Can She Bake a Cherry Pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?

Do you remember that old song? Probably not, but it's been playing in my head for the last few hours. (Drowns out "the Voices" anyway!)

Well, she CAN bake a cherry cobbler! She's pretty good at EATING it too, unfortunately.

And she CAN sew a cherry quilt top too--darn talented woman, isn't she? LOL! Hey, I finally used that crazy Blackbird Jubilee fabric in something that doesn't look like a Mexican fiesta! Woo-hoo! I wasn't too sure about this one either until I got the borders on and decided I like it after all. Now I'll "just" need to get it quilted sometime in the foreseeable future.

Hubby just wandered into the bedroom muttering, "That was great cobbler." Success is sweet, eh?!

Friday

This past work week has been a nice one--I wish EVERY week could be Staff Appreciation Week! Today was particularly lovely since our office closed at 1 p.m. and we all went to lunch at one of the nicer restaurants in town. I took a couple photos on the drive to the restaurant.

Can you see that silver guy? In front of the store with "home accessories"? Too bad I didn't have time to stop--he would have made an interesting conversation piece in my living room, don't you think? I wanted to zoom in a bit, but the light turned green so I snapped the picture and stepped on the gas.

A brief glimpse of the state capitol in passing. (No AH-NOLD to be seen though!)

After lunch, I left the restaurant a little after 3:30. By the time I retrieved my car from valet parking and drove across town through Friday work commute traffic, I arrived home at 4:15, which is at least two hours before I normally do--what a nice start to the weekend!

In fact, I managed to finish cleaning house (which I had started in the morning before work), gave our older cat a bath (she kinda had a little, ummm, "accident" and needed a little assistance), got these babies into the ground--

took care of some email correspondence, and took my own bath, all by 7 p.m.! Now my "chores" are done and I'm ready to spend the weekend "playing" in the Sweat Shop. Hey, I even got a jump on my Day of Beauty routine--my legs are shaved smooth as a baby's behind!

I love weekends! I hope you have some fun planned for yours!

"Gods Kar"

I was driving toward home after work tonight and needed to make a little detour to pick up a few things from Target when I noticed this car in front of me.

"Gods Kar." I figured that following God was probably a good thing. I wouldn't want to follow too close, though, and rear end God, so I hung back a little after I got this photo while stopped at a light. It's funny, but I never figured God would have stuffed animals in the back window of his (her?) car, did you?

Had I thought about it before, I would have assumed God drove an American-made car, but I would have guessed Ford. My dad passed away a little over a year ago, and I wondered for a minute if this might be his way of communicating--letting me know that he's keeping an eye on me. But no, it surely would have been a Ford if that had been the case. Still, Buick's American made, right? Then I thought, "Maybe God has a car in every country--and in each country, he has a car that's MADE in that country." That would surely make it much easier than trying to get cars across oceans, mountains, borders, etc. And, I suspect, there's probably a God's Jet or two somewhere as well for those occasions when a car just won't do. I'm pretty sure God wouldn't fly a commercial airline, particularly now that the airlines are having such problems, and I would hate to think of him (her?) flying economy class, squeezing into one of those center seats with no arm or leg room. Not to mention getting patted down at the airport and arriving late everywhere.

Before my thoughts got any deeper, though, it was time for me to turn off into the Target parking lot. God kept going. I bet he (she?) was heading to WalMart.

Hump Day!

It's Wednesday night and I'm feeling a little burned out, ready for a weekend that's still out of reach. I haven't done much of anything since coming home from work today. Can you believe I even stuck frozen dinners in the oven for our evening meal? How lazy can a person be?! I had planned to do a little sewing, but hubby lured me into zoning out in front of the television with promises to watch Ghost Hunters, so that's all I've done. Now I think I'll take a bath and climb into bed with a good book.

And continuing on with the whole lazy mood of the evening--and just so you won't feel like you stopped in to visit for nothing--I'll leave you with a funny story my good friend Eileen sent me today. I hope you get a chuckle!

When someone asks you a dumb question wouldn't you like to respond like this?

Yesterday I was buying a large bag of Purina dog chow for Athena the wonder dog and was about to check out. A woman behind me asked if I had a dog. What did she think I had, an elephant? So since I'm retired with little to do, on impulse, I told her that no, I didn't have a dog, and that I was starting the Purina Diet again. Although I probably shouldn't, because I'd ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms. I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again. (I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled with my story.)

Horrified, the woman asked if I had ended up in intensive care because the dog food poisoned me. I told her no; I stepped off a curb to sniff an Irish Setter's behind and a car hit us both. I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack, he was laughing so hard!

Questions, Questions

The massage today was lovely! I wish I had my own personal massage therapist. Well, I wish I had a lot of things and some of them I'd like more than a massage therapist, but still . . . . If anyone out there in Blogland wants to give me my own personal massage therapist, it would make me very happy and I'd be your best friend forever!

