Monthly Archives: January 2014

Wonderful Winter Week in Weview

I have to tell you something about this blog before you read it.  There is a picture that keeps showing up that I cannot get removed.  My husband tried also, but it is a ghost picture that refuses to be removed so when it crops up at the most inappropriate times, just ignore it.  Just think of it as the crazy uncle who came to dinner and never wanted to leave.  Okay, so here goes………

Even though it has been bitterly cold and even though it hurt to go outside for very long and even though you’d get frostbit if you spent much time outdoors, it was a pretty wonderful week.

I look back and see all the things I did and got done and I think it was a very productive week also.

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Every year about this time I get the urge to knit something.  I got some yarn last week and began two projects.

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This yarn is so yummy, but I can’t tell you what I am making because it will be a gift one day.  It has a wonderful texture and is knitting up so prettily.

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I have had this pattern for a turban for too many years and decided to try making it.  All it is is knit 3, purl 3 on one row and purl 3, knit 3 on the next until it gets to be about twenty inches long.  Sew the ends together. Then I doubled it together and this is how it looks:

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It is toasty warm and easy to get on and off.  In fact, I found myself wearing it all day when it was really cold to keep my head warm.

 

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Here’s another view of it.  Yes, I need a haircut and color, but I haven’t wanted to get out to the beauty shop.  Maybe this month I will change my look completely again.

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I baked eight little loaves of bread that was very good.  Sorry, it’s all gone now.

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Because it was so cold and the labs were in the shop keeping warm, I moved the shop into the house.  I was working on several projects here.  Despite the fact I have three quilts I want to make for Christmas presents this year, I keep finding all these little projects taking my time.  But they are so much fun.

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A pile of churn dash quilt blocks will become a new ironing board cover soon.

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Because I now have all my pins and needles separated, I now have to have something to keep my needles in so I made these cute hand needle holders.

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DSC_0408  This is what they look like when they are closed.

Because cabin fever was setting in, some friends and I and David decided to take a day out.  We drove to Indianapolis to see this sight first.

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DSC_0408 A beautiful ice tree that some people had made in their back yard.   They just used twigs and water from hoses with water from a pond on their property and began making this.  It’s been a very good year for ice trees and this year it is very big and so beautiful.  Their family has been doing it for years, evidently, but this is the first year I had ever heard of it.  My friends didn’t know where we were going when we were driving there.  They thought we were going to a quilt shop and thought we were taking a very strange route.

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Isn’t it a gorgeous sight?  The ice tree is pretty nice too!

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I think it’s worth the drive if anyone wants to see it.  The family just enjoys the smiles it puts on people’s faces and we loved it.

We did manage to get to a couple of quilt shops.  I had found one I had never heard of before on the internet called Crimson Tate.  It’s a wonderful quilt shop full of the most luscious fabric you would ever want to see.  I had seen some fabric on their website that I was hoping they still had that I am going to use in a quilt and they still had it.  Dance a jig.

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Rows of these gorgeous fabrics.  I wanted them all.

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There was a wall of Love Indiana pillows.  Aren’t they cute?  I didn’t ask if they had a pattern for them. but they probably do.  They had so many cute patterns and if you like to sew clothes they have some dress patterns that are just darling.

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Everywhere you looked there was something pretty or cute to see.  Wouldn’t this be a cute quilt for a baby?  Have I used the word cute enough?

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There was this wonderful antique button display case(not for sale) as my husband quickly learned, but he sure liked it.  The owner of the shop was showing him some of her buttons.  Nice to have someone entertain your husband while you shop for fabric.  He likes to go into quilt shops since we use to own one and see what other shop owners are doing.

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This is Heather, the owner.  A really sweet and nice person.  Visit her shop. It’s at 845 Massachusetts Avenue in Indianapolis.  You will love it and she didn’t even have to pay me to say this.  It’s true.  It was a fun day.  We ate at Chick-fil-A one of my favorite fast food places that we don’t have in our town so I don’t get it very often.  Then we went to the Back Door quilt shop where I got a whole armload of felt to make things(I don’t know what, yet, but I like to always have felt on hand when the creative ideas start to come.)

