Well this should be fun - I've been tagged by 'Donna' over at Cottage Days & Journeys and I'm not sure this is going to turn out right but here goes, lol...........
5 interesting things about me:
1. I lived in Spain for 3 years and loved every minute of it.
2. I'm a retired truck driver and I sure do miss seeing the country, especially the changing seasons.
3. I've been in every state in the US (except for Alaska and Hawaii) and every providence in Canada except for New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories.
4. I'm a sucker for stray cats and dogs - have to feed them and take care of them. I took in a stray cat and ended up with 6 as she was pregnant. Ended up keeping 3 of the kittens and have one left with me - my constant companion who is almost 15 years young.
5. I can't resist old buttons, lace, doilies ( I have a collection of over 100) and vintage china.
I am tagging the following people - can't wait to see what they revel, lol.............
Pickelberry Primitives
Hazleruthes
The Gathering Room
2 Dancing Crows
The Primitive Pear
Hugs, Donna D.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Is it Spring yet?
Morning everyone......
I am so ready for Spring. Since I last posted we have had about 10 - 12" of snow. Not all at once, thank goodness but in three seperate batches. First we got 6", then two more batches of around 3" each one day apart. That might not sound like much but for this area it is. The last couple of years, the neighbor who plows our long driveway has only had to plow twice and that was from November till the end of March. This year he's already plowed four times. The snow has been small and powderery, which the ski resort people love but it blows and drifts really badly and when you live in the open country like I do, it drifts across your drive and covers your clean car quickly. I'm learning to leave my car covered with snow till I'm ready to go some where so I only have to brush it off once, lol.
The other reason I'm not liking the weather is that I'm not used to it anymore. For the past few years, while I drove the 'big' truck with my DH, we mostly drove down south, from Florida to California and it doesn't snow much down there, lol. It hasn't been all that warm down there lately in the winter but much milder then it gets here in Michigan and no snow, which is a big plus as far as I'm concerned.
I guess I shouldn't really complain because I have driven out west in the mountains during the winter and was really happy to be driving something that weighed 80,000 lbs. because it gave me much better traction and I felt safer - would not like dealing with the weather out there in only a car.
On the crafting side, I finally have the craft room mostly cleaned out and arranged for crafting. I need to clean one set of shelves and finish the closet but the rest is done. I might get to sew this week - yea! I've also been cleaning and weeding out my patterns and found some I had forgotten that I had which was a pleasant surprise - now to decide what to make first. I also want to try my hand at some 'altered art' and might try that later in the week - we'll have to see how things go.
Wishing everyone a snow-free week and a happy productive one..............
Hugs, Donna D.
I am so ready for Spring. Since I last posted we have had about 10 - 12" of snow. Not all at once, thank goodness but in three seperate batches. First we got 6", then two more batches of around 3" each one day apart. That might not sound like much but for this area it is. The last couple of years, the neighbor who plows our long driveway has only had to plow twice and that was from November till the end of March. This year he's already plowed four times. The snow has been small and powderery, which the ski resort people love but it blows and drifts really badly and when you live in the open country like I do, it drifts across your drive and covers your clean car quickly. I'm learning to leave my car covered with snow till I'm ready to go some where so I only have to brush it off once, lol.
The other reason I'm not liking the weather is that I'm not used to it anymore. For the past few years, while I drove the 'big' truck with my DH, we mostly drove down south, from Florida to California and it doesn't snow much down there, lol. It hasn't been all that warm down there lately in the winter but much milder then it gets here in Michigan and no snow, which is a big plus as far as I'm concerned.
I guess I shouldn't really complain because I have driven out west in the mountains during the winter and was really happy to be driving something that weighed 80,000 lbs. because it gave me much better traction and I felt safer - would not like dealing with the weather out there in only a car.
