Yes I Can Multi-Task

North American Letterboxing

I've always loved a good treasure hunt. I made a treasure map for the grandsons last year to find their Christmas presents... too much fun. I've often wondered what happened to the treasure hunts and scavenger hunts we had when we were in school...

I've heard the term Letterboxing, but I never knew what it was... Well... I love the concept...found here and here. Hide a weatherproof container containing a log book, stamp, ink pad and write up clues to how to find it.. Other Letterboxers will have their own personal stamp that will be used to stamp the log book in the Letterbox.. the stamp in Letterbox is used to stamp your personal logbook. The point is to see how many different Letterboxes you can find..

In England, where this originated, it is a very secret process. No one tells what their personal stamp is and no one knows who the other Letterboxers are... In America it is a much more open society.

There are Letterboxes in Gainesville at the park.. one in Ardmore.. some in Sherman and Denison... The clues are found here. Who knew?

Fabric Post Cards

I have joined a fabric postcard group and enrolled in 2 swaps. This comes to 10 fpc's that need to be mailed by the 15th of July. So, today is the day.

This is the first postcard I ever made. I really wanted to use the flowers on it, so it would have had to be mailed in an envelope since the cards cannot be over 1/4" in depth. But I still have it and will not be mailing it anyway...grin

Changing Times..

Every now and then I come across something on the net that reminds me "how it was"... These pics are a couple of those things.

I seldom remember that I was one of the first women in Oklahoma to be able to have my own credit card in my own name without my husband's consent. And that when we divorced my car insurance was cancelled because "women are considered unstable for 2 years after a divorce". But not men. Hopefully things will continue to change...

Pincushions

I bought 4 or 5 little American Girls Short Stories books in an antique shop a couple of years ago and several were given to a granddaughter for Christmas that year. But a couple of them had been in a moist environment and had some mold on a few of the pages. These I kept and when Chuck was home I set about reading them to Allie. I had no idea they were such a gold mine of information!

In the 1700's pincushions were given as gifts. Is this one not lovely...and such lovely needlework... but... it's not needlework. I was shocked! The design is put on the pincushion using pins! Here's a little more information toward the bottom of the page. And here's another historical page saying that the pins were used for diapering the baby and as a result very few of these can be found today.

Quite the Storm...

This is an Associated Press aerial photo of Gainesville, TX taken on the morning of June 18, 2007. Our son lives here, but thankfully only had to miss a day of work...he lives in a different area of town. Sherman looked the same from the aerial photos. Thank goodness for retirement!

What a Morning!

Somewhere around midnight the storm started. Thunder shaking the house, lightening lit up the place...and the rain! We had 7 1/2 inches from midnight to 8:00. Almost and inch an hour. We checked out the front door around 7:30 and the water was about 1 inch from coming in the front door. I think the drought is broken..lol Somewhere in Cooke County they said on the news that a tornado had been spotted but not confirmed. The water on Hwy 75 is so deep the news showed a car with water up to it's door... the fire dept. having to rescue people that would drive into the water and couldn't get out. What a morning... Looks like more rain this afternoon, but not as severe as this morning... No way was I stepping out to take pictures... this one is definitely clipart..lol

Of Hot Tubs and Workmen

The guys are here working on the hot tub...ughhh. It seems to have been running only one pump since just before Chuck was home. Have no idea what is wrong, but sure hope it is quickly fixable and still under warranty. The pic is Jim and sons in the tub last summer. What fun to watch...grin

Had another guy here today to help us get the lawn in shape. We are thinking of putting our house on the market soon and downsizing a bit...across the river into Oklahoma (just barely) as the taxes there are much better than here. Busy day.

Did You Ever Have One of Those Days......

Yesterday I talked about some fabric that I picked up at Jo Anne's a couple of days ago to make me some clothes for the upcoming LRRP Ranger Reunion. Welllllll..... yesterday was just one of those days... When I shortened the pattern to make capri pants, I also did not get my cut correct and now these would fit my daughter...lol They hang beautifully when I have them on... it's just the getting them on...lol And the bad thing is that I cut the taupe ones at the same time and in the same way. Anyway, I will pick up some more fabric today and try again....

And Patti... I have read at least one book since I changed that photo...lol This one by James Patterson is one of my favorites and I have read it at least twice before, but am reading it again.

