Monday

Today I wore a flowered blouse that two of my sisters gave me for Christmas last year.



Before Christmas, Holly and I went out shopping, and she bought me the skirt that I am wearing today. She's a sweet sister! If she sees this picture, she'll probably tell me, "No, no, no, you're not supposed to wear this skirt with this shirt." Haha You see, she already told me that the don't "go" together, but I think they look perfectly fine together.



Today was very blustery out, but nice and warm. While I was outside, I snapped a few pictures of my flowers. I'm thinking of replanting the daffodils in clumps. This is our first house, and first yard that I've gotten to do any planting in. I didn't realize that they would look nicer if they were grouped together. I still like the way they are, and I'm loving the fact that I have flowers in bloom in my yard! I can't wait to plant my annuals.



The flowers below are bulbs that came up as a surprise! I didn't know they were planted in the yard. I'm thinking of replanting these as well--they are in the back yard, just planted in a line. They smell so gorgeous too. It would be too strong to cut them and bring them in, but I enjoyed smelling them outside!

Happy anniversary!

Happy anniversary to my hunny! =) Seven years ago today Kevin and I met for the first time. Though we were around each other quite a bit that day, we didn't speak much to one another. Kevin says that all I said to him was "Excuse me" as I passed through the doorway where he was standing. However, I don't recall him trying to talk to me either! LOL

And, as Kevin says, "Time's fun when you have flies!" It surely doesn't seem like seven years has passed!

Sunday

This morning after church~

See my daffs and hyacinths? They are just now starting to get pretty! I'm going to plant more bulbs next fall! It's very encouraging to have COLOR while the weather is still too cold to plant anything!

Oh, and can you see my pink shoes? I bought this outfit last summer, and I knew when I was buying it that I wouldn't have any shoes light enough to go with it. So Kevin picked these shoes out for me to buy. Right now this outfit is the only thing I've worn them with. However, I just bought a pink blouse, so I'll probably wear them with that someday too.


Kevin was making me laugh, hence my cheese-y smile. (As in, I'm saying "cheese". LOL)

I have decided to do a "week in dresses." I've seen it on several blogs I read, and I always enjoy reading and seeing the other ladies and what they wear. Wearing dresses is just something I do, and don't give much thought about. When I was 16, my mom and I spent a lot of time talking about it, and I haven't worn pants since. So if you wear pants, please don't be offended. I'm just doing this for the fun of it! *Smiles*

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

Stamped Butterflies

While I was painting last night, I got to thinking of the spirit of the law, or the letter of the law.

What does this have to do with stamped butterflies? *Grin* Before we painted the back room, there were stamped butterflies around the windows and on the doorway. Not my style. Even though the room had been painted with primer, I could still see a few of them. It reminded me of an incident that happened when I was young.

My grandparents returned from a trip with a gift for each of us. We each got a rubber stamp, and we got to share the stamp pad. What fun! My mom, knowing that one of my sisters was a little to young for such a gift, and knowing how much she liked "decorating" the walls, told her "I don't want to see any kittens on the wall."

My mom never did see kittens on the wall. Ever. However, she did find some nifty butterflies on the wall. They were not applied to the wall by the person who received the butterfly stamp. No, they were applied by the very sister who my mom told not to stamp kittens on the wall.

So, she obeyed the letter of the law. She did not disobey my mom. But if she had gone by the spirit of the law, she would have realized that Mom didn't want anything stamped on the wall, and she wouldn't have done it.

And so, we have a choice to do the same when it comes to following God's Word. Are we going to follow the spirit of the law or the letter of the law?

Praise the Lord, we are not under the Law. We serve a risen Savior! However, God delights in His children when we follow His Word, and there are many commandments given to the believer in the New Testament. We have the choice to follow them, and how we are going to follow them.

What happened on YOUR birthday?

I saw this as I was blog hopping, and thought it looked fun to do!

Go to Wikipedia and do a search on the month and day that you were born (leave off the year you were born). List three events, three births, and three deaths that happened on your birthday.

Events:

1. 1895- The first gasoline-powered race in the United States. First prize: $2,000
2. 1959 - Ice Hockey: After being struck in the face with a puck, goalkeeper Jacques Plante returns to play wearing a protective mask for the first time in professional play.
3. 1988 - The Morris worm, the first internet-distributed computer worm to gain significant mainstream media attention, was launched from MIT.

Births:

1. 1734 - Daniel Boone, American frontiersman (d. 1820)
2. 1795 - James Knox Polk, 11th President of the United States (d. 1849)
3. 1865 - Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United State (d. 1923)

Deaths:

1. 1887 - Jenny Lind, Swedish soprano (b. 1820)
2. 1950 - George Bernard Shaw, Irish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1856)
3. 1984 - Velma Barfield, American murderer (executed) (b. 1932)

There you have it! Try it for yourself...it's interesting!

Hi-ho, hi-ho, a-painting I will go!

Tonight's activity:



I am painting the sewing room a very soft pink. I got the first coat finished tonight, and will get the second coat on tomorrow. After that, I'll have the trim to finish.

And then after that...lots of stuff to go through! Oooh fun! I can't wait to do that!

7:08 a.m.

The first words I heard this morning were, "Oh no!"

They were uttered by Kevin. Yes, it was really 7:08, and he had forgotten to set his alarm clock. Last week, my alarm clock stopped working, and I threw it away. (Not that my having a working alarm clock would have made anything different!)

We did make it to work on time. It's amazing how quickly you can get ready to go somewhere when you are crunched for time!

Freecycle Goodies

I have previously mentioned that I belong to Freecycle. I usually don't pay too close attention to what is being offered, because I'm not interested in running around picking things up, and bringing unnecessary things home. One of today's offers amused me.

