On and Off Switch

Could someone please turn my switch to ON?  I just don't understand what gets into me.  Some weeks I just sew and get so much accomplished.  Other weeks, not so much!  I have not been into the sewing room since Tuesday morning.  And even that day, I didn't sew.  I prepared pieces for hand applique.

And now, I have four or possible five quilts to finish for the Saddle Up before May 28.  I have four that are in various stages of being ignored completion, and another in my mind.  But nothing is "all done".   So, my sewing machine better be humming for the next four weeks.  And please, if you know where my ON switch is, could you please turn it on?  Have a great weekend.

I'll Huff and I'll Puff. . .

It has certainly been windy here in Western Pennsylvania, but we've experienced nothing like the devastation in the southern and mid-western areas of our country.  We continue to pray for all those who have been so hard hit by Mother Nature's wrath, and offer prayers of thanks for those who have been spared.  With prices of so many consumer goods continuing to rise, I wonder how all those people whose homes, businesses, and places of employment have been destroyed  will rebuild their lives.  Please, Lord, be with all those who are in need of your assistance.  Amen.

Another Holiday Come and Gone

Easter came and went.  We had our Easter Dinner on Saturday, it just gets too hard to work around all the parents, and in-laws.  My mom came out, and she is looking great.  She loved the quilt, and can't wait to get back to her assisted living house to put it on her bed.  I need to do the binding first.  I also made her a pillowcase to match the quilt.

Sunday, all the kids ended up here at the same time anyway.  We had lots of leftovers from Saturday, so everyone ate again, and still there are some leftovers.  Saturday we were all to full to eat dessert, so on Sunday evening when they all were here, we had our strawberry shortcake.  The berries were so sweet and juicy since they had macerated overnight.

After everyone left last night, it was a game of hide and seek.  I have three binkies for Jake, but couldn't find a single one.  I swear they just get up when no one is looking and walk out the back door.  Rod pulled out all the furniture in the living room, and no binkies.  But then there was a mess on the floor.  So at 10:30 pm, he pulled out the sweeper to clean up the mess.  He did manage to find one binky down inside the love seat -- my furniture eats things, like pens, crayons, blocks, and oh yes, binkies.  So at least I have one for today.  Mary calls me the "binky nazi".  Don't even try to take my binkies!

Then the game of hide and seek continued this morning.  A couple of weeks ago, we moved all my clothes around in an attempt to better organize where things were.  Big Mistake!!!  Today the high is supposed to be 78, and I needed shorts.  So, I started by opening one drawer, where are my shorts. . . peek.  Not there.  Then I open another drawer, where's the shorts go. . .  peek.  Not there.  But I never give up and finally I found my shorts.

Remember the song, "I wish it would rain"?  Well, here in Pennsylvania, we wish it wouldn't rain.  We've had rain nearly every day for the last month.  We're thinking about building a really big boat - just saying.

But, at least the day has to get better.  Have a good day.

Apron Photos

 Luckily Rod knew where the other camera was, and so there are pictures to share.  Pat's apron with a hot apple pie is here.

 Pam's apron with a strawberry milkshake.

Kris's apron with pumpkin pie.

Mary's apron with a strawberry cupcake.

Hooterville

As a kid, one of my favorite TV shows was Green Acres.  I just loved Lisa Douglass with her "lack of knowledge" of all things domestic and farming.  And the show took place in Hooterville.  So when I got my latest issue of the Connecting Threads catalog and saw a quilt named Hooterville,  I just knew I had to have it.  And since I loved the fabrics in the quilt, I just ordered the kit.  I didn't think the cost was too bad.  Jake is almost sitting up on his own, and I think this will make such a fun play quilt for him.  But then, it would also look good as a wall hanging. What would you do with it??

Hope you have a blessed holiday.

It's a Thursday/Friday

For me it's Thursday, for some it's Friday.  Lots of people have Good Friday off work and so today is their Friday.  Since Kristin works tomorrow, I do too.  So for me it's Thursday.  I've been busy this week working on Easter gifts for the kids and grandkids.  I did tee shirts for the grandkids -- told you about that.  Still have to try to save the boo-boos, but I have an idea of what to do.  For my girls, I wanted to do aprons.  When I was at Joann the last time, they had aprons on sale.  So I picked up 4.  When I unwound them to start the embroidery, I discovered that I had picked up 2 full aprons and 2 waist aprons.  So, two of the girls are getting half aprons.  I wanted to take photos of them this morning, but my camera seems to be MIA.  Mary gets a half apron with a strawberry cupcake on it.  Pat gets a full apron with a hot apple pie on it.  Pam's is a half apron with a strawberry milkshake, and Kristin gets a full apron with a piece of pumpkin pie on it.

My time on the lap top is somewhat limited now.  Izzy has discovered the world of pre-school computer games, and has really become a "computer hog".  But, it keeps her busy, and I'm amazed at how much better she has gotten since she first started playing.  There are games that teach counting, patterns, matching, and more.  And it brings back memories of Krissy and Bubby playing these same games, and they are both getting A's in school.  So the games are definitely a learning experience.

Tomorrow is Good Friday, and we have a family tradition of dying the Easter eggs with the grandkids on that day.  It's always a lot of fun.  Hope you have a prayerful day.  (If that's your thing)

Another Train Show Behind Us.

