Month: October 2009

  • A Perfect Day To Sleep In But I Didn’t…LOL

    It was cold and dreary here today.  I woke up when some loud thunder hit and shook the house…well, at least the bed.  It actually could have been the dog shaking the bed when he jumped up at the noise but let’s not split hairs.  Awake is awake.  Darn dog can still sneak up on the bed and not wake either of us up.    Once the Beast and I got up to take a look outside, Baron went back to sleep (on the bed, of course) and got another hours sleep.  The Beast and I just had coffee while we waited for it to get light enough to try to get an idea of how much it had rained.  It sounded like it was still raining but it could have just been the wind, which was really wild. 

    Because I went to bed so late and got up so early, I was a bit zombie-like most of the day.  I went through bouts of feeling very awake and then so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open.  I did lay down once but only slept for about another hour.  *sigh*  No rest with the Beast around some days.

    He decided he was finally ready to put the closet doors up.  He starts by bringing one of them in and screwing in the hardware.  He put two of the hinges on incorrectly and I am so grateful that Chewlee was not around.  Hell, I was sorry *I* was around since he turned the air blue with his swearing.  You would have thought the doors were conspiring against him.  I just hate when he does stuff like that because he throws whatever he has in his hand (in this case, it was his new drill).  Now this is because HE just got it wrong.  It’s not like it’s an every day thing with him so why shouldn’t that happen?  Could happen to anyone, right?  But, no…he starts with the *F* word so often that you would think he didn’t know any other adjectives…..or verbs.  Whatever.  It took him five tries to get the two doors right and it’s because he gets so damned upset, he STILL doesn’t pay attention.  About this time, I am rolling my eyes and avoiding him like the plague.

    Then, of all things, the doors won’t close correctly.  Now IN MY OPINION, it’s because they were out in the garage in damp weather without the top or bottom of the doors being sealed.  You got it…no paint or anything else.  So, I think they just need to dry out a bit.  He DID put a thin coat of paint on the ends but planned on putting more on down the road.  Don’t ask me why.  Just telling you what he said.  I told him to leave them alone, the paint needs time to dry well anyway.  I suggested that he could see how they close then.  I am just praying that they do close better.  It might even be that they need to hang for a bit.  I am not an engineer and really was not allowed to check out how they closed.  I will check it out for myself later and draw my own opinion on what is needed.

    After I showered and got dressed, I decided I had better get up to Walmart to pick up my meds.  BIG mistake.  It has to be that the beginning of the month, everyone orders their refills.  I happened to have some extras or I would have ordered mine about two weeks ago.  Stupid me!  When I got there, I was told they were *backed up* and it would be a half hour.  Okay.  I needed to do some shopping so no problem.  I picked up a couple things we needed (coffee, creamer, bread, milk) and looked through some of the DVD’s that were on sale before I went and picked up some buttons and a new rug for the guest bathroom. 

    It’s more than a half hour so I head back to the pharmacy to see a long line at the counter.  I take my place and wait my turn patiently.  When I get to the head of the line, I’m told it will be another half hour.  Fifteen minutes if I am lucky.  I laughed and told the gal that I would just pick them up tomorrow.  I headed to the cashiers to pay for my purchases so I could get out of there and over to Chik-fil-a.  The Beast had ordered some chicken strips and some of their honey mustard sauce.  It’s not bad but I like my homemade stuff better.  Theirs had a little more *kick* to it but I swear they add horseradish to it.  Or at least whoever makes and packages it for them.  I was running low on cayenne pepper or I would have added more to mine.  Honey mustard sauce is not my idea of where horseradish belongs, tyvm. 

