Married FORTY Years! and a Really BIG Cat!

Goodness sakes alive!!!

No wonder I look so old.

I've been married for FORTY years, and this is my second marriage.

I was feeling pretty blue yesterday.  The sadness I've been feeling catches me unaware sometimes.   Sometime yesterday morning Jerry asked me what I wanted to do for our 40th anniversary which is February 1.  I told him it didn't matter.

Later on I remembered we were out of bread and milk.  I went to his office where he is usually sitting, and I pushed his rolling chair away from the computer enough that I could sit on his lap.  I told him I thought of something we could do for our anniversary.

He asked me what that was.

I said, "We could go to Braum's for a hamburger and get some bread and milk."

He hugged me and said, "That isn't anything."

I went in my sewing room and puttered around for awhile.  Then I remembered that my daughter talks about going out someplace here for all-you-can-eat crab legs.  I texted her, and she called me.  I told her we were trying to think of something to do to celebrate our anniversary.  I asked her about the crab legs.  She said that she and Len would just come pick us up and TAKE US for crab legs.

HOW NICE WAS THAT!!!

They picked us up about 5.  Len had to drive at least 30 miles to Riverwind Casino in Norman.  That is where the crab legs were.  Len dropped us off at the door.  We hurried inside to get in line.  THEN -- in a choking cloud of cigarette smoke -- we noticed the line to the crab leg place was very long.  The end of the line wasn't too far from the door we had just entered, and the restaurant was a long walk past there.

Tammy said, "Mom, this smoke is horrible and the wait will be too long.  Would you like to go someplace else?"

Of course.  I was happy to be with her, and I didn't really care where we ate.  Jerry is always adjustable.  She hurried and called Len who had just found a parking place outside, and she asked him to come back and get us.  He was so nice.  He didn't complain at all -- or maybe he screamed at the car before he picked us up, lol.

Len knows Norman very well as he lived there and worked there for a long time.  He took us to a restaurant called Salt Grass (I think).  We had to wait for 30 minutes, but Tammy found us a real nice place at the bar to wait.  We all ordered a drink.  When our drinks arrived, we all decided Tammy's tasted the best.  Hers tasted like peaches.  It was yummy.

I, of course, asked Jerry to take our picture.

 Then Tammy snapped a pic of Jerry and me after 40 years of marriage.

 I don't remember the name of my drink, but it tasted like grapefruit.

The night was so perfect that our table was right next to a fireplace.  Len said, "I'm sure your Mom is going to want a picture."  Tammy and I posed.

Jerry had a really nice time.  He didn't have to do the driving, and that is a WONDERFUL treat.  He wouldn't dare let me drive us anywhere, and that is fine with me because I don't like to drive.

Jerry and Tammy always talk easily.  Tammy turned 6 years old ten days after we were married.  Hence, her birthday on February 11th will be her 46th.

 So THAT was all yesterday on Friday.

Today is Saturday, and it has rained and rained and rained alllllllllllllllllll day loooooooooong.  It is so wet outside, we have kept the dogs inside all day except for potty breaks.

BUT, all was not lost.  We had a nice surprise today.

My grandson, John, and his wife, Hollie came for a short visit before heading for Fort Hood where his next assignment is.  They travel with their two cats who are quite unusual.

This cat is called "Puss".  He is VERY large.  I think Hollie said he weighs over 30 pounds.

The other black cat is called Jack.  Jack has strange front paws.  I should have gotten a close-up.  He has a THUMB on each front paw, and each thumb has two claws.  I've never seen anything like that before.  I think they rescued Jack from somewhere.

And NOW, Jerry is watching the Thunder AGAIN.  They play practically every night.  I'm glad he enjoys watching it.  There sure isn't anything else to watch.  Lately, all we watch is The Shark Tank.

We did not sell my Toyota while we were here, so we head back home tomorrow with two vehicles.  There are several interested people down there.

Tomorrow is Sunday.  YAY!  My favorite day.  I get to go to church and sing along with the songs I always enjoy.  Great time to count my many blessings!

