IF I DON'T LAUGH I WILL CRY...

Update...

This morning we woke up to NO HOT WATER at all.  I TOLD the insurance company that the hot water heater was making horrible noises and that just because it was working didn't mean it wasn't damaged!  I had already scheduled with the plumber to come out on Monday (on my dime) to check the hot water heater.  So we will live without hot water until then.  The tech coming out on Monday has been thoroughly apprised of the situation...I'm afraid an "emergency" tech may not know all of the details.  So we will take as few showers as possible, skip doing laundry and skip running the dishwasher.  I am hoping since there is now PROOF of damage they will pay for the tech to come out.  I don't want anything "repaired".  The water has voided my manufacturer's warranty and goodness knows what else could pop up as a result of the water.  Praying the insurance company agrees and replaces it...

Oh, and after I posted yesterday our phone line went all static-y.  Verizon came out quickly, thank goodness, and I was right...the jack was saturated and already starting to corrode from the water! 

I am sitting here in my sewing room with a diffuser pumping out calming essential oils.  My best friend bought it for me for Christmas.  What perfect timing!  Breathe Deep, Lin!!!   Breathe Deep...

WATER...

IT HAPPENED AGAIN!!!!!

 

Thanks to wonderful winter weather, this is the SECOND time that our basement has had water damage!!!  I can't remember now if it was last winter or the winter before, but low, low temperatures caused a pipe in the ceiling of our basement to burst...effectively ruining my husband's home office and destroying five bookcases of my hard bound books (sob). 

This time it was the sump pump that caused the damage.  My husband and I were VERY proactive when we finished our basement.  We put in a second sump pump that runs on water pressure instead of electricity.  It worked BEAUTIFULLY during hurricane Sandy and we were the only house in our immediate vicinity that didn't have four feet of water in their basement.  However, being proactive doesn't guarantee you won't have problems! 

Yesterday I was heading out to a doctor appointment (two actually) when I heard a horrendous metallic groaning noise coming from my basement.  I went flying down the stairs to find the sump pump pipes shooting water all over the place.  The moaning was coming from my hot water heater that was being bombarded by high pressure water.  I knew I had to unplug the sump pump, but I was standing and sloshing around in water.  So I reached for the cord well down from the outlet and pulled.   That stopped the water spraying all over the place, but the damage was done...to say nothing of the fact that I was now DRENCHED. 

As I was sloshing around I saw this black critter swimming across my pantry floor.  At first I thought he was a snake, and just about died!  Then I spotted his four little legs paddling away.  He finally found his way to a higher dry spot where I was able to catch a quick photo before he disappeared under my pantry shelving.  Eeeeeewwwwwww.....NOW where is he, and how did he get into my basement???

My insurance company sent out a team to clean up the mess. 

They moved stuff all OVER the place and put all of our "wet" belongings out in our garage to be gone through.  I really need to do that today, but it is so COLD in the garage!

They brought down a bunch of heavy duty drying equipment and pulled up my carpet and pad to try to salvage them. 

The last thing they did was "fix" my sump pump pipe before they walked out the door.  Thirty minutes later it was leaking again, not shooting all over but definitely leaking.  My son wrapped a towel around the pipe and and held it in place with bungee cords.  This morning the water remediation guy came back to check the humidity of the room.  I showed him the saturated towel.  He left to buy new parts for the pipes.  Hope it gets fixed right this time.  Oh, and the water heater next to the sump pump...it is less than a year old and was drenched with water.  I'm going to have to PAY to have a plumber verify if it is a loss or not.  It is working, but I'm afraid the insides will corrode away because of the water dripping all through it.  I just spent $1800 to have it installed...I don't want it dying  before its expected lifespan!

So, Murphy and his damn laws have moved back into our house.  Since the beginning of January my mom has been in the hospital twice and my dad once.  As an only child the responsibility falls squarely on my shoulders.  This new "disaster" is more than I can handle.  I can't even cry over it...I'm just numb.  I feel like my whole life is upside down at the moment.  I keep repeating to myself, "This too shall pass".  I know it will, but it can't happen soon enough!

THRIFT STORE SHOPPING AND TESTING A MONEY SAVING IDEA...

Today I made a trip to my favorite thrift store looking for a 1" binder (sorry no picture) and a pair of pantyhose to try a frugal idea I had seen on online.  I found the binder for $.50 and the pantyhose for $.99.  Today all blue tags were 50% off!  

For several years now I have heard about wool dryer balls and how they work much better and are much less expensive than dryer sheets...even the cheap dollar store brand.  I searched my yarn stash and found a few small skeins of tapestry wool.  Since I don't know if tapestry wool will felt, I simply wound one skein into a ball.  I sliced off one leg of the pantyhose and inserted the wool ball, tying off the pantyhose above and below the ball.  Right now they are in the washer on hot.  I will dry them on the hottest setting and see if they begin to felt.  The online source that I used for instructions said that she had washed and dried her wool balls three times to get them properly felted.  If it works, I have several more skeins of tapestry wool to use up.  Oh, and the tapestry wool?  I got it for free several years ago from someone who was cleaning out all of her yarn!  If these dryer balls work as well as I anticipate, I will be saving money from now on...with very little investment! 

