Still Without My New Computer!

I was hoping, Saturday, that my computer would be returned to me. No such luck. So, I've been without my new computer for about 4 days now. I miss it, even though I'm still learning how to use Windows 10. I'll get there. In the meantime, I'm have to deal with my older laptop that takes forever to load at times. It probably just needs cleaning but I'm having trouble with the battery and electric cord to keep it up on battery time. The kicker is, it's a new battery!

Okay, yesterday we went to the movies. Then we bought some plants with the money I was given to get myself a plant for my father's passing. I bought 3 house plants and hope they will live a long life.

Today, I baked cinnamon rolls and they were awesome!

Then I headed down to the golf course (walking). Went to the USBC Lewis County meeting. We have finally joined the men and women together. So, we had to start a new organization. I was happy to see that we all voted out the women that kicked Ruth and a couple others out of the association. It was "pay back" for what they did to the original board members. I wasn't too thrilled with a couple of the men that got back on the board, but that can change in the next couple years.

After that, it was time to go bowling - "bowl off." Before we did that, we stopped at the store to get food for the potluck (at 6) and stopped at Donna's to get some rods that were missed when she gave me the quilt frame. Patrick was putting that away in the garage when I got a text saying she found the smaller rods for the frame. So, I picked that up. I also called Judy about the batting and backing for the QOV quilt. She was going to drop it off at the bowling alley.

We arrived and started bowling when Judy dropped off the fabric for the QOV quilt. I need to wash it.

We bowled 3 games, and WON!! We are champions of both leagues!! I so wish dad could have seen us bowl them both!! I bowled a 232 in the last game that helped us win!

The we bowled "fun night." After 6 games, I'm beat!! It was fun! I came home with $14 and Patrick with $23. Not a bad night.

Every change I get, I've been putting stitches in on this. Tuesday the new part will be released. It will be fun to get started on the next part.

So, I'm still getting my stitches in when I can. I'm going to work on a quilt top tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have stuff to talk about! Which means I'm Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Quilt Show Today

Today was the Christian School Quilt Show. All the proceeds goes back into the school. It's a great show! Most of the quilts are hand quilted.

So, I knew mom would be working at the quilt show selling raffle tickets. She really didn't want to be involved with the show this time, because she and dad always did it together. Even when she wasn't doing the quilt show (they had a quilt show for 20 years here in Centralia), dad was always going and enjoying the show as much as she was. I decided I would meet up with her at noon and we'd do lunch together. As it turned out, I met up with her and Ethel. We had the potluck lunch in the back room. It was soups. I had some chili. It was pretty good.

When I arrived, one of mom's quilter friends saw me and showed me all of her quilts - they had them displayed in the entry area. She took me all around the show as well, chatting and telling me about the quilts. I did good till we came around the corner and dad's QOV quilt was on the wall. I started crying. Trouble was, Jeannie got me going when I walked in, by telling me her bad day yesterday,being the anniversary of her brothers passing, her in laws passing, and it being her Birthday to boot! So, every time I walked back into the quilt show, I cried. People were looking at me wondering why I was so upset. On top of that, I ran into a lot of my quilting friends and they asked how I was doing - NEVER ASK ME THAT - because I started crying all over again. I much have spend the last 48 of crying 9 hours or more! It just hits and I can't stop. The interesting part - dad knew it would be hard on me and tried to prepare me, but nothing in this world would have prepared me for all this.

After lunch, I went to the funeral home and picked up dad's ashes. I took them home to mom. I had him in the front seat and said, "I'm taking you home, dad." I put his ern next to his chair. I was at moms by 1:30 pm. She had called to ask where I was, and I told her I had to wait to get dad. Then I told her "dad's in the front seat." I think she thought I was going mad!

Went around the yard and took photos. She's got some really pretty flowers growing.

I realized mom had to be at the neighbors, so I came on home.

This is the quilt frame that Donna gave me. I'm not sure how it goes together, but I'll look that up when I decide to try it out. It's supposed to be one of the top frames out there. I'm just not sure how big it will quilt.

I went back to watching TV and working on my cross stitch> i"m really liking the way the variegated thread is working out. It's really turning out pretty.

Well, I'm another day without my new computer. I'm back to my old lap top. Not really sure how much longer this will last either. I need to get my photos transferred to a thumb drive and call it good. At least tonight this is working out fine. I'm seeing the battery life is very little, and it is a new battery, so thinking the lap top is getting close to its last legs.

