Tidbits!

Don't know what's wrong with me --just haven't felt like doing any sewing. Over the weekend, I just sat on the porch and watched the fish. Oh and watched Rod doing all the hard labor he did last weekend. He built boxes on the two sides of the pond where there's fencing. Then we went and got mushroom mulch (smelled a whole lot like a horse stable --more than usual), and Rod shoveled it all into the boxes. He also bought two kinds of pepper plants, two kinds of cabbage plants, and some seed for cucumbers and pumpkins. The beans, tomatoes and zucchini we planted in the first two boxes are doing very nicely, I'll have to get some photos to show you.

I have a new "do". Mary took pictures, and as soon as I get them, I'll post photos of the "new"me!!

Mom had a colonoscopy last week and the results weren't good. She has a mass in the anal canal of the colon. Dr. is scheduling a CAT scan to see if the cancer has spread anywhere else, and then will decide the plan of action from there. Surprisingly, Mom took the news better than we did -- said she had a feeling. Say a prayer for her, please.

Sunday, I cooked a chicken in the smoker. We brined it in beer and Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipolte overnight on Saturday, and then used the same Mrs. Dash under the skin and in the water pan (with beer and water mixed). This time we split the chicken and took out the backbone so that the bird laid flat, we patted it dry and smoked it for nearly 5 hours with cherry wood. The skin got nice and crispy and the meat was done more than when we smoked it whole.

Last night we attended Bubby's graduation from preschool. The kids all have some sort of disability, and the ceremony was very moving, as all the kids sang songs and recited their alphabet. Needless to say, I shed a few tears.



Today I have to clean up the sewing room a little so that Rod can put the air conditioner in tonight. I have decided to move my sewing back into the larger room, that I had moved out of to make room for mom. I ordered new fabric for curtains, and am planning on painting the room a light blue. My shelves are a bright blue, so they won't need repainted. What do you think of this fabric? I think it will make me feel happy, happy! And how about the crowns for the "Queen Bee"!!!

And now I'm off to the sewing room.

Disney Quilt Blocks

I decided that this morning I would show you the Disney Blocks that are done. I took Mary's advice and used the invisible thread with a cream underthread in the bobbin. I really love the way they look.
This are the blocks using Wendy, Piglet and Pooh.

Three of my favorite princesses: Snow White, Mulan, and Pocahontas.

Here's Mickey, Minnie, and Eeyore.

Lilo is next. And Tink, with the glitter wings and shiny buttonhole stitch, and last Alice.

And here are Princess Cinderella, Princess Aurora, and loveable Dopey

And finally, Buzz, the Genie and Jiminy Cricket. Mary says the cast members at Disney will make a big fuss about this signature blocks.

I have so much fun doing these blocks. I start with a coloring book page, and then use a graphics program to crop and adjust the size of the photo. I really love choosing the fabrics to make each character come to life. When they are all fused onto my applique sheet, I use fabric markers to add the little lines and facial details before fusing onto the blocks. Finally I add the buttonhole stitching. I have 42 blocks planned, but will do some blank ones just in case we get to meet characters other than the ones I have made. So far the ones that I've done haven't been too difficult. I think that next I will do some of the more detailed ones -- Mushu, Captain Hook, and the Mad Hatter. Pinocchio and Gipetto don't look too easy either. Maybe this weekend I will get some more time to work on them. DD Mary has suggested that when I'm done, I do some blocks for Epcot, perhaps flags of the countries represented there. Geez, I really like that idea. It should certainly a quilt to remember Disney by.

Another New Month

Well, June 1 is here, and another month has come and gone. Time seems to move faster as we get older, don't you think? I seem to have started this month in some sort of "blue funk". I don't quite know why, but I seem to be somewhat depressed, angry with the world, and just all around unsettled. Have you ever felt this way? What do you do to put a stop to it? Maybe I need to start a new quilting project. . . Maybe I need to read a new book. . . Maybe I need to just sit and try to figure out what's wrong with me. . . Maybe I just need to pray for some guidance. . . Maybe I need to read an old book - Simple Abundance. I usually turn to this book when I need help, guidance, and a fresh outlook. I know I will work through this, but bear with me while I do.

