Jellyfish Framed

We sent my finished Jelly Bellies to Knots n Needles in Bossier City, Louisiana (sorry, no website) to frame.  We picked them because they are a needlework shop that has a framer on site and they were close to my husband's parents.  They agreed to call the parents when the piece arrived, and they did!  They also worked with Betsy and Mike to frame this to their liking.  Here's the final result.  I think it looks great, and they even managed to have the three dimensionality show!  It's hanging now in my in-law's house.

Moldovan Sport...

Baseball came to the former Soviet Union in 1989.  By 1991, the Kvint team had won the CIS Champoinships.  It was the only year of the series; the CIS fell apart soon after.  It was not, however, the end of Kvint's sponsorship of baseball.  They sponsor teams from little league to senior men's teams, and do very well in competitions.  Their men's team went to the US for a tour last summer, and their pony league team won second in the European championships last year, too.

Supposedly, they have a 16 year old on the pony league team that regularly hurls an 85 mph fastball.  This is also, partially, your tax dollars at work.  Transnistria is the poorest part of the poorest country in Europe.  USAID and the US embassy have worked to help make real baseball diamonds (about the level of upkeep and upgrade of a regular little league field) in the city of Tiraspol for these athletes to practice and play on.

Kvint is very, very proud of its sponsorship of this American sport, despite having been a Soviet concern for fifty years.  It's nice to see reminders of home, and I hope to see them play this summer.

Lots of Arcs

I think I'm on a curve.  Lots of arcs here, and then to fill them in to ovals...

Dragon Charted

123stitch.com had a sale on dragon charts last month.  My husband went shopping.  He bought a total of nine charts.  Now to get more time to stitch.....

Old Time Tools of Distilling

On President's Day, the embassy organized a trip to Transnistria for us.  Transnistria is a country-that-isn't.  This particular part of Moldova operates completely independently and has tried to be its own country or part of Russia.  Most people who live there are ethnically Russian, and the economy is still communist, although it is loosening some.

We went there to go shopping and to see where they make the local version of cognac.  The first room they showed us was their "sports room".  The sports will come tomorrow.  Today, the pictures are of the older machinery they kept - really old, hand cranked stuff.  I'm glad it's not so taxing to make these days.  The name of the distillery is Kvint, if you want to find more out about it.

Done With The Blues

I finished another challenge piece!  This one's even a twofer, since it's part of my crazy January challenge and was the petite project of the January CyberStitchers meeting.  All done now.  I feel smug!

Ten Done

The tenth part is done now; it was rather a smaller half band, and so didn't take all that long!