Fina-Lee Friday

And well, it's getting awfully close to Saturday!

• Traffic's had it's usual, questionable choices by drivers; thankfully no incidents!  
• Marty's been working from home again the last few Fridays.  That shouldn't bother me, but I've come to see this as 'my domain' during those hours.  Guess I'll have to readjust!
• Nick is doing well with his piano lessons.  His newest piece to practice will be My Heart Will Go On, you know, that incredibly heart-wrenching song from Titanic, yeah, it always makes me tear up.
• There's an area of town I drive through every day to get Nick to and from school that has flowering plum trees in full bloom on BOTH sides of the street.  Stunning.  I noticed Barbara at Cat Patches has a picture at her blog of some of those blossoms in her neck of the woods.
• I've finished 5 of the 6 girls on the quilt I took a class at last Saturday....and just how is it that it's almost Saturday again? Way too soon!
• Nick had a dentist appointment this week: "A+" and his GPA for the 3rd quarter was a 3.91 - his highest ever :) and that makes this Mama very happy.
• On Tues I had an appointment for an MRI to my upper back and to my neck - over 45 minutes in that narrow tube without being able to flinch a muscle....was happy I had past experience caving through lava tubes to know that I wasn't claustrophobic...and it helped to just keep my eyes closed during the whole process...a good time for prayer.
• A second appointment today to get the results of my MRI.  Some small protrusions in some areas of the neck and upper spine, but nothing that the doctor would even recommend any further procedures for.  She did however suggest I take Celebrex for the pain in my neck, which by the way, wasn't bothering me until the pain management doctor did a specific test where he pushed down on my head - perhaps with a bit too much force as it really hurt at the time...some pain management that was, eh?  That was quite awhile back now, and the pain is lessening, but I still awake with a headache every morning.  The lower back is feeling better than it had in a good long while.  I'm quite thankful for that.
• I think tomorrow (Saturday) would be a good day to get some more sewing in.  I'll have to consider if I want to progress more on the class quilt or set it aside and work on something else.  And that reminds me, I promised to post some photos from the quilt show...oops, maybe that's what I'll do tomorrow.
• And how long would be considered sufficient patience for a 'win' to arrive....waiting, waiting, waiting.  Is nearly three months a normal time? 

Fina-Lee Friday

I have obviously been absent.  Today I am still finding it difficult to be joyous about anything.  It may take me some time, and a LOT of prayer and supplication.  I'm calmer than I was a few days ago, but that's not saying much.  Today is a  'rant' day and (with few explanations) is brought to you by:

• Husband - no further comment!
• Traffic - they'll license anyone!
• Doctors - I HATE STRONGLY DETEST waiting
• Cats - can't you see I'm busy?
• Kid - why is everything last minute?
• Furnace - why are you not working right?
• Kitchen remodel - now on indefinite 'hold'
• Living in a fallen world - Lord, I want to be HOME in YOUR arms
• Back, neck & head aches - where are my pain pills?
• Weather, though not so much, but you can keep the wind!

Hope your day is looking brighter than my list ;\

Fina-Lee Friday!

I guess sending Fina-Lee Friday to the corner for awhile didn't last long, so I'll say at best, it'll be inconsistent  I don't have a lot to post for Friday, and it's almost over, so most of you won't see it until Saturday anyway...heck, it might not actually get posted until Saturday if I don't type faster!

• We got rain!  I love rain! It reminds me of 'home'!  Nick likes rain too.  I'm not so sure Marty does, he has to drive 40 or so miles round trip to and from work in it and it really bogs down traffic and increases the fender benders around the county!
• My wounds that I wrote about on Wednesday are healing very quickly much to my surprise.  The way they were bleeding, I was expecting many days, and some pain/tenderness, but nope, I was able to remove the bandages late yesterday and haven't needed to put them back on.  I'm very happy and thankful for that, and that there's no pain..
• We received word this evening that a good friend, one we've known for decades, has cancer.  We don't know the full prognosis, but it's a fairly rare one and the liver and lymph nodes are involved already (it's probably been present for six or seven years).  A surgery is on tap in a couple of weeks, and that's all the info I was able to obtain at this time.  Please keep this friend in your prayers - God knows the name and the needs of His child.
• We're having a business come in to estimate our kitchen remodel - not of my liking, but Marty wanted to find out, so that's tomorrow (Sat) at 10:00 or 11:00.  Marty's also found a couple more contractors to *his* liking on Angie's List, so we'll likely have them come in for estimates too.  I have no problem with our bathroom contractor, but Marty has his own issues there, mostly $$$-wise, so frankly, if he chooses someone else and I'm not happy with the kitchen, he may find himself doing a whole lot more cooking and dish-washing, lol!  Kitchen ratio: me - 99.9%, Marty .1% of time spent working in it.  I think I'll go put my nose back in Proverbs 31 now.
• I'm a little bummed that I don't get to go to Road 2 CA. again this year.  My friend I would have ridden with wasn't able to go, and Saturday was the best day to schedule the dude for kitchen estimate.  It's probably just as well, given my recent health issues, being not fully 100% yet, would hate to walk around too much carrying fabric or tools or books - purchases - and have my back overly irritated again.

