Wobbling Between Two Worlds

Finally, Orion Star in the Shop!

2011-12-08T10:19:00.001-08:00

It has been a busy week for me. Our Project Linus meeting was on Tuesday and I turned in 5 quilts. You can see them by clicking on the quilts tab on the header.

Then Wednesday the Quail Quilters guild meeting. So many gals showed quilts that they had finished. Most of them were quilts that they had started a few years back and just felt they needed to get them done. That really inspired me because I went home and put the boarders on this one. I did make a commitment to finish some on my UFO's this winter and here is my first one.

The pattern is call Orion Star and it is made using Thangles. I bought it as a kit a few years ago. Happy to say it is at the local quilt shop to get quilted. It is just to big for me to quilt myself.

Look closely and you will see Puddin sitting on it. Don't know what is going on with that girl. It used to be that if I had a quilt laying somewhere she was on it. Today I had to bodily pick her up and set her on it.

I have two more tops that I put on the design wall today and picked out fabric for the boarders. Then I think my UFO's will be getting them quilted and some applique one's.

Design Wall Monday Nov 28, 2011

2011-11-28T05:59:00.001-08:00

This is an update on a UFO that I started around 2003. Not sure of the exact date but I ordered this BOM while at the Houston Quilt Festival.

It is Baboo Gardens by Sis n Me. I had put it away for several years but have made some progress lately. All the blocks are done except the center and it is pretty much done.

I am really committed to finishing a few some UFO'S and feel like this is a great start.

Thanks for stopping in and be sure to check out Patchwork Times to enjoy looking at more projects that the gals are working on.

Update on Previous Post

2011-11-21T15:01:00.001-08:00

My previous post was for Design Wall Monday and I showed a top I was working on. I didn't like the border, so I asked the gals to let me know what they thought. We were all in agreement that the black and white border would be better than the other one. So here it is and I am happy with it. Thanks everyone for your input.

Design Wall Monday Nov 21, 2011

2011-11-21T04:37:00.000-08:00

This week at the quilt guild I belong to we started a quilt called Thirty Nine and Holding by Klaudeen Hansen. It has been fun working on it. At first I was pretty frustrated because I mostly do the scrap quilts for Project Linus and had a hard time getting back into exact sewing again.

Here is the top finished. However...... I am not happy with the border and will probably be taking it off. I miss cut the border fabric so couldn't make it as wide as I would have liked but that might not have made any difference; I am thinking it is too busy no matter what.

Here is an audition for different fabric. It is actually pieces of what is actually used in the top. What do you think? This one seems the best don't you think?

I really don"t mind taking off the print border if I you think the bottom one looks better. Looking forward to your help. Thanks

Be sure to check out Patchwork Time's for more beautiful projects the gals are working on.

Free Motion Quilting Challenge 2012

2011-11-20T12:39:00.001-08:00

I just signed up for this challenge and if you are interested in learning more about free motion quilting you can sign up here. There will be something new each month and prizes are offered if you finish. Also a linky will be available to so we can share and see what others are doing. Sounds like fun to me!!!!!!!

Melody

Design Wall-Monday Nov 14,2011

2011-11-14T07:27:00.001-08:00

I am enjoying this quilt. I work mostly with scraps; like Mile a Minute set with regular sashing. At the last PL quilt-a-Thon a quilt was turned in with this setting. Several of us decided we wanted to make one and the gal was eager to share with us. This lets me still use scrap strings but set it a bit more interestingly. At first I thought it would be extremely easy but being set on point it is a bit tricky.

Looking for more quilts. Jump over to Judy's blog and see what the rest of the group is doing.

Lucky Potatoe

2011-11-11T15:16:00.001-08:00

Isn't this just the cutest little sweetie? Sweet potatoe for sure but it just didn't make the grade. You might say he was on the self too long.

When I finally got ready to cook some sweet potatoes this one had sprouted arms. So he is really a lucky little guy that will get the chance to grow into a beautiful little plant. I can imagine it wearing a little hat.

Another Project Finished

2011-11-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

Here I am showing what Sweetie did to my washer and dryer so I don't have to bend over any more to load and unload them. The washer is behind me. hee You can just barely see the platform he built for them to set on. I will be able to put plastic containers under the machines to store things I won't need to use much.

Bombing the Oregon Coast

2011-11-08T05:25:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine sent me the following article after we had been discussing some things about past wars. I had mentioned that I vaguely remember being afraid of enemies coming to our town and and having scary nightmares about it. I told her that I thought I must have probably heard my grandparents or parents talking about it. I was around 4 or 5 years old when we moved to Bandon, Oregon and I was born in 1947 so the following event was probably still being talked about a lot. So she sent me this:

September 9, 1942, the I-25 class Japanese submarine was cruising in an easterly direction raising its periscope occasionally as it neared the United States Coastline. Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor less than a year ago and the Captain of the attack submarine knew that Americans were watching their coast line for ships and aircraft that might attack our country. Dawn was approaching; the first rays of the sun were flickering off the periscopes lens. Their mission; attack the west coast with incendiary bombs in hopes of starting a devastating forest fire. If this test run were successful, Japan had hopes of using their huge submarine fleet to attack the eastern end of the Panama Canal to slow down shipping from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The Japanese Navy had a large number of I-400 submarines under construction. Each capable of carrying three aircraft. Pilot Chief Warrant Officer Nobuo Fujita and his crewman Petty Officer Shoji Okuda were making last minute checks of their charts making sure they matched those of the submarine's navigator.

The only plane ever to drop a bomb on the United States during WWII was this submarine based Glen.

September 9, 1942: Nebraska forestry student Keith V. Johnson was on duty atop a forest fire lookout tower between Gold Beach and Brookings Oregon . Keith had memorized the silhouettes of Japanese long distance bombers and those of our own aircraft. He felt confident that he could spot and identify, friend or foe, almost immediately. It was cold on the coast this September morning , and quiet. The residents of the area were still in bed or preparing to head for work. Lumber was a large part of the industry in Brookings, just a few miles north of the California Oregon state lines.

The aircraft carried two incendiary 168 pound bombs and a crew of two.
Aboard the submarine the Captain's voice boomed over the PA system, Prepare to surface, aircrew report to your stations, wait for the open hatch signal During training runs several subs were lost when hangar door were opened too soon and sea water rushed into the hangars and sank the boat with all hands lost. You could hear the change of sound as the bow of the I-25 broke from the depths, nosed over for its run on the surface. A loud bell signaled the All Clear. The crew assigned to the single engine Yokosuki E14Ys float equipped observation and light attack aircraft sprang into action. They rolled the plane out its hangar built next to the conning tower. The wings and tail were unfolded, and several 176 pound incendiary bombs were attached to the hard points under the wings. This was a small two passenger float plane with a nine cylinder 340 hp radial engine. It was full daylight when the Captain ordered the aircraft to be placed on the catapult. Warrant Officer Fujita started the engine, let it warm up, checked the magnetos and oil pressure. There was a slight breeze blowing and the seas were calm. A perfect day to attack the United States of America . When the gauges were in the green the pilot signaled and the catapult launched the aircraft. After a short climb to altitude the pilot turned on a heading for the Oregon coast.

The Glen was launched via catapult from a I-25 class Japanese submarine.

Johnson was sweeping the horizon but could see nothing, he went back to his duties as a forestry agent which was searching for any signs of a forest fire. The morning moved on. Every few minutes he would scan low, medium and high but nothing caught his eye.
The small Japanese float plane had climbed to several thousand feet of altitude for better visibility and to get above the coastal fog. The pilot had calculated land fall in a few minutes and right on schedule he could see the breakers flashing white as they hit the Oregon shores.
Johnson was about to put his binoculars down when something flashed in the sun just above the fog bank. It was unusual because in the past all air traffic had been flying up and down the coast, not aiming into the coast.
The pilot of the aircraft checked his course and alerted his observer to be on the lookout for a fire tower which was on the edge of the wooded area where they were supposed to drop their bombs. These airplanes carried very little fuel and all flights were in and out without any loitering. The plane reached the shore line and the pilot made a course correction 20 degrees to the north. The huge trees were easy to spot and certainly easy to hit with the bombs. The fog was very wispy by this time.

Warrant Officer Fujita is shown with his Yokosuka E14Y (Glen) float plane prior to his flight.

Johnson watched in awe as the small floatplane with a red meat ball on the wings flew overhead, the plane was not a bomber and there was no way that it could have flown across the Pacific, Johnson could not understand what was happening. He locked onto the plane and followed it as it headed inland.
The pilot activated the release locks so that when he could pickled the bombs they would release. His instructions were simple, fly at 500 feet, drop the bombs into the trees and circle once to see if they had started any fires and then head back to the submarine.
Johnson could see the two bombs under the wing of the plane and knew that they would be dropped. He grabbed his communications radio and called the Forest Fire Headquarters informing them of what he was watching unfold.
The bombs tumbled from the small seaplane and impacted the forests, the pilot circled once and spotted fire around the impact point. He executed an 180 degree turn and headed back to the submarine. There was no air activity, the skies were clear. The small float plane lined up with the surfaced submarine and landed gently on the ocean, then taxied to the sub. A long boom swung out from the stern. His crewman caught the cable and hooked it into the pickup attached to the roll over cage between the cockpits. The plane was swung onto the deck, The plane's crew folded the wings and tail, pushed it into its hangar and secured the water tight doors. The I-25 submerged and headed back to Japan ..
This event, which caused no damage, marked the only time during World War II that an enemy plane had dropped bombs on the United States mainland. What the Japanese didn't count on was coastal fog, mist and heavy doses of rain made the forests so wet they simply would not catch fire.
This Memorial Plaque is located in Brookings , Oregon at the site of the 1942 bombing
Fifty years later the Japanese pilot, who survived the war, would return to Oregon to help dedicate a historical plaque at the exact spot where his two bombs had impacted. The elderly pilot then donated his ceremonial sword as a gesture of peace and closure of the bombing of Oregon in 1942.

Design Wall Monday Nov 7, 2011

2011-11-07T09:35:00.000-08:00

This is what I am working on now. I do so many mile-a-minute quilts that I am stretching for different settings. I decided to try this zig sag setting.

Check out what the other gals are working on over at Judy's

Zone 4

2011-10-25T06:46:00.000-07:00

Monday in my house is zone 4 cleaning, which is master bedroom and bathroom. I changed the bed dust ruffle, with Bruces help. Took down the curtins to wash which I don't ever remember doing since we have lived here. I have vaccumed them but had never actually taken them down. Today is the bathroom.
I don't know why I did it out of sequence but I cleaned the back patio. I actually vaccumed it! Bruce hoses it down but it seems like it is still gritty. I also hung out sheets to dry which means it is cooling down enough that I don't think my things will cook out in the heat.
Even finished another baby quilt top that I had put together is summer.

