The New Year 2013

The Christmas and New Year season has come and gone.  I had a wonderful time with all or our children and one of the grandsons.  It is so good to have our son back in the state of Oklahoma (even if he is 3  1/2 hours away, at least it is better than 18+ hours away).  He has been in the Navy for 20 years and has just retired.  I am so proud of him and all he accomplished in those 20 years.  This is the first Christmas in several years we have had all of our children here for the holidays.  We will always miss having Timothy here, but he will always be with us in our hearts.  This is what I made for us this year.

These were made from some of Timothy's old jeans that I had in a box in the top of my closet.  In the box were denim squares that I had cut long ago from some of his old jeans.  I used these squares to make pot holders which I also gave to the kids.

This is a picture of my Christmas Cactus in bloom.  It looks like an orchid or a bird of paradise.  I have never seen a Christmas Cactus with blooms like this.
Happy New Year to all, until next time.
Vaya con dios.

 My New Year's resolution will be to blog more often.  I started this mostly as a journal for caring for Mom, my hobbies, etc and will get back to that.  Best news is that Mom is now living in the house across the street.  I am so thankful that she is able to live independently again.  She is doing great.
I want to wish all a Blessed Christmas.

Our House

I

Our home as it looked on May 23, 2011.

                                 Our house about 6pm on May 24, 2011

                    Our house today, please excuse the frost on the roof.

It has been a while since I have written, no excuses, just have not written. I have missed keeping a log of what is going on in my world. I won't write much today as I have cookies and peanut brittle to make.
We moved back home on September 11.  I have been unpacking boxes since then.  Some days I work like crazy and other days are just "blah".  I have been in a "blah" state all this week, but will get back to unpacking soon.  I have started yet another hobby...crochet.  I have completed nine snowflakes and attached them to a crochet garland, but alas, I have not found a spot to hang them without poking holes in something.  With all the remodeling that has been done, I really do not want to make holes anywhere.  I will post pictures of my garland when I hang them.  Our Christmas trees and decorations are all in the shop with so much stuff stacked in there I am unable to get to them without hurting myself.  So, don't know what I will do.  I made some of the best and very easy yeast rolls for Thanksgiving dinner.  They are called Lion House Rolls.  Recipe is on Pinterest.  I will go for now, and will post more later.

The Mice

Well, we were finally able to move back into our home on 9/11.  It was very nice to get back home, but a little sad that I do not get to see my daughter every day.  Everything that was crammed into our bedroom and living room except for the furniture had to be packed and and stored in the garage so the carpet could be put in.  Once they completed the den we began moving all the furniture from the bedroom into the den so we could paint the bedroom before they put in the carpet.  Once all the carpet was down, we could begin moving furniture to its proper place and begin unpacking all the stuff.  Have I ever mentioned how much stuff we have.  We have my stuff, his stuff, our stuff, grandparents stuff, aunts stuff, parents stuff and some stuff left over from the kids.  Of course all the stuff had to be cleaned before it could be put away.  Which brings me to the mice.  When we got home on the 11th, I began to unpack my clothes and put them in the dresser.  There I found the tell-tell signs of mice (little tiny turds).  I do not like mice.  They can put me on a table faster than a New York minute.  Anyway, I had to take all the clothes and wash them.  On one of my shirts there were two spots that looked like mice had given birth.  Mind you, when I first moved here, I actually found baby mice in my drawer and that sent me screaming out the front door.  I have not seen any further signs of them, but DD and I spent a half a day cleaning out the pantry because they had helped themselves to anything that was packaged.  It is good to be home and sleep in my own bed.  I can not thank DD enough for her generosity and hospitality while we stayed in her home.  She has earned a few stars for her crown.

Light at end of tunnel

We have been in a frenzy since my last post.  Carpenters putting the final touches on things, our bedroom has been painted, carpet is complete, blinds for living room and mom's room are on order, the siding people working and the ENDLESS cleaning we are doing.  Everything had to be taken out of the kitchen cabinets, the cabinets washed out, all the dishes had to be washed and dried, then all had to be put back.  The outside of the cabinets had to be cleaned and polished.  On the last day of my cleaning, "Wonder Boy and Roy" (our carpenters) showed up to blow insulation in the attic over the kitchen and den.  Needless to say, the dust from the insulation floated in and covered my freshly cleaned kitchen.  Anyone want to take a guess at just how mad I was?  Anyone who knows me, knows that cleaning is not on my top ten list of favorite things to do.  The remaining furniture is back in place just waiting for the new replacements to be purchased.  Have I mentioned that shopping is another thing that does not show up on my top ten list?  Gotta have mattress and box springs, chairs and sofa for the living room, sofa and recliner for the den.  Those are the big items, we have a long list of other personal items that were lost, but those are not needed as much as the furniture.  The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter every day.  Yea!!!!!!

