Thoughts on a New Year, and the Death of My Father

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Cynthia Griffith

It’s been an interesting 2011. I can’t say that it was a bad year — it was mostly good things. Unfortunately, it ended on a sad note.

My father passed away early Christmas morning.

This wasn’t sudden. He had been in poor health for some time, but the realizations and memories still hit hard. You can never really prepare yourself enough.

I still had a good holiday, but there are parts that will be hard for me to handle for a while. Like Christmas music… my father had a beautiful voice and loved to sing. It is hard for me to hear some of those songs now.

My hopes for 2012 are to continue to improve my life, my skills, and achieve goals. There are projects I hope to finish and start, and new things I hope to learn. Some will be scheduled to match what friends are planning, many are simply because I want to do them.

I am sorry I’ve been quiet here for a while. I’ve been trying to keep busy, and I had plenty on my mind as well.

I wasn’t sure I would post about this, but I thought at least a brief entry and photo would help me. I hope to post more upbeat things soon, but I don’t know how often I will update regularly.

It will be a long process to heal, but I have good friends and family, and an amazingly wonderful husband who understands what I’m going through.

Thank you for reading. I hope there are many good things in store for all of you in the future.

Best wishes.

Posted in Personal | Tagged | 9 Comments

DFWCG 2011 Georgian Picnic Photos

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Cynthia Griffith
DFWCG 2011 Georgian Picnic

To see more photos from the picnic, click the link at the bottom of this entry, or go to the "Image Gallery" on the header above.

The Dallas Ft Worth Costume Guild (DFWCG) had their third annual Georgian Picnic on November 19th at the Ft Worth Botanical Gardens.

I have wanted to attend since the beginning, but sadly did not have a completed costume.  This year, I finally had one!  I wanted to wear another jacket since I have worn this costume before, but I was trying to finish something for my husband.  Unfortunately, a lot of things came up and distracted me every time I tried to make progress on Christopher’s costume, so I didn’t finish it in time.  We decided it wasn’t worth the stress and there would be other events.

We had a blast, and plenty of people dressed up.  I am still a little unfamiliar with some of the members of this group.  When it first started, I was going to join and then had to stop sewing for a few years.  I’m hoping to finally join in the next month or so, and am looking forward to more events so I can wear the 18th and 19th century costumes I make and meet fellow costumers. Everyone we’ve met through the group has been a blast!

My husband was taking photos for me on our iPhones, and he ended up focusing more on me.  He was a little shy about taking photos of people he hasn’t met before, so I didn’t get as many photos of some of the members.  We’ll get better about it over time.  It can be hard to worry about photos when you’re having fun!  Plus, security at the Gardens thought we were professional photographers, when all we wanted was a few snapshots of our fun time out.

Some of us brought period toys and games to play.  There was a period kite, the game of graces, some wooden toys (like tops) for the kids, and even a yo-yo.  The graphic the DFWCG used to advertise the event showed a period drawing with people playing with diabolos.  A member had a smaller, wooden, period diabolo, but we all had trouble getting it to work.  Christopher and I juggle and have a modern diabolo, so we brought ours out and took photos as well as taught some of the members how to use it.  It was definitely a hit, and at least one person is wanting to buy one to practice for next year’s picnic!

Christopher and I also juggled a little.  Unfortunately, we don’t have period juggling props, but we just can’t resist a little juggling at a picnic in the park!  While I was pleasantly surprised that I could work with the diabolo while wearing my costume, juggling wasn’t as comfortable as I would have liked (mostly due to my mitts, which are unfortunately tight on my hands due to the fabric having less give on the bias than I originally thought).  I only juggled three balls, and didn’t bother with the clubs.

I’ve posted some of my photos (including a few from friends) from the Third Annual DFWCG Georgian Picnic here.

We had a blast, and I’m looking forward to attending future events.  In fact, I’m hoping the weather holds up for a 19th century event coming up!

