Summer Vacation Days 21 to 24

Well, it has been a very busy few days!  Once again, I neglected to post daily since Friday, so I have to give you a jumbled mix of this weekend's activities. 
Actually, I am a bit surprised that it is Tuesday evening already.  Once again, I feel as if I have accomplished very little over the past few days.  Let us see what has occurred.

I picked up my vacuum from the repair shop again.  It is working much better.  The problem is a design flaw, so I have to live with it until it fails again then we will spend the extra money on a more permanent fix.  It does work quite well, and I was finally able to vacuum all of the carpets in the house.  Thankfully, we have wooden floors in about half the house (the part we spend most time in) and that is easily swept with my nifty straw broom.  Did I tell you that the broom was hand made here in Selmer Tennessee?  Hockaday brooms (http://hhbrooms.com/) has a broom corn festival every year and they demonstrate the making of these brooms.  I went last September and purchased my kitchen broom.  It is marvelous! 

 Saturday, Janice and I had our joint yard sale.  As always, she has more stuff to sell than I ever will.  I did very well for my collected items.  I sold more than half of what I brought there and thanks to a new facebook page for selling items locally, I have sold several more.  Mom and I plan to go to Jackson to trade in our books, possibly next week.  My garage is quite neat now, but still full of boxes.  In fact, I brought home several boxes of items. 

Janice had these really nice die cast metal cars and trucks that Vince and I  bought to use as door prizes for the Bunny Run Car Show in April.  As members of the club, we are responsible for contributing 10 door prizes each year.  Last year we brought in fishing lures.  They were not such a big hit.  Usually I make car related fabric placemats, but did not have time to finish those before the show.  However, for the next three years or more, we are set.  The cars and the placemats I plan to finish this summer will keep our door prize commitment met. 

I also brought home an antique wash stand. It needs a really good cleaning, but it is a very nifty addition.  Right now, I have my large pasta bowl in it.  I thought it added to its character!  

I also brought home several boxes of picture frames that Janice was going to take to the dump as they had not sold.  I rescued them, brought them home and will get those up for sale within the next two weeks. 

I worked  a little on Jennifer's baby quilt.  I have all of the small pieces sewn into 9.5 inch squares and managed to complete one entire row!  

Today, Janice, Marilyn and I had or sewing/quilting time this morning.  Janice was cutting out another quilt top and while I intended to work on Jennifer's quilt, I felt rude sitting at my machine in the adjacent room while she sat in the big room.  So, I pulled out a quilt kit I had purchased several years ago and began cutting that new quilt out.  (it is on the list of projects!!)  So, we all sat around my studio, cutting and sewing and chatting! 

We then took a field trip to Jackson (after lunch of course!).  I met up with Sherry to sell her an old sewing box that I had

Then I stopped at Serra of Jackson to pick up the Bunny Run Car Show photos and some additional T-Shirts for the quilt I am making for next year's show. 

Our journey took us to the quilt store where Marilyn was hooked!  She loved the fabric there and purchased items to make her first quilt.  We will work on that later this week.  I purchased some nifty fabric with treadle machines on it.  I plan to use it to cover my new ironing board (which was originally a table, and now serves as my 'big board' ironing board). 

We also stopped at Lowes where I purchased tiles for the downstairs bathroom floor.  Since we had the septic backup a few months ago, the floor has been just concrete.  The only task to complete in that room is the floor.  SO, Mom and I plan to work on that this weekend.  Vince will only be needed to either teach me how to use the tile saw or cut the tiles himself! 

Well that wraps up the past few days!

I am enjoying the journey!

Summer Vacation Days 19 and 20

I just commented to my mother in law that I have not done anything the past two days.  She said I did a lot.  Let us see: 

I picked up my dry cleaning and dropped off a tie of Vince's that has a drool stain on it. 
I picked up my prescription.
I sold two books on half.com and dropped those off at the post office.
I renewed the registration for Vince's Pontiac at the county clerk's office.
I took the plastic recycling to the dump, picked up the bag of chip bags they collected for me and snagged a cork out of a wine bottle in the glass recycling container as well as a couple of egg cartons from the plastic container!
I had lunch with Whitney in town, since I only ate half of my Subway sandwich, I saved the other half for dinner, then left it in my car overnight.  So that was tossed in the trash! ewwww IT WAS YUCKY!
I also cleaned out the pantry.  Boy was that a chore!  I managed to eliminate some Tupperware containers in favor of canning jars.  Thus I added more items to yard sale pile for Saturday.  I also found that I have 9 brand new Yankee Candle Jars in the pantry. 
I joined a new Facebook group here in town which is aimed at giving items away for free.  Freecycle is not very active here.  I have found homes for the box full of Cardboard shipping tubes, all of my old candles (not the ones in jars) and the extra glassware left over from the anniversary party. 
I uploaded the anniversary photos to Shutterfly and ordered some copies for friends and family. 
I cleaned out my fabric stash, sorting out small fabric pieces for my dear friend Debbie's postage stamp quilt.  I also managed to put together two bags of fabric for a charity quilter in Memphis whom I will meet up with in the coming weeks.
Tomorrow is the yard sale, and I know that I am more than ready to part with these items in my garage!

