I logged in here tonight to seek out inspiration for my home office and found this thread. TRUST YOUR GUT! Many years ago a newcomer to town befriended my father. He was an older gentleman who talked at length about his family (wife and daughters) back home in California. Lots of money to throw around and before you knew it he was treating dad and I to dinner (my mom worked nights), bringing over pints of ice cream to our house for a treat, buying me stuffed animals, etc. My mom hadn't met the guy, but she had a funny feeling about him. I was all of 8 and I had a funny feeling about him. He'd tell me things like I should always wear dresses, I should hold my cup with both hands when drinking because it made me look cute (I think he was trying to make me appear younger than my 8 years by doing things a smaller child would do), and I should call him Uncle. We were planning a family vacation and the man (who we knew as John) came over and offered to take me shopping for "vacation clothes". I was at a friends down the street and my mother declined, citing that as an excuse. He offered to go "get me", she declined. He grew argumentative with her for not "allowing him" to treat me to the nice gift of new clothes for our trip, and she tossed him out. She then called the police to make a report. It seems he had shown her family pictures of his wife and girls that were easily taken 20+ years ago and could not possibly be pictures of his real family, if they existed, based on how he had described them to us. Turns out he was not "John" but Russell Maquire Jr., heir to the Thompson Machine Gun fortune and I was one of 2 girls he had targeted that summer after coming to the area and befriending my family and this other family. He was arrested shortly after for molesting a girl 2 towns over, as shown in this news article I googled online: ....Millionaire Thompson machine-gun heir Russell Maguire Jr has been sentenced to nine years in prison for violating his probation for the fourth time.... ...Maguire, 71, has been in and out of the Florida courts, jail and prison since 1984, when he was charged with molesting an 8-year-old girl in Clearwater. Since 1995 he has heen on house arrest in Redington Shores. The house arrest stemmed from the 1984 molestation case.... ....Circuit Judge Lauren Laughlin last week found he had violated his house arrest. Maquire had not been receiving his court-mandated psychological counseling, Assistant State Attorney Doug Ellis said. And in May 1996, Ellis said, Maguire violated his house arrest by spending two hours in a grocery store, trying to talk to one underage girl who walked away from him, then blocking a checkout line for 15 minutes to chat with the 16-year-old cashier.... That could have been me, if not for my mom trusting her instincts. -Colleen Here is a link that might be useful: News article

Wow -- thanks, everyone, for responding! It's fun reading about what you're working on. Mscsippy -- I don't have photos of any of the stuff I've made; and none of the stuff that's currently in progress is at a point where a photo would make much sense, because my camera just doesn't seem to take decent closeups (they always manage to end up out of focus or blurred in some way - I guess I need a tripod!). But, I'll try to get photos of all of these things as I finish them. Taigen -- my paternal grandmother tatted. I have many beautiful things that she tatted. I tried, but failed, to learn to crochet, so I don't think I'd be able to master tatting, either. Cherbo -- you're much more sane than I am! Moni -- your secrets are safe with me. ;-) Donna37 -- I haven't done any embroidery in sooo long! I'd like to start up again with embroidery and also counted cross stitch. I've got a counted cross stitch Christmas sampler that I started soooooo many years ago! The horrid thing, too, is that there's not that much more to do to finish it. I have completed many, many counted cross stitch projects, I just don't know why I've never gotten around to finishing this one. One of these days... Dances -- my sister wants some fingerless gloves/mitts, so that's a project that is on my "to do" list. I'm sure this Winter will be long gone by the time she gets them. LOL! But I, too, have vastly different yarns on each of my projects-in-progress, and I'm certain that must be why I have so many going at once. Eliza Ann -- knitting is supposed to be very good for relaxation and stress relief. Maybe you should spend 15 or 20 minutes knitting each evening to help relieve the stress of getting your house ready for sale. :-) Linda -- that is a really cute poncho, and I love the color! I also think it would make a cute skirt (not without a slip/petticoat of some sort, though!). But, as I've said, I can't crochet at all, not even one stitch or chain or whatever it's called... :-( Donna Loomis -- you're my hero! Keep adding to your list of projects so I won't feel so bad, ok? :-) Zipper -- I'll be sure to pay attention to what I'm doing when I finally get around to the Baby Surprise Jacket. My niece isn't due until mid-July, and since it's her first, it could easily be late July or early August by the time she delivers, so I'm counting on having enough time to finish the two baby blankets that I'm working on (I've already given her one, and all three are totally different from each other); and I also want to get some booties and caps done, too. Janie -- I haven't experienced the "knot on the wrist," but I HAVE suffered from cramps in my left thumb from gripping the left needle too tightly when it's a small size needle and lace weight yarn. Another reason why I like to have a bunch of projects going with different yarns -- so I can relieve that stress on my thumb. Socks -- I keep each project in a separate bag, and I always have paper and a pencil (mechanical pencil, so I can retract the lead) with each project so that I can make notes as to where I am when I stop. And I try to always stop after I've finished an odd-numbered row, which somehow helps (like a placebo, I'm sure!). Susanjf -- yarn outlet??? WHERE??? Ivamae -- what color poncho are you going to make? Jannie -- your project will turn up when you least expect it! What size bamboo needles were you using? I use bamboo needles for everything that I knit that is knitted on straight needles. I also have the Bamboo Sister interchangeable circular needles set from Plymouth Yarn Company, and some fixed circular bamboo needles. One of the baby blankets is being done with the Plymouth interchangeable bamboo circulars, but for the other I'm using the Options Harmony Wood Interchangeable Needles from Knit Picks. I love those needles because the points are much "pointier" than on the bamboos, so it makes it easier to knit lace weight and fingering weight yarns. I've also got an afghan going on another size of the Harmony needles and the varigated-color yarn is nearly the exact same colors as the needles, so it's a challenge! Sheila Joyce -- what a great thing you're doing! I'm a tight knitter, so I certainly hope that no one ever has to attempt to finish anything I've started... Would using a smaller hook (than the one called for in the pattern) help at all? Have you tried taking the partial cloth into a yarn store to see what they can recommend to match the thread?

