Happy Birthday Deanna!

I am SO TIRED from working on my red coat all day long, that I won't post today's sermon notes until tomorrow.  The sermon today was actually quite frightening.  It was about those 4 blood moons again, and all the countries that are going to invade Israel.  What scares me is that I don't know how that could happen if Romney -- a President that would befriend and protect Israel -- is elected. 

We are still praying and believing for a miracle.  PLEASE vote!

And it is Deanna's birthday today!  I prepared a Blue Mountain card for you weeks ago, Deanna, but from what I can tell, it got lost in space.  I got a REMINDER today from Blue Mountain that it is your birthday.  What did they do with your card???  Anyway, I hope you had a great day.  I know the weather was great.  Knowing your family, you all got together for a big celebration. 

Whatever age you are today, you look AMAZING, and I am so blessed to have you for my forever friend! 

If I remember right, you are heading for the lake for a vacation with a friend.  Have lots of fun!

Jerry and I started watching 22 episodes of a show called Blue Belle (I think).  I never heard of it.  I guess it was a TV series.  There is a girl named Lemon Meringue in it, and another girl whose name I don't recall.  She is a doctor from New York City that moved to a small country town.  (Hasn't that been done like a dozen times already?)  She wears very short dresses and shorts and very high heel shoes.  She certainly doesn't look like any doctor I ever went to.  Oh!  Her name is Dr. Hart.  We watched about 4 episodes last night, so there are a lot left. 

In one episode, Dr. Hart is filling in for the other doctor who is the only doctor who has any patients, and the blood tests of the town preacher come in.  She finds out the preacher has Syphilis. 

Right away, I thought, "OH, GREAT!  The preacher and his wife are going to turn out to be horrible people."  I almost turned it off, but decided to wait for the outcome.  I was so happy that the writers decided to allow the Syphilis to be from the wife getting her belly button pierced by a young girl who had Syphilis, rather than from the husband having an affair.  Dr. Hart was so surprised that the preacher actually was a Godly man that she started attending his church.  Very nice!  Probably why it was never shown on TV.  TV shows here are only about Godless people.  I cringe whenever I see a preview from one of the current weeknight shows, and think that it is no wonder our children act like they do and have such disrespect for parents and religion.  I won't have it on my TV.

Better go find Jerry so we can watch Blue Belle. 

Hugs, Joy

Very FIRST Bound Buttonhole and Elliptical

This was a crazy day.  Jerry stayed home today to wait for the Air Conditioner once-a-year check-up people and for the Elliptical to be delivered from Sears. 

Now, I bet the second you read that sentence, you thought:  "I bet Joy is going to complain about the delivery people."

Well, guess what???  You are WRONG. 

Oliver and Shawn arrived an HOUR EARLY.  The first thing I did was run out to meet them and give them the "you better not stain my carpet OR put handprints on my walls OR bang up my stair rail" speech.  They took it like real men, and they were VERY nice to me.  They put the little shoe covers on which were completely torn up and barely there after getting this monster in the house, but I didn't care.  So nice of them to even have the shoe covers with them.

I watched them the entire time because Jerry disappeared into his office, and we never saw him after he moved that trailer you see in the background up onto the driveway so these guys could put the exercise bike and the treadmill on it. 

It was immediately decided that the giant box could NOT go up the stairs, so the box was opened at the foot of the stairs -- outside on the back patio.

Then the pieces were hauled up the stairs piece by piece.

I felt sorry for the guys because they knew I was watching them like a hawk PLUS I had a camera in my hand.  I explained that I had a blog, and I wanted to show pictures of my new Elliptical.  They didn't care.  Evidently, they have dealt with crazy women before.

Once they got all of the parts up the stairs and onto my carpet with me constantly watching, they began putting the thing together.  Notice the dolly in the back in front of the mirror.  I asked them to please let me sweep all the dirt and leaves off of it before bringing it in. 

After all, they don't make "shoe covers" for dollies.

That's Oliver on the left with the pony tail.  He told me about his brother who died with all kinds of Arthritis, including Arthritis of the Eye Ball and how he had three electric wheelchairs in his garage from when the same brother was in a wreck -- lost his leg -- got gangrene -- and then died.  Sounds horrible!

On the right is Shawn.  Shawn was a fitness instructor in the Airforce for six years (I think), and now, he works for Sears and his wife works for the Goodwill where she collects all the lighthouses that come in.  Shawn had a runny nose and a cough, and I was praying he didn't have a cold or the flu.  Come to think of it, I should sanitize the bars on that machine.  Too late now.  Hold on, while I go and wash my hands ..............................  Okay.  I'm back.