The Project Linus three day Quilt-a-Thon starts this Thursday. I love it. It is like a retreat except everyone goes home at night.
Puddin had her first bike ride last night. She loves riding around the neighborhood in the basket on my bike.
Bruce just went next door for cribbage and coffee so I guess I will have a second cup and then get busy.

2011-10-22T18:13:00.000-07:00

By the seventh day God had finished the work

He had been doing; so on the seventh day

He rested from all His work.

Genesis 2:2

Click on the link belong to listen to my current favorite song by Matt Redman

10,000 Reasons.

Busy Day

2011-10-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

I have been really busy this morning.

Finished up the quilt that was on the last design wall post.

Road my bike to the nearest store for olives.(about six miles)
Made pasta salad.
Delegated the job of dusting the ceiling fans to Sweetie. hee-hee
Finished a baby blanket that I had been working on. Below is a picture but it doesn't show up much. It has little knited swags and bobbles.

The blanket is finished but I am going to be making a bonnet and sweater to go with it. However, I need to get some other things finished so am putting it away for now.

We have both had lunch so I am going to relax a bit. I have been up since 3 this morning. Sure seems funny to me that when going to the HTML place for writing posts that the picture is words....

Is Organizing Contagious?

2011-10-19T09:39:00.001-07:00

Previously I mentioned that Bruce went to town by himself to buy an extra fridge to keep in the garage. I had hurt my back and couldn't go but it looks like he did better than I would have for an extra one. Pretty nice huh?

Here is Bruce out in the garage building some more cabinets. I asked him why we needed them. He replies, "I just thought because you were organizing so good I might just do it too."

Does your husband get that excited about you having a spurt of organizing? Usually I don/t have that much influence on him but the garage was getting a bit messy. Also I think it just might be a backward way of showing he appreciates what I have been doing.

Design Wall Monday Oct. 17,2011

2011-10-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

This is my design quilt. Nothing spectacular but is a labor of love. Will be going to PL. I was given the tulip print as a long, long scrap about as wide as you see in the photo. So this is what I did with it. It is teen sized.

This quilt is one that I just finished for PL. A toddler size. I was given a fabric growth chart which I cut up and made into a learning quilt.

Also the counting quilt is going to be my first report on Friday for fabric used this year. It isn't really that but we were living in Oregon and I was just making tops so didn't count them. Guess we need to actually have them finished to count....I need to go back to Judy's blog and read the instructions again.
All I know for sure is that it is great to be back home in Arizona.

For more design wall quilts check out Judy's Blog.

Lost my Brain

2011-10-17T07:39:00.000-07:00

Help me, God, to slow down, to be silent,

so I can hear You

and do Your will and not mine.

Marian Wright Edelman

That is a quote from Simple Living for Women that I am reading in conjunction with the ones I have am using to declutter and get better organized.
I hope this is funny! Originally I sat down at the computer write a post having something to do with getting my day started but it has all just escaped my brain.
Started out by checking a few blogs I follow and remembered it is Design Wall Monday and then started thinking about doing that.
Secondly I set up a new page header called Books at the top of my blog and put in the book that is linked here. By the time I figured all that out, I am feeling brain dead. I just don't do enough of that kind of stuff.
So I am calling this time quits and regrouping. Bruce will be wanting breakfast soon and a load of clothes from the dryer needs to be folded.
Hopefully I will be back later to do the Monday Design Wall thing. First things first..mopping the kitchen will get some blood back in my brain.
Thanks for dropping in.

Be Blessed by the Links

2011-10-16T17:02:00.000-07:00

We have had such a nice day today. Started out the morning on the back patio with coffee and conversation. Puddin was a bit annoying with her ball though. Just like she is right now.

In the morning I am planning on starting the Fly Ladies routines from her book doing the Monday blessing and zone 3 cleaning. So organizing is going to be a bit slow now.

I checked out the Messies.com place and it would be great but I am already familiar with the Fly Lady stuff. So I will just keep Sandra Feltons book handy for decluttering.

We just got home from having lunch with friends and playing a couple games of a card game called golf. Bruce won both of those games.

I am going into my sewing room and work on a Project Linus quilt. It is almost done; just doing some machine quilting on it.

Here is a link to one of Tami's latest sermons. It is so good. It is called Beginning with Your Transformed Life and here is a link you can get her chart that goes with the sermon.. part 1 part 2. I hope I have made that easy enough for you to follow. It is such a good sermon. Just incase you don't know Tami is my neice. Pretty handy having our own pastor in the family.

Here is something else that might bless you on the LORD'S Day. We learned it in church this summer in Oregon. 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman. I just love it. It reminds me of a tempo that the Isrealites might have used as they were leaving Eygpt.

Yes, Gittin er Done

2011-10-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

This post is a bit of an update from yesterday. I am feeling better. Maybe not. I let my husband go to town to buy a second refridgerator to keep in the garage! I am better and braver!
I did get our closet in the bedroom nice and organized. I have about 12 feet of shelf space with nothing on it. Bruce wants to know what will go there.....

Also this morning I shortened another set of pillow cases and remembered how to start my sewing machine.(previous post)

Ok, now the sewing room is a real challenge. I took pictures of all the nooks and crannies and will show those areas as I can get them done.

This above photo is my book shelf area that sweetie put up for me. At one time it was filled with books but during another organizing period I took out the books that I probably would never read. Then I guess I just started tossing stuff up there .

Here is the after shot! I am very happy to report that the things missing in the before photo have another place, have been tossed, or will be donated. Not sure what will go in those spaces but it will be very nice and organized; whatever it is.

Do you have a problem keeping organized? I suppose most of us do. Do you think those gals who write books about organizing are as organized as they try to get us to be? I follow the "Fly Lady" but she tends to be a bit dramatic for me.

Now I am reading a couple organizing books by Sandra Felton. She seems a bit less stressful while getting into the organizing. You can find her at Messies I will be checking out her sight soon.

Welcome to My Fog

2011-10-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

My brain is still a little fuzzy but will try to start updating my blog more often. I hurt my back on the way down and had to go to the emergency room in Fallon,NV for pain pills and mucle relaxer. Bruce tells me we have been here for a couple weeks but I was pretty sure it was only a week. He is right of course. I am slowly getting back to normal but it seems like my brain is still in slow motion.

During the summer in Oregon I did some reading about clutter in my home. So mentally made plans to get rid of clutter when we got back to Yuma. Yesterday I started in the closet in our bedroom. The two top shelves the whole way around have mementos and history things that I have not even looked at since we have moved here so I am dumping a lot of that. Hoping to get what I want to save in one tub.

I soon will be getting back into the Project Linus events and making quilts for them at home. Big decision for that is: no more fabric comes into to sewing room. (at least no more scraps)We have a big Quilt a Thon where the community is invited to come in and help make quilts. Hope to be feeling good enough to go to that.

My quilting guild will be starting up again soon and we are making a quilt called "39 and holding." Yesterday I went to my sewing room to cut off some pillow cases so they fit our pillows better. I sat down to the Bernina that I have had since the early 80's. I could not figure out how to turn it on! Tearfully I called Bruce in to help and we got it figured out. I told him that I thought it was just because of our going back and forth every six months. That it probably was normal that I would forget how to turn it on after not using it for six months. He said he never has trouble remembering how to operate heavy equipment. The good part was that I did remember how to use the machine after we got it turned on and I fixed the pillow cases with no problem!

Bruce says that this Tuesday is too early for me to start back to the Ladies Bible Study because I will have to sit for three hours. I thought I could sit in the back row and stand a bit and sit a bit but he doesn't think I am ready to drive.

I sure hope this brain fuzziness is because I am older and my metabolism is slower getting the medicines out of my body. If you think I did good in getting this much written, let me tell you it took several days.

I think I will be posting pictures of my sewing room before I start doing anything in there. I remember last winter my niece and a friend of hers came over. They went into my sewing room. Tami says, " Auntie I thought you had cleaned up your sewing room!" Well I had. She just didn't know what it looked like before I started.
Well that is about it for now. I am going back to my closet cleaning.

Better Than the Good Ole Days

2011-09-28T13:15:00.001-07:00

Well, I did it. When Bruce got home from working last night I asked if I could ride with him a bit today. At first he thought I was joking but today he was happy for my companionship. Brought back happy memories when we used to work together.
When Bruce and I met I was driving for UPS and had been driving big rigs for several years. I started out with a log truck, went to a school bus then graduated to UPS.
After we married I quit UPS and went to work for Bruce. I drove dump truck for him several years. Mostly worked for logging companies rocking logging roads.
Bruce also taught me to run the excavators and loaders. Once when we were building a boat ramp on the Coquille river at Myrtle Point, he let me dig sand out of the river and load it to a truck. Then I would take the truck and dump it. Several times there would be long lines of cars stopped on the bridge watching me work. They didn’t stop when Bruce was working. Back in those days a woman working in construction was a novelty.
I actually had someone filming me while I was hauling a load of logs up a hill down by Brookings. So funny. Would have liked a copy of that.
Well, I kind of got side track remembering some times when Bruce and I were working together. I worked with him for about 10 years and then moved on to quilting after the business got big enough that I was more help to help staying home doing office work.
In 1990 we both retired and shortly after sold our Oregon home. Now we winter in Arizona and summer in Oregon. He works while we are in Oregon and is happy to do that but is also happy to head south when it is time.
Thanks for stopping in and letting me share. I had such a good time riding with Sweetie this morning. He asked me if I wanted to drive the truck. Luckily I don’t have my CDL anymore so he was pretty safe in asking that and I wasn’t even tempted to want to drive it. Most of my jobs were jobs that I loved at the time but none of them are anything I would have wanted to go back to.
Melody

Lunch was Just Fine

2011-09-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

Bruce called me this morning from work. It is a rare occasion indeed for that to happen. It was 9:30 am and he asked if I was dressed.!!!!! How well my husband knows me; surprise I was dressed and had actually been to the store already.
He is driving a dump truck for a few days which is pretty much his least favorite job. My first thought was oh no, I didn't pack him enough lunch. He eats a lot while driving.
Thankfully he was needing some aleve to relieve the pain in his knees. We had to trade in a pickup that he owned a few years back because his knees hurt so much having to use the clutch pedal. He has a lot of pain from what he calls arthritus. It probably is but I am sure most of it is wear and tear from jumping down from the equipment at work.
We made arrangments to meet at the fuel station close to the RV park so I could give him the aleve. Oh darn, I just thought. I should have rode a round with him. Many years ago I used to hitch rides with him when we lived in Myrtle Point.
Well if he is driving again tomorrow I am going to ask to go for a ride.

