Halloween sewing

On Tuesday I asked my daughter if Brayden had a Halloween costume -- he didn't. I offered to sew one for him. Of course, that was before he got sick and I had him Wed., Thurs., and Friday, since he couldn't go to his daycare when he was sick (nor would I want him to). And having a sick little one isn't very conducive to spending time sewing. So, as usual, I was down to a deadline to get a costume made for him before 5pm. Jeff took a vacation day and took Brayden to the local park for some (very easy) "hiking" in the woods and time at the playground. I headed straight for my sewing room. Brayden and I talked about what he wanted to be for Halloween. I gave him choices -- a kitty like Joey, a dog like Jack, a robot or Spiderman. He picked a kitty like Joey. (Actually, when Mary first asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween, he said, "Umma". LOL!) So I headed to our basement and found my mother-in-law's old faux fur coat (if you're bigger than a size 8 is there ANYthing more unflattering than a 3/4 length fur coat?!?) and a wire hanger (to give the "tail" form), then grabbed a black sweatshirt and sweat pants from Brayden's dresser (I keep extra clothes here for him) -- and off I went to the sewing room. Now, I'd love to show you just how adorable this little guy looked as a kitty -- but he wouldn't try the costume on! LOL He put on the ears and he put on the "paws" (mittens made from black felt with a strip of faux fur on the back), but then they were off and he wanted to go outside and play. Hopefully, my daughter is taking pictures of Brayden in his costume for me. If so, I'll add them in here for you to see. I'm SURE he was absolutely adorable. The outfit really was cute. Sigh sigh sigh... So because I don't have anything fun to write about, I'm going to turn to Friday Fill-in's. 1. My favorite food seasoning is fresh ground black pepper. 2. My husband's laughter is music to my ears. 3. Lucky is a state of mind. 4. Grandmothering is something I take very seriously. 5. Many people just don't get it. 6. Peanut Butter was the last thing I bought at the store. 7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to giving out candy, tomorrow my plans include cleaning up all that fur in my sewing room and Sunday, I want to go to the flea market again! As I'm writing this it is 7:45 pm. There are 15 minutes left for Trick or Treat. Every year we count how many kids come to our door. When my kids were little, we normally got between 150 and 175 kids. This year? Minus Three. How do you get minus three kids? Three kids and their parents came down our street -- and skipped our house. I'm about to go on the Internet to look for recipes that involve Skittles and Sugar Babies. Oh my gosh, I think I'm having a woe-is-me-night!

A Halloween Poem from my childhood

I had the most wonderful teacher in first, second and third grades (Yes, I actually attended a three-room schoolhouse, grades 1 through 8!), Miss Lucy Faulkner. There are many things I remember from her unusual teaching style (very hands-on, very creative), and this poem is just one of the many. She read this to us every Halloween, in the spookiest voice you can imagine!

LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE

Little Orphan Annie has come to our house to stay.

She washes cups and saucers

and brushes crumbs away.

She shooes the chickens off the porch,

and dusts the hearth and sweeps.

She builds the fires and bakes the bread

and earns her board and keep.

And all us other children, when the supper things are done,

we sit around the kitchen fire and have the mostest fun.

And we listen to the witches tales that Annie talks about.

And the goblins will get YOU if you don't watch out!

Once there was a little boy who wouldn't say his prayers.

And when he went to bed one night, away upstairs,

His mamma heard him holler and his daddy heard him bawl.

And when they turned the kivers down he wasn't there at all.

They seeked him up the rafter room, cubby hole and press,

and they seeked him up the chimney flu and everywhere I guess.

But all they ever found of him was his clothes scattered about

and the goblins will get YOU if you don't watch out!

And one time there was a little girl who would always laugh and grin,

and make fun of everyone, even her blood and kin.

One day when there was company, and old folks were there,

she mocked them and shocked them and said she didn't care.

Just as she kicked her heels and turned to run and hide,

two great big black things were standing by her side.

They snatched her through the ceiling before she knew what she was 'bout,

and the goblins will get you if you don't watch out!

And Little Orphan Annie says when the blaze is blue

and the lamp wick flutters and the wind goes woooooo,

You'd better mind your daddy and mommy and your teacher fond and dear,

and help the poor and needy ones and dry an orphan's tear.

Just help the poor and needy ones that linger about

or the goblins will get YOU if you don't watch out!

Brayden - sick sick sick again

Brayden arrived at my door at 7:15 this morning for my regular day of babysitting. He had a cough which quickly got worse. By 8:30 I was very concerned, and called my daughter to have her go back home (from work) and get his "breathing machine" and inhaler medicine. She did, and he was better after a treatment, but just for a few minutes, then he got much much worse. I called Mary again at work and told her how concerned I was, so she got him a doctor's appointment at 11:40. By 10:00 I was close to bringing him to the Emergency Room. He was coughing through every single breath, with no break between and it was a nasty bubbely cough but nothing was coming up with it. Since it was cold this morning, I took him out on the front porch, bundled us both up in a blanket, and rocked him until it was time to leave. His breathing improved a tiny bit, but not enough to stop me from being scared for him. So, the diagnosis - pneumonia in his left lung, along with bronchitis, combined with allergies and his asthma. Yikes. Heavy duty meds, lots of breathing treatments, back to the doctor tomorrow if he's not better. So the poor little guy is kind of draped around me as I held him, waiting for the doctor to bring me some medicine samples, and the front desk nurse asked Brayden if he wanted a Halloween sticker. (He's just learning about Halloween, since this will be his first year participating. I've been explaining to him about knocking on his neighbor's door and getting candy.) He didn't even pick up his head, but shook it yes. She put the sticker on his jacket and he looked down at it, then put his head back on my shoulder. I said, "What do you say?" and... bless his heart.. in his sick little, sad little voice, he said... "Trick or treat..." All together now -- "Awwwwwwwwwwwww...."

I saw this post over on Lucy's Be It Ever So Humble blog, and thought I'd give it a try. The trick to it is to answer the question in one word. Let me know if you put this on your blog and I'll come read it! 1. Where is your cell phone? Kitchen 2. Where is your significant other? Sleeping 3. Your hair color? Brown 4. Your mother? Passed 5. Your father? Passed 6. Your favorite thing? Jeff 7. Your dream last night? None 8. Your dream/goal? Longevity 9. The room you're in? Office 10. Your hobby? Quilting 11. Your fear? Abduction 12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? New Hampshire 13. Where were you last night? Knitting 14. What you're not? Frazzled 15. One of your wish-list items? Move 16. Where you grew up? New Hampshire 17. The last thing you did? Blogged 18. What are you wearing? Jeans 19. Your TV? Quiet 20. Your pet? Joey 21. Your computer? Humming 22. Your mood? Sanguine 23. Missing someone? Son 24. Your car? Newish 25. Something you're not wearing? Make-up 26. Favorite store? Fabric 27. Your summer? Joyful 28. Love someone? Absatively 29. Your favorite color? Salmon 30. When is the last time you laughed? Morning 31. Last time you cried? Months

Have Coffee with me!

