Tuesday, November 24, 2009

My machine is back

And it was free! Now I am waiting for Daughter to call me back so she can come over and haul it upstairs. Today is a terrible arthiritis day, and I don't think I can do it alone. Sometime I need to get a weight on that puppy. Of course, it is back just in time for us to leave for the SSB until Monday. Oh, well, some you win, some you don't.

We will be working of Christmas wreaths and little girl hair bows while away. I will get pictures of what we do. When we get back, I will call Comcast and b*tch at them. I keep thinking they will want to make an appointment to come out, and it just won't work until like - next Friday. Monday is Daughter's appointment, Wednesday the tree people are coming to the other house, Thursday is my sewing club Christmas party. Sometime I need to make a bone doctor appointment so we can move along with the (gasp) knee replacement.

I hope your Thanksgiving is good. I hope you have a lot to be thankful for. I know I do.

Peace.


Monday, November 23, 2009

More (yawn) pictures

Ok - quick post (or at least as quick as the air card will allow since Comcast is down - again!) These are more of the Christmas things I have been doing.



These are key fobs - done in purple and gold since they are the local high school colors


OK - for now this is it! Blogger isn't cooperating. I have up loaded two more pictures twice. I am allotted only so many downloads and time - so I give up! Perhaps tomorrow.

This is the story of my life right now. The machine is still in the shop. Even if it comes out tomorrow, I can't do anything with it until next week. The craft show is the 6th. So I;'m shifting gears. We will make wreaths for the show.

Peace.

Friday, November 20, 2009

The long wait

Daughter has an appointment December 1 for a biopsy. That just feels like such a long time. I know it really isn't, but . . . At least we have Thanksgiving in there to break up the time. Three years ago plus a few days, I was the one waiting.

Holiday time isn't always a pleasant time around here. My mother died in December. My dad died January 13, which isn't really holidays, but he was so ill during the holidays. My step mother died right after Christmas. She was also so ill at Christmas. I had my suspect mammogram right after Christmas, so I spend a lot of time worrying about it. Now we have this.

I am really optimistic about the results though. This is probably a case like they are talking about. She will have to go through the pain of the biopsy with a result of no cancer, but I know she wants the biopsy. She would not be open to waiting to see what happens. The masses are large, and from what I understand, large masses in a young woman are usually not cancerous.

So we keep our heads up high and plan to have a good Thanksgiving. I know part of their Thanksgiving will include a trip to the Alamo City as SIL's dad just had heart bypass surgery. Things will work out fine.

Peace.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Prayers, please

I sincerely hope I am jumping to conclusions that are not real, but please pray for my daughter. She finally got the results from the ultrasound of her breast. She has two large masses in her right breast. She has been referred for a biopsy. I know one of the masses is in the area where my mass was.

I keep thinking they are milk ducts that are inflamed/infected. She is still lactating, but rarely nurses from the right side. She will nurse Doodle Bug at night from the left only. She is only 35.

And the stand now is women don't need to self exams or get mammograms! Bull.

Please include her in your prayers.

Peace

Dim the lights, please!

OK, now just sit back and relax (or flee for your life). Let the show begin.

These are the 3D embroidered ornaments I worked on. Most are self explanatory.













OK - bring up the lights - hey, wake up over there! Come back tomorrow for some of the other things. I won't subject you to as many! It was just that this was a set.

Peace.


































So there you go!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Christmas present

G has been emailing the kids with an idea for my Christmas present for this year. It is the same one he thought of last year, and, really, I won't mind it especially if I am going to be incapacitated for several weeks in January with the old knee.

When I was reading Judy's blog this morning, she was talking about how nice a larger house would be, but it means more work. I can fully attest to that. We are still in the house where we raised the kids. We have been here since right about this time 1975. We have even added on to it - we took in the attic to add two bedrooms, bath and sitting area.

I love a clean house. I HATE housework. At one point in my life, I taught full time, was a church organist two Sunday's a month, and ran a small craft shop which was open on Saturdays and Sundays for which I was the crafter. During that time, I kept my head above water. But Daughter still was home, and she provided some help.

Recently, the cancer drained me of all energy, and the arthritis has progressively gotten worse and worse. My house is cluttered. It is dusty.

All that said, I will return to the beginning of this post. G wants to give me a cleaning service for Christmas. That's great. Of course I need to get things a little more ship-shape before that happens, and I can do that. The sticking point from what Daughter tells me is that he has the bizarre idea to rent a storage facility to move everything into from the house to "deep clean."