Midnight Shower

2011-08-30T18:12:00.000-07:00

I hope you can visualize this scene. My dog wakes me up to let me know she needs to go outside to go potty. It is around midnight. It is unusual for her to need to go during the night so I took her message as serious and got up, put her on the leash and went outside in my nightgown. It is dark and everyone else is asleep so I felt reasonably sure I would not get caught.

So we are in front of the RV next door and I am waiting for Puddin to go. All of a sudden the park sprinklers came on and I am standing almost on top of one. I am gasping from the sudden surge of cold water; all the while trying to figure out which way the sprinkler is going. I don't want to yank on the leash and take a chance of hurting Puddin. So there I am. Gently and quietly trying to coax Puddin away from the sprinkle but she was in the middle of doing her duty.

It wasn't long before the water started hitting Puddin and we were back at the motorhome! I guess Puddin can see better in the dark than I can. I was soaked from head to toe and freezing cold.
I am laughing now but it sure was cold. Bruce slept through the whole ordeal. I did leave my wet nightgown hanging over a chair in the living room as evidence.

Never to Old to Try New Foods

2011-08-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

I had my first maintenance weigh in Monday night and was not in the least bit surprised that I had gained a little weight. While bemoaning the gain, I was politely informed that I "had maintained" and that I should not report my weight as a gain or loss unless it was over the 2 lbs above or below my set goal weight. So happily when walking in the door at home I reported to Sweetie that I had maintained. He gave me a thumbs up and "atta girl."

I have to admit that I went a little crazy eating after I reached my goal last week but I am being more realistic again. Instead of the allowed 6 point increase I am only doing a couple for now.

I have introduced two new foods to my diet and love them both. Hopefully if you have not tried them or not liked them in the past you will try them again.

The first is lentils. While looking for a photo of lentils I discovered that there are several kinds. That will have to be a future exploration. Right now I am just tickled with the little brown ones.

This is how a gal at Weight Watchers explained how she cooked them: Cook up some brown rice and lentils cooked in chicken broth.
Saute some onion and I guess some other veggies. All I had was some yellow and orange bell peppers.
Mix the brown rice and lentils with the saute mixture add cumin and garlic. It is so yummy.
Today I made a batch of Watchers garden soup.
Put in some lentil and rice mixture that I had made and some

of the Shirataki Tofu angel hair pasta. I mostly put the tofu pasta

in to try it out. I liked it also.

Hair Cut

2011-08-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

I reached my Weight Watchers goal last night. Now I have to maintain it for six weeks without going more or less than 2 lbs. of it. Then I will be a life time member.
I can have 35 points a day now instead of 29 but I am not sure I am ready to just jump to that. I had a real hard time losing on 29 points. I had to get in a lot of exercise. I still want to exercise because I feel better and it is healthier for me but I don't want to gain if I miss a day. Will just have to work with it.
For lunch today I had a yummy sandwich that was 9 points! I wish I had taken a picture of it to show you.    It was an egg salad of one egg and one egg white mixed with one tablespoon of mayo, a couple slices of deli meat, a few stalks of pickled asparagus between two slices of Western Hazelnut Bread. It has been so long since I have actually eaten a full sandwich.
Well actually I ate a full one on Sunday because the first half was breakfast and the second half was lunch.
   This morning we didn't get started walking at the track until almost 9 so after only a mile we stopped because it was too hot. While waiting for the laundry to get done I did what you see in this video behind the laundry room door. Didn't want anyone to see me but I still wanted to make good use of my time. I try to get 10,000 steps everyday.

Anyway are you done laughing and wondering how stupid is she? I like to do the twisty thing because I think it works my waistline better and it still counts as steps.
Oh Ya can you tell I got my hair cut this morning also. LOL

Beautiful Gift

2011-08-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

Today should be titled Wordless Wednesday even though I am not truly wordless.

Yesterday I started an endeavor to keep track of what has made me happy during each day. That idea comes from The Ignatian Workout that I am doing again.Believe me that is not an easy task. So last night I decided that I would write down what blessed me (happy seems inpossible to explain. That is something I expect to feel when I am in heaven with Jesus.) Receiving this gift from my sister was top of the list. More than that it was the humbling that God gave me from the words she wrote honoring me.

Guess that is why I am thinking Wordless Wednesday. I cannot explain the unworthiness I felt for what she wrote to me, but I do know that I am thankful that that is what I felt. Does that make sense?

Thank you Lissa. While talking with Bruce last night I told him that I was going to start calling you Barnabas. I read recently that his real name was Joseph but the apostles called him Barnabas because he was such an encourager.

How Does Your Shirt Hang?

2011-08-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

So happy that I am able to see the humor in this photo.

Not too many years ago I would have been so totally irritated by it.

Thankfully Bruce is able to accept the many things I do that irritate him also.

In a couple of weeks we will celebrate 32 years of marriage.

God is sooo good!

A Bit of Shopping

2011-07-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday while searching for a place to buy my winter supply of cosmetics I discovered that Amazon sells it all. I was able to restock my nail care system and my all time favorite product to wash my face. Saved so much money by not shopping direct from the product home page. Some of the product I bought does not qualify for free shipping but is still less expensive than going direct to the retailer. The Clean, Really Clean wash cleans without leaving your face feeling dry and you don't need a separate product to remove makeup. I absolutely love it!!
The nail care system that I like is by Duri. I use the Nail Growth Sytem along with the cuticle oil.

A Little Sunshine Would Help

2011-07-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

Make shift clothes line. Just hope they dry before Bruce comes home.

Intentional Exercise Kick Off

2011-07-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

I have been struggling for several weeks to reach my goal weight. I am sooo close! My records show that my best weekly losses came when I actually set and followed through an intentional time of exercising. This morning I went to the local high school track. Amazingly I walked 2 miles in 40 minutes and at my age I am very happy and motivated by that.
Monday evenings is my weigh in night and yesterday I felt so let down that I ate things I should not have eaten. You might say I at least have my portions under control. I ate ice cream twice. Once in the afternoon. half a cup; then again later, half a cup with strawberries this time. Also had a couple teaspoons of frosting that I keep in the freezer for cravings. So all in all my binge didn't really hurt me. Ya, Ya I know that probably isn't what some call a binge but it is for me.
Before falling asleep I determined to start the morning with a new attitude and goal of intentional exercising. I just can't count on getting my exercise using the hit and miss method.
Like so many, exercise is my least favorite thing to do but it makes me feel so good. Hopefully I will be able to come up with interesting ways to keep intentional.
Through the years I have belonged to exercise clubs and did lots of classes. They got boring after awhile but felt that I had to go because I was paying for them. Now I want something; to be able to mix up my routine. LOL
Do you have a special exercise routine that works for you? I would love to hear about it.

Fruit and Veggie Wash

2011-07-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

I am usually the last to find out about great products but recently I bought this veggie wash and I love it. I notice it most on apples. It really does take off the was. I did a sure for Environne and it isn't as new as I thought. But I highly recommend it if it is new to you

Surprise Visit From Granddaughter

2011-07-19T07:37:00.000-07:00

Carly came by for a visit recently and I gave her the cowl that I made for her to use when she is in Alaska this winter. It is wool so is very warm.

She brought in a guitar and played a bit for us. It was so sweet that Puddin even liked it. She does very well with it but still says she likes playing the piano the most.

Cute!!!!!

2011-07-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

This video was posted on FB and I just had to share it incase you haven't seen it. There is a cat fight and it is two against one. So scary.

Have you Seen These?

2011-07-08T04:19:00.000-07:00

Recently a signed up at a blog to win some fabric. I didn't win but finding this blog was better than winning the fabric. If Toys Could Talk is a really sweet blog. Check it out

Another blog I found recently is The Loopy Ewe. She is very motivating and has gorgeous yarn. Check her out too.

What to do While Watching Golf

2011-07-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

I made this butterfly wash cloth this afternoon while watching golf. It took about an hour. I did learn a new crochet technique that I had not even heard of before and it makes a very nice edge. Reverse crochet.
Just something easy and fast.

Adding to my Stash.

2011-07-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

Thought I would show some fabric I bought this spring. This fabric be going into my Project Linus quilts stash. I bought it at Forget-Me-Knots in Bandon on a close out rack. Three dollors a yard is pretty darn good for good quality quilt fabric

These black and whites will be used this winter in Yuma for a quilt I will be making with the guild I belong to in Yuma. We are going to be doing a fabic exchange too. Plus I have been saving black and whites for years. I forgot the name of the quilt we will be making so will show the pattern when we get back to Az.

I am still making the nine patch tops. Sure will be glad to see the end of them.

Elkton Butterfly Pavilion

2011-07-05T03:38:00.000-07:00

Beauty and friendly people are plentiful here. I especially loved that Puddin didn’t have to stay in the car. They have sandwiches and lots of cold drinks. Prices are just right. No fee to enter. They do accept donations. The employees were awesome.

                I didn’t get any real good pictures of the Painted Lady butterfly but it doesn’t really matter. The only difference I could see in them was the size. The monarch is larger. (above)

Thus, I did get this nice photo of a Painted Lady caterpillar. Each species of these butterflies have there own kind of plant that they favor. We are provided with a very nice tour guide and they explain it all much better than I can.

Poor Lissa was afraid that the butterfly that lit on her was a very aggressive one and she might not get out of there in one piece.

But she did make it out and was crowned with a butterfly hallo to ward off further attacks.

Things have settled down and I got a nice picture of Lissa and Kellie (my daughter) having a bite of lunch.

I was not going to post this photo because the info on it didn’t show up very well. But then I saw a couple of ghostly looking women in it. One is taking the picture and the other one is reading the sign. If you can recognize the person doing the reading be sure to ask her about it. Or better yet just go and see it for yourself.
We had a very nice day and I highly recommend it for a nice relaxing outing. Also, on Labor Day they have some kind of festival to release all the butterflies that have hatched out during the season.
Also Fort Umpqua is part of this outing. It isn’t finished but still interesting.
Thanks for stopping in

Melody

America

2011-07-03T14:43:00.000-07:00

O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet

Whose stern impassion'd stress

A thoroughfare for freedom beat

Across the wilderness.

America! America!

God mend thine ev'ry flaw,

Confirm thy soul in self-control,

Thy liberty in law.

O beautiful for heroes prov'd

In liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved,

And mercy more than life.

