OurDailyThread » ODT SUNDAY DEC 31 ~ SAT JAN 6 2024

DownSouth · 1/04/2024 3:19 pm

Gary got good news today, no cancer...that's the best news you can ever get. The doctor was called to an emergency so he and Emily had to wait 2 hours to see him. I'm glad she was able to go with him. I'm feeling tired and lazy today.

I ordered Land 'O Lakes Mini Moos for my coffee, 192 of them. I use 2 at a time. I ordered them thru Walmart and the company canceled my order due to "location restrictions." I then ordered Nestle 192 from Amazon. Guess what showed up today? Yes...now I have 384 coffee creamers, lol!

Sandra, is that your biggest win? Hooray for you!

BJ, I always look outside every day as well to see what the weather looks like. We have rain coming in this weekend.

Holly in South Jersey · 1/04/2024 5:46 pm

Devonne, great news!
Sandra, congrats on starting the year with a win!
Tucker the contractor was here to measure the cellar staircase to determine material needed.

We both took a nap this afternoon, and I’ve been cross stitching since. I’ve done a blog post with a pic of the new project.

DownSouth · 1/04/2024 8:50 pm

Marylou, your tip to clean an iron worked great. Thank you.

I got the returned Christmas card and sympathy card today I sent to Diana. Trish, can you email me her new address? Thanks!

I read about a storm heading our way named Ember that is going to cause a lot of bad weather. Mostly heavy rain in my area, but it will mean snow for some of you. Patty, your snow is on the way! Hope you have all the wood logs cut & next to the wood stove, lol!

Pvillelou · 1/04/2024 10:54 pm

Devonne, wonderful news!

Sandra, congratulations on your bingo win.

Judy, I hope you are feeling better. It was wise to postpone your meeting.

Ross let me know that they are rescheduling their Christmas celebration for Saturday evening now that everyone is recovered from Covid. Linda said she isn’t going to cook a big meal but will order pizza instead. There was a local pizza place years ago that we all loved. It had been closed for years but has recently reopened so I’m looking forward to that.

Last edited by tricia-anne (1/05/2024 3:16 am)

tricia-anne · 1/05/2024 3:39 am

BJ I hope you feel better today, let the girls know if you don't, they can get you into the Drs, hope your hands feel better ((((hugs))))

SANDRA YIPEE!!! That is a big win, makes up for all the losses. I hope your newbie comes back too. I haven't seen that show, I will keep an eye out, seems you all get the good shows. I am envious!

HOLLY we don't get that NCIS here, it's on streaming and we don't subscribe to that one. I don't mind, I have plenty of others to watch. Nice to start a new project, I have some cross stitch - I put it away, might take it away with me when we go in June.

DEVONNE I emailed you just now, I hope SAN checks in soon, it's been a while. Such great news for you!!! I know you are relieved.. sorry about the bad weather! Are the dogs OK in the weather, Megan said she had to shampoo hers 3 =19.5pxtimes when they came back form camp, they were so dirty, they swim in the dam, then of course get muddy when they get out, she said they had lots of =19.5pxdust blowing =19.5pxthis time as well, she had to do a full clean of inside the caravan.

JANET when do you leave?? I know you said it's not too far, will the weather front affect the plans.

PATTY snow finally, it's been strange without snow for you all, hope it doesn't mean it will stick around till May LOL

MARYLOU that will a fun get together, we used to do pizza with my sis and her family, years ago they used to stay with us Christmas Eve, and we had pizza, and then a nice breakfast before they headed out to spend it with his family.
It became a little tradition for us.

INDY hope you are feeling better, the flu going around is awful, so I hope it's not that. We are also having lots of covid cases, but mostly they are not too bad. (((((hugs)))) It was a good decision to call off your group.

