The Coffin Dancer

I just finished reading "The Coffin Dancer" by Jeffery Deaver. It's the first Lincoln Rhyme novel I've read, and the story was good. I was really frustrated at the pig headedness of one of the characters, and the twist in the plot near the end was just too twisted.

In other news, Tom and I will be leaving for vacation today. We're going to the beach for a week, and I hope to get a lot of relaxing done, and a lot of work done on the Silver Bella swaps I've signed up for.

United Way Barbecue

Tonight's pep band gig was for the United Way Barbecue being held at the stadium. Once again, we were the entertainment for the people waiting in line outside of the stadium. We didn't get to see anything happen, but we did see Poe, the mascot, interacting with people waiting outside. He also danced to some of our music.
After the gig, we had about an hour and a half before practice, so twelve of us went to Owings Mills and grabbed a bite to eat at Noodles and Company. It was a cute little place. I got the Trio, and my choices were Pasta Fresca, Parmesan Crusted Chicken, and Tomato Basil Bisque. I had a nice time hanging out with my band friends - outside of performances.

Ravens vs. Jets

Tonight, the Ravens played the Jets in their second pre-season game. The Ravens barely defeated the Jets, 23-24. This was only because the Jets decided to go for a two-point conversion with less than a minute left in the game, when a field goal would have clearly tied the game. Honestly, I'm glad the Jets went for two, because the game was dragging for me, and I don't think I would have been able to stay awake through overtime. Being out late last night for book club didn't help, and neither did not having time to get a nap before the game.

As a band, we didn't do much for this game. Our pregame show was cancelled, due to the U.S. Army's Golden Knights dropping in at that time (Ha, ha! Dropping in! I kill myself!). Then, we didn't have to do a halftime show because of USA Football (more kids playing football, like at the last game). Our next game should be fantastic, though. For our halftime show, we'll be performing with a rock band. Oooooo.

The Rum Diary

The second meeting of the Tidewater Book Club was tonight. The book we had to read was "The Rum Diary" by Hunter S. Thompson. It was an okay book, but I wouldn't really recommend it. I actually think only two of us read the whole thing. The meeting didn't work out as planned, either. At the last meeting, we agreed on this date, but some people forgot other obligations that they had, and some people flaked out at the last minute. I even brought munchies for the "meeting," a Pesto and Roasted Red Pepper Dip, served with Wheat Thins. Everyone seemed to enjoy them.


Pesto and Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 2 hr 10 min
Makes: 4-1/2 cups dip or 36-2 Tbsp. servings

3/4 cup pesto
1 tub (8 oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese Spread, divided
1 container (16 oz.) Breakstone's or Knudsen sour cream, divided
1 jar (12 oz.) roasted red peppers, drained, chopped
Wheat Thins Original Crackers

Mix pesto and half the cream cheese spread in medium bowl. Stir in half the sour cream; set aside.
Spoon remaining cream cheese spread into separate medium bowl. Add peppers; mix well. Stir in remaining sour cream. Refrigerate both dips 2 hours.
Spoon dips alternately into serving bowl; swirl with knife. Serve with crackers.

Apron Flair Swap Completed

And for my third trick, I've completed my flair for the Apron Flair Swap! I had this morning off, and the weather wasn't supposed to be nice, so I got to work on my flair. I had already painted chipboard crowns either silver or gold, so today I attached the crown charms, pin backs, and extra bling. The picture is an example of one of them, but no two are alike.

Ravens Rookies Movie Night

Tonight, the Pep Band performed for the Ravens Rookies Movie Night. The Ravens Rookies is a club that younger fans can belong to, and the Ravens held a function that included showing "Madagascar 2" on the big screen in the stadium. There were also activities on the field for the kids to participate in. We played outside of the stadium for the people waiting in line. After we were done, we were treated to complimentary food tickets, so many of us stayed and grabbed a bite to eat. The local zoo had even brought in penguins for the youngsters to see.


When I got home, I completed my Mini Art Quilt blocks. I had to take something off that I added since my last update on them, but I think that it would be considered an improvement. When I last updated you about them, they were rather plain. I eventually added some bits of lace that Wanda had sent me (which I'm not using at a fast enough rate to offset how often she sends me stuff). Hopefully, now, they will not be the ugly step-children in the completed Mini Art Quilts. Now, I just need to send them off...

Woo-Hoo, I Won!

For the past month, at the Tidewater, we've been having a contest between the servers to see who could get the most e-VIP cards filled out. The contest ended on Monday, and the winners were revealed today. With 48 cards filled out, I won the $50 first place prize! Second prize went to Allen, with close to 40 cards - I honestly thought that I would lose to him. I wasn't even really planning on participating until Friday, so I guess that shows what you can do if you put your mind to it, since over 30 of my cards were filled out this past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Band Piece

Over the course of the last year, the band has had a couple of visits from Barry Levinson and his crew. He was going to make a documentary about the flight of the Baltimore Colts, and has decided to include the band in the piece. I believe that it will be called either "And the Band Marched On" or "The Band that Wouldn't Die." It will air in October on ESPN for their "30 for 30" series of programming, which is a series of one-hour documentaries on a broad range of sports topics. What's cool here, is that originally, the piece was slated in the 20's, but aparently, it was so good that it's now slated as number 2. We also learned at band practice, that it's going to be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival! The Levinson group even invited the band to attend the screening! Unfortunately, we had to turn down the invitation - it coincides with our first regular season game. As with the invitation to perform in China after how well we did at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a few years ago, it's just an honor to have been invited.

