Sewin' Up a Storm!

For a few years now it has become an annual event at one of our local quilt guilds to have what they call "Sew Super Saturday."  I am not a member of a guild...but have friends in the guild who are nice enough to invite/include me in this special day.  We gather fairly early in the morning and then sew all morning and on into the afternoon.  This year's theme was Fiesta...we had Mexican food for lunch and some of the favors had a Mexican flavor = a cactus shaped pin cushion and there were bright fiesta colors around the room.  I enjoy going and getting to visit with friends and others who I don't know.  We all have a lot in common...the love of sewing.  I managed to get well underway with a Christmas present...that is good as Christmas is fast approaching! I sewed on my sewing machine for the first time since her "spa treatment" and she was good to go/sew!  My serger also is feeling much better after spending a bit of time at the "spa!" Since coming home, I have been going through the loot that I managed to acquire while there today.  We each get a door prize and this time my name got drawn for a second door prize...so I had quite a bit to go through...quilting fabric pieces, quilt books, pamphlets, a small quilted wall hanging kit which includes all the needed fabrics (I'm not much of a quilter, but this is cute and I think that I will make it), and lots of good notions: a new pair of thread snippers, special washable glue sticks, opposable tweezers (have to squeeze them for them to open), and other goodies...now to find a home for all of these items! It was a fun day! But I am ready to wind down from it now!

Woody walked early this morning before he took me to Sew Super Saturday.  I need him to take me because I can't pick up my heavy sewing machine...he comes in handy for carrying the laundry basket that I have filled with "needed" items to get me through an all-day session of sewing.  After dropping me off, he was free for the day!  I know that he went to the public library as I had a library book on my chair when I got home.  The other thing that I know that he did was make a big pot of soup: Steak Oriental.  It tasted really good for supper.  He has gotten my machine back into place so I could start sewing again this evening if I decide to...I probably should get things put away first!  The laundry basket is still full of my sewing things that I took to get me through the day while away from my sewing room.

On the Go!

This is the way Isaac showed up for school yesterday...never a dull moment at our school!  Note that space in front between his lower teeth has grown bigger...that's because he pulled another tooth!  At this rate he will soon be toothless!

Woody got going sooner than I this morning...he went for an early morning walk.  A bit later in the morning, but still early, he headed off to do our weekly grocery shopping.  I guess that the leftovers from Cheryl being here have about left...so I guess I will have to give in and cook shortly...but didn't cook today nor will I tomorrow.  Tomorrow is Sew Super Saturday and I will be heading off early to sew with friends all morning and afternoon.  I have been getting things ready for our day of marathon sewing.  While Woody was at the grocery stores, I called the sewing machine dealer who had my machines for maintenance.  I found out that my machine was ready to pick up but that a part still hadn't come for the serger but that I could go on and pick up both and they would get the part to me when it arrives.  I put away the groceries and we ate lunch and then headed off to Murfreesboro (about 45 min. away) to pick up my machines.  It is good to have them back and I'm very glad that I can take that machine to sew on tomorrow.  After we got home, I got busy cutting out the project that I am going to work on tomorrow--placemats.  I have the fabric cut out, but still have to cut out the batting and then fuse it on to the back piece of each of the placemats.  I also want to cut out another project so I can hopefully get that made tomorrow also.  I still have a ways to go in being ready and we will be leaving for the ball park shortly.  Elijah's team is playing their last game of this Fall Ball season.  I decided to blog before going this evening as there is no telling when we will be home. The boys' games seem to go longet than the girls'. I guess I will go get my cameras ready.  Last night the batteries died one by one so hopefully they are fully charged for tonight's game.

Wow! What a Night at the Ball Parks!!!!

Elijah waiting his turn to bat.  He walked in a run and then
 scored and walked another time in his game. His team won.

Esther is their team's lead off batter and made two hits
 (and scored both times) and also made a sacrifice hit...so she
scored another run not by crossing the plate herself...but by hitting the ball so another
player on her team came in to score, even though Esther was thrown out.

The blur is Joy taking off running after she smacked a three-run home run!
Joy told me yesterday that she wanted to hit a home run...especially a grand slam!
Well, she just came one run shy of a her BIG wish!  Maybe another time!
That's Esther coming in to score from third base!

Joy pitched in a game for the first time last night...to two batters.
Tonight she pitched the whole game (3 innings) and came away
with a win (11-7)!  She did a great job and was told by one
of her coaches to expect to be pitching more! Joy was definitely
the star of the softball game tonight!  Joy received the game ball.

Game over!

