I'm baaaaccckkk....

What a wild ride it was!  Water, water, everywhere.  Drive down was a white knuckle one, that's for sure.  It stormed the entire time we were driving.  And the flooding we saw!  Wow, I have never seen it that bad before.  Every small stream and creek was out of it's banks, all the lakes we passed were overflowing, and the river, whoa, the river was immense.  huge, unbelievably wide.

Most of the roads were passable.  We stuck to the main roads so we didn't have too many problems.  I will say that it did make me nervous driving down some of those two lane blacktop roads and having that water right up to the edge of the road.  I can swim, but I don't know what good that would do if we had an accident.  Thankfully the trip went well.

We made it over to Paducah for the show on Thursday.  I have to say, those folks that run the show have really got to be commended for the fantastic job they did organizing the event.  They must have a contingency plan in place for situations such as this, because the show was still a top notch, classy act.  There were different locations for things that were normally all in one place, but the shuttle buses ran with ease, although they could have used more of the larger buses and not as many as the small ones.  Other than that, they really had it working like a well oiled (sewing) machine!  Saw some beautiful quilts, visited lots of vendor booths, ate some great food, and sewed in our room!  I've put up a couple pictures of the water and a few of the quilts.

Still a go for the show

How high's the water, Mama?  Two feet high and risin'!  Remember that old Johnny Cash song?  I think I'm going to try and find it so I can play it on our trip to Paducah, just to aggravate my friend Donna!  haha.  She has already informed me that she can't swim, and I know she is nervous about crossing bridges, so to ease the tension, before we come up to the bridge that crosses into Kentucky, I'm going to pull out a pair of water wings and hand them to her!  Am I mean?  hee hee hee...  She knows me and probably will smack me one (after we get out of the car!).  haha.

I called the retreat center where we are staying and they said the roads in and out of there are all okay, so that's a relief.  Donna and I were planning to leave around 4 tomorrow, but I asked her if she thought she could get off work at noon so we could drive the whole way in the daylight.  It's a three hour drive to where we are staying.

This morning before work I went upstairs and packed some material for a couple of projects to work on.  Getting pretty excited about going!

Duck? Duck? No - Goose!

This poor goose looks lonely.  Geese mate for life and usually are seen in pairs.  Maybe it's a youngster looking for a mate?  This goose was over at the lake Saturday.  Ev and I rode past the lake to see how high the water was and saw him there.  Hope he or she finds a friend!

So I'm getting really excited about going to Paducah.  And wouldn't you know it, the city is under flood warnings!  We will just have to see what the next few days bring.  As long as the roads are passable, we will get to the show!

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone is having a blessed and happy Easter today.  It's been a rainy day here, but the clouds held off long enough for us to get our egg hunt in over at my dad's.  We had fun.  Ate dinner there and came home early.  I had made breakfast here at home after church, so we weren't really hungry.

Here's a couple pictures of the goodies and goody bags the kids got today.  Well, Johnathon didn't get his yet, but when we see him he will get one.  Nick's pile of loot is the top right, with the black covered notebook, potholder, and carrot with candy in it.  Hanna has a white covered notebook, potholder, carrot with candy in it, two pen rolls, and a rice bag warmer.  Ben has a tan covered notebook, potholder, carrot with candy in it, and a welders cap.  Johnathon has a memory game, carrot with candy in it, and a crayon roll.  Those were just the things I made for the bags.  The kids had other goodies in them.  Nick had a couple of bath towels and Johanna had some wine glasses. 

I could not get the old Singer back into working order.  I gave up.  I dismantled it and drug it down the basement.  The machine is 74 years old.  It doesn't owe me anything, and I have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it for the 20+ years I have had it.  This means any free motion quilting I want to do right now I would have to do on one of the old Kenmore machines, probably Gram's old machine.

Not singing about the Singer

So last night I went upstairs to do some more free motion quilting on the potholders.  The old Singer has been doing a great job lately and I was feeling pretty confident that I had it figured out and wouldn't have any issues with it, at least not major ones.  Oh what a fantasy that turned out to be...

