Break Time

Please pardon this quilting blogger while I take a break to go crochet myself some fingerless gloves. The combination of carpal tunnel syndrome and the bitter cold are making my hands hurt and I really think this will help.

Thank you for your patience.
Hugs,
Melinda

P.S. Isn't this picture just the cutest?

Barnacles

So I have an illustration to share with you. I wrote this for a friend who is dealing with some major child abuse issues, but in reading over it today, I see that it applies for everyone. I hope you can gain some insight and benefit from this.

Okay, here is my illustration. (I woke up this morning with this illustration and you on my mind.)

Think of a sail boat. When it first comes out of production, it is sleek and beautiful and clean and has good lines and is just all over pretty. And then you put it in the water and you sail. And sail and sail. If you are lucky, you get to sail that boat for many years. That sailboat enjoys sailing. It was made to sail. Made for the water.

But what happens when you pull it out of the water at the end of the season? There are barnacles all over it. Those tough little parasites are stuck to the ship, literally cemented to it. That if you let them stay there, they will continue to grow and attract other barnacles and continue to build up on your sail boat and make it heavier and heavier and less buoyant and less maneuverable.

And in order to get them off of your sail boat, you have to get a chisel and scrape them off.

Did the sail boat ask to have barnacles all over it? No. It's a hazard of sailing in the "waters of sin." We all have to sail there. We all get barnacles. But some of our sail boats don't have owners who will take the boat out every season and scrape all those barnacles off, and so they continue to build.

And at the risk of pushing this illustration too far, you are a sailboat whose owner (parents) didn't scrape the barnacles of self-loathing, worthlessness, doubt, anger, and .... CRUD off of you. Instead, they left you in the waters of sin and allowed those barnacles to keep growing. And even sailed you through the waters that were more infested with these parasites.

But you are out of the water now. The end of that season is over. You have a new owner. Actually your original owner has come to claim you back. Jesus has pulled you out of the water. And he is scraping the barnacles off. I know it hurts, and I know they are clinging to you refusing to budge, but he wants you to be clean again. One of these days, you will be back in the water, and you will be able to guide the other sail boats through the water, and you will be able to direct them to their owner, Jesus, who will take care of them.

In the meantime, please try to hang in there. I know you are hurting, but underneath all of the barnacles of self-worthlessness, and self-destructiveness, there is a beautiful beautiful ship, and one day, you will enjoy sailing again.

Major hugs and prayers for you.
Melinda

Changes

I'm going to be playing around today. I've often thought that I didn't really like the templates provided by Blogger, but I didn't want to pay for a cute layout. I've just discovered a website that apparently offers free templates. :D So just ignore me while I'm playing.

Hugs,
Melinda

[eta] I think I'm through for the moment. Let me know what you think. Is anything to hard to read? Is it too pink? Opinions please.

Forget Google!

So have you heard of Swag Bucks yet? It's where you can do online searches and win points for doing those searches. Then you can turn in the points for cool stuff...... I just signed up yesterday, so I don't have a lot of points yet, but I'm really excited about it.

The really cool part about it is that they use the Google search engine for their searches, so I get to use the engine I love, but get rewarded for doing it. Isn't that cool?

I do have to say that I first learned about this because of Money Saving Mom. And then Leaving Excess reminded me of it. I figured, why not? And in two days, I've already gotten 6 Swagbucks. Not only that, they support cell phone recycling, and since I'm going to have a new phone on Tuesday, I'll be getting trading it in for even more swagbucks.

I wish I had more time to talk about it, but Little Bit is begging for lunch. Go sign up using this link or click on one of these banners (also found at the bottom of the page). That's so I can get the credit for referring you and you know... more swagbucks. :D

Have a good day!
Hugs,
Melinda

A nice giveaway

Okay, so bear with me. Over at MomAdvice, she is hosting a Nice Giveaway. Wal-Mart is giving her a chance to giveaway a $500 gift card. Tell me that's not a nice giveaway. I don't want you to enter, because I want to win the card. LOL

Entry is a bit complicated. One, you can leave a comment on her blog here with a holiday money saving tip. You can get a second entry by blogging about it, along with her blog site, a mention about Wal-Mart and one about Nickelodeon along with another holiday money saving tip.

