SNOW...... Well, the ice finally turned to snow sometime during the night. But before it did, the roof of my "carport(tarp over a metal frame) fell on top of my car. With a heavy heart, I had to knock all the ice off the tarp so I could survey the damage and see if any windows were broken or any other damage. THANK GOD there was no damage that I could see, so we avoided that one catastraphe. But my car can't move til we take the hacksaw to the poles and get them out of the way. At least I have the old ford if I need to get anywhere.. As you can see the difference from the shot I showed of it yesterday, we really got the snow! Then, the swan shows how deep it is, as well. And I couldn't get my back door open, and showing the reason for that, as well. If this new google version(I just switched this morning) will let me, I'll show a few more pictures I took on my outing into the yard this morning! I thought the snow on the roof was pretty the way it drifted. I covered my car with the tarp since I can't move it, anyway. My front steps look more like a ramp. Wish I could have taken a picture before I had to make footprints! Then, I took another shot of the little weeping cherry tree.

Ok, I've procrastinated enough. I got all the units sewn for the bullfrogs, and now they need to be trimmed....my least favorite part. But I'm going to force myself to do it now, so will try to have some quilty pictures to post later! Hope you are all having a good day!

More winter photos I was sitting here this morning and heard a crash. Looked out the front door and this is what I saw. I'm just glad it fell beside the old ford and not ON the windshield. This is our canoe hauling truck and I'd hate to see something happen to it! While I was out there, I snapped the shot of the Christmas lights that David(ds) just got out put up for me yesterday. I hope this doesn't hurt them.

Winter has arrived!! These are some shots I took this morning. They were taken from my back door.The first one is the tops of the trees in my neighbors yard. The 2nd one is my newest little Weeping Cherry tree. I hope he survives. I'm sure he will, he's about 3 or 4 years old now. The bottom one is of a couple of the neighbors bushes. I just thought they were pretty, so snapped a shot.


Both guys(dh and ds) work in opposite directions and each took clothes to stay the night if it is to treacherous to come home. DH has his mom in the same town where he works and ds works in a hotel, surely they can spare him a bed! I have been trying to get some housecleaning done and am going to bring the sewing machine in the living room so I can sew and watch tv. Missed Simply Quilts this morning because the electricity went off at 7:25 and came back on at about 7:56..Just in time for me to see Alex say good bye to her guest........Oh well, life goes on! I'm sure I've probably seen that one before, anyway.(trying to make myself feel better!

It's now almost 2:00 and the sleet is coming down again. I may have to take more pictures this afternoon. They are calling for around a foot of snow after the ice stops. I have my tv, laptop and sewing machine and lots of projects, so I'm not complaining. As long as my guys are safe. I'm just thankful I'm finally over the bug that I've had the last 5 days and feel like doing something.

More Retreat Photos... I'm finally finding time to read blogs and post some more retreat photos. Here are 2 sets of the challenge blocks. I know there is a 3rd set somewhere, I'll find that photo and post it later. The log cabin tumbling block with the tulip in the center was the first place winner. It truly was a gorgeous block. There were some really great ones there. I enjoyed making one and look forward to doing it again next year! There was one(top center in the pic on the right) that some one had actually fussy cut 2 of the paisley type shapes for eyes for the owl. I have to admit, that was my favorite block! The top right in the right picture are the ribbons. Close up of them coming soon, as blogger isn't allowing me to post it right now. I thought the ribbons were absolutely beautiful.
I have to finish a set of "dingo dog" ears and paws for my nephew in OK today, so I can get them in the mail. He's in a play, and if his mom and dad share pictures, I'll be sure to share them here, as well. My week and a half off is already half over and I still haven't touched the sewing machine. But I did get the old computer broke down and the desk out of here to make room for the antique one that used to belong to dh's grandma. His great aunt gave it to us last weekend, and it's a perfect size to "dock" the laptop we got ourselves as an early Christmas gift! Bad thing is, we decided that we will have it there to charge the batteries, but we would not sit at the desk to surf, as we want to treat the desk with kid gloves. As soon as I get the camera to cooperate, I'll show you a picture of the desk and you'll see why. It's beautiful and we'd hate for anything to happen to it.

2 more months!! Who besides me thinks she won't make it? I look for him to arrive a little early, but then, I also thought for sure she was having a girl, so what do I know? She had a wonderful shower yesterday and got all kinds of fun loot. When we got home, Jeff was anxiously waiting to "play" with it all. Several of us told her she should have let him come to the shower, too. He and I put the cradle and stroller together, while Sara put things away. It was a fun evening. Now we just need a baby! We talked about how all of this made us more anxious for the birth. As you can see from the picture below, he's not going to want for much! Sara got a little upset because there was so much "I love Daddy" stuff, but she has to realize, most of the shower guests were Jeff's family.She doesn't have any around. I guess I'll embroider some bibs and stuff for her between now and Christmas. Saw a really cute one this weekend that said, "My mommy rocks"....guess I'll make him one of those!
On the quilty/sewing front, I arrived in St. Louis early yesterday, so ran by Joann's before heading to Babies R Us and the shower. Bought a really nice piece of fabric and a pattern for myself a dressy coat. I need a new winter coat, and thought this fabric was gorgeous...and it was on clearance for $3 per yard, then they were having 50% off Clearance prices on top of that! How could I resist? I told hubby the lining will cost me more than the outer fabric did! I think I'm going to buy some of that prequilted stuff for the lining. Will show pictures when I get it made. Also, while I was there at Joann's, I found the PERFECT thread for my onion quilt. It is variegated oranges-browns. Now I just have to decide on the backing for it. Thinking about just sewing together the leftovers haphazardly and creating a back that way, but not sure I have enough. May have to run to the fabric store I "found" last week and see what they have.I bought a couple of pieces for it there, maybe they'll have a big enough piece of some of it left. Wish me luck!

Well, I think I'll go try to catch up with some of the blogs I've missed reading. Hope you all have a great week!

