Translate

June 30, 2010

Everything

Vera is fine.  
Big exhale.

Jesssica cried at Day Camp drop-off.
Her poor Mom.
Her brother was fine.
No baby yet.

June 29, 2010

Shirring

I am officially addicted to shirring.  Jessica is not allowed to wear dresses in Day Camp.  So I made her a top yesterday.  It was rejected - too short - give it to Aunt Nikki's baby (if it's a girl).
(Her belly button may show, and that's a huge no no!)


So I'll make another one.
And Aunt Nikki requested 'diaper covers' aka little bloomers/panties with any dresses for possible little girls.
Done.
And I am making beachy bags.  Red and  white stripes with blue lining.
Patriotic.

Some more Shelter Island photos, different camera:
This is the first house you see as you start driving after getting off the ferry.

The Drug Store, with the Chequit to the right
.

 And the pilings at the ferry dock.

 And on the ferry....
And some Island architecture...

The geraniums are fenced in so the deer don't think they are food.  Yes, they are a pain in the neck even on the island.
Oh, and it's a kettle from the days of whale fishing in or near New England....

Speaking of deer, on the way home from my walk this morning I came across the deer.  It had three fawns.  I have no idea if that was the deer in my yard.  The fawns looked just darling.  And the deer was three steps away from me.  Probably knew I wouldn't do anything.

I am waiting for a phone call from Claus.
To find out how Vera is.

June 27, 2010

Hot Sunday with Goonies

Okay, it is hot, and I did watch 'The Goonies' with the kids in the back coming back from the overnight visit to the lovely house on the lovely water sheltered by the North and South Forks of Long Island.

And let's see what is on this memory card:

The North Ferry Building with the lovely hydrangeas,
A granddaughter with a dress and hat made by yours truly,
A Matthew who looks like he is bending backwards, throwing the ball to his Mom
A Mom tossing balls to her son,
An outdoor shower we all use,
A perfect setting to play catch,
a beautiful little girl with gorgeous hydrangeas (that's what mine look like)
Again, gorgeous setting, perfect day....
Oh, yes, I can never resist taking a picture here...
And a little, excuse me, big boy playing DS....
on the ferry on the way home.
(And before anyone gets any funny ideas, we use the shower one at a time.)






June 25, 2010

Shelter

The neighbor in Shelter Island told us that she collects blue bottles, and when she goes out in the boat, she drops them in the water.
My son-in-law was puzzled.
I got it right away.
So someday someone will find blue sea glass.

Weekend and Ocean

And another weekend is here.  Beautiful weekend weather, sun, warm, balmy, actually hot yesterday.  I visited the pregnant lady, and she looks great, albeit pregnant.  Her tummy comes into the room waaayyyy before she does!  (kidding)
Jackson was sick, home with a fever.  He felt better because he had meds, but then he went to the couch and told us his head hurt.  I was confused - he knows what a headache is?!  Nicole explained that was because she asked him 'does your head hurt?'. 

Going out to dinner tonight (Mexican), and I'm looking forward to it.  With a friend, meeting two former co-workers of hers, and those ladies are fun. I'm looking forward to Margarita(s).

Early day tomorrow, a ride to Shelter Island.  Just for overnight (note to self: don't forget your bathing suit!).

Yes, I went for my walk this morning.  I do it to keep diabetes at bay.  The 10,000 steps a day.  Yes, it's not easy, but --- see the post about anything done more then 21 times becoming a habit.  And by now it's something like yoga for others, or meditating.


I left the house before 5:30 AM, and it was busy down by the pond.  And I don't think the swans have any more babies.

I check the plants and flowers along the way, get yelled at by the crows at the school, and see the goose babies and duck babies grow up.  The Canadian honkers know how to protect their little ones.  As far as I can see, the parents never let them go in the water.  And the gander watches carefully as you walk by, opening his beak, ready to hiss, should you get too close.  So how come the swans aren't able to hang onto at least one of their babies?
There also is a red-winged blackbird (swear to god that is the name), that has a nest right next to the water, and defends it like mad, yelling at the crows and making a racket anytime anyone even comes close. 


All right, back to work - I hope you all have a great weekend!

June 24, 2010

Jessica's new dress








And this is the third dress I made shirring the  top.  It comes together as I go along.  I didn't intend to have the little ruffle at the waist, I just thought it was cute and didn't like to cut it off.
I did gather the skirt with the elastic in the bottom bobbin, so I wouldn't have to bother with a zipper.  And then I joined both pieces with elastic in the bottom bobbin as well.
One more tip:  I found my electronic home super sewing machine with the drop-in bobbin wasn't thrilled sewing the elastic, I took it to work, and used a commercial heavy duty machine, where you insert the bobbin from underneath.
The other dresses will have to wait for a photo until I catch the princess in them.
I was told that she wore the one I made yesterday to the last day of school.





Posted by Picasa

June 23, 2010

Shirring - that's the word!

