Lately I have not been sleeping well, awaking in the wee hours of the morning (3-ish) and not being able to fall back asleep.  Yesterday was another of those days. I felt crappy all day; my eyes were gritty, and my body didn't want to do much of anything. 

So I cancelled my gym session (which I virtually never do) and vegged all day, mostly reading. 

Cheri had said she couldn't put it down our next Book Club selection (The Traitor's Wife, by Allison Pataki) once she started. Like her I thoroughly enjoyed it, starting it Thursday evening and finishing it up this morning.

Patti had been trying to call all week, and kept getting a busy signal.  Eventually she tried my cell yesterday, when of course she was finally able to reach me.  I knew the phone was out, but until the cable TV also went out yesterday I hadn't bothered to call COX.  

Turned out there was an outage in our area affecting the TV service, so until that was resolved she was unable to make an appointment for someone to deal with the phone.

When Patti came over yesterday she brought a gift she's working on for Gary (a shadowbox display for some of his things) so I could help her with it; for a variety of reasons they postponed their gift giving until this weekend.  While we were busy deciding on the arrangement of things Tom and Gary wandered in from the shop to view some of Tom's finished fire obsidian cabs.  Luckily they seemed oblivious to what we were doing (typical men?) and while I chatted with Gary and distracted him, Patti packed it all up - so it should still be a surprise when he opens it!

Patti loved Aja's quilt, and also Hilda's pillow. On Monday she's coming back over and we're going to work on a no-sew "stained glass" dragonfly pattern I picked up at the quilt store recently.  All we'll need is lots of scrap fabric (of which I have PLENTY), and since she loves dragonflies I knew it would be a pattern she would enjoy. 

The latest irrigation schedule came out, and it does not bode well for the coming year. We have to once again do the gates on 35th Ave. because the folks on our leg up-ditch from us are not taking water this cycle.   Here's hoping it's just this time (maybe they're out of town for the holidays?) The time itself is not that bad (early evening on Wednesday) but of course that's also subject to change with each cycle.

I still have to run to the store today to get something to bring up to Jeannie's tonight as a side dish.  Tom will be making some guacamole for our appetizer contribution (she's serving tamales for dinner) and unless I get a flash of inspiration I'm leaning toward making a salad.  The big question is how late I will be able to stay awake.  The festivities, which include an evening of Mexican Train (and possibly poker) start around 6:00.  Judging from my evenings this week I'll be lucky if I make it until 9:00...

Alex and Aja appeared earlier than I expected.  The binding wasn't quite finished - still had a few inches to go - but I gave it to her anyway, and then finished it up when she left to unpack.  Pretty sure she liked it.... <G>

Yesterday's mammogram was uneventful (one of the perks of being squishy?), and afterward they did an ultrasound on both breasts.  That takes longer, but I have to admit that when she was doing the second one (which did not have the original cancer) I got a little nervous at how long that was taking - especially when she kept getting out a ruler to lay on my breast as a marker for something.  However after viewing both tests the radiologist came in  to tell me that my mammogram and ultrasound "look good - see you in a year". 

Alex called yesterday, saying they'd be landing around 1:30 a.m and asking if I'd leave the door to the back house unlocked for them.  He also wanted me to drop off Tyga back there.  No problem, right? 

Tom actually did the honors, and either a) he didn't hear the part about leaving the door unlocked - though he did mention he'd also need to leave the drive-through gate unlocked b) he forgot c) or he just locked it behind him out of habit.  Sooooooooooooo

At 2:20 this morning the phone rang, and it was Alex; he was at the back door needing the key to get into the locked house. 

At least I know they got home safely.

Yesterday I was fighting a headache all day.  

Tylenol helped keep it from totally ruining my day, but I didn't do any sewing.  

So this morning I'd better get busy on the binding, though I expect Alex and Aja will not be early risers today and I should be able to get it done before they appear "sometime" today.

