March 7, 2015

Spring Planting

March 7, 2015

Male Golden Fronted Woodpecker

Today I wanted to get some plants in the log planters Ron fixed for me a few months ago.  The only other time I have had that I could have done anything about them was just before we went to Dallas and I knew no one would take care of them while we were gone for 5 days.  This morning I got up about 6:30 and did a few chores around the house before picking up Carmen at Mom's house.  Mom had decided to stay home and work on her taxes.

Male Golden Fronted Woodpecker

On the way back, Carmen and I went to Home Depot for Mom since she needed some a/c filters.  I wanted some potting soil and plants.  We got some of each.  Once we got home Carmen started cleaning and I started unloading my purchases.  Then I spent a couple of hours in the yard, trimming some Boston fern plants that have over grown their pots.  I filled feeders and did a variety of other jobs in the yard.  Oh, I added a bag of soil to one of the flower beds I put in last year.

Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks playing King of the Mountain on the new piece of driftwood. 

Later I came back in the house and got three rows of quilt blocks sewn together.  I worked on some other things in the sewing room and relaxed a bit.  Ron got home and before long I needed to take Carmen back to Mom's.  Barb was to bring the two oldest girls over to spend the afternoon and night but they were delayed at the Music Festival and did not arrive until a little after 2:00.  The younger of the two (10 years old) headed straight to the sewing machine and quickly had it humming.  The other one debated a while about what she wanted to do, so she and I went out in the yard and spent an hour and a half or more working on the plants I had bought earlier in the day.

One of the planters we worked on

My granddaughter and I were planting Snap Dragons and Petunias.  We did 4 of the log planters and then I did two hanging baskets as well as the little red truck in the photo above.  Our little seamstress joined us and helped me on the hanging baskets.  It was a nice day to be outside and we had a good time working together.

Planting Snap Dragons in the log planter

Once we got back inside, the older of the girls made two little pillows for her two younger brothers.  She did a fine job on them.  Her sister continued work on a doll quilt for their little sister and it looks great and she had a good time.  She does not do it the way I would be she loves doing it and gets so excited with each new idea she has.  I am so impressed. 

Working on one of the hanging baskets

We needed more poly filling for the pillows and so the younger of the girls went with me to Wal-Mart and after getting the filling (which turned out to be a very poor quality) and a few groceries, we went to Kentucky Fried Chicken and picked up some supper.  Seamstresses can't be bothered to cook!

Working on a pillow after her sister made 2 of them

We had seen a posting on Facebook about making some little chicken coops with the little marshmallow Easter chicks (Peeps) so we tried that after supper and even got Ron to try his hand at it.  Of course his was perfect.

 Our Easter Peeps in their little houses

The girls returned to the sewing machines and I spent the next two hours trying to get them to bed since it is time change weekend.  We are going to be a sleepy bunch in the morning since they are in bed but still wide awake!

 Ron showing us how it is done

 At KFC my granddaughter had to tell me what the clerk was asking (do you want plates?).  I could not hear him well enough to venture a guess as to what he was asking.  Actually I did venture a guess but was way off.  

One of the pillows that was made

March 6, 2015

Three Cheers for Friday!

March 6, 2015

One of the fabrics in the quilt in progress

There are so many of you out there reading this who work much harder than I do, but I must confess, I am delighted it is Friday!  This week, being the beginning of the month is the busy time for me.  Much of the bookkeeping work got done quickly this week, but I could not finish it until the bank statement came.  It arrived late this afternoon and thankfully I had already entered all of the checks and deposits in the checkbook in the computer.  It did not take too long to balance the statement, but took a little longer to tie up some loose ends in the actual check register.  By the time that was all done, it was time to go so I will still need to put all the things together to mail to the accountant on Monday.

This morning I got up early and made Ron's coffee and woke him up.  After he left for work I had breakfast, showered, dressed, curled up in my recliner and went to sleep.  It was 11:30 before I got to the office.  I had told Ron I might not come in until about 10:30 or 11:00.  I am glad the boss likes me. 

Kid print fabrics from the quilt in progress

After I ate lunch, Ron went out on one job and then came in to work on the locks he took off.  While he was in the office, I took a deposit to the bank and as often happens I just could not understand the teller at the drive-up window.  The teller was a young man with a weak voice, and I finally figured out he was trying to tell me they were out of pennies and so I couldn't get the rolls of pennies I had requested. I really struggle to hear at drive up windows.  At food places I try not to use them, but at the bank they are the best choice.

