Home Matters 1st

Favorite Thing Friday

2011-07-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

Here it is Friday already. I find myself, once again, sitting on the back porch. So, today my Favorite Thing is my back porch.

As soon as the nice weather begins to arrive, I find myself sitting on the back porch.

The porch is the first place I go after I have poured my morning coffee. I often work on applique, hexagons or other handwork on the porch. When Big comes home, we each get a cool beverage and sit on the porch and discuss our day. Our evening meal is usually eaten at the table. As you can see, I have some handwork and my computer ready. My trusty bird and puppy accompany me.

We are very lucky to live in a small sub-division in the country and we have no back neighbors. The wildlife is abundant and I enjoy seeing all of the visitors we get.

Cardinal and Goldfinch

Blue Jay

One of the many hummingbirds we get. I love watching them.

Our friendly, neighborhood deer. I have a love/hate relationship with him. He eats my plants (hate him), he is a beautiful creature of God (love him).

I love gnomes, this one was a gift from The Baby!

Thanks for hanging on the porch with me! Visit Ms P's blog and check out every one's Favorite Thing Friday!

One Flower Wednesday

2011-06-29T17:25:00.001-07:00

I am linking up with Journey of a Quilter and her One Flower Wednesday.

These are the two hexagons I will be sending my swap partner. The purple hexi reminded me of summer flowers and the fall colored hexi made me long for the cool fall weather.

Here are a few of the real flowers blooming in my garden!

Bee Balm

Day Lily (One of the few the deer did not eat!)

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the flowers!

Cynthia

Pyjama Party Sunday

2011-06-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

Today, I am joining Marg's Pyjama Party Sunday.

Remember the mess with the pinwheels the other day? My craftiness for the day was spent re-sewing them. Here is the final layout.

Sorry for the bad photo! We have had rain, rain, rain. Every photo I take comes out dark and blurry!

Now comes the big question. How do I quilt this?

I don't really want to take it to be professionally quilted. Although it is, and will be, a favorite of mine, I don't think I need it quilted by someone else. I will save that expense for something I would consider, "Heirloom". Let me know your ideas.

Also, Big and I went to see the movie, "Bad Teacher". It was a funny movie and I enjoyed it very much. If you have a chance, go see it!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

Quilt Show

2011-06-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

I attended the West Virginia Quilt Show on Thursday. There were many beautiful quilts to look at. It was very inspiring.

I was also pleased to find a vendor selling Japanese fabric. I have drooled over Japanese fabric for a long time and just didn't feel like I could spend the money. I spent the money, plus some! But for now, I will share a few of the quilts I saw.

I think my favorite was the red and white quilt.

Big and I will go see the movie "Bad Teacher" tomorrow. I am so excited, it looks very funny. I will also be joining Marg's Pyjama Party Sunday.

Hope you had a great day!

Favorite Things Friday

2011-06-24T17:30:00.000-07:00

I am joining Mrs. P's Favorite Things Friday. The last time I tried to join, I didn't link up right! Lets hope I get it right today!

One of my favorite things is my puppy, Daisy.

When Daisy first came home with us, I told my daughter that Daisy would be her replacement! Now that The Baby is in college, Daisy is often the recipient of my hugs and kisses.

Daisy follows me around, never sasses me and seems to think I am the boss! What more could I ask for?

On the long list of my favorite things, Daisy is at the top!

Vegetable Garden and Quilt Mess Up

2011-06-22T19:11:00.000-07:00

The Baby and I decided we would, once again, have a vegetable garden. We moved the current raised beds and built one new one. We planted tomatoes, jalapenos, zucchini, 2 types of lettuce, spinach, leeks, broccoli, basil, watermelon, cantaloupe, turban squash and Japanese eggplant!

Three weeks ago

Yesterday

The beds are positioned next to a sidewalk that runs from the back porch to the driveway. We have to walk by the beds everyday, which makes it easy to bend over and pull a weed or two before they take over!

About a year ago I started a pinwheel quilt. By starting, I mean I went out and bought a 1/2 a yard or more of 35 different floral fabrics! Six months ago I started cutting and sewing pinwheels. I got 17 of them finished before a trip to Kentucky (more on that later). I finished the the other 18 pinwheels between visits to the quilting shops of Ashland, Kentucky.

When I began to work on the placement of the blocks, I noticed a problem. Do you see it?

Mind you, the blocks are placed on a tablecloth, so don't say the problem is the red showing through the white part of the pinwheel - it was a dark and rainy day and this was the best light!

Let me know if you see what is wrong!

Daisy (the pup), Precious (the cat) and Budgie (the bird) enjoying a summer day with me on the back porch!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tea Time in the 30's

2011-06-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

Fiesta® Dinnerware was designed by Frederick Hurten Rhead in 1936 and is now among
the most collected china products in the world. As originally designed, the line featured art deco styling and bold, bright colors. The product was discontinued in 1973 and reissued in 1986 with new contemporary colors to mark its 50th anniversary.

My first introduction to Fiesta Dinnerware was at my American Grandmother's house. Every meal we ate, while visiting, was served on Fiestaware and each of the settings had a combination of colors. As a young child, I was fascinated, not only with the colors, but also the boldness my Grandmother displayed when she mixed colors in each place setting.

Today's tea is set in a 30's style. The table cloth was found at a yard sale for $1.00. I love the reds in it. The cups and saucers are just a few of my collection. The colors displayed are my favorites!

Do you own Fiestaware, or have any fond memories of it? What are your favorite colors? Hope you enjoyed a little bit of my collection!!

I am linking up to:

Artful Affirmations - Tea Cup Tuesday

Thanks for stopping by and visiting with me!

Catching Up

2011-06-21T05:44:00.000-07:00

Good Morning everyone! It is supposed to reach the lower 90's today. That may not sound hot to some, but factor in the 80% humidity rate, and it becomes overwhelmingly hot!

So, this morning, I am off to work in the yard. A few things on my "To Do" list are:

1.) Secure the Hollyhocks
2.) Weed the vegetable garden
3.) Pest control in the vegetable garden (on the hollyhock also)
4.) Plant the Lambs Ear, Alyssum (a perennial) Panorama Red Shade Bee Balm (love, love love Bee Balm) Arizona Sun Gaillardia, and the Snow Lady Shasta Daisy
5.) Work in the "Over the Fence" garden by planting more Walkers Low Catmint, and Rosemary
6.) Feed the birds
7.) Make sugar water for the hummingbirds
8.) Finish laying mulch in the front yard

When all this is finished and if I am still able to move, I will begin my chores in the house!

Nothing happens until I finish my morning cup of coffee and my vanilla yogurt with homemade Banana Nut Granola!

I hope to be back with photos - if I survive the heat!

Favorite Things Friday

2011-05-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

This will be my first time to post on Shay's Favorite Things Friday. It is very possible I will not get it "linked" correctly! I am still computer illiterate!

My favorite thing today is my Daughter. She is home for a few weeks on summer vacation. I am enjoying every minute I get to spend with her.

She will be 20 years old this Monday, and like every Mother, I wonder where the time went. I can still remember holding her for the first time.

She has grown to be such a beautiful person, not only on the outside, but on the inside also. She is kind, compassionate, funny, smart and my best friend.

Thanks for allowing me a moment to brag on my baby!

Hope you have a great weekend. I will be making strawberry jam and perhaps Strawberries and Cream Scones. Big has a Bench press and Dead lift competition on Sunday, so we will all go to that and cheer her on!

2011-05-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

First off, let me say thanks for supporting me and my Strawberry Festival quilt entry. You are very sweet to support me. I will show photos of not only my quilt, but most, if not all, of the others.

I was standing in the dining room this afternoon and noticed some birds swooping down on my chickens. I watched a little closer and noticed they were bluebirds. I usually don't see bluebirds here. Bluebirds live in this area, but they are a bit shy. I wondered why they were so mad at my chickens, so I went to investigate.

This little guy had apparently fallen out of his nest. His parents were trying their best to protect him from the chickens. Big scooped him up and put him in a planter. His parents calmed down a little when they found him safe. I am not sure where he is now, I can only hope he is ok.

I was able to complete a couple of hexagon flowers for a swap I am a member of.

Thanks for stopping by! I will have photos tomorrow!

Strawberry Festival

2011-05-17T17:49:00.001-07:00

Buckahnnon, West Virginia is known for it's annual Strawberry Festival. It is also known as the meth. capital of West Virginia, but we will talk about that later.

One of the things that happens during the Strawberry Festival is a quilt competition and show. I decided to enter the mini quilt that I made for my Mom.

I am not hoping to win anything, I am just hoping to have some constructive criticism. I also think it will be fun to see something I made hanging out with a bunch of other quilts. I will take photos and share the outcome with all of you.

Hope you all have a great day!

Cynthia

Busy work on Sudnay

2011-05-15T17:40:00.000-07:00

I picked The Baby up on Monday morning. I have so enjoyed having her home again. She will be here until mid-June and then she will be in El Paso, Texas, for an internship with the YWCA. She will return for two weeks and then will be off to Argentina and Peru for a semester. I plan on spending as much time with her as possible!

Today, we went to see the movie, "Bridesmaisd." It was so funny! We laughed the whole movie.

I didn't get much sewing done today, but I did get some pattern cutting done. I plan on making these two patterns.

This top is for Big. I have some cream colored crepe that I will use for it. I think the fabric should hang nice.

The top shown in this pattern will be for The Baby. I am will be using a dark blue fabric with polka dots. I thinking it will be a cute summer top.

The quilt in the photo above was made by the quilt guild I belong to. The intent was to raffle it off and donate the money to a half-way house that recently opened in the city. It was quilted with a long arm by a new quilter. The guild decided the quilting was not good and so it was decided to pick all of the stitches out. I spent a good part of the past few days picking out tiny, tiny stitches.

Hope you had a good weekend.

I work for fabric

2011-05-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

I am beginning to think that the only reason I work is so that I can purchase fabric. Here are a few photos of my most recent purchases.

I found all of this fabric on sale. I plan on using the pink flannel and the dog print flannel for the back of some kids quilts. The strawberry fabric is for my Quilt Guild Fat Quarter Swap. The red and white check will become napkins to be used this summer.

I am thinking of using some of this for cushions and pillows for the outdoor furniture that I keep on the front porch.

I am beginning to fall in love with 30's reproduction fabric. I am hoping to use all or part of this for a scrappy quilt. I don't really have a specific pattern in mind. I will know it when I see it.

Found these at my LQS for $1.00 each! How could I not buy them?

These are some of the blues that will be used for background fabric for an applique quilt I am working on. Lane from That Man Quilts, has been sweet enough to share the patterns from Simply Delicious with me. I am loving every minute of working on it. It is slow going, but enjoyable.

I went to Joann Fabric's and found these two Jelly Rolls. The patterns are hard to see in the photo, but they are really cute. One of them has birds and nests.

I know that you all were waiting for a photo of the gift I made for my Mom. I found out today that she has been reading my blog. I don't want her to know what I sent, so you will have to wait till after Mother's Day to see what it is!

Hope you all had a wonderful day.

Spring in West Virginia

2011-05-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

Spring arrives late in West Virginia. While Southerners are busy tending their gardens, we are busy waiting for the rain to stop and the temperatures to rise above 70 degrees.

One of my favorite flowers is the Iris. It is not only beautiful to look at, it also has such a sweet smell. This one was blooming in my front garden this morning.

My favorite tree is the Dogwood. I love the blooms. This beauty is in my front yard.

I had planned on showing you a gift I made for my Mom for Mother's Day. It is something I worked on all afternoon and am happy with the results. I found a perfect location to display it, got my camera ready and then my camera died! I guess you will have to wait till tomorrow to see what it was!

Hope you all had a great day - I am off to read all about it in your blogs!

Quilting in My Pyjamas

2011-05-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

I only have a minute for a quick post, but I wanted to share what I accomplished for the day.

I joined Marg from Sunshine? Paradise? for her Pyjama Party Sunday. I hope to participate in it every Sunday.

This mini quilt is a Broken Dish pattern and it will be 15 inches when it is complete. I still have 2 sides to attach and then it will be ready for quilting. The blocks are 2 /12 inch unfinished. I don't think I have ever worked with blocks this small and I am not sure if I will ever do it again!

I also wanted to show you a photo of my little sewing partner. She is always in the room with me. She is covered with a towel, her mean mama won't make her a quilt!

