Saturday Wrap-Up

The past couple of days have been interesting. Let's see - on Thursday, I went to lunch with my former boss and had yummy Mexican food. We've been trying to get this lunch in since - let me think - last winter, perhaps? Afterwards, I wandered over to Atlanta Sewing Center and bought a new foot pedal for the Bernina. It will be so nice to be able to sew on a good machine again! I have only used the Golden Touch and Sew (circa 1972) for emergencies and it's really not running well. It will be nice to retire it again and let it sleep in the dark recesses of the sewing machine cabinet until we need to resuscitate it once more.

The new foot pedal is much more sleek and compact than the old, clunky one (which was about twenty years old). Considering I've had this machine since about 1987 and the death of the foot pedal is the first problem I've ever had with it, I'd say my $500 investment has paid off big time.

I've decided to tweak the scarf pattern a little bit and hope to use it as a prototype for some Etsy offerings. Watch for an announcement when I'm up and running with that project. Also, check out my stats on Knit Wars - I'm up to a level four Shaman already - totally cool!

Yesterday, most of the gang went to lunch with Grampa to celebrate Squirrel's 22nd birthday. Here's a picture for your enjoyment:

Here's the birthday girl exiting through the famous red door of the Dwarf House in Duluth.

And here are the squirrel pajamas I gave her.

Changing gears, I would like to point out something we considered absurd today whilst hanging out at ye olde Mall O'Georgia. I wish I had taken my camera to illustrate but let me attempt to draw you a virtual picture. Outside the mall, there is a fountain which is often inundated with small children in the searing summer Georgia heat. There is no wading pool, just geysers of water with a walkway that goes through the middle. Kids run in and out, splashing wildly, which amuses those of us who are not daring enough to make fools of ourselves (even though we are secretly wishing we could cool off similarly).

Now, picture a lovely autumn day without said children running around. Things are peaceful and calm but your eyes are drawn to a nearby sign which reads...No Lifeguard On Duty. Okay, folks, are we really talking about a drowning hazard here? And, let's face it, if a child slips and falls is this any different from the possibility of doing the same thing should the floor in the mall be wet? On rainy days when people are tracking water into the mall, should there also be a sign saying the lifeguard still isn't on duty?

Perhaps we have warped senses of humour...okay, I will admit that we definitely have warped senses of humour...but still...several of us thought this was a tad bizarre.

Here's one last picture in front of the Dwarf House, one of my mom's favourite places to eat with the kids.