Thanks Ladies & Bob Kovar

[Mojo]

Just wanted to publicly thank Bob, June and Bobbin for helping me find the right machine for my wife.

The Janome arrived and she is happy as a pig in mud with it. She has a big project coming on soon for our Niece who is flying over from Australia to have her make her wedding dress for her. This is the last wedding dress she made ( actually she made this for herself ).

http://throgmartin.com/Photos/Ally/allyweddingown.jpg

Thanks again gang. :)

Chris

[JuneC]

Kool!  Happy to hear she's pleased with the purchase.  NICE wedding gown!  BTW, she might want to check out this photo essay if she's looking at designing another....

   http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-look/everyday-style/staticslideshowglamour.aspx?cp-documentid=32111171

[Mike]

 nice dres , so is that your wife chris?

[Mojo]

yeah Mike. Thats the boss. :)

Chris

[Mojo]

I e-mailed her the link June. Thanks so much. :)

Chris

[Allan]

A good Aussie girl

Allan

[Mojo]

A good Aussie girl

Allan

I will probably keep her. :)

She is heading back to Oz in July for our nieces wedding. I may come as well depending on what is going on here and whether I can get a house and dog sitter. I may also go in late fall ( ours ) if her Mom wants to come back to the States for a visit. She doesn't want to travel alone because of her age.

If I do head to Oz I will have to see about heading to Brizzy to see you mate. Hope your doing well. Haven't seen much of you on here. Drop in more often.

Chris

[gene]

About wedding dresses:

I was playing a board game called Cranium with my family. My two kids had a card that had a wedding dress on it. They had to each write down 3 words that came to mind about this picture. If they have at least one word the same, they win that round. The same word that they both wrote down was "ugly".

They wrote "ugly" because they said wedding dresses are supposed to be ugly so it keeps your attention on the bride - it makes the bride look better. I had never heard of this before, but obviously they had.

gene

[Allan]

Chris

I am working in Gladstone about 700 kilometers north of Brisbane ATM
Not doing much sewing
Too busy otherwise earning the big bucks   :P

Allan

[bobbin]

I hope you will keep us posted on the new machine from time to time.  As I mentioned, I don't do much with home machines but I've been thinking about one of those coverstitch machines.  It would add a very useful function to my "quiver" and it wouldn't take up a lot of space or require a lot of capital!

(I don't miss bridal work one little bit, lol.  In fact, I no longer am willing to do it... any of it.  I've suffered one too many last minute fitting cancellations, and one too many mini-tantrums about "my special day".  All done with that foolishness, thank you very much! All of which made me wonder how the bride was going to adjust to actually being married.  In my experience the most important factors for reasonable chances of success in marriage are:
1.  a good sense of humor, and common intellectual interests.
2.  knowing what things are most important to you on a deeply personal level, and living your life to those standards as best you're able, every day of your life.
3.  a willingness to compromise and negotiate a fair deal when things aren't going so well and knowing when it's time to "go to the mat" for principle.

Marriage isn't for the self-important and selfish.)

[sofadoc]

Now some marital advice for MEN:

Whatever you do, DON'T try to fix a woman's problem. They don't want it fixed. If they didn't have any problems, then they'd REALLY have a problem!!

If you feel like you MUST try to fix it, you must first agonize over it for at least a week before giving her the simple solution that you could have given her off the top of your head in the first place.

It's OK to be a "shoulder to cry on". Heck, you can even cry right along with her if you want (women love that sensitive crap). :-*

As for that cornball advice "Never go to bed angry", that's BULL!! Go ahead and go to bed. It's the ONLY way you're gonna get any sleep. In the morning, you will have forgotten what you were fighting about. But don't worry.....she'll remember!! ;)

JUST KIDDING LADIES!! (but seriously guys, don't try to fix their problems)

[Mojo]

One of the best quotes ever:

" A fate worse then death is to be married alive ".

Chris

[bobbin]

Yup!  I would concur heartily with Sofa.'s "sexist" take on things.   ;)  And also with Mojo's quote about being "married alive".  In all earnestness, how many of us can say we know someone struggling in the latter condition?

A friend of mine once told me I was "lucky" because my marriage was going well while hers was circling the drain.  I corrected her, saying I wasn't "lucky", at all.  Rather, I replied I was fortunate.  "Luck" implies that rational thought plays no part in the critical decisions.  "Fortunate" tells a different story... one that counters blind "luck" with the importance of making careful choices before saying, "I do". 

I am fortunate indeed.  But then, I was never afraid of "being alone".  To me, nothing could be worse than to be married and bored. 

[Mojo]

My first marriage was a train wreck. But I cannot say it was completely worthless as I have two awesome by products of that marriage - my kids. We got married at 18 and I believe that was the problem. Still I hung in there for 21 years of a controlling and mentally abusive marriage.

My second marriage is night and day compared to my first. Allycat is an awesome partner. It is not easy being married to someone with a disease that has no cure and eats up a large part of ones life. It isn't easy for her to know that her husband could not be here tomorrow. Yet she hangs in there and supports me and nurses me on bad days and has never once complained.

I look back and despite our age difference ( yes I robbed the cradle by 9 years ) I believe our viewpoints on life is what has made the difference. While we differ on enough subjects to create balance in our lives, we also see eye to eye on important matters.

If something ever happened to her or our marriage - number 3 wont ever happen.  I will just find a lovable old gal and shack up. :)

Funny Story. A friend of mine had a horrible marriage and went through a bitter divorce where he lost a ton of his assets. He never remarried or got into another relationship and actually pays a lady to come live with him two weekends per month for sex and companionship. He says his current setup is actually cheaper then having a wife and pledges he will never remarry. Talking about a guy who is gun shy of women and marriage. :)

Chris

[Darren Henry]

I am working in Gladstone about 700 kilometers north of Brisbane

I grew up in Gladstone-----Manitoba  :P. About 150 km (90 miles) west by NW of Winterpeg. My sister stills lives there. It's about 150k from Brandon as well so see her more now.