Heart of Mary Blog Giveaway

Corinne is giving away a pattern on her blog. Stop by and see her!

http://pinoyinoz.blogspot.com/2009/01/some-firsts-for-2009.html

Jeopardy in a few minutes...

One of the few television shows I watch comes on in a few minutes. But I have a bit of time to tell you about my day. Funeral services for the 89 year old wife of one of Sam's cousins (who himself died in 1999) were today. One of her grandsons spoke. His grandparents' gentleness has been passed down to their children, grandchildren - and on down the line.


This afternoon, I've been quilting. I am slowly but diligently plodding away on the poor orphan quilt. I am determined to get it out of the frame before it celebrates its second anniversary in said frame. I looked up and watched fascinated as first one bluebird hen bathed in my new birdbath, then as soon as she vacated the bath another dove in and splashed around.

Just as I thought about grabbing my camera, she too had finished her ablutions. (You see...I read. I remember that word because I had to look it up.) I got my camera ready and finally captured a male bluebird drinking. Taking photographs through the screen...then I thought.

'Hey dummy! Stand up.' So I did.

Celebrate!

We drove the Acura to Longview today and left it. Came home with a certified check and stopped at the credit union to purchase a CD. Oh, and made a stop at the insurance office to drop the car from our policy. So nice to not have to deal with taking the car to town every morning and going back in the evening to bring it home. The phone calls haven't been all that bad considering I put Sam's cell phone number in the ad and he's the one who has been fielding the calls. I know exactly what I do. ;o)

We had the 4-Runner washed at one of those drive through car washes. I had to have the guy wipe the rear hatch again...it was streaked. MOF, the whole car had problems. I spent $15 on a half-a$$ed car wash. I do better myself at the $5 carwash in town and wipe it down myself.

Have you had Zuppa Tuscana at Olive Garden? Isn't it delicious?! I have found a new runner-up for my favorite...Chicken & Gnocchi soup. A while back, Carol and I worked together and came up with this (so as not to infringe on copyright, let's call it):

Italian Potato Soup

1/2 - 1 pound Italian sausage
2 medium potatoes, cut in half lengthwise and then into 1/4" slices
3/4 cup onion, diced
1 clove minced garlic
2 cups kale leaves, sliced
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1/3 cup heavy cream

If sausage is in links take out of wrapper. Cook until done. Remove from pan. Saute onion in sausage grease until it is translucent. Add garlic and saute another minute. Add chicken broth, water, and potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are done, about 15 minutes. Add chopped kale and cream; simmer only 4 minutes. Serve.

This is good stuff!

Changing gears. On this historic day...how about a few quotes from past presidents...

James Polk: "There is more selfishness and less principle among members of Congress ... than I had any conception of, before I became President of the U.S." (December 16, 1846)

Abraham Lincoln: "You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."

Rutherford Hayes: "Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office
seeking." (1878)

Grover Cleveland: "A man is known by the company he keeps, and also by the company from which he is kept out."

Theodore Roosevelt: "Actions speak louder than words."
AND
"There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism." (October 12, 1915)

William Taft: "The world is not going to be saved by legislation." (1916)

Harry Truman: "America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand." (January 8, 1947)

Dwight Eisenhower: "America is best described by one word, freedom." (January 9, 1958)

John Kennedy: "There is always inequity in life. . . . Life is unfair." (March 21, 1962)

Ronald Reagan: "Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first." (March 2, 1977)
AND
"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." (January 20, 1981)

Amazing Man

I don't know how to imbed a video from U-Tube in my post. But you MUST see this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MslbhDZoniY&eurl=http://www.google.com/reader/view/

Quilting All Day

...or so it seems. My neck and shoulders are tired.

I did take a break and cooked dinner (lunch for those of you not from Texas). Then I set out half a pound of butter to soften. While it was softening, I quilted for an hour. The butter? Oh. ;o) Another batch of those Oatmeal-Raisin cookies. Personally I would've preferred something with chocolate. Alas. No chocolate in the house except for Hershey's dark chocolate syrup for my morning milk.

Supper will be leftovers...or cookies and milk.
Sam has been enjoying his new HDTV watching more football. I bet he's watched more football the last two weekends than he watch all year last year.

I read a Barbara Michaels' book this weekend, Stitches in Time. Yes, it is quilt related! How DID you guess? ;o) I found this:

My whole life is in that quilt. All my joys and all my sorrows are stitched into those little pieces. My hopes and fears, my loves and hates. I tremble sometimes when I remember what that quilt knows about me.

I think of all the quilts that I've made that this one probably fulfills that statement for me. I started it while my first husband, Ron, was terminally ill. This Dresden Plate quilt has fabrics left from garment construction. I made Ron's shirts. He was a big man. I worked on a pattern until I got the fit he liked. As an adolescent, Jonathan wore western shirts. I've sewn for him since he was a little kid. I also made quite a bit of my own clothing. So, I had what I then called "scraps." Now, I am a seriously addicted quilter and have a wonderful "stash."




I finished piecing this top at Christ 40 Acres near Honobia Oklahoma - family camp - August 1996. Ron died from liver failure that November. I didn't quilt for a few years until after I remarried and a nephew and wife (Brian and Beth) were going to have their first baby. It is nice to be doing something I enjoy again.

Visit The never ending adventure

Lani has a valentine related giveaway on her blog. Go visit.

http://golanigo.blogspot.com/

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: