It was in the 70s today! I did get to take the cat out on his harness, but alas I am still moving stuff around in the kitchen as I need more boxes. I am throwing more things away too. I moved a tall shelved unit into the dining room area that held cat food, first aid, beverages, booze, etc. I threw away about 15 drinks that were expired. This was my main complaint about the storage in the kitchen-things got buried on shelves and we just forgot about them. Brian needs to look at the booze tomorrow. I set him up with a lot of recycling tonight!

My mom went to the eye doctor for the first time today since last June. The pressure was up in both eyes and the doctor recommended cataract surgery for both eyes. She’ll have that in June and be in and out of the hospital in 6 hours. Mom has trouble driving at night.
My grandmom seemed to follow the same course when I was a teenager. She even had the lens removed in one eye but she’d lose the contact all the time. I am sure all that is vastly improved.

And in closing-thanks for all your comments. I appreciate them all and keep them coming!

Yellows

For Zoey!

Winter landscape

Part of a fairy garden

Actually we couldn’t order the cabinets until we sign the agreement with the contractor. I’ll give him a call tomorrow to set that up. I did order all my ‘bisque’ colored appliances-I want them to ‘sort of’ blend in with the cabinets. They are all Maytag except for the microwave which is a GE. I didn’t get the 2k frig (it was really much bigger than we needed), but we got a side by side with the ice and water dispenser on the door for half the price. I got the freestanding double oven with the smooth cooking surface. We are also getting the floor measured for Dupont laminate that looks like really hardwood and guaranteed for 30 yrs! We bought lighting too (got to bring that home). We got a fairly modern looking overhead fixture that can be adjusted to your liking that has 5 lights on it. This will replace a lighted ceiling fan. I got some round under the counter task lighting for two areas and a light for over the sink with a cobalt blue glass shade.


It will be a tan granite. We purchased the faucet too. The prettiest thing we are getting is the granite counter top-blue with some black and mica like speckles. It’s darker than what I thought I’d originally get, but I saw this and it’s gorgeous. We are taking advantage of the credit there and won’t have to pay for the appliances for a year. Hopefully all this will be in place by the end of April.

No more double sinks that eat up counter space!!!

I just ordered this on the internet and saved almost $50! (shipping was $50) Features
Swanstone authentic solid surface. Color and texture run all the way through and cannot wear away.
Drop-in or Undermount installation.
Hot pots & boiling water cause no harm.
Large single bowl easily accomodates your largest cooking pots and baking sheets.
1-Hole faucet drilling.
Highest resistance of impact from heavy objects.

Back to cleaning and sorting. I ran out of boxes for my everyday dishes and food from the cabinets.
This is a terribly busy week ahead. I have to get my van inspected and go to the dentist.

A house for fish

Me at the Reading Terminal at the same place where Rachael Ray ate (Homestyle Diner, I think) when she taped her show $40 a Day here. See the poster behind me. I had an opened face hot turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes.

A dragon in the garden!

Me in at the fairy garden display

A swirly glazing ball

We got to see a wonderful display of paintings by Timothy Martin. His paintings are part fantasy and mostly nature. Like the tiger lily settee with the tiger lounging on it. Check out his site. He was actually there painting in the middle of the flower show.

Sheep’s gate-is this not gorgeous? It’s definitely prettier in person.

From this:

Now most of them (except tiny fruit bowls, some dessert plates and serving bowls) are zipped up nicely in their bright white plastic cases-only $14.99! I could have gotten fabric ones for twice the price, but I saw pretty iridescent drinking glasses/tumblers I just had to have. I got two things for what I would have paid for the fabric cases.

To this:
I plan to store them in a ‘new’ cabinet above the frig.
How am I doing in the kitchen, you ask? Well, I ran out of boxes/crates. I mainly have the everyday things left to move out. Things need to be taken off the countertops. I think if I had to do all what is left to do, I’d get it done in a day, with a little help. Mind you, the guys have only been the crate movers.

Lovely contact paper-definitely a cross stitchers choice. Blasted hard to put up if my memory serves me correctly: 46 yr old oven-I gave up cleaning it when Brian got a 3rd degree burn from some button in it.
Cabinets in front of sink. Even the paneling at the top has slide down over the years.

Now to chose some appliances….I’ll try to make that fun. ; )

I definitely want to do the cover design. BTW, when looking for this photo online, I saw the same book for a little over $3.00! That’s a steal!

I got my mom a flower arranging book-one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen so she can remember her trip to the flower show. Speaking of the flower show, if we don’t go over the weekend, it doesn’t look like we will go. It’s $2o or more a ticket to just get in. The trip there means fighting traffic or taking the train. I have beautiful Longwood Gardens 8 minutes away from my house (see early January blog). So I debate this every year. I usually bow out going into the city. Mom has flower show photos on a picture CD that she purchased. I do like going to the Reading Terminal Market to eat.
We went to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner up in Lancaster. The meat was fine but the veggie side dishes were way oversalted. I took a swallow of potatoes and they almost came back up again. I did complain to the waitress, but I think I’ll complain on the website. She should have sent the manager over but she didn’t. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve eaten out lately and the food has not be worth the money at all.
I ran into a vitamin store before we left to purchase a less potent one-a-day vitamin, Milk Thistle, coconut oil (read it’s suppose to be good for helping you lose weight) and papaya for digestive. I’ll try anything!
After a dark and fragrant (freshly plowed fields) ride home, I was glad to curl up with my new lap pillow (bought today) and enjoyed looking at my new books.

That’s Billy with daughter Alexa (by Christie Brinkley and wife Katie Lee who is only a few years older than Alexa!

Then there was an extremely rude contestant that spoke back to the chef from a restaurant. The chef asked Ken to taste the sauce (they were on ‘the line’ and had to hold out for 30 minutes) and the jerk stuck his finger in it instead of using a spoon. He had the nerve later to ask the chef if he really had dumped the sauce he had tasted. The mentor got extremely upset. Ken, needless to say, was the first to leave. His entry wasn’t good at all for the first challenge. I bet my friend Karin is watching this one as she is learning to become a chef.

Today’s SBQ is:
Do you have an organizational system for your patterns? If so, how do
you organize them? If not, have you considered organizing them?
I actually do have some sense of organization when it comes to cross stitch books and leaflets. I have all my hardback books in one place! That’s a start. I obviously need a bookcase for them which I plan to get soon.
My leaflets and softcover books are in 3 large crates (I collect them, what can I say). My biggest collections are Leisure Arts, The Prairie Schooler and Cross-eyed Cricket. Some of the other leaflets are ‘sort of’ arranged by designer or company-depends on how many I have from each. I have the majority arranged by flowers, cats, dogs, holidays. This helps, but I do love leafing through them ‘just because’ I love them so much, but I won’t divulge the number I have, it just seems crazy!