Renegade Retreat 8-11

Yes, our Guru does make mistakes.

                                     This is what the block should look like.

            Completed tops ready for the quilting.  These are for the Canyon Camp, our retreat facility.


Nine ladies arrived at the Canyon on Thursday and we began constructing two twin and one queen size quilt tops as a donation to the camp.  Everyone participated in the sewing of blocks, sashings and borders.  I had a very good time, as always, with good friends and much good food.  We had some differing of opinions and some mis-ques on time, but all is well.  I always look forward to the Renegade retreats, but it is always good to go home - to rest.  It is amazing to me just how tired I can get just sitting and sewing.  I am already counting the days til the next retreat.

repair update

I am so excited, I went to the house this morning and the a/c people are there installing my new heat and air units.  This makes me really happy.  The brickers are back to work and the kitchen has most of the crown molding up.  There is still a bunch left to do, I am still not sure if the carpet has been ordered yet.  My new stove and freezer are to be delivered on the 26th and I really hope that I do not have to re-schedule the delivery again.
I am off to a quilting retreat this weekend with my wonderful friends.   We always have a lot of fun and we always have way too much good food to eat.  I will have my camera with me and will post pictures.

The first picture is the new living room window, second picture is the new bedroom window, third picture is the new den window and the forth picture is my naked house being dressed with new brick.  A lot of work has been done since my last post, however, it is still not happening as fast as I would like.

                                         The skeleton for the new Barn.

 

                                         Almost finished!
The barn is now complete, but I have not yet made pictures of the finished product.  I must say that the workers made fast work on the barn.  They started it on a Thursday and all was done on Monday with the exception of the overhead door and the roof vents.
The sheet rock has been replaced on the ceiling in the kitchen and den, painting has been done (about 3 times because they did such a poor job), the brick work is going very well, they have not yet done the inside repairs in the garage, so as yet we can not have the garage door installed.  The paneling on the beam in the kitchen still needs to be replaced and I am not sure if the carpet has been ordered.  Everything in the house has dust and tornado do-do everywhere. The kitchen has to be cleaned inside and out of every cabinet and all the dishes, silverware, utensils, etc.  Once we get all the stuff out of the bedroom that belongs in the den, DH and I will work on our bedroom - new paint, carpet and such.  That part will be on us, I think, as it was not damaged in the storm, but just messy from all the dust, insulation and things from the storm and repairs to the other part of the house.
I know that someday we will be back in our house, I just do not know when that day will be.  I am going on a quilting retreat next week and can hardly wait.  It is always so much fun with really good ladies that I am proud to call my friends.

July 4, 2011

              My baby girl, Abby, says "it is so hot, will the fan blow any faster?"

 New flowers for Timothy.

My man and his new grill, our first major purchase since the "Big Wind"

Hamburger fixin's, potato salad, broccoli salad and baked beans.

Our 4th of July was a very good day, very hot, but very good.  DD and I went to the cemetery early to beat the heat, but by the time we finished putting out the flowers and sunflower garland we were both swiping sweat.  Did I mention that it was hot.  We spent the rest of the morning, after showers of course, preparing food for our supper.  Hamburgers, broccoli salad, potato salad, baked beans, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and other condiments.  I put together some peach ice cream for the freezer.  All was good eatin' and the ice cream helped us to be just a little cooler.  Poor grand-puppy, Jasper, is terrified of storms and firecrackers.  What's a little guy to do on the "Firecracker day of all firecracker days"?  Bless his heart, he would just sit and shake.  DD gave him some benadryl to help calm him, but to no avail.  He was just a nervous wreck all evening.  I really felt sorry for him.  The other pups seemed to get used to the noise, at least they stopped barking at it.
I finally was able to take a picture of the finished quilt top that I was working on when the "Big Wind" came.  Here it is.

That is Charlie to the left of the quilt.  My guard dog!