On the crafting side, I finally have the craft room mostly cleaned out and arranged for crafting. I need to clean one set of shelves and finish the closet but the rest is done. I might get to sew this week - yea! I've also been cleaning and weeding out my patterns and found some I had forgotten that I had which was a pleasant surprise - now to decide what to make first. I also want to try my hand at some 'altered art' and might try that later in the week - we'll have to see how things go.
Wishing everyone a snow-free week and a happy productive one..............
Hugs, Donna D.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
A Very Wild Week............
Morning everyone!!!!!
The past week has been very strange. Not sure I need any more weeks like this - way too stressful for me, lol.
The week started out OK but went downhill about mid-week. My BG reading had been doing great but then started to go up and come to find out that it's true - everything effects them! Here's what happened:
Wednesday I passed my usual gas station and saw that gas prices were down to $2.81, which is low here, and thought - gotta fill up on the way home - so I stopped and did just that, spending a quick $25. As I left the station I noticed that the car hesitated, but then seemed to run fine. It did it again a couple more times and then I was home and I parked. The next day, I went to start the car - and NOTHING - it turned over and then died. So I called road service and they towed the car to the dealership where we get it serviced - after a 2 1/2 hour wait - more stress, lol. They kept the car overnight - removed the gas tank, drained the fuel lines and then told me that the fuel in the tank smelled more like water and ethanol then gasoline. The total cost for this was $310!!!
On Friday after I got home, I called the gas station and told them what had happened and they said that someone would be in touch. Well, I waited all day to hear from someone and when I didn't, I figured that they had just given me the run around. But Saturday morning I heard from the Company which runs the station and found out that at least 7 - 8 others had had the same thing happen and they said that they would cover everything including the gas lost and the gas I bought to replace it and the dealership bill. While I will feel better about this once I have a check in hand, it does sort of restore my faith in people. so I guess it did end well. Now to get things back to normal and reduce the stress levels a bit, lol.
On the crafting front things were sort of at a standstill this week, although I have decided to open a store on Etsy - just not sure when I will do that. Stay tuned and will post more news here soon. I need to do some research and see how things are doing and what's selling before I do much more. I did go through some patterns last night and pulled some of them to start on. I'm looking forward to this and maybe some Ebay in the Fall.
Today the temp is 12 and it's way to cold out but at least this isn't making any more stress for me - I'll just stay in and do some things around the house. Hope it's a bit warmer where you're at and that you all have a great day......................
Hugs, Donna D.
The past week has been very strange. Not sure I need any more weeks like this - way too stressful for me, lol.
The week started out OK but went downhill about mid-week. My BG reading had been doing great but then started to go up and come to find out that it's true - everything effects them! Here's what happened:
Wednesday I passed my usual gas station and saw that gas prices were down to $2.81, which is low here, and thought - gotta fill up on the way home - so I stopped and did just that, spending a quick $25. As I left the station I noticed that the car hesitated, but then seemed to run fine. It did it again a couple more times and then I was home and I parked. The next day, I went to start the car - and NOTHING - it turned over and then died. So I called road service and they towed the car to the dealership where we get it serviced - after a 2 1/2 hour wait - more stress, lol. They kept the car overnight - removed the gas tank, drained the fuel lines and then told me that the fuel in the tank smelled more like water and ethanol then gasoline. The total cost for this was $310!!!
On Friday after I got home, I called the gas station and told them what had happened and they said that someone would be in touch. Well, I waited all day to hear from someone and when I didn't, I figured that they had just given me the run around. But Saturday morning I heard from the Company which runs the station and found out that at least 7 - 8 others had had the same thing happen and they said that they would cover everything including the gas lost and the gas I bought to replace it and the dealership bill. While I will feel better about this once I have a check in hand, it does sort of restore my faith in people. so I guess it did end well. Now to get things back to normal and reduce the stress levels a bit, lol.
On the crafting front things were sort of at a standstill this week, although I have decided to open a store on Etsy - just not sure when I will do that. Stay tuned and will post more news here soon. I need to do some research and see how things are doing and what's selling before I do much more. I did go through some patterns last night and pulled some of them to start on. I'm looking forward to this and maybe some Ebay in the Fall.
