The Big Move

The Big Move

 

(Well, we have been at our destination for almost two weeks months and things have settled down enough for me to have a few complete thoughts.)

This post has been in the making for a while now and it is high time I wrap it up and send it on it's way.
My initial intention was to journal every night on our journey west but unfortunately I that did not happen. Regardless, here are my ramblings.....

Day 1 ~ After a grueling day of loading 2+ households, we collapsed into a hotel room in Hendersonville, NC, our former home town. We set out the next morning, not quite as early as planned, with sore muscles and aching backs. It was bitter sweet to leave Western North Carolina, but we were determined to start our new life in the Pacific Northwest.
Winding our way through the Smoky Mountains in WNC and Eastern Tennessee was quite beautiful even though the road construction made it a white knuckle drive for DH in the large UHaul truck (towing Mom's car). Driving through Nashville was pretty cool, seeing the skyscrapers and just knowing the history there. (I saw the Country Music TV building from the highway!)
We had intended to make it to Illinios by that night but with our late start and shear exhaustion from loading the truck, we decided to stop in Paducah, Kentucky.

(Poor DH had the pleasure of riding along with his mother and her little dog. They do not do so well in tight quarters and it was stressful to put it mildly. I think they are too much alike...)

Day 2~ Drove over 9 hours today and made it to the SW corner of Iowa, just outside of the Nebraska state line. All through Missouri and Illinois there were many, many signs for XXX nightclubs and adult "toy stores". (Hubby called it "corn porn". Obviously after the long drive we are a bit loopy!) Perhaps the truckers need a distraction after driving through corn fields hour after hour. Or maybe the locals need something to do, other than cow tipping, on a Friday night. There is corn as far as the eye can see!
Our animals (dog and cat, in crates) are doing surprisingly well. Before this trip started I was very worried about the cat being in a crate for so many hours a day, but he is handling it like a champ and loving the hotel rooms! Always something new to explore!
It is hotter than the hubs of Hell here and I am so thankful that I do not live in the Mid-West. We hope to make it to Cheyenne, Wyoming tomorrow.

Day 3~ Nebraska = Corn, corn and more corn! We did drive under a really cool archway dedicated to Lewis and Clark. It seemed fitting since we are basically following their path to the Pacific.
There has been a giant mosquito lurking around the floor boards of the car, chowing down on my calves since Paducah! Apparently, I taste delicious!
My feet and ankles are swelling beyond recognition from sitting so long each day. Even though I am a big girl, I have never had "cankles" until this trip.
We made it to Cheyenne and the only hotel we could get is not very nice but we are too tired to care. The situation with DH and MIL has gotten to critical mass. Hopefully we can complete our quest without any casualties.

Day 4~ We drove over 600 miles today and we made it to Burley, Idaho. It is hot, hot, hot here but we are finally back in the land of big mountains! It is so nice to see really big mountains again and just that feeling of being back in the West is calming to me......

(I started this journey with the intent of journaling every night. I made it just barely past night three before the stress got the better of me.)

Day 5~  Pendelton, OR

Day 6~ Our final destination - Astoria, OR: the views of the mighty Columbia River all over this little town are amazing!

We stayed in a little motel in Seaside Oregon and due to Labor day weekend tourism we had to share a room with "Mom". Not ideal at this point since I am ready for a complete melt down. We held out for four nights until the weekenders left and then decided to bite the bullet and pay for another room so we could have some solitude.
By now it may sound like we are terrible people or Mom is a monster but we have discovered that there are some people that should NEVER live together. We usually get along fine as long as we have our own spaces.

Thanks for bearing with me through all of this and the long wait for this post about our move.

Life has been moving along since we have been here and now I can get on with posting about our new "home" and our new adventures.

Take care,

Dawn
 

A Rant....(Sorry)

Some do not understand our lives or our choices.

DH and I are simple people that have always had to scrape out our way in life and do not have money or credit at our beck and call. We scrimp, scrape and work for every penny. We have never been and never will be in a financial position to just hop on a plane and travel to our hearts content. We choose not to go into debt to have or do the finer things in life. Some don’t understand that and seem to take offense that we cannot travel, visit or do things at will.

For the past year we have been living in near squalor, and the last 2 months in darn near poverty. Leaving a good job with benefits was a difficult decision but is was necessary to be able to move back to the west coast. This was a conscious choice and one we feel worth enduring to achieve our goal.