America! America!

May God thy gold refine

Till all success be nobleness,

And ev'ry gain divine.

O beautiful for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years

Thine alabaster cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears.

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea.

We sang this song in church this morning and I was really impressed with the intentness of how the words touched my mind, heart and soul. Our country is so far from where is should and could be. I know the photo is real because a friend of mine has a picture of it that she took.

Here is a link to where I got the verses to America.
Here is a link to where I got the flag photo

Cowl Project

2011-06-30T18:22:00.000-07:00

I am almost finished with this cowl I am knitting for a granddaughter that lives here in Coquille. So hoping she likes it. She will be going to school in Alaska again this year and thought she would be able to use it. Here is a link to the color.

I am also working on a hat to match. No pictures yet but when she comes by I will get a picture of her wearing them.

Puddin Visits Pa

2011-06-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

We went to see Pa at the care center today. He is doing great and he loves seeing Puddin. Puddin likes visiting everyone too. I always thought Puddin and I could do a nursing home ministry but until recently she has been too active to just enjoy sitting on someones lap.

Great looking guys; don't you think?

Plans Changed

2011-06-29T09:20:00.000-07:00

I started out this morning planning on a little story about sheets but started checking out blogs that I follow. First stop The Loopy Ewe. I was enjoying her posts but probably went a bit far. Should have stopped at the first post.
Her June 24th post was about a cake which took me on a trip to another blog. I now have Fat Girl in a Skinny Body added to my blog list. Her recipes look very good.
Bruce is home today so am not sure just what we will be doing. Guess going over to see Pa.
Quick story. I went to the laundry room here at the RV park. A little old gentleman came in to get some laundry done. My clothes were in the dryer by then so there was an empty washer. There are only 3 machines. Anyway he asked how my day was. I smiled and replied that it is very nice. He says, "well, I could probably change that." Not sure what he meant by that. Just from the bit of conversation we had I bet he spent a lot of his life in trouble for being such a tease. Thankly I love teasing.
Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping in.

Barbecued Beef Dinner

2011-06-28T13:04:00.001-07:00

INGREDIENTS FOR CRAZY CRUST
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg(beaten)

BARBECUED BEEF FILLING

1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onions(I leave these out)
2 tsp Worchester Sauce(can use 1Tbs A-one sauce with 1 Tbs water)
1 cup shredded cheese
1 Tbs mustard
1/2 cup catsup
1 can chili(original recipe does not have the chile agree that it is better with it
TOPPING

1/2 cup shredded cheese
(optional..I like to add crumbled nachos or doritos or today I even used crushed cheez its. Just something to give it a bit more crunch)

Combine all crust ingredients; the batter will be slightly lumpy. Spread thin on the bottom and thick on sides of a 9-inch pie pan.

Brown and drain beef; stir in remaining filling ingredients . Pour into Crazy Crust and bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Then sprinkle topping on and return to oven till cheese melts.

*****************************************
My husband loves this. I don’t usually eat much of it but I really like it.

Original recipe from Treasures from Heaven – a collection of recipes by the Ponderosa Christian Fellowship in Cresent, Oregon.
Recipe submitted by Diane Adair of Portland, OR
Melody

A Bit Of What I Have Been Doing Lately

2011-06-24T12:39:00.001-07:00

I belong to Debbie Macomber’s book club newsletter and recently received this pattern. The photo in the flyer was beautiful and a solid color. I am pretty sure that is why mine turned out like it did.

I will try knitting it again using a solid color. I found this one with cables that I really like and it is similar to this one.

I had planned on knitting a set like this for each of my granddaughters and had bought the yarn in various colors of this tweedy look. But for now it is back to the drawing board until I decide what yarn I will try it in again.

I am knitting a cowl with matching hat for Carly and am thinking it is going to be pretty good. Will post it soon. I hope

Melody

So Very Blessed

2011-06-22T09:26:00.001-07:00

I recently ordered Tree of Life, The New Covenant bible to use while following my daily reading guided by Professor Grant Horner Bible Reading Program and am absolutely loving both.

My first reading this morning was Mathew 26. I can’t remember when I have been so blessed while reading scripture. It was almost as if I was personally transported back to that time. I hope I can adequately describe some of my thoughts.

First I will give you a word and its definition.

kohanim----a man who offered sacrifices and performed other religious rituals at the Temple in Jerusalem. The kohanim were descended from Aaron, the brother of Moses. The priests were mostly from the Sadducee sect of Judaism.

My NIV bible translates kohanim as high priests. Read it using (kohanim)people who offered sacrifices.

My thought: These kohanim were setting Jesus up to be the sacrifice God intended. They were being obedient to God, all the while they thought they were doing evil.

Then another impression was when Jesus was presenting the symbols of the cup and bread during the Last Supper.When finished the NIV says they sang a hymn. The Tree of Life says they sang the Hallel.

Hallel is defined as being Psalsm 113-118 which is sung or read at the conclusion of the Passover seder.

To me actually knowing they were reading God’s Word was much more inspiring than thinking they just sang a hymn. Can’t you just imagine during a communion service we all stood up and read the hallel!

Praise the Lord, O my soul; Psalm 103a

Originally I meant this post to be on my other blog but while getting ready to delete this, I got an impression that it wouldn't matter is it is on both blogs. So here it is.

Melody

Design Wall Monday June 20

2011-06-20T08:16:00.001-07:00

My design wall is a continuation of last weeks where there is a link to a tutorial showing how to make the nine patches from two squares of fabric. I like this method a lot.

I actually like the tops so far. In previous years I brought border fabrics with me and usually decided that I didn't like the ones I chose. Now I just make the tops and put the borders on when I get home to Yuma.

It is going to be fun to see how they look with the borders.

Here is a link to take you to Judy's blog where you will see more projects

Boy am I glad this post is over with. Two many pictures I guess. Had a terrible time getting it to look balanced. So it is what it is!

Thanks for checking in.

Enjoying Fathers Day

2011-06-19T15:57:00.001-07:00

I couldn't resist taking this photo. It is Father's Day and Puddin seems to understand. She is looking at me, but she stayed on Bruce's shoulder like that for about half an hour while Bruce was napping.

Puddin must be telling me something in this picture. That pink thing in her dog food dish is what we call "her binky." She cannot sleep with the binky and gives her a bit of extra comfort by having it with her while she sleeps on our laps.

Gosh, I wonder if she wants something to eat?

Bruce's Dad

2011-06-17T13:15:00.001-07:00

This is a photo of a flag that I made for Bruce's Dad years back. The photo in the corner is of him and a dog he brought back as a tiny puppy in a duffel back from Germany. We always tease Roy about it being a real German Shepard.

While visiting a few nights ago I asked him if he remembered the name of the dog. I thought he might because 93 year olds sometime remember the past better than the present. Roy kinda chuckled and said "it was too long ago." So he is better than we thought. LOL

Pa, as I call him, is in a nursing home now. He is pretty mixed up most of the time. He worries about some the residents. They are all bald headed and always lined up in the hall waiting to go to meals. If Pa didn't have his hair cut so short he would have more hair that Bruce.

I framed the flag to protect the pins that were on it. Last week if fell off the wall in Roys' room at the nursing home. I brought it home to reframe. I was curious about some of the pins and looked them up online. The gold colored one towards the bottom right is upside down. So will have to remove it and sew it on right.

Pa loves that flag and I need to get it back to him but we love having it here in the motorhome. Pa raised a wonderful son and I am so glad to have them both. Gosh I better get out of here I am getting weepy thinking of PA and wondering how much longer we will have him with us.

Here is a link to a post I did with pictures of Bruce and his Dad back in 2008. Guess I better some a newer picture of them.

For Your Info

2011-06-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

Letting you know about a book that I just finished reading. I posted about it on my other blog. It is mostly for Christian women married to non believing husbands. I just finished with my copy and am giving it away. If you want it or could give to someone in particular, check it out. Link to the post

Design Wall Monday-June 13, 2011

2011-06-13T08:51:00.000-07:00

This is a nine patch that was done using a method of making the nine patches from squares. Here is a link showing how to do this.

This top is mosting in purples.

This photo shows 3 more tops made the same way in different color ways. I will be able to get these tops finished this week.

Last year I was given about 1000 nine inch blocks of various pieces of fabrics. I have probably used about half of the blocks. I did some disappearing nine patches that were fun

At this time I am pretty limited to what I can be sewing because we are living in a motorhome for the summer. I thought making these nine patches would take a long time but they go pretty fast. When we get back to AZ I will put borders on them which usually makes them look pretty nice.

Thanks for stopping in. See great quilts at Judy's blog.

He loves me, He loves me not.

2011-06-11T01:44:00.000-07:00

These are not buttercups but I felt so loved when my husband came home from work one night and presented them to me.
He goes to work at 3:30 am and drives about 2 hours before he even starts work and then gets home around 5 each evening and is in bed by 7. He is a heavy equipment operator and is usually filthy dirty from head to toe each night.
Still he had time to stop by the side of the road on his way home one night to pick these just for me!

5-Hour Baby Sweater

2011-06-10T13:37:00.001-07:00

This was a fun set to make and I definitely will make it again.
The pattern was free online. Just put in a search for the 5-hour baby sweater.
Some may make this baby sweater in 5 hours but it took me several days.

Finally it is Official

2011-06-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

I recently received an e-mail from the leader of a blog ring with a message for all members of the group. I was surprised that I got it but was excited that finally I must be part of the ring. So I replied to her message explaining that I had applied to the ring more than several years ago and had no idea how to get my ring button, etc. I had no idea what ID or password I had signed up with either. Judy was a doll and we got it worked out.

The group is called Stash Quilts and Judy is the leader. I may have given up on keeping the button on my blog page but I never did give up on Judy or other ladies in the group. I guess I could have been categorized as a lurker. I think.

So if any of you gals from the Stash Quilts group come to my blog I want you to know that I think you are a great bunch of gals and looking forward to meeting more of you.

Good Reads

2011-06-03T09:44:00.001-07:00

Just want to share this sight from Bob the Pastor He was the pastor at a church I attended many years ago. He moved away and is greatly missed. He is has a wonderful sense of humor that shows up in his writing. Don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself.

Love

Who does he think he is?

2011-06-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

Do you know who Peter Walsh is? Well I didn't either until this morning while scanning the TV guide. I accidentally got on the OWN channel. Had no idea it was Ophra's station but I was watching a show called Enough Already With Peter Walsh. It is a great program. Makes you realize that your home is wonderfully clean compared to the ones he works with.

