Right Now

I have these pinecones. Lots of pinecones. I picked up a grocery bag's worth last month. For free--one of the grocery stores where I shop is across the street from a church, and along the road by the church are several pine trees, and hundreds of cones had blown across the street to a grassy strip alongside the grocery store parking lot. So I pulled in one day and started picking up cones. Then a lady pulled up beside me and gave me a great tip. She told me to put the pinecones in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes. She said it would kill any bugs hiding in the cones and make the sap turn a pretty amber color.

See the pretty sap? It is really pretty. I forgot about the pinecones until I noticed smoke...all throughout the downstairs. It took about an hour to get all of the smoke out, and the great piney scent lingered for hours. Rob and I loved the smell; the kids, not so much.

Anyway, right now, I'm left with all these pinecones (and this is about only half of what I brought home). They're still on the cookie sheet because I don't know what I'm going to do with them! I keep searching the house for some kind of decorative basket to put them in, but I haven't found one yet. They really need a home soon.
And right now, on another part of my dining room table, is the zig zag quilt. Does anyone have a recommendation for quilting thread? Because I'm using a brand-new spool of Coats & Clark machine quilting thread and it is breaking constantly--just like all the other spools of C&C machine quilting thread that I've bought in the past. Constantly re-threading the machine does not make this enjoyable for me!

And right now, I'm knitting these as fast as I can. Seven down, five more to go, and then it's on to the mini-mittens.

And right now, I'm wondering what is the best way to repair these jeans. The quickest way will be an iron-on patch on the inside. Or I could just take these out of the rotation.

And right now, I still can't believe that the kids really didn't notice all the work I did yesterday. They're not asking where anything is...it makes me think I need to remove more stuff!