I'm A Plate Collector

Sometime in the last few years I've become a plate collector. I'm not sure why I started collecting plates, I just did. I have three criteria for collecting plates. First, there has to be more than one in the collection. Second, they have to be smaller than dinner plates. Three, they have to make me smile.

My Debbie Mumm Morning plates. I often use these for breakfast. They are the perfect size for a slice or two of toast and a piece of fruit.

Dessert Plates for nibbling a yummy dessert, preferably a home made one.

Cupcake Plates, for eating cupcakes, of course.

Wine and cheese plates for eating cheese in the afternoon.

Playing card plates for my poker playing hubby.

Leaf plates, aren't the colors gorgeous? I use these a lot in the fall and generally for lunch.

A set of teacup luncheon plates. I need to find the missing cup. I don't use these very often because they are dainty.

I would love to find a set of plates like this one. They remind me of the wedding and baby showers I went to as a young girl.

What do you collect? Share some photos with me on your blog.

Sweet P

Random Thoughts on Tuesday

It's a cool, cloudy day here in NH. The heat wave we had last week has left the building and should be gone until the weekend. It's 30 degrees cooler today than it was last week and my brain is full of random thoughts.

Random Thought #1
Do you have foods from your childhood that you can't find so easily now? For me, it's Tuna Salad made with Creamette Macaroni Rings. It's the rings that make the salad so yummy. It clumps great on the spoon and always reminds of summertime in Minnesota. In the winter I crave Malt-O-Meal, preferably chocolate, served hot with a dollop of marshmallow fluff on top. I have been known to come home from visiting family in Minnesota with one or both foods tucked in my suitcase or carry on bag.

Random Thought #2
Are both of your feet the same size? I always assumed mine were. That is until I started wearing footlets this summer. It seems my left foot is a smudge larger than my right foot. No matter which footlet I put on my left foot it always slides down.

Random Thought #3
Do you do laundry every day or once a week? I do mine every Tuesday. Why Tuesday? That was the day my grandma and grandpa did laundry using one of these:
I loved to go over to her house (which was across the street from me) on Tuesday mornings and watch them do laundry. When I was working Monday through Friday laundry day was generally Sunday. Now that Mr. E is here on Tuesdays we do laundry together.

Random Thought #4
If you do your laundry all in one day, do you do the loads in a certain order? Here is the order I do mine: bedding, towels, underwear and socks, lights, darks and then all the pants.

Random Thought #5
When you are sewing or knitting or creating are you a process person or a project person? I define a project person as one who makes one, maybe two projects at a time. They won't start another project until one is done. A process person is someone who loves to plan, shop for and then make the project. They may have several projects going at once. For them, it's all about the creative process.

As for me, I'm a process creator. I love to plan out a project. I often rewrite a pattern and doodle it out before I start cutting the fabric or prepping the canvas. I truly love sitting and working on a project. I often feel "let down" when I finish a project. Perhaps that's why I have so many WIPs.

Do you have any Random Thoughts for today?

Basement Remodel - July Update

Lots of progress was made on the space while we were on vacation. It's amazing to me how adding a few walls and drywall makes rooms look bigger than you thought they were.

The back wall is looking lovely. The drop ceiling is installed. The wiring for the projector is in place and the corner built in is looking fine.

The TV wall and closet are making progress. We won't have to buy a screen for the projector. Rob's master carpenter can make the wall look and act like a screen. That will be cool.

The fridge and counter top space are closed in. Now we need to find a fridge. We already have a sink.

Now, onto my favorite part of the remodel: my storage room. All of the cabinetry is custom built for me. I have one full wall of storage. These are part of the upper cabinets and open cubbies. There is one more cabinet to the right.

The lower part of the storage wall with a cabinet to the right that holds a sliding trash can.

Our "winter" closet for storing winter coats, boots, suitcases, etc.

And, one more cubby unit for holding stuff.

Other than a couple more coats of mudding and moving one light fixture, my storage room is done. Now I can begin unpacking the remaining boxes and deciding what will stay, what will be donated and what will be hit the dumpster. I will also be able to paint everything in there. I have some cool plans for the space so be sure to check back for updates.

Sweet P

Basement Remodel - May Progress

In May the studs were put in place to define the two rooms. Here is a tour of the media room.

This is the back door along with the studs for a drop ceiling. We had to put in a lower ceiling here because our condo contains all the piping for the entire building. Rob will make this accessible in case of any emergencies and we need to get to the pipes.

Before we could move in we had to have a radon gas exhaust system put in. Rob is covering it with a built in cabinet and shelf. Plans are to put a TV on top of the built in or perhaps poker trophies.

This will be the back wall of the room. Nothing exciting here at the moment.

Rob is building us a custom, movable bar that will sit in front of the dividing wall. In the cubby on the left we will have a fridge, sink and small counter top space.

Under the stairs will become a closet and room for a folding poker table that Rob is also going to custom build for us.

This will be the TV wall. Plans are to have a projector with the picture being shown on this wall. Yes, we will have two TVs in the room. The room will be wired for three TVs. After all it is really a man cave in disguise. Also on this wall will be a built in on the left side and a custom built toy box for Mr. E.
Tomorrow . . . the current state of the space.

