One Block Wonder

Ok, I started a new project - from the book ONE-BLOCK WONDER by Maxine Rosenthal -- I am thinking that a lot of people have started a quilt like this or want to - they are SO cool! It's sorta like the MAGIC STACK-N-WHACK QUILTS by Bethany S Reynolds ( trying to get all my credits right! ) except you put ALL of the hexagons together, not individually. Don't get me wrong,,, I like the Stack and Whack idea,,, what you can do with the material is just great! But I also like how you combine ALL of the hexagons into the quilt and not as seperate blocks.

Ok, confused? You find the really cool fabric that you wonder "What would anyone do with this?"... you have to buy enough fabric so that you have so many repeats. You cut the width of fabric from repeat to repeat then you cut that into strips. THEN you cut those stips into 60 degree triangles - this gives you the hexagon!

This is what two of the 'blocks' look like

they are really really cool! Now, I have to put up a design wall so I can put them up, move them around and see what looks best.

Until then!

The Day After Christmas

It's the day after Christmas and I'm back at work - where did those 4 days go?? We had family and friends over, ate lots of food ( my tummy doesn't feel so good, either ) and slept in late every morning.

The tree got decorated, presents were wrapped, candles were lit and the ham was baked -- our home looked really pretty.

Saturday I did NOTHING! It was wonderful to stay in my jamas most of the day and be lazy... nothing I had to get out and do. I worked on the puppy dog rag quilt that I made for my grandson and got it all finished - thought it would take just a couple of hours, but I managed to spread it out thru the whole day.... Hubby watched the Cowboy's football game so he was occupied.... a great day !

Sunday, gee, what did we do?? OH! I remember now,,, went to WalMart and did the whole big shopping thing,,,, I was surprised that it was just jammed packed but it wasn't really bad. After $200+ spent, at least Hubby was home and could bring it into the house for me! My friend L. came over for the afternoon.... we usually meet at her house once a month for our Saturday bee but I couldn't make it - so she came over to my house and we talked and chatted - then we went to Joann's to see what we could buy.... LOL I was REALLY good! No FABRIC, but I can't sayt he same for L. They had all the mardowns at another 50% off so she bought a LOT! It was nice not buying any,,, not worring about where I going to put it. I was very very proud of myself. Another great day!

Monday,,, ahh,, Christmas Eve. People were coming over later so I baked a spiral ham and got the house all ready. Looked real nice if I do say so. We had ham, potato salad, cole slaw, rolls, pickles, olives -- and for dessert there was pumpkin pie, pecan pie, fruit cake, cookies and pumpkin cheesecake. Much too much.... Lets see, we had my MIL, and my BIL and his wife and two daughters ( 9 and 6 ) and my hubby's nephew and then hubby and me. It was a really nice evening..... took the obiligitory pictures in front of the fireplace but you have to do that at least once a year! After everyone left, cleaned up and went to bed... after all Santa was coming!

Tuesday - CHRISTMAS DAY! We slept in, no reason to jump up and being lazy felt nice. Hubby got me a whole big bag of chocolate - the last week I can eat it! and Perfume ( BEAUTIFUL ) and a couple of cd's. I got him a Charlie Brown ornament and a biography of Charles Shultz that he had asked for and I want him to go find a new briefcase. I couldn't buy it for him,he is too picky, but I can pay for what he wants. Late in the afternoon my two sons and their familes came over and my MIL. Quite a house full! BUT lots of fun! The kids all made a hall. My 2 year old grandson wasn't in too good of a mood but he liked the Wiggles books that we got him. The puppy quilt I worked on so hard didn't impress him. He didn't even look at it - the Wiggles books were his favorite! When the big kids were opening his presents, he didn't understand that there was nothing for him to open.... we should have let him open for the kids cause that was all he wanted to do! After everyone left laden with presents and leftover food my Hubby and I collapsed! I was sitting watching TV and falling asleep - so I did!

Christmas was very good this year with family and friends around us.

We are blessed...

