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,.