Just another day in the life...

Looks like it's going to be a few days before Nick gets his car back (and by default, I get my car back). When I took his in to get the tire fixed, the mechanic called me at work and said the rim was bent beyond repair. He searched for a used rim and found one but won't have it until Thursday. The shop offered me a loaner so I don't have to be driving around on a donut tire. I'm happy with that. It's a huge Grand Marquis. It's like driving a boat, compared to Nick's Focus and even compared to my Taurus! Very nice ride. Drinks gas like water!

Mom and Pop should be here in a few minutes and then we are heading to Lotawata! I've been thinking (and talking) about it all day! Really looking forward to it.

Tired of flat tires

It seems my son gets a lot of flat tires. Why is this? Does he run over things more than the rest of us? Is he just unlucky? At any rate, he was VERY lucky when he got this flat tire today. He was on the interstate, on his way to school, going a high rate of speed I'm sure. Thank GOD it was a rear tire and he was able to steer to safety. We are truly blessed with guardian angels.

So after calling roadside assistance and having them change the tire (yes, Nick could have changed it, but we pay a very small fee for roadside assistance and we use it whenever necessary), Nick went to his afternoon class. When done, he came home and switched cars then went back to Springfield in my car. I will take his to the shop tomorrow and have a new tire put on, plus have his oil changed, which I'm sure is over due.

Nick seems to be settling in to school okay. I'm really hoping that he has grown up over the past year and will do well. Johanna and I talked briefly tonight and she said she had a boring day at school, so that means she wasn't stressed. I'll take that anyday from her.

Tomorrow Mom and Pop are coming down. They are on vacation and are going to Springfield to visit the Lincoln Library. Then coming here and taking me to Lotawata Creek for dinner. Yumyumyum!

I made Ev sausage and eggs for supper. I really didn't feel like cooking tonight. I had a frozen mini cheeseburger and a couple of lettuce wraps.

Went upstairs before work and worked on that third do rag. It's almost finished, but I just don't feel like going upstairs tonight. Maybe tomorrow morning I will finish it before I go to work. Or maybe not. I usually take the guys at the repair shop donuts, so I may have to leave a little early. sigh.

Out to dinner

Last week we went out to dinner at a new restaurant. We didn't get our food after an hour and a half and ended up leaving hungry. Tonight we went to a restaurant and had to wait almost an hour for our meal to come. The difference between the two incidents is that at the first one the waitress gave no explanation, no apology, or seem to care at all. Tonight, the waitress was very apologetic, gave us a sensible explanation, and continued to keep us updated. We did not mind waiting at all, and will return to tonight's restaurant. Last weeks, probably not.

I'm thinking about getting my hand quilting out again. Besides being lazy, I'm leary of getting it out and having Ivy tear it up.

Tomorrow is another Monday. I'm looking forward to next weekend already. It's Labor Day weekend and we will have three days off. Ev might have to work Saturday, but we won't know until Thursday night.

Mom is on vacation this week. She said she might come down with Pop one day this week. She wants to go to the Lincoln Museum in Springfield.

Nick and the do rag

This isn't the best pic in the world, but you get the idea. Nick is modeling the do rag I made for Ev. Now, once I got it done, Ev told me he really would like one made from different material since he knows I can make them right! Oh he of little faith! I'm using this as an excuse to go to JoAnn's and get him in there to pick out fabric! hee hee hee.

I did make two do rags out of this material and have a third one cut out. Ev wants to keep the one I made him, although I doubt he will ever wear it. Nick says he won't wear one because they aren't his style. sigh. So I think I will go ahead and make the third one and give two of them to Anne. She is making a bunch to sell in a few weeks and this will just add to her inventory. She gave me a bunch of material, so this will just be a trade off. Anne is such a sweet person. All my friends are nice people. I'm really blessed.

Nick is working tonight then going back to Springfield. I picked up some more goodies for him at IGA over in Staunton. He should be set for a few days. The next time he works is Thursday. I'll see him then.

