BOO!!!

It's a rather quiet Halloween evening…my porch light is out…I guess I am a Halloween Grinch!  But we have never had many Halloween trick or treaters at this house.  Where my house is situated…it is easier for trick or treaters to turn down my street but turn down another street before reaching my house.  There are only three houses if you head my direction and it is more advantageous to the candy seekers to not come here and just head down the street with more houses and then go on into the next subdivision. In years past when we did leave the light on, maybe ten at the most would make a stop here over a three to four hour time period…so for some years I have chosen to not turn on the light.  So that is my story and I’m sticking to it! 

This morning Joy stopped by to use my serger…well, at this point that means that Grammy serves something for her.  She has never had a good amount of time to learn how to use the serger.  And, a serger since it cuts while it sews, isn't something one just sits down at and sews away.  She needs to practice on scrap pieces of fabric, not on the garment that she is working on!  She says maybe she will have time over Christmas break or once she is totally through with her Motlow College experience which will be at the end of this coming Spring semester.  We'll see!  But for the time being, I serge the edges of whatever she is sewing on. 

I worked some more on the Christmas ornaments.  I now have ten ready to stuff and the last of the eleven that I stitched on fabric ready for the way I am going to finish it…this one won't be finished with the sewing machine…so I almost have half of the ornaments finished.  The other eleven are stitched on perforated paper and it will take scissors, glue and felt to finish them.  They "should" take less time to finish…we will see…I’m more used to sewing than cutting and gluing ornaments together!

I have done more packing and the suitcase is almost packed…a good thing…since the time for the trip is quickly approaching.  

This evening I am just doing odds and ends towards getting things ready to go.  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 

Another Pretty Fall Day

I sat for a little while on the porch…checking camera settings while sipping tea and then ate my lunch out there.  The second photo shows some of what I can see sitting on my porch…you can see that the leaves are thinking about changing at least a little.  I ran an errand today and saw some pretty trees.  I’m just hoping that Marie and I will see more Fall color while on our trip.  

I got my suitcase out and have started packing…still a ways to go, but at least I have started!  I hav left the final decision as to which tops to take and which I can leave behind.  I’m trying to pack layers as it may be a bit chilly, it may rain, it may warm up…so trying to have with me some choices depending on what each day is like.  Hoping that my final choices fit the bill.

I had planned to go to the grocery store for a couple of things and then pick up any specials that have to do with holiday cooking, but when I got there, the parking around Kroger was pretty filled up plus someone had had a fender bender and half of one row of parking was blocked with police cars.  I decided that my few items could wait for another day and I headed home.  

This afternoon I have worked on Christmas ornaments.  I stitched a little on something that needs to go on the back of one…then sewed and turned that ornament…so four are now ready for stuffing.  I got three more ready for their cord hangers.  I have the cords ready to insert so when I have done that I will sew them up and turn them..I am hoping that by bedtime, I will have seven ready to stuff.  That then leaves four of the sewn ones to do…so I’m heading in the right direction.  Slowly but surely!

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Beautiful Porch Sitting Day!

This morning, I put the fall decor back on the porch.  Then I sat and drank my tea enjoying my newly freshened up porch on a beautiful Fall morning. At a point I went back inside and did a few things  in the house.  When it was lunch time, I went back on my porch to eat.  So enjoyed some porch sittin' today.  

I have done a little more gathering of things to pack…still making decisions of what to take and what I don’t need to take. I have talked to several on the phone today…Ruth, my sister, Melany, Connie, and have had several texts so have socialized quite a bit today.  Late afternoon I did get underway with the ornaments.  I have three ornaments stitched together and turned right side out and now ready to stuff.  So ornament finishing is finally underway.

I have been listening to a book while I sewed. I think I will watch some TV while I work on some more ornaments. 

To be continued! Be safe! Be Well! Be cautious!

Golden Light is Back

There is a time each year that my backyard just seems to glow with a golden light…and the above photo shows the source of this golden glow.  It seems like the colors are coming later this year…I’m just glad that we are starting to see some color.  I was afraid that the dryness of the last months would keep us from seeing much Fall color.  The gold color is so welcome! 

I worked around the house today…cleaning some things, washing another load of clothes, putting more things on the guest bed to pack, and making decisions about what to pack.  I had some special notes to write today so that took a bit of time.  My painter came and finished the painting and now just has a few finishing details and to fix the doorbell (Nathan's request of the handyman!) and, he will be done. He has done a very good job and I am very pleased.  The front of my house looks all spiffed up! 

