Knowing Me, Knowing You

I thought I would participate in the Knowing You, Knowing Me linky party over at To Sew With Love.  Thanks ladies for giving us the chance to learn more about each other!

So here are my answers:

1. What's your most favorite household chore?
Cooking, of any kind really.

2. What's your least favorite household chore?
First ironing but a close second would be washing dishes.  Love my dishwasher!

3. Coffee or tea?

Coffee, but I like tea also.

4. Fried chips/french fries or boiled/steamed broccoli?

Steamed broccoli if it has cheese!! LOL
5. Your most favorite time of the day?
Morning, when everything is quiet.

6. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear "sunday mornings"?

Worship with our church family!

Photog Me

Well, I had intended to post tonight about my really cute soap dispenser that I upcycled thanks to the inspiration of A Love to Create and her post about decorative plates but then I came outside and sat on our newly finished deck and took some pictures. 
A little history on the day.
My husband has been sick since Wednesday night and he hasn't been this sick since he was a child with the chicken pox.  I have had a hard time being inside in this pretty weather so this morning after he went back to bed (with the help of nyquil because he won't agree to the doctor) I went outside to walk around and take pictures.
I have loved taking pictures since I was a teenager and using my cousin and his wife's new camera at Alabama's big outdoor concert in well, Alabama.  I got a Rebel EOS film edition when I was about 24 and then later I got the DSLR and I still use it today.  It is several years old but it works great.
So I have done pictures for different friends of their children and a wedding.  Also a few family pictures here and there.  Hopefully, once we get the house at a point to stop for awhile, I can pursue this along with my sewing and crafting.  I really enjoy it. A lot.
So here are some of the pics I have taken today.  Hope you enjoy them.

Blessings,
LA

Reversible purse

Well, today I finished a purse I started yesterday that I found over at Very Purple Person.  I had some material that I got free from someone getting rid of a lot of things and some I had bought to use in the spare room (obviously I haven't done that yet). 


This was the free fabric




This is the spare room fabric

I had fun making this bag and it was relatively easy.  I must admit though that I had a hard time cutting my fabric because my cutting mat is on the bed in the basement bedroom.  This is not a good cutting station at all!!  So my straps didn't exactly match up. But it all worked in the end.
Because I got the chance to trim the straps when I had to un-stitch aka rip out the seams.  She warns you in the tutorial to pay attention when you are sewing the straps because it is easy to sew them opposite in which case you don't have straps.  I was talking on the phone with my mom during this step and was so excited to finish my purse and then I realized what I did.  So frustrating but hopefully a learning event took place.
I would actually lengthen the straps to make the purse a little longer because I have a long torso and currently the purse just fits. 
I added pockets as you can tell by my cell phone peaking out and this is an added feature.  So, now what to wear so I can use my new purse?? red or blue?

Have a blessed weekend!
LA

I am linking up here:

WIP Wednesday of a different sort

This week my WIP list will be a little different.  There is only one sewing item  on it and it is a garbage bag for a friend's car.

The rest of my list involves working on the house (see posts Deck 201 and Housework of a different breed).

We are working on
1. finishing the sheetrock in the new area and this is also finishing the outside door.
2. plumbing for utility sink and washing machine in laundry room
3. plumbing for sink and toilet in mudroom.
4. possible shower in mudroom
5. finish retaining walls uner deck
6. stain or paint deck (figure out which will work better)
7. treat ground or termites and treat wood with a preservative (it is already treated but it will be buried so trying to be extra cautious)
8. work on door to under house because it will be a root cellar one day soon
9. figure out how to mount post finials with solar lights (we ended up with a flat board so it won't go directly on the post)
10. move the dining room light to center the table

We have completed
THE DECK!!!

Woo hoo!

Well, have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!!

LA

Deck 201

Well, we finished the deck and the majority of our retaining walls yesterday.  We will continue on the retaining walls and trying to figure out how to paint or stain the boards.  We used reclaimed wood so it has a lot of stains and/or marks on it.
There has been a lot of digging and my digger is so out of shape it isn't funny!  But it is getting better!
We built a wall under the deck on the house side because we needed to underpin the house addition.  I know it looks a little odd to have all the open space go to closed in space but that is why we did it.  Oh and the bank said so.
Here are a few shots of what we have done.

At the stopping point Sunday

Hole number 347589046

First retaining wall section

At the end of Tuesday



It's Briggs approved!!  :)

 So until the next installment of deck building with the in-laws, have a wonderfully blessed Wednesdsay!

