Storm Story

MARCH TORNADO IN ALABAMA

As promised before my computer met the Grim Reaper, I want to share some pictures of the tornadoes that rolled through my community on Friday, March 2nd.  This particular tornado was close to my daughter and it eventually hit a local High School.  All students were safe but damage to the building was extensive.  After last April 27th, students take the weather very seriously and teachers report you could hear a pin drop in the halls.  The student bodies range from 750 all the way to 2300 in the 5 High Schools and in every one, the silence was deafening pierced only by the sound of flying debris and the roof being blown off.  Can you imagine the terror those students and teachers felt?

This tornado hit my son's place of business, 5 miles from my home.

How would you like to see this roaring straight toward you?

My son's boss was sitting at this desk when the tornado hit!  He and my son saw the tornado coming  but unlike my son who got in his car and ran to the church basement next door basement, Billy went BACK to work thinking he was invincible.  A second storm came through after this one, and Billy ran with another co-worker and secretary outside to lay down in a culvert with 4-5 inches of standing water AND 165 mph wind!  He said he had never been more afraid in his life and thought to himself, "What a stupid way to die!"  He had been warned and chose to ignore the warning.

God got his attention...FINALLY!!!  

We have fussed at Billy for years about his indifference to tornado watches and warnings. 

 You saw this picture of the Storm PIT last week. 

 Don't you love the wet floor??  This is a PIT I tell ya!!  I hate it! 

NEWS FLASH...Mr. Gmama is drawing up plans for a NEW STORM SHELTER!!

 I'm sitting on the bench right across from the Grandpeeps here.  We have an extra kiddo...my granddaughter's best friend had to come home with her because her mother, a teacher, was chaperoning cheerleaders to the State Basketball Tournament.  Can you feel the WORRY that Mama had knowing she couldn't be with her child during a severe storm and have to rely on a friend to make sure your child gets to safety??  One of the most important Mommy Fear's as the children grew up was my need for the family to be together in ONE PLACE during Tornado outbreaks.  If one was going to be blown away, by Golly, we were ALL going!!

BFF's

That's my Storm Story for now...

Spring has just begun and the long range prediction is for my neck of the woods to have a high number of tornado outbreaks...

Till next time...

 BLESSINGS

Have You Scheduled Yours???

I SCHEDULED MINE

TODAY

This is #1 Husband and Gmama!!!  LOL!!

Thank you Marlene at StitchinByTheLake

for a Great Reminder to all of us!

Due to #1 husband's accident, subsequent shoulder surgery and recuperation, I  missed my scheduled Mammogram and GYN appointments last fall.  I had the best of intentions to reschedule immediately but you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men???  October turned into Nov. which turned into the Holidays and now it's March 2012!  

So...TODAY I made both mammogram and follow-up GYN appointments...

March 27th Mammogram...

May 7th GYN!!

PLEASE...put down your Cuppa...put downYour Needle & Thread...walk away from your sewing machine...

close your book or Kindle...stop the laundry...put down that report...

GO MAKE YOUR APPOINTMENT TODAY!!

I LOVE YOU!!!

Blessings

Prayer Request Sunday March 11th

He Gives you "A" HOPE

I'm Back...
Blue Screen of Death......RIP Gmama's DELL

Gmama goes off the grid, out of touch with the cyberworld she's grown to depend on, love, and spend too much time "pinning", blogging, g-mailing, Facebooking, Words With Friending, etc, etc, etc...

WELCOME HOME Ms. HP you little All-In-One Great Price Beauty that I can't live with nor without but once I figure out how to navigate your minefield of new traps for the Gmama to get lost in I might just grow to love you like Mr. Dell.

