Whew!

I'm so happy I made it through the school year--a little tattered, but still chugging along. Immediately after school let out I embarked on two projects: I had my house painted on the outside, and I started packing up my office to move to a new building on campus. The painting is done, and I'm very happy with how it came out. Here's a shot of the front door. Once the painting was done, I did a major clean-up of the landscaping. Next, the decks will be refinished (hopefully my daughter will do this part) and then the outside will be done for now. The move is on-going, and I'll continue to purge and pack next week.

In the meantime, here are some shots of quilts I've been working on in dribs and drabs over the past month or so. First, a top I finished piecing. This is my birthday quilt for myself, hence the cake fabric.
Lately, I've been very attracted to pink.

I've also been working on a brown quilt featuring embroidered blocks Debra sent me. Aren't they great? When I finish piecing the top, I'll post a picture of the whole thing.
My strategy lately seems to be to use up various batches of fabric in my stash. This quilt and another brown one I have in the works are practically emptying my drawer of brown fabrics. I'm not sure what I'm making room for, but it's very satisfying to use up fabrics I'd been saving for some mysterious future project.

I hope everyone has a great long weekend. Look for more frequent posts in the coming days.

Seven Things

Allie tagged me to do the 7 Things About Me meme. Here's some fuel for those inquiring minds.
1. I have two boyfriends. One is the amazing Michael:
The other is the lovely Louie:
2. Michael brings me flowers and chocolate every week. Yes, every week. This week it was pink tulips and a chocolate banana slug.
3. The banana slug is the mascot of U.C. Santa Cruz, where both Michael and I went to college so it's a kind of inside joke. He got his undergraduate degree there in the 60s, and I went to graduate school there in the 80s.
4. Louie doesn't bring flowers or chocolate, but he sleeps faithfully next to my legs every night. Except for that time last week when he slept with my daughter--hey, this is sounding like an episode of one of those tawdry afternoon t.v. shows.
5. Speaking of questionable t.v., I love to watch some these shows in the name of studying popular culture, and of keeping up on the things my students are watching. I like The Hills, Project Runway, and America's Next Top Model. A woman can't live on literary criticism alone.
6. I'm resistant to new technology. My t.v. is almost as old as my almost 19 year-old daughter. It's a good thing I have a man and teenagers to nudge me into the modern world, or I'd be watching The Hills in black and white. I do however love my laptop, wireless internet and my ipod...
7. Speaking of ipods, my latest indulgence is listening to podcasts. I worship Brenda Dayne, whose knitting podcast Cast On is total bliss. If you don't have an ipod, you can download it to your computer and listen to it there.

I took forever to respond to the challenge, so I may be the last one to post in this go-around. If anyone is left who hasn't posted yet, consider yourself tagged. I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day.