one who thought so. Little wizened faces with tiny beady black eyes...shudder. I guess I've never gotten over that Twilight Zone episode with the homicidal doll.

Remember

A heartfelt thanks to all those who laid down their lives for this country. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

Quiet Memorial Day weekend

Yesterday we went to UniTown for a picnic at the parental units' place. My youngest brother and his son were in town for a short visit. I made Boston Cream pie totally from scratch, and if I must say so myself--it looked great and tasted even better. Yum.

Anyway, classes are finally over and the fifth grant proposal since January has been submitted. Youngest Daughter is home from visiting Son and seems to be coming down with a cold. I've been working on her pillowcase, trying to finish it before she goes to England at the end of June. Here's where it stands right now; one fan partially completed.

I get this week off, and then Monday the summer session starts. Lamentably, I have to teach a class and it's a really FULL class, and it's also one I've never done before. All that adds up to a massive time investment. Sigh. They don't pay enough to compensate me for the loss of much-needed brain rest time.

The things you find

I've been doing some cleaning here and there, and yesterday I went through the front closet. In a bag, way in the back of the closet, I found this baseball hat. It has been years--many years--since I turned this on, and it still has the same 9V battery, which, amazingly, WORKED.




In another bag, with some books and papers and a copy of the Dean's List announcement from 1992, I found this:




The verse says,

"Roses are red, violets are blue
Chocolate is heavenly, and so are you!
Roses are red, violets are blue
Chocolate might be heavenly but I don't love it more than you!"

Awwwwwwwwwwwww.

Second silver guilloche: first try!

Here's the second vein, which only took one try. I messed up a bunch of things on the first one, including not making the base structure long enough, and then not taking advantage of the big holes left by the queen stitch for the cross bars.


The gold and silver is so shiny in the sun that it makes it hard to see when stitching! But it is really pretty and sparkly.

Today I plan to clean out the front closet, right after I drop Spouse off at the corner to catch the subway, then print, sign, scan, and send a reference letter for a student applying to a UK MBA program.

The third time's the charm with guilloche stitch

Finally got one silver leaf vein in, after three tries. Goodness!


One class is completely graded; today I will finish the other two, and celebrate by cleaning something (I have so many somethings to choose from!). Then tomorrow, full bore on the grant proposal, although I am increasingly convinced we won't get this one in.

My lilacs are blooming, and it didn't rain yesterday so I brought some in the house. Ohh, do they smell wonderful! My mom and sister-in-law want to try to transplant a couple shoots. There are plenty of them, thankfully.

No Reno for me

I spent yesterday morning at the ear, nose and throat doc's office getting my left ear reamed out. Wow, that hurt like the dickens! So it's still a bit infected and sore and zings now and then, and I have to put drops in it twice a day for a week. Therefore, no flying and no trip to Reno.

Not that I was looking forward to Reno a whole lot.

So, that means I get to finish grading and do stuff around the house and work on the various embroidery projects I have going. I have eight papers and eight finals to grade, so my plan is to finish the papers today (which completes the grading for one class) and the finals tomorrow (which completes the grading for two other classes). Then I am free to work on the grant proposal that is due Monday. Not sure if that's going to fly--my co-PIs aren't exactly burning up the e-mail wires with revisions to the current document, and I can't write the whole doggone thing by myself.

Early this morning I finished the gold guilloche on the sampler. A couple of things--I didn't have as many loops as the reference piece (I had four, the piece has six). That's partly because I didn't make the base as long as the reference piece has, and since I was trying to keep things equally spaced, I ended up with fewer crossbars--which meant there was a big space between loops. In a way, that made it easier to keep the three loops nested more neatly. I also used tapestry needles to lift up the crossbars and make it easier to pull the gold thread through without piercing the underlying loops. I'll try that trick again when I do the silver guilloche leaf veins on the top right flower.

Here's the current state: Top pic is the detached buttonhole with return, which turned out pretty nicely. Next is the guilloche and last is the full piece. My phone takes rotten photos, and the camera isn't much better (can't get as close as the phone with the camera). Time for a better camera!

Stupid earache

I've had an ear ache on and off since mid-April, when I flew to see Son. When I was at the doctor's last week, I told her about it and she looked but didn't find anything. It doesn't hurt all the time, just on and off I get these sharp pains, and it's tender inside. She said to take Sudafed and Ibuprofen, and it would go away in time.

Today it's much better, thank goodness, because I have to fly to Reno Saturday morning (a trip I am NOT looking forward to) for a conference. I think I will get some Earplanes just in case. It's just on the edge of hurty today, so I think it should be okay by Saturday, I hope.

Its the end of the quarter, so I am in grading jail, too, until Monday at 11:55 or I finish, whichever comes first. Fun, wow.

But, I still try to get in my few minutes of embroidery. Here are the Month 5 stitches--reverse chain with double buttonhole edge (upper right) , and guilloche (middle left). I didn't finish the guilloche yet; I just got the foundation part in. The guilloche stitch starts off with a set of four long stitches. When I put those in, I saw right away that the reverse chain next to this motif wasn't straight--so I pulled that out. Tomorrow hopefully I will put the reverse chain back in, and finish the guilloche here and in the upper right flower's leaves. Guilloche is also used in the pincushion but I don't know that I will get that done tomorrow. Can't take the goldwork on the plane, darn it.


Oh well, time for more tea and more grading.

"It is in the DNA of our country to explore...WE MUST NOT STOP.."

--Mark Kelly, Commander.

Godspeed, Endeavour.

Rain, rain, go away

Wow, it was pouring here last night. Today it's still rainy and grey.

Today I need to work on the TUES grant, if I can manage to type around Kitty Mama, who has deposited her puffiness on my lap and is purring happily. Also need to comment on some draft term papers and get the assignment grading done for three classes. Ugh.

Yesterday we went through three boxes of miscellaneous stuff and threw out a bunch of things. It's time to start packing up the house in preparation for moving. When is the move? Darned if I know. I just know that packing takes forever, so it's never too early to start.

Got this far on the goldwork sampler and pincushion. I'm up to Month 4 in the class, only 9 months behind...