Prayers for Barbara

Please say some prayers for our blogging friend Barbara of Bejeweled Quilts. We got word tonite that there was an earthquake and tsunami in Pago Pago, American Samoa where Barbara lives. We are praying for her safety. At this point in time there is no word of how bad it is but I am sure she is frightened beyond words, Her Hubby is away for his job and she doesn't like being alone, now this. I am hopeful electricity will be on and she can blog us. In the meantime please PRAY

Mr Peppers Farm

Took the Grandkids and we went to the local Farm to pick pumpkins and buy our fall mums. What a great time we had. We met Mr Peppers 8 yr old Grandaughter who greeted us and wanted to know if we had been there before, I told her Oh yes, for the past 6 years. She told us to make sure we checked the bottom of the pumpkins as all the rain we had caused a lot of rot. She was so cute and so smart. She collected the money and told us her Grandpa taught her all last winter. He sure did a great job. The small deco pumpkins were 50 cents each, the gourds 4 for 1.00, the hay bales 3.00, the straw bundles 4.00 and the biggg mums only 3.00. The corn maze was blown apart by the bad winds, but they were giving hay rides. Its a great place to visit and has become for us an annual part of the start of Fall

Halloween Block Swap

Back in July I joined a swap, had to make 24 Halloween Themed Blocks. 12 9 patch-same 2 materials 12 themed-mine was witches and each unfinished block was to be 12 1/2 in. My goodness people did a super job, I absolutely Love the ones I got back. Now comes the hard part-- how to put them together, make 1 large quilt, take 3 blocks and sash in between and make a wall hanging, make a table runner ? Any suggestions? The swap host was Jane Remus of JanesFabrics.blogspot.com. She did an excellent job, Thank You Jane

new Give-a-way

be sure to go check out Bluebird Quilts for her celebration give-a-way at bluebirdquilts.lyn.blogspot.com

The Janome Curse

That's right, now my machine has what we now refer to as the Janome curse. Anne from our Lakeside Ladies group was the first with a problem with a brand new machine. She hasn't been sewing on it since it was "fixed" as she had very serious shoulder surgery. Next was Pat, first in March and now again with her jumping and catching material in bobbib area, now mine again. I took it in the beginning of Augusy, it just stopped sewing although electric was definately on. The dealer told me it was the area across top of machine, as take up wheel wouldn't move. Service took machine and reported back problem was because I never had that part of machine serviced duh!!! no one told me about that. She said they were very kind and put in a new piece. August 2nd to yesterday Sept 22nd, exactly 49 days and I can't use it again. I personally think they must get seconds or else Janome just stinks, I am so frustrated at this point. Lucky for me Pat also has an older singer to lend me. It seems the older machines are more reliable. Our machines weren't cheap either, Pat's computerized model was about 1,100.00 and mine was about 600.00

School Sales

Do any of you have any feelings for or against the kids selling stuff for school. Myself I absolutely hate it! First week of school they come home with papers to sell magazines, cookie dough, and a whole lot of other stuff. They brain wash these kids with all the big prizes they can win--Wii games telescopes, microscopes, and a lot of other goodies. In todays economy neighbors sometimes can't make expenses never mind buy all this stuff from the kids. How many times can you ask a co-worker to buy? The kids that usually sell the most have parents who work in a large company and then that parent is obligated to buy a lot of stuff they don't use or need. If the schools need extre money for class trips or equipment for the playground, can't they just ask parents for a donation or have a community fund raising. Have a bazaar or a game day with parents, kids , teachers and invite the community. Do I sound like scrooge? I just am so aggrivated with all the selling. Then soccer sells and scouts and on and on and on. Tonite I am on my soapbox and thanks for listening!

