Another weekend of flooring

We spent last weekend putting down more laminate flooring.  We had a little helper.  I think she is saying "Put the next board here, Mom"!

This is what it looked like on Sunday evening.  We didn't get it all done, but we quit before we got frustrated because there were a lot of pieces that were going to need to be cut coming up.

I am absolutely loving it!  Ev's excited about it too, because he mentioned going to get some area rugs soon.

This morning I went upstairs to do a little bit of sewing before work.  Addy was outside and I had a few puppy-free minutes.  I thought I had really gotten quite a bit done in the 15 minutes I was upstairs.  Until I realized the bobbin had run out near the beginning...  sigh.

Because

Sometimes a pup just has to sit on a pillow.

Last night Addy decided to drag one of the throw pillows off the couch into the middle of the front room floor.  She proceeded to go get her chew bone and then plopped her furry butt on the pillow and looked at me, as if to say "A pup's gotta do what a pup's gotta do".  Yeah, you know you're cute.

Sewing, Ice Cream, and Puppy

I actually sewed last night for a bit.  Just made a sample block out of a pattern from Missouri Star Quilt Co. 

What I need to do is find some puppy-free time to get upstairs and finish making the nursing home tops.  And I need to put the border on Roses in the Snow yet.

For dinner we had chicken bacon ranch sandwiches on mini ciabatta rolls.  They were so yummy and easy!  I just bought chicken strips from the deli, and the bacon was microwavable, so it was quick, too.

Finally got that Dairy Queen Blizzard I have been craving for 4 days!  Not that I needed it...  haha.  I texted my friend Donna about 8 and asked if she wanted to go to DQ.  She did, so I loaded up Addy in the back seat and off we went!  Addy just laid down on the seat and took it all in.  She didn't get up while we were driving, just when we were at the drive thru window.  Guess she thought she had to say hello to the workers.

No, she did not get any of my ice cream!  Did I feel guilty?  Maybe a little...  But she still didn't get any of my ice cream...

Vacation eating

While we were in Southern Illinois, we were close enough to a restaurant in Missouri that is a lot of fun to go to.  I may have written about it here a couple years ago when Ev and I went there for the first time.  It's called Lamberts, and it's in Sikeston, MO.  They bill themselves as "the home of the throwed rolls".  Yes, I know the grammar isn't exactly correct, but the hokiness of it is part of the charm. 

The menu is decent and has a nice variety.  Ev ordered a pork steak and Nick ordered a chef's salad in a bread bowl.  I had a chicken pot pie.  Here's the guy's food:

Ev's dinner came in a huge SKILLET!  And do you know that man ate every bite of that pork steak?  Nick's chef's salad was huge.  The picture just does not do it justice.

The cool part about Lambert's is that the servers walk around with big pots of 'sharables'.  They come to your table and ask if you want some of whatever they have in their big ol' pot.  Fried okra, black eyed peas, stewed tomatoes and macaroni, fried potatoes and onions, molasses, apple butter....  mmm mmm.  Everything was just yummy.

And the throwed rolls part?  If you want a hot roll, you raise your hand and the server will throw a hot roll at you from across the room!  Better be a good catch!  I saw the woman's eyes get real wide in the booth behind Nick when he was thrown one.  He was laughing when she said "glad you are a good catch!"  It was a very fun place to go.  If you are ever in the area of one of their restaurants, it is really worth it to stop there.

It's debatable

While roaming the southern part of the state last week, we happened upon one of the debate sites between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas back in the 1800's. 

Mr. Lincoln and Nick are looking just fine!

Not sure if Mr. Douglas appreciated the smirk on Nick's face at how short his statue was!

This park was in Jonesboro, IL near where the cabin we were staying.  We had lunch in Jonesboro at a little bbq cafe that was pretty good.

I'm back!

Just wanted everyone to know that I'm still alive...  haha.  This past week of vacation was busy!  Here's what we accomplished on the floor.

It was not super easy, but not super difficult either.  Ev and I did have a hard time getting started until Johanna and Ben came over and helped.  They had just done their floor recently so got us going on it.  After the first couple rows were in, it went somewhat smoothly.  Keep in mind that we have an old house and I really don't think there is a square wall in the place..  haha.  At any rate, we have the one room finished and are pleased.  The second room is ready for us to begin laying flooring, but that may be a project for another weekend or two.  The bedroom carpeting has not been removed, but it will be the third room to get the laminate. 

