Apr 4, 2011

Marvelous Monday Update 4/4/11

WEATHER
Ack! I thought March was a crazy month for weather. April is starting out just as crazy. All weekend it was a bit cool and windy. Temps in the lower 40's. Yesterday afternoon, the temperature shot up to 70-74F and it was really humid. Then the tornado watches were issued, along with thunderstorm and flood warnings. Forecasters didn't stop there - no. They also warned of 2-3" diameter hail possible. Luckily, my area didn't get hail - but 40 minutes west of me did (1" sized). We got the thunder rumbling and rain, but that's it. Today, temps are back into the 40's again.


A NIGHT AT THE THEATRE
This past weekend, the local college put on Arsenic and Old Lace. The set was fabulous, and the actors did a really good job putting on the play.


The play is a comedy revolving around Mortimer Brewster, a drama critic who must deal with his crazy, homicidal family and local police in Brooklyn, NY, as he debates whether to go through with his recent promise to marry the woman he loves.

His family includes two spinster aunts who have taken to murdering lonely old men by poisoning them with a glass of home-made elderberry wine laced with arsenic, strychnine, and "just a pinch" of cyanide; a brother who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt and digs locks for the Panama Canal in the cellar of the Brewster home (which then serve as graves for the aunts' victims); and a murderous brother who received plastic surgery to conceal his identity and ends up looking like horror-film actor Boris Karloff.

Arsenic and Old Lace is best known through the film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra.


WELCOME STITCHERY GTG
I've been a follower of Ranae's blog (Stitch by Stitch) for quite a while. She announced on her blog that there was going to be a get together at Welcome Stitchery. It was a really fun time. The store looks small on the website, but it's pretty good size and has a LOT of stitchy goodness! After shopping, we (all 19 of us!) went to Public House for lunch. The food was really good and very filling. It was the first time I'd met any of the ladies, including Ranae. She's really friendly and a great gal. :) We had two ladies from Canada also. Welcome Stitchery had been their 5th cross stitch shop in 5 days and I think they said they'd be going to a couple more. That's a lotta stashing!

I couldn't go all that way and not buy anything. Here's what I came home with (minus a few things I bought as gifties):



GIVEAWAY
Dawn (GoldenAngelWorks) is hosting a giveaway to celebrate seven years of blogging. Click on over and wish her a Happy Blogversary!


STITCHY STUFF
It didn't seem like I did a lot of stitching all week, but from the looks of my recent WIP pic, apparently I did. I did quite a bit on the the parasol I started last week.

30 comments:

Faith... said...

The temps are so crazy! I will be glad when the cold weather is finally over!

Oh...a XS get together! How cool...

Your geisha is going to be amazing!

Sue said...

The weather has been crazy here too Meari! Cold and rainy last week; and today it is 80! Go figure.

Don't you just love local plays; we try to go to our Community Threatre each time they run a play; just a couple of weeks ago we saw a comedy called Two by Two, based on Noah building the Ark with his family and surviving the flood. Very good!!! Even Hanna enjoyed the play.

Your Geisha is looking fabulous! Certainly do love the colors.

Hugs,
Sue

Niina said...

Geisha is gonna be so beutiful, I love the shades of fabric too! And your meeting sounds so fun!

Berly said...

I love 'Arsenic and Old Lace'. It's always been one of my favorite plays. Geisha Girl is looking pretty.

I just ordered the same LK piece from Flowers-2-Flowers!

Cathy said...

Your Geisha is looking fantastic!!...and, as usual, your blog cheered me up!!

Cathy from KY in CA

Barb said...

I agree the weather has been crazy but hopefully Spring is here now. Your Geisha is beautiful. I agree you cannot go into a LNS without buying any patterns.

Sunshine said...

Lot's of wind and sunshine in the south. Keeps things a bit cooler, but the wind is crazy!!!!
So glad you got to spend some time with other stitchers and do some stash shopping. Great progress on the Geisha. Happy Stitching!

Kay said...

Ohio has been temperamental with the weather, one day it is warm and then days like tomorrow snowing. Soon enough it will be spring finally. I loved the old black and white movie arsenic and old lace, I imagine the play was done very well too. The cross stitch get together sounds like a lot of fun!

Rachel S-H said...

We are getting the warm weather right now, but the T-storms are coming tonight. I don't want it to get cold again, arrgghh. Glad you had fun at the GTG.

Carissa said...

Meari,

We had some of that crazy weather yesterday too. We had the cold nasty rain in the morning with smallish hail that lasted a solid 10 minutes. It never did get over 50 here, but then the storms started again around 10pm and several towns in the Madison area and the one where my daughter lives just 5 miles west of us got golf ball size hail. So thankful we didn't that.

