The Baby and School

After reading some of your comments about whether The Baby should go back to school or not, I thought - what the hell?? I went back and realized my blog was confusing. I think my brain was in a fog from burnt cookie dough! The Baby will go back to school (I would kick her ass if she didn't), the issue is whether she wants to go back to school and still have to deal with the drama going on with The Boyfriend, or should she end the relationship prior to going back to school and deal with the normal drama of being in college.

Mrs. P. I like your idea of sticking my fingers in cookie dough to heal them - I would have, but The Baby got to it first! I also like the idea of a new stove!

I ended up making Shepherds Pie for dinner - I find it to be good comfort food! Today, I feel lazy and have decided to knit and listen to a book on tape! It is raining again! I don't know how people live in areas where it rains all the time!

Off to listen to my book. Have a great day!



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Update on the Boyfriend

I am sure that some of you are chomping at the bit to know if The Boyfriend survived the weekend or not! Big and I held back and did not do any bodily harm to him. The Baby and The Boyfriend had a tiff (I am now using the British language!) on Sunday morning, but seemed to make up. When he got ready to leave, he told The Baby he wanted to "Take a Break." She is upset and doesn't really understand, but is taking the time to decide if she can deal with the trust issues and if she really wants to go back to school with the drama that has been going on between them.

It breaks my heart to see her hurting, but I know she has to go through it and learn from it. As always we support her.

By the way - I am sure The Boyfriend waited until he was almost in the car to "take a break" so he could have a quick getaway!!

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Have you Ever??

Have you ever thought to your self, I should _____________ (fill in the blank). As soon as you think this your intuition tells you it is not a good idea. You really want to ____________, so you decide that weird feeling in your stomach is really just an argument between your stomach and the hot sauce you ate last night. So you foolishly decide to go ahead with ___________.

My bright idea for the afternoon was to make some cookies. I was really jonesing something sweet. (I would have been happy to just eat the dough!) I decided some of the dough should become real cookies - so my story begins. My intuition was screaming - but I wouldn't listen. Sugar craving was screaming louder than intuition.

I mixed the dough, got out the cookie sheet and the parchment paper.

Dough on the cookie sheet (also in my mouth) - Check.

Dough in the oven - Check.

Cookies done to perfection - Check.

Then things started to go bad.

I decided to use the dishtowel as an oven mitt - bad idea #1. It, of course, touched the bottom burner and began to flame up. I was already pulling the cookie sheet out of the oven when the dish towel caught on fire, so I decided to quickly pull the cookie sheet out of the oven - mistake # 2. The cookie sheet has no edge - the first row of cookies slid off the sheet! Some landed on the bottom of the oven and some landed in that little crack that is made when you open the oven door. You know that area you can never seem to get really clean? I threw the towel in the sink, ran water on it to put the fire out and then turned back to the burning cookies!

Hmm...how to get them out of the oven before they too, catch on fire? I got the spatula and decided I could scoop them up and the job would be done - mistake # 3. The cookies slid when I went to pick them up with the spatula. Without thinking, I used my fingers to stop them from sliding - mistake # 4. Burned fingers. While jerking my fingers away, the cookies fell in the crack! Now 6 cookies were in the crack. Now how to get to them? I got two spoons and got most of it out. I closed the oven door and pulled open the drawer that is under the oven. The rest of the cookies fell on the floor. When I turned around to get a paper towel to pick up the cookies, the dog swooped in and grabbed the very hot cookies! She let out a little yelp, but ate the cookie pieces anyway. She keeps licking her lips! Poor baby.

Anyway, I decided to put the rest of the dough in the refrigerator and stop before I could do any more damage! My fingers are killing me and it is hard to type and the dog is acting like she is mad at me!

I should have listened to my intuition.

I think I will just sit here and order out for dinner! Hope you have a safe day!

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The Boyfriend

The Boyfriend arrived last night. I haven't killed him yet! I am doing my best to not lecture him on the evils of lying and making my daughter cry. Big is doing her best to not beat the crap out of him! (Actually she is very passive when away from work - I, on the other hand, could easily beat him!)

They just left to go out to dinner and a movie. Here are a couple of photos. Of course, my favorite is the one where she is shaking her fist at him!




Big and I will be alone for most of the night. I think we will follow Mrs. P and try some of her wonderful Slack Tea menus. Hmmm...I still have some Vegemite! (See Marg, I brought it up again) Big is usually really tired by the time Friday rolls around and I usually don't feel much like cooking a big meal. We will probably watch a movie and fall asleep on the sofa before it is over! Ahhh... isn't getting older wonderful? (read - a bitch)

Hope you all have something better planned for the night! Let me know - perhaps it will be on our schedule next weekend!