And here's the newest addition to our family.

Addison, or Addy for short, has some pretty big paws to fill, but she's already on the way to completely stealing our hearts!  Oh, who am I kidding - she already has!  This pup has had a rough start.  She was adopted out over Labor Day Weekend and met with a bad accident which resulted in a broken leg.  The very next day she was relinquished back to the shelter because the people who adopted her could not afford the vet bill to repair her broken leg.  She had a cast on for weeks after surgery to insert a pin in her leg.  When we picked her up Thursday the cast had just been removed.  She had been kept in a cage for the majority of her time at the shelter, before and after the injury.

When we brought her home she went wild in our fenced in back yard!  We really should have corralled her because that wasn't good for her to do right after getting out of her cast.  We didn't let her do it too long, but the next day all she did was sleep!  She does limp on the leg right now, but gets around pretty good.  It's going to take time and patience and love to get her to trust us and be on the way to being a top notch doggy.  We are up to the challenge!  She already has connected with Ev and I, and comes running to us in her lopsided way whenever she comes in from outside.

So that's it for tonight.  I'm winding down and close to calling it a night.  Back to the grind tomorrow.

Ahh, vacation....

Ev and I have a week of vacation and we are thoroughly enjoying it!  So far we have made a trip up to visit family and now are working on the laminate flooring.  Thursday we are going to get sweet little Addison from the shelter.  I can hardly wait!

When we were at Mom's I snapped a picture of the quilt on the bed I was sleeping in.  It's one of my early quilts.  I wanted to make a log cabin, but disregarded the silly notion that one side should be light and the other side should be dark on each block.  I hand quilted it.  And the binding was just the backing brought around to the front.  For all it's simplicity I still like it and it's held up quite well over the years!

I took a photo of a photo that was at Mom's also.  It's a picture of my Great Grandparent's on their 50th Wedding Anniversary.

I remember the big party we had on their anniversary.  It was held at the motorcycle clubhouse in the little town we lived in.  Now, don't start thinking we were a biker gang family...  haha.  It was just the only place in town with a meeting hall.  And the motorcycle club is a dirt bike club that rides through the woods and climbs hills. 

This picture is from their early years together.  It hangs in my front room.  Lots of years between the two pictures.  What they must have seen and gone through!  He was a coal miner and she took care of the house and kids.  They set a wonderful example for me to follow in my marriage, let me tell you!

Probably not going to get much sewing in the next few days.  Maybe I can squeeze 15 minutes in here and there.  Will try!

So I bought a few things...

Maybe I went a little overboard...  I bought a few things for the new puppy.

New bowls, leash, collar, soft squeaky toys, and a bacon scented (yes, bacon scented) ball.  I picked up puppy food and some chew sticks a few days ago.

Little bit of this and that

Last night was a good night to get a little bit of everything done.  I went straight from the office to the animal shelter to see our puppy-to-be.  She had gone to the vet yesterday and received a good report.  Her leg is in a soft cast now and next week that should be off and her stitches should be removed.  We are supposed to be able to get her on Thursday, the 18th!  I can hardly wait!

Made some breakfast sausages and eggs for Ev for dinner.  I didn't feel like eating much.  Then Nick came over and I did a load of his laundry and made him a grilled cheese sandwich.

I got all but a 4' section of the tack strip pulled up.  This last bit is behind the t.v. and I am going to try and get it up tonight.

I did spend about 20 minutes in the sewing room.  I sewed all the strips together for the first border on Roses in the Snow.  Might get that put on tonight if I have time.

And I did a couple loads of our laundry.  One thing I washed was an old quilt top made from jeans.  I'm hoping to repair the top and put a new batting and backing together with it.  It was so comfortable when it was still useable.  The backing just fell apart from hard use and repeated washings.  I think while I'm sitting in front of the t.v. I'll pick at it to get the old stitching and stuff off of it.  No hurry to get it done, really.

Three Stars

Here is the third Carpenter's Star top (without the borders) that I finished up last night while Skyping with Mary:

Going to use the dark color for the borders, I think.  That will be the fifth top for the nursing home's completed.  I need to keep moving on these! 

