At PT Noelle tested me, and there has been improvement in several areas.  Maybe not as much as we'd like to see, but at least I'm going in the right direction.  On the way home I (finally) stopped in at Kohl's to spend my $20 Kohl Cash (good only Dec 26-Jan 4.)  I found a black shirt, priced at $20, that should work perfectly for Alex's Ugly Sweater project.  When I checked out it turned out to be on sale and was only $11.99, so I went back to find something else to spend the remaining $8.01 before the coupon expires Saturday: a penguin candle holder and candle ($3.99 each)  for the hot tub, which left 3 cents.  

When I got home I felt pretty tired - maybe from my early morning shuttles to the airport? and crawled into bed for a nap. I was almost asleep when COX called, and then 15 minutes later COX arrived.  I got to listen to everything the technician was doing, and at that point knew I wasn't going to catch my 40 winks; besides, I needed to test drive my iPad anyway, right?  The computer seems to be very happy now, so we are too (until we get the bill in the mail...)

Just to prove I wasn't getting in a nap, Patti texted to let me know I didn't need to bring bread tonight, Carolyn called to say she needed a color of embroidery thread she'd loaned me and asked if she could swing by (yes), and Jeannie dropped in on her way home from getting her nails done. 

Off to the movies now with Patti and Gary to see The Book Thief - and then dinner at their house.  Since I didn't get in a nap I hope I can at least make it until 10:00 when the ball falls in NYC.

Tom spent a couple of hours on the phone with COX today, trying to figure out the source of the problem with the computer.  By process of elimination, it's been decided that the router is to blame - and a new one will be here tomorrow afternoon.  In the meantime, my computer is hooked in directly and should be fine; Tom, however, will not be able to use his laptop, and my iPad will also be down for the count.

Could (always!) be worse!

I've been looking for a notebook I know I have (somewhere!!!), and to that end have been mucking off shelves and desks.  While I haven't yet found the notebook (and am running out of places to look) at least the trashcan is rapidly filling with all the stuff I'm throwing away!

I had a nice long soak in the hot tub (hopefully that will help stave off any soreness tomorrow from this morning's workout), and am enjoying the book I'm currently reading.  One of the things I found (while mucking the homework desk) is an algebra worksheet meant to help Alex prepare for an exam.  Think I'll go 'take' that test now... like doing a crossword puzzle.  No, I'm not crazy.

And speaking of crosswords, I usually enjoy the quirks in the NYTimes Sunday puzzle (except when there's more than one letter in a box - that drives me nuts.)  Last week's "A Cut Above The Rest" had me a little confused at first (what kind of tree has only the letter U in it?  yews) but it all worked out once I caught on.

 

My computer has been acting VERY peculiar the past couple of  weeks.  I pretty much have to reboot it every time, and even then it sometimes says it can't find the internet.  Like this morning, when it wouldn't let me blog, or receive/send e-mail, or check FB.  However now that I've gotten home from doing all my stuff it seems to be working just fine.  Tom figures I've probably gotten a virus.

Anyway, if I should fall off the radar and suddenly stop blogging for a bit, Betty, please try not to worry.  

I spoke too soon.  Here it is 5 minutes later and now it won't let me connect and find the perfect picture.   I probably won't be able to post for a bit, so I'll keep typing.

I had a good workout at the gym with Jim (despite being in a crappy mood - thanks Tom!) working on legs on some 'new' machines in the back room.  Jim continues to tell me how much progress I'm making, which is always nice to hear.  Then I went to the post office to mail off Lisa's wedding gift to Monica (wouldn't fit in her suitcase) where there was a very long line out the door.  And even though I told one man I was in line and went and sat down, he went ahead of me.  And so did the next person.  (I wasn't sure I'd ever get a turn at the window.)  

Last stop was to the insurance company (conveniently located right near the post office) to get Alex's 'new' car all signed up and legal. Even though Alyssa said we have a 14-day grace period to add a vehicle to our policy, I really do like to try and keep all my ducks in a row - and crossed-t-dotted-i legal.  

Despite my best efforts, those ducks do seem to waddle off in all directions, though I may have discovered the problem...

I experienced some 'operator error' while embroidering Janet's cow block (#5) today... although I rotated her name, when I loaded the cow I - OOPS! - forgot to rotate it.  At least I was only on the second color when I realized my mistake.  But if I thought frog-stitching regular seams was bad.... yikes!  It took me a very, very, very LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time to rip out those stitches.  

Normally I would have just started over on another piece of fabric, but I only have 6 pieces of the background fabric and there are 6 blocks.  So NO WASTING ALLOWED!  

Then, of course, when I needed the second brown color (for shading) I realized I hadn't gotten that one yet from Carolyn.  Luckily she was home!

Next I stopped in at The Other Quilt Shop to 'meet the teachers' (and show Deanna the penguin bag I made since the watermelon bag went so smoothly.)  She's going to be teaching a class the end March that looks promsing, especially if she can morph the owls into penguins.  Sheri had all of her fabric on sale, so instead of schlepping down to 35th Ave I picked up 6 additional fabrics I need for Jeff & Priscilla's quilt.  (Yes, I'm still 'working on' that one, although it's temporarily set aside until I get the Casa Puente quilt done since it's got a dealine of January 19!)

The open house at Jan's house was a lot of fun.  Linda was there, and said Elmo seemed to be having a reaction to his meds so she's had to take him off of them.  Glad he was fine while he was here!  Macy and Sienna (Jan's grandchildren - 3 & 5?) were very excited to see me, although I was a little surprised that they recognized me out of context. They were disappointed I hadn't brought Pokey to the party with me but I explained that she isn't housebroken (that's an understatement) and their Grandma probably would not appreciate Pokey pooping on the floor.  