It is hard for us to leave the family we have here but we have to live our own lives and be where we want to be. It feels like I have spent my entire life trying to make others happy and at 50+ years old I think it is time for me to be happy. Is that so wrong and selfish? Since adolescence we have both moved from place to place and do not really have a place we can call “home” and now that we are near retirement we want to go back to the west coast where we are happy and where we feel like we belong.

Sorry for the rant but I have had it up to here with people that only think of themselves and cannot be happy for us, that we are finally able to go where we long to be and want to spend the rest of our lives.

The End

　

One step closer to our next adventure!

Well, yesterday was my last day at my job here in NC. It was a hard day as I have a good job and work for/with a wonderful group of people. To some, it may seem a little early to be leaving my job since we are not moving until August however there is much to do. Between the heat we get here in the summer and the brain sucking stress from my daily job, it does not leave me with much energy or ambition to do what needs to be done. Time to go through the house top to bottom and our storage unit and purge/sell what ever we have not used in the past year. (with the obvious exception of family keepsakes)

Our youngest son's wedding is also coming up early next month and there is alot to accomplish for that as well. Top that off with getting our lives in order and ready for the cross country trip, I feel pretty justified in taking 60 days off.

Next month, I will begin my quest in finding a rental house in our new location. It may not work out but it would be so nice to have a home to go to instead of a weekly hotel room with all of our belongings in storage. But, if that's the way it works out, I am intent on staying positive and flexible.

We are so excited and anxious to start our new life in NW Oregon. I have already been scoping out the local hiking trails and fishing holes. Just the temperature variance and the thought of walking on the beach whenever we please is enough to make this girl giddy!

Have a glorious weekend!

Dawn

After a long hiatus, onto a new adventure!

Wow! I cannot believe that I have not blogged in almost a year! I guess I did have a lot going on and it wasn't all just in my head!

After much thought , prayer and deliberation, Hubby and I have made the decision to move back to the Pacific Northwest. It was a difficult decision, but one we feel will be the best for us as we progress in years.
We have lived in Western NC for 7 years now, and while it has been good to us and it has been good living near my sister, it is time for us to go back. That is where our hearts are.

We have set our sights set on the NW Oregon Coast region.
(We both miss living near the water desperately!)

Dear Hubby will be able to spend his days fishing, mushroom hunting and searching for treasure on the beaches. I hope to find work in the retail/grocer field, and will join him on the adventures during my time off. I am sooooo looking forward to not having a stressful, responsibility filled job. While I have been very grateful for the job that I have held for over six years, my little brain needs a rest! It is time to relax and enjoy life.

Our new adventure begins in August but the next few months will be filled with preparations and planning. Yippee!

Take care,
Dawn

P.S. I will try to blog a bit more often and keep you all updated on the adventure! :-)

Breakfast on the go!

Last night I made a dozen mini frittatas for our busy work day mornings. I surfed the web and read various recipes and decided to throw in whatever I had on hand. I had left over breakfast sausage that needed to be cooked, green onions, chopped mushrooms, chopped roma tomato, reduced fat shredded cheese and eight eggs that I whisked with a little water and S&P.

I sprayed my muffin pan with non stick cooking spray, added a TBS of each ingredient, then I ladled the egg mixture over the top. I filled each cup to nearly the top and baked at 350* for 20-25 minutes. Just nuke them for 35 seconds and they are ready to eat on the go! YUM!

(I calculated that each frittata has 3 WW points; which could be less if you use leaner or no meat.)

Back again!

Well, obviously I am not a very good blogger! I cannot seem to post very often. I am finally going to post about the couch pillows I made over a month ago.

We have two large pillows left over from a couch we had a few years ago. The problem is that they are an ugly brown color and the fabric is really rough. (Herculon?) Plus, the down feathers constantly come out and poke you!

I decided to make covers for them, to not only pretty them up a bit but to try to contain the feathers a bit more.

 This rose print fabric is actually repurposed curtains that I had made for the log cabin we had in North Idaho. I loved the print then, and I love it still.

Here they are sitting together nicely. I lined them with muslin to add to their feather resistance abilities! Hubby loves them. Now he can properly curl up on the couch without getting stabbed with down feathers!

Have a great week everyone!

I got presents!!

