Marvelous Monday Update 10/6/08

Stitchy Stuff
Last Monday, I met with D, who is a member of my local Freecycle group, to give her the flatfold "Peace Love and a Cure". She really liked it! D kept saying, "It's so pretty!" I was thrilled to find out she used to stitch. She gave it up during chemo because she said she couldn't concentrate on anything... stitching, reading, not even TV. D and I had a nice chat over smoothies (yum!). We talked about gardening and Freecycle. LOL, we went on and on and on about Freecycle (her experiences and mine as moderator). Before we knew it, the hour was up and she had to get to her eye doctor and I back to work. I had the feeling we could've talked for hours. A couple days after our meeting, D sent me an e-card and she wrote:

"I want to again thank you so very much for the beautiful cross stitch picture you made for me. I am so touched that you would do that for me. The cancer was an experience I would never want to relive but the kindness and wonderful people I've met make it less painful. People like you are why :) Please keep in touch ! I so enjoyed our "tea."

Wasn't that the sweetest thing? She's such a nice lady.

I started working on my UFO called Treasured Memories Afghan Quilt. It comes from The Cross Stitcher magazine. I started this project back in 1997. This will be my next BAP UFO to finish. (Cheer me on, Nancy. LOL Or, prod me in the rear!) Progress as of 12/2005 can be seen HERE. Since that time, I've finished the pinwheel and am 2/3 done with a dresden plate. I'm thinking about changing the center to a poem I found back then, but I need to figure out how to chart something that big onto afghan fabric. Ideas, anyone?


You're probably tired of hearing about my "wonder tool" as Petra puts it, and technically this isn't about the crop-a-dile itself, but about the eyelets. I had several packages laying around taking up more space than I wanted, and I'd been contemplating how to "lose" the packaging and keep all the eyelets in one place. So, I went digging into one of my many boxes yet to be unpacked and found this:

It works out perfectly!

I also spent a little time stitching on Believe. Not a lot of change to show.

One of the groups I'm in coordinated a Blind Ornament Exchange. No, the ornaments aren't blind... well, maybe they are... I don't know! LOL Each person stitched an ornament, sent it to the coordinator along with a postage paid envelope to send back another a stitched ornament from someone else. Mine was from Gabi in Australia. As I recall, it was Gabi's first time doing a triangle ornie and I think it turned out beautifully. Thank you, Gabi!

I started -and- finished my October ornament for the SAL's I'm participating in. Actually, I stitched two of the same one over the weekend. I'll get some pics when I actually make the into ornies.


Getting Fit
Week before last, my routine became a dismal failure, as I spent my free time studying for that darn test. I only worked out one time. But hey, one is better than none, right? This week I didn't do much better:

Monday
• WAYW DVD 3miles (cardio/strength training) 48 minutes
Tuesday
• CS Sexy Abs (ab workout) 15 minutes
• WAYW DVD 3miles (cardio/strength training) 48 minutes


School
What can I say??? The instructor always starts on the other side of the room when he passes back the tests/scores so I get to hear the moans and groans of students as they see how they did. It doesn't do much for my morale, I can say that! Simulatenously, I look at my score and hear the "smart" guy say he got 27 on the MC. My score was 26 and I quickly tried to figure out the percentage as I flipped through the test to get my score for the essay and definition portion. You can't even imagine my reaction when I realized I got a.......

After some discussion about the MC questions, the instructor gave us credit for a couple of them, which bumped my score to a nice solid B! Apparently, my random choices, and scribbled essay answers had some merit... and talk about relief on my part. I *seriously* thought I'd be lucky to get a C and realistically thought I got a D. (Even told one of my nieces I got a D. LOL)


Stocking Up
Thanks to a Freecycle member, I got a heads up on a HUGE 1-day meat sale going on at one of the local grocery stores. People were like piranhas in the meat section! In order to get the deals, meat had to be purchased in bulk. I spent 20 minutes standing in a line to have my bulk beef cut into steaks. Normally $15/lb, I was able to snag NY Strip Steak for $4.99/lb. Chicken was 89c/lb. Pork Loin chops/roast was $1.69/lb. I came home with 50lbs of meat and spent two hours packaging it into normal serving size packages. It all went into the freezer for this winter.

With that preface, here's what I made Saturday night:

I ended up saving half the steak for breakfast the next day... Just couldn't eat it all.