Perfume - the word sounds smooth and sexy. Why is the reality sometimes so opposite?!! There is a lady who works in my building who must bathe in the stuff! She is easy to track - it's like she has mud on her gold slides - you always know where she has been! I have always steered clear of close contact with her, because I seem to be allergic to her brand.
A while back someone came into my office to complain (I'm HR - I handle everything!) - this person had come into their "cube" to talk about a project and the "complaintant" got an instant migrane, that sent her home and it didn't let up til late the next day!!
I sent an email to everyone in the building (about 100 folks), using a little humor, but at the same time getting my point across, that although most perfume/after shave is lovely, there are some folks who just can't handle it, so please don't wear it to work. I immediately received no less than 15 emails saying, "Thank you!!!" -( I should mention here that more than half of those responses were from folks who work on her floor!!)
I was pleased that almost everyone complied! - But you know where this is going!! She was on my floor a couple of weeks later and as usual was surrounded by her "fog of fragrance". I stopped and asked her, with a smile, if she had gotten the email request about not wearing perfume at work. I made the mistake of breathing in at that point and immediately started coughing! She followed me into my office, and I had to ask her to step back into the hallway so I could get my breath! She very indignantly told me that it was very expensive and no one should have a problem with it! I assured her that it was not the cost - but there was something in it that was very irritating to some folks. I was as nice as I could be.
Well, she is still wearing it, and you still are assulted by the smell if she is in the vicinity!! AAAuuuggghhh!! I wonder if I can/should write her up as creating a nusance? hmmmmm. . . .
Friday, March 31, 2006
Thursday, March 30, 2006
"Bring Your Rotary Cutter"
That's what Judy told me when she invited me to her house last Saturday! I met Judy and another friend, Sue a few years ago, when they both attended my church for a while and I discovered quickly that they were both avid (and talented) quilters! To say that Judy has quite a stash of fabric is an understatement of vast proportions! Her husband built a "fabric wall" along the whole side of the 3rd bay of their garage when they retired a couple of years ago so she could get her fabric organized. Well - there are 7 shelves, floor to rafters, stretching front to back, and each shelf has 10 - 11 good sized see-through bins that are totally filled with fabric!! That adds up to more than 70 bins - each one nicely labled with what's inside!
Well, she "needed" to make room for new fabric - so she invited Sue, me and another friend, Chris, out to her home for the day. We spent some quality time "worshipping" at the "fabric wall altar" - then got to work! The 4 of us cut pieces of fabric into 5" squares or 2 1/2" strips and divided it up into 4 piles. We stopped for lunch, but we put a good 6 hours into the project. (We hardly made a dent in the "altar"!!) We got through about 1 1/2 bins, and each came home with a wonderful assortment of squares and strips - and Judy now has room for a few new purchases!! (We are going to a big 3-day quilt show in Paducah, Kentucky in April - sort of a "fabric orgy"!)
What a wonder fabric is! Our piles contained flowers, stripes, plain, dots - the variety was endless!! As I sorted through the stacks I found so many I just loved - some I didn't love as much, but in a scrap quilt they will all work together!! I can hardly wait to start working on it! This one will be special since 4 friends worked together to make it happen!
I love making quilts and as I put the pieces together the patterns emerge in lights and darks, brights and softs, to form something new and useful and inviting! Sort of the way God takes the scraps of my life and puts them all together to do something totally unexpected and useful in His plan!! Even when I think I know how a quilt will look and what its use will be, there is always anticipation when I see the newly finished quilt - there is always an "ahhh!". I hope God reacts like that to the way I use what He has pieced me together with!
We are in the process of moving to an "interim apartment" - and I have packed and stored most of my craft things in boxes that won't be unpacked for a couple of years. But then I will be retired and in my new big craft room in my new house and will finally have the time to see if I really want to do all the things that looked like fun when I didn't have time for them! I did not pack my quilting stuff for storage though! That goes with me and will be accessible!! We move in about a month - as soon as I get the apartment livable I can start sewing! I can hardly wait - the scrap quilt will be first!!
