Is it just me?

Or does the new star of Burn Notice bear a striking resemblence to my pastor, Jon Weece? You be the judge. Here's Jeffery Donovan(left)as Michael Westen on Burn Notice. And to the right is my pastor. Great show....calling it an action/comedy. It's a little cool for that. To me, an action/comedy is like Rush Hour. Follow the link to see a preview. I think it's great, which means, I'm sure they will cancel it. That happens to me a lot. My pastor is a great teacher, too. Here's a link to hear some of the teaching at our church. Ironically, this series is called God's Blog, so of course, I had to give it a little PR.

WIP Wednesday

This is Geronimo's project. She is doing great as you can see, and decided to continue the snowball effect. Unfortunately the poor kid's got taste in fabric like mine, and she raided my stash. I'm just glad someone besides me likes it, although I have no idea how's she's going to sleep under it.



As for me, I have decided to participate in
Quilts of Valor. I enjoyed making the bug jar quilts for the children's home we did first quarter. Debra sent me this: The only thing was the directions weren't clear to me. I'm sure it's just me, but I couldn't follow them.



So I got online. And found help from Quiltfrenzy, who has the instructions on her site.


So I've been working on it via my Singer while Geronimo was using my Pfaff. It's kinda cool having someone working with you, even on different projects.

(I originally saved this to finish later, but we had a hail storm and it knocked me offline. So if you saw the pared down version, I apologize)

Same ole, same ole....and late WIP WEDNESDAY

Well, it is around here, anyway. I didn't have a great picture to get your attention with, so I swiped this off
Shannon's blog. She writes Rocks in my dryer, and I'm a new fan. Gas here in Kentucky runs you about 3.19 a gallon. No wonder I'm walking.

Well,as for happenings around here, here's my protege's latest block, Interlocking Squares. She's putting it beside the snowball block. Now, this is a mock up. I don't know about the rest of you quilting people, but I always do a mock up first when I attempt a new block. I had some scraps from the bug jar quilt. I would post a link to the instructions, but in keeping with their terms of service, I can't post it. But, I can give you a link to the site.


And here's where she is with it, Interlocking Squares on the right.




My baby Dyl Pickle went to the allergy doctor today. It sounds bad, but I'm really glad I wasn't there. I don't think I could've handled watching him get stuck so many times. Amazingly enough, he wasn't allergic to anything. But apparently, he has sinus troubles. They've given him some antihistimines and a nasal spray that will make it worse before it gets better. The poor little guy has a chronic runny nose. This new stuff will "open the floodgates", if you will.

As for me, I've spent the last few days getting some stuff arranged and planning the next quilt. I'm thinking a hunter star that I have Thangles and batiks for.

Second Childhood Adventures

Some of you were like me. You lived out in the sticks when you were young, with no other playmates around. And you loved your Barbies. They were, indeed, friends. Perhaps like me you had nothing but brothers. My brothers were notorious for giving my Barbies haircuts. It still grieves me that my mother didn't even punish them for destroying my dolls. Sigh...better get over it. It's just been 38 years. The statue of limitations for mean brothers must have run out by now.

Anyway, along comes ebay. And they have some of my dolls. They, of course, want a pretty pricey penny for them. So, I came up with a plan. I'd 'recreate' my doll. A lot of times, you can get the head, the body, the outfit for a deal. So that's what I did.

Meet Barbie's buddy P.J. from 1967. Her head, complete with sunglasses came seperately, as did the outfit. The beads, however, did not. I couldn't totally recreate her beads, so I did the best I could. I'm still waiting on a P.J. body on eBay. Then she'll be complete. You may be asking why would I do that since I don't have a daughter to pass it on to. I'm asking myself the same thing. Maybe the Legal Adult or the Rock Star will have a little girl that I can pass it on to someday. Maybe I'm just getting nostaglic in my mid-40's.

Oh, for my birthday, I saw this fabric on sale and fell in love. It's Fusions by Robert Kaufman. I don't really know what I'm going to do with it, but I have 2 yards to figure it out.

You say, "Mummies, I say, "Mommys...."

You know, the whole potato, potatoe....thing. This week, I'm officially on VACATION. Usually, that means you go somewhere. But, with the cost of gas, if we go somewhere, it'll be local. However, our vacation has begun with a bang, as our youngest, the Pickle, has been pretty sick. He got his very first ear infection at almost 4 years old. That's not a bad record. Unfortunately, he also got Pink Eye, which has been awful to get drops in his eyes. Bless his heart, getting sick the week of the fourth. So to cope we've let him watch TV.