Okay, off to try and finish April's design, so I can be caught up for the time being. June I won't be so lucky.

How has your day been? Hopefully - Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!!

It Turned Out To Be A Good Day

Today was a good day after all. It started out with laundry, vacuuming, and mopping the kitchen floor. I needed to get the floors cleaned and my back would let me do it.

I then spent the afternoon working on the cross stitch. I did put a few pieces in on the puzzle as well.

I didn't get much done today, because I was busy working on my cross stitching.

I'm loving the way this is coming out. It's a lot prettier than I thought it would be. It's coming along great. 

After Patrick got home it was time to go bowling. I had a "melt down" because dad wouldn't be there. It was rough without him. So, we dedicated the game to him and WON! We came in 1st place!! We haven't done that in years. Dad was so looking forward to being there to watch us win, and he wasn't there - but he was! I believe he was standing there with his cup of coffee watching us, and making his "sounds" when I screwed up. We called mom right after. It was great. We all congratulated each other. The team we bowled ended up in 2nd place. We thought they would be in last! They actually pulled it out!

Life is good, we keep going....Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Enjoyed An Afternoon With Mom

This morning I got started on laundry. Then I enjoyed a few games. I actually slept in till 8:45 am when Patrick texted me. I was shocked that I slept that long - and didn't get up once! Guess I needed the sleep.

Mom came over this afternoon and brought some "leftover" bacon and tomatoes. So, I fixed us a BLT. It turned out pretty good.

We worked on the puzzle for a couple hours. We then went downstairs and pulled out some fabrics for her to use on the nine patch quilt we are working on. It's actually the same design as the nine patch we worked on downstairs -

The difference between this one and the one she's doing is that it's in purples and white. Should be interesting how it comes out. This is the one I started last year. We worked on getting more done. I like the way it looks in the photo! There are a couple colors I need to get away from each other, but otherwise it looks pretty good. I have about 6 more big blocks to do. We did a total of 3 while we were down there today. 

We then came back up and worked on the puzzle again. Got supper when Patrick got home. She eat with us and then went home. She brought Daisy with her, so I would take her outside to enjoy the yard. It was a beautiful day today! Sun out and warm. Even though downstairs was chilly, I turned on the fireplace. 

After mom left, I got started on working on the cross stitch again. 

It's going pretty fast. I'm really beginning to feel like I'm catching up! I'm liking the looks of this. It's really not my kind of a piece, but to be totally honest, I love this piece. Not sure where it will fit in the house, but I do like it. I may have to rethink how I'm going to do my walls. 

How was your day today? Hope you were able to get a lot done as well. 

It's always satisfying to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

A Good Day With Friends

Today I was running late. Cherrill  drove us to our Brazilian embroidery meeting. It was a good meeting. We had 7 of us show up. The idea of todays meeting was to finish the gifts for Seminar.

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Georgie and I were working on the jewels on the ring area. We have dangling beads and a clip for keeping our keys handy at the Seminar. I will say, we will not be doing any more beads for a long time. This project actually took 3 months of doing the beads!

Today were put it all together. They turned out great. I think we ended up with 120 of them. Bagged each one to be easier to give out in the gift bags. 

Came home and waited for one of the Tuesday group quilters. She was coming to pick up some pincushions for the quilt show. They are displaying them in the dinning area. I had 6 but she already had 2 of them, and wanted them all to be different. So, she gave me 2 back. 

I worked on my puzzle today. lol - just needed something to break up the day. 

Then I got back to working on my cross stitch. I'm done with March's piece and I started on April's piece. I also rolled the piece. It's looking great. I may yet get caught up and be able to work on a few other projects. At least I've got my quilt in the car and ready to go Thursday. 

Donna texted and said we forgot the rails yesterday when we picked up the quilt frame. So, I had Patrick stop by and get them. It's a "Grace Co." quilt frame. I need to take a photo of it. I noticed it's not "finished" and Patrick was saying he may finish it for me after he retires - 12 months down the line! We'll see how that goes. 

As time goes by, I'm still keeping Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

A Good Day For Stitching

I woke up in pain. I couldn't believe how hard it was to get out of bed.

I got going on the laundry and even started a puzzle. I tried to stay moving to keep my back moving. I also enjoyed watching a few shows on my DVR.

I was ale to get this much one last night. So, today I was able to get even more done. 

The good news is that I am almost done with March's piece and can get started on April. Don't know if I can get April done before I get the May piece. I can hope! I really like the way this is coming out. I was able to roll this piece as well. 