Well, she "needed" to make room for new fabric - so she invited Sue, me and another friend, Chris, out to her home for the day. We spent some quality time "worshipping" at the "fabric wall altar" - then got to work! The 4 of us cut pieces of fabric into 5" squares or 2 1/2" strips and divided it up into 4 piles. We stopped for lunch, but we put a good 6 hours into the project. (We hardly made a dent in the "altar"!!) We got through about 1 1/2 bins, and each came home with a wonderful assortment of squares and strips - and Judy now has room for a few new purchases!! (We are going to a big 3-day quilt show in Paducah, Kentucky in April - sort of a "fabric orgy"!)
What a wonder fabric is! Our piles contained flowers, stripes, plain, dots - the variety was endless!! As I sorted through the stacks I found so many I just loved - some I didn't love as much, but in a scrap quilt they will all work together!! I can hardly wait to start working on it! This one will be special since 4 friends worked together to make it happen!
I love making quilts and as I put the pieces together the patterns emerge in lights and darks, brights and softs, to form something new and useful and inviting! Sort of the way God takes the scraps of my life and puts them all together to do something totally unexpected and useful in His plan!! Even when I think I know how a quilt will look and what its use will be, there is always anticipation when I see the newly finished quilt - there is always an "ahhh!". I hope God reacts like that to the way I use what He has pieced me together with!
We are in the process of moving to an "interim apartment" - and I have packed and stored most of my craft things in boxes that won't be unpacked for a couple of years. But then I will be retired and in my new big craft room in my new house and will finally have the time to see if I really want to do all the things that looked like fun when I didn't have time for them! I did not pack my quilting stuff for storage though! That goes with me and will be accessible!! We move in about a month - as soon as I get the apartment livable I can start sewing! I can hardly wait - the scrap quilt will be first!!
Friday, March 24, 2006
The Ski Trip
I'm almost 58 - good grief!! Did I ever think I would be that old? I don't think so!! I still find myself mildly surprised when I see the signs of aging beginning to appear! I'm really only about 30 on the inside!! Maybe that's why I love to ski! Huh?? - what does that have to do with aging? Probably nothing to most folks, but I have decided that I will ski til they won't let me on the lift any more! I am not an athlete - I do like golf, but that's about it. Maybe they are connected in some way - very individual! Our gang has been skiing together for about 30 years. First just 3 couples, then the kids got old enough and we brought them - now they are bringing their kids! We go the last of February every year and alternate between June Mt. near Mammoth in California and Brian Head in Utah. Both places are a little out of the way and not at all crowded. This is important for me - I hate standing in lines - I just want to ski!! Over the last few years the other 2 original gals have quit skiing, one after Cancer and a broken leg (skiing!) and the other because of her weight. (She announced she may try it again next year - she had gastric bypass and is down to a size 10!!) Anyway, I usually ski sort of by myself, or sometimes with one of the younger moms.
Well, this year I was the only female type that skied every day. The young moms spent time with the babies. I don't have my own skis any more because they are too expensive to maintain for 1 ski trip a year. The rental guy put me on 150cm parabolic skis this time - shorter than last year's 160s and really shorter than my old 172s!! Well!!! - I don't think I have skied as well as I did this year in a long time! I'm not very tall - only 5'4" - and I've recently lost a few sizes, so the shorter skis were the ticket this time! I did a few runs on my own to get my legs going - then I went up to where the "big boys" ski! I found our guys and spent the next 3 days skiing with them! I had no problem keeping up with them on the intermediate or advanced runs they were doing. I HAD A BLAST!!
They go into the lodge for lunch and spend an hour or so eating and relaxing. I discovered I love skiing through lunch - I have the hill to myself - it's wonderful! I usually stop at a little midpoint place and have a drink of water and a protein bar then take off again. In the 3 days I got in about 115 runs - 15 more than the guys!! I was so proud! I think the time spent at the gym is really paying off for this old gal!!
I'm looking forward to moving to Idaho - that's in the works. There is a nice ski area near where we will be living - I plan to get a season pass and ski as often as they will let me on the hill!
