Everyday, some progress...

This past week was back to normal.  Kate came back home on Monday.  I had to take Gaddy into the garage.  She was showing signs of not wanting to start under really, really cold weather... and we do have that really, really cold weather.  Rob followed me to the garage where she was going to be really checked out to make sure it was just the battery being weak.  After dropping Gaddy off and leaving the key, Rob dropped me at home.  He had to pick up Kate around 3:00 PM, so they came over here to pick up all of Rob's stuff, along with the food he needed to take back to their house (including leftovers from our meals while Rob was here so they would not have to cook a meal when they got home).  Then they took me to the garage to pick up Gaddy with her brand new Interstate battery and we all headed to our homes.

Tuesday and Wednesday I just puttered and organized some of the stuff that we have uncovered in the garage purge. I am beginning to see things falling into place.  Each day it feels more like this is the most wonderful home I have ever lived in.  I am so blessed.

Thursday and Friday were sewing days.  I was finally able to have the correct lighting and the rulers I needed and the supplies I needed.  It was wonderful. I was able to complete the heart quilt top.

This my finished heart quilt.  I have had the charm packs for many years.  It is a recent tutorial from Missouri Star Quilt Company.  This is the charm pack size.  But you could cut them into 2 1/2 inch squares to make a small wall hanging.

I just think the colors are happy and make me think that spring might be coming soon.  Debating on whether I should add a small border or just bind it after it is quilted.  Any suggestions?

Saturday Rob and Kate had an entire day of activities on the calendar.  I had told him that I was going to try to install a couple of extra towel racks in my bathroom but I needed Rob to help me trim up Winston's butt side.  Winston has not been groomed since August, so he occasionally has had a messy butt that I have to clean up in the shower.  The hair had grown long again and I had come home on Thursday with Winston in need of a butt washing.  Winston does not like folks fiddling around back there, so Rob has to hold Winston's front tightly enough for me to trim the fur on his butt.

Rob texted that they were coming over after the Saturday morning Tai Chi demonstration that they were giving.  They were going to have lunch and relax.  I thought it was just going to be an hour or so, but they had decided to forego the afternoon activity and stay with me. 

Kate does a knitting challenge every year.  It is called "sock madness" and it was to have begun on Sunday.  Well, they released the qualifying sock pattern a day early, so she was madly getting the first sock underway.  Now, everyone has the pattern and they have two weeks to make a pair of socks using that pattern.  All who make the pair of socks using the pattern will be put into teams and given patterns throughout the challenge time.  If you are only able to create one sock from the pattern in the two-week timeframe, you will still get all of the new patterns as they are released, but you are only a cheerleader and can do the socks under a less pressurized timeframe.  Last year Kate could only manage to be a cheerleader.  I think she is ready to become a team member.  So I think she was just as happy to curl up on the couch in the living room with her little buddy, Miles, and work on the sock!!

Speaking of the living room.  I am not sure I actually posted pictures of the living room in it's completed state.  So I grabbed some pictures so you can see it.

It is a lovely blue, Kate's favorite color.  It is a two-piece sectional.  It fits perfectly in the space.  I found a blue throw to lay on the cushions for Miles to lie on... trying to keep down the loose fur.  The pillows came with the sectional.

The chair is a swivel rocker.  I put a small throw rug underneath to keep the metal rung under the rocker from sinking into the thick carpet.  The footstool I made at the last OBX trip.  It was unearthed in the garage purge a couple of weekends ago.  The other little stool was in my living room for Miles to get up on the couch and is still being used that way.

The coffee table is mine from PA.  The end table between the sectional and the chair belongs to Rob and Kate as is the lamp.  They had brought it from their house after they bought this house and had it on a timer so the house looked lived in until I could move in.  The picture panels in the back were originally in the Maryland house and then lived in my sewing room in Parkesburg.  We moved them up here just before the purge so they would not be damaged.  We are not using the wood stove, so we are just hiding it.  I love the look.


Back to Saturday...
We watched the NASCAR Xfinity race and then Rob and I headed to my level.  I had three new towel racks to add to my bathroom.  There were only three in there and I felt it needed a few more.  The ones that are in my bathroom were from Lowes and I had seen them in the store here when I had first arrived.  By the time I decided what I wanted to do, they were no longer there, but I found them online and had them shipped.  I wanted 2 18-inch racks to hold a couple of extra hand towels and a regular bath towel.  I also wanted to add one more 24-inch rack for the bath sheets that I like to use.  It makes the bathroom more functional for a couple to live in the lower level.

The first one went fine, but the rod is loose on the ends.  The second one we did much better and it is nice and tight.  The third one we tried a little too hard, plus we ran into a stud, so it is actually almost too tight.  But they all match and they hold extra hand towels in easy reach, a towel to grab for a dog with a goopy butt and having an extra bath sheet is nice for me.  Plus it muffles some of the sounds of the empty bathroom.

This wall was empty.  Now there are two extra hand towels and a dog towel ready to go.

The lower rack was the one already there.  Rob and I added the top one.  I love it!

Here is a look at the entire towel rack setup now.  The only two you do not see is a hand towel ring to the left of the sink next to the light switches and the useless towel rack next to the door to the sauna.

One more thing to go up is a wooden holder for my blow dryer, curling iron, and curling brushes.  I rarely use them, so having them across the room is fine.  I can get to them when and if I need to use them, in the meantime they are out of the way.

I will put the holder up above the light switch.  Notice the useless little towel rack!!!

This is the holder that was made for me by Jim Rees, a dear friend from Indian Acres.  Jim died a couple of years before Rudy of colon cancer.  He was such a talented man with wood.  I have several items that he made for us before he passed.

Today, Sunday, we were in a winter weather advisory.  From 6:00 AM this morning to 3:00 PM tomorrow we are likely to get 4 to 6 inches of snow.  I took a video of the snow, but it had such fine flakes that it does not show up.  But it is a quiet and cute video looking out of my front window.  Enjoy!