Thanksgiving Recap

Oh what a full week we had!  Full of family, fun, & food.

My brother & SIL (B&S) brought my parents here on Monday afternoon.  I was even ready!!    After an early (for us, but helping them shift time zones) supper, Mom, SIL, & I went to quilt guild for the program on wool appliqué.  Lovely show but I didn’t have my camera!  Sorry!!

SIL had brought a project for us to work on for Tuesday.  She couldn’t find the right color for her bathroom towels so we dyed towels for her!!  No photos there either — us in our ugliest duds bending over work buckets in the ugly furnace room. Just imagine LEMON colored towels.  Now imagine them nuclear-ized lemon and you’ll get the picture.   They are perfect, I think!!  She had showed me her target color via a lemon candle when I was there earlier in the month.  I think we hit the nail nearly on the head, erring on the side of brighter.  😀   Her sister is her decorating consultant so I hope she is pleased!

That afternoon, I loaded my sister’s wallhanging on the quilting frame so all could see my process there.

On Wednesday, B&S headed to their son’s about 5 hrs away for the rest of the week.  Mom & I were in full-gear with lots of cooking to do!  I felt like we accomplished a lot in the morning but we still had PLENTY to do all afternoon as well as to make supper for that night.

That day we: cooked bacon to add to the green beans, prepared 5# mashed potatoes, cooked and mashed 2 butternut squash, made 2 Peach Berry Pies, baked bread, and then made supper.   Mom washed lots of dishes as we got things made.  After supper, K arrived home about 7:45 from a difficult day at work.

We spent Thanksgiving day at home together.   In the morning, Dad watched the parade, Mom & I fixed more food, and Phil played a game with the kids.  I guess Nina played the dummy hand.

As usual…. horseplay ensued….

(Really, she is USUALLY off the carpet!!  Hmpf!!)

The turkey cooked on time, all the dishes were  yummy (I especially liked the new recipe for green bean casserole w/o the carbs & sugars!), and we all enjoyed our meal together!   All too soon, we packed up leftovers for K and she headed back home about 5 p.m.  for Friday morning work.   I’m thankful for the 21 hour visit we had but always wish for more.

On Friday with all the others back to work, I showed Mom & Dad some of my quilting by working on my sister’s wallhanging.  It was nice having company there and their enjoyment of watching me work.   It wasn’t all work, we also heated leftovers for lunch, took naps, and cooked turkey broth!  haha!

Saturday had us up with the alarm clock and I headed out with Mom & Dad at 8 a.m.  We drove just into Indiana a bit and met B&S for an early lunch.  We transferred bags and parents after lunch.  My 11:45.  I headed back home by myself and all of them headed back to Ohio.  They drove into sunshine and I had rain both directions!

It was a fun week and it was great to be able to share the driving with B&S.   So glad they could help out like this!

This week looks pretty normal for all of us…. all back to work and a more normal schedule.  Pleasure sewing & finishing my sister’s wallhanging in the spare hours.

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The Carpenter’s Daughter

That’s me… in all my shining …. back last Friday 11/18… and then last week happened and I never posted this to you!   😀

For YEARS I have wanted to replace the basement sink with a faucet where the handles turn on easily, that doesn’t leak onto the floor, and that I can put more than one hand in the bowl at a time.  But I had always wrapped the job into really fixing the furnace room with new drywall, new stand-up shower, new sink, and epoxy on the floor.

In the midst of cleaning there the day before (!!), I couldn’t even turn on the cold water so rinsing after awhile was HOT.  Very HOT.  I’d had enough.  I figured I had time the next afternoon so I’d install a sink.

That morning (even tho I slept in a bit 🙂 ), I headed to the shopping town right after breakfast.  I took 4 huge bags to Goodwill, got a few groceries, a new desk chair, and then stopped at the big box hardware store.   Imagine my delight that the sink/cabinet I wanted was ON SALE!!  🙂  I asked for help and got one guy to haul the sink combo to the front and a lady to help me get the parts.  She must think I’m crazy.  I only know enough to be dangerous.  LOL!

After lunch, Phil took about 1/2 hr to get me some tools, take off the HEAVY sink, break the croided seals on the old pipes, and install the new shut-off valves.  He didn’t think I could do that part.  He didn’t know I had watched a YouTube video on it! LOL!!  I couldn’t have unscrewed the sink from the wall underneath while holding that thing without breaking a foot and/or arm, I’ll admit.