Let's Sew!

A couple of days ago DH and I went to coffee and then made a side trip (across the street..lol) to Jo Ann's. I picked up some really pretty fabric to make 2 sets of capri pants and tops.

The colors don't show up very well in the pic, but I think they will be very pretty. And I sure need some clothes for the LRRP Ranger Reunion in August. Sooo... I have spent most of the morning clearing a spot in my workroom so I can get to the sewing machine. I have my "try out the pattern" pair finished except for the hemming and have cut out the other two pair of pants. Can't wait to finish these!

And Patti... this is just for you. I had a bad day yesterday with some serious fatigue that lasted all day. Sat in my chair and spent lots of time laying on the sofa. Today... way much better. Appt. with gastrointerologist is next week.

The Trumpet Vine Will Bloom This Year!

Last year our sweet gum tree died from the long drought we had been experiencing...plus the fact that it had once been hit by lightening and had a huge gap in the trunk filled with concrete. DH was lamenting the fact that the birds would no longer have that center of the yard protection from the hawks and predators, so he decided to leave the stump about 8 feet high and plant a trumpet vine to grow up it. The vine didn't do much last year. It did climb the trunk...but no blooms. Not so this year...grin

More good news...when I stepped out last night about 9:45 and turned the light on I saw our possum is back. Much bigger, but still recognizable by the sizable area of smuzzled looking white across it's back. It looks like there may soon be a smaller possum around...smiles

The night before, I turned the shop light on as I stepped out onto the porch and there was another racoon. These I don't recognize individually since there are several who come up to scavenge the sunflower seed and corn from below the feeders.

Busy Days

It's time for the new rosters to finally come out. We have been working on them for the last couple of days and are finally about to finish.... until...
Don't you just love it when you almost finish a job and find that you are 50 short...
So now we are back at the pc and printer running off more to begin the cycle of collating, stapling, folding, stuffing, labeling and stamping...again.

New Naalbinding Needle

I didn't say much about Chuck in yesterday's post because if I had it would have been a terribly long post! A couple of weeks ago I cut a piece of excess maple picture frame molding that we had on hand for picture frames into some different sized blanks for new naalbinding needles. While he was here we went to the shop and he helped me make a new needle. This one is not as long as the oak needle that I made and it is thinner across the eye end. Chuck spent some time with the sandpaper smoothing it and taking a bit of a hump out of the center that I had left in when shaping it. The blue is acrylic yarn that works well for trying out the needle.



He showed me a picture (still in his camera) of a quilt he made for Allison. It is so adorable. He took the Disney and Pooh character fabric pillow panels and used them as blocks, put strips between them, quilted it and used contrasting binding. So cute.. and she loves it.



When he was home last time, we talked about the knitting boards found here.. He said he bought this one. As you begin your knitting on this board, he said the instructions are to lay a long piece of heavier yarn across it to pull the first 2 or three rows through and keep the loops on the board. He said that doesn't work really well and suggests using a tiny dowel rod that you can attach yarn to each end and in the middle to keep the tension even as you pull. He also said I really need to get me one of these...grin

After 18 years in the Marines, he is finally at the stage where he has bought his home in Yuma, AZ and will be instructing until he retires. Ask me if I'm proud of him....

What a Wonderful Two Days

They tell there is nothing like a surprise..grin And this was one of the best. I had one days notice before the arrival of son Chuck and his wonderful lady Lillianna. The lily in her hair is one of the day lilies that her quite beautiful daughter Allison and I picked for her mom. Isn't this just GREAT!

The weather cooperated and was very nice if you discount a little wind and we actually got to sit on the porch and visit. Lilli learned to bind off her knitting and Allison got a new WeaselBall that instantly became her "Baby" and was watched constantly and cared for over the next 36 hours...for a total of 3 AA batteries..lol


Allie got to see the squirrels and birds and could not keep from locking and unlocking the screen door. She got help water the birds and my flowers... What fun!


With the waves goodbye this morning, quiet returned. What a joy it was to have them here.

"From Sea to Shining Sea"

Firefly, of I live on a farm, has another wonderful idea. This time it will be for the July 4th holiday. Here is a synopsis....

" My idea is that at least one blogger from each of the 50 states would write an essay about what it is that makes their little place on Earth and in America beautiful. Of course, I would love it if far more than 50 bloggers would participate.

