Braggin' Rights Indeed!!

Before I'd even opened the mailbox today, I smelled something heavenly! I recently ordered some bath supplies from a new friend and Etsy seller, Braggin' Rights Bath, and today I received this delicious-smelling set of goodies in the mail. YUMMMMM!!! Tracy, the creator of all these goodies, makes the cutest and most fragrant bath and spa products. I ordered some organic cotton body cloths, lavendar soap with crushed roses (oo la la!!), energizing bath tea (yes, that's right, tea for my bath!), and the best of all: chocolate milk bath. I CANNOT WAIT to take a bath this weekend! I will definitely be making an afternoon of it after church on Sunday: A nice long soak in a tea bath with a good book and a pint of ice cream (I LOVE eating ice cream in the bath!!) followed by a pretty pot of tea (to drink) and more of that good book. What a lucky girl I am!

Squirrels and Carbon Monoxide

My sister's comment on yesterday's post reminded me of something I meant to tell you all. Michele and I do have a carbon monoxide detector in our home, but just one and it's upstairs. Our furnace guy advised, and I advise you all, that there should be one near EVERY fuel burning appliance or at least one on every level of the home, including the basement. Ones on the living level, like ours, are great for detecting CO coming through the ductwork, but not much else.

And, on a lighter note, Sara shared this link with me to support my intense dislike of those cute fuzzy-tailed rodents. This post rocks and I join with the author in saying "Game on!"

A Delightful, Carroty Surprise

Last week's craziness ended on a positive note. As I mentioned after installing the new water heater, we discovered the chimney was backed up with squirrel nests. Well, after a consultation with my doctor, she believes that most of the health issues I've had over the past year were likely due to chronic carbon monoxide poisoning. So, our flooded basement revealed a life-threatening problem. I told the doctor that as of Thursday I felt so much closer to my regular self - I'm sold that the problem was poor ventilation and am grateful that it was taken care of before it became a tragedy! (Michele suggested that the squirrels were trying to kill me so that they could have my garden all to themselves, but I won't follow the path of that conspiracy theory.)

Right on the tails of this hopeful report from my doctor came a package from my sister. She made me a carrot key keeper! Isn't it just the cutest?! It coordinates so well with my bag, but I think I may make myself a new one. A friend gave me a couple yards of carrot fabric that has been waiting for the perfect project. I think I just found it! Thanks, Kym!! 

Sanity, and Water, Is Restored to the Wescott Household

The Wescott household now has a new water heater and a clean and newly lined chimney. The old heater's tank wasn't really leaking - for some reason all the water that was flowing in was just flowing right back out instead of heading itself into the tank or maybe the gauge that tells the tank it's full wasn't working and it was overflowing. So, the tank was full to the brim and, once disconnected, 40 gallons of water came gushing out of the darn thing! The repair guy was pretty fast, but not fast enough to avoid at least partially swamping the floor again. Thankfully, he cleaned up this time! Now, about the chimney: after the new heater was installed, the repair guy called us down to show us how to light the pilot and told us in about 30 minutes we'd have lots of hot water. Ten minutes later he called us back down to show us that there was a problem: the fumes weren't venting up the flue! Oy vey! This was actually a problem we had with the furnace two years ago so we had the chimney cleaned out, a new furnace installed, and the new vent changed into a sidewall vent. So, I called ten chimney people and finally found one who could come out tomorrow. Well, the furnace/water heater guy said tomorrow wasn't soon enough and we made one more call and got a really great group of guys to come out within the hour. They very quickly hauled out the old liner - and the squirrel nests (have I mentioned that I don't like squirrels - dropped in a new liner, replastered the chimney above the water heater flue, and installed a new chimney cap (which they advised hadn't been properly installed previously!) Michele did make it home for all this excitement so it's been great having help with the clean up. Thankfully, the clothes seem to be washing up very nicely, so really we only lost a few small appliances and a bit of my sanity. But I am proud of myself that I took care of it on my own yesterday. Challenges help us know what we can handle, though I'd be content with a an absense of calamity for the rest of the winter. Seems easier to handle emergencies in the spring, don't you think?

Six Inches is About Six Inches Too Much

I wish this post was about the snow, but no, it's about the ankle deep water I found flooding our basement when I got home from work today. Just lovely - the kitties had to take a canoe to get to their litter boxes! Our hot water heater decided it didn't want to function properly anymore - it probably heard me talking to my dad about how we planned to buy a new one with our income tax return. Now, besides the pesky water there were two issues with the basement being full of water: 1. I tried every shut off valve I could find and only the MAIN SHUT OFF valve worked to get the water heater to stop spewing water, so I am currently unable to even flush the toilet right now (wouldn't be a good idea to visit me tonight.) And 2. I've sort of neglected to do the laundry for a few weeks, but yesterday I gathered it all and sorted it, guess where. Yes, you guessed it: on the basement floor in front of the washer and directly in the line of fire (or line of water, but you get what I mean.) I'm hope, hope, hoping that they're not ruined. I have about four weeks of clothes, so if three weeks worth are ruined that's really going to make it hard to class it up at work.

