Back to work!

This is a purse that I made for DDIL #2 for her May birthday. I used the Towne Purse pattern from Lazy Girls Design to make it. The large orange and green patches on the sides are pockets with flaps over the tops. There are several inside pockets, too. The fabric is Laurel Burch Canines and Felines, mixed with solids from Moda Marbles. The pattern is very easy to make.

I found out that the flower I posted yesterday is known as a fire lily or blood lily. There was a picture in the new issue of Birds and Blooms that came today. I love that magazine!

Tomorrow Monty is going in for grooming. Boy, will he feel better afterwards! His fur gets so long and heavy during the winter and spring. We groom him 2-3 times a year, at least at the start of summer and of winter. That might seem strange, but remember we live in south Texas! Even our winters can be very warm. I'll try to post an "after" picture--I've already posted photos of him in full coat. He will turn 13 on June 15th.

I'm so thrilled to have my sewing machine back. I'll soon have several more projects started--just wait and see!

Memorial Day

I have no idea what this flower is, but isn't it beautiful? This is one that my DH grows to sell. He has plants from all over the world. His website is www.sotexplants.com if anyone wants a look.
I think this is a kind of pseudo-iris.

The OES chapter made over $400 Saturday at their rummage sale. I helped sort stuff on Friday and helped close down the sale on Saturday. I didn't buy much--a birdhouse for $2.50, a 25 cent paper fan, a $3 jacket pattern and a $3 sleeve pressing board, brand new. I got rid of so much stuff that has just been collecting dust. OES is having another rummage sale in about 6 months, so I should be able to get some more stuff sorted out to get rid of.

On this Memorial Day I am sad that so many young men and women are in harm's way. Let's hope that by next Memorial Day this war is over and they will all be home.

Catching up on happenings

Well, I have found two new puzzle games that are lots of fun. One is called Atlantis Quest, and is similar to Bejeweled, only you work your way up the levels on a quest to find artifacts that will lead you to Atlantis. I really like the added incentive to keep playing. The other one I already mentioned--it's called Oasis. It's a simpler form of Civilizations, and I just loaded it on my computer today, but I'm already hooked!

I have been trying to get hold of the lady who I want to quilt the red and green quilt and the Gingko Glory quilt, but after two weeks I have not been able to contact her. I have the money saved up, the quilts are ready, so I'm getting increasingly frustrated about it; all I can do is keep trying.

I am going to Portland (Texas) tomorrow to pick up my sewing machine. The screw that broke off in the presser shaft is costing me about $100 to get fixed. They had to order a part--I don't know if it was the shaft or the screw itself-- which cost $40 of that total. What choice do I have, if I want to keep sewing? The machine itself was $2000, and is already a long way from the top of the line. Really good machines cost as much as an economy car did a few years ago. It will be nice to have it back, but I have enjoyed the excuse not to start any new projects for a couple of weeks.

I went to a public meeting this afternoon held by Wal-Mart addressing the concerns of people who live in the area where a new Supercenter is scheduled to be built. Personally, I am looking forward to the new store, one of two supercenters scheduled to open over the next two years here. For several years now, we have had only one real supermarket chain in the Corpus Christi area, and although their prices aren't outrageous, a little competition couldn't hurt.
The only existing Supercenter is on the other side of town, several miles from here. Of course there is still a health food store, only about a half-mile from my house, but I'm not fond of buying food in a store that is always thick with moths flying around. The moths come in with the bulk food bins (yuk!) and where there are moths, there are larvae. Not my idea of health food! The Wal-Mart going in this year is across Staples Street from the church in which my sons got their Eagle Scout awards, and the one for next year is going in an old strip mall called Parkdale Plaza. That area could use some revitalization.

Our OES chapter is having a rummage sale this weekend at the Lodge. DH is contributing a lot of plants to sell, and I have been going through stuff to donate as well. Today it was the old record albums. I have many of my albums that I had as a teenager, stuff like the Bee Gees, Frankie Valli, John Denver, Beach Boys, etc. DH has some albums from the early 60's beatnik era, mostly Polynesian stuff. All that will go to the sale, but I couldn't bear to let go of my Spike Jones 3-LP set! I don't own a phonograph, nor do I expect to buy one, but I just can't do it. Does that tell you something about my personality??

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday for a BP check; I was really worried about it. He had increased my BP medication, and DH has been taking my BP every day and recording it. It had been rising steadily despite more medication. To my relief, the doctor threw out all those readings because the BP cuff we had been using was too small. My BP at his office was 119/82.
He told me to keep up the good work and see him again in six months. Yea!! I'm planning to order a larger BP cuff as soon as we can afford one. I had been taking Aleve twice a day for my heel spurs, but I've stopped taking that, since NSAIDs can increase BP. I'll try either Tylenol or Aspirin instead.

