Designs by Debbie and Dixie Too!

Finally Friday Post on May 29, 2012

2012-05-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

Where shall I begin this post, I kinda purposely missed Friday's post, figuring that I'm on vacation this week and will have plenty of time. Then I thought, let's do this post on a significant day to me: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 The 150th date of year 2012 since we are in a leap year. Nothing of real interest happened the latest being in 2004 when The World War II Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C. There are quite a few birthdays of famous people on May 29th. Bob Hope was born on this date in 1903 and he died in 2003, wow 100 years old. John F Kennedy, 35th president of the US was born on this date in 1917. Here is a picture of both of them together.

Then there were two women, one famous and one not famous, both were born on Tuesday, May 29, 1956. Both are 56 years old today. Can you guess who they are?

and the second one...............

If you guessed La Toya Jackson, you'd be correct. If you guessed it was me, you'd be correct. Today is my birthday, and the best part of the day is that I don't have to go to work. I never work on my birthday, or should I say the week of my birthday. Do I know how to celebrate or what??????? Til next week, have a wonderful last week in May.

TGIF - And Some Interesting Pictures

2012-05-18T07:42:00.001-04:00

I'd like to begin by thanking all those that have sent me heartwarming comments, emails, and pet loss cards for our loss of Dixie. To those that said to "Just go get another dog," I truly don't think they understand the companionship and love that she provided to us all these years and she just can't be replaced so simply. She has been returned to us and has a permanent place in our home and in our hearts. “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.” ― Anatole France I've changed the look of my blog and have done some editing. For someone that isn't a blog guru, I think it looks pretty good and I may be tweaking it further in the future. So on with today's post. This is going to be a wonderful weekend in NW PA. Temps tomorrow and Sunday will be in the 80's - finally. Have some plans for tomorrow with Bernie and then rest and relax on Sunday. Can't wait for this weekend. I will be on vacation soon and will be working on my new quilt, can't wait to really get into that. On with the pics, yesterday morning, having had to go into work early, I left the house a few minutes before six am. As I drove across the lake as I do every weekday, the scene had changed from other pictures I have taken there and posted here. The morning was cool to say the least and a fog mist was coming off the lake just as the sun was rising. A lone Mallard Duck was swimming just in front of me. I stopped at three different places, once in the middle of the road, just to get a shot of what I saw. It made for a calming beginning of a day Take a look and see what I mean. Have a fantastically calm and relaxing weekend. Which photo is your favorite?

My Little Dixie Girl is an Angel Now - Sad Last Weekend

2012-05-11T07:14:00.000-04:00

It is with a very heavy heart and eyes full of tears that I tell you that my little girl, Dixie, had to be put to sleep last Saturday morning. She was the love of our lives and my hubby, Bernie, and I are missing her so much. She is in the title of my blog, her picture is on my blog many times, she is on my computer screensaver here and at work, on my cellphone as a wallpaper, on my camera, she is everywhere and I guess that is how I want to remember her, she is everywhere and looking down from the Rainbow Bridge above. She will forever be in our hearts. We will meet again someday, My Dixie.

I adapted this poem below to incorporate Dixie. A Little Dog Angel, Dixie High up in the courts of heaven today a little dog angel, Dixie, waits; with the other angels she will not play, but she sits alone at the gates. "For I know my master will come" says she, "and when she comes she will call for me." The other angels pass her by As they hurry toward the throne, And she watches them with a wistful eye as she sits at the gates alone. "But I know if I just wait patiently that someday my master will call for me." And her master, down on earth below, as she sits in her easy chair, forgets sometimes, and whispers low to the Dixie who is not there. And the little dog angel Dixie cocks her ears and dreams that her master's voice she hears. And when at last her master waits outside in the dark and cold, for the hand of death to open the door, that leads to those courts of gold, she will hear a sound through the gathering dark, a little dog angel Dixie's bark. Noah M. Holland (with a little editing by me)

OK, Alright!! It is still Friday, and I'm not late....yet!!

2012-05-04T19:41:00.000-04:00

I planned on posting this morning, but I was a little late getting up and had to hurry off to work, so I figured after work is still Friday, so I won't be late. My last post, I told you I was going to begin some quilting. Well, I did. I want to make a queen-size quilt for our spare bedroom and I plan on using the Civil War Reproduction Fabric Jelly-Rolls I purchased. Here is the book I found my pattern in:

And this is what it actually will look like and it's called Martin's Pennies, but I'm renaming it Meyer's Pennies. Tee Hee!!!!!

The first thing I did was start with all of these strips:

After cutting for a while, I am down to these strips.

Here they are almost all cut up.

So after I get this far, I'm figuring, I'm gonna need a lot more fabric than this. I had only planned on making a small quilt out of this fabric, but now that my plans have changed, I had to purchase a lot more in this same Barbara Brackman Civil War Homefront fabric. So it has arrived just yesterday....

So now my next step is to wash all this fabric, iron it all, and begin cutting again. I thought I would have been able to show you some sewed strips, but I haven't had the time just yet. I think I'll get everything cut and ready before I begin sewing. So that is it for this week. I could use some encouragement for sure. I can't wait to get it started to see how it will look. If I may ask you one thing, will you all say a prayer for my little Yorkie, Dixie.

She has collapsing trachea and in the warmer weather and when she gets overly excited she begins honking like a duck. Well, today we figure we had storms in the area and she is deathly afraid of those, and of course we weren't home yet, and when we got home she was honking terribly. She has settled down a bit since I gave her the meds the vet gave me last time, but she is still making some noises with her throat. Please pray that she is OK. I don't want to lose her just yet! Thanks and have a wonderful weekend!!

Another Friday Missed, but at least I kinda remember!!