Sweet P

Summer Fun With Mr. E

This is how we keep cool on a hot summer afternoon

Isn't it fun to be a little boy?

Basement Remodel - The Before Photos

When we bought our condo three years we had plans in place to finish off the basement into a media room. Well, I got sick and was out of work for three months and the plans were scrapped. Then hubby started playing in a weekly poker league and made friends with a self employed contractor and a self employed electrician. There was a lot of talk between them about our unfinished basement and our desire to have it become a functional space.

Earlier this year a deal was struck between them and our basement is in the process of becoming a media room and a storage/utility room. Since I haven't blogged about this before, over the next three days I will take on a tour of the room over the last few months. There is still quite a bit of work to be done, but it's starting to take shape down there.

This was the view looking from the back door into the room. That is not my washer and dryer. They belonged to my son and DIL. The contractor "bought" them as part of the deal.

Here was the view looking into the space from the stairs in the front of the room. The media room will be taking up most of this space.

This was the view into the laundry/utility room space.

And here is Rob, our contractor, showing off the first stud he put up on April 23. Actually I think the smile on hubby that day was even bigger!

Check back tomorrow for the next set of photos.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sweet P

Knock, Knock . . . anyone out there?

When I started my blog in April 2006 ago all I did was quilting. I built my Google Blog reading list around quilting blogs. Now, five years later, I crochet, I embroider, I sew, I have a super fantastic grandson and I haven't made a quilt in a long time. I still read a lot of quilting blogs, but my blog list also includes blogs about homemaking, cooking, knitting (and other yarn arts) and home decorating (especially decorating for children).

I've become more of a lurker and less of a commenter. So, I'm curious, will you still visit here if I don't make quilts? If I talk more about yarn and Mr E and other topics, like food and basement remodels and studio reorganizing?

Hubby and I took our summer vacation from June 30 - July 12. Would you like to see some of what we did?

We flew to another part of the country for vacation.
Here was the view that greeted us from the plane:

The next morning we went sight seeing up close. In case you're wondering, I'm showing off my Sunflower Yarns shawl I brought with me to work on.

About an hour later we had this view of the city from Twin Peaks

We were up early the next morning and saw the fog rolling in across the bay
We rode through the mountains, and found snow!

After a day of doing nothing but relaxing we drove around Lake Tahoe.
Here is the view from Emerald Bay

And the view of the lake from a vista above Incline Village

Cave Rock . . . notice how the road was carved through the rock

We had a wonderful weekend in San Francisco and came home to find a Digimedal in our living room

It was a wonderful vacation. Have you gone on vacation yet this year? What did you do?

Sweet P

I Have A Supplier

And her name is Amanda at Sunflower Yarns. Every few months she offers a Simple Pleasures Package. It's a surprise package that contains one hank of her hand dyed yarn and a few items chosen around a theme. The last two times she's offered an additional hank of yarn for an extra price. When she contacted me about the June package I decided to get the package, plus the add on. I'm such a sucker!

Anyway, the package arrived yesterday and it was an outstanding package. The theme was the beach. Besides the gorgeous coral yarn, there was a flip flop tote bag, sunscreen, a compact brush, a knitting pattern and a few lifesavers. The yarn screamed at me to be made into a matching clutch. Of course, I complied and the clutch is in the photo as well.

Here is a close up of the yarn.

The inside of the tote has lots of pockets and is the perfect size for running errands in the summer time. I can't wait to use it.

If you haven't tried Amanda's yarn I highly recommend it. I have made several projects with her yarn. The colors are scrumptious and it works up great.

Summer is here! I hope you are having fun so far!

Sweet P

Two Finishes

Hi there! I'm trying hard to get back on a normal blog schedule. Life keeps getting in the way, along with my I-Pad. I wish it was easier to blog from the I-Pad.

Here are two finishes I've done lately. I made a crochet hook clutch to match my Be Happy Bag.

And I finished stitching my Tahiti canvas project.
I've ordered another project by the same designer, Amazing Color. I hope it arrives today so I can start pulling threads from my stash and start a shopping list for it.

Are you enjoying summer so far? After a few weeks of cool and damp weather, summer arrived in full force this weekend here in New England.

Sweet P

Monday Musings - Glimpses of My Day

A few photos of my day off . . .

Morning sun streaming in the kitchen window

My Mother's Day flowers . . .

A few more flowers

No sewing accomplished

Needlepoint instead

Kitchen in the afternoon

How was your Monday?

Friday Fifty - Fun With Mr. E

You know by now that Mr. E and I often bake on Tuesdays. This past Tuesday we tried a new recipe.

Mmmmmm . . . Dema . . . my favorite part . . . licking the spatula

Can you tell what we made?

Here's a closer look:

Maybe if Ethan demonstrated how to eat them:

Any ideas?

We made Homemade Oreo cookies. I found the recipe at Bake at 350. They were delicious. I love them with a cup of hot coffee. Ethan prefers the middle and "no, thank you" to the cookie.

Sweet P