Hugs, Joy

New Look 6602 Tunic Pattern VLOG (Revised)

Hello, hello, hellooooooo!

I think I've gotten my groove back.

Nothing like sunshine to perk my brain up.  Did you hear it was 79 degrees here in Oklahoma yesterday?

It is pretty warm outside today, but the wind could blow you off a parking lot and rip the door off your car -- not to mention, it would blow this brand new top right off over my head!

I did make a new video for you today so you could really see my cute new tunic.  It is actually the "muslin", but I have done alterations for my body so many times that I can be pretty sure of the fit now BEFORE the garment is made.

Well, I THINK, it is a cute new tunic.  I am going to take some off the sides on the next one as there seems to be a whole lot of room on the sides.

Here is the video for those of you who care to watch it.

And here is a link to Peggy's broadcast about proper blouse and jacket lengths in regard to your torso.  Go to 29:29 in the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j0YXaJmjqg

COULD I have done this with Sure-fit Designs.

Of course!

I just figured as much ease as was in this style that I could make it work.  I have found that New Look patterns have narrower shoulders than the other brands.  I cut out a size medium in this, and with the FBA, it fits really good.

Changes I Made:

#1:  FBA, +1 Inch

#2:  High Round Back of +3/8"

#3:  Sway Back of -5/8"

#4:  Shortened the Length by 6" to make my blouse be Two-to-One per Peggy Sagers 

#5:  Cut The Back ON THE FOLD, and Then Shortened the Right Shoulder (Instead of cutting a right back and a left back.  The only difference in the two is one shoulder is higher for buttons.)

#6:  This is one day later.  I took 4 inches out of the width of the top I made.  I like it MUCH better.  Here is a pic:

It wouldn't hurt to take 4 inches out of MYSELF!

I think the wind MAY have died down a bit, and I may have to go to Hancock's to look for a fabric to try Tunic #2.

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I have to tell you something very important.

This pattern is described as "EASY" in big letters at the top of the envelope.

Welllllllllllllllllllllll, with me being such a highly trained professional (LOL), I didn't think I needed to read the directions.

The facing is unique in this pattern as it faces the neck and the armholes at the same time.  VERY NICE!

Only problem is, when I pulled the back through the shoulder to turn it right sides out, it tied itself into a very strange twist that wouldn't come apart.

I decided to read the directions.

You may remember that I have done this very thing not too long ago.  I had SEWN THE SIDE SEAMS TOGETHER, and you are NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT until AFTER you apply the facing and turn everything around.  I did quite a bit of UNsewing, but it all turned out in the end.

Gotta get.

Hugs, Joy

Wednesday Night Thunder

Hi Everyone!

I WAS going to email my friend, Margaret, but then I remembered she will be doing EXACTLY what my husband is doing:  Watching the Thunder game.  I swear, there is a Thunder game every day of the week.  Every time I try to be "the good wife" and watch a game, they lose.

I suppose everyone knows the Thunder is Oklahoma's basketball team.  I should have Margaret come over to watch the game with Jerry.  At least, Margaret knows WHY they keep running back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.  The score is usually 1 to 2 points apart.  I always say, whoever runs over to their side when the bell rings (or the gun shoots) is the team that is going to win.

I am so ignorant about basketball.  I was watching it for awhile the other night.  One of the guys ran over to the other side.  He jumped up and HUNG ON THE RING the ball goes into as he smashed the ball through the hoop.  Trying to act interested, I GASPED!  Oh my goodness!  That guy is really going to get in trouble!  He could break that ring off there!

Jerry looked at me like he would be calling the Nursing Home people as soon as the game was over.  He said, "Joy, you really don't get it, do you?"

Duh!  I've told him a million times I don't understand the game.  He thinks NOBODY could possibly be that dumb, so he never explains it to me.

I actually played basketball for a short time when I was in the 8th grade.  I figured it might be fun since there was a ball involved, and I loved to play 4-square in my driveway at home.

