What do Vodak, Kids and Chocolate have in common?

Okay, okay. I know. Monday is supposed to be the worst day of the week. And for a lot of us, it often is. But for some strange reason I woke up this morning feeling very grateful. Weird, I admit!

I started pondering this strange phenomenon and a list began to grow in my mind. So here it is in no particular order ... the things in my life that I am grateful for.

1. My darling husband.
2. My lovely sweet daughters. (AKA the Spawn)
3. A bushel full of friends, male and female.
4. Cupboards full of fabric.
5. My lovely longarm machine.
6. Chocolate.
7. Beer and vodak.
8. Books, books and more books. (Yup, I'm a reader.)
9. My cats. Sir Winston Churchill and Miss Trixie.
10. My soon to arrive grand-baby. (September can't come soon enough for me.)

Does my  new grand-baby look like me?

Caution: Nut Job Behind the Wheel

Okay, I admit it. I may not be the best driver on the planet. It’s true!

I have a serious tendency to be aggressive. I drive an ancient Honda that gets great gas mileage. The trouble is that I drive a wee-bit faster than I should sometimes. I have received a couple of Fast-Driving Awards in my day and have been in the occasional accident. In high school, I backed into some old battle-axe’s car in a parking lot. (I blame her; she wasn’t there when I shoulder checked and started backing up.) Once, a dozen years ago, I managed to center punch my suburban on a light standard in a Safeway parking lot. On the plus side, I didn’t hit the kid I saw darting through the parking lot. Although my innate honesty forces me to tell you that she wasn’t nearly as close as I thought she was. (I see a theme here, maybe I should avoid parking lots!)

So yeah, I am not a perfect driver, although I am scrupulously careful in playground and school zones. I don’t text while I drive, and I have a Bluetooth thingy for my cell phone.

I do have a couple of driving pet peeves. Learn how to merge people. Speed up to match the flow of traffic you are joining, and the rest of you make a gap! And can we please, please, please watch the lights and get moving when it turns green. Oh, and those speed signs, can we make an attempt to get to posted speed in less than five minutes and can we travel the posted speed. I’m not asking you to exceed the speed limit, just get there!

Okay, enough venting, on to the positive part of a road trip, the music.

My previous post was on the shameful tunes on my Ipod. Today’s post kind of ties into that. I love music. Yup, it’s true. I get in the car and turn the radio from talk-radio to music. (Why does my man listen to that?) I have five classic rock and one country station pre-set on the radio. (And two classic rock for another city that I visit often.) I start pushing buttons until something moves me and I start singing along. (The car is too old to have a CD player.)

I back out of the driveway, and I’m off. Recently, I noticed that I get a lot of funny looks while I am driving and singing away. I’ll be stopped at a light, sun glasses on, reading glasses on top of my head, Bluetooth in, and caterwauling away to the music. Teenagers look at me like I’m some kind of a nut job. Small kids smile and wave. Women glare at me. Old people ignore me and men smile.

I thought it was just a coincidence, but I started paying closer attention to the reactions of the folks around me while I sing and drive. Rarely do I get an unexpected reaction. Although, one lady looked at me, and said to her friend, “Oh my God, look at her.” (Lip reading. LOL) Now, that just made my day.

Now I admit I’ve seen people rocking-out while they drive and it makes me smile. I love pulling up alongside someone when you can tell they are shouting the lyrics at the top of their voices. It just makes me laugh. The teenagers really crack me up, because as soon as they notice that you are looking, they stop singing. Too funny! Me, I don’t care what you think of my singing, or how silly I look. I’m just having fun.

So keep your eye out for me when you’re touring around. I’ll be the brunette with the wild-out-of-control hair, tortoise shell sunglasses, reading glasses and Bluetooth, singing away at the top of her voice and driving her wee Honda like a cross between a tank and a Porsche.

The Embarrassing Music on My Music Player

 

I love my music. I have music playing for much of the day. Cooking needs the radio; Classic Rock of course, or maybe some Newfie music. Sewing, crafting, writing and working out require the use of a portable music player; often hooked up to speakers. Before you go getting all excited, know that I don’t listen to anything even remotely new. I have to admit, that I am not much of a music aficionado. My music dates me. (Good thing too, cause nobody else will. Ha ha.) I am hooked on classic rock up to the nineties and country music up to about 2005.

My first MP3 player was loaded when I got it in about 2002, I never did change the music on it. Not even once. I had it until about two months ago. I think it died of boredom from hearing the same 113 songs over and over. *grin* Even now, when I hear certain songs, I am disappointed when I don’t get the song that I am expecting next. Werewolf in London should always be followed by Cracklin Rosie. That’s just how it should be … in my corner of the universe.