Posted in Costumes, Events, Friends, Hobbies, Juggling, Photos | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Knotting Shuttle Videos Online!

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Cynthia Griffith

knotting shuttle knotting bag embroideryI finally finished and uploaded all of the knotting shuttle videos.

I’m so sorry it took me so long to get them online.  I know there were many of you who were interested in seeing more detail about knotting.  I hope these videos are helpful, explaining more about what knotting and knotting shuttles are, as well as how to go about trying it. It’s so fun and easy — go ahead and try it!

Nervous.

I have to admit, I was very nervous to post any videos. I still am very new to embroidery, and only just started using a knotting shuttle. I am definitely not claiming any historical accuracy with any of my techniques or designs. They’re simply something I have started doing just so I can get practice, and have finished projects as quickly as I can.  I’m very slow at sewing and embroidery.

I’m also incredibly nervous about the format.  

You’ll see that each video has an introduction — all of the knotting videos have the same intro for “Things You Need,” and then the couching video has a slightly different one.  I decided to go ahead and keep it for each video, so that all of the information would be handy and someone wouldn’t have to hunt for it.

I tried thinking of the sort of videos that have helped me, and although I may have made them too long or spent too much time on them, I hope they are helpful.

At least I know how to edit videos now.

Or at least, one way to edit videos anyway. It’s been an interesting lesson in learning to make videos. I’m sure I probably did some things the hard way, but I found a format that worked for me. At least for projects like this.  I would also like to keep them all similar.

Not sure how often I’ll make or post videos.

It definitely took a long time to get these finished and posted. Part of that was the recent health stuff going on, a sewing project I was scrambling to finish in time, and the fact that my computer apparently doesn’t like working with video afterall.  It created a choppy effect that drove me nuts, but I just have to accept that my computer isn’t quite powerful enough to work with video that often.

Videos are in the Image Gallery.

To keep things simple, the videos are linked from the Image Gallery. I decided to keep photos and videos together to make things easier. I will most likely have a link in the side bar directly to the Knotting Shuttle page, but here is the direct link for now.

Posted in Embroidery, Hobbies, Videos | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Return to Social Networking

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Cynthia Griffith

On August 15th, my husband Christopher and I decided to take a break from social networking.  We would not visit Facebook, Google+, or Twitter until October 3rd.

Yesterday, October 4th, I returned — but Christopher was dared to do it again and he has another 50 days to go.

I’m back!

I admitted that I would not take it as far as Christopher did, deleting apps and logging out completely. I did not want to ignore any friend requests, so I admitted I would still allow follows and friend requests, and only go to the sites enough to at least see who the person was if I couldn’t tell.  So, I still didn’t get a completely social networking-free break.

I had enough of a break, though. And it was lonely!

I missed a lot of friends who mainly use certain sites to stay in touch with friends. I missed a lot of information and news I like to follow. I found myself a few times wishing I could share what I was up to.  I could update this blog, but some of my friends are so used to me tweeting or announcing “Hey! I have a new post! Go here to read it!” that I’m sure many of them wouldn’t have even seen it anyway.

And sometimes you don’t want to post much more than a sentence or two anyway.

It did help break me of the need to be constantly connected, though. Don’t get me wrong — I love how you can meet new friends and be informed quickly about things you’re interested in. Information just flows so quickly and constantly that I felt like I had to check it as well or I’d be overwhelmed.

Moderation is good.

While I don’t see myself ever giving up social networking sites completely, I’ll admit that there will be times I think I will stay away from them — either due to floods of news articles and stressful things that end up with lots of frustration or potentially hurt feelings, or when I really should be focusing on other things with a deadline.

I’m almost ready to post the knotting videos.

I’m a little nervous about it too — this is new for me. I never thought I would be sharing anything remotely close to a tutorial, and I probably went overboard with the disclaimers.  I just have enjoyed knotting and embroidery and I want to share it.  I’ve had enough people tell me they want to know more, so I felt that these videos might help, and while I am still learning things like knotting and embroidery and I am not historically accurate or claiming to be an expert at any of those things, I do hope the videos help encourage people to go ahead and try it.

