Odds and ends..........

Urrrrgh!!! I COULD have chosen a better cartoony last post - but I didn't!

Have done SOME quilting - but haven't finished a whole lot. More on this this week. Was PETRIFIED I would become queen of UFOs! - which I probably deserve at this point!

Actually have been a bit down this week - not really sure why! This is NOT a good thing - because I tend to go nuts and SHOP! I did manage to stay away from quilting fabric (putting together my last set of fabric shelves and struggling in SWEATY hot weather - then discovering that I had the shelves on upside down may have been a deciding factor!!!!)

And I didn't start another quilt either! I did write down the quilts I want to start on a piece of paper (which I promptly lost!).

Um - what I did (ok Wendy - you KNEW this was coming!) was to go online "just to see, mind you" some of the books for homeschooling - particularly history books. (OK _ Wendy I can hear you laughing! Just don't fall off the chair!) NOT telling you how much I bought - just that it was a bunch - but I DID delete one humongous amount! and should have a really good selection on ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, not that what I had was any slouch either! Now to read them..........

Honestly - I am at the point I would LOVE to just stay home! NOT work, but to stay home and read, quilt, and do other good stuff. Not that this is going to happen in the very near future! 'though it would be nice!

Weather here - was beastly hot a couple nights ago. I don't like to use my a/c (not that it's in or anything!) Now it's back to downright chilly! Don't know what it drops to - but it is soooooooooo lovely! Although my kitties will wake me up when they climb up to cuddle next to me and get warm!

Had eye dr. appt today - eye pressure still high - borderline actually - checkup again in 6 mos - and if there is no change they will do some sort of xray or whatever!

That's about it for now - except to update my lists. More tomorrow

The week in passing...................

Whew - am glad June is almost over! Sorta! Still planting! Still working on this apartment! Still WAY WAY behind on everything (and this is new?)

Sorry about the continued siggie cartoons - I STILL need to figure out about my camera. Currently I have something like 208 photos on there - and I have GOT to sort them out! UGH!!!!

Work has been insane - as per usual - just am glad that I have Sunday and Monday off (worked today!) and that I'm once again back on my original schedule! YAY!!!!!

Re Flylady focus - I am drinking 8 glasses of water daily. However as regards shiny sink - it is essentially reasonable - BUT this needs definite work!

And 15 minutes of movement - let me pick myself up off the floor where I fell when I was laughing so hard!

Ahhh well - goals are an ongoing movement! I KNOW I will keep the shiny sink, decluttering and movement ones for sure next month - these are my major challenges! That and paperwork!

Hmmm - as regards the "this week......" I think the dots say it all! STILL working on planting herbs and the last 2 catchall beds (2 LONG ones actually) - our monsoons seem to be somewhat at bay for the moment - added to which - I have the day off tomorrow. Housework - Zone 2 and 4 done.

Quilting - ummmm - did join Stashbusters (need to send the FQ though for 2010 challenge groups) - still need to send stuff to Wendy - plus a book - will finish packing that tomorrow so it can go out Monday, along with the FQ and the group blocks. The Baby blanket #1 can hopefully go to raffle on Tuesday.

Would REALLY like to get my Brother machine set up so I can do quilting like Wendy does. Only that machine has a MAJOR oil problem - I had loaned it to a friend who I guess decided it needed more than a drop or two of oil and literally saturated it! :(\

And as per usual - I didn't get home really in time for starting on online quiltathons this past week - and when I did get home - I would be falling asleep within 20 minutes or so.

However - now to make up for lost time!!!! Hehehee

Good joke on me..............!!!!!!!!!!!

This morning I bleary-eyed got ready for work - did this on rote! Did NOT check my calendar. Was groused because a really cute shirt I bought over the weekend - on clearance, of course, and an extra large to allow me to wear it over another shirt - sort of like a jacket - it was entirely too tight! And this was just on the arms and across the back! Thank goodness I didn't try to button it! Even though it's on clearance I'm going to try to take it back - can't hurt.

