Letters from Boot Camp #2

Timmy: Hey, Mama, I'm going to start this letter by saying NO NO Christmas present...One kid got a sack of candy on Halloween; they made him run around the entire base screaming "trick or treat" at the top of his lungs for an hour. What would they do to me if I got a Christmas present? We can do Thanksgiving and Christmas the week I get back in January. We may look weird having lights and a tree in late January, but the neighbors think we're weird anyway.

This week, we did Obstacle Course. The kind you see in the movies. We also did Confidence Course, which is Obstacle Course only 20 feet higher in the air. I got to see a fat kid fall the full 20 feet from a rope into mud. It was the highlight of my week.

Next week is Water Survival. I'm picturing a tan session by the pool. I'm looking forward to it.

I'll give you a list of what I have gotten into trouble for.

Boot Camp Transgressions:

1. Smiling

2. Laughing

3. Giving another recruit a high-5 (by far my worst punishment)

4. Eating with my left hand (apparently the military hates lefties)

[editor's note: Timmy is right-handed but he learned to eat by watching his left-handed mother]

5. "looking too much like Kevin Bacon"

Mama, I'll understand if you have to put Ginger down (cat who is poised at the Rainbow Bridge); nobody lives forever. Keep the letters coming.

Love, Timmy

P.S. Sorry about the fish.

The Day Before

Happy Day tomorrow!

Such a delicious meal. Isn't it interesting to see how the menu, which must never vary in each household, varies from house to house? Here is mine:

cold relish tray

turkey

dressing

mashed "potatoes" (mostly cauliflower)

gravy

peas with pearl onions

red cabbage with apples

pumpkin pie

But in the meantime :-) here is the first block of A Perfect Garden. But wait! Where is the urn? What am I going to do for the urn fabric??

Oh, here it is! Ady, from Israel, had the very fabric and mailed it to me:

Thank you, Ady, thank you! I just couldn't start this pattern, that I have loved since first seeing it years ago, until I had that urn fabric, and I desperately wanted the same sashing and watermelon ombre used in the border. Now, thanks to I.D. and mailings by both Ady and MJ, I have the sashing (well, I managed to find and order the sashing on my own but could not do that until MJ id'ed it), and watermelon ombre as well. Bless you both!

Thank goodness for Blog Networking and dear friends. And thank goodness for our Thanksgiving.

Catch-Up

Aieeeeee late for work; in the midst of everything else, it was time to catch up on Dear Jane (that madcap heroine):

I have used every single gray fabric and cinnamon fabric in this house and in the LQS and there are several more gray blocks and cinnamon blocks to go. Since I only need like 6" squares to make these blocks, I don't want to buy online. You know what this means! Road Trip!!

Two Complete-os

I made and finished two projects this week-end! Renée Plains' Utility Apron pattern:

and Sassafras Hill Primitive's Early Sewing Bird:

Sewing Bird will have more expression when he gets his accessories: tiny jingle bell eyes, skeleton key in wing pocket, and some pins in his tuffet.

Happy 234th Marine Corps!

Go, Timmy!

Fancy Shoes

The good news! is that my two pairs of custom-designed Keds are almost here (after they took a scenic tour of the midwest):

Ironically, they arrived at the UPS site on Friday, which means they have been only about 5oo feet away from me :-) all week-end but I couldn't get my greedy hands on them. The bad news! is that I broke my toe (again with the toe) last Sunday, so I can't wear the new shoes for awhile.

In the meantime, Wanda's Les Fleurs class met yesterday. We had our Block #1s in various stages of completion (oh oh oh will we be able to keep up? this is a challenging project); Wanda had this Show and Tell of a completed Les Fleurs du Jardin made by a member of an earlier session....isn't it wonderful?

Tulip Time, With Thy Needle and Thread pattern

How I love Brenda Gervais' needlepunch patterns. And I finished one!:

DJ L06

Worked on this one for a few hours this morning and am happy with the way it turned out. To me, it looks either pre-Arts and Crafts or post-Gaelic Knot :-) :

Two Birds One Cherry Bag

A new needlepunch pattern! This pattern is two birds who want the same cherry, punched, trimmed, and glued to a primitive bag:

The floss used is the discontinued DMC wool floss (LQS Little Quilts has a supply), but conversion is given on the pattern for regular DMC floss, and of course it would be great in Valdani, Weeks, etc..