It was also a chance to play with videos and editing. There were times it drove me nuts trying to figure out how to organize things and keep the quality sharp enough to make sense or be seen easily, I hope it helps someone out there at least.

The problem now is that uploading these files is taking a long time. Our Internet is slow (it’s definitely time to look for another company that’s affordable and faster).  I am about halfway finished with the files, but the last one is much longer than the other five.  I’m *hoping* to post them all together on Monday, but if it’s not online by then, well I probably either had issues or just needed a break from trying to get the files online.

Twitter and Google+ reminder:

Just a reminder for anyone who adds me on Twitter or Google+ — if you do request a friendship or follow me, please send me a message. If I can’t tell who you are or if we have similar interests, I may not add you back. 🙂

 

Posted in Christopher, Website | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Enjoying cooler weather and juggling

Posted on October 2, 2011 by Cynthia Griffith

Juggling this past weekend -- for another photo and some videos, see the bottom of this entry.

I mentioned autumn was here and I’ve been enjoying it.  Since it’s been cooler, my husband Christopher and I made time for juggling this past weekend.

I didn’t know what to expect

Since I have fibromyalgia now, I honestly wasn’t sure I would be able to juggle for very long.  Clubs always smacked me in the hands and fingers pretty hard, and left a sting even before my sensitivity to pain.  Sure enough, I couldn’t juggle for too long.  I would end up shaking a bit if I kept  juggling without a little break.

It’s a shame, and a little frustrating, but I’ll just have to figure out my limits and really focus on what I want to work on so I can enjoy juggling for long enough amounts of time.

It’s been a while

We keep meaning to get back to juggling regularly, but you know how it goes.  There are only so many hours in the day, and we have so many hobbies and things we work on — sometimes things we love get put on hold.

Video and photos

We took plenty of video and photos, especially of Christopher.  It gave me a chance to warm up gradually, and not over do it too quickly.

I’m not posting any videos of me juggling online (especially since I’m not that great even when I do practice regularly), but I have two photos of me from that day on here.  I’ve also included a video of my husband juggling.

It was a lovely day!

We juggled at a park, and during one break I took some video of a duck that kept watching us, and a turtle I saw in the water nearby.  I put it online for some practice. I’m still learning how to edit video.  Forgive any choppiness — unfortunately my computer has trouble handling the HD quality and does that to the final version.  Also, sorry about the sound being so low or muted.  My husband didn’t know what I was doing and walked up talking.  I didn’t want that in the video, and didn’t want to add music, so I faded the sound out to nothing by the end of the video.

And yes, I was lying on the ground shooting video while Christopher juggled over me.  Got nailed in the shoulder really hard during one drop, but I trust him, and I’m used to getting hit by juggling props. *laughs*

I definitely need to practice more again, I'm so rusty! We also need to repair our poor old juggling props.

 

Posted in Christopher, Hobbies, Juggling, Personal, Videos | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Autumn and Medical Stuff

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Cynthia Griffith
pumpkin spice K Cup

Yeah, we're suckers for pumpkin-flavored drinks... beers and coffee. We also love our Keurig coffee brewer.

It’s officially autumn, and I’ve been ready for it for a long time.  It’s my favorite time of the year.  I also love winter, but there’s just something about autumn.  The colors, the smells, the holidays.

I’ve been quiet lately, and haven’t been updating as much.  I have my reasons, though.

Medical Stuff

I’ve been having health issues for a while now.  I noticed my fitness level dropping.  For a while, I had worked up to running 40 minutes straight, and then the next week I could barely run even 3 minutes.  I never did manage to work back up to that.  I can easily walk fast for a long time and walked a strong 3 or 4 miles every day.  Suddenly, I was struggling with even that.

I had various pain, severe exhaustion, and weakness… it was time to find out what was going on.

