This Just Makes Me Mad

Warning !!!  The following is a rant.

I guess this  experience falls into the “When will I ever stop expecting food to look like the advertised picture?”

I rarely eat at McDonald’s but I love McDonald’s McRib sandwiches and always look forward to when they’re  “in season” as we say down here.  I ordered one today at one of their drive-thru’s on my way home.  When I got ready to eat the sandwich and opened the container….what to my unbelieving eyes did I see?  I wish I had taken a picture with my camera phone.

A McRib patty stuck on a regular burger bun….half of the meat hanging off one side of the bun and flapping against the inside of the container.  These sandwiches are supposed to be on a hoagie type bun…not a burger bun.  It not only looks different as in it fits the meat better, but it tastes better.

When I placed my order….did they inform me they were substituting the bread?  or ask me if it was ok with me to do so?

When I payed for my order….did they inform me they had substituted the bread or ask me if it was ok with me to do so?

When they handed me my order and smiled and said “Happy New Year”, did they inform me they had substituted the bread or ask me if it was ok to do so?

Not no….but…hell, no.

It’s not what I ordered and it’s not what I wanted.  A waste of my time and money.

Shame on you McDonald’s on Railroad Ave. in Hammond, LA.

Chickie Biddies New Coop

"Roux-Roux" on the left and "Barry" on the right.

 

My poor hubby is a busy man.  He’s been off from work for the holidays and has been working harder here at home, I think.  The concrete slab for the new chicken coop was poured earlier this year when they poured the new floor in the barn.

He’s just gotten around to working on the coop and it’s coming along nicely.  He’s been recycling some wood from crates that the saws come in at work.  These crates normally get thrown away but he’s been saving them and using them in the barn and now for the coop.   It’s very rustic looking and I love it.  This is the start of the front wall.

The front wall is almost finished

This reminds me of a scene in one of the “Mash” re-runs where Hawkeye, Radar, and Hot Lips run through a door to hide from supposed enemy troops only to find there are no walls surrounding the door.

Here’s what it looks like now.  The sides will be painted a dark brown.  The back will be wire enclosed for ventilation.

"Le Poulet Maison"

Can you see the green grass on the left edge of the picture?  We’ve got their run sectioned off and have grass planted.  They can only get to the section we have open for them.  When it’s all finished, there will be 3 sections, each with it’s own gate so we can rotate their play yard.  That way the grass has a chance to refresh itself after they chop it down.  Right now, we just move a section of fence.

Here’s Don working on the roof

Here’s a picture from the back of the coop.  The room is divided in half.  One half is “our” side and the other half is “their” side.

Left side is for the chickens. Right side is for us.

The nest boxes are on the divider wall and there are sliding windows  above the nest boxes.  I can just stand on my side of the building and open the windows to get the eggs if I need to.  The reason I say “if I need to”, is because Don has designed the nest boxes with a slanted bottom that extends to our side.  There’s a facing board there.  The boxes will be lined with artificial turf for cushion & ease of cleaning.
Theoretically, when the eggs are laid, they will roll gently down the slope and be caught against the facing board.  This will keep any “egg eaters” from being able to do their mischief.  At least we’re hoping it will work as planned.

2 roosts on the left and nest boxes on the right

Nest Boxes with sliding windows to the right

Underneath the nest boxes, it’s closed off and we’ll use that area under the nest boxes to store extra food, pelletized bedding, etc.  There will be a self-feeder & self-waterer in the coop so they always have access to both.

The new coop is having to wait a bit to be finished so Don can work on the barn again because the longarm is due to be delivered some time in February.  When we make more progress, I’ll try to post new pics.

 

A Little Christmas Cheer

One of the readers on HomeQuiltingSystems wrote this and sent it to the group.  It was just too good not to share so I asked her if I could post it here.  She graciously agreed.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

TWAS THE DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS

By Molly Washburn—posted with permission

`Twas the day before Christmas and all through the room

Fabric and scissors and thread cones were strewn

Last minute projects and gifts not done

I thought to myself, “Can I just finish one?”

When what to my wondering ears should I hear

But a clattering bobbin and I said, “Oh dear!”

The timing was off and the tension was bad

The thread was shredding and gee, was I mad!

My mother-in-law was really going to be peaved

When her finished quilt was not received

My Gammill was broken, not usable I knew

So I sat myself down and had a good boo-hoo

I heard a strange noise, so I looked outside

Saw a funny little guy with the weirdest ride

I told him, “You’d better get rid of those deer,

They’re against the HOA rules here!”

He dropped off his friend, a little fella in tights,

And told him, “I’ll pick you up tonight!”

Then with a laugh, the sled rose in the air

With a blink of an eye he was out of there!

