Bummer

Well, I was hoping for a productive weekend. But, I have been sidelined by the shoulder. I am going for an MRI Wednesday. I can't take it anymore. Almost 2 weeks ago, I went back to the Orthopedic doctor. I was really feeling good. I had been going to therapy 2-3 times a week. Lifting weights and exercising. Although, she was a bit put off since I was doing my therapy closer to home. She pitched a royal fit on that one. I thought I was really improving. Boy, was I wrong. She walked in checked my range of mobility and decided I was actually no better. But the finishing touch was when she tried to put my arm behind my head. That was the last straw. She basically gave me no choice but to do therapy in her office, so I tried it once. I haven't felt the same since. I really don't trust her anymore since she hurt me so bad. I have never left a doctors office in tears before, I don't plan on seeing her again. After the MRI, I will have an idea of what is really going on.

Pink Saturday

Here it is time again for Pink Saturday. For some reason, my mind is thinking about wedding dresses. No reason, nobody around here is getting married. I have always loved to look at wedding dresses. So here are some Pink wedding dresses.

Now this little number priced at $4,000 is a beauty. It is a Hello Kitty Wedding Dress. Wow, when my daughter got married, we didn't spend that much for the entire wedding and reception!

What a Way To Start The Day

Friday morning, 6:50 a.m., the phone rings. It is my youngest daughter, "mom, I have a flat tire, can you help?". Of course, I will be right there. So 30 minutes later I arrive to change the tire. We never got around to having the "tire changing lesson". Yes, it is true, I can change a tire. My mother made me change every tire on my car when I was 16 before I could take it out of the drive. But what was really sad, no one stopped to help. Here is a 20 year old girl, you would think someone would offer to help. Well, I say no one stopped, at least before I got there. This older "grandpa" type stopped after I got there. He was driving a VW bug and he had just had his first flat tire on his bug this week. Strangest thing, he had his dog in the car going to McDonalds and he was dressed, but he was wearing his house shoes. This was a habit that my dad had as well. He helped us get the lug nuts started and was chatting with Megan about her car and how much he loved his bug. Then he said "they are just so much fun to drive"! It didn't hit me until the drive home, this was exactly how my dad used to describe all of his vehicles, "fun to drive". What! House shoes, "fun to drive". Was this person sent to us to let Megan know her grandpa was watching from above? I know this might seem like grasping, but every day I think about my dad and I guess I just miss him, maybe I did imagine it all. Well one can hope, huh?

I Couldn't Wait!

I just couldn't wait any longer. I had to put out a few "fall" things. I am having some of the girls from my Homemakers Group over tonight for Stitch Night. Besides, this quilt is not really Halloween, I consider it more fallish.

Now the newest addition to my Halloween Collection, is Ursala. We got her in at the shop a couple of weeks ago. I finally brought her home with me! She is sitting in my bookcase by my laptop. This is her temporary home. I must find a better spot for her. She is so cute!

This weekend is the BIG decorating weekend for me. I always get out my fall and Halloween decor on Labor Day Weekend. I am sooooo excited. Halloween has become what Christmas used to be. I seem to enjoy the fall decorating more than Christmas. I think it is because the stress of all the get togethers and shopping for gifts is missing. Hopefully, I will be posting lots of pictures this weekend.

Sleepy...

Do you ever have days where you just want to stay in bed just a few minutes longer. Well so does my greyhound Tom.

It will be 5 years ago tomorrow that we adopted Tom. His official name is KD Tom Sawyer. He has a brother named Huck Finn. The young man who adopted Huck is a vet and I have lost touch with him since he graduated from Purdue. I would love for them to be reunited. I have always wondered if dogs would recognize their littermates. I think they would, but there are some skeptics. Anyway, for those of you sleepy heads, like me. This picture says it all!

Yet Another Pink Saturday!

Here it is Saturday and time for the PINK. Thanks to Beverly for hosting another wonderful Pink Saturday.

My contribution this week is my hot pink Morning Glories. I planted these hoping they would grow over my patio and shade the house from the scorching summer sun. But so far, they haven't gotten as big as I would like. Time is running out! I will be looking for something that will grow a little quicker next summer. I haven't gotten a picture yet, they were all closed up this evening. I guess that is why they are called morning glories!