I sat down and sewed about two inches and the thread broke.  This happened several times.  I rethreaded the machine, adjusted the tension, yada yada yada, each time and it continues to break.  Then needles start to break over and over.  I changed threads, I rethreaded, cleaned the bobbin race, did everything I could think of.  Then it happened.  What may be the Singer's final harumpfh.  It locked up.  Tighter than a drum.  I think the bobbin race got off kilter when the needles broke and now it JUST WON'T MOVE.  period.  Well, dang.  I played with it and jiggled and jostled and unscrewed and cleaned and wiggled this and wiggled that...  Today I'm taking a hammer upstairs...  One of us will emerge victorious...

On the upside, I finished three potholders for the kids' Easter bags.  After the Singer quit I just continued on the old Kenmore that was Gram's.  I have enough goodies in their bags that I don't need to make anything else, but if I get the bug to sew today I might try and whip out a few little things yet.  We'll see what the day brings.

What I'm hoping the day doesn't bring is more storms.  I'm about sick of all this stormy weather.  My nerves are shot from all the tornado warnings and such.  Last night was another bad one.  We didn't get hit but they were getting it all around us again.  The airport in St. Louis had to close because a tornado hit there!  What a mess.

Nick, Johanna, and Ben are all planning to be here Sunday morning for church and breakfast afterward.  I'm making waffles, per Johanna's request.  Don't know what the others might like, so we'll see if I get any requests today.

I have a lot of laundry to do.  Ugh.  I will say that since Nick has moved out the laundry has gone down.  Especially the towels.  That kid could go through more towels.  Then he would take them to his room and let them 'age'.  yuck.

Dad wants me to bring the green bean casserole to dinner tomorrow afternoon.  He must really like that dish because he always requests it.  Either that or they just don't like anything else I make because it actually has FLAVOR to it (garlic, salt, pepper, etc...)  They seem to have a very bland palate.  Anyway, I don't mind making the green beans.  It's a no brainer for me.  I'm going to check and see what I need, if anything from the store.  Will have to run out and do that today.  I'm also going to make a macaroni salad and take it over there.  It's just your basic Creamette salad, with elbow mac, mayo, green onions, etc.  Ev loves the stuff, so I thought that would be a nice addition.  Johanna is crazy about it too.

Good Friday

I'm getting a bit tired of storms.  This morning while I was at work we had another intense storm.  The wind was not as bad as before, but we did have pea sized hail.  Luckily my car was not damaged.  I think we are going to get more storms before the night is over.  I'm very glad that Ev doesn't have to work tonight.

We are planning to go out for a fish dinner tonight.  Hope the weather holds out for that, at least.

This morning I went upstairs before work and did a little free motion quilting on a couple of potholders for the kids' Easter bags.  I just keep adding things to them!  They are sure going to have lots of goodies in those bags!

Over the past few days I finished the three journal covers.  I was pretty pleased with the way they came out.  I hope the kids like them.  I also finished the pen roll that Johanna wanted me to make for her pens for school or work. 

I found a cute little project that I adapted to what I had on hand.  The original was made from felt, but I used cotton material I had on hand.  They are small carrots that you fill with candy and tie shut.  They were very simple to make.  I cut out a large circle, about 10" across, out of orange material and cut it into quarter circles.  This makes four 'carrots'.  Along the arc side of the piece I sewed a folded over a strip of dark green, about 3" wide before folding.  Then I ran a seam up the side of the 'carrot' to make it cone shaped.  I snipped the green material at about half inch intervals, about half an inch down, to give it a flouncy top.  Then just under where the green is attached I ran a piece of ribbon through a few holes snipped in the carrot part.  Filled with candy and tied a bow in it!  I'll put some pics up later.  I think I found a link to the original pattern through Tipnut.

So tonight I'm hoping to finish a few more potholders.  I'd also like to put together that fabric memory game for Johnathon.  Even if I don't get anything else done, they have plenty of goodies in their bags.

