A Busy Weekend

Saturday, Jan. 26 was the open house at Ideal Products. They had a little cookout to celebrate the new building, but best of all they had the big flag from Camp Leatherneck hanging up.

Eventually it will be covered with plexi glass. They also had the certificate framed and it is hanging on the wall of the quality control room.

I am very sad to say that I wasn't able to see it though. It was a last minute thing but two of my friends from college whom I rarely see were free for the weekend and we decided to have a girl's night/day in Madison. We stayed at the Madison Concorse Hotel and Lisa was able to get the hotel for free with her frequent flier miles so it was a real treat.

On Saturday we visited the Wisconsin History Museum. After the museum we  just wandered up and down State Street. There was a protest against the mine going on at the capital.

 

We watched for a while and were very amused to see that one of the protesters was dressed as a Jedi complete with light saber. It gets kind of grainy but if you look closely you can see him...

 

We had lunch at a great little cafe downtown. The food was superb. I had a rueben sandwhich and beer and cheese soup. I am definitely going to have to find a recipe to make it myself.

 

It was a really great weekend!

 

 

Waldo Watchers: There is one Waldo in this post.

 

Scripture Verse of the Day:

 

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God."

1 John 4:7

 

 

Filling Time...

Projects, Projects and More Projects

Even though I haven't started my new job yet my days are as full as they can be. I have many projects started and sitting around and can walk into almost any room and pick up something to do. Some of these projects have been on the back burner for a while and now that I have a little more time on my hands (theoretically) I've been knocking them off my list. Usually they are sparked by some need or problem that I've been trying to solve. Here are just a few of the things I've been working on and the goals behind them...

Goal:
Make more comfortable sleeping arrangments for our not-at-all-spoiled-or-indulged doxies.

Idea source number 1:
crocheted cat house by Eilen Tein

I saw this on Pinterest and thought, hmmm, I have all those old sheets I've been saving for no good reason...

So the last two days I've working on tearing old sheets into strips and crocheting them into a rather sturdy little dog house/basket.

I realized though that I have to stop this project occasionally. Crocheting with the sheet strips is somewhat difficult work and my tendonitis prone wrists begin to complain. Heeding the warning signs I will set the basket aside and turned to other projects like dog pockets.

I follow a dog named Obie on facebook. Obie is an overweight dachshund who was adopted by a woman named Nora. He has lost over 20 pounds and is down to around 50 from 77. Obie has a Puppy Pocket which you can see in some of his photos and that was my idea source number 2:

Biggest Loser Doxie Edition

 Since our doxies like to burrow and snuggle...

but can't always manage it with a flat blanket...

I thought I'd try my hand at making some pockets from old blankets that I also have lying around...

The project worked perfectly and the dogs are very happy in their little dog pockets. :)

 

The only problem is I didn't make enough to keep them in rotation while some are in the laundry. I guess I'll have to make more!

Another project I'm working on will be special gifts for some special people in my life. Here's a little peak but that's all you get...

When I'm not doing all of those things, I've been working on invitations for Nick and Tanya's wedding. This is going to be a big project but a very fun one! I recently sent a sample to Tanya for approval and have been getting my work crew on stand-by for the big invite construction day.

It's been a good time to be doing projects like this inside the house because the weather has been COLD...

...and it just keeps getting colder as the hours and days drag on.

To make things even more fun we've been having trouble with the furnace. It heats but only to luke warm. The furnace guy came three days straight and it is still not fixed. It is an old system and replacement parts are difficult to find. Libby has become a semi-permanent attachment to my lap...

...and when she's not on my lap she lays in front of the portable heater the furnace guy left here until he can fix the furnace.

 

 

In spite of the cold we have hopeful signs of spring in the house. The Gerbera daisy on the kitchen window is sporting a new blossom...

...which makes me very happy. :)

On January 21 I went to visit my parents and had lunch with them, my aunt Linda and her husband Don, my cousin Eric and his son. It was a really fun time catching up with them and had the added bonus of making plans to use Eric's DJ service for Tiffany's wedding. After all the Schultzes left Dad showed me the progress he's been making on his project which is wooden table number hearts for Nick and Tanya's wedding. They are going to look really great!

