New Thing #181--Skivvies

One of the last things I did in Cleveland was shop in Tower City Center, which has a mall similar to Union Station in St. Louis. I spent a bit of money in Victoria's Secret, buying something that was a new style for me. Today I broke out my purchase and I wore a type of "undies" that I've never worn before. They were much more comfortable than I originally thought they'd be...I'll leave it at that.

In a somewhat related story that I somehow missed last month:

Woman sues Victoria's Secret claiming thong injury

LOS ANGELES (Reuters Jun 20, 2008) - A woman who says she was hurt by her thong panties when a metal clip flew off and hit her in the eye has sued Victoria's Secret, saying in a TV interview on Thursday that the injury caused her "excruciating pain."

Macrida Patterson, a 52-year-old Los Angeles traffic officer, told NBC's "Today" show that she suffered cuts to her cornea from the small piece of metal that had been used to secure a rhinestone heart onto the blue thong.

"I was putting on my underwear from Victoria's Secret and the metal popped in my eye. It happened really quickly. I was in excruciating pain. I screamed. That's what happened," Patterson told NBC.

Patterson's lawyer Jason Buccat, who also appeared on the "Today" show, said the metal staple causes "severe damage" to her cornea that required a topical steroid.

The product liability lawsuit, which was filed on June 9 in Los Angeles Superior Court and first reported on the Smoking Gun Web site, seeks unspecified damages.

A spokeswoman for Victoria's Secret, which is operated by Limited Brands Inc, could not immediately be reached for comment.

New Thing #180--What's For Dinner?

Coming home from vacation, even a short one, is exhausting. There's mail and e-mail to be gone through, laundry to get washed, and old newspapers to take care of. The last thing I wanted to do was cook today, so Tony and I ate lunch out, then went to the Kirkwood Farmers' Market for produce.

One of the vendors at the market had "eat em today" cherries for an unbelievable price. We bought a bag and brought them home. At 6:00, I realized I wouldn't be hungry for dinner after the massive lunch I ate, so I suggested to Tony that it would be interesting if I served dessert for dinner.

"Dinner" tonight, complements of About.com, ended up being Cherries and Cream Rice Pudding.

• 5 cups half-and-half cream
• 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup long grain white rice
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• cup heavy whipping cream, very cold
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

In a saucepan, bring half-and-half, white granulated sugar, and salt to a boil. Add rice and stir until combined. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes until thick and creamy.

Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract and dried cherries. Let cool to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.

Pour whipping cream into a large bowl. With an electric mixer on high speed, whip the cream until noticeably thickened. Add confectioners' sugar and continue beating about 2 minutes.

Fold half of the sweetened whipped cream into the rice pudding. Use the remaining whipped cream as a topping for pudding.

The recipe called for dried cherries, but I pitted some of the fresh ones and added them instead. I used arborio rice, so it was incredibly creamy, but swapped out skim milk for some of the half-and-half called for in the recipe. It was delicious, and had all the necessary parts of a meal-carbohydrates from the rice, vitamins and fiber from the cherries, and protein from the milk. How bad could it be?

New Thing #179--Splendid

Day 3 of our Cleveland trip found us going in a different direction for culture, both by geographic area and by subject matter. Today I visited a special exhibition-Vatican Splendors-at the Western Reserve Historical Society.

According to the museum Website, "Vatican Splendors comprises one of the largest Vatican collections ever to tour North America...[and] includes some things that had never before been on public view".

The museum is located in the University Circle section of the city, where Case Western Reserve University and several cultural institutions are located. It was farther than our hotel shuttle would take us; when we asked the best way to get there, the concierge told us to take a taxi. However, that's not our style, so we decided how to get there using public transit.

We bought a day pass for the RTA and validated it. The museum turned out to be pretty easy to get to-a 15 minute walk to the nearest stop, then a 15 minute ride to the University Circle area. We were prepared to walk the rest of the way to the museum, based on the concierge's information; however, we found out there's a shuttle bus that runs through the area that got us within a couple of blocks of the museum.