It's Prayer Request Sunday Once Again

1. Praise & Thanksgiving for surviving yet another brush with an F-3 Tornado and live to tell about it!  Many of our church family received property damage but no loss of life or serious injuries.  3 of our local schools received extensive damage while students and teachers sat huddled in hallways with books over their heads praying for safety.  Many of the same students lost everything in last Aril's storms and the younger storm victims had serious panic attacks while the storms approached.  Teachers had their plates full keeping children safe while worrying about their own children's safety.  Friday, March 2, was a challenging day to say the least and this is only the beginning of Spring Tornado Season in the South.

2. BABY MAX is progressing so well, he may get to go home soon!!!  His parents are so very grateful for your prayers!  Max is a living Miracle!

3. Josie M.  remember friends and family from last week.  I do not have an update.  Josie hopefully will give us a progress report soon.

4. Beverely "b" was one of the Give-Away winners who also continues to need our prayers for her husband who is recovering from yet another surgery after a serious injury has left him disabled.  I loved it when she told me how happy he was about her winning my Give-Away!!  b needs encouragement my friends!!

5. Kaaren from The Painted Quilt, Nova Scotia, Breast Cancer and has returned home to rest before taking on more treatments.  I'm not quite sure if it's chemo or radiation at this point.  Kaaren is a wonderful artist and gives away a free downloadable embroidery pattern of her design each month.  She's a terrific lady and this cancer was NOT in her plans...is it ever???

6.  Jannett  Have not heard an update so continue to pray for her family and friends touched my health problems and cancer

7.  YOUR PRAYER REQUEST INSERT HERE!!!  PLUS, Updates on past prayer requests are always a blessing ...we want some Praise and Gratitude Reports too!!!

What are your plans for this week?  I'd love to hear what your week looks like.  Any sewing projects on the Design Wall??

As for me:

Sidekick Scott is spending the week with his other Grandparents since I was originally scheduled to go to QUILTFEST in Pigeon Forge TN like last year.  I was so excited but we found out that my husband could not take the 5 days off school without jeopardizing his retirement date and final paycheck.  Long story but you know how red tape goes...Blah, Blah, Blah..  Oh well, I have a whole week to sew in my own sewing cave and hopefully get some UFO's marked off my To-Do List.  I'm a cup is half full kinda gal so I'm Ok with Plan B.

I hope to clean my porches and wash the Winter off so Spring can come on in!!  BTW, does the new time upset your body clock??  I'm usually whining for 2 weeks once the time changes not because I don't love the extra daylight in the evening but because my sleep patterns get even MORE jumbled up.  

Gotta schedule a Sleep Study!!  I need you guys to NAG ME and not let me off the hook about getting this SLEEP study DONE!!!

Love to All...Your Comments Keep me blogging, your quilting/sewing projects keep me inspired, and your blogs keep me on the Computer way too long but I love reading each one!!

Guest posting for my Mamma

This is G-Mamma's daughter, Mary Ellen. ( The Mommy to James) Well as with most things in our family, this guest post has a story. I will let G-Mamma tell you all about it when she is back in the digital age. Her computer has gone WONKY after the storms that came through our area. Here are  few pics of our Tornado adventure.

Kids in the Tornado Shelter

 Hail

 She wants you to know that she will be the guest Blogger over on Madame Sam's Sew We Quilt blog. G-Mamma has some Wonky Table Runners to show you plus a NEW GIVEAWAY. Her Ghastlies' Table Runner will be flying out to the home of one of her lovely followers. Winner will be announced Thursday morning March 8th.  You must be a follower to participate in the giveaway, so please tell her in your comment that you are a follower.

I also wanted to take a few minutes to thank those of you that have prayed and wished my son well during his surgeries and rehab. I have read your sweet comments and they truly have touched my heart. We thank you! James is doing wonderfully since we have gotten home from St. Louis and Birmingham. He is so much stronger and seeing the new way he walks is a beautiful sight to this Mamma! James is using his walker to get around 75% of the time. We are working on using some canes but right now we want to get him confident on his walker before we add too much. I took him to a local playground this morning with some friends of ours and it brought me to tears how strong and straight he is walking. He could even stand up and play without his walker! Here are a few pictures from this morning I thought you would enjoy. You are always welcome to follow his progress at our blog Jump in for James

Blessings from G-Mamma through Mary Ellen ( James- Mamma)

Prayer Request Sunday, Breakfast Recipe, Give-Away Winners Announced

This is The Day That The Lord Has Made

2-Min French Toast via Prudent Baby.com

A Great Day to Pray, Be Thankful, Break Bread Together, 

and

Announce the TWO Winners of my Give-Away

Today I have some *Praise Reports* as well as *Prayer Requests* from a few followers. 

