Witness Protection Program...

Sorry I've been "missing in action" for so long.  Between picking up extra shifts at work, stressing over getting ready for Christmas, and otherwise just sheer exhaustion, I just haven't been up to writing any blog posts.  I've taken pictures...they just never made it to the blog.  I'm feeling really overwhelmed right now.  

In addition to my continuing chiropractic visits, Andy finally started his own chiropractic journey last week after suffering with low back pain for the last 6 weeks or so.  Luckily, he has no underlying chronic disease processes going on like I do, so he should have a little easier path to recovery than I've had.  I could tell this morning that he was finally beginning to feel better because his attitude was lighter and he seemed more like his old self.  

I just got our Christmas tree put up tonight...FINALLY!  

And here's what it looks like with the room lights turned off...

The tree skirt is a vintage round table cloth that I slit up the back!  It works perfectly!  

We have boxes and boxes of decorations that we've accumulated over the years...many that the kids made when they were school-age, but I only put a few ornaments on the tree instead of loading it down.  Near the top of the tree I did include one that Paul made in Cub Scouts using a picture of himself, and one that Erin made in school one year using one of her school pictures.  Looking at all the old decorations brings back such sweet memories.  I wish I had the time, energy, and where-with-all to load the tree down with ornaments, but I just don't.  My neighbor offered her help the other day, and I probably should have taken her up on it...but the house is such a mess that I was embarrassed to think of her coming over and seeing it like this. :(

Paul and his family are coming in this weekend, so I've GOT to get my ass in gear and get the house cleaned and ready!!!!

Ginger is ready for Christmas!  She has a brand spanking new BLING collar in RED to show off her Christmas spirit!  

I'll leave you with this picture of my grandsons, Andrew and Alex...

Loretta

Even MORE Quilt Updates...

Quote for the Day:

"I hope to live all my life for my art, 

without abandoning my principles one iota."

~Gustave Courbet

This quilt update is about my customer's Sailboat Quilt that I've been hand quilting.  

I am almost finished with the second of four rows of sailboats!  I would estimate that I'm about 40% done with the entire quilt at this point.  

Here's a close-up of one of the most recent blocks that I've worked on...

Since the quilt isn't that big, I loaded it into my frame "sideways"...that's why the boats are on their sides.  Maybe we should name the quilt "Titanic" since the boats are all on their sides???

Loretta

More Quilt Updates...

Quote for the Day:

"The more we do, the more we can do."

~William Hazlitt

This past weekend, I finished another quilt.  This one is for the charity, Quilts for Kids and was made from leftovers in my scrap bins!  Per their requirements, this one is machine quilted so that it can hold up to the hospital's industrial washing machines.

Machine quilting is not my forte, but I do the best I can.  So far, I've only done meandering when machine quilting, but I have signed up for a machine quilting class with craftsy.com because I want to get better at it and learn to do other things, like feathers, flowers, etc.  Wish me luck with that!  I probably won't start the class till after the holidays are over as I need to spend time getting the house ready for Christmas company!  :)

Loretta

Quilt Update....

Quote for the Day:

"Idle hands are the devil's workshop"

~English proverb

I bet you thought that saying came from the Bible!  But no, it is "similar" to something that is said in the Bible, but that direct quote is not from the Bible.  But my dad sure liked to quote it to us kids when we were young.  It was his way of getting us to do work!  LOL  It made me think that if I didn't get busy doing something then the devil was going to come inhabit my body!  Or at least my hands!

Okay...onward and upward.  I've got a quilting update today!

I finally finished sewing down the binding on my Blue Ridge Beauty quilt, a pattern by Bonnie Hunter's "Adventures With Leaders and Enders" book!  All it needs now is a label and a washing!

Here's a close-up of the border...

And a close-up of the back and corner showing the hand quilting detail.  I used blue/mauve/beige variegated thread, which shows up better in person than it does in the pictures.

Loretta

Happy Thanksgiving!

From our house to yours...Happy Thanksgiving!!!  Please remember to slow down and enjoy the holiday!  For those who are traveling, safe journeys!

We will be traveling across the street to our friend's house for Thanksgiving dinner.   :)   My contribution to the meal is a cheese dip and crackers (both regular and gluten-free), a pumpkin pie, an apple pie, and a gluten-free, baked pumpkin custard.

