Finally!

I finished my house for Souvenir Sampler! Now I know why I don't design things. Such a fussy process. Chart, fiddle with it, stitch a sample, fiddle some more, then take it to the "real" project and keep fiddling.

I'm glad there are so many great designers out there. Charting is too fiddly for me.



Here's the overall sampler. Although there are some half-finished motifs and I'd prefer a photo with them completely finished, the sun is out today and that's such a rare occurrence lately that I thought I should shoot while the shooting was good.

I'm having nagging worries that the house doesn't fit with the rest of the sampler. I kept to the same color scheme as the rest of the sampler, but the look of the house still seems to jump out at me. I hope that once the rest is finished, it'll blend in a little better.

It was a lovely weekend at my house. Lots of basketball to watch, and then Colleen had a late soccer game in Pittsburgh Sunday evening. Dave and I have such a good time watching those games. Next week we go to Bethany College. Should be fun!

Here's a finish!

Yes...that DOES say 1992. I've been participating in the Monthly Finishing Challenge, and April's task was to finish a needleroll. Well, my goal was to use this challenge to finish the old stitching that's been hiding in my linen closet for a gazillion years, and after two months, I'm two for two. It's a good feeling to have these things see the light of day!

The only finish that I may need to stitch from scratch would be a biscornu. Luckily, I know there are many free designs out there....Thanks Emily!

In other happenings around the O'Neil house, DS called yesterday to tell us that he has lined up two internships for himself over the summer. Both are in
Ohiopyle State Park*, and miraculously, one is actually a paid internship! He's doing some kind of plant study with a researcher from Penn State, and a bird study with a DCNR researcher. He's pretty darn happy, and I'm happy for him.

And I forgot to mention before that my sister really liked the wooden box. I think it was perfect for her. She's such a sentimental thing.

(*One of our favorite running trails)

It's a dreary day here in SWPA. Rain, wind, cold. Last night I told Dave that I really, really, really needed to hop a plane to Tulsa to join the ladies for a weekend at stitch camp. Seriously. How hard could it be? I could be packed and off to the airport in a matter of minutes. A change of underwear, my stitching, and I'm good to go. If I need anything else - well - I have credit cards.

And that kind of leads me into the most recent SBQ:

What items do you consider essential to your needlework that you keep in your stitching bag?

I've read many of these and I've seen some great gadgets and tools and you know how I love the gadgetry. But folks....seriously....don't any of you keep

GLASSES??

My stitching glasses are always in my "kit". My everyday, all-purpose readers (+2) don't cut it for linen, so I keep +3.25's in my bag. If I don't have those, there's no stitching going on.

Besides the project and its necessary fabric and threads, I also keep:
1. Size 26 needles. They're almost always the right size.
2. A variety of scissors, but always Cuticle scissors. Tiny, perfect to drag around.
3. A Magnet board and several magnets, including a needle keeper and some kind of long narrow magnet to use as a placeholder.
4. A needle threader and Star De-Tailor
5. An additional magnifier. Believe it or not, sometimes those powerful glasses still aren't enough.
6. Pencil with a good eraser
7. My wonderful scrap holder

And that list kind of leads me to show you some of my birthday presents! First, like I said, recently I bought a wonderful scrap/ort holder. A Pre-birthday gift is always a good thing!
When I went to Stitch camp in November, everyone had these great scrap bags attached to the tables and I had been searching for one since then. I actually bought a mini-bag, and it's ok, but not nearly as useful. And awesome. Well, one day I was cruising through Etsy.com and came across these by NStitches4u. I love, love, love it. Ann's craftsmanship is really great. And cheap?? Let me tell you, I paid less for this big bag that's super-well-made than I paid for the tiny one. If you're in the market for something like this, check Ann out at Etsy. Her shop is NStitches4u.

My dear friend Elizabeth sent me this (ahem) gift:
Yes, it's my very own "Over the Hill" doll. I think that Elizabeth's doll has covered all of the bases when it comes to being OTH, but...well....She oughta know. (Tee hee. You know I love you Elizabeth!)

Wonderful Colleen gave me a yoga mat bag, so I look more like I have it together when I go to yoga. Gotta be the with-it mom in yoga, you know? And my friend Patricia gave me a book, Why Women Should Rule the World. It's definitely on my Next-to-be-Read-List. And Dave gave me cash. Cool cash which went towards the scrap bag, and some online purchases like a couple wooden thread keepers, the Star Detailor I mentioned in my list, and fabric, fabric, fabric. Never enough fabric. I'll take pics when it all arrives.

