Guess what I'm doing right now?

WASHING CLOTHES!! Yup, after 3 months of hand washing and my husband making a weekly trek to the laundromat (where he just washed clothes and brought them home for me to dry...it took TWO days to dry them all) we were able to get our new washing machine yesterday. While we might have had enough to fix the van (both brakes and a mechanical problem, we're figuring $1000-$1200 to get it fixed) he figured it would be easier to do without that than for another week or two than the washing machine with creative use of our daughter's car and son's truck. Since a new one didn't cost a whole lot more than a refurbished one, we decided to go with that and my husband found one at the Sears outlet that was the price we wanted to spend, but the regular price was much more so it had features that I never expected to have. I told him I preferred a gentle cycle, but if it added too much to the cost to forget it....I ended up with SO much more. I never thought I'd be so happy to be washing clothing!

While three loads got done yesterday, my husband did them all so I didn't even get to try out the knobs and settings until today, LOL. We washed a load of towels first to test it and he spent most of the wash cycle in there with a flashlight making sure there weren't any leaks anywhere. Then he badly needed work towels (we have a cleaning company) and finally his work clothes needed to be done. I was actually a little miffed I didn't get to use my new washing machine! Maybe I need a few other new appliances that he'll be dying to try out and I can get a break! LOL.


Anyway, I'm thrilled to pieces and will be washing for days with all the things I've put off for the last few months.

I feel like the most unfaithful of God's children sometimes. Things have been difficult for several years for us financially and always I had faith and hope that things would turn around while slowly we sunk lower and lower. These last two weeks have been a time of incredible blessing as one by one the broken things around here are being replaced or repaired. Even a couple of small wants have been granted.


I had planned to quilt most of yesterday, but as it turned out a couple of our son's friends slept here on Sunday night and were around for most of the day. I broke out the pizzas we didn't have the night before and cooked them for lunch. The boys left for a while, but came back not too long before dinner.. Thankfully I had a large meatloaf in the oven. One of our daughter's friends was here and meatloaf and mashed potatoes is one of her favorite meals so she was invited to stay as well.


I did manage to spend some time quilting after dinner, while watching TV. My husband was home from work because of Martin Luther King Day and we had a nice relaxing evening.


Today, hopefully there will be more quilting and time to do sewing related things. While laundry will take up a good amount of my time, there is also a lot of in-between time. My kitchen needs a good cleaning, but that won't take long and everything else is in pretty good shape. In addition to some hand quilting, I think I'll cut some fabric for the paper piecing project and perhaps do a bit of celtic applique. I may set up my Featherweight, too, as seeing it there will motivate me to work on the paper piecing project.



For a few months now, I've seen this pair of shoes at Walmart. I love them. This style was popular when I was in my early 20's and it was one I hated to see go, they are comfortable and flattering and can be worn with jeans or casual dresses, skirts, and jumpers. When I wore jeans I always wore pantyhose (love the feel of them on, which gets me crazy looks from people) and nice shoes. I rarely wear tennis shoes of any kind, and will wear birks or crocs rather than tennies if at all possible. I wanted these shoes so badly! I can't remember what the regular price was on them, not very high, but just not in the budget. My daughters love shoes and one grocery shops with me every week (they used to alternate until Rebekah started cosmetology school) and every so often we have to look at the shoes. My shoes were on clearance for $11.50! They had one pair left in my size, I knew it would probably be gone before I could get them. Babysitting last week padded the grocery budget for our son's party...and left enough for my shoes and a cute bag.


While I'm looking for a reason to wear my shoes, the bag will wait until March, when I'm starting to think about spring.. Maybe anyway. Our daughter's friend was carrying a similar bright colored bag. When told by an Aunt that it looked like a summer bag she shrugged and said she liked it so she'll carry it now.

So off I go, to clean, to do laundry, to quilt. I'm babysitting for a few hours later today, but tomorrow is wide open. Saying I'm leaving it for quilting is the kiss of death, LOL, but that's what I'm hoping to do.

Happy quilting, and keep warm!
Sue