Dr. Joyce Brothers

at 05/13/13 8:15PM
I heard that Dr. Joyce Brothers passed away. Her daughter lives in Davenport and her (the daughter's) children went to school with our sons. In fifth grade, the students do a big research project. Dr. Brother's granddaughter did her project on her grandmother. One evening all of the students display their projects in the gym and parents travel around visiting the displays. Dr. Brother's granddaughter had the best visual display of anyone....her grandmother. It was very nice to meet her. She was a little tiny woman and was very gracious to come to Davenport and meet everyone. She also attended some of the school performances that her grandchildren were in all the way through their high school years.

By the way, I thought it was very sweet of the granddaughter to do the project on her grandmother. It gave her the opportunity to research the very public life of her grandmother.

Funny story

at 05/04/13 8:12AM
Last summer Brian and I were on our way home from somewhere here in town at about 5 in the evening. We were at a stop light and there was a motorcycle in front of us. We were waiting to turn left. At the same moment, Brian and I both noticed that the motorcycle rider's backpack was completely unzipped, exposing to our view the entire contents of his backpack. Neatly stacked in his backpack were empty glass food containers, like from his lunch that day.

Brian and I both reacted in unison! It was funny. I felt like I had time to alert the rider so I put our vehicle in park and jumped out to tell him. The awkward part was that I had to tap him on the shoulder because he couldn't hear me because of the noise of his motorcycle. Imagine his surprise to have some lady come out of nowhere to tell him his backpack was unzipped and he was about to lose the contents. I quickly zipped it up for him and jumped back in my vehicle. As we took off, Brian and I had a good laugh!! We couldn't imagine how he had gotten to that point without losing anything, as far as we could tell.

Have you ever left anything on the roof of your car?

Once I was sitting at a stop sign. The car opposite me, facing my direction, had a coffee cup on the roof of his car! I honked and pointed and he opened his door and retrieved his coffee cup.

One year we got to Minnesota camp and Brian could not find his Bible....anywhere. Then, he remembered having set it on the roof of our van after morning worship in New Hope because the van was locked. As I drove back down the expressway at the end of the week, near the church building I could see parts of his Bible flutteing alongside the highway. A different approach to spreading God's word. I stopped and retrieved a section of Isaiah to return to Brian who had gone elsewhere after camp.
  • heatheronthehill
    Funny stories! I once left a dozen eggs on top of my car... twice! I realized it the first time when I saw eggs flying through my rear view mirror. The second time I actually left my eggs AND my wallet. My cash was flying all over the road. I cried. I went back to buy my third dozen eggs for the day and successfully got all of my things safely into the car.
    by heatheronthehill at 05/04/13 6:13PM
  • curlie
    I left a cosmetic bag on top of my car once and drove away from my parents' house. None of the contents were that important besides my class ring. :( It was just a month after Ethan and I became engaged, and I was driving to visit him... so I think sometimes it was a way for me to end that part of my life since I was wearing a new ring. ;)
    by curlie at 05/04/13 10:19PM
  • heatheronthehill
    Yes, I was HIGHLY distracted that day! I had set the eggs on top of the car so I could get Jack buckled into his carseat and forgotten. Yes, twice in a row! And we really needed the eggs.

    And thank you for the house advice! I was hoping you would chime in because I know you have so much valuable experience. I appreciate it!
    by heatheronthehill at 05/05/13 7:10AM
  • heatheronthehill
    I have another question for you... we found a house that we really like that looks great as far as we can tell. We were very excited to see it until our realtor told us that the owners are not doing a property disclosure. There doesn't appear to be a good reason that they wouldn't do one, unless they were not wanting to disclose something. :( So we're a little skeptical and cancelled the showing so we could think about it some more. Now, property disclosures are great, but we have found that they don't necessarily tell you everything. I think a good home inspection (and we have an excellent inspector) can make up for that. We are just unsure if it is worth paying the money to have that done when there is a strong probability that there is some kind of issue. Trying to decide if we need to just pass on this one or if we should look into it further. Our options are few, so we are thinking we might just go see for ourselves at this point. Can't hurt.

