Advice for quilting women

I just found this to be interesting.  How things have changed.  I was three when this advice was printed in the singer sewing manual.  A life time of changes.  I have a copy of this book from singer.  I can tell you that I break most of the recommendations.  I had better get over to the sink and do my dishes.  I know they are piled up.  That way my mind will be freed up to work on my blog or watch TV with a clear conscience.

Profanity

"According to the Associated Press, residents of Middleborough, Mass., have voted 183-50 to approve a proposal from the police chief to impose a $20 civil fine for loud, profanity-laden language in the downtown area and public parks.

Yes, I know about slippery slopes, unintended consequences, overly vague ordinances and jackbooted Big Brother thugs. And I prefer parental discipline, old-fashioned shaming and anti-profanity public service announcements to actual regulations; but I still admire Middleborough and the other communities and states taking aim at incivility".  This appeared in the Pioneer recently.  It was written by Danny Tyree.  It is titled One town's war on profanity.

The school that I was in has made a statement on the use of the f-word.  Two day suspension for using it in school.  That includes all the other words that have surfaced as its replacement.  Flipping, freaking, and fricking to name a few.   I remember suspending a boy for a gesture of FU also.  He was just amazed that I was able to recognize it.  Just off the cuff I told him that I knew 53 ways to flip some one off.  Well, he spent his two day vacation trying to come up with all 53 and couldn't.  When he returned to school and after his apology, he asked me if he could talk to me.  Until the apology is made and he is back in good standing again he knew better then to engage in chit chat.  So I told sure I would love to talk to you.  He told me that he tried to get  all 53 ways to flip someone off and could only get twenty five.  Since I had just made that number off I asked him if he would share his list.  Out of his pocket came the list.  He gave me permission to photo copy it. It certainly was interesting reading and contained a lot of  amunnition for future use.  That young man has now graduated and has kept in touch with me over the years.  He told me once that because of me he does not use offensive language.  But he said I surely hears a lot of it as he is a defense attorney.  I finally confessed  that the number I told him was purely made up.  He just laughed and told me that that day in my office changed his path in life.

 "I know profanity supposedly adds spice and color to life; but if you’re going to use it, start sharing early in the morning. Because after your listener has spent all day bombarded with middle initials for deities, scatological exclamations, threats to the derriere, invitations to the netherworld, anatomically impossible suggestions and the like, you flatter yourself if you think your contributions are going to be particularly clever, productive or memorable."

 

Paella

Paella is a Valencian rice dish that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century near lake Albufera, a lagoon in Valencia, on the east coast of Spain.  Many non-Spaniards view paella as Spain's national dish, but most Spaniards consider it to be a regional Valencian dish. Valencians, in turn, regard paella as one of their identifying symbols. Valencian paella consists of white rice, green vegetables, meat and seasoning. Seafood paella replaces with seafood  Mixed paella is a free-style combination of meat, seafood, vegetables, and sometimes beans.Other key ingredients include saffron and olive oil. Saffron is very expensive.  Some places it is as high as $6720.00 a pound.  It comes from the sativus of the saffron crocus flower. It is red in its uncooked stage and turns that characteristic beautiful yellow when cooked.

This paella had chicken scallops and shrimp in it and it was delicious.  This was a mixed paella. Mondays supper.  Delicious.

building garden art

Both the oar and the floats were found over the years washed in on the beach of the family cabin at Red Lake.  My folks bought the lot in 1950.  I bought it from them in the 1970's and then sold it to my brother in 1981.  The floats are off the nets that the Red Lake Indians use in Lower Red Lake.  The reservation line in upper Red is only 11 miles west of our cabin.  In the late 70's I spent four summers up at Red Lake.  Two and half months really got me rejuvenated to go back to work in the Fall.  I called the cabin The Anchorage and had painted a water scene on the oar and its name.  Tallan and I were pricing rummage sale items and we got the idea to make this structure.

Going Green

No this isn't a smoothie.  This is the example of what I do with the fresh garbage that is generated in my home.  All the banana peels, leaves, and any plant matter.  I fill my blender and add water.  I run it until the materials are small particles and then I pour it around my plants.  It soaks in and the next watering or rain it totally disappears into the soil.  A compost pile does the same thing, but I have not as of yet built a bin for it.  My 1.2 acres is all open lawn.  So I need to find a place to camouflage the pile.  I am totally out of ideas.   Any ideas?????????? 

