Almost Burned The House & Reached A Goal Today

Remember I mentioned my son was cutting the headliner for his car.Well, I got after him for not cleaning up the tiny specks of old spongy foam which were all over my cutting table. I told him to use the vacuum and to make sure he got everything. Well he plugs it in and turns it on and I hear this very weird sound like if there was something stuck inside the vacuum. It was still working so my son kept on using it then he very calmly tells me to go and look at what was happening so I go look and the vacuum is smoking really bad. I told him to run and unplug the darn thing which he did and ran outside with the thing. The smell and smoke were bad. I mean it stunk so bad I had to open all the windows. When hubby came home son told him I almost burned the house. Hubby then asks me, "Did you put a bag in it because it didn't have one? Did you check the bottom to make sure there was nothing stuck?" I said no and then wondered if he probably knew there was something wrong with it and didn't tell me which wouldn't be the first time. UGH!!! My reached goal was, no, I didn't lose weight, but I walked 4 1/2 miles on the treadmill today. LOL! I had been walking 30 to 40 minutes at a pretty fast speed but by the 30 minutes I was pretty much done and would usually just reach about 2 1/2 miles. Well, today, I walked at more comfortable pace but for 1 hour and was able to walk the 4 1/2 miles and burn more calories. I don't know why I hadn't done that before. I guess I thought that walking faster would burn more calories. I've been reading the book, STEP UP, which has some fantastic tips. I usually walk till night time sometimes at 11 p.m. I know it's crazy but I just get too hot during the day. We finally got some rain today and I'm so thankful. My plants and the foundation of the house got some much needed relief. It also kept the temperatures from reaching 100.

Update On Sister-In-Law

Boy, it has been a while since I've posted. Anyway, my SIL who had the stroke will be going home today. She has been in rehab for only two weeks and I don't think she's anywhere ready to go home but since she's on Medicare/Medicaid for her mental disability it's all the time they allow her in rehab. Can you believe?!?! Her sister, who will be caring for her has been told she has to make sure she walks her several times a day using the walker and belt because she has no balance, she shouldn't let her nap for more than one hour at a time, she has to eat pureed foods so her food won't go into her lungs, and she has to make her practice her speech because all she says is yes and no when she is asked something. She must be told what to do in order for her to do something. Sounds like the problem solving part of her brain was affected severly by the stroke. The 95 year old father who is on oxygen is feeling quilty thinking that my SIL helping him is what made her get the stroke. Doctors told him that wasn't true. Even though my SIL had the mental capacity of a 4 year old she would help her dad a lot. She would put on his socks, give him water, talk and argue with him, add sugar to his coffee,watch t.v together and laugh at their favorite shows.. My FIL really misses the daughter who was able to do that. They have a caregiver that is provided by the state but from what I saw the last time I paid a surprised visit I caught her napping on the couch. My other SIL who has been in the hospital staying with the stroke victim faces the decison of quiting her job to stay home and care for her sister but will than have finacial problems. My poor SIL has given up her life caring first for her mother, her mentally disabled sister since she was very young, and now both sister and dad. She has never married because of this. All four brothers went on to marry and have a life except for her and she is the youngest of the family. It's a very sad situation. Well enough said on this subject. I will appreciate any input from you that I can relate to my SIL.

