One Knee Down and One to Go

Well the surgery on my right knee went very well. I was up and walking around the next day. The relief was immediate, which was an unexpected bonus. It had gotten difficult to walk, especially on a rolling cruise ship. Surgery on the left knee is June 2nd. With any luck I will be back playing tennis by the end of July. I am hoping to get in a few rounds of disc golf this long weekend.

Happy Memorial Day!

Off to the Caribbean!

Good News and Bad News - I'm heading off for a 7 Day Eastern Caribbean cruise on Carnival Liberty. Unfortunately when I get back I will have my right knee scoped. When that one is healed I get to have the other one done too.

So I am going to think about sitting under a palm tree in St. Thomas and drinking some fun rum drink with an umbrella in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I will be going with some of my dearest girlfriends. We have know each other since first grade.

Purple Pizzazz has arrived Down Under

I am so pleased that the 4 Season Quilt Swap quilt that I sent to Australia arrived in just 7 days. Now I can show it off. It measures about 18in x 21in.

Dallas Guild Show Mini

Despite some health issues lately, I have been able to get some quilting done. I finished a mini quilt for the Dallas Guild's Mini Auction. The auction was a success for a great cause. The profits from the auction went to the local Ronald McDonald's House. I had volunteered at the membership table which was next to the auction. The bidding was quite lively.


My quilt was made using 9-patches left over from my Four Season Swap 5 quilt.

I also finished my monochromatic 4 Season Swap quilt. I am pleased with how it turned out. I will post a photo when its new owner receives it.

A Wonderful Surprise In The Mail

When I came home today my Four Season Swap 5 quilt was waiting for me. I love it! Lots of lovely purples. The quilt was to be monochromatic and represent a season. When I took the quilt out of the package I set it against a pillow on the couch to admire it. Immediately Pearl materialized (how do cats do that?) and settled in. Instant approval.


The quilt was made by the Quilting Pirate, Toni. Thank you so much - I am thrilled with my new quilt.

MS Walk Dallas - Please Donate

It’s that time of the year again – the MS Walk. Perhaps this year you would like to join in the fun. The Dallas Walk is Saturday March 28th at the Addison Circle Park. To participate in the walk with my team, The Gladiators, follow the link Sign up. In just one Saturday morning you can make a difference in a lot of people’s lives. Money raised by these walks and 150 bike rides goes to fund research for a cure. If you don’t want to walk you can still help by donating to the National MS Society through my donation page.

Thank you for your support in the past. I hope that you will join be again this year in the fight against MS.

Catching Up With The Tour Of California

While I was away and without access to Versus I missed the first Cancellara sighting of the season. He won the Prologue, but had to drop out the next day due to illness.

On a nasty cold windy rainy day Mr. Luckybears's favorite rider Francisco Mancebo won Stage 1. It was a courageous ride breaking away just 8 miles into the race.


Currently Levi Leipheimer and the Astana team have taken control. I'm looking forward to the time trial tomorrow. We'll see what kind of shape Lance is in.


(L-R) Gregory Rast of Switzerland, Lance Armstrong of USA, Levi Leipheimer of USA, all riding for Astana, and Jens Voigt of Germany, riding for Saxo Bank, compete in Stage 5 (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

A Good Weekend

I have been working diligently on my Four Seasons Swap quilt. I have finished the top and it is currently a quilt sandwich. I really like the way it came together (picture to follow once swap partner receives her quilt). There are several color combinations of nine patches. The first set I created just didn't play well with the other sets. I made 3 or 4 samples of the first set until I came across just the right light material. I want my partner to really enjoy the quilt so it was worth the extra effort. I will start on the quilting when I return home from my vacation.

Tomorrow I leave to meet up with my brother (DB) and nephew (DN) in Orlando. We will be visiting Universal, Sea World, and Busch Gardens. I am looking forward to a good visit with DB & DN. Hopefully there will be some time spent by the pool catching up on reading. I have been reading the Benni Harper mystery series. The books titles are quilt blocks (Sunshine and Shadow, Steps to the Altar, etc..) I have enjoyed seeing the author develop the characters into interesting people. Funny thing - I can't decide if I like the main character Benni or not. I'll have to keep reading to decide. :)

More Quilting

It was a cold weekend here in Dallas. No disc golf, tennis or bike riding. That left lots of time for chores, but also time for quilting! I finished Block 8 from the Star BOM. Wahoo - I've caught up. I also made good progress on my Four Season quilt. It was hard to settle on a design that was monochromatic AND represents a season. I kept coming up with an idea that fit one category, but not the other. I've designed a miniature 9 Patch Pizazz quilt. The focus fabric is a lovely spring floral. It's a bit of a challenge to create it with one color, but I like the progress so far.


