Friday Night Fun

It's Friday night and I'm sitting in the "office" in front of the computer while a bunch of old guys are sitting on my patio, playing poker. (Well, actually there are FOUR old guys and ONE young guy, but the young guy came with one of the old guys, and I think he's just letting the old guy think they're buddies because he might marry his daughter some day.)

I don't help Hubby with his poker parties: I don't fix the food; I don't serve the food; and I don't even shop for food. In fact, most of the time, I go out with my friends, but tonight my gal pals are busy. Lisa's in SoCal doing something for work and I think my sister-in-law, Kathy, is playing bunko. So it's just me with some old guys drinking beer. (No, I'M not drinking the beer, but maybe I should be!)

I tried to delay coming home from work. First I stopped and wandered around Goodwill until they were getting ready to close. I found a couple cool things. Besides two more books on tape, I brought home an oval embroidery hoop,

a splatter blue trivet,

and some silver plated serving utensils.

They obviously need some polishing, but the shapes and decorations interested me. I don't know if I'll use them for the purpose they were intended for or incorporate them into some altered art projects, but I'm sure they'll be fun.

See that short little spoon? You probably can't really tell it's short because the photo cuts off where the handle ends. Anyway, it reminds me of the time I'd gotten a couple teeny, tiny silver spoons along with something I purchased on eBay--much, much smaller than this spoon. I used them at Thanksgiving as a joke to serve jam, and my son's friend, Jim, tried for the longest time to spoon jam onto his croissant using a spoon no larger than your little fingernail. Ah, memories!

After Goodwill, I did some grocery shopping. I finally got home around 9 p.m., and by that time, the poker game was in full swing.

Want to see the old-guy poker game on the patio? Here's the food table.

Notice the fine ice tub there on the left? It's holding beer, hot links, and potato salad. What more could a man ask for? More beer, maybe? Well, that's there too! I also see a glass canister of oatmeal cookies--those'll keep them "regular"! Unfortunately, though, I see my "good" vintage glass salt and pepper shakers. Someone will have to pay for that transgression, and here I have photographic proof! At this point, I don't think any of these guys will notice if I sneak out there and bring them in before someone knocks them down and breaks them on the brick patio, do you?

When I came out with the camera, Hubby said, "Uh oh, I think we're going to be on the blog!," and a couple of the guys ducked under the tablecloth. (By the way, where did Hubby get that tablecloth, anyway? I'm sure it's not one of my "good" ones because I doubt he knows where I keep them, but still . . . .) I told them all to relax; that I would only photograph the table, and no identities would be disclosed. My brother-in-law said, "I don't care! You can plaster photos of me all over the Internet if you want!" (I think maybe he's looking for a wife. Well, maybe not a real wife--just a temporary, one-night wife, if you know what I mean!)

See the large sums of cash being played? These guys are nothing but high stakes gamblers! What really makes me laugh is the cardboard nut cannister with the writing on the top that says, "Don't Eat Dad's Poker." That's our friend Terry's quarter stash. How hungry would you have to be to accidentally eat quarters but for the warning on the top?! And the Budweiser playing cards? Well, what can I say except that knowing these guys, the cards were probably given away free with each case of beer purchased.

Well, I gotta go snag those salt and pepper shakers and put them safely away. The fun never ends here, I'm tellin' ya! Thanks for stopping in for a visit!

Because I'm Feeling Fairly Lazy . . .

There are nights lately when I haven't been sleeping especially well. Sometimes I can't get to sleep, but more often than not, it's just that I keep waking up and don't get into that deep, refreshing sleep. I think it's probably menopause. So every now and then, I try to get to bed early with a good book and a bottle of Tylenol PM. I think tonight's one of those nights.

And the other thing? Sometimes when I'm feeling lazy and not all into writing an entertaining blog post, and I don't have anything I've made to show you, I'll have a giveaway. That way, you won't feel like you wasted a mouse click to get here. But not tonight. Tonight I'm going to give you something that's easier for me and better for you--blog giveaway INFORMATION. Information on oodles and oodles of giveaways!