How cute is This??? This is the most recent picture of my beautiful daughter and her handsome hubby. This was taken on her birthday a couple of weeks ago. Tomorrow is the baby shower, so I'll have more pictures next week. I can't believe there are less than 2 months to go til she has to share the baby with the rest of us! I know this granma is definitely ready to hold that little fellow in her arms!
I'm still working on editing the pictures from the retreat, but will be sharing more later. Will be gone most of this weekend, so not sure I'll find the time or not. But, after only 3 days of work next week, I'll be off for 1 1/2 weeks!! I can't wait! I need the break.
Anyway, I just wanted to share this while I was thinking about it! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

TAADAAA!! The proof is in the pudding.....err.....picture! Here I am showing off my completed top while Mary and Jane are still working on theirs! Well, they WERE working on them til I asked some one to snap a picture so I could show *I* finished first! hehe.....we really weren't competing, but we had a lot of fun pretending we were! Some of the ladies were amazed that the 3 of us got ours done because we three made more blocks than anyone else, therefore had bigger tops.
My local quilt guild had "sew night" tonight, and I've been asked to talk about our trip for our January program. I may have to make some notes because I'm afraid I'll forget some of the details that are so vivid in my mind now! I guess it's a good thing I took so many pictures! I'm hoping to put them on a website soon, so I can just share a link and you all can see as many pictures as you want to see. Still learning this laptop, though, so may be a few days before I get that far. Also, have my daughters baby shower this weekend, so will be gone again! I'm really, REALLY looking forward to that week and a half I have off work coming up soon!!!
Well, guess that's it for tonight. Hope everyone is having a great week so far.

Retreat was a BLAST.... And ForestJane was even more fun in person than she is online! We had such a good time, that Mary and I are planning on going back next year already! We met so many wonderful people. They all welcomed us with open arms and we could not have asked for a warmer welcome.
The only sad note of the weekend was I got a phone call about my father in law while we were there. Sometime Friday night, he wandered outside and into the detached garage and fell and was there for a while. When Mother in law woke and couldn't find him, she called the neighbors and they are the ones who found him and called 911. He suffered some hypothermia and a hurt hand(which seems to be ok now), and is still in the hospital. Seeing as how he didn't suffer anything more serious than that, this could almost be viewed as a blessing in disguise.If he stays in the hospital at least 3 days and nights, their insurance will pay for him to go straight into a nursing home and for the first little bit while he's there. Maybe by then, we'll have all the VA paperwork taken care of and he'll be set. I want to thank everyone for all the warm wishes and prayers.
Well, I'm still overwhelmed. Will post more pics as I get them edited. Working on a new laptop, so learning all over again! Hope you all had half as wonderful a weekend as I had!

Guess who!!! My mom said, "I'd recognize that mug anywhere!" Actually, the pattern is not mine, it belongs to Rita D, from the EQ5 library. I just changed it a little to make it look more like me! This is my challenge block for the Quilt retreat I'm going to this weekend! I don't know what I'm more excited about, meeting ForestJane , or just getting to get away and do what I love best with a bunch of others who enjoy the same thing! Both are pretty exciting prospects! Nice to have something to look forward to!(of course, I'm STILL very ANXIOUS about the arrival of young Caleb in January, but this will be something fun, too!)
Well, it's late and I need to get to bed. I just wanted to show this block, since Jane showed hers! hehe....I'm sure she and I will both have lots of stories to tell come Monday!

Just checking in...... Well, I dont' have any new pictures uploaded, but wanted to check in. Things are proceeding with mother in law. She goes tomorrow (Monday) to see the surgeon, and hopefully schedule the surgery to have her toes amputated. She is very scared, but in so much pain, she's ready to get it over with. Her dh will finally have to be put in a home. She just cannot take care of him any longer and has finally accepted that fact and the fact that she herself will probably be in a home for a while til she can become mobile again after this surgery. I have been working on the frogs and hope to have some pics of them later this week. Have a great week everyone!

Bullfrogs........ I know it's been a while since I posted, but things have been really hectic around here. Been working 50+ hours a week, and still dealing with major medical problems with the inlaws. We think we finally have mother in law convinced that father in law HAS to go into a home for a while. She has had to call the ambulance twice recently because he has somehow gotten himself on the floor and stuck between the bed and dresser or in the bathroom doorway and she is unable to assist him in getting back up. And she goes in tomorrow to schedule surgery to amputate her toes, so she'll not be able to take care of herself, let alone another person who needs almost everything done for him.........anyway.....back to the frogs.
This is my special project I have been working on. There are going to be 12 different green frogs, and the backgrounds will all be the same. I'll try to be better about posting as I get them done.
Hope all of you are fairing well. I haven't had a chance to do much blogging, so am waaaaay behind on what is going on with everyone. One day, I'll catch up! Have some time off coming, so really looking forward to that!

Guild Raffle...... Geez, I can't believe it's been almost 3 weeks since I posted. Things have been really busy around here. First of all, I'll tell you about the picture I'm sharing tonight. This quilt was put together by our guild and is being raffled off tomorrow at our towns' Founders Day Celebration. I can't take credit for anything more than one block, but it's a pretty quilt I thought I'd share a photo of.
Update on our lives......well, nothing new on the pregnancy front. DD is still doing really well and we are now down to just a little over 3 more months before she has him! I finally bought fabrics to make him a quilt last week, now just to find the time to make it. First, I need to get the sewing room back in order. It's a disaster area. Well, the whole house is..lol
It's been a hard month on my mother in law. A couple of weeks ago we were over there and her toes looked extremely red. DH told her, "Mom, you have a bad ingrown toenail." She was in such pain she finally called and made a Dr. appt. He told her it wasn't an ingrown toenail, but poor circulation and that she almost had gangrene(sp?). So sent her to yet another speciallist, who ordered an angiogram. We went for that on Tuesday of this week. After the procedure, she had to lay flat for 6 hours, so we got to the hosp. at 10 am and didn't leave til almost 7:30. I felt so sorry for her. She hates to inconvenience anyone, and I tried to convince her I didn't mind. They found a blockage about 3" long above her right knee and the Dr. "rotorootered" it out.(her words, not mine!). They told us she couldn't be left alone for 24 hours, so she told them "I have my husband at home." Well, being the troublemaker I am, I went to the nurses behind her back and explained the situation to them(her husband has alzheimers) and they said she needed some one there that could call 911 if her "puncture wound" started bleeding at all. So, I called dh and told him that he and I would stay the night with them, and I arranged for his step brother to spend the next day with them(Garry is unable to work because he can't drive, but he could call 911 if necessary). THEN, after all the arrangements were made I told her about it. She wasn't happy, but wasn't as upset as I thought she'd be, either. I think she's finally accepting the fact that she is not superwoman! She even let me take her shopping this morning because she just didn't feel up to driving. It's so hard for them to give up thier independence. And it's so sad to watch him lose his mind. Last week, he made a joke that was like the man we used to know, then less than 10 minutes later, he asked if his son and dil had left, even though his dil had kissed him goodbye and he'd watched them walk out the door. Then, when we left, and I hugged and kissed him goodbye, he said, "Luvs me".........another comment typical of the man he used to be. Almost makes me cry.
Well, I'll finish catching up later. Will definitely not wait 3 weeks b4 posting again! Have a great weekend!

