FAMILY EMERGENCY - Still On Going......

Yesterday at 2 am my mother called to say my father was being moved to the cardiac ward. At 3:30 am she called to say they were sending him to Vancouver, WA to Peace Health Medical Center for emergency surgery on his stomach. We arrived at the hospital and waited 3 hours for the ambulance to show up to take him down to Vancouver. They were waiting on him, and called 3 times to see if he was transferred yet or not. We (my mother, Patrick and I) were then picking up clothes and stuff we would need to be down there for a couple days. Stopped and got breakfast and then off we went.

We got to the hospital and they were there. They told us they were just getting ready to do surgery and we needed to go in and talk to dad, because there was a chance he would not make the surgery. We then waited in the waiting room for 2 hours to see how it went. The doctor came out and said it was like a miracle that he wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. He came out of surgery but he still was not "out of the woods" yet. So, it was a waiting game. My younger brother, Patrick, flew out at 6 pm and arrived at the motel around 11:30 pm.

We all returned to the hospital around 9:30 am. He was still stable and the ventilator. He didn't do good when they were going to take him off, so they are doing a slow process of letting him breathe on his own. He was doing better as the day went on. We all agreed to leave around 3 pm and come home to relax and rest. We'll return tomorrow morning. We got about 3/4's of the way home when mom called and said Patrick (brother) wanted to go back. So, we met them at Spiffy's and brought mom home while he went back to see dad. He's there now. I'm kinda glad he did. Mom doesn't do hospitals very long and I know she wanted to come home. While Patrick is here, she's going to want to stay down there with Patrick, I'm sure. We told her we have some things to do the next two days and wanted to leave around 3 pm. She can stay or come with us then. Thursday is another day. UNLESS things change with dad, then we'll try and do a couple things for "us" before we have to spend more time down there. I know dad doesn't want us just sitting around. He told us when he was in at Centralia that we didn't need to be there all day. So, I know he's not crazy about Patrick being there, but he needs to be there. I would do the same if I came to see him. I feel better he's there because I can get messages often on how he's doing.

So, while we waited, I worked on Donna's quilt blocks.

I was able to get about 10 circles done over the two days we were there.

I thought I would try to get a few more circles ready for appliqueing on the blocks. She has a lot done, but there is a lot that need to be basted. So, while watching TV I'm going to do a few more and put them back in my bag that goes with me to see dad. It helps to have something to do while we are there.

This is the view from dad's ICU room. There is only 2 chairs in the room, and with 4 of us, 2 of us were always standing or sitting on the floor. Mom had the big chair while we traded off with the other one.

So, I'm not sure if I'll be posting every night, but I will get back to posting when I can. I'm still keeping myself busy with applique.

I took my embroidery to work on, BUT the embroidery piece was missing when I got down there. I took it out of the bag, so I couldn't work on embroidery. I've got it together now and will work on it when I get tired of the circles.

I'm not worried too much. I know he'll come out of this. Praying he comes out of this. At 84 almost 85 years old, he's still healthy and that helps. But he's got heart issues and that doesn't help. I feel he'll make it through this.

In the meantime, I'm spending time with dad and working on my crafts. I hope you are Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Another Saturday Of Here And There

Today started out early. I enjoyed a few minute of peace and quiet. It was relaxing.

We decided to go see dad at the hospital. Called mom and she was going to go later in the afternoon. We chatted for awhile. She had a few things she wanted to do, so I told her we'd going in the morning and she can go in the afternoon.

We went to visit with dad. He was "out of it" most of the time. They have him on pain killers for the pain in his stomach. He chatted awhile, but kept falling asleep. It doesn't look like he'll be going home till at least Monday or Tuesday. We stayed an hour and then left. Stopped at Safeway on the way home.

I've been working on the "KOEPPLER" family this afternoon. One of the relatives asked where I got some of my information and I told him to get it off ancestry. It tells of newspapers and census record. Then I went through some of the names and added another 40 names to Patrick's tree.

So, today has been one of those days where nothing is getting done - OH! But I did bake cupcakes, so I can't say I didn't do anything today.

Now I'm gong to sit and work on my cross stitching. I need to get February done. It's time to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!!

Working On The Hawaiian Quilt Today

The morning started out early. I was at Cherrill's and back before 9 am. Then was off to see mom.

Arrived at moms. We headed out to see dad. It was a good hour visit. He was starting to fall asleep. It was funny how the drugs keep him sleeping. He's leg is doing great. He was having some stomach problems so they are keeping him for awhile. We then went back to the house.

We got to work on the Hawaiian quilts.

Mom had my fabric's ready for cutting. We ironed her fabrics and then we got them ready for cutting. Once we had all that done,

we started cutting the patterns out. Mom has more  pieces then I do.  I was able to get my pattern cut out before we headed to the hospital again.

This time we took Daisy with us. They let us take dad's dog. She was happy to see dad. We stayed another hour or so. Patrick came in while we were there. He stayed for awhile and then we all left. The snow started up again. It's going to be a cold and snowy day and night.

Came back home and started working on cutting these pieces out. I've got more cut out then I had yesterday.

Since we are watching "North To Alaska," I'm going to keep doing these for awhile. I really like this movie!

Not sure what this weekend will bring. I'm hoping to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Spending The Day With Mom

It snowed more last night. Soooo, this morning was all white. It was gorgeous!

Patrick said to wait till 10 am before going out. I decided I would. We had quilting at the shop today, and I wanted to go in and say hi. So, I relaxed in the morning. Played some games, and then about 11 am, I left.

