March 2011 – Page 2 – Thimbleanna

March Hangover

43 Comments / March 14, 2011 March 14, 2011 / Chat, Quilting

Did you all have a nice weekend? I had a good one — I made the trek to visit TheSecondChild and check up on him. And cook and clean. And do what moms do. His freezer is now stocked to keep him happy for awhile. I was tempted to go down there and make him come home. He’s doing well, but I miss the little booger. Oh, and I forgot — I fixed the fly on the boxers that I sent him for Valentine’s Day. I’d accidentally sewn it shut. Oops!

The trip was only marred by the awful weekend news. It’s a six hour drive each way and I was glued to the BBC (love that satellite radio) the whole time. Then tonight, I’ve been watching a few of the videos online. I think we should just take March off of the calendar entirely — have a do-over and skip right to April, where there won’t be any natural disasters and spring will have sprung in the Northern Hemisphere. Garrison Keillor definitely nailed it when he said March is like a hangover. If March didn’t contain the first day of spring (TheSecondChild’s birthday), it would surely be my least favorite month.

Ah well, sorry it’s been so boring around here. Too many un-exciting things going on. I hate to leave you without a picture though, so here’s a peek at a new quilt I started a week or two ago. I’ve made about nine blocks out of I-can’t-remember-how-many-I-need. With the limited amount of time I have for quilting during the hangover, this project promises to take some time.

One other little picture. It was Pi Day today at work. Due to my weekend absence and the fact that TheManoftheHouse worked all weekend and didn’t get the groceries needed for the pie, we failed to take some pie goodness. We’ll have to have Pi Makeup Day. Anyway, the spread looked much like last year except for this guy who brought in these yummy salted peanut marshmallow bars and put them in the shape of the Pi symbol. He also brought Moon Pies which I thought was pretty funny.

Ok, I’ll stop talking now. Hope you have a good week!

XOXO,
Anna

A Post Like March

48 Comments / March 9, 2011 March 10, 2011 / Sewing

Wow! Thanks for all the wonderful advice on kitchen countertops! If only I could take all of you along with me when it comes time to make a decision. Although, there were a lot of different opinions, so it could be a heated discussion LOL. We were supposed to meet with the countertop lady tonight, but she got sick so we’ll have to wait until next week. I hope this isn’t a sign of how long this project is going to take. ;-) I always joke with the kids that “I’m the Decider!”. But really, when it comes to stuff like this, I’m NOT the decider. I hate these hard decisions!

So…moving right along … I managed to sneak a bit of sewing in last weekend, and since there weren’t very many votes for the toaster countertop, I decided to use the fabric for some pillowcases.

I’ve always loved that Cosmo Cricket toaster saying, so when I saw these Metro Cafe toasters, I knew I had to make some pillowcases out of them. I got a little carried away when I bought the fabric too — I think most everyone I know is going to get some toaster pillowcases … poor dears.

I also snuck in a few quilt blocks for Jenny’s charity quilt that she’s making for an AIDS fundraiser. I think it took all of 20 minutes to make these blocks — if you have a bit of time and fabric, I’m sure Jenny would appreciate your contribution. You can read all about it HERE.

That’s about it for excitement around here this week. I did have a fun evening last night with BigDaddy, MyDadLovesMeBestSister, and CrazyBIL. We went to see Garrison Keillor. I was amazed that, at 68, he spoke without a break, or even a drink of water, for two hours. It amazed me even more today when I read that he suffered a mild stroke a little over a year ago. He was funny and entertaining and I loved that he made us all stand up at the beginning and sing The Star Spangled Banner. And for those of you who are sick of winter, he had this little quip…”Here we are in March…the month that God provided so that people who don’t drink will know what it’s like to have a hangover”.

Ok, one last thing … do you all know what this is?

It’s the famous Brandenburg Gate in Berlin Germany. And look, here’s another version:

The new logo for the Berlin Modern Quilt Guild. Isn’t it Awesome? I think that’s the coolest logo I’ve seen in a long time — I love how the spools and needle have become part of the gate. I saw it on Julia’s blog and I asked her who designed the logo. Turns out it was her! Congratulations Julia — it’s gorgeous!

Ok, now … WAIT! Did you see this super cute Pinocchio? I need another little boy so I can make it — I LOVE it!

Really. NOW I’m leaving. Hope you’re having a great week!

XOXO,
Anna

Decisions, Decisions

70 Comments / March 4, 2011 March 4, 2011 / Around the House

Well Hello There! Did you all have a nice week?

It’s been a little busy and stressful here in ThimbleannaLand as we start in on the fun (it is fun, right?) of choosing all of the little goodies for the kitchen/family room update. We made our first purchase this week — a ManChair for TheManoftheHouse. As far as he’s concerned we’re done now. To which I reply — let the spending begin! (Darn it!)

UglyGreenTile, your days are numbered — Yipee!!!

I’m a terrible decision maker and the hardest thing will be deciding on countertops. There are soooo many choices.
Corian. (Btw, these aren’t actual samples, just pics from the internet.)

Granite. Granite is leading the pack, although FreeDesignerLady is trying hard to get me to change my mind. She doesn’t have any other suggestions, but she said that several of her clients have told her they’re sorry that they chose granite. And I saw a year old countertop with chips in it this week, so I am having second thoughts.

Stainless. Perhaps a little too modern for me?

Ok, clearly, this isn’t working. Let’s move on to something I know. Don’t you think toasters are a good choice for the kitchen?

Or, what could be more perfect than polkies?

No Wait! I think I’ve found it!

(Just as a little sidebar here….I read some trivia in The Writer’s Almanac this week about The Cat in the Hat. Did you know that The Cat in the Hat was written specifically to help children learn how to read? Dr. Suess (Theodore Geisel) wrote the story with only 220 words — words that most first graders know. And Green Eggs and Ham has only 50 words, and only one of those words (it’s anywhere) has more than one syllable — amazing!)

So, Whaddyathink about the countertops? I’m all ears if you have any suggestions!

XOXO,
Anna

BTW, I’m STILL having problems with my comments being forwarded to my e-mail, so if you don’t hear from me after you comment, it’s not that I don’t love you anymore. I do love your comments, but I just can’t devote any more time to copying comments from wordpress into my e-mail so that I can respond to them. It looks like I’ll end up rebuilding my wordpress theme, and since all of my non-wordpress pages are tied to the theme it’s going to be a lot of work. And after all that work, I’m not terribly confident that the problem will be solved — I have a sneaking suspicion that my webhost has traffic load problems and that could be the culprit. I probably won’t start on it for a few weeks yet, but if you happen by and things look amiss, don’t panic, it’s just me playing around. {Smooch}

Month: March 2011