It was Dean's birthday today, we celebrated last night, as John has to work tonight. We went to his favourite -- Outback Steakhouse, he LOVES Blooming Onion. It was a lovely night, the other grandparents rang in the late afternoon to say they weren't coming. It was actually nice with just us and their friends Cathy Scott and Lily. It's often uncomfortable when the in-laws come, Gary is stressed and the kids don't enjoy their company, and they don't talk to anyone but Gary, so he had a good time with all of us.
The boys had fun with Warwick showing him how to send encrypted messages and laser light shows on his phone LOL

Too much food though!! We were all totally stuffed after birthday cake. I just had chargrilled chicken with mixed vegetables and coleslaw. It was very nice - John finished it for me, no idea where he puts it all. That boy has hollow legs! His brother is fast catching up to him in height, John is now 6 foot 7 inches, Dean is almost 6 foot.
I called in to see Dean this afternoon, he had installed the graphics card we gave him for his birthday, so he was happy.

It's a cool night here, so it will be pleasant sleeping. And it's not too humid!

Missmommy · 1/05/2024 6:27 am

Trish- I go to retreat early Thursday morning. It’s less than 30 mins. 🙂. This weekend storm probably shouldn’t have any impact. But there’s bad weather predicted one of the days, and the place is downhill to the lake which can be impacted if there’s snow or ice. Fingers crossed. I really need to get out of here.

DownSouth · 1/05/2024 9:47 am

Trish, thank you! Gracie & Molly both get cold very quick, esp. Molly. She can't take the heat nor the cold.

Marylou, the pizza is a great idea! I thought about doing a Chickfila tray for Christmas, but cooked a turkey instead.

I'm meeting Gary at Zaxbys in 30 minutes.

quiltbea · 1/05/2024 10:12 am

WELL, SO FAR ITS A LOVELY SUNNY DAY HERE, BUT COLD. I ADORE THE SUNSHINE AS LONG AS IT ISN'T SUMMER AND TOO HOT.

MARYLOU.......GOOD FOR YOU ENJOYING PIZZA AT YOUR FAMILY GET-TOGETHER. I LOVE TO HAVE A PIZZA PARTY. HOW DID THAT FOOD GET TO BE SO DARN POPULAR. I GUESS ITS BECAUSE YOU CAN HAVE IT IN SO MANY FLAVORS AND FOODS. ENJOY YOUR SPECIAL TIME TOGETHER.

LINDA.....I HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING YOUR COMPANY THAT IS STAYING. I KNOW THEY KEEP YOU BUSY. DON'T DO TOO MUCH AND OVERTIRE YOURSELF.

DEVONNE.......GOOD NEWS ABOUT GARY. I KNOW HE MUST BE SO RELIEVED, AND AS A MOM, YOU ARE OVER-THE-MOON WITH THAT LATEST REPORT. IT BRINGS SUCH RELIEF.
YES, THAT STORM EMBER SHOULD DROP 3-5 INCHES OF SNOW ON US ON SUNDAY. I WILL BE SURE NOT TO OPEN MY NEW JAR OF MAYONNAISE BEFORE THAT IN CASE OF POWER LOSS. IT WAS THE ONLY THING I TOSSED OUT AFTER OUR LAST POWER DROP. I DON'T TRUST MAYO. I JUST HOPE IT DOES NOT ARRIVE UNTIL THEN SINCE MY SON SHOPS FOR ME ON SATURDAY AND I WILL HAVE EXTRA FOOD MADE FOR HIM TO TAKE HOME......TATER TOT CASSEROLE AND THE NEW HAMBURGER SOUP. I WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW I LIKE THIS LATEST RECIPE. I WILL ALREADY HAVE TO TWEAK IT SINCE REE DRUMMOND CALLS FOR A FROZEN BAG OF O'BRIEN POTATOES AND I DO NOT HAVE THEM SO I WILL DICE UP FRESH POTATOES AND ADD A CHOPPED ONION TO THE MIX. IT SHOULD WORK OUT OKAY.

JANET......HAVE A GOOD TIME AT RETREAT.

