Happy Valentine’s Day

 

After a long, long wait, we finally started getting some snow mid-afternoon.  By dark, it was coming down pretty well.  The forecast continued to be for 2-4 inches, but we got just an inch or so.  The grass is just barely covered, the roads appear to be clear (although the driveways and sidewalks are snow-covered), and the trees and bushes are snow-covered … so pretty.  All in all, it was another teaser snow.  It’s beginning to look like we’re not going to get a “real” snow this winter.   

 

While it was snowing, I was in the sewing room, stitching together the last of the pieced blocks.  If I counted correctly, I have finished the pieced blocks … I need 95.  Today I hope to be able to start cutting out the solid white blocks.  If not today, definitely tomorrow.

 

The reason that I may not get any cutting done today is that I get to have some T time today.    I’ll be at DD’s in the middle of the day … she’s got a hair cut appointment, so I’ll watch the Ts.   

 

Because of the snow, we cancelled small group last night … so I got to watch Westminster.  I watch it every year … I love seeing all the different dogs - and seeing the dog commercials, especially those Subaru dog-tested, dog-approved commercials.  I can’t wait for tonight’s show … because we’ve owned labs (mixes and purebred) and a golden, we’re especially partial to the sporting group dogs. 

 

The Weekend Wrap-up

 

 

Another weekend has come and gone … it seems like yesterday was Friday!

 

Friday morning found me filing our state income tax return; I had filed the federal return earlier in the week.  I’m glad that’s all done and over with.  My afternoon was spent in the sewing room, putting together the pieced 9 patch blocks for my Irish chain quilt.  I watched T#2, T#3, and T#4 Friday evening while Mama and Daddy treated T#1 to a surprise early birthday present … Star Wars 3D at the movie theater.  He was still on cloud nine when they got home after the movie.  While I would have loved to have seen his face when they walked into the theater, I was glad that I could be a part of it by watching the littles so they could go. 

 

Saturday was a bitterly cold day, a perfect day to stay home.  I spent a good chunk of the day in the sewing room … those 9 patch blocks (scroll down to the bottom of that post) are coming together.  It didn’t take long, though, before I ran out of the strips that I needed (because I had sewn half as many as I needed … and twice as many of the other set).  I spent my evening ripping apart the blocks while watching the hockey game. 

 

Sunday morning was spent at church.  I got drafted to help out in the toddler nursery (they had 21 kiddos in there!).  I spent the afternoon sewing together the block parts that I had to rip out … got those all done, and now I need to cut a few more strips of the blue and sew together the sub-cut sets to finish up the 9 patches.  The Blues played again yesterday, so I spent the evening watching the game while working on the puzzle with DH. 

 

My weekend may not have been very glamorous, but it was a good one in my book.  My Monday looks to be pretty close to perfect … I’ll have T#4 this morning and most of the afternoon, and we’ve got 2-4” of snow in our forecast (and I’m hoping for the higher end of that range!).    

Friday Fragments

 

 

It’s Friday … time for Friday Fragments … perfect meme for the Queen of Random. 

 

Winter is back … it’s going to be cold for the next 10 days … high of just 26 tomorrow.  It is snowing, which would be the saving grace out of this cold weather … if the forecast was for any accumulation, which it’s not. 

 

Watched all 4 Ts last night and will have some more T time tonight as Mama and Daddy are treating T#1 to Star Wars in 3-D (I’m not sure what that boy loves most – Star Wars or Legos ).   Which is why I ordered a Star Wars Lego kit for his 10th birthday (next Thursday).

 

DH and I have been on a puzzle-working kick lately.  We finished a difficult smaller puzzle yesterday, and if that weren’t enough, we started on a similar puzzle in a larger size.  Working on the puzzles has been keeping me out of the sewing room … but I’m determined to get back to sewing this weekend. 

 

I had to buy a new purse.  I have a love-hate relationship with purse shopping.  I love getting a new purse, but I have such a difficult time finding a purse that’s just the right size and style.  This time I decided to go with a cross-body bag (I have a hard time keeping purse straps from sliding off my shoulder, and with the traveling that we do, I thought a cross-body bag would be a good [and safe] choice) … the stores are carrying quite a lot of them, so I thought I’d have an easy time finding one.  <sigh>  No such luck.  I did find one on sale and grabbed it in near desperation … turns out that it works fine … ok, it could be just a little larger, but it works, and I’m pleased with it.

 

The empty lot behind us has been sold, and work has begun on the basement.  I have to confess that I miss the sounds of construction … when we moved into this subdivision, there were 2 houses complete and 2 houses under construction.  Since then 21 more houses have been built/sold (not counting the lot just sold).  We’ve gone from being the only homeowners to being one of 25. 

Thankful Thursday

There’s so much I have to be thankful for, but on this Thankful Thursday, I’m going to be especially thankful for:

Good vision … it’s amazing how much better I’m seeing with my new glasses.  Of all my senses, I am most thankful for my sense of sight.  With it, I can read, I can sew, I can see the smiles on the faces of the people that I love, I can see God’s artwork … beautiful sunrises/sunsets, majestic mountains, beautiful blue waters crashing on snow-white beaches.  I’m just so thankful for the gift of sight.

