I have a rather fine swan postcard that I will send you, if you give me your address! I'll email you privately. Can't remember where it came from but the name of the gallery will be on the postcard.

I like your collection, particularly the agate.

What a lovely collection. I really like that cushion too, and I can see from that (and from your quest for the poster of the lady you wrote about before) that you like Art Nouveau, which I also love.

I remember you going through the naming process for your house. Gosh, we're growing old together, huh?

Also, how's the job search going, if that's not too much of a delicate question?

Oh thank you, altolinguistic, that's so sweet of you! I'll email you my address. The job search is... not going terribly well. I apply to about ten jobs a week and hear crickets in response. I've only had one interview in over three months. I will probably have to go back to a company I used to work for, which will mean a 10K pay cut, a longer commute, and being treated like crap. Let's talk about something else, shall we...

Yes, finding a pattern that was both Art Nouveau and swan-oriented was awesome. I may or may not have been all SQUEEEE!!!! when I came across it.

I have family members who know less about the day to day details of my life than you guys, danf.

Oh I meant to mention in my post that one time I was teasing an ex of mine, "Aren't you happy that things didn't work out so you wouldn't have to live with all the swan stuff?" He said, "We would have had to set some sort of maximum swan ratio."

You're doing it right.

Gorgeous stuff! I like the idea of you swanning around surrounded by all of it. Also, awed by your cross stitching. Nice work!

Sending many good wishes on the job hunt.

Oh, the pillow is gorgeous!

We would have had to set some sort of maximum swan ratio.

My SIL collects butterflies and my brother set a limit. She can do whatever she likes in her bedroom (they sleep in separate rooms), but public rooms can only have a few butterflies in them.

I also collected unicorn stuff when I was a kid til my early 20s. I was kind of embarrassed about it until that Dodgeball clip. I had nothing on that collection.

I loved the unicorn scene in Dodgeball. If you're familiar with the movie, you know that the character who collected them was a lawyer who worked for a bank, was very no-nonsense and favoured classic suits in navy and gray. It made the unicorn revelation a zinger because it was so totally unexpected. It wouldn't have been anything close to as funny if the character had been, say, a hairdresser or a nail technician, and wore tacky clothes.

My former sister-in-law collected cows. My brother made a deal with her that she could have all the cows she wanted in the kitchen, but they were not to go straying out to pasture in the rest of the house or he would get a big screen TV he wanted. Believe me, she made the most of that deal. Her cow collection rivalled that unicorn collection.

I have another sister-in-law who collects pigs because my brother is a pork farmer and she thought it was cute to have their farmhouse kitchen and family room decorated with pigs. My mother has a small and select owl collection. I have a step-niece who's into butterflies. My sister likes snowmen, though that's limited to Christmas decorations. However, she is Christmas-crazy so she has a LOT of snowmen decorations.

I am so incredibly impressed by your cushion. It would have taken me a decade to finish something like that -- sometimes I think I was the 2nd slowest cross-stitcher ever (with my mom being the slowest :o). And I love all the jewelry pieces, especially the ring.