Recuperating

Eventually I'll write a real post with pix- I'm just not feeling up to it. My hemoglobin is way down, and I'm cold and tired. I'm also on some meds and iron.

Soon as I feel better I'll do a real blog post.

Holly

Wednesday

The ablation went well, and I've slept off the sedative. No lifting or carrying for awhile (as per my supervisor, not as per the doc, LOL). Ralph has got most everything put away from the dining room.

Polly, Ben's mom, is en route- she'll get into Philly at 11 a.m., and Steph is picking her up.

It's a beautiful day, the sky is blue and the sun is shining. I'm not sure how long that will last!

Holly

Tuesday!

I'm home from work the rest of the week. Today I'm having a procedure called an ablation, which is done in the doctor's office. I picked this week to have it done, because my daughters will all be home, and I won't have to do anything. Ralph is off all week also.

My part of getting the house ready for company is done. Ralph still has some major putting away to do. The re-done bathroom is 99% finished- it just needs things put back in the vanity and medicine cabinet.

I got the binding on the small quilt that I've been working on, but I can't show it just yet. I had bought a box of Superior pre-wound bobbins at MQX last year, and I finally tried them- instant love! Because they're industrially wound, they hold lots more than the bobbins I wind, so go much further.

I also started this years Farm Fair raffle afghan. It's the big granny square in cream and three shades of green. I work on it when I'm watching TV.

I finished my first book on the Nook, and have to decide what to read next. I also have several library books to choose from.

And the beat goes on!

Holly

National Quilting Day

National Quilting Day was yesterday. I didn't do any sewing yesterday, but I did Today. I had a lap quilt I wanted to get quilted, so I did that this evening. No pix yet.

Yesterday I did a lot of cleanup in the house, while Ralph worked. Then Steph called and asked if the grandpuppies could come to visit overnight, since she was going to Philly with friends and would be out late. Toast is never a problem- if I'm doing something, she'll settle on the couch or the bed. No so with Whiskey. He's gotta be right where I am, so I basically got nothing done. But he's just the cutest thing!

I've got the binding cut, and have to press and sew it- that's tomorrow evening's chore. It was another beautiful day, in the 70's and sunny. A wonderful way to welcome spring in.

And tomorrow is Monday. Again.

Holly

Happy Spring!

And it feels like spring! The sun is out, the sky is blue, it's in the low 70's, and I've got most of the windows open.

Next Saturday is Manda's bridal shower. It's a new concept for us- Ben will be there, as will Kyle, the best man, and various guys. It's going to be a brunch shower, with an omlette station, and all kinds of breakfast foods. We've got about 40 people coming. Ben's Mom, Polly, is coming all the way from Nebraska!

We're going to have a house full. Polly gets in on Wednesday, and Ben, Manda and Kyle get in Thursday evening. Heather, Ed and the kids will be along Wednesday or Thursday, but they're staying at Ed's parents.

Friday night is Mom's and Julianna's birthday party. I've got Mom's cake ordered, and Sharon is making Julianna's cake. The food will be all crockpot foods. I have to get all the cleaning and shopping done this weekend. I've got every room in the house in progress! After Monday, I just need to be able to relax and visit with the company.

And the beat goes on!
Holly

The Ides of March

The hallway bathroom is almost done. Here is the vanity, and you can see the floor. The floor is one piece linoleum that we got as a remnant.
Here's the medicine cabinet. The vanity and medicine cabinet are from IKEA.
The towel rack over the toilet is new, as is the shower curtain.
I love the shower curtain. It's from Target, and it's cloth, so there's a plastic liner underneath.
I just love all the trees!
And it has little squirrels!
And owls! I think it's the cutest shower curtain I've ever seen!
Yesterday Barbara came down to quilt a quilt on the HQ16. Neither of us had done a quilt in months, and we made every mistake there is, and invented some new ones! It all worked out, tho. It was a good review for me- I want to spend Easter break quilting some of the flimsies I have in the closet.

Timeshares- Steph and I each have a timeshare week at Shawnee in the Poconos. I swear the company is staffed by the dumbest people in the world. I had a title guy handle Steph's transfer last August- that would be eight months ago.

We bought the timeshares from a friend of Ed's Mom. Her husband had died, and she wanted to sell them, since she wasn't using the weeks. She sold them to us for a fair price. My paperwork went thru fine, Steph's was a nightmare. The title guy got it unravelled, and in her name. I got my bill, paid it, and Steph's hasn't come. I called today, and there's a note of the account that it couldn't be transferred because they need a death certificate. They couldn't manage to mention that to my title guy or me or Steph, during this process? Luckily, I had the death certificate in our paperwork, faxed it to them, and Steph can pay the bill tomorrow. She wants to get it paid, so she can deposit it for trade. They're nice units, sleep 6, but we bought them for trading purposes.

