Merry Christmas Eve........................

I thought I would take the time now and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.  We hosting friends for a nice sit down dinner so will be busy all day.

Ed had his 2nd Chemo treatment this past Monday and is doing well.  His lymphnodes are back to normal and his white count is also.  He is eating like a horse but has only gained 2lbs back.  The Vet and staff are optimistic!  It will be a Merry Christmas in our house, indeed!

May everyone have a Very Merry Christmas!

Fido Friday on Saturday

Getting Better Every Day..........

Ed had his first round of chemo this past Monday, his lymphoma is B cell, which is treatable.  He is doing good, eating and gaining weight (he was under 95lbs, down from 115lbs).  He did pick up a virus at the Vet similar to kennel cough.  The poor guy looked like a 6-year old with a runny nose.  But he seems to be getting over that AND hopefully has not passed it on to Lily.

We are very pleased with his progress.  He has 4 more chemo treatments, this Monday is Cytoxin, which is a baddie but we are hoping he tolerates it well.

Keeping our fingers crossed................................

 

Eddie Update

Eddie is doing much better.  He is eating good and the swelling in his face and limbs has subsided.  He still is a very tired boy getting worn out with a walk around the backyard.  But we are encouraged by his improvement.  We are hoping that we will learn today what type of Lymphoma he has and the course of treatment.  Most definitely we are hoping for the more treatable type.

Fido Friday

Our little boy Eddie is very sick. He had emergency surgery to have his enlarged and bleeding spleen removed.  He has lymphoma.  We don't which kind yet.  He's such a sweet boy and a clown. I am heartbroken.

Back in the Saddle Again.................

I had thought I didn't want to maintain a blog anymore. I had thought what's the point if no one looks at it but me. But after 3 weeks I kind of missed it, even if no one else did.

Unfortunately I deleted a lot of the pictures that went with the previous entries, and our computer had crashed and I don't know if I still have them to restore them.  I'm not sure I want to take the time either.  I think I will just start anew.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.....................

Ah, fall in the Florida Panhandle.  I've been waiting all summer for this and finally it's here.  Along with the hint of cooler weather to come, it's also time to give the pups their fall bath.

Lily is unsuspecting of what lies ahead.

We've lassoed a Rottweiler for washing.

Ed after a good scrubbing.

Lily gets hosed.

The wipedown. Lily is not amused.

Clean and fuzzy.  Hey, you forgot to touch-up my grey!

Ed thinking about what he can roll in to get that "new dog" smell off him.

Ah, fall.....................

Rainy Days and Football Games (and a Birthday Dinner)

It is finally raining here in the FL panhandle and we can sure use it.  That also makes it a great day for watching football without feeling guilty about not being outside doing something.  A win/win situation if you ask me.

Yesterday was our friend Kenny's birthday and Mike put out a really nice spread for his best bud.

Of course we had to start off with a cocktail.  I made one of Kenny's favorites, Caribbean Cruiser.

 The it was time for the cold first course, seared Black Fin tuna (locally caught) with cucumbers, radishes and edamame topped with a spicy mayo and ponzu sauce.

 The warm second course picture should be here........but I didn't remember to take it until we were done eating it...oops.  Anyway it was delicious Tomato Cream Shrimp Risotto.

 Salad course was a simple but tasty Baby Spinach salad with Warm Bacon dressing.

 Main course was Braised Beef Shortribs in a Red Wine sauce, homemade Sharp White Cheddar Mac n' Cheese and Fried Brussels Sprouts (individual leaves) with capers and vinegarette.  The brussels sprout recipe is courtesy of Chef Michael Symon.  These are absolutely delicious!  I could not stop eating them.

Okay, we cheated on dessert. We just couldn't decide what to make, we were flummoxed.  So we picked up a small Chocolate Fudge birthday cake from Walmart.  Let me tell you this was an excellent birthday cake. chocolatey and fudgey, mmmmmmm!

Here's the Birthday Boy.

Here's the Birthday Boy's wife.

Lily also attended the party.......she loves the Birthday Boy.

