5/27/08

I really haven't dropped off the face of the earth, even though it seems that way.

We have cleaned out my parent's house, had a yard sale and put the house on the market. Two pack rats really shouldn't live together for almost 60 years. We found some real treasures, but some real junk too. They even kept broken stuff too!!! My sister is adding an in-laws suite to her house, so they are going there. They just aren't able to look after this large a house and yard anymore. So now the house is on the market, we just have to hope it doesn't take forever to sell.

I also spent a week on the Outer Banks. Great stitching time. Not much sunning time, it again rained at least half the time I was there and it was chilly. But I did get a lot of applique done.

The center blocks of Dear Jane are done. These are the blocks that haven't been pictured before. Now I have the borders and all the sashing. I still have the 169 blocks to square-up so I can sash them. Not fun!!!

I haven't been knitting a whole lot recently. The only thing I have done is turn the heel on my travel socks. I have been working on them since January. Just the cuff left to go.

I have been renewing my addiction to applique. I took the Charming Leaves class and have been working on it incessantly. In this picture there are seven blocks. I now have 15 of them done. There are 25 in all. Then the dog tooth border. I am loving it. It is such easy, mindless applique. I think I am in an easy, mindless phase of my life. There are too many other things going on to work on a hard project.

After the dogs stayed home with DH for a week, they were programed to get up at 4:30AM. Which is when he gets up. If they didn't eat before he left they were hungry. I am still trying to reprogram them. I like to get up between 6:30 and 7:00AM, NOT 4:30!!! We are making progress. We slept until 6 this morning. But it is nice to be home with them. I can talk to DH on the phone while I am at the beach, but I can't do that with the puppies. I miss them.

I have been having a ball, e-mailing with http://pennysanford.typepad.com/penny_sanford_porcelains_/2008/05/guest-blog-major-mackie-special-forces.html

She has a Westie named Mackie. (She actually has a whole pack of westies she has rescued) I have a Westie named Mackie!!! Her's is Major Mackie, mine is Captain Mackie. It is fun talking about the Westie Special Forces!!!

The exercise update is easy. NONE!!!! I really have got to work on this, but with all the manual labor of cleaning out the house, there hasn't been much energy left for "dedicated" exercise.

We saw two movies this weekend. The new Indiana Jones movie. Good, not nearly as good as the old ones. I would have liked to see more about the stories that surround the crystal skulls, but they are almost secondary to the action. We also saw the new Narnia movie. I didn't really care for that at all. I thought is was very slow, then a lot of fighting. Just couldn't get into it.

I have gotten a fair amount of reading done. Messed up my back, so spent a lot of time not moving much. I read Last Jihad, by Joel Rosenberg. Good political thriller. It is classed as Christian lit, but I didn't see it. I just saw a political thriller. I have ordered the next book in the series, hopefully it is as good as the first one. I also read Swine Not, by Jimmy Buffett. How can Buffett do anything bad. It is hysterical. It is about a family that lives in a NYC hotel with a pet pig. The story is written mostly from the PIG'S perspective. Quick read, well worth the few hours it took. Last night I started The Host by Stephanie Meyer. I loved her young adults series about the teenage vampires. I haven't read enough of this one to get into it yet. But based on her other writing, I will love it. I'll let you know.

Last, but not least, my orchid is in bloom. I started with nine. I have two left alive. "This one is blooming. This is the first one I have ever had bloom under my care.

I will try to not be gone so long next time.

Chat later

Susan