Happy New Year and Now it's Time to Get Something Done!

Time flies when your outta control!!!!
Things have been crazy around here, we babysat for the grands in November over the Thanksgiving Holidays and then went Christmas tree hunting (as per usual) running after 3 little ones and trying to keep up was something else! As many of you know.... (because I've said it a million times...) this is why you have kids when your less than 50!!!! Of course, sometimes this can't be helped and I'm sure that if it came to be that we had to take care of the grands forever and always... we would manage just fine. With the help of our Heavenly Father of course! LoL...

Pic's of the grad and DDIL, your's truely and DH,

DDIL, Grad, DDIL's folks

Our kids gave me and DH our Christmas present early this year.... they made plans to fly us to Oregon to see our son graduate from The Portland Art Institute a week ago Friday. It was great to see him and our DIL.... they are such sweeties! We got together with some of her family and a bunch of their friends to have a congratulation party the night after... it was fun! DDIL put us to work! Which was great..... I mean a person needs to keep busy..... ( I stay outta trouble that way..... sometimes that is!) I helped get a few things chopped up so that we could throw together 5 different kinds of soup! We had crackers, cheese, soups, great local soda pops.... local breads.... several cakes, and lots and lots of talk and a second tour (for me that is) of DDIL's sister's house. Which is cool cause it's 100 years old and on the Historic Registry... DH hadn't seen it yet... so he was properly impressed! This is where I would be inserting pictures! And I say that lightly because for some reason either my computer, my camera, or just operater error.... it is not to be!
Which drives me crazy..... because I would really like to share all the great pic's we got of our fun!

O.K. now your wondering what happened aren't you???? Yep, DD#1 helped walk me thru the picture problem and hopefully that is all that I will need!

This pic is us DDIL, Son, Your's Truely, and DH all on the trax system that moves around downtown Portland... another passenger took this! Sooo sweet of her! I know, your thinking ohhhh isn't that sweet that me and DH are twinner's.... this was not planned... we just both found red jackets that we liked!

Here are some pic's of the house I mentioned!



Outside.....

Inside.....

Christmas went way too fast, but was wonderful as usual. Spending time with loved ones or talking to them is always a large plus!!! As I said, our children bought us our trip to Oregon to see our Son and DIL and that was great! The only draw back was having to do all my shopping two days b/4 Christmas.... which I never do!!! I think that with all the different things that were going on or that were going to go on.... I just couldn't get my act together enough to think out what we were doing for gifts and all.
Hope that your Holidays were wonderful!

Here are a couple of pic's of our winter wonderland! Yep, baby it's cold outside! Although.... it has warmed up this week... we are in the 30's.... Having a heat wave..... Tropical Heat wave.... Oh, a boy came by last week after our last storm wanting to clean the walks/driveway... to earn some $$ I told him sorry.... my hubby likes to play with the snowblower too much! Kid just looked at me like I was crazy!

I'm Sooo Excited!

Did I tell you that I sent off my camera to be fixed? Yep... I sent it off a week ago this past Monday... yesterday I got an email saying that it is fixed.... (at no charge to me!) and is now being FedEx'd back.... last I just checked.... it was in Tennessee! Which is rather strange, cause it's coming from Illinois! What do I care how it gets here.... I suppose it's taking the scenic route! But, it is coming and that means....... yes!!!! I can take pictures again! And even post one or two!
Hope all is well with every one's Thanksgiving plans... we had an early Thanksgiving dinner sorta with one of our daughters..... (we ate pie! and she sent home potato's, etc...) DH had a few appointments so we were on a time crunch! It was good though!
I got the binding sewn onto a quilt that I'm working on for our Church. I just need to hand sew it now! I figure that I can do this while'st tending the little grands....
More later.... Make sure your needles are sharp!

40 Days and Counting Before Christmas

I was just thinking that as a child it took foreverrrrrr for Christmas to come. I suppose that it's still that way for children. At least I hope so! This world gets a bit hard sometimes, and I like to think that children are still innocent and sweet. Our oldest grandson showed us a letter he is going to send to Santa. Since he is 4 he has glued pictures onto the letter. We asked him where Santa lives and he had no idea.... (simpler time of life... innocent, sweet) and when we told him that Santa lives at the North Pole he just gave us a silly look and agreed. We asked if he would mail it to Santa? He laughed and said no! I probably should have asked if maybe we should just e-mail Santa. He probably would have figured that was right, because we allll know, that everyone including Santa has a computer!
I of course am no where's near being ready for Christmas... but, ready or not it will come. And I will enjoy it! My thinking is that it's more important to be ready Spiritually than any other way. Sure giving presents to those we love is nice... but it's more important to know why we celebrate and to be thankful for the person whom we celebrate the birth of. Just like the Who's in Whoville.... when they awoke and found that all their Christmas presents, food and decorations were gone... the reason to have Christmas.... which is to celebrate the birth of Our Savior Jesus Christ is much more important! Now maybe to you comparing how we celebrate to the Who's in Whoville is somewhat lame. But, the message is what's important. They still had each other, and that was the most important thing to them! Of course... to me if I woke up and didn't have any of my family, friends, freedoms etc.... it would be pretty hard to deal with. But, I know that I can lean on My Heavenly Father and his Son... my Savior Jesus Christ. I'm not saying I wouldn't cry.... me not cry.... rightttt! No, that in and of it's self.... next to impossible! But, as hard as it would be.... (and believe me, I'm not asking to be challanged in this way at all!!)
I know that I could make it through, as long as I have the help of my Savior. So 40 days or 40 years... Christmas is with me all year long. This just happens to be the time we celebrate and show a bit more attention to Him.
Take care everyone.... I pray that those of you that read this will have an Enjoyable Christmas Season.... And let me be the first to wish you a Merry Christmas! And soon to be New Year. May all your sewing projects finish smoothly.

It's November Again.... Birthdays Come and Go

I was able to get a hold of the canon camera people... they were so nice! My camera is under warranty and so now I just need to send it off to get it fixed! The guy I spoke to said that worst cases I may have to pay $79 to get it fixed! But, that I could pay that same $ and get a brand new one of the same kind... so hopefully they can fix it and it will be back soon! He said that if I send it off soon.... it will be back hopefully b/4 Thanks Giving! Which if you look at the calendar... is just around the corner!
Here it is November... hard to believe that time has done it's thing once again... and scurried so quickly through the year. It's my birthday again!!! Yep, another day in the month and another year older! Like my mom was saying in a CD of thoughts she sent.... seems the older you get although your body gets older.... it just doesn't feel as if I've gotten any older! Our family had a nice get together yesterday to celebrate all the November birthdays in the family. I have two SIL's that have birthdays this month also! One tomorrow.... Happy B-day Fernando!!!
And one next week! Happy B-day Matt! Yep.... and I figured it out.... those two were born... when I was 27!!!! Yikes! That seems weird! We had cake, (each of us got our own type that we like!) I had chocolate Angel Food Cake.... with a bit of whipped topping! I like my cake light! And then came the presents! WoW!!!! My family sure does spoil me! I got all sorts... gift cards from the local Barnes and Noble... and one from the local Hancocks... a cook book and apron... a couple of really nice photo albums (I'm not a scrapbooker.....) to put the tons of photo's I have that are waiting to be taken care of! I received a Target red bag.... to use to put things I purchase with all my gift cards!!! I beautiful heart from my parents... made by Margarent Furlong. It has a wonder verse from the bible on it on love.... So, I want to thank all of my family for spoiling me rotten.... once again! And thank you for blessing my life! It wouldn't be any fun without you all!
O.k. has everyone noticed that Thanks Giving this year is the very last Thursday of the month!!! And that means we only have a short amount of time b/4 Christmas after Thanks Giving this year!!! I hope that you are all better prepared then I am! I know that my parents are prepared!!!! They have already gotten the presents, wrapped them, mailed them to my house (the ones for our family) and they can now sit back and relax!!! Guess I had better get my act together!
We have decided that this year instead of doing a family gift (in my DH's family) we will do something for others outside of the family. And then share Christmas Eve. what we could do. It's a nice way to keep from getting wayyy to many gifts and to help out a few others that may not have anything else for Christmas.
I need to go... the laundry is calling and my sewing room .... well let's just say that it will take a whip and a chain to get into the room now!!! LoL....