Some autoimmune issues run in my family, so I mentioned it to my family doctor at my physical this past spring.  They ran blood tests, and they all came back as normal (except I was deficient in Vitamin D).  They put me on a high dosage of Vitamin D, and told me to go see a rheumatologist.

My labs from the rheumatologist have been coming back negative, and my D level is back up again (yay!).

My family doctor and rheumatologist think I have Fibromyalgia.

Not feeling your normal self is no fun

There are times I’m so exhausted and just want to sleep, but can never seem to catch up.  Even tapping on my iPhone’s screen hurts, and sometimes even the gentlest touch on my skin feels like sandpaper or worse.  I have to be careful not to push myself too hard and do things like I’m used to doing, especially exercise.  Chores and sewing can really wipe me out, and if I manage to bang my knee into something (I can be a tad clumsy) or stab a finger with a pin?  I get even worse.

Just taking it easy

So I’ve learned not to set too many goals, or at least not to kick myself too hard if I don’t make it (especially with a complicated sewing project that, really, isn’t the end of the world if I don’t finish in time).

I treat myself to things that soothe me, at least mentally.  I’ve not really found much that helps the physical pain and exhaustion (I have decided for now, not to take any medications).

Lots of “spa” days for me now!

A few months ago, we bought a Keurig and we love it.  We’re hooked on the coffees — it’s fun to try different flavors, and if I’m in the mood for one type and my husband isn’t, we can just make what we want.  I do need to cut back, but sometimes it’s those little things in life that make the difference. 😉

I’ve also been burning lots of incense.  I went through the vanilla and cinnamon scents quickly.  I can’t wait to get more of those.

I also have been going through bath salts like crazy.  Central Market has grapefruit and peppermint bath salts and I love to mix the two.  Light some candles, and turn on the water fountain, and I can trick myself into relaxing for a little while, at least.

I’ll probably never be my normal self again, but at least I can try to focus on those things I really enjoy.  I may be even slower about finishing sewing projects and other things that really aren’t that important compared to others, but I’ll get to them when I can.

Focus on those important things

I wasn’t going to post about this, but it has made me stop and enjoy those little things more often.  I definitely want to push myself to enjoy hobbies and set goals like that, but I also want to treat myself to a little relaxing “me” time a lot more often as well.

And if that means enjoying one more pumpkin-flavored coffee, or burning a few more sticks of incense that make me think of autumn and cozy holidays… well, I can’t think of a better way to relax.

Posted in Personal | Tagged | 4 Comments

2011 Antique Elegance Show

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Cynthia Griffith

The outfit I wore to the Antique Elegance Show. Photo by Jen Thompson of FestiveAttyre.com

I attended a show this weekend called the Antique Elegance Show. I met up with fellow costumers, and we had a great time shopping and taking photos. We all dressed up in some of the items we’ve made, and I put the photos we took into the gallery (including some photos Jen of FestiveAttyre.com let me share). You can see the photo gallery here.

I’m feeling a little rushed and clumsy today, so I’m keeping this entry short. I still need to make a page for the new bodice I made to go with the old bustle skirts I had, but I’ll get that up soon (I probably won’t do an entry announcing it).

I also need to start loading those knotting shuttle videos. I’ve been so busy sewing the bodice that I didn’t get to edit the very last video. Unfortunately, they’re so large I might have to do one video a day so I don’t go crazy (especially if I have issues with everything).

Also, there’s no time to rest! I’ve got to start sewing Christopher’s 18th century garments if I can, and maybe finish another project before November. Whew!

Posted in Costumes, Events, Hobbies, Website | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

I’m still around!

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Cynthia Griffith

An old project I've been working on -- time to finally finish it!

As I posted recently, I’m taking a break from social media, but that doesn’t mean I logged off completely.

How is it going?

It’s been very strange not being connected with people so easily.  I have to say that the addiction to wanting to check updates constantly was pretty easy to get over, but there are those times I miss the updates.