These two men worked together VERY well, and I told them so.  They are lucky to work together.

So all of that went wonderfully well, and here I am on my new Elliptical.  I had the guys put it in this corner where Jerry's TotalGym was until yesterday, so I could watch TV while I use it if I want to.  You can see I have the manual on it in the picture as I was trying to figure out what the computer screen does. 

One thing it does is record how many laps you do.  I did not notice how long a lap actually is, however.

My first workout lasted an entire two and one-half minutes at which time I could hardly move my legs.  I lifted the manual and peeked underneath to see how many laps I had done.

The screen showed I had done ZERO laps!

Hopefully, tomorrow I can do three minutes without collapsing!

Do you see that large pegboard on the wall next to me?  That was actually built especially for me for my sewing room when we built this house.  At that time, we didn't have the attic room.  All of my sewing was out here in this room.  Jerry has taken it over as his movie room.  The pegboard holds the attachments to his TotalGym which is now hidden in a bedroom closet.  He says he is going to use it again.  DON'T hold your breath!

I decided to try a sample bound buttonhole this morning while I was waiting for Oliver and Shawn to arrive.  I have never made one before, and I thought it was going to be some major production.  It is really nothing.  In some ways, it is easier than a regular buttonhole.  Just a few simple straight stitches.  No big deal at all as long as you know the RIGHT LENGTH TO CUT for the buttonhole.  That's the important part.

So here is my sample.

The pale pink "smudge" is Ambience lining fabric.  It is suppose to be flat here.  I accidentally sewed over it folded.  I just started over.

The buttonhole on the bottom that says "PERFECT" is my totally finished bound buttonhole. 

I used Marta Alto's method found in Jackets for Real People.  Her written directions are illustrated, and it couldn't be any easier.

Here is one of my two buttons in the buttonhole.

The fit is a tiny bit big -- maybe.  I'm going to make it 1/16" smaller.

Here is the backside of my first bound buttonhole.  My pinking shears were sitting right next to this when I was working on it, so I trimmed it with them.  Don't know if that is against the law or not, but I did it. 

It looks good to me.

Marla has you make the marks you need ON THE FACING SIDE, and then sew long basting stitches through them so you can see those on the front side of your garment. 

Brilliant!  Don't use black thread on red fabric though.

Gotta go.  Try some bound buttonholes.  Lots of fun!

Hugs, Joy

Craftsy Refund and Home Again

Jerry and I arrived back home here in Kingston about 1 PM today.  We hurriedly unpacked both of our vehicles, and he headed to the store to do payroll.  I unpacked bags and ice chests for over an hour and then headed to the sewing room upstairs where I talked to Tina about her new pants.  They look AMAZING on her!  Actually, it was just a muslin, but it looked amazing on her.  She is going to send me a picture of her completed pants so I can show you. 

After I talked to Tina, I was in the mood to make a new pair of pants.  I am in the middle of Sandra Betzina's fitting class on Craftsy, and I have her Vogue pattern for princess seam pants.  I just could NOT understand her directions, and the pant was a total mess fit-wise.  My "bowl" didn't fit into it any way, shape or form.  The problem was the crotch depth which was WAY OFF, but Sandra informed me after FOUR DAYS of waiting for an answer, that she doesn't pay any attention to crotch depth.  That is sure obvious!

After an hour of total frustration trying to get my "bowl" to work with her pattern, I gave up and wrote to Craftsy and requested a refund.  I LOVE that about Craftsy.  If you decide within 30 days that you don't like a class, they will totally refund your money.  They already answered and told me the refund was issued.  LOVE THAT SERVICE!!! 

Back to Sure-fit Designs for me.  I need a new pattern with a little smaller top on it since I lost some weight.  I don't seem to be dropping off any more pounds, so I will work on my current 150 pound shape.

I have to be home until "between 1 and 3" tomorrow for Sears to show up with my Elliptical.  Jerry wants to be here for that, and I am so glad because he is just as picky as I am about keeping dirty boxes and dirty shoes off our carpet.  It doesn't still look new after 14 years by accident.

Jerry and I spent the last hour breaking down the Chuck Norris Total Gym (the one Jerry hasn't used in 6 years, but he is GOING to use it, so we have to keep it) and putting it in a closet and then taking as many pieces as we could off my NordikTrack Treadmill to make it easier to move downstairs.  These fitness machines are so nice UNTIL you need to move them.  They are so awkward and heavy.

