September Summary

I can relate to the poor cat chasing his tail.  I feel like that's all I do anymore ~ 'round-n-'round we go!

September arrived quickly and now it's almost time to say goodbye.  A quick month for sure.

I guess that's what happens when you get busy.

Busy finishing up projects purchased in the spring:

 

This is the heinous coffee table (bottom) I purchased at a flea market for three bucks . . .

 I think I over paid.  It was rickety and glue laden.

Not to mention, filthy.

 

 

The boy taking it apart and bracing it up.

It needed to have the glue scraped off, a couple bolts and

the drawer re-glued.

 

 

 

Top sanded and polyed.

 

 

Bottom primed.

Like my workshop?

 

 

First coat of paint.

Really liked the color but it was just a little

too "beachy blue" for our living room.

 

 

Second coat - in a pale green. 

Um . . . . no.

Not quite.

 

 

The same green with a dark glaze, polyed and

waiting for knobs.

Tricky, tricky ~finding just the right accessories.

 

 

Then we have this:

 

Itty Bitty and pre-school at Mom-mom's house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course there was the bazillion birthdays and all the every day stuff that happens in life.  There is quite a bit of truth to the notion that the older one gets the faster life gets.  No pause.  No rewind.  And thank goodness, no fast forward! 

 

Toodles for now!

 

 

Back to Summer. . . . .

. . . . . now that it's fall  . . . .

My young kindred was able to come back to the shore for a few weeks in July courtesy Kelly's friend, Jenny.

Believe it or not, this was one of those very rare visits that we hardly did anything constructive. 

Sarah Sponda did finish a scrapbook she started eons ago. 

We became obsessed with outfitting Hope's bedroom with Paris-y, French-y things.  We found bargains galore for her!  Talk about being stoked, we were!   It seemed every corner we turned we found treasures.  We became the  "Make-over" team.  Two peas in a pod ~ yep, that was us.

This is my girl donning the latest fashion trend ~ men's boxers split at the crotch up the middle:

 

Ben split them when he squatted and I didn't notice until I was folding the laundry. Nothing like washing laundry just to throw it away.  Kinda like making sure you have clean undies on when you leave the house  ~  just in case you're in an accident!

 Puts a whole new spin on the phrase:  "You're getting a little too big for your britches!". 

 

 

Sarah decided she wanted to make her own rag quilt.  No argument here!  Count me in any day.  Quilt, fabric, shopping ~ what's not to love about that?   With the exception of the background fabric, she found beautiful flannels for the front.  She sat and meticulously cut her squares.  Good Girl.  She didn't get to sew any ~ ran out of time ~ imagine that!  But, she did have them ready to go for when she got home and could find the time. 

 

And speaking of time, MOST of our TIME was consumed with watching Grey's Anatomy on Net Flix.   She was hooked.  Of course I couldn't let her run that marathon all by herself even if it did mean bedtime came after 1:30AM (3:30AM on her last night here).  I was one weary gal.  But I wouldn't trade it for all the tea in China! 

 

We did the usual for the rest of the summer.  Swam, bickered and waited for school to start.  

 

 

 

It was surely a strange summer this year.  Can't put my finger on it, but it just seemed a little "off". 

 

But all in all, it was memorable. 

 

Now that fall is officially here and school is in full swing maybe I will be able to keep up with the homeland news. 

 

Maybe.





In My Spare Time

In all my five minutes of spare time ~ between cleaning out, cleaning up, buying plants, planting, moving junk stuff around, getting the third floor ready to turn into my sewing/crafting area, refereeing fights, calling the heating and air people, and trying to remember to eat ~ I have been doing this:



Don't ask me what's going on with the wallpaper here. 
I think it's user error.
Pay no mind to the candy dish ~ it contains my
sanity ~ dark chocolate kisses.

Back this winter I purchased a china cabinet from the gal who cuts my hair.   Thank you Kellie! !
It sat on my side porch until last week.  She was lonely.  I could hear her calling me.  I brought her in. She needed a good make over,  and by George, I was going to give her one! 

I didn't take "before" pictures because, apparently, I don't know how to operate my camera properly.  The memory card was full and wouldn't let me delete anything insisting the card was "protected".  Since when?  I didn't protect it.  I had to get the manual out to figure out how the card protected itself.   Hm.  Seems somewhere along the way when I took it out to download, I apparently hit a switch on the side of the card that prevented me from altering it in any way.  Now, since when do little 1 x 1.5 inch SD cards have a "switch"?  Since forever, I guess.  Perhaps I should mention that my boy helped me figure it out.  Just in case he decides to read this funny business I call a blog.   At any rate we are  back in business. 

