So the other day, I was at the grocery store and all their Easter candy was on clearance. My bright idea was to buy some and send it to the kids. They got opened. And sampled. And double sampled. It's not like I ate a whole bag, there's still plenty of candy. But I don't eat candy. I don't even hardly eat sugar. And I certainly don't do more than a cup of coffee or tea's worth of caffeine in a day. I know, I'm a freak. Whatever. I woke up this morning feeling just icky. Head achey, sluggish, and apparently I get mean. But only to my DH. Which really isn't a good thing. I spent the day drinking tons of water and working in the yard, trying to rid all that poison from my system. I don't think it's all gone yet though. Still headachy and feeling funky. I think I'm gonna take the next few days and try to detox it out. No more candy for me. Well. Probably in about 6 months I'll do it again, knowing full well what's going to happen and feeling like a jerk when I do. It's kinda stupid to eat something knowing that you're going to pay for it. Oh well, I guess I'll keep trying to learn from my mistakes.
On the up side, I got a few things done today. Paid bills, made a menu and grocery list, cleared out a veg bed and got the corn planted, went to the feed store for chicken fud and caved and bought 2 tomato plants and a pepper plant. Got them in the ground, did some laundry and worked in the sewing room for a while. I got the final 2 rows sewn onto my Christmas tumblers quilt. It's huge. I'll take a picture tomorrow. Approximately 1400 tumblers. I hand pieced most of it, but once I got close to the end, I just went ahead and finished up on the machine. I fixed a lovely dinner of marinated chicken breasts, herbed rice and fresh asparagus. Shoulda made bread, but we survived. I started cutting for the next class sample, a Buggy Barn Crazy quilt out of the new Moda line called Oz. Funky, 60-ish type prints. And I completed another hand pieced LeMoyne Star block for, you guessed it, a class sample. I sure hope I get some students. I'm spending all my time doing class samples and don't have time to do the paying jobs.
Watched the final Stars hockey game of the season. We won. :)
It's time for bed. DH has to get up at 4:30 (eww) and I should probably get up relatively early and head into town to do my grocery shopping before all of Frisco is out and about. Then home for more yard work and class samples. It's a good thing I like to garden and sew.
Peace,
Deb
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
I worked him like a dog...
My husband that is. He was off of work today and I blatantly assigned him a bunch of jobs to help me with. He cheerfully did them. Well, he started off cheerfully enough anyway. We got the rest of the rails up on the fence posts around the garden. He helped me cut down an old bamboo shade to use as a sun break for the chicken coop, he walked with me down to the hardware store to purchase some screws, he mowed the front lawn AND he put the down spout extension on. Whew! I think it was a good day's work. After that, I left him alone and let him nap and play video games. As much as I can leave him alone. :) I have a habit of vocalizing my random thoughts, running from the sewing room into the living to blurt out something completely strange and quite important. (ie: "I think the guy who moved in across the way has his own table saw" and "Our mean old neighbor is smoking in the alley"). While he was "resting" I was finishing up a class sample that I was working on last weekend at my parent's house. I got it finished just in the nick of time. Both my over head light and my sewing machine task light burned out today and both require specialized light bulbs. And the window in front of my sewing machine is currently wood. So I was battling daylight in an effort to finish before it was so dark in there that I sewed my finger to the quilt. I won and we had just enough time to run to the grocery store in town to purchase the fixins for the dinner DH requested. Chili Dogs. It was his day off, after all. Then we sat down to watch a hockey game, which we are losing atrociously. And that's about it. Here's a picture of the quilt. It's called a Blooming 9-Patch, and hopefully, you can see why.
Here's a picture of the chair I re-strung yesterday. It's really quite comfy.
Time to hit the hay. Getting up early in the am to do chores and work on another quilt top. It's a Tumbler quilt made up entirely of Christmas fabric, both mine and pieces I requested from my quilting friends. I hand pieced most of it til I was close to the end and machine pieced the last 6 rows. I'll get them sewn on and transfer the quilt top from the "works in progress" pile to the "quilt top" pile. I'm really trying to finish some stuff. OH! I got my chicken quilt loaded on the quilt machine as well.
I'm pooped!
peace,
deb
Here's a picture of the chair I re-strung yesterday. It's really quite comfy.
Time to hit the hay. Getting up early in the am to do chores and work on another quilt top. It's a Tumbler quilt made up entirely of Christmas fabric, both mine and pieces I requested from my quilting friends. I hand pieced most of it til I was close to the end and machine pieced the last 6 rows. I'll get them sewn on and transfer the quilt top from the "works in progress" pile to the "quilt top" pile. I'm really trying to finish some stuff. OH! I got my chicken quilt loaded on the quilt machine as well.