I'm getting excited about going to Paducah next week! 

Sometimes you just can't make this stuff up

This morning has been a doozy.  After all the storms last night, I didn't really sleep very well.  At 4:30 in the morning the neighbor's hounds started barking and howling.  They did not quit for 40 minutes.  Couldn't get back to sleep after that...

On my way to work I stopped at the drive thru in McDonald's to get my oatmeal.  One of my pet peeves is people who cut in line, so of course there were several people coming into the parking lot the wrong direction trying to get in line for the drive thru.  sigh.

I head to work from there and as I'm driving a car tries to cross the divided highway, and would have been hit by me if I hadn't laid on the horn and locked up the brakes!  Idiot drivers...  sigh.

Get to work.  A young couple comes in with two small children.  Two small CRABBY children.  The smaller of the two starts fussing and crying, so the older one who is probably only 2 starts to whine.  She goes to the corner of the office and starts that monotonous wail that every living creature in the universe, including the deaf, can hear.  groan.

My son sends me a text from school telling me there had been a lockdown because an escaped felon was in the woods by the campus.  panic!  (later found out that actually happened when he was not on campus.  sigh.

Husband has asked me to call him to wake him up for his dentist appointment.  I call ten minutes late and find out that his appointment was half an hour earlier than I thought so he really had to scramble.  eek!

My daughter sends me an email telling me she had a $500 charge on her Spring tuition that we didn't know about and she can't register for Fall classes until it's paid.  And registration has already begun.  ugh.

Go to lunch.  Decide this is an excellent day to say forget about the diet and get a burger and onion rings at my favorite greasy spoon.  Bite into an onion ring and find a 2"x1" piece of plastic fried into the batter.  Guess it was from the bag.  gag.

Come back to work.  I walk in and a frequent customer is in the office.  She is someone who makes me uncomfortable because she, well, she, uh, let's put it this way, she hit's on me.  Being married almost a quarter of a century this would make me uncomfortable if it were coming from a man, let alone a woman...

It's afternoon now.  I would like an uneventful afternoon, please.  A boring, quiet, dull afternoon would be perfect...

A picture says a thousand words

This was a tornado that went through just north of Litchfield, the town where I work and where my son is living.  There have been many tornados in the areas all around us tonight.  Thankfully all our friends and family are safe and okay.  Say a prayer for those that weren't as lucky, please.

I didn't take this picture.  Johanna's boyfriend forwarded it to me.  I think his cousin took the picture.  The cousin lives in Litchfield also.

I, being the brave soul that I am, was huddled in the stairwell of the basement with Ivy.  And I'm not ashamed to say it!  I had my shoes on, my purse with me, flashlight and cell phone at the ready, and Ev's medicine with me.  Hey, I wanted to make sure he had what he needed if something happened!  He was at work, stealing texts to me when he could to make sure I was okay.  Johanna and Ben were in the basement part of the night also.

I did some sewing this morning before work.  I had the material sandwiched and pinned so it was ready to be quilted for the composition book covers.  This morning I quilted all three pieces before work!  Tonight I didn't spend much time at all upstairs, because of the weather, but I did sneak up there and cut the material to the correct size for the covers.  I will have to finish off the edges and sew the sleeves for the cover and they will be done.

I have to say, Ivy was really a great companion to me tonight.  She stayed right with me, sitting on the steps with me, then stuck real close to me the entire night.  I am sure she sensed how anxious and tense I was.  She's a keeper alright.  Not that we ever thought any different, you know!

Weekends go too fast

It's Sunday night and I'm wishing I had more time off.  There isn't anything new about that, though!  haha

I did get back upstairs yesterday and pressed all the RRCB pieces.  I was sure stuck on that step and now I feel like I can move forward easily because it's mostly just assembling blocks for the mystery from here on out.  There is some cutting that needs to be done on the string blocks, but that's not as daunting a task as all the pressing of those little bitty pieces was!

