MomM

I find it so hard to believe that July is almost over. Fall will be here before I know it, and I have so much canning to do. I just finished a prayer quilt, this a.m., for DH's co-worker's father. Now that I have that project completed, I can start tackling a huge list of projects for around the house. From canning to organizing to painting, etc. I told DH this a.m. that by Sept. I would like to have 4 - 6 months of food, etc in place - I would like to minimize exposure to the flu bugs, as much as possible. I also need to go through my Christmas box, and inventory what I have; so I can, hopefully, finish Christmas shopping the weekend of Aug. 8 (Sales Tax free weekend in TN for certain items). Best get busy. Take care, everyone.

But I'm glad today is Friday. It's been crazy around here for several weeks. Our little granddaughter (9yrs old) is here visiting all the family. Our house is her base of operation, and currently she is at her other grandmother's home. She'll be back here on Sunday, and will go home the following Saturday. Our DD#2 and her DH and 3 yr old son are in Florida for 2 weeks. Her DH is taking some classes for his new job assignment. DGD decided she would have more fun here with all the grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins. We had our foundation repaired this week (took them 2 days). Now DH and our 2 sons will have to install 4 jacks (under the support beam in the basement). Hopefully all this work will keep the house from splitting in two. Then it will be on to a long list of repairs that we want to make on the house. Yestereday DH added a 3rd rainbarrel to the two we have in place in the front corner of the house by the driveway. He is really getting good at installing them. We use the rain water on the garden. I still need to try and contact AquaRain to see if their filter would make the water coming off our shingle roof safe enough to drink. DS #1 came over and took a lot of his stuff that was stored in our basement. We had enough space freed up to install another set of shelves and I have my empty canning jars, lids, rings, canners all stored there now. It is so nice not to have to hunt for everything. Slowly but surely we are getting the basement organized. Well, I best get off the computer. 2yr old DGS is taking a nap, so I need to get a few things done while I can. Take care.

Judy, I am so thankful that you and your family and home are fine, and that the family are all fine. God bless them! When will you have the ice cream social?

Good morning, Just a quick note. I finally posted some pictures of our garden.We've been eating the lettuce from it, and the tomatoes are growing though still green, but we are so excited that we have a "zucchini" and a couple of peppers starting to grow. DH is tackling the basement today (started yesterday, after adding a second rainbarrel on to the back rainbarrel), and I'm working on my craft room (trying to organize it). Yesterday, we received an estimate for repair work on the foundation of the house - hope to have that done this month. Then DH and our boys will need to put in 4 jacks inside a wall in the basement to support the support beam going through the center of the house. Hopefully, this will solve the cracks, etc. Have a wonderful and safe 4th of July.

The trip was interesting. We left at 7:30 a.m. and arrived just before 5 p.m.We stopped for lunch, and for gas (that ended up taking almost 30 minutes as the pump was so slooooooow! DD#3 was shown how to do DGS's tube feeding, meds and oxygen and did a great job. She babysat while I helped DD#2. On Thursday, I hemmed DSIL's slacks, and then made a pattern and sewed a slipcover for a dining room chair.It still needs to be hemmed, but ran out of time. DD#2 also wants me to do one more slipcover for another dining room chair. On Friday, DGD woke me up at 4:40 a.m. to say she didn't feel good, then started vomiting. Thankfully, the bug only lasted half a day (for her). Unfortunately, DSIL got it in the afternoon, but was much improved by the next day; and DD#3 got it - also in the afternoon (while watching the 3 kids) and was really sick with it. She finally stopped vomiting Sunday a.m. and feels back to her normal self today. I started getting queasy around 11 p.m. Friday evening, and was really sick all day Sat. Sunday, I was very weak, but we started driving back to TN around 11:30 a.m. DH was able to get a ride with DSIL's father, who was driving up on Sunday afternoon (to help them with the move this week). We met up around 5 p.m. That was a God send, as I don't think I could have driven any more. (We still had about 3 more hours to drive to reach home). Tonight, I'm finally starting to feel a little stronger. This bug was really virulent. I'm so glad it didn't hit me till Friday night, so I was able to help DD clean the new house and get it ready to be painted. They painted their DD's room "Cherry" (DGD says it's pink, I say it's red, but a very pretty red). I think it took 5 - 6 coats of paint. DGS's room was painted a pear green, and looks really nice. I saw the paint chips for the living room and family room and one of the bathrooms, and all will be lovely.As we all know, moving is a lot of work. Enough rambling. Take care, everyone!