Now, I'm not one to wallow in self pity, so I thought I'd share with you what I'm grateful for today:

1. It's just the basement - I'm still sheltered and warm.
2. My friend Deb cancelled our dinner plans tonight (because she had a plumbing problem so maybe it's contagious?) so I got home when the water was only at 6 inches - imagine if I'd come home late tonight!
3. My morning smoothie was extra good today - I decided to add banana and it put it over the top.
4. As I was shopvacing out the water and hauling out sodden boxes and ruined appliances I found a brand new pair of gardening gloves - still in the bag! Very exciting!
5. Michele comes home tomorrow - she took a load to Florida, got stuck in the bad weather in Georgia, so hasn't been home for a few weeks, so this will be a treat.
6. The basement is more organized - got rid of all those boxes and storage - it was just taking up space!
7. I don't have to clean the kitchen - no water is an awesome excuse for a messy kitchen.
8. I'm getting a new hot water heater!
9. I was super productive at work today (which is good since I need to take tomorrow off to deal with the hot water heater!)
And 10. Well, I have my health. Oh and the Olympics is on! What fun!

Snuggie-licious, Daddy Edition

You may have noticed a comment on my last snuggie post from my dad requesting a snuggie of his own, so I whipped one up for him and sent it on its way. I used that pattern I talked about - it truly is just a blanket with sleeves! Gloria, my stepmom, altered it for him by enclosing the bottom so he doesn't get a draft on his feet and I think he's going to have her elasticize the sleeve ends so that they don't fall into his soup! Two alterations I may incorporate into my future snuggie. How fun! Well, I think my dad looks adorable, don't you?

The Swift Kick Seems to be Working

My battle against junk mail seems to be succeeding. I usually come home to an empty mailbox, except the good stuff that I actually rejoice over: Vegetarian Times, Fitness, Yoga Journal, American Patchwork and Quilting, and Clean Eating magazines and Netflix. I was surprised that it worked so quickly. The websites advised that it would take weeks, but I noticed a reduction after just one week! I thought it was a fluke, but it's been consistent. If you're at all interested in living a little lighter on the earth, think about reducing your junk mail, too.

Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license.

Home-Lovin' Bread

I made bread yesterday - real yeast and flour, rising bread. My sister makes bread all the time, but this is a second time in my life kind of event for me (zucchini and banana bread count as bread, but I'm talking about yeast-kneading-rising kind of bread.). At work on Friday, I had this fleeting thought: "Mmm, I would love to make some sweet potato bread. I wonder if I can find a recipe for sweet potato bread." And, of course, through the wonders of google, I found about a million recipes. I chose one at random: Sweet Potato Prune Bread. The uniqueness of that combination was right up my alley, though I decided against the prunes because I didn't have any at home. I went with apricots (because I 1. have a HUGE bag of them, 2. LOVE dried apricots, and 3. couldn't resist the orange theme of the apricots with the sweet potatoes - hey, it IS my favorite color!) This bread couldn't have turned out better if it had been made by someone who knew what she was doing! It is DELICIOUS!! If you decide to try the recipe as written, I'm sure it will be amazing, too, but I did make the following 3 substitutions: used soy milk instead of skim, apricots instead of prunes, and maple syrup instead of honey. My version is vegan, which excites me because my very favorite vegan friend, Cindy, LOVES sweet potatoes and this will definitely be something I make for her next visit! For now, I'm trying to save some for Michele (who will be home for Valentine's Day!!), but it's so good, I'm having a hard time staying away from it!!

Mouthwash Woes

As part of my new dental hygiene regimen, I've been following up my brushing and flossing with rinsing with mouthwash to kill all those pesky germs that cause gingivitis. Well, my toothpaste and mouthwash of choice are both Crest ProHealth. Since I've been paying more attention to my teeth lately, I quickly noticed that I was getting some increased staining. I honestly thought it was related to the copious amounts of tea I drink, so I didn't really think twice about it. Well, at this recent dental appointment, the hygienist noticed, too and immediately asked if I use Crest ProHealth mouthwash. I thought she was about to compliment me, so I quickly said "Yes, indeed, twice a day!" She said, "well, that explains why both the front and back of your teeth are so incredibly stained. The flouride in Crest ProHealth is very staining. I'll have to work hard to remove these." When I mentioned that I also use Crest ProHealth toothpaste, she said it's the same deal. She told me to switch to Colgate Total toothepaste and Listerine. So, I just happened to have a sample of Listerine - the blue one, not the original yellow - and started using it that night. I numbs my tongue the minute I put it in my mouth. After 30 seconds of swishing, I can't feel my tongue or the insides of my lips and cheeks. I thought it was a fluke, but it happens EVERYTIME I use it. It only lasts for 10 to 15 minutes, but it's really uncomfortable! I've been asking around and searching online, but no one I know has had the same experience. I have found a few accounts of something similar online, but no one states whether or not the numbness will stop happening. Michele says it's from the amount of alcohol in Listerine and I'm sure that has something to do with it. Not being a drinker, I wonder if the 21.6% alcohol numbs my mouth, does whiskey, vodka, and other strong spirits numb people up, too? Food (or drink) for thought, indeed!

