Desperate Housewife ESCAPES !!!!!!

This is only half of the gang that was in and out of my house all weekend ....(now don't get me wrong ... they're all good kids .... and I'd much rather have them all at my house because then I at least know where my kids are and what they're doing ...... HOWEVER .....my house constantly looks , not to mention , smells .... like a giant locker room .... or a barn .... and THE BATHROOMS ...... UGH!! ...... Men's Room at a disgusting gas station pretty much sums it up ..... I keep telling them to aim for the water ....) (P.S. to answer Nancy's question in the comments about the fireplace .... the fireplace surround/mantel was just finished about a month ago, but not yet installed since SOMEBODY has to paint it first ..... and now that somebody decided that some of the bricks have to be changed BEFORE he paints and installs the surround/mantel .... so he stuck it over there , propped up against the bookcase .... and there it will probably stay for months, and months, and months, ....)

Anyhow, the gang eventually got bored of watching dirtbike racing on TV and hauled themselves off of the sofas , suited up, revved up (anyday now the neighbors are gonna vote us OUT of the neighborhood!) and took off on their dirtbikes leaving me with this .....

.... and a HUGE pile of the filthiest laundry you've ever seen!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE THOSE SOCKS !!! (sorry!! I should have put a warning at the beginning of this post that there might be some graphic scenes of abused socks.)


ANYHOW ..... Daisy and I FINALLY escaped to the sweet PINK solitude of our sewing room for a little well-deserved peace and quiet and blissful sewing ....

.......AHEM!! well, anyway, one of us did some sewing .....

What was I sewing???? Why I thought you'd never ask ! I was working on another apron and really enjoying myself when ..... THEY came back ..... 4 revving dirtbikes and 2 revving 4-wheelers ...... breaking the peaceful silence of the pink sewing room ...... just then the phone rang ..... guess who?!?
Kitty wanted to know if I wanted to go shopping with her .... she wants to get some new sunglasses .... she decided she doesn't like those pink ones .....

So..... off we went .....and not only did Kitty get new sunglasses .... LOOK at all this other stuff she got!!!
....Kitty says now she has just about everything she needs for going to the shore this summer.



Anyhow, after we shopped for Miss Kitty, she waited out in the car, listening to her tunes, while I FLEW into The Quiltery literally minutes before closing time (Kelly and Judy weren't there today, but Karen was ..... actually, she's usually the one working on a Sunday when I run through the door seconds before she's closing , and I skid across the floor saying WAIT !!! I just NEED .......whatever it is .... and poor Karen just shakes her finger at me and rolls her eyes .....I decided I better not take her picture .... she was ready to strangle me as it was .... ) ANYHOW, the reason I felt the need to zoom in there yesterday was to grab a few yards of this highly sought after, and difficult to find fabric ...
....yes .... those are dirtbikes, of course, .... "Motocross" by Hoffman ...... it's definately a plus when you have a friend who has a quilt shop ..... and it's even more of a plus when that friend also has 2 sons .... and one of those sons also rides dirtbikes .... and that friend understands how hard it is to sometimes find just the right fabric for guy stuff ....

BUT ..... lest you think I have all sorts of self control in a quilt shop and only bought that one fabric ..... think again!!! With only SECONDS to shop before closing time, I managed to throw a few more bolts of fabric on the cutting table (while Karen had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot .....) but I was SPEEDY !!! I may have broken some sort of record .... look at this pretty stuff !!!
........... this is "Strawberry Lemonade" by Me & My Sister Designs.





......ooohhh, and look at this pretty stuff !! This is some of the fabrics from the "At Water's Edge"collection by Blackbird Designs.

... and this fun stripe fabric is from the "Prairie Paisley" collection by Polly Minick and Laurie Simpson....




.......ahhhhhhhh....... yes ...... what would I do without my pink sewing room to escape to, or fabric shopping ........ well, probably this .....
.......yep, dive headfirst into a margarita !!!


Anyhow, speaking of sewing aprons (I know this is a long post, but remember that was what I was working on before Kitty called me to go shopping yesterday ....) ANYHOW, speaking of aprons, you should run over to Dandelion Quilts ... she's having an apron give away ... but hurry because it's over tomorrow! ..... also, zip over to Apronista" because they're also having an apron give away!!

Oh, yeah, and Kitty says to remind all of you to help her decide on her prom dress in the last post .... look down... yeah right down there at that last post about Kitty going to the Prom ... she says THANKS!

Have fun!!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Look who's going to the prom !!!!!