DD#3 and her DS (2 yr old) and I will be driving to DD#2 this a.m. (Usually a 7 1/2 hour drive, but with the little guy, not sure how long it will take). DH can't go with us as they have a deadline at work. DD#2 closes on their 1st home tomorrow, so we will help as much as we can while there. We drive back Sunday, so DD#3 can start her CNA course on Monday. Yesterday, we did a mattress swap. DD#1 swapped a full mattress set for a twin set (that DD#3 was using). The twin will be used for DD#1's DS, and now DD#3 has a bigger bed for those middle of the night invasions by the 2 yr old. DD#2 is going to take the remaining twin bed set, that we have, for their DD's new bedroom. Her FIL will be going up on Sunday to help them with the moving of the furniture, so he will take the mattress set and a rain barrel we have for them. It really helps to be able to shift furniture around the family. I need to close and get ready for the drive. You all take care.

I was so relieved to have Vine's quilt done and mailed. Then I had to keep reminding myself that I made it with love, so even with the mistakes, it's ok. Her gracious post upon receiving it was such a blessing for me. I had prayed and sang hymns over it while sewing, so I'm so glad she felt the love and I pray she will feel His peace and comfort from it. (When I read Vine's post re: receiving the quilt to DH, he was in tears.) The design was a new one for me. It was fun to do, and now I want to try some variations; but, it was stressful as I had a time limit, and was running out of time. I also decided to hand quilt it, as my machine quilting leaves a lot to be desired. Now, I 'm not perfect with hand quilting, and of course, it does take a lot longer to do (or at least for me, it does), but I really wanted to finish the quilt that way. I took some pictures before I mailed it, and will try and post them here. I was in a hurry to get to the post office, so not sure how well the pics will look. Maybe Vine will have better luck. Now, I need to get organized for next week. DD#2 is closing on their first home (they are military), so DD#3 and her 2yr old son, and myself are driving to D.C. on Wed. to help. DD#3 will watch all the kids. My job, if I choose to accept it - lol, is to sew a couple of slipcovers and a pillow cover, lengthen some curtains and help paint. This will be interesting to see how much we accomplish as we drive up on Wed.; they close on Thursday, and we drive home on Sunday. DH can't go with us, as they have a deadline at work and everyone is working long hours. He went to the orthopedist on Thursday for his knee. Doctor doesn't think he needs a knee replacement, but is concerned that he may have torn some cartilidge. He was given a steroid shot ( God bless the P.A. who administered the injection. He did a nearly painless injection; unfortunately the effects seem to be fading already. DH will give the knee some more time to judge how it is doing, and then he may have to be scheduled for an MRI. (Doctor had hoped the steroid would give him relief for a good 6 weeks or more, looks like he had great pain relief for about 24 hours, now the pain is coming back). Today we are going to have a family BBQ to celebrate Father's Day. We are all going to bring our own burgers/dogs and buns and drinks, and then something else. I'm bringing a Strawberry Trifle and brownies. I need to close soon, so I can start baking the cake and brownies, etc. Today, DH and I need to go to the dump with the trash and would be nice to clean the house a little too. Everyone, please have a wonderful day. Will try and post a picture of the quilt soon. Take care.

Those smiles tell it all! As I've told you before, God has annointed you and your DH for this ministry. And a precious ministry it is! Thank you for sharing!

Oh Stephanie, I can so relate to you! lol I can homemade chicken stock, but I hate to use it. It's so nice to know it's on the shelf. BUT, when I do use it to make rice, etc. the food always taste sooo much better. We do go through the spaghetti sacue and ground beef. The canned chicken is still waiting for an "emergency". Our Aqua Rain water filter is still in the box. The wheat grinder is set up in the kitchen, and I've tried it once, but need to start experimenting with recipes. We have 2 rainbarrels set up collecting rainwater from the gutters (and we use the water for the garden); but we have 6 more barrels sitting under the deck waiting to be fitted and placed in position. What can I say?? Maybe we need a new motto, "Prep supplies are good to use". lol