LA

Housework of a different breed

Well, this week will be filled with "housework."  Not the usual sweeping, mopping (which I now call sharking), and washing dishes; but the sheetrock hanging, deck building and plumbing variety.

My in-laws are visiting to help us with some of these projects.  Yes, I have the most amazing mother and father-in-law!!   I also have a pretty great little brother (in-law) now!  I always wanted one growing up!  The sheetrock is on hold until we can figure out some of the plumbing.  Apparently you can't just put things where you want to, even if it makes the best use of room!  There is this thing called "the code" you must follow, and I am not talking morse here!  Although, it makes about the same about of sense to me.

So we are building the deck outside of the new side door because it is about 6 feet off of the ground and the bank says we have to have steps or something, with a rail, outside of the door.  Yesterday we got the footings dug and the frame built.  Today, we hope to set the posts and maybe put up a couple of floor joists between church services.  Tonight we are going to a homeless shelter an providing dinner and a message (the whole church not just me and J).


DH, MIL and BIL



So if you have worked on any major projects, you know half of your time is spent figuring out what you need to do!!  This is that time caught on film.  They were debating where to put the board to attach the deck to the house.  The issue is the door.  It is not completely set, so the decision was made to remove the door. (It will be put back, soon.  I think)

Cutting and measuring and oh measure that again!!

We are mixing and pouring the concrete for the footings for the posts we hope to set today. One of my favorite tools is the concrete mixer attachment for my drill!! (This is not my drill but an older one my DH has)  We have mixed paint, sheetrock mud and concrete with it!!

At the end of the day, here is our progress.  We did put some plastic up over the door!  The mosquitos are already making an appearance here in the South.

Pray for us and I hope you have a blessed week!

LA

Life Happening Here

Well, I haven't blogged as much the last couple weeks but I have been pretty busy.  If you saw my earlier post about our friend JR Oliver then you know some of it.  He has been moved to a rehab unit and this week actually given food.  Yay! He loves food so it will definitely lift his spirits to be able to eat again.  He is working pretty hard in therapy learning balance again and some movement.   Since his stroke, he still has not been able to move his left side.  The Lord has given us a miracle already being he is alive and his mind seems to have no effects.  Please continue to pray for him and Benita.

Also, my husband and I have been working on the house.  Plumbing is not as simple as it looks people!!  Ha ha some of you probably know this already.

I did a few things while J was out of town this week to surprise him with upon his return.  First, I spraypainted some bottles ivory to make a centerpiece for our table and also spraypainted some limbs of a couple trees to go in them.  I didn't really want to spend money on flowers and then they would be gone.  Also, learned a valuable lesson about priming!  (thanks Kim!)

I also made a clock out of one of our wedding pictures.  I started out intending to modpodge a picture on a piece of wood, but it didn't turn out. So I was looking for an alternative and found a picture frame to use.

I am not an experienced mod-podger so I had issue with that but then I had forgotten to check the thickness of my wood.  The clock mechanism wouldn't go through the wood.  Hmmph!
Oh well  live and learn!
I am in the process of making a wreath from some big vines we pulled out of the trees behind the house.  It is oval and still needs a good bit of work, but I like the start of it.

The last surprise he knows about so far, is the shirt I made!!  I used some light pink knit material and covered it with lace I had left over from my wedding dress.

This is the first time I have made something from scratch without a pattern for me.  I have made smaller things with my imagination (it is quite active!)  I used a shirt I had to trace around and make a pattern of sorts.  I discovered the overedge stitch on my sewing machine! Love it!  Looks like I used a serger on the seams.  I also used the stretch zigzag for attaching my lace so it would have some give to it.  :)  And lastly, I made a rosette clip for my hair to match from the lace also.

So I hope everyone has had a great week!!

Prayers,
LA

Yippee!!

I am so excited because I don't usually win anything I enter.  BUT I did this time!! I entered the fleece contest at my local Hancock's (which I love! Those ladies are awesome!), and I won second place!!  Yippee!!  I entered my fleece chullo hat I posted a few weeks ago:

I had looked for a fleece version of the chullo or a pattern for it and couldn't find one online so I came up with my own pattern from another one.

The really fun part (besides winning! is the prize - $50 gift card to Hancock's!!  Fun stuff ahead!!