I think the teachers expected me to already KNOW the rules.  I didn't.  I wanted to bounce the ball around and throw it in the hoop.

But NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I had to run around like a broken robot and try to stop the people with the ball from getting it in the basket.  You couldn't TOUCH them.  I was always getting yelled at for doing it wrong.

I remember I didn't do it for long.  The teachers probably felt sorry for me and put me on the bench.

I actually was really, really good at ONE sport.  It was Jacks.  I used a golf ball to play Jacks, and I could beat every girl in the neighborhood.

If I could get down on the floor and back up again without a Crane, I would STILL play Jacks.

I made -- well, almost made -- a really cute top today.  My fabric is a bit faulty in a very strange way.  Fortunately, I had enough of it to make it work.  I had 3 yards of the fabric.  It is a black background with gray flowers on it.  Of course, it has SOME kind of flower on it.  You already knew that, didn't you!

Anyway, when I washed it, it got all twisted up around itself.  I shook it all loose and put it in the dryer.  When I took it OUT of the dryer later, it had white streaks where it had been twisted.  I have never had a fabric do that before.  I think I better hand wash the blouse I made out of it.

I was asked to find the post about the Sonya blouse that I redesigned with my SFD Dress Kit.  The post was on 12-3-14.  If you will look back at the earlier posts for that date, you will find it.  It is called "My Attempt at Restyling Sure-fit Designs Top to Another Pattern".

Hugs, Joy

VLOG For You Today

Since I have my usual 20,000 WPD (words per day) blocked inside me because I can't email my friend anymore, I was about to bust!

Therefore, I sat down and talked to you via my brand new camera.

PLEASE NOTE:  I used the word "retribution" in the video when I meant to say "reconciliation".  Good heavens!  How far apart can two words BE, and to screw up when I'm already over my head in hot water!

I did have lunch with my dear friend Margaret today.

As Margaret pointed out, she and I have NOTHING in common, yet we love each other.  She doesn't sew or quilt or blog or make strange videos of herself.  We do both have secretarial backgrounds and complicated family issues.

Margaret said to me, "Joy, there is NOTHING in the world you could say to me that would make me stop being your friend."

Well, as nice as that was for her to say, it of course is not true.  There is such a constant river of words flowing out of my mouth that sometimes I shock myself at what comes out!

Jerry just got home.  I better get some supper on before he decides he wants a new wife!!!

Hugs, Joy

Wanted: New Best Friend

Yes!

I think I surely hold the World's Record for losing best friends.  Is it my fault?  Absolutely!  It is totally my fault.  I always commit the horrible, unforgivable sin of saying what I think.  Friends say a lot of things to me that I don't agree with, but I don't just DUMP THEM as though our friendship was nothing.  I realize that there are never, ever going to be two people on this Earth that agree on every subject.

Actually, I had a best friend when I met Jerry 40 years ago.  Her name was Judy.  We met at work.  We were together all the time.  I called her one night and asked her to be a witness for us because we were getting married.  She told me that she would NOT be in my wedding and she would no longer be my friend.  She said, "I can't stand it that you are going to be happy, and I am going to still be miserable."  I never saw or talked to her again.

I lost a best friend once because she thought I wanted her husband.  It was actually the other way around.  I was friend enough to her that I never told her the truth.

My husband and I have LOTS of disagreements.  We don't just throw each other away.  Also, if it is the kind of disagreement that one of us has to give on, then I know that it is ME who has to give.  The Bible says he is my head, and God is his head.  But if we can just disagree, and the world isn't going to come to an end because of it, then we just disagree.

I guess I better warn everyone not to ever be friends with me because I will say what I think about a subject even if it disagrees with what you think.  Do I always say what I think?  Oh, NOOOOOOOOOO!  I about bite my tongue off trying NOT to upset the apple cart.  But other times, things need to be said.

