Wednesday's Child...

... is full of woe."  Why?  Why would Wednesday's child be full of woe??  Is it because she is a red-headed middle child?  These are the things that cause me to lose sleep at night.

Thank you for all your well wishes.  I was feeling much better and thought that I should fix the hubs a decent dinner.  As soon as things got cooking I promptly tossed those darn cookies again.

Note to self:  No More Cookies.

Thank you to Tee over at Brown Eyed Belle for giving me the Honest Scrap award.  More to come on that later when I can give it all of my attention.  There are rules you know.

I watched "Biggest Loser" tonight for the first time and I swear to you that I don't think I can watch it again.  It was so cruel and my goodness, my emotions were all over the place.  Those of you who watch this show... is it always like this?  I doubt I would last through orientation if I were there... I'm rather sensitive that way.

Fall did not gently send Summer on her way as I had imagined.  No rather, Fall kicked Summer's butt to the curb and came rolling in here with winds, rain, and cool temps.  I had to turn the furnace on today...  in September,  that sound you hear is me crying... heat on in September... can't be good.

And last but not least, how can one fruit-fly cause so much angst?

have a good Wednesday
see you tomorrow with photos!
mama pajama

Toss across..

... it was a beautiful weekend here, the kind where Summer knows it's being gently kicked to the curb and Fall is on her way in all her wonder.

We went to a bb-q at my son/daughter-in-laws house Saturday to celebrate the end of the season one more time before all the holiday hustle and bustle is among us.  They live about 1-1/2hours from us on Allki point.  It is a beautiful beach situated at the tip of Alki.  From their house, which is across the street from the beach, you can see the islands to the north and the city of Seattle to the east, sitting in all it's wondrous glory on this evening.

As we pulled up the beach was starting to clear out for the day with only the remnants of a few weddings that had taken place earlier.  It is a magnificent backdrop for a wedding or any other celebration.  We could see all the little girls that have become part of our extended family playing on the beach.  You could hear their laughter and delight mixed in with all the other beach sounds at the end of the day... magical.

As we headed up the stairs we could see a few of the family on the deck and could smell several other grills as though everyone had the same idea this evening.  It was still warm but with a slight fall feel in the air.  I couldn't wait to get inside and see everyone.  

We have come, in the last few months, to feel as though all my son's in-laws are family.  They are generous and kind to a fault and never, ever, fail to make each and every one of us special in their lives.  A gift we had been in need of for quite some time.

We made our way inside and greeted each other, including my daughter and her husband.  This was to be a fun evening... about fifteen of us, including six little girls under the age of ten!
I was in the kitchen talking with my hubs and putting food away when suddenly it happened. 

At first, I was chilled, then quickly that turned to heat.  It was so warm suddenly and the smell of food seemed obnoxious.  And then... and then... and then...

I tossed my cookies.  Yep, right there in the hallway between the kitchen and the bathroom.  Yep, I did.  
After grabbing a towel and some tissue, and thanking the hubs for cleaning up, I went to bed where I stayed all evening with chills and a fever... and a barf-bucket.  Gah!

I slept for most of the evening which allowed the hubs time to visit and eat, then we made our way back the 1-1/2hours home.

 On the upside, I was awake all night and watched the movie "West Side Story."  I have missed many of the classics over the years and now I am thinking that I really should catch up on them... minus the being sick part.  So what do you recommend?  What is your favorite 'classic' hit?

sipping tea and feeling 100% better,
mama pajama

Lets play Jeopardy...

...O.K., Alex, what is today's answer?

The answer is..."What is 19 out of the last 24 hours?"

Que 'Tea-pot' music.....

And the question is..."how many hours did I sleep today."

sometimes the pain wins.  I will be back soon, with pictures of the new closet and some cute treasures I found recently.  Sweet dreams....

sleepy,
mama pajama 

Tuesday's tids...

...can it possibly be Tuesday already?

• in defense of my shirt addiction (and I apparantly need one), these are in several sizes as my weight changes as often as the seasons.
• I have only two pairs of jeans...fingers crossed.
• I have exactly four pairs of shoes.
• "I have a shirt addiction."
• Yesterday was my sister's 50th Birthday, how can that be?  I swear we were just children.
• It feels strange having a baby sibling that 'old.'
• I started putting away the deck furniture yesterday.
  
• It's supposed to be in the 80's all next week.
• I'm off to bring out the deck furniture...enjoy your Tuesday!

the mama pajama

One bad apple...

...can spoil the whole bunch.

Several years ago, when my son moved away from home, his bedroom quickly became the drop-it-get-it-out-of-the-way room.  Anything we couldn't readily find a place for, found a place in that room and quickly the closet was overflowing along with several bookshelves and cupboards.  You get the picture, I know you do.