Wow... Happy Anniversary to my beautiful dd and dsil. Can't believe a year has passed already since my baby girl became a wife. And now she's going to be a mother. I still can't get over how fast time flies. People have always told me "The older you get, the faster time flies". I used to think NO WAY, it can't go any faster than it already does, but by golly, those folks were right. It sure seems like only yesterday I was changing diapers and all that fun stuff that she now has in her future!

Hubby and I went on a road trip yesterday. There was supposed to be a "100 mile yard sale" and we thought it sounded like fun. Well, there wasn't a lot of sales at either end of the 100 miles, but we did have fun and found a lot of good bargains. Of course we bought several things for the baby, including a swing. The cover is pretty dirty, but Grandma here can make a new one if it doesnt' come clean in the wash! I may do it anyway, just to make it "ours"!

We also bought a storm door for our back door. The dog had demolished the old one, and we took our chances on this one for $10. Lo and behold it FITS!! WOOHOO. Now I think he's back there trying to hang it by himself, so I'd better go offer some help! Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

Peace! Last year, I hit the after Christmas sale at the fabric department and bought a couple of yards of this print. I had no idea what I was going to do with it, other than NOT cut it up into tiny pieces and lose the scenes. When I saw Tonya's wonky letters, I immediately wanted to try them, but HAD to wait til I finished the kids' quilt. Well, it's not finished, but the top is and I can't quilt it til I get a backing. I thought I had enough of the blue floral, but, alas, of course I don't. Anyway, after I saw Tonya do the "Merry" wallhanging with a Christmas print, I decided that I would try that with this piece of fabric. I polled the girls I work with for one word and PEACE won! I then went to EQ and drew up these stars to paper piece for either side of the word and waalaa......here it is! I LOVED making the letters, so see more projects in my future using them! I'd say I'll be making a C-A-L-E-B one day soon! (Just hope that Dr doesn't change her mind or discover she's wrong!)
Ok, just wanted to show this! I'm tickled with myself to get something done so fast for a change! Going to go dig for a backing for this and decide how I want to quilt it.

This is my beautiful pregnant dd...Doesn't she look great? She's now 5 months pregnant and I love this picture of her. We took it last night after a day on the river. She's really proud of this belly!

The kids were talking about wanting a new bedroom suite yesterday. I told them, "While you are talking about your bedroom, I have something to show you." I showed them the quilt top that will be thier anniversary present and they liked it. At first she said it was "alright", then when I told them it was thiers, she kind of changed her tune and started in about which color they liked best and how they could use it to decide on how to paint thier bedroom! lol She just wants to see how it looks when it's really done(quilted) and now she wants a new bedroom suite even more! They already bought a bedroom suite for the little guy. They found a great deal on baby furniture a couple of months ago and called and asked me if I thought it was to early to buy it. I told them no, go for it since it was such a great deal!. Now they want furniture for Mommy and Daddy!
Well, we have a lot to do today, so I guess I'd better get off here and get busy! Have a great day, everyone!

~~TAA DAA~~

Well, here it is! At least most of it. It still needs the borders added, but you can't tell that from this picture! This picture shows the design. After I get the borders on it, I'll get some help and take a picture of the whole thing. But Jane has been wanting to see the star sashing, so thought I'd go ahead and share this now. I'm in love with it now that it's done! Did a little cursing on those star points, but now I'm glad I did them! I love the way they look. The pattern came from Quiltmaker and they called it Autumn Glow because of the colors they used. I'm trying to think of a name for this one as Autumn doesn't fit. I was thinking something along the lines of Starshine......I hope the kids like it! They are coming tonight, so will show it to them then!

Well, need to go change the sheets on the bed..Told them they could use our bed since dd is pg...They weren't supposed to be here til tomorrow, so I was going to wait to do that in the morning.......oh well, it's ok! Hope you all are having a great weekend.

Grandma's Tulips...... this picture shows the damage to the stitching on one of the tulips, and it also shows a little of the dirt on the quilt that I'm afraid to try to wash away. The batting in this one is a lumpy cotton batt. I'm very in love with this quilt, just the way it is and will one day find a way to display it without causing more damage to it. I will think of my grandmother every time I look at this quilt. I still miss her terribly after 14 years and am so thankful to have had a hard working woman such as her in my life. She had a very rough life, having had to quit school before she even learned to read and write so she could help with chores and things at home. In this day and age, can you imagine pulling a 2nd grader out of school permanently because of the need for help at home? While it's appalling to think of today, it's just the way it was for her. She never knew how to read or write, nor did she ever learn to drive, but the woman was amazing with needlecrafts. She sewed anything and everything and also did some beautiful crochet work.

Ok, I'm off now.Got a lot to do tomorrow, on my day "off". Going to be a rough weekend. I have to take our dog to be put down. She is as sweet as she can be to us, but is vicious whenever anyone else comes around. We've put it off as long as we can, but we cannot have a dog like this with the baby coming. Dd and her dh are even afraid of her, and it's just to hard any more. I tried to get DH to get rid of her 2 years ago when she first showed signs of aggression and snapped at a friend who was just sitting in the back yard with dh and she snapped at him. But, nooo......he wouldn't hear of it. Now, 2 years later, she is worse and I'm using the baby to finally get him to agree to getting rid of her. I hate to get rid of her as much as he does. It's nice to have such a good guard dog, but she's to good, if you know what I mean, and anyway........enough of that. Just think of me tomorrow, as I'm sure I'll have a rough day. I hate that I have to be the one to do this, but if I don't, it won't get done..........

Just a quick note this morning.... I finally remembered to take a picture of this quilt my grandmother made over 50 years ago. It is in sad shape, as it was used a LOT when my mom was a little girl. I just wanted to share it while I was thinking about it, but now dh is ready to go out the door.......have a great day everyone!

My Day off

Well, I finally had a day off on Friday and here's what I did! Part of the day, anyway. I worked on THE quilt. Now my goal is to have it done by this coming Friday and hope my friend doesn't have a quilt on her long arm so I can quilt it if I'm off again(which I'm supposed to be, but we all know how plans change in the blink of an eye). If I can't do it on hers, I may just quilt it on my machine. Still thinking on that one. The kids' anniversary is 2 weeks from today and I am determined to have it done by then, though I won't give it to them til the end of the month so I can show it off at our guild meeting! Aren't I mean?

