I have ripped open the seams on both of my pillow shams stuffing the pillows back in them after all the bedding went through the wash. I asked a friend to sew them for me because she has a machine and all my "by hand" stitching leaves a bit to be desired. She was, however, too busy, so I was left to my own devices.

All I am going to say that is that when sewing the seams of pillow shams it is quite important that the flap is in the proper position. If I were talking about my repair job, I might mention that I got the flap wrong three times (outside on one side and inside on another) and had to keep ripping out my painstaking stitches. But I am not getting into all that.

I did end my rather frustrating day quite wonderfully. A friend was not feeling well, so I visited her with three plans for relaxation before she went to sleep. She chose listening to a CD of Fernando Ortega (20 of my favorites) and having her hands massaged with lotion. Sprinkle in a bit of laughter and my job was done. She was smiling and feeling a wee bit better. Fernando is great therapy when one's mind and heart is overtaxed.

Of course, I went over there in my lounge pants and oversized, bird-chewed purple shirt so that she would not feel to need to get gussied up...but she still popped in the shower and put on a rather fetching lounge outfit. My rags paled in comparison. She really is classy.

Oh to be so...