About 2 years ago, i met a local fellow who is about 25 years younger than me, and he has a hard side camping trailer, the kind with the canvas covered front bunk. He allowed that he was going out west to Arizona, for his vacation trip. He bought a GMC Sport-utility to tow with. and installed an auxiliary tranny cooler, and was worried about maybe having car trouble out there on the big old hiway! He asked me if, in our many years of hauling campers and stand-up trailers, if i worried about having a break-down on the road. Gee! When i think of the used cars i'd get to tow with, and how far we'd usually go on a trip, Maybe we were fat, dumb, and happy! But--we never had a new car or truck. Never could afford one, and didn't think it was very smart to tie up a pile of money in car payments. I'd get home from work, the boys would have every thing hooked up and ready to go. We''d grab a bite, and clean up and go! Sometimes to Hickory Hills Camp in Ohio, or our Bluegrass Park, north of Kittanning, Pa. Usually if ya do break down on the hiway, a cop will come along fairly soon and get ya some help. When he heard of how we'd just "go", and not worry about the tow vehicle' he just shook his head.

I took my 7 year old son to a big fabric store nearby (Berkeley) today. We were there for an hour and a half. (He wasn't looking at fabric the whole time--he took a book to read!) He wanted fabric to make a pillowcase for his bed, and he found the most adorable sock monkey fabrics by Moda. We also got one for my younger son, and I made his pillowcase when we got home. It is so cute, now I think I'd like to make a comforter cover to go with it. And while most store bought comforters have all those loose, annoying buttons along one end, I figure if I make it, I can use my closure of choice: the zipper. However, that will be one mighty long zipper. And, not surprisingly, I have "zipper phobia." Funny how my first project with bias tape called for 6 yards of the stuff applied in one continuous piece. Now my first zipper might be a looooong one across a comforter cover. I'm searching online for the best price for the fabric... I was all set to work on some more "aprons" but ones that I can actually wear outside the house (which is becoming fashionable, believe it or not). But after 90 minutes in this shop, I am sad to say I couldn't find any fabric that I liked. Well--I found lots that I liked, but it all had a specific orientation (e.g. not stripes, but dots or flowers or some other pattern that were nonetheless in ROWS). So if I didn't get it exactly straight across the front, it would drive me nuts. I picked up a cheap pattern for a kind of "babydoll" type top that involves...*gasp*...darts. But the measurements on the back are so odd. They don't correspond to typical sizes (that is, I normally wear a 6-8, but when I go by my actual bust, waist, him measurements on the package, it equals size 12). Hmmmmm. I'm looking for fabric for this one... I also want to make an oilcloth shopping bag type thing to carry my knitting in. Speaking of knitting, my son is eagerly waiting for me to finish a pair of socks for him. So many projects, so little time!! Let's see--what else: I played with all the cams on the T&S. They don't work very well though, b/c many of them require the fine stitch setting, and my fine stitch eats up the fabric like crazy (which also prevents me from doing buttonholes). And my bobbin now loads/fills about once in every 8 tries. So that is really frustrating! I wonder why? :-) From the other side of the fence.... Francy

That's great, slow! Very cool. Curb.....I know what you're saying - loving this forum cause it helps to know you're not the ONLY one that gets so carried away with these things that we love so much! I, too, love tools. My workshop would make a lot of MEN envious. And SLOW...., I always thought I got carried away with too many things that I wanted to do.....until getting to know you here on the forum - you far surpass ME!! HA! It's great! Like so many people here say....so much we want to do, and not enough time to do it ALL.

I don't usually consider myself dumb, but with this forum I sure feel that way. I did actually put "conversation" in the search box and maybe I found it. I don't know what posting box with related forums that people are talking about. This is just taking too much effort............it ain't fun.