Boston Celtics Trades

I'm just a basketball fan and don't follow the NBA religiously. But I really like the team chemistry of the Boston Celtics (at least as it appears outwardly. It may be totally different than it appears to us fans).

So I'm confused about the trades from yesterday. From looking at the sports analysts, I'm not the only one. This close to the playoffs, it doesn't make sense to make such drastic changes.

But I hope Danny Ainge is looking in his crystal ball and sees something for the future. Maybe it's one of those "this will hurt now, but will be better in the long run" deals.

Jack McDevitt

I love books about time travel, and this one was great. It had so many time travel loops going that it was mind-blowing.

The story is that Shel and his friend, Dave, journey through time in search of Shel's missing physicist-father.

The book's ending was wonderful, too. I was telling my kids about it the other day. We were discussing undiscovered literature and how would you know if you stumbled on a "new" play or manuscript by a famous author. And that's all I'll say so I don't give anything away.

Removable Wall Decals

My current project of interest is finding some kind of decoration for my great room. I'm interested in removable vinyl art, so I don't have to nail a gazillion holes in the wall.

I found these wall quotes at Kohl's, and I'm sure other places have them as well. I'd like to try them and see how they look over doors and over my sofa.

I'd also like to find a beach scene wall decal, maybe 3 feet by 3 feet for my bathroom. I've been scouring the search engines but haven't found yet. So I'll keep looking.

Slow Cooker

I've just recently learned how to cook with a slow cooker. I don't know why I didn't try it before. They are absolutely amazing!!

I'm not usually a very good cook. But with the slow cooker, the meat comes out fork tender every time.

I'm experimenting with sauces now. The other day, I used apple butter for a pork roast - Wow!! Today I'm trying peach preserves with bacon bits over pork chops. The kitchen smells heavenly. I can't wait to eat it.

Applebee's

Applebee's recently hosted a pancake breakfast fundraiser for our high school tennis team. We had so much fun!! We raised about $1200 total.

The staff was outstanding. They had tickets printed for us that we pre-sold. Then they supplied all the materials and food and cooked the pancakes. We had to serve, clean up, and make coffee.

The kids really enjoyed it (the adults did, too). It was a great team-builder as well as fundraiser The time flew by, and we all got to know each other better.

Thanks again to Applebee's!!

Ray Allen

Congratulations to Ray Allen on breaking the 3-point shooting record last night. It was pretty incredible that the fans kept cheering forever (well, a really long time).

When I was younger, I used to think that NBA basketball was too glitzy and too polished. That the athletes made it look almost too easy. I thought college basketball was much more fun.

Now that I'm older, I understand what fantastic athletes these NBA players are. What control they have and what mental toughness (a phrase used alot in tennis) to be able to hit clutch shots under pressure.

GoSave

If you use Facebook, you might have seen ads for GoSave that say, "Earn Points. Get Prizes. Wouldn't it be nice to actually win prizes from playing games? We think so too."

The blog says their goal is to "...combines fun games into your rewards and discounts, GoSave is more fun, GoSave is more competitive, and GoSave is more social."

The blog also says that "We are getting very close to launching the new GoSave and are excited to send invites out to all of you awesome dedicated fans."

So I requested an invite. This is my referral link above, so if you request an invite as well, I might get to play early. I'm excited since I love rewards programs, and I love playing games, and I definitely love winning prizes.

Fabric Origami

I finally tried making fabric origami boxes, and I was pleased with my first attempt.

These are fat quarter squares which I stiffened with Stiffy stiffener (kinda redundant). They got pretty hard, almost brittle, so I might try less the next time I do this.

I used a bone folding tool to crease the folds. I think the next time I will try my little Clover iron.

Zet Astrology Software

I've been a big fan of the Zet free astrology software for 5 or 6 years now. The first time I tried it was version 7, and it's now up to version 9.

The free versions allow you to run natal and predictive horoscopes, but you can only read them online. The print capability is disabled.

I've always gotten a kick out of reading my predictions. But I just tried the natal report for version 9 the other day, and I was blown away!! It was amazing how accurately it described me. (Of course, I won't tell you what it said...)

No Sew Tee Shirt Quilt

This is another project that I want to start, making a no sew tee shirt quilt. Over the years, I've collected a bunch of souvenir tee shirts. I thought it would be fun to make a quilt from them.

I bought these shirts in the picture for 50 cents each at Crafts 2000 to try a mock up first. I'm going to cut 15" x 15" squares from each and attach them using Stitch Witchery fusible webbing tape.

I'll take pictures as I go along so I can report on my progress. Plus I'll let you know what does and doesn't work and what adjustments I have to make.

Rug Clipping (Part 5)

This is an update on the progress of the rag rug that I've been working on for 2 years now. I finally finished the pattern so I know what it will look like when it's finished.

I still don't know exactly how many fabric strips of each color that I will need. But having the pattern finished gives me a somewhat better idea now.

I usually work on it during sports games to keep me from getting nervous and pacing the floor. I think I have enough work to take me through the NCAA basketball tournament and the NBA finals.