Hollyhocks Garden

Aprons at the Soccer Game

2011-10-22T12:32:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we went to oldest granddaughter's soccer game. It was so fun watching all the little ones running around after the soccer ball and all trying to kick it at the same time. The other team *won* the game and everyone had a great time. I gave the girls their new aprons that were requested by oldest granddaughter. She wanted a full apron. The girls sent me lovely thank you notes. I called the girls after receiving their notes. It was their first phone calls where someone called specifically to talk to them. So fun!

For The Record

2011-10-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

I am NOT the 99%, nor am I a millionaire nor billionaire. I am the 53%. I work and I have earned my own way. I worked to pay for my education. And, I pay my taxes. I am saving for my future. I am not counting on social security being there for me. I plan on working until I die or can't work any longer. As far as I know, the Bible says nothing about retirement.

Personal responsibility people, it's the only way.

Canning Strawberry Jam

2011-09-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I canned apricots and it took forever to get the water to boil. DSH came to the rescue for canning strawberry jam. He got out the two burner camping stove, hooked it up to a propane tank and fired it up. Water was boiling in seven minutes instead of three hours. Yay!

The jars sure are pretty. And the jam tastes great. I've been eating it on home made bread. I made quite a big mess though!

Happy canning!

Birthdays and Anniversary

2011-08-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

Today is our 13th anniversary! I must admit it has been a struggle to blend two families but it is much better than it used to be. My husband and I get along famously (it's just a few family members that have been the "flies in the ointment") LOL! I think that is normal for blended families.

Today is also our oldest granddaughter's 5th birthday. Saturday was my 55th birthday and August 1st was my mother's 74th birthday. Lots of things happening in August. It is always a whirlwind.
This is what we do in August:

In July, my stepdaughter graduated from college and moved out. She was a great house guest and our live in IT person. (I say house guest because she didn't grow up in our home, she moved in after living on her own to make it easier to finish college). But, I got my sewing room and office back! I had a week and a half of vacation so I put the room back together and made a dress.

More pictures when I figure out how to down load now that my IT person has moved out!

Too Much Air??

2011-07-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

I think there is too much air at the top of each jar. I think all of these will be used to make cobbler so any bacteria growing in there will be killed!

OK, Maybe?

2011-07-09T16:16:00.000-07:00

Now it is 4:12 pm and the canner is finally boiling. The cots will now process for 30 minutes. I will probably have apricot sauce by the time I'm finished. I'm thinking apricot cobbler for the next six months. Ironically, I have a very fancy, expensive, new oven in the garage that is just sitting around waiting for the kitchen remodel that we can't afford to do. Sigh.

Disaster!

2011-07-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

Well, it hasn't gone well at all. I would qualify it as a disaster. I got up at 7:30am (early for me on a Saturday). Picked three big Tupperware squares full of apricots. Washed and cut up three big Tupperware squares full of apricots. Threw away about 90 percent of the apricots because they were icky inside. Went out and picked half ripe apricots. Washed and cut up three more squares of cots. Got my jars and lids hot and put large canning pot on the stove to boil. Ate lunch while waiting for water to boil. Temp got to 180. Filled five quarts with cots and syrup. Lowered into pot. Boiled water in smaller pot to add to canner to cover quarts. Still waiting for canner to boil. The stove has been on high for two hours. I think it is a lost cause. Hoping it will boil with lid on. So upsetting. :(

Wait, I'll go check it again.

Thanks for waiting. It is now at 190. The lid is helping. I'm afraid the cots will turn to mush before it gets to temp and can process for the correct amount of time.

Any suggestions?

Canning

2011-07-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the big day. I will be canning for the first time in my life! We have an apricot tree that is full and dropping fruit. I will pick all morning then wash, cut, and can. If all goes well I will move on to the nectarine tree then the neighbor's apple tree (with permission, of course). They all ripen at different times so I won't be inundated. I will take pictures and post them later. I finally have a new computer and DSSD will show me how to download pictures. I think she still needs to load all the old ones first.

A new BBQ is being delivered tomorrow, too! Lots of excitement around here. Ours is ten years old and falling apart. We BBQ a LOT!

A Very Sad Day

2011-06-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

Today my favorite uncle died in his sleep. He had leukemia. He was married for over 50 years to my mother's twin. My aunt and uncle had three boys and my parents had two girls. The reason I am here is because my aunt got pregnant and my mom said to my dad, "If Mary is pregnant, I have to be too!" And so it went. My aunt got pregnant, my mom had to get pregnant. My aunt got pregnant again with son #2 and my mom had to get pregnant with my sister. My aunt got pregnant for a third time and my mom said, "I'm not that stupid!"

My aunt and uncle had a water ski boat for as long as I can remember. My uncle taught me to water ski.

My uncle taught me all three verses of Nobody Loves Me Everybody Hates Me I Think I'll Eat Some Worms. There are only three verses aren't there?

All nine of us went on family vacations together for years. When the five of us kids would fight in the back seat he would say, "You all pick on each other like you're a bunch of scabs".

He was a good Christian man who loved the Lord. He was a Gideon for years. He will be greatly missed.

I love you Uncle Wayne.

Loving Bear to death

2011-05-05T21:22:00.000-07:00

Bailey loves her bear. She is very proud of her surgical skills. Mr Buck got in the act and checked out the newly removed arm. We watch Bailey very carefully when she is loving her bear. I don't want filling strewn everywhere and I don't want her to eat any of bear. Bear isn't going to last long.

Have a Happy Mother's Day everyone.

Here I Am!

2011-03-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

Today I had two, yes two, people ask my why I haven't been blogging. I've been missed ;)

Things to report:
                             1) it has rained A LOT here in California. We are officially out of our drought.

                             2) I was sick last week but I get tired of blogging about being sick.

                             3) very little sewing has been done. I made five button holes in my vest.

                             4)  next door neighbors put their house up on the market. Very sad for us.

                             5) a friend is divorcing her husband. VERY shocking and sad.

6) Dancing With The Stars has started

Wild life photo to add interest to blog!

Placerville, California

2011-03-02T20:26:00.000-08:00

Last month we went to Placerville, CA for the weekend. We ate breakfast at this cute little restaurant. Everything is made by scratch. I will confess that I am a breakfast snob. I don't like to eat breakfast "out" because I like my made-from-scratch waffles and pancakes better than any restaurant. But, Sweetie Pies breakfast was a good as mine! It was yuuuuummyy! We are going back this weekend and we will eat there again.

Lots of cute old buildings in the old part of town.

See the gold miner in the upper right hand corner of the public restrooms building?

There was also a knitting store in town with lots of awesome yarn. I didn't take a picture or buy yarn. I don't want to buy yarn until I take my knitting class.

As you can see, I figured out (finally) how to put in more than one picture! yay, me.

Baking!

2011-02-12T20:56:00.000-08:00

I have only baked bread once before and it didn't turn out great. This time I did a fair amount of reading about wheat types and bread making. It turned out pretty well except for two things. I didn't divide my dough equally. The one on the left is a bit larger. I also put melted butter on top of the loaves before putting them in the oven. oooops, it was supposed to be done after they were baked, not before! Imagine the smell of deliciously baking bread mixed with the smell of smoking butter that dripped onto the bottom of the oven. Nice! It tasted very good. We had it for dinner tonight. It will be great for sandwiches. I was going to post more pictures but blogger won't let me post more than one. Hmmm.

Last project of 2010

2011-01-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

Brown full circle skirt made from a 50's pattern. Step-daughter/photographer cut the top of my head off. My boots and sweater were Christmas gifts from DSH purchased to match the skirt. He likes to shop (I hate it) so I gave him a swatch of the fabric, drew a picture of the skirt, stapled it together and told him to go shopping. The sweater is cashmere! I would NEVER buy such nice expensive things. The towel in the picture is one of our many "paw-paw" towels used to clean the dogs feet before they come in the house after it has rained. Bailey always drags the towels everywhere. She gives them a good shake, too! If only she would dust the house!

Knitting

2011-01-05T18:04:00.000-08:00

Thank you for all your nice comments!

My sister and I have decided to take a knitting class. We are signing up at Joann's. The class is two and a half hours for $35.00 but on the day we are taking the class it is half off!! What a deal. Of course, they will more than make up their loss when I go shopping for knitting supplies with my 30% discount that comes with the class. I already have every size of knitting needle inherited from a friend's mother when she passed away but, I will need/want LOTS of yarn and patterns :D

My sister and her DSH just bought an RV so she HAS to learn to knit so she can knit on the road!

My DSH and I want an RV someday too and I plan on knitting when we are on the road since I won't be able to sew.

Last Post of the Year

2010-12-31T20:59:00.000-08:00

Hello 2011 !!

Here is a recap of what I have sewn this year. Pictures were not take of all items.

6 dresses for me
2 Halloween dresses for the granddaughters
2 practice dresses for the granddaughters
6 skirts
1 top (which I am not happy with and probably won't wear again) I learned a lot though
1 flannel nightgown

That is 18 items in one year! I'm so excited because I am happy with 16 of them, I learned a lot of new techniques and I think my goal was 12 items. One a month.

For this year I want to start using my serger on knits. And, I want to make a coat and some jackets. I am working on a plaid wool full circle skirt and matching vest. The skirt is done except for the hem and the vest has been waiting for the lining material choice. That choice has been made and now needs to be cut and sewn. Next in the queue is a vintage dress out of a blue wool.

I have my next couple of projects figured out but for the whole year I would like to make:

1 wool coat
1 wool dress
2 knits dresses
4 knit tops
2 wool skirts
2 summer dresses
2 Halloween costumes (maybe 3 if youngest granddaughter wants one)

I have material and patterns for everything but the knit tops, Halloween costumes and any linings I might use. It is so hard not buying patterns and fabric! I love me some fabric.

I only made it half way through the Bible this year so I will finish it in 2011. I obviously sewed too much instead of reading my Bible!

Have a wonderful and happy new year!

New Design!

2010-11-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

I am visiting my recovering daughter today. She had surgery and I am here to "help" and visit. She helped me spruce up my blog!! Yay! I love the new look. So much cleaner and easy to read.

Does anyone remember Beany and Cecil? I love Beany and Cecil!

Love This Dress

2010-10-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

This is a reprinted pattern from Butterick. It is a 1960's pattern. I love when pattern companies reprint old patterns. So fun. I made this last summer out of a rayon from Hancocks fabrics. It has a self fabric belt and I bought the Bakelite belt buckle on Etsy.

OK. Trouble with Blogger again. It won't let me post more than one picture! I don't get it!!! Well, the close up of the belt will just have to be another post!

It is raining here in northern California. Yay! We always need rain.

Found It!

2010-10-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

I found the pink dress! For some reason I had to go out of my blog then back in to be able to download the picture. Some things I just don't understand.

Fall Festival Costumes AKA Halloween Costumes

2010-10-20T21:41:00.000-07:00

This is one costume I made for one of my granddaughters. She wants to be a princess like her older sister. The other dress is pink and I can't seem to pull it up my just saved pictures. These dresses are polyester satin, tulle and a sparkly fabric. They aren't hemmed yet so I need two little people to come over for a fitting. Can't wait!

Tried again. No picture of pink dress. No pictures at all.

A Poor Excuse

2010-10-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

I have a wee bit of a cold so I'm going to use that as my excuse for not blogging for what? 6 weeks? Longer?

I got frustrated weeks ago trying to down load a picture because posts are so much better with pictures. It wouldn't download. Even when I walked away and let the compute work/think for 15 minutes. My IT person has been too busy to help me, boo hiss. I'll see if I can find something for you to look at though.

In September, the two older granddaughters, their mother and I went to Hancock's Fabrics to pick out Halloween costume patterns and fabric. The four year old wants to be a princess and her two year old sister is copying her. We looked through the books and the four year old picked every princess dress there was. Her mom suggester looking at them all THEN deciding on one. A pattern was chosen and then we looked at fabric. Four year old got pink and then told her sister what to pick. The two year old agreed to everything. She liked it all. Mom took the four year old away and the two year old I an picked blue for her. We got a shiny satin for the main body of the dresses, sparkly fabric for the sleeves and peplums and tulle for the over skirts. Very fancy! Good thing these girls are little so we didn't need much fabric! The oldest did a nice job picking out matching thread. (How did she know we even needed thread??)

I traced the pattern in a size 3 and 4 then cut out fabric I already had to make practice dresses. I wanted to make sure these fit since I haven't sewn dresses for them yet. The oldest came over with her mom one day to try it on and it was a perfect fit. Over the next few days I threw together the practice dress for the younger.

I wanted to get these dresses to these girls ASAP because I wanted them to wear them to church and the weather would be getting cold soon and I needed to make sure the dress fit the younger. I made arrangements to take the dresses up to their house which is inconveniently located in the Santa Cruz mountains. I hate mountain roads. I made it up the mountain only to get a block or two from their driveway and was stopped by PG&E who was doing maintenance work. I couldn't get through. I was tweaked quite a bit by this turn of events. I called my daughter and she said she would be me down the road a ways at a school. She knew a back way that I wasn't about to try and do. I knew I would get lost and then starve to death in the mountains only 20 feet from someones house because I didn't know where I was and how to get home. SOOOOO pathetic. But, I know my limitations.

I think I'm rambling. (It's the cold, I'm delirious)

So, Halloween costumes are almost done. It has been great fun sewing dresses for little girls again.

Christmas is coming. Aren't these great Christmas decorations? This was in Massachusetts in the 60's. I was 9 and my sister was 8. Snow was a big change for us Californians.

Summer???

2010-08-14T22:20:00.000-07:00

It doesn't feel like summer here in sunny California. I live in San Jose and it has been the coldest summer in 40 years. I heard that on the news last week. Today at noon, DSH and I were being lazy (it being Saturday and all) sitting around playing on the computers in sweats! Unheard of in mid August.

This is my mom and her twin sister. Aren't they cute? They made their outfits. My aunt is on the left. My mom,on the right, is the oldest. Their birthday is August 1st, one of my cousins is also August 1st, a granddaughter of mine is the 4th, a cousin's son is the 5th, mine is the 6th, another granddaughter of mine is the 8th, my husband and my anniversary is the 8th, and the cousin who is the dad of the boy on the 5th is the 9th. Got all that? The family always has a big August Birthday Bash. My mom and aunt are the STARS OF THE SHOW because they are twins. They are SPECIAL. Am I bitter?, a little ;) Anyway, they turned 73 this year, they are hard of hearing, there were little people running around and the party was much more balanced. I definitely enjoyed it more this year. Maybe I'm maturing a little bit too! It also helped that my cousin and his wife who hosted the party gave me her mother's Baby lock serger!!! It is about 7 or 8 years old but not used because her mother passed away just after she bought it. No one in the family wanted it so I got it. I've been wanting a serger for a long time and I couldn't decide what to get. Now, the problem is solved. I will take it in for service since it has been sitting in their garage for the past 7 or 8 years. Then I get to figure out how to use it.

I have more sewing pictures to show but DSSD has to put them in the computer as usual. So, when that gets done I will post them.

One of the "Fun" medical procedures

2010-07-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

Today was my first colonoscopy. Procedure: not horrible, prep: kind of horrible. I didn't like the not eating part. By 5:00pm Thursday I was feeling very nauseated. I ate jello (not red) then I had to start drinking my eight glasses of "juice". That wasn't as bad as it sounds. It actually made me not feel hungry. The last glass was hard to get down though. No one needs any of the rest of the details. Let's just say I got lots of hand sewing done in the bathroom (I know, that just sounds wrong!). But, all is over, I've eaten (Thank you, Lord, for food!) and there were no finding of concern. I don't have to do it again for 10 years. Yay! Now I am just resting.

I would much rather be at Happy Hollow Park riding the merry-go-round!

Enjoy your weekend!

One More

2010-07-18T22:37:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for your nice comments. Here is another project:

Here is a close up of my very first invisible zipper. I was very happy with how it turned out. This blouse had lots of problems. It gaped a the neck so I put five pin tucks in which helped a lot. It was supposed to have sleeves but I felt like I was in a straight jacket with the sleeves in so I took them out and cut them into bias strips and then bound the armholes with the strips. That was the first time I had ever made bias strips. That turned out pretty well. I love the fabric. It has tiny little flowers and vines that really do match the maroon skirt. I think I over fit the top. It doesn't really wear well. The skirt is 100% polyester and feels very soft but doesn't hang or drape well so I'm not too thrilled with the whole project. I learned a lot and the blouse fabric was only $2.50! I got the end of the bolt.

It is funny what you see in pictures that you can't see in a mirror. So many pull lines at the waist. Sigh.

Sewing!

2010-07-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

Here is one of my first projects. It took me months to sew! It is a pink and lavender tweed that ravelled terribly. I had to zigzag each piece before I handled it too much. I had to be very careful assembling the dress because I couldn't see the thread after it was sewn if I needed to rip it out! I am happy with how it turned out.

This dress is brown and pink linen. I like pink, mauve, raspberry, plum, etc!

This dress is a black and white polyester polka dot dress. I made this because my husband likes polka dots. It is a wrap around dress which is very different for me. I made the front pieces overlap more than the pattern called for and I lengthened the dress three inches. It is a silky type fabric and the tie wants to come undone. Not good. I think I will put a button and button hole where it meets under the tie!

My current project is a reprint of a 1960's dress. I am making it out of rayon in a flowery print.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! It takes so long to get pictures downloaded in this house!

Nudged

2010-07-07T22:05:00.000-07:00

A sweet comment by Judy at Apron Strings has nudged me back to blogging. Thanks, Judy! I have been feeling much better which means I've been busy! Work, sewing, family reunion, gardening, church, dog sitting for neighbors. All the usual fun summer activities. For Independence Day we went to the San Jose Giants baseball game and saw fireworks at the stadium afterword. It was a great game and terrific fireworks. They have an awesome BBQ before hand. Great family fun.

I changed the way I do a few things at work which has helped my shoulder quite a bit. I have finished some sewing projects and there are pictures but, of course, I depend on my DSSD to download them into my ancient computer and that hasn't happened yet. The tomatoes are doing great but none are ripe yet, we've had a couple of meals with the green beans, tonight we had a zucchini, squash look terrible, onions are good and I keep picking the potatoes to early.

We went to Wasco, CA for a one day family reunion. We drove down to Harris Ranch and spent the night there then continued on to my DSH's aunt's house for the big get together. They have a huge farm so it is a big change for us city slickers. His aunt sent us home with almonds, walnuts, old sewing patterns and books!

Tendinitis and Bursitis

2010-05-21T17:12:00.000-07:00

Today I went to physical therapy for my shoulder. I have tendinitis and bursitis in my left shoulder from incorrectly using my left arm while working. Shame one me. It feels like I have an ice pick through my shoulder. I have been taking a muscle relaxant for three nights which helped quite a bit. I iced my shoulder once but since I was kind of dopey, I left the ice on too long and now my skin hurts too. That feels just like a bad bruise. Duh! I'm on the mend now which is good. It is amazing how cranky one gets when one is in constant pain, 24/7! I'm so glad I have lots of help at home. Thanks DSH and DSSD! I had lots of offers from other family members and friends but with two live-in helpers, it wasn't really necessary for all the troops to jump in. My shoulder is taped up to limit movement which feels very good. Hopefully, life will be back to normal soon!