Here’s to quilt shops, ice trees and good friends to share them with.  Bye.

 

 

 

 

Am I Obsessive?

Obsess: to dominate or excessively preoccupy the thoughts, feelings or desires.

I believe I am rather obsessive.  I obsess about my grandchildren.  I obsess about my children.  I obsess about quilting.  I obsess about my chickens. I obsess about my two dogs.  I get on something and gnaw it like a bone.

Right now I am obsessed with knitting. Years ago and I do mean years, I knit a lot. I knit a little sailor suit for my oldest son and even changed colors and everything.  I knit a sweater with cables.  I knit baby caps and booties. I knit sweaters.  This was when I had three children and not nearly as much time as I do now. You see, I was obsessed with it and nothing could stop me.  But now, I am taking up knitting again and have found I have forgotten most of what I knew.  I have been watching internet knitting lessons.  Today I actually watched a woman knit a scarf on her arms.  Her arms!  She used really bulky yarn and the loops in the scarf were large and loose, but it was rather pretty.  Then I thought about trying it and wondered what would happen if right in the middle of the project I would get tired of it.  How would I save my work.  It’s on my arms!  What do I do with my arms.  Do I just keep the yarn on them as I go about my daily chores.  Yarn hanging down off my arms as I clean the chicken house or take a walk. Yarn dangling in the dish water as I do dishes.  If I do decide to try this one day, I will be sure I have plenty of time to finish it.  The video says it is a thirty minute scarf.  Okay.  Right.  It took the woman about ten minutes to show how to cast on the yarn onto her arm.

Anyway, today I went to Hobby Lobby.  I always ask myself every time I go there why I don’t go there more often and why I keep trying to find craft items at Wal-mart when just down the street is a store that has everything for crafts.  Why, why,why?  I don’t know.  I just know that every time I go into Hobby Lobby I get this whole crafty feeling and I think I could make anything.  Today I was in the yarn aisle. Omigosh, the beauty.  I started to grab skeins of yarn.  I had told David we didn’t need a cart and he went off to look at other things and there I was with an armload of yarn and knitting needles and I had to go to the bathroom!   So I began to  race down the aisles to find David to hold my yarn, but I couldn’t find him so I finally had to just lay it all down on a shelf and hope it would still be there when I got back.  It was and as soon as I came out the restroom, David was standing right there.  And he wanted to show me all the wonderful things he had found.

He had been looking at the stained glass making aisle.  There were all colors of glass and all the tools needed to make a stained glass project.  I said, “you need a hobby,” and he said it was too expensive and I said, “how much do you think we spend on my hobbies?”  Whoops, shouldn’t have reminded him.  I think making stained glass would be a great hobby for him.  We bought a stained glass picture of birds to put in our new window that is going to be put in this Spring and it was not cheap. I told David about all the money he would have saved if he could have made it.

Then he showed me the aisle where they sold all kinds of door knobs and handles.  We have looked and looked at Lowes for a certain handle we wanted for our kitchen window and could never find one.  We believe we have found one at Hobby Lobby, but we will have to do some measuring.

When we got home I could not wait to try knitting one particular yarn I got and I love how it is turning out.  It’s got a wonderful texture and is knitting up nicely into a scarf which will be a gift one day.  I will have to show you the yarn I got on my next post.

Here in our neck of the woods it is cold.  A real frigid weather system is locked on us right now.  The chickens have heat in their house and the dogs sleep in my heated shop at night.  They are beginning to feel spoiled as this is the first winter they have had the luxury of sleeping inside.  Now they feel entitled and look at me funny when I don’t let them in.  I am not use to dog hair in my shop and as soon as it warms up, out they go.  And don’t feel sorry for them.  They have a nice, warm doghouse and have a double layer of fur, so unless it is really cold like it is now, they are perfectly comfortable.

I have about five or six projects now that I am juggling.  In a couple of weeks I am starting a Bible study in my home so I will have to do some extra cleaning which is probably a good thing because when I am working on projects I have a one track mind. Obsessive, don’t you know.

