St. Anthony, here I come

Well, tomorrow's the big day. I have nearly everything packed --- baby things, bookcovers, cool ties, etc., as well as the money, and other supplies. The only things left are 2 aprons that my mother will finish today. The tent, tables, chairs, and displays are in the trunk. I want to finish packing the car tonight since we have to leave about 7:00 in the morning. It always takes us forever to get going, so anything that will speed us up tomorrow is a good idea.

Mama and I will be joined by my sister Joy. I have some of her jewelry listed in my shop. We like to have adjoining spaces so we can keep an eye out for the other. It also gives us a little more flexibility in our displays.

Tonight I have to put my entire Etsy shop in edit mode. A lot of my stuff is one of a kind, and I don't want to sell something twice when I've only got one! (Yeah, right, that is sooooooooooooooooo going to happen. ;p)

If you're near Wylie, Texas, on September 20, come see us! We'll be at St. Anthony Catholic Church for their carnival and 150th anniversary celebration.

Next week we'll be at the carnival at St. Ann Church in Kaufman, Texas. Join us for the fun.

Now, if I can just keep from gnawing my fingers off in nervous anticipation, I'll be fine. :-)

Anyone got a valium?

Man, my knuckles hurt!

It's from all the pinning and pinning and pinning of these darned hotpads. Also from clutching the wheel on the sewing machine and "encouraging" the needle to penetrate up to 8 layers of tough bias tape, plus the 7 layers involved in the hotpads. Last night I had to put Ben-Gay on my hands to ease the pain, and I have to pop my knuckles more frequently than usual.

Anyway, here they are in all their relative glory.

I finished the last one this afternoon. And I got the embroidery for the "wedding bibs" done today. Tomorrow I'll cut them out and bind them in the tape I pressed tonight. Then I can finally get rid of them all and finish getting ready for the carnival this weekend.

Let's see, all I need to do is embroider 3 toddler aprons, bind a few blankets, make a couple of walkermate bags, sort out my stock, pack the car, clean up the house . . . . . . . .

A One-Ladybug Sweatshop

My one-ladybug sweatshop has been going full speed since Monday, and my legs are getting tired. ;o) I've finished the pillowcases and hotpads that were in progress as of my last post. I'm now about halfway through with the 4 sets of hotpads and mitts that Olga ordered on Tuesday, and have planned out the embroidery for her original project.

However, this still leaves 2 hotpads to do (replacements for those she bought), as well as everything else I mentioned --- embroidery, blankets, toddler aprons, etc., etc., etc..

Plus, before the carnival I need to inventory everything, "freshen up" all my old stock (AND the drawers it's stored in), send out an Etsy order, pack everything up, write a list of what I'm taking, and clean up the living room, the den, my room . . . . . . . . .

Oh yeah, I need to go to Target sometime this week, too ---- if the remnants of Hurricane Ike don't blow us away.

I'm a glutton for punishment

I'm getting ready for two carnivals in the next two weeks. I have 4 half-done potholders at the sewing machine, I have to put collars on at least 3 toddler aprons, and I need to embroider a few more items as well. Oh, and I'd like to bind a couple more blankets as well. Plus, I have five little pillowcases to finish sewing by Saturday for a regular client.

But apparently that isn't enough work for me. Oh, no, not me.

Yesterday a lady called about embroidering some "wedding bibs". (Yeah, yeah, I've never heard of them before either.) I quoted her $20. Today she came by to drop them off, and I end up agreeing to cut out and bind the darn things for another $10 (I should have said $15). Anyway, my mother got in the act and told her about my micro mitts and my newest item, heart-shaped hotpads. I showed them to her and she loved them, so much that she left with two hearts and these mitts.

She was so taken with them that she ordered two sets of each.

To be done by next Wednesday, before she goes out of town on Friday.

With all that I have to do in the next week and a bit, why oh why did I agree to make 8 more hotpads on top of the "bibs"?

All together now:

because I'm a glutton for punishment!

Lean Cuisine ruined my lasagna :o(

I've been buying Lean Cuisine's lasagna with meat sauce for several years. It reminded me of the lasagna I'd get at Olive Garden --- mildly spicy without large chunks of tomatoes and plenty of meat. A few weeks ago I tried another brand and didn't like it as much -- it tasted strange. Tonight I had a LC lasagna, and guess what? They've apparently changed to the same recipe as the other brand. Ugh.

There wasn't much meat in the sauce; hell, there wasn't much sauce! I found several tomato chunks the size of a small grape, and I truly hate chomping down on stewed tomatoes! The worst part was when I bit down on something that tasted kind of like licorice --- it might have been caraway. Now, I don't like the taste of licorice anyway, but I sure didn't expect to find it in my lasagna! It's been an hour and I still haven't managed to get the nasty taste out of my mouth. :o(

Why do companies do this? It seems like they play with recipes just because they can. The box says "new recipe" (which I wish I'd noticed when I bought it), but has nothing to indicate they changed it to reduce calories or sodium or for any other healthful reason. It used to have plenty of cheese; now the cheese is nearly nonexistent. My advice to them is CHANGE IT BACK!!!!!

I've got another one in the freezer, but it will be a while before I can bring myself to eat it. First I have to forget the way it tasted!

Jewelry fit for a Snow Queen

Tonight I listed this gorgeous citrine and quartz set made by my talented sister Joy. It has a choker, bracelet, and matching earrings. The way the light reflects off the quartz is really neat -- makes it look like ice crystals.I was really having trouble coming up with a decent description and pricing of this set. I sew and crochet and have no idea of what's reasonable for beautiful jewelry. Luckily, my friend Yoboseiyo at Jewelry Ninja! helped me out. :o) Check out her shop for all sorts of innovative jewelry designs.

O Frabjous Day!

For the last several years we've prayed every Sunday for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life, especially from our parish. Today Fr. John announced that five people from our parish are committing themselves to trying their vocations. Two young men will be studying for the priesthood for our diocese, and one for another diocese. A fourth man will be taking his first vows as a Cistercian monk, and a young woman will be starting a life with the Dominican nuns.

This is truly wonderful! Over my lifetime we've had three priests from our parish: my brother Joseph, Msgr. Robert Coerver, and Michael Duca, the new Bishop of Shreveport. There have been a couple other men ordained, but they ended up leaving the priesthood for various reasons. We've also had at least two women become nuns. The older sister of a schoolmate has been in the convent for twenty years or so, and comes home every year for a few weeks. Sister Carol, the former music teacher at my parish school, also grew up here. However, she left the convent after about 15 years. She's been out 20+ years and I still don't know how to address her! LOL To me she'll always be Sister Carol, who taught me piano for one year (we agreed that piano was not for me), music for 8, and was my choir director for 3.

We must continue to pray for vocations. There is a serious shortage of priests in America, and the only way we will get more is by praying. You never know who will hear God's call and take heed -- it might be you!