To anyone who IS going to R2C, have a wonderful time ogling all those beautiful quilts that I'm sure will be there, and contribute well to the economy by visiting the vendors, and be safe in your travels there.  And don't forget to post pictures!

What Day Is It?

Hmmm, Friday again.  I think I'll fore-go my usual "Fina-Lee Friday" for awhile.

I did manage to go to quilt guild last night.  This was quite the accomplishment since I haven't been going much of any where for weeks and weeks other than driving Nick to and from school and a stop at Walmart on Tuesday.  The guest speaker was ok, just not my style and color choices for the most part, but she was still interesting.  I do like to see what interests others.  I always enjoy hearing the stories of how different guest speakers first came to the world of quilting.  They can be quite funny!

Some of my reasons for going were to see if it was possible to sit for an extended time in less than comfortable chairs which helped me determine that I will probably only attend one service at church on Sunday rather than two (one is our fellowship group and they have hard plastic, very uncomfortable chairs), and January is when we pay our annual dues so I had to write my check for that, and I think in all of 2012 I only managed to get to guild once or twice, so am trying to do a little better this year.  We shall see.

 I need to stop at the fabric/craft store (not Jo-Ann's) today to look for a minimum of 1/2 yard of a light gold-tone, preferably not a solid and something that will fit with paisley.  Also need to look for a darker gold that will read solid for an inner border for the same project.  For that, I need about a yard.  If I can't find it today, I'll have to take a longer drive to a quilt store about 15 miles away tomorrow.  The center of this project is made from 8 FQs and 1/2 y. background fabric (the light gold-tone).  I bought the FQs as a coordinated pack a few years ago.  Now, with working on it, I finally read the instructions and realize that there is absolutely NO room for cutting errors or mangling a piece in sewing, because you use pretty much every - single - bit of those FQs.  I have been known to not take that sage advice of "measure twice - cut once"  and with at least two of these FQs, even a single 1/4" wide wrong cut would have been disastrous - try finding that same fabric after several years! Thankfully, all has been cut and sewn into blocks except for where I need that background and I plan to buy MORE than the 1/2 yard!  So it's about time to head out the door.  

Stitch it up!

Fina-Lee Friday

• Stopped behind a car at a signal the other day.  The driver, a male probably middle-aged, while holding a cigarette would put his arm out his open window so the smoke wouldn't billow inside the car.  His license plate frame read "Proud to be a respiratory therapist." 
• Just as I was starting to feel better from this crud in my chest, my lower back started giving me fits.  It's only slightly better today after going to the doc, getting x-rayed, getting an order for an MRI (when I can lay on my back for more than 30 minutes without coughing), an order of painkillers which don't work, and a 3-day supply of Prednisone.  I meander around the house doing the "Old Lady Shuffle".  I'm sure y'all can picture that one ... slow and careful!
• Marty bought me a new computer for Christmas. Desktop model with a nice large monitor :) It's still downstairs - no place to set it yet in my She Den (when I can't move, I can't clean or rearrange).  The biggest problem:  Windows 8.  I'd like to call the creator of this operating system a few names that do NOT include genius.  You'd think they'd give you a manual or make a tutorial easy to find. Hah!
• Found a pair of Nick's clean & folded socks on the dining room floor and wondered how they got there, then remembered, oh yeah, Klepto Kat (aka Flame who likes to grab & run).
• Raven gets to go to the vet tomorrow morning.  She seems to have a rather gnarly/nasty looking tooth and upper gum in the back right of her mouth - I can imagine that will be a pretty high vet bill.
• My daughter sent us a Christmas gift box filled with all kinds of home-made tasty treats: Chex mix, fudge, habanero fudge - ooh and does it ever have a kick, butter brickle, a clay handprint of my grandson - it's so tiny :), coffee roasted from the town she lives in, and a couple other items for each of us.  Fun. 
• Step 6 of Easy Street came out today, so I need to attempt it, though not sure I can stand and lean over the table to cut the pieces.  May have to sit to do it.

Have a Fantastic Friday everyone!

Fina-Lee Friday

• Step 4 of Easy Street has been released...YAY!  I look forward to Friday's for the release of each step.  I won't get to work on it until later this afternoon, evening or tomorrow.
• This is the reason why: Nick informed he 'volunteered' me to bring balloons for his class Christmas party so I need to get to the local party store and get them going so I can pick up before 1:00 to get to the school before 2:00.  Along with a 'white elephant' gift that he forgot about until 10:15 last night so we grabbed a back of cocoa dusted truffles out of the pantry - yeah, I know, not so much 'white elephant' but hey, these are 13-14 year old kids...they may not know what a truffle is.
• I could have SO many traffic rants from this week - I'll just say that driving is not a joy when we get even the slightest amount of rain.
• It was 36 degrees this morning; I had to scrape the frost off my car windows before driving Nick to school.
• I feel like I'm beginning to get chest congestion, not happy about that.
• At this time of year, I find I have to fight off a lot of melancholy feelings.  
• Pray for what's unfolding in Newtown, CT...just heard 'several students have been killed' maybe a dozen, this is heartbreaking.

Fina-Lee Friday

I'm happy it's Friday...especially this week. 

