Grand Central Station Fabric --

One of the MOST FUN things about working with Rhonda Pierce (the Marketing Director for Euronotions -- the US distributor of Schmetz needles) is that she REALLY DOES LOVE TO SEW.

She makes most of the clothes she wears....

And she LOVES TO QUILT....(the mystery quilt she is working on from her local quilt shop).

She showed me the assortment of fabrics she purchased from the City Quilter in New York City...

To celebrate the birthday of GRAND CENTRAL STATION...

These fabrics are exclusive to The City Quilter -- and I AM GOING THERE RIGHT NOW TO GET ME SOME...

It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. FABRIC that celebrates New York City. WHAT A GREAT IDEA...THANKS AGAIN, RHONDA...YOU ROCK...

Upsize a Sexy Sleepshirt

This thrift store Victoria's Secret nightgown was a size XL. With short sleeves. Of course, I FORGOT to take a picture before I began the revamp.  Trust me -- there are fabric covered buttons all the way down the front -- with a little ruffle at the neckline.  It is very sexy...

The first thing I did was cut off the sleeves. However, the fabric started to fray and the armhole ended up too gappy.... So, I added back some of the sleeve fabric -- then created a ribbed facing from a MATCHING T-SHIRT off the mountain...

It was AN AMAZING color match. Perfect, really. As you can see from this 10" box pleat I added in the center back of the sexy sleep shirt...

However -- the top of my perfectly matched boxed pleat was messy, with exposed raw edges....so I used the hem of the discarded sleeve to create a detail that would cover up the sloppy sewing...

ISN'T THIS FUN??? I mean -- really -- think how much time I saved! Doing this project from scratch would take days -- between the ruffle and the covered buttons and then the dozen little buttonholes. My way is a WHOLE LOT QUICKER. And waaaaaay cheaper, too. Total investment? $1.38 for the sleep shirt and 25 cents for the matching t-shirt.

REDO, RESTYLE, RECYCLE...Thrifting ROCKS...it can even be sexy!

Technology -- Friend or Foe?

Technology has changed our lives. Forever. No doubt about it. And I do try to keep up....I have a smartphone and I know how to use it. One of the BEST things that happened last year is that I got a Motorola phone (they ROCK) and Ross has the same phone. So I have my own personal smart-phone trainer...WHAT FUN...

Ross helped me download music ring tones. When I hear Carol King singing "You've Got A Friend", I know it's Val calling. If Kelly Clarkson sings, "My Life Would Suck Without You" --  it's John.

Then -- there's You Tube!! HOLY COW. Last month, when the dishwasher quit working, John was thrilled with ALL THE VIDEOS he could watch on YouTube -- showing actual repairmen taking dishwashers apart...it was SO HELPFUL...

Ross showed me how to do voice-texting. Which is sooo way cool because it was painful for me to type text messages. It is SO MUCH EASIER to talk into the phone...so now, on a daily basis, I text with Ross and Elliott and Emily and my nieces and nephews...I am delighted with my new skill...

Mostly delighted. Every now and then, there is a feature called "auto-correct" that gets a word wrong....and sometimes it can be funny -- or painful...

Here is an exact exchange on my cellphone: Monday, July 8. Elliott's birthday. They just got home from having dinner out...

10:57pm Elliott: We have a ton of water in the basement again.
10:58pm Mom: Do you want me to bring up the shop vac?
11:00pm Elliott: No we got it.Is the sump pump supposed to have water in the hole?
(of course, I was working on my laptop when he called)
11:04pm Mom: Google says yes.
11:05pm Elliott: how much?
11:09pm Mom: I am watching some porn videos on YouTube
11:10pm Elliott: What?
11:15pm Mom: I am watching SUMP PUMP videos on YouTube...

My last response took 5 minutes because, of course, I had to TYPE IN the words...and I was laughing so hard, I could not see the right letters...




 

Remember Dress Up?

After swimming class -- Lilly and Memphis came back to my my house. They started playing dress-up. Wigs, crowns, tu-tus....Even Sophie got the full treatment...

