Perky Blog Post #1

Posted on November 7, 2008 by Suzanne

And thus concludes all chipper and perky blog posts.

Someone made this comment on my prior post about the white stuff in the sky.

I am bound and determined to prove this someone wrong by posting as many chipper and perky blog posts as possible.

So how is this for chipper? Our football team just won another game and are headed to the Semi-Finals!!! We chose not to go watch because of the unmentionable weather, and instead I enjoyed a nice evening at the movie watching Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. The boys stayed home and watched Indiana Jones (the newest one).

We’re really hopeful that tomorrow is going to be a great day at our little show in Traer (anyone in the area? you should come, there’s some neat stuff on display!), and as soon as I figure out what I did with my camera, I’ll post some pictures!

Have a Fabulous Saturday!

Suzanne

So funny

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Suzanne

Every so often I mention books or movies or TV shows that I’ve enjoyed, and I have to tell you about this little gem:

Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog

It’s a made-for-the-web musical by Joss Whedon and others. It stars Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day. The first 2 episodes are available, the 3rd goes up on Friday. It’s only viewable for free through the 20th, so don’t delay.

I think it’s really funny, but then I have a weird sense of humor. It’s not for little kids, though. In my opinion….

List number 1 — Random things about reading (and movies)

Posted on March 1, 2008 by Suzanne

I’ve been tagged by a number of people to do the 7 random/weird things meme that makes it way around every so often. I have resisted doing it, because I’m not really sure what else to say that I don’t already talk about here. Some of my best brainstorming happens when I’m avoiding climbing out of bed, though, and this morning was no different, so let’s see how this turns out:

1. I have to have something to read when I’m eating breakfast.

2. I’ll even resort to re-reading something if I’m really desperate.

3. I read so quickly, and so many books, that I sometimes don’t remember if I’ve read a book or not. The other day I was at the library and found a book by an author (Katie Fforde) that I didn’t think I had read. Well, it turns out I had, but I couldn’t remember exactly what happened, so I went ahead and finished reading it just to refresh my memory. Luckily, it was worth the reread, although I won’t make it a habit of rereading her books.

4. I do have a couple of authors that I reread, and will continue to reread for a very long time. Lois McMaster Bujold, most notably. I get something different from her writing every time I read. And there are some passages that I will reread several times in one go.

5. I also rewatch favorite movies and TV shows on DVD. I’ve been through Stargate SG-1 twice now, I’m on my third go at Battlestar Galactica, and there are various others that I’ve watched and rewatched. I can’t even count how many times I’ve rewatched The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I should probably go through and add links to those shows and stuff, but I’m just not in the mood. Sorry.

6. When I say “watch” I really mean “listen” and sort of watch. Because no, I don’t sit around and just watch TV all the time. I have a TV in my studio and a set of wireless headphones. I love my wireless headphones. I love them so much that they are falling apart — the plastic coating on the ear part is peeling off. They were a gift from my husband several years ago.

7. I think he likes that I use them because it gives him the opportunity to sneak up on me and scare the crap out of me when he starts talking and I don’t realize he is there.

My list is marked List number 1, because I’m going to try to make March the month of lists thanks to the theme at NaBloPoMo. You remember in November when I posted every day for a month? Well, they are sort of doing this all year long now, with themes each month. I thought it mght be fun to try this theme, so we’ll see how that goes. Or not.

If you haven’t been tagged, and want to do the random/weird thing tag, be my guest. Pretty much everyone I know has already been tagged….

Later gators -

Suzanne

Recently watched movies and TV shows, with some added fiber content

Posted on October 27, 2007 by Suzanne

I’ve been working my way through the first season of Supernatural on DVD. I can’t remember where I heard about it, but it has some actors that I like (Jensen Ackles, Jeffrey Dean Morgan) so I thought I’d try it — I’m enjoying it, but I think if I were actually sitting down and WATCHING it, I might be more creeped out by it than I am. I mostly putter around in my sewing room while I’m “watching” things, so I know I miss a lot. When I do really pay attention, I can tell that they do an excellent job of making the show scary. Speaking of scary, here’s something that’ll scare those of you that are homeowners:

That would be the rotten wood that was exposed when the walk-in door to my garage was removed today. The doorframe and door are equally as scary looking. Horrors!

