Living vicariously

Today while I was at the grocery store, there was a young girl behind the counter in the bakery and she was talking to a fellow employee about going home to wash her face & put on new make-up and get ready to go out.

I said that I can’t remember the last time I’d talked to someone who said they were going out on New Year’s Eve and neither could all the other eavesdroppers! 

I asked if she could let us know her plans for the evening.  She said she was going to a Peruvian Restaurant with her boyfriend and his parents and then to Bayside in Miami for the rest of the evening.  I told her I would be living vicariously through her evening!

I remember when I went out to a restaurant on New Year’s Eve with a young man & his parents.  Fifty years later, that same young-at-heart man & I are staying home on this New Year’s Eve & will be lucky if we stay up as late as 10:30pm !

Oh, and at that restaurant of long ago – I had lobster.  It was $4.50.

Hope you have some Happy New Year’s Eve memories, too. 
Let’s all make a Happy New Year’s Eve memory …

Hurricane Season, again

June 1 to November 30 is Hurricane Season in my part of the world.  This will be our 37th Hurricane season in South Florida.  We’ve had to lower the awnings quite a few times over the years.  The most devastating hurricanes we’ve been through were Hurricane Andrew in August 1992 and Hurricane Wilma, the end of October 2005.

The worst year for the whole state of Florida was 2004 when 4 hurricanes criss-crossed the state.  That was also the year that my younger sister and her husband moved to the west coast of Florida!  What a welcome that was.  During Hurricane Charley, they hunkered down with martinis and popcorn in a big closet in their bathroom!

In 2005, there were 28 named storms: 15 of which were hurricanes.  They had predicted 14 named storms (9 hurricanes)!  I guess “they” didn’t see it coming …

The above pic is taken after Wilma visited our neighborhood in 2005.  Our beautiful Pon Gam tree in the front yard has been uprooted and stripped of half its leaves.  Lamppost had been blown over and is laying on its side.  Leaves from a tree on side of the house litter the sidewalk.  With the help of neighbors, the Pon Gam was pushed back into place.  It is a still a good tree, but is not the same and I don’t expect it ever will be.

This year they are predicting 14 – 23 storms, which includes 8 – 14 hurricanes.  Unless you have one of them Time Machines and go take a trip to the future and come back again, I really don’t think you can be an accurate predictor of hurricanes.

I hope the number of storms falls short of this year’s predictions.  I have a feeling that we will be preparing for some storms in Florida.  All we can do is be prepared.  Keep a watch on the weather.  And always respect Mother Nature. 

The price of sewing has gone up

I save things.  In some circles I might be known as a pack rat.  I’d rather be referred to as a “keeper of important things.”  In my container that has snaps, hooks & eyes and other closures is an old card that used to have snaps snapped to it.

If you will click on the above pic, you will see that the empty card on the left is from “Penneys” and the price printed right on the card is 13¢ !  I don’t know the year that those snaps were bought, but Pennys is now known as JC Penney and certainly does not sell snaps today.  The card on the left has snaps made by Dritz and they sell for $2.29 today at JoAnn.  Same amount of snaps – 12 of them – but very different pricing!

I did a search in Bing for “calculate percentage increase” and got a formula that gave me a price increase of 1661.54%.  That’s One Thousand Six Hundred plus percent increase!   That can’t be right!  Anyone out there who knows their math?  Let me know if that percentage is right.

Actually, I got the snaps from JoAnn on sale and only paid half-price $1.14.  And using the same formula to calculate the percentage it was only a 776%+ increase.  Such a deal …

Oscars 2010

Image from http://oscar.go.com/

I love movies.
Can’t wait to see the glitz and glamour at Sunday’s Oscars.

Who’ll win Best Film this year?  Avatar or Hurt Locker?

Will Jeff Bridges win Best Actor for his role in Crazy Heart?  I hope so.  I have enjoyed him in so many films over the years.  Gonna have to watch him in Starman again.  Starman is on my list of movies that I have to watch over & over again.