Johanna and Ben were here for a little bit today. It was good to see her. Ben's birthday was on Friday. We got him a hair trimming kit. Johanna said he wanted one. He seemed pleased with it. I made a bag for him out of some wild material and he liked it too.

Do rag done

Today Ev and I went to Wal Mart for a couple of things. While there I was browsing the fabric section and had Ev pick out some material to make a do rag out of. I'll take a picture of it soon and put it up, but I did get it all made today and I think it turned out okay. Got enough material to make Nick one just like it. Matching do rags...awwwwww.

Ev is working tonight. Can't say the overtime makes me mad. We need it.

Donna came over this afternoon and we basted one of her quilts. It is a double wedding ring she is making for her daughter. Very pretty colors. She is hand quilting it, which is the only way she quilts.

Since Ev will probably be sleeping late tomorrow morning, I went ahead and went to church this evening. We had a visiting priest from Kentucky, the Appalachian region. It was interesting to hear about other areas of our own country that are so different from here.

Made a pot of chili for dinner tonight. I didn't have any, but I did take a bowl of it over to my uncle. He sent home some peppers and tomatoes. The garden is winding down now.

Working on log cabin blocks

I started working on those log cabin blocks again tonight. When I started them a year ago, I didn't cut the strips all at once. I was cutting them as I went. Well, that's what I started doing tonight, but I think that may not work well for me. I do better when I have all the cutting done and can just sew up a storm! Will just see how it goes for a while and if I'm not making progress like I want to I'll just cut up a bunch of strips and go from there.

I have a couple grocery bags of fabric scraps to sort through and put away. Tonight I put away some of the blues and some of the greens. Getting the sewing room in order will make it easier to sew and create in there.

Nick is home tonight. I'm happy to have him back in the nest for a night or two. Johanna was going out with the girls and Ben was going out with the guys. At least that was the report she gave me earlier. I found it odd because it's his birthday, but that's their business.

In addition to sewing a bit on the log cabin squares, I made a birthday bag for Ben. It is wild material with big blue flowers, pink huts and red parrots on it. Gonna bring that boy out of his shell yet... Still sending him a dumb joke every day.

Started sending Bethany a dumb joke daily also. Today she asked me for help learning division. I am trying to explain it as best I can over email. I hope she can figure it out!

So one of my life rules is "if you never ask, you will never know. and all they can do is say no". Keeping that in mind, a piece of property in the next block is in the first stages of being condemned by the city. The house definitely needs to be condemned, but also on the property is one of those new shed/garage buildings that looks like it's in great shape. Being the resourceful person that I am (read cheap), I sent a letter to the property owner asking if he would like to get rid of the shed/garage. I'm hoping he will say, sure just haul it away, but I'm realistic about it too and he may have other plans for it. The reason I want it is so that I can turn it into a studio for my longarm when I get it. Everett would be mortified with embarassment... Although that didn't stop him from helping haul the lumber we got for our deck when I asked some people for it who were taking their deck apart! Hey, lumber is expensive! They had a nice deck around their pool and took it all down and were just going to burn the lumber. I asked if I could have it and they said sure. We hardly had to buy any of the support lumber to build our deck, mostly just bought the decking.

Trip to Springfield

Diane and I went to see Nick and Jay tonight after work. We took the boys out to dinner at Olive Garden. I tried to behave and just had the salad, breadsticks and soup. I would have been better just having soup and no dressing on the salad and no breadsticks because those extras really added up. But all in all, I was okay with having over done it because I don't go to Olive Garden every day. In fact, the last time I was there was in May for Mother's Day.

Brought Nick's laundry home with me. I know it's only been a couple days, but he doesn't have a lot of clothes, so keeping on top of things is good.

Ivy was inside for almost 4 hours while I was away tonight. I think she might have had an accident, but not completely sure. It has been a long time since she had one, so I'm just hoping she doesn't backslide now. She was destructo dog again while alone. Two pair of shoes and the third or fourth pair of motorcycle sunglasses. Ev is not pleased.

