More Summer Progress!

I purchased the fabrics for this quilt top last June and have been working on it since then. Finally it is finished! I love the brights against the black background fabrics. Now I need to figure out if I have fabric for the back and I can get it off to Chris for quilting!

Three years ago, Elizabeth left me to return to Texas. I sent her off with her own Eric Carle quilt, created with fabrics designed around his book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear". I had fabrics left over and since I will be teaching Reading next year, I decided to make my own! Here it is! I even have the backing fabric all ready to go! Nothing new purchased for this project!!

I have also created 4 tote bags from fabric left over from my Balloon Race quilt, and 3 tote bags from some canvas my mother-in-law gave me.

The stash of fabrics are slowly being used.

On the funny side: I took this sticker off a shirt this morning and stuck it on Narnia's forehead. She has left it there all day. Silly Dog!

Health Goals

As I get older, I am more aware of my aches and pains. It seems that every year I work to improve my health, but as I get older, I am less and less successful in maintaining the life style changes that are necessary.

I know that there are some of you who can relate to this and I also know that there are those of you who know me and are saying that they have heard this refrain from me in the past.

What makes this year different? Perhaps it is knowing that I have probably lived more than half my life already. Perhaps it is knowing that half of those years have been spent overweight and over tired. Perhaps it is knowing that my son will be getting married in a year. Perhaps it is all of it.

Since January, I have been working on a few health issues and those appear to be under control now.

Since school let out in May, Vince and I have been eating better and getting more exercise by working around the house.

Since school let out in May, I have lost a bit more than 12 pounds. I am not sure of the exact number as I have one of those dial scales---not a digital one! Regardless, I am seeing numbers I have not seen in a year!

I took my measurements last week and at this point, I have lost 2.5 inches. Again, making strides in the right direction.

I am aware of what I eat and drink. I make sure that my caloric intake varies from day to day and that I do not drink empty calories. I have eliminated my between meal snacking and have been much more active.

When my son gets married, I would like to be a single digit clothing size.

Short term, I would like to be a total of 20 pounds lighter by the time school begins in August.

There it is folks. My goals for this summer!

Summer Progress!

Today is another in and out day! Vince is continuing to work on the garden shed and had already advised me to be ready to assist him! (That is the OUT).

I finally repotted this plant that we brought back from my mother-in-law's house in Alabama. I can only hope that it survives!


I spent the day in my working studio, finishing up those UFO's of a variety of types! Yesterday, I finished Jena's quilt, well more accurately, Maurice's quilt. Earlier last week, I did the quilting and put the binding on. Yesterday, I put the final stitches in the binding and here it is:


I also finished 4 sets of Car Club placemats that will be door prizes for next year's Bunny Run Car Show. These were pending from Last Year! I never finished them. So, I decided they needed to be completed this summer and be available for next year's show. Here are two sets:

I was also working on using up the fleece and ribbons I had laying about. So, I put together more of ribbon blankets that I have been successful selling and using as baby gifts.

I had a lot of red and blue fleece so many of the blankets have a patriotic theme going on. The flannel I used was a yard sale rescue and left over pieces from other flannel projects. As always, I work to reuse or rescue fabric and make them into a new creation!

My goal for today was to finish these up. Yay to have met that goal!

Summer Break--what I do!

Everyone always thinks that it is wonderful that Teachers get the "ENTIRE SUMMER" off work.
Those of you who know me know that this is not actually true.
Yes, I do not have a strict schedule for work.
Yes, I can sleep in and stay up all night.

But.....

The school system schedules in-service (training) and meetings during the summer so that we can prepare for the next school year.

I clean out my classroom of items I did not use in the past two years. This year, because I am teaching a new subject, I shared a lot of my math and history items with other teachers. I also acquired a number of Language Arts items.

There is always one BIG project for my classroom, this year it involves Vince (as always), but will not be as time consuming as the prior years' projects have been.