• Next week, I won't have to drive Nick to and from school, a daily total of 44 miles!  That also means I get to sleep in a wee bit if I so choose :)  Oh but I am SO thankful.  Then he'll have three weeks of school and it'll be Christmas break for two weeks.
• We have clouds today! and some expected rain! it was wet when I went out this morning.  This makes me very happy.  And for the next 10 days, the projection is for highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s - perfection.
• Two more boxes are packed up from the kitchen: some collector tins (repros from the rage in the late 70s/early 80s) and some cookbooks.  In one of the tins - they all had to have the dust washed from them - I found these (see pic below); I'd forgotten I'd put them there.  Do you know what they are?  LOVE BEADS, originals! ca 1970-71. I once wanted to be a hippie...I'm so-o-o glad I outgrew that phase! One set was from a classmate, the other two made by my then boyfriend.  He and I had chokers that he made with small wooden circles with our initials (he wore mine and I wore his) that he'd made and the fishing line was melted together so the only way to remove them was to cut them.  I don't have those any more. 

• I paid the price today for my junk food binge yesterday...ok, I confess, I've been on a sweets kick since stocking up on Hallowe'en candy, and now all the Christmas candy is in the stores.  Mint chocolate M & Ms, Butterfingers, and don't forget the Cheetos and the Pringles, oh my.
• 
  

Fina-Lee Friday

It's been a largely unexciting week, other than to say that Marty used his car to kiss the bumper of a car in front of him last week.  No damage to either, nor have we heard from the other party.  He was 'distracted' by something at the stop sign near our home.  And he didn't even tell me until the next day.

Nick is still getting rides to school from his friend Jay's mom.  She's been a great blessing to us during this time.  She's also been getting Nick home, however, I'm now having to arrange other means three days a week since Jay is going out for flag-football and that's just too boring for Nick to sit through, and too hot, to sit and try to do his homework in the car.  I'm sure he will be glad when Mom can drive again.  We have all days covered up through my next appointment on the 25th.

On Wednesday I had a huge burst of energy - amazing how that happened with the cast being removed!  But since I can't bear any weight on my foot - doctor's orders! - I had to be creative with how I went about doing some chores.  With two guys doing the chores for nearly 3 weeks, some things sorely needed a woman's touch.  I cleared the frig of all science projects (after having slimy lettuce placed in front of me one night - ewwww), cleaned up the remaining heads of Romaine, I scoured the sink with cleanser, washed the dishes that were there after running the dishwasher empty (we only use it as a drying rack as it no longer cleans dishes, and still gets a bit grody so I run it once it in awhile).  I took a shower! That's a big deal, especially knowing I was home alone and had to be extra cautious getting into and out of the shower coordinating crutch and shower stool. I crawled back upstairs to gather the laundry.  How does one do that on crutches?  One grabs a pillowcase and shoves all the dirty clothes into it, grabs as much edge as possible while still grabbing the crutch and leans against the railing to pick it up and toss it over so that it lands at the bottom of the stairs, where once I was back down there, I could use my pseudo-wheelchair and get it to the garage.  Then toss it out there and use the crutches to get to the chair at the machine - sort and wash.  The chair comes in handy not only for sitting but to stand on good foot while putting knee/shin on chair to be 'normal' height.  By the end of the day, I'd accomplished getting about 5 loads of laundry washed, dried, hung, folded - but had to wait for Nick to get home to get it upstairs to the closets.  The folded stuff is still on the dining room table.  I went through our receipt box and wrote checks for any bills that hadn't yet been taken care of.  I talked on the phone. I watched TV. I played fetch with Raven. I made mental notes of so many things that are falling behind.  I fixed my lunch.  By the end of the day, I was pleasingly exhausted.

Thursday told me I'd overdone it on Wednesday.  Aside from a couple trips to the potty, I stayed in bed until 11:00...I was physically so very tired.  Breakfast and lunch weren't had until I got myself downstairs around 1:30.   Funny thing, the guys haven't done much any 'housework' since I did all that I did on Wednesday - hmmm, maybe that was a bad idea on my part!  

Today, I clearly noticed how my right calf muscle is atrophying.  And it'll be another two and a half weeks (or more?) before I can start using my foot & bearing weight on it, guess that right calf will get even smaller :(

Awhile back, when I was still able-bodied, I'd looked out the back and saw this 'lump' out on the fence.  Took my camera and edged my way close to it, zoomed in, and here's what was there...a baby robin!  It didn't seem to be too afraid, yet I worried about stray cats that occasionally show up, especially from the hind side of the fence!

Great-grandmother's tea set

Nick, Aunt Ellen, Lee

From my trip back in June, and my visit to my Aunt Ellen at the retirement community where she lives, and where she gave us a tour and showed us this little tea-set.  It apparently belonged to my great-grandmother. The residents have opportunity to display some of their treasures in a secure glassed-in display area for all to see; the theme changes each month.  I thought that was pretty nifty.

Oh yeah, it's Fina-Lee Friday

I'm eliminating the usual bullets, and negative attitude today, but still, getting back into the swing of things seems to have taken longer than I expected, but maybe it's just that because I know the kitchen remodel will be coming along all too soon and I'm not ready, that I'm just procrastinating in some areas. Whatever the case, since the remodel is on the horizon, I know I need to make storage space for the things that will be packed up and that means clearing out stuff that's already been set aside for the Salvation Army (my preferred charitable donation site for unwanted belongings); either them or the Vietnam Vets of America.

