Busy Busy Busy

It's been a while since I last posted. I have been busy! There was a ton of work waiting for me when I got home from my trip. It took me a whole day, just to answer work email. What a PAIN!

It took a few days to get my suitcase unpacked. My suitcase is still sitting in my bedroom waiting to be carried downstairs to be put away. I am a recovering workaholic but I have been getting a little better at maintaining a regular work schedule.

I finished block 7 of my Baltimore Bunnies BOM. I'm getting excited at the prospect of finishing it. My friend Jane is hand piecing her blocks together. I will be sewing mine by machine but I will probably hand quilt it.

I finished my veggie quilt. It was a UFO for a couple years. I machine quilted on my 30+ yr old Kenmore. Nothing fancy, just stitch in a ditch. The fabrics are so busy, I would imagine any fancy quilting would be lost.

I loved these fabrics. Here is a closeup of one of the corners. You can see the veggies a little better. I stuck in a boarder of candy fabrics. I thought they were very cute.

The fabric on the back is full of junk food & beer. I didn't have enough so I had to use some more veggie fabric. I think all in all, that it came out OK,

I used a low loft poly batting that is supposed to be anti-microbial something that I bought from JoAnns. I hate JoAnns but will buy my notions or batting there when they have a sale and/or free shipping. In this case, a whole roll of batting was 50% off, plus free shipping. Couldn't beat that.

I did go to JoAnns a couple weeks ago to buy some heavy duty plastic. I like to keep a nice table cloth on my dining room table. My cats seem to think that it's a nice place to scrap and roll around. They even nap on it! I got tired of constantly uprighting things and washing those huge table cloths. So, I put a nice piece of heavy plastic over the table cloth and the kitties don't find my table so interesting anymore. YAY!

My Stitch and Bitch group was over a few weeks ago. Whomever hosts, usually prepares lunch. We have some folks who are vegetarian and one lady who does not tolerate gluten. What a job it is to come up with something everyone likes. Then there is the chocolate. Gotta have chocolate. Anyway, I made fritatta. One with meat and one without. Then I bought 4 different kinds of ice cream and a bottle of chocolate syrup.

When I have people over for a meal, it's nice to be able to use the dining room. The kitties were not happy that they were not welcome on the table. Simba sat on one of the chairs watching everyone eat, waiting for a handout.

Aside from work & trying to sew more, I did manage to read Knit the Season & Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs and then Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. Knit the Season is the third book in the Friday Night Knitting Club series. It was a pleasant read, not as fun as the first 2 but still good. Shanghai Girls was great. "In 1937, Shanghai is the Paris of Asia, full of great wealth and glamour, home to millionaires and beggars, gangsters and gamblers, patriots and revolutionaries, artists and warlords." I'm really interested in reading other books by Lisa See. Apparently, there are quite a few. I picked this book up at Costco because I thought the cover interesting. You can go to this website to read the first chapter.

http://www.lisasee.com/shanghaigirls/

I'm currently reading The Collector by David Balducci. It starts out with a murder! That guy gets right to the action.

Check out Bumble Beans, Inc. My friend is in need of quilts, fabric and/or blocks. She does a lot of charity work. A link is also provided on my blog list.

TaTaForNow :) Yuki

I'm Home!

Got home last Friday just in time to have Easter with the family. I'm not really a big holiday person but seems holidays are the only time I see the extended family. It was nice to pull into the driveway and see my daffodils and forsythia in bloom. My azaleas are budding and will be blooming soon.

Went to Charleston to see my pal Valerie. We had planned to go to Atlanta but changed our minds and drove up to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore. If you've not been there, it's a sight to see. This house was built around the turn of the century and has gargoyles! This house had a staff of 21 maids & servants. It is supposed to be the first house in the United States that had a heated indoor swimming pool complete with electric lights on the bottom. Can you believe it?

The Vanderbilts lived on the main floor. Beautiful wood carvings and mouldings were everywhere. There is a huge music room complete with pipe organ. It was amazing. Elaborately turned out guest rooms were on the second floor complete with individual bathroom with running water, toilets & bathtubs.

Of course the floor where the maids lived were very sparse. No bathrooms for them, just chamber pots & wash basins. Talk about class distinctions!

The male staff members lived about the stables, so there was no hanky panky. "as if" (That's valley speak for "Yeah Right".) LOL

I had recently read the House at Riverton by Kate Morton. What a great story. It was quite easy to imagine the folks at Riverton living at the Biltmore or being a guest or perhaps one of the characters being a maid.

The Forgotten Garden also by Kate Morton was an excellent story. I read that last year when I was sick with a bug. It made laying around in bed not so terrible.

On my drive down to Charleston, I had to do a conference call with work. Can you believe it? What a way to start a vacation.

I listened to Valerie Bertinelli's book. She talked about her relationship with Eddie Van Halen and her weight issues. She also admitted to having affairs while she was married. I was stunned! I'd be taking that information to the grave.

Anyway, I also listened to David Balducci's, The Camel Club on my drive home. One of the nice ladies who reads my blog recommended it. Also, a great story! I wonder if there is a sequel. These characters are too good to just end.

I picked up these books on CD at the Cracker Barrel. They have a deal where you buy the book but you can return it to any Cracker Barrel and get your money back. They just charge you $3 for each week you have it. What a deal!

This has been a long week of work. I spend most of Monday answering email. Of course, I had to deal with email while I was off. Is that sad or what?

Have you ever had a dream that was too good to be true. I had one this morning. I was getting a massage by that very handsome blond haired guy from Spartucus, Blood & Sand, that show on Starz. We were having a nice time and my roommate's mother comes in talking about coffee. I don't even have a roommate but got rid of the roommate's mother any way to get back to my massage. It's time to turn over and Blondie leans over and rubs his face next to mine and is blowing in my ear. I couldn't figure out what he was trying to say with his whispery breath but it's fun anyway.

Then I open my eyes and it's Simba rubbing his face on mine. It's 8:30 and I'm an hour late getting his breakfast. All the other kitties will let me sleep in but Simba is insistent that he gets his food on time. Breakfast at 7:30 am, dinner at 6pm. Oh well, the dream was nice while it lasted.

Today, I'm back doing house stuff, talking to contractors about the work that needs to be done to repair the damage done during the blizzard and grocery shopping for the Stitch and Bitch group coming tomorrow.

It will be nice to do some sewing and bitching. Wish ya'll could come. LOL

ttfn :) Yuki