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Saturday, March 31, 2012

A Happy Quilter

This little quilter is not just happy, she is deeelighted.  As I said in my book, if making others jealous makes one sleep well, then I am gonna get those new jammies, new sheets and a new pillow because I am definitely gonna be in nighty night heaven after I tell you what I did.  I got a facial.  Forget the new jammies, I was already in Heaven from the moment I lay down on the table.

 The sweetie who was giving the facial said, "remove your shirt and, at the least, roll your pants up to the knees." 

I said, "Um, this is a facial, right?  I mean, why am I rolling up my pants?" 

"Because I am also going to massage your arms and feet." 

Oh Boy!  I was so relaxed I actually did fall asleep. (Told you I didn't need the jammies) My own snoring woke me up from time to time.  Thank goodness because I definitely did not want to miss a second of this. I have never felt that good above the neck in my life before. I'll be back, that is for sure.  In fact, I am putting this place on speed dial, programming it into my GPS, and putting it on my Christmas wish list.

To top it off, I don't even care if anyone is jealous.  I am still in Heaven, sleeping with a smile on my face....oh wait, that smile is not from the facial....Tom is home, heh heh.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Quilter Finds Home

I was mildly surprised that I was able to find my house even with the GPS turned off. I knew I had it as back-up, so flying by the seat of my pants was not as courageous as it might seem. Given the number of different hotels we have been in over the last few weeks, we needed a GPS just to find the bathrooms in the middle of the night. Shoot, I was even disoriented last night in my own house. Part of that might have been caused by the fact that I was so comfy in my own bed that I did not want to leave the coziness even to appease my screaming bladder. This morning was the first time in weeks that I did not wake up aching from head to toe. Now, the only thing that could improve this situation? No prizes here...this question is way too easy for that...you guessed it--having sweet huggable Mr. Wonderful sleeping right next to me. At the risk of redundancy,I want to thank all of you who are still hanging in there, patiently checking back to see if I am still around. The problem is not only am i still around, I am still going around and around and around and......etc.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Blessed Quilter

I do feel lucky, blessed, as it were. Why? Because of all of you sweeties out there who actually care enough to keep checking in on me even though I am a very bad girl for not keeping up with the additions to my Threads. My intentions remain in the, "You-are-such-a-good-person-for-keeping-up-with-your-business," column. I am having to come to the realization that I am more often in the, "Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Isn't-She-Delusional?" column. Hey, I even packed my sewing machine, again, and all of the other paraphanelia thinking I would actually get some time to work on a project. No, to be perfectly honest, I brought more than one project. That Act, alone, should lock me into the latter category. Moving on to another subject...Brandy and I decided to bite the bullet and pay the fee for driving on the Pennysylvanis Turnpike. The rational? It is harder to get off, therefore, we should make better time getting to Chicago. Wait. I thought I was changing subjects but I seem to be back in the, "ha-Ha-Ha....Delusional" subject, vastly underestimating my capabilities for finding ways to get distracted. The GPS said we should arrive in just over 6 hours. We departed around 9:30 a.m.---we pulled into the hotel parking lot in Chicago at 10:30 p.m. Do the math. Oh, dare I mention that we gained an hour by passing back into the Central Time zone? to make matters worse, we must have paid nearly $100 in Turnpike fees. I have an idea. I am creating another category. It is going to be called the, "You-Are-Such-A-Good-Person-Wannabe, column. I feel pretty sure I will be up for the Ten Year pin very shortly......

Sunday, March 18, 2012

News Flash--Quilters on the Road

Gee, that reminds me of the real News--same old, same old....we are actually on the Pennsylvania turnpike as I write. Amazing what one can do while driving. Just kidding. I am actually in the navigator's seat right now, talking Brandy through a tunnel, a very very long tunnel. I am pretending that the tunnel does not bother me. What Mother's do for their kids. Did I mention that I am claustrophobic??? We LOVED Lancaster. The show is set up on three floors with quilt displays and vendors on each floor. There were some vendors there that I had not seen before as well as the "Oldies-but-Goodies" that travel the circuit. It is like old home week each time we see the guys from previous shows. Totally a kick to catch up and get my hugs. Hmmm. This writing while driving is reminding me of my childhood. I got carsick while, well, while just riding. I love green but not on my face. More later when I am on a non-moving surface.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Creative Quilter

