Friday, January 27, 2012

Singer has a new machine

I love the old vintage Singers, maybe because that's what I learned to sew on.  They're heavy metal, and can sew forever.  Well, Singer apparently has realized that quite a few people feel that way, because their latest model has taken on the look of the old with the technology of the new.  I'm sure they're plastic, and not near the solid weight of the old, but she sure is pretty!   They've been for sale on the home shopping networks, and it appears they're sold out already.  Not to worry, I'm sure there will be plenty more to come.


I doubt that I'll be running out to get one, since I really like my little Janome and have Mom's Singer as well, but I do like the looks of it.  Not to fear, I think this one's pretty snazzy looking too.

Monday, January 23, 2012

newest Texas wall hangings

Here are the newest Texas wall hangings I've finished.  Robert will have his choice of which one he wants, and the other we'll hang in his outer office.
The colors don't show real vibrant, but each one I do is different, depending on the color combinations I have on hand.

Friday, January 20, 2012

this and that

Well, now I'm watching episodes of House.   As usual, I'm several years behind from when it started, but it's pretty much new to me, so that's okay.  I'd only seen bits and pieces of the show, but liked Hugh Laurie (the main character) with his quirky ways.  Well, I happened to see a public television performance a couple of weeks ago, and was surprised to see he's a musician.  I liked the show and his performance, and decided to watch his television series from the start.  Truthfully I didn't know his name until then, but I do now. So far I've finished the first 8 episodes, and my next dvd came in yesterday's mail. 
Who knows, I may even get one of his cd's.
We had a couple of birthdays in the family this week.  David's was earlier in the week, and Nolene's is today.  Woo hoo!  Happy birthday to both!

Here's David.  You've seen it before, but it's my favorite picture of him.   He and Elizabeth celebrated their 4th anniversary this week too.  Glad you're part of the family, David.  :)
And here's Nolene.  Again, I think you've seen this before, but I like it because it shows her interest in learning new things.  Whether its her Ipad or geocaching, knitting or losing weight (about 35 pounds over the last couple of years!), she jumps on in and does it well.

That's it for now.  Hope to have pics of the next two Texas wall hangings in a couple of days.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

are you motivated?

The quest for organization continues.  I prepared the bags for donation to a local charity, and Elizabeth added a couple to the stack.  (You might notice Elise being a helper by holding the door for me.)  I also shredded a few years of tax papers, old enough of course to be off the retention schedule.

I also went through some files and tossed some papers that were no longer needed, but taking up file space.  Most all of my organizing projects are things that no one will notice, but I feel better for being on top of it.

I never did show pictures of a couple of projects I made for Christmas.  First is a lounging beach towel with pillow.  Pretty easy to make, and just used a couple of bath towels and stuffing for the pillow part.  I liked the bright orange, and thought it would work great for Elizabeth to laze around the pool next summer.  
The other project was a little notepad cover, another Elizabeth request.  It came out cute, if I do say so myself.  :)

Okay, that's it for now.   Catch you later.

Monday, January 9, 2012

what the new year brings

I've been bitten by that organization bug.  I know it goes with this time of year, and in fact it bit a month early, but I've got to say it feels good to let things go.

I've had a tv on top of my dresser in the bedroom since I moved in here over 3 1/2 years ago.  And I don't have active connections in there, so it really was a dust catcher.  I'm proud to be able to speak in the past tense, because David loaded it into the back of my car a couple of weeks ago, and it has been delivered to the local Salvation Army store.  It's amazing how much "lighter" the room feels.

This weekend I tackled the guest room closet.  I've had a box of Christmas ornaments tucked away in there since I moved in, and they hadn't been used for several years before that.  I pulled the box down, and sorted through them, designating them to either Robert or Elizabeth, tossing, or going in the donation sack.  We're not talking major heirlooms here, just little things that might have meaning to the kids (or not).  There were 3 ornaments from my childhood that I kept out, along with one or two others, that I might come up with some way to display them next year.  Much simpler than a cumbersome tree. 

This Wednesday a charitable organization will be picking up my donations.  I get calls regularly from 2 or 3 of these, and am usually able to come up with a sack or two.  Nice to see some space opening up here and there.

And, with the new year I have plans of eating out less.  That of course means cooking more.  I figure it will overall be healthier, depending of course on what I fix.  Yesterday I cooked country style ribs, which came out really well.  Then today, I took the left over ribs and incorporated them with some hamburger meat into 2 Alarm chili.  Using the chili in frito pie at lunch was great.  I may end up freezing one or two meals of the chili, but with the weather being cooler this week, maybe not.

On to other things, can you believe how crazy the gas prices are?  A week ago, I saw $3.05 on QT's big sign.  Overnight it went up to $3.15.  Today I saw it was at $3.25.

Better get around.  Have a good week!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

2012 is here!

It's going to be a good year.  At the beginning we anticipate all the good things we'll accomplish, and you know, I really think it will happen.  In the meantime, I just try to enjoy each day as it comes. 

I got an email the other day that had pictures of amazing paths...in fact, that was the name of it, Amazing Paths.  There were a few of the traditional that looked somewhat familiar, though I couldn't say for sure where they were.  You know the kind, the steep city street, or the twisty ones.


And then there were the ones that spoke to me, places I'd like to see. 




These two I especially liked.

On the last one, I tried contacting the photographer...partly to ask where it is, partly to see if he minded that I put it in my blog, and partly just to let him know I like it.  Unfortunately, the name in the picture is hard to make out.  However, in my quest I did send an email to photographer Victor Paul Borg.   It's not his picture, but if you click on the link you'll find his website.  Turns out he's a photographer and journalist.  Isn't the internet wonderful???

On to other things.  Rhett's tooth came out when I was at Robert and Angela's the other day.  This was taken on my phone, and I'm still learning about sending pics with it.
And of course it's that time of year for working puzzles.  Here's the first of the season, 1000 pieces.  I have a 2000 piece waiting in the wings for my next project.
And last, but not least, I'm working on two more Texas wall hangings.  One will be for Robert, the other I think we'll see if it finds a buyer.  He said I could hang it at his dealership.  They are now in the quilting process.
So this year's off to a flying start!  2012 is going to be another good year, I can just tell.  :)