Sunday Stuff

Oh I had such a good day today. The Banker and I hit the road at 10am and did not get back until after 5pm tonight. We spent the day at the lake/resort about an hour from where we live. We hit some yard sales on the way, which resulted in some bargain finds. We shopped the local shops, checked out the weekend flea market, strolled the beach, ate lunch, had ice cream, rooted round the second hand book store and topped off the day with a stop at the hardware/liquor/butcher store. You gotta love small towns :-)

The yard sales were the best for me. I got a queen sized bed frame for $10.00!! I am dancing, I was thinking I'd have to buy new and it would be around the $100.00 mark so I gots me a bargain. It looks like it has all its spare parts too. Whoot.  The other major score was a vaccum cleaner trunk/ottoman with a hinged lid. It will be perfect for my red spare room. A little trunk to store a spare blanket and a place for company to put their suitcase on while they are visiting. $5.00 and it doesn't need to be recovered!! Just a really good cleaning and it will be perfect, perfect, perfect.

Me and my sore knees are going to be soooooooooooo happy to get the bed up off the floor again. The real surprise will be to see if I get it set up tomorrow. See the sensible thing to do would be to start to remove the carpet when I put the bed frame down. I am going to totally redo my bedroom one of these days soon, paint, new carpet, but the room is stuffed with furniture and the carpet is so old I shudder to think what is living in there no matter how much I cleaned it.

Actually the really sensible thing would have been to yank out the carpet before I set up those three huge heavy book cases I put in there earlier this year but apparently I was not that sensible. Or I could have removed the carpet before the new bed arrived, again not so sensible. So I should take out the carpet under the bed tomorrow. The carpet has to be removed in sections, its old and the backing has crumbled and its a mess. Thankfully there is another older carpet under it so if you cut it into sections, roll it into little jelly rolls and stuff it into a rubbermaid tub, you can haul it down the stairs and out to the dumpster by yourself. The other sensible thing would be to have the new dust ruffle made ( that matches the curtains and the quilt currently on the bed) to put on the box spring while the bed is apart. I have not done that yet either even though its been on my to do list since I got the new bed. I need to widen my quilt as well. Sensible with the bedroom renovation has been sadly lacking on my part. I can see the bed frame getting set up on the old carpet and much cursing on my part when I have to move everything to do the carpet removal at a later date. Sigh.

Ok bed frame purcased, bedding to be renovated and updated now all I need is a head board. I am on the hunt for one. I will know it when I see it. I would like something antiquey looking but antique and queen sized don't usually go hand in hand. Oh well, I have been so lucky with the bed and the frame the headboard will happen. I just have to be open to it.

Now I am off to shower the sun screen, sweat, dust and dirt of this happy day off of me, rounding off the evening with a spat of knitting before bed. I hope you have had a wonderful weekend too!! Tomorrow is still another day off, BONUS!!!

Linda

where will she sleep now?

Here I sit, fresh out of the shower and basking in the wonderful feeling you have when you are freshly bathed and still slightly damp. My bedding is freshly washed and dried in the sun today so once my hair is dry I am going to slip into bed and into one of my top ten things I love best in the world, clean sheets and a clean me. Bliss.

Speaking of sleeping, there is sad news for Minou, I have finished the log cabin quilt. Its bound, washed and ready to go to its new home with the Carpenter and Busy. Where is she going to sleep now?? I am happy to have it finished. I can now  move onto another quilt. I like having another project lined up when I get one finished. Idle hands are the devil's playground you know. With three quilt tops ready and waiting to jump into the hoops, I will be spoiled for choice.

This week slipped by on me, it was a long, long week and Friday seemed to take for freakin' ever to get here. At last the weekend has arrived and thankfully it is a long weekend. Three days full of endless possiblities. Its been a busy so far. Projects have been attended to, not just the quilt.
The other hours that made up today were filled with the usual household choring, errand running, grocery buying frenzy that usually make up my weekends. It was a beautiful day here so I took full advanage and dried as much laundry as I could on the clothes line. I felt particularly eco friendly today not to mention thrifty. Laundry was done with homemade laundry soap, rinsed in vinegar, all in cold water and dried in the wind and sun. The only other thing I could have done to make it totally earth friendly was scrubbed it all on a wash board but hey I have my limits. I have a wash board but I am not about to take up doing laundry on it full time.