Settling Back Into Routine

For me today has been all about trying to settle slowly back into routine.  I have washed, put away things, napped...Woody didn't leave his routine too much so he continues to do things that he usually does...walked four miles early this morning, mowed some, did his daily crossword puzzles, etc.  I did go to the church library this afternoon for our usual Wednesday work day.  Today Donna and I mainly had maintenance to do...checked books in and out and shelved and visited with each other.  This evening I am missing my sewing machine and serger.  I am getting things ready for "Sew Super Saturday" this Saturday...day long gathering of members of a local quilt guild and their guests...I'm a guest.  I need to get what I am going to work on ready and needed my serger.  I have word that my serger is ready, but haven't heard about my sewing machine yet.  I would prefer to pick up both machines at the same time so am trying to be patient to hear about my sewing machine.  So in the meanwhile I am using my original sewing/embroidery machine, the machine that the children use for their sewing lessons.  I am not used to sewing on it any more...and much prefer my newer machine!  I am hoping that the machine will be ready for pick-up either tomorrow or Friday...but won't hold my breath!  I can use my old machine for what I have planned to work on Saturday.  I have to get quite a bit of fabric cut before Saturday.  I would rather have the fabric cut...think that if it is there will be lots less chance of making mistakes!  I guess that Cheryl is settling back into routine in AZ as I am in TN.  We talked today while she was driving to pick up her grandchildren to take them to school. (And, yes, she has hand-free talking capability in her vehicle.)  So we have at least visited with each other today...part of the routine of the last ten days continued today!  Late morning, Joseph and the rest of his family stopped in for a few minutes after they returned from juggling practice.  Joseph had something exciting to show us...he can walk on stilts all by himself now.  Way to go, Joseph!

Saying Good-Bye!

We have sort of met ourselves coming and going today!  We were up around 5am and left the house a little before 6am.  We headed to the airport to drop Cheryl off between 7:30 and 8am...for a while the traffic was so bottle-necked that we were a bit concerned that we would make it on time.  But we did...with time to spare.  After we dropped Cheryl off, we headed back to Murfreesboro to drop our granddaughter Erin off.  We could have dropped Erin off before going to the airport...but felt that we needed to concentrate on the drop-off that had a set time and in the middle of rush hour.  So back to Murfreesboro we went...dropped Erin and her things off and headed back into the Nashville rush hour traffic.  Luckly by this time rush hour volume was thinning and we really didn't get into any stop-and-go traffic that time.  We got to Vanderbilt quite early for Woody's appointments.  He went on and checked in and actually had his CT done quite soon after he registered...so one appointment done ahead of schedule.  We headed down the looooooooooong hall to the lab area.  He got registered there and got checked in and once again had his labs done quite a bit before their actual appointment time.  But that is where the "being seen early" ended.  He got called into Dr. Wyman's exam room about exactly on time.  Dr. Wyman came in and saw him and gave him the results of the scan...which was once again very good...nothing new showing up and everything the same as before...so he continues to be in remission.  Woody made his appointments for four months from now...end of January and if everything continues the same then he won't have to go back for six months!  Sounds very good.  We were back on the road a little after 3pm...beginning of rush hour...not too bad except in one area when we reentered I-24...other than that pretty much smooth sailing until we were almost to our exit and there was an accident on the other side of the interstate...saw the medical helicopter land on the interstate.  The accident looked pretty bad, but I haven't been able to find out anything about it yet.  We got home in time for Woody to eat a quick bite (the first time he had eaten today) and then head to the ball park for two softball games for Joy and Esther.  I headed off to go out to eat with my Sunday School class.  We are now both home.  It has been a pretty full day!  I think that I will sleep well tonight.  Cheryl had a good flight home and was back in Arizona before Woody had finished with his appointments...must be faster to get to AZ than it is to drive to Tullahoma!  We really had a good visit.  It is rather quiet around here this evening!

Mixed Emotions!

Major excitement: Isaac lost his first tooth last night!

Early Celebration: Abigail (almost 14) and Joy (almost 12)

Had their traditional waffles & ice cream for breakfast while
Auntie Cheryl is here!

Abigail's present from Auntie Cheryl: her request
a makeup organizer & makeup

Joy's present from Auntie Cheryl: her request of
art utensils!

Halloween fun for all the children from Auntie Cheryl

Most of the emotions are excitement and fun...but then Cheryl and I keep counting the hours left in her visit...and at this time tomorrow she will be back in Arizona.  The time has flown by all too quickly!  We're heading off to the ball park to watch Joy and Esther play softball as soon as Cheryl, Erin, and I eat a quick supper.  Woody has already eaten and has gone to Elijah's ball game.  He will leave Elijah's game to go to Monday Night Prayer Meeting.  After Monday Night Prayer Meeting, he will head off to the softball field.  Busy day for Cheryl's last full day in Tennessee!

Volleyball & Visiting

Abigail's team was in a volleyball tournament today.

Her team placed second. Way to go Lady Knights!

Melany, Wade and Erin joined us this afternoon for a family get-together.

We cooked over here and then went next door to eat.  We had a really nice

day.  Erin is staying till we take her Auntie Cheryl back to the airport.

