One Stitch At A Thyme

Wow I can't believe it's been 5 years. I've met a lot of new friends over these last 5 years. Done a lot of pissing, moaning, and complaining. Along with the occasional happy dance stitchery finish and quite a few book reviews. I hope this next year shows more frequency in the stitching updates, progress in my restructured weight loss plans, and less complaining about the other crap in my life.

Hope everyone has a very merry christmas tomorrow.


~Magickal Graphics~

To all my Pagan friends Happy Yule, and to everyone else Merry Christmas.

I tried my best to finish part 2 of the Berlin Woolwork Sampler. However, I got called back to work after being laid-off for 3 months so I tried to work on it over the weekends but it just didn't happen all that much. So after tackling motifs 11, 12, & 14 I decided to stop working on it and move on to my French Mystery Sampler "Tree of Life". Which I started back in October of this year. As I am now 2 months behind, I really wanna catch up and for once stay current as the free charts are posted on Annick's site. I have this whole week off from work and now that I've got my shopping done for the holidays, I'm gonna give it my best effort to tackle parts 1 & 2. (Click in the thumbnail for a bigger pic)


From left to right accross the bottom Motifs: 12, 13, 11, &14


Here's the first 6 hours of part 1 "Tree of Life"

I'm still looking for full-time permanent work and a local boyfriend. Hopefully I'll have better luck with both in 2010. I've managed to contract Fibromyalgia this last year and it's taken a toll on my health. Constant joint pain and not being able to sleep soundly through the night has put 33 pounds back on me. This is somewhat depressing knowing that it took me the previous year to lose 88 pounds. I try to explain to people it's not what I eat, it's the fact that I can't workout like I use to. That and the lack of energy (chronic fatigue) makes my body try to shut down to conserve energy, hence the weight gain. Since I have no health insurance or permanent work to pay medical bills, I'm trying a natural supplement and vitamin treatment for the condition. I'm hoping it will work because I have no other alterative.

Anyway, I'm gonna try and stay positive over the holidays and through the New Year. I'm not really one for making resolutions; it's too easy to break them. So I will only say that I'm gonna do my best to keep up with my reduced treadmill workout and stretching exercises, reading my romance books, and stick to a rotational system for my stitchery so I can see some progress on my WiPs.

Happy Holidays everyone and see you next year.

Me and My Shadow by Katie MacAlister


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Hey what can I say.... I LOVE IT!!!!! Started reading it at 6pm wed and finished at 4am thurs a 10 hour reading marathon... there were just so many good scenes in the book, but I gotta say Magoth "stole the show". The scenes in the woods getting whacked with May's tail and the nakid "butt cheek" leather pants/chaps... Oh and him and Drake's mom talking kinky sex toys... LOL

View all my reviews >>

Today my OEM copy of Windows 7 came in the mail. I’ve been told by a techie friend of mine that because I’m going from Windows XP to 7 I'll be re-installing my system, probably from scratch… Goddess help me I hope not… but just incase, it might be a couple of weeks before I’m able to post here again…. Yea I’ve got that much stuff to re-install. So you’ll either see a stitch update from me by this weekend or not.

In the mean time…. Happy Samhain to all my Pagan friends and Happy Halloween to everyone else!!!!!

The Witches of Dixie by Laura Stamps


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The book in my opinion should have be named “A Witches’ View on Life” for the 4 separate but intertwining stores of the 4 witches by any other name is in fact the author. These stories are not totally fiction but in reality the interests and loves of the author, Laura Stamps. After reading her LiveJournal blog for so long and then finally getting around to reading her first book, which she recommended long ago (sorry it took so long – L.). It was as if I were reading yet another facet of her quite interesting life. This book is not so much an urban fantasy as it says on the back cover; but in my view more a collection of thoughts, and inspirational messages. I found several spells, chants, and rituals that I liked and plan to tweak them to my needs.

The only down side to the book is that the first two sections were written in 3rd person view point; and for some reason that grated on me and I had to push myself to read past that and finish the book.

