Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Uncle Big Bog & too much family fun!

I can not believe how fast this week has flown by...granted we had things planned from the moment we arrived on Friday until Monday. NON STOP!

So after Monday's Clean Up we decided it was too RAINY & COLD to go to the Zoo. We headed to the camper store to purchase the electrical adapter plug so we could actually plug in and have heat it is once again going to be BELOW 35 degrees tonight. Then it was off to Tarjay for something WARMER to wear.
While the girls & I shopped Larry went back to plug in the camper.
I found an adorable prim gold
Uncle Big Bob was hauling something for someone so we weren't goint to Paddock Lake I decided to give Denise a living room redesign(as a thank you for allowing us to take over her yard, home, life & daughter.
Amazingly my family all scattered like cockroaches not to be seen again for hours... This was an amazing feat since her house has only 2 bedrooms & 1 bath beside the kitchen/living room & basement. Larry headed to the camper, Jessica went to take a nap, the other kids went into the basement to play. They know I have to move the furniture at least 3 positions until I decide on a final layout.

So after moving the sleeper sofa 2 times and the chair 3 times I figured it out & by then Denise was home from work. Of course then Larry was available to help move the piano & sofa for the final time. He then took leave, while I vac'd and put together more of the room, to make dinner. Denise & I moved the bookcase into her bedroom & finally ate dinner around 8pm.

Exhausted we cleaned up the kitchen and headed to bed. However by then I was catching my second wind & so I decided to finish the job and finally headed to bed at midnight.

Tuesday I had to wake up early to get Jessica to the Milwaukee airport while Larry took the girls to Uncle Big Bobs to have the car checked out.


will have to continue this saga tomorrow as I am beat & I don't want to loose this post again

Blessings 2 U Friends

Monday, April 28, 2008

Home at last....

Well that may be a little misleading...

Home where you reside now ...no
Home where you long to be ....no
Home where you grew up & spent your childhood ...YES

Friday we started out VERY early after grabbing a cup of coffee at the Burger King next door.
We were able to watch the sunrise & I snapped a few pics while we drove out of Kentucky & into Indiana.

I forgot that the my iphone changes time zones automatically as we drove back into EST and I called and woke Tim up. I wanted to make sure he didn't lock our two cats Calvin & Tinkerbell in the bedrooms. OOPS!
We won't go into the details of the conversation or sms messages that he had with Dad & Me while at the airport, suffice to say our Security here isn't as overzealous as you may have heard, THANKFULLY!! However I think he may have been TRYING to get detained. :-)

We made it to O'Hare thanks to the Prayers of Pastor Dave & multiple friends as we were watching the radar. The awful storm front was due to hit the same time we were due to arrive on Chicago's south side & while Tim's plane was coming into the area.
Praise GOD as I watch this front completely dissipate over the south side and push off through Lake County, where Jess was already.

We stopped at the O'Hare Oasis and waited for the call that his plane had landed. In the meantime I walked the dogs & tried to update The Queen over the roar of the traffic & wind as to our progress.

We arrived at Denise's' home at 3:30 pm after an emergency pull off on the 4ft of emergency space on the tollway, it is TORN up for construction, we didn't make the other drivers very happy but the car wouldn't move again.

Quickly,setting up the camper, feeding the dog, & showering 6 people in two bathrooms we managed to get dressed and arrive at the funeral home at 5pm. We signed in and saw Grandma. In the 40 days she was in Utah she lost quite a bit of weight, she barely looked like my Grandma.
Uncle Don, my sister and my cousins didn't arrive until 6pm. We visited with family that I have not seen in 10 or more years, my BFF Cheri and Larry's brothers & sisters all attended and I am eternally grateful as I know it would have been very difficult to be there without their support.

My family went to TGIF afterwards and Larry's family went to Avalon...gee where do we go? AVALON!!!!

We were able to laugh and enjoy the company of loved ones & grab a bite to eat without being rushed thanks to Denise & Rachel who were caring for our dogs.
We returned home to find a bouquet of red & pink roses on the table in the camper, fresh fruit in the basket, donuts, chips, juice & salsa all tucked away out of the pups reach. Denise could teach others how to be hospitable & make what truly were strangers feel at home, loved & welcomed!
Romans 12:13 (NIV) Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

The funeral services and luncheon afterwards were bittersweet, highlighted by my cousins son Matthew who spoke from GODS living word and shared some of the characteristics that made my Grandmother, his Great Grandmother, the wonderful woman we all knew & now will miss. I only pray that all those things she instilled in us and taught us will continue to be passed down to our children for eternity.

We all went to The Museum of Science & Industry which my two youngest had never seen nor had Denise & Rachel. When we had attended MOSI in Tampa I was astonished at how small it was & told the kids we would see Chicago's MOSI. The one in Tampa would fit in an exhibit area of the Chicago Museum. Then we invaded my BFF'S house for dinner & conversation. Cheri is another woman who could teach Hospitality, always welcoming to friends & strangers, making sure there is food to every ones liking or dietary needs. Giving gifts that are above & beyond what could be repaid here on earth.

We visited with her entire family since Ashley & Jen, who are now married & have children of their own, all came over to visit & spend their Sunday evening with us. They have grown into such beautiful women & mothers I can only pray my children are such loving parents.

Feeling like the Christmas Goose we finally gave her back her home & departed after many hugs & kisses, bags of food to take with us, Christmas gifts Larry was unable to bring back on his last two trips and special items from Ashley that I think I will keep for future use at my home.

This morning is going slow...still in my jammies and trying to get moving so we can visit the Milwaukee Zoo, Uncle Big Bob (who said he would look at the Suburban) and clean up Denise's' house from the mess we made all sleeping in *except Larry* because we are Floridian whimps and didn't want to sleep in the camper in 35 degree temperatures with colds.

Blessings 2 U Friends

PS please excuse typos & mis-spellings as I am just trying to get this posted, not proof reading. :-(

Thursday, April 24, 2008

We finally hit the road last night around 8:45 with help er pushing from Jessica and her boyfriend Gabe who literally tossed our stuff in the camper and car

I prayed the entire way to Valdosta where we stopped finally at 2am this morning
only to be awakened by our Jack Russell alarm system at 5:00 am because someone else pulled in alongside us
we contemplated hitting the road but thought better of it since we only had 5 hours sleep the previous few night and
a few emotionally stressful days
So we dozed back off until the alarms went off again at 6 am tthen we finally woke up and got things moving at 8:30
Thanks to SHOVE them out the door Jessica I didn't grab my phone cable, blankets or food for me
so until we were able to find a Wally world in Perry where we could buy another the phone only was turned on for a few minutes to check for messages.
I thought the White knuckle navigating was over but no nearing Atlanta the car sputtering when we tried to accelerated to the point of us only going 10 mph on the interstate
we stopped a few times walked the dogs let the car rest and grabbed a banana or ice tea from the trailer fridge as we headed west into Alabama where I had never been before
thinking the terrain would be less steep and easier on the car
we were passed by a few dozen trucks hauling nascars to Talladega for the races
I wasn't able to power up fast enough to snap a picture of the thousands of folks camping around the track but at the next gas stop I was able to call The Queen returning her message from last night and back on the road we went through Birmingham and into Tennessee where the car started doggin' out again where I scrambled to send out an emergency prayer request although if we were going to break down I couldn't have picked a better place than the home town of Peter Furler of The Newsboys.
We even thought of tracking down Carmen, Bill & Dave at the Dove Awards to bring everyone out to lay hands on the car and pray.
Nashville is beautiful at night!
We are currently in Springfield throwing down I rings a burger & my hometown favorite A&W Rootbeer. Got a call from Jessica she was boarding her Connecting flight from Charlotte to Milwaukee
too bad her clothes are in our camper VBG

Just want say a special Thank You to GOD for getting us this far safely and to Pastor Dave my sweet friends Polly & Cheryl for responding so quickly to my call for prayer! May GOD continue to richly bless you and yours!

Blessings 2 U All my friends

One last thing the two youngest were able to take their shoes off tonight a walk in REAL Grass not St. Augustine, Bahia or Bermuda that those in Florida refer to as grass but the real honest to goodness thing.