 

So I now have an iPod. I loaded a few songs on it the day I got it. My iPod; a cute little pink one, is loaded with most of the same stuff that was on my original MP3. Sure, there are a few more songs, and certainly room for lots more music; but I am have never gotten around to loading more songs. Do you know how much effort it takes to go through a directory of 10,000-ish classic rock songs to find the ones that move you? Plus, we all know that I am, by my very nature, lazy. Lazy. Lazy.

I have to admit, that there are a couple songs that don’t really move me anymore or that are just plain crappy remake versions, but I have yet to remove them. The danged thing needs a delete button! I also have to confess (it’s a good thing that confession is good for the soul, cause I seem to confess a lot of things here.) Where was I? Oh yeah, confessing that there is a lot of music on my little pink player that is an embarrassment. You know . . . the kind of music that makes you shut the speakers down when someone comes into the room.

Jack Wagner: All I Need

Stompin Tom Connors: All of his songs! (Gotta love him!)
Captain and Tennille: Love Will Keep us Together

In terms of better music, you’ll find The Who, The Beatles, Alan Jackson, ELO, Prism, April Wine, The Irish Rovers, Alabama, Burton Cummings, Green Day and many more like that. Soon, I will be adding more classic rock some really old country music (think Dolly Parton) and a whole whack of Newfie Music. Oh, and let us never forget the world’s all-time best album, Bat out of Hell by Meatloaf! Paradise by the Dashboard Light is my favourite song…okay it is tied with Beer for my Horses by Toby Keith; but let’s not quibble. I would add some classical, because I love it too, but in general it’s hard to hear over my machines when I am working.

My favorite song for romance writing is I Love the Way You Love Me, by John Michael Montgomery. And nothing makes me cry like Dance Little Jean by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. When I need pumped up, it’s Mary Mac by Great Big Sea. There is no way you can keep your feet still during this song. For a laugh there is always Drink and Drink and Fight by Flogging Molly.

I do have one problem with the cute little iPod … when it is on shuffle, why does it play the same songs over and over? After three months, I heard The Night Chicago Died for the first time since I loaded it and I’ve heard Boris the Spider ninety seven times. I mean really, Why?

My Life Is Sweet

Okay, I will admit that I have been lax on my blog posts lately.
Heck, I've been lax on quilting, pattern writing, sewing, binding, writing ....
I've done almost nothing but read and drink coffee for the past couple of weeks. Stupid self-inflicted injuries will do that do you. LOL Watch those stairs, they can trip you up. Not down, I never fall down the stairs, just up!

But, I'm back in the studio now and hard at work. Currently, my focus is on finishing my daughter and son-in-law's wedding quilt. Now that they have been married 2.5 years, I decided it is time. I have all the blocks done, half the sashing on and now I am ready to sew all that into rows. I will post pictures when I get the top completed.

Trixie (left) and Winston (right).

Look at my babies. Aren't they sweet. They are resting on Darling Dogs and Cat's Got the Measles and are BESIDE (not on) customer quilts. Yes they are spoiled. They love visiting the studio.

Hugs and happy sewing to you!
Cath

Resolutions: NOT!

 

Today things start anew. I got up early and hit the treadmill. I’m backing off the sweets and junk now and getting back into healthy eating. Although I confess that I will never be a fan of vegetables. So I shall have to focus on fruits instead.

This is the time of year when people start making New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve basically stopped doing that. I never follow through on them anyway, and end up feeling bad about it later on. Oh, I know that there are many things in my life that need improvement, but over the past couple of years I have tried working on small changes as I notice things that need improvement or tweaked.

My current focus, which started last summer, is to get healthy. I am working out on a fairly regular basis. (Not as often as I should, but more often than I used to.) I am eating healthier. I am trying to reach my goal weight. But I am not dieting; I am just focusing on smaller portions, less junk and healthier foods. I try to hit the gym six days a week, but usually only make it four times. Still, that is a huge improvement over the way things have been for the past twenty years. With these small changes, I have managed to lose 35 pounds. I have another 35 or 40 to go, but I feel confident that they will slip away as well. I just need to keep on with the changes I have made, and slowly work those portions down from gargantuan to reasonable. I admit it; it is nice when someone notices that I am shrinking.

But back to the resolutions … no I am not going to make any actual resolutions. But here are the top ten things I know need work.

1. I will swear less.

2. I will eat healthier.
3. I will hug my friends and family more often.
4. I will try to control my temper.
5. I will work out regularly.
6. I will do some housework. (Note I said some….not a lot. LOL)
7. I will indulge in some random acts of kindness.
8. I will let my loved ones know I appreciate them.
9. I will try to be a better person.
10. I will write more.

Are you making any resolutions this year? Any big changes planned? Any small changes? I would love to hear about them.

Hugs

Cath