Halloween Is Almost Here and Apples, Apples, Everywhere!

Halloween is almost here! I was busy yesterday working on a cloak or robe for part of the costume for our DGS. Here is a look at what he is going to be: Patawan from Star Wars...
http://www.padawansguide.com/robe.shtml My DD his mom made the rest of the costume... I just happened to have a piece of fleece that was brownish in nature to go for the outer cloak. When she gets some picks of him I will have to post some. Plus of the other little ones. Hope that everyone has a wonderful, fun, and safe time.
I picked more apples the other day.... like 4-5 bushels! Apples, apples, everywhere!!!! Luckily I was able to find a few more people that wanted some. Of all those, I ended up with only one of the tubs I filled. Yeahhhhh.... although my friend Karma is started to check her caller I.D. and probably doesn't want to see me coming to her front door! LoL.... So, if you want apples.... let me know! Mostly if you live in the area! Red Delicious Apples.... they make good pies, apple sauce and work great for drying.

Loser Monday

Well here we are again. Loser Monday. Hmmm, I can't complain because although I didn't lose any weight, I did stay the same! From when I lost weight after being sick! So... that is at least a step in the right direction! I hope that all of you that may be working out, trying to loose are doing at least as well. Think ahead if you can about what your going to eat. One thing that I have been doing is eating at least an apple a day! I know, that sounds pretty cheesie! But at least it isn't hurting! And I do love apples, fruit of most any kind makes me happy. And what's Fall without Apples? O.K. this isn't on the "diet list" but it's really good! And it includes apples too!
My SIL made this a few years back up in Jackson Hole when we were up there for Lotoja!

It's For Dipping Apples Into...... Yummy is all I can say!
Take one 8 ounce package of cream cheese and mix with powdered sugar to taste (try about a cup to start.... some people like it sweeter than others!) It works great to use either a food processors or an electric mixer. Mix it up until smooth. Then spread this onto a plate of some sort; as the bottom layer for the dip.
2nd layer is caramel.... try to find the kind at the store that is creamy and nice (or you can use a double boiler and melt some down) Spread this on top of the cream cheese mixture.
3rd layer is some sort of toffee candy bar (it's your choice here.. maybe you have a favorite!)
sprinkle broken up little bits of the candy bar (sometimes you can find this in the baking department of the grocery store) over the top of layer 2.
Next thing you need to do is wash off any type of your favorite apples! And then slice and core them.... we just leave the peels on, but again this is up to you!
Dip away..... it's Awesome!!!! Just remember that it's easy to get carried away eating this.... so be careful! And enjoy this Fall Treat!
Don't forget to find something to do with all your scraps! They tend to grow when placed into a basket, or bin together! Sooooo watch out! Have a fun week! Halloween is coming!

No Pictures Again!

So, I called around to a few places the other day to see about getting my camera fixed. They want me to pay more than I bought the camera for to ship it to get it fixed! yeah... I had better check out one more thing to see about the warranty! Cause this is for the birds!
Last night I spent several hours going thru my scrap stash to see what I had to make fabric block letters with. I found all sorts of bright fun fabrics and then this a.m. went to church and traced capital block letters onto fabric.... (thank you Linda C. for the help... she had gotten her's all done and helped me finish mine up!) So, two layers of fabric and 1 layer of scrap batting to sandwich in between and then sew them up and snip like you would for a ragg quilt, wash and dry.... and Wa Laa! Block letters that the grand kids can drag around, practice letters with and pretty much be entertained for a little bit here and there! Plus, I took a bunch of scraps I didn't want and the ladies helped themselves! So, it was a win-win situation! I was able to share and not waste... plus make room in my bins too!
Grandson's birthday celebration today! He is all of 4! Hard to believe that time goes past so fast at times! Since he will be getting more toys from others.... we got him some wonderful books! Curious George and also this darling book called "Where's The Dragon?" it's written by Jason Hook, and illustrated by Richard Hook. You need to see if you can find this book.... (pun intended!) they have all sorts of textures on the pictures etc... Basically the book is about a boy and his grandpa that are out Dragon hunting.... and they are everywhere... just that they blend in... so grandpa can't really see them! Cute book.... wondefully done! What can I say.... not much more than that cause we (DH and I ) are sold on it! Guess that's why we bought it!
Hope you get to do some sewing! I've done all sorts of things this week! I canned 21 quarts of peaches, helped picked about 6-8 bushels of apples, delivered about 4 of them to friends. More apples to pick next week. Picked another bushel of tomato's and need to can up a bushel of them too. Also dry some of the apples. And mail a package to my son! All in a lifes work.... hmmm?
Make sure and check your bobbin thread! You don't want to run out!

Talk About Feeling Like What The Cat Dragged In!

I feel like I had my oil drained.... and someone forgot to replenish me with new oil! Ever have that lowwww dowwwn...... feeling? Yep, the flu has stuck. I was claimed as one of the latest victims. So far DH hasn't gotten it.... and hopefully he won't because... well.... he doesn't do "sick" very well poor guy! I got hit Friday a.m. and fortunately I had only had Shredded Wheat and a touch of milk! I started drinking peppermint tea when I started feeling poorly and I really think that that curtailed a lot of misery.... for me at least! DH was at work... and came home to find me a bit worse for wear. But.... well, let's just say it's not a very good diet plan that's for sure.... but on the good point..... It's Loser's Monday..... and I've lost 5-6 pounds! I don't recommend this way to loose it though. I'm still on the weakish side and had to go to the store today to pick up a few things. DH would have done it I'm sure.... but, well I needed to get out.... at least out of the house and into the jeep! Yep, I noticed he used like 1/4 tank of gas I put in on Thursday... geee... I thought it was my new toy! He took it down to the dealership to get this and that taken care of... So, I guess I better share! Plus then last night, he took it to his folks to show his brother.

O.K. although I was sick I did spend some time reading.... If you want some good quilt pattern blocks to check out (a lot of Older ones and some newer renditions) check out this book they have full size pattern blocks in them. Grandma's Best Full Size Quilt Blocks (It's a Better Homes and Gardens book) http://www.amazon.com/Grandmas-Best-Full-Size-Quilt-Blocks/dp/0696235277/ref=pd_sim_b_1
This is what I have been browsing through.... thinking I need to make a sampler quilt maybe. Oh well.... I do have lots of idea's... some day I may get to one or two dozen of them! LoL...
Hope that your Monday is going well... Take time to check out a new pattern or two.... what's the sense of having all this sewing knowledge if a person can't just kick back and enjoy the styles..... don't bleed on your fabric!

