Today I am....

::vigilantly:: guarding the garden against weeds and ::striving:: to get cucumber plants to thrive. I had to replant cucumber seeds as the others did not survive a cold snap. As a result, I am not sure if we will have any pickles this year.

::struggling:: with a lack of desire or motivation to do just one thing.

(I had been sick earlier this week with migraines and the after effect is extreme tiredness. When I go through episodes like these, I struggle to return back to normalcy.)

::spoiling:: two neglected cats. By neglected, I mean not being able to tend to their playtime/activity needs on account of being sick. Abby Gail is going outside frequently and Gracie is being spoiled by being allowed to stay in my studio on my sewing chair.

::amazed:: at the variety of differences among the flowers especially the coloring. I took pictures of one that looked like someone left brushstrokes of white on pink petals.

Today I Am

::heartbroken:: that a family friend will soon fly away to that home on God's celestial shore.

::scared:: or ::worried:: about the future of Rackspace.

::sewing:: -- it's therapetic. I am currently ::working:: on Section 3 of Gypsy Wife Quilt.

::cross stitching:: here and there on a small project.

::thinking:: about starting up another Christmas ornament kit.

::wishing:: Gracie was feeling better. She is still having itchy fits.

::wondering:: if I did something wrong in some friendships. At this moment, I cannot worry about what they think of me as I have enough on my plate. It is what it is. At least, that is what I try to tell myself.

::in pain:: from a stickerburr hitting my left hand (knuckle) several days ago and holding my phone too much in my right hand. The stickerburr most likely went into a tendon or muscle and the knuckle is currently inflamed. It's not much fun when both hands are hurting.

::thinking:: about selling off my extra Christmas beaded ornaments I made. I would sell them at cost plus shipping just for them to go to a happy home and be used.

::eating:: homemade gluten free pizza for dinner tonight. Pizza is comfort food for me.

Today I am...

::discouraged:: that Gracie (my cat) not only lost a nail cap in the night but also managed to get out of the cone of shame and destroyed herself.

::frustrated:: I said it's just another shit on the fire" when Dan said "It's going to be okay" in reference to Gracie suffering the setback. He had a funny look on his face and said "That'd stink a lot" and my immediate reply was "exactly my point".

::surprised:: and ::pleased:: when a managerial type of person at HEB having a discussion with an employee suddenly blurted out to me "I'm impressed with you and your system" in reference to my Bullet Journal. Who knows? Maybe I do have a future.

::watching:: a few Gravity Falls episodes and Doctor Who "Face the Raven", "Heaven Sent" and "Hell Bent" episodes while ::cutting:: and ::sewing:: fabrics for another block of the Gypsy Wife quilt. Don't worry. I have seen both TV series before several times. I know what is happening when I look up at the TV for a few minutes and not miss a thing (on account of being deaf).

::eating:: Sausage Pancakes (gluten free) for dinner

Today I Am...

    ::celebrating:: 51 years (young)

    ::watching:: the sun rise (while the cats explore

    ::lighting:: candles – the ordinary Yankee Candle kind

    ::determined:: to keep plugging away on the cross-stitch project

    ::eating:: Pizza (homemade gluten free) for dinner

    ::looking forward:: to attending Formula 1 Racing with Dan in Austin, Texas

Today I am...

::loving:: this old Pepsi crate that will be used for multiple purposes throughout the year including an advent calendar. We are planning to make “drawers” {boxes} out of thin pieces of Luan.