The exhibit was wonderful. We entered at 10:30 (the tickets were timed entry) and didn't finish till well after noon. There were works by Michelangelo, Bernini, Giotto, and other artists, religious relics, and other items. Some of the artifacts dated back to the third century; others (items used by Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II) were just a couple of years old.

There were four themes to the exhibit. The first was the evolution of the Church and its papacy beginning with Saint Peter through the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI. The next section concentrated on the Renaissance (current) Saint Peter’s Basilica and Sistine Chapel. The third section covered the Papal Swiss Guard, and included some very colorful uniforms that have been worn over the years. Last was an area devoted to the Vatican Museums, which included artwork that had been acquired by the Vatican and religious articles.

Although our ticket allowed us to be admitted to any of the other exhibits in the museum, we were hungry and decided to leave and go to lunch. Thanks to a very informative gentleman in the Information booth, we learned we could walk about a short distance to get to the Little Italy neighborhood, where there were restaurants lining both sides of the street for several blocks. We picked one and had a great lunch, then walked back to University Circle to return back to downtown, and eventually the airport.

We left Cleveland not having done everything that was on our list of things to do, and wanting to go back someday. That's my definition of a good vacation!

New Thing #178--It's Only Rock and Roll

Today was the Main Event of our trip to Cleveland. I visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

When people found out we didn't know anyone in Cleveland, they wanted to know why we wanted to go there. I'm a big music fan, and the Hall of Fame and Museum has been on my list of things to do for a long time. I can now say I've done it!

The museum was a short walk from our hotel. We were there at 10:00 when it opened. I had done research at home, and decided to become a museum member. It only cost a few dollars more than the cost of two admissions, and gave me some immediate benefits. I got a t-shirt in a great guitar-shaped box (my souvenir!), and a discount in the gift shop. So while the vast majority of the people headed straight to the admission counter, Tony and I went to the gift shop, became members, then went to the "Members Only" section and didn't have to wait in line to get in.

The building is shaped like a pyramid. We started in the museum on the bottom level, which is where the main exhibition hall is. About 2 1/2 hours later, we had seen most of it, but we thought it was time for lunch.

The other floors were smaller, and held fewer displays. When we left (close to 4:00) we agreed that we had seen most of the exhibits, and all of those we wanted to see. It would have taken MORE than one day to completely digest all the building had to offer!

My highlights:

• Seeing artifacts that belonged to the artists. I especially enjoyed seeing actual costumes that had been worn on stage.
• One of the special exhibits (on the very top floor, which was small and intimate) called "Break on Through-The Lasting Legacy of the Doors". There was a Doors concert playing on a video screen in the corner of the room, and the music permeated the area.
  
• The movie in the Hall of Fame wing, that highlighted every one of the Hall of Fame inductees. Of course, it also included music!
  

New Thing #177-Where Are You Going on Vacation?

When Tony and I were looking for a short vacation getaway for this week, inspiration struck my Inbox when I got an e-mail from Southwest Airlines. One of the cities they were offering a special price to was Cleveland, Ohio. I've always wanted to visit there, so today I went on a vacation that was planned based on the price of the airfare.

When we told people where we were going for vacation, most assumed that we were visiting friends or family there. Not one considered Cleveland as a "real" destination city. It ended up being a great time! Cleveland (at least the downtown area, which is where we spent most of out time) seems comparable to St. Louis:

• They have a riverfront (also a lakefront, as the Cuyahoga River empties into Lake Erie).
• They have an area (the Flats) comparable to Laclede's Landing where the original buildings have been repurposed into restaurants and night spots.
• They've renovated their Terminal Tower-which was the main railroad station-into a mall similar to Union Station.
• They have a relatively good rail transit system (the RTA) that got us most places we wanted to go.

There's also some things that make Cleveland unique. Because of the way the river twists and turns, there's many bridges in the city. Some of them jackknife or lift to allow large boats to pass under them-very cool to watch. Cleveland has more professional sports teams (along with the requisite stadiums) than St. Louis. However, much to Tony's dismay, we were not able to take in a baseball team because the Indians were out of town.