We can form a blogging chain all around the country and share the beauty of this land with photographs or words or a mixture of both … on the 4th of July."

For more information about it, see this post.

Daylilies and Queen Anne's Lace

For the first time since we have lived here, the daylilies bloomed...Every year I have asked DH to please not mow down the lilies at the fence in the side yard... And every year he asks "What lilies?"...grin Well, this year there is no mistaking them for tall grass...lol And speaking of tall grass, DH finally did get to mow the grass. It now looks like hayfield wind rows out back, but at least it's mowed..lol And a good thing too, because in the afternoon it rained again...not much, but just enough that he wouldn't have been able to mow.



I always have a problem identifying Queen Anne's Lace... but not this year, with it growing in several places in the back yard. I love it. Who knew??!! So as I'm trying to get a really good picture of it, who comes wandering by but 3 Pearl Crescent Butterflies. Talk about a fluttery surprise as you're looking through your camera..lol Anyway, I finally had the presence of mind to "just click it !" and got the picture... Aren't they pretty? I kept thinking they were Fritellary butterflies, and of course when I tried to look them up on the net, I came up with Frittellaria lilies...grin But I finally did find an identification site.. and according to that site, we can look forward to seeing these beauties until late August... (The pictures are all clickable to see them in a much larger format... as are all the pictures on this site.)

Street Art

Did you ever want to paint on the walls..?? I have. And I've always wanted to do this kind of street art. I noticed a while back that the Street Art along the walls of the buildings in the Sher-Den area are beginning to fill even more, with new murals showing up all the time. I will have to remember to take my camera with me on our next trip.

This mural of the city street around the turn of the century is the first one I noticed when we first moved to the area 3 years ago. The individual murals in the windows of the building across the street were the next ones I noticed. Now there are murals along most of the buildings in the downtown area of not just Denison, but also of Sherman. There is quite an artist's community in the area, but with Austin College and 2 other community colleges in the area, I wonder how many of these murals are done by students and how many by the artistic community...???

Split Rail Fence Quilt is an FO!

I finished the Split Rail Fence quilt last night about 9:50 pm. WOW! This may cause the old malady called "bitten by the bug" syndrome...lol

I didn't have to rip the binding completely off... only around one corner and down the next side. I finally did have to give up and trim the top about a quarter of an inch in and about 3 inches down the side. Even with the trimming, when it is folded corner to corner it still comes out square... so I have to wonder if the back was straight and the top was off...lol Oh well, it doesn't really matter anyways....does it? A close up photo of the embroidery is here...

June 3, 2007

Thunder storm imminent... wind has picked up, thunder beginning, lightening off to the west... and here come the first drops. Perhaps we should have put our lawn sprinkler system in last year... looks like it has broken the drought! grin

Watching the stillness of the trees and the changes in color of the sky and cloud formations, this is probably the closest to fear that I have felt in a long time. See this site for the reasons why....

Coffee...yumm yummm

Well, you can bet I drank my coffee this morning..grin

Just want to say thanks for all the well wishes... You guys sure know how to make my day! (smiles)

Not much to tell about the tests yesterday. There wasn't much that was bad about the Upper GI at all, except the very first part where you have to drink what looks like Alka Seltzer powder with only about an ounce of water...all that fizz fizz going up the nose and then having to hold all that fizz fizz down and not burp it up...whew... And then the table leans back and the doctor uses your knee to guide you around... turn this way, turn that way... There were only very short glimpses of what he was seeing on the monitor... looked like a big ball of white Silly Putty rolling around.

I would assume everything is pretty good since the doctor leaned over me and asked... "Why are you here?"... a couple of times... I am going to happily assume that means he thinks there was no reason for me to be there.... and could find none...

What with the rain (which is wonderful...we are not complaining!) there has been precious little mowing of the grass. It is now at least ankle high in both the front and back yards and it rained again last night. This has absolutely nothing to do with coffee or Upper GI's... just mentioning....

Update

Good morning... It's a little early around here, but since I can't have my cup of coffee this morning I will blog instead..grin Well, the holter monitor still has to be read, but the doctor said he doesn't expect it to show anything. Going today for an upper GI at 7:30am...ughh More later when I get home....