Arrived at the shop to find a lot of quilters there. Was surprised given all the snow out there. They had the quilt put together that we all worked on.

The eagle is the one I made. It's the upper left side. I like the way they put this together. It's different, but it's pretty.

I then left and went to get mom. We left to go to the vets to get another "cone" for the dog. Daisy broke the cone she has. Plus she rip the staples out of her ear. So, she's going to have a split in her ear now. We bought 2 cones to in case she brakes this one.

We then stopped in to check on dad. He won't be coming home tomorrow at this rate. Apparently he bled while in surgery, and he needs to get his blood level back up. They didn't do a transfusion today, and I'm hoping they don't have to tomorrow. He didn't eat much, and he was getting sick. He's looking good, just not feeling up to it right now. So, we'll see. I'm a lot like him, we don't do things "normal" we always have something go different or surprise the doctors with something.

We then went back to mom's. We pulled out the fabrics for the 2 Hawaiian quilts we are going to work on. Mom had some fabric she liked for her quilt and it's 108" wide, so we didn't have to sew any of the fabrics together. She had a bolt of the 108" wide white fabric that we cut for both quilts. Then we ironed the one white and folded it as we went on. Mom was going to work on my top fabric and not sure if she is going to finish her two. If not, we'll do it tomorrow. We cancelled the quilt group tomorrow, so I'm going to go over and we'll work on both quilts. First is mine, and then we'll do mom's. It will take a couple days to do them, but we are getting started on it. The pinning and basting is going to be the longest time on them.

Mom was cutting some of these "leaf's" last night for the quilt we were going to do. I brought home a pattern piece and marked the fabrics. Then I cut them out.

Don't have a lot done, but I will do some more tonight. It's mindless thinking tonight. If I can get a few of those done, then I can take them over to mom tomorrow. I don't mind cutting them out. It is relaxing.

So, I haven't touched my genealogy - which is running out - and I haven't done my cross stitch in a few days. I need to get back to that as well.

In the meantime, stay Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Dad's Surgery Day

This morning dad was due to the hospital for his knee replacement at 5:45 am. I didn't go with them this morning. But I did meet up with mom later.

My day started off getting up early. Then I was out the door - on a icy day. We are still having snow and ice around here. Anyway, I met up with mom at their house.

We pulled out all the Hawaiian patterns that are bed size. We both wanted King size.

Of course Daisy had to get in on the planning stage too. She didn't like the idea of us working on something without her attention. So, we were moving her around to get to what we wanted.

After decided which ones we were going to do, we copied the pattern on paper and have it ready to pin on the fabrics. Mom needs to sew her pieces together, but mine is big enough that it won't have seams. I'm liking that idea already. The fabric I'm using you can see a little of in the top photo on the top right corner.

The doctor called around 11 am to say dad made it through surgery and was on his way to icu. He said we could go see him in about an hour. So, we finished up what we were doing. Then we went over to the hospital to be with dad. Poor guy couldn't keep his eyes open. So, we stayed a while and then I took mom back home.

Came home and just rested long enough for Patrick to come home. Then it was back to the hospital to see dad before heading to the bowling alley.

We had supper at the bowling alley. Then we bowled. It was "roll off" to see who got first place for the quarter. The team that was in first (just ahead of us) didn't show, so they forfeited the games. We took this quarter but since we took last quarter, the ones behind us are bowling for the quarter win. We are in the finals. We bowled pretty good. I didn't bowl that good though. I bowled a 185, 151, 141. Put my games in the toilet! I lost a point on my average. Patrick bowled a 599 and went up another 2 pins.

All in all a good day. I'll work on getting that Hawaiian quilt ready for applique. I really do want to get another one done. It will be a long process, but I really like the Hawaiian quilts.

Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Another Snow Day...

Today was waking up to snow. It was snowing all morning. I went to see Cherrill this morning and it wasn't really bad. Then on the way home it was about an inch on the ground. Was watching it fall while having tea with Cherrill. 

I spent the day going through all the Water Company's 40 years of records. It was time to get rid of the old checks, statements, etc. So, the box on the left is all the pages I need to shred and the box to the right is how much I now have in the box. This box is full of everything to the current day. It goes back to the 1960's & 1970's. I had 2 boxes FULL of papers and things that needed to be gone through. One box is now empty. 

Patrick came home early, so we could go get the pans that the casino was giving out. 

This is what I was looking at when I was getting in the car. 

Patrick was cleaning the snow off the car before we left. I just had to take a photo of all that snow. I did take more photo's that are in my camera. I'll load that later. 

We had a good time at the casino. It was our day at the casino for the week. We like the pans that they are giving out. They are the new "copper" coated pans. So far we have 2 cup cake tins, 4 brownie pans, and today we got 4 cake pans. The 9x13" ones. Patrick got 2 and I got 2. They only gave out 1 cup cake tin pans, and I would have rather had 2 more of those. lol 

We saw the north bound I-5 Interstate closed right as we were getting to Centralia. There was a good 1/2 mile of cars off the side of the road and police lights going. We couldn't see the north bound because of the barrier. We did see 4 cars on the south bound that were off to the side of the road. I'm thinking they just cleared the south bound, because the sign was saying the road was closed. The freeway has a lot of black ice and if people aren't paying attention then I can see how they got into an accident. I just hope it's didn't cost anyone their lives. 

We made it home and it's slick around here too. Dad's surgery is first thing in the morning. So, I'm not going to go at 5:45 am to be with him when he goes in. I will go tomorrow morning and meet mom at the house. 

