Old Devil Moon

It's a cold, blustery, rainy night here in the ATL, what better music to listen to than Frank Sinatra.
Curled up in a quilt, drinking tea and waiting for my laundry to get done so I can go to bed. Sleep deprivation must be making me sentimental and nostalgic--thinking about old friends, new friends and friends I wish I could see again.

Good Things Happen Over Coffee

I have this sign hanging in my back hallway so I see it every time I leave and come home. I can't believe that January has flown by in a haze of insomnia, too much caffeine and working a zillion hours for the third month in a row.

Morticia is still sick and not doing well. I talked to the vet today and I need to bring her in for one more blood test and a different antibiotic--I think this is pretty much the strongest one. I worry about her and wish I could help her more. I am trying to stay in a positive mood lately though because sometimes you just have to or else you get too worn down by everything.

What does this have to do with the sign? Well tonight one of my dear friends and fellow partners at SBux was feeling down and after much of the ususal funny bantering, The Simpsons quotes, and the guys making fun of my choice in movies, by the end of the night he was smiling and laughing and showing a little of his old self. No matter how hard we work, how crazy some shifts are, and having to work 60-70 hours a week, I have made some wonderful friends at SBux and I know that when one of us looks like we are just treading water, someone will be there to make you smile. So Oliver, good things do happen over coffee. And for this shout out, you owe me about...

wait for it....

$3.50.
Cheers! And watch "Shoot 'Em Up" again. I know you will like it better the second time.

Quilt I Need to Make Someday

I really need 5 more hours a day or live to be 236 to get all the quilts made that I want to make.

This one is a definite "To Do". It's an antique quilt that I saw a long time ago at Scott's Antique Show. I really, really, really wanted to buy it but had to settle for photos my camera phone instead. Now I just need to find time to draft the pattern and find the perfect blue fabric. Don't you just love the applique in the border???

Meet the cats: Morpheus

Here's Morpheus (named for the Greek god of dreams and my favorite DC comic book


character--long before the name was used in "The Matrix"). Isn't he handsome??? Morph is 13 years old (a lucky number for a black cat). We "found" each other when he was a few months old and I was stranded at a gas station in the middle of nowhere (my car's alternator died) waiting for a friend to pick me up. Morph came running up to me looking pitiful and scraggly and soaking wet but very sweet so I took him home. He is my favorite cat and since that night we have been through a lot together and he is always there for me. He loves to "talk" and is a "velcro kitty" --you know always stuck on your lap when you sit down. Did I mention that he is the best cat in the world?

Comfort food

It's been a long week and I have a mild case of the winter blahs so I decided to cook up some comfort food.


Matzo ball soup.

A nice French press of Starbucks Holiday Blend while cooking.

I think there's enough for an army battalion.

Add some brioche rolls from Whole Foods and I feel better already.

Movie reviews

Due to the cold weather, I have spent more time than usual curled up on the couch with quilts and various cats watching movies. Some good and some not so good and one great.

Good:
"3:10 to Yuma" --I really liked this movie. It was much better than some of the reviews I read. Of course you can't go wrong with Russell Crowe.

"Casino Royale"--I had my doubts but Daniel Craig was a good choice. (Connery is still the best). I am really glad they are going for a more serious tone. Kind of a darker movie--suits the times. Has anyone read the books? I remember reading the whole series by Ian Fleming as a kid.

Not so good:
"War" --With Jason Statham and Jet Li, I thought this was going to be good or at least a fun action movie. Unfortunately it was really a waste of time--bad acting, plot, everything.

Great (although not for the faint of heart):
"Shoot 'Em Up" --With Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti. My new favorite movie--it is just too cool(I really need to get this on DVD & watch it again). If you like John Woo movies, you will love this. Clive Owen's character reminds me of his role in "Sin City". If you don't like movie violence, pass this up because about 50-11 people get shot in the first few minutes.

Weekend snow in Atlanta

What happened to global warming? Atlanta has really had a bi-polar kind of winter--one week it's in the upper 60s ,the next it's snowing, and then it snows again. Snow is such a novelty here; everyone (including me) runs out and gets photos of their house in the snow.

The weather was not fun at 5:30 in the morning on Sunday when I was trying to go to SBux. It was 19 degrees and the car doors had frozen shut with about 1/2" worth of ice covering the car. After much cursing and fussing and some hot water, I finally go to work. The cats also had a

really *rough* time ....not! This is what the cats did all weekend. I worked on wool applique and watched movies on Saturday while watching the snow and staying wrapped up in quilts. On Sunday, I did work on getting my sewing table uncluttered. May actually get to sew at some point.

Atlantans, get thee to a grocery!

It's snowing!! We are having a winter event in Atlanta! Snow was not predicted for today so it was a great surprise. It started snowing about 4:30 and everyone immediately left the city to get to the grocery stores to buy milk and bread. Yes, that's what we do when it snows here--I'm not quite sure why even after nearly 20 years.

I already have milk and bread so I headed home. Anyway, the snow is sticking to the grass so we are all hoping for a Snow Day with no work or school.

