I've completed another cross-stitch piece in the Video Game Cat Mash Up pack from Space Nona's Stitchery on Etsy. Mewbert was stitched on 14 count black Aida. My ultimate goal with these video game cats is to frame them and hang them in my computer room. I've already done Catsteroids, Space Cat Invaders and now this. The remaining patterns in the pack are for Catris, Bubble Furball and Vanguard.

I'm usually not big into thrift store shopping but I made a list of non-Goodwill, non-Savers thrift shops I wanted to visit and checked out 2 of them this past week with Best Son. I was looking for picture frames (for all these cross stitch projects I'm finishing), small bowls (as opposed to soup size bowls) and cross-stitch supplies. After dropping off Best Son, I went to another bougie thrift shop I've been to before because it was Monday and that is seniors get 50% off day.

I ended up finding some small bamboo hoops for framing cross stitch pieces as well as a couple of likely frames and I found 2 small bowls to add to my collection. I wasn't looking for clothes but found a top I liked and 2 wild scarves. What am I going to do with them? Who knows, I'm not a scarf person! But I really liked the patterns. In fact, I scooped up a bunch of scarves that had wonderful, wild 70s kind of patterns but made myself put them back since I have no idea what to do with them. I figured 2 scarves I don't know what to do with are better than 6. I also found a cute teal straw purse. Not bad, I think, for someone who doesn't usually do thrifting.

Regarding my search for small bowls - I used to have a matching dish set. It wasn't anything fancy, in fact I bought it from K-mart! But it had a lot of serving pieces, like bread plates and fruit bowls, as well as the standard dinner plates, soup bowls and coffee cups/saucers. Well, over the past 20+ years pieces have broken, the glaze wore off and it was time to get something new. After looking at dinnerware sets and being unhappy with what was offered, I realized there were no Dinnerware Police and I could get anything I wanted AND IT DIDN'T HAVE TO MATCH. So I have replaced most of my dinnerware with thrift store finds. Everything is different and I love it! Bread plates and fruit bowls have been harder to come by so I'm still looking for some to finish out the collection.

Listening

Some podcasts I've listened to this week:

  • Finding Quantum Quest - I mentioned this last week. I have finished the podcast and it was a great story. I highly recommend it! The whole series is only 6 episodes and well worth a listen.

  • Wait Wait Don't Tell Me - with guest Chris Perfetti

    • Reading

    I finished Crystal Rain by Tobias Buckell. This was an interesting, Caribbean steam-punkish science fiction novel but with mythological elements. I know, that sounds so weird but he made it work! I think I heard about it on the r/PrintSF subreddit. This was the first book in a trilogy so I think I'll look for the other 2 books.

    The Mummy Case, the next book in the Amelia Peabody mystery series by Elizabeth Peters, was available on Libby so I checked that out next. Even though I've read part of this series before, it was so long ago that I've completely forgotten who the killer was so the mysteries aren't spoiled for me.

    Before checking out that book, I tried reading Miranda Hart's I Haven't Been Entirely Honest With You. I know Miranda Hart from watching Call the Midwife and I've seen her on The Graham Norton Show. I know she's a comedian and I liked what little I've seen of her work. I thought the book was going to be a humorous kind of memoir but it was not. She wrote (with humor!) about her experiences with chronic illness and how she coped with it. The book read like a self-help book and I think that's the vibe she was going for. I was disappointed in it because I didn't look into what the book was about before checking it out and just blindly assumed it was going to be a funny jaunt through her life. My bad. This ended up on the DNF list.

    Watching

    I'm continuing my journey through Babylon 5 and just finished watching season 1, episode 10 "Believers." This episode is where Dr. Franklin wants to save a sick alien child but the parents' beliefs prohibit surgery. Dr. Franklin thinks he won the argument, but did he?

    Of the several mystery/drama series I follow on PBS or Acorn TV, only Harry Wild is currently running although I think Grantchester should be starting up soon on PBS.

    By the way, if you are American and watch PBS, please contact your senators regarding the recissions package that our idiot House of Representatives just passed and which the Senate will be voting on. This package seeks to take back money already granted and will greatly impact public television. Conservatives have been after public television for decades but this year they have a good chance of finally killing it. PBS not only provides unbiased news, educational and cultural programming but also serves as a relay for the Warning, Alert and Response Network (WARN).

    That's it for this week!