But, if you are really curious as to what it looked like before, just look at the inside of the middle picture.  It was all that 70's walnutty color.   I haven't done the top doors yet.  Perhaps I will photograph them later on ~ just for kicks and giggles.  You will get a better idea.  The bottom doors are done.  I have to find hinges and handles that I like.  I'm thinking something black.

I'm pleased with it.  It didn't take as long as I thought it would.  One coat of some pinkish-red chalk paint over the finish made it look dark and aged.  I liked the way it turned out.  I was scared at first because it was so "pink".  But it dried nicely.  I wouldn't use it on a light piece of furniture ~ too pinkish.   I put poly over the red (instead of waxing it).  I knew it would get a lot of use.  The black is Glidden paint with primer ~ two, not so serious, coats.

When I get back from KY, I will finish her up and dress her accordingly.  She will house my milk glass collection nicely.

Yet, Another Snow Day

There's snow on the ground.  Again. It snowed the night before last and school was canceled yesterday as well as today. Add that to the fact that they didn't go at all last week.  And it's so cold out there the girls can't even go out and play, lest they freeze solid as an ice cube.  It's even been in the negative digits.  We all know that means we have to find something to do inside - besides stay in our pajamas all day - again.   So Goldilocks and I have been doing a book report.  It's due tomorrow - that is if they go to school. 

Here's the work in progress:

 
She had to use a shoe box - put the name of the book and the author on the lid - decorate the sides with scenes from the book (she really had to think on this one since the book wasn't illustrated) and she had to put six items inside the box that represented something from the story and tell how they were relevant.  She then has to summarize the book.  We are she is almost done.  Only one more item for the inside and the summary.  I hope I get she gets a good grade!

Reasey Peacy is working on a denim pillow for her bed. 

 

 

 

 She has to wait eons for the puff paint to dry before she can continue on!   But she's cool with it 'cause she's got "Bones" on Netflix, her knitting and that trendy rubber band bracelet thingy to keep her occupied.

All in all, it has been a peaceful day.  Cold, but peaceful.

It's Berry Squirrely Here

A few weeks ago Itty Bitty's great-grand-ma gave her/us some strawberry plants.
They sat on the potting bench for a bit before we could decide where to put them.

We ended up putting them just beyond the steps to the deck, but before you get to
the pool so we could keep an eye on them.  I've never seen a rabbit, but you never
know.  Stranger things have crept thru here and we didn't want to "feed the animals",
as it were.  Cute or not, I had visions of jam dancing in my head and I wasn't about
to go toe to toe with a furry little creature!

You can see the little red berries peeking out.  These aren't the first fruits of this little plant.  No-sir-ree-bob.  It seemed every time I picked a ripe berry something had already taste tested it!  We think this is the culprit:

 



That's definitely NOT a rabbit! Just look at him, all stretched out ~ King of the Hill ~ we think he thinks he owns the place.  Just this morning Bob caught him sauntering across the deck with a green strawberry in his clutches.  He just gave Bob the ol' stink eye when Bob told him he couldn't do that.
Yea, right.  Who's Bob kidding?  That squirrely little rascal moseyed on across the deck and off he went.  "Let's just see what I can and can't do.", I imagined him saying.

But I did manage to beat him to these this afternoon:

I know, two scrawny little berries.  Bitter at that, the girls said.  But hey, at least King Squirrel
didn't get them!

And, no, I probably won't get enough out of those three little plants for a good batch of jam for some
 time to come.  I will surely need to add some more plants (and some kind of "King" protection).  But that's all well and good for the time being.  I was given the nudge and now I can run with it!  We will see what next year holds.

Now to concentrate on blueberries.  Ahh, the fruits of my labor, tho they be little.

Yet, Another

So, I done and did it . . . started yet another BLOG.  What can I say.  I'm not only addicted to writing and glassware, but apparently I'm addicted to cotton as well.   And somewhere in my feeble mind, I've convinced me that I'm to document my addiction ~ for posterity, of course. 

I'm just in the beginning stages of "setting the stage" ~ hence, the reason for only one post.

If you should feel so inclined as to take a peek every now and then to see how my journey is progressing as I'm playing with cotton, you will find the blog on my side bar, appropriately titled:
"Playing With Cotton".  

What can I say?  It is who I am. Good, bad or indifferent.

So, TTFN.

Crazy Lady :)

I'm Slackin'

All my blog is hearing these days is the echo of chirping crickets. (That would not be me.)