Today the temp is 12 and it's way to cold out but at least this isn't making any more stress for me - I'll just stay in and do some things around the house. Hope it's a bit warmer where you're at and that you all have a great day......................
Hugs, Donna D.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Reflections on a Snowy Sunday.................
Its' snowing here in Michigan, big fluffy flakes. Not enough to cover the ground, just frost some of the things with some snow - it looks really pretty. Supposed to snow all day so we will probably get 1 - 2", not alot but enough to coat everything in a blanket of white. It would be great if it would stay that way for the rest of winter but since I've lived here for 37 years, I know that we're going to get a lot more snow before 'Ole Man Winter' is done.
Since I made adjustments to my medication and diet, my BG's have been in the 90 to 120 range, pretty much all the time and I'm slowly getting used to them being close to 'normal'. For the first few days I was really tired but now I feel great and have much more energy. Will be starting my exercise program tomorrow and this should jump start my weight loss. I'm looking forward to losing some weight and getting more healthy.
The craft room is coming along and should be done in a couple of days. I need to pick up a couple more storage boxes and then finish sorting my material. Once that is all done, I'm going to start making a few things for the house and myself. In all the years I spent crafting for shows, eBay and the Country Sampler I never kept anything for myself and its going to be nice to finally have a few 'goodies' for myself. I 'm not sure what I'm going to make first but will go through all may patterns and then decide, if I can, lol.
Guess I'll go and buy those boxes and then finish up the craft room........Have a good day and enjoy the rest of the weekend..............
Hugs, Donna D.
Since I made adjustments to my medication and diet, my BG's have been in the 90 to 120 range, pretty much all the time and I'm slowly getting used to them being close to 'normal'. For the first few days I was really tired but now I feel great and have much more energy. Will be starting my exercise program tomorrow and this should jump start my weight loss. I'm looking forward to losing some weight and getting more healthy.
The craft room is coming along and should be done in a couple of days. I need to pick up a couple more storage boxes and then finish sorting my material. Once that is all done, I'm going to start making a few things for the house and myself. In all the years I spent crafting for shows, eBay and the Country Sampler I never kept anything for myself and its going to be nice to finally have a few 'goodies' for myself. I 'm not sure what I'm going to make first but will go through all may patterns and then decide, if I can, lol.
Guess I'll go and buy those boxes and then finish up the craft room........Have a good day and enjoy the rest of the weekend..............
Hugs, Donna D.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Morning everyone!!!!!!!!
We have been having the craziest weather up here in Michigan - its been around 60 the past couple of days , with lots of rain (even some thunder and lightening) and couple of tornado warnings and today its back to the 30's and going to get colder over the next weekend with some snow flurries - guess we just hd our 'January Thaw'. We had a couple of really loud thunder claps last night - one so loud that a shelf fell down and my poor cat jumped up about 3 feet in the air and then ran under the bed and didn't come out till I went to bed - he must have thought that the world was ending, lol. Today we also have 40 - 50 mph winds and sunshine, so that will dry things up a bit. Personally, I wouldn't have minded if it had stayed at 60 for the rest of the winter, lol.
It looks like changing my medicine was a good choice because my BG's have been alot lower in the mornings and have been good all day long. I'm still getting used to them being this low but overall I do feel better. Now if I can just get some more weight off, I will be really happy. I'm down about 15 pounds and would like to take off about 50 more - I'm aiming for 1 -2 lbs. a week and I'm going to up the exercise starting next week and see if that helps. Overall, I'm happy with how things are this week and hope to keep them like this - I feel so much better.
My craft room is almost all organized - I can actually find things, lol. The only thing left is the closet and I'll get to that this weekend. I was going to work on it today but with the sun shining I've decided to go and visit a couple of thrift shops in the area - haven't gone 'thrifting' in a while and it looks to be a good day for it.