I'm pooped!
peace,
deb
Monday, April 5, 2010
Springtime in Texas
No, we haven't had a tornado yet. :)
The seasons in Texas are a bit strange. They don't gradually come rolling in. You go to bed and it's winter with snow and wake up to spring and 70 degrees. It's now spring. Too late to plant any peas but too early for tomatoes, but just barely. Luckily, I have broccoli and cabbage and carrots and lettuce to fill in the gaps till it's time to get really serious. Those in the know say that we should have tomatoes in the ground now, but the friend that I'm getting plants from doesn't put hers in til May. So I guess I'll be waiting.
About the iris's previously mentioned. Several years ago as we were driving home from being "in town" we passed a spot where progress was marching over. They were widening and reshaping the road in anticipation of the work that's being done now (taking it to 4 lanes). The spot they were bulldozing had been the entrance way to the drive of an old home long since gone and at the edge where it met the road was a stand of beautiful white iris'. I looked at my daughter and she knew what I was going to do. I pulled over right in the middle of the construction zone and dug a bunch of those white iris's out of the ground with my hands with the dozer crew looking on. I planted them in my iris bed and every year they've thanked me by multiplying and being the first to bloom. I like to think that the homesteader woman who planted them can see them from Heaven and is pleased that they still greet the spring each year. I just couldn't let them be buried over with a road. I think if I ever have to leave this house, I'll be taking with me my iris's and my roses. And the hibiscus...
I made a jar of sauerkraut on Saturday. I used the recipe in the cookbook "Nourishing Traditions" and I added 2 tablespoons of whey left over from some raw goat's milk cheese making. The book has a lot of information about lactofermentation and I thought I'd give it a try. It's supposed to make the nutrients and the enzymes more readily available to your body and also help the proliferation of the good flora and fauna in your tummy. And a happy tummy makes a happy person.
I've been working on a sample for a class I'm going to teach. The blooming 9-patch. It's almost done. ALMOST. 4 more rows to sew together and to the shop it goes. I'll be sure to post a picture.
I finally re-strung the seat of my wicker rocking chair this evening while watching a movie. The cats had sharpened their claws on it til the wicker disintegrated so I just pulled it all off. It's been sitting on the porch with no seat for about 6 months. Decided that I probably should get it done since it's becoming porch weather. I've been taking my coffee out there and reading in the mornings the past couple of days. It's pretty nice on that porch swing with a quilt and a cat and a book.
Started some seeds today and they're in the green house. The asparagus is going crazy, as are the chickens. Cut back some saplings in a flower bed and cleared the dead datura out. Worked on a paying repair job. Hmmm, I think that's it for today.
Gotta get some sleep. DH will actually be home with me tomorrow and he's said he'd help me with some outside work, which is very cool. And a friend said that someone gave her a chipper/shredder and that I can borrow it which is WICKED cool. That huge brush pile in the back yard is going to become some delicious mulch for my gardens.
I'll try to be better about posting. I didn't know anyone was reading, but now that I do, I'll keep in touch better.
be well,
deb
The seasons in Texas are a bit strange. They don't gradually come rolling in. You go to bed and it's winter with snow and wake up to spring and 70 degrees. It's now spring. Too late to plant any peas but too early for tomatoes, but just barely. Luckily, I have broccoli and cabbage and carrots and lettuce to fill in the gaps till it's time to get really serious. Those in the know say that we should have tomatoes in the ground now, but the friend that I'm getting plants from doesn't put hers in til May. So I guess I'll be waiting.
About the iris's previously mentioned. Several years ago as we were driving home from being "in town" we passed a spot where progress was marching over. They were widening and reshaping the road in anticipation of the work that's being done now (taking it to 4 lanes). The spot they were bulldozing had been the entrance way to the drive of an old home long since gone and at the edge where it met the road was a stand of beautiful white iris'. I looked at my daughter and she knew what I was going to do. I pulled over right in the middle of the construction zone and dug a bunch of those white iris's out of the ground with my hands with the dozer crew looking on. I planted them in my iris bed and every year they've thanked me by multiplying and being the first to bloom. I like to think that the homesteader woman who planted them can see them from Heaven and is pleased that they still greet the spring each year. I just couldn't let them be buried over with a road. I think if I ever have to leave this house, I'll be taking with me my iris's and my roses. And the hibiscus...
I made a jar of sauerkraut on Saturday. I used the recipe in the cookbook "Nourishing Traditions" and I added 2 tablespoons of whey left over from some raw goat's milk cheese making. The book has a lot of information about lactofermentation and I thought I'd give it a try. It's supposed to make the nutrients and the enzymes more readily available to your body and also help the proliferation of the good flora and fauna in your tummy. And a happy tummy makes a happy person.