Frequent Visitors

Nuthatch

Carolina Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

Downy Woodpecker

These are some of our birdie frequent visitors.  Cheryl is impressed with our southern birds' manners...they come into the feeders one at a time...sometimes several waiting in surrounding branches for their turns...we have very polite birds.  They come in take one seed, fly off, eat the seed, and then come back for their next turn!

Woody got up this morning and walked four miles...the first time that he had taken an early morning walk in a while.  He said that his congestion is better today.  Later in the morning he did our weekly grocery shopping. When Cheryl and I came downstairs, we got busy cooking...getting ready for the family get-together tomorrow.  We made three different salads.  Woody will get the hamburgers ready tomorrow.  After I rested for a while, Cheryl and I went shopping once again.  She needed to get something to take back to her grandchildren and pick up a couple of other things.  We came back and I fixed supper.  We had the chicken dish that I made and froze a week or so before Cheryl came..made for a bit easier supper...though we are still trying to figure out where all the dishes came from that we had to do after supper.  We loaded the dishwasher and still had quite a few to wash by hand.  Cheryl did the dishes and I put food away and then put dishes away.  We're trying to get things straightened up a bit for our "company" coming tomorrow.  In the morning Cheryl and I are going to go to one of Abigail's volleyball games...her team is playing in a tournament most of the day tomorrow.

 Abigail just came in the door...wonder what she is wanting us to do!  First Skip-Bo game of the day...I'll bet!

Reinforcements!

Erin and Alex joined us today...one of those rare times that all nine of our grandchildren are here at the same time.  Alex had the day off so brought Erin to spend a few hours with their Auntie Cheryl.  They had time to play a game of Skip-Bo with their cousins, eat lunch and then play a game of Sorry with Cheryl and me.

After they left it was time for me to have my 20 minute power nap!  After my little snooze Cheryl and I headed off to the quilt store so she could help me choose fabric for my niece Rachel's (Cheryl's daughter) Christmas present.  We were successful in finding something...now to find time to make the gift!  After supper, Joy and Esther came over and played another game of Skip-Bo...getting those game rules drilled into our heads after so many games!  We probably will be playing several more games before Cheryl's visit ends.  Tomorrow we will have to do some cooking since we will have our family get together on Saturday. Tonight Cheryl and I may look at family scrapbooks again tonight.  We have to start cramming everything in that we planned to do while she is here...the time is growing shorter...now less days than we have already spent together. Time is going too quickly...wish that it would slow down for at least a few days!  Woody is still having allergy problems so he didn't take his daily walk.  All ball games were cancelled tonight because we had pretty heavy rain for a while this morning.  Elijah and Isaac were pretty excited because they were invited to a birthday party at Jump Street tonight.  I think that Isaac was looking more forward to the pizza than the jumping!

Marble Runs & Shopping!

This morning Cheryl was entertained by Isaac and Joseph making marble run structures.  Joseph especially enjoyed this...he gave many of his rare smiles when the marbles went down their paths to the bottom of the run.  After lunch Cheryl and I went shopping.  Cheryl planned to purchase October birthday presents for Abigail and Joy while she is here and I wanted to get something for her grandchildren who also have October birthdays.  We were both successful.  We came home and sat on the front porch to rest before supper. We have had supper and are waiting now for a rousing game of Skip-Bo as soon as the neighbors get home from church in a little while.  Last night Abigail and Kathy came over to play.  We will see who comes over this evening.

Woody is still having some allergy problems.  Woody just got his friendly reminder from Vanderbilt.  It is once again time for him to have a CT Scan and labwork and see his melanoma doctor.  It seems like quite a while since he went but still too soon to be going again!  We will drop Cheryl off at the airport and then start wending our way over for his Vandy appointments.

Well, our Skip-Bo players have arrived (Abigail and Joy and Kathy) so I guess I had better go down and keep everyone straight on the rules!  I took several days to figure out how to play...so now I have to make sure that rules are followed!!! Quite an entertaining time here in our household for our guest!

RAIN! Entertainment for our Guest!

Rain is a welcome occurance for our guest from Arizona.  Cheryl got entertained well today as we had a storm pass through with quite heavy rain.  At a point Esther, Cheryl and I went inside and played a game of Skip-Bo as it started blowing in on us on the porch.  Woody walked to the prayer room late this afternoon after the rain passed by.  He made a stop at the pharmacy to pick up some of his medicine.  Isaac and Joseph spent a couple of hours with us this morning while the rest of their family went to practice juggling.  Right now I have Kathy and Abigail and Cheryl waiting for me as we are going to play another game of Skip-Bo.  Cheryl and I have shared a lot of laughs over this game!  If laughter adds years to ones life...then we will probably live to a ripe old age!

Late Night Entertainment for Our Guest!