The darling little elderly lady next door is moving into an assisted living facility today. Yesterday I went over to chat with her and she gave me an awesome gift!!
She had this tucked away in her closet for who knows how many years....

It is an unfinished quilt top - Tumbling Blocks in some very interesting prints. It has a few stains but should be ok after a good soak. I am hesitant to soak it before it is finished and quilted as it might be too fragile....Unfortunately it will sit on my shelves for a while until I finish up a few other projects.

I think it will look great in the guest room, which is done in Americana/red, white & blue colors...

Dear Hubby bought a new iron just for little ole me!
He has a lovely habit of ironing his work uniforms on high heat with starch and our old iron was always a mess. I had to clean it up everytime I needed it for my quilting. Now I have one of my very own for my quilting/sewing projects.

Isn't she a beaut?! Pretty good score, if I do say so myself.

Hope you all are having a great weekend too!

TGIF !! It has been a while since I have been on Blogland...

I have been busy with life but I am finally ready to start a new project - a baby quilt for my fourth Grandchild! The baby is due in September and we do not know the sex yet. I had some of this super fun Sock Monkey fabric in my stash ~

I want to keep the quilt light so I added in a light green, but I might add a little of the red and brown bananas into the mix as well......

..and I found this adorable panel print of the Monkeys jumping on the bed story for a wall hanging.

I found an adorable pattern in a quilting magazine, which I will blog about later as I post my progress.

I have also been busy making two pillow covers for old couch pillows. I will post about those when I have pictures to show.

Have a wonderful Friday and a fabulous weekend!

Finally finished!!

Well, its has been forever since I blogged, but I am finally finished with the wall hanging a friend/co-worker hired me to make. It seemed to take forever as I dealt with family matters and then the holidays hit. Better late than never ~ Here she is ~

Sorry for the crummy lighting, my office has yucky florescents. It is sized to hide an electrical panel in her guest room and the fabrics were chosen to coordinate with her existing bedding. Next, I will be making a coordinating bed skirt out of the green vine fabric.

Have a great day!

Learning to Fail with Grace

Well, I finished my first commission project yesterday; a T shirt memory quilt for a co-worker's daughter. I was quite pleased with it....unit I washed it!!!!

Here is the completed top -

The batting is bunched up in some places and feels completely absent in others. I could just cry! I was unsure of the batting at the start and I should have listened to my gut. I will spend the next two evenings carefully removing the binding, snipping the ties and starting the "sandwich" process all over - with better batting of course!

A friend of mine asked me where the lesson in this was. hhhhmmmm, I think it must be lesson in patience as well as learning to accept failures with dignity and grace. Not sure I am going to pass this lesson!

Who needs a good thrashing?

Supposedly it is Fall here in the mountains of Western North Carolina but it is still as humid as all get out! We have been trying to cut costs by not using the air conditioner unless absolutely necessary. Yesterday when we got home from work, the hubster decided to turn off the AC and open the windows. Normally I am ok with this, I love fresh air, however as the temp inside the house climbed to 79 degrees, I was at my limit. Being a big girl as I am, in the midst of menopause, I do not tolerate the heat as well as others. So, there I was, huffing and puffing as I washed the dinner the dishes. Sticking my hands in hot soapy water in a 79 degree house has always been my idea of a good time. NOT!

Hubster walks in and says, “What’s wrong with you?”     “It’s hot in here.”    “No it’s not. Is this another one of your heat thrashes?”   
Heat thrash?! Granted, the guy learned English in a foreign country but that one about killed me! Heat thrash. If you think about though, it sums it up pretty well. I know when I get one of my dreaded hot flashes the first thing I want to do, (If I am not able to get completely naked and stand in from of an industrial sized fan) is to thrash something, someone, anyone! He did make me laugh though. And the house did start to cool down……..

Blood Types and Memories

My son and I were talking about our blood types last night and it sparked a memory of how I found out what my blood type was, waaaaaaay back in 8^th grade Biology. We all had to prick out fingers with those evil little metal lances and put a drop of our blood on a glass microscope slide. While I do not recall the exact process, we all got to find out what our blood type was. Pretty cool, huh?! (Mine is O+ in case you are wondering.)

The Biology teacher looked like an elf and he always wore horribly colored plaid golf pants with a white belt and shoes. Although it was the early/mid 70’s, it was still really tacky! He was an odd little man.

