IT'S A PAMPER ME KINDA DAY...

I woke up this morning to cloudy skies and predicted downpours.   My body has certainly confirmed the forecast!  I managed to sew one quarter of a Dresden plate before I had to call it quits.  I have moved to the family room, snuggled into my leather sofa recliner and wrapped myself up in a warm quilt.   Now snug as a bug, a mug of steaming flavored coffee in my hand and my IPAD in my lap, I can pamper my aching body for the rest of the day.

I just checked my email and discovered I won a giveaway!  WooHoo!  I really appreciate the win, especially finding out about it on a "pamper me" day.

Hope you are all staying snugly warm!  Take care!

MOVING RIGHT ALONG............

Friday my dear mom and dad came over and helped me with some things in the newly painted quilting room.  Mom and Dad hung the mirror above the desk and also the curtains.  Today, J came over and assembled my new chair.  The basting table is on order and should be here in about a week.  I am SO excited to see this room really coming together!  More pictures to come...

I have also made a little bit of progress on Mom's quilt, but will show you pics when it is OBVIOUS that I've made progress, lol.  Tiny bites, tiny bites...

A CATCH-UP DAY IN THE COTTAGE...

Today is a "catch-up" day at the cottage!  I woke up at 7:40 this morning with "air in my stomach", a side effect of my CPAP machine...one that is happening WAY too frequently anymore!  A quick drink of water and the air escaped with every swallow (sounds like air leaking from a balloon, lol).  By the time I felt "better" I was too awake to go back to sleep...despite being exhausted, lol.  So I began to do some much needed work around this house!

First, I opened up a package of ink that I had ordered and had delivered from Office Depot.  My husband's ink, and 3 of my 4 inks were fine.  My blue ink, well....not so fine.  I made a quick phone call to Office Depot.  They will send a driver out tomorrow between 8:30 and 5:30 to drop off the new ink and pick up the smushed ink.  Which means I now I have to plan on spending the entire day in the house tomorrow.  Guess I will be running my one errand today, lol.  

Then I went to vacuum the yellow room that was just painted a few weeks ago.  Upon closing the door completely I found a big drip of white paint on the yellow wall!  Grrrr....how did I (and the painter) miss it?  He had asked me to check over the room before he left and I guess I forgot to close the door and look behind it.  Now I am going to have to try sanding that drip and touching up the yellow paint.  It would have been SO much easier had I noticed it when he still had the wet roller in his hand!  Better yet, if HE had noticed!  Oh well, I can't complain (too much), they did an overall really great job and the cutting in he did around my existing border is wonderful.  So I'm STILL a very happy camper!

The only other progress made in this room has been in the installation of a ceiling fan and placement of the empty desk.  I need Dear Hubby's help to hang the curtains and he was in a lot of pain this past weekend and couldn't do too much.  Dear Hubby bought me a new desk chair to use in my new quilting room.  It is still in the box...in the kitchen...as it was too heavy to carry upstairs.  I will ask J to assemble it the next time he comes over. 

Yesterday Dear Hubby found a nice looking craft table in the Improvements catalog.  He would like to go with this table instead of the Ikea Expedit cabinets since this comes with a tabletop included and the Expedits would require adding a top of some type (which may not be the exact same size).  However, the reviews from owners were about 50/50.  We KNOW we have always been happy with Ikea furniture.  What to do, what to do....?

This morning I added a few more backings to my mom's quilt.  The last two beige blocks are cut, I just have to center and pin the dresdens, but my body is beginning to complain...time to stop.  

 Over the weekend, with Dear Hubby's help, I was able to hang the new shower curtain.  I LOVE this shower curtain and plan to buy another one in order to make curtains for the bathroom window.  I don't think using other materials (my original plan) will look as nice!

Dear Hubby also helped me hang this white wall cabinet.  When J was small it was used to house all of his asthma medication...keeping it all in one place where we could grab it in an emergency.  As he got older he always knew exactly where his meds were when he needed to restock the puffer he kept in his pocket at school.   It is pretty much empty now, other than his extra peak flow meters and a thermometer, and that is good!  The less medication in there, the better!  I just remembered when I saw the photo...I need to go out and buy a set of new black towels to hang on the bar for when we have guests.

At the end of last week and over the weekend I was able to put some of the linen closet supplies back in place.  The three rolling carts have been a WONDERFUL way of keeping organized.  Each drawer is labeled with the category of its contents.  Even guests can find what they need easily!  The two 3-drawer containers hold sample sized toiletries that we use for travel.  I still have to fold all of our linens to fit them back on the top shelf.  It is tough only having one linen closet in the guest bathroom and none in the master bath!  But when J moved out I gave him a supply of towels and bed linens so there should be a lot less to stuff in there!