Yes, some of you may already know about this, and I apologize for needlessly making you click that mouse button--and, of course, I always appreciate your visit!--but for those of you who don't know, this is a real BONANZA! Sew, Mama, Sew has organized about a gazillion blogs into doing giveaways with most drawings on the 31st. She's even categorized the giveaway blogs into three different "types" and noted whether the blogger will ship internationally or not. All you have to do is click on the links, read what each blogger is offering, and enter or not, as you like.

But, before you click away from here, since I'm thinking about giveaways and all, I wanted to let you know--especially the three winners of the Fireworks! pattern--that I most definitely plan to have the pattern published this weekend and up for sale on my Etsy site before the weekend ends. By Monday, I'll get the patterns in the mail to my winners. Oh, and if you're not interested in making a Fourth of July quilt but think you might like the way the pattern looks? Stay tuned because I'm going to make my class sample using Halloween fabric.

So anyway, enough about me--I know you're anxious to click over to some potential prize winnings and, along the way, expand your blog reading list. So go ahead--click HERE!

Sometimes My Husband Drives Me Nuts

Is it him? Or is it just me? Sometimes I wonder.

Tonight I came home from quilt class at around 8:30 p.m. It was a HOT day out, in the high 90s. At home, the air conditioning was on, but the aimed-for temperature setting was much lower than the actual temperature reading. Why? Because Hubby forgot to turn the air conditioner on until 5:30 p.m., and by then it was so hot in the house, it was nearly impossible to cool it down. ARGH! Of course, the warmer temperature really doesn't bother him much, but maybe that's because we don't always enjoy the same leisure time activities. For instance, I DON'T SIT IN MY RECLINER ALL EVENING LONG, WITH THE MOST STRENUOUS ACTIVITY OCCURRING WHEN I PUSH THE FREAKIN CHANNEL CHANGER ON THE REMOTE!!!!

So, is it me? Is it PMS, maybe? Or menopause?

On our weekend trip, I knew I was in trouble when I got back in the car after running into Starbucks for a couple iced lattes, and Hubby said, "Boy, my back was really hurting, but now I've adjusted everything and it feels much better." What that REALLY meant is that because he was driving MY car, it will probably take me months before I can readjust everything to suit me. You see, for one thing, Hubby is about two feet taller than me. (No, not quite--more like 10"--but it SEEMS like two feet!)

Tuesday morning I got into my car to drive to work. By then, I'd forgotten all about Hubby's "adjustments," but it didn't take long before I remembered. First of all, I found myself reclining like a low rider, with my nose level with the bottom of the windshield. My legs were raised because the front of the seat was tilted up and pressing into the backs of my knees, cutting off circulation, and my feet barely reached the floor. When I tried to grab the door handle to shut the door, I couldn't reach it without unlatching my seat belt. The shoulder harness was keeping my chin nicely strapped to the head rest. And the steering wheel? Well, I'm not sure. It didn't exactly feel right, but when I tried to find the tilt adjustment, I ended up turning on the windshield wipers and spraying window cleaner fluid all over the windshield. After our long trip, all that did was smear up the windshield so I could barely see out of it--once I figured out how to fix the seat so I could see over the steering wheel. But at least the blurred windshield distracted me from the other "adjustments." Oh! The rearview and side mirrors? Freakishly, they needed no adjusting whatsoever. Weird, huh?

On the bright side, the radio station I listen to went off the air last Friday, so the only thing I've been listening to on my drives to and from work is the hum of the air conditioner--at least I didn't have to try to find "my" station after Hubby played around with the radio all weekend. And you know what's funny about not listening to the radio while driving? When you swear at other drivers, it seems MUCH louder!

Maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm just bad tempered.

By the way, Hubby's having a bunch of his friends over Friday night to play poker. I'll be here. You may want to pray for his safety. Or you may want to send me the name of a good criminal attorney.

Tis the Season to Kill Spiders, Fa La La La La,

La La La La!

I DO NOT like spiders, and spring brings out the monsters. Do spiders do anything good for us? I know they eat other pests, but really--I don't mind those other pests nearly as much as I mind the spiders!