Offer: Unscented Deodorant

I prefer the scented stuff. Two of them are the Arm & Hammer brand
while the other is Speed Stick. The Speed Stick is slightly used while
the other two have never been used.

???

WHO wants to use someone else's "slightly used" deodorant?

Edited to add: Apparently someone wanted it! It was taken today! First of all, I cannot imagine that the person picking it up will actually use the "slightly used" deodorant. Secondly, I really cannot imagine driving across town to get 2 sticks of deodorant!

I guess I was tired...

My hair is pretty wild when I wake up in the mornings, and I have been spraying it down with a spray bottle of water. Almost identical to this bottle is a spray bottle I keep in one of the drawers. However, it has a mixture of water and rubbing alcohol in it that we use to clean our glasses with.

So, instead of grabbing the correct spray bottle (which was sitting on the counter), I reached into the drawer and sleepily sprayed my hair with the rubbing alcohol solution.

That woke me up a little more!

My shower to wash my hair woke me up further! Grrr...At least there was hot water!

As I finished fixing my hair, I noticed that my aerosol can of hair spray was in close proximity to the aerosol can of air freshener. That would not be funny. I need to move the air freshener!

Adding Beauty to Your Life

Lately, I've been doing a lot of reading at several different blogs. Mostly, at Making it Home, but also at Homeliving Helper, and others. Of course, God is the One Who gives us beauty, but it is up to us to enjoy it.

It has dawned on me that not only must I enjoy the beauty God gives me, I must make myself do so. No, I do not mean that I need to force myself to enjoy His goodness. I mean that in each day I need to clear space in my heart, in my mind, in my home and relish the little things that come my way. How can I truly enjoy a cup of tea in the midst of clutter? Sitting in a clean room, sipping a cup of tea: that is beauty. Sitting down to a lovingly-prepared dinner with my husband: that is beauty. No dishes in the sink: that is beauty! Beauty comes in all shapes and forms in our lives. But do you see that before enjoying beauty comes work?

On Friday, after having read many articles and blog entries on homemaking and adding beauty to our lives, I helped my husband take everything out of my sewing room. In so doing, I realized just how many things I have managed to cram into that room--and I further realized that none of it is adding beauty to my life!

Most of my home is uncluttered, and simply decorated. However, it seems as though my senses took leave when it came to my sewing room. Part of it stems from the "something from nothing" mentality I have. All those little scraps? I could MAKE SOMETHING with them! Those old buttons, old decorations, old (fill in the blank)? I could MAKE SOMETHING with them! And so, I've hoarded things, packed things away, and generally taken beauty away from my life because of it.

I started on my mission to declutter. Most of the things that were in the sewing room are inaccessible right now, but I have been able to get rid of quite a few things.

I gave away via Freecycle:
an old raincoat that I bought at a yardsale
a gallon-size ziploc of DMC thread that someone bought for me at a yardsale
a grocery bag full of bubble wrap that we used from our last move
a bag of seam binding/hem tape that was given to me

I listed on e-bay:
two quilt tops

I gave to a friend:
a set of flannel graph backgrounds
a six-week flannel graph Bible lesson on the armor of God

I threw away:
old letters from penpals (these were between 6-10 years old) and
the beat up stationery box they were in

and lastly, I bought:
a hanging organizer for my gift-wrapping supplies

I know you aren't supposed to buy containers before you organize--all the experts say to wait until after you have organized and gone through everything to buy containers. However, I knew that was one problem in my sewing room closet. I was originally going to buy an under-the-bed container for them, but when I went to the store, I found a $20 hanging organizer on clearance for $5! That fits my purpose better anyhow! (And it keeps things from going under my bed! Currently, I do not store anything under my bed.)

I am by no means finished decluttering! I have quite a bit left to go through. But one step at a time, it will get finished!

Naughty squirrel!

It's for the birds, not for you!

Leave my birdseed alone!!!

Sewing room, here we come!

Wow, I have soooo much stuff in my sewing room! I haven't done anything to this room, except to put stuff in it!

It has a terribly, awful paint job. I wanted to paint it before we moved in, but alas, I didn't get it done! All my sewing stuff, and all kinds of other stuff went in there, and it has generally been a disastrous mess since we've moved in. It has been put in order a few times, only to get out of order just as fast. I'm hoping that a pretty coat of paint and new curtains on the windows will encourage me to keep it looking nice!

I think I've slightly overused the word "stuff". Hehe

Here are the before pictures:




Everything is cleared out:
*gag* I hate the tree! and flowers! and grass! and the whole stinking paint job!




I will not put everything back in that room! There is simply too much in there! I have already listed three things on my Freecycle group, and have something else I'm hoping a friend can use.

Black Licorice

I love black licorice. Just yesterday, I bought a box of Panda's natural licorice chews. They are just so yummy! I hope Kevin wasn't wanting any...cause they're almost gone!

I realize it is not a taste that everyone enjoys. It's one of those things that people either hate or love. Aren't taste buds an incredible thing? Everyone has them, yet each person has their own likes/dislikes.

My grandpa used to get sen sens, an old-fashioned licorice candy/breath freshner that is still made today (though a little hard to obtain). He had a slim pill box that had little sections in it, and he kept it in his front shirt pocket. When he came over to our house, or we went to his house, at some point during the visit, he would get out his little pill box and let us choose a candy. It was either a tic-tac, or some other tiny little candy, and sometimes there were sen sens in there. We were the only grandchildren (to my knowledge) that liked them. He liked them too, and since they were hard to find, sometimes he didn't let us have them. *giggle*

Of library books and fines

I have a strong dislike for paying library fees. After all, you're paying for something that is free (well, you do pay for the library through your taxes). Lately, it seems like I have forgotten to get books in to the library, so I've been donating my 15 cents, my 45 cents, etc. to the library.

