Tea and Stitch Holiday Report

I am up at 6:26 am on a Saturday--actually, I've been up since 3:00--because the dog is sick. I've been massaging her belly, and now she is resting while I am...I wouldn't say wide awake, but I'm not sleeping. Yesterday at Old Lady Stitching we had our Pollyanna. Somehow, 18 people contributed and 18 people received gifts but we still had one left at the end. It was seriously weird.

I would have been devastated had it been mine (it was picked third from last). I copied a set my Stampin' Up instructor made, well the idea of it. You can see it packaged to the left. The flower piece is the flap to the plastic container--one of those sleeves you put in a three-ring binder but with the hole tab cut off. (Clever!)

I made two sets of two cards. The brown ones are birthday cards and the blue butterflies are thank you notes. The other two pieces are ruled notepads with cardstock covers.

I was up late trying to finish, and then the dog got sick. I was up at 5:30. I should have just gotten up and worked on it, but I was so tired. I finished at 9:15 (I started at 8), showered, walked the dog briefly, and raced over to the library. I'm always the last one there.

But I do have a funny story for you. One woman stood up to tell us about her latest book club book, What Alice Forgot. "It's about  a 40-year old woman who falls off her bicycle and her whole personality changes. She wakes up and thinks she's 30," the woman explains.

My friend-the-85-year-old-liberal says, "I woke up this morning and thought I was 40. So I went and looked in the mirror but this old lady jumped in there in front of me!"

I hope that translates because we were roaring!

Of course, it wouldn't be a library event without a nemesis story. She usually makes a small gift for everyone, but this year because of her eye surgery, she couldn't. Instead she participated in the Pollyanna. Before we start, she turns to the woman making the numbers and says, "I don't want to get anything Christmas (she's Jewish, but not the only one--and no one else asked for special treatment) and I can't bring home anything scented. So can you ask everyone to steer me away from those gifts." Seriously, who does that at a $10 Pollyanna. You don't like? You regift. Big whoop. Anyway, the number-woman stands up and announces this. Frankly, I was shocked. But whatever. So nemesis's number comes up. She reminds everyone what she wants. So my neighbor says, "here, open mine." (You'll notice I made something that met her criteria, but I refused to play her game.) So nemesis opens it. It's a Christmas card box. "Christmas cards?" she says in total disbelief betraying hurt and--I could tell--nascent revenge. My neighbor says, "That's not what it is! Open it!" with total disgust. I burst out laughing which was perhaps inappropriate since I was sitting next to nemesis. It was a $10 AC Moore gift card which was probably the best present there. You'd think I'd be used to her antics by now, but she always rises to new heights...or lows.

But she did give us the gift of this story, and I hope, a laugh.