2012-04-28T10:38:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, today is definitely not Friday, hubby is home, so it must be Saturday. Friday is a blur pretty much. I was off work, I know that, had two doctor appts scheduled in the AM, needed to make sure I didn't eat or drink anything until after the appt. Thank goodness Bernie leaves me notes, "Don't EAT OR DRINK." I contributed to the local blood bank I think, at least my arm feels like it today. Just my normal checkup and I'm doing great!! Second appt helped me very much. I was always skeptical of going to Chiropractors, but since I've been going a few times a year, or when I hurt, I actually think they do a lot of good. My hip had been bothering me for more than two weeks, lower back feeling tired and achy as well. One trip to the ole chiro and today feeling great, best nights sleep I had in two weeks last night. Didn't get up until almost 9AM today. So today is Saturday, have my usual Saturday chores. There is a quilt show going on at one of the high schools here, but just can't bring myself to go. It's a dark, dreary day, no rain yet, but it has to be coming by the looks of it. I stopped again one day last week on my way to work to take a few pictures over the lake. It was a cloudy morn with the sun just peeking through the clouds. I carry my camera with me every day just so if I see anything I can take a quick pic. Here is what I saw that made me stop.

And another shot:

These two were my favorites. So I get to work and everyone is talking about this bat on our dock wall. She stayed there all day, I'm calling her a she because I called her Beatrice the Bat! Although I don't really like these things when they are flying around at night, but she looked kind of peaceful at rest. She only stayed one day! I figured she must have been busy the night before and just had to rest and stopped over our place for a day's sleep. So here is Beatrice:

I really needed to go to that quilt show, I need inspiration to do some quilting. I've been lazy to say the least! Maybe if I just do one little thing, it would work. OK, I'm off to the sewing area to do something. I'll make a point to show you what I did next FRIDAY!!!! Take care and have a lovely weekend wherever you are and whatever you do!!!

Finally Friday - A Gorgeous One Today!!

2012-04-20T07:45:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, I decided to get productive and actually do something that would benefit me all week. All week I don't get home until about 6PM and then I have to plan a meal, cook a meal, do the dishes, and by then it is about 7:30ish, and my evening is basically shot! So, I thought I'd cook a few dishes that I could have ready, so I didn't have much cooking to do during the week. And YES!! It did pay off! I actually had some evening to spend doing what I wanted for a change. So I began by just making some basic rigitoni, I know, I know, it wasn't homemade sauce, but it was fairly quick to throw together and had two bowls, hey, that is one meal and a side for another night!

Then, I remembered something I used to make a while ago, it is a recipe good for at home, or even camping. I'd like to share this one with you today. This makes enough for two people for two different nights. Foil-Wrapped Dinners 1 to 1-1/2 pounds beef round steak 1/2" thick 1 Package (10 oz) frozen green peas 4 medium carrots 4 medium potatoes, pared 1 can (10-1/2 oz) cream of mushroom soup 1 envelope (1-1/2 oz) onion soup mix 8 cherry tomatoes (Only if you want to use them, I don't) Heat oven to 450 degrees, cut the meat into 1" pieces. Place frozen peas in a colander and run cold water over until they are broken apart and drain. Tear off 4 pieces of Heavy-Duty Aluminum foil, each 18x15" On the center of each piece, place 1 carrot, thinly sliced (I use the baby carrots in a bag and just cut them up into little pieces); 1 potato cut into quarters, and 1/4 of the meat.

Stir together mushroom soup and onion soup mix;

Spoon the soup mixture over the meat

And top with peas! You'll have to make sure the peas are on top of the soup mixture. Those little buggers like to roll around. :)

Wrap securely in foil; and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 50 minutes or until meat is tender. Right before serving, you can add your cherry tomatoes if you decided to use them as a garnish. Here's one nights dinner!

You will have a total of 4 pouches. I freeze them and when we want one or two or if we get company, we have a quick dinner with no prep time. I serve them with brown and serve biscuits, since the soup mixes make a wonderful gravy. You can substitute the fresh carrots with frozen if you wish. These are great for camping too, freeze them and take them with you to cook on a grill. These are great for nights when everyone arrives home at a different time. Bake them as needed, or keep them warm for latecomers. That's it, my post for Friday. I hope you enjoy your weekend!!

Happy Friday Morning!!

2012-04-13T07:29:00.000-04:00

Good Morning everyone in the States, and Good Afternoon to those of you reading from across the pond. It is a bright, sunny morning here, but we are only at 31 degrees F this morning, a bit cool. Going all the way up to 60ish today, so that will be nice to come home to after a long day at work!!

So, I told you last post what I have been up to, so here it is.............

I've been working on this puzzle that Bryan and Jess gave me at Christmas. It's been on our diningroom table for a few months, and you know how puzzle making goes, you put a few pieces in place, then you can't see anything else so you step away, go back an hour or so later, place another few pieces, and it goes on and on. Well here it is finally done..............

Well, I meant I was done putting all the pieces together, now I have to get it glued and framed. I love Yorkies, so I can't bring myself to tear it apart, so this weekend I'm going to glue it together and get it ready to either find a frame, make a frame, or purchase a frame to put together on my own. I may just get some Amish people who make frames build me one out of oak. I want to hang it up in this computer room which doubles as Dixie's room during the day. Her little house is in here and since she approved of the puzzle being in here, that is where it is going.

Another thing I worked on last week, weekend, and this week, were getting some glass-etched mugs I had done for a craft show last year that didn't sell put into my Etsy Shop. They look like this:

I have a few mug rugs listed in my shop as well as some different designed coffee mugs. I don't have any beer mugs listed yet, or champagne flutes. I used to personalize the mugs, but haven't used the program in years, so I have to brush up on that before I offer personalization. You can visit my shop at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/DesignsbyDebandDixie

Well, you have a wonderful weekend, and I'll talk with you again next Friday if not before.

Finally Tuesday Post! Did I Miss Another Friday!! I think so............

