Weekly Recap #10

{March 6 through March 12, 2016}

Gardening

• We finished planting the garden on Sunday. And then, the rains came and gave us a total of 2" of rain over a period of three days.

  A severe thunderstorm came through one night. A bomb went off; but, it was thunder. Dan says he thinks I felt it before he heard it. I woke up wide awake just after midnight screaming scared to death. I even hyperventilated a little. Dan left me huddling at the foot of the bed with a petrified Gracie to go get a flashlight as the power was out. Poor cat was just frozen in one spot on the bed. (Abby was underneath the bed). That thunderstorm only produced a measly 1/8 inch of rain. Ugh!

Quilting; Crafts

• I finished the first block for the gypsy wife quilt. It is looking fairly good! Pictures will have to wait until I get Photoshop Elements installed. I chose fabrics for the second block and started cutting according to the instructions.
  
• Dan ordered my new laptop and it arrived on March 12th (Saturday). He has it set up to where it is working just fine. I do not have my Photoshop Elements yet; but, I should have that soon.
• I struggled this week. Struggled big time. I even skipped making pizza on our usual night (Tuesday). I just did not feel like making it; but, I did make some the following night. Here's to hoping I will have a better week.

Don't be afraid to say what is on your mind. Think first. But, don't be afraid.

~ Moi ~

My laptop is fried. Until my new one is here, I am on a...

Weekly Recap #9

{February 28 through March 5, 2016}

Gardening

• I have been going out every other morning when Dan leaves (for work) to water the trees and Daffodils. I have always heard the best times to do this chore is early in the morning before the heat starts evaporating water. Believe you me, it gets HOT down here. Anyway, it is the routine nowadays -- get dressed (of a sort), kiss Dan goodbye and head on out to water the plants.
• We started planting my garden and I am feeling happy about having a real garden. I would not have been able to do this without Dan's help! He did a lot of the back breaking work for me. Now, let us hope what we planted grows. At least, I tried if they do not grow produce vegetables, fruit (Strawberries) or herbs.

Quilting; Crafts

• I have been steadily albeit slowly hand quilting Dan's "green quilt". I do not think I will get it done by the end of March. We shall see and I will keep on quilting.

• I started cutting for and piecing the first block for the Gypsy Wife Quilt. The instructions in the booklet are a bit confusing to me. So, it has been might slow going for me. I actually had to do some frog sewing (rip-it, rip-it). The actual quilt along has been helpful.

  My mother's machine does not have a quarter inch seam guide or line. So, my first sewing effort (triangles to make an hourglass block) was not so great. I did some research and figured it would be cheaper to just use a Sewing Edge Stop by Qtools instead of getting a special foot that may or may not work on mother's machine. I used this in conjunction with the Perfect Piecing Seam Guide by Perkins Dry Goods which was, well, perfect! It gave me a scant 1/4" seam which is exactly what I needed.

  My first hourglass blocks were not perfect because I started without the seam guide I created; but, they are workable; so, I will use them.

  

Miscellaneous

• As you know, We took last weekend off and did a staycation of a sorts. On the second day (Sunday), we went to the San Antonio Home and Garden show held at the Alamodome. There was some disorganization and confusion due to times posted on the website and construction going on the Alamodome itself. When we finally figured out where we get our tickets and whatnot, a very nice man came up to us and gave us free tickets. We were both surprised and thankful.

  While standing outside waiting for the doors to open, someone gave out free hats! I immediately went for one because I was getting sunburned. I did not think we would be waiting outside; but, the actual opening time was 11:00am instead of 10:00am. I was thankful for that hat!

  
  {A weird looking selfie with Dan coming out of the back of my head}

  The show itself is huge; but, not as huge as the one held in Houston (where we used to live). I love browsing every single thing at the home and garden show. There are all kinds of products in many different categories – remodeling, beds (mattresses), pools, gardening, food, and more.

  We did spend a little (okay, a lot) of money at this show. We mostly bought marinades and salsas from our favorite companies. I absolutely love Texas Brew salsas and they are gluten free! But, I cannot find them at my local HEB stores. The salesperson there said they can be found at Spec’s and there is one across The Forum which is an area I shop at the most. So, I will need to remember to check them out when we need to replenish our supply of salsa.

  We also love Jimmy O’s Texas Marinades which includes spices. These are not only delicious but also contain no additives, no preservatives, no MSG and no high fructose syrup. We found out that we can now order them online when we run out! Yay!

  We also ended up splurging and buying a cool looking hummingbird feeder.

• I had a little bit of a cleaning insanity moment. I cleaned off my desk, which is a major hot spot. I also went on and purged the pantry and refrigerator. This endeavor was overdue! I almost went nuts and purged the cats' playgrounds which is composted of toys and packing material. But, i restrained myself. Abby LOVES playing amongst the packing material, especially after I "fluff" it all up because they can flatten it all down over time while playing with and attacking toys and each other.
• My laptop got fried Saturday morning. Abby Gail came to me in a very happy and energetic mood and knocked my thermos mug over onto the keyboard. About 30 minutes later, it would no longer turn on. It is four years old and after a bit of discussion, we decided to get me a new laptop. So, Dan shopped and ordered a new one for me. In the meantime, I am temporarily using his laptop and since I cannot process pictures, I will go on a blogging break until I receive the new laptop and have it set up the way I like it.

Embrace the Chaos

~ Unknown~

Feathered Friday {Hummer}

All taken back in August 2015.

I am anxiously awaiting their return this spring.

Vintage Needle Threader for Sewing Machines

My mother had this in one of her drawers of her sewing machine cabinet. Let me tell you, I LOVE this thing!

The big metal section clips onto the needle and the itty bitty wire goes through the eye of the needle. The thread hooks onto the wire and is pulled through the eye. It's cool for those with unsteady hands or is lazy like me! Ha!

I tried to find information or dates on this particular item. So far, nothing, nada, zilch. Anybody out there have history of this or similar items?