Around the World.....

Dad used to say "That guy would go around the world to get across the street!"  Well, that's just about what it took for me to be able to put this photo up... lol   But here it is, the photo of the quilt fabric I'm trying to work with.  I love the lemons and am trying to find a way to use bigger pieces to keep from losing them in the fray.  

The Garden, The Shawl, and Lunch

I think the garden is almost finished for the year.  The okra is still going strong but is putting on very little okra.  However, I did get enough to cook up the other day...

We're only about 3 days away from Daylight Savings Time ending.  That means cold weather is near.  And look what my sweet DD knitted for me.  :)

This is the softest, warmest and most adorable shawl I've ever had.  It will stay on my office chair where I sit right under the air conditioner vent in the summer and just in front of a window in the winter.  Thank you, Paula.  It's perfect.

Had lunch with my buddy Pat B. yesterday.  I stuffed myself with 1/2 order Roast Turkey Fuji Apple Salad and  1/2 Chicken Salad Sandwich.  Oh My Goodness!  Top that off with Sweet Tea and a Cobblestone goodie.. and needless to say, I had to bring the Cobblestone home... Very nice visit and catch up time since Pat has been gone for a while visiting her sweet daughter and family with the  newborn grandson.

It evidently rained again last night.  I opened the front curtains and blinds this morning for Sam and there was a shiny sheen on the road, the drive and the grass.  We so need all this rain, but am getting a little tired of the gray days... and the fact that Sam has to be carried out to do his business since he cannot possibly get his feet wet.. :/

Looking forward to working on The Big Blue Quilt today.  The only thing I got done on it yesterday was to rip out the parts that I had sewn in wrong.. :(   Perhaps I can get the body of it finished today and decide on a border and binding..

Hope you have a wonderful day.  Sing a little, smile a lot.. :)

Today in My Life.. Oct. 18, 2013

Today is:  Friday, October 18, 2013

I got up this morning:  around 5am.  I stopped taking my sleep meds about a week ago and found that I don't sleep past around 4 each morning.  But... I am not so tired and sleepy during the day.  If I need a nap I can doze right off to sleep and awake refreshed instead of the constant tired and sleepy and unable to doze that was happening with the meds.  Also.. another plus.. I find that the heavy heart beats and arrythmias that I was feeling every night when I went to bed don't happen when I don't take that med.  This is a good thing.. :)

I am hearing:  the ticking of the clock hanging in the hall.  It is the first clock that Jerry made.  I had just learned to paint roses so that was the motif it got.. :)

Out the window:   it is still dark.  I don't know why I am so surprised at this... it is, after all,  mid October.  Daylight Savings Time will end soon.. November 3... and then it will stay dark even longer in the mornings.

I am wearing:  my blue gown.  At 6:59 am it is almost time to dress, but not quite.. ;)  I have finished one cup of coffee and at the end of cup two I might consider putting on the blue jeans and t shirt for the day.. and then again... maybe not ...lol

I am thinking:  sometimes that a move to England might be a really wonderful thing.. ;)  I grow so weary of our government acting like the idiots they are... sigh   Anyway.. perhaps I am just tired of our president haranguing on ... if it's not "Bush's fault" then it's "the Republicans"... and the bad thing is that our media leads everyone to believe that he's right.. sigh  How sad for our country...

I am thankful:  for Mariella of Knitting Nonni whose knitting inspired me to learn to knit.  :)

From the kitchen:  in a "round about way".. :)   I spent a few hours with my friend Pat B.  of Confessions of a Fiber Enthusiast some time ago.  She prepared a light lunch for us that centered around her home made pimiento cheese ..  Wow..

It was great.  So, since my sweet DH loves pimiento cheese, I decided to try to make some myself.  Turned out really good!  I was surprised at how really easy it is to make..

Here is an "almost" recipe since I never measure anything.

Pimiento Cheese

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 jar chopped pimientos
2 to 3 tbsp. salad dressing ( I just taste it.. if it's enough I don't put any more in!)  :)

Mix well and place in covered bowl.  It tastes better if you let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours or so... gives the flavors enough time to meld.   The next batch that I make will have cream cheese added to give it a creamier texture.  Will let you know how that works out.. :)

Creatively:  speaking there isn't much getting done these days.  I find myself in a slump.  In all honesty though, the house has been a bit of an uproar.  New desks in the the office that didn't work got moved into the "guest" room that has become my work room.  And a lot of time has been spent with Katie keeping her from damaging her broken front legs... soooo Things are settling down now and yesterday I got out the fabric that I bought last week for a king size quilt for our bed.