I was fine with watching him help families organize until..............he is helping a quilting woman with her "stuff." That hit home a bit. But Mr. Walsh was so mean to this poor lady. I totally understood that her house was taken over with fabric and quilt supplies and something really needed to be done; but to ask a bunch of her quilting friends come over to help decide what had to go. NO WAY.

The first thing they did was take everything out of the house. This woman had around 300 boxes of fabric and she was only going to get to keep about 150 boxes. It did look wonderful when it was done but I felt so bad for that lady having to give up so much of her stuff. I watched very carefully at the end of the show and never saw the friends taking items away for themselves. Sure wish I could have been there.

I am happy to say that all my quilting stuff stays in the designated sewing room. Except for the quilt frame that hangs from the closet ceiling in our bedroom. But hey, no one sees it. We don't even notice it unless I get on a chair and happen to hit my head on it.

Guess the moral of this story is: keep all your stuff out of sight or you will have to get rid of it. Or: why can't couldn't they build her a bigger house?

5-Hour Sweater, LOL

2011-04-28T13:11:00.001-07:00

I may not be knitting socks anymore but it has gotten me interested in knitting. This is a free pattern that is on the internet and works up nicely. Made according to the directions I am hoping it will fit a new born.
There is also a bootie, cap and blanket pattern. I haven’t made the booties or the cap yet but my sister has and she is happy with them. I like the blanket but did make some changes to it because it was wanting to roll up at the beginning. The blanket is going pretty fast. I just started it on Monday and have about 1/4 of it done.

Just wanted to show you what I am working on. Thanks for stopping in.

I’ve Got Book

2011-04-11T08:43:00.000-07:00

Remember this video?

Recently I bought a new bible. It is huge and every time I pick it up I think of that video. I woke Puddin up this morning to use her as an object to compare her size to the bible . Hope it helps you see how huge it is. If not you can go to a book store and look at it there. Puddin weighs 12 pounds and the bible would really hurt her if it landed on her.

This bible is the English Standard Version study bible in large print. It is perfect and I love all the study features that are in it. However, it’s size is too awkward to take anywhere so I am planning on getting another one without all the extra’s to take to church and bible studies.

I would love to hear about your favorite bible.

Have an awesome day

Melody

2011-03-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

I recieved another request to update my blog with something. Thanks Kellie for asking.

I have been spending a lot of time making toddler sized quilts instead of the teen sized ones that I usually do. It has been fun for a change and a lot faster. lol

This one is done with blocks left over from rail fence quilts that were made at one of the Project Linus quilt a thons. Just to the right of this quilt top is a sample of what I worked with.

This top started with a fabric growth chart that was donated to PL. I decided to turn it into a number learning quilt. I still need to do the blanket stitches around the cats which goes pretty fast. I always try to have some kind of hand work to do especially during the golf season.

This one is a mile a minute or a crumb quilt as some people call it. This was fun because the blocks are only 6 inches and goes really fast.

Ok here is the update.

First Sock Done.!!!!

2011-01-22T10:01:00.001-08:00

The sock saga continues. I have been working on this sock since about the first of October 2010. It has definitely been a love hate relationship. I loved it when I conquered a section then hated it when I started a new section. I can honestly say parts of the yarn is very worn from tearing out the stitches so many times.

A couple weeks ago I was just sick of it so decided to bind it off and call it good. Well the ribbing and bind off were about an inch to large for my skinny ankles.

Yesterday I undid the bind off and took out the ribbing. That worked ok. So I started again in the pattern deleting stitches every few rows or so. Doesn't look absolutely wonderful but it worked. The ribbing fits nicely on my skinny ankle.

I have been following some blogs about socks and believe me some have finished two pairs of sock since the first of the year; plus doing all the rest of the stuff they do. Quilting, cooking, shopping and all the rest. Amazing to me.

Now the big question. Will I be able to make the other one?

Our choices

2011-01-21T15:39:00.000-08:00

I just want to share what I think is a good metaphor concerning this world, our lives and God.

Sweetie goes to the neighbors every morning to play cribbage. No problem.

A few days ago Sweetie's cribbage neighbor was sick. Not good.

Sweetie continued with his daily trek to the neighbors to play cribbage.

Sweetie got sick. Darn

Now this morning Sweetie sent me to the neighbors to play cribbage in his place. No problem, the neighbor isn't sick anymore.
When I returned home Sweetie, made the comment," I sure don't like the way God makes things happen. I feel terrible."

I very cautiously related to him that I thought his situation was a prime example of a huge problem in our society. He thought about it a few seconds and agreed that it was not God's fault. He knew the neighbor was sick but he still wanted to go because it was fun.

Blaming others has been a huge problem in my life. I could make a very long list of all my bad choices but will spare you. I just hope you know that God really loves us. He never wanted us to live like this. But man wanted more...............now we have more.......................

thanks Kellie

2011-01-03T18:22:00.001-08:00

Hi. It was hard to me to come up with anything. I am just not into writing much these days. So surprise here is the bible cover you made me. Love it.

You said you wanted to see something different and so that is it. LOL

Two more done

2010-12-03T15:21:00.001-08:00

Oh No!!!!

2010-11-22T06:12:00.000-08:00

We had some friends over yesterday for a couple rounds of cribbage and dinner. The guys whooped on us gals pretty bad. It was lots of fun though.
I did have one very humbling experience though. So far I have had pretty good and polite reviews about my sock. Well my long time friend who pulls no punches says, "I thought you were going to show us something beautiful(referring to a quilt), not an ugly ole sock."
No more showing this sock. Will be saving sock show and tell until I get much better. LOL

Getting there.

2010-11-19T13:02:00.000-08:00

Here is my latest sock update. Going pretty slow. I had reached a standstill when it came time to do the heel so I waited until I was able to get over to Tami's and get some help.
She did not like the heel being used in the pattern that I started with so she converted the stitches from a different pattern so it would work with this sock. She worked so hard on it but it paid off.
I quit playing Farmville and am feeling pretty good about that. Getting a lot more done around the house. Doing some knitting and crochetting along with the Project Linus quilts.
Of all the tops I made this summer in Oregon I have about half of them made into quilts now.

Sewing Circle LOL

2010-11-03T15:18:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my sewing room. Pretty messy but I am sure that is how sewing rooms are supposed to be.

Wanted to show you how I set up two of my sewing machines. I can swivel from one machine to the other without even moving the chair; other than swinging it around. How cool it that.

Thanks Lissa for giving me that table. It works great.

Also still have my Singer on the desk which works as a sewing cabinet. I use it mainly to do the mile a minute projects.

See the ironing board.
See Melody iron fabric. ------------>

My ironing board has this top fitted to it for ironing fabric and then when I need to iron clothes it lifts off and is a regular ironing board. How cool is that!!!!!

Sock it to..............

2010-10-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to knit socks for some time so when I saw this post on Mary's blog I got excited and sent it to my neice Tami. She studied it and liked it so we decided she would order what I needed to get started and have it shipped directly to me. She included the little tote as a gift. I love it Tami. It is just the right size and I like being able to see thru it easily.

She also emailed me a link to My Yarn Shop in Coos Bay. I went over there with some of my questions about how to get started. Judy suggested that I make a sample sock first and being the wise person that I am decided to follow her suggestion.
So I bought Sensational Knitted Socks with the pattern for the sample sock that I would make.

Judy said that she had a group of gals that meet at her store every Monday evening and I was welcome to join them. I was happy to go for help picking up the stitches for the gusset. It was funny because I knew something was not right with what I had done so far on the sock. She immediately took out 8 rows plus the turn. I was supposed to knit 8 rows for the heel but I had knit 16. I didn't understand that I was only supposed to count the slipped stitch rows.

I quickly caught up and she showed me how to get started with the gusset and then I was able to finish it at home with only one call to Tami. (Wow doesn't all that knitting jargon sound impressive for such a newbie)

Here is my first sock knitted on two circular needles. At the end of the lesson she announces that I have passed and invites me to continue on with more patterns from her book. lol

I am going to knit this same sample pattern again with a different yarn. This yarn has a silver thread running through it and I think it was a bit hard to work with.

It won't go to waste though. When showing it to Kellie, Puddin asked for it and we agreed that she could have it.

Wonder if she thinks it is a bit flat for a pillow?

Not Too Much Farmville

2010-10-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

Kinda looks like a mess but actually it is many hours of love, that will be passed on people I probably will never know.

There are 23 quilt tops here in an various steps to being finished. 7 are toddler or baby and the rest are teen sizes.

I know that I spend a lot of time playing Farmville but guess I am do get some other things done. Also have knitted a couple baby blankets.

Not to mention all the extra care that Bruce needed because of his shoulder injury and surgery.
**************************************************************************************************
HOLDING MYSELF ACCOUNTABLE TO FINISHING THESE TOPS

Teen Crazy(done)

Teen Crazy(done<

Teen Asterisk done

Teen Mile A Minute

Teen Mile a Minute

Teen Mile a Minute/done

Toddler Alphabet /done

Toddler Alphabet/ done

Toddler Alphabet /done

Toddler Balloons/done

Baby Blue Nine patches /done

Toddler Puppy(

done)

Toddler Puppy(done)

Teen Sunflower(done

Teen Hearts(done

Mile a Minute(done)

So, soon as we get settled in back in Yuma I will start finishing these projects.

Update on the Asterisk

2010-10-01T13:17:00.001-07:00

Here are 40 blocks. They were so easy to make. I still need to rearrange them a bit but Bruce was gone this morning so wanted to take advantage of making a bigger mess while he wasn’t here to see it. He is so good about putting up with my sewing mess in the motorhome.

I did a post a few days ago and have links to more information about this quilt so if you are interested please check the previous post. It takes me so long to do a post; I hate to reduplicate when it is so easy to just refer to the other post.

And yes I did spell asterisk wrong on the quilt. My camera program doesn’t have spell check. lol

thanks for stopping in.

Can't wait

2010-09-27T15:55:00.000-07:00

Well actually I can wait but will start it anyway. I finished the heart quilt top shown in the previous post. But am going to wait until we get back to Yuma and get it finished before I show it off. I really like it.

Bruce and I went to the Myrtle Point Harvest Festival last Saturday. This quilt ---------------------------------------> at a booth. I fell in love with it so have been looking all over for the pattern.

If you have the May,June issue of Quiltmaker Magazine it is in there but I found a link to the person who came up with the pattern and she offers instructions. Find it at The Salvage Blog.

Paperless Paper Piecing

2010-08-10T11:16:00.001-07:00

I don’t know why it is called that. We still use the paper but don’t actually sew the fabric to the paper. The paper is folded in such a way that it is just a guide so there isn’t all that tearing the paper off the back of a block.

