A Wonderful Day!

Today was a wonderful day. It was busy as all get out, but it all flowed together well. I managed to finish pretty much everything on my task list. Okay, so I left work an hour late, but it felt good to leave with a clean desk.

After all of the cold and rainstorms and flooding last week, this week has been beautiful. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 80's. Therefore, I had to take drastic action. I had to give myself an emergency pedicure in anticipation of wearing sandals tomorrow. I really need to have a professional one to deal with my winter feet that have been in sneakers and boots all winter. My friend said, "Oh, you mean they need the power tools." LOL So I painted my toes a pretty sparkly red and I am ready to face the day with sandals, peep toes, or any open toed shoe.

My sweetest surprise was when I got home. There was a See's candy bag on my door. See's is a premier California chocolatier and is renown throughout the state as the epitome of chocolate awesomeness. As I was wracking my brain, trying to figure out who left it there, my dear friend, Heidi, texted me that the Easter Bunny had been spotted in our neighborhood. She had brought chocolates to a couple of us that live in the neighborhood. It was such a super sweet thing to do. God blesses me with the nicest friends.

I did not stitch tonight because I got home so late, then I had to putter around the house. My sweet Liesl played in the sunny backyard in the evening. It was a perfect weekday. I did walk my yard, and took note of the things that need to get done this weekend. If it stays nice, it will be perfect weather to get my gardening done. Yay!

Marvelous Monday!

In yesterday's post, I shared that I had gone to Monarch Knits with my daughter on Saturday. This was truly a delightful place to shop. Lovely people, great products and just a warm, wonderful environment. If you are ever in Pacific Grove, here is their info: http://www.monarchknitting.com/ Did you know that you can buy yarn made from buffalo hair? It was a really nice learning experience to see what is available. I bought these beautiful buttons that are made from antlers that have been naturally shed. The package assures this and that absolutely no animals were harmed to make the product. I thought that they were neat in an organic kinda way.

The yarn world has really changed, just like all crafts. This yarn pictured is actually netted and so you just knit along one edge. It is pre-lacey and makes the cute scarf pictured here. The pattern came free with the yarn. I think the scarf is really pretty. I am thinking that I could make some cute gifts for friends, too.

Changing lanes here: One of my favorite blogs to visit is on my blog roll and is called Mennonite Girls Can Cook. ( There is a seriously delicious recipe on there today for Key Lime Cheesecake.) There are wonderful recipes on this blog, but I have been thinking about a post they made yesterday from Psalms, which is actually my favorite book of the Bible. Psalms have seen me through some really dark days in my life.

Anyway, they posted this yesterday: "Psalm 37: 7-9 " Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret-it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land." NIV"

I have learned some really beautiful lessons in the past year or so from some really wonderful teachers, who are my dear friends. I have found that miracles take place when I let go of worry and anxiety. First of all, there is far less drama. But when I just put my faith and trust in the fact that God will take me where I need to go, I end up where I should be. That place is usually in a far more peaceful and serene place, where I feel totally secure in God's love. He has always provided for me those things that I need. I have a dear friend who has said to me that she guards her serenity with her life. I have learned to do the same and now instead of worrying, I am able to see beauty and be thankful for it. It actually feels a lot better than the suffering that worrying brings.

Weekend Update

Oh my goodness, it rained so hard yesterday. In spite of the weather, my daughter and I went to our first estate sale in Pacific Grove. My daughter found some rather amazing things, including a really old skeleton key that was really neat. I did not see anything that called to me. Living in a 600 square foot house, I have to be really selective about what I bring into the house. Usually, it means that something else has to go. After that we went to Blessings, which is one of my favorite stores ever. It is a co-op and has a collection of old and new things in vintage style, at really amazingly low prices and run by the nicest people. After that my daughter took me over to Monarch Knitting Shop, which again, is run by the nicest people, who are so helpful. I bought a couple of nice things that I will share later in the week. We had lunch at a diner of some excellent comfort food and lots of good talking. It was an excellent day.