Boo Hoo,

this wonderful holiday weekend is over. The weather was absolutely beautiful. Friday when DH came home from work, he decided that the pond wasn't going to clear up and needed to be drained and cleaned. Although I knew that he was right, it's so much work for him and takes a lot of water to refill it. So just after dinner he started to drain the water into the canoe we unhappily inherited when his brother died. Soon he was ankle-deep in crud, and knee deep in water trying to catch fish in a skimmer net. He quickly discovered it was faster to catch them by hand. It was pretty close to being dark when he finished cleaning the pond and starting to refill it. The fish stayed in the canoe overnight, and he filtered the water overnight.

Saturday morning we just sort of had a lazy breakfast, and talked about our plans for the rest of the weekend. Late Friday evening we had decided to have a family cookout on Saturday. Rod took the grocery list and headed for the local butcher shop while I showered. We did just a simple and easy meal plan. Burgers, Paul's homemade sweet sausage, and his homemade smoked kielbassa. Chips and the fixings completed our menu. Then after lunch we headed for Bubby's baseball game at Miracle Field. The game ended in a tie, as always since every kid gets to bat until they get a hit, and nobody is ever out. Every child scores a run, and a homerun ends each of the innings by emptying the bases. After the game, we headed home and Rod pumped the water from the canoe into the pond, and started to catch the fish to return them to their newly cleaned home. He finished before the kids arrived, emptied the canoe and flipped it over (I have two granddaughters who looovee to play in water). The twins arrived first and started to make the burgers. Mary arrived next with fruit salad and dessert, an assortment of cheesecake from Costco, and Kristin arrived with beverages. George had brought a "hard cider" which I thought was pretty good. We had decided to bring my mom out, and the twins surprised her by showing up since she hadn't answered her phone. We all had a wonderful time, and watched the kids play in the yard before everyone headed home to watch the hockey game. Yeah Pens!!

Sunday AM, Rod left early to pick up a truckload of landscape timbers at our local Home Depot. We needed 50, they had only 12 and they were in horrible shape. So, he headed for Cranberry (about 15 miles away) and found them there. Today's project was to built raised boxes at the end of the back deck. We have one on the side that is my herb garden. Due to our age and the cost of water, we have decided to plant a small garden in these new boxes instead of doing the large garden that we have done in the past. I worked on my Disney blocks and buttonholed the 10 that were done. I used the invisible thread with a light creme bottom thread from Superior Threads, and they look pretty good. I also started 8 new blocks. It was really warm, and so we borrowed Pat's truck and headed to the hardware store for bolts and then to the garden center for a truckload of mushroom compost. Rod waited until the sun had moved to the other side of the deck before he started working on the boxes. We ordered pizza for dinner, and had a campfire with Mary's family in the evening. The first s'mores of the summer and mmm they were good. Mom was taken to the emergency room after a nosebleed. It was her second of the day and she had a headache, so they had her checked out just to be sure. All tests were negative, and she was taken back to the home. Rod took a couple of Aleve and we headed to bed.

Monday, Rod finished the second box and we made another trip to the garden center for another truckload of compost. He picked up the few plants we had decided to buy and also two hanging strawberry baskets. His sister Kathy was celebrating her 60th birthday at a party given by her girls, and we decideded of the baskets would be a great gift for her. The second was for us, and they already had strawberries on them. We gave the one with the ripe berries to Kathy and she was tickled. After the party, we came home and planted our mini garden of 9 tomato plants, 6 hills of golden zucchini and one pack each of green and yellow string beans. We weeded the herb bed and planted the basil plant we bought. We discovered that the sage had died, so we need to replace it. It was a beautiful evening to sit on the deck and relax, and that's just what we did! I sat and marveled out loud about how when we moved in here the only back porch was two concrete blocks. That started a "Remember This" session for us which covered all 34 years. It started with the first garden tractor we bought used, on through the snowstorm when I got stuck in the snow trying to get to the house while I was verry pregnant, and up to watching the kids catch lightening bugs. It was a perfect ending to a great weekend, and I hope there's a lot more like this.

Another Softball Day

Today is Tuesday, and it's another softball day. Today Krissy plays. When she announce that she wanted to play softball, I think we were all a little apprehensive. She had tried soccer, and certainly didn't like it. I remember the one game when no one could find her, and she was in front of the crowd, seated on her pink soccer ball and rooting for her team. She didn't stick with dance or gymnastics, but she seems to have found her game. She loves softball, and is a really good hitter. She gets so upset when some of the girls don't know that you're supposed to throw the ball to a base when you get it instead of standing there watching the opposing team run the bases. Here she is playing shortstop, her favorite position. You can see how seriously she takes this game. The girl in background is Krissy's best friend, Ally. Kris used to be the same height as Ally, but has suddenly gotten a lot taller.