Big and I just finshed watching "The King's Speech," it was soooo good. If you have not seen it, run out and rent it.

Hope you all had a wonderful Sunday and a wonderful weekend. I will post more later. I am off to bed!

Under the Big Top

2011-04-30T17:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I talked about some fabric my friend Lisa gave me. The squares were already cut when she gave the fabric to me, so I decided to make a simple quilt with it.

I decided to name it "Under the Big Top," because I started to think about clowns and the circus as I was making it. I went shopping and found some fabric with animals on it to use for the backing.

Today was spent purchasing flowers for the garden and doing some antique shopping. Tomorrow, the plants will go in the ground and I hope to get some sewing done!

I Am A Homemaker

2011-04-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

Hello, my name is Cynthia and I am a homemaker. (I feel like an AA member)

As you all know, I joined the working force in November of 2010. The goal was to make a little extra money to pay some bills off and get out of the house more often. I told Big and The Baby, that I wouldn't let it interfere with my family.

Working has not only interfered with my family, but also my home. I think I am more stressed out now than I was before working. Please don't get me wrong, I don't mind what I do and I don't mind the lady I work with. I just mind the time away from my home. It is a funny thing, the money that was supposed to pay off bills hasn't. Yes, it has done some good - I have felt freer about buying fabric! And boy have I.

I will be cutting back on my hours in the next week or two and if that doesn't help me get caught up, I will quit.

Anyway, I have missed blogging and I vow to myself to blog at least 3 or 4 times a week.

I have been busy and have gotten a few things accomplished. My friend Lisa gave me some of her "scraps," I made a child's quilt. I will post a photo of it later. It will be donated to a new half-way house that has opened here in Buckhannon.

I am participating in a Round Robin with 4 other members of my quilt guild. We are starting with squares and I hope our next round will be full quilts. I added the cream and red boarder.

We played an ugly fabric game during the quilt guild's November meeting. We each brought a yard of ugly fabric and then passed it around the table. It was like playing musical chairs with fabric. We would tear the piece we received in half and then pass it along when the music started again. We each ended up with 6 or 7 pieces of fabric, the last being a 4 inch square. Then came the challenge - make something with the "ugly" fabric and only add 2 of your own fabrics. Here it what I came up with. It is not the best thing I have ever made, but I wouldn't consider it ugly either!

Well, I am off to watch the movie, Black Swan. It looks soooo good. Hope you all have a good weekend. I will be back soon!

A Finish for March

2011-03-02T18:16:00.002-08:00

I had hoped to get this quilt finished in February, but it just didn't happen. I got the binding attached this afternoon and it will be ready to mail tomorrow.

You may remember, I made this quilt is for a long time family friend. She will turn 90 this month. Shortly after her birthday, she will be moving to an assisted living facility. I am hoping this quilt will help keep her warm, both emotionally and physically.

I finished another hexagon flower for my Inchy Hexagon Swap. I really love making these. They are so easy to make while watching television.

I hope you had a great day!

Frugal February Results

2011-02-28T08:23:00.000-08:00

Well, it is time to let everyone know what my final grocery tally for Mrs. P's Frugal February is. Drum roll please....$331.65. I am really happy with that amount. I usually allow a budget of $400.00 per month, so in that regard, I did well. I tried to stay at $300.00 or less for Mrs. P's challenge. I didn't quite make that goal.

I learned a few things from this challenge. One of the things I learned is to make a weekly menu instead of a two-week menu. I found when I tried to shop for two weeks, I wouldn't buy bread items or fresh fruit or vegetables for the second week. This meant I would end up in the grocery store again and that would spell disaster! So I am going to continue with my once a week menu planning and shopping.

I also noticed, after scouring my bank account, that I only earned $.02 in interest over the month! That kind of pisses me off.

So anyway, here is the menu for this week.

Monday - Pasta Primavera

Tuesday - Szechuan Shrimp

Wednesday - Mac & Cheese, green beans

Thursday - Grilled Salmon, couscous and a vegetable

Friday - Stromboli

Saturday - Pigs in a Blanket

Sunday - Pork Schnitzel, Creamy Corn

I am hoping Mrs. P will make this a regular feature of her wonderful blog. I have enjoyed the challenge. Mrs. P, do your linky thing so we can all see what everyone else did!

Hope you all have a great day - I played hookie from work and am cleaning house!! Then off to sew!

Quick Post

2011-02-27T19:18:00.001-08:00

I have had a nice and relaxing weekend. So sorry it is over.

I spent a good part of Saturday quilting the scrappy quilt that I am making for a family friend. I am about half finished and hope to have it ready for binding in the next couple of days. My plan is to have it finished and mailed by her 90th birthday, which is mid-March. I will post photos when finished.

Here is a photo of one of the dresses I want to make for The Baby. It will be made out of linen and I think it will flow very nice.

Big and I went to see the new Jennifer Anniston/Adam Sandler movie, "Just Go With It." It was so funny and it was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

My fingers are sore from calculating my final total in Mrs. P's Frugal February challenge! I have planned my menu for next week already. Wow, I can't believe I am so on top of things.

Well, I will heading off to bed soon, so I will sign off. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Hexi Swap

2011-02-23T19:20:00.000-08:00

About a month ago, I decided to join a Hexagon Swap. I received my first Hexi the other day. I was so excited! Sorry it took me so long to post. I love the post card she sent, it cracked me up!

My swap partner requested Cream petals and Red, Taupe or brown Civil War fabrics for the center. I didn't own any Civil War fabric. So, of course, I had to go shopping!

I like the way it turned out. What do you think?

Frugal February

2011-02-22T18:46:00.000-08:00

I had a lovely and expensive trip to the Dentist today and am in a little pain because of it. I decided to take a pain pill, which is something I usually don't do. This post will be short and sweet. I am sure the pill will begin to hit me pretty soon and I will be more incoherent than normal!

I went to the grocery store today and managed to spend about $52.00. The groceries bought today will last till the 28th of February. My total for the month of Feb. so far is at about $280.00. If I can stay away from the stores, I will beat my goal of $300.00 for the month! I thought I had gone way over budget, so I was happily surprised!

Here is this weeks menu:

Monday - Pasta with homemade spaghetti sauce

Tuesday - Big had eggs and sausage and I had malt-o-meal. We were supposed to have fish, but because of my dentist visit, I needed soft food.

Wednesday - Vegetables with couscous

Thursday - Southwestern Cod and leeks

Friday - Patty Melts, homemade fries

Saturday - Whatever we can dig up (I left my menu in the car and it is snowing, so I don't want to get it.)

Sunday - Beef Tacos (these will be more like fajitas - not ground beef)

I know this doesn't sound too exciting. As I said earlier, I left the menu in the car and I don't want to go and get it! Most of the recipes are new, so I am excited! I will post about the meals as the week goes on.

I'm a Slacker!

2011-02-21T16:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I am not really a slacker. I have been busy with work and a few other things. I have also had some health issues. I have been experiencing some severe joint pain and have not been wanting to get on the computer. I have an appointment with a Doctor this Thursday and hope to find out what is going on then.

In the mean time, here is a little something for you all.

Aren't they cute? I just fell in love with them.

The Baby was home for the weekend and I was able to get a photo of her in her new sweater. She was not prepared for the photo and was disappointed that she had a long shirt under the sweater. She also wanted a skinny belt to go with it.

I think my February Frugalness went to hell in a hand basket. I didn't make a menu last week and found myself running to the store more than I would have liked. I will post a menu tomorrow and will let everyone know where I am at in regards to my budget.

I spent a good bundle of cash at Joann Fabrics over the weekend. They were having a sale on their clearance fabrics. Most of the fabrics are for clothing. I will post about them tomorrow!

Well, I am off to finish up my Patrica Cornwell book and to get some Hexagons sewn. Hope you had a good weekend!

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T05:29:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentines Day! Share your love with everyone today, even if it is just with a smile!

A Different Kind of Finish

2011-02-12T15:13:00.000-08:00

I have another finish for 2011. It is not a quilt. I will claim it as a finish none the less.

While surfing blogs, I came across Grograin and was inspired by her month of embellished knits. I decided to "re-create" a sweater for The Baby.

So, about a month ago I went to our local Goodwill store and found a few sweaters I thought I could work with. I liked the look of this one and thought it had possibilities. It is a Tommy Hilfiger and I like the clean lines on it. Note the cigarette burn at the bottom. Sorry the photo is sideways - I don't know how to turn it around.

I used some lace and a couple of light weight fabrics for the ruffles.

Here is what I ended up with. I am hoping The Baby will like it.

I know this is not a great photo. The Baby is due home this weekend and I will have her pose with it on. I am sure it will look much better. I will try to get a close up of the ruffles.

On to more pressing matters....Thanksgiving Dinner in a Dish.

Make stuffing (I use two boxes of Stove Top) and put it in a baking dish. Press it against the sides.

Put left over turkey or chicken in the dish.

Layer corn on top. I used frozen, but you could use canned.

Pour a jar of turkey gravy on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until hot all the way through.

Mind you, I don't normally cook this way. This is an easy dinner to make when you are tired, but want more that potato chips and dip for dinner. Hope you enjoy.

Hope you are having a great weekend. I plan on basting "Krys'" scrappy quilt and getting some of the quilting done.

Frugal is the new "F" word

2011-02-09T14:33:00.001-08:00

In my house, Frugal is the new "F" word! I decided to follow Mrs. P's decision to be more frugal in the month of February. It is not working so well!

All of us have craved sugar or chips or something non-diet as soon as we say we want to loose weight. Some of us have even found a new love as soon as we decide we are ok on our own. Well, apparently as soon as I said I wanted to be more frugal, things started to go wrong.

Here is a conversation that happened Monday of this week:

Me, "Hey Big, do you need anything from the store?"

Big, "Yeah, I need some shampoo and conditioner."

Me, "Can't you use any of the shampoo and conditioner I have already?"

Big, "No. I need ------ brand. I don't like what we already have."

Me, "But I am trying to be Frugal. You remember that I joined Mrs. P in being frugal. I really want to save some money and she is offering a prize and I would like to be the winner!"

Big, "You know Mrs. P will probably just send you Vegemite! She loves that stuff and thinks you should too!"

Me, "No, Mrs. P promised it wouldn't be Vegemite. Come on, play along with me."

Big, "Hey, you recently spent $50.00 of fabric and $100.00 on thread. In comparison, my shampoo and conditioner is cheap. "

I decided to end the conversation at that point because she was right. (I don't know about you guys, but I don't let her know she is right that often.) I'm just going to tell her there wasn't any ------ shampoo to be found and she will have to use what we already have.

I then decided to go to bed and snuggle up with my book. As I began to read, the side of my face started to pound. It got progressively worse as the night wore on. I didn't sleep much that night.

Tuesday morning, I called in to work and said I wouldn't be at work. I then took myself to the dentist.

After a $167.00 probing from the Dental Hygienist, I was told I have an abscessed tooth and for a mere $1,998.00, I can get a root canal and a cap! The best part of the visit was getting a prescription for Loritab!

The Baby called last night and told me she needed $45.00 to join the honorary organization she was invited to, $200.00 for the application fee for her trip to Argentina and Peru and I think there were some other dollar amounts thrown around, but by that time the pain meds had kicked in and I just can't remember.

Can you understand why I think Frugal is the new "F" word? I am still going to follow along with Mrs. P and try to save some money. I am just not going to call it being Frugal anymore. That word has now been deleted from my vocabulary!!

I hope you all have had a good couple of days. I will post the Thanksgiving Dinner in a Dish photos tomorrow - I need to go get a pain pill!

First Finish for 2011!!

2011-02-07T14:57:00.000-08:00

I have my first finish for 2011! It is the Quilt for Kids quilt that I have been working on for a few weeks. I will put it in the mail tomorrow. I am so excited. I plan to making 5 more "projects" to be donated in 2011. I am not sure if they will all be quilts, although I enjoyed working on this one.

As you know I am playing along with Mrs. P's Frugal February. Check out her progress at Quilting in my Pyjamas. I have only spent $50.00 this month. I do need to run to the grocery store tomorrow, but I only have a few things to pick up. I have my list written and my coupons clipped!

