Junk Drawer #1

I'm adapting Deb R's all-too-appropriate description of my mind these days to post this collection of random snippits of information:

1. The Bathroom Wall

You know those projects that seem so easy and then get way out of hand? The towel rack in the master bathroom was loose so I decided to replace it with some stunning and elegant hooks. This meant removing the rack hooks and patching the dry wall...which meant applying the wall stucco texture stuff to match the rest of the wall. Hah! Harder than you'd think, and since it's the wall you face walking in, it's pretty noticeable. It's taken me all week and various light applications of texturey stuff to get it right. I only started this a week ago and only tonight am I painting over those patch areas. Stay tuned for installation of new hooks tomorrow!

2. The good news and minor bad news

I am very happily driving my new MDX. It's wonderful, and I love blaring the stereo to take advantage of the great sound system. It went back to the dealer for 24 hours for installation of a roof rack (got to tie the Christmas tree somewhere) and an Acura approved Ipod Music link, and I excitedly rushed out to the car yesterday when it came home to plug in the Ipod and try it out. But this music link system is -- well, HORRIBLE. The sound quality is wonderful, which is nice, but you cannot access any sort of selection system on the Ipod so you either have to be happy with random songs or driven crazy trying to find music you KNOW is on there but can't get to through the system's very limited interface. Who would have figured this accessory would be so LAME? I've discovered online that pretty much everyone who's tried this feels the same way. Darn, wish I'd read that BEFORE we added this option. I've already contacted Acura about getting it uninstalled and getting a refund. (I swear, this vandalism episode has put me in a major "No More Ms. Nice Guy" sort of mood.) But there is hope. There are apparently various after-market systems that you can have installed to run the ipod through the stereo system but still use the Ipod's wonderful music selection interface. So that's where I'll go.

3. PIQF, here I come!

I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon to drive down to the bay area, where I'll stay with my parents in the evenings and attend the Pacific International Quilt Festival on Friday and Saturday. I'm really looking forward to it. (ooh, gotta remember to bring VERY comfy walking shoes...)

4. And wait...there's more fun ahead!

I get back from PIQF on Sunday morning, then pack up my stuff and head out to my semi-annual quilt retreat at the Bishop's Ranch late sunday afternoon. It's right here in my own town so I don't sleep over ... I come home to my own comfy bed and husband and daughter and can send everyone off to school in the morning with home-packed lunches and warm hugs, then I rush back and have more quilting fun. I'm still plugging away on my wild Cinco de Mayo quilt blocks, which seem to be what I do at this retreat since they're complicated and better to work on when I have big chunks of sewing time.

5. I love you, Aaron Sorkin!

I have been so happy to watch Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip every Monday night. Thank goodness that Aaron Sorkin is writing smart, snappy dialog and engrossing stories for tv again! And aren't Matthew Perry and Brad Whitford perfect together?