Guess Who Came to Dinner

Between classes Thursday night I was wandering the aisles at O'Susannah's when the door opened. I glanced up and did a double-take!!!! Who should be standing there, but my friend and cohort-in-crime Anita Shackelford!!! I had known that she was teaching about an hour away, but a rendezvous didn't seem possible while she was in the area. The story unfolded: One of my students for the night class had been at dinner with Anita on Wednesday night and asked if she knew me! From there, the student gave Anita directions to the quilt shop and told her where I would probably be eating if I had left the shop. The rest, as they say, is history. We went to dinner and talked and laughed and hit the highlights of the past year. (Yes, it has been almost a year since we saw each other!) Then Sue gave Anita the tour of the Upstairs Inn while I started class. Anita stayed for a bit of the class which was a treat for my students. Since we are almost always at odds over how best to do something, the students had a chance to hear us debating the merits of our chosen method! I hope they enjoyed the exchange as much as I did.

After Anita left, class was over, and I was driving home, I realized that I should have had someone take our picture. Since that ship had long sailed, I did the next best thing--I found pictures of us from a few years ago at our retreat. She will tell you that the tiara and wands were MY idea, but she very carefully leaves out the story of the "enhanced" wands and the fact that she wanded me and the largest jewel in my tiara fell out! I mean, really! She says I am her touch of insanity. I'm taking that in the best possible light. Here we are:


It must have been about 9 billion degrees that August, but we persevered with our boas and good humor. So good to see you, Anita! Thanks for literally going the extra mile to get together!

On the home front, I have been without heat for the better part of a week. Waiting for a part for the furnace. And then, to add insult to injury, the power went out this morning--apparently only at my house--and didn't get fixed until 8 pm. I still consider myself lucky--it could be the middle of winter and no heat, and I could have been trying to prep for a Sunday class with no electricity. Lynnie, Callie, and I don't think we will ever be consistently warm again. It's a sad state of affairs to have to go outside and stand so that when you come back in it seems warmer!

Okay, that catches us up. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed seeing Anita. And without electricity I wouldn't have been able to tell you about it! Lucky girl, indeed.

Big hugs to everyone!
Sharon

Unexpected Gifts

On Tuesday night I arrived at class to find a surprise package! Inside was this beautiful cobalt jar with lid and two spools of Valdani quilting thread!

The jar says Noxema Shave on it and the lid lifts off. Inside are a ton of straight pins--not, I'm sure, the original contents! LOL (Talk about a prickly shave!)

These delights were from my friend Jay--who read the post I did about my cobalt glass fetish and decided I would love this jar. And I do! The thread should need no explanation!

Have I mentioned lately how lucky I am?!?!?!?

Tomorrow I'll tell you who came to dinner!

Hugs to all,

Sharon

P.S. I'm listening to Alex Cross's TRIAL by James Patterson. Excellent! And the Clare O'Donohue book's real title is A Drunkard's Path.

Windowsill

Remember the cobalt stuff I got a few weeks ago? I thought you might like to see it displayed. This is the windowsill over my kitchen sink. I took out a few green and crystal pieces to make room for the cobalt and the bird. It's fun to have pretty things to look at while in the kitchen.

I'm reading The Drunkard's Path by Clare O'Donohue and just finished listening to Eight Days to Live by Iris Johansen and I, Alex Cross by James Patterson. Both were excellent.

Off to the land of Nod. See you on the other side.

Hugs,

Sharon