This and That...and JoJo

I've been jumping from project to project as usual these last few days while I've been home.

I've got Alissa's dress almost finished...except for the zipper. I hate sewing in zippers! School starts in a little over a week, and I've promised her I'd have it ready in time. I'll take a picture of it when it's completed.

I turned a little shutter into a shelf and got that hung in my sewing room.


I have a second one and I'm going to make it into a shelf for Laura.

A little more progress has been made on my walkway out front. I'll be glad when I have it finished.


JoJo had his final shots and neutering yesterday. They gave him a tatoo on his belly and I had him microchipped. Poor little guy was poked and cut all over, but he's doing fine today after lots of sleeping.


He's good for a year now. My little "free" guy has cost almost $300 now. I'm thankful my neighbor that found him paid a third of it.

I've gotten quite a bit of house cleaning done, but still have more to do. I've continued my project of sorting through things I'm not using and putting them in boxes for donation.

It's back to Lowes tomorrow - I really hate working there but don't have any other options at the moment. It's such a negative environment as far as management and employees go, but I am meeting lots of nice customers and getting leads on potential jobs elsewhere.

Time for a little snack and then going to bed. I hope you all have a good weekend!

So Much for Daily Posting

I was on a good streak there for a few days, wasn't I? There just aren't enough hours in the day!

I'm sad to say that Cinnamon didn't survive whatever ailment she had. I thought that she might pull through as she seemed to be getting more color in her comb. Along with different food items, I was giving her a mixture of Karo syrup, garlic and water based on information I learned from others but it wasn't enough. Kas was the one who mentioned the antibiotic properties of garlic and a woman from Lowes told me she gives Karo syrup to all her animals when they are sick. I always feel so bad when one of my chickens die, but it's part of the circle of life. Thanks for your ideas and comments for her.

I've heard from a couple of neighbors who said they will help with the road repair. I think a lot of them will help even if I don't hear from them. Looks like August 21st will be the day. In the mean time, I'll fill in a few smaller areas myself as I can. We've already had another hard rain and the grooves are getting deeper. It's better to be proactive and take care of them now before we're faced with hiring a bulldozer to scrape the road; I sure can't afford to pitch in with that!!!

Seems like I'm spending a lot of time mowing and pulling my weeds. This hot summer weather mixed with occasional showers is perfect for growing weeds! I'm so torn between my indoor and outdoor projects, and the outdoor projects seem to win out most of the time. I still don't have the little dress for Alissa finished, but at least part of it is together.

My limelight hydrangea has done beautifully this year. I've kept it sprayed with Liquid Fence to keep the deer from eating it and will use it every year from now on.

I need to get a lot done around here before going to Lowes this afternoon. Stay cool!!

Short Day Yesterday

I got up early yesterday and rode my bicycle for a few miles and it felt so good. It's been so hot here that I just couldn't think of riding it. That was a pretty good start to my day.

I live on a gravel road, which is private. The recent storem we had cut some ruts in it and a lot of gravel was washed to the sides of the road. I created a flyer and put one in each of my neighbors' mailbox trying to recruit them for a day of repair. Nobody has done this before, but if we don't fix the road ourselves, it ain't gonna happen. Hopefully, I'll get a response. If not, I'll start repairing it by myself and hope they all feel bad when they see me out there with my pick and shovel! I'll let you know what happens with this in a couple of weeks.

Since I was all sweaty by the time I got home, I went ahead and sanitized the chicken waterers and geese pools. They appreciated it very much, I think.

Cinnamon is still with me but her comb is quite pale. I've searched on line and think I've figured out what's wrong with her. Unfortunately, I need antibiotics and can't get them w/o taking her to a specialty vet - something I cannot afford. I will do my best to make her well and strong again. She seems to have more energy now at least.

Here is a picture of her from a couple of years ago. Guess I lost track of time b/c I thought she was just a year old. She's about 2 1/2 now.


I had to work the evening shift at Lowes and that makes me leave shortly after lunch and not getting home till after 10 p.m. I didn't want to get involved in any big project so just did some tidying up in the house after I took my shower.