And the tutorial for shirring is here
And it's fun and it's easy.
And Jessica likes it,
And Linda, who works with me, likes it too and wants to make something for her granddaughter.
Pictures will follow!
Oh, and for all the Germans (I think there may be one or two,
I tried out the Google translator yesterday.
And I was amazed that it was pretty accurate.
Up until now every translator I ever tried came up with gobbledigook.
Check it out!

Dresses for Jessica

I made a dress for Jessica yesterday.  A little summer dress with maybe a yard of fabric.  And if I can remember the name of the technique I used, I'll link it to where I saw it.  (This getting older thing and forgetting stuff is for the birds) (but then again, English being the language with the most words, with over 2,000 being added every year, it's no small wonder that I forgot an expression)
... anyway, it's the filling of the lower bobbin with the thin elastic and sewing strips of elastic onto the material, the regular thread from the top, the elastic on the bottom, and then rows of it, as many as you want.
Since the piece of fabric was fairly long, I cut off two strips on the bottom and made the straps for the top, to be tied into pretty bows.  The fabric for the dress was very romantic, roses with bows on beige background, I thought I would get an objection from the princess.  On the contrary, she snapped it up, and changed into it as soon as she got home.  And when I asked if she'd like more, her eyes lit up, and she said 'yes!'.
When I inquired about preferences on pattern or color I was told it didn't matter.
I guess she trusts me.
When I remember to get my camera back into my purse (don't forget memory card), I'll post pictures.
And no, it's not rushing (wrong) or ruching.....
And oh, my son-in-law's Dad is in the hospital.
Feel better soon, Ron!

June 21, 2010

Noah

We had a good time at the birthday party.
The trip down took us over 6 hours.  And we crossed two States (for Vicki), drove from NJ to PA, then DE into MD.
And got there at after 10 PM.  Jackson was asleep and I was able to transfer him without him waking up.  We had put him in his pj's when we left the restaurant where we had supper.
The boys started playing really early:
and played the entire day, interrupted with naps for Noah.  Jackson kept going all day.
The cake was baked by Noah's Mom Sue
who does a great job with cakes - simply amazing.
See:
Guess what Noah likes?  Trucks?  You think?
The singing of 'happy birthday' went off without a hitch, the cake was not only good looking, delicious on top of it.
And the boys liked:

and liked some more:
they played in the dirt:

and a little with Noah's cousin Kaely.
A very busy day!  I had to drag off a screaming Jackson, who didn't want to leave, but then fell asleep within 10 minutes of getting in the car.  And he slept all the way home, and continued to sleep until 7 AM yesterday morning.
Great food, great party!

June 20, 2010

Deer

The birthday report will come later (good time had by all).
I was just bringing out the garbage,
messing around in my front yard,
I had a hard time putting the lid on the can.
Finally done, dragged the can to the curb,
I'm going back into the house, I look to the right, and this is what I see
in my postage sized front yard:
And I don't live way out in the country.  No, it's a community with houses all around, a school down the street, but this is the wildlife around here.
resting in Muryphy's (cat that died 1 year ago) favorite spot.
And it the deer let me go in the house, get my camera, take some photos, and did this:
Started eating while laying down.
Guess I'm no threat.  And me running toward it waiving my arms and yelling the other day made enough of an impression to come back.
I give up.

June 16, 2010

Maryland

This weekend we are celebrating Noah's second birthday.  And I am all set to go with friends, who are also invited, on the four-hour-plus ride.  Theoretically it's only supposed to take four hours.  In reality, on a Friday, from our corner of NJ through Philadelphia, which we'll most likely hit at rush hour, we'll be lucky to make it in said four hours.
But one can hope.
It's all set so far, the presents are bought/given to me/made (well mostly), my bag is being packed (add pj's) (and shoes), and it looks like I'm set.
Nicole calls.  Jackson saw the presents meant for Noah, and wanted to know if they were his.  No, for Noah - Noah's party is this weekend, he was told.
Can I help Noah open his presents?  was his question.
So I got the call if I want to take Jackson on our trip.
Of course!  Love to hang out with a grandson, and have two of them - the two who have the same birthday - be at a party together.

It'll be fun!

June 15, 2010

Comments

CJane from Cjane enjoy it stopped by and left a comment!

How cool is that?!

She's only one of the star bloggers and I enjoy her entries.  Doesn't matter that we are at totally different parts in our lives, I just enjoy it (ha!  double entandre)

Anyway, it made my day.

I came home tonight and found my dumb deer resting!  laying down!  in my tiny front yard.  And I bought stuff (expensive) to chase deer away/make things NOT taste good to deer.

I better get my money back.  It makes dumb deer sleep in my yard.
Really.

