Patterns

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Chocolate mmmmm....

I almost missed the deadline for Ambitatterous's contest!  I thought that tomorrow was the last day of November Gasp!   Fortunately I realised that today was in fact the last day to enter.

In order to decorate a box of chocolates I had to think of a story.  I went through a few scenarios in my head but this is the one that stuck.The chocolates in this box are crafted in a secret laboratory somewhere in Belgium.  Special ingredients are compiled from mystical plantations deep in the Americas and carried under armed guard across the ocean.  Specially trained monks mix the chocolate in silence to create the richest chocolate in the world.  Rich and creamy chocolate deserves a rich exterior so these chocolates come sealed by a Sapphire pendant that protects the chocolates from contamination.  The pendant is embedded in a flower found only in the depths of the rain forest.   This flower helps to preserve the natural flavors of the chocolates and brings good luck to all that hold it.  No need for any labels because anyone who receives the box knows what's inside.
The Sapphire
One Last Look

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Its in the air

I can smell the turkey cooking from up here!  Just a quick note to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! 
 In case you've hit a roadblock on thankful things here's a 101 things to be thankful for
(list by Craig Jones and published on Ezine articles)
  1. A beautiful song
  2. A comfortable chair
  3. A cool breeze
  4. A drink of cool water
  5. A full moon
  6. A gentle rain
  7. A glass of cold milk
  8. A good book to read
  9. A good coat
  10. A good husband
  11. A good pillow
  12. A good wife
  13. A scenic drive
  14. Air conditioning
  15. Banana splits
  16. Beaches in the morning
  17. Beautiful women
  18. Birds singing
  19. Blue jeans
  20. Brothers
  21. Butterflies
  22. Butterfly kisses
  23. Ceiling fans
  24. Children laughing
  25. Christmas morning
  26. Clothes that fit well
  27. Comfortable shoes
  28. Compliments
  29. Computers that work
  30. Cooing Babies
  31. Cream Brule
  32. Dark Chocolate
  33. Dishwashers
  34. Diversity
  35. Dried pineapple slices
  36. Fairness
  37. Crackling fire in a fireplace
  38. Flowers
  39. Freedom of religion
  40. Freedom of speech
  41. Fresh ideas
  42. Friendly dogs
  43. Good conversation
  44. Good eyesight
  45. Good friends
  46. Good health
  47. Good movies
  48. Good teachers
  49. Good tires
  50. Grace
  51. Grandchildren
  52. Grandma
  53. Grandpa
  54. Hair spray
  55. High-speed Internet access
  56. Holding hands
  57. Homemade ice cream
  58. Honest people
  59. Hugs
  60. Ice cubes
  61. Indoor plumbing
  62. Kind men
  63. Kittens
  64. Laughter
  65. Live Christmas trees
  66. Morning coffee
  67. Parking spaces near the front
  68. Peanut butter
  69. Plenty of closet space
  70. Polyester
  71. Polite drivers
  72. Porch swings
  73. Pregnant women
  74. Puppies
  75. Quiet mornings
  76. Rainbows
  77. Remote Controls
  78. Roasted peanuts
  79. Shade trees
  80. Silk pajamas
  81. Sisters
  82. Smiles
  83. Snow covered mountains
  84. Snowflakes
  85. Soft toilet paper
  86. Sunrises
  87. Sunsets
  88. Thanksgiving dinner
  89. That I wasn't in the obituaries today
  90. The color of autumn leaves
  91. The ocean
  92. The smell of a Sunday roast cooking
  93. The smell of homemade bread
  94. The words "I love you"
  95. Tire swings
  96. True friends
  97. Uninterrupted dinners
  98. Warm kisses
  99. Warm showers
  100. Whipped cream
  101. White puffy clouds
  102. Wrinkle-free clothes
  103. Tatting

Saturday, November 20, 2010

In case you were wondering...

If you're wondering where all the angst about facebook has come from you can blame continuing education.   Last weekend I was at a conference and one of the speakers used a podcast from http://www.ted.com/ to explain social connectivity, leadership and social media (pretty smart guy named Seth Godin).  The idea was tribal cultures and how people of like interests connect through tools like the Internet.   How someone from England can connect to someone in Canada through social media to create tribes of people with similar interests.

So in the middle of this conference am I thinking of connecting to other Chiropractors?  No, I'm wondering who was the first tatter to trespass into this brave new world?  In 2001 or 2002 I had a monumental brain storm to search for tatting on the Internet.  At that time there was already a flourishing community of tatting websites based on tatting.   Georgia Seitz was already up and running with her online class.  Chat rooms had been running.   There were lots of free patterns available on the Internet and I spent lots of time printing off patterns and techniques I had never seen before.  Now there's even tatters twittering...

I was just curious if anyone remembers when they first started looking on the Internet and when it became a community (or a tribe as Seth would call it)?

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

the workings of facebook...

...are a mystery to me.  This may seem strange but I'm seriously afraid of facebook.  It just didn't seem that interesting until I realised that I could stalk  people!  And by stalk I mean look up old friends.   I have to confess that it was fun to look up someone and see what they are doing.  Since most people have closed pages I only got to peak at them.  What isn't closed is their friends and who they've been in contact with.   It reminded me of people I totally forgot or whose name I would never remember.  Its kinda like taking a walk at night and looking in your neighbor's window!  Oh yes, I do that!  I grew up in a small town where everyone new each other's business.  Its a defense mechanism.  You have to be prepared to blackmail the person threatening to tell all your secrets! lol!

I'm a little embarrassed that I only have one picture.  Most of my friends have lots.  For some reason I'm afraid that some crazy is going to see my picture on facebook then hunt me down and kill me.  Too much Criminal Minds and NCIS! lol!  Or it maybe my Mom that's given me these crazy thoughts.

I mean the gig is up.  I've been doing a blog for a couple years and it only takes 2 seconds to google me.  What comes up is not surprise- I'm a Chiropractor and I tat.  In fact, once someone looks me up they've got my whole life in front of them.   Maybe I should be working harder to control their first impression? 

This was brought to my attention the other day in a bar.  Salima and I went to Baton Rouge and the only seats were at the bar which is always fun.  A gentleman who took the seat next to us had an  iPhone and we asked a whole bunch of questions about the difference between and iPhone and a blackberry (he was hot and we were bored).  Well, in 5 minutes he had everything just from telling him our website address. 

So if everything about my life is floating in cyberspace some where why am I so nervous?

Thursday, November 11, 2010

The people that keep us safe...

I went with friends and family to the Remembrance Day ceremonies in Manotick today.  My friend's son Ayan (almost 3yrs) asked his mom (Sal) what we were doing.  Sal told him that we are thanking all the people that keep us safe. That struck me as the perfect way to explain Remembrance day to an infant.