Storms south of us on June 11!
Sometimes you just need to sit back and enjoy the view, right? In my case, I felt a sewing mojo burnout coming on, so I decided to go with it and take a break. It was a good decision! So what did I do?
I did some laptop work.
I deleted folders and files and made sure everything is backed up, then got sidetracked by looking at old photos that I have scattered in various folders on my laptop and in DropBox. Organizing those and weeding out duplicates will be a future undertaking!
We watched a LOT of college women's softball.
We have always been fans of OU Sooners football, and during the past few years we've become big fans of the women's softball team. This past month we watched them wintheir third straight title as Women's College World Series champions, breaking the record for consecutive wins and currently at 53 games in a row! These talented and lovely young women have a powerful testimony of their faith in this clip right here.
I scored this IKEA table on Facebook Marketplace for only $40!
Not only did the lady give us a discount from her listed price, she also thanked us for taking it off her hands - lol! It has metal legs, has a dropleaf on both ends, and is slightly larger than my former cutting table. I love it!
My former cutting table went to live outside in Man World to make a space for our new pizza oven!
We bought a pizza oven!
My husband researched different pizza ovens, and we decided on one that has a rotating stone to brown more evenly without having to turn the pizza stone manually. We are learning as we go. I make my own dough, and it makes it taste even better!
The Missouri Star Jenny!
I bought a new iron.
My 5 year old Oliso started having issues, and of course my warranty had expired. After contacting Oliso customer support and receiving nothing more than troubleshooting tips and an offer for a discount on a new one, I briefly looked for something different before ultimately ending up back at Oliso, because it has the features I want most in an iron:
1) Ample heat - 1800W
2) Stays on 30 minutes without shutting off
3) Long cord - this one is 12 feet
4) Auto-lift - this feature has really spoiled me!
I found the "Jenny" Oliso on sale at Missouri Star for 20% off with free shipping and sold my old Oliso on Marketplace to another quilter who was happy to have it at a great price, issues and all!
I cut 2+ inches off my hair!
My hairdresser will be horrified, but she will highlight and properly cut it at the end of the month. In this photo you can "kind of " see the healing skin graft on the side of my nose. I still hide it with a Band-Aid when we go out of the house!
I did some gardening.
Our little garden faces east, and it has turned out to be a good space for growing things. I allowed one volunteer Grandpa Ott morning glory to grow, and it has overwhelmed the trellis! The tomatoes and bell peppers are doing great, and there are a few green bean plants here and there, as well as some basil, cilantro, and zinnias. I've already started expanding for next year.by laying down cardboard.
I pulled out all my needlework and have it a little more organized.
I organized floss and patterns and UFOs, and now I am working on a Christmas UFO!
I read books on the Kindle app on my iPad.
I read the four books of the Sewing, Crafts, and Quilting romance series by De-Ann Black and thoroughly enjoyed the light-hearted, drama-less stories set in the Scottish Highlands.
I have been working on projects for upcoming posts.
June 21 is my day for When Pigs Fly blog hop, hosted by Joan at MooseStash Quilting, and July 20 is my day for Picnic Party blog hop, hosted by Carol at Just Let Me Quilt.
I celebrated my 75th birthday!
My husband and I both turn 75 this month, and it just seems amazing that to us we are that old. I celebrated quietly (my preferred way to celebrate!) and enjoyed an old fashioned butter cake with chocolate frosting - my favorite since I was 5 years old!
I will resume posting but not on any set schedule - at least that is the plan for now, and our plans can always change, right? 😉
How is your summer going?
UPDATE: I am belatedly linking this post to Kate's Stitching Stuff over at Life In Pieces!
Congratulations on the softball win. They have an unbelievable record. You certainly look younger than your years!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! You look great, even while still healing, and it was fun to read what you've been up to. You've been busy! The new cutting table looks really handy, and the pizza oven - yummy fun! I recently bought a new iron, too - didn't get an Oliso, but I did get one with a really long cord and I love that. Looking forward to seeing your blog hop projects!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday. Sometimes we need to take a sewing break and blog break - Glad your skin graft is healing soon you will feel comfortable with it and it will be but a memory .
