Let's say you're going to be sitting on an airplane for 11 or 12 hours. What songs would you like to have on the iPod that your husband won as a doorprize and is letting you use?

Please answer in the comments! PLEASE!

Anders Zorn. Many of his works are portraits. Lots of etchings of common people, and then he also painted some society portraits. I much prefer the commonfolk.



This one I really like. A bit suggestive. Beautiful detail. A lovely painting.

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Update: I called my state representative who apparently knew who to call at the Department of PUblic Safety. I got a call from the DPS today. The officer talked with me for a while and is going to examine the policies and see if there is a way to amend the wording on the letter to state that the victim should by contacted by certified mail or through and attorney, or have DPS send the paperwork to the victim. Obviously, a change in procedure like this won't happen tomorrow, but at least someone is examining this.

One birthday party down, one to go. Luke had a sleepover Wednesday night, and I'm still exhausted from it. Peyton's party is tonight. I should be recovered by Monday...or Tuesday maybe.

Have a wonderful weekend!

This morning, as I was sitting on the back porch having a little quiet time, there was a knock on the door. You'll never guess who it was.

Remember back in October, 2004, when the kids and I were hit by a drunk driver who fled the scene leaving us scared, but fortunately uninjured, in our totalled van? On a Friday afternoon, heading toward a school zone, no less? Well, it was the driver who knocked on my door.

Apparently the Department of Public Safety sent a letter explaining to him how he can get his license back. One of the options was to have Amy Last Name at Home Address sign a release. Yes, the Dept. of PUBLIC SAFETY gave out my name and address and said if he could get me to sign a release he could get his license back. Can you believe that?

I don't think he realized who Amy Last Name was, and thought he was being sent to some government or insurance office, so he was as surprised as I was. Fortunately, he didn't seem at all threatening and he had his kids with him, and Bud works from home, so I wasn't afraid. But can you imagine being home alone and having this situation come up? I cannot believe that this is how our public officials, supposedly concerned for public safety, handle such a situation.

I basically gave hime the insurance adjustor's name and said to settle it with them, and that it's not my release to give anymore since the insurance company is the one out the cash. I felt for the guy - he probably can't get a job, and since he can't speak English his options are pretty limited. But man, what a crazy situation!

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Blogging will probably be sparse this week. Two birthday parties happening here in the next few days. And painting the bathroom and getting ready to go to China next week. I'll be checking in from time to time, and will let you know my blogging situation in China.

Have a great day!

Fine Art Friday. A Chinese artist as I prepare to leave for China in TWO WEEKS! I'm very nervous. Really. Nervous. Almost afraid. But I know where fear comes from. And I know that today has enough trouble of its own. So I won't worry. Really, I won't.

Anyway, don't you love the horse? I'm always amazed when an artist is able to show such a detailed image with so few strokes. It's beautiful.

I've been working on my quilts, which I hope to have finished by the kids' birthday parties next week. Their birthdays aren't till August, but I return from China the day before Luke's, and doubt I'll want to do two back to back parties right after I get back. So, I hope Luke's will be done by Wednesday and Peyton's by Friday of next week! Wish me luck on that.

Lately, I'm being sucked into the world of craft blogs. It's a little insane, but really fun. I love going to Whip Up. It is amazing to see how creative people are, and then they're willing to share their knowledge, just because. And if you follow the sidebar links, you will be transported into a world of craftiness you never knew existed and you will want to be crafty also. Really, you will!

One thing I'm doing right now, which was inspired by following Whip-Up links to this, is pincushions for Christmas gifts. Look at the photo albums of some of the creations out there. Amazing! I've picked up some little latte bowls on clearance at Anthropologie:




And I've made some custom shrinky dink pins:





Now all I need to do is make the actual pincushions, assemble them with the cups and I'll have girlfriend and teacher gifts DONE! I'm excited about this, because I'm always struggling with these types of gifts at the very last minute. This year, at least, I won't have to worry about them.


So, ladies, what crafts can you show? I'd love to see your handiwork on your blog. Dy, you've already shamed us all with your dining room, but if you've got more to show, I'd love to see it!

Our trip to San Francisco was wonderful. We sure covered a lot of ground, and ate a ton of food in two and a half days!

Of our meals, two stick out as tremendous: breakfast at Sears Fine Foods, and dinner at Trattoria Pinnochio in North Beach. They were both excellent.

We hit Union Square, Chinatown, North Beach, Telegraph Hill, the Mission District, Cow Hollow, the Wharf, a couple of beaches, and the Presidio. Whew! I had never been to the Mission, the Presidio, or China Beach before, and they were all worth it. The other places we had been to and went back, so there you go.

We saw the Presidio, the beaches and one tiny piece of the Golden Gate bridge with the help of a GoCar.



This little invention is guided by GPS, and as you drive around (on busy SF streets) it says things like, "turn right here for a wonderful view, or continue straight to visit some of San Francisco's best shopping. Don't turn left. That will take you to the freeway, and I'm not allowed there." It was a blast, if a little nerve-wrecking at times.

It was very foggy and we werent' ever able to see much of the GG Bridge on this trip. But the other views more than made up for it.

If you ever get a chance to visit San Francisco, I definitely recommend it. Although you will need to be prepared to explain some unsavory signs and advertisements to any children with you, even in some of the nicest areas. That part is troubling. Around here, if you avoid a certain part of the city, you don't run into that. It's a bit different there. Even so, we had a wonderful time, and I'm looking forward to our next visit already!

