Do You Hit The Floor Running?

Are you a morning person? Do you only get up early because if you didn't, you'd lose the roof from above your head? Are you sluggish, do you feel rundown, do you poop out at parties? Then you need Vitamitavegamin. Oh, wait part of that is a Lucy sketch.
What I'm wondering is if you get up early, do you immediately get started, or does it take you a while, once you are vertical, to actually get moving?
This is the problem I'm having. I've been getting up between 5 and 6 for the last 15 years. I've always gotten up early, but for the past 5 years, I've had to be up by at least 6 just to get to work on time. The ten years before that, I had to get up at 5.
And I get up about the same time seven days a week. It doesn't matter if it's the weekend or a holiday, I still get up at the same time. I'm beginning to think my internal clock is stuck, and since not much else works in the old body, why should the clock.
I get up, but instead of jumping in the shower, starting a load of laundry, picking up dirty clothes or anything else, I just go sit! It's irratating, because before I know it, I have only a short time to get ready for work. I so wish I was one of those people who 'hit the ground running'. Then at least I might get a few things done before work, and then would enjoy coming home more.
So, ok, I need a diagnosis. Is there something wrong with me, or am I just lazy?
I'm so glad it's Friday. I have a pageant dress to finish this weekend, so I'd better get an early start tomorrow. That is if I can drag my body off the couch.
I hope you have had a great week. Pray for couch potatoes everywhere. Love one another.

I'm On A Fruit Kick!

I have gone through two large bags of oranges in the last couple of weeks. This is something I never do. I like oranges, but the way I've been eating them, you'd think I loved them. I've eaten several bananas too, but not as many as oranges.

I kow you are saying,'This is good. This is healthy. Good for you.' But what you don't understand unless you know me very well, is that generally I'm not a fruit person. NOTE:Before the daughters make a comment here, I will admit I am a bit fruity, just not a fruit eating person. Can usually go without fruit. Not particularly in love with juice. It just isn't me. I'm more of a meat(preferrably pork) and potatoes/pasta person. But today when I realized I had only one banana left and no oranges, I was not a happy camper.

Then yesterday I saw a post about the proper way to cut up fresh pineapple, and now I want that too. So, when I get off work, I'm heading to Sam's and hopefully get another bag of oranges, a pineapple or two, and maybe even a box of strawberries. They are in season in South Texas, so we should have some here.

Like so many other things in my life, this may be just a phase, but, I'm hoping it isn't.

Have you gone through any phases lately?

I hope you had a great day today. Happy birthdy to my BFF Carolyn. Pray for her, she's in LasVegas spending her husband's money. Love one another.

What You Will Do For GrandChildren!!

A long, long time ago(about 31 to be exact)while I was expecting Daughter#2, I made a crib quilt. I took a piece of green and white baby check fabric, hand appliqued a white satin butterfly in one corner, put it together with a batting and lining, and hand quilted it using the checks as my guide. I didn't do a very good job, It wasn't a perfect retangle, but it worked. I don't remember D#2 being overly fond of the little quilt, and it eventually got passed down to her nephews.

They used it some and at some point the white satin butterfly came off from wear, leaving only the outer embroidery that held it in place. It got put in the closet at some point and forgotten for some years, and I don't know if P#1 used it or not, but P#2 fell in love with it and began calling it her snugley. She doesn't carry it everywhere she goes, but she sleeps with it every night.

At some point, it had to have some mending done, and I fixed a three cornered tear and reattached the binding, but I never took the time to repair the quilting that had come out, thinking it just wasn't worth the time it would take. WRONG!!!

P#2 brought said quilt(alias snugley) with her Friday night and after we ate, she insisted I fix it. I had been giving some thought to what I was going to do to fix it since the batting was in shreds, and you could put both the top and bottom together and still read newsprint through it. There's a scripture about putting new cloth in an old garment. Well, this just didn't seem worth any effort. Then I had what I thought would be a brilliant idea. At least in my mind it was brilliant.

First I set about taking the quilt apart. Didn't take much since most of the sewing had come out already. P#2 sat by my side and as I pulled out threads she would ask,'you aren't hurting it are you Memaw?'. I assured her I wasn't and took it completely apart by bedtime. She slept with the two pieces.

Saturday morning I dug around in my fabric stash and found some fabric and a baby quilt batting. I took the top and laid it face down on my bed, then I put a piece of yellow plisse`(spelling?) and laid it on top of the old top. Next I put a layer of batting, then a piece of white plisse` on top of that and finally the old lining which I could not get her to part with. Then I pinned the back up like it was before, and sewed all around. By the way, basting spray is a wonderful thing. It kept the quilt sandwich from moving around. As I sewed around the edge, P#2 removed the pins. Needless to say, this took a while.

