Snipits of Kelly

Moving On

2012-01-21T07:36:00.000-06:00

Yes, I have been really, REALLY, bad at blogging as of late. Not really in the mood for it I guess. I LOVE following others blogs and seeing what they are doing. I find myself using GOOGLE whenever I need to know something about an idea I have. It's amazing what a person can find on the internet and how many wonderful ideas you can get. I'm thinking that's where my blog has fallen to the way side. How can a person have enough time in the day to .....clean the house, get meals ready for when the family comes home, do all the other household things that need to be done. Then when all that is done there is yet more.......checking emails, checking Facebook, checking followed blogs. But, I'm leaving out the most important part that I am trying to do more of.....QUILT/SEW/CRAFT!!! I just don't seem to have enough time.

So, I have made the decision to cut back on my 'Things I Do' list.

Purge the many blogs I have been following (SORRY). 9 times out of 10 I'm just scanning them and I will be the first to admit....my life will not fall apart if I don't know what someone is doing on a day to day basis.
Get rid of the clutter in my house. I have been working on that for some time and it's working. A cluttered house is a cluttered mind.
Get rid of my blog. Yes, I'm serious. HAHAHA Not like I had millions of followers anyway. I thank you for checking in on my blog from time to time (those that do). I promise...your life won't get worse by me not blogging. Hey, now you will have extra time in your life. Cherish it!!

In doing this I have already been able to finish some unfinished projects. My pile is getting smaller. I told myself I can not start anything new till everything is complete. YAYY ME!!

Technology is wonderful, but sometimes stepping back and away from some of it is all a person needs to recharge. I mean seriously....how can one enjoy life and what you love to do best, if your only talking about it or watching others do it? SO....I'm going to be a do-er again!!

Thank you all. Best wishes in your creative journey!!

Kelly

Getting Back To Normal

2011-12-08T06:32:00.001-06:00

Happy December everyone! Yes, I know it's way past the 1st, but there must be a extended amount of time for such wishes...right? Life around our home is finally getting back to normal. Well, as normal as a family can get I should say. Our daughter has finally been given the go ahead to get back to school after her accident. She started this week and is feeling 'amazing'. She is now sporting a below the elbow cast and will be wearing that for about another month. The sold neck brace is coming off in a week and will be replaced with a soft one and the start of physical therapy to get her range of motion back in her neck as well as strengthening the muscles. She is so close to being 100% recovered. We are so amazingly blessed!! Thank you, God, for watching over our girl!!

Now it's Christmas time and time to decorate the house, get the tree up, do some baking, and buy some presents. This year just may be the best yet. Having the 6 of us all together is always fun. This year sweet Lilly is adding to the excitement. A 20 month old in the house ripping through the presents and being amazed by all the decorations and the sparklies.........OH EM GEE!! I CAN'T WAIT!!! There are some decorations I haven't put out for a long time because there were no little ones to enjoy them anymore. Now I get to dust them off, put in some batteries, and wait for Lilly to find them and show here how to make them dance, move, sing, or wiggle. How fun is that going to be !!

We have a camera back in the house now (robbery left us without any). Youngest daughter received an early Christmas gift. So now I can take pictures again and hopefully get some posted. I guess I better start 'doing' then, huh? LOL

Have a wonderful day!!

Happy Thanksgiving Week

2011-11-20T05:43:00.001-06:00

I would love to tell you that I have been working on some amazing projects lately....

I would love to tell you that I have been sewing like crazy....

I would love to tell you that I have been scrapping and card making up a storm...

....but I can't. Well, I haven't been in reality, but I have been in my mind. You see, I have tons of things I want to start/finish/attempt, but I seem to be going in circles these days when I attempt ANYTHING. Is this normal? I'm voting YES.

My recent posts of our daughters accident left out that the day we arrived back home with her, we found that our home had been robbed. Yes, I know. "Unbelievable" is to put it lightly. I won't go into detail as to what we went through or what we had stolen from us. I will just say that the only way to get through it was to keep in the front of our minds....we still have our daughter!

So, needless to say that one item MIA is my video recorder/camera.

This is why I COULD tell you all the wonderful things I am working on but don't have a camera to show you....but I can't and I won't.

I do promise though that when I do get back into it I will post pictures. Good thing daughters iTouch takes pictures and we had it with us. It didn't get stolen. Not the best pictures but better then nothing...right?

Hope to be back to crafting soon. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving week everyone. We are truly Thankful and blessed!!

Daughter's Accident cont (3)....

2011-11-17T07:09:00.000-06:00

This whole time our daughter was in the hospital, we were blessed to be staying only 6 blocks away at the Ronald McDonald House. We didn't spend much awake time there but it was a comfort to know that we had a bed and shower for as long as we needed it. We would leave for the hospital to be there when she woke up each morning. We would not leave the hospital in the evenings until she was tired and ready to go to sleep. I remember at first neither one of us wanted to leave. Even running to a store to purchase more things we were running out of, was hard. We just didn't want to leave her alone there. So, when we were not sleeping we were with her. Keeping her company....making her smile....easing her fears. Isn't that what parents are suppose to do?!!

The night before her second surgery found us sleeping a second time in the hospital. But this time, we were IN her room. Like a big sleepover. Two recliners...2 pillows...2 blankets. Hubby was rubbing her shoulder muscles like he had been doing from day one. It relaxed her and helped the neck pain. Daddy was better then pain meds! That night he looked at me while she had her eyes closed for a moment and mouthed....

"I'm staying"

Without hesitation I nodded back. She was scared....he was scared...I was scared. We would get through this night....together!

Morning came with a little sleep found and we were headed back to the surgery waiting room. They wanted to put a screw in her vertebrae to hold it securely while it healed. So we waited....and waited. The doctor finally came in with a x-ray to show us exactly what he did and he said it went perfect!! Just as he wanted it to. THANK YOU GOD!!

The next few days were almost pain free for her. Not much for pain meds either. Just that first day and after that she was off them. Regular Tylenol seemed to work just fine and not much either. I was amazed as were the nurses. She was getting stronger each day and would go for walks 2-3 times a day. More like running in my book. The protective mom in me wanted her to walk really sslllooooowwwww. Finally we were given the go ahead to go home. Again. Do I dare get excited? After the last time we were told that and then not being able to I was very cautious. I said I would not call anyone that we were coming home till we were on the road.

As of today she is doing great. We have a hospital bed in our living room for her to sleep in. Its just easier for her to get up with the bed tilted, when she has that neck brace on and a cast on her arm up past her elbow. She has a few moments of being really sick of this but I assure her that its normal and okay. Just remember how far she has come and how much worse it could have been.

We are all blessed!!

THANK YOU GOD!!

Daughters Accident cont...

2011-11-14T05:09:00.001-06:00

The 2 1/2 hr drive to the hospital where they flew our daughter was probably the longest hours of our lives. We rushed home when the helicopter took off to pack a bag, make some phone calls, and head out. The road we had to travel on was curvy and probably full of deer, as usual. I don't think the thermos full of coffee was necessary that we brought. Pure adrenalin and fear was keeping us awake. Scanning the ditches and road for eyes that shine off the head lights tends to keep one on their toes, or edge of their seat so to speak. We saw only a couple of deer and they seemed to stay put or be walking the other direction.

I was given a phone number I could call to check on our daughter while we were trying to get there. I had called and checked on how she was and they even called me back once to assure us she had made it there and was comfortable. They were waiting for the results from each trauma team as to what course of action they would take. I was so glad they took the time to call us.

We arrived and were finally able to see her in the Pediatric ICU. She had been cleaned up a bit and still in a neck brace and her arm was in a splint. It was well past midnight and they were going to do surgery right away in the morning. Both her arm and her neck at the same time. The arm was broken in three places and required plates and screws. Her neck had a broken C2 vertebrae which they decided that a halo was to be attached to her head. If you've ever seen one, they look scary and painful. The thought of that scared me to death. So I kept telling myself that at least we have her. We will get through what ever is put in front of us.

We slept (rested with eyes closed is more like it) in a family lounge that first night right outside the ICU. They brought us pillows and blankets and the staff was amazing. Morning found us walking behind her bed being wheeled down to surgery. We were able to go in the patient only elevator and once we got there, they stopped so we could give her a kiss, tell her we loved her, and that we were going to be right in this family waiting room the whole time. Seeing your child being wheeled through doors you can't go through.....totally and completely helpless. Being she is underage, one of us had to be in that room the whole time. More waiting.

A person (not sure if a nurse or Dr) came in to get permission to shave her head. I said, Ya!. Hubby said, "She's a 17 yr old girl that is picky about her hair". I replied, "It's just hair, and she'll think that too". The lady said it would be so much easier, cleanliness wise too. We agreed.

Finally we were able to see her again back in ICU with her halo on and her shaved head. Our baby was going to be alright! We all would get through this. The first few days were spent keeping her pain under control. She was so bruised up from the accident besides having 4 screws drilled into her head for the halo AND 3 plates in her arm which was now in a temporary splint till the swelling went down. We learned very quickly how to ask her what her pain numbers were at. 0-10, 10 being the worst pain and 0 being no pain. AND for which parts, neck or arm. Those first few days, not even sure of how many now, were awful for her dad and I. Seeing your child in pain is really hard to handle. They would give her the pain meds and we could see how they helped so quickly and then she was sleeping. As soon as they started to wear off we could tell. Pain meds were our friend for a week. What ever it took to keep her comfortable and healing! They finally got her up and moving slowly. Teaching her how to move and balance herself with the halo on. It was very painful at first but soon realized the more she moved the less it hurt. So going for walks with the nurses a few times a day was a good thing. I. on the other hand, couldn't watch. I was afraid she would slip, bump something or someone. I wanted her wrapped in bubble wrap to protect her. Surely there wasn't enough nurses standing around her while she took a few steps!! OK, yes I'm very protective and that's why I had to walk away and go get coffee or just go for a walk. They knew what they were doing and I needed to just let them do it.

The talk of going home was finally starting to happen. GASP!! We were so excited. The day we were suppose to leave, they needed to take one more x-ray to make sure the halo was working and doing it's job. I made a few phone calls to let some know back home we were going to be leaving. A little while after the x-ray, her doctor came in and said that the vertebrae had shifted a little and they wanted to adjust it. Sounds scary and painful but after it was all over, our daughter said that having her braces on her teeth tightened was worse. They took another xray and it still wasn't were they wanted it. They at that point said the halo wasn't working. They could keep adjusting it and later down the road end up having to have surgery anyway, so they opted to do the surgery now. To take the halo off and put in a screw to hold the vertebrae stable and in place so it could heal. The screw would not have to be removed and she would have to wear a neck brace for a certain amount of time.

"Another surgery?????" is all I could hear in my head.

to be cont.....

Testing Ones Faith

2011-11-08T07:22:00.000-06:00

(I really debated on if I should blog about this or not. I decided I had to...for me. Talking about it gets it out of the back of my mind like a festering sore. I will never forget it, but the feeling of wanting to cry my eyes out each time I think about it gets less and less as time goes by. This is MY healing process.)

Life sure can change in the blink of an eye. The day after my last post found life smacking us up along side the head and testing our faith and strength. We got that call no parent wants to get. Our daughter was in a car accident.

I had just sat down to check a few things on the computer before I was going to make supper. The phone rang and it was our daughter.
"Hi, I'm on my way" she said.
She had went shopping after school and was running a little late so she called me to make sure I knew she was on her way. Then I wouldn't worry as to why she wasn't home at the set time.
"Okay, Love you" I said to her.
"Love you too" she replied and hung up.
We ALWAYS say "Love you" before hanging up from the phone. Our family just does. Husband, me, and our 2 daughters....we ALWAYS do!

The phone rang less then 10 minutes later and it was our neighbor lady, whom I had never met but knew the name. She said she was down our road with our daughter who had just had an accident in her car and she had called 911. She thought she broke her arm and didn't want to move her so was keeping her still. She said she was OK other then that. Our daughter was able to give her our phone number to call us. I don't remember logging off the computer (but I did), I don't remember grabbing my purse (but I did), and I ran outside yelling my husbands name. He was in the garage and came out. We both jumped in the van and what seemed like an eternity in getting there, took less then 5 minutes. The accident was just down our dirt road about a 1/2 mile. As we approached I could see a car on the road and one in the ditch facing the road. The car on the road turned out to be our neighbor who had just left home and came upon the accident right after it happened. The car in the ditch...didn't look right. The closer we got the more I could see all the dents and bends in the car. I don't think I even waited for my husband to put the van in park before I was out and running towards the car in the ditch. As I was getting closer I could see her sitting there. I don't think I had processed any of this yet as to what had really happened. All I knew is my baby was hurt and I had to get to her.

It's funny how a moms nerves stay in check when needed. I didn't scream, cry, act scared, or panic when I reached her and saw her. My vision zoomed right in on her face and my mission was to keep her calm. I remember leaning on the closed door and reaching for her right hand. The window was either down or broken out.

I said, "Hey baby girl, I'm here".

I always have called her baby girl. Not really sure how it started but it just fit. She's our baby. As she got older, and taller, it just seemed to fit. She is taller then all of us and calling her 'Baby Girl' makes her smile and me too.

She lifted her head off the head rest a little and started to cry saying she didn't remember what happened. She kept repeating that and I assured it that it was okay. I told her not to worry about the car or what happened, as I could see that her just thinking about it upset her even more. Fear and anxiety were setting in for her. I told her to rest her head back on the headrest and concentrate on her breathing. I kept rubbing her hand and talking calmly to her to reassure her that everything was going to be okay. Just to sit still and focus on me and her breathing. It seemed to work and she stopped crying and seemed calmer.

All the time while I was talking to her and holding her hand, I had glanced down at her legs and to see if anything else might be hurting besides her left arm. I remember seeing her legs and feet, looking fine and nothing was touching them so I knew she wasn't pinned in the car.

Someone touched my shoulder and when I turned I saw the first of many police officers. I said I was her mom and he never asked me to move or step away. He could see I was calm and helping her to remain calm. One officer climbed in the back seat from the passenger side and held her head still against the headrest.

The fire truck arrived with the 'Jaws of Life' machine. The driver door was smashed shut so they needed the machine to open it to get her out. They put a blanket over her head and explained what they were going to do. The officer in the back seat was still holding her head. They got the door open and the ambulance EMT's put a neck brace on her and got her onto a straight board and strapped down. Then they carried her up the little incline of the ditch to the road where the ambulance was waiting to take her to the hospital.

Hubby had to show the tow truck where to park the car in our yard just down the road. It had to be moved and the ditch cleared of all debris at that time. Everyone was helping pick things up, even the officers. I drove to the hospital and hubby would come as soon as he was done. That had to be the scariest drive I have ever made, alone. I couldn't cry. I had to focus on my driving and speed. No need for me to end up in the ditch or delayed due to a speeding ticket. I made it and hubby wasn't far behind me. Not real sure of the admitting process. That was like an out of body experience. Except a hug from a good friend that worked there. It was what I needed at that time. Thanks Melissa!!

Walking down the hallway to the ER rooms so get to my daughter was another out of body experience. I only remember being focused on the door numbers.....7...8....9! Reaching for the knob I took a deep breath. I didn't know what I would find on the other side and fear wanted me to turn and run the other way. This isn't real!! Wake me up!!

I turned the knob and saw her laying there on a stretcher with a nurse standing by. They were keeping her comfortable while waiting for the results of X-rays.

I focused on her face.

"Why won't they clean the dirt and blood off her face"?, I thought to myself.

All I could see was the one thing that I could do, and that was to wash her face. I couldn't make her pain go away. I couldn't make her fear go away. But I could wash her face like I have done a million times since her birth. But I didn't. I figured they didn't want to touch her head at all due to the neck injury.

They decided that she needed to be air lifted to another hospital 2 1/2 hrs away by car....30 min by helicopter. The neuro surgeon there would be the best treatment. So we waited for her to board the helicopter and we left to run home to pack a bag and head out on our 2 1/2 hr drive to where they were taking her.

to be cont.....

2011-10-13T06:48:00.000-05:00

OM Gosh! Where or should I say WHAT have I been doing since my last post? I honestly do not have a good excuse. Living life I guess you could say. I really am here, I just didn't feel I had anything important to post about our show.

No progress on any projects....I haven't really started any since I keep telling myself I only sew in the winter months. LOL Silly girl, You sew when you FEEL like it or are inspired. I just haven't felt very inspired lately. I have tons....T. O. N. S......of ideas running around in my head. It's the getting them from there to my hands that I seem to be having the trouble with.

No new photos of our sweet grand baby. I really need to stop calling her a baby. She's almost 18 months. That makes her a toddler....right? All I know is she is growing up way to fast AND I have the photos to prove it. FAST is the key word there. All my photos are a blur. As soon as she does something cute and I grab the camera, she moves (which is ALL the time). I have many wonderful shots of the top of her head (she looked down just at that right moment), the profile (yup, she turned to see what someone else was doing NOT paying attention to Gramma), and of course I have lots and lots of pictures of the end of her finger or looking up her nose. NOTE TO SELF: sitting on the floor nearby to get those 'at her level' shots requires being faster on the trigger then she is at walking up to the camera wondering what I doing. I am seriously going to have a photo album of her with all the blurry photos and label it ...'Trying to keep up with Lilly'.

