I am suddenly receiving notices about a “New User Registration” from Word Press.  I think that means that people want to comment on my blog but no one is commenting.  Hmm, there is something humorous here:

When I first looked for a domain name, I chose DutchGirl because I had a “production company” called Dutch Girl Productions; I wrote plays and that’s where I “published” them from.  .Com was taken so I went to .Net but I did a net search first and “Dutch Girl” in Yahoo or Google (wherever I searched for it), turned up some rather seedy replies for websites about “Dutch Girls”.  These “Dutch Girls” are NOT, I repeat _*NOT*_ me.

I, on the other hand, am a happily married quilter/machine embroider Christian who goes to church and is looking for a job (YET) as a contract negotiator (hopefully) or a secretary as an alternative.

Moving on . . .

So I’m starting to teach quilting classes.  I’ve got 1 currently at Tomorrow’s Treasures and I’ve got 3 on the schedule at Springwater Designs.  The one at TT is this weekend and next– I’m excited.  It sounds like its going to be fun because the ladies that are signed up sound cool– I’m excited (whoops, I said that!)

Worked at Tomorrow’s Treasures store today– I hadn’t been there for a month but I enjoy it and, because I’ve been exercising, I’m not hurting as much as I was before (hips and knees are a problem) so that is proof-positive as to why I should keep that going.

. . . then you are a true follower and I thank you.

I’ve decided that I’m going to use this as a place where I can type up the most mundane of thoughts and know that they are really being written into a diary because I’m 99% sure that all of my readership has died off.  If not, so much the better.

So I tried to go to an “organized” Bible study but it didn’t suit me.  There were three parts to it:  1) lecture 2) questions/discussion and 3) Text that “explained” the previous week’s discussion.  Yeah, it was that last bit that kinda ticked me off.  The lecture and the questions and discussion were about one thing but the notes for that discussion were not given to us until the next week.

I loved the discussion with the other folks in the group– that was my favorite part!  I could live without the lecture although the lecturer was very good.  So out of the three parts, I really liked ONE and for this, I needed to drive 20 miles ONE WAY to enjoy.  Hmm, uh, NO!

So I’m not going to that anymore.

Now my Thursdays are free to a point.  I’m getting more involved at my church– helping with different ministries because that will make me useful (or at least, feel useful) and have me be a good witness in the ministry for God.

There’s a prayer shawl ministry that will fall by the way-side in a few months. The woman who is currently running it is moving to North Carolina.  Well, between my knitting and my quilting, I am pretty sure that I can handle that one.  I’m also going to be helping with the “Dating” discussion in the youth group during March.  Heaven knows I can teach them how not to choose the wrong guy to date!  (I am good at “Wrong Guy Picking” but I’m also good at “Good Guy Picking with One Exception”.)

I’m going to help the girls understand that they can and MUST ask questions– know, know, KNOW your prospective husband and yes, even the guy that they’re going to “casually date” before they get started because you don’t know where its going to lead.

I love my husband– he is a wonderful man that would give the shirt off his back (literally) for someone else but he isn’t a Christian.  (God and I are still working on that so keep my husband in your prayers.)

I’m also working with Community Quilts in my quilt guild.  The Guild doesn’t support them very much so if you’re reading this and would like to assist, please contact Southern Comforters Quilt Guild for your donation; please make sure to label it for “Community Quilts”.  One day a week, I go and sew quilts together and take home quilts for quilting on my long arm– Its faster for me to quilt them than to have them quilt them by machine. The woman who has to “give up the quilting” isn’t sure about me yet but, I’ll keep trying.

So I need to read my Bible more independently.  I’ve slacked off on that since being laid off– it was a more firm part of my routine when I was working than it is now.  That’s not good and I enjoyed it so I’m going back to it.  I’m in the Psalms, reading my way through the Old Testament.  I’m also reading a devotional called “Streams in the Desert” and I like that, too.  Its interesting because one of the women in my Bible study at church is also reading it and we talk about something that strikes us during the Bible study or before church.  I like that.

I’ve got physical therapy stuff I’m doing just to strengthen my legs and, of course, there’s exercise on my recumbent.  Mostly I’m trying to get healthy (who isn’t after the first of the year?) but I’m on medication that makes me gain weight so I have to fight it.

Guess that about catches you up– see ya when I see ya!

I’m pretty sure that this doesn’t even qualify as “interspersed”.  I’m pretty sure that this qualifies as start-n-stop but that’s because I either don’t have anything to say or I don’t think that I have anything important enough to say.  Yeah, no, that has nothing to do with self-esteem but having SO MUCH FREE TIME on my hands.

I’m fast approaching a year of unemployment.  I’ve never been unemployed this long.  I’ve been looking and looking but to no avail.  Everyone else either gets there before me or has something that I don’t have that makes them more appealing.  I think the number of years that I’ve been negotiating is a detriment– whether I like it or not, it is a dead giveaway that I’m not a spring chicken, no matter how available I am.

