 Playful and childlike, you are everyone's favorite friend - even if your goofy antics get annoying at times.
You are usually feeling: Amused - you are very easily entertained
You are famous for: Always making people smile. From your silly songs to your wild pranks, you keep things fun.
How you live your life: With ease. Life is only difficult when your friends won't play with you.
My husband has told me for years I am easily entertained...so I guess it's true! Honestly put me in front of my sewing machine and I am content. Give me the phone with my best friend and I am happy. Set me down with my family in Houston and I will laugh until I am exhausted. Give me a drive with my husband and I am just like a school girl again. I love driving for hours with Ray just listening to music and holding hands. I am a happy gal.
 I have sausage balls in the mixing bowl, all the fixin's for chili out ready to be chopped, cookies in the oven, recipes taped up on the cabinet doors for easy viewing. As Rachel Ray would say, "YUMMO!" I have got to be the strangest person when it comes to Christmas. I just can not get in the mood for it all until usually 3 or 4 days before. Then I am in a whirlwind trying to get everything all accomplished that I want done. Now we don't do all the hoopla stuff. We don't buy presents for everyone we know and their dog, just a gift or two for each of our children and dinner together usually the evening before, Christmas day and the day after. We don't do much in the way of decorations, usually just a tree and stockings but there is plenty of music. My husband loves to go shopping right at the very last minute he gets a kick out of the crowds. Not me I love to be home and in the quiet. As a matter of fact after shopping all day (at 3 different stores) for all we needed for all the meals we cook for the next 5 or 6 days Ray is out shopping again, just for the fun of it! Not me, I am home, in the silence, but if we are going to eat at all I had better get in the kitchen. Later Diane
I have about 20 more seams to finish and clue #3 will be finished! YIPPEE! I think normally I would be fussing about all the nine patches, but I am not since I learned alot doing so many of them. I have had my Brother QC 1000 sewing machine since Christmas last year. So I have had a whole year to learn all the ins and outs of this fine machine...you would think. Do you know it was just during this mystery I FINALLY made and can consistently make an accurate 1/4" seam? I am a bit embarrassed to admit that, but it is true. I had sewed on my Bernina for so long and was very comfortable with it could make the perfect seam on it almost with my eyes shut, but it took me a year to do it on my Brother. Oh well at least I can do it now! :^) What I did was take an index card and changed the foot on the machine to a flat foot, not the one with the fence, and moved my needle to the right until from the needle to the edge of the foot was a 1/4", then I wrote it down on the card what foot I used and what needle position I was in. The card I taped to my machine where I had to see it when I turned it on. Then I reminded myself I wasn't so clever since I am sure a clever person would have done this a year ago. With the stress of my husband's departure to his new job edging closer and closer I am spending more and more time in the sewing room. I find cutting eases stress. I already had alot of 2.5" strips so I have been focusing on my 1.5" since I just about depleted them doing my log cabin and heartstrings blocks. This is a Linus Quilt made my a couple of ladies in my guild, my friend Nancy L is quilting it.   This is a round robin quilt that belongs to my frond Nancy L. I added the green diamonds floating on cream and the multicolored stripe right next to it. I learned alot doing this RR with her. Later Diane
I spent very little time sewing this weekend since my hand still hurts, but I am glad I got some done. Friday evening I went with my man to his company Christmas dinner. It was nice as far as company dinners go. we sat at a table with several couples who we were able to talk with even though the DJ kept the music very loud most of the time. Once I even got up and asked him to turn it down as we couldn't talk over it. He mumbled something about being paid to play music and I smiled and thanked him and returned to my seat with many eyes on me. I am not sure if they were pleased with my or upset but I got to have a decent conversation for a few minutes. Saturday Ray and I went to a late lunch at my favorite Mexican food place, then we went for a drive. When we got home we watched movies with youngest son and had a very nice evening. I sewed some on Sunday, working on my mystery from Bonnie. I really think I am going to like this quilt. I love the fabrics together. Ok, back to sewing...maybe pictures later Diane