Prayers Needed Sister-In-Law Had Major Stroke

I have two sisters-in-law, one is 51 and the other is 60, and they are both my husband's sisters. The 60 year old has been mentally challenged since the age of 4. She had a major stroke on Monday and I just don't know what to think of the decisions the doctors are making. After the first round of MRI's the doctors said she had bleeding and swelling in her brain and that she was in critical condition. The doctor said that even though she can move her arms and legs, respond and answer questions with a yes or no the patient may start to deteriorate with paralyzes and cardiac arrest. They did a swallowing test and I guess she passed it so she has been given purred food and water with Thick It so she won't get any liquid or food into her lungs. Doctors said that if liquids or food start going into the lungs she can develop pneumonia. On Thursday she developed a fever which comes and goes, then yesterday she was moved to a rehab hospital and was made to walk with the walker and do some exercises. Saturday she had a bad day with gagging, not eating much and shaking hands. I just find it hard to understand why she was moved out of the hospital so quickly if she is still considered critical. My 51 year old sister is under so much stress right now with having the 94 year old father who is oxygen dependent waiting at home worrying about what's going on. We live 350 miles away so my hubby flew over there to help out for the week. Luckily there are two brothers who live close by who will have to help. I just hope my stressed out SIL won't end up sick herself. AY AY AY!

Time To Exercise :(

I invited my hubby to go check out the treadmills with me on Saturday and right after I told him which one I liked he said, “ O.K, let me get one of the guys to get it for us”. I was really surprised he was so complaisant so I’m thinking maybe he wants me to lose weight to but just won’t tell me. He’s smart he’s learned what not to say to me.LOL! It took him hours to put the darn thing together. I tried it out for the first time on Monday evening and I told him to film me so that I could put a small video of me on the blog. I set up the camera on the tripod and told him all you have to do is push the red button, so, I get on the treadmill and he can’t figure out where the button is and I try to stand on the side rails and I didn’t do it fast enough so one of my feet starts sliding backward and I’m trying to hold on to the handle bars. Luckily I was wearing the stop key and the treadmill stopped otherwise I would have really taken a bad fall. My husband looks at me and he’s doing his best not to laugh and says,"Can you do that again babe because that can be great on film”. It was pretty funny actually.LOL! I use to walk in my neighborhood but the pounding on the pavement was hard on my lower back so I stopped which was the reason I gained 30 pounds. I noticed that walking on the treadmill is much better. Anybody want to want to walk along with me at the same time and then post your progress?

Can’t Get Into Blog.Insomnia Monster Comes Calling

I have been having problems posting on my blog because I haven’t been able to get into my blog. I had to load foxfire to do it which is crazy. I wasn’t able to see Gloria’s blog and several others either. What gives IE?! I guess I’ll have to go through Foxfire to do my posting for a while. I’m trying it out and so far it seems o.k. but like everything else that’s new in life it takes a while to get used to.

I have been feeling like crap lately. I thought I was conquering the insomnia monster but it’s gotten a hold of me again. I don’t get sleepy until 3 a.m and then wake up at 6 or 7 am. I’m fine for 3 or 4 hours but after that I just crash and start falling asleep every where. I usually take a 1 or 2 hour nap to function but then I’m wide awake again by midnight. At that time I can do housework go walking and it’s usually when I do my quilting. You know I have two Chihuahuas and they don’t fall asleep until they see me going to bed. Well, they are beginning to sleep all day and become like energizer bunnies at 11 pm. They start dropping their favorite toys at my feet so I can play with them. I want to do so many things but don’t have the energy during the day. I refuse to take sleeping pills so I will start drinking some Sleepy Time tea that has chamomile, passion flower and the disgusting Valerian. I’ve had it before and it does make me sleepy but I was trying to avoid it. I do read at night but then I get so into the book that I don’t want to put the book down. Oh well. I’m going to go shopping for a thread mill today and hopefully IE can mix their blogging problem pronto.

Mother’s Day On Sunday,Gardening On Monday

I didn’t do much on Mother’s Day because Saturday we did most of our celebrating. I had breakfast with hubby and son on Sunday morning and after getting calls from my son in New York and son in Los Angeles and other people wishing me a Happy Mother’s Day hubby and I went out for a while. I can’t help be a little sad every year though because my mom is no longer with us and I would always make a big deal for my mom on Mother’s Day. I’d start about three weeks early just looking for the right card,gift,cake and flowers. I tend to get teary eyed through out Mother’s Day. But all in all it was great day.Hubby did take a picture of me that day.