Here is this weeks menu:

Monday - Thanksgiving Dinner in a Dish (we did not have it last week)
Tuesday - Pasta Carbonara, Salad, Artisan Bread
Wednesday - Stacked Enchiladas
Thursday - Pasta with Veggies
Friday - Turkey Burgers with Swiss Cheese and Sauteed Mushrooms, French Fries
Saturday - Hot Dogs, Baked Beans, Chips
Sunday - Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli

I had a few questions regarding "Thanksgiving Dinner in a Dish". I decided to take photos while I was making it tonight. I will post them tomorrow. I was thinking the recipe could easily be made with chicken instead of turkey. Mrs. P said she thought she would substitute leftover roast beef. Yum.

Tonight is my "cuddle up and read a good book" night. I am reading the new Patricia Cornwell book. I really enjoy her writing. So I am off to fill the hot water bottle (thanks again Marg for the cover) and crawl in bed for a night of good reading.

Hope you had a good day and a great evening doing something you enjoy!

This weekend

2011-02-06T17:14:00.000-08:00

This has been a great weekend!

Big and jumped in the car early Friday morning and traveled to Parkersburg, WV. Big had an allergy appointment and we were able to pick The Baby up for the weekend. On the way home we stopped at Las Trancas Mexican Food Restaurant in Clarksburg, WV, and had a wonderful dinner. The Baby slept on the way home and as soon as we got in the house, she went to bed and slept till about 10:00 a.m. Saturday. Most of Saturday was dedicated to her studies.

She came up for air long enough to watch a movie with us and then it was back to the studies! She was able to get a lot of her work done. I love it when she comes home, even if I don't get to see her much. I feel good just knowing she is in the house.

This is what $100.00 worth of embroidery thread looks like.

Joann Fabrics had a 50% off sale on thread, so I stocked up a little!

Big finished a pastel portrait of The Baby this weekend.

This is the photo she worked from. It was taken two years ago.

I think it is really good, she is a bit critical of it. Each time she looks at it, she finds something wrong with it. I guess that is an artist for you. I wonder why we can never be happy with our work.

I am going to brag a little, so bear with me. The Baby has been invited to Alpha Lambda Delta. It is an honorary organization for freshmen with a Grade Point Average of 3.5 or above. I know she is a Sophomore already, I guess it takes a while for the invitation to arrive! I am so proud of her.

I am off to catch up on what everyone has been up to this weekend. I have to put the border on the Quilt For Kids and then it will be in the mail! I will be excited to have my first finish of the year! I am going to spend a little time working on my next weeks menu and prepare a post about my Frugal February! So far I have only spend about $50.00!

It is late!

2011-02-02T19:45:00.000-08:00

It is late at night and my brain is beginning to get fuzzy! I have been stressed out this afternoon because The Baby was on her way home from Washington D.C. and I was worried about what kind of weather she would have to drive through. Luckily, West Virginia and Maryland did not get as much bad weather as the rest of the north. She is safe at school and all is well.

Today, I left work early. I had a migraine and needed to be out of the smoky house that my client lives in. I came home, showered, ate and took a nap. When I woke up, I went to my sewing room and finished quilting the Quilt for Kids quilt. I have to put the binding on and then I will be finished and post a photo!

Yesterday, after work, I went to a quilt shop in one of the towns that is close to us. I received a coupon from them for $20.11 off any purchase. Guess what? I spent almost $50.00 after the $20.00!! I am happy with what I came home with!

Hope you all had a great day and those affected by bad weather were safe at home sewing away!

Frugal Grocery February

2011-02-01T17:47:00.000-08:00

Mrs. P over at Quilting in My Pyjamas, is attempting to clean out her freezers and save some money in the process. She invited all her readers to join her challenge. I decided to play along and see if I could save about $100.00 during the month of February. My usual budget for the month is $400.00, this includes shampoo, toilet paper, etc.

I thought I would start by taking a photo of my freezers. I have two, but both are attached to a refrigerator. They are pretty full. I could probably go a few weeks without purchasing too much.

I usually make a menu for two weeks, so this part of the challenge was easy. Here is my menu for one week.

Monday - Grilled Pork Chops, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans

Tuesday - Asparagus Frittata, Artisan Bread

Wednesday - Turkey Burgers, Tater Tots, Corn on the Cobb

Thursday - Thanksgiving Dinner in a Dish

Friday - Eat Out - We will be on the road to get The Baby for the weekend

Saturday - Calzones (using the Artisan Bread recipe)

Sunday - Chili (this will go in the crock pot) Corn Bread

I have everything I need to prepare all the dishes for the week.

I have not posted breakfast or lunches. Breakfast is usually eggs or cereal for Big (she eats them at work) and I usually eat oatmeal. Big has leftovers for lunch and I usually have soup or cheese and crackers.

Yummm...tonight's dinner!

We are getting rain for the next couple of days. My thoughts and prayers are with all of those who are in this horrible storm.

Take care!

Nice weekend

2011-01-30T18:21:00.000-08:00

Big and I went to Morgantown yesterday so she could get her hair cut. For those of you who are not familiar with West Virginia, that means we drove almost two hours so she could get a hair cut! Are we crazy? Yes!

One of my favorite things about our trip to Morgantown is our visit to TJ Maxx. Yesterday we were lucky enough to hit a big sale. We walked away with 5 pairs of slacks for $26.00. Yes, $26.00 for all 5 pair, not just one pair! I bought myself a new red purse and am excited about getting to use it. I am not sure if I should start now or wait till the weather is nicer. Not sure why I think I have to have nice weather to use a new purse, it just seems logical!

Early this morning the baby left with two fellow students and one professor to drive to Annapolis, MD. Her college was chosen to attend the Naval Academy Leadership Conference. She was one of three students from her school chosen to attend. She is very proud (so am I) to have been asked. She is so excited! A couple of the other schools invited were Duke, SMU, MIT, and Yale.

Everyone was to to attend a big dinner tonight and then they were off to see the town with some Naval Acadamy escorts! She keeps telling me how cute the Acadamy boys are!

I am a bit nervous - we are supposed to get a BIG storm beginning on Monday night. It will reach the Annapolis area on Tuesday and continue through Wednesday. I worry about her trip home and the saftey of all of them. Please keep them in your thoughts this Wednesday. I would really appreicate it.

Today we shoveld the last bit of snow and ice from the driveway. We will only be seeing black top for a couple of days - then more snow and ice!

Hope you all had a great weekend. I look forward to seeing what you have been up to.

Quilt for Kids

2011-01-27T14:12:00.000-08:00

I finished the top for the Quilt for Kids quilt. I really like the way it turned out. The instructions say to make sure the quilting is tight and there is no possibility of IV's getting hung up. The quilts will go through a lot of washing also. I am thinking I want to use a bright variegated thread. What do you think.

I hope to have it finished by the middle or end of next week. I don't think I have any matching thread, so I will have to go shopping!!

I am working on a little Valentines present for The Baby. I will show it when I get it finished. What do all of you do for Valentine's Day?

Big and I have never made it that big of a deal. With her every day is Valentine's Day! (Ok, the wine I had in my mouth just blew out my nose!)

Sorry, I just had to show you one more snow photo! I actually think this one if pretty!

Snow Day!!

2011-01-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

When I went to bed last night it was raining. There was a touch of snow from the previous storm left on the ground. The temperature actually warmed up to 41 degrees yesterday! By 10:00 a.m. today, we had gone from rain to a rain/snow mix to snow. The above photo was taken at about 10:30 a.m. and it is still coming.

The news says we are in the middle of a horrible storm. Travel is already being cancelled and or delayed and folks are being advised to stay home. I, being a good citizen, stayed home! You don't have to tell me twice!

I know that all of the snow photos are beginning to look alike, but I swear, they are all current! I just heard on the news we have 8 more weeks of winter! Hmmm...living in the desert is looking really good. I wonder if Big would like to put in for a new job?

Here is what I started working on a couple days ago. It is the "Quilt for Kids" quilt I talked about. I am on the last row. I hope to get the top together by the end of the afternoon and then I hope to get it basted.

I will keep you all posted! Hope your weather is better than ours!

Pay It Forward

2011-01-25T19:41:00.000-08:00

I have always wanted to participate in a "Pay it Forward". So I signed up to be involved in Colleen's "Pay it Forward". I am really excited about it. I am hoping that some of you will will want to play along with me.

Here is how it works:

1. I will make a little something for the first 3 people who comment on this post. Your gift will be a surprise and it will arrive when you least expect it.

2. I will have 365 days from today to mail your gift. (Knowing me you will get it on day 364!!)

3. You must have a blog. Hopefully you will want to post about your progress.

4. Once you comment here, you must post about your "Pay It Forward" on your blog to keep the fun going. Please use the "Pay It Forward" badge.

What's the catch? To get a handmade present from me, you have to play too! This means YOU pledge to send a little handmade something for 3 readers of your blog. It doesn't have to be quilty - just handmade!

If you dare sign up, I will contact you in a few days to get your snail mail address. Hope there are a few of you who trust my crafty skills enough to want to play with me!

Thanks y'all

2011-01-24T13:17:00.000-08:00

First off, I want to say thank you to all of you who gave me support while I was venting about work. Thanks also for the tips on making each day a little easier! Today was a better day, mostly due to the support I got from all of you.

Thanks also for saying that my sweet little girl looks pretty. She was imitating a model in the photo and the dog was trying to get her attention - that is why she was cracking up.

The above photo is one of my Mother. Not too bad for a woman who just turned 79 this month. Next year for her 80th, I figure I will give her a big party - then send her off to the old folks home! (Just joking Mom!!) Although my Mom drives me crazy, I love her a lot!

I made this gardening apron for my Mom as a Christmas present. She is a Master Gardener and is hoping to use it when she prunes roses at the city rose garden.

The Baby and I are lovers of Gnomes (can't wait for the movie to come out!), so I made her this apron with traveling gnomes on it. I love the Michael Miller fabric. Can't believe I didn't buy enough to make myself one!

These two photos show the amount of snow we had about 10 days ago. Can you believe we didn't have any snow on the ground the night before? As you can see by looking at the photos of Big, the snow is up to her knees! (She would kill me if she knew I posted this photo - so don't tell her!!) Needless to say, we did not go to work that day!

Well, I am off to work on the Quilt for Kids quilt. I have about half of it finished and hope to complete the top tonight.

Boy, have I missed you guys

2011-01-23T15:07:00.000-08:00

I have been gone way too long. I will tell you what I have been up to, but first I have to get something off my chest.

I Hate Work!! There, I said it. I Hate Work. I don't hate my job necessarily, I just hate having to get up in the morning, leave the house, work for someone else and then come home too tired to do much of anything else. My house is dirty, no craftiness is happening and I am pretty crabby most of the time.

Big is eating a lot of this, I just don't want to cook!

Is that Christmas paper behind your den chair you ask? Why yes it is, I really don't care to carry it up the stairs and put it away.

My bed is unmade and I really don't give a shit! I do have the covers pulled up, I think that may count for something. In case you wonder, the snowman pillowcase is mine, the Olivia the Pig pillowcase belongs to Big!!

I hate, Hate, HATE, driving in this weather! It scares me more than almost anything! It seems as if the snow and ice will never stop. I slide down the driveway in the morning and hope that the ice will melt by the time I get home so I can make it up the driveway.

I know many of you work and most of you work longer hours than I do. I don't know how you do it. I think I have been away from working outside the home for too long. I took this job to pay off bills and get myself out of the house and now I wonder if it is worth it.

On a happier note, here is a photo of the Baby. Shortly before she went back to school she decided to cut her hair. That evening I colored it for her. I think she looks really cute! What do you think?

Well, I am off to get some sewing done. I started a "Quilt for Kids" quilt and am hoping to get it half finished by the end of the day. Wish me luck!

I have been busy

2010-12-03T17:40:00.001-08:00

Well, I told you I was going to do some sewing today. I would have liked to accomplish more, but I got tied up doing housework! I had issues with my vacuum cleaner and it took more time to fix than I thought it would.

Anyway, here is what I accomplished.

This is a mug rug I made for a swap I am involved in. It took me longer than I thought, it was one of those projects that went wrong at every turn. I am happy with the way it turned out though. The photo doesn't do it justice.

The above photo is the apron I made for my swap partner. The pattern was a freebie from Joann Fabric. I had to make a few changes to it, but once I got going with it, it was ok. I used a gathering foot for the first time. It certainly did make the gathering easier. It took a bit of playing around with tensions and stitch length. I was able to gather and attach it to the apron at the same time. Boy, was it a time saver once I figured it out! Has anyone out there used a gathering foot before? Did you enjoy using it?