Have a great weekend!

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Zuchinni Bread

Mmmmm.... Nuff said

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This and That Thursday

I like the idea of having a theme on certain days. So, I have come up with This and That Thursday. What do you think? I am going to use it as a place to put random comments and things that happen in my life. They will be in no particular order and will follow the way my mind works - flitting from here to there. So here goes.

The Baby's boyfriend will be here late today. I am not sure how the weekend will go, could be good, could be bad. I am sure he will be nervous to be around Big and myself. He thinks we don't approve of him and after the lying incident, I am sure he thinks we think even less of him. I have mixed emotions, but I support The Baby.

I made a checkbook cover a couple days ago. I want to make one for The Baby but she has to pick out the fabric. I would make one for Big, but she is not allowed to have a checkbook or much over $5.00!!



Yesterday, I felt like crap. My head hurt, my throat hurt, my body hurt - you get the picture. So I decided to sit on the sofa and knit. I am listening to a good book on CD so that helped pass the time. I was almost sorry when the family came home and I had to stop the book!

Speaking of books on CD - Big listens to them on her way to and from work. She carpools with three guys and if she is driving they get to listen also! They pretend they are asleep, but they are really listening. Anyway, she had been listening to a book written and narrated by a British woman. It was about 12 discs long and after about disc 8, she began to incorporate British words in her vocabulary. I would always crack up when she would say them.

So yesterday, I told her I had shared the fact that we had a blow out the other day.

Big - "Why would you say that?"

Me - "Well, my bloggie buddies are my friends and I tell them everything."

Big - "At least you could have said we had a row!"

At this point I started cracking up and said, "Why would I say that? It means the same thing!"

Big - "It sounds classier!"

Big is a real character!

Today I will get some cleaning done, prepare the bed for The Boyfriend, make zuchinni bread and get my craft on! I will be listening to my book on CD as much as possible!

On Monday, my crazy friend Lisa will be over to work on a wallet pattern. I will make lunch for us and I am sure we will have fun.

Hope you have a great day!

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Things Got Better

Yesterday turned out to be a good day. Things got better with The Baby and her boyfriend. She will have trust issues with him, but they are going to try to work through them. He will come to visit for a few days this week and I am sure they will have some more serious discussions along with some fun. Big had a good day at work (the Warden was gone for the day), so she came home with a smile! Also, there were no late night calls from the prison regarding some stupid thing an inmate did. So all in all a good day.

I worked hard in the house and got most of it cleaned up, so today is all about me and my craftiness! I joined a pot holder swap at Pins and Needles and have met my swap partner Tina. She is working on an embroidery project called 100 Blessings. Here is her blog about it. I have seen this done before and thought it would be something I would like to do. So guess what? I have decided to join in. I figure I don't have enough projects going on at the moment, only about 50. So what is one more? I have to create a new blog for this project to follow my progress. I have decided to call it "Blessings to Grow By." Sometimes my days get so busy and there is so much stress that I forget the blessings that are in my life. I am hoping this project will remind me of some of those blessing. I would like to be more thankful every day. So, I hope you all will follow me on this adventure and for those of you who embroider or would like to embroider, I hope you join in. I will let you know when the blog is up and I get started!

Just wanted to leave you with a couple photos of a hummer at one of my feeders. This feeder is in the front flower bed and I can see it when I sit in the living room. I was lucky to catch these.




Hope your day is wonderful!

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Hello all, hope you had a good weekend. My was not bad, not good. Friday, I went to a quilt show with my bud Lisa. The show was held in a school that had no air conditioning. Needless to say it was hot, hot, hot and not very conducive to looking at quilts or shopping at the vendor's booths. We were in and out of there in a flash. On the way home, a storm came out of nowhere. It was raining so hard some folks pulled off the side of the freeway. I think that storm lead to some of the storms that happened in my home!

Big and I had a blow out (can't remember why, but it was a big one!). The Baby and her boyfriend had a blow out on Saturday. I am not sure what will happen with their relationship. I think they will stay together, but perhaps not. They broke up for about a year and both dated other people. The Baby asked him if he was intimate with anyone and he continually said no until this Saturday and then he was honest and said he had been with someone else. The Baby is hurt by the fact he was with someone else, but the main issue is that he lied to her, repeatedly. We have always been a very honest family. The Baby has been raised to tell the truth, even when it seems easier to lie. Many times it is easier to lie, but the lie always comes back to you and usually makes things worse. So, we have been dealing with lots of drama in our house.

