I have decided that there is nothing more refreshing than a couple of days with Mom. When our temperatures dipped a bit and my painting had to be put on hold, I snagged a couple of days and headed up to Fargo to spend time with Mom. A couple of years ago I had decided to try my hand at making a few small sampler quilts, but since I know absolutely nothing about the process, Mom had been drafted to help the inept to learn how. Unfortunately, life got in the way of me actually taking the time to go up there with my bag of goodies and the whole project was sidelined. Anyway, given all the free time I had this week, I figured now was a good time to set off and rectify the situation. Bless Mom for her patience because believe it or not we actually got two samplers done while I was there. They're actually a matching set that hopefully I will get hung in my foyer before winter. My grand plan originally involved making 4 different samplers that I could swap out with the seasons. We'll see how long it takes me to get the other 3 put together! Oh yeah.. that would mean I have to get my craft room sorted out...
Once we wrapped up the quilting project, (My neck was killling me from sitting hunched over the sewing machine), we tackled the requisite jigsaw puzzle. I say requisite because puzzles, as my siblings will attest, are a staple of any visit to see Mom. The upside of course is that we all enjoy doing it. Oddly enough neither my hubby or kids see their appeal, so getting a puzzle fix generally involves Mom in one way or another. Just one of the reasons I like having her come to visit.
Finally, in a burst of inspiration Mom suggested going to see a play. Living in the Twin Cities we rarely, if ever, get out to see a live play, and I have to say it's a real shame. Back in the "OLDEN DAYS", when I was active in the theatre doing costumes and such, Mom and I used to go fairly often, but let's face it, $65 plus for a ticket down here is a little steep for the budget. Not so in Fargo! Mom and I went to the opening night of the FM Community Theatre's production of "The Way the Other Half Loves". It's a comedy, sort of a British farce, that was actually quite good. Incredibly, the price of a ticket was only $12.00 and we were only 5 rows from center stage. Can't beat that now can you?
Anyway, now I'm home and looking at the rest of the weekend ahead of me. I think I hear my paint brush calling...
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Laugh yourself silly!
Okay, so I am lazing about this week (well except for getting up EARLY to meet friends for breakfast or coffee before they trudge off to work) and I decided to pay one of my favorite websites a visit. As you all know, I love to stamp- cards, walls, scrapbook pages, you name it! Well, a month or so ago I paid a visit to a website called SplitCoastStampers and was instantly hooked. Having wrapped up all my schoolwork I jumped into the fun to be found there and submitted a whole slew of cards that I and my buddy Twyla have made. For those interested, the link to the site is included in our list of favorite websites. ANYWHOOOO... Today I was wandering about the site and came accross this link to a listing that was on Ebay. The listing in itself isn't all that interesting to me, but the absolutely hilarious description that the seller posted will bring you to your knees laughing. Take the time to read it. You'll laugh out loud, I promise! Here's the link. If it doesn't click through, highlight the whole works with your mouse, copy and paste it into your browser and it should go work then. Enjoy!!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130144061675&ru=http%
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130144061675&ru=http%
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Ahh, the life of leisure...
Well, for the next week anyway. My new boss at Viking called me with good news and bad news last Friday. The bad news was they aren't going to be ready for me until the 17th of Sept. but the good news is I get another week of leisure before I dive into a completely new arena. So, I'm enjoying the slightly cooler Fall temps and taking advantage of the time to get some things done around home. For starters, yesterday I stopped over at Home Depot and bought a gallon of "Cherry Cobbler" red paint with which I am going to transform our currently non-descript front door into something with a little more snap to it. I also have a craft room that is threatening to become a monster so I plan on getting that whipped into shape as well. Along with some pre-determined breakfast, lunch and morning coffee dates with former co-workers, and a few other fun things for the week, I figure I won't have any trouble at all filling up my days.