New Thing #176--Please Eat the Flowers

I have plain orange day lilies (aka ditch lilies) growing in the back yard. They come up reliably year after year without any effort on my part. I don't think I could get rid of them if I tried! As I was cutting the grass this morning, I noticed the day lilies in bloom and decided to cross something off my list of Things to do. Today I ate flowers from my garden.

I've always been fascinated by edible plants, especially those that can be found in the "wild", or a plant that's grown more for its ornamental properties than its taste properties. Even if it's just the "wild" of my back yard, I enjoy taking leaves from the herbs on my deck to add to dishes, and I've been known to snip chive blossoms in the spring to make a dish look pretty. However, I've never before eaten part of a plant that wasn't marketed as a fruit or vegetable.

Although I know that some fertilizer from the lawn may have sprayed onto the blooms, I figured that eating just a couple of petals couldn't harm me too much. I picked two prime flowers-one for me and one for Tony, brought them inside and washed them thoroughly. When lunch was ready I put a flower on each plate. They really classed things up!

When it was time to eat, I tore off a small piece of a petal, put it in my mouth, and chewed gingerly. The petal was sweet and crunchy, and almost like a crisp lettuce leaf. Not bad. I ate the rest of that petal, and soon finished off all the other ones.

Not that I've eaten the flower and lived to tell, next time I'll put the petals IN a salad. It would make it really colorful.

New Thing #175--Picture It

I'm a horrible photographer. Back when I was using film, I'd have to throw away at least half of every roll, because the camera had discharged in my purse, or I'd take a picture of someone's foot, or the camera strap got in the way, or something else had gone wrong. I have boxes full of fuzzy pictures of the kids I can't bring myself to get rid of, because if I did I wouldn't have anything left! At least with my digital camera I can delete the worst mistakes and not spend the money to print them.

My camera has many settings, but I just use the Simple mode. I've also learned how to use the zoom. Everything else is too complicated. Ms. Point-and-Shoot, that's me.

But there's no way to take a picture if you don't have your camera with you. I have a problem remembering to even bring the camera. Today was a case in point. We went to a picnic this afternoon. I put the camera case in the car, got to the picnic, and left the camera in the car. After dinner, we decided to walk to a fireworks display at Manchester City Park. I put the camera in my tote bag along with the bug spray and blanket.

We arrived about 7:00, found a place to sit with some acquaintances from church, and started talking. Before I knew it, the fireworks had started. Shortly after that I realized that I might want to get my camera out and use it. I vaguely remembered that my camera had settings for different types of light, so I switched over to that position on the dial, and discovered (HOLY CRUD!!) that my camera had a mode specifically for fireworks! Tonight I took pictures with the Fireworks mode on my camera.

Here's one of my creations:


I'm certainly not ready to join the professional leagues yet, but this is much better than I usually do!

New Thing #174--Huh?

My plans for today had to morph as an upshot of a long chat with a good chum. I thought about an unusual Thing that I could do in a short span I had, but I was at a loss. I had to do an activity that would allow satisfaction and fulfill my conditions.

Following long thought, I found a solution. My daily product would last only for today, as all good Things should.

It was difficult, and took much work, but today I could author a post without a part of our array of symbols with which I scrawl words.

In plain English: I HAD A LONG PHONE CALL WITH A FRIEND, RAN OUT OF TIME, AND HAD TO CHANGE MY PLANS FOR THE DAY. I NEEDED A DIFFERENT THING TO DO. AFTER MUCH EFFORT, I WROTE THIS ENTIRE POST WITHOUT THE LETTER ‘E’!

It's really hard--try it yourself sometime.

New Thing #173--Two Trillion Methods

I have a really hard time finding shoes to fit my feet. I've had the perfect pair of white Keds mary janes for several years. They finally hit the dust earlier this year, though, and I had to throw them out. It was time to go shoe shopping for a replacement.

My criteria for these shoes:

• They needed to fit well
• I wanted white so they would go with anything. I'm trying to cut down on the amount of shoes in my closet.
  
