Monday, February 28, 2011

Yes, Virginia, There Really IS a Quilt Police Force.

I just have to link to this post today; it really burns me up to read of such snobbery.  With a little research, you can figure out exactly who the Quilt Police are.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Stephanie to Blog World: Come in, Please.

Well, I'm jumping back into the blogging game, even though I don't feel I have anything very interesting to write about.  I think it's just been the usual winter blahs. So I'll just do some "bullet point" posts here to catch you up to speed.

  • Still doing physical therapy on the arm, and it's much stronger, though not up to speed just yet.  I am getting tired of PT, though, so this is probably my last week. I can now sleep at night and do most things without discomfort. Yay!
  • Because I'm still on lifting restrictions, and my arm still fatigues quickly, there has still been no sewing or ironing, and that Christmas tree is still in my dining room, fully decorated.
  • Finished precepting one student nurse, a gal after my own heart, and now am co-precepting another to help him get all his hours in in time to graduate.  I've really enjoyed this.
  • Planning a cruise to Alaska!  We're booked in August and now I'm trying to get the info together to get our passports.  Jack has never had a birth certificate, so his will be a challenge.
  • Stuck at 35 pounds lost; juggling the same 3 lbs over and over again. 
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  • Took a 2-hour class at a local beading store making a pendant out of microscope slides.  I still have some more accessorizing to do on it, but when I finish, I'll post a picture.  It was a lot of fun, and I'm thinking of playing with some funky jewelry making.  Nothing fancy, but they will make fun gifts.
  • Along the same line, I've been playing with my Kumi-loom and discovered the neatest yarn shop, where I bought some yarn to use for my funky necklaces.  The shop is run by a husband and wife team, and I think he's from the middle east, but they both knit and teach knitting--he teaches lefties and she teaches right-handers. The yarns are so lovely, it almost makes me want to start crocheting again!
  • I've decided to sort out and sell a lot of my rubber stamps and supplies, keeping only a few special ones. It's been years since I made Christmas cards or Thank-You cards, and I'm not into scrapbooking, so the stamp pads are probably all dried out. Heck, I can't even remember what some of those supplies are for. 
  • My oldest Compassion child, Dalia from El Salvador, turned 18 this month, and has graduated from the program.  We've been writing for 10 years now, and it makes me feel like an empty-nester all over again. I'm allowed to write her one final letter, and then that's that.  Fortunately, I still have Aduri in Bangladesh, and she's only 11 so there are many more years til we have to say goodbye. 
  • But I did miss my  Spanish-speaking gal enough to go online and find another little girl: Maria in Columbia.  She's 8 (I'm drawn to the 7- and 8-year-olds) and born on one of my favorite days of the year. Can you guess which day?
  • The weather is greatly improved!  After getting home from PT, Tandi and I took a walk at a nearby park, and look what we saw:


Daffodils, I think!

Maybe daylilies?

The first forsythia blossom. ( Sorry for the blurriness--it's my new Coolpix point and shoot and I haven't mastered it yet.)

Spring is coming!