Another train meet has come and gone.  It was a wonderful start to the weekend.  Thursday evening we left about 6 o'clock and drove as far as Breezewood.  The weather was beautiful, and as we drove across the mountains, the grass was green, but the trees still looked barren.  The beds at our motel were horrible, I felt like someone (other than Rod) was poking me.  Part way through the night, the air conditioner kicked on and it sounded like a metal shredder.  And then, I swear, someone moved my bed to the middle of the turnpike.  The truck noise was just so loud.  The last two hours I slept in a chair.  Rod somehow slept until 8:30 (almost unheard of for him).  But when we awoke, the birds were singing, the sun was shining, and the day was just gorgeous.  After a quick breakfast, we headed for York and the train meet.  Met some old "friends".  Bought some things we were looking for, and headed home in late afternoon.  Had dinner at Cracker Barrel, and had a beautiful trip home.  Some of the flowering trees were so in bloom that it looked almost like they were snow covered.  Now today, it's so rainy and miserable that I'm glad we came home last night.

Farm Garden

Here's what Rod has done with the garden area.  Now there are some people working there.

Cemetery area

This is the cemetery area of the layout.  In our hometown, the one side of the street is a cemetery, and the town joke is that one side of the street doesn't talk to the other.  So, we had to include a cemetery.  In the hometown cemetery, there was a stone crypt with small holes in it.  We were never sure if the holes were peep holes to look into, or just to let any stink out.  We bought a mausoleum at the train meet, but it's not stone and has no peep holes.

Logging area

This is the logging area.  Rod just put down the stumps, the deer, and the squirrels.  The totem pole was a Disney World purchase in the Canada area of EPCOT.

Farmer's Market

And last, the farm market area of the layout.  Rod has added the people, the table of veggies, and more.  If you click on the photos, you can better see the detail.

And now, I'm off to the sewing room,.

It's a Fix-it Day

I've been working on applique embroidery for tee shirts for the kids.  I did a red onsie for Jake with a pirate puppy -- it's crooked, and that has to stay that way.  Rod says his belly is crooked, so no one will notice.  Then I did a blue tee shirt for Bubby with a skull wearing a pirate bandana.  One section of the bone pulled loose from the satin stitching so now I have to figure out how to fix it.  Some people have suggested using Fray Check, and pinning the section down until the Fray Check dries.  Guess I'll give that a shot.  Then I did a red tee shirt for Krissy with a heart shaped peace sign.  Again, some of the fabric pulled loose from the satin stitching.  I'm gonna try the Fray Check think on this one also.  But now the biggest boo-boo. I did a pink tee shirt for Izzy Boo with a cute little lady frog.  And the frog looks great.  But about the frog there were supposed to be three hearts that were just embroidered, and not appliqued.  When the machine moved to here, the tee shirt fabric puckered, and now there's a couple of holes.  I'm gonna see how many heart shaped buttons I have and hopefully cover   correct the mistakes with them.

To try to avoid these problems in the future, I'm gonna try using heat-n-bond on my applique fabric.  One person said she does this and that she can use her mini-iron to iron it down before doing the satin stitching.  And she doesn't have to unhoop the shirt.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Continuing my Search

It's a new week, and I'm continuing my search for more satisfaction and less stress.  I have to admit, with all honesty, that most of the stress is what I put on myself.  I try to make quilts for everybody else, and make very little for myself.  In an attack of selfishness, I told everyone over the weekend, that Jake will be the only one to get a quilt this year.  And that will be a panel quilt for his birthday.  This year, I begin to concentrate on ME.  Perhaps it's too selfish, but it's what I need.  I received a new book order last week, and this quilt struck my eye.  I love fall, and after watching some videos on YouTube, I have decided to do freezer paper applique by hand on this one.  Over the weekend I traced off the designs for the pumpkins, acorns, and the crow.  And it was so beautiful yesterday, that I actually got to sit on the deck to cut them out.  This morning, I will choose my fabrics and start preparation.  I've never done prairie points, but may take a stab at it on this one.   To fuse my freezer paper, I will get to use my new mini-iron that Rod got for me for Valentine's Day.

I continue to concentrate on my eating habits, and I am pushing myself to walk more.  And this morning, my blood sugar was 131, the lowest it's been for an age.  I beginning to feel like I'm getting my life back on track.
Have a good week.

Where to Begin?

I told you yesterday about my lists.  One of my ideas to "spark" up my eating habits is to try a new veggie or fruit each week.  I'm not really a beet eater -- can't get past the smell.  But I have heard golden beets are pretty tasty.  Do you have a favorite beet recipe to share?  I love radishes, but just found some recipes for grilled or sauteed radishes with just butter, salt and pepper.  Think I'll give that a try.  I've never eaten artichokes, bok choy, collard greens, swiss chard, or turnips.  If you have ideas to share, I'd sure appreciate it.

I know that some of you are either diabetic or have family members that are diabetic.  My doctor says no grapefruit or other citrus fruit because of my one medication.  However, yesterday on the news, there was a story that tangerines possess something that will help to lower blood sugar levels.  And I love, and miss, grapefruit.  My pharmacist says 1/2 grapefruit once or twice a week won't hurt -- I just shouldn't eat an entire bag!  What are your experiences with grapefruit?

I've also never tried Asian pears, star fruit, plantains, or figs.  I'm really hoping for some ideas for new veggies and fruits to add to my food list.  Please post your suggestions.

One Week to Go

until the York train meet.  And I'm really looking forward to it.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate.  We hope to leave Thursday after Rod gets home from work, and drive as far as Breezewood, where we have a room reservation.  Then first thing Friday morning, we head for York.  I'll have to make sure that my Zune is fully charged for the music.  Rod and I have made some of our best plans, and dreamed some of our best dreams while riding in the car. We're getting our "wish list" ready.  It's just an overnight vacation, but I always love it.  Train people are almost as nice as quilt people.

Today is much better than yesterday.  I'm making lists, lots of lists.  A list of what I can do. A list of what I wish I could do.  A list of what foods I love.  A list of foods I've never tried.  And I'm trying to be more positive.  Thanks to all for their concerns and kindnesses.  But I'm OK.