What am I missing?

Someone I know (and there may have been others) went to a big convention and I always enjoy seeing updates and photos.  I haven’t seen any yet and wonder how it was.

I’m sure I’ve been missing big news, too.  Everything from people who finally got that job they were looking for, to finishing a cool project.  I hope I can catch up on the important things I’ve missed.

I’ve even missed certain news items.  I follow certain people on Twitter especially for updates.  I could always go to their webpages and see what is going on (things like power warnings for those really hot days Texas has had), but it’s hard to remember everything I wanted or needed to follow. That is what’s so handy about putting everything together in one feed, I guess.  Of course, I have to skim a lot and I’m sure I miss information that way, but it worked for me most of the time.

What have I been up to?

I’ve been trying to take care of some things with the extra time not spent online.

My husband took a week off and we ran errands, hung out, and worked on a few projects that we needed to focus on.  He’d been working on a crazy project at work and a lot of things were on hold.  It was nice to have a relaxing break even though we didn’t go anywhere special.

Sewing Progress.

I’m currently trying to finish an old project that has been sitting around for several years.  It’s going a little slower than I’d hoped, but I don’t want to mess up or end up hating it.  I’m also trying a few things differently to see if I like that finish better.

I still have a lot of things on hold gathering dust, so I’m hoping to hurry up and get to them.  I definitely need to start my husband’s 18th century costume soon.  I’m running out of time and don’t want to rush those.

Knotting videos status.

I’m still working on the knotting videos, but they’re almost finished.  I’m hoping to post them next week if things continue going smoothly.

There is a lot of webpage stuff I need to take care of with them.  Even though they’ll be hosted on YouTube, I want to keep them together and handy on my website.  Although I don’t see myself making tons of videos, I want to make sure however I organize them will leave room for a variety of subjects.

Happy birthday to the Juggling Writer!

I also want to wish my husband’s website/blog, The Juggling Writer a Happy Birthday!  He started that site two years ago, and it was a big reason for my starting this website.

We made a fun video for his blog’s birthday, so go check it out. 🙂

Sorry for the lack of updates.

I do apologize for the lack of updates lately.  It seems so funny — I feel like I’ve been busy and doing a lot of different things, but interestingly don’t really have much to show for it yet.  I guess that’s the way it goes sometimes.

I’ll definitely post when I do have finished projects to show, whether they’re sewing-related or video projects.

Best wishes!

Posted in Christopher, Hobbies, Sewing, Website | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Social Networking Break

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Cynthia Griffith

It may seem funny, since I only recently started adding links to things like Google+ and YouTube, but I am taking a social networking break.

What made me think of it?

My husband, Christopher, is a writer, and he has also been swamped with work from his day job.  He had read a few blog entries about taking a break from things like Twitter and Facebook, and he kept thinking about it.

He realized how often he would pick up his iPhone and check one of those places, and when he had a break or was waiting for something at his computer, he would find himself on those websites.

He finally decided he would start this experiment starting August 15th and until October 3rd (originally it was the 1st, but he thought it would be cool to go ahead and go 50 days).

I didn’t have to join him.

I didn’t have to join him, and in fact he was a little surprised when I said I would do it as well.  The thing is, he is one of the main people who actually reply to me on those various networking sites, so it would be a little lonely without him.

I also realized if I kept checking and talking about those sites, it would not only be a little bit of a temptation, but he would be able to get updates through me.

Why did I decide to do it?

Although I have had a lot of luck and tons of fun with networking and finding the costuming community, it also distracts from my time.  I would find myself procrastinating and not starting any of my sewing projects until later in the day, and I even found myself checking and chatting more than working on my blog!

When I finally did get around to sewing, I would frequently take quick breaks to go check a few things online before getting back to sewing.  While that is nice in a way — helping stretch muscles and giving my eyes a break — I was probably taking advantage of it a little.

I have plenty to do.