My sewing space has always been in the living room and very noisy for others when watching TV. My scrap booking/card making area is in the spare room we turned into a office/hobby room. WELL...me and my need to reshuffle things around when I get bored or am feeling like cleaning, decided I needed to move my sewing space with everything else. What was I thinking??? Now the space is even smaller AND that meant going through everything and purging. I am actually having fun! Getting everything organized so when I get the urge to actually start sewing again, I will be ready. Of course, the camera was no where in sight to document this huge task (well it was, but my memory card in my head seems to be over loaded to remember to even take the pictures).

Hubby has been on 2 weeks of vacation and this is his last week. He is working in the garage cleaning that up and getting ready for winter. Wow can a family ever make a mess all spring/summer. He is doing such a great job. Purging things I never thought he would. I told him he is inspiring me to finish up my mess. Hubby is a home body and I have come to the conclusion that when he retires, we may never see the outside world but for only those rare outings to town once a week to 'stock up'. I may have to 'accidently' run out of a few things...HEE HEE.

Have a wonderful day!!

2011-09-18T07:24:00.000-05:00

Good Morning!

Not much craftiness going on around here lately. The garden canning is coming to an end (jumping...clapping...whooo hooo'ing...doing a happy dance) We dug the last of our potatoes yesterday and will let them set in the garage to dry out for a few days. When you can potatoes, it's better to let them sit a few days to toughen the skins a bit. We like the peelings so I don't peel them. I just wash them real good. I will be canning the rest of what we need this week.

Left to finish is digging up the carrots and making sauerkraut. Maybe after that I can reunite with my sewing machine and/or scrap booking/card making hobby. We'll see.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

One Potato, Two Tomato, Three.....

2011-09-09T12:00:00.000-05:00

Here is the list of what has been keeping me busy this summer, so far.

Freezer Corn....25 - 1c bags

Green Beans...52 pints

Beets............29 pints

Dill Pickles.....51 quarts

Potatoes........45 quarts

Salsa.............52 pints

Left to do: Sauerkraut

Squash (if Mom & Dad have extra..hehehe)

Tomato Sauce

I keep repeating "I think I can, I think I can" to myself. The end of the canning season always finds me praying for...do I dare say it?.......S N O W! There, I said it. Now I feel better. Well, not really, but I sure wish the garden were all done.

POSITIVE THINKING.....It's slowing down and just think how wonderful everything will taste this winter. AND less money we hand over to the grocery stores!! That's always a plus...right?

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!

2011-08-21T07:47:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was blessed to witness someone, (a life long friend/family member through marriage) accomplish something for the first time. He performed the service for a funeral. His fathers.

Hearing about this the day before, found me praying for him to have strength in what would be a very hard thing to do. Being the emotional weeper that I am, I knew seeing him up there would also be hard for me and all of us that knew and loved him and his family.

He stood there, took a breath, and started talking. He explained he had a 'back-up' person standing by in case. Grinned a few times, slight chuckle, and began what was a perfect service. Perfect in the way that through a sometimes shaky voice, or quick correction of a stumbled word, showed that he is human and loved his father and family. We shed a tear with him and laughed with him while sharing memories of childhood years. He truly did a perfect service in my eyes. It was from the heart. His father would be so proud of him! We sure are!!

Well done my friend!

Sympathy Card

2011-08-20T06:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I made this sympathy card. I used the Cricut cartridge LACY LABELS. I sure love that cartridge. It has so many different possibilities to mix and match layers and shapes.

I cut the bottom 1/2" off the front of the card and added a scalloped border. The second picture above shows there is slight dimension to the card. I also left the inside of the card blank to hand write what I wanted to.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

ABC Baby Quilt

2011-08-19T17:20:00.001-05:00

Between canning beans and pickles I have found some time to finish the top of the ABC Baby Quilt I started here. The letters of the alphabet are embroidered on off white muslin. I had lots of fabric left of each color that borders the letters so decided to add another border around the whole quilt. The backing is going to be a light mint green snuggle flannel. I'm going to use some basting spray between the layers and quilt it myself by machine.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Where O Where....

2011-08-16T05:51:00.000-05:00

....has Kelly gone?

Ummm, I'm right here. I think I am. Wow, what a crazy few weeks. Finished the MN Quilt Shop Hop (just the NW section). We did one day the first week and three days the second week. I will try to get a picture of the WONDERFUL fabric I bought in the next few days....garden permitting.

Speaking of garden. Did you know that it waits for NO ONE?

I'm Quilt Shop Hop Bound

2011-08-03T06:30:00.000-05:00

Van gassed up, maps ready, ideas floating in my head, and I'm off. Today is the first day of 4 that I am doing the MN Quilt Shop Hop. I'm SO excited! Two other ladies and I will be heading out to visit a few shops. We have 9 shops to visit in our section during this hop. We have them mapped out in groups so we can head North one day, South another, etc. It's so fun to see what fabric and ideas other quilt shops have. I try to pick up a little something from each one, be it a yard of fabric or a pattern. Then during the winter I have projects to work on. Right now I'm on this weird embroidery kick. I know, right? I've never been one to enjoy it. I didn't have the patience to make itsy bitsy teeny stitches. Does this new found love of embroidery and getting the patience to do it, come from aging? I love embroidering something then making a wall hanging or quilt from it. I think its probably because I do the embroidery in the evenings while watching TV with hubby.

I canned 2 more quarts of pickles last night and the second picking of beans aren't ready. SO this is a good day....to hop.

Have a great day everyone!!

Let The Canning Begin

2011-08-02T05:40:00.000-05:00

The garden calls my name...over & over & over. "Pick Me, Can Me". My sewing machine has been temporarily replaced with me having some quality time watching this.

This is my new TV. It requires ones full attention and one can NOT put it on pause. There are no commercials and one will benefit from watching it. The rewards from watching said TV.....are PRICELESS!! (and yummy!!)

Here are some of the many rewards one can get from watching this TV...

And this is just the beginning. My TV and me....are going to be spending a lot of quality time together again this year.

I feel bad for putting aside my sewing machine and ABC Baby Quilt I was working on. It was coming together quickly and I had visions in my head for the edging. Something I haven't done in quite some time. I won't spoil the surprise, but will show you where I am leaving off.

I will get back to it. Maybe when I have a lull in the wave of canning OR when I can get my garden stained fingers cleaned enough again to where I feel safe in handling fabric. LOL Maybe I should grow a lemon tree?

Have a wonderful day everyone!!

Good Morning

2011-07-29T06:17:00.000-05:00

The garden canning has begun. Yesterday I made the second quart of pickles (the first was the day before). SO excited because we need lots of them. I pick them very small. My family likes the pickles to be no bigger then 5". That means picking everyday. I'm hoping for 50 quarts. That should get us through the winter till the next canning season and fall. We ran out last year with 39 quarts. Maybe I should ration out the pickles....LOL NOT! I love them just as much. It's my Grandma D's recipe. THE best ever!

We also had our first meal of green beans from the garden. YUMMY! Last night we had grilled chicken breasts, garden green beans, garden cucumbers, and our first tomato. Feels so good to be eating from the garden and NOT spending money for it at the grocery store.

I'm thinking that tonight will be green bean picking, snapping, and canning time. Love the sound of a pressure cooker!! Even better.....'POP POP POP' of them sealing.

Yesterday was our 32nd wedding anniversary. It was so hot out that we opted for home time. When the local fair gets here we will venture out to get our yearly anniversary treats of corn dogs, cheese curds, and milk shakes. I'm thinking a walk through the 4-H buildings will wear off any extra calories...right?

I have been working on the ABC Baby quilt a little at a time. Almost have the top sewn. I will post pictures of it then.

Have a great Friday and weekend. I KNOW I will!!! My sweet Lilly will be visiting this weekend with her mommy & daddy. It's been almost 2 months since I've seen her....in person. Skype is wonderful but soooo hard to get grand baby hugs and kisses...LOL.

My Next 50 Years

2011-07-22T05:28:00.000-05:00

Today finds me turning the big 5~0.

Seriously?

When did this happen? What happened to 40? Ohhhh..now I remember! I hit 45 and things started happening so those years were pretty much a blur. Speaking of blur...I ended up getting glasses about that time. Not bad. Then add the fact that I couldn't thread a needle anymore. HELLO Bifocals! No one told me about the constant state of "LACK OF DEPTH PERCEPTION" I would have. Thus is the reason I looked like I was picking my feet up a little higher then normal (everything looked like I needed to step over it), or reaching out with my hands to touch what was still 5 feet away but looked like 5 inches. I bet people thought I was one drink short of being totally inebriated. So, I would try to act like nothing was wrong. I'm so glad that it only took me about a week to get over all this. Just in time for the rest of the "What hits you after 40" stage. Memory, hearing, mumbling, and did I say memory?

I find myself laughing now at everything that happens with ~~growing older~~ aging gracefully. Hubby and I make fun of each other, always in a loving way, at how things are changing.

A few things I did in my first 50 years.....

Tested my parents patience levels on occasion. Being the oldest of 3, it was my duty. They passed with flying colors. THE best parents in the world. Love you Dad & Mom!!
Loved my brother & sister more then anything. Pestered them beyond imagination to show it....not sure that's how it was viewed from their angle though. HA HA Love you little brother & sis!!
Fell in love
Got married
Had 2 of the most beautiful girls I could ever wish for...inside AND out!
Survived loss of loved ones. Still miss them all
Found a best friend that has lasted 38 years and still strong. Love ya Kimmie!!
Realized I'm not a 'high maintaince' girl. Simple is better.
Realized that being in love is just the beginning. It goes so much deeper then one can explain. It has to be felt to understand.
Became a Gramma to the sweetest little gift from God. The feeling one has for their grandchild is something I can't put into words.

Now what am I going to do with the next 50 years of my life?....

Maybe this is where a 'Bucket List' comes in. I'm thinking I probably won't be making one but I know I am going to try to look at things and think about things differently. Life is far to short to be getting all bent out of shape over little things. Worrying what others think or what others have that I don't have is a waste of precious life. Feeling truly blessed with the things I have and the people I have in my life are what it's all about.

I look forward to watching our sweet grand daughter grow up and enjoying any others we may be blessed with.

I look forward to watching our girls live their lives to the fullest and find what makes them happy.

I look forward to being able to look back...and smile. Knowing I am right where I am meant to be.

I look forward to having the love of my life sitting in that rocking chair next to me, laughing at how we have changed, how we are aging, and looking at each other with a deep feeling of oneness.

I look forward to each year. I'm not afraid of what lies ahead.

Here's to the next 50 years!!

Video To Share

2011-07-21T08:01:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to share something I found while visiting blogs & YouTube this morning with my cup of coffee before I start my day.

Have a wonderful day everyone!!

ABC Baby Quilt cont.

2011-07-18T06:46:00.000-05:00

During the awful heat/humidity wave we have going on, I was able to work more on the ABC Baby Quilt. I finished stitching the centers and getting the borders around all of them. Next step is to go buy some off white fabric to match the centers for the strips that separate all the squares. I want the backing to be out of snuggle flannel and will probably make it a light green. That way its for either boy/girl. I put some black fabric down instead of white (separation strips) to see how that looked and I was not happy with it. Since there is so much color already, I opted for off white. Imagine my surprise....NO white fabric in my stash. Seriously?? I know!! Who'd a thunk. I'll post more as it comes together.

Have a great day everyone!!

To Cute Not To Share

2011-07-17T17:35:00.000-05:00

They decided my Lilac bush made a perfect resting area. They laid here off and on all day Saturday getting up a few times to go nibble the lettuce or leaves sticking in the yard from the woods. We would walk to the garage and they just watched. I tried to get closer each time but when I crossed that imaginary line, they would jump up and stand next to the woods. I'd head into the house and before I could get to a window to see where they went, they had went back to their resting spot. Lil' stinkers!

2011-07-15T05:35:00.000-05:00

Do you remember back in my June 24th post about the war I have waged against the evil garden munchers? Well...how can something so cute be such destroyers of my hard work? This is the front side of our place and I have a very small patch of garden I decided to plant lettuce in. I also planted a row of Marigolds right next to them to experiment. I had heard they don't like the smell of Marigolds. Well, apparently these babies have not heard that rule yet in their young lives. So I have basically put out table decorations while they enjoy their meals. LOL. I really don't mind they are eating the lettuce or licking the hummingbird feeder, as long as they stay away from the other side of the yard where my big garden is. So far so good. The soap on a rope seems to be working along with 'Deer Begone' or 'Liquid Fence' sprayed on rags and hanging on stakes. (I don't spray that stuff on things I'm going to eat even though it says I can)

Sorry for the blurry video. This was shot through our house window/screen.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Chit Chat

2011-07-11T07:58:00.000-05:00

Hubby was on vacation all last week. I'm thinking he was pretty glad to get back to work today. It meant not laying anymore new kitchen/entry flooring, cutting trim, cutting toe kick for under the cabinets, and no more trying to figure out all the crazy corners and angles we have. Yup, you guessed it. We spent all week laying new flooring and doing it ourselves AND not ever once arguing over anything. We really work great together!! What one doesn't think of, the other does and we talk each step out. Tossing ideas back and forth. It turned out B E A U T I F U L!!! We needed new flooring for sooo long. Now our kitchen remodel of 3-4 yrs ago is finally finished. No crafting of any kind was done during this time....imagine that! LOL I'm not sure my body will ever be the same from all the crawling around (butt sliding more like it) I did helping with the laying of the vinyl tile strips. SO worth it though! When I get time to look at my pictures I took, I'll post a few for you to see. I took plenty so I could have a photo album of the entire remodel from start to finish. These get to be added to the album now.

Have a great day!

ABC Baby Quilt

2011-07-05T07:35:00.000-05:00

This past weekend has been very odd for me. I usually don't get the urge to sewing during the summer months. I'm more of a cold weather sewer. BUT...I got the itch a while back to embroider the alphabet. No pattern or idea at the time, just an itch. As most crafter's know, we sometimes know we want to create but not sure of the 'what'. That's how I started this. By the time I got to the 'B' I knew what I wanted it to look like.....in my head anyway. I sat down with some graph paper, ruler, pencil, calculator, and the vision in my head. After umpteen attempts to make it look right and be the finished size I wanted, I think I figured it out. I'm impressed...so far. That was the hard part. The sewing is the easy part!

Now to pick all my colors from my stash. I cut all the strips out and got started right away sewing the blocks together. I really like this....so far :)

I love the colors and how this is coming together. I'll keep you posted on how it's going.

Have a great day everyone!

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T06:51:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th of July everyone!! Have a wonderful day of fun, family, food, and fireworks. We are heading to a picnic with family and good friends. Then later this evening its off to our new tradition of a movie instead of the fireworks. Transformers: Dark of the Moon in 3D is the pick for this year.

Have a safe and wonderful day!

Cricut Project

2011-06-28T05:24:00.000-05:00

Look what I did this past weekend. The office/scrap room was needing something above the window. I had a clock up there but have been visioning this since I repainted the room. I didn't want to paint it on there in case I wanted to move it or change it, so I used my Cricut. The letters are from Opposites Attract cartridge using the 5 1/2" size. I used black for the shadow background and a green that went with my walls for the top layer. The flowers are from the cartridge George and Basic Shapes. I just used my glue stick to put them together and a little bit of double sided sticky tape on the backs to keep them up on the wall.

Next project....organizing my stickers better. Is it possible? LOL

Have a wonderful day!!

An Award....For Me?

2011-06-27T07:38:00.000-05:00

WOW, I'm so touched that someone would give me and my blog an award. THANK YOU THANK YOU!! Sonia over at Archiving Angel gave me this award and I'm so happy and want to thank her. Means a lot to me!! I came across her blog through another blog, and added her to my following list right away. She has great tips and ideas on many different things. Head on over and check her out and tell her 'Snipits of Kelly' sent you.

Part of receiving these awards includes 3 things:
1)thanking those who gave it to you
2)paying it forward to 8 friends
3)sharing 7 things about yourself

Here are the 8 friends I would like to pass this on to. I enjoy their blogs and always look forward to what they have to say and share.

1. Crazy Mom Quilts @ Crazy Mom Quilts

2. Amy @ Prairie Paper & Ink

3. Christina @ Creations with Christina

4. Jim @ Fugitive Moments

5. Judy @ At Home Crafting with Judy

6. Crafty Storage @ CRAFTY STORAGE

7. Lucy @ Me, E, and Baby Makes Three

8. Kristen @ So Happy

Here are the 7 things about me.....