I also work on lesson plans and activities that I have thought of and want to use next year. I also revise lesson plans that did not work out well the prior year.

This year, I am working on learning my new subjects (English and Reading--collectively called Language Arts). I am really excited about teaching Language Arts! I have been going through the lesson plans of my fellow teachers and working my own twist on them. I have been reading the stories and coordinating the grammar and writing with the standards for the 6th grade.

I located this nifty website called Web English Teacher that has lesson plans for some of my favorite authors (Dr. Seuss, Chris Van Allsburg, Patricia Polacco and more!). I love using children's storybooks to encourage my 6th graders to write. I am glad that I will now be able to do these activities and they will actually be in the subject I am teaching.
Last week, Vince and I went to Alabama to close up my MIL's house, and then I went to St. Louis to visit Rob and Izzy. So, my first week of summer break was a little work and a little relaxation!

This week, I have been working--cleaning up the house and putting away items we acquired from my MIL's House, freecycling items Rob and Izzy gave me that they did not need, and sewing. We also sold the old water heater, Vince's golf clubs and a purse I did not like. It has been a good week to get tasks accomplished and begin the annual summer PURGE!

Look for updates!

Abundance

Do you live an abundant life? What exactly does that mean? I am sure that it holds different meanings for different people. According to Dictionary.com:

a·bun·dance

/əˈbʌndəns/ Show Spelled[uh-buhn-duhns]

–noun

1. an extremely plentiful or oversufficient quantity or supply: an abundance of grain.

2. overflowing fullness: abundance of the heart.

3. affluence; wealth: the enjoyment of abundance


So, it appears that living an abundant life means that you have more than what you need to get through life. I suspect that initial thoughts go to material items in life, perhaps even actual monetary worth.

I spent the day contemplating whether I was living an abundant life and I decided that I was getting there.

My life is abundant in love and friendship. I enjoy my work and the comfort of my home in a spiritual as well as physical sense. I am working towards having more peace in my life, moving away from the Type A personality that I have developed over time.

How about you? Are you living an abundant life?

Studio Changes!

Vince and I (mostly Vince) have been hard at work on the current household construction project.

The intent is to convert my original studio into a second guest bedroom. So, Vince finished the utility room so that it would be a small working studio. The photo above shows my threads in their new home on the wall.

Here is where I sit and sew:

I can open my curtains and get natural light in there, plus I have SUPERB overhead lighting. My original studio had very poor lighting.

I also have lots of shelf space for my doo-dads and what-nots.....Did you find Barbie's Head yet?

The original studio is gutted: Wall paper removed, ceiling removed, carpeting removed, wall mirror and paneling removed!
The door you see in this photo leads to my working studio:

This is facing the wall that use to have mirrors on it.

What we found very entertaining was that there use to be a door in this wall. It was the original basement of the original house, so there was a doorway into the cellar.
When I was explaining this to Rob, he asked how there could be a doorway there when that part of the house is below ground level. We decided that the best way to describe what the outside door looked like was to say that it was one of those old-fashioned basement doors...like in the scary movies!



SO, we have quite a bit of work pending here.

When it is finished, it will have a Murphy bed on the wall with the scary basement doorway, a larger closet for my storage of fabrics, shelves for Barbie, wood laminate flooring, florescent lighting in the drop ceiling, a ironing board that lowers from the wall, shelf space for books and plenty of floor space for me to set up a large cutting station. YAY!

Farewell Bell!

Today it was Bell's turn to be adopted!
In the midst of a horrendous day of storms, Bell had to contend with thunder, lightening and rain! For most of the day, she was snug in her little dog house.

Until the wood standing next to the house fell over and scared her out of the doghouse and around the corner of the house. Vince found her huddled against the side of our house, shivering and wet.

We brought her into the house and dried her off and comforted her.

Then, unfortunately, put her in the car and took her to her new home!

Farewell Bell and I hope you have a happy life. It was fun having you and Ranger here to visit for this short time.