Happy Easter from our house and yard to yours!

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Spring has sprung!

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The freesias are blooming in the backyard--oh, do they smell good!


The last week has found me down and out with a bad cold. Copper knows when I need a cuddle.
I'm finally feeling better, although I will have this cough for weeks.

I had to skip one of the granddaughters' quilt classes, but they are doing very well. Here are their first quilts:



They learn very quickly. We are now in the middle of their sampler quilts, and going strong.

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New Home

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We just returned from an 8-day trip to snowy Northwest Arkansas. We stayed with my sister, Meg. Our main reason for going was to look at land to buy. We bought a 3.2 acre investment property (an estate lot) that is unimproved. We then looked at several properties with houses. We intend to move there in the fall of 2012, and land prices are currently depressed there as they are in most areas. So we felt it was the right time to buy. After much deliberation, we chose the property pictured below.

It is on a county road which is about a mile and a half from Hwy 62, halfway between Farmington and Prairie Grove, AR.


This is the front entrance. The porch is small, but I love the etched glass door! (disregard the dates printed on the photos~~)


These two buildings are included. The one on the left is a large "shop" building, insulated and heated by a wood stove. You could easily get two large tractors in there. The other is a small building that is made of 12" reinforced concrete. I call it the block house. It will serve as our storm shelter as well as a wintering area for my hubby's bulbs, root vegetables, etc.

There is a wood-burning fireplace insert in the living room. Most of the walls are paneled with good quality paneling. The house was built in 1998 and is handicapped accessible.


This area is at the opposite end of the living room from the fireplace.


A trip around the small kitchen-- back corner near the sliding patio doors. The house is currently occupied by the sellers, so the stuff is all theirs.


Above is the back window over the sink, the appliance garage is a nice feature.


Above is the window overlooking the driveway and shop building.


The corner next to the gas stove.


The stove and refrigerator wall on the right as you enter the kitchen.


The laundry and half bath. There are two other full baths, and three bedrooms.


The view of the back of the property from the driveway. The 2.2 acre lot extends past the fence to a line paralleling it at the end of the perpendicular piece of fencing. All the trees on the left are on our property.


Hubby inspecting the covered patio.

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Now that we are back the real work begins. Packing up 30 years worth of stuff would be too much, so we will spend the next two years purging and sorting. Trying to keep everyday life going while doing it will be the tricky part.

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Try That Again

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Ok, let's try that again. Now I'm back, after having two cataracts removed and two intraocular lens implants inserted. Now instead of being nearsighted, which I had been since I was a child, I am now farsighted. But at least I can now pay ten bucks at the drugstore for my glasses.

The prospect of having eye surgery was frightening. I wondered if I'd be able to keep my eye still, would I see the instruments coming toward my eye, and how much would it hurt? I went into surgery in November very nervous. I came out wondering why I had been so afraid. I felt nothing, saw nothing but a bright light, and couldn't have moved my eye if I wanted to. Sure, having to put drops in my eye four times a day for four weeks was a hassle, but a small price to pay. In December the other eye was done, and since I knew what to expect I wasn't a bit concerned. But I felt the surgeon start work, and complained loudly, so he gave me more pain medicine and the rest of the surgery was a piece of cake. Afterward he asked me how I felt. I told him I felt like someone had poked me in the eye. He replied,"Guilty as charged!"

Of course then I had to do the eye drop thing all over again. But now that's over, and I am back to my regular routine. Except that I then had to start using a CPAP machine. I couldn't do that until the eye doctor gave his okay, as it tends to blow air in my eyes when I least expect it.

Now the CPAP is a whole different story. I had been having to sit straight up in bed in the middle of the night, to catch my breath. Not a good sign. I also woke up every morning with an hypoxic headache, and tended to fall asleep anytime I sat down for a few minutes. So the sleep study (a miserable experience, and I had to do it twice!) showed that I was hardly getting any sleep at all.

Getting used to a CPAP machine is a real challenge, and after two weeks I am still having difficulty wearing it for more than 4 or 5 hours per night. It is an uncomfortable feeling, especially for someone who is mildly claustrophobic anyway. The "nasal pillows" tend to leak air, and it is virtually impossible to speak or breathe through my mouth with it on. I have mastered taking care of the machine, mask, and tubing; keeping the humidifier filled; and putting the headgear on in the dark. I am adjusting to breathing only through my nose, after getting a prescription for a steroid nasal spray for my allergies. Now if I can figure out how to turn from side to side without dislodging the thing, I will be satisfied. I also think I need to get a chin strap for it, as I tend to try to open my mouth even though it gags me if I do. Thirty years of mouth-breathing is hard to overcome. That's what usually wakes me up in the middle of the night, either gagging or dislodging the nasal pillows when I turn. They make a loud hissing noise when that happens.

