Love Buzzard’s Crafts & Life

Today was definitely not a favorite day of mine.  I actually got out of bed today before noon, however, it was only thirty minutes before.  I did some more work on getting programs back on the computer and then about three I left to go to Ruston to return the MP3 player.  Since I had not eaten at home, I stopped at Taco Bell and had lunch and sat there reading for about an hour.  Wonder if I could multi-task by reading one book while listening to another?  I left there and drove to Office Depot and returned the MP3 player.  I walked to my car, got in and put the key in the ingition and that is when my day went quickly downhill.  I turned the key and not a sound.  Of course I tried two or three more times but still dead silence.  It was probably one hundred and twenty degrees in the car so I put the two front windows down and noticed that they were going down very slowly so I thought I better get them back up and I think they went up even slower than they went down.  I knew the problem just had to be the battery.  I thought about calling Brian but knew that he really could not do anything but hold my hand.

I went back into Office Depot and asked to see their phone directory.  Someone there recommended Auto Zone but also said that they would not bring a battery to me.  I thought of the place where I have the alignment done so I called them and the lady told me that they did put in batteries but they bought them usually at Auto Zone.  I thanked her and hung up and was wondering what I was going to do when my phone rang.  It was the lady I had just talked too and she said that she passed by Office Depot on her way home and she would be happy to bring the battery pack from work and give me a boost.  She alos said that Wal-Mart would be the closest place to get a battery.  I thanked her and told her what kind of car I had and then also told her I had on a bright yellow top, I did not want her to miss me.   I went back outside and sat in the car while I called Wal-Mart to see if they had a battery that would fit my car.  Took the lady a couple of minutes to find out and then she came back on the phone and started to tell me that the battery for my car would cost sixty-five dollars and I laughed and said I don’t care about the cost just make sure you hold that battery for me.   I then decided that I should probably stand where the lady could see me.  It was probably only about five minutes before she pulled up right beside by car.  She put the cables on the battery, I turned the key, and voila the car would run again.  I offered to pay and she refused and said no trouble for she was going right by where I was anyway.  Just proves there are still good and generous people in the world.

When I got to Wal-Mart I drove into the area where one goes to tell the person what you need done to your car.  I told the guy that I had called and they had a battery for me and since I was there I would get the oil changed too.  He told me it would be probably two hours before they could get to the battery and then he suggested that I got to Auto Zone.  I really did not know where it was located and did not want to get stranded again so I told him I would wait since I had some shopping to do and that I also had a book with me.  I went inside and told the lady at the desk that I was the one who called about the battery and I wanted to be sure they had it.  She went over to the shelves and took one behind the desk just for me.  It was then fifteen minutes before six and the service area closes at seven but the lady assured me that they would stay until my car was finished.  I had two or three things I needed besides than the MP3 player so I did my shopping and then went back to the waiting area and only read about four pages before my name was called.  I only had to wait for an hour and fifteen minues.  I must say that when I got in my car and the engine came to life, it was a great sound.  Silence is nice but not in a battery.

It is almost midnight and I am wiating for the MP3 played to get the battery charged.  Oh I just looked and it is finally fully charged.  Now to load an audio book on the player and see if it will work.  This brand of player is one that was recommended by the library.  Actually this model I have is a newer one but it should work.

WordPress did it to me again.  Most of the time WP is two hours behind my time but just let me be posting after midnight and they will only be one hour behind.  I wrote this Thursday night NOT Friday.

With both boys around a lot of the time I did not get to my blog each night as I like to do.  Saturday morning I got to sleep late for Scott and Brian had a brother’s day planned.  They went to the movie and had lunch out.  After the movie and doing what ever they did, they called me and I drove to Ruston and met them at  Cane’s for supper.  Cane’s is somewhat of a fast food restaurant but they serve only fried chicken fingers, coleslaw, French fries, and toasted bread.  Their claim to fame is their sauce which is good but not my favorite.  And one thing I really like is that they have SWEET tea which is my favorite drink.  Their chicken is very good and is cooked with a very thin coating so one is getting all chicken with just a little crunch.

Sunday morning we were up early so we could get to church on time.  After church, Scott and I went back to Cane’s for lunch and then we went to Wal-mart to get Brian’s birthday present.  Said I was not getting him an I-Pod but we decided to get one and split the cost in half.  Later I told Scott to just keep his half and it could be a late birthday present since what I gave him was a book which was supposed to have been for the previous Christmas.  I am definitely a push-over when it comes to my kids.