Good morning, I just did a quick read of the forums, and now will quickly post and then I HAVE to get back to sewing for the craft exchange.Have I mentioned how I hate to be late, and this project may be really close to the wire. DH and I had a great trip back for his sister's 50th wedding anniversary party. Their 4 kids put a lot of thought, time, effort and love into that party. DH and I also got to visit with his other sister and her family and children and grandchildren, my 81 yr old dear cousin, my sister-in-law, and a lot of DH's aunts and cousins. On the way home, we stayed overnight in Paducah, KY (arrived near midnight, and was up and at Hancock's of Paducah (huge fabric store) by 9 a.m. Stayed there for several hours and my fabric stash is bigger now. Then we stopped at Crossville, TN at a quilt shop there and added to my fabric stash again. Arrived home on Monday, early evening, unpacked, started the laundry, etc. Tuesday - DH went to work, and Wed. DH had his carpal tunnel surgery (he had his left hand done last year, and finally got around to the right hand). He is doing great. He started moving his fingers right after surgery, and when he went to PT on Friday, he already had normal range of motion. This coming Thursday he goes to the orthopedist for his knee. Should be an interesting visit. Enough rambling. My sewing machine is calling. Take care

DH and I called her this a.m. to sing "Happy Birthday" to her. Turns out, she was walking to school with her Mom and little brother. They were taking cupcakes to school to share. Where did the time go??? It seems like it was yesterday that we saw her for the first time in the hospital nursery. She is our oldest grandchild and only granddaughter, so far. I thoroughly love(d) being a mother to our 5, challenges and all; but having grandchildren is a whole other level. It's so exciting to see the next generation of our family growing up. It's also very humbling to being the top tier of the family (now that our parents and grandparents are all gone). I pray that we have half their wisdom (welllll, I would really like all their wisdom). Tomorrow, DH and I will be going back to Kansas and Missouri to see family and share in his oldest sister's 50th wedding anniversary party. I best get to packing, etc. Take care, everyone.

Wouldn't you know it, but I forgot to take a picture of it. I was in such a hurry to mail it, that I forgot. Iwas pleased with it, though, very cheerful. Thanks Stephanie.

I really feel like a fish out of water, when it comes to blogging. Will be nice when I finally know what I'm doing. Today went with DH to the doctor. X-rays show he has severe arthritis of his knee. Doctor is putting him on steroids for 6 days to try and help with the pain, and gave us the name of an orthopedic doctor to see. Family doctor would prefer DH wait another 5 years before having a knee replacement, but I'm concerned that it's not safe for him to wait that long. He is in chronic pain, and by the end of the day is exhausted from the pain, and he also limps when he walks and thus I'm concerned about his alignment being compromised.Thus the need for the ortho consult. This afternoon, I picked up our 6 yr old DGS from school and watched him till 5 p.m. He is autistic, but making great strides. Now I'm home, and will only get to spend a few more minutes here, then need to work on a baby quilt for the my first great-great niece. Would really like to mail it tomorrow. That may be wistful thinking. I just read Stephanie's blog re: her dream. I've been feeling the same way, about the need to get more organized. If anything happens to me, the family won't know what to do with the provisions or where they all are. Her dream is a wake up call for me too. Well, time to go. Take care.

Thanks to Wormie's help, I think I'm doing the blog correctly now. Yesterday, was DH and my 36th anniversary. Where have the years gone? We have been so blessed, and we still love each other as much, if not more as we did 36 years ago. Mark took the day off, and we just went and had fun. We got an oil change on the car, then headed toward Cumberland Gap, TN. We stopped at 2 quilt shops and bought some fabric (Mark has a quilt in his mind,that he wants to make for the dulcimer club retreat in Nov. When he sets his mind to do something, he does it well; so I have no qualms about him making a quiilt. It should be outstanding!) We ate lunch at Webb's in Cumberland Gap (freshly made hamburgers and hand cut french fries, and we shared a generous slice of Hershey Chocolate cake). On the way home, we did some looking at Southeastern Salvage and Sears, and then bought a new set of shelves at SAM's (for the craft room). Dinner was at Ruby Tuesday's. We had such a great day! Today, DD#1's MIL and I went and had a massage. Mark gifted me the massage, and J's kids did the same for her. It was so wonderful!!! I am so relaxed! This was my first massage. Wow! Well, enough about me. Take care. Have a great day!

I am finally getting brave enough to try and blog. (I know, I'm a very slow learner). lol I've been trying to determine the format and contents and finally decided to just start. So this will start out as a rambling blog. It may not help that I'm also fighting a severe sinus headache, but I'm determined to go ahead and start. Today, I went to quilting and showed the ladies the child's quilt I just finished, a baby quilt top and another child's quilt top. The baby quilt is for my first great-great niece who was born last week. The two children's quilts are for the grandchildren of a friend at church. Their parents are going through a divorce and they and their mother have moved in with their grandmother. My goal is to have the other child's quilt done by the end of the week, also the baby quilt - so I can get it in the mail. I also met with our "parish nurse" this a.m. to discuss "pandemic flu preps". She and I have been working on this for over a year. It really paid off with this H1N1 scare. We already had the info to post on our church's website, and we decided to add more and we also chose some posters to have made up to put in the bathrooms in the church hall, etc. Now, we are going to work on getting a phone tree in place to get important info out - as needed. She and I are both very concerned about this Fall, and the potential for a second and more serious wave. That's all for the moment. Take care.