I will balk at that! First, that is much more work than is required! Second this house is not that bad! And - if he would help with small things - like picking up the newspaper when he is through reading it - it would be nice! You would think it was like the houses you see on that program "Hoarders." Clutter is one thing - filth is another!

So, these days with no sewing machine that I need, my plan is to cut the clutter. I want to do that regardless after talking to Aunt F, I know I will have all sorts of help in and out of the house. And I am really sick of all this cr*p!

Tomorrow the promised pictures.

Peace

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

I'm back, I'm back!

I'm back in more ways than one. Yes, we are back in Swampland after an exciting weekend full of testosterone. The guys were really a lot of fun. They provided lots of laughs, especially when Contractor Dude decided to sit in the high grass. He ended covered in chiggers. Bad move! I would spend another weekend with them.

I'm back in the land of the internet. I don't know if my problem was the air card, my computer, Firefox or all of the above (or none of the above). I would get on line, and then I couldn't get anything done. The internet would just lock up. The air card showed it was well connected and working at its break neck speed (3.5 Mbps). But after a bit, I couldn't get anything in or out. I would then connect to Explorer, and things would work some better, but the end was the same. Anyway, I am connected this morning.

One of the things I did get accomplished was to get pictures of the things I have been working on. I will get them downloaded today. I want to post them on the website, and I will post some here also.

I have lots of time to work on the pictures today, and tomorrow, and so on until next week. I got word of the sewing machine. They finally got to it yesterday. It seems everyone brings their machines in this time of year. I guess we are all busy little sewers! Anyway, they have the USB port ordered. I guess they don't stock them. I must be the only idiot they have! The amazing part of this story is that it is going to be covered by the warranty. I broke the thing. It was my fault. But, I'll gladly take the warranty! I do have to wish I could get it back sooner because I have so much yet to do and so little time. After I get it back, there will only be a few days before the show.

Peace.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

In the continuing drama of my life

I took the machine to the shop yesterday. One of the sales people who claims to love these machines looked at the computer slots, and said it should be easy to replace. I tend to agree because it looks like a pretty much stand alone component once you get into the guts of the machine. But when the owner of the shop looked at it, he wouldn't even guesstimate about the machine. He said they would have to run diagnostics to check the mother board. Well, a mother board couldn't cost over $2000 - could it??

So there is sits. I am awaiting word. I keep telling myself Ken (the owner) probably likes the Brother machines better than mine, or he just doesn't really know the machines at all. They just make him money. Nevertheless, I really need it back.

This down time gives me a little spare time though. I am on my way up to the craft room anyway. The a/c-heated people are coming to do the fall check on the systems. I was just telling Daughter I should have made her old room into the craft room. Son's old room (the one I am using) has both access doors to the attic where the equipment lives. We had taken in our attic when the kids were teens/preteens to give two bedrooms, a bath and a sitting area. It was nice to get them and their associated mess upstairs and out of sight. In fact, I even found a poster that announced "Teen ager lives here." I put it at the base of the stairs. So I have to go up to move the ironing board and other associated sewing equipment away from the access doors.

Tomorrow we will be heading to the SSB. Son in law, Contractor dude (who is working on the investment house) and Old Friend will be going with us. I don't know how long I can stand the testosterone in house. I may have to go to the next mountain for some relief from my friend there!!

Hope you have a great weekend. I might check in, but usually things are too busy. At the least, see you Tuesday!

Peace.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Sick

As you know, I have been working hard on getting items ready for the craft show in December. I have been pushing the machine really hard.

I have a new sewing table that I got for my birthday (and anniversary and probably for Christmas and Valentine's Day at its price) that has a pneumatic device to lower it into the cabinet. I did that the other day. I needed the space, and I put the machine in the lowest position. Great, right?

Uh, no. I forgot one little detail. I didn't take the external CD computer cord out if its side. When I lowered the machine, the cord stuck. Oh that computer cords would stick like that when you want them to. But I didn't realize it at all. Yesterday, I was ready to stitch another design. I tried to put the thumb drive in the port. It wouldn't go. I tried the cord. It wouldn't go. Then I realized what had happened.

I looked at the cord from the CD drive. It was chewed inside. So was the port on the machine. I then tried to hook the computer directly because you can do that. The machine wouldn't recognize the computer. I was dead in the water. It also was messing up the last design I was working on.

I am embarrassed to take it for service. I know the other one was a lemon. I don't think they know that fact today. When whoever bought it keeps bringing it back, they will know though. But I think they believe I don't know how to sew.

