Sew much to do, sew little time - but it was worth it! New PTR link posted! ~~~~~~~~~

[nowellsl]

Here is my new toy. My mom got it new, I'm guessing around 1967. It does have some wear and tear, but it sews great!

And here is some fabric one of my co-workers gave me today!! Over two yards of it.

it's not one I've ever seen before, and I've been looking She said she got it at Joanne's a few years ago. Now I have to think of something good to make with it! Those mickey outlines look red in the picture, but they're actually orange.

 

[aboveH20]

LOL I totally admire people who can go into the parks and not carry anything. I wish I could do that!

That's pretty much me. A cinch sack on my back for sweatshirt, poncho and a few "trinkets", but nothing else.

I had a good day at work yesterday - despite having to limp around all day. I even got my review... Which was a very nice review... better than I feel I deserved, but I am not complaining at all. I did manage to get a nice raise - which I believe to be the largest raise that I have ever received with this company. This really surprised me, because I was told by several of my co-workers not to expect a raise at all this year, as they were being very stingy with them. But putting it in perspective - considering we only get one reveiw per year, our raises are really crappy. Oh well - I'll take more $$ in my pocket any day.

My cold is still getting worse, and I had a miserable night at my meeting... It went 3 hours (GULP) and the entire time, I was coughing/blowing my nose/holding back a sneeze... I was glad it was finally over. When I got home - the girls had left the porch light on for me - and they were sound asleep in bed. They even got up this morning, on their own... I woke up and realized their bus would be here in 15 minutes - so I jumped out of bed to get them up, and here they were all ready for school and being quiet to let me sleep in. Such good girls.

I talked to Josh yesterday. The dock is in at the lake... Yay! Not sure when we are putting the boats in... If we are going to have the storage company bring them over to the lake and dock them for us? Or if we are going to do it. Officially, we don't have a trip planned up there until the week of 4th of July - and that's pretty late to get toys into the lake... So, I am not sure what the plan is?

Anyways, MM learned how to swim yesterday. Josh says that he loves the water and has so much fun playing in it. I am sure when he comes home, MM will tell me all about his adventures. I wish I could have been there to see it - but Josh took the good camera, so there better be tons of photos for me.

I plan to hibernate in my sewing room today. I only have 2 days off of work this week - and I have a lot to accomplish.

Oh, and the girls have their last choir concert of the year tonight.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

D~

Good news about your raise.

Bad news about your cold.

Good news about getting the dock in.

Bad news you missed MM doing the doggie paddle.

Good news about hibernating in your sewing room.

Bad news about only two days off.

Good news about the concert.

Bad news I have to sign off now.

Here is my new toy. My mom got it new, I'm guessing around 1967. It does have some wear and tear, but it sews great!

it's not one I've ever seen before, and I've been looking She said she got it at Joanne's a few years ago. Now I have to think of something good to make with it! Those mickey outlines look red in the picture, but they're actually orange.

From the same era as pink toilets and yellow bathtubs?

 

[nowellsl]

From the same era as pink toilets and yellow bathtubs?

No, I think the tub was gold!

 

[lovesdumbo]

Thanks for the earring idea but Lizzy is too scared to get her ears pierced even though she really wants to. Maybe earrings would be a good motivation for her.

Congrats on your raise!

Sorry your feeling lousy. Hope your feeling OK at the concert.

Sounds like Max is having a blast. Hope Josh gets some great photos.

I have to clean out my PM box before I can reply to you. I have to get off my iPad and on my desktop (if I can kick the kids off of it before I fall asleep) and find your email so I can send you a link to my photo pass photos. Wouldn't you know that because I didn't prepay for the CD (before the price increase too) there are some really cute ones. I can't justify the $169 now. They are offering 3 downloads for $30. They also left me a photo of Mickey in my room for my bday with a 20% off any NON CD order.

I didn't make it to the PO yesterday because I had to leave work early on my first day back at work because Lizzy had a doctors appointment. Then today she missed the bus and I had to rush out of the house early to get her to school. Hopefully tomorrow. If not then not til the weekend as I have to go to the wake & funeral Thursday & Friday of a coworker's 39 yo son who died of stomach cancer.

 

[DMGeurts]

Congratulation with the raise and the good review

Thank you Lillian!

Fabulous job with your good review and raise I thought of you the other day when I was at Target and the photo lab was closed and the sign said they were remodeling and would no longer be processing film. And how cool is it that MM took to the water -- I hope Josh has some video of him swimming.

Thanks Andrea... Yes, I heard rumors that the Photolabs nationwide would all change to "dry labs" by the end of summer - so that's nice to hear that I am not the only one losing my lab... OTOH - it's sad to hear that there really are no options for film processing anymore, besides mail order - and there are many people out there who have some precious memories on their film, which they refuse to send out. I totally understand.

You do have a good sized lot. I think we only have 1/4 of an acre and we have a big house occupying a lot of it. I do love the size of our house and rooms, but our lots are small and houses are close together. Land is at a premium here. If you want a large lot you really have to have $$$$$$$$$$$. I was yard sale-ing in a nice neighborhood over the weekend and one house had a three car attached garage and then a separate two car stand alone garage. It was in an ultra premium neighborhood though. We'd never have space here to expand. Then again Amy, who lives on the other end of town, has a huge backyard! In my neighborhood the builders squashed the homes together -- I guess they felt they'd get more money selling more homes than they would having larger lots and heftier prices

Interesting observation. Our lots are so much bigger, because our town is in a farming community - and once upon a time - many people kept farm animals in town. In fact, many of the garages around town were once barns, and they just "took off" the barn portion and added a regular roof... Actually, in the background of one of the pictures of V running with MM, shows one of the garages that used to be a barn:

I guess that's why we fell in love with this town... When we were buying our house - location was more important than what the house looked like. We always knew we could remodel, but we knew we couldn't move our house. We wanted the girls to grow up somewhere where they could roam and run, and just be kids... For the most part - they can do that here.

And, in case you are wondering - we have done a LOT of work on our house... Well, Josh has - singlehandedly.

This is what it looked like when we purchased it in 2006 (UGLY):

And FYI... We put a new roof on before we moved in.

And then in 2008 after Josh replaced each window and added the bay window... Rebuilt the front wall... put on new siding... new door... added the front porch... (awwww... tear.... there's Rufus helping)

IF you are bored, and want to see the entire album (and see me yelling at the idiots that did some pretty stupid mistakes in the past)... Feel free to follow this link to the whole album of our remodeling:

https://picasaweb.google.com/geurts...authkey=Gv1sRgCPbL8dSG4JjImgE&feat=directlink

sorry you are feeling so yucky, rest and drink lots of fluid...sweet the girls are taking care of you

congratulations of the great review and raise....nice they appreciate your hard work!!
great MM is loving the water and the dock is in!

Thanks Lisa... I am starting to feel a little bit better, I just sound awful.

Yay for raises! Now you will have more money for Disney!

Sorry to hear your cold is getting worse. Bradey and I have been fighting one for well over a week now and it just won't give up. Of course walking around in the rainy woods searching for Molly isn't helping on the "get well front", but oh well.

Yay for boats too....that means summer might actually come! We are big boaters too Well, I am...DH not so much.

And yes, I killed a fake plant. The only place I had to put it was in front of our window and I guess it just got too much sun because the leaves faded and turned really brown. Everyone likes to make fun of me because of it, but it really wasn't my fault I don't even try the real thing anymore. But that is really more laziness than talent as I hate to weed and get everything ready in the spring. Thank goodness my grandparents have a HUGE garden so we get lots of yummy stuff from them. And the past few years DH has been doing pretty well getting his own little garden going. He enjoys is, but doesn't have alot of time since he works nights.

Awww... I hope you and Brady are feeling better soon.

I hope little Molly is home safely soon too. Please keep us updated.

D~ we grow KIDS on our 5 acres! We have: trampoline, swing set, sandbox, clubhouse in an old barn, fire pit for bonfires, a tree swing...and going in this summer- a gi-normous tree house that will extend out over the creek.

LOL Oopsi... I would love to see pictures of all this awesome stuff! That tree house sounds like so much fun!

Here is my new toy. My mom got it new, I'm guessing around 1967. It does have some wear and tear, but it sews great!

And here is some fabric one of my co-workers gave me today!! Over two yards of it.

it's not one I've ever seen before, and I've been looking She said she got it at Joanne's a few years ago. Now I have to think of something good to make with it! Those mickey outlines look red in the picture, but they're actually orange.

Oooh - That's a nice machine Stephanie! What model is it? I can't see a model # in the photo.

Love the fabric too! Lucky!!!

That's pretty much me. A cinch sack on my back for sweatshirt, poncho and a few "trinkets", but nothing else.

Good news about your raise.

Bad news about your cold.

Good news about getting the dock in.

Bad news you missed MM doing the doggie paddle.

Good news about hibernating in your sewing room.

Bad news about only two days off.

Good news about the concert.

Bad news I have to sign off now.

Cheryl, you crack me up. How are you feeling???? I've been thinking about you... I sure hope you're starting to feel better.

Thanks for the earring idea but Lizzy is too scared to get her ears pierced even though she really wants to. Maybe earrings would be a good motivation for her.

Congrats on your raise!

Sorry your feeling lousy. Hope your feeling OK at the concert.

Sounds like Max is having a blast. Hope Josh gets some great photos.

I have to clean out my PM box before I can reply to you. I have to get off my iPad and on my desktop (if I can kick the kids off of it before I fall asleep) and find your email so I can send you a link to my photo pass photos. Wouldn't you know that because I didn't prepay for the CD (before the price increase too) there are some really cute ones. I can't justify the $169 now. They are offering 3 downloads for $30. They also left me a photo of Mickey in my room for my bday with a 20% off any NON CD order.

I didn't make it to the PO yesterday because I had to leave work early on my first day back at work because Lizzy had a doctors appointment. Then today she missed the bus and I had to rush out of the house early to get her to school. Hopefully tomorrow. If not then not til the weekend as I have to go to the wake & funeral Thursday & Friday of a coworker's 39 yo son who died of stomach cancer.

No worries... I am not in a huge hurry at all... Whenever you have the chance - honest! I just appreicate you doing that for us. (((Hugs)))

I am kind of in a rush this morning, so I'll post a couple of pictures of MM from the lake - and then I must run off... I have to work today and tomorrow - so it's a bit crazy here.

I hope you all have a wonderful day today!

D~

 

[nowellsl]

That's a happy dog right there The blue machine is a Model 347. It was apparently a low end model made in 1967.

 

[cogero]

Here is my new toy. My mom got it new, I'm guessing around 1967. It does have some wear and tear, but it sews great!

And here is some fabric one of my co-workers gave me today!! Over two yards of it.

it's not one I've ever seen before, and I've been looking She said she got it at Joanne's a few years ago. Now I have to think of something good to make with it! Those mickey outlines look red in the picture, but they're actually orange.

Swoon I love the machine and the fabric.

D I am going to look at your house pictures later. I have a crazy day until I get home

 

[mommy2mrb]

happy you are starting to feel a bit better! take it easy today at work!

Love your house! Josh did a great job with the front, looks so homey, love porches!!! will take a look at your other photos in a bit!

MM looks like a happy puppy! great that he is loving the water so much!!

 

[solana131]

So cute! Sorry....don't know how to shrink down pics others have posted.

