Apparently, Blogger Thinks It's None of My Business

It's good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things that money can't buy.
–George Horace Lorimer

Thank you to everyone who voted in the poll two weeks ago about how much sleep you need. I was really surprised to find that the nearly half of the votes were for 8 hours. I wonder if that is because that's how much sleep the “experts” recommend, and we've had that drilled into our brain so that's what we think we need. Or if that is what we really need. I voted for 8 hours, but how I love to get 9 or 10. Of course, those are precious hours and giving them up to sleep is a hard choice. To the two who voted for 5 hours of sleep, please teach me !

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Last week, I wasn't able to get my poll to post. The poll gadget still isn't working this week, so I'm going to take it as a sign from the universe that it is time to retire the "I Must Ask . . ." series. It really isn't any fun without a poll to go with the question {not to mention frustrating for me} and I'm not sure if or when the poll gadget will be working again. I'm sure I could do a little digging, but I think for now this is the last question I must ask.

The other week, I stopped by the bank to deposit a check. If I had been thinking at all, I would have gone inside the bank because the drive-through at this particular branch is horrible. The service is SO slow and the setup is ridiculous. There are two lanes, each with two teller terminals, one behind the other. I've been trapped in this drive-up for an inconvenient amount of time more than once. The worst was when I was stuck behind someone who wanted a cashier's check {at the drive-up!}. On that particular day the teller finished my transaction first {a simple deposit, which was ready when I pulled up} and I sat there for 15 minutes waiting for the lane to clear. If you're at the second teller terminal in either lane, there is no escaping because all incoming traffic is funneled down to a one-lane queue behind you and when a teller lane clears, the first two cars in the queue can advance to the open terminals, one behind the other. You just have to wait until the person in front of you is finished because there's no way around and no backing out.

But I digress. Today is not the day to rant about the shortcomings of my bank's drive-through. I mention it because I was at the head of the queue waiting for a lane to open up, glad to have a smart phone with a Facebook app {what part of "please have your transaction ready" is difficult to understand?}. While I was waiting, a woman shuffled up to my passenger side and motioned for me to roll down the window. She asked if I had any cash as she was trying to get something to eat. I had $3.00 in my wallet, which I gave her. Had she caught me on my way out of the drive-through, I probably would have given her a ten.

For the most part, I use a card to pay for purchases. But I like to carry a little mad money, you know, just in case. At any given time, I have no more than $20 in my wallet, which seems like a huge amount to me. At the moment, I think I have like 79₵, which isn't really enough for anything. $10 is my cash comfort level, but I don't stress if I'm down to a few coins. I don't like having a lot of money in my wallet anyway, because then I'll just spend it and wonder where it went.

I know that not everyone is cash conservative. Mr. Bug likes to have a stash of cash. A long time ago, I had a boss who carried a money clip full of large bills, always. And once upon a time, I had a boyfriend who was paranoid that when he went to make a purchase of any kind he'd get to the register and not have enough cash, so he carried superfluous amounts. I learned growing up that every penny counts, so I used to write checks for everything so I could keep close tabs on what I spent. I only write a few checks nowadays. I mostly use a card, and those purchases are even more easily tracked than checks because I don't have to write anything down; I can just check on-line and balance it out in my spreadsheet.

I've told you how much money I like to carry. I wondered if asking about pocket money was OK for "polite conversation." I'm pretty sure that Blogger thinks it is none of my business. It's the only explanation for the poll gadget to be out of order for two weeks in a row. But kosher or not, I must ask . . . what's in your wallet? If you want to participate this week you'll have to leave a pocket change/mad money comment and I guess we'll find out if it really is none of my business . You can round to the nearest dollar or declare the exact amount. Anything more than $50 is above my pay grade, so if you carry more than that . . . well . . . just say $50+ and I'll assume that means $50, three pennies, two nickels and a dime.

I Must Ask . . . How Much Sleep Do You Need?

Sleep is perverse as human nature,

Sleep is perverse as legislature....

So people who go to bed to sleep

Must count French premiers or sheep,

And people who ought to arise from bed

Yawn and go back to sleep instead.

–Ogden Nash, Read This Vibrant Exposé

It's been a couple of weeks since I asked, but I want to thank everyone who offered up a prayer or sent good thoughts to those who've lost homes in the fires that are going on in the Western US. I hoped to have my quilt for Phoenix Quilts finished to show you. But it's summer and I'm taking life a slightly slower pace than usual, enjoying the moments that count. I've got just over half the quilting finished, and it was exactly as scary as I thought it would be and also exactly as uneven and not perfect as I thought it would be. But as I knew it would, it got easier after the first stitch and I'm enjoying the learning experience. Here's how I left it on Tuesday evening. My goal is to finish it on Saturday and get it in the mail on Monday.

I had a little trouble falling asleep last night. I'm actually doing a lot better than I used to with being able to fall asleep quickly and doing my sleeping at night and being awake during the day. But last night I was awake until 2:00 am. I think it had something to do with the migraine I enjoyed today . In any case, when I rolled out of bed at 8:00 this morning, my first thought was six hours is not enough. The last couple of weeks, I've been going to bed pretty early {for me} , and since it is summer, I've been able to get away with 10 hours of sleep and still be up and going at a respectable time in the morning. I love it and wish I could get that much sleep every night. I would have climbed right back into bed this morning, but Grasshopper had violin lessons at 9:00 and we had plans to go swimming right after that.

That's when I decided that I must ask . . . how much sleep do you need? Then I remembered I had two other questions I want to ask, and have debated back and forth all day which way to go. But I'm going with the sleep question because it's what's on my mind right now and the other two will keep. I suppose that you should vote for how much sleep is healthy for you, rather than how much sleep you'd really like. I've been getting by on 6 or 7 hours a night for the last two or three years. It is not enough. I really need eight, and I'm working on giving myself that because it is healthy. It it hard to quiet that voice in the back of my head that says stay up just a little bit more and get something else done. You'll be tired in the morning anyway, so what does a few minutes more matter now? But I'm working on it. It would be lovely to have 10 hours of sleep, if only there were about 18 waking hours each day. I guess I'll have to settle for 8 hours of sleep and 16 waking hours. Vote for your required amount of sleep and then tell your sleep "wish" amount in the comments.

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While I was debating about which of three questions to ask today, a fourth question came to mind. I decided to ask that question today as well, but it is unofficial. Yesterday I bought a new swimming suit. It is a cute suit, but a little on the boring side in the color department; black with a grey and white print. Today, we went swimming and I have to admit I was a little jealous of all of the pretty prints on the other suits there. I've considered making myself a swimming suit every time I shop for a new one, but making swimming suits {and jeans} are my least favorite kinds of garment construction. I've done both and it takes a lot to get them to come out right. Part of the problem is that the patterns are . . . well . . . not really what they say they are. And working with Lycra or spandex is always an adventure. But perhaps I can use this new suit to make a pattern, because I really like the cut, fit and style, and if I can find some pretty fabrics, I can make the perfect suit.

