Oral B Quiet!

No doubt you have all heard of The Mouse That Roared. Well, granted, some of you may be too young. But let me just play off the title a bit and tell you about the Toothbrush That Roared. Peter Sellars was in the movie version of The Mouse that Roared back in the 50's. I can actually see him playing this roll as well.

Yesterday my husband heard a drilling noise and wondered what it was. It stopped, but then when I went to bed last night I heard what sounded like a drilling noise also. It seemed to be coming from the ceiling fan in the bathroom. Again, it stopped, so I went to bed. Early this morning the noise resumed. It was 5:00 am when my husband and I both jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom where that drilling noise had begun again with a vengeance! What on earth is that noise? It sounded like a motor of some sort, as every now and then it made a revving sound. Since we couldn't locate where the noise was coming from, I suggested that my husband go to the fuse box and start flipping switches. From his cell phone he called to see if the noise had abated. It had not! He even flipped the master switch to the whole house in an effort to make it stop, to no avail! Our house was now totally devoid of any electrical power, but the drilling noise continued in the dark.

We were stumped. Where in the heck was that noise coming from? It kind of sounded like a dentist's drill, oddly enough. It was almost like a smoke alarm, but not as shrill. An alarm clock buried in the wall? A non-stop woodpecker? A bunch of riled up bees? Aliens in the attic?

My husband was thinking that it might cause an electrical fire, though with no electricity, that seemed implausible. It seemed that our only recourse was to pull the cabinet off the wall in the bathroom and cut a hole in the wall. We needed to get to the bottom of this, as the noise continued on for 40 minutes now.

I began unloading the cabinet seen above of all the normal bathroom accoutrements; all the bottles and basics found in most bathrooms. In one jar I store extra toothbrushes. As I picked it up it vibrated in my hand! I almost dropped it! What the heck?
Well, here is the guilty party. A battery operated toothbrush that I haven't used for quite a while. Somehow it turned on and was rattling away in that jar! The noise that innocent little thing made was incredible!

I can't help but try and think up slogans for this toothbrush. How about, "A Real Self-Starter"! Or "Beware of operating while under the influence". "Start without me", is a good one. My favorite however, is "Oral B Quiet"!

Seriously folks, out of the jar this toothbrush purrs like a kitten. You may have one in your home. If you do, let me offer a word of advice. Don't keep it in a jar. Let it roam free!

DON'T FORGET!

Today is the only day you can enter to win this book, Freddy and Gwen Collaborate Again. on Michele's blog! Don't Forget!

Go to her blog for more details.
With Heart and Hands.

Recently I was visiting blogs and saw the cutest apron made from blue jeans. I was out of town and didn't mark the blog. Does anyone know who that blogger is? I wanted to share it with my cousin.

Have a happy day!

Two nice bloggers took the time to look for that apron for me! They both found cute aprons,but different from what I had seen. However, they reminded me that there are search engines to do the work of finding things, so I looked and found the blog myself. Pat on my back. It was Karen's blog at Quiltsalot!  Take a look for yourself!

And thank you to Nancy at With Thread in Hand, and Carol at Carol's Crafty Creations, for generously offering their help. Check out the blogs of two very nice ladies who happen to be quilters as well! 

Freddy, Gwen and Michele

While visiting blogs this morning I stopped in to see what Michele has been up to. She has several wonderful posts about her trip to Sisters, Oregon for the big quilt show. She met lots of cool people, including Freddy Moran and her husband Neal, pictured above, with Michele in the middle. Michele is a prolific writer and an excellent researcher. And she has received the new book written by Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston which she is offering in a drawing tomorrow! I know from your blogs that there are lots of fans out there who would love to have this new book! Check out Michele's blog and maybe you will win it! I love basket quilts, and that quilt in the photo above just blows my thongs off (oh wait, they call them flip-flops now). 

Now go check out all the wonderful photos and items of interest on Michele's blog-With Heart and Hands. She should be on everyone's "must read" list!
Guess what I found while in Arizona? This quilt top that I made a few years ago! I have been looking for it for at least two years and couldn't remember where I put it, but while moving at my son's house it came to light again. It was found hanging in my granddaughter's closet, where I had carefully hung it on a hanger and covered it with something to protect it. If only I could retrieve my lost brain cells that were apparently buried in there as well. Yes, I should be content with the quilt for now, and I am. I always have projects going at my son's house, and this was a fun one that I found on Bonnie Hunter's website. I brought it home to add a border and prepare a backing. Yay! Another UFO will be completed this summer! I feel good!
Well, I feel good except for my gardening skills, which have suffered this summer. To all my blogging friends out there who are showing their beautiful flowers and veggies, let me just say: You win! I cannot compete! Kind of a cute pot though, huh? But please, no "pot shots"! haha!

