Domestic Geek

*blows off dust*

Man, I've really been neglecting the old blog. Looks like I've made a whopping 4 posts since last year's failed NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) attempt. When I got the email from Blogher the other day about this year's NaBlogPoMo, I figured it was as good a time as any to get back into this.

I'm just realizing what a sorry state things are in around here. I think one of the reasons I gave up on this was because so many things broke after the last Expression Engine update that I did. Also, I let my web coding skills get rusty, so trying to fix things was aggravating.

Anyway, hopefully I can spend the next month getting caught up with recent events and maybe fix a few of the bugs so that I can do another upgrade. Today's post is short and sweet because things are crappy at work (that's a whole post of its own), I got home late and I'm tired.

Marcus has his heart set on getting a Jack Russell Terrier (not a Parsons Russell). Man, they are hard to find to adopt.

We met with a cute dog on our lunch break from work at the Denver Animal Shelter week before last. I fell for her hard, but even though it said it was a Jack Russell on the web site then, it was really a Parsons and not what Marcus wants. He wants the shorter legs, stockier body and it has to have a tail. I've noticed a lot of the shelters use the names interchangeably, but they're actually two distinctly different types of dogs.

I was eventually OK because someone had adopted her. Imagine my heartbreak when she showed up on the site again last night, newly spayed. I'm guessing that means her adoption fell through.

I want to give in and get her, but I keep trying to remind myself that I still really want another Alaskan Malamute and that can't happen until our house moves to South Dakota. I also have to keep reminding myself that, even though it is hard, I have to patient and not selfish. We can only deal with one dog at the moment and Marcus has a specific dog in mind. I can't ask him to compromise - that wouldn't be fair.

So, if anybody is looking for an adorable Parsons, "Misha" is looking for a home.

Anybody who has known me for a long time knows that I'm crafty - not like the Beastie Boys song, though Marcus does sing that whenever I say I'm crafty . The lame thing about me is that I'm extremely fickle with my crafting. It leaves a lot of UFOs (Unfinished Objects) and a huge craft room full of supplies.

When I was little, Mom taught my sister and I how to crochet. I made god-awful granny square (everything you could image - scarves, vests, doll clothes). We also used to sew a lot, too. Those desire waned and were replaced by cross-stitching. I'm not even sure exactly when I started, but I remember that even in college, I had a cross-stitch project every where I went. I even used to stitch during orchestra rehearsals (contrabassoon players had a lot of resting). That gave way to decorative painting (plaster, wood plaques, clay pots). I remember doing a lot of that the year that Marcus and I lived out in Deer Trail. When we moved back to Aurora, I was huge into digital art. I was pursuing my graphic design degree, so I drew, I made digital art, I coded web sites. Not crafty, per se, but it was my method of creation at that time. I started collecting all of my scrapbook supplies at this time, too. It's funny, I've yet to actually finish a whole scrapbook page, yet alone make an album. I think I was more in love with the supplies than the act of producing anything with them (though they do come in incredibly handy for things every now and again).

I've always wanted to learn to knit, but mom absolutely hated doing it, so she wasn't the best teacher. I tried to teach myself over the years (Marcus' mom even sent me a "Teach Yourself to Knit" kit for Christmas) and it never took. Finally, for my birthday present to myself in 2007, I splurged and took a class. The bug had been caught and every spare minute was spent knitting. I spent lots of time perusing yarn stores, I met up with knitting friends every Sunday, I surfed Ravelry a lot. Last summer, though, I was at a quilting store in Rapid City, SD and I found the cutest wool embroidery kit. I was really enjoying hand sewing again, and I put down the knitting. Last November, the Counted Cross Stitcher group on Ravelry started a Christmas swap and, on a whim, I signed up. I hadn't done any cross-stitching since before Mom passed and I figured it was time to give it another go.

