Attitude!

I saw this on facebook and I had to pass it along, sharing it with my friends in blogland!

An elderly couple walked into the lobby of the Mayo Clinic for a checkup and spotted a piano. They've been married for 62 years and he'll be 90 this year.

Check out this impromptu performance. We are only as old as we feel, it's all attitude. Enjoy! They certainly do!

The Sweetest Guy...

Friday night, my honey and I went out for seafood.  Afterwards, we stopped by a friend's house for a quick visit and then headed home to settle into a movie for the night.  On the way home "our song" came on the radio.  We both went...."awwwww, our song!!!"  In 1991, our very first outing together was to see the movie, "Robin Hood" and the song just kinda stuck.

Everything I do, I do it for You ~ Bryan Adams

"Shucks," I said, "we won't get to hear it all - we're almost home"

Immediately, he slowed the car to 25 MPH.

"Yes, we will..."

So, we putted the last 8/10 of a mile home at 25 MPH.  Luckily, there was no one behind us on the country road.
We reached our driveway.
He slowed to 10 MPH.
We inched down the driveway towards the garage.
He took his foot off the accelerator and idled into the garage bay.
Just as the Bryan warbled the last "ohhhhh, I'd do it for youuuuu...."  the car came to a stop in it's resting place and he looked at me and smiled.

My heart melted.

Saturday.....at LAST!!!!

Two wonderful things are happening right now.....

1. The work week is over
2. It's WARM outside!!!!

So warm, that I hung our sheets out to dry instead of running them thru the dryer!  Oh, how wonderful they will feel and smell tonight!!  It will be Springtime in my bed!!!  It's 63° out and the sky is a beautiful clear blue!!!  I think this brush of warm and sunny weather calls for a cookout tonight - perhaps some grilled chicken wraps ~ YUM!

Saturday morning almost always starts with a breakfast date with my “boyfriend” and then grocery shopping. After we got back home, Bill decided to head to the jobsite to do a bit more work – mostly clean up and prep for Monday’s decking job, so I thought it’d be my chance to get back into some sewing.

Unfortunately, it’s already after 4 PM and I have yet to even turn the light on in my sewing room!  But that's OK...partly because I don't even know what I want to work on right now!!  Instead I’ve been enjoying some quality time with my daughters. First of all, I reigned them in to help me re-arrange the living room furniture because it just wasn’t working for me.

After that, we made fresh guacamole and munched on chips and salsa while we watched some of the Olympics. Then, my youngest daughter and I took a short walk down to the jobsite so she could see what’s new there (she came home for the day as she lives about an hour north of us).   As we were coming back home I noticed that my little row of onions I planted last year was coming back up!!

I planted them too late last year and didn't get any onions, but this year it looks like I might actually have a harvest!

So, in addition to those fun little things, it’s been a casual Saturday so far – a bit of laundry, a bit of house cleaning, and lots of sitting in front of the computer!

I did get a package yesterday from my favorite fabric store – Fabric.com.

These were on clearance and I thought they’d look great combined with white to make a nice citrus-y looking quilt or quillow, doncha think? I don’t have a specific pattern in mind yet, so if you’ve got any suggestions, I’d love to see/hear them!

If I did any “fun sewing” at all this week it was to finish up these cute little origami pouches.

I had them all sewn but needed to find some matching ribbon for a few of them, in addition to some sort of bead to put at the ends of the ribbon.

They were really fun and easy to make and you can pretty much make them any size you like, it just takes two coordinating squares of fabric! You can find the tutorial here.  They're perfect for gift-giving or stashing memoriabilia.  I made one for my youngest daughter and sent it to her in her Valentine's care package...she said she used it as a mini pocketbook when she went to church last Sunday.

So, it's been a nice day in Bonetown, even though I haven't had the chance to sew....yet!!  :o)
 

Wood vs. Cloth

My husband and I both work with material.  His material of choice is wood and mine is cloth.  Cloth is much more forgiving when it comes to creating...you can fold, twist, stretch, and ease it to make it work for you.  Wood is not so forgiving.  When you make the cut, that's all there is to it!  It's important to "measure twice, cut once" and that actually applies for both wood and cloth.

Unlike cloth, wood makes for good writing surfaces, though, when you need to jot down some dimensions or such!  :)

Regardless - I prefer cloth.