Today I did errands and some groceries, and the laundry, and cleaned the house (including scrubbing the floors - it's been 2 weeks). But, tonight I'm so tired and even though I had hopes of working on the quilt, I may just do nothing. I did buy a mailing envelope today, so as soon as I finish the quilt I can mail it. We had a pretty impressive rain storm come through, but we didn't lose power. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a more energy filled day. Take care.

DH and I had a busy and satisfying weekend. We finally started the garden. Since we both are getting arthritis and bending over to garden is hard on our backs and joints, we decided to have raised beds. Instead of making them out of lumber, we bought 2- 35 gal. pond liners. We mounted them on concrete bricks (that DH first leveled and then anchored), also drilled drainage holes in them. We put weed cloth on the bottom, then mixed garden soil and peat moss together and filled them. Between them, we planted: lettuce 2 types, and 2 types of peppers, carrots, zuchini. In individual containers we planted tomatos (roma up to beef steak) and we planted sweet potatoes and regular potatoes in both the compost pile and in individual buckets. We also planted a Roma tomato plant upside down in a bucket to see how it would grow. We also planted a lilac bush and a boxwood basil in individual pots that we placed in front of one of the pond liners. Hopefully, tonight after work, DH will get to mow the yard and trim so we can lay mulch down. We are trying to make the garden aesthetically pleasing as it is in the front yard (only part of the yard that gets full sun). Wouldn't you know it, that we may get frost tonight. Will listen to the forecasts, to see if I need to cover the plants tonight. Well, I need to close and get started around the house. Many chores await me. Take care.

This has been a long, tiring day, but DH and I accomplished a lot. He worked on the front yard. He edged the sidewalk, with a hoe as the weedeater won't work; then laid down a rubber mulch border (that comes in 10 ft long rolls). He also put the mulch border around the flower beds and then mowed the yard. It really looks nice. Needless to say, he is very tired tonight. He was already worn out from yesterday. He loaded up all the sound equipment into the corolla, and drove to Harrison Bay State Park where his dulcimer group played. It was a long day, and his equipment is heavy to move. I spent yesterday cleaning the house, and then working on the quilt blocks for our quilting group. On June 10th, we are all going to bring in 128 6inch squares of light colored fabric, and 128 6 inch squares of dark colored fabric. My goal is to bring them to quilting this coming Wed. as I won't be at quilting June 3 (DH and I will be on our way to MO. for his sister's 50th wedding anniversary party) and the 10th is when DH is scheduled for his carpal tunnel surgery (not sure of the time yet). Today I finished cutting all the 6 inch squares and helped DH a little. Tomorrow I hope to start my project for the craft exchange. Tuesday is our 36th anniversary and DH has the day off, so we can spend it together. Enough rambling, I'm tired. Good night all. Take care.

Sephanie, I hear you! I'm trying to do the same thing here. Since Lent started, we are trying to eat dinner at the table, and Mark is trying really hard to be home to eat by 6:15 p.m. It's been wonderful to sit down and eat dinner together. Even our little grandson seems to enjoy it. Today, I made pizza dough (with J's help-lol he's only 22 months old, so you can imagine the help I received) and it's now in the refrigerator waiting for me to get home this afternoon (after I pick up our 5 1/2 yr old DGS from school and watch him till about 4:30 p.m.). I also had some homemade pizza sauce in the freezer, so it's now in the refrigerator thawing. I love having my canned food in the pantry. It definitely helps make meal preparation easier and faster. BTW, I passed on your message to Mark, and he had a big smile on his face. He and I and our oldest DD's MIL are going to take a concealed weapon's class soon. Take care, Marilyn

Oh Westie, they are absolutely beautiful children!!! Grandchildren are so great! Congratulations! Will you be able to visit with the newest one soon? (((Westie)))

(((Karelle))) and welcome! We are so honored to have you here. This is a truly wonderful place, and that's because of your wonderful, caring and wise daughter! My DH and I were honored to meet her last Fall, and consider her a truly special friend! Welcome, so glad you are here!