Afterwards, I came home for an afternoon of snuggles and puppy kisses. I just love my little Liesl. She is so sweet and so much fun to be with. I truly feel so blessed to have this special little soul in my life. By the afternoon, the rain had cleared away so she finally got to go outside and play in her little paradise of a backyard. While she was outside, I got the house pretty cleaned up, including the craft room/office, so I am really proud of myself.

Spring finally arrived today. The sun was out, the birds were singing and the smell of jasmine was heavenly. I am not sure that there is a more beautiful scent than jasmine blooming in the spring. I shall have to walk in my garden tomorrow when I get home, because I believe that my dogwood is getting ready to bloom, too. My lilac tree has a little while to go, but I am super excited about when it does bloom. I may have to have a garden party then for all of my friends. I could make little finger sandwiches and lemonade. I shall have to get it in order back there pretty quickly. The only sad part about gardening is that it cuts into my stitching time.

As you can see, I have made some progress on the stitching, in spite of the fact that I had to pull a section out. I love the colonial colors in this piece. I am so excited that I am almost done with the star.

A Present From Across The Pond

It was Knitting Circle night and we had so much fun. We had Shepherd's Pie for dinner and it was delish! I got to see my wonderful daughter there. When I got there, she said she had something for me. So she handed me this container of Cadbury drinking chocolate from England! Her knitting friend sent it for me from England because my daughter had mentioned that I was eyeballing hers. LOL So now I have my own. I feel like I should save it for a special occasion. I am so excited to try it.

I do not think that I have shared how much I really love hot cocoa or sipping chocolate. It is so comforting at the end of the day. I even make homemade marshmallows to go into it. Actually, another friend at work also loves hot cocoa and keeps emergency marshmallows in her desk cupboard. So now it is confession time. I actually stockpile hot cocoa mixes. I have two tins of Trader Joe's Dark Sipping Chocolate that you can only get at the holidays. My BFF gave me a tin of Trader Joe's Peppermint Sipping Chocolate. My friend at work gave me the new packets Mi Abuelita Mexican hot cocoa. At Christmas I bought a huge tin of Starbucks hot cocoa mix at Costco. And now the crown jewel of my hot cocoa collection is Cadbury. I can't wait to try it. I think I will have to whip up a new batch of marshmallows. Yum!

You would think that since I was at Knitting Club, I would have gotten stitching done, but no. I was eating and talking and laughing. It was fun. I am going to the yarn store with my daughter this weekend to get some yarn to actually knit. I am stoked. In the meantime, I have to find a small project to stitch as a thank you for the lovely gift from England. I so appreciate that they did that for me.

Total Domestic Diva Night

I was talking on the phone tonight with my BFF, who also sings in the Symphony Chorus, along with her hubby. We were both saying that the problem with our whirlwind musical tour is that our households fall apart over that weekend. This was most certainly true in my house. Therefore, I spent this evening baking brownies for Knitting Circle tomorrow night, and scrubbing the heck out of my kitchen. It looks so lovely and I am not afraid to lean on the counters now. Prior to their cleaning, I might have gotten stuck.

I had to go to the eye doctor this afternoon because I have been noticing my glasses are not working as well as they used to. I heart my eye doctor, who told me I used my glasses up and I needed a new prescription. I told him that I really use my eyes a lot to read and cross stitch. The best part was that I did not have to get my eyes dilated. I really was not in the mood for it, so I was happy dancing about not having to walk around with dark glasses (like I do when I am avoiding the paparazzi. They are always hounding me! LOL)

The best place in the whole world to get eyeglasses is Costco. They are awesome and so helpful. Best of all they are reasonable. I read every night before I go to bed, so I tend to accidently leave them on the nightstand. So I ordered two cute pairs, one for home and one for work. Best of all, when you order a spare pair at Costco, you get $25 off. So my bill for two pairs of bifocals--$224. The young lady at the counter was uber helpful in finding frames that work with my mid-view lenses. They have to be a certain size, so I was limited. The young lady went through and measured and found me the ones that would work.

