Still here

The last two weeks have been insane.

We spent the weekend on Assateague Island last weekend. It was lovely. The weather has been so drab and gloomy of late that I was a bit worried it would be a wash-out. Fortunately, we were not disappointed and enjoyed a wonderfully warm weekend. I took my camera but didn't take pictures; I guess I ran out of time. We took a long walk on the beach on Saturday morning, but didn't dare go in, because the water is still only in the high 60s. Saturday afternoon, we drove into town for dinner. We ate seafood while waiting to get Raptured; needless to say, unless Heaven is exactly like Maryland, down to the fact that I still have to work, we're still here.

Last weekend was Cruisin' OC weekend, a big car show. It's supposed to be for older cars, but there were a lot of new stuff there too. Left-brain has customized the dually we use to pull the camper, so he was showing that off, too. He got lots of compliments on it, you could see how tickled he is with it. One funny: he has several cars, all of them attention-getting, and, oddly, one from each of the Big Three automakers. I have a Ford sweatshirt, because not only do we have a beautiful 2000 Mustang, but I'm going to have me a Thunderbird before I get done. So I went to get it out of the truck and put it on when the sun went down. One of the guys saw the shirt, saw me getting it out of a Chevy pickup truck and said, "How can you wear that shirt, driving a Chevy?" I didn't think, I just said, "Well, we got one of those, too." Everyone started laughing, including Left-brain. It's a running joke between him and I that we're going to have our own garage, called Harper Motorsports, and our new motto will be "We got one of those too." Anyway, it was a nice night, we drooled over the beautiful cars, and had a nice time together.

Sunday, we were up early and ready to go. We took the camper into the city and parked it, drove my car closer to the boardwalk and walked around. I popped into Salty Yarns for a little S.E.X. (yes, I know, I just spent money a few weeks ago, but it was Salty Yarns, and, seriously, money you spent "downy ocean" doesn't count. I didn't get much--a chart for my exchange partner, Vicky, and a couple lighthouse charts, and a cute Prairie Moon kit I've never seen before. We also got some fudge and popcorn; I know the fudge is fattening, but I can't eat salt water taffy or candy apples anymore because of my veneers and the like, and a girl has to have something sweet at the shore, right?

It took us forever to get home, but I took the time to stop at a roadside stand for strawberries. I swear, I've forgotten how good strawberries right out of the field are. Nothing in the grocery store comes close. I cut them up right away; half went into the freezer to sweeten up lemonade and the other half went over ice cream. Yummmm.

I actually have had time to stitch, though, just not photo time. I took along Pinto, one of my Crazy January starts to work on, and made good progress. As long as I don't get bored, it shouldn't take too long to finish him. And I am working on the Bent Creek Photobooth Flags and Friends. I love it. There is something about the eagle which is making me smile. He looks so goofy, as goofy as an eagle gets, I suppose.

Meari had asked how I like the Sullivan floss. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I really like it. I'm still not sure I'd mix it, since I think I see a bit of a sheen difference, but, then again, I don't see that well, so it's probably just me. That and the fact that a skein of Sullivan feels a bit stiffer are the only differences I detect, and I was so pleased, I bought more for two projects I plan on starting. It was on sale at Hancock this week, 5/$1. That makes it a very cost-effective stitching resource, but I do wish more stores would carry it. Only one place nearby carries it, and so, that means I will have to plan out carefully, since I can't just pop up the road to get it. But I like it!