Do You Think I'm DEAF or Something?

Saturday was the monthly get together of my stitching friends, and this month we met at Imelda's home. Her formal dining room is at the front of the house, and that's where we spent most of our time, gabbing and stitching.

You know I'm not a morning person, right? That's the hardest part about our monthly get togethers--they usually start in the morning. And it sure is HARD getting up, getting everything together, and getting somewhere by 10 a.m. or so, especially if I've been up late the night before getting everything ready.

For the most part, we all contribute food of some kind. Today Imelda provided morning muffins, the main dish of spaghetti, and a chocolate cake for dessert. The rest of us brought salad, rolls, and appetizers. (Although looking back on the day, I think we forgot to eat one of the appetizers, but maybe I'm wrong. All I know is that I sure didn't leave hungry--which was a very good thing as it turned out because I didn't get any dinner tonight--but more about that in a little while.)

There are usually a few gifts too. We argue about that a little--whether to just bring a hostess gift or what--but I'm not much of a rule follower when I don't want to be, which means I usually bring a little something or other for each of my friends. This time, since Valentine's Day is just around the corner, I brought everyone a mug, a quilted coaster, some white chocolate/sprinkle coated pretzel rods, and some chocolate candy.

The hostess made each of us a Valentine themed pillow case and gave us a deck of playing cards and chocolates. Another friend brought each of us a small pot of tulips. We sure were spoiled, weren't we? And the hostess got even MORE goodies!

What I started to say a couple paragraphs back before I got sidetracked is that true to form, not liking mornings much and being late just about everywhere, I was, of course, late--I arrived around 10:30-ish instead of 10 a.m. Much to my surprise, my fellow stitchers were even later than I was! Imagine ME first to anything!!

Once everyone arrived, we had so much to talk about, it was afternoon before I got all my things set up and started cutting out the next Schnibbles quilt, Sweet Spot. Here's a look at our work place from the stairway--the empty chair was mine and you can just about see charm squares there on the cutting mat. And that's my Starbuck's iced latte--but some of you probably knew that, right?

When the "party" started to break up as evening approached, four of us decided to take a quick trip to the local Goodwill store where we each found a little treasure or two. In fact, as we "speak," Hubby's working on taking apart two wool blazers that I'll have felted and ready to use in a couple days.

Speaking of Hubby, when I left the house this morning, I told him I'd be home around dinner time. So when I pulled onto our street around 6:30, and saw his car wasn't in the driveway, I started to get a little worried and wondered where he was. I was sure that since he hadn't called me at Imelda's house, he would have left me a note or would be home soon.

No note. And he wasn't home within 20 minutes or so. Because Hubby has an alarming tendency to injure himself and because we have two kids who do silly things like break down on the road, I started to wonder whether he'd been injured and gone to the ER or had to help one of the kids with something. I tried calling his cell phone, but after it rang a few times, it went to his voicemail. So after being home for an hour or so, there was still no Hubby, no note, no message, and no cell phone. I was getting worried.

As the first hour was long past and it was much closer to two hours, I really got worried. I had planned an evening of quilting, but I didn't want to leave the living room where I'd been watching and waiting for him. I knew that if I went into the Sweat Shop to sew, I might not even hear the phone if he called. So I continued to sit on the couch, trying to read a book and wondering what else I might do to track him down. I just couldn't imagine where he'd gone. I even checked the patio and garage for blood or other signs of a mishap--nothing.

Finally, around 8:45 p.m., I heard someone outside--Hubby was home. Pulling open the front door, I greeted him with, "Where have you been?!" He was rather puzzled, I think, at my urgency since he had just been to visit his brother and his sister for a few hours and hadn't expected me home until eight or nine p.m.

For a little while, neither of us could figure out where our wires had crossed until I realized that when I said, "I'll be home around dinner time," he thought I said, "I'll be home around eight or nine." I swear this getting old and going deaf thing is going to be the death of him yet. I know my stitching BFFs would help me dig a big hole in the backyard if I asked. At least THEN I'd know where he was!