Canning, Horse Trading, Making Bread, and A Dash of Sewing

I've been busy lately doing all sorts of things. The biggest and best... (well as far as the end factor that is!) is that we've been looking for a "new to me" car! Well not "a car" per say... I don't care for "cars".... I like Jeeps! So, since they decided to make the newer Jeep Grand Cherokee's not to my liking.... we started looking at the Commanders. This is what I call "HORSE TRADING"....... to me, looking for a new (used) vehicle is like buying a horse! Now I've never really bought a horse..... but, maybe you will understand when I paint you this picture!
You go out looking.... some salesperson shows you what he (I can't say that I've ever met a women car salesperson!) wants you to buy! You know, the one that's been on the lot forever!!!!! And then... he may actually ask you what you are interested in! Now mind you, I usually do this with my DH because he wants to find me a vehicle that is safe, clean... and runs well. What can I say.... he loves me! Anyway.... so salesperson and DH start looking at jeeps! He asks what price range we want to be in.... ahem.... and then if he doesn't have something in that area... he trys to get us to look at other types of vehicles! Or says something like.... so I understand that you are looking for something "like" a Commander! What can I say.... after hearing this type of talk from countless..... and I do mean countless..... (cause DH as sweet as he is... likes to look at all of them out there!!!) salespeople..... I counter with..... No! I don't want something "like" a Jeep Commander.... I'm only interested in a Commander! They kind of shake their heads and say sorry, you won't find one for that price! Ahem..... yeah..... he doesn't know me and DH!!!
O.K. a little more description on why I call this "Horse Trading". If you think about it, if you were going to buy a horse from someone, that means that the "horse" has had a previous owner! Which makes you wonder.... why is said previous owner getting rid of said "Horse"? So, you look at it's teeth, check it's hooves, lift the tail, make sure it's lungs are clear, make sure that it hasn't had any broken legs. Oh, and you need to know how old it is! How many trips to the vet... you get the picture right?
This is what DH does.... with each and every jeep he sees.... I'm a bit more patient that one of the sales people I feel we can actually trust (and who seems to not be pushy) will find us something we really want... and for the price we want to pay! DH.... well, he is the worrier of the two of us... so he has to do all the worrying about each and every one of the jeeps we look at!
He keeps looking on line... and calls me down to the computer when ever he finds one that pricewise, color, age etc.... fits the criteria! We looked at one after another, driving to different places in the state of Utah. And low and behold we found one we thought would be good! This on a Friday.... Monday we called back to tell them we were coming back for a second look.... It got sold on Saturday! Starting over again..... So a couple weeks back we had looked at a nice Tannish colored one.... 2006 nice..... but the price was a little bit more than I wanted to pay! So we moved onto look at another one... me patient.... DH ..... not so much! Finally this past Friday I was telling my friend Karma about what type of vehicle we were looking for and that I really didn't need a super plush type vehicle but it is the one we travel to family in etc.... over 900 one way.... so it wouldn't hurt to have it be nice.... So, the more I was describing it to her... the more excited I got and then b/4 I knew it.... I was calling the salesman that had helped us out. Dereck at Specialty Automotives in Centerville, Utah..... ( I'm not getting anything extra from saying this....) anyway... I asked if I could come see it again, he said sure.... and I looked at it! He wanted to know if I wanted to drive it again.... I said No! And said, O.K. this is the one! He said, alright... lets write up some papers! Too funny! He wasn't pushy at all! Nice guy... it was a good thing cause the guy we saw in Logan Utah.... (we won't be saying the name of the place here!) kept calling and calling! And when he called, even though he knew that the jeep was for me.... he asked for my DH. This ticked me off! After he called the 2nd time, I asked why he kept asking for my DH when he knew that it was for me.... He said, "Well, I figure that he is the one that has to decide whether or not to pay for it.... so I thought I should talk to him!"...... LoL.... he sure blew that! Oh well.... guess he didn't earn our business did he!
After I went back with DH with the $$$ the bank gave us (cause we know that the bank is really paying up front for it first!!!) we drove it home..... yeah.... talk about nice.... sorry... guess I'm gloating a bit... it's the nicest I've ever had... and only 3 years old with 37,000 miles on it! Practically new!
Next day... I went to my SIL Tammy's ward to do a demo on making white bread. The room we were in was sooooo cold.... brrrrr just doesn't describe it! I had to heat an oven to help the dough to rise.... cause the room just wasn't making it that's for sure! But eventually it rose enough and we baked it and it turned out pretty good.
I've also been making a cute little item for my friend Karma... for her belated b-day gift. We won't go into how late I am with the gift! LoL.... Anyway, it's a portable ironing mat that has pockets in a separate section. So think of a retangle that is say...... 14 x 26 inches.... (mat) and then from one end of the mat where it attaches.... a clear plastic area w/fabric on the back... it has 3 separate pockets that have zippers to get into them. It rolls up and is tied together with ribbons. If my camera was working I would be glad to show you... but alas... at this time it is not! If I get the camera fixed soon I will post a picture.

So now after everything... I forgot to tell you that I've been doing some Fall canning also... well, at least some fruit drying! I dried a 1/2 bushel of pears last week and if I do say so myself... they taste wonderful! Nothing like pears.... I need to finish up the rest and do the peaches I have also. Before we go get apples from my in-laws... tomatoes from the garden still need to be canned... and then we picked apples from our tree's too! Not enough hours in the day for everything ... guess that's why I end up doing things at night too!
Later ladies.... enjoy your week!
Today is my oldest childs B-day! Happy Birthday Ben! 32! WoW! Love Ya! MoM

Here I Go Again

So, are you tired of me yet? I just had to post once again because I went to visit Allie from Allies in stitches (http://alliesinstitches.blogspot.com/ ) . You should see what a wonderful quilt she was gifted! Oh, and beautiful lace too! Go to her blog and read about where she got both and how the person who gave her the lace gave it to her because she felt that Allie would use it! I know... your thinking again, again with the stories! Yes, and if you don't want to read this... well there are some great blogs out there to read! I was just going to say that it reminded me of a gal that I used to iron for. Yes, iron... you know when you take all the wrinkles out of clothing etc... I did that for $$$ tedious work for sure... but you can listen to music, watch T.V. and stay home with the kids. That was my purpose in life.... the kids not the t.v. or music!!! LoL... I loved staying home because I got to watch my kids grow up and not miss every new step of their lives!
Alright, back to the gal! I started sewing for this gal... her name was Stephanie! Her dad owned a car dealership (so she came from mega $$$) (this was in the 80's-90's) And when she decided to get married (the 2ND time) she wanted a "real wedding" because first time around they had eloped. So, she asked me if I could sew her a wedding dress? Ahhhhh, NO! At that point in my life I had never sewn a wedding dress b/4! And she wanted it done in a little less than a month! No way! Never! I figured that just wouldn't give me enough time. Figure 4 kids, DH and sewing a wedding dress! Plus still ironing for lots of people! Wasn't gonna happen! Well, the subject was dropped and I went on with the ironing! Meanwhile, Stephanie flew to California to get a dress she had seen in Brides magazine. Yep, the dress (the only one they had of the one she wanted!) was 2 sizes too big for her! She called and asked me if I could alter it for her?!? I said I would look at it and see. I ended up altering it and then she said that she would be loosing at least 15 pounds b/4 the wedding.... would I alter it again after she had her bridal pictures taken? Being a mom of 4 kids I guess I was a bit surprised that she thought that she could loose 15 #'s in like 2 weeks time! I told her sure. And my DH promptly called our insurance agent to make sure the dress (over $800) was insured if anything were to happen with it in our house! Oh, and then he forbade our kids to even step foot into our bedroom while the dress was in the house too! Too funny.... thinking back! I altered it the second time... it was what they call a ballerina type dress but to me it was more like a Mortisha Adams dress.... (white though!) where it hugged the body down to say the knees and then goes out into a train! Lots of beads, lace etc.... I made good money that's for sure.... well over at least half the price of the dress! I was truly glad when it was all over! Your by now wondering.... what has this got to do with the lace and quilt you first started to talk about? Yeah I know.... I'm getting to that. After Stephanie and her DH and daughter..... oh, I made the daughters dress for the wedding too! Almost forgot that! When they set up housekeeping... I was enlisted to help with all the sewing for the bedroom makeover! I sewed 2 big beautiful round table clothes for side tables... bed pillows.... where I had to cut into Batten burg lace (that hurt!... all I could think about was the person who made the lace!) to make the pillow covers. Also she had me cut up more beautiful Batten burg lace to make a dust ruffle to go around her beautiful 4 poster bed! I did get to see the room after things were put together! I mean, I had to go to her house to set up the dust ruffle for her. Anyway.... it's funny what things will take you back in your thoughts! So... that's just another memory or some of the things I've done in my sewing, ironing business.

