Hocus Pocus, Stash Will Now Appear

It's seems the past few weeks that Wednesday night has become movie night. My Netflix queue alternates between a movie, followed by a television series. The television show DVD is watched on the weekend when there are a few more hours for viewing time. Tonight's movie was "Hocus Pocus." It has been a very long time since I had seen it and since I was a bit busy during the Halloween season, I finally had time to watch it.

I finally managed to take some photos of yarn stash. They are...

Jitterbug in Tapis


Fresh From the Cauldron (FFTC) Silver Sock in Edward


FFTC Silver Sock in Alice


FFTC Silk Sock in Bella


FFTC Silver Sock in Carlisle


FFTC Silver Sock in Renesme


FFTC MCN Sock in Michael


FFTC Silk Sock in Sookie


FFTC Silk Sock in Sam Uley


FFTC Silver Sock in Esme


FFTC Silver Sock in Jasper


FFTC Silver Sock in Volturi


James C Brett Marble in Granite


Have you noticed the vampire theme in the FFTC yarns? I was a member of the 2009 Vampire Sock Club. These yarns are beautiful and I highly recommend them. The etsy store is here. The best place to find out more is in the FFTC group on Ravelry.

I almost have my Kudzu Kuffs finished. Ran into a little goof at the very end and have to fix it first. I also picked back up the afghan that I started crocheting last year. No pictures at this time. I already have my next afghan picked out. It will be knitted, however.

Hips Noir 2009 & G.N.O.

One of my favorite events every October is the annual Hips Noir belly dance extravaganza. The woman who puts it on is my belly dance instructor and this showcase features dancers from the area as well as her own belly dance troupe, Red Moon Tribe. As in years past, this year's show was fantastic. Here are some of my pictures from that night.



Afterwards, the Four Star Club went out for drinks for a G.N.O., aka Girls Night Out. Notice the matching shirts? The moon glows in the dark.

Horror in the Haunted House

Friday night I hosted my first annual Murder Mystery Party. The theme was Horror in the Haunted House from Host Party. The game description reads:

A fancy dress party is being held by Horrorwood Studios to celebrate the success of their latest film 'Ghouls just wanna have fun'. Owner of Horrorwood Studios, Hal O'Ween, has invited many of the actors, actresses and employees involved in the making of the film. Join them for an evening of fright and horror, some of it intentional, some of it not.

When I was originally searching for a murder mystery party, I ran across this particular game and knew instantly that this was the one. As a major fan of Duran Duran, to run across a game that uses a play on the title of the song 'Girls on Film' is a win. So, with the help of my friend, Trish, I began putting this together.

With this being my first Halloween party & having a limited budget, my decorations were minimal. It was kind of disappointing to me because of all of the wonderful photos I have seen of other parties on the internet. I have to keep reminding myself that it was more about everyone getting together and having a good time, rather than how many decorations I have. At least I have an idea where I am headed with future parties and can work on some things the rest of the year.

Everybody was so enthusiastic about the party. I was very surprised at how enthusiastic they were. I was so afraid that there would be some reluctance, but they were so great. Dinner was potluck with lasagna as the entree. How can you go wrong with Italian? Everybody came in costume and they all did such a great job.





These are my nieces, Devin as "Eve L. Dedd" and Rhiannon as "Carrie Coffins."



Here is Rhiannon again with her dad, my brother, Randy as "Adam Family." They are looking at floor plans of the mansion where the murder took place.



This is Devin's BFF, Elizabeth as "Gora Underfoot."



"Frank Stein" is portrayed by Tyler, and his wife, Cathy, is "Dawn Ovdee-Zombiz."



Here is "Diane Screamin" aka Jeanna. The fogger certainly made the room... foggy.



"Eve L Dedd" watching "Carrie Coffins" play with my cat, Callie.



Looking cute are Keith as "Moore Bodies" and his wife, Trish as "Kat Peeple." I am so grateful to Trish for all of her help. Without her it would not have turned out as well as it did.



A portrait of "Dawn Ovdee-Zombiz" and "Frank Stein." Frank won the costume contest.



My brother-in-law, Virgil as "Drake Yewlarr" and my sister, Debra as "May Cup."



"Carrie Coffins" and "Adam Family" pose for us.



Such lovely young ladies are "Eve L Dedd" and "Gora Underfoot."



And a random photo of "Moore Bodies," me as "Elle Razor," "Diane Screamin," and "Frank Stein."



It was so fun and I already have guests talking about next year. I think that is a sign it went well.

Wow! Long Time No See!

Geez! Has it really been since June since I have shown my face over here?? I've been busy, but I don't feel like I have anything very exciting to share. Just an update so you know that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...

I'm still bellydancing! WOOT! I am having a blast with my American Tribal Style (ATS) belly dance classes. I am halfway through the Intermediate One classes. We've learned choreography for one dance and have started learning choreo for a second. Our instructor has mentioned holding a hafla (recital) for us at the end of the month, which I want to do as I'm constantly trying to move outside of my comfort zone. It's not definite yet, so I'm not sure it's going to happen.

As I become more advanced with my dancing, it becomes more and more clear that if I want to be as good a dancer as possible, I'm going to have to buckle down and improve my fitness. Cardio is a biggie! My stamina is greatly improved, but I want to kick it up several notches. My biggest problem is that I hate to exercise, so I have to disguise it as fun. Ever hear of Zumba? Starting a week from today I will begin taking Zumba classes. I'm praying I don't die. LOL! I have several friends who just rave about it, so a friend, my sister & I wanted to check it out. I love to dance and Zumba is very dancey. I'll let you know how it goes.

The cat situation is going slow. It's better than what it use to be but Nibbles is still not happy. She did finally decide that she wasn't going to stay in one room for the rest of her life and has started moving around the house. She still hisses and growls at Callie, but it's getting better. Callie is active and ornery, plus she won't leave my yarn alone. It's very hard to knit or crochet when you're playing dodge the kitty. I love her though!

I haven't really done any crafting this summer. I have done just the smallest amount of stitching and knitted a couple of dish cloths. Nothing worth posting a picture of. That will change as the cooler weather moves in and I want to curl up with my projects.

And on a final note, I have changed a few things on my blog layout. I took off the cross stitch designs that have been hibernating. I'll add them back on as they become active. I also added on books that I'm reading and listening too. But the most important thing I've added is a clickable link for The Animal Rescue site. I'm a huge animal lover and I don't do enough to help them. However, by clicking on a link once a day I am able to help provide food for rescued animals. It's free and easy. If you feel so inclined, please help by clicking the purple paw at the upper right corner.

More Midnight Ride

I've been steadily working on Midnight ride. Her hat is complete and I've started stitching on the moon.



Callie is settled in. She's so sweet & very playful. I'm going to get diligent about putting things away as she likes to get into stuff and sometimes carry it off. Nibbles never really bothered my things, so it became easy for me to just leave things lying about. Here's a photo of her looking out the window.