1. I love singing loud while cleaning house when no one is home. Crank those tunes!!

2. LOVE LOVE LOVE being a Gramma!

3. I'm NOT high maintenance! Down to earth country girl!

4. I have a fear since childhood of things flying around my head. Birds in particular. It's a reflex and can NOT be helped.

5. I have so many crafty things I love to do that sometimes I can't decide which one to do at the moment.

6. TV puts me to sleep

7. I like everything organized. So much easier to find something when it's where it is suppose to be.

There, that was hard! Trying to come up with 7 things about oneself isn't as easy as it seems. Thank you again to Sonia for this award. We bloggers love sharing and being inspired by each other. I am grateful for my followers and fellow blogging friends.

Have a great day everyone!

The War Has Begun

2011-06-24T16:38:00.000-05:00

This isn't sewing related or scrap booking related, BUT it could be considered crafty. I have waged war and am determined to win. I am taking every precaution necessary to win this battle and come out victorious. THEY will not win. THEY do not know who they are up against and they surely do not realize you should NEVER ...EVER....mess with a menopausal woman's garden. That's right. I'm speaking of those four legged, big eared, big eyed, spotted garden eaters who think that standing there looking all cute is going to help. Think again Bambi and your evil twin. You 2 along with your mother will NOT get any more of my garden!!!

Do I sound tough enough? HEHEHE

I have been busy looking out my windows all day watching for the little garden munchers. Thinking of new ways to deter them from the garden. I have heard of many good ideas and am trying them.

They don't seem to like clutter. Imagine that! My mom said they are afraid of getting their legs tangled up. SO, I have 5 gallon buckets filled with some rocks so they don't blow away sitting around, a few shovels standing up, a few rakes laying down or leaning on my fence for the peas. I did this AFTER they ate half my broccoli plants. So far so good. Wish I would have done it earlier. I guess the key is to plant way to much for just these occasions. If you don't lose any to deer then you can give stuff to friends.

I also heard that they don't like the smell of soap. Guess what? You got it....I have soap hanging in 2 different places. It had been raining for so many days that I was ready to go out and bring them in. I was expecting to see bubbles in my pepper plants. But the soap survived. When its time to rototiller the garden we can just pull the steak up and replace it when done. Easy Peasy!!

The other night I noticed the deer did walk through the garden but didn't eat anything. Things must be working but I'm not taking any chances. I had some 'Deer Begone' that I spray on bushes and flower. It says you can spray it on vegetables. Then as I read down further, it stated that when spraying, if it came in contact with your skin to flush for 10-20 minutes. If inhaled you should call poison control. SERIOUSLY? You can't touch the stuff or breath it, but you can eat vegetables that have had it on them? NOT me!! So, I liberally sprayed some rags with the stuff and tied them to a few cages and a post for the pea fence. We'll see. You can never be to careful with your garden and protecting it from evil garden munchers.

Part of me laughs when thinking of the game the deer and I are playing. I'm sure they stand in the woods wondering what the crazy lady is going to do next. In fact, when I went out to take these pictures, I startled the doe and heard her snort in the woods. We are surrounded my our 40 acres of woods so I'm sure they can watch me set up barricades from all different angles.

The other part of me wants to cry at the thought of my garden and hard work being eaten by them. I need all my plants so I can can everything I have planned. I guess if they were going to eat something....the broccoli was the best choice. This is our second try at growing it and we eat it fresh. This year I thought I would freeze some if we had enough.

I'm thinking this game of war is going to go on till fall. I wonder if I can do my crafty things while they nap. Do deer nap? HAHAHA

Father's Day Card

2011-06-22T13:15:00.000-05:00

This is a simple card you could make for any occasion. I made it for my husband for Father's Day. I left it blank inside to hand write what I wanted it to say.

The tag is layered and cut with my Cricut. I cut some strips of plain green and green & white paper to glue them together to form a band across the tag. The award ribbon was stamped on patterned paper then cut out with a scissors. I then glued that to white paper and cut it out again, but just a little bigger leaving a border. I punched out a white circle that fit in the center and stamped my sentiment on that. I used pop dots to put it on the tag to give it dimension. I added a string bow to the top. The card base is from white card stock I cut and scored. I used Tim Holtz's Distress Ink, Peeled Paint to color the base. I then went over it even lighter with Distress Ink Vintage Photo to give the edges a darker look. I used Peeled Paint on the tag edges also.

I have been trying to keep my supplies organized so I know what I have. That way I will use it. I have been buying more and more inks/chalk inks that have been on sale and now find myself having more then my memory can retain. LOL. I have a binder that is like my 'Scrap Bible'. It has all my stamps pictured and where they are located, all my punches, all my embossing powders and what they look like when heated, and now I am adding my inks.

I have stamped them on card stock and wrote under them the name of the color. I'm sorting them by brand. This makes it so much easier to visualize what I want or even to just look at it for inspiration.

I will have to do a post or maybe a (gasp) video on my 'GO TO' Binder and show you what works for me in organization.

Have a great day crafting or doing what you love to do best!!

Summer?

2011-06-21T08:20:00.000-05:00

Today is the first day of summer, if I'm not mistaken. My question is this...."Did someone send that memo to Mother Nature?" It's feeling more like a fall day when you have to shut the windows and turn the furnace back on to get the chill out of the air. Curl up under a blanket and watch TV. NOT GOOD!! My poor garden is trying so hard to grow but how can it? If it's not cloudy, rainy and just down right chilly, then its windy beyond windy. Yes, I know it could be worse, but at the moment here in my little nook of the woods, it feels like summer has left. (GASP) Did I just sound like I miss summer? NOOOOO...not me! The one who hates hot weather. Hates humid weather. (BIGGER GASP) does this mean?...I'm getting older?

Not much crafting going on this week. I have been thinking of new projects for sewing and card making but that's as far as it got. Hopefully I will have something started and can show you, soon.

Have a great day everyone!!

Craft Space

2011-06-14T15:51:00.000-05:00

Over at Creations with Christina she is having another fun post. This time its "Show us...your craftspace". I LOVE looking at other craft spaces and seeing all the ideas everyone has. Here is mine and what works for me.

This is a small space, but it's mine and I love it. I am the type of scrapper that has to have everything within arms reach of where I'm sitting. I have to be able to see it and get to in order for it to be used. My desk/work surface is a 6' scrap counter top we purchased at Home Depot. The cupboards above, were built by my husband out of pine and varnished. I love the wood grain! I have my unmounted stamps in CD Jewel cases up there on the bottom shelves, all within reach. The higher shelves hold my albums, and many other craft supplies. On top of my desk at the far left is my ribbon holder. I made this out of scrap wood in the garage and primed and painted it white. I also made the longer shelf from scrap wood. The white plastic drawers on the desktop right hold all my stickers in grouped categories. In the middle back of the desk is my carousel from Pampered Chef. LOVE it!! It holds all my markers, pencils, gel pens, scissors, corner chomper, T-ruler, and the glue sticks I'm using at the moment. Everything right at my fingertips.

Under the desk in the rolling carts are my mounted stamps in clear storage bins that stand on their sides and fit nicely in the drawers. The metal 2 drawer file cabinet on the right holds all my 8 1/2 x 11 card stock and other papers of the same size.

I store all my 12x12 paper and paper/card stock packs in the black crate. I have legal size file folders hanging and sort them all by color. The paper packs are stored behind the loose paper and I'm thinking I may need to get another crate since I seem to be using more and more packs.

The shelf with the green baskets are my punches sorted into edgers, punches, and little ones. The bottom canvas baskets holds all my extra supplies. My adhesives, pop dots, and anything else I use and buy more then one of. When I take the last one out of there I make sure to write it down that I need more the next time its on sale.

I never buy anything full price. I always wait to buy something that I want, just to make sure that I really need it. Most of the time, I find it would have been an impulse buy and that I really didn't need it. I really wonder sometimes how much of the stuff in ones craft room is really used, OR is it just to say they have one. I started falling into that and checked myself real quick. I can't afford to buy EVERYTHING scrap booking/card making has to offer nor do I have the space.

I hope you enjoyed looking into a small portion of my craft space and I look forward in seeing everyone's. It's nice to inspire someone and be inspired. Have a wonderful day everyone!!

Lacy Birthday Card

2011-06-08T06:55:00.000-05:00

I had a lot of fun making this card. The base is off white with layers of patterned card stock.

I added some matching lace trim between the layers and finished the light pink strip with a off white craft twine.

The top oval layer is cut using my Cricut. I then clear embossed the 'Happy Birthday' and used Tim Holtz's 'Victorian Velvet Distress Ink' by Ranger over the whole thing. I used the 'Vintage Photo Distress Ink' for the lacy edge of the oval and then added some 'Platinum Pearl' Liquid Pearls by Ranger for the dots on the tips. I love how it changed the whole look of the oval. After using the distress inks I used a baby wipe to easily wipe the word 'Happy Birthday' clean.

I left the inside blank. I may stamp a sentiment in there or just a small floral image right beside where I would hand write something to the recipient.

Have a wonderful day!

Punch Storage

2011-06-07T16:51:00.000-05:00

Over at Creations with Christina she is asking us to show her how we store our punches. Since I have recently just painted the office, I was able to find these cute baskets that match the wall color perfectly. Knowing me though, this will probably only last until I feel the urge to 'reorganize' again. Don't we all do that from time to time? I have the smaller punches in the top, the most used ones in the second basket, and the lowest basket holds my border punches. I think I got these at Target at the same time I picked up the shelf that the baskets are in.

Head on over to Christina's blog and see all the great ideas everyone has for storing punches. You never know what or who will inspire you! Have a wonderful day!

2011-06-01T08:33:00.000-05:00

Graduation season is upon us and it's always nice to have an idea to make a card that is easy to mass produce. I used my Cricut to cut out the images from the LACY LABELS cartridge. The dark blue is the first layer and the white is the second. These are our school colors. I then heat embossed the BHS & Grad in silver. The 2011 is stamped in black. I rounded the 2 outside corners using my Corner Chomper. LOVE this tool.

Notice the wall color behind the card? That is the new office color. We ALL love it. It's so bright and cheery and makes me feel like creating. That has to be a good thing...right?

Hope everyone had a very nice Memorial Day. We are having some really windy, cool, & rainy weather here for the week. Maybe it's a sign to get 'inside' things done instead of spending all my time outside.

What I've Been Doing

2011-05-27T09:10:00.000-05:00

I've been having so much fun being outside on these beautiful days. Planning my garden arrangement, keeping things safe and happy in the greenhouse, and putting in new flower beds. So, I thought I'd share a few pictures.

This is against the house where it use to be just grass. Looked really boring. HGTV's 'Yard Crashers' has inspired me. The one thing they didn't inform me about is that it's not as easy as it appears to be. OH MY GOSH!!! My body informed me every minute of the next day that I had done nothing all winter to prepare for this. My muscles, or at least what I thought were muscles, hurt and ached beyond words. Looking at what I've done so far is worth it. I put that ground level of decorative brick there so I can run the wheels of one side of the lawn mower on them and get the grass. No need for the 'weed wacker'. SO much easier.

I made this Mothers Day card for my mom. I was pleasant surprised at how it turned out. The brown/tan/blue strip across the middle is layers of card stock. I used an border punch on one edge and just layered them one on top of the other. The MOM is cut with my 'Cricut' using the shadow layer. It is adhered to a floral background on the lower portion of the card. The big light blue flower is on dimensional adhesive and the rest of the flowers are stickers.

Here is a view of how the main flower is raised. The little butterfly is also raised. Not to much so it still fits in an envelope. I added another flower to the inside, on the left. It doesn't look so plain, and left enough room to add a sentiment.

I had another card to show you, but for some reason BLOGGER isn't running very well. Imagine that! I better not push my luck so I will save that one for another day.

This Memorial Weekend I hope to plant my entire garden. I'm praying that the frost is over, but won't hold my breath. Think I'll stack buckets and pails on the edge so I'll be ready in case we have to cover everything. Morning before last we had 29 degrees here and everything was frosty white. We live in the lowest spot of our land but so worth it being in the country and close to our families.

Have a safe weekend and remember to stop and think of all that gave their lives for our freedom and being able to have these blogs. We

She's SO Close...

2011-05-16T11:24:00.000-05:00

Sweet Lilly is sooo close to walking. Her mommy and daddy are so good about sending me video's. They sent me this one showing how close she is. Little stinker gets so excited when you try to practice with her, that it's best to sit back and just let her do it on her own, like in the video below.

I saw this video and the first thing I said is "she's gonna be a balance beamer". LOL It's so great watching my grand baby grow and learn.

You can do it Sweet Lilly! Gramma is cheering you on!!!

What I've Been Doing

2011-05-11T13:11:00.000-05:00

Has time flown by lately. I have emptied out our office/craft/reloading room. Notice I added reloading? I figured I better give hubby recognition for being in this room also. Be it a small corner, (I don't have a garage!!) he is in here non the less and when we are all busy in different stations, its kinda nice. Me at my scrap booking/card making desk, hubby at his gun/reloading desk, and daughter at the computer at another desk. Who says you can't do things together, separately? LOL

Anyhow, the reason for emptying it out is that I have selected a new paint color for the room and figured I better get it done before I change my mind again. Having little painted squares all over the room for visual purposes was getting to be to much. I was leaning towards blues for some reason. Then I jumped outside my comfort zone and went with a green. This isn't your normal green though. I crave Key lime Pie when I'm painting now. The color is called 'Shadow Green'.

Isn't this color just yummy? It's so cheery and bright. Makes me feel good and like I want to create. That has to be a good thing!!

My other little project is my new greenhouse. It was my mom & dad's and they have decided they didn't want to use it anymore. I have it full, well not really full but for a first year I'll call it that, of all my garden plants and new flowers I want to grow. I already have visions for next year. I laugh when I start to think about next year and try to remind myself that I don't have THIS years plants even in the ground yet. Lets see how it goes first. Maybe I don't have the 'green' thumb my mom and grandmothers had. It is fun though. I love going out in it and see how they are doing, watering them, checking the temp so they don't get cooked or frozen. I want to move it to a location that will be the permanent spot for it when this season is done. I then want to have little stepping stones leading to it and......well you see how I get when I start thinking about this?

This is what I have been doing the last few weeks and days. Spring is here and I'm L O V I N G it!!! I have the windows all open today and the smell is so wonderful. Maybe lawn mowing later?...we'll see.

Have a wonderful spring day!!

Thank You Judy

2011-05-04T14:39:00.000-05:00

Thank you so much Judy, over at http://www.athomewithjudy.blogspot.com/ for this award you gave me. I'm in shock actually. Who knew that I would meet such nice people in blog land.

So, the rules of this award are:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award by sharing a link back to them
2. Share 8 random things about yourself
3. Award it to 8 bloggers you have recently discovered and tell them about it

8 Random Things About Me:

1. I love being thrifty
2. I LOVE purses!
3. I cry way to easily at moves & TV shows. Happy OR sad.
4. I love to camp
5. I can stare at a camp fire forever.
6. I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason
7. My favorite time of year is Fall
8. I love to go fishing.

The 8 bloggers I give this award to are:

1. Amy at http://prairiepaperandink.typepad.com/amyr
2. Jim at http://www.fugitivemoments.blogspot.com/
3. Kristina at http://www.kwernerdesign.com/blog
4. 'Lucy' at http://lindsaycramp.blogspot.com/
5. Terri at http://terrisnotebook.wordpress.com/
6. Jill at http://stampinginspiredby.blogspot.com/
7. http://craftystorage.blogspot.com/
8. Renee at http://mysewingspace-renee.blogspot.com/

Oh To Be Little

2011-04-27T11:06:00.000-05:00

Does this look like a happy 1 year old or what? She sure loved getting into her cake once she figured it out. Slapping and waving hands all over, while watchers stood out of range of flying frosting and cake. We teased that her little legs looked like her very first art masterpieces. Soooo, of course this gramma had to take a picture of that too.

I think that looks like art, don't you? HEHEHE When she was all done with the messy time, her mommy carefully carried her into the bathtub so she could continue on with the birthday fun. What an amazing day for such a sweet little girl.

Sweet Lilly's Birthday is Soon

2011-04-21T09:35:00.000-05:00

Can you believe that this little bundle of cuteness is going to be 1 year old in a few days? I KNOW!! Seems like she was just born. There has not been a day this entire year that I have not thought of her, watched a video of her, looked at a picture of her, and missed her. I am soooooo thankful for modern technology!! Yes, you heard me correct. I may grumble and groan at the frustration of it, or wonder what is happening to the younger generation because of it. In all reality, if it were not for 'it', I would not be able to see Sweet Lilly on video, minutes after she has attempted to roll over, get up on all fours, scoot, crawl, pull herself up, giggle out loud, be silly, and anything else that makes me burst with happiness. I got to see her as I talked with her mommy on Skype for her first few months. It is really hard now to tell a baby-on-the-move to sit still because Gramma wants to watch you 'Live'. So we will save the Skype-ing for when she is older and tells her mommy that she wants to talk to Gramma. Ohhh how I can't wait!!

