So, what do a bunch of geeks (and one feisty old lady) do on a sunny Saturday? Believe it or not, we all abandoned our homes full of various devices connected with Cat5e cable, and went to a quilt show.

The show in question was called “Four Score and Seven Quilts Ago,” and while a good portion of the quilts were newly constructed, using the very latest in quilting machines from Baby Lock (which, by the way, were seriously cool, and if I had $5,000 to spend on a sewing machine, one would have come home with me, just to “have”), many were also antiques, and others were made in memory of relatives who had been conductors on the underground railroad.

There was an informal debate among us all day, about whether or not using a computer to make a quilt was “cheating.” Ms. Feisty thought it was, the rest of us took milder stances, ultimately agreeing that it was the act of quilting, rather than the method, that was important, though I think we all have great respect for the women who did – and do – still hand-piece, and hand-sew all their squares.

In addition to a display of quilts, which ranged from the cute to the questionable, from the truly awesome to the incredibly frightening (orange and neon yellow in an “ugly fabric quilt”) – my favorite was a wholecloth quilt that was white on white and looked like the inside of an ornate tray ceiling – there were vendors, including a stall selling hand-painted batik. I bought my mother a collection of batik quilt squares with brightly colored fish, because she’ll appreciate it.

She wasn’t with me at the show, but she was very present in my mind when we were there.

Ms. Eclectic invited us to go along with her as she takes the Divine Ms. R to see a quilt show, which also happens to feature a Civil War Re-enactment Camp. I mentioned the latter to my mother on the phone yesterday, and then added that I’d never experienced such a thing from the perspective of the South. “What do they do,” she wondered. “Change the ending so they win?” We both laughed, but I have to admit that I’m still curious. Still, Ms. E is a history goddess, so it should be interesting to hear what she has to say.

When I told Fuzzy what we were doing, I presented his alternatives: paint the kitchen, install roller shades in the offices, and measure the carpet hallway for new carpet. Is it any wonder that he chose quilts and faux soldiers over that?

Still the kitchen must be painted, and the carpet replaced before May, when my parents are coming for a visit, or I’ll hear about it forever.

The roller shades may have to wait, but I still want them. The vertical blinds don’t give me the option of blocking just the TOP of the window, during the afternoon when the sun is slanting in, and my computer screen becomes unreadable.

As to the quilts, well, I love fiber arts, and I love quilts. I’m looking forward to this.

I’m not writing tonight.
My mouth hurts where I sliced the gum on a chip, and my head is hurting, and I’ve been at the computer too long either working on workstuff or playing scramble on facebook (the latter is addictive), and I think instead of writing, I’m going to go take a bath.

Yeah.

And then I’ll sleep.

Double yeah.

Bye.

We have the results of the heart workup, and the Z-Man has advanced heart disease (more advanced than they were expecting to find), as well as a stage six (of six) heart murmur. The chambers of his heart are significantly enlarged but he seems to be compensating. The vet wants us to keep him on the enalapril (ACE inhibitor) indefinitely, and we need to do blood draws to check kidney and liver function.

As well, he’s got dental issues. We went through the heart workup in part to determine if he CAN have the dental surgery to remove an abscessed molar that keeps swelling and oozing. (It’s OH so pretty.) The decision is that they’ll mask him rather than using injectable anesthetics, and monitor him closely, but they’re giving him a 50/50 chance of surviving the surgery. You can feel the murmur when you put your hand on his chest. It’s kind of creepy.

So, why do it, you may wonder? Because if we don’t the infection will linger, eventually spreading to his brain, and the tooth is causing him pain and discomfort.

And either way, our time with him is marked.

He’s not showing any real symptoms now that we’ve knocked his cough out. He’s a little slower, perhaps, and we’re lifting him onto the bed more, but he’s still feisty – picking on the big dogs across the fence, and growling at MissCleo when she tries to play too roughly.

We’re doing the dental stuff on Friday, February 15th.
I will probably be a basket case that day.

Got your attention? Super.

I’m all about pimping sites that I frequent, or that I think offer something beneficial to the community of folks who want to write, so let me tell you about The Novelette. This website features an ongoing novel about four women who aren’t all that unlike women you may know, and it’s updated in small chunks, about 500 words at a time. As they describe it on their site:

Four ongoing novelettes delivered in daily installments of about 500 words. Four women’s lives – Kitty, Joellen, Alva, and Isabel – unfold like a mystery story. If you like reading women’s stories, this serialized fiction is made to order.

In addition to that, they feature writing contests. The word counts are short, so that voters can read them in a single sitting – the max is 750 words – and each contest has a general theme. Last time it was babies. Right now, it’s travel.

Speaking of which, I’m a contestant! My submission is called “Rest-roominations,” (Yes, that’s a pun. Yes, puns are the lowest form of humor. Deal with it.) and you can read it here. Please visit – and vote for me.

You should also consider submitting your own piece.

Last night after my hair appointment and weekly book-buying extravaganza, we debated the options for dinner, finally ending up at Highlands of Arlington, where we were going to pick a restaurant until I said, “Let’s see what’s playing at Studio Movie Grill.” It was just after six, and there was a showing of National Treasure 2 at seven, so we decided to stick around, since it was a movie we both wanted to see.

We sat and read for about half an hour, until they opened the auditorium for us, and honestly, it was nice to spend some time together that didn’t involve one or more devices attached to fiber optic cables. We spend so many of our waking hours plugged in that being unplugged, awake, and out in public feels like a date, or a treat.

