Hi Everyone (all my wonderful sewing gals),
I see the message board has been burning up with great Conversations and wonderful ideas and support!!
I have been missing it all!!
But I just wanted to say I and my family had a great time on Vacation
We spent 2 weeks with some friends who live in New Jersey and then during that time
We did 3 different days in New York City. Taking the train up each time
1st day Statue of Liberty/ Ground Zero around there
2nd day NY Build a Bear Workshop(off the hook as my girls would say) We also came home with 2 new New York friends plus clothes etc. Went to Rockefeller center to watch the tree lighting. Very late so we didn’t stay with a 5 year old in tow
3rd day We did Central Park and the Zoo and saw ice skaters etc.
We had one day in Philly to see the Liberty Bell and other points of interest
Then we took the girls into Hershey PA and of course went to Chocolate World!! Saw a wonderful 3D movie and took a fun tour and saw everything Hershey
Then we went to Easton PA another day and had fun at the Crayola Factory!! That was inspiring and really colored our world!!
So as you see we kept busy had lots of fun and now we are back home and I am ready to sit down and relax at my sewing machine..I really missed it!!
My projects I need to finish is my Tree Skirt for my Tree. The girls’ tree I have already finished. I have a few more of my stockings I need to make too!! so I do have some projects to start with.
Well just wanted to let you know you will be seeing me around the boards!!
Connie
Replies
glad you had a great time the experience will last a life time isn`t that great welcome back to the sewing room it is just as busy as ever nice to hear from you
Hi whishing you a Merry Christmas:
have a good time and we will be here when you get back we are sew happy to have met you
Crayola Factory and Chocolate World. Wow, you are great parents. That is wonderful that your children got to experience so many fun and educational sights. I am glad you are back safe and sound. Now get busy and help us with our sewing problems. LOL
Marcy
Hi MarcyYes These places are going to be talked about for years to come!! The girls loved Chocolate World and Crayola land!! I did too it was neet to see and smell all that Chocolate! ha ha haWell this vacation was the first for us we have never been on a vacation as a family like this one!! So now we just have to see where we can go next!! Of course when we get some money again...ha ha haConnie
Hi Anna,
Have a safe trip and Merry Christmas.
Marcy
hello Connie
I really enjoyed reading about your holidays, having 4 dogs keeps you pretty much grounded, so I get a buzz reading what others are doing.Welcome back.
Lee
Hey, I am new to Gatherings, but when I saw you had 4 dogs, I just had to congratulate you! Don't you have a great time with them!! We volunteer with our local humane society and foster abandoned pets when we can. Our family continues to grow as more animals are abandoned, abused or neglected. Most of the time the fosters become permanent. They get attached and so do we.
I don't miss the traveling that I sacrifice in order to foster. I just think about the lives we save and the happiness they bring. Enjoy!
I want to say bravo to you both. I have 3 dogs and 1 horse. My special horse, passed away last month. She was 27 years old. One of my dogs got run over, so we did have another one. I just inherited one because my Mom passed away in May. It breaks my heart to know that some animals don't have a home or are being abused. I hope the Lord will bless you both for taking care of animals.
Marcy
Thanks!! I already feel blessed. My husband, sometimes, does not feel as blessed. But he is adjusting and now loves the "babies" almost as much as I do. He even kisses them when he thinks I am not watching!
We also lost a horse that we raised from birth. She was really old too.
I lost my cherised Silky Terrier (He was 21 years old) 2 years ago, but it seems like only yesterday. I miss him still!
This spring we fostered 2 golden retriever/mix puppies because when they were 10 days old, their mother was killed. She had 10 puppies. Members of the humane society took the puppies and bottle fed them. When my 2 puppies were weaned & ready to go back to their owner, they came down with Parvo. I could not return them for fear of infecting the littermates. Our vet wanted to euthanize them, and their owner did not want to pay the vet fee to hospitalize them, so he let me try to save them myself.
Anyway, I dropper fed them Pedialyte & catnip tea every 15 minutes around the clock and treated their symptoms with herbs and natural "cures". Amazingly, they both survived. One went to her new parents after the vet said she would no longer carry the Parvo virus, but I am keeping the other puppy. He will be 7 months old on the 23rd.
Needless to say, our bond is stronger than Super Glue. He is my keeper, entertainer, protector and even helps me load the dishwasher. He carries the "unbreakable" (& breakables sometimes) items to me, & I put them into the racks. I have no doubt that he would walk through fire for me.
So, you can see why I feel blessed by our four-legged babies. Actually one only has 2 legs. We adopted a cat whose back legs were chewed off by an animal when she was a kitten. She adapted well and gets around clumsily on 2 legs. She lifts her little behind into the air and runs as fast as she can go - which is actually pretty fast. She drags along awkwardly though when she walks, and I have a pouch that I carry her in when she wants to be carried. I am training the golden retriever/mix puppy to carry her on his back. He enjoys it, but the kitten is not too happy with the idea right now. We will get there!! Never a dull moment! I highly recommend pet therapy!!!