My $.02, for what it's worth, take what you like from it: I think the key to addressing these "furies" (they do exist, I can tell you from my own personal feelings having had them) is just to have some empathy for them. It's the difference between seeing the list cited above as "evidence" or "proof" of SD's rotten-ness versus truly trying to imagine yourself in SD's shoes to be able to see how good, average, decent people might have those feelings in these situations. Books like the one mentioned aren't written (hopefully!) as a warning to never marry someone with kids because the SK's "furies" are liquid evil incarnate, nor are they written to create even deeper rifts/divides between step-parents and step-children. They're written to help people understand all sides of the issue so they can be more compassionate and sensitve to each other's needs/feelings so they can become closer. For example, I've heard accounts from many SM's throughout my life about how upset/jealous/irate they have become just looking at their SD's giving their Dad a hug... or having such thoughts as "why should SHE get an Ipod when all I had was a big clunky 8-track when I was her age?" or "it burns me up how spoiled SD expects college to be paid for when I didn't even go at all". I guess you might call these sorts of feelings "furies" as well... Ipod, master bedroom, college expenses... all are comparsions between both parties as to "who gets to get what" and hugging Dad/going to adult party with Dad are issues on both sides of "who gets Dad's primary attention today"... So that might make it easier to understand. And just as an SM doesn't want to be judged or condemned as rotten through-and-through for feelings such as these (or even occasional, natural private feelings of "hate" when moments are at their worst), same goes for SK's. As for what can be done about all this, imho there's no way around both parties having to walk on eggshells a bit more than is usual in bio families, each trying to bend over backwards (within reason) to consider the other's sensitivities, even if at some moments it feels like eating glass. Even if it feels like they shouldn't *have* to make the extra effort. Taking some minor amount of cr*p here and there, up to a limit. Being somewhat flexible and definitely keeping a sense of humor. Showing an appropriate amount of humility and real-ness with the other party so neither comes off like they think they're superior or out to muscle their way on everything. The art of meeting halfway and mutual sacrifice for the greater good, the art of picking and even sometimes *losing* "battles" for a bigger long-term picture. Getting a lot less picky about little petty junk, for if nothing else your own sanity. Knowing that you can only control/change yourself and your own actions and figuring out how to adjust accordingly and react to situations to your satsfaction without thinking someone else will change. And as for speaking up and feeling heard, learning about something called "assertiveness training" helps A LOT (it's definitely helped me, anyways...)

Gosh I am in the same exact situation. I've lived in my home in an adorable little town in the middle of nowhere for 9 years and my husband has lived here for 12 years before I moved in. My daughter and myself both have asthma. My redneck neighbors moved in back in September right across from us. At first they were burning household trash plastic styrofoam whatever they could find. Because they didn't want to pay for trash pickup... So I informed the police twice. Well now they figured out that it was me that called and every single day all day long they start two separate fires including wood, brush, twigs anything they can find in their yard just to spite me. The sad part is I live in Virginia and it's legal to burn brush wood Etc. These people never put it out it burns all night long I can't go outside, I can't open my windows on a nice cool summer night to enjoy the fresh air....It's absolute hell. It's awful I take my bath, get my makeup on and get all fixed up and then have to walk outside and get my clothes all smelly before going somewhere. My husband works 2nd shift so he's never really here and completely refuses to move. Its to the point where I'm thinking of packing and leaving. Mine and my children's quality of life has diminished because we can't live like normal people and go outside during the summer and have fun because me and my daughter are both so choked up from smoke.. Plus its a migraine trigger for me... I literally have to go to my parents or someone fun just so we can do stuff. I feel completely helpless!! I dread coming home when we do go somewhere. Its such a shame. I asked my neighbor how would you feel if your child or grandchild had asthma and couldn't go outside because of the smoke and he said I'd tell them to go in the house. Its feels like harassment because they do it JUST to upset me. Ugh thanks for reading I had to vent.