Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Reunion fun and a door prize

My class reunion (see my last post) went very well, thank you very much! We didn't have as big of a turn out as we may have liked and for some reason a lot of locals did not attend. That made me feel badly for the people who took the time and trouble to drag their families across the country for this function.

There was a huge slide show consisting of old school pictures, past reunions, and those who weren't able to attend were nice enough to send updated family photos. I couldn't help but notice and I know it had to make a lot of people uncomfortable was the fact that while all these pictures of happy couples at our past reunions flashed on the screen all night long, they weren't the same happy couples at this reunion. Or shall I say they were one half old couple and one half new couple. Yes indeed folks, it would appear that the dreaded mid life crises bug has bit many of my classmates!

I bet there will be an updated slide show at the next get together!

I did have to laugh at the pictures of the 20th (this was our 30th) as there were pictures of me and my 'date from hell' that I hadn't seen in 10 years. That date truly deserves a post of it's own and someday I'll blog about it, I promise! But anyway after that awful night my best friend got out a pair of manicure scissors and cut him out of the pictures so I wouldn't have to cringe every time I looked at them. She was at the reunion the other night and we still laughed about it!

My little Chlorox got into the act too and right before we left the house she presented me with a door prize to take along with me.

She's thoughtful like that.

But anyway here is a picture of Hans and me (wearing my Burda dress). I have a lot more photos but there are other people in them and I don't want to put pictures of unsuspecting people all over the internet!


Here she is, Chlorox the pretty yet practical party planner. She's always ready with the purrfect gift!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Class Reunion..

... two words that can strike fear, excitement, indifference, or anticipation in the hearts of many.

My high school class reunion is this weekend.

My 30 year class reunion!

I still remember the day my mother drove off in our big green Pontiac to attend her 2oth reunion and I thought: God is she old.

Now I'm old plus 1o years.

Since I still live in the same area that I went to school, I've attended all of my reunions and even helped plan several. I believe we were a class of about 105 kids, small by some standards but I think smaller classes have more success at getting together than larger ones. I've met people who had hundreds in their class and don't even hold reunions.

I think we had a pretty nice group, but I meet people who vow to never attend their reunion, "I hated everyone in school and I don't ever want to see them again!" is a recurring theme.

When I was in school we certainly had our share of cliques. The jocks, the nerds, the greasers, and the plain old popular kids. I didn't fall into any of these categories and even though I was a cheerleader, I wasn't popular.

How on earth is that? you ask. Well, I could do a split and turn a cartwheel without falling on my butt, which is about all it took to make the team at my little school.

I've stated before that I was never really up to par when it came to the inner knowledge of girly things and I still stand by that. I had long frizzy hair when long straight hair was in. I wore coke bottle glasses until I was 15. I had chipmunk teeth (I didn't get braces until I was in my 20's). Halfway through my illustrious high school career I developed acne and gained such a large amount of weight so quickly that I have stretch marks on my hips and thighs as a result (I eventually managed to get rid of the weight and later on actually weighed less when 9 months pregnant than I did back then).

These qualities do not make for popularity.

But I certainly wasn't the only one with these issues, and I did have friends, and luckily wasn't tormented like some kids were.

By the time I graduated though, it seemed like everyone crossed those invisible 'cliquey' lines and became friends, and that's an unusual thing.

We hold our reunions every 5 years and I look forward to them each time. For the most part they've been pretty successful with some members arriving from all over the states, but I really wish those who have yet to attend, would.

The strange thing is that those who've come each year look the same, but those who've only came to the latest reunions have changed so much! Hmmm.

But it's funny how what made kids popular back then is not at all what would make someone desirable today. I remember at my 10th reunion when one of our nerdy classmates (chess club, camera club, good grades etc...) showed up with his beautiful wife who was sporting a huge diamond wedding ring and had a nanny for their 3 kids (I believe they have 5 kids now). He was so nice and so patient with his children (who bawled and fought through an entire picnic) and we 'girls' (just because we were unpopular didn't mean we wanted to date the unpopular boys!) were kicking ourselves because we hadn't been smart enough in school to see his potential.