• They needed to be dressy enough to wear with skirts or capris
• I had to be able to be wear them without socks. Skirts and socks just don't mix, in my opinion!
• I had to be able to walk several miles in them (to church, for example)
• I didn't want to spend a lot of money. The ideal price point was less than $50

I could find shoes that met MOST of my criteria, but nothing that met them all. I even raised the amount of money I was willing to pay; still no success. After going to almost a dozen stores I got tired of looking. I gave up and bought a pair of old school white canvas Keds lace-ups. The only problem was that the bow and laces flopping around made them look less dressy, so today I learned how to lace my shoes in an unusual way.

I returned to Ian's Shoelace Site, where I learned to tie my shoes earlier this year. The "lacing page" indicated there are 2 trillion ways to lace a shoe with six pairs of eyelets! I only needed one, so I started clicking through to some of his examples.

I tried two different ways. The first was Display Shoe Lacing, because it ended up with the lace ends tucked inside. However, the laces really hurt my feet. The second way (and the one I settled on) was the Hidden Knot Lacing. As the name would indicate, the knot (and shoelace ends) are hidden inside the shoe. In Ian's words, "By hiding the knot underneath, the result is an uninterrupted series of straight 'bars' that looks particularly distinctive on dress shoes or sneakers alike."

I'm ready to wear my distinctive-looking, newly-laced shoes to work today!

New Thing #172--Cut It

Last night Tony and I went to Whole Foods for dinner (since he'd not been yet, and wanted to go), then we did a little bit of shopping.

The store had a lot of samples displayed; in the produce section we tried pineapple, mango, and oranges. I realized that I had never purchased a mango, so I put a couple in my bag. I wasn't sure how to serve the fruit, so I did some research, and learned how to cut and serve a mango.

I used the "How to Cut a Mango" page on the Simply Recipes Website for my research. The process looked pretty easy:

• Stand the mango on its end, stem side down. Cut from the top of the mango down one side of the oblong pit, then repeat with the other side.

• Take a mango half and use a knife to make lengthwise and crosswise cuts in it, without cutting through the peel.

• Take the fruit off the peel with your fingers, or by using a small paring knife to cut the the pieces off.

• Get the flesh off the middle section with the pit, then peel it.

I used my cook's prerogative and ate all of the fruit from the middle section myself as I was preparing dinner. I served the mango in custard cups for dessert tonight. It was yummy!

New Thing #171--Flapping in the Breeze

I usually try to get my laundry done in the most efficient way. My laundry room is right off the kitchen, so I can put a load in the washer, listen for it to be done, immediately put it in the dryer, then take it out right away. However, I also love the smell and feel of crisp bedsheets dried outside, so today I hung my sheets on a clothesline.

Normally something like this wouldn't be a big deal, but our neighborhood indentures say no clotheslines! Technically I could have gotten in trouble with today's activity, so today I also struck a blow against stupid regulations.

When we moved into our house and found out we couldn't line-dry our clothes, I wasn't too concerned. At the time I was doing laundry for five people, and it would have overwhelmed me to hang it all. However, I now realize that the regulation is really absurd. People in our neighborhood should be able to make their own decisions about this topic. As I was doing research, I found out that there are actually "Right to Dry" laws in several areas, and a group - Project Laundry List, that's dedicated to promoting simple ways of saving energy--such as line drying. Their website states that by hanging your clothes you can save money, conserve energy, and make your clothes last longer.

I didn't want to put a lot of effort into making a clothesline today since it wouldn't be put to permanent use, so I strung the line on the deck from one side to the other and back, using the deck railing to support the line. The sheets were flopped over the line on either side of the picnic table, and the pillow cases were placed on the end by the stairs. When I needed to take some things to the compost pile, but couldn't get there because there was laundry in the way!

The other problem I realized I had partway through my project was that I had no clothespins. I improvised and used binder clips from my desk. They worked fine, but if hanging the laundry turned into a more-frequent activity, I'd have to invest in the correct tools.

