I’ve posted before about my love of coffee. I just found out my cousin is a barista and I’m so proud. We visited his Starbucks and he made us drinks. They were absolutely fabulous - the best skinny vanilla latte I’ve ever had. (No offense to Bill who’s SOY skinny lattes are delish.) I had to share pictures.

Doesn’t he look like he’s having fun?

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My cat is unimpressed by this revelation. Holy cow, it’s the 19th of March. Where did the month go? I can’t believe Easter is this weekend. Once again, I haven’t pulled out my easter decorations. I even know where they are…

I feel like this month has flown by and that I have very little to show for it. I am suffering from my Dad’s disease of It Takes At Least Two Times To Get The Job Done. Take my sock for instance. I’ve turned the heel three times. I think the third time was the charm, partly because it looks right and partly because I refuse to do it again. I was working on the sock in great natural light and I saw beautiful colors in the yarn that I hadn’t seen before.

I also did some sewing for myself. Clothes, actually. I’ve never made clothes for myself (except for pajama bottoms but nobody really sees those (except for the people at Target and Michaels)). When my mom for the Great Gallbladder Removal of 07, I had bought a shirt pattern and I ordered fabric from the internet. And it sat. And sat. And finally I decided it was time for it to stop sitting. I cut the fabric one night and worked on the first shirt the weekend of the 8th. I was very happy with how it turned out, but it was big. This past weekend, I worked on a second shirt after making adjustments to the pattern. It turned out perfectly. Maybe not sewn perfectly but the fit was great and it didn’t look made by a complete amateur and to me that translates to perfect. Now what to do with the first shirt? Leave it as is? Toss it? I went with the third option of take it apart completely, recut the fabric and resew it. Yikes. That was a job. It looks 100% better but was it worth all the work? In theory I had made 3 shirts but only had two of them to show for it.

Well, Sunday wasn’t over yet (it was 8pm) so I decided to try a different shirt pattern with some of Amy Butler’s new fabric which I had cut on Friday night. About 2/3 of the way through the sewing I tried it on and it was HUGE. Take it apart, recut fabric, resew. Try on again, this time fitting better but looking like a muumuu. What to do? Go to sleep! I think that it needs some waist shaping and then it will look better. I also took out the collar and undid the gathering. I was rushing and it wasn’t up to my standards. Also, the pattern called for interfacing on the collar and it made it way too stiff. So I will try it without the interfacing. I am also considering another option with bias tape, but we’ll see. I am hoping to get the kinks worked out of this one because I have the perfect fabric to go with pants and shoes that I already own. I see the outfit in my head and it would be work appropriate for the summer. So fingers crossed that I can make this work. I just don’t want the shirt to make me look bigger than I am or with child as I am already big enough and not with child.

Anyhoo, it feels like I’ve done a lot but not accomplished much. Bummer. But I did figure out how to put smilely faces in my blog posts. Purely by accident. I think the Wordpress Gods are having pity on me.

Tags: sewing, knitting

When I go to the gym on the weekends, it’s usually the first thing I do. Get it done and out of the way. Today, I was feeling a little lazy and decided to do some stuff around the house and go to the gym in the early afternoon. Bill got back from running his errands and the sun was just starting to peek out after an 24 hours of rain. We got dressed and as we were putting on our jackets, CJ was twirling around thinking she was getting a w-a-l-k. Not wanting to disappoint her, we decided to enjoy the sun instead of the treadmill. We made this decision knowing we would have a muddy pups, but she was so excited. It was beautiful outside; we definitely made the right decision.

The three of us enjoyed our walk. I looked out the window not ten minutes after we walked in the door and it had started to get dark and threatening. Three minutes later, a little thunder, some rain and lots of wind. It was crazy!

It’s several hours later and we’re relaxing. CJ’s catching some z’s in her chair. Bill and I are watching the UNC-Duke game while we work on projects (I’m working on a sock, Bill some programming). It’s still crazy windy outside but that doesn’t matter. We took full advantage of the hour of sunlight.

Don’t forget to change your clocks.

Tags: life

Is it just me or has this been a long week? Driving home yesterday I couldn’t remember if it was Wednesday or Thursday. I am positive that today is Friday. I am absolutely looking forward to the weekend, though there is a long list of stuff to be done.

Our garage has turned into a storage center for cardboard boxes. I think they are multiplying at night. Have I really been doing that much internet shopping?? Yikes… As I was getting into my car, Bill put another box on the pile. Yay, another box. So those boxes will be heading to the recycling center this weekend.

Also on the list for this weekend, clean out bedside tables. Fun, right! The tops or our bedside tables get so cluttered, there has to be room inside the drawers for some of that stuff. There will be on Monday…

Probably most important is getting ready for my shop update on Sunday. And there will be a shop update. I have gotten my butt in gear so there will be some ipod cases available for purchase - two styles even.

How could I forget that we will have stuff to prep for shipping from my destashing. There’s a butt-load of ironing. We need to figure out how to keep the cats (actually, just one of them) from chewing on some new plants we bought. And hopefully, there will be time for some relaxation in the form of sock knitting.

I’m sure I’m forgetting stuff. Oh well, there’s always next weekend. What are your plans?

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Here’s a few things rattling around my brain:

1. Are deer colorblind? It was an unseasonable 67 degrees today so I hurried home from work to take the pups for a walk. Our house abuts a wildlife fen and there are some deer who call the fen home. While walking, I saw my buds. As I always do, I told the deer to be careful when crossing the road and to stay away from orange VW Bugs. But then I wondered if they are colorblind. I guess I’ll have to give them my license plate number.

2. Finished projects make me happy. Here’s a closeup (click on the thumbnail for a bigger picture) of the quilted pear that I finished in TN. I stitched this up pretty quickly (a week). It came with a stitch guide and a materials list. The different sections used different fibers and stitches. Once I was done, I stitched a small border around the pair to get rid of the nooks and crannies so that it can be finished in a pear shape. Now to take it to the finisher!

3. Destashing makes me sad inside. It’s like dreams going unfulfilled. Everything was purchased with such good intentions… So rather than focus on that depressing thought, I’m focusing on the dough. I made some tough choices and am getting rid of some yarn and cross stitch projects. You can check it out here. Even Bill is destashing. Guess what’s his.

4. Heather Bailey is doing this cool theme for March about her favorite tools. I’d like to join in but I’m totally drawing a blank… But be sure to check our her faves.

5. Can you tell a real smile from a fake smile? I can 16 out of 20 times and Bill can 14 out of 20 times. I read about this fun quiz on How About Orange. If you have 5 - 10 minutes, take the quiz.

6. The difference between boys and girls. Last week, Bill brought down a laundry basket filled with my clean sweaters. It was upright, on the bed and when I saw the laundry basket and thought it should be moved as a cat was sure to find it an inviting place for a nap. Bill saw the laundry basket and thought there was no way a cat could get into it. Guess who was right.

7. Have you read Martha’s blog on witch hazel? It makes me wonder if she knew all that or if she had to consult a book. Oh, and it makes me wonder if she wrote it herself of had a minion do it. I have a lot of respect for the woman and can’t help but be impressed by how much she Knows. So, do you think she writes her blog posts herself?

8. I love blogging. Ellia told me I Make Her Day. She is a brilliant artist, a fantastic mom, and a wonderful person. And, she Makes My Day.

Hasta la vista, Baby. Oh, I think I’m mixing up my Mr. Eastwood and the Govinator. See, my brain is a scary place.

Tags: life, finished projects