• I harvested lettuce leaves and nasturtium leaves and flowers to augment our dinner salad this evening. You have to pick the nasturtium leaves when they're still smaller than a quarter, they have a light, crispy texture and mildly peppery flavor.
  
  
• I like having sunlight in our backyard again. I may have mentioned this before.
  
  
• Framboise Lambic is A Very Tasty Thing to drink. I wish I had some now.
  
  
• After the Subaru passes its smog test tomorrow (this is me using the power of positive thinking here) we will officially be a 3 vehicle family. Hereafter known as Scooby-Do, the new addition got 23 mpg on its first tank of gas since it was put back on the road, which bodes well; Maggie May got about that on her first tank too, as I recall, and it kept getting better and better as time went along. I figure Scooby will pay for itself (registration and repairs) before the end of 2009 in saved fuel costs alone.
  
  
  • Lazarus (the truck) will now only be used when M needs his tools at the other end of the trip. Scooby-Do is officially his work car and I'll be using it from time to time as needed for its all-wheel drive.
  
  
• http://xstitcher.webs.com/apps/blog/ -- the link for X-Stitch Xpress's new business blog, if you're interested in following along. I've been chronicling some of the start up process for the business recently but I anticipate I'll be using it to announce additions to inventory, new ideas for product, changes to my routes, etc. Or whatever else strikes my fancy. :)
  
  
• Has anyone else noticed how the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie ("At World's End") pretty much prophesied the attitudes that led to the collapse of the financial sector (and thus our economy) here in 2008/09? There's a direct parallel between Lord Cutler Beckett and some of the "captains of industry" I've seen getting their pee-pees whacked in hearings before the congress...
  
  
  • They were all selfish, greedy psychopaths. But the pirates, in the movie at least, were honest about being selfish greedy psychopaths. And in the end, it was the pirates who made choices for the good of the whole rather than their own selfish (or corporate) interests. You couldn't say that about Cutler Beckett. Or John Thain, for that matter.
    
    
  • Yeah yeah. It's "fiction," I know. Got it.
    
    
  • But then again, "credit default swaps." Speaking of fictions, and other not-true things.
  
  
  
• Anyway... I haven't cross-stitched since the BoINK debacle. I had intended to do some stitching over the weekend, but that didn't happen. Note to self: don't use the weed whacker and THEN load and stack green firewood unless you want your hands to tremble every time they grasp something for 24 to 48 hours.
  

• I pruned back my lemon balm on Sunday and infused the trimmings for a beautiful tea. I don't know whether the slightly bitter aftertaste is from my sick, or what.
  
  
• I'm curled up under a blanket today, sipping tea and stitching. "Lavender" is the project of choice
  
  
  
• Of course I'm also intermittently checking in with the BB - my ability to focus is kinda weak today.
  
  
• Headache. Did I mention "headache" as one of my symptoms? I should have.
  
  
• I don't have any music playing. Passing strange...
  
  
• The fabric I ordered from Silkweavers before I left for vacation didn't ship until YESTERDAY. *grump* They're in FL so it'll probably be another week before it arrives.
  
  
• On a brighter note, the craft tote bag nelle816 made for me should be in the mailbox today! I am eager to lay hands on it after seeing pics of the one she made for dancing_ashes.
  

(Change of plans for today, sudden and abrupt, but believe me, I've grown accustomed to such things over the years)

littleblueghost

sterlingirl

• Bubble Telescope. The hold up on this one is funds for materials -- prolly close to $100 and money's been too tight to mention this year so far. Plus, scroll bars long enough to hold 30" of fabric...
  
  
• Growth Rings, the newest rage by Tracy Horner, she of Ink Circles fame. Unfortunately it's only available through Just Cross Stitch magazine -- back issue, now. I actually am closer to starting this than BT if only because I already have the fabric and only need to buy floss -- so of course, I want to stitch it in silk overdyes...
  
  
• Cirque de Circles. I do intend to do this, probably after BoINK is done and after BT is started. No idea on fabric or floss choices yet, it's still percolating.
  
  
• At least one project for my Gift Meme thing. Possibly two but I can't list them here for obvious reasons.
  