August's Pay It Forwards

As many of you remember, in August I held a Pay It Forward giveaway and 10 lucky recipients were "chosen" to receive a gift. Well, for some reason I committed myself to sending those gifts by the end of 2009 (just four months!!) I'm not sure exactly what I was thinking, because the original rules of the contests I'd won said that the sender had a year to send out gifts. As I mentioned at the beginning of the year, I did not reach my December 31 deadline, but I have not forgotten and I am working diligently to complete something very special for each of the winners. Rest assured that the 10 luckiest of lucky people will be receiving something uber-cool soon. Because I like to plan and enjoy time-bound goals, my tentative date of completion is May 1 (still shy of the one year mark, but about five months later than originally promised. Hopefully the awesomeness of the gift will make up for its tardiness!)

We've Come a Long Way, Baby!

Thanks for all the lovely congratulations on my blogoversary!! I can't believe it's been a year and yet I can't believe it's been ONLY a year! So much has happened since the beginning of this blog. I've been looking back through the posts with amazement and laughter. We've defintely come a long way! Thanks, everyone, for joining me in the adventure!

Whoo Hoo! It's My Blogoversary!

More correctly, it WAS my blogoversary on Sunday as three of you guessed!  One year ago, I started While the Cat's Away to keep myself out of trouble while Michele was on the road. That hasn't really worked, but it's been a ball! Well, as usual, I cannot choose between the winners, so, Cindy, Sono, and Sara, congratulations! You've all won your choice of a set of hot pads, a picture frame card, two mini gift bags, or two Love cards. Email me at thequiltedhouse [at] aol [dot] com and let me know what you'd like. And now, all together:

Happy blogoversary to me!

Happy blogoversary to me!

Happy blogoversary dear While the Cat's Away!

Happy blogoversary to me!

A Mixed Review: My Post-Dentistry Report

OK, so maybe my expectations for my dental appointment were a wee bit high. There was no exclaiming in the aisles, no pictures were taken, no billboards made. My hygienist commended my efforts, but because in all the insanity of 2009 I somehow forgot to go to the dentist, my at home efforts didn't do as much as I'd thought. I had no cavities, though and that's a good thing. I do have to say, however, that I am not convinced that regular dental care, brushing, flossing, and mouth washing will stop gums from bleeding if you POKE THEM WITH A SHARP INSTRUMENT! I mean, really, isn't that the nature of the human body? We bleed when you poke us with sharp things. My hygienist assures me that if I keep up on my dental care she'll be able to impale my gums on her instruments of torture and no bleeding will commence. I'll believe it when I see it - hopefully at my 6-month checkup.

Flossing Appreciation

As you know, one of my goals for this year was to floss regularly. Well, I have flossed at least once a day everyday this year and am feeling pretty proud of myself. In about an hour, the true test of my success comes: a dentist appointment! This is what I expect to hear:

Dental hygienist: Oh my goodness, wow! I can't believe how amazing your teeth and gums look! I've never seen heatlhier gums! Sean, Phyllis, Cara (other hygienists) come over here and look at Michelle's gums!

Dentist: WOW!! Can we take your picture? We want to put your smile on our billboard!

I deserve at least a balloon or sticker or something, right? I mean, come on! I've flossed between 33 and 66 times this year!

Leaning Tower of Reading

I love to read - it's one of my favorite things to do. I find myself constantly in search of a good book to read and in constant fear of being without one, so I tend to have a few books laying in wait for me. Kind of like the book version of Elizabethan ladies in waiting. I am actually between books right now, but the four on the top of the stack are new acquisitions from the library, so I'll likely start one tonight. Ahh, nothing's better than starting a new book. Well, OK, chocolate is, of course, better, but other than that, nothing.

Hey, don't forget to try your hand (or mind) at my "Can you guess what today is" contest!

Guess What Today Is!!

Can you, can you? Can you guess what today is? It's an extra special day for me and possibly for one of you, too! If you can guess what today is, I'll send you a fabulous prize. It could be a set of hot pads, a picture frame card, two mini gift bags, or two Love cards. It's the winner's choice of one of those four. So, get to guessing. If more than one person guesses correctly, I'll used that fantabulous random number generator to choose the winner. Guessing stops Wednesday, February 3. Good luck!

All's Right in the World

Michele's home and I would like to say that it was her homecoming that did away with the last of my migraine. I think it definitely helped, but most of the credit goes to prescription medication, time, rest, and yoga. By the time I picked Michele up yesterday, all the pain was gone and I was ready for our planned night of fun. We did our two favorite things: ate out and went to the movies. We went to Red Robin, our favorite burger joint, which we love because any of their gourmet burgers can be made with a Boca patty! Yummy!! And we saw It's Complicated, which was about the funniest and sweetest movie I've seen in a while. I very highly recommend it! Tonight we're off to a dinner party with friends and then EARLY tomorrow morning, Michele is off to Georgia. It's a whirlwind, but every second is wonderful.

They're Baaaack!!

Migraines. I had them as a kid and they have returned to torture me as an adult. My doctor refused to perform an in-office brain-ectomy yesterday, but did give me a good plan of attack and some great meds to help. She recommended that I spend the day resting in a dark room, which I know is pretty typical advise and should have been pretty easy. When I got home from the med center, I realized that was harder than one would think. There is not one room in my house that has 1. no windows through which light floods or 2. drapes/blinds/shades that can be drawn to darken it. So I made due by laying in Michele's workout room - figured the bright blue walls with the sun glowing through the orange curtains would be better than the BRIGHT yellow walls and sunshine in the bedroom. Even when Rochester's gray, if there's snow on the ground it is bright! Maybe I'll buy a shade or two for the future.