I have a friend named Mona who lives in Colorado.  She is one-of-a-kind, and if she was still a neighbor, I bet we would still be great friends.  You could say ANYTHING to Mona, and it just rolled off her.  She would come back with something just as snarkey (I think I just invented that word, lol).  I just told her the other day that she was a BRAT!  Her response:  "Yep, I haven't changed!"  I used to complain about the cat hair all over her house.  She told me, "QUIT wearing black jeans over here!"  She never said, "Well, just don't come over if you don't like the cat hair!"  I never, ever -- not even once -- saw Mona in a bad mood.  I could be crying and upset after a big fight with Jerry.  She would come over, and it was like having a tranquilizer walk in the room.  In that way, opposite personalities are good for each other.  Mona didn't have any children, so I couldn't screw up our friendship by trying to give "helpful hints" about her kids.

Jerry and I did watch church this morning.  I was so sad that I could hardly listen, however.  I kept hoping that some kind of miracle would happen, and all would be well again.  It didn't happen though.

I promised Terry I would make little girl dresses for the Missionaries in Nicaragua.  She sent me 12 tee shirts.  Jerry kept needing me to run errands with him, and I was thankful for the distraction for my sad heart so I went with him.

I got only 7 dresses done.  They take quite a bit of time with 4 pleats, cutting, sewing, serging and pressing.  Terry sent me pictures of headbands she is making to go with the dresses she has made.

Next thing I know, she will be making panties and socks to go with them!  I may never catch up!

Anyway, here is a picture of the 7 I finished.  I have 5 more to do.  I don't know when Terry will be getting more shirts, but it will probably be soon once they see how cute these are.

That is it for today.

Hoping you all have TRUE best friends and have a wonderful week!

Hugs, Joy

How I Hang My Quilts

I didn't get much sleep last night, so I may not be too coherent today.

I actually may be walking and talking in my sleep!

I was asked HOW I hung my new quilt up, so I took some pictures to show you.

I don't ALWAYS hang my quilts up like this, but it sure does work when you don't want to mess with sewing the sleeve on the back of the quilt and hanging a quilt holder on the wall.

I save all my used needles.  There probably isn't anything wrong with them.  They are just well-used sewing machine needles.

They make the most MARVELOUS "nails" for holding up quilts.

Here are some pics:

The needles do not show unless you really LOOK for them.

It was all I could do to get them to show up in a picture.

I start in the center.  Then I hammer one in at each top corner.  Then I fill in between those until the quilt appears to be straight on the wall.

To make sure the quilt is straight, I have a fun trick I do.

I take a wide piece of masking tape and I tape it lightly across the whole width of the wall -- at least, as much of the wall as the quilt requires - at the heighth that the quilt is going to be hung.

Then I get a long level that I have hanging in the closet.  I place the level on the wall AGAINST the masking tape, and I level it.  Then I draw a straight, level line all the way across the tape with a PENCIL.

After I hammer all my "nails" into the wall while aligning the quilt with the straight line, I tear the tape away gently from above and below the quilt.

Note:  Hammer GENTLY.  These are needles.  They go into the wall very easily.  They also leave the TINIEST little hole in the wall when you pull them out.

That's it for today.  I may have to sneak a short nap before dinner.

Hugs, Joy

Nida's Garden, The J's and New Camera

I am totally stressed tonight.

Why can't people communicate anymore?  I see problems all the time.  You can't talk to family or friends or employees or husbands or ANYONE without having to be sure you don't say something that might ruffle their tender little feathers!

And my grand kids' favorite comeback is "You shouldn't judge, Grandma."  That insane kind of thinking is certainly NOT Bible, and it has done so much damage to our children and our Nation!

OF COURSE, we should JUDGE!  You must judge what you eat, judge how you dress, judge who you become friends with, judge who you date, judge how you spend your money, and on and on and on I could go.

The word "Judge" means "to form an opinion or conclusion about".

I will admit that I was NOT born on the planet of "Unruffled Feathers".

In my family, if you didn't learn how to speak up and say what you wanted to say, you would be ignored, verbally abused and probably be mistaken for DEAD!

Now, I will admit, that my family was way off the scale when it comes to communication without concern for other's feelings, BUT we all knew how to speak our mind.  We didn't cuss or hit, but we could talk, explain, argue, discuss and speak up.

