The Simple Woman's Daybook For Today - September 30

FOR TODAY ... Thursday, September 30, 2010

Outside my window... it’s warm and sunny ... a perfect Fall day

I am thinking... about getting the supplies for the deck so when we get back from Paducah, we can get right to work on staining

I am thankful for... early retirement ... I'm every bit as busy as I was when I was working, but now my days are filled with things and people I love!

From the kitchen... breakfast dishes on the counter

I am wearing... a Cardinals T-shirt, jeans and a sweatshirt

I am creating... a quilt for DSIL; I'm still working on ... and will be for quite a while ;-)

I am going... nowhere today, and I'm glad ... I'd like to get the quilt top finished today (or at least tomorrow)

I am hoping... I'm able to get quite a bit of quilt pieces cut today

I am hearing... the workers putting the rafters on the house across the street

Around the house... peace and quiet

One of my favorite things... hockey season starting soon

A few plans for the rest of the weekend/week… BBQ at the Gun Club tomorrow, more soccer & time with the T's Saturday morning, preparing for a 2-day road trip to Paducah … and hopefully piecing/basting the quilt

Today is one of those days where I'm just overwhelmed with a feeling of contentment. 

The Simple Woman's Daybook For Today - September 29

FOR TODAY ... Wednesday September 29, 2010

Outside my window... it’s chilly and sunny and very quiet outside

I am thinking... about how I can increase the task lighting at the sewing table; at night, I can' get lighting from the correct angles to be able to see well enough to accurately cut quilt pieces

I am thankful for... new friends; after a season without any friends (plenty of acquaintances but no friends), I'm thankful to be making some new friends ... God knew what He was doing when He led us to this house ;-)

From the kitchen... dishes left over from dinner last night that need to go into the dishwasher

I am wearing... my jammies – navy sweats; I don't know if I'm becoming a morning person (I get up earlier than I thought I ever would and I enjoy the peace and solitude of the early morning), but I don't get to moving much until I've been up for at least a couple of hours LOL

I am creating... a quilt for DSIL

I am going... to dinner on the Hill tonight with new friends

I am reading... nothing right now; didn't get around to requesting the next book in the Jennifer Chiaverini quilt series - need to do that today

I am hoping... I'm able to get quite a bit of quilt pieces cut today

I am hearing... the refrigerator running ... I'm enjoying the peace and quiet this morning

Around the house... peace and quiet

One of my favorite things... having some time to myself

A few plans for the rest of the weekend/week… BBQ at the Gun Club on Friday, more soccer Saturday morning, preparing for a 2-day road trip to Paducah … and hopefully finishing the quilt top

The Simple woman's Daybook For Today - September 28

Since I started this blog as a journal, I thought that using The Simple Woman's Daybook would be an excellent way to journal what's happening on an everyday basis in my life.

  

FOR TODAY ... Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Outside my window... it’s chilly and sunny with some clouds, construction continues on the house across the street, the roofers continue to work on the house two doors down

I am thinking... about wrapping up this time on the computer soon

I am thankful for... so much more than I have room or time to write, but today I’m especially thankful for this lovely weather, for the time to be able to work on the quilt and for being able to watch T#1 and T#2 play soccer tonight

From the kitchen ... steel cut oats are on the stove (getting a late start to the day today)

I am wearing... my jammies – navy sweats

I am creating... a quilt for DSIL

I am going... nowhere until the soccer game at 6pm

I am reading... nothing right now; I finished the Runaway Quilt and need to find out which one is next on the list and get it ordered from the library

I am hoping... that our dog sitter will contact us soon to pick up the house key; we’ll be getting away for a couple of days next week

I am hearing... birds chirping outside and the oats simmering on the stove

Around the house... the stack of stuff to be carried back down to the basement is starting to bother me – I need to get that stuff downstairs today

One of my favorite things... not having to run the air conditioner

A few plans for the rest of the weekend/week… dinner with friends tomorrow, BBQ at the Gun Club on Friday, more soccer Saturday morning … and hopefully finishing the quilt top

This weekend I...

• finished T#3's big boy quilt; it's washed and ready to go to the big boy
• watched T#1 and T#2 play soccer
• took two meals to a friend whose husband is incapacitated with a 5-day-long headache
• bought the fabric and have cut all the strips for DSIL's quilt (well, except for the outer border which needs to be cut 6 1/2" wide, and my ruler is only 6" wide; time for another trip to the LQS!!)
• attended Sunday School and worked in the baby nursery during worship
• loved, loved, loved the cooler weather

I love a productive yet not crazy exhausting weekend ... and this past weekend was just that.  I hope that this coming week is just as awesome as my weekend was.