Sewing Quarters

We have had the area ready for a few days now, however, it seems that I am unable to find time to sit and sew.  Today it happened.  I worked on the quilt that I was working on the day of the tornado.  I have added the inner border and have the outer piano key border ready to press and measure to sew on the quilt then it will be complete with the exception of the quilting.  I have no idea when the quilting will take place as I now have a boat, a beat up golf cart and tons of other items in my shop and no power to run the machine.  It was fun to sit and listen to the purr of the machine today, like music to my ears.  I have missed sewing.  I had a time when nothing I used to do was any fun anymore then as I slowly began to get back into my hobby...Kaboom, the tornado hit.  Things are slowly beginning to come back together, very slowly.  Anyway, wanted to post pics of my temporary sewing quarters.  Thanks to daughter for making room for me to sew.  Mom has her machine in her room and has been sewing almost since we moved in here.

tornado videos

I just found videos on the internet about our tornado back on 5/24/11.  I can only say that these storm chasers have some mighty big "kahunas" to get that close to these monsters with video equipment just so us "fraddie cats" down in the "hiddie hole" can see the thing that destroyed our homes.  All I can say is thanks to you brave folks, I enjoyed watching them and appreciate the cold chills they brought to me on this very hot day. 
I am beginning to see some progress on my house.  Seems like the more they repair, the more damage they are finding.  We are hoping that they got the decking on today so they will be able to put the shingles on soon, the work can also begin on the inside of the house, as well as the outside and barn. 
DH took the day "off" from working at the house and we played a round of golf.  Now mind you that my 1, 5 and 7 woods were bent in the storm as well as my 5 iron.  The way I played today I think the remainder of my clubs got the shooie scared out of them and they did not want to come out to play.  Anyway, it was fun.
DD just brought me a nice warm brownie topped with vanilla ice cream.  Guess I better go eat it.

June 17, 2011

My day began with taking the Schnauzers to the groomer.  We decided to give them summer cuts, keep the Schnauzer face but do away with the skirt and furnishings, besides, Abby looks like her sock has fallen down on one leg since they shaved a portion of her leg at the vet for IV.  They just get too hot with all that hair.  It will take us a little while to get used to the new look, and if we don't like it, heck, it is hair and it will grow back.
Went by the house while I was in that area and DH was way out back working on digging up tree stumps so he could get a fence row ready for our new fence.  He said he came upon a GREAT BIG SNAKE wrapped around a tree stump.  Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike snakes, they just send cold chills all over me, make my insides shiver and I can not get away from them fast enough.  I'm just glad it was not me finding the thing.
DH also said they were suppose to deliver our shingles today, he was not sure where they were going to put them since our yard seems to be full of all kinds of BIG containers for storage and trash and a 16' trailer loaded with wood for decking the roof.  It still looks like they are days away from being ready to roof the house.  But I guess once it is roofed the inside work will begin.
Mom is doing well.  She works on her quilt at times, then she will repair the dogs toys that have been sent to the dog toy hospital.  The dogs are really excited when they get a toy from the hospital, they think it is something new.  I brought one in from outside this morning that had a leg missing and Mom said that she had just repaired that one yesterday.  I am really proud of how well she is doing.  She seems to be getting more confidence every day.  She is washing dishes, making her bed, and getting her breakfast in the mornings.  She is still on the heart monitor, not sure how many more days of her 21 days that she has left.  Her heart rate still drops into the 40s at times, and I am not sure if it is a heart problem, or just her meds that need readjusting again.  We will see what the Doc thinks at her next appt in July.
I NEED to sew something, but can't find time or space to do so.  I have one quilt that I was working on before the Big Wind and my challenge for the Renegade retreat needs to be started.  It probably would help if I had an idea of what to do for the challenge.  Oh well, maybe next week I will set up a spot somewhere.   I did Bobbin Lace yesterday, but it does not look right, so I have not yet put the starch on it.  I need a refresher course on Bobbin Lace.

Step One

I met with the contractor today and was instructed to go (I chose Lowes) to pick paint colors and a new gas stove.  I realize that there are a million things for them to do first and this will be way down the list, but at least I feel like they are beginning to do something to the house.  We have discussed ceiling fans, canned lights, windows, brick, siding and the roof, but no moves have been made to replace or rebuild the wall on the south side of the house so they can rebuild the roof.  That has to be done before anything can be done on the inside.  We will not have the gable on the garage, the one that was there is now "Gone with the Wind".  DH had the "tree people" come today to remove our two beautiful pine trees from the front yard.  They have survived 25 years, numerous neighborhood boys (jumping over them when they were first planted) and two ice storms, but the Big Wind has brought them to their knees, so to speak.  There is just too much damage to save them this time.  I think I might replace them with a Bradford Pear or something like that.