Hey, how nice to see you again! C'mon in, c'mon in. I just put a fresh pot of coffee on. You take just cream, right? Sit down over there at the kitchen table and make yourself comfortable. Now, please excuse the mess in my kitchen this morning. We had spaghetti squash and meatballs for dinner last night, and I made extra meatballs for the freezer. A pound and a half of ground beef, and I'll get three good meals out of it. That always helps. And look at this! You know, I never see spaghetti squash seeds in the stores in the spring, so every year I save a few seeds and clean them up, dry them, and put them in the freezer until Spring. Then I just take them out, soak them overnight in water, and plant them in the garden! I've had real good luck with them every year. So just think -- from my one squash I bought for .50 at the flea market, I'll get at least 30 more squash! Can't beat that for a deal! So how are things with you? These 30 degree temperatures are hard to take this early in the season, aren't they? It seems like it was in the 70's just a few days ago, and lately I've heard the *S* word mentioned on the weather forecast! I ordered a new winter coat from Kohl's a few days ago (did you see that sale? Fifty percent off!), and I'm hoping it arrives today. My old coat has had it and although I *could* wear it another year, I promised myself at the end of last year I'd get a new one. So I donated the old one! Best way to make yourself get something new that you really need but keep putting off! No, not much new here. How about with you? How's your family? Mine? They're doing just fine. I do need to call my son in Colorado and find out how his job interview is going for his big promotion. He's been through several interviews and it sounds like they all went very well, but then he found out that his company posted the same job to outsiders, after he'd has his interviews. He sounded disappointed. I hope he gets it, though it will mean he'll move even further away from us than he already is. But hey -- it will give us an excuse to fly to California for a vacation! If the company is smart, they'll give him the promotion. Both my kids have fantastic work ethics, which is kind of a rare commodity these days. But, I guess I might be a little partial. You think? I have to tell you about a funny conversation in our house lately. Jeff and I both know that I have always been the "brains" in this outfit. LOL Last night I forgot something (and even now, I forget what I forgot!), and I said, "I swear, my brain is turning to mush." He said, "You know, we're in trouble when it works out that I'm the brains in this outfit!" We had a laugh over it. Then this morning, he comes downstairs looking refreshed and raring to go to work, and I asked him why he was in such a great mood. Well, he'd finished a really huge project he'd been working on at work and at home on nights and weekends, and he said, "I no longer have the Sword of Damocles hanging over me." LOL Now we both know Jeff never talks like that! I laughed and said, "Boy, you really are becoming the brains in this outfit!" and he said, "Nahhh.. I heard it on the Three Stooges." LOL! I swear, that man can make me laugh like no one else. The box over there? Oh, I went down to the basement yesterday and got out some Thanksgiving decorations. Here, let me show you one. Is this the sweetest thing?! I found this at an estate sale maybe ten years ago. I've put it in the dining room every Thanksgiving since. Sure, it's handmade. Somebody put a lot of work into it too! Even the little dolls are handmade. I swear, when I see it now I think of Tipper and her family over at the Blind Pig and The Acorn. Of course I know they don't live in a log cabin! But this little cabin just says Appalachia to me, and that makes me think of the music at Tipper's! I could just listen to that music all day. How wonderful would that be to have going on at your house? I know you read my blog. But I forgot to put up a picture of one more of my finds from the Flea Market the other day. Just look at this sweetie pie musical treadle sewing machine. Is it just adorable?? And watch this -- when I wind it up, it plays "A Few of My Favorite Things"! If I can find a cord to use for the belt, that pulley on the end makes the needle go up and down when the music plays! Every time I hear that song, I think of my step-Mom. She used to sing it to the kids every single night at bedtime. I've sung it to my kids and now Brayden a few times myself! Bring your coffee and let's go on and sit in the family room and get more comfortable. I think I'll turn some music on. I always like to have some kind of background noise going on when I'm here by myself in the daytime, but I don't turn TV on very often. Yes, I'm knitting again. I've been wanting to knit at night when Jeff and I watch TV, and finally got around to finding all my needles and yarn. The last time I cleaned out my quilt room I stored everything down in the basement. I admit, I forgot how much yarn I had! But I found this nice wool and cotton blend down there, and started a pair of socks. Took me four times to remember how to do it because it's been four or five years since I've knit anything. But as soon as I got the "rhythm" going again, it felt good! I do love to knit socks! Doesn't this yarn remind you of sock monkeys? I'm thinking of adding a red stripe at the top and a red heel and toe. But you can see, I don't have much done and that's two hours of work last night! Used to be I could do a sock a night. Of course, I'm using this real light weight yarn and Size 1 needles, so it's taking longer, but hopefully I'll get my speed back and move faster than this. Awwww, you have to go already? How about one more cup of coffee? No, no I understand. I actually need to go run some errands myself. I have to run a package to the post office, and I need to get over to Michael's and see if they have bean bag pellets, and oh! I need to get to the library because Jeff took out two videos and forgot about them and now I have a $10 fine on my card! Since I have a whole lot better things I can do with $10, I asked him to give me the money to pay the fine. And oh, I really really need to get my hair cut, but not sure if I'll do that today or not. I've got a ton of sewing I want to work on, and it seems every time I go out and run errands, I get side-tracked somewhere and don't get things done at home that I want to. Well, thanks so much for stopping by. You take care of yourself and stay warm! Come on back as soon as you feel like it! I always love to have company.

Menu Planning Monday w/Budget Beef

The weather is getting colder, and meals seem to be getting warmer. My menues are limited this week to what I have on hand and in the freezer (unless I stop quilting long enough to go to the grocery store this week). So here's what's planned so far. Monday Ham and Cheese Omelettes (See "Budget Buster Ham" at the end of this post) Fried Potatoes Fruit Cocktail Toasted English Muffins Tuesday Spaghetti Squash with canned spaghetti sauce (I prefer Hunt's) and meatballs (Make extra meatballs for Sunday and for freezer) Green salad Wednesday Crockpot Beef Barley Soup (See Budget Beef tip below) Biscuits Thursday Pork Roast w/garlic and Rosemary Oven fried sweet potatoes Spinach Friday Leftover Beef Barley Soup Crackers Saturday Cook's Choice (in other words - I have no idea!) Sunday Meatball Subs Green salad Budget Beef for Soups and Stews My grocery store (Krogers) frequently has "Chuck Roast" on sale for less than $2.00 per pound. I purchase the largest one I can find (and sometimes more than one if the price is under $1.79 lb.), usually about five or six pounds. I freeze the roast for about 3 or 4 hours so it is just starting to harden, but can be cut with a knife. I find it's easier to cut this way. I remove the obvious fat, if necessary. Then I cut the roast into 1 1/2 inch cubes, and fill ziploc sandwich bags with about one pound of meat each, then toss all of these bags into a large ziploc freezer bag and label. Stew meat currently goes for about $3.99 a pound here, so I save about 50% by buying the roast and cutting it myself!

