Good Things

Come to those who wait.                        For a couple years now, I have wanted to put a flat panel television in Louie’s pool area…well, ever since we bought the little fireplace. I thought it would complete the look and purpose of the area.  There are many evenings when Louie is playing pool, and watching a ball game, or something on television, and he will keep peeking around the corner to see the television in our living room area. Since that time, when we got the fireplace, I have expressed my wish to Louie, and he thought it was a great idea, but that other things were more important, and the price was always more than we wanted to pay.

Well, in the past few years, prices have come down a bit, and yesterday, we agreed to go ahead with the purchase. We were able to get a deal because the box had been opened, and the wall hanger bracket was on sale too.

My brother and sister-in-law were with us, so they followed us home so they could help us put it up. What we didn’t realize, was that with HDTV, we are now able to get about 100 more channels than what we had previously been getting, just through the basic coax into the back of the tv. What a pleasant surprise.

We love it, and even though we waited, it was worth it….and if the quilting girls get to use it, well, that’s ok too!

Be blessed,                                      Michelle

An Important Message

Melissa, over at Cornbread & Beans Quilting shared THIS on her blog a few days ago. I viewed it this morning, was blessed, and would like to share it with you, as well. The message is an important one. Oh, and make sure you have tissues.

                       Click HERE for the story.                      

Be blessed,                                   Michelle

Movin’, Movin’, Movin’….

Tuesday evening, after Louie went to pool leagues, I decided IT was THE NIGHT for me to do something with my living room. I have wanted to rearrange, but because of the amount of STUFF I have, and the odd shape of the room (13’ x 23’), my options are limited. Also, the fact that I have a couch and a love seat (which I won’t part with) makes it even more difficult. The fact that all my other rooms also have so much STUFF in them, gives me limited options of where I can move things. This is kind of what it looked like before I started, except the chair by the fireplace was on the other side of the room in front of the library table, and the big maroon chair you will see later was where the green chair is in this photo.                     So after I moved everything and had a total MESS, 3 1/2 hours later, I FINALLY came up with this. 

Here we are starting at the front door, and moving right, all around the room. In these pictures, the coffee table and rug are missing and have been adopted, and the treadle base (also adopted), with the board on top, and table topper thrown on top, is also missing. I moved the library table (desk) to the other side of the room, and the Edison Diamond Disk Phonograph has been sold, so that is gone too. Yay!!!

And now the big picture. I like it, and it seems so much bigger to me.

Thursday, I took a vacation day to do more de-cluttering. I worked at cleaning out my bedroom closet of ‘stuff’ and my office closet, but I also emptied out the bottom of the entertainment center and passed on several vhs and dvd movies. There were lots of ‘foo-foos’ that I had stored there. I had no idea how much I had. I also went through the drawers of my oak secretary (shown in the last vertical photo) and passed on several things too. The living room is now officially (I think) sorted through and I can move on to the next room.

I hate having a bit of OCD, but it’s probably a good thing I do, or you wouldn’t be able to walk through! The good thing about my de-cluttering, is, Wednesday evening, before I even started the ‘de-cluttering and throwing out party’ on Thursday, I was made aware of someone who had a need, and was starting over again, so it all went to help someone, and made it MUCH easier to ‘let go’. I hope she has the same likes as me!  I’m not done yet, by a long shot, but I need to work up more energy before I begin again.

                              Be blessed,

Michelle

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

My Granny Quilt

Most of you have seen my ‘Granny Fan’ button on my side bar. My friend Valorie, from Life’s Little Garden often shows us her visits to her Granny’s house, and we have all fallen in love with her, and her love of quilting, but especially, her love of the Lord.

Granny has really been sewing up a storm in the past few months, but especially since she got her ‘new’ Singer 401A. Click HERE to see her in action!

The sewing machine in the following picture is her old Domestic machine. She had it for many years, and for a long time, had been making one quilt a week with it. She wore it out.                                                                          This is her ‘new’ sewing machine (new in the 50’s). Since Valerie has started helping Granny sells her quilts, and since she got this machine, she has been making TWO quilts a week. I think that is fantastic for a 96 year old woman, don’t you?                                  Here is the quilt I bought from Granny. It arrived today, and it is WONDERFUL!  It is so soft, fluffy and warm! I know I will spend many an evening covered up with it in my chair (and sleeping!) Thank you so much Granny! I love it, and I will think of you each time I cover up with it.