I also did some sewing today, even going upstairs an hour before church this morning!  I had cut out the pieces last night for a welder's cap for Ben's Easter bag.  Today I put it together and I'm pleased with the result.  I hope it fits okay!

Pinned some material together to quilt to make quilted composition book covers.  Found some cute cat fabric for Johanna's, some musical fabric for Nick's, and some interesting fabric for Ben's.  I hope they like them.  I can see Johanna and Nick using theirs for school, but I'm not real sure Ben will have a use for his.

All the kids were here this morning after Church.  We went to have breakfast at the restaurant and had a really nice time.  Then they came back to the house, where we dyed eggs.  Well, Johnathon and I dyed eggs.  Johanna helped a little too.  The guys were all outside admiring the motorcycle and lawnmower, I think.  I only had a bakers dozen of hard boiled eggs to dye, but that was really enough.  Johnathon likes the color blue and was very interested in dying eggs that color.  I was very impressed with his coordination at getting the eggs out of the cups and onto the drying rack!  Once the eggs were dyed, he wanted me to go hide them outside!  I told him the Easter Bunny was going to do that next week, but since I don't know if we will see him or not next weekend, I caved when he asked again if I would hide them!  He had a blast outside running around finding them.  I have pictures, but I'm too tired to get the camera out of my purse so I can upload them.

Shadows foot is healing.  The swelling has gone down.  It's not completely back to normal, but I think she will be okay.  She isn't putting much weight on it, but she is putting a little on it, so I think it's on the mend.  Ivy is just being lazy mutt right now, crashed out on the bed snoring!

I'm missing my kids tonight.  Normally I don't feel this nostalgic and enjoy the empty next, but tonight is different, for some reason.  sigh.

Green is not a good color for weather

We had a storm last night that was pretty fast moving but intense.  Had some hail, hence the 'green is not a good color' title of this post.  I think when there is hail in the clouds, that's when you see the greenish tint to them.  It's also an indicator of tornado weather, so I can say seeing green in the clouds is not a good thing at all.

I did some sewing last night.  I pinned the baby quilt with Micky Mouse and Goofy figures on it.  It's all ready to be quilted and bound.  I also made a quilted cover for a composition book I'm using as a quilting journal.  I made a cover before but Ivy ate it.  sigh.  This one I'm going to try and keep out of her reach.  Depending on how I feel, I may make a couple more covers so I can give the kids them in their Easter bags.  While I was in the sewing room I did some cleaning up and rearranging.  Going to put some of my storage containers into Johanna's old room to give myself more space.

I also clipped apart the Roll Roll Cotton Boll pieces and snipped off the dog ears.  Will try to get back to that one here soon.  Ev has to work tonight, so maybe I'll get some things done.  We will see!

Going to have to go to the grocery store at some point today.  Kind of cloudy and rainy so I'm not sure when I'll get to it.  And if I don't do it today I can do it tomorrow.  Oh, and I can't forget to get some Easter candy for the kids before next weekend!  Everyone has to have a chocolate bunny to eat the ears off of, you know!

If Johanna and Ben come up today, I'm thinking I'll dye some eggs with Johnathon if they are staying for a while.  That should be fun.  hee hee hee.

This little piggie went to market....

Went to the foot doctor again today.  Got fitted for orthotics which should be in in a month.  Sure will be glad when my feet quit hurting!

Last night I was up in the sewing room for almost two hours.  Did a little straightening up in there, then cut some batting for that baby quilt.  I was going to pin it, but I have the time, so I thought I would let the batting relax some, as it was quite wrinkly.  I also made Johanna a crayon roll, only this one will really be a 'pen roll' and only have 5 slots.  She saw the one I had made for Johnathon for his Easter bag and wanted one for her pens at work and another for her pens for school!  She even picked out the materials she wanted me to use, right down to the color elastic for the closure!  Stinker!  I also sewed up her Easter bag.  It's made out of material with these crazy looking cats on it.  She should like it.  Nick's has guitars on it.  Johnathon's has monkeys.  Ben's is just bright colors with squigglies on it.  I have to make Nick's and Ben's yet.