We had the usual biology experiences, dissecting large earth worms and then frogs, all heavily saturated in formaldehyde, but there is one particular experience that stays very fresh and vivid in my mind.

It started out as a normal school day in sunny San Diego as I took my seat in the back of the class. No, I was not a really cool kid, or trying to be. Eighth grade was one of my “Dark Years”. I was a bit of a loner and just wanted to be left alone and blend into the woodwork.

Well, anyway, I took my seat and after the class got settled, that happy little elf, errr, teacher, came to back of the class to show us his new prize, I mean experiment! Right smack dab next to my chair was a galvanized garbage can with a lid on it (Thank you for at least putting a lid on it!) He proudly opened the lid to show us his treasure. Low and behold, it was a hammer head sharks head in the can which was filled with MAGGOTS! You could actually hear them “working”. I do love science and I have a pretty high tolerance for grossness but this was a bit much.

If I remember correctly, I skipped class the next day and told my parents they had to get me transferred out of there. I do not remember the why’s or how’s but I was not able to get a class transfer. I spent the next few tortuous weeks sitting next to that disgusting can, which of course he would remove the lid from during class time, so we could “witness” biology in action. (I told you he was odd!)

Thankfully we moved to another school district not long after that so it was a blessing in more ways than one. I got out of that crazy man’s class and I got to attend a new school where no one knew me and I could blend into the wood work really well!

*Sigh* The teenage years are such a traumatic part of growing up.

Commission Work!

I have been commissioned to make a T-shirt memory quilt! And there is a possiblilty for more T-shirt quilts in the future. I have also been asked to make a wall hanging for another person! I will be spending the weekend, trying to do some materials and time/labor calculations so I know what to charge. That is the hard part.

Could it really be happening? Am I starting to see a twinkle or a glimmer of light? Maybe it is time to seriously look into getting that business license I have been putting off. This could turn into something someday! Woo Hoo!

Can you tell that I am excited?

Monday ~ A new week, a new month, a fresh start

First, I would like to thank you all for the encouraging comments (both private and on my blog) on my "bare my soul" post of last week. It means alot to me and I promise to see my doctor and fill her in on all the "loveliness" that is going on in my life. 

Until then, I am starting a new way to pack my lunches for the work week. I got a new Bento box from Lock & Lock and I think I am already in love. (For those of you who do not know, bento boxes are a traditional Japanese lunch box. They are proportionately sized for the individual and are typically filled with artistically prepared food. I am skipping the artistic approach and just using this as a way to limit/monitor my food intake.)

This box is proportionately sized so it will be hard to overeat, (unless I pack lots of extras, which I do not intend to do). It comes with two stacking boxes that will hold a total 700 mil or a whopping 24 oz of food. (the set also included collapsible chopsticks with a case that fits inside the bag- not shown)

Today's lunch consists of a little meatloaf - last time a made meatloaf, I baked some of the mix in a muffin tin and then stuck them in the freezer - a bit of potato salad and some black cherries in the first tier. The second tier holds some green salad. (Dressing packed separately)

It all packs nicely into this adorable red lunch box. I felt so spiffy carrying this in to the office today!

I also packed separately, a greek yogurt for my afternoon snack. I will definitely be ordering more items from Lock & Lock. I may order the same set with the water bottle. I don't really need the water bottle but the bag is taller so I will be able to put my dressing and yogurt inside the bag, in place of the water bottle.

I did some sewing over the weekend and that is always good for my spirit. I hope you all had a great weekend as well.

Have a wonderful day!

Dawn

I'm still here..........

Not really sure I want to lay this out there but what the heck! It’s been heavy on my mind and I need to “talk” about it.

My life has been a train wreck of late, which has caused a lack of crafting/sewing and a lack of the will to blog. I have been kind of depressed lately.

Along with what seems to be the usual financial and family issues, I have come to the realization that I have an emotional eating disorder. I eat when I am depressed, anxious, lonely, stressed, bored, you name it. Food is my tool of choice for comfort. Of course, the benefits of emotional eating are that you get to become morbidly obese and have various health and mental health issues including depression and very low self esteem.

You have to love yourself to take care of yourself and this is something I am going to have to learn, somehow. I don’t think I have loved me in a very long time. We all have issues in our childhood and our past that have left emotional scars and I can certainly think of quite a few. What I do not understand is how a person can recognize what is wrong and why things are the way they are but is still incapable of “fixing it”. If you know what your inner demons are and why they are, then why can’t you make them go away. The monster in the closet goes away when exposed to the light, so why don’t the demons go away when they are figured out? There should be some sort of closure, right?  