Her mommy (our daughter) is so awesome about sending video's/pictures in our email every time she does something new or is being silly, that I feel like they live right next door and I get so see her all the time when in reality they are 3 hrs away. So in my book, when I stop and think about it....technology is a good thing.

Happy Birthday Sweet Lilly. Gramma, Grampa, and Auntie E love you more then words can describe. We can't wait to help you celebrate your special day with you!!

Happy Birthday Ree-Ree

2011-04-19T05:00:00.005-05:00

Today, I sit back and remember what I was doing 17 years ago. It doesn't seem that long ago, but at times it seems a life time ago.

God blessed us, (my husband, our almost 15 yr old daughter, and me) with a baby girl. A 9 lb. bundle of, joy, fear, excitement, did I say fear?, and pure happiness. Fear, of wondering if I remembered how to take care of a baby. Fear, of wondering if I was to old to do it. I was almost 33. Do people still have babies at my age? What if...what if...what if? The minute she arrived...I knew. No what ifs. No fear. It was natural and meant to be. I was mommy again and it felt perfect.

She is now turning 17 yrs old today and has grown into such a wonderful young lady. Granted I don't understand this generation as my parents didn't understand mine. Yet when I sit back and look at her, she is kind, thoughtful, free spirited, open minded, talented, quick witted, and a beautiful person. Again, we are blessed!

Happy Birthday baby girl! We love you to infinity. We are so proud of the person you are and we look forward to watching you grow as you reach for the stars and follow your dreams! Cherish what keeps you grounded, stay true to your soul, and your life will have endless possibilities with great rewards.

XOXO

A New Coat....Of Paint

2011-04-14T07:41:00.000-05:00

I am in the refreshing/cleaning state of mind. I'm thinking this will pass as the temperature rises with summer around the corner. Spring always gets me in this mood. The fresh smell of outside air coming in through an open window, the birds singing, and my wind chimes playing in the breeze. Does it get any better then this? NO! You know the feeling!....make the inside feel as good as the outside. So I am feeling like I need to brighten up a few rooms with some paint. Our office/craft/gun reloading room is white and not very inspiring. So I have painted 2 samples that I really like on the wall above our window.

I love them both and seem to lean towards the darker one in almost everything I do. This room is fairly small and the trim you see here is the same wood and color of all the cupboards that are on 2 walls. I love pine knots! :) I'm thinking the darker color will do just that....make the room darker, and we don't need that. The lighter blue is nice but 'out of the box' so to speak for me. Maybe...just maybe...it's time to step out of my comfort zone. What's the worst that can happen? Repaint? HAHA
Looks like a family meeting is instore. Maybe vote. There are 3 of us so there would be no ties! Unless.....I vote for the cat LOL

Happy Thursday Everyone!!

One More Done

2011-04-11T13:22:00.000-05:00

I think I had said a while back that I wanted to finish up all my unfinished projects....right? I'm thinking that I may not have had enough coffee that day or had totally gone off the deep end. But, I am trying!! Here's a project I started (COUGH) years ago and never went back to it. It's a very simple pattern that you don't even need to keep looking at. Just my type. I get distracted easily and don't have time to mark my spot...use a bookmark...or anything else that would remind me of what I'm doing.

I don't even remember where I got the pattern. I think it was online and I just wrote it down on paper.

You cast on as many as you want it to be wide.

Row 1: K2 P2 (repeat all the way across)

Row 2: repeat row 1

Row 3: P2 K2 (repeat all the way across)

Row 4: repeat row 3

Repeat Row 1-4 until size you want.

You continue doing this through the whole afghan. I never made mine a full size afghan. Its more of a lap-ghan. At least I finished it!!

Happy Monday!!

Desk Top Organizer

2011-04-10T07:19:00.001-05:00

A few posts back I had showed you this desktop organizer that I had made. I've been asked by a few as to where I got the pattern, and I have finally got around to posting the information.

It is fairly easy to make and the directions are really quite easy to follow. I was thinking it might be harder then it looked, but was gladly wrong.

There is a really sturdy PEL TEX (very stiff non-fusible, non-woven interfacing) inside each wall and in the bottom. It stands alone nicely.

Here is a picture of the inside as I had shown in the past post. Both long sides on the outside have zippered pockets as well.

You can see it holds lots of those little things you have sitting at your work/craft space. I have here, in the picture above, a pencil older inside of it to show how wide the bottom really is. The pattern also has a square organizer as well as this one.

The company is ATKINSON DESIGNS and the pattern is called POCKETS TO GO. I was able to purchase this pattern at a nearby towns quilt shop.

Ready...Set....Plant

2011-04-09T16:51:00.000-05:00

I am trying something new this year. I have decided to see if I have my mothers green thumb. House plants...a definite NO. But maybe, just maybe, I have a hint of green in my thumb when it comes to garden plants. We'll see. What can it hurt, right? Worst case is we make a run for the local greenhouses and see what they have left.

I had started my tomatoes, green peppers, sweet peppers, & jalapeno and they are out of their little, itsy bitsy hothouses. I had them all strategically stacked on cake pans, bread pans, and anything else that I could turn upside down to bring them closer to the under cabinet lights we have in the kitchen. It worked for a wee bit. But they were all leaning really bad since each light only had one bulb and it wasn't very bright. They look like more legs then leaves. HA HA

We broke down and went to town today and invested in a 4' fluorescent light with grow lights. They have tons of space so all the little plants get equal amounts of sun.

Hopefully they will be OK and start getting bushier rather then taller with only 2 leaves at the top. I have been known to grow sticks with only a few leaves at the top, more then once in my life. My family never lets me forget it either. You should have seen some of my poor house plants.

Grow babies Grow!! These are the broccoli that just popped out of the dirt today. I also started cucumbers & cantaloupe. If this doesn't work, it sure is fun trying. Keeps me occupied while waiting to get into my outside garden.

Happy Indoor Gardening!!

I Hear It

2011-04-06T08:14:00.000-05:00

If you stop and be vewwwy vewwwy quiet, you can hear spring coming. I am SOOO ready for it. Did I say that loud enough? SOOOO ready!!

I can see my garden now due to the snow melting. That has got to be the biggest tease of all. The other night, hubby and I walked outside and I spotted something green sticking out of the dirt. Mind you, half of it still has a light layer of snow on it. There poking out was.....an onion. I just felt all giddy inside. Anticipation of wanting to grow things again. I know I know...I'm nuts. I try to remind myself of last fall and how I felt after what seemed like months of canning. I was so tired of my garden...I thought. That didn't last long though. Each meal we ate all winter, reminded me of the satisfaction you get from growing your own food. Believe it or not we want to expand AGAIN. I hate giving my $ to grocery stores and I hate that I have to read label after label, and still don't believe what they tell me. Less this...Low that...Low Salt...Fat Free....Low Fat...GRRRR. Whatever!! My canned/frozen food can beat theirs any day. I know what I put into it...I know how it was packaged....I know how it was raised....AND I know how it will taste!

OK OK...deep breath...1..2..3...and this shall pass. HA HA

I have the urge to clean also while I'm waiting for spring to get here. That's a sure sign....to me.

My tomato seeds are up and my pepper plants have finally poked thru to tease me. I can taste them now. I have saving all the milk jugs over winter to cover them up at night in case we get some late frost. Been there ....done that. I don't want to have to run out and buy what's left from the greenhouses. They usually are all picked over by that time. I also need to get some netting for the broccoli I want to grow again this year. YUMMY!! But YUCK to the little green worms I found. I heard netting helps with keeping the moths off. We'll see.

Are you ready for spring and garden fun?

A Few Projects

2011-04-04T08:25:00.000-05:00

I've been doing a lot of going back and forth from sewing to scrap booking/card making. I enjoy them all so much and can't and won't give any of them up. So I have decided to stop trying. Who said a person can't do many things? I may not get as much sewing done as I like while I'm scrapping, and that's OK!
Here's a few cards of the many that I have made this winter.

The top one I used black embossing powder on white card stock. Pretty basic and simple. The bottom photo is a design that my daughter, Erin, came up with that I just loved.

I've been making bags also. Not as much as I had intended, but I still have quite a few in my stash. I had made some for myself and use them for many different things. Make-up, finger nail polish, a small one for coins in my purse, a medium one for all those loose things floating in ones purse, and many different ones in our bathroom to hold an assortment of things. They are all lined and have batting between the layers.

I finished this desk top organizer finally. I saw the pattern at a quilt shop last summer and just had to have it. It's fairly easy to make. All outside edges have binding. It holds lots of things. I will have a separate post another day with more pictures and info on the pattern.

Have a great day!!

Finishing What I Start

2011-03-09T07:54:00.000-06:00

   I have to admit I'm still not much in the sewing mood, or should I say 'New things' mood. In my organizing and rearranging moods that seem to be more and more, I have been wondering why. Why didn't I finish that? Why did I start that? Why? Why? WHY? So....I said to myself,
"SELF...Finish things".
Could it be that simple? What an idea!
So that is what I've been trying to do among fighting with myself. The side of me that loves to start things and gets bored quickly (I'll call her OG girl...overachiever girl) is trying to take over the part of me that has every intention of finishing one thing before she starts another (I'll call her RG...realistic girl).
   I even am forcing myself to finish an afghan I started (gasp) YEARS ago. Even if I make it a lap-ghan (is that a word? LOL) I can consider it done and put it on my 'Finished' list.
   I'm thinking OG has the upper hand at this time. She has pushed RG in the scrap booking direction and RG is falling for it. OH WHAT FUN!! I am so into getting all my photos put in binders. Lots of journaling of who's who, ages, dates, and of course comments. Something my daughters and grandchildren, hopefully, will cherish or at least they will know about their family history and memories. RG figured this is a GREAT idea to finish....while she can still remember the details of the 32 years of memories.
   In past years I have usually put away the sewing machine for the summer months. Snow fall to snow melt was my sewing season. With OG getting the upper hand on RG, I'm thinking I may need those extra summer months to catch up. We'll see. That is my plan.....But don't tell OG! LOL

Chitter-Chatter

2011-02-25T14:46:00.000-06:00

I have to make a confession. I am...how do I say it?....cheating on my sewing machine. HA HA HA I have not been sewing like I wanted to or planned to lately. I have had the urge to 'Scrap'. Scrap booking and card making have my attention these days. I have even went so far as to set up an Etsy account (web site to sell all things handmade). I have a shop, but nothing posted as of yet. I have to take pictures and download them first. I even have a 'name' with an email address to boot. Yes, I'll share it but not as of yet. So excited to get it up and running. Sure takes a lot of time though and I have to have enough product on hand. So that's what I have been up to.

I walk by my new sewing machine (and yes I still need to do a post of what I love about it) and see dust collecting and think to myself ....."you NEED to sit down and pay attention to it". I have so many great ideas running through my head for baby blankets, bags, all things sewn and such, but that's where they stay.....in my head.

On a different topic.....My beautiful grand daughter turned 10 months on the 23rd. I can't even explain what that little girl does to me. Even just a picture or video of her. Her serious, quiet look can bring a smile to my face. Her grin and that little twinkle in her eyes can bring me to tears if I let it. How can one little girl do that to this Gramma? We try to get down to see them (3hrs away) about once a month. Some times it works out to a little longer but thanks to her mommy, our daughter, she sends videos all the time via email. I watch them over and over, laughing and getting a tear in my eyes all the time. When a new one arrives, I save the older ones on a flash drive for burning to DVDs when I have a years worth. This little girl has a amazing recorded life already. Can you imagine the library of memories she will have when she's (GASP) my age?

As soon as I get photos taken of my projects I'll post them....promise!

Daughter's Quilt Finished

2011-02-11T06:12:00.001-06:00

Yayyyyy Me! I finished my youngest daughters quilt that she wanted. In fact she picked the pattern, the fabrics, and the color of backing. She even picked it to be tied the old fashioned way, compared to machine quilted. It's for her queen size bed and hopefully will keep her warm on those cold winter nights we have here in Minnesota. I'm pretty pleased at how it turned out I must say. I really didn't know what she was visioning when she picked every thing. I was just the seamstress in this one.

She wanted a black binding that was wrapped around from the backing, which I think is pretty easy to do.

Here's a view showing the back of it also.

Daughter's Quilt Part 2

2011-02-10T09:26:00.000-06:00

   Back in January I posted about my youngest daughter's quilt I was making. Well yesterday I finally tied it after it had been sitting here staring at me for what seemed like forever and a day. I seriously had to force myself to start the tieing process. Once I get going I have no problem keeping the pace up. I'm actually really happy and content in the quiet time of sitting there and pushing a needle and yarn through layers of fabric (yes I know, not normal, but what can I say). This is my version of others reading a book, painting a picture, or some other way to just be in a calm state of bliss. Don't get me wrong, I could not do this all day long. After awhile the shoulders start to ache and the fingers start to cramp. But what I get from it is so worth it.
Every time i tie a quilt I am brought back to my grandmothers living room and helping her tie quilts. I see her crocked fingers pushing the needle with yarn through all the wonderful colors of fabric. I smell lunch cooking on the stove and I KNOW I'm going to love it. Her homemade tomato soup was the best!! Always a slice of homemade bread was served with it, and those crackers that came in a small sheet (6 squares attached...can't buy those anymore). Another treat is the honey butter she made to be put on the bread. They had their own bees.
   Grandpa keeps busy out in his wood shop and comes in once in awhile to check on us. Sometimes I could tell he really wanted me to go out and see what he was making, so I would ask grandma if we could take a little break to stretch our legs and fingers. I loved going out in grandpa's wood shop. I love the smell of wood and the look of the grain. He would show me what he had made or was working on. Sometimes the project was made from a tree he had cut off the land and taken to the sawmill to have made into lumber. I am blessed to have quit a few things he had made.
   So while my mind was filled with wonderful memories of days gone by, this is what I was working on.

Here it is all stretched out on the frame. She wants a black back and tied with black yarn.

When tieing the quilt from one end, the frame allows me to roll the quilt up as I need to. That way I can reach easier and the quilt still stays tight.

This is the quilt frame corner. I had to show it because my dad made it for my mom. The holes are for the bolts to go through to keep it together. Those holes go all the way from one end to the other on each of the 4 boards so any size quilt is possible to work with. He also made it out of a softer wood so its easier to put push-pins into to hold everything in place.

Now I have to bind the quilt and it will be done. I will post pictures when that is done (hopefully not to long from now).

Handbag

2011-02-03T08:59:00.000-06:00

I purchased this Margo Handbag pattern, by Lazy Girl Designs last summer at a quilt shop. They had a bag on display and I really liked the look of it, especially the inside. I finally got around to making it and this is what I ended up with. I'm very please at how easy it was to make. The directions are very easy to follow.
I do not work for or get anything from Lazy Girl Designs for mentioning them. I just wanted to give them credit where credit is due. I'm very impressed!

This is the front of the bag. Those are deep pockets in front of the polka dot fabric. There is a line stitched from top to bottom, in the middle, so the outside pockets are separated. That way whatever you put in one side will not slide all the way to the other side.

The inside has 4 nice size pockets on each side and the ends have 2 each smaller pockets for pens or something of that size.

The handbag has a zippered closure that keeps your things safely inside. If you leave it open, the zipper is not bulky or in the way, and still looks nice with easy access to all your items. I added a charm to the zipper pull for easy grasping and it just looks cute too.

The handles are sewn with batting inside for softness and 3 rows of top stitching for reinforcement.

The back has no pockets or accent fabric. It would be so each to make the back like the front and I may try that for my next attempt.

I am so very pleased with this handbag. When you set it down it doesn't collapse. It stands up on its own due to the batting AND interfacing that are in the layers. I definitely will be making this one again.

The approx. finished size of this bag is: 10 1/4" x 9 1/4" x 4"

Diabetes 9 Month Update

2011-01-24T08:17:00.000-06:00

   Has it really been 9 months since I found out I had Type 2 Diabetes? Some days it feels like forever ago, others it seems I just found out. In all honesty I'm not as strict on myself as I was the first 3 months. I still watch the sugars I eat and the carbs, but allow myself to have a few more then I did in the beginning. I know that's why the weight seemed to just fall off without really trying. A major eating habit change and it was so easy.
   I went in at the beginning of January and had my 9 month blood work done. Since the last one, 3 months ago, I had the pleasure of having to get through Thanksgiving AND Christmas. Needless to say I was really quite worried about things. I knew it wouldn't be really bad, but even going up a little would not be good. In my mind anyway. I stepped on the scale (always feel like its going to break out into a loud speaker voice and announce to the whole clinic) and was VERY happy to see that I had not gained anything. In fact I was down a few more pounds.  I didn't even have to take off my shoes!! HAHAHA
   The Dr. was very impressed with me. He actually took my hand and said he was very proud of me. Do you know how good that feels to hear your Dr. say that?   AMAZING!!! He said to keep doing what I'm doing and off to the lab I went for blood work.
   A few days later I got the results in the mail as to what my Hemoglobin A1C results were. Here are my A1C numbers as of now. (Dr. said 7 and lower is very good).....