This is my pretty little puppy, Daisy. She is as worn out as I am!

Have a wonderful weekend! I will be stacking the 1 ton truck load of firewood that was delivered today! Oh yeah, did I mention we are not supposed to get above 36 degrees for a full week!

Better Late Than Never

2010-12-02T19:42:00.000-08:00

It was my 35th ... 43rd... well, lets just say I had a birthday on the 18th of November. Big left work early and we went shopping and out to eat. It was a great day. The next day I had lunch with my buds Lisa and Heidi. We ate at a Mexican food restaurant. Our waitress put sombreros on us and brought us fried ice cream! It was great! Heidi snapped a photo of Lisa and myself with the hats and a glob of whipped cream on our nose. Sorry it is not the greatest photo! We had a really good time.

This is a photo of a really great Thanksgiving turkey. It was delicious - we still have a few leftovers, yum.

Tomorrow I will be staying home and sewing. I have a lot of crafty catching up to do. I will be posting photos of my progress.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Hi all

2010-11-30T19:54:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. I have been missing in action again. It seems life keeps getting in the way.

This will be a short post because I am exhausted! As you know (or maybe you don't) I went to work last week. I enjoy the work, but I am not sure if I like working! It is really a case of "the grass is greener on the other side." When I wasn't working, I thought I needed to work, keep busy and earn money. Now I am working and I keep thinking I wish I were home! I am adjusting, but I am sure I won't really be fully adjusted till the end of this week.

So, I am off to bed, but I thought I would share a photo of our kitty, Monet.

Magic Happened!

2010-11-17T09:02:00.000-08:00

Hi all! I can't find my camera, so I can't show you any photos of what I have been working on. Magic did happen with my Moebius! It looks really pretty. I will be hunting for the camera so I can show you some photos.

I also made an apron and I am very happy with it. I had to make the pattern myself! I am very impressed with myself!

The Baby was here over the weekend. It was so nice to have her home. She was in her room working on a paper most of the time, but knowing she was home made me happy. The three of us were able to watch a movie on Saturday night, that was fun. I will pick The Baby up at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday of next week for Thanksgiving break. I am excited to have her home for 5 days!

Well, that is all until I find my camera. I am off to work on Christmas presents!

Oh yeah, I am thinking of getting in to re-fashioning some clothing, mostly things for The Baby. I found this great site and it is really inspiring me. Check it out - Grosgrain. Her sweater re-makes are wonderful. I wish I had the brain power to look at something like an ugly sweater and think of a way to change it. I can copy though!

I also want to make a scarf like this.

Isn't it cute? I found it at Presser Foot. Go check it out - it looks easy and might make a nice Christmas gift.

Hope you all are having a great day!

What I am working on

2010-11-11T19:25:00.001-08:00

Hello all! I finished training yesterday and now am ready to go out in the world and earn my keep. I have not worked outside the home in many years. I am both excited and scared.

Isn't this cowl beautiful? It is called a Moebius or infinity cowl. I am in the process of making one for myself and if I like it, I may make more. The instructions say you twist the first stitch. I have never twisted a stitch before, so I went on a search of how to do and and found a video to guide me. You turn the first stitch 180 degrees and then start to knit as you regularly would. Magic is supposed to happen!

This jumbled cluster f**k of yarn is my Moebius! I am not seeing the magic yet! Big said, "Yeah, it looks magic, I think you could stick your hand in there and pull out a rabbit!" I showed her the only sign language I have ever learned. That shut her up for a while. I am hoping the magic will happen when I get it off the needles, if not I will be unraveling it and looking for another pattern.

I am off to get The Baby. I may or may not post this weekend, but I will be thinking of all of you and hoping you are having a great weekend!

Not much to say

2010-11-10T18:32:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I have been in training all day today and will be in training tomorrow also. I have decided to get a part time job. I will be a home health aid and hope to work less than 20 hours a week. Most of the clients are elderly and can't get about too well. To be honest, there are days when I don't really want to go back to work, I just want to stay home and sew and craft. Then there are days I really crave interaction with another human and the opportunity to get out of the house. The money will come in handy also! So I will get back to everyone in a day or so.

I am very excited about The Baby coming home on Friday. I will take her back on Sunday, but I am happy for any time I get with her. She has not been feeling well for about a month and has been so busy that I think she has run out of steam. She is in need of some serious Mama love.

Talk to you all soon - hope you are doing well!

Friendship

2010-11-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

I have been very busy lately and kept telling myself I would post later and later never came!

For the past week or so, when I have gone to get the mail, I have had the pleasure of finding a little extra somethin, somethin in the mail box.

The first was a gift from Marg at Sunshine, Paradise. She felt sorry for me when she heard that we were having a cold snap. Marg had made Mrs. P a hot water bottle cover and I said how much I liked it. She took that as a hint and made a wonderful blue one for me. Guess what? The name of the yarn is Cynthia! Marg said she thought it was meant to be! She also sent some Tim Tams (which I love) and a new treat - Cadburys Koala Bears. Yumm....chocolate and Carmel. Thanks again Marg, the hot water bottle cover has come in very handy!

A few days later, my new friend Carin mailed a wonderful Dutch windmill pincushion and licorice to me. I had seen a post she had written where she stated she had never tried candy corn. I couldn't believe she had never tried it. I got her address, hurried to the store to get some candy corn and mailed it to her. She and her family loved them and as a thank you gift I received the pincushion and the licorice. I love them both. The licorice remind me of my German Grandmother. She used to mail little black licorice cats to me at Christmas time.

When I went to the mailbox today, I received a package from my friend Shirley at Shirley's Twisted Threads. She had a little giveaway and I was the winner! Just look at the beautiful things she sent. I "met" Shirley at Stitching Fingers. She had posted some of the most beautiful handwork I had ever seen. I was introduced to Blackwork because of her. She is going through some hard times right now and my heart goes out to her.

I hope that you will visit these wonderful women and perhaps you will become their friends also. Their work is beautiful and so is their friendship.

Hope you are all well.

Help Please

2010-11-02T18:27:00.000-07:00

I told you I would post a photo about a quilt I am making for an old family friend. I need help deciding how to quilt it. I am thinking I may just do some good old fashioned stitch in the ditch. What do you think?

The fabric in this quilt is from projects I have made and from projects the recipient had passed on to me. Krys P. has been a family friend for about 45 - 50 years. She was the wife of my fathers commanding officer when I was a little girl. She did a lot of sewing for her 2 girls when they were young. I have a feeling many of the fabrics were from things her girls proudly wore. Krys now has Macular Degeneration and will soon have to go to an assisted living facility. I had hoped the quilt would give her comfort when she has to leave her home. My mother lives in the same city as Krys and will take her the quilt this Christmas.

I look forward to hearing what you think.

Walking the Dog

2010-11-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

Big has decided "WE" need to get healthier. She is a big fan of the gym, I am not. I am happy to sit on my big butt and sew, quilt, knit, crochet, etc. I do walk the dog everyday, but according to Big, walking around the block is not enough exercise for me.

While Big was on vacation last week, we began to take the dog to the park for a walk. It is a nice park. It has a flat surface, which around here is prime. They supply you with poop bags, which is also prime. If I walk the whole loop, I get in a nice 2 mile walk.

I strive to make Big happy, so I decided to take myself and the dog for a walk at the park this morning. I even rolled out of bed early so that I could get on the path early. I looked out the window, saw the sun was shining and decided a sweatshirt would keep me warm. I think I must have been having a hot flash at this time and those make my mind fuzzy and I don't always think straight. When I got in the car I had to run the defroster, I must have still be in my hot flash mode. I got to the park, got the dog poop bags and started my walk. Dude, it was freaking cold! I thought about turning back, but wanted to make Big happy, so I kept going.

I noticed many other walkers. They were smart, they had hats and gloves and jackets! They must have been seasoned walkers. I figured if I kept walking I would warm up. I kept picking up my speed, it wasn't helping. I began to hope the dog would poop so I could pick it up in my little bag and hold it in my hands. I know, gross, but I was on the verge of frost bite at this time!

There were some old guys walking the track. They were walking in the opposite direction as me and as they passed they would smile, say good morning and look at my chest. I looked down to see if I had spilled something on my shirt and forgot about it, only to realize I didn't put a bra on this morning. My breasties were swinging like a Metronome! The faster I walked, the more they swung! It was if they were keeping a silent beat for my feet to follow.

It was at this point I realized I had to pee. The bathroom was still a good bit away and I began to consider peeing my pants. I thought it would help me get warm and possibly run all the way down my legs to my feet and thaw my frozen toes. I then realized it would only make me colder once the warmness went away and I might have a hard time explaining the icicles hanging off my butt. I tried to walk faster, but I kept stumbling because of the numbness in my toes. (I had always heard how important toes were for balance.)

I finally made it to the car. I got in, cranked the engine, turned the heater on full blast, put my hands between my legs and began to make a sort of moaning noise of happiness. Remember those old guys who were looking at my chest earlier? You should have seen them looking at me now!

I survied!

2010-11-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

I survived Big being on vacation! Yeah, cheers to me! I love it when she is home, but it totally throws my schedule off. When home alone, I wake up and have a couple cups of coffee and blog. Well, when Big is home, she wants to sit with me so we can "chat" and that means no blogging. Mind you, I enjoy "chatting" with her, but don't necessarily like being off my schedule. I think it does something to my moods. By the end of the week, Big kept saying, "Don't you need to blog? Shouldn't you be on the computer?" I guess my moodiness was noticeable.

On Thursday, Big and I did some shopping and went to see the movie "Red." It was full of action and was pretty funny at the same time. I love Bruce Willis. (Perhaps you can remember I gave him two massages! It is my claim to fame!!) If you are a person who enjoys going to the movies, this would be a good one! We prefer Netflix and the comfort of our home, but sometimes it is fun to go out on a "date."

On Friday, I met up with my friend Lisa and we did some sewing/quilting. I am working on a scrap quilt for an old family friend. I have the squares finished and will post them tomorrow. Put on your thinking caps, because I have some questions about the quilting of it.

You know the saying, "I just had a blond moment"? (hmmm..not sure about the punctuation there) I realized that I have a lot of blond moments lately. The problem is that I have more grey hair than blond hair. I think I will begin to say, "I just had a grey moment." I think I have enough grey to qualify. What do you think?

Hope you are all doing well and had a nice weekend. I am making a promise to myself to get back to regular blogging. Tomorrow, I will share photos of the quilt blocks and of some very special gifts from some very special friends.

Thank you

2010-10-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for the nice comments about my cousin and father. I appreciate the love and kindness you all have sent.

I have been away for a few days

2010-10-25T18:43:00.000-07:00

I have been not been blogging for a few days again. There are a few reasons for this.

One of reasons is that Big had Friday of last week off and will be home all this week. She had a big review at work and it was a lot of work to prepare for it. Her review went very well and I am happy for her. She thinks she will be sleeping late and relaxing, she hasn't seen the Honey Do list yet!

My cousin Helga passed late Saturday afternoon. She had been having some bad days so her boyfriend (partner/companion) called her son and told him to come home. She passed peacefully and was holding the hands of the two people that meant more to her than anything. I think it was a good way to let go. I feel so bad for her son and her partner. It will be hard for them to move on.

My father passed on October 30th, 7 years ago. This time of the year is always hard for me. My father and I were not close and, at times, didn't have much to do with each other. I was able to make peace with him when The Baby was born. He was able to show her the love he was never able to show me or many other people. He and I connected a few years before he passed and I am glad for that.

I will be back in full swing tomorrow - hope you are all doing well.

Photos!!

2010-10-19T19:35:00.000-07:00

At long last, blogger will let me post some photos.

Here is a shot of the "chicken wall" Big and I built 2 weekends ago. Neither Big or I suffered any emotional or physical injures! Now the chickens have to stay behind the wall at night. It will make Chicken Poop Sundays much easier.

These are the squares that I made for a Halloween swap I am involved in. I was supposed to mail them a couple days ago. Apparently my father's favorite statement, "Punctuality is a trait of leadership," doesn't work when making quilt squares.

I have been working on this table runner for a few weeks. It is almost finished. I just have to sew in the ends and tack the pieces together. I hope to finish it in the next couple days.