 

[VBAndrea]

I just looked at your ENTIRE house album and read every single word! Kudos to Josh!!!! What an amazing transformation and I can't believe some of the things you uncovered. The circus posters are cool. The pic from inside your living room with the light shining under the walls not so cool -- actually, quite unbelievable! And the duct taped window and octagon one were amazing (and not amazing in a good way!). The porch and bay window created the greatest transformation to the house. I can't believe all the work Josh put into the house (and you of course with the staple gun in hand). Your house looks a lot bigger than I imagined it to be. And now Cheryl can have a clue as to what your address is

Love the pics of wet MM!

Anyhoo, must run but LOVED the house album! It would have made a great HGTV show!

 

[mommy2mrb]

WOW its amazing your house was still standing...got to love DYI'ers with no idea how to fix things the correct way!

Josh did a wonderful job rebuilding your home! you can tell he put a lot of love into making it beautiful and safe for his girls love that you documented it, future families will love having that to see the history of the house!

 

[DMGeurts]

That's a happy dog right there The blue machine is a Model 347. It was apparently a low end model made in 1967.

Yes, well, you just have to remember that any low end model made in 1967 is going to put many of the high end models sold today to shame. I love it and it looks like a great machine! Does it seems to be working nicely?

Swoon I love the machine and the fabric.

D I am going to look at your house pictures later. I have a crazy day until I get home

You've had lots of crazy days Chiara - I hope you have one that's less crazy soon.

happy you are starting to feel a bit better! take it easy today at work!

Love your house! Josh did a great job with the front, looks so homey, love porches!!! will take a look at your other photos in a bit!

MM looks like a happy puppy! great that he is loving the water so much!!

Thanks... Work was OK - until I was about to leave and one of the evening team leads came on... I found out that she had a whole PILE of work to get done, and I could have been doing it all day to help her, but no one told me. Grrr.... So, I'll be working on her salesplans today.

Yes, MM definately loved the water.

Will you be starting a PTR for your next trip soon??? Kind of missing having a thread to post in for you.

So cute! Sorry....don't know how to shrink down pics others have posted.

Thanks Suzi. Any news on Molly yet?

I just looked at your ENTIRE house album and read every single word! Kudos to Josh!!!! What an amazing transformation and I can't believe some of the things you uncovered. The circus posters are cool. The pic from inside your living room with the light shining under the walls not so cool -- actually, quite unbelievable! And the duct taped window and octagon one were amazing (and not amazing in a good way!). The porch and bay window created the greatest transformation to the house. I can't believe all the work Josh put into the house (and you of course with the staple gun in hand). Your house looks a lot bigger than I imagined it to be. And now Cheryl can have a clue as to what your address is

Love the pics of wet MM!

Anyhoo, must run but LOVED the house album! It would have made a great HGTV show!

Thanks for taking the time to look at the album - I know it it huge and takes a long time to go through - but some of the things we found were pretty horrendous. Josh is such a talented guy, and I love showing people all the work he put in the house. I can show a person the before/after photos - but it just doesn't have the impact that the "during" photos give... That whole process was h#ll, and I never want to go through that mess again. But I love how it turned out.

WOW its amazing your house was still standing...got to love DYI'ers with no idea how to fix things the correct way!

Josh did a wonderful job rebuilding your home! you can tell he put a lot of love into making it beautiful and safe for his girls love that you documented it, future families will love having that to see the history of the house!

Thank you... Yah - he put a lot of work into it. There are still a great many things that need to be done on the inside... I think all of our windows still need trim. Two of our bedroom windows still need sheetrock and trim... but it will get done as other projects allow.

I worked all day yesterday... I work all day today... We are praying for a little rain, as the community garden was pretty dry last night - and we have yet to figure out how to get water to it... We could run a hose from our house - but that's a LOT of hose.

Nothing else is new or exciting... I am anxiously wanting to get back into my sewing room tomorrow, so I can start appliqueing my next bag.

I hope everyone has a great day!