Party in the pit

Our knitting group from church really loves chatting with each other.  So I invited them over to my house to "Party in the Pit".  The pit is my sunken patio and walk out from my basement.  It was a beautiful day until Minnesota weather changed as it does so often.  It began to rain so we all moved under the awning.  I told everyone that we could go inside, but they all wanted to sit outside.  My awning 11 by 18 feet long.  As the water collected on the top the weight increased,  to release that weight ever so often it would pour off one side.  We really got a charge out of that.  We laughed and talked and truly just enjoyed the afternoon.  We are going to do it again in July.  Oh, by the way I served pie and ice cream.  Of course we had coffee because we are from the coffee-est drinking church.

mini car show

As far as I know the car club has done this event as one of their cruise nights for a long time.  We crusie to the Cenex South and line up.  It may have started as a way to advertise that the car show in July is soon approaching.  I just don't know the history of this event, but I do know it was fun.  I had the first person in Bemidji recognize my Green Bean and identify the person that I purchased it from.  It was fun getting the previous history of the car from him.  Also Cenex South did a roll back price on the cheese burger and fries and a drink for us.  It was $2.99.  I wonder what year that was? Remember the car show is Sunday July 22nd.

Puppys at a friends house

Springer Spaniels.  What a great breed of dog. The Springer Spaniel is a breed of gun dog traditionally used for flushing and retrieving game. It is an affectionate, excitable breed with an average lifespan of twelve to fourteen years. Descended from the Norfolk or Shropshire Spaniels of the mid-19th century, the breed has diverged into separate show and working lines.  They are commonly used as sniffer dogs by various nations. The term springer comes from their historic hunting role, where the dogs would "spring" or "flush" birds into the air.

I was invited to the home of a friend to see the puppies as it is getting close to the time that they go to their new homes.  It was a Monday so Tallan was at my home.  So off we went on our adventure.  He totally enjoyed it.  We had a great lunch and conversation.  The only draw back is he got car sick and had to get that straightened around before he really got into the spirit of the visit.  We found out later that his Dad told me that Tal needs new glasses and we think that is the cause of the car sicknesses.

We had such a great time visiting and seeing the pups..Thank you Dianne.  What a gracious hostess. 

First oil change

 I had the first Green Bean oil change and lube.  I was advised to go to Stu's.  It was a very pleasant experience.  While it was up on the hoist I had them take off my trailer hitch.  The hitch certainly did not add to the looks of the car at all.  When I drove up all the men ran over to the car and just started talking it about it.  That was fun.  I had my great  nephew Tallan with me and he told me they were like moths attracted to a light.  That was a good analogy. When I told him how descriptive that was he said you have to use analogies like that so that people can picture what the experience was like.  He is nine.  Maybe I'll get a writer in the family yet. 

The stranger

I again did not write this but did want to pass it on.

The Stranger A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger... He was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies. If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind. Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.) Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home - not from us, our friends or any visitors. After our long time visitor stayed longer he became more daring however, and even got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol but the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.. I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave. More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?.... We just call him 'TV.' Note: This should be required reading for every household!) He has a wife now....we call her 'Computer.' Their first child is "Cell Phone". Second child "I Pod " OH MY----HOW TRUE THIS IS!!!

Naming my classic

Jamon dressed in my brothers old clothes from the 70"s  Just an added touch

I got my new old car.  It is a 1979 Buick Park Avenue.  It has a 403 and is an eight Cyl.   Love it.  It has some issues like the headliner, and heater and air conditioner.  I have it at Stu's looking into those issues.  I found out that the paint has real gold flakes in it.  If I have to paint it it won't have that feature any more as I could not afford the paint.  But maybe that won't be a problem as the paint is in good shape.  It lived its entire life in North Dakota.  No rust.  I am very happy with BABE (the name it was called by its last owner), but I think that I will need to rename it.  I am considering Betty for Betty Boop or the Boopster or the Boopmiester.  Not sure.  I know that it won't be Christine.  Now with all that said I think "The Green Bean" is what it will be.

Eating at Rutgers

Ladies of the homemaker club



This is the picture that was taken by the volunteer

I belong to the Hubbard Mothers homemakers club.  My good friend and classmate Norm who was born and raised in Becida introduced me to the club. They asked me to join.  We do many service related projects during the year.  But my favorite is our dinner out.  Last Monday we all met at Rutgers for dinner.  We had many laughs, but the best one we had was the lady that came by our table to volunteer to take a picture of all of us. She said that she was a little drunk, but she thought she could take a picture.  She took the picture and started back to join her group.  I thanked her for her kind gesture, and then took a look at the picture she took.  I passed the camera around for everyone to see the picture.  It was a very funny ending to our evening together.