  I have been working on my mystery and I am really pleased with the way it is turning out. I was a bit worried as I do have problems picturing things in my mind sometimes and since this was a mystery I had no way of picturing it anyway. So that is why I chose the colors I did, I was thinking how I liked the way Neapolitan ice cream looks so I figured this would have to look good. I would be farther along, but I managed to have an accident. Our quilt guild had our annual Christmas luncheon on Tuesday and I was rushing around trying to get all manners of things cooked even though I had plenty of time and was not rushed. Well I cut my hand at the base of my thumb where the web of skin is. I thought no big deal, I would put a band aid on it and it would be fine. No such luck. I had to go get a stitch put in it at the ER. :^( I seem to always have something happen to me during the holidays, stitches, pneumonia, surgery...  BUT...I managed to make it to the guild luncheon just in time to eat! LOL This may be my last Christmas luncheon with these ladies so I did NOT want to miss it! Well while I was at guild I picked up one of my Christmas presents to myself...believe me ladies sometimes if you want the perfect gift you just have to buy it yourself! :^)  These are the cool spring loaded scissors, I really like them. I made one more stop on my way home, before the numbness wore off my hand...   I bought myself these 2 books. I can't wait to dig into them and make something. For now I am trying to get caught up on my mystery steps, since Bonnie posted another clue today. Whew boy am I behind! Later Diane
Ever since reading Judy's blog about her wanting to reduce the size of her stash I have had it in my mind also. This is not a new thought, as I have been feeling overly blessed in the fabric department for a long time. Now that I know we will be moving in the next six months I really have it on my mind to not buy new fabrics and use alot of what I have. So for the past week I have not added any to my stash and I have cut up quite a bit as I am doing the mystery quilt at Quiltville. I have decided to do my mystery in brown, pink and cream. After cutting several strips from each of the fabrics I have in these colors I discovered I don't have as many fabrics in these colors as I thought. Oh well, I will just have a less scrappy quilt, since I really want to use only stash. I already have my backing fabric set aside since it has the same colors in it and it is several yards in length. Ok, back to the sewing room... later Diane
Each year my youngest son's Jazz band plays for a local news station while they broadcast a program called "Spirit of Giving". Of course I think they sounded extremely good, and I really don't think it was just mothers pride. The band has done this for about 15 years and they are lovingly called the "NBC-15 Studio Band" by the newscasters.
I wanted to put some pictures of the whole band on here, but since I don't have permission from the parents I will only put pictures of my son..  This is him playing a solo part during the Charlie Brown Christmas song "Christmas Time is Here". Do you notice his hair is ALOT shorter than in the last picture? I like it better short!  This is him telling me..."enough pictures Mom!" LOL But he is so cute! :^) I know I know I have not posted pictures of my mystery units. Well, that is because I have not had 15 minutes to go upstairs and sew. I have planned it and thought about it, but I know that doesn't really do much good. I really want to get upstairs tomorrow after I rinse fabric for two orders I MUST mail out Monday. Just as soon as I get the fabric order rinsed and folded I will concentrate completely on my mystery units. Well, I also need to get the kitchen cleaned so I can bake some cookies and a pie for a dinner on Tuesday, then I will get to them. I have a doctors appointment on Wednesday morning but as soon as I return I will start them. Oh, I have a company dinner on Thursday but I promise I will get to them. I know none of you have as many distractions as I do right now, do you? LOL Later Diane
There has been so much going on. We have had the same television for at least 12 years and it was tired. With the move coming soon we were trying to limp the TV along so we wouldn't have to move a new one. The last two times we have moved we have had so much damaged by the movers that we were trying to avoid that if we could. Well you know what they say about the best laid plans...The TV went out finally, well to be honest you could see green fuzz balls on a black screen and you could hear everything perfectly, but if you wanted to know what Rachel Ray was wearing you were just out of luck. So fortunately Best Buy had the exact TV my DH had been researching on sale WITH a free home theater system. So DH came back in town from Iowa, my youngest got home from school and I called my oldest to come help. It took DH and the oldest to move the 200 pound old TV. Then there was instructions to read... 
I just think that is the cutest, funniest picture...maybe because men don't usually read instructions, but here I have three of them reading how to unbox the TV! LOL Then bing, bang, boom, I have a working TV with correct color!
 And it is in FOCUS! You may not be able to see that, but trust me. WOO HOO! Next happening...I need a drum roll...
