Category Archives: Me stuff

Aug8

Show & Tell #4

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I wanted to say that it’s been nice to meet many new bloggers through Kelli’s Show & Tell. I have been so impressed by all the terrific blogs I’ve seen over the last few weeks. There are many interesting people out there and you are all special. Nice to meet you!

Today, here is my late Grandmom Ruth’s little Martha Washington cabinet that I have in my family room with mostly my cross stitch and crochet supplies tucked inside it’s little drawers and bin like sides.

I know, there’s so much on top of it! Carol from A Garden of Stitches made me the little ‘Stick it Here’ pincushion and Barbara from Mainly Stitching made the pillow top pin cushion. I made the framed pieces you see-the Big Bee, Little Bee on top of the cabinet and the little stitching girl on the wall. I have some cute thread spool garland draped around the walled piece. I am dying to get some new window treatments there. The little cabinet sat in the hallway in mom’s house (my grandmom lived with us, it was her house too) and it was rather neglected and lost it’s pretty shine. I actually saw a similar one at Chadds Fords Day and it was polished and preserved nicely.

Here’s what’s on top closer up:

I found the little stitching girl at a flea market-it’s a pin cushion too. My dear late friend Charlotte gave me the book leaning against the wall there. I should show you the gorgeous box there too with copies of vintage sewing items that my friend Barb from Colorado gave me. It’s really neat.

Aug7

Bulk item happy

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Sean and I did head for BJs Wholesale Club in the afternoon. Those places always overwhelm me! We took around a calculator and we were watching what we spent. I had to use the restroom and when I came back, Sean had messed up the running total! The items don’t have prices on them, the signs are the only indicator of what the prices are. We were very selective. We’ll be splitting some stuff, but he’ll have a good array of snacks and breakfast cereals to last him until he comes home and we go again. He got a huge Phillies towel for $15. It will be great for him to toss in the wash and not have tons of towels to worry about.

We ate in a Chili’s where Sean and I shared nachos and he had shrimp fajitas and I had the little burgers, two I saved for Bri.

Sean had to have car repair and it was expensive. He is planning a day trip with a pal or two to one of the Delaware beaches, and of course he is going back to PSU in a little over 2 weeks! I don’t know where this summer went. Of course I’ll miss him, but now he has an apartment and we could take the inflatable mattress up and spend the weekend with him sometime. We haven’t made our minds up if we are going with him this time.

I got a few cross stitch magazines at a Barnes & Noble. I got the one with the DaVinci lady that I admired a few weeks ago. I think I’ll kit her up! Got the JCS Xmas ornament preview issue and Cross stitch and Needleworks for the Halloween design from Mirabilia.

As luck has it, my uncle’s neighbor is a retired chiropractor and his son is a practicing one! And he’s right in the same complex as my dentist, eye doctor and GP! I’ll call to see if they take our insurance. My shoulder blade is better, but I’m getting a flash of tingling that goes around to the front after I’ve been sitting a while like in a car. What I’ve read, it sounds like a pinched nerve. It doesn’t bother me when I am sleeping-yet.

Mom’s friend Jim went in a rehab (I think) center near the main line of Philly today. His brother-in-law will be coming to help clear out his room and ‘tons’ of stuff at mom’s house. My #2 bro has been really testy and wants to hire a company to clean out some part of mom’s house. He complains about me not doing cleaning and sorting down there. This isn’t exactly the time of year I do that-I’ve got a big yard to tend! I did try to make an art corner in my dining area and got laid up with my shoulder. I still want to do this. Waiting for someone to move a table in there for me. I may not even like the chosen table.

Think I’ll go drool over the cross stitch magazines. : )

I’d love to go to Longwood Gardens tomorrow, but carrying the camera and it’s case may be pushing it. Walking isn’t really a problem. It’s lifting and sitting too long that bothers me. And you know if you have anything that is ‘off’, it effects your entire self.

Aug5

Look that this mop top!

