standing nutcracker, 17

I had a debate with myself about the # on this nutcracker posting.  It's actually the eighteenth, but the last post which contained information and a photo wasn't titled "nutcracker"--so a technicality!

My progress seems to be accelerating, but I think it is only because the bottom portion of Gunther is much narrower than the top.  I love the effect of the kalem stitch, but it is a slow stitch.  And I see another few days of it in my future!  You'll notice that I have done much more on the background on the left side as compared to the right side of Gunther's legs.  I decided that I would speed ahead on the left so that I could count up from the bottom for the area of background between his legs.  You understand that I am accepting on blind faith that the backgrounds will line up when they meet at the bottom (or I promise that I will "make" them meet.)

If you click on the photo, you'll see that I did finish the interlocking gobelin between his legs.  Hooray, while an attractive stitch it's as slow as the kalem.  I must prefer something like the Diagonal Triple Hungarian.  But I am sacrificing myself for the beauty of my art!

I'm happy to sit and stitch since my sinus infection (non infectious, thank goodness) refuses to leave town.  Yesterday, upon hearing my voice and seeing my sad demeanor, Marcia insisted that I call my doctor for another visit.  So, an extension on my antibiotic with the addition of steroids.  The doctor even offered me a sleeping pill, but I'm hopeful that I might find the energy to clean my closet this weekend (yes, that's sarcasm since I expect to be a latke for at least another few days.  I don't really expect to clean that closet in this lifetime, and you would understand if you could see it.  It looks like a bomb went off in it.) 

I spent 6 hours (well, technically, 5 hours 53 minutes) viewing the Met Opera's High Definition broadcast of Wagner's Parsifal.  Beautiful music and talented singers.  TOOOO long.  I lasted until the end because the music was so wonderful, but many people bailed after 2 or 4 hours.  As my friend Toni commented, it won't be on the list of things we want to see again.  But an instrumental of the music would be a nice addition to my CD collection.  I loved Rene Pape but the others were just okay--and I resented their singing and overpowering my listening music!  You'll have to excuse my amateur music criticism but I am nothing if not opinionated!

Standing Nutcracker, 2

Well, I hope the National Hurricane Center removes Isaac from the list of future storm names.  While Florida was fortunate enough to dodge the full force of Isaac, a "rogue band" broke free after Isaac left Cuba and headed up the East Coast of Florida.  It dumped masses of water as it stalled overhead.  Vero's previous one-day rainfall record was broken Monday thanks to the torrential downpour.  I don't know what the 3-day total was.  A lot.  Of course, I was running my Monday errands.  As I was pumping gas, I saw lightning and heard the thunder and had the fleeting thought that perhaps I shouldn't be doing this under a metal awning at this moment.  Of course I had committed the cardinal sin of not having a full tank of gas when a tropical storm/hurricane was approaching.  Once I saw that Isaac was going up the Gulf of Mexico I relaxed my usual attentiveness to storm preparation.  My bad.  And as I was out driving around through buckets of water, there was a tornado warning.  And ten minutes after I pulled into my garage a tornado hit 3 trailer parks just west of where I had been pumping gas.  Why is it always trailer parks?  Life is not fair.  Fortunately no one was killed.  And I can barely bring myself to watch New Orleans.  I think it is worse to watch a hurricane hit someone else than it is to endure it yourself.  My prayers go out to all in Isaac's path.

Tuesday I was surprised when I got to the shop to discover that there was water on the floor of the back room.  Fortunately nothing was damaged.   And again, a wake-up call.  Knowing how much rain we were having, it hadn't occurred to me while doing errands Monday to swing by and check on the shop. "It's only rain."   Foolish me.  It could have been so much worse. 

My weekly progress doesn't seem like much on this gi-normous project. 

I wanted to complete the interlocking gobelin around the "feather" in the nutcracker's hat so I could start the long/short split stitch with its edges overhanging the background stitching.  I just barely made it! 

I tried to darken things so you could see the definition of my first row of stitches.  I'll have more on this in 2 weeks.  Next weekend (9/7-9/10) I'll be in Baltimore for a TNNA cash-and-carry market.  This is definitely too big for travel.  My mind is racing trying to select a small traveling project.