Several of you had questions today and I've had a few more questions from "no reply" bloggers lately, so I thought I'd answer some of them. First of all, yes, I have posted a second self-portrait. This is what happens when you forget to use moisturizer. Ladies, moisturize, moisturize, mosturize!

The Orphan Train book went into the mail today on its way to Caryn along with a list of blog sites of those of you who said you were interested in having the book travel your way eventually. Michelle asked if I had or was going to post a photo of the pieced bag the book travels in. Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo, but you can see it--and read about it--on Finn's blog HERE.

A couple of you mentioned friends and relatives in wheelchairs and someone asked about a pattern or tutorial for the bag I made for my hubby's wheelchair. I really didn't keep notes or take photos when I made mine, but I'm thinking about making one for a friend of my husband whose wife is in a wheelchair. If I do that, I'll remember to get the measurements and take a few photos along the way. It really was pretty easy to make. Before I make another and post directions, though, I'd like to try this bag out and see if there's anything I'd change from a practical standpoint.

Someone awhile back asked how Spike got her name. Spike is a "she" by the way, which makes it even more ludicrous; but that's part of the story. Spike is now about three years old, and she started off being the Wild Child's cat--my daughter got her from a friend's sister whose cat had a kittens. Spike was a tiny little thing and my daughter has a kind of offbeat sense of humor--no idea where she gets it. Everyone--friends and family--closely examined Spike and determined Spike was a boy. So, being a tiny little boy cat, my daughter thought she'd give "him" the name Spike; he could then grow into his ferocious self. She even bought "him" a spiked punk-type collar. A couple weeks later, she took Spike to the vet for a check up and shots, only to learn Spike was--and is--actually a GIRL cat. By then, we didn't want to change her name, so Spike she stayed. She's since been called many other names on occasion, some of which I won't print here, but two I CAN tell you are "Trouble" and "Mischief." When the Wild Child moved to Tahoe, Spike stayed with us and we're happy she did. Although she can be trying at times, she's certainly amusing as well.

Now I have a question for you--and maybe someone has an answer. A friend of mine is looking for a fat quarter bundle of Moda's Prairie Paisley wovens--wovens, not the printed bundles. I checked online and didn't find one. I was thinking this might be something I'd be interested in too. Have any of you seen one?

It's time for me to take a nice, hot bath and go to bed with a good book--it's a rainy spring night and there's really nothing that interests me on TV, so bed and a book sound very attractive. I will, of course, make sure I moisturize after my bath so my skin looks nicer when I get around to my third nude self portrait.

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!

Last Call

It's 11 p.m. on Sunday evening and tomorrow I go back to work. It's feeling a little like last call at a bar--a lot of fun was had but now it's time to pack it in and head home. Sad, isn't it?

I started my last day off with a cup of coffee and a chocolate croissant. In bed. Too bad I had to cook and serve it first rather than actually stay in bed and be served breakfast, but at least I had breakfast in bed. And that reminds me of a sign I saw in Country Sampler magazine: "Bed & Breakfast. Make your own." I NEED that sign!

Lately, the ever-mischevious Spike has seemed bored with pulling all the dish towels out of the drawer. I noticed while I was off work that she really only did that once, and that was yesterday when I found her huddled in the drawer and squished fairly flat with several dish towels scattered on the floor. Today, though she found a new preoccupation.

Yes, that's her, getting into one of my wire drawers of hand dyed fabrics. You probably can't see it very well because she's sitting on them, but she had pulled several fat quarters out before I noticed what she was doing. When I saw her and called her name, she turned to look at me with one fat quarter still stuck on her paw. I'm not sure if her attraction to textiles makes her the perfect quilter's cat or just the opposite.

I was busy playing around with another cat today. Yesterday I went out to the garage and started rummaging around and pulled out a few things that needed a bit of refurbishing. My cat/tray "thing" was one of them. It originally served as a bird feeder and hung outside, but I don't think any birds ever actually fed from it--at least I never saw any. I've always thought it was kind of freakishly strange interesting looking, so I decided to repaint it. I have very little idea what I'll actually DO with it now that it's looking better, but I'd like to use it in the house. Any ideas? Maybe I can find some mice salt and pepper shakers to sit inside the tray and hang it in the kitchen.

I mentioned yesterday that I was getting a little bored out of my mind tired of applique and may need to do some piecing today, so that's what I did. I looked around the Sweat Shop and decided maybe I'd have another go at the Blackbird Jubilee fabric. Being much wiser about this fabric now, THIS TIME I just made a little bit of the quilt I have in mind to see how it looks before I commit a lot of time and fabric to the project. Here's what I've come up with so far--this would be the center of what I have in mind. If I continue on, I'll add two more rounds of blocks so it will be 7 rows by 7 columns. What do you think? Should I keep going? At least it doesn't look like a Mexican fiesta to me!

