[QuilterInVA]

Good afternoon, ladies! 42 degrees and rain. Monday we had sleet, yesterday was only in the 30s but tomorrow it's supposed to be 70. I'll be glad when we get settled into a real spring.


This is my busy quilting week. I have various bees for 3 days and then lock in on Friday. Monday I went to visit my friend who has colon cancer. She's had surgery and had so many side effects from chemo they had to stop it. She has such a positive attitude. Sunday I visited with another friend who had a brain tumor removed in December. It has returned and they have called in hospice and she isn't expect to be here much longer. It makes me very thankful to only have the problems I do.

Faye, I'm sorry you're having problems with your necklaces and dress. Jack will really love the camera.

Jean, the last pineapple I bought wasn't at all sweet. I was so disappointed. I can imagine how sweet and juicy the real thing from Maui must be.

Maggie, the church people must be very sad to lose you and Will to say nothing of the museum. How much fun to get just the right things for your MH.

Have a great day. Lunch time is over and I must get back to work.

[Maggie]

♪♥♫ GOOD AFTERNOON IN MARCH MAGNOLIAS ☺♫

The 10 Cup Drip Coffee Maker we ordered from Lehman’s® came today and it is quite nice looking in stainless. It will work great on a burner of our camp stove when we are cooking outside as well as on the stove inside the MH and on a grate over a campfire. I am sure the next pot of coffee that is made here today will be made in that pot. Will is anxious to try it out and get to know it. The Pitcher alone can be used to heat water for tea or cooking which will eliminate the need for a water kettle. Like I have said before it is fun finding just the right things to go in the MH. I think the next thing I will order, probably tomorrow, will be that Mandoline from Chefs® that is so much lighter and smaller than the one I currently have.

This afternoon I am going to have a good time looking through a new “special collectors edition of Taste of Home® magazine called Quick & Light, 133 recipes for a skinny new you!” Tomorrow I will be making the Herb Frittata for 5 P+ and Pineapple Upside Down Cake for 2 for 8P+.
There are many, many good sounding recipes in this magazine cook book. It says they are recipes to fix in 30 minutes or less, which is a definite plus.

If the weather continues to be so nice as it is today ~ next week we will bring the MH home and put the items we have to go in it so far put away in their proper places.

SUSAN Thank you for starting a new thread for us. Sounds like you have a busy lot of days ahead to enjoy. I am sure your friends will be so happy to have your visits to them. OH yes it is fun to outfit the MH. We want to watch how much weight to put in it to not overload it. If there is something we absolutely can't stand to part with we can store at our friends place in Texas. Things that we would probably have in our will to grant them anyway. But they are things we could use if we lived in our space they have for us on their property. Useful, needful items.

Always remember ~ Never, never, never give up

[gma22]

Good morning to you all. It is cool again this morning and only supposed to get into low 50's for a couple days then back up in the 70's, Sure wish it would settle down some.

A couple days ago I had the most beautiful cardinal and his "wife" on my deck. I sometimes wonder why God made the males of some species so beautiful and the female so plain instead of the other way around. Guess once I am in heaven I can ask him.

Jack has a rehab appointment today so he will be home from work early. Guess I will have to get some work done and not goof off too much. He could care less. He woke up this morning feeling really well. He said he could sleep on his back and not hurt and even sleep on that side with a blanket rolled up and used as a pillow to brace him and sleep fine so it is definitely getting better. Since his cardiologist's practice changed to another hospital and is not in network, Jack hasn't been able to go see him this year. He has been going to the regular dr and is fine, but come October when he goes on Medicare he can go back to him. His cardiologist usually gives him his prescriptions, but he is going to need them refilled so went to make a dr appointment. He first had to go to Tricare and make his PCM the same as his doctor as they changed their rules. He called to do that and the guy said his dr had no more openings so he kept the dr he had on his PCM and ask the guy to make an appt with him. Well this guy had no open appts so Jack was supposed to call this week, which he did. The earliest appt he could get was April 30!!! Sure a good thing he isn't sick I guess. On top of that, I got a second bill for the copay for my surgery and went round and round on the phone with the hospital billing about it as I had already paid it. Come to find out, I was billed my Tricare for having the wire put in at the womens' center because it is considered part of the womens' hospital and the Baptist "campus" has two hospitals what they call East, which is the main hospital and the womens' hospital that does just womens stuff. Because the womens' center is billed at womens' hospital I had to pay a second hospital copay even though I only had the one surgery. These are all changes I would bet are because of Obamacare because that isn't the way it was before. St Francis womens' center is part of their hospital, but I have never had to pay a copay for stuff there at all. UGH!