My DDIL found a baby bird in the front yard this afternoon. It looked like a baby grackle, not exactly an endangered species around here, but we're all soft-hearted about animals. After thinking for a minute, I had her retrieve the nest that Mrs. Dove had built and abandoned. We put it in the crotch of the tree, and put the baby bird in it. I don't know if the parents will continue to feed it there, but at least a cat won't get at it, so it will have at least a slim chance. I did see some agitated grackles flying around the vicinity later.

Puzzles

I finally finished the black and white tableset in time to take it to my quilt group meeting tonight. To make sense of this photo, the tablerunner is draped over the card table (it hangs down about 18" on either side,) then the six placemats are arrayed at the front of the table, and the four coasters are on top of the topmost placemat. It's all kind of a jumble when you see them all on top of each other, isn't it?

Tomorrow I will take my sewing machine to get the needle screw drilled out and replaced. I don't know how long it will be away from home, but I need to take a break from sewing anyway.

We took my DMIL and DS out to eat at Luby's yesterday, the food was good as always. DDIL wasn't feeling well, but we brought her back a plate. My DS in Virginia called to wish me a happy Mother's Day, too.

DS installed Myst on my computer, but when we tried to play it, the screen was upside-down! Evidently this is not as unusual as it sounds, since there are lots of hints online about how to get it right-side up; unfortunately none seem to work for us. I'm not having too much luck getting older games to work on my computer. I tried Safecracker and one called Moments in Time or something like that--neither one works for me. I've been looking for a game similar to Pandora's Box that will play on XP, any ideas? I love Pandora's Box, but you can only solve each puzzle a few times before getting a little bored with it. I've ordered a game called Nibiru, and one called Oasis. I hope at least one of those will work with my machine. I play other games, of course--like Passage 3, Chuzzle, Bejeweled, Snood, Tetris, Fowl Words, Spider Solitaire, and Mahjongg. I would love some new puzzle games, though.

I'm a jigsaw puzzle fanatic, too--I have a closet full of them. I also have a program called Art Apart that lets me import photos and turn them into jigsaws for the computer. We keep a Fill-In puzzle book in the bathroom for those times when you need something to do. I like to keep my brain exercised.

Flown the coop!

The two baby doves fledged this week, and the nest is now empty. They must have been there longer than we thought. I kinda miss watching them out of the kitchen window.

I finally got around to measuring the red and green quilt--it's 132" x 134"! I hope that the quilter can fit it on her machine, if not she'll have to rip off the last border. It came through the wash without any problems, thank goodness. I worried about some of the scraps of red I used, but the dye fixative did its work well.

My violets seem to like their perch in the east window--they're just blooming their little hearts out! My DDIL commented on how beautiful the blooms are. They have little sparkles in them and almost look like they couldn't possibly be real.

The black and white table set is quilted and ready to bind. When I get it done I'm going to give in and take my machine in to be repaired. Luckily, I have two Featherweights to use while it's gone. My best one came from my sister, who bought it new in the 1960s, and gave it to me for my birthday a few years ago. I love it, it sews very smoothly and is fun to sew with. Thanks, sis! The other one is not in tip-top condition, but will sew in a pinch. It was given to me by my DMIL, who inherited it from her late husband's first wife. I haven't had a chance to really work on it; I just cleaned it, made sure it would run, and put it away.

We finally got the TV situation straightened out. The repair shop said ours couldn't be fixed, so they told us they would sell us a good used TV, crediting us for the amount we had already spent on repairs. They just had to put a new part in the used TV first. So we waited, and waited, and waited... but we finally got a 26" RCA for $35 that works fine (knock on wood!) so we are no longer watching a 15" TV with green spots in it! We're still getting used to the picture not being quite as sharp on the on-screen directory as it was on the old 27" model, but I can live with that.

The post office food drive is this Saturday, so I need to clean out my pantry of everything I have bought because it was on sale but will never use. I have about a gallon of RoTel tomatoes with chilis, lots of vegetables, and things like soup that we tried one can of and didn't care for.
Someone might as well get some use out of it. I will try to pick up some other canned goods before the weekend. I almost always set out a full plastic bag by the mailbox for the postman to pick up.

Tomorrow night our OES chapter is visiting the local DeMolay chapter. I haven't been to a DeMolay meeting since my youngest DS was a member, several years ago. DH is going to get his 50-year DeMolay pin in a few weeks, and is still listed as an advisor to the chapter. DeMolay was a very good experience for our older son; less enjoyable for the younger son, but still good for him, I think. It really built their confidence for public speaking and leadership. I can highly recommend it for teen boys.