Here is the latest progress picture of my Celtic cross. I'm pretty impressed with t he amount of progress I made in just about a week worth of work. I would be much farther along if I could get the scroll work in the corners placed right. I had to re-stitch the ones you do see twice before I got them in the right spot and I stitched the ones on the left but had to take them out. It's hard to get them in the right place since they are so far away from the other stitching. A friend did this piece and left them off but I liked them so I will start on them again this week and then it's on to the backstitching.

I was stitching so much the last couple of weeks that I had to take a couple of days off because my wrist was beginning to hurt. Even with my support glove it still hurt so I thought a break was in order. Instead I got some errands run over the weekend, the housework done as well as a bunch of laundry.

Thankfully the Superbowl has come and gone. Living in the metro Detroit area it was all that the TV/Radio people could talk about for a good two weeks. Still it seems to have gone well and I think Detroit did a good job. I did watch some of the game but not all of it. This was the first year in many that the Lodge didn't have a party and it was nice to spend the evening at home.

I read some sad news last night before bed. A person from the needlework boards I read had passed away unexpectedly in her sleep. She was in her 20's. How sad to die so young. I didn't know her personally but can see her sig in my head and I know I read many posts and replies from her on many of the boards. I feel bad for her husband and family left behind.

On a bright note we might be getting another second car...YEAH!!! I hate not having a car right now. I feel so trapped not to mention it sucks having to do all your errands at night and on the weekends, when every one else seems to be doing. I miss the simple joy of going to the library when it's quiet and not filled with high school kids or when I have my two boys tugging at me. Our friends are getting a new car and since their old one has quite a few miles on it and was in an accident two years ago that damaged the passenger door(they had a friend replace it) it's not worth much as a trade in. They offered it to us for $100. I'm afraid it may not last long or something will go wrong with it but even if it only gets me through the rest of the winter I'd be happy. It will be a few weeks but I'm giddy at the prospect!

I'm very annoyed with London Fog and will be penning them a letter of complaint sometimes this week. Donovan got off the bus the other day with the pull on his zipper pulled open. He said he caught it on the edge of his locker when he was taking it out and he said he tugged on it to get it out. Now I know Donovan is a little boy but he's not terribly hard on clothes and stuff(unlike his brother who wears out jeans at an alarming rate) so he often out grows something long before it wears out. When I looked at the zipper pull and touched it, it immediately fell apart in my hands. Now I know a zipper repair is simple, if you sew, which I don't, but I did expect an $80 coat(we got it on sale at Burlington Coat Factory for $50) to last longer than 3 months. I also had hoped to pass this jacket on to his brother next winter which is why we invested in a pricey coat.

I gave the coat to my MIL yesterday and she thinks she can replace the zipper on her own. I have a sewing machine and I have sewed but since the jacket is down filled I was worried about opening a seam and getting feathers everywhere! I was looking into having a tailor repair it but that would take time and money.

Saturday we went tot he store and thankfully found a jacket for 75% off and got it for a mere $15. It's a little big for him now but I think next year it will fit perfect. Of course it was the only coat anywhere near his size so it was the only choice we had. Today he wore it to school and liked it(he can be funky about new clothes so this was a relief). It's also a really nice coat and seems warm so we lucked out there. If my MIL can fix the zipper that will be great because then we will have coats for both boys for next year. Sill the coat was bought in mid-October and it shouldn't of broke so soon!