What to do.....

After about a week of not spending all that much time on my quilting/sewing/knitting, I'm starting to feel more motivated again. This weekend I have 3 different things I'd really like to work on.

The first is my brother-in-law's quilt. I have only a couple of blocks before the borders and am determined to have those blocks done today. It's already off of the frame as I have been watching movies down on our big TV with our 7 year old and really wanted to be quilting.

The frame itself may actually get a break for a while, I'm liking the idea of being able to move around with my quilting for a while, I have nice spots to sit in my sewing room, our family room and a chaise in our bedroom.

I'm also knitting dishcloths again, I bought another cone of yarn and will add to my stash as they are being given to several friends and family members. I'd like to give them in 6-packs and have some extra ones for here.

I'm also getting back to my applique for the quilt I hope to quilt next. I still have about a dozen blocks to applique. I don't know if I'll get to that today or not, but I'm keeping it in mind trying to muster up some motivation for it.

I've been up earlier since the time change as the morning sun comes right at our bedroom window. This is both good and bad. On a day like today, where the house should be rather quiet and I should have a fair amount of time for "me" things, it's quite nice. My husband and oldest are already out working, my oldest daughter and middle son have just left to go help some people rake leaves and the other children (plus a friend) are all still asleep. As soon as I finish here, I'll make some bacon and eggs and a cup of coffee, have breakfast and go to it.

I think the first "it" will be quilting. Though I was knitting until late last night, I really want to meet my goal of finishing my bil's quilt by Thanksgiving and that's not going to happen if I keep picking up other things.

Also on today's agenda is finalizing my grocery list for the week. It's a different list than it is normally because next weekend my husband and two oldest sons will be gone on a hunting trip. This means food for them to take along (a meal enough to feed 9 hungry hunters and lunches for themselves) and a little different menu for those of us remaining at home.

Bren has asked me to share some shopping tips and how we eat on a budget in my blog so I'll be trying to talk a bit about what I do and how we eat to keep on a food budget. While I will have some extra money to spend this week and next (Thankgiving) on food, I want to keep this to a minimum as things are really tight right now. With some careful planning, it can be done.

The biggest money saver for me is shopping the sales. I can't make my list without my Meijer flyer, they have the best sales on meat and I take advantage of them every week. They often have buy one get one free sales....and fairly often have buy one get TWO free sales...that is a particular favorite of mine.

To the left is my little shopping buddy. Ruthie LOVES to go out. If she sees anyone with their shoes or coat, she's wanting to go with them, though often that's not possible, so I take her with me as much as possible. They know her in all the stores we frequent and ask where she is when she stays home. In this picture, she decided she was going out. She put on her shoes, found her purse, picked up a toy cell phone and those towels (I have no idea what the reasoning on the towels was!) and walked to the door saying "bye" and waving. The funniest part is she's always fully expecting someone to open the door and let her out. She's sometimes quite put out when that doesn't happen.

To the right is Ruthie's penguin. We found this and many other musical Christmas decorations at the store last weekend and she loved them so much we will find a way to get a few of them. After so many years, a lot of our Christmas decorations are getting pretty shabby, so we're weeding out some old things and trying to pick up some new ones.

So that's it for now. In coming blogs, I'll talk more about holiday food, how to shop for it, how to save on it and also more about my family. Lucas is now awake and would like a cheese omelette for breakfast, then it will be time for quilting. Happy Saturday!