  
• A Whole Lotta Latté -- for the ultra hip ladies at Sutter's Mudd, our favorite local coffee kiosk in McKinleyville, CA. :)
  
  

01:15 pm - janlynncorp comes through!

From: "Customer Service" customerserv@janlynn.com
To: s.songstress
Subject: Janlynn/123stitch
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:48:55 -0500
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.6604 (9.0.2911.0)

At the beginning of the year I approved an SEO specialist to buy up domain names related to our industry and link them to us. This was intended to provide us relevant links so people can learn more about Janlynn and find us much easier.

123stitch.com is a fantastic site and a wonderful customer of Janlynn’s. We had no intention to trade on their good name online or otherwise and have made it now abundantly clear to our SEO specialist to only buy names that do not infringe on other people’s businesses online.

This is rather embarrassing for us at Janlynn to be sure. This is coming to our attention today as a result of your posts here -- and we thank you for them! As you may have seen ... we have already turned off this domains redirect.

Certainly we will turn over 123stitch.net to our wonderful friends Jim and Joanne for NO COST … with our sincere apologies that this has happened (I have a call and an email into Jim already). It was absolutely our fault for overlooking this on the list of names that we were provided by our SEO firm to register -- we cannot escape blame for this oversight ... we can only offer our apologies to you all and especially to Jim and Joanne, whom we adore for the wonderful work they have done in our industry.

Please keep frequenting 123Stitch.com for their message board, their wonderful selection of craft products, and their tremendous customer service!!

Janlynn Management

Customer Service
Janlynn Corporation
2070 Westover Rd.
Chicopee, MA 01022
1-800-445-5565

http://www.janlynn.com/dfnflossconversion.cfm
http://www.janlynn.com/catalog/Catalog%20Main.cfm
http://www.janlynn.com/newsletter.cfm

cross_stitch

I have purchased several Jannlynn products in the past and have recommended them to friends from time to time. However, I find myself compelled to state that if Jannlynn doesn't change it's domain name as soon as possible I won't ever be purchasing, or recommending, another.

From installing and maintaining websites I know there is no way you or your webmaster could have obtained the 123stitch.NET domain without realizing that there was already a 123stitch.COM -- an online shop which has superior customer service and which is widely favored among needleworkers in general. In searches for product their site routinely comes up close to the top, which helps them stay in business. When those stitchers who aren't as computer savvy simply type "123stitch" into the location bar on their browser, it's always sent them to their favorite online needlework store by default -- 123stitch.COM. Now that may no longer be the case. Jannlynn is going to leech off some of that business simply by copying the name of a popular web domain.

It's certainly legal enough. And yes, 123stitch.COM should certainly have purchased all related domains to protect themselves. However, for Jannlynn, a much larger corporation, to thieve off of a smaller company's back like that for online business is not only distasteful, it's entirely unethical in my view and until/unless this situation changes, Jannlynn won't profit from my business or my recommendations.

In this era of corporate greed and irresponsibility, I do hope Jannlynn does the right thing here.

Sincerely,

Rev. Alesia Matson, D.D.

• MH (my client for in-home care) calls me AND the post office this morning because the new woman is like 10 minutes late. Call the WAAA-AAAMbulance, somebody! *snickering*
  
• I was actually at the little cafe in Ray's Food Place in McKinleyville cross stitching with coffee and a giant chocolate chip cookie when the voice mail from her came through.
  
• I didn't call her back -- I called the new caregiver's home and left a voice mail for her. :)
  
• the new caregiver is in all likelihood going to end up being a "friend" at some level or other.
  
• I haz a kitteh. (clicky for NEW piccy)
  
• I also has 3 more days off.
  
• fried chicken is back on the menu (frying half a chicken tonight; grilling the other half tomorrow night).
  
• Opera Mini is such a kick-ass mobile browser (though it sucks that I can't make it the DEFAULT browser for the Blackberry).
  
• President Obama capped the pay for banking executives who took public money to bail their sorry asses out.
  
• I can say "President Obama" now. :)
  
• my puppies are happy and healthy. Such shiny coats!
  
• 3 more days. I did mention that, didn't I?
  
• you guys are my friends. =)