 Youngest got his driver's permit! Yes I know he is 17, and most teen boys have their permits when they are 16, but my son never cared if he got his. His attitude was, "Why do I need a license when you and dad can drive and I know 100 people who do. I don't need to drive!" Apparently he needs to now. I haven't got any sewing done, but I have been planning blocks in my mind...does that count? Later Diane
Just when I was getting good at this playing all day I have to work! I have fabric that must be dyed and taxes that must be filed! UGH! I don't mind dyeing the fabric, that's fun, but taxes??? YUCK! I have put it off as long as I can today. I have taken DS to school, I have read every blog I can, I have had a leisurely breakfast, emailed everyone I could think of, and the taxes are still here glaring at me. So while you are off having a fun day at the sewing machine, think if me while I am NOT. Later Diane
Today was Linus Quilt day. Several ladies from my quilt guild meet at a member's house and we spend the day working on quilts for Linus and local children's home quilts. I wasn't really up to going this morning, as I was very tired, but I got a call asking if I was going to be there and so I went. Today we worked on twin sized tops for two little girl who's father is a soldier that returned from the war several months ago after he was horribly injured. I wished I had taken my camera, but I forgot it. Maybe I will run over to N.L.'s house and snap a picture for you to see. I think it is going to be cute. I'm off to take a hot shower and crawl in the bed with a good book. I think I will never get used to this daylight savings time stuff. My body still thinks it is bed time when it is dark outside. Later Diane
 During Thanksgiving, my sweet niece Erin made a wonderful pie and shared the recipe with me. I am here to tell you this is not only really really good, it is very easy. If you would like to try it here is the recipe. White Chocolate Hazelnut Pie 1-1/4 cup cold milk 2 Tbsp hazelnut flavor instant coffee powder 2 pkg (4 serving size) white chocolate flavor instant pudding and pie filling 1- 8 oz frozen non dairy whipped topping thawed and divided In a large bowl whisk together milk and coffee powder, add pudding mix and beat 1 minute, mixture will get thick, then add 1/2 of the whipped topping. Spread into a graham cracker crust ( I like the chocolate or Oreo one best) and top with remaining whipped topping. Refrigerate or eat immediately. It is suppose to serve 8, but my youngest thinks that is too many! Later Diane
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... I was so excited to go to this retreat. I planned I packed I prepared, and I proceeded ( I was thinking of my former Pastor who's points on his message outline all started with the same letter).
I joined a group of 14 women who wanted to make a swap quilt where each person makes 14 of a block of their choice, then at the retreat we swap and we all have 14 different blocks. We all have a year to get these blocks done. Now knowing that we have a year to get these blocks made what do you think I did? I waited until the week before! Typical! And Typical everything that can go wrong when you have a deadline did go wrong. Mostly my son was sick and my husband was unexpectedly out of town. Normally this would not create a problem for me, I would sew through it. This time however I was tripped up by it and wasn't able to get to the sewing room but in shirt spurts. Then I had to drag the pattern out and reacquaint myself with the directions and invariably I would get 3 seams sewn and the phone would ring (husband calling), the sick son who swore he was dieing would call, or a salesman would call. UGH!
Ok so I arrive at the retreat, which by the way is a really really great retreat, put on by a group of ladies who really know how to put on a retreat! More on that later.
I arrive at the retreat and I get all set up and start to sew. I am working as hard and fast as I can to get these blocks made that I have had a year to get made. I am reminded I have had a year by each one of the other ladies who come by my seat just about every 15 minutes to ask me if I am not finished yet. I won't go through the whole ordeal but I will tell you I did finish the blocks that I had a year to finish and I gave each person her block, I apologized to those I was short tempered with and went outside to sit on a wonderful porch and deep breath and get my blood pressure down.
With the help of calmer minds I was able to deep breath, eat a Tums (stress creates acid) laugh off the previous hours and get my mind on what I was there for.
Then the fun started! I talked, I laughed, I sewed, I went on the most fun scavenger hunt and me and my partner even got everything on the list, even if we had to get creative with our finds. :^)  I hope I get this right, but I believe it is 5 ladies who partner up to plan the weekend. You walk in and are greeted with a welcome goodie bag.  We had patterns, a magazine, our annual t-shirt, a snowman card holder, a ruler and post it notes, and we must not forget the shower cap! We all love getting our bags and digging through. It sounds like little kids on Christmas morning. 