View all my reviews >>

Tall, Dark & Fangsome by Michelle Rowen


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Tall, Dark & Fangsome made my all night page turner list. I’d been trying to savor the book, only reading a few chapters a night to make it last. But last night when I was in the middle of the book I just couldn’t put it down; and did an 8 hour marathon read to finish it. Poor Sarah blocked, or should I say staked, at every turn to try and rid herself of her nightwalker curse by Gideon Chase. The desperate, manipulative, and now dieing vampire hunter is hell bent on having Sarah sire him. In the end he gets what he wants, and more to his dismay. But alls well with the world of Sarah and Thierry for as with all romance novels they get their HEA. A very good series even if it is romance without sex scenes.

View all my reviews >>

Darkness Revealed by Alexandra Ivy


My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I don’t know what happened to the authors muse, but this book just didn’t excite me the way the first 3 in the series did. I think she should have stopped with the last one, because the storyline for this book was just tolerable. I like a romance with liberal love scenes and the descriptive telling of how the vampires and their mates marry/bond with each other. This had little to none of that. Hopefully the next book in the series will redeem itself.

View all my reviews >>

Weigh In Update: I seem to be losing ground with the weight loss ever since I went back to work. I doesn’t seem to matter how little I eat or if I do a 1 mile workout on the treadmill during the weekdays. It's been another 2 months and now I'm 7 pounds fatter, it just keeps creeping back on and I don’t know what to do……

Primal Needs by Susan Sizemore


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The last of the Prime’s loose end love interests are tied up into a proverbial love knot. An unspoken war and conspiracy plots are bubbling to the surface remain as a secondary plot that needs to be answered. But will it? It’s been 2 years between Primal Desires and Primal Needs. Will this be the end of the series? Will the author leave this threat to the vampire clans, and werefolk unresolved? By the looks of her website it will. She has a Primes #8 “Dark Stranger” coming out Oct. 27, 2009 but its set in the distant future on a starship. And since I’m not into spaceship/sci-fi romance I’ll be checking it out from the library but I doubt I’ll be buying it.

View all my reviews >>

The Scot, the Witch and the Wardrobe by Annette Blair


My rating: 3 of 5 stars



A cute lighthearted romance. PG 13 rated in the sexual dialog between Rory and Vickie. A time filler read for those 15 minute breaks at work and during lunch. I liked it but not enough to read books 1 and 2 in the series about Vickie’s sisters finding love and marriage.

View all my reviews >>

Wanting Something More by Kathy Love

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars


Basically a hometown girl who is bullied in high school because of her tall lanky looks; comes back home as a supermodel to fall in love with a reformed guy, the chief of police, who use to tease and bully her in high school.


View all my reviews.

I love this Pagan Group and I'm just doing my bit to promote their music and help them win!!!

Well as you can see from the stats map I’ve lost ground this year. I got down to 177 by the end of January and hit a brick wall plateau wise, and just couldn’t drop anymore no matter how strict I was. So at the end of February I cut back my routine from 4 miles a day down to 2 miles. In March there were 2 weeks I didn’t exercise at all. And in April when I got a month of temp work I quit all together and went back to eating what ever I wanted. And as usual my weight started to slowly creep back up on me to where I’m back up to 190 pounds as of June 1st.

My Weight Chart:



Because I haven’t had any temp work for the month of May and it doesn’t seem to be forthcoming for this month. On wed. the 3rd, I’ve begun my 1000 calorie/exercise routine again. I’ve been off my diet/exercise for 2 ½ months, and it’s amazing how quickly one can get stiff and out of shape. I’ve had to literally start over by using 1 pound hand weights, only walking 2 miles (1 mi in the morning/ 1 mi in the evening) and turning the speed down on the tread mill from 3.1 to 2.9 miles an hour. Thank goodness those 30 minutes of stretching exercises I do after each mile hasn’t changed and I can actually feel the difference when I do them now. Hopefully in 10 days or so I’ll be back up to speed at 4 miles a day with the 2 pound weights. I’m still riding my bicycle on the weekends for a 5 mile ride when the weather allows....