I started the afghan for my daughter a dn while there are only a few rows done, it looks really good. I only hope that she doesn't figure out that its for her and that I can keep it a surprise. the colors aren't really what I normlly like, so if she asks I'm going to say it's for fall because there are alot of fall colors in it. When DH gets home again, I'll get the digital and post some pics - hopefully I will be able to figure out how to post them on here.
Thanks for stopping in and do leave comments - I like to know what you think of things....
Hugs, Donna D.
We have been having the craziest weather up here in Michigan - its been around 60 the past couple of days , with lots of rain (even some thunder and lightening) and couple of tornado warnings and today its back to the 30's and going to get colder over the next weekend with some snow flurries - guess we just hd our 'January Thaw'. We had a couple of really loud thunder claps last night - one so loud that a shelf fell down and my poor cat jumped up about 3 feet in the air and then ran under the bed and didn't come out till I went to bed - he must have thought that the world was ending, lol. Today we also have 40 - 50 mph winds and sunshine, so that will dry things up a bit. Personally, I wouldn't have minded if it had stayed at 60 for the rest of the winter, lol.
It looks like changing my medicine was a good choice because my BG's have been alot lower in the mornings and have been good all day long. I'm still getting used to them being this low but overall I do feel better. Now if I can just get some more weight off, I will be really happy. I'm down about 15 pounds and would like to take off about 50 more - I'm aiming for 1 -2 lbs. a week and I'm going to up the exercise starting next week and see if that helps. Overall, I'm happy with how things are this week and hope to keep them like this - I feel so much better.
My craft room is almost all organized - I can actually find things, lol. The only thing left is the closet and I'll get to that this weekend. I was going to work on it today but with the sun shining I've decided to go and visit a couple of thrift shops in the area - haven't gone 'thrifting' in a while and it looks to be a good day for it.
I started the afghan for my daughter a dn while there are only a few rows done, it looks really good. I only hope that she doesn't figure out that its for her and that I can keep it a surprise. the colors aren't really what I normlly like, so if she asks I'm going to say it's for fall because there are alot of fall colors in it. When DH gets home again, I'll get the digital and post some pics - hopefully I will be able to figure out how to post them on here.
Thanks for stopping in and do leave comments - I like to know what you think of things....
Hugs, Donna D.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Good Morning Everyone...........
Yesterday was an interesting day. I had a Dr's. appointment to check on how well my medicine was working. After several minutes of discussion and checking of records, my Dr. said that she thought things were OK and that we would continue on with the same doses, etc. I didn't agree and told her why. After some consideration on her part, she agreed with me and she changed my Metformin to a higher dose and asked me to come back in six weeks for a reevaluation. I have never challenged a Dr's. opinion before - just followed their directions . I felt really good - like I had taken some control back over my life - and was a part of the decision making. After all, it is my health and life and I should be a part of making any decisions that will affect me later on.
On the crafting front, not much has changed except that I am going to spend the weekend cleaning and straighting out the mess in my craft room so that I might finally get in there and sew. I did visit a new Quilt Shop that opened last October and picked up a really cute pattern for some Valentine heart ornies from a company called "under the garden moon". The pattern is made from red, cream, pink and purple wools (several different shades of each) and then you embellish them with lace, thread, beads, buttons and ribbon trims. Since I have quite a bit of that sort of thing on hand, I thought this would be a fun project to work on.
I'm also going to start an afghan for my daughter, as she just bought her first house and needs everything. She's been raiding mine for the past couple of months and I never know what she's going to ask for next. I guess this is a good way to downsize and de-clutter, lol. The afghan is going to be in earth tones and a lace pattern that I found to crochet on the Lion Brand website and made from their Homespun yarn.
Guess I'll go and enjoy a cup of yarn and check out a couple of my favorite forums - The Sisters at Heart and Primitive and Rustic Decorating - both on the Delphi boards. Both of these forums are great for talking crafting and meeting some really great crafters from all over. I really enjoy talking with them and sharing ideas.
Have a great day and thanks for reading. I'm going to try and update this at least twice a week - on Wednesdays and then on the weekend - so see you then........