I mentioned yesterday that I would never post a photo of myself in a bathing suit. Ever. I'm not the shape I used to be and it has been hard to get used to. Making peace with what is and finding ways to feel beautiful even though I'm less than perfect has been a pet project of mine. When you shop for shoes, you don't blame your foot if the shoe doesn't fit right or doesn't look good. You blame the shoe. Buying clothes should be the same way. But there is a tendency to blame our bodies when the clothes don't look right. The trick is to take the emotion out of it and realize that it is the clothing that doesn't work and not your body. I have to remind myself of this a lot. And I have to remember that it's not what's on the outside that makes me beautiful, although I do have some nice features. My eyebrows, for instance, are zero maintenance. No plucking, no sculpting, and they are completely awesome. I also have really nice legs {below the knee, which is all you'll ever see of them, unless you stalk me at the pool, and even then the skirt on my granny suit does a pretty good job of covering most of what I don't like to show} and ankles. And I love that I have blue eyes {thanks, dad}. As to the character traits that make me beautiful, well, I think that loyalty is a pretty good one.

I must ask . . . what makes you beautiful? As I mentioned, this question is unofficial, but I'd love to hear what you have to say if you're comfortable with that, and if you'd rather not share I understand. Take a minute and seriously consider the positive about yourself. Don't let that negative voice talk you out of believing that there is beauty in you. Tell it to be quiet and find the voice that tells you what makes you special.


Available for purchase from The Piano Guys or on iTunes.

You're insecure
Don't know what for
You're turning heads when you walk through the door
Don't need make up
To cover up
Being the way that you are is enough

Everyone else in the room can see it
Everyone else but you

Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell
You don't know
Oh Oh
You don't know you're beautiful

If only you saw what I can see
You'll understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe
You don't know
Oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful
Oh oh
That what makes you beautiful
–What Makes You Beautiful, lyrics by Rami Yacoubm, Carl Falk and Savan Kotecha, performed by One Direction

I Must Ask . . . For A Prayer

The world has need of helping hands,

And hearts that know and feel.

The work to do is here for you;

Put your shoulder to the wheel.

–Will L. Thompson, Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel

I'm jumping right to the heart of today's post because I believe there is an urgency to this that's bigger than chit-chat about fun summer activities. What's on my mind does have a lot to do with summer, though. This summer has been a dry one. That is not really a surprise since we live in the desert. But I believe it has been extraordinarily dry. I can't remember the last time it rained and I'm certain that every canyon entrance and campground "Fire Danger" sign is marked "Extremely High." In Utah, alone there have been over 400 fires this year, most of them small and quickly extinguished, but some of them large and uncontained. Close to 750 homes have been lost in Utah, Idaho and Colorado in the past several months. And while the nearest fire to my home is about 25 minutes north, it has rained ash four out of the last seven days.

So today I must ask . . . for a prayer; a prayer for those who've lost their homes, a prayer for the brave men and women who fight to save homes and lives, and a prayer for rain.

It is very overwhelming to me to wonder what I can do to help. I am one little person. What could I possibly do to make a difference? Julie, at Having Fun Quilting has put out a call for quilts {or quilt blocks, or flimsies or fabric} for those who have lost homes. At first, I was skeptical that something as small as a quilt could help someone who had lost everything.

But then I read something Kayde of My Laisy Daisy said, that changed my mind. She said, You have no idea how much that quilt will mean to them. My house burned four years ago, and while we sat there watching the firemen do their thing a good friend stopped by and gave me a little lap quilt. That quilt means the world to me and brought a lot of comfort in a time of need.

I've been thinking about how I can help and I have a plan to finish a disappearing 9-patch I started and never finished. I'm going to keep it simple for a quick finish. If you have the time {or resources}, consider what you can donate. Julie has made several changes to her initial request; in addition to families in Utah who have lost their homes, donations will go to Colorado, where the most homes have been lost. For donations, contact Julie via e-mail or at her blog.

Posts about the fires in Utah:
Having Fun Quilting: Wood Hollow (Fairview)
Richard & Tanya Quilts: Clay Springs (Scipio)
PinkSuedeShoe: Quail (Alpine)
Heidikins: Quail (Alpine)
Single Dad Laughing: Quail (Alpine)


Ending on a positive note, thanks for telling me what you love about summer! Hopefully, we'll pick back up next week.

I Must Ask . . . What Do You Do In the Summertime?

Oh, what do you do in the summertime,

When all the world is green?

Do you fish in a stream, or lazily dream

On the banks as the clouds go by?

Is that what you do? So do I!

Oh, what do you do in the summertime,

When all the world is green?

Do you swim in a pool, to keep yourself cool,

Or swing in a tree up high?

Is that what you do? So do I!

Oh, what do you do in the summertime,

When all the world is green?

Do you march in parades, or drink lemonades,

Or count all the stars in the sky?

Is that what you do? So do I!

–Dorothy S. Andersen,
Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime?

It's been three weeks since I asked you all about grocery shopping. My how time flies. It must be summer . Grocery shopping, in my opinion is a necessary evil. The noise, especially crying children, is very distracting for me while I'm trying to figure out how to get the most for my money. It is important to me to make sure that I'm spending wisely. I'm not brand-loyal; my loyalty lies in the best price and if that means buying the “generic” I'm happy with that. But it takes concentration to make sure you're really getting the best deal.

Sidebar: A friend of mine priced out groceries in 2005 {or maybe it was 2008; I can't remember for sure}. She went back to the same grocery store and priced everything again this week. She told me that prices have doubled and tripled. I almost choked. I'm certain that our income has not matched that.

In any case, making the best of it seems to be the thing to do in the case of grocery shopping vs. the budget. From the comments, I get the impression that planning a menu makes grocery shopping easier. Or maybe that's just me. I've been a menu planner for most of my married life. When Mr. Bug and I were first married and poorer than church mice, I remember one time that I had $33 to buy groceries for the week. It took creativity and some serious planning, but I came away having spent $32-and-change and from what I remember, we ate pretty well that week. A few years back, I kind of quit planning menus and would only go grocery shopping when we ran out of cold cereal and milk. Looking back, I can see how stressful that was for me. I much prefer having a plan for meals and the groceries to go with it, even if it means going grocery shopping every week. As far as the voting, it looks like shopping weekly is the most popular choice.

In other news, the Olympic trials have been going on recently, which got me thinking of the Summer Games. I was going to ask what your favorite sport is to watch, but that gets complicated trying to keep the list to a manageable size without leaving anything out. Of course, I always to leave something out, so that's not new. Then I got to thinking that only the most elite participate in the Games and the 99.99% of the rest of regular folks probably do things we think are just as much fun as competing in the Olympics and we don't have to wait four years to do them.

Summer is officially here {unless you live in the southern hemisphere, in which case I'm glad it's you and not me sorry if you're cold}. One of my favorite things about summer is the longer hours of daylight. I love it when it is light outside until 9:30pm! I love staying up a little bit later in the summer and sleeping in. But I also love the cool, calm of an early summer's morning. Summer has so much potential.