Several years ago, Dear Hubby came home from a business meeting with the above case.  When I opened it up I found a travel first aid kit!  I was thrilled to have such a compact emergency supply and it lived in the glove box of my car for quite a while.   Over time the supplies were used up and I was left with this sturdy, zip closed pouch.  What to use it for?

Well, I finally decided that it would be PERFECT as a travel EPP (English Paper Piecing) case.  I have filled it with everything I need to do a bit of stitching (including Band-Aids, lol) while killing time as a passenger in the car.  I'm envisioning our trip to South Carolina coming up soon!  If my tremor will cooperate I can see myself getting quite a few hexies done on the trip there and back.  I am just waiting for a package of pre-cut plastic hexies that I ordered last week to add to the kit before I stuff it into the car door pocket. 

Right now I am hurting from vacuuming and bending over to work on the blocks...so it is rest time!  I'm still sipping my wonderful steaming mug of coffee and hoping my muscles will loosen up.  I need to take my shower shortly and then head out to the store to pick up my free prescription.  I know I have mentioned it before, but in case you missed it....ShopRite offers several types of diabetes medications free of charge.  No insurance information or payment of any type is necessary.  It is such a blessing for someone like me who takes so many medications, at least there is one I don't have to pay for! 

Off to the shower!!!!

AN UPDATE...ONE MUG RUG FINISHED, DONE MOM'S DRESDENS, SSDI APPROVED, OVERDID IT AND PAYING THE PRICE!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I haven't been feeling too well.  My tremor has been acting up and my pain has increased, probably because my rheumatologist took away my Fibromyalgia medicine (because my insurance was harrassing him that I should not have been on it with my liver disease) and he is decreasing the steroids for my Polymyalgia Rheumatica because they are playing havoc with my other medical conditions.  Such is life here at the cottage...

Front of the Mug Rug

Back of the Mug Rug

On a better note, I have finally finished the back of one of the mug rugs I am making my mom, dad and aunt for Christmas.  If I have time I will finish up the fourth one for a guest at their table (usually me, lol).  If I run out of time I will get it completed after Christmas.  I was looking for just the "right" trim for the back.  I wanted it to be "quaint" and I think the green crocheted lace does the job nicely and makes the back almost as pretty as the front!

On my mom's quilt I have finished all 8 full dresdens.  I now have to cut out 6 more backing squares and then I have to make up 4 quarter dresdens for around the central embroidered saying.  I am hoping to have that done by the end of this week.  Then I can start cutting sashes, the inside border, middle border and fitting the four smaller embroideries into the corners of the middle border.  Hopefully that will be done by the end of next week.  If I am lucky I can have the outer border sewn on and have it sandwiched by the end of October.  I've left myself 7 extra days in there in case of delays, lol, as we all know I have WAY too many of those on a regular basis!  I will have about one month to quilt and bind it with losing time on vacation!  Looks like I am under the gun this year too.  Like last Christmas...IOUs are always a possibility, lol. 

I saw my sleep apnea doctor last week.  He has agreed to me using my Provigil on an as needed basis as I was getting palpitations and rapid heart beat using it every day.  But now I have to  lie down every afternoon for a several hour nap! It's a losing battle trying to keep my eyes open.  He said he needs to take another look at the computer output from my CPAP machine and may even need to do another sleep study and MSLT to check me again for additional problems such as narcolepsy or some other type of condition that hits people in their fifties.  He said I may just have to go back on the Provigil, or one of its counterparts, on a regular basis.  My cardiologist has given me medication to help combat the side effects of the medicine if need be.  Geez, these medicines can give you problems you didn't have to start with!


I got my approval letter in the mail today from Social Security Disability.  If I am reading it right it sounds like I am approved only for the next 18 months and will have to go through a re-evaluation at that time.  Oh no...not again!  I am also confused as it says something about me only being insured through 2016!  I am going to have to call my lawyer tomorrow as I REALLY don't understand this letter.  But at least Social Security has finally agreed that I am NOT able to work.  It only took tons of forms, about a foot high stack of medical records, letters from several of my physicians, a lawyer and a hearing before a judge for the "powers that be" to agree I am disabled!  Gosh, I know people who really aren't disabled and got approved with little to no effort.