Summer Vacation Days 13-18

Vince and I have just returned from New Jersey and a TON of memories!

We drove to NJ, taking Sal's four wheeler back to him.  We have had that in our shed for several years now, and we are glad for the space that is now available.

The trip was fairly uneventful, we take two days, as the drive is long (over 16 hours of actual drive time).

New Jersey was just as I remember it, congested roads, huge houses (called McMansions for some reason), many people from New York that now call NJ home.  It also held many memories of school days, friends, old homesteads, favorite hangouts.

We spent Saturday at the Englishtown Auction.   It is not really an auction, but a flea market, but it has always been called the Englishtown Auction.  It was basically as we remembered it, loads of people selling all types of items.  A lot of brand new items, but the more interesting tables were those who were selling items from their homes.  Love to look through those stands!

We had lunch with my dear friend Kathy and her mother at a local Chinese food restaurant, food was great, company was better! 

We tried to get onto the beach at Seaside Park, but did not want to pay for a day pass at 3:30 in the afternoon, especially since we just wanted a walk, and the cost was $10 per person!  YIKES.  If we were spending the day, it would have been a different matter.  We did get to see the ocean and loads of dunes.  Our time was short due to preparations for the Anniversary Party.

Saturday, Rob and Isabel also arrived in NJ, we met up with them for dinner at Cranbury Pizza in Cranbury NJ.  Great pizza, just what you would want in NJ.  We ate outside and enjoyed the scenery of historic Cranbury.

Sunday, we arose early to attend services at the Cranbury Methodist Church. The service was fantastic, and Brother Ron showed great passion not only for God, but also for his congregation and life.  Communion was served on Sunday, and Bro. Ron encouraged everyone to take as much bread as they wanted to.  (I know you are with me here!)  So, when I stepped up, I said to Vince "Watch this".  I reached out and took the entire half loaf that Bro. Ron was holding and began to walk away!~  The look on his face was priceless and well worth the effort!  We all laughed and I returned the bread, took my portion and proceeded with the service.  When the service was over, Bro. Ron asked our names and invited us to their church picnic, as long as we did not eat all the food!  I believe they will remember us for a while.

The Anniversary Party was held in the Knights of Columbus hall.  I remember going there as a child for summer events with the Knights.  We had anniversary and birthday parties there as well.  The original building was torn down when the new road was built, and the new K of C hall is where we had Rob and Isabel's anniversary party.

 Everyone had a great time!  We laughed most of the time away.  I had collected some photos of us as younger people, and everyone had a chance to share those and laugh at ourselves.  It was crazy fun!


 Robert and Isabel finally received their wedding quilt.  It took me 2 years to get it finished!  I used the double wedding ring pattern, the rings are dark blue and white with an off white background.  I like how the white rings appear translucent. 

 My friend Eva's daughter, Torri is graduating from High School this year, and I made her a graduation quilt.  Her favorite color is turquoise, thus the color scheme.  When I give quilts, I fold them with the backing showing and tie them with a ribbon.  She loved the backing fabric, and did not realize there was another side!  She was even more excited once she opened it. 

 A number of my cousins were able to attend the party.  These are the cousins on the Christ side of the family.  It has been many years since I have seen them, and many years since some of them have seen each other!  After I gave Rob and Isabel their quilt, little Madison (front center) told me that she had wanted a present from the table, too.  I had to explain that those were presents for Rob and Isabel.  She was insistent that she get a present, so I resorted to telling her that she had to get married first. She was good with that!

Here are the girls!  My dearest friends and family.  This photo shows friends from high school and college, my sister and myself, my cousins.  We all had such a wonderful time that we decided that we should celebrate Rob and Isabel's anniversary every year in a different location. 

Right now, I am thinking Tennessee for next summer!  Perhaps a trip to Memphis along with the party? 

Summer Vacation Days 11 and 12

Two rather slow days!! 
I am having difficulty recalling exactly how I spent the past two days!

Torri's quilt is now quilted, bound and labeled!  Rob and Isabel's quilt is also labeled.  All are wrapped and packed and ready to go! 