I noticed the site has autocorrect now as it has corrected a couple of words I typoed. It fixes it, but you can go back and rewrite it the way you want the second time. I just tried it.

I am finishing up one side of the sweater shoulder then will do the other side. Patterns are always written, "working both sides at once" but I never do. I put one side on a stitch holder to keep it out of the way and I write out the bind offs and decreases in a vertical row on a steno pad before I start them then as I knit that row I check it off. I also put a stitch marker when I start armhole decreases so I know I have the exact same number of rows on each side so they are exactly even. When I finish that side and go to the other, I make the check marks, X's to show that I finished that row on the other side. Works for me and I never get lost and have to take out rows.

Jean: Hopefully even your dusting of snow will quit soon. I am surprised about our cool temps as we usually are in the steady 60's by now. I guess it will come, but I am sure ready for sandal weather. The IBC comes in brown bottles and is packaged old school in a 6 bottle carton. They have regular, diet, and cream soda that I know of. Their cream soda is great, but I don't think they make it in diet, which is too bad. My package is back in Memphis as of late last night. I don't know if it actually went to LA or what, but supposedly it is here in town again. We shall see if I get it today as I should. I despise the post office anymore. They seem to have more and more morons running the place. It is no wonder people are willing to pay more to send packages by other means.

Susan: Jack fooled around with the camera last night and really likes it. It is sure easier to understand than our other Coolpix camera for sure. It is also a much higher pixal and it has HD1080P for video. It also has a lithium rechargeable battery instead of having to put batteries in it all the time. We are pleased as we got a nice price on it too from a mom and pop online company in New York City. They shipped the day after I ordered it because they ran out of the color I ordered and emailed me what I wanted to do and then sent it FEDEX and it came the next day. Was nice to have a company who actually cared about their customer. Hope you have fun with all your quilting this week. An online knitting friend made this heart quilt that was a hanging I believe and it was so cute. She sent me the link for the directions like that was something I could do!

Maggie: Let us know what you think of the recipes. Jack loves pineapple upside down cake.

You all have a great day. I am going to go and get my day started. Faye

[Jean]

Good Afternoon! It's a beautiful first day of spring in my neighborhood! The sun is shining, the sky is bright blue, and it's warm enough for a spring jacket. I had my nails done this morning, ran a couple errands, and vacuumed the basement while the washer and dryer did their duty. This afternoon is my monthly coffee date with my friend.

Susan -- Thank you for starting the new thread! I'm sorry about your friends. One just never knows what the future holds. I know you will enjoy all of your quilting get togethers this week.

Maggie -- Quick sounds like my kind of recipe. Let us know how the recipes (and coffee) turn out.

"Gma" -- Your medical escapades and insurance challenges sure test your patience! It's too bad O doesn't have to figure out all the SNAFUS he has caused! Funny you should mention the po. There is a single man in our church whose family had rental houses and "old" family money. He has a law degree but has never had a "real" job. He's 70 years old and just started working in the po at the customer window. Bob had to mail some large envelopes for the office and the lady mail person was training this guy; she was telling him step by step, and four people went through Bob's line in the time it took him to do one. I'd love to see him help a nonEnglish speaking person! We are betting he doesn't last very long.

I need to change clothes and head out. Hope you all enjoy the rest of your day and evening!