We had bowling today. I didn't bowl, I just watched. I need to get my back in shape for bowling on Wednesday when we bowl for the championship. Our team only won one game. They had a hard time for the first 2 games. Dan (my son's best friend) bought me a beer. I couldn't believe it. Then he wanted me to drink a shot, which I told him NO. I told him I didn't want to get sick. He was trying to get me a little tipsy! lol The beer was okay, but not something I drink. It was good to have fun with him. 

Life is good. I'm still keeping up with being Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Hello Saturday!

Today is Saturday....big surprise there! I let Patrick sleep in today.

We did our usual trip to the casino. We brought home more money then we took, so it was a good trip. Then headed to Safeway to get some hamburger for hamburgers tonight. Patrick cooked on the grill. So, happy we have a grill! I love it when we can cook on the grill. Saves on clean up too! lol

I spend the afternoon working on the table runner mom Wiltzius made. I was able to get it done!!

Yep!! Cross off another UFO! I'm done with it. It turned out pretty good. Most of it was already done by mom, so I really didn't have a lot to do. 

Then I pulled out my cross stitch and worked on that!

I was able to get a few more stitches in on this one. I'm liking it so far. I would like to get started on April's since May is right around the corner. I enjoyed "Finding Your Roots" today while I was working on this. I'm hopping to get the bird done tonight - the bird is started on the right side where the thread is. Love my magnifying glass that's able to help me do better stitching.

Sandy went to "Acorns and Threads" today. She picked me up some Annie's Keeper pieces. I needed some. I also need to get ready for Seminar! I have a list of classes I'm going to take and I'm looking forward to it.

Life is good, and I'm enjoying each day! It's hard knowing my dad's no longer with us, but I can deal with it. He wanted me to move on. So, I am, and I'm Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

A Day Of Quilting With Friends

Today I was up - or at least worked at getting up. My back was killing me all night. Had Patrick put some rub on my back before he left this morning. He left me his back brace and I put that on as well. Can't believe how bad my back got! Just for walking and bowling on Wednesday. I'm hoping it gets better by Sunday.

Went to moms and I found 3 cars already there - and I arrived at 9:30 am! Sure enough there were thee of them there. I ended up on the couch. Wasn't easy quilting on my quilt there, but most of mom's quilters don't like giving up their chairs. So, I had to sit straight and try to quilt with my back hurting.

Martha - who worked with my dad - came to our meeting. She'd been away for about 2 years. She decided she'd start coming back (had heart surgery and isn't doing good). When she came in, I gave her a hug and started getting teary eyed. She game mom a hug and they both cried. Then I found out, her oldest son (my age), passed away on Wednesday. He was a truck driver and was filling up the truck when he "keeled over." She wasn't sure where though. Guess this isn't going to be a good year.

I was surprised by the end of the day how much I actually got done. The quilting is coming along great. I think I'm about 1/8 to 1/4th done. It's simple quilting, and it doesn't look too bad.

Patrick came over to the house after work. He helped mom with the paperwork she had to do. Then we had supper. After supper we came home.

Who knows, Katt's quilt might actually get done by Christmas! I decided that when I have quilting at the groups, I'm going to quilt on this. Every little bit helps. Katt might even be surprised at what I've been doing. May enjoy surprising her! Can't wait.

Life is life. Things happen. AND we keep moving on. Like dad always told me, "life goes on, even if we don't."

On a happier note - did any of you get a lot of quilting done today? Enjoy quilting with friend? Would love to hear about it.

Best wishes and Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Enjoyed Volunteering Today!

This morning I was up and out the door early. I arrived at moms around 9:00 am, to find her back in bed. She had a rough night and was napping before I arrived. Then we went into the living room, where she fell asleep again till about 11 am. That's when her neighbor came in to see her. We needed to get moving but there were a few things that we need to do first.

I took the dog for a walk. Then we headed over to "Reborn" thrift shop. They sell really good clothing. They are pretty much new clothes at a discount price. All the procedures go to the church. The church uses some of the money for the day care. I found a shirt that I really liked. It doesn't look like anyone ever wore it. We worked the counter till about 4 pm. I got a kick out of the gals not knowing how to use the credit card on the phone. I asked that when I got there, so it was easy to learn. I was just happy to be able to use it and I taught mom and the other gal how to use it. They wanted to know if I wanted to help out again, and I said yes.

