The sewing room is done!

My January Resolution was: moving into the sewing room, and organizing all my sewing stuff (and Mom's stuff): THIS month! I am for all intents and purposes done now.

This is the first time to sew anything in our sewing room at this house...I'd been sewing in the front hall, in the living room and even at the kitchen table.

Hi, Adrienne! What is your first project in the "new room"?!

~it's an ironing-board cover! How fitting! Mom was a trooper, and strung the elastic for me! And how sad: I forgot to take her picture.... =(


If you want us to make one for you, I could do that...out of this fabric or some other!

And I must say that I am sorry (& embarrassed) that it took this long to get around to actually moving into the sewing room. A song for you:

My Yesterday~

Another surprise gift came in the mail today~ (Benjamin is learning how to shop on line, and purchase things off my Amazon wish list) sometimes I think that he is too good a brother for me! Thank you, 'lil bro!

We had to decide if we were: 1. staying home, 2. going to The Free Man for the debate watching party, or 3. driving down to Tyler, for the campaign "kick-off". At last minute, we decided on Tyler. (That was a long drive home...Zzzzz....Don't worry- I did not sleep!)

We got to eat with Mr. & Mrs. David Simpson, Wayne & Donna Paul and Debra Medina!
The Falsters, Glen S., Tammy Blair, Kelly Jo, and Norman M. among others were also there- it was a really big (and excited) crowd!

...I wonder what Donna and Mom were saying, and were they actually listening to each other? Whatever it was , it looks serious!

Debra got to speak to the press...

And I got my picture taken with Wayne Paul ...too bad Mom took the photo this time, so she could not be in it! =( ~ I reminded him that we had our picture taken when we first met at the Paris TX "kick off", 4 years ago: (We first met the David Simpson family then as well!)

(2008 feels like such a lonngg time ago...)

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P.S. I got to talk to both of my brothers this past weekend- Benjamin called Saturday night, and Joshua called on Sunday afternoon! I had a nice long chat with each of them! =)

Adorable Vintage Valentines

Free print your own Valentines: Click Here! (blank cards & envelopes too)
Keren over at "Free Pretty Things For You" makes all kinds of lovely things!

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Andrea over in the etsy world has Vintage Valentine Day Hearts Critters and Kids (Flat Back Buttons, Pin Back Buttons or Hollow your choice...could be used as magnets).....They are adorable 1" buttons: a set of 12 for $6.50 (that includes shipping) Click here! (FYI: Andrea has lots more cute buttons & stuff!)

We were all ready for church...

...and the car would not start. =0

I could not help thinking, "Why, Lord? I really wanted to go to church today!"

Then I had a convicting thought: I was more excited to see the people*...than I was to go worship my Heavenly Father.

Sigh~ I am so sorry Lord. Thank you for showing me my faults...I will work to correct them.

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(I posted this because I am a fallible human, and I need humbling sometimes. Well, okay I'm sure that I need humbling more often than I care to admit.)

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So, I listened to: Love is the Key to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
And then we listened to: The Cup of Curses and Blessing

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*I had a big pile of letters, cards, gifts, returns, and well wishes to give out, as well as party/get together dates to set.... =(

Lost and Found

While working on my January Resolution: moving into the sewing room, or better known as "The Great Sewing Room Project", I found a box of bits of memorabilia from the McKee clan: old buttons, coins, tokens, rocks, jewelry, other stuff, and this tiny gun.

I asked Dad what he knew about it, was it G.I. Joe or something else. And he, without skipping a beat, said: G.I. Joe, the Underwater Diving set- it's a Flare Gun.

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That's my Dad! =)
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20 years ago, when we were a lot littler, my brothers and I were allowed to play with Dad's 12" G.I. Joes- We were VERY careful, and it was SO much fun to play with the toys that Dad had loved and played with. We had the best place to play with them too- in the bottom of the storage closet...the closet light being the only light on in the room!
(I actually only remember playing with Joshua, but I guess that Benjamin was there, too.

FYI: playing with G.I.Joes are WAY more fun than playing with Barbies.

Random things that were never posted.....