And here is a picture of the apron I showed the fabric for last week. The apron was a simple pattern and went together pretty quickly. The fabric was gorgeous and I have a little of it leftover and trying to decide on a wallhanging design to use it in!

Ok, now I'm heading back to the sewing room for a bit before dh decides I need to cook dinner! Hope you all are having a great day. We are having a much needed rainy weekend here. Great day for staying indoors and sewing!

Here ya go, Jane! Jane asked for pictures of the quilt I am working on with the stars in the sashing. This is as far as I've gotten with it. I have all of the blocks done(on the left) and about half of the sashing pieces done. They are a royal pain in the bottom because I followed the directions(against my better judgement) in the magazine. (Quiltmaker......from last year sometime). I have my own way of doing things normally, but for some oddball reason, when I was cutting this one out last year, I followed thier instructions. Normally, I would have done this a different way, but since I already have them cut to do this way, I'm stuck..lol....Will definitely follow my gut next time!

And here are more of the pieces for the Strip Twist I started for the guild samples. I figured if I had to make a few, I may as well make several! It's kind of addictive! BUT, it adds yet another UFO to my pile........sigh. For those of you who read the article in Quilters Home, I have to say, I will not be able to keep my promise of finishing half of my UFO's b4 starting any new ones because since that interview, I discovered I'm going to be a grandma and a quilt for Caleb(what dd and dsil are naming my grandson) will have top priority as soon as I finish ONE certain project. (the one in piles in the picture above).
Our guild broke into groups and each group is making a goody basket to raffle off at our towns Founders Day in September. My project was to make a Fall apron. The fabric below is what I am using. I got it all cut out today, but didn't find anything in my stash I liked (that I had enough of) to do an edging. The directions call for purchased binding, so I'm hoping to find some I like tomorrow at Walmart.

I'm not sure what is wrong with me. It is 11:01 and I am still up. I have to get up at 3:40, so I guess I should give the bed another try. I went to bed earlier, but after 30 minutes of laying there wide awake, I decided to go ahead and get back up. The only thing I can think of, is I drank 2 glasses of that new diet Jazz pepsi today......but that was b4 5:00, wouldn't think that would still be keeping me awake. But, since I don't do much caffeine, that's the only reason I can think of that I can't sleep. Normally, I have a hard time keeping my eyes open by 9:00!Anyway......off to bed I go..gn everyone!

LOOK!!! I CAN Sew!

Well, I finally found time to spend in the sewing room today!! Worked on these Strip Twist blocks from Bonnie's website:www.quiltville.com where I have asked her permission to use these as my guilds' bom this month. I hope I get her permission now that I've made the samples! If not, I guess it'll be back to the drawing board for me! Tomorrow, I have to make an apron to put in our basket that we will be raffling off at our town's Founders Day in September. 2 days in a row in the sewing room........not sure I can stand it! OH, I ALSO dug out the stuff for dd and dsil's quilt and worked on it a bit! Now that I have things out, maybe I can do a little sewing in the evenings after supper again!

We spent the evening with friends and it is WAAAAY past my bedtime, so I think I'll keep it short and sweet this evening! (oops, it's MORNING already!)

Introducing...........Caleb Michael

Yep! DD found out today, she is having a boy. Well, the doctor said she was 90-95% sure she saw "Boy parts" lol. For those of you who can't make out the picture, tilt your head a little to the left and you'll see his face. It looks almost as if he's smiling at you. We are thrilled, of course..though I can honestly say we would have been just as thrilled with a girl! I can't wait to hold him now! NOW I can start planning that special quilt! DD's dh asked the Dr. if he could paint the nursery now and she told him wait til next months' appointment! lol As soon as they decide on a decorating theme, I'll plan accordingly!

Just wanted to share the news! Hope you all are having as nice a week as I am! Work stinks, but who cares with news like this!

OOPS.......... a few days ago, Laurie Ann requested that I post my salsa recipe and I had forgotten til just now. And Jane, we make so much salsa because as you know, we eat a lot of hot and spicy foods and I use our home made salsa when I make chilli, taco meat, breakfast burritos and a few other things. Plus, we keep the kids (dd and dsil) supplied with it, too, as they love it as much as we do. Not sure how much of it dd will be able to eat this year, though! DH is insisting we make it HOT this year, and with dd being pregnant, she may not be able to handle it as well as she has in the past!...........Well, for anyone who is interested, here is the recipe:

Salsa

• 1/2 bushel of tomatoes
• 10 bell peppers
• 15 yellow banana peppers ( mixture of hot and sweet)
• 1/2 cup salt
• 5 yellow onions
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• At least 2 tablespoons pepper
• 10 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 tablespoon garlic
• 4-8 jalepeno peppers

Chop all vegetables, then combine with remaining ingredients and cook til boiling. Let boil slowly for about 1/2 hour, stirring frequently. Ladle into hot canning jars and seal in boiling water bath 45 minutes.

This is the basic recipe we received several years ago. We no longer follow it very closely as we add extra peppers(habenaros) and I'm not a measurer! The only thing I measure is the salt and vinegar for some strange reason. Guess because I am strange! hehe. Also, dh likes to squeeze the juice out of the tomatoes because he doesn't like a runny salsa. We use a food proccessor to "chop" our veggies because we make so much. Hope you all enjoy it! We found it a very good recipe and have had lots of compliments on it.

SMILE??? This is the face I got when I told my 2 y/o nephew to smile. He did it several times, so we decided he didn't know how to smile! So we tried to explain it to him and my aunt said, "Jimmy, show your teeth and smile" and the picture you'll see next is the result of that. He's such a sweetie. Sometimes I wish I lived closer to them.










We are hoping to find out the sex of our grandbaby this week. DD called me Thursday night and asked me if I wanted to hear it over the phone or if I wanted to wait and find out in person.......DUH!!! I told her to call my cell phone and if my break was over and I couldn't answer it, to leave a msg so I could check it when I had a free minute!
I had bad news at the sewing machine shop yesterday. My embroidery machine was in bad shape and needed several hundred $$ worth of work.(a $224 part and that didn't include labor), so instead of getting it repaired, I put a down payment on a newer one! I'm getting one that takes the same cards I already have, so I'm not losing all of that. I have 3 months to pay it off, but I bet I have it b4 the end of September! He threw in one of those machine cases on wheels, a walking foot(this one is a sewing machine with an embroidery unit, whereas my old one was strictly emb.), a serging foot(cuts off the excess as you use an overlock stitch like a serger) and a new design card. I asked him if I could pick out my design card when I came and picked up the machine since by then I should know what my dd is having! There were some cute ones that would be fine for either/or, but I figured why pick one out now when it won't do me any good til I get the machine off layaway, anyway!
Hope everyone is having a good Sunday. Me, I've got yet more salsa to make! We're up to 28 quarts, I think. Our goal is at least 40, I think, so we should have those today then the rest of the tomatoes, I'll just can plain. Have a great week!