Turtle

I went outside to water my hanging pots.  I saw what I thought was a piece of paper in my yard.  On closer inspection I found it to be a a female turtle laying its eggs.  It was a Woodlake turtle.   Skunks and raccoons are the predator of the eggs.  I really don't give the eggs much of a chance in my yard.  Maybe I can build a fence around  them.  It takes 9 weeks for the eggs to hatch.  Good luck with a fence right where I drive.    Minnesota is so interesting with all the animals that have ventured into my yard.  I was kind of wish it was a snapping turtle and I would have had a great meal.

Wet tee shirt contest

Yesterday morning, I went outside to see how my gardens fared with the deer activity. Of course, in my pj's.   I actually found no evidence of deer activity,  I was looking around and and saw the cloud cover and remembered that it was going to rain today.  Then it hit me that the back gutters had a clog in it which prevented them from working during our last rain.  I had cleaned them out this spring, but some animal thought that they could push my buttons and plug the hole with twigs.  Well, I got out all the equipment I needed and proceeded to dig out the twigs and spray water down the hole.  In the process to unclogging the gutter I got soaking wet. I certainly could enter a wet tee shirt contest and win.  That is because I would be the only contestant. After the gutters were running great I noticed that I had sprayed the windows during the process.  Remember, I am soaking wet and have my pj's on.   I got the micro fiber cloths and start to wash windows.  I decided that all of them might as well get washed as long as I have the ladder out.  Then while I had the chairs moved I figured I might as well sweep the sidewalk.  While I was admiring my handy work, I noticed that my coach lights needed to be cleaned. Of course..... Well, I started outside for my walk around my house at 7:00 and finally got back into the house to strip off my soaking wet clothes at 10:00.  None of those jobs where on my list to do.  I have a quilt that needs to be finished as the deadline if fast approaching.  I don't even get the satisfaction of crossing them off the list.

grass in a year

Where the storage garage will be built.

Last year Jamon and Natalie had their lawn hydro seeded.  To be honest it looked terrible all last summer.    But when I visited this year it is much better.  I can't believe the difference a year makes.  I also can't believe that you can get a lawn in a year. He is building a storage garage and has had the slab poured,   Jamon is really discussed with the ruts that the cement truck made, but has plans to fix that too.  I just got pictures and the garage has been completed. 

Cherry Berry

mmmmmmm.  When I  was in Jamestown for the weekend we went shopping in Fargo for "Baby" stuff.  But what we found was the newest yogurt store in Fargo -- CherryBerry.  It is a self-serve yogurt treat with many toppings including fresh fruit.  They charge by the ounce.  The bigger you make your sundae the more it costs.  The man behind the counter asked me if I wanted a punch card.  I explained I was not from here and we did not have a CherryBerry.  He asked me where I was from and I told him.  He said you will by the end of August.  Now isn't that interesting.

Birthday Party at Havenwood

Our church was asked to host the birthday party for the residents at Havenwood.  There were 9 residents that had June birthdays.  They got a special cake and the residents that attended the party got angel food cake.  We served the coffee and the cake.  We also arranged for the music for their enjoyment.  John on the flute and Sarah accompanied him on the piano.  What a rewarding day.  Thanks Wilda for making this possible for me to do.  It was hard filling her shoes. 

blue bird house

As you know I take care of my great nephew Tallan on Mondays.  We really enjoy each others company.  This Monday we made birdhouses.  Special Birdhouses as they are blue bird houses.  Mine didn't get finished, but Tal's did.  He was very proud of the job he did.  He is sure that I need to purchase an electric saw as the hand saw  'Just didn't cut it."  My belief is if you can use the hand tools well just think what you can do with the power tools.  We did have to purchace a hole maker.  Our first attempt to make the hole for the bird to enter was very crude and totally unacceptable. We bought it before we went to book club.  Finished the job before his Dad arrived. 

Fixing the one we took down to get the pattern

cruising to the home

PBVAC members met at Cameron Park and then cruised to Nielsen Place.  The residents were ready for us and we drove the parade of cars around the buildings two times.  Everyone waved and clapped for our cars.  The third time we stopped and we had a root beer float that the Nielsen Place had prepared for us.  It was fun for us but fun for the residents too.  This is the second time the PBVAC has done this.