The short guy picked up a little metal box

And smiled at me like a sly little fox

”Show me to your long arm, I’ve got a few tricks

With a little bit of luck, your Gammill I’ll fix!”

He pulled out some tools and a spare bobbin case working fast he replaced a faulty hook race

He smoothed my tracks and got rid of some dust

(He banged a thumb and almost cussed!)

He was fast and efficient and I’m sure you can see

This gift was better than one you’d find under the tree

Before I knew it, there was a jingle outside

And the guy in tights said, “That must be my ride!”

Sure enough those deer were out tearing up my lawn

And I saw Santa stifling a great big yawn

“Come on Little Charlie, it’s time for my nap!”

And my little friend in tights climbed into his lap.

I heard Charlie holler as they flew out of sight,

“Merry Christmas, may you finish your quilting tonight!”

‘Tis The Season

Finishes for 2011

I was wrong about finishing 19 projects.  I actually finished 20.  Everything was a UFO except for 2 new projects, one of which I don’t have a picture of.    I also don’t have a picture of one of the UFO’s I finished that wasn’t on my challenge list.

Some of these patterns were designed by others.  Some were simple patterns I designed.  Some were mystery patterns I designed.  Here’s a look at what I did in 2011.

Jan’s Quilt–a table runner of Christmas packages (pattern by Suzanne’s Art House)  for my Secret Pal–Jan Stogner—no picture

Jake’s Quilt—Lighthouse fabric in my little pattern, “Pretty Easy” for our little great nephew–no picture

Bears in the Penthouse designed by Judy Laquidara--Chris is taking this quilt with him when he moves.--this was a quilt top ready to be quilted.

Cajun Twister--This was a top ready to be quilted.

Card Trick Big Block Quilt--Was a quilt top ready to be quilted

Chart Your Course---a true UFO

Emily's Quilt--for a little great niece---a top that was ready for quilting (not on the official UFO list)---from my pattern "Pretty Easy" on my page "Freebies From the Almost Swamp"

Feedsack Delight designed by ChickPeaStudio---was a quilt top ready to be quilted

From Asia With Love designed by Kitty Pippen----true UFO not on official UFO list---given to good friend, Rhoda.

In The Swim of Things---True UFO---given to a little great nephew--Griffin.

LHS Memories--my original pattern to commemorate our 40th year class reunion.---True UFO.

Midnight in Pennsylvania---True UFO---I designed this late at night when I was working a travel nurse contract in Lancaster, PA.

Millennium Time in a Bottle---perfume bottle pattern by Deb Kauffunger--Was a quilt top ready to be quilted---made from perfume bottles made of Millennium theme fabric.

4-Patch Posies--pattern by HD Designs----True UFO

Toast to Texas---was a quilt top ready to be quilted

Red Tulips---pattern by Eleanor Burns---Was a quilt top ready for quilting.

Young Man's Fancy Big Block Quilt--was quilt top ready to be quilted---given to Wounded Warriors project.

You've Got That Celtic Feeling---Was a quilt top waiting to be quilted.

It's Not VooDoo...It's Merely Mysterious---Was a quilt top ready to be quilted.

Tea With Marie---a new project started/finished this year and given to the dear friend in whose honor it was made---Marie Carroll.

I’ll soon post pictures of the UFO’s on the 2012 list so you can see what I will be working on.  It’s a busy year coming up!

Acknowledgment links:

Judy Laquidara—Bears in the Farmhouse

Eleanor Burns—Easy Strip Tulips

ChickPeaStudio—Finn’s Quilt (Feedsack Delight)

Deb Kauffunger—Perfume Bottle

Kitty Pippen—From Asia With Love

HD Designs4-Patch Stacked Posies

What’s Coming Up in The New Year?

Well, to start with we’ll be working on finishing up Garden Party.  The last installment will be in April.   There will be a special project coming later in the year that I can’t talk about yet.  How’s that for suspense??

Personal goals will be similar to ones I worked on this year.  I’ll still work at being a better blogger and making more frequent posts.    I’ll work on losing more weight.  I need to do that for health reasons as well as looking better.  I’ll continue to try to become more organized here at home and become a better house-keeper.

We’ll have a different challenge within Southern Samplers this year I’m sure, but I’ll still keep chipping away at my “Bucket List” to become a better machine quilter.  Some of the things I’ll utilize to do that are the Free Motion Quilting Challenge on SewCalGal’s blog and lessons from Carla Barrett’s  “Quilt Whisperer” class.  And I’ll study/re-study machine quilting DVD’s and workbooks.  Right now, I’m studying Kim Brunner’s “Twirly Whirly Feathers”.   Probably in April or May, I’ll go to Utah to train with Teryl Loy as part of my Innova package.