Hope Sandra Bullock gets Best Actress for The Blind Side.

My daily newspaper, the Sun-Sentinel, has a link to a one page ballot.
I printed one off for me and one for DH.  I wonder who will get more right, DH or me?  I wonder what the prize will be for guessing the most winners?

Here’s a link to a page that the Oscars has for Twitter.

I want to try Wolfgang Puck’s “Black Truffle Chicken Pot Pie” and Pastry Chef Sherry Yard’s “Baked Alaska” at the Governor’s Ball.  I want one of the Goodie Bags that they give to the stars.

But, I will just have to be content watching from my living room.  No fancy food or swag!  I binged “swag” and it said it was an acronym for “stuff we all get”.  Well, then, where’s mine?

To pitch or to keep

It’s always a tough decision for me when it comes to the smaller pieces of fabric left over after all the patches for a project have been cut.  Do I throw them out?  Do I keep them?  What’s considered small enuf to throw away.  When you do PaperPiecing, the decision is more difficult as you can use really small pieces of fabric.  How small?  Now, that’s the question.

The scraps in the pic above are from a project that I will be blogging about in the next post.  The spool of thread is there to show scale.

I already have a small drawer with small scraps of fabric in it.  I don’t go into that drawer very often, so that should tell me something. 

I have made a decision that I will no longer keep small pieces.  Anything under 2-1/2” hits the trash.  Starting with the scraps in the above pic.  And also the scraps in the small drawer.

Now, watch – next week I will be needing one of those scraps that I threw away this week!  Don’t you hate it when that happens?  Well, if it does happen, I’ll just have to take a trip to the fabric store!  ;-) 

Cold Winter

Around this time of year, the temperature in my hometown is the envy of my northern friends.  They all wish they could be here to enjoy the balmy breezes of South Florida.  Well, this year my temps are on par with a northern winter!  37, 41, 44 – those are not numbers we usually see on our thermometers in South Florida.

It is supposed to get up into the 70’s tomorrow (Thursday).  Now, that’s more like it.  BUT, then another cold front is supposed to come through for the weekend.  Well, at least we don’t have to get out the snow shovel !

My ordinary life - zentangles

Life is being very ordinary, lately.  I should be very happy about that -considering I’ve had a lot of very unordinary things happen in my life.  Kept thinking that I’d blog when I had something interesting to blog about.  Well, instead of never blogging again (cuz nothing interesting was happening) I think I should start blogging about my very ordinary life.

In my ordinary life, like a lot of you, I am interested in all different manner of this and that.  Today I found Zentangles.

I don't know if you are aware of Zentangles.  Robbie has some examples on her blog --
http://robbiespawprints.blogspot.com/2009/06/zentangle-time.html

Be sure and check out Robbie’s “wolves” --  her thread painting is awesome --
http://robbiespawprints.blogspot.com/2009/08/art-of-nature-quilt-pictures.html

She suggests to do a search on youtube for Zentangle.  I did and was most fascinated by
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4Nlz4XMxcs -- how to do a Zentangle Mandala.

There are other Zentangle videos that I want to view.

I doodle when I am on the phone.  Usually on the newspaper that is on the table.  Or on a scratch pad.  DH can usually determine how long I've been on the phone by the amount of doodle on paper!

This would be good practice for free motion quilting.  I have heard to draw, or doodle, on paper, the design that you are going to be FMQing in order to get into the Zen.  I guess Zentangles would get you into a Zen.

Lifetime and SciFi changes to SyFy

When I’m sewing stuff that doesn’t require much concentration, I like to watch a movie in my sewing room.  I’ve always enjoyed the movies on Lifetime (cable channel) while I sewed.  The movies themselves don’t require much concentration.  But, now Lifetime is no longer running movies on weekdays.  They’ve got “lovely” programs such as 2 hours of “Wife Swap” in the time slot that used to have movies.

Evidently, people are watching that dreadful “Wife Swap”, otherwise they wouldn’t be airing it two hours in a row!

