Days Off

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Typical

You could have easily logged in today and found the post “100 Things I Need to Get Done Today”, but since only ten of them will be considered and maybe two actually finished I figured why bother. 

For example:  yesterday’s project was to replace the blinds on the front window.  First you should know that the ones that were there are original to the house; 20ish years old.  Secondly, there was a roof leak many years ago and I fixed the leak but not the damaged drywall.  Third, its a huge bay window and as much as I hate vertical blinds they are really the only thing I can afford to put there, all other options would be 800-1200 bucks. 

The first hurdle we encountered was as the home store.  Standard blinds go 104″ wide … our window 105 1/4″.  I figured I could live with the gap but D thought we could figure out how to change the geometry of how the side window blinds were hung and cover it up.  We bought blinds for all three windows, knowing we’d have to go back and have everything cut to size once we figured out what that needed to be.  We went home and I ripped down the old blinds and spent a couple of hours repairing / replacing the drywall. 

I spent another hour determining that the blinds we’d purchased weren’t going to work.  Plan B was to return some, special order others and move what I kept to the back sliding glass door.  Sometime around 6pm I returned from the home store and hug the back blinds with little fuss cleaned up my mess and quit.   The front window is now covered with miss matched sheets (one off white, one forest green)…lovely.  They’ll be there at least two weeks why I wait for the customs to arrive.

 Today I’m going to focus on things I believe I can finish; laundry, hemming pants, yard work, housecleaning, and maybe, just maybe a dog video.  Stay tuned.

September 6, 2010 in Days Off, Home Improvement | 3 comments

Burried

You know you’ve fallen behind when even your mom mentions that you haven’t been blogging. Once again I’ve reached the point where I would say “I haven’t had time” but the truth is I haven’t made time. Emma went to work with me all last week and as fun as that is she puts me behind in what I’m supposed to be doing. Add that to being busier than normal and Ive been leaving work as late as 7pm. By the time I get home I’m either rushing around to get dinner together and spend some time with D or flying out the door to do something else – like glass or grocery shopping. None of which is neither here nor there but blogging is pretty low on my ‘things to do’ list.

A quick recap of the week would read work, vet, work, rain, rain, work, vet, rain, rain, work, glass … and you’d be caught up. Emma got a ‘hot spot’ Thursday that progressed from a thick place in her skin to full blown bloody mess in less than eight hours. On the way to work on Friday we stopped at the vet to have it checked on. We ended up with ointment and (to my surprise) having her staples removed because she’d healed so well. Last night we went to DrJ’s to wish his oldest boy bon voyage (he’s off to Italy for his senior year) and despite the crowd and the noise Emma did really well and she played really hard (and laughed at Duncan when he fell in the pool*).   She’s slept all day today but then so have the forty-somethings so you can hardly blame her.  Neither D or I bothered getting dressed today – hee.

Next week will be more of the same, hopefully with less rain and maybe a little more blogging.  What’s new with you?

* The pool is off limits to dogs due to hair in the filter but one of the kids was throwing the ball for Duncan and as Duncan dove for it the ‘the ground dissapeared’.  Our host was in the pool at the time and was not only not upset with us he was quick to help Duncan find the side to get out.  We are so lucky DrJ is a good friend and I hope we do a good job expressing that to him.

August 29, 2010 in Days Off, Everyday | 3 comments

Hush!

I was standing in the kitchen looking a bit lost when D asked, “What’s the matter?”.
I replied, “I can think of 900 things that should be done and only two I’d like to do”.
“What are the two?”
“Sit on the sofa and watch my movie (a Netflix DVD that has been here for three weeks unwatched) and eat something yummy for lunch.”

D’s yummy and my yummy are different, we had nachos made from leftover steak … I was thinking something a bit less mundane. But less mundane meant leaving the house and it seems I had suddenly (and happily) derailed myself from the days chores. It’s 3:15 and I haven’t done a darn thing except a little laundry. Color me happy.

I’m pretending this is Emma’s ‘momma come back to bed face’ and I’m heading back to the sofa. For the record though it’s more “STFU and lemme sleep!” I cant imagine where she picked up such language!

Shut up and let me sleep!

August 22, 2010 in Days Off | 4 comments

Ahhhh…

Whelp, I’ve done nothing but while away the day.  I must be doing it right.  My original thought for the weekend was a big clean.  I’ve been putting it off or doing a half-assed job of it for some time so its well past time it was done.  D spoiled all of that by noting that it had been quite a few Saturday’s since we’d both been home with no where to be and then suggesting that we walk around down town and visit a few antique stores.  Which turned into gallery hopping, a  little lunch at a sidewalk cafe and a quick visit to the hardware store and home by 2 to release the hounds.  D had a nap and I caught up on my Scrabble turns. 

