Happy Thanksgiving!

Have you ever done anything and everything to avoid a perfectly good quilt project?? That's how I was treating poor Mr D's Jungle Boogie quilt. I got the free pattern from Fat Cat's patterns. Reduced it, picked all the fabrics from my stash, cut, wonder-undered the applique, added some piano key borders, J2 even helped. Found the perfect 'jungle' backing. Made my quilt sandwich and then just let it linger in the sewing room!!

I promised to work on it this weekend at the Stashbusters At-home Retreat and ignored it all day Saturday!! I did finally machine blanket-stitch 1/2 of it Sunday and Monday - and I was cranky the whole time!!! BUT the most amazing thing happened! DH said he liked it!! Knock me over with a feather!! No 'improvements' just he liked it!!

My DH is great and I love him dearly. But he is not a fan of my scrappy quilting style. He spoils me rotten - but rarely says anything without a caveat about my quilts. I marked it on my calendar!! LOL!

Now that golfing season is over ... I decided to go to UFO Thursday at the local shop - I got 6 pies appliqued down last Thursday. I've been going gang-busters on the Pies and Tarts quilt lately - avoiding other things, probably!

Like my UFO "Over the river and thru the woods." A good friend in Newport and I decided to make 2 of those quilts together, of course, we made them in different colors, less fall, more Christmas? - she did the wonderful embroidery for both quilts and I did all the piecing. But neither one of us got our own 'assignment' done for our own quilt. So we had awesome embroidery, great blocks ready to combine with the embroidery ... but only for a mixed quilt. You'd think that would have spurred us on - to get the rest of our own quilts done. Nope!

I just got a newsy email letter saying she was working on embroidery - I asked if it was the OR&TWs? If not - put it next in line!! [not that being in line has done much for my ORTWs!! It's still in line - the blocks aren't even together yet] ... definitely a case of 'do as I say, not as I do'!! But I still have hope - after all, it IS on the list!

Today I'm furiously working on Christmas stockings for J2 and Mr D. I swore I'd made a stocking for J2 back when they were first together. But they couldn't find it - so I looked back in my 'projects list' for the last few years ... nada!!

As a famous presidential candidate said, "oops!" LOL! Trying to get them done today - we head for Portland tomorrow and would love for them to be up and hanging this year!! In my own defense, despite several pleading emails - I didn't get the picture of A's stocking until noon Sunday!! I've made so many stocking renditions over the years - who knew which one and which way the toe faced!! And good thing I waited ... I'd forgotten about THAT rendition!!

It is a really cute stocking with a blank Christmas tree on the front - the theory was, you'd add a button every year you used it. Guess how many buttons are on the tree - yep, NONE - just the star on top that came with it!! It is a pain to sew buttons on a finished stocking. So now, I'm thinking of couching a bead garland and calling it good!! We'll see - if I wasn't nervous about gluing the stocking closed - I'd try a glue gun!! Needless to say, J2's will be decorated before becoming a stocking! D's is going to be a gingerbread man. Hmm, where are those elves when you need them!!

A week ago Friday, at 8:30 pm our fridge started making a noise!! Isn't that always the way!! Appliances poop out and children get sick on Fridays!! DH asked - "what does that sound like??? It's so familiar." I nailed it - "the old pop machine in the church basement."

Yep, even though we didn't know each other during those CYF/MYF years ... both of our churches had 'that' pop machine. That noise filled our small apartment til Tuesday!! But then, the repair man turned it off! All of a sudden, we were missing the noise!! Our food went to our neighbor's fridge [with their permission - they aren't here!] What a pain!! DH was such a cutie - he was always dressed when I got up [5:45 am], ready to go get my glass of milk and banana for me before I left for water aerobics!!

Yes, I keep my bananas in the fridge - can't stand the consistancy of a room temperature banana! This is how I choke one down every day ... can you tell I take some crap about it!! I also 'dip' it into a ramekin of dry cereal ... deal with it!! LOL! AND my grandkids do the same thing - at least when I'm there!!!

DH, Love that man, [I told you I was spoiled!!], but his 'service above and beyond the call of duty' didn't help!! I was a cranky gal til Friday. It's fixed now and so much quieter than it's ever been. Just to be sure it was really fixed, it was Friday, after all! - we planned to restock the fridge Saturday.

Saturday we woke up to 3 inches of sleet!!! It was crazy - it woke us up around 4:30 hitting against the bedroom windows. It sounded like someone was pouring a bucket of gravel in the courtyard!! And our windows are on the inside of a 3 foot covered walkway, on a protected courtyard. We rarely get any weather against them!

We were out of everything grocery-wise - probably had just enough to get us thru the day, but decided we had all-wheel-drive and we should just head for town! I debated wearing my snow boots - but ended up not - thank goodness!

The sleet cover ended by the end of the view point!! 1/2 mile?? I don't think town [5 miles away] had anything at all - the road wasn't even wet!! And I thought the midwest had micro-climates!! Groceries were bought amid giggles of how dumb we would have looked in our snow gear!!

Last night the wind started H*O*W*L*I*N*G! It's supposed to be 'heavy winds' thru tonight. If by 'heavy winds' they mean people shouting "Auntie Em, Auntie Em!!" [remember Wizard of Oz???] they got it right. I put an extra fluffy quilt on our bed last night - it whistled thru all the doors and windows and it not only sounded cold - it was!!

Happy Thanksgiving! Wishing you all the best!