Flower Show

Today was the day for our Issaquah Garden Club flower show. We have had several meetings to plan this event and many of us have spent hours and hours working on the details to make today's show a success. And it was a success!!

We had the perfect location. The Issaquah Public Library. I arrived at 9 am along with several other ladies in our club to arrange the display tables, cover them with white plastic table coverings and get our signage in place. What a lot of work! I was in charge of planning our room arrangement and after careful measurement and plotting things out on graph paper, it worked out perfectly! See?

We had a lot more entries than we anticipated!

I was so happy that my variagated hosta won a blue ribbon AND won a rosette for best of show out of all the horticulture! Isn't it pretty? I wish I could take this hosta with me to our new house. Wonder if I can find a plant at a nursery that will compare. Of course, someone STOLE the one that I had already moved in a pot to our new house. What is wrong with people!!

I love this variagated hosta!

Then I saw that my 5" miniature arrangement won a blue ribbon and was best of that category. This is pretty impressive, since I have only entered one other flower show! I am still considered a novice. Now when I win one more blue ribbon, I won't be a novice anymore. I guess 10 years of involvement in garden club has its benefits!

The miniature roses are from our new house. I discovered that I have both yellow and red minis growing. I guess it is just the right environment for them. The other greenery and flowers are from my garden in this house.

You may ask why we we have a flower show. The reason is that it promotes garden club, so that the many people who stopped by might become interested in joining. It is also a fun and educational showcase for our club members to display the results of their hard work in the garden. And who doesn't enjoy a beautiful flower arrangement?? So, in case you wonder what I do with my time....maybe this will show you yet another side to my life. I always enjoy getting to talk to my garden club friends! I am so proud of my garden club!!

Painting

I hate painting. Dave hates painting. What was I thinking when I told Dave I wanted to paint the entire interior of our new home? Ugg. This remodel project has been going on for several weeks now and we are still not quite done with the painting. We are on the homestretch however. My first "mistake" was that I wanted to paint all the ceilings white and the walls a light tan/beige color. We have gone through several rolls of blue painters tape and Dave repeatedly reminds me that this was a bad idea!! Then I decided I didn't want to see ANY paneling or wood tone doors or trim. Of course, it takes 3 coats of paint to completely cover those areas with white semi-gloss. This home is almost 1800 sq. feet so that is a LOT of paint we have gone through.

I applied one coat of paint in the master bath, needing to cover wallpaper and paneling, and Dave just surprised me by saying he was heading over there to give it another coat of paint. YES!! I will be leaving soon to go buy yet another gallon of paint for the kitchen ceiling. Then I will attempt to paint the pantry door. Will this ever end?? I want to throw out our paint pans and rollers when we are finished!

We are making progress with the entire project though. Son Jason is doing the remodeling for us (minus the painting) and he has begun to install the new cabinets. Here is a photo taken at the beginning of this process as Jason was tearing out the kitchen cabinets, etc. Notice that ugly wallpaper!

Goodbye YELLOW!!!

Both Dave and I are anxious to be finished with everything and get moved in. NO MORE GRASS TO MOW!! We are feeling more and more like this is home and we can see the finish line ahead of us. We are beginning to mentally arrange our furniture!

The first room I painted was one of the spare bedrooms. I chose a light green and it was tough to paint as I couldn't differentiate (when the paint was wet) between the old yellow/cream color and the new green color. Once I finished, the change was obvious and I loved the look.

Hmm, what's new and what's old paint???

Most of the doors and trim had already been painted this yellow-toned cream color and I repainted them white. This house will have just about every detail updated. We are installing new bath fans (the master bath has a heater, so we found a nice Broan fan with a heater), new lights throughout, updating the light switches and outlets to white instead of cream, new door hardware, new blinds throughout, new roof, new plumbing lines, new appliances, new plumbing fixtures, and new flooring in the kitchen, utility and bathrooms. Jason is doing a fantastic job for us and of course when you open up a wall or change wiring, it presents another challenge in some way. Jason is really good at figuring out solutions to those problems!

Just to add to our workload, we ordered a shed and Dave has begun the process preparing the spot to install the shed. Yup. It was delivered in 2 flat boxes and needs to be assembled. I also ordered a new desk for my computer and that is also in 2 boxes and needs to be put together. I am planning on buying a new Hemnes daybed from ikea since it not only has 3 big drawers in it to store the grandkids toys, but it will make into a king size bed. But....you guessed it.....it will need to be assembled!

When we are moved in and done with all this craziness, we can picture ourselves out on the patio sipping our margueritas and reading on our kindles. But wait....after we move we will need to clean up this house after we have a huge moving sale. Downsizing by 1/2 presents the problem of what to take with us and what to get rid of. Soon this will all be a foggy memory!!

Selling Young Manor

Have you seen the TV program titled "Selling Spelling Manor" about Candy Spelling selling her home and boxing up all her possessions to put in storage until she can figure out what to do with them?  Thanks to Judy, I watched it! It made me shudder. 56,000 square feet. Wow! When it sold, she had 30 days to get moved. And I think I have problems!!

Here is a link to see what the mansion looks like:
http://www.frontdoor.com/buy/celebrity-home-spotlight-candy-spelling/pictures/pg15

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with the task of downsizing, and I cannot imagine having the energy or determination that Candy Spelling had in order to box up her things and decide what to give to charity, what to sell, and what to put in storage. Watch this HGTV special and you will see that she number/letter coded all the boxes and can tell you which box contains what treasure! Just shoot me now! I am so convinced that bigger is NOT better. I wouldn't want her doll collection, nutcracker collection beanie baby collection, or myriad other collections. And yet, when I look around here at all that we need to dispose of, I hyperventilate!! How can I give up our stuff? Stuff that I have spent time and money accumulating?

Today was a big day. Our beloved pool table was dismantled and trucked to the new owner's home. I hope they enjoy it as much as we have. We now have a big empty space in the family room. Bit by bit we are giving things to our kids, selling things, donating other things to Goodwill and setting much aside for a huge garage sale which we will have in a couple of months. Hopefully we will be moved into our new home by then and be able to make sure the things we want to keep will fit. Then, the overflow will go.

Goodbye! We sure had some fun times together!!

We have begun taking pictures off the walls and filling in the nail holes. We do want to leave this home as clean and groomed as we can make it for the new owners. So that is where we are at with this house.

The new house is another matter! The remodeling is well underway and the new cabinets are scheduled to arrive on May 11th. Next week I hope to get the rest of the painting done in preparation. I still need to select the flooring and have a few more light fixtures and plumbing fixtures to purchase. Decisions, decisions, decisions! Lots of internet shopping, driving to Lowes and Home Depot. Appliances to choose. I've been through this before! This should be the very last time we will have to do a big remodel.

I really don't like this business of having 2 homes to take care of. I have divided loyalty!! We love where we live now, and yet we are eager to get moved to the new place. Downsizing is a good thing. I'm very glad that we are doing this now, when we are still young enough to "get the job done." So many people put their heads in the sand and don't deal with the task of making a move soon enough. I don't want to put my children in the position of coming over to mow the lawn, repair the deck or any of a number of things that homes require as the years go by. Or make them feel like they have to help their decrepit (you'd think it should have a "d" on the end instead of a "t"...go figure!)  old parents pack things up and get them moved. (Although they may want to help and we wouldn't discourage them!)  I didn't have kids so they can take care of me in my old age. I had kids because I want long term relationships with them, their spouses and the grandkids!

Oh, one more thing.....even though it is a sad day seeing our pool table leave, there are 2 pool tables in the community center where we will be living! All is NOT lost!! Besides, Dave and I will have more time to play golf when we rid ourselves of all the yard work! Yahoo!!

Junk or Treasure?

While trying to sort though years of accumulated "stuff" I found these old dolls. The walking doll was mine when I was a child in the 50's. I remember her well! My mom sewed the clothes she is wearing. Not sure what happened to her eyes however. Certainly being stored for 50 years couldn't have caused them to give out. Hmmm, then again maybe she is just aging like me! The other dolls belonged to my mom and her two sisters and are 1920's vintage. The doll bodies have cracked with age and the clothing surely has seen better days! So, what to do with them? I need to find a new home for them since we are drastically downsizing. I could just give them to the Goodwill, but it seems a shame to go that route. I have several items besides these dolls that might have value to someone but I won't have room to keep them any longer. Junk or treasure? That is the question.

It is proving to be a painful process to sort through my craft/sewing room and make decisions about what to keep and what to give away or try to sell. I happen to like all my stuff and if I get into a crafty mood I just know I will regret not having some things that I may need in the future. Then again, how much crafting and even sewing will I be doing during this next chapter of my life? I'm hoping when this remodeling/moving process comes to an end I will be able to relax a bit and be creative again. But, I don't have room for everything, so decisions are being made. I sold my old Bernette serger yesterday. I have hung on to it all these years as a back-up serger but although the motor and workings were fine, there were adjustments needed to make it stitch correctly. I can't believe how many calls and emails I received from ladies wanting to buy it and felt confident they could fix it! Just goes to show that there is someone for everything.

The kitchen will be my other difficult area to sort through. Our new kitchen will be much smaller with way less cabinet space. I love all my kitchen gadgets and cooking aids. I still want to bake bread in my bread machine and make cookies with my 30+ year old Kitchen Aid mixer. They are big and bulky and with all my other appliances and paraphernalia, where will I store them? More anxiety!

Then there is the garage....our new home has a storage shed, but no garage. WHAT?????? How can this possibly work for us? I have ordered an additional shed so that should handle Christmas decorations, family memorabilia, excess golf equipment, etc. etc. etc.

The stresses and strains of moving are a reality and I can't tell you how glad I will be when this process is over and we are settled into our new home and develop new routines.

Family Portraits

So....I thought it would be a good idea for our family to go get some professional photos taken since we've never actually had our pictures taken together since the grandkids were born. What a challenge! Here are some photos of the day. As you can see, Hailey did not want her picture taken, Charlotte had her moments and Annika was into making goofy faces! Since I gave each grandchild a knit (by me!) article of clothing, I thought it would be a good idea to get a photo of them in their finery, hence the photos of all four grandkids with me. Phew. At least that is over with!!

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Mascara!

I can't count how many different brands of black mascara I have tried over my adult lifetime. I have found that over-the-counter brands seem to do a better job for me than expensive cosmetic counter brands. Several years ago I was on a Lancome kick, but since I have fairly short eyelashes, even that brand didn't give me the length I desired. Waterproof, smear-resistant, good for contact wearers, washable, defining, volumizing, non-clumping, hypo-allergenic, lengthens, thickens, curves...ACK!!!  And let's not even talk about how many brands and how much money I have spent on skin care, foundations, eye shadows, blush, etc! I still have wrinkles. :(

I also still have freckles!! But that's another story.

Back to the mascara. A few years ago I discovered L'Oreal telescoping mascara. Finally I got some length! Then a couple of months ago as I was searching the cosmetic wall at Bartells, I discovered a new mascara. Here it is:

L'Oreal Double Extend "TUBES" Mascara

Notice that it is double ended. The white cap reveals....ta da.....white lengthener that you put on your eyelashes which creates tubes of this white stuff over your eyelashes. The red end is the black top coat of mascara. Much to my delight I found that my lashes look longer than ever! However, one MUST remember to not multi-task while applying this mascara!

Here is what I looked like one morning when I went out for the entire day...to my garden club meeting where I introduced our guest speaker, and then went on to run other errands all afternoon. And no one said anything about my white eyelashes!



Check out those white eyelashes...