This week is Staff Appreciation Week at my office. Wednesday is what started out as Secretary's Day years ago--now it's called something else and I can't remember what; something more inclusive and politically correct, I believe. In any event, our office celebrates all week long. In the last couple years, it hasn't been as much of a production as it had been before, but it should be fun, even so. The festivities will culminate on Friday with a lunch out somewhere and the rest of the day off--of course, lunch won't start until 2 p.m. or so and won't get done until 4:30, so "the rest of the day off" isn't what it may seem, but it sure will be a nice way to end a work week, that's for sure! I hope you've enjoyed your weekend and have a lovely week ahead of you too!

Vacation, Day 4 - or - Weekend, Day 1?

I can't decide if I'm still on vacation or whether vacation's over and the weekend's here. Really, though, it doesn't matter as long as I'm still having fun, right? I'm not really looking forward to going back to work on Monday, but I'm not dreading it either--I've had a nice little break.

Another cherry blossom block was completed today. These are time consuming to make! I'm planning to make smaller versions for the setting triangles--probably just one blossom and two leaves, but I'll need eight of those--YIKES! I may need to take a break from the hand work again! My patriotic project is waiting in the wings whenever I need a break--maybe tomorrow.

Oh, but I DID take a little break from all the hand work today to finish making that "bag" that I mentioned yesterday.

I've found that trying to push my husband around flea markets and antique fairs in his wheelchair while holding purchases, trying to keep my purse from slipping off my shoulder, and carrying a latte is a real challenge, so I decided to make a bag to hold purchases at least. The wheelchair is something he's only been using since last summer, so we're still adjusting to the practicalities. Now, if I can only figure out how to fashion a latte/drink holder, I think we'll be in good shape! Maybe something I can hang around my neck?! Then there's the purse problem, but I'll work on that another day. At least this bag seems like it will come in handy.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for visiting!

Vacation, Day 3

I slept in again. Later than yesterday--today I didn't get up until 10 a.m.! But I wasn't nearly as productive today either.

I made another cherry blossom block.

Now I have two--two more to go!

I started another project today, but it's just started and there's nothing to show yet. Maybe tomorrow. (It's a bag, of sorts, not a quilt--I'm not THAT fast!)

See, one of the reasons I didn't get as much done was because my hubby decided to have a poker game here at our house tonight, so I had to beat feet and make a quick getaway or be stuck here, overwhelmed by testosterone all night and pressed into serving beer or something. I thought you gals would enjoy my husband's efforts at entertaining--he boiled up a pot of hot links, opened a bag of buns, opened another bag of chips, and brought out the "good" plates--

Festive, isn't it?

So where did I go when I left? Well, it just so happens that today's the third day of our local quilt shop hop, Quilt Rush, and all the participating shops are open until 9 p.m., so I headed toward the hills to visit Cabin Fever in Auburn, California.

Cabin Fever was a featured shop in the Fall/Winter Quilt Sampler magazine. The owners, Don and Patti Henderson, are friends of ours--Hubby and Don used to work together some time back. They're both lovely people--stop by and say hi if you're ever in the area. Auburn is a darling gold rush era town with lots to see, tons of shops, and some pretty good restaurants.

Cabin Fever has a nice selection of wools and wool projects including wool roving for felting and other needle felting supplies.

They also had some of that crazy Blackbird Jubilee fabric and had made a quilt from the Just Can't Cut it book--which turned out looking as much like a Mexican fiesta as my little project did, but I think theirs is a little cuter! I know you can't see it very well, but it's the one hanging a little to the left of center.

Here are a few other photos I took in the shop.

I love that quilt on the wall and almost bought the pattern. Maybe I will someday, but I have so many other things to do right now, I resisted. What DID I buy, you ask? Here, let me show you--

Just a couple little things. I couldn't resist the cherry pad or the cherry pincushion kit. Do you think they KNEW I'm concentrating on cherries right now? I couldn't resist the red polka dot fabric (it may find its way into my cherry quilt), and that's a needled felted wool flower in that package--it will look most excellent on a purse, I think!

After Cabin Fever, I headed back down the hill to Borders Books and Starbucks. Food for the soul and fuel for the body! After that, I stopped at the grocery store for a few things and headed home. Not long after I arrived home around 10:30, the poker game broke up. When a bunch of guys can't stay up playing poker past 10:30 on a Friday night, you know they're getting old! Me, on the other hand--well, after my latte, I'm ready to go! In fact, I think I hear the Sweat Shop calling to me. Or maybe it's one of those cupcakes. I guess I'd better go check.

Vacation, Day 2

I love my time off work!

I slept in.

I read half a book.

I finished a cherry blossom block--one down, three to go.

I repainted a "thing" that hangs on the wall above my stove--I wanted a brighter red.

I kept myself hydrated. And awake.

I DIDN'T cook dinner!

I put the binding on a quilt. (This is one I made last year when I took a class with Jo Morton, and my dear friend Eileen hand quilted it for me--it's about time I got it bound!)

And I may have eaten a cupcake. Or maybe more than one. Hey, it's VACATION, right?!