I managed to call two birthday boys today (their birthdays are/were celebrated on different days), and promptly forgot that Jessica graduated from Kindergarten.  And went all the way to work, remembered when I got there, and had to face stop and go traffic to GO BACK about 10+ miles! 
(as my mother used to say, in those moments one could bite oneself in the behind - she said ass - but I want you to keep a good opinion of me)

There is NOTHING on TV tonight.  Really.  What with Fussball/Soccer/Football transmitted, I think live, and the summer repeats starting, there is NOTHING.  Worthwhile.  Ugh.  And I read all the blogs in/on my list.

I'm going to bed.
Good night!

June 14, 2010

Birthdays

I forgot to give Jessica a book I had bought for her birthday.  So she got it on Saturday.  It's a collection of Eloise books, the little girl who lives in the Plaza hotel.
Today her mother told me that she read some of it with the help of her dad.
And cracked up at the dog named 'Wienie'.

And my brother sent me a boatload of buttons.  The ones he made from antlers.  Lovely, lovely buttons, I'll have to take photos.  Three different kinds, and I'll have to figure out what to make with them.  I can't knit fast enough to use them all, so some of them will have to go on bags....  Now to get the right material to really make them pop....

Football, Fussball, Soccer

No soccer in my house.
I don't even look to see who wins what.
I was never a soccer fan, and just peripherally am aware of the World Soccer cup winners.  Yes, I know it's happening.  Yes, I know it's in South Africa.  And yes, I know there is a very annoying instrument associated with it.  I do get that much.  We even get to see live soccer games on TV, I came across that channel the other day.
But I don't care.
Not even a little bit.
My father was a big soccer fan.

With all his problems he cared very much.  When I was 18 years old, my father had to be admitted to the hospital because he collapsed on a Saturday while working with a bleeding ulcer in his stomach.  The bleeding ulcer was sitting on an artery, which meant, that the blood transfusions he got went into his body and were lost immediately via the bleeding ulcer (vomiting), or the other way.  He faded in and out of consciousness  all day Saturday and Sunday, but when he did come to, he wanted the soccer game on.  I think, on the radio.  Far as I remember there were no TV's in the patients rooms back then.
Well Monday came, and the surgeon in that hospital suggested going in as the only option left.  They had hoped the bleeding would stop on it's own.  So my father was operated on, 3/4 of his stomach taken out, and he made it.  I remember the first week switching with my mom, she'd go in during the night, I was there during the day.  He did make it.

This was at a time when you could still buy beer/bring beer to the hospital.  My father was advised to drink beer, for the nutrients (German purity in brewing law) in the beer, and it would be better absorbed by the body.  Worked out fine for him.  He had a bottle or two of beer in the evening, enjoyed it, and that was that.
When he came home, he did end up with jaundice from the blood transfusions, the house had to be fumigated, but he also recovered from that, and went on to have two more serious car accidents, in which his foot got crushed in the first one, and his knee in the second one.
He always managed to recover without complaints, stayed cheerful, never forgot to laugh, always went back to work (don't forget he was an amputee from WWII, and could have gone 'invalid' any time).
Oh, and he somehow was tickled that he outlived that surgeon by years. 
Yeah, I know. 
German sense of humor.

How did I end up writing about my dad?  Oh, yes, soccer - football - Fussball.
He would have been glued to the TV, watching it all and he would have been thrilled the Germans won over Australia.  (okay, I know that much).

And none of us kids inherited a shred of interest for organized sports.

June 13, 2010

Another June Birthday

One more, maybe two, to go. 
Jackson's third birthday was celebrated yesterday, with balloons and a picnic and candles and cake.
And cousins and friends, and little girls and boys.

The weather held, no rain.

The birthday boy blowing out his candles, after he listened to the guests sing the standard
Happy Birthday.
The hat was made by me.... she has them in lots of colors.
The blow-up watering fire engine was a huge hit.
everyone got wet, and the birthday boy proved he got the idea with the potty training by showing his skills.
No, no pictures, we don't want him embarrassed by the long life of photos on the Internet!

Lovely party once again!  And the potato salad I made met with approval.
Someone actually wrestled the camera out of my hands and I made it!

June 10, 2010

Bag lesson

I made these bags today.  A friend of a friend ordered them:
I got the material from the Swedish furniture store.

And this is how I made them:
I cut two strips of material the width of the fabric, then inserted a length of zipper (one side only, from a chain) between them, like this:
then I actually sewed it together on the serger (overlock).  This way it's finished, and I don't have to worry
abut any lose ends.

Then I cut the strip in three pieces - could be more, or less, and then added the slider to the zippers, and serged the edges of the bags.
Sizing the bag - it's your choice how big you want it.


With right sides facing, sew along the edges of the bag, making sure you leave an opening in the lining, and being careful to match the zipper edges, pushing them toward the 'outside'
Sew edges, then either cut a little square off the corner, lay it toward each other, or cut off triangle on bottom:
Do that at all four corners, and you have a three-dimensional bag.
I hope I explained it all so you can follow.  If there are any questions, please let me know.