Tomorrow I am off to the lake for the day with the Banker. I am looking foreward to it. There is a wonderful second hand book store there that I adore going to . They have a coffee shop/ craft shop in the back, so you can browse, sip coffee and snarf down the best tarts. Yummy!!!  All while you are surrounded by the creations of local talented people. There are lots of interesting little shops in the park and taking a cruise round the lake is always nice. It will be busy up there but that's ok, all the more fun. I am sure we will find lots to get up to while we are there.

Harry Potter is on TV. I really really would like to have an owl bring me a letter. I think that would be wonderful.


Linda

Monday Moment with Minou

Enough playing in the computer already, I am waiting for my breakfast!

Sunday Stuff (with a little Saturday thrown in)

Saturday was a cold day. A very fallish day, cold, wet and windy so I decided that it was a perfect day to work on the quilt. After doing the usual running of errands and house work my thoughts turned to quilting. Minou had retired upstairs for her usual day long nap on my bed so I was free to get to work without the snoopervisor butting in. I got things set up, tv onto a good movie, ready to begin but I needed a glass of water. By the time I got back from the kitchen this is what I saw on the sewing table. WTH???  What is it with this cat and this quilt??

I lifted her onto the floor, flipped the hoop over to work and in seconds this happened

I gave up and started to quilt. In no time things had progressed to this, she is entirely under the hoop, my arm is resting on her back. Just to keep you up to speed this is a cat that normally does not like to be held or snuggled in any way in which you have her pinned down. Unless you are trying to quilt a log cabin quilt apparently then you can totally hold her down and all she does is purr.

She did get up when I had to move the hoop but only repositioned her self back in the same space, head facing the other way

This is the response I got when I informed her she was being a pain in the butt and she should take her little self back upstairs where she belonged. She flopped over into belly rub position. I scare the hell out of her that is for sure. She is totally afraid of me.

Yes  I am scratching her chin, because I am a total marshmallow and she knows it. Hmmph.

I finally gave up and left off quilting. She stayed here for two more minutes then hiked herself upstairs and napped on my bed. I think she is going to be heartbroken when this quilt goes to its proper owners or maybe she just doesn't want me working alone. I have no idea.

Oh yes, remember these, $2.00 each at last weeks garage sale

I recovered them today. They look much better and will now take their place in the craft/sewing room. I need to patch the corner of on of the chair backs but I need to get the right glue.

They look much better don't you think?

Linda

A Blessing and a Curse

Today I took another small step into the world of the present, not the future, the present. I now have a DVR Yikes!!! I have it on very good authority that this machine is life altering. Personally I am tickled, maybe now I will not forget to tape Coronation Street and I will actually get to see it on a regular basis again. I can tape stuff that I would normally not get to see, and this appeals to the TV lover in me to no end. Isn't it pretty?? No....ok moving on.

Yes, yes that is a VCR you see sitting under the DVD player that you can't really see. Stop laughing. I was am still kickin' it old school. I am still taping on vhs tapes but more often than not I will either forget, not bother because it was way to complicated or forget to set both machines and get three hours of blue screen, that's a hoot. After hearing the praises of the DVR sung by all and sundry I took the plunge. My DVR is now my new blessing and I plan to make this mother work!!

Now I will explain the curse. See the VCR, I was going to get rid of it, put the past behind me and move on to the present. Not so fast. I cannot get rid until I get a new TV. My poor TV is so old it does not have all the necessary plug in places for the aforementioned DVR. So the cable guy had to route the DVR through the VCR to get the TV to work. Yeesh. Not so long ago I had given a fleeting thought to the idea of getting a new flat screen. They are a reasonable price and they do not weigh a ton but my TV works just fine, thank you very much. I am supposed to be economizing so I tucked the idea away. Well now I am thinking I need to revisit this idea because my VCR is on its last legs and if it kicks I am hooped. (cannot live without my TV, sorry, I have not evolved that far yet, the TV needs to work so my sanity continues to work)

Ok back to the curse portion of this blog, because the VCR cannot go, the DVR box has to sit on top of the entertainment center. Crap,Crap Crappity Crap, its bigger than the old cable box. This throws the symmetry of the entire top of the entertainment centre off. OMG I may have to curl up on the floor in a fetal position and whimper. This is not good. I am going to have to take deep breaths, calm myself and try to ignore this insanity until I can get the new TV, get rid of the VCR, move the DVR to the proper slot and restore the balance and my world will be right again. I may need to medicate myself. I am not going to tell you how long it took me to adjust to the old cable box being on top of the unit. No point in letting you know the total extent of my issues.