I've been working on a sample for a class I'm going to teach. The blooming 9-patch. It's almost done. ALMOST. 4 more rows to sew together and to the shop it goes. I'll be sure to post a picture.
I finally re-strung the seat of my wicker rocking chair this evening while watching a movie. The cats had sharpened their claws on it til the wicker disintegrated so I just pulled it all off. It's been sitting on the porch with no seat for about 6 months. Decided that I probably should get it done since it's becoming porch weather. I've been taking my coffee out there and reading in the mornings the past couple of days. It's pretty nice on that porch swing with a quilt and a cat and a book.
Started some seeds today and they're in the green house. The asparagus is going crazy, as are the chickens. Cut back some saplings in a flower bed and cleared the dead datura out. Worked on a paying repair job. Hmmm, I think that's it for today.
Gotta get some sleep. DH will actually be home with me tomorrow and he's said he'd help me with some outside work, which is very cool. And a friend said that someone gave her a chipper/shredder and that I can borrow it which is WICKED cool. That huge brush pile in the back yard is going to become some delicious mulch for my gardens.
I'll try to be better about posting. I didn't know anyone was reading, but now that I do, I'll keep in touch better.
be well,
deb
Friday, April 2, 2010
My public ;)
Seems I have a few friends and family out there who actually read this blog. I know, right! I had no idea. So I guess that will lend some accountability to things around here. If I have to write down what I did, I have to have done something.
Had a great time in Stilly visiting family. Mom made me a pattern from my favorite shirt....WITHOUT taking it all apart. Dad cooked and cleaned, which was a new experience. We also opened the outdoor patio for the season. It was nice to be there for that. I worked on a class sample, it's not quite finished yet, but I will definitely post a picture for that. It's pretty darn cool, if I say so myself.
Got home and I think my blackberry bush has died. We'll have to see. I might go ahead and plant it and see what happens. My lettuce is coming up and my broccoli and cabbage are doing well. We had two really warm, but very windy days but now it's raining again. I put in some radish and beet seeds last week, so this may be just what they need to give them that umph to get going. I have some carrots sprouting all over one of my beds. I guess I let a carrot go to seed last year. That's a-ok as everything I planted last year was open pollinated. And I don't have to mess with planting carrots this year. The asparagus is really starting to get going. I think I've harvested one spear from about 2/3rds of the crowns so far, another week and this rain we're going to get today should help them out. I do need to get some more straw and start mulching things since once it gets warm, it'll be real warm.
I didn't get to bring home my rain barrel since I was driving the little car. Next time, I guess.
My niece is getting married tomorrow, but we're not able to go. I hope everything goes well and I wish her the best.
I need to go finish getting dressed for work. A dear friend and co-worker has been out a few weeks and will be out another few weeks more and we are all taking turns taking her food. Today is my day. Nothing special, I cooked a crockpot of beans yesterday and am taking her some of those. They were quite tasty, but we sorta just threw in what we could find and I'll probably never be able to duplicate it.
I will spend some more time this weekend to see if I can get the mobile photo upload to work from my phone. My camera doesn't quite work as well as I'd like it to these days and my phone takes better pictures.
peace,
D
Had a great time in Stilly visiting family. Mom made me a pattern from my favorite shirt....WITHOUT taking it all apart. Dad cooked and cleaned, which was a new experience. We also opened the outdoor patio for the season. It was nice to be there for that. I worked on a class sample, it's not quite finished yet, but I will definitely post a picture for that. It's pretty darn cool, if I say so myself.
Got home and I think my blackberry bush has died. We'll have to see. I might go ahead and plant it and see what happens. My lettuce is coming up and my broccoli and cabbage are doing well. We had two really warm, but very windy days but now it's raining again. I put in some radish and beet seeds last week, so this may be just what they need to give them that umph to get going. I have some carrots sprouting all over one of my beds. I guess I let a carrot go to seed last year. That's a-ok as everything I planted last year was open pollinated. And I don't have to mess with planting carrots this year. The asparagus is really starting to get going. I think I've harvested one spear from about 2/3rds of the crowns so far, another week and this rain we're going to get today should help them out. I do need to get some more straw and start mulching things since once it gets warm, it'll be real warm.
I didn't get to bring home my rain barrel since I was driving the little car. Next time, I guess.
My niece is getting married tomorrow, but we're not able to go. I hope everything goes well and I wish her the best.