I think I am going to fabricate just how this disaster happened. I just can't admit I was so stupid. But I am wondering just how much this little fiasco is going to set me back.

I will take it after a bit, and I am hoping fervently I can get it back on Tuesday. I've got a lot of work yet to do!

Peace.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Whoopie!

The gas company has finally come to put in the meter here for the generator. I hate the gas company! Last week, they called, out of the blue, to put in the meter at the other house. It wasn't there for the inspections. Yesterday I discovered the water heater probably doesn't work. I never got any hot water. But I don't think a water heater would have sunk the deal anyway.

But back to home. We are on the last leg of the generator saga. The meter has been paid for since July. We are finally getting it.

Yesterday, the construction crew from the phone company came to fill in the hole that has been dug out three times to fix the nicked cable. They even put in new sod! Soon, I can go back to locking my gate so that I don't have to worry about strangers coming into my back yard! Finally!!!

Things are looking up. Now I just have to face . . . the knees. Still scares the stuffin' out of me. I'll make the appointment with the doc probably next week. We (G and I) have decided on sometime after January 18. Oh, what am I in for?

Peace.

Friday, November 06, 2009

MIA?

No, I am here, but I have been horribly busy. I am still trying to use the computer, sew, and watch TV. I can do the sewing and tv, but no computer!!!

Anyway, I have been gone most of two days. First, we decided that the old troop carrier was time to be retired, only it won't be. Daughter and family want it. Their extended cab is just too small for their family. So they wanted the big ol' 250.

We looked at new smaller troop carriers on Monday. We found one we want at C**Max. It was sent to our close location yesterday. We bought it. G wanted a LoJack put on, so I couldn't get it until today.

As soon as I got home, Daughter was picking me up to watch Monkey Boy while she had a mammogram. She was just going to leave him in the waiting room. I knew better. She has a lump in the right breast. Even though she is still (?? Doodle Bug is 2 1/4) nursing a little, she wanted that lump checked. After all she does have a family history now. I think it is just a milk duct, but better to know for sure.

So today I went to get the new truck. I took the old 150 to Son's house. We are really downsizing. We will only have two vehicles!! Got DIL to take me to get the new one after leaving the other one at her house. . Then lunch. Gotta have some fun.

Got home and had to get Simone her Prilosec. The things I do for my dog.

I am still sewing my little fingers off. I am getting ready to get pictures. I finally downloaded the 183 that were on the camera from who knows when up to last month. I will post them at some point.

I just wanted to let you know I hadn't fallen off the face of the earth.

Peace.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Oh my,

I found there are many embroidery groups on Yahoo, and I joined several of the groups. Most are groups that are set up by digitizers. They are the people who put together the computer designs for the machine. They will often offer samples and other freebies. That is wonderful in itself, but there are some really cute sets, and they are often on sale. Anyway, I spend a lot of time on Yahoo. Some of those folks must spend 24/7 because they post a lot of messages!

Today I was reading one message posted to one of my groups, and the woman was talking about doing projects for craft shows. That got my attention quickly. She went on to say that she is on her second machine in just a few years (sounds familiar), and the present one has frozen up. I was really interested now.

She said that she fully explained to her dealer what she wanted out of a machine, and they sold her the ones they did. Now when she takes them in for service, she is told they were not meant for business use. They are for only about a million stitches. Some of the things I have done recently (most if truth be told) are 20,000 at a minumum. I am sure I am beyond a million.

Now her machine is not the same as mine, and I am sure my first one was a lemon. It should have been yellow - lemon yellow! Needless to say, I am really worried about this machine now! I can just hear it - I should have bought a commercial machine. I guess I could have for a little more than what this one ran, but they only embroidery. I wanted something that sewed as well.

I guess I'll just have to praise this one and keep it happy!

Peace.

Monday, November 02, 2009

Mass confusion

I brought the lap top up to the craft room so I could do my emails and read my blogs while sewing. You know, that was a stupid idea. It really can't be done.

When I have the machine going, I thought it would be a great time for doing the computer stuff. It isn't. I just get started with one thing when the other thing calls. I'm finding I'm only getting 50% efficiency. It has helped to have the computer though because sometimes I have to download a design onto a disc, and it's all right here.

G was off today and we spent the afternoon looking at trucks. He gfeels it's time to replace the troop carrier. So we looked at C**max. They didn't have anything. We went to the dealer. Found two we like, but $$$$$! I really don't know what we are going to do in the end. I know what I think, but then again, I hate to think of spending that kind of money. I feel like we have been bleeding money these days.

Well, the machine has stopped, so that is calling.

Peace.