 

While roaming around the thrift store I found a cute little ceramic bag for holding pens in my sewing room.  For several years now I have used a wall vase to hold my pens.  However, it never really worked as well as I would have liked, so I will eventually list the wall vase on eBay to sell.  This little ceramic bag was also a blue tag and cost me only $.49 after discount. 

Last but not least, all wallets and handbags were 50% off.  I purchased these two small wallets for a total of $3.00.  I hope to be able to use one of them to corral all of my gift and loyalty cards.  Right now I have them in a vinyl zippered pouch, which is much bigger and takes up way too much room in my handbag.  Whichever one I do not end up using will be listed for sale on eBay! 

All in all it was a wonderful "thrifting" day.  I only spent $5 and fulfilled several needs and even scored an item to sell on eBay!  Frugality RULES!!!

Toodles...

Progress On The Little Guy's Quilt...

Today I spent some time working in my sewing room.  I managed to complete the first "round" of the little guy's quilt.  It isn't really as crooked as it looks, hanging it with the curtain clips doesn't work as well as pinning it flat to my flannel design "curtain". I hope to have a real design "board", a rigid surface, when I move into my new sewing room.  I'm thrilled with how this quilt is turning out and I can't wait to get back to it tomorrow!  Oh, and please ignore my pinwheel points that don't quite touch, lol.  This was my first try!

Toodles...

Prepping For The Move...

Now that Christmas is over I can begin preparing to move my sewing room down to the living room!  I can not WAIT to have a room this big to create in and, most importantly, with it located on the main floor of the house I can seriously reduce running up and down the stairs. 

So, yesterday I listed my sofa, 2 wing chairs, 3 tables, 3 lamps, mirror, a decorative hourglass and my Lowrey organ on eBay.   Within 30 minutes I had bids on the chairs, 2 tables, 2 lamps, the mirror and the hourglass.  Even with the bid, I still see people saving the items to their "watch list".  Maybe that means I will get more than my starting bid amount as it gets closer to the end of the auction.  But, since my goal is to empty out the room as quickly as possible...I priced these things to sell! 

I have had 32 people view my Lowrey listing and one person has placed it on their watch list.  Back in 1974 when my parents bought me the organ, it cost $8000.00...an astronomical price!  But I had a gift and they were determined to do everything they could to help me reach my potential.  For the past 10 years or so it is impossible to buy replacement parts, so even if someone just purchased it to cannibalize it for parts...$25.00 is a steal! I think I may be quite emotional when "my baby" leaves this house, but I haven't been able to play it in years...so making room for a hobby that I still CAN do makes a whole lot more sense. 

Tomorrow J and his girlfriend will begin moving things around so that at least a few items can be brought down from my sewing room.  We know it is going to take several days of lifting and moving furniture...but it will be a start! 

This morning I have purged through my sewing catalog drawer and have purged through one bin of fabric.  There is a LOT more to do, but slow and steady will have to be my pace. 

A QUILT FOR A SPECIAL LITTLE BOY...

Now that I have quite a few blocks cut from his clothing I will begin the design process.  Designing this one is a little bit "backwards" from how I usually work.  Since his clothing varies from newborn to toddler, I have to lay out the design based on the maximum size square I was able to cut from the clothing, and how many squares I was able to get out of each shirt!  I haven't decided if the corner blocks are going to just be trimmed down to match the size of the other blocks, or if I am going to turn them into pinwheels.  I am going to do a "test" pinwheel out of scrap fabric and see how the size works.  I can't wait to work on it more tomorrow!!!

Toodles...

MY CHRISTMAS MINI IS FINISHED...

Okay, I'm horrible showing you the back first...but this is the neatest my FMQ has ever looked on the back (not that you can really see it)!  I think I have finally gotten the tension just right and I am darn proud of it!  I haven't done ANY free motion quilting in about a year.  Yes, there are a few line crosses...but I'm thrilled that there weren't more!

So here is the front...TA DAH!!!

I haven't tried it on my table top quilt stand yet because I had to glue the ribbon around the label.  I'm shaking WAY too bad the past few days to attempt to use a needle to hand sew!  I sewed on a button for my mom yesterday and stuck myself TWICE!  Thankfully I didn't bleed all over her off-white pants!  So I am going to wait until the glue is totally dry before I move it to its place of honor in my foyer.

Finally a finish to get my mojo rollin' again.  I have done very little "creative" this year due to the upheaval in the house with illness, etc.  BUT, I firmly believe that I really NEEDED the creative outlet on just those days.  So, for 2016 I am determined to "create" even if my life isn't cooperating!  I probably won't be around until after the holidays, so have a Happy, Healthy, Magical Christmas and a wonderful beginning to the new year!

I hung my mini quilt this morning.  NOW it feels like Christmas is on its way! 

Toodles...