Anyway, I will have to stay here all day tomorrow, so it is either the red coat or new pants.  I'll see what mood I wake up in tomorrow morning.  Right now, I just want to go land in the recliner and listen to O'Reilly.  Well, I don't REALLY want to listen to him, but that is who Jerry has on.  He gets on my nerves.  He and Limbaugh are so conceited!

Until tomorrow, be safe and happy.  I'm so very sorry for the folks affected by that awful storm.  I pray God helps you as you work your way through all the issues, and that they are resolved quickly.

Hugs, Joy

Day in Court

Goodness!  I am falling behind on my blog this week.  Blame it on Jerry and the court hearing in Kingfisher for Jerry's Mom.

Jerry ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS gets up in the morning before I do.  Usually, 5:30 or 6:00 AM.  I never get up (not to be confused with "wake up") before 7:00.  Therefore, when I have to be woken up in the morning at a certain time, I expect him to come wake me up. 

Now, let me say right off -- before I gripe about Jerry -- that I realize I need to just set the alarm and forget about Jerry, but......... 

Monday night, after DWTS, I talked to Jerry about what time we should leave for our one-hour drive to Kingfisher.  We agreed we would leave at 8:30 to allow time to stop by Mom's house and allow for any traffic issues.  I announced I was going to bed and asked him to be sure I was up in time. 

Again, another mistake of mine.  I should have told him the EXACT second I wanted him to wake me up.

I have this major "thing" in my personality that causes me not to be able to go to sleep if I know I have to get up the next morning at a different time than usual.  WHY, I don't know -- but I do.  So I went to bed, but I could not go to sleep.  I tossed and turned until sometime after 2 AM.  Jerry, on the other hand, falls asleep wherever he is.  He can be in a chair, in a car, in the bed -- anywhere.  He came to bed at his usual time, and I know because I was still awake.  I finally fell sort of asleep, but I didn't REALLY fall asleep until I noticed him get out of bed early in the morning.  THEN, I thought to myself:  I can really go to sleep now because he will wake me up in time.

At 15 minutes until 8:00, Jerry wakes me up and hands me a cup of coffee.  Now, I didn't realize what time it was at that point.  I just thought, "How sweeeeeeeeeeeeet of him", and I sat up and started sipping my coffee getting ready to go in the living room and sit in my glider and sloooowly adjust to the day and then fix my one piece of toast allowed in my DESM diet and take my vitamins. 

As I was getting out of my bed, I noticed the clock on my nightstand and the time.  I nearly hit the ceiling.  I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO MAD!!!  I had LESS THAN 45 minutes to do what I usually do in 90 minutes.

And I said all that to tell you that yesterday had a very bad start.  Poor Jerry.  I kept yelling at him and telling him what a terrible husband he was, and how I could NOT understand how you could live with a woman for 37 years and know NOTHING about her!!!

As Jerry is driving, I keep yelling at him; and he does what he ALWAYS does when I get mad at him.  He IGNORES me!  The MORE he ignores me, the more I yell, and I bring up every little thing he has done wrong since the day we met.  It is NOT a good system, and I don't recommend it.  

We arrived a little early at the courthouse in spite of all that.  Of course, I had thrown myself together so fast, I wasn't quite sure my shoes matched my outfit or if I even had any on!  I forgot my watch, which was probably a GOOD thing!  Jerry found our attorney, Molly, in the hallway with another client, and she jumped up and decided to suddenly remember that we were coming.  She said if we hurried we could get right into the Judge.  He is the nicest Judge.  I really like him.  The three of us walked into his office.  He was at his desk dressed in a suit.  Jerry and I sat down, as directed, in front of his desk.

He just started talking to us, and he said that he had always wanted to be an attorney from when he was very young because he had decided that attorneys know things that nobody else knows.

I responded that our preacher noticed when he was very young that there was a guy who had a very large key ring with a whole bunch of keys on it hanging from his belt.  He decided he wanted to do whatever that guy did because he must be the most important guy in the world to have all those keys.  He laughed.




He asked us to raise our right hands and swear.  We did.  Then Molly began talking and SUDDENLY realized that Jerry's Mom, Nida, wasn't there. 




DUH!!!  That is why we had to reschedule from last time.  If Mom isn't present, you have to have a court reporter -- recorder -- stenographer -- whatever they are called.