TRISH.......WOW, WAS THAT RIGHT, YOUR LITTLE BOY IS NOW 6 FOOT SEVEN INCHES TALL? I DID NOT REALIZE HE'D GROWN SO TALL.
IF YOU GET A CHANCE TO SEE RFDS AND MR AND MRS MURDER, DO SO. THEY ARE SUCH GOOD AUSTRALIAN SHOWS.
THAT'S IF FROM ME FOLKS. WISHING YOU A GREAT DAY. HUGS, QB S

Last edited by quiltbea (1/05/2024 10:28 am)

indyanny · 1/05/2024 11:47 am

Thanks for all the good wishes. I'm feeling better. Actually didn't feel too bad, just the usual symptoms with a bug and no energy. Guess that's "good" since it forces you to rest. Ironically, it IS a beautiful, softly sunlit day here, so would have been a good day to meet. There's a span of 30 miles between the different couples so the weather is a factor.
I have been able to get my yearly/daily project started--felt well enough to do that. Finished last year's and it's an accomplishment to do a bit every day...not that that always happened! A few times I had a few days to catch up on but mostly carried through on the plan. There's a sewist, Karen Turner on Instag. and her blog that I follow, sometimes, for inspiration. I know it's not as popular, but I do love handwork. That and reading fulfill some of my needs. While Howard lunched with Dave, yesterday, I started my new Christmas present book.
Congrat on the big win, QB.   Hope the new gal comes back. It's not only about the money. With you doing the calling, I'm sure she's been made welcome.

Patty, can't says I'm disappointed about no snow. Actually, we have a slight coverage and we're warned it's coming, tonight, tomorrow and really on Tuesday. Have you seen any wildlife, lately?

Holly, that cross stitch is going to be beautiful. I looked at all your pictures and read your stats. Wow, I'm impressed at what all you did in 2023. There's something calming about picking up crochet/knitting at will without having to do more preparation, first. Did your Mom do needlework? My Mom and ML didn't/don't.
Mom dabbled in embroidery in her early years and ML has tried everything but crochet which she doesn't like the looks of, but hasn't stayed with anything. What about your girls and Juli?

Trish, I never get used to Andrew towering over me (5' 3") and he's 6' 2 or 3". Your boys are or will be taller than that! Long legs to fill! I believe Warwick is tall but I'm not sure about you.

Well, it's almost noon, here. So, I'm off to do what I can. Have a good day.
Indy

Last edited by indyanny (1/05/2024 11:52 am)

GAQuilter · 1/05/2024 4:50 pm

SHE'S ALIVE! SHE'S ALIVE!

I am still alive and kicking. Super duper busy with trying to sell all of Mom's properties. Lots of work there!

Estate guy fired me as a customer so I had to take care of everything he didn't sell. Garage sale for one day, a couple of pre sells, people who saw the ad and stopped buy hoping to get a glimpse of items. I let them look and buy! Even had people show up the day after the sale to buy, sure, anything I don't have to haul off is to my benefit! Made almost $900.

That took most of November to take care of and get the house ready for market! House went on the market first weekend in December. Offer one fell through in less than 24 hours. Offer 2 did not respond to my counter offer. Offer 3 just had the inspection done and we will fix most of the stuff requested. I may have to go back next week, once this is all done I will not have to go back again!

Luke had his official graduation ceremony in December. Nice ceremony. The school did a terrific job. We were amazed how many students were second or more generations graduates. We had never heard of the school until we searched for Luke!

Luke has accepted a seasonal position at Acadia National Park, in Maine. I'm looking forward to going back there. I will go with him to help set up, play a day or so and come home!

Alex got a salaried position within his company! He is now looking at his finances to figure how much home and where to buy! Happy Dance time!

Sara is still doing great, working on her research, she's about 2 years out from graduation!

I have a nephew getting married in June in NY. My virtual daughter, Paige, is getting married in July, in downtown Atlanta. The nephew I will travel to the wedding. Paige's wedding will be a day event!