And finally, yesterday I did a very stupid, STUPID thing.  We needed some things that were on sale at the grocery store.  My Dear Hubby was not feeling well and not able to go with me.  I told him I was just going to pick up a few things that we needed right away and order the rest of the groceries to be delivered by the grocery store.  When I got there I realized I was only going to be spending $50-$60 dollars total and I didn't want to spend $15 to have it delivered.  Soooooo...I did all of the grocery shopping and just about KILLED myself.  Dear Hubby had a hissy fit when he saw what I had done...and he was right...I was totally and completely STUPID.  Boy am I paying for it last night and all day today.  I HURT, big time, but I guess I deserve every stab of pain!  My muscles are SO weak today from over-straining them. I know when I do "normal" things I can "pay" for several days later.  I expect this payment will last the rest of the week, if not longer. :o(  The decision has been made.  From now on if Dear Hubby is not able to go with me to do all of the reaching off shelves, loading onto the conveyor at the cash register and loading into the car...I will pay whatever it costs to have the food brought to my home and deposited on my kitchen table.  I can then spend a full week putting things away if I need to, and Dear Hubby or J can carry everything down the basement and put it away for me.  It is more than worth $15 to avoid this kind of pain and weakness.  There is a good reason I have not done any grocery shopping in almost two years.  Yup, you can call me stupid...

I had figured that I would take a few pictures first thing this morning...Tuesday...but I woke up with an absolutely HORRENDOUS bout of Trigeminal Neuralgia.  So I will simply add the two pictures I did manage to take and hope for a better post next time around.  Sorry...

KITCHEN SINK SOUP...A Delicious Tightwad Meal!

Two nights ago Dear Hubby and I went to Applebee's for dinner.  When our meal was over there was about 3/4 cup of noodles from Dear Hubby's 3 Cheese Chicken Pasta left.  On my plate were the remains of my chicken fajitas... two tortillas, four strips of chicken, Mexican rice, fried onions, fried green and red peppers, cheddar cheese and pico de gallo.  I asked the waitress for boxes to take our leftovers home.

I had originally considered eating the leftovers "as is", but decided I could get more bang for my buck by making one of my favorite Fall and Winter meals...Kitchen Sink Soup!

This morning I dumped the noodles, rice and pico de gallo into my crockpot...and then chopped up all of the remaining leftovers (even the tortillas) and added them too.  I poured on 3 cans of chicken stock and 3 cups of water to which I had added 3 chicken bullion cubes.  I turned my crockpot on high and let my soup happily bubble away for a few hours.  About an hour before serving I added some dried onions, the last half cup of Frenches Fried Onions languishing in my pantry and a light sprinkle of taco seasoning.

When the smell became totally impossible to resist I ladled out a crock of soup, sprinkled on some garlic sea salt and some fresh ground pepper, crushed 4 slightly stale club crackers on top and added a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese.  OH. MY. GOODNESS.  This soup is absolutely INCREDIBLE!

Unfortunately, due to the very nature of "kitchen sink soup", I will never again be able to exactly reproduce this soup.  Close, but not exact.  But, that is part of the charm of KSS soup...it is always a new and different taste sensation and the cost is minimal.  Now that Fall is here I will make my own chicken stock to replace the canned stock and water/bullion mixture.  Better for my health and for my pocketbook!

Mmmmmmm.......thrifty meals can be yummy...

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO PARENTING? (warning...this is a rant...)

I just came in from a quick trip to JoAnn's to pick up the batting that was on sale and a few other bargains I just couldn't resist.  I had expected my shopping trip to be an enjoyable roam through JoAnn's in search of goodies...a relaxing stroll up and down the aisles formulating crafting and sewing ideas along the way. 

Instead I spent a nerve wracking 20 minutes while a woman and her four little brats disturbed every patron inside the store.  From the far end of the store I could hear the children whining and fighting.  As I walked toward the checkout, the clamor grew.  When I reached the end of the line I was positioned across the cutting table from the woman and her children.  The ruckus was unbelievable.  At one point the woman said (loudly so everyone could hear) that she was happy when she went into stores and saw other children misbehaving because then she knew it wasn't just her kids.  Oh. My. God.  I would have been MORTIFIED if my child had ever behaved like that...and I certainly would not have tried to rationalize it to everyone within earshot.  Her children were, without exaggeration, the perfect poster children for birth control!  Then as if to downplay their disruption she proceeded to ask her approximately 3-4 year old son (again in a volume for all to hear), "Did you poop?"  "I smell something." "Did you fart?" 