I kindly told my husband that if he cleaned up the room he could have it as his own.  His sort of 'man' room, where he could watch t.v., have a nice desk, read...whatever. 

I waited, and waited and waited, and years passed and the room grew wearier.

A couple of years ago I claimed it as my own and began sorting through all the wonderful thrift shop finds, old clothes, the stuff the kids left behind when they moved out, etc.  I cleaned the bookshelves and organized crafting projects and boxed up everything that needed to be saved and quickly moved it into the closet in my daughter's old room.  Last summer, for my B-day, the hubs gave me a closet organizer.  I had decided to move my clothes out of our shared closet and into my own.  And since blogger won't let me upload any pics you will have to take my word for it...I loved it!  It is the type with shelves down the middle, a two-tiered hanging section on one side and then a one-tiered (?) hanging section on the other side of the shelves.  I filled that baby up real quick.

Yesterday, I decided that I wanted to organize the clothes according to color, rather than long-sleeve, short-sleeve, tank-top...now... it is a beautiful sight.  White, black, grey, orange (what the heck?), blue, green.  Then on the bottom rack are all of my blouses.   And dresses, long tops are on the other side.  In the middle, on the shelves, I put pull-out baskets. (again, no pics)  I couldn't wait to put my hands on my hips and show the hubs all my lovely work.

Before I go any further I have a confession...I have an inherited condition that causes me to buy shirts.  Not t-shirts, or blouses, but, shirts.  They are nice, easy to care for, can be worn anywhere and with most any type of pant or skirt.  I cannot control this desire, there is no medication or cure...I must have them...many, many, of them.  Close to 80 in fact, not including vests, sweaters, or sweatshirts....it's a sickness I tell you with all my heart!

So here we have this beautiful, stuffed, but color coordinated closet and I am showing it off to the hubs and the dog (who seems mildly interested for some reason) when all of a sudden a gigantic-huge-very large-extremely creepy-spider comes walking out.  You all know that I can deal with a lot of things but spiders creep me out, ESPECIALLY when they are in my closet, living lives and having families in. my. clothes....I am going to be sick....I have a thousand questions...


I may have just found a cure for my shirt disease...
how was your weekend?


mama pajama 

Be Grateful...

Be Grateful

for good music, for dark chocolate,
for a place to call home, for warm hugs,
for quiet time, freedom to dream, for family time,
for understanding souls, for kindred spirits,
for true forgiveness, for sweet memories,
for pink bubblegum, for silliness, for red shoes,
for blue skies, for every breath,
for sunshine on your face, for a child's laughter,
for God's grace...Be Grateful

I don't remember where I saw this but I loved it right away.  If you know who wrote it please let me know...take a moment today to be grateful...

mama pajama

Wednesday's Tuesday's Tids...

...I don't know if I should scream or cry, or have a glass of wine!

• when we got home from running some errands, on Saturday, there was a phone message for me from my doctor.  Can that ever be good?
• she needed to see me ASAP regarding some lab work I had done earlier in the week.
• I called Monday to schedule said appointment...no one knew what I was talking about.  I got an appointment for Tuesday at 6pm.  (office hours end at 5pm)
• all the worry was for naught.  I have a few issues in my lab values but they are known to my doc and it is something we have been addressing for several months.  geez, wine or Valium?
• sadly my vegetable garden and flowers are winding down for the season.  Now the clean up will start...I love fall, not so much the clean up.
• we have seven maple trees in our back yard. 
• and thistles...we have many, many thistles.  Tomatoes I cannot grow...thistles...yes!
• on the Hydrangea drying front: the lavender-blue blooms are coming along just fine.  I put them in a vase with 1inch on water in the bottom and will let them dry naturally.  I tried the same with the vivid-pink and within a few days they had shriveled up.  I have a few more of the pink blooms so I may just try one of your other ideas.  

So that's it for this Wednesday/Tuesday.  Stay tuned for some more interesting posts...you know..if I can think of anything!

in need of assistance,
mama pajama  

The fabric store...

A few weeks ago I went to the fabric shop.  I haven't been to a fabric shop in many, many years.  Let me be perfectly clear...I am not a sewer.  Oh, that does not look right...hmmm...I am not a seamstress, nor am I a sewer.   I went to the fabric shop to find some thing nice and sophisticated to cover my $5 chair with and to have a look around.  I was amazed and astonished at all the wonderful things to be found.  Fabric, crafts, framing, classes, more and more.  It certainly was not my mama's fabric store!  (I doubt my mama ever trekked into a fabric store)

I found "fat quarters," and was immediately charmed by the name and the beautiful fabrics.  There were pretty pinks, and lovely greens, and fun red mixes.  "Fat quarters" are 1/4 yard of fabric.  There are also "Fat Eights," which I assume are 1/2 a quarter.  Isn't this fun?  That's why I never really liked sewing...it's too much like math.  Anyway, the quarters and eights are loved by quilters.  I have not decided what I will do with my "fats" but I am confident it will not include a quilt.


