Saturday, August 1, 2009

Update on Building...

Sam finished his potty room last week. I just haven't had time to post photos.

It's small. Not enough room to cuss a cat without getting hair in your mouth,

but it's adequate.

A cabinet over the commode is needed for a couple of towels, change of clothes, and necessary paper products. He also needs a towel bar and toilet paper holder.

The utility tub outside the room is plumbed too. After the photo, he screwed a leftover piece from the potty room of finished backer board behind it for splashes.

Ditches are dug for plumbing and Sam has piping installed from the well house to the building, but the ditch digger was centered behind the tractor and the ditch is about 6 inches farther from the building that Sam planned on. He had to get additional plumbing and couplings. Then...it rained. And it rained. Yesterday it didn't rain, but he was gone. So, it rained again today.

But...Sam was in bed sick. He must've eaten something yesterday that really played havoc on him. He said 'it' started just before midnight. I must've been sleeping hard because he didn't wake me the first time. He's feeling better now...up and dress. But the only thing he's had has been 7-Up.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Completed

I finished a quilt! It's a Double Wedding Ring, but the arcs aren't pieced. I pieced it on the machine, but hand quilted it.


It has over 350 hours of hand quilting...that unfortunately doesn't show very well on the backing.

It does show in this unfortunate block. Blood from being poked with the needle. Tomorrow I will pretreat and wash it.

I put this in the quilt frame April 2007! Can't believe I quilted a whole-cloth quilt in 11 months and this one took over two years...eye roll...

Edited: Thanks to everyone for advice. I did use hydrogen peroxide when the bleed first happened and thought the blood was out. I waited for the bleeding to stop, then sat back down to quilt again. Unfortunately, I didn't wait long enough and the first time that finger rubbed the fabric, the bleeding started again...in earnest. I spread a line of blood across that area. So, I daubed on more hydrogen peroxide. Evidently just enough to force it into the batting where it didn't resurface until a while after I'd rolled that completed section of the quilt under. While unrolling it to show off my stitching to someone, I noticed the blob. Treated it yet again with hydrogen peroxide and let it dry. When the 'rust' showed up again, I got disgusted. That was one of the times I didn't touch it for a couple/three months when I should've quilted every chance I had so that I could get it out of the frame and washed.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Gravel in the Gas Tank Kid

Here's the culprit at about the age he dumped the rocks and gravel in my gas tank. Don't these look like mug shots?! Yep. He's even wearing stripes! Just like mug shots!


Each of us (those from the first decade of our parents' marriage that is) learned to drive on a red 1951 Chevy 2-door coupe. (Hmmm...I don't have a scanned photo of it. I'll have to go through Mama's photos again.)

Yeppers. I can still drive a standard without power anything or turn signals even! The gas gauge didn't work, but we each learned in our own sweet time how to manage. I watched the mileage. After the appropriate number of miles added to the odometer, I stopped at the gas station only to find out that it wouldn't hold but about 50 cents worth of gas before the nozzle cut off. When I got home, I asked Junior if he put gas in my car without telling me. I got the "Are you crazy?" look. That's what I figured, so I decided Daddy must've filled it up last time he was home. (He was a truck driver.)

I found out that 50 cents worth of gas didn't get you very far...even when gas was still cheap. I ran out of gas. Thank God that it was broad daylight and within a mile or so of the house. I walked home. (I waitressed at a hamburger joint in town and was so glad I didn't run out of gass at midnight. Spooooky old road!)

Junior checked the car out and found an obstruction in the filler tube. He dropped the gas tank. The best part of the whole deal was that the BRAT did not put sand in my tank so the engine wasn't ruined. The rocks were large enough that they lodged in the filler tube. No. The gas tank wasn't full of rocks. Another thing that saved the BRAT from instantanious death from his older brother and sister. Especially by the hands of the brother doing the work.

Junior and I waited with glee. When Daddy got home! Just wait you little BRAT!

Did he ever lie!!! Lemme tell ya!

"Son. Did you put rocks in your sister's car?"
"No, Daddy."
"Yes he did!"
"Beat him!"
"I'll ask you again, son. Did you put rocks in your sister's car?"
"No, Daddy."
"HE'S LYING!"
"BEAT HIM!"
"Son, if you tell me the truth, I won't whip you."
"I did it."
"Don't ever do it again, son."
"WHAT? Do you realize how long I worked on that car? BEAT HIM!"
"WHAT? I could've run out of gas in Longview! And had to walk home (45 miles). BEAT HIM!"
"No, he told me the truth."
In unison, "AFTER HE LIED TWENTY TIMES!"

The photo strip is Mama's documentation of his self-haircut.

Yeah, I agree. Mug shots!