Ed also attended but even though he is fast approaching 8 years old, he still can not contain himself around company.  So he enjoys the party from the comfort of his kennel which is placed amid the festivities.  He does get to come out and go outside with the boys when they enjoy their cigars.

And here is Birthday Boy's wife showing us her dance moves to her favorite song "Brickhouse".  Shake it, girl!

I think it is safe to say a good time was had by all.

Go Bears!

Could this be the year?

Sure, it's only week 2, but the pairing of Mike Martz and Jay Cutler is the best thing I've seen in Chicago in years!

Yes, the offensive line needs to protect Cutler better and some defensive players need a  week at Tackle Camp.........but a girl can dream can't she?

Never Forget....................

The New Oldsmobiles Are in Early this Year.................

Simplicity...er, New Look came out with their new fall patterns.  And not that I really need any new patterns but these are my favorites:

NL6000

I LOVE this dress! I really like the View C sleeves and collar but prefer the long darts to the side gather.  I think this would be a great holiday dress!

NL6006

Our coat weather down here last from 9:00pm to 9:00am during December and maybe into early January.  But a girl still needs a nice coat, and I need this one, both long and short.  It's perfect, stylish but simple. Love it.

NL6011

I think this is such great work wardrobe.  I like almost every piece, almost, but I think I could learn to like the rosettes.

Three simple patterns......I'm thinking these are the only three I'll ever need.......until next season!

In Style?

Really?  In style?  Ever?

Been A Long Time Since I Rock n' Rolled

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post! And I am ashamed to say I don't have much to sew show for it.

I finished NL 6895.  It turned out okay, wearable under a cardigan or jacket.  The charmeuse was a little bit of a challenge to work with but not as bad as the ITY jersey knits!  Not sure I would make it again though.

Then I moved on to B4957:

I've seen this made by several people and it looked so cute.  I just used a green cotton print from my stash and while the dress fit nicely it just looked kind of frumpy and blah.  So I didn't bother sewing in the zipper and put it aside.

Next up was M5591:

This is another pattern that has been very popular.   Here's my version:

I'm just not feeling the love here.  Maybe it would look better if I had a head but the frown on my face wasn't very picturesque.   I really like the black and white print but it looks so busy here.  I'm also not sure this style is very flattering to me, it really accentuates my short waist and thick middle.  I tried it with the top out but...uh, uh, no good.   I'm a little disappointed and not sure I will feel comfortable wearing it.

I don't have any new projects planned right now.  I am tired of summer clothes but it has been so hot here I just can not think of  fall/winter wear yet.  I did pick up a nice poly suiting for pants at JoAnn's a few weeks ago so I might try to tweak my pants pattern a little more and have another go at that.  I also have a few pairs I made earlier in the year that need some readjusting.We'll see.

Saved!

I have saved the disaster that was M3023 and turned it into a very wearable skirt.

I used S2917 which I have made once before.  I love it.  It's a great summer skirt.  I've already worn it twice, once on the 4th and once to work.  I see this skirt getting a workout this summer!

So I am moving on......I just couldn't decide what to make though.  I have been going through all my top patterns and associated fabrics and decided to try NL6895:

 It seems like a really simple top with a little added interest in the front gathers.  I hope it's not too baggy, but if it is, it looks easy enough to taper a little.  I am doing the high neck version with the short sleeves from View C.

I decided to try a fabric I have never worked with before, charmeuse.  I bought this fabric from Denver Fabrics and the print is a little large, but I thought it would make a good muslin for this top. If it looks good fine, if not that's fine too. 

I did read on someone's blog (sorry, can't remember who's) that when working  with charmeuse it is best to starch it.  So I did, it helps a little but is slipperier than a Chicago politician!  Will see how it works out!

Independence Day 2010

Fido Friday

                                    Lily needs a touch-up, her grey is showing!

Skirting with Disaster

Since the weather here has been extremely hot this summer I thought some nice easy summer skirts would do the trick to keep me cool.  Well, both of these projects managed to get my temperature to rise almost to the boiling point!