We are now in Kentucky! I hope to upload some pictures tomorrow!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Pray for us PLEASE!

We are supposed to be hitting the road in a few hours.....

Sunday morning before the Rays' /White Sox game we received a phone call from my Aunt in Utah that Grandma had just passed away.
I hadn't hear back from them since they moved her out there and apparently she refused to take her pain meds and stopped eating. Sunday morning at 4am she quit breathing after 95 1/2 years here on earth. The top five songs are all songs Grandma loved!

Grandma was like a mother to me, she encouraged my creativity, she taught me about gardening, how to make do with whatever you had and in general is responsible for all my good & stubborn traits. My sister & I would FIGHT to spend every weekend with her all year long. Summers we would spend weeks at her house and I think most of those times were the best of my life. She taught me to Polka.

The last few days I have been packing up our crew and making arrangements to head back to Waukegan for the funeral services on Friday & Saturday.
We (hubby, 2 of the kids & 4 dogs) will be driving up, the older two will be flying in to Milwaukee & Chicago on different days & we have to be there to pick them up.

We are packed & waiting to hear from the RV place if we were approved for financing on a small travel trailer we picked out last night at 6 pm, since we had no sleeping accommodations when we get there. Dropped the Suburban off so they could get it wired up should we be approved so we can't even pack the car the living room is filled with suitcases & clothes hanging from chairs. Even the dogs suitcase is packed with their food, bowls, emergency meds, leashes etc.

Will hopefully hit the road by noon since we have to be in Milwaukee by midnight tomorrow.

Hug your loved ones & let them know you love them!
95 1/2 years still wasn't long enough for me to really let Grandma Schlegel know just how much she meant even though I told her often.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Where is the time going?

Wow I can't believe the weekend is almost over.....
a brief recap of some things I accomplished;

I dyed more wool yesterday.....


The Moonlit Midnight Blues was a custom order there is one left in my Etsy Store...

I finished this little pinkeep that I was working on during the airshow and finally got it listed on Ebay


Attended a Makeup Luncheon with my daughter & her co-workers this morning/afternoon (not a big make up person here)



We all went to see Ben Steins new move EXPELLED....very eye opening and sad but you should see it!


Hubby is watching Sweeney Todd with Johnny Depp & it is all I can do to not watch it tonight (I LOVE JOHNNY DEPP) still digesting Expelled.


Tomorrow we are attending a Ray's game with our eldest daughter & her boyfriend. I honestly don't know who they are even playing...but the kids are excited to go to another game.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend and spending time with those you love!

Blessings 2 U Friends

Thursday, April 17, 2008

more power than even I realized

I have to smile as this morning I received an email from one of the ladies in our Primitive Rug Hooking Group....
There has been ongoing problems when members try to sign into the group boards ....they are unable to sign in...Ebay has said they are aware of the problem and they are working on it.

A while back someone thought that the 'cookies' stored on your computer was the problem....
I'm not a computer genius by any stretch of the imagination here,
while it might have worked one time for that person or persons, that isn't the issue.

Yesterday another lady suggested typing in your password then holding down the control key & clicking sign in....
while I had never tried that one, it has worked for me this morning as I was not able to log in.
DISCLAIMER HERE I do not know if it will work on all computers I have a MAC all I can say is give it a try

The cutest thing that made me smile was her note at the bottom of the email
" I hope you can straighten this out for all of us as we do love this site. Thank you"

I am so glad you love our group!
The most powerful being I know is GOD and I will ask.

Blessings 2 U Friends

Monday, April 14, 2008

Time with some friends

We spend way too much time rushing to get things done these days. I know I have mentioned this before, even have a song that was featured a while back on the subject (which if you haven't heard click on Running Just to Catch Myself on the playlist)...

There is something to say about spending an hour or two with friends...not just your best friend or the girls you normally hang out with but friends you don't seem to get together with as often as you used to or you should!