I love seeing the pet photos you all post, so I thought I would post one myself. This is my sweet little puppy, Daisy. She goes with me everywhere. She gets cold easily, so I am always covering her with something. This time it happened to be a sweatshirt I had on. She is laying on a sofa I have in my sewing room, it is an antique and needs to be reupholstered.

I will post more tomorrow, it is getting late and my eyes are crossing!

What I Have Been Up To

2010-10-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I had some really great photos that chronicled the past week or so of my life. For some reason, Blogger doesn't want me to post them. So, I will try again tomorrow.

I will say that it has been a good week for me. I won some beautiful earrings, a great book from Michelle (a couple weeks ago) and some fabric from a Fall into Fall blog hop I was following. Big had Columbus Day off last Monday, so we finally got around to building a wall to keep the chickens in the back of our garage. Big and I managed to not kill each other!

I have been working on some Halloween blocks and a Halloween table runner. Tomorrow I will have some wood delivered so we can have some nice and warm fires in the cold weather.

Hopefully, I can get the photos posted!

Quick post, no photos

2010-10-06T19:46:00.001-07:00

This was one of those days that wasn't bad and it wasn't good either.

It is still freaking cold and rainy. It should be in the 70's but it is in the 40's and 50's.

Big and I were supposed to go to a quilt Shop Hop this Friday and Saturday. Big planned on taking Friday off and we were going to visit 16 quilt shops in 3 states. We were to start in West Virginia and then go on to Ohio. We were going to spend the night in Ohio. On to Kentucky on Saturday and then make our way home. Can you believe some inmates decided this week was the right time to have a gang war! Can you believe the big dude from the Regional Office decided this was the right time to visit the prison! Didn't they look at the calendar and see how important this weekend is to me? Oh well, we will get to go to a few of the shops on Saturday so I guess it is not a total loss.

I was all psyched up to work on my table topper today. I got everything ready, practiced a little and decided I was ready. My thread broke twice and I was getting very frustrated. I don't know if it is the thread or the tension. Of course I can't find my book! I will be back at it tomorrow and try to figure out what the issue is. Wish me luck, any tips would be helpful (Lane - are you out there with your tips and hints?).

Hello There

2010-10-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

Hello all, hope you had a great weekend and a good Monday. My weekend was really nice. Big had to get a hair cut on Saturday and after that we did some shopping. Sunday was a quiet day.

I am working on a table topper for fall. I spent part of Sunday cutting the leaves. This table topper will be my first attempt at machine applique. I used some Batik for the leaves. I think they came out nice. I have never used satin stitch and am a little nervous. I plan on doing some practice work first.

I participated in a Halloween Tote swap recently. I showed the tote I sent to my partner a few posts ago. Here is what I received! I just love all of it! The inside of the bag is lined with a shiny cat and moon print. I think the tote could be reversible.

It has been a week since my last photo of the trees in my front yard. The colors are really beginning to change. The photo is dark. We have been having a lot of rain the past couple of days. It has been freaking cold also. Highs in the upper 50's!

Well, I am off to teach myself satin stitch! It is probably a good thing I am the only one home - could be a lot of bad words flying around!

Kitchen Bling

2010-09-30T11:37:00.000-07:00

I have spent part of my day updating my kitchen with new cabinet and drawer hardware. I don't think it will make a big impact, but hopefully it will make a bit of difference. I am not sure why there has never been hardware on the cabinets and drawers anyway. They are not easy to open.

I got all my tools ready (there isn't a photo of my drill). Big thinks it is funny that I use my quilting rulers for things like this. I tell you what, they are better than any other ruler. They are marked so well and since they are clear, I can see everything I am doing. I have even used an old one when I was hanging wall paper!

As with all jobs, this one was more difficult and time consuming than I thought it would be. First, I had to make sure I got the cabinets marked correctly. I placed a piece of paint tape on the cabinet, use my trusty quilting ruler to find the exact places to drill and mark them. It took a good bit of pressure to get through the wood.

This is what the drawer pull and cabinet hardware look like once installed. Sorry the photo is blurry. It is dark outside and the camera took a long time to get the photo.

This morning I was woken up by a crashing noise. I realized it came from the hall bathroom. Big was already up getting ready for work, so I called out and asked what happened. She said, "Oh, not to worry, a picture fell. I will hang it up." When I went in the bathroom this morning, here is what I saw.

Hope you are all having a great day. I plan on sitting for the rest of the day. My knees hurt from crawling on the floor to work on the bottom cabinets. My carpal tunnel and my tennis elbow hurt from pushing on the drill. Getting old is a freaking pain in the joints!

Precious babies

2010-09-29T19:59:00.001-07:00

Oh My God!!! Aren't these just the cutest babies you ever did see? Look at the mouth on the baby with the flower on her head! I just want to squeeze these two. Hmmm....I miss baby love!

See you all tomorrow!

Fall is here

2010-09-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

This view greets me when I walk out the front door of my house. We live on just over an acre of land. Our house sits in the middle of the land and even though we have neighbors, we are surrounded by woods. The trees are just beginning to change colors. I know it is hard to see the yellow in the trees, but it is there. I plan on taking a photo a week, possibly more if the colors change dramatically. We are supposed to have temperatures in the low 60's during the day and in the 30's at night!

Hope you are enjoying the beginning of fall!

My Tuesday

2010-09-28T18:45:00.000-07:00

Today has been a slow day. I am either trying to catch a cold or my allergies are acting up.

I did manage to make this pillow for Halloween. The center is burlap. All that is left to do is close the bottom of it. I enjoy doing things like that by hand. I will probably work on it tomorrow. I am also crocheting a table topper for - what else - Halloween. I will post photos of that when I am finished.

Oh yeah, I caught these two all snuggled up on a patio chair. I was amazed to see them together, they do not usually get along well. Must have been the rain!

Hope you all had a great day. Tomorrow, I will post a photo of the trees in our front yard. The leaves are beginning to change color and I thought you might enjoy seeing them.

Getting Our Craft On

2010-09-27T06:02:00.000-07:00

As you know, The Baby was home for the weekend. She usually has a lot of studying to do, so I don't get to spend too much time with her, but it is still nice to have her here. On Saturday afternoon, we decided to get crafty. We are all big Halloween lovers.

One year, Big spent a couple weeks turning a big doll into a creepy, flesh chewing, monster. I will have to find a photo and post it. At our last home, we were known as the "Captain's family" and "The Halloween People." We spent days decorating the inside and the outside of the house. Big and The Baby would dress up and hand out candy. Some times little kids would not come to the front door, so I would take candy to them.

Anyway, back to the crafts. The Baby and I had a lot of fun. Everything we used came from the Dollar Tree or the thrift shop. I like to craft on the cheap!

This is a wreath I made. I love the skull! I used some red glitter glue in his eye, it makes it look like blood.

This is The Baby's wreath. She used spiders and spider webbing. The spiders all have a touch of purple glitter.

You know The Baby loves her hair decorations. She made a couple clips with bugs.

The Baby spray painted some thrift shop candle sticks and some ceramic pumpkins and then used glitter glue on the pumpkins.

I made this last week. I am part of a Halloween Tote bag swap and this was what I sent my partner. I have had the fabric for about 3 years and never knew what to do with it. I have about 5 yards of it. I always thought I would use it as a border since it is just rows of the same patterns. I think the tote came out cute! What do you think?

Well, I am off to get some work done. It is a cool fall day, a bit rainy, but I think that will fade as the day goes on. The leaves are beginning to change colors and I love to see that. I will post some photos soon. Hope you are having a great day!

Getting my Cook on

2010-09-23T11:50:00.001-07:00

Last night for dinner, I made these. They are Mushroom and Swiss Sliders with Spicy fry sauce. I got the recipe from Pioneer Woman. They are wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I heated one up for lunch today and it was still moist and tender. If you have never tried a Pioneer Woman recipe, you just must. She is a great writer and a great cook. By the way - the photo is hers, but mine looked just like it!

Tonight we are having Grilled Salmon with Pineapple Salsa. Big is not excited about any type of fish, so I have to put a good sauce on it before she will eat it. I also made a Tiramisu Bundt Cake. Yummmmmmm.

What is on your plate?

I've Been To The Desert On A Horse With No Name

2010-09-23T06:13:00.000-07:00

Remember that song? I bet it gets stuck in your head today!

Hello again my bloggie friends, I have missed you! I haven't been on a horse or in the desert, but I have been busy. I have found that if I blog in the morning, my day gets started to late. If I blog at night, my brain doesn't function. So what is a girl to do? I have also found that after a week or so of not blogging, it is hard to get back to it. I am back now though, so here is what I have been up to.

I steam cleaned Big's "Woman Cave," which is her creative space, game space and hide from me when I am pissed space. The carpet looked good, but smelled worse than when it was not clean. We had a hot water heater leak when we first moved here and the carpet in that room got wet and when it dried it smelled bad. I guess wetting it again made it smell worse. We ended up pulling up the carpet, removing the tack boards, scraping the carpet pad off the floor and then bleaching the floor. I figured I may as well paint the room, so I did that also! That project took about 4 days!

We went to Washington, D.C. for Big's conference and enjoyed ourselves. We drove into the city and went to the Smithsonian Natural Museum of History. It was a wonderful day (other than getting lost). We ate $8.00 hot dogs and had a $5.00 cookie! We got really lost going in and out of the city. Our directions sucked! Big's level of communication went down about 4 notches. She would tell me to turn after I had already gone straight! My level of frustration went up about 4 notches, so you can imagine the scene! We finally made it to the hotel - Big actually survived the trip! The hotel was great, we had a nice suite with a little kitchen. A nice breakfast was included as well as a dinner. I have never stayed at a hotel with dinner service! We chose to not eat dinner there and tried out some of the restaurants that were close. It was so nice to not have to plan and make dinner. There was a mall with about 200 shops right across the street from out hotel. I spent some time there! I also did hand work and read. It was so refreshing!

This week I have been very crafty. I will post some photos later. I am off to walk the dog (she has her little legs crossed). Then I will pressure wash part of the driveway and seal it. Remember when I started that project? I hope to finish it soon.

I will be going to get The Baby tomorrow. She is in need of some rest and some Momma love! I am more than happy to give it to her! We will be making some Halloween decorations. I LOVE me some Halloween decorating!

Hope you have a great day - I missed you all!

Thankful Tuesday

2010-08-31T18:17:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here at 9:17 p.m., sipping on a cup of Chai Tea and thinking back on my day.

I feel very thankful today. I am thankful for my blogging friends and your kind comments. I am also thankful to Big and The Baby for always listening and understanding. I am blessed. I am very blessed.

I was up early to meet my friends Lisa and Heidi for a "sew in." We didn't get much sewing done! We did a lot of chatting and even more laughing. Heidi cooked a wonderful lunch consisting of Cordon Bleu, roasted potatoes, mixed vegetable and for desert - brownies with coffee icing.

We have decided to get together every other week and work on various projects. I am hoping to get some Christmas projects completed. I have a long, long list!

The laughter and friendship and sewing was just what I needed today. Big was at home with dinner on the stove - she did the dishes too! What more could I ask for?

Melancoholy Monday

2010-08-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

mel·an·chol·y [ méllən kòllee ]

*feeling or causing sadness: feeling or making somebody feel a thoughtful or gentle sadness

*pensive sadness: a thoughtful or gentle sadness

Today I am very melancholy. My Mother left at 11:00 a.m. today to visit my cousin Helga. We all know this will be the last time she or any of us see Helga. I don't think Helga is long for this world. In her last e-mail to me she said she is taking one step forward and three steps backward.

The last time I saw Helga was 4 years ago. We didn't have much alone time. I had hoped that we would be able to take some time to get to know each other as adults, form a close friendship.

We have never been very close. Mostly due to the thousands of miles between us.

I am sad that she is leaving this world so young. She is only a few months older than I am. She has a son who is a few years older than The Baby. Like me, he was a product of artificial insemination. Again, like me, she raised him for many years without the aid of a partner. Once more, like me, she found someone to share her life with and raise her son with. I feel sorry for her boyfriend of 20 years. He is a bit younger than her and I fear he will be lost without her.

I want to tell her Goodbye. I don't know how. Do I tell her now? Do I wait and hope I can say goodbye before she passes? What do I say?