Barb and Bernie were there; he couldn't stop talking about my beef stew, making sure I'll bring it to Wickenburg next November.  When I suggested that maybe they can all come over to dinner one night and I'll make the stew he was thrilled.

Met several of Jan's other friends (like her masseuse Pat) and gave a mini-demo on my thermorest cushion to several very interested 'customers'.

Chas came by and picked up Lisa's ice cream (Kelsy had shipped her a dozen assorted pints as her gift) and I'm proud to say that all 12 cartons had remained unopened.  Of course what Chas does with them once he gets them to Tucson today could be another story!  He was familiar with the brand, and said it really is special ice cream.  Maybe I should have appropriated a pint!  

Alex came by this afternoon on his break, and not only am I driving him to the airport on Tuesday, I'm also picking up one of his friends at her house 'on the way'.  Happily I don't have to get up at 4:00 for that trip!

  

The last weekend of the year is winding down. 

I'm just finally getting over being sore from last Monday's gym session.  

Hope tomorrow's isn't quite as taxing!

Our early morning trip to the airport went off smoothly (no traffic to speak of, but that's not really surprising on a Sunday morning) and we got there right on schedule, at 5:00.  Lisa somehow misplaced her winter coat so she's borrowed the warm snuggly one that got me through those Chicago winters back in the 60s/70s.  It fits her well and looks good on her; hope I haven't lost it to her forever!

I've been playing on the computer (taking care of e-mail and FB) since I got back at 5:30, but now it's time to get some sewing done.  I could be very productive today with such an early start, right?

Alex came by with the cash this afternoon, and I headed to the bank to deposit it.  I've used the machine to deposit checks, but was a bit uneasy about sliding in all that cash.  Luckily it went just fine.  

Then I popped over to Ruth's to see all her penguin decorations.  She has four trees in her house, two of which have only penguin ornaments!  There were lots of wonderful penguins scattered throughout the house, so it was a fun visit.

There is the large 'penguin only' tree by the front window, and a smaller one in the bathroom.

These penguin 'bags' under the large tree are great for those 'hard to wrap' gifts!

These happy birds greeted me inside the front door.

Ruth had lots of penguin quilts scattered around, many of them appliqued like this one.

Lisa wrote me a car insurance check when she got here (from Tucson, not Scottsdale as I had thought) and I commented that I'd just been to the bank today, but obviously would have to make another trip.  

  She showed me how to deposit the check using my iPad, and it seemed to work okay... for a change!

We met Bailey at Pita Jungle for dinner, and despite it being Saturday night we didn't have to wait too long for a table.  The food, of course, was delicious (as usual!) and the four of us had a nice dinner while catching up on things.

Tomorrow will be an early day (!) so that's it for tonight.

I'm putting a moratorium on complaining about my woes with technology... at least for the moment!  Instead, I've decided to share a few recent comics that put a smile on my face.

And ZITS is almost always on that list.

And PICKLES is often right-on-target...

And if I substitute GARAGE for ATTIC, this one works for me!

Lisa will be spending the night here tonight (instead of in Scottsdale, where she's been all week) since I have the 'honor' of getting up early and taking her to the airport tomorrow for her early flight.  However that does not mean we will get to have dinner with her.  That honor goes to Bailey.

And yes, I probably AM being passive aggressive here.  Can you see my hand up to my forehead?  I know other parents out there can relate! (Bana, are you laughing yet?)

Once Alex gets here with a fistful of cash I'll head to the bank, and then maybe over to Ruth's to see all of her penguin decorations.  Both of those sound like positive ways to spend the day (instead of gnashing my teeth fighting with the embroidery software.)

I had a delightful massage from Mike this morning - 

definitely think I'll be back to see him again!

On the way home I used my gift card from Alex to buy quilt embroidery patterns (really liked what Carolyn did with hers) and a box of variegated threads.  Of course once home I encountered major problems trying to load the software onto the computer, and then onto the USB stick to use in the machine.  In fact I got so stressed that I bellowed in frustration (maybe you heard me?) and hurt my throat... and now have no voice again.

I HATE TECHNOLOGY!!!!!!!!!!  Apparently I'm not the only one, but I am having difficulties keeping calm!

But I like turkey soup - and the batch I whipped up today in the crock pot sure tastes good!

Tom spent some time trying to figure out the software issue when he got home (from his day of riding the quad at Bloody Basin with Kaye, Rich, and some other guys.)  Eventually we got it to work - but it was NOT easy!

Alex came by this evening so Tom and Gary could check out the car his friend Zach is selling.  (Zach's folks just bought him a new truck.)  The car is a 1998 Nissan Altima with a lot of miles on it, but it looks great (interior, tires, etc.) so hopefully (!) the same care went into the engine's upkeep.  

Since the banks are closed I wrote the check, and Alex will bring me his cash tomorrow.

He's been without a vehicle about 6 months, but now he can (finally!) say

Nothing on tap for tomorrow, but Sunday morning I'm taking Lisa to the airport.  Her flight to Chicago (she'll be attending a friend's wedding) leaves at 6:00 a.m., so we'll be getting up quite early. Later that day I've got an Open House to attend at Jan's, and also hope to swing by Pennie's and see her magnificent decorations. 

And Ruth (another penguin collector) wants me to come by and see all of her holiday penguins.

Alex may also need a ride to the airport on Tuesday morning (he's working a RockStar event in Tahoe over New Year's) but I don't think his flight leaves until 9:30.  Tom and I don't have anything planned (yet) for New Year's, but the kids will be probably be doing enough celebrating for the four of us!