I feel like it's been a hundred years since I've last posted on my blog ~ other than birthdays (which are very, very important ~ just ask anyone that I miss).  And, speaking of missing, I miss blogging.  Miss. IT.  It's my own personal therapy and it's relatively inexpensive.  The only thing it costs me is my time (which can be in high demand these days ~ making it pricey). And speaking of pricey ~ pricey things elude me right now.  They are far, far away.  And speaking of far, far away ~ my KY clan left yesterday afternoon to return to the other side of the Bay and then home.  Far. Far. Away.  So ~ I am making myself sit a spell and blog.  I'm in need of therapy. 

And in case you are wondering what I do besides ramble on ~  here's the low down:

First low down is I had to get up and tend to Baby Girl and it is now 2:21PM on Friday and I started this thing on Wednesday!

To continue on.  I've been obsessively playing with cotton ~ aka: fabric.  I am smitten with the stuff right now.  I have several projects in the works. 

One of the first ones completed was this trio of gems:

This is what they originally started out as:

Kelly wore this flannel shirt all thru high school.  I thought it was adhered permanently to her body.  When the time finally came that I could dispose of it, well, I couldn't.  I tucked it away for posterity, and I'm glad I did.  It made three cute stockings for three adorable grandies.  I also managed to get six little ornaments out of the scraps and was able to use those awesome buttons on them.  "Waste not, want not.", my mama used to say.

I've also been working on projects for my KY girls.  I will be excited to get them done and in their hands.  Some of the threads, aka: fabric, are vintage, let's say, around late 1980's.  Well, maybe old is a better description.  Vintage or old,  it sacrificed itself for the sake of cuteness.  Cuteness for my Ky girls. 

I'm beginning to think I have an undiagnosed addiction to cotton, aka:  threads, fabric.  I am drawn to it like a moth to a flame, a bee to honey, ketchup to fries, bacon to eggs, Singer to the machine . . . . . .  which is the whole reason I've rekindled my love affair with Singer.  God bless Issac Merritt Singer (and his rivals).  

Playing with fabrics is a "Happy Dale" deterrent.  For that, I am grateful.

Now, to avoid that which is L.O.U.D.L.Y. calling my name ~ you guessed it, cotton ~  I am going to force myself to do some laundry.  It needs to appear to those that are gone all day that I have actually done something productive with my time. You know how it is when you never have anything to wear.  We just don't want that reason to be the laundry's fault, now do we? 

Catch ya on the flip side  :)

Blueberry Babe

Sometimes Life gives you a bowl full of cherries ~ well, in this case a bowl full of blueberries.  Baby Girl is developing quite a fondness for fruit ~ most specifically (right now, anyway) apples, raisins, bananas and frozen blueberries.  She adores frozen blueberries and I need to be prepared to share my oatmeal if she realizes I have them.  This morning I opted to give her her own bowl of berries, to which she added her remaining raisins, while I ate my grub.  We chit-chatted about this and that as she savored her delicacies.  Then I look up from my bowl to see her smearing the blues on her finger tips.  When she saw me looking she nonchalantly informed me she was "painting" her nails.  Alrighty then.  And she was proud of her handiwork to say the least.  She didn't mind the photo ops this morning because her very own creation was center stage.


Painting of the nails

 

Let's show them off

And now ~ to enjoy the "fruits of our labor"

By the time she was done she was a lovely shade of blue!  I have this nagging feeling that she would have done very well in Biblical times using natural elements for beautifying herself.  Very well, indeed!

Quilt Love

I have renewed a love affair with quilting.  I can't seem to stop thinking about it.  It started when I re-organized a mass of sewing junk ~ which included, but wasn't limited to, unpieced quilt pieces and a quilt top that needed a backing.  I've tried to avoid contact with this fabric but it has been wooing me ever since I opened Pandora's Fabric Box.  Not to mention all the wonderful blogs and quilt sites I have discovered on the Internet showing me all the loveliness fabric can do!

I shall share a bit of the affairs of my heart with you as they blossom.  I am currently working ever so gently on that quilt top that was in Pandora's Fabric Box.  I have some ideas for it.  We shall see if they come to fruition.  Also in that box were some "Bow Tie" blocks that I took apart and reworked.  I'm thinking I may make a red, white and blue quilt using some of them. 

I made a sample "Pinwheel" block today using fall fabrics.  I'm likin' it!  What'cha think?

Now to decide if I want to make a quilt, a pillow, a wall hanging. . . . .  Whatever I decide, I NEED to do it and be done with it.  Too many quilt blocks and pieces lying around is akin to a monkey on my back!   And I hate monkeys on my back!