Eye-Twitching Pain

I have had a headache since last Friday. This is an ache that no medicine I have access to will touch, so I am actually going to the doctor today! I hope that she performs a quick outpatient surgery and removes the offending part of my head.

An Oh So Gorgeous Scarf!

I am a particular lover of scarves. I must have about half a million of them made by my mother, step mother, and sister, or made from my own hands. Well, when my friend and fellow RNEST artist, Sarah (not football, sledding, snuggie, bad influence Sarah) offered to give away one of her hand woven scarves on my weekly post on the RNEST blog, I wept inside. My tears were 25% joy because it's absolutely gorgeous and 75% sadness because, as the hostess of the giveaway, I can't enter to win! But you can, and I hope you do. This is artisan-ship at its best! Check out the post here.

Auditioning Entertainment

After Teresa's heartfelt assertion that Enterprise is worth my TV watching time, I decided to stick with my plan and continue watching. It is definitely growing on me, but I find that I cannot watch three DVDs (12 episodes) in a row, like I would with TNG, DS9, or VOY. I can't even really watch one DVD straight through - I need a break after each episode. This wouldn't really be a problem, but I'm keeping each DVD for far too long, so I needed a new plan. To that end, I've been looking for something to mix in with Enterprise that will be a quick watch. After several suggestions from coworkers (and some strangers), I decided to audition Battlestar Galactica. I remember watching it as a kid (at least I think I do), so I hoped I'd enjoy it as an adult. Well, I just watched the first DVD (which I didn't realize was the four-hour pilot episode!) and I really like it. It's similar enough to Star Trek that it interests me, but not so much alike that I feel disloyal. The only thing I will need to get used to is that the new BG was a cable show, so it's a little more risque than I'm used to, but as long as my parents don't find out, I think it will be OK!

SOLD!!

Yesterday, I received an email from one of the women running Craft Hope letting me know that they'd gotton the two bags I sent listed in the shop. I thought I'd mention that today and post the link in case you were interested in either of them. Well, I went to the shop and looked and looked and couldn't find them. I thought, "Wow! I wonder if they sold ALREADY??" Lo and behold, I looked in their sold listings and there were BOTH my bags! Sold not today, but yesterday!! WOW!! I'm so excited to be sending them off to whoever participated in such a worthy cause!

Sunday-After-Church Ritual

I actually did enjoy the retreat and planning day yesterday, just as I enjoyed church this morning. Regardless of how much I enjoy church, by Sunday afternoon, after having spent all week and most of the weekend around people, I am really ready for some alone time. To that end, I developed a new Sunday-After-Church ritual for myself and really look forward to it. As soon as I get home, I change into one of my sweat suits (I have about 9 of the same style in different colors), make some lunch, brew myself a pot of tea - oh so lovely!, and take a good book into the parlor or onto the sun porch if it's sunny.

Depending on how much relaxing I need to do, I will use either my fat yellow twelve-cup pot or my tall, thin blue six-cup pot (which matches the set of "for good" dishes that my parents received as a wedding gift and my mother passed on to me.) The minute I take my first sip of my favorite African Red tea, all my stress melts away. I hope you have a relaxation ritual, too. If we all did, the world would be a much calmer place, don't you think?

[By the way, today was only a six-cup kinda day!]

Being a Good Church Member (Very Nearly Without Complaint)

We have a church retreat and planning event all day today. I know it's important, but it's supposed to be really nice today, so I would rather be playing outside. OK, let me get honest: I would rather be playing in my craftroom with an occassional sojourn onto the sun porch for a cup of tea, a snack, and a good book. But, with Michele on the road, I will be the only representative of the Wescott clan that can attend and attend I will. I'm sure it will be fun and it's such an important activity, so I will enjoy myself. It's over at 3 and I have promised myself an uninterrupted evening of crafting, chocolate, audio books, and soda (with maybe some dinner thrown in there for good measure!)

This is where I'd rather be, but what's new? If I had my way, I'd be in here 24/7 365!

Craft Hope

Teresa, one of my blogging friends, clued me in on this awesome group of ladies who are really doing their part to save the world, one craft at a time. They have a blog called Craft Hope on which they generally post crafting projects for others to make and donate to selected charities. Well, in the wake of the Haiti disaster, they opened an Etsy shop to raise money to benefit Doctors Without Borders. They opened the shop last Friday expecting to make a few hundred dollars, maybe a thousand or two, and have made over $20,000!
I wanted to bring this amazing group to your attention if you're a crafter because all the items they are selling have been generously donated by crafters like you and me. I also wanted to bring it to your attention if you are in the market for some beautiful handmade items. Defintely check it out. Teresa's working on some really great shopping bags (I have and regularly use a set she's made and LOVE them), I've donated the tote bags you see in this post, and there is such a great diversity of other items to choose from. Why not multi-task and get the item that you need while supporting a very worthy cause?

Sunny Skies

I love really sunny winter days so I has to capture this one. It was even sunnier and brighter because Michele was home to share it with me. I truly felt like spring (but I'm no fool! I know I live in Upstate NY and spring is a LONG way away!)