Perfect timing for some of the items this week, was that during our fellowship class at church it was announced that a new seminary family was arriving soon from England (there are two other sem. families arriving - from India and the Dominican Republic - soon as well)...with nothing but their bags of clothing...oh boy, what an opportunity to serve by giving from some of my excess. We had a twin bed wooden headboard but no bed...someone else had the twin bed with no headboard...how awesome is that? I had a perfectly good enamel tea kettle...I just rarely used it and got very tired of cleaning the cooking grime from its exterior as it sat 'decoratively' on the stove, hey, England - tea, works for me :)

The manager of the apartments where these families will be living is also a seminary family and I asked if any of them could use any boys' clothing (clothing wasn't on the original list). Yes! I had at least a couple dozen tees and as many polo-style shirts, along with a pair of black slacks and dress shoes - both had only been worn once for Nick's 6th grade graduation. I also was able to offer them some hangers, a bag of non-perishable foods & paper/plastic products (those because I shop at Costco and had plenty on hand and who knows when they'll get to a grocery store), some microwave cooking dishes, kitchen towels, and other things I forget now. What a joy it was to see the joy on the face of the manager when I took these things to her. And I'm sure I'll be able to offer more items as I progress in sorting through things in my kitchen as I pack up. Not to mention toys/books and who knows what else when I get to Nick's room and elsewhere in the house.

While I was sorting through things, I could only think what an amazing ministry it would be if someone had a building that could be dedicated to serving our seminary/missionary families by having usable items available like this that could be loaned out to the families for their household needs for the time they're here and then returning anything still usable when they leave for their home state or country. Missionaries rotate 'home' on furlough for only weeks or months at a time, sem. students and their families anywhere from a year or more depending on where they are in their studies and how much employment they have to do to provide for themselves and their families. Some arrive quite self-contained, others have more needs.

So, as we welcome new families to our neighborhood, to our church and to the seminary, we can rejoice in being able to help provide a few things to them. God has blessed me us with much.  And while we can turn around and bless others with the things we no longer want or need, it's helping to declutter my home as well.  And boy, I could declutter a whole lot more and probably not miss any of it.  When I arrived in this state, 40+ years ago, everything I owned fit in the trunk of my car...sure was easy to get up and move back then, lol.

Fina-Lee Friday

Who knew it would be so hard to get back into the swing of things after a near-month long vacation.  Some tidbits of the week:

• Marty and Nick went to see a movie this afternoon.  Why was not Marty at work you ask.  He had the day off as 'bonus' for extra hours put in over the last month of working on a deadline project.  They saw The Avengers.  The only comment: "Guess you had to see the original movies." (pertaining to each individual superhero).
• Raven snubbed me for over an hour right after we got back home last Sunday night.  She's happy now and being my best friend...or not.  Tonight, she chewed through the small electrical cord on my mini-desk fan. Boo! Hiss! Bad Kitty! Good thing it was only a 6.0 V output.  No indication she felt the slightest of zaps.  Now she's chewing on something else...maybe I should get a dog-muzzle and put on her!
• We had Panda Express for dinner tonight.  One of the items was Mandarin Chicken.  Seems someone was heavy-handed with the salt when making it.
• Summer heat is beginning to kick in.  I sure enjoyed the very much cooler weather, and some rain, while up north.  Marty keeps saying we need to get out of this state.  Uh huh.
• Not sure how many loads of laundry I did after vacation.  But it was a lot.  A lot spread over nearly every day this week.  And mail to sort through.  Marty picks out the bills to be paid - oops! missed one - it was due the day I was driving home, and all else is left for me to pick through when I get back.  
• I haven't found too many things that have been put away "in the wrong place" while I was gone this year.  That's a good thing.

Fina-Lee Friday

OK, it seems every time I open Blogger and want to type a new post I see this new and different (to me at least) format. So...I guess I should get used to it... but I really don't like change, especially with technical type things.

• Bathroom remodel is really getting close. The last of the tiling was done on Tuesday and the last of the grouting was done yesterday. The biggest thing remaining is the shower doors: upper will be the sliding type and lower is a swing in for entry because it's just a shower without tub. Next are the toilets. After that, it's just a few little odds and ends and purchasing all new toweling. We got all of our current bath towels and stuff when we got married almost 16 yrs ago and they're pretty frayed and thin in spots. Oh, I almost forgot, I'm still trying to decide on where to get the drawer knobs and door handles for the cabinets. I want clear glass. Locally, they're around $10 and $14 apiece (8 knobs, 4 handles respectively). Online, the knobs are about 1/2 that and handles are around $10, better, but shipping & handling might bring the cost up to the local costs.
• Nick and I may be heading to the NW next month. Need to review the dates and determine how long. Activities are already being planned. By going earlier though I'll be missing a maternal family picnic in August and a paternal family reunion the end of July. The latter is held every third year and always changes places. On the upside, when we return I can then focus on getting ready for the kitchen remodel....yayyyyy!
  