My sauteed squash is smiling at me!
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Eli is growing slowly, but surely.
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My "Cream" Soup was sooo thick that the "spoon" stood up all by itself.
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I made a Carrot Cake, but instead of Carrots, I used homemade Pumpkin Butter~ VERY GOOD!
(next time I would add a few nuts) I topped it with Greek yogurt mixed with a tad of vanilla, stevia & sugar....mmm, mmm, good! (If you come over, you can have a slice!)
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...A better photo of the broach that Benjamin gave me...
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My Cake Carrier came in!!! Thank you Grandaddy in NV! =)
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I was just lamenting to Mom that JCPenny's did not use paper bags any more- how unprofessional- to use plastic "grocery bags"! And then when my catalog order came in, it came in a paper sack!!!! =)
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Remember my yellow squash that was NOT doing well? I finally got 3 little babies off it!

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http://dunbarcreekmercantile.blogspot.com/
2012/01/pleas-bought-some-cabbage-plants-really.html

Something new~

I bought this adorable (Gund) Pooh Bear at Goodwill (I almost never buy stuffed toys at Goodwill, 'cause you can't clean them), but I just could not leave him behind!! So for $1.99 he became mine. =) I put him in the freezer for 2-3 weeks and now Pooh is free to live with me, as any creepy-crawlies are dead! I think that this poor bear spent his previous life on a shelf. So sad....but that also means that he was clean and more than ready to come live with me! =)

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See the pretty broach pinned to the pillow?! That was a surprise present that came in the mail from my brother Benjamin, today! It is so lovely- Thank you Benjamin! I am hoping to wear it to the Bonnie Blue Ball (http://sincerelysouthern.org/) in February!

Embedded Video:

On the Farm

We went to a friend's farm this past Sunday!
If you want to see more pictures and read about it: CLICK HERE! =)

I baked a cake for the occasion~ click here to see it!

Peach & Blueberry Pound Cake

• 1 cup Butter (no substitutes), softened

• 1 & 3/4 cups White Sugar
• 6 Eggs (I used Duck eggs)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon Almond extract
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 cup Sour Cream
• 1 & 1/2 cups diced fresh or thawed frozen Peaches
• 1/2 cup frozen Blueberries
  

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to the batter alternately with sour cream. Fold in the peaches & blueberries.

2. Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

~Happy Eating!
Adrienne

P.S. I would recommend this cake for a picnic and/or for sharing.
Otherwise, I'd say just stick to a plain Pound Cake, with fruit toppings.

Happy Dance!!!

You may ask your self, "What are Adrienne's jeans doing on the floor?" and "Why did she take a picture of them?!?!"
Listen, and I will tell you the story...

This is my dear old jumper~ you may remember it - gathered skirt, big pocket on the front...I got it at Goodwill (years ago)! It was starting to look tired (years ago), and then the little clippy thingy in the back tore out. And it was laid to rest in a basket, in the sewing room (for years)...waiting for some one to rescue it, before someone came along and trashed it. (a little bit like the 'Velveteen Rabbit' story)

Enter Lilly: the Dear Old Sewing Machine!!! (start humming the theme to your favorite western...like 'The Lone Ranger'!)

Yea!!! The save was made, just in the nick of time...I cut the skirt off, and apart, and re-cut it using my current favorite skirt pattern! (one of the ones that I drafted) Sorry for the funny face, I was thinking, and trying to contain myself!

Nice save Lilly, now I have a new "house" skirt! (I did not hem it, I just ran some stitching around to keep it from fraying too much.)

I took everything slowly, and prayed a lot and the waist and zipper went in SO well! I am so happy!!!

Oh, and did I mention that I even made some Red Cotton Bias Tape? I think that it was a fun addition...I mean, I could have just folded down the denim. But what fun is that?

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Instead of having a bunch of vague New Year's Resolutions
(okay, so I do have a few...), I am making my big NYR's month by month!
And I must say: "So far, so good!" ! =)
January's is the Sewing Room. And so far, I have managed to wreck most of the house, but the Sewing Room looks MUCH better! But "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" so, besides working today, I have mended 1 skirt, finished another re-do skirt, that I started in the summer time, and made this denim skirt!
Now~ to get back to work, this room will be done by the end of the month,
even if it kills me! (Don't worry, Mom is helping me!)

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So, my pants are off because I am wearing my new skirt, doing the Happy Dance. =)