2012-04-10T07:35:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was a busy one. Friday, which should have been my post day, was spent most of the morning and early afternoon at a car dealership getting my Jeep Wrangler inspected, and having it's first oil change. With it being Good Friday, of course, some employees called off, so they were running a little behind. After having breakfast at Subway with my Hubby across the street from the dealer, we sat and watched Judge Judy on TV, several episodes I might add. Then we sat in all the new cars, what else is there to do at a car dealer. I tried out the new Chrysler 200 "Imported from Detroit." I love this ad campaign. Having worked several years ago at an ad agency/public relations firm, this is one of the most positive ad campaigns for getting people to come back to American made cars.

I don't really understand why people buy foreign. Did you know that Mitsubushi made the Zeros that dropped the bombs on Pearl Harbor? People may think that these vehicles are made here in the USA with our workers, but do you know where the money goes? Right back to Japan, or Korea, or wherever. I'll get off my horse now, by saying keep your workers working, using our own products, right here in America. Enough said!

So that was Friday, Bryan and Jess came up on Saturday for an Easter Dinner/Bryan's Birthday Dinner. We had a wonderful time visiting with them, we don't see them nearly enough. Just wish the weather would have been warmer, but the sun shone all day long. Bryan and Jess brought me these beautiful pink tulips. They will be planted outside for next year. I love them, thank you both, and I love you both too!

So then Easter Sunday, was a day of rest. I've had a cold or sinus for more than a week and it got the better of me on Sunday. So I sat under an afghan, and watched some movies. It was a perfect day!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. I'll be back on track this Friday, I HOPE!!

See you then, I'll show you what I've been doing for more than a month.

Saturday Post - Missed the Friday One yet Again!

2012-03-31T11:31:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone, I once again missed my Friday post, didn't really even think about it until this morning. Yesterday I was off work for a couple appointments, and the day just got away from me. I did manage to get to JoAnn Fabrics though to pick up a few things. They are remodeling our store here, and they have just about everything crammed into a little area, but I managed to find a few things on sale.

They had some cardstock black and multi-colored which I picked up for $1.99 each. Then I found some little pearls on a string for $1.49. Then not on sale I wanted some small tags and medium tags. These are the ones you can decorate up and they have the little hole in the top so you can put twine or ribbon through to attach to your packages. I got those both in white, but they were expensive at $2.49 a package of 20 each. I wasn't happy with that purchase, but I needed them for a project. Next was my absolute best deal of the day.

Bryan and Jess had gotten me a Sizzix machine for Christmas. I am slowly getting some dies, they are pretty costly at $15 a piece or so, but I went down the aisle where they had some displayed and there was one called Flowers and Vine #3. It said $4.97, I'm like this can't be right, all the others are $15+. I read the tag on the shelf and it said clearance $4.97. There were two other hangers that had said clearance too one for $3.97 and one for .99, but everything was gone from that hanger. So I picked up this flower and vine and off to the cash register I go! Sure enough it was $4.97, a lady in front of me asked me where I got it, and I told her, but also told her they were all gone! She sighed!!! So I got rung up, handed the lady the 40% off any regular priced item coupon I had which took a dollar off one of the tag sets, and then presented her my gift card for Christmas that I received. The bottom line was, I purchased $15.29, all which I paid for with my gift card, saved $5.00 overall, and still manage to have $9.71 left of my gift card for another day. All in all, I had a great day at JoAnns.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Til next time.................

Finally Friday Post - Another weird, warm Friday ahead....

2012-03-23T07:31:00.000-04:00

I just can't believe this weather we have been having. It said 87 on our thermometer here at home yesterday afternoon. It is only March! Everything is budding and blooming, but I am not convinced the snow is over yet! When we moved in here in to our new home here on April 4th, 2007 there was snow on the ground when the movers brought in all our furniture. You should have seen me trying to keep their snowy, mudding shoes on the plastic that was on my new carpet!!

A note about Geocaching - I haven't found a thing yet. I went out about 4-5 times, to two different places and zilch, nada, zero!!! Either I'm really bad at hide n seek or I don't know what I'm looking for. So after conferring with my son last night, I have a better feel for what I am looking for. I will try again. I will succeed!! I wish I'd just find one, that would really make me happy!!

I've been busy doing something else, I had made some glass-etched mugs for a craft show last fall, and as usual I make too many of something and then I need an avenue to sell them. So, I decided to put them in my Etsy shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/DesignsbyDebandDixie?ref=seller_info

Here is the Happy Birthday 10 oz. mug

Here is the Happy Retirement 10 oz mug with Smiley Face

I have several more to post, but lack the time, perhaps this weekend I'll get them done. I have butterflies, Gone Fishin which is really cute, Cat Lover, Happy Anniversary, I'd Rather be Sailing.

So that is what I have been doing this past week besides my regular 8-5 job.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!! Talk to you next Friday!!

What a beautiful Friday we will have, Finally!!!

2012-03-16T07:37:00.000-04:00

We have been having the best weather ever for it still being winter here. We are going into the 70s again today and the weather looks like no changes in the next three weeks. We usually have a snowstorm in March and even in April the year we moved in. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I'm loving it!!

With the nice weather you want to get outdoors, so I decided to begin walking on my lunch hour at work. I just walk around town for a half-hour to 40 minutes, usually I run into someone who knows me and we stop and chat a minute or two and then keep walking. For me walking is boring, I always have to have something else to do besides walk. The same for bike riding. If I'm riding my bike, I have to take a camera along and my IPod. So I was looking for something else to do while walking and I remembered that my son Bryan and his wife, Jess, do geocaching.

Geocaching is like a hide and seek type game. It's the challenge of the hunt type thing. Anyway, you download a GPS app to your IPhone or Droid, you go to the geocaching website, punch in the zip code where you are and a list of places to look for caches is listed in your area. You then can download the coordinates into the phone and the search is on. It can direct you in few different ways, directions, maps, latitude and longitude, so you can choose the method you like. So you search until you find the cache. The cache is a box of sorts or container of sorts, the owners hide them in various places in tree stumps, etc. Once found, you log into the booklet or sheet that is in there and see what treasures were left. These are all family-friendly things, trinkets, coins, pins, whatever. If you take something out, you must leave something in it's place. You don't have to do the trade though. After you find it and put it back in the same place you found it, you then go back to the geocaching website and log in your find.