[gma22]

Good morning to you all. It I supposed to be nice and warm today and the house seems warmer than it has been overnight so I don't think it got real cold last night.

Jack left for work about 40 minutes ago and was pretty sore this morning. He takes one step forward, one back so it is just going to take time I guess. He said he didn't sleep well last night at all and the night before he slept very well.

I am finishing up the other shoulder and I will be done with the main part of the sweater then the fun begins. I hate putting in the sleeves and such, but unless I want to wear it pinned together I am going to have to do it.

I finally got my dress yesterday and yep, they screwed it up. Jack took the box this morning to mail back to them and exchange it. I sent a letter to the manager and gave her a piece of my mind about it too. I told her if they screw it up again, that's it. No matter how much I like the clothing, I will not order anything more. You have to jump through hoops to get refunds or exchanges or credits from them and I told her that if she expects her customers to do all that then she ought to make sure her staff pays attention and sends the right stuff. I have spent $40 just on shipping alone! I told her I was fed up spending money I shouldn't have to because someone there screwed up. I told her I made copies of both the exchange form and the letter I sent her so that I knew if they didn't fill it correctly that it was not something I did. I know for a fact the other one was correct also because I sent a note along with it telling them it was for a cruise and I needed a full length dress not a street length dress so I needed a 50-52" long dress. They just changed fabrics and sent the exact same size and length. We shall see what happens.

Susan: I didn't see that your friend is so ill. I will be praying for her that if she cannot get well she can at least be comfortable in her last days or months.

I talked to my best friend for 2 hours on the phone yesterday and it was great. I was telling her about Jack walking around with his snorkel gear on in the house and she got a big hoot out of that. We caught up and laughed a lot, a little gossip about kids we went to school with, and had an enjoyable conversation. I feel for her as her husband is on disability for his back and the only work she can get is 20 hours at I think it was Marshalls. She told them if they couldn't increase her hours she had to find another job. She has her certificate or whatever to do hospital billing coding, but can't find a job. She has to drive clear across town for the one she has and she said she spends a bundle on gas. She said she was going to apply for a job at Meijers, which is like a cleaner Walmart in the north. They only hire part time now too so she will have to work two part time jobs. I could just kick that man in the White Houses behind for doing this to people because of his ridiculous insurance business.

Jean: I just don't get how the heck you have all these machines that read the mail supposedly, the piece of mail comes to the main post office here in town then nothing, then it shows up in Los Angeles for two days then back here again. It is ridiculous. Let us know how it goes with the guy at the post office. I know it gets my goat to go to the post office and find one person working and the line out the door. We have a large Mexican community and so there is a lot of stuff shipped out of the country, passport stuff, visa, green card, whatever and it takes time. So you stand there for 10-15 minutes while they wait on this Mexican customer and don't bring anyone up from the back to wait on customers to get the line down. Doesn't seem to me the government ran this shoddy when we were kids.

You gals have a nice weekend. Tomorrow we are going New Balance shopping for Jack. Have a nice day. Faye

[Jean]

Good Morning! The sun is shining, a breeze is blowing, and it's a chilly 30 degrees this morning. It's supposed to be in the 30s all weekend. I need to do some serious work on the afghan and catch up on laundry today. Also need to call for a hair cut appointment.

"Gma" -- Do you knit the sweater sleeves separately and then sew them on to the body of the sweater? Guess I thought you would knit it all as one piece. Goes to show how much I know about knitting! It would be nice of the company would at least refund your shipping costs on the dress returns. How frustrating for you! A lot of local businesses have po boxes and if I need to mail something or get stamps I try to wait until after the rush. There is usually a line at the window and most of it is money orders going to Mexico. Guess we should be glad we get as much mail delivered correctly that we do. I have been getting unknown callers on my cell phone lately; maybe one every 3-4 days. I put our #s on the "do not call" list so just delete them. Hope Jack's soreness is better as he moves around today. Not getting a good nights rest is tough.

I need to get busy! You all have a fantastic Friday and enjoy your day!

