Game-playing for stress relief

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I have two sons. Raising boys in the 80's and 90's meant lots of video games at our house. We started out with an original Nintendo console, then added the Super Nintendo, Game Boys, etc. My younger son has made a career working with computers, so there were always computer games, as well. They soon outdistanced me--I never did get the hang of Super Mario Bros. and 95% of the computer games out there were shooters, RPG's, racing games, etc. that required more hand-eye coordination and quicker reflexes than I seem to possess. Games in which you know something is going to attack you make me very uptight and nervous. So I was thrilled when my son introduced me to

http://www.minecraft.net/

Minecraft is right up my alley! It is what they call a "sandbox" game. You build things with blocks of various substances, like stone, dirt, or wood. You dig for resources such as coal, iron ore, gold, diamond, or obsidian. You use a workbench to craft items like tools or torches. You cook items in a furnace to make glass or cook food.

The best part is that you can play it in "Peaceful" mode where there are no bad guys to bother you. You still can die by falling or by drowning, or by contact with lava. But nothing is going to sneak up on you to do you harm. There are peaceful creatures--cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, and squid; and the wolves can turn on you if you attack them first. But you can also tame them. You harvest pork from the pigs, hides from the cattle, feathers from the chickens, and wool from the sheep. These can all be used to make other things. You can grow sugar cane, cactus, trees, and wheat to make bread or paper.

If this is too easy, you can turn up the danger factor by playing in easy, normal, or hard modes. There you are in danger from creepers who explode, skellys who fire arrows, huge spiders that can jump, and zombies who attack you. Plus there is a "nether" world inhabited by "ghasts" and other unearthly enemies.

I enjoy playing in peaceful mode as a stress relief. I even occasionally play in easy mode and no longer fear the spiders or zombies. I only go out in the daytime, though. Most enemies are only active at night. I still panic when I see a creeper. That's as much fear as I care to face. I am a complete wuss.

Minecraft will soon be coming out with a rather significant upgrade. There are new creatures, called Endermen, which are rather like Ents or tree-people. They attack you if you look at them. It will be hard NOT to look at them because they are interesting to look at. There will be villages to explore and quests to complete. There will also be a new mode called "Creative" in which you are given infinite resources and can create to your heart's content without fear of being attacked.

In my opinion, Minecraft is a perfect family game. You can start kids out in peaceful or creative modes. They can advance at their own pace to the more difficult modes or stay in peaceful mode forever. There is no time limit, no points scored. It's just fun. You can dig mines, build fantastic structures, or go exploring. It's not an expensive game either.

There are lots of blogs and videos out there that show screenshots or actual play of the game. I highly recommend Minecraft for anyone.

Now you'll have to excuse me, I found some obsidian to mine.

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Drought, but still blooming!

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How, during one of the worst droughts in South Texas history, can this beautiful Amaryllid be blooming right outside our front door? We haven't been watering that much. I guess it is just a hardier species than most. It has two beautiful blooms on it and will soon have two more.




The drought has destroyed any plants I put in my cement urn near the front porch. I finally gave up and put in some artificial plants to at least give us some color. It almost looks natural--it might fool people who don't realize that nothing else is in this kind of shape.

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I had a stack of 4.5"' squares that I had cut out for some I Spy baby quilts. I finally got around to making two quilts, and didn't have enough left over for another. So I used them for these little things. They are only 14" square, not counting the ribbons. I've heard them called "church quilts," "woobies" or "bankies" according to how juvenile the person is who describes them. Babies seem to like all the ribbon tags around the edges.


Some people are afraid that babies might get their fingers caught in the ribbon loops. These loops are 4" pieces folded in half, so they are really too big to get fingers caught, and too small to get a little fist through. If the mother has a worry about it, she can always just snip open the loops at the fold.

These quilts and "woobies" are not for any particular baby; I just wanted to have some baby gifts ready to go when another baby comes along. I have a large extended family so there will always be another baby eventually. I have the larger quilt tops done but I haven't sandwiched them or quilted them yet.



I need to make some gifts for the weddings that will be coming along, too. That's a project for later, though. I have a list of projects I want to do first. Isn't that always the case?

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Hubby's new baby

Hubby just got a new toy for his birthday! He just picked it up today. He's just as proud as Punch. He is selling his Suzuki to our youngest son, since his car wasn't worth repairing. The truck has a really smooth ride, and all the bells and whistles.

I'm down to using a cane now instead of crutches. I'm a little nervous of losing my balance still. By Monday I hope to be walking normally.

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New sewing project

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Copper loves to go "walkies." I went looking for a new harness for him, but the only ones I could find at the pet supply stores looked very uncomfortable, and when he walks with just his collar, he ends up choking himself by pulling too hard. He really needed a good, comfortable harness.

So I went looking on the internet, thinking someone must have copied one of those new "safe" harnesses they advertise on TV. No such luck--but I found a good tutorial for a really cute vest-type harness that I felt I could adapt a bit.