Well, Have a great day and I will settle down a little bit!!  I have to get ready for family coming this weekend.  We have more sheetrock, plumbing, and windows on the to-do list.  Oh and a set of steps and a landing.

Lee Ann

Woo hoo!

Woo hoo!

Making bread!

Don't judge the state of my kitchen, we are in the middle of remodeling the house.  :)  This is actually an improved state!

I found some recipes this week from The Farm Girl and Joy in My Kitchen:

Homemade white bread

Cinnamon bread (along with the cinnamon honey butter)

Whole wheat bread

I decided to try it because my husband loves bread!! He would eat fresh bread rather than a chocolate cupcake! (I know, blasphemy!)

I was nervous because I had never made any bread and have always heard how hard it was to get it right. Actually, it wasn't that hard! Hopefully, I just didn't have beginners luck!  hehe

The homemade white bread went really well and was good.  I have enjoyed trying them right out of the oven in all their steamy yumminess!  :)  It made two normal loaves of bread.

The cinnamon bread is in the middle of the two white loaves.

Next up was the cinnamon bread and honey butter.  It turned out really well too.  It actually made one long loaf of bread.  I have one loaf pan from Ikea that is longer than a "normal" loaf pan and I used it with the cinnamon bread.  I next made the cinnamon honey butter to go with it!! A must for sure!  This is when I  started texting pictures to my MIL because she loves cinnamon.  So I will be making this again in the near future when they visit!!!

The cinnamon honey butter is from Tidy Mom but I saw it another site and can't remember which one. I am sorry! They referenced Tidy Mom and had halved her recipe which is how I made it.

Yesterday, I tried the wheat bread.  I do not have a food mill so I bought whole wheat flour to use in it.  I also bought wheat gluten because another recipe from (Jamie Cooks it Up!) I found used it as well as dough enhancer.  The reipe linked above from Farm Girl only uses dough enhancer.  Well, good luck finding dough enhancer!!  Maybe it is where we live, but I have been to Ingles, Wal-Mart and Publix and still can't find it.  For some reason, my bread-loving husband doesn't want me to order it online. 

SO, I made the wheat bread with a wheat gluten (with ascorbic acid added) instead of dough enhancer and it turned out pretty good!!  I was excited. The recipe would probably make 3 normal loaves but I used one normal pan and my extra long Ikea pan.  :)

Also, I want to caution you if you  make this, this dough locked down my Kitchen Aid stand mixer!  It mixed everything together and proceeded to knead the dough for about 4 minutes and it slowly wound to a halt.  It is an older one with a 375 watt motor. So next time, I will let the mixer mix it and then take it out and knead it by hand.  One day (when our budget allows) I want to get a Bosch mixer like this:

This thing has an 800 watt motor!!

But unil then, me and the Kitchen Aid will work it out!!!

Love and much butter this week! :)

Lee Ann

My JoAnn's haul

My MIL and I went to JoAnn's after we finished lettering some trucks (she has a sign business) and I got these fun items!

I have learned  my lesson on thread and I starting to build my cache of quality thread!  Also, I got some elastic thread to try shirring on a cute piece of material for a little girls top.  :)

Much smiles!

Lee Ann

Love!

This journal was a gift from my friend  RuRu! She knows I love hootie owls!

Love! This was a gift from my friend, RuRu! She knows I love hootie owls!

Latest vinyl project . . LOL

Previously, I have mentioned that my MIL is a sign-maker.  This is an example of one thing she does in her business.  This picture is my MIL and FIL going over the letters after we have put them on.  I helped them, along with another friend - Ruthie, put the letters on two trailers this week while I was in South Georgia.

I was there because our dear friend JR Oliver had a massie stroke.  He is the best friend of my FIL and his wife is my MIL's best friend.  I was there to support them in any way I could.

I have a wonderful family and I include my in-laws as family same as blood family.  They are amazing people.  I don't talk about my parents as much because they wouldn't like being "on the internet."   They are awesome though!

The above picture shows how I was introduced to vinyl, (this and smaller signs!)  I thought all of you would appreciate it!

LA

Prayers for JR Oliver

JR Oliver is a dear friend of mine and my husband.  He had a massive stroke on last Friday morning and was without help until about 5 PM that afternoon.  As of now, he doesn't have the ability to move his left side and he can't swallow enough now to eat.  They are talking about a peg feeding tube to help him regain strength.  Please pray for him. We know our God is greater!