We stopped at the grocery store on the way home. Mom was falling asleep so, wanted to get her home.

I got home. Then I pulled out the table runner and started working on quilting the areas that mom didn't get.

She did the quilting in "the ditch." Not my favorite part of quilting, but I'm actually enjoying this. 

I like the pattern and she did an awesome job of piecing!!

May finish it by the weekend!!

Let's keep going and stay Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Wow, The Day Just Went Fast!

This morning I up and enjoying another day by myself. I couldn't believe how fast the morning went! I was playing a few games, sending emails, and getting a few things done. Before I knew it, it was noon!

So, I took the afternoon and pulled out Judie's table runner. I got the binder done and started to work on the quilting. Patrick wanted me to quilt the area that she didn't get done. I'm going to check with mom to see if she has the thread I need to finish it.

I'll keep working on it. I'm hoping to get it done by Friday. 

Then it was time for bowling. I bowled pretty good. I bowled a 173, 182, 157 and we won 1 game. The other team was really good and kicked our butt. We only lost by about 15-30 pins each time. 

Patrick didn't bowl as good as he usually does but he still beat me by about 25 pins. ugh. 

Life is good, and I'm still keeping Happy Quilting/Happy Stitches!

It Was A "My Day" Day

Yep, today was my day! I got up when I felt like it, I did what I felt like. It was awesome!

It started out with a visit with Cherrill. That was about an hour. We talked about this and that. I came back home and started working on vacuuming, laundry (which got started but never did get finished), as well as a few other things.

After that got started, I turned the fireplace on downstairs. Yep, the fireplace was on!

It poured rain for a good hour. It was cold out side for awhile, so the fireplace was nice to have on down there. 

Back to cleaning up the downstairs!

A mess! But it needed to be done. I kept "piling" on the counter while dad was in the hospital. Good excuse! Truthfully, I have a bad habit of "piling on" my stuff. The end table next to my chair is just as bad sometimes. 

I cleaned the top up, and found my mother-in-law's table runner that needed the border done. I even cut a few pieces of fabric for zipper bags that I'm going to make. I'll try and sell a couple of them at the Seminar. I really need to sit down and do that. At least I have the fabric cut for it. Just need to take an afternoon and do it. 

So, my sewing table got more stuff on it after I cut the fabrics. At least it all right there. I need to find a box to put the parts of the quilting machine in, and put that out in the garage, till I'm ready to start quilting. I really don't think I want to do that right now. I have plenty of stuff I need to do right now. I did take a few things and get them ready to take to mom. Those can be sold at the quilt show next week. 

At least the counter is cleaned up. I have a few 9 patches that are my scrap quilt pieces. I need to put all that together as well. I'll try and work on that this year. Time will tell. 

Brought back the box of QOV fabrics. Mom did a lot of 4 patches and 9 patches, so I need to take them out and see what I can come up with for a quilt. I'll work on it one of these days. 

I have a cool view out my window, and had to go and take a few pictures of the spring blooms. 

Plenty of tulips coming up. 

Then I came in the house and worked on mom's table runner. 

So I started working on the binding. 

She had the binding coming from the back. I started stitching it down and realized she only had 2/3 of it quilted. I asked Patrick if he wanted me to finish with the quilting, and he said yes. I was surprised, I was willing to just let it be the way she left it. So, when the binding is done, I'll go around and try to match what she did for the quilting. She did a lot of "in the ditch" quilting and I really don't do that. But this will be a first for me. She used 3 different colors for quilting. So, I'm going to have to try and match her work. It will be interesting, but at least I can get one thing done and off my "to do" list. 

Tomorrow is another day for "ME." I will enjoy it while I can. Then Thursday and Friday is at moms. Thursday I will be helping her at "Reborn" which is a thrift shop that the church has. I love selling stuff, so I will enjoy that. My volunteer with them more if everything goes well. 

As time goes by, I'm doing good. I'm still crying off and on, and I'm still getting teary eyed when I talk about dad. But as he always told me, "Life goes on." Which means he's telling me to keep living and I will. 

How was your day? Did you get a "Me" day or was it one of those days everyone else had for you to do? 

We can all keep working on our stuff, and be very Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Spent The Morning With Mom

This morning I was up and out the door to see mom. She asked me yesterday if I would come over, so I decided I would.

Stopped and got both of us a Vanilla Chai tea. Then headed to moms. Got there to find her deep in the kitchen pantry cleaning it out.

