Sunday, January 26, 2014

Sophie dressed herself today...

She was moving fast because she knew I wanted her picture.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Bad things come in threes, right?

1.  Getting the flu
2.  Washer breaks

Yep, my washer broke, on a day when I was sick.  Not a good day.  Of course, I put off laundry until I was feeling better, but that changed my mood.  So I did something I haven't done for years.
I headed off to Eco Laundry in Tempe to wash a couple of loads of laundry.  
I took my Nook and got a little bit of reading done while I waited.  This trip to the laundromat really reminded me of simpler times, and not all bad.  It reminded me of my college days.  It reminded me of my first apartments when I didn't have a washer or dryer.  It reminded me of times I went with my mom when our washer went out.
It was actually a pleasant experience.  It took about 1 1/4 hours to do the two loads of laundry.  I didn't like hauling it in and out of the car, though.  And it costs a minimum of $5 a load!  That's substantial.  Thank goodness the repairman will be here on Saturday!

3.  So what's the third thing to go wrong?


Friday, January 24, 2014

Katie's Birthday

Kate turned 28 earlier this week.  Right.  28.  It makes me feel old, but hey, it's not about me, is it?  A couple of my favorite pictures of her...
 She LOVED Mickey Mouse, but she was also scared to death of him.
These pictures just make me smile and say aaaaahhh.
Kimmy surprised Katie with a special delivery on the day after her birthday:
... a dozen Georgetown Cupcakes - baked fresh and shipped in all the way from Georgetown in Washington, D.C.!!!
They are guaranteed to be baked the day before, then sent via overnight delivery.
I can attest that they were fresh and delicious!
And a total surprise to Kate.


Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Anybody else have the flu bug?

That's pretty much how I felt the past two days, only I wasn't even able to fix a cup of hot tea!
Today is better.  

Monday, January 20, 2014

A Star is Born!

Friday night I was fortunate to attend a local children's play, "Willy Wonka Jr." in which Kylee had several parts.  Here's a clip of her singing solo:



 In one part she was also an oompa loompa...
 And, of course, her stage photo.
The play was so cute - and had some very funny moments.
I truly enjoyed it.  
Thanks, Kylee and Nicole, for inviting me.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Angels?

Most definitely!
Especially when they sleep.
These are my niece's two little ones.
Miss Addie latched onto my mother's "silky" pillow case and 
now carries it around with her everywhere.  
I am sure my mother would be pleased that it went to one of her littlest great-grandangels.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

From trash...

to something useful...
This folder was found in the trash at work.
And Diana wants to use it at home to keep records in, but...
 she wants it to look nice, so I covered it with paper...
even the inside strip.  
Yes, that DOES look better!
So now she she has a stash!
What a great way for me to use up a few odd pieces of paper.  

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

My baby flew the coop!

My youngest, Kimberly, made the decision to spread her wings and move to Washington D.C.  
Well, the day finally arrived...
 Her bags were packed the night before and sitting by the door.
 It was dark when we loaded the car and headed to the airport.
 I got Kimmy to take a "selfie" of the two of us.
 There she is - checking in and giving me a good bye wave!
(We had finished hugging and crying - I think the skycap was a little worried.)
I checked on her before she boarded. 
She's fine.  Breakfast sandwich.  Coffee.  And reading material.

P.S.  She let me know tonight she made it to her destination.

Now?  The pressure is on Daughter No. 1, Katelyn, to entertain me.  :)

Monday, January 13, 2014

Coyotes!

This weekend we had an open house for Kim, a chance for her to say goodbye to friends and family before she leaves for D.C.  In order for her grandmother to attend, we needed to go get them and then take them back.  They live in Peoria, in the city limits.  After I dropped them off and was pulling out of the driveway, I stopped... because crossing in front of me were...
 coyotes!
Four of them!

I have heard stories but have never personally seen them walking down the streets in the middle of a neighborhood, so you can guess that they definitely took me by surprise!  I had to stop and get some pictures.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

BasicGrey - little BLACK DRESS 2

 My oldest daughter, Kate, chose BasicGrey's Little Black Dress 2 for her quilt.  I ordered - and just received - the Layer Cake pre-cut stack.
Looking forward to starting this quilt.

Monday, January 6, 2014

The other project I worked on?

A while back, I bought a few pillow case kits.  I pulled one out tonight to try.
Above are two of three kits that I bought - just random kits.  
One is for travel, which I thought would be fun to take on road trips.  The other two are "girly."
The directions were easy to follow - here's one of the first steps:
Notice the red clips?  These clips are used in place of pins.  I tried them ... and liked them.  
I didn't prick my fingers once!
Finished product - quite cute!
And here it is - stuffed with a pillow!
It is a perfect fit for a standard pillow.  So easy and economical.
I can see a lot of potential for this little craft:  his/her wedding pillow cases, college gifts, kid-themed pillow cases, or just pillow cases to match finished quilts.
I am truly excited about this!

Sunday, January 5, 2014

I've been doing some sewing...

working on a couple of projects...
My first one, of course, is to finish Kim's quilt before she goes to D.C.  I am sure she will be able to put a quilt to good use there.  So I pulled out the quilt top in order to cut and attach the outside borders.
I finished that job, pressed it, and then got the fabric ready for the back side. 

Today I went to Diana's house to actually do the quilting.  
Here you can see Diana re-threading the machine.
Sorry the room looks so dark - I got a new cell phone and am not used to it yet.
We had trouble with the tension and the machine was shredding the thread, 
so we had to stop for the night.  
On Kim's quilt, I tried a free-hand heart design 
and it is much easier to see the design on the back side of the quilt.  
 I had fun freestyling this design, but it took my total brain power!
The plan is to finish it next weekend - can't wait!