This afternoon Kitty called me .... she was VERY excited because she was asked to the PROM !!!! The Prom isn't for another month, but she wanted to come over and show me the tiara she bought today and plans to wear. (she says she's not quite sure how she's gonna wear her hair with the tiara, but she just LOVED it and had to have it for her special night!)
She was babbling on and on about this tiara and her hair and I kept trying to ask her who's her date? Who asked Kitty to the Prom? She says it's a secret ...........a mystery date. Then she asked our opinion on a dress for the prom ..... here are a few she was looking at .....which prom dress do you think Kitty should get? I'm kind of leaning toward the lilac strapless .... but Kitty doesn't have much to hold that thing up, so maybe she should go with the white organdy with spaghetti straps..... PLUS, when the dress is strapless, the "date" never knows where the heck to pin on the dang corsage ..... best to go with a wrist corsage to avoid that awkward moment ......


Well, as usual, after a visit from Kitty, I'm totally POOPED !!! (she can be SO exhausting to deal with!! ..... her hair, her dress, her shoes, her nails, blah, blah, blah ......SHEESH!!!) Now I need a LONG NAP!!!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Computer is fixed !!! &... SPRING HAS SPRUNG !!!!

Yahoo!!! the computer guy is my new hero ..... as of last night, our computer is fixed !!! I never thought I'd be so attached to a computer, but apparantly, I am .....(as I've said before ... I should probably get a life!!!)

..... AND DOUBLE YAHOO!!! because it seems SPRING HAS SPRUNG here in northeast Pa!!! Today it's supposed to be 67 degrees, and tomorrow through Saturday ..... 75!!!! ...... AND lookie !!!

...... FLOWERS !! Blooming in my front yard !!









....and here are more signs of spring in my backyard...

...lots of birdies at the birdfeeder and a couple of newcomers ...... meet Lou and Thelma Turkey (wild turkeys, that is) ... that's Thelma in the middle of the first picture walking at the edge of the yard, and that's Lou in the second picture with his back to the camera (he was busy eating and made it clear he didn't want to be disturbed .... which was fine with me because at one point he fluffed up all of his feathers and spread his wings and I decided he was probably bigger than me ... anyhow, I took the pictures from inside the house through our dirty windows .... and actually the picture of Lou was from one of the upstairs bedroom windows through the dirty screen .... which further explains the crummy pictures!!)

..... and THEN.... this morning, I woke up to find this .....

......empty birdfeeder on the ground ........ which usually means this guy is up from his long winter's nap and was out looking for a midnight snack!!


......oh, here's another sign of spring (fever) at my house .....

.........the "meeting of the minds" in the driveway and garage ......they're riding and repairing their dirtbikes and "quads" ..... too bad they don't put this much effort into the graduation project that is due in TWO WEEKS !!!!(In the state of Pa, in order to graduate, the kids have to complete a graduation project which involves some kind of communty service, or shadowing a professional in a career they're interested in, and then writing a paper about it ..... soooo, they can be accepted to Harvard and have a 4.0 , but if the graduation project isn't completed and passed, they aren't going ANYWHERE !!!) ...... now, this bunch (all except Evan who is only a freshman) have known about this for the past 3 years .... and now we're DOWN TO THE WIRE .....do they look worried that they've hardly started this project ?!? NO!!! do they have acid indigestion??? NO!!! Do I?!? YES !!! Do they have a STRESS headache?!? NO!! Do I ?!? YES !!!! UGH!!!!

.....OK ..... I think I'll take some tylenol and down a few more Rolaids and then go for a stress-relieving walk ..... well, it'll be stress-relieving if I don't run into the bear that had my birdseed for a snack last night!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Computer is on the BLINK !!! RATS!!!

Hi everybody out there in Blogland !!! I just wanted to let you all know that we're having TONS of computer problems at MBIAJ (Moonbeams in Jar). Right now I'm on the Big Cheese's computer at his office ..... he tried to fix the one at home and lets just say it got worse instead of better .... so now we're waiting on the computer fixer guy that he'll actually have to pay ...... ANYWAY, I'm sorry if anybody emailed me ..... cause that's not working either .... or at least I have no idea how to get my email from our home computer on this computer. Also, THANKS, THANKS, THANKS for all the fun comments that I can't answer right now since any second the BIg Cheese will probably come flying in here telling me he needs to use his computer .

SOooooooooo ..... I'll be back online as soon as possible !! (I think I'm actually going through computer/blog withdrawal!!! Seriously!!! ) So, maybe in the meantime, while I can't be piddling away tons of time on the computer, I'll actually make some progress on some sewing projects ..... I'm in the process of cutting out another apron and maybe a chef hat to match (one always needs a matching hat!! --- and I have a feeling that Kitty is gonna want a chef hat too.... SHEESH !!)

