Sunday - all day

I challenged myself to drive to the Walmart to shop for some necessary items.  I was in the store walking for about an hour.   When I got home I knew I had pushed myself but I was OK.
I  was able to finish re-potting the planters damaged by the hail last summer.  Now I have a room full of plants ready to be released to the deck.  Now we have to wait for warmer air.
Vince worked on the raised beds as he wants to be finished by Tuesday night so he is ready for the Sandostatin injection by the oncologist onWednesday.  The beds look so awesome and it is such an improvement.
I spent some time this afternoon knitting on "the gift".  It is so relaxing for me even though the needles are size 3.  It grows very slowly however.
I was able to find some adhesive so I could bond a small glass dish and an old vase to create a soirée of water for birds and butterflies. I will place the piece in one of my planters.  I will take a picture when everything is moved to the deck.
Spent a little time Pinterest as well.  Just gets my creative juices going!  Last year I painted clay pots and bonded those together for added color to the yard.  I gave those a shot of paint today.  All in all I didn't feel like I got much done but it seems to have added up.

Fireplace on and spring cleaning the sun porch

I can't believe how such a pleasant little room can get so nasty.  Go figure as plants drop leaves, pets reside here in the sunny windows and dust just multiplies if ignored.  So I am spending my feet time today in this room.  I have the gas fireplace blazing and some Josh Groban crooning to help me focus on the finished product.
Vince is outside again for his therapeutic activity.  He put the solid paver top row on the western of the three beds.  It looks amazing!  He had an uncle who was a mason and built at least two beautiful churches, one in Spearfish and one in Rapd City, South Dakota.  I think Vince has it in is genes.
My knees have told me it is time for ice and elevation.  Now I get to read snout what my blogger friends are doing.  Will attach a beautiful maple table Vince made for me.  Two old tangle leaves someone had painted found in a garage and given to him.  The base has a story!  My "little sister" (story for another day) found he base in an alley dumpster and stored it in her garage for a couple of years .  She took it to Restore and while visiting her last summer I found it in the Restore store.  Not having any idea of anything she walked up and asked why I was holding it.  I said I am going to buy it and we giggled for over an hour about OUR great taste.

Oh my where do I begin

Having a good start on my second total knee replacement gives me significant time on ice thinking about what I would if I could be doing.  I get up and advance a plan only to have to sit again and ice for awhile.  The Dr. said I was doing remarkedly well and he was impressed.  I left his office yesterday with 30 less staples.
This is the time of year when I re-pot and re-virtualized my plants inside so that some can move back outside.  I plan e-mail my lifelong friend Jane about some herb planting.  She has a phenomenal blog called Thyme for Herbs.  I have some magic way of killing herbs and I am convinced this year I can have some in containers on the deck.
Vince has decided to give his raised beds total wall replacements. First we laid green timbers and when those began to give we started stacking bricks but now he has ripped all out, laid footings and is putting the bricks itch mortar so we no longer have soil leaching out.  It is looking so great.  Kevin has been helping him and it is a blessing to see Vince pushing himself.
I have not been doing much quilting as I cannot sit at the machine for long at a time.  I have lots of UFOs that haunt me.  My friend Sara is one who sets goals and accomplishes wonders.  I have a delightful knitting project started for an autumn birthday.  Since it is on size 3 needles I keep working as I recuperate.  I love the colors in it.
It is delightful to see a blue sky, hear the birdsong, and finally have no snow.  I will try to attach a picture of raised beds.  Have to learn how to do that.

The Other Side of the Room

We have been working for two days.  More Vince than I but the shower has been removed from the guest room and this area will become shelving for the plastic storage boxes I use for fabric.  He is repairing and replacing wall board to make it clean and shiny.
In the meantime I organized and picked up pieces to sew and make UFOs "more complete".  Now that all the projects are moved to the new room I realize I have seven hangars full of pieces to be quilted.

I am adding some pictures for the other side of the room.  Vince built the lower unit four years ago to help store the fat quarters.  The top unit is new this fall.  He does most of his work with hand tools like all of the dovetails in the drawers are hand cut.  The top set of drawers are made of walnut.  It is beautiful but also very useful.  The top two shallow drawers hold my threads.

The lower drawers hold ribbons, buttons, bindings I have ready for projects, and one of the drawers holds tools like the sharpener I use to sharpen rotary cutter blades.  A place for everything and everything in its place.  Needless to say I am very lucky to have such a handy husband.





From second floor to basement

When Vince and I bought our home in 1997, we were the fifth family to live in this house.  The first project was to put an egress window in the lower level room (originally the maid's sitting room) and add a shower in the space taken from the laundry room.  This was the first student bedroom we had and when the college students stopped living with us, it became the guest room. 

On the second floor of our house we have three bedrooms and two baths.  The bedroom on the front of our house has now become my office.  The bedroom on the back of the house is a beautiful room with huge windows and the southern exposure assures warmth and sunlight.  Everything is great except the size.  Four years ago when we bought my Grand Quilter we realized the room is just 13 feet by 10 feet so it has been a COZY quilting room.

While working on our Christmas projects my friends and I have been scheming about how we could use more space.  Dah-da.  The room in the basement is 13 feet by 16 feet!  So the moving has begun.
I will post pictures later today.

This large bookcase was in the guest bedroom in the basement.  We moved it out into the hallway outside the bedroom and put all of my special children's book that I use when I teach Children's Literature or have a captive grandchild on my lap.  Then I began to move my yarn stash out of the closet in the former quilting bedroom.  These are all special yarns which I have separated from the C&C stuff that is not so special.

The first piece to be moved was my design wall.  Just a piece or oilcloth (that is what my Grandma called it) reversed and hung on a nice looking board Vince mounted near the ceiling of the west wall of the new room next to the door.  Two of the projecs are finished on the design wll and I just wanted you to see them.  I am expecially pleased with cabin scene.  On the back of the door I will have a place to hang finished projects like the "I Believe in Santa"  wall hanging.  The beautiful crocheted afghan hanging was a gift from my grandmother many years ago.  She was an artist in her own rights.

Moving to a new room

I will add pictures to the page when I get things situated.  In the meantime I want to share two pictures I have taken lately.  One was in the apple orchard in Minnesota and the other was my flight home from Michigan.

Christmas is coming

Recently some friends and I decided to consolidate our stash and begin working on Christmas projects to use for gifts.  We meet once a week and cut, press, and sew together.  We make three of everything so that each one of us has one to keep or give as we see fit.  Thus far we have made two wall hangings, three table runners and this week we made a lap throw for each of us.  The time when we are together flies by and we seem to get a great deal done.
I will atch some pictures of what we have accomplished.  I have always wanted to get things done ahead of time and not feel the pressure of last minute sewing and this year we are doing it.