I need to go finish getting dressed for work. A dear friend and co-worker has been out a few weeks and will be out another few weeks more and we are all taking turns taking her food. Today is my day. Nothing special, I cooked a crockpot of beans yesterday and am taking her some of those. They were quite tasty, but we sorta just threw in what we could find and I'll probably never be able to duplicate it.
I will spend some more time this weekend to see if I can get the mobile photo upload to work from my phone. My camera doesn't quite work as well as I'd like it to these days and my phone takes better pictures.
peace,
D
Friday, March 19, 2010
A beautiful Friday!
Hi guys!
Spring Break and today was just beautiful! My schedule got changed around this week to accommodate those who were going out of town and I got Friday off. I haven't had Friday off in over a year, and I gotta say, I really enjoyed this one. (to clarify, I got of Christmas and New Year's, but those weren't really typical Fridays). Friday is Pizza Day. It has been for about 11 years or so. Back in the day, I always made everything from scratch and we would put whatever we had in the fridge or pantry on our pizzas. We have had some really interesting treats. But when I started working Friday's, I had to start buying pizzas because there just wasn't time between getting home from work and bed time to make dough from scratch and really enjoy the process. But not today...today we are having homemade pizza, and they smell quite yummy.
Also on my lovely day, I planted some potatoes and broccoli/cabbage/cauliflower and fenced the chickens out of the asparagus bed. They think it's quite tasty as well, but I'm just not willing to give up 6 weeks of garden fresh, home grown organic asparagus to them. Not this year. I bound an afghan (I know, right?) for a client who thought it needed a more "finished" look. That was a little weird, but there was a paycheck involved, so I did it. I baked a couple of loaves of Italian Herb Bread and made a failed batch of Mozzarella cheese. I know this sounds sad, but a failed batch of mozzarella is a delightful batch of ricotta. So all is well.
Plus, I met a wonderful lady at the shop yesterday. A kindred spirit! Her name is Debbie too and she told me that the name "Debbie" means busy bee. I always knew the bee part, but never occurred to me the ramifications of that. She teaches homesteading classes so of course we hit it off really well and went off on a rambling conversation involving goats, chickens and cheese making. She has invited me over to see what I'm doing wrong in my cheese endeavors so hopefully by this time next week, I'll be an official cheese maker. Wish me luck.
The pizza is done and C is getting plates out and DH is wandering around with a hungry look on his face so I better skedaddle.
Peace,
Deb
Spring Break and today was just beautiful! My schedule got changed around this week to accommodate those who were going out of town and I got Friday off. I haven't had Friday off in over a year, and I gotta say, I really enjoyed this one. (to clarify, I got of Christmas and New Year's, but those weren't really typical Fridays). Friday is Pizza Day. It has been for about 11 years or so. Back in the day, I always made everything from scratch and we would put whatever we had in the fridge or pantry on our pizzas. We have had some really interesting treats. But when I started working Friday's, I had to start buying pizzas because there just wasn't time between getting home from work and bed time to make dough from scratch and really enjoy the process. But not today...today we are having homemade pizza, and they smell quite yummy.
Also on my lovely day, I planted some potatoes and broccoli/cabbage/cauliflower and fenced the chickens out of the asparagus bed. They think it's quite tasty as well, but I'm just not willing to give up 6 weeks of garden fresh, home grown organic asparagus to them. Not this year. I bound an afghan (I know, right?) for a client who thought it needed a more "finished" look. That was a little weird, but there was a paycheck involved, so I did it. I baked a couple of loaves of Italian Herb Bread and made a failed batch of Mozzarella cheese. I know this sounds sad, but a failed batch of mozzarella is a delightful batch of ricotta. So all is well.
Plus, I met a wonderful lady at the shop yesterday. A kindred spirit! Her name is Debbie too and she told me that the name "Debbie" means busy bee. I always knew the bee part, but never occurred to me the ramifications of that. She teaches homesteading classes so of course we hit it off really well and went off on a rambling conversation involving goats, chickens and cheese making. She has invited me over to see what I'm doing wrong in my cheese endeavors so hopefully by this time next week, I'll be an official cheese maker. Wish me luck.
The pizza is done and C is getting plates out and DH is wandering around with a hungry look on his face so I better skedaddle.