Growing up something I loved to do in the summer was to watch The Price Is Right. It was so cool to imagine winning all those fabulous prizes. That's just a silly memory and not really something I look forward to doing every year. I haven't watched since Bob Barker had dark hair >. One of my favorite things about summer now is gardening. I love the smell of the earth, the sweat and hard work of it, and the meditative quality it has for me. I mostly do flowers. There's something about knowing where my produce came from that grosses me out a little. Don't get me wrong. I love it when my neighbors share zucchini and tomatoes picked ripe from their gardens. I'm just not a big fan of seeing my food sitting in a heap of composted soil where any number of creepy crawlies, not limited to but including worms, spiders, ants, snails and slugs, could potentially have been partying, if you know what I mean.

Sidebar: This morning, I was out doing battle with the rose bushes {I won, by they way} when I heard hooves against the pavement up the road. I looked and could see four horses coming at quite a pace. It is not uncommon for people to ride horses through town. But it is common for them to go that quickly. Then I realized that they horses were without riders! There's a paddock up the road a ways and they must have gotten loose. There were four of them and they turned the corner before they reached my house and headed on down the road. After a while, I heard hooves again, and there were those same four horses coming back the from way they'd gone. They headed back up the road and I hope they made it back to their pasture. I had to wonder what they were up to. See what I mean about summer having potential?

Our family doesn't do a traditional summer vacation, with a trip to somewhere exotic. We try to make the most of it with fun activities throughout the summer. My mom hosts Grandma Week every year, though for her 10 grandkids and either or both of their parents. It is a fun little stay-cation and we always have a good time. There's also a fun family reunion with Mr. Bug's family; his parents, seven siblings, their spouses and a collective 30 children. Planning rotates through the eight siblings {only five years until we have to plan it again}, so we do something different each year, and we always have fun. The Little Bugs love to go swimming, so we try to fit that in as much as possible. And sometimes we do a foreign exchange. That is to say, we have cousins come to stay with us or the Little Bugs get to go and stay with their cousins. The Little Bugs are on foreign exchange at my sister's house this week and from what I gather they are having a really fun time. {Sidebar: Is it horrible to say that I'm kind of enjoying myself too? I worked an 8-hour day yesterday without any guilt. I was nice not to have to mediate arguments by phone or worry about what the Little Bugs are up to, about not being there for them or about getting home in time to feed them before they starved to death.}

Ah, summer. So many fun things to pack into such a short time. Today, I must ask . . . what do you do in the summertime? What's your favorite activity? Or non-activity? I've listed a few things that came to mind, so vote in the poll and if you don't see your favorite, leave me a comment!

I Must Ask . . . How Often Do You Go Grocery Shopping?

My kids always perceived the bathroom as a place where you wait it out until all the groceries are unloaded from the car.
–Erma Bombeck

I've finally sorted out what I'm going to do about the layout and new patterns and my Sesame Street quilt. Thanks to everyone who voted for their favorite layout. As you can see, layout 2 won. But I told you that I was asking which layout you all liked best to help me decide what I really wanted and that I might not go with the majority vote. I've already announced it, but just for the record, I'm going with layout 3. The patterns are so much fun to put together and I love working with the bright Moda Marbles fabrics. Prairie Dawn is next!

When I first started pondering expanding my quilt layout to accommodate several recently released blocks, as well as some that were already available but that I'd omitted, P. asked me what I would do if even more patterns are released. My answer to that is the same answer I gave in regards to my Twilight quilt when someone asked me what I'd do if Stephenie Meyer wrote more books: .

Now that I've talked that one to death, I'm jumping back to a one-off of the question I asked two weeks ago, which was, how often do you cook? Today, we're talking about grocery shopping. Going to the grocery store is kind of a big chore. I used to love it, but it's not much fun anymore. Nevertheless, we all like to eat, so I go once a week and that works best for me. When I wasn't working I would go mid-week, but it easier to fit it in Saturdays now and the upswing to that is if I don't feel like cooking on a Saturday, I can grab a rotisserie chicken from the deli on my way out.

I plan my meals ahead of time and shopping once a week allows me to get the fresh ingredients for what's on the menu that week and keeps us from running out of really important things like milk, frozen waffles and Oreos. I keep a little magentized notepad and pencil on my fridge and as we use things up or people have special requests, we write what we need on the list. At the end of the week, I plan my menu, check inventory to make sure that we're not running low on things we use a lot and then I transfer the hand-written grocery list to my swanky new spreadsheet, which is divided by departments and aisles in the order that I shop them. It took a little bit of doing to get it set up, but now that it is done, it saves a ton of time at the store, because I know everything I'm looking for on each aisle and I don't miss anything and have to back-track to find it. Love it!

How about you? I must ask . . . how often do you grocery shop? Do you have any time or money saving strategies? A favorite clerk? A great grocery shopping story? Vote in the poll and leave a comment. I can't wait to hear!

I Must Ask . . . Can YOU Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?

We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are. –Marjorie Hinckley

Thank you to everyone who voted in last week's poll about how often you cook. I am a bit surprised and really impressed by how many of you cook most of the time! Do any of you have your favorite recipes on your blogs? I did a little makeover of my menu planning & grocery list procedure. I had scratches and scribblings of our favorite meals on slips of paper and keep a running grocery list and menu, but decided I wanted everything neat and tidy and in one place, so I put it all in a spreadsheet. I have quite a good collection of meals that we eat regularly, but it would be fun to rotate a few new things in, so if you have favorite recipes on your blogs, let me know. While I was at it, I organized a template for my grocery list by departments and aisles in the order I shop them. I'll write down the items that I need on my grocery list notepad as we run out of things during the week, and then before I go shopping I'll transfer the list to my spreadsheet, sorting everything into their area, and print the list out. Tonight was my trial run and it went really well and I think it saved time. Grocery shopping and meal planning are big chores, before the actual cooking begins, so, again, I'm super impressed by all you diligent chefs out there!

Today's subject has absolutely nothing to do with food. What is on my mind this week is the Sesame Street quilt. On Tuesday afternoon, there was a notice that the pattern designer had finished more characters. From that moment on, I was a little unsettled about how to proceed. In the layout I'd settled on, I'd opted to leave out several of the patterns that Michelle had released, choosing characters I remembered most from either my childhood or the days when the Little Bugs were little enough to watch. With this new wave of patterns, Michelle has designed quite a few more characters that are from my childhood, and I started wondering if I should expand my layout.

I hashed out the pros and cons to making the quilt bigger. In thinking things over in the last few days, the biggest “con” to changing the layout is that I will not have the quilt finished in time for the quilt shows this season. I started this quilt specifically with that goal in mind, and it made me a little bit panicky to not accomplish a goal that I'd publicly announced, although it wouldn't be the first time.

As it turns out, though, the biggest “pro” to expanding the layout also happens to be that I will not have the quilt finished in time for the quilt shows this season. That takes a huge amount of pressure off me. Trying to meet such a tight deadline it putting a lot of stress on me. If I didn't have work or kids or chores it would be a snap. I could crack out a block a day and be done in no time. But I have to balance, because all sewing and no work makes Lizzie a frazzled girl. {Sidebar: I am always wishing I had more time for sewing. I kind of took a break from reality last weekend and did nothing but sew. Not getting my weekend chores done has taken a toll. I think the beauty of having a hobby you love is that you value the time that you spend doing it more when you have to balance it out with real life.} I've come to the conclusion that whether I expand my layout or not, I'm not going to push myself harder than I should to get this quilt done in time for the quilt shows. If I miss one or two {or even all three} this year, then there is always next year. Running, flat out, to get it done at the expense of other important things, is just not worth it.