I finally seem to have regained the gym ground I lost in November, and yesterday was back up to my regular weights/reps... and on a couple of machines I think Jim actually upped some of the weights!  All in all it felt like a successful workout session.

Afterward I popped over to Kohl's (right next door) to return a couple of Tom's gifts.  He's always worn Levi 501 jeans, but in recent years has been unhappy with the lighter denim they are using - and judging from the comments he found when he did a search online, he's not the only one.  So after being a loyal Levi customer for decades, he's going to jump ship and search for a brand that continues to use the heavier cloth.  I expected a line at Kohl's, but was pleasantly surprised not to find one.  

Richard called yesterday to let me know that the hot tub element folks are sending a replacement that should arrive "sometime this week."  He said tried to pin them down on a less vague date but couldn't get anything more definitive from them.  Whenever it arrives, his plan is to come install it the following day.  So MAYBE I will be able to ring in the New Year with a soak?

The chiropractor was running behind yesterday, which was unusual for him - though it wasn't a problem since I did some reading while I waited.  My trapezoids were really tight, so after my adjustment I spent time on a machine with an "interesting" massage cycle.  By the time I arrived home, around 3:30, I felt ready for a nap and crawled into bed to try, though it didn't actually happen - at least not until after dinner when I stretched out on the couch to read while Tom was watching one of his taped football games.

There was an e-mail from Jeannie she'd sent around midnight last night awaiting me this morning (at least I 'slept in' until 6:00 today) to let me know that she finished up Aja's quilt!  

She included some pix, but of course I can't wait to see it Up Close and Personal!  Obviously instead of working on the Taj Mahal today I will be making the binding and attaching it to the quilt.  And if I can connect with Lynne today to print up the label for the back that would be great, too.  

I love this quilter's sense of humor.

This afternoon is my annual mammogram.  Five years ago that revealed some bad news, but I assume today's will be just fine.

Last night I opened this plush robe (in minke fabric?) which goes well with the snuggly (lotion-infused!) socks I got on Sunday.  And gray will 'go' with any of my PJs, right?

I'm currently bundled up in said robe and socks (up since 3:30.... sigh) so I should have enough time to finish Taj Mahal piecing before it's time to head to the gym.... and maybe get some of the button-holing done?  All things are possible, right?

When I took Tyga for a walk last night I could see Ruby's light on, so I peeked in the front window and saw Jeannie hard at work on Aja's quilt.  We stopped in for a brief visit, because even though Lucy and Molly obviously wanted to play with Tyga (love that butt up in the air pose!), for some reason he did not feel the same way.  Which is strange, because he usually likes playing with other dogs...  At one point he curled his lip in a snarl at one of them, and once he growled I knew it was time to make our get-away before we had a dog fight on our hands! 

But the quilt is turning out great!

Lisa arrived mid-afternoon yesterday (after having to turn back at some point to grab the gifts she'd left behind...) and before we pigged out on the turkey feast we opened presents. Here is the pile as it appeared before she arrived and added hers; those on the lower left were some gifts she had ordered and had sent here. 

I opened mine from Lisa while she was here - though the daily calendar she finds for me each year had not yet arrived, so she was a little bummed about that.  

Unfortunately it created a bit of an issue <sigh> when I elected to save most of my gifts from Tom to open during each night of Chanukah.  After all these years, he still doesn't get it.  

I give HIM Christmas presents (for his holiday!) but for some reason he thinks I should also open mine from on Christmas, even though it is not my holiday.  Maybe I should wait to give him his birthday presents on my birthday and see if that might finally make sense to him?

After candles last night I opened a couple from him.  We always did a jigsaw puzzle on New Years Eve when the kids were growing up, so I always get one of those.  This was a fun one (Globetrotter World) and the 3 of us worked on it throughout the evening.  It wasn't completed by the time I was ready for bed around 9:00 (after being up since 4:00) but found this waiting for me this morning.

