Remember Me....

I haven't blogged in FOREVER... but here I am finally. Tiff I totally agree with you about the increase in cig prices. Kathy and I have been looking for alternatives and stumbled upon the Smoke 51 electric cig. I suggest you look up there website and see for yourself. On another note, I was recently promoted at my job and tonight is my last night of training. I don't know whether or not to be happy or depressed. Some of you probably know that I graduated with my teaching degree last May, but have had little success finding a job. So after leaving Home Depot, I received a job at Cato Fashion Store making min. wage. Real step up....but what are you going to do. Anyway I've been promoted to second assistant with a whopping .50 cent raise. I'll take the money when I can. The biggest pro is that I will get more and consistent hours every week. Changing subjects again, I am happy to report that Kath and I know have T.V. service. It's nothing fancy just the basics, but I am elated-she could probably care less. Let me brag for a little bit about my honey and what she's been up to. Yesterday the cable guys came, (side note-today is my eighth day of an eight day stretch at work) so needless to say I've been exhausted. The house was a tornado, I say tornado, because I swear the house caused it own chaos. She cleaned everything for the cable guys and last night I got to come home to a spottless house. She swears there's hidden chaos, but I'm happy in ignorant bliss. That's about it for us here. Hope you all are doing well.

The new Quilt Machine

You may remember my posting on the new quilt frame I got a month ago, well here is my new quilting machine that will make my quilting not only fabulous, but much easier. It is not only beautiful, it runs very smoothly along the rails to make it so I can make fancier patterns on the quilt. I have a great view out the windows in the sewing room. I am up north this week, but that doesnt mean I am not making plans for starting my first quilt project. I know it will take lots of practice, I guess for me that is part of the appeal that there is a challenge to trying something new.

the price of smoking

It has been a while since I have been on the blog and it is very interesting to me that Tif should have be having the same discussions at her house that we are having at our house. What can be done about an involuntary stop smoking campaign being waged against a vast majority of the American people. They have already messed with us on gas and even food, what's next. I think that smokers are probably a vocal group that should be out there voicing our protest, like Tif what do you think?

Dill

I am glad you asked about dill, cause it is one of my fav herbs in the whole world. I use it on salmon, chicken when it is grilled, homemade bread, dill butter, which can be frozen for later, dips always taste better with a little dill added to them, I think lemon dill quickbread even sounds good. So you see there are many uses for dill and when you add it to your homemade bread before you bake it you have dill-dough, hah hah

taxes

I finally filed my tax returns!!
Yay...
I finish grad school and filed my taxes all w/in a few days!!!
Maybe I'll finally be able to relax.

Dill

Jo,
I really don't know what to use fresh dill for. You could always dry it out and use it for other things such as canning pickles, pickling okra, dip, etc. I always like the oyster crackers with oil and dill. Those use up a lot of dill.

Dill

I only use Dill in scrambled eggs. I would like to know what else to use it in all so. Jo it sounds like you are a green thumb. Keep on growing I love to plant something and watch it grow.... I wish I would be able to attend your party but I can't. Please blog about it and takes some pictures.

Smoking

Tif you vent all you want sometimes that helps. I'm glad I quit all ready. When I quit cigs were over $3 a pack. I was at the point you are now. Health reasons it would be better for you to quit, but I spend the money on something else now I thought that I would save the money. If you decide to quit you need to quit cold turkey don't slow down because you wont stop, at least I didn't. Good Luck

What should I do with Dill?

the herbs in my areogarden are growing very well.
So... now I need some ideas on what to do with the fresh dill?
HELP!!!

Ticked Off!

Well I need to vent and I figured what better place to vent than the blog. Has anyone bought cigarette's lately? Well I bought cigarettes today only to find out my cigarettes have raised $10 per carton. After some research, it seems as if the cigarette manufacturer's have raised prices to offset the decrease in revenue expected when the federal government raises taxes on cigarette's in April. I call it price gouging. Will the manufacturer's lower prices then? No! So April 1st they are expected to go up another $8 per carton. So $18 per carton on cigarettes next month and I smoke generic's!

