Weekend almost here

Had a pretty nice day.  Looked at a few more quilting and sewing videos on YouTube and sat myself down in the sewing room to get to work.  Finding a lot more enjoyment with sewing.  Now if I can just make something that looks halfway decent. Ha!

Made a quick Goodwill run and was very pleased to find the material I did.  Mainly because it was just what I was looking for and was a whole lot cheaper than I would have paid at Joanne Fabrics.

I'm working on a quilt as you go blanket right now using a couple of drapes/curtain material.

Mary and Andy are at a fancy resort this weekend.  Her employer hosts once a year and it's a terrific place with lots of activities.  Jake got to go too, of course.  I had to laugh at the picture she sent of him in their deluxe bathtub.  Caption read: Charmed Life. Jake just suffers on.

Here are 5 photos of baby carriers that I thought were cute.  Can't remember now if I saw them on Facebook or got them in an email.

And here are ten animal shots I liked....

Tomorrow I'm gonna watch golf in the sewing room and start listening to Alaska by James Michenor.
Sunday will be golf, Seahawks and the Emmys.  Tuesday I'm off to the casino for lunch with two or three friends and Mary Gaboury is due later in the day to spend the night. We're both getting our oil changed in our cars the next morning and will probably take her nephew, Brian McConaghy, out to lunch if he's not working.  Maybe we'll stop by and visit Faye Radley too.  Or Kathryn Critchfield as she goes by now.

I browsed through Amazon Prime movies tonight and found a dozen or more that I thought I might want to watch in the next few weeks.  I've been watching Entourage too but I'm not all that much impressed with it as it caters to a different age group and I weary of all the F words in every other sentence.  Jeremy Piven  stars in it and at the same time, I sometimes hop over to another Amazon show available called Mr. Selfridge, which he also stars in.  Different centuries and completely different role. Think I prefer the Selfridge role better.

I've been reading Game of Thrones but it's slow going for me as all the names are hard to pronounce and there's so many names, it's impossible to keep track of who is who and where they are. Still, I want to read further to see if I can get "hooked" before I pull out the first season I bought on DVD.  It's sitting nearby waiting for me.

Going over to Jenni's Sunday night for my birthday dinner.  Won't stay long, though, because I want to get home and watch the Emmy's.  They're used to me coming in, sitting down to eat, and then making an exit. It's become a family joke to see how long grandma stays.  ha ha

Well, gotta go Google "sticky computer keys" to see how I can fix my X key on this laptop. It's driving me nuts.

For Alec

I thought this might be an easier way to share some of the pictures I have in my collection that I thought might interest you. You can click on the photos to enlarge and once they're enlarged, you can RIGHT click on them to "save to your hard drive and/or your own pictures".

 Joyce Cozad is in the 3rd row, 3rd from the left in this First Grade Class Picture

 Joyce is in the 4th row, 4th from the left in this 2nd grade photo.

Carol Lashua is in bottom row, 4th from the left in this 1948 yearbook photo. Her activities follow...

                                              This is Ernie's graduation picture of 1952

 This is Mary Lashua's 1956 graduation photo. I don't know why but I do remember her.  I would have been 13.

 This is the obit for Floyd that I found in the microfiche films at the PA library.  I remember all the 5th grade classes were lectured by the teachers to NOT ask Joyce about her father's death when she returned to school.  That made an impression on me that has stuck all these years.  Not sure why. Perhaps because I lost my mother a few years earlier.  (not through death but because she left)

                            this was another article I found while browsing the files

This is a page from a 1954 Port Townsend phone book that shows numbers & addresses for some Lashuas.  Ernie lived at 22nd & Hill, right up the street from where my folks lived at 22nd & Haines.  I'm pretty sure my dad was friends with Ernie.

I also know (sort of) Diane Lashua of PT.  We talked on the phone once when I interviewed her about her role in "An Officer and A Gentleman."  She still lives in PT and is on Facebook.  I also know several Logues and Jerry and Sheryl Moch, that you mentioned.  Mike Logue and Diane Lashua are both in my latest book called "Town Kid" if you're interested.  I have a few copies left and am selling them for $10.  Mike wrote about the day he played hookey.

If you could scan in a picture of Joyce as an adult, I'd love to see it. I am so sorry I took so long to pursue where she went. But then again, she probably wouldn't have remembered me.  I've been researching various family lines and several lived in and around Albany.  Have cousins there now too.

