Casa de Kim

Just had to tell you all the excellent news! My husband went out this morning and got his hair cut! Short. No mullet. No divorce. Well, let me qualify that. No divorce unless he continues to have issues about me collecting dishes!

Yesterday was my husband's birthday, and he had a wonderful day. Me? Not quite so wonderful, but it ended up just fine. I woke up in the middle of the night on Thursday not feeling well and called in sick to work yesterday. After sleeping most of the day and doing a little bit of quilting, we went to Terry and Lisa's house for a barbecue to celebrate my husband's birthday. Kath (my sister-in-law) was there as was my son, his girlfriend, and his best buddy Johnnie.

I know that some of you are facing the prospect of an empty nest with dread--teenagers growing up, going away to college, leaving home for good. Well, I have to say that I think having mostly grown up children is a lot more fun than when they were still in the throws of the growing up part. No longer are you responsible for every little thing they do, although you'll always worry about them, of course. At this point, it's a little like watching a seed you planted grow into a whole, productive, mature plant. In other words, it's a lot of fun--at least that's my experience so far with my son, who is now 26 years old.

The BBQ was something of a potluck. Lisa provided the steaks, pasta salad, garlic bread, and munchies. Kath brought a green salad. We picked up a couple pies from Marie Callender's (yum!). My son's girlfriend brought a Mexican 7 layer dip. And my son brought a Mediterranean salad with fresh mozzarella balls, artichoke hearts, sausage, Calamata olives, and cherry tomatoes all in a balsamic vinagrette dressing. The kid can cook! Yes, I've known that for quite awhile, but it amazes and tickles me each and every time I see evidence of it. That's one of the fun parts I mentioned.

Our evening was relaxing with the most strenuous activities revolving around eating--mostly the part where we moved from the patio to the dining room and back. The weather was wonderful--even slightly chilly by around 11 p.m.--and, for the most part, we sat out on the patio telling stories, joking, and laughing. Eating and drinking. Enjoying the company of close friends and family--perfect!

Today we met my in-laws for lunch at Chili's around mid-afternoon, and I've spent the time before and after quilting. No dinner to cook tonight since we're still full from lunch and have some leftovers if the munchies strike (not to mention the remains of two pies in our refrigerator).

I'm thinking about going out and renting a movie or two and starting another applique block tonight. Remember this project? (Unfortunately, Patty decided to shut down her blog, so you can't click over to see what she had to say about it.) I haven't talked to Patty lately, but both of us have had things going on this spring that derailed our applique project. The only block I've made so far is this one:

Time, I think, to take a break from quilting the "monster" and design another applique block. For this "Americana" themed quilt, I have thoughts of apple pie floating around my head, so we'll see what I come up with.

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend!