Christmas

Wow, December just flew by! All the busy that goes with the holidays.

It was close there for awhile, I had to make a phone call to Santa and tell him not to come because Grace was being naughty. She was finally good enough that Santa called me back and said he'd come bring a gift to Grace this year. With Jeremy's schedule and going to Douglas on Christmas Eve afternoon, Santa decided to come on Christmas Eve Eve. She got a bicycle from Santa, unfortunately is got banged up in his sack and the chain would slip off when she tried to pedal. We got a replacement. Anna got a tent with a tunnel/tube to go through. There was some squabbling, but they mostly enjoyed their gifts.

At Grandma and Grandpa's they got lots of toys. Play-doh was the big hit for Grace and Anna liked the easel; she could draw. The girls are staying in Douglas for a week to hang out with Grandma & Grandpa.

We intended to leave on Saturday, but the weather was horrible. The wind was ferocious and was blowing the snow, so there was limited visibility. The interstate south was closed, so we turned around and came back. Grace seemed slightly disappointed that we were back.

I'm hoping to get toys cleaned out and put away or discarded, the Christmas tree down and lots of sewing done while the girls are away. Jeremy made the comment last night that it was so quiet....how true that is.

Happy Birthday, Grace!

Today is Grace's birthday, it's hard to believe I now have a 4 year old! Whenever my girls have a birthday, I think back to the day they were born....it was snowing that day, 4 years ago, too.

Her and Jeremy left to go ice fishing on Thursday night. They went with Grampa and her Uncle Wade. I'm sure there wasn't full nights of sleep and lots of fun. They got back today just in time for her party. Grandma and Grandpa and her two aunts and her cousin, Chloe all came down. When she got here, she was all excited to show everybody her room and her new kitty. Then she came down off the adrenaline rush and she threw a fit, and cried and cried and cried. She was all excited again when she opened all her presents....then we had a hissy fit again when Anna wanted to play too. She was rather rude to people, not a very good birthday party. Thankfully is was just family. Now she's taking a nap, as is Jeremy.

It is again bitter cold. I think it's about 5 out there. And there are flurries. I guess we're supposed to have this bitter cold for a few days. I'm pretty tired of it; freezing my fingers off through my gloves while feeding the animals, getting my breath taken away just walking outside.

Kitty Kitty Mew Mew

This is the new kitten, Sunny, brillantly using the allowable scratching post and not the couch. We got him yesterday, mostly as a birthday present for Grace. We adopted him from the animal shelter, so he's all up to date on his shots, except rabies and he's already been neutered! The name comes from the orange fur that kinda reminds one of the sun. Even though Grace is being a rather rough owner, I've found Sunny laying contentedly on her lap while Grace was watching a movie. Anna seems more interested in pulling his tail and playing in the kitty litter! The dogs don't seem to mind him much either; they both gave a look, a sniff, and walked away.

More Necklaces

This is Jeremy on Rusty, our new horse. The weather was nice enough over the weekend for Jeremy to take a test-drive.
These are two of the necklaces I've made lately. I've been going back and making earrings to go with the necklaces which is quick and easy.

I haven't been much in the mood lately to do any sewing, but this morning I put the machine back on the table and sewed some rows together on the quilt I'm making for the master bedroom. The quilt we have on the bed now I made right before we got married, so it's 7 years old now and showing quite a bit of wear and tear. I've patched many a rip and now the seams are starting to come undone and there are holes.

The doctor called me the other day and said that the sore that I had removed last week was a dermatofibroma, which is just a growth of scar tissue. They are not sure what causes it; it could be from a bug bite. But it is nothing to worry about, and I get my stitches out in 2 days.

Updates

Jeremy and Grace headed up to Whitehall, MT on November 17 to pick up a horse. He's a 9 year old brown and white paint gelding. I guess he's a real plug, just plods along, so he'll be great for me and Grace!

I had a sore on my shin that wouldn't heal, so the doctor thought it would be a good idea to cut it off and get a biopsy done. I had it removed on the 17th and got 3 stitches. They also gave me a tetanus shot, which seems to hurt worse than my shin! It's supposed to be 2 weeks before I hear the results of what it was.

