(3 miles)

Yesterday was a day of indulgence. I always feel so decadent getting my nails done, sitting there, hand stretched out, being pampered, totally relaxed, ....trying to stay awake. Why does Guilt always try to come for a visit about that time? I am going to change the locks on my doors.

Today my 90 year old mother is supposed to come for a visit, too. She does not even know the meaning of guilt, at least when it applies to her. She is pretty good at teaching others about it, however. For example, she called and left a message the other day. I just happened to be out of town and did not get the message for several days. Wow, by the time the last message was sent, she was saying things like, "Well, I guess it does not matter how I feel, " and, "It looks like you just don't care anymore......" Jeez. Lay it on.

(6 miles)

I am never looking in a mirror again. O.K., my mistake was turning on the "Miss Universe 2009" contest. Jeez. Sometimes I wish I could be Samantha on Bewitched (there I go again, giving away my "era") and give each and every one of those contestants a huge zit on the end of their perfect noses. I should be ashamed, shouldn't I? Well, I am but just a tinsy winsy bit. I mean, how fair is it that one person gets to look like they do, let alone an entire contest full of them.....I am going to go eat some ice cream...with chocolate,....and
nuts.....

(10 miles)

Big mistake, today. I slept in later than usual before taking my practice walk. Live and learn. In case anyone forgot, I live in the South. Enough said.

On to more interesting things....have any of you seen the show "Shark Tank?" Wow, some of these folks are CRAZY. I mean, take the guy who invented the safety belt that keeps the car from starting unless you are buckled? Great idea but he was definitely not thinking when he turned down the $$. Somehow he got it in his head that the investors were buying his idea so they could then NOT produce it??? Why on earth he thought these guys would be wanting to put all that money into an idea that they were going to try to place on a
shelf in some closet? HELLO, they are in the business of making money. Major DUH.

Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeee. The repair guy did get here yesterday afternoon. It is not difficult to see good stuff, today. First, the A/C is up and running. Second, the parts AND labor were actually covered under warranty (miracles do happen). Next, we slept in our bed, in our house, no need to add air. And, finally, my husband is not even the tiniest bit jealous that I kept hugging the repairmen and telling him I loved him. So, even though it is 6:00 in the morning, I think that I can safely say, "This is going to be a really good day."

(3 miles)

Hmm. It is actually cooler outside the house than inside. I did my short walk today and it was so hot I had perspiration dripping off my chin. It takes a LOT for me to sweat. The humidity must be 110%. Usually, it is such a relief to open the door to our house after my walk. Not today, or Saturday, or Sunday. We are waiting on parts.....

The repair guy arrived, today. I almost hugged him. Turns out the compressor needs to be replaced so we will be sleeping in the studio, again.

A good part of this is I am now back to my lampworking. I have not made any new beads in months so this is really fun. It just might be the only fun part of this arrangement. Gotta go or I will start sweating all over the computer.

(6 miles)

What I failed to mention yesterday is that our air conditioner is broken. The repair folks, of course, want a small fortune to come out on a weekend so we are getting really good at sweating. We do have air conditioning in the studio so I am outta here. Fingers crossed things will be resolved on Monday. Remember, we are in the SOUTH.

(10 miles)

Don't you just love birthdays? You do not even have to be the one with the actual birthday to reap some of the benefits. I mean, birthday cake, alone, is a treat. We took my girlfriend, Jan, and her husband, Sid, out to dinner last night to celebrate her birthday and it felt like it could just have easily been my birthday with all of the great company and fantastic food. Nothing quite like ending the meal with a perfect creme brulee. AHHHH.

However, I knew the birthday celebration was definitely over at 5:15 this morning when my daughter came to wake me for our walk. Did I mention we finally saw a snake? It was a diamond back rattler and, yes, I was reading when I saw him. Then, as if that were not exciting enough, I was stung by a wasp today, too. Ouch! I am going to concentrate on good thoughts for the rest of the day --Think creme brulee, think key lime pie, think chocolate anything.....

(5 miles)

I am BA-A-A-A-CK. Wow, it has, indeed, been a long time by anyone's standards since I added to this Thread. I know that I mentioned earlier that we have been having a lot of computer problems, not the least of which includes the program that runs this site. Sadly, this problem has not been resolved, so, I am back to using my husband's computer to do my writing. nyway, I really have missed writing the Thread more than I would have guessed.

A lot has happened. For one, I traveled to California for the Long Beach Quilt Festival. The bestest thing -- getting to visit with my wonderful cousins and family. The worst part: getting up at 4:00 in the morning for two weeks. It is the "getting up" part that is difficult. Once I am up for a few minutes, I am glad I am getting more out of a day by being up and going so early. It is almost like I am using a coupon for bonus minutes in the day. We got up that early for several reasons, one, none of us likes driving at night, (o.k., so it is dark at that hour but somehow morning dark is different than evening dark), we wanted to get out of whatever town we were in before the rush hour started, and we wanted to get great parking in Long Beach, heh heh.

Another thing that has happened: NEW PRODUCTS. We introduced "Quilt in a Clipboard," "Hooked on a Quilt" (a coat rack with one hook and another version with three hooks), and a pattern called "Quilt on a Chair." What amazed me was how much folks liked the Quilt in a Clipboard. Not only did I sell all of the samples, but I sold nearly every kit I brought. I
really thought the coat racks were going to be the best sellers since they are so practical. Oh well, trying to second guess preferences is always risky. I am just delighted that folks still like what I am doing!