Today started out awful. I didn't sleep well, and was up in the middle of the night. So getting up at what my body said was 0530 was not fun. Monday, raining, time change! The paper wasn't delivered before I left (on your doorstep by 0600- the Courier Post also lies!). McD's, where I stop for my sweet tea, had a power outage and wasn't open. The interstate was full of people who forget how to drive when it rains. Karma was telling me to go home, but I resisited. Then I got home, and the timeshare fiasco. The good news was that I had a very productive day at work, and when I got home Ralph was almost done with the bathroom.

I played with the Nook over the weekend. The B&N website has a Nook blog, and it gives notice of free book downloads, and sales. It's a nifty toy! And I'm reading a good book from the library, Fantasy in Death by JD Robb. It's the latest Eve Dallas book.
Other than helping (or hindering) Barbara, I didn't do any sewing! I did spend an hour or so tidying up in the sewing room, so that should count!

And the beat goes on!
Holly

No pix this weekend

It was in the 50's, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and it wasn't snowing! Saturday morning Steph and I went to Somerset to the NJ Quilt Fest, which is a Mancuso show. I was there the first year the show was held, and hadn't been back til now. It's 75 miles away, admission is $12- why these little shows charge more than Houston, I have no idea.

There were 70 vendors. We stroked some fabric, but there wasn't anything I had to have. The quilts were primarily artsy quilts, and small. Some were gorgeous, some were ridiculous. You have to wonder who would take the time to make a quilt showing the brain, head, chest and stomach? Ick, already. I didn't even take any pix of the quilts. I'd heard that the quilts were mainly ones already shown at the Midlantic show in Virginia last week.

On the way home, we stopped off for lunch at Chili's. It's always nice to spend the day with Steph. I came home and took a nap after all the walking we did.

Today I had some errands to run, then we went to Frank and Charlotte's for Frank's birthday party. It was fun to spend time with the family.

I just finished a fun book from the library. "Too good to be true" by Kristan Higgins. When Grace's former fiancee starts dating her younger sister, Grace doesn't want anyone's pity, so she makes up a fabulous boyfriend. Of course it backfires on her. I loved Grace and her crazy family, and really enjoyed the book. A nice, light romance that had me laughing out loud.

I found the problem with the book bundle I bought for the Nook. The publisher is Harlequin, and they're the ones that did the terrible job of formatting. I emailed them, and got kind of a snotty email back that that's how they bundle their books. I thanked them for the heads up, and said I will never buy another ebook bundle published by Harlequin. And I'll tell anyone who'll listen "Don't buy any ebooks bundled by Harlequin!"

I started a small baby afghan for donation. The home ec teacher at work has her classes make afghans for Dooley House, which is a place for sick infants. Several staff also make afghans for her to donate. I like to keep the few charity projects I do on a local basis.

Ralph hopes to have the bathroom done by Wednesday. He spackled around the tub, and it's drying. Tomorrow comes sanding and paint. The last to be done will be the vanity top and the toilet.

And the beat goes on!
Holly

Happy Birthdays

Julianna Rose was born three years ago today, on her Great-grandmother Mary Jane's birthday! Julie arrived several weeks early, and was tiny, at a little over 5 pounds.
Great Grandfather Joe got to hold and see her several times. He died suddenly on April 5, 2007. If Julianna had been born on her due date, Joe would have only gotten to see her once. I'll always believe that's why she came early, so Joe could know her. Joe said she was the prettiest baby he'd ever seen.
Julianna and Aunt Steph, on Julianna's first Christmas.
She enjoyed the cake at her first birthday party! She looked good in cake!
Here she is with Aunt Steph and Aunt Manda.
Her second birthday party, and everyone was practicing for St. Patrick's Day.
By last summer, the curls have really come in! She's got her Mommy's sweet face and Aunt Manda's hair, and Aunt Steph's bossiness.
By Christmas she wasn't a baby anymore- she's a little girl!
I uploaded this out of order- this was Julie and Great-grandmom Mary Jane at last years party.
This year's party will be in a couple of weeks. It's a milestone for Mary Jane- her 80th birthday! Julianna has decided that it should be a Dora party.

Happy Birthday Julianna and Mary Jane!

Holly