On Monday I was out in the yard pulling weeds,weeds and more weeds.I hate pulling weeds! I dead headed my roses, fed them, watered them and tied back some too long stems of some climbing roses and in the process I got poked and scratched by the roses defense, thorns. I had to do this at noon to avoid the mosquitoes later in the day so with the high humidity I must’ve sweated gallons. I’m beginning to feel it in my neck. Some of my roses.

Our cat Smokey likes to follow me around whenever I’m working in the yard.

New Books,Dreams,Movies,Quilting

I started a new book yesterday and it’s been interesting from page one so far. WOMAN OF A THOUSAND SECRETS is a story in pre Columbus time. Tonina is a nineteen year old girl who goes through many difficult adventures. You can read a little more in the What I’m Reading Now section on the lower left side of this blog. I can tell I’m really going to enjoy this book because it has everything I like in a book.

I have been having some pretty weird dreams lately and it seems I’m the only one in my family with weird dreams. I’ve heard that sometimes hormones can cause this. My latest dream was set in a beautiful open area with green grass. I was standing on the grass smelling fresh air and water. I could see the ocean to one side and when I looked to my left I saw sheep wearing green skirts, yes, skirts and jumping off a cliff. It was a place like Scotland which I have never been to. I’ve dreamt I am having a baby, that I’m fighting evil, and I have many many dreams of a baby girl. Go figure.LOL! I just saw The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and I really liked it. Of course I was so curious as to what an old baby would look like that that’s what actually made me see the movie. It wasn’t because Brett Pitt was the starring actor. I really didn’t even think of Brett until he actually becomes a young looking Benjamin. I didn’t realize it was a long movie until I saw the time length on the dvd cover. I really recommend this movie and you can watch it with your kids if you have any.Well it does have some naughty words though. I am still quilting the Dick and Jane quilt, or is it Tom and Jane.I like the quilting on the quilt and now that mly hands and fingers have gotten used to quilting again I’m quilting pretty fast. I was wondering if I should’ve used a white quilting thread because the multi colored thread is very visible on the off white blocks. Well I guess there’s no use in any should haves since I’m not ripping out stitches. I’m thinking about the next top I’ll be quilting. I’m thinking of the grape quilt for my sister in law or just finishing up the sunbonnet sue blocks for a twin size bed. Since I’m using a polyester batting on the quilt I’m working on now I had forgotten how easy it is to hand quilt with it compared to the cotton batting.

Hand Quilting Tutorial,Reading,and Gardening

I am still working on the Dick and Jane quilt and made a hand quilting tutorial video’s. The first part you can watch on the left of this blog in The Video Of The Week section and the second part you can see by clicking on the link under the video which will take you to my YouTube channel. I had to film it early in the morning when my Chi’s were still sleepy and kind of quiet. They can get very loud though out the day LOL. Hopefully you will enjoy the video’s.

I have been spending quite a bit of time outside now that all of my rose bushes are blooming. With the jasmine and roses in full bloom the back yard is the perfect place to be everyday. Well maybe not perfect because the mosquitoes are very bad right now. We have to apply mosquito spray and have mercy on you if you dare go out in shorts which is what I did last week. I had bites on both arms and legs and couldn’t stop scratching.Back to my roses,the problem I am now having with some rose bushes that some are beginning to develop black spot with all the rain that we had but the roses have never been bigger nor more beautiful. I will soon post a video of them for you to enjoy.

I am still reading The Red Tent and once I start reading I can’t stop. I really didn’t get into the book until the second chapter. I had started the book about 3 years ago and just put it away after reading about four pages but this time I gave it another try and it’s been great so far. I just sent a copy of the book to my sister in Indiana along with The Tortilla Curtain by T. C. Boyle which is another hard to put down book. I also sent her The Other Boleyn Girl along with the movie. She’s going to love it being a big fan of The Tudors. Luckily we like the same books so we’re always sending books to each other.