We have reservations to go see the Solar Eclipse in April, shouldn't affect Luke's trip to Maine! We are looking forward to traveling again!

Mom is just mom. Some days she is as sweet as pie, other days she is mean as a wet bee! Days she is mean, I do what I normally do then leave, don't feel guilty, she's lucky I come! Days she is nice I sit and chat, repeat stuff to her etc. I do think she has realized she will never go "home".

Me, where do I start. I am hoping to one day slow down a bit. The property sales and mom's medical stuff, along with her tax stuff keeps me hoping. I see why my sister did some stuff the way she did, but it cost more in the end. Doing it all at once may be easier but it is what contributed to mom's debt. BTW mom is out of debt! We paid everything off!

The house seems to keep on revealing stuff. It's amazing that it's almost empty and we find documents that were missing or other information that we thought was lost. We filled 6-7 bins of cancelled checks and other stuff that needed to be shredded or burned. We burn a pile at my MIL's every year and took it to burn. To shred would have taken forever! It's gone! I'm surprised this house did not spring up several feet after this stuff left! We did take an additional bin of our old tax stuff, and a few other things. We don't want our kids to have to go through the same stuff we are having to do! The plan is to purge the oldest stuff at the end of each year, checks, bank info, taxes and such, for both us and mom and just burn it. Mom had checks and statements, and such dating back to the 70's. They threw nothing away! I'm sure mom's house feels better with all that stuff gone! Add in dust burrows and such that we removed. I forgot how big that house really is.

My niece was extremely helpful. She sold a ton of the remaining stuff, we told her to keep the money! She was thrilled and put it away for her move to Arizona!

I know I have missed stuff here and forgot to tell you stuff from my life! I do hope to come more often. Since we are in the busy portion of house and property selling I do have to come online more often! One thing surely will lead to another and if nothing else I will pop in to say hi!

Later my Friends!

I really missed y'all! ( You knew I had to get a y'all in there somewhere!)

DownSouth · 1/05/2024 6:37 pm

We are under a winter advisory starting at 11 pm and ending at 8 am. Not sure what that means for my area, but maybe bad for north GA.

Theresa, glad this is almost behind you. You're going to be busy doing some traveling. What is a virtual daughter?

I ordered an air fryer after reading You Tube reviews. I got the Ninja AF100 for $69 from Walmart. It should be here the 12th. It's 4 quarts and big enough for me.

Greg poured out his heart today & thinks the reason Gary is coming around is money related. He doesn't care about having a relationship with them and I won't use the words he used, lol. He said if Gary wants a relationship, why doesn't he pick up the phone and call me? That's a good question.

On a more frustrating topic, the quilting on these quilts is not going as I planned. The embroidery stippling is looking good on the quilt, but that is going to take forever, so I gave up on that idea (I should have done this when they were in single rows!) Last night I decided to try free motion quilting. I broke 3 needles and the embroidery foot kept unloosening. I've decided to do straight quilting on my Kenmore. I only need to stitch down the seams, so much faster. The kids will never notice. I know I have a walking foot for my Kenmore Elite, but where in the world did I put it?

Back to quilting!

Holly, I just looked at your new XS project. I love it too! 18 count aida? That's really small, but I do remember a 22 count, I think. It's been so long since I've done XS.

eta: I just got an update on my Ninja air fryer delivery. It will be here Monday, the 8th! I need to make room for it on the countertop. My cookbooks will find another location.

Last edited by DownSouth (1/05/2024 6:55 pm)

Sew Happy · 1/05/2024 6:59 pm

Hello everyone! I'm on a computer today instead of my Kindle so I hope I made the print big enough but not too big.

Devonne, it's been a long time since I've cut wood and stoked the stove. Cutting wood all summer to have enough for winter is hot and hard. I do love wood heat and the smell is wonderful!!

Indy, we have a lot of birds at the feeders, squirrels and deer also. Nothing more wild than that.

Theresa, good for you to get all that work done with. Acadia is a wonderful park. Good for him.