Christmas Weekend

Whoopee !! Four whole days off -- aarrgghh but SO much to do! We have the tree up ( it's pre-lit so I don't have to worry about that,,, ) but no ornaments on it. They are still in the storage shed and have not been gotten out yet.
Light outside just got done last nite - and he's not happy with them so I bet he does more !
Presents are almost purchased but wrapping will happen tonite during the Cowboy game ( or so he says) Personally, I'm all for those cute gift bags! SO easy! Just stick the gift in,, roll up a piece or three of tissue, stick it in and VOILA! you're done!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we are home, will entertain family and friends who come by... my idea! They can come see us as their time allows. The grown kids have families and wives and all that goes with that and bunches of places to go - I didn't want any specific time frame for them to have to show up.

We will have spiral ham - yes, I will doctor it up with honey, maple syrup, and the glaze topping, along with potatoe salad, pink stuff, cole slaw, pickles, olives, etc.... just all stuff that can be gotten out really easy. Think I will even get out the good china! Why not use it? I've had it for almost 40 years and have used it maybe just a handful of times.... we need to see it more often!

Oh, think I'll get out the Spode Christmas stuff, too, the little dessert plates and cups - they are so pretty! ( too bad they are not really Spode but the knockoff.... oh well, still just as pretty! )

Mother in law will probably be here most of the days, too.... I'll put her to work making stuff!

Ok, gotta get ready for the Christmas Celebration! But First!

Let me tell you about this really great site I found while browsing for quilt things... it's FAT CAT PATTERNS and she is from
Garland TX... the site is http://www.fatcatpatterns.com and she has some of the cutest machine ( or hand ) applique designs!!! They are in Adobe format and it looks like most are free to download! If you use them in something, please acknowledge where you got the design.... no, I don't have anything to do with the site or designs, I just think that if we use someone's imagination,,, we should give credit.

Anyway,,, check out the site and

Merry Christmas!!!

The Leader of the Band is gone

Sad,,,, only 56 years old.... and gone.
Not very old...

Dan Folgelberg was a really great singer and I listened to him all the time. But today my favorite song is Same Auld Lang Syne -- you can listen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIGiX-vc6M8&feature=related

Makes me teary eyed for what was, was could have been, what is no longer.

Gee, if we could change our past, where would we be? How many different things would you change? I would probably still be married to my first husband, I know my sons would have been happier. The paths we take are strange sometimes, aren't they.

Ok, I'm being teary eyed,,,,

Enjoy the music

Header Picture

LOL Another rambling -- the header picture,, took me FOREVER to figure out how to do this,,, and I am not sure that I like what happened,,, it is a block that I made for a round robin.... just wonderful group of people and the blocks that I am seeing are just fantastic,,,, any way,,, here is the full block...... It is from the QuiltMavens Yahoo Group,,,, I've had more fun making blocks for the swap,,, beautiful batiks and great spikey designs.

Check it out! Quilt Mavens,,,, there is even a book, Quilt Mavens Perfect Paper Pieceing... I highly recommend it.

LOL I have lots of material already purchased to make all the quilts - now where do I find the time???? I know! Get off the computer!

No title, Just thoughts

Sunday morning -- its been a long time since I have posted anything.... I think one of my new years resolutions will be to remedy that... I should be able to do something once a week - maybe Sunday morning would be a good time.

Woke up this morning at about 5:45am,,, a day to sleep late and I get up at my normal time -- bummer... I'll take a nap this afternoon! Oh I do love a good nap!!

It is VERY cold here in Texas,,, I don't like the cold.. that is why I moved from the mid-west in my late teens... so as I could get out of high school,,, hated the cold, and the snow, and all that goes with it. Think I should move somewhere even warmer now, though -- hhmmm wonder if my husband would move with me >> see the big grin?