Obsessive. Don’t act as if it’s a bad thing.  Bye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Needles and Pins, Pins and Needles

I go through a lot of needles in my sewing projects.  I have lost so many needles and never have been able to find them anywhere.  One day last week David said he would look through my pin cushions because he just knew that is where my needles were.

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As you can see, I have purchased several packages of needles in the past and quite a few are missing.

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This is generally how my pin cushions look when I am busy sewing something.  Just ram the pins any which way.  My needles usually end up in one of these also and then, they disappear.

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So David pushed and pulled on my pin cushions, getting bloodied fingers while doing so, and this is what he came up with.  About fifty needles that had got themselves deep inside the pincushions.  Wow, I was impressed.

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He also replaced all the pins very neatly back into the pin cushions.   Wonder how long that will last?   Hmmmmmm.

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A friend gave me this cute pincushion a while back.

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I began looking for cute pins to stick in it.

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I am a sucker for cute.  I don’t use these.  They are just for display so I can enjoy all the cuteness.

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What?!  Where did he come from?  Hope there are no needles up his nose!

 

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I got busy and made a needle case.  I am not going to put any more needles into my pincushions.  I had a little bit of this Mary Engelbreit  material that worked perfectly for this project.

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I can put my needles just inside the case.

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Or on this little needle pad I can put inside the case.  Now I will know where my needles are and won’t lose them in the pincushion, at least.

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And while I was working with felt and felt the urge, I made this little British looking purse.  I love it.  I had made one in white for my granddaughter and wanted one for myself.  So easy to make, yet so cute.  Did I say I was a sucker for cute?

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Speaking of cute.  The Sunday school class I work in studied blind Bartemaeus and how Jesus gave him back his sight. As the project, the children made glasses.  First I traced them on poster board.  Then they colored them and put on some cute stickers.

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They got to choose from these stickers.  Honestly, I love stickers.  I can stand in Hobby Lobby and gape at all the stickers for scrap booking for long periods of time.  That is why I will not take up scrap booking because I would be obsessive with it and have to buy stickers all the time.  I got these stickers at Wal-mart.  They had a nice selection.

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I had to make glasses for the teacher who likes to fish.

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Then I had to make one for myself because I am obsessive like that.

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Then I made two of these for my grandsons to wear while watching football.

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I think they liked them.

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The children in Sunday school enjoyed making them.

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One more project I completed this week.  More on that later. By the way, what group sang, “Needles and Pins?”  Crystal Blue Persuasion.  That’s all I can remember about the song.  So many of the songs back when I was a girl were about drugs although I was too naive to know it at the time and glad of it.

Here’s to pins and needles and husbands who find them.  Bye.

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday

I met my husband when I was sixteen years old.   We have been together ever since. Actually, I met him when I was twelve years old, but that’s another story.  We both knew we would get married one day, but it was three years later until we could wed.  My mother wanted me to go to college at least for a year before I got married, so I did that for her and it was a nice experience, but what I really wanted to be was married and to raise a family.  I know in this day of women in the work place and families seeming to take a back seat to  many,  I still believe I did the right thing.

David and I got married right in the middle of the women’s liberation movement when the ERA was being pushed and some  believing that women should serve beside men in the military.  That is actually one thing I wish I had done when I was younger.  Join the military when David did so that we could have shared the experience together.  He keeps telling me I would have hated it, but I am not so sure.   He served for thirty-six years and was away from home at least two weeks out of every one of those years, plus we could never plan anything on weekends until we knew when he would be having drill.  It was just a part of life.   Our daughter even had to change the date she wanted for her marriage because her father had drill that weekend.

Speaking of the ERA, it was a time when everywhere a woman went she was asked, “what do you do?”  As if being a homemaker and raising your own children wasn’t enough.  I was often made to feel inferior because I did not work outside the home.  Of course, later when my children were almost grown, I did work in our store, I cleaned our church and even worked in a pizza shop for a short time, but my main interest was my home.  It still is.  To make a comfortable, welcoming home has always been important for me.

But this isn’t about me today.  It is David’s birthday.  Yesterday we ate out with our daughter’s family and had cake and ice cream.  Today David is doing just what he wants.  And what is he doing?  Cleaning his office and doing taxes.  What???  Not my idea of fun, but, oh, well.

