HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

The turkey is in Aunt Chrissy's oven, the car is loaded, Stewey has his little boots on, and I'm ready for a day of feasting!  We're hosting friends this year, so no stitching until tomorrow, but we'll make up for lost time...I promise!

From our houses to yours....the Rich Sisters (and their little dogs too) send their very best wishes for a happy, healthy, lovely, fun and stitchy-filled day!

Woo Hoo!

DEEP THOUGHTS -- FOR A FRIDAY

I've been serving jury duty this week.  That doesn't mean a whole lot to you, I'm sure, but for some reason, the experience has really got my pea-sized brain working overtime.  If you'll indulge me...here's what's been rattling around in there:

(Try to resist the urge to upchuck...I promise you that the following paragraphs are overwrought and ridiculous...but sometimes a spinster just needs to orate.)

(Know what I mean?)

Jury duty is hard.  It's inconvenient and unpredictable and an intrusion into our normal lives.  The tedium of waiting can be very frustrating, especially when we don't know or understand what we're waiting for.  We grumble about finding downtown parking spaces, having to figure out where to go for lunch, and the "intimacy" of the restrooms in the jury room, but somehow we press on. 

And then it's time to deliberate, and a group of perfect strangers come together in a thoughtful, conscientious, and profound way to examine and consider evidence, argue the meaning of a concept or instruction, and finally render a verdict that will change a life. 

We're bombarded with news accounts and analysis of what's wrong with our country, and there are days when I'm certain that nine out of ten people think that the cause is lost and there's nothing that we as ordinary citizens can do to reverse the course, plot a new one, stick to the plan we prefer, or just scratch the whole thing and move to Canada.

But then we serve jury duty, and we're reminded of everything that is good about our home.  We treat people with respect and honor their dignity.  We give them the benefit of the doubt and weigh things carefully before rushing to judgment, and we look out for one another with the hope that eventually we'll get it right and achieve a society that will allow our children and grandchildren to live happily ever after.

The final lesson that I learned from jury duty was the importance of trust.  We come into this experience needing to trust the judicial system, the players in it, the process, and then finally ourselves.  This last one is the hardest, because we know that we might render the right verdict, but that it might have the wrong outcome.  We know that for our system to work, we have to trust the rules and the instructions and the concepts -- even if they are in direct opposition to that which we know to be true in our deepest heart.

I'm profoundly grateful that I had this opportunity, and I hope that I'll have the chance to tell a fellow citizen to think about the things I've mentioned here if they too are called to serve.  How thankful I am that the fathers of our country had the brilliance to give me this duty...this right...and this gift.

 
(She climbs down from the soapbox.)

So there you have it -- what I'm contemplating as I poke the needle tonight.  I hope that wherever you are is exactly where you want to be and that your needles are flying!

Woo Hoo!
Coni
(and Stewey, too..only the part about wishing you happy times...not about the jury duty stuff)
(He keeps rolling his eyes at me as I ha-rumph around the house humming the Battle Hymn of the Republic)
(damn dog)

DOG FOR SALE

Let me begin with a very tearful and very heartfelt THANK YOU for your inquiry as to how we weathered the storm.  We are all fine here...just lost power for a short time and got to have a little sleep over at Aunt Chrissy's, but we are none the worse for wear.  Our hearts and prayers are with those who didn't fare as well, though, and I extend my usual invitation to anybody who needs a place to stay...come on over -- we'll leave the light on for ya'.

So...on this episode of "Life with a fussy little dog who is slowly driving me to the nuthouse"....

For the most part, Stewey and I are very routine people.  We tend to do the same things at the same time every day,and when these routines are interrupted, we feel dizzy and out of sorts.

Apparently, Stewey's new routine involves becoming a farmer, because for the last month and a half my damn dog has awakened precisely at 4:10 am with the urgent need to go outside to sniff the patio chairs and to then come inside to eat breakfast.  (Three crunchy little marrow bones and a Greenie, thank you very much).  (On the weekend, we have tea and toast in real china cups...but that's another story for another day.)