• There was one day this week that I was really beginning to think I was due for an accident, but God kept his protective hand around me and kept me from plowing into a minimum of three separate, less than brilliant individuals who all pulled out in front of me to where I had to apply strong pressure to my brakes.
• And then I wonder about those that insist on close-up reads of my license plate. My thought: "I'm not the leader, please pass" might make for a good bumper sticker ....now if someone makes a mint on that, you'll have to pay me at least half of any profits ;) Occasionally a good window washing causes a little more space between my bumper and their front end ;).
• Nick missed school on Monday and I took him to the doctor. It was viral but not the flu and not strep. He still has a cough and phlegm and is getting annoyed with it but it will pass.
• The one rose blossom I posted about yesterday...it didn't last long. Temps here have been above 90 and close to triple digits for several days. All my other pretty bloomies I've posted about have pretty much said hasta la vista baby too.

Fina-Lee Friday

The weeks seem to be running together.

• Quilting: I didn't get anything posted this past week for Stash Busting, nor for Design Wall Monday but somewhere over the past couple weeks, I was able to work on piecing for about 45 minutes. I probably could have done more, but chose to work on genealogy instead. What I worked on was from my post here. It's the April UFO Challenge quilt which I'd already cut all the fabric on.
• Genealogy: While working on my genealogy, I was notified of a reply to a message board post I'd made some years, many years, ago at Ancestry.com. I checked it out, and after reading the message decided to contact the person. She is a mutual descendant (2nd cousins-once removed) from my Swedish Resare branch. She lives 2500 miles from me and we probably won't meet in this world, but after numerous back and forth long, chatty messages, we pretty sure we will see each other in our Lord's Heaven :) It has been such a blessing corresponding with this very sweet woman. She's in her early 80's, but I think she's quite spunky and could probably out-do me in a heartbeat in many areas. She is lovely!
• Remodel-toilets: Marty and I had a difficult time getting to our final toilet decision. I pretty much knew what I wanted. He wanted life to continue as it was with the OLD toilets...to clarify, he wanted the 1.6 gpf as we believed "that other place" when they said that we couldn't get them anymore. He wasn't convinced the 1.28 would 'do the job'. Marty also really balked at how much they were based on our initial research showing the MSRP on the most expensive one as $662...I wasn't thrilled with that either! "That other place" quoted us at $430 and 'the new place' about $20 lower than that. Still a pricey toilet to be sure, but how often do you change out your toilets? This is a quality brand (TOTO) with excellent reviews, and friends/acquaintances I spoke to said 'TOTO' when I asked if they had recommendations. It also matches the sink in the bathroom that will be used the most by us and any guests in our home. The other one is quite a bit less but still a TOTO.
• Remodel-toilets: Update to the above blip: Marty decided 1.28 gpf is just fine...and we should be able to get a water co. rebate on them for going with the water-saving ones. They are ordered and are expected to arrive on Wednesday.
  
• Weather: Summer temps have arrived much to my dismay. My preference would be, in my ideal world, a maximum of 80 outside. I'm truly thankful and grateful for A/C both in my house and in my car! @ 1:40 p.m. it's 93 and still climbing :( Time to get rid of the flannel sheets.
  
• Entertainment: So disappointing to see Colton Dixon voted off American Idol last night. He was so refreshing . As of last night all 7 finalists were too good for me to pick, but I really didn't think it would be Colton leaving!
• Remodel-cabinets: The cabinets were installed this morning; the granite fabricator was here to final measure and pick up the sinks in order to make sure all is cut right. In looking at the cabinets, I'm a bit 'put off' by the design of the left-side narrower door (L door & center door are same design, but because the center door is so wide it looks far less peaked than the L door - L would be better with the same square of the R side drawer fronts), not a fault of the contractor, but of my own lack of visual perception when choosing the door style in conjunction with the right-side drawer fronts. Hmmm, may have to see how costly it is to change out that door on both vanities. ...... checked, they will remain as they are ! The contractor orders the doors, but then sprays and sands three times & that's costly...oh well. Did you notice Raven managed to get in the shot? She's checking out the 'float work' on the shower, making sure the tile dude did it right.
  
• 
• Remodel-cabinets: A few items remain to be chosen: drawer/door handles/knobs of which I'm leaning away from knobs and towards graceful handles, the light fixtures which we'll probably get from Lowes - they're set up to where you can choose the base fixture and then choose the globes separately, the towel bars/rings/hooks - not sure what I prefer, and the toilet paper holder.
  

Fina-Lee Friday (a day late)

And it's (it was) Good Friday at that.

• The bathrooms have drywall, as of Tuesday.
  
• We still need to select granite (or other solid surface), tile for tub & shower/shower/floors, paint color, toilets, accessories, as of Tuesday.
  
• We're still waiting on the back-ordered sinks, one sink faucet, and both shower heads & handles, as of Tuesday. should have them this next Saturday.
  
• I'm getting tension headaches, not sleeping well.
  