A Different Kind of Auction

So, I have decided that I need to do a better job at posting! Or to rephrase... just a bit more often then I usually do. I know, this week so far, I've done more than I usually do in say.... a month! But, this is a new Season and so I need to try to improve myself... (yes, this will probably last ohhhh.... say well I don't know how long... we shall see how it all goes!)
O.K. how many of you think about what your talents are? Think now!!! What do you know how to do that maybe say your next door neighbor or your buddy at work or your best friend doesn't know how to do?! Think about it.... delve into your mind.... maybe it's sewing, scrap booking, organizing, quilting etc... now put whatever your talent is and a whole bunch of gals with fake money (points in our case.... points that you get for answering questions... i.e. 10 points for if you brushed your teeth today.... and if you did it more than once... 10 points each time! Plus about 20 questions worth of answers....) For every question that you answered yes too, you got at least 10 more points! I got 10 for each of my kids.... =40.... can you say ca-chingggggg! LoL..... who knew I would still be getting to count my kids for something fun! O.k. I got 10 more for being married over 25 years! And so on and so on.... you get the idea! I ended up with 190 points total! So now comes the fun part... besides being on the honor system.... as far as points go.... we counted our own! We have a lot of talented ladies in our ward at Church... so you can envision the talents we had.... plus oh, I forgot to say.... also people were donating services that they wanted to render also! Me.... I donated two dish towels that I machine embroidered HARVEST BLESSINGS across the front and then appliqued several cloth leaves of various browns/oranges onto. Plus then I also donated a service of some sewing lessons.... Hey, the more of us that know how to sew the better.... besides Halloween is coming!!! At least that was my thought anyway!
O.K. so all these gals are kind of slow going at first.... I mean scheeech you would have thought it was real money we were using! LoL.... One gal was going to take someone shopping (of course the person had to provide her own money...! Let's be realistic!!!) Let's just say it was at a discounted place and you don't have to pay tax! So there was a lot of back and forth going on that one! Too funny!!! We have a gal who does these beautiful pictures.... and she did a couple so it was quite fun to see some of the gals bidding up into the 100's to get them! Someone was going to make a Mexican dinner for an entire family! Someone else made a little girls tu-tu.... I was eyeing that and one of the gals who has a little girl looked at me and said.... you don't have a little girl any more!!! I laughed and told her.... yes! but I do have a little granddaughter! She got a bit nervous after that! Anyway, I ended up with a basket.... yes... I do love baskets!!! And mind you! It was full! It had 6 small jars of freezer jam in it!!! Yummmm! 3 blackberry and 3 strawberry!
Oh, yes.... this is gonna be good! Someone else donated some home made bread/jam.... but I do know how to make home made bread.... so I figured I take myself out of the competition... yeah, I know.... it was the nice thing to do! Although, you should have seen me... I was having a good time waving my paddle! I also won a day of someone else driving around for me to do errands! Actually.... (my DGS's favorite word!!!) I bid on that one for a friend who just had hand surgery... and couldn't come! Her DH is hmmmmm 91 this year and he can't drive any more... so between the both of them.... yep... no driving going on! A good time was had by all.... and we found out who had what talents... skills etc... there was babysitting offered too... I did ask if they would babysit our sweet dog.... that was a NO! Oh well, I tried!

O.K. can I say.... that it's only the 30Th of September.... and Winter has arrived!!! Aurgh!!!! Not ready for this yet! Weather man said... look out here it comes! Snow in the mountains.... We went from 90's this weekend.... to at the moment it's.....down to 47 degree's! And when I got up... (at 4:15 this morning) it was 57! So yes.... its not quite what I had in mind for the end of September! But then again, no one asked me! That seems to happen a lot... no one asks me whether I think we ought to pay more for gas, food, utilities.... etc... no one asks me if I think that we should have a war... I guess my opinion just isn't all that important! LoL..... oh well.... such is life!
Well.... it's now 5:37 a.m. and I think I will take the dog and go upstairs and see what I can do... who knows what sewing is lurking waiting for me to come and do..... (well I do... but no one asked me either!!!!)
Have a great day.... ANY DAY SEWING, IS .......... A GREAT DAY!!!!

Doing The Cogdill Shuffle

I know, I know.... I just did a post! But I was visiting over at Charlotte's blog http://housewrenstudio.typepad.com/charlotte/ and she was talking about when her girls were younger and how they had to clean for company etc... and it got me to thinking!
When we had unexpected company we did what we sometimes referred to as "The Cogdill Shuffle"! I will explain in a minute! At our house, well, it's lived in... not huge either! T.V. is in the living room... no family room here! And so when dinner is done, and homework was done... we converged on the living room to watch some T.V. Every once in a while the room would be .... well, let's just say it was lived in and leave it at that! Clean.... under neath.... just lived in! And then when unexpected company came.... we did the Cogdill Shuffle! This is where the entire family would grab something.... (something that didn't normally live in the Living Room) and put it away... some place other then where it belonged! Things found themselves under the couch, in closets, etc.... you get the idea! It's been a bit of a joke for a long time! With 4 kids and 2 adults... it's not too hard to "live" in a room. I mean there will always be things that don't get put away.... right away! If you live in a house that has a place for everything and everything in it's place! Well, what can I say..... you need to get out more!
Of course after the "Shuffle" happened, the family was responsible to put away the thing that they tidied! I do recall one time a day after unexpected company... finding something in the oven that didn't belong even in the kitchen. LoL... I understand that once in a while my DD has done the "Shuffle" at her house too! So! What do you do? Anything different when you are expecting company? I would love to hear about it!

Catching Up On Fun Sewing

So this post will be short and sweet! Well, only as short as I personally can get... if you have been reading for a while... you know I don't do, too much short! LoL....
I finished a little dress for my granddaughter that I started in June... go figure... Summer is pretty well over... on the calendar that is... it was 90 degree's yesterday! Someone forgot to tell the weather man! Although, it be a changing this week. As we are supposed to have a cold front come in and possible snow.... yes... that's what I said.... snow at around 5500 feet! Gulp! I'm just not ready for Winter yet! Where is Fall.... I mean it's just started.... and the leaves are still on the tree's! O.K. enough with the weather forecast.... (I told you I don't do short posts!) My camera is acting up.... I took pic's of the dress, and granddaughter in the dress, and well.... it keeps spouting off at me saying.... lens malfunction.... restart camera! What's happening is that when you turn it on, the lens usually will open out. Not So Now!!! My DD and I tried several things... taking batteries out, rebooting etc.... nope, nothing! Any idea's???? So, until I managed to do something else with it.... no pic's! Such is life!

