crappy day turns into crafty day

Today began with lots of sleet hitting the window pane at 5 am and continuing until we hauled ourselves out of bed. I didn't expect our university to call since they never do, and the TV confirmed this hypothesis. It didn't matter anyway since I had a meeting downtown that unless it was terribly dreadful, I felt like I couldn't miss. So Nora and Jason got bundled out the door (SLU hadn't called either) and off to Grammy's and I slithered down the alley and took the city streets into downtown since the TV did tell me that all of the highways were a mess and to keep off of them if we could. The city streets weren't all that great either. As I rode the escalator up to the meeting at the hotel, I checked my cell phone thinking I might need to call and find out where the meeting was (they change it all the time) and I realized that I had a text message. I never get text messages. So I checked it. The university closed at 9:30 and day and evening classes were canceled. Well, that meant that I technically didn't have to be here, but since I was already and the meeting was sort of important, I thought I'd stay. Needless to say I soon came to regret that. Most of the local people didn't show or came late, the folks who had come in from the other side of the state the night before and stayed at the hotel were there and bizarrely, one of our Illinois folks decided to brave the bridge and came in too. So I guess I was happy that I at least showed up for them. We spent too much time re-hashing old business that we've covered for the past several meetings and then we moved on to ego enhancement and micromanaging of other people's project areas. All the while we are meeting in a cavernous ballroom with windows all around showing us the continued sleeting snow-scape outside. Um, folks if you just shut up we could all go home! Oh, and did I mention that the room is freezing! Half of us have on our coats and gloves. It just goes on and on. Finally we break for lunch at 1:00 and I excuse myself claiming the need to pick up Nora early. Our chair understands but I think wishes I'd take her with me....

After a white knuckle drive out to mom and dads, during which I continue to mentally rail at my colleagues and and then proceed to verbally continue my rant once I get inside, I get some lunch and calm down. Nora is asleep so I decide to set up the sewing machine and start on of the projects I've been meaning to get to since I bought this retro, cute, bunny fabric the other week. This is normally a very bad idea. If I'm in a bad mood, the last thing I should usually do is attempt something like sewing. But today it turns out great. Mom helps me finish off the project, mainly because she thinks that they need to be a little more neatly done, but I am very happy with them, even is she isn't. So without further ado, BEHOLD, Nora's new potholders for her kitchen. You can't tell here, but they are filled with a cute quilted fabric on the inside so they feel like actual potholders and not flat one-layer mittens, although I don't actually think that they are fat enough to serve in actual hot pot-holding but Nora is too young to use the stove anyway. The mitts were actually more difficult than I anticipated especially without a pattern and I just drew around my hand, although in the completed form they are size of children's mittens.