I think I need to go record something.

Linda

Wednesday already

Oh who am I kidding, this week has been dragging its little butt and taking its sweet time. Feels like forever since it was the weekend. Oh well, having a giant sizes gin and tonic at a local watering hole has made my day a whole lot better.

I am not given to slugging back cocktails mid week as a rule but it was a work thing. We are saying good bye to my favorite person to work with. Its sad to see her go. She is wonderful at her job and a dream to work with. We work in teams, with several different people but you are a team covering your portion of the caseload, and of all my teams she is the best. I am just going to be sad for forever once she is gone. We took her out, wined and dined her, had some laughs, told some stories and generally had a great time. Gin and tonic AND creme brullee, pretty much heaven to me.

The log cabin quilt is almost half quilted. I should have it finished on the weekend. I am so happy to be quilting again after such a long break. It's a dream quilt to work with. It would be so much easier to work on if I could convince the cat to stay off it while I am trying to quilt but she loves to nap on it. Only when I am working on it, no other time. Apparently being annoying is half the fun of the nap.

Well I have not a lot to say for myself today. Its cooled off finally and that is a blessing. I have all the windows open to get some fresh air in here. The basement.......... well to be honest it stinks. It had water in it this summer and its not like I could go mop the water up. The floor is not concrete, well not totally so its got a damp moggy smell. Since the house has been closed up and I have been running the air for several days, you can really smell it. I need to come up with some idea as to how to get that smell out.  Sigh...... I have no idea what to do with it.

This weekend I hope to recover my new sewing room chairs. I will post pictures.

Have a good one.

Linda

Monday Moment with Minou

For the love of God Mama, please turn on the air conditioner!!

Sunday Stuff

Well if my yesterday was wonderful, today has been measuring up quite nicely, thank you. I love Sundays. That was not always the case, I used to hate them, I always thought if I ever decided to do myself in it would probably happen on a Sunday, that is how badly I disliked the day. Thankfully I decided to stop being so melodramatic, and changed my attitude about the day of rest. Now I love them and this is how I like it to happen:

1. Sleep in and wake on my own, not to the sound of an alarm clock.
2. Read for awhile and maybe even fall asleep again
3. Get up, make my very favorite breakfast, bacon, eggs, toast, hash browns, juice and coffee
4. Watch Coronation Street as I munch down breakfast
5. Shower and dress for the day
6. If it nice, drink more coffee on the veranda, if not, sit in my favorite chair and finish my coffee in front of the tv.

Once this is finished I am ready to start the day. It is now usually noon or 1:00 pm. Sunday afternoons are totally reserved for doing whatever I wish to do. Sometimes its a chore, sometimes its shopping, sometimes it crafting the day away or reading a book. Today it was crafting. I got to do all the six Sunday steps of the morning, then I hit the local fabric store, got some quilt batts and I did find some black vinyl for the new chairs. I came home and cleaned up the kitchen, started the laundry and then I got to work on this

I have finally started to quilt this. I do have proper quilt frames that my Dad made for me years ago but they take up so much room in my little house that I prefer to use hoops and sit at the sewing table and work. I have been happily stitching away for the afternoon, only stopping to have a nap, make supper and then do a spot of blogging.

Minou finds the quilt very nap worthy. Baby girl has good taste.

I could use a lot more days like the two I have had this weekend but because I know they don't always work out this well, I savour them all the more.

Linda

A Saleing I did go

My friend the Banker and I headed out this morning to hit some garage sales, antique stores and any other thing that struck our fancy. I love garage sales, I love a bargain, I love finding things I can fix up and reuse. It tickles me from nose to toes. The Banker and I are perfect shopping partners because she loves yard sales and second hand stores as much as I do. Today was a wonderful day and for $26.00 I came home with some real treasures in my opinion! Lets have a look shall we:

I found this pretty metal plant stand and thought it would just suit my veranda and I was right! The green of the stand matches the trim on the house. It just needs pots of pansies and inpatients to make it complete. It also folds flat for storage. My most expensive buy of the day at $5.00.

This votive ring was only a dollar. The Christmas greenery can be removed and you can dress it up for any occasion or leave it plain for a center piece

10 snowy white linen dinner napkins with white embroidery and two pretty brooches. I have a complete weakness for brooches and table linens, especially old table linens.