I’ve been reading my blogs in the mornings before I head to the jobsite and I get to see all the projects you all are working on out there…all the pretty quilt blocks, matching up points, cutting into fresh, pretty fabrics, and I have to admit I’m engulfed in jealousy!   Don’t get me wrong – I’m still maintaining a good attitude about having to work outside in the cold, with a raw face, chapped lips, bruised and cracking fingertips….seriously, I determined that one special gift I could give my husband this year would be the gift of my willing mind and spirit on this job, no matter how much I dread some of it. We’ve actually been having a good time with the camaraderie and fellowship, calling each other by our Mexican names and such. Everyone is family and it’s just another chance to get to know each other a little better while working together. I’ll have to introduce you to everyone another time.

Anyway, my week has been like this so far.

Monday I got to play with cement. We had to fill these holes up and stand the metal anchors up in them, making sure they were absolutely plumb.

Then, on Tuesday, when the cement dried, we had to use bricks to rub all over the masonry to knock off the little dried bumps of cement so the wood shoe plate would lay flat.

note how nice and new my goatskin gloves are - I'll post a picture of them at the end of the project!  :)

Then we drilled holes in the shoe plate and lay the wood over these anchors, spreading the “arms” across the wood. Next came all the stubby little nails – one in every hole. This basically holds the house down on the foundation. Pretty smart!

Wednesday and Thursday I was on saw duty, or as my husband calls the job “saw man”. There was sparse saw work on Wednesday and I sat around most of the day, freezing.

frost-covered boards - first thing in the morning!

Today (Thursday) there were less of us working, so I moved a bit more and did a little more sawing.

My first task of the day was to get all these boards from here:

Up onto the sawhorses:

These boards are 2” thick by 10” wide and 16 feet long!!! Each one must weigh at least 30 pounds.
No problem...I just needed to pretend I was on "Biggest Loser" and this was my funky challenge for immunity, in addition to a great way to burn some calories!
Guess what? I did it all by myself!!!!  I am WOMAN!!!  ha ha

It was nice to have furry company during the week....Buddy was there and it looks like he found some more jerky.

And, of course, little Dixie was present.

We got most of the floor joists set today and will hopefully finish the joists and put some flooring down tomorrow.

When I'm at home, sewing every day, working on things to put in my shop, I tend to lose track of the weekends as it all blends in together and there's not a lot of definition between my weekdays and weekends, but now that I've been doing some of this labor stuff, I am CRAVING the weekend!!!

Thanks again for all your well-wishes on Bill's hand (he is doing fantastic!) and your encouragement on my spirits (I am doing much better, too)!

Talk to you soon!!

Winter Weeks

Do you ever have times when you just don't feel like taking the time to post your thoughts and happenings, but have so much to talk about?  And then, don't you have those other times when you want to "chat" but don't have anything worth sharing?  Well, lately I'm in the first group.  I've got so many pictures, events and sewing finishes that I would love to share, but my time is so limited lately and it takes me so long to blog that I just lose interest easily.  I'm an easily distracted person anyway.
But, I did want to say "hello" to all my friends out there and to let you know that even though I didn't respond to every comment I've received recently on my posts, I loved each one!  I often wonder why I blog and why I even mess with it, but when all those lovely comments float through, I remember!  I love hearing from you all and I'm really enjoying the friendships I'm building slowly with each of you.  The encouragement you all send is so uplifting and so helpful when I'm feeling down or uncertain about things.  I had a strangely depressing week last week and still don't know why!  At one point I found myself quarreling with my husband (over nothing, of course) and then running into my study, slamming the door, and falling into a crying heap on the futon.  It wasn't too long and he was sitting beside me, asking me what was wrong - BEATS ME!!!! (no, my husband doesn't beat me) ha ha!
While he sat there, he told me he loved me and would always love me - isn't that amazing how just those words, said with integrity and meaning, can change your spirit so quickly!!  Sometimes all we need is a hug and a bit of encouragement - something to keep us going.  It must've been what I needed, because my spirits changed drastically after that.  Perhaps there was a bit of premenopausal hormone fluctuation in those tears and depression, too. 

My husband and I have been trying to walk 2 - 3 miles each night in an effort to whittle away some of the winter fat we're storing.  We are usually accompanied by the community dogs, Buddy and Dixie.

Last week, Buddy found some "cat jerky" somewhere and carried it around for a few laps.

I just adore these dogs!  It's nice being able to love on them, give them treats and play with them, and then they can go home!!   Kinda like being a gramma, I guess.