D~

 

[nowellsl]

Yes, well, you just have to remember that any low end model made in 1967 is going to put many of the high end models sold today to shame. I love it and it looks like a great machine! Does it seems to be working nicely?

I just started a project last night and it sews much better than my old Kenmore. I actually put in a zipper, which I can't remember when I did that last! I fiddled around with it last weekend and got the tension adjusted. I also found out I had been threading it wrong all these years Always read the manual is my motto now

 

[tinkbell13]

I enjoyed looking at all the pictures of your house. Go figure on that, eh? (Just thought I'd throw in a little Canadian-speak for you there! ) I loved the gingerbread you uncovered. That kind of detail really speaks to the quality of the construction when it was originally built. It's too bad that the owners between the original ones and you did not take the same care in their renovations as was put into the original and that you guys did. You guys did an amazing job in repairing the walls and renovating it. So many people these days would have just torn the place down and built a new house on the property.

I am so jealous of your porch. I love porches and Josh built one that really suits the house. We wanted to build a porch on the front of our house, but now that we have widened the driveway, I doubt we will do that. Maybe we'll build a nice deck out back instead. We would honestly get more use out of a deck in the back anyway.

Better go now. I have to finish revisions on a huge mail processing plant out west before I head to Toronto later this morning for a site visit on my next project.

 

[mommy2mrb]

happy your foot is doing better

I'm not sure I can do a PTR since its not a "disney" trip...is that against the rules I will post photos when we get home though
guess I will just have to use this as mine TR too, I'm sure Andrea won't mind

did you find air fare yet?

hope you can figure out an easy way to water the garden...bucket brigade...

 

[solana131]

Thanks Suzi. Any news on Molly yet?

Well the food was gone this morning, but it doesn't necessarily mean she was the one who ate it. She wasn't around this morning, but we are supposed to have a break in our rainy weather, so maybe she will come out of hiding.

 

[babynala]

Josh did an amazing job on the remodel of the house. I hope your foot is on the mend but I am glad is not keeping you from sewing. Loved the latest Disney update and the pictures of MM. He is getting so big. The pictures of V and MM playing are wonderful, you can see they are really enjoying each other.

 

[cogero]

You've had lots of crazy days Chiara - I hope you have one that's less crazy soon.



D~

I know it is even crazier than what I consider normal. I am really hoping things will calm down. I have lists to work on and haven't been doing anything.

 

[lovesdumbo]

Wow, wow, wow with all the work Josh has done on your house!

My niece lives relatively close to you in Northfield. She and her DH have been completely redoing their 1856 house. It had been turned into 4 apartments but they have made it a 1 family home again.

Love the pics of Max at the lake. Looks like he had a blast.

 

[DMGeurts]

I just started a project last night and it sews much better than my old Kenmore. I actually put in a zipper, which I can't remember when I did that last! I fiddled around with it last weekend and got the tension adjusted. I also found out I had been threading it wrong all these years Always read the manual is my motto now

So glad you used it... The older machines have so much more power - that's one thing I love about Patience, I don't even notice when I go over a bulky seam, and I go through some pretty bulky seams when I am making my bags - she doesn't even hesitate.

Yes, the manual is your best friend... there is so much basic info in there, that you can virtually learn how to sew from just the manual alone. I am not sure how the manuals are for the newer machines, but the old machines - sometimes the "farm wives" were never able to leave the farm - they had to be totally self reliant, so the only sewing lesson they ever got was from the sewing machine manual. They really are a wealth of information.

I enjoyed looking at all the pictures of your house. Go figure on that, eh? (Just thought I'd throw in a little Canadian-speak for you there! ) I loved the gingerbread you uncovered. That kind of detail really speaks to the quality of the construction when it was originally built. It's too bad that the owners between the original ones and you did not take the same care in their renovations as was put into the original and that you guys did. You guys did an amazing job in repairing the walls and renovating it. So many people these days would have just torn the place down and built a new house on the property.