I helped mom pull out all her stuff. It was packed! We got it down to this. I had to scrub all the shelves, and even try to get the spills off the walls. Bleach works great - on most stuff. I didn't get a chance to get all the wall spills out but did the best I could. This was an all morning project. 

Mom was saying it makes her feel better to open that and not see it packed and full. We throw out a lot of stuff that was years old. Mom couldn't reach the top shelf. Dad didn't get much off the top shelf either. So, the food up there was old. We ended up with 3 garbage bags full of trash. Mom's really been cleaning her house since dad passed. It's almost as if she wants the house to look like it did when I was growing up in the military. Good enough for company and no piles out anywhere. Will be interesting to see how much cleaning she's going to get done. 

Came home and worked on laundry. Then I got back into my genealogy. I have been getting a lot of names done. I found I had one of my family members hooked to the wrong "John Wineland" as I have about 9 of them. Half of them I don't have married to anyone, so it could be anyone of those. I'll keep working on it. 

Now it's time to get back to cross stitching. I won't be going to see mom till Thursday, so the next two days I'll work on my stuff downstairs. I need to see what I can do with the blocks mom got done on the QOV fabrics. She cut more blocks out and will sew on those later. I'm amazed at what all she got done for me. I'm not so good at that. It's something I'll have to work on. 

Tomorrow is another day.......it will be fun to see what tomorrow brings! What are your plans for tomorrow?

Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Had A Good Sunday

Today started out slowly. We enjoyed the day to sleep in - actually Patrick slept in and I played my games.

Patrick turned on Pro Bowling. So, while we watched the 4 games going on, I stitched.

I was able to get a lot done on this piece. I worked most of the morning on this. It's really going fast. When I'm working on it - lol. 

I finished the bird and started on the flower under it. I'm going to work on the edge and get that going. I can't wait to get started on the April piece. This is still March's. It's really looking good lately. 

This afternoon for 3 hours I worked on my genealogy. I was working on the SPENCER, TAYLOR, BRADFORD, and FORD families. I have a lot of them back to the Mayflower. Some came over on the Mayflower and had their families come over on "The Anne" ship later. Not sure if that was the second ship or another ship that came over. I'll have to work on my history for that information. I don't have much going back to England. I've also been working with a cousin (DNA proof) of Patrick's trying to figure out where the connection is. He doesn't have Wiltzius in his family, so I'm having a hard time figuring it out. They live in Quebec, so have to find the Quebec family members. I may have been able to find the connection - but have to wait and see what he comes up with. Would be very interesting to find out. 

We went bowling tonight. I bowled pretty good to start, then went in the hole again! I can't figure out what my problem is!! I got splits, and I even missed 3 really easy pins!! I bowled a 195, 163, and 151. Patrick bowled a 666 series. Hate it when he does that! We lost 3 games. We all tried to win but when the other team brings in a sub that has an 8 pin handicap - which means he has a 200 or higher average. Then he goes and bowls a 694 series - that's what kills us. We were in first place, now who knows where we are. 

Life is good. Thinking of going over to mom's tomorrow. She's usually got bible study but they canceled, so I think I'll go over till about 2 pm tomorrow. 

Hope your having an awesome day and keeping up with your projects. It keeps us all Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Yet Another Saturday....

This morning we went to the casino - no surprise there. We didn't do so good, but we are still ahead.

We came home around noon. Patrick went out to work on the van. I bawled! I felt good that Patrick wasn't in the house to see it.

I got the kitchen cleaned up and worked on the laundry. I didn't get much laundry done, but at least I got some.

I sat and watched my "Perry Mason" shows. It's amazing at how many I don't remember seeing and I thought I watched them all. I've been going through them when I can. I also got in a "Murdock Mysteries" show in as well.

I got more done on the corner. I then rolled the fabric so I could get more room on the bottom. 

I need to get moving on this. I did get about a 2" square area done. 

I then pulled out the papers I printed on my family history. I was getting a lot of information in my tree. I'm now close to 9000 names on my Taylor/Wineland family tree. 

Called mom and she's doing great. She's been cutting fabric from my QOV fabrics. 

All in all, today was a good day. I have my moments with the loss of dad, but I'm getting there. Each day at a time. 

How do you get through your sadness? Get working more on crafts, get lost in games, or just feel lost and do nothing? 

Hopefully we all will be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!!

Enjoying Quilting With Mom

Today I was up early. I actually went to moms about 9:30 am. As I was on my way, she called to tell me she'd been sewing already. Told her I was almost there.