Vacation pictures......at last......... well, life is back to "normal". Here it is only Thursday and I've already worked 44 hours and have to work 5 1/2 tomorrow. We've also been busy in the evenings making salsa. 17 1/2 quarts and more to come. That doesn't really sound like a lot to some, but after an 11 hour day, it sounds like a lot to me! Anyway......such is life and we'll be glad we went to all the trouble later in the year. We just love our home made salsa. We eat a lot of it and I even use it when I make chili......yummy!

Above is a picture of me holding the twins I had made the frog and turtle quilts for. I got to meet thier mom, finally and I absolutely loved her. She greeted dh and I at the door with hugs, even though she'd never met us before. She fits into our family just fine! And the babies were adorable, of course! Mom loved the quilts. Her first comment was on the size.....they were huge when compared to the boys, but like I told her, by the time winter gets here, she'll be glad they are big!

I'm sure I told you about my nephew chasing the geese away from our campsite. Well, here is the picture Auntie Ann took while running after him with the camera. We were afraid one of the geese may decide to turn around and chase him, so we tried not to let him get to far ahead, but it was hard to run after him and take pictures all at the same time we were laughing our butts off! As you can see to the left of the shot, big sister couldn't let little brother have ALL the fun (or attention) so she had to give chase, too.

I haven't really had time to do much sewing, so no new quilty photos, but I will share a few more vacation pictures in the next few days til I get some pics taken of the old quilt my mom sent home with me. But for now, I'm going to call it a night and get some sleep. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Camping... We landed in SC on Sunday, then on Monday, we went camping til Wednesday. This picture shows how we "roughed" it! When dh and I go camping, we go in tents and sleeping bags, so this was really living in luxury for us! Mom and Dad were a little upset they didn't have thier new camper yet, it's supposed to arrive this week, but thier old one is still extremely nice to us. We slept in the one on the left, which belongs to my aunt and uncle because they had a little more room and Mom and Dad had my niece and nephew. We could have fit in thiers, but we just decided it would be easier to sleep in my aunts.

We got home late last night and it feels good to be home. We did have a little excitement at the airport, though. I was picked randomly to "pat down". Ok, no big deal, I cooperated and it was over in a couple of seconds. But then when dh came thru the metal detector, he set it off. He'd forgot to take his phone off his hip, so that set it off......he tried to hand it off to me, but the guy jumped between us and wouldn't let him. We hadn't thought about it, we were just doing what was normal to us(him handing me things to hold for him). It was really funny afterwards when we got to talking about it. Anyway, that still didn't fix the problem. The snaps on his waistband and pockets of his shorts were setting off the wand. The guy had to feel to make sure nothing was in his pocket, then they made him unsnap the waistband and show them the snap there. As I said, we laughed about it later, (ok, I laughed during, too) but it's nice to know that they are taking so many steps to assure our safety. This trip was dh's first ever flying and I hadn't flown since I was 11 years old, so it's been a while for me, too. He loved it and I see more flights in our future!

Now things will get back to normal and I can get caught up on everything. Unfortunately, that includes going back to work tomorrow..UGH....oh well, life goes on. Hopefully, I can catch up with all of you this week, too. Hope you all have a great week!

Still on vacation... Well, I'm still on vacation and am on Dad's computer, but have no access to any of the pictures we've taken so far. He's in bed and I forgot to ask him where he put the disk of the pictures he took with his digi camera. I left my digi at home and opted to just bring my trusty 35mm. At least I hope it proves to be trusty! I have taken 3 rolls of film with it and almost finished off 2 of those waterproof disposable cameras. We flew in on Sunday at about lunchtime and Mom and Dad were waiting for us at the airport. They then took us to my aunt's house where she had a very nice lunch waiting and those adorable twins were there waiting for me to hold and love on them! There were also a few other family members there and we had a nice visit. Then, on Monday, we all took off for the lake for 2 days of camping. There were 9 of us and we had a great time. My 2 year old nephew is a little sweetie pie. It didn't take him long at all to warm up to us and we've thoroughly enjoyed having him around. My 5 year old niece has kept us entertained as well. I have missed having little ones around and it has been fun to watch the 2 of them play and they are pretty free with hugs and kisses and that makes it all the better! The highlight of the camping trip, though, was watching little Jimmy run towards the lake chasing the flock of geese away. They were getting a little to close to the campsite for comfort and he kept telling them "Away.......Git...." and picked up a little stick and went running after them hollering "Git"...and " Away". Of course, Auntie Ann was running along behind him with the camera. I just hope the pictures turn out good since I was laughing so hard, I'm afraid they may be blurry! We were afraid of what would happen should one or more of the geese decide to turn around and chase him, so we were trying to not let him get to far ahead of us, yet stay far enough back to get good pictures.

Today, I delivered the 2 baby quilts to the twins. Thier mother wasn't at the lunch on Sunday, so I waited to give them the quilts today when I met her. This was the first time I had met her. I really liked this girl. She greeted dh and I both with a hug and she absolutely loved the frog and turtle quilts I gave the babies. I had a picture taken with me holding both of them, so as soon as I get home and get those developed, I'll be sharing. I also talked dh into holding them both to pose for a picture! My dad was teasing him about needing practice since we have a grandbaby on the way! Hard to believe in 8 months, "our" baby will be the same age as these 2 are now.

Jane asked about the quilting I was getting done on this trip....NONE! Actually, since my embroidery machine hadn't got fixed like it was supposed to have, I didn't get the labels for the baby quilts done while at home, so I had ironed on some and brought my fabric pens with me and colored those. Have not really had a chance to do much sewing since I got here. I did do very little on the Cathedral Windows, but not enough to show any progress yet! I do almost have the 2nd block finished, though, so I guess I will be able to post a picture ot that soon.

Well, I guess I've caught up on my trip so far, so will close for now. Hope everyone is having as good a week as I am!