Doesn't she look like Cindy Lou Who? :^) The head ladies are so kind and generous with their energy that I am never sure thank you is enough for all they do. They host a country store, which if you don't know, is like a garage sale but of our quilt stuff. You can find awesome deals and I did ! We have a mystery and a block challenge, and pedicures and massages, and the absolute best facilities. I could really go on and on.. Some of the ladies show up and are so organized, they are serious about their retreats! 
We had new gadgets to try
 (this is a beard groomer used as a seam ripper and it is great!
Help to give
and quilts to be basted
 Normally you go home on Sunday after lunch, but I went home Saturday night so I could spend a little time with my husband before he left again on another week long trip. I got home and completely surprised him since he didn't expect me until Sunday afternoon. Retreats are always fun and exciting, I can't wait until next year, but I didn't join the block swap again! :^) Later, Diane
I am truly a sick person. I live breath and eat quilting. I like to read blogs, but I can't read many because all I do is get more ideas for quilts I want to make. After a week of blog reading I have anywhere from 5 to 25 more quilts I want to make, which wouldn't be a problem but this happens EACH WEEK! LOL I have so many UFOs I actually have a landing strip in my sewing area. I need to buy stock in Sterilite! Several weeks ago my SIL jumped into blog land. This would normally be great as she is a wonderful writer and quilter, but that is the problem! She is a wonderful write and quilter! She sucks me in and inspires me so I feel the need to make "just a block" of whatever she shows she has been working on. Well, that is a problem, since my SIL is a home caregiver she has alot of stay at home time and is able to crank out lots of tops. Plus she is fast! She can make three blocks to my one any day of the week, so I am always behind and getting behinder. Oh well, I guess I could look at it as I will always have something to do. Then there is Bonnie, (don't you love it when someone is known by a single name?) who has been generous for years with her patterns and pictures. I love to look at her website and reread all the hints and tips. I would love to have a thimble full of her creativity. I have been upstairs sewing this week as I stated before getting ready for a retreat that starts in 26 hours. Last year when I attended this retreat I signed up for a Christmas block swap. Twelve of us signed up and we will all make 12 blocks of one design and swap them with the other participants. I first was going to make something out of my hand dyed fabrics, but then decided I didn't think it looked good with the unbleached muslin everyone agreed to use for the background. So now I am making a star from Nancy Johnson-Sebro's book Stars by Magic and I really like it. I have so many UFOs to take to the retreat I think I will be culling the pile so I don't need a U-Haul to take all. To carry my UFOs in I found some nifty boxes at Target. They snap together and are big enough to lay my 12" sq ruler in, which is really cool. I like being a tad bit organized so this seems to help me in that area.  EEK! It is already after 8am and I have so much to do (fade in the white rabbit scampering and saying "I'm late, I'm late...) Hopefully I will have tons to post later but I want to get some more blocks make before lunch. Later Diane
I know, I am the slowest when it comes to blogging. We had a great Thanksgiving and visit with family. I have been getting stuff ready for the a retreat I am going to attend this coming weekend. I have been busy cutting Civil War reproduction fabrics that I have been collecting and hoarding for years. Maybe hoarding is not the correct word since I do use them, I just use them only for the absolutely perfect project. I will do a test block out of any other fabric I have except CW. I LOVE CW fabrics! I guess we all have our preferences. My SIL and I have the same taste in fabrics and quilts. It is funny. Neither one of us ever has to question if the other will like a fabric or pattern, we always do. Sometimes we buy fabric to share, you know buy a half yard, split it, etc. Both of us are always so pleased with the choices of the other.  I am preparing more fabric for log cabin type hexagonal blocks. I also have a 4 patch and half square triangle star top I am working on. Then there is the wonky log cabin I want to get from blocks into a top. The one project I am taking that is not CW is a Sister's Choice top that I wanted to make a few more blocks so it is big enough for a queen sized bed. It is made completely of scraps from my stash. Come to think of it all of my projects for the retreat will be complete stash and scrap quilts. COOL! I will have to let Judy L know this. She put on her blog the other day she was trying to work through her stash so she could get all her fabric on 2 fabric shelf units. I SO understand that! I would like to get some fabric sewn up before the move. I hate all the questions from the packers about if I really want to take all the fabric. LOL, OF COURSE I want the fabric!!! My thoughts are they will ask less questions if they are in quilt top form. I feel like my thoughts are so fragmented...I hope you can follow. Later Diane