So, in the meantime, I'm going to stay...Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Happy President's Day!

I still have a heard time with that. I was so used to Washington's Birthday and Lincoln's Birthday. All that changed because of MLK.

Today was a good day. Didn't get to sleep in. Went to Cherrill's and helped her out while Patrick slept. The came back to a message from mom asking if we wanted to come over for supper. We decided to go. Dad goes into the hospital Wednesday for his second knee operation. We'll see how that goes. We have quilting on Friday too, so not sure how that will work out. Told mom we can come home while dad's in the surgery and work on a Hawaiian quilt top. I want to do another Hawaiian quilt. We'll work on a pattern and get started on working on putting that together. It will be a couple days worth of work, but we can at least get started.

I'm done with January's part. With the exception of the bottom right. I'll get that done soon.

I like the way it's coming out. The flash lightens the blue, which makes it show up better. The true color of the fabric makes it dark. It's not as easy to see as the photos.

I will get moving on this. I want to get February done before the month is over. Which gives me a week. I should be able to do that.

We went to Les Schwab to get a battery for Patrick's truck. There was an hour wait. So, he'll have to do that later. Maybe at lunch time for work. Not that it matters, since he is management. But he doesn't like to do that. He's a true worker. Sometimes I think he's a work-a-holic.

Took a pattern book to mom. It was a quilt that we all were working on a few years ago. She found out that her book is missing. She thinks LouAnn might have taken it a few years back. We found out after she died that she took a lot of my mother's quilt patterns and books. Mom as been missing stuff for years. She was blaming me for taking some of her stuff and I swear I didn't take them. After LouAnn died - about 2 years - a box was given to my Thursday group to take whatever they needed or wanted. Found half the box was mom's patterns she'd been looking for, for years. She was shocked. I told her a long time ago that it could be LouAnn but she said, "LouAnn wouldn't do that." Well, she did. She took them when she took care of the animals. The part that ticks me off is that she helped herself and would take money from my folks for staying at the house. One time I went over and she asked me what the "H" I was doing there. Told her I was getting the folks car to borrow. She told me to get the key and get the "H" out of there. Boy, was I ticked. Called mom and dad and told them I didn't appreciate LouAnn telling me I had no reason to be there. All those years (30 years) of friendship with my mother, and she was stealing from her! I couldn't believe it. So, I had the book mom needed and took mine over to her.

We went to mom and dads. We played Mexican Train. I won! I won 5 levels in a row. Patrick was tired of that, so quit before we could get to "0."

Came home and now I'm going to get back to working on the cross stitch. Can't wait to see what I can get done. Loving the way it's coming out.

How was your weekend? Keep busy or gone all day? Hope you were Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

An Awesome Day Of Stitching!

This morning when I woke up, it was snowing. We had a good amount on the ground. But by noon it was all gone. Then it snowed again, and was gone just as fast.

Today was a relaxing day for both of us. We watched a couple old movies. One with Ginger Rogers that was a murder movie. It was a slow movie. It wasn't bad, but it really wasn't as good as I thought it would be.

In the meantime, I worked on my January SAL.

I finished up the left side and started working on the right side.

This is closer to the true color. 

I was able to get most of it done by the time it was time to go to the bowling alley. I really like the way this is coming out. I'm only about 50 stitches away from having January done. I'll start Feb. tomorrow or the next day.

I stopped by Donna's on the way to bowling. She needed some of my black fabric. I also picked up her quilt blocks that I need to applique the circles on. I'll take a photo when I work on them. It's pretty easy. It's applique work, which I love to do, so I'm okay with this.

We bowled pretty good today - with a bad second game for all of us. We won 3 of the 4 games. We were in second place being 2 1/2 games out of first. Kim's team was in first but they lost all their games. So, we MAY get lucky enough to win the quarter. Next week will be the one that tells. I bowled a 193, 147, 184. I won't loose any pins on my average. I got 4 splits in the second game. Told Karl on the other team that he had to go first from then on because I was tired of getting splits, and he didn't need them either. Sure enough, that seemed to work. We both did a lot better.

Things are going along great. I'm getting closer to finishing stuff....at least in my dreams. Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Yet Another Saturday Is Here!

This morning I enjoyed being able to sleep in. For the first time in a long time, I slept pretty good.

We started out heading up to Costco in Lacey. We did some good shopping. We had to get a shredder while we were up there. Then we got more groceries. Picked up a couple things for Phil & Emily as well. We had lunch up there.

Then came home, unloaded groceries and off to the movies. We saw "Black Panther." It was really, really good. I really enjoyed that movie! I loved all the actors!

After that, we headed to Dairy Queen and had supper. Then it was back home.

I was then working on my black and white quilt for Katt. I'm getting there. I have a few more moves to do and then I'll get closer to the middle. I'm coming off the corner, so, when I get to the other corner, it will fell really good. I'm not quilting the borders yet. I haven't really decided what I'll do on the border.

I'm having to sit here and watch "As Time Goes By" for the 100th time. Patrick seems to keep watching these - over and over and over again. I'm getting so tired of watching this show. I've seen every since one of them at least 5 times. Some more then others! I would love to have a Saturday where we watch something else other than "As Time Goes By" or even "Keeping Up Appearances." "Keeping Up Appearances" is another one of those I've seen 100 times!! Sometimes I wish someone would call and get me away from these shows. I like to get away from them by playing on my tablet but then half the time Patrick wants that too. This is really getting old!