Today at work I kept feeling something on the back of my neck. Because I wear my hair up, there are always little wisps of hair tickling me, and I worry. Today was a false alarm, but you never know!

Last week, I stopped to chat about quilting with a friend at work, and I felt something tickle the back of my neck. I figured it must be a slight breeze blowing the wisps of hair, but I brushed at the back of my neck anyway. Nothing there. Then I thought I felt something around the neckline of my shirt in the front. Again I brushed at myself, and a spider jumped onto my friend's desk! Ick! My kind and gentle friend scooped up the spider on a piece of paper, conveyed it to the floor, and stepped on it. Yay! My hero!

If that wasn't enough to give me the heebiegeebies, I learned that just a bit earlier that day, the same friend had rescued Girl Boss 2 when a spider JUMPED on her. Double ick!

The central area of our office has a high, high ceiling and is quite cavernous. Not even the best janitorial service can clean away the spider webs that accumulate up near the top. Huge! In order to maintain my sanity, I try not to look up. I don't want to know.

The worst spiders, though, are the furry black ones. They're in my garden, plotting to take over our home. Since they usually make their appearance in spring and summer, presumably they love the heat. Why, then, do they try so hard to get into an air conditioned house?

A couple weeks ago, on a hot afternoon, I was taking the garbage out when I noticed one of these guys on the sliding glass door, looking in. The really creepy thing? This particular variety of spider is waaaay intelligent! They watch us and calculate. Swear to God!

So, thinking that I might scare it away, I tapped on the glass. No deal. It sat there, still as could be, looking in at me. Slowly I slid the door open, thinking that if I moved slowly, I could get out of the house and close the door again before it got in. Good plan, I thought. Once I got through the door, I closed it quickly and turned to see what the spider was doing. Gone! Good!

Coming back from the garbage, I saw him again. He was INSIDE THE HOUSE on the sliding glass door! Okay, that's it! War had been declared! I opened the door, went inside, and grabbed a can of bug spray. Of course, because these darn things are intelligent, by the time I got back to the door, it was gone. Still, I figured if I sprayed everywhere within 5 feet of the door, I was bound to get him, right? Half a can of bug spray later, I thought that wherever he was, he wasn't feeling too good. I went to empty some more waste baskets.

Back at the door again, I looked around. Still no spider. Another trip to the garbage and back in the house with the door safely shut behind me, I turned to look around again. NOW the spider was OUTSIDE! Looking kind of curled up and ill, but outside! Houdini had nothing on these bugs! And, of course, when I looked a little later, he was gone. Probably recovered from the bug spray and building up immunity to the toxins, no doubt!

I've heard there are people out there who don't believe in killing; people who will gently escort a stray pest back outside and set it free. Really? I don't think they've ever dealt with the same spiders we have. These are NOT Buddist spiders!

I don't know what they are. I've heard people call them Wolf Spiders, but I've looked at Wolf Spiders on the internet and these aren't them. I've also checked BIG black hairy icky California spiders on the internet and these look a little like the ones I've battled wits with.

I think they called them California trap door spiders. Seriously, I can't look at spider pictures long enough to figure it out, because just looking gives me the creeps. Mini black tarantulas is what they look like except they're faster and smarter. All I can say is thank goodness they aren't so large that I can't kill them. Because although they might be smarter than me, I'm still bigger!

Memorial Day Weekend--The Sequel

Our Memorial Day barbecue turned into a Memorial Day bake when the propane ran out about a minute after I put the chicken on the grill today. Still, our baked "barbecued" chicken, corn on the cob, salad, and garlic bread turned out pretty good, even if it DID take longer to cook than I'd originally planned. And coffee ice cream sundaes made a wonderful end to the day! Summer's nearly here and it's time to start enjoying the longer days, fresher and more abundant foods, and nicer weather.

All in all, I spent a reasonably lazy day, and I had a nice little nap in the afternoon. The morning was spent cleaning up and organizing the Sweat Shop again--it always amazes me how disorganized that room can get after only a week or two--and I generally try to pick up after myself as I go! I think my big downfall is bringing in new purchases that aren't put away and generally accumulating "stuff" that doesn't really belong in the Sweat Shop to begin with.