Do wah ditty ditty do rag

Hee hee hee. Here's a pic of the do rag Anne from work asked me to figure out how to piece together. There are some spots that I should have done things in a different order, but all in all, I think she will be able to get it from my notes and example. And before anyone goes and thinks that I'm smart - my hubby rides and i had a model to look at when trying to figure out how to put it together!

Finally was able to turn the air conditioning off today. It's so nice to open up the house again. I wonder how Miss Ivy is going to deal with all the sounds from outside again?

Tomorrow night Diane and I are going to Springfield after work and see the boys and take them out to dinner. I'm looking forward to it.

Scrap bag

One of the gals I work with gave me a grocery bag full of scraps today. I was just tickled with it, of course. She said it was a bribe for my help...she had cut out a pattern for a 'do rag' and couldn't figure out how it went together. She wants me to try and figure it out. Small price to pay for a bag of scraps. I'm too wiped out tonight to work on it, but I think I can figure it out for her.

This gal is part Native American. She is in the process of sewing 'ribbon shirts' and will be taking them to an event in September hoping to sell them. As she finishes them, she brings them in to show us. Each one is more impressive than the last. I get a real kick out of seeing some of them that are made out of material I gave her. We kind of trade back and forth when we get material - I give her stuff I won't use and she reciprocates.

Tuesday morning

Here's a picture of the beginnings of the log cabin blocks I'm going to be working on again. The colors are pretty, I think. Log cabin blocks are so nice and easy to me. It's not completely mindless sewing, but they do work up quickly. Right now I have to press some of the material and cut strips. That's kind of a sticking point for me because I don't like to do those things, especially the pressing. Once I get that all done, the squares will come together quickly.

After these are done, I'm going to try and finish up a few tops that are almost done. One is the green shirtings quilt. It just needs the borders put on the top, then it will be put away until I can quilt it. I also have to finish Nick's high school graduation quilt. The top needs a border, then I really do want to get that basted and machine quilted.

Ev cleaned the carpet in the sitting room yesterday really well. Ivy has been doing really good with the housebreaking, and I think we are over the worse time for accidents. Once we are completely sure she is trained, we will look at getting new carpeting.

Nick works tonight here in town. I'm going to pick up a veggie sub on my way home from work and drop it off for him and pick up his laundry. Will do that while he is at work, then he can come by and pick it up before he goes back to Springfield.

Back to work

It was back to work today after a week off. I didn't have to stay an entire day because I had a doctor appointment. Left an hour early for it. Got some good news at the doctor's office. He took me off all my blood pressure medicine! I no longer take any meds. This is a direct result of losing weight and I am just tickled pink!

Both kids started school today. I talked to them earlier and so far so good.

Not going upstairs tonight. Just don't have the energy. Donna and I took a short walk this evening. I'm done for the night!

Johanna came to visit

I didn't think she would be up, but Johanna came for about an hour this evening to visit. Her and Ben got the basement cleaned up and I guess they didn't want to cook. Luckily, Ev made enough chicken on the grill that there was some leftover. I opened a can of baked beans and Ev threw another couple peaches on the grill. He had also made big portabella mushroom caps on the grill. Everything was really good. The chicken had a raspberry glaze on it that was very tasty.

I went up to the sewing room for a bit and tried to decide what to work on again. I pulled out the pink and cream log cabin squares. My notes tell me I was going to make 36 squares and set it in a barn raising. So, I think that's what I'm going to go with. My color choices for the creams are going to be a little different than I first had planned, mostly because my stash has grown and I have a better selection to choose from.

I have Nick's clothes all washed and ready for him to take to Springfield. He works until 9:30 tonight and will stop at home one more time before heading up there to get his stuff and food.

Last day of my vacation

Tomorrow it's back to work. I just saw the lottery is up to 115 million. Maybe I can win that and take a permanent vacation...haha.