Shadow cat is still limping around on three legs.  Since she accidentally got outside, she has had a swollen paw, probably from tangling with something she shouldn't have.  It does seem to be going down at least. 

Just keep sewing! Part of a chat group post

Adapted from chat message by Sandy C., Stashbuster member.


Sometimes life throws us stuff that we just have to accept and deal with, because we really can't change it. "Just keep swimming" is a good motto for life in general!

Sometimes just the act of sewing is therapeutic. Even if you feel your mind and body are too tired for a creative moment; “just keep sewing”. Sometimes a project is a little more monotonous than you anticipated; “just keep sewing”. The act of moving fabric through the machine is just the therapy you need to calm your soul; “just keep sewing”.

Sitting and worrying will not help; by sewing you are at least accomplishing something.

Now lest you think this is a very depressing theme, there is an up side!!

“Just keep sewing”.... work on your mindless projects, your scrappy projects, your strip piecing projects!! Challenge yourself to make up so many blocks, or use up this basket of strips, or just set those blocks and get it done.

Take a cue from Gladys, and don't over think it; “just keep sewing”!! Get that assembly line going and sew, sew, sew!

Maybe you can get ready by doing all the thinking, cutting, arranging, finding or pinning ahead of time, so after work, or on the weekend, you can “just keep sewing”.

Hopefully you will have a pile of blocks, or an empty scrap basket, a completed flimsy or whatever goal you set. You could use this to work through a procrastination point, or just sew strips together that you will find a plan for later. You decide, just keep sewing, and hopefully smiling.... at least stay sane!

“Just keep sewing”!

A good report

I took the day off today to go to the doctor with Ev for his routine visit.  He has to drive over an hour to get to this specialist, so I like to go with him so he doesn't get frustrated with traffic and all that.  Plus I get a day off...  hee hee.  Yes, I have ulterior motives!  He got a great report, things are holding their own, and all is well.  Thank GOD.

We left Ivy inside with access to the downstairs rooms while we were gone.  It was a gamble, to see if she would tear anything up or not.  She was a good doggy and didn't go on a destructive rampage.  Really happy about that.

Probably see Johanna and Ben tonight.  She needs to pick something up in Litchfield and then I'm sure they will stop back here.  I think I'll make tacos for supper.  Cheap and easy.

Gonna go upstairs and sew in a bit.  Ev's taking a nap so he's not dog tired before work.

Nick got on the road to school on time this morning.  I talked to him and he seemed in a good mood.  I hope things go well for him at the new place.

Four way stops and negativity

I consider myself a happy person by nature.  I don't like conflict, but then again most people probably don't.  I really despise abusive people and avoid them if at all possible.  I see it at work enough that if I can avoid it outside of work I do so.

That said, I need to give the 'back story' to a location I passed on my walk with the dog tonight.  The house is in town and years ago the mother and stepfather of a classmate of one of my kids' lived there.  The classmate shared with my kid that said classmate was being abused by the stepfather and showed my kid marks on their body.  Stepfather was smart enough to not leave marks where they would be seen.  It wasn't sexual abuse, it was physical, verbal, mental, that whole package.

I was under the impression that that couple had moved.  Oh, and by the way, the classmate was removed from that home very very shortly after telling my kid.  I believe the classmate also told another family member because they went to live with a family member within a week of the telling.  This was a relief to me, because when I found out I could not have kept it to myself for very long.

So I walk past the house, again, thinking that couple had moved, and I hear a man's voice coming from one of the open windows.  It's shouting abusive things to someone inside.  I don't know if it was the same man that lived there before, I really don't.  Maybe only abusers are attracted to live in that house, for all I know.

At any rate, the house is on a corner, with a four way stop.  A truck was coming from one direction and I needed to cross that street as quickly as possible.  Tonight, I'm thankful for stop signs.  Because it was a four way stop, I was able to spend the least amount of time in that negative area.