I already have a lot to do, both sewing and non-sewing related things.  Along with the above reasons, I thought it might help inspire me to push myself and see how much I can get done by my various deadlines.

I’m still around.

This doesn’t mean I am logging off from the Internet completely.  I need it to research costumes and sewing too much to do that.  I also want to make sure friends can get in touch with me.

While Christopher completely deleted apps from his iPhone and fully logged out from places like Facebook, I am just going to practice restraint and not go.

The only reasons I will use those apps or websites are when someone who doesn’t know how else to get in touch with me needs to contact me, and also for those who are wanting to follow me and need me to follow them back or allow the request.  I don’t want those people to think I am ignoring them.  In fact, just this morning I had someone totally new add me on Google+ who did not know I was taking a break.  Fortunately, the app allowed me to get to the Circles section, see who the person was so I could add them to the correct circle, and leave without looking at my friends’ posts.

I will also still be updating various things like this website when I have something to post about.

I have no idea what to expect.

It should be interesting to see how much I miss keeping up with people.  I’m sure I will miss out on a lot of news and things I would have liked to read about, but also — in the case of Twitter, for example — there will be a lot I won’t have to wade through.  I already skim Twitter since there is so much I’m following.  In fact, one of the reasons I checked Twitter so often was so I wasn’t flooded with hundreds of messages and miss something important.

It will be weird relying on news readers and email subscription to get the word out about my blog updates. I will not be able to post anywhere else to announce a new blog entry.  I suspect my traffic will slow down a little.

Here’s hoping I get a lot of work done and goals completed, and here’s hoping I don’t get tempted to quit the experiment too soon!

Posted in Christopher, Website | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Fun and practice with YouTube

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Cynthia Griffith

My husband reminded me we can watch YouTube videos on our Roku. It was weird and fun to see myself on the TV!

I’m still working on those knotting shuttle videos.  In the meantime, I created a YouTube account, and my husband and I are trying to get used to our video editing software.  I’m also still trying to figure out the format we’ll use for my videos.  Since I’m not sure how much I will actually do with videos, I want to have a little fun with them.

We decided to play with some of the footage we took at the garden during the recent photo shoot. It was fun to play with options for a quick video, not to mention, have my first video of my first 18th century costume!

This video does show me using a knotting shuttle at the end, but it’s not instructional. Those videos will be posted later when we’re finished with them.  I hope the quality is correct.  Since I’m still learning, it’s hard to remember every little thing.  The quality on the iPhone was good, and the Roku/TV version was in HD like it is supposed to be.  What I’ve seen on my computer seems to be lower quality, but that could just be that I need to clear the memory.

The knotting shuttle videos also won’t show me in costume. I wanted the focus to be on my hands and the knotting shuttle itself.  Yet another reason to have a little fun with the first video posted below.

I mentioned that on the day of the photo/video shoot, it was so hot and the videos were taken at the end of the outing. I had sweat pouring off me (it was early in the morning, but Texas has been having very hot weather for a while), and it made it difficult to knot with ease. The thread kept sticking to my fingers, and it was one of the bigger knots that involve capturing several knots in a row.  I also discovered another reason to make my fingerless mitts bigger (the fabric had less give on the bias than I expected, so the pattern turned out tighter on my hands and wrists than I wanted) — my hands stuck to them and it was difficult to take the mitts off!

It was still fun, and it was also a blast to finally have my first video.  Thanks to my husband for making the bulk of it. I definitely had to use it, especially when I realized that I actually don’t have any video of me — costumed or not!  I think it’s time to change that, even if it’s just for our own personal memories.

Let me know if you’re on YouTube as well! I’ve been adding friends and people I know from various place online.  If I can’t tell who someone is, especially if they don’t seem to be into the same things, I may not add them back. I definitely would love to follow other costumers, as well as people who are into the same interests as me.  Best wishes!

 

Posted in Costumes, Hobbies, Videos | Tagged , , | 4 Comments