A Montana Birthday and Dr. Seuss-isms

My brother's wife also has a sister named Jenn so I'm lovingly referred to as "Daddy's Jenn".  
I turned 44 today and had the extreme pleasure of celebrating with my brother's family....his wife, Gwen, and their two children, Ellie (10) and Jared (7).  I think the last time I celebrated my birthday in my hometown was probably in 1992 - the year I left and moved down South.

My nephew, Jared, reminded me that I share a birthday with the famed Dr. Seuss!

Jared:  "Auntie Jenn, do you know who's birthday is coming up?"
Me:  "Who?"
Jared:  "Dr. Seuss!...do you know how many books he has written?"
Me:  "Hmmmm.....24?"
Jared:  "Nope"
Me:  "39?"
Jared: "Nope"
Me: "56?"
Jared: "Nope"
Me:  "74?"
Jared: "Nope"
Me: "OK, so how many?"
Jared:  "Well, I don't know but it's a lot"

I looked it up later - 44 books (for children, that is).  Hey, that's how old I am!

Last night, we all went out to dinner at an Asian grill and it was a really fabulous time!  The kids found some interesting chairs in one of the rooms and we thought they were appropriately Seuss-ical!!

They had a lovely surprise for me when we got home!

Coming and Going...

Oh Hello.....so sorry I've been absent from posting for over a month now, and I know my followers are dropping like flies....ya - what a boring blog!  :)
I never did finish showing you the progress at Mom's house and to be honest, I never did get a final picture of her new office - shame!  One wall of the 'room' was the original outside of the house and it was german siding which we were going to cover up with sheetrock, so I told Mom she should put a secret message there that may one day be discovered by someone else who renovates the house (or tears it down - ha!)...so Mom wrote a special verse there and we 'sealed' it with the sheetrock in a new wall.

Anyway, here are a few more since last month.

new walls built, insulated....you can see the german siding on the left

raised floor built and insulated

sheetrock up, snap-in laminate flooring installed

My husband went back for a few days the week following our initial stay and finished up as we didn't get it all done - painting, trim work, new door installation, etc.  I couldn't go as I had too many clothing orders to complete in addition to getting ready for our big working trip to Montana (that's where I am right now)

She is really pleased with the finished product and it really is a totally different room with a totally different feel - no longer stepping down into a converted porch, but now a fully intact and attached additional room / office.

So, then we made our journey to Montana about a week and a half ago and we are knee-deep in a double bathroom renovation for my brother's family.

somewhere in Wyoming

Sewing withdrawal symptoms are setting in as I miss my sewing room terribly!  I think I miss it even more than my own bed and bathtub!  I did bring my sewing machine with me and got a little sewing time in this past Sunday and perhaps I'll get to do a bit more soon.

I'll do my best to be back to share some pictures of the demolition and then re-structuring of this project, but right now I must don my overalls and report for plumbing duty....sigh.....

Talk to ya later!  :)

Helping Mom - Part Three

...and so it continues...

We're back at Mom's house doing some repairs to make her house more functional and liveable.   You can see where we started this job here and here on earlier posts.  It's been a slow and steady process.  She hasn't had hot water in her bathroom for several months now so she's been showering at the local YMCA.  Her office is actually a renovated porch, closed in to make another room.  It has no heat so we have to raise the floor to put ductwork in below.   The first order of business was to hit Lowe's and fill our carts will all the necessary materials.

We spent the first two days working on the plumbing problem.  We replaced the ENTIRE water supply pipes under the house which required crawling around in the dust, cobwebs and crud.  There's even a cat skeleton down there - poor little kitty got stuck down there and couldn't get out...makes me sad to think of that.   It's a very small crawlspace so at times we were scooting on our bellies and at the end of the day our backs were aching so much from the strain.  In addition, we weren't able to shower until tonight as we didn't have hot water....yuck!  But, that problem is behind us and we're starting on the framing for the office tomorrow.