Hugs, Donna D.
Yesterday was an interesting day. I had a Dr's. appointment to check on how well my medicine was working. After several minutes of discussion and checking of records, my Dr. said that she thought things were OK and that we would continue on with the same doses, etc. I didn't agree and told her why. After some consideration on her part, she agreed with me and she changed my Metformin to a higher dose and asked me to come back in six weeks for a reevaluation. I have never challenged a Dr's. opinion before - just followed their directions . I felt really good - like I had taken some control back over my life - and was a part of the decision making. After all, it is my health and life and I should be a part of making any decisions that will affect me later on.
On the crafting front, not much has changed except that I am going to spend the weekend cleaning and straighting out the mess in my craft room so that I might finally get in there and sew. I did visit a new Quilt Shop that opened last October and picked up a really cute pattern for some Valentine heart ornies from a company called "under the garden moon". The pattern is made from red, cream, pink and purple wools (several different shades of each) and then you embellish them with lace, thread, beads, buttons and ribbon trims. Since I have quite a bit of that sort of thing on hand, I thought this would be a fun project to work on.
I'm also going to start an afghan for my daughter, as she just bought her first house and needs everything. She's been raiding mine for the past couple of months and I never know what she's going to ask for next. I guess this is a good way to downsize and de-clutter, lol. The afghan is going to be in earth tones and a lace pattern that I found to crochet on the Lion Brand website and made from their Homespun yarn.
Guess I'll go and enjoy a cup of yarn and check out a couple of my favorite forums - The Sisters at Heart and Primitive and Rustic Decorating - both on the Delphi boards. Both of these forums are great for talking crafting and meeting some really great crafters from all over. I really enjoy talking with them and sharing ideas.
Have a great day and thanks for reading. I'm going to try and update this at least twice a week - on Wednesdays and then on the weekend - so see you then........
Hugs, Donna D.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
A New Start for a New Year.................
It's a new year and a new start for 'the Old Crow'. I've recently retired from driving team with my hubby , due to being diagnosted with Type 2 diabetes, and I'm ready for a new start.
Things have been interesting lately, what with learning how to cook and shop for food all over again - to say nothing of learning to deal with measuring and weighing everything I eat or drink - but if it helps me get things under control, I guess its a good thing. Not sure I'll ever get used to pricking my finger several times a day but its necessary to getting this under control. Just have to remember to keep rotating those fingers, lol.
I'm looking forward to getting back into crafting again - I'm sure it will help me take my mind off of things and help me handle stress. I've missed sewing and stitching and have so many things I want to make that it won't be a problem finding something to make. I've even taking up crocheting again, after not doing it for over 20 years and found that it came back to me like I'd never stopped. There are so many new yarns out there, its hard to decide which ones to pick. It's been so snowy here the past few days that it won't be a problem to stay inside and craft - just need to decide what to do, lol. I'm sure that there are a lot of new things out there in the 'prim' craft world and I'm looking forward to seeking them out..........
Till next time......Hugs, the Old Crow
Things have been interesting lately, what with learning how to cook and shop for food all over again - to say nothing of learning to deal with measuring and weighing everything I eat or drink - but if it helps me get things under control, I guess its a good thing. Not sure I'll ever get used to pricking my finger several times a day but its necessary to getting this under control. Just have to remember to keep rotating those fingers, lol.
I'm looking forward to getting back into crafting again - I'm sure it will help me take my mind off of things and help me handle stress. I've missed sewing and stitching and have so many things I want to make that it won't be a problem finding something to make. I've even taking up crocheting again, after not doing it for over 20 years and found that it came back to me like I'd never stopped. There are so many new yarns out there, its hard to decide which ones to pick. It's been so snowy here the past few days that it won't be a problem to stay inside and craft - just need to decide what to do, lol. I'm sure that there are a lot of new things out there in the 'prim' craft world and I'm looking forward to seeking them out..........
Till next time......Hugs, the Old Crow
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