One pair of 501s

Last night I made this coin purse for my nephew out of the last pieces of a pair of Robes' 501 jeans. I made this for my sister-in-law as an anniversary gift. I made myself a pouch and one for my mom. I made a pencil case for my niece. And, I also made a coin purse for my other nephew. That's a lot of reusing!

I've got mail!

I've been waiting patiently (now you know why I was so disappointed with the empty mailbox yesterday) and today I found this very cool "Red Dottie" Moda oilcloth in my mailbox! I saw it on my friend's sister-in-law's blog. I left a comment asking where she bought the fabric, she emailed me, and I called the quilt shop (in Utah, of course) and ordered a yard.













Red is still my favorite color!

OK. OK. I got it at Corn Wagon Quilt Co.

I went to see the sisters

Tonight I had to pick something up at the house where The Sisters are staying. It was really fun to see them again. We sat around the table and talked and ate cookies and laughed. They are delightful. This picture includes their mother and two sisters-in-law. What a fun group of gals! I hope I get invited on their sisters trip in two years.

Megan's baptism

My friend Megan was baptized today. It has been a bittersweet day because her family is moving to Utah this week. I thought for sure I'd be able to watch their kids grow up here. (How many times have I said that?! Our ward is very transient.) The Wrights have been wonderful friends, have made numerous contributions to the Arlington Ward, and I was lucky enough to buy my condo from them. Megan is a delightful little girl and has a smile that doesn't stop. She will definitely be missed. Maybe she'll go to college in Boston or serve a mission here...

Sisters, Sisters, and more Sisters!

My friend Janalee (that's her in the middle) has EIGHT sisters! And, they are in Boston for their "sisters' trip" (9 sisters, 2 sisters-in-law, two little babies and one mom) and I took some pictures of them at the Temple after church. They are all delightful and it was fun to soak up some of their sister love.

Note: Janalee has FOUR brothers too (that makes a bakers dozen!).

Ward Campout Re-cap

We had a smaller crowd than usual (52 compared to 150 a few years ago). There was no stick ball , football or volleyball though I did watch a 4-man whiffle ball game yesterday. It rained (POURED) both nights and I slept horribly (rain is LOUD when you are in a tent). But, I did get a few little naps, hung out with friends, watched the kids run wild with their buddies, sang around the campfire, made s'mores, sat on the lodge porch and relaxed, enjoyed breakfast this morning with the ward, had two delicious foil dinners (with sweet potatoes), and visited with the Camp Directors who are delightful Vermonters!

Campout memory

Let's hope there isn't a repeat incident this year.

You can find me at the Ward Campout

What I need right now...

...is a 24 hour grocery store.

Skirt/FOE info

This is where my friend got the fold over elastic.  And here is the link to the 5-minute skirt.

Sew away!!!

FOE---where have you been all my life?

Tonight a few friends and I got together to make skirts. They are super duper easy. And I had my first introduction to FOE. That's Fold Over Elastic. It's inexpensive and easy to use. I sense many more skirts in my future.

Where's the phone?

When Emma was visiting for the bike ride she lost her phone. She looked for it. I looked for it. She flew home to Oregon and I looked for it again. I moved bins. I opened bins. I looked all over the crawl space (where the girls slept). Emma remembered showing Adrienne and Tyler some photos on it, putting it on a bin in the crawl space and going to bed. I figured it would show up somewhere (I searched her bags before she left but no phone) and maybe one of the other girls ended up with it in their suitcase. No such luck. I kinda forgot about it since Emma left six weeks ago. Then Chuck called Friday night and asked if I'd look for the phone again. Saturday I crawled into my crawl space. I moved bins. I looked around. This time I moved a trash bag filled with Christmas tree branches and look what I found.













Merry Christmas!

Elder Kyle Duke

Today was Kyle Duke's (non) missionary farewell. The seminary teacher spoke, there was a men's chorus musical number, Kyle's brother Taylor spoke and the youth sang "We'll Bring the World His Truth". Then Elder Duke spoke. Kyle's talk was amazing. His dad died when he was five years old and he talked about how that had impacted his life, the support and love he has received from the ward, and that he knows he will see his father again. It was a very powerful talk (one that should have been taped). All I can say is Washington State-----watch out because you are about to get one nice, humble and prepared missionary!

Note: I wish I could photoshop his brother Wes in that "siblings" photo. But, Wes will be meeting Kyle at the Salt Lake City airport tomorrow and going with him to the MTC on Wednesday.

What about lunch?

I've been wanting to meet one of my blogging friends for lunch and I'm so glad it worked out today. We met at the Tilt'n Diner in Tilton, New Hampshire. I had a hamburger "upgraded" with sweet potato fries (delicious). Today was one of those days where I was itching to cross the border. It was sunny and warm and a perfect day for a drive.

Soooooooooooooooooo tired

Walking and talking

For I don't know how many months my good friend and I have been walking one night a week. We take turns walking up and down the hills in her neighborhood, through the streets of my town, or (like tonight) on the track. We're committed to doing this and are good about contacting each other to set a date and time to get together. We walk and talk and walk and talk and walk and talk some more and I'm so glad to have a walking buddy.

Age

I was telling my friend Adam tonight that last night one of my new friends thought that I was about 36. Then Adam said, "You should be in one of those 'Guess the Age' booths at the Circus and nobody would ever win."









I'm glad I don't look my age.

RS = Recipe Swap

Tonight I hosted our monthly Relief Society Recipe Swap. The theme was strawberries. I made delicious fresh strawberry homemade ice cream. Yum!!