My problem comes in when I check out way more books than I can possibly read in a three-week's period. I lug them home, and then of course, I have other things to do than read (fancy that! things like knitting! oh yeah, and housework too), so I end up just looking at some of them. To further the problem, I visit the library more than once during a three-week period--and each subsequent time manage to check out one or two more books that look interesting.

I have to return a book today, otherwise it will be overdue. I am going to try to be more disciplined in my book-checking-out habits, and limit myself to books that I actually want to read, and actually have time to read. That translates into just a few books a month, not a whole armful every time I go to the library!

Ever since I have learned to read, I have loved books and going to the library. The more books the merrier! My dad was a principal/assistant pastor for two years. During that time, my parents had one vehicle. I would often have to stay at school way beyond school hours while my dad was working. That didn't bother me in the least. I had discovered the school library. It was in disarray, but I didn't let that hinder me. I spent many happy hours in that library. I was dismayed when some students took it upon themselves to put the library in order. All my favorite books were lost on the shelves! Looking back, it was the 4th-6th grade students who put the library in order, and I have serious doubts that it was according to the Dewey Decimal System. However, it did look neat!

I just love the smell of books--old and new alike! I love to read, and I love to browse through bookstores and libraries. But I do not love to pay library fines! *Grin*

Carnival of Kid Comedy #4

Carnival of Kid Comedy #4 is up! Stop by and prepare to laugh at all the adorable, funny things kids do and say!

The birds are so lucky!

This morning as I was struggling to wake up, I heard the birds outside, chirping away. The thought came to me that time has not changed for them! They aren't having to get up an hour earlier all of a sudden! LOL...of course, we won't talk about how early they get up, versus what time I get up!

Pinky and Blue Bunny

In my UFO post, I wrote about my counted cross stitch project. It is a set, called Pinky and Blue Bunny, based on the paintings "Pinky" and "Blue Boy". I snagged a picture off of e-bay to show you the paintings:



This is Pinky, finished, and waiting for Blue Bunny to join her:



It had been quite awhile since I had even looked at Blue Bunny, and in my mind I thought he was 1/3 of the way finished. In fact, I was thinking that I hadn't actually started the rabbit. Imagine my surprise when I pulled him out last night to show a friend:



As you can tell, these were not weekend projects by any means! Each square of the design is stitched--there is not one open square in the whole design. While I did start these when I was 16, there have been other cross stitch projects that I actually finished, and framed. I have a Bible verse with a garden scene, a little apple sampler for my kitchen, and the wedding cross stitch I made for Kevin's mom and her husband.

I will definitely finish Blue Bunny, and get both of them framed. I will venture to say, however, that my 16-year old tastes are a little different than my 29-year old tastes!

Songs we sing

Children will often make up words to songs, because they don't understand the original words, and their words make more sense to them.

Examples~
One sister sang (when she was little, of course!):
"Whole Wheat, Whole Wheat, Whole Wheat" to the tune of "Holy, Holy, Holy." She may not have known what "Holy" meant, but "Whole Wheat" was the flour that my dad was baking bread with!

Another sister had this rendition of "Low in the Grave":
"Low in the gravy lay". Just depends how you break the words apart!

I confess, I had a song that I didn't know the true words to until I was a teenager! We had a college tape with a song that included the words "Oh sinner go free". I thought it was "Oh synagogue free"...I wasn't sure what exactly that meant, but that's what I HEARD when I listened to that tape!

I'm sure that those of you with kids in your life have heard a song or two messed up. Do share please!

Boohoo

Well, before I got my knitting needles from e-bay, I was excited. Now I'm not! They didn't turn out to be the same quality as my other needles...the points were so sharp they poked me (I could have sanded them a little, if that were the only problem), the laser engraving telling what size they were snagged the yarn and slowed my knitting down, and they are not the right size--the size 2 needles that I opened were much smaller than my knitting guage size 2, and bigger than a size 1. I am thankful that the person offers a return policy. (However, I've yet to hear back from them.)

Oh well, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!

Mary Poppin's scarf

Kevin and I recently watched Mary Poppins starring Julie Andrews. At the beginning, I noticed Mary Poppin's lovely scarf:



It is made in varying shades of orange, in such a lovely open-work design. As far as I can tell, it looks crocheted.

Venting...

It feels as though I have been on the phone all morning long! I called a phone company and placed an order for DSL (for one of the businesses managed by the company I work for). The shipping address was wrong, and I was transferred back and forth from one department to another, given a different number to call, transferred back and forth again, and finally as I was about to be transferred yet again, I told the lady that I had been transferred all over the place, so she actually helped me. Whew! Glad that's over with!

Check it out...

My Aunt Jeannie is a missionary in Africa. Today she got to see the lunar eclipse. Read about it here.

I found this blog that just got started. It is a Proverbs 31 Challenge. Click here to see the challenge for week one. It's not for wimps! LOL I have a few things knocked off the list, but I'm still working on it!

I've been enjoying Mrs. Cat's Making it Home blog. It has been a source of inspiration for me.

My friend Susan renamed her FlyLady blog to "With Heart and Hand...ByGrace". I love the new title (and will get it changed in my sidebar soon!), and have really enjoyed all her homemaking posts. She's braver than I--she even posted a picture of her dirty oven! See, that's why everyone thinks I'm so organized, blah, blah, blah...I don't show my true messy self to anyone! LOL Of course, she also posted a picture of her clean oven! (Now that I could do! :-D )

Lastly, Kim posted her Carnival of Kid Comedy #3, which I participated in. I'm a little late in posting the link, but check out the cute kid comedy!

Under penalty of the law...

...this tag not to be removed...

Did you ever remove one of those tags from something when you were a kid? I didn't! I was aghast that my dad would just rip them off without a care! I was sure that the police would be knocking on our door soon after he ripped a tag off something. I've always been the "letter of the law" type of person, following the rules because, of course, rules are meant to be followed!