Brisket: A New Way To Tenderize

2010-04-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

She looks cute, sweet, cuddly, adorable and Innocent doesn't she? But, in reality she is a thief and a glutton.

Here is her willing accomplice.

I got home this afternoon to find my brisket on the floor with bites out of it and the meat wrapper torn up and strewn about the kitchen floor. The floor needed to be mopped anyway (what with all the rain we've been having and the muddy paw prints). How did a small 30 pound dog get the meat off the counter with no chair or stool near by? That's what I'd like to know.

I know you all want to know if I washed it off and cooked it to eat anyway.

Yes, I did.

Long Time - No Blogging

2010-04-18T22:49:00.000-07:00

Time just flies by, doesn't it? I have sewing projects to show and a garden planted. It has finally warmed up here in CA. This *global warming* crap isn't working for me. It has been COLD. Anyway, I have completed a maroon skirt and a plaid jumper. I have a top and skirt outfit completed except for the hem and I am in the middle of a blouse to go with the maroon skirt. There is progress but no pictures. I have worn the outfits to church and it has been too cold and rainy to have a photo shoot. (I'm a wimp!)

Last Saturday I practically ruined myself digging weeds, turning in compost then planting all the veggies purchased the same day as the weeding (what was I thinking?) DSH told his DSD to go get a pizza since it was past dinner time and I was still planting AND it started raining again while I was working. No drought this year! I planted onions, red potatoes, lots of tomatoes, squash, lettuce and green beans and one bell pepper. DSSD started watermelon from seed and planted them too! Oh, and we also have a gopher. :(

How does one get rid of a gopher?

He Is Risen!

2010-04-03T23:26:00.000-07:00

Last weedend we attempted to tame what is

affectionaltely called "the jungle".

The truck was put to good use.Rope was tied to the back hitch.Then around the half dead and overgrown bushes.Then yank! it was out!More bushes.Much better! There are still lots of weed to get out and the fence needs to be replaced. It is falling down. And, the dead tree that can't be seen from this angle still needs to be removed. (I can't find the picture of it) Sigh, will it ever end? I am so thankful we have a house and we are still working to pay for it!

Happy Easter!

Spring Has Sprung

2010-03-14T22:36:00.000-07:00

Our Japanese Maple is getting leaves!

Our apricot tree has been pruned and now it is budding.

Bailey needs a window so she doesn't have to look under the gate!

Surprise Afternoon Off

2010-03-10T15:27:00.000-08:00

All my patients cancelled for this afternoon. This is the first time in seven years that has happened! I am enjoying the time at home but it will hurt on the next paycheck! I weeded the side yard. It was a jungle from all the rain (thank you, Lord). Now I will catch up on blogs and then I will sew. Tonight is church.

More when I have another picture or two.

Date Night

2010-03-04T20:38:00.000-08:00

Thursday nights are date night at our house. I cook every night and work full time so by the time I get to Thursday I am pooped. I am ready for a night off. We usually go to very reasonably priced restaurants and we share. It is an opportunity to just focus on each other and I really appreciate being waited on. Tonight was Italian. We tried a new place and it was very good. We take turns picking the place. We could never afford this when the kids lived at home.

Here is a picture of my dad and my sister and me. I am on my dad's right. I am 14 months older than my sister. I think we are about 3 and 4 years old.

?Wearable Muslin?

2010-02-21T16:44:00.000-08:00

I started sewing again about a year and a half ago. I used to make all my dresses and my girls dresses for church. The girls grew up, life changed, sewing fell by the wayside. Many changes have occured during my sewing hiatus. I've gained weight and body parts have moved (in the wrong direction). Fabric stores have closed and the ones that have remained open tend to lean towards crafts and quilting. Not much fashion fabric to choose from. I feel like I am learning to sew all over again. I definately am having to relearn how to fit my new (but not improved) body. That being said, here is a picture of my second attempt at a dress for church. The fabric is 100% polyester in "army blanket green". The bodice is lined. I made the bodice longer but wish I hadn't. There is black gimp at the neckline and wrist. I like the pleats in the front but I am seriously thinking I need breast reduction surgery! It is soft and warm which is good because I am always cold in church.

I am working on another dress in 100% wool suiting. It is a mauve and plum tiny check. It is a jumper style that is probably to young for me (I keep forgetting I'm over 50!) but I liked the picture and the pattern was on sale. I am fitting it to wear over a turtleneck for winter. Of course, I don't own a turtleneck that matches and there are none in stores right now. It won't be finished for a couple of weeks. I still have to cut out the lining and contruct that part of it. I didn't want to waste the lining fabric if the dress didn't fit. I did not do a muslin.

More rain this weekend which is good because we need as much as we can get.

Have a great week!

Better Late Than Never-Poppyseed Muffins

2010-02-14T22:20:00.000-08:00

This is the post that should have been posted last week. I have been trying different poppyseed muffins. I love the poppyseed muffins from Costco. So yummy. This last batch was pretty good but nothing I tried came close enough to replace Costco's. I love to bake but I will continue to buy Costco's muffins.

Happy Valentine's Day

And

Happy Birthday to my Dad

More Sickness

2010-01-31T20:09:00.000-08:00

No pictures today. You'll thank me later.

DSH is sick. I mean really sick. He was up all night with both kinds of trouble. We don't know what caused it. We ate the same things and I was fine. No sleep last night, no church today. We slept in to get he rest we desperately needed. I cleaned house a bit and cut out a skirt. I fed him dry toast and 7-up. Tonight he is feeling better. Poor guy.

Aren't you glad there are no pictures?

You're welcome.

Not Up To Snuff

2010-01-24T21:18:00.000-08:00

Not feeling great today. Dear Sweet Step-Daughter gave me her cold. Sore throat and stuffed up nose. No more details needed ;) I stayed home from church since I woke up every hour last night and felt cruddy when I woke up. Part of the day I worked on a dress for church and I rested a bit too.

We have had a lot of rain this past week so we have dog towels at the front and back door for wiping off wet paws. Bailey helps herself to the towels, drags them around the house, giving it a good shake and then rips the tag off (if there is one). We are running out of towels that still have tags.

More Sewing

2010-01-17T23:05:00.000-08:00

Today was Sunday School, church then sewing. DSH went to the Sportman Show so I had the whole afternoon to make a muslin of a new church dress and then cut out the fashion fabric. I did not get the lining cut out yet. I sew in the garage and it was a bit cold out there this afternoon. It has been raining and drissling all day.

Yesterday we went to see my mother in law at the skilled nursing facility. We took the dogs which is always a hit. The weather was nice yesterday so we decided to take MIL outside. There is a large yard area next to the facility so we parked her in her wheelchair next to the grass, let the dogs off their leads and started throwing the ball. MIL had a blast!!! She laughed and talked and smiled and threw the ball and laughed some more. WHY DIDN'T WE THINK OF THIS BEFORE??? Another elderly woman was wheeled outside because she had asked her daughter if she could go out and watch the dogs. She had seen them from her bedroom window! It was so much fun :D I can't wait to go again and invite the elderly outside!

Monkey Brains

2010-01-09T16:14:00.000-08:00

Last week we had Monkey Brains for dinner. Oh, not real monkey brains. Stuffed cabbage covered with spicy tomato paste that my girls nic-named Monkey Brains. I really like them, SD really likes them and DSH doesn't really care for them at all. It reminds him of the days of his youth when his mother would stretch one pound of hamburger for a whole week for a family of four. And he was a growing boy (he's now 6'3" and over 200 lbs). I made 8 large stuffed cabbage leaves. I had planned on getting two meals out of the deal. Good old leftovers, ya know? What my DSH calls "old food". The three of us are sitting around the table, some of us are enjoying our meal, and I ask, "Would anyone like more?". DSH, who had already eaten his (in my mind) allotted portion of two, said, "I'll take another one". "But, you don't like these, why do you want another one?" I asked. He said, "I don't want these coming back as old food so I want to eat them up now! He ruined my plans for leftovers but we all had a good laugh! And he didn't have to eat them again. Well, that doesn't look too appetizing, now does it??? But, it was quite tasty!

Well! I was going to do spell check and it is gone! SD upgraded my blog and now I have to know how to spell?!?! Oh, dear!!

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T22:47:00.000-08:00

2010 Goals:

1. Read through the Bible in one year.

2. Blog once a week, with pictures.

3. Sew 12 items for church.

Do you make resolutions or make goals?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Here is a picture of my mom and dad, probably taken 45 years ago. My mom made her outfit.

This year I sewed:

2 dresses

15 aprons

1 skirt

Christmas Break

2009-12-27T22:20:00.001-08:00

This is a picture of Bailey putting her head through the cat door from the kitchen looking into the garage. She can't fit through but she loves to look out to see what is going on! We don't have a cat but the previous owners did.

The week between Christmas and New Year's Eve is when I do my "spring cleaning". Today I cleaned out the hall closet, my bathroom cupboards and drawers and my bedroom closet. I feels so good to get rid of things I don't use that are just taking up space and cluttering things up. I vacuumed out the cupboards and drawers and refolded all the towels. I also vacuumed up the dust bunnies that were floating around. I felt I desered a break after all that work so I sat and read my book about sewing fabrics.

I hope everyone had a wonderful, blessed Christmas. Have a Happy New Year!

Birthday Party

2009-12-12T15:26:00.000-08:00

We had DSH's birthday party today. It was a lunchy/brunchy party with three out of four of the girls and their little people. I got some pictures of the birthday boy with the three granddaughter's on his lap and then the batteries died. There were no new batteries to be found. Add that to the shopping list. I made devilled eggs, fruit salad, rolls, deli meat, cheese and munchies like carrots, cherry tomatoes, chips, dip and crackers. The birthday boy requested frosted brownies with chocolate chips added to the batter. He likes his chocolate! I put a 5 and a 1 on his brownie "cake". It wasn't big enough for 51 candles!

