New Day...New Way!

I know it's more interesting to read a post with a great picture. The above is a quilt top I made for my oldest son. I hope to quilt it soon. I saw one similar to it on the Internet somewhere and kept the photo as a guideline. The center is made of Jacob's Ladders blocks. I like the small inner border followed by the Tri-Recs ruler triangles going around. It's queen-bed sized.

But that's not the big news for today (that's the news from months ago...maybe a year). I was just looking for a good picture. I searched online for a cartoon or pic to depict my AM, but I couldn't find one.

For the past week or so, my WH has exercised with my 4 boys. They walk, run, walk (or is it run, walk, run?) then do calisthenic-type exercises. My oldest daughter walks with a friend who lives a few streets over. My 2nd oldest daughter does a DVD workout video. They get up at 5:30 to do this. I, on the other hand, would be annoyed that my sleep had been disturbed. Even after going back to sleep (which would sometimes take 30 minutes or so), I would wake up grumpy because I could only sleep a little while, amidst door bangings, etc. Just keepin' it real.

Last night I realized how out-of-shape I am (again). I can't do much at all before I'm huffin' and puffin'. But this time, I decided to do something about it. I decided that this AM, instead of stumbling, bleary-eyed to the bathroom and then the computer chair, I would get dressed and walk a mile, then have my Bible-reading time, and then check the blogs I read, etc. That gave me time to cool off before I showered and washed my hair. I figured I'd be motivated to do the first things first if I had the reward of blog reading at the end. I really look forward to that...several times a day (in other words, too much--I'm cutting it back to once a day, in the AMs). The truly shocking thing is that that is exactly what I did. And I'm so happy about it that I wanted YOU to know.

Have a great day!

~Joan

A Little More Sewing...Very Little

Above is a runner I finished yesterday. Susanna wanted to make some runners (just tops--add your own quilting). She had made the blocks. I added the sashing and outer border just because I could.

It turned out cute, don't you think? It's on eBay now.

My oldest son got his wisdom teeth out this past week. All the little things in life take up some time, don't they? He is doing well. Very smooth recovery.

Hope you take time today to enjoy some of the little things.

~Joan

What's for Supper? Crow!!

I debated about whether to post this. I would not offend our friends for the world. This is such a funny story, that I just had to share it. I don't think our friends even have internet access at their house, or know I have a blog.

It had already been a weird day. I had only been home from the boys' violin lessons a short time. Our whole day was already "off". Several of the ten of us did not eat "lunch" until 4:30 or 5:00 PM. We usually have supper (the evening meal) around 6 or so.

My Susanna wanted to cut and start piecing a table runner to sell to earn a few extra dollars. She only wanted to work on it with me present. You know how little I've sewn in the past few months. We were down in the basement sewing room together. I had just sent a messenger around to tell the children we'd be having must-go for supper. You know, you look in the frig and say "this must-go" and "that must-go". Then I had a little messenger of my own and realized what I'd be having--CROW!One of my sons yelled down the steps, "The _____s are here! They just pulled in the driveway!" In the next fraction of a second, I vaguely recall my WH telling me this past Sunday that this couple was coming over for supper...TONIGHT! Very vaguely. Like I could fit it into my memory, but barely remember the actual occurrence. My next concrete thought was "What will I serve them for supper?" My third was "Where can I hide for the next several hours?" Milliseconds later, Mr. ______ walks into my sewing room, eliciting an "Oh, hi!" from me.

While the little ones ran interference by visiting with the company in the living room, Emily and I quickly whipped up what I thought was a decent meal--Chicken Tetrazzini (we had planned to let everyone heat up individual servings as must-go, but instead heated up the whole thing and transferred it to a clean serving dish), green beans, freshly made whole wheat bread that Emily happened to make late this afternoon (we grind the flour ourselves), tossed salad with cucumbers and broccoli, and th-th-th-that's all, folks! As we are sitting down, Mr. ______ says, "We'll just have water. I forgot to tell my wife we were coming, and we ate before we came!" I didn't want to add to his embarrassment, so we all just sat down as if we hadn't eaten half an hour before. We were all smiling very large smiles. I think they thought we were just really cheerful (and not very hungry, as we all took miniscule portions).

A funny but true story!

~Joan

Flags Aflutter, Again

Above is one of my Flags Aflutter little quilt tops. This would be darling on a wall or table. The pattern was intended for place mats. I have two up for auction on eBay separately right now. I actually sewed them myself yesterday. I had already affixed the Battenburg doilies to the red triangle units. Sewing didn't take long, and that is a good thing as I had very little. On the pattern, they used white buttons to make a star shape in the blue Union area of the flag.

This past weekend we hosted a family of 11 for a few days. Let that sink in for a moment. We have TEN in our family at home. We do not live in a mansion. I only met the family once 13 months ago for about 10 minutes in person. I never had personal contact with them before that.

The only time we talked on the phone (the mother and I) was when they were on their way here from Wisconsin (as in, too late to change my mind!). We live in North Carolina. By now some, if not most, of you are wondering "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?? We knew they were a family of very similar values and practices. We share the same faith and ideas. That much we knew.

We hated to see them go when they left Sunday afternoon.

