I decided yesterday if the weather was really bad, I was going to take a personal day today. Why? I hate to drive in deep snow or on ice. My car is only a few months old and I'd like to go a little longer without bashing something. If you know you're not going to work next day, you can stay up later the night before--so I was able to do a few things. And a quiet, calm day would really do me good right now.

I actually spent the night at my mother's house. She lives just a few miles away in Loveland, Ohio. She's very able and active at 75, but I worry when this kind of storm front moves in. She's too afraid of ice to venture out on the slick walkways, so that's not a concern; but I get paranoid about power outtages and an elderly woman and her dog by themselves in a house with no heat. So I schlepped my overnight bag and my needlework project bag to my mom's before the snow started falling.

There's something so amazingly comfortable about snuggling in on a winter's night with your needlework. I'm trying to finish my first attempt at a quilted wall hanging (I know, this is cross-stitch and needlearts, but I cross genres), so I had a lovely time hand quilting the hanging. (When it's done, I'll post a photo.) I've been learning needle-turned applique and reverse applique--those along with hand quilting are very close cousins to the embroidery I love so much.

Today has been busier. I've been looking over quilting books to learn more about my job as editor, and going over one of the manuscripts I've been assigned, to work out a number of things. At some point I need to go back outside and let my car run so the ice will loosen enough to get it chipped off. Everyone else went in to work today, so I feel a little guilty taking my personal day. However, it's also been productive from a work standpoint (and on my time). It's hard to resist just plopping down in my mom's recliner and working on my wall hanging all day, ignoring the gray, frozen world outside (and the book manuscript spread all over the kitchen table). That's okay. I'll head home early in the evening, and I'll give myself the rest of the night to cuddle up on the couch, needle and thread in hand. I figure I'll have earned it!

--Nancy