Oh and by the way, if you live in Illinois, there is talk on the table to raise the state tax $10 per carton in the near future. So if you buy cigarette's in Illinois, we are talking about a $28 dollar per carton jump.

The federal rate jump that spawned the manufacturer jump is going to pay for children's healthcare, which is a good idea, but I already have to pay for my child's healthcare. Furthermore this is suppose to be a push to make you quit, so if we all quit, then how is the government (that manages money so well) going to pay for it. So needless to say, I am pissed and not extremely pleased with our President. (Please don't tell Toby Keith I said that or I will be exiled like the Dixie Chicks! Oh different President, Toby may not mind!)

I figured it up tonight that we will spend about $7000 per year on cigarettes without considering the Illinois raise (we buy our cigarettes in MO). I think these price hikes are going to make me quit, cause I can't afford to smoke. Jerrod says he isn't paying that for cigarettes. He doesn't think he will have a problem quitting except when drinking. He has quit before for a few months.

I have never quit. I have tried to quit before. After I got down to 6 cigarettes a day, my husband came in the door and chunked a pack of cigarettes at me and told me to smoke. He said he didn't like me anymore! I was that bad and didn't even quit.

We made a pact tonight, if I try to quit smoking, we won't end up divorced!

So right now, I sit infront of my computer, puffing away on cigarettes one right after another, cause I am mad, (I might as well throw a quarter in the trash, each time I light up) and it dawns on me What in the hell am I going to do if I quit smoking when I am mad.....count.....take deep breaths....or go off the deep end!

Well, I say smoke them while you got em, cause I may not be able to smoke them much longer.

Let me know what you girls think about this and thanks for allowing me a place to vent!

Update on Libby's new tooth

Well, I don't know if any of you remember Libby getting half of her front tooth knocked out, but here is a "new tooth" update. We went to the dentist yesterday and got her permanent crown put on. This tooth is hers for the rest of her life (hopefully). I think they did a good job!! I can't tell which one is the fake one. She is very happy to have her smile back.

Tina's friend Jennie

Tina took me to her friend Jennie's house last night. It was quilters paradise. Jennie has a quilt machine and does quite a bit of her own quilting, but the angel quilt in the pictures below she had professionally quilted for her. It is a beautiful quilt, one of those block a month kits, that no one tells you how hard they can be. I really enjoyed the visit and got all inspired when I go home this week

Chicken 'n Dumplin's

 Yes, my dumplings are made from bisquick, just like mom used to make.

You can see the rosemary and the thyme in there...

Look at those herbs!

This thing is working out really well so far!!!

The basil is growing sooo fast!!!

I used the thyme in my chicken and dumplings on Sunday and it was yummy.

My new Quilt frame

Look what RD put together for me this weekend. The quilt frame is 10 feet long so it takes up one whole wall in the sewing room. I have the old sewing maching on there so you can see how it works. On the back side of the frame is a wooden template board that you put the stylus into and follow if you want a uniform quilting pattern. But you know me I will probably wing it most of the time. The table that the sewing machine sits on slides on the two top poles and just moves along quite easily. Then the table itself will move giving you the ability to make just about any kind of move you want with it. I think the whole thing is awesome.

Knitted Clogs

If you have talked to me in the last week you know I took a knitting class on making felted clogs. The pattern was pretty easy it just had some new ways of doing things such as a three needle bind off.

The way the pattern worked is you knitted one sole and then the top of the clog and then you knitted another sole and attached it at the same time you were binding off.

The two soles give more comfort and cushiness. You just whip stitched it together when you were done. The whole clog is made huge, because during the felting it shrinks a lot!

See how big the thing was. Through the magic of internet I will fast forward past the science experiment with Kat and Crissy where we shrunk the clogs in hot water in the washer to the final results.


Alapeanutbutter sandwich, I have felted clogs. Now the washer did leave fuzz balls on the clogs that I shaved with a razor, but all in all I was happy with the way they turned out. When I tried them on for Red Dog he said I looked like Tweety Bird and he as waiting for me to say "I thought I saw a Putty Cat"

Neat Blog...

Holy Scrap Hot Springs

Reckless Experimentation
in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
(Food, Fuel, Energy, and Building Materials)

creamer post updated

check out the update