A mixed bag of allsorts!

Before I forget, for Myrna - the needleroll SAL is Katrina's brainchild (and she is the QUEEN of Needlerolls LOL) ... we're doing this the 2nd weekend of every month - it'd be great if you could join us :D

At the start of the month I posted what my commitment stitching deadlines were - I decided to post it again now, just for my own motivation, so I can see I've actually made some headway in meeting those goals, as well as seeing what's left to meet ... I feel as though I've still got huge weights hanging over me with stitching deadlines, so it helps for me to map it all out and see it's really not as bad as I think ...

* 12 May - Melanie's Exchange (SBEBB)
* 15 May - Biscornu Exchange (SBEBB)
* 15 May - Batman logo quilt block (Jordan B)
* 25 May - Scissors fob exchange (StitchNZ)
* 5 June - Mail Art Exchange (SBEBB)
* 22 June - final Christmas RR ornie (Ornaments RRBB)
* 1 July - Round Robin first posting due (my first real RR)
* 1 July - Strawberries So Faire SAL
* 15 July - Racing cars quilt block (Jay B)
* 15 August - Dragon quilt block (Caitlin R)
* late Aug/early Sep - Needleroll exchange (Robin's Nest BB)

The scissor fob is under control (meaning I've at least made a start on it - but my headache didn't ease off, so not a great deal of progress yet), but I've decided to wait until I get to NZ to post it, as it'll probably arrive more quickly at its destination that way. I still have no idea what to stitch for the mail art exchange - it might have been easier having a set theme ... hopefully inspiration will hit soon hmmm. As for my own RR, I've decided to stick to my original plan of having four of the blocks from the Stoney Creek Wings of the Wild afghan series from way back in 1991 ... I thought I'd send copies of all the charts I have with me (9 out of the 11), and the other three people can choose a duck square, so I still get a bit of a surprise when it's stitched up :) Being duck-mad, and owning loads of duck charts, it's pretty bad that I've never actually stitched one for myself yet - having this theme will make this RR extra special for me, and will give me something to truly treasure every day I cast my eyes upon it. This is what the original afghan looks like:


On non-stitching news, I want to extend a HUGE congratulations to my Aunt and her partner in Canada - Monica and Norbert tied the knot (finally) in Las Vegas at the end of April ... congratulations to Mr and Mrs Schwarzer! Norbert, it's about time you made a decent woman out of her! teehee (running and ducking for cover ...)



And continuing with non-stitching 'stuff' ... I'm excited to be going home for many reasons this coming weekend - aside from catching up with people I haven't seen for a couple of years, I'll be going through all my stitching stash, and possibly parcelling everything up and freighting it over here ... that would be wonderful! ... but aside from all that, it's FEIJOA SEASON!!!!! I nearly fell over when I saw a plastic bag filled with feijoas in our work kitchen last week, but they were so tiny they weren't ripe yet and very sour (didn't stop me from eating some though, just 'cos I'd missed them so much! LOL). I intend stuffing myself silly with feijoas every day I'm over there ... I just love them! I originally thought they were a NZ fruit, but according to Wikipedia, the Feijoa originated in the highlands of southern Brazil, Uruguay and northern Argentina, and is also known as the Pineapple Guava. Yummo!!!!!!!!! Mum and Dad have a tree in their garden, and we used to give bags and bags of them away ... they won't get chance while I'm over this time haha.

A reasonable week of work shifts this week - starting with 3 x 10am shifts, and finishing with 3 x 6am shifts. It's amazing how quickly my body has become adjusted to not doing shift work - it's a bit of a shock to the system to get back into it, but it's just a case of getting into the routine again. Luckily while I'm way I'm getting out of my least favourite shift - 6pm to 2am ... I hate those shifts, as I don't start feeling tired until about 4am, so I might as well do a "doggo" (overnight) shift - unfortunately it means whoever is covering me while I'm on annual leave will have to do them ... there are so many benefits to being a 'permanent' Hotliner - having a stable shift roster is without a doubt the best!! Forgot to say, I had a huge highlight in my job last week ... after having a slight meltdown in my patience threshold, the next day (the mentally challenging one) the Consultant I was helping out with this horrible problem for almost 2 hours, came and gave me a "Luv Ya Work" award ... I was so touched! We have a new programme at work to award your colleagues when they've done something exceptional - you fill out the award and the Supervisor keeps the details in a central register, and you can eventually cash them in - 2 awards gets you an hour off work before or after your shift starts, 4 awards gives you two hours off or a $10 voucher from stores like Myer, JB HiFi or a bookstore ... it's a really nice way to recognise internally that you're doing a good job, and it was designed to lift morale - I think it works :) I got another one last week, too, as I got a score of all 5's for my evaluation (where they listen in to 6 of your phone calls, and make sure you're giving the correct information, creating a rapport, etc etc) ... which means I now have a sum total of 5 awards sitting in my folder since the programme started a couple of months ago - how wonderful! :D

OK, enough rambling, time to get ready for work ... Have a great week everyone - hope to catch up on all your blogs this week, as I doubt I'll get chance in NZ (Mum has the worst dial-up connection in the world!).