Just a Plethora...

Wow, it's been just over a week since I posted last!  Don't know how that happened...

Let's see... What did we do?  

Oh!  I won $90 worth of T-Bone steaks from a radio program!!!  All I had to do was be the 33rd caller!!  If you ever listen to Van on WHO radio, he was hosting the Wheel of Meat this past week in honor of HyVee's 90th anniversary. 

Then of course, the next day, they gave away $900 worth of meat....  Meri tried for it but wasn't the 99th caller. Bummer.  She had her deep freeze ready.

I took Leon with me to pick up some free bricks from freecycle and we stopped by my favorite metal bridge and went for a walk.

As soon as he heard my cell phone picture snap, he spun around and insisted that I delete it.

Um of course I just did!...

As soon as I sent it to my FB messenger for safe keeping... ;)

Also last weekend, Robb and I bought a used minivan!  It's so purdy...  

A few quirks with it, but we're getting it to our car guy soon to iron out any tiny imperfections.

I can NOT tell you how much stuff I've hauled in it already!  I missed my old van SO much!

A friend of my sister-in-law, lives nearby and was cleaning out her late mother's house getting it ready to put on the market.  She had three boxes of sewing things that needed to go somewhere and offered it all to me.  It felt so good to feel NEW(to me) fabric!!  Ahhhhh

The pile of dirt that had been gifted to us last fall is now cleaned up and a big circle of bare ground underneath is all that's left.  With my new van, I hauled 4 garbage cans full of the remaining dirt over to Meri's new garden.  Her garden will take more than that...  So I checked with city hall to see if I could get some of the dirt they have stacked around the yard waste place.

They said SHURRRE!!!

Woohoo!  4 garbage cans full later and Meri still needs more.

sigh.  It'll be a bigger afternoon that I thought.

Meri has put me on a 2 week quarantine due to the wedding we attended so it's been quiet.  She mowed her own yard yesterday but I did some socially distancing dirt moving for her. 

I miss my girls...

On Friday, Meri invited Leon and I over for a "socially distant" pool party.

She was having one with her friends on Saturday also and wanted to break in the pools.

Leon had a blast and splashed around like he was training for the Olympics.

Reedus and Ellie watched enviously from the doorway.  Meri is talking about putting up a fence some day, so then they could come out during a pool party in the future...

Then unfortunately a bug or garbage from Leon's feet got in the water and he flipped out.

So we went home.  I made a net for Meri to clean out the pools before her party on Saturday.

A pool party is always a great time until someone tracks in grass...  or a bug hits.

We used to make these all the time for our above ground pools growing up.  Not too many people have wire hangers anymore, but I found one.  Probably from a dry cleaners.

Worked at a church cleaning with a couple other women this last Saturday morning.  A woman in our church had just been moved to hospice and we wanted to make sure the church was clean for a possible funeral/memorial service.  I climbed a very tall ladder and rigged up a big pole to clean at the very front of the sanctuary.  But something needed to be done to get those dead flies and way up high cobwebs.  And that's why God sent me to this church anyway.  To reach high places.  That's what Polly said anyway, years ago...

The woman passed away that very evening so our timing was good.  But the memorial service might not be for a couple months.  The family hasn't decided yet.

Then on Sunday afternoon, I took the time to clean out three of my 4 sewing machines/sergers.  SO much fuzz and lint under the sewing plates... It took probably ten qtips to clean it all out and a tweezers to pull out a few rogue pins that were inside my Janome...

And I figured out my problem with the white thread serger!  See the mess on the right?  Yeah - it's not supposed to be that way...  So now it's looking like on the left!

Do you know what the secret was?  I had in ball tip needles which work best on knits...  This is cotton...  So now I know...  I need more needles. of both kinds...

AND the last time I'd used the black thread serger, it was for some rolled hem work.  But I put in the 2nd needle again and tried it out before I remembered the rolled hem thingy.

It looks like of cool!  I took a picture of the settings to remember this if I ever make 40 table runners again.

Well, back to work.  Things have been busy.

Have a wonderful week!

Does A Body Good

A package came from Fedex yesterday! I don't know where I was... Probably on a break and running some folded laundry upstairs... But I noticed a tag on my door and box on the porch.

THIS came for me!

I won it from the sweet and gracious A.Marie from My Money Mission Online! She is awesome and you need to check out both of her blogs. Blog 1 Blog 2

Anyway... In the Yoplait Swap package I got...
A 2012 planner calendar, an insulated bag, a glasses case (I think) with pen, a coupon for a free cup of yogurt and a tall cylinder that I'm not quite sure what it's for... I guess I could put ice water in it and take it along with me. Any ideas?

THANK YOU to A.Marie!!! You are Awesome!!

And the winner is....

