Disbelief

We were in shock yesterday over the tragic events at Virginia Tech.

Many years ago, Lee and I lived in Blacksburg, just a couple blocks from campus, and I worked at Virginia Tech for a while. Even though we missed our real "home" and moved back here to WV, we've always kept such fond memories of the two years we spent there.

Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone forever changed by this horrible event.

wishin' it was spring already...

I hate winter. Have I mentioned that lately?

Yesterday and today has been "freeze your butt off" cold. School was cancelled. Yesterday's coldest temp was around -8 F. This morning, my sweetie was nice enough to walk Skye for her first potty of the day, and it was -14. Yes, that is a minus sign in front of the number. UGH!

Today we spent the better part of the day dealing with a frozen water situation. We get our water from an old spring house at the edge of the woods. The water then goes into two different holding tanks, then continues down to us as needed. Well, the main gate valve was not covered properly (for whatever reason) and it froze. Lee and Daddy made a reflector around the valve and had a Coleman propane heater on it for many hours. Meanwhile, we were doing our best to scrounge up breakfast and lunch that did not require lots of pots/dishes/etc. And of course, no toilet flushing. Thank God for baby wipes and hand sanitizer. Hours passed and then finally....water!! So now the gate valve is really super-duper insulated.

Then later tonight, after washing up most of the dishes, we noticed that the tub had begun to collect water. Yep...another problem. The main drainage pipe was frozen. Luckily, the toilet has a seperate drain directly to the septic. So, the water in the tub was just handwashing water and dishwater. Anyway, now that's been taken care of, too.

And....we're getting lots and lots of snow as I'm typing this. School is already on a two-hour delay, and I'm guessing they will decide to close it for tomorrow, too. We've been hearing 1-3", other forecasts say 2-4", and we even heard a forecast earlier that said up to five in low-lying areas and up to 12" in the mountainous regions.

Winter sucks.

Here are some fabrics that make me think of spring, sherbert, and warm sunshine. The colors are actually a little less intense in person, but you get the idea.

that #@^$ white stuff

We got some of that horrid white stuff on Sunday...and someone had lots of fun!

Being that I hate snow...and I certainly didn't want to get out in it, or take a chance on slipping and hurting my back again...I chose to take these photos from the safety of my living room window!!!

Lee built a fire, and they stayed warm in between sled rides. Of course, Morgan came to the door to get the obligatory marshmallows for roasting. And faithful Ben kept them company. They had a great father-daughter afternoon.

yes...I'm weird

I've been tagged by Jhoanna at One Red Robin:

Rules - People who get tagged need to write a blog post of 6 weird things about them as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says “you are tagged” in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1. I eat popcorn with a spoon, ever since I was a little girl.

2. I fold clothing before putting it in the dirty laundry hamper.

3. I have fingers that are crooked/twisted. Especially my left index finger . (Caused from cracking my knuckles sideways for years when I was growing up. Don't let your kids do this!)


4. I absolutely, positively hate to get dirty, especially my hands. (When I was little, an elderly neighbor bought me a sandcastle playset and told my mother that he needed to see me play in the dirt at least once - and no, I never did. He swore that I was the cleanest child he'd ever known.) I guess this is why I'm a terrible gardener!

5. I stir corn into my mashed potatoes. Now Morgan does the same.

ok...and number 6...I almost didn't put this....because it's really weird....
I shave my toes. Yes, bizarre, I know. (Because Lee teased me endlessly for years about how my big toes were so hairy.)

Now...I'm not going to follow the rules *exactly*...so, if you haven't done this yet...consider yourself tagged!

On the mend...

First of all...thank you for the well-wishes!

My back is not the greatest yet, but it is healing and feeling much better...considering the pain I was in at this time last week. I can move now without wanting to scream. Still using the heating pad, still taking the Flexeril (at night only now). Continuing with the chiropractic, too. No more Percocet needed, thank God. It's good if the pain is unbearable, but it makes me so space-y and "out of it", and I really hate that feeling.

Then yesterday, I had another migraine complete with vomiting. Fun fun.

Yesterday, we also had something happen that set our tiny corner of the world on end, but I don't feel like going into it right now...maybe never. (I always struggle with how personal I should get here in blogland.)

So...as promised, I still have several projects to share, and they are coming soon. Please bear with me!

OUCH!!!

Double OUCH!! And that's putting it mildly. Here's the scoop:

Yesterday, we'd had snow overnight and school was on a 2-hour delay. (Lee always takes Morgan to school on his way to work.) So I needed to take her to school. I went out to sweep the walk, continued down the driveway, and cleaned off the car and let it warm up. Then I made sure I could get the back door open - the latch is messed up and it's tricky...and of course it was mostly frozen, I had a hard time with it. Well, as I turned around to head back to the house....walking was excrutiatingly painful...I couldn't even stand up straight. But I *had* to fight through it and get the Mo to school.