    I made a quick run over to ABC Liquors to pick up some of the TGI Friday’s Mudslide (complete with liquor in it.  Just add ice and pour.)  It doesn’t have that much alcohol in it but I had a taste for it.  It wasn’t the normal way that I yearned for….it was added to my coffee.  That’s something I learned to do when we were camping around Thanksgiving one year.  It was cold out and I wasn’t up to something with ice in it.  So I thought of the mudslide mix I had and putting it in my hot coffee.  It was delicious.  Now I will make some from time-to-time, especially when the weather gets cold.  Bailey’s works well in coffee, too.  Had some of that at a Post Office St. Paddy’s Day Party one year.  The Beast’s cousin invited us (she worked for the PO).  Had a lot of fun and the coffee they served had Baileys in it along with some Bushmills.  Talk about a fantastic time being had by all!    I just will not willingly add Bushmills to coffee.  Waste of good Irish whiskey.

    It’s just a little after 8pm here as I write this but the temp is already down to 55.  We have a week of cool weather ahead of us.  At least the Beast has turned on the heat.  The floors are cold under my feet so I am wearing socks or my big furry slippers.  No more running around barefoot, no way, no how.    I am a wimp when it comes to the cold.

    I am going to get the buttons sewed onto the baby’s nightgown now so I will go ahead and get this set up to post for tomorrow’s reading pleasure.  I got all the pattern pieces together for the jammies I want to make for Chewlee (yes, I already have the buttons, bias tape and elastic for it).  I’m going to try getting it all laid out, pinned and cut out tomorrow.  If I am lucky, I can get it all done by this Saturday and I will have pictures of two different things I have made for her.  I got some wonderful material for making her a dress or perhaps two.  No pattern for it yet.  I need time to go through them until I find what I have in mind.  One of the materials is probably going to be a Holiday dress for her.  It’s really silky and lush looking.  She should love the feel of it.

    Love you all.  Have a wonderful day.  Stay healthy.  Smile a lot.  Be in touch with your feelings and learn to be comfortable with that.  Apologize to no one for liking yourself the way you are.

  • Just Another Dreary Day At Brat Farm…And A Bitch Or Two

    It was a rather nasty morning when I finally dragged my butt out of bed.  On mornings like that, I usually just don’t WANT to get up.  Know what I mean?  It wasn’t raining at all but sure looked like it was going to most of the day.  The sun did drag IT’S butt out of the clouds for a bit but that was short-lived.  Then we started with the sprinkles.  Nothing hard or long.  Just enough to make the cool breeze seem a lot cooler than it was.  The humidity soared.

    I spent the day slowly washing clothes.  I took my time and hung up what needed hanging up and folding the rest.  I kept thinking about the Princess and their search for a place to live.  I hope they found something.  I could have called to ask but know this is her and Johnnycakes only day together.  I doubt they made it out on the boat because it was so cool but hope they dressed warm if they DID go.  Meantime, I washed the baby’s nightgown and discovered that I didn’t have any buttons to be found that would work for the nightgown.  I’m going to have to run up to the store tomorrow to buy some.  Oh well !  I suppose it’s just as well that they didn’t make it over here for pictures of the baby.  I’m going to have to iron the nightgown just a bit for pictures anyway. 

    I pulled out the material I want to use for making her some pajamas.  It’s a cute pattern on it.  Kind of like patchwork.  I showed it to the Beast and he thought it was perfect for pajamas.  Not that he knows but he does know that the bright colors will appeal to Chewlee.

    I’m really loving this sewing machine the more I use it.  I was reading the book and discovered that it will even sew on buttons.  Of course, it’s only the flat ones but what a concept!  However, after thinking about it, Granny’s machine that I used when my kids were little did the same thing.  I had forgotten about that.  Guess that machine was ahead of it’s time.  I remember hating the fact that the machine I bought for myself when we moved back to Chicago briefly didn’t have that feature.  But, in those days, money was tight with four young kids.  I couldn’t afford one as good as Granny had.  But it still allowed me to sew a lot of nice things.  When it *disappeared* from the movers truck in between Chicago via Houston to San Diego (a story for another time), what the insurance was willing to pay didn’t even come close to being able to replace it.  I did have friends that allowed me to use theirs since they didn’t use them often but it just wasn’t the same.  So I only used their good will for big projects.