I arrived to find her sewing more blocks together. She's really been getting a lot of blocks done for me. I'm amazed at what she's getting done.

She's been putting them in a bag as she gets them done. There are about 3 different ones in this bag. It will be fun putting them together when they are all ready to sew together. 

This was what we were working on. We got the blue and white border done. Then it was trying to decide what we needed for the last border. 

But first Patrick showed up and we went to Costco. Mom wanted to organize her pantry, so we went to get some containers for her. She picked up some containers and few other things. We picked up some meat. It went very quick! Surprised Patrick at how fast we went through the store. Then mom treated us to dinner on the way home. 

Patrick went on home and I stayed another hour to try and finish up the quilt top. 

We got it done! It turned out better than I thought! It's the right size and that will be one quilt done! I just need to let Judy know I have a top to be quilted. I'll get the back and batting from her and then get it up to Sharon's other half to get it quilted. Once that is done, I'll do the binding and then get it in the stack of finished quilts they can give away. 

Hopefully I can get another one done to have done as well. 2 would be nice to have finished. 

Now I'm back home, and I want to get a few things entered on my family history. Hopefully tomorrow we will be "resting" and not running around. If that happens then I can get quilting or cross stitching. Maybe both! We can hope! 

May we all be Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Visiting With Quilters!

This morning I enjoyed being able to sleep in. Then I was off to our old "TAS" group. It's the applique group now, I think.

Arrived around 10:45 am. I walked in to 4 of the quilters chatting with Rita. Then they asked me how I was doing.....well that set the tears coming. I did talk about dad a little. It's getting a little easier to talk about it, but there will always be tears. Dad meant a lot to me. It's hard knowing he's not here to chat with or to laugh with. Once the tears start, I have to think of things go get me out of crying.

I worked on the Rebecca Campbell quilt that I had the other quilt group make blocks for. I'm down to two blocks that need to be done. So, I printed the freezer paper with half the pattern - didn't realize I only had half on it!- and cut them out at the meeting. Then I ironed on the fabrics for the flower. Now I just need to get the other half printed to iron those. THEN, I can applique the flower pieces together. I was happy with what all I got done today. It gave me some time to just sit and chat with the group.

They were so sweet in giving me $50 to go towards dad's church's preschool. I think there are close to $1000 worth in dad's name to the church preschool. It's a scholarship for those in need to be able to put their children in preschool. Dad loved to volunteer with the food. He would be there with other church members working with the children. He loved how smart they were. Dad would talk about one child or another and what happened that day.

Stopped off at moms around 1 pm. She was busy with more stuff. Then she showed me her closet. She got rid of dad's clothes. When we were looking we decided to hang her quilt tops, so she can see what she has and which ones will be quilted next.

She's got a lot more than me that needs to be quilted. These are all the quilt tops that the family picked. She was saying if she didn't get them quilted, the ones they go to can pay to have them quilted by Kathleen. I told her she better be able to quilt most of these. 

She had a hair appointment, so even though Ethel was there, she had to leave. Ethel left about the same time. I was getting some stuff done for mom before I left. I need to go back over tomorrow. Not sure when I'll go over though. 

Came home and played a few games. I really didn't get much done. I did take a photo of the tulips in the yard! It's so cool to see the tulips coming up. 

A better photo was posted on Instagram. 

I just got done making some banana bread. It's in the oven and I'm hoping it will come out fine. Haven't made it in a while, so we'll see. The funny part is that I only had 2 bananas for it, when it called for 3. We'll see how it comes out. 

Now it's time to get back to my crafts. At least I worked on some applique. - Mom's been making a lot of 4 patches and 9 patches for QOV. She's not putting them in a quilt top, but she's getting a lot of them done! I'll have to see what I can come up with when she's done. I'm sure we can get a few quilts made with all the different blocks she's making. 

Is there anything you've been working on that's taken a long time to get finished? Have you finished a quilt top lately? Would love to see it!

In the meantime, let's all be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

A Day With Mom And Then Bowling

This morning I was up and out the door to see mom. I made Wednesdays a day with mom. Funny how that's working out. I got there and she was deep in paperwork. So, I helped her out, then she had a friend show up for fabrics. We got her going and then another gal came over to help mom with dad's life insurance. Once that was over, we had another visitor. When everyone left we had to go get one of the papers notarized. When that was done it was time for mom and the neighbor to go to their exercising class.