25th Anniversary

Yesterday, DH and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.  We are not much on big shindigs, much to our children's dismay, so we enjoyed Chinese food with our immediate family and spent a very relaxing day at home.  I took a nap, which I rarely do, and was enjoying it until the dogs began to bark.  One barks to sound the alarm and the remainder of the pack are off to help.  This particular bark, from our precious Abby, is very shrill and makes it's way to the bad part of the brain.  When she barks this way, it means "I need help and I need it right now".  Well, Mister Frog from King Manor had made an appearance in the afternoon, normally it is after dark before he shows up.  I look out to see Abby and Lucy batting this poor frog back and forth between them like they were playing ping pong.  I watch Lucy pick him up by the leg and give him a fling and when he lands Abby will hold him down with her nose.  I call the dogs in the house in hopes that the frog will find his way back home.  He went somewhere because the "girls" could not find him when they went back out.
Today, I will do some rearranging in Mom's room so I can get her back to her sewing.  She keeps hinting about it, but I just have not taken the time to get it done yet.  I made some copies of patterns for my Bobbin Lace, so hopefully I will get to do that before I forget how.  I may need to call my friends for help, good thing I have them on speed dial.

After the Big Wind

It has been 2 weeks and 3 days since the tornado.  We have been very busy with clean up and establishing a new "residence".  There have been so many friends coming over to help pick up trash from the yard, helping me go through clothes, giving words of encouragement and prayers.  Our friends are truly friends and I love each and every one of them and already miss them.  Although our new residence is only 12.9 miles from our house it seems like it is hours away.  I have made countless trips to the house to get those things we just "can not live without", I think we may have to rent a U-Haul to get it all back home when it is livable again.  I did notice yesterday that the trash people have been by to pick up the stuff we had piled by the road, however the tree people have not been by to shred the trees.  Seems that the tree people work for OEC and they were only clearing and shredding the trees that were in the way of the power lines.  Wonder who is going to take care of the trees now.  Our gracious town of Newcastle is charging a $1000.00 contractor fee.  So anyone in need of construction on their homes due to the tornado has to pay said $1000.00 for a permit to have repairs done.  IMHO tornado damage should be exempt from this $1000.00 permit, it is not like we just decided to re-model.  

Big Wind

May 24, 2011 is when the Big Wind came through Newcastle, OK...Let's back up a few hours.  The Renegades arrived about 10am for sew day at my house.  V was talking about how she had packed all her important things in just in case she had to go to the cellar.  She said they were predicting bad weather with "Super Cells" beginning at 3pm.  We had a good sew and lunch and the girls gathered their things and left at 3pm (before the Super Cells arrived).  I finished my top and pressed it when my DH came in and said "Let's go get the car".  I left the quilt top draped over the ironing board and off we went to Norman.   The car had been in the shop for 11 days due to a shimmy in the steering wheel.  I put Mom in her room with all the things she needed until we got back.  DH had picked up our daughter's pups earlier in the afternoon so they would not be home alone when the storms came.  When we got back with the car, I put it in the garage and DH put the truck in the garage also.  When daughter arrived we watched the weather and decided we better eat a bite and gather things in case we needed to go to the "Hidie Hole" (our bedroom closet).  I told daughter she either needed to go home now or prepare to stay with us.  She said she really did not have any place to go at her house if the storms did come and she would just stay with us.  I said to her "you should put your car in the barn so it won't get any hail damage", so we did.  Just about the time we got back in the house DH said that we were going to the community shelter and I told him to take Mom to the shelter and daughter and I would go to the cellar across the street and take the dogs with us.  When we got there, there were two people outside and three people and 4 dogs inside the cellar.  Add daughter, myself and our 5 dogs to the mix.  Within 5 minutes 2 more neighbors arrive and finally the 2 that were outside came in and closed the door.  9 people and 9 dogs all together in a very tiny closed in space with no air movement and no room to wiggle.  The dogs were extremely well behaved.  We did not have long to wait until the rain came and the hail began to fall,  it sounded like the hail was about the size of softballs.  Then all of a sudden it got really cool in the cellar and the pressure change was such that my ears were popping much like being in an airplane.  The noise was quite loud and the there was a big bang on the cellar door, then as soon as it came it was gone.  We sat very still and quiet for a bit then decided that it was over.  One man attempted to open the door, but it was not to be and was soon joined by another man to help, but still it was not to be, we were trapped in this very hot, tiny, underground space with no air movement what so ever.  It seemed like hours, but I am sure it was only about 5 to 10 minutes when a neighbor came to the vent to see if we were ok.  We told him yes, but the door was jammed and we could not get out.  He said the back wall of the house was on the door and he would get help to get it off, to not go anywhere that he would be right back.  One neighbor asked about her house and he said it was fine, I asked about mine and he said it too was fine, but the house where the cellar was was gone.  I am guessing that it was about 45 minutes before there were enough folks to get the wall off the door so we could get out.  At last we were out of the very hot, tiny, underground space with no air movement into the fresh air that was cool, at least for a moment.  As we walked out, it looked like a war zone, but I am thinking that my house is fine cause the man said so...not so much.  Half of the barn is demolished, I walk toward my back door and hear a hissing sound and smell gas, so I turn around thinking that at any moment my house is going to blow up.  I meet up with daughter in the street along with the 5 dogs and 2 that are running loose only to see trees, limbs, fence, and debris all over the place.  I see my kitchen window curtains flapping in the breeze and my garage roof and door crashed in on my new car that we just got out of the shop less than 2 hours ago.  Daughter's car and our Tahoe are in the barn, the half that is no longer there, and both are smushed really bad, but there is no hail damage on either.  I begin to walk toward the community shelter where DH and Mom are when I meet them driving down the street.  I tell them what I have seen and that there is no way he can drive down the street because of the trees that he should turn around and try another street and come in the other way.  Cell phones would work at times and not at other times.  We decided that Mom and I would go to my brother's house to stay the night and DH stayed at the house.  We gave daughter the little truck to drive and the guys managed to get our car out of the garage, and to my surprise, it had very little damage to it. We gathered a few things to stay the night and off we went.  I felt like a burglar breaking into my brothers house even though I had a key.  I had to turn the water on because brother had turned it off before they left for their trip.  Here I am with the water meter key and a flash light out in the front yard looking for the water meter.  After about 15 minutes of this, I finally gave up and called him in Colorado for directions to the meter.  Finally we had water, but my arms were not long enough to reach around the big water heater to turn it on so we could have hot water, so we did without that.  Mom did not have any problem sleeping, but I did not sleep well at all.  More later about the clean-up.

