UFO and House updates

Hi everybody!

This last week has been productive.  I finished two UFOs!  You read that right.  I finished 2 UFOs.  They were small projects but they count anyway right?  For Searching for UFO week with Pattern Pastiche I finished my Suduko Quilt (had the binding to do) and I finished 3 Friends from Bird Brain Designs.  

After I finished those, I started on a search for more UFOs.  Not to get them all done at once, but just to see what I have and how to organize them.  That is the key to getting it down and being able to work on them without feeling like you are drowning.  I have a TON or UFOs and will post pictures, names, and strategy to attack them sometime.  

In between  working on the UFOs, my friend Susan and I are going to do Simple but Elegant and Christmas in Jacksonville.  Simple but Elegant is offered through Pattern Pastiche and it is just starting.  I cut all my squares first to make sure that I had enough fabric that would match and then was also able to fuse down the first tulip block.  There will be a total of four tulip blocks that will go in the center.  So if I finish up a block before the next one comes along, I can work on another tulip block.

Simple but Elegant is a Baltimore inspired project as is Christmas in Jacksonville.  Christmas in Jacksonville has been going for a bit so I have to catch up.  The blocks are embroidered with some Courthouse Steps/Log Cabin blocks in there too.  Here is my first one done.  I can't wait to start on the second block.

Other non crafting news, is that I now have both sides of my kitchen sink working.  Shalom came over and fixed it so it doesn't leak there any longer but did discovered another leak which will require him to turn off the water.  He didn't have the parts for it so he couldn't fix it last night.  He has to come back to replace and fix parts in the bathroom sink. That would require him to turn off the water also so he will be doing that on the same day.  If you have to turn off the water, you might as well get it all done in one day.

He will be contacting a friend to bring his drone over to do an aerial survey of the roof to see how bad that is.  It's kind of a cool thought that you can do a lot of that without even getting on the roof.  Oh the fun and joy of living in an older house that previous occupants hadn't kept up like they said they had.

I can see the backyard now.  That is good and bad.  It's good that most of the brush has been cleared out.  It's bad because I can see the junk the previous tenants just left there.  That is in the process of getting cleaned up.  Shalom's son needs to get more exercise and do something besides being on the computer or playing games all day.  Shalom will have him start to do more yard work.  He only does it max of 1 hour a day but in heat/humidity temps in the low 100s I don't blame him.

That is it for now.  Everybody stay safe and I'll chat with you another time.

The Grim Ripper

I'm sure that most of you know about Jack the Ripper.  He lives yet today in the form of the Grim Ripper.  Perhaps he thought he could change his name and it wouldn't be noticed.  Well *I* noticed it.  I even caught him in the act of ripping and captured his image.  Here it is.

This small and seamingly innocent character lurks around the sewing area just waiting to pounce,  Sometimes it hides and calls its relatives to join him so that there are more than one around.  I think it would be safe to say that all quilter's, as well as anybody who sews, has at one time or another been introduced to The Grim Ripper.  Jack, my name for Grim,  is well known to me.  I shouldn't be surprised.  Early on I learned that the dark side is your friend.  You are always being told to press towards the dark side.  Perhaps that was the beginning of my relationship with Jack.

This mug rug/small hanging was going along so well until Jack appeared.  I give three strikes to a project before I set it aside.  The first strike in this project was when I was quilting it, I didn't notice my backing fabric folded over.  Ok.  That's not TOO bad since it was black fabric and on the back.  It was trike two and three that got me.  Strike two was when I was trimming the top and batting before folding the back fabric over for the binding.

There I was, minding my own business and watching to make sure that I didn't cut the fabric where it wasn't supposed to be cut.  Then I thought I heard something.  Wasn't sure what it was, but now I think it was one of Jack's relatives in the other room laughing.  I stopped what I was doing and went to look.  There he was!  On the floor was Jack's cousin.  He had jumped down from my couch where I was stitching earlier.  I stared at him, shook my finger at him, and told him to stay put as I laid him back on the couch.  You'd think that he would like having it easy just laying on the  couch.  After putting Cousin Jack on the couch, I went back to finishing up dealing with Jack...or so I thought.