Well folks, I could wander around forever here, but it's the first week of April and that means reports and reports and reports for work. The sooner I get started, the sooner I'll finish.

Except for this wildly random info about my very favorite lunch:

Tuna salad sandwich on Italian bread
Potato chips
Pepsi
A chocolate chip cookie

What could be better?

It's been a long time

Ok...So it's been a while. I'm wavering between giving you the rundown of all the things that have kept me away from writing until now or just skipping over it all as if I really had been writing all along.

Oh what the heck. I'll just write as it comes and try to keep it organized so that you can skip over the boring repetitious parts, if you like!

My sister (bless her heart) brought my mother here for Easter. Janet and my nephew, Nick, brought Mom out on Thursday. Those two stayed till Saturday, but Mom stayed for the week. Unfortunately, Mom had a nasty cold. Even more unfortunately, she passed it on to Dave and me, so we weren't exactly a ball of fun. In other words, we were even more boring than we normally are, if you can even imagine that. But when I think about it, we actually were pretty busy.

Easter Sunday Mom went with me to take John back to school. It was nice to have company for the ride home. Usually I'm alone and tired and bored. I was glad that my mom was there.

Earlier Mom had mentioned that she wanted to learn to knit, so Monday I brought out the needles and some yarn and got her started. She knit some, watched some TV, and napped some. Her cold was still pretty bad, so it was good to stay home for a day.

Tuesday we went to Colleen's track meet, where Mom braved the cold and actually sat through the whole meet. (Colleen runs the 1600M at the beginning and the 3200M at the end so we are there for a LONG time) I think she had a good time - she'd never been to a track meet before.

Wednesday we went to Pittsburgh for lunch and then to Phipps Conservatory to see the Spring Flower show.

Then Friday we drove to Philadelphia, partly to take Mom home and partly to celebrate my 50th birthday. Yes, 50. My brothers and sisters and their kids all came over for pizza and wings and beer and a fabulous birthday cake. Mmmm. Cake.

We also squeezed a college visit in for Colleen at Arcadia University. She really liked it, but it was the first of several visits we have planned. The good thing was that it was only 5 minutes from my sister. If she wants to go that far, I'm glad it's near my family.

Then we came home on Sunday, and I had some minor surgery on Tuesday. Very minor. And I'm back to normal now, if just a little tired.

And now for some pictures. I'm probably the very last person in the blogging world to post Easter photos, but I have them, so you get to see them. Here are my two favorite egg artists working on eggs Friday night. That's Nick and my Colleen.

There was very little stitching going on over the week, but I did manage to eke out my March Brides Tree ornament:

And sometime in March I finished this older PS piece into a magnetic bookmark from a tutorial that I read that Barbara posted on the Focus on Finishing blog.
I'll have more photos later. I have some gift photos, and I've spent some money lately. My darling Dave gave me a gift certificate (of sorts) for stitching supplies. Can you hear my hands rubbing together with glee? I've already spent some of it. Even before I had it. Delay gratification?? Not this girl.

>

My blog is lonely

I just KNOW it misses me. I miss it, too.

Busy with kids, mom, and other things.

I should be back next week. See you then!

There's no stitching going on here.

Well, precious little stitching anyway.

My weekend company (John's GF) arrived Friday and left Sunday. She's a nice young woman and I like her a lot. My son acts like a ninny sometimes though. I want to smack him in the head.

Sunday evening we went to dinner and then over to Colleen's indoor soccer game. (for a rec league) It was the first time I had seen any of the other soccer parents since Colleen told the high school coach that she wouldn't be playing next year. It was a hard decision for her, especially after being named team captain, and of course, leaving the team meant that she turned down the captain position, too. After some soul searching, she decided to focus on cross country because she enjoyed it more and had a really successful year last year. And I have no doubt that the cross country coach will name her girls' team captain. So if she hadn't quit the soccer team, that would have meant she was on two teams in the same season that demanded a lot of physical commitment AND leadership responsibilities. She would have run herself into the ground. Really - it was a good decision. Last year was hard enough without the captain responsiblities.

So Sunday evening was a little weird...I felt like the other parents sort of kept me at arms length. I think some of them are taking it personally. You know how odd people can be. I guess I'll just have to clear the air in my usual pleasant way.

