"serious" stuff revisited and new news.

Sorry for the long absence.  Work, laundry, many short trips, work, (did I mention work?) .

***

The post before the last one was about annoying pagers and radios .  Well, I'm still living with the constant chatter (when I'm home).  The fire department ordered new pagers.  About half don't work.  Husband is on his second new one, but can't trust it.  It randomly goes off sometimes several times a day.  The other day, there was a fire call (luckily no real fire), and the new pager didn't go off.   He just happened to see the fire truck go down the street.  If this sounds familiar, it is because it all happened again and again.

One thing about having the radio on all the time - we hear all the ambulance, police, and sheriff calls.  It's fun being one of first to hear there is a snow day, but it is awful when we hear an ambulance or police call to a friend's address or to a wreck.  Since we live in such a small populated area, if a local person is involved, we almost always know or at least have heard of the person or persons. 

*** 

Click on pictures to see a larger view.

Almost exactly a year ago, I was staying at my daughter's while she was in Europe.  Now, again, I've been running back and forth and spending quite a bit of time at my daughter's place.  Why?  Because at the end of May, Daughter

 at India Night in traditional clothing

(Reminds me of the sixties & early seventies)

has to be out of her apartment where she has lived for the last three years.  Since she has lived away from home for six years, she has accumulated a whole lot of stuff.  (We did the math.  Less expensive to store the stuff than to replace it.)

Then, in about eight weeks she's leaving this:

quail enjoying the view.  taken from front window of apartment

 a few miles from where Grandma & Grandpa used to live

just outside Moscow, Idaho

deep blue skies like the blue in the upper right corner

her kitties

UI campus and lots of snow

near our favorite campsite

And, more snow - fresh this morning (thankfully, now melted).


for here:

Bangkok

That's right.  My baby is going to go to school in Bangkok.   Then, if all goes well, she will go on to teach in South Korea  for a year.    That is clear around the world!  (Yes, I know you know where these places are.  I'm just stressing how far away my youngest child will be. Sob.)  She hasn't yet been assigned to a specific school; so doesn't know where she will be living and teaching.

While in school in Bangkok, Daughter has to wear skirts or dresses which must be long enough cover the knees.  Guess who is going to be doing some marathon sewing?  (Me, not daughter.)

*** 

Still going to the thrift stores.  Have found a few skirts that need to be altered. Have added several pieces to a couple of dish/china sets.  Also, have purchased many, many sewing patterns at five and ten cents a piece.  Cookbook collection is expanding.  The oldest cookbook was actually a gift from my daughter for Mother's Day and my birthday.  It is a first edition, dated 1897, in remarkable condition. (We found it in a used book store.)  And, yes, I purchased another sewing machine. It's pretty. More on that later, tho.

Enough for tonight.   Except, blogger is irritatingly not responding to the changes I've made.  Grrrr.

Hope everyone is well... 

This and that

Hope everyone is doing well.  I've kept tabs on a few people whose blogs load quickly, but lost track of others.  My apologies.

Sorry, no pictures here, but if you scroll down there is a link that will take you to some.

I've been spending quite a bit of time at our "new" shop.  Someone asked about it, so here is the scoop.   Well, I finally had had enough of the business being in the house.  We found what was basically two offices one block off Main Street that we couldn't pass up:  $600 per month with everything paid except telephone and internet.  What does my husband do?  Computer repair and consulting.  What do I do?  His books, answer the phone, get in the way, wander in and out and about...

Daughter has learned the art of thrifting and cooking.  Check out the first 5 posts for what she "hauled" home today and a yummy sounding recipe.  http://carmencanusing.blogspot.com/


Yes, my friends and I still go thrifting at least once a week.  We have found the best bargains! I need to charge my camera or stay home long enough to do some scanning so that I can post some pictures of recent purchases.

Stay warm.  Stay well.  (Roxanne and Shay, get well!) 

Unnecessary, but fun

Last post was sort of about not spending or spending wisely. This post is about spending. I stopped at a little thrift store. Oops.

I defend my spending money there because all the money (donated building and help!) goes to support a local "private" school. It is private in that no government money is used to support the school. Although, it is basically a Catholic school, any child is welcome - except that there is a huge long waiting list. It is that good of a school.

I purchased a few saucers (bowls) and a few pieces of "silverware" (one fork was real silver - 10 cents!). Always seem to need more.

Also purchased were a lightweight denim shirt with puffy sleeves and two out of style rayon dresses. These were a dollar each. The denim shirt will someday lose the "puffs". This is for me. The puffed sleeves make me look like I'm wearing football shoulder pads or whatever they are called. The navy dress will hopefully get a zipper and be shortened. It fits my daughter beautifully, but is very difficult to get on and off. The maroon floral dress? Who knows. It fits my daughter, too, but the color is wrong for her. I will try to remember to get before and after pictures.

What I spent the most on was a whole grocery sack of sewing patterns - some newer, some older. Below are three of my favorites.