Took Cheryl out to the ol' ball park this evening!  Elijah has a new nickname = Little "E" = because there are two Elijahs on his team...and there is quite a size descrepancy...the other Elijah is Big "E."  The Bucks (Elijah's team) won the game.

Woody decided not to walk this morning since he is still having allergy problems and decided that one length of time outside would be enough for today.  Cheryl and I haven't done a lot...mainly we've sat on the front porch talking and looking at the birds.  We have also taken great pains to learn a new card game...Skip Bo...I think that we have the rules down finally!  It has been a bit of a learning curve for us at our advanced ages...ha! ha!  Cheryl won't admit as much of an advanced age as I since she is seven years my junior!  We have periodically had entertainment join us on the front porch with the names of Isaac and Joseph.

Sunday Blessing!

Elijah was baptized today!

Hosts

We're busy being hosts...two different kinds of hosts...first being hosts for my sister Cheryl...her plane arrived on time last night.  Wade and Alex picked her up at the airport.  We got home a little before midnight so didn't have much visiting time last night.  But able to get a good start which has continued on to today.  We spent a good amount of time sitting on the porch talking and also visiting with the neighbors (Nathan, Kathy and seven of Cheryl's great nephews and nieces). They love their Auntie Cheryl! After supper tonight (Stuffed Spud Soup), we got the dishwasher going and she and I headed off to WalMart...shopping is something that I do more while she is visiting!  We had to pick up a couple of necessities...mainly coffee...I realized late last night that I had only decaf...oops.  Nathan and Kathy came to the rescue this morning with enough coffee for today's pot.  Now we are good to go for her visit...at least as far as coffee goes...I'm sure more shopping trips will occur!  We also got some candles to discourage the mosquitos...now to see if I can tolerate the smell when they are burning...maybe I can if they keep me from being nibbled.

The other hosting that we are doing is pictured in tonight's photos.  We are hosting caterpillars on our curly parsley.  They are enjoying it...glad to oblige this ravenous stage in their lives!  They are stripping the stems pretty bare. There are four of them altogether.  I hope that there are enough leaves for them to get to the next stage in their life cycle!  Nathan and children researched and found out that these caterpillars are going to become Eastern Black Swallowtail butterflies.

Woody walked his four miles early this morning.  Later in the morning he went to the library and made a stop at the grocery stores (2) for some items that I forgot to put on the list and also a couple that went on sale today.

Winging Her Way to TN!

Well, if we can believe the airline, her plane took off on time...so in a few hours Cheryl will be here.  We actually left our house before she left hers out in AZ.  We needed to come early so I could leave my sewing machine and serger at a sewing machine dealer in Murfreesboro.  They close at 5pm so we have quite a few hours to hang out till Cheryl is picked up at the airport in Nashville.  Melany and family live in Murfreesboro so we had made plans to stop and visit and take them out for supper.  Melany is at her school's Fall Festival, but will be home before too much longer. The activity she is in charge of is outside so she said that she would be home once it got dark...and sun is down so will be dark before long.  Alex, our oldest grandson offered to pick up his Auntie Cheryl at the airport and we gladly accepted.  We will stay here and visit and wait.

Woody walked four miles this morning.  He said that he should have started a bit sooner...got a bit warm...our temps are going back up...got into the 80's today.  After his walk, he took off to do our weekly grocery shopping.  I pretty much just continued to get ready for our visitor.  Worked on spiffing up the front porch...I relocated quite a few spiders and wiped off the chairs so we should be able to sit and enjoy the porch while Cheryl is here starting tomorrow.  Be home a bit late to sit and chat on the front porch tonight!

One To Get Ready! (1)

Here's the beans before and after cooking for almost 8 hours in the oven at 250 degrees.  And, even if I do say so myself, they are pretty tasty.  I will let them cool for a little while and then pop them in the refrigerator and they will be ready for one of our meals this weekend.  And, besides the title hinting at the day in the countdown...it also tells that I have one more recipe that I plan to make tomorrow before it is time to leave the house to pick Cheryl up.  After Woody goes to the store I plan to make Stuffed Spud Soup...and then I am through with cooking till we run out of what is already cooked and I have to make more!  Since I have a couple of things in the freezer we should definitely make it a little beyond the weekend. The downstairs only has a little left to do...mop the kitchen floor and clean the kitchen sink (I think).  Of course there are always those unexpected jobs...like this afternoon when I discovered that a pipe had broken under the sink in the downstairs bathroom.  What a mess that was as there were towels stored under in that cabinet...all soaked...oh, well, our plumbers (Nathan and Graham) were johnny on the spot and are in the midst of fixing it.  Nathan thought that he had a pipe that would work...but it didn't so it will take a trip to Lowes before it can be fixed.  I have gotten all the downstairs vacuumed with Woody doing his domain...the family room.  I still need to do a lick and a promise in the upstairs.  But things are winding down on getting ready...good thing!  I will work on the front porch while Woody grocery shops in the morning.  We finally saw sunshine today...nice after quite a few cloudy and overcast days.  Woody walked four miles this afternoon and on his way home stopped at our pharmacy to pick up one of his prescriptions.  I managed to get a pair of jeans cut out for myself.  I needed to get them cut out so I could fold down my cutting table and store it away.  Woody is now at Elijah's baseball game.  I stayed home to get a little more done and perhaps sit and rest for a few minutes. Cheryl doesn't get in till late tomorrow night so not sure when I will be able to blog...might blog from Melany and Wade's house if I take my ipad...or might be very late tomorrow night...or might not be till Saturday morning!  Time will tell.  But I can now say, "Tomorrow is the day!" The only thing that worries me saying that is that there is also that saying: "Tomorrow never comes!"