I also got this wall calendar for the kitchen, 

with wonderful colorful shots of the little guys.  

Late afternoon, just as I was finishing cleaning up the kitchen after we'd eaten, Colleen stopped by on her way over to their family celebration at her daughter's; she wanted to drop off a batch of her homemade caramel corn.  (Somehow I managed to make a sizable dent in it last night despite pigging out on dinner in the late afternoon.) She was definitely envious of my clean kitchen since apparently she'd left hers a disaster. 

Thought you'd also like to know:

Colleen approved of my progress on Hilda's pillow.  

Here's how that looks at the moment.  I'll still need to do the windows (and then buttonhole all the applique) but I'm definitely in the home stretch!  The batik border fabric will also be the pillow backing; and it's a good thing I didn't make a special trip down to SAS for the 12" pillow form... because it's turned into a 16" pillow!

Despite the fact that there are no little ones in the house, full of excitement, 

I have been up since 4:00. 

 Someone posted an intriguing idea on FB yesterday: last child out of bed Christmas morning gets to open the first present!

  Yesterday Tom slept in - until 10:00!  I'm not sure if he "plans" on doing that again today, but at some point I will be making kitchen noises while I'm getting the turkey ready to pop into the oven - which could interfere! 

Also not sure what time Lisa will be gracing us with her presence today.  I did speak with her briefly yesterday (when she called for Mom's phone number) at which time she said she'd be over 'sometime this morning'.

My progress on Hilda's pillow continues.  Now I'm off to take a shower, and by the time I get out it could be time to put the turkey in the oven.  

By the time I left the library (where there were 3 books waiting for me instead of the 2 that I expected) it was starting to sprinkle.  I made a quick run to the store, where (amazingly!) I did not have to wait to check out.  On the way home stopped in at Jeannie's, where we did a little more work on the quilt pattern.  It's going to be SO cute!

It's continued to rain all afternoon -a slimy, raw day, so it sure would be wonderful if I could be soaking in the hot tub!  Tyga is not at all pleased with the weather, either!  

(Funny scene in Bonfire of the Vanities last night, where Tom Hanks is going to take the dog for a walk as an excuse to get out of the house to make a phone call.  It's raining, and the dog definitely does NOT want to go out!)

Alex just sent me this picture.  That's the fire pit he whipped up for Aja's folks, though judging from her tank top and his tee shirt it's considerably warmer there than here.  If we still had a fireplace today would be a good time for a roaring blaze!

I've made serious progress on Hilda's pillow - especially after I decided not to make it quite as detailed as the photo.  Unfortunately I haven't been able to watch TV while I've been working because Tom is taping several football games... and the only way to change channels would be to delete one of his tapings.

I went over to Wanda's yesterday (at her invitation) to see what she had in her sky-fabric tub. When I told Tom that's where I was going - and why! - he was incredulous that I "needed" more fabric. But Wanda understood: I may have zillions of blue fabrics (after all, it is my favorite color!) but still not one that would work for this particular project! 

Got to see the stunning jacket Wanda (re)made for her daughter from GORGEOUS earth-tone fabrics/yarn. She still needed to finish up a few details: make up the buttons, hem the sleeve lining, and sew on the label. So I didn't stay long in order to give her the rest of the afternoon to work on it.  With a little luck it should be done in time to gift it to Sally tomorrow!

Now that I've got several "skies" from which to choose I hope to be able to make some substantial progress today on Hilda's Taj Mahal pillow. I do still have a few errands to run today, like pick up a couple of books at the library that have come in for me, and maybe pop over and pick up a veggie for tomorrow's feast.  

While I still haven't scoped out possible computer replacements (so once the post-Christmas sales begin I would know just what I want) I'm thinking today may not <G> be a good day to get around to doing that?

And today will most likely be a madhouse everywhere, with long lines.  

Though in theory I wouldn't need to deal with the lines 

since I would just be looking, right?