• Remodel issues are in my dreams and on my mind the minute I wake up.
• Environmentalists+politicians+regulations+manufacturers make for one sorry lot of mess for the majority of the population.
• I recycle, I compost, I use/reuse/remake. I wear my clothes beyond still looking good; you should see me trying to keep my pants up because the elastic has gone bad, ok, well maybe you shouldn't see that. I almost kept two toilets to turn into planters. There's probably a regulation against that.
• I'm wondering where I will find enough boxes without having to spend money for them, to pack up the kitchen stuff BEFORE we have the contractor bid the project. I told him I will live without an oven for two years if I have to in order to have everything in place/on order/at hand/all choices 'in stone', before I sign anything. I'm learning!
• Nick had no school today. Nick has no school all next week; it's EASTER Vacation.
• While Nick's on vacation, none of us can sleep in :( . The contractor & any helper(s) arrive before 8:00 a.m. so that means we ALL have to be up, showered and dressed. I am bummed. I WANT to sleep in. I NEED to sleep in.
  
• I'm living, breathing (dust), dreaming construction/remodel. I also NEED one of those massages at the foot massage place...they massage every appropriate place from head to foot, so why it's called foot massage I've no clue. I want to dream quilts, but I can't even think of them right now with this dust, and I'm even worried about how much dust is filtering into my stash closet. I should have cleared the stuff from in front of its door and closed that door along with the room's door. I keep room doors closed, but it's still amazing to see how much dust comes through...and they're done with most of the dust producing things...go figure!
• And I intended to post this yesterday, but oops, it's late in the day on Saturday already.
  

Fina-Lee Friday

Umhum, Friday again.

• I'll just get the traffic rant out of the way first...this afternoon's traffic was just about enough to make me go postal. and that's all I'm saying about that!
• Construction-wise, today was quiet with only an hour and half visit from the contractor to go over a few things to determine the cabinet arrangements and lighting arrangements...and he brought the permit to put in the window. Now we're officially 'legit".
• My 4-month-late-getting-potted bulbs are looking so beautiful. And the fragrance is so nice, especially from the hyacinth. When I smelled the traditional looking all-yellow daffodil, it brought back a fragrance memory gone for decades as I'm never up north when they bloom, there aren't very many down here and store bought ones seem to have no fragrance at all.

I'm enjoying my floral pretties. Aren't they lovely?

• Husbands can be frustrating. But then again, husbands likely say the same about us wives. And this is only the first week of remodeling :S
  

Fina-Lee Friday

Did anyone else think this week just flew by? Wow, I sure do.

• I won't rant about this week's traffic, but I have to wonder why the driver in the far left lane, when realizing he/she needed or wanted to be making a right-hand turn at the last moment, couldn't just turn left, turn around and go back straight through the intersection instead of stopping and making all the rest of the traffic in three lanes stop so said driver could make that right turn. I scratch my head in wonderment :S
• I was clearly reminded of how imperfect I am last night, and how easily distracted I can be. You see, I was fixing dinner and had put some items in the oven and set my watch timer before heading back upstairs to finish yesterday's post. I had also placed a pan of frozen corn on the burner (ok, no lectures on leaving a pot unattended on the stove with fire under it - though well-deserved) with only a small amount of water but with a lid. Here's the result, because I didn't realize I must have had the fire higher than usual, and because I forgot about the corn and didn't go back down to the kitchen until my timer went off - halfway down the stairs I was asking "uh, oh, what am I burning!?" OK, and don't laugh but we ate it anyway and it only had a slight 'smoky' flavor, not unlike campfire food ;)
  
• 
• The kitties are curled up, each in their respective identical boxes. Usually, they're bouncing around like crazy in the morning, but it's pretty chilly today. I'd like to be curled up nice and toasty in my bed as well!
• One of the meds Marty is taking for his shingles, he refers to as a muscle relaxant, and he says it makes him fell loopy. He DID sleep in this morning!
• I'll be headed to the Glendale Quilt Show tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it.
  

Fina-Lee Friday

Today is a beautiful sunny day and is expected to be over 80. Sunday will have a mid-60s high. That's our March weather volatility, lol.

• We had a second contractor come in on Wed night to get another estimate. He hasn't provided the figures yet, will probably take a few days. He was referred to me by a friend at church, and she praises him and his work highly. But should I take into account that he was wearing a jacket from my husband's cross-town college rival? He was also in a hurry as he got caught in traffic making him quite late for our appointment and then he had to rush to get home to shower and head back to church for the Shepherd's Conference. Marty and I haven't discussed it much more. In the meantime, contractor #1 is waiting for an answer, and I'm waiting to get this started so it can be over. I am not a patient person.
  
• Nick missed Tuesday's bowling because of a dental appointment. Dentist told him to lay off sodas. Huh? He only gets one or two on a weekend! I took him to the bowling alley to make up his games (league) on Thursday. His first game, he bowled his new high score of 242. He then proceeded to bowl a 191 followed by a 204. That just may be his new high scratch series as well. Woooohooooo...I'm proud of my boy and the God-given abilities he's gained. The teams have only two players each, and he and his teammate are in first place.
• FINALLY made it to a quilt guild meeting...and stayed for the whole thing last night. I'm still not comfortable leaving Nick home alone after dark even though he's 13. The speaker was ok, entertaining at times and her quilts were nice, gave me some ideas if I can remember them past a day or two- I didn't have my camera. I still want to know why so many women insist on continuing to hold their conversations - not even in a whisper - once the Pres and other committee chairs take the mike. Flat-out rudeness & disrespect in my book. Honestly, I've seen pre-school groups behave better. Of course, I was running late and had to sit in the back whereas I prefer sitting in the first couple rows, so maybe I picked up more on it for that reason.
  