Yesterday I spent the entire day in Pittsburgh with John because we to see the doc about his knee. Between the appointment and then the MRI, we were on the road from 7AM until 4PM. That was one looooong day. (should have the results tomorrow)

Went out to dinner with some other "golf widows", and in fact we were a bunch of merry widows, and spent our dinner talking and laughing. It was a fun evening. Came home and stitched for about 30 minutes before my eyes quit on me.

Today promises to be busy, too. So I had better get to it...

Holiday is coming. Guests are starting to arrive. I'm sorting through clothes for Dave to take on his golf trip. Spring track season has begun.

I haven't seen a needle in 5 days.

But I won't desert you.

Since you enjoyed my link to the Bad Nativities, I thought you might like this: Holy Week Kitsch-o-Rama

Other things in my life that I haven't talked about lately

Spring soccer season starts in just two weeks. I've been running and walking and trying to get my ankle in shape again before I have to head out to the fields. (I had a pretty bad sprain back at the end of December) The surfaces can be pretty uneven.

Actually, I had thought about taking a season off, but that was only a fleeting thought. I love working in-house Saturday soccer. Five or six quick and small-sided games are very do-able. The kids are happier and the coaches are less cut-throat. Sunday soccer - well, that's another story. Still - every now and then you get an Atta-girl and then it doesn't seem so bad.

Now I need to decide if I want to try PIAA high school games. We'll see how Spring soccer pans out. But I hear that if I'm available to do Jr. High games, I could probably get games every day of the week. That's because they play so early in the day, and it's difficult to get referees that early.

John comes home for his spring break this Friday. It looks like we'll be spending significant time at the docs next week, because he's having knee problems again. The trainer at his college thinks it's a strain or tear of a ligament in his knee. Luckily I was able to schedule an appointment for him with the doc who did his IT band surgery three years ago. The poor kid. His track season is shot, and if this problem is serious, he may not be able to run cross country next fall, either. I'll be glad to see the doctor and get whatever tests he needs and get some answers. Not knowing is hardest.

Dave leaves for his yearly golf trip this Saturday. As usual, I'll miss him, but he really needs to go and to tell the truth I look forward to this week. I usually get a lot done, but this time, I'm not so sure. I've been so darn tired lately. For instance, I spent Saturday house-cleaning, but by 2PM I was exhausted. I actually catnapped on the couch for about a half hour. That's not me. I never sleep during the day.

This time change deal isn't helping any, either.

Plans are starting to come together for our anniversary/birthday party over Memorial Day weekend! I've got to start making my invitations. We're inviting all of old our friends, our wedding party, our families, and all of our current friends. So many of them are from out of town...What do you think - a "save the date" postcard to go out at the end of March and then invitations later in April? Or am I making too big a deal of this?

Well, I know that I promised to finish that darned house last night, and I hate to welch on a promise, but I was too pooped. Maybe today?

Just fiddling around

It seems like I have the attention span of a housefly lately. If something requires more than an hour or so, I'm toast.

And you all out there in the internets aren't helping me any, because you and your projects keep grabbing my already short attention and saying "Here! Look at me! Over here! Look what I can do! You can make this, too!"

Which I really could do. And I could do LOTS of those lovely things, if I lived in a castle (a well-lit castle) all by myself and had all of my bodily needs attended to by a handsome prince/chef/housekeeper who visited from time to time.

Two of you were especially guilty of kidnapping me this weekend. First was Barbara, who wrote a tutorial on bookmarks for Focus on Finishing. The magnetic bookmark is wonderful, Although I haven't actually finished the bookmark, I just loved this project. I spent a lot of time rummaging through some smaller things I had stitched to find the perfect bookmark piece. I think I have the perfect one, and I hope I get to finish a bookmark one night this week.

The second guilty kidnapper was, as usual, Emily, with her darn Crazy Quilt ideas. She used some stitching in her CQ, and I was hooked. And I spent another large chunk of the weekend fiddling with this: Emily's was finished into a needlebook, but I see another pillow in my future.

But anyway.

Souvenir Sampler has half of a house stitched into it. I absolutely will finish that house tonight. I will. Even if it takes more than an hour.

An Easter Gift

This began its life as a Christmas gift for my sister, but since I'm a total loser when it comes to finishing wood, it's gone through a couple of transformations. One included actually finishing a box, but closing it too soon. So the lid stuck to the bottom and in trying to free the lid, we broke the entire box.

But I finally bought another box, and here it is:



And now it's an Easter gift. With a Christmas ornament tucked inside. Do you think she'll think it's weird?

The Great Procrastinator

Yes, that's me! I finally did something I've been meaning to do for years.