Then, SciFi (cable channel) changes its name to SyFy.  (Grandson calls it “Siffee”)  What’s up with that?  How much did they pay for that name change?  What a waste of money.

And I don’t think that SciFi is much of a science fiction movie channel anymore.  (Guess that’s why they changed the name)  They seem to run more horror movies than science fiction movies.  Since when is “horror” to be considered science fiction?

And all of those whacky new programs that SciFi keeps spewing out.  Another waste of time and money with programs that appeal to the short attention span of 14 year old boys.

At my age, I am no longer a demographic group that “they” would be interested in.  But, hey … I still spend money and I think I spend way more than any 14 year old boy spends!  Start running some programs that require some intelligence to follow.

Thank goodness for podcasts from NPR (National Public Radio).  I find myself listening to more and more podcasts.  I subscribe to “Fresh Air” and “The Diane Rehm Show”.

And I get quilting podcasts through my iPod Touch and iTunes.  I subscribe to Annie Smith, Alex Anderson and Bonnie McCaffery.

What do you like to listen to/watch while you sew?

Microwave explosion

Who ever heard of water exploding?

I had read something about someone taking a cup of boiling water out of the microwave and sticking a spoon in the liquid and the water exploded & caused some serious burns.

Did not think too much about it.  Thought it was was of those one-in-a-million occurrences

THEN it happened to me.  I was lucky.  The cup of water I was boiling was still in the microwave when it exploded.  So, I was protected.  I started out with 1 cup (measured) of water and after the explosion there was about 1/8 of a cup of water left in the cup.

Thought to myself what might have been.  It is very scary when a close call like this happens.  And an eye-opener.

I now boil water in a pan on the stove.  No more microwaving to get boiling water for Jell-o.  In an effort to save time, a serious injury could have happened.  And, really, it doesn’t take all that much longer to boil water on the stove.

Practice safe boiling out there!

Sewing and LeAnn Rimes

I haven’t put up any “quilty” things lately cuz I’ve been working on some items that will be gifts.  The “giftees” just might visit this blog and I don’t want them to see those pics before the items are gifted.

I hope to be able to show the results of some of my sewing sessions by the end of the week.

LeAnn Rimes was on the Today Show this morning and she was plugging her new book “What I Cannot Change” which is also a tune on her CD and which is also a website.

You can see a video of LeAnn singing a brief portion of the song and then the interview with Kathie Lee & Hoda - http://tinyurl.com/cbb2q7

The lyrics to the song are poignant.  Here’s a link to the lyrics -- http://tinyurl.com/dj64l6  Then, I went to the website -- http://www.leannrimesworld.com/wicc/ .  There are posts from people who have had experiences in their life that they can’t change – haven’t we all – and they are having to learn to live through.  Reading some of the heartfelt posts makes me feel as if I don’t have it quite so bad as I thought.  There are a lot of people suffering with an awful lot of pain, caused by themselves or others.

I guess what makes us strong is learning how to cope with what we are dealt. 

Daylight Saving Time - Yuck

I just realized that on Sunday March 8, we will be turning our clocks ahead, again. Ooh, this nonsense has got to stop. Those wonderful congressman in DC think we need to save daylight. If they could figure out how they could save money, then I’d be interested.

I found a website that is dedicated to ending Daylight Saving Time --http://www.standardtime.com/ They have links to contacting your congressman to let him/her know your feelings on DST. I will be doing that. They also have a petition you can sign. I did that.

I read an article today about politicians twittering and it mentioned Senator John McCain. I went to his twitter feed and read about the omnibus bill and all the pork attached to it. Is this what those politicians do for us? $1.7 million for pig odor research in Iowa? $1.4 million for genetic improvements of switchgrass? Those are a couple of the items I found interesting. The whole list sounds like a bunch of hogwash. Here’s the link to Sen. McCain’s statement about the omnibus appropriation.