There has to be a happy medium in there somewhere.  People have to QUIT being so ridiculously sensitive all the time.

They need to smile, be happy, appreciate that they just maybe, might not be perfect, and could use some advice and/or correction now and then.

Proverbs 19:20-21   Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.

So, I will let that go, and show you my two new videos from my brand new camcorder!

I am at my house where the internet upload speed FLIES, so it took less than one minute to upload these two HIGH DEFINITION videos.  YIPPEE!

The first one is for my friends Mona and Jack.  They used to be our neighbors in Kingston a zillion years ago.  They were from Colorado, and they didn't like Kingston's weather.  Mona hated it so much, Jack finally moved her back to Colorado.

Mona and Jack had LOTS of pets.  Goodness, there were usually about 5 cats, 2 to 4 dogs, chickens, goats and maybe a donkey or a horse or both.  I used to complain all the time about the dog and cat hair all over the place.  When I went to their house, Mona would say, "Don't come over here in black jeans!"  She would cover up a chair for me to sit in.  One of their cats threw up a hair ball or something once, and I thought I would throw up one myself!

I was very ANTI-pet at the time.  I figured I had enough to do with a business to run, grandbabies to care for and two homes to take care of.  I thought pets were a major nuisance.

Well, my little video will show you I WAS RIGHT!  Notice in the yard one of the MANY holes Josie has dug.  The backyard here looks like the surface of the moon!  Notice the two lawn chair cushions.  Notice the white stuff all over the grass.  It is NOT snow!  It is the former stuffing from the chairs.  If I could have turned the tree around, you would see the huge hole in the side of the trunk that Josie has chewed.

Sooooooooooooo, I emailed my friend Mona last week, and I told her that we now have two cats and two dogs.

She wanted proof!  She said she told Jack that we had two dogs, and he did not believe it!  He wanted proof!  LOL.  Hence, the video.

And, YES!  I have my new camera.  Actually, the 2nd new camera.  I got the next step up from what I first had because the first one had a NON-removable battery.  I like to have two batteries so one is always charged.  I noticed that my two new videos have HD next to them.  I decided that HD is really nice for the quilt, but not so much for my face!

Here is Nida's Garden:

I have to go for now.

Be back soon.

Hugs, Joy

Happy Sunday Evening

It was a really nice day.

Our Sunday morning started with church from Cornerstone in San Antonio, TX.  Pastor Hagee started a series about THREE HEAVENS.  It was very good.  All about angels and devils and dying and coming back to life.  He read a story of a lady Doctor who had died for 11 minutes and came back to life.  VERY interesting.  There were lots of witnesses to it.  I have heard and read a LOT of stories about people dying and going to heaven and coming back to life again.  Some of them I thought were quite hokey and didn't agree with scripture.  There is one minister I actually like and respect who said he had a vision of heaven, but I don't agree with all of what his tale was either.

I figure that when I get there MYSELF, then I will be qualified to tell someone what it is like.

Hagee seems to agree that something very good or very awful is going to happen in September, 2015.  I refuse to listen to the doom and gloom preached by people who should know better (not Hagee).  God isn't going to die between now and then.  God's word isn't going to change between now and then.  And I'm not going to quit serving him no matter what happens!

I have good news in case any of you are planning on visiting me any time in the near future.

ALL of the 16-year old windows in this house were WASHED for the very first time today!

Well, not ALL of them.  Jerry could not reach the 2nd story, and I did NOT want him to try.  Therefore, if you come to visit me, you might be able to see out the windows!

Actually, I have washed some of them, but on the outside, that usually involves spraying them with a garden hose.  They are too tall for me to reach without a ladder, and I am of the belief that old people should NOT be up on ladders without another person close by.

I remembered yesterday when we were at Lowe's looking for something and I noticed a bunch of long window-cleaning tools and the non-streak window cleaner that goes with them that Jerry and I actually had already bought all of that stuff years ago.  I asked him if he knew where it all was.  He did!  It was all in his barn.  So I announced that since the weather was supposed to be so nice today that we were going to wash all the windows in the house, and pray they didn't shatter from the shock!

