More boxes = much better

Posted on November 17, 2008 by Suzanne

I need to try to take a better picture later when the light is different, so you don’t just see the reflections in the glass.

I bought 2 more sets of boxes and it is so stinking cute. It’s like I planned it this way, but really, I wasn’t thinking about the boxes matching the quilt when I bought the boxes.

I can’t really take credit for this cuteness either:

The Library has a Wreath display, and this is the first year we’ve had our act together to make one. Mom actually knitted those little socks. Aren’t they adorable? Even cuter in person. We tied jingle bells on them, and stuck knitting needles and floral picks that look like striped candy in each sock. I can’t wait to take it over and see what other people have done this year.

Speaking of DOING, I need to get some quilting done, so:

TTFN. Yak at ya later!

Suzanne

The shoe verdict

Posted on November 16, 2008 by Suzanne

I see that Mary got her shoes, and mine arrived last week as well. The verdict? Mixed results. I don’t love them as much as I love my sandals, so I don’t know that I’ve replaced the sandals or not. The arch in the right shoe hits me just a little bit funny. I do love the service from Zappos.com, though, and can recommend them as a way to buy shoes online. I’m not crazy about buying that way, but it’s so hard for me to find what I want in stores around here that I guess I’ll have to go with.

Yesterday, our HS football team played it’s semi-final game — and WON! It was a great game — and it was indoors…nice…(state football championship games are played in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. Wish they could play indoors all the time…)

The Class A Championship game is next Friday at 2. I think they are probably going to close school for the day (which they’ll have to make up later, but I think it’s totally worth it…). This will be the first time for the North Tama Redhawks to actually PLAY in the championship game.

I don’t really have anything creative to report on (though I did work on my sweater for awhile last night and found a much better way to do my Make 1 Increases (what I was doing was leaving holes, ugh), this new way makes total sense (now that I know about it) and will make me much happier. I’m not ripping out, but I’ll probably use some sewing thread to close up the gaps…).

I think I’ll quit rambling now. Have a lovely day!

Suzanne

A little BAH and a lot of HUMBUG

Posted on November 14, 2008 by Suzanne

Yes, my friends, it’s that time of year. Time to skip right past Thanksgiving and go straight to Christmas.

Shopping at Hobby Lobby last night, I bought some deco junk and then raided the home stash to try to get something done before our town’s Holiday Happening’s festivities kick off this weekend (with a lighted parade this evening, that will probably be in the rain. Oh joy.)

So, for the last 5 hours I’ve been (a) helping customers or (b) fiddling with crap. I warpped the pole with greenery and lights but after I hung the quilt up, it looked like crap. The dark greenery looked awful with the acid green. So the light and greenery (that was a pain in the tush to put UP, came back down.) And now I have this:

I found the stacking boxes at Sam’s Club, and don’t they look AMAZING with the quilt and the pole and the red and white checkerboard???

What I think I need (in addition to wiping the sand and crud off the front of the shop) is MORE of those boxes. Like, I don’t know: 3 or 4 stacks of those boxes!!!

And so now, even though it took me 5 hours to just get this much done, all of a sudden, while looking at this picture, the BAH and the HUMBUG have apparently disappeared. Too bad I can’t just run to Sam’s Club right now.

I have to figure out what the heck I’m going to do with the pumpkins that I pulled out of the window, though. Maybe my Mom wants them to make pumpkin-y things like bread. Mom?

Shoe choice

Posted on November 13, 2008 by Suzanne

I Like:

Presidio
by Keen

This is what I ended up ordering last night. They are black wtih a blue stitching detail.

I really wanted them in the Carnelian, though.

I Like:

Presidio
by Keen

But they were out of my size in those. In fact, the black ones I ordered were the last ones they had in my size in that color.

Apparently I shop for things at the wrong time. I hate buying things weeks and months before I need them. It’s stupid. But apparently that’s thew ay the retail works and one of these years I’m going to get with it.

Speaking of getting with it. Our town kicks off it’s Holiday Happenings events this weekend. Which means I need to get out the Christmas decorations. Tomorrow. I am so not ready for Christmas decorations.

Later dudes.

For want of a shoe

Posted on November 12, 2008 by Suzanne

I’ve been a little bit on the crabby side for the past couple of days, and just today figured out at least part of why.

My shoes.

See, when I bought my Keen sandals at the beginning of the summer, I fell in love. I wore them every day. And kept wearing them with socks once it turned cooler. Now that it’s actually cold and has been rainy and wet, I decided I’d probably ought to switch to something else. (I’ve tried some other Keen shoes on at the store at the mall that carries Keens, but the ones that look good don’t have the same footbed, and don’t feel as good, and the one pair that *did* feel good was super ugly. It wouldn’t have been super-ugly on someone with smaller feet, but with my big honkin’ feet all of that undecorated leather was just…really ugly).

So. Where was I? Oh yes — different shoes. It’s not that the ones I’ve been wearing are painful, they just aren’t…my Keens.

Today? I decided to give the Keen sandals a try again, and suddenly? I’m not so cranky. Apparently it is worth spending a lot of money to make your feet happy.

But I’m not getting the butt-ugly ones. I’m thinking of looking around online to see what I can find.

******************

In completely unrelated news, today was the day of requests I could not fulfill.

I had about 5 separate people come in looking for things I don’t have in stock. Some of them I can order, some are things I don’t have access to, and some are things that even if I could order, they were in too much of a hurry for them.

The funny part isn’t the requests, though, it’s the conversation I had with my husband at supper about one of them. You sort of have to read the dialog out loud to get it.

Suzanne: One of the ladies that came in was looking for some tulle. She was going to line some little cups and fill them with candy or something.

Mark: You need a special tool for that?

Suzanne thinks for a second or two.

Suzanne: T-U-L-L-E. A fine nylon netting.

******************

In the car on the way home yesterday, the boys and I were talking about the weather. Joe asked a question and Will answered. And then Will kept talking. I don’t even remember what it was about.

After a minute or two, Joe said “If I’d wanted an editorial I’d have asked for one.”

I couldn’t decide what was funnier. Joe’s use of the word editorial, or the fact that usually HE’S the one editorializing.

******************

Today is supposed to be Work In Progress Wednesday post, but I’ve really got nothing to show. I’ve been working, but no photos. Maybe tomorrow — I did finish a customer quilt this afternoon. I guess I did show my quilt in progress yesterday. The pattern for that is from the book Have Your Cake (and eat it too), the quilt pattern is called Beef Cake (all of the patterns are cake related names, and the original of this one is in plaids and is very Manly.)

And now — I’m off to online-shoe-shop! Wish me luck!

Suzanne