Remember I told you about the butterfly. The white satin is long gone, but the outline remains. I used the free-motion embroidery foot, and sewed around it. Aren't you proud of me? I think, since you can't get too close to it, that it looks pretty good.

That helped get my courage up so I put a section of the quilt into one of my machine embroidery hoops and did some free-motion quilting. Again, since you can't examine it too closely, it looks pretty good.
She allowed me to do one more small spot before she pried it from my hands and went to the couch with it. As you can see, the quilt will live a while longer. Had she not taken it, I would probably have done a lot more. She says next time she comes, I can do more on it.

She said she'll keep bringing it for me to fix forever. I asked if she was planning to take it on her honeymoon, but she said she'd probably leave it at home. Below is one of the patches I put on. She picked the material and rickrack and was most impressed with my ability to fix it.
Isn't it wonderful they think you are sooooo smart when they are little. And who knows, her first child may love it as much as she does.

I hope you have a wonderful day. Pray for your loved ones. Love one another.

My Friday Night Is Already Planned!!

Superhero and Princess#2 are spending the night with me Friday night. I'll pick them up after work and off to memaw's house we'll go. These two cousins are both 6 years old. Both in Kindergarden and play really well together.

I think I'm going to see if I can find some GO Fish cards. I think I can whip em. Hope they bring cash.

I always enjoy them being at my house. I know too well that in not too many years, they'll have outgrown me, and I won't hear the giggles of 6 year olds in my house anymore.

I've told you before that my goal in life right now(besides trying to be a good Christian)is for my grandchildren to have good memories of me. The oldest one is now 25, and he occasionally does a 'remember when we did _____ Grandma'. Of six grandchildren, he's the only one who calls me that. The rest all call me memaw.

I hope you have wonderful plans for the weekend. Pray for those who are hungry. Love one another.

I Think I Know Why!

I've been mulling this quilting thing over in my mind for a couple of weeks. And I think I have figured out why I can't get started(other than the pageant dress has to be done first thing). I am afraid of color. I'm not the greatest at putting colors together. I know what I like after I see it, but I don't want to spend hours cutting, sewing, etc only to decide that what I've done is ugly.

I'm posting pictures of three quilts. I don't know who made them, but I think one is really ugly(which is what mine will probably be), one is busy and one is very pretty. If you made one of these quilts, I apologize if you think the ugly one is yours.

If you are a quilter, does this plague you as well? Does this type of delima nag you in your sleep at night? Do you have blocks that once you did them you decided they were awful and pitched them aside? I have a desire to use up my stash of scraps, not start another one of projects gone bad.

So, needless to say, you don't have to worry about getting anything quilted in my give-a-way(shameless plug!)

But what I think I will do is do a couple of small wall hangings. This should either get me really excited, or kill any desire to do more.

I think I've worried about this enough for one day. I need to get crackin on that pageant dress and ignore my scrap box for another day. Maybe by the time I get the dress finished, I'll have decided what I want to do.

I hope you are having a great day(sun is shining here). Pray for people looking for work. Love one another.

I Want To Learn To Quilt!

I have always wanted to learn to quilt. I remember my mother having a quilt frame that hung from the ceiling. She would let it down, work on it, and then draw it back up near the ceiling to get it out of the way. I have her quilt frames. I don't know if daddy made them, or if she bought them somewhere. I've had a couple of opportunities to learn, but have let those slip through my fingers. And with the quilting machines, it is just too easy to take your tops and have them done quickly. There is also a group of ladies at the Methodist church who quilt on Tuesdays. They have told me I welcome to be a Methodist on Tuesdays if I would like to learn to quilt. They put up a quilt and hand quilt it. The money they make goes to support the work of the church.

But with working full time, I'm unable to be a Tuesday Methodist, so I guess I'm going to just have to do the best I can. I joined a group that is doing strip projects. I haven't done any yet. I keep planning to and I've even cut some strips, but I think I just need someone to take me by the hand and help me decide how to get started. I want to do pretty quilts. I don't want to make something that the colors scream at you. I want them to say thank you for putting me next to these other pieces.

However, first, I have a pageant dress to make. Then I desperately need to clean my sewing room, then maybe I'll be able to work on a quilt of some type.

I hope you are having a wonderful day. Pray for those who are hungry. Love one another.

Happy Valentines Day--Early!

