Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Just a little decluttering...

Last week I spent some time doing more de-cluttering.  Or maybe I should say getting ready to de-clutter.  I had came across these before, but decided it was time to do something with them.
These were crocheted by Roger's great aunt.  I already have some in my cedar chest....these were some Roger's mom had before she passed away.
If I have one, I have a hundred pieces.  No exaggeration.  I had asked Sarah if she wanted them.  She didn't.  I was grasping at straws when I asked Sarah, and almost did not ask my other daughter, but decided to give her a try and she wants them!  So I decided to give them all a fresh wash.  I did a couple loads of them.  They are dry.  I did not starch them or anything like that.  I just wanted them clean and fresh.

I hope to send some on the way to my daughter before the week is out.  It will take at least two of the biggest Priority boxes, if not three.  There really is that many.

Just think of all the hours that went into making each item.  What is more fascinating is that someone took a crochet hook and thread and these are the results. 

Monday, August 18, 2014

Random rubbish

I am having to search the archives for something for Rubbish Tuesday...the first one above is from last summer on road trip over to Effingham, Illinois.  It is a drive-by.  I did what I could with it to make it look sharper.
The above is from north of us here in Indiana, at least I am 99% sure it is.

And below is from the Vermilion Museum in Danville, Illinois.  If I remember correctly, this is the desk used by Lincoln and his law partner
If I can remember, I am going to link to Rubbish Tuesday in the morn! 

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Playing a little bit

It's not as if I have nothing to do...not like I don't have a quilt that I should be quilting on.  It is not like I should not have been working on decluttering.

Even with all the other things I should be doing, I still have this little beauty set up in my dining room.  On its on table, not on the dining table at least.  And I have not sewn any on it for over a week and it has been calling my name.  So, I went and sat down at it a couple different times today and made those two blocks on top.  I made the bottom one some time back a month or so ago. That is not a real pattern.  It is a sort of improvisational sewing and is fun.

What is not fun:  I am never going to get rid of all the scraps in there!  I have worked with these same scraps and made I don't know how many things from them and the tote still seems full!

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Today Roger needed to go to Menard's, the local home improvement store.  The one that is closest to us.  We had another stop or two, so we  were gone two or three hours.  When I walked in the back door, there was a smell.  Oh, a good smell.

It smelled just like Mrs. Hayes' house used to smell.  It is hard to describe, and I have no idea why mine smelled like that.  It is a smell I have only ever smelled in her house, and I didn't know why hers smelled that way and I don't know why this one did either.

Mrs. Hayes was one of my mom's best friends.  She was probably 10 yrs older than mom.  And for a while was a real close neighbor.  I am not sure if I had been born when they lived close to us, I think I was but not sure.  I just always remember that no matter where she moved to, we would go visit her once or twice a summer.  And between times, her and my mom would write each other.

I don't remember what her husband called her, but she always called him MR. Hayes...I don't know if she did that when it was just them, but I never heard her call him anything else.  He was older than her, and when he died, to the best of my memory, she had a hard time finding a place to live.  She even tried living with another lady for a while....I am not sure if she just rented a room or if she shared the whole house.  (Or maybe she only talked about doing that)

Then she finally got into some senior's housing, and had been living there a while when I started driving.  Then mom and I would stop by a few times a year.  And that is where I really remember the smell from.

She and my mom talked quilting, and no matter if I had just been there the month before, I would still get her to get out her quilts till I could look at them.  I don't ever remember her getting tired of doing it...maybe she was just happy that I was interested.

Friday, August 15, 2014

Where the wild things are

Not what you expected, is it?  Not with that title.  But have slowly been quilting a bit on the quilt here and there.  I will have two diagonal rows of blocks quilted with the above type of quilting.  Remember to click to expand the view.  This reminds me of something you would see under a microscope. Anyway, I think I am going to name this quilt 'Where the Wild Things Are.'
These are just free-motion quilted.   Just something I sort of made up as I went along.
And across the middle of the quilt diagonally, I did this in each block.  You cannot see it very well in the picture...nor in real life either.  I was sort of disappointed in that.  So didn't like it.  But I went ahead and did the 5 blocks like this.

Reminders of what is to come...

I am finding snow pictures so appealing right now...this  was taken in March of 2013. If you click on the photo, you can expand the view.  This was on a Sunday so I suppose they were having their church that day.  From all I have read, they have their church meetings every other Sunday, and they take turns having them in their home.

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I did not get anything done today.  That I planned to do.  And very little otherwise.   Tomorrow is a new day.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Hi, Mr. Mailman

We were down to Goose Pond on our anniversary, and somewhere on the way to or from there, we passed this mailbox.  Was just there and gone so quick I barely had time to snap a picture.  Some people are just so artistic...and funny.