So, I'm back to quilting....interesting. If I can get more stitches in, then I can go back to finish the SAL I'm working on. I'm going to work on that tomorrow. Figured if I could get more stitches in on the quilt, I can get back to my cross stitch.

Do you have any shows your so tired of seeing? I remember when Patrick would watch "MASH" and I got tired of that too. UGH

I've got some fabric to take to Donna tomorrow. Won't do that till it's time to go bowling. Looking forward to tomorrow and Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Enjoyed My Crafts Today!

Today was an early day. Got up with Patrick then went back to bed. Slept for another hour. He took care of the cinnamon rolls.

Got up and went to see Cherrill. She was up and ready to go. We chatted awhile, then I left.

Came home and cleaned up a little before sitting down with "Perry Mason" and my cross stitch.

I fixed the mistake I made on the border - check out yesterday's photo and you'll see where it was. This is moving along pretty quickly - when I'm able to work on it. I'm really pleased with it. The blue isn't showing up right. It's a brighter color than it shows here. I was thinking that from a distance, it's a little harder to see the design. BUT it's also out of my comfort zone, so I'm okay with that. Not sure what I'll do with it when it's finished, but I do like working on this one. It reminds me of the "Ink Circles" patterns.

After supper, I decided to take a break from cross stitching....

So, I pulled out my quilt. Actually - Katt's quilt. I got a few more lines done. I'll try to get a lot more done tonight. I really do need to work on this. The soon I get this done, the better. I know Katt's wanting it.

This is the back. As you can see, I have gotten quiet a bit done. I just need to keep going. Remember this is a KING size quilt. I do like having it wrapped around me when I'm sitting in the chair. Might as well get moving on it, because summer is going to be way too hot to work on it.

So, as the day goes on, I'm getting more done. I'm enjoying my crafts and have a list in my head that I need to get done. I really do need to get my "UFO's" and "WIP's" done. The only way to do that, is actually sit and do that! So, this is a start.

I hope your doing as much with your crafts, chances are your doing better than me. Let me know what your working on! Would love to hear from you! Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Can't Think Of A Title

Sorry, but nope, can't think of what to title this page. Not like I haven't titled 4 years worth of blogs, but for some reason, I'm BLANK.

So, let's just move on. Today started out early. I was at Cherrill's early today. We chatted and I helped her with her genealogy.

Came home and enjoyed some time to myself. Then I turned on "Perry Mason" from my DVR that I saved.

I'm getting closer to having January's stitching done. Chances are I'll just get it done, work on Feb. and then March will be here and I'll have to do March next. I was in the middle of working on this when Cherrill called and we went walking.

Now that I look at this, I see a mistake that I'll have to take out! I wasn't paying attention!! When I get on a "roll" then I don't pay attention, I just keep stitching. Now I'll have to fix it but at least it's not a huge mistake just a miner one - I hope. I may have to take out the side bar to fix the mistake right. UGH

Baked bread for our neighbor. He was thrilled I had just taken it out of the oven. Hope he and Teri enjoy it! Made a couple cinnamon rolls for Patrick. Not sure if I'll bake it tonight or wait till the morning.

I'm keep busy and trying to get this done. I need to get back so some WIP's. I know I told myself I would not start a new project before I finish 2 but then I started this one after just one finish. UGH

How was your day? Get much done? Keep going and be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Okay, yesterday I was tired and wanted to sleep all day. Not today! I was up and moving most of the time! I couldn't believe it.

I started out TRYING to sleep in, but that didn't happen. You know how it is, when you want to sleep in you can't. But when you can sleep in - you can't. Can't win! I enjoyed the morning. I found myself looking around, thinking - I need to vacuum, I need to get the laundry going, I need to.....and that went on all day.

So, I started out vacuuming. Next I got the bread dough going for bread. Oh, yea, got laundry going. Worked on the water system books. Then balanced both our checkbook and theirs.

That means, my day did not have any genealogy and very little cross stitching.

This was on the counter when I got up. I now have another mug and a cute little elephant. I couldn't help but smile when I saw this. He still loves me. LOL

I did get a few minutes in today to get the deer finished. I also started on the piece that goes under it. I'll go back to the left side and try to get that going too. I'm about half way done I think. I need to finish this and get to the Feb. piece. I really want to get caught up. 

I had to get the fried chicken going, but ended up walking with Cherrill. Finally got the chicken going when Patrick got home. We didn't have much time after that. 

We had bowling tonight and I bowled better than I have been doing. I bowled a 200, 155, 178. Patrick got a 601 series. I'm not quiet there yet and really, really want to get there! We won 3 out of 4 games. It was a fun night of bowling!

Life is good, things are going fine. Best wishes are sent to my daughter, Katt. I felt bad that I forgot to send her a card or something for today. I need to remember to send her something for St. Patrick's day so she knows I care. 

Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Been Running On "Tired"

Yep, today was one of those tired days..you know, the one where you just want to crawl up in bed and stay there all day. Or when your walking around like you ran out of energy....yep, that was my day.

I helped Cherrill and had tea with her. Then came home and was getting laundry started....just realized it's still in the machine. I'll get it before I got to bed.

Then I sat down and put more Wineland and Brumbaugh families together. It's amazing how many of both sides married into the other side. The Brumbaugh families came over in different stages, so keep them apart is interesting. The fun part is figuring out how some of the them are related. I do have 2 Wineland's marrying each other. Think they were 4th cousins or something. They didn't know they were related at the time. But then, think about it, all the Wineland's in the USA are related! Just like my last name of Wiltzius - they are all related one way or another.

