Where does the day go?

Here are two king sized pillowcases I made. The fabric is flannel and it has white polka dots. The sleeve is a plaid. Sorry the picture doesn't show that. Maybe if you click it and enlarge it you can see it.



I made these two pillowcases for my two granddaughters. They are their favorite colors. I am also making one for Bob's granddaughter.

This is a mug rug. My first attempt at it. It is a little crooked but I will get better at it. Mug rugs are little placemats for a coffee mug or tea cup and has enough room for a cookie or two or a muffin.

I can't believe how fast the days have been going this last couple of weeks. I am trying to make these and other pillowcases to give as gifts and my sewing room doesn't have the best lighting yet. So I have to take advantage of the daytime hours when it's lightest. By the time I get home from the gym and running errands I only have an hour or two left of daylight. I need to get some better lights in the room and also I need to budget my time better. Well, I am going to go see if I can cut the next one out.

Pillowcase

Here is one of the pillowcases I made a couple of weeks ago. I made them in flannel so they would be soft and warm. They are really comfy. I got them from a video tutorial on YouTube. Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrYWCma9wgM It was so easy and turned out perfect. A friend of mine has made upward of 36 of them for gifts. I think she said she is giving them to everyone she's ever met. She is pretty funny and I think she is also driven. She is also making potholders for gifts. I am working on two quilts at once right now. One is the fishing quilt for my hubby and the other is the quilt for the Squares of Hope group to give to a deserving person through our church. They are made and prayed over and then given to someone who is ill or has lost a loved one or in need of comfort for another reason. We pour out our love and hearts into these quilts.

I haven't put out any decorations for Christmas yet and don't know if I will. My SIL is in the hospital and we may go down to California to see her. She had arthroscopic knee surgery a couple of weeks ago and ended up with blood clots in both lungs. She is expected to be released soon, maybe even today. We may go there for Christmas. We are still discussing what we'll do.

I've been reading so many new blogs by quilters and I wonder how they find the time to do as much as they do. I am hoping that I can someday make the beautiful quilts and other crafts they make. I am counting on "practice makes perfect" working for me. So far some of the little crafts I have tried look pretty much like a beginner made them. But I won't give up. They all are inspiring me to keep trying.

Have a beautiful day everyone.

Can't believe it's already the 3rd...

I haven't even thought about decorating the house yet. We went to the coast for Thanksgiving. We spent a week there and had a great time. The weather wasn't the best but it was still good to be away and in a different place. We went with some friends and we both cooked our meal together and also had another couple from our church come and join us for dinner. The dinner turned out spectacular and we all had a great day. The guys went out in the boats every day and went crabbing. Three of the days we had groups of people (friends of ours from church) come and go crabbing too. I made a double batch of Paula Deen's Taco Soup to serve when they came in from the cold, wet bay. It was a big hit with everyone. I've included the recipe if anyone would like it. My hubby Bob loves it and asks for it about every other week. LOL. We throw a handful of Fritos in the bowl and a dollop of sour cream on top and stir it in......yum.

Taco Soup
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Prep Time:
15 min
Inactive Prep Time:
--
Cook Time:
6 hr 0 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
12 to 16 servings

Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups diced onions
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
Corn chips, for serving
Sour cream, for garnish
Grated cheese, for garnish
Chopped green onions, for garnish
Pickled jalapenos, for garnish
Directions
Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.

Quiet morning hours

I love the early morning hours when the house is so quiet. I can read or check emails and it's peaceful. No television going in the background and my pup snuggled against my right thigh. Sometimes I have Molly the cat laying in my lap, if I am not using my laptop. This morning I am listening to the turkeys outside. They come and pick up the bird seed that falls out of the feeder when the birds eat. Now they've moved on and it's quiet again.

Today is going to be a good day. I have a baby shower to attend at 11 and then another get together at 5pm. Plenty of time in between to do whatever I want. I finished cutting out my hubby's fish quilt and need to get started on it. We still haven't assembled the quilting frame. It's because the room it's going into has items in it that I need to either get rid of or find a place for. All the books I have are sitting in piles on the floor. I have gone in and tried to go through them and sort out the ones I don't need or haven't yet read. And some are my hubby's so I try and make a stack for him. Then I just get frustrated over what is to become of them and I walk out of the room. They used to sit on my bookshelf. Then my hubby decided we didn't have room for the bookshelf. So I moved them to the entertainment center that held our stereo components and TV. Then we got a different TV and stopped using the entertainment center so we sold it. Then I moved them to a dresser that wasn't being used. Then we gave it to friends who needed it. So my books are displaced again. Ugh!! Some of them I am thinking of selling on Amazon.com and others I use from time to time to look up things in them so I don't want to pack them away. It's times like this that I wish our house was bigger. Then we have some stereo components and old VCR's that we aren't using anymore. I need to either try selling them or giving them to Goodwill or Salvation Army. The sooner I get it done the sooner I can get my frame assembled.