Giving Junk Mail a Swift Kick in the Pants

OK, one of my missions in life is to do less work. Another is to live lightly on the earth. Well, I'm not sure what happened, but it seems like within the last year, Michele and I have been getting massive amounts of junk mail. And it's my job to sort through it and shred what needs shredding and recycle everything that I can. My recycling bin is about 95% junk mail and I'm really sick of it. So, I decided to find that buttom I can push to sock junk mail right in the jaw. Yeah, right! It's not an easy job to stop getting junk mail at all, but I think I've taken all the steps needed and I thought I'd share them with you.

1. Go to donotmail.org and fill in their form. They will auto-populate the letters that you need to send to the mailing lists to get your name off them.
2. Go to DMAchoice.org and register with them. They will (1) help you stop being added to new lists and (2) direct you to contact information for getting off lists you are on because you have purchased products from the company or because you once requested a catalog or something.
3. Look through your junk mail and catalogs and contact the individual companies you are receiving stuff from who are not registered with DMA.

It doesn't work immediately, and it takes a lot of time to do it all, but I'm hopeful that it will (1) save me time in sorting through it all and (2) save some trees!

The Help

I've joined a book club organized by some ladies at work. Thankfully, we meet during our lunch hour, so I don't have to try to juggle another evening committment. The first book I am reading as a part of the group is The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It is so good I'm having a hard time putting it down. Since I spent most of my time this weekend reading it, I've come upon two realizations (which, unsurprisingly, have nothing at all to do with the book in particular):
1. The snuggie commercial that complains that blankets are hard to use while reading because your arms are outside the blanket and get cold is right on the money! As you know, my house is chilly. When I'm laying down reading, I am usually covered with a blanket and usually have on a hood or hat, but my arms get so cold! So, although I tease my sister and my friend, Sarah, for their Snuggie usage, I am going to make myself one and you can, too, by clicking here!

2. Although I sell and am giving away lots of bookmarks and they are totally fun and easy to make, when I need to mark my place in a book, I tear a corner off of whatever paper is laying around. That's a shame, so I decided that in addition to the snuggie, I will make myself 5 bookmarks (I need 5 because I can never read just one book at a time!)

I Have a Dream

Happy Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Day, everyone! Dr. King did indeed have a dream, and in so many ways it has come true . . . and in so many others we have a great long way to go. I encourage you to do what you can on this day, this, month, this year to end oppression and bring about equality. It can be an internal thing, like changing the way you think about people who are different from you, or can be an external thing like signing a petition or participating in a rally for something you believe in. Whatever it is, do what you can to make this world a better place and to make that dream come a little truer by next year.

Have a Heart for Haiti

By now we all know at least a part of the enormity of the tragedy of the earthquake in Haiti. My mother had a church friend who hadn't heard from her family, but, after calling out the prayer warriors, she finally heard from them and they are well. There are many joyful stories and many that bring me to tears. Michele and I, like so many of you, have dug into our bank accounts and given what we can. When Michele comes home next she'll take the time to go donate blood - they are in such desperate need, so if you can donate, please do. Many of us are using the simple text message to send $10 to the American Red Cross - Verizon has already given $3 million dollars on behalf of Verizon users simply texting HAITI to 90999. We're all doing our part worldwide. In church this morning, Rev. Jim said that if you feel like you're alone doing just a little, it is very difficult to feel hopeful. I want to let everyone know that no one is alone in this effort. And I want to personally thank everyone who has done even a little something in the wake of this tragedy. And to that end, it's nice to get a little something as a "thank you!" for doing what you can. It would give me great joy to send each person reading this blog a little "Thank YOU!!" in the form of a quilted bookmark. So, for the rest of January, if you've given to the relief efforts in Haiti, go to my profile and email me your name and address so that I may personally thank you.

A Fly, A Mysterious Fly

There was a fly in my house this evening. I know that may not seem bizarre to you all, but it's winter. Don't flies die or hibernate during the winter? I mean I know that today we had quite the heat wave and got up in the 40's (I went out without a coat and felt just fine!), but did the warmth revive the flies prematurely? I think the warmth teased the insects into thinking it's spring.

Weather

We're having a heat wave here - it was in the 30's today and may well reach the 40's tomorrow. That's bikini weather in these parts! Unfortunately, that is also slushy messy roads, melting icicles, and overworking sump pump weather, but it is winter, right?

I cannot comment on the weather without acknowledging the catastophy of the earthquake in Haiti. I've been riveted by the reports and every time I hear one more I say a prayer. It definitely puts it all in perspective. If you are moved to do something to help, I urge you to search for a reputable organization and do what you can. Here's a good place to start. Tragedies like this one truly reveal our character as a loving and giving people.

OK, Now That's Cold

I don't believe I really need to say anything much - this picture says it all. I'll just say that this is the library at the end of our street. Brrr!!

The Perfect Tissue Paper

Oh, how I ache, so to distract myself from my post-sledding bruises, I've been thinking about my decision to really embrace The Quilted House brand by using only the company colors in my wrapping supplies - I wrap most everything in tissue paper and tie it with a ribbon before sending to a customer. Well, The Quilted House colors are yellow, orange, and green (my three favs), so I usually use yellow or green tissue paper and tie things with a yellow, green, or orange ribbon (it's easier to find large quantities of yellow and green paper than it is to find orange unless it's halloween or fall!)