Scott sang and played the guitar for the special music at church Sunday night.  Good thing that I had on a loose fitting blouse or I would have popped all my buttons.  We got home about eight and he brought his air mattress and sleeping bag in from the porch to the cool studio and went straight to bed.  He had a terrible headache so I went into the kitchen so that the studio could be dark and quiet. After I finished eating I sat at the computer and worked on getting everything on the computer backed up so that Scott could start the reformat the next morning.

On Monday Scott started reformatting my computer.  He convinced me that he should partition the hard drive and put Linux on part and Windows on the other part.  I told him that would be fine.  One way to get him to reformat for me.  He was working on other things on his laptop so the job was only started when we left to meet Brian and Christy in Ruston and then go on to Shreveport for Brian’s birthday dinner.  I really did not want to drive for nearly an hour and a half to eat and then that far back home.  When we got to our meeting place in the library parking  lot, Brian asked if we would like to just go to Chili’s in Ruston.  I was overjoyed.  Found out it had been Scott that was pushing to go to Shreveport.  Had a great meal and a very enjoyable time.

Tuesday Scott did more work on my computer.  Brian came down to have lunch with us and left Christy in bed asleep. Mid-afternoon, Brian left to go home to get Christy and come back for his second birthday dinner which was home cooked by me, his dear old mom.  I spent the afternoon baking a birthday cake and making two trips to the grocery store.  I hate it when I forget an important ingredient for a recipe.  Dinner was Fettuccine Alfredo   with chicken, Caesar salad which is Brian’s favorite, and hot rolls with honey butter.  If you want a very good recipe for honey butter I have one that I will share.  In fact it is supposedly the one that is used at the restaurant that we originally planned to go to in Shreveport Monday night.  After we finished eating Brian opened his present and was one happy twenty-seven year old.  After Brian played with his present for a while,  we had birthday cake with ice cream.  Certainly was glad that Christy was around to help with the cleanup and I sent most of the leftovers home with her and Brian.

Wednesday was the day Scott was leaving to go home to Texas.  He was up early and finished what he had to do on my computer.  He was meeting Brian for lunch and they decided to include me.  Wonder if they did that so good old mom would pay.  No, they would not do that.  We had a very good lunch at Applebee’s and then Brian went back to work, Scott started home, and I  came home to work on getting the reformatting of  the computer finished.  Was almost late for church for was not paying attention to the time.  Started working on the computer again when I got home from church and did not go to bed until three in the morning.

I did not get up until almost noon today and then spent the afternoon working on the computer.  I bought a MP3 player yesterday and then today I loaded an audio book onto the player and then it would not play.  After having all kinds of problems with the computer and the MP3 player I took off about seven this evening to return the player.  Found out the one I bought would not play WMP files.  I had continued my bad day for I arrived at the store with all the different parts of the player and package in a bag and then I  realized that the USB cord was still at home connected to my computer.  I had printed off information from the library about players that did work with the audiobooks.  Any that would work were not available at Office Depot so I left telling the guy I would be back tomorrow with all the parts for the return.  I was going to go to Wal-mart for they carry two of the brands of players that were recommended by the library.  As I walked to my car I realized that Radio Shack was just four doors down so I went in there.  They had one of the players on the list and that is also highly rated on Cnet and in Consumer Reports. Also told that guy I would be back tomorrow after I did some more research.  One reason I was so happy with the player from Office Depot was because with the store sale price and a rebate I was getting an expensive player for fifty dollars.  Oh well.

I think I have made up for not writing for a few days and I need to do some more MP3 research.  I have started staying up each night until at least two for a week from tomorrow when we leave on the mission trip we will leave at four in the morning.  I do not want to go to bed at midnight and then get up two hours later so just going to stay up and then will sleep on the bus.

Scott finally came through the door at one thirty this morning. I had called him at eleven and he said he sat in traffic not moving for at least thirty minutes after the call. It was a cool night so he decided to sleep on the screened in porch. I have thought about doing that but it was in the cool spring or fall, not the middle of summer. I will stick with the air-conditioned bedroom thank you. I asked if he would like to have pancakes for breakfast and his answer was yes as I knew it would be. As he headed to bed I told him to wake me when he got up and was ready for breakfast. I was hoping that he would sleep until at least ten since it was two when we were heading to bed. This morning I was deep in sleep and he walks in and says, “Mom.” I asked what time it was with my eyes still closed and he informed me that it was eight thirty. I asked if I could sleep at least another hour. He then told me that he wanted to get to Brian’s office at the university for he had some work he needed to finish. So, I got out of bed and groped my way to the kitchen where I prepared pancakes and bacon for my first-born son. When he left for Ruston, I went back to bed and slept until noon.

