Today is DH's 60th birthday...

but we are celebrating tomorrow. I have to go buy his present yet, and "Over the Hill" stuff that DGD wants to have tomorrow. He is helping his brother cut up wood right now.

School has been soooo busy. The kids are mostly good; a few kids who can't keep their mouths shut. That bugs me. It is so disruptive for the other kids. I have some detention slips handy because I need to get them in line.

I like teaching, but I am getting so sick of all of the testing and all of the stress that comes with it. People talk about "merit pay" for "good" teachers, but when my students are tested, it is based on what they have learned previously to being my student, so how that that say anything about me? It is so high stakes that we have incentive prizes as a raffle. They get one ticket for taking the test (if they are "minimal"), two tickets for basic, three for proficient and four for advanced. We have a separate incentive program just for 8th grade science and social studies because they only take those test in 8th grade, not 6th and 7th. You have to bribe kids to do their best on the tests, because many are lazy and don't care how they do on the tests. But somehow it is the teachers' fault. That is the part I am sick of. Can I retire this year?????

Enough feeling negative! I just have to keep at it. I can't believe how fast this first part of school has gone, because we have already had our first 6 week grade period report cards and Parent/Teacher Conferences. I still have one night of PT conferences this coming week. I didn't have too many people sign up. (OK by me!!!)

I have been cleaning up in my studio so I can get sewing again. I have a lot of things here to file. I love going to the trailer in the summer, but I don't get much done at home once school starts, and we are still gone every weekend.

Speaking of camping, we have moved our camper to a different campground. We moved along with 36 other families who were fed up with how the seasonals were being treated. We are the only ones who moved where we are. The rest went to four other campgrounds. The people we are mostly friends with moved to a campground together, but it is farther away and we don't want to have to drive so far. We will miss our friends, but still get together in the winter, and also we figure that we didn't know any of them 5 years ago, and we will make new friends at the new campground, too. I am actually excited about the new place and starting over, in a way. It wasn't as much fun this past summer with everybody complaining and being negative. DH did the move with a friend of ours whom we paid to pull the camper (he has a bigger truck). DH will have to rebuild the deck next spring, but we will be able to use the wood from our other deck which he pulled apart and we took with us.

DH will also be buiding a deck at our house next spring. I will be digging up sod and be putting a brick or stone patio next to the deck and for flower beds around the deck, too. I have a plan in my head. Lots of work, but I like doing it. I'll be redoing our shade garden next spring, too. DH just threw stuff in it and it looks like it. I want it to look more landscaped. This past summer I really worked in the flower beds and moved a lot and cleaned up a lot. I spent a lot of time doing it, but it is gorgeous. I still have more to do... I just keep getting new ideas!

Time to get going so I can go shop. Hugs to you!

First Day of School...

and I am exhausted!!! It was a boring day and short and long at the same time. My brain felt so fried I couldn't think what to do next. I'll just keep plugging away at it, but my energy level is low. Every year I am a year older and the kids are the same age! LOL

I was "declawed" 2 weeks ago. I had my right big toe nail taken off. The Dr. killed the root, so it won't grow back. It will still look like there is a nail (indentations) with hard skin. It is still healing, so I am wearing sandals. I am having the same done on the other big toe in 3 weeks. The Dr. said my toenails have been traumatized all my life because my toes bend up where they are not supposed to bend. So I keep injuring them. He told me that it will actually look better with no toenail than with the ones I have/had. Now I know what my cats felt like!

Speaking of cats. We are just enjoying ours soooo much! They are just a joy to have around and to play with and to cuddle with. Darwin just relaxes in your arms and purrs. Daisy cuddles up to me, even in the middle of the night. She tends to come to me over Richard, and I think he's a bit hurt! Poor guy!

I have to go now. DGD is sewing and ran out of bobbin thread and needs help!

Workin'

hard here. I just finished washing the second half of my studio floor. I had to do it the "old fashioned" way, with a bucket and sponge mop! My robot has a broken part, and I am currently woring on getting that fixed. Poor little Scooba! Any time I do any physical labor I just start dripping sweat... oops, I mean I start to "glisten." (I'm a lady, after all!) My Principal called me yesterday and I was like, "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" After all, I have a whole week off yet. Except I don't. I have to prepare something for the staff development day. I will work with Penny and we'll get paid. It'll be easy, too. BUT... it cuts into my TIME! Next week is looking pretty busy, with Dr. appts., a trip to Sheboygan to see an Aunt and Uncle here from Arizona, an adventure with my friend, and now this work. Won't give me much time to sew. I have lists and more lists. Floor is dry. Better get back to work!

Here are the photos!

No, no, no,

it's not August already!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to have to remind myself to "be in the present" and enjoy every moment I have. I will have to start working on school stuff though, so I am ready to start the year with our new curriculum.

DH and I are going to go on vacation. He's at work today and then we start for 9 whole days. Most will be at our camper. I will bring my Dear Jane things along and sew when we are there, and not gallivanting around. I also need to make sure I exercise. I'm not secure in that yet.

I was quilting my last of the crazy nine patch baby quilts (FINALLY) the other day and sewed through the side of my left index finger. Ow. The quilt was hung up on the table and then let loose and my hand flew by the needle. I hate quilting on my sewing machine!! I couldn't do it on the Nolting (I tried!) so I've been putting it off, and now this. I did manange to work on it another day, and have it about half done. Meanwhile my finger is slowly starting to heal. It is very sensitive right now and still bled yesterday when I took off the bandage. Ow.

Our kitties are doing well. They follow us around and sleep with us when they finally stop playing. Even DH has been very patient with them. I think he has mellowed as he has gotten older. He keeps saying, "They are a 'hoot'!" They really are fun to watch. And both are affectionate. Just what we wanted. =-) I am going to add some photos today! I finally have them to add. Enjoy!

I'm cooling down

after my walk this morning. I am working on getting back to exercising. Today I finally walked a 2 mile route. I've been so out of shape! I am also doing yoga and small weights alternating days. Man, I am aching all over, but I know it's a good ache and I will get stronger every day. I decided I had to FORCE myself to do this as I feel like such a slug. Now that my medication is straightened out, I need to work on my body. I hate the fact that I weigh more than I ever have in my life. UGH!

Our kittens are so much fun! They are really bonding with us. We have Daisy on antibiotics again, because she was still coughing. I hope this time it clears up. I feel so bad for her when she starts coughing.

We had our DGD with us at our camper this weekend. She is really growing up. Memorial Day weekend we had her there and we gave her money so she could buy stuff at the ranger station. This time she brought her own money. She earned it doing chores. So after that was gone she decided she would do chores for us. She asked where the dishes things were and did the dishes. Then she vacuumed the camper. All pretty good, since we would have just given her some money. I think it's good for her to earn it. She also is starting to care about her hair and put on nail polish (fingers and toes both) she bought at a rummage sale. Then she had me put it on and told me I looked really "cool" It was shiny bright red. Not MY thing! It lasted one day and I took it off! I'll stick with my clear nail strengthener. Now we have to get her to brush her teeth without being told to. =-)

I didn't have much "me" time with DGD there, but I did work on a DJ block while sitting watching her swim. I just have to cut it down to size. I was also sewing beads on a post card while sitting around a fire. Almost finished with that. I am having fun making post cards. They are like mini quilts. I can try different things on a small scale.

Today I am going to work on quilting things. I will finish my post card, and I think I will piece the back for a quilt so I can get it on my frame. I'd like to get one quilted this week. I will also start another DJ block today, I think.

Today I am feeling good. =-)

Has it really been four months

since I posted? Well, I have had a somewhat rough time lately, in some ways. First losing my cat, then a hard end to the school year (can I retire NOW?), and losing some friends because I wouldn't be mean to someone, and I think they think I started something that I didn't start, but was caught up in (and I know who DID start it, but that doesn't matter- it's just hard to be seen as a "traitor"). I haven't been feeling very well, so I am on a mission to "get healthy" again. I think that part of it is eating too much of the food I am still sensitive to. And I recently found out I am now allergic to strawberries. Damn. I've started back on a walking plan, and I have started Yoga and small weight lifting for strength. I am soooo out of shape. But, I am taking baby steps and working on it.

I spend several weeks in June spending a lot of time in my flower gardens. I thinned out, transplanted, weeded, etc. Then DH and I put cyprus mulch on. There is more I want to do, but I decided that this is it for this summer. I want time to sew, too. The flowers are beautiful, though! Some of my vision will have to come after I retire, I think.

DH was watching me mourn my cat, and he decided that maybe we could get a new cat now, instead of waiting. Then he decided we needed two. =-) He picked both of them out at the Humane Society. They are kittens, now about 3 months old. I'll post a picture of them, and some other pictures, as soon as I figure out how to get them on my new computer. It doesn't want to recognize the software to install the card reader. I might have to do it on the computer that still has XP on it instead of Vista. We'll see... The kittens are so much fun! Their names are Daisy and Darwin. Daisy looks like she could be part Siamese; she is cream collored with some orangey tan down her back and a stripped tail. She is very dainty with long legs. Darwin is a black and white "tuxedo" cat. He is going to be a lot bigger than Daisy. They get along so well! They play, clean each other and sleep together, sometimes with their arms around each other. It is so cute. =-) I've got the camera out now where I can grab it quickly.

I finished the baby quilt for our good friends' new grandson, and gave it to the parents on July 4th at a party. One of our dear friends' daughters got married on July 5th. A fun time. After the party on Sunday DH and I went up to the camper and stayed a week. We had too much going on, though. We had our DGD stay Sunday through Tuesday and one of DH's brothers, his sister and her spouse came up one day. We had a good time, but we hardly did anything else that we had wanted to do. We'll be back up there for another week soon and are going to be very selfish this time.

At the camper I did work on my DJ blocks and got 5 of them done. I am almost finished with number 6. Those are the first ones I have done in almost two years. I'm in the mood to keep going now. I am in the 120's of the 169 squares, and have a few triangles done, too. I really enjoyed working on them. I'll be taking them up to the camper again, but will also do some here. I just might get on a roll and finish my squares. (Dreaming! I have too darn many things that I want to do.) Next week I am planning to sew, but the week after that I will need to buckle down and do some unit writing for our new curriculum this fall at school. I don't want to fly by the seat of my pants (what's that mean, exactly, anyway?) all next year. That is too stressful. This will be my last new curriculum, because I hope to retire after 3 more years.

I want to quilt another of my quilt tops this coming week. I picked out the "De Pere Chainsaw Massacre " quilt to do. I'm still practicing on my Nolting, but am not too bad at it anymore. I am excited to get some of my tops quilted.

We've been seeing a new financial advisor and I really like him. As we get toward retirement, we are trying to move our money into safer areas, but now is NOT a good time to pull out of the stock market. But, we're not in a recession, right???

Speaking of our government, I dread the political races this fall. I am already sick of the ads! I'll have to tape everything so I can not watch commercials, or mute the commercials, or something in order to make it through.

Yeaterday I made some Dr. appointments with new Drs. since my insurance changed. I will get some help in my get healthy goals.

I'd better get back to work here. We are taking DGD to the camper tonight for the weekend. We had taken her to a county fair two years ago, and she liked it so much she asked to go again. It's more of a Junior Fair, so not too big, and lots of fun things to see. Lots of 4-H stuff. Rides, too. I did put my blog on my list of things to do today, so I'm not cheating! LOL I promise it won't be another 4 months before I post again. Thanks for reading... =-)

Sad...

I took Tuggy to the vet today and had her put to sleep. It was so sad. I stayed with her because I knew how nervous she is with other people, so I wanted to be there to hold her. She was just getting so weak and was throwing up and peeing outside of her litter box on a rug. She just wanted to lay next to us on the couch and get petted. When I took her in to the vet I held her in my arms and cuddled her and she let me do it. She never wanted to be held, but she let me hold her today. I got her wet with tears dropping on her while I cuddled her. The people at the vet were so nice and our regular vet came in to talk to me and pet Tuggs, and to tell me I was doing the right thing. Another doctor did the actual deed. I had not stayed with a pet before. Usually I made Rich take the animal in, and he never stayed. So this was a new experience for me. A very sad experience. Tuggy was really my cat. She had a special connection to me from the minute I saw her. So this was very hard today. I woke up about an hour ago, thinking about her and what she looked like when she died. I couldn't sleep, so I got up and came down to work on the computer. I needed to post this so my friends know that it is over.