    The Beast thinks I am being a bit anal about my rags that we use for wiping down the counters and other such things because I just hate when HE uses them and something stains them.  Sometimes I know it’s grease or oil and use a stain remover on it.  It removes the grease/oil but leaves behind a dark colored stain.  I gathered up a lot of these rags today and dumped them into a pail of hot, soapy water with lots of bleach in it.  After a couple hours and several times that I stirred them up, I finally dumped the whole pail into the washer.  They are washing now but….I checked them and most of them are nice and white again.  He said, *Who cares if they have stains on them?  They are RAGS!*  To which I replied, *I give you a stack of your own rags but you keep grabbing MINE that I use in the house. I want them WHITE, not all icky looking so that people think I am a slob.  If YOU want to be a slob, fine!  But don’t expect ME to join you!*

    I mean, come on.  A kitchen rag shouldn’t look like it’s used to mop the garage floor, right?  If you are wiping down your table with one, don’t you want to be sure that you are using a CLEAN rag?  Sheesh.  It seems like a small thing to ask.  He’s just too lazy to open one of his cabinet doors to reach HIS rags.  It’s easier for him to reach into MY kitchen drawer on his way out to the garage and just ruin MY rags.  I’m tired of his pile of garage rags constantly being added to and it’s coming from MY kitchen rags being ruined.

    I hate the idea that I need to think about taking down the winter clothes from the attic.  It just doesn’t seem like it should have to be done this early in the year.  Is this part of the global warming shit?  I know I have tried to do my part as much as possible but it sure does look like things are going to get worse, doesn’t it?  If we start getting a lot of snow this winter, I am going to be checking into emigrating to Jamaica or some other tropical island paradise.  Maybe Belize in Central America would be okay, even.  They do have a big American enclave there.  Heck, they even have Home Depot. 

    Time to get this posted.  Love you all.  Have a great day.  I wish you the great weather of your choice and lots of family and friends to help you enjoy it.  Laugh out loud a time or two.  Oh, and don’t forget to smile.

  • Another Fun Day With Chewlee

    Chewlee got here bright and early on Saturday.  She was dressed in one of the outfits I bought her because it had long sleeves and was nice and warm.  The temperature outside was 53 degrees.    I know.  The Princess said Chewlee got all excited when she was told, *Yes, you are going to Grandma’s!*.  All week long, as the Princess was dropping her off at Day Care, Chewlee kept asking if she was going to Grandma’s.  When they would arrive at Day Care, the Princess said Chewlee’s face would be so disappointed.  She would shoot the Princess a look like she was betraying her and taking her to be executed or some such thing.    I’ve seen the look.  I sometimes get it when I make her take her nap in the guest room.

    Speaking of which, Chewlee is not staying overnight tonight as expected.  I guess the Princess’s landlord either sold the house OR is tired of having to give them a day’s notice.  Either way, they are going to be moving so the Princess didn’t want to  spend the money on a party with their friends.  Johnnycakes agreed.  Tomorrow (Sunday) they are going to look at a couple rental houses that the real estate agent has not far from our house.  Later on, they are going water skiing with Johnnycakes dad, mom, sister and his best friend (and his girlfriend).  I will get to watch Chewlee since it would be too much confusion for her on that boat.  It’s a regular power boat, not a pontoon.  Besides, every time the Princess gets in the water, Chewlee tries to jump in with her.    She would be calm with me there with her on our pontoon boat but I don’t know how she would react to her mother on water skis.  So I will get her and the Beast will be able to take a picture of her in her new nightgown. 

    She LOVED it.  She was so excited when I put it on her that she ran out to show Papa and tell him that *Mamaw* made it for her.  Then she wouldn’t take it off.  She just ran from me, ran her hands down it and said, *It’s MINE!*  I couldn’t help but laugh at her.  When the Princess came to pick her up, she DID let me change her out of it but wanted another nightgown I had here put on her.  It was her *Cinderella* one and she is about ready to outgrow it but it does still fit her.  Barely. 