Peace,
Deb
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Quick Note
Hi all,
here's a quick update on what's been happening. Well, it's been really cold and wet and snowy this winter. We had the first White Christmas in 82 years AND we had a record setting snow fall a few weeks ago. 9 inches of snow in North Texas. Never before recorded. So that was pretty cool. Of course, that's made my gardening pretty difficult. I was off of work today and the sun was shining so I got outside and started my fall clean up chores. I cleared all the dead vines of the side of the garage and the fence, weeded one of the front beds and started clearing out all of the wood splitting debris. I'm taking it to the west side of the property where the ground is lower and starting to fill in holes. Maybe I'll get enough over there so it won't flood when it rains. I guess that's a few years worth of wood chips. One of my good friend's husband is a landscape architect and he came over and measured the front and side yard and is drawing me up an edible landscape design. I told him lots of heirlooms and edibles, and I wanted it to look very cottage-y. I traded for it by altering a few of their daughter's dresses (prom, etc) so it was a good deal. I'm hoping for several berry bushes and quite a few dwarf fruit trees. It's all so exciting! After they left, I headed back outside and finished up clearing off the back patio. Over the winter it just becomes a catch all and gets pretty cluttered. It is somewhat presentable now. I'll need to get new chair cushions and an umbrella for the table this year.
I've been looking at truck that's for sale up at the local gas station. It's a wicked cool 1973 Ford F100 pickup. It's an awesome green that matches my eyes. A girl's gotta have a truck that matches her eyes. I'm meeting the owner at it on Monday to look it over, start her up and maybe discuss his asking price. He said it was negiotiable, and that's good, because we think it's pretty high. I've been praying about it and feel like if it's the plan, than things will work out. This will be MY truck and then C can take the Kia Rio back to school with her in the fall. It's been a difficult year with her not having one. I've only seen her 3 times since August, parent's weekend, thanksgiving and Christmas. Spring break starts next friday. She always has to bum a ride with someone, and so far, her friends have been quite good about hauling her around, but she's not able to get a job or visit home or any of those things and I can't afford to take off of work to go down and get her. Hopefully, this truck thing will work out and we can all have a vehicle. And she could even get a job over the summer. I guess we'll see what happens. Cross your fingers for me.
Other than that, I'm just sewing like a maniac both on shop samples (I have 5 of them right now) and also on repairs AND on machine quilting jobs. It's a busy life these days.
I guess that's about it. I suppose I should get back to the sewing room. DH wpn't be home til after 10, so I have a few more hours of sewing time. Or maybe I'll just go read. It's so very tempting.
:)
here's a quick update on what's been happening. Well, it's been really cold and wet and snowy this winter. We had the first White Christmas in 82 years AND we had a record setting snow fall a few weeks ago. 9 inches of snow in North Texas. Never before recorded. So that was pretty cool. Of course, that's made my gardening pretty difficult. I was off of work today and the sun was shining so I got outside and started my fall clean up chores. I cleared all the dead vines of the side of the garage and the fence, weeded one of the front beds and started clearing out all of the wood splitting debris. I'm taking it to the west side of the property where the ground is lower and starting to fill in holes. Maybe I'll get enough over there so it won't flood when it rains. I guess that's a few years worth of wood chips. One of my good friend's husband is a landscape architect and he came over and measured the front and side yard and is drawing me up an edible landscape design. I told him lots of heirlooms and edibles, and I wanted it to look very cottage-y. I traded for it by altering a few of their daughter's dresses (prom, etc) so it was a good deal. I'm hoping for several berry bushes and quite a few dwarf fruit trees. It's all so exciting! After they left, I headed back outside and finished up clearing off the back patio. Over the winter it just becomes a catch all and gets pretty cluttered. It is somewhat presentable now. I'll need to get new chair cushions and an umbrella for the table this year.
I've been looking at truck that's for sale up at the local gas station. It's a wicked cool 1973 Ford F100 pickup. It's an awesome green that matches my eyes. A girl's gotta have a truck that matches her eyes. I'm meeting the owner at it on Monday to look it over, start her up and maybe discuss his asking price. He said it was negiotiable, and that's good, because we think it's pretty high. I've been praying about it and feel like if it's the plan, than things will work out. This will be MY truck and then C can take the Kia Rio back to school with her in the fall. It's been a difficult year with her not having one. I've only seen her 3 times since August, parent's weekend, thanksgiving and Christmas. Spring break starts next friday. She always has to bum a ride with someone, and so far, her friends have been quite good about hauling her around, but she's not able to get a job or visit home or any of those things and I can't afford to take off of work to go down and get her. Hopefully, this truck thing will work out and we can all have a vehicle. And she could even get a job over the summer. I guess we'll see what happens. Cross your fingers for me.
Other than that, I'm just sewing like a maniac both on shop samples (I have 5 of them right now) and also on repairs AND on machine quilting jobs. It's a busy life these days.
I guess that's about it. I suppose I should get back to the sewing room. DH wpn't be home til after 10, so I have a few more hours of sewing time. Or maybe I'll just go read. It's so very tempting.
:)
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