Back at the office, Ron had finished the locks and he went back out on that job and another and it was almost closing time when he returned.  While he was out, the man from the carnival who placed an order early in the week came to pick up the order.  He and I talked about my hearing and his grandchildren.  Cell phones can be great for sharing photos and he had some of all his family. 

Fun fabrics

We met our friends for supper and as always had a good time visiting with them.  They are doing some work on their house and I sure were as ready for a relaxing supper as we were.  When I got home I had a beautiful card from one of the Winter Texan couples who could not come south this year and it sounds like they are really missing our weather compared to their weather.  While we complain about our weather, they have had huge amounts of snow and -5 degree wind chill temperatures.  We look forward to them returning next winter.

Tumbler quilt #2

This evening I have been working on the second of the two tumbler quilts.  I now have all the pieces cut for the second quilt and hope to start putting it together tomorrow morning.  I had invited a couple of the granddaughters to spend the night and then spend tomorrow sewing, but they have a piano judging   tomorrow morning and will come over after it is over.  They will spend Saturday night here. 

There are so many cute fabrics available!

There was some exciting news this evening - the girls' basketball team for our church school won a playoff game this evening and will play for the state championship in their division tomorrow evening!  We are so proud of them!  Good job, Crusaders!

I thought I would use this fabric from the quilt to close tonight 

in honor of the Crusader Girls' Basketball team. 

March 5, 2015

Some Family Fun

March 5, 2015

This morning I was in no hurry to get to the office.  As bad as the weather was, I did not expect Ron to be very busy.  I arrived there about 10:30 after spending time in the backyard caring for the birds and chasing the Whistling Ducks away.  Of course they only stay gone until I go in the house, but it seems to be a game we play.

At the office, Ron was busy when I arrived and so I helped out a bit and then got a text from our daughter-in-law needing a plan for her two youngest for the afternoon since the others had piano and they all had just been in the car traveling off and on for a week.  I suggested she bring them to the office.  The two little ones had never stayed at the office and know very little about the office, so Ron and I agreed it would be a good idea.

Before they arrived I made a trip to Mom's doctor's office to check on a medication.  His nurse was so helpful and later called to let me know what the doctor said.  Little by little she is getting off most of the medications and getting a good balance on the others.

When the grandchildren arrived about 1:00, they had not had lunch, but had their lunches with them.  They chose to play first for 30 minutes or so and then eat.  I keep a variety of toys at the office and they had not played with them, so they had a good time going through the box of toys.  They had lots of creative fun.  Then they ate their lunches and the older of the two went off to help his grandpa.  To be like Grandpa, he put on Grandpa's hat and picked up his cane and walked off to the workbench.

Our grandson worked hard all afternoon.  Our granddaughter helped me clean doors and do some dusting.  They were willing workers and we had a good time.  Our granddaughter tried to take a nap a couple of times, but it didn't happen.

Our granddaughter talks - a LOT.  She is fairly clear in her speech, but a little soft spoken.  Several times I had to ask her brother what she had said.  He can be heard!  Quiet is not a term used to describe him. 

Mom emailed me about this time to asked about supper and she wanted to include Jeff's family.  Barb was glad for the invitation since she had not made it to the grocery store yet.  When Barb came to get the two little ones after piano, we traded them for the next 3 up the age scale.  Before going to supper I  needed to go to Sears at the mall to pay the Discover bill.  I took two of the children with me leaving the oldest of the group with Ron.  We all agreed to meet at 6:30 for supper at Luby's.

We headed to the mall while Ron and the oldest granddaughter went to the drug store to pickup a prescription for his mom and to take it to her.  I paid the bill, the kids and I looked around at Sears for a bit and then we went to get my mom and Carmen for supper.  We arrived just before 6:30 and Ron was there waiting with his helper.  Jeff, Barb and the two youngest arrived and we had a great supper and a wonderful visit. 

Oldest granddaughter

We are so thankful for these wonderful children.  We are thankful Mom was up to going to supper.  She continues to make steady progress.  We do all have a good time together.

March 4, 2015

Windy Wednesday

March 4, 2015

Man from P.U.B. trimming tree that was up in the midst of the power lines.