Anyway, I'm having a better week despite having to work on the construction project in this cold weather.    Speaking of, it's after 8:00 and I'm supposed to be at the jobsite!!!  Better get going or the boss is going to be mad!

I'll be back!

Sewing Fool

I've so much to tell, but no time to justify doing it!  I've barely got time to participate in amylouwho's sew-n-tell Friday as I've spent the majority of my day listing items in my etsy shop.  Amy said I was an "apron making fool" last week, so I must be the "baby dress making fool" this week!  ha ha!!!  Here's just a sampling of what I've accomplished this week in my sewing room:

I turn into "Juanita" on Monday and join my fellow workers, Jorge and Jose (he changed his name from Jesus to Jose) as we will start the framing process on our construction project.  They should finish up the block laying today and we've got to pass foundation inspection before we can start framing.

Probably the biggest story of the week was that my husband got shot on Monday!
With a nail gun, that is....

He said he tried to just pull it out and keep working, but it wouldn't come out - it was stuck in the bone (luckily, it just barely missed the knuckle!)  And, true to his personality, after a quick visit to the local doctor, where he shot him up with novocaine, pulled out his pliers and removed the nail, Bill headed right back to work for the rest of the day!

I've been so lucky to be delayed in having to go out in the cold and work and I'm thankful for that and for the time I've had to catch up on sewing.  It's a lot of work to get ready for the upcoming spring craft shows!

Thanks for stopping by and maybe I'll find more time to update you on my life in bonetown this weekend!  We're supposed to get snow accumulation today!!!

Who are you calling a "Cootie Queen"?!!

Need a chuckle today?  Take a few minutes and try this...I promise you will enjoy a laugh!

Call the Nestle Crunch Hotline at 1-800-295-0051 (This may take several attempts if the line is busy). When you are asked if you want to continue in English or Spanish, just wait quietly for about 10 seconds and you will smile.  Promise! Keep going & press 4. Listen to the options then press 7.

Have a fun and relaxing Sunday!!

Simple things AND Sew-n-Tell

So, you came back to see the pie, huh.  Well, here it is ~ Shoo Fly Pie

Basically it's sugar pie.  Sugar in the form of sugar, molasses, karo syrup and even more sugar!  It's good but you need an equal dose of vanilla ice cream to tone down the SUGAR!!!!  We had our first taste of shoo fly pie up in Lancaster, PA on our 6th anniversary vacation.  This was Bill's request for his birthday dessert - it was either that or Raisin Pie and no one else likes raisin pie

Bill and I don't do much in the way of buying gifts for each other, but I did splurge and get him this for $3.88.

Seriously - I even wrapped it up and put a bow on it!!  He was a little disappointed in me at first that I had bought him a birthday gift, but all that melted away once he opened it and saw what it was.
He has been talking about how much he would like some lately but won't buy it because it costs too much and he eats generic cereals anyway in an effort to save money.  He's been hoping they would make a generic version of multi-grain Cheerios but so far I haven't seen any.

Our daughter got him some shirts, a case to carry his house plans in and a Clint Eastwood movie but I really think his favorite "gift" was this:

A card from Gramma Baker.  Gramma normally doesn't write too much in her cards, but this year she really went all out! 

She usually will write your birth year on the card in addition to the current date, but she didn't on this one. She also got the birthday month wrong, but we'll forgive her! :)  We are so blessed to still have her on this earth with us - she's 94 and sharp as a tack!  Bill usually tosses his cards right after reading them and usually doesn't even say anything about them, but he made sure everyone in the house saw this one and then tucked it safely into his nightstand drawer.  I know he'll cherish it forever!

So, what did I make this week (besides the pie, of course) for amylouwho's sew-n-tell Friday?  I've been working on aprons to put in my Etsy shop.  I'm currently bidding on adobe photoshop software on ebay so I hope to have the ability soon to put pictures into a collage, rather than have several pictures trailing....

I had a little photo shoot in my kitchen last night with "Lynn" - that's what my husband calls my dressform.  She was fairly cooperative, but just a tad fussy when it came to changing outfits so many times.

It's a rainy Friday here and I've got plenty to do today.  I hope to get some sewing done, but I definitely have to sign up for some craft shows - our crafty things won't sell unless we get them out there!  Bill still has about 70 chairs he made in preparation for big sales at Christmas time and it sure would be nice to unload them.  I might do some baking, too.  We definitely won't be taking our evening walk in the rain so I'll probably head down to the basement and sweat a bit with Richard Simmons this afternoon!