Dreary Day

Not much going on. We had some terribly cold nights for a few. One night down around 18 or 19 F. Carol said they had 12 degrees on Wednesday night and Thursday night was even colder. They live only 20 or so miles south of us where you would think they would be a degree or so warmer. Instead, they are almost always colder. It must have to do with the "lay of the land" or something.

Jonathan called. He received his new scrubs and said the top fit much better. Just a couple of alterations on the next one. The pants are a snug fit so the next pair will have to allow for a more "healthy" butt. ;o)

I saw another neat t-shirt today on a teenager:

Attitude

Education

Athletics

At first I thought they were in the wrong order. Sam said that one needed a good attitude before education would work. Made more sense. And, of course, athletics should always be at the bottom.

I have a pot of pinto beans cooking and plan on putting some link sausage in them in a few minutes. That along with a pan of cornbread will be our supper.

Back to the quilting...

Don't Steal

The government doesn't need the competion

I saw this sentiment on a t-shirt in the store today. Isn't that just hilarious? No. On second thought. Not really. It is extremely sad.


I finally found the resolution I want to make for 2009... ;o)

Fireproof

...starring Kirk Cameron and Erin Bethea. What a wonderful movie! This is a must see. No sex. No foul language. A Christian movie. Yet not saccharin sweet. Something like this does happen in real life.

Love is a choice. A choice definitely worth fighting for!

http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/

More Scrubs

I've been quilting! Yay!!! I'm not doing the complicated filler just yet, but am doing all the 1/4" outlining of the blocks of this Double Wedding Ring. Yeah. I cheated. Solid arcs. As long as this baby has been in the frame, it's a good thing I didn't have itty bitty pieces in the arc to quilt around.


I set goals...at the end of each row, I would reward myself with a bit of sewing. And that is exactly what I did yesterday.


Jonathan, I should be able to get these in the mail tomorrow...they are already boxed. Let me know about the fit. The ties on the pants...cut them off to length and tie a knot in the end. Let me know how much you cut off.


The pants waist casing called for part elastic and part ties...I am sure Jonathan will let me know how that worked out too.


I did hear about the American Girl pajamas even though I don't have a photo yet. Carol said they fit perfectly and were so cute. As soon as she delivered the grand-daughters home, Maddie got her doll and dressed her for bed.


Did you see that beautiful moon last night? Had it not been so cold it would have been a perfect night to sit outside and "moon tan." Remember the Adams family and Morticia sitting outside with the metal reflector around her face trying to catch moon rays? LOL Haven't thought about that in ages.


I don't have a pretty shot of the moon, but I did catch this sunrise last Thursday morning:

4 Christmases

What a shame. 75% of this movie was crude.

Like Quilting Only Harder

When Sam and I purchased our new home, it was almost perfect. We had only to repaint the bedrooms and bathrooms to neutral shades instead of blue and yellow. I like a neutral palette...then spice it up with color that I am able to easily change: curtains, quilts, pillows, towels, etc. How was I going to decorate to MY tastes with this?!


Since the house was less than two years old...Sam saw no need in changing anything really. When I told him the powder blue walls in the master bedroom did not coordinate with the funky blue carpet, he pa-shawed me. Then, his best friend's wife, Pat a lover of blue, walked in and said, "I like blue, but this won't do." Thank you, Pat! And since the previous owner's teenage daughter had played rugby in the other two bedrooms (or tennis, or football or something!) I purchased enough paint to cover the yellow in those rooms.


The worst color culprit - next to the funky blue carpet which remains - was the Formica countertops. Had they been an acceptable color to me, it would've been no problem. I found out by researching on the internet that you can paint Formica. I showed Sam. 'No deal. Live with it.'

My ally, turned out to be Sam's son who also did not like the color. For Christmas 2006, he gave us new countertops. He looked at me and said, "Don't go pick out the most expensive thing." ...which turned out to be a beautiful piece of $80 a foot quartz...to die for. I researched granite, quartz, and solid surface. I quickly realized that I did not want granite. Had I had researched longer, I probably would've chosen quartz (at a more conservative price). But with the research that I did at the time, I decided on solid surface. I am completely pleased with it. It is exactly as advertised. I don't treat it any differently than I have any other countertop I've ever had - which I guess has always been Formica.


Thinking that we would want dark, Sam and I started with black and brown samples. When we got them home, I scanned them, then copied and pasted to a document, printed a full page, and auditioned each in the kitchen folding the paper over the edge of the Formica and moving it from above the dishwasher, beside the stovetop, in front of the cabinets. Imagine how surprised we were when we realized that we did not like the dark.


