No longer a homeowner...

But fortunately, not due to the current bru-ha-ha in the mortgage business! The closing on my house was this afternoon, so as soon as I get the check, I'll pay off the mortgage and be debt-free. A good thing, although I'm a little sad. I love that house...

Mama, [s]he's crazy...

Seems everything is a song this week! My lack of willpower has taken over again, and signed me up for another fun activity. Kate's hosting Another Little Quilt Swap, and, although signups are now closed, she's promising another one in the fall if you're interested. Luckily, the mail date is July 1!

Now, I've *got* to get started on my April birthday block... I found a suitable pattern yesterday that I just have to resize. Yeah, just... ;) I haven't sewn a stitch in how long, and now I have to applique?! Heaven help me.

Cool tool...

If you use Google Reader and Firefox, this is my new favorite add-on: Better GReader. If you're frustrated by bloggers who only publish previews in their feeds, this is a solution. One click (either in the settings box or on a post-by-post basis) pops the page into your Reader window (OK, it's in a frame, but it's still handy!). Even better -- click the preview and you'll even see the comments. Hallelujah!

(And thanks to Lifehacker.)

Odds and Ends...

1) My friend Cindy just started blogging... go forth and visit her... she has a real gift for writing that makes even the everyday seem special. A lovely remembrance of her grandmother, in her debut post, includes some nice Michigan history, for those that are interested.

2) If you prefer your Coca-Cola without high-fructose corn syrup, now is the time to stock up. Look for the yellow capped two-liters -- those bottles are kosher for Passover, and thus made with sugar (sucrose) instead of the ubiquitous substitute. I think it's "fizzier" than the everyday version -- a lot more foam in the glass -- and rather yummy.

3) If you work for the NJDOT, please know that there is NOT adequate signage for the Garden State Parkway going north on the Turnpike. Thanks to this oversight, I contributed way more than my fair share in tolls to the state coffers as I wandered around heaven-only-knows-where Saturday night in the dark. (Another note -- having two exits numbered 14, as well as 14A, 14B and 14C, is not really helpful.)

4) Two of my favorite fast food restaurants have locations in NJ -- Sonic Drive-In and Chick-fil-A. Neither is terribly close to me, but they're closer than they have been in many years, so I'm happy!

Google Earth... good or creepy?

My Realtor called this morning, to ask me what I wanted to do about the car parked in my driveway with out-of-state plates. He offered to call the cops, but I declined -- I know when I first moved in, the house next door was vacant, and some neighbors would occasionally use that driveway for "overflow" parking (like "I'll park here this afternoon so my guests can park at my house"). We decided the Realtor would send one of his guys over to put a note on the car, asking for it to be moved.

Then I went and looked up my address on Google Earth -- this car was/is pulled all the way up to the side door. Now, my driveway is long by city standards -- almost the full depth of the lot -- and the house is a little forward of center front-to-back. That means this car was/is parked halfway up the drive, frankly, where I always parked.

So, I can't quite decide... was it better to SEE the car parked there for myself, or should I have just let the Realtor handle it? I'm a little freaked out by looking, and yet, I can see this becoming an obsession...

[Lisa, if you read this, DO NOT TELL mom and dad!]

This week's adventure

Tuesday, George-the-cat was desperate for cat food. I had already determined that the grocery store doesn't carry his food. I know, there's no rule that he has to eat IAMS weight control, but I was reluctant to choose something else given his recent hunger strike. A little web searching revealed a PetSmart about 10 miles from my apartment. No big deal, right? Wrong. 45 minutes and a splitting headache later, I was home with a 20-pound bag of cat food. Where I'm going to store all this food, I have no idea, but I'm definitely in no hurry to go back out for a fresh supply!

Think of your typical street on which the usual assortment of retailers, restaurants and "big box" stores are located. It's probably 4 lanes, plus a center turn lane... I was prepared for that. I was not prepared for 6 lanes, divided not by a traditional median, but by a wide median upon which more restaurants and retail stores were located.

Traveling east, I could only see things on the south side of the road, and in the middle. Coming back west, I could only see things on the north side, and in the middle. How is anyone supposed to FIND anything that way?! I hope this particular street is an anomaly... I can't imagine the shipping cost to order cat food online ;) Wait, I went to check... a 20-lb bag is $28.49 online; ground shipping is estimated at $15.19. Hah. Wonder who orders that?

Odds and Ends

I've fallen behind, obviously, on sharing the details of my life since I've been consumed by ending a job, moving and starting a new job! Since I knew where both the camera AND the cord were tonight, I thought I'd upload some pics from the last 6 weeks or so, and combine them into a disjointed post!



Here's my Bear's Paw block for Sophie, which was made in February for her "birthday" month in the long-term swap on quilting.about.com. 14" square, although it looks a bit wonky in the picture because I tossed it over the back of a chair for photography.




And isn't this the cutest little angel? I wanted to take a picture of my mom's, too, just because they're alike but different. She still needs a face, but the pattern for that is packed in a box that I haven't opened yet. Otherwise, completely done and ready for Christmas 2008.



Finally, here's the evidence of trash day, March 6, 2008. Taken from the front door at first light. We hauled all of this to the curb at about 5:3o in the morning... and yes, it took three different trucks to clear the curb. (Regular trash -- he emptied the totes. Bulk trash -- he and his clamshell crane took the rest of the stuff. And a "Special" recycling truck of some kind -- the first recycling truck radioed for backup as he drove by the shredded paper and empty cardboard boxes.) I wasn't kidding about looking like a bunch of rednecks! For the record, I called the city twice to confirm that this was what I should do -- there's no place to TAKE trash if you're a city resident, so you have to suffer the agony of your neighbors seeing this at the curb!

Now I think we're almost caught up. I still have to find and photo the blocks I made for Miss March (yup, didn't mail them before I moved, so heaven help us now!)...