Rambling, Near Philadelphia

When the kids were little, someone gave one of them an "executive teddy bear." He was dressed in a pinstripe suit and when one pulled the ring-on-a-string affixed to his back, he would utter something positive and reinforcing. The idea was fine, I guess, but early in his life, the random message feature got stuck so that anytime the ring was pulled, he'd intone, "You're a winner! Teddy knows!" And for unknown reasons, that awful phrase got stuck in my brain.

A recent giveaway offer made a truth-teller out of Teddy once again. Emily, over at Crazy Old Ladies, was giving away a copy of her new book, "Geared for Guys." And I won! Given the offer of a pdf or paper copy, I opted for the former and it was in my mailbox in minutes! Now it is printed and in a binder, to wait for me to have the opportunity to make one of its terrific quilts for one of the terrific guys in my life. Thank you, Emily!

Life has been hectic Near Philadelphia of late. Family commitments, craziness at work, overscheduling, houseguests, travel . . . . all combined have taken a bit of a toll on my sewing time and hence my peace of mind. In addition to the little CW blocks, I'm working on a project that must remain secret until December 26. And dreaming of working on some other projects. In an attempt at self care, I resigned from a monthly commitment that had become frustrating and time-consuming and returned to Weight Watchers. Hoping next week to return to working out with Mike!