I just don't handle conflict like that very well.  My husband and I don't argue much at all, but when we do disagree we don't get abusive towards each other.  He's never laid a hand on our children.  I didn't come from a home where people spoke to each other like that.  Maybe I lead a sheltered life.  If I do, so be it.  I know that things like this go on, and even worse things go on, but I don't have to be around it.

I am a lucky person.  I'm blessed with a wonderful family and good friends.  I thank God for these things.

On a completely different note, Nick is moving out...tonight!  I thought he would wait until the weekend, but he's doing it tonight.  I think it will be good for him.

When Ivy and I took our walk we stopped at Uncle Ray's.  He was out in the yard so we stopped to talk for a while.  He asked me why I had to have a big dog and why I didn't get a little dog.  This was after Ivy tried to jump on him.  I stopped her, but he didn't want anything to do with her after that.  And she really wasn't behaving badly, just initially tried to jump on him.  I LIKE big dogs.  period.  And I like some little dogs, like beagles.  Ivy isn't all that big of a dog, really, at least not in my opinion.  She's just over 50 pounds and is all legs right now.

The inaugural ride

There he is.  My hubby.  Taking the first ride on his new lawn mower!  He had a lot of fun on it today, just running it around the yard.  He was so upset yesterday that it had rained overnight and he couldn't cut grass, so I think he was especially happy that he was able to mow today.  By the end of the summer he probably won't be feeling that much enthusiasm for cutting grass, I'm sure!

I have had such a lazy weekend.  Well, maybe not really lazy, but I haven't gotten any sewing done and I really should have taken advantage of Nick being gone and able to sew whenever I wanted to!  But instead I cooked and cleaned up the yard and did laundry...  All that other fun stuff, you know!

I wanted to make my three bean soup again this weekend, so I put some together last night and let it cook in the crock pot.  When Ev got home from work he had a bowl.  I hadn't tasted it and when I did I realized it was way too salty and the ham was very tough.  I had used some ham out of the freezer.  Anyway, I threw the whole batch away and started over this morning and have another pot cooking.  I sure hope this one tastes better!  I think it will.

On the fence

So I waver back and forth about purchasing an AccuQuilt cutter.  I'm watching YouTube videos of it in use and sometimes like it, and sometimes don't.  It just seems like there is a lot of 'precutting' work.  But then if I think about the little mismatched scraps I have and how I could use the cutter to make uniform shapes out of them, it seems like a reasonable tool.  Then I think about the price.  Ugh.  It sure isn't cheap. 

One of the quilts I would like to make in the near future is a tumbler quilt and AccuQuilt has a die for that.  There is also a ruler/template for it available from Missouri Star Quilt Company.  I'm just thinking there has to be a shortcut to making the tumbler pieces using a regular ruler.  I'm sure it has to do with all the pretty little angle lines on my six by twenty four inch ruler that I try my darndest to ignore...  haha.  Going to have to explore that a bit more.

When you live in a small town

There are some things that still crack me up about living in a small town.  Today Ev called me right before he had to go to work to tell me the water was off.  I gave him the number to City Hall to call and see what was up.  He called them then called me back laughing because when he called them the following conversation ensued.  Without Ev saying anything, the gal at City Hall says "Yes, Ev, there has been a water main break on your end of town!"  Now, I know they have caller i.d. but the fact that they know what part of town we live in and that we are calling because of the main break, just cracks me up.

Nick is in New Orleans!  They got down there around 7 tonight.  I think he is going to have a great time.  It sounds like he already is.  I'm happy for him.  Johanna and Ben came up tonight right after I got home from work.  We went out to Sunset for dinner then back here for a little bit.  It was nice to see them.

Going to hit the sack pretty soon.  Plan on getting up early and doing some sewing.  We'll see how I feel in the morning.

Chicken tracks!

Is this not the cutest idea?  When I walked into Rural King today I looked down and saw chicken tracks painted on the floor!  They have baby chicks in stock now and they paint a path to them, winding through the aisles, for the kids to follow.  I wanted to follow it too!  Sometimes the littlest things will make me smile.  This is one of them.  I don't like birds, but I do like baby chicks, ducks, or geese.  Weird, I know.