It's all a matter of our attitude

I received this in an e-mail today, and it touched my heart.  I pray that it will touch you as well.

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet.  He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help."  There were only a few coins in the hat.

 

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words.

He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

 

Soon the hat began to fill up.  A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.
 
That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.  The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning?  What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective? 

 
Moral of the Story:  Be thankful for what you have.  Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.

Have a Blessed Day!!

Flashback Friday

Did you like to read when you were a child? What were your favorite genres, books or series? Did you read books because of the author or because of the title/plot? Did you own many books? Did your school distribute the Scholastic book orders (or some other type)? Did you visit the library often? Was there a summer reading program when you were young, and did you participate? Do you have any particular memories of your school libraries? What were your favorites and least favorites among the classics (the ones high school English teachers assign!)? If you didn't like reading, do you like it more today than you did then?

I loved, loved, loved to read as a child - and as an adult!  ;-)  As a child, I was a voracious reader.  I credit my parents; both my mom and my dad read - A LOT.  In our family, reading was just a given.  Papa C isn't a reader (and neither were his parents), and I'll never forget my disbelief that he and his family just didn't read.  I thought everyone enjoyed reading!  LOL

I especially enjoyed the Trixie Beldon series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trixie_Belden and the Sugar Creek Gang series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sugar_Creek_Gang.  My sister also enjoyed the Sugar Creek Gang books, and we'd frequently play that we were various members of the Gang.  I also enjoyed Laura Ingalls Wilder's books.  I generally chose books by authors I already enjoyed (a habit I continue even now), although I occasionally would choose books based on the subject matter.


My grade school did distribute the Scholastic book order forms, but I don't recall that we ever bought any of the books.  My parents were frugal if nothing else, so I'm sure their logic was why buy a book when you could check it out from the library.  And speaking of the library, during the summer, I made multiple trips to the library.  I could only check out one book at a time, so as soon as I finished the book, I'd walk to the library, return the book and check out a new one. 


There were no reading programs, back in the day.  And I never could develop an affinity for the classics.  I don't know if it was because I had to read them, but I just wasn't a fan of them (and still am not LOL).


I still enjoy reading, and I'm especially thankful that my love of reading has been passed down to my daughter and her kiddos.   

A little of this, a little of that

I had the 4 T's yesterday ... I love the time I get to spend with them.  Being available to help my daughter out by watching them for her is one of the best parts of retirement!  (As well as being able to take it easy the next day as I recuperate from having them here!  It's FUN, but it's exhausting!)

I don't know how much recuperating I'll be able to do today.  First thing this morning, we're going to get a storm door installed.  Call us old-fashioned, but we miss being able to open the door and let more fresh air in.

Later in the day, we'll be getting our new flat panel, high-def TV set up.  We may be old-fashioned (see storm door), but we've finally decided to enter the 21st century with our TV!  Of all our friends and family, we're the last ones to bite the bullet and get a high-def TV.

I do hope to get some more quilting done on T#3's "big boy quilt".

This is a shot of the "flimsy" (quilt top before sandwiched with the batting and the backing) - "hung" over a door.  It's done in all blues (the lighter blues photographed as white).

When I finish that quilt, I'll start one for my daughter & son-in-law (although it will be used by my son-in-law, who's been using the first quilt I ever made, a mostly pink log cabin quilt that I made in 1982; it's just about shot, and I'm thinking that he needs a more "manly" quilt to sleep with LOL).  I had what I thought was the perfect quilt ... even got the fabric, but ooops, the finished quilt is just 60x70.  I don't think that will work very well for a guy over 6 feet tall!  I'll make that quilt for myself (I don't have a single quilt I've made ... they've all gone to my daughter & her family).  I have the pattern picked out for his quilt ... just need to run to the quilt shop and get the fabrics.

Even though today is the first day of fall, it's going to be another very warm one.  We'll have to run that air conditioner another day.  Thankfully it's supposed to cool down tomorrow - can't complain if fall is just a day late.  Ha!

Hope your day is a blessed one!

Random Dozen

Fall starts tomorrow ... so why is my air conditioner still running?  I guess because technically it's still summer TODAY?  $$$$  I hate, hate, hate having to shut the windows and run that air conditioner, but I hate sweating even more (trust me, it's not a pretty sight LOL).  