I got the bag finished, well almost. I have to put a stiff bottom in it and whip stitch the turning hole closed and it is done. If my SIL was into cute I would like to see it with some beads and fancy threads on it, but as she isn't and I want her to actually use the thing I will leave it naked. I will post a picture later after I finish whipping it. :^) I am so excited, I get to go to Houston! I know, I know I just got back from there, but this is for fun. I was born in Houston and all of my family is still there. I get to leave on Tuesday evening after my oldest son gets off work and we get to stay until Sunday! I am so excited! We are staying at the SIL's house that is having the baby. This will be the first time to stay with them. Usually we stay at my MIL's house but now that her house has become a 2 family home, if we tried to stay there we would have to be hung on hooks in the garage, excuse me I was told that was now the pantry/storage room. LOL Our Thanksgiving is a real fun time. We all get together on Wednesday and and start preparing veggies and stuff. All the time we are singing and laughing and playing games and watching videos and EATING! I promise these are some of the best cooks in the world! Believe me, you don't get to be the size we are with bad cooking! Late Wednesday night we all go to bed and Grandma (my MIL) is up and down all night checking on the turkey. Then she is up before dawn making pies, glorious pies! You have never seen the likes! She makes everything from scratch. We have coconut pie with and without the coconut ( I like the pudding but not the coconut so I get a special one) chocolate, pecan, cherry, lemon icebox, key lime and many more. My MIL is so great, she always has made something special for each person in the family. Even if no one else in the family loves it if you do she will make it. My favorite is what she calls fried corn. I don't know much of what she does to it, but I do know she buys fresh corn and cuts it off the cob and cooks in a big black iron skillet. YUM! My SIL, Paula is a wonderful cook also. She can make dirt taste good, not that she has ever cooked dirt, but you know what I mean. She makes this wonderful eggplant dish that I crave all year long. My other SIL is the onion cutter in the family. I am sure she can cook very well, but I am not sure if I have ever eaten her cooking as we always eat Grandma's cooking at Grandma's house. Anyway Judy comes over early Wednesday morning and cuts all the onions and celery. That may not sound like a big job, but let me tell you it is. She probably cuts 10 cups of each one. The men of course all sit around a talk and laugh and catch up since the last visit, which in some cases has been since last year. It is hard when you live 3 states away. Can you tell I am excited?? Off to the movies...I want to see Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium. Later, Diane
I am trying to sew my SIL a diaper bag. I don't usually make bags or clothing because I am not an instruction reader. For the most part I can look at a quilt and I know how to make it without having to look at the instructions. I usually only use the pattern for yardage and the number of blocks to make. Making this bag is totally out of my comfort zone! I was going along pretty well and just about to say I might have been wrong about making this bag then I made the discovery. I had been so careful to make all of my stitches perfect and straight. I back tacked at the pockets and handles. When I turned the last page off of preparation and on to sewing I turned TWO pages! I missed a whole section! Now to anyone else they would have said , huh, this doesn't look right and went back to find the problem, but not me, I just started sewing. UGH! Now that I have ripped all the wrong seams, I am back to where I was 4 hours ago. Oh well, you win some you lose some. Have you ever used Misty Fuse? It is a fusible web that doesn't have the paper backing. I have been using this on the diaper bag and I think I like it. It is is nice and soft after fusing, not stiff like all the other fusible webs I have tried in the past. I can't wait to try it on applique. I really want to get this bag finished so I can start on some gifts for my nieces and nephews. I decided this year I was going to make each one a pillowcase. I will shop my stash and see how many I can get made from there. Believe me I should be able to make more than enough. I love my stash! Ok, so I have rambled long enough, I guess it is time to get back to work. Later, Diane