So the Judge says, "We need to move."  So Molly led Jerry and I through the secret passageway into the courtroom where several other people were gathered.  The Judge said he would tell them to "stand down".  I guess they did even though most of them were standing up.  We stood in front of the fancy Judge bench and he came in dressed in his black robe and sat down behind the desk.  Then Molly did her 60-second spiel, and that was it.  The Judge said we were now co-guardians, and we left.  Then we walked down the hall to the clerk's area, and she and Molly stamped the Judge's signature on a bunch of papers, and that was it.

Then we went to the three banks in town where Mom has accounts, and we gave them copies of the guardian papers and signed signature "cards".  Then we went to her house where Jerry finished painting a few spots, and I cleaned the house and swept out the garage.  We put the "For Sale" sign back in the yard, and then we went over to visit Mom.  She was so happy to see us.  She just lit up.  She recognized us this time.  She didn't talk a lot.  She has gotten so she can hardly form a complete sentence because she can't remember what she was going to say.  When we left, I bent over the chair she was sitting in, and I gave her a hug.  Jerry was standing next to the chair.  Mom got up from the chair and asked Jerry to give her a hug.  She about squeezed the stuffings out of him.  She KNEW who he was, and it was so touching.  I promised her we would be back for the holidays, and said I hoped Countrywood would allow us to eat with her.  She said, "Well, I will MAKE them let you eat with me!"  That was a complete sentence, lol.

I'm going to meet Phylly at Louie's by the lake for lunch.  I better get going. 

Hugs, Joy

Phylly says, "WOW!" on 4 Blood Moons

Bet you thought I was going to give you some Halloween story, didn't you?  Not by any s t r e t c h of the imagination!  I'm going to give you a Bible story called:

The Coming Four Blood Moons

It is the title of Rev. Hagee's sermon today regarding an amazing study he has done on total eclipses of the moon as being signs on God's giant billboard -- the sky.

Scripture References:  Joel 2:30-31   and   Acts 2:19-21

I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
²⁰ The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
²¹ And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the LordShall be saved.

He was having a conversation with another preacher in Scotland (I think it was), and the preacher asked him if he had ever studied the eclipses of the moon and compared them with scripture.  Hagee replied that he sure had NOT done that.  On his flight back from wherever he was, he began studying that very subject.

Back in his office, he began a google search to find if there was any information about the last eclipses.  He said he looked for several hours, and he found NOTHING.  Then he googled something about eclipses and how they relate to Israel.  What came up on his screen made him jump up off his chair!  

The date of the last three total eclipses were:  1492, 1948 and 1967  (Those are PAST, not COMING)

It was those dates that made him jump off his chair because Hagee is a scholar of everything Israel, and he immediately realized the relationship.

In 1492:  Jews were tortured by the Roman Catholic Church, murdered, burned, etc. and finally run out of Spain because they would not convert to Catholicism. 

In 1948:  This was just after the Holocaust.  Jews reunited in Israel and David Ben-Gurion announced the birth of the State of Israel.  Harry Truman recognized the State of Israel 11 minutes later.

In 1967:  Jerusalem was united to the State of Israel.

It is already known by NASA what the EXACT dates of the next 4 "blood moons" or total eclipses will be, and they coincide with Jewish feasts/holidays (if I understood right).  PLEASE, as I always say, go to www.jhm.org and GETV and listen to this message yourself if you are interested in all the details. 

On 4-15-14, Eclipse of the Moon coincides with Passover.

On 10-8-14, Eclipse of the Moon coincides with Sukkot.

On 3-20-15, Eclipse of the Sun coincides with Adar 29 and Nissan 1 on the Jewish calendar.

On 4-4-15, Eclipse of Moon coincides with Passover.

On 9-28-15, Eclipse of Moon coincides with Sukkot.

Mark 13:24-26

²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; ²⁵ the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

In the Bible, there is one story of the sun actually standing still and going forward one day (Josua 10:12-13) -- and there is another story of the sun moving backward one day (II Kings 20:9-11). 

Remember in Matthew 2:9 how the wisemen FOLLOWED a moving star until it stopped and stood still over Bethlehem?

WHAT does all this mean?

It MEANS the King of Kings is coming soon!!!  The Bible is true.  God controls the sun, moon and stars and THE SKY IS HIS BILLBOARD!  



These signs don't foretell the rapture of the church.  That could happen at any second.  Don't mix up the two events.

Phylly sent me an email right after the message, and all it said was, "WOW!"

Have a blessed Sunday!  I'm off to shower and get ready for lunch.  I hear a bowl of hot vegetable soup and a hamburger with light cheese and extra lettuce calling me from Johnnie's. 