Ok, I can't find any pictures, but...... we're leaving in just a bit for our week in SC to visit my family. Just hoping all is well here while we are gone. Will try to check in while we're down there, but will probably be short sweet posts. I have a 5 y/o niece and a 2 y/o nephew along with those adorable twins I shared pics with earlier that I will be busy with the next week! I do have some sewing to take on the plane, so not going completely without any sewing!! Actually, I have 3 different projects in my bag, so I'll have plenty to do! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
We are meeting dh's great aunt for supper this afternoon before we go to our dd and dsil's to spend the night. They will be taking us to the airport bright and early in the morning. Looking forward to that almost as much as the trip itself. Sad, but dh's family doesn't not try to stay close like I think they should. Anyway, nice to be seeing Aunt June today. Will post about it later in the week when I get a minute on Dad's pc!

Now time to go! til next time..........BYE!!!

Ok, no pictures yet, but............ DMIL is home from the hospital. Thursday night, the picture was very bleak, but Friday afternoon, when dh and I went to visit, we ended up bringing her home. She is still a very sick "little old lady", but trying so hard to be her normal self. I laugh about the little old lady comment because when we got home with her Friday evening, she was walking up the 4 steps to her porch and having a little difficulty because she is weak. She said, "I feel like a little old lady." and I told her she WAS a little old lady.......hehe.........she's 79 years old and weighs 89 lbs.......doesn't that sound like a little old lady to you all? I love her dearly and it is horrible to think that we'll probably be losing her in the not so distant future.
She has a condition called Cardiomyopathy. It has to do with the heart not pumping out enough blood with each beat, therefore the excess blood backs up into her heart and lungs. There is really not much they can do for it, other than give her meds and hope for the best. They mentioned putting in a Defibulator(I KNOW that's not spelled correctly), but she told them ABSOLUTELY not. Not sure if she's worried about the surgery or if it's because she believes that when it's her time, she's ready, she doesn't want it prolonged. We will respect her wishes, though and just hope and pray for the best.
My son in law told me to tell her she HAS to hang on to see the baby. This will be her first great grandbaby! Her DH has like 13, but this is the first on her side. We hope that gives her the incentive to follow dr's orders and eat right and take care of herself. Your continued prayers are also greatly appreciated.
Now that she seems to be doing better, I guess we will be going on our planned trip to see my family after all. We fly out on Sunday, so not sure I'll be doing much in the way of quilting til we get back. I am hoping to go catch up with all of you this week, though.
I retired from the job of pres. of our quilt guild and became the Block of the Month Chairperson. I think I shook them up a bit this evening when I told them we were going to go outside our comfort zone and do some things we haven't done with our BOM program b4. We started tonight with a block made from templates. It seems like ALL the blocks we have done in the past few years have been rotary cut. Now, don't get me wrong, I DO love my rotary cutter and rulers, but I wanted us to explore some other aspects of quilting! I have a really big thing planned for them in October! I gave them fair warning October was going to be awesome, but didn't give any clues! I'm going to have fun with this BOM program!! I really hope I don't scare any of them off! But I think they need to be challenged. They all seemed up for it and even were excited about this months' block!
Well, it's going on 10 pm and 3:30 comes really early, so I'd better get to bed. (((Hugs))) to all and I'll try to do some catching up tomorrow evening!

Hi all, I haven't been here lately because we have had company from out of town. DH's sister, who hadn't been here in 8 years, came up from Oklahoma City to visit. The day she was to leave, DMIL had a heart attack and things aren't looking good right now. I hope to be back with you all next week. I just ask for prayers for my DMIL and family. Thank you.

((((Hugs))))) Ann

Not quilty fabric, but....... I found these 2 pieces of flannel in the remnant bin at the Mennonite fabric store this morning and thought they'd be adorable for the outer layer of the fitted cloth diapers I'm making for the baby. I'm sure you all know how it is..you see something that you just CAN'T resist! And these will work for a boy or a girl. Now I just have to figure out the waterproof layer I will put between this pretty fabric and the inner absorbant layers. I found a great site online that gave a free pattern to make them. They are sure a far cry from the diapers hubby and I folded and put on OUR kids!(those were his words when he saw the ones I had bought).

On a quilty note, I did stop at the quilt shop and picked up Block #7 of my Harvest Spice BOM. 2 more months and all of the blocks will be done. Maybe THEN, the shop owner will sell me some of the fabric so I can start my applique blocks! She kind of got this worried look in her eyes when I told her of my plan to change out the big blocks. I think she feared that I wouldn't buy the printed panels that are a part of the whole thing. I told her I'd use them for pillows or something. She looked relieved!

Ok, it's going on 11 pm, and anyone who knows me, knows it's WAAAY past my bedtime, Friday night or not! lol Will be up late tomorrow evening, too, as we are meeting friends at the big town fireworks celebration. Have a great weekend, everyone!

How I spent my holiday... Dh had to work, and I haven't seen ds in days, so I spent the 4th of July all day BY MYSELF! I brought the card table into the living room, brought in my sewing machine and sewed ALL DAY LONG! It was heaven! This quilt is one our guild made to present to the Widows Support group on the Army base here. I was supposed to have had it done in May, but when I contacted their director, she asked for us to hold on to it and present it to them at some kind of ceremony they are having in September. So, with all that's been going on in my life, I hadn't got around to binding it. I got it out to bind today and upon closer inspection, decided it needed a little more quilting. I quilted this on my machine, just quilting in the ditch and some stars in the blue field of the flag. That left the centers of the blocks to "puffy" for me, so I went along the edges of the white squares and between them. It was well worth it because now I am pleased with it. The white squares are signature blocks for the names of lost loved ones. I designed this in my EQ5 program. All that's left is to hand stitch the binding down. YEAA!!!

Here is my June Block of the Month. 3 more blocks and then all the blocks will be done. I hope to go get July's block this weekend. I tried to get some fabric to work on my setting squares which if you'll remember, I've decided to applique instead of using the pre printed panels, but she wouldn't sell me any yet. Says she's not selling any of the line til she has all of the BOM's cut. Kind of silly if you ask me, surely she could buy more, but that's her choice, so I just have to live with it for now. It's not like I don't have enough to do without those! hehe.

I also worked on quilting the Eagle I showed a while back. I will show you a picture of that later in the week. I got all but the mountains and trees quilted. Started on the mountains 2 or 3 times, but kept ripping them out because I hated it. Finally just gave up and decided to wait til later. Had enough frogstitching for one day! (rippit rippit)

Hope you all are having a wonderful 4th. We will probably do nothing tonight, since we both have to work tomorrow. Our town has a big celebration Saturday night which we'll probably attend because a friend of ours' band is going to be playing. We may come home after watching them and just watch the fireworks from our own backyard. Funny how bad traffic can be in such a small town. It's ridiculous. And I'd just as soon avoid it. In fact, we MAY even walk to the park. Not like it's that far! To be decided later!