So today, provided we don't get rain, I'm on my first search. This search won't take me far from my office. I wonder who put it there, I wonder what is inside, I don't have any trinkets to put in, unless I take a stamp or two to show the Postmaster was there. Who knows what I'll find, but excited to do this, and I actually can't wait to walk. Exercise is good!

Til Next Week - Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!! Guess I better get walking so I can have some of these that I baked. Yum!!!

Finally Friday - Hey, Hey, You, You, Get Off of My .........

2012-03-09T03:00:00.002-05:00

Cloud!!! Remember that old Rolling Stones tune? Even though the Stones weren't really talking about clouds, I needed a song with the word clouds in it to prepare this post.

Well, on a recent trip to Pittsburgh, there were some strange, yet beautiful clouds in the sky. I had to take a few pictures.

I have to ask you, have you ever looked up at the clouds and found shapes that reminded you of different things, say animals, people, places. I tend to do this a lot. In this picture, I see something with wings, some kind of animal in the blue opening. Down near the bottom left dark clouds I see a child, or perhaps a hockey goalie. I don't know, just my observations. I'd be interested in hearing what you see.

This next picture is just a beautiful overly cloudy sky, but you can see the blue peeking through. This one kind of just reminds me of a surf rolling in.

This picture is of Dixie not overly impressed with my interest in clouds. She prefers basking in the sun. Ahhhhh, "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning", with "Sunshine on My Shoulders." And you thought that Dixie didn't know here tunes!!!

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

My My, It's Monday!

2012-03-05T07:24:00.000-05:00

Once again, I missed my Friday blog post, and I was doing fairly well getting it together on time. I actually did plan this one for Monday though due to my uncle's death last week. He was my last living uncle and he was 94 years old. He taught me how to ice skate many years ago. He was my Dad's youngest brother, and a bachelor his entire life. He lived a wonderful, long life, living on his own the entire time. I'll miss you, Gus! (I was never allowed to call him uncle, he said it made him feel old). R.I.P.

Here is Gus and I on Chartier's Creek, where he taught me how to skate. Actually, in this picture, I could already skate fairly well. He taught me when I was very, very young. He always had the ice ready for all us kids. Cleaned off of snow and debris from the trees, fire going so we could put our skates on by the fire. He had a seat there by the fire for putting on your skates. A radio was always on to music, because it was more fun to skate to the music. Winters were more bearable when you could skate through them!!!

Hope everyone has a wonder week ahead!!

Good Friday and an Old Quilt to Share With You Today

2012-02-24T07:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday everyone. This is going to be hopefully a peaceful weekend, but it's too early to tell. They are saying snow is coming in after 4PM today and it is lake effect, which means that they have no idea how much we are going to get even when they say 1-2 and then 2-4 , it's only speculation. Does it matter to me? Not so much, it's the weekend, I am not forced to drive in it on a weekend, not that I mind it much, I love a challenge.

It's the Daytona 500 weekend as well. That means when it is snowing and cold outside, I can sit down and watch the race activities in beautiful, warm, Daytona Beach FL.

Today I'm going to show you a quilt that I promised to show you quite a while back. I finally took some pics. This quilt was given to Bernie and I when we got married, almost 35 years ago. It was given to us by his paternal grandmother, Agnes. She made lots of quilts and afghans, doilies, etc. She was quite the needlework person. This entire quilt was made by hand, no machine used. She handstitched each applique on the quilt and the overall stitching was done by hand also. I never asked her how long it took her to make one of these, but I bet it was quite a while. We used to have it hung on the wall at our old home in Pittsburgh, Bernie had made me a wooden wall quilt hanger and then we'd take it down, and put it away for a while. I just got it back out the other day and just threw it on the bed so I could take pictures. I think I'll leave it out for a while. It's nice to see and reminiscence of old times at Bernie's grandma's house.

So here are the pics.

This is the edging around the entire quilt. Picture isn't too, too good though.

One of my favorite appliques on this quilt, the flower basket.

Dixie wanted in on the pics, so I moved her to the quilt I made and took her picture one morning last week. She had red-eye, I tried to fix it, so it's not real good, but what I liked about this picture and I didn't see it before, but if you look to the left of Dixie, you can see the sunshine coming through the window and hitting the wall. You can see the tree branches in the sunlight.I love when this happens! No sunshine today though!! Have yourself a great weekend.

Another Friday, Missed The Last One and a Question for you?

2012-02-17T10:50:00.000-05:00

So sorry I missed you last Friday. I have been under the weather since last Thursday evening. Made it to work on Friday, just barely, and then was sick all weekend and even had to visit the Doc on Monday. Didn't go back to work until Wed and still am not at 100%, but at least I'm off today. I had planned a vacation day to have a super long weekend with President's Day on Monday, so I'll have more time to rest up and get totally well. It all started with a sore throat and I must say it was the worst one I have ever had, followed by headaches, sneezing, coughing, etc. Not pleasant.

There was one happy moment though so let me explain. Years ago, I had four penpals, I got them by reading a country decorating magazine and I wrote about myself and had gotten many letters, I wrote to them all and through the years I ended up with four regular writing penpals. One woman was elderly and she was from IN, one letter I just never got a reply, I tried a second time, neither letter was returned, but I had assumed she had passed.

