Homework

Mason's homebound teacher came again this morning. She is at least working with us trying to get answers on how this whole process and final exams are going to work. As you can see Mason was having some extra assistance with his school work today. Buttercup has been extra protective the past few weeks. I sure am glad she only weighs a few pounds, if she was bigger we would be in serious trouble.

Lounging

Seven pair of lounge pants are now ready to be worn. My favorite are the yellow cow print. When I get home today I am putting those on and lounging. I cut out the pieces for my new flannel robe yesterday.

Kim turns 17 today. Time is ticking away quickly to get her some life skills before she turns 18. One more year to make her a productive part of society. Wish us luck. For those of you that don't know our family very well. We adopted Kim 18 months ago out of state foster care. It has been an interesting journey to say the least.

Seven

I am hoping seven is my lucky number this weekend.

Seven towels finished and ready to send to Iowa. Gave me a chance to use some of my favorite appliques and try a few new ones also.

If all goes well I should finished the seven pairs of lounge pants on Sunday. Gotta give the embroidery machine a break and use the sewing machine for a change.

A Big Day

A big day at our house today. Mason turned 18. He told me I couldn't spank him today. I guess that would be best after his surgery. And Kim passed her drivers test. World look out. Anyone want to start a pool how long before her first wreck?

No wonder I have so much grey hair. Or as my Mother would say "sparkle" in my hair. Thanks Mom.

Sure wish I had a list to get me focused for the weekend. Right now just looking forward to seeing my pillow tonight. It has been one heck of a week.

Frustrating

I had intentions of at least embroidering a couple of towels while the homebound teacher was with Mason. That didn't quite work out as planned. Guess it will take us a few weeks to figure this whole process out. Mason's school teachers are basically saying he need to follow their website outlines. Which would be great if Mason had access to the teachers notes, worksheets, bell work, quizes, review questions and tests. So we have his school books and are set out on our own. Just a tad bit frustrating.

As for Mason, he is bleeding quite a bit more today. I usually only pack the wound twice a day but he asked me to repack it after the teacher left this morning. You know it had to be bad because he was asking to be put into excuciating pain again.

Maybe I will get to sew this weekend.

Roller Coaster

I feel a bit like I am on a roller coaster. We are still on the upswing with pain as the meds wear off from the surgery and Mason starts to heal. The only thing that is saving me right now is having been through this once before I know it will get better. The homebound teacher called over the weekend. Got her scheduled from now until final exams. At least he will graduate and he should have stellar grades with the one on one attention.

There has been a tiny bit of crafting going on. Started on towels to send to Iowa. Have 7 pair of lounge pants cut out and ready to sew when I get a moment. If things slow down at work this week I will try to get some time off to spend with Mason and I can sew while he sleeps.

Bathroom Progress

Mason's bathroom is almost finished. Still need to hang the mirror and a small hand towel rack next to the sink. But it is useable once again. Just in time for his surgery today. I can finish the last few details while I am at home keeping an eye on him this weekend. Hope to have a few moments to sew also.

Pay It Forward

Michele at Nostalic Cafe was doing a pay it forward a few months ago. Look what came in the mail yesterday. Michele really made my day, it was a nice distraction from the bathroom remodel and upcoming surgery. The photo just doesn't do it justice. Amazing how it matches the wall, although I think it is headed to my office. Glad I still have a good 6 months to send out my pay it forwards.

And I was able to get a name on a bag, and didn't even get primer or paint on it. This one will be headed to Iowa in my next box.

Another Office Birthday

Another birthday at the office. Guys are extremely hard for me to make something for. I did good and avoided the Disney Characters. At least I know everyone is getting towels this year and I don't have to stress over what to make.

I really do love that pig.

The bathroom is starting to come back together. We are behind at least a day in painting. David should be able to get a coat of primer on today while I am at work. Mason says his bathroom looks like a prison. I hope when it is done it will be the best looking bathroom in the house but it looks pretty rough today.

The visit with Kim's sister went well on Saturday. Long trip to Nashville and back but neither one of the girls caused drama. Her baby is adorable. Little chunky cheeks. I will have to get one of the photos from Kim. We tried to give the girls their space to talk. I am even more thankful their biological mother made the decision not to be at home when we picked them up and dropped them off.

Mom, I did get extra towels so I could send some your way. I promise not to over do it with the pig.

Friday Fun

I would say I have the day off work but more like I didn't go to the office today. I have done more work today at home than I did all week at the office.

The bathroom at its worst. I don't mind trying any thing once but I will never take down a mirror from a wall again. That was one scary undertaking. I had the popcorn ceiling scraped by 7am this morning. Amazing how David somehow disappeared to Walmart and ended up doing it by myself.

We are going to visit Kim's oldest sister and her new baby on Saturday. I found a premade fleece baby blanket at JoAnns for a dollar. I embroidered a few other things but this one is my favorite. Well anything Disney would be my favorite.

Sorry Michele L. this isn't for you. It is for a swap partner.

This one is for the other partner.

I am in the process of working on the black and white quilt. Turned some of the scraps into a dog leash for one of the ladies at work. I thought a black and white leash would be appropriate for a Dalmatian.

Gossiping

When we bought the antique desk back in January we saw this gossip bench at the antique mall. Last week I got home from work to find it in the garage. Although I bet David was regrets buying it after the all the money that has gone into fixing the water leak since then. It is a really cute piece of furniture. I need to give it a good cleaning and I might just change out the fabric on the bench. Maybe I need an antique phone to sit on it.

Of course Mason looked at it and says "That isn't big enough for me to my homework at". Mason will go on homebound schooling after surgery to finish out his senior year. The kid won't even be able to sit for weeks. Not sure why he thought I would put him at a desk.

Round Two

Round two at JoAnns buying flannel. Mason agreed to wear lounge pants if I made them, of course not all of it is for Mason. Round two surgery for Mason has been scheduled for March 19th. Which increases the need for comfy lounge pants.

My receipt said I saved $117. Not sure that David sees buying more fabric is saving him any money.

Not My Fault

It is not my fault if this causes you to spend some money. At least I didn't have to make a trip to Home Depot at lunch time today. JoAnns has their flannel on sale until the 13th. $1.49 a yard, regularly 5.99. Wow, I hadn't planned on making more lounge pants soon but with those prices I had to pick up some fabric. The bottom one is a skull print. Hope I can convince Mason to wear them. All their sewing notions were also 50% off. Elastic for the lounge pants and curved safety pins for quilt basting were also in my cart. I spent less than $20, my receipt says I saved $45. I need to save where I can considering I have spent just under $1000 on the bathroom this week.

I think the yellow cow and daisy print is my favorite.

Topping It Off

I tried to get a photo of the topping I use on towels but it is clear so not the easiest thing to see. When I embroider on something that has a heavy pile like terry cloth I use this topping. I still use my regular stabilizer on the back side. Add a layer of this to the top. It keeps the stitches from sinking into the pile of the fabric. Total water soluable. Most of it just tears away, the rest can be spritzed away with water. I don't have a brand name on it. Something packaged by my local sewing machine store. I would not have known about it except my husband bought me every type of stabilizer they had when he got my machine.

The bandana quilt is done. I did most of it Friday night before the leak. I really like how it turned out. I have enough of the cowboy and cowgirl print fabric to do at least one more crib size quilt. That will have to wait until after the bathroom gets some attention.

Change in Plans

So this is what has been occupying my time the past few days. Do you remember me talking about replacing dry wall last week. Right behind what I replaced we had another leak. No I didn't cause the new leak.There is something in our city water system that eats through cooper pipes. I have lost count how many leaks we have gotten in the past four years. The good news is I am getting quite handy at replacing drywall.

Luckily we have a home shield warranty on our house so it is a flat fee to have them fix the leak. However this one is gonna cost me. The leak was behind the vanity, four inches before the main shut off to the house. The simple leak has turned into a bathroom remodel. I need to get the mirror down and wait a few days for everything to dry before I start work.

Tub, toilet and tile will have to wait until after Mason's surgery, everything else goes. This is his bathroom and really needs to use it in the weeks following surgery. So crunch time to get everything else back in place and a somewhat sterile environment.

Birthday Towels

Last year the birthday present for all the people that work for me was a tote bag. This year it is going to be towels. Two dish towels, one with Happy Birthday the other is a the same tiger paw print I put on Mason's boxers. She is a huge Memphis tigers fan. I wasn't sure how the ribbed terry cloth was going to do, but I put the clear water soluable stablizer on top and it worked fine.

The weather might be too nice for sewing this weekend. We will have to see how much I can get done. On my list is the cowboy/girl quilt, the black and white quilt and Easter Mug covers for my co-workers.

Red Bandana

The quilt block that almost didn't happen. I went back to Hobby Lobby to pick up 3 inches of the red bandana print fabric. They didn't have any. Panic started setting in. I had visions of taking apart the entire quilt top to make it right with another fabric. Luckily there is another Hobby Lobby by my house, they had plenty of the fabric. Crisis adverted.

Have you ever dealt with someone who always complains how busy they are, but never seems to get anything accomplished? That would be the surgeons nurse. How long does it really take to pick up the phone and schedule a surgery? Wouldn't a surgeons office have the hosptials on speed dial. I spoke with the nurse again yesterday. It will be next week before she even schedules the surgery, which at this point I am guessing will be the last week of March. Mason will miss the last 6 weeks of his high school year. Hoping to have him well enough to sit through graduation.

And a Mason story for my Mom that may entertain the rest of you also. Mason's new car needs tires. David and I both have mentioned several time to Mason to be careful in the rain because his tires are "bald". If you don't know Mason he is a pretty sharp kid, good common sense and articulate. So I mentioned to him again about his tires being "bald" to be careful. And he looks at me and says he just doesn't understand what the problem is why are "balled" tires an issue. I had to explain to him it was "bald" like Grandpa Rex not "balled" like a basketball.

Burst of Energy

Somehow I found a burst of energy to work on some additional projects. I finished the furry cover for Mason's body pillow. And even had enough fabric and time to make a furry pillow case for his regular pillow.

I need 3 inches of the red bandana fabric to finish the quilt. If I had made the borders smaller I would have been done by now. But of course I had to have them wider. Sometimes I am my own worst enemy.

I even cut the squares for the black and while fabric. They really are black fabric, you are seeing the back of the fabric. Now just to find some time to do some sewing this week.

Still no date for Mason's surgery. I am not expecting surgery to be done in a week. But I do expect them to at least schedule it.