I am going to make another Dresden Plate Quilt.  I want to make:  a Bow Tie quilt, a Jacob's Ladder quilt, a Star quilt, a Rag quilt, a Nine Patch quilt. . . . on and on and on I could go!    The best thing about quilting in this day and time ~ the tutorials on line.  They make it so easy and show so many shortcuts and simpler ways to piece blocks.  No wonder I'm in love. 

And all these girls in my life!  They have to experience quilting at least once.  They just have to!

Rain, rain, come and stay. Let the sun shine another day!

Sometimes rainy days are good for nothing. Sometimes rainy days are good for doing nothing. And sometimes. . . . they are good for a lot of things. Like putting dinosaur slippers on Baby Girl.

Ain't she cute?

And. . . . after putting her down for a nap, baking with Goldilocks and Reasy. I let them do the majority of the work:

Like: Measuring. . . . . . .




. . . . . and dumping. . . . .

. . . . and playing in the spilled flour, and . . . . finally adding the bestest last ingredient - chocolate chips!

Then, of course, there's scooping of the batter.

Getting ready to add some heat!

And no job is complete until you lick the bowls clean!

The finished product!

Can we say: "Delizioso"?

Then came lunch, down time, afternoon nap for Baby Girl and "Indian in the Cupboard" for the girls whilst I get to blog! !

Sometimes I just love rainy days!

MY POETRY

I was standing at the kitchen window pouring my second cup o' Joe, when I caught sight of a truck pulling a closed in trailer behind it. The company's name on the trailer was "Paper Dreams". I've seen this trailer before but, for some reason, this morning it "triggered" a poem in my brain! I borrowed their name for my poem :) ! Think they will mind? Na!

Paper Dreams

Paper dreams, in the scheme of things
Is a scrapbooker's, stamper's delight.
Creations for ways to use the stuff
May very well keep us up late at night.

We plot the way we plan to create
The millions of visions we have in our head.
Interruptions and distractions at times like these
We notably, distastefully, most assuredly, dread!

Please give us our space, it's so little to ask
That we may create the dreams that lie within us.
We stamp and we cut, and we punch and we tear
Our layouts with details that require so much fuss.

And out of our brains come the creations of heart
Put on paper, such words can not describe.
To create our memories of life, heart and soul
Our love thru our talents we simply can't hide.

So paper dreams, in the scheme of things
Is a scrapbooker's, stamper's delight.
Creations for ways to use the stuff
Will assuredly keep us up late at night!

Crickett

Home-Ec 101

James M. Bennett Jr. High School
The year: l966/67 - 7th grade
The teacher: Miss Hambrick
(she was meaner than a striped snake!)

Stop counting - it was 43 years ago! ! !


Last night I had a brief "shopping spree" at Michaels and Marshalls with half of my "Aaron and Hur" team - Diane. She was telling me that Roberta was giving Sarah sewing lessons and her first project was an apron. That opened the flood gates to my mind - all the way back to 7th grade and my apron!

One of our projects (maybe the only sewing project) was to make an apron. Said apron had to have two contrasting fabrics. I think I did well in my color choice - don'tcha say?
The apron had four deep pockets on the front - I'm thinking they were for hiding all that food were were to make (but didn't get to eat - explain that to me, would ya).

All went well until the end. We were running out of time so Miss Hambrick said we could take our aprons home and put the ties on. That was all I had left to do. I did exactly what she said - promise. No help from mom - you see, I had already been sewing for quite some time, so this was a cake walk for me. I put the ties on and proudly returned it to Miss Grinch - I mean, Miss Hambrick. She flat out told me it was not - I say , NOT, acceptable and I would have to take it back home and rip the ties off and do it again! What? ? ? ? Did I just hear "rip it OUT"? It had to be a mistake. My apron was perfect, but being taught well by my parents, I gathered up my goods and took them home. I showed my mom my "imperfections" and she agreed with me - well now, I had someone on my side. Mom said it looked "fine" and she probably wrote the book on sewing, so there, Miss Hambrick! Ha. . . my mom won out over the teacher this time. Now, please don't get me wrong. I DID NOT run back to Miss Grinch and tell her that she was sadly mistaken about my apron. Nope - I wasn't taught to back talk or fight with an adult about "rules". Instead, I left my apron home and that is where it stayed thru the end of the marking period. Needless to say, I got an "E" on my project and my report card. The only "E" I had ever gotten in my life! I might have been devastated, but this time I knew I was right. It is the only time I've "kicked against the pricks" when it came to school.

I included this pic - with the ruler - because I was simply amazed at how small the waist was! Good gravy Marie, less than 10 inches across! What I would give to have that waistline again - oh my stars! Now - this is just the front part, but I figured my waist had to be around 18-20 inches. Is that small for a 12 year old? maybe not, but it sure looks small to me now! !