 

Grandma has her apartment decorated in an interesting arrangement of items that combined a winter theme with red and white for Valentine's day. It made me smile.

 

 

And Tiffany and I have been knocking things off her wedding list too. She chauffers me around sometimes so we can get shopping and other things done...

 

Recently Tiffany found out she will be moving to working days which she is really happy about. I am too. Working nights has been really hard on her and her social life. I feel like I rarely see her even though she still lives at home.

 

Jim's been busy too. He keeps getting buried with new orders at work, what a great problem to have! But we still find some time to do fun things. He came home with steak and sweet potatos the other night and we had a feast.

So the bottom line is we are busy but still find time to have some fun, and that is probably how life should be.

 

Waldo Watchers there are two Waldos to find in this post.             Happy hunting!

 

 

Photo of the Day:

 

 

 

Scripture Verse of the Day:

 

Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor. Pr. 12:24

Celebrating 30 Years

January 14, 2013 marked the thirtieth anniversary of Jim's and my first date. It is amazing to think we have been together for more than half my life. It doesn't seem that long and I feel blessed to say I wouldn't give up a single day of our time together.

Jim took off two days from work for this occasion and planned a special mini-vacation for us. He booked the honeymoon suite that we stayed in on our wedding night...

...it looks a little different twenty-five years later. It would have been really nice except for the fact that there was NO HEAT. Since it was single digit temperature outside that was a bit of an issue. After two calls to the front desk and waiting an hour and a half for the wall heater to kick in we gave up and moved to another room. I still give Jim big points for the idea though!

The next two days we went to antique malls and just bummed around taking our time looking and laughing at random things...

 

 

 

When we see stuff like this the only thing we can ask is "Why?!"

Jim has been on the lookout for a BB gun like the one he had as a boy and we were excited to find this one which is the closest we've come so far...

...unfortunately it was broken. We are encouraged though and are going to keep looking. Jim also saw and really liked this sign...

...he wants to hang one like it at work.

We have been really missing having a fireplace and were tickled to find this one which also nicely fit right in our budget...

...but then we saw THIS one...

...which was really almost tempting, until we saw the best one of all!

In fact, for less than $300 we could have had this entire ensemble for our livingroom. We almost thought about doing it, but then I remembered I had just gotten a "new" couch at the thrift store only a few months ago. We decided to be hold off and be content with what we have. Someone else will get to enjoy this particular set of treasures.

One of the more interesting and bizarre things I saw while we were antique-malling was this little gem...

 

 

 

The tag says "Camel cigarette packages folded into jewelry box with drawer and double fold top. Made at Rayford Prison, Florida, by inmate - 1950s    $165"

We left it on the shelf but will keep it in mind as a unique gift idea the next time we need something for a person who has everything else.

We did buy a few things but nothing big. The thing I was most excited about was this old pot holder...

I've never seen one like it. At first I was gonna try and make it myself but then decided not to bother when I could buy this one. I just love it!

On the 14th we stopped for lunch at Burger King (we go all out when we are on dates) and I was amused to realize Jim was sitting there in the booth surrounded by hearts. I asked him to sit still for a picture. I think it was a very appropriate backdrop for the man I love on our anniversary. (Isn't he a good sport?)

On our last night before getting back to real life Jim decided to let the Colonel cook supper. The Colonel was happy to comply and he even cooperatively posed with me for pictures...

 

He looked like a really nice guy at first but it didn't take us long to realize he was cold and rather set in his ways. We ate there anyway.

 

While we were out Natalie called and asked if we would please bring her some peanutbutter M&Ms. Being the good and indulgent parents that we are, we of course stopped on the way home to get her some. We couldn't believe it when we found the Walmart shelves had NONE. We were even more surprised to get to Pick & Save and find none on those shelves either...

 

 

The only peanutbutter M&Ms in the whole store were this ONE box in this ONE display.

 

 

It was Natalie's lucky night and she was appropriately grateful...

 

...good answer.

 

Photo of the Day:

 

Scripture Verse of the Day:

 

"My times are in your hands,"

Ps. 31:15