Sometimes I used to think I would have liked to be a meteorologist.  We love "weather" in our family.  We love thunder storms, (I love to listen and now I can hear them again), we love rain storms with lightening, we like watching a tropical storm (not wild about hurricanes, but interested in what they do), and I could go on and on.  Today we had strong southerly winds again.  I have noticed that my blog titles the last few days have been weather reports.  Some days that is the only really interesting thing going on.  Also, the last couple of weeks, our weather has made a lot of changes.

The trees are leafing out in beautiful shades of green leaves and my amaryllis plants have buds on them.  Yet, before morning, we may get one of the coldest storms of the winter season.  Currently it is 73 degrees at 8:30 in the evening. By 7:00 tomorrow morning it should be 35 degrees and winds of 25-35 mph, a 60% chance of rain, all creating a wind chill of 24 degrees.  You know this is a severe storm when the weather channel is actually covering the weather! 

This morning, I overslept and Ron left for work letting me sleep.  Once I got up, I got ready for work, cleaned the kitchen, started the dishwasher and headed to the office.  I spent the morning taking care of some shop chores.  I helped Ron fill some key hooks, I took care of some paperwork, and did a little cleaning. 

The sewing area in my office.

After lunch Ron left on a job to be gone the rest of the day.  While he was gone, I did a little more cleaning and then worked on a little doll quilt one of our granddaughters had made.  She had just layered some fabrics and sewn around the pieces.  I love the way she is not intimidated by the sewing machine or "rules" of how you have to do things.

One side of my granddaughter's doll quilt.

Recently she found a little spot where she could stick her finger through from one side of her little quilt to the other.  So I worked on the quilt and fixed that spot as well as a few others.  I hope she won't mind that I did more than asked. 

The other side

I sewed for a couple of hours.  I was able to finish seven quilt blocks that I had cut out a couple of days ago. A few of those quilt squares are included here.

The seven squares I finished this afternoon

Later I started cutting out pieces for the quilt I was working on last night.  A customer came in and after I made his keys he asked what time we closed.  I told him 5:15, and he said he was glad he made it.  I looked at the clock and it was 5:20. 

Tree trimmer at work - he is in the middle of all the palm fronds up there.

As the customer left, a P.U.B. truck arrived and asked if we had called about a tree that needed to be trimmed.  We had not.  I locked up the office and went to the alley and we agreed that a palm tree could be a problem with the power lines.  The problem now is, I don't think they trimmed enough.  With all of that, it was 5:45 before I left the office.  Ron had finally finished his job up the valley and was headed to him mom's house to fix her TV and her heater.  A man from our church has been working on installing a wall heater for a long time and is trying to finish it tonight before this cold front arrives.

One of my quilt squares

While Ron was at his mom's, I went by my mom's.  No one was home and I remembered she had mentioned visiting a neighbor who had lost her sister last week to Alzheimer's.  Sure enough, she and Carmen were over there and Carmen had spotted me about the time I was going to leave.  They came home and Mom wanted to go get some groceries.  I needed a few things, too, so we went to the H.E.B. near her house and each did our shopping; each ending up with a rotisserie chicken for supper.

Once I returned Mom to her house and took in her groceries it was getting to be about 7:00.  By the time I got home, brought my groceries in and put them away, checked the mail, brought in my hanging plants, etc. it was 7:30 and I was ready to have some supper.  I was glad to have the chicken so I didn't have to cook.  The weather men don't predict a freeze, but they have not been too accurate this winter and the hanging plants don't need to be blown around all day tomorrow.  Our Wind Chill Warning is from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

March 3, 2015

The Sun Came Out!

March 3, 2015

The ducks found their way through the fog to come to our house for breakfast.

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

This morning started out again as it was yesterday - foggy and misty, but by noon the sun was making an appearance and it had cleared off fairly well by late afternoon.  The winds really picked up during the afternoon, and kept blowing the door open at the office.  Of course, once I got to the office at 10:00, I didn't leave until 5:00, so I really was not outside to check on the weather.

They all love the new driftwood.

Ron was out much of the day and I had several customers, but it was not real busy.  I spent most of my time on bookkeeping chores.  I was entering my personal check book into the computer as well as the office one.  It seems as though each time I started to make an entry, the door would blow open causing the chimes to sound and by the time I checked the TV monitor in my office to see if anyone had come in, I had lost my train of thought on the computer work and would have to find where I was in the register.  There seemed to be constant interruptions and not many of them were customers.

Breakfast is served!