Incredible!!Truly a wonderful thing you are doing!!I had chills up my back when reading on all the precious animal lives you have touched!!Thanks for sharingConnie
By the way we had a dog in my earlier years of marriage until she died of old age and now we are a proud owners of a cat!!! My daughter's cat..Her name is Sharlet
Hi nannysmith,
no excuses, but we have'nt had a holiday since 87 when we spent 8 great weeks in the USA and Hawaii. we have 4 girls all alaskan malamutes, kodiak is 10 weighs 75kg's, agentle giant, she's going blind still remains miss bossy boots. pumpkin was a gift to help me over the loss of my beautiful bassett chloe who died of cancer.pumpkin or tubbly turtle has a thyroid condition just like me,she weighs 50 kgs.and is 8, she's a darling (I wanted an irish wolfound but they told me kodiak wanted one just like her.) now the twins they are 2 one belongs to my daughter. teesha and I need her like I need a hole in the head she has chewed her way thru 7 pairs of new shoes 6 pairs slippers all but 1 pair of shoes belonged to me. I became her mother when my daughter could no longer keep her, millie, teesha's litter sister came my way after being extremely mistreated, I had her on anti depressants for months, she chewed her way thru 6 doonas as many doona covers she also chewed her way thru the carpet in the lounge room, dining room and hall but I love them all dearly and won't be parting with any of them they are my girls. I think you are doing a marvelous thing and I commend you for it, the pounds off limits to me like you I'd bring them all home.
lee
Hi Wally Wombat,
I have or had a thyroid condition, also. I had Graves Desease. They removed my thyroid. I am on Synthroid now. I like to blame my weight on this. I have never been so heavy, but they say my thyroid levels are normal.
Marcy
Oh, I would be very careful about some telling you your thyroid levels are fine. I won't go into saga of my life, but my doctor did not treat my extremely high levels of thyroid and i became so depressed I couldn't get out of bed. I couldn't think or do anything. I actually thought I would never get better. Then in 1998 my gyn doc did some tests and told me my TSH was at 19.2 - normal is supposed to be less than 3.0. At the time they were saying it should be at about 5.0. Since then they have revised it down to 3.0. Find yourself a good endocrinologist and ask for your levels and tract them yourself. You will feel so much better in about a month. There are several websites that explain things well, so check those out when You have time.
Good luck and have a good week, jane
hi jane,
you've described my symptoms perfectly, hubby thinks most of it happens in my head.
thanks muchly lee
I did have an endocrinologist and he said that they were fine. He then went into a deal where you pay $1500 a year and he is on call for you 24/7. I didn't think that was necessary, so I just have it checked at a regular family doctor. It was not as high as 3, I do know that. I haven't had it checked in a while, but it is always the same. Thank you.Marcy
good day marcy,
I have thyroidtoxicosis, was given radioactive therapy last week, I too blamed my weight on my thyroid, till the specialist burst my bubble, told me I should be relatively thin due to it being overactive so now they are looking into my liver condition and I don't drink which makes me angry. till next time
lee
Hi Lee,Yes, you do lose weight if your thyroid is over active. You also, lose muscle mass and bone mass. It took them 2 1/2 years to figure out what was wrong with me. I would just collapse with any exertion. Like Cirish, my gyno. discovered the gourder, then sent me to a doctor who knew about Graves Disease. When they took out my thyroid is when it changed to under active, naturally. So, I just take Synthroid everyday.Marcy
Edited 12/11/2006 12:01 pm ET by fabricholic
.................hi Anna,
have a great holiday drive safely don't forget DRIVE, REVIVE, SURVIVE. hope the stations are open, for early travelers. Come back fully refreshed. OH nearly forgot SLIP, SLOP, SLAP.
Lee
Wow thanks all for the wonderful Welcome home!!Yes all those adventures will last a lifetime!! We have some great pictures!! I just might have to post some if you all want. I know this is all about sewing so I don't know if you want some family vaca shots in some wonderful places.We did have a blast and now it is back to normal whatever normal is around the holidays!!Connie
Blondie, you can post your vacation pictures at one of the picture sites and then post the link here and we can all go look at them without risking them being removed. Family vacations are wonderful...Washington DC is a relatively inexpensive one because all the museums are free. Disney World can be expensive if you don't plan ahead and learn all the tricks to make it easier and still see and do all of the wonderful things they have to do. I just had a vacation from the one I take care of every day, I went down to see the other one and helped her with her 2 kids for most of the week. An ex-friend would start planning her next vacation as soon as the pictures were put away. Her theory was half the fun is knowing about where you are going to visit before you get there. She said recognizing all of the sights when you get there is exciting instead of wondering where you are and if anything on this street is of any interest.