With that extra pressure out of the way, I'm still undecided. My motto is “Go Big or Go Home.” That doesn't mean that every project has to be brilliantly amazing or that I'm trying to out-do everyone. It just means that if doing something is worth my time, it is also worth doing right. And I guess I have to decide what “right” is for me in this situation. To do that, I probably have to figure out what the end game is for this quilt. When I decided to do this, I knew it would be a big attention grabber at the quilt shows, but that also means that the details have to be perfect {hence, the giving myself a break with the deadline; after the blocks, which are time-consuming but not too difficult, are done I can spend the time I need and want to do a really good quilting job instead of rushing through it to get it done}.

But after the shows, then what? I've considered several options, and would love to hear your opinion. I'm just spit-balling here, so kind and constructive comments are appreciated. The obvious answer is to keep it and hang it on display. It would definitely be a cheerful addition to the decor. Another idea I've been tossing around is donate it to The Children's Television Workshop/ Sesame Street people. I am not sure if I'd want them to keep it {i.e. display it} in their offices, or if I would suggest to them to sell/auction it off to raise money for their operations. I'd definitely want to check with Michelle to see how she felt about it first. And lastly, I've thought about selling it. Now, before you get your flaming pens out, I know this may not be an option. There are copyright issues and creative considerations involved here. Again, I would check with Michelle and if she agreed, I'd share the profit with her and possibly donate a portion of it to the CTW. The biggest question there is how do you put a price on it? And would anyone actually pay that sum? Secondary to that is if the amount made in the sale would be worth all the effort I've put into it.

Back to the most immediate dilemma; what to do about the layout. I'm kind of lost and I must ask . . . can YOU tell me how to get to Sesame Street? Whenever I can't decide what to do, I find that asking opinions helps me to figure out what I really want. For example, when I talked it over with Mr. Bug, he suggested that I finish the 12-block layout in time for the quilt shows and then make another quilt sometime in the future using the 20-block layout. My immediate reaction was NO WAY! This is a one-quilt wonder.

I've narrowed it down to three options, and I hope you'll help me out by voting for your favorite layout.

First up, is the Less-Is-More Layout 1. This is my original plan for the patterns, with the exception of Prairie Dawn, who is one of the new patterns. As soon as I saw she was available, I kicked Rosita out and Prairie Dawn took her spot. It finishes at 42” x 53”.

Option two is the Less-is-More Layout 2. In this version, both Telly Rosita didn't make the cut and Prairie Dawn and Kermit {who may or may not be available from a different designer; Michelle hasn't done a Kermit pattern} took those spots. It finishes at 42” x 53”.

And last, but not least, is the Go-big-or-go-home-everybody-gets-a-spot Layout 3, except, ironically, I'm going to have to choose between Guy Smiley and Barkley. It's a tough call, but I'm thinking that Guy is not going to make the cut {mostly because I'll be shopping for fabrics on the internet and it is really hard to choose two fabrics of the same color, but with the subtle variance in tone needed to carry out the definition between his nose and his face}. It finishes at 53” x 64”.

OK, so there you have it. Vote for your favorite layout, keeping in mind that I may or may not go with the majority vote. It will depend on if you all vote for what I really want. But I don't know that yet, which is why I'm asking you to vote.

I Must Ask . . . How Often Do You Cook?

There is no sight on earth more appealing than the sight of a woman making dinner for someone she loves. –Thomas Wolfe

Two weeks ago, I asked how many picky eaters there were. Among the picky eaters, texture was the main cause for not wanting to eat something, which I thought was interesting because for me it is mostly taste. And although there were more total combined picky eaters, there were a surprising number who said they weren't picky, but then went on to list this or that they wouldn't eat. From one picky eater to another, I don't blame you one bit .

We're still talking about food this week. I'd planned to ask this last Thursday and then ran out of time to put it together, so it was a funny coincidence when the new girl at work, who'd noticed that I bring left-overs for lunch quite often, asked me how often I cook. I was all ready with my answer because I've been thinking about this post for a couple of weeks now. Generally speaking, I cook five times a week. I write out a menu that has three weeks on it. I fill the first week in and shop for groceries for everything I need on Saturday. I always cook something nice for dinner on Sunday {LadyBug requests pork chops frequently, which compliments Grasshopper's requests for mashed potatoes and gravy}. I do pretty well Monday through Wednesday. Thursday, Friday and Saturday are the days I have a harder time cooking. Sometimes, I swing by the pizza place on the way home from work on Friday night, but we don't eat out too often. Most of the time if I don't cook, we kind of eat what we can find; leftovers, cold cereal, ramen noodles. Whatever I have on the menu for the nights I wimp out on cooking gets moved forward to the next week, so that's one less meal I have to think of for the next go round. I find it really helpful to plan a menu and have done it most of my married life. That way I can have all the ingredients on hand for what we're eating that week, I don't have to think up something every night when we're all hungry and tired and if I know what's coming up, then I can "get in the mood" for whatever's on the menu. It also helps manage the expectations of the picky-eater Little Bugs. I have them help me plan the menu and if they can see that there are several dinners they like on the menu during the week, especially dinners they've chosen, there tends to be less complaining.

I don't mind cooking much. It's the dishes I don't like. Mr. Bug takes care of that most of the time {I think I've only loaded the new dishwasher once}, so that makes it really nice. I do not care much for the handling of raw meat, though. I buy hamburger 5 lbs. at a time and do all the handling at once. If meatloaf is on the menu, I make up two meatloaves, cook one, freeze the other, and then while the meatloaf is cooking, I brown the rest of the hamburger and divide it into 1 lb. portions to freeze and use later. It makes handling raw meat more manageable because I know that I only have to handle it once, but I get five dinners out of it. The same goes for chicken, only I will usually get between 10 and 20 lbs. at a time because handling raw chicken is at least twice as yucky as handling raw meat. I will divide out a couple of pounds and package and freeze those raw for dishes that have you cook the chicken as you make the rest of the meal. I bake the rest of the chicken and divide it out into 1 lb. portions, freezing it for future meals. Then, when chicken tacos {or chicken chili, or chicken enchiladas or chicken casserole} comes up on the menu, I pull a package of chicken out of the freezer, thaw it in the fridge overnight, and when I go to put dinner together all that is left is the shredding or cubing. It saves a lot of time.

When I asked what your favorite chore was, cooking got the most answers hands-down. Today I want know know just how much you like to cook, so I must ask . . . how often do you cook? Just for clarification, heating up a frozen dinner in the microwave doesn't count. But, everything doesn't have to be from scratch, either. I totally count those prepackaged pasta meals as cooking, because you use the stove top, it takes more than 4 minutes on high, you dirty a dish in the execution and I don't do them that often. I'm sure there are other prepackaged items that require similar efforts, so use your best judgement. I'd love to hear your favorite thing to cook in the comments.

