A post about NOT stitching :(

This post will be about NOT cross stitching. I am swamped (as well as dazed and confused) by Organic Chemistry. Somehow I managed to pull off an 80% on the first quiz, but it was graded on the curve. THANK GOD for the curve! Believe me, I've never said that before in my life! Sometimes I question my sanity (actually, daily) about the decision to go back to school.


Anyway, this class, and the other one I'm taking, Complimentary and Alternative Healthcare, have me very busy and I haven't been able to stitch anything. I knew it was coming, though, so I stitched quite a bit over Christmas vacation. Here is my latest finish:

This is a Heritage Stitchcraft piece of Valerie Pfeiffer's "The Blues," one of the "Trios" series. I did this for my cousin Vicki, who lives in Idaho. She saw the piece I did for my sister Joyce, "Sitting Pretty"

and decided she wanted one of her own. I had these two, plus "Three's a Crowd," with baby robins. She decided she wanted the bluejays, so I whipped that one up pretty quickly. An unusual thing about this series is the use of half-height stitches. If you are interested in doing them - and who wouldn't be - use linen or evenweave because of this. Basically, it is up 1 and over 2. Check out the ends of the branches that stick out, and you will see these stitches.

Well, back to OrgaChem - Needle... Floss... Charts... I sure miss you! :(

Call Me Old Fashioned...

.... Okay, don't call ME Old Fashioned - Call HIM Old Fashioned, because that's his name:

This is a Rick Porter-owned, Larry Jones-trained Unbridled's Song colt out of Collect Call x Meadowlake. I don't know enough about pedigrees and such to comment on that, but I do know that Old Fashioned wired the Remsen Stakes (GII) in November to win going away. He is now undefeated after 3 starts and will start again in the Southwest Stakes on February 16. Old Fashioned tops many a handicapper's list for possible Kentucky Derby contenders.

The Derby field is very exciting this year. This is the first year I've been following the 2-year-olds (3-year-olds, as of January 1, 2009). Last year, I picked War Pass because he was very impressve in the Breeders Cup Juvenile. War Pass came out blazing in 2008, but disappointed in his major prep races and ended up with an injury before the Derby. He retired without racing again. So I was pretty much without a horse to follow, and then Big Brown passed the Derby field like they were standing still, from the 20-post no less, and then second-place filly Eight Belles broke down after the wire and had to be euthanized, and that took the wind out the Triple Crown sails really. Big Brown again dominated in the Preakness, but didn't read the memo that he needed to win ALL THREE races, including the Belmont, to take the Triple Crown. Actually, he was pulled up by his jockey, Kent Desormeaux, for reasons still unknown, but really was out of gas before the stretch.

This year's 3-year-olds are very exciting. The field is impossible to narrow as of now, but the Southwest Stakes will tell if it will include Old Fashioned. For Rick and Larry's sakes, I really hope he makes the field. To find out more about Old Fashioned and to watch his races, check out this link:

http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2009/racing-information/contenders/old-fashioned

Maybe my next post will be about cross stitch! :)

The Beginning of a New Blogging Era

I decided to start a new blog. My old one was pretty boring... and ... this one probably will be too! :) I've developed, or should I say REdeveloped, an interest in horse racing, and with the Kentucky Derby around the corner, I want to post about that, as well as my stitching - thus the name change. I've also started Weight Watchers, and I would like to post about my successes and failures in that arena, in the hopes that you will help me celebrate my successes and encourage me when I fail. And I will fail. I will also probably complain about school, because this semester I am taking Organic Chemistry, and it will kill me before May. I'm sure of it. Just the first week has been hell.

At any rate, this is just a start. I will try to keep this updated, at least moreso than the last one. Thanks for visiting, and come back soon! I will try to have pictures up of my stuff, but if I don't, then you can (almost) always see what I've been working on at http://community.webshots.com/user/pokeysd

Oh yeah, I'll also be posting about genealogy! And politics! (Maybe)