As for the movie, well, I would have happily skipped the Goofy trailer at the beginning, as I hate animation, and am not a particular fan of Disney characters, and I would have preferred previews for other films, but the feature was entertaining enough to keep me interested for the duration. Yes, it moves a bit slower than the first. Yes, some of the plot twists are preposterous and there were plot holes deeper than the grand canyon, but it’s fiction, and it’s fun, and the whole point of such movies is that you are supposed to suspend disbelief.

Nicholas Cage is showing his age a bit, but I still find him likable in parts like this. Helen Mirren, as Ben Gates mother rocked my world. I know she can do drama (The Queen) and darker comedy (Calendar Girls), and of course I’ve watched her in various PBS offerings forever, but she was pure delight in this adventure comedy, playing just the right notes, and doing a credible American accent.

If you haven’t seen this movie, and want something fun and lighthearted, I recommend it.
Goes well with a burger and a beer.

It may be 2:23 in the morning, but it’s still Friday night til I go to bed.

Today, I:
– wrote a thousand word article about health spending accounts for work, and didn’t even go batty from citing IRS codes.
– ate half of a mandarin chicken salad from Wendy’s, and then couldn’t eat any more, while watching the season two episode of Angel called “Darla.”
– wrote a 700+-word piece of flash-fiction and submitted it to the current writing contest at TheNovelette. I can’t post it anywhere public, but if you really want to read it, I’ll email the word doc.
– whined a lot about my head and ear hurting, took a long nap in the afternoon, and had a medicinal cinnamon dolce latte.
– spent a pleasant hour playing “fetch” with Fuzzy and Miss Cleo, who told us very clearly she wanted to play with the Special Toy in the Closet.
– watched the movie “Suburban Girl,” with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alec Baldwin. It was quirky, and charming, but not stellar.
– cuddled Zorro dog for twenty minutes, then accused him of smelling like an animal and threatened to bathe him.
– posted the new prompts for Cafe Writing.

So, what did YOU do today?

The February Project is open for submission at Cafe Writing. Follow this link to play along.

All are welcome.

CajunVegan tagged me to tell you seven weird things about me, but I’ve done this meme so many times, that I’m taking a leaf from her, and offering seven things I’ve never done. Get cozy in one of those comfy home theater chairs and dig into the popcorn. Here we go:

1. I’ve never gone swimming with sharks… but it’s something I really want to do. There’s a company based in San Diego that does five day cruises to Isla Guadalupe, just across the border in Mexico, with cage diving for photography purposes. It costs several thousand dollars, but the beer is free, and the white sharks are plentiful.
2. I’ve never ridden a roller coaster that goes upside down… and I never will. I like the old wooden coasters a lot, and the modern corkscrews are great fun, but I don’t do loops. When I was nine my mother dated a guy who designed coasters, and he explained the construction of the loop and it terrified me.
3. I’ve never lived on a boat… and I don’t really want to, for long, but there’s a B&B in Oakland and San Francisco that lets you overnight on a docked sailboat. And when we were considering a move to Portland several years ago, there was a docked houseboat that I quite liked.
4. I’ve never made a perfect hamburger… It’s a knack I just don’t have. Gourmet food I can cook. Diner food, I can’t. This is especially ironic since my cousins owned a diner in New Jersey.
5. I’ve never been to Italy… and it’s still on my list. I have family in Naples and Caserta I’ve never met. Somehow, I feel a stronger connection with France, even though I’ve not got a lick of French blood.
6. I’ve never been swimming in fresh water… Swimming pools don’t count as fresh water. Swimming pools contain pool water which is chemically unlike anything found in nature. Lakes and rivers do. I’ve never been in one higher than my knees. I learned to swim in the ocean, however. I’m all about the salt water.
7. I’ve never learned to ski… even though I lived in Colorado for seven years, in the mountains, not far from Loveland and Vail. I have, however, watched the Porsche rallies on the Georgetown reservoir, ice skated on same reservoir using a snow shovel as a sail, ice skated in an outdoor rink in Vail, and actually walked to school when there were more than two feet of snow on the ground, only to be greeted by a handwritten note, “No school. Buses can’t get through.” (This is why I refuse to ever live in a place with serious winter again. Ever.)

According to CajunVegan, I’m supposed to tag people. I don’t like tagging people. If this meme speaks to you, do it. If not, write something else.

We don’t often see geckos in January, but the little creatures must know instinctively what I have to go to Weather.com to find out: that it was cool, but not cold, and rainy all day, and as such it’s a lovely night for traipsing across the brick walls of my house in search of…whatever it is small reptiles and amphibians go in search of.

Thankfully, Miss Cleo didn’t see the gecko on the wall when I took her outside for “last call,” just a few moments ago, or she’d still be out there barking at it. Miss Cleo thinks geckos are a personal affront to her, encroaching upon her territory as they do. Miss Cleo is wrong, but you can’t always reason with a cocker/poodle/chi/staffy/thing. She saw a rodent climbing the fence and raced after it, but came back almost immediately, probably because it’s late and we’re all tired from weird sleep patterns.

I’m writing insurance content all this week, and it has me both bored silly and having odd connections. For example, a piece on term life insurance and death benefits made me remember the last few chapters of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

I think I will try to sleep now.