Multicolor Quilting Thread

I have started quilting the crib size Dick and Jane quilt with multi colored cotton thread which I had never used before. I like the way it’s looking I like the way it hides within the fabric with it’s changing colors. The only thing is it’s expansive at $7.00 per spool. I know I was shocked at the price to. I will post pictures of the quilt as soon as I’m done. It won’t take me long since I am pretty fast at hand quilting.

Raining Cats and Dogs In Houston

Wow, was the rain we got in Houston saturday crazy or what! Those were some severe thunderstorms with tornados. We live in a high place so when our street and back yard get flooded it means we have gotten way too much rain. I couldn't believe how hard and fast the rain was coming down. I heard we got somewhere like 8 inches of rain in a small amount of time. There were trash bags floating down our street. I have seen it get like that three times first time was back in the early 90's during a tropcial storm and then during the bad flood here back in 2001 and then again yesterday. We have a shed in the back yard and if it would've rained one more inch the water would've gone into the shed. I'm sure many houses got rain inside because like I said we live on a pretty high spot so when our street gets flooded it gets pretty bad in other places. Today, Sunday, is a beautiful day and most of my roses are blooming.

Award From Gloria

I'm so happy to have recieved this award from my friend Gloria over at http://glorv1.blogspot.com/ . This award is for enjoying our times spent together and having turned Blogland into a great place to spend time.Thank you my friend I will post it proudly. I will than in turn give this award to other people.

I’ve Been A Busy Bee

For the last two weeks I have been pretty busy. My two older son’s are coming to visit and I have been busy cleaning and making room which means moving lot’s of my stuff from where I usually have it. My oldest son is coming in from Los Angeles and whom I haven’t seen in two years. The second son is coming in from New York city and they are both coming in the same day and at the same hour so it will be great picking them both up at the same airport. The oldest and I share the same birthday and haven’t celebrated one together in 8 years and when the second son found out his brother was going to be home for our birthday he decided to come to. I am so happy and excited I can hardly wait for Thursday.

I have also been busy quilting the Dick and Jane quilt which I have only been doing in between cleaning and organizing. I’ve been working quite a bit in the garden. I have bought two new rose bushes, Mary Rose and The Dark Lady. I just fell in love with The Dark Lady roses they are huge crimson flowers with about 100 petals each and smell so good. Mary Rose has big pink flowers also with lot’s of petals and it smells even more beautiful. I have gotten herbs and will be adding more soil to the herb garden which is something I do every year. Here are a couple of pictures of my plants and my little chi strapped in her car seat while on a trip to Galveston. Now she’s not driving me crazy standing at the window parking at the cars.

The Dark Lady

mary Rose

My little girl in her car seat. Had to put her in a car seat after she destroyed the padding on the door.

Basting Quilt

I am finally back to quilting and it feels so good. I am going to baste a 54 inch Tom and Jane quilt top that I made last year. It's been patiently waiting for me staring at me every time I go into my fabric closet. I thought I had cotton batting but no luck so I will use polyester batting and I will have to piece it because I really hate to cut up a full or twin size batting just for a 54 inch quilt and I can't bring myself to throw good pieces of batting away either so I will piece the batting today. I have done that before and you can't even tell once the quilting is done. I'm quilting this one using a flannel backing and I had to piece that to because the flannel was 42 inches and the top is 52 inches wide. I will try quilting this with no frame since it is small but if it gets too hot I will definitely put it in a frame.

I have been gardening and found some beautiful dwarf dalias for my front yard. My hubby killed a climbing rose I had in the front that was about 13 years old. He put in some bone meal without watering it and now the leafs are all brown. I am so upset about that! I don't get it because I've never known him to kill any plants he's the one with the green thumb.

Remembering My Cat Sonia

Sonia right after we got her as a kitten.

Sonia a grown up lady.

