Click Away

I don't blog because I enjoy writing. I just want to post links. So, here ya go!

Bordando Freebies is a Spanish blog for posting cross stitch freebie finishes [link via Cross Stitch Happy]. I like that there are links back to where the free charts originally came from -- just look for where it says "grafico aqui" on each post and click. (I actually remembered from my junior high Spanish classes that aqui means here.)

I found another owl. It's part of a larger chart for the month of September on the Aurelle blog. There are a ton of freebies there. You can find an index here. Categories include biscornu, animals, angels, the garden, the sea and some other French words I don't know.

Recycled Slipper Tutorial from Sew Green

An index of free charts (in French) on Echevette. And, here's the translated version.

I Heart The Internet

The other night, I was looking for some Valentine images and I clicked on Meggiecat, thinking I'd check her archives and was very happy to see Kathy aka Meggiecat began blogging again last month. If you've never been to Meggiecat before, you really should go. There is SO MUCH good stuff there. And, even though it hasn't been updated for awhile, be sure to check The Frankie Files too. There, Kathy posts images from the US Patent Office. The last entry has two fabric swatches from Pat Prichard and one is of some bunnies. Over at knitting-and.com, you can find the same bunnies resized to be used as embroidery patterns. I'm pretty sure I have linked to knitting-and.com before but in case you missed it, the embroidery patterns are here.

And, I forget how it happened but I also ended up at KidPix, a Russian community on LiveJournal, to see illustrations from a book called "Hedgehog in the Fog." There's also an animated film which I found thanks to Bibi's Box.

Holy Crap! Look At That!

Guess what I saw yesterday?

I saw London.
I saw France.
I saw my ankle!

Yeah, it doesn't rhyme and I changed the words, but hello! My ankle actually had a shape to it for the first time since October. Of course, my foot was still swollen but I COULD SEE MY ANKLE, BONES AND ALL. And, my calf looked to be normal sized as well.

I was shocked, appalled, amazed and excited.

I had read on several different websites that swelling after surgery usually lasts a few months. Well, it's been a little over four months since my second operation, so that could be why my ankle is no longer as big as a Tibetan Mastiff's head.* Plus the PA at my endocrinologists's office suggested I wear a compression stocking, which I have been doing for the past two weeks, (even though the elastic leaves a deep indentation across my foot and makes me wonder if it's cutting off the circulation), and I'm sure that's had a major effect on the swelling too.

To make things even better, I went out this afternoon wearing a sneaker that I did not have to unlace to get on. So even though my foot is still puffy, apparently it's not as big as it has been.

I still get creeped out when I kneel because I can tell there's a plate in there, but I finally feel like things are nearly back to the way they were before I fell last August. Yay!

*Yes, I watched Westminster tonight.

More Owls

There are five cross stitch charts with owls, along with some other designs, on the freebie page at Chouett 'alors. [Link via Christmas Ornament Stitch-A-Long] I love that French owls say "hou hou."

The chart for Bent Creek's Owl On An Egg is here. (This link worked every other time I tried it until right this very minute.) (OK, I've waited a day and it is working again so I suggest printing or saving it NOW.)

Frimousse has a chart for an owl pincushion.

Jenn (of Sweet Pea Stitches) sent me a link for Midnight Owl from The Chart Shop. (Thanks, Jenn!)

And, if you're not into x-stitch, how about embroidering an owl? Need a pattern?

(To help the search engine crowd: FREE CROSS STITCH CHARTS WITH OWLS)

Stuff You Should Read

How to tell if you're blogging too much by BipolarLawyerCook [via FreeFalling]


That Would Be Correct M'am [via Google blog alerts about Shih Tzu]

Your Favorite Song

I like doing surveys or memes, and we all know MySpace is chock full of them, but I don't always share them here because I know no one cares enough to read my answers all the way through. (Except for a few people, the only visitors I get are Googlers looking for free charts, and I can't even get my friends to read my blog.) But I must post this survey that I found on Michelle's MySpace. It's kind of long and might take you awhile, but if you're a music geek, you'll enjoy doing it. And, if you decide to fill it out, please let me know so I can read your answers.