That's when I discovered strike two and three.  Everything was going along ok at first.  I was sure that Jack wasn't going to seduce my fabric to go and meet him.  Surely little polka dots could resist the dark side.  Sigh.  No, they couldn't.  As i was folding over the binding on one side, I saw it.  Up in my face, was a hole.  A HOLE!  Where did that come from?  Yeah, you know what I'm going to say next.  It came from Jack calling to my fabric to go to the dark side.  Given in and fall down that rabbit hole.  What was one to do?  I did what I usually do when I get an ouchie.  I put a band aid on it.  Oh not a true plastic band aid.  I took some of the cutting from the black fabric and laid it UNDERNEATH the binding and then stitched it down.  Would that like darning?  Anyway I was sure that was it.  Nope.  Jack had also seduced another section to go to the dark side.  This too was on the same side as the band aid and right in the corner.  Luckily it wasn't as bad as strike two but it was hard enough to stitch since it was right in the corner.  So that was Strike three.  

I almost threw it out but I knew that somewhere deep down in that worm hole of all thrown out projects Jack was thinking he had won.  I am either keeping this project or sending it to a friend who was with me all along the journey into the dark side.

It's a good thing I have other small projects that I can send in place of Jack.  I hate to say it, but Jack is sort of growing on me and I smile knowing that ultimately I won!  If I say that often enough it must be true....right?

Yardwork and UFO Week

This week is starting out with a busy schedule.  Pattern Pastiche is having a UFO (unfinished objects) week challenge which I am participating in.  It is basically a week to help us concentrate on finishing up projects.  My first one is going to be the Sudoku wall hanging.  I have it all done except for the binding so I 

was working on that today.  The binding will be the same fabric that is on the back.  

Here is a close up of the binding.

Hmm.  If I ever figure out the new blogger, I'll get the left justified for my margins again.  LOL.  Oh well.  Forgive the formatting but you get the general idea.

The other thing that I worked on was another block for the cross stitch quilt blocks.  I now have four of them done.

Sooner of later they will all get done and then I'll have other decisions to make on them.  :)

I've started the Christmas in Jacksonville blocks.  These  are Baltimore Album inspired 

blocks but they are hand embroidered.  I will be using two colors for the blocks.  One will be the red that I use in redwork (nicknamed turkey red) and then a green.  This is the first block that I've started. There are five blocks up and all are still available.  If interested  you can find information at:

https://my.modafabrics.com/inspiration-resources/christmas-jacksonville

I notice that one of the centers of the rose isn't perfect but then neither am I.  I'll wait until I get the rest sewn and see if it bugs me or not.

Another thing that is going on today is Shalom, his son, and Boromir (you might remember Boromir from helping me move) came over and they are doing some yard work.  Finally the front is mowed and trimmed a bit.  Boromir started to whack the mess in the backyard.  I didn't know I had a backyard.  I'm still debating if it is a myth or not.  Nothing has been done to it for at least over a year.  After chopping things down, he discovered that the cable line and the electric line are on top of each other.  I will call about that tomorrow.  He also discovered some more bottles and stuff that the previous owners were too lazy to get rid of.  It will all get cleaned up but it will take awhile.  Here are some progress pictures.  This first one is the before picture as taken from the window in front of my sink.

This one is after some progress was made.  You can start to see a bit of a path which he had to do with a machete.

The front yard got a cutting also.

The dead tree is still there.  The guy who was to come and take it out got sick so he couldn't come.  When he feels better the logs and tree will be added to the pile to be picked up.

So far for this week, this is what is put to the curb.  

That's it for the post this week.  I'm back to pinning on the binding to the wall hanging.  Wish me luck towards the end of it.  I haven't mastered the art of sewing the two pieces together yet to finish.  Fingers crossed.

Have a great day everybody.