Dad's elbow surgery went well, although now he's not allowed to move it. So he's bored out of his mind at home; can't even putter around in the garage or anything.

Horses and Dads

My dad is going in for elbow surgery on Friday. Which means he'll be at home, bored out of his mind, and partially immobile for 6 weeks as they'll be putting his right arm in a cast. He said Mom'll get to know him more than she may want to in those 6 weeks, LOL.

Today is Rex the horse's last day at Lazy Crown, Lazy Y. A gal from Greeley is coming up to get him and take him to her place. With him being on special food, he was getting rather expensive to feed. This gal already has a horse that's on equine senior, along with other horses, so Rex will have a good home for his senior years. This means that Cocoa will be lonely, so we are on the lookout for another horse.

Latest Projects

My friend, Sarah, had bought some Halloween material and no longer wanted it, so she sent it to me with a pattern. This is what I whipped up from the stuff she sent. It's a table runner, but I also put a hanging sleeve on it so I can hang it on the wall next year.
This is just a few of the things I've been making. This one was in a kit and turned out better than I thought it would.

And this one is from my own imagination. I even made some earrings to match. I'm thinking this one will be a Christmas gift, I'm just not sure who the lucky relative will be yet.

My parents called the other day to say that my dad may need surgery. Apparently he tore a tendon in his arm or shoulder or something. That's what he gets for thinking he's younger than he is, LOL! Anyway, they will know more tomorrow if he needs surgery or what they are gonna do to fix him all up.

While Jeremy and the big girl are in town and the little girl is sleeping, I'm gonna do something fun. It may, just accidentally, involve reading, that's a hard thing to do with little girls and a man under your feet. :)

I am still alive

To all my faithful blog fans, all 3 of you, lol, it's about time I posted something new. Last week we had one heckuva snow storm that stuck us in the house (and not at work) for 3 days. Then I've been sick, sick enough that I've been off work for 3 days this week. I am ready to get back to some normalcy!

My new obsession is making beaded jewelry. I bought this book that has some great patterns. I see Christmas gifts in the future, so I may not be posting too many pictures...yet.

Some of my new project pictures will get posted soon

"Breaking" news

Lately Grace has taken to getting the eggs she can reach by herself and bringing them in whenever she's outside. She was outside on Saturday and decided to do just that. I watched her go in the coop. She carefully put the eggs in the pocket of her sweatshirt. She made it all the way to the deck, then tripped going up the stairs. She broke all 6 eggs in her sweatshirt pocket. Of course she started crying. She and I decided that from now on she can't go get eggs unless mom or dad is there to help her.

Cowgirl Quilt

I finished Grace's quilt about a week ago and finally got it washed and put on her bed. I originally made the curtains quite awhile ago. Then her aunt had made her some pillow cases and one used the same cowgirl fabric. When we moved her into a big-girl bed, I realized we really didn't have a bedspread for her. I dug back through my stash and found some of the same fabric. So, of course, I had to make a quilt that matched. I also had some red that looks like a handkerchief. So I thought this pattern would be perfect. It looks so good on her bed. I'm tempted to repaint the horrible green wall a blue-grey color that some of the cowgirls are wearing in the fabric.

Jeremy and I just got Blackberry's. He's having a harder time getting it figured out as he's been working pretty hard lately and doesn't have much time to sit and play after work. I sure am loving it so far....my planner will eventually go by the wayside I think. I think I'll have a harder time staying off Facebook now!

Purse Pockets

I found this pattern from Studio Kat Patterns. I thought it'd be great as you can put all your stuff in it then just take it out and put it in the next purse when you wanna change purses; simple as pie. I made the small one, but the bigger one (shown here) fits my purses better. It's already in use in my Gracie purse.

There are a bunch of friends who are having babies that are due in the next several months, so I thought I'd get busy making some baby gifts. This is one quilt that I made. I got the pattern from this website. I like how it's super-quick with her piecing technique and super-cute. I did make it a smaller size and with flannel.