Came home and played a few games before getting back to my cross stitching.

I finally got the corner done. I've got a few stitching in the corner to do, but it's pretty much there. I'm getting really close to the edge too, I noticed. It's going pretty fast. I'm happy to say, I've been staying on track. The frog hasn't showed up in awhile, but then I should knock on wood for that saying. 

We had bowling tonight. We won 4 games. I bowled a 201, and then Patrick told me I need to move because I wasn't getting the right "angle" into the pocket. I should have ignored him, but I thought I could try it, wondering why, when I bowled so good. When I moved, I was getting 7's and splits, which I wasn't getting before. So, about the 7th frame on the second game, I moved back. I bowled a 162, then I bowled a 177. I really don't know why I listened to him. I usually ignore him when I'm bowling that good. Of course, he bowled a 603 series. I beat him the first game. 

I'm getting there...tomorrow is quilting with the group, then over to mom's for a pattern that Ethel is going to let me copy. 

It's another busy day, and on top of that, Friday is going to be busy as well.....ugh. So much for having a free day! 

I'm still going to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!!

Not A Bad Day Today

Mom woke me up to say "Good Morning!" Loved it.

Got up and got started on cleaning again. I cleaned up the stuff under the sink in the master bathroom. I throw out a lot of stuff, and it's hard to believe how much I got rid of.

After cleaning, I sat down and watched more "Perry Mason" and worked on my cross stitching.

I'm almost to the edge of the March stitching. It's getting closer to being done. I'm about 1/4 of the way done on March's pattern. I'll work on it some more this week. 

Going to mom's tomorrow. No clue what we will be doing. It could be quilting, or it could be running around to get a few things out of the house. Dad's CPAP needs to be returned and we have to do that in Olympia. 

Patrick came home early and started cleaning up the van. He's decided we are going to buy it from mom. He text'd my brother and told him what we would pay. He said it sounded good. So, we have a van now. We'll sell the car when it gets fixed in May. They couldn't get my car in the shop till May!! I couldn't believe that. Guess everyone is damaging their cars! So, for a month I have to live with it as it is....ugh.

It was a pretty good day today. Got laundry done, cleaned the bathroom cabinet, and I got some cross stitching done! Couldn't ask for more...(yeah I could!). 

Keeping moving, and thinking positive! Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Brazilian Embroidery Day

Today was a day of Brazilian embroidery - yet we didn't do any embroidery. We worked on the gifts that we will be giving out at the Seminar. They have been taking a lot of our time. We are only about 1/2 way done with the beading part. I don't know why we seem to get into big projects for the Seminar, but we do.

Came home and started working on the house chores. I got vacuuming out of the way, didn't get to the laundry though. Worked on our bank book because I haven't touched that in over 2 months.

I did get a few minutes to work on my cross stitching.

I bought a new magnifying glass with a light. It's a stand alone and a table top one. I love it so far! It's so much better than the one I was using. I didn't get a big magnifying glass but it's good enough for what I need it for. I'll take a photo tomorrow so everyone can see what I bought.

This evening I was working on entering our bank statements. Amazing how long that too! I will finish it up tomorrow.

Tonight I'm going to enter some stuff in my genealogy records.

Here's wishing everyone a Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

A Full Day Of Bowling

Today was an early day for bowling. I was meeting with Kim and Teresa to head down to Longview. We arrived early to have breakfast there. It was paid for from all the nickels and dimes we put in when we were bowling all year. We had over $80 in the pot. Virginia quit, so Sahlee came back to take her place.

I bowled a 139, 165, 143. Not very good! I lost the first game, not sure about the last game. I did win the second and the total. We had a great time. It was so relaxing! Guess I relaxed a little too much, because I didn't bowl very good.

Came home and I got caught up on my games. Then I took a nap on Patrick's lap because I was so tired and he was on the couch.

We headed over to the bowling alley. We bowled Kim's team and Marie - who we bowled against. We took all 4 games. I bowled a 193 (one pin more than Kim), 170 (beat Kim there too), and then bowled a 154....ugh. Blew the 10th frame! At least my 172 average didn't change.

Got home and needed to get a check ready to deposit tomorrow. Then had to get a Thank you card done for the gals at my BE group. Just realized I need to do one more!

Okay, one more Thank you card, and then head to bed. Have a great day and hope your Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

It's Been Two Weeks

It's been two weeks today since my father passed away. It's still hard. It's a weird feeling...as if I'm in a movie and he disappeared. I'm still numb from the loss. One would think I wouldn't be because I saw him go, but it still doesn't feel real.