I had hoped to finish 2 more UFO’s from my list by the end of the year, but I’ve either dislocated or broken my left thumb so I’ve got it splinted and I’m not sure how much sewing/quilting I can get done.   Just in case I don’t make it I’ve put them on next year’s list.    Judy L. is hosting her UFO Challenge again and I’ll sign up for it.  I had a lot of success this year in her challenge because I’ve finished 19 projects.

I’ll probably add some things to this goal list of mine for next year but for now, I’ll start with a simple listing of my UFO projects.  As with last year, each month will include a basic UFO and a quilt top UFO waiting for quilting.

Here’s my list for 2011.  In addition to the quilts marked out on this list, I completed 4 others.

Sheryl's UFO List 2011

And here’s the list for 2012.  I made the quilt tops listings with red ink.  The black ink is basic UFO’s meaning they’re in varying stages of completion.

Sheryl's 2012 UFO List

I’m hoping 2012 will be as successful in knocking out those UFO’s as this year was.

Pinterest Mania Invites

Using a random number generator, here are the readers who will receive invites from me to Pinterest.  I made a list of comments as they arrived in my inbox and numbered them starting with #1.

Deanne—I decided to add a 4th invitation to the list and you’re the lucky one!

Margarita

Linda

Sharon

I used the email addy’s associated with your comments to send the invites.  You should already have them.  If you don’t get the invitation please let me know.

 

December Garden Party Block

First, don’t forget to leave a comment on the post “Pinterest Mania” if you want to be included in the drawing for one of 3 invites to Pinterest.  Comments will close at midnight Sunday night CST.  Multiple comments won’t count.  Only the first comment by any one reader will be in the mix.  That’s fair. 

In case you’ve ever wondered about the buttons for the blocks, I exported the blocks from EQ7 into Paint Shop Pro (PSP) and used some of the tools there to get the effect I want and to add copyright text.

Garden Party is starting to wind down but this months pattern is one of my favorites.  If you are hand appliqueing your patterns, this one will give you the chance to perfect your small circles.  If you are using fusible applique, the circles will be a breeze.

Octobers block “Garden Patch” is going away.  I may get this work done before midnight.  Hoping so, anyway!

Please go to the Garden Party page to find the link to this pattern.

Flight of Whimsy

Has anyone got any recent pictures of your work from Garden Party?  I’d love to see them.

 

 

More on Pinterest

Just a little addition to my previous post.  You can visit Pinterest without being a member.  You can do searches and look to your hearts content.  You can even bookmark pages to your own computer if you like.

What you can’t do though is to create your own boards or pin things to it.  So if you haven’t gone to the site to check it out, don’t worry about not being a member yet.  You can still play….just not quite as much. 

Don’t forget that in order to be in the drawing for an invite from me that you need to leave a comment on my post “Pinterest Mania”.

 

Pinterest Mania

It looks like Pinterest is taking over the world.    Several weeks ago, I visited with gf Rhonda who had ordered some Alabama pecans for me.  While I was there she showed me Pinterest.  I had never heard of it but it sure did look like fun!

I came home and requested an invite not once but several times and always got the note that I would get an invite soon.  It didn’t happen and it didn’t happen, so I e-mailed Rhonda and asked her to send me an invite.  I didn’t know members could do that until I did a Google search on how to get invited to Pinterest.

I joined and played a few days and then I sent sisters Vanessa and Melba an invite and then I sent friends Susan, Denise, and Judy invites.  (Sister Vivian…if you want an invite just let me know.  WWanda….I don’t have your e-mail addy on this computer….please send me a note.    I don’t have your either Vivian.)

If you don’t know what Pinterest is….it’s like a virtual bulletin board.   There’s a little button you install on your tool bar and when you find something on the web that you like (recipe, decorating idea, quilting, travel, quilting stash ideas, house organization ideas….endless things) just click that button and a page will appear with all the images from that page.  You choose the one you like and click it to “pin” it to one of your boards.  You can then go back to it any time you want.

Not only can you pin stuff you find, but you can pin stuff that other members have pinned.  That’s called “re-pinning”.  When you go to their site, be prepared to be overwhelmed.

I have found some incredible recipes through Pinterest and too much other stuff I’d love to have!

If you’re waiting for an invite to come through and are tired of waiting or if you’ve never heard of it but like the idea….I will send an invite to 3 different people who reply to this post.  I’ll take comments until midnight Sunday night CST and then I’ll close comments and use a random number generator to choose 3 readers.  Make sure your correct e-mail addy is in your info but don’t put it in the comment section because we don’t want the world to see your private addy.

There’s a “follow me” button on the right side of this blog where you can go to my Pinterest stuff.