I worked on the history for a couple hours. Then I laid down to try and sleep. I was watching "Father Brown." That didn't put me to sleep, so I got up. Then I decided to work on my cross stitch.

I am close to getting the deer done. Then I'll work on the left side. I moved the scroll so I could get more done on it. If your interested in this "stitch-a-long" then click on Modern Folk Embroidery and check it out. This is January and this is going all the way through the year.

Patrick came home early and we went to the casino to get the baking pans that we could get. They are good pans. We got one (each) of the muffin pans. Today was the brownie pans and we got 2 each. I really like them. I can't wait to see the bread pans, as I can use some new ones.

Came home, and I'm still tired. Patrick told me I should go to bed, but not there yet.

May we all be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Amazing How Time Flies!!

Today I was actually up earlier then I have been lately. Was ready to head out. Called Cherrill to see if she didn't mind going to Safeway first. Come to find out she had other things to do, since her son and grandson have the cold/flu. She was helping them out.

So, I went on my own. I stopped at Safeway to get a few things, one being a gift for Patrick for Valentines Day. I won't be going out, so needed to do something. Got a Chai tea while I was at it.

Arrived at our meeting. Sandy, Pat, and Dina were already there. It was that way for about another half hour, then Bev came in. Later after Bev was Jeannette. Now I think I'm missing someone because I'm pretty sure there were 7 of us but that's only 6.

Anyway we talked about what we will do for Seminar this year. We figured out we have most of the stuff we need. We just need everyone to come with supplies next time and we'll get started on working on the project. It will be fun to work on. It's not as costly as the last 2.

Sandy and I talked about going to Seminar. Jeannette is saying she won't be going. So, it's going to be Sandy and I. I was telling her I wanted to cut back on costs and she said the same. I showed her what I want to take a class by Debbie Kelley on designing. I need that little push. I'm trying to decide if I want to take the silk painting class. I do want to come back on Saturday though.

Then it was coming home. I got back, put my stuff away. Then I turned my computer on for something, and before I realized it, I found a message from Ancestry and had to check it. Before I knew it, Cherrill called to go walking. That was 3 pm. Next thing, I came in the house and it was 10 mins to 4. Started getting some stuff ready for supper and back to genealogy. Before I knew it, Patrick was home.

After supper, I was back on the computer. Was working on the Wineland family tree. I found that the one guy I thought had all the "right" information, really doesn't. He had some names with some family members that didn't go. I even sent a message to ask about one of the William Wineland's. Then I noticed he has different information. Not sure who's right.

Now it's 8 pm and I'm still on the computer.....Never did do what I got the computer out for!! I'll do that now.

I haven't touched cross stitch for 2 days. I really need to get back to it. I do miss it.

Tomorrow is another day! Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

A Day Full Of Bowling!

Today was bowling - yep, bowling twice.

I started out early. Had to pick Kim and Virginia up at the corner by I-5. We then headed down to St. Helen's OR. That was a long drive, but we made good time. We arrived at about 10:05 am. Virginia and I went to Safeway to get a Starbucks drink. I got ice tea and she got chai tea. Then we went back to the bowling alley and bowled. I bowled a 188, 176, and then 155. I lost 3 of the 4 games. The gal I bowled against did better than me.

After bowling we went to Subway. It was interesting. There was only one guy there. So, he took my order, I paid. Then he did Virginia's order, she paid. Then he did Kim's order and she paid. We sat and eat. - Couldn't believe how long he took for each of us. There were 3 people behind Kim, and 2 of them decided to go next door for a hot dog instead. We headed home, and I walked in the door. Patrick asked if we had a lot of traffic. I said, "no, left right after lunch".....looking at the clock and about choked! It was already 4:30 pm. We finished at 1:00 pm!! He must have taken 20 mins on each of us!! I couldn't believe we came in that LATE. I'm normally home by 3 pm when we go there. What a shock. I sent a text to Kim - "Crap, he must have been slow." She came back with, "Who?" I told her the subway guy and she came back with "Oh yah, hahahah."

I got to eat supper, then head to Judy's to drop off some QOV blocks that Donna had. I also dropped off some ribbon for another member of the QOV. We drove over and dropped off the stuff with Judy, so she could take them to sew days. I have Brazilian embroidery tomorrow, so can't go to the sew days.

After dropping those off, we went to the bowling alley. We are in 3rd place, being out of 1st by 2 1/2 points. We won all four today. The other team was missing 2 members, not sure if that helped or not. I bowled a 158, 180, and 172. I was able to keep my average. I did gain a pin on my average on the travel league though.

So, today was a good day. All's good. I am happy to be back to stitching tomorrow. It's going to be back to Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Yet Another Saturday Gone.

It's amazing how we seem to go around in circles. - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and back again to Monday. I'm starting to feel like a rat going around in the wheel in a cage. Just like a daily routine....get up, work (or whatever), and then sleep, let's start over again, get up, work, and go to bed...here we go again.

Okay, off the wheel. Today started out "as usual." It was a good day.

We went to the movies. Wanted to see "Peter Rabbit." It was pretty good. I did enjoy it.

Right after the movie, Patrick decided we were going to Red Lobster. That was a trip to Longview. It was a good trip. We had a good meal.

Then it was back home. I worked on a few more ancestors in my tree. I needed to print out the De Spain side of the family. One of the gals we bowl with on Sundays is a De Spain and asked her if she had family in Seattle. I'll take the tree to her tomorrow morning.