I even cut with the jigsaw!  Two holes for the pipes to go thru the cabinet.   And how creative, Phil’s idea, to cut 2 holes so as to do away with the scrap  of styrofoam that kept them from jiggling the last 35 yrs.

I also drilled the holes for the faucet.   I didn’t have any experience (or much) with a power saw or drill so mastered those 2 items.

Before:

After:

Yes, with the handles I installed, the cabinet doors & drawers even work!  🙂

The water runs & drains away drip-free!   🙂   See how deep the sink is?  😀   And the faucet comes out on a hose for more reach.

No, I did NOT prime & paint the whole room or even this wall that afternoon.  I’m not THAT crazy!!  I had more cleaning to do so kept moving to the next spot.

Coming up next, Thanksgiving week recap!!  (another nap must be completed first….)

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Fall Eastern Visit

Last weekend I was in Ohio to see my parents.  (And this week I’m playing catch-up around this place so it took awhile to get to this!)

I was thankful that this visit had no big drama to it — both mom & dad are doing pretty well considering all they’ve been through in the last year and a half.

Mom thinks my sister’s wall is dreadfully bare so cracked the whip on me getting her wallhanging done.  I got this far so travel is easier but it still gets a border.  N made the cross-stitched blocks, I’m doing the rest.

On Thursday & Friday we did various errands around town.  I saw these on a bare downtown building — love them!  Their town has a large hot air balloon festival each year so these honor that.

Dad & Me… evidence he feels better… the first photo I tried like this, he made a silly face!  (It could be that he didn’t know what I was doing but still made us chuckle!)

My brother & his wife hosted a slumber party for their local grandkids.  Friday evening they popped in Robin Hood for their evening movie.  The kiddos hadn’t seen it and after the first 15 mins asked if it was bedtime.  🙂   Soon after they were engrossed and watched until the end.  The youngest is the only girl and she packed a whole roomful of swooooon at the end!

(look how nice I am… cropping out the back of someone’s head…. )

I broke up the trip home with a layover with my nephew’s family in Indiana.   What fun!  Their two littles are charmers and full of hugs.    Miss Little called me “Grandma” often but I learned that they probably call at least 7 people forms of Grandma.  So I think, she thinks, any “old” woman that comes in is Grandma.  At least, that’s my story and I’m sticking with it!  (Ack… that means I’m old!!)  (Yes, I know my daughter is old enough that we could be grandparents.  But I’m not so I’m not in practice!)

When they headed out to work & school in the morning, I headed home.   I gained 2 hours that weekend with the time change and the state time change but I was still tired!  I was home around noon here so caught a nap after lunch.   I had all good driving days and good visits!

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More from the Orchard

I just downloaded photos and here are some from our orchard trip!  HAHA!!

After we had shopped and while we waited for the lunch stand to open, we peeked at the outside attractions.   The goats, their bridge, and tree house were fun to see!

Good times!

I dried nearly my whole bag of apples on Monday & Tuesday last week.  We all enjoyed them.  Not many are left!

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City Visit = Laptop

I’m playing catch-up this week….. I hope you don’t mind.   🙂

Some weekend… I’m losing track…. we met Miss K in a suburb.  It saved her the whole drive home, saved us the whole drive there, and we got to visit!  It was wonderful!  None of us had the whole day to spare anyway.

The biggest point of the day was to deliver her new laptop. She, with JP as shopping coach, ordered it but had it delivered here.  Upon arrival, JP removed what wasn’t necessary (IE & Norton go quickly, I know) and added what she would need.   Then the laptop waited for a visit for us to deliver.

We had lunch together at Joe’s Crab Shack.

Phil was most pleased with his meal but not so pleased they made him wear a bib.  😉

I had this platter w/ fish, crab-stuffed shrimp, and crab cakes.  My favorite parts were the fries & the onion ribbons.  Not so great for my eating plan.     K wasn’t even hungry yet so took her shrimp home in a to-go box.

We shopped a bit and then found a bench at the mall across the road and enjoyed time just together.   Much chatting and people-watching!   Once K & Phil were ready for snacks, we headed to Panera.

Soon it was time to head our separate ways.  She headed back to town in pouring rain and we headed back to the country in pouring rain.  I had hoped she missed it all.

Once she was home, JP helped with a few more computer questions via online chat or their phones.  It is so nice they help each other! 🙂

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