The dress is an idea I saw... and changed around a bit! The one I saw is called a petal dress. Imagine if you will a jumper, (which to me, is a sleeveless dress that girls wear a blouse, or shirt of some sort under.) with a button up the
front bodice.
And then the skirt, is formed by sewing sections, ( I made 8) petal shaped and fully lined and attached to the bodice. I over lapped the petal sections about 1/2 way. But except for the overlapping petals the petals are only attached at the top allowing it to flow freely... if a little girl would just so happen to want to twirl around! With either bloomers, rumba pants (you know the ones, the cute little panties with the ruffles on them!) or even leggings they look really cute! Tights would work too.... Of course, since our weather is starting to change, probably the warmer idea's would be better! Also, a long sleeve top! Since I've gone down this road, I did the top a bit different too. I used an old Daisy Kingdom pattern as my design for the top of the jumper. Once again, a picture is worth a thousand words! Instead of a straight forward bodice, this one is an over lapping angled bodice.... cute really but different and hard to describe. I got to add some rather good sized Ric Rac to the outer edges of the bodice and so that helped it right out! That is my "fun sewing" that I finally finished!

Since I had gotten the dress done I wanted to see what else I could finish up...I finished a quick covered blanket for the downstairs bed too. It was a rather old sad looking blanket that well, needed to be freshened! It was clean mind you! Just sad, old... just needing a bit of love! So, I added a piece of flannel to both sides of this blanket, encasing it like a quilt, and after doing a little machine quilting.... It's done also! Nice feeling of accomplishment on my part!

I, since starting the dress for DGD... have cut out a dress from an old discontinued McCall's pattern. #1508. A simple A-line dress... just something new for me to wear! Not that I really need anything new... but I don't sew very often for myself... so it's time! I'm using a piece of red Challis print. I've had it in the stash for a long time.... so it's about time I use it... besides every time I show my daughters what I'm making next someone usually says....hey, didn't you buy that for me? LoL.... No! I didn't! You know who you are!!! (If you want sewing done, get to it!!)
Besides it will go great with a jeans jacket... so what's not to like!
I almost forgot... so little (very little) DGD tried on the dress... and yes... once again... too big! So, I put two little pleats in the side seams of the bodice and it looks better... it would have been much better if I could shorten it a tad bit. But a grandma has to do what a grandma has to do. I would have had to take apart the entire skirt.... I guess I could... if I could possibly wrestle it back from DD.... hmmmm that's a thought! We shall see!

I also have to make some new throw pillows for the couch.... it's wayyy past time for that! I have a rem piece of home decor that has some beautiful colors in it.... some greens, purples etc... and also beige or tans. Our couch is tan micro fiber so this should go well... I also have some deep purple baby pin wale corduroy and some somewhat lighter green thick wale corduroy to add. I'm thinking that if I take a piece of the corduroy and cut it at an angle (the pillows will be square) running corner to corner, but then turn it so that the nap is going in opposite directions.... get the picture? That would also add some extra texture to the pillows. Hmmm, now do I want to add some sort of edging or what? Oh, I forgot to say that I will use a piece of the home dec on the other side of the pillow top. Maybe once again, pic's when I get my camera working!
That should keep me busy for a little while. Seems just when I want to get something done, there is always something else that pulls me in another direction! I used to have one day designed for nothing but sewing.... hmmm I may have to start that up again... it's the only way I get much done at one time! Sewing.... yes.... it's just sooo well, comforting! Gotta go! I promised to try to keep this shorter! LoL.... yeah, that's gonna happen! Until next time.... Keep those scissors sharp!

So What's On the Agenda Today?

How many times do you wake up and think.... hmmm what do I get to do today? And then the list just gets longer and longer and longer! And then on top of that... well, you only get one or two of the things done? Yeah, my life in a nutshell! I'm all ready to get the week going on Sunday night thinking... I want to get up early and hit the road running! Sure I am.... LoL I guess it's the thought that counts! We have a lovely lady in our ward at church that I visit once a month or so and she is amazing! Really! She is in her mid 80's and still going strong! She is an inspiration to everyone around! She has chickens, fruit tree's galore.... a huge garden.... (although, she says it's smaller now... since so many of her kids/grand kids etc... have their own gardens) smaller means that this year she only did around 40-50 tomato plants instead of 70-100! I'm not exaggerating! She just finished canning peaches, and is picking plums and apples! I asked if that means that she will be done with her canning this year? She said yep.... all done! Then she realized that nope she still needed to do grape juice! So, we went to visit and couldn't find her... she didn't answer the door or her phone when I called from my cell. There are times she forgets we are coming so we started to look around the yard (we worry in case she has fallen.... this has been known to happen a time or two) and there she was pickin apples! We helped out some and then I asked her if she still climbs the ladder? Yep... no big deal... She even fell down while we were there... and pulled herself back up.... I'm o.k. she says.... She is a very independent lady... truly amazing! She still does some quilting, mostly ties them now... her eye sight is getting to the point where she doesn't feel she does a good enough job hand quilting... this gal's hand quilting would put anyone to shame... I've told her that... but you know, I think she just has a standard and well, if it's not up to that... she isn't going to do it! Such a sweetie, and then she makes it seem like she hasn't done anything at all. She wears me out and all I'm doing is sitting there listening to what she says she has been doing! For the past 3 years or so... she has caught pneumonia at the drop of the hat. Finally after a bunch of dr's couldn't figure out what's wrong... she found a guy that could help her out! She says now I feel like I have some energy! Holy Cow!!! I can just imagine now what she will be getting done! Well, I got to get busy! There is no way that I will ever catch up to Dona but, then I'm not trying too. She set the bar way too high for me!
Have a Great Day People.... I've got apples to juice/dry and plums too (dry that is) and well the sewing room is calling me again... and I need to pay a few bills and well you get the picture... the list just goes on and on and on...........

Tribute To The People Lost in 9-11

I was driving home today from doing a few errands... when I noticed flags flying everywhere! Then it dawned on me... today is September 11Th! So, now I need to go put the flag out and think about all those who were lost. It makes me cry to think about how vulnerable sometimes we can be. This country of ours isn't half bad at all... sure we have problems... but mostly, we have so many blessings! We have sooo many freedoms and rights that people in so many countries can only dream about! Sure taxes are not fun to pay... and there are things that can get us down... but you know, for the most part we have soooo much! We have a lot to be thankful for. Our country doesn't have a "war" in our backyard... we have the right to drive, walk, fly... bike where ever we have opportunity and we don't need a visa to go from state to state like in some countries. As hard as it must be for people who lost loved ones, friends, associates etc... they have NOT been forgotten! We will NOT for get what they have suffered for our freedoms! Also those who have lost their lives serving in the military!
Take a minute today and remember what we have..... it's a lot!

UFO Update

Bit by bit I'm still working on some of my UFO's in the sewing room! Too Funny, I just thought of something..... if this were to go out into the "blog world" and someone clicked on UFO's (Unidentified Flying Objects).... this would probably come up.... and they would be soooo disappointed! LoL.....