I mentioned our quilt group in my last post. About 12 years ago (maybe more?) a group of my friends met every Thursday afternoon for quilting, stitching and coffee. We used to have the most wonderful afternoons - such happy memories. Anyway, John was in school, but Colleen was home with me, and so she always went with me. The ladies loved her and always had some special treat for her, like a special dessert or a coloring book or game. And she was an angel.

When she was about 4 years old, she started sewing with us. I remember going to Joann's so she could pick out her own floss and some bigger needles. And eventually she would sit up to the table with us, at least for a little while, and she'd just pull something out of her head and stitch it. I kept most of them.

Yesterday I found them again, and when she got home from school, I asked her to pick her favorites, and she picked three. So far I've framed one.

We think that this was one of her first projects, and we think it's a house on a lake. It makes sense - my house is on a lake! We think it's a house, but it could be a boat? No, it's a house. I used to have dark pink rugs.
I love this one. I remember showing her how to do a Smyrna cross stitch to make the snowflakes. And I remember that she told me that the dark blue specks in the sky were stars.
I've framed this last one. I also remember showing her how to do a lazy daisy stitch for the flower, and I remember that she got really ticked at me over it. She thought it was too much work. I love her colors:

My pictures are a little blurry, but will you just look at that fabulous sunshine?? Life is good.

Moving along

I wanted to finish one more project before I went back to stitching. So Monday night I put together this Easter Bird from Heart in Hand that I had stitched in 2006. He's finished as a no-sew pinkeep, and I didn't even make a terrible mess with the glue. Actually, no-sew isn't exactly accurate, because I hand-stitched the front to the back. I think that makes for a nice finish overall. It just lays together better.

So here's the front:
The Side:
And the backThe back fabric is pretty old. It's scrap leftover from an friend's maternity dress, and her son is 23 and married now. We were in a quilting group years ago, and I needed some purples (which were hard to find back in the "earth tone" days), and she gave me about a quarter yard.

The colors are far from accurate, but living in the Land of Dark, Windy Snow Clouds Where There is Little Natural Light doesn't make for nice photographs.

I went to Yoga for the first time in almost a year. Yes - there it is. Almost a year. But there's no use crying over spilled milk, so I'm just glad that I got to go last night and I look forward to this Spring session.

Last night my upper body got tired really quickly. Things that I breezed through easily a year ago were very difficult for me. And today all of the muscles in my arms, upper back and neck are whining. I know that the whining is telling me that I absolutely need to keep going.

I'm getting excited for our anniversary party - I've been working on getting lodging reservations for my family - I can't manage 12 extra people here at the house. I still haven't arranged the caterer yet... I had better get on that or else all they'll get is a giant wedge of cheese and some crackers.

Me and My Sewing Machine

It's all in how you treat it. Cursing and kicking it doesn't help.

Re-reading the directions? Yup. I was being too sloppy about threading it. But I corrected my sloppy ways and then it was smooth sailing.

So after I made the green needleroll, I thought that I should take advantage of the good vibes between me and my machine and I kept going.

On Saturday it went like this:

Here's a kit for a flange pillow that I bought back in December. I had bought it because I loved the fabrics, and I knew it had needlework finishing possibilities. I was really hoping to make a dent in my pile of stitched but unfinished projects.

And then that kind of morphed into this (Feed the Birds by The Needle and I):

But wait, I wasn't done! By Sunday I knew that this (from a really old Vanessa Ann chart) would only take minutes:

Let me tell you, these things were ever-so-happy to see the light of day. Feed the Birds is from 1995. But the little girls? I actually finished that on June 20, 1991. How do I know? It was the day after I had Colleen, and I was in the hospital.

So there it was, Sunday afternoon, and there were still some hours left to the weekend, and I thought I'd squeeze in a couple more finishes. First up is LK's Very Best Dad that I changed to "Son" back in 2005:

It's done in pinkeep style, and my cording is wonky, but John won't care. I skipped the step of actually stitching the front to the back. I only glued the front to the back, and it left too much space along the edges. So the cording didn't lay quite right. I learned that doing the hand stitching is worth the time.

Finally, this little egg had been laying around since 1992.

I'll tell you, it was a really good feeling, having a weekend at home and having all of those things come together so easily. I know that I'll have only a couple more of those weekends. In fact, maybe only one. John comes on on March 15, then it's Easter, then I'm going to Philly the next weekend, and then soccer season begins. So I'll probably be putting everything away again soon.

And I'll probably forget how to thread my machine correctly....again.

7+7=14

I've been tagged again with 7 weird or random things about me! Lucky for you all, I'm a very strange person. Because even though I wrote a list a couple of weeks ago, coming up with seven more wasn't very difficult. So Emily, (the tagger!) here goes.

1. Even though I have to sleep in my underpants, I can't sleep wearing pants. Pajama bottoms, short or long, are off.

2. I love a head massage. In fact, I had a 30 minute head massage/aromatherapy hair-conditioning treatment while we were on our cruise. Heaven? I can't begin to tell you.

3. Don't even try to talk to me until I've had my morning coffee.

4. Although for my jobs I pay everyone else's bills and take care of their financial records, I'm not good with my personal bills. I think I just get burnt out.

5. For some unknown reason, I have way, way too many coffee cups. I get loads of them as gifts or as free souvenirs. I could easily have 50 people over for coffee and still have clean cups in the cupboard. Spoons on the other hand? Never have enough.

6. I love lamps, especially stained glass lamps. They are the only furniture-type things in my house that I remotely care about.

7. For the past few years, I've lost most of my eyelashes and eyebrows. I'll be 50 soon (very, very soon) and I know that my body has changed, but this is grossly unfair.

So, there you have it. If you read this and you haven't been tagged yet, please play along!

Two years isn't so bad...

I received this 6" block in an exchange about 2 years ago. I think it was a Quaker exchange - and my guess it was in March because of the St. Patty's kind of theme. I remember that I was in the now-extinct local Joann Fabrics and I came across the perfect fabric for it. So I bought it, and then promptly I put it away forever and ever.

Well, today was its lucky day. Other than the usual fiddling around with my sewing machine (I really have to get it serviced), this was one of the simplest finishes ever.

I may try another finish today. Or I may decide to just curse at my sewing machine. We'll see how it goes.

2 Hearts

February was Heart month for the Brides Tree SAL, and I finished my heart a couple of days ago. It's a freebie from Tokens and Trifles, (lots of nice free charts available.)

I stitched it in a variegated pink/burgundy DMC, using one strand of floss and one strand of a DMC pink "pearlescent effects" thread. Since it's supposed to be for a Christmas tree, I wanted it to have some glitter, but this combo did't shine the way I had hoped it would. I think two strands of floss with some glittery blending filament would have been better.

It shines a little in real life, but not at all for the camera, despite playing with the lighting and flash and so on. So I'm a little disappointed, but as dear Jennifer pointed out, the glitz can come when I finish it. Glittery cording, adding a glittery button or charm, or something like that should liven it up and then I'll be happier.

This second heart was part of a "blue" exchange in my Yahoo group. The exchange coordinator must have been a mind reader, because this block was totally up my alley as far as designs go. And to make it even better, it was stitched by my camp friend, Julie, so it's even more special to me.



In my first house, I had a blue and white kitchen, and I decorated with lots of plates and tiles, and other blue and white accessories. When we moved to this house, the blue and white scheme just didn't work. (This house uses lots more wood, and I've decorated with reds and greens.) Over the years I've missed my blue and white kitchen, and this heart makes me think of it.

When I retire, my folding, one-level Barbie house kitchen will be blue and white. Since I'll be adding my kitchen onto this, I can make it whatever color I like!

SBQ

I'm still working on my heart for the Brides Tree SAL. It's such a simple design, but the threads are making it a little harder. (I'm using some of that Opalescent thread by DMC,) If I take a proper lunch break, I should be done today, which would be great because then I can take a daylight photo.

Hmm. Finish my ornament or....shovel more freakin' snow??!! Can it be that our cruise was only two weeks ago?

This week's SBQ really spoke to me, so here goes:

What is your cross stitch weakness? (i.e., What do you have to have when you see it, even if you are supposed to be on the Wagon?)

I'd have to say that I've developed three weaknesses. And some of them are YOUR fault, you crazy bloggers out there. But most of it them are my own.

My first weakness is for threads. I love to buy threads, and even if I go to a shop and say to myself that I will buy ONLY this or that leaflet/book/kit, I will always leave with at least a half dozen new threads. I just can't stop. Which is really odd because I remember when I first began blogging, I wrote a post full of righteous indignation about the extra expense designers were putting us through when they used only overdyeds and variegated threads. And now I'm totally hooked. Happily hooked.

My second weakness is for needlework tools. I'd top that list with magnets. Pretty soon all metal household objects will be migrating towards my sewing desk. Is it new? I'll probably buy it. Is it pretty? I'll absolutely buy it. Next on the tools list would be needles. What the heck, if you're going to walk out of the store with six new threads, you might as well buy some new needles, too. And what's the point of the magnets if you don't have needles? You see how the whole thing works?

But when it comes to tools, here's the one I can blame on you all. Scissors. Oh, don't act all innocent and wide-eyed with me. You all post those photos of your finishes and WIP's and of stash hauls and you always sneak a pair of scissors into the picture somehow. You know it kills me. And then I start squirreling away money and saving up because I must have those scissors. Gaudy colors, pewter, gold, stainless steel. New, antique, modern. French, German, Italian. It's more than a weakness. It's an obsession.

And now I had better stop writing about it, or else I'll start raiding Dave's change box. Hm. Where is he keeping that thing these days?

Come on Spring!

Is this bleak or what? No, it's not a black and white photo. It's full color. There just aren't many colors to show.

John spent some time taking pictures over the weekend. That photo captures what this winter has been like. Day after day after day. We haven't even had much snow. I need some green trees and flowers and singing birds!

I think I need to go out and buy a pink and green sweater.

College boy, Cleaning and Cooking

Johnny College came home for the weekend, meaning that on Friday I drove the three hours to Meadville in snow and ice. It wasn't awful, but it was bad enough. Then I drove back with him on Sunday. I was glad to let him drive there, and I only had to drive back, so I wasn't quite so burned out Sunday evening.

Of course, Friday was spent eating out. Then on Saturday I made his favorite meal - Chicken Pot Pie and mashed potatoes. Followed by a fabulous pineapple upside down cake. I love pineapple upside down cake, and I hadn't made it in years.

Here's the funny thing - this child complained constantly about my cooking for all of his high school years. Now that he's in college, he thinks I'm the best cook on earth. And even says "Thank you, that was great." when the meal is over.

Saturday I spent the day at my friend's house, where we cleaned and decluttered even more. I was up and down a ladder all day, mostly washing walls.

Did I mention that she lives in a log cabin? An old log cabin? Now, it's a cool cabin, and I know there are people who love log cabins, but now I know for certain that I will never, ever live in one. Well, unless I can afford a maid to clean weekly and even do heavy cleaning each month. They are a dust-catching, drafty, and labor-intensive monsters. That's in my humble opinion. If you love the style and can deal with the upkeep, more power to ya.

Anyway...I'm sure she'll be glad to be rid of the place. It never suited her well. It's much more the ex-husband's style.

As for me, I think when I'm ready to sell this house, I'm going to look for something like the Barbie house I had back in 1970,


I was pretty whooped each night, but I managed to finish a small block for an exchange with my Yahoo group:That's a Shepherd's Bush freebie from 1993.

Now I need to finish my February Brides Tree Ornament, then I'll back to my little house. Just in case your inquiring mind wanted to know.

7 Weird Things About Me

What, only seven?

I was tagged by CinDC a little while ago, and I'm finally getting around to it. Some of these things will most likely fall under the Too Much Informatio Category, but what the heck. If you're going to do something, you might as well do it right.

1. I absolutely cannot sleep without my underpants.

2. I cannot sleep while wearing a bra.

3. I can't/don't ever sleep during the day, unless I'm deadly sick.

4. I could play cards for hours on end.

5. I'm a pretty adventurous eater, but have never and probably will never eat sushi.

6. I had dismal grades in high school, mediocre college grades, and stellar graduate school grades. It took me a long time to grow up, academically speaking.

7. I didn't learn to drive until I was 22 years old.

So, by now you've either eliminated me from all of your blog feeds, or you're as weird as I am and you're still hanging around.

And if you're still around, please consider yourself tagged if you want to play along!

Moving on:

Did anyone catch the lunar eclipse last night? We were watching at around 9:30 EST, but then the sky clouded over stayed that way. But this morning at 6AM the moon was shining so brightly in my bedroom window, I thought it was daylight and I had overslept big-time.

Thanks guys, for the advice for my divorced and soon to be house-less friend. I know she's aware that any necessary home repair costs will be split when the house is sold, but I'll mention the cleaning fees, too.

Hey, I forgot to mention it, but did you notice the new needle minder on my last post photo? It was my only purchase from the Nashville market. (Well...as of yesterday. I'm still browsing.) But anyway, I absolutely love these needle minders. And a pretty, green, lily of the valley needle minder?? I was putty in their hands.

Later gang.