Stormy Sewing and Cracking Tile

I'm not talking about my attitude, although it does get a little stormy sometimes around a sewing machine.

It's this unseasonal but exciting thunderstorm with lots of wind and buckets of rain that just descended on us.  Thunder and lightning too!

 I'm just trying to do some mindless sewing today, making some plain burp pads and bibs, although putting on this much binding was not too fun.  Worked out nicely though.

I'm loving it and am going to get a cup of coffee and TRY to talk myself into getting some of the trip pictures on this blog.  If not, they'll get forgotten just like the ones in April.  I might even find some from April.  Hopefully by the end of the year, I'll get that task finished.

I'd rather sew.

And this is what's happening in the kitchen.

Ever since I moved here, this tile in the kitchen has bugged me.  The grout needed cleaning first of all, which I half-heartedly tried to do a few times, but mainly about 15 of the tiles near the stove and refrigerator had some sort of flaws in them, some bigger than others.

Some of these places are debris from the other work and the tape is one of my markers on the ones I hate, but this is what one of the worst ones looks like.  Others have maybe only one gouge or nick, but I notice them all the time.

Finally we had one of the tiles to crack.  Luckily I had found a box of matching tiles in the storage house, so Mike replaced it, and it went so well he has undertaken all the ones I marked with tape.

It looks like too much work to me.  And it is, sitting on a low stool chipping and drilling and sawing.  But I guess it's a good way to take out your frustrations.  I'm staying out of the way.

This is my favorite part so far though.  Cleaning all the tiles in the breakfast room, pantry and bathroom off the kitchen.  It looks so good.  Then he might paint the grout and will definitely seal it.

 I should have before-and-after pictures, but that's too embarrassing.  Or see the first picture.

I kind of like this new handyman stage.  I wish it would rub off on me.  

I did make this giraffe pillow using a new method for putting on the piping.  It makes the corners look rounded, and I don't like it, but it will do for the little rocking chair in the nursery, I think.  Since the chair is so small, I didn't have a small enough pillow form and just stuffed it with batting.  It needs a little poking and pulling, I think, to even it out.

Hanging out with Chris Tree

 Our church is selling Christmas trees again this year, and I saw a request for workers on Facebook.  I volunteered us for yesterday.  Or at least Mike.  He never knew what happened.  I left him there while I took Mama to the beauty shop and Wal-Mart and to get lunch and then only visited and took coffee and lunch while he did all the "work."

The trees are beautiful, and I hope we sell a lot, but he only sold 2 yesterday.  He kept busy by trimming the trunks and setting them in water buckets and reading and drinking coffee.  Luckily it was a perfect day for sitting outside and smelling the evergreen aroma.

Chris Tree came during the afternoon to stand at the highway and wave and try to bring in some customers.  He got a few honks and probably a lot of laughs and waves.

I have nothing to show for the end of the week for myself.  I started on a giraffe pillow and am waiting on Emily to send me the measurements of the chair it's to go in.  I like the way it looks, but appliqueing is not easy around that little head and tail.  He's a little bumpy.

Hoping for more motivation next week.

What We're Doing Today.

On this beautiful warm December day, we're a little more productive than we were yesterday.  It just takes time after a trip to get back in the groove, and it didn't help that there were a lot of piddly errands to be run and things to take care of.

Now that the bathroom is all shiny and new, Mike is taking on another project.  These shutters have been green since I moved here, and I never noticed them very much.  But they've faded to a pale blue-green, and it's time for an update.

I didn't think to take a before picture, but here they are in their dusty glory.  He's tried brush and spray painting off and off the brick, and I'm not sure what the final method will be.

It's definitely an improvement.

Mama got a permanent yesterday morning and nearly missed Days of Our Lives, but she's watching that now and finishing up on her pans of pecans.  I'm glad somebody in the family enjoys that whole process, because we all enjoy cooking with and eating them.

