HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

Hope everyone has a fun day today and tonite.  I usually don't dress up but just help my grandson hand out candy on Halloween night but I saw this idea somewhere on the internet and thought it was so funny and clever and decided to make it for tonight:

I'm an Identity Thief!

Enjoy your day and stay safe.
mary

Things I like Oct 26

Greetings!

Welcome to our "Thursday Things I like!"  It's been a busy week again. I have a initial diagnosis of Fibromyalgia with a specialist appointment yesterday  for a second opinion. He ran another big round of blood labs to rule out other causes.  Gag. Not a good initial diagnosis as there is no real proof test for Fibromyalgia, not very good options on the meds and exercise is the best therapy.  Of course, exercise with pain is not fun. I'm keeping Advil in business.  But, I'll continue to do what's necessary to keep moving and we'll see what the specialist says  in another MONTH.

 Regardless, here are just a few of my "likes" this week:

1. Tea with my daughter.  I like doing anything with my daughter. She is a witty, fun person. We took an hour to go wander downtown Glendale Az last Saturday as they were having a fall festival but we really wanted to sit and have tea with a sweet. haha. So, we found a tea shop named The Spicery which has been there for many years.  We did not need a reservation! We sat for over an hour and had tea with a light cheesecake.  Both were perfect.  In the interest of "keeping it real" I took this photo of our table:

This really beautiful, priceless, old teapot with her water bottle.  So funny. The Spicery is a home built around 1900 turned into many tea rooms filled with china, crocheted lace tablecloths and antique furniture.  Just lovely. It was such a relaxing environment and we were able to have a nice chat.

2.  The New Yorker magazine cover for October:

3.  My new quilt book. Vanessa Goertzen's  Charm School -18 Quilts from 5" Squares.  The day before my vacation, I went to Barnes and Noble with coupons that were about to expire on the goal of purchasing a specific quilt book to take with me to the cabin.   But, when I reviewed the one I wanted at the store, I realized I had already seen many of the patterns by that author online.  So, I took a glance at the other quilt books available (maybe 5) and found this one:

I like it.  I have a ridiculous an ample supply of charm packs sitting in a cupboard which I need to start planning on quilting. ("planning" is the key word here).  The instructions are simple (beginner's level), photos are lovely and she is an inspiring writer.  To be honest, I've not heard her name before, so this was a delightful surprise.  The photos are glossy but since my camera broke on vacation, I am using my Iphone for all photos now, so forgive the "shine" on this photo:

Here's a shot of the back of the book:

I like all the quilts in this photo.  And, just so you know, I only paid about $15 for the book with my membership and coupons. Score.

I also finished a birthday gift quilt this week but I will have to wait till next week to share it with everyone  The birthday is Nov 1. I can't wait for ya'll to see it. It is so cool. This quilt is another where I don't want to part with but I know it will make someone happy.

Thanks for stopping by and please join our "likes" group with Lee Anna: Not Afraid of Color.
 I love to see your comments here ! Have a great week.
mary

Things I like Oct 19

Greetings!


Despite the bad news in Puerto Rico, California and other places I will try to provide my list of likes for this week in the hopes you will feel good:

My pride in my 2 grandsons now in the Army.  

My son married their mom about 11 years ago and I have never met 2 nicer, polite young men. I am so proud of them.  And glad they are not overseas. Their mom is a stronger woman than I to have her only kids both in the Army at the same time.  I always worried about my Marine son for many  years till he retired.



Vacationing for 4 days in Payson Az with my daughter's family.
I have to tell you- being away from the heat for 4 days with not much tv, and smart phones not working due to location in the woods was fantastic.  I recommend it highly. We stayed at a cabin and took small trips during the day to other towns, lakes, fall festivals and FOOD. At night, we lit a campfire as well as a bbq for our dinners in the cabin. We also had plenty of downtime sitting on the porch doing absolutely nothing in beautiful surroundings.

Warning: heavy photo layout ahead. 