[gma22]

Jean: I just poked my nose in and saw your post. There are different pattern choices for sweaters. Some are called top down, which means you start at the neck and knit down, then there are bottom up, which is what most sweaters are knit, from the waist up. You can get patterns where the sleeves are knit right onto the sweater, but most sweaters you knit a back piece, knit a front piece then knit each individual sleeve. Usually you then sew up the shoulder and side seams with what is called a mattress stitch, which makes an invisible side seam. I use the kitchner stitch to sew up my shoulder seams which is another invisible seam and what I use to sew up toes on socks. Then you set in the sleeves and sew them in and do whatever it call for with the neckline. I have no sleeves on this pattern I am doing for the cruise. It is a sleeveless shell. When I finish the knitting part, I have to block the two pieces so they are equal in size by pinning them down to the measurements for the size sweater I knit, which is on the pattern, then spray the pieces with water and let them dry. Then I will sew the shoulder and side seams, then do my knitting. I have to put a neckline on the sweater and put a couple rows around each armhole which I do using a circular needle. With this pattern, I pick up stitches, stitch per stitch and knit a row around the neck then the next row I purl around, decreasing evenly to the number of stitches the pattern says the neckline should be, ie I may have a total of 150 stitches on the neck I pick up the first time around, but only need 130 for the neck so after I have picked up the 150 around the neck, the next row I decrease 20 stitches back to 130 so the neckline fits correctly. It is the easiest way to do it. On this pattern I do 2 purl rows for the neck and for each armhole. I have an Iphone app where I can put the picked up stitches in, the number to decrease to and it tells me how to knit the row, knit so many than decrease, knit so many than decrease. In other words it does the math for me. Now that it is clear as mud aren't you glad you ask?

[Jean]

Good Morning! The sun is shining, the wind is blowing, (ssdd), and it was 18 degrees when I came downstairs this morning. Snow is predicted for tomorrow. "We" caught a baby possum in the live trap last night. Bob had gone back to the office and the poor thing was hanging by his teeth. I thought he was stuck because he'd opened his mouth too wide. When Bob tipped the cage he let go; he now has a new home out further in the country by a corn field and a creek. Bob said he (the possum) was happy. I have a load of laundry in the washer, have folded a load of towels, and spent time looking for whale program that is supposed to be on tv tomorrow. So far I haven't found anything related to whales.

"Gma" -- Thanks for the knitting lesson! I wish someone would offer knitting lessons, or better yet how to read a pattern and how to follow the directions. Years ago I signed up for crochet lessons and the lady was just plain nuts. She assumed we all knew the basics, which we didn't; it was a fiasco to say the least and most of us quit after the second meeting.

I need to get moving and unload the dishwasher. Enjoy your day and do something nice for yourself!

[gma22]

Good afternoon everybody. It is beautiful and sunny and warm and lovely today. We headed out around 10:30 this morning to get Jack some new shoes. We went to Sports Authority and I think they just sell last year's styles because they were cheaper than what they are at the mall or at the New Balance store. We had a tough time finding his size as they were either way too big or way to wide. He finally found a pair on sale for $60, which is great as usually they are way over $100. He gave his oldest pair a nice burial though I told him the least he could do for a 10 year old pair of shoes was a casket (the shoe box the new shoes came in.) So, he has a new pair of shoes for vacation and the ones he was wearing he will use to wear back and forth to work. He has to wear special shoes with steel toes, electrical safety, etc so he just wears the shoes to work then changes them out for his works shoes. We then went to Krogers and the lady that works the self checkout was oohing and ahhing about my weight loss. She said she thinks I gave it all to her as she was carrying it all in her behind. She is this lovely older black lady that only works on Saturdays so we always visit if I go in there on Saturdays.

