I Sewed Last Night Instead

And in just three hours I had this eye-popping Dress No. 1 all sewed up and ready to put on this morning.  It was already cut out which let me go downstairs after Antiques Roadshow and sew my little heart out.  I love it.  Yes, it's bright and yes, I'm not svelte but it's completely "me" and it makes me happy to wear it.  Besides, vertical stripes are slimming.  (how many times did I hear that as a teen? a bajillion, at least)

I didn't forget my promise to show off the WW Smoky Shrimp & Vegetables with Creamy Herb-Garlic Grits that I made for supper last night.  I must confess after making that cauldron of squash soup (all that peeling and chopping!) and at least an hour of afternoon errands, I wasn't exactly jumping for joy at the prospect of making supper from scratch.  It was on the tip of my tongue to see if Durwood would agree to use one of the fast food coupons he collects but there was that 1/2# of Gulf shrimp looking at me with its big sad eyes (yeah, it wasn't really) to make me realize that was what I truly wanted and needed to eat.  Besides I'd promised you a photo.  Durwood volunteered to help with the slicing and dicing while I assembled little prep dishes of ingredients and got the broth boiling and peeled the shrimp.  It was worth every effort.  Look at this, wouldn't you love to have this plate slid in front of you?  Yes, you would.  The grits is the easy part; you just boil a cup of chicken broth (we have homemade) into which you stir 1/4 cup of grits, then simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Into the cooked and thickened grits you stir a thinly sliced scallion and a wedge of Laughing Cow Herb & Garlic cheese.  Voila!

November 7--Aubrey Beardsley, The Lady of the Lake Telleth Arthur of the Sword Excalibur.  "Dude," she said, "trust me.  It's in the lake."  Arthur stared at the woman who had risen from the water looking like she was dressed in slimy green weeds.  "Uh," he said, "I don't mean to be rude but what dim brain would dump a magic sword in a lake hidden in the woods."  She looked past Arthur to his companion.  "Merl, haven't you told him all about this?  Didn't you trot out the legend, make it sound like a fun quest the way we practiced?"  She shivered.  "He'd better get it soon.  I'm freezing my tits off in this getup."  The old man's hand landed on the younger man's armoured shoulder with a clank.  "Art," Merlin said, "dude, just dive in, grab the sword, then she can get dry and warm, and you can get on with the quest."  Arthur looked down at himself.  "Won't the armor rust if it gets wet?"  The Lady threw up her hands.  "Take the armor off," she said through gritted teeth.  She turned a scornful glance on the young man.  "Where'd you find this kid, Merl?  He's even dimmer than the last one."  She pulled her damp green cloak closer around herself.  "I didn't think that was possible."

Now that was fun to write.  Oops, Durwood's got a couple appointments this afternoon.  Gotta run.
--Barbara