This little horn makes the best noise, it sounds like it looks like it should sound and the lady at that sale gave it to me for free!!

This is my favorite pick of the day. Its a pencil box, just like the one I had when I was in grade two or three. I paid $2.00 for it even though the man that owned it tried to get me to pay $40.00, because its an antique you know. Too bad his wife had it on the dollar/ 2 dollar table. She let me have it for $2.00, no way in hell I was paying $40.00

This chrome serving dish caught my eye and may be a gift for someone. It needs a good wash and some steel wool on the handle and it will be perfect. 15 cents and it came home with me.

I am not sure what this is, the center lid lifts off, the bottom is rounded and two ends have a dividing ridge in them almost like a compact would fit in there, or maybe to hold bracelets?? Some sort of trinket box?? I love it because its quirky and obviously old. I hope I find out what it is for.

Eight little butterfly napkin rings for 25 cents total  for the bunch. Love it!!

These babies need some TLC  for sure. $2.00 each, could not pass them up. The backs are in good shape just need a cleaning. The seats I am going to recover in black. I don't know if you can tell from the pictures but  the backs are black and cream, with just a touch of green.They don't look it in the picture but the two chairs are the same colour. I will put them in my craft room, one at the computer and one at the sewing table. The chairs I have there now are on their last legs and certainly do not match.

The snoopervisor is checking out a Christmas cake/dainty stand that I am going to paint black instead of the tacky gold it is now. I have at least one Christmas plate that will be perfect on it, not to mention it will be fun finding two more plates for it. At the grand old price of  $1.00 and I could not pass it up. It will look lovely on my buffet at Christmas time.

A glass flower frog and a peanut shaped candlewick dish rounded out the day. The frog will fit in a lace edged milk glass compote and will  mean  that I have frogs for all the compotes now. I collect candlewick dishes so I did a little happy dance to get this dish for a dollar. I can use it for pickles or candy.

See how nicely the frog fits in my compote. Just perfect for fresh cut flowers

We rounded out the day with a snoop through a recently opened antique store, then lunch  at her house, a movie (the Lincoln Lawyer), much talking and then supper. Finally we called it a day  and she delivered me home with all my treasures. Oh its been a good day!!  I am now going to find something to watch on TV and knit for the rest of the night. I am tired and happy and I still have money in my pocket!! Tomorrow when I am at the fabric store buying quilt batts I will have to see if I can find some black vinyl to cover the seats of the chairs.

Days like today, I could use a lot more of!!

Linda

Not much going on

Not much happening today, its been quiet and easy. Work went well, no major problems or upsets. I love days like this.  I got home, had a nap and the I got the church quilt top finished.

Its called Endless Stars and currently its draped over my sewing table. One of those little bumps is the cat. She likes to plant her furry little butt near anything I am doing and she will not be moved unless she wants to go. Silly old puss.

I will provide better pictures once its quilted. Hmmm I am sensing a theme here, many promises of better pictures and many quilt tops made but not actually quilted. This is next on my "to do" list. One quick trip to the local fabric/craft store and the purchase of many quilt batts will happen. Quilting will be undertaken overe this coming weekend and will continue most furiously until I have finished the aforementioned quilts.

Linda

Finally put on my big girl panties

So Miss Crankypants wore herself out, right now she is curled up into fetal position quietly in a corner, thumb firmly planted in her mouth. "Get over it and Get on with it" took over and today she cleaned up the mess that we made. It feels so good to have finally faced up to it and just got things done, things that should have been done months ago. I did it by myself and for myself because I made the mess myself. I feel like a brace of oxen have been lifted off my shoulders and that is a very good thing. I have already done my happy dance around the living room.

Now I need to move foreward, get myself back in line, get back to work on my health and well being. I need to really embrace being thrifty and frugal to make sure things stay on track and don't spiral out of control again. I need to practice what I preach is what I need to do. I need to stay healthy, both financially and physically because I have only me to look after me. Trust me, the cat is not going to go out and get a job, she is above working for a living, so unless I find a man with money to keep me in the style I would like to become accustomed or I win the lottery, I need to be serious about looking after me.

I thank God for my friends who are understanding and supportive. I thank God for finally learning a lesson, even though I really did know better already. I thank God that I can move foreward now and I don't feel stuck in the muck and mire of my own creation. Sometimes hitting a brick wall is the only way to make yourself smarten up.

