Irene is a HAS BEEN !

Good morning Blogland Neighborhood. It's a BEAUTIFUL morning here in Jim Thorpe, Pa - blue blue skies, low humidity and about 70 degrees ! Hurricane Irene came and went mostly Saturday night with alot of rain, and on and off rain and some wind gusts on Sunday. So, MBIAJ Headquarters really wasn't affected much other than ...




.....some leaves and small branches thrown around the yard, porch and driveway and ...




....loss of power for a day and a half caused by this tree that fell on wires down the street from us. So only minor inconveniences - the worst being the fact that when we don't have power here at headquarters, we also don't have running water or FLUSHING TOILETS (because we are on well and septic here). The MBIAJ Emergency Management Dept always fills the bathtub with water for flushing the toilets when there's a chance the power might go out, but it seems it only works for about 4 or 5 good flushes, then it kind of backs up ..... therefore, during a power outage, the MBIAJ Emergency Management Dept puts a ban on Mr. Moonbeams High Fiber Diet (he's a vegetarian who eats more vegetables, fiber and roughage in one sitting than most people eat in a year .... need we say more?)

Anyhow, we came through Irene unscathed .... so for us Ireney was a Weany ! (but we know for many people she was not and they are dealing with alot of flooding , still no power, and damages. Hopefully all will be fixed and in good shape very soon!)

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Goodnight Irene !!!!

Well, Goodnight Irene Blogland Neighborhood! Unless you've been living under a rock, you know there's a storm - a BIG STORM happening RIGHT NOW along the east coast of the USA ..... and the outer fringes of it are due ....




...to make an appearance here at MBIAJ Headquarters sometime tonight and tomorrow (we are near Allentown, Pa).




So, the MBIAJ Emergency Management Dept has been busily collecting all the supplies we may need over the next few days .... batteries, flashlights, a radio, matches, candles, sterno, water and ... lets take a closer look at one of the most important supplies ....





..... some chocolate in the form of Pillsbury brownie bites :) WAIT ! Will one package be enough?!?!!!! I better get to the store before Irene comes to get more !!!!




Be back soon! (Please stay safe everybody !!!!)
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

My empty nest

Good Monday morning Blogland Neighborhood ! Well, today is a big day here at MBIAJ Headquarters. My baby boy just left for his first day of college classes. Yes, Moonbeams Boy Evan is now a Penn State University freshman ....(sigh). And even though he will still be living here at home this year and commuting to the local PSU branch campus, the fact remains that .....





......my two baby boys










.....are now in college ! (and Matt is a PSU SENIOR - ALREADY !?!?!?!!!)

Makes their Moonbeams Mom both proud and sad !





So, in the words of their grandfather ... "Go forth and conquer the world !!!" (I'm pretty sure he quoted that from somebody else) . Best of luck to both of my college boys for a great year !!!!




Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Emergency No Sew Last Minute Pillow Covers !!!

Happy weekend Blogland Neighborhood! Well, as you know from my last post, last Sunday was Kid #2's (Evan's ) high school graduation party (held at MBIAJ Headquarters at pretty much the last possible time before he starts college classes TOMORROW !) Anyhow, not wanting to have to do a major clean up at Headquarters in order to have the party here, I tried to rent a pavilion at our local lake, but all pavilions were booked for last weekend. SO, the only possible location for the party was MBIAJ Headquarters (i.e. our house - YIKES !) Actually, this turned out to be a good thing since now the pressure was on to actually clean up the clutter and do some serious dusting and vacuuming ! (and I must say everybody here at Headquarters rolled up their sleeves and pitched in to get the place looking spic and span for Evan's big day!) So, everything looked sparkly and perfect except for .......



.....those throw pillows on the love seat and sofa - UGH !!!! Those pillows have been on my "list" for quite some time now - talk about NASTY !!!! There must be at least 6 years worth of Moonbeams Boys' and their friends' slobber , drool and stinky feet all over those pillows! AND, horror of horrors, they don't really go with anything else in the room - these are the pillows that came with the sofa.

So, with party guests due to arrive and food still needing to be picked up (yes, we cheated and went with party trays and a cake made by the local grocery store - but we did put forth a little effort and made pierogies in the crock pot and hamburger bbq in another crock pot) - I looked at those pillows and desperately googled "No Sew Pillow Covers". There were actually pretty many versions, but I went with "The Easiest Pillow Cover Ever" found on this site, orangize and decorate everything

I followed her directions for the covers except I didn't have quite enough fabric to tie a knot , so I had to ...



....... cut strips of contrasting fabric to tie around the ends of the fabric.



.....and Ta Daaaa !!!
























.....NO MORE UGLY PILLOWS !!!!!

FYI: these pillows look good and would continue to look good if we lived in a museum; however they did not stand up to the punishment that high school and college boys dish out - my pretty bows fell off and the fabric unraveled (which one would expect if said pretty pillow were to be winged across the living room at one's friend or brother's head). I think they would have held up better if I had enough fabric to follow the instructions to tie the fabric in a knot instead of having to use extra fabric to tie a bow.