    Other FYI on it - it has been on the market for almost a year... that always makes us nervous because there is usually a good reason why something hasn't sold in a year's time. The price has also dropped over $100,000 during that time... and it was probably overpriced, but that is still a lot. It is about 35 min. out of Albany, built in 1976, and it's a huge house, which we find is sometimes a big drawback for people = just too much house. Oh I'll just link the listing... http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/164-Rock-Rd-Berne-NY-12023/29712789_zpid/

    Sorry to be all rambley on that one, but you always have great advice on this house stuff and I thought you might have a good perspective on the lack of property disclosure.
    by heatheronthehill at 05/05/13 6:09PM
  • stitchinmom
    I left my tailgate open last week after I put one little flower in it from Schaers Market. :) Scared me to death to be going 50 and only see sky and road when I looked in the rear view mirror! When I was pregnant with Gabriel or Devon I left my minivan running in the parking lot while I was in Northwoods mall. Can you believe it was still there when I was done?! :)
    by stitchinmom at 05/09/13 10:35PM
  • alp1926
    My husband has done that. Once it was his wallet. It had fallen off not too far from our house, and a very honest lady picked it up, looked for ID, and brought it to the house. Had there been any money in it I would have given it to her.
    by alp1926 at 05/11/13 12:36PM

tire and tile

at 04/30/13 9:08AM
Yesterday began with a very valuable ladie's class lesson about prayer followed by a potluck to celebrate finishing the year of lessons.

The rest of the day involved some very different experiences.

I learned to change the rear tire of my bike. I have been able to change the front one but the rear tire is more complicated because of the gears. I learned this last night as a result of a flat tire while out on a 10 mile bike ride yesterday. I was 3 1/2 miles out on my ride when I realized I had a flat. Getting home from there was not fun. I had a flat last fall, same tire, and I took my bike in to have it repaired and had some other things done to my bike. This time Dale taught me how to change it. From now on I'll carry an inner tube, a bike tool kit and a mini pump. Three and a half miles out is about as far as I would like to manage to get home with a flat. Further than that it would be worth the effort to change it wherever I am. I'll also have to pack a rag or something as my hands were black with grease when I got done. BTW, it was somehow satisfying to find the puncture in the inner tube that had caused the flat.

Another experience yesterday was scrubbing the grout in my kitchen floor. I have one of those steam floor cleaners and I really like it. However, it doesn't clean the grout. I finally got down and started scrubbing. What a difference! I'll try to do it every year now. I still have a hall and a bath to do.

Those of you who come to my house...notice my grout next time you're over!!


  • mjintexas
    I recently did a number on the grout that of our new house- I discovered that on our grout, a solution of oxiclean and a scrub brush worked wonders! It's a ton of work, but so worth it.
    by mjintexas at 04/30/13 10:11AM
  • worker_at_home
    You impress me....seriously! In case you didn't know....I love you!!! We need to do Dairy Queen again sometime! ;-)
    by worker_at_home at 04/30/13 11:41AM
  • worker_at_home
    When is the wedding date?
    by worker_at_home at 04/30/13 11:46AM
  • linda_g
    I've been working on grout this week - trying to find the best solution. What did you use? I have decided that it might be worth it to pay someone to clean my grout - I really hate it. If only I had some money. :)
    by linda_g at 04/30/13 2:26PM
  • worker_at_home
    Why don't you bring your sewing project and come visit me for a few days? We could work on it together!
    by worker_at_home at 04/30/13 5:07PM
  • kendrad
    We (ignorantly) put light colored grout in our tiled areas when we moved in. Bad move. It always looks super dingy. What did you use to clean it?
    by kendrad at 04/30/13 9:56PM
  • worker_at_home
    Not until around the end of the month, and probably then it will only be a "stop over" for the night. Well, I'm no expert, but if you find that you need a sounding board in the midst of your project, give me a call! I wish you much success in your work!!! ;-)
    by worker_at_home at 05/01/13 1:56PM

Aaron

at 04/20/13 9:33AM
About 2 1/2 years ago I posted about a young man, Aaron, who had suffered a near-fatal farm accident. He has since recovered very well with only a tiny bit of a limitation.

Aaron has also very much been searching for the right woman to marry. He has had high standards and has held to those strongly. We are all so happy that he has found the love of his life. Some of you may know her?

All good but now it just gets weird! This young man from Illinois who my youngest has known his whole life is marrying an elemetary teacher who worships in Val Rico, FL. My youngest, now from Illinois, is marrying an elementary teacher whose parents live in Val Rico. Both young ladies teach in the Hillsborough County school district. Both couples are getting married the same evening in June in the Tampa area. About 3 weeks ago my son was in Tampa on his spring break from the University of Illinois. He went in to the tux shop to be fitted for his tux and there was Aaron, also visiting from Illinois, getting his tux fitted. How many tux shops do you think there are in Tampa??

I warned Brian that he should find out where Aaron and his wife are spending their wedding night. There are already enough coincidences.