As for my love life…. I’ve given up on finding a boyfriend for the time being. The 2 local guys I was in contact with seem to have moved on. One e-mails me from time to time, although he’s not interested in a “relationship” but just a casual friend’s thing. I won’t even go into the crap I’ve had to deal with on-line… but just to say I almost got nailed by a scammer who took advantage of my naïve good nature. So I’m ignoring the invites from social networks like MySpace for awhile. Licking my wounds and pulling out my much neglected needlework and concentrating on that along with my Wiccan studies for the time being.

So here’s to the Goddess granting me a full time permanent job and a skinner new me.
That’s all for this blog blurb.

Stakes & Stilettos by Michelle Rowen

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars


OK after reading the 4th book in this series I finally get it …. The author likes to write romance without sex scenes. Which really kind of irked me, cuz I was use to the writing styles of Katie Macalister and Alexander Ivy. Moving past that, I have to say I really enjoyed reading about the trials and tribulations of one Sarah Dearly, vampire. Yes, I’ll be quite happy when Sarah and Thierry get their HEA and the bad guys get staked; in the 5th and final book in the series…. Tall dark and fangsome.

It took the first 2 books to really get into Michelle’s version of her Toronto vampire world. Where the vamps can walk in the sun and tolerate human food and drink. Of course they do have the general vampire traits….. No reflections, fangs, and need for a pint of O negative when they get thirsty.

If you’re into sweet romance with equal amounts of humor and implied behind closed doors sex scenes then give this series a try. Like me, it just may grow on you.


View all my reviews.

Crouching Vampire, Hidden Fang
by Katie MacAlister

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars


I only have one complaint - not enough sex scenes between Pia and Kristoff. *LOL* Loved the fact Katie brought back a few old character favorites from previous Dark Ones books. Allie and Christian, Sebastian, and Esme the ghost. Just wish they had a little more page time.


View all my reviews.

Turn Coat by Jim Butcher

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars


As always Butcher does it again with another "mystery/who done it" that left me guessing up to the last 1/4 of the book. Not as bloody and violent as his previous books, but just as entertaining. I was hoping to have more with the character of Thomas Raith (Harry’s halfbrother), but oh well…. Maybe I’ll get my wish in the next book.


View all my reviews.

I have a job again!!! Yea !!! Manufacturing Services called me back to work – for how long? who knows. I’m just happy to be working and have money to pay off the “plastic”. I also have a car again. Yea Me!!! Well technically it’s in dad’s name so I can acquire the pink slip and cheap insurance 6 months from now. It’s so nice to have a car again after not have one of my own for more years then I care to count.

Got my new prescription replacement lens yesterday. They finally got the damn bifocals cut right on the progressives. Yea again!!! Now I can read my ever growing mountain of books and start working on my stitching again.

Now for the depressing news. I’ve gained 6 pounds back. I was on the treadmill for 4 miles a day and then I got burnout out doing it by the first of the year. No matter how much or little I did I couldn’t drop below 177 and make it stick. Last month I made a effort to go back to 4 miles a day and was doing well for 2 weeks and then last week I didn’t workout at all. Plus on Wednesday of last week I fell on my hip and knee roller-skating and hurt my lower back, then I started back to work on Monday. Standing all day long on cement floors is making my back hurt again to the point where I can’t use the treadmill. Hopefully I’ll get accustomed to standing for 8 hours straight. Maybe in another week or two I can start back doing 2 miles on the treadmill. I’m too tired from work to do anymore than that. Hopefully my weight won’t creep any higher then 183 pounds.


That’s all for this blog blurb….

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love this series even if the sex is implied and behind closed doors. What can I say I live in the Tri-Cities. It's fun reading about vampires, werewolves, fae, and a shapeshifting coyote that live right outside my front door.


View all my reviews.

Other stuff: Had to get the prescription on my glasses re-ordered again!!! Man this is getting old. Hopefully the third time they'll get it right. At least it's not costing me anything more. The dieting has hit the wall big time. I haven't lost any weight since January. I keep hovering between 177 and 180 pounds, which sucks big time!!! No stitching to speak of thanks to my prescription woes. At least I can take my glasses off to read.

That's all for this blog blurb folks!!!