I'm also working on an afghan. I'm not sure which one is going to which baby yet.

We got a bunch of snow over the weekend (think around 8+ inches). It sure is pretty to see all the white powder, but the roads sure aren't any fun. Grace went out several times to go play in the snow; Daddy even pulled her behind the 4-wheeler while she helped him do chores.

Jeremy's been working on an insulated box that will house the horse tank. There'll be a hole in the lid just big enough for a horse nose to get in to get a drink. All he has left to do is paint it and put it outside. I'll post pictures when he gets it all finished.

The Trials of Mama Goat

While Rex is eating his daily ration, the goats have taken to sneaking in the round pen and checking it out, and often having a snack. Jeremy has then taken to getting out the BB gun and shooting at the goats. I'm not sure why, but he recently dug out the 0.22 and started shooting near the goats...just to scare them off. The other day, he was doing this and apparently mama goat was behind a tumbleweed, he didn't see her and accidentally shot her. He got her in the right hind leg about at the joint. It went right through. He says it's not life threatening and has been doctoring her; putting the animal equivalent of neosporin on it and wrapping it up. She has come out of the goat house and is eating and getting around, although she's been favoring that leg. We'll probably have a lame goat now. I told Jeremy to put the 0.22 away and just use the BB gun....we'll see what happens.

With Rex Watching

I thought I ought to write this down for posterity sake. Rex, one of our horses, who is pushing 30 years old, is having trouble gaining and keeping on any weight. He is on a special "senior" horse mix that we feed him twice a day. And he's Grace's horse, he wouldn't blow up in a million years, probably because he's so darn old! Anyway, with winter coming and him being on this expensive feed, the hubby and I have discussed what we wanna do. We know if we take him to the sale barn, he'd just go to a dogfood/glue maker. We had decided to keep him around. Well, last week, Jeremy decided it's time to just put him down. We borrowed the backhoe from the neighbor down the road, and the vet was scheduled to come out. And he'd be gone by the time Grace got home. Jeremy even had the hole dug, with Rex watching the whole time. Then he grew a heart, cancelled the vet, and backfilled the hole. He may not last the winter, but right now, we'll just fork out the money for the fancy food and enjoy seeing him out in the pasture with Cocoa and Nibbles.

Another Bag Creation

Here is the Gracie bag from Lazy Girl Designs. I made it in just a weekend, several weekends ago. After telling my oldest it was named after her, she assumed it was hers. In fact, she may have even taken this picture. The flap has velcro on it, so it keeps it nicely closed, but easy enough to open. The flower fabric has daisies and zinnias (I think) and it's a fun fall fabric. The lining is a tan color with tan leaves and flowers on it. I plan on transferring my current purse contents into it...once I get the motivation to do so.

Ah, the dry air!

After coming back home to Wyoming, I now appreciate it much more. I love the dry air, minimal traffic and being able to see the horizon. A fellow engineer from college who is now in the Atlanta area took me out one night. She showed me downtown with all the big buildings, one way streets and crazy traffic. We ate at an authentic southern food tea room, Mary Mac's Tea Room. I had chicken and dumplings with cheese grits. I managed to get home without a hitch. I even got a window seat on the way home and nobody in the seat next to me. Then I had to drive back from Denver. Heck, I'd already put in my eight hours by the time I got back to Cheyenne at a little after 10 on Friday morning. It was so wonderful to see my girls and hubby again. I think Anna was the most happy to see me.

And I learned my husband doesn't listen to me. He apparently thought I was in Arizona the whole time!

After 5 days away from my sewing machine, I've been back at it. I'll be posting my latest project soon.