Sewing Skills ..or lack thereof

Spent the better part of my day in the sewing room.  I know I'm going to learn various techniques by learning from my mistakes.  Today I learned I need to have my quilt more quilted before I try binding it and I need to have my binding strips wider than 2".  Haven't quite figured out yet just why I bent three needles (all while using my walking foot).  Hopefully my quilts will get better as I go along. And bigger.  I may end up just doing wall hangings too.

Even with my frustrations today of the binding just not working right, I still had fun (most of the time).  Need to give it a rest now and maybe scoot on back to genealogy research for a day or so. Here's my pictures....

I saw an advertisment on my Roku last night for SLING TV.   I went online to check it out and decided I'd give it a try.  The first week is free and then it's $20 a month.  I think there were 20 channels you could get. Among them:  CNN,AMC, TNT, HGTV, HIST, A&E, ESPN, TBS, IFC,and others.  I don't get any of these with my basic cable service.  If I was  to subscribe to the next level with cable, it would cost me an extra $40 a month or thereabouts.  I think I'll try out Sling and see if I like it.  I can always unsubscribe from Netflix for a while but we'll see......

Happy 65th birthday to my baby brother, Dana Gene. Here he is in one of the Rhody Runs and the second is one of my favorites of him and Dad walking the Scott Trail.

Happy Birthday also to my cousin, Ann Evans in Tacoma, and my classmate, Bobby Comas, in Texas. Bobby and I go back to 1943.  Our mothers shared a room at the hospital. In those days, moms stayed in bed longer than they do now. I was born a week later. When we started school, we ended up in the same class every single year from first grade through 8th grade.  And probably into high school for some classes too.  I don't remember my kindergarten class.

Well, guess I'll go see what's on tv.  I finished an Agatha Christie audio book while working on my quilt so I'm kind of in a British sort of mood.

Tired

I don't understand how I can be full of pep one day and dragging like an old rag the next.  I've been getting up early (Probably too early) the last few weeks which is no big deal if I can catch a nap during the day. Some days the nap just doesn't happen.  Like today.  Lawn mowers, telephone, and a general feeling of "too tired to sleep."  If that makes any sense.

I went down and got new lens in my glasses this afternoon. Then did a quick walk-thru of Safeway for half a dozen items.  Tried napping before I went and again after, but just couldn't quite get there. Dealing with irregularity (seems to be a frequent now and then problem no matter what I do). I guess it's one of those age side effects.  Yep!  Constipation and fatigue can make for a crummy day!  Ha!

I also suspect something is amiss with my right heel.  I hope it's not plantar fasciitis. I had that years ago and it was horrible.  From the symptoms I've read online, it kind of sounds like Achilles tendinitis.  I'll do what I can to stay ahead of the pain.  It's a hard road when your feet start giving you grief.  Especially when you're already coping with painful knees,shoulders, hips, and low back. Good Lord!  I think I need drugs.

I did manage to finish a small quilt this morning.  I watched and rewatched videos on how to turn the corners with binding.  I don't know why my brain just can't see it and say oh yeah, that looks simple. I think I finally did it correctly but it took several tries.  I long ago accepted that I'm a slow learner but it still bugs me to be reminded of it.

Tomorrow I'll bind the second quilt I have ready to finish. It's a little larger but I seem to be getting the hang of it using my walking foot.  I cut up two of Jake's receiving blankets so I'd have some  squares onhand to make a flannel quilt.  I keep finding more and more projects as I sift through my material stash.

Finally met the new neighbor this morning.  Heather and Mark lived in Black Diamond and are about mid 50's.  She's gonna be looking for work and he's still commuting from Seattle on weekends.

Well, guess I'll go look over my tv channels and see if that Wed. debate is going to be somewhere besides CNN (which I don't get). I suppose I can watch it online.  Makes me ill hearing that Trump is picking up support.  I'll never understand why. He's such a boor.

Pictures I saw on Facebook or that Mary sent me of Jake.

 trying out gymnastics for kids. His tongue being out reminded me of my dad.

 He's not quite ready for potty training yet but he does like the idea of unrolling that paper.

 Cousin Lee Arey (in dark blue coat) watching the football game in PT

 cousin Cindy's twin grandbabies. She calls them Jellybeans.

 An aerial view of PT during the Wooden Boat Festival

says it all

Gonna' Be a Good Sewing Day

Dug around in a couple bins and found even MORE material I need to play with.  Love these kitchen curtains I've had since probably the 90's?  Pattern is bright and cheery but I've got to quit storing them and DO SOMETHING WITH THEM!  So .... today they're getting cut up into large squares for a quilt.