After having nothing to show for yesterday, I've at least taken all the fall things down and put them away and brought some Christmas things out.  I'm doing it a little at a time because I'm not sure I want to decorate a bunch this year.  Maybe I'll get enthused about it later.

This pitiful Christmas cactus has decided to bloom this year, and when it does, it makes the wait worth it.  I love those coral blooms, and it cheers me up seeing it there in the sunshine.

I enjoyed getting back to my sewing machine and did manage to make this last night and this morning.

 My first (and maybe last) fitted sheet, a crib sheet for futurebaby.

These colors will be used mainly in the nursery with aqua walls, so when I found this fabric I wanted to give it a try.  They were super easy, but I need to get it mailed to be tried out on the mattress.   I'll make more if needed or wanted.  Emily and Ryan also have some cute gray and white elephant sheets on their registry.  

This fabric will be used for a giraffe pillow for the little rocking chair and maybe some wall hangings.

The nursery is coming along nicely, and this giraffe is perfectly at home there.  I didn't crochet this bonnet for him, but it looks pretty good on him.

 So we have a little bit to show for our efforts.

I still have more pictures from the trip that I don't have to time to look at, but first here is my beautiful new cousin Emma Lynne Meyer, Sherry and David's granddaughter.

Emma's mom had some serious problems and is just getting home after a week.  She doesn't look like she's letting much bother her.  I look forward to seeing this little girl grow up, and maybe the two little cousins - one in Florida and one in Washington will meet one day.

No Excuse for Not Cooking Like Mrs. Patmore

One of the nicest things we did at Emily and Ryan's house is watch Downton Abbey Season 3.  They had already seen it but made it possible for us to enjoy it too without having to wait a whole week between episodes.

We realized it was Downton overload, but we couldn't NOT watch them all. Having seen the first 2 seasons, we couldn't wait to see what heppened next. Knowing this would be my reward made the 5-1/2 hours of making those lined curtains easier Sunday afternoon.

Emily slept through half of the last episode, and I dozed, so I'll look forward to seeing that one again. In fact, we'll probably watch them all again when they start live tomorrow night.

When we got home, this was waiting for us - a gift from Lady Edith and Lord Anthony (Emily and Ryan).

 

There are offerings for the upstairs royalty:

 

 

And simpler fare for the downstairs servants:

 

 

Those deviled kidneys are certainly appealing.

 

Such fun.  We appreciate the gift and will try to do some of the recipes.  I'm sure it would horrify Mrs. Patmore and Daisy to see my cooking skills, but wouldn't they be jealous of our modern appliances?

 

It's good to be home.  I got three quarters of the unpacking done last night and am washing clothes this morning and drinking coffee and clipping coupons and thinking about replacing my camera.  I need to work this afternoon to see if I still know how.

 

I'd love to think we could take some more long trips like this last one in the future.  We're getting our system worked out and see where we could make some improvements.  The one thing I would change is not having to rush through the various areas like we've done but to stop and enjoy each state and its offererings.  I'll have more pictures later.  Colorado especially was beautiful.

 

 

Almost Home

We're spending the last night of the trip in the first place we staying over a week ago - Paducah, Kentucky.  If all goes well, we should be picking Mama up in Birmingham tomorrow afternoon and arriving home before dark to an excited puppy and a noncommital cat who will pout for a couple of hours and then accept us back home.

I dropped my camera when we stopped for lunch in Oregon, and it worked for a day but then gave me bad messages, so I had to drive through the most beautiful scenery without my camera.  Mike had his, and he took lots of pictures, but I'm not familiar with it.  Maybe we'll get a new card or whatever or maybe a new camera - but I liked my old one!

I took this while we were stopped somewhere in Illinois for a McDonald's ice cream cone.  On our trip in April, we got one almost every day, but we realized today that we had not had one at all.  Not counting the Baskin-Robbins Jamoca Almond that I had in Idaho - the VERY best.  The weather may have had something to do with choosing coffee over ice cream.