More details from Michele:

 Michele's Quilting Journey said...

You, sweetheart, you! I remember the very first time you commented on my being a 'prolific' writer and that you could hardly keep up with me...I just howled!! I still think about it and laugh with delight ;) My big drawing for the free book from Freddy and Gwen's production company is technically tomorrow...so everyone come on Friday after 7 am Pacific time and add a comment to the post and then a link to it on your blog and you'll not only be in the drawing but have your comments read by the authors! I'm supposed to show the power of blogs and blogging. HELP! I need comments on Friday and entries in the give-away, please..ha ha. Hugs to you, Miss Marvelous Marcie!

HOME AGAIN!

Greetings to all my friends out there, and especially to anyONE who has missed me. I arrived home last night after a very nice, though long, flight from Arizona. I was on a United flight on my return trip and miraculously had no one sitting next to me! Trust me, flying is so much easier without being jammed next to someone in the next seat. I did get patted down by security at the airport, however. I guess they thought those grandmotherly bulges I possess looked suspicious.

I have not had much access to the Internet while gone. I will try to catch on on all my bloggy friends a few each day.

It is good to be home with my own bathroom. Sunday, at my son's house, they discovered that the water from the showers was filling up the master bath tub. The toilets were not flushing. OH NO! You forget what a luxury it is to flush! We kept going back to the other house to use the bathroom! They spent almost $400 yesterday on a plumber who wasn't able to fix the problem. They may need to lay a new pipe from the house to the street. You never know what problems develop in a house that has been vacant for a while.

My fridge is filled with a Costco rotisserie chicken and Chinese (food, not people). It is what the man lives on when I am gone. In his mind it is so much better when I am here to feed him. I think, however, that it is just my wonderful company that makes his food taste better. Believe me, it is not my excellent cooking!

Today was kind of a loungy day of catching up on mail, and checking in with my kids, etc. Tomorrow I must put some of my new found energy to work on getting my own house in order. I will be back with more pictures and news!

Greetings from Arizona!

Thanks to you all for your comments on my blog! I am having trouble getting back to everyone while here in Arizona, so do not think I am avoiding you. And getting time to read blogs is even more difficult. Plus, I made the mistake of buying my granddaughter a computer game for her birthday, and the girl is now on the computer 24/7. What was I thinking?

Pictured above is my favorite restaurant here. It is not just the decor, which is totally charming, but the food is good too. Mexican food, did you already guess that? I had a flying saucer while there, which I thought was amusing after my last post. I love Mexican food and there are lots of good places here to eat. I want to eat as much of it as I can while here before I go back to Virginia Beach, where the Mexican food is just not that good.  My aunt and I had sweet pork burritos the other day. Oh wow, let me tell you! 
When I arrived at the Phoenix airport I had some time to kill before my son showed up to get me. So, being the good little blogger that I am, I took a couple of pictures. Above is a big plane that is hanging from the ceiling above the escalator. It is pretty cool.  There may be a story there, but I don't know it.  

These big cacti were also attractive. There are three terminals at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. I came in on Delta/Northwest, which has now merged. Somehow they managed to charge our credit card $1200 for my ticket, which I assure you, is not the price I agreed to. But maybe that was the price for my luggage. If you haven't flown for a while, be aware that they now charge for each bag that you check. In fact they charge for food, and blankets as well. So far most airlines still give you a drink of juice or pop.
My DIL volunteered me to make aprons for my granddaughter, Danielle, and her young women's group at church. They are going to girls camp the end of July and have a Wizard of Oz theme around which everything is being planned. They were easy to make and Danielle loves it!

Meanwhile, the main activity around here is packing and moving to their new house. It is less than two miles from here, so we are going slowly, taking a truckload at a time. Kyle, who is almost 18, and his friends, take over the heavy stuff each evening after work. My son, who has a really bad back, has managed to get some painting done over there, so that is helpful. All is going well, and yes, I am exhausted! But all is well, and I am glad to be here. Not loving the 115 degrees, however!  

UFOs, Roswell and Area 51

I brought this cute little project to work on while I am in Arizona. It is the cover project from the book, Remembering Adelia, by Kathleen Tracy.  Such darling projects in this book! I wanted a project to work on by hand, so this one fit the bill. I haven't done any applique for a while so began the preparation by tracing the leaf shape onto freezer paper. I cut out about 10 leaves and pressed them onto the wrong side of the fabric. So far so good. I cut out each shape, leaving a seam allowance. Then I glued the edges over the paper using a glue stick. Whoops. Did I say I glued the edges down? Why yes I did. Wasn't I supposed to starch the edges over? Well, yes I was. Oh no! 

Well, by the time I realized my error I had already sewn several little leaf shapes down. I admit, I wondered why I was having so much trouble forcing the needle through the fabric. Duh!  I soaked each little block in water and gently managed to pull the paper from the slit in the back, and all is well. This does not count as a UFO as I am still working on it!

Now I am backtracking to my Atlanta trip because I haven't mentioned going to one of my very favorite quilt shops:  LITTLE QUILTS!  I have been a Little Quilts fan for years and years, long before they opened the shop. Since my daughter moved to Atlanta I have had the opportunity to visit the shop a few times (actually three). My daughter is unacquainted with the Marietta area, where the shop is located, so we called for directions. Mary Ellen VonHolt, the shop owner, answered and gave Jennie directions. "Look for the Big Chicken on the corner of Roswell Road", she said. We drove back and forth down Marietta Road and somehow we missed seeing the big chicken! I think I was not looking high enough in the air! Seriously, with Roswell on my mind, I felt like we were searching for the illusive Area 51, of UFO fame, which I thought was rather humorous considering how many UFOs I have. Are you getting all this? 

Finally, the Big Chicken hovered over us, so to speak. We turned down Roswell and clapped our hands at the sight of Little Quilts!

So we made it! Of course the shop is wonderful. We arranged to go on a day that Karen was working, so we met again and went to eat together when she was done with work. It was fun to see Karen's own little quilts displayed at the shop along with her patterns! Also, my Williamsburg Medallion pattern that Karen made was displayed right by the front door! 

So that is my final adventure in Atlanta!  Come back again for news from the burning sands of Arizona!

TWO FOR THE ROAD

I have to share this darling bottle I found at Pier 1 the other day. Look at the cute birds! Remember when I showed the vintage photos of birds that I copied and framed? This pretty gold bottle is perfect in my bedroom and the birds are perfect too!
I have been stash busting like crazy with this quilt for my son! I finished thirty-six 12" blocks, and when I get home from Arizona I will make the pieced border that I have planned. This design makes a great utility quilt.
Also for my son (who was recently married) I have completed this Buggy Barn quilt. I started it for him quite a while ago and it has been staring me in the face ever since. The original pattern was not big enough for a queen size bed so I wanted to add borders. I had the perfect fabric and everything. Why do these things take so long? Finally I got the borders on! Today I photographed it on my bed. Tomorrow I take it with me to Arizona to be quilted. I prepared the backing and binding, so I am all set. With any luck at all, maybe it will get quilted before I leave and I can bind it and mail it to my son Renn.
This is the book that the quilt pattern is in. Those Buggy Barn gals sure come up with cute ideas. There is at least one other pattern in this book that I plan to make for the Plumpkin--those darling flowers!

So tomorrow, on the 4th of July, I board a plane due to take off at 6:15 AM. Believe me, this is a huge effort of love on my part. I am not a morning person. I am always surprised to see people out on the road when I am forced to go that early. What are they doing? They can't all be hunting for night-crawlers!

Today Karen Diane told me she would miss me while I am gone. Remember she lives in Florida and I don't! "How can you miss me? I am as close as the internet, just like always!" You know she is a very cosmic person and she will know that I am not home. Me and my cosmic vibes are off to Arizona. I will try and pick up some energy as we fly over Sedona.

Later my friends,

THREADS AND PENNIES

This pretty little sampler is from the Blackbird Design's book, You're Invited. It is a quilting book, but shows pictures of rooms with lovely samplers on the walls. I am smitten. We have a wonderful cross stitch shop here in Virginia Beach called Dying to Stitch, and it is just two doors down from the quilt shop. They are so friendly and helpful there and they have walls full of beautiful samplers. I could get seriously carried away. They helped me pick out this beautiful linen for my project. I have only X-stitched on aida cloth in past years. I was skeptical if my eyes would work on these tiny threads. I did feel relieved to find out that I crossed the floss over two strands of thread. I work under an ott light and pick up a magnifying glass from time to time. It is coming along! I would like to say I am almost finished, but it goes so slowly! I wonder how many hour I have in this project? I wonder if anyone else will love it in future years?