Country Mouse

Woke up this morning to rain, wind, cold, and yuck....just 10 hours later, I'm sitting in a sweltering, humid motel room. Here's the scoop....I left Cheyenne around 8:00 this morning, headed to DIA to catch a flight for an Urban Drainage Design class for work. It rained most of the way to Denver. Ok, girl- not-knowing-the-roads, combined with the spray from traffic, was rather interesting. After getting to DIA and getting my boarding pass and passing through security and getting to the gate, all of which wasn't a bad ordeal, I have plenty of time to kill at the gate. Did a lot of people watching.... I had an aisle seat on the plane, wish I would have had a window seat, but it seemed like there were a bunch of clouds out there anyway. The plane landed in Atlanta and then the jetway had issues, so we had to taxi to another gate...so there was about another hour on the plane with some rather impatient people. I get to the main terminal, get my luggage, and get on the bus to the rental car area. The driver said they've got massive amounts of rain....18-24 inches in the last 7 days or something like that and 10 people have died so far. He said "they" were saying it's a 100-year storm. So...everybody's a hydraulic engineer! :) By now it's dark here in Atlanta. I manage to find the motel...I may not have had the best driving skills in getting there. The room is small, mostly taken up by the king size bed and HOT! I crank the A/C. I use the only mode of transportation I haven't used today (or so it feels)....my feet, and walk across the street to a Subway. Off to sleep on sheets I keep telling myself are nice and bleach-y clean and take a shower with soft water that I'm SO not used to...I feel slimy.

Nothing New

Boy, I haven't posted in quite awhile. I'm headed to Atlanta for some training on Monday. I'm sure I'll have lots to say next week. I'm kinda excited and scared at the same time. I haven't been on a commercial flight since I was a kid; in fact, I don't even remember it. I've been to DIA but that was 10+ years ago, before 9-11. And I'm doing this by myself! I've been to the DIA and Atlanta airport websites, been on Google Earth looking around Atlanta, I think I'm ready.

Messenger Bag

This is the 32 minute messenger bag; the tutorial is here. I used a batik for the outside and just a scrap from my stash for the lining. I didn't time it to see if it took 32 minutes, but it was super quick! I use it to stash my book and planner in to take to work.

Jeremy's employer had a family safety day. They had lunch catered and there were tours of the plant, along with an ambulance and fire truck you could look in. They had Cold Nose Investigators there with their dogs. That was really interesting. It's amazing to think a dog can find a body under 74 feet of water! There was a bus tour of the plant, I wish they would have gone slower so Jeremy could tell me more about what he's always talking about. But at least now I have some clue. Too bad the day was cold and overcast.

The Piddle Things

Lately, Anna's been waking up in the morning with a dry diaper. I finally dug the tiny potty out of the basement and dusted it off. This morning was another dry diaper, so I sat her on the potty. Not too long after lots of cajoling, I hear tinkling. Thinking she was done and giving TONS of praise, I take her off and start to empty the potty. Then I hear more tinkling and there is an enormous puddle on the bathroom floor. Apparently she hadn't completely finished! I hadn't started actively potty training her yet, but if the opportunity presents itself, you bet I'm gonna try. Sometimes it's the little things...er, the piddle things, that make a mommy the happiest!

Bellybuttons and High-Fives

And this is my Miranda Day Bag....I think it turned out great! It even fits the laptop. I had to go to the farm and ranch store to find the rings....none of the craft stores in this silly town sell rings except for key ring type things.

Lately Grace has been a terror at daycare. Yesterday she was trying to suffocate Anna. Today she was dragging that poor baby around the house to the point of hurting her. I don't want her to get us kicked out of another daycare.

Oh, the joy of teaching your toddler tricks! If you ask her where her bellybutton is, she pulls up her shirt and looks for her bellybutton and points it out when she finds it. It's entirely too cute because she has the little baby belly and has to really look to find the button.

Almost....Maybe

The girls and I went to see the new addition to the family, Chloe, my sister-& brother-in-law's new baby. Oh my Goodness, she was soooo tiny. She slept pretty much the whole time we were there too, but it almost made me want another one, almost....maybe.

I finished my Miranda bag, however; I haven't gotten around to downloading the picture yet....it looks way cool! I just need to go get some plexiglas to give it a nice stiff bottom. I also made a "32 minute messenger bag" I saw here with some batik. It looks great! And when the baby was taking a nap, I pinned together the quilt sandwich for Grace's quilt. I think I'm going to tie it, but not sure yet....that would be the quickest. And somehow I still managed to get the house clean, bake zucchini bread, shampoo the carpet, and do laundry this weekend!