As it turned out, it was a one-man show, as only one person can hold the long pole.  I blew the leaves off the patio and cleaned up the chairs.  I also walked around the yard and picked up ten thousand tiny pieces of fluff that the dogs had chewed out of the guts of all their toys.

Time to go.  Nida's Garden is actually hanging on the wall already, but I had new camera issues GALORE today, and by the time I figured out HOW to take the pictures, I didn't care anymore.  It involved FOUR phone calls to Best Buy stores.  One of them actually allowed me to talk to a member of the Geek Squad who went on for 20 minutes asking me all kinds of questions.  I told her over and over that I just had a simple question, and I needed to talk to a camera salesperson.  She said she really needed to help me herself.  Well, she couldn't.  She FINALLY came up with the brilliant idea to transfer me to a camera salesperson.  DUH!  Only problem was, when she pushed the "send her somewhere else" button, the phone disconnected.

Then I called 3 other stores.  Two were too busy to even answer the phone.  The third one was answered by a young girl who INSISTED I tell her what I wanted.  I told her I wanted to talk to a camera salesperson.  She told me the entire store was too busy to talk to me.  I told her to forget it, and I hung up.

AARRGGHH!!!

I ended up calling the number on the Best Buy website.  I got a VERY NICE woman who said it was a slow day, and she was the only on there so that made her the Supervisor.  She agreed with me that all I needed was a salesperson at some store.  She told me she could get past the receptionist and get me the right person to talk to.  SHE DID!!!  I was so happy.  The conversation lasted less than one minute with the salesman.  As I said, by that time I was NOT in the mood to take pictures anymore.

Be back soon.

Hugs, Joy

Friday and Nida's Garden is Almost Done!

Yep.  Another whole day of quilting.  I don't know WHY it takes me so long.  It is a good thing I don't quilt for a living.  My husband would have to have two jobs so he could pay me for all the money I would lose by not making any!

I can't show you a picture yet.  Well, I COULD show you a picture, but the quilt isn't bound yet.  I want to get it bound and washed and hanging on the wall.  THEN, I will show you how it turned out.

Haven't heard back from Terry about the little girl dresses.  Maybe we will start next week on those.
She is making a new housecoat for herself today.

HEY!  I forgot to tell you I ordered a brand new camcorder.  My little pink Sony is about to fall apart.  The door where the battery goes is barely hanging on -- probably because I have to change the battery after every 10 minutes of use.  I have two batteries, and one is always on the charger.

That's it for today.  Be back soon.

Hugs, Joy

Working on Nida's Garden and a VLOG

Hello everyone!  Did you have a really nice day?

I had a looooooooooooooooooong day quilting.  I quilted for about 8 hours today.  Lots of standing.  I'm not totally satisfied with my quilt right now, but I'm hoping it will grow on me.  I am that way with everything I make.  By the time I get it done, I don't like it anymore.  Then I put it away for awhile, and the next time I see it, I forget all the boo boos I made and how much UNquilting I did, and it begins to look pretty good to me.

I took a short break just before lunch to talk to you.  Here it is if you would like to hear about the missionary dresses and a few other things my mouth decided to talk about.

I'll take pics of the little girl dresses when Terry comes back with more information on HOW we are going to make them.

THANK YOU SO MUCH to the very nice lady who offered to help us.  Wish you could join us here in my sewing room.  We could have an assembly line!

I did NOT finish Nida's Garden.  I spent lots of time UNquilting the bottom of the quilt where the borders are.  I am stuck on how to do the sashing.  After 8 hours, I decided I really needed to quit until tomorrow. 

I am the type of personality that has to FINISH what I start.  I go too long, and then I mess up.  There is NO REASON for me to do that since I'm not on a clock, but my brain doesn't seem to grasp that ideology.

OH, OH, OH!  For my sewing friends:

Did you notice that Louise Cutting has a Youtube Channel now?