So, it looks like I'm gonna have to actually sew some industrial strength slip covers for these pillows at some point. (OK, I'll go put that on my "to do list" - again !)

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Evan's graduation party = FUN DAY !!!!

Well, the cards and gifts have been opened, the decorations have been taken down, the food is almost gone, the guests have gone home, and the kitchen and house are sort of cleaned up .... that was last night after Evan's graduation party and I'm still POOPED !!! (I've come to the conclusion that I'm way too lazy to be a party planner!) Anyhow, here we have Evan cutting his graduation cake to share with ....



all of his family and friends who came to his party to celebrate this milestone with him. (milestone = graduation , not cutting the cake:)




Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins,


childhood friends,










friends through good times and bad, and a loyal brother




.....who wanted to make sure everybody at the party realized the "quilt" they were supposed to sign was "this thing" as he wrote on the sign with an arrow pointing to what he says ....



looks like a table cloth .... well, so it isn't the actual quilt, but it is GOING to be the BACK of Evan's quilt - someday - because as of zero hour when the party started ....





....this was as far as the MBIAJ Quilting Dept got on the actual quilt top ...... (oh well!)





And now that this milestone is behind us, we're zooming full speed ahead onto the next thing on the agenda .... and that is to get Matt packed up and moved into his new apartment out at Penn State THIS Saturday to start his senior year (gasp !!!). Yep, I now have 2 college boys !!! Matt out at Penn State main campus and Evan commuting from home to the local branch campus of Penn State . Classes start for both boys a week from today .....YIKES !!!!!

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

CRAZY BUSY !!!!!!

Happy Friday Blogland Neighborhood ! Well the CRAZY summer of 2011 at MBIAJ Headquarters continues (and it's all good!) First of all ...

.....Kid #1 College Boy Matt arrived home last night from his summer internship in Florida (note instant pig pen in his room .... but after his horrendous first month on his internship where he ended up in the emergency room and then was admitted to the hospital for surgery we are happier than happy to have him and his messiness HOME!!! .... for a whole week and 2 days before he packs up again and heads back out to Penn State for the fall semester.)


....AND the MBIAJ Quilting Dept is SCRAMBLING to get Kid #2 Evan's graduation quilt somewhat put together by THIS SUNDAY because we are having .....



....his high school graduation party !!!! (So I guess I will now have to refer to both kids as my College Boys ! (sigh) Both Penn Staters !!! .... and classes start already a week after the graduation party on August 22nd! .....YIKES !!!! At least Evan will be living at home this year anyway since he is going to commute to a local branch campus of Penn State like Matt did for his first 2 years)

Well, gotta go !!!!! We've got LOTS and LOTS to do !!!!!

Be back soon,
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Happy 100th Birthday Lucy !!!

Good morning and happy Saturday Blogland Neighborhood ! .... AND HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY to my idol ........



LUCY !!!! YES ..... we here at MBIAJ are SERIOUS "I LOVE LUCY" fans !!!! We are such SERIOUS fans that about 5 years ago we made the pilgrimage to ....



.....Jamestown, New York (Lucy's hometown) for the Lucy's Birthday celebration they have there every year ! (this is a picture of yours truly, "Ethel", my sister Boop, and "Lucy" ). We had a GREAT time !!! Wish we could have gone out there this weekend for Lucy's 100th !!! Bet that's gonna be a humdinger of a celebration ! I read where Guinness Book of World Records is there right now holding an event to try and get the most people dressed up as Lucy in the same place at the same time !!!! What a HOOT !!!! Would LOVE to have been part of that !!!! Well, at least we can enjoy lots of "I Love Lucy" today on the Hallmark Channel marathon ! (little screech of happpiness here! .... that and lots of sewing on the agenda today!)



Happy Birthday Lucy !!!! (you can click off my music playlist over there on the right sidebar by clicking on the double parallel lines - then you can enjoy this classic video of Lucy's surprise party )

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Summer YUM !!!!

Good morning Blogland Neighborhood ! The MBIAJ Photography Dept thought these cherries looked SO pretty they just had to attempt to take an "artsy" picture before they get devoured ! .....oh well, they really DID look good in person !!!!

Speaking of pretty and "artsy" ..... I changed my blog background (again .... for about the 3rd time this summer .... it's like I can't decide what to wear ....) ANYHOW .... I stumbled upon this one and thought it was PERFECT because it has MOONS on it and PINK ! (my current criteria for my blog background ... MOONS for "Moonbeams in Jar" ; and PINK because my blog header is pink and I can't figure out how to change it .... will have to consult the teenager tech support kid on that when he can squeeze me into his schedule ) Anyhow, for more info on this blog background, you can click on that website way up there in the upper left corner of my blog where it says "Free Backgrounds".

Be back soon !
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)