Back to Regular Programming

So it's time to get back on track and move on. Back to the single life and I slipped into it quietly today. A friend of mine met up with me this morning and we walked to a local place for a scrumptious breakfast. She was kind enough to let me do my neighborhood errands like dropping off a book at the library and scoring strawberries from the farmers market before heading out to what we had really planned to do. We headed over to the art and wine festival a couple of towns over from me. We both had never been before and we came to the realization that we hadn't missed anything all this time. It was a huge dud! It was more fair than street festival so I'm sure it was a big hit with families and kids. But for a couple of single people wanting to see some art...uh, not so much! But that's okay. I got out, got some sun and tried to work the smile. I don't think my smiling muscles are quite up to the workout just yet.

I've got a good amount of things going on this coming week which should leave me duly preoccupied and distracted. Distractions are good!

The past month has not been kind as mentioned in my previous post. And when I'm sad or angry, there is no stitching to be had. It's hard to stitch when you'd rather beat someone with your project versus actually stitching with it. It was much safer tucked away in it's project bag. But I managed a few stitches here and there.

Here's where Letter C stands as of early this afternoon. I've managed to stitch quite a bit since but it's too dark for a photo now. I decided to get the boring part out of the way and I've been stitching on the background since the last time I showed you all Letter C.
I have to get cracking. I need to finish this by the end of the month so I can send this and another item to Jill for framing. Letter C has to be in my niece's hot little hands by mid-August for her birthday.

I've been doing a lot of reading. Well...a lot by my standards. And I read because when your own life is a tragic mess, it's nice to escape to the life of the main character in any book. I read:

A Good Yarn by Debbie Macomber - It's about yarn...and knitting. How can that be bad?! It was an enjoyable read and a continuation for me since I had read "The Shop on Blossom Street" a number of years ago when I a was more crazed about knitting than cross stitching. I think the stories intertwined nicely between the 4 main characters and would recommend it for anyone looking for a light read.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett - So when this book first came out...I thought it was a self-help book just based on the title. How wrong was I?! A friend recommended I read it and so I put my name on the list at the local library. When I started this book...I could not put it down! I think I managed to read the 400+ page book in under 3 days...which is fast for me. It was entralling and interesting and opened my eyes to what life would have been like back in the South in the 1960's and the relationship between well off white women and the colored help that catered to them. Excellent book!

Rainwater by Sandra Brown - I read this book for a book club meeting being held at the local library next week. I figured, if I liked the book, maybe I would go to the meeting and see what that was all about. I was surprised they picked a Sandra Brown book because isn't she really a romance novelist? Anyways, even though there was some romance, it was more about Depression Era Texas and how people hurt each other in their effort to survive or gain more power in a time when people had very little. It was another non-stop read for me.

I'm debating what book to read next...The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society, Water for Elephants or My Life in France (Julia Child). Any thoughts?

Everything else is pretty status quo. I did find out that I will have to furlough 10 days at work in the coming fiscal year. Not what anyone wants to hear but I'm also not surprised by it. I don't feel badly about it since I know that things could be worse and I'm lucky to have a job. There are rockier times down the turnpike with lots of talk of consolidation. I guess only time will tell.

That's it for me today. I think I'll be back with a poll soon...once I figure out how you do that!

Thanks for all the supportive comments in my last post and for sticking with me in my absence.

Until next time...