I also got some fabric with dragonflies (aqua) and butterflies (pink) to use for accent pillows for the bed in my guestroom.  That is also another DIY project that is in progress.

I had fun browsing and I think I will be heading back again soon.  I picked up some flyers and they offer many fun/interesting classes.  I may just become a sewer yet!  And, how can you not be in love with a place that gives you such a pretty bag to put all that fabric in?

Do you sew?  Is it for fun and crafts like myself or are you a serious seamstress...a quilter?  What is you most favorite creation?  Have a happy Monday y'all.



mama pajama

Tuesday's tids...

...the late edition.  How was everyone's Holiday weekend??  Has my font/size changed again?  I seem to be having trouble with it changing on it's own so who knows what might pop up next.

• all those plans I had for the weekend...remember...? The street fair? the yard sale? the DIY project? the barbecuing?  Didn't happen..not one single one of them.
• We had two inches of rain on Sunday.
• and a Tornado.  Yep, we are number 46th in the country for number of tornadoes each year and those are always on the east side of the state.  We had one, a 2 on the "scale" here...just up the road from us.
• there was quite a bit of damage, at least to someone who has never been involved in such a thing.  OMG, I can't even fathom the force of the Tornadoes in Texas and Oklahoma.  You are all so brave!
• I have some "funky" eye/hand sypmtoms that have kept me off my feet and from blogging.  I can't say much more than that now but I have an appointment with a Rheumatologist soon and plan on getting some answers.
• Naps...they are my new best friend.
• here is a picture of my DIY project, lest you think I'm making it up!

 O.K. the top picture is some fabric I picked out (I went to the fabric store for the first time), along with some paint and the seat of the chair, which is pictured below.  The chair was a $5 find at the town yard sale a few weeks ago.  I'm planning on sanding it down, then painting it either Nutmeg or Kona Brown.  I'll post when/if I get it done.  We can always use an extra dining chair at holiday time.


signed,
sleepy mama pajama 

Raindrops and Hydrangeas...

...as I left the doctor office today, there was no denying that fall is in the air. As much as I want to push it back a few weeks and enjoy this wonderful summer, I will have to admit that it is September and soon the frost will be on the pumpkins. Meanwhile, I take a walk around my garden and savor the beautiful blooms that will soon be gone for another season.
I just love this Hydrangea. I received it as a Birthday gift this year and the color is one that I have never had before. It is such a deep, rich lavender- pink that the photo does not do it justice.
I would love to dry these blooms and enjoy them all winter long. In searching the "bing" I have come upon three different ways to do this. One: cut the blooms and hang them upside down in a cool-dark place. (I've tried this with other flowers before without much luck) Two: just let them dry on the plant and cut them before the first frost. And Three: cut the blooms, place them in a vase half full of water and let them stand until the water has evaporated.

Have any of you tried either of these ideas? I'm wondering which one works best and whether or not you were able to maintain the gorgeous colors. I also have a blue one, and another that is a very, very pale lavender. I would like to try drying these also. Any tips would be helpful...
So, here we are at the last holiday weekend of the year. (don't know why the font, color and underline changed) and the official end to the wearing of white. Does that old saying still exist? We will be heading out to a nearby street fair and hopefully the farmers market. I also want to work on my DIY project so I can show it off next week. We will probably be grilling something yummy and watching some baseball too. What have you got planned?

stay safe and be kind to you!
mama pajama

Tuesday's tids...

...now, with more bits.

• this is quickly becoming a Tuesday only blog, I must get a life.
• I don't know why the font changed but blogger refuses to let me change it back, do you have blogger issues from time to time?
• my "chotskies" are getting out of control.
• I broke a tooth Friday night while flossing. Who breaks a tooth while doing the one thing they tell you that you must do everyday (besides brushing).
• if you have an extra $367.00 I know where you can send it.
• I bought something from a fellow blogger a few months ago, (said blogger does not come here) and never received it. Now she won't answer my e-mails, funny, she had no problem taking my money.
• all of our Maple trees are changing color...beautiful. I think fall is getting pushy, it's not quite time for summer to take a holiday.
• Yikes...boring.

That's this weeks edition. Oh, look--my font is back! Really not much going on here. I am searching for some more vintage linens and have yet to work on my DIY projects. Tell me...what do you collect?

tired,
mama pajama