On to medium tones. Sam thought a terra cotta would look good. Armed with several different hues, I went through the same process and auditioned the printed samples in the kitchen. That's when I realized how yellow the oak cabinets are. I was surprised. The whole kitchen looked sick in terra cotta!


Um...how about light? Okay. How about white?! This has little crystal-like pieces in it.

Then, the backsplash. One little note here: the man/men who did the wiring...every single outlet and switch is at a different height. Gentlemen, every quilter knows, measure twice, cut once. What WERE YOU THINKING? I wanted the focal tile - the expensive stuff to go all the way across the backsplash and under the window. A total of five electrical outlets or switches would cut through the higher priced trim had I done that.


Armed with paper taped together the length of the backsplash, I cut out for the window and each electrical/phone service plates. Over the river and through the woods - okay - south on highway 259 to the do-it-yourself store we go. I unrolled my paper template in the aisle in front of boxes and boxes of tiles and trims and played puzzle until I got something that fit, that I liked, and that Sam could live with.


I settled on tumbled marble and two rows of accent. Sam and Elton installed the tile with Elton telling me that if I wanted the one row under the window that he could cut the accent pieces. For what they cost...okay, not THAT expensive, but no unnecessary cutting! Elton also wanted the top row of trim at the very top..."That's the way they do it on HGTV." Well...I am NOT on HGTV. This is MY kitchen. I do not want it to disappear under the upper cabinets. I want to see it when I am in the kitchen working!

Sam and Elton even did the grouting. The only thing I had to do was buff it to a shine and seal it.

Oops!

In my last post...talking about learning a foreign language...one remark didn't seem so funny when I went back and read it today. So, I deleted it. If you read it and it offended you, I am terribly sorry. It was meant in jest.

If for any legal reason I had to leave the USA and live some place else, Canada (English speaking for the obvious reason that I am woefully non-bilingual) would be one of the top to consider. Possibly on the west coast though...for some reason I don't think it is as cold as it is to the east. Is this a terribly incorrect supposition?

I've always wanted to visit Australia, but would I want the really horrid summers? Are the summer really as horrid as I think? And, would I want to live there?

If I have to leave for any illegal reason...

Changing gears...

I made the worst chili tonight that I've made in a long time! I generally make my own from start to finish adding seasonings to taste as I go. I have a basic recipe and it always tastes good. I found Wick Fowler's 2-Alarm Chili. He won the 1970 Annual World's Championship Chili Cook-off. I know that sometime in the past that I tried it but haven't used it any in recent memory. Years back I even sent a package of it to my penpal in England. Louise, if you remember, I am so sorry! To the rest of you, if you see this in your grocery store, my recommendation is to keep walking.

I didn't even like the way it smelled! "Oh, Sam. I don't like the way this smells." Then I dipped a spoon in it and tasted. "Ah-oh."

Sam made a remark that he'd have to be careful what he said if he liked it.

I dished him up a bowl full and me a half bowl. I couldn't put enough crackers in my bowl and seriously considered filling it up with ketchup/catsup just like I did when I was in school and you had to do something to make the food palatable. Sam didn't say a word, but ate it like it was good! Can you imagine that? The only thing that is saving the man from eating canned chili is that I don't like it!

GOOD Chili

1 - 2 pounds ground beef or chopped sirloin

1 chopped onion

2 cloves diced garlic

2 - 3 tablespoons flour

1 - 2 tablespoons chili powder to start

2 - 3 teaspoons cumin

salt and pepper to taste

1 can chopped tomatoes and juice

1 - 2 cans water

Brown ground beef, onion, and garlic. Season with salt, pepper, chili powder, and cumin to taste. Stir in flour, tomatoes and water. Simmer for an hour stirring (and tasting) occasionally.

I know I have mentioned my favorite spice supplier, but just in case I haven't:

http://www.penzeys.com/

Cold and Wet

All day long. We woke to a wet day which rapidly turned wetter. I don't know that it is any colder. Stayed about 40ish all day long.

I was inside the school subbing for the Spanish teacher. LOL Como esta? Bien. Y tu? That's about the extent of what I remember. I've always wanted to learn Spanish...just don't want to have to do it for a grade. From what I understand, to truly learn a language, you need to go to the country where it is spoken and become saturated in it. Sigh. ***Oh, my! I came back and read this. Sorry if I offended anyone.***

I wore my new socks to school today. They were noticed too. ;o) One of the boys commented on them. Later someone else asked if I couldn't wear anything 'louder'. They look blue, but actually they are more purple.