So I work a part-time job that I can now not give up no matter how bad my arthritis hurts at my hips and right knee.  If I do, it could be considered “quitting” and then my unemployment benefits go away.  This is not a good thing as we are still not independently wealthy from the lottery– Honey, did you buy those tickets?  (I didn’t think so!)

So I look for a real job, try to think of things I can do that will make money for a job (I don’t need benefits).  Not successful so far but I’m still working on it.

Sorry but there’s not much happening.  I’m looking for a real job, working at the part-time job and sewing in between.  Lots of fun, all the way around.

. . . bored anymore, I mean.  We’ve been on a 9-day vacation in California!  First we visited Brian’s folks for a few days.  On Saturday, his sister and her family joined us for the afternoon and dinner– it was wonderful to see them, too!

The niece has matured and grown much more confident and the nephew has just GROWN!  He’s huge and so sweet– I love it when he calls me “Aunt Marcia”!!

On Sunday Brian and I moved over to a hotel that would make his commute to the city (SFO) for a VMware VMworld conference.  While he was at the conference on Sunday, I waited on our room to be ready and then unpacked us.  Monday I made a trip to Chinatown– man, I sure miss GOOD Chinese food!!  Brian continued the conference all week and I spent the next few days learning a software program, which I was able to accomplish.

Friday we flew back and this morning, we picked up Lexi– we’re ALL TOGETHER NOW and happy to be!!

There are many things happening: I go to work two days a week, I sew in between, I go to friends’ houses to sew, amongst many other things.  There is just nothing too exciting going on.  I’m reading a lot (while I exercise or before sleep) but again, that’s about it.

Sorry . . . more as it becomes apparent.

Unbeknownst to you, Brian and I went on a vacation!  We went to Michigan to meet up with my siblings and their spouses/partners in order to enjoy a week (or there abouts) of time together.  We did exactly that– most of the time, we spent reading and/or laying about but Brian and I also got temporary fishing licenses and fished for a few days, too.  Between us, we caught (and released) about a dozen fish of various and sundry types.

We also spent a few days walking around the town of Saugatuck, Michigan which is a folksy-arts-n-craftsy sort of place.  We drove there on a Saturday and drove back on a Saturday and made good gas mileage.

Tomorrow, its back to work for both of us as I’m picking up a shift at the quilt shop.

I’m working on a quilt for my niece’s new baby– Margaret Clarice– which I hope to have finished soon.  I quilted it yesterday and am working on the binding now.  My wrist started to hurt so I decided to lay off for tonight.  I’ll have it done soon enough.

ARGH!!!  Jobs are thin out there– VERY thin!!  Because I’m still collecting unemployment benefits, I’m still required to apply to at least two jobs per week.  USUALLY, I apply to two jobs PER DAY!  Of course, that means that I’m throwing a lot of spaghetti against the wall but hopefully, something will pan out soon!

I’ve been working on a quilt for my niece’s new baby, Margaret Clarice.  (The “Clarice” portion of it is my mother’s name.)  They are going to call the baby either Maggie or Maggie Clare.  I love the name, needless to say.

Anyway, after much discussion, Faye (my niece) told me that they’re going to move their oldest boy, Kaden, into a new room and Maggie Clare is going to get his old room.  His room has a “Noah’s Ark” theme in it; I actually made up all of the nursery stuff for his room nearly four years ago when he was born.  I have none of that fabric left because I gave her what I had left over so that she could make anything for him that I missed.  That left me without any of that fabric, of course, but the good news is that I have a second Noah’s Ark fabric!  (That’s not really a surprise if you’ve seen my fabric room.)  I’ve made up a new quilt for Maggie and will quilt it over the weekend and bring it to her the next time I’m in Michigan.

Also, I’ve been working the part time job but I find that retail is hard work– much more so than it was ten years ago.  I find that I’m very tired and sore the day after working a shift but that’s mostly due to the fact that I rarely sit down and have to walk all over the store during the day.  I was working two days a week but I think I’m going to cut my hours to one day a week because it won’t be as hard on me, hopefully.

Speaking of hard on me, I started sleeping “wrong” on my arms/shoulders a few months back and, as a result, incurred a tingling in my right arm and last three fingers.  Not good, needless to say.  I went to the doctor the other day and he told me to change my sleeping habits and to get an x-ray and possibly see a pain doctor for a cortisone shot.  Really?  Just what I need– another doctor.

So I got the x-ray which showed nothing other than age-appropriate degeneration.  I was looking at adding a second pillow to the mix but then remembered that the pillow I use cost $200.  I wasn’t going to buy a second one so I thought about how to fix it so that I wouldn’t have to do that.

I came up with the idea of adding 3″ of foam and it worked!  When I’ve woken up the last two mornings, my shoulders have not hurt nearly as much and the tingling is resolving itself.  YAYYY!!!!!  I’m going to keep this up and see how it goes before I make an appointment with yet another doctor.