Shout-out to Crawford's Nursery!

The purpose of this post is just to try to help spread the word about a fantastic nursery here in Oregon that specializes in blueberries. They don't have a website, and it seems like a lot of their business is via word of mouth or u-pick guides in the Pacific Northwest.

I've been going to them for two years now, and the reason I want to call attention to them is not just because of their over 50 varieties of blueberries, but because of all the other types of berries they grow. They have a lot of 'exotics', like elderberries, tayberries, currants, gooseberries, mulberries, and so on. They also grow quince, several types of raspberries (yellow, black, and next year they'll have purple), several cultivars of blackberries (marionberry, boysenberry, loganberry, and several Oregon cultivars), and strawberries. Every time I go there, the owner thinks of something else I might like; today when I was there, he shared that he'd have quinces ready in September, which is just fantastic due to my hobby making jams and jellies.

So, if you're looking for some hard to find berries, Crawford's is the place. Very friendly people, easy to get around in, very good pricing on u-pick, and a fantastic variety. A bit of a drive, but soooo worth it.

http://oregon.hometownlocator.com/maps/feature-map,ftc,2,fid,2664018,n,crawford's%20nursery.cfm

What do I do with all the berries I get from Crawford's? I make jam, loads of it! I discovered how much I loved making jam a few years ago. Now, that's all my family wants for gifts, and my family and friends encouraged me to try selling. It's been somewhat successful, but I need to find some street fairs and markets. Currently, I list on Etsy:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/KettaConvolutia

Any feedback is welcome!

Cross Stitch Friends and Updates

I posted a couple of months ago about my tendencies as a cross stitcher, plus two projects I'm working on. You can compare the updated images with the older ones in a previous post.

After posting about being anal in the sense of photorealistic projects, I did what I've done at least once a year and looked for some forums where people who cross stitch hang out. Most I'd found in the past had a fair share of stuffiness (rigidity in techniques and so forth) and rules for posting works in progress that were basically ridiculous. For example, you had to pay to have a gallery on the site, show the front and back of your work, and be prepared for some very rigorous critiquing. I wasn't looking for that, I was looking more for a place where people can share, get advice, talk techniques and just chat.

I finally found a great place this time around. http://www.crossstitchforum.com/index.php is based in the UK, but people from all over the world are members. In fact, one member started up a pen pal group, which is really exciting because I had several pen pals in high school and missed writing more than I realized.

Anyway, they're a great group of folks and I encourage anyone who wants a nice relaxed atmosphere for cross stitch related topics to take a look.

As far as the updates go, the cuckoo wasp is almost finished and a fair progress has been made on Serenity (considering I don't have a lot of time to dedicate to it).

Survivor: Where Is It Going?

I'm a fan of the show Survivor, and have been since a version of it started here in the US. However, the last two seasons have really shown the direction it's going, and I'm not liking it.

A disclaimer before I go on, though. I understand ratings, and how the producers feel they've got the right combination of reality show ingredients to keep fans interested. I get that there must always be 'bad guys' and 'drama' to keep people interested. I know they pick type 'A' personalities to a fault, because they're more outgoing and have more volatile tendencies (both good and bad). Type 'B' people are rarely chosen, and I think they don't chose them on purpose.

But lately, especially the last two seasons, but even before, I think they go way to far in picking weirdly bad people. People that get satisfaction out of hurting others, have no remorse, have mental deficiencies, and are just plain rotten people.

**SPOILERS POSSIBLE BELOW FOR THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO KNOW WINNERS ETC**

Take NaOnka from season 21. A school teacher for elementary children who had one of the worst attitudes I've ever seen. She acted like a spoiled child through the entire show, had no courtesy, constantly cursed, and behaved in a way that would make even the nicest parents want to spank her butt raw, then put her up for adoption. Her crowning moment was aggressively pushing a tribemate who had a prosthetic leg to the ground and fight her for an immunity clue.

Don't get me wrong; I cuss like a sailor myself, and immunity clues can save your life in that game. But two things really bothered me about that situation. One, I know Survivor has rules about fighting (punching etc.) and I was surprised that not only was nothing done, but nothing was even mentioned. Jeff Probst didn't even joke about it at the reunion. Two, it was still several votes later (I think) before NaOnka was voted out. She is a horrible person, and it blows me away that she's a teacher.