I really don't know if I want to buy a frame system for my domestic machine now.  And if I'm not 100% sure it's what I want, I'm not going to spend the money.  It would be better to just leave the money in the pot to grow and be that much closer to the longarm.

I am considering the Accuquilt cutter.  I want to see it in action at the show.  I'm hoping that it will be a bargain price there.  Don't know if I really want it or not, either.  Those dies are not cheap, from what I've seen.  Just going to check it out and see.

One of the reasons I am thinking about it is that I would like to make a 'tumbler' quilt.  I know I could cut pieces without the Accuquilt, too, for that pattern.  And maybe if Donna thought she would use the cutter also, I would be more inclined to buy it.

Ivy is really coming along.  I'm so pleased.  She is still finding her way, but has really mellowed out and adjusted very well.  Last night was really cute.  I was laying on the couch and she brought me her squeaky ball.  She wanted me to throw it for her!  So I did, and we played that game for about 20 minutes until she tired of it.  Then about an hour later she was ready to play again!  Ev said she has been doing that during the day while he is home, too. 

Tonight Diane is going to stop over around 5 to walk.  I'm going to try and take Ivy with us, if Diane doesn't mind, and I don't see why she would.  Maybe we will have chef salads after we walk.  She invited me to go out for fried chicken tonight, but I just couldn't do it.  Been eating too much of the wrong stuff and I have to get back on track!

Finding things I didn't know were lost

I have a cell phone.  That's no big surprise, I'm sure.  I also have a micro sd chip in it.  If you don't already know, a micro sd chip is less than a centimeter square and about as thick as a greeting card.  Not very big at all.  So imagine my surprise when I pull back the covers to crawl into bed tonight and laying right below my pillow is a micro sd chip.  Not just any one, either, but the one that goes in my cell phone!  Quite a series of events must have led to the losing and then finding of this chip.  All I can say is I'm glad I found what I didn't know I had lost!

Johanna and Ben stopped over tonight for dinner.  She had to sign some papers for financial aid at school.  I picked up some fried chicken and sides and we had a nice meal together.  Nick isn't home yet.  He stopped by the house he's moving into to help with some cleaning and stuff.

A dashing duet

Well, it was a duet, but the dashing part was what I wanted to do - dash away from them!  Ev and Nick had me trapped in the car and started singing really bad country songs.  Oh, man, it was so funny I could hardly hold back tears!

I went upstairs and picked out some material to make a baby quilt for my coworker.  I am going to save the flannel pieced top.  I found some Disney material in my stash that will work nicely.  I'm going to keep the panel in one piece then maybe piece the back in six inch squares.  I'll do an all over meander on it.

I have an idea that is taking form to get me a jump start on frame quilting.  There is a website where you can buy parts to make your own machine quilt frame.  I think Ev and I can put one together easily enough.  I will also need to purchase a speed regulator for the machine I want to put on the frame.  That wouldn't be a problem, except I only know of one speed regulator and none of my machines are listed as compatible with it.  I sent an email to the company asking for more information.  I'll check at the show in Paducah on some of the details and also see if there are alternative frames available within my price range.

baby quilt top done

I finished the flannel baby quilt top this afternoon.  Put a two inch border on it in lilac with cornerstones of the print.  I think it looks nice.  Will get a picture of it soon and put it up.  Don't know if I'm going to quilt it right away or not.  I need to make a smaller baby quilt for a boy.  One of my co workers is going to be a grandpa and the baby is a boy.  I made a quilt when his daughter had a girl, so I feel like I should make another one for this baby.  The top I just finished is for either a boy or girl so I'm thinking I'll save it.  Since I know this baby will be a boy, I will make a quilt without any pink in it.

Went to DeCamp for pizza and salad tonight.  Nick and Brent went with us.  It's nice to go out with the kids and not have to worry about it. 