Tomorrow is the day...

we get to pick up our new computer! It is exciting, because it is going to be more up to date and faster and and and... woooo hoooo! I spent tonight backing up my documents so that I can put them on the new computer. We will still have the other computer, and will update it and put it upstairs for DS and DGD to use. We have been looking at desks to get one for it. We won't get a very expensive one, but it'll be good for the guest room.

I only have the last borders to put on the baby quilt for our friends' grandson. Then I can quilt it. I have spring break coming up in two weeks, and if I have that one done I can go on to quilt another one. We have four days of school next week and four more the week after, and then 10 days off. I am going to make a list of what I want to do. I am in the mood to clean things like closets, drawers, etc. Maybe it comes from always doing spring cleaning when I was growing up. It'll feel good to get things clean and tidy. Now, if only the spring weather would come with this wanting to spring clean! Being able to open up the doors and windows would be nice. Oh well, at least I'll get things straightened out! I have to keep myself off the computer playing games and also buying things! I ordered thread for my fun quilter. I ordered some things for the house, and I ordered things for my Scooba, like an extra battery and cleaning solution.

I need to get moving so I don't fall asleep!

20...

That's the number of times that I still have to do grades before I retire. I finished grades yesterday. I don't know who sets up this school schedule, but they sure aren't thinking about teachers! We are in the middle of parent/teacher conferences (last time tonight for this go-round), and grades are due. We also had a half day staff development before conferences on Friday, and I was a presenter. Then we had a department meeting, and I have to add things to our action plan to send to the Principal for her report. I have to put in a supply order, order things with our parent money (Parent Communication Association, or PCA, has a fund raiser each fall and gives each department $800). I also have to type up department meeting notes to send to the principal. OK, are we having fun yet? Do we have enough STRESS yet? Hmmmm? And people wonder why we make all this "big money!" Oh yeah, and before this 12 hour day, I woke up at 4:00 and couldn't get back to sleep. Coffee is ready. Time out to get a cuppa.



Oh, and after tonight, only 18 more sets of conferences.



Our cat has diabetes. With her being so skittish, I couldn't see giving insulin shots, and the oral medication didn't work, so she is dying. I told DGD about it on Sunday, and she really cried. She just hates losing pets. I talked to her about the cycle of life, and how animals don't live as long as people, and how it is still worth having pets, even though we lose them, because of the joy and love they bring to us. After while she calmed down. I gave her my camera and let her take as many pictures as she wanted to. Then I took some of her with her head on the cat. That tells you how sick the cat is... letting DGD "hug" her instead of running away! But... I think the cat felt her distress and it was a way of comforting her (tolerating the hugs). I'll print pictures for DGD to have when the cat is gone (soon now, I think). DGD was angry with me for telling her, but this way she has the pictures with the cat, and she has warning that the cat won't be here one day when she comes.



Last night I met with the knitting group. Mostly it is just me and one other person. She is younger than my boys, but we have fun. She considers herself a "geek". She majored in statistics in college. I think she is a very intelligent and friendly young lady, and I like her a lot. The Green Bay group meets twice a month. We have had other come, but not come back (guess I scared them away). Sometimes some come from Appleton, where the gal is who started the group, but not last night. I am on my 3rd pair of socks. I am doing this one with the 40" circular needle, using the magic loop method. So far I like it (once I got the hang of it, and after starting the sock 5 times...) I am on the heal right now. we'll see how the rest of it goes.



I finished some blocks for one of the members of my Dear Jane group. Somehow we got making blocks for each other. I didn't want to be the only one who didn't want to do it. It is all so new for these gals. So I said I'd do it. Now, we aren't making DJ blocks, mind you, but we are making 9" or 12" blocks for each other. I have one set to go. I'm last, which is OK with me. I have to make some churn dash blocks yet. I am having them make 9" double nine patch blocks for me. They should be able to do that if they can make DJ blocks. The ones I did this time are somthing I designed. She wanted hearts and crosses on hers, in green and pink. So I did a 16 block, on point, with a different color to show up as a cross when on point. Then I added semi-circles to two sides to make it a heart. I appliqued the heart on to a background. The backgrounds are pink, the hearts green and the crosses are bright pink. I did it that way because then I could make them out of fabric I had here. I had more pinks than green that would go together. So, I hope she likes them. She better appreciate them with the extra time to applique them! (I know she will.)



I bought some batting so I can finish the baby quilt for our friends' grandson. I have the blocks up on the design wall. I did a rail fence with blue and orange making the zigzags, and yellow and green in the centers of the squares. I found some dinosaur (cartoon type) fabric which I used to pull the colors from, and it will be the borders and backing. I put it up on the wall, and decided I didn't like the dino fabric right next to the blocks. So I went and got some red fabric to put a narrow border and also the binding. I hope it does the trink. There's no red in the center, but there is red in the dino print. I have enough fabric/blocks to make a second baby quilt, if I back it with another fabric (which I also bought). This is the only fabric I have purchased recently. I am trying to only buy fabric for the four "B's"- borders, batting, backing and binding. And that's only if there isn't anything I can use in my stash. I don't have a lot of "baby" type fabrics, being more partial to the darks, so for that I had to buy some brights. I won'[t have much left for a stash though. Some day I'll use all my bright scraps to make one more baby quilt. They look great with black and whites. Time for more coffee. Boy, I really need it... I just came down with a cup with only cream in it. I forgot to add the coffee!



This Saturday I will get back to that baby quilt and at least get the top done. I have spring break coming up soon, and I hope to get that and another UFO quilted. It feels so good to be getting things done!



I need to make another throw rug. I have fabric to cut strips from, but can't find my pattern or size Q crochet hook! So I went out and purchased a new hook, and asked a friend for the pattern since I lost it on my computer when it crashed last year. Haven't heard back from her about it yet. I know she has it, because she taught classes on rug crocheting and had typed up her version of the pattern. I have fabric that my aunt gave to me when she couldn't sew any more. I've been using that in rugs because I am a quilt shop fabric snob, and this is from JoAnn's. I just know for quilts I want the higher quality fabric. If I am going to put that much time into it, I want something that will last, and not fade, etc. But for rugs, it works fine.

The other day I ordered a bunch of thread for my fun quilter. I love King Tut thread (Superior). It works well on my machine and it is varigated. I bought colors that I can use on my UFOs. I also ordered floor washing solution for my Scooba. Plus an extra battery. Then DH and I went out and ordered a new computer. It is being built at a local place and should be ready to pick up this weekend. I am also going to get a laptop. We also looked for new furniture for our living room, but didn't find anything we liked (I have a "vision"). Everything out there is retro 50's and 60's. UGH! UGLY!!! Maybe it's a good thing that we didn't find anything. After my other expenditures, I might have to save some more!

Speaking of saving, I've been making double payments on our house. It will be paid off before we retire. Then all we have to do is figure out how to pay the property taxes...

Better go now and pack my lunch and get ready for school. At least waking up early gave me some time to write this! A bit long, huh?

It's Sunday night...

which means tomorrow is back to school! I had a great weekend, though. I caught up on some cleaning. I washed the floors in the kitchen and dining room. I also cleaned the laundry room. With the cat litter in there it can be a mess, especially since she has become diabetic and uses it constantly. I cleared off the kitchen counter, too... no mean feat, let me tell you! I tried to touch everything only once. I worked on some blocks today for Dear Jane friends. I finished a third house block for one and three star blocks for another. One of these days we might actually get back to making Dear Jane blocks! I haven't made any for about a year! But, I have been finishing other UFO's of course!

DH and I went to our community play last night. "Dial 'M" for Murder." It was very well done and we enjoyed it a lot. It was kind of nice to have a whole weekend to ourselves. We love having DS and DGD on Sunday's, but it seems that I haven't had time to do anything but the things I HAVE to lately. Even though my sewing was stuff I "had" to do, it was still sewing.

I think I am going to get my fabric strips out and crochet another rug. I need one for at the back door. I still have a bunch of strips from the cheaper fabric that my aunt gave me. It works good for rugs. I'll have to sew some strips together in a ball so I can get crocheting! I guess that means I won't be knitting my new pair of socks too much in the next week or so.