Let me tell you one thing, and this may disqualify me. I don't generally shop at Wal-Mart, especially the Super Centers. It seems like every time I go in for one thing and come out with 20. That's one way I save money year round.... I stay out of Wal-Mart. But in this time of economic hardship, I'll take anything I can in order to make sure my children have a good Christmas.

But my kids love Nickelodeon. That was one of the downsides of going back to no cable. No more Blue's Clues and Dora the Explorer.

Now for my holiday money saving tip..... hmm... it needs to be good. Well, one thing is the "letter to Santa Claus." My children's letter gets mailed in care of Grandpa who lives in Nashville. Sometimes he can help with the bigger items, but the letter lets me know exactly what to get (happy children) and what not to get (wasted money). That way, everyone is happy.

But I don't think that's what I need to submit. How about this? I humbly submit that I do not send out Christmas cards. I do not spend money on cards for people I rarely ever speak to. I do not spend money on postage stamps for those same cards. Don't get me wrong. It's nice to receive those cards, but at the same time, I have a problem with sending cards to everyone and their dog. So.... if you don't enjoy that process.... don't do it. Save yourself a bit of money.

And now I feel like saying "Bah Humbug"

Hugs,
Melinda

And the Winners Are........... (drumroll please)

I don't know how to do a snap shot of the Random Integers Generator, so you will have to trust me on this. The winners are....

#2 -- Jenna

#18 -- FibreJunky

And #9 -- Erin :D

Erin wanted the pillowcases, and FibreJunky wanted either the pillowcases or the drink, and Jenna didn't care. So... Erin gets the pillowcases, FibreJunky gets my special coffee/cocoa mix, and Jenna will get a special Christmas Apron. (Ya'll watch for an e-mail in the next few minutes, okay?)

Happy Holidays everyone, and thanks for playing along. :D

Hugs,
Melinda

Post #300 -- WOOHOO!

This is the official 300th post of Hugs, Melinda. As a gift to my loyal readers (and all 5 of you know who you are), I am posting my recipe for Chicken Soup Casserole.

This is a combination of two recipes that I was making roughly 10 years ago when my brother in law called and said he was coming for dinner.

Timmy's Chicken Soup Casserole.

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed.
1 stick of butter
1 8oz package of cream cheese
1 8oz carton of sour cream
1 can of Campbell's cream of chicken soup with herbs
1 package of refrigerated crescent rolls (even better... use the new crescent creations by Pillsbury)
1 more stick of butter
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers

Preheat the oven to whatever temperature your crescent rolls call for. It's usually 375.

Place the cut up chicken into the bottom of a casserole dish. I use my Pampered Chef stoneware baker -- 9x13 I think.

Melt the first stick of butter in a saucepan. Blend the cream cheese, sour cream and chicken soup into the melted butter, until it's as smooth as you can possibly get it. Pour that sauce over the chicken. Unroll the crescent rolls and place them on top of the sauce mixture.

Melt the second stick of butter in the saucepan (I usually use the same one, so that I get all the leftover sauce bits.) Once the butter is melted, crush the sleeve of Ritz crackers and mix with the butter. Sprinkle this mixture over the crescent rolls.

Place in preheated oven. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until crescent rolls are golden brown.

Now, I usually add some crushed garlic when I'm making the sauce. It's a taste preference, so whatever you think is enough. Also, if you want, you can add a layer of frozen vegetables (peas work well) on top of the sauce and under the crescents, but I can't get my kids to eat them, so I normally don't do that. You can use low fat versions of the cream cheese and sour cream, you can use cream of mushroom soup, you can add basil or thyme or paprika, you don't have to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts just because I do. This seems to be a very versatile recipe, and I highly encourage you to play with it and make it your own.