When I was digging through my tissue paper box to find paper to wrap the bookmarks I mentioned yesterday, I stumbled upon some paper that Michele had used for my birthday two years ago - yes, I save everything! It is absolutely perfect for The Quilted House: it's yellow, green AND orange, and has stripes of ribbon, buttons, rick rack, fabric, and other sewing items! Now, my fingers are crossed that 1. Michele remembers where she bought it; 2. they still sell it; and 3. it doesn't cost so much that the wrapping is more expensive than what's wrapped inside it!

My fingers are additionally crossed that 1. I will soon be able to sit comfortably on my bruised posterior and 2. I will soon be able to stand and walk erect as opposed to my current state which resembles the hunched stature of one of the hermit trolls from the old-school fairy tales.

Fun in the Snow, or, Oh How My Body Aches!

Although I complain, I really do love winter. I love the snow, think it's really beautiful, just don't like shoveling it or getting my car stuck in it at the end of the driveway. Today I embraced that love of snow and went sledding with some friends. There are designated sled trails at a park not far from my friend Sarah's house and her friend Dave has five sleds, so we were well prepared to have a ball! And, oh, how we did indeed have a ball. Now the only problem with sledding - ok, there are a few - is that once you experience the thrill of going down a huge hill, you, that's right, MUST COME BACK UP!! The first climb back up almost killed me! I don't care what kind of shape you're in, climbing up a massive hill is torture! And climbing up a massive hill after totally wiping out on your sled is inhumane! (Yes, of course I wiped out! This is me we're talking about here. If I survive an activity without injury I obviously wasn't playing hard enough!) It was really a blast, but after flying down the hill, going airborne, and landing, still on the sled, on the hard-packed snow on my butt jarring EVERY BONE in my body and still having to walk back up the hill, I was just about done! Then, however, we moved to what we thought was a less challenging hill, but looks were deceiving. Little jumps were built into the hill, but you couldn't see them from the top, and I went flying down and then flying up into the air, did a little in-air somersault and landed on my previously bruised posterior - and still had to walk back up the hill!! Oww! It was hours ago and I am still having trouble sitting and I don't even want to think about how I'll feel in the morning! But you know what? I'll go out again in a heartbeat! What's life without a few bumps a bruises, right?

This is my friend, Sarah. She's

a bad influence. She invited me

sledding and organizes our

Thursday football games! I blame

her for my pain!

Charity In Stitches

By avoiding shoveling the snow, I've been having a lot of fun the past few weeks. I've been relaxing and playing in my craft room. I gave myself a few weeks off from making things for the shop and have been enjoying working on my pay-it-forwards (yes, they were due by the end of the year, but good things come to those who wait.) I've also been working on a flannel quilt for the bed in Michele's truck. It's so cute and I can't wait to finish it to show you all.  Another fun project is one that sort of benefits the shop, by getting the shop name out there, but really is all about the animals (not squirrels, rabbits, or ground hogs, though!)

Back in November, I found this Etsy shop, Vegan Craft Samples, that sells bags with 17-20 vegan craft samples and donates all the money from sales to an animal santuary or rescue program. I thought it'd be very cool to participate, so during my break I sewed up some very pretty bookmarks to be included in the Valentine's Day bags (on sale February 1st!) I had so much fun making them, but had even more fun wrapping them up! Oh, how exciting to send out 25 little gifts! The proceeds of the current bags and the Valentine's Day bags all go to the Pigs Peace Sanctuary, which rescues abandoned pigs from pounds and other shelters - most were abandoned after the pot bellied pig pet fad fell out of fashion (wow, try saying that 10 times fast!)

Flossing update: still on track, morning and night (even Friday night at 3 am!)

Snowed Under

Snow hats on trash, compost & AC!

Wow, it has been snowing non-stop all week. I went to my friend Deb's house last night for pizza and a movie (though we talked so much that we never got to the movie), and when I went out to my car to leave (at 2 am!!) there was at least six inches of snow on my car! I got home and my driveway (which I've neglected to shovel or have plowed) was impassable! So, after narrowly avoiding getting run down by a snow plow plowing down my street (at 3 am!!), I parked on the side of the road and hiked up the driveway into the house. The snow in my driveway was up above the tops of my boots and I have to shovel in front of the door before I could get it opened! So, today I decided I needed to call my neighbor to get her plow guy to come over and plow my driveway. Michele and I had a guy, but we can't get in contact with him, so, for the past two years, we've called Rita and had a conversation like this:

Hey, Rita, do you think you could get your guy to come over and plow the drive again?

Well, I dunno. My guy's pretty busy. He's gotta lot to plow. You should be shoveling everyday like me to make it not so hard for him when he comes.

I know, Rita, but it's just too much snow for me to shovel. Can you ask your guy?

I'll ask him, but he's pretty busy. He has real customers and I don't want him to feel bothered. He's a good guy - I'd hate to lose him. You got too much snow - it's crazy - why'd you get so much snow in your drive? (as though it's only snowed on my driveway and no where else in the city!)