I should probably feel guilty but instead I think I’ll just get back at it.  What are you up to this weekend?

I should probably feel guilty, but instead I think I’ll just get back at it.

July 17, 2010 in Days Off, Everyday | 5 comments

Good People

Thursday of last week I got the call that the quilter was done with the quilt.  I owe Renee of Susie Q’s Quilts a great big thanks for rushing it through for me (and not charging me the rush fee).  She was also kind enough to hang fliers about the fundraising events.  She’s good people. 

Over my rainy 4th I bound the edges and washed and dried it to bumpy, snugly, goodness and then I set out to photograph it.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to photograph a quilt?  I tried the obvious; on the bed, but there isn’t enough light in the bedroom (besides, its ugly in there).  I tried the fence in the back yard.

quilt4

Kinda boring. By the way, my mom suggested the dark green for the back and border. Spot on I’d say.

quilt5

I don’t have a cool old barn to hang it from, or a clothes line. I don’t even have an interesting piece of furniture to drape it over. I tried a chair; it looked like a quilted Halloween ghost. And then I remembered the old sewing machine D brought home one year from a second hand store. The sewing machine that exists as a bedside table in the too dark bedroom.

“Hey honey. How heavy is the old sewing machine?”
“Fifty pounds, give or take. Why?”

And when I explained he simply said “That’s easy” and hauled that bad boy out to yard and brought it back in sixty seconds before the sky opened up. He’s also good people.

quilt3

quilt2

quilt1

 That last photo is my favorite; I forget how pretty that old machine is (its normally folded up in the cabinet) and for the record the next to last is the closest to the actual colors of the quilt.  I’m happy to say that I’ve already collected over $100 in raffle* tickets ($5 each).  You guys are good people too.  Much thanks!

*For those that don’t know I’ve donated this quilt to my step brother, David, who is raising money to help offset the expense of a kidney transplant.  Here’s his site.  He really doesn’t approve of all the drama but the NFT writes the bio’s and it is their job to pull heartstrings to raise money.  The organization has an interesting way of doing things.  They set a goal for the patient (25k in Dave’s case).  If the patient exceeds the goal they give the extra to others in need and if they don’t reach it they fill in the gap.  Good people all around.

July 6, 2010 in Days Off, Photos, Sewing | 2 comments

Lost

After much procrastination the April quilt is finally finished. I stayed up late last night finishing up the border and this morning I pieced the back. This afternoon, after torch, I delivered it to the quilter, aka the fabric store. I bought nothing (other than the quilting service) but I did pet quite a few fabrics, this line more than once. I adore all the color ways and patterns, but brown is my favorite. I just kept asking myself ‘what are you going to do with it’ and since I didn’t have a good, immediate answer I left it alone. Maybe I can come up with a good answer by the time I go pick up the quilt.

By finishing up I boughtmyself back the weekend and now I have no idea what to do with myself. My work room is chest high in stuff (I emptied part of the closed when my mom visited and haven’t put any of it back) so I could clean. I’m enthused to start the next quilt … I could just shove everything aside. I could clear out a spot in the garage and torch until I sweat to death (it would take about four minutes). I can think of a couple of movies I’d like to watch but D is watching the good TV. I’ve a notion to cook something fabulous but not a notion to go to the store. I’m just a little lost. Suggestions?

June 26, 2010 in Days Off | 2 comments

100 Wild Women Weekend Things

I got home last night to find all the toilet paper backwards on the rolls and the house looking like a bomb went off.  Ok, to be fair it looked that way before I left but I had nothing to do with the toilet paper.  The original plan was to noodle my way back over Sunday and Monday but I got away earlier than intended so I just booked it home thinking I’d spend today kicked back in my jammies.  About ten minutes after I got home that plan went up in smoke when D informed me he’d invited people over to dinner on Wednesday…argh!  They are ex-roommates of D’s (one I’ve never met and one I know well enough to know that clean isn’t a huge concern of hers) and though it’s becoming less of a concern of mine I just can let people in the house with it looking like this (heck I could panic and go out and pull weeds!).  So, while I go about setting this joint right here’s 100 things from our weekend in Atlanta.  Enjoy!