Scenic Arkansas

Shalom took me grocery shopping the other day and on the way it turned into a scenic tour on the way home.  Knowing that I came from corn country, he started out showing me Milo crops.  The picture didn't turn out so you have to settle for this information instead. 

"Milo is used for several things, but in the United States, primarily it is used as cattle and hog feed. It is priced most often at a discount to corn, so it is a cheaper alternative to corn when used as feed. It is considered a slight inferior substitute to corn in livestock rations."

Milo looks a lot like corn when it starts out but after it gets up higher you can start to see the differences.  The main one that I saw as Shalom went by was that the leaves on the stalks aren't as spread out as corn is.  I'm used to seeing the leaves on the corn reach out pretty far on each side.  With Milo it stays closer to the stalk.

That got us on the topic of rice.  The area I'm in is the home of Riceland Rice so you see rice everywhere.  I had never seen rice grow before so he took me to find a nice field of it.  It was interesting but what interested me most was irrigation system.

First is the rice on either side of the irrigation dyke.  They create little dykes in the fields so when it rains, or they water the rice, the overflow will each out to all the other areas.  It is built up but there also are little areas where they flatten the dyke so water can flow out.

This picture will show the irrigation tubing that the water flows through.  As you can see, as the water runs through it, there are holes which forces the water to up and out.  It's fun to watch and reminds me of old garden hoses that spring leaks when they need replacing.  LOL.

This pictures shows how they run the generator.  Basically it is just a diesel engine that gets set up and used as a generator.  I found it pretty efficient and interesting.

Shalom also took me to see the river which is only 4 miles from my house.  Of course that 4 miles is crooked and i wouldn't walk it!  He almost got stuck in the sand as he was taking me around to get my pictures.

This was the Payneway Acess  and there is a Dam there that can be locked down or opened up a bit to help with the control of the water in the delta.  This was the lowest the river has been in a long time but you can still see that on one side of the dam the water is still rolling/turbelent.

One side of the bridge...

and the other side of the bridge/dam.

We saw some people fishing in the area and you can park there etc.

To learn more about the St. Francis River go to:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Francis_River  

I hoped you enjoyed the pictures and little scenic tour.  Happy Friday and have a great day!

What's on the Agenda Today

It's Sunday and time for me to plan what to make or eat this week and what to do.  Can you believe that it is almost one month since I retired?  I guess I must be on the 'vacation' feeling yet because it is not old and my daily routine hasn't settled in yet.  That's what the experts call it.  They say that the first weeks of retirement are usually considered to be vacation.  You know, that two weeks off that you always wanted to take but never thought you could.  So when you consider what to do in retirement or where to settle in retirement take that into consideration.

That is one reason I chose Arkansas.  The other reasons are more financial (as in cheaper to live).  Still, I am not sorry I have retired here, even though the house isn't as finished as i hoped.  Wait...I'm retired and my landlord is not...I can let things happen at its own pace.  So what do I do all day?  That is a question I wondered about myself just this morning.

I get up around 6 a.m.  The house is so quiet that I can hear the birds singing and wish I could curse the sun a little bit because it is what woke me up.  In Illinois the sun never woke me up because I didn't have enough windows for it to happen.  I knew there was a downfall to all these windows.  Actually it is only the window in the door that wakes me up.  The drapes on the other windows block out the sun pretty good.  Now that I am awake and take care of that normal morning stuff nature reminds you that you need to do, what to do for the rest of the day?

I have never been one to just sit and empty out box after box all in the first day (or month) of moving.  Heck, I'll be lucky if I get everything emptied out in the first year!  I'm trying to take my time so that I can go through things and make final decisions on whether or not to keep something.  That means needing caffeine!  LOTS of caffeine!  Even MORE caffeine!   Luckily there is a Valero gas station which has fountain soda and even has some limited selection of food like potato wedges, biscuits and gravy, Chester's chicken, breakfast sandwiches, etc.  It is 2 blocks from my house so I can walk it without any problems.  It IS a convenience store though so even though it is convenient it is not cheap.  Still it gets me out of the house for a limited amount of time.