Well, this year I was the only female type that skied every day. The young moms spent time with the babies. I don't have my own skis any more because they are too expensive to maintain for 1 ski trip a year. The rental guy put me on 150cm parabolic skis this time - shorter than last year's 160s and really shorter than my old 172s!! Well!!! - I don't think I have skied as well as I did this year in a long time! I'm not very tall - only 5'4" - and I've recently lost a few sizes, so the shorter skis were the ticket this time! I did a few runs on my own to get my legs going - then I went up to where the "big boys" ski! I found our guys and spent the next 3 days skiing with them! I had no problem keeping up with them on the intermediate or advanced runs they were doing. I HAD A BLAST!!
They go into the lodge for lunch and spend an hour or so eating and relaxing. I discovered I love skiing through lunch - I have the hill to myself - it's wonderful! I usually stop at a little midpoint place and have a drink of water and a protein bar then take off again. In the 3 days I got in about 115 runs - 15 more than the guys!! I was so proud! I think the time spent at the gym is really paying off for this old gal!!
I'm looking forward to moving to Idaho - that's in the works. There is a nice ski area near where we will be living - I plan to get a season pass and ski as often as they will let me on the hill!
Friday, March 10, 2006
Musings on a Grandaughter
I just spent a long weekend in the mountains skiing with friends and family. Our son, his wife and 10-month old daughter shared our cabin, and together with the others in adjoining cabins made a group of 14. (More on the ski trip at a different time!)
As a new mom a lot of years ago I was amazed at the depth of love I could feel for my new baby - - well, then along comes his daughter!! A grandchild is a wonderous gift! I wasn't rabid for my kids to present us with grandchildren - just because I figured that if I was it would make us harder to be around. I certainly didn't want that - so I made sure that my husband and I always projected the opinion that their timing for children was just that - theirs to decide! Well - thankfully it didn't take them too long!! HA!! She was born on their 3rd anniversary! We were blessed to be able to be at the hospital and held her shortly after she was born. What a joy!!
Well, back to now - Spending a few days with her (and her parents!) was so much fun! I would get up early in the morning to turn up the heat and start the coffee and pretty soon I could hear her little voice in her parent's bedroom. They would get her up and bring her out to me in the living room - all smiles and cuddles! Is there anything better? She would cuddle for a little while and then wanted down to play with her toys and walk around and around the coffee table - then back for another cuddle! She is delighted with finding someone's unguarded water bottle, and the world is her chew-toy! She says "da-da", I think I hear "ma-ma", and we are fairly certain we can hear, "Grandi and Poppy" in her verbal stream!!
What fun it is going to be watching her grow up and become an independent person. I can already see the makings of a gregarious sunny personality. She is delighted by everything around her and wrinkles up her nose and grins in the most engaging way when she turns around and catches your eye!! Ahh - I knew grandchildren would be fun - - but until I actually became a grandma I didn't realize how much!
As a new mom a lot of years ago I was amazed at the depth of love I could feel for my new baby - - well, then along comes his daughter!! A grandchild is a wonderous gift! I wasn't rabid for my kids to present us with grandchildren - just because I figured that if I was it would make us harder to be around. I certainly didn't want that - so I made sure that my husband and I always projected the opinion that their timing for children was just that - theirs to decide! Well - thankfully it didn't take them too long!! HA!! She was born on their 3rd anniversary! We were blessed to be able to be at the hospital and held her shortly after she was born. What a joy!!
Well, back to now - Spending a few days with her (and her parents!) was so much fun! I would get up early in the morning to turn up the heat and start the coffee and pretty soon I could hear her little voice in her parent's bedroom. They would get her up and bring her out to me in the living room - all smiles and cuddles! Is there anything better? She would cuddle for a little while and then wanted down to play with her toys and walk around and around the coffee table - then back for another cuddle! She is delighted with finding someone's unguarded water bottle, and the world is her chew-toy! She says "da-da", I think I hear "ma-ma", and we are fairly certain we can hear, "Grandi and Poppy" in her verbal stream!!
What fun it is going to be watching her grow up and become an independent person. I can already see the makings of a gregarious sunny personality. She is delighted by everything around her and wrinkles up her nose and grins in the most engaging way when she turns around and catches your eye!! Ahh - I knew grandchildren would be fun - - but until I actually became a grandma I didn't realize how much!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)