My doctor said that I have to retire my old glasses. So I have been thinking about all of the beautiful things I have seen through these glasses. I have read amazing books with them, I have stitched beautiful things with them, I have done research with them, I have earned a living with them, I have looked at a beautiful little dog with them, and read seed packets, recipes, medicine bottles, assembly instructions, company policies, and cards and letters from beautiful friends. They have served me so well, and have helped me to see so much beauty.

Here Comes The Rain Again...

Well, we are supposedly due for another big storm tonight. I battened down the hatches. Okay, really, I just made sure the windows were up on my PT Cruiser, but the other way sounded a bit more dramatic. It seems like for the last few weeks we keep getting these forecasts of the mother of all storms coming, so I stop watering, only to not have to storms come and then I am all off on my watering schedule. Anyway, tonight it is supposed to pour, but I have seen nary a raindrop.

In anticipation of the big storm, Liesl and I came right home, whereupon I immediately donned my jammies. It is cold here, so it was a good evening to be snuggled into the sofa with Liesie. I was wearing a pair of thick wool socks that my daughter knit for me, which was kind of like a hug, only for my feet. I spent the evening un-stitching that section that was in error on Star Spangled Banner. I had planned to snap a photo, but I was too embarrassed to show you.

I had two great phone calls today. One was one of my closest friends, with whom I have been playing phone tag in the evenings. She said that she figured she could reach me for at least a half minute at work to send a hug. It made me happy. The other phone call was with my dear daughter at the end of the day, just catching up. I am looking forward to seeing her this week at Knitting Circle, where we have a lot of fun and laughter with our knitting friends.

Well, dreamland is calling...

The Sun Broke Through The Clouds!

Yay! We had a break in the weather. Last night the whole house was shaking. The wind was so strong that stuff was hitting the house. It sounded like someone was knocking on the door. What made me love my little dog even more is that she kept putting herself between me and the door before she barked a warning. She is no more than a foot tall, but has the courage of a really big dog when it comes to protecting her momma. She felt the need to patrol the house throughout the night because it was so noisy. She is a special girl and I just adore her.

I had made a lot of progress on my stitching, only to find that I was a row off on one of my sections. I have not had to frog much so I am not too upset about it. I was planning on posting a photo, but now that I know there is an error, it is glaring to me! LOL It is all I can see now. So I will pull it out and then take a photo. Otherwise, I made a lot of progress in another section.

I had another concert today, so I got to stitch in between pieces. It is nice because I can sit and talk with my close friends while I stitch. One of my friends has had to go through some pretty serious stuff in the past year. It is truly a gift in a friendship that the same people that you have shed tears with, are also the people who make you laugh. My two friends were teasing me and making me laugh really hard. It is such a blessing when you get to share laughter with your close friends.

Before I sign off, I have been thinking a lot about emergency preparedness lately. I work with people who work with EMS and work on county wide disaster preparedness. Therefore, I get a lot of reminders about being ready. Living close to a couple of major fault lines in California, there is a big expectation of a large earthquake here in the near future. My co-workers are always reminding me that "you can live without food for 30 days, but you can only live 7 days without water." The most important thing you can put away for an emergency is water. We have been told to buy gallon bottles of water and write the date of purchase with a Sharpie on it. Then put it in a cool dark place. Make sure you also account for the water needs for your pets, too! I have put seven gallons of water away for Liesl and I for a week. So just thought I would pass that along. Be prepared!

'Tis A Dark And Stormy Night...

Oh my goodness, it is stormy out there. It is so windy that the house is just shaking. It is supposed to be a really intense storm tonight and it is supposed to be really cold. I am happy that I made it home safely and am now snuggled inside.

Tonight was the first concert in our series. Singing on stage is really fun. And the applause is nice, but it all really is so fleeting. A few minutes and the song is over, a few seconds of applause and it is done. The most important thing and really the best part is coming home to someone who loves me and thinks I am awesome. My sweet Liesl met me at the door with lots of kisses. She has been so patient and understanding today. I rewarded her with lots of attention, games of hide and seek, peekaboo, and fetch. She also got lots of hugs and cuddles. Liesl loves hugs!