Barge Tour

As some of you may or may not know I live in the southern most tip of Indiana in the small town of Newburgh. Our town is located along the banks of the Ohio River. A couple of weeks ago, my boss had mentioned a "barge tour" and asked if we would be interested in going. I said heck yeah! I see barges on the river all the time and I have always wanted to be in a boat on the river. Upon my arrival at work I had totally forgot, so it was a nice surprise when she reminded me that it was at 1:00. Yippee! Mondays are a drag anyway. So off we go. Of course, someone had to stay and mind the shop. Sorry Patty!

We had no idea it would last 3 hours! This "barge tour" was sponsored by the Indiana Corn Growers. All Aboard. This picture shows people boarding the barge. We heard the earlier in the day there were important people like senators and the like. I didn't care, I wasn't about to pass up the chance to be off of work and to be on the river.

Located just east of Newburgh is the Lock and Dam. We got to go through the locks on our way to Alcoa. That was really cool learning how that works. The picture above shows us going into the locks. Along the way, there were speakers from different businesses in the area explaining how they use barges to get their goods. Alcoa is probably the biggest barge user in the area transporting coal to power their aluminum plant. There is also Mulzer Stone who uses barges to bring their rock down here from the quarry. I didn't realize how much capacity a barge has. If I remember correctly, it would take something like 200 semi trailers to carry the load that a 15 barge tow does. That is keeping a lot of trucks off of the road and saving fuel to boot!

It was a beautiful day for a barge ride and a great excuse to miss work!

Pink Saturday

Thanks to Beverly for hosting another great Pink Saturday. In honor of my mothers birthday, I am celebrating Pink Saturday with cake!


These cakes are so cute! Happy Birthday Mom!

Picture Frames/My First Tutorial

Today I decided to finish a framing project so I can get my cross stitch framed. This is a Halloween checkerboard. I really like the look of grained frames and have done several. I guess this is my first tutorial, because today, I remembered to take pictures along the way.

First paint your frame in the color that you would like to show through the graining. It will be muted by the layer that will be on top. I painted mine Delta Georgia Clay.

The next step involves Burnt Umber Oil Paint, Brush Cleaner and a graining tool. This particular one has three different patterns. I have seen where people use a comb. I prefer the graining tool because it has a more flexible rubber pattern.

Squeeze a line of burnt umber oil paint out, I like to use meat trays to make this mess. Mix in some brush cleaner. Not too soupy. It needs to be able to be painted on. Brush this on covering the area to be grained.

Next you will take the graining tool and make your pattern. Whatever you like. The good thing is if you mess it up, just wipe it off and start again. Since using oil paint, it will take this bugger forever to dry.

It will be a couple of days before this actually dries completely and I can finish framing my project. I will spray it with a matt clear spray and put it out in the sun to try to speed along the drying process. The humidity is high here, so it may not speed it up too much.

TGIF

Well, it is almost Friday. I left the shop a little early today. The boss went out to lunch for several hours, so by the time she got back, not much was going to be accomplished. So I pleladed with her to let me leave early. It worked. Now for the weekend! Funeral arrangements are for tomorrow evening and Saturday morning. But hopefully before and after that I will be up to something good.

I want to paint a pumpkin. We have been in the workshop this week at work finishing up projects and we have been painting. I almost forgot that at one time I considered myself a pretty decent decorative painter. This pumpkin will be a donation for our Greyhound Pets of America Picnic in October. Since silhouettes are all the rage right now, I am going to do a band of black silhouettes around the pumpkin and incorporate a greyhound or two into the mix.

I have been pieceing my "cheater" halloween quilt. Well, I can hardly call it piecing. All I am doing is putting a wide band around the outside and then quilt it. I tried several attempts at machine quilting, but I found that I could hand quilt it just as fast. Nothing fancy, just straight stitches.

I am going to get to work on painting some of my pieces, such as trash can and corner cabinet and table black in the kitchen.

I really want to start decorating for fall. I just think it might be a little early. But working in a primitive gift shop, the fall and halloween are just pouring in and it is hard not to want to decorate. We'll see if I can wait. I did bring home a really sweet doll today. I couldn't resist her.

