01.20.09

Is everyone else as full of hope as I am this morning? I know all of us didn't vote for Obama, but even those who did not surely feel a sense of optimism on this day. I wasn't sure I wanted to vote for him initially. I so wanted a woman in the White House, but I just wasn't sure I wanted that woman to be Hillary. When Obama won the nomination, my reservations evaporated. I listened to what he said, watched his face and gestures, and felt that sense of hope and possibility grow. As the mud-slinging increased, and as nothing stuck to him, I began to think that his election was a real possibility. Even when people continued to try to convince me that Barack wasn't really a citizen born in this country; even when his middle name was used to 'prove' he was a Muslim; even when his youth and inexperience were brought into play, the tide grew and gained momentum. On election day, I felt a sense of certainty: this was going to happen.
So today, I am full of hope. Let's give our man a chance to find his footing. Let's all pray that he has chosen his advisors well. Let's hope the rest of the world is willing to give us another chance to show that we're worth their consideration. That's what I'll be doing in the coming days, months and years: praying that Mr. Obama is able to fulfill his promise -- his own personal promise of statesmanship and integrity, as well as the promise to bring this country out of the doldrums and into a new age of hope, honesty, consideration for the planet and for each other.

We did it. We finished on Sunday. Got the pictures posted to Flickr the same day, but I forgot to let you know. So. Here they are -- just click on the flickr badge on the left and you can see the progress we made. I actually sewed a few seams on Sunday evening. Yippee!!

Later today I'll try to post some pictures of the progress in the sewing room. I'm going to re-paint it first. The color I originally chose is just hideous. It reminds me of a morgue.....and I've never been to morgue. Alan added daylight cfl bulbs to the light fixture and it only makes the color worse. Seriously. It's just awful. For Round #2, I've chosen a softer, slightly darker shade of green. I didn't want a white or whitish color for this room, as I want white at the window. I've been looking at the Country Curtains website and I can get some really pretty cafe curtains fairly inexpensively. So. My goal for today is to get that room painted, open the window & turn on the fan to get it dry, and get the furniture moved in. I know: it's a lot, but I'm focused. Onward.

Pete Bakes!

Have I mentioned Pete Bakes? It's this great site by a young guy in Washington, D.C., who bakes. Yep, that's it. He bakes, posts pictures & a recipe. Mostly, it's good, basic baking. I love his style, although the lack of caps in his posts is a bit eccentric for me, but I'm getting used to it. Today's post was the best recipes from his 2008 posts. I copied 3 for my very own: Onion, bacon & cheese biscuits, Challah, & a great-sounding Chocolate Chip coffee cake. I may try that for next week's guild meeting.

Happy New Year!

It's been a long time, I know. There's just been so much going on. And not so much, at the same time. We went to Las Vegas for both Thanksgiving & Christmas this year -- different on both counts. Didn't go back to IL because we'll be there the end of this month for the mother of all showers. A big tea party! What fun, huh? I'm really looking forward to it for so many reasons: seeing Patty, Julie, Julie's girls, my boys, etc; the shower itself, as we have a wonderful gift; we'll have Christmas with all the IL family. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it a lot. I miss my kids.

We started working on the 2nd guest room, turning it into my sewing room. I've given up trying to use the porch -- it's just too cold or too hot most of the year. No, I'm not Goldilocks! I just need me some hvac to make my workroom functional. I also needed better lighting & more outlets, so the move into the house really was inevitable. We'll put the queen from that room out on the porch & I'll use it for laying out quilts when we don't have guests. We'll still have the same number of beds, but the one on the porch just won't be air conditioned. On the other hand, nights are generally OK, even in the summer, & we can add warmth in the winter -- so no worries.

So. . . . we stripped the wallpaper, got all the goop off the walls & the holes patched. We even got it painted, although I'm not loving the color I chose. It looks kind of ill. I'm pretty sure it will be OK once I get the furniture moved in, but in the meantime? yuck.

The best news? I'm no longer an officer of my lovely group, so this year I can enjoy it more without stressing about each meeting. That's a very good thing. AND I don't have to attend board meetings anymore -- that's one evening meeting down! Of course, I have volunteered to serve on a couple of committees, so I'm not a complete slug. In fact, I'll be leaving one of them after next month -- too much stress for me on that one.

All the critters have survived to greet the new year, although we had to separate the cats last week. Little Grace was very stressed by Pearl & wasn't using the litter box, so we moved Pearl out of the bedroom & into the hall & bathroom. She now has 3 beds: in the hall, on top of the scratching post & inside a bathroom cabinet. She has said scratching post, as well as the track ball thingy & all her toys, with her food, water & box in the bathroom. She's adjusting pretty well so far, although I know she misses sleeping with me. Little Grace has returned to her own goofy, fully-present self & woke me up the other night sitting on my face! She's really happy again -- I guess she likes to be the only cat. Funny, because she didn't act like this when Blossom was alive.
So now you're fairly current with what's happening. Oh, my beginners' class is coming along very nicely. I have 4 or 5 regulars, & a new student will be joining us next week. I like doing this -- it gets my week off to a nice start & helps me to clarify my thinking about how & why I do things the way I do. It's all good, as I expect the rest of the year to be. Mostly.