On my way home, I had a little treat. I never get fast food because, 1) it is unhealthy and 2) it costs a lot of money. But I had not eaten much today and really wanted something special. So I stopped at Jack in the Box and got their Oreo shake. It was so delicious.

In addition, to all of the fun of the evening, I got to stitch between musical pieces. Another alto was sewing, so we got to sit and do our needlework together. I am so looking forward to moving on to the words!

End of the Week Thoughts

I had dress rehearsal tonight after work for a concert that we are doing tomorrow. This is always an evening that takes a lot of hard work and concentration. But as I listened to beautiful music swirl around me, I thought about how much bigger my life is than what I dreamed was possible for myself. I have a truly beautiful life with an amazing family, an incredible circle of friends, a meaningful job, a dog that fills a big space in my heart, and lots of interesting things to do. I do not have a lot of money, and truthfully, I have to count my pennies closely like everyone else, but my life is so rich in the things that money could never ever buy.

So now, I sit here, at the end of the day. It is super quiet. The rain has been falling and I have a sweet little dog, dreaming sweet puppy dreams, and snoring soft, sweet little puppy snores lying snuggled into the blanket by my feet. The light is really low in the house, and before I close my eyes for the night, I reflect on the blessings of the day--people who have made me laugh or gave a kind word, a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner, puppy kisses when I got home, reading a Phillipa Gregory book about Catherine of Aragon that my boss loaned me at my lunch time. Again, the things that have no price tag, but mean the world to me.

I think it really brings the point home when we see our fellow human beings on the other side of the world reacting with such a sense of dignity in the aftermath of so much tragedy. One of my friends made a really profound observation the other day. She said that she was ready to complain because she had had a terrible night of not being able to sleep and then she remembered the up-teen thousand people who lost their beds. It gives a sense of perspective. A bed, the safe place that we lie our head at the end of the day, or where we go to when we are sick, or need to cry, read a book, or cuddle with a loved one or pet. An inane object, but one that is our comfortable and safe place. It is at these times of devastation that we truly understand that these are our brothers and sisters. Even more so, there is a great sense of empathy as we remember that there but by the Grace of God, go I...

Beware The Ides Of March...

Whoa, Nelly. What a day. I had an audit that took the better part of the day. It went well, but it still causes a little stress in the prep for it. I am a bit tired.

I got home early from my choir rehearsal tonight which was really nice. I got to play around for a while on my genealogical search. So far, I have traced the British side of my family to 1760, which is pretty cool. I am finding that the family name is actually one of the oldest families in England with the name actually being found in Templar Records as early as 1066! I am totally surprised and see that there will be lots to uncover in my search. I have quite a history to put together! It turns out that the family name figures prominently in Lancashire, (Lancaster) which was one of the two Houses in the War of the Roses. Here is the Rose of Lancaster, which is red. The House of York is white.

The ironic thing is, that within the past year, my dear friend got me hooked on English history. The Plantagenet, Tudors, and the War of the Roses. I have been totally enthralled by it. It is amazing how political everything was around the royal courts and throughout Europe. It was only recently that I learned that the daughter of Queen Isabella of Spain (who funded Christopher Columbus' expedition) was the mother of the first wife of King Henry VIII.

My genealogical search has been so fascinating. I had to upgrade my software recently and received a 90 free trial with Ancestry. They have upgraded their system so much and have made it so much easier than when I started about 10 years ago, when nothing was cataloged. Back then I literally had to spend hours going page by page through census records. So if you are curious about your own family's history, Ancestry.com is fabulous. Also, your local LDS Family History Center can be a treasure trove of information.

Happy searching!

An Evening Of Perfection

You know those days that are absolutely ordinary and you get to the end of it and you realize that it was, in fact, true perfection? That was my day today. I had a typical busy Monday, but got a lot done, worked with really wonderful people, and was reading a really good book on my lunch hour. I ended up getting off at a reasonable time and headed home, wondering how late it would be light with the time change.