Here's a picture of Nick (in the green shirt playing the flying v guitar). Yesterday there was a music fest out at the old lake where a bunch of local bands got together and just played for fun. Well, Nick had fun and played good, but I do have a biased opinion... He spent last night at home and has to work at 3 this afternoon. Then after work he is heading up to Springfield for school tomorrow. He does have to work Tuesday night so I guess I will see him for a few minutes that night.

Johanna just called. She worked until 2 today and was planning on coming up this afternoon, but went home to find her basement flooded. Ben's parents are coming down to help clear it up. Hope they get it fixed. I'm sure they will.

Ev just left to go on a bike ride. He's going to grill some chicken breasts tonight. I have them marinating with spices and lime juice. I made some burrito's for Nick to take with him. Inside I put potato, black beans, corn, spicy tomatoes, cheese, and a little tomato sauce. I used flour tortillas and folded them up then sprayed Pam on them and toasted them in the cast iron skillet on both sides. Put them in baggies so he has something to eat besides frozen mac and cheese.

With the mystery quilt top done, I'm trying to decide what to start on next. A while ago on a different vacation I started a log cabin top in pinks and creams. I think I may go back to that. I'm also thinking of starting another string quilt, but not sure what color I want to use as the center strip. I have one string quilt made with a maroon strip, so even though Ev would like one similar to it, I just don't have the urge to make it in the same color. I just finished working with all those blues, so I'm not too keen on starting something with blue. We have the green nine patch quilt on our bed now, in addition to having the green carpet throughout the entire first floor, so green, while a nice color and one of my favorites, is just not a color I want to work with right now. I have a pretty lavender material but it's too feminine for Ev's taste, I'm sure.

Mystery 13 top finished

It's finally finished! Woohoo! Well, the top is, anyway. Here's a pic of Mystery 13 from one of my Yahoo Groups. It is on my king size bed, to give you an idea of how large it is. I am not going to put any borders on it. I was thinking of putting different things as a border, but decided it is large enough and does not need one. I will bind it with the same material that makes the star points, I think. Before that, of course, I have to figure out how to quilt this beast!

Almost a night out for dinner

Ev and I were going to go to a new restaurant for dinner. Well, we actually went, but we didn't get to have dinner. After waiting half an hour (not really a horrible wait) we were seated. The waitress took our order, which included iced tea for me and an appetizer. Ev already had a beer so he didn't need a drink when we sat down. Then we waited. And waited. And waited. After a while the waitress brought my tea and our salad, but no appetizer, and no entree. After waiting for over an hour at the table, a total of an hour and a half at the restaurant, we had enough. We asked for the manager and our check. The manager apologized and gave Ev the beer on the house. She blamed it on needed a new computer system, but the restaurant has only been open for 4 days - don't you think the computer system would be new? We had asked the waitress three times for our appetizer, to no avail. If she had been apologetic, even remotely, maybe we would have stuck it out, but enough was enough. I can't remember ever doing that before, and feel bad, but it wasn't our fault.

We didn't go home hungry. We stopped at Arby's! Hey, it was better than nothing...

While we were out, we had quite a thunderstorm. I told Ev we would be going home to a mess, because Ivy does not do well in storms when she is home along. She didn't disappoint us. She shredded a newspaper and the insert to one of his work boots. Destructo dog.

Taking a short break

Nick got home a bit ago and we were talking for a while. Ev wanted him to go with on a bike ride, so the two of them left and I have the house to myself for a few minutes. I was sewing for an hour straight, so I took a few minutes off to put laundry in the wash. Now I'm sitting on the couch and I'm not really sure if I will be able to get up or not. There seems to be an 80 pound labrador on my feet! Wrigley has been quite the lover doggy these last few days. When Ev went to see his mom, Wrigs was right next to me all the time. Ivy has been sticking really close, too. I guess they figure I need their attention since Daddy wasn't home! It's not too bad when Ivy wants to lay on my feet, because she doesn't weigh as much as Wrigley (yet), but I'm wondering how long it will take to get the feeling back in my toes once Wrigs gets up... haha.

