Stay tuned...

Many exciting things have happened since my last blog post.  I don't have a project to show you right now, but I do have some pictures of things I've done this weekend.

I went to a Cricut Circle gathering in Waukesha, Wisconsin.  It was a really fun time, and I was glad to reconnect with my new friends Cyndy and Fumiyo and to meet some new people!  Here's one picture - I'll be posting a few more tomorrow:

That's Shannon from Provo Craft - she's quite the fast talker!  She covered so much that was going in the Cricut Circle.  I can't tell you, though... it's confidential!  Yes, we are wearing Cricut Circle headbands.  Steve says they're recursive with the antennae being the Cricut Circle guys with their own antennae.

After I got home from that, we had to rush rush rush out the door to pick up my friend Michele.  Friday night was the first "Fish Fry and a Flick" by Point Brewery.  It was held down by the lakefront at Discovery World.  The beverages were by Point Brewery, of course.  Their root beer was quite good!  The food was by Bartolotta Restaurants, so I knew it was going to be good.  The movie was "The Hangover", which is by no means kid friendly.  There were a few kids there, but it was mostly adults around our age, it seemed.  They are going to have movies every Friday until late September, and we're going to try to go at least twice.  They had a little "street fair" of vendors, and the theme seemed to be green, recycled/upcycled, earth-friendly food, jewelry, accessories, and stuff like that.  There were a few other vendors, but they were in the minority.  The ones I really liked were The Basic Shop, Zewing Girl, and Chartreuse.  Steve bought me a hair-tie, because I always seem to be without one when we're out at things like this:

Wait... that's not a gray hair right in the middle of my head, is it?  I thought they were just in the front!  Argh...

They also had bowling from Landmark Lanes, and Steve got a strike, winning him a free game:

Unfortunately, the prize is only good for a week, and we're too busy to make use of it, so we gave it to Michele in case she can go.  Another prize was for a concert for the indie band Keene, who we like, but it's on a Tuesday night, kinda late, and we're old people.


Here's what the movie screen looked like from the front of the non-VIP section:

and where we were seated from about this distance:

Steve is waving - can you find him?

We waited for dusk and the movie to start:

And... once the movie started, here's a "Traci's eye view":

We could actually see better than we thought we were going to.  We had a lot of fun and are looking forward to more of these outings!  I think this may end up as one of my "100 happy things".

What next?  Oh - I got up early on Saturday morning and participated in the Loose Bead Society bead rummage sale.  We had a very nice turnout of "vendors" and buyers, and, most importantly, I made more than I spent.  Julie, our Secretary, dangled a gorgeous stone in front of my face, mostly gray and purple, and I just had to get some things to go with it.  I think we all had a good time, and I, for one, hope we do this every year!  I'm keeping my items priced, just in case.

Here's our Membership Coordinator, Kathy Willmering, and her wonderfully organized booth!  The following picture is of bunches of people shopping:

Okay... where does that leave me?  Oh - about 5:00 on Saturday night.  I went home and crashed for a few hours.  Steve woke me up for a nice dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, and corn, then we worked on our scrapbook for our 1st anniversary trip to Chicago last October.  Mama and Papa are coming from Florida at the end of August, and we want to have it done to show them.  I'll post a few of the pages here, but I'll wait to post more until they come.  I want her to be able to look at new things and not just stuff she's seen online.  Yes, Mama, I want you to be surprised!  The Ottes aren't all that keen on surprises.  My birthday present from them came already, a few weeks early, and they couldn't fathom that I wanted to wait.  I opened it early, and it's a gorgeous PartyLite mosaic mirror!  It can be hung on the wall or put on a table with candles on it.  Thanks, Mama and Papa!

I'm getting distracted.  So sorry.  It's been so busy here, though!  Around 11:15 Saturday night we went to the Rosebud Cinema Drafthouse for a midnight showing of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", one of our favorite movies.  Rosebud is a theater we just discovered - it's close to home, and there are comfy couches instead of regular seats!  They have a decent menu, and the popcorn has real butter.  That's a big draw for me, I tell you!  The prices are quite good, and the midnight show was only $5 a ticket.  Here's Steve's Facebook status from early Saturday night:

‎"WHAT is your name?"
"Sir Steven of Milwaukee."
"WHAT is your quest?"
"I seek the Holy Grail."
"WHAT are your plans for this evening?"
"I'm going to a midnight showing of Monty Python and the Holy Grail at the Rosebud Cinema Drafthouse with my wife Traci Southern Otte!"
"Right, off you go then."

If you haven't seen the movie, stop reading this blog, go straight to the Blockbuster or other DVD rental facility of your choice, and rent it!  Better yet, buy it.  It's an excellent movie that needs to be seen multiple times in order to get the full effect.

By some of the laughter at Rosebud, there were a number of people who hadn't seen the movie before.  By some of the other laughter, including that coming from us, there were Holy Grail veterans there who were laughing in anticipation of an upcoming scene.

And Sunday?  Can it be a day of rest?  Nope.  We've had a problem with our garbage disposal and a pipe on that side of the sink that has been broken for over 3 weeks.  Don't get me started on that, I beg you.  My stepfather, John, came over to help us put in a new one.  We took him for lunch at Flat Top Grill, one of our favorite places near Mayfair Mall.  The new garbage disposal and pipe and new sprayer all went in just fine, and we're estatic.

Tomorrow, Steve is taking the day off of work, because we're having a new washer and dryer delivered.  The dryer broke again, so we decided it and the washer were far too old to bother with.  The delivery is going to be fairly early tomorrow morning, and my poor husband just spent about an hour unhooking the old stuff and finding that he may need to replace an electrical outlet.  It's always something.

So, that's been (and will be) my weekend, which explains why there are no new projects to show you!  Busy busy busy!  Tomorrow I will have something for you, though, so I'd better get back to it!