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And mop bottom too! LOL

milkweed tussock moth caterpillar on the wrong plant to have a snack, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

I always wondered what these caterpillars were. A little google search lead me to the correct page-they are Milkweed Tussock Moths. They are kinda pretty with their silvery wings when they turn into moths.

And of course they seem like they this area of PA. They have devoured the milkweed which I save for the Monarch! Hopefully the Monarchs got their fill of the tender milkweed they prefer.

Went to the dentist and they got kinda quiet. Without x-rays, he found 5 small cavities in my front teeth, but they can wait until the insurance turns over in January. He gave me a special paste I have to apply before bed to help my aging, barely holding in there teeth (so I exaggerate-seems many of my family members are good at that lately!) My dilemmas!!

Kudos to my friend Karin for landing a great job as a Culinary instructor at a Vo-tech school! She just graduated in December from culinary school and had a job with sporadic hours, so she is happy to get this one.
Jim needs another operation to fix his nose. I am so sick about wondering about how he hurt himself so badly.

Aug3

The Dark Knight

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Sean wanted to see The Dark Knight for a few weeks now. Seems most of his pals had seen it and raved about it (young 20s raving about a movie isn’t going to be a movie a late 40s is necessarily going to want to see). I was kinda hoping Brian would step up and go with him, but good ol’ ma with her bad back sat for 2 1/2 hours of gravelly voices, things exploding and moving too fast and watching Heath Ledger give the performance of his short lifetime. He probably had to dig really deep to pull out the scariness of The Joker. He scared me good! Christian Bale is a great Batman, but this really was Heath’s movie.

I could not believe a couple had their two little girls, I’d say 3 and 2 to see that movie! They walked around a lot, but it was way too graphic and loud for them. The scariest movie Sean saw as a 3 yr old was ‘The Little Mermaid’.

We ate at a Red Robin restaurant which was good. Sean said the burgers rivaled Ruby’s Diner. I had some fried shrimp and fries which were good.

I am still suffering off and on with my right back shoulder blade area. Certain seating bothers me more, and the computer chair is one of them. I have a little pillow behind me. I also broke down and took an Advil which tends to be rough on my tummy.

So that was my day.

Bri’s worked his tail off in the yard over the last few days. Yesterday he trimmed the forsythia and today he cut the grass and did a little weed whacking until the cord ran out. Not sure how to wind it back on as I never did on this newer one before. It looks nice out there.

Hopefully I’ll get the art table set up this week.

Aug1

Show n’Tell Week #3

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Today I’m sharing my baby book. Unfortunately, it’s been through lots of neglect and it shows.

Pretty ugly isn’t it? We moved a few times after I was born and then a few years back, mom found it is a box in her basement. I would never put photos or keepsakes in the basement, especially in a cardboard box. In fact, toss all your cardboard. Stores like Big Lots sell the see thru ‘sweater boxes’ for about $3 each. That’s what I mainly use now.

So here is the card from the hospital bassinet:

That looks pretty good for being almost 49 years old.

This is the same hospital I had my breast biopsy at last year.

This is the first inside two pages:

That’s my hospital photo and my birth announcement.

Three months after my arrival, mom found out she was expecting again, so my book got tucked away. Years later, I actually added photos to this myself.

With my own son, I took tons of photos and wrote in his book all the time. His baby book is in a bookcase in my bedroom for safe keeping.

Have a great weekend!



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Jul31

Strasberg, PA 7-30-08

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Strasberg, PA 7-30-08, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

Sean and I went on a daytrip up to Lancaster yesterday and did some power shopping at the outlets and got many good buys. On the way home, we got off the beaten path of Route 30 and went down Rt. 741 which runs through the quaint town of Strasberg. It was getting dark, but we parked in this gravel lot of a Lutheran Church and walked around a bit. Sean got some ice cream too. It’s known for the railroad station there, and we’ve done that, many years ago. I like doing some things on a whim.