Linda

Knit Night

Not much exciting happening around the old homestead at the moment. I spent most of last evening sewing on the blue and grey church quilt top. Now I have remembered how to sew the patches together its going along swimmingly. It's over half finished. Whoot!! I'd like to have it done by the weekend.

Tonight I am going to a local coffee place and I will be spending some quality/productive time knitting with some new friends. Its Knit Night. I feel like the grandma of the group because most of them are young 20's and early 30's but its fun to spend some time with people who like what I do. Not to mention I go get to pass on a little wisdom to the one's that are learning, give a helping hand, pick up a dropped stitch or two, decipher a pattern. All this makes me feel useful and wise.

I am going to take my harvest colours sampler afghan with me. I bought the kit from Mary Maxim long ago and I have finally started it, once I was ready to take a break with the puppets and  after I found three different colours to replace the ones that I didn't like. I pulled out the teal, purple and blue and added two shades of brown and a cream. The colours now match my livingroom. Its an easy knit, a trinity stitch and a ribbed stitch. I can chat and follow the pattern with minimal attention to detail.

I do have a basket weave baby blanket that I am itching to start  and I thought about taking it but until I get going on it I need to give it my undevided attention as I need to memorise the pattern before it goes out in public. I have knit one already and its tucked away, waiting for a special baby but I want to make another to tuck away for another special baby. ( No special babies yet but I have great hopes for the future)  I like to be prepared. The wool is sitting in my basket and calling my name. I have enough UFO's in my house at the moment it would be madness to start yet another project. So shut up in there, I will get to you soon enough.

The last time I went to Knit Night. I was making swiffer mop heads so the afghan will be a much more impressive project to show off. Must let the little ones know I actually practise what I preach.

Linda

Monday Moment with Minou

You are sewing that all wrong, rip it out and do it again, properly.

Sunday Stuff

Below, the thing that looks a little like a giant white jelly roll, well, that is the completed bumper pads for the grandbaby. Mommy called this morning and gave me the pertinent info so I could get on with them. I am very happy to have them finished. I have been slow at getting them done, like a lot of things I have promised to do lately. So scratch this puppy off the "to do" list. Now I have an excuse to go a visitin'. I need to deliver the bumper pads and the baby quilt.

The pillow shams are quilted, bound and finished. Another item to scratch off the "to do" list. Whoot!! I even manages to get a  couple of dishcloths knit this weekend. All in all I think it has been a productive one.

 The church quilts are next.   I did not get the back made for my Happy Squares quilt ( yes that's it's new name because it makes me happy to look at those squares of colour) but its for me and I can wait. Quilting the quilt to match the pretty pillow shams I made this weekend is almost in the works. I can quilt on it and finish sewing the tops for the church quilts at the same time. I have one top started and the other one is currently living in my imagination but it will become reality once I get the blue and grey one done and ready to quilt.

Soon I need to get back at making puppets. I only have 18 on order but they do not have to be done until September. I would like to get them out of the way  as I will need to start thinking about things that need to be made for Christmas.

I was late getting up this morning, I stayed in bed and read for quite awhile before I hauled my carcass up and downstairs. Laundry got done this weekend and that was about it for general housework. I have to say I am rather please with my homemade laundry soap. It seems to get the job done as well as the other soap I was using. You have to spray the tough stains but I had to do that with store bought stuff. It is way cheaper, easy to make and I think I will do it again. I need to get some proper containers to store it in but that is easy enough. I feel so very frugal and earth friendly when I use it.

I have high hopes that I will get the dishwasher emptied before the end of the day. Only because the dirty dishes are taking over the kitchen sink and are begging to be stored in the dishwasher. The kitchen looks a pig sty with dirty dishes all over.  I suppose I should make some sort of supper between now and then as well.

I am off to do something, not sure exactly what. Supper, dishes.............oh the excitement!!

Linda

Saturday Stuff

This Saturday started out just as I planned it to when I went to bed last night, I decided to take a friend's advise.  I slept in, giving myself permission to be lazy and just relax, not have to get up to be doing stuff. Hoping it would help to lift mne out of this mood I have allowed myself to wallow in of late. I slept in, ate breadkfast late and then sat on the veranda and consumed half a pot of coffee in the cool morning breeze. All of this before I even thought of getting at doing anything. It was a wonderful. lazy, easy morning.