And here's a close up




Enough of that! If you multi-task, you may (like me) forget to put the top coat on. Now I think I will try this new Maybelline mascara...what do you think?


http://www.maybelline.com/products/157/eyes/mascara/illegal-length-fiber-extensions-mascara/very-black/931?shadeId=867&cm_mmc=LabeliumSearch-_-GoogleGeneric-_-MNY+Eyes-_-mascara&gclid=CJDR6fCskq8CFWYJRQod_krmww

Hellebore Tea 2012

What a fine day to have a tea party! Our annual tea with other ladies, most of whom are involved in garden clubs, was held at the Lake Wilderness Arboretum from 2 pm until 4. Our Issaquah Garden Club had two tables of 10 ladies each. One table was a lovely Christmas themed table and the ladies I had tea with decided upon a teal and light pink theme with butterfly accents. We were fortunate in that we had Amanda from Countryside Floral in Issaquah design our centerpiece. Jon had planned on joining us and his dad became very ill so he had to fly back to the midwest. Amanda stepped in and took his place. I'm happy to report that Jon's father is awake from his coma and doing better! Here are photos of some of the 30+ tables represented today. Click on the photo to enlarge it so you can see more detail.

Didn't our table turn out lovely? We all contributed different elements to make it our own and provided the tea party food for us and to share with those at other tables. That is Amanda in the photo. Great job on the centerpiece, Amanda!!

This is the Christmas table by other Issaquah Garden Club members

This table was the winning table for best table design

Jessica...you look smashing as usual!

I told you I would post a picture of you in your BEAUTIFUL hat! Either one of these hats should have won the Best Hat contest, but no.

 I made coconut ice as one of my food items for the tea

Following is the recipe for this simple treat

Coconut Ice

3 1/2 cups icing sugar

2 1/2 cups desiccated coconut (NOT Baker’s…this is small flakes, drier & unsweetened and it probably won’t say “desiccated” on the label)

1 can sweetened condensed milk (you can use the low-fat stuff, it works just as well)

1 tsp vanilla extract

food colouring (traditional pink, or you can get a little crazy and change it up to your favourite colour)

1. Line base and sides of a deep 8" square dish with plastic cling wrap

2. Sift icing sugar into large bowl. Stir in coconut, condensed milk and extract.

3. Press half the mixture firmly into the base of the pan. Work colouring into the remaining mixture, kneading well to distribute food colouring; press over white layer evenly.

4. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until firm. Remove from tray (a fish slice helps here), peel away cling wrap, and cut into squares.

Coconut ice will keep for a week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Magic Loop Method

I began knitting a pair of leg warmers a couple of weeks ago. Did you know they are back in style? Then our power went out for 4 days with that bad storm and I found myself done with #1 and wishing I could begin #2! I thought I only needed one skein of yarn for both so when I finished the first one with only a few yards of yarn to spare, I was left with the task of going back to Michaels to find another skein. ACK! They didn't have any in the right color at my nearest Michaels! Then yesterday I drove over to another Michaels and was fortunate enough to find a skein of Loops and Threads brand Chrisma yarn in the color Ashes. Phew. I'm now on my way to finishing the second leg warmer.

One down, one to go.

Some of you may be reluctant to begin knitting in the round. With smaller circles I have knit using 4 or 5 double point needles and it is cumbersome, but if I can do it SO CAN YOU! Then I discovered the Magic Loop Method! Let me tell you, this is much easier. You can find a video on this technique here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtBSmxGomPk

First I cast on the 44 stitches needed (onto size 9 circular needles,) slid them all to the center of the flexible cord, found the center (22 on each side) and pulled the plastic "cord" through. Watch the video. It really is simple. Here is a close up of how it looks:

I used 29" circular needles instead of the 36" size since that is what I already owned!

Here is a link to the Clover brand needles:  http://www.clover-usa.com/product/453579/3016-36/_/Takumi_Bamboo_Knitting_Needles_Circular_%2836_INCH%29

I have loads of knitting needles and some are bamboo and others are metal (mostly aluminum.) What is the difference? The bamboo needles hold the yarn in place a bit more. Loops are not as likely to slip off! However, I can knit faster on aluminum needles. Which do I prefer? I don't know! I wish I could say that I see a big improvement in my knitting with one particular style, but I don't. I do like to rock and roll and knit as quickly as I can so for less intricate pieces I suppose I would say that aluminum is the winner. But for these leg warmers, I'm happy with bamboo. Whatever you do, don't bother buying plastic needles! Although, I suppose things have improved over some of my ancient flexible plastic knitting needles. I never use those! In that case, new is better.