We are supposed to get some really strong winds tomorrow.  Hope we don't lose power.

Saturday laundry marathon

I started the first load of laundry at 7 a.m. and plan to just keep going until it's all done today, no matter how long it takes!  Last week Ev tried to get in the shower in the morning and had to wait because the washer was on, and then again in the afternoon the same thing happened to him!  I already warned him that today the laundry is going to be going all day and he has to schedule times for the shower!  Ha ha.  Seriously, though, I am not waiting around all morning to start the laundry after he gets up because I never know when that will be.  And I have other things I want to do during the day besides go up and down the basement steps with loads of clothes!

Ivy is sure turning into a sweet dog.  She's becoming quite the little lover, wanting to snuggle up next to you when you are sitting down.  It's not all the time, but it's more frequent than it used to be.  I don't think it's because she's upset or anything, that isn't the impression I'm getting, it seems more like a settling in type of behavior.  Hope that makes sense!  And Shadow cat is also becoming a snuggle puss!  Ev said last night he had to scoot her off his legs where she was trying to lay down and sleep!  Cracks me up!

I didn't get upstairs to sew last night.  sigh.  Nick was home all night and up there on his computer playing games.  I know I can go sew when he's up there, I just don't always care to do it.  Next weekend he will be gone on his trip to New Orleans with the Jazz Band from college.  That will be a good time for him, I'm sure!  I'll have the sewing room all to myself then.  And it won't be long that he may be moving out again, so I'm just kinda hanging in there.  He was going to move out with Brent and Adrian, but there was a snag with the place they were going to get.  It's still all in the works and they should be good to go soon.

Does it always feel like your life is on hold when you are waiting for your kids to do something?  haha.  For instance, I want to turn either that basement room into my sewing area or turn Johanna's room into my sewing area when I get the longarm machine (I figure about a year and a half from now I MIGHT have enough saved up to get what I want - wish me luck!).  Johanna's room would be good, because it's next to my current sewing room and I wouldn't have to do much to it.  The problem is I'm not sure if it is large enough for the machine.  That's something I'm going to talk to the longarm dealers about when I go to Paducah.  Nick's room is just a section of the basement, but it's large enough for a machine with room to spare.  The issue there is that it needs to be finished.  It needs drywall put up, carpeting put down, and even a wall and a door would be nice...  And in both cases some new electricals need to be run.  I know the minute I start to make serious plans one of the kids will move back home.  sigh.  This is their house and they are always welcome.

When Ev does finally get up this morning we are going to go pick up his bike from a fellow who lives waaaayyyy out in the sticks.  He works on bikes at his shop at home.  He's also a mechanic at the car dealership we use.  Very nice guy, honest person, and does good work.  Ev's excited about getting the bike back.  Next week the riding lawnmower should be in at Sears and we will be picking that up.  Oh, and we got the garage door fixed yesterday so he can actually open it to put the bike and mower in there!  haha.

A step up

Bad pun in the title - I went to the foot doctor today because of that pain in my toe.  Doc says I have arthritis and that bunions are forming because my joints are getting out of line.  It's a hereditary condition (thanks Gram V.!  hee hee hee) called hallux limitus.  Not that anyone reading this cares about my big toe, but long story short I need to get orthotics for my shoes.

Haven't done any sewing today but thinking I might get upstairs in a little bit.and finish that baby quilt top.  I also have a few things in mind to make for the kids' Easter bags.

I made a pot of clam chowder for dinner tonight.  It's not completely homemade, but is really good.  I think I've posted the recipe here before, but here it is again:

Clam Chowder

2 cans condensed cream of potato soup
3 cans condensed New England clam chowder
1 quart half and half
2 cans minced clams, 6.5 oz
1 large onion, chopped
1 stick of butter or margarine

Put potato soup and clam chowder in crock pot.  Add the quart of half and half.  Saute the onions in butter.  Drain clams and saute with the onions when the onions are halfway done.  Add onions and clams to crock pot.  Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.  It's really good!  Might need to stir once in a while.