Hugs,
Melinda

PS. I have submitted this recipe to allrecipes.com, but so far, it's still listed as "In review." The link is here.

Giveaway Details!

***Today is the last day. It's almost the last 2 hours. Don't forget to sign up!***

This giveaway is for my 3 year blog-o-versary and my (soon to come) 300th post, I am going to give away 3 items.

Item #1: A stylish Christmas apron in one of the styles of this pattern. It will be perfect for the holidays.

Item #2: A stylish set of pillowcases. You tell me your two favorite colors, and I'll pick the fabrics. (See previous post for example picture.)

Item #3: A jar of my (almost) famous coffee mix. To die for. Really. Cappuccino, hot chocolate, french vanilla, etc...... Yumminess you can drink. :D

So now for the yucky rules......
Leave your name. Leave some way of contacting you (If I can't contact you, I can't send you your prize). Only enter once (I reserve the right to delete duplicate comments). Leave a comment telling me what was the best Christmas present you ever received. And if you have a preference, let me know which item you are most interested in. (Marie.... you can't have #3. I'm making you one for your Christmas present.... SHHH!!!)

I'll run this giveaway for one week. Which means on Nov 25 at roughly 8:00 pm central time, I will use the random number generator to see who gets what.

I think I've covered everything. In the meantime, enjoy my new favorite YouTube video. :D

Hugs,
Melinda

Beginning Sewer

So this past weekend was the monthly Quiltathon over at Judy's blog. I didn't actually get a chance to "quilt" because besides taking care of a sick husband, I was also being a teacher this weekend. Sweet Pea made her very first pillow case.

She picked out the main fabric and I showed her which ones went with it. We did the cutting together, but she stitched it and ironed it all by herself.

Can you tell she's proud?

Mommy did learn a very important lesson, the hard way. Never ever leave a 9 year old alone with a hot iron. Even if you think they are old enough, they really aren't. Supervise, supervise, supervise. The good news is that Sweet Pea only had a small burn, and it's already healed.

Hugs,
Melinda

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday! Today is the three year mark of my blog. I didn't know what I was getting into when I started this. I believe this is also post #297. In honor of my three year blog-o-versary and my 300th post, I would like to have a giveaway of some sort.

You'll have to stay tuned, because I don't know what it will be yet. I have to clear it with the CFO because of budget restrictions and all. ;)

Hugs,
Melinda

[edited to take off the really annoying sparkly guy]

The power of Satan (or lack thereof)

I absolutely HAVE to share what I've learned. I'm leading a Bible study for a small group of women. We are using Beth Moore's "When Godly People Do Ungodly Things." I just finished my homework for the week, and what I read, what I understand, just floors me.

The first week of study is about Satan and why he chooses to attack believers. She makes a statement in the member workbook "The archdemon knows his time of trying to undermine [Christ's kingdom] is coming to a close, so he furiously unleashes his power to the full extent of God's permissive will."

What? Permissive will? God lets him do this??? Which got me to remembering the story of Job. (All scriptures taken from New International Version, linked to BibleGateway.com.)

Job 1:12

12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Job 2:6

6 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."

And after remembering about Job, I remembered this passage from 1 Corinthians 10:13 that my mother and I once had a good long discussion about. (But I can't remember the discussion anymore; only that it was good.)

13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

It seems as if this is connecting for some reason. God allows Satan to tempt us. But He also helps us get through those temptations.

The really important thing to understand about my thinking is that I had fallen into the trap of making Satan equal to God, sort of the whole black vs white, good vs evil type of thinking. But that's not true. Satan is a created being. How can a created being be equal to the creator?

Okay, so that in itself is enough to topple my thinking for one day. So imagine my surprise when Beth throws in this other verse.