The haul: A pretty tank with green background and blue flowers that look like a photograph; a sleeveless navy blue dress with white butterflies (like a potato print kind) and cute teardrop cubic zirconia earrings-Liz Claiborne outlet. Did I mention we had 20% off coupons for this one outlet center? I bought the dress to wear in our portrait for the church directory, so you’ll see it when I show the photo-probably Sept-Oct.

I finally got a microplane grater-used the 20% off at Le Gourmet Chef.

The Gap-really cute t-shirts-red with a flock of birds and green with flowers, plus a peach t. Used a coupon! Sean got some nice shorts there-coupon.

A place called Steve & Barry’s opened up-it is partly owned by actress Sarah Jessica Parker. Everything in the store is $8.98-even blue jeans! They must have a 100 or more t-shirt styles. I got Brian a Ford one and navy blue shorts plus some brown dress pants for me (I need to lose a few for these to feel comfy). The quality of the clothes was on the most part good-reminded me of The Gap.

Borders books-two paper crafts books and a gift for mom.

Tuesday Morning-they expanded their craft area-yeah-so I got this set of rubber stamps-little crowns, wings, flourishes for $2.50. The neat thing is they are magnetic and stick to their container. I need to see if I can get any more of them at the local TM for resale and gifts. Also got this big box of decoupage stuff-you are suppose to decorate the box-but bought it for all the papers included.

We ate at a new Olive Garden. Some older lady pushed by me to get ahead of me to get on the waiting list. She probably didn’t ask for first available, so we got seated before her and her husband, near the bar, but that was fine. Before we got called, she had the nerve to pull out her nail clippers and start clipping her nails (we were outside, thank goodness, but I saw the pieces flying). Ugh!

I am by no means skinny, never was, but there were so many heavy people, mostly women going into the restaurant. We sat where we could watch and I swear, every third one was big-like over 225! I mention this as it was a wake up call for me too. I am scared for how big so many Americans are getting. I try to serve more turkey over red meat, but we love our pizza too (only once a week). I do pasta, but I guess I should do more whole wheat pasta. Since Sean’s been home, he actually lost weight and gained muscle (he works out), so that goes to show what he is eating isn’t all that bad. I tend to snack at night. I’m not super hungry during the day and about 9:30-10 pm I have to eat something or I won’t be able to sleep. I had rice cakes the other night. It think I’m one of those people that needs to eat every 3-4 hours. My metabolism is terrible. You’ve got to try as hard as you can-but I think to get moving is a big thing. I have a few books that didn’t sell for me on eBay-Curves and the Biggest Loser-so I guess they are mine and I’ll be reading them. : )

Oh! Wish me luck-Sean took my van for my brother to look at today. Since Sean works in my hometown and my brother lives there, it worked out better for me. I hope the air doesn’t have a leak in it.

Jul30

A passing

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I just read that Professor Randy Pausch from Carnegie Mellon died on the 25th. He made it past his 3 month to live diagnosis (pancreatic cancer) for almost a year. I saved his ‘last lecture’ video in my vod pod. I didn’t know he had passed until this morning. Diane Sawyer had her story on about him again last night and I just couldn’t watch it again-like I had a feeling. He was such a nice man with a loving wife and three children.

Sean and I may be taking a little drive up to Lancaster County in a few hours even though it’s hot. At least he has air.

Just learned my bro #1 pal passed away this morning

Jul29

Still sorting

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They say it gets worse before it gets better. I have things scattered all over the place now that I emptied the tea cart this morning. Brian’s small collection of beer steins, some bar stuff (we hardly even drink); vases, and other things that had no business being there. We have used the cart for over 24 yrs. It gets dusty. You can’t see what’s on the bottom shelf. When I took it away, it really opened up the space! I think the next step, that’s after I clean everything, will be rearranging the china cabinet. Did I tell you I hate the china cabinet? It was given to me by the in-laws when we moved here as she was getting a new one. It’s 60s-70s Early American, I can’t stand that chunky stuff! I want a white one to tie in with the kitchen cabinets. One of these days.

