Monday, Monday

I have been a busy girl today!  But obviously Oscar and Skyler have been anything but, LOL.

This was the view this morning as I ate my oatmeal.  His blanket is clean so earlier he was completely covered up with just his snout sticking out.  Such a cutie!

I woke early to temps of 59 and got my laps in early.  Oscar and I had already did a lap in the lane too.  I wore him out already.

Meanwhile,  that  little booger Skyler climbed up on Oscar's play spot/pad on the couch.  I know why he might do this as it was freshly laundered and Sky loves clean laundry.   Kind of reminds me a video I was looking at yesterday of dogs reacting to the cat stealing their beds on you tube.  I half expected Oscar to come in and grab a corner of his fleecy covered pad with his teeth and drag Skyler off getting a paw thumping on his nose for his troubles!  But no, see picture above.  Sky pulled that again when Oscar went out for a bit while I ran out for some groceries.


So breakfast.  Load and unload the dishwasher.  Shower going with the blow dried, flat ironed straighter look and then had to head into town to one of the local hospitals for my annual mammogram.   Arrive a half hour ahead, they said.  It takes about 15 minutes to get there.  I will say they didn't take long to get me through there once the paperwork was complete.  Next week I am off to the OTHER hospital for another test---oh goodie!

While I was in town I ran by the auto dealership that has GMC cars as our Pontiac G6 has three recall items tended to.  One I have been waiting for them to take care of for a year.   Parts were apparently scarce and I was on a waiting list.  Recently when I got yet another card reminding that I had not done the work to date, I saw there were two more things added to the list.  Their not calling me in for the first thing was partially my fault as I kept forgetting to give them my updated phone number.  The other part, I think I got lost in the cracks or the prior management team dropped the ball.    They are "under new manangement", the signs proclaimed, and the guy I talked to was most helpful.  The work is scheduled-- they'll have the car all day--for next week.  They will run me home and pick me back up if needed and I believe I will use that service rather than pester the neighbors at least for the a.m. run.

I grabbed lunch while I was out and came home to check emails and such, returned a call to my mom and then ran out for groceries after Oscar and I walked in the lane.  Once home the groceries were put up and then I got busy in the kitchen:

• prepped raw veggies for the tray I keep on hand
• set up two plates of Asian chopped salad, one for tonight's meal and one for tomorrow.  I had made some dressing similar to the Wendy's old Mandarin Chicken Salad a few days ago.
• made a half sized batch of Health nut spread for bagels, grated carrots being one of the main ingredients
• while I had the grater out, dealt with some zukes my neighbor had brought over--enough for zucchini bread as the recipe I like from all recipe Mom's Zucchini Bread uses 2 cups.  It is now in the freezer though as it is not a good idea to bake when it is 80's, 90's out and sky high humidity.  Not today so much but boy howdy, last week was horrid.
• She had given me some yellow squash too so I sliced that up with some carrots to stir fry but that plan came to a screeching halt when I discovered that all the yellow onions I had on hand, like a whole unopened bag of them, had gone bad.  Time was when every evening meal I fixed almost took an onion.  Now I barely cook, thanks to the summer heat.  I'll get one tomorrow
• Put some eggs on to hard boil for a quick protein source.  
• I had considered making some tuna mac salad like my mom's but there is no room for a bowl in the fridge.  Having learned to cook for a family of 8 and helping mom, I always make too much but I could always share with the neighbors.  Maybe later in the week.
• And, now I am enjoying an iced coffee.  Senior priced coffee from Jack's that I had chilled, reduced fat milk and sugar free hazelnut syrup from Torani.  Yummo!  DJ always raved about Jack's decaf Royal Cup and even though we had coffee at home, he would split a cup with me though I like coffee better iced.  Not a connoisseur, by any means.  I do love coffee ice cream though and that is sorta what this reminds me of.

I think now I am going to veg out here on the couch and wait for Major Crimes to come on later on TNT.  Finish this post and have supper too.  Of course, I will walk Oscar one more time but that will hopefully happen once the sun gets a bit more below the tree line.  He doesn't always let me do that.  In fact, he is barking at something out in the front yard.

