Rally to Restore Sanity... Causes INsanity

B and I headed out early Saturday morning on our way to change America. We were going to participate in the "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear," hosted by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on the National Mall in DC. Lots of other folks had a similar idea. So many other folks, in fact, that we were unable to appreciate the darn thing! After shuffling about South to North to West for over an hour, we gave up. We were so disappointed at how unprepared they were for the swarms of people. There weren't enough Jumbotrons or speakers. As if that weren't enough, they were scrambling all of the cell phone signals so that we couldn't call or text our friends to establish a meeting spot! We never found our friends, and we never found a place where we could stop and enjoy the show. So, we came up with "Plan B" and walked to E's place to find a little sanity. She and her fiancée were wonderful hosts and welcomed us to stay all day. At last we were able to enjoy a little bit of our day in DC.

The line to pay for parking at the metro station:

The line to buy a metro pass, weaving back and forth through the parking garage...

...and still weaving outside the parking garage:

We are NOT okay with this:

But we out-smarted the lines! We already had metro passes! We could by-pass the ENTIRE snaking line and get right onto an arriving train! (Good thing my claustrophobic phase is over....)

Finally in L'Enfant station on our way upstairs to the rally:

Kinda funny... I thought S might like the sign on the left:

The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear:

The Mall was a wee-bit crowded. To our left:

And to our right (PS: the stage is somewhere in this direction, but we couldn't even see it):

Once we shuffled our way to the other side of the Mall we realized things weren't any better. These are the steps to the National Archives:

And here we are in the crowd of people who, like us, have given up and are just trying to get away from it all. Even leaving wasn't easy!

Hehe... I really, kinda liked this one:

Standing in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue. I mean, how often to you get to pose for a picture like this?!

In the sanctuary that is E & M's place. Thank goodness for the Game of Life!

Awesomely Autumn

You know how little kids can take an hour to walk around the block? That's how I felt tonight. Stopping--stooping and stretching--to take pictures of all the little treasures Autumn brings.

Take THAT, Appliqué!

Me and my sewing machine are kicking butt and taking names.  In my latest project I've FINALLY figured out how to appliqué properly (thank you YouTube tutorials)!  There were a couple tricks which have helped me immensely.  First, double-sided fusible web is a godsend.  Second, stabilizer, duh!  Putting a piece of paper behind what is being sewn (sort of like a backing) keeps things from getting stretched out of shape.  I can't wait to share my finished work with you, but you'll have to wait.  A little suspense never hurt anyone...

*Update! Now that I have given my friend SLD (of Cobble, Cobble) her appliquéd baby blanket, I can share a few pictures with you. The lion came from a vintage sheet that I found at the thrift store. I cut him out and appliquéd him onto the green flannel print. The reverse side has that soft and snuggly brown animal fabric. It was a little difficult to work with because it was so stretchy, but I'm sure baby Cobble is going to love rolling around on it.

242 Days Later

I finally finished my FIRST quilt!

As of June 27th I had finished machine stitching the binding around the front-edge of the quilt. All that was left to do was to hand-stitch the other side of the binding around the back-edge of the quilt. But, as usual, I procrastinated.

This weekend I spent about four hours catching up on episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice while finishing the hand-work on my quilt. It's done, it's done, it's done!!!

New Addition

Last weekend Bruno and I spent some time hanging out in Delaware... and by hanging out I mean "window shopping" and by window shopping I mean "pottery buying."  Here's my new strawberry pot!

Goodnight Weekend

Computer "Issue" (Disaster?)

So, yesterday at work I had a bit of a mishap when my laptop got accidentally pulled off of the desk (did you like the way I said that without naming the culprit?!). Yeah, well it was all my fault. I wanted to move the overhead cart -- which was connected to the laptop by cords -- so that I could watch my students while they were taking a quiz. I guess God got me for not trusting them! Anyway, the computer came crashing down as soon as the cords tugged on it, and miracle of all miracles, NOTHING happened to the computer. Too bad I can't say the same for my thumb drive...