Last night I was able to get more done. I have found I'm paying a little more attention on this one. I have had to rip out some of my work, but I'm finding it quicker than usual. I will have to move my scroll to get more in.

We got our BE Seminar packet today. I'm not real impressed. But they do have a couple classes on designing and dying silk fabrics. I'm thinking of doing those classes. I really didn't like a lot of the stuff they had. I'm thinking of doing a flower one on Tuesday, and the other two classes are a 2 section class. I think I'll do that. Plus I think I'll leave on Saturday. Not sure I want to stay for the end meal on Saturday. I'll chat with Sandy and see what she's going to do. I'm thinking I'll drive and follow her down there. We'll see. We have our meeting Monday and will see what everyone is planning so far.

Keep going! Stay Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Trying To Get Back To Normal

This morning was better. After sleeping for a good 12 hours, I felt a lot better. I think it was a good thing that I took my Zyrtec. The good news was - It's a sinus infection not a cold.

Patrick took the day off. He went to the doctors with me in the afternoon.

Before that, I worked on my cross stitch. I got in a few more Perry Mason TV shows and stitching.

I was frogging a few of the stitching I put in, but now I'm back on track. I needed to pay a little more attention to what I'm doing. I did get the fabric and stroll to be a little tighter. So, not it's not so hard to work on. I do like the way it's coming along. It's actually a fun piece to work on. I'm still working on January, but I'll start on February's when I get this part done. I' m about a third of the way done.

If your interested in doing this SAL - check it out at: Modern Folk Embroidery

We came home after the doctors and are watching the movie "Emotions." Love that movie! Makes one think how things work. lol

So, as much as I would love to have a ton to write about, today wasn't one of those days. Oh, but I will tell you about Patrick - He came in the house and asked me if I took the large pumpkin seeds he had drying in the garage. Who? Me?! I had no clue he was drying them. Guess they came up missing. Looks like we have a mouse in the garage. He found a hole in the bird seed bag. I told him we needed our cat back, and he just laughed. May get that cat yet!

Enjoy your weekend, I'm planning to. What kinda plans are you working on this weekend?

Enjoy! Happy Stitching, Happy Quilting!

Under The Weather

Sorry, nothing to post today. I've been under the weather today. Haven't felt like doing much....but I did get a FEW stitches in on the cross stitch. Should have done the quilting to keep me warm.

See you back here tomorrow...unable to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

A Good Day Of Stitching....Not So Much For Bowling

What a day! It was a mixed bag of good and not so good.

It started out early. Was over at Cherrill's. I didn't stay long, because I wanted to get back home. So, I started laundry, and go that going. It's nice to have all the laundry caught up.....for now.

I then decided I needed to work on my cross stitch to get caught up. I'm working on January's stuff. I really didn't get started on that till afternoon. I really should have started sooner, but I just couldn't get moving in that directs.

I was able to get most of the top part done. I have a few more stitches to go, and then it will be the top of page 1. Page 1 is actually January's stitching.

I did get a few more stitches in after dinner and before heading out to bowling. I'm really happy with the way it looks. The red is variegated, but not very obvious. It's a red with darker red, so unless one looks really close they can't see it. I just noticed I missed a couple stitches in the top border. I'll work on those after I get home tomorrow.

Tomorrow is quilting at the quilt shop. Not planning on staying long. Cherrill and I have been walking lately, and I want to be back in time to get some walking in.

We headed to the bowling alley. We were running a little later than usual, so I wasn't quiet on top of it. I wasn't ready to bowl when that came up. Nick and Joanne filled in for Fred and Denise. They bowled good, as for me, not so good. Lost the pin I tried so hard to get. I bowled a 146, 136, 192. We bowled the Vacant team. Not sure if we won or not, but think we did. The first game would be the one in question. Patrick bowled his average, that game. Then he bowled "out of his tree" the other two games. So, he got a 600 series.....ugh.

Life is good, with the good and the bad. Loving how my cross stitch is coming alone. That's Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

A Day Of Going To Olympia And Back

This morning I was up early. I enjoyed getting up early again. I wanted to fix the cross stitch piece so I could cross stitch without it falling out of the frames. Went downstairs and sewed a piece on the ends, so I could have control.

Then I was getting ready to see Cherrill when she called to say her daughter was here and put her socks on. So, I had an hour to enjoy for myself.

Headed up to Olympia for our Quilts of Valor meeting. I took a couple of books up for anyone that wanted them. Someone else brought some books as well. They will be presenting to another vet tomorrow at the court house. Donna called. She had some stuff for me to pick up. I told her I was already at the meeting and would stop by after. I had her pin and membership card. I dropped those off on the way home. Picked up some blocks and stuff for another member. I'll deliver those to Judy on Friday. Since I won't be able to go to the sew days.

Came home and worked on my cross stitching.

It's straighter than the photo looks. I fixed the ends that were coming out. I had to go back downstairs and stitch the ends again to keep it from coming out. I started on the top border piece. I only had about an hour to work on this. I finished the straight line of "x's" then started on the corner I'm going to try and do it at an angel but we'll see who that goes. I do better from the bottom, so MAY turn it upside down and try that way. No, don't think that will work with the pattern. Oh, well.

Patrick came home and we went to the casino to get our free baking pans. He got one and I got the other. They are muffin tins. They are heavy and really sturdy. I was surprised. Usually it's junk.

We went out to eat and came home by 6:30 pm.

So, now I need to get back to my stitching - want to get caught up on my SAL. Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Happy Mail Day!!

This  morning was a rush. I was up with Patrick, and shortly after he left, I left.