This is just a wall hanging that I've been planning on finishing for a couple years....

O.K. now the other thing that I've been working on a bit.... is the garden! Lots of tomato's that we let run on the ground... there are around 38 plants this year.... we really trimmed down from the last few years.... we used to do around 70 or more! Also, zucchini, cucumbers, cantalopes, peppers, carrots, cauliflower, to name most of the stuff... our two apple trees didn't get sprayed or trimmed this year... oops! But the grass is nice and green.... ahem, 'cept where the dog visits... and well, now maybe you understand a bit why I've not been doing much blogging!

Later...

Time To Get My Act Together

I've been away from Blogging (at least posting) too long! I'll try to do better! That's all I have to say on that matter!

But I do need to really get back on the band wagon with the ole Monday Diet Challange!

Since a certain someone moved (you know who you are Sharon..) I haven't been very motivated to continue on in the Diet Challange. So yesterday I got onto The Gazelle (my excersise form of choice and went for 30 minutes at an average speed of 4.1 mph! (only 2 miles though)

YES I DID!!!!!! Sorry about the fact that the picture is cockeyed... let's just call it operator error!!! Don't you just love that it's right next to the food storage items.... LoL.... makes for easier snacking options.... if I so choose!

I was feeling it later... I usually go longer (at a slower speed) but I was motivated a bit to do more yesterday. I was going to see the grand kids..... heavy sighhhhh and then that got changed! It's all my neice Jenny's fault! LoL.... I still could have gone... by then I was so wrapped up in folding clothes etc.... I didn't move!

A couple weeks ago DD's living locally (I have one more... but she lives in Portland!) and SIL Tammy and her youngest DD and I went on a bit of a Girls Night Out!!! For 2 nights and 2 days!

(One of the other neices.... Sage was supposed to come, but her DH had some sort of surgery... and she promised not to leave him for 24 hours! Hmmm him down in bed.... with 6 kids.... wonder why she didn't leave him??? We did miss you Sage... it would have been fun with you there too.... Maybe next time! I'm thinking we need to make this an annual event!)

(L-R Heather, Melisa, Cindy. DD's.... local!)
We went up to Park City, Utah and stayed at a condo we rented (thank you Jenny for making all the arrangements!) and then to the outlets stores to shopppppp! It was my SIL's birthday the following Monday... so we thought it would be fun to surprise her with a bit of a cake and a couple pressies! Plus one of my clever daughters brought a birthday banner and made her a tiara out of fancy pipe cleaners and a posie type septer!

We totally surprised her! She thought we had a little dance number of some sort to perform.... LoL... hmmm, maybe next year!



Shopping the outlet stores is well cleansing isn't it? Sometimes..if your the type of shopper that my neice is you save lots of $$$$ On top of all the sales that were going on.... it was the middle of August back to school sales.... plus we had 20% off coupons for most stores... plus most stores were having 30-50% off sales.... some stuff we got for around 70% off! What's not to like! I found some cute black boots (no....not rain boots!!! LoL...) that were around $100. Yep, I got them for $35! Nice!!!! Then Tammy tried them on.... and we got her a pair too! Yep.... we are twinners! Tammy and I wear the same size and she also wanted black. So we asked the kid.... (all of maybe 20.... younger then any of us!!!) if he would check to see if there was another pair the same size and color... back he went, he came back with another pair.... and proceeds to ring them up for me to pay!!!! AAAAAA no!!!! So I tell him, she pointing at my SIL wants the other pair.... still nothing! I say no, she wants the other pair.... and I'm NOT paying for them!!! Still nothing!!!! Finally I said, o.k., one pair is for me and the other pair is for her.... pointing once again at SIL.... and I will not be paying for the 2nd pair.... she will! Could I get any plainer than that???? (no I didn't say that! I felt like it though....) He finally connects..... and says.... you know when you sent me back to find the other pair I thought, why does she want another pair of the same size, same color.... I almost left them back there! I guess he was having a trying day! Busy.... and then we throw him a puzzle like that it was too too much for his young brain! So, he rings me all up and it's $50 some and then SIL asks did you use your coupon? NOPE..... so I ask him can I please use my 20% off coupon too?(by now he's ready to throw us out I'm sure..... I did appoligize profusely !!!!) He said yes.... I could have kissed him! That would have served him right hmmm? What stories he could go home to tell..... LOL.... some ole lady reached over and kissed me!!!! Aurghhhhhh!

Later of course we had to have show and tell! Melisa and Jenny (the neice) let me take this pic of their "twinner shirts".... yes, they will have to wear something underneath!

This is a bit of Heaven..... it's called "Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory"

............heavy sighhhhhh! I was good.... well semi good! LoL.... I got DH a piece of chocolate toffee and me..... two pieces of chocolate covered carmel! Yummmmmm.... I ate part of one in Park City and the other I waited til I got home...


I'm thinking that I'm glad I got outta the way.....Heather new what she wanted.....

So much to choose from and sooo little time!

We talked til around 2 the first night and then went to bed around 1 or so the 2nd. It was lots of fun... we of course took food to make and had lunch out! Great food of course... and lots of talking.... my jaw was a bit tired when we got back home! LoL.... guess I'm outta practice!!! LoL....

This is a quite touristy pose, but what the heck... no one knew that we wern't from too far outta town! LoL...
L-R... Tammy, Jenny, me

(2nd pic) Cindy, Tammy, Heather, Melisa, Jenny

This was one of the locals.... they dress the moose up there... guess that's why there are outlet stores in the area.

Well, that's all for the moment!

Three Down ? To Go....

During all the hub bub in my sewing room I came across 3 of my FIL's nice dress shirts! These mind you are shirts that he asked me to alter.... way back when.... hmmm I'm thinking Winter time! Yep... as you that are him in the U.S. it's no longer Winter... matter of fact it's not Spring and it's half way thru Summer! So, now that I have them done... I suppose he has something to look forward too! Then again, he gets cold now so easily... he may wear them now. At least I finished them. Now to get them ironed and back to where they belong! This way they are OUT of my sewing room and taking up space! Nothing like a lot of clutter to make you want to jump in and weed things out. When I spoke to my MIL yesterday, I told her that I had found these 3 shirts and to please tell him.... not to give up on me or ever seeing them again.... she said "Oh, well.... he probably figured you had tossed them in the D.I. pile!" (Deseret Industries for those who don't know is a charity organization where people donate clothes and other things furniture etc.... to be re-sold to give people training etc and also so people have a source to go to to get inexpensive clothing etc.... )
I found a pattern I can use for "the project" for my little GD's birthday.... DD #1 mentioned she saw the blog (and left a comment) and wanted to know what I was making..... tee heee..... it's hard on her not to know.... this is a good part of the project too..... I get to tease her! The others well they may want to know.... just not as badly as DD#1! LoL.....
Have a Great Pioneer Day! Today; is the celebration of when the Mormon Pioneers came to Utah..... 1847 is when they came.... you do the math to figure how long ago that is! Lots of fun stuff going on.... fire works, parades, rodeo's.... and lots of water activities I'm sure cause it's really humid today.... Fortunately not as hot as they said it would be.... but still humid!