1 John 5:18

18We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. (NIV)

18We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. (KJV)

Or how about the Amplified Bible, just to clarify.

18We know [absolutely] that anyone born of God does not [deliberately and knowingly] practice committing sin, but the One Who was begotten of God carefully watches over and protects him [Christ's divine presence within him preserves him against the evil], and the wicked one does not lay hold (get a grip) on him or touch [him].

Are you getting this? Do you see it? God loves us SO much. He will allow Satan to tempt us, because he wants us to have free will, but he also loves us so much that he will not allow Satan to hold us down!

Picture this.... The school yard bully walks up to you, and starts poking you. Then he slaps you. Then he flat out hits you and knocks you down. Guess what? He can not keep you on the ground. God will help you get up. God will brush you off, and God will keep you in the palm of his hand, because He is good.

That's all I have to say for now. It was on my heart to share, and I hope that of the 5 people who read my blog, that it will help one person.

Hugs,
Melinda

WFMW - Dustbuster

Oh, I can't believe I almost forgot Works for Me Wednesday. I even really thought about it today.

What works for me is my Dust Buster. I use it to pick up the cereal my child just scattered all over the floor, or in the car, or at church, or.... (do you see a pattern here?) But the AMAZING thing I discovered today is that it also picks up cobwebs.

No, I don't normally have cobwebs all over my house. However, we did just move into a house that had sat vacant for a year and a half. My dust buster gets in there and just sucks them right up. I don't have to worry about. :D

And that's what Works For Me!

Hugs,
Melinda

[Edited to Add -- I just realized I missed WFMW altogether. I guess I'll save this for next week. LOL]

Cardboard Testimonies

First off, I need to say thanks to Natalie Grant for posting about this on her blog.

Have you seen this video? It is so powerful, so moving, and it really makes you stop and think. I don't know where this church is. I don't even know what "denomination" they are. But the truth comes down to this: we are all sinners. We all fall short of the glory of God. We all know about sin, and probably participate in more than one of the sins shown in this video.

But, we also have the same God. The same loving God who sent His son to earth. Who sent His son to DIE for me. He's the only one who has the power to flip over my cardboard sign and give me a fresh start.

It reminds me of this beautiful story/modern day parable I've read. (I'm sorry, I don't know who to give credit to for this story. If you know, please help me rectify that.)

The Quilt

As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with all the other souls.

Before each of us laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many piles. An Angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life.

But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes. Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in everyday life. I saw hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all.

I glanced around me. Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and the bright hues of worldly fortune. I gazed upon my own life and was disheartened.

My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and empty, like binding air.

Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light, the scrutiny of truth.

The others rose, each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been. My angel looked upon me, and nodded for me to rise.

My gaze dropped to the ground in shame. I hadn't had all the earthly fortunes. I had love in my life, and laughter. But there had also been trials of illness, and death, and false accusations that took from me my world, as I knew it. I had to start over many times. I often struggled with the temptation to quit, only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again. I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life. I had often been held up to ridicule, which I endured painfully, each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgmental gaze of those who unfairly judged me.

And now, I had to face the truth. My life was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it was.

I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light. An awe-filled gasp filled the air. I gazed around at the others who stared at me with wide eyes.

Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image, the face of Christ. Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes. He said, "Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles. Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you."

Remember, nothing is so much that God can't overcome it. Isn't today a wonderful day to give it all to Him? What will your cardboard testimony say about the King of kings?

Hugs,
Melinda

Mercy Me Blog

How many of you know the song "I can only imagine" ? It was sung by the band called Mercy Me. Here's the deal. They are performing in Shreveport tomorrow night (October 24). And they are showing the concert online. For free. (Free is always good, right?) The show starts at 7:00 Central time. Here's the link to their online video player. Do me a favor. Hop on over there, and see a great show, hear a great message, and just have fun.

This is one of my favorite songs.


This one is quickly becoming another favorite. But you'll have to click on the link. I can't embed this one.