Ok, my official end of the month weigh-in is here. Sad to say a very disappointing blow for me. The scales have been bouncing up and down all month, as I’ve had to deal with aching joints, fatigue, and sugar cravings (which I gave into). So as of Jan 31, 2009 I’m 177 lbs - just a 3 pound loss. This is the first time since I started last year that I’ve missed my 5 pound goal. Hopefully next month I’ll do better.

I’m still waiting on the optometrist to call about my re-maded glasses. They didn’t get the bifocals cut right the first time. So I’m have a rotten time, reading, typing, etc. and needlework is out unless I switch back to my old glasses.

Speaking of needlework, I’ve found another free french chart stitch-along. I’m going to be collecting the parts for this, as I have too many other WiPs to deal with at the moment, to even think about starting another project. It’s called “Grand Abecedaire” part 1 of 8 can be found starting at this blog entry: http://gazette94.blogspot.com/2008/11/grand-abecedaire-18.html




The second acquisition is an out-of-print chart by Heaven and Earth Designs called “Eternal Promise” the artwork is called “Arwen and Aragorn” by artist Matt Stewart. I put up a {in search of…} plea on the HAED message board and a very kind person sold me her used copy. Almost the very next day someone else was asking if I’d sell it to them after I was finished with stitching mine. She’s going to have a long wait, because I probably won’t get started on this until sometime in 2010, if I’m lucky in getting a few WiPs done this year first.





Hopefully I can get over this cold weather/depression slump I’m in and start posting more book reviews and needlework updates this next month.

That’s all for this blog blurb.

Yep, that's me a slippery fish. Catch me if you can!

Lets101 Quizzes - Fun Quizzes

Where are you on my compatibility Chart?

Lets101 - Free Online Dating Site

Well they might fall in love with me but they dump me just as fast. {grumble}

Lets101 - Online Dating

Yep, a Rooster. It's me exactly!!! especially the controlling part. {LOL}

Lets101 - Free Dating Site

I don’t know about the soul from venus bit. But having a boyfriend would be nice. {sigh }

A soul from Venus with a sexual appeal 7.6 of 10.

Guys hold your breath...

Lets101 Quizzes - fun Myspace quiz

First Blood by Susan Sizemore (and others)

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars


Cave Canem By Susan Sizemore (rating 4 of 5 stars)

A story of the theft of 2 hellhound puppies and what happens to them.

I’ve been waiting almost 6 years for her to resolve the cliff hanger she left in the last Laws of the Blood book “Heroes”. I was disappointed in that of the 4 characters – the situation between Valentine, Geoff, Char and Jebel – only Valentine’s issue gets resolved.



I still have to read the other stories in this Anthology.


View all my reviews.

Well here it is the first Sunday in the new year. I kind of just squeaked in under the wire for my 5 pound weight loss goal for the month of December. At 1:30pm today I weighed in at 180.8 pounds. My water weight has been bouncing up and down by a pound or more this entire weekend. What’s worse is that during December I’ve been losing and gaining back the same damn 5 pounds all month long. That in itself has got me the most depressed. Hopefully with the holidays behind me I can leave the sweets alone and get re-motivated for this month.

I was going to pull out Camelot sampler and work on it. But I got new glasses last week and the bifocal prescription is off, everything is slightly blurred and/or ghosted. So no needlework until I can get in on Monday and have them look at it. I was very naughty today and I went to Everythingcrossstitch.com and spent $89.00us on 2 kits, 5 remnant fabric pieces ( all Zweigart 25 count lugana ), plus some kreinik braid and Mill Hill beads for the new Teresa Wentzler “Delightful Dragon Fob” that I got from patternsonline.com yesterday. I hope to put this cute little project on my quickie to-do list.

And now we come to on-line dating. It doesn’t seem to be going anywhere for me. I have several guy friends who text chat with me but none of them want to take it any further than that. I think I’m going to stop visiting my on-line message group forums and get back to concentrating on my dieting and reading my books. And if the Goddess sees fit to drop a man in my path, so mote it be. Otherwise I don’t want to deal with the emotional rollercoaster that I went through these last two months.

That’s all for this blog blurb.