HAHA I got colder just thinking about it, so I put on my houseshoes ( I had on socks ) and heated up my corn bag tube thingy...

this is a long tube of fabric that is filled with deer corn ( OH you should smell it when heated up, just like fresh popcorn! ). I keep it in the freezer when I'm not using it. Frozen, it is great for sprains or bruises or something like that. But I heat it in the microwave and use it for headaches or muscle aches. Right now it is being used like a hot water bottle, to keep my little self all toasty warm,,,, yummy! sitting right here in my lap. My shoulder has been hurting for some unknown reason ( other than old age ) so I have been using it to help that.

I also get these horrible stress headaches,,,, from my shoulders up my neck to the top of my head - sometimes I just want to cry they hurt so bad. So I take my corn tube thingy and heat it up and put it around my shoulders and lay my head back on it and it feels just wonderful ---

it is about 18 inches long, maybe longer and about 6 inches wide. It's not FULL of corn but just enough... well I was trying to past a picture of the darn thing, but something's not working right....
A friend of mine makes them for Christmas presents but she buys socks, tube socks, and fills them full of rice.... I like my popcorn smelling roll!

Ok, gotta figure out why my pictures are not posting.... Hey! I got it to work!

thanks for reading!
me

Dancing With the Stars

We are devoted Dancing with The Stars watchers. Every week, we sit in front of the television and enjoy the show! We dicuss the costumes ( he really REALLY likes those ), the dance steps, who misses the beat, who didn't finish right and who is going to win....

Last nite was wonderful! All 4 contestants did really really well - in fact, I wondered if they have been sandbagging on us?

My personal favorite is Helio,,, he is a race car driver - not an entertainer like he rest of them. Mel B can really dance well, but isn't that what her job is? To sing and dance? Marie has been doing this since she was 3 for goodness sake -- she should be pretty good. Jenny Garth, is an actress but surely somewhere along the way she had to have been taught dancing. Wasn't there a thing about she did ballet? So my votes are all going to Helio -- YEAH!

Ok, Marie,,, what's with all the stuff? Her father dies and that is very sad. She faints - oh my! Now her son is in rehab -- and they make it sound like this is new. Donnie is on ET all the time,,,, it almost feels like Dancing with the Stars is being promoted as Dancing with Marie -- needless to say she doesn't get my votes. I feel like she is going after the sympathy votes. Poor poor Marie. I do enjoy her entertaining ways, though. Maybe she should think about doing some sort of comedy show - sorta like an old I love Lucy??

Now Jennie,,, what's with her mouth? She keeps doing some weird thing with her lips and stuff. Makes her look like a pinched up old maid.... But her last dance last nite was terrific! She finally left the old school marm attitude and knocked it out! Good for her! But I didn't vote for her, either.

Mel B... she's a professional singer/dancer entertainer. I think she is really really good and I just love her dancing with Max ( isn't he just cute! ) but and I keep going back to this, she is a professional.... Yes, she doesn't dance this type of stuff, but she is still a professional.

So, now it's down to 4 - and tonite someone goes away. Wonder who it will be?
Will Marie have enough fan base to keep her there?
Will Jennie's last dance be enough to keep her?
Will Mel B's Paso get the votes to keep her going? She does do that very well.
And Helio -- I hope his score of 60 last nite keeps him going... I'm going to be VERY disappointed if he gets voted off!

whatchathink?

Mall Crawls, Treasure Hunts and Bunny Hops

So how many of you do the three quilting hunts on the internet? I admit, I'm a sucker and do them..... get the free patterns, see the web shops and idle away the hours. It's fun! And I just love finding them all. I'm tempted one time to sign up at each and every shop for their give away prizes and see if I get anything -- maybe I should be POSITIVE that I will get something and it will come true. Worth a shot, right?

So, who else does the Crawl, Hunt and Hop???

I'm off - lets see what I get!

Today is My Birthday

Hey World! Today is my birthday -- a very special day to me! I think there should be a law passed that you get the day off with pay when it's your birthday, too!

Whatcha think? Wouldn't you like your birthday off?

Maybe next year when I get vacation, I'll just schedule the day off. Sleep in late, do what I want.