On the sewing front, I've made a little something for my mom's birthday and will have them in the mail today. I don't want to show a pic yet in case she reads this.

I've put away my All Dressed Up quilt squares so I can start on Christmas presents. As slow as I go, I need to get busy NOW.

It's another scorcher here today and I hate it. August is my least favorite month and I'm already looking forward to September. Till then, I will stay inside as much as I can.

I hope you are having a good day. I've got to get all my critters taken care of before heading to Lowes.

Sewing for Alissa Rose

I had some company today - my little granddaughter, Alissa Rose. We did some sewing together; she is currently working on a small pillow for her daddy.

A few weeks ago I took her to JoAnns with me and I bought this pattern for the cutest little dress for her. She wants to one with the straps on the shoulders...and a flower, not a bow in the middle!

I wanted the same fabric that was used in the store sample but that wasn't her style. And she definitely has her own style!! This is what she chose for her new dress - very 60's, don't you think? :)

Sorry for the poor quality of the picture; I held the camera too close to it.

I have the dress pieces all cut out and ready to sew. There is a long zipper down the back of it and I hate sewing zippers. I mess up every time, but will try hard on this one. I'd like her to wear this dress on the first day of school later this month. She'll be going into 3rd grade!!

We went outside for a few minutes to watch the gazillion butterflies in the yard. One of my butterfly bushes is huge and has at least 20 swallowtails on it at any given time. Alissa wanted them to land on her finger and one got pretty close.


Then she watched while I gave my sick hen, Cinnamon, some Karo syrup and more food. She's still alive, so that's a good sign.

We went back inside and she played games on the computer for a while and held JoJo the entire time. Then we watched some cartoons together till it was time to make supper - she helped with that too :)

I wish I could see #2 granddaughter more frequently to build a special relationship with her too. She has grown so much already and is walking now. Alissa got to visit with her over the 4th. She loves her newest little cousin, Ginny.

Here are my two little treasures :)


The day is over and it's time to hit the hay. My 'weekend' is over and it's back to Lowes tomorrow.

Rest well.

Cats in the Hat

....er...I mean boxes.

I've been bringing home boxes from Lowes to start gathering up my donations in. Now you KNOW how much cats love boxes and bags, don't you? Little JoJo was in the house a while today and jumped in the empty box and peered over the edge of it at Topaz, who is his best buddy.


JoJo ran to another box and Zoe had to come over to see what he was doing.


JoJo was bouncing around so much the box flipped over.

I think Wendy secretly wanted to join in on the fun too, but she isn't nice to JoJo and he's afraid of her.

Next thing you know, JoJo went tearing down the hallway with Topaz in hot pursuit!


Let the wrestling match begin!

Smudge wanted nothing to do with the silliness and claimed the box for his own - Prince that he is :)


My priorities today were to check on Cinnamon, one of my hens, who isn't acting right. Last evening she was laying on the floor of the barn which is a bad sign. When I picked her up to put her on a perch, she didn't struggle and was light as a feather. The bird is skin and bones - not good. So this evening I've got her in a cage in the garage so I can tend to her closely. I made her some scrambled eggs and she gobbled them up. Tomorrow I'll give her some chicken meds and make her oatmeal for breakfast. She's only a year old and I have no idea what's wrong with her. Hopefully, she'll pull through it.

The next big priority was to start making a walkway from the house to the driveway. Ten years I've lived here and have made do with mismatched stepping stones.


Somebody gave me a concrete form years ago and I just never have used it.


Well, last night I bought four 80 lb. bags of concrete to get started on the project.


I only had enough concrete for five fills, but it's a good start. I added a few flat marbles and beach glass here and there. It will look pretty when it's all finished. It wasn't difficult but sure took a long time to get this much done.


I'm headed for my recliner to watch some TV and do some stitching. It's a nice way to end the day after all the physical labor.

Rest well.

Friday Night Sew In (late) and a Frugal Tip

This morning was wonderful - nice and overcast and actually cool. I love rainy days and would be quite happy living in the Pacific Northwest!! I enjoyed drinking my morning coffee at leisure on the porch again and smiled when I looked out at my pretty yard.