OK .... be back as soon as I can !!!!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Camp Moonbeams (Day two) Stitch & Hike/Sweat

(Note: before I get started with this post, just wanted to let all of you know that we're having lots of problems with our computer .... so I'm not sure if this post will show up , or if only half of it will, or if the pictures will be goofed up ..... AAARRRRRRGGGGG!!!!)


Camp Moonbeams (Day Two): Activities Dept Plan included sewing and walking.

OK ..... let me give you a little background info ...... The word "Beth" (not all "Beth's", but definately this particular pal of mine , Beth) and the word "sewing machine" have not to this point happily coexisted in the same sentence. Apparantly there was a Home Ec situation back in junior high or high school that left Beth and sewing machines mortal enemies.

ANYHOW, Beth, being the good mom that she is , wanted more for her daughter Jenny. (Jenny is currently in 8th grade and so far her school has not offered a sewing class.... and Beth is pretty sure she won't have sewing in high school , either .... not in the curriculum.) ....... so, Beth and Jenny came here to Camp Moonbeams with the sewing machine Beth recieved as a gift from her ever hopeful husband a couple of years ago. At the time of receiving the gift, Beth enthusiastically used the instruction booklet to help her wind the bobbin and thread the machine ..... and then she lost the instruction booklet leaving her wondering ..... "how do I wind another bobbin ..... how do I re - thread the machine ....." Anyhow, Beth and Jenny awakened on Day Two of Camp Moonbeams with their pre threaded sewing machine and their determintation to change the color of thread on that sewing machine and learn to sew something .
......and here they are !! That's Jenny sewing away like a pro and mama Beth waiting her turn to get at that
machine! They did a great job !! They worked on a pair of shorts for Jenny, and also learned to piece a 9-patch quilt block (and I can't believe I forgot to take pictures.... RATS!!) Anyhow, we sewed and sewed and sewed in our PJ's until Beth's eyes glazed over .... which was about 2:30 PM .... so we decided to take a break .... then the phone rang ..... guess who it was .....
"Hi everybody ! What are you doing today? I want to try out my new bathing cap .... let's take a nice walk down to the river ." (Kitty is the assistant to Camp Moonbeam's Activities Director ....but she's a bit head strong and just plows forward and expects everybody to be following her ..... Kitty, Kitty, Kitty ..... it's ALL about Kitty .... oh, sorry ...... ahem .....) OK, so we all decided to get out of our PJ's and go for a nice leisurely walk with Kitty .

KITTY!!! We thought you said LEISURELY walk !!!!









.....and here she is, that Kitty, showing off "King of the Hill!"
(look, she's already wearing her bathing cap .... she can't wait to get down to that river .... the Lehigh River ... and take a dip .... even though it's FREEZING out ..... she is SO headstrong!!) .......

UH OH !! KITTY !!! Watch what you're doing !!! You're rolling towards the cliff !!!
PHEW !!!! GOT HER !!! (see what we mean by HEAD STRONG !!! not to mention RECKLESS !!)


ANYWAY, after we all calmed down from Kitty's near plunge over the cliff, we continued on down to the river so her majesty, Kitty could take a dip in the freezing river just to try out her new bathing cap.
......UGH! Now she's freezing and decided she's going to drive back home ...... Kitty, we TOLD you it was too cold for a dip today but you didn't listen!

Anyhow, after her majesty, Kitty, left Beth, Jenny and I decided to continue with our "leisurely walk" and hike up the waterfall (Glen Onoko Falls) ..... well, not the ENTIRE waterfall, just about 1/4 the way up the falls..... and here's a picture of our Jersey Beach gals sitting near part of the Falls (because Beths' mom didn't believe her when she called her to listen to the rushing waterfall .... she kept saying that we were holding the phone next to a flushing toilet .... HA ! )







.....and as the sun sets over Glen Onoko Falls, and we head back to "camp" to go out for pizza and ice cream, so concludes another "interesting" day at Camp Moonbeams.

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare) ... and our campers, Beth and Jenny

Camp Moonbeams (Day One) Shop & Eat

Look who came to visit me here at Moonbeams in a Jar!! My best pal Beth and her sweetie pie daughter, Jenny!!







....and look who invited herself over...
















Anyway ..... the MBIAJ (Moonbeams in a Jar) Camp Activities Dept first planned some shopping (of course!) .... so we hopped into Kitty's zippy little car ....















....and our first stop was ....
.....The Quiltery ! Kelly wasn't there , but her sidekick Judy was there and manning the ship ...... (and look! ... those two crazy gals have started a a blog!)


After we drooled all over all the great fabrics and patterns in the quilt shop area, we strolled through all of the antique vendors. Beth felt the need to closely inspect this kayak......
....wasn't quite what she was looking for .....









Next, we found a flea market that Kitty wanted to visit to do some car shopping ....
.....she decided she didn't like anything they had and she'd stick with her sporty red convertable.