Quilters Carryall... This is a bag I made several years ago. It is great for carrying to quilt classes or sew nights with the guild. It holds all of your quilt tools neatly organized and also has a pocket big enough for your 24" ruler and an 18x24" cutting mat. I made 2 of them, one for myself and one for a dear friend's birthday.

Since there hasn't been anything quilting going on here these past 3 weeks, I thought I'd share these pictures. I'm REALLY hoping to get to sew tomorrow while dh is on the river with his buddy. Then I'll also have Tuesday to myself. The dumb powers that be at dh's job decided to give them a 3 day weekend and make them work on the 4th, so I'll have a day to myself that day, too. Oh well, not a big deal, I guess, since we both have to work on Wednesday. No big 4th of July celebrations for us on Tuesday night. We may go over to some friends and spend a quiet evening in the pool, but not even sure we'll be up to that. Hope all of you have a very safe and happy 4th!

I may not be going to celebrate with a big bang, but I will take a few moments that day to thank God for allowing me to be born in this wonderful country where we have all of the young men and women willing to fight for US. To all of you who have loved ones over "there", Thank You and more importantly, thank THEM.

I'm still here!!..... I finally found the time to dig out my patriotic wallhanging that I like to hang on the front door during this time of year. Decided to take a picture of it and that's when I discovered the yellow spot on it. But thought, I'll hang it and photograph it anyway, then will see if the stain will come out later. The blue with stars I used in this has faded really bad, anyway. I guess the front door with the morning sun shining on it was a bad choice of places to hang it. Oh well, live and learn. I still love this one. One day, I'll make another and NOT hang it on the front door!
All is going well in my world. I worked a lot of hours last week, so there wasn't much time for blogging. This week, I'm only supposed to work 4 days, then I'm off all next week!!! YEAAAA. I'm finally getting used to the new schedule, then will have to start all over again! hehe
I went into the sewing room to sew yesterday, but it was such a mess, I worked on cleaning a little and by the time I did that, I had lost the mood to sew. This ever happen to anyone else? The room STILL needs more work. Hopefully I can do that this Friday, so I'll be free to sew all next week!
DD is doing well. She told me yesterday they had to go buy her some maternity clothes as her jeans "just don't fit any more". I told her that happens! hehe She is FINALLY going to come down and tell her Grandma this coming weekend for Grandma's birthday. It has been really hard not mentioning anything about it to her the last month. I think everyone else in the county knows! I asked dd if she'd have to tell her or if it'd be obvious when she walked in. She's afraid it's going to be pretty obvious! Am working on a fun way to Spring it on mother in law! Friday is her 79th bday and we are having a little celebration Saturday for her. She's been going thru a really rough time, so I can't wait for her to hear this wonderful news. Maybe it'll cheer her up! I know it has the rest of us who are already in the know!
Well, I'd better get my shoes and socks on and be ready to head out the door when dh is ready. Hope you all have a great week. I'll try to pop in and read your blogs during the evenings. I'm still trying to catch up with all of you!

Oh Baby!...... Well, between the new job and our camping trip this weekend, I have done absolutely nothing quilty, so I'm showing you the latest picture of my grandbaby! It just amazes me how you can tell it's a baby already, even though it's only 1 1/2" long!

The new job is going well. I have been one tired pup in the evenings, so haven't been here to do much other than read a few of your blogs. The first day on the job, I really didn't like it, but the 2nd day, I got moved to a different job and I really like it. It's basically doing the same thing I was doing at my last job. The girls I work with have accepted me into thier "family" and made me feel welcome, so that really helps, too. I worked 10 hours Mon and Tue, then 11 on Wed and Thur. Friday, we didn't have to work, but the girls told me not to get used to that, they work a LOT of Fridays. Tomorrow, dh goes back to work, so I'll be riding with him. Definitely need to get some hand work ready to take with me.

The kids camped with us this weekend and even though she's only 10 weeks, dd is already showing. Sure, if you didn't know she was pg, you'd think she just had a little pot belly, but there is definitely something there. It bothers her because she says, "The baby is only 1 1/2" long, so this(pointing at her belly) CAN'T be baby." lol.......we explained to her how there is a lot more to a pg. womans belly than JUST BABY! The friend of ours who was also camping with us has 5 kids, so I think she helped make dd feel better.

We got rained on the biggest part of the camping trip. We rented canoes Saturday and took a float trip(We own our own canoe, but since the other 2 couples had to rent one, we decided it would be cheaper to rent one, than to haul ours all the way up there, then pay some one to haul us back to the truck). It rained on us most of the day. We had invested in some 87 cent plastic ponchos and dd had one of those on pretty early in the day because she didn't want to get pneumonia. I was the next one to "wuss" out and put one on. Rain, I don't mind, but I hated being cold. We still had a good time, though. It was quite an adventure! Our tent collapsed while we were on the river, so EVERYTHING was wet. I had to run into town and throw it all in the dryer at the laundry mat, then run to WM and buy new pillows. Then, in the night, our air bed bit the dust(think the baffles broke. DH went and slept in his truck, I slept on a sleeping bag on the ground(well in the tent) Never a dull moment with this bunch. Makes life interesting, I guess!

Now I'm going to go see what all of you have been up to. Then I'd better go spend some time with dh. Today is our 23rd weddng anniversary. We celebrated with a pizza! Were both to tired to mess with getting dressed and going out for dinner. Will try to find time to pos at least one night this week. Maybe I'll have some pictures of some of the hand work I get done waiting for him! Hope you all have a great week.

What I got for my birthday... I got some fantastic news on my birthday a couple of weeks ago. As soon as I got it, I came here to share with you all, but then realized I couldn't do that on the off chance my mom or dad read my blog. My daughter and son in law are making us grandparents! It was the best birthday I could ever imagine! It started with my showing her the picture of the twins, then she said she had a picture to scan and send me, too. and what you see below is that picture!

Isn't that awesome? I know some of you are already grandma's and know what excitement I'm going thru! I have waited for this day ever since the day I had my kids! lol. DH and I decided at a young age we wanted to have our kids while we were young enough to enjoy when we had grandkids! She isn't due til January, so I have 7 months to prepare! Everyone keeps asking if I have THE quilt started yet, but I won't start it yet. I'll probably make a "generic" one, then when we find out what it is and she reveals the theme she's doing the nursery in, I'll make one to fit that! Anyway, just wanted to share now that it is out in the open!

