The Road to the Superbowl ...

... apparently goes through the Superdome. What. A. Game. The Vikings dominated more than I ever thought possible. Never in my wildest dreams did I think the game would turn out to be so lopsided. But I am SO happy! Now, if they can be half as dominant against New Orleans next week, they'll at least make a game of it. GO VIKES!!

At precisely 8:58 PM, I finished a HUGE project. Cleaning my sewing room. And I mean CLEANING. Very few people have seen the before picture, and I have none. Thank goodness. And I will NOT be posting a photo of the huge pile of stuff to be disposed of that is sitting in the family room. I hope to find a good home for lots of patterns, fabric (some quilting, some crafting--felt, fur, etc.), craft supplies, etc. I don't just want to dump it, though I did some of that too. So here is the after:

Now I am so inspired to make a quilt, and I'll start that tomorrow.

In the proess of this major league clean, I found some very precious items. 1) This little quilt that my youngest son Matt made. The needle and thread are still attached. He used to sit in the there while I sewed and would work on his own little projects. I think I might frame this.

I can't remember how old he was, but I'm guessing about kindergarden. I wish you could see those precious stitches. This is just priceless.

2) This photo of 4 generations of women, the youngest being my paternal grandmother Clarice, born in 1904. Her mother, great grandma Hanson, and her mother great great grandma Erlandson, and great great great grandma Bue.

The mat is in poor shape and a corner is missing, which it was when it was given to me many years ago. I'd like to find out if there is someone in town who could do something to fix it up. 4 generations of hard-working Norwegian women. I love this photo.

I also have 4 stitchery projects that just need finishing, either into pillows or frames.

I've not been on the computer much at all today, which isn't like me either. It does feel good to be sitting here, listening to tunes on my iTouch. My legs are tired. So ... what else did I do today? Let me see ...

My workout was: running down to the Y, lifting, swimming 1 hour, running home. Legs felt fine, which is good since I will run in the early AM tomorrow. Yesterday I was soooo out of gas, even though my legs were good to go. I have to start eating a little bit more (and drinking more, and/or carrying water, at least until it freezes solid) before those long runs. One cannot run 13.33 miles on fumes.

After I got home, I watched the last 2 1/2 quarters of the game and started a loaf of Oatmeal Bread. New recipe which is DELICIOUS.

I ate the heel (my favorite part) while it was still a little warm. Scrumptuous. I had another slice with supper. I couldn't resist. Supper was a batch of Split Pea Soup.

Wonderful supper. Hit the spot. Then I made a batch of that new Oatmeal Raisin Cookies recipe from the Penzey's catalog. My friend Kathryn has a birthday today and I will give her a bag full tomorrow at work. She LOVES dried cherries, so I used snipped dried cherries instead of raisins. She will also get a jar of my cherry jam. I wonder if she will read this before I get to work ... ??? I guess I'll find out.

My friend Vicki uses old T-shirts to make re-usable diapers for babies in Haiti. This is something that started long before this week's earthquake. I dropped off a few for her at Running Room today. She does not need a huge drop of shirts, as there aren't enough sewers to make them. If you are a sewer (you don't have to have impeccable sewing skills) and would like to aid in this effort, get in touch with me and I will get you in touch with Vicki. As you can imagine, the need is now very great. You can still drop off those used, but wearable running shoes at Running Room.

I got a couple emails from "bleaders" out of the blue today (3 actually--one from Buffalo, NY even!). I LOVE getting those. I have no idea for the most part who reads this blog, and I love to get feedback. So keep those cards and letters coming ... :-)

As Billy Joel singing "And So It Goes" plays on my iTouch, will now sign off. Talk at you tomorrow. Ciao.

p.s. I just took a photo of "the pile" in the family room. If I have the nerve, I'll post it. Maybe.