Love Buzzard’s Crafts & Life

Finally I was able to get online this morning.  Found out that if Brian is online then I cannot get online.  Weird.

We are off to Shreveport if the other three ever get ready.  I am treating them to lunch and dinner so you would think that they would hurry a little but not those two boys, especially Brian.  Oh well, it gives me time to get online.  I was trying to use the program that Scott set up for me to list my books on my website but for some reason the link will not work now.  When he gets out of the shower I will have him check to see what is wrong.  I tried the program at the library yesterday but their computer would not let me do it.  I can see the library blocking porn sites but they block lots of things that I can see no rhyme or reason for.  Maybe another week and I will have my online connection back for there is just fourteen percent to go.

Since I have not done the grocery shopping for our Fourth of July meal, I am hoping that we can just stop on the way home and let the three of them do the shopping and then I will pay.   I can sit and read while they do the walking up and down the aisles.

So far this week I have been getting up by eight thirty and this morning I was awake at eight but I just kept lying in bed listening to a book on tape and the next thing I knew I was waking up and it was after ten.  Really ticked me off but it was my own fault.

Scott left about nine thirty going to Natchitoches to visit his mentor and friend who is the Director of the BCM at NSU.  After visiting with Bill and Phyllis, he is planning to go to the library and work until about six when he is meeting other friends for dinner.  Since Scott will not be home for dinner I think I may call Ashley and see if she and the boys would like to go out for dinner tonight.  We have not been out in about a month.  Did see them at church last night but it was just for a minute as Ashley was on her way to the class she teaches on Wednesday night. 

Dinner at church last night was very good.  I sat at the table with other seniors and Scott found friends from high school to sit with.  I am sure that he enjoyed that more than sitting with us oldsters.  After Scott helped several other guys to put away the tables and chairs, we stood around and had a nice, long discussion about Bible translations with my Sunday school teacher and his wife.  It was a very interesting discussion. 

Yesterday as Scott and I were eating lunch at Applebee’s he asked if I needed to go to Wal-Mart.  When we got to Wal-Mart I learned that he wanted to buy a grill.  He and Brian had discussed it earlier for they wanted to grill on the Fourth.  Actually, Scott and Christy want to grill and Brian and I want to stay inside where it is cool.  I had asked Scott why he wanted a grill and he said, “For the Fourth of July.”  I had to smile at that answer for I cannot ever remember grilling on the Fourth.  I think when Don was alive he may have grilled but I definitely did not.  Scott found a grill he liked so I told him that I would buy it.  Then of course we had to get charcoal and starter fluid.  As I went to get what I wanted he went back to the lawn and garden department and came back with the long handled tools to use with a grill.  Needless to say when I got home with the goodies, Christy was delighted.  It will be nice to have grilled burgers, hotdogs, and corn on the cob.  When we left Wal-Mart, Scott drove back to the library where my car was parked and moved the grill to the trunk of my car.  When I got home I just took in the utensils and gave them to Christy and told her the things that went with them were in the trunk of my car.  She then asked if we could keep the grill until Scott got back from Cambodia, and I assured her that I had bought it and it would stay in Quitman.  Besides he cannot cook on his balcony at his apartment.

We are going out tomorrow night for dinner to celebrate Brian’s birthday nineteen days early since Scott will be in Cambodia on his birthday.   Brian had been thinking about going to Shreveport and I was not too keen on that idea but yesterday I got a sale flyer from the big and tall shop in Shreveport and they are having a buy one get one free sale.  I mentioned it to Scott and he was very interested for he needs new jeans so we are going to Shreveport when Brian gets home from work shortly after noon.  During the summer he gets off work at noon on Fridays.  Brian needs new shirts so that will probably be his birthday present.  I will be nice to be with the boys but Brian does not have a huge car so it will be rather cramped sitting in the back but I guess I can do it for the sake of my two sons.

The library is going to be closed the third, fourth and fifth so may not get to post for a while.  Our usage is now down to eighty-four percent and I was able to get on for a little bit last night so maybe I can post at home over the weekend.

Scott is at the Tech library and I am here at the Lincoln Parish Library and we are going to meet for lunch shortly.  I would go eat now for I am hungry but waiting for his call to let me know where to meet him.

Last night the four of us went to the neighborhood Mexican restaurant for a great meal.  Not really in my neighborhood but the next little town south of Quitman.  Today is our monthly supper at church so Scott and I will be eating there.   I am going to be taking a big bowl of broccoli for it is quick and easy to prepare.  The first supper I attended, I went to all the trouble and expense of making lasagna and I came home with all of it but two servings.  The second time I also fixed something time consuming and again I came home with nearly a full container.  I finally wised up and these days I just take a big bowl of some vegetable or a dessert.  Then I come home with an empty dish which is the way I like it.

Last night the dinner that Christy prepared was delicious.  Her new recipe for roast beef was delicious.  After dinner we sent the boys to Wal-Mart to pick up some ice cream and while they were gone I got the kitchen cleaned up and the table all set up for us to play poker.  I enjoy playing with the kids but I honestly cannot see how anyone can wager money on a handful of cards.  I definitely am not a gambler.

This morning I was up at eight but decided to lie back down for a while but then I was back up in about thirty minutes.  While I was lying there, Scott was in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal and talking to me so did not do any sleeping. If I keep this up I may be getting up every morning by seven.  However I really doubt that.  

Last night Brian has asked if we would all like to meet him for lunch today.  Of course we all said yes since he had said that he would pay.  As it turned out Christy did not go for she was still tired and needed more sleep.  Scott was at the Tech library so he and Brian met me at the restaurant.  We went to a barbeque place up in Ruston that I had never gone to before.  Brian knew about it for he had been there a few times with people from work.  It was quite good and I will probably go back again sometime.  Maybe even Ashley and I will go there one of these days on our weekly outings. I think the plan is that we will go out to eat again tonight and probably good old mom will pay.  Hey, anything to not have to cook.  Well Christy cooks but I have to do the cleanup and would be very happy not to have to do that tonight. 

I asked Brian where our usage was at this time and he said the last time he checked it was at eighty-six percent.  I still think that it is stupid to not let us have usage until we get back down to seventy percent.  I like the library but would like to also be able to use my computer at home.  It is unreal how many times I have wanted to search for something on the Internet and could not.  Oh well, this should definitely help me remember to not download gigs of material at one time in the future.

I am posting this and then going home and get to work on Mignon’s quilt.  And while I am doing that I will continue to get all my new fabrics washed and folded.

I hit the floor running this morning at eight forty-five for there is a lot to do before Scott gets home this evening.  I was going to cook tonight but Christy has a roast beef recipe that she wants to try so I told her to go for it.  It is a great deal more enjoyable to just wait around to be called to the dinner table than to be the one in the kitchen working over a hot stove.  I don’t care how cool the air conditioner gets the house, when you get in the kitchen and start using the oven the kitchen gets HOT.

I had a scheduled appointment with the eye doctor for tomorrow but I decided that since Scott would be here for the week that I would change the appointment to next week.  Now I am set up for next Tuesday.  Scott gets home so seldom that I want to spend all the time I can with him and not be sitting in a doctor’s office.

Scott has a program that should help me get the rest of my books listed on my website  and I hope that when he is here this week that I can learn how to use it.  We had tired when he was home at Christmas but I just could not get the hang of it and too the program was not working exactly as it should have.  I still have about three hundred books that need to be listed and that is not counting my hundreds of cookbooks.  Since I very seldom cook these days, I am going to get rid of all but about a half dozen of my cookbooks.

It is a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon but it is hot as blazes.  I just checked the temperature and it is ninety-nine degrees and with the heat index it is one hundred and four degrees.  When you walk out of a cool building, the heat just takes your breath away.  I do not like the heat but I don’t like the cold either.  There is just no pleasing me.  I would love to live where the temperature is seventy to eighty degrees all year long and the humidity is about thirty percent.  I doubt that such a place exists.  Even if it does, sub tropic Louisiana is now my home and I will not be moving.

Scott called yesterday afternoon and he will not be coming home until tomorrow afternoon.  The great part is that he will be staying until the next Monday.  I told Brian last night to be thinking of where he would like to have his birthday dinner for we will celebrate while Scott is here since he will be in Cambodia on Brian’s birthday.  I might even take Brian and Christy out again on his actual birthday.  Any excuse to go out to a nice restaurant for dinner.

Buster and Ashley were not at church this morning so I did not get to ask him how he liked his quilt.  I know from Ashley that he really liked it but I just wanted him to tell me too.  I also wanted to tell him that I was worried that he might not like us cutting up his Karate tee shirts.

The last time I talked with Scott he was planning to come home tomorrow evening.  He is attending a two day conference in Dallas and decided that since he was already an hour nearer home that he would come on home.  He will be in Cambodia on Brian’s birthday so he is coming to celebrate early with Brian.  Earlier this week he installed a new battery in his truck and according to him it ‘fried’ his electrical system.  The truck would run but had no lights, speedometer, or air conditioner.  I just read his latest Twitter and learned that he had a burned out fuse but it was in such a place that only the mechanics at the dealership could get to it.  When he took it in they also found that his front brakes and water pump were shot.  He also has to have the timing belt replaced but for some reason that gives him a free rental car.  So, I guess he will be home after all.  I called him just before I came in the library but had to leave a message.  I thought he might be at lunch and would answer but of course he didn’t.  Knowing he is in a big group of computer geeks and they will all be discussing computers, he may not even stop for lunch.  Well they will stop for lunch but he will be so busy talking that he will have his phone turned off.

I have heard many times that when you buy a piece of fabric that you already have that you really like the fabric.  In getting all my new fabric ready for washing the other night I found that I had done that more than once. The gorgeous fabric that has huge flowers in several shades of pink that I bought to make a four patch posy quilt is just such a fabric.  As I was cutting off corners I picked up half a yard piece of the fabric.  Later I picked up another half a yard piece.  Then I picked up a one yard piece.  All three pieces of fabric were in addition to the three yard piece.  So, I must REALLY like that fabric.  These days I have no desire to make clothing but I just may make a simple shirt/jacket of the three smaller pieces.  I will definitely be putting a piece in Ashley’s floral quilt.

