Feeling Crafty

Back to the old grindstone today--in other words, the vacation is over and I've gone back to work. I have to say that I could easily get used to getting up every morning whenever I wake, grabbing a cup of coffee, and climbing back into bed to read for an hour or two. It feels so very civilized. Much nicer than an annoying alarm going off in one's ear and having to reach out and slap the snooze alarm silly while still keeping one's eyes shut and trying to hang onto whatever lovely dream was floating through one's head.

I tempered the return to reality with a lunch hour excursion to JoAnn's, so that was a nice little break. And before that, around mid-morning, the office served us breakfast--it was, after all, the first day of Staff Appreciation Week. (By the way, Beth provided the correct name of the occasion as printed on calendars and Hallmark cards throughout the country: Administrative Professionals Day.) Check this out--this is the "schedule" of festivities for the week--each of us received one of these little cards:

Breakfast consisted of coffee, juice, fresh fruit, quiche, and little pastries. The tables were decorated with potted herb plants, and we each got to keep one to take home--I picked a pot of sweet basil. Now all I need is a tomato plant or two, and maybe a small cow so I can make some mozarella cheese. Yum! A friend of mine at the office got a photo or two of the breakfast spread, so maybe I'll be able to post a picture tomorrow. As returns to work go, today wasn't too bad, all in all!

I've been on a bit of a mission lately to use up food in the pantry and freezer, so when I got home from work, I popped a frozen lasagna into the oven and tossed a quick salad--not much work involved there. The only hazard with freezer cooking is my husband's recent reorganization--do you remember when I wrote about that? If not, you can click HERE. So I was a little unsure about the lasagna, but with our rather large dog, Marley, sitting out on the patio, I knew that even if the lasagna wasn't great, it wasn't going to go to waste because Marley always appreciates a warm meal. I did have a back-up meal plan, but the lasagna turned out okay. Anyway, I digress--I'm not sure what even got me onto the dinner topic. Maybe I had a point, but I don't remember what it was. See, going back to work will do that to you--it sucks your brain dry and makes you crazy!

After dinner, and maybe because my brain was sucked dry, I wasn't hearing the Siren song of the Sweat Shop and the quilting projects awaiting within, but I was feeling a little crafty. Remember I mentioned rummaging in the garage for "stuff" this past weekend? Well, another item I found out there was a small metal cage that I had spray painted gold at one time--I don't know why, but I guess it made sense when I did it. I'm just not a real glittery/metallic gal, but maybe it was a Christmas thing. Anyway, I pulled that out and with cherries on the brain (this was the other day, when I still had a brain), I re-spray painted it red. Then today I picked up a couple things at JoAnn's to decorate it with, and here it is--I like the way it turned out. It's starting to get me into the mood for summer! (By the way, those are CHERRIES on the top and inside!)

Tomorrow I'm going to send the orphan train book along on its journey to the next reader, Caryn. The book comes in its own pieced bag with some orphan blocks, a newspaper clipping, and various other things. I thought I'd add to the "package" by making a bookmark--something I was wishing I had when I was reading the book. That was the other crafty thing I did tonight--I made the bookmark. Here it is:

Cute, yes? I did finally touch a bit of fabric tonight--I cut some applique pieces to take with me to work tomorrow for the next cherry blossom block. If I'm not too relaxed after my massage, I'll get started on basting the pieces for the fourth block during my lunch hour. I hope your day is equally as delightful!