How I spent my time away

So it's really been 6 weeks since I last posted but I have a good excuse.....no really, I do. 

1)  Time flies the older we get but to where I have no earthly idea or even an unearthly idea.  Wait that's it, I was kidnapped by aliens and they kept me 6 weeks so they could study the habits of a middle age, menopausal woman that is clearly crazy! 

2)  Took my annual Dirty Martini Queen's trip to Nashville with Dana and Kathie. We laughed until we cried,  walked until I cried,  shopped, ate, drank and most importantly danced for 3 glorious nights.  I love my DMQ and we just have so much fun when we're together that I wish we could make it happen more than once a year.

3)  I've still been taking my painting classes and have finished 2 projects now.  I still sux at it but I'm enjoying the friendship of the painting gals and I can tell I'm learning things even though I have trouble translating that to my work.  We started a huge Christmas ball last night and it's my favorite project so far.

4) Halloween happened so that a build up for me because y'all know how I love any and all things Halloween.  We had a lot of trick or treaters especially considering it was cold, rainy and started snowing later that night.

5)  I've been beyond addicted to learning a new craft.....I took rug hooking classes finally.  I've been wanting to learn how to hook since 1994 when I bought my first book but was too busy/scared to try it.  I bought 2 more books in 2004 again in an attempt to teach myself....cough...ahem....yea that didn't work out for me either.  So fast forward 20 years and now I'm Hooked on Hooking.  I love everything involved with hooking and might have developed a slight obsession.  I know you can't believe that because I surely can't be that bad yet since I've only been doing it 3 weeks but hmmmmm, have you met me?  I tend to jump into projects with both feet, if you don't go big go home type of mentality and hooking is no different!  I have scoured thrift stores for wool like almost daily.  I have amassed quite a wool stash and love the thrill of the hunt.  Then yesterday I hit the mother load of EVERYTHING Hooking that newbies and experts dream about stumbling onto.  I found a lady on craigs list that is selling her entire hooking inventory because she just doesn't use it enough.  The lady lives in Alabama about 2 1/2 hours from us but this is too good of a deal to pass up and the drive into the mountains would be beautiful so off I went.  She used to own a cross stitch store and now owns a quilting store along with she weaves and makes penny rugs so she had no time for hooking any more.  She wanted to pass her incredible collection on to someone that would use it so that's where I come in.  I got a frame, hoop, 7 different hooks, 20 books, 4 years of Rug Hooking magazines, class sheets, monk's cloth, linen, Fraser cutter with 3 different dies and 7 huge sacks of wool that is ready to go.  I just swooned  when she kept pulling things out.  This stuff is so clean, odor free and everything looks new so all I have to do is get it organized and start hooking. 

I've finished the second square now but don't have any pics of it yet. 

6)  Planning a trip back to Germany the first of December since Mark needs to attend a meeting over there.  We're making it into a vacation for 10 nights just visiting Christmas Markets, eating wiener schnitzel, drinking great beer and everything else we loved about living over there.  I see Germany thru rose colored glasses that may or may not be the correct prescription.  LOL!

7)  Joined a couple of new facebook groups which keep drawing me back in to see posts multiple times per day..... Ok you got me, multiple times per hour to see what Prim decorating, prim cross stitch and rug hooking ideas/pics have been posted that I must do NOW!!!!! 

There's been other stuff happening as well but those are the highlights.....lol!
Clarice is sending y'all kitty snuggles and hopes that someone will stop her momma from hooking because it's just embarrassing to say "My momma's a hooker, what does your momma do for fun"?