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Post by choney2 on Dec 21, 2020 10:11:09 GMT
Good morning and Happy Monday!
All crafters are welcome here as we discuss crafting, life and our weight loss journey. Crafting includes actual hands on crafting, such as crochetting, knitting, sewing, quilting, needlepoint, painting, jewelry making, etc.....plus reading craft catalogs, craft blogs, watching craft you tubes or other crafting videos, chatting here about crafting,chatting with another person about crafting, reading craft emails, thinking about crafting, organizing crafting supplies, going into craft stores or the craft aisle in a store , attending craft fairs,or any other activity that inspires or directs your mind toward a crafting activity- even visiting us here to join in our posts!! There are plenty of days in which the closest we get to crafting is a visit here, so even if you have no time to craft, we would love to hear from you. We welcome newcomers to our friendly discussion! So glad you are here!! Please feel free to stop in and say hello!!
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Post by cj59 on Dec 21, 2020 22:15:19 GMT
Hello It was a cloudy day here today until late afternoon and then it cleared up. Looks like I'll be getting some rain on Christmas Eve from the storm that is still on the west coast right now, it sure looks like a monster storm as it move from west to east. I went out this morning and got money from my bank ATM, put gas in my car, and then got a few groceries. I wanted to get all those things done so I'd be good for about 3 weeks or so. No telling if things might get bad again with the virus, but I hope not. I really missed going shopping in the stores this year. I enjoy seeing the Christmas decorations and all the special holiday things. I sure hope that things will be better next year. I finally started working on my Double Slice Layer Cake quilt by making the first cut of the fabrics. They are such pretty fabrics I hated to cut them, but at least I'll be able to see them all when the top is finished. I have to sew the cut pieces together again and then make another cut and sew those together, then it will be ready to assemble into a top. It does seem kind of funny to take fabric and cut it, sew it together and then cut it again Hope all of you are getting to do some crafting.
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Post by Ruth on Dec 21, 2020 22:39:40 GMT
CJ, I used to love to go to stores at Christmas but now I don't. I feel bad for all those that do love doing it though. I'm glad you got your shopping done for a couple weeks. You never know when things will get worse despite the availability of a vaccine but since there's a new strain who knows what will happen. Yes it does sound weird to cut. sew, then cut again but I bet you get some great designs by doing that.
Well the only thing I've crafter so far is a home made pizza (which is actually made intowhat, I guess would be called a giant calzone. There are two of them. I never made calzones nor pizza that way before so we'll see how that works out. DH suggested it. I also had to call tracfone to get my account straightened out. Every time I have to call I wonder why they can't hire people who speak English without a heavy accent. I can't hear as it is and when they have an accent it's even worse. I think I finally got it though. I had forgotten to change my credit card info with them after I lost track of two of my cards so had to update. Then I signed up for a thing that my Medicare adv plan has now. It's free and th4e only thing they give free so I had to sign up. I forget what it's called...something like health at home. What they do is send you a five day dosage of Tamiflu that you can take if you get the flu, an at home Covid test, ad a thermometer. Many advantage plans offer free gym membership, free over the counters even including toothpaste and a bunch of other things but none of those are available in my state. Good thing that I decided to sign up for that because otherwise I wouldn't have known my tracfone account had been suspended and I have about a gazillion minutes and would sure hate to loose them. I'll be relying on those for my phone service if I ever get to INdiana.
Oh and Ginny, after I called and got new cards for the missing cards, of course I found the missing ones. One was under my bed and still is because I couldn't reach it.
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Post by choney2 on Dec 22, 2020 1:01:33 GMT
Good evening! Full day of babysitting and then had to go to the bank.....so its been a very busy day.
CJ- I hear ya!! I am not a big shopper, but its nice to do a little shopping- see everything decorated etc....this year has been so different. It sure is difficult. Lord willing things will be better next year and while Covid will not be a thing of the past, it will not be the life changer that it is right now. Glad you are all stocked up and can stay in and stay safe. Just think of how lucky we are- first of all we have each other and these electronic relationships are covid safe, and we also have our crafting to keep us sane. And I completely agree, what a silly hobby it is to cut up lovely fabric into tiny pieces and sew it back together. But it looks so pretty when its all done, right?
Ruth - calzones are great!! I have a friend who puts all kinds of leftovers in hers- lets say she had the remains of Thanksgiving dinner, then she would put turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce etc....all in a calzone. Probably tastes great. Think that is. Great idea that you signed up for health at home. What a great concept- and nice as it helps you stay well too. Pretty sure that my Medicare advantage card also provides gym membership. I do hope to be able to use that someday.
Babysat today- and will do so again tomorrow. Kids were good. But I am tired. See ya tomorrow. G
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Post by gramma15 on Dec 22, 2020 1:10:17 GMT
Ginny, it's amazing how worn out we can become from taking care of a couple small children. Even when I babysat my dd's youngest when he was little and was the only one I watched, it exhausted me.I think some of it is due to the fact that we can't relax like the parents do because we don't want anything at all to happen to the children while in our care.