This is the only pretty sunset we saw all trip.  I was using Mike's camera and was able to zoom in enough to get rid of some telephone poles.  It looks like a forest fire.

Maybe I'll get organized and get the Colorado pictures posted this weekend.  That is where the word "awesome" is so appropriate.

Headed Home

 

Yesterday was our half day of driving, but we got from Snoqualmie to Boise.  It's unusual for us to take the same route twice, but we did it this time.

This is how it looked going east toward Snoqualmie Pass.

 

This is how it looked last Wednesday afternoon when we were headed west across the pass.

 

 

It was beautiful but a little scary, and I would have enjoyed it more if I had known we weren't going to slide off the road. 

It was a beautiful ride for the most part to Yakima where I believe I mentioned earlier the delicious hickory bacon potato soup that we had found at the Sea Galley there.  Since we were passing by right after lunchtime, it seemed reasonable to stop again.  It had nothing to do with the oysters that Mike had loved so much.

It turns out we had the same waitress, Jenelle, and she remembered us and where we had sat.  I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.  The potato soup was not on the menu that day, and she refused to go cook me a pot of it, but she was sweet anyway.  Mike had the exact same thing---

 

And I got fish tacos just because I've always heard of them but never tried them - blackened and friend both. And shrimp gumbo soup. It was pretty good, spicy enough to bring tears to my eyes, but good.

Then Jenelle spent some time chatting with us and introduced Chavon (sp) the salad bar boy.  It's funny that she is expecting her first grandchild in February also, a little girl too, Molly Rose.   It was sad to tell her we would probably never pass that way again, but the chances are pretty slim.

 

 

Thanks for two nice dining experiences, Jenelle.

 

Time to leave again.  No idea where we'll end up tonight.

Yesterday's Adventure Illustrated

On such a rainy day, I had to leave this ----

 

For this ----

 

 This stop was the longest single stop we made all day.

 

 

 But doesn't it look inviting?

Makes you kind of forget the weather and the Starbucks/Fred Meyer traffic jam when you can have a Venti Skinny Eggnog Cappuccino with an extra shot of expresso.

 

Wonder what's on the menu here - not that we would ever check to see.  Supposedly the server's attire is pretty different than the Starbuck folks' uniforms.

 

The Ikea in Issaquah was surprisingly easy to get in and out of.  I was remembering the one in Atlanta!  Emily and Ryan knew what they wanted and had checked on line to see that they had 6 of the Hemnes dresser in stock, so she parked in a 15-minute loading zone parking place, and we were back with time to kill. 

 The dresser was easy to find, but the workers conveniently were busy elsewhere when it was time to load the boxes onto the cart.  Two customers took pity on us and put them on the cart, and we were able to maneuver it through checkout. 

After that, we were on our own but loaded it ourselves without much problem with me yelling at Emily to "Don't lift.  Let me do it!"   She reminded me that she lifts patients all the time.  Still...  We did a good job placing it diagonally in the car with a whole 2 inches to spare.  Success!

 

Then to "The City."

 

Capitol Hill area.  Not enough time to enjoy everything.

 

 

Tottini's had the audacity to be in downtown Seattle, and the pickup was in an alley behind the store.  Turned out to be a really pretty little lane, and the loading was quick (and magical), fitting 3 huge boxes in the back.

 

Back to the highways and tunnels.

 

 

 

 

Going over Lake Washington. 

 

Then to Bellevue to Merry-Go-Round Kids.

 

 

For some giraffe petting.

 

 

Christmas outfit admiring.

 

 

 

 

Next Christmas toy ideas.

 

 

They had already bought the glider on line and just had to go in to pay and confirm.  Different fabric, different color but this style. 

It was good to be home and have some leftovers and watch the first Downton Abbey show.  Perfect evening.

 

It was also fun to see the dresser and bed change from flat boxes to real furniture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Strange things going on in this room.