I left the sheets on the deck all afternoon when I was at work. It clouded over a few times, and I was afraid it was going to rain. When I came home and brought them in, the cats really investigated the unusual smells.

New Thing #170--Road Trip

Months ago, son Brian asked if we'd be interested in going to Kansas City to see the Cardinals play there. It sounded like a great idea, so we purchased tickets. Today I went on a road trip to Kansas City see a baseball game.

We've been to Chicago before to see the Cardinals play the Cubs, but this was my first time watching the two in-state teams duke it out. I've NEVER been to the home stadium of an American League team; I knew they'd be using a designated hitter (which I've never seen in person).

Because we didn't want to get up incredibly early today, we drove to Columbia last night, stayed in a hotel, and met up with Brian (and his girlfriend Nicole) this morning. You can't have a proper road trip without food, so we decided to get some BBQ for lunch before the game. We ate at a restaurant in Blue Springs called ZardaQ. It was very easy to get to from the highway, and the food was great. Son Tony, who drove in from Tulsa, joined us for lunch and the game.

The drive to Kansas City was easy, but there was a HUGE traffic jam to get into the stadium parking lot! Unlike the stadium parking in St. Louis, there is only one parking lot for Kauffman Stadium. We got into the stadium in the bottom of the first inning, and I was struck by how many red shirts I saw. It seemed like the Cardinals had as many fans as the Royals did.

The Cardinals haven't done too well against Kansas City so far this year, but they won last night and we were hopeful they would do well again today. They won; the score was 9 to 6. Albert Pujols, who was serving as the Designated Hitter, hit a homer for the Cardinals, and came about a foot from a second home run. Because the Royals scored a run in the sixth inning, we were able to get a free hot fudge sundae at Sheridan's Frozen Custard by showing our ticket stub.

We drove home happy that we enjoyed a great game.

New Thing #169--Can You Read It?

Odaytay I'mway itingwray ymay ostpay inway Igpay Atinlay. I'mway usingway away oolcay Ebsiteway atthay Iway oundfay onway ethay Ikipediaway entryway orfay "Igpay Atinlay".

Althoughway Iway abbledday inway eakingspay Igpay Atinlay enwhay Iway asway away idkay, I'veway evernay eforebay ittenwray inway itway. Ethay amesay ulesray applyway:

• Orfay ordsway atthay eginbay ithway onsonantcay oundssay, ovemay ethay initialway onsonantcay orway onsonantcay usterclay otay ethay endway ofway ethay ordway andway addway "ayway."

• Orfay ordsway atthay eginbay ithway owelvay oundssay (includingway ilentsay onsonantscay), implysay addway ethay yllablesay "ayway" otay ethay endway ofway ethay ordway. Inway omesay ialectsday, otay aidway inway onunciationpray, anway "hay," "way" orway "day" isway addedway otay ethay uffixsay.

Orfay eoplepay owhay avehay ootay uchmay eefray imetay, Ikipediaway alsoway ashay away inklay otay away agepay erewhay ouyay ancay Ooglegay inway Igpay Atinlay!

So, could you read it? This is what it said:

Today I'm writing my post in Pig Latin. I'm using a cool Website that I found on the Wikipedia entry for "Pig Latin".

Although I dabbled in speaking Pig Latin when I was a kid, I've never before written in it. The same rules apply:

• For words that begin with consonant sounds, move the initial consonant or consonant cluster to the end of the word and add "ay."

• For words that begin with vowel sounds (including silent consonants), simply add the syllable "ay" to the end of the word. In some dialects, to aid in pronunciation, an "h," "w" or "d" is added to the suffix.

For people who have too much free time, Wikipedia also has a link to a page where you can Google in Pig Latin!

New Thing #168--It Can't Be Christmastime Already?!

Our extended family has gotten older and bigger. All of my children are now in their 20s, and with only two exceptions, all of my nieces and nephews are too. Some of the "younger generation" have significant others who also come to family parties.