Fill in your favorite song by each band/artist.

1. Your Favorite Song by

2. The Beatles
"You've Got To Hide Your Love Away"

3. Bob Dylan
I don't care as long as Bob himself is not singing.

4. Elvis Presley
"Suspicious Minds"

5. The Rolling Stones
"Tumblin' Dice"
"Happy"
"Gimme Shelter"

6. Jimi Hendrix
Sorry. Not a fan.

7. The Beach Boys
"Wouldn't It Be Nice"

8. Led Zeppelin
"In The Evening"

9. The Velvet Underground
"Sweet Jane"

10. U2
"Running To Stand Still"
"All I Want Is You"
"Bad"

11. Bruce Springsteen
"She's The One"
"Cover Me"
"Pink Cadillac"
"Thunder Road"

12. The Ramones
"I Wanna Be Sedated"

13. Nirvana
"Pennyroyal Tea"

14. The Who
"Squeeze Box"

15. Prince
"I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man"

16. The Clash
"Police On My Back"
"Rudie Can't Fail"
"Train In Vain"

17. Michael Jackson
"ABC" (with his brothers)

18. Madonna
"Into The Groove"
"Cherish"

19. John Lennon
"#9 Dream"

20. David Bowie
"Heroes"

21. The Doors
"Touch Me"

22. Public Enemy
Not a favorite, sorry

23. Janis Joplin
I'd rather listen to Public Enemy

24. Run-DMC
"It's Tricky"

25. Elton John
"Tiny Dancer" and can I please sit next to Billy Crudup on the bus?

26. Pink Floyd
Most boring band ever. EVER.

27. Queen
"Under Pressure"

28. Eric Clapton
"She's Waiting"

29. Grateful Dead
Cherry Garcia (I hate the Dead)

30. Aerosmith
"Sweet Emotion"

31. Sex Pistols
Did they do anything else besides "God Save The Queen"?

32. Tina Turner
"Proud Mary"

33. The Kinks
"Lola"

34. Cream
I have no idea but I can tell you Ginger Baker was the drummer

35. The Police
"Every Little Thing"

36. AC/DC
"Dirt Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"

37. Radiohead
"Fake Plastic Trees"

38. The Eagles
"Best Of My Love"

39. Beastie Boys
"Hey Ladies"

40. The Stooges
I only know "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and I don't love it

41. Eminem
Ugh!

42. Black Sabbath
The Replacements' cover of "Iron Man" from The Shit Hits The Fans.

43. Guns N Roses
"Used To Love Her"

44. Nine Inch Nails
Michelle's answer was "Didn't want to go with a cover on this one because I really heart soooo many NIN songs, but I LOVE Trent's cover of Adam Ant's (!) "Physical". Sexiest NIN song EVER!" I have to TOTALLY agree with her. Every time this comes on my iPod, I think about sex. Laugh if you want but go listen to it and you will know exactly what I mean.

45. Roxy Music
"Avalon"

46. Poison
"Girls Girls Girls" -- no, wait, that was Motley Crue.

47. Twisted Sister
The song that went with the video with the guy from Animal House. Actually, I hated all their songs and Dee Snider's hair too.

48. Styx
I would rather curl up into a ball and die than listen to them.

49. Peter Gabriel
"Sledge Hammer"

50. Jethro Tull
People actually like them??

51. Genesis
"Sususudio" (remember when MTV played this like every half hour?)

52. Portishead
All I know about them is they have a girl singer and come from Great Britain. I keep thinking her name is Natalie but I think I'm just getting her confused with Natalie Portman.

53. Oasis
"Champagne Supernova"

54. Bon Jovi
"Bad Medicine"

55. Pearl Jam
Can I say "Hunger Strike" by Temple of the Dog -- Eddie Vedder sang on it and I think some of Pearl Jam was involved with that record so it sort of counts.