The original tutorial was posted by Erin Erickson here:

http://www.erinerickson.com/2010/11/little-dog-harness-tutorial/

Her dog is such a cute model! The harness is designed to close with Velcro, but I prefer to use something a little more secure since Copper pulls a lot. So I used the "Loki Harness" pattern on the same PDF, shortened the belly straps a couple of inches, and inserted a snap-buckle and straps on each side. I kept the neck the same but overlapped it with a button and buttonhole. I'm really pleased with how it turned out!


It was really easy to make, even with the changes I made. I think it took less than an hour. Erin also has some other really cute dog accessories with tutorials.


Copper seems to like it. He loves being fussed over! It certainly looks a lot more comfortable than the store-bought harnesses. There's a D-ring on the back for his leash to hook onto.

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This is my fat knee without the bandages on. Two small puncture wounds with a single stitch in each. It is a little swollen and bruised yet. It is very sore, but that's probably because I've been putting more weight on it today. I'm looking forward to walking without pain very soon.

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Hobbling along

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I finally had my knee arthroscopy on Friday, and am hobbling around on crutches for the next day or two. The pain was pretty bad on Saturday, less on Sunday, and today I can put most of my weight on it without difficulty. The crutches are just to keep me steady at this point. By this weekend I hope to be walking normally again.

My son borrowed my car while his is in the shop, which came at a good time since I'm not using it anyway. I'm not supposed to drive for the rest of this week. (Husband's orders, not the doctors'!)

Hubby has been watching me like a hawk. As a retired rehab nurse, he helps me with my crutch technique, etc. He fetches and carries for me, too. It's great to have a private nurse!

My bandage comes off today and I can finally shower. I'm curious as to what the incisions look like.

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Meanwhile, I found these aprons in my MIL's things and thought they were very cute.

a plain, full skirted half-apron

a half-apron with scalloped hem, two pockets, and rick-rack trim


a really cute hostess apron with fish pocket

I'm into aprons right now. I've spent a couple of days at the computer downloading free apron patterns and believe me, there are a lot of cute ones out there. I'm thinking about making some of the free-domain ones to sell at a fair in Arkansas next year. I have plenty of fabric and lots of free time right now. If I do make some, I'll try to post some pics.

It is interesting that aprons kind of fell out of favor for 30 years, but now are considered retro-chic! A lot of the free patterns on the web are put there by young women who are probably riding the crest of the "newest wave." I have several in my kitchen linen stash, but rarely wear one myself. That may change if I really get into this.

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Trying again

Okay, let's try this again. Life has settled down a little, for the next few months anyway.

Ten months to go until we move to Arkansas. I am enjoying this last summer in South Texas. Like the rest of the country, we have had some real scorching days, but we're used to that. Next summer I will be too busy unpacking to enjoy the weather very much. We have already sent two PODS full of stuff to Arkansas. One load went into our shop building there at the house; the other was split between the shop and a climate-controlled storage unit we have rented. All paper goods and fabric goods go there, things like my collection of mystery paperbacks, linens, photographs, etc. Much of that POD load came directly from the 10' x 10' storage unit we had here. It will be "fun" unpacking all that stuff next year. I anticipate a large garage sale next fall, although I did try to weed stuff out that I knew I didn't want anymore. Goodwill has been the beneficiary of most of that.

This past week I reorganized my sewing room, labeling everything clearly and making sure everything was put in its place. Not only will I be able to find everything easier, but it will help tremendously when I pack it all up and then unpack it again. The bins and boxes will just go in large cardboard boxes, labeled and sent up in the last POD which will go up about a month before the move.


The pillowcases on top of the shelves are encasing my finished quilts. I buy zippered white cotton pillowcases at BB&B, then add a clear vinyl pocket to one side. I take a photo of the quilt, print it out, and put the photo in the pocket. I can then tell what quilt it is without taking it out of the case.


Now to keep it looking this neat!


Oh, and I bought a new Baby Lock Quest Plus sewing machine since I last blogged much. I like it, except for how hard it is to find extra feet for it. It came with several, but I like to have a few specialty feet, you know? Pintuck foot, stitch-in-the-ditch foot, cording foot, etc. The shank ankle on this machine is wider than most, so the feet I have for my Husqvarna Viking Rose won't fit, and neither will most other Baby Lock feet. What's up with that? Otherwise it's a great machine, even if I did have to travel to San Antonio to get it.

I've been going through old videotapes and dubbing the good ones to DVDs. I had several years worth of sewing and quilting videos--Nancy Zieman, Eleanor Burns, Martha Pullen, Fons and Porter, Sue Scheewe, Donna Dewberry, etc, etc. Those have now been dubbed. Now I'm going through the tapes we don't want to keep, making sure there are no unlabeled "gems" on them before they hit the recycling bin. Right this minute I am watching the first day of "Operation Iraqi Freedom." Talk about a blast from the past! All the speculation about how many casualties there would be, the weapons of mass destruction they expected to find, the dangers of biological warfare, in hindsight sound a little alarmist but were very indicative of the fears after 9/11. We taped the CNN coverage because my husband was a Navy reservist at the time and our son was on the USS Enterprise.