Season 21 overall was awful. The few people who really deserved a shot at winning were voted out too soon, and the remaining cast was so full of morons that, for the first time ever, I almost stop watching. It was disgusting to watch the few people Survivor producers chose out of tens of thousands of applicants play, because it honestly felt that they'd had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to get these contestants.

Season 22 was a bit better. A new 'twist', Redemption Island was introduced. Unfortunately, they brought back two people, Boston Rob (his fourth try) and *shudder* Russel Hanz (his third try). Thankfully, they voted out Russel early. I was glad because he was one of the least deserving players. Ever. Unfortunately, everyone on Rob's side seemed to have the social skills of gnat, because he was able to use them to win.

Russel and Rob, in my opinion, are two of the worst people they could have brought back. I will admit that they both are good at using strategy. But both are awful characters. Rob is a hypocritical ass that badmouths people behind their backs and lacks the nuts to own up to it. Russel... well, Russel suffers from what I call 'short man syndrome'. Both are continually rewarded for the way they treat people.

Again, I get the 'villain' aspect of the game. But continuing to bring back these jerks? Really? And now, Russel still may return? And again, I cry out for the thousands upon thousands of people who apply who lose potential spots to re-re-re-returning jerks...stop it!

Two other aspects of the game that I feel are important have been all but omitted. The hunger issue and competition for prizes and immunity. In season 22, once the tribes merged, I think there were only two challenges where prizes were awarded, and one of those involved people dressed up was waiters serving food to the winners in camp. No real trips, no fun toys, and so forth. As far as the hunger went, some players complained of hunger, and once there was an altercation about rice. But they showed no one going out looking for food (well, I don't count Phillip trying to spear tiny crabs). I remember in season 2 when they killed a wild pig! That was really crazy.

The car award has been gone for several seasons. In the latest season, they didn't even do the 'honor past survivors' thing (honestly, I don't miss that one bit).

I miss the hunger issue and people finding food by fishing, discovering fruit, and all that. It was really cool to see people get excited over finding baby pineapples or figs, or catching their first fish, ever. There aren't as many challenges or prizes. The contestants are mysteriously lacking in likable qualities... what's going on?

Anyway, this is a long-overdue rant. I would rather watch reruns of Survivor than some of the newer seasons. I miss seasons like the one shot in Australia. I miss players like Yao-Man, Rupert, and that chemistry teacher who one once, the guy who made the really awesome 'fake' idol.

Sigh... in season 23, they're bringing back yet two more previous players. I can only hope one of them isn't Russel.

People Aren't So Bad...

I am they type of person that is referred to as a 'type B' personality, or an 'invert'. Others call people like me 'socially inept'. None of these terms are incorrect, but to think of this state of being as wrong, or as a disorder, that's where the error lies. Most of my life, I've been only a few degrees short of a hermit, and rarely go 'out' to socialize. Until recently, I haven't ever found a group situation involving people that I enjoyed.

Most people, in fact an estimated 3/4 of the population, think of introverts as antisocial, conceited, stuck-up, and as individuals who just don't like other people in general. This is very far from the truth. Rather than try to explain it all here, I encourage anyone who thinks they know an introvert to read this article... it's very enlightening: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/03/caring-for-your-introvert/2696/

I really do WANT to like doing things with other people, but it's truly exhausting sometimes. It's shocked me every single time I find out someone thinks I'm stuck-up. For one thing, they couldn't be any further from the truth (I really don't think all that highly of myself), and for another, I despise people who are stuck upon themselves, and for someone to think I'm in that category just blows me away.

But in the last year, I've taken some wonderful classes in biology. I've been meeting people a lot like myself: science/biology geeks who have some degree of social ineptness. Going to class is definitely a 'group activity', but I rarely find it exhausting. In the last few months, I've actually come home feeling invigorated. I'm more willing to put in volunteer time, participate in study groups, and help tutor. I never would have entertained doing these things a year or more ago.