Mary gave me a stack of Jake's old receiving blankets and I think I'm gonna cut at least a couple or more into squares for my flannel quilt in progress.  Will probably use others for the backing.

Also found these drapes (heavy cotton I'm pretty sure) so they're gonna get cut into large squares, as well.  I think I'm gonna look around on YouTube for tips on making applique quilts. Those are my favorites.  Not necessarily quilts but wall hangings.  I suspect I'm gonna be holed up in that sewing den for the winter.

Went to the library yesterday and picked up four audio books and 4 genealogy magazines.  My goal for this month is to get myself across town to the Mormon Church Library and see if I can't get some help on locating Charley Blankenship.  My mind runs wild imagining his story.  Was he grandpa's younger brother? Was he born to one of grandpa's sisters or brothers and their mom and dad adopted? Was he  adopted from another family?  Why can't I find his birth or death record?  (too many Charley's out there, for one thing) Maybe he changed his name.  I know the son of one of grandpa's other brothers did that.  Sooner or later I'm bound to find that clue I'm looking for.

Well, I'd best get back to work.  I made a quick run down to the local grocery to mail off a book. Every now and then, Hunter tells me I sold one on Ebay.

A Day in the Sewing Room

I've been having such a delightful time hanging out in my sewing room this week.  Am actually staying in there longer than I usually do. I'm sure it's because I rearranged the furniture, my chair, and placed the computer chair mat in there so I can roll around.  I've been watching how-to videos on YouTube (I know. I'm repeating myself) but it's given me a new confidence to try things that I wouldn't in the past.

Today I wanted to dispose of odds and ends of material projects left sitting and odd pieces of material tossed aside.  It's very hard for me to throw anything away that could possibly be used so my little creations are pretty unique.  Or should I say - cornbally.  But that's okay. Once I get the batting in, the backing on, the binding done, they'll be usable for toss around quilts or lap pads.  Here's two....

I often search thrift shops for old sheets that are in good condition as it's way cheaper to use them for backing (and quilt squares and strips) than to invest in all new material.  I'd certainly like to buy material as there's some fabulous stuff on the market these days but my budget dictates I spend my play money on gambling. ha ha    The quilt shown above has three different sheets worked into the design.  (strips going down)

I started with the three neat squares in the middle that I was playing around with when I was trying to learn how to make different patterns.  I wanted to use them up quickly so I could get to some of the other things I had laying around so I opted to just add strips along the side.  Putting on the backing and batting will be done tomorrow.  If my back agrees, that is.

The other little lap quilt I sewed today looks pretty sad but it'll do for a lap quilt in the car or something.

I had an abundance of this yellow and black plaid material that would probably make a man's shirt but I'm not into sewing clothes anymore.  The little squares are not at all aligned properly cause I cut them each into tiny little squares and then sewed them together one by one.  (not the way you're supposed to do it and I won't do it again.)

I didn't want to toss all 16 squares away after I'd gone to all the trouble of cutting and sewing them so I decided to just surround them with ugly plaid material and add the batting and backing.  Would never win a ribbon but then I wasn't aiming for that. I was aiming to use them quickly.

Once I get these two put together, I'm going to try and make a jelly roll quilt where you sew all these strips together. If you want to see the video, go on YouTube and search "40 minute scrap quilt with Valerie Nesbitt."

I had to go out in the garage to retrieve a fan as the sewing room got kind of stuffy as the afternoon went on.  I did manage to get a few things accomplished today besides sewing.  One load of laundry and three letters. Oh, and I got the car washed.  Major accomplishment but I went slow and told my back and shoulders they were going to cooperate or else!

Maddie posted a picture on Facebook of her and her friends so I'll add that here along with one that Mary sent me of Jake and his new nanny, Shonie.

                                                            Maddie is in the green shirt

Saw this next picture on Facebook and thought it was super gross.

World's biggest snake Anaconda found in Africa's Amazon river. It has killed 257 human beings and 2325 animals. It is 134 feet long and 2067 kgs. Africa's Royal British commandos took 37 days to get it killed.

Well, I see there's no golf on tv this weekend; just football so I guess I'll occupy myself in the sewing room again. Maybe I'll go up to the library and pick up a couple of audio books. I need to go that way in about a half hour or so anyhow as I have to pick up the teens at the high school.

Finished an autobiography about Tony Curtis last night. It was kind of interesting to read some of the stuff he wrote about other stars.  Was also interesting to read in black and white just how full of himself he was.  He died in September 2010.

Got a book in the mail today that I forgot I had ordered.

I know it's not "my Charley" that I've been trying to locate but I thought it would be nice to have in my collection.