I had to go visit the website for the LNS you mentioned, thinking it was maybe near you, but I saw it was in Crystal Lake.

Do you remember Creative Urge downtown? I used to love that store, I visited it every weekend just to browse. There was another one in Oregon that my Grandma used to take me to, but I don't remember what that was called.

Your geisha is looking great!

Claudette497 said...

It's back in the 80's today and then it's supposed to be cold and rainy this weekend - yee haw. I'm ready to have just one set of clothes in the closet! You've made a lot of progress on Geisha - she's looking great!

Unknown said...

Don't you just love getting together to stitch with others! I always loved my Wednesday stitch nights.
Your weather sounds crazy. It's just been cold here. No sign of spring yet!
Heidi-ILCS

Anonymous said...

The weather has been strange, last night we had snow, freezing rain then rain with thunder and lighting, then today was nice 18C.

It is great to meet with other people to stitch and your picture is coming along great.

Marl

Pam in IL said...

Wish I'd known about that get-together at Welcome Stitchery. Oh, maybe next time.

We had 60 mph winds and heavy rain with the golf ball size hail. I looked out the window and it looked just like the February blizzard with the wind and rain blowing straight out of the west.

Your Geisha is looking great. My favorite colors too!
Pam in IL

Shelley said...

Wow!! Crazy weather indeed...

Your wip is looking fabulous :)

Sounds like you had lots of stitchy stashing fun. It's always a great day when you get to meet other stitchers in person.

Unknown said...

Geisha is looking lovely I adore the colours. Weather, well there is nothing you can do with weather unfortunately be thankful you didnt get caught out in that awful hail. I wish there were stitching get togethers near me.

Donna said...

You sound like you live in Texas. 85 degrees then 40 degrees and high wind and thunderstorms all around.
But no rain here. It has been dry since we got snow in Feb.
I have never seen Arsenic & Old Lace. I think now I will go back and find the movie.
I love the colors on your WIP. So vibrant! Great job!

Shari said...

crazy weather here too!!!!
The play sounds like a fun time.....
your stitching looks great....such pretty colors.....
and wow...a day at a cross stitch shop with other stitchers...nothing beats that!

Carol said...

How nice that you got to meet Ranae and so many new-to-you stitchers, Meari. It is always a fun time when stitchers get together :) Nice purchases, too.

I am so ready for winter to let go of it's grip--we don't have so much as a single blooming daffodil yet! Thank goodness I got a dose of warm weather when I was in FL last week...

Akila said...

Probably something to do with the global warming? Summer has set in full form here and it's already like how it normally is in mid May!!! God help us in May actually.

Blossom is coming up beautifully!! Love the colours :)

Daffycat said...

I love theatre, whether professional or not. A lot of college performances are fun because of their playful attitudes. You can tell when they are enjoying themselves!

EvalinaMaria said...

The weather sucks everywhere! Congrats on more SEX and a nice progress on your WIP!

Ranae said...

It was a beautiful Sunday for a short drive to WS, so glad to meet you
We will have get together and stitch
The geisha is looking lovely

Julie M said...

Glad you had a great time at the GTG Meari! You chose some great stash. I wonder if those 2 ladies from Canada were the same 2 we had in our shop on Saturday. I doubt it but really how many Canadian twosomes can there be running around stash shopping? :)

Linda said...

Your stitching is lovely as ever. I love the colors on the ? WIP (I don't see a name)-so spring like. Love the stitchy stuff...I never find such things.
Spring is up and down, 40s then 85....typical Texas weather.
Lynn

chrisstitches said...

So you did come home with too much....better way to phrase it perhaps. Great progress on the blossom splendor.

Eva said...

It was great to meet you at Welcome Stitchery and to have lunch together! Hope to see you again soon!

Nancy M said...

It's fun having get togethers! I can't wait until this weekend, we might be in the 70's!!! Your Geisha girl is so pretty! Love the colors!

Anonymous said...

I just saw that you had 16 visitors from Aruba on your blog. Please
listen carefully... Find those people...butter them up, and get you and
I invitations to stay with them!!! NOW!!!!!

ok..I'm calm, now.

great progress on your oriental lady (for the life of me I can't
remember what it's called and I'm too damn lazy to go back and look). It
is going to be fabulous when finished.

take care...don't unpack your summer clothes....buy the clearance winter
items..that' s what we use the most!!! ugh.

g

(and for the love of all that is good..don't listen to those spoiled
people in other states (TEXAS) that actually have spring...ahhh
spring....it sounds good....but what IS it?)

Katrien said...

We've been having nice, spring weather here.
Stitching and new stash look good!