Rainy Days and Mondays....

It's Monday, and it's raining. I'm not complaining, as we've had some glorious, crisp, sunny fall days ... more than our share, I'd say. October in Michigan can often be very wet and dreary, but this year has been spectacular.

I had to work most of the weekend, so didn't get much sewing done. To keep myself motivated though, I'd work for an hour or two, then give myself a 10 minute sewing break. Three of those and I had completed another table runner from my Pumpkins Gone Wild charm pack, which I'll give to my daughter-in-law when it's quilted.

Honey and I also gave the kitchen a good cleaning and packed up my china and stemware to make more room in the cupboards. I love china and crystal and have quite a bit of it. We only use it a half dozen times a year though, and it takes up a lot of space in the kitchen that could be put to better use. I bought some quilted cases to store it in and we tucked it away in a bedroom closet, where it's out of the way, but not too difficult to get to when I want to use it.

The Wonder Child came home yesterday. His birthday was last week, and we sent him a card and a gift, but since he was home, I baked him a birthday cake and he got to choose Sunday dinner. He wanted steak (big surprise!!) We had a couple of New York strips in the freezer, Honey grilled them up and I made sour cream and chive mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli to go with it.

So, I didn't work ALL weekend ... but I put in a looooong day yesterday and today I'm feeling it!!

I joined a couple of online swaps and today I got my Spare Change Swap fabrics ready for mailing. Since I'm just back to quilting, I don't have much in the way of stash yet, so I bought a Charm Pack to use for this swap. I like the fabrics and the good part is, I have half of the pack left to use myself!! I see another mini-quilt in my future!!

When I went in the sewing room the get the package ready for mailing, I found Maggie in her new favorite place.

She likes to relax on my work table because she can see out the window, and she likes curling up on soft cuddly things. She's so funny. She loves to be petted and rubbed, but she won't let anybody hold her, except Big Guy, who rubs her all over and puts her into a trance of some sort. She was just a tiny little thing when we got her, less than 1/2 a pound, and sickly. She spent the first few weeks we had her in a kitty cuddler with a heating pad next to my desk, or curled up on my lap while I worked. She got over her "failure to thrive" but she has a few quirks that I think are a result of her rough start in life.

She decided that she wanted to play while I was trying to gather my swap package together. I had to give her a piece of ribbon of her very own to play with so she'd leave me alone!!

I have a busy day of work today too, but the sewing break idea was a good way to keep me motivated!! My reward for working hard!! It's better than nothing!!