One customer this afternoon was a very interesting Winter Texan who has been building a remote controlled paddle wheel boat for the last four years.  It was very interesting hearing him talk about it.  The park he lives in has a group of men who build remote controlled boats and call themselves the Yacht Club.  I really enjoyed listening to him tell the details of his work.  He sounds like a very interesting man.  It was good to hear his stories of ways he improved on the original design.

Waiting for a turn at the feeder.

As I have said before, I love being able to hear the things my customers want to share.  They have interesting stories.  A man with the carnival came in this morning to order some locks.  He comes in every year when he is in town and he asked Ron about my hearing.  I was working in my office and didn't realize he was there or I would have gone out to talk to him.  We can get preconceived ideas about people in various lines of work.  Over the years he has been coming to the office, he has brought his son and a grandchild in and I got to meet them.  His grandchild is adorable.  We just need to take time to talk to people who cross our paths.

 Once I got home from work, I did a little house cleaning before the quilt group came over.  We had a nice group tonight.  The lady who cares for my mom is learning the basics of quilt piecing.  She had sewn some tiny pieces together, but had used the wrong size seam width and so we helped her get started.  You could see the gleam in her eyes as the beautiful squares were coming together.  They are black with lovely batik fabrics in shades of aqua and orchid.

 

These are just on the design wall, not sewn together yet.

During the group time, I worked on cutting out more pieces for the second quilt top.  I just need two more rows and about 3 additional pieces.  It is fun to work on this project.  Hopefully at the office tomorrow I will have time to cut more pieces and then be ready to sew them together.  

 

For years I have purchased fun fabrics and I love getting to use them. 

We had a good time chatting at the Quilt Group gathering.  We are all busy in our daily lives and it is fun to get together and relax as we each work on our own projects.  They are a wonderful group of friends.

March 2, 2015

Foggy, Misty, Drizzly, Chilly, Gray Day

March 2, 2015

Going to work about noon

The trees are leafing out in a beautiful variety of shades of green.  Each day you can tell a difference in them.  The day started out foggy and misty, and stayed that way all day.  Even as I was coming home this evening it was foggy and misty with a bone chilling cold.  I can take low temperatures without wearing a jacket, until it gets to be cold and wet.  That is a different story.  I don't like cold and wet.

Coming home about 6:15

It would have been a wonderful day to stay home and quilt, but instead, I stayed home most of the morning with a headache.  I think it is a sinus headache, since I am off all antihistamines until after my allergy tests next Monday.  I am back to the roof rattling sneezes that I used to have.  I will be ready to go back on the antihistamines next week and hopefully the allergist is going to be able to help me get some relief from at least some of my allergy problems.

Almost home

My alarm got me up at 6:00.  I showered, dressed and curled up in the recliner and went back to sleep.  Ron didn't wake me and it was 9:15 when I woke up.  I texted him and let him know I would not be there for a while.  I spent time in the yard filling bird feeders, fountains and ponds.  The birds love the huge piece of driftwood that our friends gave to us.  The sparrows use it to hangout on while waiting for their turns at the feeders.

New piece of Driftwood that the birds are enjoying.

Before leaving, I loaded and ran the dishwasher, gathered some fabric to cut for the second quilt I am working on and fixed a lunch to take to the office.  Once I got there, I spent the rest of the day on the end of the month report and printing statements to be mailed.  I got all the posting done and everything went quickly.  I just have to wait for the bank statement in order to get the things ready for the accountant.

This Snowy Egret was too cold to be bothered by me this afternoon when I got home. 

 He was not giving up his spot in the tree to fly away!

It was slow at the office today.  I guess no one wanted to be out in the terrible weather.  We did get some shipments in and so some folks should be in tomorrow to pick up their items.  I got some fabric in the mail that I had ordered on sale and hope to make a quilt for our youngest granddaughter.  It is really an Easter assortment of fabrics and has bunnies, chicks, and pastel spring colors.

After work I stopped by Mom's house and talked to her for a while.  It is so good to see her moving well.  I stayed for about an hour and then came home to fix supper for Ron and me.  I have had the sound processor off all evening hoping to help the headache. 

The quilt group will be meeting tomorrow night.  I have the sewing room about ready, but need to clear the dining table.  How is it that things just find their way on to the dining table?  It is always things that don't belong there.  I guess, I am the one most often guilty of setting things there that go to other rooms.  It is a never ending battle to keep it clear.

This year more than most years, I think everyone is looking forward to Spring.  We are ready for the beautiful greens of the grass and trees and the pastel flowers.  They are all getting watered well!  Mom showed me some new seedlings she had planted.  They will bring forth beautiful flowers before long. 