I cannot believe the time has gone so quickly.  We have shared many birthdays together since that first year of dating.  David gave me a surprise birthday party at his grandparents’ house for my seventeenth birthday.  How nice was that?

I can never surprise David, it seems, but I will one day and when I do, it will be a doozy.

Happy Birthday to my sweet, darling, wonderful husband.  May you have many more.  Love you to pieces.

Tonight the temperature is suppose to drop again.  Frigid, arctic air is heading our way.

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The snow people have set up camp complete with a roaring fire in my girly room.  Yes, they still have their Christmas tree up.  It does brighten up the dark and cold winter nights for them.

Here’s to happy birthdays and snow people who want to keep warm. Bye.

 

All This and Heaven Too

Some days are better than others and today was a good day.  I was glad to get up and get going and decided to make soup beans for supper.  I had seen a good bread recipe on several different blogs and wanted to try it.  It seemed so easy.   No kneading, no waiting for it to rise two or three times and only dirtied one bowl in the process of making it.

I was pretty happy how it turned out.

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It was crispy and crunchy on the outside and soft and yummy on the inside.  Plus it makes a pretty loaf.

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David and I almost devoured the loaf in one sitting.  Can’t make it too often then.

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A nice pot of soup beans rounded out the meal.  Wonderful for a cold winter’s day.

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The wolf moon was a couple of nights ago.  It looks like it is shining on a field of snow, but those are clouds.

Speaking of wolves…..

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Bonnie and Belle don’t think much of this cold weather.  I have been letting them into my shop at night and now they think they are indoor dogs.  They gaze at me forlornly at the back door.  Belle has her very own real bed to sleep on in my shop and Bonnie gets the recliner.  We never had dogs in the house when I was growing up, but we always had dogs.  They slept out in the barn in the hay with the other animals.  I can’t remember a time I haven’t had a dog around me.  And I hope I always will have.

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I’ve started reading my granddaughter’s book and I may be grandma, but this girl can write.  I am amazed and cannot wait to read more.

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There is another book by this name written several years ago, so don’t get them confused.

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This is my granddaughter’s pen name.  I still cannot believe she wrote this.  I will be snuggling down into bed tonight to read “Beyond the Open Door.”  It’s for sale on Amazon right now.  Buy. Bye.

 

 

An Author in the Family

I am so proud today I am about to bust.  My fourteen year old granddaughter just got her first book published and it is on Amazon for sale now.  It is called “Beyond the Open Door,” by Abigail Grace.   I just ordered a copy and cannot wait to read it.  I didn’t even know she was writing it until she was trying to get it published.  It’s one of a trilogy.  A trilogy!  How many fourteen year olds write one book, let alone three.  And they aren’t short books either.

Abby has always been a reader.  She is always saying she is a nerd, but she is far from it.  She makes excellent grades in school, has performed on stage, been on mission trips and is just an all around great kid.

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That’s her with her brothers and cousins.  The only girl.  We gave her a ukelele for Christmas and probably is playing it better than I play mine now.

Abby is our first grandchild.  When she was born, I had to wait two whole weeks before I could see her because her parents lived in Chicago and we could not get up there right away.  I could hardly stand it to wait that long to see her and when I first set eyes on her face, I knew I would love her forever.  I have always told her I loved her before she was born and I did.  I have been blessed to watch her grow into the beautiful young lady she is today and I look forward to seeing what she will do in the future.  I know she will write for sure, but there is so much more waiting for that girl.

Anyway, check out her book on Amazon.  I just ordered it and am looking forward to reading it just to see where her imagination has taken her.

Here’s to new authors, especially when one of them is your granddaughter. Bye.

 

Feasting at the Birdfeeder and Elsewhere

The  birds cannot find food when everything is covered with ice and snow, so I try to keep food out for them at all times.  Besides making the birds happy, it makes me happy to watch them.

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Sometimes there are over thirty birds sitting around waiting for a place to eat.

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Mr. Cardinal sits on a limb waiting for his chance at the feeder.

