A week (end) to remember

On Thursday my friend Kathy visited.  You can always tell when she visits, because she brings half her craft room with her when she comes.  Of course, on this day, I had a gift for her that I put out while she was using the restroom.

It didn't take her long to spy the package I had sewn together for her using my leftover paint splattered paper from my craft table.

I had a hard time keeping up with her.

She seemed to move at lightening speed when I was taking photos.
 

Finally, I got her to slow down and show the bird cage I got her after Christmas and forgot to give her until now.

 

Here she is looking at one of the tags I put in the book I made for her from silverware sleeves.

She seemed impressed with this,

as well as the book I made her from Christmas cards, although I failed to get a photo of her looking at it.

While we were at lunch, she got an important phone call.  We had shared a plate of egg foo young, and I was hoping I could eat the final piece on the serving plate.

Next, Kathy wanted to go shopping.  So, off we went to Michael's, which is where she wanted to go.  She had several cents-off coupons burning holes in her purse, and she wanted to spend them!!  I have to admit, we found lots of bargains.

 

On our way back home, we saw this really cool old car, but I was unable to get a good photo,

even when she drove slowly as we were turning the corner.

Back home, I got a big surprise.  The lights were out at my house.  My next door neighbor, who was sitting on his front porch, told me the lights were out at their house, too.  Furthermore, they didn't come back on until late Saturday evening.  I never did find out what the problem was, but I was especially glad I didn't have to spend another night huddled under several blankets snuggling with Bleubeard.  Did I mention (at least five or six times in previous posts?) how cold it has been here?

Saturday night I learned the reason for the outage was someone (or several someones) had cut their way into the substation that controls the energy going to my neighborhood.  The perpetrators apparently stole copper from some of the coils.  I have no idea why they didn't get electrocuted, but it sure put a crimp on a lot of the neighborhood's weekend.

Saturday, while the lights were still out, I lost water, too.  Once again, my neighbor told me a city worker was fixing a water main (about a block or two from my house) when it broke.  The water had to be shut down until the leak could be found and repaired.  So there I was without water and without power.  It's a good thing I still had a decent amount of coffee I had saved to the fridge.

After all the hub-ub was over, I spent Sunday morning enjoying heat and hot coffee.  I realized I had not shown what I got at Michael's and was now able to show what I got.  From back left clockwise is a lovely dress-form rubber stamp for $3.49, one of two rolls of tape in a package for $1.00, and a package of scrapbook paper for $1.00.

Kathy brought the instructions to the Big Kick she gave me about a month ago, and I bought a set of nesting dies. They were not Nestables,

but looked similar in shape to these from Quick Kutz.  However mine had only 6 or 7 in the package that I bought on clearance for $9.99.  I sent them home with Kathy, because she bought a different set and was anxious to play.

Back to this photo, I bought a rubber stamp that looks a bit like one arm of one of those old fold out rulers, as well as a lamb, each for $1.00.  The Two smash book products were also on clearance for $1.49 each.  And finally, the set of alpha stamps were also only $1.00.  I could not have been happier.

I bought the smash book products because I asked Kathy earlier that day if I made her a scrappy journal if she would use it.  She said she had bought a journal with white pages, but liked my scrappy journals better and might actually work in one I made her.  I will start working on it now that my sewing machine can run again.  (Isn't electricity a magical thing?)

 Kathy insisted on buying me something, so I let her buy the Hero Arts rubber stamp for $3.49 (marked down from $12.99).  I also picked up the stencil and she insisted on buying it, too, because she had a 40% off coupon she was determined to use.  Since the stencil was not on sale or clearance, she practically grabbed it out of my hand.  It was originally $3.99 (quite cheap inexpensive for a stencil, I thought) and it cost her $2.40 with the coupon.  Not a bad day.  I was happy and came away feeling like I could now make Kathy a scrappy journal she might actually use.  Chock that trip up to my birthday gift to me, I guess.  

At least I had a lot of fun with Kathy, and even started my May ARC book by candlelight.  It's amazing how quiet a house can be (and feel) when there is no electricity and no way to make phone calls (since I no longer have a plug-in phone and have never owned a cell phone).  Being unplugged was fun for about seven minutes, then it felt like torture until the lights, computer, heat, water, TV, and refrigerator came back on.  But I'm alive, smell freshly-showered, and have lived to tell about it!  I hope your weekend was outstanding, fruitful, crammed with fun, full of energy, packed with fun things to drink, and filled with light.