Was at the doctors by 8 am for my blood tests. I ended up waiting for a half hour, but at least I was the first one there to have my blood done first. On the way home, I stopped and got a sausage muffin, then to the post office, bank and gas station. All that was done before 9:30 am.

At 9:30 am I was over at Cherrills. Then I was showing her how to us the ancestry site to her advantage. Before I knew it, it was 11:30 am.

Came home and had lunch. Got laundry going and decided to work on my cross stitching.

I figured out where the mistake was. I was taking some of it out, but I couldn't take it all out or I'd be in trouble with my floss for this project. I left it in and am working around it. It's not a big deal, and no one will know where the mistake is. I couldn't even figure it out till I worked on the other side of the piece.

While I was working on the cross stitch, the doorbell rang. I went and signed for my "package." It was my fabric and floss!! I was thrilled. Took a photo of it and posted it on Instagram. I love it.

So, I went and  pulled out my frames. I got the fabric set up. It took some doing. For some reason my fabric was giving me a pain trying to keep it in the frame. I'll check out youtube and figure out what I did wrong.  UGH. I may change the frame to one of my others and then put it back on later. I don't have a lot of room to work with on this piece. It's Modern Folk Embroidery's Stitch A Long. I know I wasn't going to do another, but I did like this pattern.

I rolled all the floss and have it in a ball now. I had to figure out the size. So, I counted the top row and worked on it all the way across to make sure I was on track with the center. Hopefully I will have plenty of room on the bottom.

So, today was a great day! I got everything done by 11:30 am and I got what I've been waiting for. I'm so glad to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY - EAGLE WIN - YAH!!

Today was a relaxing day. Almost too much of one!

We pretty much watched TV all day. First is was the "Mysteries at the Museum," "Bowling," and then Super Bowl. Thank goodness Eagles WON!! I'm so happy for them!! I really, really, really didn't want Brady to win! He's such a pain in the rear and I'm tired of his attitude. I'm sorry, you can't tell me you didn't know those footballs were not legal! Any quarterback can tell you if the ball doesn't feel right - so to me, this is karma. Way to go Eagles!! Just sorry it wasn't the Seahawks this year, but glad it was you!

I worked a little on genealogy. Was able to fill in more of my Overholtzer side of the family.  Was really, really surprised to find that a lot of them are here in WA and OR. That's cool. I haven't come across any yet, but if I do, they will be my 2nd or 3rd cousins. That's awesome. I also found some stuff on Patrick's tree. He's got Handy for a name as well. I found a Wood in the family too, and who knows might find Dan related after all. That would be awesome!

I then worked on my cross stitch. Almost think I should have quilted!

I found that I'm off on the pattern. Took some out, put it back in, too it out, put it back in. NOT sure where the mistake is, but it's there. I'm going to deal with it and keep going. Can't tell where it is, and I'm sure no one else will tell where it is either. I hate that when it happens and I'm thinking a lot is my dyslexia and the color pattern! I hate color patterned because they seem to mess me up more. I really don't understand why, but they do.

I made wings tonight. They were done using rice floor and then we added the sauce after I fried them. They turned out so good! Best ones I made yet! We put the rice floor on the wings and then I fried them. Didn't put any spices in there, probably should have, but didn't. I had them in the oven while I was cooking the others, then took them out and toss them in our BBQ sauce. It was soooo good!

Cherrill and I walked at the beginning of the Super Bowl. We walked for about 35 mins. I'm having trouble with my "gps" on my phone. We walked close to 1.5 miles but it only side we walked .31 miles. One would think it would know better!

Tomorrow is going to start early. I've got to get blood done. Not really looking forward to it! I'm one of those people that has to look the other way - or I'm on the floor! I don't know how many remember those "guns" that shot the vaccine in ones arm. I remember because the guy giving the shots said it would be fine. I told him I pass out (which I did back then), and he told me it wasn't that bad and it won't hurt. He said to please, "try it, it won't be bad and you'll do fine." Yea, right, not me! The minute I heard the "puff" I was out. They had to pick up a 16 year old girl off the floor! I still laugh about that today.

I did do the Turbo Taxes today. I love how easy that is to do!

So, today was a good day. Even though we were lazy and didn't have to go bowling tonight, it was a good day. I'm looking forward to whatever comes. I'm Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Another Saturday Away From Home.

Today started out fast and kept going till 7 pm. One of those non-stop days.

We were up and out the door to the grocery store. We were behind on some of the stuff we needed, so got our shopping in - really didn't want to but Patrick was insistent that we do it this weekend. I really didn't want to be going both days. So, we got the shopping done. Put all the groceries away, and then were back out the door.

We got a text from JoAnn that they were running a little behind. So, we were at the bowling alley at 12:10 pm and they hadn't made it yet. When we got there, I saw the team we were supposed to be bowling - bowling. I told the counter not to put us next to them. They had already started bowling. Then when JoAnn and Nick finally made it, they were surprised to see them. I told them I knew they were pre-bowling but didn't know they were today. Not sure if they found out that we would be pre-bowling and showed up on purpose or not. We started bowling and they howled that we should have bowled together since we are bowling each other. We told them, "Yah, if we had known we could have." We really didn't want to and that made it a little hard. But we were nice and talked when they talked to us. I bowled a 184, 140, and 169, not to  happy about that. I didn't drop a pin on average, but I'm not happy with what I bowled. JoAnn and Nick said that they would have bowled tomorrow if they had known they would do what we did. Told them I knew but Patrick said he would keep the change that we made. We kinda knew that would happen. I would have bowled with them if I had to. Not to worried about it. They were trying to be nicer to us. I kept my mouth shout because it would be better if I did. When we were done, they had finished as well. So, I checked the scores and we won 3 out of 4 games. Nick bowled good, Patrick and I, not so good.