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Been busy with some of the normal household chores, and in between been fooling with my photos.  I managed to get all of the pictures of Roger's knives on to a DVD, and will get them on his computer tomorrow.

I am not sure if I got everyone visited or not...too weary to even think at this point in time. So I will try to catch up with everyone tomorrow.  Right now I am going to settle down and watch an episode of new Tricks. 

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

The gift of the bean seed....

Earlier this year I ran across this post at Frugal Little Bungalow Small Space Living....and I commented on it.  She was kind enough to share and this is the result.
I am not showing the Hyacinth bean plant--it is growing wild and I love that part.  But there is something eating on all the leaves.  I have dusted it with Sevins and it does not seem to slow it down.
And yes, these are all from the same plant.  I don't know if they varied colors has to do with the age of the bloom or the amount of light they get or what.
But every day I go out there and look at it and admire its loveliness, and I think of Deb!

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

things that make the heart skip a beat...



 What are the things that make your heart skip a beat and the juices start flowing when you see them...I think most of us have things we photograph over and over and over.  There are several for me, but right now I am eagerly awaiting fall color.  I am so in hopes that it is a good year.
I love how in the fall there seems to be more clouds like these above...

And of course winter follows fall...I don't look forward to the cold but I do the snow...

These and so much more make me feel alive!  What are the things that trip your trigger...or rather snap your shutter?





Friday, August 8, 2014

Funky tomatoes and other thoughts

 I took pictures of these the other day...not all my tomatoes look like these
but a big portion of them do.  At least these bottom two.
Have you ever seen anything quite like them?  The bottom two are from my Brandywines....and all my plants are Brandywine except four. 

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I still have a lot of decluttering to do.  Just have not been doing much of it.  However, the other day I got in the mood to spend some time at it.  When I start, I always end up getting a bag for things I want to donate and one for things I want to throw away.  I got rid of old VCR tapes, some college textbooks, other books, boxes...I cannot even think of all I got rid of.

Well, some of it has actually been picked up when the trash service ran yesterday morn.  And I have a big bag just full of stuff to be donated.  And have another bag started of things for donation.  And you know with all we have donated, and all that has found its way to the trash, you cannot tell that anything is gone.  I tell Roger all the time that we are rich....we have to be to be able to get rid of so much and not even miss it.

Granted, some of it is things that have been given to me.  And I got rid of a pair of my jeans that were threadbare almost.  One of my pairs for mowing the yard in.  A pair that most women would not be seen dead in.   And I got rid of things that I have not worn in ages.

anyway, the point of this is I got in this one tote that had some of the girls school work...notes, etc.  And then there was a spiral notebook and I opened it and there was a 'journal' I had started when we lived in Tennessee.  I sat down to read a little bit in it and came across where I had been to the grocery store.

This was back in 1978.  I spent $28 plus some change and here is what I got for that amount:

3 chuck blade steaks
10 pk chops
2-3 lbs of hamburger
gallon of milk
16 slices of cheese
lunchmeat ( I didn't say how much--probably one of those variety packages they used to have)
tea
toilet paper (I am sure that was back when we always got a 4-roll package)
and some canned goods.


That is just how I wrote it back then, except for the part in the parenthesis.  I wonder what that would cost now?

 
 

Thursday, August 7, 2014

A girl and her kitty

Sarah sent me this a few nights ago...
and followed it with this one an hour or two later....

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Not much has been going on since I last posted...we decided on the spur of the moment to go to Sarah's the last Sunday of July.  Our anniversary was a couple days later, but that Sunday was a good day for them to take us out to eat.  It was also the last weekend before Lorelei started school.  We got to play with Kitty Soft Paws and fell in love with her, too.

I wish I had gotten some pics of her but she was just always busy.  She is the cutest, funniest little kitty ever.  So very petite.  Her tail is the longest tail compared to body of any cat I have ever seen.  And I have seen a lot of cats.  It is also fluffy like a bottle brush...reminds people of a lemur.  Her face is tiny, but she has great big ears with long fur that comes out of them.

I want to encourage you to click on these pics...all four of her feet are white...and her tail is tipped in white.  And notice the white on her chest....oh, it is hard to give an adequate description of her.  But I would like to add that her personality is as lovely as her appearance.
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I had back troubles for a while...after a trip to the chiropractor and a bit more time that was taken care of.  In the meantime, I developed a cough...no sore throat...just a cough.  And even that is not horrible, just have spells of coughing and coughing and coughing.  Life is fun!

I have accomplished nothing to speak of in the sewing world...have barely started the quilting on the quilt I pin basted a while back.  I don't really like what I have done, but am trying to look on it as a learning experience.