Meet the cats: Gomez

Gomez is another stray cat that adopted me. He was about 6 months old or so when he started hanging around the house in spring 2001. I would see glimpses of a scrawny black cat in the yard. At night, he would stay in the crawl space under the house and would scare everyone in the house with these ghostly "merrrrooooorau"s that you could hear coming up from the register vents in the floor. I would jump, the dog would jump, the cats would jump. Finally one rainy night in May, I came home and he was in the drive so I brought him some food and he decided that I was OK so I brought him in the house.

Here is his favorite place in the winter when it is cold. Under him is the heat vent--you can't see it at all---and I wonder why it's chilly in the house.

Yes, I have black cats named Gomez and Morticia. The "Addams Family" is one of my all time favorite TV shows. My dad and I used to watch it on the weekends.

I want to live in a house like this.

Wouldn't it be great to have a sewing room in the tower??? I could hide up there and sew away with a great view.

Now if you will excuse me, I need to make some tea. It's chilly in the house...I wonder why...

Coffee cups

Not much going on around here so I thought I'd share my latest coffee cup aquisition. Since I've worked at Starbucks nearly 6 years, I have about a zillion coffee mugs--one for every holiday, one in all my favorite colors, I even collect them from different cities. S. brought me one from Berlin when he went to Germany. I loved this mug though and *had* to buy it. I like the seaglass sort of blue and the fonts.

Fabric Temptation

I am still determined to follow my new year's resolution to finish UFOs and not start new projects. However, I knew when I saw this Moda line last year that I had to have some. It's called "Morris Garden" by Barbara Brackman and it's based on William Morris' Art & Crafts designs. And since I knew in 2007 that I would buy some, it doesn't count towards the 2008 resolution (all you quilters know this right??). Anyway, check out the Moda website (www.modafabrics.com) to see the whole line. I bought a fat quarter bundle so I could have a piece of each fabric and now I have to find the perfect pattern for it. Most of the fat quarter patterns have very angular blocks and I want something that's more Art Nouveau. Does anyone have any suggestions? Leave me a comment if you do.

Cats and misdemeanors

Just a week or so ago it was freezing here with temps in the 20s and 30s and a windchill of 8 degrees (very cold for Georgia). Now it's been in the upper 60s for the past several days and the cats have spring fever. They have been running around and generally causing trouble.
Edgar Poe in particular is causing trouble and has been charged with the following misdemeanors:

1. harassing the other cats endlessly

2. knocking over the trash can repeatedly

3. assaulting a loaf of bread

He is pleading guilty to a lesser charge of being a fuzzy nuisance.

Quilt Blocks and Adventures at Whole Foods

Finally had time to get some photos of the wool BOM that I am working on from Primitive Gatherings

It's hand-dyed wool on flannel. I am using varigated Valdani pearl cotton thread. Check out the whole quilt at their website. The borders are unbelievable!

I had a wonderful trip to Whole Foods today. You know and I know that you should never grocery shop when you are hungry. I remind myself of this as I walk in the store. And then I think "I'll have three of everything!" OK veggies and fruit first (remember it's January and everyone must eat better). Salad, carrots, bananas go in the cart.

Look at these beautiful apples from Washington state. They are called "Ambroisa". What a wonderful color. Go and search these out if you like sweet apples. They are really sweet and not quite as crunchy as I like but if you are craving sweets, eat one of these.

I love Whole Foods and farmer's markets because you see fruit and veggies that you never see in a regular store but I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw these:

It's called a Buddah's hand lemon (image from Wikipedia). Does anyone know what to do with these???!!!??? I was going to buy one just for fun but figured it would scare me to death whenever I opened the fridge....

OK doing great with the good-for-you food, I'm on a roll (no don't buy the rolls because all you'll do is eat them with butter and maybe some peach preserves--move quickly by the rolls). I've got fat-free yogurt, granola, green tea, cat food, and by now I am starving and nearly to the end of the store when I see these:

...and they are 1/2 off...

They probably only have half the calories now because they are 1/2 off right. And I really only want one....

well maybe two. In the cart they go and I am definitely going to share these....

after I have two....

And maybe one for breakfast.

Where have I been?

Too many days without a post. Sorry about that! I have been recovering from overwork during the holidays

Oh Happy Day!!! Guess who else is back........

My life is a little more complete now and there's more laughter in the world. I love love love Jon Stewart. Oh how I missed "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report". Stephen Colbert's book

is one of the funniest books I've ever read. I laughed out loud, which I never do reading books.

I am definitely looking forward to my schedule returning to normal. Went to my sewing group on Saturday at the LQS. It was great to see everyone and there were a bunch of Show N Tells. Karin is cranking out the tops from one of my favorite quilt books

Now I need to get busy and get some quilts done!

New Year's Day

Happy New Year! After another crazy busy night at SBux and a great New Year's Eve, it was a lazy day around here. This is what everyone in the house did all day:

I was glad to get a restful start to 2008 and have a slow night for a change at SBux tonight. So here's to 2008, a good year so far!