But I'm starting to think I'm never going to manage it! I finished up with round two of this rotation in early May. First, here is And They Sinned. Second, the anchor on my rotation, A Rose Among Thorns.

I'm afraid I didn't get much done on either one of them. Chalk it up to a busy week, I guess.

Have you ever come across a book that was so good, you were disappointed to finish it? I found The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss to be one such. Fortunately, Kvothe hasn't finished his story yet, and two more books are scheduled. Unfortunately, the next one won't be out until April 2009! I hate waiting for the next installment of a book (and then forgetting what all happened in the first one). And I had decided not to start another series until all the books were available (a decision made in response to Robert Jordan's death). But this one slipped by me, somehow. I'm sorely disappointed to have to wait, but I can't say I'm sorry to have read the book. If you enjoy fantasy, or even a well-told, rousing tale, I strongly encourage you to check this one out.

Babysitting

Lots of different colors in this section, so I didn't get a bunch done. A lot of fun to stitch, though.

Some pictures of my lovely daughter.



She's growing up too fast. Or perhaps I should say she has grown up too fast.

I am also happy to report that she finally landed a roll in one the school's productions. Next year they are doing Alice in Wonderland for their musical and she will be playing the Queen of Hearts. It's been too long since I've had a chance to enjoy her talent and I'm really looking forward to it. She, needless to say, is ecstatic. I'm also hoping that being able to act again will help her feel a bit happier.

Well, we all survived our little wet adventure. I don't know if my brand new cordless electric lawn mower made it, though. I'm afraid to look. The high water line is definitely above the floor of my shed, but not by much so I'm hoping the wheels were high enough to keep the batteries out of the water. The trailer skirting was blown off almost all the way around, but I think we only lost a piece or two. I'm not looking forward to putting it back. Here's a picture of a few of our neighbors, out enjoying the day. We got a bit of a kick out of them swimming through our yard.

And here's what it looked like the next day. What a difference, huh? Ah, the joys of living on the water! I wish now I hadn't left at low tide, since it turned out the worst was past by then and the whole thing set me back a bit, since we decided to stay at a motel rather than wade through the water again that evening to get back to the house. I keep telling myself better safe than sorry -- and I'm not going put my children in potential danger to save a few bucks. Still, it's annoying because I always over-react. But the one time I don't will be the time something really bad happens!

Enough about my weather woes. I've got some cross stitch pictures to share. I've finished up with the second round of my rotation and am currently working on Victory again. But since I'm so behind in getting pictures up, I'll show you Ballet Pigs.

I'm going to be tweaking my rotation once again. There are a few designs that have been screaming at me and I'm going to give in and start them. They are all HAEDs and are: Red Dragon, Crown of Creation, Calling the Crows, and Beauty and the Beast. I was planning to take Ballet Pigs out, but after seeing it anew, I'm not so sure. I'm also considering taking Sea of Roses out, since I have two other active Selena Fenech's. I had hoped to keep my active projects limited to 21, but I just don't think I'm going to be able to stick to that. I'm also planning to start The Red Thread, which I plan to give to a friend who has provided some heavy duty assistance to me and my family on more than one occassion.

And finally a finish! Woo hoo! Probably my only one for 2008. This is the Stars and Moon Baby Sampler my daughter and I did for her babysitter's daughter. I substituted Victoria Clayton silk floss for the DMC. The picture does not do the colors justice, they are incredibly vibrant! I'm looking forward to getting it back from the framer so we can give it to her.

So the girls and I left at low tide. The water did start to recede, but we still had to do a bit of wading. The wind was brutal and the water was cold! Poor things have spent the afternoon in the college library. My son stayed. He's 18 you know and "can make those decisions" for himself. It's kind of nice having someone there who can reassure me the place hasn't washed away. If he'd answer the phone when I called, that is. Can you believe that? I had to call three times before he answered because he was watching a movie!

I did manage to discern from him that the water didn't get any higher than it was this morning.

I was woken up at 5:00 this morning by someone pounding on my door suggesting we move our cars. So my son and I waded through knee deep water to do so. Not a lot of fun. I was completely taken surprise by the severity of the flooding. Living on a peninsula on a bigger peninsula, I've seen my fair share of floods. Ten years ago we had to evacuate (by boat) and both of our cars were totaled. Since that time I've been quite watchful whenever we get a coastal flood warning. Generally, though, it happens somewhat gradually -- in that we'll get minor flooding with one high tide and more serious flooding with the next. The water didn't get that high at high tide yesterday afternoon -- it was higher than normal, but still within the banks of the canal. So I figured if it flooded at high tide early this morning, it wouldn't be too bad. I took this video around 8:30 this morning. Lovely, huh?



I'm a wee bit concerned that the water isn't receding. And this trailer is making the most ominous creaking sounds. It's starting to look like we'll have to wade out at low tide or run the risk of not being able to get out at all. And, yeah, I'm a little scared.

I don't know exactly what it is about The Big Zipper, but I simply fell in love with it the first time I saw it. Which explains why it landed in my rotation immediately. I had a bit of trouble with the perle at first and was concerned about how it was stitching up, but I soon got into the swing of things and it's turning out just fine. The stitches seem huge (9 per inch compared to my general 25 per inch!), but it is so gratifying to see huge swaths of fabric stitched in a single sitting.

I'm a bit disappointed in the quality of this picture of Broken Angel, but it at least shows my progress. Another 30 rows done and edging up on the 50% mark. Her wing was a real pain to stitch and took forever!

I should go do some more stitching, but I'm afraid I've found another habit to while away the time. I got Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst for my youngest and now I'm hooked!

Bubble Flower is simply a joy to work on! This has always been one of my favorite artworks and it is stitching up beautifully. I'm even seeing details in the stitched work that I don't remember seeing in the orginal. Which only makes it more fun! I really enjoyed seeing the leading edge of her wings (which I never quite realized were wings) appear on the fabric.

I don't have to do anything this weekend so hopefully I'll be able to get some more pictures posted. It helps that I now have a web page for each of my active projects. So much easier to update an existing page than to set up a new one!

The principal at my kids' high school was arrested yesterday for, basically, having an affair with a 17 year old student. He's been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and 30 counts of 4th degree rape (it's been going on since January). The kids hated him and so are pleased he's gone and I'm just disgusted. I just don't get how someone can risk everything like that.

Showing off for my son again. I think the lights were too bright (maybe because my son decided to perform rather than tech) so the quality's not the greatest but I got a kick out of this.

And here's another of my much delayed WIP pics. Cirque des Cercles. I'm afraid I didn't spend too much time on this one, anxious as I was to move on to Broken Angel.



I took the Stars and Moon Baby Sampler my daughter and I stitched for her sitter's daughter in to Michaels this weekend. This is the first thing I've had framed professionally and I just about passed out when she told me the price! Needless to say, I won't be getting a matte and settled for a cheap dark blue metal frame. And it's still costing over $50. Add that to the cost of materials and we're talking about one really expensive baby gift. I really should have just gotten some onsies as suggested! But this is what my daughter wanted to do and her sitter's family certainly is her second family. And besides, it is stunning.