Keeping Myself in Stitches (and other tidbits)

In my continuing self-education in sewing, today I learned how to replace a sewing-machine needle when it gets bent beyond all recognition. I also learned how to miter corners of a blanket when adding satin binding. And not to forget to stitch two lengths of blanket-binding together BEFORE you pin it all the way around the blanket. (I winged it. I doubt I'm going to be judged on this thing.) Now I just need to go over it with a decorative stitch and then that present will be done. I have fabric washing for the quilt I am also hoping to finish for Christmas (I am ambitious...I have never completed a quilt before). Once that is dried and ironed, I can start cutting. I think I'm going to do some strip-sewing which will hopefully speed the process some.

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I'm going over to a friend's house today to watch the Patriots game. This is a purely social thing for me because I don't really care about football at all. I need to pick up some "chips that go with chili" before I go. (can we say "tortilla"?)

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I kept Mark home from school on Friday. When we got home from the game on Thursday night, I took a good look at his face and got a little nervous. He's skinny anyway, but that night his face looked like nothing more than a skull with skin. He had huge dark circles under his eyes. During the game his face had been very pale, and was still, which is unlike him, especially when he's exercising. I knew he had lost weight during the season, going down to 134 pounds (at 5'11", not good). Beginning after school Friday he was on vacation, and he had a Social Studies test, but in a rare decision for me, I concluded that rest was definitely a priority over everything else, including school. He can make the test up when he gets back. So he slept very late, stayed in his pajamas all day long (didn't even want to get in sweats...just pj's), ate lots of food, and was feeling much better by the end of the day. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best he has ever felt in his life, he was up to a 6, from a 4 the day before. I think I made the right decision. Being able to get lots of sleep over the vacation will also be a very good thing.

He continues to do very well in basketball. Overall he's the team's high scorer (his average right now is something like 15 ppg), and his personal improvement has been awesome. I'm very happy for him. He loves basketball so much. I'm still hoping to work out something for after his season ends in mid-December, so that he can continue to play in some form or another. We only have three games left in the regular season, then playoffs. I'll be bummed when the season is over, because I just love watching my boy play ball.

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Kira is also doing a great job in basketball. She has had two games so far. The first game she scored 14 points, and yesterday she scored 17. She's equally comfortable dribbling with either hand, and does some great crossovers (also known as anklebreakers--isn't that lovely?) to maneuver around her opponents. She's an excellent little ball-thief, a good rebounder, and a very good guard. Got the whole package, my girl does. One of her coaches is the varsity coach at the high school, which is just such an excellent opportunity for Kira. His daughter is on the team, and she has the best layup form I've seen in a girl that young.

Kira's season goes until the end of January. She's actually playing more games than Mark is in the regular season. Basketball is steadily rising in the ranks of Kira's favorite sports to play. I think it may be beating soccer now.

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Italian Night at Mom's was a blast. There was SO much food!! Besides my Torta di Mele, we also had stuffed manicotti, aroncini with various fillings, orzo with wilted spinach & pine nuts, salad, bread, antipasto, olive cheese balls, bruschetta...all this for five people. We all had so much fun! Next time I believe we are doing India, sometime after the New Year.

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OK, need to get some stuff done. Will leave you with this little collage from Mark's first game. mk