OK, OK, I'll do better next time it snows, just get your guy to come this once.

Of course it's all just a ritual - her "guy" is the friend of her neice's aunt's nephew's cousin, so he's related somehow and always comes and takes care of our drives when Rita calls. And heaven help us if we get someone else to plow for us: Who'd you get to plow? How much did he charge? That's too much! It doesn't even look like he did anything. You should have called me and I'd have had my guy come out! She just likes to give Michele and me a hard time to show she cares. Gotta love good neighbors and Rita's one of the best!

Goals

As I mentioned in my last post, my goals for this year are many, but this week I am focusing on flossing (baby steps), which I am finding great success at: Day three and teeth were flossed this morning and I have plans to do the same this evening.

Another of my goals was to make my shop official with the state of New York. Mission accomplished. I just got notification today that my application to accept NYS sales tax was processed and approved. The Quilted House is now official! Yippee!!

As I am on the subject of goals, I thought I would share with you a few of the funnier ones from the "do before I'm 40" list I mentioned yesterday. So in addition to my goal to have a fish in every room, I (at one point about ten years ago) wanted to:

• Become fulfilled (hmmm? OK, I can check that one off)
• Have the perfect craft room (mission accomplished - BIG TIME!)
• Help people (not sure why I needed to put this on the list, but maybe it was a loftier goal than it sounds)
• Take advantage of opportunities (I guess I hadn't heard of SMART goals yet)
• Own a tub I can lay down in (OK, this is still a great desire - I'm 6 feet tall and when sitting in the original tub in our house from 1920, I'd settle for a tub I can stretch my legs out in!)
• Know a lot about something (wow, really?)

Also on the list: Have fun. As you can see from the pictures of Michele, our Utah buddies, Cindy and Jeremiah, and me on New Year's eve, I can cross that one off the list, too!

New Year Greetings, Fishes, and Clean Teeth

Hello friends! Sorry I have been away for so long. I took advantage of the holidays and squeezed every drop of fun out of them. I don't think I turned my computer on more than a handful of times the whole two weeks. We had a lovely, wonderful Christmas and the New Year has begun divinely! I hope you all were equally blessed this holiday season!

Now, I never make resolutions, but I love lists, so I make a list of goals I'd like to accomplish for the year. A few years ago I made a list of things I wanted to do before turning 40 and have about 75% of that list done! There are a few weird things on it that make me wonder what I was thinking, though. One thing is "have a fish in every room." Not sure where I was going with that, but I don't think it would be a bad thing - the cats would LOVE it!!

So, anyway, back to my goals for this year. I decided to focus on one a week and share that goal with you with an update on my progress at the end of the week. This week's focus goal is to floss regularly. I'd like to make flossing a habit this year and so far I'm doing OK: I've flossed twice this year, which is two times more than last year! I'm on my way!!

Brrr, Its Cold or Getting Up Before the Furnace

I wanted to be at work by 5:00 this morning so that I could leave by 1:00 (to get Michele - yippee, she's home for Christmas!!) and not need to use any vacation time. It wasn't really an issue getting up at 4:00 until I got out of bed and realized the furnace hadn't woken up yet. We have a programmable thermostat which gets the furnace started around 5:00 so that the house is toasty warm (OK, not toasty exactly, but it's all relative) by the time I get up at 5:30. Getting up an hour before the furnace is not a good thing to do in my house where hearts are warm, but floors, walls, air, hands, heads, and other extremities are COLD, even when the furnace is full steam ahead!! I think this morning was the first time I've ever been excited about leaving the house to get in the car where I BLASTED the heat! Oh, and I've just realized that when I get home today, the furnace will not be expecting to bring the temperature up to human comfort (again, it's all relative) for a few hours - that's why the beautiful HOME TODAY button comes in so handy! (Of course, when I have days off, it always takes me a few hours of cold and complaining of cold and hot tea and extra socks and my house scarf, hood, and craft room gloves before I think "Oh, that's right, the thermostat doesn't think anyone's home. Let me hit HOME TODAY . . .right after I finish carving this ice sculpture in the front parlor.") [I do have to admit that the coldness in my house is not my furnace's fault - we have a beautiful new furnace that would like to work harder than I allow it. I keep the heat low to build character (ok, ok, I admit it, it's really cuz I'm cheap, but it sounds better to say it's character building !)]

What's that Burning Smell? or Yikes, My Hard Drive is FRIED!!

Technology hasn't been faring well in the Wescott household this year. First, Michele's on-the-road boredom protection, her portable DVD player, went kaput. That was pretty easily remedied with an early Christmas present. Then, the DVD player that's built into our TV decides it only wants to play Mr. Woodcock. So bizarre. It spits out every other DVD. I have a work around though: I put the DVD in, then turn the input to TV so it will keep the disk in the slot, let the TV warm up for about a half hour, and then it works like a dream. Needless to say, we'll be getting a new DVD player after the holidays!

