Canada cost me 150 dollars (which I was saving for my neck tuck)

So I went, finally, on Saturday to apply for my passport. I got a whole boatload of documents and went to the post office to get my picture taken and send in the application. They told me I didn’t need all the documents, just my birth certificate and drivers license. I hope they know what they are doing. Although they do it all the time. I think. It costs 110 dollars for the passport and another 40 for, um, I’m not sure. Taking this digital picture I guess…

Seriously?  Is it illegal to airbrush your passport photo? I wonder if government workers take an in-service on how to make people look less than attractive. Looking at this photo,  I’ve come to the realization that it’s definitely time to consider a bit of a tuck. You see,  the real reason I wrote this blog today with this picture is to send out a plea for money to pay for my neck fix.  Please.

So, when I tell people I am getting a passport the first question is “Where are you going” to which I answer “Canada”. Because I could drive there in a day. And I could go over the border with my passport. And I do love a little Canada now and then. I couldn’t ask for a better neighboring country.

Oh, and speaking of neighboring countries with a little monarchy thrown in-Look what’s coming to a Mall of America near you!

Yep, I am talking THE Diana. Everything Diana. I almost got the vapors when I saw the ad for it.

The dates are completely saved in my book-it’s actually already started and I don’t know how it got by me.

Because of the comments made by Dave……

me-We have to go to the Mall of America-they are having a Diana exhibit.

Dave-What? No one wants to see the Dali Lama

me-Diana

Dave-What kind of diorama?

…….he is not invited anymore.

Lastly, we got a bit of new furniture which I set up in the basement. Only tonight we put another leaf in the center table and I switched the sewing machines around.

It’s still a bit cluttered in this picture. I’ll take a better one next week. I now have 5 tables in my craft room. Jeesh. But there is space to craft.

Jack liked it too.

It’s almost March which means spring is just around the corner. I wonder what the weather is in Canada?

Purging

It’s not what you think. Although I once told my doctor I thought I could lose weight by purging, because I like to eat too much to be anorexic. He said “Not a big fan of the purging”.

So enough about me.

I was in Tacoma last week, spending some fun filled days purging the “hoarding room”.

 

 

Actually, this is what it looked like in 2010, and to be honest, Debbie and Grampa had cleaned it up. A little. There was a bit more floor space when I got there last week. But there was still lots of paper. Lots….of…..paper.

I lost count of the 30 gallon bags of shredded material/recycling, but suffice it to say, we single handedly created at least one ream of recycled paper thereby saving a hectare of rain forest.  Touché Angelina Jolie.

So, after day one, from AM to PM we got this far.

   

See the giant shredder there, last picture, right side? We had that baby running so hot it would stop mid shred. Martha would fan it  a while, and pretty soon it would suck up the paper, and then start again. Look at the size of that thing. Super duper. And it wasn’t nearly big enough. We thought that next time (I shudder to even think there might be a next time) we’ll hire the giant truck shredder. Although even they might be daunted by the task.

But you can see surface and floor space. We measured progress by floor space.

Then, at the end of day 3 (and a half) mission was accomplished.

Before:

After:

Just compare those pictures.

And just look how happy I am

And, after another day and a half, we had a few more bags of clothes and what not.

Actually, at the end of the day, there were twice this many bags and more stuff on the bench, but I had a flight to catch and couldn’t properly document. Sorry.

There was a moment of fun. It was fun to see my parents-whom I took no pictures of because they were supposed to be busy cleaning, but they weren’t. And it was fun to see my sisters, who I didn’t personally take any pictures of because we were too busy cleaning.

But we did get a group photo of the group we went out with during our 3 hour reprieve on Friday. It was Madrona and we went over to the market, then met up with a some knitterly folks for Japanese dinner.

That’s us on the left, Debbie, Martha and me. Then on the right, Michelle, Nancy, Julie and Angela. There was also a small fire in the restaurant while we were eating, which was exciting. They didn’t need the fire though, because the food was delish.

And when I returned home to sunny Minnesota (in the dark), I had a bunch of furniture that Debbie had shipped my way to contend with. I was so excited I immediately threw out 4 bags of clothes. And I’m not done purging yet.

So, how was everyone else’s weekend?

Hurry up Blog

This is a hurry up blog. I am leaving tomorrow for Seattle and have to update my iPod. I am also training my bladder to stretch to 15 times it’s normal capacity. I have a theory that once we get into the air the cabin pressure exerts at least 5x the normal bladder psi until I can no longer stand it. And, since I sit next to the window almost exclusively, well, the two people on the outside are never happy. I usually try to wait until either the drinks come or the outside person has just fallen asleep.

Because that’s the type of flyer I am. And I’ve been doing it for way too long.

And that’s why this is a hurry up blog.

But did you watch Downton Abbey-did you? Jeesh, Mary and Matthew-come ON!

So next week I promise to have some serious news, and probably some pictures out of the crap camera.

Guaranteed to be a little blurry, and slightly off color, but pictures none the less.

Happy Flying to Me!

SuperBowl VII

Or is it 8-no I think we decided that this year it was Superbowl Mystery quilt #7. I am a charter member of the Superbowl Mystery quilt club. Yes I am. I am trying to get Marcia to agree that at the 10th year anniversary of the Superbowl Mystery Quilt I should be given a loyalty gift of a new Bernina. Although, they’d be hard pressed to give me one I don’t already own. Maybe I should hold out for accessories.

Did I mention I do love a good Superbowl Mystery Quilt?

This year was no exception. The food was also delish. Just saying.

I went back into the archives to try to find some records of the previous quilts-

2008

2009

2010

  

2011

2012

See my reflection in my shiny Bernina? I don’t have a picture of the quilt yet-it is actually a small project which I hope to finish on Sunday. Then it will be duly presented in the blog.

So I am missing  a couple of years. I think, given more time, I can find them in the archives (really? I lost interest after 15 minutes-but they are there…somewhere)

It was also VIP last week. I was after the elusive picture of Marcia actually smiling or at least attempting to take a good picture.

It’s like trying to find Bigfoot. Or Nessie. It is next to impossible.

This is probably the best one. Plus I like the quilt.

 

This might be the best one-I have about 20 with closed eyes, frowny expressions, and blurry faces. Sigh. Maybe next time.

This is another cool thing. I think we are going to learn how to make it someday. I can’t wait.

Although, I have sort of decided to do smaller projects for a while. I have lots of big projects that need to be finished.

This week is Debbie’s and Cody’s birthdays. As I am on the way to Seattle next week, I can deliver Debbie’s, but alas Cody’s will be late. Oh well. He’ll be dining at the Wicked Spoon or some such place. So he can wait for a little present from Mommy.

I don’t have much more today. Been a long couple of weeks, with a long week coming up-but then vacation. And did I mention that I’ll be in Tacoma in time for Madrona? Can you say fiber-fest?

Will I need one suitcase? Or two?