I didn't watch the awards last night either... Maybe you did... I can't speak for you. I'm cleaning my sewing room out as it will have a temporary occupant for the next few weeks. NOT my son.

So I'm stacking boxes of my fabric stash in my bedroom and moving my sewing tables back out into my hallway again. Good thing it's a bit wide and has good lighting! I've got a couple masterpiece dresses to crank out this spring. Ok 5. Easter is coming up, no?

I had a great weekend, but as usual it was much too short.

In the mail on Friday, (It's probably been sitting in the box since Tuesday...) I received a book that I won from Pennie at Mom Thoughts! "Song of Renewal" by Emily Sue Harvey. About a family who's daughter is in a car accident and in a coma. I can't wait to crack it open! Go check her out. She's amazing! Thank you Pennie! I'm sure I'm going to have to have some Kleenexes close by...And I won two awards last week!!!

First one was from Christina at Rant Rave & Roll. I LOVE her Wednesday Funnies! I usually cut and paste them into an email for my husband, they are so funny... She calls me a Stylish Blogger. She obviously doesn't own a dictionary... but maybe my style is so unique that I don't even recognize it as a type of style. Maybe "I" need a better dictionary!

I have to list 7 things about myself that I didn't already post last week and that you may not know about me...

1) I went out to dinner last night with my hubby for Valentines day and did NOT even acknowledge the couple sitting behind us even tho the husband was a black belt and from the same TKDo club as me... Well, THEY didn't say hello either!!

2) My internet was acting very flakey last night and this morning and I wasn't even sure I'd be able to work this morning with it. But I diagnosed the problem and fixed it. Aren't I smart??!!! And because of that, the livingroom computer is down for the count. oops.

3) Talked about my 16 year olds potty training stories over the weekend in front of her boyfriend and his parents and she didn't even mind too much... Hmmm.. Wondering what I can get away with next!

4) I still have Christmas lights out in front of our house, but I DID take down the garland. It was looking pretty sad... and brittle.

5) I have a frosted cupcake candle on my desk but I so rarely have matches in the house so it just sits.

6) My little Sunday School kids are a hoot! I LOVE the preschool bunch! 2-5 year olds. wow. I'm so glad their moms sometimes hang out to help out! :)

7) I LOVE the album Anthem by Ronan Hardiman. I've found my old cd case, but can't find the cd. Dang. Where IS that??

ANOTHER award last week!!! How do "I" rate?! This one is from my twin Mimi over at 4 Living In France. Except for the fact that she Lives In France (not really), looks nothing like me, has a flat version of herself like Flat Stanley (I am SO jealous) and curses when she crafts. My husband says that if she lived next door, he'd never see me... Separated by over 1000 miles, it's like we were separated at birth.

She gave me the Memetastic Award!

According to the rules here.. let me get my glasses, the print is so fine... I have to give you 5 confessions. One of them is a lie and you get to try and guess which one.

1) My sister and I sang "'65 Love Affair" at the top of our voices after driving through rush hour in Kansas City with our extremely strict uncle in the back seat. And then got a lecture...

2) I was once spanked with a broom by my mom.

3) I failed to pay taxes in Nebraska one year because I was ignorant... It was a booger to iron out.

4) I once dated two boys at the same time and neither one found out.

5) My best friend, her sister and I dug a swimming pool in their backyard one hot summer day and filled it with the hose.

Which one is a lie?

Ok - I have to get back to work, so I don't have time to pick and choose the recipients of these awards.

I know.. I know... I'm terrible...

I hereby give these two awards to anyone who wants them! Please linky back to me so I'll make sure I check out your lists when you post them. Either one. The 7 random things about you or the 5 truth/lies quiz.

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day!!!!

Drumroll Please!!!!

And the winner of the homemade set of pillow cases is....

Dawn at Mustlovetots!!! Congratulations!

Thank you to all of you guys who participated! and to the lurkers who didn't... I feel truly blessed by all of you readers that take the time to read my random thoughts and stories.

Why do you???

Pour yourself another cup of coffee or grab a DDP (diet dr. pepper) and enjoy your day!

Dawn - send me your addy and I'll get your cases shipped off as soon as I can! Congrats!

Love Val

I'm a winner!!!

I got the mail today and guess what I found in the box?!?!?!

Yes! This!!! ^ I won it from Maggie's Secret Garden a week or so ago! It's a fabulous, thick hardcover book and she also sent along a wonderful chocolate bar that Meri and I immediately tore open and ate, so sorry... no picture of that... Umm YUM! Oh! and the most adorable card! Did you make that? I would take a pic if my camera wasn't so wonky.

Hmmm.. By the same author as The Time Traveler's Wife. I'll make sure I have a box of kleenex handy...

Thank you Maggie! I can't wait to tear into the book the same way I did the chocolate! Well... it won't be exactly the same way...