What I didn't understand was the last word of the sentence:

...except by consumer.

Yippee!!!

I just recently won a bid on e-bay for these knitting needles:



They are bamboo double-pointed needles, ranging in size from 2 to 6. I cannot wait to get them! I got an awesome deal on them too! Brand new they would have cost me around $40 to get all 5 sets, I'm paying only $18 for them. I'll be all set for sock needles!

Jack's Chain Quilt

Here is another of my unfinished quilts. As I said before, my sister and I must have been low on oxygen when we picked this particular quilt out! LOL

Not only does it have a ton of tiny little 1 1/2 inch squares, the hexagon in the middle, along with the triangles surrounding it, make it a very hard quilt to piece!

I thought I had a whole row finished, but when I got it out, I saw that I'm missing a nine-patch and two triangles on the very end.

This is another project that I would love to have finished! Even though the pattern is difficult and time-consuming, it makes a beautiful quilt. When I have so much time that I don't know what to do with it...I'll finish this quilt!

My Charm Quilt

In my UFO post a few days back, I told about my Charm Quilt. Susan asked to see a picture of it, so here it is!

In my late teen age years I subscribed to a girl's magazine called Kindred Spirits that was published by a home school graduate. I wrote an article for the Jan/Feb 1998 issue, and will share some of it here:

I'd like to share with you a quilt that I am sewing. It is called a "charm quilt" because each fabric is used only once in the entire quilt. According to the library book from which I got this pattern (called a Tumbler Quilt), charm quilts were popular in the 1930's. When I saw this quilt pattern, I knew that I wanted to make it. After reading the instructions, I realized I would need 1,053 different pieces of fabric! Since we sew many of our own clothes, I thought "No problem, we probably have at least half that amount in our scrap box." However, as I went through the box, I found around 100 different scraps that could be used for the quilt. So began my search for fabric scraps!

I got fabric from anyone who would give me fabric! A joke around our house was that you better watch your shirt sleeves if I was around, because I just might cut a quilt piece out of it! *Grin* I made double sure that there are no fabric repeats in the entire quilt. After seeing so many different pieces of fabric, I forgot sometimes that I'd already used a particular scrap in my quilt. When I found the offending double, out came the seam ripper!

In the same article I also applied the quilt to our lives:

Each piece is different. The same is true of our lives. Each day we have a new "piece" to start. Some of my pieces are very plain and ordinary. Yes, some of our days are just simply mundane--there is no other way to look at them. Yet in my quilt, I need the simple, plain pieces to balance the lighter pieces, just as in our lives we need the simple days to let our hearts talk with God. The design of my quilt calls for many light-colored, cheerful scraps. Oh it is so nice when our lives are going the way we would like them to go--every step of the way happy and bright. However, I need an equal amount of dark colored scraps, but they need not be dreary! Many of the dark pieces are my favorites. Everything that happens in our lives is for our benefit, even when we don't think so. Just because we are going through trouble, let us not forget to give thanks to the Lord. David said in Psalm 119:67, "Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept Thy Word."...

I would love to have this quilt finished! It is such a cheerful, unique quilt!

My frogged project

This was my sock:



Now, it's just a ball of yarn. *Sniff, sniff* The flash of my camera lightened the colors a bit. I just adore this yarn though, so I will persevere and this ball of yarn shall yet become a pair of socks!!!

Sunday school lessons

About 10 years ago, I had a wonderful Sunday school class of 4-6 year old children. They listened well, and made it a joy to teach. One Sunday, as I was teaching a Bible story, the subject of sin came up. I asked if anyone could tell me what "sin" was.

Five-year old Natalie knew exactly what sin was:
"It's when a man and a woman live together who aren't married, or when two women live together."

"Umm, yes, that's an example of sin."

Hopefully, the other children did not go home and tell all that they learned in Sunday school, or have any interesting questions for their parents! Natalie was taught that day that sin was something she did too (and every single person on earth) and it included things such as lying, being mean to siblings, and disobeying parents!

Knitting with toothpicks

Ok, so I'm not really knitting with toothpicks. But it sure feels like it! Size 1 knitting needles are tiny!

I am *attempting* to make the ever-popular Jaywalker sock. I have "only" started it five different times, trying to get the guage and/or pattern right. It is NOT a hard pattern for me, so I don't know why I'm having such a hard time with it!

I was going to post a picture, however, Blogger won't let me post pictures right now. (Let's just add to my frustration!)

So anyhow, it's far enough along now that I can try it on. It's terrible to get on and off, it's so tight. So I'm going to frog it.

Do what?

In the knitting world, however, frogs say "rip it, rip it." And that's the reason knitters use the term "frogging" as they merrily unravel their hours worth of knitting.

(This quote from knitty.com.)

A frogging I go...I don't know that I'll be so "merrily" unravelling my knitting though. I have a feeling in my bones that I shall not have a March submission for the sock knit along that I'm a part of. Oh well...

The sock yarn I got is just beautiful, and the striping pattern is so subtle. I love the yarn! I know that I will love these socks. My plan is to frog them, and start over with bigger needles. I'm still so inexperienced with knitting needles/guages. My little sister does not get all my socks! I'm going to MAKE these socks fit me!

Baby Porcupines

Aren't these the cutest ugliest creatures you've ever seen?



Thank you, to my sister Holly, for the picture!

My Tea Drawer

I love to drink herb tea! I am always looking for a new tea to try. I have a drawer in my kitchen just for my stash of tea:

Happy Spring!

Today is the official first day of spring! While it may not feel like spring here, I know it's right around the corner!

When I was growing up, my mom made the first day of spring into an occasion. She would bake a cake, and we would sing a song (why is it that this song is escaping me right now???) and have a nice little celebration.

No cake this year! I'm just happy that warmer weather is headed our way (eventually anyhow!)