To The Ragg Bag and Saving Money

Alright, as this is cutting into sewing time... I will make it very quick! I came across one of DH's old shirts.... and enough is enough! This shirt has had it... holes, frayed edges etc.... time to do it in! It just isn't in any condition to be worn any more! So, as I was sitting there cutting it into smaller size pieces.... (not too small) sizes I can use for rags.... I was thinking.... what do you do with worn out clothes not fit to be worn any more? I first see if there is any way to salvage the item.... ie.... mend a hole, replace a button or several. Then I look to see if I am going to scrap it.... is it any good to use for quilts, appliques or to use to mend something else! If not... then off come the buttons and into the button jar.... (I have an old 1 1/2 quart jar.... really old.... blue to be exact! Oops, as you can see from the picture at left... I did it again! My button jar is the large one... but the blue one is the one we put white chocolate chips into! That's what happens when your trying to do too many things at once.... confusion!!! LoL...) and then I do with it whatever I can use the material for. With this one it was an old long sleeve polo shirt.... wayyyy past it's prime! I cut it into rags to be used for just that Rags! I zig-zagged the unfinished edges and wa-la..... rags to be used for what ever I want.... and they can be washed because now I've taken the precaution to keep them from fraying to bits in the washer!
Do you know that if you have men's shirts or woman's for that matter.... and the collar is a bit frayed and worn looking and it's a two piece collar. You can take off the upper collar turn it around and use the other side! Now, if by chance you have a shirt that has sewn in collar stays, unpick them and continue on. You could put the collar stays back in... but you will have to do a little fancy needle work because the space is a bit tight. Me, I would probably just leave them out! On the other hand, if you don't have the sewn in type.... it's a cinch to turn them and then resew them back onto the lower part of the collar. You can do this with shirt cuffs too, but you have to do both sleeves and then trade them, the right cuff goes now reversed onto the left cuff and vise versa! And there you have it.... a quick way to save you some money. And isn't that what we want to do any way with our sewing talents?
Back to the sewing room! Just thought I would share!

Around the World in 80 Seconds and Thinking About Food Before It's Made

I've been doing some blog hopping and at times it just amazes me how I can be sitting in the basement of our home and reading the blog of someone in Australia! What a world we live in hmmm?
So, I've caught up the ironing... and made room in the sewing room to work on some "birthday projects".... it's almost GD's birthday so I need to get at it and get things done! I can't go into details cause well, I have to keep this a surprise from some one! And well that means DD!!! Heeee Heeee Heeee... this is hard for her.... because she loves to be let in on secrets! I'll bet if she's reading this she is having a bit of a fit right now! LoL.... So, today is Thursday.... let's get sewing! I try to spend the entire day sewing.... you know, a dedicated day to sew because let's face it... time and projects and distractions have a tendency to get away from us! At least to me! The sewing room is in some semblance of order.... so away I go!!! A little mending, a lot of sewing and before I know it! Time will speed by and DH will be home and wondering if we are planning on eating anything at all tonight! LoL.... he's always hungry when he comes home from work! I don't blame him... he eats breakfast at around 4:15 a.m. and then lunch at around 11:00 a.m. so waiting until 6:00 p.m. seems like an eternity to him I'll bet! Hmmm, guess that means I need to actually think food too... I always seem to forget that part of the equation... menu + food = dinner! But, if you don't think ahead of time about menu it's more like food + ? = ??? Oh, well... maybe something light.... like hmmmm well, my brain isn't thinking food right now... but I will have to spend some thought time on it to get a result! Maybe I will call hubby now... it's his lunch time.... he will be thinking food! See, there are answers to everything.... just give it a little think! Or maybe a lot of think... in my case! Help!!!! Oh, I will try to take some pic's to show later... of some of my projects!

Time To Finish The Things You've Started!

O.K. this is some important info that I'm passing onto you because, well.... it definitely works!!!
I was listening to a talk show host the other day and this is something that I think that everyone should know! The doctor said "That the best way to be able to relax and get some peace is to finish all the things that you have started and never had the time to get finished"
I thought about it for a while. Then I started looking around the house to see all the things that I started and hadn't found time to finish. I told myself, that today was the day to change, so before leaving the house, I finished off the 2 -liter bottle of Root Beer, a package of Oreo's, a bag of pork rinds, the left over cheesecake, some Doritos's, a half eaten cup of Tapioca pudding and a box of chocolate truffles left over from Valentine's Day.
You know, I really think that that doctor knew what he was talking about because you have no idea how amazingly great I feel right now! I can't wait to see what I can finish later tomorrow!

Have A Great Day..... and you know, try to finish a few things.... it will do you wonders!

On the sewing front....... I've finished 87 9 patch blocks 13.5x13.5 for the humanitarian project, and another quilt top out of some of the 9 patches that I had finished another time. I took out some of the quilting that we had done on a quilt top... the top was wonky.... and apparently cut on the bias and was stretching out of shape.... pretty much everyone that worked on it decided that it needed to be pulled apart and then tied instead! That's where I came in.... so now the back has been re-stitched because it was pulling apart too. Hmmmm.... so now I need to iron the backing and probably the top and then put on some borders (small ones to add a bit of length to the top and to help stabilize it too) and then hopefully get it ready to tie. I also need to cut out some solid colored blocks to go in- between the 9 patches.... to mellow it a bit! You would be surprised at what you get sometimes to make quilts out of! Otherwise I don't know how anyone could sleep under this quilt.... too busy!
I've been helping my friend Karma work on getting her quilt quilted! She may of finished it last night.... if not than this a.m. I may be going to help get it finished. She wants to put it into a display at our little towns yearly celebration ..... ahem.... for Saturday! Yep, this week!
So, it's been a week of finishing.... bits and pieces... isn't that how you get quilts made in the first place? So, what have you been finishing???

The Grampa Face!

Alright, take a look at this picture.... is this someone that would scare you on a dark street???? LoL....

This is our grandson.... making what he calls the "Grampa Face"!

My DH when the grand kids are making "bad choices"... gives them this "look" or "face" as DGS says!.... So, he has now got the "look" down.... and it's hysterical how he does it! First of all he is all of 3 1/2 yrs old, second now that he has mastered it... (and that in itself is quite a trick for him.... ) he once in a while gets caught trying to bully other kids with it! O.K. this is hard to explain..... at least straight faced! He looks at you and most times can't stop smiling.... then he takes his hand and passing it over his eyes from the top of his head.... he tries to block out everything funny... (this is my interpretation anyway) and tries to get a serious look on his face.... then he puts the frown/scowl on! It's such a hoot! One time at Church a little boy sitting behind DGS was kicking GS's chair.... and GS did the "look" at the kid.... he stopped! Not a good thing to encourage him though.... especially the bullying part.... but at the moment it's really funny! Just thought I would share!

Aren't kids fun! They come up with the silliest things! Although I must say.... he has tried it on his sister and brother and I think mostly they just smile at him.... they aren't into taking too seriously yet! Of course that's because one will be 2 this month and the other will be 1 next month!

I got to get together last night with a bunch of sisters from our ward at Church and let's see..... we got 2 quilts tied, 1 partically quilted, and 2 more quilt tops put together! Not bad for 5 hours work! Hey, any day sewing/quilting is a good day!

Sure Do Love Our Family.... Extended And All

So, on with the updates; if I do it a bit at a time, maybe it won't be so over whelming to you all!

I said that we had some visitors and that would be our Son and our DIL.... Ben and Jenica. They came down from Portland Oregon to come visit to be here for the sealings that took place. Also for the family reunion (hubby's side). And of course, not to leave these sweeties out.... my parents came down also from Oregon.... Eugene, also to be here for the sealings.... so with no further ado: my parents! Or affectionately called.... Papa and Gramma J.

