Snow AGAIN!!!

I'm starting to get tired of it. I went to bed last night around 10:30pm and there was a light dusting on the driveway... Nothing much. No big deal.

I awake at 2 of 6AM to a phone call from my boss saying work is cancelled. I looked out and realized the 'noise' I was hearing was my hubby snowblowing another foot of snow! He had been out since 4:30 (or did he say 5:30am?), clearing the driveway. I went out at 6:15am and started helping him, since he was determined to make it to work today. It's getting so we have no where to put it!! It's got to be thrown over my head now.

Off he went, and 5 hrs later, I cleared the majority of our front sidewalk and the walk to the front door. I also, cleared a lot of snow off the metal awning over the front door, cleared the snow off the flexible awning over the front windows and as many icicles as I could reach. I also, got snow off the back door's overhang. Boy, was there a lot of snow on that!

Now I'm ready for a nap. Only to get ready for another storm on Sat and again on Monday or Tuesday. I'm staying up the watch the weather tonight. The windows have already started leaking into the livingroom and dining room from between the molding (above the windows).

Priceless

I urge anyone who takes a regular medication,... high cholestrol, high blood pressure, diabetes, whatever it is, to call a few pharmacies for prices. Here's my latest episode.

My husband (who is the health care provider in the house) started a new job last week and isn't able to go on their insurance plan until 90 days are up. Typical. Not a complaint, just saying. I have only one medication that I take on a regular basis, he... many. Since his last day at his old job was on the 15th, I was lucky enough to be able to refill my prescription on the 14th for a month's worth of pills. He was able to get his at a 3 month supply (mail) right before it stopped. He is all set, but I, however, will need to figure out how to get two more month's supply to me. I had a doctor's appt a week after he left his job, and I explained my situation to the dr. and asked what I should do for the last two months. He said he'd write me a 3 month perscription, ... then he said," Call around. You should be able to get this for as little as $4-$6 for a 30 day supply." ....really?!..... I've never 'called around' before. I always have the same small family run pharmacy fill all my prescriptions, since I like them to know all the meds I'm taking at any given time.

So, today, at work, I decided to 'call around'.  Here's what I discovered.

30-day supply of simvastatin, 40mg

CVS, $66.99

Westown Pharmacy (my regular one), $30

Rite-Aid, $10.99

Shop-Rite (my favorite grocery store-best music ever!!), $11.99

Wal-Mart, $18.46

Sam's Club, priceless...

The winner is... Sam's at $5.78, but wait!... get the 90-day supply since it's $10.09!!!

How do you beat that?!!
 Guess where I went on the way home from work?.... oh, yeah.

Update on Sneaky sewing....

I finally had a chance to sneak back up to the sewing room and finish the top I did. Well, maybe finish. It's rather small, but I used up the fabric I had started with. I may add a larger border on the outer edge, but not sure what fabric to use. Probably a batik, since most of the other parts are batiks or close to it. Right now, it would be great as a lap quilt...

The really light fabrics look almost white, but they are a soft yellow/orange batik. Small print.

We'll see.....

Snow cancels non-stop quiting!

Normally, snow wouldn't bother me. Well, okay, maybe it DOES bother me, but not in the way you think. Sure there is the shoveling, and the ...shoveling, and the ice chipping, and the ...shoveling. Ok, I am starting to be annoyed by it. I think the only consullation is that I might get a day off from work. (I haven't figured out how to use it to my advantage when the grandchild is also home from school. He is constantly at my side- because I'm the 'fun' gramma. I gurss  should enjoy these years while he still wants to spend time with his gramma).

Anyway, back to where we were.... I hate the snow for this reason. A local quilt shop has a thing called "Midnight Quilters" where you pay an amount to use their back room to sew from 6pm-midnight. You pay $20 and get fed and get to sew on any projects you want. And visit with others who are there for the same reason. AND if you need fabric for completing anything (this is for the UFO's you brought to work on-- or NEW projects for the future), the shop is available to buy what you need. I tend to get a second wind about 10pm.... then I'm sad when the clock is close to striking 12.

However, due to the latest snow storm- which dumped 4-6 inches more, they postponed it until next Friday. I would have had no problem getting there and sewing, but I'm not sure how their staff is at getting to work. (At this time, the snow banks are up to my shoulders and more snow is expected on Tuesday and Wed. on next week--- Yikes!!)

Guess I'll have to hibernate in my sewing room and hope my 'cutie' can stay occupied OUTSIDE of the door for a while.

Sneaky sewing

I did get a chance to sneak in some sewing.... I did make an attempt at shoveling, but I got so cold that I came in for a while to warm up. Now, it's raining (pray the ice dams don't send the water inside), so I decided after making my daughter and gs some pizza, I'd sneak upstairs and play. 

I've been working on something I saw in Quilter's NewsletterMagazine March 2001 (my aunt tends to send hers my way when she's done with them). Notice the date? Don't run out and try to find this one ladies. (The only reason I had it was because I loved the pattern on the front cover. Beautiful... "California Reel"... has a design that encorporates a snail tail design-like part of it. It's done in blue/purple, yellow-orange fabrics.)

 On page 26, there is instructions for free-form stars. They looked really neat against black, but I thought I'd do something 'radical'. Kind of a blue-y, purple-y, brown-y-ish background, but making the stars out of batik-y yellow-orangey fabrics. Check out my background fabric on top of the page (upper left). It's cool. Trust me.

And then to add the oranges I had in my stash.... (I liked going through that box). I decided to substitute the center purple square for an orange fabric.

I used a 12.5" square, but didn't divide it equally. I kind of split it at 5", then divided what was left, wherever. 

Using scrap/chunks of the yellow-oranges, this is the first block I made. Not bad. I like it. 