I have sewn six more rows of squares together. Pushing to finish this top today or tomorrow for sure. I need to feel like I accomplished something during this stay at home vacation.

I'm so tired of not having any money. That's an old song, I'm sure we all sing it. But it's just driving me batty. Like tonight, we are going out to dinner. Now I know that isn't a priority, but this is the one thing we have been able to do on vacation - eat out. I feel some guilt because I should be paying bills with that money instead of spending it on dinner. There is some truth to the fact that I would have spent it on groceries, at least. Anyway, I just wish we didn't have to live like this. I feel like we rob Peter to pay Paul all the time and it just catches up with me sometimes. I know it will all work out - it always does, but it just gets SO OLD. Okay, I'm done crabbing for now. Can you tell I paid bills today? haha.

Looks like it might rain

The sky is getting pretty nasty looking and I'm thinking we might get a storm pretty soon. Then, I would guess, it will get hot and humid. again. ugh!

I had some running to do today after breakfast (Ev and I went to the local diner for that meal - I'm not doing much cooking on vacation!). When we were at breakfast there was a note on a bulletin board about property for sale. So on my way home from my running I talked to them, just out of curiosity, and ended up going to look at some property between the town we live in and the town I work in. Well, the property is nice, and it's isolated, but there are just too many things the house needs done to it. The kitchen is pretty much gutted and needs a lot of tlc. I do like the location, though. It was fun just to go look. Not going anywhere for a while yet. And really, it needed to have more trees for my liking. I want to be out in the woods. This was in the middle of fields, with some trees in the yard. The house sits on almost 3 acres with a few outbuildings. Only one of the outbuildings is in good enough shape to use.

Think I'll go upstairs and sew some rows together. Ev ran to get another pair of motorcycle sunglasses. Ivy seems to have a taste for them...you would think he would have learned to put them up by now!

Nick is playing at a little gathering of bands tomorrow out at the old lake. When I was driving I heard it advertised on the radio and just got the biggest kick out of that!

8 rows done, 18 to sew...

Eight rows of the 26 are sewn together on the mystery quilt. After four rows were done I brought it downstairs and laid it across the bed to get an idea of how big it is. You know how I was trying to decide on a border? Well, I am not putting much of a border on this puppy because it is HUGE. I love it. I know it will shrink some as it's quilted, but there is about a 16" overhang on both sides of the bed right now. It will get a small border just to tie it all together, but that's all it's going to need. I'm beginning to get a little nervous about how I'm going to quilt this beast... I'm sure I'll find a way!

I sure wish I could sew all day long every day. I plan on having that longarm machine someday (hopefully soon) and being able to take quilting jobs once I am good enough. It would be nice to be able to work at home, but realistically I know it isn't possible now. It's nice to dream, though. Gotta be able to dream. That's what keeps me going.

Back from Alton

Everett decided he needed to go to the Harley place in Alton to get parts for his bike today. So, tempting me with lunch from a place I really like, he convinced me to leave the sewing room and go with him. Problem was, after we were done at the Harley place, the place we were going to lunch hadn't opened yet! So we ended up eating somewhere else and coming home. Now I am too fyll to sew and need a nap!

Back to the sewing room

I'm up and at 'em this morning and determined to tackle the rows of the mystery quilt. I am going to go up and press all the rows and then start sewing.

Here's a picture of Ivy's mother. I had stopped over at the farm house where she lives and took a picture. She's not the prettiest dog, but she sure is a good tempered pooch. Johanna looked at this pic and thought she had pit bull in her but I don't think so. This pic doesn't show her in the best view. I think what she is seeing is bird dog. And she is not a big dog. She is really about the same size Ivy is right now. Her best feature is those haunting blue smoky eyes.

Ev got home around midnight last night. He had a nice visit with his mom, but I know he was ready to get home and sleep in his own bed.