Hugs,
Melinda

Works for Me Wednesday: Lump free gravy

So, after a L-O-N-G break from Works for Me Wednesday, the carnival hosted by Shannon where bloggers from all over blogosphere get together and share the tips that work for them, I decided to share my secrets for how I make perfect lump free cream gravy.

And no, it's not canned. I actually got the technique from my Betty Crocker cookbook.

Tip #1: Invest in a good whisk. It's so much easier than a wooden spoon or fork.

Tip #2: Remember your proportions. 2 Tbsp fat, 2 Tbsp flour, 1 cup liquid. For cream gravy, this is 2 tbsp butter or margarine, 2 Tbsp Flour, 1 cup milk. For brown gravy it would be 2 tbsp fat drippings, 2 tbsp flour, 1 cup beef broth or other appropriate liquid.

Tip #3: And this is one of the biggest secrets. When you get ready to make your gravy, put your liquid in the freezer and get it REALLY cold. I have pulled milk out with a ring of milk crystals. It works people!

So..... Put your butter in the pan and melt it on medium high heat. When it is bubbling, whisk in your flour. This mixture is called Roux. When that is bubbling (it sort of looks like pancake batter. Sort of.), then pull your milk out of the freezer and slowly and completely whisk that into your roux. If you are using a whisk, you are almost guaranteed lump free gravy. You almost have to boil this for about a minute to get your gravy.

Now, here is the twist. You sort of have to watch it at this point. You don't want it too thin, but if it boils too long, it will get too thick and be like glue. Remove it from the heat when it is the consistency you like.

Personally, I don't add salt or pepper when I'm making my gravy. My husband doesn't like salt, and I don't like pepper. But if you add nutmeg when you're cooking, this makes the basic bechamel sauce in a lot of Italian dishes.

And that's all of my secrets to a perfect lump free cream gravy. Serve over biscuits, toast, whatever your imagination desires. :D

Hugs,
Melinda

All I want for Christmas is.....

A problem free computer.

I love my husband and I'm glad he enjoys his IT position, but I'm getting very tired of the problem computer at home.

Hugs,
Melinda

P.S. The first time I tried to post this, the computer crashed.

Giveaway

I really don't want to share about this giveaway, because I want to win it. If you don't know about it, then I have a better statistical chance of winning it. But in order to get an extra entry, I have to tell you about this giveaway. I think it would be nice to win. I have a 9 year old little girl who is kind of sad about moving next week. This could cheer her up considerably. But I'm not going to tell you about it. Nope, you have to go here and find out about this giveaway yourself. And may the best bear... *cough, cough* um.... person win.

Hugs,
Melinda

Sky pictures

So, I'm an amateur photographer. I won't ever be a "professional," but I do enjoy playing. And I enjoy looking at other peoples photographs for both learning and inspiration.

Somewhere along the way, I signed up for a newsletter called Photojojo. One of the recent editions was titled "Sky Play." I was intrigued.

Did you know that you can capture clouds in a ketchup bottle and squeeze them out again when you need them?
Or, if you have a magical personality *cough, cough* you can zap things. I'm new to this, so my zapping finger is a bit weak and blurry.
Well, the left finger did a bit better. Believe it or not, this is a bit more difficult than it looks.
Oh, my right finger got into gear quite quickly. *Bing* I zapped good thoughts to my friend Sandi. (She lives that direction. Sort of.)
And we'll keeping training this finger.

I'm finding that photography is about having fun with whatever subject you choose to shoot.

Hugs,
Melinda

I'd like to share my heart with you.

I would like to share my heart with you. It's something not easily shared. I have a fondness for potato soup.


Yes, this is the actual potato I used to make last night's soup. It was yummy. So while I would like to share my heart with you, I'm afraid I already ate it. :D

Hugs,
Melinda

Works for Me: Moving

It's been a while since I posted on WFMW. If you haven't ever been to Shannon's blog to read some of the myriad of tips, you ought to try it at least once.