It was getting difficult to get meaningful Christmas presents for everyone, because I don't see all of them on a regular basis. Because of this, we're modifying our Christmas celebration. We decided that this year we would have a Rob Your Neighbor game at our family get together. Since most of the young people don't have a lot of money, we settled on a $5 limit for the presents.

Ever since then I've been keeping an eye out at garage sales and clearance sales for the perfect present. I wanted something cheesy and funny, but not sleazy. Today when I was at Hobby Lobby buying garden decorations I noticed that they had a clearance section. I browsed, and I found the perfect white elephant Christmas gift.

Of course, I can't post a picture of it, or even give any clues. I'm pretty sure that it will be unique, though. I also think I'll be really happy come December, when I don't have to shop for this present!

New Thing #167--Quilt It

Today I finished the project I started on Monday when I quilted a patchwork block pillow.

Yesterday, I stopped at the fabric store to get the materials I needed for the project. The directions called for a half-yard of quilt batting, and a half-yard of muslin for the quilt back. The batting and muslin both came in widths much wider than I needed, so I knew I'd have a substantial amount of each left over. I picked out the least expensive kind of each, had them measured, purchased it, and brought it home.

Today I cut squares of batting and muslin the size of my pillow block, and pinned them all together like a sandwich-quilt block, batting, and muslin. The directions said I should quilt along each seam line, to make concentric squares. After some trial and error with hand-quilting, I gave up and used the sewing machine.

The last step was to add a back to the pillow. The original pattern had directed me to cut out two pieces of blue material for the back. (They overlap on the pillow like an envelope, then the pillow form slides in.) I put a hem on each of the pieces, and pinned them to the quilt right sides together. I sewed a seam around the entire perimeter, turned the pillow inside out, and admired my work:

The directions told me the finished squares weren't supposed to be symmetrical; I'm glad they told me that, because as you can see, they aren't.

I was pessimistic about the results of the project, so I didn't buy a pillow form to put inside it...I'll have to make another trip to the fabric store to get it, then find a spot in my house to put the pillow!

New Thing #166--"Disney World For Foodies"

The title comes from an article in last week's POST-DISPATCH about the opening of a new Whole Foods Market in Town and Country. I've been excited for this store to open; it's only a 10 minute drive from my house. Before today, the closest Whole Foods was a half-hour away, and trips there were reserved for special occasions, or when I happened to be in the area. There have been ads for the last week touting today's opening ceremonies, so today I went to the grand opening of a store.

I wasn't sure what to expect at a "Bread Breaking Ceremony", as the store called it. I arrived about 20 minutes early, and there were already a couple of hundred people there! The store served snacks to the people in line, and we got free tote bags. I could hear (but not see) the bagpipe band that was playing near the front door; I heard occasional applause from the front of the line, so I suspect there was the usual compliment of store officials and politicians speaking as the doors were opened. The line had almost doubled in length by the time they let us in.

It actually took about 10 minutes to get in the store once the line started moving--people had to stop and get shopping carts, which slowed everything down. I was planning on just looking today, as I figured the checkout lines would be swamped, so I just gathered my goodies in my tote bag.

The store is huge (55,000 square feet), but it was very hard to navigate with all the people who were there. They had lots of free samples-every department had something they were showcasing. I tried to make it down every aisle to see what the store's inventory was like, but it was so crowded it was hard to browse.

Partway through my shopping, I noticed that my tote bag was turning my arm red! I found an associate, who explained to me that the ink (that was either plant- or water-based) probably was reacting to my sunscreen. I swapped out the tote for another one, and went to the bathroom to clean the ink off my arm.

As I was leaving the parking lot, there were still a lot of cars coming in. They actually had an associate directing traffic! I bet the store will be very busy for the rest of the day.

I'll still shop at a variety of stores for my food (price is important to me, as is shopping at the hometown chain grocery stores), but I'll definitely include Whole Foods as one of the stops.

New thing #165--Sensible

The Website SensibleUnits.com has the tagline "Convert boring units to real objects as you type!" When I input my weight, it told me I was the equivalent of:

• 41 average physics textbooks (I wouldn't know; I never took physics)
  
• 14 average domestic cats (my favorite!)
  