All that I have done today hasn't lead to any sewing.  I have just gotten home from Bible study and think that I will have a light supper and then go up and think about making an ornament or two…let me just say that "thinking about it" won't get it done…and I do realize it! 

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Closer!

Tonight’s photo shows the finished part of the porch rail with the finished front door.  He painted another column that I didn’t show in tonight’s picture because the rail part between the two columns isn’t done yet.  Maybe I should just call the tall parts of the rail just posts…rather than columns?  Pretty skinny columns but they do the job that columns do! You decide the correct wording!  More painting to take place tomorrow afternoon.  The house numbers still have to be put back next to the door…several little finishing jobs after the painting gets done, but definitely much closer to a finish.

I have done various things around the house today.  I got some more things laid out on the guest bed for my trip.  I did a load of wash…due to starting to change over my closet from summer to fall/winter…may need some of these items for trip.  They will be ready if I decide to take them.  I’ve been checking the temperatures where we are going and they are only slightly cooler than we are here.  

Looks like we will make it through October without any freezing temperatures.  The weather has really been nice here temperature wise.  But we really do need rain.  It's DRY! DRY! DRY! here.  But despite lack of rain, I noticed today that my little shamrock plant that Linda H. gave me has pushed up new leaves and has flowers, again…even though ground around it is dry as a bone.

I have spent more time in the sewing room today…didn’t accomplish much, but a little.  I think that a few ornaments may see a finish tomorrow. 

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

A Bit of a Forgetful Day

I woke up quite early and did a few things…including putting in a few stitches in the sampler I am cross stitching currently.  But after I had been awake a few hours, I decided that I needed a morning nap.  I think that may have put me off, time wise, for the rest of the day.  Since I don't have a Sunday School lesson to prepare this week, I gave myself permission to go about the day doing whatever. I did plan to do some sewing.  I want to make the Christmas stitching I have been working on for most of the year.  So that was part of the sewing that I wanted to do, but I also had some t-shirts that I wanted to hem.  My other plan for the day was to begin thinking about packing for next week's trip.  I have started to put things on the guest bed that I won't need between now and Marie's and my trip.  And, I started thinking about what clothes that I want to take.  Just some preliminary planning…

I was cleaning off a table and found the shirts that I have been wanting to hem for some time.  I decided that was the sewing that I would start with.  So brought them into the sewing room and got things ready for hemming them.  They are knot tops so that involved setting up my serger for cover stitching.  That takes a bit of time…mainly because I don't change the serger back and forth to different stitches too often…so it takes me following a diagram and holding my mouth just right to get it set up correctly.  I managed the first time to change needle positions and threading it correctly and it sewed correctly when I tested it out…always a "hoorah moment" when it works correctly the first time!

I decided that I would watch TV while I sewed.  My TV in my sewing room isn't connected to my antenna, but my TV being a Roku TV, I can stream some things to watch.  I turned it on to see what I might watch and decided on old Columbo shows.  Of course they stream one show after another and I have no sense of time when watching TV this way. Because of my morning nap, I ate brunch around noon.  Then I got underway with my sewing.  And, I have really accomplished a lot.  I did get two shirts done and am planning on doing at least one more…that will eliminate that stack of "sewing to be done!"  I went downstairs to get something and Nathan called.  He wanted to stop by and borrow my Little Green Machine to clean some upholstery.  So he came on…I paid no attention to the time.  I gave him the machine and then I went back upstairs.  Not long after I got back upstairs, my phone rang and it was one of the people who attends the Furnace Room Prayer meeting that I do.  She was wondering if I was coming!  Oops!  I had totally lost track of time and really wasn't really thinking about what day it was.  I guess I had checked out on the day and was just concentrating on what I was doing in the moment.  I hopped in the car and did get there before it was over.  🙄 I don't think that I can just chalk this up to age…but then maybe this is a time to use my age explain something away!  I did remember to text the group this morning reminding them about prayer meeting…I’m just the one who forgot despite  my reminder!  I will say that I never looked at my iPhone or iPad this afternoon.  I did have my phone in my pocket…but somehow the settings have been changed and it no longer vibrates when a call or text come in.  I always have them on silence so they don't disturb…that way I don't have to remember to turn them off when I don't want to hear them…up to a few weeks ago I would know that they were ringing due to the vibration…but…either I or someone else changed something and I haven't figured out what to change back.  So I didn't hear when responses came in about to night's meeting…so once I sent the reminder, I got no other reminders to my knowledge.  Those are my excuses and I’m stitcking to them!  Hopefully I will be more tuned in to day and time tomorrow! 

Painting porch rails is supposed to start tomorrow afternoon.  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

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