Here's Krissy at bat. Last game, she hit the ball so soundly that when Mr. Al, one of her coaches and Ally's dad, got hit with the ball, it knocked him down. But he dropped the ball (on purpose, I'm sure) and Krissy had a good hit instead of an out. She says hitting is her favorite part.







Here's a photo of Krissy and Ally making a play. Baseball has always been one of my favorite sports, and I love watching my grandkids play. Have a great day.

If You Build It . . . . .

They will come. Do you remember this line from Field of Dreams? Here in Western PA, we now have our own Field of Dreams. As many of you know, my grandson has spina bifida, and uses a walker for mobility. A few months ago, when his sister signed up for softball, DD Mary had the heartbreaking task of informing Bubby that he couldn't play baseball. But that has changed!!! Pittsburgh Pirate Charities has funded "Miracle Field" for the Miracle League of Southwestern PA http://www.miracleleagueofsouthwesternpa.com/. Saturday was the opening day of this league, and my grandson played in the exhibition inning as well as the first game. And he had the very first RBI in this new league.

This is Bubby in the dugout awaiting the start of the game.


This is Bubby at the bat. He was so happy to have his first hit.

And he's running to first after that first hit.

And then runs the bases.



And finally in the field with his angel in the field, his daddy and biggest fan.

There were so many family members in the stands that when Bubby was announced and the cheer went up, Pirate broadcaster Steve Blass said that Bubby was a "crowd favorite" and Greg Brown, fellow broadcaster, replied that it appears James is a top vote-getter in the all star voting. A huge thank you to all that made this miracle happen for my grandson, and all the other "special" players in this league

The Week in Review

I guess I'll look back on this past week starting with Saturday. Our Mother's Day celebration was great. The turkey breast that Rod and I smoked was better than expected. We brined it in the frig overnight on Friday, used a dry rub inside the breast, mixed the rub with canola oil and made a paste which went under the skin and on the skin. It seasoned the meat, and made the skin really crispy. We also did some picnic beans using turkey sausage. Mary did two pans of mac and cheese using pioneer woman's recipe (if you haven't checked out Pioneer woman's website, you should do so. Mary uses a lot of her recipes, and all are wonderful. Kris brought a salad with romaine, red pepper, tomato, avocado and sunflower seeds, with a cilantro pesto dressing, and it was great. The twins made a brownie trifle and used sugar free pudding for me!!! Sunday morning Rod cooked me breakfast - a sausage muffin sandwich using the turkey sausage we made from a recipe emailed me by dlife.com. With multi-grain muffins, omega-3 eggs, and fat free cheese, it was truly a healthy alternative to fast food. I got really nice gifts including a lariat, pins and a dining book for disney from Mary's family; a beautiful green glass hummingbird feeder and flowers planted by the twins; a gift certificate to Kristin's fav hair salon (which I look forward to using) from Kris's family, and from Rod, a huge cast iron skillet (for use in cooking only), a new windchime for the deck, and a beautiful lily pond light for the pond (it's solar powered). I loved my Mother's day.

Tuesday Krissy had a softball game. It's her first year, and they only play three innings. There are only three teams, and George's brother's daughter plays on one of them, so lots of times it's really a family thing. Pat got subs (we call them hoagies here in western PA), Mary brought chips and we had a picnic at the ballpark. Krissy struck out the first time up, but got a nice hit each time after that. All my grandkids, and all the grandpuppies were there and we had a great night.

And then there was last night. Mary and Krissy went to the local custard stand for ice cream and placed an order for Rod and I for burgers, fries, onion rings, and milkshakes. Rod met her there on his way home from work, and didn't have to wait long for our food. Mary's family ordered steak salads from a favorite pizza spot to eat after Bubby and Jim got home from Bubby's therapy. We ate our dinner, I got a shower and Rod put my fabric for the Disney quilt in the washer. And we all sat down to watch the Peguins game. It was game 7, and we all wanted them to win but felt there was such a slight chance. Go Pens!!! They won the game with a final score of 6 to 2. And now to the finals.

Today they are calling for strong storms, so I doubt that I'll be cooking outside. I'm thinking maybe some lasagne rolls with prociutto inside. Sound good to you? Have a great rest of the week.