It's nice to feel this way, when I never have before. It reaffirms my decision to go forward in getting an education and go for at least a Master's.

Confessions of an Anal Cross-Stitcher

First, I'm posting about two projects I'm working on. After that, you are welcome to read on about my journey with the cross-stitching craft, if you so desire. I didn't want to turn off any readers who may not be interested in the craft, but wanted to see the projects. (I do apologize for the format, I'm still getting used to this setup).

The first of two projects is of a cuckoo wasp, a beautiful insect commonly found in places like Australia (there are many species). I created a pattern from this photograph by Peter Chew at http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/ and had actually nearly completed the project two years ago. Somehow, it was lost, a month before I was going to enter it into a contest. Weeks and weeks of work gone! After two years of looking, I started over, however, because it was the first project I'd done using a program that made realistic patterns (more on that later). To the right is my current progress, and apologies for the photo quality, I haven't gotten a good day yet for natural lighting, and the flash on my camera tends to wash out colors.

The second is of the ship Serenity from the show Firefly. It's ultimately for my husband, and while it doesn't look like much now, it's a massive project and when finished will be incredible. We've both agreed that were I offered enough money for it, I'd sell! I'm currently working on the 'nose' of the ship (lower right of the provided image), and the first solar panel. Drooling fan, yes.

The wasp is on 28 count linen, and Serenity is on 28 count Evenweave (Jobelin I think?). I am still looking for who to credit the image of Serenity I've used (it's been shared and reshared quite a bit).

That leads me to the 'Confessions' part of this post.

I learned cross-stitch when I was 5 or 6, from little kits my grandmother gave me. Very simple, blocky things, and I quickly grew tired of teddy bears and puppies. The 'standard' size of cross-stitch fabric is 14 count (count = x's per inch), and I always thought projects done on them were blocky and cartoonish. Many people prefer this, it's just not for me.

Regardless, I LOVED cross-stitching. I found it relaxing, and when I did find a good pattern of realistic-looking birds or animals or flowers, I enjoyed the projects. The more colors, the better. But my search was never truly satisfied; I wanted really REAL looking things to cross-stitch. Like photo-realistic, and tons of color; the more the better!.

After high school, I discovered really small count cross-stitch fabrics, and that helped for a while. I would take projects like Gold Collection kits, and do them on 22 or 28 count cloth. They came out smaller of course, but they looked more vivid to me. But still, I wasn't truly satisfied.

Then, a few years ago, I was digging around on Ebay for patterns. I'd discovered that some people were selling some really neat patterns of fairies and animals that were large, realistic, and with lots of color. While looking through one seller's goods, I saw that they were listing a program called PC Stitch. With it, you could make your own cross-stitch patterns. I knew right then, that I'd found what I was looking for.

With PC Stitch (I use the Pro version), you can take any image and import it to the program, tweak it in several ways, and create your own pattern. While I'd love to sell patterns, that was never my intention with the program, and I doubt I'll use it for that purpose in the near future. The main reason being, while I do paint, draw and take the odd snapshot, there are millions of other artists and photographers out there better than me. Purchasing the rights to their images would not be cost effective, at least I haven't found this to be true, yet.

In short, I'm in heaven. Since I was young, I have hungered for this very thing. With the cuckoo wasp, for example, you can stand 10 feet away from it and it looks like a photorealistic painting. From 20 feet, there's no way to tell it's stitched. I'm extremely anal about that; while I love cross-stitching, the last thing I want is for it to LOOK cross-stitched. That's why I'm very picky about color richness, small count fabrics (28-32 count), and just the right size. All of my patterns take weeks or months to complete (I go to school or work, so I only get an hour or two a day), and are truly thrilling to work on.

I do intend to sell some of what I complete, and as long as paying for the rights to images I use is doable, I'll happily oblige. I always want to give credit where credit is due, and would never try to profit from someone else's work.

Anyway, would love to know what people think! Please comment. :)

Finals

Even though I'm still at the community college level, I've progressed through classes to the point that the subjects are getting more challenging. My 200 level biology series was certainly challenging, but not like this.