Made a big pot of hamburger goulash/stew - whatever you want to call it - for dinner last night.  I think it turned out pretty good.

So did the cat.

Sew lazy

I have not been sewing much these last couple days.  I'm not really being lazy, because I have been working on taking up the carpeting and tack strips.  When I'm done with that, though, all I want to do is just flop down on the couch for the rest of the night!

Yesterday, on my lunch hour, I went home and put together a pot of chili.  It cooked all afternoon up until when Ev left for work.  Since I didn't have to cook dinner, I went over to the animal shelter to visit the pup.

Isn't she cute?  She is getting around pretty good with that cast on.  She goes to the vet again tomorrow to have the cast changed.  I'm hoping we find out tomorrow that we will be able to bring her home next Thursday.  She will most likely still have a cast on at that time, which is okay.  We will also have to take her to the vet for therapy for several weeks after the cast is off.

When I got home from visiting her, I pulled up the last bit of carpet in the sitting room where the piano had been.  Also finished pulling up tack strips in there so it's completely free of all the old flooring.  The living room is very close to being free of it also. 

Tonight I know I'll get a couple good hours in the sewing room.  The cleaning ladies are scheduled to come.  Maybe Mary will want to Skype and sew on the Carpenter's Star.  If not, I am going to finally put at least one border on Roses in the Snow.

It's really raining hard here today.  Supposed to rain and storm all day, I think.

Puppies and progress

Ev and I picked up the new flooring on Saturday and spent the weekend pulling up carpeting and tack strips.  Here's the progress so far:

Tonight we have someone coming to pick up the piano, so that will be the last part of the carpeting to be ripped up.  We need to clean and paint the floor, then will be able to put down laminate.

Here's a picture of a picture, so not real good quality, of the puppy we are considering adopting from the shelter.

Yes, she has a cast on her back leg.  She was adopted out for one day, had an accident where someone stepped on her, and was relinquished back to the shelter because of medical costs.  We have put in an application to adopt her and should hear something soon!

I am still working on the third Carpenter Star top.  This one is done in pinks and is coming along nicely.  I've cut strips for the first border on the Roses in the Snow quilt.  Need to get that done soon.

Roses in the Snow center finished

Yesterday, before Ev left for work, I asked him to put the fan on in the sewing room upstairs.  When it gets really hot out, that room is unbearable, but I've found if I have had a fan running for a few hours, it's tolerable.

So last night, because he had done that, I was able to sew for about an hour.  I completed the center of the Roses in the Snow top.

I lad it out over my cutting table to get a good look at it. 

And here is a close up.  I'm thinking of using the white material for a one inch border, then making a two inch border out of one or more of the reds.  Then a final border of white.  Not sure I have enough white.  I would have liked to have made the red border out of that very dark red, but I don't have any more of it.  Going to dig through the scrap drawer and see if I can come up with a few pieces at least so I can put them in the second border if I do a variety.

I also pressed all the squares for the pink Carpenter's Star that Mary and I are doing together. 

Here's all the dogears I clipped while I was watching the news!  I tried to keep them in a paper towel on my lap, but I'm sure there are a few down in the couch somewhere...  haha.

Working on one thing and thinking of two others

That's what I was doing last night.  I was sewing the rows together for Roses in the Snow and thinking about the pink Carpenter's Star that Mary and I are working on together.  Then I started thinking about another block pattern I want to make. 

Pardon the flash spot...  This came from my Quick and Easy Block Tool.  I was also paging through The Farmer's Wife pattern book and came across the same pattern.  Both of them caught my eye for some reason, so I am going to make it. 

Thinking I will make the blocks finish around 12" and just make 16 blocks per quilt.  And I'm going to make them all different fabrics, not just two.  There may be repeats, but that's okay. 

Mary's quilt top

My friend Mary finished this top over the weekend and I wanted to share it with everyone.  I think it turned out very nice.  She put a lot of work into it, and it shows!  Good job, Mary!

I've been working on Roses in the Snow again.  I have the blocks sewn into rows and now I'm sewing the rows together.

I am seriously considering sending a picture of this in to a magazine when it's done.  I love the way it's turning out.

Had a nice Labor Day weekend.  Kids were over a lot.  One day we grilled and had them all home for dinner, which was very nice.  We got some work done around the yard.  Hauled brush to the compost pile.  It was a good weekend.