April 2010.....10.4
July 2010..... 7.4
Oct. 2010.......6.7
Jan. 2011...... 6.3

I'm thinking maybe I have this under control and it always gives me encouragement seeing it on paper. Now for spring to get here so I can start getting outside more for maybe a little more exercise. OM Gosh, did i say that?

My New Toy

2011-01-20T07:54:00.000-06:00

I have been having the ~~B.E.S.T.E.S.T F.U.N.N.E.S.T~~ greatest, (ya, that will work), time sewing lately. I haven't posted any pictures of my new toy or said anything about it. I wanted to spend some time using it first before I showed it off, in case I returned it. Up to now NO RETURNS are happening here. I LOVE IT!!! It's going to take some getting use to and lots of patients learning something new. What's that saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks"?. Wanna bet!!! That's what sticky notes are for. Helps in the aid of remembering.
Last winter my sewing machine was acting up. This is the one in the picture in the last post. I got it used for dirt cheap and it was and is a sewing machine to be proud of owning. It's just getting close to the end of it's life, and needs to be put aside. Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not getting rid of it. I will just have it as my second machine. And on that note, I would like to introduce you to my first machine.

Hubby came to me after Christmas and said he had been looking online at sewing machines to surprise me with. He realized it had to be a personal preference. So he told me to look for one to buy. Upon picking my jaw off the floor and trying to keep myself from running to town that very minute, I asked the first question any wife would ask her hubby at a moment like this. "ARE YOU SERIOUS"?

This kept me busy for over a week. Going online and doing research, reading forums on what others like, thought, or if they had anything bad OR good to say about any of the new sewing machines. All brands. By the end of the first week I was so confused that it gave me a headache thinking about it. I finally made a decision and stuck with my gut instinct.

I have been playing with this for about 2 weeks now and am still loving it. Remember now, I have never had a machine that seems to do everything except the laundry, so I'm easily impressed. I am trying to step back and look at it from the 'practical' point of view. I will post later on as to how I like it and what it does. Right now I can't give you an 'objective' point of view due to the grin on my face and twinkles in my eyes from the pure pleasure of being able to actually sew with something as awesome as this. I will even have a better picture of it sitting in its rightful spot.

Messenger Bag

2011-01-19T08:07:00.000-06:00

BG (baby girl = youngest daughter) got this Messenger Bag kit for Christmas. I finally got around to sewing it for her. I had asked her if she wanted to sew it and got a look that made me giggle. She doesn't sew (GASP...OMGosh!!!) yea I know, what's this world coming to. Anyhow, she really doesn't have a desire to learn how, so I get the fun pleasure of doing the little projects. That's what sewing is all about. You don't have to sew quilts. The possibilities are endless when you have a sewing machine in hand....or on table. HEHEHE

I thought it turned out rather cute. EXCEPT....for the white fluff that floated from one end of my house to the other from that fuzzy side of the fabric. Put a whole new meaning to 'Dust Bunnies'. I thought I got it all vacuumed up but am still finding wee fluffs every once in awhile. Oh well, just makes me smile when I find one because I remember what my shirt looked like when I sewed it.

Daughter's Quilt

2011-01-18T08:36:00.000-06:00

My youngest daughter wanted a quilt. Something to put on the bed but not necessarily the main 'top quilt'. I guess they don't call them bedspreads anymore. Who knew!?! Being that she doesn't have any desire to sew, and had lots of down time this past summer (due to finding a job harder then she thought) I told her one afternoon when she was bored to go through my quilt books and find something she likes. AND easy! I thought it would keep her busy most the day, if not, then most the afternoon. To my surprise she came back in less then one hour with a few options. I nixed a few ideas telling her I don't do 1 inch squares among a few other reasons. We agreed to this pattern from this book, 24-Hour Quilts, as her quilt of choice.

I then told her to go to my fabric stash and pick out the colors she wanted. She returned with some rather interesting choices. I wasn't sure how it would look. After much debate over a few certain prints she picked that I just couldn't force myself to sew them together, we compromised. She was able to keep one of them. NOT both but one. I must say....I'm rather impressed at her vision. I could not see what she saw, but am very pleased how it turned out. We of course tweaked it a little by making the borders wider and adding the red corners.

Yes, that's a leopard print you see in there. She has chooses a black backing. I had her even decide on machine quilted with thinner batting, or thicker batting and yarn tied like cousin Jim's. She of course picked the older traditional yarn tied look. She wants it tied with black yarn in the corner of each square. I'm thinking that the two wider border strips will probably be machine top stitched just so it doesn't shift on the edges. We'll see. Maybe I'll put a few 'yarn' knots' there too. I'll put up pictures of it when it's complete.

2010-12-31T07:22:00.000-06:00

It's the morning of New Years Eve, and I am awake like any other morning....way to early. I do my normal routine of checking email, checking the weather, checking the news, checking facebook, checking the many blogs I love to keep up with, and there is a buzz in the air. Tonight is New Years Eve and everyone is wishing the other for blessings, best wishes, health and happiness. There is always a feeling in the air that starts at Thanksgiving and continues on through Christmas and into New Years, of love, happiness, and wishing our family and friends, and even strangers, a boat load of greetings. My thought is this.....

Why just this time of year?

Wouldn't celebrating every day like its your last, being thankful and feeling blessed at the end of everyday, and telling your loved ones and friends your wishes for them, be the way to live?

We live every day so programed like the last that we forget to stop and carry that end of the year feeling with us through out the rest of the year. Can you imagine what it would be like if everyone felt this way all year?

Maybe we can all try this year, 2011, to be a little more kind, a little more compassionate, a little more humble, and a whole lot more thankful for what we have and not focus on what we don't have. Every time something happens to me or my family and I feel it can't get any worse, I always tell myself this......."Someone always has it worse then me".

Happy New Day everyone!

The End of Another Year

2010-12-27T17:05:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that another year is almost over and anew is just about ready to begin. Where did the time go and what did I do? I didn't even get Christmas cards out this year. Not really sure why. I think that it must be the fact that with all the new ways to stay in touch with people via Facebook, email, and Skype, it seems they aren't as far away as they use to be even though they nor I have moved closer. We see pictures on Facebook and chat when we have a few extra minutes. Most the photos that we can access, are down loadable to our own computers and can be printed at will. I love sharing photos this way. I have over 1000 photos saved on a flash drive and it is sooooo much easier then a huge box of them. When I want to scrapbook a photo or an event I just print what I want. No extra photos laying around.....right? I'm trying to convince myself that this is the way to go. To jump into the current trend of things and have less clutter and be more organized. It's a slow process but I am trying.
Let's see, what did I do this year?

Drove myself and our 16 yr old, 3 hours away to be part of the arrival of our first grand baby. Me driving further then 1/2 hr away is amazing in itself. I just may have to do that more often. LOL
Became a Gramma AND love it!
Spent most the summer hopping quilt shops from one border to the next of Minnesota. I drove (the grand baby trip gave me courage) and saw parts of MN that I had never seen. Am I sheltered or what?!?
Worked in my garden and babied it. In turn it gave us wonderful produce.
Spent the end of the summer and fall in my kitchen. I counted all the quarts, pints, and freezer bags of things I had canned. 287 total. YUMMO!
Had a 50th birthday party for hubby and much fun was had by all!

Here it is the end of December and I haven't even started sewing. I got more into card making/scrapbooking this fall and ignored my sewing machine. I am going to have to split my time between the two. I miss sewing but am having so much fun with the other.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and will have a safe New Year.

Scrapbook/Card Making Area

2010-11-29T06:40:00.001-06:00

I sure am a poor blogger. My intention was to be busy with all I love and show a few pictures on here, empty my minds ideas/thoughts for all to read, ponder, or just pass over them. Wow, am I behind or what?! Does this mean my mind is empty? That I'm not doing anything? I think not. Maybe it means I've been running circles around myself trying to decide what I want to work on. I seem to be one of 'those' people who has way to many things going or way to many things I want to do, at one time. For instance,

Here is my craft area. I have organized and reorganized this so many times I lost count. Does that mean something?

Mitch built me this shelf a few summers ago. This past summer I decided to paint everything yellow to brighten up the area. The top shelf holds my Mat Stacks card stock, my label gun, and some extra containers. The next shelf is a few stamp blocks, ink pads, and misc. The third shelf is my embossing powders and the bottom shelf is bling, glitter paints, and my CD's with clear unmounted stamps in them.

I made this shelf from scrap lumber we had. It holds almost all my ribbon spools. I have to see them or I won't use them.

I have to keep all my 'use all the time' things right at hand. So I found a spinny thing (technical word) I wasn't using in the kitchen and put it to good use. RECYCLE!! I have an assortment of things on here. Pens, markers, scissors, adhesives, little tools & colored pencils. LOVE THIS!

This is my 8 1/2 x 11 card stock and my Cricut Machine. I also have my heat gun sitting there ready to use. The cupboard to the left holds all my wood block stamps and stickers. I'll have to take some pictures and post them later.

All the time I have spent with my craft area as left my sewing area feeling very very lonely. This is the emptiest I have seen this in a long time. Poor thing!

I think I need to be twins. Maybe I could have each of me sit down at one area and I would get so much more done.
OR....I need a schedule! Hey, there's an idea.

Monday....sew
Tuesday...craft
Wednesday...sew
Etc...

Is this a light bulb moment? Or just a crazy person thinking she's going to find some sense of closure on all her projects?

Here is one thing I have learned about myself and will admit:

I am a collector of projects!

I wonder if there's a 12 step program for me? HA HA HA

Lilly Videos

2010-11-11T10:11:00.000-06:00

I'm posting these videos for right now till I figure out how to burn them to DVDs. Lilly's Great Gma & Gpa can't open them in an email so this is the next best thing till I take the time to figure it out. Sooo....enjoy watching my beautiful grand daughter learn how to pull herself forward and keep her mommy & daddy on their toes.

She's finding the dog dish's and I'm sure she is going to find a lot more. But she sure is cute!!

Again, when I figure out the burning thing I'll get back to posting other things like crafts and what not. Although I could dedicate a whole blog just to braggin about my Gbaby. Isn't being a Gparent wonderful!! Have a wonderful day!

She's About To Crawl

2010-11-06T17:04:00.000-05:00

This is Gramma's little peanut learning to get up on her knees and....rock. She is so close. Sure is cute watching her learn the process of rolling, spinning on the belly, getting up on the knees, and the next step...crawling. Her mommy is so good about capturing everything on film or video that we can record everything and pass it on to far away family and friends to enjoy.

I LOVE getting emails of this kind. My daughter called and said to check my email. She had taken these 2 videos that day on her iPhone and sent them right away. Technology is awesome!! It makes living in different towns seem not so bad. Can't wait though to play on the floor with her the next time to visit.

Gramma LOVES you Lilly!!

3 Years Smoke Free

2010-10-24T07:50:00.000-05:00

WAY TO GO ME!!! I can't believe that it's been 3 years ago today that I had my last cigarette. Seems so much longer then that most days. It actually seems like I didn't smoke....most days. Then there are those days, or should I say moments, that I stop what I'm doing and have this brief, uncontrollable urge, to reach for my smokes to light up. Then realize I DON'T SMOKE ANYMORE! Then the urge passes as quick as it came. I stop and just say 'wow' to myself and go on with what I was doing. It doesn't happen often but it does still happen.

Some days I can smell smoke on someone a mile away and think it stinks to high heaven. Other times I pause, shut my eyes and enjoy the smell. It brings back the feeling that smoking gave me. A calmness, a soothing feeling knowing that this cigarette is always here for me whenever I needed it to take away any frustration, fear, sadness, pain, anxiety, rage, boredom and any other emotion a person has. That's the thing about being addicted to anything. It's what you turn to even if you don't want to admit it. The physical addiction is so much easier to control then the mental addiction. I had to retrain my whole way of doing things. I didn't know how to live life without my smokes. What do I do now? There were so many different times of the day that was habit to have a smoke.

Waking up with coffee
After each meal
Cooking each meal
Keeping ones self awake to watch a movie
First thing when you get in a vehicle to drive somewhere
Break time at work
Getting off of work
Talking on the phone
Visiting friends
Going out
Boredom

This list could go on forever. My point is that my life revolved around my smokes. That was the first thing I grabbed ANY WHERE I went. Always knew when I was low and needed to get more. I had to figure out what to do INSTEAD of all that.

It's the hardest thing to stop an addiction of any kind. Looking in the mirror when you think you can't make it another second, point your finger at yourself (I'm serious), and say out loud...."YOU CAN DO THIS. YOU ARE STRONGER THEN THIS". It may sound crazy or stupid but I actually did it a few different times. When a person is trying to stop an addiction, others telling you how good you are doing and that they are proud of you, is nice to hear. YOU telling yourself the same thing is what really counts. You have to believe in yourself and tell yourself this in the mirror over and over until you start to really feel it.

It's not that I shouldn't smoke.....I choose not to. There's a big difference there. Being told what to do vs. choosing what to do......which one would you succeed at?

Maybe I'll celebrate today with a stop at the mirror......"YOU DID IT"

One Down...One More Started

2010-10-22T07:20:00.000-05:00

I finished the table topper's binding and think it turned out pretty good. I've actually been using it on our kitchen table to add some fall color. I'm not one who puts something pretty on my kitchen table. Center pieces or runners are beautiful but always seem to end up sitting on the 'end' of the table, not the 'center' where they belong. So why bother was my attitude. This last year or so I have tried to make a point to have something there to go with my mood or the season. Family is doing rather well as far as keeping it uncluttered, centered, and clean. Patience paid off maybe?!

Here's another project I have started. Maybe 'pressured' to get it going and finished is a better choice of words. My youngest daughter wanted me to sew her a quilt. She went through all my books (I thought that would at least take her a day or two) but within an hour or less she had her pick. I then sent her to my stash of fabrics to find the colors she wanted. After an afternoon of dumb-founded looks on my part to her choice of colors, we agreed on the fabrics. She got all the colors she wanted EXCEPT the one I could not....I REPEAT ...COULD NOT bring myself to combine in this group. It wasn't that I didn't like the print, it was the fact that it was like dressing someone in plaid pants with a checkered shirt. NOT GONNA HAPPEN!!

So....we compromised. She agreed to take out the one fabric in question, and I agreed to sew the quilt.

These are the colors she came up with. She is so excited now that I've started it. I am too, to see what she is visioning. I'll keep you posted as to it's progress.

When I'm needing a break from sewing I have decided to organize my fabric stash. Which means I need to refold it all. It's funny how ideas come to us after the fact. I had organized it long ago but didn't realize I wasn't using the space to the best of its ability.

This is my fuzzy flannel collection for the baby quilts I ~~hope~~ am going to sew this winter. Wish me luck. I have so many ideas and projects in my head, I may have to start sewing during the summer months too just to get them done. I'm not one that likes to sew when its hot outside.

Happy sewing/crafting to all!

Past Weekend Projects

2010-10-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

This last weekend must have been 'project' weekend. We have a 3-shelf closet just has you enter the kitchen. It's never really been big enough for much. I mean really!!...3 shelves? I was stacking all the canned jars of food I had been working so hard on and realized it might be over loaded. There was a lot of wasted space also. I hinted I would like to have more shelves added, that way I'd get more ~~crammed~~ stored on the shelves.

First 2 shelves in

Completed pantry

This holds TONS more jars then it did before. I think it looks so great and organized. Now I have more space in the kitchen cupboards that 1/2 of the jars were taking up.

When I downloaded this picture to put on my blog it was the right side up. Loading it on here somehow flipped it upside down. Repeat attempts to fix it has left me with the 'oh well' attitude. You get the jist of what it looks like. A basket of....fall? HAHAHA

I started putting this together. I have to trim the edges now and put the binding on. Last week I went on another Quilt Shop Hop of 8 different stores. Not as far away as the last time but still great fun. Each shop we stopped at had cut out pieces to this block. One store would have the border print, another the white, another the dark red fabric pieces, and so on. We carried a card we received at the first and each shop would stamp it showing we had been there. The last shop we visited took that card and entered it into a drawing for the Quilt Shop Hop. The prize is a $50 gift certificate to each shop. How fun!

Since the weather has been amazing, I haven't really felt like diving into any large sewing projects. I finished the other top I was working on and have to piece together a backing for it. I'm NOT buying anymore fabric for it and have some huge left overs from it. Why not use it?...is my thinking. I will post some pictures when I get back to it.

Have a great day !!

Diabetes Update

2010-10-08T12:02:00.000-05:00

This post is kind of for me. To remember and to look back at where I was and where I'm going.

I had another Dr. check-up to see how I am doing. As of last week I have lost 53 lbs and my blood sugar levels are right where the Dr. wants them. I started asking him some questions and his reply to me was...

"What ever your doing...keep doing it. Your doing great!"