Our Friday Nite Visit

Was a scarey one for sure. DH found out last week his back and leg pain is from a pinched nerve in the lower back. Its from arthritic spurs that came back from the surgery he had about 12 yrs ago. The only time the pain is relieved is when he sits or lies down. He is trying to be patient while waiting for an appointment to go for pain management therapy, but is getting impatient. The last 2 days he has seemed antsy but today he was extremely nauseas and dizzy and clammy, the same symptons he had before his quad by- pass several years ago. He had no pain, no chest pain but took nitro glycerin pills 1/2 hr apart. He didn't tell me and in the er he said I took them in case. A big no-no. He didn't put up too much a fuss when I called an ambulance. They did lots of blood work, chest and back x rays and several hours monitoring. Thank God all tests were good. After all was said and done he had 2 problems, The NITRO pills are for chest pain only and he has vertigo. For me it was really a scarey couple of hours but thank the Good Lord its not a serious or life threatening problem. Now he waits for the pain management! Keep your fingers crossed that that happens soon! Needless to say I haven't done much sewing, I can't seem to concentrate but I will be back!!!!

Ride with Pat

Took the ride this morning with Pat, I went mainly for moral support. The Janome dealer is very knowlegable but does a lot of double talking. I did not expect her to say to Pat the things she did. Pat was such a Lady, kept her cool and got her point across. The dealer acted like Pat didn't know what she was doing. She would say something and then the next sentence contradict herself. She implied that the machine was replaced once and there was nothing wrong with it. Thats a crock, as no one replaces something that expensive for no reason. Too bad Pat doesn't have the serial number of the first machine as the dealer said its for sale at the other store. Now both Pat and I are leary she is being truthful as the second machine didn't come in a sealed box. Its also strange that the problem happened the first time when the machine was 6 mos old and now 6 months later the 2nd machine is doing the same thing. Doesn't sound kosher to me. I think its now time we go over the dealers head and go to the head of Janome. What do you think?

My Oldest Grandson James

I never quite understood what kind of Doctor James was going to be or what research he was doing. He is in Grad school at Northwestern, just finishing his first year.His research study that he came up with is to see if bilingual Spanish-English speakers are better than monolingual English speakers at learning words in a third, made up language of his own design.He's had a lot of people respond so he's now busy looking at their data to see how well they learned. I find it fascinating, certainaly a lot deeper than anything I ever studied. Hopefully he will send me the results soon. Hope I didn't bore you all,( it has nothing to do with quilting ) but I think its quite interesting knowing James as I do. He is a very shy, quiet young man, very much the silent type and now he speaks in front of many, many Doctors, Professors etc. Amazing!

Sooo Quiet, I Love It

Tomorrow is Labor Day and I intend to do nothing but SEW!!!! New York Bartolottis left about 10 minutes ago, my son Larry also left for Virginia and my DH went with him. He is giving his Father a white pick up truck as he bought a 2003 Beautiful Black Cadillac. DH will drive it home Monday morning, hopefully before traffic gets crazy. Opening day of school was scheduled for Tuesday but has been postponed till Wednesday. The funeral for the slain state trooper will be tuesday and they anticipate horrendous traffic. I Love all the Company and miss them when they leave, but its so much work cooking, refereeing and the noise level is difficult to listen to at times. Amazing isn't it how the weather knows school is starting and cools down. Happy Fall to All. Hugs Kaye

MadelinesDanceStudio

Sorry I have to do this in 2 parts, but I couldn't figure out how to put info with each picture 1- soldiers in part of battle enactment 2- Ambassador Pierre Vimont left side 3.-- Congressman Hinchey, 2nd from left 4---Eliza singing 5--Teachers and Students-- DIL , Madeline, far right, Grandsons Raymond--right, Nathan, next to him in front row

MadelinesDanceStudio

My DIL Madeline has had a dance school for the past 18 years. Besides dance they are involved in many community events and fund raisers. The studio is involved with the local radio station and the Disney Players. They bring dance to hospitals,nursing homes and also areas where the children seldom get to see a dance school in action. They are very community spirited. One of her students Eliza has a beautiful singing voice. She does a lot of acapella and has a special talent. The local congressman Maurice Hinchey recently hosted a tour of Washington's Headquarters on the Hudson River. This was in honor of the French Ambassador Pierre Vimont and Eliza was requested to sing. They also did an enactment of an old battle and the Ambassador was very impressed. I wasn't able to go up but my Grandsons Raymond and Nathan were there (they have been dancing since they were 2). They brought me the pictures and told me all about the day.