He's decided he likes "The Mommies" movie.
"What,Pickle?" I asked him.
"The Mommies, Mommy."
Then it occurred to me: we watched The Mummy on USA this weekend. To me, that's a scream! He just thinks it's grand, and oh, so gross!

His new obsession is reading. That's a great obsession, but he wants to do it before Mommy and Daddy have had coffee. What's that in his hand? That would be "Toothbrush". We sleep with "Toothbrush", eat with "Toothbrush", play Spiderman and Venom with "Toothbrush". I have no idea why he uses a toothbrush as an action figure, but he does.

Maybe I'll get him this book: it's about a baby in a museum who thinks the Mummy is Mommy.

Me...not me..Birthday MeMe

This year, to commemorate my forty-somethingth birthday, I decided to do the MEME that's been going around. Instead of a list, it provides pictures of what is me, and what is not. See how many are like you, and consider yourself tagged!


Me

Definitely NOT me



Me!!!


Not me...

Me....still after all these years.

Hunnybunny likes her, (gee, wonder why?) but so not me.

Heck yeah, me....but not until retirement I'm sure.




Nope, not even close.


Me



Not me.

And last, but not least.....

Me...oh, so me.

But just not me.

Carnival of The Crazy Hip Mamas #35

This week the carnival topic is: “Something I made that I was REALLY proud of…”. or “Something I tried to make that didn’t turn out quite right…”

Well, I guess I'll take the question of something I made that I was really proud of... and the answer is: my first quilt. I started taking a beginning quilting class a couple of years ago, and all I had was desire and all the books I had read. After six weeks, we were taught the basics, but I took a little longer. Binding continues to thwart me. But, I 'gotter done' as they say. Now if I could just finish something else???

WIP Wednesday

....is once again NOT done by me. My 'student', Geronimo, did this snowball block. She is really coming along. We worked on fabric straightening, cutting, and measuring, and she did great!

WIP Wednesday

Well, I wish I could tell you it's MY WIP, but it isn't. Remember I told you about the changes coming up for me in regards to The Amazing Jo-Jo and now keeping his little brother, "Idgy"? Well, he hasn't started yet. But my friend Carrie took a part time job during the morning hours. She keeps a daycare that I help out with from time to time. The kids she keeps are out of school for the summer, so the GIRLS are at my house. I'm so happy that the estrogen level is about to go up, I could shout. The eldest I'll call Jeronimo and her little sister, Kemo Sabe. My boys certainly have enjoyed having them here. The Pickle and Rock Star are being led around with an invisible ring in their nose. It's been awhile since I've seen that.
Jeronimo wants to learn to quilt, so I've been teaching her. She made this block by herself. You might recognize the fabric, it's scraps from the bug jar quilt. I kinda feel like the blind leading the blind, since I've never thought of myself as a teacher. But she is a real quick study! The Kemo Sabe is going to get into it as well.

The Rock Star isn't just another pretty face....

or just good with the guitar. He won 4 awards at the award day ceremony at his school! Two of them were for scholastics, and of course, two were for being the best artist on his team, and in the sixth grade. The award he's sporting in the picture is for having a 3.5 average and better all this year. I'm pretty stoked...

Finally, something I can contribute to.....

I belong to a ring of Mommy-bloggers called The Crazy Hip Blog Mamas. I had joined back when there were less than 150. Now, there's over 1,000 members. This week the carnival topic is: “Introduce us to your current favorite band. Doesn’t matter what genre, or how old they are or how long they’ve been around. If you dig ‘em, we want to know about ‘em! “.

Ya'll know I have a thing for Top Ten lists, (Thank you, David Letterman!) so I'll try to answer with my top ten. Consider yourself tagged and let's hear who you like.

10. David Bowie. Now, don't give me that look. I've been a fan of his since "Major Tom" came out when I was a kid. He seems to look better with a little age.

9. Aerosmith! . Yet another of my quilty pleasures. I may not want to look at Steven Tyler, but I certainly love to hear him. And Joe Perry's easy on the eyes, too.

8. Elton John. Yes, I know, Mr. Fantastic himself. I think I liked the 70's Elton better.

7. Train. These guys are really great!

6. Fleetwood Mac. I think I used to have every album they every made. Even Stevie still looks great for having an AARP card.

