Fly, sweet brother!

Chris Rice - Untitled Hymn

Weak and wounded sinner

Lost and left to die

O, raise your head, for love is passing by

Come to Jesus

Come to Jesus

Come to Jesus and live!

Now your burden's lifted

And carried far away

And precious blood has washed away the stain, so

Sing to Jesus

Sing to Jesus

Sing to Jesus and live!

And like a newborn baby

Don't be afraid to crawl

And remember when you walk Sometimes we fall...so

Fall on Jesus

Fall on Jesus

Fall on Jesus and live!

Sometimes the way is lonely

And steep and filled with pain

So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then

Cry to Jesus

Cry to Jesus

Cry to Jesus and live!

O, and when the love spills over

And music fills the night

And when you can't contain your joy inside, then

Dance for Jesus

Dance for Jesus

Dance for Jesus and live!

And with your final heartbeat

Kiss the world goodbye

Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and

Fly to Jesus

Fly to Jesus

Fly to Jesus and live!

Tomorrow is my Kirsten's birthday!

So today I made her a tote. This is a new design especially for her. I don't think you can tell by the picture, but the ribbons I used for the handles and the black ribbon on the tote itself are all grosgrain ribbons. Sometimes they photograph a little strangely, but they are just plain grosgrain.

I also used a magnetic closure on this one (first time I've used that and it wasn't difficult at all). And I put 2 pockets inside, which should be useful. I'm really hoping she likes it.

I heard from Andy on Sunday. He's not going to Seattle right away. He's making pretty good money from the music/band, so he's going to stay in Iowa a few weeks and then he's going to Albany, NY to visit Mike. The plan du jour takes him from NY back to Iowa for a few weeks and then he's going to come to Texas for a few weeks.

It was good to hear him so excited about the music. They "rocked the joint" when they played on Saturday night and he's making more with this band than he has in the past, so he was really jazzed.

We're still waiting to hear from the doctor regarding when Bob will have his next procedure. Next week is a possibility, but we haven't heard anything definite. I'll post updates as they come in.

It was so good to see some of the family this last weekend. It's times like this we need each other the most and it's such a comfort to feel the sweet welcome of family.

Love you all.

Just a quick note. So much has happened since I wrote last. Bob had a checkup, a stresstest, an angiogram and 2 stints. He's fine now and it looks like the second procedure will be next week or the week after -- scheduling is tough right now.

Stumbled across a trio of siblings called the Peasall Sisters. I ordered their CD and the song that got to me the most (as Flylady would say "purple puddles"), was Jesus Laughing. Wanted to share this with you, but I'll have to wait till I figure out how to attach it to a blog. It's a must hear!

After much pondering, I created a new tote.

Give me your thoughts on this one

Have a fab-u-lous Thursday. God bless us everyone.

I had a wonderful birthday yesterday. I heard from all my favorite people and that made it a great day. I especially loved it when Nancy sang the birthday song to me. Brought tears to my eyes.

So here's a funny story. Winston called me last night and the conversation went something like this:

"I wanted to speak to a 60 year old woman."

"Then you'll have to call me next year because I'm only 59!"

"Are you sure?"

"Unnhhh! YEAH! I was born in 1949!"

Today has been another really good day healthwise -- as long as I take the Motrin regularly, I function pretty well. I'm not dancing any jigs, but I'm getting errands run and doing a few things at home. That's 3 days in a row and I'm feeling just like Ginger when she says "I'm so happy, if I was a dog my tail would be wagging!"

This morning I made another tote. I stopped at DollarTree yesterday and bought a bare-minimum kind of tote that I thought had some possibilities, so here's the before and after pictures. Bear in mind, it's just a prototype.

BEFORE

AFTER

For the next one, I think I'll use a different (similar but stiffer) fabric for the lining and I'll make the embroidered initial Hot Pink instead of orange. Let me know what you think. I need the constructive feedback because I bought 2 more of these today and I'm going to try to sell them on ebay.

Well, my Sweetheart is home now and we've got barbeque, potato salad, Dos Equis and a movie for dinner at our favorite theatre-- our sitting room. Okay -- none of the food is low calorie or low fat, but it's Friday night!

Gotta celebrate Friday!

I haven't written in awhile -- This back problem has had me down for three full weeks and I'm ready to be OVER it.. I've been refusing to accept it as a sign of aging, but whenever I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I slowly walk by the mirror, I have to remind myself -- even very young people sometimes injure their backs.