Since I'm working at Lowes later today, I cleaned up the kitchen and mopped the floor with some bleach water. I love cleaning with bleach! I also gave Princess a much-needed bath. She's rolled in deer poop twice and was very dirty. Then I got a load of laundry done so that I have some clean jeans to wear today.

I've been embellishing my little dress blocks and got a few completed last night. I've got a long way to go, but as I said before, it's a nice project to pick up when I feel like working on something different.

Before I show you the pictures of some of them, I wanted to share a frugal tip with you.

I love my cats but hate litter boxes. I clean my litter boxes every 24 hours for several reasons, but mostly for odor control. I've used baking soda and some kitty products as well, but gave up. Recently I had the brilliant idea of sprinkling cheap baby powder in the bottom of the litter box before adding the fresh litter.

It has talc in it which helps with absorption, plus even the cheap stuff smells fresher than the cat products - not to mention it costs a lot less. It works great!

Now for some dress pics....








I hope you enjoy your Sunday!

Frame of Mind

I've been doing a lot of thinking over the last several weeks about my life and situation. I'm a planner and like to have a defined direction to go in. Some people call it setting goals.

Since losing my job over 18 months ago, I've been trying to force change to go in the direction I want it to. It has caused me a lot of frustration, anger, depression and resentment. I've worked hard and smart for the last 20+ years and while I can't say it hasn't gotten me anything, it sure hasn't landed me in a good place for a time in my life when I should be looking forward to when I can do what brings me the most happiness and not constantly worrying about survival.

With all that said, I'm now in a pretty good state of mind. I am forcing myself, against my natural tendencies, to take one day at a time. There is something ahead for me that I can't see and my future will unfold on its own terms. I just have to be open to what that might be.

I am now a permanent part time employee at Lowes and have adjusted to an irregular work schedule and standing on my feet for hours on end. My immediate goal of getting health insurance has been achieved and I'm grateful for that.

When I am not working at Lowes, I continue to maintain my home, land and care for the animals that depend on me. I have also started taking naps almost daily and not feeling guilty about it since I need the rest. I have stopped working myself to death keeping everything orderly the way I prefer and accepting that I do a pretty darned good job of it, even if some things are left undone. I also try to spend at least a little time each day stitching or sewing to soothe my soul.

Some other changes have come in the way of the decision to begin paring down things around me that I don't need. One day, sooner or later, I will be moving and the thought of packing up all the things I've acquired makes me feel sick to my stomach. I've contacted an antique dealer I know and will be selling some of my antiques. This isn't due to financial hardship but has everything to do with simplifying my life even more than I already have. I am donating or selling everything I don't need or don't use and just making that decision has put me in a positive frame of mind.

Oprah had a great show Thursday about this very subject. We are bombarded daily with commercials and ads to buy the latest and greatest gadget, or pair of shoes, or new car. It's so easy to get caught up in that way of thinking. While I certaily have my weaknesses, I am pretty good at disciplining myself even when I had a good paying job and could shop when I wanted to. I cancelled my satellite TV subscription well over two years ago and have been glad that I did. I thought I'd miss it but haven't and learned that it was an unnecessary expense.

I have also decreased the amount of time I spend on the computer and haven't been visiting blogs nearly as much, but still job search almost daily. While so many blogs are inspiring, they also tend to make me want to run out and buy stuff I don't need. I am concentrating on being more self reliant and living more simply. There are a lot of great blogs devoted to this and I have added a few of them to my blog list.

And since I'm the worst at seeing what I DON'T get done every day, I think I'm going to use my blog as a diary of my achievments. It will be a good way for me to see what I've accomplished instead of what I didn't get done.

Yesterday I got most of the mowing done and my yard/land looks pretty good considering the horrible heat and lack of rain this summer.

I have had my coffee at leisure this morning while watching all the birds and butterflies I have attracted by planting things with them in mind. I am looking forward to watching my silly BritComs this evening and having a good day till then.

Top Complete and a New Project!

Well, except for the borders. I don't have that fabric yet but will buy it next payday.