We are going out to eat tonite. Not sure what I want,,, bar-b-q, Olive Garden salad and soup, - so far that is my two things that sound good. HHMMM maybe I can convince him to go to Red, Hot and Blue for their BBQ! I just love their pulled pork and the potato salad is to die for--- yummy! Got a coupon for a free rib dinner if you buy one, too.,,,,, HHMMM maybe that is the way to go!

On the other hand,,, I love Olive Garden's salad (it's probably the dressing) and their breadsticks are wonderful... I can make a meal out of that alone.... decisions decisions decisions.

OK,,, gotta get back to work - UGH,,, but it lets me play at my hobbies.

Till later

CONTACT LENS

It's a typical Monday and my dang ol contact lens are giving me fits. I didn't think I mixed them up when I put them in the morning, but they sure don't "see" right! So, I'm here at work and I took them out and switched - Boy! I could see distance really great, but nothing close up. Well, that won't work,,, hard to use a computer when you can't see it!



So, I went back and switched em again! Guess this is better, but still not good. Think I'll just go back to glasses. I am too old to keep fussing with this! And now, glasses are not the 'bad' accessory that they used to be!



What about those bifocal contacts,,, does anyone know about those? I wear the mono things, one for distance, one for close up. It's not working anymore.

On the weekends, I wear my glasses.... you know, I am due for a check up and the insurance will pay for most of it... maybe I should just go back to glasses. After all I'm getting older, I'm not all that impressed with good looks, and glasses have an added touch now - your makeup doesn't have to be all that great! Helps, but doesn't have to be perfect.

Hmmm,,,, something to consider.

later!

The Day After the concert

Sunday morning,,,, I feel hungover and I didn't even have a drink, bummer.

But we went to a great great concert last nite! The SUGARLAND Change concert with Little Big Town and Jake Owen -- It was simply Marvelous!!!

Started out with Jake Owen ( what a hottie he is! ), all he has to do is strut the stage ( !! ), he sang his two songs that have been out, Ye-Haw and Startin With Me.... Great Songs! But he needs a haircut,,,, or a different style. Sorry,,,

Little Big Town,,, gee those guys can sure harmonize well! I admire people who can do that since I don't sing so well anymore. Probably too many cigarettes from years ago. Of course they did all their songs and some new ones!

What can be said about Sugarland??? Most excellent - awe insprining - the energy level was mind boggling. They had the audience right in their hands...

Anyway,, if you get the chance to go ---- GO!!!

The hangover,,, it has been so long since I have been to a good concert, I forget how loud they can be... the bass just bangs thru you and the music is pounding in your head,,, so this morning I feel hungover! Make sense? Shoulda had a drink, or two, or three!

Go see the concert... here's the link to tell you all about it! http://www.cmt.com/artists/cmt-on-tour/

IT'S FRIDAY! AMEN!

WOW,, I never thought this week would end. It has been long and tough - you just never know how much oneperson does until they are gone. We had a guy out on vacation, he doesn't do much anyway, but I guess the little he does makes a difference.



Anyway,,, HAPPY FRIDAY!



Maybe this weekend I can get some quilting done,,, some of the things I am making for a craft show on the 19th and some stuff just to clean up the room! It is such a big mess! Material blown all over the place! It shames me... not! LOL



Ok, I'm making some Elvis Christmas stockings for the sale,,, great big ones. Found the material at the local Hancocks, bought it really for my mother in law ( the biggest Elvis fan there is ), then thought Heck! These would see at a craft sale! I also have some receiving blankets,, real cute flannel fabrics that I bound with bias tape. My DIL said she would gladly pay $12 for them ( I made some for my GS and he just loves them still - ). I wanted to have some baby quilts made up but I don't think that is going to happen.



LOL and this post never got done, either! So much for timing....

Happy Happy whatever

The First Blog Post

I've had blogs before,,, even on Blogger,,, but I've never kept up with them so I loose the address, can't remember the password, can log in! I can't promise to keep up with this one, but I can try. Maybe while I'm at work I can just give a little ramble every so often. Hmmm...

Ok,,, gota think

back later