Well, I might not be all that creative, but, I am working on it. No, it has little to do with quilting. It is about trying to figure out how to not only write on this blog while on the road, but, how to find the time to write, and, more importantly, how to remember what my ##%#%¥ password is. Obviously, I figured out the "how to get into the blog," part. Then, after 57 attempts trying to guess what my password is so I could actually add to the Threads, I had maxed out on my allotment of attempts so it took changing my password to get past the "what is your password?" section. ( I really think they should increase that "attempts" limit. I mean, 57??? What's up with that?) Anyway, I am majorly reluctant to change my passwords. The problem with changing my passwords is I will not remember that new one, either. I know, I know, I am supposed to write it down somewhere. I often do that. But how am I supposed to remember where that ratty old envelope went to? Oh, I almost forgot the last part of the dilemma--The "how to find the time to write, part." I realized that with an I-pad, I can write while I am on the pottie!!! Dang, I am creative, after all. Sweeeeeet.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Quilters Hit the Road, Again

Wow, as I wrote that title, I got chills.  I had never even thought twice about that phrase, "hitting the road," before.  Almost immediately after I wrote the title, I had an image of my sister and a rush of overwhelming sadness....I do not think I will ever use it, again.  Please forgive me for those thoughts.  I started to delete all of this, and then, I decided otherwise.  After all, these are as much from my head and heart as my Threads can be.

We are leaving in a few minutes for Atlanta.  I am going to do my best to figure out how I added to the blog that one time. There is always my personal 911, heh heh, "Tom."  He will be so relieved to find I am asking for information instead of $$$$.


Sunday, March 4, 2012

Last Second Quilter

My whole life has basically evolved around last minute changes in plans...heck, more like last second changes.  Have I ever mentioned that  I attended 13 different schools by the time I was in the 10th grade? People have asked me all my life, 'Where is home?"  Where does my accent, or lack of accent come from?  Shoot, I never stayed anywhere long enough to acquire a specific accent.  I was born in Minnesota.  I lived there three months....

So, here we are scheduled to go to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, leaving on Saturday, the 9th.  Then, I decided last night that I just might hit the road on Tuesday morning and do the Sewing Expo's show in Atlanta this coming weekend.  What do you think I am doing today?  You got it, cutting fabric, loading the trailer, printing patterns, etc etc.  Packing, getting ready to go.  Of course, the plans may change tomorow.....

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Quilter's Ego Trip


Well, I did not have to travel far for this Trip--only about 30 miles East to Monroe.  I had been asked to give a little talk at two meetings of the Monroe Quilt Guild.  My kind of day.  First, there is a captive audience.  Secondly, we are discussing Quilts.  Thirdly, we are focused on ME, heh heh,.  Finally, they pay me to be there.  How perfect is this set-up? 

I do not know about the delightful gals who were there, but, I had a terrific time.  I was asked to speak for around 30 minutes.  I should have warned them about my "time frame."  It is very similar to my "departure schedules," flexible, very very flexible.  In spite of this, both groups were just as attentive as they could be, laughing at the right times, asking great questions, and no one fell asleep, well, at least no one was snoring.  Thanks, ladies for making my day beauutiful.

By the way, I am officially on the List to walk in the 60 mile Walk for a Cure.  This time I will be walking in Washington, D.C.  I am going to need some serious help raising the $2300 since we are no longer allowed to sit in front of Wal-Mart.  Please bear with me and please ask everyone you know for big bucks. I will include the link:       Click here to help Dianne Walk for the Cure

Friday, March 2, 2012

Quilter Returns Home at last, Home at last

Simply amazing how delightful it is to be home.  Honestly, I tried to create some bloggie stuff while we were gone but I could not remember what I did before to add to the Threads.  Oh well. I hope you missed me !! 