Tonight is a fancy dinner with friends at a Brazilian Steak House. We have been once before. It is a big splurge but worth it. Every kind of meat you could ask for and as much as you want. The servers are dressed kind of like pirates and they bring huge hunks of meat out on their swords then slice off as much as you want at your table. All the sides are buffet style. Very different and delicious.

More later!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T22:51:00.000-08:00

We are so blessed in this country! Thank you, Lord, for all you have given us.

May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

Birthday Sewing

2009-11-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

My sister had a birthday last month so I decided to make an apron for her. Sorry the picture is sideways. Still don't know how to rotate! She collects roosters and I found this wonderful rooster fabric at Fabric.com. I used a vintage pattern. There was enough left over for a little apron for her granddaughter.

Here is the little apron. So fun!

First Born

2009-11-17T21:15:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my very special daughter. She is 31 today. I am so proud of her and all that she has accomplished. I hope you enjoyed your day, my Sweet Pea!

Dead Tree

2009-11-17T20:53:00.001-08:00

Here is a sideways picture of what our tree used to look like!

(Actually, it is a neighbors camphor that isn't dead)

Here is a picture of our dead camphor tree. So sad.

Oh dear, I don't know how to rotate! Sorry. :( Another lesson needed from DSSD. Anyway, the sideways one shows the bottom half and the other picture is obviously the top half. Removal and replacement is an expensive future project.

Photo of Mr Buck's clean teeth!

2009-11-15T10:50:00.000-08:00

Here is Mr. Buck's nice clean teeth. He is a black and white dog so his gum tissues are pink and black so ignore the black above his canine tooth. That is normal for him.

Mr. Buck Gets His Teeth Cleaned

2009-10-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

Ew-wee! I am so excited about Mr. Buck's visit to the Fluffy Puppy!! The groomer has a dog hygienist come in every other month to clean dog's teeth. He doesn't use sedation! He is absolutely AMAZING!! He is like the Dog Whisperer. Jason, the "dog whisperer hygienist" take the patient to the back room. The room is about 5' x 5' square with low walls and glass on one side where the appointment desk is so I could watch the whole thing. He has towels on the floor and he sits on the floor with the dog between his legs but one leg is crooked over the dog to hold him in position. Jason pulls the dogs head to his chest and talks to him and strokes him. He puts his left hand between the dogs teeth to hold his mouth open and uses his right hand to clean using the same type of instruments I use when I clean people's teeth. He has an ultrasonic scaler, too. Mr. Buck was nervous and pulled away sometimes but Jason stroked his his and pulled him back in to his chest and kept working. Mr. Buck never cried or anything. I was so amazed, I can't tell you! I got scolded for not brushing my dogs' teeth. Shame on me! I KNOW better! But, life gets in the way and Mr. Buck does get his ears cleaned out by me three times a week plus all the usual dog chores. I will start brushing his teeth. Anyway, Mr Buck now has clean teeth and fresh breath. It was "only" $120.00. Compared to over $500.00 at the vet, it was a bargain!

Keep flossing!

Feelin' Accomplished

2009-10-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

Today was a busy, productive day. Feels good! Went to work to see one patient, got out of there at 9:35, went to the doctor's office to pick up my youngest daughter who was having a not-so-fun procedure. Her DSH was at home with the kids. Read for an hour and a half while waiting for her to wake up. Took her home and met Bailey, the dog they are dog-sitting. Played with granddaughters and dog. Went grocery shopping on the way home and spent way too much money, put everything away, ate lunch at 2:00. Ran three loads of laundry, vacuumed, mopped kitchen floor, did dishes (still no dishwasher), dusted, put clean sheets on the bed, played ball with my Bailey, cleaned both bathrooms and started dinner. While dinner was cooking I sewed! Oh, yeah, I watered the lawn while I ate lunch.

I can't remember if I told the dishwasher story. We have lived in this house for almost 7 years. It is a 53 year old house (same age as me). The house had a nice new Bosch dishwasher when be bought it. The dishwasher was grossly clogged with hard water deposits after three years. I took it all apart and cleaned out all the deposits. Actually, I couldn't get it all. It kept getting clogged up until I insisted on a new dishwasher. We went to Sears and got the cheapest one they had. On sale. The kitchen is 53 years old and disgusting so I didn't want another expensive dishwasher that would just get ruined. I want a whole new kitchen with a water softener! Well, the plan was to get the cheap dishwasher, let it get ruined by the hard water and gut the kitchen and replace everything. The economy tanked, the banks got stingy with 2nds (what do you mean our house went down in value and you won't lend us any money?!?!?!?).

New plan: get a water softener and new dishwasher then save like fiends to do the kitchen.

Can we say "Money Pit"?

I really am very thankful for my little house, even if it does need lots of work!

This weekend: more garage work!

Tree

2009-09-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

Our huge, gorgeous camphor tree at the front of our house is dying. I loved that tree. It was one of the things that attracted me to this little house of ours (the main reason was the affordability-we live in the Bay Area). We had an arborist come out and evaluate it. I wanted to save it but it can't be saved. The change in the tree since we got the news has been amazing. It really looks sick now. So sad. We have to get a permit from the city to have it removed, the cement sidewalk and curb has to be broken up and removed, then the stump can be removed. Then we will have to have the sidewalk and curb redone and a new tree planted. This is going to be expensive. Sigh. At least we can do it in stages.

Mother in law

2009-09-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

Update: Mother in law doesn't have a broken hip (first and second set of xrays showed no fracture), and she doesn't have pneumonia. Hmm. She doesn't want to get out of bed, she has been coughing for weeks and she says her leg is "dead". The skilled nursing facility is giving her physical therapy for her leg but there doesn't seem to be much of a plan for her cough. Cough meds and anti-biotics haven't helped. We will keep working with the doctor and nurses.

Garage-continued.....

2009-09-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

Last weekend and this, we have been working hard on the garage. I've mentioned before how everything just gets dumped in there over the years while we work on house projects. The corner between the big garage door and the small side door has now been insulated, sheet rocked, peg boarded and cupboarded ;) I spent the day going through all the junk and treasures in the middle of the garage and putting things in the cupboards. There were lots of things I would have thrown away but DSH wouldn't let me, sigh. We need to add more shelves in the cupboards (thanks Home depot) and we were short on the supports for the shelves we did have (thanks again, Home depot). We will be doing the same type of work on the opposite side of the garage which is a bigger space, so, it will continue...

On a sad note, my mother in law fell a week ago. The skilled nursing facility had x-rays taken but they found nothing. She has not gotten out of bed the past two days and says her "leg is dead". She doesn't complain of any pain. They want to x-ray again and MRI. If they find a fracture they are considering surgery. She has two slightly collapsed lungs that they aren't doing anything about but the doctor mentioned she might have pneumonia since she won't stop coughing. I can't imagine that they would do hip surgery on a 91 year old woman with possible pneumonia and two slightly collapsed lungs. But, I don't know. She keeps saying she is ready to go home to the Lord. I think she may be closer.

Christmas projects have also been started!

East Coast Swing and Foxtrot

2009-09-09T21:26:00.000-07:00

The first four week session is complete. It was not as successful as we had hoped. Because we have danced a lot of East Coast Swing (my favorite) we went ahead a signed up for the class after it had started which meant we missed the first lesson. The next week we had a substitute teacher and he was terrible. We were so confused (and we can dance East Coast Swing!!). We have had Foxtrot but it is not a favorite and we haven't dance it in years. We did not do well. The third week we had the regular teacher and what a difference! She was awesome and everyone caught on much more quickly. Tonight was fast review and a new step added in for each dance. Everyone was struggling by the end of the class. DSH and I decided we will take the beginning class over again to improve on the basics we learned and to imprint it in our muscle memory! I keep suggesting we practice at home but to no avail.

Tomorrow my dental office is going to San Francisco for the Dental Convention. I HATE driving to SF and looking for parking. Happily, we were able to talk our boss into driving us all up to the class. He goes to SF all the time so he knows what he is doing. We are all going up to get continuing education to keep our licenses current. Lunch out and then back to work. I am only seeing two patients tomorrow. Kind of silly to hurry home for two patients, if you ask me (but, the boss didn't).

Side note: didn't Obama's speech stink? I thought so. He is so full of hot air and full of himself.

Memory

2009-09-02T21:17:00.000-07:00

My dad was the fourth and youngest child to my grandparents. They owned, and lived in, one house their whole married lives. It was a very modest home, only two bedrooms and one bath, a small living room and a tiny eat-in kitchen. The house is in southern California. I loved the colors in each room. They were ice cream colors with large, white moulding. There were only three channels on the TV and when we visited, my sister and I were the remote. My grandpa watched baseball, news or Lawrence Welk. We did not get to watch cartoons. There was one toy in particular that my sister and I loved to play with. I searched on ebay to find one and I did! It probably cost my Grandmother .99 cents. It cost me (dare I admit it!) $99.00! I bought it last year when the economy was better, I had birthday money and I was addicted to ebay! There, I confessed! I do love it and I know I will probably never find another one but I do feel twinges of guilt for wasting so much money. I showed it to my three year old granddaughter and she was enthralled. Of course, I wouldn't let her play with it because I didn't want it broken! So, I have to ask myself, self, what was the point????

The Last Days of Summer

2009-08-29T23:19:00.000-07:00

I love these flowers but I don't know what they are. So delicate.

I am looking forward to Fall. I don't care for it being dark earlier and earlier!