Hugs, Joy

My Sole

So, here it is.  Yep, I made Jerry take my picture.  He is used to it now.  A year ago, he would have refused to do it.  I would have had to put the camera up on something tall -- push the 10 second delay -- run over and jump on the machine and smile.  So much better to have a cooperative husband!

 

Jerry and I like to buy the best we can afford, and from the reviews and research I did, this was it.  I don't like to buy anything I haven't actually tried out, so I was thrilled to find out that Sears sells them. 

 

Jerry, of course, wanted to come home to see if he could surf the web and find it cheaper.  He wants it to be a big secret, but I immediately told the Manager that he wanted to do that.  Suddenly, Sears was able to give me FREE delivery and set-up -- no small thing considering it is 150 miles there and 150 miles back -- and I got $85 off for putting it on my Sear's card.  Not bad.  The price was the same as the internet price except for sales tax, but with the discounts, we figure it evened out real fast.

 

 



I have another salesperson story for you, but this is a GOOD one!  I found out the Manager's name when I called yesterday.  I had the clerk I was speaking to on the phone tell the Manager that I had been waiting several days for this machine to be set up because when I was there several days ago, it was not on the floor.  Zachary was the first clerk to help me.  He told me the E95 would be set up any day.  The Manager -- a woman -- saw that it actually WAS taken out of the storeroom and it WAS put up.  She promised I could come try it out this morning.

When Jerry and I walked in at 10 am this morning, a young man and the woman Manager were on the floor working on it.  NO SMALL TASK, let me tell you.  This thing is a monster!  Look how far it sticks out into the walk way.  It is supposed to be up on the red pad.  It is over 8' long. 

I had walked on every elliptical there, and this one was, by far, superior.  I just loved it right away.  It was VERY quiet and so smooth.  It will be delivered to my upstairs "fitness" area next Friday.  It took 4 hours for this to be assembled this morning.  Hope the guys delivering it know what they are doing.  Surely, there will be at least two of them!

I have two very nice treadmills to sell now.  Anyone out there need one?  They are both "like new". 
One is a NordikTrack and one is a Smooth.  I'm going to advertise them next week if I can figure out what town I will be in.  No way am I shipping them, so someone local will have to buy them.

That was just about my whole day.  We bought some groceries, went to Olive Garden for lunch, and we came home.  Jerry is watching football, and I'm talking to you. 

Hope all is well in your world.

Hugs, Joy

Meet Laurie and My New B&W Jewelry

My husband should be home by now to take me out to dinner before every single person in Oklahoma shows up at whatever restaurant we choose to go to.  I don't really want to go, but since we actually HAVE restaurants to go to in this town, I want to take advantage of them while he is here with me.  I don't go when I'm here alone at night.

We had a WONDERFUL meal at our friends' (Robert and Deanna) house last night.  They even had my favorite wine as you will recall from my wine and cheese tasting video.  We took our guns and we had gun Show and Tell.  All of us were too tired to even think about going someplace to shoot them.

OHHHHHHHHHHHH!  I went to visit Margaret yesterday after she invited me to come see her brand new living room in her brand new house.  I met her friend, Guy (short for Guylene, I think), and I met Guy's friend, Laurie.  Guess what Laurie does??????????? 

A picture is worth 1000 words....... check it out.

Yep, she makes jewelry.

She has been doing it a lot longer than I have -- obviously -- and she sells hers.  I really like the one on her right hand with the chain and leather ties in it. 

If Laurie didn't live in Missouri, I would SO want to be friends with her!  You know how I love to learn new things.  I would soak up everything she said and follow her to every bead store! 

She gave me some tips about online shops and a show that will be coming to OKC in March, 2013.

We even have the same haircut.  Isn't she cute? 

Here is my big accomplishment for today.  I found the black and white pendant the other day at Hobby Lobby, so I made the necklace to hang it on and the bracelet and earrings to go with it.  I love any primary color and white together.  If they had these butterflies in five colors, I would have made five bracelets.  They are so cute!

 

I am still on the DESM diet, and I have actually seen the number "150" between my toes on my scale!  The only problem is, it is always a fleeting number.  It jumps to 151 and 152 and back down and back up and I'm not going to document it as "real" until it stays there for a few days.  I have lost inches off my midriff though, and that is the best part.  I want to make some pants, but I am still in the middle of that red coat.  It is 50 degrees here today, and I actually turned the heater on for the first time this year.  It made me WANT my new red coat!  Since it isn't done, I had to wear my veeeeeeeery old red coat today.

Jerry just turned on the TV which means he has left his desk.  I am going to join him.

Have a great weekend, my friends!

Hugs, Joy