Today's Project

Today I decided it was high time to tackle our basement. We've never had so much storage space, and we've greatly neglected (and abused) the basement. "Oh this should go down to the basement" and down we go and throw it anywhere convenient.

We have a little storage room off the main part of the basement, and it has been used to store...nothing. So I attacked that first.

Here's an "after" shot:



See my geraniums? They have survived the winter! I'm so happy about that!

Kevin helped me a bit with some of the other parts of the basement, and it's looking much better. I didn't have time to do anything else other than the storage room today. I'm planning on working on it in the evenings. Kevin put in these wonderful fluorescent lights so that we can actually see in the basement, and it's amazing how much dirtier the floor looks with those new lights!

To show you how distracted I can get...

I bought yarn a week ago to try to make socks out of, but I really don't know what I was thinking! It wouldn't have made nice socks at all. So it turned into this instead:



A flower-shaped washcloth!

It gave me a little trouble, but I think that if the pattern had been written a little better (or perhaps if I were a better knitter) it would have been easier.

I made it in the evenings, and mostly didn't pay too close attention to what I was doing, so one of the petals is too short and one is too long. But who cares, it's a washcloth! *Grin*

Speaking of flowers, I spotted some of my bulbs coming up! Hooray!!! Last fall, I used some of my birthday money from my grandparents to buy the bulbs. I think the ones coming up are hiacinths. I need to go out to the garage and find the wrappers they came in, to tell for sure what they are. It's just exciting to see GREEN coming up!!!

UFO's

(UnFinished Objects)

Susan's post on Wednesday about her unfinished craft projects led me to think of mine.

Currently, I am working on a knitted sweater. I am at a standstill on it until I get some help with it. So, last night, I started a pair of jaywalker socks.

Those are my projects that are sitting on the coffee table, the ones that haven't been moved to the sewing room to "work on later".

The only other knitting project I have that is on the back burner is my knitted lace.

I don't have any tatting or crocheting projects that are unfinished, nor do I have any sewing projects that I have started. However, I do have a few sewing projects that I should start soon.

I have a set of counted cross stitch pictures that I have been "working on" since I was 16! The first one has been completed for over 6 years. The second one I started after I was married. It is about 1/3 of the way finished.

And then...my quilts! I have a quilt that I have been "quilting" for nine years. A lady in my church gave me a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt that was pieced sometime in the 40's or 50's (my guess). It's a beautiful quilt top. I'm about 60% finished with the quilting. It's going to disinigrate before I get it finished! LOL

I also have a quilt top that I pieced. The quilt top is finished, and I truly wish that I had the money to get it quilted for me. It just costs so much to have someone else do it, whether machine quilted or hand quilted. This quilt tells quite a story. It is a Charm Quilt--a quilt in which every single piece of fabric is different from the others--and there are 1,053 patches in this quilt! It took me quite a few years just to gather the fabric. I got friends and relatives to send me squares from all over the world--Mexico, Africa, Hawaii, Alaska, and anyone who I could talk into giving me a 4 x 5 square of fabric! The quilt top was started when I was approximately 19, and I finished it up after I was married.

Around the same time period that I started my Charm Quilt, Holly and I each started a ridiculously impossible quilt called a Jack's Chain Quilt. We must have been low on oxygen or something when we decided that THIS was the quilt we had to make! LOL I have one row finished on this.

I have several quilt tops from Kevin's grandma that I do not consider to be part of my UFO stash. After all, *I* am not the one who started the project! If I *ever* get bored and run out of projects to do (*gasp* Is that possible?) I will commence to quilt them.

I find it funny that it truly bugs Kevin that I have unfinshed projects tucked away. He was very disconcerted when I came home last Saturday with sock yarn. However, I like having different projects to pick up and work on, and not be constantly working on the same project.

Product Review

About a month ago, I got a free sample from Garnier Fructis. Click the link to get your own sample. I tried it out and was very impressed! I do not normally buy something because of a name brand, or because I've gotten a free sample, but this is one product that I did. I bought both the shampoo and conditioner. The conditioner came with a free bottle of gel. The gel is "weightless" and really helps control my frizzy hair in this weather. Furthermore, it is the best gel that I've ever used. It doesn't make my hair look sticky or stiff.

My hair's theme song used to be "I'll Fly Away." Last winter, and the beginning of this winter, my hair was totally unmanageable. Not so anymore!

I saw a ROBIN today!

Yippee! Spring is on it's way!!!

To answer the burning question

How did I get my voice clip on my blog?

Very, very simple!

Go to audioblogger and follow the prompts. That sets you up for audio blogging. They you call the number listed on the screen, and follow the prompts to record your message. Make sure to press # when you are finished with your message, and push the correct numbers. You do have the option to erase and start over.

How much easier could it be?

Just for fun:

Where did Spring go???

Early last week I posted that we were to have temps in the 60's by the end of the week. I said "I'll believe it when I see it." Well guess what? Our high for Saturday was a glorious 63*. Mmmmmm spring air! Everyone seemed to be out and about (in their summer clothes, of course) enjoying the beautiful day.

It snowed this morning! We got to enjoy some warmth for a few days, but the snow reminded us that spring is not officially here yet!

Progress Report

Here's how my sweater is coming along:



I have the second striping sequence finished. I am just loving working with this yarn!

Signature required...

I just looked over at our answering machine, and it was blinking, indicating that there was a new message that we had overlooked. It was a message from my dentist's office. I forgot to sign my check when I was there!

I think it's funny, because all week long, I write checks for the various companies that my boss owns. Of course, I can't sign any of those checks, so I leave the signature blank, thus forming a habit. Next time I write a personal check, I need to remember to actually sign it!