Two Turtle Doves (2)

And, no, I am not decorating for Christmas prior to Cheryl's arrival...but tonight's blog title is appropriate due to the task that I did last night after I blogged. I decided that I would polish the silver spoons that hang in a wooden display in the dining room...last time Cheryl visited it was pointed out to her that I hadn't polished them prior to her visit...so am trying to rectify that oversight from her last visit.  Wonder what will get pointed out to her this time...because there is plenty being left undone!  Anyway, I polished all thirty of the spoons (a task that I do probably no more than twice a year...mainly they get done at Christmas time).  After I got them done, I decided that while my fingers were all black that I would look for other tarnished silver items.  I polished a silver dinner bell and a couple of other spoons and bells and then I remembered this shelf of bells that resides in the living room all year long as a part of my bell collection even though it depicts The Twelve Days of Christmas.  The twelve bells each represent a different day in The Twelve Days of Christmas song.  So on day two of the countdown till Cheryl arrives, the Two Turtle Doves bell is all shiny once again!  I finished the other side of the long kitchen counter this morning.  One of the things that I asked Woody to do was to put a watermelon in the fridge and I suggested that he cut into it before finding a spot for it.  Well...he cut into it and watermelon water just spewed out of it...all over the side of the counter that I did yesterday and down the front of the dishwasher...and onto the floor which hadn't been mopped yet, thankfully...I knew better than to mop the floor too soon!  We got that mess cleaned up and I slightly mopped that area of the floor so we wouldn't stick to the floor.  Before I left to go work in the church library, I made my recipe for homemade cream of chicken soup.  I need it for the soup that I am planning to make on Friday before heading toward the airport.  I made an easy casserole for our supper tonight.  And, just before heading up to blog, I vacuumed the living room and part of the dining room.  The only thing that I have to do before going to bed tonight is start soaking the beans for making Mother's recipe for Boston Baked Beans.  They have to soak over night and then cook for a loooooooooooong time tomorrow.

This afternoon while I was working at the church library, Woody went on his walk.  He included a stop for a hair cut...looks like we are all getting haircuts prior to Cheryl's visit.  I got mine cut yesterday, Woody got his cut today, and Cheryl is getting hers cut tomorrow.  Woody called his haircut a "chairyl cut" in honor of Cheryl's visit. Ha? Ha?

We have continued to have drizzle off and on...Irma revisiting.  I think that everyone will be glad to have Irma take her leave! I'm looking forward to sunnier days!  It's predicted to be quite nice for the start of Cheryl's visit.  I hope so as she is looking forward to sitting on the front porch.

3 Days to Go!

Seemed like these three pansies were a good photo for Countdown Day 3!  They are especially good as they are some pansies that I took a picture of the last time that I went to Arizona...pansies from Cheryl's pretty gardens.  Of the two of us, Cheryl is the one who got the green thumb! She loves puttering out in her gardens...me not so much...probably my flowers sense that!

It has been another busy day...though I haven't gotten a lot done in the house as this was haircut day and after my haircut I decided that it was time for my obligatory Walmart trip prior to having visitors!  I "always" go to Walmart just before I leave on a trip and almost always go to Walmart just prior to a visitor coming.  I do go at other times...but those two times seem to be "necessary trips!"  Today I "needed" to go to Walmart because the two flourescent light tubes in the kitchen both went out...I can't remember when they have gone out at the same time before. And, because I needed to stop and buy the flourescent lights, I figured that it was a good time to go on and pick up the other things that had been accumulating on a list as I have been bustling around the house.  I got all the items on my list and got back home and Woody had already attempted to take the burned out...these are the 48" long tubes...not the easiest.  Well, he managed to get the one out that we thought had gone out and replaced it with the one that we had in reserve.  BUT after he did that we realized that both were bad...AND neither of us can get that one to turn correctly to come out of the fixture...Woody has the problem that he can only raise one of his arms over his head...a hard job to do one handed!  And, for some reason I have never been able to do those tubes...we continue to take breaks and then try again.  So if the saying: "If at first you don't succeed, try try again" is true then we should eventually be able to get it out and then replace it...if not then I guess that we will just have to wait till Nathan or Graham are home to help out...if not maybe it will be the first thing that I ask Cheryl to do after she gets here!  It has been a bit hard to work in the kitchen as it seems rather dark without the overhead lights!  Thank goodness for the lights under the cabinets, over the sink and over the stove.  But I will have this "no lights" time period to explain away anything that I just "think" is clean because I can't see!  Today I started on the other side of the kitchen...just cleaning off the counter...wiping off appliances, etc. One half of that side of the kitchen looks wonderful!  I just cleaned the inside of the microwave (on yesterday's side of the kitchen...not quite finished over there yet!)  I grabbed the towels out of the drier as I was coming upstairs to blog and have them folded and hung in the guest bathroom.  I have waited as the neighbor grandchildren use that bathroom when they over here and use those towels...hopefully they will stay clean for three days!