I got home as dark clouds were settling in on the Peninsula, which made it look really dramatic. Yet there was not rain. I threw on my sweats and went out to work in the garden for a while. It was nice to de-stress while pulling weeds. Liesl trotted around the yard, ever vigilant for gophers and the opportunity to put her whole head down a gopher hole. (I give up.) I had filled a whole yard waste container by 7pm and felt like I had accomplished alot! Made a super healthy dinner with salmon, which I had to share with a pair of big brown eyes that were making themselves visible above the rim of my plate (I was eating on the sofa). I gave Liesl a few cuddles and kisses, then sat down to stitch while she cuddled up next to me to go to sleep. It was quiet and I felt so very content.

With the time change and the storm clouds keeping the heat in, the house was really nice and warm. Usually, my craft room/office does not get very warm during the winter, so I do not get to spend a lot of time in there. Tonight it was quite comfy, and I got to see all of my craft toys. It made me feel so happy to be in that room.

There is so much happiness and peace in the ordinary. I love the fun and adventure in my life, but I also love when I can just live in the moment in the quiet evenings. An evening with a small, beautiful dog, and the peace of knowing how truly fortunate and blessed that I am.

May you be blessed as well...

The Weekend Sped By!

I have to say that falling back is a lot more fun than springing forward in Daylight Savings. Losing that hour was harsh. LOL Time seemed to be moving at warp speed, too!

Here is my progress on Star Spangled Banner. I am having a lot of fun stitching this. It appears that I had a really old 902 as my red. I had run out, and had to pull a skein of the same number that I had bought a few weeks ago. The newer dye lot had a lot more "pink" to it than the old, which was really noticeable. I pulled out my DMC collection and was able to find a closer match in another number. But I was a bit nervous for a while there. All is well.

Prayers continue to go up for the people of Japan. I was watching the national news earlier this evening and they had before and after photos of the region from Google Earth. It really brought home the scale of the devastation. I can not begin to imagine what the victims are going through. It really helps me to remember how fragile life really is.

May you have a blessed week.

Busy Saturday!

The day started off early with little Miss Liesl going to the groomer. I am always a little embarrassed when I go to the groomer because Liesl does not particularly like to be brushed on her legs or beard, so she sometimes looks like a little ragamuffin. When I took her in today she was really curly and her fur was long because it has been cold and I did not want to shave her down just yet. Plus, no matter how much I have washed her face this week, her beard was just muddy (and I had a washer full of dirty washcloths to prove it!) She has been sticking her head way down into gopher holes and has just been a mess. As a result her beard was blackish gray instead of white. I felt good though, because when I took her in, the groomer enthusiastically said that she can tell that Liesl has a good and happy life, and that she can tell that I just let her have fun being a dog. She said that loves to see a happy dog who gets to have a lot of fun. We agreed to keep Liesl's feathers short to support her active life style at the beach and in her yard.

I felt really out of sorts having Liesl away for four hours. She is with me all of the time. So I did some chores, and worked on some projects for work. I also ran a few errands, then picked Liesl up right on time. She was so happy to see her momma and vice versa. The newly bathed Liesl lasted about 10 minutes. She wanted to go outside, I thought to go potty. Instead, she immediately had her head down a gopher hole. sigh. She is incorrigible.

I have spent the last couple of hours stitching, which was a little piece of heaven. It will be an early evening due to the time change. I want to be fully rested for tomorrow at church. We are working on a new member service in the near future. Earlier this week, a young lady in our church asked me to be her sponsor as she joins our church. I feel so honored and a bit humbled. I take this very seriously, so I want to find out exactly what I should be doing so that I fulfill my responsibilities.

Remember to change your clocks tonight! I will have stitching photos tomorrow!

Prayers for Japan

Because I was out last night, I had not heard the news about the devastating earthquake in Japan last night. My introduction to this was the fact that the Office of Emergency Services was sending out the pre-taped emergency messages via telephone. I got the call early this morning, since I live within a half mile of the Pacific Ocean, that there was a tsunami warning for my neighborhood (I live within the flood plain). This was a bit chilling. The photos of Japan are almost too much to bear. Prayers are being said for people who are in harm's way.