What I like is that even though old friends end up gravitating to each other by the end of the evening, everyone takes the time to circulate and visit with those who they may not have been close to in school.

I still get a kick out of Betsy who has also attended each reunion. Betsy was in special ed back then and although we weren't friends I do look forward to seeing her now, because Betsy really just loves life and has so much fun. When I arrived at our last reunion 5 years ago I had a ton of junk (center pieces etc...) in my car and really needed help getting it into the building. Betsy and her boyfriend Bill (Betsy pronounces it Beeeyal) had just pulled in beside me.

"Thank God, Betsy!" I said. "I really need help getting this stuff in there." And I looked pointedly at Beeeyal.

"Sure, Honey, I'll help you, but Beeeyal can't, he has a bad back."

So Betsy (who was wearing what appeared to be a peach, satin prom dress) and I staggered into the building under the weight of all my junk and Beeeyal brought up the rear, carrying our purses which is all his bad back could handle.

In the last 5 years we've lost 3 of our friends to a brain tumor, an accident, and a suicide. I have distinct memories of each of them and my heart goes out to their families.

So Friday night I'll be wearing my Burda dress (since I haven't made anything else this summer!), introducing Hans to all my old friends, and will hopefully have a nice time.

And since I didn't get stuck planning this reunion, I'll give Beeeyal and his bad back a break.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

It looks better in person!

The purse, not the cat.

Chlorox looks good all the time!

Actually, she's kinda driving me nuts these days. Ever since she got her face lift she's become a bit of a diva. She may be thirteen but she's acting very kittenish lately, especially when Hans (who's a Leo) is around!

This is my 'coffee cup' purse. At least it's supposed to look like a coffee cup and it really does, just not so much in these pictures.


I've mentioned before that I'm very cheap, so instead of buying new fabric and ruining it if my idea didn't work, I used some old blue jeans and remnants from my Wizard of Oz Beach Bag. I used my Day Bag pattern, cut it down in size, and used 2 belt loops to hold the bamboo handle in place. I also cut the sides on a slight angle so they would taper outwards at the top and be a little narrower at the base, like a coffee cup.

As usual I made things difficult for myself. I didn't think about adding a pocket until after I had the sides sewn together so attaching it became a bit of a challenge. Then I decided that a Velcro closure on the pocket would be nice, but I didn't think about it until the pocket was in place. Again with the challenges, but it worked.

The pocket should definitely be secured because when you're carrying it, the pocket opening is to the side and not at the top. This is more of a fun purse than a functioning purse as there is just not a lot of room inside.





















She loves being in the sewing room with me (if Hans isn't around). She'll play with my tape measures, talk up a storm, and take many cat naps.

She's good company and we have many great conversations.






Monday, July 21, 2008

Happy Anniversary to us!

July the 18th was Hans' and my 4th anniversary.

I'll never forget the day we met.

It was a cloudy, overcast, Sunday afternoon, and the first day in two weeks that I had a full day off from both of my jobs. I'd gone to my local beach bar so I could lie on my towel, read a book, relax, and have a beer.

I had no sooner spread my towel out on the sand and opened my book when it started to rain. I was contemplating going home when two women who were sitting near me invited me to join them in the protected bar area. Normally, I don't find women to be especially friendly and I didn't even know them but since I really didn't want to leave, I accepted. They were very nice and we talked and listened to the DJ when all of a sudden a sunburned man with nasty razor burn, and sour breath appeared out of no where and asked me if he could 'talk' to me. I wasn't sure what he wanted to talk about, and I'm too stupid or polite (I never want to hurt any one's feelings) to ever say no, so I wiped his spit off of my face, and said ok.

After shouting "I've dropped thirty bucks at the bar already and I've only been here twenty minutes! Hee! Hee! Hee!" he then proceeded to launch into a loud, and bizarre tale about his daughter's high school graduation party. I would seem that he'd rented a bus for the evening and then with all of his daughter's friends aboard, took them bar hopping. Yes, bar hopping, and I have no idea who in their right mind served alchohol to a bunch of high school kids. He thought it was hysterical "... and was my ex-wife ever pissed off!" He howled with laughter and I wondered how the hell I was going to get away from him. He was still spitting in my face when he shouted, "Do you want to hear some more stories about how I piss my ex-wife off?" So I told him I saw someone across the board walk that I knew, excused myself, and walked away.