Ballroom Dancing, part II

2009-08-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

Our ballroom dancing class was for beginners. DSH and I used to ballroom dance before we were married 11 years ago. This was review for us. I had to hunt through our closets to find our special ballroom shoes. The sole of the shoes are suede so you slide across the floor smoothly without slipping. I love to dance and DSH humors me because he loves me. We had a great time. Me, because I was dancing, him, because he knew more than anyone else in the class and felt no pressure! It was review, therefore, fun.

Here is an update on our garden. OOC!!!

Mr. Buck, harvesting tomatoes!

Ballroom Dancing

2009-08-20T21:50:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited!!! We signed up for ballroom dance lessons. We start tomorrow. Four weeks of Cha Cha and waltz, YEAH! LOVE. IT. We are also taking East Coast Swing and 2-step. BIG smile. Got to get ready for the wedding.

Side note: no lunch time chore done today. The boss took the office to Cheesecake Factory for lunch today.

Lunch

2009-08-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

It is so nice to be able to go home every day for lunch. I work 5 minutes from home. I always try to get one little chore done in addition to eating lunch. Today I folded and put away the laundry.

I've decided that I MUST sew a little bit every night or nothing will get done! One more month or two of nice weather and my summer shift is only half way done! I have the lining together, mostly, and tried it on with DSH helping check the fit. Not too bad, so far. The main fabric is going to be tough to handle. It is a pink and lavender and white tweedy looking stuff that ravels horribly. I have zigzagged every edge prior to piecing it together. I just knew it wouldn't be able to stay together while I assembled the pieces. I hope I am close in the fit of the fashion fabric because it will be a bear to rip out if it needs it!

New computer lesson

2009-08-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

DSSD was over tonight with her fiance and she gave me another computer lesson! I now know how to put in a link. Too exciting! But, not as exciting as pictures. I can't find my SD chip reader though so pictures are on hold until I can find it and download more pictures. Anyway, here is a link. The Highland Games are coming to Northern California! I hope I learned my lesson and my link works!

Random note: today at lunch I went home and trimmed the dogs ears so the hair doesn't get in their food while they eat.

Too much hospital

2009-08-16T22:37:00.001-07:00

Well, step-daughter that just had the baby on the 4th is in the hospital with an infection. She is on IV anti-biotics. Baby is fine and is home with dad. Cousin's wife fell off of her motorcycle and needed surgery on her hand and hurt her knee. I am so thankful it wasn't worse! Dad has a broken tail bone, a bulging disc and arthritis in his spine. He is on pain meds until he can get into Stanford. Another cousin (above mentioned cousin's brother) has been in and out of the hospital for bowel obstructions. Test continue to find the cause. My prayers are with you all!

Wedding Plans Continue

2009-08-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

A gorgeous dress was purchased today for the bride, by her mother. I went dress shopping with the bride who is my step-daughter, my sister, who is the mother of the groom and the bride's mother. Is anyone confused? We had a great time (really!) and the bride to be was beautiful! It is sooooo fun to go wedding dress shopping. So many brides trying on absolutely stunning dresses. It is a free fashion show. Such a happy place. :D

Mother in law

2009-08-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of my mother in law last May on Mother's Day. She was not yet 91.

Vacation week

2009-08-09T14:39:00.000-07:00

This week was my annual August vacation. Normally DSH and I would go to Hot August Nights in Reno, NV to celebrate our anniversary (August 8) and my birthday (August 6). But, life changes, priorities change, choices are made. We went to Reno seven years in a row to see the hot rods and classic cars. My mother in law moved in with us July of 2006 and first granddaughter was born in August so, no trip for me that year. I suggested to DSH that he go with "the guys" to look at the cars and I would stay home. After seven years of classic cars I was done. It couldn't have been too fun for DSH when I took three minutes of looking and said, "That one is cute, this one is interesting, the one over there is an ugly one, let's go, I'm done." With "the guys" he could ask about transmissions, wheels, paint, horse power, torque, to his hearts content and they would enjoy it too. They had a blast and DSH got a much needed break from his mother. It is a very difficult thing to have your aging mother move in with you. She has Alzheimer's which adds to the difficulty. I had a much easier time with it than he did because my emotional involvement was so different. He HATED seeing her deteriorate. We were not able to have a logical, normal conversation with her very often. I am embarrassed to admit that I actually played tug of war with her over her dirty undies! I belatedly figured out it was much easier to take her dirty clothes when she was sleeping! Anyway, she lived with us for a year and a half then had to move to a skilled nursing facility in the area. Even though it was challenging, trying, and difficult having her with us 24/7 we both cried when she moved out. Moving her out was so much harder than we thought it would be! She is now 91 and doing well there.

So, back to this week. My vacation consisted of:
August 1- my mom and her twins' birthday
clean out the garage
August 2- more garage work
August 3-go to bridal store with DSSD to help select a wedding
dress
August 4-our third granddaughter born to DSH's oldest
August 5-visit new baby and mom in hospital
August 6-I turned 53 :D, had a massage, had my hair cut, went to
my youngest daughter's for dinner
August 7-went to Sears with youngest daughter and
helped while oldest granddaughter had her
three year old portrait taken. Grocery shopping and
rush to clean house. Daughter and husband came to
spend the night.
August 8-make waffles for breakfast for house guests,
make pasta salad and wrap gifts, go to 3 year
old's birthday party, go out for anniversary
dinner.
August 9-sleep in, make pancakes, watch TV church,
cut husband's hair, cut both dogs hair. DSSH
and fiance stop by for lunch and discuss
wedding plans.

We had a great time with family all week! How do you spend vacation time?

PS Garage is not finished! That will be the project of the week every night after dinner.

New Granddaughter

2009-08-04T22:26:00.000-07:00

Our third granddaughter was born tonight!

Mr. Buck-another practice post

2009-07-31T08:39:00.000-07:00

You got to see a picture of Bailey in the last post, now here is a picture of Buck, our English setter. This was taken last winter in a hunting field. He has a bird in his mouth. He has soooooo much fun, he is a joy to watch.

Here is Buck in the kitchen. Quite the handsome boy, I must say.

I need to download more pictures onto the computer. The pickings are scarce. But, this was just a practice exercise for me.

Practice post (and wedding news)

2009-07-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

We are in the throws of planning wedding number three. My DSH's daughter is marrying my nephew. No blood relation, they are step-cousins. We had the required (by me :D) parent/engaged couple meeting. Before any money is spent and contracts signed, we have a dinner with the engaged couple, the groom's parents, and the bride's parents. Everybody gets to discuss expectations, wants, contribution ability, etc. I want things discussed and out in the open so there are no hurt feelings or misunderstandings. It works great. This is so fun, I am soooo excited.

Now, onto more pictures. I have to practice what DSSD showed me today. It worked! This is a picture of Bailey. She is quite proud of her ball. And I am quite proud of me for being able to post a picture by myself.

Have great week!

Pictures are here!!!!

2009-07-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

DSSD (Dear Sweet Step-daughter) is here and she is brilliant. She is going to show me how to put pictures on my blog! Here is a picture of our side yard. I had no idea what picture I was choosing. I guess my pictures need better labels! This is going to be interesting, people. Please bear with me :D

This the start of the garden.

More garden ... mystery plants. The labels were wrong. We were supposed to get cantaloupe but got squash and pumpkins! We are ready for fall, early this year.

Lattice, plants, and Bailey butt.

50Th post

2009-07-23T22:22:00.000-07:00

OOOOOHHH!! I am so excited!! DSH bought a card reader for me today and we loaded pictures into the computer. Now, all we have to do is figure out how to get the pictures on my blog. I'll have one of the kids help. I'm getting closer to having a half way decent blog. I have so many pictures I want to share :D

41 Taylor

2009-07-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had the privilege of meeting not one but two blog friends. DSH and I went to Reno for a short vacation and our trip coincided with the open house of 41 Taylor which is a fantastic new venue for parties, meetings, family reunions, etc. It is a darling old house that the two Tracey's cleaned up and decorated with paint, elbow grease and creativity. They are AMAZING! I had so much fun meeting them both and talking with them. Hi Tracey and Tracey! It was great meeting you both!

Fabric

2009-07-07T22:04:00.000-07:00

I got some great fabric in the mail today. It is from Scotland. I now have five sewing projects to work on and no time to sew. Plus, every project needs something like seam binding, elastic, buttons or interfacing. I have a list started and I must run to the fabric store. I need more thread for the current project. The trouble is, I haven't sewn in years and I am in a "new" sewing room that is tiny as all get out. I have a ton of thread so I assumed I had enough light pink for my dress. The fabric is a tweed-looking light pink and lavender that ravels (unravels?) like crazy. I decided to be clever and zigzag every piece before I start constructing the garment. I ran out of pink thread but, nothing is unraveling! Every time I go into the sewing room/office, the dress taunts me. I could be sewing right now if I had thread! Sigh!!! I really don't like starting another project before finishing one, so, no progress.

Another dog post

2009-07-05T11:26:00.000-07:00

Last night was an interesting night. Illegal fireworks, apricots and dog vomit. Nice. Quite a few neighbors, near and far, do illegal fireworks. Our dogs have always done well because they are hunting dogs and are used to gun fire overhead. Bailey did great, but, Buck the white setter was very disconcerted. He whined and barked at the shrill sky rockets people were sending up. We didn't go to bed until after midnight. At 4:45 am I was rudely awakened by Bailey who was vomiting. The dogs sleep on the floor next to our bed on DSH's side. He, of course, slept through the whole thing! I got up to check on Bailey and sure enough, a pile of bile and an apricot pit, was on the floor. Bailey loves apricots and they are falling off the tree right now. When I've seen her eat them she has always spit out the pit so I never worried about her eating one. We have picked and given away a ton and I have a ton on the counter waiting to be processed for the freezer. But, we can't keep up with the tree. More picking will be done this week. Anyway, to continue with my fascinating tale, I stayed awake listening for Bailey. I just knew she wasn't finished. Sure enough, she got up to go out two more times in the next hour and a half and vomited both times. I'm glad she made it outside. I did not get enough sleep. At 7:00am I told DSH that Bailey and I had been up half the night and he missed the fun. I went back to sleep and DSH got up. He left the dogs in the room with me while he studied Air Stream trailers. (It's on the wish list) I slept until 11:00am!! Sunday shedule has totally changed. No church, no garage cleaning but we will get our wedding gift for next weekend and we will see Margaret in the nursing home.