No matter -- I'm finally on the mend and I've been trying to do a few things now and then, here and there. I've been able to cook for the last few days -- mostly with Bob's help, but nevertheless, I've been VERTICAL and I consider that a triumph! Yesterday we fixed Beef with Rosemary Mushroom Sauce (from Cooking Light magazine) and it was very, very good. The Oven-Fried Catfish we tried last Saturday will have to be modified -- it didn't rate real high on Bob's list of favorites -- but last night was a true winner. Tonight we're preparing Walnut-Crusted Salmon with roasted asparagus. Sounds good. I'll let you know how it turns out. This is a Martha Stewart recipe from her new Everyday Food publication. Not all of the recipes in the book are low calorie/low fat, but many of them are and so far everything we've tried has been tasty.



Big surprise -- Bob bought me a new sewing machine and it embroiders. Woohoo! It arrived the weekend before I hurt my back! In spite of the back injury, I've managed to make one item .. a little at a time. It's a purse inspired by a Kate Spade tote. I figure if she can put her name on a tote she designed, I can do the same thing with a purse I designed. I used a matching toile on the inside. I may make a couple of toile items to go with it -- tissue holder, check cover. It may take a little time to complete those. It's the old gag -- Slowly I turn... step by step ... inch by inch. That's exactly how things are for me right now! LOL!












I think I'll do a few things differently for the next one (pockets, etc), but all in all I'm pleased. I think it's sassy!



Oh, by the way. I heard an interesting Willie Nelson song today called I Never Cared for You. I really love it, so I found it on youtube and thought I would share. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guXuQTbgwNk This is the long version and it's preceded by some wonderful instrumentals. I liked this so much, I ordered the Teatro CD from Amazon. Can't wait to get it.


Okay - BIG ANNOUNCEMENT. Tomorrow is my B-day. I have a philosophy regarding birthdays. As I approach them, long before the big day arrives I'll start saying to myself "I'm almost 34". (or whatever) As a result, I get confused around that time of year and then can't remember if I'm still 33 or am I 34 already.


However, for the BIG birthdays (you know -- those that end in zero) I start saying to myself, "well, as long as I've achieved (XX ... buying a house ... financial solvency ... getting down to a certain size dress ... whatever my pressing need or desire is for that period of time) THEN I'll feel okay about turning 40." (or whatever) Fortunately, because I start this process about a year in advance, I usually DO achieve whatever the goal is for that year. (This proves my belief that setting goals and focusing on them with a good amount of intensity DOES work).


SOOOOOOO, since next year has a zero at the end (notice how I'm not mentioning exactly which B-day it is?) -- my goal is to walk 5 miles ... with ease. Not only that, I want my family and even a few friends to walk the 5 miles with me. I'm thinking we could walk in Trinity Park in Fort Worth. I'll send out the particulars at the beginning of 2009, but I thought I'd give you all a big old HEADS UP that I'm expecting you all to walk with me next year and celebrate .... okay, I'll say it ... my sixtieth birthday!


BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!

I finally have a rose on my new rose bushes! Knock-out is the first to bloom this season and I think it's beautiful.

My plans are to have a "sister's" rose arbor in the back eventually, but there are several big projects that come before that (finish the barn, build a porch, relocate the greenhouse ...). However, I wanted the rose bushes now so they will get larger and more hardy and I can propogate additional plants from them. I've never propagated anything before, so this should be interesting and exciting!

Retirement is fu-u-un!

When I was planning my "formal" retirement party back in August, I had decided on a color scheme of turquoise and ivory. I wanted to have some special plates to serve the Sacher tortes, so I went to the local thrift store & Goodwill to see if I could find something appropriate in either glass or plain ivory. What I found instead was a set of plates rimmed in turquoise that looked perfect, so I bought the set ($3.00 for six plates) and used those to hold the tortes, rumballs, etc. It was a real low cost way to jazz things up a little.

When I brought the plates home after the party, Bob and I decided to keep them rather than re-donating to Goodwill. Shortly afterwards I bought some placemats from the Dollar Tree that look great with the plates. On Friday I was in Big Lots and found some glasses I HAD to have. I have been looking for juice glasses to brighten the breakfast table and VOILA these also match the plates! I love it when a plan comes together -- on the cheap!

On a completely different note, Billie gave me an assignment on Friday. It went something like this ... "Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find an alternate option for Sister's Weekend located in the general DFW area". So, instead of working outside today (good grief, the thermometer says it's only 60 out there!), I've spent the afternoon looking at B&B's in the plains & prairies region of Texas.

My best bets so far are:
http://www.lakewhitneybandb.com/
This has rooms from $95.00 to $135.00. It has a pool and it overlooks Lake Whitney. It's fairly close to Hillsboro which provides plenty of shopping & dining.

http://www.letsgocountry.com/
This is located in Waco and has rooms from $120.00 to 150.00. It's a 127 acre working farm that is very highly rated as a B&B.

I'm still looking, so more info will follow. What I'd truly love to find is an inexpensive place where we can be pampered. Sounds good, huh? I'll post new discoveries as I make them.