March 1, 2015

A Very Nice, but Yucky, Weekend

February 28 & March 1, 2015

This is the new hummingbird feeder I got Friday night in Harlingen. 

 It looks like a gum ball machine.

This was Charro Days weekend in Brownsville - a festival celebrating the cultures of two nations: the U.S. and Mexico.  There are parades, contests, food, dances and this weekend, chilly drizzle and light rain.  The rain and drizzle were at their worst during the Saturday afternoon parade.  What a shame.  Floats and bands come from all over South Texas and Northern Mexico and it is not easily cancelled.  So the parade went on.  Attendance was down.  Then attendance was down at church this morning with some of those who went to the parade, now being at home sick with sore throats, etc. 

Saturday morning, I slept until 9:00 and then worked cleaning in the utility room and the sewing room.  Things are more organized in the sewing room for a while.  I found a couple of projects that are closer to being complete than I realized.  I hope I can focus on them soon.

Early in the afternoon,I went to Mom's to get Mom and Carmen to come spend the afternoon.  The three of us had lunch.  Ron had gone to pick up some rocks and driftwood that a friend was giving to us.  I am eager to find spots for some of them in the yard.  There are a few more things they said we could have, if Ron has time to go get them.  After lunch, Carmen cleaned while Mom and I went to the grocery store.  We both needed to shop.  After we got the groceries, we went by her house and I took her sacks in and put the cold things away and then we came home and I unloaded mine and put mine away. 

These are pieces cut for 7 more blocks of the type I was working on last week. 

 This should give me enough for a small quilt (baby quilt or lap quilt).

After that I did some cutting of quilt pieces.  Ron got home about 5:00 and unloaded the big load he had in his Suburban.  Once that was done, the four of us went to Jason's Deli for supper and then I took Mom and Carmen home.  It was about 8:00 by the time we got home.  We were both tired.  It wasn't long before I was asleep in the recliner.

This morning, I was up early and worked in the kitchen for a while.  Then we went to Sunday School and church.  I left Sunday School a few minutes early to go pick up Mom.  She is feeling so much better!  It is good to see her doing well.  The drizzle that had hung around for several days stopped while we were at church.

In the service this morning, I was delighted to see our friends who had been a a serious auto accident in California last weekend.  They are still sore and have some healing to do, but they were there to praise God for His protection as their pickup truck was rear ended by a vehicle going 90-100 miles an hour.  Things could have been so much worse.

Also in the service was a former Principal of our church school and his family.  They now live in Wisconsin and are here for Spring Break.  Our weather is not great but it is better than the one foot of snow they left at home.  It is always good to get to see those who have moved away.  We miss them but sometimes God has other plans for them.

Following the service, Ron and I came home and I made spaghetti for lunch and it was great.  I also made some cheese biscuits that were OK, but not great - new mix I had not  tried before and won't try again.  Ron slept a while and I read a bit before starting work on  some quilts in progress.

This quilt top, I thought was finished, but decided to make it longer, so I added three rows to it today.  That makes it twin bed size.  I am making two alike and I have 1/2 of the pieces cut for the second one now. 

The sides of the quilt will be cut off straight after I put it together.

There are stacks and stacks of novelty print fabrics in my sewing room shelves and they are perfect for this type of project.  The only thing is I have to go through them all, iron them, cut what I need, and then refold them.  It is time consuming, but I enjoy the results.

After church this morning, I stopped a friend to chat with her and really had trouble hearing her.  The sound processor was picking up so much other noise.  It can be hard to be friendly.  But I was able to hear the sermon well with the transistor radio hooked to my sound processor.  I am glad I could hear it because it was very good. 

All of this mornings songs were ones that were either new or I don't know them well enough to pick out the melody.  It was all loud noise through my processor.  At least the words were on the screens so I could follow them.  There was a number by the children's choir and I could hear the soloist very well.  Then later there was a clarinet solo and I could not pick out the notes on it.

As I have mentioned before, I have always loved music.  I really miss it, but for several years, I had not been listening to much since my hearing had been bad before the complete hearing loss.  I know I mention it here often, but I really don't focus on it on a daily basis.  There are times such as prior to Christmas when I would have loved to put on a Christmas CD, but it just is not possible at this time to hear it well enough to enjoy it.

It has been a good, productive weekend in spite of the Yucky weather.  I can't believe it is March and that in a few hours it will be Monday!  Another work week!