Mom is cooking three hot meals for us every day (way too much food) but we are enjoying being pampered and I know she is appreciative of the help.  Bill and I both feel it's the least we can do to help her as she has committed her life to serving people in her community.  She doesn't have the luxury of money, but she does have a calling and a desire to help the poor in her neighborhood.

So, that's going to be our week....right now we're settling into some serious 'vegging' in front of the television to watch Glee, New Girl and Raising Hope......ahhh....relaxation feels great after a hard day's work!    :)

Recjoicing and Answers...

Yes - I am announcing it!  Sleep for me, lately, is such a rareity that when it occurs (probably 3 or 4 times per month), I want to shout it to the world, and that's just what I did!  No restless legs, achy back, discomfort or insomnia last night, although I did have to get up to pee at least twice (can't remember if there was a third time) but, hey, that's an improvement!!!  So, I feel good today for a change.

Anyway, I suppose y'all are back to get some answers to those burning questions I left you with....

First of all, on the puzzle, if you said anything about kitties, sewing or quilting, you were right there because those are some of my favorite things!

Speaking of kitties, I have a new favorite website....http://icanhascheezburger.com/  I have a hard time reading some of the cute-sy writing (sorta like a munchkin talking) but I enjoy laughing out loud at the funny pictures and videos of cats and other animals!  I can definitely relate to some of it!

So, as you can see, the finished puzzle has found it's place on the wall and just yesterday I received a new installment in the mail - FOUR new puzzles just waiting for my longing fingers!! 

I found a great new website for puzzles and it was really hard to decide which ones to purchase.  I honestly didn't need 4 puzzles, but since I didn't receive any for Christmas presents this year, I decided to splurge.

OK, onto the next burning question.  Most of you were right, but one of my friends totally made me bust out laughing when she said it looked like a "textured breast implant for a tiny titty or a doll".....HA!!!  Oh, Sheri, you always make me laugh!!

My husband received a bag of Sunkist fruit gems and I asked for the grapefruit flavored ones.  There were only two in the bag!  I ate the first one he gave me and then this other one showed up the next day in it's cute little place!  awwwwwwww......

Now, it's mmmmmmmmmmmm!  Fake boobies taste like grapefruit - perhaps that's why they call them 'grapefruits'.....

P.S.  I feel so good today, I think I'll make some cookies!!!     http://www.ibelieveicanfry.com/2011/12/chewy-chocolate-chip-oatmeal-cookies.html

Guessing Game

Hiya folks.....wanna play a game?  :)

I finished a new puzzle over the Christmas holiday and just finished gluing it.....can you guess what it is?

I love to do puzzles and then glue them and post them all over my sewing room.  It's very easy to do and all you need to buy is the glue which is basically just like Elmer's glue and you can get it at Wal-mart in the craft section.  I have a puzzle gluing tutorial here in case you were interested in trying it out yourself.

I seem to be running out of free wall space to put puzzles in my main sewing room, but I've still got another room I can fill up!

So, today is a busy 'domestic' day for me (I probably won't get to do much sewing) as Mom and my two daughters will be here for the weekend.  I have mounds of laundry calling my name along with packing up the Christmas tree and taking down decorations.  My husband has been extremely sweet and helpful to me this morning....he wiped down the clothesline for me, getting it ready to hang the laundry, then he bounded into my office as I was packing up an order and offered to carry it out to the mailbox for me (gosh, I love it when he reads my mind) and then as I was in my sewing room tidying up a bit, I saw this little surprise just waiting for me....can you guess what it is?

Looks kinda grody doncha think?   How about a closer look....can you guess now?

Stay tuned for answers to these burning questions!!!

.....oh, and   HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!


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It Hit Me.

Well, actually 2 "its" hit me this past weekend.

The first was the Christmas spirit in the form of a desire to decorate.  That doesn't happen to me anymore so I was taken back just a bit.  I spent some time Sunday afternoon putting up my little tree, adding a few little trinket decorations and also some other little Christmas-y things around the living room - poinsettias, stockings and a garland.

