Monday

Another Monday, and this one is Rod's birthday. Happy Birthday, Dear. The kids are coming tomorrow night for dinner to celebrate. Sunday am, Mary dropped the kids off at 8:30 and then went to watch Jimmy's playoff games in softball (they lost the first two games they played, and Mary was pretty happy -- it was cold). So, for breakfast Pappy made his world famous donuts. Kristin and Izzy stopped, and Izzy got her first taste of Pappy's donuts. She just kept saying, "Oh, Wow!" Kris and Izzy stayed over an hour, and then went home. Krissy and I made pumpkin pies, and when the pies were done, we went down to the train room. Krissy and Rod worked on placing some of the houses, so he can finish the wiring, and Bubby just got mad because he could only run three trains instead of five. Shortly after we came back upstairs, the twins showed up and made wedding soup for dinner. It was so good. They really pile in the mini-meatballs and you get at least two in every bite. Mary and Jim got back about 3, and we watched our Steelers lost to the NY Giants.

I had my quarterly check-up with my PCP on Friday. He photocopied my bloodwork papers and told me if he had a gold star, he would have put it on the top. My bloodwork was the best it's ever been. My numbers were all in the range of non-diabetics and that's better than he ever expected. He told me I must be doing something right, and just to keep it up. So, I don't go back until January, and no bloodwork this time. Guess I go to the head of the class. It's not easy. Sometimes I am just so tired of being diabetic, and watching everything that I put in my mouth. But check-ups like this one make it all worthwhile.

I'm still blanket stitching the blocks for the Lion King quilt, and can't wait to finish this one up. It seems to be taking forever!! And I'm anxious to start some other projects. So, I guess I'd better go and start stitching. Have a great week.

This and That

Wow, another week nearly gone. Here's a few scraps from my brain. I got my fall wall hangings out over the weekend. They were made, oh, about three or four years ago. I'm amazed at how much my work has improved in that time. Sometimes it's good to realize that.

I did something yesterday that I don't think I've ever done before -- I forgot to turn my iron off. Luckily when Kristin showed up to take me shopping, she noticed a "hot" smell in the back of the house, and found the iron on and turned it off. I'm so upset by this -- Hopefully it's not anything wrong, just a "mental-pause".

Rod is on overtime. Don't know for how long, but it really changes life. Now he leaves the house at 5:30 am and doesn't return until after 7:00 pm. We don't eat dinner until he's home, and then I'm not really hungry for a snack before bed. This morning my blood sugar was only 64 -- not a good thing. I'm sure it will take some getting used to before I can level it out again. I like to keep it between 80 and 100 because that's when I feel best.

Still working on the Lion King quilt. Yesterday I fused Rafiki and Zazu. I figured they would be the most difficult, and I was right. But now that they're done, I can move forward. If I don't post tomorrow, have a great weekend.

Catching Up

Another Monday. It was a full weekend, which for me started on Thursday evening. We left as soon as Rod got home from work, and drove to Bedford Pa, where we stayed for the night. Then after sleeping in until 8 am, we had a hot breakfast buffet which was included with our room, and then started for York, PA for the TCA train meet. We got a lot of good buys, a new expansion pack for the kids' Thomas trains. Each grandchild has their own engine, and now they each have 4 cars. We also bought a new car for the Polar Express train, and my favorite buy -- a roller coaster for the carnival/circus. We drove home on Friday evening, and arrived back home about 8:30 pm. Saturday was sort of a lazy day for me, I put corn chowder on in the crock pot, but Rod got the grass cut for the last time this year. I did get some more blocks done for Krissy's Lion King quilt, but time is getting short, and I need to kick it up a notch.







Here's the three blocks that are completely done. I have one more to fuse, and three more to trace and fuse, but the rest are all ready for the blanket stitching. Have a good week.