They didn't realize that we were going to take pictures after the sealing at the Temple.... (or maybe they did.... hmmmm!) and so I got a couple pic's went they came by later that evening... they had changed into their "casual atire" by then!

We have lots of fun when they come down.... we went to Salt Lake City.... to do some errands they needed to do and then went out to lunch... ahem, yes, yes, it's my fault DD#2 didn't get to come to lunch with us.... I forgot to call. DD#3 got to come because Papa was texting her.... while we were ordering lunch.... and then invited her to lunch with us. Oh, yes..... you did read right.... my parents "text"! I don't even text! But they do..... they figured that this way they can keep up with the grandkids. And you know.... it's a hoot to hear what every one has been up too. They get all the news that's worth texting..... that's for sure! My mom said that you can always tell who is texting from their phone..... cause she doesn't bother to use coma's, period's etc..... and dad does! Oh, so we ordered lunch for DD#3 and she arrived after we had finished... so, of course we started in on her Fries!!! We went to Denny's! It was good... I had a cob salad.... healthy.... I know... I was trying to be good!

Then the next day.... Papa and Gramma and I went out to do Thai food! Long story.... (short version.... and you know, if it's from me... that's a plus!) My folks went on a mission for the LDS church to Bankok Thailand..... and they made some great friends. Everywhere they go they end up with another adopted grandchild! One they met in Bangkok was Jom.... great guy! He came to the U.S. to work for a while..... oops.... that's right we are going for the "short version". So basically while they were there, they learned to love..... Thai Food.... at least some of it! Plus, Jom, can cook Thai food.... and he does a good job of it too!

So, the grandparents.... A.K.A. Papa/Gramma J. showed up on Wednesday and then DSon and DDIL showed up on Saturday.... fun, fun, fun..... food, silliness, laughing.... what's not to like!Then, on with the family reunion..... Our Daughter #2... (birth order... remember... not order or concern or love. LoL) planned the entire thing! She sent out emails/letters to all the families all over.... Ariz./Ore/Ida/Utah/Vir and any other place that I missed. Gave people a date.... cause honestly if you give this many people suggested dates you know that there will always be conflicts. So, she figured that if she planned it so that there was plenty of time.... like 6-7 months ahead! That this way the turn out would be good.

This is the first pic I took... yep, FIL/MIL's motor home broke down on the highway... fuel pump! This was Thurs. and so we waited with FIL until they came to tow him away. Fortunetly he was only 10-15 mins away from the camp site. He was taken to Pocatello, Idaho... and then picked up by my BIL (one of many I have....) and brought to the camp site. They (inlaws) stayed in the little town at a hotel over night. We got lots of rain.... after we had set up the tents, and the wind blew some.... but I'm telling you there was down pour after down pour! What's a little rain right?

This is SIL.... (one of them) We were each taking pic's and about had a duel to see who would go first... lol

My pictures are somewhat varied and not just honed in on one person, for the most part and well, I forgot to take pictures most of the time.... just having way too much fun in the rain, and the

You can see that the motor home made it on Friday... nice hefty cost for the labor... but AAA paid for the towing.... sun, and the cold..... DD had planned it so that we weren't too tied to family activities, but if you wanted you could hang out at the camp and visit!

This is one of the "great nephews".... our neices son... and you can see a belly of one of the neices that will be having one soon.... great shot don't you think! Oh.... DIL back there in the cowboy hat.... she wears it when they vacation! By the way.... have I told you that she is my "favorite DIL" just the best in the world.... compared to "all" our other ones! (ahem.... she is the best! And the only one we have! LoL) Oh, and DD #1 is in the blue shirt w/back to us.... must have known I was taking pic's! Also, in blue/white shirt another Great Nephew.... DH's oldest sisters DGS. I'm telling you it's taxing to remember all these people and who they belong too!

#1 Son petting our little 4 legged family member. Yep, she got to come... and was so tired from all the petting and loving and walks etc.... she practically slept for 2-3 days when we got home!

FIL and SIL (aka soon to be MIL to her SIL.... cause her DD was soon to be married: this happened last Friday.... so now mother of the bride is now a MIL.... got all that?)

DHubby... SIL, DD#3 in red, SIL in white, DIL (cowboy hat.... yep... ahh they live in Portland, Oregon... don't know if she rides horses or not! LoL...) DS in lower left corner, and DD#1 in blue.

We had two breakfasts with the family planned... Inlaws (father/mother) provided those.... so sweet of them... they have these huge propane grills that we used to cook pancakes, bacon.... always a big hit camping or at home on the holidays for a family breakfast. And then on Fri. night DD planned one other joint dinner. So we had dutch oven potatoes (Cheesy Potatoes, or some people call them Funeral Potatoes) and ham. And then we all just brought what ever for side dishes. It was great food! And I don't think anyone went away hungry! Later DD split us into groups and had us fill out a Family tree.... it was a test of knowledge.... cause we have 113 members of the family (As of Jan. next year.... 4 new ones will be added to the count making it 117!) at the moment and trying to remember peoples names and which kids went with what family was a hoot! We had several people making up names.... cause they knew nothing!!!! LoL.... But it was fun and there was a great rejoicing across the land!!!!

DBIL in yellow... and his wifie, DSIL.... (oh, in pink) working on the family tree.

Neice in black (left.... also standing on right...) also going to have a baby.... it will be #5 grandchild for SIL pictured in red.... with back to us... and her DH sitting in the pic in yellow.

Nephew's wifie.... she was camping with 4 children w/o hubby as he was camping w/2 older kids that were in a soccor tournament. Brave lady! She brought 2 little girls, 1 2 yr old (don't quote me!) and the other around 5 yr old. Plus a set of twin boys... that are 6 or maybe 7. Sorry, hard to keep track of my own kids sometimes. Anyway... she was cuddling one of the sweet little girls on her lap. Also, another DSIL (ours) sitting on her left! Hard to see cause it was getting dark by now.... but 1 more SIL sitting to the right!

I told you I had a crop of them.

Stacey in pink... our resident photographer.... she got us together for a family picture and had to take it in 3 sections cause she didn't bring a wide angle lens. And then had a inlaw of a Neice In Law to take the one part where she needed to be in the picture.... Clear As Mud right?

Sorry, some of these aren't very clear.... as you can see the sun and I were in competition. Down on the grass is DD#2 (who planned everything..... yeahhhhh Heatheroo!) And standing above her.... yet another neice.... (that sounds bad.... she is a terrific neice... and has a great family too! See picture above.... wayyy up there of son..... the little guy who is all grins by himself!)

O.K. so let's try to finish up here.... I have a few more pictures but some are of the campgrounds... more or less after a lot of the group had cleared out! Lava Hot Springs has pools, regular swimming pools and hot spring pools also... I went on Saturday with some of the "group", DH stayed behind cause we couldn't leave the 4 legged friend behind by herself (campground rules you know.... besides she would have cried!... Probably very loudly!) I used sun screen.... really I did.... but I still got a sun burn.... on the tops of my feet, and weirdness, on my upper leg above my knee.... not the other one.... just the right one! Lots of Aloe later, and it felt better but well now I'm peeling.... sort of like a snake shedding it's skin.... (although not really very much at all!)

Hope your not sooo totally bored! This is mostly for those in the family who couldn't come or didn't get any shots themselves.

All rested up now and onto other things!