Last Saturday, I went with Carol, Katy, and Maddie to the Daingerfield State Park. They contemplated the beautifully clear water.




Near the swimming area, before we knew it, Maddie climbed up on a tree stump. She showed Katy how to do it.


I put a few homemade peanut butter cookies in a baggie and passed them out before leaving the park. Alas. I am dieting and didn't eat a single one. I had to raid the freezer to take some to the park. On Sunday, I kept passing through the kitchen staring at the one lone cookie Sam left on the countertop. I couldn't stand it.


They are so good! This is a recipe from my childhood. Way back when I was a teenager at home, I decided to bake. I pulled the peanut butter cookie recipe out and gathered the ingredients. I called Mama, who at the time worked at the Bee (local newspaper), and asked her what "oleo" was.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda


Cream butter with peanut butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Sift flour, salt, and baking soda over creamed mixture and blend thoroughly. Form into 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press flat with a fork, crisscrossing pattern. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes.


Have you found the cookie scoops? I want one in every available size! Currently I have only two. I used the smallest that I have when I made the truffles. They make perfectly uniform size cookies. And for cleanup, just pop in the dishwasher. So much better than scooping with a teaspoon and scraping off on the cookie sheet or rolling round in your hands. No gooey, sticky hands. I had one with a plastic handle...don't buy that kind. Get the all metal scoops.

My Quilting "Thimble"

I Play Outside The Box asked about the "thimble" I use while quilting. I found it at the International Quilt Show in Houston a few years ago...four, I think. It is the best thing I've found for quilting since the rotary cutter.

Since then, I've seen it in only one or two quilt related catalogs. I did find it online for $15 here:

http://www.houseofquilting.com/handheld-quilting-thimble.php

Friends

I can not resist this. The following is an e-mail from a very dear friend. Read it quickly because if she sees this, I may have to pull it. I don't think I've had this good of a laugh in a long time. I merely asked for book reviews for the library's site.

Disclaimer: Names have been changed to protect the innocent...her husband is the only innocent I found in this whole thing. ;o) Any censoring was done by my very dear friend.

Yeah..........and a very happy new year to you also, Mrs. Sherry !!!

I have been on crutches ever since last year and I have read so many books that I have continuous headaches.

I liked some of the books, some I did not; some made me cry, others did not. I always finish what I start even if it's ' waaaaay wrong'. Never did like book reports. Hey, I didn't even like school, but in order to live I HAD to attend AND remain on the honor roll.........or else.

I received a bag of books from one of my church members. She joined a Christian book club and has about lost what bit of 'religion' she has because the books are coming so frequently. She swears that they are coming out of the wazoo. (whatever that is) Does the library have any of the books I have read? Probably not. So, so much for my review, eh? But just for your own info, I read 'em because they were: (1) free (2) large enough print not to stress me out (3) I was unable to leave the house to get what I wanted (4) -husband- still has a nasty cold so I had mercy on him and did not send him to get the 'who done it' type I like (5) I was too 'sorry' to even get on the computer to read and answer mail (6) I ran out of wine (7) I had to stay off my feet and elevate (8) TV was not an option ( 9) needed to unwind after the kids/grands left (10) had already finished my scrapbook of family members
(11) fully clothed, I fell down, barely missed falling into the bath tub. (12) stayed pissed with -husband- for a good 24 hours because he did not hear nor feel me when I hit the floor. At - oops...better leave weight out of this - plus, I KNOW #### well that I had to have shaken
not only the pictures on the walls but the foundation of the house. Did he come to my ####### rescue? #### NO !!!

I said a prayer of thanks, finally got up and totally forgot about the 'religous books' that I was reading. (13) the orgami frogs that I taught myself to make never did hop like the instrucrions stated (14) could not play the keyboard, while my foot was elevated (15) tried the guitar again...it sounded lousy, as usual, my fault of course. (16) And.........I DID NOT CALL YOU TO SCHEDULE A CROCHET CLASS. So I read what I had. Got religion now though.

God is good. I made it to 2009 ANNNND I got more wine. I don't take many pain pills anymore. I can finally place my foot on the floor but still cannot put pressure on it. That's a start. I will take it "one day at a time'. I have had enough 'pity parties' to last for the rest of the year. When I did finally get out of the house, I had to crawl back in
(refer to # 12) because I was afraid of going up the steps on crutches. Won't even discuss pain in my back. Been spending quite a bit of time on it. :o) Get your mind out of the 'gutter'. I am referring to the elevation of my foot.

So now you are up to date. I hope that I will be able to attend the meeting. I miss all of you.

Much love to ya,
(much loved friend's name)