Monday, March 19, 2012

I'm still here!

I've just been busy.  Unfortunately, I haven't been the kind of busy that produces pretty pictures.  I've been:

- playing basketball.  Yes, I am just 5 ft tall and no, I've never played basketball before, but I decided it was time the Hutchinson men cheered me on. So I put together an intramural basketball team of women faculty and staff, and we've been whupping up on the sorority girls half our age.  What fun!  We are three games in and undefeated.  I've scored in every game, and last night I even hit a 3 pointer!  I didn't even realize I could throw the ball that far!

- building a chicken tractor.  Have you ever heard that term before?  It is basically a moveable chicken coop.  My kids have been begging for chickens for over a year, and I'm partial to free range eggs, so this weekend I sketched out a plan and we got started.  There are a ton of different types of chicken tractors out there, but the one I sketched out (based on my limited abilities and the materials I had on hand) looks most like this one:
Hopefully we'll have half a dozen chicks by this time next week. 

- reading.  Well, re-reading actually.  I had forgotten how much I love Earlene Fowler's Benni Harper mysteries.  I started at the beginning, and I'm on book 5, Dove in the Window, right now.  Oh how I wish there were a new book in that series on the horizon!

- quilting.  I'm still hand quilting the Charm baby quilt, but the progress is slow, as usual, and I don't want to bore you with more photos of the same old thing.  The same goes for the lap quilt made from bits of my Great Great Grandmother's salvaged quilt - I have just two borders left to sew on, but you've seen that quilt so many times already.

- mining the thrift stores.  I seriously have a problem passing up pretty pillowcases when I see them.  I bought 6 more this weekend, and made myself an apron to wear at the two fairs/events where I'll have a booth this year.  I finished at midnight last night, so no photos now, but when you've seen one apron made from upcycled pillowcases, you've seen them all, right?

- leading my Cub Scouts (of course!).  This weekend was the Pinewood Derby at our Pack Meeting.  We Tigers lead the opening using Sign Language we had learned to ask everyone to join us in the Pledge of Allegiance.  Then, those wonderful little Tigers of mine sat still and behaved throughout the whole Pinewood Derby, bringing the Den of the Month honors home to us for the month.  They are such good little doobies!

So, I haven't been idle, but I haven't been doing anything that really warranted sharing, either.  I need to do something exciting so I can put some eye candy up on here.