(EDIT:  I started this yesterday, but got distracted and never finished it.)

But, even with all that, I’m in a pretty good mood today.  TOH is home, safe and sound, from his visit to Texas.  The cats are happy, the dog is happy, the kids are happy, and most of all, I’m happy he’s home.  While I can function perfectly well without him, I just really don’t like to.  So, I’m really glad he’s home.

Now, picking him up from the airport, was another story all together.  TSM and I headed up there about 45 minutes before the flight was scheduled to land.  We got there around 10 minutes before his flight was due in, and waited in the cell phone waiting area.  While this is a brilliant idea, it needs a little more enforcement.  While we were there, I saw one car parked across three spaces.  An SUV that had to be special and backed in to a space (the spaces are designed to pull into), and so was taking up at least two spaces.  There were definitely unattended vehicles, and I think I may have seen a “for hire” car in at least one spot. 

Well, the first go round, we pull into a spot and wait for TOH to let us know he’d landed.  Phone rings, and it’s Klumpen telling me that her bus back from the band competition is ahead of schedule and they’ll be home way before midnight.  Not a big problem, as long as TOH’s plane is on time.

So, phone rings again, and TOH tells me the plane has touched down and he’ll be outside in a few minutes.  So I leave the waiting area, and head around to the terminal to pick him up.  Just then, the rain starts back up, so I’m glad he’s landed and we can get going quickly.  Not so fast there.  Because the rain (and consequently the thunder and lightning) had started back up, the ground crew were called back into the terminals to avoid the lightning.

We circle back to the cell phone waiting area to wait some more, but by the time we make the loop, there are no parking spots.  I can’t even get into the lot.  So I make another loop.  This time around, I can actually get into a spot, and pull in to wait.  A few minutes later, TOH calls, and he’s off the plane, and headed for the doors.  So, back we go to the terminal but can’t get anywhere near the door he’s coming out of.  Grrr… At this point, I’m rapidly losing patience with the whole situation.

Finally, he spots the car, throws his bag in the trunk, and we’re off to pick up Klumpen, 30 miles south of the airport.  Luckily, the traffic was light, and she only had to wait for a short time.

They had a good trip.  The placed first in (I think) all the categories they participated in.  She was a little miffed that all the rollercoasters she wanted to ride kept breaking down.  (They got to go play at Busch Gardens after the competition.)

So, Klumpen had a good trip with the band, and TOH had a really nice visit with his younger brother, and now they’re both home, and I’m happy.

On Sunday, our friends Shadow, Action Deb, Matt & Natalie & Gavin and Sean came down to visit.  I altered a bridesmaid dress for Action Deb, and Matt helped TOH bring home a new TV, because the DLP big screen died for the third time in as many years.  We’ll get it fixed again, and move the new tv into the library, (probably), and move the tv from the library into the sitting room in the master bedroom (maybe), or maybe back into the basement.

And then yesterday was back to the grind to see if people were actually able to make the switch to the new time system.  My people (the people in my particular office) managed to do what they needed to do without too much difficulty.  Now to see if the HR group got their portion done.

So, that’s life here.  It’s been worse; it’s been better.  But I’m doing pretty good.

Work is still work. No word on any of the other positions I’ve applied for, so I guess I just need to sit tight and keep plugging away.

I’ve booked our January 2008 vacation. It’s Ships and Dips III, leaving from Miami, going to Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. As Tyler Stewart of BNL says, “Screw Ships & Dip II, last year was so awesome, we’re going straight to 3!! Not 3-D, though, that’d be crap.” I can’t wait. Yes, I know it’s over 9 months away, but I’m excited.

Our summer concert line up isn’t too shabby, either. I’ve got Tony Bennett in June, Gaelic Storm in June, and something else somewhere along the way.

Our fabric inventory is up to 1006 yards of fabric now. That’s over 1/2 a mile. And that’s not even counting scraps. Which we have several bags and boxes of.

I’ve nearly completed my first suit. It’s a charcoal grey with a navy lining. I made pants and a jacket. Right now I’m hand sewing all the hems on the jacket. Which is my least favorite part of the whole process. But, the jacket fit well without any major modifications. Which is highly unusal. I’ve also started the mockup for the next suit as well. This one is a cream silk that’s similar to silk noil, but a little more finished, so it doesn’t feel so nubby. It has a very faint plaid of blue, green and peach. Very subtle, and very springy. I’m actually going to make a skirt for this one, rather than slacks. It’s been about 6 years since I’ve work skirts to work. I’ve been sticking with slacks. But, the Daughter says I need to start wearing skirts more often.

We’re getting our new floor for the kitchen this week, and then the $$$ renovations will be done for a while.

Down there at the bottom of the page, I’ve started cataloging our book collection. I’m going to try to keep it updated, but we’ll see how that goes. It’s not like I need another obsession.

All of my doctor’s appointments at the end of 2006 went well. I’m as normal as I get. I need to exercise more, but that’s nothing new. The Short Man wants to join a gym, since the The Other Half and I have been saying we need to be in better shape.

I ended up dropping out of “National Costume Finishing Month”, since I wasn\’t really feeling much like sewing. So, I still need to update the Italian gown.

Our vacation in January was amazing. We went on an event cruise called “Ships and Dip“. It featured Barenaked Ladies, Guster, Gaelic Storm, and a bunch more bands/side projects/stuff. Harland Williams (the comedian) was on the ship as well, and did a couple of shows, which I didn’t see. Apparently, he’s Kevin Hearn’s (the keyboard/mandolin/accordian/etc player for BNL) cousin. Our port of call was Grand Turk, in Turks & Caicos. Clean white sand and crystal clear water. There are pictures here. We all (except TOH) had some seasickness issues, but apparently the wind was more than a bit stiff and hitting at just the right angle to make everyone really feel it.