    It didn’t warm up much all day long.  I don’t think we got much over 75 degrees and that was for a very short time.  It’s down to 65 right now and we have storms moving in.  As it was, I had a bad day on the internet with it knocking me off every few minutes.  I finally got sick of it and just lay back in my recliner and watched TV.  Stephen King’s *The Stand* was on this morning and I had watched that.  The afternoon and evening pickings were either bad or boring.  I can watch SOME *bad* movies but these were too bad even for me. It finally put me to sleep.   I’m getting ready to throw in a DVD once this blog is ready to go.

    Storms and a cold day is in my future.  I am just praying that it’s nice enough BEFORE they move in for us to get a picture or two of the baby in her new nightgown.  It’s a size bigger than she is so that it will last her though the winter, I hope.  Chewlee thinks it’s just fine and it will be comfortable for her to wear to sleep in, I think.  When I showed her the new material I have for making her some pajamas, she liked that, too.  I have a different pattern for those, thankfully, and it DOES have an interface for the collar in the pattern.  I’m just not going to put any webbing in it because I think it makes the collar TOO stiff.  Takes a lot of washing to soften it up.

    Time to get this posted.  Sorry the day wasn’t exciting but I had fun with Chewlee.  She can be so adorable.  Especially when, like today, she wanted to sit in my lap and play word games with me.  She was also in a lovable mood so there were a lot of kisses, hugs and brushing of my hair.  She will stand on the chair in back of me, brushing my hair.  Then she will mess it up and throw her arms around my neck and rock back and forth saying, *Love you, mamaw*.  Then back to brushing again.  I always tell her I love her, too.  It’s just one of the things we do and have done for a long time now.  Love her to death and you would, too, if you met her.  She’s such a happy child.  Why not?  Everyone around her loves her.

    I wish you a happy day, preferably with someone you love (or lots of someone’s).  I wish you a sunny and bright Sunday.  If it’s not, keep your heart sunny and bright.  Reach out and touch someone.  The human touch is still one of the most important ways to share love.  A hug, a squeeze, or just a touch on the shoulder.  And don’t forget to smile.  If you see someone without one, be sure to give them one of yours. 

  • Ever Stop To Think And Forget To Start Again?

    It really WAS one of those days when you go around saying Duh! (to yourself).  When I got up this morning, I sat with the Beast having coffee and discussing our plans for the day.  The Beast wanted to get a haircut (or three), clean up some of his boxes from his new purchases (more later on this) and put another coat of paint on my door.  He managed to get two out of the three done.  Can you guess which ones? 

    The most serious of my *duh* moments was when I was cleaning and turned on the SyFy channel to see what they were putting on for the day.  I was thinking it was Saturday.  I was disappointed to find out that they seemed to be having a marathon of Twilight Zone.  It was only later that it occurred to me that IF it were Saturday, I would have the baby here.    Duh!

    I wanted to do the finishing work on the baby’s nightgown. I had to trim out the sleeves, open the buttonholes and sew on the buttons.  I also wanted to get some housework done, make my bed and make dinner.  I got everything done but the buttons on the nightgown.  I decided I didn’t like the ones I had figured on using.  It won’t stop me from having the baby try on the nightgown tomorrow so I can finish it up.  I’ll get some buttons I like as soon as I can go through my button box.

    I never figured on ever having a button box.  I remember my mother’s.  She cut buttons off everything that was going to become a rag or get thrown out.  Because *you never know….*.  I used to laugh at that but I sure hated going through her button coffee can when she was trying to match a button she needed.  So, I thought that *I* would NEVER have a button box.  But, it starts simply enough.  Buy something that has an extra button or two included *just in case*.  So you throw it in a drawer or put it in your sewing box.  Eventually you have so many of those that you move them into their own container.  Voila!  Instant button box. 

    The Beast bought something new to use for his pictures.  I have no idea what the hell it’s called but it’s really for graphic artists.  It has a pad with a special pen that you can use to draw on and it appears on your screen.  It allows him to make much more professional *cuts* from one picture that he can then place in another.  It also has it’s own mouse.  The thing about it that he just loves is that he can now use a couple features that he couldn’t using his regular mouse.  I don’t even WANT to know how much he paid for it.  He said he thought he should have bought a bigger *pad* but it was pricey.    Pricey????  Who is he kidding?  This from the guy who paid $12K for a camera BODY that a professional photographer was salivating over?????  What the hell does he call PRICEY???