 

 

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Cardinals are the beauties of the bird world.  Then there is the sparrow.  Plain and not distinct from many birds that look almost the same except for a stripe here or a different color head there, but they still just kind of melt into the crowd.  Kind of like people.  Some of us just kind of melt into the crowd and others stand out like the cardinal.  Doesn’t make us any less important, just like it doesn’t make the sparrow any less important.  After all, the song says, “His eye is on the sparrow,” not “His eye is on the cardinal,” so God thinks we are all important.

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Look, who is that lurking behind the bushes?

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One of these things is not like the others,

One of these things just doesn’t belong,

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Can you tell which thing is not like the other?

By the time I finish this song.  Sesame Street.

Yes, a bunny came to dine at the bird feeder.  He even chased the birds away for a while until finally they were all dining in peace together.

While the birds are eating, David and I aren’t doing too badly in the house.  I made my new favorites sugar cookies this week.  I got the recipe off the internet where I get a lot of my recipes.

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They are soft and have just the right amount of sweetness and they are super easy to make.

Have you ever eaten at Olive Garden and gotten the Zuppa Tuscana?   I found a similar recipe online and made it today.  We will eat it tomorrow after all the flavors meld together.  Some things are just better the next day.

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Looking forward to eating this.  Maybe I will need to bake some bread.

Hope you are keeping warm and feeding the birds.  Bye.

Brrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!

Here in the midwest and in other parts of our country, we are suffering sub zero temperatures right now.  Well, I won’t say suffering exactly if you have a nice warm home and food to eat.  But, anyway, it’s darn cold.  I mean go outside for one minute to run back to check on eggs at the coop without a coat on and coming back almost frostbitten cold.  Why did I do that?

I worry about our eggs freezing.  We have had a few freeze before we could get out to gather them.  Those we feed to the dogs.  Sometimes one hen will sit out there for an hour or two on three eggs and I will have to reach under her to get the eggs and she says a few bad clucks to me, but I am not leaving those eggs out there in this freezing weather.

Our outside dogs are staying in my shop during this weather.  Normally, I don’t worry about them getting too cold because they have an insulated doghouse with several inches of cedar on the floor.  One winter when it got really cold I was worried that they were not warm enough in their doghouse so I crawled inside and they came in too and believe me, it got hot in there.  But with these temperatures and the wind that is blowing I just feel so much more comfortable knowing they are in my warm shop.  I don’t think Bonnie has left the recliner I have out there once except when we take her outside to go.  She’s getting old and her old bones are enjoying the comfort and warmth.

We took the Christmas tree down today.  I decided to leave our decorations up for the twelve days of Christmas.  Did you know there were twelve days of Christmas?  You probably know the song and it has a Christian meaning.  My girly room looks kind of empty now without the tree, but I have a wonderful view outside and can see the birds eating at the bird feeder. Oh, be sure to put out some food for the birds right now as the snow has covered much of their natural food.  There were about thirty out there at once eating.  Several cardinals which brighten up the landscape.  I am so glad we have cardinals in the winter because everything else is grey and brown and white.

As I told you my last blog I am working on Christmas gifts for 2014 already.  I have so many ideas in my head and cannot wait to try them all.  I have butterflies flittering around in my girly room right now and that is all I am going to say about that.

David was coming home from work last week and the brakes went out on his truck.  Thankfully, he made it home okay.  He called AAA and a tow truck driver came out.  Our plan only paid to tow the truck for three miles and it was one-tenth of a mile over the limit to the repair shop.  But the truck driver was nice and said he would just put down three miles and didn’t charge us the extra.  There are good people in this world despite the fact the news tells us differently.

David is lost without his truck and feels it is beneath him to drive the Pt Cruiser to work.  I don’t know why.  He drives it every place else.  Funny guy, my husband.  But he is my hero.  I opened the door to the basement this morning to go downstairs to get some canned goods and a freezing wind came up the stairs.  David went down and saw a window had blown open and broke the glass when the window struck the wall.  So he got some cardboard and taped it and sealed it so the wind couldn’t get in.  It will have to stay that way until Spring because we are not having a window out to repair during the winter.  I wonder sometimes what I would do without him.  A somber thought.  I guess I could have repaired the window myself, but it is nice to have a man around to do those kind of things.