P.S. I would add to Thomas Wolfe's quote that there is nothing more appealing than the sight of a man making dinner for someone he loves. Mr. Bug grills the best steaks. Ever.

I Must Ask . . . Are You A Picky Eater?

Pickiness, natural skepticism of new foods, prevented the cave baby from putting just about anything – like a poisonous berry – in baby’s mouth. –Stacie Billis, One Hungry Mama

Thank you to everyone who left a comment about last week's question on creativity. I loved what you all had to say and was really surprised that only one person declared themselves to be a color-outside-of-the-lines kind of a person. For a while there, it was a fairly close race between those who colored inside the lines and those who did a little of both, but at the end the color-inside-the-lines pulled ahead. I'd dare say that even the strictest of the color-inside-the-lines person likes to break the rules every once in a while, though. I thought my dad summed it up nicely by suggesting that if you draw your own lines and then color within them you are creative enough to make something beautiful and disciplined enough to see it through to completion. Thanks, dad. As a side note, I really hit the jackpot in the creative gene department. Both my parents are incredibly talented and creative people.

Now for today's topic. I'm sorry I'm a little late getting to the party. I got distracted. My question was sparked by a post by my wonderful friend, Jenna, on picky eating. I hope you won't mind if I recycle my comment on her post into a post of my own, because I really enjoyed her thoughts on picky eating. If you have a minute, click on over and see what she had to say.

I am definitely a picky eater and I think that stems from taste and texture. I find eating to be pleasurable as well as necessary and as far as taste goes, I like things to be "just right." I like consistency. I like to be able to count on my food not being merely familiar, but on tasting the same every time. If I've planned to make something and don't have all the ingredients, I usually will wait to make it until I can get to the store. No substitutions allowed and since I'm doing the cooking, I suppose I can be as fussy as I want, right? If the texture is weird {as defined by me} I'd really rather not eat it. If the combination of taste and texture is weird {like in the case of cashew fruit }, count me out.

My question to the universe at large is this: why do the things that are supposed to be good for you not have a corresponding good taste on the "yucky-to-yummy" scale? Take for instance vegetables. They are supposed to be really good for you, but in order to make them taste good you have to add all kinds of things that are bad for you, like butter and salt. Mind you, I do serve veggies at dinner every night, usually green beans or broccoli, because those are the two I like best as stand-alone side-dishes. But my favorite way to eat vegetables is in a casserole type dish, where there is a sauce and little bit of seasoning to disguise them. I love to make chicken or beef pot pie, which has corn, carrots, peas, green beans and sometimes lima beans in it. I also like to make minestrone, which has all sorts of vegetables I wouldn't eat by themselves, but with spices and seasonings and all the flavors mixing together, I love it.

While we're in the general neighborhood of vegetables, salad is another thing I don't care much for. When they ask, "soup or salad" I choose soup {I'd rather say neither; if you eat the soup there's no room for the main course} because I just do not like iceberg lettuce. You might as well go out in the back yard and eat grass for all the nutrition you're getting. And it is about as digestible as grass. In the interest of making more healthy food choices, I've been doing salads for my lunch a few times a week, and I like the "fancy" salad mixes {which, interestingly enough, have dandelion greens in them, but they call them by a different name so you won't know you're eating weeds} mixed half-and-half with spinach. I add mandarin oranges, cucumber slices, a little bit of Parmesan cheese and grilled chicken on top and then homemade poppy seed dressing, which is just yummy. I'm sure the "yummy" factor I add to the greens more than cancels out the "nutrition" factor, because in my opinion the only reason to eat a salad is for the dressing. Which, coincidentally, is another thing I'm picky about . Ranch dressing? No thank you. But I digress. I was ranting about iceberg lettuce. When I eat out, I ask to substitute spinach for iceberg lettuce and if they don't have spinach, I just have them leave the lettuce off. It's not really a matter of nutrition though. I just like it better that way.

Over the years, I've grown less picky about certain things like tomatoes and mushrooms. But seafood is something I have never changed my mind about. I just do not like it except for tuna fish, which is sort of ironic since it is the "fishiest" tasting fish there is. If we're at a party and there's a shrimp cocktail, I will eat one or two shrimp with lots of sauce to disguise the flavor, but the fishy flavor and rubbery texture are not my favorite. Sometime when I was between the ages of 14 and 18 my mom served fish sticks for dinner and I pretty much refused to eat them. She gave me the choice of eating the fish sticks or doing dishes {for seven} by myself. I picked the dishes. Now that I'm an adult I try to keep a more open mind about things. When Mr. Bug and I go out to dinner and he orders fish, I always try a little bite just to make sure I'm not being ridiculous about the whole thing. Every time I try it, it is confirmed that I do not like seafood.

On a positive nutritional note, I'm looking forward to the summer season, when fresh-from-the-garden produce is abundant. I am trying to be more health-conscious of what I eat. I try {but do not always succeed} to avoid simple carbs and instead have fruits and veggies for snacks. I love to munch on those little clementine oranges, grapes, or carrot and celery sticks. I'm looking forward to when the watermelon in the produce department are bigger than a softball and cost less than $7. I like to cut it up into cubes so it is ready to have at dinner or eat as a snack any time. We go through about a watermelon a week during the summer. Corn-on-the-cob, bought from the local farmer's produce stands, is another favorite summer treat I'm excited for. I can't wait for the nectarines on the neighbor's tree and the raspberries in my yard to be ready. I love zucchini dishes and have six or seven favorite zucchini recipes that I'll make throughout the summer.

On a not-so-nutritional, but still positively positive note, I love most sweets. There are a few exceptions. I don't like nuts in most things {banana nut bread being the exception to the exception} and I don't like raisins that have been cooked. No oatmeal raisin cookies for me or raisins in the cinnamon rolls, thankyouverymuch. I do like raisins on their own {I have a few little snack-sized boxes of them in my drawer at work, in case I get hungry} and I also like them in vanilla ice cream {something I discovered while living in Brasil; I know it sounds weird, but it is good}. And some days,chocolate ice cream with chocolate syrup and Oreo crumbs on top is completely called for.

Now that I've talked your ear off, I must ask . . . are you a picky eater? I think we all are on some level, whether it is about taste or texture, nutritional content, or based on principle {vegetarians choose not to eat certain foods based on principle and that is being picky every bit as much as people who choose not to eat foods based on taste}. Unfortunately, people with food allergies or intolerances are forced to be picky eaters, so I'm throwing a category in for that too, although I know it's not voluntary. Food allergies are one of those things in life I just don't get. I'm certain that if I had a gluten intolerance I would miss white bread most of any of the things I would have to give up. Vote in the poll and tell me if you're picky too.

I Must Ask . . . Do You Color Inside or Outside of the Lines?

Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing. –Harriet Braiker

It's been three weeks since I asked you about your favorite breakfast foods. Three weeks! We've had breakfast for dinner twice since then. My lack of posting isn't for lack of questions, because I've got plenty of them. I keep a little list so I can think about what I want to ask a few days before. I've just been trying to do everything I want and need to do and not finding enough time for it all. This week, the first week of the month, is my busiest week. I work 40+ hours, and yet, I MUST ask you all a question today. But first, the back-story because this is how it works. I tell you a bit about what I'm thinking and then you answer my question on the topic.

About a month ago, I woke up with an idea for a quilt in my head. Michelle Thompson has designed the most adorable Sesame Street character patterns and I decided that I needed to make a quilt using them. Starting a quilt when I already have 10 in the works is nothing new. I do have a "no new projects" policy to try to curb this kind of thing, but I violate it pretty often. You know how it is when you get an idea, right? To add to the crazy, this quilt has an impossible deadline. I want to have it ready for the spring quilt shows the first of which is June 8-9. I finished my first block, Elmo on April 11^th. He took roughly 10 hours to do. They all take roughly that long. Paper piecing. Meh. But, I figured if I finished one block every three days, I'd be in good shape to finish the quilt top by mid-May and have a couple of weeks to get it quilted and bound.

I'm four blocks in. I have eight to go and five weeks to the first quilt show. Cookie Monster, or rather, Cookie Monster's fabric and pattern have been sitting on my sewing table for 10 days waiting for me to start sewing. I can't seem to get a seam in edgewise around here. But I digress.

Before I finished the first block, I started planning sashing, borders, binding, the quilt label, and how I would quilt it. I spent hours browsing through the Moda Marbles at Web Fabrics, trying to decide which colors would best supplement those I already had to make the best and brightest Sesame Street characters. All of that planning was kind of hard to keep organized in my head. I needed someplace to put it. I needed to make a framework with it, so that I could know my next move.

I drew my layout on graph paper; I scanned it into my computer, colorized it in Microsoft Paint and started filling in the spaces with the blocks I'd finished so far. I wanted to have something to manipulate, which wouldn't take over my entire living room, could easily be altered and would help me decide where to place the finished blocks and to know what background colors to use for the next blocks based on what was already in place. Besides my virtual layout, I've started doodling out the quilting on my graph paper to see if what I want to do will work in the space I have. I'm not sure if it works, but that's a different post. Don't worry, there will be poll questions for that too.

This is my creative process. I like to have a plan, a goal in mind when I start something new. I work best when I have a framework where I can fill in the details as they come to me. I like to color inside the lines. For some people, that's not creativity. They like to have a go at a huge blank canvas and wherever it takes them is creativity. And that's OK. It's OK for me to be creative inside the lines and it is OK for you to be creative in a way that works for you.

I read an interview once, by Stephenie Meyer, where she talks about her creative process. She uses a very detailed outline when she writes because she likes to write the more interesting and vivid scenes first, the scenes that move the plot along. Once she gets those parts finished it is easier for her to write the transitional parts, the bridges that take from one part of the story to the next. She said that without an outline, writing the interesting stuff and then trying to put it together doesn't work. If you ask me, she likes to color inside the lines.

Today I must ask . . . do you like to color inside or outside of the lines? Are you an organized creator, going by a plan every step of the way? Do you prefer creative chaos, letting the project take you wherever it wants to go? Or are you somewhere in the middle, with a method to your madness? Vote in the poll and leave me a comment telling me your favorite way to create.

I Must Ask . . . What is Your Favorite Breakfast Food?

Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon. –Doug Larson

Has it been two weeks already since I posed the question about belly buttons? I'm not sure where the time went. And I was surprised that not a single person who voted had an outie. I knew innies were more prevalent, but I thought there'd be a handful who had outies. Perhaps asking people about their belly buttons was too personal and the outies didn't want to out themselves? In any case, I liked Iris' idea about why some are innie and some are outie and some are innie-outies. A belly button is a scar and she suggested that they are all different because everyone scars differently. I think that's very smart, and probably right on the money.

Last Thursday, we had breakfast for dinner. I made Belgian waffles with the fancy new waffle maker my mom got us for Christmas. I offered a variety of toppings; homemade maple syrup {nothing too fancy, just sugar, water and a little mapelline flavoring}, spiced peaches {again, nothing too fancy; I thickened the juice from a can of peaches with cornstarch, added a little cinnamon, ginger and allspice, stirred the peaches back in and warmed them through}, or homemade raspberry freezer jam. We also had bacon. It was a long work week for me and by Thursday night, I needed a no-fuss-easy-to-fix dinner. It got me to thinking about all the different kinds of breakfast foods and then I started wondering what you all like to eat for breakfast. Or breakfast for dinner. I was going to ask this last week, but was too tired and decided to go to bed early instead. So, this week, I must ask . . . what is your favorite food at breakfast? I've kind of grouped things in categories, with a few miscellaneous things thrown in. Vote for your favorites in each category and if you want leave a comment and tell me what you love the most. I'm sure I forgot something delicious, so please make sure to leave me a note.

I Must Ask . . . Innie or Outie?

If you're born again, do you have two belly buttons? –Unknown

There were lots of people with vision correction last week and it seems that the method of choice is glasses. Glasses are quick and easy and they get the job done. You put them on, and bam! You can see. Glasses can be a fun accessory or even a reflection of your personality. Every time I take the Little Bugs to get their eyes checked I try on about fifty different frames looking for just the right ones for my next pair of back-up glasses. I haven't found them yet. I've had had my back-up glasses for close to six years now. When I put them on, I remind me a little bit of my grandma on my dad's side. The trouble with glasses comes when you can't find where you put them, or if they get scratched or bent or broken. Contacts are more high maintenance, but three of us brave them every day. I can see so much better with them. One person was brave enough to have lasik surgery. And to the three people who won the draw in the genetics lottery, count yourselves lucky!

Today's topic is a silly one; belly buttons. Innies seem to be the most common, so I asked Mr. Google what causes an outie, because he knows everything. Well, he knows everything except for what causes an outie belly button. There were only suppositions {umbilical hernia and extra skin in the healing process} and not really any solid answers. But I learned a whole lot about belly buttons that I didn't know before. Like there are 1,400 strains of bacteria in a human belly button. Makes you want to find the Clorox wipes, doesn't it?

Something that I'd never stopped to consider is that a belly button is actually a scar. It is a socially acceptable scar, but a scar nonetheless. It is a scar that people like to adorn and show off. But before bare midriffs, low rise jean and belly button piercings and tattoos, belly buttons were once censored. Joan Collins had to wear a jewel in her belly button in the 1950's film Land of the Pharoahs. And Barbara Eden's Jeannie costume had to cover her button completely. Cher was the first to show her belly button on TV during the 70's and she got in trouble for it. In 1989, Ariel from The Little Mermaid was the first Disney character, animated or otherwise to show a belly button.

I thought it was interesting what Ann Landers had to say on the subject, “I do not believe any female of good taste would wear an outfit where her navel shows. This does not include women in costumes or those on beaches in bikinis. The same goes for males. An adult male who wears hip-huggers so low rates zero minus 10 on the scale of taste — it's my opinion but it's one I feel strongly about.” Times and trends have changed. On most days you see at least one belly button that is not your own. Regardless, you'll never my belly button.