I'm nearly 20 years out of high school, and I've taken some college in between then and now. Education has always been something I enjoyed for the most part, and I've never found I had to study for days to prepare for a test, and I typically and A student.

Now, as I approach the last year before applying to OSU's biology programs, I'm beginning to see what's in store. Not that I didn't anticipate it, but with a chemisty final and a math (pre-calc/functions) final in the next 2 days, I've been studying since the middle of last week. Still not done!

Slowly I'm omitting parts of my other life to make room for my education. I don't craft as much, I don't play online games as much (especially those that require a lot of thought and effort), in fact I only focus on one of those. I don't watch nearly as many shows (thank goodness I can stockpile them for later). More and more I leave early to study on campus either alone or with groups, and my comfy chair at home is surrounded by school work rather than craft clutter.

Am I complaining? Not really. When the epiphany struck me in early 2009 that I should be studying to be the biologist/ornithologist etc. I 'd always wanted, I knew it would be my life. I had always wanted it to be, but my selfish side wouldn't let it in. I compare it to how I decide what music I like: if I can listen to it repeatedly and not get tired of it, I know it's going on my list of good music. I've loved learning about anything biology related since I was 4 years old, when I was learning to draw and read, and I've never, ever gotten tired of it.

And if I'm thinking two tough finals is a lot of studying, I should remind myself that next term is more chemistry, trigonometry, and botany. Whew!

No Power in the 'Verse Can Stop the Drooling Fans

I had never been the type to fall into 'drooling fandom' with television shows, movies, actors, music, and related forms of entertainment. I certainly have my favorites and am always will to share them and encourage others to enjoy them. That is, until Firefly aired.

Firefly (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly_(TV_series)) was a show first aired on the Fox network a few years ago. It's definitely in the sci-fi category, as it's set in a gritty future where space travel is the norm. It's difficult to compare it to other productions in the same category, because while it easily fits in the 'sci-fi' slot, it is more realistic and believable than any other sci-fi show or movie out there. It's serious but full of humor, the characters have flaws we can relate to (as well as traits we admire), and most of the situations are very believable.

Fox cancelled the show before the first season even ended. They gave the typical bogus reasons. And as with any show cancelled before fans feel it was the right time to do so, the fan base was quite upset. But this time, it was different.

The story is really quite interesting, but I'll keep it short here, since plenty of information is easily found. The fans got together in many ways, mostly via the internet, and sent petitions signed by tens of thousands of fans demanding and begging Fox to reconsider. This NEVER works, and this time it was no different. The fans appealed to Joss Whedon (the creator), who promised fans that if DVD sales of the series reached a certain amount, he would make a movie based on Firefly. Fans then came together again and did massive promotions, used guerilla marketing tactics, and did their best to spread the word about the show and the evilness of Fox network. Sales of the DVD easily surpassed Joss's requirement.

The movie, Serenity, did fairly well. It introduced many people to Firefly, creating lots of new fans. But the fan movement didn't stop there. They still wanted the show back.

There have been many petitions and other forms of fan effort, all of which have failed to reignite the production of Firefly. Joss has moved on to other things, though he has discussed many times the Firefly was a major issue for a long time. However, each effort brought more attention to the plight of the show, and with it, more fans and supporters.

Very recently, a huge development put Firefly in the forefront of internet happenings. Science Channel (part of the Discovery network) will begin airing episodes of Firefly soon. With this news, talk of the rights of Firefly began to circulate, and what would happen to them. The fans came together again, and through an interesting series of events (that have definitely 'changed the landscape'), are rallying to help Nathan Fillion (one of the lead actors in Firefly and captain of Serenity) buy the rights.

Many might think it's nuts, Fox network certainly thinks so. But I definitely do not. Yes, I'm a drooling fan. At any opportunity I try to get friends and family to watch the show if they haven't yet. I get very excited when I meet fellow fans. I plan to attend at least one or two conventions dressed as the character I most closely resemble (barely). I've crafted things based on Firefly. I'm a drooling fan, and it feels great!

If you're a fan, or if you're just curious, please follow this link for more recent information and developments: http://helpnathanbuyfirefly.com/ The story about how the fans have kept Firefly alive is interesting enough, and this new issue is truly exciting.