Be blessed,

Michelle

The Blind Side—Two Thumbs Up!

Loved it!

 

Here’s a link to previews.                    Click HERE.

Be blessed!

Michelle

I’m Tired and Here’s Why

I took 4 hours of vacation time yesterday afternoon so I could come home and fill out my tax worksheet. To do that, I have to dig through the files, and I dread the job, and put it off as long as possible. Tomorrow is our tax appointment, bright and early. 8:30am. It is also quilting, so Louie will be going to the appointment without me again. He doesn’t mind.

I didn’t do my tax worksheet yesterday. Instead, I came home and made chili for supper, and I just don’t know where the time went.

So today, while I was digging for information, I also decided to pull all the 2009 stuff out, put it in manila envelopes to store, and start over with fresh files for 2010. In the process, I also found lots of stuff that I could shred, and didn’t need anymore.                                         I shredded two tall kitchen garbage bags of stuff.                                                                I had stuff in both file cabinets. Now, I want you to know, that out of 8 drawers, only 3 actually have files. The rest are just a place for other stuff. I also shredded a lot personal papers from the past that brought me heartaches and unpleasant memories. They’re gone! Yippee!                                                                   There were documents that needed copied, so ‘Anne’ had to sit on the floor for a bit, and get her ‘behind’ off the copier!                                                                  With all the other chores I was doing at the same time, I was dragging shredded paper throughout the house. I worked on this from about 9:30am until 6pm. During this time, I also took an hour for lunch to visit Louie, washed and dried clothes, baked a batch of cookies for quilting tomorrow, and cleaned the kitchen.                                                     I took insurance booklets apart and shredded them, leaving the thin hardware you see on the table. I punched holes in 401K papers and put them in binders.                                        I was actually tripping over papers, etc, but I finally found the floor! Yay!                                 Oh, how I love organization! Unfortunately, this was only the tip of the iceberg. I have many many hours left of spaces to go through and weed out. My shredder will be busy and Goodwill will love me by the time I am done.                                                                                               Ahhhh…..that feels much better, and I’m tired.

Be blessed and have a great weekend!

Michelle                   

Another Desk to Sewing Table Transformation ---For My Friend Pattykins!

Santa Claus was extra special nice to my friend Patty this year. He brought her a Janome Memory Craft 6600 Professional sewing machine! She was so tickled, and we agreed she needed a nice table to recess it down into. I told her we would keep our eyes open for something at the thrift stores that would work, and Saturday, Louie and I  found just the thing. This desk was only $10.38, and a nice base to start converting the table. I guess I don’t have to tell you there will be lots of pictures.                                            Since my machine and hers are the same, Louie used the opening from my table to make the template for Patty’s.                       It took a couple passes, and a depth adjustment with the router bit to get all the way through the desk top….                                        …then a little more precision work to get the edges smooth.                                            We used an old cupboard door we had bought for another project, then never used from the Habitat for Humanity Restore for the machine to sit on.                       Louie used his antique planer to make the two by fours the right height and smooth. He loves this machine, but it sure does make a mess of things!                        The two boards he planed, are the ones on either side of the opening. (That’s the sawhorse you see running down the middle of the opening.) The other triangle shaped board you see was used as a spacer and stabilizer while he attached the boards to the underside of the desk top. He also put in a couple screws from the outside (on the right side in this picture, into the 2x4 for extra strength (minus the triangle shaped board, and a long narrow piece of wood between the 2x4 and the end piece).                              This is the bottom side of what the machine sits on, but when it lived it’s life as a cupboard door, of course, it was the front. (I’m still nuts all about reusing and repurposing!)                       Almost done! Just have to flip it over on it’s wheels!                                     It fits!  (Of course, I knew it would!) This makes the fourth recessed sewing table Louie has converted from a desk or craft table. He’s pretty good at it by now. (Yep, I’m bragging!)                        Next we checked to make sure the knee lift fit and moved freely.                        I gave Patty this chair, as it is just the right height. See the big cubbyhole to the left of the chair? That should make some nice storage! It is enclosed on the back, but in this photo, it doesn’t look like it is.                                            This should make a nice big work area for Patty to make her quilt tops and whatever else she feels like creating.                        Louie and I delivered the new sewing table right after it was finished. Patty’s son Ryan helped Louie take it in the house. Her machine is already in it, and Patty loved it, just like I knew she would. It feels so good when you do something for someone and you know they appreciate it. It makes all the difference in the world.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!

Be blessed,

Michelle