I only have Dear Jane Club on Tuesday this week, but then Parent/Teacher conferences on Thursday night. We don't get as many people this second time. I wish I would get more than I do, actually. Only the one's who should come, don't.

Well, I guess I will go up to get ready for bed. I thionk I am fighting a cold and I don't want to get what the kids at school have been getting. They are out a full week of school! Wish me luck!

My computer is driving me NUTS!!!

I have been trying to get on this page to write and it tells me I can't because my computer won't accept cookies, etc. AND I haven't done anything at all to change it. Today it let me on, but I have quilting to go to. Just got home from taking DGD to swim lessons. DH had a stress test today because of heaviness in his chest and nausea and dizziness, Hopefully it isn't anything serious. Last week I was too tired to go to quilting, so I need to get my butt in gear and just DO IT!
Angel
PS Did you see the lunar eclipse last night WOW!!!

Another quilt finished!

This past weekend I was at a quilt retreat, and finished binding "Tribble Trouble", a top that I did at a retreat at Iron River with Wanda Curtis in the 1990's. Not sure which year, but I have fabric in it that was from the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus (when he brought guns and disease to the people already living here!). I know I had the blocks done that weekend, but then bordered it years later when I finally decided what to put on for borders. I quilted it on my Nolting before Christmas, before I did my mother's quilt, but hadn't bound it. I stitched the binding on a few weeks ago, and had been hand stitching the back part here and there since then. So I finished it last weekend. But that was after taking a few other projects to the next step. I stitched together some Halloween blocks from a QuiltChicks exchange, and Purple Mountains from another QC exchange. Both are now ready to border. I'll take them with me on Thursday when my group is meeting at Silver Thimble Quilt Shoppe. I also added borders on a small wall hanging, a wool oak leaf, very pretty. I also embroidered words for a snowman wall quilt. Need to do more with that one before it will be ready to quilt... but another step is GOOD!

My student teacher is finished. I missed the kids, but I am also extremely TIRED these days. My next goal is to get "healthy", so I have more energy. Baby Steps add up. Just like with quilts... piece by piece. =-)

I have the best intentions...

but they seem to get away from me. So, now it is two months later again. I've been feeling better, but was just so busy with getting ready for Christmas. I felt like decorating this year, so it was FUN! I just love the way our house looks all done up for Christmas. The decorations are still up. Some friends are coming over tomorrow night, so Saturday I will start taking things down.

I had the BEST Christmas that I have had in a long time. Our pace was slow, even though we did a lot. I had surgery on my foot on the 27th, so a couple of days I was laid up, but enjoyed it with reading and looking at the Christmas tree. I had a Ganglion Cyst removed. It is in a location on the outside of my foot, below and in front of my ankle. I am still wearing a surgical shoe to protect it. He asked me if I wanted to see it after he took it out (I was in out patient in a hospital, but had local anesthetic). I said yes. It looked like a prune, except it was white! Weird! Probably MORE THAN YOU WANTED TO KNOW!!

I have a student teacher, but tomorrow is his last day of teaching. He's there next week, but will be doing grades, etc. I have all of his evaluations done, etc. I miss the students, so I will be glad to get back in the classroom. My students have been telling me that they miss me, too. They like the ST (he's very good), but miss me. So that makes me feel SPECIAL! LOL

I have FINISHED two quilts! One I am still binding. I finished a Yellow Brick Road pattern made of all rose fabrics for my mother, for a nap quilt. She told me she uses it CONSTANTLY. She has been going through a lot of pain with a back problem, and she sleeps a lot from the pain med. A photo of that one is posted with this entry. I had problems while quilting it. I jammed my Nolting, and DH actually had it apart to fix it. Luckily he was able to get it back together and get the timing right again! I was stressed because I wanted to finish it for Christmas, so I was really pushing myself. I quilted "Tribble Trouble" first, but am sewing the binding on now. After I am finished I will take a photo. I finally got a label on my little Christmas wreath quilt, so I can say that one is completely done, too. More pictures will follow soon!