After bowling we headed over to mom and dad's. We were going to Tacoma's Old Spaghetti Factory for supper. Mom said she wasn't doing good and didn't think she could make it. So, she decided to stay home. We went with Dad and met up with Uncle Bob and Aunt Dale at the Spaghetti Factory. We had a good meal and everyone was happy. We had a good chat and talked about different things. Guess Dad and Uncle Bob's cousin, Marilyn was in AZ (where they live) and wanted to stop and visit, but they were up here. If they had known they were coming they would have come up a week earlier. It was too funny! So, they won't be seeing her. Marilyn lives in Canada.

We were back home at 7 pm. So, my day started at 9:30 am and ended at 7 pm. UGH. Need time to relax.

REMEMBERING:

While we were driving up to Tacoma, we passed Joint Base Lewis-McChord. I was checking the area out - on the other side of the fence. I remembered the time we lived in Turkey. Karamursel, Turkey. I was going back to when I was in Germany and telling my dad I would not go to Turkey. There was nothing I could to do convince him to send me back to my grandparents for a year. No matter how hard I tried. The row houses were a lot like JBLM. I remembered arriving at Karamursel and being put in a trailer for temporary housing. I was just out of the 8th grade and going into 9th grade. The trailer was small with my brother Patrick and I sleeping in bunk beds in the middle of the trailer. Mom and dad's room was at the end of the trailer. There wasn't much room. On the day I had to go to school to schedule for classes, mom didn't have clean clothes in the trailer. We had to go to the laundrymat for laundry. That day, mom hadn't been all week, and I was down to 1 top that was clean. It was not plain, more of flowers. The skirt I was going to ware was stained. The other skirt was also dirty. It was a skirt that I could ware as plain or plaid. The side that was dirty was the solid color side on both. One looked worse than the other one. So, mom told me to ware the skirt with the plaid side showing, as well as the shirt. On top of that, my socks were down to one pair. Those were plaid too! Not matching. None of that outfit was matching. I didn't know anyone and SO EMBARRASSED! I went to the school to sign up for classes, and there was 4 friends watching everyone come into the school. I was laughed at! Mom had the laundry done by the time I got home, but it was too late. We moved into the duplex the next week. One of those gals lived down the street from me. Didn't matter. They laughed at me the whole time I was there. I wanted to climb under a rock! (I believe now that CARMA paid me back for bullying in 8th grade). So, my whole year in Turkey, every time I ran into any of them, I was laughed at. It was not my favorite year.

Weird how I remembered that. And yet, I miss the military life. I miss the small communities that knows everyone. I remembered being in Maryland and living on the street where we all knew each other and worked together. Kept our eyes and ears open for neighbors. I do miss that.

So, after thinking back, I was back in time. Even though days like today make me wish I could go back in time and do something I wanted to do. (smiling)

Life is good, we learn from life. I'm still enjoying life. It's time to get back to Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting! 

Review Of January

This morning I was able to sleep in because Cherrill was going to be gone in the morning. I'm going to be off to the doctors early Monday morning, so will be late to get her socks on.

Got a call from Art. He got a new truck. He said I could go over and practice driving his truck. We chatted for awhile because he wanted to tell me about how he got his truck.

Then I decided it was time to work on my Patriot Angel some more. At first, I was getting confused at where I was. I had to take some stitches out and put them back in because I got messed up on which area I was in. I think I've got it down now. Working on the right side so I can get my brain working on where I am.

About the time I figured out what I was doing, Patrick came home. He wanted to go out to eat. So, we went to the casino and ate at the snack bar. We really like the way they do the hot dogs. I love how they cook them. We played slots and came home with more than we went with. We tried to see if we could get the baking pans today but was told we are scheduled for those on Tuesdays. Too bad, not sure we will go back on Tuesday. He said the best time is 4-5 pm. We'll see.

Came home and was trying to load my photos on the computer, but ran into trouble. A brand new computer and I've had problems with it from day one. It keeps restarting on me, and on top of that today, the right side wasn't letting me load photos or use the USB port. Patrick's having a cow, thinks it's my programs I loaded, but told him it happened before that. So, now he wants me to spend all day trying to figure out what the problem is and find the support he paid for. UGH. I have better things to do, and would (seriously!) rather send it back to get it fixed then try to fix it myself.

I took photos of all my stuff that I worked on in January. I'm posting them on Instagram. I need to finish a more things like Katt's quilt. Haven't quilted on that for a couple weeks.

Tomorrow I'll be shopping, bowling, and going to Tacoma to meet up with my Uncle. Not sure when the heck I'll have time to cross stitch or quilt. I can hope.

Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Rainy Day - Nothing New There

Today was a early start. I was at Cherrill's and then came home.

I really didn't do much. Worked a little on the family history. Thought I had a family member, but the more I looked the more there wasn't "proof" he was the right one. So, deleted some of that information. Worked on scanning a few things into my tree. Saw some letters that I was thinking of doing, but didn't get there either.

Watched TV getting caught up on my shows. Then I baked bread. Wanted to have something with homemade bread. That was about it.

So, I didn't get any cross stitching done. I was lazy today. Enjoyed having the time to myself, and at the same time, hated it that I wasted the day.

Hoping to get back to my crafts! Need to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!