Once I get back to the house and finish eating breakfast it is time to see what else I need to do.  THAT'S easy enough to figure out.  Go through more boxes and try to find my sewing room.  I cannot do that 24/7 and even if I could I doubt I would.  So for now, I unpack a bit, watch Netflix a bit (ok more than a bit) and try to fix lunch or think of what to fix for meals.  Normally I don't have a problem with thinking on what to fix for meals BUT my refrig is going out.  The freezer portion keeps things frozen but the refrigerator portion is reading 60 degrees.  Not good for keeping food in.  I have a new refrigerator on order and it should be here around the 6th of July.  Can't wait!!!!

I found my sewing machine one day.  Then it took me two more days to find the foot pedal.  I need to make some house blocks so I was excited to learn that the sewing machine was working ok.  THEN it took me a couple more days to find my rulers and rotary cutter and another couple of days to figure out what colors to use.  Finally I got enough material to make a test block and this is how it turned out.

After I finish these blocks, or perhaps in between making these blocks, I will be making Churn Dash blocks to send in for a member of one of my quilting groups who died.  We are sending in Churn Dash blocks and another women will be making quilts to go to the family members.  that will be nice.  I like the Churn Dash.

It is a bad allergy day so I am going to stop here.  Did I finish explaining my day?  Well see above and repeat.  That's my day.  Get caffeine, bake something, plan meals for only 2 days at a time, try and do some crafting...nap and repeat.  :)

Eventually I will be branching out and go visiting some place with friends.  Tennessee is probably at the top of the list because they have a big farmers market.  Who knows.  I'll keep you all informed and updated.  

Have a great day!

More Paperwork and Chinese Buffet

It seems that I needed to get more paperwork to SURS (State University Retirement System) for my retirement.  I think it is a bit like the right and left hands don't talk to each other and know what they are doing.  Dan picked me up and it didn't take long to make my copies and get them in the mail.  Afterwards he took me to a Chinese Buffet that had a Coi Pond in it. 

The restaurant was called the Hibachi Grill Supreme Buffet and they had an indoor coi pond.  Here is a picture of it as well as a link to the small vid.  Like before, you would click on the link and then look for the symbol (upper right side?) to open it up and play it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/piPSoJoaN2HVDWX57 

In case you have trouble viewing the video, here is a picture of the Coi Pond.

I also managed to find some of my quilt blocks and took a couple of stitches on it again.  Hopefully by this weekend I will be able to start on some house blocks that I owe people.

What I get to Wake up To

I'm still unpacking which means no quilting or cross stitch yet for me to report on.  I am going to wind up some more floss for when I can put it in with the rest of my stash.  I thought I'd take a little vid of what my area looks like and the sounds I wake up to (so far) each day.

I think you should be able to see/listen to this if you click on the link and then the arrow to play it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2ve6D9pzRvS7D6hw8

Everybody have a great day and night.

Move completed but not settled

I did it!  I retired, hopefully with all the paperwork correct, and moved to Arkansas.  

The scenery on the way down and also on subsequent outings has been wonderful.  I'm enjoying it now before it gets to be hotter.  :)

Taken at a rest stop on the way down.

                        This and the next 3 pictures were taken on a Sunday outing with Dan.

The house I moved into was not what I expected.  I would have considered it more of a fixer upper but that's ok.  I'm working with the landlord (I'm renting it) to get it fixed up.  It's coming along and gives me something to do.  It just drains my energy a lot especially since I am still unpacking.

It was such a nice drive down.  I'm still digging out everything.  It is slow because HE has to work and I'm not.  Hehehehe.  Well that's not quite true.  I am working...it's a lot of work to unpack and sort at the same time.

Here are some in progress pictures of the place.

This is part of the sewing room - the Color Street portion

Part of the sewing area.  Eventually I want book cases all along that wall.