I am so jealous of your porch. I love porches and Josh built one that really suits the house. We wanted to build a porch on the front of our house, but now that we have widened the driveway, I doubt we will do that. Maybe we'll build a nice deck out back instead. We would honestly get more use out of a deck in the back anyway.

Better go now. I have to finish revisions on a huge mail processing plant out west before I head to Toronto later this morning for a site visit on my next project.

Thanks Loree... When it was all said and done - it took 1.5 years to redo the house, but I am so glad we were able to do it. It's so much warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer... and being able to open (and clean) ALL the windows - well - that's really helpful too. There are still a great many things I would change about this house - but at least it doesn't look so shabby from the outside. And we KNOW that it's structurally sound - well, except for the spot in our kitchen where the floor dips - but that's another story. Thanks for taking the time to look at my album...

happy your foot is doing better

I'm not sure I can do a PTR since its not a "disney" trip...is that against the rules I will post photos when we get home though
guess I will just have to use this as mine TR too, I'm sure Andrea won't mind

did you find air fare yet?

hope you can figure out an easy way to water the garden...bucket brigade...

I am not sure if it's against the rules or not Lisa... I am thinking of doing a PTR for a trip that doesn't exist (yet)... So, if I can get away with that, I am pretty sure you can do a PTR for something non-Disney... for that matter, I could swear that I have seen PTRs that aren't Disney??? Maybe not?

I am always willing to share my PTRs/TRs... You know that.

I have not found airfare yet... I check it about once a week and it's still at $371. As far as I am concerned - I could probably still get airfare until about a week before we go... I doubt that the flights from MSP to CLT will fill up, and I am just a single person - so I can take a seat anywhere. Besides, I have to use a bit of the $$ I've saved up to go towards the girls and I having season passes this summer to our local amusement park... This will be our 3rd year in a row, and since they don't do many summer activities - we like to do this together. So, I will have to save some more $$ for flights anyways.

Well the food was gone this morning, but it doesn't necessarily mean she was the one who ate it. She wasn't around this morning, but we are supposed to have a break in our rainy weather, so maybe she will come out of hiding.

I was so happy to hear that Molly came home last night! One happy family!!!

Josh did an amazing job on the remodel of the house. I hope your foot is on the mend but I am glad is not keeping you from sewing. Loved the latest Disney update and the pictures of MM. He is getting so big. The pictures of V and MM playing are wonderful, you can see they are really enjoying each other.

Thanks!!! My foot is almost completely healed - just in the last few days it really healed up nicely. Glad you liked the update. And I know, MM is getting soooo big! I can't believe it!

I know it is even crazier than what I consider normal. I am really hoping things will calm down. I have lists to work on and haven't been doing anything.

Well, I hope things settle down for you soon.

Wow, wow, wow with all the work Josh has done on your house!

My niece lives relatively close to you in Northfield. She and her DH have been completely redoing their 1856 house. It had been turned into 4 apartments but they have made it a 1 family home again.

Love the pics of Max at the lake. Looks like he had a blast.

Thanks!!! That is funny! We go to Northfield quite often... Josh's cousin plays hockey for St. Olaf, and we like to go watch his games. Northfield is just a beautiful town anyways, and the river/downtown area is very relaxing and nice to stroll around. That is so awesome about their house - what an amazing amount of work! I am sure it's beautiful - Northfield has many gorgeous old houses with a lot of character, so I am sure that her's is very charming and beautiful - where ours is just your "basic farm house"... LOL

I have a busy day ahead of me. I need to get up to my sewing room this morning, and work on the applique for the bag I am working on. It's an early release day for the girls, so I am planning to pick V up and head up to the MOA - I still owe her birthday gifts, and the coupon I have for Hollister started yesterday. Then it's Allison's 8th grade formal tonight, so I need to come home to help her get ready.

I hope everyone has a great day, and I will try to make time for an update later.

D~