Good God, get me out of this madhouse!  The cashier told me that the woman and her children had been in the store for over an hour!  I can't imagine how they did their jobs with the cacophony of screams overpowering every thought. 

Maybe I am really showing my age, but my son would NEVER have behaved like that.  He was taught from a young age that good behavior is rewarded, bad behavior is punished, and mom MEANS what she says!  At age 16 my son would sit in restaurants marveling at the poor behavior of the nearby children and has stated more than once that we should "pity the children and smack the parents".  I told him I was glad to hear that because if he EVER raises a brat HE will have to answer to ME!  There is no way I would EVER subject others to my child misbehaving.  When he was young, if J misbehaved I left wherever we were immediately...a store, a restaurant, even CHURCH.  Now our church has a "crying room" so that the rest of the congregation is not disturbed.  WHAT?  Now the church is making excuses for poor parenting?  If, as an infant, J started to cry...I took him out to the car, calmed him down with feeding or changing...and returned once he would no longer disrupt the rest of the congregation.  Lots of parents did exactly the same thing.  They respected their fellow congregants and removed themselves and their children when necessary.   The child learned at an early age that misbehaving in church was NOT going to get them out of going.  Today the parents don't have to deal with their misbehaving child, or crying infant, they can remain oblivious to their responsibility inside the "crying room".  Pathetic. 

When my son got older, consequences were followed through.  Once when we were in Friendly's he was misbehaving.  I warned him that if the misbehaving continued he would not get his kid's meal dessert.  He was NOT disturbing others, but was simply not doing as he was told.  After the meal, the waiter brought over his "clown sundae" and placed it in front of him...at which point I picked him up and out of the booth, walked to the cash register, paid and left.  He SAW in very clear illustration that Mom means what she says and there are consequences to misbehaving.  He didn't get the sundae on the table (neither did I for that matter), but it was more important that he learn from the experience.  And he did.  Once when my parents took him to  Chuckie Cheese's he refused to listen.  My mom took him by the hand and walked him out of the restaurant...his purchased tokens unused. He never misbehaved for my parents again. 

Now, don't get me wrong...I'm not a perfect parent and J had his "terribles" at three instead of two...but I TRIED hard to teach him right from wrong, respect for others and for situations.  That was MY JOB...and NOT PART TIME, BUT FULL TIME!  Sometimes I felt like I was breaking a wild horse, but repetition and follow-through is the same no matter for horses or for children.  I can remember spending three whole nights lying on the hallway floor outside of his bedroom, picking him up every time he climbed out of bed and opened his bedroom door, and placing him (silently) back into his bed.  I would no sooner get back down onto the ground in the hallway, head on my pillow, than he would open the door and step out into the hallway again.  By the fourth night I could barely speak coherently...but his door stayed shut and I awoke the next morning to realize I had slept all night through on the hallway floor blocking his door, while he had slept the night through in his bed.  The contest was over and I had won. 

It worries me when I see the lack of self control and discipline being instilled in this younger generation.  No wonder there is such a sense of entitlement amongst many of the teens and youngsters today...they have gotten whatever they wanted from the time they were young simply by misbehaving.  Unfortunately misbehaving now is becoming more and more harmful to their fellow citizens and instead of a toddler throwing a tantrum to get what he wants, we now have young adults pulling triggers.  And I'm sorry, I didn't feel one iota of pity for that mother in the store today.  Instead I felt outrage that she brought into this world 4 human beings whom she has no intention of parenting...and we are all expected to silently suffer the consequences.

Maybe it's time I moved to an isolated location where I don't have to interact with parents who just don't give a damn about how their lack of effort is impacting our future generations.  I think my son is right...it's time we pity the children and punish the parents... 

But, so you don't think I am blind to the good parents of this world....I want to offer my sincerest thanks to all of you wonderful parents out there who have put the raising of your children before your own wants and needs...knowing that parenting your little people is the most important job you will ever have.  I wish you patience, a will just a smidge stronger than your child's, and the glorious moment in the future when your child thanks you for being such a wonderful parent.  That is when you know you have truly succeeded and your job is truly done. 

A FABULOUS DAY AND A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!!!