This morning while browsing through blogs I came upon Sweetbait and she posted about her beautiful Calico kitty. It brought tears to my eyes as it reminded me of my beloved cat Sonia. I had Sonia for 10 years before having to put her to sleep. I loved that cat so much. She was such a good and loyal kitty. She use to follow me around the house and sit next to me when I sewed, she never got on the furniture not the table and she use to wait with my son at the bus stop until the bus picked him up. When we would let her go outside she never wondered off either. She was the cat everyone dreams of having. I miss her to this day and she’s been gone9 years. No matter how happy my Chi’s make me I still miss my Sonia. Off I go to buy some fabric at our new Super Joann’s. It’s my first time to the new store.

Houston,I Love It

I have been cleaning my sewing room and organizing before I start cutting backings for my quilt tops but decided to take a break. I was downloading some pictures to Windows live gallery and found these still in my camera. I still had 100 pictures in the camera. These are pictures of Houston. I took them when we were leaving and coming to town from Arizona. The big Beehive and Lady’s head was taken while we were just driving around town. I love this city because the people are very nice and polite, my son found that out when he moved to New York,LOL. The city has the best cancer hospitals anywhere, you can always find what you’re looking for. It has lot’s and lot’s of really good bookstores and the city is spread out it’s not just concentrated in one spot. The pictures above only show you a small part of Houston. There is a lot of land in Texas so that’s probably why.The highways are big and have exits that easily get you off the express way. There are many great museums that often have good exhibits.A great zoo which we visited almost every weekend when my kids were young. There are big sports arenas and of course the really big yearly quilt festival. Many multi cultural festivals through out the year and a great 4th of July fireworks display. We have the Johnson Space Center and the Space Center where one of my son’s worked at for a long time. Another things is that Houston usually gets lot’s of rain so it’s always green so when you’re in a plane and you look out the window when you coming into Houston you can see how green it looks everywhere. If you ever come to Houston look up Lucia’s Garden, it’s a small business in a cottage style house that has candles, fairy’s,books,herbs,music cd’s, soaps, jewelry,plants, incense ect… You won’t be disappointed I promise. You must be thinking there has to be something I don’t like about Houston and yes there is. It’s hot and humid in summer which curly headed people like me don’t like and the mosquitoes can be bad if we’ve had lot’s rain for a couple of days. I hate the clay soil which makes it very had to dig and you must add peat moss and compost to the soil to help make it more workable. I do a lot of gardening and that can be in a pain in the shoulders and rear.You need a strong back and tools to garden in Houston. That’s it.

Cake In A Mug

I tried a recipe for a cake in a mug and it was a big hit with my husband and son. I tried adding banana pudding on the right one and as you can see it looks pretty bad actually it looked a lot worst than what it tasted like. It was really pretty good. That was suppose to be for my son but I didn’t have the heart to give it to him and I just made him another one which is in the top picture. My husband ate all of his and my son is saving his for tomorrow. It was too chocolaty for me so I just tasted. I love the fact that I don’t have to make a whole cake so everyone eats less and it’s done in five minutes. What more could you want right. I’ll have to try and make different flavors. I added pecans to my husbands and chocolate chips to my son’s. I was thinking adding ice cream or bananas would also be great. If I’m going to just have it once in a while I might as well go all the way.LOL! Here’s the recipe.

4 tablespoons flour (I added 5)

3 or 4 tablespoon it depends on how sweet you want it

2 tablespoon cocoa

1/8 baking powder

1 egg ( I used egg substitute 1/4 cup)

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil (I used 2 1/2)

chocolate chips

small splash vanilla

1 large mug

Put dry ingredients in mug and mix. Add egg, vanilla and oil and mix well. Add chocolate chips and mix again. Place in microwave (1000 watts) and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it it will rise over the top of the mug so don’t be alarmed. Let it cook for a couple of minutes so it can pop out when you place the mug upside down onto a plate or you can eat it out of the mug like we did.

