I'm Bonafide!

Do you see the title of this post?  Well, when you say it to yourself, be sure to give it that southern/hillbilly-like accent.  Our family's favorite movie-to-quote is Oh Brother Where Art Though--so if you are familiar with it, you know exactly how to say "bona fide!"

And just why am I "officially official?"  I finally got registered to vote here in Virginia.  It is a swing state, so I'm just sure my vote will be the one to decide everything!  Really, if we all thought that might be possible, wouldn't everyone make an effort to vote?  I think it is so important, but so many people don't even bother. 

I also got my library card!  I didn't know where the nearest library was, so I finally googled it and found out it is right across the street from the "Y" where I go for water aerobics every morning.  And I never noticed?  A library?  That is so unusual, because I'm such a library fan.  Anyway, I was waiting to do both of those tasks until I had a bill with my name and current address to verify my residency. 

Have you ever spent two weeks or so just holed up in your quilting room, barely going out much at all?  That has been the story of my life lately.  I didn't have much going on yet, so I was really indulging in my quilting.  Meanwhile, I was ignoring other things like the registration and library, finding a new hair stylist, a dentist, yardwork, etc.  Then reality hit and I needed to take time to get to some of that.  Reality arrived in the form of my hair.  I think that finding a new salon/stylist is one of the most difficult things when we move.  The other is finding a new/good dentist.  Anyway, I hadn't had my hair done since Hawaii--way back in June.  Frankly, it hasn't been too bad.  Until Monday.  I swear, I can be fine with my hair until I wake up one day and can't stand it.  I found myself holding my scissors in my hand and fantasizing about cutting it so I came to my senses, put down the scissors, and picked up the phone.  There is a salon in the neighborhood so I decided to try it.  Luckily I could get in on Tuesday.  I'm really pleased with the results, too.  The only problem was that I got color, too, and so I haven't been able to get into the pool for the past few days.  From now on, I will schedule my hair appointments for Friday, so I won't have to miss any pool days.

Since I made a hair appointment, I decided to contact a dentist.  I had a recommendation for a good one, also in the area, and miracle of miracles, he takes our military insurance!  I'm not due for an appointment yet, but I wanted to get the process started because I'm occaisionally having a little discomfort in one area and if it gets serious, I will have to have an emergency appointment, and I'd rather be a "bonafide" patient if that happens, and not just someone "cold calling," desperate for an appointment.  I'm really hoping that it isn't a tooth problem, because if so, that will probably mean a root canal or some other form of torture.  I really can't think of a more unpleasant way to spend time or money!

That brings me to the yardwork.  As I may have stated before, we were not used to this climate:  the heat and humidity has been awful to get used to.  I don't even think the locals can stand it much, so I haven't been doing much outside.  My husband has been keeping the grass cut, but that is about it.  It finally cooled down last week, so we started tackling some of the needed jobs.  There were quite a few weeds in the front, so we were pulling them and scattering seed in the turned up dirt.  There was also weeding to be done in the landscaping beds, etc.  I was enjoying it until I started noticing that about every 2-3 times I pulled out something, a pretty large spider would also pop out.  Frankly, it was creeping me out, so I retreated.  I hate bugs, but spiders especially!.  Four years ago this month, I apparently got bit on the ankle by a brown recluse.  If you are unfamiliar with that type of spider, the venom is basically "flesh-eating."  I had to have the area debrided.  It was extremely unpleasant, to say the least! ((shudder))) 

It hasn't all been tedious tasks, though.  Yesterday I went to a small quilting bee!  It meets on the first and third Wednesday of the month and I must say that it was a nice group of ladies!  I had a really good time getting to know them and stitching with them.  I took along my Sarah's Revival and worked on a block for the first time since getting settled in.  It was a great day!

I plan to be back tomorrow discussing why I may just go broke if all this awesome fabric keeps coming out!

JoAnne