We don't pay much attention to pennies these days, so I didn't realize that they had made changes in our change. My niece held up a penny the other day and wondered about the new picture on the back. She thought it looked like a polo player. My daughter took a look and said maybe it was a lumberjack. Now remember how small a picture on a penny is. It was years before I learned that you could actually see Lincoln sitting in the doorway to the Lincoln Memorial. The Lincoln Memorial is no longer on the new pennies. (Follow that link to read about it.) But at least Abraham Lincoln is still on that penny! Those dingbats really had me worried!

Regular readers of this blog have heard me talk about my youngest granddaughter whom I have dubbed the Plumpkin. We cannot call her plump any longer, but I still like the nickname. She is now a sassy and comical four year old. Doesn't this picture say it all?

Last night my daughter was traveling from Minnesota to their new home in Montana. Her husband had gone on line and arranged a room for her and the kids at a very nice hotel. The Plumpkin took a look around, jumped up on the bed, laid down with her hands behind her head and her ankles crossed, and said, "Princess Kathryn, you got it good!"

Well my friends, with the 4th of July holiday coming up this weekend here in America, and even in spite of all the political turbulence, I hope we can all sit back and relax and say, "We got it good!" Give thanks!

SCRAPS OF MY TIME

While in Atlanta my daughter and I visited this quilt shop called Red Hen. I loved the red barn look of the outside, plus this great quilt was cut and glued on a board and sealed so that the weather wouldn't damage it. Great idea! It created a very exciting visual entry into the shop!
This is my darling daughter Jennie that I went to visit in Atlanta. She loves the brights, and when I come to visit she suddenly gets inspired to make a quilt! So we worked on this design a bit before I came home.

Jennie also possesses my first Bernina! Isn't this the sweetest machine? I bought it in 1970 for $300, and believe me, it broke the bank. I was so thrilled to own a Bernina, and used that faithful machine for twenty-five years before I got a new one! I now have a Bernina 440, which is a dream! But my first little workhorse will always be my sentimental favorite.

Can you tell how tiny these scraps are? Jennie knows I love scraps so she pulled these out in case they could be of use. I should have placed a ruler in the picture, but maybe you can tell the size from the lettering on the selvedge. When I laughed she indignantly replied that I was the one who taught her to save scraps. OK, guilty, but I feel it is important to have a little room for the seam allowances. :) So there you have it, a little more about my Atlanta trip.

Summer is flying, and so am I. Next weekend I am off to Arizona, you think to have my head examined, going to the desert this time of year. But no, my son's family is moving into a new house and they think I can be of help. If sitting under a fan giving directions will help, then count me in!

PRIMITIVE EXPLORATIONS

Does this look familiar? Well if you visit Karen at Sew Primitive, you will recognise it from her blog banner. Imagine my delight when it was the first thing I saw when I entered her home as well! If you read my previous post you know that Karen and I had the opportunity to spend time together while I was in Atlanta. We had such fun! Plus, I had the added pleasure seeing Karen's persona displayed in all the delightful accoutrements that make up her home.

The artist must have her studio, and Karen has created quite the artist's habitat in her home. Every where you go you see evidence of her unlimited skills. Sometimes it is represented in the form of workspace and materials.

And sometimes in whimsical displays. I just love this doll!

Cats rule at Karen's house, and lord it over you from high above her neatly arranged stash. Rembrandt went into hiding when I showed up, but sweet old Ginger was not intimidated.

Can you even imagine visiting someone who allows you to investigate their closets? Well, I guess if my closets were this clean and organized I wouldn't mind. Hopefully I will become inspired!

And the design wall! I have seen little previews of these things on Karen's blog, but I so enjoyed seeing the real thing! Hmmm--what is she up to now?

Karen comes across as a rather private person on her blog. She is non-assuming and modest in her self appraisal. That is where I come in. She needs to be exposed for what she really is! She is absolutely amazing!

This little creation of hers is one example of her skill as a designer. I love this! The pattern is available on her website www.folkartchildren.com along with several others that you will love!

Wasn't that fun?!