I AM SO LUCKY TO HAVE these beautiful little girls in my life....

Most of the time, I really am too busy enjoying them to take pictures.  Also, many of my pictures are TERRIBLE...but I want to show the boas, the wigs, tiaras, tutus, gloves...they have SO MUCH FUN...you get the idea, right??

But -- ONCE IN A VERY GREAT WHILE -- I get a picture like this.....

I Miss Oprah

Oprah Winfrey made me a better person. I cannot imagine who I would be or where I would be if there had never been an Oprah.  She taught me how to accept myself and the people in my life. I learned to see things from the other person's point of view and how to be truly grateful... She made me want to do better...

An AH-HA moment during an Oprah Show saved my marriage. It was such a simple thought...and here it is. Everybody shows love in different ways.

DUH!!

The challenge is to make sure your spouse understands how YOU show love...and vice versa. I show love in the usual way -- I COOK. I know what John's favorite foods are, how he likes his steak and his eggs...and I learned his mother's recipes for potato salad, halupkes, meatballs, etc. Also -- I hang our bedding out on the line to dry...and in my honest opinion -- getting into a bed freshly made with line-dried 100% cotton sheets is the best love hug anybody could ever get.  But I had to EXPLAIN that to him.

Thanks to Oprah, I realized John would never be the guy who buys me diamond rings or brings me flowers. He isn't going to write me a love poem and he doesn't enjoy theater or travel...but he shows his love by FIXING THINGS...

John can fix ANYTHING. When I was complained about our dining room chandelier, he bought a new one and hung it while I was out. 

Because of my Oprah moment --  I started to say thank you when John changed the lightbulbs or repaired the air conditioner. Last month, our Kenmore dishwasher (which I love) stopped working.  John spent hours...then days...working on it.  He took it completely apart, checked the electrical, then the plumbing, then the blades for the cutters...OH MY GOD.

It was an ordeal.  On the first day, I held the flashlight so he could see down under...but after a very long two hours (okay -- I lasted maybe 20 minutes)...I was ready to give up and buy a new dishwasher.

But John is like a dog with a bone.  He NEVER gives up...and this breakdown was such a puzzler, he started watching videos on YouTube -- of repairmen taking dishwashers apart -- then putting them back together.  He figured out that our problem was probably a very cheap "made in China" switch...but the issue was finding a place where he could ORDER THE PART...??

Ross said, "Dad -- why don't you call Sears?"

John said, "I tried that, son.  They want to send out a repairman..."

Ross, "Which is how you get your life back, Dad.  So -- tell me again -- why don't you call Sears?"

Lillian and Memphis

I signed Lillian and Memphis up for swimming lessons at the YWCA. Memphis has an above-ground pool in her back yard -- so she is VERY comfortable in the water. But her Mom wanted to make sure she actually knew how to swim....Lillian isn't in or around water very much....

The day of their first lesson -- they tried on some of the swim suits I'd been collecting. Lillian told Memphis she could have all the "zucchini suits"...(anything two-piece -- I like her word better than BIKINI...)

They played in the yard for an hour or so -- I put the plastic kitchen on the parking pad and they got busy making mud pies...

Five minutes into the swimming lesson, I texted this to Emily: "Memphis is a fish, Lilly is crying and I am hiding in the locker room...."

At one point, Lilly didn't want to jump in the water. I told Memphis how she could help. She ran over to Lilly, put her hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Be brave"...Lilly got the biggest smile on her face...and jumped into the pool.

After the lesson -- we headed down the block to the ice cream store. Memphis KNEW she wanted mint chocolate chip....

Lilly decided on bubble gum....

I am SUCH A LUCKY GRANDMA....

THIS IS FOR YOU!!

Everybody is dealing with something. I am writing this post for a particular person who is in a particular situation right now. But, of course, she doesn't know it's for her. She does read this blog, however...and if I could put music to this post...it would be Kelly Clarkson singing WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER...

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