The weird thing is now I have absolutely no interest in yarn whatsoever. I drove up to Estes Park today to go to the annual Wool Market. I stopped at the yarn store up there (The Stitching Den) and found absolutely nothing I wanted. It was surreal. I did actually make a purchase there, but it was clip-on magnifiers for my glasses so that I could see my stitching better. I made my way to the local cross stitch shop (a collaborative shop of other area shops that I frequent) and picked up a couple of charts. Wasn't terribly exciting as I've seen all of it before. Then I went over to the Market and thought for sure I was going to be in danger of draining my meager checking account. Except for a print from Sheep Incognito (I buy one crafting-related one each year for my craft room), I only found one skein of yarn I wanted. Unfortunately, it was alpaca/bison and I refuse to pay $60 for 200 yards of yarn. I walked around the vendor barn 3 separate times hoping something would catch my eye. Nothing ever did. Oh, well. Even strolling through the alpaca tent (which was very empty exhibit-wise this year) did not get me excited. I found myself at one point wishing I had just stayed home.

So, I guess I'm going with embroidery, cross-stitching and quilting at the moment. Let's see if I can actually get anything finished before I'm bitten by another crafting bug.

When I upgraded my Expression Engine install to 2.x a while back, my iBlogger app on my phone no longer worked. I was bummed, but not overly concerned as I had fallen off my blogging wagon anyway. Well, I've been itching to blog again, especially when I'm stuck at work waiting for Marcus to finish his work. The last thing I want to do is post to my personal blog from my work computer. Even though I'm on really good terms with the IT guy, I don't want to cross that line. It is bad enough that I surf Ravelry after my shift is over.

I was doing some research one night while I was waiting because I really need to fix some structural things that broke when I upgraded last. I have a new upgrade waiting to install, so I decided now is the time to work on this.

Anyway, I came across a link for an app that is supposed to be EE 2 compatible and I bought it.

Except for a small hiccup because I misread the path where modules need to be installed, it is working so far! I'll read the documentation in more depth tomorrow to see what all I can do, but it is working and I'm feeling quite proud of myself.

On that note, I'm heading off to bed. Now, sleeping might be another story as the construction on I-225 is in full gear again tonight. You would think there would be noise regulations that would prohibit how loud they are being.

Can't remember where I originally found this, but I had to share:



'Twas the night before Christmas, and oh, I was weary.
My stitching unfinished, my eyes getting bleary.
The stockings weren't finished, the chimney was bare
And I knew that morning soon would be here.

My children and husband were tucked in their beds,
But visions of backstitches ran through my head.
I'd stitched ornaments and presents and gifts by the ton,
And now, I was finally, almost, almost done.

As I poised my needle for one more stitch,
I heard something outside that made my hand twitch.
I jumped up from my stitching and flew to the door
Pressed my eye to the peephole, tiptoe off the floor.

My stitching forgotten, I peered into the night
When suddenly I got a terrible fright.
On my porch appeared Santa, holding his sack
He knocked softly, and I took a giant step back.

I unlocked the deadbolt, and let Santa in
He entered and gave a mischievous grin.
"Hope you don't mind if I come in the door?
Coming down the chimney can be quite a chore."

He said, "You're up late. Still working, I see.
Do you know how tired you're going to be?"
I know, Santa, I said with a sigh
But I'm still backstitching the stars in the sky

And the fields on that stocking look blobby you know,
I need to backstitch the drifts in the snow.
I've been stitching and stitching and stitching, no rest.
I just tried to finish stitching too much, I guess.

"I know what you mean," he said with a smile.
"This is my busiest time of the year, by a mile."
He stooped down by the tree and he opened his sack
And began to pull presents out of his pack.

"I've got some things here I think you might like.
An oak stitching frame and a brand new Ott-Light.
A bundle of floss and a great big mat cutter."
I smiled and felt my heart go a- flutter.

He put down gifts for us all, then waved his right hand
"Go to bed," he said, glancing at my floor stand.
He gave me a wink and stepped out the door.
I just stood there a moment, glued to the floor.

After he'd left, I turned back to my chair
Picked up the stockings and started to stare.
The backstitching was done! The stars lit the sky!
And on my son's stocking, angels sung on high!

I ran to thank Santa for this final gift,
And watched as his sleigh started to lift.
I heard him exclaim as he pulled out of sight,
"Merry Stitching to All, and to all a good night!"

~Author Unknown