56. Motley Crue
"Girls Girls Girls"

57. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
"Even the Losers"
"The Waiting"
"King's Road"
Did you see how old Tom looked at the Super Bowl? And, Benmont Tench had gray hair. And, who told Alicia Keys to wear those pants?

58. Coldplay
Ugh. I just do not see the appeal.

59. Fleetwood Mac
"Gold Dust Woman"

60. Cure
"Close To Me"

61. Joy Division
"Love Will Tear Us Apart" (Do I even know anything else by them?)

62. Inxs
"New Sensation"

63. My Chemical Romance
I don't know anything by them but I bet they are better than Jethro Tull.

64. Def Leppard
"Pour Some Sugar On Me"
"Hysteria"

65. Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Love Rollercoaster" (cover of The Ohio Players song)

66. Foo Fighters
"Best Of You"

67. Devo
"Whip It"

68. Eurythmics
"Here Comes The Rain Again"

69. Duran Duran
John Taylor -- I mean, "The Reflex"

70. ZZTop
"Legs"

71. Journey
Once upon a time, I loved Journey. Then I discovered college radio.

72. Green Day
"When I Come Around"

73. Iggy Pop
"Lust For Life"

74. Mott the Hoople
"All the Young Dudes"

75. Dead Kennedys
I only know "Holiday In Cambodia" and it's not exactly a favorite of mine.

76. Kiss
"Rock and Roll All Night"

77. Metallica
"Enter Sandman"

78. New York Dolls
I don't know any New York Dolls' songs but The Replacements did one called "Johnny's Gonna Die" about Johnny Thunders

79. Petshop Boys
"What Have I Done to Deserve This" (thanks for the reminder, Chelle!)

80. Marilyn Manson
I did like one of their songs and I had a friend put it on a mix tape for me. I cannot remember the name of it now though.

81. Lou Reed
"Rock N Roll"

82. Sonic Youth
"Teenage Riot"

83. T Rex
"20th Century Boy"

84. Van Halen
"Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"

85. Super Tramp
"Give A Little Bit"

Candy Heart Maker

Just in time for Valentine's Day -- make your own candy hearts!

One More Link

I forgot to add this yesterday.

Look what I found thanks to Mrs. Stitchy Britches: Craftini, another generous blogger who is sharing her embroidery patterns (and here and here too) and making these pretty lavender bags. I love them! Thanks, Sarah!

Trying To Get Caught Up

I just read on a blog (of course) that you're more likely to do something if you write it down. I don't know if that will motivate me to do some things I have been putting off but I'm going to give it a try. So, here are my goals:

post the rest of the links to a few more free cross stitch owl charts that I found and any other links I've saved to add here

finish Michelle's song survey

add a few more of my favorite blogs to the sidebar

answer all 327 330 emails in my mailbox

Until I finish these four things -- I could have sworn there was a fifth one -- I am not allowing myself to look at one single blog.

Not a one.

Well, except for Mrs. Stitchy Britches because she is always adding embroidery patterns to her blog and I couldn't live if I had to give them up, even only for awhile.

Speaking of embroidery, my half of the brain has a list of links to all kinds of embroidery posts. I know I've been to many of them before (like the ones at Feeling Stitchy) but I'm still going to check them all out when I have some time.

Vote Early, Vote Often

My friend Michelle has a son who is in a band called Three Foot Fall. Please vote for them in the Battle of the Bands by going to the Pasco Libraries page on MySpace and clicking on their name. You don't have to sign in or register even though it's MySpace.

And, The Apronista is having another giveaway. This time, it's for an apron from Carolyn's Kitchen. Visit Carolyn and you will find aprons with polka dots, stripes, eyelet, and heart-shaped pockets. Pardon me while I drool.

Hah!
17

For Once, I Cannot Choose A Favorite

Tie One On's theme for Autumn was Polka Dotted Lovelies and oh my God, they are all just that. They're now up on Flickr so GO LOOK!!