I did make my coat that I talked about, and I love how it turned out. I used Vogue Pattern V8346. I made length “B”, but I used the portrait collar from view “D”. I used a black faux fur for the collar, some midweight black wool for the coat itself, and some two tone grey striped lining fabric. I love the lining fabric. I still have about 14 yards of the stuff, so I’ll be using it frequently. I found some fun buttons at Hancock’s, but I’ve already managed to lose the glass stone from one of them. I still need to put a couple more/stronger snaps on for the closure, but I really like my new coat. Pictures eventually.

I’m now working on a mock up of some dress slacks. I have tons of wool suiting, and plan to use it to actually make suits. I hate shopping for suits, because I have to buy different sizes in slacks and jackets, and most women’s suits are sold as a set. So, the obvious solution is to make my own. I’ve got a mockup of the pants done, and need to figure out the fit issues. There’s some wrinkling in the thigh/crotch area that’s bothering me. I bought a book on pants alterations and that’s helping a lot. I have an easier time fitting pants than I do fitting jackets/tops, though. But I am getting better at it. Of course, fitting for DDD cup boobs doesn’t help at all.

I’ve been working on a new necklace for Faire Season. It’s 5mm garnets and 5-6 mm freshwater pearls. Just strung in a G-P-P-G-P-P-P-G pattern, but I’m making it with no clasp, and knotting between each bead, so it\’s tediously slow. I think I’m going to make my blue dress for this season, in a more Tudor style, although I really love the Italian styles. I’ve got 5 months, so who knows.

We’ve finally got the kitchen mostly done. All that’s left is the flooring, because changing the shape of the center island has left a huge gap in the existing linoleum, which we hated anyway. Oh, and we really want to paint it a different color. The current sea green is not a pleasant color.

So, I think that’s Life, In a Nutshell.

My front teeth have been chipping at the edges a lot lately, and it was driving me mad. I was starting to develop the “tailor’s notch” on one tooth from biting thread, so they smoothed everything out nicely. Now if I could only retrain myself to not bite threads instead of cutting them.

Yesterday was my MRI. My skull is defintely not symmetrical, and the cartilage in my nose is seriously crooked. Otherwise, it looks like a brain to me. No glaring abnormalities to my eyes.

Next week is the EEG and EKG. I’ve got a luncheon on the 8th, and another one on the 20th for the holidays. Klumpen’s Band concert is sometime next week as well.

Work is as crazy as ever, but I’ve been finishing up some random socks while waiting at all these dr’s appointments. I have three completed socks without mates and one sock in progress, and after next week, I’ll be down to one sock without a mate and one sock in progress.

Sewing wise, I found a pattern for a coat that I really like, and I’m going to use up some lightweight wool I have for it. I just need to find some fake fur for the potrait collar. I don’t want anything shaggy, or too fake looking, but I also don’t want to spend a ridiculous amount of money for a yard of fabric.

I think after the coat, I should redo some of the issuses on my Italian gown. I’ve signed up for “National Costume Finishing Month” over at LiveJournal, and this is something that needs finishing.

Oh, and we have new garage doors now. Very nice and quiet. Much improved. The kitchen is now supposed to be in the week after Christmas, but I’m not holding my breath.

I had my neurologist appointment today, where we discussed my sleep (or lack thereof) and my ‘fainting episode’ of two weeks ago. Apparently, I get really bitchy when I pass out and want to be left alone to sleep. Even if it’s on the kitchen floor.

So, as a result of that, I now have to have the Treadmill Stress test tomorrow, a 24 hour heart monitor until Wednesday, I need to schedule an MRI, and I have an EEG and carotid artery sonogram scheduled for the 11th. All of these things take at least half of the day, and I’m rapidly running out of time off to use.

So, it looks like I’ll be working Saturdays until January, so I can have enough time for the cruise. That really sucks. I don’t like my job enough to spend my Saturdays there.

My hairdresser moved away. I’ve had the same hairdresser for the last 5 or so years, and she up and moves and doesn’t even bother to let us know. Klumpen and I both went to her, she mixed custom colors for Klumpen’s hair, TSM went every so often, and TOH was getting ready to start having her cut his hair, and she just drops off the face of the earth. Yeah, I’m a little pissed. The only other hairdresser there that I feel completely comfortable with is booked for the next three weeks.

In house news, I still have no idea when the kitchen will be done. I don’t even know when they’ll be starting. The new garage doors arrive on Friday, though. Oh, the joys of home-ownership. I think the next big project should be the front steps. They’ve settled, and are somewhat dangerous.

Klumpen and I dragged the boys to Ikea Saturday and bought all the bits we need to remodel the sewing room. We’ve got a 96″ x 25″ solid wood countertop for the sewing table, which should allow us much more elbow room when we’re both working at the same time; a 66″ x 39″ countertop for a cutting table; and lots of cabinet space. It will make the room much easier to work in, and hopefully will help us keep it neater. Right now, it looks like a fabric shop threw up in there.

I’ve moved all the yarn out of there already and into the sitting room of my bedroom. I’m in the process of cataloging it all, and deciding if I want to sell any off on eBay. I think I may want to get rid of some of the synthetics if I get rid of anything.

I also need to go through the Barbies. I have six moving boxes full of them. Most of them I know I want to keep, but there are probably some that can go. I have all but the original Happy Holidays Barbie and I know I want to keep all of those. But the rest, I have no idea. They’ve been in storage for over 2 years now, so I can’t even remember what’s in there.

So, that’s an update on life here at the Stupid Big House. How’s everyone else out there?