Have a great holiday!  Blessings to all...

Loretta

A Wish Came True...

Quote for the Day:

"Good things come to those who wait"

~English Proverb

I'm going to be completely honest here.  There is something that I have wanted, wished for, coveted, dreamed of, searched for...and however else you want to phrase it...for a LONG time.  Well...for several years, anyway.  I've even looked on the secondary market, ie, estate sales, auctions, thrift stores, etc., trying to find one at a "reasonable" price that I was willing to pay.

Finally, last week I saw it on sale, with an additional discount, and a rebate, too.  Plus, if I purchased it through Upromise.com and used my Upromise Mastercard, I received an extra 10% off the price.  

In the words of George Takei...



How could I pass up an AWESOME deal like that???  I told Andy about it and he said, "buy it"!

So I did!  I ordered it last Friday and it arrived yesterday...

What ever could it be????  Here's a peek inside the box...

That's right, Baby!!!  A KitchenAid stand mixer!!!

Yes, it is the "baby" of the KitchenAid mixer family...the lowest model...and it's white...(I've always dreamed of having one in RED, but I wasn't willing to pay another $150 just to have the red one)...but it is MINE!  All MINE!  :)  And I couldn't be more thrilled to now own it!!!

It is VERY HEAVY, so we had to find a place for it where it could stay and be used without having to pick it up and move it.  So I cleared off part of the portable dishwasher and here it is in it's new "home"...

Well, technically it's only a temporary home till Andy finishes renovating the kitchen, at which time it will be moved over to the other counter that will be set up as the cooking/baking station.  But, since the renovations have been "in process" for 2.5 years, I'm not holding my breath on this!  

In the meantime, it works just fine sitting on the dishwasher.  I know this because  I used it today to make pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow!  :)

Loretta

Gluten-Free Update...

Well...some good news for once!  LOL  

After 3.5 weeks after eliminating gluten from my diet, I am happy to report that I am down 8.2 pounds, lowered my BMI by 1.6 points, and am feeling GREAT!   No more afternoon "brain fog"!

I'm happy with the results and plan to keep plugging along.  

The food has been wonderful...last night was home made chili with GF home made cornbread!  OMG, was it ever good!  Even Andy exclaimed how good the cornbread was...and he's not that much into cornbread!  (I was raised by "southern" parents who ate cornbread with beans...and Andy was raised by "yankee" parents who ate yeast rolls with beans, so I've worked hard over the last 31 years to bring him over to the "cornbread" side of things!  He still prefers yeast rolls, but he did say the cornbread last night was very good and tasted just like "normal" cornbread.  LOL)  I did have to learn a new way of making chili because my previous, fail-safe recipe used a can of tomato soup...which, unfortunately, contains wheat flour.  But this chili did turn out quite DELISH, I'm happy to say!  :)

I used this recipe for the chili, but used canned red beans and canned great northern beans instead of the dried beans, and also used ground venison instead of ground beef.  For the cornbread, I used a basic recipe found in one of my cookbooks, but used GF corn meal and GF All-Purpose Flour instead.  These are easy to find in grocery stores that have a "health foods" section.  Bob's Red Mill is bringing gluten-free and organic items to mainstream grocery stores, so I look for their packages.

I made a batch of Baked Oatmeal last Sunday and have been having that with a cuppa coffee in the mornings for my breakfast.  I keep the baked oatmeal in the fridge and heat up a small serving in the microwave each morning for breakfast.  It is WONDERFUL and VERY filling!  You don't need much!  LOL  

When I first started this journey, I purchased this cookbook...

Because all the recipes are for the crockpot AND are gluten free, it has been a GODSEND for a person like me who doesn't like to cook!  

Yes, the recipes in the book are from her website, but I have noticed that there have been upgraded changes to the recipes in the book and I also like having the BOOK in the kitchen when I'm cooking.  It's handier to flip through and plan meals, than to keep clicking through web pages and then printing out the recipes you want.

So that's it for the most recent update!  I'm happy and well-fed!  :)   Life just doesn't get much better than that!  :)

Now, I've got to take the car into the shop to see why the less-than-a-year-old remote start isn't working.  :(

Loretta