I am at the library now and was bored so decided to write on my blog. I just talked with Scott and Brian and they will be home for dinner tonight. Christy is at her folks and Brian though that he would be driving down to get her and Scott would go with him but she is staying another night so will have my two loves for dinner. They had a big lunch today so tonight we are having sandwiches. I talked with Scott and he ordered turkey pastrami and provolone cheese on sub rolls. So now I am off to the grocery store to get the food. After talking with Scott, Brian came back on the phone and asked me to pick up a jar of pesto. He says it is good on sandwiches. We shall see. The one time I had pesto I did not care for it. But of course I will buy it for my second born.

When I got home from the grocery store, Scott was already here and had been for about an hour.  When Scott left the university to come home, Brian said he had to go home and feed the cats and then he would be down for supper.  Scott and I waited, and waited, and waited some more.  Finally Brian came in a few minutes after eight.  Needless to say we were eating in about five minutes.  Scott and I especially were hungry.  I found that I really like the pesto on a sandwich.  Gives it a different kick.

Brian left to go home a few minutes ago and will probably be back tomorrow for lunch and then he and Christy will be here for dinner.  Tomorrow Scott is going to the grocery with me to pick out what he would like to eat.  If he likes it then Brian will too.  Unfortunately I like lots of foods that they will not eat and that is why he is going with me to the grocery.  And while we are out tomorrow I am going to buy two or three electronic items that I want his help in choosing which to buy.  Almost forgot that I also have to buy a birthday present for Brian.  When I asked him what he wants he said an I-Pod but he will just have to want for not spending that much money.  Then he did mention an MP3 player so might go for that.

Scott left Fort Worth at five this afternoon and since he says he can drive the distance to Quitman in four and a half hours and if he stopped for a quick supper then he should have been here around ten.  At eleven I called just to see where he was and he was in Shreveport almost at a stand still because of an accident on the interstate.  He was on Highway 8o when I called and hoping to get back to the interstate very soon.  It is a little over an hour from here to Shreveport but with all the problems I really do not expect him until about one.

I was sitting here this afternoon looking at fabric and Ashley called and asked if I would like to go to dinner with her and Bryce.  Of course you know that I said yes.  She came by and picked me up at six and we went to the Chinese buffet.  It was very good but now six hours later I am hungry.  Think I will have a snack while I am waiting for my first born to get home.  I have been thinking about making some microwave brownies but think I will just have a piece of buttered toast instead.  Not only am I sleepy but rather tired tonight.  I did something today that I do not do all that often.  I cleaned house.  :O)  Too many things in this life to do that to me are more important than housecleaning.  Besides, I live alone and as long as it does not bother me what does it matter if I do not dust daily, besides dust is a protective covering for funtiture.

I am off to get a snack and then going to lie down and listen to a book on tape until Scott arrives.  Will probably fall asleep.

This morning when the alarm went off I laid there and waited for it to stop buzzing so that I could sleep for another ten minutes until it buzzed again. When it buzzed the second time I sat up and said to myself that I just could not make it to Bible study today for I was just too tired and sleepy. I turned off the alarm and crawled back into bed and laid there for about three minutes and then I jumped out of bed and headed for the shower. I got to church five minutes before Bible study was to begin and there was not a single car in the parking lot. I called the teacher but she was not at home so just thought she was on the way. I closed the phone and saw that another car was pulling into the parking lot. It was Johnette, the pastor’s wife, and she told me that the study was going to be the fourth Tuesday this month. Chatted with her for a couple of minutes and then took off for home. I decided that since I was up and dressed that I would go on to Monroe to check at the Tax Assistance Office about my Stimulus Payment.

I was almost to the interstate in Ruston when my cell phone rang and it was Mignon. Since I do not like to drive and use the cell phone and I cannot hear that well when I am driving, I pulled into a bank parking lot and we talked for about thirty minutes. Mignon confirmed that she will not be back in Louisiana until at least the middle of August. When we finished our conversation I continued on to Monroe but the tax office was closed from 12:30 to 1:30 for lunch so I stopped at Cane’s to have lunch. Then I went to the Ouachita library to renew my library card since they had sent me an email saying it would expire at the end of this month.