When I got home and walked into the house I was completely in tears, yelping in pain. I called Lee and told him I needed to go to the chiropractor.

Long story short - I have a severe sprain/strain to the lumbar and sacral regions and a displaced tailbone. Yikes!!! My chiro could barely adjust me because my muscles were in such spasms. His office is closed on Thursdays, so I have to go back tomorrow for more adjusting.

I'm not real hip on taking a lot of meds, but I must say that I'm quite thankful for my left-over percocet from my kidney stone last year.

finding my groove again...

Hello! I'm still here....really, I am.


I guess that break was just a little too enjoyable, because I'm finding it hard to get back into the groove. I've been reading the same thing from some other bloggers, too, so at least I'm not alone in my post-holiday laziness!


Our Christmas was so wonderful. I hope all of you reading this had a wonderful one, as well. I found myself enjoying it more after it was over though. Not in a bad way. What I mean is that I just felt so pressed for time and so busy in the days before, that after it was over and the dust had settled, that's when I had time to relax and enjoy the tree, and the bits of Christmas beauty all around me. So much in fact, that we just took down the all the decorations and the tree yesterday...January 7th! We've never left the tree up that long. In fact, I'm usually tired of it and want it down on the 26th. Hmm...so different for me this year.






I love this picture of Morgan. The joy and excitement on her face! She had just started to open a gift from her Grandma and Papaw that she had been really, really, really wanting. I'm so glad Lee was able to capture that moment!


*****

As some of you know, I'm a massage therapist, but haven't really been too active in many moons. This past Friday and Saturday I worked at a resort spa. It's mostly an on-call situation at the moment, so they don't even know when they'll need me again. Boy was I sore yesterday!! As you can imagine, bodywork is physically demanding...and let's just say that I'm not in the greatest shape lately!! That needs to change!

*****

Stay tuned...I have some things to show soon...

Hello 2007...

Christmas break...

Well, it's time to take a little blogging break now. I'll still be checking my e-mail, etc.

There's still lots of wrapping to do around here, among other things. Have a look at Trip....I'm hoping that I won't be this exhausted when I'm done!

I'll have more things to share when I return.

I wish everyone a safe and wonderful Christmas!!! I'll be back after New Year's Day...see you in 2007!

coasting along...

Did you see the great coaster tutorial over at allsorts? These are fun, easy and just begging for a hot cup of tea. I found these beautiful Alex Anderson fabrics at my local quilt shop, and knew that the patriotic colors would be just perfect for some people on our gift list.

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Speaking of tea...I've got some new teas to enjoy during my gift-wrapping sessions. The last one, Bigelow, says on the back that the other seasonal flavors are Apple Cider, Ginger Snappish, and Eggnogg'n. I'd love to try the eggnog flavor, but can't find it at the stores. :(

ok...I got a little carried away

Remember earlier this month when I showed the holiday magazines I'd gotten? Remember that the Cutting Edge had adorable wee ornament/package decorations by the very talented Hillary Lang? Well I started out with two....aren't they cute?!
Then I got caught up in the cuteness and decided to make a few more...well...14 more actually!! (Watch for upcoming info about a cool new-to-me stuffing that I used for these.) Created assembly-line fashion from beginning to end. But I severly underestimated the length of time they would take. Why do I *always* do that????


Regardless, I'm really pleased with them...and they will be gracing many a gift.

warmed up the knitting needles...

Ok, first of all...I don't consider myself a knitter. Haven't knitted in over a year, at least. But someone on my Christmas list wanted their own fashion scarf like one I had made a few years ago...but in a different color. So I got out those long-ignored needles and got to work. This was made on size 13 (9mm) needles; Lion Brand Fun Fur in color "Tropical". Because you can't see the stitches well with eyelash yarn anyway, I did the whole scarf in garter stitch.

remember the recent WIP photo?....

Well, that pile of green fabric became a Chelsea Tote from Lazy Girl Designs. It has seven interior pockets in the circumference. And at one pocket edge, I added a small loop which I slipped a little lanyard clip onto. (A little blurry, but I think you can distinguish what I'm referring to.) This is so a spare key can be clipped in...never be locked out of the car again! This is a feature I've been adding to all my most recent bags/purses. Just seems like a nice "extra" to me.

just like falling off a log...

...a pretzel log. Well, *lots* of pretzel logs. Oodles and Oodles. One end dipped in dark chocolate, the other dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with multi-colored nonpareils. Mmmmm....love that salty-sweet combo.