It's an innie, in case you were wondering.

And now, I must ask . . . is your belly button an innie or an outie?

I Must Ask . . . How's Your Vision?

Sol had lived a long life, which was drawing to its end. As his family surrounded him on his deathbed, he asked to see his optometrist.

“Optometrist?” they asked. "Why in the world do you want to see your optometrist?”

“Just get him for me.”

So they go get Dr. Kaplan, who, on seeing Sol about to depart this life, asked, “Sol, it pains me to see you like this. What can I possibly do for you?”

Sol opened his eyes slightly and said, “Doc, before I go, there's one thing I have to know. Which one was clearer — A or B?”

Recap from two weeks ago: we talked about favorite chores. I'd originally intended to make it a two-part and do least favorite chores first and then do favorite chores the following week. But as I was writing that post, I didn't want to be negative. There's enough complaining in the world and when you look for the negative, that's what you find. Besides, looking at the poll, you can guess which chores are least liked . I thought it was fun that so many people picked cooking as their favorite and interesting that laundry was second. As usual, there were some categories I forgot. We'll give an honorable mention to car maintenance {changing the oil, washing, vacuuming, etc.}, shampooing carpets, a “day job,” paper work and chores at someone else's house.

I've missed you all. You always have such great answers to my questions. It's fun to be back this week. Now, on to today's question.

All week long, I've been meaning to order new contacts. During the day, I think of it before they open. Then remember again while I'm at work and probably shouldn't call and then I forget until 5 minutes after they closed for the night. I'm going to have to put sticky notes up all over the place to make sure I get it done tomorrow, because I've been wearing the same pair for . . . I'm not sure how long. Maybe three months?

I've started wearing glasses in the 8^th grade. At first it was cool. But when the novelty wore off, I quit wearing them. When I turned 16, I decided that I really did need vision correction. And I decided I wanted contact lenses. I have a really bad astigmatism and at the time, gas permeable contacts were the only kind that could correct my vision. But my lenses always clouded over and they were so uncomfortable to wear. I'd soak them in protein remover twice as often as suggested and was always taking them in to have the edges polished. I tried everything I could think of to make wearing them comfortable, but I stuck with them for less than a year and went back to glasses. Almost six years ago, I decided to try contacts again. In the intervening years, somebody came up with this fabulous invention—toric lenses. They are thicker and larger {in diameter} than regular soft lenses, but they are soft and easy to wear. They are weighted so that they stay in the same place all the time and I can see so much better with them than with glasses. My eye doctor, who is amazing, could never get me to 20/20 with glasses. I'm pretty close with contacts. But, as much as I love them, it still kills me every. single. day to put them in .

Mr. Bug started wearing glasses when he was in the 8^th grade as well. He's been wearing contacts for the better part of 30 years. Without correction, his vision ranks on the scale at right around “blind as a bat.” Both his parents and seven out of eight of his siblings all wear vision correction of some sort. Both my parents and two of my five siblings wear glasses. With those kinds of numbers, the Little Bugs were doomed. It was only a matter of time. LadyBug was the first to get glasses. She's actually farsighted, while the rest of us are nearsighted. She had a little bit of amblyopia going on, which the pediatrician caught at her exam the spring before she started Kindergarten. Luckily, they caught it early and it is corrected now. She just needs the glasses for the farsightedness. Grasshopper got his glasses just two years ago. We make a matching set now.

{LadyBug just after she started wearing glasses. One of my favorite pictures. Ever. Also, I can't believe she was ever that little!}

Now you know all about my family's vision, I must ask . . . how's your vision? This one is a little bit tricky to poll because there are so many possible combinations. Vote for the one that fits you most closely and then leave a comment. I'll meet you back here next week to discuss.

I Must Ask . . . What's Your Favorite Chore?

I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.... I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby. –Nancie J. Carmody

As usual, I forgot to include a few categories on the poll two weeks ago. Most notably {excuse the pun. No. Wait. Don't. I love puns!}, music {choir, band, orchestra, etc.} and the arts {drama, visual arts, etc.}. When I made up my list, I think I kind of assumed that being athletic was the norm and didn't stop to consider that I might not be the only indoors kind of girl . There were two people, besides me who lettered in Home Ec and in the “other” category, two people told me in the comments that they lettered in band, another in music and a third lettered in Badminton. Awesome!

Well, I think that concludes my reminiscences on High School. The weather has . . . well . . . I guess it is behaving like March. One minute it is sunny and almost warm and the next, the wind is howling at your door. Then it is snowing and then it is sunny again. In like a lion, eh? In any case, the days are getting longer, which always makes me happy. Spring is a lovely time of year. The other day, I posted a partial list of 40 things I'd like to do before I turn 40. One of them was to turn out all the drawers and closets in the house and I think that has a lot to do with the weather. I think it is kind of freeing to go through things and throw a bunch of stuff away. I like to open a drawer or cupboard or closet and find it all neat and tidy inside.

Chores are just a part of life. They get complained about a lot, but today, I wanted to talk about favorite chores. Laundry is something I don't mind doing at all. I did my own laundry by hand for about a year, and trust me, scrubbing clothes in a stone basin and wringing them out to dry is a laborious task. Throwing them in a machine, which does all the work, really isn't a chore at all. And there's something satisfying about putting a nice stack of freshly washed clothes away. I also really like gardening. It is more therapy than a chore for me. Doing a job where getting dirty on purpose is so enjoyable for me.

I'm curious to know what you all like to do around the house. I must ask . . . what is your favorite chore? Vote in the poll and leave me a comment telling me what your favorite task is. I'm sure I forgot something {I always do}, so if you don't see your favorite on the list, make sure to tell me.

I Must Ask . . . Did You Letter in High School?

Duty makes us do things well, but love makes us do them beautifully. –Zig Ziglar

It seems that the general sentiment in the comments last week is that those who have class rings are glad they do, but don't wear them and those who don't have class rings wish they did. After I posted last week, I pulled my ring out of my jewelry box and had a look at it. It is pretty cool, although the little Home Ec insignia is so small you need a microscope to see it. Still, I'm glad I have it.

I had one other thought about High School and then I'm done revisiting. As I was thinking about class rings, I decided that they are sort of a status symbol, right? They have the year you graduated, your personal interests, perhaps your school mascot on them. It was only logical to move on to lettering, which is probably one of the biggest status symbols in High School. What girl didn't want to wear some hunk's letterman's jacket? Or his letterman's sweater, if he didn't have a jacket. Of course, girls could letter too, but the boys didn't line up to wear their sweaters or jackets. It just didn't work that way.

I have a school sweater from High School and I earned the letter on it. I'll bet you can't guess what I lettered in. Keep in mind that I'm an indoors kind of girl and not particularly coordinated before you guess what I lettered in. You'll never guess. So I'll just tell you. Home Ec. Yep. I'm that cool. I'll bet you didn't even know that someone could letter in Home Ec. But I attended enough events, took enough classes and participated in enough leadership positions that I could actually letter in a non-athletic event.