Have a great week and watch out for those evil apricot pits!

Independence Day

2009-07-04T22:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, America!

Have a wonderful Independence Day, everyone.

More dog fun

2009-06-21T20:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we were sitting out front on our enclosed patio where the apricot tree is. We have a nice table and chair set with umbrella and the weather was perfect for lunch outside. The branches of the apricot tree are long and heavy with fruit so they are hanging about three feet off the patio decking. Our English Setter, Buck, decided the apricots looked good and were ready to eat (they aren't). He stood on the deck and stretched out his long white neck and tried to gingerly pluck an apricot off the tree with his lips and teeth. He is so gentle and careful. He couldn't quite reach the lowest apricot so as he tried to grab it, the branch started bobbing and waving. He did not want to raise up on his hind legs to grab that green apricot. I started encouraging him to "get it, Buck, get it". It was hysterical watching him try to get an apricot that was just out of his reach. When I started my encouragement, our other dog, Bailey decided to get in on the act. She is smaller than Buck but she is a real get-it-done kind of girl. She got tired of his mealy mouth antics and jumped up in the air, grabbed an apricot and took off with it! Mr. Buck was left high and dry. He does better with the tomatoes that are just his height! Yes, he does pick tomatoes and eats them. He cracks me up!

I sewed most of the day yesterday making outfits for the two little granddaughters. It is a pattern I used over 25 years ago for my girls when they were this age. My daughter was supposed to go with me Friday to pick out the fabric but she forgot (oops!). I picked something out for them myself and hopefully my daughter will like what I got! It is fun to be sewing again.

Happy Father's Day to everyone out there!

Daughters

2009-06-06T14:01:00.001-07:00

This has been the week of the girls. After hunting last weekend, we met the oldest in Sacramento for lunch. We had a great time eating, catching up and laughing. I am so glad her schedule meshed with ours! It would have been so fun to see her hubby, also, but we will see them both in July at his sister's wedding. I can't wait (I LOVE to dance at weddings and I have permission from my daughter to make a fool of myself, it is her in-laws after all!).

We had the second daughter, her husband and two little people over for dinner the next day. We went to the park with the dogs and her family, to play. Strawberry shortcake for dessert!

Fourth daughter and her boyfriend (my nephew, no blood: they are step-family), met us as the nursing home to visit her grandmother on her 91st birthday. We had a very fun visit, telling jokes and keeping my husband's mother company. Big news was shared in the parking lot. More later when I have permission to share.

Third daughter came over for dinner last night. We don't see her nearly as often as the other three because of choices she has made that have presented some difficulties. We call, email and invite often but she is very busy and doesn't come over as often as we would like. She will be having our third granddaughter in August. Baby shower planning is in the works. We had a yummy dinner that she liked well enough to copy the recipe. That spells success in my book.

Here is the recipe:

12 to 16 oz rotelle pasta
3 zucchini cut in 1" cubes
2 red bell pepper cut in 1" chunks
1 red onion cut in 1" chunks
2 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
3 T olive oil
1/2 tsp pepper
salt to taste
1 pint red and yellow small tomatoes
1 Cup fresh basil chopped
1 T red wine vinegar

In 450 degree oven, roast zucchini, red pepper, onion, garlic, oil, salt and pepper. 35 min stirring once. Toss tomatoes with basil and vinegar. Cook pasta during the last 10 minutes of the vegetables roasting. Save 1/4 C of pasta water after cooking pasta to toss with all the ingredients. In large bowl put drained pasta, roasted veggies and tomato mixture along with reserved pasta water. Toss and serve hot.

Last night I added cooked chicken and grated on some Parmesan cheese. We had french bread along side and it was an easy dinner.

Blessings

2009-05-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

Today has been a refreshing and restful day for DSH and me. We got a little bit of work done around the house. I mopped the kitchen floor and then helped DSH go through his closet and get rid of tired, old clothes that don't fit or are worn out. DSH does not like doing that job at all. We have two HUGE bags ready to go to the Goodwill. He does not get rid of anything unless I make him. His closet is now organized and nothing is getting scrunched. I will make a fresh strawberry pie to take to a friend's house tonight for dinner while hubster takes the dogs out for hunting practice. We are going hunting this Friday! What fun, except for the 4:00am morning call and no coffee because of the long drive!

Dental work

2009-05-22T17:17:00.000-07:00

Today was dental work for me! Two crowns and a filling. Such fun to be a patient again. I was learning empathy :D Good price, too! Since I work for a dentist, dental work is free. I only had to pay the lab bill. I haven't had dental work done in years. Just teeth cleanings. Sore teeth and gums for me over the next few days!

Have a great holiday weekend. THANK YOU, military!

Failure

2009-05-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

Today has been a full and exciting day and it's only 1:25pm! The neighborhood had it's yearly garage sale where any house in the neighborhood that wants to participate can, for a $5.00 fee. Each house hosts their own garage sale, takes the profits then puts anything that doesn't sell on the curb for the neighborhood truck to collect and take to charity. The $5.00 fee covers advertising and leftover/junk pickup. We did not participate but our next door neighbor did. Their two little girls are about a year or so older than our granddaughters so we went over to buy old toys. We have nothing to play with at our house. We found a cute scooter made for tykes, copying the popular "razors". We asked how much, they said for us, free. What a deal!

We chatted awhile and as we were leaving a couple arrived to shop. As they were walking away from their car, the husband (presumably) said, "Honey, Booger Pie, we have an awful lot of stuff already........" We didn't hear Booger Pie's response but his comment was said very sweetly as if that was a traditional endearment.

I have now been called "Honey, Booger Pie" about ten times this morning and we laugh hysterically every time!

On the the failure of the day. I clean teeth for a living. I have an ultrasonic scaler at home that was given to me by my boss when he purchased a new one. I have a 4 year old English Setter with filthy, disgusting, tartar covered teeth, not to mention breath that can kill. We have had his teeth cleaned by the vet once and it cost about $500.00. I had a fit when I saw the bill and decided I can do this myself at home. I am a trained professional. I discussed it with the vet, she prescribed a sedative and two weeks ago we gave him one pill. We saw no change. We gave him another pill, no change. We tried to clean his teeth and he would have none of it. Today we tried a different medication. He was staggering around like a drunken sailor. We got him up on our makeshift operating table, my DSH held him down and I started to go at it. As soon as I was two millimeters from his teeth his hind leg came up and scraped down DSH's arm. Dog legs were flailing, ultrasonic was squirting, DSH was exclaiming and absolutely no tartar was removed from stinky dogs teeth. Sigh. I have to pay $500.00 to get his teeth cleaned.

Now we have a drunk dog staggering around wondering why his mom slipped him a "Micky".

I did get DSH's hair cut and mine bleached (Loreal Natural Blond 9 1/2). The lawns all got watered and dishes got washed so it wasn't really a total failure of a day!

We now a big dinner out with my sister and her husband to look forward to. I hope the dogs is sober by the time we leave!

Bye for now Honey Booger Pie!

Busy, busy, busy

2009-05-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was full of granddaughter fun. They are now almost three and 15 months. We had them overnight on Friday and all day Saturday while daughter #2 ran a half triathlon. This was her first event and she did amazingly well. Her goal was to finish in two hours and she finished in 1 hour 21 minutes. Awesome!

The event was a long ways away so I wanted her DSH to go with her. This gave them some much needed adult/couple time and if something bad happened (I feared the worst during my "protective mothering" moments) he would be there for her. I hate swimming so I just KNEW she would run then bike then be exhausted and drown. :( Of course, she is a great swimmer and they swim first so they are fresh. Brilliant of the planners, I must say! I am quite proud of her.

The little people did not sleep much Friday night, therefore, neither did I. DSH slept just fine. Saturday was rainy which limited outdoor fun. We did go out once and got wet and muddy. Everyone was quite happy. I had to let the dogs out now and then and the youngest would try to get out too. I wouldn't let her out and she would be very upset. Repeat when dogs came back in.

We had an outing to the skilled nursing facility which was quite successful. We took the girls to visit Great Grandma. They all loved that. GGma got to hold both girls and the oldest gave her a kiss! The girls got to see the pet fish and birds. It was all quite exciting. They fell asleep in the car on the way home which messed up afternoon nap time. Two tired, cranky little girls all afternoon (three, if you count me!). We rested together for a bit but no one slept like they were supposed to. I finally resorted to TV at 4:00pm. There are some really stupid cartoons out there. I need to buy some kids DVD's.

Parents arrived about 5ish. We shared stories and then loaded up their car with kids and gear. They had a wonderful time and were very appreciative.

Note to self: start working out again, buy DVD's for kids, child proof home, babysit only during nice weather!! ;)

Ice Cream

2009-04-29T22:11:00.000-07:00

Tonight DSH and I went to a book store to listen to a writer talk about his book. This was a first for us. Very interesting but we didn't stay for the whole thing. On the way home we decided to get a snack and maybe some coffee ( who cares if it keeps me up all night running to the potty!). It was almost 9:00pm. We drove and drove looking for a snack type place. Didn't want to go to a dinner place. We were in Mountain View. Lots of book stores, Asian restaurants and Indian restaurants, but no dessert places. Wait, there's Baskin Robbins Ice Cream, they're open. We slow down and CAN'T BELIEVE OUR EYES!!! The line is out the door. The line is going around the building! What the heck???? It's not even hot outside. It's cold! Maybe there is a business opportunity here. We didn't stop. We didn't want to wait. We went home and baked some cookie dough I made the other day. I would have enjoyed the ice cream :D

RAT!!!