I don't have a lot of time today, but I thought I would post this one tip that is coming in very handy for us right now. And I'm actually shocked at how many people don't know this, too.

We're moving. Which means we need boxes. Lots and lots and lots of boxes. But we don't go to a moving company and pay for boxes. We go to the grocery store. If you go at a time they are restocking (well, any time really), you can get OODLES of boxes for FREE! I recommend egg boxes and banana boxes, because they are the sturdiest. I don't recommend granola bar and frito lay boxes (they are too small to be of much use to us).

The other thing that seems to be working effectively: I wasn't sure that Little Bit was getting the concept of moving. We'll give her a box and tell her to pack her toys. She seems to understand that. We do have to be careful that she doesn't then UN-pack, but we're working on it. :D

Grocery Store = Free Boxes and that Works For Me!

Hugs,
Melinda

In case you were interested....

My UFO quilt won 3rd place for best use of challenge fabric and 2nd place for best use of color.
I'm proud. :D

Hugs,
Melinda

FYI -- Computer Trouble -- Still

FYI -- Computer Trouble

The motherboard on our computer isn't playing nicely. It's taking longer and longer to turn the computer on in the morning. I figure I have less than a month left with the thing. If I disappear for a long time, it's because we are trying to save money to replace it with a nice desktop PC. We have the monitor, keyboard and mouse, so all we need is the hard drive unit thingy.

Gotta dash. Quilt guild meeting tonight.

Hugs,
Melinda

Boogeyman in the Basement

Last but not least, the basement.

The first time we went down these stairs, I got really nauseated and dizzy, and didn't like the basement at all. The washer/dryer hookup is to the right of the stairs in this picture.
Even though it's an older home with a stone foundation, it's remarkably dry. Even so, there are plenty of shelves for storage.
More shelving.
And even more shelving.
There's a mud room sink across from the washer area. It could be turned into a nice little laundry room with a bit of work. (Oh yeah..... to the right of this sink.... even MORE shelves.)

Well, that's it. That's the grand tour. Now we are into the "renegotiate" phase. If that all passes well, then we wait for loan approval (I think). We're also trying to raise some money for an appraisal.

I'm excited. The biggest thing I see is all the potential this house has. It's really nice now, but we can make it so much more. Ya know?

Well, it's late. I better go. Have a good one!

Hugs,
Melinda

The Upstairs bedroom (pt 2)

Remember these windows? Part of the charm, I think. I keep seeing low bookshelves, lots of pillows on the floor. Maybe a bean bag chair.
This is the view out of those windows. See in the back? See in the tree? A tree house AND a swing set. :D There's not a ladder currently, but that's okay. We want to make sure that everything is stable and secure before we let the girls go up there.


On to the problems. I didn't get a good shot of these windows, but...... even though Sweet Pea wouldn't go out here, I can see Little Bit following the inspector's lead and heading out of this window.
There's a problem with the chimney.
The attic space is right off of the upstairs bedroom and it has a leak. This could be the one thing that holds up and keeps us from being able to buy this house.

Well, if you can stand one more set of pictures........ It's time for the basement.

Hugs,
Melinda

The upstairs bedroom (Pt 1)

Let's go upstairs, shall we? The upstairs has been designated the official bedroom/playroom/craft center for the girls. They are loving it.

Here's Little Bit turning on the lights at the top of the stairs.
Here's the other side of the stairs.
See the closets? Just the right size for a "clubhouse." ROFLOL There's one on each side.
"I love my clubhouse, Mommy."
The ceiling is kinda low. That's my head, and I'm trying to show how much space there is to the ceiling.

Ready for part two?