I was just thinking the other day while I was watching Peggy's Youtube videos that some of the other sewing teachers should have a Youtube Channel too.  Peggy's business has exploded since she began doing all her free videos.

Louise's camera really makes a racket in the videos. Every time the camera person zooms in and out, you can hear it.  I don't know if she had the volume up too high or what.  I actually just bought a new video camera myself.  Haven't gotten it yet.  If it does that, I will send it back!

Be back soon.  

Hugs, Joy

VLOG for Sunday, 1-11-15

Yep, I made a video today.  I was in the mood to talk to somebody, and Jerry wasn't here.  I just HAD to tell you about the new project I am going to work on with Terry.  I thought maybe some of you might want to join me.

Here is the video:

Correction #1:  The sermon was called "Hope Thou in God", NOT "Trust Thou God".

Correction #2:  The program I like to watch at GETV.org is called "The Difference".

My friend, Rhonda, over at Rhonda's Creative Life Blog took on the special project of making ONE THOUSAND pillow cases for children at a certain hospital.  I think I made 20 pillow cases for her.  It was fun.  PLUS, PLUS, PLUS!  The greatest thing about projects like that is you USE UP YOUR STASH of fabrics you may never use otherwise.  Especially, if you are a quilter like me, and you used to buy a half yard of every cotton fabric in the quilt shop OR at least, a fat quarter of it.

I'll post more information and pictures -- OF COURSE -- when Terry and I figure out what the heck we are doing!

I was daydreaming about MAYBE -- someday -- Terry and I going down there to teach some classes.  I suppose that could never happen because you can't teach a class in just one week, and I sure wouldn't stay any longer than that unless our hubbys were there teaching the kids how to fish or drive race cars.

And those people don't speak English, do they????

I FINALLY got a pot of Terry's chili on the stove downstairs.  You would NOT believe what I did!  I have been going to make this chili ever since we had it at her house.  First, I didn't have the spices.  Then, I didn't have the right tomatoes.  Then, I didn't have a bell pepper.

Today, I had ALL the ingredients to make the chili.  I had the hamburger meat browning in the pot together with the chopped onions and chopped bell peppers.  I picked up the pepper grinder to grind some pepper balls onto the meat.

You won't believe what happened!!!

The bottom of the grinder came off in my hand, and WHOLE black pepper balls spilled out into the pot!!!

Jerry tried to come over and smash them with a potato masher.  I wouldn't let him even try that.  I didn't want my meat to me pulverized!  I tried picking them out one-by-one with a wooden spoon.  It took FOREVER!  Anyway, it is time to go add the pinto beans and bake the cornbread muffins.  Hopefully, Jerry and I don't bite into whole pepper balls and DIE!

Have an AMAZING week my friends!

And THANK YOU SO MUCH for your very sweet comments in my last post.  I cannot tell you how much they mean to me.  There are people in my family that say the ugliest things to me, and it is so nice to have someone say something NICE.  Even my husband commented on how fortunate I am to have you say such nice things.

Hugs, Joy

Nida's Garden Quilt

Some of my readers will remember when I was taking care of Jerry's Mom who had Dementia.  We had to move her to a Memory Unit at a Living Center.  After we moved her, I "moved in" to her home which was majorly packed from ceiling to floor and wall to wall with everything in the world.  Nida was the Queen of the Pack Rats!

Now, don't get me wrong.  She wasn't messy or dirty.  Everything Mom kept was very clean and put safely in some kind of container.  I wish I had pictures of the containers of shoes she had.  I can't believe I don't have one.

Hold on.....

These two pictures are of the SAME bedroom.  Mom had Dementia/Alzheimer's for years before we finally realized we had to do something for her safety.  She was forgetting to eat, and that was causing her to pass out.  Mom, of course, didn't remember any of what was happening.  She kept bringing boxes home to put things in to move OUT of her house; but she never removed a single thing, and the boxes were everywhere!