Ten minutes later I could see that he still hadn't moved so when I went back to my table I sat on the other side of my new lady friends and as far away from the spitter as I could.

Wham, he was in my face again only now he was upset, "I thought you said you'd talk to me!" he said belligerently.

"I did." I said.

"I thought you were going to sit with me!"

"I did, only now I'm sitting here."

"Get the hell out of here!" One of my new friends shouted. "Don't you get it? She doesn't want to talk to you!"

I wanted to crawl under the table as he stomped away.

It wasn't much later when a man, holding a full pitcher of beer stopped in front of me causing the beer to slosh over the sides.

"Are we having fun yet?" He shouted at me.

Oh no! Not again! I thought, and then his friend who was trailing behind him, swooped down, shook my hand, and said, "My name is Hans." And then he sat down next to me. (Hans has since told me that he had pointed me out to Scotty and told him to walk past me, but Scotty was drunk and went up to the wrong woman and Hans had to grab him and shove him in my direction! I never noticed any of this and I can't help but wonder what that other woman must have thought).

Having learned my lesson earlier, I didn't say much and ignored this Hans guy who was trying to make conversation with me. My message got through loud and clear though, and after a few minutes he left.

Thank God! I thought.

The sun came out, more people arrived, and I found myself glad that I hadn't gone home. Hans made yet one more circuit and once again sat down beside me. (He later told me that even though I'd ignored him the first time, the salesman in him told him to try one more time!) He was very low key and didn't say disgusting, vulgar, off color, or suggestive things to me that for some reason some men seem to think is either very attractive or expected of them in bars.

He mentioned that this was his very first trip to my little swamp town and he only came at the urging of his pitcher carrying friend (who btw is Scottie, who made the May, Massachusetts to Maryland trip with us this past spring). We really didn't talk about much of anything but I found myself thinking that he seemed like a very nice man.

Even though I knew it was stupid, I found myself accepting a boat ride around our lake with him (the people he was staying with for the weekend owned the boat) I'm a good swimmer and it was daylight so I figured if he pulled some stupid stunt I could always swim to shore.

He was a perfect gentleman even though he later confessed that he didn't want to be.

I told him it was a damned good thing he was or he never would have seen me again!

I ended up staying much longer than I intended to and then Scotty got a phone call and said they had to leave RIGHT NOW! They had stranded their friends on the other side of the lake as they had taken both their car and their boat and these same friends had been frantically calling them all day on their cell phones to come and get them. But, Hans and Scotty ignored them because Hans wanted to talk to me.

Suddenly Scotty was thrusting a waitress pad in my hands and telling Hans and me to, "Hurry up and exchange your numbers, we have to leave!"

Now, I never give out my number but I found myself writing down my phone number and email address and Hans did the same.

Hans did call me a couple of days later but we didn't actually go out on a date for about two weeks because he had to go out of town on business.

We may have ended up happily ever after but I have to tell you we almost didn't. It took a couple of dates before I really realized that there was something there. After being single and dating for seven years I promised myself that I'd never settle for just any man.

But I hadn't counted on meeting Happy Hans the Traveling Salesman, and I'm glad he came back around that second time.

He says I'm the best sale he ever made.
For our anniversary Hans gave me a new digital camera so he took a picture of me with my matching Beach Bag, Snap Bag, and Shoe Bag.
He gets a kick out of my sewing.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

MacGyver, eat your heart out!

Poor Hans.

I wonder if my vacation/travel jinx could have rubbed off on him?

I mentioned in my last post that he had lost his cell phone while away on business.

But it turns out this was just one thing among many things that happened to him during his travels.

FULL MOON!!!! I'M TELLING YOU IT'S THE FREAKING FULL MOON!!!!

Anyway, while he was able to call me each day, it was only for a few minutes as he was in Europe, and with the 6 hour time difference and my two jobs he couldn't fill me in on everything.