Isn't it beautiful??  This was my favorite quilt at the Pennsylvania Quilt Extravaganza (well tied for first, anyway)!  Yesterday my mom and aunt and I went to the quilt show.  Oh. My. Gosh.  It was AMAZING!  We had the most WONDERFUL day.  Before we go much further I do have an admission...I am a REALLY BAD BLOGGER.  I forgot about my camera for more than half of the quilt show!  Upon entering the quilt show you begin with the vendors.  The quilts, bags, wall hangings, mug rugs, candle rugs, table toppers, clothing, etc., etc., etc., at each vendor's booth were just MAGNIFICENT!  I was so busy oohing and aahing at the finished products and looking quickly over their wares (there is absolutely NO way to check out every item in every booth unless you start at the opening second and don't stop until the final minute today...and then would still have to move at lightening speed!) that I totally and completely FORGOT to take pictures of the handiwork.  I only remembered to take my camera out of my purse when we entered into the exhibition area!  This was one of the first quilts we saw when we entered into the convention center and even this didn't trigger my brain to pull out the camera!  I was just so excited I wasn't thinking straight!  I did make sure to grab a quick shot of this quilt at the very end as we were walking out! Isn't the applique GORGEOUS?!?

I went to the quilt show with some specific "needs" in mind.  I really wanted to look for a turntable mat.  

I found this beauty on the second aisle we went down.  It is made of lucite with a removable, replaceable cutting mat.  

It has a ball bearing turning mechanism and little feet that grab the table with the slightest downward pressure.  It is really well made and I expect to get years of cutting pleasure before I even have to think about replacing the mat.  

I was thrilled to find the Plum Easy patterns for hot pads and a pin cushion.  I had tried to purchase the potholder pattern from one of my favorite bloggers, but she ran out before I was able to grab one.  I also purchased a Prairie Pointer to make ironing prairie points easier!  With my purchase they also threw in a small glue stick and a cute little folded star button that I pinned onto my quilt show purse.  I've tried to take a picture of the adorable little button...but there is a glare in my sewing room that is making it impossible to photograph.  

The most unexpected purchase was this binding tool.  I have struggled with the binding of every quilt I have made.  I've tried several different methods and tutorials and STILL have not managed a truly professional looking join.  Hopefully this tool will solve my problem!  

Sort of between the vendor and exhibition sections was the concession area where we stopped for a quick lunch.  We each had a bowl of delicious cream of broccoli soup, a cheeseburger (they didn't put cheese on any of the sandwiches...I think the hamburgers were in the cheeseburger bay and the cheeseburgers were in the hamburger bay!) and a soda or coffee.  The hamburgers were a bit dry and bland without the cheese, but the soup more than made up for the disappointment. 

Below were some of my favorite quilts in the exhibition area.  I am sorry that I didn't get pictures of the absolutely beautiful work throughout the vendor section.  I was drooling over SO many of the completed projects in that area.  Hopefully next year I will remember to start the camera clicking as soon as I walk in the door!

My son would love this!

 

This quilt is tied for first as my favorite quilt in the whole show!

************

 

So far today has been a productive day!  I have my last load of laundry in the washing machine and while the appliances have chugged along I have done a bit of crafting myself.  Yesterday at the show I realized I had made a REALLY stupid mistake on my quilt show purse.  I had not allowed enough width for the final fold of the strap...leaving raw edges out and flapping in the wind!  How I managed to be so completely oblivious is still a mystery, but once I saw some fraying on the back of the strap  yesterday, the light bulbs went off!  DUH!!!  So this morning I remade the strap and now have my quilt show purse constructed the way it SHOULD have been constructed previously.  Sometimes I wonder where my brain disappears to!  I will take my things out of it today and go back to my usual handbag, hanging this cute little purse in my ESR (Expanded Sewing Room) until the next quilt show.  By the way, the size was absolutely PERFECT as it held everything I NEEDED to have with me, yet was not overly heavy and with its small opening and cross-body construction was secure in the throngs of people.  Sad that we even have to think of security in a "quilting" venue!

I also made up 10 Hershey Kiss blades for the final dresden of my mom's quilt.  I still need to make the final 10 white blades before I can put it all together.  Maybe tomorrow...    I also cut out 24 embroidery floss cards using my Sizzix.  These threads were all bought at the Thrift Store super sale on Friday.  I probably won't get around to winding them until tomorrow as I am getting really, REALLY tired and sore.  After the laundry is done I will take a quick shower and get dressed.  I need to head to JoAnn's to buy some batting for my mom's quilt and also some for my design wall.  Dear Hubby has also promised to help me put some of the two rooms that were painted back together again.  There is no way I can hang the curtains in the yellow room or hang the shade, new shower curtain or wooden wall cabinet in the bathroom by myself.  Slowly, but surely, my house is coming together!

Need to rest a bit before I shower.......  Have a great day!