Brandy and I had decided to head out a couple of days early for several reasons.  Clearly, we needed the rest, but, most importantly, we decided to stop and see some friends along the way --  in Baton Rouge we had lunch with a dear friend, Betty Lee.  Then we headed to Ocean Springs to have dinner with our new friend, and my sister's old friend, Betty Sue. We spent the night in Ocean Springs and then headed on down to Shellchase, our beach house.  I am planning to do this type of thing more often in honor of my sister--stop and smell the roses, see the friends, hug them all.  Remember, one can never have too many hugs. 

Just walking into the house was calming.  The Plan:  do some sewing, walk on the beach, watch some movies, and, just plain, relax.   Well, first, I forgot the cord to the sewing machine.  So much for that part of The Plan.  It rained from the moment we arrived until the day we left. So much for the "walk on the beach" part of The Plan.  Skip to part three of The Plan, watch some movies.  We did that in spades.  We probably watched 7- 8 movies that first day.  I did not even knit-while-watching. Where was Dianne?  Who was this person and what was she thinking?  Relax?  Obviously, I was exhausted and in La La Land when I made out that Plan.  By day two, the real Dianne emerged.  I decided to repaint the entry, kitchen and dining room.  (A while back I had found the original paint for those rooms in the basement and had carefully gone around the room "fixing" the scuffs and dirty places.  The next day it looked like someone had put band-aides all over the walls.  The paint had obviously faded over the years.  What a mess.)  I started painting around 6 a.m. and stopped painting around midnight.  Lookin' good.  The problem? the floors were not lookin' good compared to those nice freshly painted walls, so, I headed to the store to get cleaning supplies and then back home to scour the floors. Brandy was sweet enough to help so we were able to finish sometime around 1:00 am.  The next day we left for Lakeland, all relaxed from our weekend at the beach, yeah, right.


As far as the show was concerned, it was a good show for us.  I took nearly 150 books with us and sold all but eight books.  That was really fun.  What always amazes my daughter and me is that we always have a 10' x 10' foot booth but it never, and I mean NEVER goes together the same way.  There are always "issues."  Of course, there are always issues with  a Mother/Daughter Team.  This is especially true when that Mother has an entirely different approach to life than the Daughter.  Somehow, we survive but I am always relieved that neither of us owns a gun....

Then there is the Heading-for-Home Plan.  We left Lakeland on Sunday and got as far as our beachhouse. Smoooth and according to Plan. This New Plan included getting up early the next morning, getting all of the sheets washed and back on the bed so we could have lunch with yet another friend, take care of a couple of errands, and then head to Ruston.  Well, first,  our lunch lasted until 3:30 in the afternoon.  Hey, we had not seen this incredible gal in years making for some serious catching up time.  Now, after lunch, we still had those errands to run.  Since it is about an 8-9 hour drive to our house, revisions of  the New Plan were in order.  We now had a New New Plan which involved heading back to the beach house and leaving the next day.  Tuesday morning, we were gonna be good....get up by 5:30 and leave by 8:00.  Close--we left at 9:00.  By our standards, we were ON TIME.  In fact, we were practically ahead of schedule....so it could not hurt to stop along the way at some shops. Did you know that Florida strawberries were ripe? Gotta get some of those.  Wait, that sign said Lousiana strawberries are in.  Definitely gotta get some of those.  Look at that cute shoe shop....hey the GPS had said that we should arrive home by around 6.  So what if we are a couple of hours later than that....midnight is not too bad.   A couple of shops and a nice dinner later, we  are on our way.  Ooops, where is my cell phone?  Uh oh, I left it in the restaurant.  Jeez, what was the name of that restaurant?  what town were we in?  how far back do we have to go?????  After several calls on Brandy's phone, we found answers to those questions, and the phone.  It was going to put us over two hours later.  I do not know about you but driving until 2 a.m is not all that appealing to me.  So, we stopped at a hotel and arrived home around 11:00 in the morning.  Did I mention that Brandy had a customer to go see that same day.  Of course her car would not start and when we tried to jump start it, it caught on fire? 

I think I will stay away from Plans and head to the beach.....I need to relax......