Bro #2 cat got out of his apartment and was missing. I’m not sure what the kitty status is today. I know bro stopped at the SPCA to see if anyone picked the cat up. He is really a scaredy cat to the 1st degree. I told him that when our mostly housecats get out, they always come back. It helps that I was sitting in the lawn crying for Cosmo. He couldn’t stand that. But our first cat Jade was declawed. We had to leave her out as we went to a picnic. When we came home, she was up against the back of the house waiting.

Bro #1 is losing one of his oldest pals from cancer. I guess his pal is about 54 like he is. When I think of his friend, I see him smoking. #1 spent the entire day with his pal in the hospital on Sunday. So sad.

I was bored and sneezy yesterday-so I made this:

I am pleased to announce that one of my photos is being used on Schmap-an Orlando travel site. If only I would get paid. : ) It’s the guitar fountain from the Hard Rock Hotel. We did stay there, but had some room issues…I won’t go into it here. It’s totally a great place, but they should keep pets out of the rooms.

Jul28

A work space for me!

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As you know, I’ve been cleaning up a corner in my dining area where I have cookbooks galore. I’m having a terrible time downsizing them as they are all so interesting and yummy to read-lol. I’m going to have to go by condition. I bought this one cookbook which is really nice, but it’s from a smoker’s house. It is all yellowed and smells. I did complain to them about it. Yeck. Even though it’s a Land O’ Lakes cookbook, it has to go I guess.

So anyway, I am going to remove my tea cart and wicker chair there and put a desk in their place so I have a work area for my crafts besides the dining room table. It will be near a double window and out of the way. Plus my poor dining room table won’t be all junked up anymore. I have a few old shaker desks, one of which isn’t being used. I’d like a comfy chair and Walmart had one that looked fine for under $30. That’s my new mission anyway.

We’ve been suffering with our sinuses. I think it’s all the rain we’ve had lately or the dust I’m stirring up. : ) It poured rain again yesterday. One crack of thunder set me right out of my seat it was for horrific!

I have to go send Sean’s first rent for his studio apartment by certified mail. They are making him pay for an entire month even though he’ll only be living there 10 days in August. I have to see if the local art supply store has my ink cartridges for my printer as Walmart or Giant don’t seem to carry them anymore. I guess I can always get them filled at Walgreen’s or buy online. What a pain though. I want to make nature greeting cards to sell on etsy from my photos.

Stay cool!

Jul23

Much needed rain

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We did get a nice soaking rain last night-with lightning too. It figures it had to be during the wee hours of the night. Sean slept through it, Brian didn’t (me either), and he’s really bushed today. I hope that’s it for the heat waves for a while, but I’m not holding my breath.

My mom finally went to the hearing specialist and she was found to have fluid in her ears which is causing her hearing loss. He told her to gently hold her nostrils closed 10 times a day and blow! If that doesn’t help, he’ll have to put incisions in her ears for drainage. Mom is so funny, said the doctor was about her age and was ‘eyeing her up‘. ; )

Me, well now it hurts where I had the two injections. I have a scar in my cheek from oral surgery and I am wondering if the dentist hit that? Sean went for his checkup there yesterday and my dentist said to him that he guesses he was glad he didn’t have teeth like me-then nudged Sean like it was a joke! Sean’s wisdom teeth appear ok for now and he had no cavities. I go for my checkup in a few weeks. I will also get my eye checked out on Friday-I’m sure the medicine (I stopped using) helped.

I am seriously thinking about going to a chiropractor for my right shoulder blade problem. I had an injury to it back in 9/01 (that ‘great’ month) and I had terrible pain for 3 weeks. It comes back to haunt me, especially sitting at the computer. I did it from using an exercise chair and the arm lifts over my head-the next phase-tore or pulled something.

The guys are getting geared up to go the their first Phillies game together on Saturday. They plan to try to go to at least one baseball and one football game at the stadium a year. Gotta give the hometown boys some support! : )