The worst technology flare up, however, was the demise of my beloved laptop. It came upon it rather like a cold. First, the runny nose: my user profile disappeared and all my data went with it. After a little research, I found the data in some hidden folders and was able to add a new user profile. No biggie, I'm thinking, because my research found that Windows Vista sometimes deletes user profiles - it's a "feature." Next, the coughing and stuffy head: all of my pictures and music files disappear. I again think no biggie, they're in those hidden folders, but no. They're really gone. A little more research and I find a way to retrieve "deleted" files since nothing really gets deleted from a computer. After working on it for about nine hours, I'm only able to retrieve about 1/2 of the files because the rest are corrupt. And, alas, I didn't listen to my Dad and back things up regularly. So, at this point, I know there's something pretty significant wrong with my computer. The frequent "CRITICAL HARD DISK ERROR" messages while I was retrieving my files were pretty big clues. The black screen with "UNABLE TO LOCATE HARD DISK" message was another good clue. So, what to do? Well, after telephone coaching from my Dad, I bought and installed a new hard disk and Norton 360 (which I love), then reinstalled the operating system and all my software - an all day affair. That was Saturday. Yesterday, she (the computer) was acting like new, except she wasn't acting like a laptop. For example, the touchpad wasn't working and the control panel had all these options for a desktop and none for a laptop. A little more research and I find that I neglected to install a Dell-specific software package that I was supposed to install BEFORE installing the operating system! Uh oh! Well, thankfully, the components on that disk can be downloaded and installed from dell.com, so I installed the driver for the touchpad, which is now working like a charm. I'm not really sure what else was in that package, but I'll figure it out when I encounter the next thing that doesn't work quite right. And then I'll fix it - I've got mad computer-fixing skills!

Harvesting Carrots

This is a year of firsts for me. In addition to my first foray into online selling and my first craft show, I attempted gardening for the first time. Well, I think I've mentioned that carrots are hands down my very favorite food, so I made sure that there were plenty planted in the garden. Although I worried about the critters, I was trying to follow the advise in one of the gardening books Gloria sent and not harvest them until after the first frost, but before the first freeze, because it's supposed to make them sweeter. Well, on Monday, Michele locked the keys in the house and sent a friend to get me from work while she had another friend take her to Rita's work to get Rita's keys so that she could then get our spare key out of Rita's house.

Well, the first friend dropped me off about a half hour before Michele returned with the keys, so, not one to be idle, I decided to harvest my carrots. And, oh boy, what a lovely haul of carrots. Gloria and I planted short and sweets and at one point when putting down the seeds I accidentally dumped quite a few in one area and then forgot to thin them, so some were VERY short. I washed them off and popped a few of those little babies in my mouth and WOW! I've never tasted a carrot before that was as amazing as these! If carrots weren't my favorites before, they definitely are now! I have plans to try at least five varieties in the garden next year and CANNOT WAIT!!

And I just had to include this image. The minute I pulled this particular carrot out of the ground I thought it looked like a lady's bottom. I'm not sure this one will get eaten.

As Promised - A Pictorial Report on My Very First Craft Show

Michele got in the day of the show at 5am and I picked her up from the truck stop around 6 to go have breakfast. We were able to access the room to set up by 7, so, of course, Michele and I were there by 6:45! Here's the table just after we set it up.

And here are a couple close-ups:

Michele left for home after helping me set up with a promise to bring me lunch around noon. And true to her word she arrived just a minute or two after noon and kept me company the rest of the day. It was great fun to have her with me and so much fun chatting with the other artists. It was just such an amazing day and the best experience ever. And I can't stress enough what a joy it was to have this first craft show experience with a group of artists who over the past few months have become real friends. What a treat and definitely an experience I want to repeat!

An Absolutly Amazing - and Exhausting - Day

Oh wow! I had THE BEST time at the show yesterday!! It was just perfect. What a thrill to have people looking and touching and complimenting AND BUYING my things! And to be surrounded by friends all the while! Most of the other vendors were from the core group of RNESTers that I meet with every month, but there were several others so I got to make new friends. One such new friend was doing her seventeenth show since October! I couldn't believe it! I have some pictures I need to post, but I wanted to let you all know what an amazing time I had and thank you all for the good energy you sent. And thanks to everyone who came to the show - it just filled my heart to see friends and have friends see my creations!

Dry Run

Oh, boy has today been busy! My final push to prepare for the show. I sewed NOTHING today - told myself that if I didn't get it made last night it wasn't getting made (as a consequence, I stayed up VERY late last night!) Today, I focused on making the table tents for my prices and product information, printing tags (because the ones I ordered won't be here until Monday), and do a dry run for the set up of my table. My dear, wonderful, patient friend Deb came over to help me and lend me her creative eye. She helped me arrange the table, put together the two racks for bags and hot pads, and then - bless her heart - tied ribbons and tags on all my coasters and hot pads! Such a great help she was!! I just finished packing everything up and putting everything in a central location so that packing the car tomorrow will be quick and easy. Now I'm going to reheat some pizza, lay on the guest bed, and watch some Star Trek - I'm pooped!

Beautiful Weather

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day: sunny, blue skies, white snow! Really lovely! These pictures are actually from yesterday, though - not as lovely - but I was working too hard to get any pictures today. This first image is the view down my street. I'll take a picture of the same view later in the season when the snow drifts on the sides of the street are above my head from the combination of wind and street, sidewalk, and driveway plows - really magnificent! The picture below is the snow that got in between my storm door and entry door because I forgot to replace the screen with the storm window in the storm door! I can't be expected to remember to do everything, can I?