I went to wikipedia and found out that an “Omnibus bill is a single document that is accepted in a single vote by a legislature but contains amendments to a number of other laws or even many entirely new laws. An example of these are the Omnibus spending bills regularly used by the American Congress to group together the budgets of all departments in one year.”

So, this happens every year. With all kinds of pork. I don’t think my household budget would allow for this kind of tinkering.

Politicians don’t know how to save money. What makes them think they can save daylight?

Happy Birthday Deloris Smith wherever you are

Isn’t it funny how things stick in our minds over the years? Deloris was my best friend in St. Casimir’s grade school. After all these many years, I still think of her on her birthday, which is the day after mine. Yes, I had a very nice birthday yesterday. Thank you Kim for a lovely lunch and such a beautiful bouquet. And so nice of all the friends and relatives with their phone calls and cards and good wishes. I thank you all for thinking of me.

Lately, I’ve been in the sewing room doing some (horrors) mending and repair. But, it does make me feel better getting some put-aside tasks completed. I have a saying tacked up in my sewing room:

Nothing is as fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of uncompleted tasks

Now if only I would pay more heed to that …

I have a recipe for you today.

Hocus Pocus Crispies
This is one I’ve been making since 1977; the photo is scanned from the old recipe I had cut out from a magazine. It’s a family favorite and a company favorite. I remember SIL Tammy really enjoying these when she came to visit and she has them in her favorite recipes.

I went to the pillsbury.com website and did a search for the recipe and was surprised to find that it was “not found”. And a google search was fruitless. I thought that would never do – so, I am putting it online. Here’s a link to the PDF – http://anotherpat.com/HocusPocusCrispies.pdf
Enjoy!

An afternoon with a Monarch

After spending a good part of the morning in the sewing room, I spent a couple more hours there this afternoon watching the Lifetime movie “The Queen” with Helen Mirren which I’ve seen before. Ms. Mirren was excellent in the role as the Queen. I love stories about the monarchy. I got hooked on the PBS series about the Royal Family that was on not too long ago. Loved the little details they told about what goes on in the Palace. Like the butlers who dust the loooong dining room tables by putting fluffy socks on their feet and dancing on the tables! And all the protocol that has to be followed. Was very interesting.

I like to watch a good movie when I am sewing. It can’t be an adventure where I have to actually watch every minute of the movie. Although I’ve been known to get to my sewing only during commercials. It’s surprising how much one can accomplish during commercials!

I’ve got a few things in the sewing room that are causing me anxiety. And anxiety is something that should never be in the sewing room. So, I figure when I finish them off, the anxiety will be relieved and then I can start a new project. I’ve treated myself to a Ricky Tims pattern & kit – “The Family Tree of Life” which has a Convergence Technique as the background. His hand-dyed fabrics are to die for! But, I am not going to start on it until I finish up a few things. And then I can blog about the things that I finish. LOL

Hope your day went well and maybe you were able to spend some time sewing, too.

Inauguration Day – 3

The sun has set in Washington DC. The parade is now being held in the dark. What brave souls they all are to march in this cold. But, at least they’re moving – the ones watching have got to be colder. I certainly think that the First Lady must have Chicago blood in her! How else could she tolerate the cold with her coat open all day long?

It was a good day. I’m glad I watched all the festivities.

Inauguration Day – 2

All the powerful politicians, presidents past and present and Hollywood folk are gathered for this event. It always surprises me that some of these very wealthy people can’t seem to afford a decent hair stylist.

Sasha & Malia Obama (the president-elect’s daughters) had the prettiest coats, in the prettiest colors. Blue on Malia and peach on Sasha. Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul, had on a hat that was something else - a huge be-jeweled grey ribbon affair.

Through all the formal-ness of this event, it is nice to see the sincere hugs amongst people who are glad to see each other. I got a chill when Barack Obama walked out to the platform. This is history. How he must have felt looking out over the multitude of people who came to see him and hear him speak. They say over one and a half million people are in that crowd on the Mall.