    I have to clean up this room before the baby comes tomorrow.  She notices anything new that is out.  I want to put away the sewing things that I won’t need to put the ruffle on tomorrow and get the sewing machine at least covered. 

    Love you all.  Take care of yourselves.  And here’s today’s thought:  Life is short.  Break the rules.  Forgive quickly; kiss slowly.  Love truly.  Laugh uncontrollably.  And never regret anything that made you smile.

  • Baron Is Acting Like A Defiant Teenager

    If doggy years are 7 to 1, then right now, at age 2.33 years old, he’s the equivalent of a 16 year old.  That’s an age where boys start feeling their oats and are so horny, they no longer have a brain.  That’s a big general in interpretation but you get the idea.

    He’s suddenly become a bit defiant, like he’s checking to see who’s boss.  It kind of started when the Beast took my door down and there was no barrier for Baron to face when I didn’t want him in here.  He started by just walking in whenever he felt like it and I would have to order him out.  He did it, albeit reluctantly it seemed.  But the look he would give me…..*insert eye roll here*.  He was also doing it when you would tell him to *sit* or *get down*.  He would just give you this look like he was saying, *Why should I?*  So, as you are instructed to do when training a dog, you have to go and MAKE them do what you told them.  Otherwise, like kids do, they think they have a choice.

    When the Beast put my door up today, Baron was not a happy camper.  I was busy sewing the baby’s nightgown together and putting trim on the collar (I discovered a mistake on the pattern but more about that later).   I did give the Beast a hand by putting the pin in one of the hinges so he could complete putting it up.  Baron stood in the hall with a look of disapproval that was unmistakable.  I didn’t immediately close the door and I found him coming into the room very quietly (which is tough for him with the wood floors and his nails that need trimming).  He normally would just throw himself down on the floor which is LOUD for a dog that weighs over 100 lbs.  But, he was testing the waters and did it very, very quietly so that I was surprised to find him in here. 

    When I first would discover him, he would get up and walk out the door with a brief look over his shoulder at me.  Then came the time that really ticked me off.  I got up and almost tripped over him.  I ordered him out and he didn’t move.  Not a muscle.  I told him *out* a second time (bad me) and still nothing.  So, pissed off at this point, I grabbed his collar and made him stand up and walked him out of the room.  At that point, I closed my door.  He actually stamped his front feet on the wood floor outside the door before walking off.

    When I told the Beast about his behavior, he said he had been noticing a little bit of that at various times the past couple days.  He’s decided that the training collar is going back on him until this *phase* he’s in is over.  He’ll take it off at night when they go to bed but otherwise, it stays on for a while.  I have no idea why he’s doing this but I’m sure not going to put up with it.

    Tara stopped over for a bit tonight and we got the latest info on Tonto.  He’s getting plasma exchanges three times a week now instead of on a daily basis.  When he went in for his appointment for one of them today, he was in pain and not feeling well so they did some tests on him and didn’t do the exchange.  He’ll have it done tomorrow, instead.  They think the pain is because of his body making adjustments to all the medication and the trauma it’s been through.  He actually asked them (the doctors) today if he was going to die.  They told him they really didn’t know.  He could still die.  Everything depends on what happens during the next few weeks.  Not much comfort there, is there?

    So, I am trying to complete all the *bits and pieces* portion of the pattern (I needed to attach the collar) and, as I am reading the instructions, I suddenly find an illustration AND a reference to a *facing* that is NOT in the pattern.  I was so shocked that I rechecked the pattern three times.  I looked at the layout they show you for the pattern pieces.  I checked each piece and read everything on them (the bodice section) and…nothing.  No facing.  But they are suddenly showing a facing that is NOT included in the pattern.  It’s only shown on the instructions.  So, what to do? 