Trains & Chickens

I've gotta take you back to December 2007. My friend, Heidi, and I went shopping for fabric to make a quilt for her step-son. It was a rather complicated quilt with lots of little pieces. There were doors that opened to reveal trains underneath. I snuck in a few with chickens as I'm "Jeri with the chickens", hence the quilt's name. Fast forward to August 2009, I *finally* got it done and it looks great and he hadn't outgrown trains, thank heavens since it took so long to do it! Here's a pic of the finished thing...the doors actually open and close. It's got little train buttons as well.As a thank you, she got me a Reversible Quilts book; it's way neat-o! Now I'm gonna try making a reversible baby quilt. It seems I have an abundant amount of family/friends that are expecting babies in the next few months.

On a totally different note, my husband is cleaning his gun at the kitchen table which also serves as my craft table. I'm unable to sew on anything right now and he sure is stinkin' up the place with whatever cleaning fluids he's using.

Miranda

I made the Claire bag from Lazy Girl Designs, the link is under Favorite Links on the side, a few weeks ago. I only wish I would have put some sort of closure on it, velcro or a magnet. This is one side.... and this is the other....

I found some great fabric...and it was on sale! I'm gonna make the Miranda Day Bag out of it. But first I gotta wash it :(

Fabric Basket

I found this tutorial and just *had* to make it. It was a pretty quick project and I strip pieced the top just to make it a bit quicker. Next time I make it I might add stiffer batting or put some interfacing on the fabric as well. It seems kinda floppy but super cute.

The tutorial for this fabric basket is here and in my Favorite Links on the side.

I just got a pattern for the Miranda Day Bag from Lazygirl Designs. I so want to start it right now! Unfortunately I don't think I have enough fabric on hand, so I have to go shopping (who doesn't like shopping for fabric!) And I'm not loading up little girls to go back to town right now. Maybe tomorrow :)

Lately Anna has started playing peek-a-boo with me while I change her diaper....it's entirely too cute.

Now to go "help" pickup the toys that are littering the living room floor!

Chloe Marie

Late last night, my brother- & sister-in-law welcomed Chloe Marie into this world. She had some breathing problems at first, but now is a beautiful, pink little girl. We plan on going down next weekend to see my first ever niece. I've been planning on making these cute little baby shoes for her, and this morning, I figured it's about time I got to that! :) These are the ones that I made. They turned out better than I was expecting!

The pattern to these cloth baby shoes is located here.

Monday?

It should have been a Monday the way my day started. My hubby snored all night long, so I eventually went and slept on the couch....of course, the couch isn't as comfy as my bed. Then my shower was lukewarm. I think I probably set a speed record. Come to find out, the water heater had tripped the breaker. Then I went to go load the girls in the car and Grace's car seat was still in the hubby's vehicle, which was already on it's way to work. At least when I got to work, my friend brought me a piece of cake and the day turned around. Of course, the donut helped too...then the chocolate! :)

Howdy

I've been debating for quite awhile whether I should start a blog or not. After a good friend suggested a name that makes sense, is kinda funny and more than fitting, I thought I'd give it a shot. A bit about me...I live with my husband and 2 girls on our property outside of town. We have 3 horses, 2 pygmy goats, 2 dogs, a cat and a flock of chickens...not to mention some wild bunnies. The pygmy goats are care of my brother-in-law who bought them as a Christmas present last year for the girls. At least it's been fun watching "Tiny Goat" grow up. I also have a quilting hobby that my mother-in-law got me interested in about 10 years ago (has it been that long already?) I *finally* finished one for a friend's son and now I have a long list of things I want to do, including: making one for my oldest daughter's bed before it gets cold, a One Block Wonder, a jacket made out of a sweatshirt. I've also just admitted to my tote bag and purse fetish :) and I have a bunch of those I'd like to make. Now if I could just find a place to buy some more of that precious thing....time!