  1. The drive to Atlanta isnt a bad one (9-10 hours).
  2. I miss red clay but not kudzu.
  3. A chicken salad sandwich might be in the top ten of stupid things to order when you are planning to eat and drive.
  4. My secret super hero talent is packing.
  5. There are many thing to look at on the drive to Atlanta, the most common is billboards of those the most entertaining was “STRIPPERS … As seen on Jerry Springer”.  Shudder, just shudder!
  6. I wish we had this fast food restaurant in our area, Zaxby’s, it’s yum.
  7. A chicken salad sandwich might be in the top ten of stupid things to order when you are planning to eat and drive.
  8. I took exactly ZERO photo’s this weekend.  In part because I kept forgetting my camera back in the hotel room, in part because who wants photo’s of malls, and in part because there were photo rules.  You will take no photos that show my profile, make me look old, or fat.  It just seemed dangerous to even try – heh.
  9. Luckily friends took a few; watch for them here, here and here.
  10. This knitting shop was snooty; they even had a sign on the wall giving their rates for answering questions.
  11. Strings and Strands Knitting Shop had a really nice cat and a really craptacular web site (that’s why no link)
  12. Cast On Cottage, in Roswell (another knitting shop) was super cute and even the non-knitter (me) was impressed with how many pretty things they had.
  13. Other billboards on the way shouted bible verses (all caps) and were evidently placed there to combat the zillions of stripper billboards.  The final one in the verse series said “Bible Sale”.  I don’t know about you but that seems kinda wrong to put a sale price on a bible.  Mind the lightening bolts, y’all!
  14. Laurie gets a wee bit squeewhen she sees a celebrity, she also gets a little giggly and breathy and must be forced to approach the person even though she’s dying too.  Case in point, that’s Kevin Gillespie from Top Chef. GillespieGirls
  15. Laurie saw him on our way out of Ria’s Blue Bird Cafe (caution: site plays music).  It’s amazing she could see anything for the syrup induced sugar coma…for a tiny little thing she can put away the food.  Pancakes with caramelized bananas, a bowl of grits, and egg and bacon (crispy!).  At least two of the rest of us hate her just a little for being able to eat like that.
  16. The photo was taken by his companion who was both understanding and gracious about the whole interruption of their morning.  Much thanks to her!
  17. I’ve always heard that pine trees explode when they are hit by lightening.  It boils the sap.  I’d never seen one until my trip home.  It was blasted to splinters … creepy and cool all at once.
  18. There are a lot of Thai restaurants in Atlanta (and on the way there) and they like to name themselves after the ingredients they use:  Tamarind, Lemongrass, Basil and Mint cafes were all spotted.
  19. Many of the billboards on I-75 are geared toward the truckers (strippers, adult toy stores, etc).  I suspect the Lucky Spa signs were also directed their way.
  20. Friends make uber cute things and then they give them to you.  Thanks Rox!Leona & a Friend
  21. Sometimes its good to visit old demons.  I saw people at the Farmer’s Market where I worked that I recognized and chatted with them.  Among them the owner who quite frankly scares the bejeebus out of me (which is why I never name it or post a link to it here).  This time around I felt like I was in-charge.  He’s still loony as a goose but I don’t think he scares me as much any more.
  22. I75 is under construction from the Georgia state line all the way to Atlanta.  Well it seemed like that to me.
  23. Laurie got a henna tattoo on her middle finger … now she can flip you off in style (at least until it wears off).
  24. The weather could not have been nicer!  It was warm but no one melted and we were able to enjoy a couple of meals al fresco.
  25. We went to a glass shop in Roswell, GA and I bought my first  bead made by a known glass artist.  Angry fish!  I shall love him and squeeze him and call him George.   angry fish1
    angry fish2
  26. Ok, maybe not George, but is he not hysterical!?!    The artist is Maureen Buckley McRorie and she wont Frabel Novice Award for her piece “The Reef“.  My little angry fish is a left-over that wouldn’t fit on a piece similar to the award winner called Around the Reef.  Cool, right?
  27. My favorite part of the glass shop (besides showing my friends what I do) was a case on the wall filled with beads by artists I recognize.  It was cool to see their glass in person.
  28. When you nearly run a red-light your passengers get a little excited.  They also claim to have ‘peed a little’
  29. Those same passengers will also get excited and praise your lightening quick reflexes when you narrowly avoid allowing a car to park in their laps.  Also, they ‘pee a little’.
  30. GPS’s rawk!  But they are bossy and not infallible.
  31. We came we saw we shopped!  We visited Lenox mall, Joe Traders, several knitting stores, a farmer’s market, the glass shop and several other places.  Most of what I brought home was food; artichoke pesto, good olive oil, lace cookies, spices, balsamic vinegar … mmmmm.
  32. Kim’s dog wont go out for anyone but her; I still haven’t heard if she came home to an exploded dog.
  33. Duncan may have the same problem; he woke me up three times to go out last night.
  34. He’s napping at my feet and yipping in his sleep right now.
  35. Laurie has a bra with words all over it.
