Oh my gosh...huge thanks to both Pam, who is donating her old sewing machine to DFG, and Sam and Mary who purchased one at an auction last weekend!! It takes a village alright.
I met Sam and Mary at Clemons to pick up the machine, a Kenmore 1231 made in 1972, it is still in the original box and works like a champ! While I was there I bought a bag of lemons just because they were so prett,y and of course I had to set up a photograph of them sitting in a pretty bowl on some awesome vintage fabric Mary also brought me.
About two weeks ago, lemons were priced at 50 cents apiece, whereas yesterday this whole bag was only two dollars. Go figure.
I set up the machine, plugged it in, figured out how to thread it using the handy manual, and gave it a go.
The thing about sewing machines is that although they are all fancy now, they still share the basics. Thread from the top, with a bobbin full of thread in the bottom, stitches created by looping the two together. One great thing about an old machine is it is made of metal, and sturdy as all get out. Then too, if they are kept clean and oiled there is no reason they can't work forever. There is definitely something to be said for less is more.
Of course, I'm getting ahead of myself...on Sunday, driving home from church we drove through a few gorgeous streets in Winter Park. Oh my, are there some hidden gems. Reminded me of Savannah.
Bruce caught up with some much needed sleep by napping on Sunday afternoon while I wrote my last blog post. Once awake, he sat down to catch up on email only to discover one of the managers had emailed him regarding the "proofer" not working. I suspect there is one amongst you that knows what that piece of equipment is, however, for the rest of you, it is a box for allowing the bread they make onsite to rise. He asked if I wanted to accompany him, and I agreed, anxious to see how things were going. If you ask Bruce, he'll say things are terrible, but to my eyes it is just wonderful, especially now that they have moved in, giving life to the place.
We should of known that there would be rain by the look of the sky as we were driving the six miles to the mall. I actually took this because of all the perching birds with the dramatic sky as a bonus.
While he was discovering that the outlet didn't work, as well as trying to figure out a new rack system for the mug freezer, I read my book, took photos and chatted a bit with the young team of managers.
It is so exciting seeing all the glassware in the bar, and the furniture in place, soon to be ready for guests. Notice the televisions placement please, as I will add more on that later.
I told you Earls is great to their employees, and I saw evidence of that in this display for the management team.
One of the sweet young ladies told me this was for them to keep up their enthusiasm throughout the long days of preparation for opening day. When I think of our pathetic employee lounge at the hospital compared to this, I am pretty much left speechless. So when the designers were here last week they had a few requests, one of which was to change the heights of the tubular lights pictured above. Not shown that way on the plans, Bruce called in the electricians to make it happen. This is the sort of thing that happens at this stage of the game. Changes are not welcome by the construction team, but they are there to serve, so serve they do.
Finally he was done, but by that time it began to rain, and rain, and rain! I forgot to mention that I was shocked at how full the parking lot was...rarely do I go to the mall on the weekend, but apparently loads of folks do. My, oh my...you would have thought it was Christmas. After waiting thirty minutes for the rain to subside, Bruce finally ran to get the car. I took this while waiting, and am delighted to see the Earls sign reflected in the car window.
What a weekend of college football! Once home, and after I fixed some sort of supper, the Texas vs. Notre Dame game came on, and what a doozy it was. Trading touchdowns, I eventually went to bed in the third quarter. Pretty much the only team I will stay up until midnight for is Florida State who was scheduled to play in Orlando the following night.
Labor Day was just that for Mr. Peck. While he was working I began the day on a bike ride; I'm still about 60 miles short of 4,000, and it feels like at this rate, I'll never cross that mark. Anyway, seeing the eagle for the first time in ages was one of the highlights of that ride.
Our sister-in-law, Ruth oftentimes gives us a garden stone, a place for butterflies to rest and soak up some heat. It is an interesting behavior to me, and every now and again I see it happen while out and about.
Matt's friend Liza posted a photo of chocolate cookies on fb, giving me the idea to make some myself. I used
this recipe, adding both oatmeal and coconut, in addition to the chocolate. I have a drawer full of kitchen tools that rarely see the light of day, but when they are called upon to assist me, I am always thrilled that I have the room to store them. One such tool is this cookie scoop, and should you ever think about purchasing one for yourself, I can assure you they are fantastic. Using the two spoon method for most of my life worked just fine, but this, my friends, works even better!
Bruce called, asking me to pick up a hanger for an ironing board, as well as a small vacuum cleaner, think Dustbuster, for the restaurant. Heading over to Target, I realized I could purchase some little bags for the cookies I wanted to deliver to some of our new neighbors. I am not really a Target girl, but I have to admit, they do have some pretty cute things. You would have thought I'd been there lately because there were loads of products using coral. Count me surprised. Picking up some twine, I originally thought I'd be using it to tie the bags, that is until I discovered there were some handy ties included with the bags. Still, I liked the twine, and now I found a use for it, adding it to the quilt I've been working on.
The pattern is called, Friendship Star. I am taking my time on the quilting, and as you can see, for now I've abandoned the idea of free motion quilting. Lest you think I'm much good at this craft, notice how the points of the star are not pointy. I have no earthly idea how this happens, but it does, in spite of my practice!
I took a bag of cookies over to Scott and the children, with him asking me where I live. Duh!! Right across the street. Anyway, the children told me that their outdoor cat brought them a rat last week!! Score!! Keep em coming please.
Unfortunately, this cat has been known to kill birds as well as rats, but I'm having that attitude of gratitude, being thankful for whatever happens next.
So, I told you to notice the televisions in the bar which is another thing the designers wanted changed. Too high, they claimed. Bruce set up the folks to come to lower them, expecting them first thing yesterday morning. Didn't happen quite as planned, and it was most definitely not the piece of cake they claimed it would be. Bruce called saying he would be late. I rode my bike around 7, expecting he'd be home by 7:30. There is a reason photographers call that time of day, "the golden hour."
Just lovely. To the left of the photograph is our empty driveway and it remained so until who knows what time...I finished my book, which was gripping should you care to know, and went to sleep. Good grief, having a "baby" is hard business.
The Florida State game kept me up past midnight but it was well worth it!! Oh my goodness, what a game.
I've got some awesome friends, don't I?
until we meet again,
Gail
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