    I’ve made other things with collars so I was a bit puzzled when I first glanced at this pattern anyway.  But, I was willing to give it a try since patterns usually work out.  Instead, I am finding that I NEED to make a facing and am not quite sure which of the two ways that would be easiest would be better.  I WILL have to undo two seams with one of my ideas but those are just shoulder seams and not really a big deal.  My second idea is the easier of the two but also has it’s own drawbacks.  What to do?  What to do?  I think I am going to try the easier way FIRST because I can, if necessary, always do the other if it doesn’t work out well.  It’s just that, what should have been a nice easy project has become a bit of a nightmare.

    I am, however, going to email the pattern company and tell them about the mistake I found.  I’m sure I am not the only person that will be reporting it to them.  If I screwed up somehow by not understanding something, then they need to fix that in their instructions or on their pattern pieces.  As soon as I sew that, it’s just a matter of sewing the bodice to the skirt.  On Saturday, I can just pin on the ruffle at the correct length and in a few minutes, it will be done. 

    I meant to mention this yesterday but got distracted.  One of the most incredible reasons that I love this sewing machine is that it threads itself.    I kid you not!  I had to follow the instructions, step-by-step, twice before I finally realized I was missing one tiny little area that I had to guide the thread over before it worked for me.  But what a rush when I got it right and it was threaded.  *grin*  With my bad eyes, that’s worth a lot!  What’s funny is that the Beast didn’t even realize it did that when he bought it for me.  He was more impressed with all the embroidery it could do.

    Time to tackle the idea on the facing.  I will let you know how it all turns out in tomorrow’s (Saturday’s) post.  Have a great day everyone.  Love you all.  Here’s today’s thought to ponder:  Is the reason you no longer stay in touch with family and friends because they don’t have an email address? 

  • I Just Love This Sewing Machine!

    I did finally get to Walmart and I bought the lace for the bottom of the baby’s nightgown.  It was much softer than the other stuff I had liked AND it had smaller matching ruffle that I decided would trim the collar on it.  What the heck!  It’s just a small change in the pattern but it will be pretty, I think.  It looks pretty just pinned to it for sewing.

    When I started sewing, I began with repairing two throw pillows that have seen better days.  They look good but I have had them …. well, forever.  Then I had to put the bodice together, which meant the facing for the buttons.  I also ironed the webbing on the collar so that would be done.  I am finding that I am not sure if I like using the foot pedal or not.  I’ve tried it both ways.  I’ll decide tomorrow when the major part of the nightgown will be sewn together.  It’s the bits and pieces that really get to you.

    I also pulled out the book to take a good look at the built-in patterns.  I really was considering putting a nice embroidered pattern on the bodice but decided not to with the addition of the lace around the collar.  I also bought another couple of yards of material that caught my eye and I will make the pajamas out of that.

    The Beast actually DID start painting the doors for my room today.  I was shocked.  It didn’t take much nagging at all.    Tomorrow he should be hanging up my door so I can finally shut it and keep his noise out.  I’m tired of having to turn up my TV so I can hear my programs over his blasting since he doesn’t hear well these days. 

    After I had posted my blog yesterday, I got news that my brother-in-law, Frankenstein, had to be taken to the hospital.  He had apparantly been in pain (stomach) all day and his skin color was bright red.  They knew his blood pressure had to be sky high but, like all men, he insisted he would be all right.  He wasn’t.  But, they discovered he had an infection in his stomach (a pre-ulcer thing I’ll bet) and just gave him medication for it and sent him home.  I think his blood pressure raising and even the stomach problem was probably because of the surgery he’s contemplating in his future.  It’s very serious and could either kill him or paralyze him.  But he’s tired of being in pain and I guess you can’t blame him for that.  Say a little prayer for him if you don’t mind. 

    Buttmunch got some news today that has her acting like a cat on a hot tin roof.  I told her since it’s HER news, she should really blog about it.  If it works out, it really IS exciting.  You can read it for yourself here:     http://www.xanga.com/emerybored

    Time for me to close this since I screwed up something and now it’s underlining everything.    Love you all and have a wonderful day.  Remember:  Life may not be fair but it’s still good.