As always, I'm curious about what you all have to say on the subject. Leave me a comment and vote in the poll because today I must ask . . . did you letter in High School? I'm sure I've forgotten a category or two, so make sure to leave a comment if you don't find what you're looking for in the poll. I can't wait to read your comments. That is my favorite part about this poll series. In the meantime, have a great week!

I Must Ask . . . Did You Get A Class Ring?

True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country. –Kurt Vonnegut

Wow! There were lots of fabric artists who checked in on pre-washing this past week. I loved all the comments and reasons to pre-wash and reasons not to pre-wash. I'm Team Pre-wash and I thought I had a pretty solid list of reasons to keep on pre-washing, but now I have two more reasons to add to that list. Carol of Brrmidji Designs alerted me to the fact that there could be bugs in the fabric. What kind of bugs I'm not sure, and I really don't want to know. I think if I did know, I might not ever buy fabric again. And Pink reminded me of the fact that there are germs upon germs on those pretty fabrics. Think about it. When you go to the fabric store, you stroke the bolts of fabric. You know you do. Everyone does it. And they leave behind germs. {Note to self: use hand sanitizer after fabric shopping.}

It's set in stone for me now. Pre-washing is the way to go.

Moving on to the question at hand, ever since the big 20-year reunion, high school has been on my mind. I'm not really interested in reliving the “glory days.” But I've reconnected with a few friends and it has been fun to get to know them again. One of the girls I knew pretty well lives near me now, as it turns out. We have a standing lunch date once a month and we have a great time talking about our kids and our families and our life situations now.

Even though it wasn't the best time of my life by a long-shot, memories from high school cross my mind every now and then. Senior year vendors come out in force, selling all kinds of memorabilia. At the time, all of it seemed like a good idea. But 20 years later, what do you do with it? I have a ceramic mug that has the names of all of my classmates on it that I can't throw away but don't ever use. I got a class ring with my birthstone in it and my name engraved on it. On one side is the school mascot and on the other is a Home Ec insignia. I wore it quite a bit senior year and for a few years afterward. But now my class ring just sits in my jewelry box {sorry, mom}. I pass a pawn shop on my way home from work. They are always advertising that they give the best prices on used gold. One day, I wondered how many people have sold off their class rings for a bit of extra cash. This crazy train of thought brought about today's question. I must ask . . . did you get a class ring? Do you still have it? Do you wear it? Vote in the poll and leave me a comment.

I Must Ask . . . Do You Pre-Wash Your Fabrics?

The essential conditions of everything you do must be choice, love, passion. –Nadia Boulanger

Last week, I asked about the music that you all love. Music is as diverse as the people who listen to it. I remember a road trip with my grandparents and one of my aunts some twenty-odd years ago. We'd switch off music, every other 8-track. My aunt picked stuff like Kenny Loggins and Barry Manalow. My grandparents picked stuff like the beer-barrel polka and Liberace. As much music as is out there, no matter how diverse the tastes are, you can usually come together somewhere.

P., I really liked Michael Boulton too . I have a few of his songs on my iPod now. Jenna and Shay, I'm right there with you on Michael Jackson. He was my second crush and I bought MJ trading cards. I have Thriller on my iPod and pretty much love all of his music. Iris, our music tastes overlap quite a bit. I know and like about 75% of the bands you listed off. Samantha, I'm with you on keeping it clean and Marianne, I'm definitely going to have to check out Tom Paxton!

I usually forget one or two categories in my polls, but last week I forgot a couple of really obvious ones. Namely, Folk Music, Blues, Opera, Movie Scores and Show Tunes {Broadway and movie musicals}. Movie scores are awesome. In the 80's, my dad and I saved up to get the LadyHawke soundtrack on vinyl {and according to him, vinyl is still the best way to listen}. When I have trouble falling asleep, I put on the soundtrack to Miss Potter and I'm usually out about ⅔ of the way in.

I absolutely love musicals! Love them! I have soundtracks for Disney musicals and broadway musicals and I love to listen to them {and to watch the movies!}. I took the Little Bugs to see the new Muppet movie. They open with a pretty catchy song, which I sang for about a week afterwards without really knowing the words. I know you all know what I mean. I looked for it on YouTube and had a really hard time deciding between three versions of it. In the end, I went with Kermit singing with the composer, Bret McKenzie. Enjoy listening to it and accept my apology for forgetting so many great music genres.



Today's question is really just for those who quilt and sew. I have a list that I work from for my questions each week. I think about it driving home from work or in the shower and most of them seem like a good idea at the time, but when it comes to writing out a post, sometimes I'm just not in the mood. I'm sorry to exclude the non-sewing/quilting group this time, but after some fabric came in the mail today {I ordered some Kona Cotton from The Fat Quarter Shop in a color I couldn't find in any store around here} I got a little curious. I was getting ready to throw the fabric in the wash, when I wondered if anybody else out there is a religious pre-washer like I am. I wash everything before I use it except for pre-cuts. And I don't use pre-cuts much, mostly because I can't pre-wash .

I've debated back and forth in my head if washing fabrics before use is really worth it. It is kind of a hassle. That pretty, new-from-the-bolt finish gets washed away and you have to press it before you can use it. The raw edges make a tangle in the wash and take forever to trim away for proper drying. And it is one more step between purchasing the fabric and actually getting to sew with it. Why bother, then?

Well, first things first. I serge my raw edges before washing. Really. I know . I get looks when I take my pre-washed fabric into shops to audition it with other fabrics. But I worry about any of those frayed threads getting tangled up where they shouldn't be and breaking the washer. And, it takes longer to cut away all those tangled threads after the fabrics are washed than it does to serge the raw edges beforehand. And secondly, with the awesome Magic Starch recipe fabrics press up quickly and easily and look and feel just like new. That eliminates most of the hassle.

Back to the question at hand, then. Why bother with pre-washing? I do it for several reasons. The first reason is because of a lesson I learned a good 25 years ago: fabric shrinks! And when you spend hours making an item of clothing it is pretty disappointing to have it come out of the wash for the first time and have it be too small. When you're making a quilt, shrinkage is not so much an issue. The batting is going to shrink and the quilt is going to get crinkly and wrinkly. Maybe it is all in my head, but there is a bit of a different look when just the batting shrinks, as opposed to fabric and batting shrinking, and I kind of prefer just the batting shrinking.

Another reason is that if any of the dye runs, the dark colors won't bleed into the light colors and ruin a whole quilt. This is assuming you wash darks and light separately . The last of my big reasons for pre-washing is if the fabric was pulled off-grain it is easier to correct after you've washed and pressed the fabric. Cutting on the grain is kind of important.

I've tried a little experiment on the fabric I washed today. I'll let you know how it comes out next week. In the meantime I must ask . . . do you pre-wash your fabrics? Vot in the poll {you can mark always if you wash everything but pre-cuts. It totally counts.} If you pre-wash, leave me a comment and tell me why? If you don't, I'd like to hear about that too!

Just a reminder: the February Finishes Linky Party is open all month long! Add your finishes as you go! I'd love to see what you've been up to!