My Flea Market Finds

Jeff finished his work project late last night, and wanted to reward himself with a trip to the local Flea Market today, so off we went. I had some great finds! Locally grown fresh veggies -- three spaghetti squash (that will keep very well for several months in my basement), green onions, gorgeous large sweet potatoes, and beautiful green peppers -- all for $5.00. Of course, I found fabric. Actually, Jeff found it and told me about it. These are not quilting fabrics, but home dec fabrics. About six yards total for $5.00. This photo doesn't do the fabric justice. Some will be used for purses and some will be used for pillows for my family room. This sweet Nutcracker Christmas plate. It has some problems (a bit of paint chipped on his hat and feet) but I still love it. I collect nutcrackers, so this will be a nice addition at Christmas time. $1.00 for the plate. A bag of a LOT of polyester ribbons in a rainbow of colors. Most are 10 yard spools, half full or better. $1.00. I like to add these to the edge of a plain white pillowcase just to goose up the pillowcase a bit. A box of trinkets! I've been looking at these on Ebay after I saw this "I Spy Bag" on Etsy. I don't think I'll include the pipes or beer cans, but other than that, there's good stuff in here! Another $1.00. And, my favorite find, a toy sewing machine for Brayden! Made in 1976, it can be hand cranked or battery operated with a foot petal. It's a bit dirty, but will clean up nicely (I'll take the Holly Hobby stickers off so it's a little less girlie. Jeff suggested I paint it in camoflage! LOL). And, most importantly, it works beautifully and the foot stays at just the right height so your fingers can't get near the tip of the needle. I will set up a little table and chairs in my quilting room for him, and he can sit and sew as much as he wants, and I can sew on my machine at the same time. The man wanted $8.00 for it, and I got it for $6.00. It was a beautiful, crisp, cool morning here in southwestern Ohio and perfect weather for cruising the flea market (Turtle Creek). I'm happy with every thing I bought!

Easy breezy weekend and Christmas planning

It feels like it's been a long time since I had an entire weekend I could call my own -- but here it is! Jeff has a project for work that is keeping him chained to his desk busy in his office upstairs, so I have decided to spend the entire weekend sewing! Yippy Skippy! Although the economic "crisis" hasn't directly affected our day to day expenses at this point (having gas drop $2 per gallon has helped cover other increases), our retirement money has been hit and hit hard. So we have begun allocating more money into savings to make up for the hits we've been taking in the stock market, which, of course, means less cash for Christmas spending this year. This morning Jeff and I took a few minutes and discussed our holiday budget, and came to an agreement on what we can afford this year without having to use credit cards or dive into savings. I'm glad that we came to an agreement on dollar amounts and I'm glad we talked about this early enough that I can get going on Christmas present plans. (Ahhh... I remember the days when my kids were very young that I would have all my Christmas shopping done by October 1st!) It also helps me figure out where I have to pick up the slack with homemade gifts. I will say this. I think it's critical for partners to discuss budgets early and often. It's a terrible thing when an unexpected expense comes up and one spouse has to explain to the other why there isn't money in XYZ account that was supposed to be there. When we sit down and discuss and agree on our budget, there's a degree of trust there. He trusts me to spend only what we agree on, and I trust him to do the same. (This also alleviates that Christmas morning "Ohmygawd, he spent XXX dollars on ME but I only spent XXX dollars on him!" I know - it's the thought that counts... blah blah blah blah. But you don't want to come off LESS thoughtful than the other person!) I am finishing up my laundry this morning, and putting Christmas present ideas on paper so I can make a list of sewing gifts to make, and make a list of what I can buy online. I hope to start online purchases this week. Then I'm heading to my quilt room and hi ho hi ho, it's a-sewing I will go! Happy, happy birthday to my sister Gail and my friend Lynn!!!!