• It seems my body's been trying to fight off something all week. Very dry eyes & light sensitivity for several days, stomach/abdomen troubles reminiscent of pre-gall-bladder removal, and a not-so-nice headache today. Some of it could be spring-related allergies, it's dry and windy and the local flora are blooming and leafing out.
• Why do people let their untethered dogs ride in cars with the window all the way down? Do they not realize how dangerous that is to the fur-baby? I have first hand experience on that...back in the mid-70s I had a collie/shepherd mix boy that loved to ride in the car. He was in the back and I had the front driver side window open and came to just a normal stop at a light and he'd had his head out, but at the stop it was apparently enough momentum that he went right out that window! and ran across four lanes of busy street traffic. Fortunately he wasn't hurt or hit and I only had to open my door and he came flying right back in. We BOTH learned lessons that day. So it scares me whenever I see a pooch standing with his front legs on the window frame with any opening big enough to go through, in a car speeding down the road.
• Quilting. Well, still no progress for March.
  

Fina-Lee Friday

Friday again, and I haven't posted much. The fact is, I haven't quilted much either. The bathroom issues have me all out of sorts. And better, few or no posts than me ranting and ranting some more.

• Gas prices!!! Well, what's to say? 10 cent/day increase for days on end, well, I can't do a THING about it and my car needs gas to run. The only 'running' I do is to and from Nick's school with any necessary shopping done enroute home, and then to & from church on Sunday. Can't cut back any more than that.
  
• I didn't get my winter quota this year. Spring is clearly bursting out all over with 80+ temps every day.
• Friday is trash day. So why didn't I clean the garage yesterday before the trash came instead of today? The hardest part is letting go of all that stuff that's been accumulating. Some of it's truly trash at this point, some is destined for the Salvation Army, other stuff is still in that "I don't know what to do with this because I have this stupid emotional attachment to it" or "This is 'valuable', I could sell it (as if), or I can repurpose it (as if), or a thousand other excuses (take your pick)." I do NOT want to find myself on Hoarders.
• Heard a comment the other day and it made me chuckle: The Beatles were a rock group from the last century :S They aren't they only thing from the last century, lol.
• Then a friend on facebook had posted a link to an article (from 2009 no less) out of the Guardian (UK) that said: "American taste for soft toilet roll 'worse than driving Hummers'." It went on to explain how our buttocks are pampered because we Americans (I guess that's all inclusive?) have to have the softest toilet tissue which is only made from virgin forests (at end of article noted to state it should have read virgin wood - as opposed to recycled wood product - as virgin wood creates longer staple that provides for softness, and using virgin wood is less environmentally friendly because of the manufacturing process. I want to know what they use in the UK! Sandpaper? leaves? Sears catalog? Old newspaper or phone books? Inquiring minds want to know.
• From a 1943 flour recipe booklet: "Old Fashioned Fruit Turnovers" These days, that could be renamed "Ancient Fruit Turnovers" Funny to think every generation looks backward and thinks of it as "Old Fashioned".
• From another recipe booklet from 1942: "Spleen Stew"....eeewww It was the war years and I guess nothing went to waste as there were also recipes using liver, kidney, heart, lung, tongue, sweetbreads, brains, and tripe (stomach for those who don't know). We probably eat this frequently in the form of hot dogs, bologna or other 'mixture' meat forms. I don't want to think about THAT!
• OK, and one more from the back of one of those "old fashioned" pamphlets. This one's an advertisement for an old radio program "Meet Corliss Archer" Time 9:30 PM Eastern War Time, 7:30 PM Mountain War Time...ditto on the War Time for Central and Pacific. This was the Columbia Broadcasting System with sponsor Anchor Hocking Glass Corp. I found it remarkable that the time zones would be termed as War Time(zone). I wonder if it differed from Standard Time, and now I'll have to research as to when Daylight Savings Time was implemented.
  

Fina-Lee Friday

As another week bites the dust:

• I was on facebook and one of my 'friends' had posted "I wish the world was flat so stupid people would fall off.". I don't know why, but at the time, that just cracked me up. Maybe because I find myself with similar sentiments at times. But I wonder, if the world was flat, where would they fall off to? and, would a flat world be as thin as a sheet of paper, or would it look like the Borg ship in Star Trek only a whole lot bigger? Would it be round like a flat pancake? or square? maybe triangular. And for all those flat-earthers out there, if the earth is flat, where IS the edge? Makes you wonder.
• If I were to vacuum up all the dust in our house, I wonder if I could grow crops if I were to empty the dust into a planter. Maybe I could just plant seeds where the dust lies and water it. I did vacuum the dust off of our computer desks, and under them in amongst all those nasty wires. I detest the wires and cords spaghetti pile!
  
• Nick doesn't have school today; it's a teacher in-service day. Those started out as 2-hours, then went to 1/2 day, and is now a full day. Marty is also working from home today. I was liking that he was going in on Fridays again even though it's an awful traffic commute for him. Both of my guys have Monday off due to it being President's Day.
  
