Suddenly Summer
7:55 a.m. - 2011-06-15


My diary has been ignored this spring, mainly because of several deaths in our extended family, but now the summer has arrived chasing away the long, cold, wet spring. We have been busy putting in the garden, losing the whole cucumber crop, planting them again, etc. It was in the mid 90's yesterday even though it was rainy and cold just two weeks ago.

I have found that keeping busy sewing is very helpful in dealing with sad events. I finally learned how to use the embroidery machine, though I haven't found a space of time yet to really master that serger. It's time will come, though. I am loving the embroidery machine. I thought I would have to have a very limited supply of embroidery designs for that very old machine, but it turns out that if I have a converter box (I got the BuzzBox), I can buy CD's at the store and designs off the internet, print them to a card, and use them in my machine. This opened up a whole world of possibilities, and I now own hundreds and hundreds of designs. I have used some on some little girl dresses for my nephew's daughter, and am starting to use them on Mexican Peasant Blouses for the girls. It's really fun. The best part is that you can go fold laundry or something while the machine works away by itself. My husband likes the fact that I now have something to spend my mad money on that doesn't take up any space at all, since the designs are stored on the computer.

Last weekend we drove my MIL down to Pasadena so that she could visit an old friend. The trip from here to there is about 5 hours long, or shorter if you are my brother. We generally stick to the speed limit though, since the state is short of funds and the CHP are busy creating revenue. We saw one short stretch outside of LA where THREE police cars in three separate locations had pulled cars over. Speeding tickets are no longer cheap and can put a huge dent in your budget. While we were down there we ate at the Pie N'Burger twice in a row. This hamburger joint is a Pasadena institution, and serves delicious burgers, and guess what, pie too.

So that is my current life, a little travel, sewing, embroidery, laundry, estate business, and gardening. I am trying to get back into healthy eating and exercising. Melissa and I have decided to write off the first six months of this year due to stress and sadness and to start up again with the diet and exercise at the end of June. Sounds like a plan.