• 9.4 men's shotputs (this is probably appropriate with the Olympics coming up)
  
• 3.8 microwave ovens (REALLY heavy ones-over 40 pounds each!)
  

I was also:

• 68 kilograms
• 10.7 stone
• 6.94 hyls
• 5.36 quarters
• 4.66 slugs
• 1.5 hundredweights (short)
• 0.068 tonnes (metric)
• 0.067 tons (long)

Who knew there were so many ways to measure something!

New Thing #164--Patchwork

My friend Dana gave me the suggestion to make a quilt block for a Thing. I thought it was a great idea, and added it to my list. I was at Borders over the weekend, and I came across a quilting kit. I remembered Dana's suggestion, so I purchased the kit and brought it home. Today I made a pillow-sized quilt block.

The Quilt-It Kit included 15 project cards and patterns (and fabric for the project I made), a how-to-booklet, and needle and thread. The quilt batting and backing for my project were not included, nor was the pillow form for the finished pillow.

My project was the Back to Square One Pillow. The first step was to enlarge the pattern sheet to the correct size (200% larger than what I was given). I went the copy store, and after some trial-and-error came up with an acceptable pattern. I came home, cut the pattern pieces apart, and pinned ALL 17 OF THEM to the fabric. After I cut them all out, the rest was easy. The pieces went together like a big puzzle a layer at a time. It was really satisfying to see all my work come together.


The next step is to buy the materials and do the actual quilting. Hmmm...sounds like another Thing to me. Stay tuned.

New Thing #163--Dream House

I live in a very nice area of St. Louis County, in a great house in a nice neighborhood, and I have no desire to have anything bigger or fancier. However, today Tony and I decided to see how the other half lives, and we toured a multi-million dollar house.

Several neighborhoods in the metropolitan area have very expensive real estate. Tony and I decided to visit one, Town and Country, that's slightly to the east of us. I found a list of Open Houses in the newspaper, and we selected our target house. We arrived a bit too early-the house wasn't open yet-so we doubled back to the main road and followed a sign to another Open House. This one, while nice, was "only" $999,000. I wanted to see what you got if you had significant money to spend on a house. We drove back to our target house and went inside.

WOW! The house was listed at a little more than 2 million dollars, and was probably worth every penny. It was almost 40 years old, but was immaculate. The house sat on a 1.5 acre lot, was 8,800 square feet, and had 19 rooms, 5 bedrooms, and 7 bathrooms. You could fit several of my current house in this house's footprint. I'd need a map just to navigate its three stories!

In addition to the tricked-out kitchen, bedrooms, baths, and closets you'd expect of a house in this price range, there was a game room on the main level that was big enough for a pool table, a lower level with a media room, and an outdoor area that had a fireplace, a pool (including a spa with a waterfall), and a shuffleboard court.

The agent showing the house was really nice, and didn't seem to mind that we weren't serious buyers. My next house is going to be SMALLER, not larger, but it was worth taking the time to check this one out.

New Thing #162--The Road Untraveled

I've seen a lot of changes in my area of St. Louis County in the 20 plus years I've lived here. Most of the green space and farms are gone; there are many more subdivisions and a lot more traffic. The county has gradually improved the roads to carry the extra cars. Now there's only one last unimproved section of Big Bend Road, and that's in the process of being widened.

Today I was driving home and saw that asphalt had been poured (adjacent to the current road) for the "new" Big Bend. Although the new section was closed, there was a small jog each end so vehicles could get into subdivisions. Past the subdivision entrances, there were "Road Closed" sign at both ends. I decided that closed roads only applied to vehicles, so I parked my car and took a walk on a road that hasn't been opened.

It was a spontaneous decision, and I quickly turned left into a small neighborhood. I parked the car and started walking. There's a lot of grade changes in the new road. They leveled out some of the inclines, and filled in some of the low spots, so the pavement is flatter. At 10:00 on a humid Saturday morning, the asphalt really radiated the heat, so I finished my adventure in about 15 minutes and returned to my car.