Procrastination

I've always stated that I am the QUEEN of procrastination. And I'm still convinced that I hold that title. Not only did I NOT finish my daughter's maternity dress yesterday as planned, but it is now 8:15 PM and I haven't started sewing on either that or the wedding gown as planned. Yea, I did a couple of chores around the house that needed done but that's not the point. I am going to re-set goals here, finish the maternity dress tonight - and work on the wedding gown on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. That way I'll still have it done by this weekend, and that's the ultimate goal, after all.

The reason I didn't sew yesterday as planned is because a friend G and I went to the local baseball game - and decided to leave earlier than originally planned. We got a great parking spot, and the game was very good. The weather cooperated too - it was a lovely evening to be sitting outside and enjoying the atmosphere of the baseball park. I met up with a couple of co-workers and their families, and that was nice, plus had a delicious ice cream cone. However, the real fun happened as we were walking back to our car. We took a short-cut through a parking lot and discovered, once we got to the end of that lot, that there was a railing and a 3-4 foot drop down to the next parking lot en route to the car. G climbed through the railing and jumped down. I fought the urge to turn around and walk the whole way back and go around the lot - and did the same thing! As I was crawling through the rails, my cell phone went off - so we were giggling to "Mama Mia" while I was jumping down the drop and then collecting our things from wall where we'd set them.

Happiness and joy - hmm. Well, I did enjoy having my daughter and son-in-law stop by to rescue me. I was attempting to install my own programmable thermostat - how hard can it be! I ran into one small hitch, tried calling the customer service number and got nowhere, so called in the family electrician instead. I still need to go over the programming but at least it's installed. It was great seeing them (and my growing grand-baby-to-be), chatted with them some about some new things going on in their lives, and planning some future things with them. It's truly a joy to see the two of them so happy with each other, things are going well for them and their growing family - I love both of them so much. Work was ok today - not too stressful and I did receive a couple of compliments from customer and one of my bosses on some work I had completed - so that's a good thing. The constant noise from "the other side of the wall" was still a problem, and I have no idea if and when any of that will ever change. So I'm trying hard to focus on changing ME and how I deal with it. But I'm not sure I'm winning that one.

I DID have a lovely chat with the attendant at the Costco gas pump when I went at lunchtime. That sounds like a small thing but I'll find a happy moment whenever I can.

Going off to do a few things, perhaps sew? More blogging soon, I promise.

Accountabililty and Joy

I've decided that I need to use this blog for something more than whining about my day. I enjoy reading sewing blogs online, so one thought was to do something in that line, partly to help me accomplish more and make me more accountable for my oh-s0-limited sewing time. However, I want to go one step further - and make it about finding joy. I'm working on some personal improvements and one of my "assignments" is to notice how much joy I experience each day. So, while I will continue to relate the strange tales of my life to provide humor to those who read, I am going to include a sewing blog, which is one of my true loves, as well as other experiences that have resulted in happiness for me. That said.... drumroll please......

Yesterday I made a big purchase - a Elna 344 serger. I've been using a practically-antique Pfaff 3-thread serger that I've had for close to 20 years, and it was used when I bought it! Technology has changed so much and the machine has gotten to the point of being practically unusable. Granted, if I spent a bunch of time tweaking the settings, I MIGHT be able to get it back to a decent overlock stitch. But that's all it is good for. Without the 4th thread, it does not sew a stable seam at all, so everything is a 2-step process (sew on the sewing machine, then serge on the serger). My new serger will eliminate that and allow me to sew and serge a the same time, offering a secure seam AND finished seam allowances. AND I can easily change to a flatlook stitch, and a rolled hem. I got a really good deal on this machine, too good to pass up, so I decided to go for it. I've unpacked and set up the machine in my sewing room, threaded and tested it, and I'm ready to go!

My current sewing project - and this is one that I intend to finish today - is a cute sun dress/jumper for my daughter (early maternity wear). I had it finished but needed to amke an adjustment in the fit of the top, have the side seams ripped out and just need to put it back together again and topstitch. So as soon as I finish emails (and blogs), and read the Sunday paper - I'm off to do that.

I have designated Monday evenings as "sewing night" for some time now, so I'm going to set my goal for tomorrow night's sewing project now. I have been asked by son #1's fiance to make a neckline alteration on her wedding gown (her mother's) and need to get that done. They will be here in town in a few weeks and that has to be the final fitting. I bought the lace I needed to finish the neckline, and have a game plan. So tomorrow I'm going to "do the deed". I have to admit that I'm a bit nervous about cutting into a wedding gown, but I need to get over that and move ahead. I will blog about that after I take a deep breath, pick up my scissors and .........

About joy - It's just slightly after noon but I have two moments of joy to report.

First, I went to church this morning, and sang as usual with the contemporary choir. I really enoyed a couple of the songs, and could tell that some members of the congreagation seemed to feel the same. Very nice.

Second - my daugher and son-in-law have just agreed to rent a house and plan to move in a couple of weeks. So after church, I took a drive to find the house and get a first-hand look at it. I had looked it up on Google maps, so knew how to get there from home, and found it to be a lovely and easy drive. Even with 1 minor wrong turn (I passed the turn but knew it immediately), it only took me about 20 minutes from home, not bad at all. I'm concerned about cell-phone coverage in the area so have to remember to ask them about that. But the house looks lovely, and I can picture them living there, and I know they will enjoy it. I can't wait to see the inside too.

More to follow. Until then - find JOY in your life.