I am exhausted. I did not sleep well last night, and so I have been really tired all day. I look forward to restful sleep tonight. I was able to do a little stitching after work, but overall, it looks like I will be going to sleep early. I also have to be up early because Liesl is going to the groomer tomorrow so I should have some glamour shots of her tomorrow night.

I do need to start putting a plan in place for my fair entries this year. Last year cross stitch entries were really down, so I want to make a good showing. I will have to write down my plan this weekend so I can start planning out my time for stitching and finishing. So much to do and so little time.

Note To Self...

Okay, note to self- if it is past my bedtime, and I have been going through pages of online research for hours to the point where stuff is not making sense, then I really should not attempt a post here. Tonight I remembered that I had not proofed my post last night because I was so overly tired. Wow, that was just not no good English writin' right there. LOL To my dear readers who had to try to follow any path of logic of mine, I apologize. I shall try to remember basic sentence structure in the future. I will also try not to ramble.

Tonight was Knitting Circle. Oh, boy, it was so much fun. We had yummy comfort food and lots of laughter. It is amazing that I can be so stressed out before I get to Knitting Circle, or even just by trying to get to Knitting Circle. However, by the end of the evening, I walk out of there so relaxed, happy and laughing. We have so much fun together and talk about so many different things. I feel so badly for my daughter though and really missed her. She has been really sick with an Upper Respiratory Infection and could not come. This virus that is going around is really bad. She says she has been sleeping most of the week.

Tomorrow is Friday of a really busy and long week. It will be a busy day as always, but everything just sort of falls into place on Fridays. I am still working on my weekend plans, but look forward to having a little down time.

Have a great Friday!

Too Many Hobbies, Too Little Time

I have put one of my favorite hobbies to the side, because it is the most time consuming of all of them. It the genealogical research of mother's side of the family, which immigrated here to work in the silk mills in Paterson, New Jersey during the Industrial Revolution. What is really sort of fascinating is that a few of my ancestors were embroiderers in the mills. I have to wonder if there is some sort of institutional memory that has made my daughter and I love needle arts so much. Anyway, I love to work on it and use a variety of sources to back up each other's information. I find it really interesting.

Needless, to say, I spent all evening on this. Once you find information, you can't let it go, and I find myself scouring online pages and pages of information and data. When you hit a brick wall, though, it can drive you crazy.

I am seriously considering getting rid of my cable. It seems like there is nothing on but reality shows anymore. I have a couple of things I watch, like the races, but other than that, I am turning my television off with great regularity now. Which is why I was able to work on research and in general, read books. Something has really happened to television and it is a bit disappointing. Even Modern Family seems to have lost something this season. I suppose that the tide will change when viewers complain enough. In the meantime, there are so many great books to read, hobbies to be done, and ancestors to be found...

Just Another Manic Monday

Whoooosh. This day flew by. It was a very busy day, however, I took the rare opportunity to come home on time. It was even light when I left work. Whoohoo. It had been really cold and windy all day, so it was super nice to come home and take the time to cook a little comfort food. I am totally hooked on the gorgonzola gnocchi from Trader Joe's. We always have dinner at Thursday night Knitting Circle. We take turns and one night, one of the ladies made a recipe with this gnocchi. Oh my goodness, it is so good.

Dinner with the ladies is really special. It had started out as a first night, welcome, kind of thing. It was so cozy, and so nice to just sit and have a meal together. It is an opportunity to just slow down after work, relax, and talk so we continued it. We all bring something to share, cookies, a bottle of wine, veggies. It all works out to be a lovely meal and a time that I really look forward to.

It was really nice to be home this evening. I treasured the time to stitch. I love that sound that the needle and thread makes as it passes through the fabric. It is almost as soothing as the sound of waves crashing on the beach. I am still working on the Star Spangled Banner. I hope to start the words by the weekend.