Once I got moving I did do somethings that have needed to be done. I put frosted film over the bathroom window upstairs. No one can see in it but it unnerves my company when they use the facilities and the window is uncovered ( I live in a city). So now all modesty is protected and the window is frosted over. I also finally fixed the catches on the kitchen hutch doors. They close now and stay closed. (I love my power drill )and I love the fact that I no longer walk into the kitchen to see the doors are gaping open and all the horrors they hide out on display for all to see.

I finally got the material cut out for making the grandbaby's bumper pads but I got stumped because I can not find the paper where I have the measurements written down. I am stuck. I don't want to go foreward and find out that they are too short.  I have placed an emergency phone call to Mommy and am waiting for information. Stuck on one thing, best get onto other projects. I washed the backing for the Carpenter and Busy's quilt and while it sloshed away in the machine I finished my super secret project.  It is  tucked safely away to be revealed at a later date.

I then got at it and finished the last blocks for this quilt. Its actually for me, for the red bedroom. Finally a quilt that will adequately cover two people and will eliminate any fighting for blanket coverage when folks come to visit. I love the loud crazy colours. It makes me happy just to look at it. I need to decide on a name for it though, every quilt needs a name. Its folded in half if you are wondering about me loosing my mind and thinking its wide enough to cover up two people. It actually measures 80 by 80 inches. Most adequate for a double bed.

This is the quilt I have been yapping on and on about. The one for the Carpenter and Busy. It started out its life for me but it is perfect for their spare room and they really do need a proper sized quilt for that bed. Its more golden that it appears in the picture and its lovey. Its 100% cotton and just a dream to work with. The needle slides though it like butter. This barn raising log cabin pattern is one of my favorites. I tend to like traditional quilt patterns on the whole. Once it is quilted I promise a better picture of the whole quilt.

Thank goodness I managed to scrounge around and get enough material for the pillow shams. They were not in the original plans when the quilt was going to live with me. I had to hunt and steal and fudge my way around but I came up with enough squares for two shams. So I have started to quilt those and am enjoying it to no end. I have spent a lovely quiet afternoon in front of the television, sewing and quilting away. A very sort of Linda day.



Its now supper time. I am taking a little break, having a bite to eat then get back at the shams. Tomorrow I hope to piece together the backing for the red room quilt. I really do need a name for it.

Linda

Finally Friday

At last, Friday is here and the work week has fallen away and two days of freedom loom large and welcoming before. Oh Miss Crankypants is still stomping her little feet and pitching a ridiculous hissy fit, I am still tired and cranky and feeling totally defeated but and here is the bonus of being a Gemini. You get to be fractured, you are more than just one person, you have alters that can take over. So while the baby is rolling on the floor having a tantrum your other self can take over and present a different face to the public. That is what is happening here at the homestead right now, while Crankypants does her thing, "get over it and get on with it" will get on with the business of doing housework, getting on with the quilting projects and doing odd jobs around the house. Staying home, not spending any money and being productive in the looming presence of the Problem.

SO tomorrow, I will wake to no alarm clock ( choir of angels sing), make breakfast, get at doing what household chores need to be done and then settle myself into the sewing room for a weekend of quilting, quilting, quilting. That will settle my mind and my heart. It won's change anything but I will be better able to deal.

Tonight it was out for supper with the No Cook Friday group and we always have a great time. Good food, good friends, good conversation, so many laughs. Its a wonderful way to end the week. Yes it would be wonderful to have some nice man taking me out for supper but since that is not happening I am not going to sit at home mopping about that as well. I have enough stuff to mope about so if I can avoid some its a plus. I spend enough time alone thankyouverymuch, so we started the No Cook Friday group. We do not have limits on who can join us, if you can't be there, that's ok, we are very informal. We go somewhere different each week for supper and then to Tim Horton's for coffee and chatting. It lifts my spirits at the end of the week Its a very good thing AND I have made some new friends because of it. All my life I have been blessed with finding really good friends.

Now it is time for me to haul my carcass up the stairs and tuck myself into my bed. Tomorrow is full of possibilities and things that need to be done.

Linda

I don't wanna be a grown up!

There are days when I don't wanna be a grown up. I don't wanna face up to the mess I have made and I so want somebody to come and fix it for me. I am not so far gone that I don't know that this is not going to happen. I am the grown up, I am the one who has to fix things, face facts and reality, blah, blah, blah, that's just the way it is. I still don't have to like it though. So for the moment my inner child ( Miss Crankypants) is running amok and having the mother of all temper tantrums. She'll get tired eventually and give up and then the "get over it and get on with it" portion of my fractured self will take over and clean up the mess. Sigh,  I really would like to just sit down and have a proper good weep but that ain't gonna happen.  I know what has to be done I just really, really, really don't want to do it and having a cry about it is not going to change the outcome at all.

