Baseball Swap Meet-up

Dateline: April 12, 2008, Rosemont, IL, Chicago IQA Quilt Show. (I'm the red-head.)

I've been a part of an online line group of quilts who love baseball for a few years now. We swap fabric (betting IS illegal VBG) based on wins & losses of "our" team (Go Reds!). It's always fun to arrange a face-to-face meeting when I travel. Chicago means a meet-up with Julie, one of those hopeless cases - a Cubbie fan. She came to the show, did her shopping & looking, then hung around my booth so we could talk & go out for the evening. Julie drove (Thanks again!) in the rain and only had to swear once when she almost missed a turn. Her cute little car took the sudden change in direction quite nicely!

We went to eat at Big Bowl on a cold, rainy night. Met a cute couple in the FREE parking garage elevator. (DH thinks I'm a tad strange because I talk to people I don't know. What he forgets is that I talk to myself, so having someone there to listen is just a bonus.) Ran into a mother-daughter pair from the booth next to mine, so Julie & I joined them for dinner. I thought it was funny that there was an Omaha Steaks store visible through the restaurant window.

Julie brought me a beautiful gift. The quilting is exquisite & she added just the right amount of bling.

Too Much To Do, Too Many Places To Go

Just a week ago, my TO DO list combined with my calendar felt like a weight more than I could handle. Today, my list still has 30-some items to be done before Wednesday, when I leave for Chicago, but... A big BUT! So many things are finished!!

Opening Day came and went. The Reds lost Dusty Baker's first game. I'm so happy that baseball season is here!

"Joseph" finished a successful run at MNHS this week. Caitlin celebrated her birthday as one of Pharaoh's dancers. Alyssa successfully tested for her TDK green belt AND was named Student of the Month. I finished our taxes!! We owe less than $500, so I'm a happy camper. I dyed over 50 yards of fabric, dyed two dozen onesies, rusted about 10 more yards of fabric. I got a new credit card machine. No more knuckle-buster swiping!

We ordered new appliances (range, microwave, dishwasher & fridge) a couple of weeks ago. Choosing them was WAY more work than I expected. Delivery was scheduled for Saturday. When Al unhooked the dishwasher on Saturday morning, the shutoff valve broke. Water everywhere, so we had to get a plumber in at weekend rates. On Friday, we learned that the range we ordered didn't come in. Of course, we had already pulled the old one. Nebraska Furniture Mart came through with high marks - they gave us another model (an upgrade!) so we could get everything at once. All but the microwave are installed & beautiful!! Kudos to the NFM delivery guys. They did a fantastic job.

The new dishwasher is SO quiet! The new range is intimidating. The ice-maker is spitting out cubes faster than we can use them. I'm faced with the daunting task of sorting through all that stuff from the freezer. How long DO you keep frozen vegetables? We really have to get to the zoo to feed the fish all those bread crusts! There were pots and pans in the bottom drawer of the stove that probably hadn't been touched since we moved into this house. Which magnets and pictures and comics move to the new fridge?

Today, we are shopping for a prom dress. If I survive, I'll get to work rinsing and ironing all that fabric!