Woody walked to the prayer room at church and has just returned.  We haven't had much rain in the daylight hours...mainly just a drizzle or fine mist...enough earlier this afternoon to turn on the windshield wipers and the lights on the car automatically.  I'm not sure how much rain that we got due to Irma as the rain gauge decided to stop registering...where is Graham when we need him for these technical things!  But the flowers continue to be happy with the rain that we have been getting.  There are lots of leaves down...not sure if it is due to the wind or just heavy rain that we got for a while last night.  I was never really aware of a lot of wind...maybe I was asleep for the wind...or just didn't hear it due to hearing rain on the roof.

Well, back to doing "something" to get ready for my visitor!

Irma Gets In On The Countdown (4)

Here's the current WeatherBug radar for Irma.  Tullahoma is located where the red pin is. The red triangle in the upper right corner of the WeatherBug screen is an alert for a Wind Advisory...the wind advisory is in effect from 4pm today to 7am tomorrow.  It started raining lightly sometime between 3 & 4pm and has steadily increased.  Woody just came in from Monday night prayer meeting at church and said that it was a real rain now (meaning no longer light) and that the wind was starting to pick up.  I'm hoping that the winds don't get such that we will have power outages.  Huntsville was saying that the wind speeds could be such that there were possibilities of outages.

The countdown till Cheryl continues...and the number seems to be decreasing rapidly!  Today the count is just four more days.  I don't mind the days before her arrival going by quickly, but wish that they would slow down their pace while she is here!  But probably time will probably fly by even faster than normal!  Woody is having allergy problems so chose not to walk this morning.  He planted garlic instead.  He is counting on this rain settling some of whatever he is allergic to.Woody went to the Life Care Center today and had Bible study with Jeff and then visited with church members.  I continued to do "this and that" around the house.  Yesterday evening I did decide to sit in the sewing room and dust all the pictures on the top of the bookcases that takes up one side of the sewing room.  Just a job that doesn't get done very often and having company is an incentive to do it...though we will probably spend next to no time in the sewing room!  I also ended up making the small wall hanging that I had been planning for sometime to make to hang in our bathroom. So I mixed a little sewing into the countdown. This morning I decided to do several cleaning jobs in the kitchen...started on the stove side of the kitchen and did some extra cleaning which included the stove top.  Of course, I am now asking myself just exactly why I did that as I decided to do some cooking this evening and of course have messed up the stove...but hopefully it will be a quick clean up. The recipe that I made is hopefully going to be one of our meals while Cheryl is here.  I have never frozen it before so not exactly sure how it will freeze...guess time will tell...and Cheryl will be the guinea pig to see if it works!  I spent quite a while in the kitchen as the recipe started out with deboned chicken thighs...Woody skinned the chicken thighs and I deboned them and then decided to go ahead and make the recipe.

I guess we are battening down the hatches and settling in for a rainy & windy night.  I'll let you know tomorrow how we have or are faring Irma...unless we don't have power!

Saturday...Six More Days

The countdown continues...Cheryl and I will have spent most of the day together at this point next Saturday.  Woody got up and walked early again today.  When the library opened he and I both went.  After a brief time at the library we went to Lowes to buy some pansies.  I planted them in a pot to put on the front porch and the ones left over I planted in what we refer to as our mail box garden. I also did a little weeding and clipped back a rosebush that had a couple of stems growing toward the sky. I am waiting to wipe down things on the front porch till a day or so before Cheryl arrives.  I'll wait till after Irma passes us by...we will probably get some wind and quite a bit of rain.  The last place that I worked on cleaning was the laundry room and the sunroom/porch.  Last night I did start my sewing project and am going to work some more on it this evening along with putting the finishing touches on the Sunday School lesson that I will be teaching tomorrow in my ladies' Sunday School class. Woody has mowed some more and done a couple of other things outside that I asked him to do for me.  He also is putting finishing touches on his Sunday School lesson for his 6,7, and 8th grade boys' class tomorrow.  He has been watching football off and on this afternoon and reading.  The neighbors (Nathan and Kathy and family) are putting new rocks in their gardens...I must go grab a camera and get a picture of them all working on the rock pile! Cheryl texted me earlier that next week she would be sitting on the porch drinking a cup of coffee...reminded me that I needed to "reserve" the coffee pot next door for her visit!  She is the only coffee drinker in the group...the neighbors have a coffee pot because Kathy's parents drink coffee and they have it for when they visit.  And, I borrow it when we have coffee drinkers stay at our house. Well, off to take a picture of the "rock gang!"