I tried to find a video on you tube as a demo but didn’t find one. Basically you start with a paper piecing pattern and several pieces of freezer paper the size of the pattern. Take the thread and bobbin out of your sewing machine. With the freezer paper pieces stapled to the actual paper, you stitch on the lines of the paper. The pattern is transferred to the freezer paper and it is folder in such a way that it works as a stitching guide and you don’t have to tear all that paper off the back.

I know that isn’t possible to follow. But here are a few of the finished blocks that I have done. It isn’t really a lot of fun piecing that way, but oh my, it is so nice to not have to take that paper off the back. Guess that is the saving grace for this procedure. Actually it isn’t too bad. The blocks I make the better it goes.

I am making the hearts a variety of colors. It is totally all scrappy. I need 28 blocks .

Let me know if you ever find instructions or a video on the web. I would like to look at them myself.

Melody

Recapping Our Summer

2010-08-05T19:27:00.001-07:00

Finally I have my life back. Farmville was eating me alive. I not only blocked it but it is deleted this time. Yesterday was my first day without Farmville and I am feeling much better. I have been catching up on some blog reading and badly needed housework, etc.. We have had so much going on this summer but God has been faithful and carried us through it all. I am going to just bullet point some things that have been going on and then later will actually do a post on some.

Tami’s ordination
Bruce’s shoulder
Father-in-law moved into assisted living
Project Linus has a new cordinator
Nook
Dixie
Different motor home space
Bird watching
quilt tops
Class reunion
Newport Quilt show.
Paperless paper piecing class.
Tami’s foreign exchange student

It is late and I am exhausted from spending the day in Bandon getting Pa and Panda settled in the assisted living home in Bandon. I have a couple of cute pictures to share later. Glad to report that we think it went very well considering Pa has always refused to even talk about going to a home.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Melody

Carly at Her Graduation

2010-06-18T10:20:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of Carly at her high school graduation. We are all so proud of her. Right now she is planning on going to a Christian school in Homer, Alaska this fall.

Yesterday she spent the day with me. We had so much fun. She showed me how to get ringtones on my phone. I now have 'How Great is Our God" which rings for my niece and sister. Then I have "Butterfly Kisses' for my kids. For now everyone else has "Here I am to Worship". I just love them. I will be getting some more when I get time. I want to find a special memory one for Bruce. I will be looking for ringtones that remind me of each of the people I talk with a lot. Dottie, it is going to be fun trying to find something appropriate for you. :-0

Carly played on the computer a lot and I worked on a quilt while she was doing that. We had pizza for lunch with her brother and mother.

This is what we (Carly and I) had for desert ---> after we got back to the motor home. No we didn't tell Austin or Kellie what we had planned. hee-hee!

Under the chocolate pudding, whipped cream, and banana is a brownie. Just as we got it dished up and ready to eat when Bruce and his boss showed up. We were giggling and saying 'Oh,no. We have been caught". Just being silly.

I went to the door laughing but soon sobered up when the boss told me that he was taking Bruce to the hospital. But I could tell it was something that wasn't life threatening so I let them go on without me. I said a quick prayer for Bruce......THEN CARLY AND I GOT BACK TO OUR TREAT!!!!

Bruce fell down at work. Near as I can understand, he tripped over a tree and fell down a steep slope. His fall was broken when he hit a stump with his shoulder. Now he has a broken rib and dislocated shoulder. He will be able to see a doctor Monday morning to see if it will need surgery.

I was totally amazed at how much my faith has grown. I was able to trust that God had everything under control and I could just rest in the knowledge that I didn't need to do anything until it was time; and I knew it was time when Bruce called and asked to go pick him up from the hospital.
God is so Good!!

Its nice to have a hair cut

2010-05-20T08:22:00.001-07:00

Recently I took Puddin in to get groomed. Just showing you the before and after.

I will be going to Gold Beach this weekend for a ladies retreat and Puddin is staying home with her Dad.

Pretty scarey. I haven’t slept without her since we got her. I haven’t slept without Bruce either but I know he will sleep just fine.

Oh my mothers instinct is kicking in. If he takes her to the ranch will he keep heraway from that big hole in the culvert? Will he protect her from the mean cats? Will he be sure to not let her sneak in the fence with the cows? He won’t run over her with the tractor, will he?

Of course not any of those things. They will both be fine. I am trusting them to God and I will relax and enjoy the retreat!!

Swing that Partner

2010-05-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

This is my lovely eighteen year old granddaughter. She lives in Coquille so I get to see her quite often. She will be graduating from high school this year. She is counting the days!

This a picture of her taken Saturday night at a
square dance event at the community building here in Coquille.

I enjoy going to watch her at the dance events. Have lots of pictures and movies but can't show them all. Hope you will look at these. The first one was taken before the dance. It is a practice warm up, I guess. You can tell that she enjoys it.

There are not many young people at these events. Carly has a friend and he happens to be a young man. Not a boy friend though. He goes to the dances sometimes but didn't happen to be there that night.

The photo to the right is a couple in their eighties. They don't square dance any more but they are particiating in what they call a round dance. They have been dancing since they were in their teens. Wonderful couple.

------------------------------->

The above video has a couple young girls in it that I thought you might enjoy watching. My goodness they were good. They new all the steps too. They learned from their grandparents.

There is one more lesson and then they will be stopping until the fall. If they had them this summer while we are here I sure would love to take lessons. I may not be to old to dance but might be to old to learn the dance.

Puddin Update

2010-05-09T16:48:00.001-07:00

Here is a Puddin fix for those that haven’t seen her in a while. Her hair is much longer than she usually wears it but we knew she would be cold coming to Oregon earlier this year. She didn’t get out of bed until 8:30 this morning. No I wasn’t in there with her! I got up at 6 am. Because Bruce is working and not sitting in his chair the first thing in the morning Puddin sees no reason to even get up unless she has to go outside to do her morning stuff.

In the picture below Puddin has caught me sitting in my chair long enough for her get in a nap. My daughter took this photo for me this morning. The pink toy Puddin has in her mouth is what we lovingly call her “binkie”. You know, like a babies pacifier. She has to have it to sleep at night too. Sometimes she has to have both of them in bed. When I realized how attached she was to that stuffed slipper I bought her a back up one. Probably should have bought her a dozen so for when they wear out.

Now that there are two recliners in our motor home Puddin likes to keep a binkie in each chair. So on Sunday afternoons while we are watching golf she can just go from Bruce’s chair to my chair and back again without having to haul her binkie with her. She changes chairs every 15 to 20 minutes. She tries share her time equally with us.

She is like that when we have company. Puddin loves her tennis ball and goes around the room trying to get each person to through it for her.

She is pretty much a busy body here at the RV park. Has to check out any activity going on outside. Thankfully she doesn’t bark.

That is pretty much it today.

Puddin and I both wish you a great day.

My Sewing Room

2010-05-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

I am very happy with my new computer/sewing area. This past winter I had a terrible time with back pain. Thankfully my back is doing much better these days but I am very careful to protect it. Bruce and I decided that I needed a comfortable chair in the motor home. The only choice we had was to take out the couch and put in a chair. I love this chair and it fits my back perfectly. Below is a picture of my computer/sewing area before I have the sewing machine set up. It works really well.

The picture below shows my computer/sewing area actually in use. I move the keyboard down and set it on top of the computer which is on the floor between the wall and table leg brace. The computer screen and printer set on the ledge in front of the table. So it is very easy to change the room from computer useage to sewing. Just put the sewing machine where the key board sits when it isn’t in used and move the keyboard up to the table.

There is plenty of room beside the chair to keep a knitting project there. The motor home doesn’t seem near as cluttered with this set up which makes Sweetie happy. He gets to sit at the table to eat meals!

I bake Sweetie a lemon poppy seed cake. It is from a box but it is still very good.

I used the Windows Live Writer to write and publish this post also. Looks like it is going to work very well.

I love it that you stopped in.

Have an awesome day,

Melody

Testing my Windows Live Writer

2010-05-07T09:58:00.001-07:00

We are getting settled into the RV park. Not near as quiet as the ranch, but the stores are a lot handier. No problem with internet service or cell phone.

Spring must be here now. The RV park is getting all spruced up and ready for the summer season. The fresh mowed grass smells so good.

Bruce is on his second day of work. He is doing a logging job out around Arago somewhere. It is a small job for a private individual and they will probably have it done in a couple weeks.

I went to the National Day of Prayer yesterday. It was held at the Community Building which is only a couple of blocks from here. First one I have ever attended. I must say that I was surprised by the back of people attending. Especially since our right to do it may be gone soon.

Well, Milan, here is an update for you. Bruce told me you called a few days ago and said I need to get blogging. More to come again soon.

Thank God for sunshine

Melody

New in My Pantry

2010-04-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

I have added a few new things to to my pantry that have been a pleasure to eat. First I added quiona and made a delicious pudding that I got from Tami. Click on the pudding link and you will find the recipe. Bruce's dad loves it and I do need to make another batch for him.

Also cooked up some quiona and made a veggie stir fry with it. Yummy. I like it plain too

Then I bought some quiona flour and made the Banana bread recipe on the package. It turned out very well. I did use applesauce instead of the oil. Also made a blackberry cobbler using have quiona flour and wheat flour. Next time I will make it using all quiona flour.

Then I bought some extra virgin coconut oil. I use it as a replacement for butter. I think the reason I am doing that is that coconut oil is supposed to be cholesterol free. I love the flavor it gives to a piece of toast. I bought some kind of bread that is made in Cottage Grove and I love it. Found it at the health food store also.

Last but not least is Hemp seed. I love that. You probably would like it too. It has lots of omega oils in it.

As we all know there are lots of pros and cons to what we eat. I remember when wheat bread presented such a controversy. Now millions of us are eating it. I just wanted to share some finds that I found and I actually like them. No needing to get used to the difference. The quiona flour smells different but it seems fresher. You will have you decide for yourself and if you do try some of these things I would love to hear what you think.

Sorry no pictures. I am on my sister in laws computer.

Ranch update.

2010-04-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

I have not done well making a pet of any of the calves but here is a picture of Bruce doing pretty well.

Notice in the background the pen with a cow laying down in it. She is pregnant and has a leg that she cannot use. A few days ago she had some placenta stuff hanging out of her and part of the calf was too. We didn't know what to do. There wasn't enough of the calf to grab ahold of. Then a few days later the calf went back in so we assumed it had died. Still didn't know what to do so we waited. Yahoooooo this morning she gave birth to a cute and healthy little baby cow. They are both doing fine. Because this moma has to be in the pen I should be able to make a pet out of her baby. I have already pet it.