My reading "nook"

I had to laugh when I downloaded the pictures from my camera. This picture is one that I did not take. What is it? It's my reading spot. Yep, right in the kitchen. No, not very comfortable. What makes it so desirable? The heater vent, of course! After dinner, I will sometimes sit over the vent and read. I have another stool, which is a tiny apple stool that my sister gave me, and sometimes I pull that over and set my cup of tea on it. If need be, the heater can always be turned up a degree or two. After all, if the heater goes off, why sit over the heater vent???

Lately, I have been getting stacks of books from the library, and paging through them in the evenings. Hence, all the books around my stool. Many of them have been knitting books, but there are others too. I've been getting lots of ideas for knitting projects!

My new knitting project

I took the plunge and bought a pattern, yarn, and needles to make myself a sweater. Here is the pattern, with the yarn colors I've chosen:



And here is how it looks worked up:



This sweater had better fit me! I've never paid so much for a sweater before, and it's not even made yet!!!

I'm blessed to have a friend at church that is helping me along where I need help. She even lent me her whole set of knitting needles!

Very Bad Food

Do you ever make Very Bad, Very Gross Food? I try hard not to! In fact, I think of myself as a pretty good cook! But last night's dinner was Very Bad. It was salmon loaf, which normally turns out Very Good, but last night I just didn't have the ingredients I needed, and I improvised. Very Bad. That's all I'll say about that! I ate a few bites of mine, and Kevin (poor man) ate his portion. But the rest ended up in the trash! Too sad.

That wasn't too bad!

I went to the dentist this afternoon. I had been dreading it, but it really wasn't so bad after all! I only had one tiny cavity, and that got filled at my visit. It didn't even need any pain killer. I guess it was quite shallow. But that's all fixed! I wasn't able to schedule a cleaning before I went in, because they are booked all the way to October! But while I was there, someone cancelled, and I can get in this Thursday.

This experience was so much better than the past two experiences at the dentist. For instance, it doesn't bother me if two people want to speak in their native tongue when they are around me, but please, refrain from speaking in Vietnamese you have your hands in my mouth! Obviously, that was not a trip to the dentist that I enjoyed!

My second experience I'm referring to wasn't so fun either. I arrived on time for my appointment, waited in the waiting room for an hour, then waited in the examination room for another hour! Oh, and when I got escorted to the examination room, I got a magazine thrust in my lap. It was a Latino magazine--HELLO! I don't speak Spanish. Do I look like a Mexican? Well, ok, most of the magazine was in English, but it was all about being Mexican/Spanish and living in the United States. I did what any extremely bored person would do, and read the magazine from cover to cover (excepting, of course, the articles that were in Spanish!).

But this dentist was nice (hey, he could speak fluent English! LOL) and so was everyone in the office. Everyone was just polite and friendly and hey! Going to the dentist wasn't so bad as I thought it would be!

March Weather

March weather here in west Michigan is quite unpredictable. Actually, I should say that weather in Michigan is unpredictable! But anyhow, it was snowing yesterday, and the news says to expect 60* weather by the end of the week! I'll believe it when I see it!

Kill your television!

The bumper sticker I saw (previous post) reminded me of a pastor's and worker's conference I attended in 1999. A well-known pastor preached for the opening service, and during that service he used a very attention-grabbing object lesson. He took an ax and literally destroyed a television that was on the platform. Glass and televions parts flew everywhere! The message was to "Go forward" and stop sitting around watching junk on televion, to stop bad habits, etc.

The next day my sister Holly was in one of the ladies' split sessions, and the speaker shared how her young son didn't quite "get" the point of the previous night's message. At home he asked if they could destroy their old television, since they had a newer, bigger one in the living room! LOL

Actions speak louder than words...

...or in this case, "Actions speak louder than bumper stickers."

Last night as I was in the video-store parking lot, I noticed a car pulling out of one of the parking spots. It had a bumper sticker on it that said:

Kill your television!

Apparently, they haven't killed theirs yet!

Pride and Prejudice

I read Jane Austen's book Pride and Prejudice when I was a teenager, and thouroughly enjoyed it.

Since then, I have watched these adaptations of it:




This last one was just a cheap-production modern-day chick flick...my sisters all thought it terribly funny and enjoyable, but I didn't get quite as much amusement out of it as they did.

A few days ago, my sister Holly told me that the 2005 version was out on dvd. So last night I set out to rent it. I went to two video rental stores, with no luck. It seems as though everyone else wanted to rent it too! I called another store, rather than wasting a trip out there, and they didn't have it in stock either. So Kevin and I went to Meijer and we bought it, with the plan to sell it on e-bay.

So last night I watched this version:



I have to say that of all the versions I have seen, the 1995 version (second picture down) is my favorite! That's not to say that I didn't enjoy last night's viewing. This movie was not quite as long as the others, so they didn't have as much time to develop the characters. I do believe they stayed true to the book though. All in all, it was an enjoyable movie!

Trade Marks

Everything these days has trademarks on them. Or they are copyrighted. Everyone has to protect their invention, their catch phrase, their company name.

But I was a little surprised to see that ZIP code is trademarked! I got a post card from the post office, and noticed that "ZIP" has "TM" by it. This struck me as funny, because what business, person, etc. would would want to use "ZIP code"? LOL

Do you know what ZIP stands for, anyhow? It is an acronym for "Zone Improvement Plan."

Upon further investigation, I found the following information at Wikipedia:

ZIP Code was originally registered as a trademark by the U.S. Postal Service, but its registration has since expired.

So if it's not really trademarked, then why would they use "TM" by it??? Questions, questions! *Grin*

Another "This and That" post

This morning it was so cold outside! As we walked from the parking lot to our office building, I held my scarf over my face. Otherwise, it hurt my nose to breathe! I think we're due for some snow sometime soon. It's funny to think that my family in California is getting ready to plant their garden, and we're getting snow!