When Gran and I went on our little road trip a couple weeks ago, I found the cutest little "travel bag" sample in one of the quilt shops, but they didn't have the pattern in yet, so I searched online and ordered it. THAT pattern, along with some of my road trip purchases, were among the "stuff" that had covered the surfaces in the Sweat Shop since the last cleaning, so I thought I'd try making the smaller of the two "travel bags" tonight. Here's a photo of the pattern and the outside of the little "bag" I made.

This smaller bag will hold a 6" x 8" cutting mat and a few quilt class supplies, although I don't think that's what I'll use mine for. I think it might make a better holder for embroidery supplies--something to toss in my tote to have on hand for a little stitchery when time allows. It would certainly hold needles, floss, and a small pair of scissors rather well. Here's a photo of the inside of the bag:

I'm also planning to make the larger version, which will hold a 12" x 18" cutting mat and supplies--THAT I do think I'd use for quilt class. Now that I've made the smaller version, I can see what I'd like to do a little differently for the large bag. For one thing, I'll use about half the amount of interfacing called for in the pattern, because I think it makes the pockets and flap a little stiff, although I might use a heavier interfacing for the body of the bag.

The weekend's finally come to an end now, and it's time for my beauty sleep. At least it will be a short work week! Thanks for checking in on me!

Memorial Day Weekend--So Far

On Saturday morning, we were up and out of the house by around 9:30 to head south to Salinas. On the drive, I was busily stitching the binding of the quilt I made for my brother and his wife. In fact, we stopped a mile before reaching their home for about ten minutes so I could stitch the last few inches of binding!

Jon and Debbie have a cabin theme going on, and I thought this quilt would go well with what they have. I've been working on it on and off for the past year and a half--more "off" than "on." Unfortunately, this isn't a great photo, but it's the best out of three I took, and the quilt holders were getting tired.

Hubby had decided on a different route than I had in mind, so we were able to stop at only one quilt shop, Homespun Harbor, in Hollister, California. What a cute shop, and the people were so friendly too! I really liked the way they packaged their FQ bundles and decided I really NEEDED to take one home with me. They had a nice selection of "man" prints, and since my son works in kitchen cabinet refacing, I found a bundle that seemed just perfect for making him a small quilt--

And then, because I don't want it to be TOO small, I found a few more FQs to go with the bundle.

We enjoyed a nice visit with my mom when we arrived. As little old ladies seem to do, she's lost a lot of weight and seems tiny and fragile, but other than recovering from the hip fracture, she's in pretty good health and is looking forward to returning home to her own apartment soon.

I really SHOULD have taken more photos at my brother's house. We hadn't seen Debbie's son, Nick, for a few years, and in that time, he's gone from being a teenager to a young man. My brother and his first wife divorced about 15 years ago, and we hadn't seen any of my brother's three kids in that time, so it was a real treat to see his oldest boy, Mark, who is living with them and going to college now. Both boys are great--very friendly and helpful.

Jon and Debbie LOVE animals and they've always had quite a menagerie. At current count--if I haven't forgotten anyone--they have four cats, a dog, four birds, and a tortoise, as well as a koi pond, a few bullfrogs, and an aquarium where they're raising tadpoles who will eventually turn into more bullfrogs.

After our afternoon visit, my brother took my mom back to the nursing home for her dinner, while Hubby and I checked into our hotel. After freshening up, we met up with my brother's family for a nice dinner out.

Stuffed to the gils, we returned to Jon's house and sorted through old photographs my mom had given him to divide up. Most were from our "growing up" years, but I found these old photos in the bunch--

The black and white photos were taken in the 1950s of my mom and dad as well as the "bathing beauty" one of my mom on the beach at Santa Cruz. The colored photo on the bottom is of my mom's mom taken in 1970 at Monterey. I want to have copies of these made for my kids.

After a good night's sleep, we had a fantastic breakfast buffet at the Courtyard Marriott and headed north again to Sacramento. I persuaded Hubby to divert from the freeway briefly for a stop at a Morgan Hill quilt shop, but the shop was closed. Morgan Hill was having their Mushroom Mardigras, and it was tempting to stop for some mushroom treats, but we were still stuffed from breakfast and ready to head home, so we settled on a quick stop at Starbucks instead.