We were kindred spirits with them at once. My WH (he's one step up from a DH) and the father have been emailing occasionally during the past year (only a handful of times) about church-related matters. The mom and I were instant Anne-and-Dianna-type (from Anne of Green Gables) kindred spirits. The fellowship our families would share was evident from the second they pulled into the driveway. All of their children (age 20 down to 5) were so well behaved and HELPFUL. It was not a hardship at all to have them here. The good news is that they are moving to our area (happy dance!).

There were numerous times when I would make a comment and one of their children would say, "My mother says the EXACT same thing!" Even they were shocked at how much alike we are.

The older children brought their instruments. One evening we played our little 2-family orchestra of 3 trumpets, 2 violins, 1 viola, 2 flutes, 1 recorder, 1 cello, 1 lap harp and piano. We enjoyed singing to the Lord and reading His Word together in the evenings.

Meals were so enjoyable. I had planned the menu out ahead of time naturally. All the older children (teens and up) helped clear the table, wipe it, sweep the floor, load the dishwasher, wash the too-large pans by hand, etc. after each meal. It was a breeze.

Their older sons and mine fixed a few items that have been on the to-do list for far too long. That in itself was an incredible blessing.

We also had several volleyball games involving young and old (that would be me), short and tall, and those of all skill levels.

I am looking forward to a long and deep friendship with these folks, face-to-face!! I have a picture of our 17 children together. I was going to post it, but I want to preserve the anonymity of the other family. Let me just say that the picture is a wonder to behold!

~Joan

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

This picture is worth $37.09. Above is the stash from Wal-mart from my shopping this AM. My out-of-pocket expense was $5.33. We are well-stocked with cereal.

I got some of these coupons (one per item) online. The napkin ones were in the paper a few weeks ago. I had 10 coupons (I did an identical trip to this one yesterday). I had a $1 off coupon for Dixie napkins, any size 160-count and up. I bought the 160-count size because they were $1.47 per packge. I would have saved $1 no matter when I used the coupon, but this way, I bought 10 packages for $4.70.

We're expecting a family of 11 any time now. They are staying with us for a few days. Better go do the last rounds and make sure all is ready.

~Joan

Clipping Coupons...is It Worth It? Well, That Depends

Went to Ingles today to shop. I normally don't find many of my bargains there. My WH had 2 co-workers here for the day (training, etc.). I told them about my shopping adventure when I popped into his home office to say "hi". One of them had never heard of Ingles and thought it must be some spectacular savings store. The other nearly fell out of his chair laughing. He assured her that there was nothing in Ingles in and of itself to make it a bargain-shopper's dream.

But I digress. I was in the checkout line at Ingles. The woman in front of my had about 6 bags of various items that I could not see because it was bagged when I arrived. Her total came to $162.something. She was ranting about the high price of food. Then she pulled out some coupons and her total went down to $150.something after they were scanned. She turned to me and said, "That's a lot better, isn't it?" I smiled and said she did well, and I was happy for her.

Let me pause to interject that I have so much to learn about this stockpiling while prices are rock bottom thing. I feel like the past 4 weeks of this type of shopping (email me for details) has been a whole education in grocery shopping.

Once all my items were rung up, my bill was $120.something. After the cashier scanned my Ingles card it went down almost $20. That reflects lower prices for those who have signed up and present their special card. That was great, right? Even better was my grand total due after my coupons were scanned...$37.86. I thought that was a bit high, but I did buy a few items that never go very low, even on sale. Plus, the coupons were not doubled like they are at two of the stores I shop at weekly.

Here's what I got with that...

~2 candy bars my son asked me to buy him for his brothers as a reward for helping clean up the room the 3 of them share (I will be reimbursed for that tomorrow). That was $1.46.

~20 4-packs of AA and AAA batteries (I will resell 16 packs of them tomorrow and be paid 50 cents more per package than I paid, netting me $8 profit).

~3 Benefiber (38 serving) powder (ditto on the resale, netting me $12).

~10 eight-ounce packages of luncheon meats (honey ham and grilled turkey to be exact). I will also be reselling most of these for I don't know how much yet.

~2 loaves of Italian bread (an extravagance...$1.68 EACH), but we can't do Italian w/o it.

~the big priced item...ground chuck @1.78 a pound. I bought 9-1/2 pounds. This is a good price around here. I brown and drain it all at once, then pack it into sandwich baggies, one pound per bag, and freeze it. Instantly ready for spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, tacos, cheeseburger soup, etc.

I did fairly well overall. The cashier asked, "Why in the world did you tell the woman in front of you that she did well and you were happy for her?" I replied that I thought she did, and I was. Besides...she didn't know who she was up against ;)

~Joan

Grocery List ~ by Request

No pictures for this post. I've had some write and ask me what in the world I bought at the store today (for the receipt shown in the last post). Here is a complete list for that store (normal shelf price in parenthesis)...

6 Mott's Juice for Tots ($2.49 each)
10 Knorr's Side Dishes (rice and pasta mixes...$1.29 each on special 10 for $10)
4 BBQ sauces ($2.19 each)
10 Hellmann's mayonnaise ($3.99)
6 Worcestershire sauces ($2.95)
9 Grill blends (rubs for meats...$2.45)
9 Chef Boy-Ar-Dee pizza mixes ($2.94)
2 dozen eggs ($2.09)
1 Suave Deoderant ($2.19)

Email me for the "secret" to shopping for these items and how I ended up paying $17.66. There is a method.

~Joan, who is stockpiling everything she can at rock-bottom prices