Good health … I’m so thankful that I can get down on the floor and play with my Ts, that I’m able to do the things that I enjoy … biking, walking, sewing. 

Time with my Ts … I’m thankful that DD entrusts them to my care … and I’m thankful to be able to play an active role in their lives as they grow up.  

Technology … with email, I can keep in touch each day with my dad and my sisters (even though we’re miles and miles apart), with Facebook, I can reconnect with friends from high school, with blogs, I can be inspired and encouraged.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

It’s Wednesday … and time once again for the Wednesday Hodgepodge. 
 
1. What is something you are loving right now?
The snow that is falling. 
 
2. Paris, Venice, New York, and Rome are considered four of the most romantic cities in the world. Which one would you most like to visit?
Paris.  It just says “romance” to me.  And since my maternal grandfather’s family emigrated from France to Switzerland and then to the US, I would love to see the land of my ancestors.

 
3. Are you a romantic?
I guess I have a bit of a romantic in me … I believe in “happily ever after.”
 
4. What's your favorite love story made for the Big Screen?
Casablanca.  It may not be your stereotypical love story … but to me the foundation of the story is the love between Rick and Ilsa and between Victor and Ilsa.
 
5. Everyone loves Pooh bear and friends...which character are you most like and why? Click here for help in answering this question.

And yes, I have been known to put even my Ts in time out if they’ve misbehaved. 

6. What's the best chocolate something you've ever eaten?
Chocolate covered strawberries … and DH knows to bring a few home on Valentine’s Day. 

 
7. Share a favorite quote about love.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  ~ 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7
 
8. Insert your own random thought here.
I normally follow blogs via Google Reader.  Yesterday morning, I logged into my dashboard and saw a whole bunch of posts from the last couple of days … posts that I hadn’t read.  I was at a loss as to why posts weren’t loading into GR.  Last night just before I went to bed, I checked GR … and there were 60 unread posts … 16 of which were published after I checked this morning.  Some of those posts go back to January 30!    I’d say that I’ve got a little catching up to do. 

I have good news and I have bad news

 

The good news is that I found an inexpensive way to turn my sewing table into a cutting table.  I use a standard 6-foot folding table for my sewing and cutting.  It’s the perfect height for sewing, but even as short as I am, it’s too short for comfortable cutting.  After lunch and as I was heading to my sewing area to do some more sub-cutting, it occurred to me that I could raise that table by the use of … standard bed risers.  Our Home Depot had them … 4 for less than $10.  I couldn’t believe the difference they made!  I was able to finish my sub-cutting by mid-afternoon … I was sure that it would take me until tomorrow to get the sub-cutting done.

Here’s my little sewing area … with my table raised thanks to the bed risers. 

 

While I was taking this photo, I thought I’d share my sewing/cutting table in the middle of my sub-cutting this afternoon.

Yes, I need extra task lighting … accurate cutting is critical in achieving accurately-sized blocks/quilts … and my eyes aren’t what they used to be, and plenty of good lighting helps. 

 

The bad news is that as I was just getting ready to start sewing the first block together this afternoon, I realized that I had cut twice as many white-blue-white strips as I need and half as many blue-white-blue strips I needed.  Which means that I have all those strips sub-cut that I cannot use … and worse yet, I’ve used white fabric for those sub-cut strips that I need for the 6 1/2” x 6 1/2” solid blocks and for the border strips.    So, now I’ll rip out those mis-sewn sub-cuts and resew them into blue-white-blue sub-cuts.  And I’ll have to get some more white fabric for my solid white blocks and border strips.  What aggravates me most is the time wasted – the time I spent charting out how many strips to cut (my calculations were accurate … but had the colors reversed), the time I spent sewing strips together and sub-cutting them, and the time I’ll spend ripping apart the mis-sewn sub-cuts. 

 

Friday Fragments

 

• We finally got our passport applications turned in yesterday.  Sure hope I dotted all my Is and crossed all my Ts. 

• I was excited to see that we could get wi-fi in our stateroom on our ship … until I saw what they charged for it.    No emailing updates to family and friends on this cruise!  

• I got to go to the zoo yesterday with DD and the Ts.  I just love the zoo … and even more with the Ts.  We got to see the baby elephant and baby lion … and hear the male lion roar.  I chatted briefly with another grandma who was leaving with her grands at the same time we were … she lives in Phoenix and was flying back home today.  My heart hurt for her at the thought of having to leave her loved ones and realized again how blessed I am to live so close to my DD and my Ts. 

• We have been on a puzzle kick the last couple of weeks … finished another one last night.  We have one more new one (loaned to us by DD) … and then we’ll have to work one that we’ve done before. 

• I love the beauty and majesty of sunrises and sunsets … God makes such beautiful art at the start and end of the day.  I almost was too late to get a picture of today’s sunrise.