Wednesday

It's Wednesday, and there's no whine!!! Just heartfelt thanks to my hubby and kids for a great birthday. Yep, yesterday I became one year older. Mary bought all her necessary stuff here to cook dinner since my mom is quite under the weather with a virus and upper respiratory infection. This way she could join the family for dinner. Dinner was really delicious. Pork chops, hot German potato salad, homemade applesauce and a double chocolate mocha trifle for dessert. We ate on the back deck, and it was getting dark when we sat down to eat. We have white LED lights around the top of the roof, and around the pond. And it was like having dinner by candlelight. All the family was here. Rod and the girls sent me flowers yesterday, and they were stunning. Guess I should have taken a picture. Lots of orange, and fall leaves. Fall is my favorite time of year. We got married on November 9 and the girls wore orange dresses, the guys dk. green crushed velvet tux's. Are you old enough to remember crushed velvet?? The girls carried baskets of straw flowers, and even my bridal bouquet was dried flowers. Seeing all the leaves in full color makes me happy. I can't imagine living somewhere where you don't have 4 seasons. I got an email from the girl who is quilting my sampler quilts that my first quilt went on the machine yesterday. I can't wait to see them done. She had told me not to expect them until early December, but looks like it might be sooner. What a great birthday present from her. Now to work on the Lion King Quilt.

Friday, Yah

Here's the photo of the train quilt that I promised. I love how it turned out, and Bubby was really insulted that it wasn't for him. He said Izzy got a Sesame Street quilt and that this one should be for him. I told him that he got a Backyardigans quilt, but he said that didn't matter. Don't figure!

Well, another Friday -- another week come and gone. I saw an ad on TV yesterday that said that Thanksgiving is only 6 weeks away. And now I ask myself -- why does the time go faster than I sew!!!! Looks like I'd better put on my Speedy cap and get cracking if I'm to finish everything I've got planned! I've got a birthday on Tuesday -- wow another year older. I just keep telling myself I'm not older - I'm better. DD Mary has offered to cook dinner that night for the family. She's a really good cook, and since it's my birthday, she's gonna make Hot German Potato Salad to go with pork chops. For those who don't like the potatoes, she'll make mac and cheese, or maybe her yummy cheesy potatoes. Mary reads Pioneer Woman's website each day and has gotten some really kickin' recipes from her.

I've been trying to clean up my sewing room which looks like a tornado tore through it. It's really a hopeless cause. I just seem to move things from one flat surface to another, and then back again. Months ago I pulled fabrics for DD Pam's Christmas quilt, and they're still sitting where I put them. I think I'll cut the pieces, put them in zippy bag, and then when I'm ready, they will be too. Fall has definitely been in the air, but the next few days are supposed to be warmer, and it looks like I'll get to enjoy the deck for a few more days. Next weekend is the train show in York, and we've already made our travel plans. I'm really looking forward to some time away, and if you've never seen Pennsylvania in mid-October, you don't know what you're missing. Have a great weekend.

I'm Baack

Some people have been wondering why I haven't been posting. I guess I just haven't taken the time. I only get about 1-1/2 hours in the morning to do "my own thing", and lately blogging hasn't been one of them.

Do you remember when Mrs. Reagan had her "Just Say No" program. Well, it's something I don't seem to have ever mastered. I just have a horrible time saying "NO". DD Pat asked me to do a quilt for a co-worker, and of course I said yes. I finished the train quilt (photos coming soon) and really like the way it looks. Then when DD Kristin saw it, she asked me to do a quilt for a co-worker of hers. Again, I couldn't say no. So I pulled out some bandana scraps and used the pattern "Simply Charming". Go to http://www.cozyquilt.com and click on cozy patterns. And the quilt top was finished in no time. This weekend I hope to get the fleece and get it quilted. Izzy's first birthday party was cancelled due to bad weather, and will be held on Saturday. Hope you have a great weekend.

Hump Day

Today is October 1st. And it really feels like fall. Yesterday we had rain, and now cooler temps. Fall always puts me into a push mode for Christmas gifts. I'm doing pretty well. Mary's quilt top is finished. Can't post a photo since she reads my blog each day. I'm working on block 10 of 12 for Kristin's quilt. Fabric is pulled for Pam's quilt, and I know what I'm doing for Pat's. George's is designed and the layout and drawings are done. And for Jimmy -- well he's getting a Steeler quilt made of 9-patch blocks. And to save time I bought the pre-cut squares from ebay. They were so inexpensive that it didn't make sense for me to do it myself. I'll probably chain piece them, and I already have the fleece to back it with. I just have to decide whether to tie or quilt it. I think tying is harder on my hands.

I bought a new purse pattern - it's a mailbox bag, and it seems to be a lot more complicated that it looked. I'll have to study the pattern and try to come up with a production line of doing it. I did buy FQ's at Joann last weekend for two of them. If you've made a mailbox bag, please let me know. Have a great rest of the week.