::tickled:: to see Gracie rolling around in a sunbeam pleased with herself for chasing off an old orange male cat snoozing in the sun on a mat in front of the glass sliding door to the back yard. {It took several meows; but, the orange male cat finally got up in a huff and walked away and Gracie had the gall to try to attack him through the glass.}

::having:: a bad case of “don’t wannas”

::melancholic:: due to this time of the year which tend to make me more introspective than usual

::wishing:: life was different for Mother

::missing:: loved ones gone from this earth

::thinking:: of my niece and Goddaughter whose own tiny daughter underwent minor surgery this morning -- I can only imagine the worry and concern she went through

::glad:: that the tiny little one made it through surgery with flying colors

::attempting:: to get into the Holiday spirit and ::failing:: miserably

::gearing up:: to start a major cleaning out and purge of the office

::hoping:: to have accomplished tons in that room

::planning:: on having baked taters for dinner

::determined:: to beat a boss called Scaldera in Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword tonight after experiencing utter failure last night

Today I am...

Today I am old! Ha! One year older. I turned 47 years old today. Yikes!


I found out yesterday that I won two yards of Panier de Fleurs of my choice from the Fat Quarter Shop through Talkin’ Tuesdays on Twitter. Learning this bit of news lifted my mood immensely. Thank you @caraquilts and @FatQuarterShop for this early birthday present! I do not think anybody knew that the next day was going to be my birthday. So, it was a wonderful surprise!

In the middle of the night (last night), I woke up with a migraine. It was a pounding ugly one. Fortunately, it eased by 7:00am this morning. I disliked the sunshine. Someone on facebook said it was a glorious morning! I privately said “bah humbug” to that cheerful person.


source
Ha!
I still have residual effects of the migraine; so, you'll have to excuse any grammar and spelling errors that may be in this post.

I was planning to go the beach today; but, the after effects of the migraine changed my mind. I took it easy this morning and gradually felt better. By the time 11:00am rolled around, I felt like venturing outdoors. I decided to see Mother and then head on over to the nearest Denny’s for my free Grand Slam birthday meal. It was delicious; although, the service stunk at that particular restaurant.

Since I felt up to doing some shopping, I decided to go on mini quilt shop hop! I first went to my formerly favorite quilt shop, the Painted Pony ‘n Qults (PPQ). I roamed inside the store for a bit; but, I did not find anything I had to have. So, I went onto another quilt shop called Pinwheels and Posies (P&P) which has now become my favorite shop in the area. This was my first visit to this particular shop. It is smaller; but, still loaded with fabric. The staff is really nice! I have never encountered friendlier staff than they. Most do not have the patience with hearing impaired or deaf people like me. But, these were very nice and understanding people.

Anyway, I roamed the shop and noticed that the prices were slightly lower than the PPQ. Although, P&P probably had less than half the amount of fabric. The shop is mostly organized and grouped by color with a few fabric lines standing out. They had some Essential Dots by Moda mixed up in the groupings of colors. I wanted these for eons. But, I decided against purchasing any of these because I knew that I can eventually buy some at my favorite online quilt store.

I found a fabric I loved. And then, I noticed the same pattern was in another color. I kept on finding the same pattern in different colors.


source: Moi!

Ten in all! I ended up purchasing ½ yard of each except the brown. I purchased 2 yards of that as I loved the color. Don’t ask me why; but, I have loved rich browns for several years now. One of these fabrics, I believe it was the black, was 20% off. I did not know this until she marked the ticket. I told the lady that I was not going to argue with her. Ha! These fabrics are part of the Isadora line by Blank Quilting. And, I discovered via this site that the brown color is “Chocolate”! How appropriate!

After I finished with the P&P shop, I decided to head on over to Quakertown Quilts (QQ) . Imagine my disappointment upon discovering that this shop is closed. They were in business for 23 years! They do have what I call a 'sister shop' in The Woodlands; but, I was not about to travel that far!

So, I went to see my Mother again briefly and then crashed a bit at the house. I decided that I did not feel like dining out for dinner; so, I went to Chili's to order some food to go. Once I got back to the house, I settled down with a book and pigged out on some delicious Cajun Pasta with Grilled Chicken.


In spite of my disappointment over QQ, in spite of my rough beginning to this day due to the migraine, and in spite of missing my Dan, I had a pretty good day!