Seems like it's going to warm up again outside today. They are talking about heat indexes of 100 again with a temp in the mid nineties. I am so sick of hot weather.

Don't have any plans today, other than to sew. Will see what Ev has in mind when he gets up.

Row, row, rows I've stitched...

Here they are, all stacked up nice and neat! I have only three more rows to stitch together and I will be ready to put the rows together! I'm trying to decide if I want to put four patch units around the outside as a border. It would mean making another 112 units, and I'm just not sure I'm up for that! It would also make the quilt extremely large. I'm going to wait until I have the rows all sewn together to decide on the border.

Everett went up to visit his mother yesterday morning and was going to stay until tomorrow. He called and is coming home tonight! I kind of figured he would. He likes to sleep in his own bed. He spent the entire day today with his mom and all night last night. Tonight he is at his brother's, and will leave from there to head home.

Nick took the truck, loaded with his box spring and mattress, and headed to his friend Jay's in Springfield. He is going to be staying with Jay during the week while he is at school. It was kind of sad to see him pull away. Each step he takes is one more away from home, but I know he's always going to be ours.

Johanna came up and we had our lunch. She had some things to fax to school so we got those out of the way. We also went to the thrift store and picked up a couple things. She got a cute little tee shirt. I got a set of trivia cards for sports for Ev to look at. He likes that kind of thing and they were only fifty cents. Here's a pic of her at the restaurant. When we got home we played some Gin. That's our favorite card game to play.

I got a call from my great uncle to come over and get a few tomatoes, so of course I went right over! When I got home, somehow the dog had locked me out of the front! She must have jumped up just right and hit the lever for the deadbolt so it caught enough not to allow the door to open. Little stinker! Maybe she is mad because I didn't take her to the lake again today?

I'm taking a break from sewing for a bit and putting that chicken soup together. I was going to wait until tomorrow, but since Ev is on his way home, I want it done if he comes home hungry. I sure do love that guy.

I love being home...

It's so relaxing not to have to go to work this week! I slept a little later than I normally do this morning. Have had my shower and breakfast, plus put a load of clothes in the washer (laundry never ends...). Now I'm heading up to the sewing room. I have ten more rows to sew on the mystery quilt and then will be ready to put them together. I have a system to putting the rows together and can knock them out in about 15 minutes per row now.

I put a chicken in the crock pot last night so it would be cooked and ready to make soup today. Woke up around 3 a.m. wondering what that smell was! yum! So it's cooked and ready for me to do something with later today. Not in any hurry.

The temperature today is only supposed to be in the 80's. This is such a nice change from the awful heat we had for weeks in a row. It could stay like this the rest of the summer and I wouldn't be mad!

Ivy and the Old Lake

That little dot in the water is Ivy...her first trip to the Old Lake and she loved it! It looks like she is out in the water farther than she really is. She only went out about 10 feet then would turn around and swim back to shore. She liked to get in at the boat dock.

When we got home she immediately got a bath (and I immediately got a shower after her bath!). Then she crashed out. Even when her and Wrigley went outside, Ivy had some difficulty keeping her eyes open, as you can see in the other photo! Poor worn out puppy!

I have been upstairs sewing for two hours today so far. Intend to get up there and do some more before the evening is over. The rows are going together quickly now that I have the squares stacked up and ready to be paired together. I have 12 rows out of 26 put together. I mean I have the rows done, not the rows sewn together yet. That will come soon.

Nick went to an audition yesterday in Springfield for a band that plays 90's music. He got the spot and is real excited. I'm happy for him. I hope this works out, but I'm concerned about his school work and have reminded him that he needs to make that his priority. He says he will. Time will tell.

Johanna is moving forward with all the details she has to clean up before school starts. Tomorrow she is coming up for a physical and then we probably will go to lunch.

Two members of the flipped-ear club...

Okay, these dogs are characters. I don't know if you can see that each of the dogs have their right ears flipped back. They walked around the deck and yard for 15 minutes like this today and I just cracked up! Ivy and Wrigley were only on the deck while we were there with them. We don't have to worry about Wrigley getting into the pool, but Ivy's little swimming adventure is still fresh in my memory!