One night, before his phone was lost, it rang at 4 AM and scared the bejesus out of him, especially when it ID'd as his landlord. He said he just knew, before he even answered, that his apartment must be on fire. Why else would anyone's landlord call? He also realized that it was about 10 PM in the Big City, but who calls anyone that late unless it's an emergency?

His landlord wanted to tell him that he was having Hans' outside steps painted in the morning.

Hans thanked him, told him he was in Europe, and that they could paint away as he wouldn't be around anyway!

Then the next day after packing up from the show, he discovered his cell phone was missing. He headed back to his brother's house (this is the brother we visited in Switzerland this spring) and when he entered Brother's house the alarm went off. Brother's partner had been home for lunch and had set the alarm upon leaving as they didn't expect Hans to return until later in the evening. But Hans (that little rascal) arrived sooner than expected, hence the alarm.

The alarm kept shouting (in French): "ENTER THE CODE, ENTER THE CODE!"

Hans kept shouting, "I don't know the code! I'm the brother staying here on business!"

The alarm didn't care and immediately sent the police.

Poor Hans, he couldn't call anyone because he had no cell phone, and he couldn't use the telephone at the house because it was tied up to the alarm system.

So Hans and the police waited until Brother's partner showed up and vouched for Hans.

Hans then begged to use their computer (for some bizarre reason Hans could not get his wireless to work ANYWHERE) so he could stop service on his cell phone. Brother finally relented when Hans promised to do no more than use Gmail.

But Hans was concerned because he wanted to be able to talk to me when he returned home but without a phone how was that going to be possible.

I got out of work at 10:30 tonight (and I will post about my waitressing shift at a later date, HAVE I NOT MENTIONED THAT DAMNED FULL MOON??), only to find that Hans had left three messages on my cell phone.

How the hell did he do that?


Once he got home, (and BTW, British Airlines, for $100 dollars gave him a HUGE upgrade, which meant they gave him a different seat in coach! And believe me that charge will be disputed!) he used his computer and his skype account, but only after he re-activated his paypal account and then retrieved all of his passwords for paypal and skype. Then utilizing a $1.00 microphone that Baby Girl bought at a garage sale and gave to Hans, along with the head phones he kept from his flight home, he was able to call me.

Just imagine what that man could do with duct tape!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

A little bit of everything

This has been a long week and in case you haven't noticed, we have a full moon coming up. I'm not sure if I really believe in the effects of full moons but I have to blame the lunacy that occurs around that time on something. And if I'm not mistaken, the word lunacy was derived from the word lunar which of course refers to the moon!

Baby Girl has been helping run a summer camp at her college, for kids ages 6-12, and the stories she's told make me glad I had my kids when I was young and had the stamina to put up with them. Just listening to her tales made me tired.

Hans has been away on business since Saturday and is due back tomorrow night. Unfortunately his cell phone won't be coming back with him. In the middle of packing up from the show and getting back to his brother's house (where he was able to stay while on his trip) he somehow lost his phone. It was attached to his belt but something must have bumped it and by the time he noticed that it was gone, it was too late. He's already suspended the service but what a pain! I won't even be able to talk to him when he gets home tomorrow night because he won't get back in time to get a new phone. I also work tomorrow night at the inn (I'm hoping for a calmer night but let's not forget a full moon!) so I'll have to check my email when I get home from work to see if he got home ok.

But Friday is our 4th anniversary and I'm not scheduled at the inn so I'm headed to the Big City to celebrate!


I love getting stuff in the mail and I was surprised to get this little package so soon. Can you see who it is? It's Betty Boop and I ordered it just a couple of days ago. For the past 2o some years, I've been going to a local diner for breakfast on the weekends. One of the waitresses looks just like Betty Boop and she's the greatest waitress in the world. She's not there all the time but when we walk in and see that she's there, we're thrilled. I don't even know how to describe her, but she's the greatest. Anyway, she always likes my purses, so I googled Betty Boop Fabric and there is was. So a Betty Boop purse will be made and I think she'll like it.



That's about it folks. But hang in there, I'm sure I'll have something to report soon.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Reservations are ALWAYS appreciated!

Tonight was one of those nights when I wonder why I became a waitress.

We got slammed.