For now, I think I will wait. For now, I will be melancholy.

This and That Thursday

2010-08-26T07:55:00.001-07:00

I've decided I need to wear a Depends Diaper. No, I am not incontinent (not yet anyway). I just don't like to take the time to pee. I get easily distracted and figure if I don't have to stop and pee, I can complete something.

Here is my morning so far. Start to vacuum the rug in the kitchen, realize I have to pee. Turn off the vacuum, go to the bathroom in the Master Bedroom to pee. While sitting there realize I have to clean the bathroom counter. Decide I will do that after peeing. Then I realize I need more toilet paper. Go to get that out of the linen closet and realize the towels are not organized the way I want them. Organize the towels and then have to stop and remember why I am standing in the linen closet. Remember the toilet paper, get it, go back to the bathroom and put it on the TP dispenser and start to clean the sink. I figure if I am cleaning the sink, I may as well do the shower and the toilet. While scrubbing the toilet, it comes to me that I should clean the bathroom in the hall also. I get my cleaning supplies and start to head to the other bathroom when I realize the closet door in the bedroom is open. I put down the cleaning supplies, go to the closet, open the door to make sure there isn't a cat sleeping in there and then get distracted by the messy closet. I then take what I think will be a few minutes to organize the closet. One and a half hours later, I have to pee again. Back to the bathroom. I see that the bathroom is nice and clean and congratulate myself and then remember I have to clean the hall bathroom. I get my supplies, clean that bathroom and then decide I am hungry. Two and a half hours have passed since my first urge to pee. I put the cleaning supplies away and head into the kitchen only to see the vacuum cleaner waiting for me!

So now you can see why I should have an Adult Diaper!

The Baby is dating a new boy. She is very excited and from what she tells me, he sounds like a nice boy. He took her to an expensive restaurant last night and they had Sushi. She must really like him, she is a vegetarian but she ate raw fish for him! He says he wants to take her to a movie soon. He is a Senior and is pursuing the same degree she is. So far, he has not tried to kiss her. I don't know if that makes him a good boy, a nerd or gay. I am hoping for a good boy!

The weather here has cooled off. I can actually have my morning coffee on the back porch again.

The Baby will be coming home the first weekend of September. I am looking forward to it. We thought we wouldn't see her until late September.

Speaking of September, can you believe it is almost here? I am excited though since Big and I will be spending a week in D.C. I can't wait!

Big's Mom is doing Ok. She is eating more and feeling stronger. She has a couple of tests and some Doctor appointments next week. Still no idea what was wrong with her.

My Mom will be heading to England in less than a week. She will stay with my cousin Helga for 10 days. My cousin says she has good days and bad days. I think she is beginning to have more bad days. My heart breaks for her.

Well, I have written enough. I can't remember what I am supposed to be going to do, but I am sure it is something important! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

What I am Working On

2010-08-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

I thought I would show a couple of photos of what I have been working on. I have recently talked about my pinwheel quilt. Here is what I have accomplished so far.

I am not fond of this photo. I tried to capture all of the blocks. The lighting is bad. It is hard to see the flowers clearly. I am using the back of a plastic table cloth for a design wall and I can see the ugly flowers showing through! Note to self - purchase flannel for the design wall.

This photo is a little clearer, but still not great.

I am wondering if I should keep the blocks together like this or put a sashing. What do you think? There will be a 6 inch border with applique vines and flowers at the top right and bottom left corners. The border will be the same white on white fabric that is used in the blocks. Big thinks I should use sashing, I am not so sure.

This is a shawl that I have been knitting for about 7 months. I hope to get it finished by fall! I am very cold blooded and Big is hot blooded, so I need this. It is actually a very pretty olive green, the photo doesn't show the proper color.

The pattern says the shawl is "Easy," but I am not sure I would classify it that way. Once you get the stitches down, it is not hard, but it does take a lot of focus. I am sure a good knitter would see lots of mistakes!

I am hoping for a new camera for Christmas. I have dropped lots of hints. I would love to be able to take better photos. I need to take some time to learn a photo enhancing program on the computer also. What kind of camera do you all use? Do you use a photo enhancing program? If so, which one?

Hope you all had a great day!

Thankful Tuesday

2010-08-24T05:54:00.000-07:00

Today I am thankful.

Thank you to all of you who cheered me up yesterday and made me laugh. You helped me rememeber life is so full of wonderful things, it is silly to get hung up on the things that aggravate us. All of you who said I was missing Big were right. As crazy as she makes me, I don't like being without her. I am very thankful she will be home later today.

I am thankful for my Mom also. She also makes me crazy, but she is a good woman and I love her. I received a package from her yesterday. She enclosed 3 blouses for me, a pair of shoes for The Baby and 2 birthday cards for Big. One of the cards has money in it! She wants us to enjoy a nice dinner on her penny while we are in D.C.

Today, no matter what, I will do my best to be thankful. I hope you all do the same. Have a wonderful day!

I'm Crabby Today (Beware of potty mouth words)

2010-08-23T07:14:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wake up feeling like a rip roaring b---h? Well, I did this morning. As I lay in bed, I started to wonder why I would feel so crabby. I mean, I have a wonderful partner, a smart and beautiful daughter, a mom who drives me crazy (don't we all have one of those?) a good home and so much more. How could you be pissy when you have all that?

Perhaps the cat running across my head at 5:00 a.m. in the morning is a reason.

Perhaps I am crabby because I have just washed the same load of clothes for the 3rd time and now I am out of wash detergent!

Perhaps it is the Granny Square that I had been working so lovingly on, that was found on the kitchen floor with a row unraveled. Thanks a lot prison kitty!

Perhaps it is the fact that I had to make my own coffee (Big usually does it the night before and sets the timer!). This is enough to set me off no matter what kind of day is ahead of me.

Perhaps it was the fact that I had to lug two giant, heavy trash cans down the long driveway for the trash people to pick up. Or that the sky decided to break open and let out a downpour when I was at the bottom of the driveway!

Perhaps I am a bitch because I just realized how many calories were in a McDonald's Carmel Frappe. Honestly, I have become addicted to them and now you tell me they are fattening? Come on, I thought they were just coffee!

I decided to look at some blogs, thinking that would make me happy. It did the opposite. How the hell do these women wake up every morning that cheery and crafty? Honestly, were they up till three in the morning making that dress or another purse or re-doing some room in their house? Don't they have cats running across their head and a dog in the bed that snores as much as their partner? How do they get 5 million bazillion followers?

Well, enough of that. I have a horribly long list of things I have to do, so I am off for now. Hey, you know what? I think my problem may be that my sugar is low! As soon as I sign off, I am going to finish that Ben & Jerry's. That should do the trick!

Hope you all have a better day that I am!

Chicken Poop Sunday - Update

2010-08-22T09:55:00.000-07:00

I found that cleaning chicken poop is a hard job - it is also a bit disgusting. Note to self: Don't let Big give the chickens meat products anymore!!

After laboring in the chicken coop (10 minutes) and having a shower, I realized I was hungry. Nothing I have at home looked good, so off I went to Kroger (local grocery store.) Below is a photo of what I purchased. I think I hit all the food groups. Potato chips = vegetable, Ben & Jerry = dairy, Cheese Curls = protein (that is probably really stretching it, I don't think there is any cheese in them) Please notice that I also purchased some granola. That is for breakfast in the morning so I can regulate my system after putting all of this crap in it.

Speaking of healthy eating - I saw something in the ice cream isle that really got me upset. Activia is making ice cream!!!! WTF!!! Really now people, if we want to eat ice cream and get fat and clog our arteries and our digestive systems, let us do it! I gave up cigarettes and hard liquor (not wine as we all know). Dude, let me have my bad for you but good tasting ice cream! On that note, I am off to eat my dairy product for the day.

Chicken Poop Sunday

2010-08-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

First, I would like to say hello and welcome to my Swap-Bot.com visitors. I hope you enjoy my blog and decide to come back often. You never know what you may find here!!

When I first decided to blog, I thought that I would like to have titles for every day of the week. I figured it would make coming up with something to blog about much easier. Big, The Baby and I tossed around some different titles for Sunday's blogs. Big and I thought Sexy Sunday would be good, but The Baby was grossed out by the title and thought others would find it offensive also! Go figure! We came up with "Chicken Poop Sunday" because no matter what, on Sunday the chicken poop is cleaned and the yard is mowed.

I have never blogged about this before because it has always been Big's job. Since she is gone, it is up to me! I don't really mind the chore, it won't take long. Big gave the girls some leftover chicken (I know - they are carnivores!) and their poop really stinks! I thought I would share this loveliness with all my blogger buddies. Avert your eyes if you are squeamish!

This is one of our Leghorns. We have three of them. They were the first to find a home with us.

They act like they never get food! The brown and grey chickens are Arancauna, they lay blue and green eggs. They are often called "Easter Egg Chickens" because of the different colored eggs. I can't remember the breed of the other two chickens. The Baby would remember.

I have decided I will not paint my "studio" today. I am in need of some sewing therapy and my pinwheels are calling my name! The walls will be there another day!

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday.

Good Day

2010-08-21T16:43:00.000-07:00

Today has been a good day. Big's Mom is out of the hospital. No one is really sure what was going on with her. She has some follow up Doctor visits, but they should all turn out fine. Her diet leaves a lot to be desired. She needs to up her calorie count and eat food that will "stick to her bones." I wish someone would tell me to eat more!!

I have been busting my ass in my studio and other than painting it and hanging things on the wall, it is finished. It was more work than I thought it would be, but isn't that the way all projects are? I am excited to get back to my sewing.

I finally found my way back to the pinwheel quilt I started a few months ago. I will post photos later. I am so in love with the pinwheels!

Hope you are having a great weekend. I am going to start mindlessly at the television for a while.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2010-08-20T16:47:00.000-07:00

As you know from yesterday's post, Big left this morning for about 5 days (bad) to see her Mother who is in the hospital. Since I am alone and sad, I decided I needed some shopping therapy (good and bad). $178.00 later, I had new goodies for the main bathroom. (Some of the ugly is that old, nasty faucet!! It is going to be changed soon!)

I have fallen in love with Napoleonic Bees. I first saw them on Between Naps on the Back Porch. She blogged about some silverware with Napoleonic Bees on them and when I saw them, it was love at first site. The silverware is only $180.00 (bad). Why does it seem that everything I fall in love with is expensive?

One evening when Big got home, she found her favorite dinner on the table and me acting nice (this is a change from normal). I sweetly suggested she should get another job so I could afford all of the things I cannot live without. Can you believe she spoke to me in sign language? It is rare that she uses her limited repertoire of sign language, but please believe, I understand what she means!!

On with the post. Big's Mother's hospital tests are coming out negative and although the doctor will not see her until the morning, it seems she had a flu bug. Hey, better safe than sorry. Perhaps Big will be able to come home early (good). I know that Big will enjoy having some time to visit with her Mother. She was planning a trip later in the year, but this works out too.

I found a wonderful package in the mail today (good). A swap partner of mine sent these goodies to me. I love the Laura Ashley cup and saucer. The Waverly napkins look like the shower curtain I have in the main bathroom. I am thinking of making a pillow out of napkins! They would look wonderful in my den. What do you think?

I purchased some shoes and other goodies for The Baby (good for her). She has had her eye on these Carlos Santana shoes. I was able to purchase them for $10.00! (sorry, you can see the kitchen counters in the background - I couldn't find better lighting for the photo!)

Well, that about sums it up. I have enjoyed a glass (or two) of wine, had a slice of pizza and am feeling mellow. Soon I will head off to bed with my little puppy companion and try to get some sleep. Tomorrow I will finish organizing/cleaning my studio. My next big project will be the main bathroom. I will install a new faucet, paint the sink cabinet, and lay a new tile floor. Then and only then will I put my Napoleonic Bees in their new home!

I hope you all have a really great weekend! I will be lonely, but busy.

This and That Thursday

2010-08-19T20:04:00.001-07:00

Well, there won't be too much to say today, or should I say tonight. It is after 11:00 p.m. and I am really tired. I have been working in my "studio" and it turned out to be a lot more work than I thought. I was excited to come across fabric I had forgotten about.