Funny how completing (or almost) a project encourages me to do even more. It's a good feeling :)

I've already started a mini quilt that Kim of Create and Sew designed. She was kind enough to share her pattern with me. Thanks again, Kim!



The temperature is a "mere" 98 degrees here but the heat index has us at about 105. It's insufferable out and I feel bad for my poor chickens and all the other animals that are outside. I've given the chickens cantalope and watermelon today to help them with their fluid intake. Poor babies.

Stripping for the First Time!

It is horribly hot here and I've been staying inside when I'm not at Lowes. I've been pouring through my quilt magazines and patterns trying to find one that I wanted to work on. I still take my embroidery to Lowes with me, but want to get back to my sewing machine.

I've been wanting to make an easy quilt for a while now, but just couldn't decide on a pattern. While my mom and sister were here, we went to Thimble Pleasures Quilt Shop and there was a sweet Christmas quilt on display that one of the gals had designed; this is her site.

I bought the pattern she had used called Lightning Fast, and a small stack of pre cut fabric which was just enough to make the blocks with (not Christmas fabric though). Here they are sewn into the first set of strips....

This is the first set of strips pieced together....



I think it's going to turn out really pretty. I don't have any border fabric yet, but maybe tomorrow I'll go out and buy some - it won't take very much for this small quilt.

And who do I see in my computer/craft room window????? It looks like JoJo is inside the house...but I thought he was an outside mouser kitty!

And what's this?!? Now he's on my keyboard tray!

Doesn't he look full of mischief!
He's a good little kitty and I'm letting him stay in the house with me when I'm home but he is sleeping in the garage at night. Hopefully, he'll learn how to take care of the mouse problem out there.

Wendy doesn't like him at all and isn't nice to him. She takes a long time to adjust to new situations, so hopefully she'll be ok in the garage with him when he's bigger.

I hope you all are staying cool - it's an impossibility here!

Meet Jo Jo

Just what I need - another critter!

One of my neighbors called me last Friday and said a kitten had appeared on her property. She had heard that I wanted a mouser kitty and wondered if I could give it a home. I thought about it for a while and then told her I'd come over the next day if she could keep it till then.

Meet Jo Jo weighing in at about 2 pounds! He is like a miniature version of my black male cat, Topaz and is as loving as a cat can be! He went to the vet yesterday, along with Princess, for his first visit and was deemed healthy - just underweight. He has a very long tail and legs and big bat ears! He never stops purring and my vet loved him. She couldn't hear his heartbeat b/c he wouldn't stop purring so much. :)

Fortunately, the neighbor that found the kitten said she'd help with the vet bill if I'd take him so how could I say no?? Once he grows a little, I'll be moving Miss Wendy back outside to keep him company. I had originally gotten her for mouse control but after her brothers disappeared, I moved her inside. I felt bad that she was outside alone.




Wonder how long I can let him live outside? ;)

Two Weeks?

Geez, I hate when so much time slips by without posting on my blog. I'm almost tempted to stop all together. Working the irregular schedule at Lowes doesn't allow enough time to keep up with the yard, animals, house and sewing, not to mention blogging.

Anyway, I hope everybody had a nice 4th of July holiday - I sure did. My sister came for a visit and brought my mom with her. It was the first time mom has seen where I live since moving here 10 years ago. I couldn't take time off from Lowes, but my schedule allowed us to have a couple of days together.

We went to Thimble Pleasures, the best quilt shop I've ever been to. Mom looked around a little but mostly sat and waited for Susan and me to come back to earth from seeing all the lucsious fabrics they have - not to mention patterns. We had a nice lunch at a special restaurant first though, so we could concentrate. I also took them to the model home I "worked" at earlier in the year and they loved seeing it.

I was so happy that I got my mom interested in embroidery again! She used to do beautiful work but stopped long ago. I printed out a bunch of free designs for her and traced some onto white muslin to work on while she was here. She decided to buy a nice set of sheets and embroider on the pillowcases. Darned if she didn't get them finished in two evenings! I was so happy that she showed enthusiasm for something again. And I even got my DS interested in giving hand embroidery a try and I think she'll stick with it (you'd better!).