I am back and I am ready to smile. I went to a small quilty gathering at a friends house yesterday. There was about 8 or so of us and we chatted and laughed and tried to sew. Some got more done than others. Me, I brought my machine in and never took it out of the carrier. I was having too much fun playing with the baby. I did start a baby/diaper bag for my expecting SIL. Judy doesn't do "cute" usually so I am making it with Moda's Shangri-La dark brown large floral for the main part and then found a green dot for accent and lining and a great coral for the handles. I will try my best to get a picture up before I take it to her next week. I decided that I would have a very hard time getting to a baby shower living as far away as I do so I want to take it to her now. I have all the pieces cut out and now all I have to do is read the instructions and sew, but there in is the dilemma. I don't really read instructions very well. I hope I at least end up with something that resembles the bag. Well, I better get busy! Later Diane
A friend of my youth has died. I am terribly sad and just want to lay in bed and cry. James was a friend when I felt so alone. He defended me when I was being abused. He showed me how someone should be treated. He proved "guys" could be trusted. James was the one who introduced me to my future husband. He married just a few months before I did and his wife and I were even expecting our first children at the same time. He mourned with me through my losses and helped me get my mind straight when I felt I was losing it. Now all I have is memories, but I am happy I have them. I do remember his smile and infectious laugh. He had a wonderful singing voice, and led the worship music in his church for years. He loved to play softball. My husband and James were on teams together when we all were younger. As a matter of fact, I was almost stood up at the alter due to a championship ballgame on my wedding day. Everyone was playing ball and I was sitting at the church waiting for the groom, the groomsmen, even the pastor to show up as they all were playing that day. They all arrived with minutes to spare and everyone has had great laughs ever since remembering James still hot and sweaty at the wedding as he had just enough time to rush home shower and run back, but no time to cool off. Ray my husband was wearing a white tux and oh so handsome, but in a couple of pictures you could see his "lucky" socks (one gold band sock and one green band sock) showing through his pants. The Pastor (James' father) was still wiping sweat and all smiles as they had won! I am not able to attend James' funeral and that makes me very sad, but honestly I am ok with it. I have to be here remembering him and reflecting. I love his parents so much and would love to see his wife and brother and sister, but will have to send them all a letter instead. Diane
Market was fun and I saw alot of quilt friends that I only get to see once a year. Tricia Cribbs of FriendFolks was super busy this past year and introduced 4 count  them FOUR books this year. Of course I had to decide what books I wanted to carry and that was hard. I decided on Turning Twenty #4 Feeling Groovy and Turning Twenty just got Better. My sister-in-law and Mother-in-law made a sample of Feeling Groovy from the #4 book by the same name and it is so cute! I visited my friends at Superior Threads and nearly went broke! I have had such a good response since starting to carry the thread on my website, so I bought more...LOTS more. LOL I made some new friends at Becolourful. Jaqueline de Jonge is the designer and what a designer she is! all I can say is WOW! Her brother seems to be her biggest cheerleader and fan. They both are some of the nicest people you could want to meet. I don't have all of her patterns, but I have many of them.   At Festival I don't know how it happened but I was blessed with a corner booth this year. I was so excited! I took a picture incase you wanted to see it.  Now to get everything unpacked and counted and put up on the website. I also have this deep burning need to get into my stash of civil war reproductions and cut out a quilt. I usually feel that way after spending a long time getting ready for a show as I am immersed in all of the bright colors that I dye and I really need to be soothed with the calm colors of old. More news later, Diane
In more ways that one! LOL Ahem...sorry I am a bit tired and crazy right now. Of course just when I thought I would be packed and ready to go early this year a delivery arrived that I thought was not coming. So I had to stop what I was doing to get the patterns kitted. I was short a couple of colors I thought I needed so I had to quickly dye up a couple of yards. Then I had to rinse, then iron, then cut, then package...you get the idea. Six hours later I have everything kitted and bagged, but now I am six hours behind on packing. UGH! I wanted to leave about 7am tomorrow, but I will be fortunate to be awake by then! I am so tired, but I can't sleep for thinking about what I don't want to forget. Of course I didn't get groceries bought for the guys, but I guess they are capable of taking care of themselves for a few days. Ok, I am going to try and sleep. Later, Diane