Raced to work - and managed to get there about 20 minutes early (YAY me!) Rosa and Gloria (my best friends and adopted sis - as well as team leaders) were all smiles - and then said they hadn't expected me! Immediately my tummy tensed up - since I get VERY paranoid about statements like that! I asked why - it seems that Christina called Rosa and said I wouldn't be in today. By now I was REALLY tense - felt like I was gonna cry and all! LOL - it seems that today was a vacation day for me! And there I was - ALMOST ready to sign in (but I hadn't)! So I turned around and headed home! And now plan on doing all the good stuff I didn't get done this weekend - ie, cleaning, gardening, cooking, quilting!

OK _ time to wake up the brain cells (hopefully!) On the menu for today...........

01. Call for eye appt - this is to check eye pressure AND also to get the other glasses fixed (nose piece)
02. Work on and set up next 2 garden beds - bottom to top - 1st bed (greens/peas/roots/beets), and also bottom to top 2nd bed (lettuce-salad stuff including celery and any remaining greens/beans/the raspberries that think they are a replay of Pinky and the Brain/root crops - uh - think beets) Max time - 3 hours. Continue this week as needed.
03. House - think Zone 2 - Kitchen - as in Flylady Mondays (also Tues, Wed). Zone will be carried on all week.
04. House - IF time - Zone 1 - finish this up. Zone will be carried on all week.
05. House - Zone 4 - if possible - my room - last of zone work - and scrub that floor.
06. Cooking - make refrigerator soup (vegetable soup)while doing housework.
07. Cooking - make deviled eggs - boil eggs while cleaning.
08. Cooking - make sandwich filler for this week as well
09. Quilt - Baby blanket #1 - complete while watching education video
10. Quilt - get stuff mailed to Wendy - Friendship star quilt
11. Education - finish setting up unit study goal - prehx.
12. Education - Check reading. Videos - use as quilting movies! LOL
13. Paperwork mountain - 15 minutes max - quick sort
14. Pamper mission - Foot spa (while working on studies)
15. Exercise - log in. Do exercises
16. Exercise - yoga

Quilt-a-thon coming up!!!!

Yee-haw!!! Another Friday night sew-in - June 18! Am so excited! Between Heidi's Friday Night Sew In (see side bar for the button - this month you will be re-directed to Crafty Vegas Mom's page - Heidi's moving!), stashbuster's UFO challenge, and my personal retreat time as I stated in liberated quilter's - I'm in Quilter's 7th heaven!

Who knows - by then I may have figured out how to use my camera thingy!

The garden is hatching..... the garden is hatching........

I just love it when the garden starts "hatching" - it is such a miracle to me! Never ceases to get me really excited about gardening! At any rate - my cucumbers are coming up, so are my potatoes, beans, squash.

On another note - I had to transplant (at this late date) both the apple and pear tree - knowing that they might not do well with the transplant - but also knowing that they would probably not survive the summer in the "heeled in" "temporary" place I had shallow dug for them last year (temporary - we were doing house remodeling - and it was supposed to be done in July - only finished THAT segment this past March!) The pear tree looked fantastic - a little wilty around the edges - but basically fantastic. The apple - oh my! courtesy of it lying mostly sideways it had root sprouts here there and everywhere - and it has had a really rough go around.

Last night we had a humdinger of a thunder lightening storm - I just went out a few minutes ago - apple tree still hanging in there - looks sad as all get out - but it is alive. The pear tree has gone from having many leave to NO leaves save one - and this seriously overnight. (green leaves all over the ground) - and does NOT look good. Hopefully it will survive. Hopefully.

On another note - (lots of notes!) I had expected son to show up today (he was going to try to - and I wanted to ask him to help me put up the bean fencing). Among other things - he had lots of mail to pick up. So I called - gave him suggestions - among which was that I go there and take his mail to him. Guess which option he chose!

But then I get hamburgers from the grill out of that!

SUPPOSEDLY I am cleaning house. Uh huh! SUPPOSEDLY when not cleaning I am sewing. Uh huh! Does this tell you I am the queen of procrastinators? Oh boy - and how!

Amazing!!

It is so amazing to me the kinds of "rational-lies"-ations I can come up with. I happened to see that our local quilt shop had Bonnie's newest book. HAD to get it! Never mind that the quilt fabric tag sale was the next day. But I HAD to get that book - THEN!!!

