Ten things (posted by Ann)

This is what happens when I save up posting waiting on my sister. (hint, hint) Brace yourself.

1) Sofas. It was quite an adventure picking them up, it snowed for a week solid which ruled out getting them in our pickup so we had to rent a U-Haul truck and drive downtown to get them. That was the better part of a Saturday, but they're here now and aren't they cute? I have fabric swatches that I'm trying to decide on, and trying to hurry since Calico Corners is having a fabric sale and I need to decide before it's over.

2) Knitting. The second of the purple socks is coming along. I love these socks, but I'm ready to be done. I have a knitting injury which is cramping my style, so I may need to switch to crochet, needlepoint, or crewel for a while to let it heal. It's a repetetive stress injury in my left elbow, and if I knit too long it's really bad. That is potentially a problem for the gift knitting I've been referring too. It may be a gift for another occasion than the birthday I originally envisioned!

3) Spring is really coming! because the redwing blackbirds are here. They are the first birds to arrive, and I await them eagerly. I even have the guys looking out for them (Don calls them stick birds because they perch on the reeds). Don spotted them this past weekend, so even though I didn't see any this morning I am ready to believe it. Also, I got the e-mail looking for volunteers to bring the boats down from winter storage and was the first to sign up. Love, love, love being the first to sail in the spring and the last in the fall, even though it isn't always great sailing and is always Really Cold.

4) Hilary. Our friend's daughter who tried out for DePaul got the call back. Out of 410 original applicants, they are down to 40 and she's in so far. There are 24 slots for the fall, so we're all keeping our fingers crossed. Here she is with our GeoMags, which were the hit for the weekend.

5) New housekeeper started, and she came back for the second week. Cross your fingers for me.

6) Travel. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and London this time around, and good meetings all places. I'm getting pretty good at navigating around and knowing where to take the train or the Tube. I got Steve a T-shirt that says "Mind the Gap" which is what the automated voice on the Tube says whenever you get to a stop. That's Brit-speak for "don't fall into the hole between the platform and the train". No pictures this time, I tried to get one of the sheep or the windmills out the train window but every time I tried I got a reflection, or distant black spots that were sheep, or something got in the way.

7) The girls weekend was good. I went to a friend's vacation home for the weekend with 5 women from work and had a blast. We drank, I cooked, we ate, I cooked more, we ate more, and we went to a spa where I had a pedicure and a massage. Then we went out to eat and have more to drink. Here is a picture to go with the theme.

8) Gucci. I fell in love, and I had to have them, even though they are the most expensive shoes I've ever purchased. I kept seeing the most awesome boots in Rotterdam and in London, which were great but didn't have really high heels, so I had to get a pair. Here is the full experience, starting with the shopping bag. I think I may need some new clothes to go with, and I'm fretting about matching the red though everyone is assuring me that red is neutral so I should just wear what I'm wearing, and let the boots speak for themselves.

9) Don is on the road for two weeks straight, and I saw him for two hours at the airport on Sunday before he headed off for New Jersey and I went home. I can't complain about missing him, since I went to girls' weekend instead of coming home, but I sure feel like whining. Maybe if I do it quietly he won't notice.

10) Steve is running again, and is happy about that. We're going to college night at the high school tonight to get some idea about how we should approach this whole thing. Wish me luck.

That's all, folks!