• Either it was pretty much a quiet week or I just didn't care to pay much attention to traffic and some of the other oddities I see now & then.
• We're beyond the middle of February, and I'm not making much progress quilt-wise other than having pinned Feb's UFO challenge quilt, and the initial quilt-in-the-ditch of the guild quilt. As a matter of fact, I'm not making much progress on anything. It's almost 11:30 a.m. and I'm still sitting in my robe fully aware there's a pile of dishes that STILL needs to be washed, a load of laundry STILL in the washer, floors to sweep, more dust, and piles of paper to sort/toss/shred/file/computerize, whatever the case may be, and a myriad of other things to do, including the quilting and working on genealogy.
  

Fina-Lee Friday

The best thing about it being Friday...after I pick up Nick from school, I don't have to drive until Sunday, and even then, I let Marty drive.

• Was this a week of full moons? It's probably a long-standing myth, but traffic ... or should I say drivers...get really weird when there's a full moon. I like the safety of my four (or more) walls!
• The precious kitties have discovered toilet tissue, and plants.
  
• Nick had some missing homework this week. Oddly enough, so did a number of kids in the same class - kids that don't normally miss handing in homework...hmmm, maybe the teacher lost them?
• I'm thinking that making a huge pot of a one-dish whatever, should cover a week's worth of dinners -- would sure save me time spent in the kitchen both in cooking and cleaning.
• I like Maxine, you know, of Crabby Road fame. Sometimes I think her name should be Lee. And of all things, a man writes the comic strip!
• Watched "Worst Kitchen In America"...hey, mine's as old as that guy's was.. and they called his small...at 10x10...mine's smaller, his sink was newer; his cupboard doors had the same pattern. Must've been the trend in the '60s.
• Marty's still trying to isolate the bathroom leak, one slow step at a time. I'm exercising my skills in patience - trying. Submission is willfully placing oneself in subordination. My parents weighed in with their 2-cents worth, as my dad did a lot of construction and has done a LOT of repairs. He suggested filling the tub with water and a colorant like food-coloring to see if, when it's drained, the leak comes from the drain which would show up on the wood of the flooring. I relayed that to Marty. I tested it a couple days ago - no color when the floor showed new wetness. My conclusion: the pipes in the common wall between the bathrooms.
  
• I wonder if I'm the only one who is annoyed enough with the JCPenney commercial ~ you know, the one with all the screaming ~ to avoid shopping there at all costs?
• When you're waiting for your son to get out of school, sitting in your car with the engine off and windows down on a beautiful 73 degree day, why is it that the biggest, noisiest, diesel, SUV parks next to you and leaves it running?
  

Fina-Lee Friday

Friday seems to come all too quickly ... maybe I should this to "Too Frequent-Lee Friday", LOL. And where did these clouds come from? I'm not complaining mind you, I just wasn't expecting them. So here's the past week's tidbits. I had plenty I could have ranted at, especially yesterday's traffic, but I'll try to be more like a duck and let those things roll off my back like water ;)

• It rained again Sunday night through Monday...makes me smile as we need it, especially up in the mountains.
• The ceiling in my craft room....still leaks!
  
• Marty had taken off early last Friday evening with one of his photog buddies to head for the mountains for some photography and wasn't supposed to be back until late Sunday. He got back a day early as the weather cleared and they were wanting to shoot stormy/snowy weather.
• Nick went to Tino's for a sleepover last Friday night, so it was just me and the kittens ~~ it was a nice quiet evening.
• I discovered that I'm 25+ years older than one of the mom's of one of Nick's classmates. Now I really feel old. My daughter is closer to her age! I was 45 when I gave birth to Nick, and physically and mentally I often wonder "What was I thinking?". But he's a true gift from God and we are blessed to have him and I wouldn't change it for the world.
• Medical billing/statements...WHO invented these ridiculous programs??? and why can't they get the info correct??? Please go back to: charge, paid, balance in date order and stop mixing/splitting apples and oranges! (Yes, I'm ranting!)
• The kittens had checkups on Wed. Our vet thinks Raven has herpes. She said about 80% of cats do. That's why Raven sneezes a lot (and I thought it was all the dust from my bad housekeeping), and her lymph nodes are still enlarged so prescribed a stronger antibiotic and recommended an additive to the food that would help prevent 'outbreaks'. This is apparently an animal herpes and doesn't cross species so no fear in us humans getting it. If left untreated I guess she could get really snotty with her sneezes. Eewww. Otherwise, they're fine and healthy :) and both are now micro-chipped should they ever decided to go outside and explore (I intend them to be indoor kitties! at least until/if we can build a caged area for them to go out into for some sunshine, bug chasing or whatever.)
• I'm way behind in updating Quicken. I sorted all the receipts in order to enter them more efficiently, went to the computer the program is on and...the keyboard isn't working! And Marty isn't answering my i.m. I checked the connection, it's ok. So the problem is something else. Marty recently upgraded that machine to Windows 7, so maybe something went wonky because of that, but it has worked since that time. It seems there's been something every time I've attempted to update lately. A week or so ago I had entered some, and then stopped only to have that computer 'catch a virus' even when no one was using it...grrr. Glad I have Marty to fix those frustrating things because I'd never be able to.
  
• God provided this glorious scene on Tuesday night: