Quilting, Holidays, Books

A little bit of everything it seems.

I finally figured out what was "wrong" with the design of the quilt I'm working on and - thankfully - have the means to fix the problem.  There's a reason we have stashes, obviously.  <VBG>  One thing I'm going to have to move to the top of my To Do List is to fix my design wall - The table just isn't big enough to lay out the pieces.

I've finally turned on the radio this morning - much to the cat's relief.  The station I'm listening to has been playing holiday music since the day after Thanksgiving.  I admit that this year it has been a pleasure, rather than a pain.

Catching up with the mail, etc., I read a great review of "The Scottish Prisoner" on Outlandish Observations.  I'm in the midst of reading the book myself and admit that I'm making it last as long as possible.  I truly love both Lord John and Jamie Fraser, and having the 2 of them together in this book is a treasure and a pleasure.

Drug out the fruit cake paraphernalia and discovered that the fruit needs to soak in the rum overnight.  Rats!  Guess I'll have to set it up to bake tomorrow when I get home from work. I'm really looking forward to baking this treasure.  It is truly a great fruitcake.

Vacation - such as it is/was - has been wonderful.  I've slept a lot.  Listened to a lot of OTR.  Played with the cat and managed to do a lot of nothing.  I did get the recycling over to the center and I managed to take my coin stash to the bank and deposit it into my account.  Almost $100 in less than a year by simply emptying the coins from my bill fold every Friday after work.

I'm looking at the PBS schedule and planning my viewing for the month.  Looks like a lot of great shows and the opportunity to sign up as a member (or re-sign if you're already a member).  The Most Important Christmas Present I'll buy this year.

May snow a bit tomorrow.  May not.  I know it will be a short week, since once again I have Friday off.

Here's to a Wonderful Week.

December First

aka:  Vacation Day Eve
AkA: Insanity Reigns as we Gather Decorating Stuff and have a Team Field Trip


Re the first line; I'm taking a well deserved vacation day tomorrow.  I have intentions on delivering a truck full of recyclables -- and the center is open only between 6:30 and 8:30 am.  Since this is Company sponsored, I'm taking advantage of the service and looking forward to getting (what seems like) a ton of junk out of my house and truck.  And not going to work afterwards!

Re the second line:  Our team has made plans on how we are decorating our pods/section at work and we needed to gather some materials.  Each of us brought what we had and could possibly use in the creation of our masterpiece, but it was clear we needed a trip to Hobby Lobby to complete the items necessary.

Now, you need to understand that the 4 of us are pretty outrageous and rowdy when we're on our own.  Set us loose in a store and look out!  Garland, card stock, tree ornaments, tree (little one), construction paper, and a few other items I can't recall off hand all made it back to the vehicle...and, yes, we really did try to use someone else's vehicle...I tried to tell the QB that the Ford she was aiming the key controller at wasn't the one we came in.

A stop at Zaxby's and McDonald's on the way back to the office collected lunch and Mint Chocolates.

It is any wonder we were all a bit fried once we carted all the goodies to our corner of the building?

Charlaine Harris Blog - Christmas Preparations has some sensible ideas for preparing for the Holidays.  Including the Wink and Nod.

Here's hoping the rest of the week / end is a great one for you!

Sunday Bits & Pieces

Diana Gabaldon's EW Book Quiz was included in a post from Outlandish Observations today.  I've been a Gabaldon / Outlander fan for years and have read many of Diana's interviews.  This quiz was both funny and surprising.  Check it out!

The new book in the Lord John series, Scottish Prisoner, comes out next week - I can't wait!

Just finished Sue Grafton's latest, V is for Vengeance.  Up to her usual high standards - a Great Read.  It shocked me to discover I've read each and every one of her Alphabet series, in order, at the time of publication.

I'm just not that old!


So, did you survive (a) Thanksgiving and (b) Black Friday? 

I did, thank you for asking.  Thursday was lovely - put a roast in the oven, puttered around the house - much to the cat's pleasure (she likes having me home) pondered what I have left to do for Christmas.  I worked on Friday, but managed to leave early so I could get my hair cut and stop by the market. I even managed to set the DVR to capture the Curious George festival on PBS. 

Last night I finally watched Deathly Hallows Part 2.  I picked the DVD up at the market on Friday, spent Saturday browsing the extras and finally settled back after dinner to watch the film.  Haven't quite processed it all yet.

Still to do:  Decide on the contents of a cookie/baked goods tray.  Make my fruitcake. 

Have a great week!

Getting Ready for Holidays (Slowly)

Oddly enough, I've not quite come to terms with the fact that Thanksgiving is ... next week.

When you consider how much I view calendars each and every day, not to mention all the work processes that require recognition of the actual date... this reluctance to admit that The Holidays are almost upon us is almost silly.

I spent several hours Sunday afternoon cutting fabric for a gift quilt that I am hoping will at least be pieced and ready for quilting by New Year's.  I'd like to say earlier, but don't want to jinx it.  This is my 2nd pass for this gift and I'm a little skittish.

When I was shopping on Saturday, I realized that I will most likely not be visiting some of my regular haunts for the next few weeks as I fully expect them to be over run with shoppers.

Not my favorite thing at all.

This became almost amusing when I discovered the need for a new blade for my rotary cutter on Sunday afternoon.

Now it's not like I don't have a decent handle on my gift giving plans.  Not like I don't have the majority of the things I'll need for my baking and such.  Not like I'm That Far Behind.

Who's kidding who, here?

Fresh Start

It has been quite a while since I had an online presence that wasn't limited to email or the occasional comment.  I took down my web site since it was taking more time than it needed to and I wasn't enjoying it as much as I had in the past.  Now I'm embarking on several new adventures:

The Rookie Quilter is learning the ropes.

The Writer is once again playing with words.

The Reader is looking for, and enjoying many, new books.

I hope you stop by now and again to see what I'm up to and let me know your thoughts.