she sings again...

I picked up Mom's Singer from getting serviced yesterday.  Since I had to cut the cord to the foot pedal to get it out of the cabinet, I knew it needed some electrical work, and he ended up completely rewiring it.  There were visible wires, and it was just time.  After all, it's been around since probably the mid to late forties. 

The cabinet needed a bit of freshening up, so I sanded down the top a bit, and rubbed in some Old English.  I wanted it to still show some age, not look pristine, and I think I got that.  There's still some cleaning up to do in some areas, mainly the metal hinges, but for now I wanted to get the machine back in.

When I brought the stool in from the other room, inside were the manual, some extra feet, and the buttonhole attachment, along with the instructions for using the buttonholer.

I've got it in my sewing room, which I admit makes it a bit more crowded, but I'll shuffle some things around to make it work. Seems hard to believe that this is the machine I learned to sew on, oh so many years ago.  Guess I've come full circle now. 

And wah lah...another project I can check off my list!

fallen tree and witches...is there a connection?

Into each life a little rain must fall.  Okay, I understand that.  But trees?  That I can do without.

You may remember I had a new fence put in last Spring since the old one was getting decrepit and falling down.  Chris did a good job on getting it in.  Fast forward to last week, and David looked out to the back yard and told me that my neighbor's tree was down on my fence.  Aargh.  I hadn't gotten out in the yard much with all the heat we've had, so I don't know how long it had been that way, but sure enough, there it was.  There is a blessing in that the fence was new, otherwise it would have toppled on over into the yard and possibly on the house.  (I guess I'm basically a Pollyanna...try to find the bright side of everything.)

This is the beginning of the saga.

 

We didn't realize when Chris and his helper Terry dragged the limbs to the front that the trash company required them to be bundled.  We did have them at decent lengths, pretty much about 4', but the trash man told me he couldn't pick them up that way.   Robert came over this morning and we got probably a good half of the pile into bundles.  David is coming over this evening and we'll get more of it knocked out.  This is where we are at the half-way point.

That last picture is what we have bundled so far, and I admit it will be easier for them to pick up.  Heck of a lot of work though.

On a happier note, I do have my sewing machine back from the repair shop.  This was my first little project to work on, something I could finish pretty quick.  I thought they were cute last year when I saw them on the HGTV forum, so here's my witch.  It can go in either the kitchen or bathroom and be decorative for Halloween.  I've given one to Liz, this will go to Robert's family.  I think the kids will get a kick out of it.

 

My Singer is ready to be picked up, though it will probably be Friday before I make it over there.  I'll have to sew something on it for old times' sake, since it's the one I learned to sew on.

So, back to the title...fallen tree and witches.  Connection?  Nah, but I had to come up with something! 

this and that

It's been a busy enough week, but can't say there was anything major going on.  Well, I did make a run over to the municipal court in Venus to take care of my ticket.  I chose the option of taking a defensive driving course, and the ticket won't go on my record.  What's nice about this six hour course is that it can now be taken on the internet.  Of the six hours, one is a one hour break, and I can do it at my leisure...15 minutes here, 12 minutes there, etc.  I get something like three chances to take the tests.  I've finished the first of three sections, and yes, I passed that test.  One down, two to go.  I'll probably finish that up this weekend.  I've got until up in November, but I'd just as soon be done with it.

I took my sewing machine in to be serviced.  I've had it just shy of a year, and when I bought it, part of the package was a free service and cleaning in the first year.  It doesn't get real heavy duty use, but since I'm gearing up to do some fmq-ing (free motion quilting), I thought it would be nice to start out with everything tip-top.  By the way, it is a nice little machine.  And of course, since it's gone for a week or so, there are all kinds of projects that it would be nice to work on!  Hope that enthusiasm is there when I get it back.

Since I was at the machine repair shop, I also took in Mom's Singer.  It's the one I, as well as my sisters, learned to sew on.  Dad always said Mom sewed many a mile on that thing, and he was right.  There were 5 kids in our family, and for years she sewed all of the clothes for us girls, and I'm sure plenty of shirts for the boys.  Plus all of the mending along the way, and she occasionally sewed for other people as well.  When I got it, I decided I wanted to refinish the cabinet and it would be easier without the machine in it.  I had to cut the cord to the foot pedal to get it out, so this visit to the repair shop is to get the cord re-attached.  Turns out it needs rewired for the electrical plug anyway, and they'll do a service job on it so it will be running.  The real trick will be getting it back in the cabinet, I don't know that they can make the foot pedal cord a plug-in.  Wish me luck.

I got my September package from my secret sister.  Woo hoo!  With a seasons theme, I got a Debbie Mumm "Seasons" book; 2 packets of bulbs for the garden...one gladiolus and one fresias; 3 one yard cuts of fabric, and one that's 2.5 to 3 yards...spring bunnies, winter snowmen, and autumn leaves; 9 fq's, several are patriotic; a cute little tin of pins; a couple of puzzle books; and last but not least, Riesen chewy chocolate caramels.  I still haven't figured out who she is, but truthfully I haven't tried too hard.  The not knowing is part of the fun.  :)

This morning it was nice and cool when I got up, so I headed over to the park and walked around the path.  I know 1/2 mile isn't a whole lot, but I was proud that I got up and out to do it.  Then I headed over to the grocery store to get that chore out of the way.  As I was pulling out of the parking lot, Elizabeth called to see if I wanted to meet them at the park.  Made me feel good to say I'd already been!

Here's a mommy-daughter picture of Elizabeth and Elise.  I thought their matching outfits deserved to be remembered.  :)

Last but certainly not least, happy birthday brother Carl!   






Have a good week.