Another penpal was from NJ, her name was Marlene, she worked in NYC for Leona Helmsley, yes, the Queen of Mean. She told me in a letter that she actually was a decent person to work for. Marlene commuted daily from NJ to NYC. She had had several miscarriages over the years we wrote, and she tried everything to get pregnant. She was in her 40's and so desperately wanted a child. The last letter I received from her was back in 2005 and she was so excited, she had conceived and was carrying twins. She had to spend most of her time in bed, but she didn't care, I was so happy for her and scared as well. I knew when she was due and never got a letter from her saying she had the twins. I wrote her and still no letter, I wrote her a second time, and still no letter. Neither were returned to me, so someone got them and chose not to write back. I pray that she has two wonderful children and she is just too busy to write to penpals, but my heart tells me differently. Marlene used to write me about 3-4 times a month, so you see my concern. So now I was down to two penpals.

Deb was a penpal whose husband had roots in Pittsburgh. She came to Pittsburgh once, but we were unable to hook up to meet and vowed to meet some other visit. She lived in Karlsruhe ND on a farm. We wrote at least once a month to one another, she telling me about their farm, the animals they had, their children, her husbands medical woes. She had some health issues herself, but they were minor to what her husband had, but they were running this farm. So back in 2008 around Thanksgiving time, I wrote to her and her letter was returned to me unable to forward (UTF), so I wrote a second time and once again UTF. I attempted to contact a fellow Postmaster there and all they told me was that they were no longer there and had moved on. How very strange for her not to tell me her new address. So I figured that I'd probably never hear from her again. Lo and behold, I received a letter in Saturday's mail and I was so excited it was from Deb. I held it in my hand just staring at the envelope and the address I didn't recognize in a town in ND. I opened it up and it was 6-pages long. She must have had so much to tell me and I began reading. I found out that she had a fire at their farmhouse on Dec 1, 2008, the home burnt to the ground, it was electrical in nature, but they had all made it out safely. She said that she had lost her address book in the flames, and here she found in the back of her wallet my address just recently. She forgot she had put it in there too. One week after that, her husband and her were driving in their van and hit an ice patch and rolled the van over several times, landing upright. She was knocked out and her husband had several broken bones, but they had both survived. Both of them continued to have health issues. His being the worse, he was in constant pain and one day in May of last year, he had a heart attack, and she had to make the choice to let him go. Finally, he was at peace. My heart sank when I read this. She told me she still owns the farm, and she can't part with it yet although people would want to buy it for the land. She lives in a small apartment in a small town alone. Her son was married, has a child, and divorced and is about to remarry. Her daughter has just purchased a house with her fiance, they are both about 45 minutes away from her. Her daughter and she always did craft shows together, she lost all her craft things and I'm not sure she even does that anymore.

I wrote back immediately, not wanting for her to think she had lost me as well. I can't wait to re-connect with her again and am looking for her next letter.

So my question to you is: Is there someone out there that you need to re-connect with? Perhaps a family member, a loved one, or a penpal from years gone by? Today is a great day to sit down and write that person a letter, or perhaps just a note. Reconnect before it is too late!!!

Oh yes, I almost forgot, my 4th penpal is alive and well, in Chandler AZ. We've been writing for 25 years, never met. She did remind me in her Christmas card that I owed her a letter. So guess what I'm doing this afternoon, you got it, I'm sitting down and writing her a letter. I'm sure she's been waiting for it.

I hope I didn't go on and on too much, but I just wanted everyone to hear this somewhat of a happy story and to hopefully make you think of someone you need to write to.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Finally Friday!!! Super Bowl Weekend

2012-02-03T07:29:00.000-05:00

I've made it, it's Friday and I'm posting on time. This is a huge accomplishment for me. Today we are supposed to see the sunshine, so it will kickoff a wonderful weekend! It's Super Bowl Weekend! I love watching football, you might find that odd for a gal, but I don't care who the teams are, I pick one and root for them. This year is no exception, I'm rooting for Eli Manning and his NY Giants. Sorry, New England Patriot fans, but I just can't stand your coach especially!! Nothing more than the fact that I find him rude and a very bad dresser for all the money the man makes you think he could find something to wear besides that awful sweatshirt thing or whatever it is. Come on, he should take a lesson from Tom Landry, the man knew how to dress.

OK, OK, I'm off that horse, but I wanted to share a couple little, quick recipes that I like to do for Super Bowl Sunday. Nothing elaborate, but great for a little get together or just by yourselves. Here goes.......

Pizza Burgers - Simple - 350 Degrees

Ground Meat - I prefer the less fat kind Ground Chuck
1 - 2 cans of the smaller size tomato sauce
1 small can of tomato paste
Semi-hard rolls, can use just regular buns if you want
Mozzarella Cheese slices or even shredded works
Italian Seasoning or whatever spices you like, Basil, Oregano, Pepper, Salt

Brown the ground meat until done, pour off excess grease, add in the tomato sauce and paste. Mix in your spices. Stir and simmer a while making sure it doesn't burn. I usually cook it for about 15-20 minutes stirring quite a bit.

When it is done, cut your rolls in half. Put the meat mixture on the rolls, top with the Mozzarella cheese slices or sprinkle with the shredded.

Pop into the 350 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes, I'd watch it though to make sure the cheese isn't burning. When the cheese begins to brown a little, take them out and enjoy.

I just serve ours with potato chips and pickles. Yummy!!!!!!!!!!

For that quick half-time snack, so you can all watch Madonna's half-time performance, I actually prefer to hear Danny Marino, Coach Cowher, (note they are both Pittsburghers,) highlight the first half and give their predictions on what the teams need to do in the second half to take home the coveted Vince Lombardi trophy. Who is Vince Lombardi, well, he was the best football coach ever and he coached the Green Bay Packers.

So here is my half-time snack.

Scoop size Fritos
Salami, Ham, Turkey, etc. (Some kind of luncheon meat)
American, Swiss, Mozzarella, Provalone Cheese (Whatever kind you like)

Just put some Fritos on a microwaveable plate, use the Fritos that are whole and have a nice dip in the middle, broken ones just eat while preparing. :) Smile!
Cut up the meat and cheese to fit in the dip in the chip.
Put the meat in then top with cheese.
Pop in the microwave for about 30 seconds or less until the cheese has melted nicely and serve.