2009-04-22T21:54:00.001-07:00

I am soooooo proud :D Bailey, the English Cocker Spaniel caught a rat this morning! She has been on the hunt for rats, mice, squirrels, birds, etc. since we got her. She always gets her bird with "Dad" (aka as DSH), hunting beside her. But, a rat is a different matter. I sure wish I was computer savvy enough to put a picture on my blog. Of course, it would have helped if I had taken one. She would have to be successful while we were getting ready for work!

Imagine a small black dog with a big, fat, ugly, dead rat in her mouth.

Good girl, Bailey!

Garden

2009-04-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

It is a hot day here in Northern California. I decided it was time to plant my garden. DSH went to Orchard Supply Hardware with me and we got some compost, vegetable plants, light bulbs and two cute little chairs for the granddaughters. We ate a late lunch and then I churned up the soil, removed the new weeds that had sprung up since the last major weeding event, dumped out the dark compost and played in the dirt. I placed my little plants in their intended spot then dug a hole to make them comfy in their new home. I planted various types of tomatoes, cantaloupe, Japanese cucumber, bell pepper, artichokes and zucchini. I know I will have too many tomatoes but that is ok. We will share.

I had to clean up the mess I made (I hate that part) and then everybody, including me, got a big drink. The plants got Miracle Grow in their water and I got tea with sugar in my water!

What a beautiful day. A blessing from the Lord.

Tax Day

2009-04-15T21:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Tax Day! Is there such a thing? Our taxes were done long ago and we did get a little back so that was a blessing.

It has been terribly windy yesterday and a bit today. Baby apricots falling off the tree, leaves everywhere, fence trying to blow over! Quite exciting! We had to tie the fence to the trees so it wouldn't fall down. Time for a new fence, me thinks.

Until next time, may God richly bless you my beloved.

Our Savior

2009-04-12T21:33:00.000-07:00

He is risen!

Happy Easter!

Day Off

2009-03-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

I took a vacation day today. DSH had to work so I revelled in puttering around the house with only the dogs for company. I slept in (of course) then trimmed the dogs ears. The hair grows so long on their ears that it gets in their food when they eat and then their ears get crusty! Very unattractive. Bailey doesn't appreciate being groomed. She rolls over and makes it difficult. Buck, on the other hand is quite foppish. He sits quite nicely and loves the attention. After the dogs were prettied up I did office work and budget work. My favorite things, believe it or not. My DSH calls me the "Budget Queen". Or if he is feeling nasty about it, he calls me "Scottish" (which I am), but he doesn't mean it in a nice way, he means a tight fisted, cheap, penny pincher! But, it is only relative. I just don't like to spend as much as he does.

I did some yard work, the weather is quite spring like. I'm going to have sore muscles tomorrow. Some was left for DSH. I don't have the endurance or upper body strength to do it all. At least I cleaned up the mess I made. I usually trim, dig, cut, hack and trim some more and then I'm so pooped I can't clean up and leave the mess until the next day. That is frowned upon for some reason! Sorry, honey :D

I did laundry, too. We are having chicken fried pork steaks for dinner. Kind of fattening but good.

Weeds and rain

2009-03-21T14:23:00.001-07:00

Today was a weeding day and it started to rain. We came in and had lunch. It is starting to rain pretty hard. Not just a sprinkle. Nope, I did not vacuum or dust yesterday. That's ok. It is still there waiting for me. DSH did mention the dust bunnies everywhere so I will vacuum sometime soon. We will be visiting Margaret, his 90 year old mother this afternoon. She is in a skilled nursing facility and we go just about every week. Sometimes we miss. She has Alzheimer's so she doesn't remember us ever visiting. Very sad. It was supposed to rain late tonight, not now. It is going to be messy running the dogs in the rain. They won't mind!

Spring

2009-03-20T10:27:00.001-07:00

HAPPY SPRING!!

Today I am going to do NOTHING. What that really means is I will go grocery shopping and I might, only if I feel like it, vacuum and dust. I am exhausted for some reason. It has been a very hard week at work. I slept until 9:15 this morning and it is 10:30 and I'm still in my jammies. We are having date night tonight instead of last night because DSH has a class for three Thursday nights and he gets home too late to go out. Well, we could but I really don't like going out to dinner at 8:30 and getting home at 10:30. So, I made mushroom chicken last night and we ate as soon as he walked in the door. I am so glad I didn't have to work this morning. I was supposed to work half a day but it has been a little slow at work (hmmm, bad economy?) so no one worked. I am thankful. I needed the day off. Bad part, less money.

Disaster (on a small scale)

2009-03-14T16:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I went grocery shopping for the week and for company that was coming for dinner later that evening. I planned to make chicken enchiladas because our guests requested Mexican food. I make it pretty much from scratch (read: lots of work). But, it is worth it because they are so yummy.

After lunch I made cookie dough so we could bake cookies for dessert. I started the chicken cooking, chopped the onion, minced the garlic then warmed the oil for sauteing. I got the cream and chicken broth warming. It was all coming together nicely. When the onion and garlic was soft, I added tomato puree and chilies. I shredded the chicken and added it to the mix. The filling was kept warm while I heated the oil to soften the corn tortillas. OOOH, it all smelled so good. The table was set for dinner with my good china (actually, the only china I have!). I started cooking the tortillas slightly, dried off the excess oil, dipped them in cream, added the chicken filling, roll, place in lightly greased baking dish. Next one, next one, ouch- burnt my finger, next one, next one, next one, (boy, I'm getting hungry), next one, next one, check how much filling is left the, HEY! What's this????? THAT'S MOLD ON MY BRAND NEW PACKAGE OF TORTILLAS!!!!!! I can't serve this! I don't want to eat moldy food! I have nothing else to serve. They will be arriving in 30 minutes!!!! WHAT am I going to do????? I am soooooo upset. What a waste of food, time money and it's embarrassing to boot.

I call my DSH and tell him we have to change our plans for dinner and when is he coming home (I thought he would be home by now). He knows I'm upset because I'm crying (I NEVER cry).

Now, these guests are very special people. The couple have know my husband's family for over 40 years. We support them as missionaries. He is the president of OC International. I am MORTIFIED!!! The gentleman they are bringing with them is housing them for the weekend. He is 94 years old and his wife recently passed away. She is home with the Lord.

I know they will understand but I still feel horrible. That said, I blow my nose, dry my eyes, change my pitiful attitude, thank the Lord that we can afford to go out and get on with it.

Fast forward a bit. Hugs, kisses, greetings, explanation and then off we go to El Burro for Mexican food. We all had a lovely time except it is hard to talk at El Burro because it is so loud in there and one has to shout to be heard.

End of story: this morning I took my dinner receipt, recipe book, casserole dish of half made enchiladas, molding tortillas and cash register receipt to Safeway and told the manager my story. I came away with a Safeway gift card that covered dinner for five at El Burro and money back for the tortillas and an apology.

DSH said he won't invite anyone over again for a long time! I told him it wasn't his fault. Moral of the story: it's not about me, it's not about my cooking. It's about hospitality and making guest feel comfortable and welcomed. It's about connecting and catching up. That can be done at home with canned soup or at a fancy restaurant. It's the people that matter and giving the glory to the Lord.

Weeds

2009-03-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

Today was a day for weeding the garden in preparation for veggies! We have had a good amount of rain this year (PTL!) so the weeds are lush and large. I weeded a small patch under the office window and then weeded the soon-to-be vegetable garden. DSH weeded next to the fence on the outside of the yard. It was looking quite ragged. I won't plant the veggies until May 1st at the earliest. I will put flowers under the office window or maybe a boysenberry bush or two. I haven't found a boysenberry plant yet so that will be the deciding factor.

We took the dogs for a run at the school which was well received. They love to run! We walked around the school quite a few times to keep our muscles loosened up after all the weeding. I know I will be sore tomorrow.

Tonight we are having corned beef and cabbage, early, but that's ok. It will still be good!

Cranky

2009-02-27T16:14:00.000-08:00

After a long day taking 90 year old mother-in-law to the doctor, eating lunch in five minutes, taking myself to the doctor (nothing serious, PTL), then going grocery shopping at Lunardi's I stopped at Safeway for things I don't buy at Lunardi's. I found everything I needed and wanted except for one item. During checkout, the cashier asked me if I found everything. I said, "No". She said nothing. She rang up my sale, handed me my reciept and said thank you. I said, "Can I ask you a question?" She said, "Yes". I said, "Why do you ask me if I found everything and then say nothing?" She said, "Do you want someone to check on your item?" I said, "Yes". The person who came to help me said they might get my item in in a few days. I don't get it. Why ask me if I found everything if they aren't going to do anything about it when I don't? Why not check in the back for me? Why not offer to check on the shipping status? Why not order it for me? Why not know if it is discontinued or not carried at Safeway anymore? Don't ask if I found everything if you are not going to follow up! I'm still cranky :( My attitude will improve! I promise.

Hunting

2009-02-21T14:14:00.000-08:00

DSH is hunting pheasant today. He got up early and took Mr. Buck, our English Setter. Miss Bailey did not get to go and she is moping around today. She knew something was up yesterday when the hunting gear came out. She didn't get to go because it takes a long time to hunt both dogs and DSH and friend didn't have time today to hunt both dogs. They don't have the same hunting style, one is a flusher and one is a pointer so they don't work well together. They have to take turns. She will get to go next time and so will I.

