Arguing with the work and a new car near miss

Before we went on vacation, I looked at West of Paris, Texas and said "ta-da. you're finished." And, it said, "no, I'm not."

So, I added some more quilting and I looked at it and said "ta-da. you're finished." And, it said, "NO. I'm not."

As we left on vacation, I looked at it and said "you are finished" and quickly closed the door before it could argue.



We got back from vacation and I said "you are finished and now I'm going to bind you." And, it snickered and said "no, I'm not."

I sewed the last hand stitch in the binding and said "TADA, YOU ARE FINISHED." and it crossed its arms and stomped its foot and said "NO, I AM NOT!!"

So, what you see in the above photo is West of Paris Texas, already bound, with a template on it and my good marking pencil. Because clearly it is not finished.

Now, this argument usually goes the other way. I say "i can get just a few more yards of thread in this quilt" and the quilt says "I'm finished." So, this time, it was a real surprise to find myself adding quilting to a quilt that I think should be finished. After all, it's a lap robe and I want it to be soft and not overquilted. But, it really does need more. The quilting should be even across the whole surface and what I have right now is more heavily quilted in the center. Can't have that. People will point and laugh.

Okay. The car. Yesterday, I go start the car and there's a missfire. I'm getting flashing dash lights and the car is running rough. I pulled over and read the owner's manual: drive in a moderate fashion and have the vehicle serviced immediately...the catalytic converter can overheat and cause the vehicle to combust. Great. My first thought is that it's always better when you can drive a car in to trade it. A towed car is worth little in trade in value, especially if it's still on fire. So, I drive in a moderate fashion the the mechanic, drop the car and walk the two miles home.

Fortunately, I was well stretched from my morning yoga and didn't have any trouble with my feet. They're a bit sore today...less than they were a few weeks back, but more than they have been since I saw the doctor. But, I'm still getting around. Just stretching the backs of my legs whenever I think about it.

Good news on the car, tho. They did a tune up a couple months ago and one of the spark plug wires was faulty. The fixed it under warranty, no charge. I love a good mechanic.

Oh, and funny bus story. I was late for the school bus this morning. The district has Sydney at a far away bus stop. Too far for me to have her walk. But, if she stays on that bus, it will drop her about 7 blocks from home. Yesterday, I did some research and found another bus stop for a different bus that is only 2 blocks from home, so I decided I'd walk over there this morning and get the bus number, but I was late and missed the bus. I suppose I could call the school district and ask them for the bus number. Either they'd tell me they can't give that info...or worse, they'd tell me. I'm just creeped out that they might give me the bus number for an address that isn't mine. They shouldn't. So, for my peace of mind, I'm not going to ask. I'll get there earlier tomorrow morning.

Don't know if she made the volleyball team this year yet. There were 26 girls at the first afternoon of tryouts. But, yesterday, tryouts and practice moved to 6am. 23 girls showed up. The coaches are waiting to see if anybody decides they can't be at the school for practice that early before they think about cutting anybody. Sounds like a good plan to me. Our girl is up and ready every morning. I make her a breakfast that she takes with her and eats between practice and school. School breakfast is donuts one day and cheese toast another and cinnamon toast another. No meat, no protein. So, now I make two breakfasts every weekday because I don't want to eat at 5:30 every morning. I think that starting this weekend, I'm going to be asking for breakfast in bed. That sounds reasonable to me.

Okay, so one last thing. Guys, this is for us. Pigtails and Quilts is hosting a quilt show titled Men Quilt Too!. I'll be adding the button soon as I learn how to do that. Honestly, i got the email about this show and it sounded too good to be true, so I subscribed to her blog and have followed her for a few days and she seems to be legit. (Sorry T., but you had to be vetted.) Anyway, I'm thinking about entering 4 quilts...maybe more. Later, I'll start hounding all you ladies to go vote, but right now, it's about getting men to enter. Oh, I won't try to sway voting in any way...just like a presidential election, I don't care who you vote for, so long as you vote...and I win. (did i say that last part out loud?)

Everybody take care and have a great Thursday. Lane