We are planning to go to the coast in our motor home with another couple for the holiday. We will cook our Thanksgiving dinner in our roaster ovens outside the coach. Then we each will fix what we have decided we'll make and then we will have our dinner together. We bought 2 turkey breasts since we both prefer the white meat. Our friends also bought a whole turkey and will roast it as well. We should have plenty of sandwich fixings for after Thursday. Then the following day we plan to do some crabbing with other friends who come by. Should be a fun time. Hopefully the weather won't be too bad. The forecast is showing no rain until Saturday so I hope it doesn't change. I miss having a big family Thanksgiving, but with our family scattered all about and the older generation having passed on it makes it hard. I have always wanted to go away for Thanksgiving in either the motor home or by renting a cabin somewhere. So this will be a chance to do it finally.

I'm a slacker...

I haven't blogged in over 2 weeks. I have been lurking in the background just reading and not posting. I also found a few quilting blogs which I've been looking for and finally found. I have been working diligently on some quilting projects. The biggest one is a quilt for the "Squares of Hope" a group I belong to at church. We make and distribute quilts to those in need due to illness or family loss. They are prayed over by many of our members. It's very rewarding to know something you worked on is bringing someone comfort.



I am also cutting out a quilt for my hubby Bob that we bought in a kit at a quilt shop in Florence, Oregon several months ago. It's a fishing themed quilt. I hope it isn't too much for me. So far I am not having any problems with it.



I made some pillowcases out of flannel for our bed. I found a tutorial on YouTube and they are so easy and come out perfect. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrYWCma9wgM the tutorial is also for a cause but I only made a couple for us. They also would make great gifts. They are trying to get a million of these made and donated. I need to make some for the Million Pillowcase Challenge also. I didn't take pictures of them or I would post them.

So far I am doing well without my band being filled. My reflux has stopped and I only get heartburn at night. So I take a Zantac before bed and I am ok. I sure don't miss the reflux. I am watching that I don't eat too much. Since I was banded over 2 years ago I know how much my portions should be and I am following these. Now if only I would lay off the candy. I got some candy corn after Halloween at Walmart and I have been grabbing a handful while I am sewing. I need to throw them away since they are pure sugar. But I love them so. And they are only out once a year.

I still haven't gotten my quilting frame assembled. The room where it is to go has some boxes in it and about 40 books that were in a cabinet that we sold. Now I have no place to put the books. I am sorting them and keeping only some of them. I might sell the rest on Amazon.com as used books. Once I get the boxes and books moved my rack can go in there. It's a tiny room so there isn't much room to maneuver until I moved them out and right now I have no place to put them. If the garage wasn't so cold I would set it up out there but, no way. Well, I have to shower and take Chloe to the groomer and then it's off to the gym. Have a wonderful day everyone.

Well, today was my first full day without my fill. I am surprised, in that I am stopping and feeling full at the same place I have been for the last 8 months. I hope this lasts. Thank you everyone for your kind words and encouragement. That's why I am glad I am a blogger. Bloggers are great people!

I also started to quilt a table topper I made for Autumn. I had to get out the book to learn how to use the Bernina Stitch Regulator and a couple of other things on my machine. I had a class the week after I bought it but then I went on vacation and had family come to visit. The only thing I have been doing is piecing the tops which just involves straight stitching. I think I need a refresher course. Maybe I'll just sit and read the manual. I also got a DVD with it, maybe I'll watch that again too.

It was cold and damp out today. No rain and no sun all day. Ugh!! I hope this doesn't mean winter is almost here.

Not what I was hoping for.........

Well, today was the day I was to go for the test at the hospital. My doctor met me there and when I went in there were four people in the room. I stood on a tall machine and they slid an xray device to the front of me. Over to my right there was a television screen with a view of my esophagus. One of the technicians handed me a cup with a clear liquid in it. He said to take a big swallow of it. I took two. I looked to the side and could see the liquid roll down my throat and when it reached the bottom it pushed out to the side instead of going through my band. The doctor said, "oh no, that's what I was afraid of. You have a dilated esophagus. I need to remove all of the fill for 3 months" So there you have it. They put a pillow behind my head and laid the table back and before I knew it I was on my back. The doctor removed my fill and they stood me up again. Then they handed me the liquid again and had me drink it. This time it went right down. The doctor mentioned that he was surprised I was able to even eat. Now I know why it seemed like my food took forever to leave the pouch. It's because I had another larger pouch that it was being stored in. So the way I understand it is I had too much in the band and that is why this happened. Funny thing is a year and a half ago I had a similar problem and my band was even more filled then. So I have to be very careful over the holidays not to over do things and to keep on going to the gym so I don't undo all that I have accomplished so far. I am trying to keep a positive attitude over this whole thing. Maybe now I can sleep laying down again instead of having to prop pillows up behind me. I already feel better. I was getting little hiccups that would have liquid and food in them all the time. Since I went to the hospital that hasn't happened. I guess my doctor being a lapband patient himself knows what he's talking about. Thanks to all of you who made such nice comments on my last couple of posts. I love my blog buddies.