Full bath and odd pictures

So I'm starting this batch with "odd" pictures. Like the inside of the hall closet. I'm not sure why, but I find this closet .... "odd."
Then there's the picture of Sweet Pea headed upstairs. We'll follow her in a minute.
This is the full bathroom. Pink walls. That will be painted. Soon. Very soon.
I love it. It's a semi-deep bathtub, with the perfect slope for my back. :D Bring on the bubbles.
And another "odd" picture. This is a very blurry closeup of the shower ..... what do you call it? The shower tiles? stones? lining? I wanted to make sure I had the colors, because it's a very definite contrast to the pink. walls. that will be painted. very very soon.
If you're still interested, I've got more. :D

Master Bedroom, Hall, half bath, and a surprise.

Hello..... More pictures. This is the hall way. That's a nice built in unit there. The open door is the full bathroom, and the closed door is a closet.
This is the master bedroom. It's a "pretty" purple, isn't it? Don't worry, Dale and I plan on painting it. Soon. It's a fairly longish bedroom. There's a third window just to the left in this picture.
This is the half bath.
With the "surprise." A cedar closet! I'm so excited. I love cedar. It's as close to living in a log cabin as I'll get. LOL
A different view of the half bath.
On to the next batch.

Hugs,
Melinda

Sewing room ??

So there is a room right off of the kitchen. It appears to be an enclosed porch. It's got the most windows of any room in the house, save the upstairs bedroom. It's light blue and "airy." I think it will work nicely for my sewing room.

This is the cabinet that's in there. Lots of space for stash storage, don't ya think? ;)
Isn't it purdy?
Lots and lots of windows. Good for sewing by.
This looks like a good area for a design wall. Maybe. I sort of like those coat hooks on the wall, and that's the back door to the right in this picture. I may leave it.

If I don't use this for a sewing room, then one day, I want to re-wire it and plumb it for a laundry room.

Hugs,
Melinda

Kitchen Pictures

This is the kitchen. Gas stove. Nice cabinets (but I will need some contact paper on the shelves). Nice counter space.
Lots of cabinets. Dishwasher. Fridge goes by the dishwasher.
Pantry. It's wider but more shallow than what we have currently. I'm sure it will be put to good use. Older doorknobs because the doors are original to the house.

I forgot a picture. This is from the dishwasher looking into the hall. The folding white door to the left in this picture is the basement steps. It makes me a bit nervous, but one of my first projects will be to put a hook up high that the girls can't reach to keep it sort of "locked."

Front Porch, Living room and dining room

So this is the front porch of our house. It's got these great shade trees, and some nice shrubbery. Cute curb appeal in my opinion.
This is the front porch. I'm sure the wrought iron railing is probably original, but it's still in great shape.
This is the living room. The door is immediately to my right.
This is the doorway between the living room and dining room. Notice the hardwood floors.
Another angle of the dining room.

House Pictures

So...... we're buying a house. Or, at least we're in the process of buying a house. Today was "Inspection Day." I managed to remember to take my camera along this time, and while I did get a lot of pictures, I'm sorry that most of them are blurry.

This is going to take multiple posts.

Hugs,
Melinda

Is it all a dream?

I just got off the phone with my realtor friend. Our loan was sent to underwriting (which apparently they don't do if there's any sort of problem). We are yet one more step on the road to being homeowners. It's moving so fast (and yet, ironically, so slow) that it feels like a dream. Is this REALLY happening?

Oh wait.... that's the lack of sleep talking. LOL

Hugs,
Melinda

Hula Huts are Finished!

Well, I just finished adding the binding to Hula Huts (designed by Lisa Boyer, one of the funniest people you will ever read). I did add my own additions. (Shh... don't tell, but they are hiding some of the "rough" spots.)


The flowers and tree tops are from a Hawaiian print fabric that was in my mom's stash. I think it adds a unique flavor to the whole top.And at this point, I would like to say a big thank you to whoever invented Invisible Thread. :D

That's all. I hope it does well at the Silent Auction, although I'm highly tempted to keep it for myself. LOL

Hugs,
Melinda