To catch up with when I stopped blogging--our Bedlington Terrier, Copper, is doing well. My husband has put on some weight but is still in remission from his Goblet Cell Carcinoid. He has stopped his plant growing business in preparation for the move, and is only taking care of plants that we may be able to take with us. He has already sent a few boxes of bulbs to our renter, who has set them in the ground for us. We'll put them where we want them later.

I am in better health now and have a lot more energy. I had been having a lot of problems with high blood pressure, heel pain, and other problems related to obesity. This year I decided to get more active. I bought a treadmill and have been using it regularly, 5-6 days a week. I am also eating a high protein, low carb diet. My BP is back to normal. I am still using a CPAP machine, but the pressure has been reduced on it. I still have the heel spurs but they are not bothering me as much.

I am scheduled to have arthroscopic knee surgery in two weeks to repair a torn meniscus and generally clean out the joint. I have limped for over a year, and took a bad fall in February that probably caused the torn meniscus. I'm anxious to get this surgery done and get my knee back to normal.

I am no longer involved in Eastern Star, although I am a life member and still have friends there. I let my health get to the point where I could no longer enjoy that type of activity. Now that I feel better I am too busy getting ready to move. I do still attend the Red Hat events and the book club with some of the Red Hat members. I get so much from those friends--I will really miss them when I move! I hope some of them will keep in touch. I intend to.

I found this lovely tray at a thrift store last Saturday. I couldn't pass it up. Isn't it pretty? The bottom is made of ceramic tiles. It's in perfect shape--the white spots are glints from the shiny tiles.


I have been saving my sons' old T-shirts for several years now, intending to make quilts out of them. I finally got around to it because I didn't want to move the shirts to Arkansas. This one is made of a lot of school shirts, Boy Scout shirts, and various others that were favorites.


This one, on the other hand, is exclusively made of Eskimo Joe's tees. My sons both enjoyed these while they were growing up. At one time Eskimo Joe's tees were the second most highly desired tees after Hard Rock Cafe. The chain is based in Stillwater, OK where my DH grew up. My MIL used to get the shirts for the boys at every holiday, so they always had several.


These are still just tops. My sister in Arkansas will quilt them for me later. For those who don't know how to make quilt blocks out of t-shirts, I'll explain.

1. Launder the tees, no fabric softener. I use even the shirts with stains and small holes in them, as well as the ones that are faded as long as the design is clear enough to see.

2. Buy lots of middleweight fusible interfacing, non-stretchy. I mean lots--I had to go buy more twice for the two quilts above. One yard will do two 15" blocks. I had a 15" square ruler that I used for the template.

3. Cut off the sleeves and neck ribbing of the shirt and open at least one of the sides so you can lay it flat on your ironing board. The sleeves and plain backs make good cleaning rags. If the back or sleeves have designs on them, use them for the quilt too.

4. Lay the design area face down on the ironing board and press it to remove wrinkles and to square up the design if it's a little cattywampus. (yes, that's a real word!)

5. Cut a piece of interfacing the size you want the finished block to be. Mine were 15" squares.

6. Center it over the design area of the shirt. Most of the time the top edge of the interfacing will be at the neckline edge of the shirt. Press the interfacing in place using the manufacturer's directions. Don't be afraid to use the extra pieces of interfacing by piecing them onto a block. It won't make a difference.

7. Cut out the interfaced area from the shirt, using a template or ruler. Now you have a quilt block! If some of the designs are bigger or smaller, you can either cut into the design and only use part of it, make one row with larger blocks, or add pieces to the smaller blocks to make them all the same, etc. You can see what I mean in the pictures.

I used sashing on one quilt to tie it all together because I had to add some strips to a couple of smaller blocks to make them fit. Since a few of the shirts were tie-dyed, I interfaced the remaining tie-dyed pieces and cut them into strips to use for the sashing. I like the look. Don't try cutting out the pieces before interfacing them--trust me on this one.

I will say that these are rather heavy quilt tops. I've chosen regular cotton backings and will use very thin cotton batting. Polyester would be too bulky. These are going on the kid's guest room beds when we get to Arkansas and have the addition built on the house.

Boy, when I do get around to blogging I really talk a lot, don't I? I'd better save some for later.

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Keeping it Open

I haven't felt like blogging for many months now. I do want to hold this blog open, and will try to start using it again very soon. Sometimes blogging becomes a chore, and is no longer fun or interesting. That is the way this blog has gone. Problems arise, attention is diverted, and it feels like nothing is worth blogging about. I expect that to change soon.

We still expect to move to NW Arkansas in about 15 months. In the interim, I am concentrating on improving my health, which has slowly deteriorated over the last few years. I have made great strides in that direction, and I hope that I will soon feel up to talking about it.

So bear with me! I will be my old boring self again, soon enough.