Both Paul and I had some "odds-n-ends" to accomplish before we could sit back and do what we really wanted to do.....I started with a little picking up of the living room, which lead to taking some dirty clothes to the entry-way, which lead to picking up the entry way, leading to sweeping, and mopping, and organizing the shoe closet, which then lead to the bathroom, cleaning the mirror, and more sweeping, mopping, which lead to kitchen dishes, which ....... okay.......you get the point......
BUT, while I was doing all this, I heard "banging" on the roof-----DH was FINALLY putting some finishing touches on our roof (whew---it's only taken a year!!!), which then lead him to cleaning some windows, which lead to him bringing the ladder off the roof and up against the house to clean the BIG WINDOWS!!! Finally---the first time they've been cleaned since we built 4 years ago......The nice part of all of our motivation: we now have a clean house and it SHOULD stay clean for the next two weeks since we don't have 6 little feet roaming around leaving toys lay, dishes lay, etc......
Oh---Oh---Oh-------but the KICKER of the day!!!!!! DH came in for some water---HOT OUTSIDE! And I just HAD to take a shot of his "tool-belt"!!!! What a hoot!!!!!!! I guess we have/had some wasp nests/hives in the peek of our roof, so he had to "arm" himself. :0)So catching up time with some of my promised stories.....
First of all, the "Grandma scold"!
GMa and Gpa left at 11:00 on Sunday (old news), and it takes around 3 hours to get from my house to theirs. I knew they wanted to stop shortly at a store along the way, and I figured they MIGHT take a restaurant stop too...so.....I'm thinking 4:00, MAYBE 5:00 latest!!! So.....4:30 rolls around and I get a call from my SIL (who was waiting for them to arrive so she could take HER two kids over to Gma's and Gpa's-----yeah....they're loaded with FIVE grandkids this week!!!) Anyway, I started to get just a teeeeeeeeeny bit worried, but said to give them until 5:00.....
So....5:00 rolls around and no call. I tried calling the house phone---no answer. So I tried the cell phone---no answer! (The cell phone worried me because they should have it with them.) So now...my heads starts reeling just a bit and a little bit more concern starts seeping into my mind.
5:30---same thing!
6:00--same thing! Okay, but NOW I'm starting to go into panic mode JUST a bit.....I love my Dad, but his driving SCARES ME TO DEATH! So ......all the panic thoughts start whirling----"have they been in an accident----do I need to call police and try to hunt them down---who can I call to check on the house to see if they're home and maybe outside..."
So, we called DH's dad (they live 5 miles from my parents). First, we just asked for the church's phone number because Mom had mentioned needing to do some quick decorating for the VBS group this week.....NO ANSWER at the church, though.
So then I call MY sister (5 hours away) to see if she had a cell phone# of my SIL because she was also not answering HER phone now. I wanted to see if Gma and Gpa had contacted her..... My Sister couldn't help!! Ahhhhhhh
by this time, it's 6:30....still no answer at home nor the cell phone. Also, by this time, I have left 3 messages on each phone, with the last one being..."Okay guys---now I have officially gone in to panic mode---I sure hope you are just outside and can't hear the phone, because SOON you are going to have some police banging on your door trying to hunt you down..."
FINALLLLLLLY at 6:50, my mom calls, with a sheepish lil' nervous giggle. "I'm sorry hunny.......but we got home safely around 4:10. We just were swamped with so many things from unpacking, getting the other two kids, getting to church, etc....."
SO, after a good SCOLDING (which my mom took very well), we laughed about the "police banging on your door" message and hung up, BOTH having learned a lesson. My mom learned to NOT forget to call me, and I learned that EVEN THOUGH those little ones can me MONSTERS and drive me BONKERS, my life would be turned upside down if anything were to ever happen to them......
Okay......whew.....now for the "I saved a dollar" story.....
Yesterday, while running the 5 miles from town to home, many MANY thoughts ran through my head, ranging anywhere from..."hmmm, which quilting project should I work on first when I get home?" to "okay, I've gone about 25 minutes, so that's been roughly 2.5 miles..."
BUT, what topped ALL the thoughts is THIS calculation problem.....
"let's see---it's 5 miles home, and my car gets about 20 MPG (TERRIBLE, I KNOW!!!!), so I'm using up an amount of energy that is equivalent to 1/4 of a gallon. Since gas is $4.00 at this time, 1/4 of $4.00 is $1.00. Wooo-hooo....I'm saving $1.00----OMGoodness! That's IT?!?!? FOR all this energy?!?!? *sigh*
*giggle*...leave it to a crazy math-minded brain to "run" numbers while I run :0)
Okay-----now to tonight
(still with me????) Yes, yes, yes....I talked as fast as my thoughts.....so if my words aren't making much sense, then you have tapped in to the real me...... :0)
I know I had written that my goals were to quilt Andrea's Garden, but I was in the mood to piece once I got home. So.....I went downstairs, looked around and saw my stack of "left-over-rail-blocks" from when I was making the CC. Some of you may remember when I first talked about these blocks back on June 14th. And what's funny: once I laid them out tonight and looked through my stash again for some possible sashings, I ACTUALLY opened up my 1.5" strip drawer and pulled out JUST ENOUGH pink strips to make the sashing...I ended up NOT using any of the ones from the June 14th post.....I have fallen in love with the "free-motion meandering hearts" motive!!! Hearts are so easy to make, and it's OKAY if they are different sizes and a bit "wonky" and not perfect....because, after all, WHO can make a PERFECT heart??!?? :0) By 9:30 I was putting the last stitches in; I once again used the "cheat-fold-backing-to-front" binding method, so it is now officially COMPLETE! I had thought originally of having this as a wall-hanging, but now, it actually is the perfect size and "look" to be a little baby girl quilt :0) I might donate this one to my mom's church for their baptismal baskets. (Which, BTW, Mom and Pastor decided to use my Baby Boy Rag Quilt for this Sunday's baptism. Yeah.....my first Charify Quilt is being used....)
Okay, if you're still with me, you should earn an award!!!! I can't remember exactly when I started writing this post, but it's present right down there...yup....just a bit down from here...."posted at: __________". Well, take that time and subtract it from 11:19, and that's how long it took me to publish this post.
Happy quilting everyone! I hope life is giving you lemonade :0)
Well, now I'm worn out! 'Phone home as soon as you arrive' is a lesson I had to work at with my sons too. THEY knew they had arrived safely, so what was the problem? Isn't it great when you get on a roll and can work at something without interruptions.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't hard to follow along at all, I was on the edge of my seat, and so happy that everyone was ok. I figured they were, or I wouldn't be reading about it, but still... You are so amazing in the quilts that you 'whip up'. Did you make up the free-motion meandering heart motif, or is it in a book or online. I am about ready to give it a try, and yours looks so pretty. Now that your heart has slowed to a normal pace, enjoy your 'me' time.
ReplyDeleteHahaha....you made me giggle! I think in that same supersonic speed that you do. Looks like you are busy as usual. So, my big question for ya...What are you going to spurge on with that dollar you saved? Ok, I saw gas on sale for 3.71 a gal last week, I figured out that if I drove to that place to get gas, I would save a whole 20 cents total after I added the miles to get there and back. I passed and paid the 4.06 at the closer gas station. I'm living life on the edge here....
ReplyDeleteRegina
Loving the free form loopy hearts. I think they could be ivy as well as hearts. They would look really good in a border. It is hard not to worry about the kids, but the fact that you are here to worry proves that your parents are competent enough to safely take care of children. Right? Still, it's easier to know they are safe if you can see their little faces or at least hear their voices. Try to enjoy the break though, it is very refreshing to have a little time to think.
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