This is going to be one busy day.  I need to do a little housecleaning before Scott gets home and then I have a ton of laundry to do in addition to all the fabric.  I was also hoping to have the de-cluttering of the studio finished but have a feeling that will not be done but I will need to get room for my air mattress since I will give Scott my bed.  Terrible that I have a four bedroom home but have to give up my bed for Scott.  One bedroom is storage since Brian and I both have more stuff than we need and another bedroom is Brian’s computer room.  That leaves us with only two bedrooms which is fine with all of use since Scott only comes three times a year.  Actually I think I may sleep better on the air mattress than I do on my bed.  And I did not buy a cheap bed.  Oh well.  I am off to Wal-Mart and then home to get busy.

I have been so good about getting to bed at a decent hour every night and then last night it was a little after two in the morning before I finally crawled into bed.  I decided to get out all the new fabrics that I had bought and get them washed.  Since it is supposed to help prevent the raw edges from raveling, I sat for about two hours and clipped the corners off all the fabrics.  I ended up with at least four washers full.  Before I left to come to the library I put in a load of regular wash but as soon as I get back home I want to get all the floral fabrics washed so I can start on Ashley’s birthday quilt.  I also have a big pile of fabric for baby quilts to wash.   Thanks goodness I do not have to press all of the fabric for since I will only take less than twelve inches from each piece I will just iron about that much.  Then I will fold the leftovers and put them away.  I am not one of those women who irons all the fabric before putting it away.  To me that just makes extra work for it will have to be pressed again before it can be cut.  At least I would want to press it again.

I never did finish de-cluttering my studio so maybe I can get that done this weekend.  I need to locate the rest of my floral fabric that I want to use in Ashley’s quilt.  I no longer have the excuse that I have a quilt to get finished.  Well I have many to finish but all are gifts so can finish at my own pace.

Brian and Christy will probably go out for dinner tonight so think I will call Ashley and see if she and the boys want to go to Burger King.  Not my favorite place to eat but Bryce loves the play area and Ashley and I can sit and talk while he has a great time.

Yesterday afternoon when I arrived at Ashley’s with the quilt she opened the door before I even reached it and was reaching for the bag with the quilt almost before I could get inside.  She said she could not wait to see it and when she pulled the quilt from the bag her mega watt smile said it all. She was also quite vocal in her happiness with the quilt. Her happiness and smile made all the work worthwhile.  I had told her that I was not going to charge for making the quilt but she insisted I take payment so I did.  I have another friend who wants me to make two tee shirt quilts for her and if she asks me again I will do them but that will be the last quilts I make for money.  I would much rather make and give for then I do not feel so much pressure to be perfect.  However, I have pretty much gotten over my perfectionism.  It is about time.

I called Ashley this morning to see how Buster liked the quilt and she said he was very happy with it.  She said he unfolded it and looked at all the blocks and then folded it up again.  Then he opened it again and looked some more.  Then he put it on the floor and sat on it and showed the boys all the tee shirt squares.  Bryce is taking Karate so he was quite interested in the quilt when he saw it yesterday afternoon.  Ashley asked him if he thought daddy would like the quilt and Bryce said yes.  Yesterday afternoon Ashley said that Buster would probably be taking the quilt to his Karate studio to show it off.  Will have to ask her if he did that.  I am so happy that both of them are pleased with the quilt.

Saturday is Ashley’s birthday and I had hoped to have a lap quilt made for her but of course it will be late.  It is going to be blocks of floral fabrics with no sashing in between.  I saw a picture of one like that and it was gorgeous, at least in my opinion.  It will be much quicker to make without sashing.  Guess I should leave the library and go home and get to work on that one.  Mignon will be back in Louisiana the first week of August so my plan is to have her quilt finished also.  I am only a year late getting it finished.  I was planning to give it to her when she left last August moving to Montana.  I just have to finish the front and do the binding for the back has been finished for months. 

Buster’s quilt in all its glory.

A few minutes after noon today I finished the quilt.  I am more convinced than ever that I am tired of quilting and want to do something else.  Maybe that will encourage me to get the unfinished quilts from Mom G finished and the baby quilts made and given and then I can forget about quilting and move on to some other craft.  And then maybe I will just spend my days reading.  Of course I will continue to make the quilts for missions but those are easy and I don’t feel pressure when making them and that is the best way to get rid of all my fabric.

 I called Ashley and she was delighted to know that the quilt was finished.  I am going to take the quilt to her on my way to church this evening.  Hope we can get some good photos.  She is tall so think she can hold it up while I click the camera.  As I sit here typing I feel that a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders.  The quilt was to have been a present last Christmas but I was sick and could not get it finished.  I had about decided that it would be a present for Christmas 2009.  So glad she asked for it for their anniversary.  Now it is done and I can forget it.

Brian came home at lunch to get me so that I could go to the auto repair shop with him to pick up my car.  I was expecting him to come straight from work in my car but he went by the auto shop and picked up his car for he would rather drive it since it is a little larger.  I am happy to have my car back and now I can go when I want and not be stuck at home.  However, being stuck at home helped me get the quilt finished.