In the Local News . . . (or Bad News/Good News)

Did you see we stole Lance Armstrong's bike? For the past several weeks, we've heard a lot on the local news about Sacramento hosting the Amgen Tour of California. We were told that hosting the race would bring tourist money into the Sacramento area at a time when businesses could really use a shot in the arm. Then it looked like the weather was going to turn bad--and it did. Still, that didn't seem to keep any of the spectators away from the event. The kicker, though, was learning Sunday that sometime Saturday night, an equipment trailer was broken into and several racing bikes--including the one Lance Armstrong rides in time trials--had been stolen. Way to go Sacramento! Yeah, that was sarcastic. And yeah, I know it wasn't all of us in Sacramento who stole the bike--probably just a couple of us citizens--but gosh darn it! Couldn't it have happened somewhere else?

And have you seen the stories about California's big budget battle? California has something like the ninth largest economy in the world and our governor and law-makers can't agree on a budget, so our state workers are facing lay offs, the state can't pay its bills (or issue tax refunds, for that matter), all state-funded projects are coming to a halt, and huge cuts are being made everywhere. And still they can't agree on a budget.

Because of the budget problems, we're looking at major job losses in our state. That, in turn, means the housing market will likely get worse. It also means taxes and other forms of state revenue will decrease. And the state will be even harder pressed to raise the money to fund the budget--which they can't agree on anyway. Catch-22.

Tonight was the second session of the Hey Ghoul Friend class and one of my gals nearly missed it because she works for the State Senate. Over this past weekend, Saturday and Sunday, by my calculations she put in as many hours of work as I do in a normal week. And after our class? She had to go back to work until 3 a.m. when another member of her staff relieves her. Crazy!

And that bad weather I alluded to earlier? Today was the worst of the rain--more specifically, late afternoon was really nasty. In order to get to quilt class, I had to drive through several flooded intersections. Two of my ladies called and said they couldn't make class because the weather was just too bad.

So I figure it's up to me, now, to dispel all this negativity hovering over my city. How? How about a giveaway? How about two giveaways? How about two giveaways and a freebie? Yep, maybe THAT will bring some good karma to Sacramento!

First up:

A fairly simple applique pattern designed to bring a breath of spring air your way!

Second:

That old favorite, Yellow Brick Road.

Third:

The freebie. Sometime in the next several days--as soon as I can find time to get it all together--I'll post a tutorial on how to make yourself a St. Patrick's Day tabletopper/wallhanging.

So here's what I'd like you to do. Leave a comment if you want to enter either giveaway and tell me which one--the applique pattern or the Yellow Brick Road. (If you want to enter both, you'll need to leave two comments, so I can put each in the correct drawing.) I'll do both drawings late Friday night and announce the winners on Saturday's post. I'll probably include a couple other little goodies to send to the winners. By this weekend, I hope to have directions for the St. Patrick's Day quilt posted.

And if this karma thing works? By next week, Lance will have his bike back, California will pass a budget, and the sun will come out again. And you'll all know who to credit with turning things around, right?!