For the good part of the weekend, we went to see the movie Despicable Me. It was so cute and was a much needed diversion from the stress in our house. I also volunteered for a couple of hours at a "clothes line" quilt show my guild had. I actually chatted with a few of the members and am beginning to feel like I finally belong. There were about 20 quilts on display. It was a nice day and there was a light breeze, it was so peaceful to sit and watch the quilts blow in the breeze. Here are a couple photos from the show.





I don't feel like doing anything today, I think I am emotionally worn out from the weekend. I have an overwhelming "To Do" list. Every time I get one thing crossed off I have to add a couple more things. Very depressing. Oh well, off to the salt mines!

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I Finished Something

I told you I was feeling crafty today! I finally finished my clothes pin holder. I started it about a month ago and finished it a few minutes ago. I really like it. I wanted something colorful and fun. I think washing needs all the help it can get!

When I am finished with lunch, I will be making my second batch of blueberry jam! YUM! Then, if I have time, I will back in my sewing room to make a pillowcase for Big out of some "Olivia The Pig" material The Baby and I found. Big writes and illustrates children's books (nothing published - I can't get her to send anything in) and while reading children's books for research (and because she is a big kid) she found Olivia and fell in love. I was going to make the pillowcase for her birthday, but I couldn't keep the fabric a secret from her! I am not good at keeping secrets.

I have always wondered how crafty women/men got all the work done that they show in their blogs. I found the secret - NO HOUSEWORK!!

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Helga's gift (again)

I finished Helga's gift early this morning. I took a photo and sent it to Mrs. P right away. I hope she is laughing her ass off! When I was taking a last look at the pattern this morning, I realized the creator has a blog. I went there and sure enough, there was the patter - photo and all. So here it is. Remember, do not look if you think you might be offended. I was offended and I was making it. (Marg, it was a little hard to make) This is not the kind of thing I normally make, but I did it for my cousin. Sometimes we just gotta do what we gotta do.

Yesterday was spent cleaning our garage. We have lived in this house for just over a year and there were many unpacked boxes out there. I have about half of the garage done. It is hotter than Hades here (well, maybe not that hot) and I thought working in the garage would be better than working outside. It was, but it was still hot. I don't think I will finish the job today, I think I will sew! I am feeling very crafty today.

Tomorrow I will be hangning with my friend Lisa. There is a quilt show in Bridgeport and we will attend it. We will be having lunch at Panera, which is one of my all time favorite places. I love the Cheese and Broccoli soup in a bread bowl. Delicious!!



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No link

Sorry that the photo of Helga's gift didn't show up for everyone. Apparently Ravelry logged me out after a while. I am not sure how to get a photo for everyone to see. It is X-Rated and I don't want to offend anyone. Any ideas?

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Knitting for Helga

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I have read some of your blogs and it looks like a lot of fun was had celebrating Independence Day. We did a little yard work (Sunday is mowing day), had some BBQ chicken, macaroni salad and watermelon and then wrapped up the evening by watching fireworks on television. Why watch them on television you may ask. The fireworks in our town were held on the 3rd of July, not the 4th! Who does that? Really, what is the deal. Needless to say, I was a little upset that we missed the live show, but the TV fireworks weren't too bad.

Anyway, on to my knitting project for Helga. Helga is my cousin who lives in England. We found out last year that she has lung cancer. She underwent chemo and radiation, but it spread to her brain. She won't tell us how long she has to live - she is just taking every day and making the most of it. I am very proud of her for her attitude. She and her long time boyfriend will be on their way to Dubai in a week for, what she calls, the vacation of a lifetime.

Helga and I have never been very close. Much of the reason for this has been the miles and miles between us. When I was young, my Mother, Brother and I lived with Helga's family for a year while my Father was stationed in Korea. I saw her again when my Dad was stationed in Germany. She spent a week with my family about 6 years ago and we went to visit her about 3 years ago. Although we are not close, I feel very sad for her. I think of her often and try to e-mail every few days to let her know we are thinking of her.

So, on to the good part of the blog. While we were visiting Gt. Yarmouth, Big asked to use Helga's iron (Big irons everything). Helga pulled out her iron and ironing board, set it up and then watched Big begin to iron. She had a grin on her face the whole time. Let me explain why. Her ironing board cover has picture of a good looking, well built man on it. He has a towel wrapped around his middle. When his towel gets hot from the iron, it disappears and his manly bits show! Anyway, Big got busy with her ironing and when she picked her shirt up from the board, she got a big (and I mean, big) surprise! Helga was laughing so hard I am surprised she didn't pee herself. Of course, the rest of us had to run and see what was going on and then we were all laughing. So with that story in mind, when I saw this pattern, I immediately thought of her. Please be aware, this is an X-rated pattern, so don't look if you are sensitive to that type of thing! I hope this makes her laugh and takes her mind off all of the sadness she is dealing with right now.