The not-so-funny thing is that our guest lists overlap and people will be traveling to Tampa who can only attend one wedding or the other. :(
  • split_rock
    Whoa! What lovely coincidences! So sorry about the choices your guests will have to make between the two weddings!
    by split_rock at 04/20/13 10:19AM
  • curlie
    Wow! Are they members of the Church too?
    by curlie at 04/20/13 10:58AM
  • heatheronthehill
    Small world! We have strong ties with Valrico - Daniel's aunt has worshiped there for years and they support both Daniel and his Dad in their work for the Lord! Such a great group of Christians! Happy for these two good couples!
    by heatheronthehill at 04/20/13 12:38PM
  • alp1926
    WOW!! That's amazing!!
    by alp1926 at 04/20/13 12:39PM
  • engelishgentleman
    Hahaha! :)
    by engelishgentleman at 04/20/13 7:59PM
  • apbooklover04
    Would you mind giving the last name of Aaron and the name of the young lady he's marrying? I'm really curious as to whether I know these people. Send me a private message or comment if you don't want to publicly.
    by apbooklover04 at 04/20/13 9:24PM
  • nchantment4u
    Wow! I love coincidences. I'd love to know the young lady's name too. Do Brian and his young lady know Aaron's young lady?
    by nchantment4u at 04/22/13 7:30AM
  • mjintexas
    That sounds like a serious set of coincidences!
    by mjintexas at 04/22/13 8:41AM
  • worker_at_home
    Wow!! So happy for both young couples......sorry for the people who have to choose between two special events! How is your outfit coming along?
    by worker_at_home at 04/24/13 12:56PM

Mother of the Groom outfit

at 04/08/13 8:52PM *
I've been looking for ideas for a skirt to wear with the jacket and top I bought "on trial". (The jacket that I could only get for 1 month, not 3, because I was reported deceased by a credit bureau.) The jacket is black and grey and sparkly. I went to Joann Fabric today and spent a ridiculous amount of time searching through the fabrics, hours! I had an idea in mind but I pretty much knew that it would take multiple fabrics to accomplish the layers of texture and color I was envisioning.

When I finally found the right combination I was very certain it will work and pretty excited, not just to get the look I had in mind, but also to be done shopping!!

What I got was a silvery metallic fabric and a textured black organza to layer over it. The skirt pattern I bought will look really nice with the layered fabrics and isn't very complicated to make.

It will be fun to make it!

Now...have any of you ever sewn with 2 layered fabrics??? (Should I have asked that before buying everything???) I think I'll sew the pieces of fabric together after cutting them out before assembling the skirt so the fabrics don't shift as I sew. Sound like a plan?

BTW, I've seen pictures of Stefanie's mom's dress. It is very formal (gorgeous!) and I'm sure this won't top hers! I also know that it doesn't really matter a lot what I wear; as soon as Stefanie begins to come down the aisle, no one will care what the mother of the groom was wearing! I just want to honor the specialness of the occasion and the overall style of the formal, elegant, evening wedding that is being planned.
  • split_rock
    Sewing is not a skill I have acquired. I admire folks who are able to do it. Your outfit sounds wonderful -- and even better, you don't have to worry about that one-month deadline anymore. Would love to see photos of you in the finished product!
    by split_rock at 04/09/13 5:49AM
  • nchantment4u
    I've never sewn two materials at a time, but basting the pieces together seems like a good plan. Glad you found something. :-)
    by nchantment4u at 04/09/13 7:43AM
  • worker_at_home
    #1 I love to sew!
    #2 I am NOT an expert by any means!!!
    #3 I have worked with two layers before and I have to admit I wasn't very satisfied with my finished project. I made a dress where the top layer was too "flimsy" and I thought it needed something extra. I did sew the layers of the individual pieces together before sewing the seams, and I think it contributed to the puckering of the finished product. However, it could have been the fabric too. Since you're making a skirt, you might want to consider sewing together the pieces of each fabric separately and then join them at the waistband. But the top layer would need to be ever-so-slightly larger than the inner layer.
    Now, remember #2 above.......I am no expert, and I certainly don't want to discourage you. You may have lots more experience than I do! I'd love to see your pattern if you'd care to share the company and number. It sounds like it will be lovely! Let us know how it goes! :)
    by worker_at_home at 04/09/13 2:31PM
  • mjintexas
    That sounds like a beautiful outfit!
    I, however, am not blessed with the Gift of Sew.
    by mjintexas at 04/10/13 9:41AM
  • kendrad
    I love sewing. Christa Bonk and I have made numerous Halloween costumes. The sewing is the easy part to me--it's the pattern reading that like Greek. I have sewn some layered garments, but the "layers" have always been linings and I've always used cotton to avoid the flimsy-factor. I have also layered before assembling.
    by kendrad at 04/10/13 9:54AM