  36. She showed it to us.
  37. Totally should have had my camera out.
  38. Hey, a cheap thrill is a cheap thrill.
  39. Its possible to take the wrong exit so many times that if your GPS drew the route for you it’d look like the white frosting squiggle on a Hostess Cupcake.
  40. Roxanne likes to drive and hates to be a passenger. 
  41. Laurie’s Starbucks order is 14 words long.
  42. The barista at Lenox mall got it right the first time, with no repeating.
  43. Laurie and I are foodies.  We love a good grocery or kitchen shop.
  44. Kim and Rox were very patient with us.
  45. The other girls are very attached to their phones.  They tweeted and posted statuses throughout the trip.
  46. I got busted saying “That’s all jacked up”.
  47. I stopped myself from adding “all up in here” … whew!
  48. I have a crappy phone; I almost never text … it takes too long.
  49. I hijacked Laurie’s phone so I could play Plants vs Zombies.
  50. I now want an iPod Touch … and its all Laurie’s fault.
  51. This morning I purchased Plants vs. Zombies for my computer.  Also Laurie’s fault.
  52. Cleaning isnt happening all that quickly.
  53. Roswell and Decatur have super cute downtown areas.
  54. We all like stationary shops and we visited several.
  55. I watched no TV all weekend and only checked my email twice but I’ve spent all of this morning at the computer.
  56. I had 6o some emails when I checked on Sunday.  None from anyone I cared about, the only people that email me were a room or two away.
  57. I am an early riser (6am ish), Rox and Laurie are more middle (7-8am) and given the chance I think Kim could sleep all day!
  58. Poor Kim, we were not well matched as roommates.
  59. Laurie wore a Life is Good shirt everyday.  She helps pay their rent.
  60. I’m thinking her  Christmas and Birthday gifts will be much easier to shop.
  61. Atlanta has some very cool graffiti.
  62. The girls have come to realize that I will say anything to anyone.
  63. Knitters will knit practically anywhere, but they most enjoyed knitting in their PJ’s in the hotel room.  It was fun to sit and watch.
  64. We saw a $40,000 watch in a window display.  Who buys a $40k watch (don’t say someone with 40k)?
  65. I went to school in downtown Atlanta, Kim’s daughter will be going to the same school soon.
  66. Roxanne really missed her fur kids.
  67. Kim really missed her real kids.
  68. Laurie didn’t miss Starbucks.
  69. We had cake at Cafe Intermezzo.  On the patio beneath a fan that was blowing like a hurricane.  My hair may still have a part up the back.
  70. Our dinner’s out were plagued by hurricane fans and mystery drips but we enjoyed them anyway.
  71. Sometimes taxi’s look like cop cars; just ask Laurie.
  72. Rox likes rhinestones.
  73. Kim is not keen on heights.
  74. I did not forget my toothbrush this time.
  75. This is not my best side. Not my best side. Gee, thanks Kim.  I guess I should have listed a few photo rules of my own. 
  76. Roxanne and I pack lots of underwear.  LOTS
  77. I pack a lot of socks too.
  78. Every waitress that waited on us during our visit was crazy cute.  Sickening really.
  79. The farmer’s market was a zoo on a Saturday… I forgot how crazy it was on the weekends.
  80. There’s still no cleaning going on; its now noon.
  81. Laurie returned home to find her hubby had enlisted the help of a friend to whip the garden in shape.
  82. Numbers 80 to 100 are always the worst.  Are ya still with me?
  83. There was a place on the interstate that I remembered seeing the ‘nekkid jogger’ several days a week when I lived near Atlanta.  He wore striped knee socks and jogging shoes but nothing else.  The morning rush hour traffic report wasn’t complete without a nekkid jogger sighting.
  84. I ate my leftover cake from Cafe Intermezzo for breakfast this morning.  Hey, we were out of PopTarts.
  85. My suitcase is half unpacked and the dark laundry is done … waiting to be folded.
  86. D said Duncan went to the window every night about 6 to look for me.
  87. Duncan was so excited when I got home that he wiggled and jumped and whined and ran to D.  Fickle pup!
  88. The morning I left I got on the interstate going north instead of south.  A perfect ending to a series of wrong turns I took even with the GPS.
  89. We drove a lot.  The girls were very patient with my mistakes.  Thanks ladies.
  90. My torch will be here this week.  That has nothing to do with our trip, but still…wooohoooo!
  91. I’ve no idea what I’ll cook for dinner Wednesday.  (Can you tell I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel?)
  92. I wish I’d bought the angler fish at Flame Tree.  Hindsight, ya know.
  93. It rained so hard on my way back from Atlanta that I don’t have to wash my car now that I’m home.  The rain knocked all the love bugs off.
  94. My bladder shrinks to the size of a walnut when I get in the car.
  95. I have renamed the rest stop signs “Blue Signs of Happiness”
  96. On our first night in the hotel there was a huge herd of blue hairs … on our last it was a herd of kids from a school in India.  The old people were flipped out over “I don’t see my bag!” as the bus was being loaded.  The kids were all on cell phones.
  97. There was a little yappy dog in the hotel the night we checked in.   Thankfully we only heard him that night and not when we were trying to sleep.
  98. Not everyone appreciates a hot Krispy Kream donut.  The. Horror.
  99. I cant wait to do this again.
  100. There’s no place like home.