Last week that handle fell off my favorite saucepan. Bummer! Instead of just buying a pan, DH wanted to buy a new set of pans. OK, but where are they going to be stored??? Today I cleaned out the cabinet under the stove, a counter top stove, and I can't believe all the stuff we got rid of. There is room to spare in there now!!!

We're STILL waiting for the big snow. Just a few flurries that looked hopeful but NO!! I agree it has been nice with no snow to shovel, blow, trudge through but I worry about fires in the spring if it is so dry. We get fires even when we do have snow so this would just be worse.

Have a great weekend!

Last edited by tricia-anne (1/06/2024 3:16 am)

Chlynn1129 · 1/05/2024 8:08 pm

Still a very mild winter here too. We do have a dusting of snow on the ground but today the sun was out and it was so pretty.

Aaron is doing WW2 re-enacting. He is at a camp now in the cold. He had to shave off his beard since they did not allow them at at time. He can have a moustache. Not sure if he is keeping that or not, but it so so different to see him now. He has had a longish beard since he left college. Amelia is 10 and she has never seen his bare face.    She is not a fan of his clean shaven face.

Devonne, in answer to your question about Aaron, yes; he is still working full time. He even worked full time when he was taking his cancer immuno-therapy medications. He has a house and two kids to support, so he goes to work. Thankfully, the medications did not cause him nausea, just tiredness. We are praying that this colonoscopy will show that the images on his PET scan was just bowel sugars as the doc put it.
I hope you like you Ninja. That is the brand Aaron has but his is a larger one.
I never heard of Land o lakes Mini moos. I will look them up. I use Land o lakes butter and love it.
Such great news for Gary!!!

I have a doctor appointment on the 10th and I am not looking forward to it. I have not followed a low carb diet and I am sure my lab results will tell on me. I told myself to get back on track this week and have done much better.

Last edited by tricia-anne (1/06/2024 3:15 am)

DownSouth · 1/05/2024 8:20 pm

Oh my gosh..I have to post again, lol!!

Caleb's quilting is finished since I did my last post! I decided to do a wide zigzag and it went really fast. Since the seams were done with a fusible (permanent?) tape, I wanted to sew over this tape. I am a very happy camper right now. This Kenmore Elite is a keeper...and to think I almost got rid of it!

Doing the happy dance here and it's only 9:15 pm. I still have time to watch tv, lol.

In the morning, I will square it up all the way around, put the binding on and the label. Onto Carter's quilt!

As you can see, there isn't much throat area on this machine, so I had to shove it thru!

Holly in South Jersey · 1/05/2024 8:28 pm

Judy, my mom learned stamped cross stitch when she was 6! Her mom crocheted, her gmom did stamped xs. I don’t think counted cross was a thing then. I have bureau scarves and a tablecloth that my great gmom made, and I’ve given things to my girls. Mom always crocheted, also. She taught me when I was pregnant with Heather. (And she was a righty and I’m a lefty!) Mom and I learned counted xs together. Heather does none of fiber crafts, but is a genius with Cricut. Manda knits and dabbles in other yarn crafts. Steph has no interest. Julie has my Janome Gem, and has done some sewing, but she’s just so busy with school now.

Theresa, wow! You are so busy that you make me tired!

We’re due to get rain from this storm front, starting tomorrow afternoon.

Janet, I hope your retreat goes great!

tricia-anne · 1/06/2024 3:40 am

THERESA so good to hear from you, I was hoping the sale was behind you now ((((hugs)))) so sorry it's still going. Such good news about the kids, they are all doing well, and your mum will have those days you have a good attitude, move on when she's like that, you can't change it, AND she can't help it1

DEVONNE great work!!! I would roll that quilt really, really tight, and you will be surprised how much more you can shove under. Enjoy that rest tonight, and hope the rain stays away!

HOLLY my mum did the most beautiful embroidery, I have some of it, including an apron - I was hopeless at school, my stitches were appalling LOL how things have now changed. Megan isn't a crafter, but she is very artistic, and draws beautifully.