How is your new year coming?  I have friends who have already lost loved ones so it isn’t so nice for them right now.  Hope it will get better for them as the year progresses.  We never know what each year will bring.  Joy, sorrow. new jobs, travel, getting new family members, losing others.  It’s all part of life.  Have to take the good with the bad which is why when things are good we should rejoice in that and savor every minute.  May you all be blessed this year.   Keep warm.  Bye.

Finishing My Last Blog

My computer went all whacko on me last night and refused to let me post anymore pictures.  I think it was tired. So I will try to finish what I began yesterday.  What was I talking about??? Oh, yes, traditions.

One of my favorite traditions on New Year’s Day is to put up new calendars.  I didn’t get it done yesterday, but they are all up today.

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I didn’t even know there was a Susan Branch until a year or two ago.  She is an author who hand writes all her books and water colors each page.  They are beautiful.  She includes quotes and recipes and stories about her growing up which is very like how I grew up.  Since we both grew up in about the same era, that is natural.  She also produces a calendar each year and last year was the first year I bought one.

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How can you not like a calendar which has on one of the dates in January to visit your local fabric store today?  I visited one a little early already, but this made me smile.

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Each calendar page is a work of art and very interesting to read.  There are probably a few left out there, so run to your local calendar store and get this calendar.

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I have to have a labrador retriever calendar which I put in my downstairs bathroom.  This one has all puppies which really makes me want to get that lab pup this year.

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I have been buying Lang calendars for years.  This one was a gift and will hang in my dining room.  This is the one on which I write all the birthdays and anniversaries in our family.

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This Lang calendar will hang in my shop.  I love all the old timey pictures in it.  Makes me wish I had lived in those simpler times.  Especially on a farm.  With a horse.

Did you make any new year’s resolutions this year?  I quit doing that long ago. Too much pressure.  I have a lot of plans and things I would like to do this year.

I want to spend as much time as possible with my children and grandchildren.

I want to learn to play my ukelele and not be afraid to play it in front of people.

I want to make as many quilts as I can, especially the ones that will be gifts.

I want to learn how to water color like Susan Branch.  She started water colors later in her life.  She didn’t even know she had that talent until she just started one day.  Isn’t that like a lot of us?  We are afraid to start something new because we are afraid we won’t be any good at it.  So what.  At least you tried.  There are so many things we can learn if we just set our minds to it.

I want to be a good witness for Jesus Christ.  I have given this year and my family to Him and pray He will do His will in them.

I want to stay connected to old friends and family members I don’t see very often.

I want to keep raising chickens and maybe adding a few more to my little flock.

I want that lab puppy.

I want to see my grandson play his lacrosse game in Traverse City, Michigan where David and I honeymooned many years ago.  There is a road in Traverse City named after my husband’s family because only his family lived on it at one time.  I don’t know if any of his family is still living on it, but we will probably check if we get up there.

I want to see my granddaughter play her ukelele we gave her on her praise team at her school.

I want to get to Cincinnati and Chicago for personal reasons.  I want David’s brother and sister-in-law to bring their grandchildren to visit us and meet our grandchildren.

I want our new porch to be built this year as the old one is pulling away from the house and playing havoc with the walls in our living room.

I want to write more blogs to include stories about my growing up on an Indiana farm in the fifies.

I want to have Bible studies in my home and have fellowship with other Christian women.

I want to walk more, eat less, lift weights more and just take better care of my body.  Notice this is the last thing I put on my list.  Hmmmmm.

Oh, I could add a few hundred more things I would like to do this year, but I think these will keep me busy for a while.  Hope your new year is productive and creative.  Bye.

 

 

Happy New Year Traditions

It has been a pretty happy and joyous holiday season and I have enjoyed it all, but now it’s time to look toward a brand new year and think how I will spend my time in it.

Before I get to that, though, I want to finish up some Christmas things.  We had such a nice Christmas.  Low key and quiet with some rambunctious children thrown in.  This year there were two gifts that were special to me.  I got a camera which I am still learning how to use, but that isn’t one of the gifts I am talking about.

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I was given this darling Jim Shore Santa and I love Jim Shore figurines, but if you look closely, you will see just why I am particularly happy with this one.  He is holding a chicken and a basket of eggs!