Uh, Oh, we need to talk about sewing, I finished an outfit I have been working on for 3 months. Everytime I hit a little problem with it, I put it down and worked on something else. Yesterday, I said I am going to work on this and nothing but this until it is finished. I had problems doing the hem one the sleeves and the hem of the top. I spent hours getting the tension right and still when I did the hem one of the threads broke and I ended up with a chain stitch instead of a cover stitch. Then I wanted to recreate it for the sleeve hems so they would match. I had altered the sleeves to a narrow end at the wrist. Trying to get these little sleeve ends under the serger foot and then stopping and starting every few inches was interesting So, it is finished, it actually looks good, I wish I could have found serger thread the same color as the fabric. It is only noticeable on the inside hems where you can see I used regular thread to do the hems so if would not show very much on the right side of the outfit and fabric. my serger needs a tuneup, I think there is a problem with the tension on the needle threads. I will bring it in after Christmas for a checkup.
My daughter just called and I finally remembered to ask if she was coming up for Christmas and she said no, not until later in the week. So, I guess I have more time than I thought to finish making things. I would never say this to her, but it isn't the same when they come up 4 or 5 days after Christmas and try to act like it is Christmas. This is like the third year for she isn't coming and she never spends Thanks giving with me because if she comes up here she goes to her grandparents with her father. Oh well, such is life... I guess I'll get a small tree this year, I saw a cute live one in a Harry and David catalog the other day. It might work out better if pack up their presents and send them to them so they can open them when it is convenient for them. They don't like to give their 2 yr old too many presents at once. They have their in-laws on Christmas Eve so maybe, I am sure they will manage it. Anyway, today I am going to sew a green fleece jacket I have had cut out forever. My old one is on its last leg so it will be nice to have a new one. It is a real jacket design and I have never sewn an entire jacket on the serger, but there is no time like the present to learn. I did find a new website for fleece, it is called http://www.fleeceforsale.com. Their prices are pretty good too. Malden Mills closed their Seattle warehouse so I am hoping they will have a better selection on their website. Wish me luck with the jacket....
Hey that Vacation idea is great to start dreaming of the next!!
I like it!!
I will do just that post my pics in the gallery and then post it here so all will get a heads up. thanks for that idea as well!! Then you all get to see what I look like and my girls and my wonderful honey too!! Of course you saw my youngest in her mermaid costume!!Are you going to post that outfit you just finished? I would love to see it chickie.Wow thanks for the link I will check it out I have sewn a fleece coat a long while ago and it is since long gone and I have been also thinking of getting my hands in and sewing me a fleece jacket too!! What pattern are you using? Colors? Let me know all the ins!! My fleece I made a long long long time ago I was just trying my hand at it and well I did buttons instead of zipper and I would love to make my next fleece jacket with a zipper does your pattern have that?I totally agree with the Christmas!! I am sorry to hear that she won't be there until after. When Steve and I got married like 18 1/2 years ago we sat down and made a plan..(of course both families are near so that helps) And not really split either. But we used to do Thanksgiving with both.what a busy day.....Dinner for one and then Desert the other..too much so then we started flip flopping every year!! His family/my familyThen on Christmas...we had it easy for the most part the Christmas Eve was his families' gift giving event and so there you have it. We spend Christmas Eve with his and then Christmas Day (more afternoon/evening) with my family...Has been working out but in the past like 5 to 6 years it has been kinda trying but that is a whole novel so I won't go into that!! The funny part is that mostly it has been his side (sisters to be exact) and of course some of those years of it it was both sides mine too...my side now has calmed and enjoyable!! At the point where it was both his and mine we had to keep laughing about it to keep from just going nuts!!Ok you, I just wrote you a short story too!! Glad to be back and chatting...Off to sewing today!! Post all your stuff girl want to see it!!Thanks, soon you will get the notice of our family pics!BlondieI just realized you said one of the pictures sites not here int the Photo Gallery!! Ok now I'm gettin it!! Yes I will do that havn't done that before but I will see where I can and the easist..I know I work alot with Yahoo and they have one so I will go there first when I get the extra minute!! Thanks
Edited 12/10/2006 3:00 pm ET by blondie2sew
Hi Anna,Wow you have been sewing!! I have to say been missing all the interaction here as well with all of you wonderful gals!!I forget you have different seasons!! So you are finished with your school year already? That is what I understood. We are about Half way through.We start in Sept and the kids go till June here where I live. It is funny because I did pull the girls out of school for this Holiday and they will be back in school for about a week and a half then home again for our Christmas break!! We will be staying around here of course. Both our families are near!Have some wonderful travels!! and If you get a chance post some of your wonderful things you have made!! (I can't remember is you are one that doesn't have a digital camera? But get a friend to help you out) I know I love to see everyone's pictures!! It is like a Big Persons show and Tell!! Let us all know when you officially leave!! Thanks for the warm welcome back tooConnie
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