I'm thinking about a Split Rail pattern and then I get to thinking about a Log Cabin with the red centers... can't really make up my mind.  Guess there really isn't any great thing about the choice here.. can always make another quilt using the other pattern!  :)

I am going: to the Health Dept. today to get a flu shot.  I went to Target Pharmacy last week and was told that they did not have the vaccine that was recommended for persons 65 and older.  It seems that there is a vaccine that protects against 4 kinds of flu and the one they had only protects against 3 kinds.  Now I wonder why that is?  It seems the 4 kinds of flu vaccine has a shortage.. :/

Thought for the day:  I found myself quite down in the dumps last week.  Suddenly I remembered something that my dad used to say.. "Sing!"... so I did.  It was really bad singing.. I just wasn't really in the mood, but the strangest thing happened.  Suddenly, immediately .. my mood changed.  I can't tell you how amazed I was!  You can bet that I won't forget that word of advice again.. :)

The weather is cooling down here in North Texas and what a relief it is.  We've had rain for several days now... a slow and invigorating rain.  Makes everything feel clean and refreshed.

Hope your days are good.. :)

Weather, Workroom and Working It Out

It's hot outside today...and a heavy sort of hot at that. It rained during the night and was cloudy when we first got up this morning, but now it's just steamy. We are both back on the Atkin's Diet and have found that if we go to Grandy's we can both eat all we want, stay on the diet and feel like we have been "out to eat"...lol So, this morning we went "out to eat" and then to Kroger's. So much for my "day out"...lol But with the muggy heat out there getting warmer all the time, I have to say that it was all I really wanted.

I've been cleaning and sorting through my workroom for the last few days. There is still much to do, but finally there is progress showing through the mess. During this process, I have come to the conclusion that an entire re-do is necessary. Getting rid of the refrigerator was a major step in the rearrangement process. Now there is room for another shelf. That will help immensely in finding more actual working space on the tabletops.



The "Snail and Mushroom" quilt block is finished. There will be an edging put on two sides, then the rest of the quilt will be made around this block. The complete quilt plan has not totally evolved, but I am thinking there will be tall pines on the left and underneath will be a long block with floral applique... But we will see how it comes out...

I Know, Pattie...It's been almost a month!

I don't know what has been the problem, but it has been really difficult to blog the past couple of weeks. I think perhaps the loss of Vic bothered me more than I thought it would. It seems kind of strange when I think about it. We see the Rangers perhaps once a year..if we make it to the reunion that year. But they become almost family..almost instantly. Each has his/her own personality and each is quite different. But each still manages to hang onto a tiny piece of your heart. Anyway...

I am always happy to see the redbud tree in the backyard bloom. Spring is around the corner! We had some really lovely weather for a while, but the last few days have been cold and wet with the night temps in the mid to lower 30s. When I spoke to daughter Paula a couple of days ago she said it had begun to snow...wow... She lives just north of us a couple of hours. But then, a person soon learns that no matter how warm and sunny the weather turns this time of year....ya just don't plant flowers, seeds ..anything until after Easter. It has been known to snow and freeze on Easter Sunday.

I have finished this pair of socks. Now DH has 2 pair of sleep socks that he can switch off...and perhaps keep from wearing out so fast! ;o)

I am knitting another pair just like these that will fit me. They do come in handy on those cold nights when nothing I do seems to get my feet warm. Some of those rice bags to heat in the microwave and put at the foot of the bed as feet warmers are definitely on the "to do" list...

Hannah's quilt is finally ready for the quilting. Because of the embroidery I will have to quilt it by hand I think. My brain will not come up with anything that would look good on the machine...but then perhaps I just have not had enough experience with that..lol
It's funny... there are several quilting groups here in town, but nowhere can I find a quilting foot for my sewing machine. Not at Wal Mart, JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby... nowhere. Now I wonder why that is?

Here's a picture of another of the crazy quilts that were on display at the Red River Museum. What a treat that display was! These displays are changed about every six (6) months. I'm not sure if this display been changed or not, but if you are in the area it never hurts to stop by and see.....

Red River Historical Museum

301 S. Walnut Street

Sherman, TX

You will be pleasantly surprised!

County Fair Time

This weekend was the County Fair. We went on Sunday thinking the crowd would be a little less. If this is the crowd on Sunday, I'm certainly glad we waited...lol And this is within 30 minutes of opening time. By the time we left about 45 minutes later the parking area was completely full and this open space in the front of the pic was no longer there. And people still coming..lol

The Arts and Crafts entries were the complete reason we went...well...the reason I went..lol DH went because I wanted to go...you know how it is...

I loved this quilt. The color selections alone made it one of my favorites, but the workmanship was wonderful. This quilt won Best of Show.

This Sunbonnet Sue with the Irish Chain was the one I really would have stuffed in my purse to take home with me...lol Something inherently innocent about this quilt that just makes me love it....

As a hanky lover, this immediately caught my eye. What a creative way to showcase antique hankies! And what lovely embroidery work!

There were many quilts shown. So many quilts and not enough wall room. There's one thing about it... we have some very talented quilters in the area. The blue quilt in the center was, of course, DH's favorite. I liked the brightly colored Christmas quilt on the left. These are the ones we voted for for People's Choice. But the fact is...there were so many wonderful quilts that just being there and seeing them all was inspiration personified....