I bought some quaker oats rice cake snacks which are really very good. Usually they taste like Styrofoam but these are pretty good. I like the cheddar cheese and one serving is 18 of the little circles. I also bought some Jimmy Dean's chicken sausage in a couple flavors. I am anxious to try the Andouille flavor. I also bought some eggo waffles. I get tired of having the same thing for breakfast, but don't want a lot of the extra fat and such. I buy Caris sf syrup all the time and use it instead of sugar in oatmeal. I like it better than Splenda or Truvia because it has that little bit of maple flavor to it.

Jean: If you ever decide you really want lessons and don't want to pay for them or whatever, go to knittinghelp.com and watch the free videos she has for learning to cast on and knit, purl and lots of things. You can also google learning how to knit and there are tons of free videos online you can sit and use your Ipad and watch how to knit. When I don't know how to do a stitch or need a refresher it is what I always do. For one thing they are always backwards for me being left handed, but I can keep replaying them until I get it rather than just reading how to do something.

I got my two pair of jeans and since I lost weight I should have bought the next size down as these are too big in the waist, but I ordered a belt so I can wear them more comfortably. I wore a pair today and felt like the kids from the hood who wear their jeans down under their butt so they underwear hangs out.

I guess I better go check my laundry. You all have a great afternoon. Faye

[Jean]

Good Morning! The sun is shining, NO wind . . . . yet, and it's 8 degrees outside! We are getting a slow start this morning. The coffee pot is perking and Bob is in the shower. Inside and outside cats have been fed; nothing in the live trap this morning. My washer is on the fritz and spins off balance with sheets in it. It sits up on a cement pad and I can't get it back up by myself. I will have to call the repairman tomorrow, and think I can see $$ signs in the future.

"Gma" -- I'm glad Jack is a happy camper with new shoes. I've heard others mention finding how to do things on YouTube. Thanks for the reminder. Bob again mentioned bringing his toy tractor collection home and that he will need a desk of his own for his computer and "stuff." In the next sentence he asked what WE can get rid of to make room. His office desk is way too big and where I have my pc isn't all that big soooooooo ! Makes me think of all of my unfinished projects stashed away! I have got to sort and pitch some more? Yay for the new jeans fit!

I need to get dressed and have coffee. Hope you all enjoy a nice day!

[gma22]

Good morning ladies. It is cool but nice and sunny this morning. Jack just went to Target to get a new cable for my Ipad as I messed up the one I have. I told him to buy two so we have a spare.

I am trying to get the downstairs cleaned today, but it may be a process. I had a hypoglycemia moment at the grocery store yesterday and so bought the first sugared thing I could find, which was those donut gems from Hostess. I was standing at the checkout stuffing them into my mouth like I hadn't eaten in a month. I keep my meals at below 19 fat grams per meal and just this package was 23 so later in the day I had some problems with my colon and all evening so I felt kind of crummy this morning, but I am better now except for still having a bit of a sore back, which happens when my colon acts up. I vacuumed the carpet and will start on more cleaning when I am done here and just take it a little at a time until it is all done today.

I made a reservation for next Sunday for brunch at Owen Brennan's to take Thomas and his parents out to celebrate his getting into the AP high school, but haven't heard back from them to confirm yet. So, if I don't hear by tomorrow I will call them and ask them what's up so I can tell Kelly for sure.

I got my purple jewelry from the gal on Ebay and it will be great. I paid half for both sets what I paid for the other one and they look even cuter I think. I put them against my wrap and the colors blend nicely and that is all I care about.

Jack has a dr apt for his ribs on Monday, Tuesday a rehab session and Wednesday I have a dr apt so it will drs, drs, drs this week I guess. I just have to get refills on my diabetic drugs and get them to send them to Express Scripts so they are cheaper for me.

Jean: Hope your washer costs won't be too much, but just to come out they usually charge you a $100! When we start doing the remodel, the computer is going to go in front of the window in the kitchen to give us more room in the living room. Our living room is a nightmare the way they built it. I am getting rid of the computer desk and get just a regular desk and a small file cabinet.