5. Keane. They are really great... have sort of a Beatles sound.

4. The Beatles. According to my eldest brother, I was the only 3 year old who could sing every verse of Strawberry Fields and get it right. Need I say more?

3. Creed. I sure do miss them. I'm glad Scott Stapp is still singing. He actually went (and was expelled) from Hunnybunny's college. I got his solo album and like it alot.

2. Evanescence.. She's really good.

1. Nickleback. I really like Chad. He's great!

WIP Wednesday

Just when you thought I'd never do anything quilty again, my inspiration comes back. And for the time being, my depression has gone. So, while it's on hiatus, I submit The Boy Scout Quilt for your inspection.


This was quilted by stenciling with a Quilt Pounce. They work pretty good, but kinda messy. Since the Assistant Scout Master was the leader before the Weblos crossed over, I thought a Pine Tree design would work. My son's patrol named themselves the Pine Tree Patrol...Lord knows why. I helped them make their flag last year.
I wondered why it took me this long to make this quilt. I think fear of not knowing how to do certain things certainly played a part. Isn't that just like us as women? We put off doing something because we're afraid of how it's going to turn out.
This quilt certainly is full of flaws, but it also stands for all the things I learned making it.
All that's left to do is bind it, (which I reek at) and put on a sleeve, (most likely at the same time. And oh, yeah, I have to put a label on it, don't I?

And last but not least, a movie review....

Of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Of course, there were several posters to pick from, but Orlando Bloom is so handsome and adorable, I had to pick his.

We actually took the boys to a drive-in. Hard to believe they still exist, but we went with The Pickle and the Rock Star.

I had my reservations about the idea of taking two boys, in a confined space, out to a picture. Between fighting over the popcorn and drink, several "I gotta go", you know where, breaks, finally they settled down.

And the Pickle actually sat outside our car in one of those camp chairs with the Rock Star. Apparently, Pirates is a movie they could agree on.

As for the movie itself, better not get up if you can help it. They have lots of loose ends to tie up, and honey, they were 'a-tyin' them. The music was great, like the other two movies, but really loud. Could be because I was in a car. Keith Richards made his appearance as Jack's dad, and it was really funny. But there are several melancholy moments, also, when the two lovers are working it out.

While it was a great flick, I will tell you this: it just didn't end right. Don't get up and leave until AFTER the credits, or you'll miss something great.

Another Anniversary in the bag....

Yes, five years ago this past week, we celebrated number 5! We didn't really get to do much, but we did actually hire a babysitter and go out to dinner. He's a wonderful man that I love very much, and it's been great being partners!

Guess who CAME to dinner?

Yes, friends, I have been absent this week, and I apologize. Hunnybunny's Grandmother, Aunt, and Sister came and spent this past week with us. We had a good time as seen by these pictures. Here's the 4 generations of Hunnybunny's ....or is that Hunnybunnies? Oh, well, you get the idea.

He certainly loves his Aunt Hunnybunny! She spoiled him rotten, along with everyone else.
This is Great Aunt Hunnybunny. She is the only other family member I've met. She came to our wedding, and she was kind enough to drive everyone here for the week. The Pickle absolutely loved her!
And of course, nobody is like his favorite girl, Grandma Hunnybunny. I think he kissed her to death.
Here's a better shot of the women in my men's lives. He is certainly one loved little boy. They also loved on the Rock Star, but I didn't get any pictures until it was time for them to head back to the panhandle.

Following the Yellow Brick Road

Well, it ain't Emerald City around here, but I'm starting to wear a path around my subdivision. So, in essence, I'm walking the yellow brick road. Yeah, well, it's Friday, so try and come up with blog fodder this late in the day....

Top Ten Reasons Why I Am Walking Daily:

10. They say it's good for you, and you know that we all have to do what they say.

9. Having to run to keep up with a 3 year old is wearing me out.

8. It's the only exercise I'm coordinated enough to do.

7. I get to jam out to the mp3 for at least 30 solid minutes.

6. I am on a walking team for the WOMAN's Challenge. We're virtually going across the country.

5. I'd actually like to get up to running in the future, but as they say, you gotta walk before you run.

4. It gets me out of kitchen duty....well, at least the stacking and clearing of the table.

3. I'm terrified to try on a swimsuit this season.

2. I started Weight Watchers, and they encourage it, which helps allot with number 3.

and the number one reason I'm walking around my neighborhood........

I need to lose the equivalent of a fourth grader.