My husband swears it doesn't keep him awake, but he does end up on the couch more often since I started using it. Normally the sound of it is less than the fan we keep on for white noise anyway. I have managed to twice sleep through the night with it, although it did wake me up a couple of times when I turned. But oh, how I wish I didn't need it. My husband comments that I seem to be better oxygenated during the night, no longer snore (even when I throw the darn thing aside) and seem better rested during the day. I don't feel that much better yet, but it's early days.

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I have started teaching my two granddaughters to quilt. They are homeschooled by their mother and having me teach home-ec twice a week gives her a break; plus I love getting to know them better. I have started them on a Rail Fence pattern, and they are making great progress. For girls who had never touched a sewing machine, they can really make those things hum. They need to concentrate more on accuracy, but speed is their forte. We are having a blast.

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No, I'm not....

I thought I was back, but it turns out I won't be blogging for awhile, probably not until January. I had cataract surgery in my right eye, and may be having it in my left in December. I can't see very well, so this will have to wait until my vision gets better. Sorry.

I'm back!!

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It's been awhile since I've posted. I've been having vision problems, and just found out that I will be having cataract surgery in November. I've also been tested for sleep apnea, and will start wearing a CPAP machine about the same time. I hope I will soon be doing much better.

I made 36 of these Sewing Kit in a Jar units to sell at our Eastern Star Rummage Sale on October 24th. They sell for $7.50 each and contain a mixture of vintage and new sewing supplies.

Here is a photo of the table I decorated for a recent Eastern Star meeting. I made the centerpiece, which has flower "hair" with a raven sitting in it. Below is the cake that was served.

My older son and his family are arriving tomorrow to begin their tour of duty at Corpus Christi NAS. We are so looking forward to having them nearby! They will live on base, and we live only about 5 miles away. My younger son and his wife live about the same distance from us in another direction. We are pumped to all be together again!

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New sewing room

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July's image swap was Rosia from Paper Imagery Designs. These are the ones I received.

from Lee H.

from Jennifer R.

from Dianna M.

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June's swap was Marshall in 4 x 4 size, from PID.

from Lee H.

from Jennifer R.

from Chris L.

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It's been awhile since my last post, and I said I would share photos of my new sewing and craft rooms when I got them organized. Well, that's going to take longer than I thought! I have been working on them for a couple of months now, and they aren't even half loaded yet. But at least they are semi-organized, so I can show them to you.

This is my craft room. The closet has wire shelving with lots of bins of craft stuff, plus boxes and other containers that haven't been sorted yet. The other shelves are for books, magazines, and vhs tapes that I am in the middle of dubbing to DVD. The printer is on the left, and you can't see the computer desk; but you can see the top of the TV in the foreground. The work table is under the window, with storage for beading and jewelry supplies and cardmaking supplies.

To the right is the drawing table, currently covered with stuff. The cart on the left holds desk supplies, and the one on the right holds scrapbooking supplies (I don't really do scrapbooking though, it's mostly stuff for making ATCs and cards.) Behind the door are two purse racks. I make a lot of my own purses, and this was the only place I could find to store them.

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This is the Singer Fashion Mate (237) that I picked up at a garage sale for $20. It had a broken stitch width lever, so I bought one on eBay for $5 and fixed it myself. I have yet to try it out, as I have no table to put it on right now. I understand that these are real workhorse machines--all metal parts except the faceplate and spool pin. It weighs a ton, too. It will do straight stitch and zigzag, and the feed dogs lower. It will make a good back-up machine.

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Now, here's the sewing room as you walk in the door. My Husqvarna Viking Rose and my Singer 600E Touch and Sew are set up and ready to go. The pegboard holds a lot of stuff, and there's a rack next to the window that holds rotary cutters and rulers out of the way of little hands. There's a worktable in the center of the room for cutting and pressing. The quilt rack holds items that are waiting to be machine quilted.

To the left of the door are three bookcases. My battings are labeled as to size and stacked on the top left side.


My finished quilts are on the top right.


The bookcases are full of bins holding fabric by color or category, and the one on the far right hold books and projects in progress.

A closer look at the pegboard and the ruler rack. There is a window to the right--the sun was bright today!

Then to the right of the window is the closet. My serger is to the left, my thread rack is on the right (this is only about half my thread!) The TV is currently not hooked up. I don't know if I'll ever get around to getting a cable box for it. The door to the room is on the right edge of the photo.


I still have about half my stuff in storage, so the rooms won't always be this neat. But they work for me. I may rearrange the furniture a little, once I find out if the layout works or not.

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So you see I have been busy, so I have a good excuse for not updating this blog sooner. I'll try not to be so remiss next time.

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