Hubby is very supportive of me but he was raised with the mentality that you can just have the will power to get over things without doctors, drugs and therapists – those are for the weak. Therapy might as well be a four letter word in my house.

I am not really sure what the next step is that I need to take but I do think that writing about it will help to a certain degree. I have found others online that are battling similar demons and some have conquered them. Maybe I should give myself a deadline – if I cannot overcome this by my own methods by the end of this year, then perhaps the next step has to be therapy…*Gulp!*

Have a wonderful weekend Dear Ones. I will do my best to keep my nose out of the fridge!

Soap Sack

What do you do with all of the little bits left over from your bar soap? Do you try to smoosh them onto the new bar? Do you throw them away? That can be costly in the long run.
Well, yesterday I decided to crochet "soap sacks" for hubby and myself.

Now we can put our bars of soap in the bag and use it similar to a wash cloth and we can use up every little bit of those bars of soap. They have a draw string at the top for easy "loading" which also serves as a hanging string so we can hang them in the shower and allow them to drip dry.

What did you do this weekend?

Time for the World Cup game! Go USA!!!

Dinner - 7/15/11 Yummy Burrito/Taco Filling

I was inspired to make a yummy taco/burrito filling here - http://notexactlybento.com/?p=328

I made a few changes but not too many. First, brown 1 pound of lean ground beef along with 1 cup chopped onion. I had red onion on hand so that is what I used. I added copious amounts of chili powder, garlic powder and a pinch of S&P while it was browning.

 Drain the fat off of the meat/onion mixture. Add 1 cup of frozen corn, 1 cup of Salsa and 1 can of drained black beans.

Simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the corn and the beans are tender.

Put a healthy spoonful on a tortilla (or taco shell) of your choice, top with your favorite topping (I used guacamole) and enjoy!!

Nom Nommy goodness! I am sooo full!

Primitive Doll

A dear friend of mine is battling an inner demon. She named her demon "Poison Ivy". Well, I decided she had to be able to put a face to this demon so I made a (very primitive) doll for her. (She can use it for a voodoo doll if she chooses!)
Here is Ivy ~ (her hair is in a pony tail behind her). Her smile is a little crooked and her eyebrows make her look not so nice - which is how poison ivy truly is....

I also wrote a little poem to go along with it to give her a little more of my support.

Poison Ivy

My name is Poison Ivy

I have lived inside your head

Now that people know of me

My world is filled with dread

                                                                You’ll soon have no need for me

As you grow stronger every day

My leaves will start to wither

And then just blow away

You’ll see that life is precious 

And be as healthy as can be

Life is so much better

Without the Poison that is me

                            DS

                                                                2011

She loved it and will keep it with her as she goes through therapy and always to remind of where she was and what she has overcome. I love her lots and am so glad that I could help her in my own little way.

..........Makes me wonder if I should make one to represent my own inner demon so I can beat it up whenever it rears it's ugly head!?!

Blessings,

Dawn

Off to regions unknown

This past weekend my Air Force son left his home in Italy for regions unknown, for an undetermined amount of time. We feel fairly confident (hopeful?) that it is not to a war zone, but the unknown is always a bit scary.

His little girl, Miss A had this to say yesterday, " Momma, we forgot to pick up Daddy from work." Mommy replied, "Remember, Daddy said he's got to stay at work for a while?"  Miss A, "That's right Momma. Daddy's out protecting us and he'll come back. HE ALWAYS DOES!"
She certainly is a well seasoned military dependent at the tender age of 3 1/2!

We are very grateful for the sacrifices her and her momma make and very proud of our sons, out there protecting us and all that we hold dear.

Have a Blessed Monday! Dawn

Still having blogger issues.....

I do not know why, but I am not able to leave comments on any blogs without them showing up as "anonymous". I have checked all my settings, deleted cookies, etc. When I comment, it asks me to log in again and then it marks it anonymous anyway! It is frustrating to say the least. Rest assured, I have been reading my lovely daily blogs, and I love seeing all the nice projects and sentiments. Sorry, I can't tell you all individually.

Myself, I seem to have hit a lull in my creativity right now. Too much going on personally I think. Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

Have a pleasant day!
Dawn