Missed my bed!

I slept so good last night! The Hilton in Ft. Wayne is nice but the pillows were too firm and I couldn't scrunch them up right. I woke in the middle of the first night with a sore neck. I switched pillows. Didn't help. The second night I got the extra blanket out of the closet and used it as a pillow. Much better but still not like my own. I usually don't have that problem.

I wasn't going to take a lot of tatting with me because I never use everything I take and it's a waste of time and energy. I took 2 canvas tote bags full. (cringe) Plus I had a few books stashed in my carry-all, including my T.A.T. binder. Unfortunately, in keeping with my "not gonna take all that stuff", I didn't have the thread I need for the T.A.T. projects. In fact, I had very little thread, but I did have lots and lots of floss holders full of thread, so I spent a good part of my 2 evenings away tatting flowers and butterflies from leftover threads. I didn't have a beading needle with me either, so it was insanity that I brought a whole container of beads, but some last-minute packing moments are like that. I did find a picot-beader in the stuff I took and I painstakingly used that to load some beads and make some trailers for fantasy flowers. About ONE actually. LOL! But I made one of the larger motifs to go with it too.

I realized this morning that I'd had a "blonde" moment last night. I couldn't get my trunk to open with the button inside the car or the electronic opener on my keychain, so I opened one of the back seats and pulled my luggage through that way.

...big sigh.....

This morning I realized all I had to do was stick the key in the lock. The electronic part still doesn't work but the key does. DUH!!! I just spent 2 days in a workshop focused on creative thinking. I musta used it all up by the time I got home. LOL!

Abby should get her boo-boo exchange today! I'm so excited!

Yesterday I came home to a sewing machine I won on ebay, which was a cheap alternative to getting the one I have fixed. I will still get it fixed but now I can sew until I'm ready to take it in, probably after the first of the year. I also came home to 4 issues of Tatting Times, a newsletter by Karey Solomon. I was a late-in-the-year subscriber so I got all the goodies at once. LOL! You can subscribe by sending payment to Karey. I think it is $14/year but you might email her first to check. I saw a few things in there I want to try and they are small enough that they'll be a nice break from the bigger projects, like the bison.....

Speaking of bison, Abby sent me a pic

which will help me decide what to do with the horns.

I also came home to DSL on my computer so now it loads FAST! The only problem is when I'm entering things here, it will be difficult for me to know how it loads for those on dial-up now. I know it takes time. I try to keep the pics small. If I limited the view to the latest entry, that might help too. I love having the DSL though. Now I can get phone calls while on the computer, my kids' biggest complaint, even though I have a cell phone.....I used to be really bad about turning the cell phone on so they couldn't reach me either way, but I've been good about leaving it on for a year now. They just don't call me anymore....sniff, sniff.....

That was a joke, btw. They do call. Eventually.

~~~~~~~later~~~~~~~

She got it!



I had such fun making this monkey. I always think of my grandma when I make one. I love the way they take on a personality as you shape them. Those eyes watch you every stitch of the way.