I know some people think that waitresses like to be insanely busy, but I'm not one of them.

I was one of three waitresses scheduled for the evening and we had a total of one couple on our reservation list. Now, you may ask, why were three waitresses scheduled. Because, we had a total of forty people staying at the inn and about fifteen of them were golfers. Generally the golfers eat in the dining room because they can get drunk, and then WALK, not DRIVE to our bar, where they can drink even more and play poker until bedtime. The rest of the guests sometimes eat in the dining room or go elsewhere but we would love it if they would make reservations.

However, no one cares what we love!

In addition to our one couple and fifteen golfers, we ended up with tons of walk ins and everyone came in at the same time.

I drew the short straw when two women (I hate waiting on women!!!) came in and immediately started that head craning thing where they constantly look around like maybe you forgot them. They have no idea how lucky they were because their food and drinks came out in a very reasonable time frame.

At one point the younger of the duo said in an incredibly snotty tone, "Don't they realize that there are people in the dining room?"

I thought she meant that the food wasn't coming out fast enough, and I hate to say that I was a little testy with her because I said, "We had one reservation for two tonight and the kitchen is doing the best they can."

Her reply was, "I'm talking about those men!" She was referring to the golfers. Apparently they were too loud and having a little too much fun for her.

I told her that they were staying at the inn, had been drinking all day, were having a good time, (gee, maybe she should try to lighten up) and did she want me to tell them to quiet down?

"Well!" she sniffed, and then told me that it was up to me.

C'mon! It's a huge dining room, every one's having a nice evening and maybe she needs to get a life, or go spend her evening at the library!!!!

I didn't say anything to the golfers because, # 1: this is their 38th year of coming to the inn and I think they have seniority over Little Miss Stuffed Shirt, and # 2: I know that most of them are hard of hearing and telling them to be quiet would be an insult.

Things didn't get any better when our salad boy/sou chef quit after the owner told him that he should have had salads made ahead of time. He didn't go quietly either, he screamed and swore, and called the owner vile names that even our drunk and deaf golfers could hear.

Then the owners, who went and picked tonight to eat in the dining room, noticed that the food really wasn't coming out in a timely manner, and questioned the two chefs who were on duty.

The next thing I knew; we three waitresses were blamed for the problem. Apparently we were chatting with each other and having a high old time. We were also spending way too much time giggling and cavorting with the salad boy/sou chef, who by the way was a very sullen and slightly scary young man who didn't have a conversational bone in his body! The only chatting I saw was when one of the waitresses went back to help him and ended up making some of her own salads!

Too much time was then spent, rehashing the night, laying blame, and worrying about whether our salad boy/sou chef was going to make an unwelcome return.

It was just a busy night folks, so let's get over it.


It's nights like these that (in the words of Ernest T. Bass), I want to 'hermatize' myself.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

I'll get you my pretty!

Who doesn't love the Wizard of Oz? Well, my sister sure does and I hope she likes this Beach Bag or Tote Bag or whatever she wants to call it that I made her for her birthday. But, I won't know if she likes it until February since that's her birthday and I won't give it to her until then!








































I cut the bag out on Saturday before I went to work at the inn and I put it together today. It has the same features as my Bag but I added a patch pocket to the inside in addition to a zip pocket. Can you see the print on the outside pockets? It has pictures of Dorothy, The Wicked Witch, Toto, etc... and the straps and bottom are yellow brick. The print on the body of the bag is a brown basket weave.






I love the way the bottom of the bag is constructed. I use InnerFuse which is really stiff, although the pattern calls for Template Plastic. I have yet to wash one of my purses that I've used InnerFuse with so maybe I shouldn't push it yet!




This really is a nice pattern and it would make a great diaper bag too. There are so many great fabric patterns out there that it just boggles my mind! My boss loves dragon flies and when I googled 'dragon fly' fabric I couldn't believe how many fun prints there were!


The only reason I got so much sewing done today is because Hans had to leave town Saturday on business and won't be back until Thursday!!!! It was a sudden trip, and luckily it was this week and not next week, because next Friday is our 4th anniversary and so far we've always been able to spend it together.