Part of the kitchen

Part of the pantry.  The pantry is in an L shape.  This little section is the bottom of the L.

The living room

The last picture for this post - Triple Berry Bread.  The first bake in the house.  :)

I hoped you liked the pictures and I'll keep you updated on how the settling in is going on.  I should be getting a different refrigerator and a different washing machine so that will be exciting.

Have a great day/night.

two weeks to the big move!!!!

I can't believe it.  Two weeks to move and retire.  That's something we all have thought about at one time or another but never thought it would happen.  Now that it is staring me in the face I'm not sure how I feel about it.  Oh I'm happy to be retiring and also moving.  I will miss my friends in Illinois but I will still keep in touch with them via the internet or phone or mail.

The guys in Arkansas are busy working on getting the house ready for me.  Here is a picture of them finally finishing putting in the sub floor in the bedroom. 

That is one thing done.  Notice the lights are on and there is a ceiling fan in that room.  I think that will come in handy.  The bedroom might turn into a bedroom/craft room.  We shall see. It would be nice to have a living room just dedicated to the living room in case I get visitors.  That's in theory though.  I'm so used to things all being in the same room it might not stay that way.

So it's packing up my current apartment and a friend came to help me the other day.  You remember Theresa?  She is the one who I taught to do the t-shirt quilt for her daughters.  She made a little video for my friend Dan to remind him to be careful.  In the video she is packing up my Christmas tree that goes back.  It's the only tree that I keep and it is a craft one made from beads, etc.  Her is her message to Dan.

I think it is a cute video. 

I did see another cute thing.  I found some napkins that were really cute but what it special was that when you opened up the napkin, it had a recipe printed on the paper napkin!

Isn't that a cute idea?

Well back to packing.  If you don't hear from me until June, it's because of the move and then I'll take pictures for you to see my place. 

Everybody stay safe and hang in there.

Can you believe...

that we are still in lockdown or at least restricted movement, etc.?  Unfortunately I still have to work so I don't have an extra 8 hours to work on crafting.  Soon though I will be able to play all I want.  Today, however, Sparkles the small dragon, told me she wanted to play outside in the snow.  SNOW?  When did we get that?  Apparently we got it while I was sleeping .

 I did take advantage of the time home to do some cooking.  I made a Polish Casserole, Pork and Sauerkraut, Peanut Butter Bread, and Lentil Salad.

Lentil Salad

Peanut Butter Bread

I forgot to take a picture of the Polish Casserole and I am eating the Pork and Sauerkraut too fast to take a picture.  It's just as good for Breakfast as it is for Dinner.

I am practicing good social distancing since I ordered various goodies through the internet.  :)

I will have to show the pictures another time.  The internet isn't letting me upload all of them and some of them that I added here blinked out.  Probably the wonky weather is interfering with the signal too much.

That's just it for now.  Have a great evening and stay safe my friends.

What's to eat!

I've been working from home lately and it has been stressing me out a little bit.  It's one thing to know what you need to get done at home but I can't hide from it any longer.  It stares at me while I am diligently working from home.  The food calls to me, the moving boxes (both empty and full) call to me...so you see, it's not my fault that my mind goes to food.

So, to shut up my mind so I can get some work done, I've been searching some recipes.  The one I think I might make tonight is Creamy Kielbasa Tortellini.  I don't have any tortellini so will substitute another type of pasta but I have everything else.  It won't be quite the same but it will still be good I think.

Creamy Kielbasa Tortellini from Best of Relish

1 lb. kielbasas, thinly sliced
1 (20 oz) pkg cheese tortellini
1 tsp dried minced onions
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup frozen peas
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
chopped parsley, optional

1.  In a large skillet, heat kielbasa until warm.  Add tortellini, 3 cups water, onions, paprika and garlic powder.

2.  Cover and cook on high, stirring occassionallly, until tortellini is almost done.  Stir in peas.

3.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and stir in Dijon mustard, heavy cream and cheddar cheese, until cheese is melted.  Top with chopped parsley.

Serves 6