Tomorrow is youngest step-daughter's birthday party. She turned 25 last week. We are having Monkey Brains (aka stuffed cabbage), spinach salad with hot bacon dressing, fruit salad, rolls, smoked pheasant (hmmm, I wonder how that got on the menu!), smoked pork, smoked sausage, baked brie and poor white cake with 7 minute frosting for dessert. Step-daughter requested most of the selections on this menu. DSH added a couple of meat items because he hates Monkey Brains! This morning I assembled the MB, cooked the bacon and washed the spinach for the salad and later today I will make the cake but not the frosting. The frosting tastes best fresh so it will be made tomorrow while the MB are baking. 11 guests coming over and we only have seating for eight. Folding table is coming out!

Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T14:48:00.000-08:00

DSH is always the best on Valentine's Day. Me, not so much. Valentine's Day is my dad's birthday so it was always more his birthday than Valentine's Day. I guess my mom was always cheated! I never heard her complain about it so I never gave it a thought. Anyhow, I always get beautiful flowers, hand picked candy of all my favorites from See's (the best in the West), a card or two and gifts of clothes. Crazy generous. I refuse to go out for dinner or he would do that too. He gets a card from me along with some See's candy hand picked for him (and, yes, I do know his favorites). He likes shopping and he likes giving gifts. Me, not so much. I am the BudgetQueen, Scottish, and all things cheaplike. We clash once in awhile, go at it once in awhile, but ALWAYS work it out. He loves me and I love him. We actually balance each other out nicely. It is sometimes painful to balance! I appreciate his generosity and thoughtfulness and hopefully he appreciates my thriftiness! Thank you, HONEY!!!!!

Rain!

2009-02-15T14:07:00.003-08:00

Praise the Lord for rain! We are in a drought here in California. Water rationing imminate. I don't usually like being rained on, but, I didn't mind at all on our way to and from church. A dreary, stay in, read a book kind of day. Of course, I have no book to read! That means blogging :D

Friday I took my 90 year old mother-in-law to the dentist I work for and he did three fillings for her. Half price! What a nice boss I have! She is on a VERY limited budget: $35.00 spending money per month (per MediCal). She did great except she chewed on her lip after she went back to the skilled nursing facility! I know that would happen. Poor thing. She will be fine but just like a little child would do, she chewed her lip while it was numb. We went to check on her Saturday and that is how I knew she had chewed her lip.

I also had a sewing class on Friday. I was wrapped up like a mummy from shoulders to hips in duct tape. I hated it!! We were making a custom dress form for me. I had an old, long T-shirt that I sewed to fit snug then was wrapped tight in the tape to copy my (much rounder than I remember) form. After two to three layers of tape I was cut out of it. I have to get a stand and then stuff it to look like me. I don't think it was tight enough to be accurate but I couldn't tolerate it! I just figure it gives me room to grow!!!! LOL

Boot Camp

2009-02-01T20:58:00.000-08:00

It is going to be a long, lonely week. Buck and Bailey are at camp improving their bird hunting skills. They get to sleep in an outdoor kennel, no soft bed, no scratching from mom or dad, no treats, no cuddling, no ball play and no running at the school. They will be roughing it. But, they will have a great time hunting and retrieving the birds. They LOVE that part! DSH will pick them up next Saturday and hunt with them before coming home. I will stay home and get ready for LoveBug's first birthday party that is at our house on Sunday.

Home Sick

2009-01-19T10:12:00.000-08:00

Today I am home sick with a cold/flu. No one wants to get their teeth cleaned with the hygienist coughing in their face. Sorry, that was a bit graghic! I will rest, drink plenty of fluids and take lots of vitamin C. The rest is the best part. If I'm up to it I will straighten up the office a bit.

My cousin is in the hospital with a serious condition. Third time this has happened to him. Hopefully, no surgery will be required. That man has had more surgery than anyone I know! I will be praying for you, Munna! (my baby name for him, I couldn't pronounce "Jim", HUH!?)

Vet Visit

2009-01-17T21:23:00.000-08:00

Hard day at the vet. Buck and Bailey were due for some immunizations and other indignities. Bailey, our English Cocker, does very well. She is one tough girl. Poor Buck, on the other hand, is kind of a wimp. He absolutely refuses, REFUSES! to have his temperature taken. (well, wouldn't you?) He cries when they take his blood to check for heart worm, he cries when he gets his shots, he cries when they check his ears. It is all very traumatic for everyone. We all made it through with treats, liver, yum! I was traumatized too, where's mine????

We walked down the street after for a necessary potty break (for the dogs) then stopped at the dog store for new dog beds. After our purchase, we stopped at the school to let the dogs run. They got to get their wiggles out and de-stress. A much better ending to the day!

I surely wish we had chickens like Judy at Apron Strings but they would drive Buck and Bailey nuts since they are bird dogs. Keep sharing about your chickens, Judy. I love to hear about them. Not the 'pecking of your hand part' though!

Poor Girls :(

2009-01-14T21:26:00.000-08:00

This has been a rough month for two of our girls. My oldest broke her arm Saturday while snowboarding. She did get a good morning full of fun before crashing. She did get to ride on a snowmobile but that doesn't make up for an arm in a cast for 6 weeks, pain and having to miss work which is a new nursing job. Hard to nurse others in the ICU when you have a cast on your arm. I sent her a small care package: floss holders (for one handed flossing), Earl Grey tea, a book, some See's candy (I know, I know! Just wrong for a dental hygienist to send candy!!) and some fresh roasted almonds that were grown by my husbands family. My Poor Sweet Girl!

My youngest has had three, yes three bouts of the cold/flu in one month! While taking care of two little ones (two and a half and 11 months). Dad, of course, was gone part of the time for work which didn't help much. Dad is back home again so things are looking up! Dad was sorely missed! My Poor Sweet Girl!

This too shall pass. You will both get better. Remember, you are loved!

We haven't yet heard from our other two girls. I will assume they are fine and healthy until I hear differently!

Repeat!

2009-01-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

LOL!!! That last post was a bit of a repeat. Sorry.

Oldest daughter called today and told us she crashed while snowboarding and broke her arm yesterday. She just started a new job as a trauma nurse. She might be able to go to work and do some work or she may have to just stay home and heal. She had half a day of fun before her own personal trauma. Take care of yourself and get better fast, SweetPea!

New Year agenda

2009-01-11T18:57:00.000-08:00

No resolutions here, just an agenda for the new year, a plan, if you will. We made a good start today. The garage is going to be cleaned up and organized. It has been such a mess, crammed full of junk, stuff and treasures we don't even remember we own. We've been doing our own construction and decorating for six years. We have ripped out doors and frames, removed all sheet rock, redone electrical- adding ground wire and new outlets and switches and lots of can lights. We had lots of help re-plumbing. There has been insulation added to walls then new sheet rock put up, texture, prime, paint, wood trim everywhere. All the supplies, tools, scrap and furniture that was in the way in the house was literally thrown in the garage. What a disaster. It's amazing we could find anything. We have finished three bedrooms, the hall and the living room. That leaves all the hard rooms like kitchen and baths. We won't do those ourselves. We will pay. Which means it waits. The garage looks much better although it is only half done. You can walk in there and find things. You can see a lot of the floor!! I keep going out there to just look at it!

I love Judy at Apron Strings's idea of a new recipe a week. I've been cooking what she has tried. Delish!! Thanks, Judy. I don't know if I will keep up with a new recipe a week but I will try. Judy posts the recipes she uses so that makes it very easy for me. :D

I also want to start sewing again. I still have to sign up for lessons because I want to learn how to draft a pattern and how to taylor for a proper fit. The sewing blogs I have found are amazing!

Sick :(

2009-01-02T19:10:00.001-08:00

What a way to start the New Year! Sick with a cold. So nice of family to share. That's ok, this too shall pass. We have so many blessings: health, a nice home and our jobs. Our computer died right before Christmas so DSH had to get a new one. He went Apple and I get to keep the old, repaired one. I should be able to blog more this year since I have my own computer now. I also want to start sewing again and take some sewing lessons. I used to sew a lot......I made all of my church clothes and I made all of the girls clothes until they got to the jeans stage, then I made just their church clothes. I would like to improve my tailoring skills. I also would like to get the garage cleaned out and organized. That will take lots of help from DSH. Too much of it is his stuff (treasures) and I can't get rid of it without his permission. I think a year is a reasonable amout of time to acomplish those to goals. We'll see.

Happy New Year to everyone.

Suspension of the Birthday/Christmas rule!

2008-12-05T22:59:00.000-08:00

DSH turns 50 this December 15th. We are having a Christmas open house December 13th. Our neighborhood has a tradition of having a open house/Christmas party every year. We have lived here for six years and have not taken a turn hosting. We have been doing construction continuously for the past six years and have reached a good stopping point so decided it was time. This caused a conflict with the Birthday/Christmas rule which states: Christmas decorating, gift buying and giving does not start until after December 15th. I am enjoying the suspension greatly! More time for planning and doing! Out of respect for DSH and his understandable "issues" with birthday and Christmas, I have bought all of his birthday and Christmas presents, wrapped them in the appropriate paper for the occasion and placed the birthday pile in one corner and the Christmas pile in the other corner. Birthday presents are wrapped in a bright, cheery paper that says "Happy Birthday" all over it and the Christmas gifts are in an old fashioned Christmas paper and are hidden behind a chair. Easy to tell the difference. There is no place to hide gifts in our home so wrapping and displaying was the best solution. Plus, the gifts are out taunting him with their mysterious sizes and shapes. Oh, the anticipation! Happy Birthday, DSH!!