Countdown is "7" on the 8th!

Today we hit the one-week mark on the countdown.  We will be in Murfreesboro this time next week visiting with the Proctor's at their house as we wait for Cheryl's arrival time late in the evening.  We have to go up earlier than necessary since I am planning to drop off my sewing machine and serger at a sewing machine dealer in Murfreesboro for their "spa treatment" (cleaning and maintenance).  I figure that it is a good time to leave them as I won't be doing any sewing while Cheryl is here...at least don't plan to do any!

Woody got up early and walked in the chill of the morning once again.  Later in the morning he headed off to do our weekly grocery shopping.  While he was shopping, I did some more getting ready...today I packed up all the girls' sewing projects and put them into my sewing room.  I put the groceries away when Woody got home.  Then I stewed another chicken as he found one at a better price than last week.  So now we have chicken pieces for a chicken salad and for something else.  I continued to work in the guest room making it more guest friendly.  I even tackled the table with ALL the framed family photos on it...it is all dusted...glass in the frames windexed and even moved and dusted the books that are on the bottom shelf of that table.  Good job done...that one won't get done again for some time! There are still some K'nex in the guest room that will need to be moved to another location so Cheryl won't stub her toe on them!  As I look around I wonder if I will dust off the tops of the bookshelves in the sewing room and clean all those picture frames' glass!  Maybe...maybe not!  Cheryl had best not do the white glove test!  Abigail still has a little sewing to do on her blue jean shorts that she is making...so I haven't totally put away all the sewing things for her yet...but close!  Woody has spent time in and out today.  He spent quite a bit of time picking up sticks and mowing.  I even went out and did an outdoor job...I swept off the back patio where the herbs are growing.  Leaves had piled up and the herbs are looking so good at the moment, I didn't want the dried up leaves spoiling the effect.  Neat thing about sweeping close to the herbs...the wonderful fragrance when the broom happens to brush up against some of the herbs that are hanging over the containers...the thyme and rosemary smelled particularly good!  I left several piles of leaves and debris for Woody as he said that he would take care of that for me...at least all it is several small piles that can be dumped on the compost pile.  I walked around in the backyard with Woody and he showed me the nice sized pumpkin that is growing along with several butternut squash and a few cucumbers.  The cooler temps and the abundance of rain of late are making the plants happy.  At the moment the gardens are looking pretty good.  I sat on the front porch and ate my lunch today and read.  I've got to get some more bird food so Cheryl and I can enjoy the comings and goings of our little bird friends while we visit on the front porch. I think that I am finished with my countdown cleaning for today and think that I may work on a sewing project that I would like to have finished before Cheryl comes.  

Full Moon Countdown (8)

Blogging a bit late tonight as we had a late night at the ball park for Elijah's game.  Kathy had to remind us about the game...haven't gotten back in the swing of games yet.  Ended up being good that we forgot as when they reminded us they were already at the ball field and were cold so asked us to bring some blankets...a bit of a chilly night.  This is a full moon that I took at another time, but tonight's looked about like this as we had to look at it through the trees on the other side of the ball park. Elijah's team won so the evening ended happily for them...and us!

Woody got up and walked early in the chill of the morning.  I had school on a normal Thursday schedule.  Elijah didn't blow up anything during his science experiments today!  I spent the afternoon getting Abigail's shorts to the next step so she can get them finished before short season is totally over!  I didn't do a lot around the house on this 8th day before my sister arrives!  Got to get down to business starting tomorrow since she arrives a week from tomorrow!  Kathy and several of the children helped this morning and got all the toys picked up and organized the toy closet...guess Cheryl can play with the toys while she is here!  Or perhaps it is that she just won't trip over the toys!  Last night I mended a volleyball net!  Abigail must think that her Grammy can sew anything!  I ended up sewing the part that had come unstitched by hand using thick thread, a big needle, and pliers!  Got the job done and at least it worked tonight for her volleyball practice!

Woody did some lawn mowing today.  It has been such a pretty day...nice to have the cooler temperatures especially when work needs to be done outside.