Why leg warmers? I was inspired by one of the blogs I follow: http://angrychicken.typepad.com/angry_chicken/2012/01/leg-warmers.html   Scroll down until you see her legwarmers. Aren't they cute? I would rather have made my leg warmers with a better quality yarn. Usually I find that cheap yarn yields in less than desired results. Amy (Miss Angry Chicken) used Cascade brand yarn Eco Duo, which is $13 per skein at Jimmy Beans (one of my favorite yarn suppliers.)  http://www.jimmybeanswool.com/knitting/yarn/Cascade/EcoDuo.asp  AND, her leg warmers use only ONE skein of yarn which is likely why I figured I could get away with one skein for the legwarmers I made. (Check out the pattern that she used.) While the Michael's yarn is 100% acrylic, the Cascade yarn is a blend of baby alpaca and merino wool. Aaahhhhh. Sounds soft and comfy!! So for about the same cost, I could have used better yarn.

I do have another knitting project going. I always have several craft projects in process at any one time. I am making an afgahn using simple 6.5" x 6.5" knit blocks in a variety of colors. I will post a photo when I get that done, but it won't be anytime soon! This is a great project to work on in the car. Quick and simple squares that prove to be very portable.

Hope you learned something new here and HAPPY KNITTING!

Sewing and Knitting projects

Christmas is long past but I did want to post some photos of the gifts I created. I really struggled to get my knitting projects done in time for unwrapping! I decided a few months prior to Christmas that I should knit dresses for each of the granddaughters and a vest for Saben. I finished Charlotte's dress 2 days before Christmas! That was a close call. Unfortunately, even though I followed the instructions for size 12-18 months and Charlotte is 15 months, her dress was way too big. She will grow! I had wanted to get a portrait of all the grandkids in their new clothes, but so far that hasn't happened. Perhaps these will have to suffice for any type of formal picture.  :(   Sure wish I had one photo of them together in their clothes. I also goofed on Saben's shirt size, so the size 7 dress shirt is huge on him and won't work out for use with his vest. Drat!

Annika's dress is made from Plymouth Select 100% worsted merino superwash wool in color 21

Close up of detail work on bodice

This is the only decent photo of Miss Annika (age 3) in her dress

This was the first project completed of the 4. LOVE how it turned out. I used Madelinetosh Vintage worsted weight superwash merino wool yarn in the color Cove.

Kari trying to roll up a sleeve on this much too large shirt

Saben was mesmerized with his new Star Wars game

Hailey's 2 piece outfit. Dress and bolero made from Cascade Yarns 40% Superwash Merino Wool/60% Acrylic in color #1 for the body and #12 for the trim

It was quite time consuming to put all these hand embroidered designs on both the front and back of the dress, especially since they began untying on the inside! Repairs needed.

This is the front of Charlotte's dress made from Stacy charles brand 100% Mercerized Cotton, color #3814

And here is the back with a button closure

I guess this is as formal as it gets as far as photos go

Here was another fun project for the older girls. Paper dolls made out of fabric. I found this paper doll fabric online and backed the whole cloth with white flannel using Steam-a-Seam to hold the layers together. Then I painstakingly cut out all the dolls and clothes, cutting off the tabs that were part of the dolls and clothes. I bought 2 artist canvases and using staples I covered them with pieces of white heavy weight felt. Now it is a flannel board! I hope they are having fun with their dollies.

OK, parents....when can we get all 4 grandkids together for a formal protrait?? Someday when they are 30 or so and I'm long dead and gone, I want them to have a visual reminder of how much their grandma loved them! And Annika looking down, Hailey with her jeans on, both Hailey & Charlotte looking sad and Saben glued to the TV screen just doesn't cut it!!