Got the book (was the LAST one they had - they were sold out otherwise!) And of course to not be rude I had to have a look around. I was pretty good though - stayed with the fabric scraps - 1.49 or something or other per ounce. Had a WONDERFUL time playing with scraps and mixing and matching. Put some back even! And, of course, to not be rude - I purchased some ($60 and felt lucky it was ONLY that!) Now - how can THAT be called SPENDING money and buying MORE fabric? After all, I was only not being rude!!!

Seriously though - I loved the fabrics and have made a point of NOT getting in my car today - nor tomorrow - or like a homing pigeon it would journey of it's own accord right back to the quilt shop!

Am on a personal retreat this weekend - quilting almost retreat (almost because my house REALLY needs help - a LOT of help!) Will post every so often - or as I remember to!

Aargh! So much for staying with the blog on a daily basis!!!!!

Actually life has been "interesting" to say the least.... Garden season and digging up and planting in, at work - digging in (increased volume), at home - digging out!, sewing/quilt - digging out and onward, learning situations - digging down (you knew that had to be in there somewhere, didn't you!)

Garden - just about all planted - which is not an unusual situation from what I understand - for MA - just beastly late from where I stand! I hope to get the last of it in today. At least until next payday and I can get some more herbs (maybe) and flowers (possibly). today I will be planting peppers, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts (OK - I chickened out - was going to raise from seed - didn't happen - may yet for late fall - we'll see!), lettuce, leafy greens (still like spring here - at least until this stuff is planted - then will be like the Sahara in January! HOT!), root crops, peas, and some more beans. Sounds like almost everything - doesn't it - but honestly - this is the last 1 - 2 beds! I already have 8 planted - fully!

And - I have my watering/weeding/mulching schedule set up. Let's see if I keep it or not! Currently I'm only 24 hours behind schedule (it POURED last night!)

Work - Urgh! Had a volunteer job I did last week - I worked for Habitat for Humanity - LOVED it! Even if it was on the hottest day of the year (actually - hottest day on record for this area at least!) LOL - even got to throw my weight around. Seriously! They needed someone to hold boards in place (boards slightly bowed) until hammered in - and I used my weight to help! LOL Also ran into someone I knew from Toastmaster's (when I used to belong). We left almost at the same time!

Work - learning modules - I am so far behind now it is unbelievable - but am still plodding away - even if one of my courses did vanish (I had everything done except for the final exam!) Work itself - it is high volume again - so I'm busy!

Home - right now my house is seriously reflecting not only my feelings re cleaning (it isn't), but also some depression for this past month (was anniversary date time - just sort of a culmination of stuff in the spring - which USED to be my favorite season! Stuff includes Mom's death in March, Dad's death several years later (5?) in June, S's return to a not so great home situation, a very chaotic (to put it mildly) fostering situation - and probably a couple of other things along the way. Just not an easy time - and I usually feel somewhat down. This year - along with that we can add work stress, and most of all - the house and my finances - which are essentially ok but not where I want them to be by any means. Will be - just not yet!

Quilting - ummm - I haven't even really gone in there other than twice since Wendy started working - why? because when I do - I have to press a mountain of blocks! which of course I can do in front of the TV tonight (after laundry time). And I'm finishing up a quilt (I SHOULD be excited - but it's like preparing to miss an old friend already!)

Last week Melissa - my son's significant other - graduated from college. I'm so proud of her! She will complete 2 additional courses - but isn't sure about graduate work, per se. And oh yeah - am pea green jealous - she has a VERY nice high GPA as well! Wish mine had been that nice!

Anyway - I was invited for the graduation party and thoroughly enjoyed myself - and ate entirely too much! DEFINITELY entirely too much! Was so good though!

Son still has maybe 1 semester to go - unless the college finally approves the work credits that they have been delaying on - if they do - he will graduate as well! Wow - am so proud of my kids - Wendy has her BA, Nathan - ALMOST has his BA, Melissa just got hers! Very cool!

As for me - I STILL need to finalize on my learning modules this week - and seriously need to get going on it. Hope to do that tonight - while I'm at the laundromat! Hopefully!

Also hope to prepare some blocks for hand quilting at work when my hours change a bunch.