Big will be leaving early in the morning to see her Mother in Michigan. Her Mom has not been feeling well for a couple weeks. She had gone to the Doctor and had some blood work done and nothing was really found. She has been loosing weight and for her that is bad. She started out at 98 pounds and is not in the low 80's. So, her Doctor admitted her to the hospital today and is pumping her full of fluids and running more tests. Big should arrive there late tomorrow afternoon and will come back on Tuesday, if all goes well. I will be staying at home with all the animals! I will miss her a lot, but I know I will get a lot accomplished while she is gone.

Well, I am off for the night. I am sure I will blog more over the next few days!

Chance of Flooding

2010-08-16T06:52:00.001-07:00

Today's forecast calls for clouds, humidity, rain and a chance of flooding. Do you think I chose the appropriate pair of jeans for the day?

These are actually one of my favorite pairs of jeans. I don't wear them often because they are so short! Damn my long legs!

I am off to clean my "studio," might post photos of that later. It is currently pretty scary looking.

Pincushion Challenge

2010-08-15T18:18:00.000-07:00

Hi all! It is late and I have been busy, so this will be a short post. I wanted to show a photo of a pincushion I created for a "challenge" on Pins and Needles. The photos of the pincushions are to be posted today and tomorrow. Tuesday, those who participated get to vote on their favorite. There are some cute ones already. Can't wait to see all of them!! You should stop by and see them.

Hope you all had a great weekend. This morning, I spent a couple of hours cleaning chicken poop and replacing their litter. Whoopee - lots of fun!!

Thrift Store Finds

2010-08-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

As promised, I wanted to show you a few things I picked up last week at the thrift store and a garage sale. Not everything I purchased is shown here, just my favorites.

I don't really know when my love affair for dishes and other kitchen paraphernalia started. Perhaps it was when I was 15 and my Mother and German Grandmother purchased silver tableware for my hope (hopeless as my family called it) chest. The first items to enter my hope chest were silver coffee spoons and cake forks. That was the beginning of the end. (My mother still purchases tableware/kitchen items for me.)

I use Fiesta Ware as my everyday tableware. I love all of the different colors. I fell in love with Fiesta at my American Grandmother's house. She had a complete set to include serving dishes. I also have a set of Pfaltzgraff's Yorktown pattern. The Pfaltzgraff was my first "real" set of dishes.

My favorite set of china is my Spode Christmas pattern. My mother gave me 4 place settings for Christmas over 20 years ago. Almost every year my Mom adds to my collection! Two Christmases ago, she gave me a tea pot, creamer and sugar bowl. These are probably my favorite pieces of the Spode collection.

On to my finds!

I fell in love with the patterns on both sets dishes. Both patterns are made by Taylor, Smith and Taylor. The company was originally from West Virginia and that bit of history makes them more special to me. I believe they date to the 30's. I have yet to find the name of either pattern, so if anyone recognizes them, let me know. I found a book that has the patterns of Taylor, Smith and Taylor in it and I am going to see if the library can order it for me.

My next find is my favorite. It is a sock darner made by Hungerford. It is a heavy plastic and is marked "For Light Material" on the red side and "For Dark Material" on the cream side. I almost passed this up - my first thought was that it was a fishing bobber (I think that is what those things are called). I looked at is closer, realized it was a darner, saw the $.49 price tag and knew it had to come home with me. I researched the darner and saw that someone had one just like it for sale for $20.00. I am not able to find much history on it and I don't really know if it is worth $20.00 or not, I love it and think it will go well in my sewing room!

I went to some of the Garage Sales in town this morning and was able to snag some goodies. I will post about them later in the week. My friend Lisa and I will be going to more sales tomorrow and I want to combine all of my finds in one post.

Hope you all are having a great Thursday.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2010-08-11T08:25:00.001-07:00

I am off to see an old friend of mine. We met when we lived in Morgantown, WV. She has a daughter who is a year younger than The Baby and they got to be good friends and so did Bettina and I. We are the type of friends who don't talk often, but when we do, it is as if we talk every day. Her life is a bit stressful right now, her daughter will be a Freshman at WVU this year and will live on campus. So even though they will be in the same city, it will create a different relationship. Bettina also has a pre-teen son and an almost pre-teen son. Can you imagine the testosterone in that house? Her husband is often out of town and he is not able to help out much. On top of that her mother-in-law came to live with them and they just added about 800 square foot to their house to accommodate her. Along with the square footage, they added a substantial amount of debt!! I look forward to chatting with her and catching up on what is happening in her life.

I am excited about this weekend. The county I live in is going to be a part of a 3 county garage sale. My understanding is that you park and walk from sale to sale. Last year, out city alone had over 800 sellers. I imagine it will be crazy and I can't wait to be a part of it. I will head out early tomorrow (the 1st day) then I will go again with my crazy friend Lisa on Friday. Don't know that I will find much, but I will enjoy the hunt. Wish me luck!

I told you that I would post about my last garage sale finds, and as you can tell, I haven't. I have decided to wait until tomorrow and link it up to a few other sites. I may even have some other goodies to show you!

Well, off to get ready. Hope you have a great day!

Back to "Normal"

2010-08-09T05:45:00.000-07:00

Thing are getting back to some semblance of "normal." Big went back to work today (I am not sure if she will make it the entire day or not), The Baby is back in school and the dog, the three cats, the bird and the 8 chickens and I are here with a long day of chores ahead of us. I have a list of "To Do's" that is so long, all I want to do is run away from it! My plan is to go slow and tick one thing off at a time.

Today I will:

1.) Vacuum
2.) Sweep/Mop (My Mom bought me a shark - so I don't really hate mopping as much)
3.) Laundry
4.) Plan a menu for 2 weeks
5.) Plan a grocery list
6.) Pay bills
7.) Put new handles on the kitchen cabinets
8.) Some sort of crafting (I want this to be #1, but I will be good and do chores first)

The Baby called this morning to say hello and let me know what is going on in her life. As she is telling me what her daily plan is, I can hear that she has labored breathing. She is like Big and easily gets upper respiratory infections, so I begin to worry. I didn't want to interrupt her, so I let her talk and I continue to get more concerned about the breathing. She finally stopped talking for a moment (we both talk a lot - I blame it on my Mom!) and I asked her why she was breathing so heavy. She had one of these in her hands -

She was busy cleaning the grease spots off the wall in the kitchen! Ahh...she is a chip off the old Mom block!

Well, I am off to get my list started. I just remembered, I get to hang with the Quilty Ladies and my Guild tonight. I am feeling more a part of the group, so I hope the meeting will go well. Have to go find a red, white and blue fat quarter for trading!

Have a wonderful day!

Sunday Blues

2010-08-08T19:41:00.001-07:00

The Baby is back at school. We got up early, left on time and got to the school on time. Luckily, a friend of hers had to arrive at school early also and he was able to help us unpack! Climbing 2 flights of stairs about 5 times gets a bit tiring when you are old! The Baby and her friend would run up and down the stairs while having a conversation! Ah, youth.

Anyway, she is in her apartment. It is not as small as she remembered it. She only saw it once prior to moving in. It is actually rather cute. The one bad thing is that it is pretty dirty! I helped her get her kitchen items put up after the cabinets had a good cleaning. There was a lot more cleaning to do, but I wanted to let her get the "feel" of the place before she had training.

I am not sure when we will see her again. She will have to find out what her schedule is, hopefully it won't be too far away.

Big and I are going to Washington, D.C. in September. She has training and I will be tagging along. I find D.C. to be a very interesting place and have not seen very much of it. If anyone has any ideas of places to go, let me know. We have done most of the big sites. We would like to see more of the Smithsonian.

Well, I better get off the computer and get my sleepy self to bed! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

This and That Thursday

2010-08-05T19:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, it is 10:15 p.m. and I am just now able to get my Thursday post done. I know that in some places it is already Friday, so, sorry.

Big is not feeling well today. Actually, she has not felt well for a few days. She finally went to see the Doctor today and found out that she has an infection in her lungs and "junk" (medical term used by her Doctor) up her nose. She is on an antibiotic and steroids. She has COPD and asthma and is prone to get upper respiratory infections often. It has been a good while since she has been sick and I hope she is better soon. She is a bad patient!

The Baby finally ended it with her boyfriend. Of course, that could change tomorrow, but for now it is over. Her heart is broken and I wish I could fix it. But this is something I can't fix and she will have to figure it out by herself. I know that all of you Moms know how I feel. I feel very helpless. She knows that I am here for her and that is all I can do.

We have had some major rain storms here today. We are currently under a flash flood warning. I think warning is worse that watch. I can never remember. I would probably still be trying to figure it out as the house was floating down the river. Luckily, we live high on a hill and don't really have much of a worry of flooding.

I was recently a participant in a pot holder swap. I showed a photo of the pot holder I sent her. I got my package from her yesterday and boy was it great! Tina spoiled me and I loved every minute of it.

Here is a photo of all of my goodies. There are two pot holders, a large hot pad, some candles, some lovely tea, two dish towels, 2 magnets, a neat little chap stick holder/key chain, some note cards, a pencil and a puzzle book. Oh my God, don't let me forget to mention the candy! Have you ever had Nips? I have never tried them before but they will be on my list now.

Don't you just love these magnets?

This will end up on my key chain tomorrow. I always have chapped lips in the winter and this will be handy!

We take The Baby back to school on Sunday. I am going to miss her so much. Enough said about that.

Well, it is almost 11:00 p.m. now and my eyes are beginning to cross. I am off to bed, I hope you all had a good Thursday. Tomorrow, I am going to post about some great Thrift Shop/Garage Sale items I found. I am so excited about them!

Where has the time gone?

2010-08-04T04:03:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how long it has been since my last post. There have been a few things going on that have kept me away from Blogland, but mostly I think I just needed a break.

My car decided it also needed a break and after a $400.00 vacation, she has now come home. The Baby was driving it home from work and it decided to die on her. Luckily it started right back up and she was able to make it home, but it freaked her out. She was unable to miss any work (she would have lost a $1,000 stipend for school), so Big took the week off and we took her to and from work. Big's car is a stick and The Baby can't drive it. Big and I mostly laid around, watched movies, read books and magazines and were generally lazy. It was really nice!

This is The Baby's last week home before heading back to school. She is both excited and sad. She is gathering all of her "stuff" and putting it in the extra room. The piles keep growing! We will take her back on Sunday and help her get her room situated. She will be living in an apartment style dorm and is excited about having a separate living area!

I haven't gotten much done in the "crafty" realm. I have lots of plans and ideas, but that is as far as it has gotten. I did complete a pot holder for a swap I was participating in. It is a twist on a log cabin pattern. I had fun making it and will be making a couple for myself. I had forgotten to take a photo, so this photo was provided by my partner, Tina. Thanks Tina!!

The Baby and I did a Dollar Tree run yesterday and on the way home we stopped at a yard sale. I picked up some neat dishes (I need them like I need a hole in the head) and a couple other things. I will post photos later. I am trying to search for more info. on the dishes. So far all I know is they were made in West Virginia, so that is cool.

Off to get another cup of coffee! Hope you all have a great day!

The Baby and School

2010-07-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

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!

Update on the Boyfriend

2010-07-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

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!!

Have you Ever??

2010-07-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

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!

The Boyfriend

2010-07-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

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!

Zuchinni Bread

2010-07-15T09:27:00.001-07:00

Mmmmm.... Nuff said

This and That Thursday

2010-07-15T04:49:00.000-07:00

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!

Things Got Better

2010-07-13T05:40:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-07-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

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!

I Finished Something

2010-07-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

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!!

Helga's gift (again)

2010-07-08T05:33:00.000-07:00

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!!

No link

2010-07-07T05:43:00.000-07:00

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?

Knitting for Helga

2010-07-06T05:56:00.000-07:00

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.

West Virginia is in Mourning

2010-07-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

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.

Home Improvement

2010-07-02T06:12:00.000-07:00

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.

A Gift From Lisa

2010-07-01T05:43:00.001-07:00

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.

Promised Photos

2010-06-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

Hi all! It has been busy around here, so it has taken me a few days to get around to posting some of the photos from the quilt show I attended last week. Also, I have had some severe joint pain for about 5 days and it was hard to type much. I get it about once or twice a year - went to a Dr. a few years ago, and he tested me for everything under the sun. When all of the test came back negative, he said it must be a virus that manifests itself in my joints. So when the pains arrive, I just sit back and wait for it to run it's course.