I can still dream of gardening though! Last year we moved into our new house so late in the season, that I didn't plant anything. This year I am planting double-flowered impatiens in my front flower beds. While I am certain of what I'm planting in the front, I'm still debating what to do on the side. I would like to plant perennials, but I can't make up my mind about them. I sent off for about six gardening catalogs, so I look over those and try to get ideas.

I now understand why so many knitters like to make socks:
1. They are a quick project (usually).
2. They are fun to make.
3. They don't cost an arm and a leg to make.

I have been wanting to make a sweater for myself, so last Saturday I went to a yarn shop and purchased the pattern and yarn for a sweater. I'm pleased with my selection, but it did cost quite a bit! This sweater had better be the best sweater I've ever laid my eyes on!

Susan's Flylady blog inspired me to do some of my own decluttering. Last night while I was making dinner, I had a few minutes, and I got one of my cabinets cleaned out. Everything went back in, but the shelves got wiped down, and things got put back in a more orderly fashion. I don't like cleaning out my cabinets, but it only took me a few minutes! I'm going to try to do a cabinet/drawer a night while dinner is cooking. It's amazing how fast things get out of order! (And equally amazing how little time it takes to put it back in order!!!)

I suppose this has been enough "this's and that's"! Blessings to all! Have a wonderful day!

Ella Minnow Pea

"A Progressively Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fable"

This book was a fun read. I finished it a week or so ago.

This story was so fictional that it wasn't believable as I was reading it. However, it was still fun to read! A very fictional island country pays their respects to the man who invented the sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" (which uses all the letters of the alphabet) with a statue and that sentence over it in tiles. The tiles, which have been on the statue for one hundred years, start falling, and in order to respect the founder of their island country, the people are not allowed to use the letters that have fallen. They cannot speak or write with the letters that have fallen.

Eliminating "Z" isn't so hard, but as the letters keep falling, the people have more and more troubles. The tiles eventually dwindle to L, M, N, O, and P. (Say "Ella Minnow Pea".)

Because this book is written in letter format, it is interesting to see how the townspeople adapt to not using the letters that are not allowed.

Ribbed Socks!

I finished a pair of socks tonight! This pair is the third pair of socks that I have made. I started them before Christmas, and made great progress on the first one as we travelled, and finished it at my grandparent's house. After we got back, I was busier than normal, and so the second sock took a little longer to finish.

(Click on the picture for a closer look.)

I discovered that guage really is important after all. (As is using the weight of yarn that the pattern calls for!) I guess that was a major "duh" moment. Oh well, live and learn. The best thing is that all my work wasn't wasted! What started out as socks for myself ended up as socks for my youngest sister.

The pattern I used came out of this book:



The yarn is a washable wool blend, and was nice to work with. It was left over from a scarf that I made for Kevin.

Little sis, be looking in the mail for your socks!

Four Cheese Lasagna

Compliments of Rebecca, here is the lasagna recipe:

Lasagna takes time to assemble. To avoid last-minute preparation, make this casserole early in the day or the night before and refrigerate. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
2 cans (4 oz each) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon fennel seed
1 carton (16 oz) cottage cheese
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1-1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 eggs, beaten
1 package (12 oz) lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

In a skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic until beef is browned and onion is tender; drain. In a blender, cover and process the tomatoes until smooth. Stir into beef mixture along with mushrooms, tomato paste and seasonings; simmer for 15 minutes. In a bowl, combine cottage cheese, Parmesan, cheddar, ½ cup of mozzarella and eggs. Spread 2 cups meat sauce in the bottom of an ungreased 13-in x 9-in x 2-in baking dish. Arrange half the noodles over sauce. Spread cheese mixture over noodles. Top with remaining noodles and meat sauce. Cover and bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake 15 minutes longer or until cheese melts. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting. Yield: 12 servings

I follow the recipe as it is, except I do not put the crushed tomatoes in the blender. I think it makes the sauce a little thicker, which is a good thing! My casserole dish is wide enough for three noodles across, so I end up using six noodles.

Company's Coming!

We are having our pastor and his family over for dinner tonight.

On the menu:
lasagna (a wonderful recipe I got from my sister-in-law, Rebecca)
salad
garlic bread
corn
brownies and ice cream for dessert

Last night as I readied the house for company, I had four-minute breaks scattered throughout the evening. Why four minutes? Because I was watching the ice skating too! :-)

I think the commentators talked about the new scoring system during each skater's performance. ALL RIGHT ALREADY! I know about it now! LOL

When I was younger, I used to dream about ice skating...how "fun" it would be. Having been on ice skates just once as an adult, I realize how unfun that would be. It takes a lot of work. I couldn't/wouldn't want to do off the ice what they do on the ice! Hat's off to them, and all the hard work they put into it to make it seem so effortless!

Sock a Month Knit-along!

I just joined Christine's sock knit along. I also added the button to my blog. :-) I have a pair of socks on my needles--all I have to finish is the toe on one. I have six days to get it finished to qualify for the month of February. Since it's just the toe, I shouldn't have any trouble at all.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I got a few sock books from the library. I'm not lacking patterns for socks! I have so many different patterns to choose from. It's hard to make up my mind!

I would also like to branch out in my knitting and try other projects. I would like to make a sweater for myself, but I haven't found a pattern that says, "Make me!" yet. I'm still looking for that perfect pattern.

Horchata

Horchata is a Mexican cinnamon-rice drink that I enjoy. In fact, I made it for Valentine's Day for my Mexican dinner--but I used a packet from the store.

My mom recently sent me a recipe for horchata, and I made it last night. It was so easy, and it's so good! I used Stevia (a natural sweetener) to sweeten it, instead of the honey or sugar. I added too much Stevia, so it has a little bit of a bitter after-taste, but I still enjoyed it. I haven't used Stevia much, so I'm still experimenting with it.