Aretha Franklin sand “My Country Tis of Thee”. She did it like no other. There were tears in the audience while she sang.

At 12:05pm, it is now President Barack Obama.
The crowd went wild. A sea of waving flags. Such hope we all have. Hope was reflected on many of the faces in the crowd. Happy faces. Joyful faces.

While the newly-elected President spoke, he promised change. I think he will change things. Some of the things he said “ Remake America”, “Restore trust between people and their government”, “We are ready to leave once more”, “The world has changed and we will change with it”.

Enjoy your day, President Obama. The celebrations are all for you. Change has come.

According to this morning’s newspaper, the inaugural lunch will have wild game & root vegetables like in President Abraham Lincoln’s time. Pheasant fingers? No thank you, I’ll be happy with a nice Beef Pot Pie.

I’ve always wondered – as the incoming President says goodbye to the outgoing President and the outgoing President walks to the helicopter – what’s the outgoing President thinking? “Whew. It’s good to get out of there and start a normal life”. Maybe.

Inauguration Day

10:54am
Today I am going to have a TV nearby. I want to watch this historic day. The day that Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States.

I hope to edit this post throughout the day.

Mrs. Obama wore a beautiful yellow-gold suit this morning. When she & President-elect Obama arrived at the White House for coffee with President & Mrs. Bush, she brought a gift. We were told it was a journal and pen for the departing First Lady’s memoirs. What a thoughtful gift.

The Mall in Washington DC is overwhelmed with people on this cold day.
Temperature is 26°. They have closed the Mall because it is full. People are now standing 1-1/2 miles from the Inauguration site. They will be able to see and hear everything on Jumbotrons that are set up all over the place. I think I have the best seat in front of my TV, tuned to ABC with Charlie Gibson, Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopolous providing the commentary.

At 11am the motorcade arrived at the Capitol for the Inauguration ceremony at noon.

Free book

Have you heard about Suze Orman’s new book “2009 Action Plan – Keeping your Money Safe & Sound”? Oprah Winfrey’s show is offering a free download:
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20081119_tows_bookdownload
Offer expires Thursday Jan. 15, 2009. Thanx to Jill for the link.

I like listening to Suze. She has common sense. Common sense seems to be missing in a lot of people’s thinking today. And whatever happened to saving up your pennies ‘til you could afford to buy a new item? Why is it people feel they are entitled to every new toy and gadget that comes out on the market? And they end up charging the new toy/gadget. If not used wisely, credit cards can get you in a lot of trouble. I’ve heard that the credit card companies are now changing some people’s interest rates to 32%!!! Isn’t that called “loan sharking”?

Shopping Bag Gallery

It is always so nice to see other’s versions of one’s design. When another sew-er makes that item from the design, then it is assumed that the directions were accurate! ;-) Denise from Canada sent me a pic of the Christmas Shopping Bag that she completed.

Thank you, Denise! I see you used a different fabric for each tree. You must have started the bag shortly after I put up the tute. And I have put your bag in the #1 spot on the Gallery page for Fabric Bags. It shall remain at the top forever. Other pics will go in the next spots below.

Christmas Shopping Bag instructions

I hope to get lots of pics! It will be so neat to see other’s interpretations of the design – or what they can do with a plain bag.

I like blogging. It reminds me so much of the days in the old AOL Quilting Community. We got such nice feedback from the quilters for just about anything we did. And then there would be the quilting chat rooms where we could discuss all what was going on. Yah, I think AOL had a good idea and I think they made a big mistake when they got rid of all the Communities.

Life interrupts

Sometimes life’s interruptions get in the way of plans. I’m hoping for the tutorial to be up soon – hopefully by Monday.

I chatted with a gal while out fabric shopping yesterday and she said that she just got this great idea for a quilt for her daughter and she wanted to make it for Christmas. Yup, she’s a quilter – thrives on the last minute stuff! During the conversation, she said she was having the family over for Thanksgiving dinner and was making table favors for the grandkids. I wonder if she has more hours in the day than I do?