Winter again!!!!

 Look at my poor chairs!  This is a doozy of a storm after so many nice days, but for all of the complaining that I do, it is not flooding, or blowing us tornadoes (although the snow is blowing like crazy.)  That means that the roads are closing too.  I do not like the cold or the wind which is a given here in Wyoming.  These chairs have probably been a subject of several posts in the past, and now sport the pretty red color that I put on them last summer.  They follow me wherever I go as they are authentic from the middle of last century.  I remember my Aunt and Uncle having chairs like these back in the 50's and although reproductions are found today, they are not nearly as sturdy as the ones I have.  And the best part is that they were practically free.  I traded a small chest of drawers, originally an unfinished cheap piece to a wonderful lady (now gone to meet her maker) for them.  The glider needed some repair which the Mr. did, and I removed 4 layers of paint before my first coat.  They have been yellow, blue, and now red.  There is now a couple more inches of snow on them too.

I have been refinishing a singer featherweight wooden case for the last week and I intend to post some pictures in the next few days of the progress.  These wooden cases are as unique as the sewing machines, and I have stained mine now in preparation of painting something on it.  Stay tuned.

Christmas is always when I bake cookies and I bake a lot of them.  I deliverd to my neighbors and with a couple of them away this year, I had extras for us....a lot of extras.  Without my trusty freezer, I had to come up with some way to keep them fresh, so since it was so cold here, I had a cooler normally used for camping, in the garage and one on the deck which doubled as a freezer.  I forgot that they were there after a while, but the Mr. discovered them and we had cookies until recently.  Some of them were biscotti, which are wonderful with coffee as they are a dry, hard cookie, great for dunking.
I wanted a biscotti jar, but couldn't find one so I settled for a glass canister.  One of my favorite shopping places is our local Good Will, which is in a new building and is really nice.  At a recent "shopping trip" there, look what was on a shelf just screaming at me!!!  So for a mere $3.00, it is mine!

With the white fluffy stuff out there, I will indulge in the biscotti and coffee and dream of the day when I can do it on my red vintage glider.

"If you can imagine it, you can achieve it.  If you can dream it, you can become it." ~ William Arthur Ward.

Pincushions and sandpaper

 OK so what do pincushions and sandpaper have in common? Not much except that is what I have been doing in my spare time.  Actually when you are retired like I am, my spare time is anytime I choose for the most part.  But I am making some pincushions for fun and hopefully I will be able to contribute some to the quilt retreat held in Encampment this summer.  I hope also to be able to attend this year.
Our move got in the way last year Anyway, I found these cute little baby Mary Janes at a thrift shop here and this is my first attempt.  I want to make several, not making any two

alike'
Now for the sandpaper....I didn't post a picture today, as I am still sanding on my project, but I have this wonderful little Singer Featherweight sewing machine, from the '50s and it came in it's original case.  I have been seeing these sturdy little cases being re-done.  The fabric covering, which has worn well, but is showing wear can be removed, the wooden case refinished and they are lovely!!!  Sounds easy right?....not so fast.  The glue which was used to adhere the fabric is tough stuff!  Next post will show the process and my perseverance will hopefully result in a gorgeous wooden carrying case for my prized machine!

"Happiness lies in the Joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort." ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

Hello Again!

Ok folks, I am finally back on my blog after a year of other things happening in my life.  Most everyone reading this knows that we have relocated back to Cheyenne and that there were some difficult days all year long.  Early in the year we decided that we would have to move closer to Drs. etc.  Selling a home, looking to relocate closer to our children (that didn't happen), having another hip replacement for the Mr., living in a camper in an RV park while boarding 2 dogs and a cat for a month, looking for and buying a home here all took the better part of 6 months.  Then we needed o furnish a home, after deciding not to pay thousands to move everything and we had a dog develop bladder stones which cost us over $1500.00, two surgeries and special food now.  But we dog lovers do love 'em don't we!  Old dogs should have medicare!

So the Mr. has his new pool table and is playing again in leagues, and I have my sewing room pretty much up and running and we have a very valuable dog (at least investment wise).  All is good!

The sewing room brings me back to this blog and this post.  I have again connected with some of my quilting friends here and the Dresdan plate block is my first contribution to a round robin which will be sent to the next quilter in the group.  She will make another block and it continues to be passed month by month until all have had the blocks and returned to me.  It will be exciting to see all of the plate blocks when finished.  By the way, there are 3 groups in the guild from 6-9 or so in each group.

So Valentines Day is tomorrow and yesterday was our 53rd anniversary.  Can't say Wedding Anniversary 'cause we didn't have a wedding.  We were married, but by a Justice with parents and siblings in attendance. It was during the Vietnam War and the draft was notifying all young men that they were being called into service if they weren't exempt. It was a time in our history, somewhat like today, where the nation to most observers, seemed divided.  The Mr., 3 of his brothers, my sister's husband and most of the young men at that time, were called to serve, and like their fathers, they did.
But the welcome home was different.  Only now, after many are gone, are they receiving the gratitude for putting their lives on the line for their country.  I try to remember that united we stand and divided we fall, but it seems we are divided now more than I can recall, even during that war decades ago.  

I will begin my blogging on a lighter note now that I have had my "rant", so keep checking in on me!