Notice the shoe boxes.  Every box was labeled and had shoes inside, shoe stretchers inside the shoes and one of those little packs that keeps shoes fresh.  There were many, many more behind the mirrored cabinets on the left.  Some of the shoes were from the 50's and were SO PRETTY.  5" high heels.  She had purses to match some of them.  She had hats.  She had some fancy dress-up clothes from the 50's too.  I BET I could have sold those things.  I didn't realize at the time how many people are into "vintage" clothes.

ANYWAY, I moved into this house as soon as I cleared out one of the bedrooms enough that I could get into one of the beds to sleep at night.  Day after day after day I would just sit someplace in the floor or on a stool, and I would look at every single thing in every single box to determine where it needed to go.  It took me many months.

After a few weeks, I was able to open up one of the many card tables I found there.  I set it up in the living room and GUESS WHAT I DID WITH IT??????????????????

Yep.  I set up a mini-sewing room.  I took an applique quilt kit that I had bought in Springfield, MO many years earlier, and I decided to work on it at night.  I was there all alone, and I needed something to do.  I finished all 12 blocks while I was there.  I finished the last one as we were clearing out the house for the buyers to move into.

Here are some close-ups of 3 of the flowers:

THEN, all the blocks went back into a box until a few days ago.  Terry was here, and Terry is ALWAYS quilting something, so I kind of got in the mood to quilt something too.  I pulled out the 12 blocks, and I put them together.

Here is the UNQUILTED top looking very crooked, but it is actually very straight.  It is SO HARD to photograph quilts and have them come out straight.

OH!  I forgot to tell you.  Jerry's Mom, Nida, LOVED gardening and gardens.  She and her Mother used to spend zillions of hours working in her large yard.  She had gardens around the entire house and all around the yard.  We found dozens of boxes of Miracle-Gro and bottles of bug killer in the laundry room and the garage.  She used to win the City's Green Spade Award for her gardens.  I found pictures of she and her Mother in newspaper articles holding the Green Spade Award.

Hence, the name of my quilt:  Nida's Garden

I better start pinning this quilt on the longarm.

Hugs, Joy

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING!!!

Well, I feel good today!

How about you?

I wonder if it is the sunshine or the salt lamp my daughter gave me for Christmas.  Do you know about the salt lamps?  That may not even be what they are called.  I'll show you a picture of mine.

Hold on.....

Isn't that pretty!?

It has a dimmer switch so you can turn it up or down.  The light is a simple night light bulb.

The "rocks" are some kind of salt combination that evidently resemble rocks in a salt mine.  The workers from the salt mines never had respiratory problems, so someone decided to chop up the rocks and put them in wire baskets so we could have a mini-salt mine in our home.  Actually, each one is only good for so many square feet, and you would probably need 50 of them to really make a difference in a house this size, BUT....  That one is right next to my head all night long, and I am hoping to see a big difference in allergy symptoms that plague me at night.

It is 8:26 AM.  The dogs have been hugged to pieces and fed.  I have had my toast and coffee.  I'm still in my jammies, but I think I'll head upstairs to see how much fun I can have today.  The sunflowers await!

Hugs, Joy

Lucy LOVES the Sunflowers

My friend Margaret agreed with Phylly's opinion of my bright orange fabric:  Yuk!

I cut open the box containing my new fabric that I brought home from the other house, and I pulled out the bright sunflower print.

Lucy saw it and about jumped off her post!

She wanted to try it on, so I put it on her right away.

Jerry was up here putting Stop Fray on the cuff of his favorite heavy courduroy shirt, and I asked him how he liked Lucy's outfit.  He said he really likes it!

So, I'm going to give you one more chance to see my pretty giant sunflowers in action.  Right after I post this pic, I will begin cutting out the top and blouse.  Lucy lets me poke pins all over her.  Unfortunately, I can't do that on my body, or I would have modeled it myself.

Almost noon.  Better go fix the Master some lunch, and then I'll rush right back up here to make this outfit.  I am really enjoying all the skirts I have made recently.  I made one last week too.  Can't remember if I showed you that one or not.

Hugs, Joy