That was nice to hear.

Don't get me wrong. Life isn't always smiles, butterflies, and rainbows with cutesy bunnies hopping all over. Sometimes the eyebrows feel scrunched, the butterflies look like bats, and those rainbows lead you to quicksand with a fire breathing dragon disguised as a bunny waiting for you. Ever have those days? If you say no...your lieing! It's OK to have those days. As women, we have those days more then we admit. It's how we get ourselves out of those days that counts.

I hate having diabetes at times. But that's OK. Bad days or moods make us appreciate the good days and moods even more....don't they? I stop myself, take a deep breath, and be thankful that it's only diabetes. It could be so much more and worse. Its controllable. It's not running my life. It actually is making me healthier.

So....I'm doing great!

Anyone have a low-carb, no-sugar, fat-free, no-salt, tasteless bag of chips they want to share? I'll bring the salsa! HAHAHA

Still Sewing

2010-10-07T13:13:00.000-05:00

I'm still sewing on the project I told you about. I put it down for a few days to join in with 2 other ladies for some more Quilt Shop Hopping. We did 8 towns in 2 days. It was a lot of fun but now I think I'm ready to settle down and do some sewing. I've got lots of projects in my head and in the 'NEED TO START/FINISH' basket. Should keep me occupied all winter....hopefully. Here's a picture of the outside border I decided to make for the top. I'm not real sure what to call it. A quilt top, lap blanket, or wall hanging. To small for a quilt, just right for me for a lap blanket, and to big for a wall hanging unless you have 10'-12' walls. No matter what it's called, I think I'm really going to like the look of this one.

I plan on making the binding out of the darker sold blue and the backing from the dark blue with the snowflakes on it. If there isn't enough of the backing then I'll piece the big left overs together. When I look at quilts on-line, I see more and more of them using mixed pieces for the backing. Why not? I think it makes perfect sense. Use up what you have. Most the time the front of the quilt is all you see anyway. With all the quilts I've looked at lately and all the shops I've been to, there seems to be less and less rules to quilting. It is art and the possibilities are endless. If you can imagine it, you can make it. We all have our favorites and what we like and dislike. I tend to fall for the more traditional type quilts, but am learning to appreciate and even love some of the newer versions and colors.

I was in one of the shops the other day and ran across this spray for ironing/pressing quilts. I bought it and decided to give it a try since everyone I asked about it and nothing but great things to say. They said I wouldn't go back to just water after using it.

This stuff is AMAZING! It is Mary Ellen's BEST PRESS. Clear starch Alternative. It comes in different scents and the one I have is Caribbean Beach. WOW. Love it and very impressed. On the side of the bottle it states

Makes ironing easier
Smells wonderful
No flaking, even on dark fabrics
Non-clogging
Acid-free
Leaves no residue
Relaxes stubborn wrinkles
Gives clothes a crisp, new finish
Makes clothes soil-resistant

This bottle that I have is a 16 fl. oz one. It cost $9.95 at a local quilt shop, but I've been told it comes in a gallon size and is more economical. I didn't want a gallon of it in case I didn't like it. Not sure how long this will last me, but we'll see. Maybe buy a gallon and split with a friend. Saving money and paying less is always a good thing...right?

Hope your having a great day on this B E A U T I F U L day we have been blessed with. Get out ~ enjoy ~

One Potato...Two Potato

2010-09-29T13:48:00.000-05:00

I am in need of a large addition for our home that can be turned entirely into shelves. Or, I may have to clean the closet in the office. I'm thinking I better get cleaning and purging. I have been canning potatoes this year, that we got from mom & dad and WOW are they good. I wasn't sure if we'd like them so I did just 7 quarts and tried one. They are perfect! Not over cooked or under cooked. They heat up way faster then if they were fresh. We don't eat a lot of them and end up tossing what spoils or starts growing 'vines'. Now we can can them and not worry about wasting them.

I did the first 7 whole. They were really small and fit nicely. These 7, above, were a little bigger so I cut them in half. As you can see I DON'T peel a potato. The family doesn't mind and all the nutrients are in the skins. I scrub them up and fill the jars. I then filled them with hot boiled water and sealed them up. I DID NOT add salt or anything else to them and they taste great. Most of my canning this year was all natural. No salt or 1/2 the salt. If it called for 1/2 tsp I put in 1/4. (green beans) Otherwise most of the things are salt free, sugar free, pesticide free, and yummy!!!

Now I have to freeze squash and put the last of the tomato sauce away and guess what? I"LL BE DONE CANNING!!!

Look out sewing machine! Look out scrapbooks! Look out closet cleaning! Look out.........see a pattern here? I have lots to do!

MN Quilt Shop Hop Squares Update #2

2010-09-28T08:54:00.000-05:00

I have been working on the Quilt Shop Hop blocks I had showed you in August. Here I have added borders to some of the 9" squares. I had purchased 3 different fabrics to use for the assembly of the wall hanging that matched the fabric in the squares. At this point I wasn't real sure how I was going to arrange them. There were only 11 blocks. I know I was the sharpest pin in the sewing box, but I DO know that 11 of anything isn't even.

So, being sharper then a marble, I took all the leftover pieces from the 11 blocks (love scraps!) and designed my own block to fill the gap. Then I proceeded to lay them out on my bed to figure out what I liked best. After only a few short moments and changing squares around a few times, I came up with what I liked. I sewed them together and this is what I got.

The block that I made up from scraps is in the upper left corner. Now all I have left to do is figure out what kind of border or borders I want to do. I'm thinking I'll add 2 more borders to this but not sure how wide or what colors. I'm leaning towards the darker blue for one of them.

I'll keep you posted. Have a great day!!

What I Need/Want To Do

2010-09-25T08:22:00.000-05:00

Not much going on that would make any sense to anyone. I'm sort of being a rambling fool lately. Not in my talking (although I do ramble on most of the time), but in my 'doing'. I have tons of things I want or need to do and I seem to be running in circles. Maybe it's the fact that the weather is getting colder and we know that winter is just around the corner. I was beginning to think someone spiked my vitamins just yesterday. I did something that I have been putting off for....lets just say a looooong time. I went through our file cabinet and emptied out all the old things, and made new file folders for new things, put new labels on what needed it, and filled away the shoe box full of things waiting for a home. (GASP) I know, scary isn't it? I have always had a file cabinet with all our 'keep' papers filed away nicely in it. So much easier to find things. Anyway, that's what I did all day yesterday while doing laundry. My house was cleaned, laundry done, roast beast in the crock pot (giggles....yes, I said beast. LOVE Dr. Seuss). So I attempted the file cabinet and won! Wooooo Hoooo!

Now that I'm on a roll, this is what else I'd like to get done

Finish organizing my scrapbook stamps and supplies
Lots more sewing
Mulch the leaves in the yard (if it ever stops raining)
Weed the peony beds one more time
Till up the garden
Go through all our closets and organize for the winter
Breathe
Get my fall decorations up for once

I'm sure I can find more things to add to my list if I think about it. This seems like it should keep me busy for a while anyway. HAHAHAHA.....IF I start it.

What do you want to do or get done before winter? Scary to think about it, isn't it? It's cooommmminnngg!

Have a wonderful day!

Quilt Shop Hop Blocks Update

2010-09-13T07:59:00.000-05:00

I think I missed sewing more then I knew. I cleaned the house like a mad woman on Saturday morning and spent the better part of the weekend sewing these blocks. Once I got started, I couldn't stop. Had to force myself to take a few breaks when I got frustrated with a few minor setbacks, but for the most part it went smoothly. Went outside to cool off and watch hubby do his 'guy things' with the vehicles. One 4x4 truck....hood up, buckets underneath, tools all around. One Grand Caravan....jacked up, back hatch open, bumper off, plastic interior loose and partially off (gasp, my baby). I highly suggested he leave the 3rd vehicle of ours alone for the day since it is our only means of transportation in the event we DON'T want to travel to town by bicycle, 4-wheeler, or old case tractor. I offered my assistance to anything he may need help with like watching (I'm very good at that! My parents even said that my favorite saying was "do you need watching?", and I continue to use that), retrieving thing-a-ma-jigs, and the beverage getter. When my break was over I returned to my sewing machine and continued on. Here are a few of the blocks that I was telling you about in my last post.

I'm thinking this will probably end up being a Christmas wall hanging since all of the fabric is winter themed. I will have to go buy some more fabric to finish it off but I did see that the local quilt shop still had these prints available.

Happy quilting!

"Ohhhh The Weather Outside Is......"

2010-09-11T08:38:00.000-05:00

NOOOOO Silly, it's not Christmas...YET. I love that song, but was referring to the temperature is changing and that tells me one thing. TIME TO SEW!! As soon and it cools down and gets a chill in the air I dig out my sewing machine and start in again. I had posted awhile back about the Quilt Shop Hop that I had went on and all the little goodies I had collected. Well, I started the other day on the first of 11 blocks.

They are all coordinated with each other and I'll have to see what I come up with as far as putting them together. I know 11 is a very odd number, so we will see. I have so many things I want to sew. Does anyone ever get all the things sewed they hope to? AND is it possible to only have one thing going at a time? I honestly don't think so. (I'm gong to keep believing this so I continue to assume I'm normal) HEHEHE

I'll take pictures of each block when it's done and post them. Who knows, maybe I can get them all done in one day. YA RIGHT! Who am I kidding? I have finally figured out that the reason my daughters are so easily sidetracked is due to some little, itsy bitsy gene I MAY be carrying, and have graciously passed on to them. OK Mom & Dad........Who gave me this gene? hehehe

SEEEE....I get sidetracked even in my blog conversation. WOW! Can you say ADOH? (attention deficit OH shiny)

Anywho....I'll keep you posted as to the progress of said blocks.

Updated Canning/Freezing List

2010-09-09T11:22:00.001-05:00

Back in my August 11 post of telling you what canning and freezing I had to do yet, and what I have already done, I now have an update that is current.....so far. And I wonder why I feel so ready for fall and, dare I say it, winter! It would mean that another canning/freezing season is over and I ~~have~~ hopefully completed all I had intended to do. Here we go......

28 qts Dill Pickles
38 pts Green Beans
7 qts Stew Mix
4 qts Bread & Butter Pickles
20 pts Soup Mix
7 qts Soup Mix
20 bags (1 1/2 cups each) Corn
10 pts Beet Pickles
20 pts Beets
29 qts Salsa
11 jars (8 oz) Pizza Sauce

Deeeeep Breath........and I still need to do or finish
Tomato Sauce
Dig carrots
Can the Sauerkraut that's rotting in the crock sitting in my kitchen. (this is testing my love of kraut)

When I plan our menus this winter I am going to have a list of all that I have done so I'll be sure to use it and not forget what I made. I'm hoping the grocery stores will forget who I am. "The lady with the full cart AND recycle bags to boot".

Seriously wanting to try to raise chickens for butchering next year. Hubby looks at me like I'm dreaming. He knows how much it terrifies....no that's not the word.....more like.....renders me out of control as to what I may jump on or how fast I can turn and run......when entering a coop that houses flying things. Yes, I know chickens don't normally fly very high anyway. You tell that to my nerve endings and muscles that catapult me into the opposite direction of any winged thing taking flight!! If their feet leave the ground....ITS FLYING!!
But I really do want to try. Would be nice to have our own eggs too. We'll see. Maybe I am just dreaming but what's wrong with that? I can smell the huge bird cooking in my oven during the winter, warming the house, and greeting my family as they come home. Can you feel the love? hehehe

Last First Day

2010-09-07T08:41:00.000-05:00

"Today is your last first day " I said to my baby.
Being she has been on summer vacation ALL SUMMER, gave me the expression I was looking for. Total confusion!! "Huh?" she said to me. I could hear the wheels grinding and then coming to a complete stop. I knew I had gotten her with that one. YES!! I explained that this would be her LAST first day of her junior year. Never again would it happen. Funny how things can be seen when one understands something all of a sudden. The little light bulb above her head lit up like a beacon.

My baby is a junior this year! How scary is that? Yes I know I've been through this before. She has an older sister and I went through this with her too. I'm a mom. I can't change. I worry.

What is she going to do after school is over? College? Vo-Tech? Unemployment line? AND what does she want to be? The protective mommy in me wants her to go to bed at 8, make sure to wear your snowmobile boots and hat when its cold, don't drive a vehicle, and color me a picture to hang on the fridge.

In Reality

She is pretty good about going to bed when she's tired but its NOT 8 pm
She owns a pair of snowmobile boots that are worm ONLY for hunting season. I'm lucky she puts the flip flops away when the snow flies.
A hat? Ya right!! I can't argue with her on that one. I don't do hats either!!
Driving a car is necessary. She's a very good driver! It's the other people out there I'm worried about.
I still see her as Re-Re (how she use to say her name) coloring mommy a picture and wanting to hang it on the fridge with the other 10 she had done that day. So busy being an artist and with no worries of anything but wanting to be with mommy.

I know she is a young lady who has a very good head on her shoulders. She will go far in what ever she wants to do in this life and be very good at it. She has morals and knows what is right and wrong. She will have ups and downs, cry and laugh, get hurt, and survive and fight back. That's life! That's what makes us who we are. How we deal with all that and what we learn from it is key.

I love the statement Dr. Phil repeats often on his show. "We teach people how to treat us".

Have a wonderful Last First Day Re-Re!! Mommy loves you and is going to worry....its my job.

Salsa Season Is Here

2010-08-23T12:39:00.000-05:00

I had a lull in the canning season. Beets, Beans, and Pickles had me spinning circles around myself trying to keep up. Then we finished with those, pulled the vines from the garden (except the cucumbers) and had some down time to breath. Now the tomatoes are ripening enough so I can start again making salsa and sauces.
As I was stirring this batch of salsa I had to take a picture. The color was amazing and looked so yummy. The onions, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, & tomatoes are all from our garden. That made me feel so good.

Doesn't it look good sitting there with the canned soup/stews and pickles? I have to start looking for more room since I seem to be running out of space. I guess I'm doing more then last year.

Score!!

2010-08-19T09:05:00.000-05:00

Our garden is in pause mode for canning at this moment and I can take a break and think ahead. I have actually been trying to think ahead and get ready for those long winter days that will be here before we know it. During the peak of canning, somewhere between the beans and dill pickles, I had a very serious talk with my garden. "You need to give me a day here and there for 'ME' time", I said in a stern but loving voice. It did, and I went on my first MN Quilt Shop Hop. Through out NW MN there were 11 shops involved in this section. When you visit them you receive fabric to make a 9" block and you put your name in for give-aways and prizes. You are given a pamphlet to take to each of these shops and they stamp it for you. After you have collected all 11 stamps from each of the 11 shops, you will receive 1 yard of fabric from each shop. The hop ended the 15th, and I have already received my free fabric. I'm excited to see what I can come up with using this.

I also have all 11 quilt squares from each shop to sew. They put them in baggies and they all coordinate with each other so this may be a winter wall hanging since some of the prints have snowflakes on them. BEAUTIFUL!

As I visited most of these shops for the first time, I was able to see all the wonderful ideas and layouts of quilts old and new. Should have taken pictures but didn't and can't remember any one in particular. Just was inspired in the best way possible. I was able to buy a pattern or two while visiting. That way I can use my own colors but still have the pattern from which to go by. This should keep me busy.

Erin went along and found this fabric (top) and wanted a pillow made for her bed. The following week I ran into Jo-Ann's at the mall and came across the larger print one. She has taught herself how to play piano and has music notes painted in a border all around her room.

Erin also loves Oriental writing and fabrics. I found this one at Jo-Ann's also and she was so excited for me to make her something. Another pillow is what she wants. How many pillows can one person have on their bed? May have to post a picture and let you decide. That's if the room is clean!

I have a new addiction, Bags, and decided to add to my collection while at Jo-Ann's during one of their pattern sales. $1.99 per pattern! All these were normally $18 and up. SCORE!!

Finally, I have started something to keep me ~~awake~~ busy while watching TV in the evenings. I am embroidering these Northwoods Lodge transfers in all dark green and plan on using coordinating fabric for a wall hanging for our bedroom. Enough foo-foo flowery stuff hanging on the walls. I'm sure hubby will appreciate it too. I love the outdoor/cabin look.

So....this is what's going to keep me busy this winter. Can't say I don't have big plans and hopes. Never can enough plans in the event one gets bored.

I now must bid ado for the time being. Canning veggie soup/stew is calling.

Have a wonderful day!!!

Multi-Tasking?

2010-08-15T08:24:00.000-05:00

Summer is here and in full swing. Well, maybe more like almost over and "where did it go?". Gardens are screaming for attention, lawns are growing faster then we can mow, and my mind....or should I say my attention span.....is spinning out of control.