Hope you all have a wonderful day - I am off to clean house and then to more knitting! Hope to get Helga's gift in the mail in the next day or so.


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West Virginia is in Mourning

Early Monday morning the state's beloved Senator Byrd passed. He was 92 years old and was in good health until the last few months. Senator Byrd spent 51 years in the Senate, the longest time anyone has served. He lay in repose on the Senate floor in Washington D.C., and was then returned to Charleston, WV, Thursday for a final viewing by the people of this state. Thousands have passed by his casket.

Senator Byrd was well known as "The Prince of Pork." He never signed a bill without making sure that West Virginia got something out of it. It is because of him that we have wonderful roads, beautiful and plentiful state parks and more.

I am not a native West Virginian, but I have come to love this state and all that it offers, much of it due to Sen. Byrd. He will be missed.


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Home Improvement

Firstly, I want to thank all of you who wished me luck on the tarring of the drive way. I have learned many things while working on this job. Perhaps I should say re-learned. I know all of these things, yet somehow I seem to block them from my mind.

Here is a list of what I re-learned.

1.) You never buy enough "stuff" for the project
2.) It always takes longer to complete the project than you estimated
3.) It is always a good idea to read all of the instructions
4.) The money you saved by doing the job yourself does not cover the Dr. bills or the cost for the massive amounts of Ibuprofen you need to take
5.) It is probably not a good idea to work on the project with your "better half" They somehow quit being the "better" part of the whole and just piss you off.
6.) At the end of the project, although you are proud of yourself for a job well done, you realize you should have just hired a professional.

I know there are some of you working on (or have worked on) home improvement projects (Mrs. P, I know you are!!), any other home improvement wisdom to add to my list?



Some of this area was done yesterday. The dark part is the new protective coating. (I am sure you figured this out) I had to trim the grass at the edges, sweep it, blow it with the blowy thingie, wash it down, keep it damp and then put the black stuff on it. I also got black stuff on me, my clothes and my shoes! I washed off, the rest of the items are now my "tarring" clothes.



In this photo, I tried to show some more of what I accomplished today.



Here is some of what I have to do in the upcoming days. Yes, all the way down there! The driveway is downhill and therefore it is hard to see where the end is. Look for the road that runs perpendicular to my drive way.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

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A Gift From Lisa

I received a call on Monday morning from my friend Lisa wanting to know if I would be home later that day. She said she was coming to town and had a gift for me. Lisa is a sweetie and is always giving me little gifts. I told her I would be home in the afternoon and I would love to see her, gift or no gift. When she got here, she made me come out to her car and close my eyes. She opened her trunk and low and behold there was an old Free-Westinghouse sewing machine in her trunk! She said she saw it at an Estate sale and thought of me, so she picked it up.







I have done a little research on it and found out that it was made in the 30's or 40's. A Mr. Free had a sewing machine company and then joined Westinghouse and then eventually was bought out by Westinghouse. I plugged it in and it works! I have it in my guest room underneath a window that looks out to the front yard. I am so excited. Today I will spend some time cleaning it up and figuring out how to work it. My sewing room is in the basement (our basement is a livable space, not just an ugly basement!) and I am not always fond of going down there. Once I am there, I am fine, but getting there is hard. I don't like dark spaces and my sewing room has no window. So this machine is perfect! I just love it and I just love Lisa!



Monday night I made these flowers for The Baby. I got the instructions from Emily's Little World. I had a blast making them - only burned my fingers once. I cut some circles out of a synthetic material (old blouse I picked up at the thrift store for about 10 cents) and I singed the edges. There are about 5 - 7 layers in each one. I added some seed beads to the center. She wants to put them on a headband. If you remember from a previous post - she loves to wear things in her hair. I am sure I will be making more for her and some will probably end up on a shirt.

Here is another photo from the quilt show. If I remember correctly, there were 128 different blocks in it. I think it is really beautiful.



Hope everyone has a wonderful day. I am off to clean the driveway so we can lay a coat of stuff that looks like tar on it. Our winters are hard on the asphalt. This project will take many days - our driveway is probably about 500 feet long! Wish me luck.

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