Countdown Continues Regardless (9)

So the countdown countdown continues...whether I do "anything" towards my sister's arrival or not! Nine days to go till she arrives! Today has been a busy day...not much time to do things around the house to get ready for "company!".  Woody got up early and walked in the very cool temperatures.  We have definitely have had cooler temperatures today.  Tonight's picture was supposed to be a leaf that I took some time back in another year...another Fall...but for some reason the picture just sits and won't upload onto the blog...so I guess you will just have to use your imagination tonight...a single golden leaf on the sidewalk! I woke up early...not sure why as I went to bed late.  But in waking up early, I realized that I would have time to finish up the work on the latest church library memorials...writing the letters to the donors and the families of the one memorialized.  I got those written just a little before time for school to start.  I handed the addressed envelopes to Woody and asked him to put stamps on them and take them out to the mailbox...so that job is done for the time being.  I had a full morning of school.  Esther got the rest of her apron cut out and we started doing a little sewing on it.  I ate a quick lunch and headed out the door to work in the church library. Donna and I worked on getting some of the new books processed...so there will be new books for the interested on Sunday morning.  I came home and decided that it was time for a rest which turned into a nap.  Woody headed off around 5 to go to church.  Tonight is "The Great Hunt" for the youth...a scavenger hunt done in cars using phone cameras to prove that they find the things on the list.  Abigail recruited Goosey (Woody) to be the driver for a car for her and her friends!  That should prove to be an interesting time!  I stayed behind (very willingly!) and have been working on figuring out what Elijah will do for science experiments tomorrow...wonder if we will blow up anything tomorrow!  I think that one thing he will learn about tomorrow is hurricanes...rather a timely lesson?!?  Woody just came home...Abigail and her crew came in 7th (out of 8 vehicles)...hey...better that than last!!! Especially when he told me who was 8th...Abigail's daddy's vehicle and Joy's crew of friends...so at least Abigail beat out her younger sister's team (and Woody triumphed over his son!) (I have a feeling that it was more important to Abigail to win over Joy than Woody over Nathan!)!  I'm sure that fun was had by all...win or lose!  And, there is already anticipation for next year's Great Hunt! Well, I'm going to publish this and then see if I can add a photo afterward...ahhh! It worked!  So how was your imagination at visualizing this picture?

The Countdown Is On! (10)

Well, it is 10 days till my sister will be here.  Now I "need" to get going on getting a bit more ready.  Today I did some more in the guest room.  I cleared everything off the dresser and end table and hand washed the dresser scarves that I have on them and then dusted the bric-a-brac that is on them and replaced everything.  Now I will only have to give it a quick dusting just before she comes.  Of course the guest room is the girls' sewing room...so projects abound on the bed at the moment.  Next Wednesday after Esther's sewing lesson all the sewing projects can be swept away till after Cheryl heads back to Arizona.  I also cleaned out a couple of drawers for Cheryl to use and worked some more on the closet.  I still have one major item to dust...a table that is in there that has lots of framed photos on it...that table doesn't get dusted very often as it is hard to get the pictures back in place...time will tell how much I dust that table top...whether I take everything off or if I just carefully dust a section at a time.  Over the weekend I did a couple of things in the kitchen that I told myself that I would do before Cheryl gets here.  We'll see how many more of those jobs really get done that I tell myself that I should do! Time will run out eventually!  And, I know that I will never be done until she gets here...then cleaning stops for the time that she is here...well, guess we have to do a little...but only the necessities!

Woody got up early and decided that he would walk to the prayer room at church early today rather than wait till this evening.  He made a wise decision as the weather hasn't been the best this afternoon and early evening.  The last I looked we had gotten a little more than a 1/2 inch of rain today.  This rain came in with our first cold front for this Fall season...a bit early this year.  For the next ten days we aren't supposed to get out of the 70's and some days won't get out of the 60's.  I'm not sure if I am ready for this quick change in temperatures!  I forget till it is that time of the year again that my Transverse Myelitis doesn't like seasonal change...and especially doesn't like moving from warmer to colder temperatures very much.  I could feel this front coming.

The children and I had school today.  We were on a regular Tuesday schedule.  Joy had her sewing time and completed another paper pieced quilt block.  The only school that I did yesterday was Abigail's sewing and we did that after our Labor Day meal.  Woody and I worked on getting the food ready yesterday morning.  We provided the food and they hosted and Nathan grilled the hamburgers.  We had a good time...as yesterday's pictures hopefully protrayed.  This afternoon I  watched the latest video from my sewing club while I did some of my dusting in the guest room.  I will rewatch it when I can pay closer attention!  This lesson is piped Peter Pan collars...thought that I had that down pretty well after all the little girls' dresses that I have made over the years...but I was introduced to several new methods of how to make them...I find that I am always learning something new with my sewing!  Hopefully that kind learning is good for my brain...trying to keep it "awake" for as long as possible!

Labor Day 2017

Food Line!

Nice enough to eat ourside!

How far can you spit a watermelon seed?

Watermelon swingers

Cooling off in the turtle pool! 

Whee!

Wet slide = Slick slide!