Tom's Home

While at work this evening I received a call from Tom letting me know that he was back home. When I got home, he told me a little about his trip. He said Panama wasn't what he remembered from way back when. He also said that he had steak and lobster every night, for only $15! You can't even get a good steak for $15! Ah, well, some guys have all the luck.

Day 8

Okay, I need an opinion. I've completed my initial idea for my Mini Art Quilts, and need a little feedback. I like them, and think they're fine, but I also feel like, since this is for Silver Bella, that they need to be embellished some more. Take a look and leave me some feedback, I will really appreciate it.

Day 7

Today, I took the day off from Huber. I slept in because of my late night last night, then spent the day crafting and watching "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. I love that series of movies! I feel like I got a lot accomplished. I finished touching up the paint job on my P's, cut out backgrounds for the Playing from A to Z Swap, then started working on my Mini Art Quilts in earnest. I was almost late for work at Tidewater, I got so involved with the quilts and the movies.

Ravens vs Redskins and Day 6

I started today off with crafting, and picking up where I left off on "The Princess Bride." I painted a base coat on my last two owls, which arrived in the mail a few days ago, touched up the paint job on my P's, and glued playing cards to black cardstock. My movie experience moved on to "Slumdog Millionaire," which I had to interrupt and finish watching after the game. Man, that's a good movie!
Today was the Raven's first preseason game vs. the Redskins, and the Ravens won 0-23. It was good to win, even though it was preseason. The band only performed the pregame show - halftime was taken up by peewee football players, but they were fun to watch. The show went well, in my opinion, and even though it was really hot for practice before the game, and there was a downpour on the march back to the buses after practice, the weather was quite nice for the game itself. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a really great season.
One last little item of note - I received the last hair accessory in the mail today. It's a set of two barrettes, and they are just too cute.

Day 5

Tonight officially starts some spontaneous vacation time that I've decided to take. In honor of Tom's absence, I've decided to take a few days off from Huber, so that I can craft and have time for myself. To start it all off, after band, I fell asleep while watching "The Princess Bride." I guess I was just too tired to go wild and crazy on my first night off. Tomorrow will be more interesting, for sure.

Day 4

Not much to report for today, except for I locked myself out of the house when I went out this morning to water the plants. I went out of the front door, for a change, and failed to twist the thing on the knob that unlocks the door. Aargh! I had to search the garage for the spare key, and almost freaked out. It all ended well, though, and I think I'll leave the spare key where I can find it, for the time being.

Howard County Fair and Day 2

Today, the band performed at the Howard County Fair. Every year, we perform for the fair - a short concert and the parade. It was a good time, even though it was really hot. Afterwards, I treated Vanessa from the clarinet section and myself to ice cream cones. It was her last performance with us for the season. Hopefully, she'll be back next season.
On the way home, I stopped at Michael's to shop for supplies for my Silver Bella swaps. I found lots of stuff, and think that I've got enough stuff to complete everything. After picking up something for dinner, and getting home, I sat down in front of the TV, put in a DVD, and after eating, worked on my crafts. I took up way too much time organizing my booty, but ended up painting the base coat on my owls for the Spooky-Ooky Halloween Owl Swap, and the P's for the Playing from A to Z swap. I then got caught up in my movies. I watched "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" and "Prince Caspian." I really enjoyed them, a couple of really decent movies. It was a nice evening alone.

Tom's Gone - Day 1

Tom left for Panama really early this morning. For him, it's work for a week. For me, it's a prelude to vacation! Not that I'm sure if we'll be going on vacation as planned at the end of the month, but...
Today, before leaving for work, I crafted. I spent a bunch of time in front of the computer, printing out images for ATCs. Then I painted the bases of my flair for the Apron Flair Swap, and put ATCs together for the Vintage New Year's Resolution with Flair ATC Swap. I feel like I got a lot accomplished.

Martina's Party

Tonight, I went to Martina's and Marty's Annual End-of-Summer Party. It had been canceled last year, due to weather, and the weather turned out nicely this year. She had tons of food: pit beef and turkey sandwiches, pasta salad, fresh vegetables with dip, crab dip with toast and crackers, taco tartlets, shrimp eggrolls, assorted cupcakes, and fresh fruit salad, made up mostly of watermelon. There were a lot of people there! Helen and Ernie, Dawn and Mike, Brenda and Bill, Donna and Mike, and Jamie and Chris were all there, too. Dawn and Mike are married now, and Jamie's nine weeks pregnant with her fourth child. Chris is following in his grandfather's and uncle's footsteps and is making wine. As usual, it was really great to see everyone and catch up.

Lost - then Found

Glory hallelujah! I went downstairs earlier to do a little crafting, and for whatever reason, decided to look for my lost charms again. I decided to look in places that I hadn't touched recently, just in case Tom's theory about a ghostly presence might have some merit. Wouldn't you know it, I found the charms in my old sewing basket! Almost instantly, I knew it just had to be Tom's fault, so I went to him with my story. When I told him where I had found the charms, it all came rushing back to him. Several days earlier, he had gone down to look for a needle and thread, and pulled the sewing basket out of it's spot. He set it on the table that I had left my bag of charms on, and pushed the bag to the side. He then proceeded to empty the basket, looking for needle and thread. When he didn't find it, he loaded the basket back up, inadvertently loading the bag, too. I am so glad to have finally found them, but a little peeved, too, because I've already ordered the stuff for a new set of charms. Either way, they won't go to waste.