This is possibly the oldest dated 1962:



This pattern, with minor adjusting, should fit my daughter. Too bad it isn't in style at all.

Then there were these:






These are from the Associated British Paper Patterns Ltd., Denbigh Rd. Bletchley, Bucks. There is no copyright or date printed anywhere on them.

If anyone wants to get rid of old (1960's and 1970's and maybe early 1980's) patterns, I am in the market for women's half sizes 10-1/2 to 12-1/2, young junior/teen sizes 9/10, 11/12, and 13/14, and junior petites sizes 7, 9, and 11. I really don't want to pay a fortune for each pattern, but would pay for the patterns and for shipping. My email address is available from my profile page. Thanks. Oh, these would be to use. I would not be reselling them.

Random, but I have misplaced my list of passwords for all my internet sites. OH BROTHER!!
UPDATE: The passwords have been found. phew! Now the checkbook register is missing. It is probably in the huge stack of bills waiting to be paid. Groan.
*******

Well Used Pattern

(Updated 3:30 4/29/2009 - I cancelled my photobucket account, because photobucket kept locking up the computer.)
I recently had to empty my "sewing room" to make way for other things. In the process, I found this pattern - Simplicity 8409 - copyrighted 1969. It cost 85 cents, and was purchased (probably in 1969) at Hudson's Department Store either in downtown* Detroit or at Eastland** (Shopping) Center in Eastpointe?, MI.

*If I remember correctly, Hudson's Downtown was the second largest department store in the US. Macy's in New York City was the largest. ** Eastland was fairly new and again, if I remember correctly, at that time the largest shopping mall in the US and one of the largest in the world. These places were absolutely fantastic. (Please correct me if I'm wrong about the sizes.)

I cannot tell you how many skirts and culottes were made from this pattern. Most of my high school wardrobe revolved around these pieces. (I didn't make the pants or jacket because they weren't "cool" enough.)

Specifically, I remember making a skirt in winter white wide wale (how was that for an alliteration!) corduroy that I wore with a dark brown fringed sash (like a belt). (Unfortunately, I don't remember what type of top I wore with it.) I made the culottes in coppery brown wide wale corduroy that was worn with a knit top made with (the same) brown, turquoise, and beige striped fabric. Two other pairs of culottes were made in dark green Kettle cloth and a summery yellow fabric. I know I made other skirts and culottes from this pattern, but am coming up blank about details right now.

The skirt took only a yard of 45" wide fabric, and the culottes took 1-1/4 yard of 45" wide fabric. Because I was (am) so short I really didn't need to buy that much. These were very simple, quick, and inexpensive to make - the fabric, a zipper, and some thread was all that was needed.

Sadly, the culotte and skirt pattern pieces are now missing. As I sort through things, I hope they magically reappear.

Last Post's Boring Update and More

Gorgeous day today - finally. Nice weather after a long crappy spell does wonders for one's outlook on life.

My daughter spent the last few days of her spring break with her grandmother instead of coming home. Sad she didn't stay with us, but her grandma needed to see her, too. Today, Daughter stopped in on her way back to school. We went out to lunch at a local cafe and then wandered around in a store that is going out of business. Daughter is now safely in her own town and headed to her apartment. She had to get back because not only does she have homework to do, the person that was taking care of her cats needs her to take care of his cat over the weekend. Sigh. Yes, I'm okay. Sigh.

White vinegar is a wonderful smell remover. One towel is now fresh smelling and very soft. (I haven't washed the other towel yet.) I'm going to the grocery store after while to stock up on vinegar and Borax. I used to mix Borax with water in the diaper pail to soak the diapers. How could I have forgotten that it is a good odor and stain remover??? (Well, in my defense it was 29 to 30 years ago when I quit using cloth diapers, and Daughter was only diapered in disposables.)

The pickup didn't start. The battery was dead. Imagine that.

Our friends, Joanie and her son Brian, cooked St. Patrick's dinner. We wound up having stew and soda bread instead of corned beef and cabbage, but it was absolutely the best stew I have ever eaten. (Joanie said she couldn't find a decent corned beef, which I certainly believe.) There was supposed to be a huge crowd, but Joanie's dau-in-law and the grands and greatgrands all had the flu. So, there was just Joanie, Brian, an older gentleman that I'd never met, my husband, and me. We ate, visited, and ate some more - such good company and such a good time.

The "good" bookcase that got wet dried out very nicely. There is about 1/4 inch along the bottom of one side that is rough, but if anyone looks that closely... And, if the bookcase is ever set on carpet, it won't show at all. Whew!

DH jump started the pickup, and took it to Lewiston and Clarkston yesterday. J had a job to finish up, so it was a good excuse to go buy a new vacuum cleaner. (I hope it is a good one; I haven't yet taken it out of the box.)

While in "town", I looked for filing cabinets. Staples only had the expensive chintzy kind that bend easily or the really expensive wooden ones in stock. There is only one other office supply place in the Lewiston now, and they don't keep filing cabinets in stock.