I stayed at the library reading until time for the tax office to open and then I took off to find out what happened to my check. I was very surprised when I opened the door to the Tax Assistance Office for the room was filled with people. Had to take a number and realized that there were ten people ahead of me. Sat there and read for over an hour before the lady finally called my number. The first thing she did was request my driver’s license, then she typed a few words into the computer and then told me that I was not in the system, in other words, no form had been sent to the IRS. For the past couple of weeks I had started to have the feeling that the Turbo Tax online ‘free’ service did not even send my form to the IRS. Fortunately I had printed out everything that Turbo Tax emailed me so she took the pages of the 1040 form and had me sign it and then she copied it and gave me a signed copy. She did a little more typing and then said I was now in the system. I then asked her if I could expect my check in about two more months and she smiled and shook her head yes. If I had known that Turbo Tax was not going to send the form to the IRS I could have just filled it out myself and mailed it. I did it online thinking that it would be quicker and that I would not have to hunt up an envelope and then drive to the post office for a stamp. One day when I have nothing waiting in the wings for me to do, I am going to see if I can find an email address for Turbo Tax and going to let them know what I think of their free service. If they had told me that I needed to mail the form that would have been fine but they did not tell me anything, just sent five pages via email.

I am seriously thinking of putting the stimulus payment with some more money and buying myself a laptop. But more than likely, I will probably talk myself out of that notion. Had a message from Scott this morning and he will be home Thursday night. So I have got to get some house cleaning done before he gets here. I am going to have him go to the grocery store with me and he can pick out what he wants to eat while he is here. We usually go out to eat but we decided that we would eat at home this time except for Brian’s birthday when we will go to the restaurant of Brian’s choice. Bet he picks Outback which is just about the most expensive restaurant in this area. Oh well, he only has one birthday a year and he is worth it. Even though Christy bakes him a birthday cake, I will also have a cake for one of the meals when they eat here. Only mom will make exactly what he wants. I probably should not say that for I am sure that Christy also makes what he wants. But he knows that good old mom will cater to his wishes.

In the spring of 1991, Don planted two crepe myrtle bushes at the edge of the front lawn. I think he intended to put a row or them along the edge of the yard and next to the road. They never grew very much and it was last year before they finally had a few blooms.

Early this spring a friend came and pruned the bushes and when he was finished they were about half as tall as they were originally.

With the coming of spring the bushes leafed out like crazy and stayed that way until this week.

Wednesday I looked out the window and was surprised to see all the pink blooms on the smaller bush but the larger one was still just green leaves.

View from another side of the bush. Last year it had about half this many blooms.

Today I saw that the larger bush finally had two small blooms. The darker ones at the bottom left. Tomorrow I will check to see if it has any more buds. I hope it will also bloom out fully.

I wish Don had planted the dark pink ones but he may have just bought the bushes and not known what color they were. They are still beautiful and I think of him every time I see the blooms. Took the bushes seventeen years to get this far. I must admit that I have never fertilized or done anything else to them. Gardening is just not my cup of tea anymore. I think I will check with the friend who pruned them and ask what I can do to hopefully get more blooms. I have four very small bushes that the same friend planted for me two years ago. They bloomed like crazy last year when they were only a year old but did not do as well this year. I had a picture on here a while back of the one in the front yard. Will have to check the three in the back yard tomorrow. They might be full of blooms. I just took a flashlight and looked at the three in the back yard beside my studio and there is a big bloom on one but could not see anymore blooms.

Did not get up until one this afternoon for it was in the wee hours of the morning before I finally fell asleep.  The first thing that I usually do after getting up is check to see if I have any emails from family or close friends.  As happens so many times when I get on the computer, it was around four o’clock  before I realized that I was hungry and also had to run some errands.  I did not want to prepare any food so I just took off for Ruston and had a very late lunch at Taco Bell.  When I left Taco Bell I passed the fabric store and decided to stop and see if by chance they had gotten in any fabric with chocolates printed on it.  They still had no candy fabric but I did find three more pieces of fabric that I want to make into blocks for Mignon’s quilt.  Finally found a fabric with black background and large magnolias.  Had been searching for quite a while for the magnolias and finally my searching paid off.  Also bought a cute fabric that is covered with cupcakes.  I am replacing blocks that I liked with the new fabrics that I like even better.  Returned a couple of audio books to the library and then went to Walmart to pick up some groceries.  I was so tired that I left Walmart without getting a thing that I went for. It seems that when I eat in the afternoon I get so tired and sleepy that I can barely function.

