I've been really busy over the last few days - nothing to show (as in NO photo evidence) but all the same, I've been a busy girl.
We got 10" of snow from Friday night thru Sunday morning (1/19-1/21). It was awesome - that heavy wet stuff that is full of good moisture for the ground. The slight melting yesterday afternoon was strictly due to the sun shining - it was only 34 degrees - but it translated to 1/2" of moisture. I wish I'd taken some pictures of it. My husband took my camera to the local nature trail on Saturday afternoon though, so perhaps I can get some of his pics to share later.
I spent several hours yesterday cleaning the barn/shop/studio. I'd let it get to the pig-pen state and it was making me crazy. Excessive clutter totally stifles my creativity, so I had to get things put away and the carpet swept. Joe hung a couple racks for his embroidery hoops, which was a great improvement and needed to be done for quite awhile. I've got my eye on some wall-mount shelves so I can get a few things off the sewing surfaces, too. I had a customer quilt come in late yesterday afternoon - boy was I glad to have just cleaned the barn! So I'll take some pictures of it and share them later. Its not the greatest piecing, but its a very striking quilt and will quilt up very nicely. I also got a couple of quilts in the mail this weekend to quilt for the 40 Quilts service project. These are so nice! They will make some children very happy. I've also come across a couple of smaller quilt tops in my own stash that would make good quilts for children, so I think I'll get those quilted also.
5 Things Meme
I got this from Suzanne - I'm supposed to list 5 things about myself that I haven't talked about before, and then tag 5 more people (so if y'all want to do it, then do it and just post a comment so I can come visit and see what you wrote about!). Not to be confused with the 6 Weird Things Meme that's also going around in blog world...
So, 5 things:
1. In high school, I wanted to take art class every year, because I loved drawing and painting so much. I was so angry when I realized that the jocks all took art because it was a blow-off class, and even more angry when I saw how the teacher flirted with the jocks. At that time, she was in her 50's and thought she was "all that". It was infuriating to watch those guys play her, and to realize this was not a class that I could get much out of. That may have been one of the first times I was disappointed by an adult that I wasn't related to. I didn't sign up for art after my freshman year. When my son was in high school (same school, 25 years later) we visited the open house nights and I almost ached with envy when we saw the art projects in on display in the library. The teacher was someone I'd gone to school with, and I was wishing that I would have risen above my contempt for the teacher and continued taking art in high school.
2. You may not have noticed, but I've started blogging about the books I'm reading this year. Check out the link to my book blog in the Nitty Gritty Details in the left column over there... I like to read mysteries, thrillers, true crime, autobiographies, non-fiction, memoirs, and well-written fiction. I sometimes resist reading the top best sellers because I don't want to fall for the hype, but I might read them on down the road at some point. I really like the mid-size paperbacks that are around $12-$15 at the book stores - good fiction, often first time writers, kind of quirky stories. I also buy a ton of books from the book store sale racks - good hardbacks marked down to $2.99 - $5.99 apiece. In my small town, this is a coup. We don't have 2nd hand book stores or half-price book stores or overstock book stores here.
3. We would like to retire to a tropical country in about 10 years. In our dreams, we would live somewhere like Costa Rica or Bali, (where there are a lot of expats) and just fly back to the states periodically for medical care. We'd have our son forward our mail to us, and have him handle our affairs. In reality, this will probably not happen. But its nice to dream.
4. The first time I met my husband, we were both at Girl Scout Camp. I was 12 and he was 16. He was one of the cool guys working in the kitchen, and I was just one of the dumb little girls at camp. He doesn't remember this very well (I understand they drank whiskey in their tents at night) but I remember him. The second time I met him, I was 15 and on a "date" at the swimming beach at the lake. He was 19 and told my boyfriend that he was going to throw me in the lake, which he proceeded to do. My boyfriend wasn't my boyfriend after he took me home that afternoon. And I thought Joe was a jerk, instead of a cool guy. The third time I met my husband, I was working at a fast food restaurant and he was a guy that came in every night about 8:00 and hung over the counter flirting with 3 of us girls. We didn't know who he was interested in, and he probably would have taken any of us that showed interest. Several months later, I ended up taking him to our Christmas party, and we started dating. By then I was 17 and he was 21. We got married 9 months later. Depending on what day it is, he is still a cool guy and a jerk.
5. A month ago (12/23) I got a tattoo. Its a big purple cross on my lower back, and it is in memory of my oldest son (purple was his favorite color). He will be gone 10 years in February. I made a decision recently that I needed closure - to "let him go" - and the tattoo is part of that. I have known for a long time that I wanted a tattoo to symbolize my everlasting love for him. He will always be with me, yet I am ready to move on. Its been a long, hard journey to get to this point...
Remember, if you tag yourself, post a comment so I can come read what you write about!
Do y'all use the "categories" in your blog software when you blog? Do you use the "categories" when you read other people's blogs? I've never bothered to categorize my posts because I'm all over the place. Is this something I should try? I don't usually click on other people's categories when I visit - unless I am really looking for something specific, like a knitting pattern or a recipe. Tell me what y'all think, ok?