Sewing

Well, we finally got all the cutting done and Mom started sewing today.  It was a bit of a slow start, it has been a long time since she has done any sewing, but she got the hang of it and off she went.  She is doing a pretty good job too.  I did the cutting of fabric for one of two "Hanky Panky" quilts I am making for two precious little girls.  The "Renegades" are coming over on Tuesday and I will start making the blocks then.

Figs

Mom has almost made it trough the last BIG bag of scraps.  I finally got caught up on my cutting so I went outside to work on my fig trees.  There was a lot of dead limbs in the trees and both were coming back from root.  Here I go, armed with a limb nippers, not sure what their real name is, and an electric chain saw.  I still have all my fingers, arms, legs and toes, so no worries there.  I worked for about 4 hours.  Now mind you, I am really out of shape, so every muscle and bone in my body was talking to me really loud last evening and are still crying this morning.  It is really hard for this old body to get around today.  I really hope the figs make it,  not sure I will have figs this year, but at least there is green growth, so I will keep my fingers crossed.  Mom and I should be able to start sewing sometime this week.

Lucy

I took Lucy to the vet this morning to check her eye, she had a puncture wound in her left eye from last week that we were doing a follow-up on today.  All is healed and there is no need to continue the meds.
We are getting much needed rain at the moment and there are currently no warnings for tornados. That is so unusual for our state, they usually go hand in hand.  DH is thinking about filing a claim with the govt if the rain washes away his crops.  He has been working so hard on his garden, would be a shame to lose it.
Mom and I are still working on scraps.  She is so far ahead of me with her pressing, I think I am going to have to hide her iron until I get caught up with my cutting.  I got my daughter's quilt loaded on the machine yesterday and will start working on it soon.  I will move Mom to the shop to start sewing while I work on it.

Kentucky Derby Day

Although I missed the Derby, I am sure all in attendance and those watching had a really good time.  Wish I could have been there to see all the ladies in their hats. 
This has been a very good day, this is the day the air conditioner came on.  Yep, it reached the magic number of 90 degrees.  The only thing better would be sipping Laura's Wine Tea while enjoying the cool air.  I will probably make some wine tea tomorrow, after all, it will be Mother's Day and I should enjoy it, Right?  My daughter should be here to help me drink it, heck, I may see if Mom wants a glass, then again, maybe not.
I cleaned the shop today so I could get my daughter's quilt marked and loaded on the machine, however, DH needed to use the shop to "modify the boat cover", so I let him have the shop for the afternoon and I will work on the quilt another time, maybe on Monday.
Mom and I continue to press and cut strips for our Stripy Quilt.  I will be getting my strips out soon to cut them to size for my Log Cabin Quilt.  I have been saving strips for quite some time, so I should have plenty, if not I will just borrow some from those Mom and I have been working on.  I need to decide  how big I want to make it, and what pattern I want to use.  It will be a curved log cabin and the dark will be all scraps and the light will be a consistent color.  I can hardly wait to get it started.