Multi-tasking is all the rage. "I can multi-task with the best of them",   "I can handle that. I know how to multi-task". I hear it a lot. Do these people have something over on me that I'm not aware of? Besides the fact that most of them that say it are ~~way~~ slightly younger them myself. I want to go on record saying this: I USED TO multi-task with the best of them too!! The key word there is USED TO. I have matured enough to realize at this point in my life that multi-tasking is not going to be easy anymore. I guess the best way for me to describe my multi-tasking skills is to draw you a imaginary picture.

Picture this:   Kelly standing in her kitchen.....one foot nailed to the floor. Need I say more?

I can be canning a pressure cooker full of beans, washing dishes, getting supper ready, washing clothes, AND paying attention to Rachel Rae and her awesome cooking skills. All running smoothly and trouble free like a well-oiled machine. At least I thought so. In all reality when I sit down to take a break with my cold glass of water at the table, I see......

*I forgot to set the timer for the pressure cooker so have to guess how much time is left

*The washing machine washed those invisible clothes again due to the fact that at that point I remembered the pressure cooker timer wasn't set and ran to check that

*My dish water looks like....water. "Wheres the bubbles?". Oh great! Forgot to put the dish soap in due to fact that I remembered the washing machine had NO clothes in it and now was done

*ShamWow? Who changed my TV station to this infomercial and what did you do with Rachel? Uh oh......me again. Realized dish water was still running as I was channel surfing during commercial break. Gotta see what's going on at DIY or HGTV.

All in all I do get things done. It just takes me longer that's all. I guess some days I need to have someone following me and keeping me on task, right?   Naaaaaa. What fun would that be? I'd be boring and wouldn't be able to sit back and laugh at myself.

Busy Season

2010-08-11T07:57:00.000-05:00

I'm still here. I haven't forgotten my blog or the fact that I love to talk and take pictures to show. My garden seems to have forgotten it though. When the garden is ready, life gets put on hold. So far I have canned and put in the pantry:

4 qts Bread & Butter pickles
20 qts Dill Pickles
7 qts stew veggies
10 pints veggie soup with different dried beans (YUMMY)
30 pints of green beans

.....and I still have to do:
freezer corn (today)
beets
beet pickles
salsa
carrots
sauerkraut
canned cabbage
squash (thank you dad & mom in advance) ha ha ha
more dried bean soups w/ veggies

After looking at this list I'm tired already. But that's the fun of gardening, EATING IT this winter.

AND.....
it will make me happier then ever to NOT give the grocery stores our hard earned money.

So, as you can see this is what's keeping me from all things crafty. I miss my sewing machine, my scrapbooks, & my crafts, but will return when my garden says its time. Hmmmmm....is it fall yet?

Happy 31st Anniversary

2010-07-28T07:16:00.000-05:00

Happy 31st Anniversary to my.....

Hunting
Fishing
Lumberjack
Popcorn eating
Button Pushing

.........Man!

You are the keeper of my being,

The warmth in my soul,

The sparkle in my eyes.

"Grow old with me, the best is yet to be!" ~ Robert Browning~

Yay Me

2010-07-14T14:02:00.000-05:00

I had my first A1C Glucose test yesterday since I was diagnosed April 7 of this year as a Type 2 Diabetic. My number back then was a little over 10. The normal is 4-6 I've been told by my Dr and the nurse. So I went in feeling that I have done fairly well in keeping my numbers low and continue to shed off the pounds, but still a little scared. I found out later that day that I have been able to bring my number down to 6.7 and according to my scale I have lost close to 40 lbs. Hmmmmmm....who'd a thunk that eating healthy and staying away from that most delightful food group "All things deep fried" would get these results. Imagine that?! What I wouldn't give for a large pizza dripping with grease and nummyness or even a Big Mac with a SUPER sized order of fries to go along with it. Don't forget the massive amounts of Ranch dressing to dip the fries in. Wow, I think I hear my arteries and heart thanking me for being such a good girl. I feel pretty good most days with all my choices. Always reading and searching for new diabetic things to try. It's surprising how good some of these things are....if you give it a chance. I use to be (way back in the day) strictly a regular Pepsi drinker, then switched to diet and thought it was the end of the world. After years of the change I could never go back. Now I don't even drink any pop at all, and I don't even miss it. Or when a person switches from farm fresh milk to store bought milk. In time we get use to it and can't imagine going back to the way it use to be. That's how I look at foods now. I'm giving everything a chance (more then one tasting) and figure I will eventually learn to like it. It takes 7 days to create a habit, and 21 days to UN do the bad habits. I figure I have about 30+ years of bad eating choices to try to undo. I'll do it.
Here's a link to the American Diabetes Association that I continue to go back to when I feel I need to find out something or start feeling confused. They have message boards and forums that are very helpful. http://www.diabetes.org/

Happy July 1

2010-07-01T07:18:00.003-05:00

The busiest month of the year is upon us. Everything seems to happen in July. The big 4th Holiday, meaning town is C*R*A*Z*Y!! I try to avoid going to town at all costs at this time. If I absolutely have to then I go early in the morning. Thank you WalMart for being open 24/7. Don't get me wrong, I do love to see all the excitement at the waterfront and all the people watching. It's the crazy drivers I don't like. You always run into those that feel the need to be complete idiots while driving a motorized vehicle, no matter what size it is. These people should be banned from driving during holidays. So, I stay away. We have even started a new tradition a few years ago. Instead of going to the fireworks (hadn't missed one since I was a child) we go to a movie as a family.

We have all-school reunions going on this summer, birthdays, weddings, showers, and hopefully fitting in a few camping trips. The weekends that are empty (those are getting fewer and fewer) we will try to get down to see that beautiful grand daughter of ours and her mommy & daddy. Did you notice to the right of here I have pictures of her to share? HA HA HA Hard to miss huh? It's in a way my "Brag Box".

The last post I made said I wanted to be fishing. Well, we did go that evening and no matter what we catch, or don't....it's worth going. No matter how hot or cold we get...it's worth going. I caught a Bluegill and left the rest to hubby. He ended up keeping 1 really nice Northern & 4 or 5 Bluegill.

I also caught this little stinker of a perch that I just had to share with you. I felt it nibbling on my bait but didn't feel like much. I decided to reel in to make sure it wasn't a weed. I laughed so hard when I saw what had bit my hook. He looked like bait. The hook and chunk of leech were almost bigger then it.

Is this a picture of determination or what? We should all be so daring and just go for what we want. This little fish shows all things are possible....if you believe!

So here's to a great evening of fishing and proof it happened. Thanks Jim for your comment on last post to go. I would have missed out on the great laugh of catching this little guy.

Never Enough Time

2010-06-29T08:16:00.003-05:00

This is what I want to be doing at the moment. Isn't it beautiful?! Rocking gently in the boat, watching the eagles soar above, scanning the shoreline for activity, and waiting for that 'tap tap' at the end of the line letting you know there's a fish down there.

This is my problem. I want to be fishing, BUT there's a million other things I want to be doing also. I love mowing lawn, working in the peony beds, working in the garden, building wood projects with hubby in the garage (we really need a wood shop), and scrapbooking. How do I get it all done or even started when it takes me all day to do it? I'm finding that I'm slower and need a few more breaks than I use to. I don't like to say its due to age but more of a 'time to think' phase. In the garden when I'm bent over weeding or picking things, I have to stand up more then I use to. I have realized from experience that if I don't, I may never make it out of the garden. The back locks up, the legs just plain yell at you for hours, and lets not forget the feeling of your head swelling from every drop of blood in your body rushing to your face since you've been hanging it closer to the ground to see better since your bifocals are now on your forehead. You try to stay bent over and toss your head up enough for your glasses to fall back on your nose, and realize you have just set into motion a carnival ride that may put you to your knees. You stand up to let the blood drain to your numb extremities and slow the spin but only worsen it. Your thanking God you have the hoe in your hand to stable yourself so you don't fall on your backside and smash every plant you've worked so hard on withing a 5'6" area (my height laying down). Once you've stopped the ride, you continue with the task at hand. This takes most of the afternoon. After a few spins you have to go sit down with a cold glass of water and let your body relax and trick it into thinking you are done. Then back to it we go.

I'm thinking that I'm going to run out of summer/fall before I get it all done. Then the cold winter will be here and that's a whole new list of things I like to do. I love staying busy and active but have yet to figure out how to do all that and not have my body punish me for it. I do know that once I get going it's better and as long as I continue to stay busy I'm ok. It's the stopping part or taking a break that kills you. It gives your body time to tell you it's NOT liking this one bit. This getting older part is hard to figure out. When will my mind catch up to my body and listen? NEVER...if I have anything to say about it. I'm still young and can climb mountains, jump small buildings, multi-task better then anyone, and have the fashion sense that makes my 2 girls so jealous. HA HA HA I can dream can't I??

I Am A....

2010-06-16T07:21:00.003-05:00

In my last post, "Everything Happens For A Reason", I told of my belief in that statement. This post is more proof of just that. If you look back on your life and all the high and low points of it, you will see that it all happened for a reason. It may not be what you wanted to happen, but the reason is clear if you look at it with an open mind. Sometimes it takes many events to happen over a span of time to achieve what a higher power has in store for us. Not everything is cut and dry and happens in just one easy step. If that were the case then babies would be running marathons after just a few, or even one, short steps. Here is my awakening in seeing a glimpse of what path I have been guided to take. Don't get me wrong, this journey is far from perfect. Being the stubborn, bull-headed female that I am, I have not always taken the path that was before me. Short cuts, trails, the easy way, and lets not forget the path with the huge sign "Do NOT Enter", were all and still are the 'Fun' way. Who wants to be sensible when fun is so much....funner?!

My name is Kelly, and I'm....a.....diabetic. There. I just admitted that all my bad eating choices, health choices, and thinking "that won't happen to me" has finally bit me in the butt. I think I knew I was or was very close to it. I just buried my head in the sand for over a year. April 2010 was my slap in the face moment. The paths I had stayed clear of were tapping me on the back of my head as if to say "Seeeee, you should have eaten healthier". Being that bull-headed (yes I'm admitting it again) female I decided to look at what path lays in front of me now at this moment. I took the first step onto it without hesitation. I will be stronger then this, I will NOT let it get me. I refuse to give in to not living my life. This is coming from a girl that LOVES food. All greasy, all fried, all soooo bad for you. I have not set foot in nor drove thru ANY fast food places since that day I was told. That's a major big step for me! I watch what I'm eating. I read labels at the grocery store like crazy. Takes me twice as long to get through the store but I'm trying. Fresh Fresh Fresh! I have researched, studied, and talked to many to get ideas and tips. Trial and error as to what spikes my numbers is best. I have to poke my finger twice a day and am taking 2 pills a day to help maintain my Blood Glucose numbers. I was told the day I had the first test that my numbers were over 300. Under 150....closer to 100 or less is where I am suppose to be. As of today I have been able to keep my average 30 day number at 119, and have shed off 30 pounds. (according to my scale)

Take that Diabetes!!

If I continue to control this on my own, I won't need to go on insulin injections. I hate needles! This is my driving force to keeping me on that path. Looking back already I see this happened for a reason. It was the attention getter I needed to start eating better and taking charge of living. I'm getting older and things don't work as well as they use to. At the rate I was going on the path that I had wondered off on, would have led me to a dead end sign. Literally!

That higher power knows his road construction. Just takes some of us longer to see that lots of bad eating choices isn't one of the roads on his map. Little signs along the way to point us in the right direction are sometimes ignored. Isn't it funny how EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON?

Everything Happens For A Reason

2010-06-15T06:36:00.002-05:00

We seem to be having more then our share of rain this spring/summer. The lack of sunshine and abundant rain is making for some very depressed people who seem to be on the verge of getting down right bully. I keep waiting for myself to start acting in the same manner or sounding like most. Maybe I look at it differently. It's the weather for pete's sake! You can't do anything about it! Focusing on something you can't change seems like precious time wasted. Don't get me wrong, I wish the sun would shine just like everyone else. I don't let the weather rule my mood or emotions. Maybe it's the lack of Vitamin D from the sun that others are feeling. HINT: it comes in a pill form!

I was mowing lawn the other day, between showers, and that's when I take notice as to whats around me and do my best thinking. Sometimes I don't think at all and that's a good thing too. "Brain down time" is like taking a nap awake. Anyway, as I was mowing I realized a few things and started to think maybe all this rain is for a reason. We just planted 10 White Pine trees in our yard in the hopes to have at least one of them survive. We will never see these trees in all their majestic beauty but our grandchildren and great grandchildren will. They are marked with a stake so not to run them over while mowing. Going around them carefully, I noticed they have grown a few inches already. The rain is feeding out trees. If we didn't have all this rain, we would have to be hauling water to them and making sure it got to the roots where its needed. That's one plus for the rain.

The second plus is this. My office/craft room has been cleaned again. I can't go outside to "putz" around, so I am getting things done in the house. In fact the hubby has done a few of those "honey do-list/rainy day" chores also. Now how can the rain be a bad thing if that's happening?

That's just a few things I see on the positive side of it raining so much. Yes it makes it hard to get work done outside, or go places, or have picnics. Isn't that what umbrellas are for and parks with shelters, and awnings? We could be in a drought with above normal temps, dead lawns and flowers, and our air conditioners running non-stop with the windows all shut and not be able to smell the wonderful smell of outside.

There's a reason for all this rain. I think I'm going to just enjoy it, and make the best of it. Isn't that what it's all about?

Remembering and Being Thankful

2010-05-30T10:04:00.004-05:00

I'm thankful for all who gave their lives and all who are fighting for my freedom. My freedom to speak what I think. My freedom to have choices and decide which choice I want to pick. My freedom to think for myself. I thank God for these people who serve our great nation.

This holiday is also a time to remember the loved ones we have lost. I sometimes think that's a silly way of putting it. I remember them every day. Well, OK maybe not EVERY day, but way more then just this holiday. Little things bring them to my memory and make me smile. I can be doing something and I will stop and think about how that person or what that person would do or say. It always makes me smile and feel them close. So I guess I have many Memorial Day's in my year.

I remember:

Grandpa C.....sitting in the garden and watching him cut a watermelon in half, pull 2 spoons from his pocket and hand me one and then give me 1/2 of the melon. MMMMMMM.

Grandma C.....grabbing my arm and taking me to the secret candy drawer. Opening it and pointing to the bag of opened pink mints and smiling (meaning I could have one but don't tell). Everyone knew of this drawer but the game was still fun.

Grandpa D....Strong but silent. Not a man of many words, but when he spoke the room fell silent. To hear a story of days ago, or how things have changed. When he laughed it wasn't loud but you could tell it was real. He made you feel it.

Uncle Bud....always made me laugh. Teasing all of us kids. Loved listening to him play the accordion and watching his facial expressions.

Mom A....strong, gentle, quiet but made her point when needed. Never judged anyone and a friend to everyone. Family was THEE most important. Never wanting..always giving. I was blessed to have her as my mother-in-law.

Uncle Vern....never a serious moment. Teased me for as long as I can remember and I loved every minute of it. I still see his smile and hear his laugh when he knew he got me good with a joke.

I miss them all but know they are all smiling down and watching us. Why wouldn't they be smiling...they are with Jesus.

Little Things

2010-05-18T11:38:00.007-05:00

OK, it doesn't take much to please me I admit it. As I've grown older I have become aware that I am just as happy with less. In fact, I may even be happier. I think the big difference is how a person looks at things. If you always are wanting more or bigger, then you never appreciate what you do have and you miss out on the little things that you may not even see. When a person has found what makes them happy, they start to see the smaller things in life that just add to that happiness.

I love wind chimes. I can sit outside or by my window and listen to their gentle ring forever. I'm not really sure why they mesmerize me, but they do.

The sight of my all time favorite flower, the Peony, starting to pop out of the ground makes me smile and feel good. The anticipation of the fragrant flowers is all part of the excitement.

Mowing lawn and mowing over dandelions makes me VERY happy. Yes they brighten up the lawn with their yellow-ness, but the plant itself is choking my grass and THAT'S not good. So I almost get a rush out of running over a large dandelion patch. I've been know to mow those patches the next day again after doing it already. Everyone knows they shrink down when they see the mower coming, so I get em the next day too. (deep scary tone).....HA HA HA HA

My all time favorite thing to see in the spring is this. One of four of our Flowering Crab Trees. When I'm mowing lawn, I pull as close as I can under it and look up to see all the color just starting to pop out.

I noticed this while mowing and had to stop and look. I even did the "Awwww" out loud due to its cuteness. Our Oak trees have finally popped out and the leaves are so tiny and so cute. I know I know, they do this every year. But I still get a kick out of how little and cute they are.

I wonder if the people in the world who are still looking for 'Bigger & Better' have noticed all these little things. It's sad to think they haven't. They sure are missing the best part of life........being alive and SEEING it!

Things I think

2010-05-11T13:42:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure that it raining all the time is a good thing or bad thing. I always try to think on the positive side. Sometimes it's harder then others, but for the most part it's pretty easy. People have been complaining about the rain we have been getting. Yes, it seems to rain all the time and every day but I look at it this way.....it's NOT snow. Don't get me wrong, I love snow, but its not winter anymore. So every time I hear someone complain of the rain, I try to remind them that it could be worse. And on rainy days a person can think. Maybe to much but it never hurts to think. Even if its about little things. This is what I think.....