Yesterday our Church hosted it's annual Corn Roast at the Sun N Fun Fly-In , I haven't attended in years past because I am volunteering the entire week in the Ladies Pavilion. This year the Pavilion didn't have that many people & I wasn't called. So I was able to attend. We host this big cook out in one of our Members private hangers to thank St. Stephen's for allowing us to use their facilities for our Sunday Worship, see we are a small Mission Church, a Church Plant.

This is 1/4 of the folks that attended there were more to the right, to the side & behind me. Click on a photo to enlarge.

I sat next to a very funny lady, whom I have known for 9 years but only spent a few minutes chatting with between Sunday School or after service, at a ladies luncheon over that time. Her husband is a jokester and he & I have the same dream to be in the Mountains. Yesterday Barb & I talked between airplane stunts for a couple hours, I was trying to finish a pincushion so I could list it yesterday (hopefully tomorrow) and she and I talked about stitching, fashion and lots of other things but she is funny! At one point a stunt plane was about 25 ft off the ground and heading right towards us, not pulling up...She stood up and was ready to run, she thought it was going to crash.

We watched the Thunderbirds fly over doing maneuvers.









These were all taken with my iphone, can you believe it?!!!!

Tonight I hosted a Princess House Party and it was another fun evening with friends, 2 other ladies from Church who are funny & I do talk with often were here, 2 co-workers who I talk with but haven't had a chance to just hang out with in a long time were here, a dear friend & loyal customer brought a good friend whom I had only heard stories about & saw pictures of were here, my hooking & dyeing buddy Susan joined us, Ed the Consultants friend that helped her 2 years ago made the trip over from Tampa *he is a riot*, and my eldest daughter arrived early and lent a hand with last minute preparations.
Then my DH stopped at the Grocery store on his way home from work picked up a few goodies for the ladies and even baked them Strawberry White Chocolate Scones.

It was truly and enjoyable evening...it is a shame we have to have a 'special' occasion to get together with friends these days, because it is time WELL spent!

Invite some folks over for dessert even if it is a workday, don't say your too busy or too tired because everyone is and spending time with people you care about, talking & laughing is the BEST CURE for a rushed life and a long day!

Blessings 2 U Friend

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

I can't believe it I actually finished something today

I finished a stool order.
I also washed up some of the NEW wool that arrived this afternoon part of it will be dyed for a friends custom order...

Washed/hung out/ fluffed & folded 3 loads of regular laundry

Narrowed down the paint swatches by two (only 20 to go) for the living room.

and fed the kids dinner.

Back to my stitching project....
more later....

Monday, April 07, 2008

Any Idea what this is called?


I picked this little number up at the home store last weekend & I am not sure what it is or where I should plant it.

Here is a close up




any help would be appreciated!

Blessings 2 U Friend

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Spring Showers

April is supposed to be the DRYEST month of the year here in Florida. So far it has rained every day!
Today would be the perfect day to sit on the lanai & hook.... but alas I spent the entire day spring cleaning...
not my house but the PRHG Ebay Group Boards. Today Julie & I are going to be working on the blog.
Then I really need to CLEAN my house.

My bed is made though and according to Queen Sherry I will walk 4 miles this year just making my bed...woo hoo

Hubby dear was gone at the Punta Gorda air show Friday & Saturday...he looks like a tourist since he forgot he works in an office and has NO base tan therefore he should have used sunscreen BEFORE he got burned. He has packing to do & tax filing to finish before he leaves again tomorrow for Chicago. My pack mule will be taking a Large box of misc. items up to my girlfriend Cheri (wife #2) and bringing back the goodies he left without the last time he was there in December.

Sorry no photo's for now, I am on the laptop & all my photos are on the desktop or phone ....maybe after the Lightening subsides I can upload a beautful glass window in our current sanctuary that I think would make a stunning rug pattern.

Blessings 2 U Friend

Tammy

Friday, April 04, 2008

Exhausting Week

This weekend after the house gets cleaned up I hope to just relax and enjoy life.
There have been so many things going on that I don't know the last time I just sat in the quiet of the morning listening to the birds chirp.

In that same theme I want share a little pattern with you from my booklet.
Use it for stitching/hooking/punchneedle/painting or let your children color it...just enjoy.


Blessings 2 U Friend