I did some sewing yesterday, but it was pretty warm in the sewing room. I went up there for about 10 minutes today but it was too warm and I was getting woozy in my stomach so I thought I would just wait until it cools off either tonight or tomorrow morning when I go up again. I could be sorting stacks of four patch units into stacks of 13 for each row.

Johanna and Ben came over and we made homemade pizza. I had put together the bread dough yesterday before we went to the winery. Nick had to work and I made his pizza before he left and sent it with him for his dinner break. They turned out really good.

Last night's trip to the winery was nice. We had a bottle of the blackberry wine between the four of us. It was very good. The restaurant was good also.

I love Saturdays...

Today even though I didn't have to work, I was up at 7 and ready to rock and roll. Texted Lori and asked if she wanted to go to breakfast then to Aldi and Rural King. She is an early bird like me and she was ready by 7:45, so off we went! I got most of my shopping done for a couple days, and I'm hoping Johanna and Ben come by one night soon so we can have home made pizza. I have all the fixins for them now. I do need to put together the dough for the crust, but that doesn't take too long.

I have one and a half rows done for the mystery quilt. Even though I showed a picture of it as a block, it is constructed in rows. Since I just finished a little housework (what a bad word!) I thought I would go up and sew in a few minutes. Ev went out on a bike ride and Nick is still sleeping until he has to go to work this afternoon

Made a big pot of chili last night. I know it's hotter than blue blazes out there but chili just sounded good. Ev was in the mood for it too, so it was a good choice. I took some over to my great uncle, the one who has been giving me garden goodies all summer. Between chili, pies, and other goodies, it all balances out in trade! haha.

I hesistate to put it on here, but Ivy has had FIVE straight days of no accidents in the house! Maybe, just maybe, she is on her way to being housebroke. Usually the weekends are a challenge because our household routine is changed, but I'm really going to try and keep up with her weekday routine of going out this weekend and maybe we won't break her winning streak! Right now she is laying on the kitchen floor, completely covering the air conditioning vent. Hmm. Does she think that no one else needs cooling off?

We are planning to go to a winery a few miles north of here this afternoon with another couple. I'm looking forward to it. Have heard good things about it.

Ev and I are both on vacation this coming week. I'm also looking forward to that! We don't really have any plans to do anything, other than just relax. He may go up to visit his mother and brothers later in the week.

I called the retreat center where Donna and I stayed a couple years ago when we went to Paducah for the quilt show. Even though the show isn't until April of 2011, you cannot find a hotel room within a half hour of it right now! The retreat center has private cabins with full kitchens, and is about 45 minutes from the show, so it works out perfectly. The kitchen is a real plus, because it saves enormously on the cost of the trip when we don't have to eat three meals a day at a restaurant. Although we are going to have to make a point to stop at this one greasy spoon that we stopped in last time for breakfast because they had the absolute best biscuits I had ever tasted!

Now, I know biscuits aren't really on my diet, but I'm okay with that once in a while. I have started losing again, and am now at 180, which means 43 pounds lost since January. I feel really good about this. I have 37 more to go to get to my goal weight. Slow and steady wins the race!

Off to sew! (after I put another load of laundry in the washer....sigh)

A Pressing Issue

Here's a pic of pieces I have been pressing. And pressing...and pressing. 338 four patch units and 338 half snoball blocks. This is how they are going to come together. I really like the colors I am using and I like the way the blocks are going to look. This is from a mystery on one of the lists I belong to.

