"Happy In-Between Week!"

Don't you just love the week before New Year's? People seem less stressed out, or maybe they're just plain exhausted after the holiday celebrations. I'm moving very slowly today, reaching for plain tea, clear soups and roasted vegetables to offset the effects of some culinary "indiscretions." No more soy gingerbread lattes for a while!

With gratitude, I wish you all the best New Year ever. Let's make 2010 a year to remember. Last year was personally memorable because of your joining in this Lincoln Bicentennial celebration. As long as there's an Internet, this blog will go on. Lincoln's Bicentennial year is still going strong, until February 12, 2010.

If I may, I'd like to use this forum to announce a new venture. As some of you know, I'm a crossword puzzle constructor in my other life; I've also designed some crossword patterns under the Primrose Needleworks label. This week I launched Crossword City, where I'll blog about puzzles,words, life (and in the future, some stitching subjects).

Puzzle folks are familiar with ETUI; it's a crossword favorite. For years, ETUI was considered an obscure remnant of crosswordese, until a few stitchers reached into their stitching bags and bopped the accusers' heads with solid evidence. Didn't Caesar the Stitcher really say "Etui Brute?" on the Senate steps?  We continue to fight the good fight and I won't stop until AIDA is clued as a stitching fabric, and not only as a Verdi opera.

Crossword City can be found here:  http://crosswordcity.blogspot.com/

Enjoy in-between week and I hope you'll take time to do the right thing -- stitching is the right thing . . . right? Good tidings to all!