Friday, for those who have been following the saga of my job change, went very well. Karin, my JHL boss, received a 4 hour crash course on the high points of my desk, I managed a few minutes of goodbyes with people that included hugs and hand shakes and a multitude of well wishes, and a few more minutes with Human Resources and another co-worker who I had a rather large project going with. Hopefully I managed to alleviate somewhat the "deer in the headlights" looks that I witnessed upon arriving, but from this point they're pretty much on their own. I wish them all the luck in the world.
As for the rest of the family, Josh is well immersed into his first quarter of his Sophomore year, and as predicted, likes his teachers. His AP American History teacher is apparently highly amusing and really goes out of his way to make it a fun class. Since this is becoming Josh's focus for a future career, we were REALLY happy to hear this. In band, he skipped one band level and is playing this year with the Junior level Concert band. For those who don't know, or remember, he plays alto saxophone, but at some point this year will add baritone sax to his repertoire. He's also taking 10th grade biology and english this year so we can't really say he has a light quarter. He seems determined to keep his grades up though and for this reason is not all that unhappy about not having a girlfriend. Girls are a distraction I'm told.
Dan, who is working full time, announced this week that he is finally being granted his own table to work on. Apparently this means he has some sort of tenure with the company and likely means he's less liable to be laid off as he was this Spring. From the standpoint of making sure he pays his Mom & Dad Co-signed car payment on time, we're all happy about this. Hopefully it holds up under pressure. At any rate, he was pretty darn pleased about the whole thing and it's always nice to see a smile on his face.
Rich, is battling the agony of a lackluster staff and is working like a dog to stay ahead of all of their errors and lack of support. The three of us here at home are to the point where we'd fire them on the spot and boot their sorry butts out the door, but apparently GE is exceptionally cognizant of the risk of lawsuits so the process to get rid of crummy employees requires a lengthy process of documentation and second, third and fourth chances before any action can be taken. Don't you just love lawyers?
I think for now, this pretty much sums up what is going on with the four of us. Thanks again to everyone who's been so encouraging with my job change etc. It's been a busy couple of months but it's great to know I have such a strong support network!
Friday, for those who have been following the saga of my job change, went very well. Karin, my JHL boss, received a 4 hour crash course on the high points of my desk, I managed a few minutes of goodbyes with people that included hugs and hand shakes and a multitude of well wishes, and a few more minutes with Human Resources and another co-worker who I had a rather large project going with. Hopefully I managed to alleviate somewhat the "deer in the headlights" looks that I witnessed upon arriving, but from this point they're pretty much on their own. I wish them all the luck in the world.
As for the rest of the family, Josh is well immersed into his first quarter of his Sophomore year, and as predicted, likes his teachers. His AP American History teacher is apparently highly amusing and really goes out of his way to make it a fun class. Since this is becoming Josh's focus for a future career, we were REALLY happy to hear this. In band, he skipped one band level and is playing this year with the Junior level Concert band. For those who don't know, or remember, he plays alto saxophone, but at some point this year will add baritone sax to his repertoire. He's also taking 10th grade biology and english this year so we can't really say he has a light quarter. He seems determined to keep his grades up though and for this reason is not all that unhappy about not having a girlfriend. Girls are a distraction I'm told.
Dan, who is working full time, announced this week that he is finally being granted his own table to work on. Apparently this means he has some sort of tenure with the company and likely means he's less liable to be laid off as he was this Spring. From the standpoint of making sure he pays his Mom & Dad Co-signed car payment on time, we're all happy about this. Hopefully it holds up under pressure. At any rate, he was pretty darn pleased about the whole thing and it's always nice to see a smile on his face.
Rich, is battling the agony of a lackluster staff and is working like a dog to stay ahead of all of their errors and lack of support. The three of us here at home are to the point where we'd fire them on the spot and boot their sorry butts out the door, but apparently GE is exceptionally cognizant of the risk of lawsuits so the process to get rid of crummy employees requires a lengthy process of documentation and second, third and fourth chances before any action can be taken. Don't you just love lawyers?
I think for now, this pretty much sums up what is going on with the four of us. Thanks again to everyone who's been so encouraging with my job change etc. It's been a busy couple of months but it's great to know I have such a strong support network!
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