Saturday, December 12, 2009

Challenged by Underwear

Okay, I'm just kidding--it just seemed like a really good title following yesterday's post. Maybe we'll save this one for another day though.

And this reminds me of something funny that happened today--depending on one's point of view. Maybe you had to have been there; I was. In fact, I was working on a somewhat involved legal document about 10 minutes before going-home time when my computer decided it didn't have enough memory and shut down the word processing program. I reopened the program and found the document in a back-up file, substantially saved up to the point where it shut down. I needed to save the back-up file as a new document and name it something different from the original document already on the computer. Are you with me so far? Boy Boss was standing at my desk, and I wanted to explain in case he needed to open the document over the weekend. To that end, I started out, "OK, so . . ." and he started laughing. "What?," I asked. "What you said was funny," he replied. "What did I say that was so funny?," I inquired. Needless to say, I was totally confused at this point. "Cheese dip," he explained. "What?," I asked. "You said 'queso.'" And then he giggled and I killed him--because just as he was chuckling about cheese dip, my word processing program shut down for lack of memory a second time. I knew then the weekend had arrived and it was time to go home.

By the way, today I stole Christmas ornaments from two children. Just thought I'd mention it before you hear it from someone else.

We had our annual Christmas gift exchange and holiday staff luncheon today at the office. We each brought a gift based on the theme "peppermints and candy canes." Sound familiar? Yeah, I liked the theme! It meant that whatever I ended up with, I was pretty sure I'd enjoy it!

It was one of those anonymous exchanges where everyone picks a number and takes a turn either picking a gift to open or stealing a gift from someone else. Once a particular gift had been stolen three times, it was "dead" and couldn't be stolen again. My number came up at the end, and a couple of the gifts I would have liked to take home were "dead," so I stole a tin full of candy cane ornaments from Chris, our Pitney Bowes copy guy. I figured they'd look terrific on my kitchen tree because I wanted to add a few more ornaments anyway--so, the perfect thing, right? Well, apparently NOT! Chris is a single dad and had mentioned that his two kids would enjoy putting the ornaments on their tree; when I stole the ornaments from him, a couple gals acted like I'd just kicked a puppy! Chris teased me quite a lot too, but actually he ended up stealing back an earlier gift he was quite happy with anyway. Want to see the ornaments?


And here they are, added to the kitchen tree--


I sure got my fair share of teasing today, didn't I? I was feeling kind of guilty for awhile, but a couple friends told me I shouldn't, so I got over it.

Now, I know sometimes some of you ask me things in the comments, and if I can, I'll write back to you directly. Other times, if more than one person asks about something, I'll decide to write a follow up. And sometimes, if I don't write a follow up quickly, I just totally forget altogether. But this time I DID remember that a couple people asked about the quilt in the Wild Child's former room (aka the Guest Room) the other day, so I thought I'd fill you in.

The pattern is a Thimbleberries pattern called Starlight Pines--here's what the pattern looks like:


Now, here's what I did to change it: First, I made all the elements of the center half sized. In other words, if the stars were 8" blocks, I made them 4" blocks (just an example--I'm not certain that was the right size). After that, I changed the borders a bit. Here's a photo from my daughter's room--you can see enough of the borders, I think, to tell the difference--I used flying geese and more stars and leaves with a couple narrow borders and then I finished it with a wider border:


This was a fun quilt to make, and I like that it makes for a good Christmas quilt but yet can be left up all winter long. I made it the year I went to the Thimbleberries retreat in Minnesota--probably about four or five years ago--and I took the class.

Finally, I wanted to thank you all for your input on the outerwear issue. I think I'm going to look for a wool blend pea coat or a leather jacket. I checked Lands End online, and because they're affiliated with Sears, I stopped at Sears on the way home but didn't find anything I thought was exactly right. On Sunday, I'll be coming home from a friend's house and driving right by the Burlington Coat Factory, so I'll probably try there--I know a couple women who have found coats there recently and have been very happy with the designer brands and quality, so it's worth a stop. I've seen a couple coats online that I like, but I'd rather try them on, feel the fabric, and buy "in person" if I can; but if not, I'll order on line. Wish me luck! I'll let you know what I end up with.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

You were lucky this year with your Christmas exchange. Cute candy cane ornaments.
Yah, a Pea Coat is what I was thinking would be good or a leather one. Good Luck

dianne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Carol said...

Kim, those ornaments are perfect on your tree. Sounds like a really nice party. I hope your computer document was saved before the computer decided to quit. That's a PC for ya. Love your Thimbleberries quilt in your daughters room. You have great decorations.

Pokey said...

As always, Kim, you are a good read! I live in southern CA and find a coat a nuisance, too. But, in the cold days we've been having, I layer on the garments, starting with a good undershirt. Yesterday, I had 4 layers and a scarf, and it worked, mostly. The pea coat sounds like a good idea, though.

Why do the folks play "Dirty Santa" (appropriate name I might add) and then make you feel bad? I hate the game myself, but what do ya do? I usually end up with the least liked gift (ie a sunfaded, purple candle wrapped in dusty cellophane, think they received it last year?) after bringing to the party a homemade something that gets stolen the three times.
This year, I drew number 47 of 55, and my friends said, "Good, now steal something, Pokey, you'll do better than usual if you do!" so, in good dirty game playing I did that, the lady who got to choose something else and was much happier with her second selection, and my table was all smiles for themselves and me.
The lady who drew #1, got to draw last, and stole my tin punched candle set, (so cute, a church and a log cabin), and I received her gift, a 4" by 16" shiny plastic clutch purse.
I'm such a Charlie Brown. But,
the look on my friends faces were comical! Priceless!
So, don't feel bad, let your your tree be happy in all the pepperminty beauty and can be.
O queso? Ha Ha Pokey

Shirley--Knot-y Embroidery Lady said...

Happy Saturday - I can start the day, now that I have had my cup of tea and read your post. It will be interesting to see what coat/jacket, whatever, you come up with. I found a leather one at Weave about 5 years ago and I love it. Classic style. When I was leaving work in the rain last night it kept me warm and dry.

I love the ornaments that you came home with. Perfect for your tree in the kitchen. A girl has to do what a a girl has to do.... Knowing you, you more then made up for Stealing the Kids present!!!!!!!

Hugs

Leah Spencer said...

My quilt guild had a fabric swap at the beginning of this month. My name was drawn towards the end and I lucked out unwrapping a most beautiful batik with gold snowflakes. Thankfully nobody tried to steal it - and if they did, I was going to lay on the guilt THICK. "How can you steal from a PREGNANT woman?!" :D

Desi said...

Those ornaments were certainly worth the black mark on your permanent record. I love that game: we call it Ruthless Santa. I'm such a game player that I go for the funny and don't care much what I come home with. (Although I really liked that Panera card...)

Chris said...

Those ornaments were just what you needed for your kitchen tree. I knew right away that it was a Thimbelberry pattern, but I really like the changes you made. I don't like the look of sawtooth in the original pattern. I love your flying geese and the additional stars. Your quilt is much more interesting. I didn't know you speak Spanish. Did you?
Chris