Garage Sale Bliss

I really really should not go to garage sales... Tonight Donna and I ran to the gas station and across the road was a garage sale. We both happen to know the gal and that she is a quilter, so of course we had to go to it. And of course we both came home with fabric. I would say a total of 5 grocery bags full is what we bought, but each of us only wanted about one bag full. Donna also bought a bobbin winder (for four bucks!) and I bought a bag with 24 dresden plate pieces all ready to be appliqued (for a quarter!). I'm not keeping the dp's or the other bags of fabric we purged, instead I'm giving them to a coworker. I already emailed her that I'll be bringing it on Monday to work, so she will have something to look forward to. Oh and lest you think why would we buy then give away? Because all the fabric was bought for five dollars! Since we split the difference, it was $2.50 for a bag full for me. Not bad, not bad at all...

Nick cleaned his basement room today. We then put several glue traps down for mice. I'm hoping we will catch any and all that are down there. I really really can't abide mice. eek.

Today I actually got to sew for three hours! I went upstairs and spent an hour at a time at the machine. I even took the machine apart and attempted to change the belt. That didn't happen because I couldn't figure out how to get all the parts off, but from what I could tell, the belt was in good condition, reinforcing my thought that the problem is strictly a clutch issue. Sigh. I am going to have to accepts, at some point, that after 30 plus years of devoted service, that machine may have to be retired. But I will send it off for repairs before I give it up completely. It is definetely still useable and I'm still sewing up a storm on it.

I also cut a good part of the grass today in the morning. I cut the alley, behind the garage, the ditch, and everything else outside of the fence. Then I did about a fourth of the yard inside the fence, before I pooped out. Everett convinced me to stop for the day, insisting he would finish it tomorrow when he is off work. I'm thinking if I get a wild hair tomorrow morning I might just finish it before he gets up.

Well, I'm going to take my second shower of the day now and get ready for bed. I just feel yucky and since my stomach has been acting up, I think maybe a shower will make me feel better. Oh, and I'm letting the cat in... Think I could convince Ev to get another cat? Doubtful, but worth a try! A big feral beastie that would terrorize any rodent within a hundred mile radius...

I am such a wimp

Johanna was here Sunday with Ben and Johnathon. Johnathon and Johanna got into the swimming pool. The little guy was so cute! He had a blow up boat thingie that he could float around in by himself (of course we were right there in the pool with him). His grandma had bought it for him and he just had the best time in it. Here is a picture of him in it.

Okay, I admit it. I'm afraid of mice. A few weeks ago there was a dead baby mouse on the back inside porch and I convinced myself either the dog or cat brought it inside. Well, tonight at 10 pm when Nick came home from work he tells me there was a dead baby mouse on the floor in his room in the basement. Dang. This must mean there are mice in the basement. So, as I type this, Nick is at Wal Mart getting mouse traps. Going to have him set them out tonight before he goes to bed. He is such a good son, to do this running for me. I will sleep better tonight after those traps are set!

I have tomorrow off. My plan is to get up regular time and go upstairs to the sewing room. I have been working on Mystery 13 a little at a time and really want to make some progress on it. The reason I have the day off is because this was to be the weekend I went on the retreat in Mt. Carmel, but it was canceled. I had already scheduled the day off, so I decided I would do an at home retreat by myself for three days. Don't know if I will get to sew all three days, but going to do as much as I can.

Sunday is the church chicken dinner. I'm supposed to work in the kitchen from 7 a.m. to 12:30 unless I hear differently. I don't want to do it, but every year I get sucked into it and every year I say it will be the last year. Then I do it again the next year... Ev is getting out of it this year. He usually works clean up. This year he is going to be gone on his first poker run on his bike. It's a benefit run for a lady who has been missing for several weeks.

Nick is going up to my mom's on Saturday, then to a concert on Sunday with my brothers. The concert is in Chicago. I know they will have a good time.

Tonight when I got home I cleaned and froze several bags of peaches. I had gotten them last weekend, but was sick with a lousy cold all week so didn't get to mess with them. I had bought a 25 pound case from a farm stand about 10 miles south on the highway. I'm hoping to go get more this weekend. When Johanna had come over last weekend she took a bag full home with her. Ev has been eating them. I also made two pies from them. Nick took one of them over to my great uncles and came home with some tomatoes from his garden. Pretty good trade in my book!