This is a picture of Puddin getting pretty much nose to nose as she will probably get to anything that says mooooooooooooo.

Poor sweet darlin Puddin had a run in with the ranch cat. We tell everyone it was a cougar just so Puddin isn't so embarrassed when we tell the story. I wasn't there but Bruce said that Puddin yowled like she has never done before.

Now today she is with me over at my sisters and there are two cougars. My goodness, they aren't even paying any attention to Puddin and she won't get off my lap.

Will try to get more pictures but they really don't show up as beautiful as the land really is.

I have been with my sister all day so need to get going.

Melody

Where are we?

2010-04-15T14:44:00.000-07:00

Cheryl and Tami, I am sorry but I assumed you knew where we are staying this month. Bruce's dad lives with Bruce's sister on a ranch between Bandon and Riverton. Puddin and I absolutely love it down there. Puddin and I spent at least half an hour last night outside so she could run and run. It is so cute to see her so happy.
I have been trying to make a pet out of the new calf but so far not making much headway. We should have several more calves by this week end.
Well, girls I am at Kellie's and need to get home. Bruce took his dad to the dentist today and he will be home soon. I need to stop at the store and pick up some veggies for the stew I am making.
Thanks for stopping in.

New Baby

2010-04-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

I am finding that I am enjoying ranch life. Of course I don't do any ranch chores but I did get awakened last night with the sounds of a mama cow having a baby. How is that for ranch talk?

Puddin is getting used to the cows. The first time she heard the bull bellow she headed right for the motor home. After she got safely inside she did some very quiet woof-woof sounds. It was pretty much a whisper. I am thinking she didn't want the bull the to hear her. But she goes right up to it nose to nose now. The ranch cat is a different story. They have also been nose to nose but the cat is still hissing.

Today I am going to try to start making a pet out of the new calf.
It isn't raining today. It isn't sun shining either.

I am doing laundry at my sister-in-laws house so need to get going.
Have a great day.

Phone Calls are great

2010-04-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

I received a very nice phone call from my sister on Saturday. We hadn't chatted for about a month and it was very good to hear from her.

My sister did mention that she missed my blogs. She has a very busy life and tries to keep in touch through the blog, so I decided I would get back into blogging for her and you: EVEN IF SHE DOESN'T SAY HI AFTER SHE HAS CHECKED IN!!!!! Love you sister.

We are leaving for Oregon a month earlier than usual so I will be home for my sister's birthday. She isn't quite 60 yet but it would be nice to celebrate that big one together. We are pretty close in age but it seems like I have been in my sixties for years(2years). We made some changes to the motohome and will be sharing that when we get settled in up there. Not leaving until the morning of the 8th.

Here is a picture of us getting ready to fly away in a hot air balloon. We had a great time but there was not enough wind so if our landing hadn't been so wild it would have been very disappointing.

The chase crew didn't make it to where we were going to land so we lifted up a bit and flew over the free way close enough to see the expressions on the truck drivers face's. We were able to talk with people in the shopping center parking lot as we coasted by. I was so caught up in the experience of missing our landing that I forgot to get pictures of us looking in the eyes of the people passing on the free way.

The chase crew didn't make it to the second place to land so we were going to land in an alfalfa field but it was flooded so had to pull up pretty fast. The basket hit the bank of dirt around the field so we had a hard hit landing in a lettuce patch.

I don't want to make it sound like the chase crew was goofing off. They were trying to do some other errands while waiting for us to find some wind so when we decided to land they didn't get much warning. They did a great job of setting the balloon up and taking it down.

Then after the ride we were served an nice dinner with champagne which gave us a chance for a nice visit with our Oregon friends. We had no idea that the heat thing they use to maneuver the balloon was so hot and noisy. The hot air balloon ride was in February

In March we went to Oatman, AZ for a few days of off roading. Had a great time with 2 other couples. Puddin was sitting on a pillow on the console between Bruce and me while we drove through the town. When she saw the burros, she sat up on her hind legs so she could get a really good look. She didn't want to look at the mama burros but she came over to my lap and stuck her head out the window trying to get a good look at the babies.

On the mountains above Oatman we found some patches of snow. I tried to take a video of Puddin playing in the snow but it didn't turn out very well. She sure liked it though.

Then yesterday was the earthquake. Puddin and I were home alone and we were very scared. This was the biggest one I had experienced. I actually got sick from the house rolling around so much. I put Puddin in her bed when it was over but when the aftershocks kept coming she wouldn't let me put her down. I know that actually the earthquake didn't last very long but it seemed like it wasn't going to stop. My neice that lives in Santee, CA was on her way to New Mexico so she was not in the area at the time, but I didn't know that.

I was so afraid with this small shaking we got that I can't even begin to image how awful it is for those that have to experience it up close and personal.

Well, that is pretty much it for today. Thanks sis for the nice phone call. Looking forward to some of those movies this summer. Right now I am going to try get the borders on a PL quilt. I am trying to get tops done and then when we get back in the fall I will be able to quilt them up real fast with the thing Bruce built for me.

Design Wall Link

2010-02-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

I had fun yesterday with the design wall post that was linked up on Judy's blog. Lots of traffic and a couple comments. I went back to that post this morning and there are many more sites listed so I will be lost in computerland for awhile this afternoon.

While checking out the blogs yesterday I went to one from Brazil which was written in a foreign language. I noticed she had a Translator thing. I clicked on it to be in English. WOW!!! So I copied the widget linky thing to put it on my blog. How was I going to know if it worked or not? Try it out of course. Just click on it and pick a language. Right. Wow my blog was in Chinese. Then I went back to the translator and I couldn't find the English again. I fussed for a while and then just closed out of my blog. When going back to it I was pleasantly pleased that it was in English again. Oh what a time to say Thank You God.

Now if I can figure out what Blu Ray is. Probably should go a search to find out.

Looking for a gift idea that you don't have to pay a cent for. Check out this post.

Thanks for dropping in I need to go finish going through the list on Judys Mr. Linky.

Oh I might as well add. Project Linus Quilt A Thon starts tomorrow and will go through Saturday. Also tomorrow afternoon Sweetie and I are going on a Hot Air Balloon ride. So will be busy for a few days. I am excited just to have something else to do.

Can You Name This Pattern

2010-02-15T08:40:00.000-08:00

This is a UFO from the late 80's or early 90's. It is a Piecemaker Calendar pattern but I have since lost the pattern. Fortunately I had all the blocks finished. Also had put the quilt together several times and took it apart each time not liking the setting.

Then I came upon this post and loved it so much that I decided to see if I could use that setting and be happy with it. I think I didn't like the previous settings because they took away from the main blocks. Anyway I think this is going to work just fine. Doesn't look anything like the one on Rosewillow's design wall though.

I am putting it together as a quilt as you go because I want to machine quilt it. Too many quilts to finish and my hands just don't like the hand quilting anymore.

If you came to this post thru Judy's Mr. Linky, most of you won't know me. I have been lurking around most everyones blogs for sometime. I wanted to join in a quilt a thon that Judy was doing so asked if I could post to Mr. Linky even though I am not offically a member on any the stash quilt groups. So here I am.

I love working from my stash and I make quilt for Project Linus. I love seeing all the wonderful projects you gals do and learn a lot from you.

I have been quilting for about 20 years now and am still amazed that quilting is so much fun.

If anyone knows the year this calendar quilt came out, I sure would appreciate you letting me know. I tried to contact Piecemakers but all the they is that they out of that pattern.

To see more quilts check out Judy's blog

Finally

2010-01-28T12:43:00.001-08:00

This winter our quilt group decided we would sign contracts to see if we could get inspired to finish some projects. We donated fat quarters that would be given to those that fulfilled the signed contracts. This is now my finished project.

I started this quilt in 1991. I was pretty new to quilting and my first quilt show was in a little town on the Oregon coast; Reedsport. Let me tell you they were into Baltimore Album quilts and I fell in love with that style of quilt making. Also at that time I was a half owner of a quilt shop in Bandon, Oregon by the name of Forget-Me-Knots.

I did several Piecemakers calendar applique quilts and I actually taught classes from those. The quilt pictured here is a combination of blocks made in classes that I took from Elly Sienkiewicz. What a nice lady. I cruised the Alaska inland passage with her and traveled to Portland several times to take classes from her.

Following is just a list of the year in which I finished each block. I wanted to make a record of when I actually worked on it.

1991-2 blocks/1992-1 block /1993- 2 blocks/1995-1 block/1996-1 block/2000-2 blocks

2002-1 block/2004-5 blocks/2007/1 block

I have made many quilts and most of them are given to someone else but this quilt I am keeping as my own personal huggy blanket. Each block has names of loved ones written on it and dates of special events.

Just For Me

2010-01-26T15:29:00.000-08:00

I am so excited about this. I am not absolutely sure whether we have done something wrong or not, but I sure hope not. We went to a quilt show this past week-end and a guy was selling quilting frames made for small areas that use your own sewing machine. I really wanted to buy it but was a bit skeptical of the quality of some of the materials used in it.

Sweetie and I talked it over and decided he would try to make something like it for me. You really can't tell from the video but mine is made of oak and the wheel things have bearings!!!!! Whatever that means. :-)

And wouldn't you know it, I don't have a quilt top ready for quilting. The piece being quilted in this video is a practice piece that I have used in the part for machine quilting classes.

Perfect

2010-01-25T15:06:00.001-08:00

Just sharing a southwestern version of the Statue of Liberty. She looks great anywhere; I guess.
No this is not my yard, but she lives not to far from me.

Weak Without God

2010-01-19T08:07:00.001-08:00

My great-neice posted this on Facebook. I love it!

WITHOUT GOD... our week would be: Sinday, Mournday, Tearsday, Wasteday, Thirstday, Fightday, Shatterday, Seven days without God - Makes one Weak! (If you are not ashamed of God, post this to your status.)

I posted it to my status and even my blog.

God has certainly given me an awesome day today. The sun is shining, no wind, doves are cooing. Puddin and I had the best walk this morning. No Tearsday here.

Red, White, and Blue

2010-01-16T15:23:00.001-08:00

I just finished this quilt which will go to Project Linus. We keep red, white, and blue quilts on hand to give to children in our area that have lost a parent serving in the military. This is the first one I have done for that cause and it has been difficult because I like to pray for the child that will get the quilt and I have been praying that this quilt will just sit on a self and no one will get it.
That won't happen but wouldn't it we wonderful!!
Pray for our military as they are serving our county.

I almost forgot to link to Mary's blog where I got this pattern.