Wednesday Woes

I seem to be posting so much lately about depressing things. A couple of posts ago I mentioned the big "c". Yes, cancer. Well, it has claimed yet another life. My daughter's boyfriend's father passed away last night. Just 2 weeks since he found out that the "devil" was eating away at his body. I believe him to be 52 years old. He leaves behind a wife and 2 young sons. I was reflecting last night and thinking about the boys, not to mention my daughter, and I realized that we were that age (23 years ago) when my husband's mother died suddenly. You never get over death, you learn to live with the loss, but you still miss your loved one. It is so hard to believe that daddy died almost 9 months ago too. I will never get over that. I miss him so much.

Projects from the cabin

Well, this weekend turned out to be productive. Friday was a craft day at PlumWaterCottage and I finished the baby quilt for Ashley. Teresa got a really good picture for me. Thanks! Not to mention I am so impressed with myself that I wasn't up the night before the shower sewing my fingers to the bone.

Saturday, I worked on a mantle scarf. A friend of mine bought me the kit to work on after my dad passed away. I must admit that I will enjoy it for years to come. It was a welcome change from all the flowers and planters. I will think of her each time I display it.

I also started on a halloween throw. I had purchased a cheater panel when the local Ben Franklin craft store was going out of business. So I am going to get it done to use this fall. I went to Jo-ann Fabrics with my 40% off coupon in hand to purchase the backing today. I surely can finish this up pretty quickly.

Think Pink

Thanks to Beverly for hosting another wonderful Pink Saturday. Of course, I haven't gotten my camera back. Learned a valuable lesson on that one. It won't be going anywhere for a while. You just don't know how much you use the darn thing, until it is gone.

Anyway, this is kind of my "pink" wish list. Topping the list, aaaaaahhhhhhh, a pink Dell Laptop. Of course for travelling the land of blog. I am enjoying pretty much daily, trips to blog. I love looking at other blogs, seeing what is happening and projects going on.

Second, pink pearls. For some reason lately, I think about jewelry a lot. I have always loved pearls, such a classic look. But I seem to really be drawn to the pink ones. I found this beautiful set on pearl.com. It won't ever happen, but hey a girl can wish right?

Some thoughts for the week

Do you ever wonder, what our purpose on this earth is? Events happening the past couple of weeks, have me thinking.

A good friend is diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma. Within a 2 week time span, she has already began chemotherapy. Telling her children, friends, etc. Preparing herself for the battle. Purchasing a wig in anticipation of hair loss. Giving up a semester as a pre-school teacher .

Secondly, a young mother and team mate to my daughter on Demolition City Roller Derby Team. This recently nominated "nurse of the year" for Deaconess hospital, diagnosed with a brain tumor. Helping save other lives, now fighting for her own.

Thirdly, my youngest daughter's boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, whatever he is right now. He finds out his father has colon cancer. Not too clear on those details, but playing the waiting game for now.

Are we paying the price for all the modern conveniences? Does progress have a price, if so, I'm not sure I want to pay it. Some things to think about. Pray for my friends.

What was I thinking?

Sometimes I wonder, what was I thinking? After about 10 years of looking at the same paint colors in the kitchen, hall and bathroom, I thought it was time for a change. While I was visiting my friend Cathy in Tennessee, a friend of hers had her kitchen painted Hancock Grey (Benjamin Moore). I absolutely loved the color and decided it had to be mine too. Now that I have started painting, it is one of those colors that take on the colors around it. It says grey, but in the evening light, it looks kind of green. Drat! It will just have to do, because at the cost of that gallon of paint, I will have to look at it for the next 10 years. I have not used Benjamin Moore paints before, so I go into the store, tell the young man what color I want, didn't even think to ask the price. I have never spend that much on a gallon on paint before in my life! Now I don't want to offend you Benjamin Moore fans, but I am not really impressed. It is paint after all. I have used paint from Sears, Lowes, Home Depot and even Wal-Mart. I just can't see what the hype is about this paint. I hope I change my mind by the time I get all this painting done. I loaned my camera to a friend, pictures to follow tomorrow.