I start my new job tomorrow. A little apprehensive of that, but excited, too. Wish me luck!

Block # 5. The last one I have sewn. I did go pick up block #6, but haven't had a chance to sew it yet. Maybe Sunday. I'll try to get some different quilt pictures loaded.
Been a crazy week for me, and will only get crazier! My very good friend(the one with the longarm) has a son getting hitched tomorrow. I've been over helping them with wedding stuff a little this week. They have 5 kids, and this is the first wedding in the family and it's like a zoo over there! I know Mary can't wait til this is all over! She's made 4 bridesmaids dresses, the wedding gown, the flower girl and the ring bearer's outfits(going to be a Renaissance wedding), and today she was FINALLY making herself something to wear! I'm going over tonight to help make corsages. I'm going to get permission to show you all some of the pictures. I'm a shutterbug and take lots of pictures at events like this. Usually have a set of prints made up as a late wedding gift, too.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Block 4. Well, I take all of these pictures with the same camera, but for some reason, to me they look different colors. I'm still no expert with the digi camera! Anywhoo.......we had a great visit with the inlaws yesterday. DH got the weeds knocked down for his dad and we came home with a couple of small antique items that were just collecting dust in Dad's shed!

Today after work, I am going to the QS to get my block # 6. While I am there, I am going to pick up some of the gold fabric they use in these blocks and I'm going to do some hand applique on them rather than use those 4 huge printed blocks for the centers. I have to do something to make it MINE! I guess that's why the Quilt Mavericks blog ring captures my attn. I try to read thru the ring every few days! When I started this project, I loved the whole quilt, but the more I have looked at it, while I still love the quilt, I just feel the need to do something different than everyone else who is doing this. I'm thinking Baltimore Album style appliques, but who knows what I'll come up with! I have snips and scraps leftover from each block, and am hoping there is enough there to do whatever I decide. Will play in EQ5 to decide for sure. Actually, I think I just had a great idea pop into my head, but I'm not sharing til it's on fabric! hehe.

Ok, guess I need to go hit the shower. I really should be getting myself ready for work really early this week in preperation for next week, but why bother. I'll do it when I have to! Hope everyone has a glorious week!

Block 3. Well, here is block 3. I only have 2 more done to show you so I guess I need to get in the sewing room, huh? Maybe I can get to the QS this week to pick up my June block.
We had the yardsale finally yesterday. I have to say, it was a bid success. Got rid of a lot of stuff and made a little bit of $$ along the way. Also, got to see a lot of people I hadn't seen in quite a while. It actually was a lot of work, but was fun, too.
Thank you to all of you who have shown me such great support in the job decision I made this past week. I'm a little nervous that I made the right decision because of all the time I've taken off recently to help dh's parents. I won't be able to take off as easily now, so I hope that issue doesn't create problems. But, as dh said, now with me making so much more $$, we can afford for him to take off to take them to the Dr. sometimes now. Before, it was just plain stupid for him to take off when he made so much more than me. Now he'll still be making more, but not the huge difference it has been in the past. It'll all work out, I'm sure!
Well, speaking of his parents, today we are going to visit his dad and stepmom. Dd and her dh are supposed to meet us there, so looking forward to a good time. Hopefully, ds is going to join us, too. But for now, I need to go get ready b4 dh is ready to leave without me! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Block #2... Here it looks a little dark, not sure why. Now that it is June, I can go buy block #6! I think I'm going to buy some of the gold to work on "my" version of those big pre printed blocks. Still haven't decided for sure on a design, but I will before long. Along with my Cathedral windows, I'll need something to work on before work in the mornings. DH will have to drop me off about 45 minutes before it is actually time for me to be at work, so I intend to take hand sewing and my book and sit in the cafeteria and do that til time for me to go to work. Makes more sense to do that than to drive seperate every day. I will drive myself probably 2 days a week, but ride with him some, too, to save gas.

Yes, I took the new job. When I told my immediate supervisor, he was very supportive. In fact, he said he'd heard this new place I'm going paid very well and had been considering going up there himself. I ran into the company owner(it's a really small company) yesterday and when I told him, he got smart alecky and said "You'll be making about $40 per week more, you'll spend that in gas since you'll be driving 25 miles each way(now I drive 3) I said, "NO, my husband already works up there, so it won't cost me anything.And besides, that's STARTING pay..I'll be making a LOT more within 6 months." He didn't know what to say about that. I told him I'd asked for a raise the month before and if Joe(his son who is taking over the company slowly) had given it to me, I would have never went to the interview. He said, "I thought we'd taken care of that." NOPE....so I'm outta there. I had thought that if they came to me with an offer, even though I KNOW they can't touch what I'm going to make at the new job, I may consider staying, but now, there is no way. I may regret it, but you never know til you try, right? And over $600 per month increase in pay is hard to turn down.

I guess I'm just naive, but I found the whole drug test hilarious. I had to go to the new place yesterday to discuss the job again(found out I'll be starting at 30 cents per hour MORE than I'd originally been told :) ) and was told I had to go take a drug test. I said, "Hmm........I THINK the aleeve I took on Saturday will have worn off by now." She just laughed. Then filled out the paper and told me where the "Employment Drug Screening" place was. Right off, I found that funny. I don't know why. I also find it sad that it's come to this. Anyway, when I went there, after the lady filled out the paperwork, she went into the bathroom, sprayed blue stuff in the bowl, taped the flusher down, taped the faucet down and told me to pee in this cup. "when you are done, let me know and we'll flush and I'll untape the faucet so you can wash." THEN had to leave my purse outside the door..I was a little uncomfortable with that, but since it was just her there, I didn't throw a fit. I didn't have much in it, anyway. After I did what I had to do, I didn't want to touch the door handle to open the door! I said, "this is disgusting" She laughed and said, she knew and she cleans the door knob after every person. I SURE HOPE SO! DH and I are handwashers big time. Anyway, sorry for sharing such a story, but it's what I did yesterday and since it was my first time, I just found the whole thing a joke. I know it's not a joke and I know of people who miss out on jobs because they can't pass the drug test. They don't do that where I work now, because if they did, they'd lose over half their employees. Sad, huh? I think so. I start my new job June 12.

Thank you to all of you well wishers on my previous post! I knew I'd find a lot of support out there! Quilters are such a supportive group! I love that I've found this whole new group to get to know!