I have today off so must catch up on "mowing operations" and get two weeks of trash out of the garage. They resurfaced the recycle center where I take my trash and it's been closed for ages. I'm sure I'll have to make two trips to get rid of it all.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of my pretty boy, Smudge.










I've got tons to do while home today, so had better get to it! I hope you all have a good day.

A Little Outing

Yesterday I decided to take a short trip up the road to get away for a few hours. I tend to work myself to death around here, as there is a never-ending list of things that need to be taken care of.

I wanted to get some DMC floss and some Patio Paint to make more painted stepping stones, and then go somewhere for a nice lunch. Well, I got those things taken care of and had a very yummy lunch at Moe's.

After that, I headed to a place that could transfer the old VCR tape of my house being built to a DVD for safe keeping. On the way, the A/C in the car just wouldn't cool down at all. It's been so horribly hot here for weeks now, so it wasn't surprising. I often will glance down at the gages on the dashboard of the car and was almost sick when I saw the temperature gage going up, up, up very quickly. Within seconds the gage was at the top and almost into the red zone. I immediately pulled into a parking lot and turned the engine off. There wasn't any steam or that bad smell, so I thought maybe I just needed additional coolant.

To make a long story short, I had to have a new radiator installed. Oh, yipee - another unexpected expense. At first, I couldn't find anybody to take care of it for me and couldn't even get a ride home - I don't live in a convenient location. Anyway, a new radiator was installed and I was able to get back home by 7 p.m. Not exactly what I had planned for my day off :( Oh well, what are you gonna do?

We finally had a storm move through and I drove home in pouring rain. I was so happy for that rain! I took care of all the animals, took a nice shower and sat down to make a new mini embroidery that Jenny has shared with us. Have you seen it? She is so talented and generous!

Oh, I forgot to update about the Penn State wall hanging I'm making for my wonderful vet. I didn't get it completed yet, but all I have to do now is the binding. I decided to echo quilt around the design; nothing else seemed to work. I'll be able to take it to her next week.


It's off to Lowes for me today to work toward getting insurance. I hope this works out till I can find a "real" job that isn't in a sweat shop. The hours are gruelling standing on my feet all day, but as long as I know it's a temporary situation, I can handle it.

I hope you all have a good day today. I so enjoy visiting blogs and getting inspired!

New Appliances

Finally! I got my new washer hooked up today thanks to my great neighbors. They had to come over to help me get it into the house. I had to run a metal dryer vent under the house, as the plastic one I had can't be used with the new dryer. What a creepy job going under my house. I had my neighbors stand outside the opening while I was under there...just as a security measure. It's just so creepy under there and there is no way to get out fast. I hate bumping into snake skins; I'd rather see a live snake.

Here is my new washer and dryer...nothing fancy but they will get the job done!


The opening to the crawl space...


Going in...


Under the house - yuk!



The new vent...



Speaking of snakes, I was very sad to discover that I had created a death trap for my friends, the black snakes, behind the barn. There was an old piece of deer netting tangled behind some boards under some honeysuckle. I knew I had smelled a dead critter and suspected it was a black snake but couldn't find it. Well, something caught my eye day before yesterday and upon examination I found not one, but three large snakes, all dead. Poor things were trying to make their way inside the barn where I welcome them for keeping copperheads away and taking care of some of the million tiny field mice in there.

I had the very unpleasant task of cleaning up the tangled netting and snakes, but managed to take care of it by holding my breath a lot and getting it all stuffed into a big plastic bag. I'll seal it up really well and take it to the dump tomorrow so nothing else gets tangled. This is the fourth incident I've had with snakes getting tangled in the netting, so I won't be using anymore of it.

I'm exhausted but home today taking care of some minor repairs around the house, thanks to Blair. She ripped off part of the molding and new tiles in my recently repaired laundry room. Plus, she ripped off part of the molding in the master bedroom, so I'll have to fix that before next week too. My mom and sis are coming for a visit and this is giving me the incentive to finally get those things taken care of. Plus, I want to finish the Penn State wall hanging so I can give it to my vet tomorrow.

Try to stay cool - it's an impossibility here these days!!!