By the time I got back home it was almost eight o’clock and the sky was very dark for we were having thunder and lightning so I turned off the computer and the  sewing machine and unplugged both.  Since I was still tired and sleepy I decided that I would just go to bed since it was stormy and did not want to be on the computer or sewing machine.  I was lying in bed listening to an audio book when the phone rang.   It was Ashley calling to tell me that she had finally gotten to talk to her mom and that Mignon is not coming back to Louisiana until the middle of August.  Now I have plenty of time to get the quilt finished but if every day is like today I will never get through.

When I got off the phone I realized that I was hungry so got out of bed and had a snack and then since the weather seemed very quiet I turned the computer back on.  It takes six to eight tries to get the computer to stay on.  Glad that Scott will be here in a couple of weeks and he can check it out for me since he built the computer in the first place.  I have a feeling that it is getting ready to quit on me for good.  I do not want a new computer for they all come with Vista and I do not want that operating system.  I like XP and want to keep it.  Have even been thinking about getting a laptop when this one bites the dust.

I talked with Ashley today and Mignon is not coming back to Louisiana this week. So, I guess I get my extra days to work on the quilt after all. I think I am finally happy with the arrangement of the blocks. I will see if I still feel that way when I get up tomorrow morning and give it another look.

On the way home from church tonight, the sun and clouds were creating a most beautiful picture. One thing that Louisiana has is an abundance of trees and many times I could have gotten a great picture but trees were in the way. If there was a place to park there were trees in the way and if there were no trees then there was no place to stop. Finally I reached a good spot but unfortunately the sun had almost set and the sky was not as gorgeous as it had been ten minutes earlier.

This time of day has always been my favorite. I can remember sitting on the back porch when I was a kid and looking at similar sunsets and seeing the clouds form islands, mountains, and trees. I have always liked to find figures in clouds but enjoyed seeing islands in the sunset more.  Even now that I am decades from a kid, I still like to look at sunsets and pick out islands in the sunset.

Last night I laid out the quilt blocks in the order that I thought I wanted them placed. When I got up today I changed some around. And then later I changed them again. I am just not happy with the way the quilt top looks. I do know that it will look completely different and better when I get the sashing and borders attached. I think maybe the reason it is so hard to get the placement the way I want it is because I have blocks that are so many different styles–appliquéd, stenciled, colored with markers, printed pictures, and all over floral blocks. Fortunately I could work on appliqué blocks and just leave the top in place hoping that the arrangement would start to look better. Maybe tomorrow when I get up I will be happy with the block placement. I will definitely have to make a decision tomorrow for I must get it put together and finished. Mignon will be back Thursday or Friday. Hope she will be here for a few days for think I am going to need them. I have never had so much trouble getting a quilt finished. I was thinking today that maybe in my subconscious I think that when I finish the quilt and give it to Mignon, then she will be gone for good. Sadly that is true for the next time she goes back to Montana she will be staying.

Tomorrow it will probably take the entire day to do the appliqués on the center block that is thirty-six inches square. At least all the flowers are cut and ready to be fused to the fabric block. The size of the block will make it harder to do the appliquéing, but I will get it done. Now I am off to bed and hope that I go right to sleep so that I can get up early tomorrow morning, early for me being nine o’clock.  Since I did not get up until noon today and then had a meeting about the mission trip at five thirty, it was a short day.

I was working away on the appliqués and getting them pressed onto the background fabric and feeling so proud of myself and then I goofed royally. I had the five pieces cut for the Stone Container logo and had my paper pattern underneath so that I could make sure they were placed correctly. I was moving right along and the pieces were falling right in place and then I put down the iron, removed the pressing cloth and picked up the block.  I wanted to scream, cry, or even pitch a hissy fit.  I had put the paper under the background fabric and was so excited that the pieces were fitting so nicely that I did not even stop to center the logo. I do not know where my mind was for I had already centered and pressed several blocks. When I looked at that uneven block I wondered what else could go wrong. I thought about making another appliqué of the logo but then I told myself to forget it. I literally threw the block on top of some batting in the corner of the room and then got busy and cut a floral block to use instead of the logo. Had the logo just been unevenly spaced on the block then I could have done some more applique or something and made it appear that was the way I meant to place it. But it was not only uneven, it was also crooked. Tonight about ten o’clock I picked up the crooked block and decided that I would trim around the edges of the complete appliqué and then fuse to another block. There will be two layers of background fabric but that will not be a big deal. I really want the logo for Stone is the company that sent Mignon and Barry to Montana and the reason I am making this quilt.

I had trimmed off the right side when I decided to take a picture hoping maybe it will help me remember to be more careful. The background is snow white but for some reason it looks gray in the picture.