Here's the recipe:
1 c. cooked brown rice (hot)
4 c. water
Blend in blender for 4 minutes, strain.
Return to blender and add
1/4 c. honey OR 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
Blend til mixed. Refrigerate until cold. Add crushed ice if desired.

Enjoy!

Our New Washer and Dryer

Rebecca asked:

Did you get your washer/dryer? how are they?

We got our washer and dryer on Saturday. The cold water valve wouldn't turn off all the way, so the delivery guys didn't want to force it and be liable if it broke. So they just delivered them, they didn't hook up the washer (they can't hook up the dryer any how, since it's gas). Two minutes after they left, Kevin was able to turn off the valve. He got everything hooked up just fine.

I really love the washer and dryer! It's so nice to have something that is "ours". We've never had our own washer and dryer until we bought this house. The washer that came with the house was disgusting. It took me over an hour to get the inside of the washer clean enough to put dirty clothes in! Anyhow, we're glad we got them, and I'm happy we got the front-loader. We'll see if it really does help lower our water bills!

I have a couch FULL of laundry. Gettting that all taken care of is on tonight's agenda!

It's late...no, it's early...

I visited the library today and got all kinds of knitting books. This evening, we watched a movie and I looked through my books and kept up with the movie at the same time. The end was quite intense, so I did put my books down in order to finish the movie.

Is anyone else frustrated with NBC? I told a friend at church how annoying it is to try to watch the Olympics, because they don't stick with an event for more than one or two commercials. She said it didn't bother her much, because it was like watching tv with her husband. LOL I can relate to that...but still! Figure skating for two couples, then we're watching snowboarding, then we're watching something else. I just remember watching the Olympics when I was younger, and they seemed to have more of each event.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I get my new washer and dryer! I'm so excited!!! I have clothes piled up ready and willing to be washed! :-) (Oh wait--technically, it's today that I get my new washer and dryer!)

Thursday morning I was awakened by a crash and then what sounded like a downpour of rain. Upon rising and looking out the window, I saw that it wasn't raining. I followed the sound...to the bathroom. One of the bathtub's legs (feet?) had fallen off and water was pouring everywhere. It could have been an expensive mishap, but Kevin called someone who fixes clawfeet bathtubs, and he explained to him over the phone how to get the feet back on securely. This was not the foot that Kevin had previously fixed. So, hopefully, this will hold! The pipe connecting the shower to the faucet broke off, and Kevin had to fix that. But thankfully, the pipes bringing the water in didn't break!

Well, I really do need to go to bed. For some reason, I'm wound up tonight. Maybe it's the accomplishment of my blog background! LOL

Our Valentine's Date

Choosing Home had a Valentine's contest, and this was my entry:

This Valentine's Day I asked my husband if I could make dinner. Normally, we go out for dinner on Valentine's Day, but this year I wanted to change things up a bit. This contest gave me the extra "push" to plan a special evening at home--something that I have actually been wanting to do for a few months.

I made myself a traditional Mexican outfit, and will be serving Mexican food (chips and salsa, tacos, and Spanish rice). My outfit is completed with a big sombrero. *Grin* I also got a sombrero for him to wear during dinner.

I am going to decorate the table with a few things I purchased, and hanging from the living room/dining room doorway will be a pinata that I have candies and small gifts. After dinner, he will have to break open the pinata to receive his gifts. Oh, and I won't even blind fold him!

Oh, how could I forget dessert? Not exactly Mexican, but one of his favorites--cheesecake!

We live in Michigan, and I was expecting to have a hard time finding items with a Mexican theme, but I found everything I needed at my first stop--a party store.

When Kevin came in the dining room, he was greeted by Mariachi music. We had a fun evening together!

And, today I found out that I placed in the Honorable Mentions, so to speak! :) Choosing Home said I had the "Best Props".

"Secret" Cheesecake recipe

At my wedding shower, the ladies went around the room and gave me advice. The first lady felt put on the spot, and all she said was "cook for him". Afterwards, she came up to me and said that she felt bad that that was all she said--and she gave me her family's secret cheescake recipe.

This recipe was a carefully guarded secret. Mainly, I think, because she enjoyed being the only one to appear at church potlucks with her specialty cheesecakes!

I made this cheesecake for dessert last night, and flavored it with raspberry extract. It turned out so good! As you can tell from the picture, we had already enjoyed it!


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Best-ever Cheesecake~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

You will need a graham cracker crust.

Preheat oven to 350*.

Mix together:
8 oz. cream cheese
1 egg
3/8 cup sugar
1-3 Tablespoons flavoring (jam, berries, chocolate, extracts (I used 2 teaspoons of raspberry extract--turned out delicious!--and added a little food coloring to make it look like raspberries)

Pour into crust, bake for 30 minutes. Cool for 15-30 minutes.

Then, mix together:
8 oz. sour cream
2 Tablespoons sugar
same amount of flavoring used in the 1st layer
(optional) drizle jam on top for design

Bake for another 8-9 minutes in 350* oven.

Cool, refrigerate, ENJOY!!!

My Valentine Roses

Isn't the color of these roses just gorgeous? I've been enjoying these since Saturday. Kevin went out shopping and came home with them.

Blue Ink or Black?

I don't know why, but when I write, I prefer blue ink over black ink. It seems like a funny preference, but black ink just doesn't seem to write as well! ;-) I don't really like to write with a pencil either. Not even a mechanical pencil. Oh, and I don't like gel ink. The gel ink tends to make my writing sloppy.

Handwriting? If I concentrate and take my time, I have good handwriting. Notice, I said if I take my time. If I don't take my time, my handwriting is still readable, but not very neat. I typically write in cursive, though sometimes I print. It just depends on what I am writing. My legal signature combines both printing and cursive: the first letters of my first and last name are printed, the rest is in cursive.