Best laid plans....

Last weekend was a pretty busy one for me. Friday night we went to a surprise birthday party for one of our friends. When we turned onto the street I was "Whoa, look at all the cars!". There had to be 30 cars parked. Lots of family and friends gathered. When our friend turned onto the street a group lined up with the letters spelling "happy birthday". Totally surprised. Tons of food. Even a roast pig! That took 10 hours to cook. Amazing. I told my husband we just don't know how to throw a party. Saturday we had friends for dinner which was long over due and was quite nice. Easy, casual. Sunday afternoon my niece had the family birthday party for her daughter( my great-niece) who turns six. Nice get together. Sunday night took a turn for the worse. I started feeling a little queasy and by 9:30pm was really sick with flu-like symptoms which lasted all through the night. Ugh. It was awful, and I was miserable. Totally exhausted. I spent all day Monday sleeping and sipping on flat Coke (I almost never drink soda). I made my husband sleep in another room so hopefully he won't come down with this horrible bug. I felt much better by Monday night.Luckily it seemed to run its course in about 16 hours. Monday night my book club was supposed to meet but at least two of us were sick (or recovering) and two had work commitments so we all agreed to postpone the meeting until next week. It sounds like everyone has been reading Americanah and enjoying it- or at least want to discuss it. I think it will be a great discussion. I really enjoyed reading it- well written, lots to think about- the challenges that face people transitioning to a new country and culture. Cant wait for next week. Have started The Little Paris Bookshop. Not sure about it. Not hooked right away but will give it a chance as I have heard a lot about it.

Daylight savings, sewing machines, socks and other things

Can't believe how quickly the days go by. First up, Americanah. Really enjoying this book. Very interesting, well written and it is giving me some insight to the trials, feelings and behaviors of immigrants and their perspective on American living. Can't wait for next Monday for our book club discussion. At the last meeting one of our group had on a pair of banned books socks-

. Very cute. Upon returning from Florida and after doing some laundry I discovered that the ceiling in the linen closet had collapsed due to a leak from the toilet (no worry- only clean water) from the third floor bathroom which my son uses. Every towel, sheet, pillowcase was soaked. It took almost three days to wash everything because the spin cycle on the washer machine didn't work (unless going through an entire cycle). I had to have an emergency visit by our contractor (who is also a good friend) and then meet with not one but two insurance agents to assess the damage to file a claim. Frustrating as we have never filed a claim before..... Hopefully the work to fix everything will start tomorrow. But, because everything is 28 years old it looks as if the bathroom will be a total redo except for the shower. Ugh. On a happier note while looking at houses with my son I stumbled upon an series 15 Singer sewing machine at an estate sale. The sale started Friday and went until Sunday. Well Saturday afternoon no one had bought this beauty. So fearing that it might be put on the street if not rescued my husband and I went back Sunday morning. It was in very good condition and worked. So we made an offer and now I have another machine.

. I have my grandmother's featherweight, another older Singer, my two Berninas and a serger. I think that is enough. Have not tried the new one yet because I need to read the manual to remember how to wind a bobbin. What I think is pretty neat using the serial number, you can find out the date the machine was made. Mine was made September 23, 1952. I posted a few pictures on a vintage sewing site on Facebook and lots of people made very positive comments. One last thing. I had sent out an email to my book group reminding everyone to set their clocks ahead last Saturday. I was the one who set all the clocks in the house BACK an hour. It was almost a complete disaster Sunday morning as I am on altar guild at my church and am responsible for cleaning up after the early service. I was almost two hours late for church! Luckily my husband figured out my mistake and I got to church just in time to set up the the second service. What a way to start my morning. Reminded my of the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland who kept saying I'm late, I'm late....

Rabbit, rabbit welcome Spring!

As a child I was told that if my first words of a new month were "rabbit, rabbit" I would have good luck for that month . Well usually I forgot until about noon time or later. And I still have trouble remembering.

I returned from my stay in Florida just in time to attend my book group. Our discussion was very lively and Same Kind Of Different As Me was fairly thought provoking. I read 10 books while away. I think my favorites were The Mapmaker's Children and Once We Were Brothers- both historical fiction. I managed to get hold of a copy of Americanah, which is the March selection for book club, at our library this morning. I also picked up a couple of other books. Of course. Today is very spring like- blue skies, cool breeze and temperatures are moderate. Sweatshirt weather. Now to catch up with the mail and laundry- the downside of being away!