Monday, February 28, 2011

Makes My Monday: Recognition at long last

Loved him for years. LOVED.  Here is the famous scene from Pride and Prejudice when Colin Firthtakes a cold shower jumps in a cold lake and then runs into his love unexpectedly.



Congratulations to Colin Firth.  And for those of us who are Pride and Prejudice fans, there was a particular happiness in knowing that P&P costar Jennifer Ehle also had a role in The King's Speech.  She played the speech therapist's wife.

In my mind, he was best actor years ago.  Glad the rest of the world is catching up.

Makes My Monday is hosted by Cheryl at Twinfatuation.  Join in and show us something you can smile about!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Finished for Friday: My last crutch


February 23, 2011.  The final day I could use a parking placard.  I haven't actually used it in weeks, but seeing it expire is like a graduation of sorts.  I can walk now!  Really really walk.

If you've missed the saga of my surgeries and time out, don't worry about it.  Just celebrate with me.  This is a big final milestone.  I can't even pretend to be disabled any more to get a good spot at Starbucks.

Finished.  Finished.  Done.  With all of it.

What have you finished up this week?  Link up and let us see.  Thanks for playing along and have a great weekend.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Wordful Wednesday: Smiling


Clementine oranges are a family favorite.  I usually just rip the peel off mine.  Jungle Boy takes a more artistic approach.

Wordful Wednesday is hosted by Angie at Seven Clown Circus.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Finished for Friday: Jane and Katniss

Sorry for the sparse posts this week, I've really had a bad time with this bug that's going around.  The only good thing about being sick?  I got some reading done.

Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books and I read it every few years.  Even though I know how it's going to end, I always get caught up in the story.  This book is like an old friend - so satisfying to sit down and spend some time with.










Catching Fire is the second book of the Hunger Games trilogy. Drama Girl has pestered me for a long time to finish these books and I'm glad she did. Of the three in the trilogy, I think this one is my favorite. The strong female hero, Katniss Everdeen, is an amazing character. We can't wait to see who plays her in the upcoming Hunger Games movie.











I also finished the third book in the Hunger Games series, Mockingjay.  I absolutely couldn't put it down.  Although these are "young adult" novels, I think any fan of adventurous smart brave females would enjoy these books.  Lots of clever plot twists to keep you on the edge of your seat to the very end.  You really must read these books in order though, I don't think these sequels would hold up as well on their own.







So I traveled back in time with Jane and somewhere into the distant future with Katniss.   Quite a difference in their stories! 

What have you been up to this week?  Link up and show us!  All kinds of finished projects and books count.  Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Tuesday Toonlet: No Rest for the Weary

No rest for the weary

related [litandlaundry.blogspot.com]
No rest for the weary

Well, they're not quite this bad, but almost. I feel like my head is full of cement, and even my old friend Nyquil doesn't seem to help.

On another note, each of the kids think the cartoon depictions of the other kids are accurate.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Finished for friday: Cupcake Quilt


Do you ever wake up in the morning and say "I think I'll make a cupcake quilt today?"  Yep, me too.  All the time.  So yesterday I made this one.  It's from a free pattern at Fat Cat Patterns.  Of course, to pick the fabrics, I had to pull about a hundred different ones from my stash.  I guess my finish for next week will be cleaning up my sewing room again.

What have you been up to this week?  Link up, link back to me, and leave a comment.  Feel free to grab my button from the sidebar. Thanks for stopping by!


Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Wordful Wednesday: Royalty among us

Castoff prom dress from the thrift store:  $2.00
Fluffy bridal slip from same thrift store:  $4.00
Leftover tiara from ballet recital:  Free
Neck ruffle made from interfacing found in mom's sewing room:  Free

Walking into the kitchen and seeing Queen Elizabeth 1 making her lunch:  Priceless.

Historical figure day at school.  I love it.

Wordful Wednesday is hosted by Angie at Seven Clown Circus.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Tuesday Toonlet: Illiterate

Illiterate

related [litandlaundry.blogspot.com]
Illiterate

Monday, February 7, 2011

Makes My Monday: Zoo day

Yesterday was a glorious day here in the San Francisco Bay area.  It got up to a record-breaking 80 degrees in the city itself. The twins and I decided to take a walk through San Francisco Zoo.


Here Wasabi Girl proves that even big kids like the penny press machine.  No, she wasn't cold, and I was wishing I had worn shorts.

It was fun a fun day.  Early on, there were a lot of families with little kids.  When we talked to one zookeeper, she said this always happens on Super Bowl Sunday because parents bring their kids to wear them out so they'll snooze through party time.  The twins had no problem acting like little kids.







I cherish these outings.  It didn't even occur to them to ask to bring friends (a condition that Drama Girl sets before going anywhere with the family).  Pretty soon they'll get too busy to pal around on a Sunday afternoon with mom.

Jungle Boy took dozens of pictures with my camera.  Some of them turned out great.  Witness one effort to avoid the sun:  this chimp using a sheet for a headdress.


But most of the animals were savoring the heat as much as we were, like this lovely warthog.


Unseasonably warm weather makes my Monday.  To see more happy thoughts to start the week, visit Cheryl at Twinfatuation.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

TUSAL update

Here is my update for the TUSAL ("totally useless stitchalong) hosted by Daffycat.  These are my orts for January.  I think I'll do what others are doing and empty these into a bigger jar and use this one again for February.

Does this make me a hoarder?  I confess I sometimes watch that show through Netflix and it's fascinating,  maybe because I worked with people with mental illness.  I just want to get them some help.  And I really want them to throw out their junk.

At least I acknowledge my sewing clippings are useless.  And I will throw them out.  Drama Girl wanted to save the big collection from last year but she forgot about it and I tossed them.  I think some people put them out in the spring for birds to use to build nests.  That must make for some colorful nests.

Hope you're having a great weekend.  It's not too late to link up to Finished for Friday!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Finished for Friday: Wonky Snowflakes


Sorry for the shadowy picture!  Here are some more snowflakes.  I'm enjoying making these between quilts and needlepoint projects.  Sometimes my hands and brain just want to switch gears and do something different.

The top snowflake ended up with little pretzel shapes in the design.  Can you see them?  I don't think they're supposed to look like that.  The one on the left has a little bit of curl in the tips.  The only way to prevent that would have been to use about 100 pins to block it, and who's that picky?  The one on the right is the one that my cat was modeling on the previous post.

I also read a couple of short books this week.  One of the book challenges I'm joining this year asks us to read books that have been adapted to movies.  Beauty and the Beast is really more of a short story, but I'm going to count it.

If you think you know the story, it's still fun to read the original version.  I had my Kindle read it aloud while I was sewing.

There are actually two movies I have in mind that tie into this book.  The first is the Disney version, and the second is "Beastly" which is coming out this year starring Vanessa Hudgens.   Drama Girl is particularly excited about this movie, since Beastly is her favorite book.  I have to read that one next!


I also read The Time Machine by H. G. Wells.  One of those books I somehow missed in high school.  Glad I got around to it.  I haven't seen the movie yet.  There seem to be several versions - have you seen it?

What have you been up to this week?  Link up and show us!  Thanks for joining in!  I'm switching linky providers this week so let's see how this works.  Thanks for your patience and let me know in the comments if you have problems.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Wordful Wednesday: Crochet instructions


When crocheting snowflakes, it's important to check them against a contrasting background.  I use the cat.

Wordful Wednesday is hosted by Angie at Seven Clown Circus.

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