Hope these Iphone photos provide as much fun for you as we had:

This is Woods Canyon Lake which was pretty from a distance but we were not able to get closer due to it not being ADA accessible. It stands at over 7000 feet elevation.

My son in law in Christopher Creek.  He drove us everywhere and likes to cook. He is a good man.

Here is my darling daughter also in Christopher Creek . They had gone on a small hike starting yards from our cabin!

My daughter and grandson bundled up in front of the fire pit (in forefront barely visible). My grandson finally got a great view of the stars in the sky! In Glendale, where they live, it's almost impossible to see many stars due to the city lights. He was so cute-"Gramma -there are thousands of stars!"

After our fall festival in Pine, Az, we stopped at a Mexican restaurant  called Mi Familia which was sooo good. The prices were also excellent. In the foreground, is a Salsa Bar!

A  family photo taken while on a break from playing jet ball at the Payson city park. My grandson had such fun and we all could not have asked for better weather= 76 in the day and 49 in the morning.

My son in law watching me and my  grandson playing trucks with the ramp on the cabin porch-his favorite game.

Me and my daughter saying goodbye to the cabin before heading home!

Last- but my favorite photo was my view from the bedroom when I was doing my Yoga each morning. I wish I could enlarge it to fit the arcadia door in my home bedroom.  LOL

Making some "coffee' place mats for the dining table.  They coordinate with my fabric back splash cause they are made from leftover fabric:

I love the coffee bean backing. Here's a photo of the back splash:

I cut the rest of the panel pieces into separate place mats with added scraps to match.

As an FYI- I changed the "https" security  box on my Blogger setting to "yes" for a more secure site and recommend ya'll do the same due to the many Internet hackings lately.  If you are not using Blogger, I don't know how you would accomplish that secure set up but I'm sure you could "google" it.

Thanks for dropping by and please join us at Lee Anna's blog for more likes:Not Afraid of Color.
Have a great week!
mary

Things I like Oct 12

Greetings!

I'm writing this on Tuesday cause I'm preparing for a little vacation in the mountains next weekend.  I am so excited to get out of the heat and see green grass, trees and mountains. Not to mention playing with my family.

Here are my "likes" for this week:

1. Finding new places nearby.  My brother and I took a little drive to Surprise, Az about 10 miles away.  It's a new city (about 2005) expansive, lovely new subdivisions, quiet.

The first photo is Surprise Park, but as you can see it's brown not green grass. Ugh. The second photo is a copper tree sculpture in downtown. Love it.  The third photo is a quilt shop which I had not heard of and we had a lovely time looking at fabric and projects. I felt funny taking photos while inside so didn't. The ladies who ran the shop seemed very nice. I'll return later.

2. A lined drawstring backpack for a trip.  I made this backpack out of cotton batik with a lining of mint green cotton.

It's 12 x 15 inches, very lightweight but big enough for just a few things when we walk a trail in the woods near our cabin. I've never used a backpack ( I know, I've had a  sheltered life) . Seriously tho, I usually just walk with water, but if you don't have pockets or just want your arms free, I can see the need for this to carry necessities. As I've gotten older I need to carry more stuff.  I didn't have a pattern and was in a time constraint, so I just winged it. The hard part was figuring out the casing at the top with 4 opened ends and how to run the cording through. LOL

3. Another mini wallet. This is a Gift Card Holder made on the pattern of my tea wallets. My daughter asked for a wallet to keep her gift cards separate from her other cards in her purse.

She asked that I put a "G" (for gift card) on it which I did but I don't make letters so it's not too pretty.  I love the elastic closing strap! The wallet is about 4 x 4 when closed. It's hard for me to make cause I have to hand sew the 2 side straps to the middle.  My thumbs do not cooperate. It is so light weight I decided to use mine as a real wallet on my trip. Liberating.

I pray everyone has a great week and no traumatic events take place. There is not wifi where we are going, so that should be interesting for 4 days!