I love 'spider-webbing' the pieces to make the block. 

I don't usually iron it until I'm done putting the (rough) 9-patch together.

Here is the star, finished. I think I'm gonna like this pattern and choice of fabrics. (Oh, if you are interested, the one on the right was a workshop to make the center medallion- I added the black on to square, actually rectangle, it up).

Here are a few of the blocks. I have 10 squares of the background cut up so far (even though it doesn't end up 12.5" square, more like 11.5" sq.), and enough material (background) to make a few borders along the outside. I have a peachy fabric for a narrow border, then the background as outer borders, and I may use squares of yellow/orange as cornerstones. I'll post more photos when I get it done.

Ice dams vs sewing.... hmmm. (wish I could take the sewing)

Well, I've been outside for all of 15 mins, at 15 degrees, and chipping ice off the house is not the way I thought I'd be spending my day off (MLK). The gutters are FULL and overflowing with ice, so I'm praying that the amount of ice I chipped off the windows (sorry, honey, I'm sure I damaged a little of the window trim-too bad), is enough to prevent the water from coming in, but I'm sure it will anyway.

We're expecting a lot of sleet, freezing rain, ice tomorrow. I don't plan on going to work if that is the case. I'm waiting to see if they (work) call me, that way I won't lose the paid holiday today. I gotta say, I never felt such pain in my fingers (yes, I had gloves on) when I came in.... had to run them under warm water to get any kind of feeling in them. It's bad when you don't even feel the water at all when you're pouring it over your hands!! The tips are still red, but I have a little feeling in them now.

"Where is the hubby helping?" you ask...

He's starting his first day of a new job (Bolton Motors). Thank you, God! He gave his notice at the last place in the beginning of the year and didn't have a job to go to. Within a week, he had a job. Good thing to be a Master "A" auto technician. You are pretty much valued whereever you go! Who says you need a college degree? He even is bringing his lunch... not sure if a lunch truck comes to this place. He's so used to big dealerships, and this place has all of 5 bays (one of which is emissions). I SO hope he's happy here. (Last job had a very verbally abusive boss!)

Fabrics and organizing= relieve stress

If you don't think so, go organize your sewing room (actually, I organized the church group's sewing closets. BUT STILL!!...) and see how light you feel!! Don't these look great???!! Wish I'd taken a 'before' photo, but I really didn't think I'd do what I did. And this doesn't even show you the cupboards with our sewing machines in them.

I actually went there to get some strings to send to a lady in CA (on Heartstrings yahoo group) and just decided to make sure our records on what UFOs we have there are accurate. What I didn't realize was that I'd have so much sense of accomplishment by sorting through what we will be working on at our Feb event, what tops are done (and which need backings/bindings), and what quilts are in lesser stages (needs borders, sashing finished, blocks put together, etc).
AND, I found our record books that I'd thought I'd lost!!! They were tucked in the cupboards with the sewing machines, not the fabrics. Now I can get them organized, too!! (Oh, this is TOO much!)

I cut battings and matched them up to the quilts ready to be tied. I also, figured out that when these (many) quilts are finished, we have some great projects to 'start'. And I don't want to think of starting them until we are pretty cleared up with the UFOs.

There were a few backings that I have taken home to play with and make wider. Two quilts needed a border, so I took material to match and bought some at the quilt store.
AND...
Lo and behold, I found my monster fabric that I'd thought I'd bought, but couldn't find in my sewing room at all!! It was bought at Marden's in Sanford ME and I'd given that to the church and kept the dinosaurs. Well, gang, today I switched them. The monster fabric is going for my 6th grandchild!! (That's the theme).

 This is one I'd forgotten we'd had.... Creamy Rust is how I describe this one.

 And this on, C brought back. She didn't get a chance to make the backing for it, but we'll put it aside until another time. We have many more needing to be done first.

So I came home with my HUGE box of strings for Sarah, monster fabric and a few things to keep me out of trouble.

And life goes on....

Hopefully, for a long time.

I say that because the tingling of my left arm and the dull ache in the left shoulder blade caused some concern at 4:44am this morning. I got up and took some chewable baby aspirin, went back to bed, but the stress of a possible heartattack being the cause of it and not just sleeping 'funny', made me get up by 5am...
It's gone now, but I'm aware of it happening.

...I relayed the info to my doctor. He said to call if it continues. I will.

STRESS!!!

Ok, I thought my husband had some sense.... I'm hoping it comes back. He's planning (as of yesterday) to give his two weeks notice to his job. And from what he says, he's pretty sure that the owner will just tell him to leave NOW. It's a new job since June and he chose to leave a place he'd worked at for 18 yrs to go to this job (wasn't necessarily the wrong decision to leave the old place- they are still in trouble $$-wise-, just not for this new place). We dealt with not having insurance for 2 months then, now not sure what we will be doing, since I'll have to switch to health ins with my company and it's awful expensive and not the best plan. (Not that it isn't expensive anywhere).

Back to square one. Again.

He really wants to retire and I can't tell him we can afford it. I feel like the bad guy here, though he says I'm not. We just refinanced last summer which saved us some on the amount of our payment, but still back to 30 yrs,and this may make a big difference. He went out looking on Friday (Dec 31st), but can't really talk to anyone since it was the 'holiday' for most of the office people.

This is sooo stressful. I'm sure for him, who has to go to work for a guy who seems to be a tyrant, but the lack of income may be worse for all of us. I may have to look for another part-time job on top of this. I'll be laid-off in Mar-April, so add that to this and let's just shoot me now.

I'm hoping he rethinks this and doesn't do anything untiil he has a job (at least he did that the last time he left a job). What is he thinking??????or is he?