And while I hope he's thinking 'there's no place like home', I'll also hope that he's not wearing ruby red slippers while saying it!!!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

It's done!!

Here it is! My beach bag, all done. I finished it at lunch time yesterday and when I got home from work that night, there was Sally Stitch wearing a shirt that's a perfect match. I was going to model the bag but Sally looks better (she had all afternoon to get ready you know!) so I'll let her have her moment in the sun!













I have views of the front with the big pocket that gets separated into 3 parts after the handle is stitched down. There's a view of the patch pocket on the back and BTW they're big enough to hold a book or a magazine.


I used the zipper gusset closing instead of a snap because that makes it a bit more secure. I now wish that I'd used my striped fabric in that area because I think that would have given it more zing.


I learned a lesson with this bag. When I sewed the handles down to the bag, I started from the bottom of the bag and stopped at the top of the pockets (even though the pattern had directions that said you could stitch as high as an inch from the top of the bag) and after I was done, I realized that if I'd stitched them further up on the bag it would have given it more support. As it was, the bag wanted to flop around too much for me. So I stitched the handles down a little further AFTER I finished the bag. All this means is that that last minute sewing now shows on the lining but that's ok because it just results in making the lining a little more secure.


Here's the inside zipper pocket.

I'm happy with my bag! I know it will work well for me. What's really nice is that you can also use the big outside pocket pattern on the inside, you just sew it into 3 sections. Imagine how much more storage that would give you.

I already bought some more material (yes, I bought some more material! Not the same pink stuff I promise) and I'm going to make one of these for my sister. Her birthday is in February and what do you think the chances are that I'll actually finish it in time?

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Happy 4th on the 9th!

As I've mentioned before, I'm a procrastinator!!


It also doesn't help that a certain someone (Hans!) deactivated the wireless connection from his cell phone right before our trip. That meant that I had no internet!!! No internet for the whole weekend!!!! Talk about roughing it.



The picture below is not some sort of Super Nova but the fireworks that we watched during our long weekend in Annapolis.







Take a look at the red neck awning that we rigged up on our boat. After Hans and I got fried last month after a long weekend of full sun exposure we knew we had to do something. So Hans brought a tarp and bungee cords with us this past weekend and we came up with this. I think we raised a few eyebrows while our 'neighbors' watched in amusement as we strung this baby up.





A lovely little mother duck brought her brood along to watch.







I'm sure our popularity grew amongst the club members when I hung our laundry out (towards the front of the boat) to dry on the lifelines. For some reason I think this is considered to be gauche.




Like I really care.



The only real issue we suffered with our red neck awning was the fact that we couldn't get a real good seal in the corners near the cockpit. Luckily we had 2 buckets and we set one at each corner so that every time the boat slid to port or starboard, the water that had collected up top, slid off of the awning and into a bucket instead of poring all over the cockpit cushions.


What a wild weekend! Our trip down to the boat took an hour longer thanks to the holiday traffic, and then a huge storm kicked up while we were anchored in the bay in Annapolis for the fireworks. During the storm we watched the masts on the smaller mono hulls sway back and forth like metronomes and witnessed many boats drift and slam into each other. I have no idea what kind of insults one mono hull must have been hurling at the others because it was hit by 2 other boats before the fracas ended. The owners of the name caller, who had been on shore throughout all of this, and didn't arrive back until late into the night, must have had quite a surprise when they discovered all the damage.


Our 'awning' had to be taken down very quickly before it could be ripped to shreds with the gusting winds. Luckily our anchor held firmly (not like last month but that's a whole different story that I haven't blogged about!) and when the fireworks finally started, the storm had cleared, many boats were gone, and we had a great time.

But the real kicker was this:


On Sunday after emptying the boat and filling the car for the ride home (what a sweaty PITA that is!) Hans went into the port berth to store our new 'awning' and was astonished to find: THE NEVER USED AWNING THAT CAME WITH THE BOAT!!!!!