Sunday Serenity

I feel very blessed to live in one of the most beautiful places on this earth. I spend a lot of my free time walking and taking in the beauty and majesty of the coastline and mountains here. Originally, it started as a way to exercise Liesl, but turned into a true appreciation of what God has created and time to thank Him for it. As a result I say prayers or just talk to God when I walk. Right now I am faced with making a decision, so I asked God for a little sign that the direction that I am leaning towards is on the right track.

I must preface this by saying that it has been about 20 years since I have found an intact sand dollar here. Usually they are broken. Today when I asked for my little sign, I kept finding intact sand dollars, one after the other, which was pretty exciting. (In addition, I found what appears to be a fancy conch shell, too. I also found a large shell with mother of pearl.) While I thought at the time that the sand dollars were a pretty good sign, it was not until I broke one that I realized how profound the sign is. I was trying to clean one when I broke it. I was so upset. But it was not until I broke it when I remembered that each sand dollars contains five doves on the inside, which made me remember the Legend of the Sand Dollar and the association with God. I am a bit humbled when I think about it. I feel as though the direction that I was favoring is blessed now.

I really enjoyed my time on the beach today. It was getting ready to rain, the clouds were swirling and dark. The water was silver, and there was a certain peace that is always present right before it rains. I was walking with my beautiful little companion who was overflowing with joy and we had most of the beach to ourselves. It was a beautiful hour filled with peace and wonder.

May your week be blessed with peace and wonder, too.

Orchid Update!

Well, my orchid must be happy because it continues to do its magical thing and is blooming slowly. I think it looks rather marvelous! I am always amazed at the fact that orchid bloom can last months, and I am looking forward to seeing these blooms for some time.

Thank you for all of the good thoughts and well wishes! I have been feeling much better today and got a really good night of sleep last night. My coworker and I agree that the worst part is the swimmy feeling that we have in our heads. I figure a few more nights of rest and I should be back to my same ornery self. I was kinda bummed tonight though, because it was my Knitting Circle night. However, I really felt I should be home, getting rest and I would feel terrible bringing my germs into someone else's home. So I stayed home. I miss the fun ladies. (I am doing a boo boo lip over this.)

Usually when I am on vacation I try to buy something lovely on for my house as a memento. This staycation was no different. I was at Marshall's last week (I heart Marshall's!) and found this handmade set of utensils. I have not even taken them out of the box, because I just like looking at them, and I a not ready for them to get scratched with use.

Now normally, I love very girlie looking patterns--swirls, flowers, etc. But these were so rustic and so simply beautiful, I had to have them. I only have service for four because it was what I could afford. So lovely and to think that they are the works of someone's hands makes them even more beautiful.

Speaking of table settings, I have been having thoughts for some time that I really want to have some dinner parties. I have terrific friends and know lots of really interesting people, so I have been thinking about doing some really neat groupings of people for eating wonderful food and having great conversation. I have run this idea past a few friends who were really thrilled with the idea and said that they would love to help. My house is too small for inside dinners, so I have been thinking about outside dinners. I have a neat area that I can string lights. Then I could borrow a long table or two and some chairs. I have a vision in my head of what I want it to look like, but it would be really simple and festive, if that makes any sense. I have some planning to do, but I think I can pull it off this summer. Yay!

Progress!

Here is my most recent progress on The Star Spangled Banner. I have not worked on it today. My office is various stages of the cold/flu thingy from heck. Last evening, I felt really dizzy. I would turn my head and feel like I was falling. By the time I went to bed, I felt terrible. I just could not get comfortable enough to sleep all night. I couldn't stand it anymore so I got up at 4 am and just got ready for work. I was at my office by 6 am, figuring that the earlier I could get to work, the sooner I could get home and go to bed. I was home by 3:30. I am hoping for sleep tonight. I feel really cruddy, and will be going to bed in a few minutes. No fun.

It is so hard to believe that the week is almost over. It has flown by! My office has been so busy, which is good. Liesl has been so glad to see her friends (I am glad to see them, too!) She has been giving everyone lots of kisses.

Well, my head is all funky, so I am off to bed...