Thursday, January 17, 2008

A bit of this....a little of that

I know you have heard it before but my sleep schedule is completely out of control again. I was up all last night and most of today but crashed this afternoon and had to have a nap before cooking dinner.

I did make good use of my time and fused my hearts and started to stitch them down (by hand)for my current quilt. There are only 9 of them and I've just got 3 left to blanket stitch. Here's a photo of the blocks on the design wall....I need more red and then a purple and tan or goldish column.


I finished the Dwirling on this top sent by Deb in AZ too and I'm pretty happy with the results - it's a fun pattern to stitch.


Most of the night was spent on categorizing my expenses in preparation for sending off my tax stuff. I use online banking and download statements into Microsoft Money but this year I've been REALLY bad about assigning categories so I spent HOURS last night and got through 3/4 of it although I still have to finish up categorizing on the credit card expenses. Then I'll be able to print my summaries up and the hard part will be done.

Quilting and book expenses aren't looking as bad as I expected BUT dining out - OMG, I'm surprised we're not broke! I've actually been really good this week and have cooked every night but one and that night Keith just stopped by Panera for sandwiches and soup so it wasn't too bad. That darn Condo in GA that we haven't been able to sell has been a drain as well as the Marietta house BUT I also started the process to sell the house to Chris and Becky. They've been pre-approved for a mortgage and I'm working with an attorney to write up a contract.

Don't you HATE this time of year? I'm always stressed until I see what we owe or will get back. Usually it's just a little over or under but I still worry about unpleasant surprises!

In case I haven't bored you completely...I've been cooped up in the house for two weeks because I'm still feeling the effects of this cold so now that I'm ready to get out some tomorrow and this weekend, they're calling for low Temps of -13 to -15 with wind chills of 25 to 45 below zero. Luckily, I leave for Florida to visit Deb a week from today.

Oops, one more thing! Thanks to Deb and Ruthie for mentioning me on their blogs for the You Make My Day award. I already said I wasn't going to list 10 blogs but again, I thank the entire community of bloggers that we belong to for continuing to inspire my quilting and being my virtual friends.


12 comments:

Gypsy Quilter said...

Your new quilt is coming along beautifully. Sure hope you can get over your cold before your trip. Florida will be a nice change from your extreme temps. Brrrr.

Denise (Nour) said...

Your crumb quilt is coming along beautifully! It's amazing that small bits of scraps can become so eye-catching!

Melanie said...

Love your blocks. I thought about narrowing down blog reading. But no way--- Like you I get so inspired and you never know, one day I could help someone get through a really sucky day, by chance,

Vicki W said...

I love the blocks for the new quilt! I can't believe everything yo are getting accomplished lately. It's obvious that you aren't sleeping much!

Marla said...

Jeez, We really should have some secret quilty signal when we aren't sleeping. We could all "talk." Last night was a tossing, turning one here!

Julia said...

There isn't a greater group of people than those in blogging-quilt world. I am so glad to be a part of it!!!!!

Yvonne said...

I love all the blocks and the dwirling looks wonderful.
I'm always glad when the taxes are done and over with....it's a big relief.

kate said...

Your dwirling looks great...watch Pajama Quilter last night so I finally know what you're talking about!

I'm amazed you are SO productive when you're not sleeping...I can't trust myself with a rotary cutter when I can't sleep! The new quilt looks great!

Judy said...

Ah, taxes. I pulled out hubby's last paycheck stub of the year and made my 2007 TAXES envelope to prepare for all the paperwork to follow. Luckily we have pretty simple returns so we do them online.

Love that quilting pattern! and the blocks are so vibrant and colorful..just love jeweltones!

meggie said...

Love all the work you do Mary!
I love to read all your posts. I hope your cold goes away for good, & you enjoy your Florida time.

Laurie said...

Great work Mary! I'm glad DH does the taxes...but with his changing jobs and getting stock buyouts from his old job...well we need a tax accountant this year. I am sure we will get NAILED...UGH...

hope you are feeling better and stay warm...it's cold down here too!
laurie

Purple Pam said...

Mary:

I like the color of your blocks. The abstract setting is great. I enjoy looking at your quilts, and your quilting. I appreciate your generosity in your Heartstrings project. You deserve all the awards you receive. Keep up the good work. Just remember, always put some purple in your quilts!