My Day Room

2010-01-13T10:14:00.000-08:00

We went to breakfast with friends this morning and I thought I would share a bit of my husbands sense of humor.

Dottie: "Did you see the sign for quilting fabric for sale?"
Melody: "No I didn't see it."
Sweetie: "She isn't going to buy any more fabric...... She told me that."
Melody: "I don't really need any fabric but I should check on it for Project Linus. They are almost completely out of fabric. Maybe I should just donate all my fabric to them."
Sweetie: "Then what would you do?"
Melody: "I'm not sure, maybe what you do everyday."
Sweetie: "We would be fighting over the remote then."

We all laughed. Then Melody said, " I would really like to turn my sewing room into a day room type setting." (thinking along the line of a cozy reading room.)
Sweetie, "I thought it was a day room. You are in there all day."

Just a bit of Sweetie's humor.

Scientific Faith?

2010-01-01T10:03:00.000-08:00

I was reading a blog about sharing our christian faith. In the comment section a lady asked the question, "How do you share faith with a scientist?" which reminded me of a series on a learning channel that I watched recently. They dealt with how the miracles in the old testament could have really happened.

At first I was interested but finally I started wondering: Why is it that man has to know something is physically possible for it to have happened? Where is the miracle if man needs to understand the workings of it?

I understand that the world works a certain way and one event will cause another event to happen. But gosh don't the scientists understand that God is God and He can make things happen that man could never understand or recreate?

All in all I was disappointed that the miracles were presented in such a way that some might think they were not miracles at all. Just normal cause and effects events in history.

Rambling

2009-12-30T13:47:00.000-08:00

This is Puddin's new raincoat. I am hoping it will help make her not hate the rain so much when we are in Oregon. I took her to town with me yesterday and we had a great time shopping.

I almost announced that I was going to stop blogging but when I got to thinking about all the blogs I enjoy reading I changed my mind.

I have not been posting on my blog much but I have returned to the hand written type of journaling which has been good for me.

So I am up in the air about whether or not I will keep blogging. I definitely am not a writer and blogging is very hard for me. Probably I will keep going for a bit longer.

Puddin and I want to wish everyone a most blessed New Year. I have gotten so I don't really make resolutions anymore. But I do have a project that I am going to work on this year. I am going to read a chronological version the bible in a New Living Testament and I am going to keep notes about things I think God tells me about what I read each day. I am thinking it will be very interesting to see what I learn about my perception of what I am hearing from God.

For example a few days ago I was reading I Timothy and came across this: I Tim 5:23. No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. That verse seemed to be speaking to me about something but I really don't drink much alcohol so I dismissed it. Then later that day a friend called and invited me to go visit another friend and have a bit of wine. At first I was going to turn down the offer but that verse came back to me so I decided OK, I would go.

The gal that we went to visit was so surprised and happy. I will stop at this point and not get into the specifics of who this gal is or what her life is like but I will say: I feel God blessed me for going outside my box.

Writing down things like that and my feelings about what happened or didn't happen so I can later bring into mind remembrances of my working out my relationship with God.

Hope this makes some sense. I would enjoy hearing that you would like to also do a read thru the bible in a year plan.

If you have never read a chronological version of the bible I highly recommend it. My sister gave me my first one in the NIV and I loved it.

Loving this....

2009-12-16T19:20:00.000-08:00

After our trip to Sedona and sitting around an open fire in the evenings we decided to get us a fire pit for home. Notice I am wearing sandals.
We bought this propane firepit as our Christmas gift to each other this year. Doesn't get much better.... having friends over for warm drinks and lots of funny stories.
Sweetie, Puddin and I love sitting out in the evening by ourselves too. So peaceful watching the night sky. God has given us so much to enjoy.

I liked this post

2009-12-16T07:18:00.000-08:00

I have not been doing much blogging for a while. I still go read blogs, just don't write. I liked this blog and think you will to. It is titled To Do List. I am going to try to emulate hers.
Have an awesome day.

Where in Arizona are we?

2009-11-23T11:55:00.000-08:00

We are leaving for Quartsite in the morning. On the 17th of this month eight motorhomes hit the road for a week of off roading in Sedona, Az. It has been a great time and I have some great pictures which is good because I sometimes for get to take a camera. This time I brought the camera but not the cord thing to transfer the photos to the computer.
The scenery and road trips have been just wonderful. Evenings are filled with enjoying our friends and bringing out our best camp foods...I stayed home today so that Puddin and I could get baths and I could do some laundry before we leave for Quartsite in the morning.
We will be dry camping out in the middle of the desert for Thanksgiving. Our feast is going to be centered around hot dogs roasted over a fire and S'mores.
Tonight we are having apple and pumpkin pie for Sweeties 60th birthday get together. We went to Cottonwood on Saturday to a cowboy dinner and show. Sweetie was turned in for having a birthday and he had to go forward to be crowned with a really funny looking birthday hat. I didn't have my camera. He was a good sport about it and everyone had fun.
That is it for now. Just wanted to give an update just in case I can't get online in Quartsite.
Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Mom, What's for Breakfast

2009-11-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was actually thanked by a lady that was glad I introduced the concept of feeding our dogs vegetables. Her dog loves them and has lost weight. So decided to show you Puddin's breakfast.

Her breakfast is served in a desert dish. This morning she had some moistened kibble, broccoli, half a hard boiled egg(no yolk), carrots, 4 plump juicy blueberries and 3 sugar snap peas. She loves this and it actually has helped her lose the few pounds that she was over weight. I vary her breakfasts a bit each morning but it is always her healthiest meal of the day.

It works pretty handy for me too. I get my morning snack while fixing her breakfast. No kibble though.

A favorite afternoon snack of Puddin and mine is sugar snap peas. We eat several bags of them a week. Much better than chocolate; none of the low sugar let down.

Don't ask me about feeding veggies to cats because I have no idea if they would eat them. All I know for sure is that we need to be eating them.

Try eating sugar snap peas for snacks and deserts. They work for me.

Something Else to Vacuum

2009-11-09T08:33:00.001-08:00

This is a picture of the dust I got off our mattress this morning.

I recently discovered that Dr. Oz show has a show of his own. He did an episode about dust mites in beds. So I have started vacuuming our bed every week when the sheets get changed.

What you see on that paper towel is pretty much how much stuff I have been getting off our mattress every week since we have been back to Yuma on Oct 6. Sweetie says that some of it is loose foam but a lot of it is dust. I have no idea about the mites but there must be some in there and I am not taking any chances. I am sucking up as many as I can.

I am working on the mattress in the RV too. Just in case my sweet niece and her family should drop in soon.

I hate

2009-11-07T16:47:00.000-08:00

garage sales. But look at this find!

I had another back massage today and was so relaxed that I decided to take a back street way home. On a fluke I stopped at a garage sale and bought these 3 homemade flannel baby quilts for $15. I will donate them to Project Linus. Normally I wouldn't donate a garage sale quilt but these had not been used. Guess I could pretend that I made them myself. But then I would miss out on being able to boast about such a great find.

While I am on the subject of Project Linus I guess I should report on the Quilt-a-Thon we had last week. All in all we ended up with 500 quilts for the 3 three days. There were 77 ladies from the community that came to make blankets. That does not included the 30 or so blanketeers that were handing out the kits, sewing on labels, sizing the quilts to specific groups, cutting backings, cutting battings, and many more things that go with hosting the quilt-a-thon.

There were 144 kits handed out at the show so the rest of the quilts were made by us and others at home and then donated as a finished quilt.

Each quilt a thon gets larger than the last. We are all very tired at the end of the show but also very very blessed.

Have and awesome day and thanks for stopping in.

Tight Squeeze

2009-11-06T16:24:00.001-08:00

This picture is from our Thursday off road outing. First one of this season. The people in the jeep are our neighbors and they passed thru the squeeze without any scrapes, but we were not so lucky.
We have a Jeep Liberty for our off road vehicle and it is a bit longer then the other cars in our group. I usually get out of the rig when I know we are going to get in a bit of a bind but this time I didn't and almost had a claustrophobic episode. It was a bit over whelming sitting in the car with the canyon wall crunched up against the sides so we couldn't get out without busting out a window.
We made it thru but had some pretty nasty scratches on my side of the car. A bit of boasting on my skills as a great wife; there were several guys in our group that were amazed that I didn't get mad or upset about the damage to Sweetie's car.
It is so much nicer to remember that day as one of great fun with good friends. Off roading is Sweetie's hobby and I don't want to be the one to ruin it for him.
Thanks for stopping in.

Got Sand

2009-11-02T07:10:00.000-08:00

This is a view of the mountains from our living
room window. I love these mountains. Some days they are so many different colors when the sun is shining on them just right. This picture was taken this morning.

This picture was taken about a week ago. It shows how the sand can get blown around if the wind gets very strong. This doesn't happen all that often but it has gotten bad enough that we could hardly see the house across the street.

I don't mind it when it gets this way. It just gives me a great excuse to stay in my sewing room.

The house with the pick up in the drive way is where Cheryl used to live.

That is it for today. I am still resting from the quilt-a-thon. I will also be ready for another back massage probably on Friday. Tuesday is bible study and Project Linus meeting. Wednesday is quilt group meeting. Thursday is desert off roading run and dinner out with friends.

Fall Project Linus Quilt-aThon

2009-10-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

starts this Thursday. These are the quilts that I will be taking this time. There are 4 string quilts and then the other one. I have several in various stages that I will be working on soon. Pretty much I will be working on Christmas gifts the rest of this year.

This summer I hurt my back and was trying to live with it. Finally decided that I just couldn't stand the pain any longer. The pain was getting worse and it seemed like it was spreading thru my whole body. Yesterday I had a back massage. Oh man I feel like a new woman! The gal that did the massage is a tiny Vietnamese gal that probably doesn't weigh 100 lbs but she sure could work my back.

After the massage Sweetie took me to lunch. I said "Watch this" and turned my head with no pain. It was such an awesome feeling. He didn't really realize how bad the pain had gotten and I was hoping that if I pretended it wasn't there it would go away. NOT

So my back is good enough that I should be able to get thru the quilt-a-thon but I am planning on several more massages. Hopefully then I will be just like new.

Thanks for stopping in.

Too Much Fun

2009-10-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

I bought the WII Fit Plus game. It is so much fun. This summer my sister and I were playing the wii fit thing and commented that it sure would be nice if we could have pets on the game. This new one lets you have a pet. I made mine look as much like Puddin as I could. It is so cute and it follows me around while doing my work outs. Not sure if she will be on all of them yet, but she followed me while I did the bike ride around the island.