Want to see what I have been up to?   I have more in the wash too. My friend Linda G took home my Clam shells quilt and bound it for me. Can you believe that? That is too nice! That was after Beth A. quilted it for me. It really looks great all quilted and bound. Don't you agree?  Now to get the instructions finished! more in a bit... Diane
 Woo Hoo! Ray and I went to the Dr.'s office today to get our Flu shots, while there we got on the scales to see if our healthy eating for the past 3 1/2 weeks has done any good. We each have lost 10 pounds! How cool is that? What a boost to actually see some nice results. I have done Weight Watchers and honestly only ate what I was suppose to eat and lost 7 pounds in 3 months. I was so discouraged. I guess the fact that I know Ray won't cheat, I know I can't cheat. I was asked today by a lady in the quilt shop what kind of diet we were on. I told her nothing special, just low fat, low calorie. We have been eating only grilled or broiled fish and chicken and loads of fruits and vegetables. It really hasn't been difficult so far. We have only had red meat once and it was in stew with tons of veggies. I have even gone so far as to all but give up Coke. Now that is a BIG deal. We have been trying new restaurants to see what they have. Applebees is probably the easiest to eat at as they have a Weight Watchers menu and it is really tasty. We also have a local restaurant, Cooper T's that makes fantastic grilled fish and salads. I promised Ray that once a month we would have one meal of his choice. So we went to OutBack to have steak and baked potatoes. We both ended up getting grilled fish saying we didn't want to screw up a good thing. LOL Later Diane
 Well Ponchatoula was a wonderful show and I had a great time once again. I just love seeing the quilts up and down main street. Doesn't it have a Mayberry-ish feel to it? Can't you hear that whistling and imagine Sheriff Taylor taking Opie to the fishing hole? This imaginary town is one I could live in! If it existed, that is. Now that this show is history I am home busy getting ready for Houston. I would be finished except I was not able to get to my sink for several days. Here is the story...you ready? Ray and I came in the house a couple of days ago and a smell hit us as we walked in. It smelled like someone threw some spoiled food in the trash but didn't take it out. We looked, we sniffed, we poked around, but nothing. So I think maybe it's the fridge. Maybe something old was in there and needed to be cleaned out. Nope, not in there. Finally I open the cabinet under the sink and there it is! There has been a leak and the smell is the wet paper lining the cabinet. UGH! GROSS! Now my husband can fix anything in the world he puts his mind to fixing. Key words being "puts his mind to". He does not like doing plumbing! Knowing this, what do you think are the only real repairs we have had to do since moving in this house? Hot water heater, dishwasher, multiple toilet (one of those being a complete overhaul), and now the kitchen faucet. LOL. The poor man can't win for losing! Has my stove (electric) gone out? No. How about my dryer? No. Only things that deal with water and water connections. Even our last house we had a water line bust under the sink and flood the whole house, but that is another story. Anyway, Ray works for a couple of days and finally gets it all fixed as there is rusted bolts and drilling out of said bolts to be done only after he has worked 10 to 12 hour each day and before the local hardware store closes. But my man comes through once again and I have a new faucet. WOO HOO!  All of this said to explain why I am still working on dyeing fabric. I have only one more dye day and I will be done, but then I still have to rinse and iron. But I will do my level best to get my Turning Twenty fabrics in the dye today so I will have Saturday and Sunday to rinse and Monday through Wednesday to iron. All the while I have 2 baby size quilts that I need to quilt and bind. My friend Linda G is binding my Clam shells quilt. Isn't she too great? There are not many people I know who say to me, without me asking mind you, "Hand it to me and I will bind it and bring it to you on Monday". Now that is a friend! I have two quilts to drop at the long arm quilter today and then I will need to bind them. I will then be finished and ready for Houston. Do you think I can get it done by Thursday and be able to leave Friday? Man I hope so!