This morning at 4:10 am when my damn dog shot out from under the covers, launched himself out of the big girl sleigh bed, and ran to the back door, I found myself standing in the hallway shouting at the top of my lungs...."ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME??!!!  WHEN DID YOU DECIDED TO BECOME AN EFFING FARMER???!!!"

To which he replied in a manner that only Stewey can..."Mo-ther.  As you full well know, I am NOT a farmer.  I am a so-phis-ti-cate, and if you had more than a tea cup's worth of brain in your head (see what I mean about the tea cup?), you'd know that it is, by all accounts, a perfectly acceptable time for breakfast in Paris.  As a matter of fact, I think it's quite near the brunch hour, so open the door, if you please, and let me examine the patio furniture so that I might come in for a little bite."

I stood there sputtering obscenities for a full ten seconds before I realized that the damn dog had a point and that if I DIDN'T open the door I'd be cleaning up a lot more that Greenie bits and crunchy little marrow bone bits from the ottoman.

So our new routine now goes something like this:

4:10  Morning patio furniture inspection
4:12  Breakfast
4:15  Whine at the side of the sleigh bed until Mo-ther reaches down to scoop me up
4:45  Finally realize that stepping an eighth of an inch away from said Mo-ther's extended fingers as she precariously hangs over the side of the bed while reaching down to scoop me up is probably not  a good idea for this extended period of time, especially given the old lady's propensity for rage, high blood pressure, and the ability to fall out of the sleigh bed and break an ample (yet apparently surprisingly brittle) hip
5:00 Snuggle back down under the covers and wait until the first Mo-ther snore is heard bellowing from the general vicinity of the pillows.
5:01 Bolt furiously from under the covers, jump off the of the bed, and wait to see how many profanities spew forth.
5:05  Stand in the middle of the living room rug to see if Mo-ther will chase me, or if she'll just give up, say "Oh screw it", and roll over to go back to sleep
5:06  Hear snoring, water the drapes, poop in the dining room, and jump up onto perch to await dawn.

(For the record....the alarm clock is set for 6:30.  Do you have any idea how much fun it is to wake up at 4:10 every day knowing that Little Lord Fauntleroy is going to have a full 14 hours of snooze time while I'm out trying to keep him in smoking jackets and Puppy Chow?)

AND THEN, IT WAS SUDAY...AGAIN.

How is it possible that I go an entire week without a visit?  What has HAPPENED to me?  I used to drive y'all positively nuts with my silly blathering, and now I can't seem to get my heiney into the desk chair more than once in a full seven days.

Oh, how I've missed you so.

Nothing really too terribly new to report from the friendly confines of Chez Spinster.  Stewey and I are enjoying the fall colors and a few days of crisp temperatures while I happily stitch away on this:

Yup.  Still pluggin away on Threedles "Looking Glass" and really enjoying it despite the glitzy threads.  How is it that I can still wear glitter eye shadow, yet the thought of a few strands of Sparkle Braid sends me into a tizzy fit?

What's new in your little corner of the world?  Are you warm and safe and dry and keeping your fingers tickled with something fabulous?

Hope so!

AND THEN...IT WAS SUNDAY ****EDITED*****

AAAACCCCKKKK!!!!!!  Y'all have been so nice to tell me that the colors in this piece are just fantastic and that I'm a genius and should be Queen of the World, etc. etc. etc....but the truth of the matter is that I am not at all responsible for these lovely colors.  The designer, Miss Threedles Her Very Self offers several different colorways for this piece, and the threads here are for the yellow colorway.  (I have the yellow canvas, but decided to try it on the marbleized tan instead.)

So I guess in THAT respect, I just might be a genius.  Well, maybe genius-ish.

So, please make sure to remove me from your "Wow, she is really good with color" list and put me right back where I belong.  Tankyoubeddymuch.