I’ve also been watching Stargate: Atlantis — I like that one, too. It’s the same universe as SG-1, but it has a different “vibe” which I’m enjoying.

Speaking of vibe, does this make your eyes vibrate too?

That’s a sneak peek of something I’m working on. It could also be considered scary, as it is potential proof of my insanity. Those are 1 inch finished squares. At first I was going to piece a 25 by 25 square, but after realizing that was 625 individual squares, I decided it was quicker to do the math to figure out how to do it this way.

And the really scary part? After I took this photo, I cut that checkerboard apart, because it is the background of some smaller pieces. Some of my readers will quickly guess what it is. I’ll leave you with that tease and will promise an update sometime soon.

While working on the checkerboard, I watched the movie Cat ch and Release starring Jennifer Garner. I liked it — my husband would have hated it. He will not watch chick flicks with me. Luckily, I pretty much like everything he likes to watch, so it’s not a great loss. One of the most interesting thigns on the DVD was the preview for the movie Across the Universe — which I see came out in October. Has anyone seen it? It appears that reviews are mixed. The preview made it look like something I’d enjoy, but it sounds like people are either loving it or hating it….

Speaking of loving or hating something: I’ve so appreciated the comments about the quilt that I posted a couple of days ago. I think many of you are in the same boat as I am regarding the color orange — it’s a love it or hate it kind of color. After working with it in this quilt, I’m starting to love it more than I used to.

I mentioned making pillowcases to go with the quilt:

I used instructions for pillowcases that I found on Vicki’s blog. The only difference is that my hem is pieced, while hers is a single fabric. When I first saw her instructions I went “HUNH?” but once I actually had fabric in had and set about making my own, all became clear, and the instructions really do make sense. And make a very nice pillowcase, I might add.

I’m officially out of clever segues, so I apologize for the abrupt return to the original topic of movies:

Tomorrow night we are going to see the movie The Final Season – it’s a baseball movie — based on the true story of the Norway, Iowa baseball team. I’ve just discovered that Sean Astin is the main character — another actor I like (Samwise!), and the small town of Norway is only about an hour southeast of where we live. Not that I have ever been to Norway, or know anything about it…..

OK, so maybe my segues were more along the lines of corny than they were clever, but I worked really really hard on them.

My house is quiet — the boys are at a birthday party, Mark is in the field, and the young man working on my house is done for the day, so I ought to be taking advantage of the quiet. A nap sounds pretty good, but I may just head back to the sewing room and some more of Supernatural.

TTFN-

Suzanne

Another baby quilt, done!

Posted on September 2, 2007 by Suzanne

Mark brought home an official announcement from a coworker about the baby boy that he and his wife adopted this summer. He asked me if I was going to make something for the new little guy.

Well, of course!

Wasn’t sure what, or when, but sure! I love making baby quilts.

I was moving some stuff around in the studio, and there, in one of the piles, was a little boy quilt I had made as a sample for my 2nd book. Perfect!

Needed to bind it (zipped it on by machine) and I decided to make a matching pillowcase (hey! I like making these cases!), threw it in the wash, and voila!

Isn’t that Spider Frog fabric cute???

I’ve spent most of the weekend messing around in the studio. Decided to put yet another one of my UFOs on the frame. It’s taking me awhile — lots of stops and starts and thread changes. Hopefully I’ll have it done tomorrow, though!

Just got home from watching the movie Hairspray — I love having a theater in our little town! Great movie, lots of catchy music.

That’s all I’ve got for now!

TTFN-

Suzanne