Humbug!

--Rant ON--
Well, I'm not really proud of it but yesterday I hit critical mass and went Humbug! It wasn't pretty and even worse there was family involved. Why is it so much easier to blow up at family than friends and co-workers?

I just hate this time of year when there are so many things to do, see and buy NOW! Pressure and I don't get along well. Having been sick (Bell's seems to have gone but still on meds - keep your fingers crossed) plus the occasional headache, stomachache, etc, didn't help the month pass by in a flash. I had a 4 day weekened that didn't get to be "me time" until 9pm last night. Ugh.

I have a few more pressies to wrap (and mail even!), cards to write (in the new year?!), bills to pay and places to go.  Town tax collection season starts next week. There is no rest for the weary this year as I will also have to renew my EMT certification beginning in January – it’s a 5 month process but thankfully I do not have to take the test this year in order to renew.
--Rant OFF--

I'm sorry to say that I had to completely clear out my Google Reader. I glanced at a few posts but didn't comment on any of them. 400+ posts was just too much to wade thru. Out of curiosity - how many blogs do you follow? I really need to unsub from a few blogs...but whose? It's the proverbial what if I miss something...

Other than a few hexies in the last week I have only begun to work on step 3 of Orca Bay. Friday I have a half day so I hereby declare that Friday afternoon is for sewing ONLY!

Design Wall Monday - 12/12/11

Lest y'all think I fell off the face of the earth...I thought I should post something. It really isn't much because I was super busy this weekend. Saturday was cookie day with mom and yesterday I was working on more of those charm snowflakes and making flower yoyos for our guild party tomorrow.

It doesn't look like much as they are stacked but I hope the finished plant sticks will be pretty. They should be finished tonight so I'll try to get another photo.

On the health front the ear ache is basically gone and that's becasue it was really a precursor to Bell's Palsy.
Unfortunately, doctors don't really know what causes it or how to make it go away. I had this about 6 years ago and having had BP once makes you more suceptible to having it again - lucky me. Hopefully the heavy doses of more drugs will help and eventually it will go away partially or even completely.

Eating is difficult especially with no sense of taste (I found out that's a rare symptom today) so I've managed to lose another 3 pounds - yah me! The biggest problem for me is the eye strain it causes from not blinking or closing properly - by midafternoon my eye is whooped. And that means I may not be very productive in the quilt room for the rest of the year. I'll have to be very creative with finding something to blog about. Anything I can interest you in hearing about?

Design Wall Monday

Chaos - that's the only word I can think of to describe this mess...it is organized tho!

From the left on the wall:

• a kitty panel on the bottom - waiting for inspiration
• Tumbler table runner - waiting for time to piece it
• Tumbler flag - top is put together and I have purchased backing. I know how I want to quilt it and I know that I want to keep the angled edges which means it has a "tucked in" edge that is edge stitched and no binding. Any recommendations on the best way to do this? I am guessing sew the three layers around edges and then turn right side out but do you quilt before or after that?
• 2 more civil war blocks completed yesterday
• 3 dresden plate mug rugs that need quilting and binding
• Several hexie diamonds that I have started stitching together with the black sashing
• The angel panel has been there a year and a half - I like to look at her but have no plans to do anything with her yet. Anyone have ideas?
• Top right is a border design that has also been there ages. I don't like it very much and that's why it's still there and I'm sticking to it...

On the table:

• The white baskets have a pieced border I am working on.
• One green basket is leftovers from a "camping" tablerunner I made for Mom and Dad's new camper - they need to be trimmed and put away. Actually I have enough to make a second runner.
• The next two green baskets are bits that need to be trimmed and selvages that need to be put in their box
• The stack of blue fat quarters on the cutting mat are for another Civil War block
• The bag of Snickers is what keeps me sane. Not really. Ok, maybe.

Design Wall Monday - 11/22/10

This is the design wall of a sick person...Yup, too many ideas while I've got some bug(s). I had a sinus/ear/throat infection with fever that had me out of work for three days. The meds killed everything but the earache and now I'm on more meds because the second ear is starting to bother me. I've worked on a few non-exciting things, finishing nothing, but I did start Bonnie's latest mystery quilt: Roll Roll Cotton Boll. Will post some pictures of my RRCB progress later this week...

This is probably the crummiest post I've done but it reflects how I feel...sorry :(