I usually make up two plates at once. One is not enough, trust me. I usually do this before the game and put them in the refrig, that way you can just pull a plate out and never miss a play, a half-time, or one of those wonderful Super Bowl commercials.

So that's it for today's post. Have a Happy Friday and a Wonderful Super Bowl Weekend!! GO GIANTS!! GO ELI!!! GO COACH COUGHLIN!!! (Take note of how Coach Coughlin dresses for the game, much more professional than Coach Belichick.) Sorry, I got on that horse again!!

I didn't make it this weekon Friday, it's Sunday, oh wonderful Sunday!!

2012-01-29T12:12:00.000-05:00

I love a beautiful Sunday, the sky is blue, the sun is shining, and it's a tropical 35 degrees, with a slight dusting of snow on the ground. A beautiful day!!!!

Had to go grocery shopping today and what an awakening. I usually don't go big grocery shopping except maybe once every 5 or 6 weeks. I don't like to grocery shop, never have, never will, but learned today that I really despise it!! The cost of everything is over the roof!! My gosh, if you are not buying what is on sale, and have coupons for the items, then you are paying way, way too much!!

I used to be an avid couponer way back in our married life, and I am seriously considering trying my hand at it again. I remember walking out of a grocery store with five bags of groceries that I paid something like $15 for, using doubled coupons on sale items I was getting probably $60 worth of groceries for $15. I realized today, I need to begin this again.

I used to belong to some couponing and refunding clubs like Refund Bundle, and gosh, I can't remember the name of the other club. There would be trading of coupons galore there, I got what I needed and I supplied others with coupons they needed. I took advantage of refund items by sending in UPC symbols with mail-in rebate forms and I saved quite a bit.

So, I guess my best deal today was of course for a snack item, yummmmmmmm!! They had Nestle Nutty Buddy ice cream cones which are regularly $4.49 for 4 in a box, they had the large 8 in a box for $4.49. And I had a $1.00 coupon. I snatched up two boxes so that was 16 cones for approx. 50 cents each, regular would have been $1.12 each. So, I am happy, the only thing better would have been if I had 2 coupons, one for each of the two boxes. Now had I belonged to a coupon club, I might just have had that other coupon.

My question to you is does anyone belong to a coupon club? If so, which one, please share!!

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend and a good week ahead!!!

I still made my Finally Friday post!! Just a little later than I had hoped for....

2012-01-20T20:37:00.001-05:00

Yes, it is 8:30 pm EDT, but it is still Friday, so I guess I'm making my post for today on time. :)

I had every intention of making it this morning, but then I remembered that I had to go into work early to do my stamp stock count and that had to be done before we opened up the window. I had taken what I thought were some pictures of Dixie in the snow in her sweater, and I was going to post them tonight, but since I took them without my glasses on, they ended up being movies and not pictures. To say the least, they were not good. So I have no pictures to post, nothing to write about except that we are supposed to get 3-5 more inches of snow overnight. The best part is I don't have to drive in it tomorrow to work, even though I do have 4-wheel drive. I really don't mind driving in snow. I find it a challenge, the sad part is you have to watch out for the other guy! Now I sound like I'm giving another safety talk, but we can't have enough of them. I give my carriers safety talks twice a week especially during the winter months.

I guess we will be hunkered down this weekend again, fine by me. I have a delightful Yorkshire Terrier dogs puzzle that I got for Christmas from Bryan and Jess (son and daughter-in-law) so I think I'll get it out on the dining room table and begin putting it together. I love puzzles, and seldom have time to do them.

As for the quilting, I'm not really motivated right now to quilt. I think I have so many things I want to quilt that I'm overburdening my mind and can't figure out what to begin with. Someday soon I hope to get back into the groove, and do a little quilting.

So I will leave you with a picture taken earlier in the week by my hubby. I really like it, winter at it's best!! Happy Weekend to all!!

YES!! It's Friday and I am doing my Finally Friday Post on Time!!!!

2012-01-13T07:12:00.000-05:00

Only problem is, that I don't know what to post about. The weather is lousy, it went from 42 degrees last evening to 15 degrees this morning. We have about 3" of snow on the ground, 3-5 more today, 4-6 more tonight, and more lake effect tomorrow. We could end up with over a foot! Wait, we just got rid of the other 8" that we had at our house last week. Oh well, it is winter in NW PA. The worst part this morning is the blowing, blinding snow. The winds have been howling through the trees all night. Kept me awake a bit too! But it is Finally Friday, and a long weekend for me. I am off work on Monday for Martin Luther King Day. Wow! an extra day off to do what, let's see. How about quilt!! I had a few things I intended on having done for this past Christmas that I never got started. I think I will try to make it on Monday, or at least begin it. I'll share it if I get started.

Our tree is still up, and I still have one room totally decorated. These will all be taken down this weekend. Good weekend to stay indoors, looking out at the snow and frigid temps, and keep warm with some hot coffee, some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, under an afghan, pellet stove on, with some piping hot soup for dinner. Yep, I have a plan and it sounds like a good one to me!!

I wish everyone a wonderful pssst (Friday the 13th), I'm not saying that too loud for those of a superstitious nature! Here's hoping for a wonderful, uneventful, peaceful day.

"Let me in Mom, it's cold and snowy out here today and I'm not liking it much, Geez, where is my sweater, my coat, my boots, I am not prepared for this!!!"

I Missed another Friday Post - I'm So Bad at This!!

2012-01-10T09:10:00.000-05:00

Well, what can I say, another failed attempt for a "Finally Friday" post. You know all week I kept saying to myself, you better get it done, because you know what Friday night brings! Always busy or tired, or whatever, so I've missed yet another post. With out further ado, here it is...................