Block 8

There Has Been Quilting

My recent blog entries might lead one to think that I have abandoned quilting in favor of obsessing over the Eagles. However I have been working on several different projects. At the top of the list were the last 3 blocks in Judy Laquidara to catch up before we start again the first of February. I've finished block 9 and 10. Block 8 is cut out and waiting to be finished.


Block 9


Block 10

We have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

Today is a day I have been waiting for some time. President Obama was a candidate I could truly get behind and support. His message of hope and optimism that we can overcome our current problems and once again be a shining beacon to the world does not ring hollow. For all of his talk of hope, he seems like a very pragmatic person. His speeches are uplifting, but also give some thoughts as to how we can get there. We are all in this together, so we need to work together to solve our problems.

Like many people I watched the inauguration on the internet from work. I had to wipe away not a few tears of joy several times. Reverend Lowery’s Benediction was a perfect ending.

“Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.”

Maybe Next Year

Now that I have stopped sulking quite so bad, I can hope that next year the Eagles will make it to the Super Bowl. It was a fun run in the playoffs.

One shining bright spot of the season was rookie WR DeSean Jackson. He makes this catch and dances into the end zone. An added bonus - I drafted him in the last round this year in my (keeper) fantasy league.

Look Out Cards - Here Come The Eaqles!

Donovan McNabb stretches the ball over the goal line to score the game's first touchdown. (Eric Mencher/Staff Photographer)

A win against the hated Giants at any time is great, but in the playoffs - sweet!. As expected it was a defensive battle. Philly's D came up big. The offense played well enough to win. Yardage was tough to come by in the face of the Giant's D, but the Eagles looked poised and confident. It's on to play the Cardinals in Arizona.

Bring On The Giants!

Another win from the Eagles. Next up the Giants. This will be a tough game as the teams know each other so well. Fly Eagles Fly!

A Great Weekend

I've been watching to much HGTV. They make it look so easy and fast to paint a room, that I decided to paint our bedroom while Mr. Luckybear was out of town. I had bought a new green comforter a while back, which meant the vibrant blue wall color had to go. I couldn't decide what color would work best with our furniture. Saturday afternoon I decided it would be a chocolate brown. After an afternoon of prep work - they don't show that on TV - I started painting Sunday morning.

Time was lost in the afternoon cheering on Oakland to beat Tampa Bay and the Texans to beat Chicago. Amazingly this all happened and the Eagles and Cowboys game really meant something. The Eagles were amazing; crushing the Cowboys hopes and dreams by the score of 44-6. On to Minnesota next Sunday.


Back to painting. I finished up around midnight. The room looks great. The dark color makes the room looks larger. Mr. Luckybear was really surprised and pleased with the result. He is still sulking with regards to the Cowboys season though.

Its Almost Christmas

Now that my shopping is done and shipped out, I have been enjoying the holiday season. Our tree turned out pretty this year. The girls have had a good time hiding under the tree amongst the presents, waiting to pounce on one of the other kitties or each other.


My Santa collection


Our tree in red & white

A-12 Framed Fancy

Saturday was our December Dear Jane quilt meeting. It was a lively meeting as we tasted the goodies we brought with us. The shop, Quilter's Connection, was having a year end sale, so there was a little shopping too. We even worked on our quilts. I finished A-12 Framed Fancy.

Star BOM - Blocks 5, 6 and 7

Finally some quilting time. I had fallen way behind on my Star BOM blocks. I am pleased that I have kept up with this project as I am not too crazy about my fabric choices. They looked good together at the quilt store, but now that I am piecing them together in the Stars, the oranges are not right. However I love the Star patterns so I'm going to keep moving forward. I still have blocks 8, 9,and 10 to catch up but I have until the first of February when block 11 comes out.

Myra's New Friends

Through our front window

Four Seasons Quilt Swap

Once again the amazing Margaret is hosting a swap. This session sounds very intriguing and challenging. The finished quilt will be monochromatic using a season as the theme. You get to pick the color and season. Sounds like fun, so I have requested to join in. Come be part of the fun - Four Seasons Quilt Swap.