That sense of foreboding...

You know what I mean. A suitcase that was tight as a tick on the way up now has extra room in it. Have I forgotten anything? I've wandered the room three times trying to make sure there's nothing missing.


Yes, today is back to Texas day for me. I mean, I like the people I work with and all. And, for a nice change, the weather in Cleveland has been beautiful. Even the "severe" thunderstorm late last night that was all show and no water was nice. And, the king size bed was big and there were enough pillows. But, it's not the same thing as home. It's not the same thing as my own bed. And, pillows are no substitute for cuddling. I don't know how people that travel all the time do it.

It's the arguing and the teen angst and the colors we picked and the familiar cooking that really make home, right?

Ugh. Speaking of the food, this hotel needs a new cook. It's a nice and expensive hotel built in the middle of nowhere. Like a good idea that was expected to generate development that never came. We drove through about 3 suburbs of Cleveland to get here. One side of the road had the big houses but no yards, the other side of the road was tiny old cracker boxes with huge lots. And, despite the fact that it's spring up here, there's really nothing in bloom. I saw one sad forsythia that is dropping it's flowers and nothing else is up. It's May for cryin' out loud. Can we order some crayons and fix this place up? Please?

But, I've been working on my own bit of color. This is the drunkard's path I've been hand piecing. I don't know what layout I'll eventually use, but this was just kind of tossing them out and I really like the way the upper left is looking. I'm sure the final result will be some kind of overlapping like that. Unfortunately, when I paired the fabrics for blocks, I started with the dark centers, so that's about all I've got pieced. Until I laid it out, I had no idea I'd made so many. And, I also learned that I didn't know how to hand sew, so that's taken some time to learn and to get my stitches to be small enough, and which finger the thimble goes on.



The meetings have been pretty good. Of course, my team didn't win the competition. Apparently where two or more employees of this company are gathered together, there must be a competition. I HATE that. For Pete's sake, isn't there enough competition? We're in a competitive industry, we compete over jobs, we compete for recognition. Why isn't there time to just sit and enjoy one another without someone having to win all the time. Maybe it's a result of being in a competitive industry. No one knows how to just be still, without competing.

I started Emilie Richards' Touching Stars on this trip. Fun book. I'm really liking the characters, but I can already see where the plot is headed. And, it's going to make me uncomfortable. So, there's that tension that I'm predicting as I read every page. But, I'm only about a third of the way through, so I'm sure the tension bubble won't pop until the very end. (Personal note to Emilie...hun, can we get some more books about Helen Henry? She's your best character by far. Although I have to admit that every time I treadle, I think of Eliza Kinkaid.)

Okay, so that's my week in review. No way back Wednesday this week. No VTT this week. I didn't prepare well enough before I left home to have those things ready. But, I have gotten some time to catch up on blogs last night. I gotta tell ya'. We all live exciting lives and don't let anybody tell you different. I'm just glad we found other people who recognize that we're exciting because I'm not so sure the general population would agree. At least the folks I left at the exciting casino night last night didn't think sewing sounded more fun than gambling with a free hundred dollar chip. Me? I'm not hung over. So, today I'll celebrate having enjoyed my own kind of excitement. TV and hand piecing. Heaven.

Take care and have a great Thursday. Lane