LIFE IS GOOD......

 

Paddle Boarders On The Lake....

Tymi Howard, Tom's girlfriend, brought her Yoga group out to the lake for some paddle board yoga.  There were around 23 people on the lake having a great time on their paddle boards.  Tom used our little boat "The Minnow" to take everyone some water to drink.  Everyone had a great day and Tymi has been doing a lot of the Yoga Paddle Board classes since then.  Tymi owns Guruv Yoga Studio in Lake Mary and has a huge following.  This encouraged us to want to paddle board, so I bought John his own paddle board for his birthday in May.

Tymi on the left paddle board.  This was her first time paddle boarding, much less doing Yoga on a board.

 Tymi is soooo limber.  She can get into positions that seem impossible to me.

Brand new paddle board, just out of the box and heading to the lake.  :)

I think Icee thought she was going to get to go fishing on the Minnow, not paddle boarding. She stayed low to help keep things balanced.  LOL  Of course, John had to take Icee with him on his maiden voyage.

Stones for dirt....

John spent a few days re-landscaping this area off of our deck.  We were having trouble growing grass there so we decided to just add river rock and stepping stones.  John did the stone design.  I did the plants with John's help planting them.  I'm happy now not having to look at dirt and dying grass.  This should also be easy to keep clear of leaves and twigs with just using the blower.  One more project out of the way and off the "to do" list.

 The plants in the pots have been planted since this picture was taken.

Looking from the shed toward the deck and yard.  John had previously put down the pavers so he just left them.  Just too much work to remove them for now.

 Looking from the deck toward John's shed.  We've been adding sod and border grass since taking this picture.

Gilly Suit and Halloween....

John got a new Gilly Suit for hunting, but it also makes a great Halloween costume.  He wore it when we went to Sherry and Keith's home to help give out candy on Halloween.  When small children arrived John just sat very still in a chair with his head down so as not to scare them.  One little girl, around 5 yrs. old, got her candy then when walking away turned to take a second look at John just as he raised his head.  She let out a blood curdling scream and ran to her mommy.  We all got a chuckle out of that one.  Lots of the older kids (teens) thought his costume was awesome.  Some of the father's wanted to know where he got his outfit.  Of course he told them it came from Gander Mountain store and was actually for hunting.  Keith wore his creepy clown mask.  That was a fun Halloween.

Winter Wall Hanging....

I was asked by Betty, a Bernina Sewing Center customer, if I would finish her "Dashing Through The Snow" wall hanging.  Betty is battling cancer and is undergoing chemo, etc. which has drained her energy so I was happy to help her get this project finished.  She had done all the embroidery and pieced together all the panels.  I sewed on the black bias tape for the window pane look, added boarder fabric to frame it, did the quilting, binding and a dowel sleeve then it's done.  Now it's ready to deliver to Betty.  Hope she's happy with what I've done.  

Patriotic Michael Miller quilt.....

This is my finished Michael Miller bonus project quilt.  Very patriotic and great for the upcoming July 4th holiday.  This was a fun and easy project.  I look forward to making more in various fabrics.  I started quilting this on Bernina's long arm quilting machine, but after finding that the thread tension was off and the stitches on 1/3 of the quilt had to be removed and requilted,  I decided to take it home and do the ripping out and finish the quilting on my 830 machine which was awkward, but I got it done and it looks just fine.  Never complain about the cost of a quilt....whatever it is it's worth it.  Lots of time, tears and love goes into making all quilts.

Dolphin Swim.......

Haley and Kierstin went on a cruise to the Bahamas with Sherry and Keith and got to swim with the dolphins.  Haley even got pushed through the water with a dolphin under her feet.  What a great time they had.  They can't wait to go on another cruise.

Kierstin just loves dolphins so this was an extra special treat for her.

May 12th Birthdays....

I think Haley and Kierstin were happy with their birthday money they received from us and Mom.  They are now fifteen years old and want to do all their own shopping, so we said "good, here you go, have fun".

 They went to get manicures and pedicures with their Mom then went shopping.

The twins also received Kindle Fires from their Aunt JoDee and Uncle Jeff, which I later made cases for (see below post for pics).  They are having a great time with them.

Mini Ironing Board.....

This was a fun little project.  I made this ironing board cover using the Lil'Buddy Pressing Board Cover pattern which was designed by for the wooden pressing board made by U.B. & Pinky Dink, out of Edgewater, FL and Morrisville, NC.  The cover has elastic to keep it well fitted and is also reversible.

I keep this little pressing board beside my sewing machine which is a great help when I need to iron multiple pieces for quilts or applique projects.   A very handy little item. 

Mom's Walker Saddlebag.....

I made this Walker Saddlebag for my Mom using the Easy-Peazy pattern.  The embroidery on the front was one I digitized using my Bernina embroidery software.

I even added Mom's name to the front.  The back side, or inside facing the seat area also has pockets so she can keep her glasses, book, note pad, etc. in it.

E-Reader Cases....

I've been making these E-Reader cases using the E-Cozy Palooza pattern by Whistlepig Creek Productions.  This one is for my Tablet.  It has a pocket for a paper pad and pen, as well as the screen wipe.

I've made some for the granddaughters, Haley and Kierstin, and for a friend, Pam.

I used elastic to hold in the tablet in the newer ones.  I think these would make great Christmas gifts.

Michel Miller Clubhouse Quilt

I have been working on quilt blocks for this Michael Miller Clubhouse quilt.  So far I've completed six blocks.  This is a Block-of-the-Month Club quilt.  It should look like this when I'm finished with it...hopefully......  :)

 

This is a bonus project.  We received the free instructions for putting together this quilt as a bonus project of the MM Clubhouse. I did mine using beige and tan fabrics. 

This pillow is another MM Clubhouse bonus pattern.  The word "Relax" was done with the sewing machine.  I try to not have to do anything by hand if it can be helped.

This is another pillow (without the stuffing) bonus project.  I used decorative stitches programmed in my sewing machine and made a YoYo (by hand) then added a button.

Strip Twist Quilt

 

This quilt was made by me using the G.E. Designs "Strip Twist" pattern. I used approximately forty 2.5" strips of various Batik fabrics to make this little lap quilt.  It will be 41" x 61" when completed.  The quilt top was done in a day, but I still need to add the batting, backing, quilting and binding.

LaLa and New Tires

We took LaLa to the eye vet for a check up.  Her eyes are coming along great.  Her left one still has some scare tissue, but is looking good.  Keep up the meds and return in two months.  Yeah !!!!!!  That was the end of the good news for this day...................

Upon walking out of the vet's office we discovered that the right front tire of the van was FLAT!!!  I mean off the rim flat.  We rummaged through the book to find out exactly where the tire was hidden.  It was in a compartment between the front and back seats under the floor.  After getting it out John jacked up the van and changed tires.  When he put the van back down, guess what the spare tire was FLAT too.  Lucky for us there was a 7-11 store across the street so John took the spare over and inflated it.  Once we got home John decided to repair the puncture (screw) and return the tire to the van and put the spare away.  We knew we needed new tires for around two months so John decided to go to BJ's Wholesale and buy a new set.  He got the tires ordered for delivery the next day and started to leave to come home.  When pulling out of the parking lot the truck in front of him, also making a right turn onto Hwy. 46, decided to stop (even though the traffic was clear to go).  Of course John glanced left again to be sure it was OK to go and hit the gas.  Only he didn't see that the truck in front of him had stopped (still don't know why) and BAM he rear-ended the truck.  Of course the lady driving the truck called the police since there was damage to her bumper.  John got a ticket for Careless Driving.  She agreed to let John take care of the damage without calling our insurance companies.  Good thing cause he had just rear-ended another vehicle 3 weeks earlier which went through our insurance.  YUK   That day turned out to be quite expensive, what with the vet bill, traffic ticket, Defensive Driving School, new tires and $1,300.00 in repairs.....hope all of our bad luck in finished for a long time.