* That people who push carts slowly thru grocery stores, probably have a reason. I just need to stop and remember that when I'm in the 'zone' and looking for something, I become oblivious to my surroundings and walk much slower.

* That wearing glasses in the rain....is a pain! But I refuse to get contacts due to the constant pulling of the tender flesh around ones eye on a daily basis will give me bags and wrinkles faster then I care to have. So I deal with spots.

* That I'm glad I didn't plant my garden yet. I don't have enough bedding, blankets, housecoats, or body parts to drape over all the things I want to plant. And then have to wash them all when their use is done.

* That skunks, woodchucks, and any other of Gods furry, smelly, vicious, pester some little creatures should know that the mowed area in their woods is MY yard. They have 40 acres to dig, spray, chew, rut, and chase each other in without crossing over into MY yard. They do not need a close up view of us, nor do they need to dig up, under, over, around, or through any buildings. The war is on!

* That my grand daughter was born just in time for me to regain my smart status. We are placed in stages of smartness by our children. Our oldest is coming to realize that maybe I do know what I'm talking about and will ask advise once in awhile again. Our 16 yr old daughter is.....well...we've all been there and I know I'm losing my smarts at a rapid rate. She'll get older and I'll get smarter again, eventually. Then there's the grand daughter. I am going to be back on that pedestal of genius level. "Gramma said", will be common and almost biblical. yesss!! Makes me so happy to think I'm smart again.

* That sometimes just stopping and looking around you is all it takes to make you happy. Truly looking at it.

That's some of what I think.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T10:02:00.003-05:00

This video I found on YouTube. By the end of it I had tears running down my face and knew I had to pass it on to my mom and anyone else that reads my blog. It kind of says it all. Being a mom I understand. Get a tissue...watch this video...enjoy.

Happy Mother's Day to the best mother I know.....my mom. I love you!

Lazy Rainy Dayz

2010-04-30T10:11:00.003-05:00

This is day 2 of a rainy, misty wet day and we sure did need it. It actually could rain a little harder but I'll take what we are given. One thing about these kind of days is this.......I get lazy. I mean I want to sleep all day type of lazy. Sweat pants, sweat shirt, favorite slippers, lock the door and pray for NO visitors type of day. Maybe it's my bodies way of recharging. Then when the sun pops out and its beautiful out, I can enjoy it to its fullest.

I have a few things I've sewn but just have to get the pics on here. I seem to be more into the "new grand daughter" pictures more. Hmmmm...I wonder why. :) I even added a gadget on the right side so I can add pictures when I get them. I think she's amazing. What else can I say.

Happy end of April and have a GREAT May!!

Gramma's Precious Girl

2010-04-27T11:48:00.005-05:00

After 9 long months of waiting, my first born grandchild as arrived. I can't even begin to describe to you what I felt when I saw her for the first time. I know I'm a crier but I hadn't even seen her face and the tears started as soon as I saw the blanket bundle. Of course laying eyes upon her confirmed that she IS the most beautiful grandchild I've ever seen. This gramma couldn't get enough kisses to the forehead or cheeks. Every time we went back to see her at the hospital that weekend, she got cuter. Like her daddy said, she's the next Gerber Baby.

It's going to be so much fun watching her grow and learn. Of course the best part....spoiling her! Little Miss "Lilly" I love you!

Personalized "Lilly" Quilt

2010-04-01T13:49:00.004-05:00

Here is the quilt I worked on during this last winter. I wanted so bad to post as I made progress but it's for my first grandchild and I wanted it to be a surprise for the baby shower. I had so much fun making this. Probably the most fun of any quilt I've made. Hmmmm....I wonder why? hehehe

This is the backing that I stumbled upon that started the whole purse theme. My oldest daughter is a Purse-aholic! Shoes too but that's a whole other blog. She comes by this addiction naturally. I too, I admit, have the same addiction. So I figured my first born child, knowing it's a girl, is going to love purses also. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

I made templates of some of the purses from the backing freehand on cardboard. I then decided what color I wanted and cut out the pieces. I used the decorative stitch on my sewing machine for some of the outlining. The 4 purses are appliqued with a zig-zag stitch. I also free hand drew the letters for the name on paper and then cut out the fabric letters. I found it much easier to iron on a stabilizer to the back of all the pieces. This made the appliqueing easy and the parts didn't slip then while I was sewing them on.

Here is the end result and I hope when my precious little grand baby girl looks at this blanket, she knows it was made with all the love in the world that a gramma can give.

Spring Fever Halted

2010-03-12T11:35:00.002-06:00

I have been wanting to post pictures of my most recent projects but will have to put that on hold for a few more weeks. See I have this problem. Every time I have a project in the works and track its progress with pictures, I realize I can't blog about it till the receiver of my said project receives it. My daughters first baby shower for her first child, and my first grandchild, is in a few weeks where she lives. After that has passed I promise to post pictures.

We have had some beautiful weather up until the last week and a half or so. The skies were blue and the warm breeze just smelled of spring so bad. It hit me one day. The urge to purge and clean. I guess they call it spring cleaning. I usually don't like to start this till we shut down the furnace and can open the windows to let the fresh air in. It helps to keep me going with the purging. A 'newness' sort of feeling. Well, this last week has stopped me in my tracks. I don't think we've seen the sky for that long. It's raining or misting all day or everyday. Everything is soggy, flooded, or about to be flooded. People are starting to become uneasy. I even feel a sense of 'on the verge of crabbiness' in the air by all. I try....I really do, to see the positive in everything. I tell myself and others that "Hey, it's not snow". I can only say that so many times without finally wanting to tell myself to zip it! It is really starting to get to me too. How much rain does a person have to endure before the sun decides to show its face? How many waterholes do we need in our yards, fields, and driveways? How many more potholes do we need on these dirt roads? I'm thinking....enough is enough. But then I start to think again.....where is the positive in this? I tell myself that I don't live close enough to the mighty Mississippi River to worry if its going to flood my house. I don't live by the ocean to worry about a hurricane. I don't live where they have earthquakes. I don't live in tornado alley. And last I checked Minnesota doesn't have a volcano. So if putting up with potholes, flooded yards, and dirt roads that are like wash boards, is all I have to complain about, then I'm blessed and should remember that.

Maybe God is trying to tell us something. Does an ark sound familiar? I'm thinking maybe I should pay attention to what I start complaining about and remember this.....SOMEONE always has it worse then me. So, I will sit and watch the rain come down and melt the snow. I will bask in the 35-40 degree temps we are having. I will be thankful for all the water standing in my yard quenching its thirst and watering my trees. I will be thankful that I have puddle boots to wear in case the need arises. I will repeat this over and over in those times that I feel like telling my positive side to......ZIP IT!

My First T-Shirt Quilt

2010-03-07T10:28:00.007-06:00

I was given the opportunity to make a T-Shirt Quilt for my cousin Jim this past late fall/early winter. He had a nice supply of T-Shirts he had accumulated over the years and like most of us, those Tee's brought back memories. I was excited yet scared to take on this challenge. I am my own worst critic and find fault in all I do. I decided to go for it and look at it as a learning process. Jim of course eased my concerns and was in no hurry, for which I am very thankful. Basically the month of December it was put away for the holiday decorations. Well, maybe I should say from Thanksgiving to a week past New Years is more like it. Once the new year was welcomed and over and all holiday ornaments were put away, I attacked the quilt with excitement.

I knew I had to iron a stabilizer on the backside of each Tee after I had cut out the logo. This gives it the strength and support it needs to be sewn. T-Shirt fabric is almost impossible to sew in a quilt without this. It makes life so much easier. Being that all logos are not created equal, I had to try to cut groups of them the same size so they could be put into rows and have some resemblance of order. In the picture below, I layed the squares out on the top of my bed to see how and where I wanted them placed. Where I wanted them? HA HA Ya right! I should have said....."I layed the squares out on the top of my bed and stood back and waited for the quilt to talk to me. Telling me how IT wanted to be put together".

When ever I put something together and lay it out to look at it, I have this thing I do. I turn away from it, walk a few steps, stop, clear my minds visual, take a deep breath, exhale, and turn quickly and look for what catches my eye first. If it's bad I fix it, change it up, or remove it. If it's good, I'll know it. Seems to work ....for me anyway.

Here I have added the tan border and the quilt top is complete. I have it stretched out on a quilt frame my dad made for my mother. I have one also that my grandpa (my dad's dad) had made but is smaller for crib quilts. Jim wanted this quilt to be made the way our grandma use to make quilts. She tied more quilts then I can count. I was lucky enough to be able to help her more then once and cherish those memories. I didn't want to pick a yarn to tie with that would stand out and take away from each square. The focal point IS the squares and I wanted it to remain that way. Tan is such a nice background color that goes with anything, so I continued that color with the yarn.

I picked a nice chocolate brown for the backing. In all honesty I was thinking of Jim when I did this. This quilt is for snuggling on the couch reading a book, watching TV, or just keeping warm while on those cold winter nights. Brown hides "use" nicely and will look great where ever he chooses to display it. So here's the end result and I hope it keeps him warm for years to come. It's not fancy or something that's going to hang in a museum, but each stitch is made with love. Knowing that each square will be looked at with fond memories and bring a smile to my cousin's face. Keep warm Cuz and enjoy the memories!

Hugs & Kisses Quilt Finished

2010-02-01T13:56:00.003-06:00

I finally finished the baby quilt 'Hugs & Kisses' that I started last April of 2009. Wow is that awful or what? I'll say I was just busy creating and leave it at that. In cleaning/purging my sewing supplies, I found a few (few = more then 2) baby quilt tops that needed to be finished and I put them in their own special tote. I then placed it next to the sewing table and told myself..."Self..finish these before you do anything else". So far so good.

I am very happy how this turned out and that I actually finished it. I'm a great 'starter' of things, projects, & plans. It's the 'finishing' I have troubles with. So a big WAY TO GO for me! Now I'm inspired.

I have been practicing free hand quilting and it's coming along pretty good. I do know that I can't do it while others are home, or while watching TV, or for that fact thinking. It takes concentration and that in itself is a challenge for me. I'm a woman who's mind multi-tasks at any given moment of the day and usually without warning. I tell my girls they get side-tracked so easy but what I don't tell them is who they get it from. So needless to say the house is very quiet when I practice. If and when I get really good at it, I will show you a sample and I even may take that next step and finish a baby quilt doing it. But for now it's only a practice thing.

Music On Blogs

2010-01-13T13:34:00.004-06:00

I'm trying to decided something about my blog. To have music playing....or not. I love music. Seriously! I love almost all kinds of music and when I hear a song I'm crazy about I start singing it. That's my dilemma. I browse blogs of favorite topics and love to follow many that I have found. Some I just like to look at their pictures and not pay to much attention to the words. I know, I know. We can't please everyone all the time now can we? If the pictures catch my attention or are of something I want to learn how to do or am passionate about...I'll read it. We all do it. It's ok. If we sat and read every word of every blog we looked at, well lets just say I don't have enough time in a day to do that and I'm sure you don't either. Anyway....my point is that I love listening to the music some blogs have, IF I'm just scanning through it. When I try to read what they have to say is when the music isn't wanted. I'm one of those readers that needs it quiet to be able to absorb what I'm reading. I know I can scroll down to the bottom and click the pause button or stop. But I'll admit that's a hassle.

I guess if people want to listen to music while blogging, they probably have a radio going or favorite CD or TV. Hmmmm.....sounds like I have talked myself into a decision. Isn't it funny how we have something on our minds and can't decide what to do, and in deciding to talk about it we come up with a decision. So for now I'm going to delete my music from here.

Grab a cup of coffee, push your glasses up, and enjoy my blog 'music free'....for now. hehehe

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T08:27:00.003-06:00

Here it is the last day of December 2009 and we have 12-14 inches of snow that we got over Christmas. It still amazes me how beautiful it is. 2010 is knocking at the door and my mind is filled with lists.

* Sew more things to sell
* Find a routine and stick to it
* Change my hair style
* The dreaded weight loss challenge

I could go on and on but I'll stop here. My lists all fall to the side each year and the disappointment hangs on longer each time. Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we think the start of a new year should be piled with pressure? Maybe thinking differently is the key. I'm a firm believer that it all starts within. A car has to be running correctly inside before it can reach its destination while handling all the bumps, hills, and valleys it encounters during its journey. Why would we be any different? So, day by day it is. No lists of 'pressure'. Each day is a blessing and shall be treated as one. Enjoy it.

I hope all who read my blog find 2010 all they want it to be. Remember that you have to make time for yourself to be any good for others. If someone does something nice for you....pay it forward!! Happy New Year to all.

Christmas Stockings

2009-12-22T07:41:00.002-06:00

It's just a few days till Christmas Eve and the sun is just coming up to show what the sky has in store for us today. They say we are in a winter storm watch. We'll see. I'll watch.

This picture is my hubbies stocking and mine that we have had since we were kids. Yes, a long time ago. Mine is the white one with my name...hehehe...hubbies is the red one. My brother, sister, & me all had these felt stockings handmade by our mother. Red marker spelled our names, perfectly block printed. Hubbies stocking had a reindeer on his but over time it fell off and has yet to be located. I'm guessing it's in that far away location that earrings, socks, and finger nail clippers all end up. May it rest in peace. I had purchased the place mat in the background on an after holiday sale and thought the snowman was cute. Very colorful. So I laid it out to add to the photo of our stockings. After I took the picture and downloaded it to our computer I noticed one thing. 'Love Never Melts'. All I saw when I arranged this was the snowmen looking like they were peeking out of hubbies stocking. It made me sit back, take a deep breath, and be thankful for all I have.

There is so much going on around us everywhere. Sickness, war, death, uncertainty, fear, and hate. I am so blessed with so much. My family is happy and healthy. Yes we are all scattered all over the USA at this time of year, but we are always together in thought, in our hearts, and in our prayers.

Love....Never Melts

I send out my warmest wishes to everyone this Christmas and to have a very blessed and healthy new year. May you see what you have and be thankful for it. Remember...Someone always has it worse then you. Be thankful always.

Merry Christmas. Jesus is the reason for the season!

Snipits of Kelly

Moving On

Getting Back To Normal

Happy Thanksgiving Week

Daughter's Accident cont (3)....

Daughters Accident cont...

Testing Ones Faith

One Potato, Two Tomato, Three.....

Sympathy Card

ABC Baby Quilt

Where O Where....

Cucumbers wait for no one.....Beans wait for no one

So, getting home from 'hopping' I found myself in the garden picking the beans, snipping ends, and cutting them up so I could can them in the morning before heading out for another day of quilt shops. Made for a fast week I'll tell ya!!

I have about 29 quarts of pickles done and close to 50 pints of green beans. I think the beans are done so that should leave some time to start on the beets. I'm aiming for 50 quarts of pickles so am a little over half way there. YAY!!!

I have tried to sit down and blog during all this but my brain is...lets say...blog blocked. I'm thinking it's from all the bending in the garden. Blood rushes to the head and.....naaaa. Just plain and simply blocked. I sowwy!! LOL

I have managed to sneak in a few hours of sewing/embroidery time while waiting for caners to can or water to boil. I'll try to get some more pictures up of what I'm working on.

Have a wonderful day/week everyone!!

I'm Quilt Shop Hop Bound

Let The Canning Begin

Good Morning

My Next 50 Years

Video To Share

ABC Baby Quilt cont.

To Cute Not To Share

Chit Chat

ABC Baby Quilt

Happy 4th of July

Cricut Project

An Award....For Me?

The War Has Begun

Father's Day Card

Summer?

Craft Space

Lacy Birthday Card

Punch Storage

What I've Been Doing

She's SO Close...

What I've Been Doing

Thank You Judy

Oh To Be Little

Sweet Lilly's Birthday is Soon

Happy Birthday Ree-Ree

A New Coat....Of Paint

One More Done

Desk Top Organizer

Ready...Set....Plant

I Hear It

A Few Projects

Finishing What I Start

Chitter-Chatter

Daughter's Quilt Finished

Daughter's Quilt Part 2

Handbag

Diabetes 9 Month Update

My New Toy

Messenger Bag

Daughter's Quilt

The End of Another Year

Scrapbook/Card Making Area

Lilly Videos

She's About To Crawl

3 Years Smoke Free

One Down...One More Started

Past Weekend Projects

Diabetes Update

Still Sewing

One Potato...Two Potato

MN Quilt Shop Hop Squares Update #2

What I Need/Want To Do

Quilt Shop Hop Blocks Update

"Ohhhh The Weather Outside Is......"

Updated Canning/Freezing List

Last First Day

Salsa Season Is Here

Score!!

Multi-Tasking?

Busy Season

Happy 31st Anniversary

Yay Me

Happy July 1