Then we were off to do some hat shopping ....
.... this looks like Jenny has a pink furry Hershey's Kiss on her head ...... it's very becoming, don't ya think?!?



Well, all that shopping made us hungry so it was time for lupper (late lunch, early supper).
.....(oops, that picture is a little dark .... I'm gonna have to make the "MBIAJ Photography Dept" take that course "Photography for Dummies"....) anyway, here we are (Jenny, Kitty, yours truly, and Beth) at one of the newly opened restaurants in Jim Thorpe .....Flow(named because the Mauch Chunk Creek flows under the building which was an 1800's factory .... there is a section of the floor cut out with a glass enclosure so you can see the creek flowing (we're standing in front of the glass enclosure.)

Beth and Jenny had a veggie burger and hummus wrap.....














Kitty and I shared soup and a delicious salad.....









Even though we were all stuffed, we forced ourselves to share this yummy dessert (and look who was first in line ...... that Kitty is such a bottomless pit!)



When we got back to the car, Beth and Jenny showed me this gem of a card they found...
... a cat in a FLOWERED BATHING CAP !!!!!! What are the chances of finding a picture of a cat in a flowered bathing cap to match the ones Beth, Jenny and I have ?!?! (not to mention my sister , niece and sister - in - law ..... all members of our "Sisterhood of the Flowered Bathing Cap" ..... the only requirement is one bad synchronized swimming performance a year....)

Anyhow, Kitty was feeling rather left out since she was the only one in the group without a flowered bathing cap .... so when we got back to "Camp Moonbeams" Jenny went right to work and made her one .....
..... so here she is modeling her new flowered bathing cap (made by that very clever Jenny , out of balloons) ..... isn't that a HOOT !!!!!

So, that was pretty much Day One of "Camp Moonbeams Shop & Eat". Tune in tomorrow for Day Two of "Camp Moonbeams Stitch & Sweat" !! (that is if this computer is more cooperative tomorrow than it has been the past few days ..... trust me, it almost went flying out the window a few times !!!)

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

"Dear Diary........"

Look what my mother found and gave me .... my DIARY from 6th grade !!!! What a HOOT !!






Let's open it up and see what fascinating observations a 6th grade girl from Hometown, Pa made in the year 1970....
.....oh.... sewing class .... finishing up a skirt (hemming, fixing the zipper and some hand stitching) .....



.......and then there's this page ....

......this riveting entry tells how my friend Cindy and I finished sewing our skirts and that was good since it was our last sewing class anyhow. Then later that day my mother took me shopping and I "got a pattern for myself. It has bell bottoms and a tunic, and there are three easy dresses. I was going to make quilted lounging pajamas with a zipper up the front but I decided not to." (........oooooooo ..... quilted LOUNGING PAJAMAS ..... don't they sound hot and uncomfortable!) OMG ... was I a BORING 6th grader OR WHAT ?!? .... (actually, I guess this just reminds me how much I really love to sew ... even back then .... I was a SEWING GEEK !!!)

....anyhow, there is some fun stuff in my diary about dances and some boy on the bus I liked, and homework, and teachers, and pajama parties, and riding bikes, etc .... nothing earth shattering, just a record of day to day life from a 6th grader's point of view in 1970 .... of no value to anybody but me ..... or IS IT?!? Just think, 100 years from now my diary might be read and found to be an interesting peek at life "way back when" ..... and somebody will say "thank goodness girls wrote in diaries; and thank goodness somebody kept them for future generations " ..... just like the pioneer women who wrote letters and diaries about daily life traveling across the country in a covered wagon .... think about it ... in history class we learned about things from what men kept track of in their "journals" (I'm guessing they didn't call them diaries .... or at least they didn't start out their daily entry "Dear Diary... today me and the guys explored the north branch of the river where we encountered some friendly natives ....") Anyhow, if pioneer women like .......


this lady hadn't kept a diary, we'd never know how hard it was to take care of a family while living out of a covered wagon .... cook meals over a campfire, search for water everyday to camp near, take care of a sick kid, etc ..... (by the way, this picture is from the front of a book I have "Trail of Thread" Historical Letters 1854-1855 by Linda K Hubalek)







.....and, if it weren't for the diary of this
very happening girl, future generations might never know the fascinating details of the life of a 6th grade girl in Hometown, Pa in 1970!!!

.....and come to think of it .... all of you blogger gals out there are carrying on the diary tradition .... in cyberspace! You're all writing about your daily lives, family stuff, cooking stuff, business stuff, and creative stuff ... all the daily little and big stuff that will someday be a peek back into women's lives in the early 2000's ! Carry on , bloggers !!!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)