Curtains On Their Way To New York

I am finally done with the altering of the curtains for my son's apartment. It took me three days to measure, cut and add fabric to the curtains but it took me three months to actually get started. I just wasn't motivated for some reason well I do know what it was. It's this darn computer I'm so addicted to. LOL! I also sent him some Ritz crackers, teddy graham cookies which he has liked since he was little and some books. Oh, and some Ranch Style Beans which he says he can't find in Jersey City. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders now that I sent off the box. He bought the curtains during his Christmas vacation to Texas at Linens & Things while everything was 70% off. He got great looking guy curtains at a great deal but three were too small and two were very long so I said "No problem I'll just take from the very long ones and add to the short ones." I was able to match the fabric pattern with no problem and you can't tell unless you look at them up close. He customized a curtain rod for the weird shaped window in his living room so hopefully it'll turn out o.k. Now I'm motivated to get back to my quilting and painting. I have many quilt tops waiting to be made into quilts, canvases waiting to be painted and beads waiting to be made into jewelry.

Bunny Love

Just take a look at this bunny isn't he the cutest. He reminds me of a bunny my brother found in a field and brought it home to me when I was three.He was 16 at the time and he use to help a farmer with his crops. As soon as he put the bunny on the floor I fell in love with it. We had the bunny for a long time until it died. I found this bunny at Petsmart of all places. It's a toy for big dogs of all things. I grabbed it as soon as I saw it and as soon as my Chi's saw it they wanted it but this one's for me. I was touching it and stroking it's super soft fur while i was reading last night. It looks real from a distance and I fooled my 21 year old son when I told him I had found a bunny near a field. He also had to hold it as soon as he saw it. I can't imagine someone giving this to a dog for a toy it's just to cute. Had to share.

Kreative Blogger Award

I am so happy and honored to have gotten a Kreative Blogger Award from Diane at http://dianesmixedart.blogspot.com/. Thank you very much for the award Diane. I am to list seven things I love or inspire me.

1. Nature

2. Babies

3. My Pets

4. Bold colors

5. Music

6. Old buildings from the 1800's

7. Traveling

I will now like to pass on this award to

http://glorv1.blogspot.com/

http://aquiltisnice.blogspot.com/ http://www.passionatequilter.blogspot.com/

http://scrappyhappystarfishy.blogspot.com/ http://morahquilts.blogspot.com/ http://bingobonnie.blogspot.com/

http://quiltnutcreations.blogspot.com/

I think the above blogs are great and full of great info. Keep up the good work blog owners.

Plant Shopping

Beautiful oriental statue. I just love it.

Very expensive very beautiful fountains.

Shrimp plant, kind of funky looking plant.

Herb section of nursery.

Spring shipments of annuals and perennials.

Me looking at roses.

Saturday I went plant shopping at the biggest Nursery I've ever been to. Maas Nursery is about 4 miles from my house and I just love going there during spring and summer if not to buy then just to see what's new. All of the roses I have I have bought at that place and I haven't lost a single one yet. I go every spring to buy new herb plants and plant food. They had a very big loss due to the hurricane but they are beginning to have shipments come in for the spring. Our weather has been beautiful the past couple of days so I thought I'd take advantage of it and start shopping for plants. I have to plant some rose cuttings that are big enough to put in the ground. Can you believe that from about 30 cuttings only 3 survived. I always accidentally pull out herbs in the beginning of spring when I'm pulling weeds. I go crazy pulling weeds and over look the baby herbs that look like weeds. My husband always gets after me for that. In a couple of weeks my there will be the most beautiful sweet and spicy scents of roses, jasmine, trumpet flowers and herbs. I tend to buy old fashion roses and David Austen roses are my favorite. Luckily my husband has a very green thumb which I envy. He plants every plant I buy and I trim and feed them. My husband loves plants he reminds me so much of his dad. My father in law is 94 years old and he still waters his gardens. Last year he was trying to climb an orange tree and fell. Thank goodness nothing happened to him. I wonder if that's what I should expect from my hubby. LOL.