Please join us at Lee Anna's site Not Afraid of Color for more "likes".

Thanks for dropping by.
mary

Things I like Oct 5

Greetings!

I cannot believe I am going to say this again this week, but it's difficult to make a list of things I like when there has been  another horrific tragedy in our country.  Our world is changing quickly but I must take this moment to focus on good rather than evil  or I won't have a better day. It's just that simple.  So here's my list of likes for this week:

1. The organic humanity of strangers in a difficult time.  Once more  we have seen so many humans help others with total disregard for their own safety. The stories in the press speak for themselves.

2. The mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Carmen Yulin Cruz.  This wife, mother, mayor  has been living in a shelter  for 2 weeks with her family because her home was flooded and yet has been on the streets (sometimes in waist deep water) caring for her citizens.  She has been on tv many times begging for help for her people. I am so impressed with her devotion and poise in a strenuous difficult time that appears never ending.

3.My teacher Christmas quilt is finished.  My grandson's teacher of his special needs classroom is in her first 2 years of teaching his classroom with 12 special needs kids. She not only is a great teacher but a caring communicator with the parents of her kids everyday with notes in their backpacks. Such dedication.
So, I made her a Christmas quilt:

The fabric was Cookie Exchange Frugals from Moda and the backing was some Bonnie and Camille Scrumptious. There are a few cookie recipes in the design.  I sewed strips of fabric randomly together to make 10 inch blocks and then added a really cute red gingham for the sashing. It's a small lap size.

4.After School Chocolate Pudding.  The recipe is at hallmarkchannel.com.  I originally saw it on the show a few weeks ago and made it with canned coconut milk which makes a dairy free pudding.  Very easy and very good. I substituted "Enjoy"  chocolate chips (in the baking goods aisle) so it was soy free.

5. Making my own tomato sauce. Sprouts had beautiful tomatoes on the vine on sale for $.49 per pound!  So, I thought I would make sauce and freeze it.  Eight medium size tomatoes made about 2 cups sauce! LOL.  I peeled them (simmer 1 minute in boiling water, dump in ice cold bath), chopped them into food processor and pulsed maybe 10 seconds. I cooked them 30 minutes , added 1 Tablespoon lemon juice and dash of salt.  Then I froze the sauce in 2 small canning jars.  I did not season the sauce deliberately.

Even tho it was a messy process and didn't produce much sauce, I will do it again. The flavor is better and no soy was added as they do with most canned spaghetti sauce. I can add whatever seasonings I want when actually using the sauce.

6. Completing my Churn Dash runner. I finally backed and quilted it and of course, added the binding.  One of my favorite fabrics is the bird fabric for the backing.

As you can see, I've been busy and finally got the truck window fixed (sitting in the dealership 2 hours but it was covered under warranty I purchased again before retiring last year), major grocery shopped while running the household. No wonder I'm tired and in pain all the time!  Still no answers from the doctor but I just keep moving.  Maybe I can get answers when I return to the doctor at the end of the month.
In the meantime, I'm looking forward to a mountain getaway next week with family. Sorry to say we are back to a heat wave here in Peoria Az (100 tomorrow) so I hope it cools off more next week.  Thank goodness I haven't planted a fall garden yet.

I hope this post was uplifting to you and I appreciate you visiting.  Your comments are fun!

Please join us at LeeAnna's post Not Afraid of Color for more "likes".
mary

MONDAY MORNING FIRST THING

Just some thoughts.
As many people do nowadays, I wake up, reach for my phone to see if a family member has called or texted and check for any news overnight.  Somedays, I dread turning the phone on due to Trump tweets. But, I don't want to be caught off guard if something has happened that affects our safety or day. 

I have to say that the news this morning of the mass shooting in Las Vegas overnight was surprising and heart wrenching! The concert goers were sitting ducks under a person shooting from above at a hotel.  People were innocently enjoying a great night out.

I fear this type of violence could not have been avoided.  I pray for all the victims and their families.
So very very sad.
mary