A Missed Opportunity & A Second Chance

I drown to Ft. Smith and had dinner with my kiddos this evening. As I was driving home down highway 22 I looked in my rear view window and saw a beautiful sunset.  I thought about pulling over and taking a picture. But I hesitated.  After rounding a slight curve, I looked again and it was gone.  My thought was, "Well, that was a missed opportunity."

Which got me to thinking. How many missed opportunities have I had in my life because of my lack of making quick decisions?

Then, as I got near my home and turned to start up the ridge, I glanced up and once again I could see the beautiful sunset. Made even more beautiful by the elevation and surroundings.

Then, I realized that I had a second chance to see that glorious sunset and I did not hesitate to stop and get some photos.  How many times in life do we get second chances and fail to take them? How many times do we get second chances and make the same mistakes again?

Just something to think about on this beautiful day.

Happy snipping, stitching, and quilting.

A little progress

on the first of my "fall" quilts. As you can see from the picture, I sewed a couple of the long sashings last night. I really am going to like this quilt and am excited to get it together.

I don't seem to have very much time to spend sewing in the evening. I have been spoiled for years because Larry has been cooking on the days he is off. So I can stay at school until time to eat. But, now he is working 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is home each night. I have pretty well taken over the cooking and it has been going good. But, I have to make myself leave school by 4:30 each day.
This changing to 6th grade is kicking me in the behind.  Have you ever tried to teach 6th graders how to analyze text and recognize and discuss the underlying messages in poetry. Or how to compare two informational articles from different sources. Their little minds just don't always want to cooperate. Or, is it their attitudes at that age? lol

 But, I will persevere. :)

We have a school over the bridge from us (about a 10 minute drive) where 20 of the teachers and staff members were trained as security guards this summer and will be carrying guns. I have such mixed feelings about this. The state gave them a license. Then said, "No, the could not legally carry guns in a school setting." Then, yesterday the ruling was overturned and they will be carrying guns, maybe starting today. I'm glad it is not me. What are your thoughts?

Happy snipping, stitching, and quilting!

A New Project

has been started. I guess that is okay because I did just finish one of my UFO's.

I just love those stars. I'll try to post a close up in a couple of days. They fabric is batiks I had left over from the fat quarter bundle I purchased for Kelsey's Double Wedding Ring Quilt. Which I need to get back to after school ends (Thursday) to cut out and design the border. All blocks are complete.

And if you look closely at the picture below, you may be able to see the  double rainbow. Well, falling asleep as I type.

Happy snipping, stitching, and quilting. 

Scams -- Why are people so mean?

A few weeks ago, I had a phone call on my cell phone. The display read Jamaica. I do not know anyone from Jamaica, so I didn't answer it. But there was that nagging feeling wondering who called and why.

Well, today, a friend received a call this morning and answered it. I don't think her phone displayed the place, just a number. The caller explained to her that she had won the third place prize in publishers clearing house and would be the recipient of a new car and a million dollars. She would need to pay sales tax on the car. But they only needed $100 on a green card from Walmart to give to the prize patrol (who were only 30 minutes from her house). They told her that if she could not get the card immediately, they would have to turn the prize patrol around. They even offered to stay on the line with her while she drove to Walmart to get the card. She immediately told them to turn the prize patrol around because she could not leave to get the card.

She hung up and immediately started questioning her decision. What if it really was Publisher's Clearing House and she had just turned down a new car and a million dollars? She called the better business bureau and they told her the call was from Jamaica but they did not have any records of the number.

We then researched scams and learned that Publisher's Clearing House never calls the big winners to notify them. They go in person. They will also never ask for money.

Needless to say, it was a international call probably with big fees associated with it. Sure was nice of them to offer to stay on the line while she drove to Walmart. (I have no idea if she will be billed, but I am guessing they are making money from it somehow.)

Now, I know who probably tried to call me. I am so very thankful for the display on my phone that showed the location of the call. Many times if I do not know a number and it does not have a Arkansas area code, I do not answer it. I figure if they need something they can leave me a message. I now feel reassured that not answering calls I do not recognize is a good idea. It is a practice that I will definitely continue.

But, I guess deep down I was rooting for my friend, hoping it wasn't a scam, and that she could turn the prize patrol around. 

Happy snipping, stitching, and quilting!

Not much going on

Well, I'm not going to meet any goals if I don't get a move on it. I guess I haven't gotten into the groove of going back to school. And it is the season when I am exposed to numerous ailments from the kids.

I have part of the fabric cut for the baby quilt I need to make. But that is about all I've done in the past few days. Oh, I am designing a quilt in EQ to use the fat quarters I have.

 
There are only ten of them so I am designing something with a lot of background fabric. Can't really come up with anything I like. So I'm searching blogs to see if I can find somthing I like better. I need a fall quilt so I'll probably use a beige or tan for the background fabric.

Fighting a sinus infections and headaches for the last couple of day. I get home from school, hit the couch, and watch TV, read on the Kindle, or read blogs.

I guess it's just a lazy time for me.

Happy snipping, stitching, and quilting.

No sewing time . . . yet

I sat down for a few minutes last night planning to get up to go sew. Then my phone rang. It was my niece telling me her daughters had ballgames in 20 minutes. So I jumped up and Larry and I went to see them play. Didn't get home until around 10.

I had planned to sit down this evening and sew a little but I worked Larry too hard today. We have been needing to remodel the downstairs bathroom since we moved in. Just haven't ever wanted to turn the money lose to do that. Well, I got a bonus at work and paid for mentoring a teacher so we are using that money and taking the plunge. So we made a quick trip to Ft. Smith, an hour away, to get a better idea of what we wanted to do for a shower. 

The shower surround was fine but it was 80's yellow gold. So was the toilet and the expensive ceramic counter. We are thinking about selling in the future so thought it might be best to update a little. And the kids said that the shower was almost impossible to get turned on and off. I think Craig used a hammer the last couple of times he was here.

Removing a one piece surround tub is interesting. We knew it would not fit out the door so Larry got out the saw and now it is in a few pieces. We picked out a tub and pieced shower surround but could only fit the tub in my Excursion. We have decided to use the same vanity and just replace the top. 

So the bathroom is empty except the vanity and Larry will be glad to go back to work tomorrow to get away from me.

I must say I have been busy also. I totally cleaned and dusted Craig's room yesterday and finished pulling wall paper in the bathroom this morning. I really need to get a couple of spots out of the carpet and clean them.

Tomorrow I'll clean up a little bit of a mess in the bathroom, maybe clean Craig's carpet, and then sew, read, lounge, whatever.

Happy snipping, stitching, and quilting!

Happy New Year!

Today is another sew day with my family to work on my niece's wedding quilt. We have most of the pieces cut out. All of the pieces had to be cut out with templates. No strip cutting on this one. I'm going to try to remember pictures this time.

Bonnie Hunter revealed the complete Ocra Bay Quilt and I just love it. And, the best part is that I am close enough to being caught up that I think I can finish up tomorrow or at least by Tuesday.

It's back to school on Wednesday. I think I could get used to being home all day.

Happy snipping, stitching, and quilting.