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That could be Freedom he is holding.

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His basket has several eggs in it. How cute is that?  I am wondering if this is the start of a chicken figurine collection?

The other gift I received came from my loving husband.  I have wanted one of these for years.  My brothers had one when we were growing up and I played with it a lot.

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A ukelele!!!!  Oh, how I love this. I am practicing on it all the time trying to get my fingers to make the chords sound right.

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It’s so pretty, too.  Green paisley.  It has a really good tone and my fingers are beginning to get toughened up by playing it so much.   I know I am going to get hours of fun out of this and I hope I get good enough that when some of our friends get together with their guitars and banjos I can join them on my ukelele.

Today, the first day of 2014 was a really nice day.  We went shopping and I got some fabric.  I haven’t bought fabric since, well, since we went to North Carolina two months ago.  This time, though, I was buying to make gifts for, what else, Christmas this year.  Yes, I am one of those people who works all year on Christmas.  No waiting until the last minute to buy gifts for this girl.  I like to spread the cheer all year and enjoy wondering how people will like their presents I give them.  I have had some specific orders for presents this time and they are going to take a little time.

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I came home with these treasures.

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Love these wool felt pieces for which I have plans.  I bought a new pattern today and it is so cute and know just the person for which I will make it.

David and I ate at Olive Garden for lunch.  I got baked shrimp parmesan and it was so good.

When we got home, I grabbed Belle and she and I took a four mile walk.  I wasn’t intending to walk quite so far, but the more we walked the more I wanted to.   It felt good to get out in the fresh air. I let Belle loose and she ran all over like a little kid let out of a cage.

When I got back, I started on one New Year’s tradition.  Every year for as long as I can remember, my mother made new pillow cases on New Year’s Day.  It’s good luck, she said.  I have followed in that tradition and I made a couple today.

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I used this pretty pink check fabric for one.

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No, this isn’t my pillowcase. I am going to sew yo-yos on the one I made today and it will look like this one when I am done.  It’s going to take about sixty yo-yos I think.

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I made a pillowcase for David for Valentine’s Day using this fabric.  I will put a York peppermint patty on his pillow.

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Here are my completed pillowcases.  Here is a quick tutorial to make a pillowcase.

This is for a standard size pillow.  If you have a King size or other size pillow you will have to adapt this to your pillow.

First cut a length of fabric 42 inches wide by 35 or 36 inches long.

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Turn down 1/4 inch on one of the 42 inch sides and press.

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Turn down another 3 inches and sew.

Put right sides together and sew the side and bottom seams together.

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I use 1/4 inch seams.

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Clip one corner where two seams meet. Be sure not to clip your stitching or you will weep and wail and wonder why you ever started this project.

Now this next step is not necessary, but I think it gives a nice finish to your pillowcase.  I zigzag all my seams.

Turn your pillow right side out.  Press the seams flat and then press your pillowcase.  You can starch it if you prefer.  I don’t, but that’s my preference.   There. You have made a pillowcase.  Wasn’t that easy?

Another tradition my mother had was to make something from cabbage on New Year’s day.  It could be sauerkraut, coleslaw or fried cabbage.  I made scalloped cabbage.   I don’t have a picture of it right now, but it turned out real pretty and is it good.  Even if you don’t like cabbage, you might like this.

I was going to show you another tradition I have, but for some reason my computer says no, you cannot add any more pictures to your post. Don’t know why. My husband and I have both worked on it with no luck.

So I will just wish all of you the happiest of New years. I am so happy you take some time out of your busy day to come read this little blog. I am thrilled beyond measure people all around the world are reading it. You there, in Norway, thank you for stopping by. That gal in Australia who comes here. Wish I could meet you all. The British ladies who live where I would love to visit one day. The one in Kuwait, China, France. I know  I haven’t mentioned all the countries, but I just want to say I love knowing you are all here. The local girls, too. I love you all. I look forward to writing about this life of mine. It’s not a large life, but it’s a fun, wholesome, happy life and I wouldn’t want to live any other. I’ll be telling you about some of my plans on my next blog.  BYE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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