Ok before this entire entry turns into a complete pity party, table for one, I shall move on. I did manage to almost finish a secret project. Its rather nice to finally have something almost done. One more night of work on it and it will be complete. This I am going to start on the quilt for the Carpenter and Busy. I am excited to get to working on it. Its beautiful 100 % cotton so quilting it will be lovely. That one I will be able to share with you and post pictures.

Tomorrow is Friday, my favourite day of the week. The weekend is almost here. Lets hope Miss crankypants is done with her tantrum by then and I can get back on track.
Linda

Monday Moment with Minou

Maybe if I am perfectly still she will think I am a Gnome in a fur coat.

Sunday Stuff

This has been a wonderful weekend. The weather has been beautiful, sunny, warm but not horridly hot. I did little to nothing on Friday. It was a lazy day and I took full advantage of it. I slept in, made a lovely breakfast, puttered around the house, drank iced tea on the veranda, watched dvd's. The Friday Night No Cook Club met for supper then we watched the fireworks from the Banker's deck. It was a lovely evening.

Saturday I was up early, ran some errands, did some housework, got groceries, looked all over town for two colours of dishcloth yarn and could not find either one, Drat. I hacked my way through the waist high weeds and uncovered my air conditioner. I washed the bedding and hung it outside to dry. I fixed my new mattress cover. It had that cheap and cheesy gauze stuff on the sides, while the top was thick and quilted and perfect. The second time I straightened it on the bed the gauze ripped so I fixed it. I went a bought a white fittled sheet, trimmed off the gauze and then sewed the quilted top onto the fitted sheet. Now the mattress cover stays in place and the sheets stay on the bed. The rest of the time was spent working on the afghan I am knitting for myself and working on some of my quilts. I started another new quilt top, that makes 4 quilt tops made, one half done, one not yet started and none of them quilted. Yikes.

Today did not go at all how I planned but that's ok, it went better. A thunder storm woke me up at 7:00 am and I could not get back to sleep. I watched an episode of the Tudors and fell back to sleep until around 10:00. I woke up feeling like a drunk person. Sluggish and grumpy. Teddy Bear called while I was still stumbling around half awake and pitching the laundry down the stairs. She invited me over for coffee and muffins so without a second thought to the laundry, I went.

We had a lovely chat and I got to have a good cuddle with her brand new grandson. I also got to enjoy her older grandson, they are both wonderful boys. Coffee, muffins and little boys perked me right up. We nattered away, ate, drank coffee and the morning slipped by before we knew it. We even managed to do a little shopping then she headed home and so did I. This was so much more fun than what I had planned. Housework or time spent with a good friend, its really a no brainer/ :-)

When I got home I should have just hauled the lawn mower out of the shed and got at the yard work but so far this afternoon I have managed to talk myself right out of it. I have finished the quilt top I started yesterday. Its all pinned together and its all ready to start quilting. (I can't show pictures yet but I will later). I am washing clothes and trying to think of what to make for supper.

I think I need to have a little nap and then make supper. Yep that sounds like a totally solid plan to me.

Linda

Gnorm the Gnome has been asaulted!!

This is what I found this morning by the day lily bed, poor Gnorm, unconsious and missing an appendage. ACK, Who could have attacked this sweet innocent Gnome? What brutal carnage played it self out in my back yard last night? I shudder to think.

Gnorm put up a goof fight, bless him. His amputated arm was located several feet from where he fell in battle. Poor little Gnome, brave to the last. Miss Squirrel is not talking, keeping silent in fear for her own safetly no doubt but she doggedly stood guard over his arm until help arrived.

Inspite of his battle wounds Gnorm maintained his sunny disposition as he headed off to emergency surgury. There is high hopes that his arm can be reattached.

After a brief but tense surgury and a short stay in intensive care where he was lavished with much love and attention I am more than happy announce that the surgury was a success. Gnorm is almost back to himself again. He is still missing a finger and the tip of his hat is gone but on the whole he is well  again

 and ready to return to his spot by the day lily bed. We may never know who his attacker was but we hope they met their just reward for such a viciouse and unprovoked attack. The bastards!!

Linda