We took The Baby to Pittsburgh on Friday. She was there to hang out with a couple of her college peeps and do some serious shopping. One of freinds will be attending her Sophomore year in Ireland, so they wanted to have a get together before the school year started. They had a blast! The Baby slept most of the car ride home on Sunday. She woke up Monday morning feeling sick to her stomach but with no fever. She had to go to work, so I decided to drive her. She works an hour away from home, so I was on the road a good part of the day! No matter, I would have worried if she would have had to drive herself. I have never minded driving her any place she has wanted to go, it is a great time to catch up with what is going on in life!

On to the photos!! The first quilt is my favorite. I wish the colors and the pattern came out better. I took a class from the lady who made the quilt and after the class she showed some of her work. This quilt was one of the quilts she showed. She created the design for her daughter as a wedding quilt. She asked her daughter what kind of quilt she wanted and her daughter said a traditional wedding ring with a modern twist. This is what Fran came up with. All of the material is Batik. The sun flowers are her daughter's favorites. I would die and go to heaven if someone made something this beautiful for me!

This was one of Big's favorite quilts. She loved the bright colors in it.

I thought this wall hanging was cute - I love me some chickens!

I have always wanted to make a log cabin quilt. I thought the simplicity of the black, white and red was stunning.

Of course there are many more photos and I will be posting more over the next few days. Just wanted to give you all a taste! I have been working in the yard and getting the house cleaned since it was neglected over the weekend. I have also been making flowers to adorn The Baby's head and a shirt or two she brought back from Pittsburgh. I will post about them later or tomorrow. I am off now to get in my sewing room and get busy!

Quilt Show

2010-06-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

I am pooped tonight, so it will be a short post. Just wanted to let you all know how much I enjoyed the Quilt Show today. I think my mouth was hanging open most of the morning. There were some really beautiful quilts. Picked up a few goodies from the vendors and almost got a new sewing machine!! Had to say no to that since we just had some plumbing taken care of. Found out we had a water leak after the meter reader told us we had used 45,100 gallons of water in the past month!!! Our normal usage is 5,000 to 6,000 a month.

Will post photos tomorrow. I am so excited to get back to quilting now!

Hope you had a great couple of days!

Massaging a Star

2010-06-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

Do you all recognize this guy? That's right, it is Bruce Willis. I was lucky enough to give him a massage!! Not just once, but twice!! He was in El Paso, Tx. doing a movie and had pulled some muscles and wanted a massage. The owner of the spa that I did some work with got a call - they needed a therapist to show up to a hotel to give a massage to someone connected to the filming. I volunteered to go, the hotel was close to my parents house, they had The Baby, so I had to be on that side of town anyway. I figured it would be a director or set person, but not Bruce Willis! Some other therapist had gotten calls, but so far, no one had worked with a star. I remember knocking on the door, wondering who would open it. When it turned out to be Mr. Willis, I about fell out. I am sure my mouth was hanging open. I went in, set up my table and began my work. I kept telling myself, he is just a regular guy, he is just a regular guy. I gave him a 2 hour massage and went back the next day to give him another 2 hour massage. He turned out to be a really nice guy. Once I quit being star struck, I relaxed and we had a good conversation. He complimented me on not being nervous and said he wished he would have had me as a therapist when he first arrived. During his massage, the phone rang and he asked if I would get it - it was Demi Moore. She was calling him to say goodnight. He spoke to his girls and sang to the littlest one (she was about the same age as The Baby). This all happened a couple of weeks before Christmas and I was very happy to receive a $300.00 tip on the last day.

Well, that is my claim to fame. I am now off to more mundane things like cleaning the house. It is raining today so I will be in my sewing room. Hope to have some photos of what I am working on.

Hope you all have a fantastic day!

Happy Fathers Day

2010-06-21T09:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Fathers Day. I hope everyone had a great day. We went to see Toy Story 3 in 3D. It was a really cute movie. I think we were the only people in the theatre that didn't have little kids.

My father passed almost 7 years ago, so I didn't have to join the hustle and bustle of buying cards and presents. I did, however, think of him often during the day and remembered some good times I had with him. My Dad was an Army Officer and our house was run much like the military. There were never a lot of family bonding times, family trips, etc. For much of my young life, I didn't really care for my Dad. I changed my feelings about him when The Baby came along. He was a very different person with her.

I remember when she was 2 years old and she and my father had been swimming (my Mom has a pool in the backyard), The Baby had just gotten out of the pool and took her swimsuit off and went in the house to get some clothes on. My Mom wanted to show us her brand new, cream colored wing back chair. We all traipsed to the living room to Ooohh and Aaahh over it. The Baby decided to try it out of size - she looked so cute sitting there. All of a sudden she did that little shiver that lets you know she just peed! Remember, she was naked. We stood and looked at her in shock and waited for my father to have a fit and all he said was, "Oh well, just flip the cushion over." I couldn't believe he was so calm. That was how the rest of his time with The Baby was.

He used to pick her up from kindergarten on Wednesdays (Wed. was a really busy day for me - didn't usually finish work till 10p.m.). One Wednesday she told him her "throat was dry," and he wondered if ice cream would help. That began a tradition of going to Baskin Robbins for an ice cream every Wednesday. The people at the store got to know both of them and knew what flavors they liked. They made a great pair!

Big phoned her Dad, who lives in Michigan, and they chatted for a while. We sent him a card and a gift certificate to Cracker Barrel.

You may wonder about The Baby's father. She was conceived by artificial insemination by an unknown donor. There is a long story to that and someday I may tell it, there are a few parts of the story that are rather funny. Anyway, I really wanted to have a child, so that was the route I chose. I was with my ex at the time. I have always said she gave me two things: 1.) the financial help to get pregnant, 2.) the courage to never be a victim again. She was an abusive alcoholic and I stayed too long. Although, had I not been with her, I would not have my wonderful child and my life would be very different. So for this I forget the bad and thank her for the good I now have.

So this was our Father's Day. How was yours?

2010-06-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

The past couple of days I have been busy working in the garden, cleaning our garage and a whole lot more. It has been so hot here, that I have been getting up early to work in the flower and vegetable garden. Here are a few photos of what is blooming right now.

This is our kitty "Batz" she is loving the catnip I planted. This was planted in hopes that they would be distracted and leave the birds alone!! I think she is a little stoned!

I have always loved Red Hot Pokers and was lucky enough to find one. It is close to the hummingbird feeder - they seem to like it also. I think it will look nicer next year.

I think this is an African Daisy, but I am not sure. I have had it in the ground for a while and didn't think it would bloom again. I love the colors.

Hydrangeas are one of my favorite plants. This was planted here by the previous owner. I didn't get a chance to trim it down, so it is sort of overgrown. I don't care - I think it is beautiful.

We have a lot of Day lilies and it is a treat to wake up each morning and look outside to see which ones are blooming. These photos do not do any of the flowers justice, especially not the Day lilies.

We have Day lilies in the front yard and the side yard. I have to get to them before the deer. Right now the deer are winning - there are only sticks where there should be blooms!

Another favorite of mine is echinacea. This one is a bright pink - again, the photo does not do it justice.

Well, I hope you enjoyed some of my photos. I would like a better camera and then would like to take a class on using it. I would love to have better photos.

It is hot, hot outside, so I am going inside and will spend some time sewing today. I have been looking at some great blogs and have gotten a lot of inspiration from them. So it is off to sew!! Oh yeah, Big is taking Thursday of next week off so that we can attend the State Quilt Guild Show. I am so excited. This will be my first time to attend something like this. There will be over 175 quilts, classes, lectures, an auction and more. I am sure that Big is thrilled (not so much). Hey, I support her Strongwoman/Strongman stuff and watch her and others flip tractor tires, lift cement balls and more, so she supports my quilting. Actually, she is looking forward to it - she is a good sport.

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday!

Quilt Guild Meeting, etc.

2010-06-15T05:11:00.000-07:00

I went to the Guild meeting last night and was pleasantly surprised, a couple ladies spoke to me. One lady actually complimented my cookies!! I took a top that I had made about a year ago for "Show and Tell." It is one of my favorites. It was my first Stack and Whack. I got a few OOOhhhs and AHHHs, so I was happy. Perhaps they are not such bitches after all. (Well, some of them are!!)

I tried to take photos, but they did not come out well. I will post a few. The ladies that attended from the Elkins Quilt Guild were very nice and I am tinkering with the idea of joining their group. They are very involved with a lot of charity work and seem to be so friendly. Hmmm...I will have to ponder that.

Today I will be cleaning house, making blueberry jam and hopefully get in my sewing room for some quilting. We'll see how that goes.

This is my stack and whack - the main material is an oriental print with cups and tea pots. It reminds me of The Baby and our Tea Time Thursdays.

The lady who made this quilt did it while on a car trip to see her family. She hand pieced each of the 9 patch blocks. When she got to the various houses of her family, they would help piece some of the blocks. She said the 9 patches represent the 5 girls and 4 boys in her family. The girls are the "bright" materials and the boys are the background material. I thought that was funny!

This is a quilt that was made for the son of the quilter. He was in the Navy and had been to Australia and loved it there. She found material that represented Australia and this is what she came up with. I wish the photo was better - the quilt was stunning. The back was as wonderful as the front.

Hope you all have a wonderful day - mine will be busy, but good.

Missing in Action

2010-06-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

I have had a very busy week and was usually too tired to blog. I have popped in on some of you though, got to get my fix.

Monday was taken up by cleaning house and helping The Baby practice parallel parking. She is just now getting around to taking her drivers test. She is not allowed to have a car at school (it is an old school and they don't have the space), so she was not in a rush. Also, I think she liked being chauffeured by me! We practiced more Tuesday morning and in the afternoon drove to the next town for her to take her exam. She was nervous, but she passed. She was so happy. As for me, I am beginning to see how wonderful it is to have someone who will run your errands!!

Wednesday was The Baby's first day of training for her job. She drove herself there and I was a little nervous. She has an hour drive each way. She made it there and found out she will enjoy the people she will be working with. That makes me happy - last year the kids she worked with treated her like an outsider and it was very hard on her. She is in state-wide training from today until Wed. She will be back at her jobsite Thurs. Monday, the kids arrive. Perhaps I should say that she is working for a Vista Volunteer program called Energy Express. It is a reading program for kids who need help with their reading and also for underprivileged kids. She has volunteered with them for 3 years, last year she was a Mentor and this year she is the Volunteer Coordinator. The pay is good (she makes as much in 8 weeks as she would have made if she was working in a fast food place for 12 weeks. She also gets a $1,000 stipend toward her education.) It is a good job and she loves working with kids.

Saturday and Sunday, I spent working in the yard. I got the bright idea to create a "wildlife" area on our property. I will be using the area on the other side of the fence. We have had a bird feeder there since we have lived here and we all enjoy sitting on the back porch watching the birds. I also pulled weeds (took forever) and planted some newly purchased flowers. I also transplanted some things from the front yard to the wildlife area. I built a feeder tray, hung some dried corn for the squirrels, and hung a thistle feeder for the goldfinches. You know that saying, "Build It and They Will Come," I am sorry to report, it is not working in my backyard. Since I made the additions to the feeding area, I have less birds and squirrels than before. Big says they are getting used to it - I hope so.

These are two of our kitties - they are watching a squirrel eating at the feeder. I wonder if they have something to do with the lack of wildlife?!?! Notice the weeds growing over the rocks!

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Here are a couple photos of the flower bed after spending a whole day weeding it. It might be hard to see how clean it is, but trust me, it is weed free (at least for a day or two!)

This is the feeder I made for the squirrel and gold finches (I am sure the deer will find it also), I used an old part of a plant stand and a tray that goes under a pot. So far, I have only seen one goldfinch in it, but I am keeping my fingers crossed.

I found this at my favorite nursery today. I don't know what it is called, I just know I love it! It was 30% off, which made it about $10. It is about 3 feet across! The nursery will have a 50% off sale at the end of this month and I will race there to get some perennials and perhaps some shrubs. They run out early, so I will have to beat the crowds.

Oh yeah, I made these to take to the quilt guild meeting tonight. Sometimes I am not sure why I go, they treat me like an outsider. I guess I am a gultton for punishment!! They are Creme De Mint Cookies - very, very good!

These are poppy seed muffins I made this morning. Also very good.

Hope everyone had a wonderful week! Look forward to reading what you all have been up to. I am off to shower and get ready for the meeting!!