Here's this week's Random Dozen (if I knew what I was doing, you could click on the donuts above to see what everyone else's answers are, but since I don't, click on this link: http://2nd-cup-of-coffee.blogspot.com/).

1.    Have you, or has someone close to you, ever won an award for anything?

 My sister is a professor at the University of Texas and has won a few teaching awards.

2. Who is the nearest relative to you who has served in the US Military?

My maternal grandfather served in World War I.

3. Share something that stirs the patriotic spirit in you.

Singing the national anthem.

4. Where are you in the birth order in your family? Do you think your "placement" made a difference in your personality?

#1/oldest child.  I'm not sure I buy into all that, but it's hard to continue that belief when I see how many of the personality traits common to the first-born child I have. 

 ·       People pleaser

·       Crave approval

·       Nurturers

·       Caregivers

·       Reliable

·       "Grin and bear it" mentality

·       Perfectionists

·       Conventional

·       Always have things under control (or at least try to)

5. Name one trait you hope you carry that was evidenced in your parents or grandparents.

Willingness to work hard.

6. If female, do you prefer wearing a skirt or pants? If male, shirt and tie or polo?

Pants!  Without a question.  I’ll wear a skirt to church, but I’m way more comfortable in pants (jeans preferably).  I'm not a fashionista ...give me a comfortable pair of jeans and T-shirt and I'm good to go.

7. Approximately how many times do you wake during the night? What do you do to go back to sleep?

I really don’t know … I don’t count, but it’s usually at least once during the night.  Once I fall asleep, I don’t have too much trouble staying asleep … until 6:00 a.m. (regardless of what time I went to bed; all my dreams of sleeping in once I retired have all been dashed! LOL).

8. Share a favorite movie quote.
"Not today, Zerg."

Ok, I know it’s not very profound, but when T#1 was just a toddler, Toy Story was his favorite movie … and whenever we were together, he would be Buzz and I would be his Woody.  As a result, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for that movie.  <3

9. What is your favorite Fall candle scent?

Pumpkin spice ... got one lit here on the counter.

10. What is one Fall activity you're looking forward to?

The start of hockey season.  I would have hoped that I could add watching the Cardinals in the post season, but that’s not going to happen.  <sigh> 

11. Tell us about a pleasant surprise that happened to you recently.

??  Is it because I’ve not received any pleasant surprises lately or because I can’t remember them??  With my memory, I’ll put my money on the second choice.

12. What was it like when you first met your in-laws-to-be?

Speaking of my memory, you expect me to remember that long ago?  We met at a local restaurant for dinner.  I was a little apprehensive, but it turned out that there was no need to be.  And that truly is all that I can remember right now about that evening.

Before and After

I love to follow along when bloggers remodel; I get some great ideas for my remodels that way.  Unfortunately, my budget doesn't have more than $10 for remodeling, so I've had to tuck those ideas into my dreams.  But I do have a bit of a before & after to share.

We had a huge hail storm here in June, and as a result, we're ending up with a new roof and new gutters as a result.  Since the existing roof was a gray-ish color, I never really thought it went well with our light tan siding, so I was excited at the prospect of getting a coordinating roof on the insurance company's dime.  Anyhoo, the roofing company recommended that we take down pictures and breakables since all the hammering might create a little vibration.  The roofers finished up yesterday, so today I'll be rehanging pictures and putting my stuff back on shelves.  I thought I'd share a bit of the before and after.

Before:

After:

Some day I hope to be able to post some befores and afters of that same kitchen ... in the meantime, I'll learn to be content with this one.  ;-)

In the beginning

I've debated starting a blog for some time now and always pooh-poohed the idea.  I don't have a way with words, and my life is just so boring that the idea of a blog just seemed ludicrous.  And the idea that anyone would want to read it - well, that was crazy!  But somehow, the idea of using a blog as a journal appealed to me ... so here we go. 

Let me get the introductions out of the way:  I'm Kathy, Mom to R, wife to C, Nana to T#1 (8 y.o. boy), T#2 (6 y.o. girl), T#3 (3 y.o. boy) and T#4 (11 month old girl).  I'm retired (and loving every single minute).  I enjoy quilting, working in the yard, walking, spending time with my daughter & her family, reading, watching Blues hockey and Cardinals baseball, and traveling. 

If you happened to stumble across this blog, welcome!