Today we did our usual monthly shopping. Then we went to the movies. We saw "Stacked" and I really did like that! It was a very good movie about video games.

Then came home and watched a few "Trading Places" shows - Patrick loved watching those 10 years ago. Now they have a new show, so we're watching that too.

In the meantime, I'm working on my cross stitch.

At first I thought I did something wrong, but the good news was, I wasn't done with the peacock. So, I felt better when that happened. 

The flower above the peacock has a stitch missing. The other flower under the heart has one stitch too many. I'm not changing it. I don't want to take out a lot of stitches just for one. So, hopefully, no one will see it. I can hope. 

It's been a busy day. Called mom and she's good. I'm back to working on my cross stitch and cleaning up my computer again. UGH

Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

A Day Of Quilting!

Today I was up with Patrick and on my way to drop him off at work. Then I was off to moms. I picked up a couple Egg McMuffins. I forgot how much I HATE those. Then I was at moms by 7:45 am. I had to do that, because we were bringing back her van to get it ready to sell.

Mom got up as I was getting a few things done. I fixed her tea and then gave her breakfast. She was getting things ready for the quilters to come. I wanted to make some bread, but she didn't have flour. I ended up going to Safeway to pick up some bread, flours and coffee. My brothers all drank all the coffee in the house. Since dads not around, there wasn't anyone to get more, so I picked it up.

The quilters came in around 9:45 am. For a little bit, I was wondering if any of them were coming. We had 8 of us there. It was a good turn out.

I got a few more stitches in on Katt's quilt. I really needed to get it moving. Every little bit helps, and who knows, I might actually get it done by Christmas....I can dream.

After everyone left, mom and I worked on the Quilt of Valor projects.

This is as far as we got on the panel. It should be done here pretty soon, but then I'm not going to see mom this weekend. So, I'm not sure when we will finish this. 

Mom was working on the nine patches. I cut was cutting the squares. When she gives me all the blocks she's done, I'll figure out how to put them into a quilt. Should be fun. 

We were trying to get rid of the small pieces we have. There are a lot of small QOV fabric pieces. 

We've been getting a lot done today. Even though it was only about 2 hours of work. Mom has these pieces ironed and now she just needs to set them to nine patches. 

At 4 pm I went to pick Patrick up and brought him over to moms. We cooked supper and the neighbor lady came over to eat with us as well. We left, bringing the van back with us. Patrick suggested that we buy the van from mom. I'm not sure if I want to, but it would give us more time to look for another car/suv. I'll think about it. I'll be driving it while my car is in the shop. 

Now I'm finally home...feels great! I need to get back to working on projects. Watching a movie and quilting sounds great right now.....

Keep up the fun and stay Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

A Day Behind On My Post....

Yesterday was one of those days that didn't work for me. I don't know what I did, but whatever it was, I got paid back.

I went over to see mom, and while I was there, her neighbor's daughter came over to tell me she hit my car. I thought she was joking, but she wasn't. She was in tears. She felt bad that I had already gone through a loss of my father, and now this.

So, I had to run around and get my car estimated.

I had something else happen yesterday too, but just can't think of it. lol 

Went bowling and we one 4 games. I bowled a 163, 174, 170. Patrick bowled a 647. So, I was actually happy with the way bowling went. 

Now for today......

I was up and went to visit with Cherrill today. It was a good chat that I've missed after so long. 

Then I headed over to Dept of Licensing because I needed to renew my license. Then I found out they were only renewing my license for 2 years and not the 6 years. Next time it will be 6 years. UGH. 

Went from there to moms. We worked on some QOV projects. I pulled out the panel I have and we worked on the borders. We have one more set of borders and then it will be done. 

The blue and red on the sides is only going to be on the sides. We needed to widen the top, so we could finish it up. The next step is going to be putting blocks as a border. After that then we'll do another border. We should have it done tomorrow after quilting. 

Mom was sewing a lot of four patches and nine patches. I should have enough to do a few quilt tops! That's awesome since they are behind on quilts. 

Came home. Patrick came home and we went to the casino since we hadn't been there in a long time. We came out of there with a LOT more money they we went with. It was one of the first times we had that much fun in a long time. Think dad was watching! Thanks, Dad!

I'm all ready to go back tomorrow to moms. Hopefully I'll come home with at least one top done for QOV. 

Looking forward to being Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!