Also for several years now, I've wanted one specific kind of storage cabinet. The only place I've seen them, besides in a catalog, is at Shopko. I didn't want to order them and pay shipping (heavy and over-sized = $$$$), and I've been "too cheap" to pay the price Shopko was asking. I've checked on these every time I've gone into the store. You can imagine how surprised I was yesterday when I found that they were on sale for 52% off (!!!), and we had the pickup to haul them! I really only needed two, but bought the 3 that were in stock. Finding things (fabric??) to fill the third cabinet will not be difficult.

Let's see. Bookcases (laminated particle board) were also on sale. Purchased three for J's office at his "other" job (I didn't have to pay for these. Yeah!) and two for my sewing room.

And, since J was along, he got to man-handle the huge sacks of dog food and the heavy buckets of cat litter that Costco sells. Actually, taking him to Costco is not good, because he wants to buy fattening goodies.

Ordering clothing from a catalog is for the birds. Daughter normally wears an 8 petite dress, so that is what I ordered. The dress is huge - at least two sizes too big. She normally wears __ size shoes, wide width, and a half size larger if purchased from Payless. I ordered several pairs of dancing shoes to see which style she liked best and/or fit best. Yep, they are all too long. (One pair is even defective!) But, where in Idaho would one buy ballroom dancing shoes - especially ones in wide width - except out of a catalog? Is there a place in Spokane? (We don't have time to travel anywhere else to try on shoes.) And, why in the world doesn't the catalog state that the dancing shoes run larger than regular dress pumps? The dance world is new to me; I don't know these things. I'm sure other people don't know, either. Every single item I ordered has to be returned, and I get to pay the shipping. Grrr.

It is now 6 PM. Time to fix dinner. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Odds and Ends (Again)

Thank you to all who have commented here and by email. What great and fun tools blogs and email are!

(Oh, I had a troll make an ugly comment about my brother-in-law, so I implemented the comment moderator. Sorry for the inconvenience.)

For some of the clothes stores various people mentioned, we will have to take a trip to Boise, Spokane, Seattle, Atlanta, Las Vegas, or ???. (At least one store doesn't sell on-line.) Wanting or needing to shop is a good excuse to go on a trip, right?

It is snowing Great Big Flakes and sticking.

The snowdrops are in bloom. In the 20 or 21 springs that I have lived in this town, May is the earliest I've ever seen them bloom (before now). (I've lived here three different times, so I get confused about the number of seasons, but not about when flowers bloom.) It's too early to remove the mulch - hence the debris around the flowers.

I love spring flowers. They look so delicate but are so hardy.

The lilacs usually bloom in mid-to-late May and almost always get snowed on.

Along Lapwai Creek, the stems of willows and dogwood? are changing colors. The trees look like they are getting read to bud. The elevation is much lower near Lapwai so their spring comes much earlier.

I almost hope it freezes (here) again so that there isn't any mud for a while. I hate mud. The dirt here is black, not dark brown, but black clay. It is slick and gooey when wet and hard as a brick when dry. It is almost impossible to wash out - very similar to Georgia's red clay - except much more fertile.

My dad just emailed me several old family photos that I had never seen before. Also, there were pictures of headstones and lists of family members with birth and death dates, birth and death places, and women's married names! I'm officially in hog heaven!

Dad also sent pictures of some family members (that are my age) that I haven't seen or seen pictures of since we were in our late teens/early twenties. Their daughter just got married and is younger than my oldest child, but why do THEY look so OLD? HAHA

Small world:

*Note to a Certain Young Woman in Texas: I just found out that one of my "old" college roommates lives in Austin. I lost touch with her years ago, but (re)met her mother at a church meeting the other night. She (the mother) and her husband moved here a couple of years ago.

*Aunt of Certain Young Woman used to live in a town close to here and drove over here to go to church. Wonder if our paths ever crossed? Probably. This is a small town.

My friend has two grandsons who are completely out of control. My friend is so upset. I hope things get better soon.

Note to young people - (most) parents never stop worrying/caring about their children, and the grandchildren and even greatgrands. Note to my children: You will always be my children no matter how old you get - so you'd better behave! lol

This is what my kitten did. She would streak through the house and hit the top of my desk sending everything flying. I had already picked up quite a bit before I thought to take a picture.

Kitten when we first got her. I set the cup there so we could remember how tiny she was. I took a picture tonight, but it didn't turn out. Can't get her to be still long enough!

Since it's time to put the dogs out (10:45 pm) one last time, I'll quit jabbering.

Clothing Dilemma - Help Needed Please

I'm looking for classic style clothing suitable for a woman in her seventies - in petite sizes 0 to 4. Does anyone know of a source? (I just went through the new Coldwater Creek catalog. The smallest they carry is a 6 which is too large.)

I have looked. My mom has looked. All the clothing that we have found in those sizes are made for young people. I can't even find suitable new sewing patterns that come that small. (I know how to alter up, but making smaller ???)

At this point the only option I've come up with is making (or having made) clothes using vintage children's clothing patterns.

Does anyone have any other ideas?