Easy peasy....just very, very time consuming (at least for as many as I did). Then to package them up, I got the clear Wilton treat bags from the craft department at WallyWorld. I used a Hero Arts stamp on cardstock, then filled in with colored pencils. Folded down the top of bag, then stapled on the cardstock (shaped like tent cards).

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The tree got done last night...sort of. It's sitting there naked, well, except for lights. Ornaments go on tonight...hopefully.

Tick Tock...Tick Tock...

Do you hear it? I hear it constantly...tick tock tick tock....Christmas is almost here. I got one package out Monday, and still have one to finish and get shippped. Absolutely nothing is wrapped. Our tree is not yet up, although I did get the living room rearranged a few days ago for it. (If I didn't have a kid...I'd probably skip it this year. That's just how I'm feeling.) I'll be at the sewing machine again today.

I keep getting seed catalogs in the mail. C'mon people! How am I supposed to keep my head in the game, so to speak, when I'm seeing spring in my mailbox.

I feel guilty for making grandiose Christmas plans, then not accomplishing the whole list. Then I feel even guiltier because in my heart I know that's not what this time is about anyway. The true meaning of Christmas gets so lost these days. I hate the commercialism of it. The pressure of it.

I took a break Monday evening and watched Mary Poppins on the Hallmark channel. It's been years since I've seen that and I've been humming Spoonful of Sugar ever since.



Well, Morgan recently got her own little tree for her room. She's been wanting one for many years, and she's loving it. And of course it needed to have pink all over it!

I'll do my best to post again real soon and show some of the things I've made. I really didn't mean to let so much time pass since my last post. Be back soon...

would you want these knees?!......and sadness...

the knees of a speed skater.....

******
and on a different note:
I'm so sad this morning upon hearing the news of James Kim. I've been following this story of survival and hope regarding the whole Kim family. I understand that Kati has had a big impact on so many in the crafting/blogging community. My heart and prayers go out to them all.

And let us remember that today is, of course, the anniversary of the attack at Pearl Harbor, too.

the weekend's WIP...

wicked wind!

This past Friday, after a lot of the country got snow, we got that same storm system in the form of drenching rains for first half of day, rapidly dropping temps (71 degrees F at 8am and 29 degrees F by bedtime) and high wind warnings.

Well, for those of you that don't know my husband, he loves to tease and BS about things. Anyway, late Friday afternoon, he was outside making sure everything that could possibly be secured down, was. He rushed back inside and yelled that Morgan's trampoline had just flown away. I, of course, stood my ground and said that I was not falling for it. But he started yelling about how we needed to go catch it, and rushed back outside.

Imagine our surprise when he was completely serious!

Ok....here is where the trampoline normally sits:



And here is where we found it:


Here are some limbs that didn't fare well:


So after retrieving it, Lee decided that he'd better weight down the legs with cinder blocks!:


Now that's wicked wind!!!

gettin' into gear...

Oh wow...December 1st already. I'm behind this year. I prefer to be better prepared for Christmas by this time, but it just didn't happen this year. So I gotta step it up a bit.

I love magazines, but especially during the holidays. Sooooo many great inspirations. The Quilts and More has a really cute handbag that I've GOT to make. Hillary of Wee Wonderfuls has adorable ornaments/package decorations in Cutting Edge...my jingle bells are ready and waiting.

And the Martha Stewart Holiday Handmade Gifts...oh my...where to begin??!! So many great things in there. I love the first paragraph of the Editor's Letter:

"It's the thought that counts. In the hectic run-up to the holidays, I find myself coming back again and again to this powerful bit of conventional wisdom for some much-needed perspective. The thoughtfulness behind an act of giving really shines through when the gift has a personal touch. Even the humblest offerings - a recycled tin packed with home-baked cookies or a bar of handmade soap tied with a soft washcloth and a snippet of satin ribbon - are real treasures because they're from the heart, and the hands, of the giver."

I'm trying to be realistic and honest with myself as to what I can really get done in time. So, there will be some editing of my holiday to-do list, I'm sure.

Well, back to the sewing machine!

the season's official start...

Monday night was Clarksburg's Christmas Parade. Once again, we were involved because of the model railroad club. Thankfully, the weather was good...not too cold, and dry. (Although I was really glad I had worn my wool socks.) Morgan helped carry one of the trains, and I helped to carry the banner. The clubhouse was kept open for all the foot traffic to pop in and check out the displays. Lee stayed there mostly, because that morning, he'd gone to the doctor (strep-type throat and brochitis).

These photos were taken while still waiting in the line-up.

Anyway, it was fun. The parade-goers (the little ones especially) loved seeing their favorite Thomas the Tank Engine characters. This year was the best so far, because we were much further up in the line than previous years. So after we got done, we actually got to see the rest of the parade.