Today, I spent time with my friend Whitney.  Her significant other just left with the 251st for a one year tour in Afghanistan.  Please pray for all of those men and women, that they will be safe. 

We had lunch, and did a little shopping.  Through the wonderful assistance of the man in blue at Best Buy, I found exactly what I needed to complete the photo DVD.  Of course Whitney was a big help in getting his attention!  I also did a bit of research at Lowes for our new shower stall.  We want to take the jacuzzi tub out of the master bathroom and replace it with an oversized shower. 

I have some great information and will be putting together some estimates when I get back next week. 

When I returned home, I finished the photo DVD and it was a success.  Whew! Glad to have that completed. 

Summer Vacation Day 10

Memorial day.  A day to remember all of our heroes, mostly those fallen, but also to remember those who are still serving.  A prayer, a thank you, a hand shake, a smile.  Sometimes that is all that is needed to bring light to another's life, regardless of their situation. 
We have what we have because of what these military men and women are doing to protect our country.  For this, I am extremely thankful. 

On Monday, I worked....I finally sold this large dresser that was in the Guest Room (Now Mom's room):  

 I had to maneuver it out of the house basically on my own, with a little assistance from Mom, my dad's old Army blanket and a hand truck!  Here it stands out side the house awaiting its new owner. 

Then I moved the new dresser in using the same creative techniques! 

Additionally, I found this great Facebook site called Henderson TN Closet Shoppers Only!  I have managed to sell Mom's new But unwanted iPad case and her old toaster! 

I have some nibbles on a few other items I have posted there, and later this week, will be posting more.  It is fast, easy and fun! 


Yesterday I attempted to burn a DVD of photos of Rob and Isabel's wedding to show at the NJ party.  I have the right software in my computer, but unfortunately,not the correct type of DVD's here!  ERGH!!!

I started to put the music together, but got frustrated with the DVD situation and now just have a pile of CD's on my desk. 

Additionally, I have 3/4 of Torri's quilt quilted, the binding is pressed and ready to cut. 

Today, I plan to get the labels finished and the quilting finished. 

Summer Vacation Days Eight and Nine

Well, a lazy weekend is drawing to a close.

I was unable to sleep on Friday night, so on Saturday, I was functioning on 4 hours sleep.  Therefore, I accomplished very little that day!

The dresser I listed on Craigslist has sold, the guy is picking it up tomorrow.  Mom and I cleaned out her dresser that is currently in the "storage unit", which is actually a portion of Vince's workshop.  She identified several items she can part with.  Tomorrow we will switch out the dressers.

One of the items Mom was willing to sell was a 4 slice toaster.  That sold today!  I belong to a Facebook group that sells items.  I listed a number of items, and so far only the toaster has found a new home.

I washed all the little rocks that I am using in the centerpieces for Rob & Isabel's party,  then I located the 5 gallon pail of the remainder (in the garden shed , covered with cobwebs and dust) of these little rocks and used them to fill the hole in our driveway.

Mom and I sorted the yard sale items in the garage, so that after we return from NJ, I will not have much to do to get ready for the yard sale.  That is scheduled for June 8th.

I finished 3/4 of the quilting on Torri's quilt.  I just have the borders and the free spaces to quilt.  I should have it ready to bind by tomorrow.

Summer Vacation Day Seven

Wow, I cannot believe I have been out of school for a week already!


  
Today is Friday, and I keep having to remind myself of that!  I am also having a hard time recalling what I managed to accomplish today!  (Just kidding!!)

I slept in (until 8:00)!  Janice and I went to the big city of Jackson today.

My vacuum is a bit ill, so I dropped it off to be repaired, then we ventured up to Hancock Fabrics so that Janice could purchase some fabrics for a quilt she is making.  

 Then we had lunch at Los Portales (the one in Jackson, not the one in Henderson!)  and ventured into Lowes so that I could purchase some paint to cover an area on the wall where Vince missed when he painted last.

We did not have the original paint can and I had previously picked up paint strips to see if I could match the color.  Today was the first attempt at seeing if we chose correctly.  I purchased a sample of that paint, some ceiling paint (as yet another project) and 4 water lily plants for the pond.



When I arrived home, Mom and I threw the lily plants into the pond, I painted the wall (the paint is a really good match!), ordered epiphytes for Rob and Isabel's party, completed two lines of quilting on Torri's Quilt, sorted through some old photographs (anyone have a use for those unwanted ones???), listed a few items on Freecycle, listed a dresser for sale on Craigslist, and started dinner.

It was not as productive a day as I usually have.  However, I had a great time with Janice, had a long chat with my cousin Kathleen and played with  my dogs.