Since I don't usually post on the weekends, I thought I'd wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day--early. I don't have a significant or insignificant(whichever the case may be) other, I don't get anything much for this day. My children usually buy for their persons of interest, but I just let it pass by. I think the kids were all having parties at school today, and will all come home with lots of Spiderman, Hanna Montana, Tinkerbell and Handy Manny valentines.

I remember doing the same thing when I was a kid, but we didn't have all the special valentines. Ours were just hearts that smiled, or ducks that smiled, or squirrels that smiled(you get my drift here)that said 'Be mine Valentine'. We decorated our boxes with crepe paper and cutout's. My mom was really good at helping us do that. Our boxes were usually red, and she would make hearts with cutouts like snowflakes and we would glue them to the box. I remember one time she made roses out of crepe paper. And my brothers and I proudly carried them to school only to bring them home filled with cards from our class. We always had cupcakes and cookies for our parties too. Those are good memories.

I hope you make some memories on Sunday, and that you have lots of good memories of Valentine Days past.

Have a great day today. Pray for those who won't get to enjoy valentines day. Love one another.

Two of the Four Christmas Dresses

These are the dresses I made for the girls for Christmas. Since I had four to make and didn't have time to do picture smocking on each, I did the base smocking and put buttons on for decorations.

Princess #2 in the green had Santa's on her dress. P#1 had candy canes. The Banty Hen(not pictured here)had snowflakes on hers, and if I remember the great niece had elfs on hers. They were all different colors and I thought turned out pretty well.

The dresses are all made of 32nd check gingham, and will be something they can wear this summer by simply changing or removing the buttons. I suggested they wear them for Easter.

I won't be making Easter dresses this year since I have a pageant dress to make for P#2, and I only have a few weeks to get it done, and with me working every day, I'll be burning the midnight oil to finish it now. I love sewing for the girls and would do much more if I were retired, but someone has to make me a living and since I haven't won the lottery, I guess I'll just have to keep working.

Hope you are in out of the snow today. Pray for those who are cold. Love one another.

Princess #1 Has A Great Teacher!

Princess #1 enjoys school. She loves to read and learn. For this we are very thankful. We are also very much aware that she has a great teacher. P#1 is in first grade. She had a wonderful teacher last year for kindergarden too.

This year her teacher is going over and above what is required of her. The picture at the left is of my granddaughter working on a piece of embroidery. On days that it is raining or too cold to go outside, she takes the girls who want to learn, and they work on their projects. P#1 is working on a sitting dog. I don't know what the rest of the design is, but you can see she is working on a leg, and is doing a very nice job. I don't know if the teacher furnished the hoops, needles, cloth and designs or if the girls took some money to buy a kit she had put together for them.

Being a person who does all types of needlework, I am thrilled that she is working with them in this area. I think it will encourage these little ones to learn other types of handwork and crafts. So much of this seems to be a dieing art(You just don't see too many embroidered pillowcases and table scarves any more). I don't know what she plans to do with her finished project, but whatever it is, I will help with it if she wants me to. Don't guess you can tell that I'm a very proud Memaw.

Hope you are having a great day. Pray for those without power. Love one another.

Two Princesses

These are the Princess Sisters. They look nothing alike, but are indeed sisters who are 16 months apart. Their mom took this pictures before the Father/Daughter banquet at church. They got new dresses(which you can't see for their sweaters, but are really pretty), daddy put on his best suit and off they went. They had a great time. They also had little wrist corsages and daddy had a rose in his lapel. They felt quite grown up.

The other picture is my trees in front of the house. The reason you keep seeing these trees is that I don't have to get off the front porch to snap them. We got another 6 inches of snow during the afternoon yesterday and last night. We're off again today because what has melted a bit is now freezing on the roads making driving hazardous. Sometime soon, we'll have a spring thaw and be able to get back to work. That's not to say I'm not enjoying staying home. But I'm afraid if we continue to miss school, the kids may not get a Spring Break, and we all know how they look forward to that.

Don't forget my GIVEAWAY on March 1st.

I hope you are having a wonderful day. Pray for those who are hurting. Love one another.

Post 400 WooHoo!!!

Today is a momentous day. First I didn't have to go to work today because when I got up this morning, we had this beautiful snow on the ground. We are supposed to get another 2 or 4 inches starting around lunch time. I work for a University and because of this snow, it is closed today as are all the schools in the area. We had eight fogs in August, this is our 5th snow. Looks like we are due 3 more before winter is over. This is a picture of one of my oak trees in the front yard. I took it from my front porch as you can see by the overhang in the upper right corner.