My husband napped thru the entire thing and woke up in new surroundings! ha ha....

I've been putting up these same stockings for the past 18 years and I think it might be time for a change.  This is a picture from several years ago...

My son's is the light blue one on the right with the snow babies on it....I can't find it this year and I think he might have confiscated it last year in hopes it wouldn't go back up again.  It is a bit 'young' for him.....he's 23.  So, I'll see if I can find time in the next few days to make some new ones.

The other thing that 'hit' me this weekend was the realization that our oldest daughter is going to be gone for an entire year and it's happening very fast.  Too fast for me.

She has raised 100% of her funding needed for her year's stay in Southeast Asia where she will be teaching English.  I can't tell you any more than that as it's a Muslim country and we're just supposed to keep quiet on the details for her protection.

My husband and I were having our regular Saturday morning breakfast date in a local diner and I mentioned that Jennifer was going to be leaving in early January.  Before I knew it, I was crying.  Bill looked at me and asked why my eyes were watering.  Then, when he realized I was crying, he asked if I was being hormonal or something... Sheesh!  Men!!!

I found out later in the day that she will probably fly out January 7th.  I told her that I would mostly likely be a blubbering mess when I had to say good-bye ~ she said she'd bring tissues.  (I'll need a truckload!)  Oh my, I can't even write about this without getting emotional, but I'm sure that will pass.  I have a commitment to myself to send her snail mail at least twice a month.  She appreciates a good letter or card and I honestly believe we don't sit down often enough and physically write to our loved ones.

So, anyway....life is moving on and the holiday is coming fast, too.  This will be (hopefully) my last super busy week of sewing orders.  I miss the years past when I had time and energy to make gifts for friends and family.  I normally make gifts at least for my nieces and nephew, but this year they won't be receiving a handmade gift from Aunt Jenn.

That being said, it's time I was heading to the salt mines sweat shop sewing room.  Ta-ta!!

Dressed to the Nines....

Nine lives, that is!  Can you see the kitties on my pants?

It's Friday and I'm dressed comfy because it's going to be a busy-busy day.  I spent all day yesterday just cutting and organizing quillow orders that need to be sewn, tied and mailed out for the holiday.

Here's another basketful

I spent several hours just re-organizing my fabric shelves - we'll see how long that lasts!

Anyone wanna buy some fabric?  ;) he he he

But, I did find time to finish another puzzle!  It's glued and has found a niche on my sewing room walls with the others.

I've also got another ready to go that will be fun to work on thru the holiday season.

Can you tell I like kitties?  :)  It's my last I have in stash but there's two more in the Connecting Threads magazine that I'll have to put on my wishlist!

We had a unique Thanksgiving this year.  After celebrating at home with our kids, my husband, my mother and I drove down to Orlando where my Uncle Hank lives and spent a few days with family that we don't see too often - mom's brother and sister.

My husband and I got a chance to spend more time with Aunt Pat and we really enjoyed it - she's a lot of fun and I wish we lived closer to each other (she lives in D.C.)

She hates that name, but I love it and this is my blog so 'tough beans'!! :)

Uncle Hank is fabulous in the kitchen and we had a terrific turkey dinner that he served on these beautiful dishes he found at a garage sale!!

The next day we toured the Stetson mansion in Deland, Florida.

"The Blood"

Bill and I had fun just 'knocking around' Orlando....doing some shopping, hanging with "the blood", eating, etc....ya know - general lazy stuff - it was a nice break.

But, we're back home now and kicked into high gear to get thru these next few busy-busy weeks..
He's in the final stages of finishing the house project uptown (remember the house we moved?).  It's pretty much all done on the outside, even the landscaping, and the inside is currently being painted and all the fixtures being installed so I'm excited to see what it looks like next week.  Perhaps I'll even have pictures to show you!

In addition, lots of things are going on in my children's lives now and maybe I'll have time to give you a full update later.

Have a great weekend!!!