New Look 6898

This skirt was up first, View E to be exact.  I figured since I always cut my patterns at size 12 then add 1/2" to the side seams why not bypass that little exercise and just cut the size 14.  Of course the skirt was WAY too large, but surprisingly the wasitband (and yes I did make sure and cut the right size) was too small to fit on the skirt!!!  Go figure!?!?

So I took it in 1/4" at each side seam, still too big.  Another 1/4" and STILL to big.  What the "F"?  I had two options at this point - take it a part or consider it done for and move on.

I went with option one, taking it a part and recutting at a size 12.  It was still too big with 5/8" seams.  Another 1/8" didn't help, but the final 1/4" seamed (ha,ha stupid pun intended) to do the trick.  And the waistband which was originally cut at size 14 fit perfectly!!! Again, what the "F".

I found the zipper insertion on the skirt a "PITA" but I can't see any other way of doing it because the waistband has to go before the zipper.  Mine came out a little wonky, not too bad, maybe it just takes practice.

At the original length the skirt looked very frumpy on me.  I had planned to put a contrasting band along the bottom, but at this point just wanted to get this skirt in the finished column.  So I cut 1 1/2" off the bottom, sewed a narrow 1/4 hem, them hand stitched another 1 1/4" hem.  It's a little shorter than I normally wear but not too scandalous for a old lady like me, especially in the hot summer.

So here she is, finally:

Would I make another one, I'm not sure at this point.  It was a lot fuller than the pattern covered showed.  It's okay.

McCall's 3023

After all the trouble with that skirt I decided to go for one that was EASY, really easy.  So I turned to McCall's 3023, which is OOP.

Seriously, you can not get much easier than this, two seams, and elastic casing and a hem......what could go wrong?

I chose the shortest version and cut it at the Medium size (12-14).  This thing is HUGE!!! And again, much fuller than I thought it would be.  And let's not talk about the frump factor, I'm sure part of that was due to the fact it was HUGE!!!  I also wasn't crazy about the skinny 1/2" casing, I think it just needs to be a little wider, 3/4" would be better.

So here is where this skirt is at:

I love this cotton print fabric, it has lots of different colors in it so can be worn with many different tops.  I think I will just take it a part and use another skirt that I have made several times before, that has a narrow waistband and zipper closure. 

I still would like a few more cool cotton skirts for summer, but I think these two are off the list for now.

Lynn's Birthday Dinner

Last September I posted the birthday dinner The Husband did for our friend, Kenny.  Last night The Husband put out an equally amazing spread for Kenny's wife, the lovely Lynn's birthday.

To start the festivities off I served "Hairy Sunrise" cocktails....they were very good, but I forgot the picture.

Opening cold appetizer, beef carpaccio served with homemade bread.

Second warm appetizer, ragout of wild mushrooms over homemade polenta.

Salad course, caprese.

Main course, linguine with clams in cream sauce.

Finally, dessert, individual homemade tiramisu.

And the Birthday Girl!

The Husband out did himself, this dinner was as close to perfect as you could get.  Even the under $10 wines we threw with this went perfectly.  And what can you say when you get to spend the evening with the your bestest friend.....PERFECT!

Friday Funny

I have to make View A for The Husband!  I can just see him struttin' around the house ......oh, yeah!

Oil and Hurricanes

This is where I live:

Destin, FL to be exact.  We moved here almost 7 years ago.

No doubt about it, it is beautiful.  But I would leave it, if I could.

As most of you know a few hundred miles west a disaster occurred.  Eleven people lost their lives and the largest oil spill in the nation is on going.  Heading this way.  To this:

I don't really want to debate who's at fault, who's in charge or whatever.  I believe that BP is the best to handle this, not the Government, not the Military.

What scares me more is this, hurricane season started June 1st:

On it's own this is bad....with the oil, this is really, really bad.

Now every morning I check the Tropical Weather report here and the oil spill report here.
What a life!

Today, weather permitting, we will go to the beach.....it will be our first time this year....it may be our last....................