ReplyDeleteLinda it sounds like a really productive time of taking time off sewing. I find when I get blah about it taking a break is really helpful too. I should follow your example of tidying up my laptop too, I keep putting it on a long rein. I recently threw my Olisio out, it hurt! the mechanism for going up and down wouldn't work and I couldn't shut it down so couldn't use it to iron. I bought a very generic iron that is not half as good. Love your Jenny Olisio. Belated happy 75th. I turn 74 later this year. How the years go fast.
ReplyDeleteYou had a very productive time off! I know there will a little break after my QALs are all done, and I look forward to it. Love your new iron, cutting station and organized space. A very happy 75th….I would never have guessed!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are enjoying your time off and sometimes we need that. Happy belated birthday! And I must say, you look at least 15 years younger than 75. I love your new Ikea table. I like the turned wood look of the legs. Do you find that it is stable on the bed risers? I need to do that with my basting table. I am envious of your auto lift iron. Those look so neat on the sewing shows I've watched. I loved the Hamish McBeth series by M C Beaton set in the Scottish Highlands, so I'll look for these. When life gets stressful, I find the light-hearted books are the best way to escape.
ReplyDeletethat organizing-of-photos job is never-ending, right! It's just as bad on the computer as going through the box that was at your mom's/grandma's house! The morning glories are fabulous!
ReplyDeleteYou certainly were busy on your “vacation “! Sorting digital photos is a daunting task! Happy birthday a little late! The cake looks yummy! The pizza ovens are all the rage now! I have a couple of acquaintances that have them! What fun! And you can make whatever combination you like. I hope you’ll share some of your special successes!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday - you look great, by the way! So fun to see a photo of you. You made the most of your break, and I'll bet you are feeling much more refreshed. That pizza looks delicious! What a great score on the Ikea table, too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful picture of you and I love your haircut! I am also taking a break away from quilting. I passed Burn Out in February!!!! Love this post! Hugs
ReplyDeleteOOPS. Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday to you - Happy Birthday Dear Linda, Happy Birthday to your - and many more - 78 is not much more different than 75 - but watch out for the slow curves! From Nanette (the person who forgets to put their name on their posts! LOL)
ReplyDeleteHi Linda! It's so wonderful to see an update from you. You've been very busy in spite of not blogging, and it's nice to take a break from it now and then. Happy Birthday to both you and DH. Your new iron is pretty! I have the yellow version and I've noticed that lately the front leg doesn't always retract all the way. I was ironing the other day and it wrinkled the piece much worse than it was originally. I always think I'm going to take a look at it when I'm not using it, but of course, I forget! Your Morning Glory is gorgeous and your tomato plant looks quite happy. I finally realized that I hadn't subscribed to you via email. Now I won't miss one of your posts! Happy June. {{Hugs}} a bunch. ~smile~ Roseanne
ReplyDeleteHappy belated birthday! So glad you took the time to enjoy a lot of different things during your blog vacation. I did that last year, very unplanned, but sometimes you just need to shake things up a bit. Enjoy all your activities this summer. Stay cool! That's hard in Texas!
ReplyDeleteFirst a big Happy Birthday to you. That is a quite the wonderful age to reach. I think you were very productive during your blogging break. I've been a little absent as well with things around needing me and plan to be a little more relaxed and unscheduled with the blogging. Swooning over that iron!! A pizza oven is awesome. And I agree with everyone you look wonderful. I've always wished I could wear straight hair...I was a teen when all the girls had that lovely long straight hair and I had the fine curly stuff. Anyway, you take care of you!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday - ..i like your hair by the way. Newsy and fun to read what's been going on. Nice table you got there.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sandy - you are so kind. I hope you are finally having something besides snow! :D
DeleteOh my gosh - sounds like you had a wonderful break and got a lot done too!! Love the hair!! you did that yourself? If I did mine - Id be so crooked haha!! And Happy Birthday to you both!!!
ReplyDeleteOrganizing... ahhh... whether doing computer files or photos or your sewing supplies... it's just good for the soul!
ReplyDeleteHi Carolyn - just a bunch of "little" things, but I have enjoyed the pace. :) Thank you for your kind words, but my hairdresser will laugh when she sees me. :D
ReplyDelete