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Post by cj59 on Dec 22, 2020 18:41:31 GMT
Hello Ginny - Hope you are enjoying spending time with the grandkids. Ruth - Hope your calzones turned out alright - what type of dough recipe do you use for these? I wanted to ask you if you have ever been to visit the Grand Tetons. There are some webcams of that area that I like to look and it's so beautiful there. I know I'll never get there to visit, so I'm glad I can see it live on my computer It was cloudy here this morning, but now sunny and windy. I'm glad I don't have to go anywhere again until next week. I've been listening to some Christmas music on YouTube today. This morning I did the first sewing together of the cut pieces for the Double Slice Layer Cake quilt top. I love the layer cake, but you have to be a bit careful not to sew together two of the same or very similar fabrics. The next step will be to cut these sewn pieces in half, make two stacks, and then sew back together. I'm interested to see how this top looks at the end. The fabric in this layer cake is one of the French General lines from Moda and I think they are so pretty. Take care everyone
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Post by gramma15 on Dec 22, 2020 23:16:14 GMT
Good evening CJ. I hope Ginny and Phyl are doing ok too. Ginny maybe babysat again today
I made more calzones...two for the freezer at least and two others that dh may eat or put in the freezer for later. Also made a batch of the same coconut cookies...in fact a double batch of those too so that one can be kept in the fridge or freezer.
Yesterday was an aggravating day. Just litte things. The having to speak to two people that spoke English only with a heavy accent was just the beginning. Then again today problem with Directv. I'm going to cancel. This time it's the insurance that a tech told us about and dh thought it would be a good thing so we got it. We've been paying it for at least three years and I'm sure longer. Got one thing replaced under that plan. Now I need a battery replaced which they are supposed to do once a year on all your devices. Well it's been three weeks and I still haven't received it.This morning they said they needed me to send a picture of the bottom of my laptop showing the model # and serial#. I already provided that. TWICE ...now they want a picture of it. So I sent six pictures. The wrote back and said they weren't clear so can't be used. Well I can't take one any clearer...I tried. I called and explained all that. All she said was she will send a message over to that dept and have them call me. They haven't called. I'm really angry with them...I'm calling in the morning to cancel all my service and I'll tell them why.I already told the person I spoke to how I feel about their company so I hope higher ups hear it.
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Post by choney2 on Dec 23, 2020 0:32:57 GMT
CJ- the double slice layer cake quilt top is an adorable quilt top and I am excited to see how that turns out. I did check out the general French General fabric line, what a lovely fabric line, I tend to like those small prints like that and how intricate they are. So pretty and its going to be great to see how that turns out! Have fun sewing it, and putting the blocks together. Regarding calzones, my girlfriend buys up fresh pizza dough from the local store, think she freezes it. She waits till it goes on sale for .99 a package. My weather is similar to yours, a bit cloudy and windy. Not too bad- and I cannot complain. They have us set for rain Christmas Eve.... Glad to hear that you are able to stay home for the next week. WIll you visit virtually with your family for Christmas?
Ruth- Direct TV has two different kinds of employees - really wonderful ones who actually help and then, the type you are into- totally useless ones. How sad that really, these cable companies have a monopoly and complete control over us. We are stuck with their lousy packages, including channels that we NEVER watch,. Most of us watch the same 10-15 channels. I wonder what they need a picture of your laptop for. And absolutely- a good command of english should be essential to be hired. Especially because when we call we are looking for technical answers. Glad you were able to make enough coconut cookies to freeze. A nice treat for a day in the future
Babysat again today....DGS#2 was perhaps a bit more fussy than yesterday, but I am getting used to him and he seemed more comfortable with me in some ways. DGD#2 is a character....such a funny little girl. We baked together today, making gold rush brownies for our family get together Christmas Eve. But both these days I have gotten up at 4:30- gonna be nice to sleep tomorrow. I did get to crochet for about 10 minutes while both little ones napped.
Hoping that tomorrow will be a sane and quiet day. Ginny
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Post by cj59 on Dec 23, 2020 19:45:28 GMT
Hello Phyl - Hope you are doing well. Ruth - I'm glad you were able to make some calzones to freeze, it's always nice to have something to heat up quickly for a meal. I'm sorry to hear about your problems with DirectTV. Did you end up cancelling them? I have Comcast and I pay so much money each month and like Ginny says I only watch the same 10-15 channels. Every time I try to change over to a less expensive package it says it will eliminate some of the channels that I regularly watch, so I'm stuck paying for all the ones I don't watch! It sure is a rip-off and monopoly that these companies have over us. Ginny - Sounds like you had a good time with the grandkids and I'm sure the baking was fun. Do you have everything ready for your family party tomorrow? Or is there more you have to make? The actual fabric line of French General fabrics I'm using is Le Beau Papillion and there are several fabrics with small butterflies on them. I finished the second cut of fabrics and sewed them back together. I had to be careful not to put any same fabrics together because there were several repeats and also several of the same pattern just in different colors. Since there are a lot of reds and blues in this fabric, I want to try to layout the quilt so none of one color bunches together. Hopefully I can get that figured out so I can sew the top together. It's sunny and not too cold here today, but we're supposed to get the heavy rain tomorrow and then cold temps on Friday. I'm glad to stay home the next few days. Take care everyone!