He's baaaaaaaaaaaaaack

Tonight only minutes after getting home from work my cell phone rang. It was a number I didn't recognize but I answered it. Good thing; it was my nephew Jamel calling from a pay phone at the airport in Boston! He's home from Europe--11 days early, with $14 in his pocket, and lots of great adventures under his belt. Tomorrow we will find his bank and get his ticket to Florida changed so he can get home.

Stake Center Topping Off

Yesterday at church the Bishop announced that today was the Topping Off ceremony at the Cambridge Stake Center that is under construction. Conveniently the building is close to where I work so I drove in and was there right before 8:00am. We had a prayer and sang one verse of "Come, Come Ye Saints". I got to sign the beam and watch them place it at the top of the building. It was really cool being a part of it.

Apartments in Kingston, NY

Summer photo

Taken in New York City, 6/14/09

Quick update

My c-oscopy went fine today. If I had to choose a favorite part, it was definitely the general anesthesia. I go back in 7 years for colonoscopy #3.

Tonight my friend and I had dinner at the Olive Garden. I'd never eaten there before (hey -- I live 10 miles from the North End). It was nice to eat solid food again after many hours.


















On the way home I suggested we check out the Tall Ships. There were lots of people walking around the city, enjoying a beautiful night and some lighted (lit?) tall ships. I didn't have my camera with me (shameful) so this picture is from Tall Ships 2000.

The best news is that my computer part arrived, it's installed and my computer is working fine. Sigh.

My two best friends

Tonight, tonight, I'm guzzling this tonight

And I'll be doing a lot of sitting...on the terlet. Friday morning is colonoscopy #2.

You've Got a Crank Caller

Yesterday I answered the phone and a man identified himself (first name only, of course) and said that had been by the office last week and noticed me and was calling to see if I wanted to get acquainted.  I quickly said I was busy working and he said, "Could you be any more rude?" and hung up on me.  I told my friend about it and she said "He could have been Tom Hanks?"  

Well there was no mention of the Empire State Building.

I'm a Tuesday winner!!

I won a free photograph on one of my very favorite blogs: Marta Writes!  Hooray for me!!  I chose "abandoned gas station, provo, utah".  Jeffrey Allen is a great photographer!

Peggy P. is the winner

My coworker, Peggy P., guessed the right number of patterns: 146!!!  

Pattern guessing CONTEST!

I've been so envious of bloggers that talk about their cool vintage patterns that they got for ten cents at a flea market or DI. So on Friday, down the road from Sonic, I asked at an antique shop if they had any patterns. The woman directed me to the back of the shop and I found a pretty cool old pattern for 25 cents. Then I heard the woman say that she had recently acquired a BAG OF PATTERNS and she went upstairs to get them. It was a HUGE garbage bag filled with sewing patterns. For $15. I asked if she'd take $10 for them and she said she wanted $15 because I was the first person to see them. She let me cut open the bag and look through them. I saw a few really cool old patterns and made my decision. SOLD!














Tonight I dumped the bag out. Whoa!! Guess how many patterns were in the bag?!? I'll sew something for the person who guesses the right number (HINT: it's between one hundred and two hundred). There are some patterns from the 40's and maybe some even older than that. Maybe I'll frame some of them. Maybe I'll mod podge some on clipboards. Maybe I'll go crazy and SEW some of them!

Cousins Club

It was a treat to have my cousin and her husband stay with me. He stood up after lunch and went right into the kitchen and did the dishes. It would be nice to have one of those around.














I was without my computer for almost 36 hours. No blogging. No extra on-line help for my R.S. lesson today. No email. No printing my cousin's boarding passes. The diagnosis from my Home Teacher of the Year is that the power supply is broken. He loaned me a computer (see why he's so awesome) and I'm happy about that. I'll order the part and hopefully be back to normal (well...) in a few days.

And, the automatic focus is broken (again) on my camera. It's pretty obvious in this picture.

"Twins"

I saw these cute twins last week on their very birthday and asked if I could photograph them on Sunday. They agreed. So here they are -- the birthday twins at age seven after church today.

Happy 4th!

It doesn't get much better than lots of treats, good friends, great people-watching, hearing the Boston Pops, sitting along the Charles River, and dancing to Neil Diamond! And, the weather was amazing -- after days/weeks of rain it was an absolutely beautiful evening!

Road trip details

Yep, we went to Sonic in upstate New York. There's nothing wrong with eating a burger, tots, and a 44 ounce cherry limeade at 11:45pm at night is there?!? We went back twice today (another burger, more cherry limeades) and also went to 5 antique shops. My one friend wanted to stay at a 2 star hotel until she saw it and then we backtracked and ended up at the Courtyard Marriott (worth every penny). It was a fun trip.

Thanks for all the comments yesterday. The prize must go to Betsy -- she spent a half hour trying to figure it out!

Road trip!

I was doing some cleaning/tidying last night (I clean for occasions and my cousin and her husband will be staying two nights with me so that's an occasion!) and looked over and my calendar was still on JUNE. I flipped it to the JULY and look what I saw:


















Coincidence? I don't think so. Tonight after work my two friends and I are going on a ROAD TRIP! Here are 3 clues where we are going. Everyone that guesses right will get their name tossed in a hat (or cup) and I'll draw a winner when I get home Friday night.

1. 44
2. rhryec meedail
3. 200 miles away

Ready. Set. GUESS!

Calling chocolate cake

Last night I rifled through my recipe (note)book looking for the best chocolate cake; I wanted to make cupcakes.  They turned out OK but not "best ever".  Me asking for the best chocolate cake recipe is like the cobbler's kids having no shoes but I'm asking.  And, I'm looking for recipes with all the good ingredients in them (you know -- butter, eggs, sugar, etc.).  Thanks!