Home is where your heart is! It's where you hang your hat!! It's always on your mind!!! No, I'm not talking about our house, but where our roots are, where we came from, our hometown, Pittsburgh PA. Although I wasn't in Pittsburgh this past weekend, Bernie was and took this photo of Pittsburgh from the West End Overlook. Yep, this is Pittsburgh. Our hometown, born and raised there both of us, we will always call it home.

So, I wanted to share a picture and tell a little about what you are seeing.

The first thing that you see are the rivers. The one in the forefront is the Ohio River, the one shown going off to the left is the Allegheny River and the one to the right is the Monongahela River. Where the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River meet at the center to make the Ohio is called "The Point". You can see this right where the cluster of tall buildings are. "The Point" is a place to relax, sit by the water's edge and just chill out. You can't drive down there, but have to walk to sit yourself down on the many benches, you can listen to the sounds of the water the hustle and bustle of a big city. Watch the river boats motor by.

The tall buildings are a site itself, the tallest is called the USX Tower, I used to work in that building about 26 years ago. I worked on the 55th floor, for a public relations firm. The scariest part of working that high up was that we could see helicopters flying right outside our windows. When we heard a fire alarm in the building, we had to listen to how many bells would toll. This was the way we knew where the fire was and what floors would be evacuated. If I recall, it was ten above the fire and ten below the fire. Scary to look down and see fire trucks beside your building looking like ants and knowing somewhere there was a fire in the building. I never was evacuated though. Did get stuck in the elevator once for quite a while. The thing wouldn't level correctly, so the doors wouldn't open. Had to have rescue come and get us out. Oh, life in the big city. Fun, Scary, you bet!! but, home!!!

The bridge that you see is the West End Bridge, it connects the west side of the city to the north side. The large building(whitish) right behind the bridge is the new Rivers Casino. Been there, done that, won sometimes, mostly not, but a good time. Very beautiful casino inside and out. Fantastic views from the many restaurants inside. If you look at the bridge you can see a tug boat pushing some barges down the Ohio River, this is a common site in Pittsburgh.

At the rivers edge, slightly behind the casino is a long light colored object in the water, well that is the World War II USS Requiem submarine which is located at the Carnegie Science Center. I hope the link works.

Right behind that is the Home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, "Heinz Field" Called that due to the fact that H.J. Heinz was one of the biggest manufacturing companies in Pittsburgh. Yep, a huge ketchup bottle is there somewhere. And if you look right behind that stadium, you will see just the tall lights of PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

From there, the buildings are USX Tower is the tallest, right in front of it with one little antenna is the Highmark Building, where my son works. The one to the right with the little spires it's corners is an all glass building, PPG Place, just a beautiful building. Home of Pittsburgh Plate Glass.

The bridge to the right is the Fort Pitt Bridge, you come through the Fort Pitt Tunnels and as you emerge out of the tunnel the City of Pittsburgh is before you. A truly beautiful site. The roadway along the right side is Carson Street, it runs along the Monogahela River a long ways. This is the road that will take you to Station Square, which is a nice place to visit.

Carson Street leads you to the South Side of Pittsburgh, an eclectic place of shops, eateries, etc. It is a unique place. Sidewalk cafe's, bars, entertainment, etc. South Side during the steel era, was nothing but steel mills all along the river. These have all been torn down and new modern buildings housing high tech businesses, offices, etc. are there now.

Well, I guess I have rambled on about this subject long enough. I hope you have enjoyed visiting Pittsburgh with me. My hometown, My Home!!!

Happy New Year - Giveaway Winner

2012-01-02T11:25:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I missed last Friday's post again. The holidays sure are a busy time. Today is my final day off work, much to do today, let's see Relax, Relax, Relax and finish up on some things I didn't get done. One of which is the giveaway for everyone who participated in the Fabric for Sue Campaign. There were 17 of us that participated in this campaign and it made such a huge difference for Sue. So without further ado, I had all the names on pieces of paper and I had Dixie pick the winning piece of paper. I spread them out and the first one she touched with her nose was the winner. And the winner is...........................

Suzanne Melkoski - How fitting that the prize goes to someone else named Suzanne. Dixie did a fine job. I'll be sending you your prize shortly as soon as I can get it all together for mailing.

Thanks to all of you that contributed. Sue has asked me for everyone's addresses, I have most of your mailing addresses, but if you'd like to send me your email, I'm sure that would be appreciated, or your blogging address. I'm sure she'd like to check out all your blogs.

So, as the snow flies here in NW Pennsylvania, can get up to 2' of snow through tomorrow, UGH!!!! Til next time, have a wonderful start to 2012!!

Last Friday's Post -- Finally!!

2011-12-28T08:56:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone is having a Very Merry Christmas! I'm a little late on my post from last Friday. Sorry!!!

This was our first Christmas eve at home in a very long time. Bernie and I actually enjoyed it very much. We opened our presents to each other and had a really nice evening. Chilled out, rested, knowing that Christmas day would be a whirlwind day of events.

I love reading Christmas cards, here I am reading the one from Bernie! I save all my cards, don't know why, but I have every one that Bernie has ever given to me. You may think that they just sit in a box somewhere, but I get them out often during the year, just to read of Christmas' Past. I even have a special card that my Dad gave to my Mom from him and "The Kids". This card is over 50 years old. I'll have to take a picture of it one day and post it, it is so beautiful. The craftsmanship of cards past was extraordinary! I should probably preserve it some way, but I wouldn't know where to begin. I think I just like the thought that my Dad held this card in his hand, wrote inside with a pencil, and then my Mom opened and read it. This is special.