This cat hung out right by the door of a jewelery shop on Grant in Chinatown. He is visited by thousands of people every day. I think it's gone to his head a bit, to tell you the truth.

We're back from a wonderful trip to San Francisco. I'll post more and catch up on everyone's blogs a bit later. Right now I've got a lot of laundry to do.

I've been getting a few Google hits for Urban Allye, and they refer back to a meme I did where I mentioned it as a place I like to shop, but dissed it for the spelling of its name.

Well, I've since found out that the owner is named Allye and that's how she spells her name. Color me embarrassed. That lends a whole new twist to the title. So:

Urban Allye is a lovely place to shop with a very clever designation!

(Sorry to my two regulars for not making this more interesting or exciting!)

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Oh! And I had a good idea today. The kids have birthdays coming up, and I'm going to print their invitations on shrinky dinks and make little magnets or keychains (their choice) for their invitations. I do believe I am a very clever mother sometimes!

We like to travel. When Bud and I got married we traveled a lot - Europe, the Carribean, Mexico, lots of skiing. When the kids were born, though, we happily slowed down a lot, though we seem to be kicking it back up again this year.

The one trip we made every year was to San Francisco. Bud's industry has their big show there each July. So for the two years we were dating, and the first five years we were married, I would fly out and meet Bud there after his convention for a long weekend either in the city or the wine country. We love it there.



For the last seven years, I haven't joined him there because we didn't feel comfortable leaving the children for that long. We've left them overnight at my sister's in Austin, but we were only gone one night and we were an hour away. And Sharon has a job so she just can't babysit at my whim, plus they live in Austin - a four hour drive! So we've never done a long weekend for just the two of us.

Well, last year when Bud booked his flight, he pronounced that this is the year I should start going again. The kids are old enough and we are familiar and comfortable enough with our neighbors, so they will be staying with the kids while we are gone!

So I'm really excited to eat in some great restaurants, take some beautiful walks, maybe even shop a little. But mostly I'll have three uninterrupted days with my husband!

So here's your question. If you could go anywhere with your husband for three days, where would you go? Please don't share what you would do. I don't need to know.

Have you been watching World Cup Soccer this year? We have. We were particularly blown away by the semifinal match between France and Germany. There was no score after the regulation 90 minutes of play, and finally, Italy scored with about a minute left of 30 minutes of extra time preventing a sudden death shootout. Then they scored again!





Check out The Fifa World Cup Website for more info on the tournament and schedule this weekend.

This is the big weekend - the third place match between Germany and Portugal is today, and the big match, The Championship, is tomorrow between France and Italy. Can you imagine the rivalry there? Oh My!

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And, if you are into t-shirts at all, I'd like to recommend a new little company, started by friends of mine. Check out cre8tion.net. These would make excellent gifts for the teenager in your life!

Enjoy your weekend!

It's Fine Art Friday, and being that I'm on R, I browsed the Renoirs, the Rodins, the Rauschenbergs, but then I saw this Rockwell and fell in love with it. I've never seen this one before. It's called "The Connoisseur."



There is something about looking at Rockwell's paintings that just makes my heart happy. They speak to so much that is simple and good in American life, and nowadays I often think there isn't much of that left. And in that context, I think this painting speaks volumes.

You can visit the official Norman Rockwell website for more info and to browse his artwork.

Check out Carol's blog for other participants in Fine Art Friday. It's always very fun!

I've been waiting for Q day to get here to post this. It was hard!

This is what I've been up to lately:



When I went to the quilt shop, I saw the fabric that I have used in some of the blocks and as the backing, and I was in love. It's ready to quilt now, backing is basted on and everything. I'm going to handquilt it, just like my mom did. But it's been put on hold until I finish these:



While I was working on the first quilt, Luke and Peyton started asking for their very own quilts. So I took them to the quilt shop to choose their own fabrics. Peyton decided to go with the pink/black/white motif, which I think is very cute. I have some pink cotton knit that I'm going to back it with so it will be very cozy.

Luke did not like the idea of picking a color scheme and sticking with it. Instead he wandered around the shop picking up the loudest Fat Quarters he could get his hands on. Get your sunglasses and check out what he came up with:



Luke's will be backed with some black cotton knit, so it will also be very cozy. I'm planning on just tying their quilts so they can have them right away - they ask me daily if they are finished. Then I will go back to quilt no. 1 and work on quilting it, with all the trial and error that will come with it, I'm sure.

The problem is that I'm already salivating over a dozen other projects and fabrics. I sure do understand how someone could get hooked on this. But I'll be disciplined - no new quilts till these are done. Scout's honor.

I wanted to update you on my niece Sarah. She is safely in Uganda and it looks like she is having a wonderful time. It sounds like her heart has absolutely been stolen by the children there.



You can find out more about their mission at Jinja Missions.

Please pray for Sarah and the other interns this summer. I know that God has big plans for them all!

I hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day! Ours was great. We had a little parade here in our little neighborhood.



Our entry was the S.S. Liberty. We won "Most Creative" entry. We were really gunning for the "Best Entry" award, but it's really hard to beat cute one-year-old twins. But I'm not bitter.





After the parade, we all enjoyed homemade ice cream. We had a lot of fun, and then went swimming because the heat and humidity were unbearable.



And this picture is a bit grainy, but I love it. Luke and some buddies are enjoying their ice cream on our front porch. Doesn't that just look like the epitome of summer? (You can see the cute Pottery Barnesque pennants that I made on Monday. I like them so much I'm going to hang them in my sewing room after we take them down from the porch.)



How was your fourth?