Well gals, tomorrow is weigh day for me and looks like I am going to be doing ok again. Have a great Sunday. Faye

[Jean]

Good Morning! It's still dark so I have no clue what the sun will do today. It's a tad warmer at 20 degrees. I've been awake since 2 AM and would love to go back to bed. Bob was coughing and my nose was stuffed up. I finally got up and came downstairs thinking I could sleep in the recliner. I set the alarm on my cell phone and never did go to sleep. I went back to bed and remembered I'd forgotten to turn the phone alarm off so watched the clock go around for another hour. I hate nights like that! My plan for the day is to count money and take a nap!

"Gma" -- Sorry the donuts didn't set so well yesterday. I'm glad the jewelry is a keeper and you like it. My washer works on other cycles; my biggest complaint is I hate seeing 1" of water in the tub and the manufacturer thinks the clothes get clean. I'm just glad our clothes aren't all that dirty.

I need to get dressed and have breakfast. Hope everyone has a marvelous Monday!

[gma22]

Good morning you to all. It is quite cool this morning, but looks like it is going to be a sunny day. It is supposed to be warming up to the 70's by the weekend for several days so capris and sandals here I come.

I get a double carrot dance today. My weigh in this morning and I am down 10 lbs for the week. No I did not starve myself and I kept on points and all. It is just I lose weight really fast when I am dieting and staying on track.

Going to work some more on cleaning house as I didn't get much done yesterday. I am better getting work done when I am alone so we may end up with a pig sty when Jack retires down the road and is home all the time.

I am having eggo blueberry waffles and jimmy dean chicken chorizo sausage for breakfast. I use higher points for breakfast as I find I stay less hungry that way than if I just have a piece of toast and fruit or something like that. I use the sugar free syrup.

Jean: That's what happens if I have too much fat in my diet all at once, but I had no choice. It was something like that or a candy bar and that comes out about the same with the same results. It didn't last and I am fine now. I am getting close to being below 300 lbs, which would be the first time in probably 30 years so am excited about that. I still have a bit to go, but maybe in the next couple months. It would be superb if I could get to 280 or so by the cruise and it is definitely doable at 2 lbs a week. BRRR you are still pretty cold. We are gradually warming up in the overnights, but it still dipped down to low 40's last night. I noticed tiny leaf buds on the trees though. Usually by this time for us our tree has a lot of leaves on it, but not this year. I did notice the dogwoods are in beautiful full bloom though so they must be pretty hardy.

Everyone have a great day. I am going to make myself some breakfast then get cracking. Faye

[gma22]

Good morning everyone. It is chilly here this morning and high around 50 they said. I am looking forward to the weekend for sure as it will be in the 70's.

I cleaned the downstairs yesterday and will tackle the upstairs today. Except for dusting, I am not fooling with the spare bedroom as that is where we are putting stuff we bought for the cruise and the bags and stuff. Jack has to set up the table in there as right now it is all sitting on the floor.

Looks like the sd card for the new camera and a couple pair of new pj pants for Jack should come in the mail today. That is if the mailman isn't too lazy to deliver them. Yesterday he stuffed my bra package in our little mailbox so he wouldn't have to get out of the truck.

Not much else going on around here. Hope you have a good day. Faye

[Jean]

Good Morning! It's a cold 16 degrees and snowing big huge flakes. This weather is so crazy and unpredictable! I need to order flowers for two gals who are in the local hospital. First I need to find out if they are still there. Otherwise, it will be more of the same -- pick up the kitchen, more laundry, and sneak up on more clothes sorting to start another SOS box. Our church usually has a Relay for Life rummage sale but no one seems to be in charge this year. I'm not hanging on to "stuff!"

"Gma" -- on the great loss! You are so doing it! Hope your camera and the pjs arrive today. We have an extra wide mailbox with a door on each side. The mailman will jam a box in there so tight I have to open both doors to shove it through. They have been known to hang boxes on the flag in the rain. No common sense used whatsoever!

Susan and Maggie -- Hope all is well with both of you!

I need to get dressed and get started on my "to do" list. Hope you all have a terrific Tuesday!