Dynamo

Two weeks!  Aaaaagh.  I went to see the Dynamo, Houston's professional soccer team, just over two weeks ago, and then I'm not sure what happened.

An art crawl, a neighborhood walking architecture tour, a Thanksgiving flu, Thanksgiving.  Now friends coming for visits and holidays sneaking up fast!

I'm thankful for so many things that I could burst.

I'm thankful for my husband, my friends, my family, my cat (I hope that doesn't sound dumb, but she really brings me piles of uncomplicated joy).  I'm grateful that I feel healthy right now and I'm super grateful for our new house and the fact that it is currently untouched by disasters which have befallen others.

I'm thankful for Minnesota, Texas, France, New Zealand, Madison, New Orleans...even Missouri and Calgary...all places that have shaped my life, some in ways I love and others in ways that just make me grateful to have moved on.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to improve every single day.

(Belated) Birthday Stitching

For some time, I have admired Sublime Stitching, a crafty and modern sewing company, founded by a cool woman from Austin, Texas.  Finally, finally, I bought one of her patterns and enjoyed testing it out.  

My brother-in-law was recently married, which means that I have a new sister.  I bought this kit with her in mind, but missed the mark for using it as a shower gift last summer.  I was recently horrified by the fact that I almost missed her birthday, too.  She never misses my birthday.  So, if you want to see what I made for her, read on.  If you are her, watch for a little package, and decide for yourself if you would like to be surprised or not.  Do not keep reading if you prefer to be surprised.

Festival of Quilts

Last week there was an enormous quilt festival practically in my backyard.  Normally, this is the kind of thing that I would think sounded nice and then I would be too lazy to do anything about.  I don't know how to make quilts, but I admire them enormously, and I imagined that the quilts at an event like this would be artful and inspiring.  They were.

Surly and Virtuous

This week I crossed a few items off of my to-do list, which gave me that virtuous feeling that you get when you do those things you know you should do, but that you don't really want to do.  Namely, I voted and I had my teeth cleaned.  I will spare you any images from the dentist appointment, but these images from our local early voting station are kind of interesting.