I hope that you made your Christmas special this year; if not, there is still time! I can't stand that the radio stations begin playing Christmas songs at Thanksgiving, and then at midnight on Christmas Day, poof!!!!!!!!!! The songs are gone, back to regular programming on Dec 26th. Wait!! Isn't this still Christmas, why did the music stop, we are all still celebrating, aren't we??? And don't get me started on those people that take down their tree the day after, and un-decorate. It's like, I got my presents, it's over, now back to normal! I'm sorry, but the Epiphany isn't until 12 days after Christmas which falls on Jan 6th this year, but is celebrated on the Sunday, Jan 8th. The Epiphany is the day the Three Kings or Wise Men arrived in Bethlehem to visit our Lord, yes, it took them 12 days to get there, they came bearing gifts to the Newborn King!! So you see, Christmas is far from over. It's still OK to wish people a Merry Christmas!! With that, I continue to wish you all a Merry Christmas!!

My Visit with Sue on Friday

2011-12-18T20:36:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to update everyone who participated in the Fabric for Sue Campaign. I assembled the basket on Friday and took it to Sue on my lunch hour. I pulled up the driveway and she must have seen me get out of the truck because she opened the door right as I got to it. She was cooking her lunch on the stove. When I walked in, she said what is that, I said it was for her. She gave me a funny look like what is in that garbage bag, yes, I had it in a clear garbage bag, it was snowing a little or drizzling a bit and I didn't want it to get wet.

When I uncovered it, I explained about our little group of women who blog about quilting and such, and that we all decided to work on a little project to help her get through this tough time and to get her back to quilting again.

I asked her how she had been doing, and she said she is in no pain whatsoever, she's beginning to lose her hair a bit and she was depressed! I told her that if that was all that happens that she loses her hair, who cares, it will grow back when she's finished with her treatments. I told her she needed to get busy sewing to take her mind off of it. There are too many of us out there praying for her recovery as well as for her to get back into doing something she loves.

One package contained a little log cabin potholder, like an ornament, so cute, I told her I needed to know how to make these as I would like to do a tree of them. She said she had a book on just Christmas ornaments and she would find it for me so we could look at the ornaments. I said great, once she found it, we could take a look and she could help me make some of those for next years tree.

By this time, she and I had shed a few tears and a big hug, and we realized we smelt something burning, yep, you guessed it, it was her lunch, she said not to worry, she'd start over. She just kept looking at the basket, crying a little, I told her there were notes, lots of fabric, homemade gifts, etc. I told her there was no reason to be depressed; we were all pulling for her, and she had her afternoon to relax, look in the basket, figure out what she was going to make and look through the quilting magazines.

By that time, I had to get back to work, but I felt so good and I want to thank all 17 of us that participated in this campaign. Please keep praying for Sue. BTW, she couldn't believe all the people from different states that participated and she couldn't believe two of the gift packages came all the way from the UK. She was so appreciative.

So here is what I gave to her. I took a few pictures. God Bless you all and have a good week.

Finally Friday S-D-S Three Things On My Mind Today

2011-12-16T06:32:00.000-05:00

Firstly, I joined The Secret Santa Soiree over at Colorado Lady's blog a while back and I got my present the other day. I want to thank my Secret Santa so very much. She is sent me everything I love. I received a Jim Shore Snowman Ornament, I collect Jim Shore, so this was perfect. Also, a Subway gift card, yum!!! Some beautiful Christmas fabric, just adorable. Yankee Candles Christmas Wreath, I am burning these slowly so they last, what a fragrance, love it! York Peppermint Candy, the chocolate you can eat without feeling too, too guilty! All wrapped up in a beautiful little Santa bag. Thanks again, I'm trying to figure out who my Secret Santa is before they review the name, but so far my only clue is she is from New Market AL. I read the Postmark, that is what Postmasters do. Merry Christmas to you!!

Second on my list, is Today is Dixie's 13th birthday! She doesn't look a year over one! She's our baby so lots of tummy rubs, Yorkie Kissies, and lots of treats for her today. This picture makes her look like a devil dog, hmmm, every now and then she is! :)

and last but not least, the Fabric for Sue Campaign is now over. Those that I was waiting for have arrived. I want to thank everyone for your generosity, the gifts of fabric and other goodies for Sue are phenomenal, beautiful, gorgeous, etc. I actually had a hard time finding a basket that wasn't Christmas. I just got it last evening, so I haven't gotten it packed up yet, but will do so today and I will take a picture to post here so you can see it later on this weekend. She is going to be so surprised!! She is doing well and will have her next chemo on Monday, thus why I wanted to get it to her today. Once again, thank you all, I can never thank you enough. Quilters are the best!!! Blessings to all of you and please keep her in your prayers! Love ya!!

With that, I wish you a Happy Friday, Wonderful Weekend, and again and I can't say it enough. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

The Weekend Brief

2011-12-11T20:24:00.000-05:00

Oh my, what a weekend it has been. We got our tree Friday evening, a 7' Frasier Fir, it is so beautiful and smells so good. We made it look like an old fashioned tree this year. Rag garland, old time ornaments, red and green, and lots of those silvery icicles that we used to adorn our tree with when we were younger. Here's a picture, I still don't have the underneath completed, but the tree is done.

I spent then entire day on Saturday, making us breakfast, doing laundry, decorating the tree, wrapping a few packages, until late in the evening. I did watch some of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on TV and then I was beat. I knew that Sunday would be the same.

I began bright and early wrapping presents, I had an entire room setup to do this, well, setup might not be a good word. I had a card table, wrapping paper, bows, ribbons, name tags, and tape, lots of it. I began wrapping, and continued wrapping, took a break for breakfast, went back to wrapping, had lunch, back to wrapping again, and then took a pizza break, and then back to wrapping. Finally, at 7 PM I called it quits. You might ask what all the wrapping was about. Well, I have to wrap each package, color coordinate it to the person, then make sure each package has ribbon, bows, and a name tag. This takes me a very long time. So, now that I'm finished with that, all I have left to do is write my cards. It's my favorite thing to do!!!

Have a wonderful week and I'll talk to you again on Friday!!