Second this is my 400th post. I'm thinking that is a milestone in itself. And with such a milestone comes some responsibility. I think I should have a GIVEAWAY. If you leave a comment on one of my posts during February, you are automatically entered in my drawing. I will draw on March 1st. Since I'm starting a week into February, I will also use previous comments this month as entries.

I know you are wondering what the prize will be. I don't know yet. I just had this idea about 10 minutes ago, so I've got to do some thinking. It will most likely be something I make. I've got to give that some thought. But when I decide, I'll let you know. I'll remind you each day in my post to enter.

In the meantime, I've got to start working on a pageant dress for Princess #2.

I hope you enjoy your day. Pray for those who are hurting. Love one another.

I was reading this morning on The Cotton Wife's blog(http://thecottonwife.com ) that some obviously misguided magazine editor made the comment that she wrote too much about her children. Duh! Evidently this editor doesn't understand the reason for blogs. In my opinion, if you are writing a blog to hone your skills, you are probably in the wrong place. I think this is the place you share your small corner of the world with other people and learn about theirs.

I have made lots of new friends in this blog community, hopefully encouraged some folks and talked endlessly about my children and grandchildren and read about others. If anyone thinks I talk too much about my family, close my blog, remove it from your favorites list, and move on with your life. I probably won't know about it, and I very possibly won't care much.

I started my blog to keep a record of the things my grandchildren did, and my thoughts for two reasons. When I get old and senile, I can look back at my blog and be reminded of things, and in between wiping drool from my face, my grandchildren can read about the thoughts and feelings I had for them. I'm a firm believer that my grandchildren should have wonderful memories of me, not just the shell that sits in a chair playing with a sock monkey and calling it baby.

Of course there's also the possibility my children may use it against me in a sanity hearing when they decide they want all my money. I guess I should give that some thought as well.

Why did you start your blog?

I hope you are planning a great weekend. Pray for misguided people. Love one another.

A Question about Sphagetti!

You thought I was going to ask about some of the herbs and spices in the sauce, or maybe whether you use jarred or homemade. Well, my question is much more basic than that.

Do you break your sphagetti before you put it in the pot of boiling water? And why or why not?

This question has bothered me ever since I made my sphagetti last night. But while we're on the subject, you might as well tell me if you prefer store bought or homemade. And do you like yours with meat in the sauce, or how about lumps of veggies ie tomatoes and mushrooms?

I know the world won't stop turning if I don't get the answers to these life changing questions, but hey, they kinda stick in your mind if you don't know ask.

I hope you are having a great day(drizzling here). Pray for sphagetti eaters everywhere. Love one another.

Princess #2 is almost Six!

This little gem of a girl will be six on February 5th. Her party isn't until the following Saturday. My grandchildren are all growing up. That's what they're supposed to do I know, but it's hard watching them spread their little wings and fly off to school and parties and stuff. The pictures are all Princess #2. She's about a year old in the white dress, and probably 2 1/2 or 3 in the pink hiding her eyes. She's 4 in the third picture and the last one was taken upon the loss of her first tooth late last summer. She doesn't look like a baby(although, she acts like one sometimes). She's all into dressing up and loves to change clothes often.

I got her a swim suit for her birthday even though it's only February. Her mom says she'll wear it every day until summer. I also got her a sun dress. I'm thinking her mom will put it up until she's ready to wear it, but maybe not.

She's a smart funny little girl. Gets her smarts from her daddy(my sil). I love all my grandchildren equally, but this one looks like her mother-my daughter. Her sister looks like her dad's side of the family. That might make her just a little bit special. Will I get kicked out of the grandmother's union for admitting that?

I hopeyou are having a great day and the sun is shining in your corner of the world. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Diamonds in the Daylight!

If you live any where in North America, you know that the mid-south was hit with a monster trouble making weather system. It extended from Saline, KS down to San Antonio, TX and all points east.

In NE Arknasas, we started out with sleet(this I know for I was out in it), changed to freezing rain, then back to sleet and about 5am Friday morning, it began to snow and it snowed all day Saturday.

The campus where I work closed Friday, and after I got inside my house Thursday night, I didn't even stick so much as my nose out until this morning. I did, however manage to open a door and take the picture on the left side of the page. If you look at the uppermost part of the picture, you can see how the sun was making the ice on the limbs sparkle. From my vantage point(not that you can see it that well in my photo), it looked like there were huge diamonds hanging all over the tree. It was nothing short of beautiful.
But it's back to work today. Got to catching up to do since we missed Friday.

Hope you are able to get out and about today. Pray for our country. Love one another.