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Post by gramma15 on Dec 23, 2020 21:39:26 GMT
On diretv there are only two channels I watch. I don't think that dh watches many more. Their selling point is the number of channels they offer but most are useless. I haven't cancelled yet because I need to know what parts I have to return. If I have to return anything from outdoors on the actualy sattelite dish we'll have to wait till spring.
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Post by choney2 on Dec 23, 2020 22:15:04 GMT
Will Bbl to say hi to CJ. I am in the middle of getting my hair done.... just got shampooed. Ruth when switched from direct TV they were a royal pain as their equipment had to be returned using UPS only and I had to find an authorized UPS store. The normal UPS place would not work. It was a huge inconvenience . Hope that is not what you experience.
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Post by choney2 on Dec 24, 2020 3:40:19 GMT
Back home!!
CJ- well I checked out those fabrics and they are really stunning- love the small print butterflies. What a pretty line of fabrics!! I can see with how the quilt block goes- from how its layed out, then cut and then sewn back into a block that you will have to be careful to make sure that you evenly distribute the different fabrics and intermingle them well. The reds and blues (of course with white) are very french- which reminds me of a quilt that Dd#2 made for me years ago. So pretty and elegant....anyway, I am sure you will figure out the best way to do that, perhaps some sort of chart so you can keep track of which block is subcut into another block . I am sure it will look great when you are done. Wonder if you are supposed to also get 1 - 2 inches of rain....rather stinks doesn’t it? Think you have a sump- which I hope is working well and that neither of us lose power. When is the storm supposed to peak in your area?
Ruth, hope you can resolve your issues with Direct TV in an easy manner. I admit it really bothered me to learn how inflexible they were regarding the return of their equipment. There were a few features about their system that I liked. but I did not like losing signal during poor weather (rain or snow which would inhibit getting the signal from the satellite. With my present system that is not a concern.
Let’s see, I think. I watch 10 channels and that is it. How silly that I have to pay for all the others!!!
Phyl, Sue hope you are doing well. Ginny
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Post by phyl on Dec 24, 2020 13:18:25 GMT
GOOD MORNING CRAFTING FRIENDS,
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE
I got tested Tuesday for flues and the virus. negative on all 3. Monday night Jeana dropped off The gifts for me to wrap.(She hates wrapping) .I had taken A late afternoon shower and had my pj's and robe on,and my mask and face shield on. so she wanted to know why? I have a little cough because of sinus. right away it is get tested because of the cough. we have to be careful around Carrie (imune liver disease). could not convince her I know when I have sinus or a head cold. get it every year.
so in the am off to get we tested.we did some errands. picked up my TRUCLITY, (SEF-INJECTION FOR DIABETES) went To my nurse and she watched me do the injection to make sure I did it right. got A plus.
That night I really got hit with the what ever this head thing is.yesterday I felt really tried all over and did not want to be around people.tried to nap but could not.did sleep good last night. feel better
I hope none of you girls get this what ever it is.
RESULTS are negative on flues A and b,negative on the coronavirus.
we got about a inch of snow last night. sure looked like a blizzard.wind were about 58 miles an hour.enjoy today. phyl
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Post by phyl on Dec 24, 2020 13:32:31 GMT
MERRY CHRISTMAS GREETINGS,
wishing you all a
warm and friendly,
sweet and jolly Christmas
wishing you all the peace and love of this holiday season.
Wishing you all the joy
this beautiful season can bring- Merry Christmas- HAPPY New YEAR!
yes these were on cards I sent out.
From My HEART I wish my dear friend a very Merry Christmas and Happy NEW YEAR. (hopefully 2021 will start getting better) P HYL
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Post by cj59 on Dec 24, 2020 19:26:54 GMT
Hello Everyone Ruth - I agree with you that the selling point of those cables companies are lots of channels and I think that is aimed at larger families and those with children and younger adults. Hope you can get your issues worked out with them. Ginny - Hope you don't get the rain that I'm supposed to get. So far it hasn't made it to the DC area, but I can see a lot of rain out to the west. Hopefully it will blow through quickly with no problems. Phyl - I'm glad to hear that your virus tests were negative and hope you feel better soon. I guess you had the wind that I'll be getting. Thanks for the lovely Christmas and New Years wishes Hope everyone is doing well today. Is anyone doing any cooking/baking? I made my gingerbread and I'll have some of that later. It was funny I was looking on the box for the ingredients and expected to see "ginger" and didn't see it but I guess they are lumping it under something else. It has to have ginger in it, right? I started laying out the Double Slice quilt top but didn't feel like moving around all those blocks (42 of them) to get a good design, so I put it aside for right now. I'll try to finish it by this weekend. I'm hoping to work on the embroidery again and I have a book I want to finish today. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve and do something enjoyable. Take care
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