SANDRA hopefully the storm eases for you as well, wouldn't it be safe for the mayo, it would be cold enough you could put it outside?? Hope you don't lose power again.

INDY I owe an apology, John isn't 6'7" he's only 6'5" I mis heard Gary saying NEXT year he will be 6'7" -- I am only 5'7" the Mr is 5'11" and Pete is 6'3", Megan is just little shorter than her dad.
Sorry LOL but he still towers over me!! It's hard to give him a hug now!

Gary is having a bit of 'push back' from the boys about his parents, his mum tried to tell him she messaged Dean for his =19.5pxbirthday and left a voice mail, there's no record of it of course. And John informed his father that he should stop making excuses for them, he said to his mum and dad at Christmas "easy to see who the favourite grandkids are" and Dean piped up with " well not us" LOL

DEVONNE I'm sorry Greg feels that way, understandable I guess, maybe you can "gently" explain (at the right time ) that you love them both equally as their mum and you are more than capable of looking after your own finances, and if HE needed help at any time you would be happy to help .

PATTY I would love some new saucepans, but I need to cull mine first, there are some I never use. I would rather buy just the sizes I need instead of a full set, that's why my cupboard is so full now LOL
I have 2 saucepans I use regularly, and a stockpot and casserole dish plus the frypan. I should just get rid of the rest.

I am really tired tonight, it was a tough workout this morning, my arms are feeling it tonight.

I made my temperature blocks for the last 6 days, they are so tiny, takes no time to sew them together..

I'll take a pic after 2 weeks, I have way too much fabric, so I will have plenty to decide on borders. Some I might only need a couple strips of 1 1/2" and I have 1/2 metre (yard) LOL I just need to find a way to store it all for the year so I can grab it at least weekly.

I have to go to the store tomorrow, I have a stick blender, it had a whisk attachment, and I dropped it and it broke, it was over 25 yrs old, so not devastated LOL But I need to replace it, maybe the store will have a smallish plastic bin.

Still no word from San, I was hoping she would check in with us, if you read this San ((((hugs)))) I'm thinking of you.

Holly in South Jersey · 1/06/2024 10:00 am

I got the card from Devonne today! I think the post office sent it by Pony Express!

DownSouth · 1/06/2024 10:27 am

Holly, I'm so glad you got my card. I thought I had missed your name. Guess I'll mail much earlier this year. Do you use an Ott light or magnifier when you XS?

Trish, I've added a new resolution for this year...no family drama, lol!

Cheryl, I scheduled my regular checkup in December for March...hoping it will give me some time for my numbers to get better, lol. Land 'O Lakes is my favorite butter. I haven't bought margarine in years since I read it's not good for you.

I need to watch a YT video on how to sew on the Chenille It to the binding. I think you sew down the center, but I want to be sure I get it right.

It started raining here last night at 10 pm...going to rain off and on all day. A good day to sew!

WA-BJ · 1/06/2024 10:40 am

Good Morning to everyone!! It is very still outside, rained overnight, thankfully not right now. I'm waiting for Tracy to get up, so I can take my shower and get dressed. Love it when she's here. She's such a peach!!

I really don't have anything to say this morning, so will just sign off, wishing you all well. Hope everyone has a wonderful day, Love, BJ.

Missmommy · 1/06/2024 10:56 am

Well, so far we’ve dodged the bullet. Some ice early but now it’s all rain. The predictions were all over the place.
So based on the weather guess, I decided to sleep in. I went to the window first thing as always. Here’s how my conversation with DH went.
Me: there’s a cow in the yard.
DH: yeah, ok.
Me: no, really, come look!
DH: a cow? Not likely. It’s probably the big dog from down the road that’s here sometimes.
(I think I can tell a dog from a cow)
Me: Just come look.
DH: ok fine. I’ll look.
DH: HOLY COW!

LOL.