 This is me, all day. LOL This is what I get for putting till tomorrow what I should have done that day. I am now in overtime mode getting everything ready for my next show on the 13th. The show is in Ponchatoula Louisiana and it is a really nice show. It is hard on vendors, but it is a good show non the less. It is only hard because it is a one day show so you show up and set up then sale then breakdown and go home. It would be fine, but I live 2.5 hours away from there so it makes for a very long day. This year I was told we could actually set up the day before the show. I am not sure if we will do this or not, but I hope we will. It will make it so much nicer to sleep between setup and breakdown.  The house is all abuzz with talk of shows and senior year of high school and moving and promotions. This is Ray's last week at his present job. Today is his last time to fly offshore as a "grunt" as I teasingly call him. He has for years had to haul really heavy tool bags up and down stairs on the offshore platforms, but today should be the last time. He said he was going to try and visit all of them today to say goodbye to all the men.  My youngest had his senior pictures made last week. I was a bit upset to find this out as he didn't tell me and we didn't go get his hair cut. He is pretty shaggy, but it is what it is. Like he told me "mom it is a snapshot of this time of my life". Sometimes he can be so smart. I won't stress as I plan on getting him a new suit and getting his picture made soon anyway. We also are trying to decide if he will get a senior ring. he doesn't really want one. he said he would just leave it in the box and then have to worry about losing it. I am of the mind to just take the money we would have spent on the ring and invest it in a new computer he really needs. His present computer is a bone yard computer. It was one that he and his brother salvaged parts from other computers and built.  I have 4 shows on the calendar between now and March so I will be busy for a while. Then I will concentrate on packing and moving. I know there are things I will not want the movers to pack as I have had that heartbreak before. So I will be slowly making my list of stuff I will pack and move myself. Oh, I gotta go, I hear the washer stopped and need to get back to work.  Later, Diane
I haven't blogged in a few days due to the fact I was told not to talk about a few things for a few days. I am the type of person who tells everything I know. So the only way I was sure I wouldn't talk about certain things was to stay quiet. The news is, my husband was offered the job, and he accepted. He will start his new job soon. My son and I will not be moving though until he graduates from high school in May. It will be a bit tough, but we will get through this. I am trying to concentrate on dyeing. I have a show next weekend and then I have the International Quilt Festival the first week in November. I have so much to do! I put some pictures of the dyeing later. Later Diane
Today we drove around looking at everything. We drove to Tampa and went to a quilt shop that advertises to be the largest quilt shop in Florida. It was large! Have you ever been to a shop that was so large you got overwhelmed? I was there today! The way I shop at a new store is to quickly walk around the whole store and get an overview of the offerings. Then go back to the areas of interest. Well it took me about 25 minutes to quickly scan the place! Then I tried to go back to the places I was interested in, but couldn't remember where they were. LOL I did buy something, but only a pattern. I was just overloaded. After leaving the quilt shop we drove and drove and drove until I was sure we were close to home, but no we were just driving the coast road where all the tourist go to spend the summer and winter. I have never seen so many hotels and condos in my life! They were so close together you couldn't even see the water. For dinner we went to a place that advertises they make Texas Bar-B-Que, well I am here to tell you I am from Texas and that was not Bar-B-Q! That was rotiserie chicken, they didn't even put sauce on it. It just goes to show everyone has an idea of what BBQ is. I did take some pictures of some of the birds we have seen. There are so many different kinds that I have never seen before. We saw some Spoonbills but didn't have out camera with us. They sure were pretty. Tomorrow we drive back home. I sure will be glad to see the kids again. I am not sure I could move without them if Ray got the job. I will just let God deal with that! Later Diane
We arrived late last night after getting started much later than we expected. We drove through the subtropical depression that has been all the talk on the news for the past three days. The rain and wind at times was really bad, but we managed. I decided last I would take care of everything before going to bed so i could sleep late if I wanted. So at midnight I was ironing shirts and pants for the man and getting all of his stuff ready in the bathroom so he wouldn't slam bam around looking for everything. I send Ray on to bed so he can get to sleep as he was really tired after working 7 hours at work and then driving for 10 hours all evening. He is snoring before I can get the iron hot! Wouldn't you know I slept until the late hour of 7am! Geesh! A whole 30 minutes later than I sleep at home. HUMPH...I wanted to sleep late! Like I used to BK-before kids! Good news is this place is loaded with quilt shops! I found two within 10 minutes of the hotel! WOO HOO! And I have a list of about 8 more to find this afternoon and tomorow.  (This is from our room, see the curtain reflection?)
Ray's interview went well. He was told it was between him and one other person. I guess that is good because I think nine people applied. We have been driving around looking at the lay of the land. I have only ever been to Disney World years ago, but I didn't remember much of what it looks like. It probably had something to do with having 3 kids under 10 in the back seat! LOL It is very flat here, but there are more trees than I thought. I guess in my mind it would be nothing but sand, shells and palm trees. :^)  The sky is beautiful! Bright blue with lots of white puffy clouds.
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