Lots of This and That - And Yet One More Giveaway!

I'm back! The trip was great. So much nicer to fly direct for 1 hour and 40 minutes than to drive for 11+ hours. And now that I fit into an airline seat so much better these days, it's not even too uncomfortable especially since I lucked into an aisle seat each way.

My mom picked me up at the Norfolk airport on Friday. By the time we got to her house (near Williamsburg), Tyler was already at my sister's house (near Richmond) and working on replacing the transmission and clutch in his new-to-him car. By the time mom and I got to my sister's Saturday morning, the car work was done and so we all just hung out for lunch and dinner. 

My mom left after dinner and my sister, her husband, Tyler and I hit the town. OK, we hit one place, but it's a nice one. The Tobacco Company in downtown Richmond/Shockoe Slip. There we had some cocktails (not sayin' how many!), listened to a live band, and people-watched.

Marty & Lisa Feeling No Pain

Tyler, Also Feeling Very Little Pain

Sunday, we all headed back to mom's for some boat time for the oldsters and tubing for the Marine.

Now You See Him …

… Now You Don't!

Shark Bait

Tyler and Marty manned the fishing poles and caught about 30 croakers, most of which were thrown back but 5 or 6 were keepers for dinner.

Not a bad sized fish

I did manage to get some sewing time in over the weekend. First, Tyler arrived in Virginia with 8 pairs of work coveralls — 4 worn pairs which needed old unit/name insignia Velcro removed and 4 new pairs which were the recipients of the re-used Velcro. Plus, I had to sew all the new pockets shut (for safety around jet engines) and remove all the beltloops. They may move out and join the Marine Corps, but they still always want sewing repairs! Honestly, I was happy to do it for him and feel like mom again. And he had warned me before the trip so I was prepared with my favorite seam ripper and the right color thread.

Then on Monday, I gave my mom her serger lessons so she could finally use the new serger that's been collecting dust for over a year now. In addition to basic serger functions, I taught her how to thread it both from scratch and tying on. And then I cut the threads and laughed as she panicked. ;-) But she did fine. We had a refresher a couple of hours later to be sure she really did get it, and she did.

(Speaking of projects and being "needed," my sister also sent me home with 4 more shirts to embroider for her husband's towing business.The first ones were a very big hit!)

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Today, it was back to normal and running some errands. Here's what I wore, both refashioned RTW pieces. The skirt is now too big and I'm not ready to give it up, so I'm going to rip it apart yet again down the back and take it in some more. This time, I'll need to move the back pockets since they will be touching if I don't.It's worth it, though, since I have been LIVING in this skirt.

Ignore the belly and look at how much room is in the waist.
The skirt now nearly falls down before the day is over.

While I had the tripod out, it was time to document the green jeans again. They're still tight, but I can now zip them up which means that while the belly is slow to disappear, it is getting smaller. Yay!

On the left below is what they looked like on me a month ago (the pic on the right is when they were new in 2004).

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Before I left, I thought I had two more Giveaway winners to announce but it was actually only one — the winner of the Fabric.com $35 Gift Card. And the winner is …

Congratulations Mareenchen! Please contact me at djc at cedesign dot com by Monday, August 8, 2011. If I don't hear from you by then, I will pick another winner for this prize.

All other prizes have been claimed and will be mailed by Friday.

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Finally, one last Giveaway for a while. This one was popular the first time and I have more jars than I can use before they get stale so I'm sharing again. Twelve new bottles of organic spices (2 of Oregano, but the others are all different). This Giveaway will be fast and I'll pick from a random number on Saturday, August 6, 2011. If you want to be entered, leave a commment by Friday night.

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Parting Shot: Tyler is off to Yuma AZ for training this week with live ordnance (bombs). His shop mates have a little "initiation" for the newbies, which involves clippers and creative hairstyles. Here's the result. (What's with that scary Full Metal Jacket face?)