What else?  Saturday afternoon Jane and Hugh invited me to come to Hugh's ham radio operators field day as they were having a cookout.  They were set up so three operators could be using the equipment, rotating in and out.  Buddy helped me make a contact with someone in North Texas before we ate, telling me when to give the club's identifier W3K "whiskey 3 kilo" .  They were having the event in the city park where I walk 6 days out of 7 and some were staying overnight.  The club president and her husband had their camper set up and Eddie, the guy sitting across from me at supper said he had a hammock.  He was eyeing the side poles of the pavilion.  I asked "you mean when I come in to walk tomorrow some of you will be on the radios?" Actually I saw him the next morning eating some breakfast, hammock empty.  We waved, LOL.

Word came over Facebook that DJ's grandson Josh and his long time girlfriend Lauren are now engaged.  Both graduated from SIU-Edwardsvile this spring.  Josh has more school ahead though as he is going on for his masters.  Meanwhile his parents just recently celebrated their 25th anniversary and are going to realize a long held dream and move down to the Fort Myers, FL area this week.  So many things DJ is missing out on.  I'm happy for all of them and I know how proud he would be of his family.

I got stung by something on the right side of my head.  Saturday after he mowed, Robert had asked me if I had any weed killer on hand to spray around the chain link fence, hopefully to avoid weed whacking so near it.  I did but the pump did not seem to be working so I asked him if he could take a look at it and see if he could get it to work.  He did and even sprayed the area himself and gave the thing back to me to put up.  As we were standing on the carport that whatever bug it was swooped into my hair and got sort of tangled up in hair and my hair clip.  Stinging and burning ensued immediately and even tagged my thumb a bit trying to get it out of there and off of me.   I'm guessing a wasp since they are always trying to build a nest in the carport but it sort of felt round and firm like one of those bees I see out there.  Between the fire ant bite on my big toe and the wasp bite from cutting volunteers out of the gardenia is it any wonder I prefer staying IN the house??   Basically I was done for the day---the pain pills and Benadryl combo made me drowsy and icing my head for 20 minutes each hour for a couple hours meant forget about sewing with Norma and Cher. Thankfully today it is just a little tender right where the bite is/was.

On Saturday I did get some sewing done though--those pillowcases.  The fabric for this was stuff I had gotten in Pigeon Forge as possibles for Lily's quilt.  It is from a 5-1 yard packet of coordinated fabrics sold to make a twin sized quilt.  This is Vintage Vibe by Faye Burgos for Marcus Brothers.   The green does not show up too well in this photo.   I always have to watch a you-tube video to review how to make these as the written directions I have just confuses me.   I like the one from Vanessa from Crafty Gemini.   It still took me longer to get it done than it should have as I am a presser from way back.  One thing I did to try to keep the accent band together was glue baste and heat set.  This one came out really well with that!

The 2nd one took about 35 minutes and that is the purported time the handout said you whip one up.  The body of the pillowcase was a coordinate to the gray paisley above.  The aqua was leftover from Lily's quilt and I think from Hobby Lobby.  The cuff was a piece in my stash from who knows who.   I'm a thread or two off on the accent piece but not too noticeable.  You know how critical we are of our own work!

And I'm giving this one away.  I made this one sometime back from a kit from a quilt shop that I got somewhere.  In a sew-in bag, I think.  It has never been used so the cute fabrics will surely work for one of the girls at Big Oak Ranch.  The accent piece on this is off by a good 3/8 of an inch.  That's why I was experimenting to with good old Elmer to see if I could get a better outcome.

As far as the D4P Norma was having a hard time remembering on her first few blocks so I told her I was sticking a note right in my cutting area to remind me, LOL.  I only got as far as seaming three of the blocks to squeeze out three more 6 1/2 inch squares from leftover from a previous blue project and I have 2/3rds of one block done and a couple halves of the giant 4 patches.  I had to get my pjs on and lay down.

I moved the sewing table back into the sewing room though.  I banged the heck out of my right knee trying to climb over the dog gate in such cramped quarters in the kitchen doorway.  Also Skyler would not get out from under the table and then Oscar would try to climb under their as well---a little crowded under the feet, thanks to the critters.  Mostly though it was sort of a pain to have to run back and forth over the dog gate to press and keep my thread eating kitty at bay.  I'll try to squeeze in an hour or two tomorrow afternoon once the sun goes to the front of the house and Oscar won't bake in the back yard.   Maybe I'll have a block or two to share next post.

And so it goes---