June 7, 2010 in 100 Things, Days Off | 7 comments

Here Kitty, Kitty

It’s early, and I’m vertical…barely.  I promised you a glass photo (actually I promised several but I’m pretending you didn’t hear that).  This is what happens when someone asks me “Can you do something with cats?’  I kinda dig ‘em.

Cat Lentil Beads

And with that I’m heading north! I’ll see you next week!

June 3, 2010 in Beadmaking, Days Off | 2 comments

Cleaning and A Solution

So far the high-lite of the weekend has been going to torch yesterday, the rest of it has involved the scrubbing, waxing, or laundering of something. Today should be pretty much the same. Detail the car interior, clean the kitchen (which looks like we had a three day party), more laundry; the list is ridiculously long. Fantasy land even, but that’s not all that new.

Also on today’s list is to hit a fabric store to pick up backing fabric for April’s quilt. I mentioned sometime back that I’d come up with a plan for it but I never did share it with you. My oldest step-brother* has had kidney problems since he was a baby. Several years ago he had a transplant and clearly felt better than he had in his entire life. A few years after that his body rejected it and he’s been on dialysis ever since. Now he’s been accepted to a program at a hospital four hours from here that gets him back on the transplant list. There are preliminary treatments involved that require him to stay in the area about a month. Obviously insurance doesn’t cover rent or his wife’s lost wages so they have organized several fund raisers to help with those expenses one of which will be a series of raffles. I’ve decided to donate April’s quilt to the raffle. I’d hoped to offer raffle tickets here, on FB and FF but they are taking a $10 door charge at the location plus the ticket’s cost so I don’t know how that would work.

I think its a great solution to the ‘what to do with a quilt I’m not all that attached to’ question. I’ve no idea what its earning potential would be, that would depend on the crowd but it seems like it should be a good way to help out.

Ah well, it’s after 7am, the truck is waiting…scrub, scrub, scrub. Enjoy your day.

*Yes, I have ‘steps’ but they were already adults with families of their own (or nearly so) when my dad and their mom married. I see them a few times a year and think they are nice people, but I don’t really know them well which is why you might never have heard of them.

May 30, 2010 in Days Off | Comments closed

Homework

Mom and Louie hit the road this morning.  I should probably be cleaning and doing laundry but instead I’ve planted myself in front of the computer and am doing a little homework.  A few bucks to upgrade the program, and a few hours and I’ve finally pieced together a video of Dog Beach.  You’ll have to imagine it with The Beach Boys “Surfin’ USA” as that’s how I originally intended it but YouTube had other ideas. 

 On Friday mom and I visited a little town called Boca Grande; its possible you’ve heard of it, George Bush occasionally vacationed there.  The town is very dog friendly and both of our heathen children went into many of the shops with us.  I’m happy to report that they both did an excellent job, even wild child Duncan.  They were even patient enough to do some posing.

Mom and the 'kids'

Louie & Duncan

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that their being hot and tired worked greatly to our advantage.  We even had lunch (fried grouper sandwiches) on a shady patio and both pups napped happily on the cool concrete.  Louie knows how to sit and shake hands when introduced to people, Duncan sorta just wiggles all over.  So, just imagine how proud a mama I was when an older lady with a cane offered him her hand (after meeting Louie) and asked if he knew how to shake and he did.  His poor mama’s heart near busted.  I’m sure he misses Louie already, he’s just too busy napping (as is D) to notice it right now.

And now I’m off to find just the right font, becasue I finally found just the right name for lampworking.  More details soon.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

May 23, 2010 in Days Off, Photos | 2 comments

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