Anyway, the check-in is a chance for the kids to let each of us know where they are at the moment. (Life is great.  I broke up with my boyfriend.  I failed my math test.  She loves me.  Etc.)  With my younger students, I do something called “Rose & Thorn.”  They can tell us one good thing — a rose– and one bad thing — a thorn.  Today,  my rose was life is going great.  I really have no complaints and at the moment am drama free.  We dyed Easter Eggs at work and I had a kick-ass sandwich from Crazy Subs.  A good hoagie can make everything okay. 

As far as my thorn is concerned, I discovered a most disturbing article on Jezebel at the beginning of the week.  Incidentally, Jezebel is my all time favorite blog that I love to decompress to.  Their byline is “Celebrity, Sex and Fashion for Women.  Without Airbrushing.”  It’s a riot, and for the most part is fodder for the brain.  However, occasionally, they have some pretty interesting articles.  Take for intstance, the fact that Joann’s Fabric Store is refusing to carry the latest issue of Quilter’s Home.  Now to be honest, I have never even heard of Quilter’s Home — I’m a Quilting Arts gal — but I couldn’t believe why they were censoring this magazine.

Just like the cover says, there was “controversial patchwork.”  According to the article, Quilter’s Home offered to wrap the issue in a brown bag — just like a girlie magazine– in order to protect all those naive crafters.  Hah!

So what did the quilts look like?  See for yourself:

This one is titled “Who Would Jesus Bomb?”

In my opinion, this was the most intense piece.  It is a response to the state flag of  Mississippi.  It definitely evokes some strong emotions.

Yeah, those little blue pills are Viagra.  If you look closer, you can see floating peni.  I think this one is hilarious!  What’s wrong with Joann’s?  If you want to check out the article, click here.

Finally, who’s to say crafting can’t be something more than eye candy?  These quilters have definitely given me something to think about.

While we have been busy working on shows and painting our room, we noticed this weekend that our yard is completely out of control. It is so bad, we have hawks circling above waiting to pluck the unsuspecting mice, marmots and bunnies from their hiding spots. Despite this, our bougainvillea is gorgeous.

Isn’t that color beautiful?

So I have lofty aspirations for our backyard. At Christmas time, I purchased this fabulous book:

Do you know Magnolia Pearl? I adore Robin Brown and all her beautiful creations. I discovered her quite a while ago in Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion and have been smitten ever since. Alas, her work is out of my price range, but it’s fun to imagine. She has a wonderful section in her book on outdoor living spaces. The possibilities are endless.

She and her partner built that gazebo. If you notice, the gate is an old iron head board. Awesome!

Wouldn’t it be decadent to have an outdoor bathtub? It reminds me of where a fairy would bathe.

I want the area off of our bedroom to look like the above. Okay Chucklebutt, get too it!

Here is another book I discovered recently–

It’s super cool and as soon as I actually start doing any housework, I’m sure it will come in handy. hahahahahahaha! (That’s probably what Chucklebutt is thinking.) Do you like the pretty dish rag? Oh yeah. I made it. How crafty is that? One of my residents taught me the pattern. It was the first complicated knitting piece I have ever done. Chuck always seemed to want to talk to me while I am counting. Go figure.

The lemon dust cloths sound really neat. We have dust like you wouldn’t believe out here in the desert. It’s out of control! Chuck hates Pledge and always pitches a fit when I use it. (He’s a bit melodramatic and launches into coughing fits.) The lemon/vinegar concoction sounds like a great alternative minus the chemicals.

Here are some more rags that I have been working on. The ladies at work introduced me to Sugar ‘n Cream. I love this yarn. You can bet that all my friends and family are going to be receiving pretty dish cloths in the mail.

Every Friday at 10am, a group of us get together to work on different projects. I’m also learning to quilt. Thank you Vera for all your patience and time!

I’ve had these little girl dresses for a few years and was waiting for just the right project. Once I learned the hexagon pattern, I took my seam ripper to the dresses and got to sewing. I’m sure this is going to be a long term project.

This was taken after a long day of painting. We were pooped. So too was Daisy — but then again, she’s always pooped.

And finally, we have one lone bloom hanging on to the Christmas cactus. So pretty.