Fall

Hard to believe the deck and the driveway were clean as a pin yesterday....look how the wind piled the leaves up like snow.

Jesse and I both are enjoying the cooler weather and we like listening to the leaves......

Today seemed like a good day to do some cooking. My grocery had split breasts for 99 cents a pound yesterday. I wish now I'd bought several packages. I boiled one package up and now have two containers of cooked chicken, two freezer bags of homemade broth, and even put the leftover onions, celery, and carrots into my "leftover" freezer container. I accumulate leftovers to make soup.

Then I found a recipe for homemade oatmeal breakfast bars. Yum. I also made up a container of iced coffee. You ever just get in the mood to cook up make-ahead meals or try new recipes? Humm....wonder what else I can find to do while the hubby is fishing today......

Scrap Table Runner

After much grief, I finally finished the table runner.

Some of my worst quilting. I am horrible at continuous curves.

...but that is one of the things I love about quilting. Even if the actual quilting part is less than perfect, most of the time, you still end up with something nice. I made it for my dining room table, but it fits this buffet so well, I think I'll let it rest there for a while.

Bobbin trouble!

What in the world happened??

No, that isn't some kind of underside decorative stitch. I have no idea what happened, but I learned a good lesson -- never sew very far on the long arm without checking underneath for stitch quality....

I've spent the last 30 minutes with the seam ripper. Haven't gotten it cleaned up yet. What a mess! Next i'll have to figure out what happened with the bobbin thread. Has this ever happened to any of you?

I had just finished some custom stitching, put in a new bobbin, and was using part of a pantograph for the middle of the table runner.

Lazy Saturday

While the hubby is fishing today, little Jesse and I are being rather lazy.....

...but I did try my hand at homemade vegetable soup. We love to eat soup. It is so healthy and perfect for a cool, fall day. If it turns out good, I'll post the recipe.

Beautiful autumn day

Today is a beautiful day for a nice long walk around the lake.



Done. A hour of brisk walking, listening to God's Word set to music is good for the body and soul.

I hope I can get my mind on finishing my table runner today. I've had a lot on my mind the last day or so and just haven't been in the mood for sewing.

Relaxing Saturday

No sewing this weekend......finally getting to relax a little.....in the swing.

Been an exciting two days. The hubby's routine colonoscopy turned into atrial fibrillation and an overnight hospital stay. They tried with medication to get his heart to slow down and get back in rhythm. I felt so sorry for him. The "prep" had made him violently sick. The dehydration may have brought it on. After a few hours in the emergency room, he got sick again.....but this time, afterwards he said he felt better and the nurse came running in cheering....because the heaving had gotten his heart back in rhythm. So, no cardioversion (the electric paddles) to get it right.

He was a happy camper afterwards. The doc still kept him overnight to be sure it stayed in rhythm, had a echo cardiogram performed on him, and he has an appointment with a cardiologist sometime soon. We think his heart may have done this before multiple times when he gets sick and dehydrated from his migraines. He said he has felt that same fluttering in his chest before. But for now.....well, he is back to normal. Within an hour of us getting home, he was in the boat fishing.

God is good. I am counting our blessings tonight and relaxing in the swing.

Creamed Spinach

I don't know where I got this recipe but it is so yummy! I don't know if I have ever tasted the "normal" creamed spinach with a white sauce, onions, garlic, touch of nutmeg......but this one, oh my, it is so delicious and super easy.

Made it tonight. The image is not my own, but it was one I found that looked very much like my finished product.

http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2010/05/creamed-spinach-take-2-293-recipe-073.html

One bag/box of fresh spinach (about 6-10 ounces), 1/8 cup water, 1/3-1/2 cup cream cheese, 3 teaspoons of lemon juice, generous pinch of salt.

Heat water in pan with lid until boiling; add spinach and let it cook about three minutes, stirring often; add remaining ingredients and cook until cream cheese is melted. This only makes about two servings. Serve. Eat. Enjoy.

Playing with scraps

My friend Brenda, told me about making a table runner recently. My mind kept going to all of those civil war reproduction scraps I have. After making one quilt out of them, you'd think I would have made a dent in the scrap box, but I think they are multiplying. So I put this together today.

I forgot how difficult it can be to put all of those half square triangles together. It is definitely less than perfect, but I like it. Maybe next weekend I can get it quilted.

Surprise Party

Just got back from a surprise 60th birthday party for my friend. Her family put together an amazing party. She was so surprised! It has been a difficult year for her, and as she spoke her thanks, she gave credit to the Lord for being with her through the difficulties of losing her husband to cancer, and surrounding her with family and friends. She is loved.

They had the party at a really neat place in our town. A beautiful pavilion.

I loved the decor. Simple glass vases with floating candles in water with twigs. Spray painted pumpkins, pears, and pine cones.

She had been told her grandchildren wanted to give her a surprise and wanted her blind folded.

When about 50 of her friends yelled, "SURPRISE!" I thought she was going to faint! A great way to spend a fall afternoon. Good friends. Good food. Beautiful setting.

Product Review - Conditioning Creme

If you have dry, coarse or curly hair, this is your product. My hair has always been dry and curly. I never remember ever having oily hair. Dry, kinky, hair. As I've aged the kinks have relaxed some but I am always trying to find a way to moisturize it so it would be soft and smooth. I found my product. This stuff is awesome and it really does make a difference. I use less than a dime size amount every day. Work it in, and usually let my hair dry naturally.