Honest to God! How on earth anyone missed it is beyond me. We sleep in the starboard berth but Scotty and Frank used the port berth on our wet and wild trip from Mass to Md in May. We also opened all the closets and doors (or so I thought) and no one ever saw the blue canvas bag holding a custom made, blue canvas awning, sitting right there on a shelf. Do you have any idea how much better the trip from hell would have been if we'd had that awning????!!!!! We had even emailed the previous owner about it but never got an answer and we were thiiiis close to ordering a new one and they are not cheap!!!


Hans swears that it wasn't there before and that Miss Kitty must have been hiding it from us and only just now decided we were worthy of using it.

As far as I'm concerned we just won a $2,000 lottery.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Decisions! Decisions

I finally got in a little sewing last night.

What that means is; my house is still filthy, but if the cats don't care then why should I!

Now, before you look at these pictures and say "Is that woman insane? Does she not have any other fabric besides that hot pink combo? Doesn't she already have a purse and a wine (whine) bag out of that stuff?

Well, yes I do but... the wine bag was an experiment gone bad and it's now been relegated to a shoe bag. The purse is an absolute success and a favorite. But I wanted so desperately to make a Beach Bag, and I had all this fabric left over, and since I love LOUD fabrics (much to my mother's horror!) I decided I just had to do it!

Unfortunately I lack design and color skills so that's why I depend on patterns. I also might get an idea in my head but when I make a stab at it I'm usually disappointed with the results.

So anyway, I decided on a Beach Bag with pockets across the front and a patch pocket on the back. It will also have a zip pocket and a patch pocket on the inside and I will use a zipper closure across the top.

This pattern allows you to either leave the pockets unlined (but stabilized with interfacing) or lined. I prefer a lined pocket.

So even though I originally thought I'd like the smaller print (in the picture on the left) as the outside pocket on the bag, I've decided to go with the louder print (picture on the right) as the outside and the smaller print will now be the pocket lining.

No matter what, I know I'll be happy with it. And just think how snazzy it would look to have a matching purse and carry on bag!!!






















I don't know about you but I get sick of fabric markers drying up after the first use, so I was at the Dollar Tree (I love that store, I also got a couple more pairs of sunglasses @ $1.00ea !!) and found these washable markers. Of course I wouldn't use them on something that I might ruin (at least not without a test) but I used them last night and all went well.


JoAnn's is having a 4th of July sale that starts today so I ventured out at lunch time. What a mistake, I hate holiday traffic and it's started already and even in this small town it can be a pain. Waiting in line is always fun too, because inevitably there ends up being a snafu with the register or a customer just as it's my turn, and today was no different.

And I couldn't help but notice that the woman in front of me had on dirty ankle socks edged with lace. Where she found them in her size and why I notice these things is beyond me.

I think I need help.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

It's always something!!

I was not on the schedule at the inn this past weekend which was a first!! So I went to the Big City instead and even though I could have used the tip money it turned out to be a good thing.

I guess.

Because Vet Tech Girl's car broke down. And since she lives right below Hans, guess who got the phone call?

Mom.

She was all ready for me with jumper cables in hand and I asked her to try to start her car so that I could hear for myself what was going on.

Alvin and the Chipmunks playing a set of drums under the hood is what I heard.

"That's not your battery" I said.

I will skip the hysterics, and the accusations of my being 'mean'.

Long story short; I left my car in the Big City with Vet Tech Girl and brought Hans' car home with me.

The fact that Vet Tech Girl was supposed to leave in a few days, via her car, to go see her boyfriend, whom she hasn't seen since December, added to the drama.

So a flight was booked (for a lot less than the gas for the car would have cost) on guess who's credit card and the car was towed.

In the meantime, my house is beyond filthy, the dishwasher is full of clean dishes, and the washer and dryer (yes the dryer is finally fixed) are both full of clothes.
I did manage to mow my lawn tonight, went for a 4 mile run, started in on a Beach Bag, and am at this very moment giving myself a hair treatment (check the time!).

It's killing me that I haven't been able to sew!

This weekend we're going to take advantage of a 3 day weekend and go down to the boat. I really wanted to take a new Beach Bag with me but that won't be happening. But that's okay, if that's as bad as it gets, then I'm pretty lucky!

Oh, by the way, I called Vet Tech Girl and the problem with her car?



She needed a new battery!



Ooops.