We arrived home around 2 p.m. Hubby thought he might take a nap when we got home, but for some reason, he changed his mind, so I took the nap for him! Later, since there wasn't anything on TV I cared to watch, I cleaned house and read a little bit. I MEANT to post before going to bed, but by the time the house was clean, I was too tired to write anything that made much sense.

Today I plan to work and play in the Sweat Shop. It's time, again, to get the room under control, because it's starting to look like a fabric bomb exploded in there again. I hope you're having a great weekend too!

Determination . . .

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Feels Like Christmas

Do you remember when I made 394 applesauce cakes at Christmas time? No? What do you mean it wasn't 394 cakes? It was only about 18? Well, it sure seemed like 394! Anyway, we're back at it. Hubby actually did the baking tonight and assembled a few other food gifts in a basket.

While he did that, I was busy with something else.

This weekend, we'll be getting together with my brother and his wife, and visiting with my mom--who, by the way, is still in a nursing home following her hip surgery, but my brother's going to spring her from the home for a few hours for a little quality family time.

Why the Christmas preparations? Well, for the last two Christmases, my brother and I have been trying to get together, but something always intervenes and it hasn't worked out. And I've had gifts for his family--or partly completed gifts--that never were given. Now they're ready--or nearly so! And my grandmother's applesauce cake? His favorite! And, if you'll recall, we thought the recipe was lost forever until some reseach and tinkering brought it back to life--and won't HE be surprised?!

So, arrangements have been made to have someone stay at our house and take care of Spike while we're gone, although we won't be gone long--just overnight. What little packing we'll do will be done in the morning before we leave. Maps have been printed, and quilt shops along the route have been researched--just in case. After all, everyone needs to stop now and then and stretch their legs-- what better place to stop than at a quilt shop?

Oh, and do you know what else makes it feel like Christmas? The weather where my brother lives! Here in Sacramento, the temperatures will be in the high 80's; there, we'll be lucky to get into the mid 60's. We've had some pretty warm temperatures over the last few weeks, so this will be a nice little break!

So we're off to celebrate Christmas in May, and we'll still be back home again in plenty of time to celebrate the rest of the Memorial Day weekend with a couple barbecues in the backyard. I hope you have some fun planned for your weekend!

The Approach of the Memorial Day Weekend

Here in the United States, we're coming up on a big three-day weekend celebrating Memorial Day. And as many of us have to work on Friday before the three-day weekend, I thought you'd want to be mindful of this Centers for Disease Control warning I received today.

* * * * *

The Center for Disease Control has issued a medical alert about a highly contagious, potentially dangerous virus that is transmitted orally, by hand, and even electronically. This virus is called Weekly Overload Recreational Killer (WORK). If you receive WORK from your boss, any of your colleagues or anyone else via any means whatsoever - DO NOT TOUCH IT!!! This virus will wipe out your private life entirely.

If you should come into contact with WORK you should immediately leave the premises. Take two good friends to the nearest liquor store and purchase one or both of the antidotes - Work Isolating Neutralizer Extract (WINE) and Bothersome Employer Elimination Rebooter (BEER). Take the antidote repeatedly until WORK has been completely eliminated from your system.

* * * * *

And on another Memorial Day-related issue, does anyone have any recommendations for must-see quilt shops in the Gilroy/Hollister/Salinas area of California? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

And finally, here's a little treat for you: Click on over to Eileen's Quilting Porch and leave her a comment--it's her 200th blog post and she's having a giveaway!

Don't Be a Slinky!

"SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES. NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING, BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS."

I came across this on the internet today and thought it was worth sharing. The internet is a wonderful thing, isn't it?!

Tonight when I got home from work and quilt class, my friend Lisa called to ask about Hubby's colonoscopy. The funny thing is that she found out about it because her administrative assistant reads my blog and mentioned it to her!

Oh, and for those of you who were kind enough to ask about Hubby--everything came out okay! (Well yes, it's a terrible joke, I know, but I'm sure it's what you've come to expect from me!)