 Patricia says:

 Good news on the Baby Max front.  Prayers are the best medicine.  Baby Max is getting the feeding tube removed from his nose and getting an NG tube (stomach feeding tube) on Tuesday.  This way when he goes home....yes, they are talking about when he can go home... it will be easier for Gina to subsidize his nutrition with the feeding tube and to administer his Gleevac.  Gleevac is the chemo cocktail that will prevent any scar tissue from forming where his heart and pulmonary veins were reconstructed during the open heart surgery. 

The procedure for putting the NG tube in Baby Max' stomach is scheduled for Tuesday.  It is an hour long procedure.  Baby Max will spend Tuesday evening in ICU jut for observation.  Please let your followers know how appreciative the Berrios family is for their prayers.

Dawn T. Requests:

  Keep my daughter's good friend Jenny in your prayers. Jenny was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She is 28 years old, a wife and mother of 2 little ones (9 months and 2years), and a dear sister in Christ.  She is scheduled for surgery on March 13th. Please pray for peace, comfort and strength for her and her family, for healing, and wisdom for the doctors. 

 Gmama Jane:

Please pray for my neighbors and community who have once again been touched by tornadoes, lost homes, possessions, places of work devastated, church buildings damaged, and children left with crippling fear of storms.

 Now I have to share something a recipe so delicious for you to try this very morning or even for a Sunday Night Supper.  I saw this  *yumminess* on Pinterest, looked up the website, and then put my own spin on the recipe.  

 Two-Minute French Toast in a Cup

Cube your bread...any kind, any type

rub a pat of butter all inside of cup or melt and swish

in 2nd cup/ramekin, mix 1 egg, 3 T. milk, cinnamon to taste, vanilla (I use about 1/8th t.)

this is what it looks like all mixed up

Here's where you can add some raisins for a little twist.  YUM

 place cubed bread (1 -2 slices) in cup

I like Sour-Dough Bread by Sara Lee

Pour egg mixture over bread and smoosh it down a little so it can absorb egg/milk mixture

Place in Microwave for 1 min....then in 10 sec. increments until it's cooked to your liking.  You don't want runny eggs...ugh!

Now...add Syrup, and/or Powdered sugar, whipped cream.

This smells and Tastes so Wonderful!
Thank You Prudent Baby.Com

and FINALLY

GIVE-AWAY WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Names were pulled out of my little sewing basket...

all on the up and up...PROMISE!!

Beverely or "b" (as she prefers to be called)

DanNy Boy Quilts 

You really should go read her story and WHY she quilts

Hint: Have a Tissue handy

Sharon at Vrooman's Quilts

She has a LOT going on so hop on over and check out her fun blog.

Sharon was one of my first followers so I'm glad her name got pulled out of the basket.

I've contacted each nice lady to send me their mailing address and I will be winging some nice fabric their way ASAP!!  No Sponsors..out of my Stash in the Sewing Cave!

Stay Tuned for TUESDAY...Storm Stories

I sound like the Weather Channel.

Yep, we haD an F-3 Tornado on Friday...3 miles from my house. 

Here We Go Again..Spring 2012

I will share some STORM "PIT" PICTURES with you!

Blessings

SEWING ROOM TIPS and Give-Away

Can You Guess What This Little Container Was Originally?

Thread Holder

Some Very Nice Thread thanks to Madame Samm's Give Away

after the Wannabe Quilter's Campaign.

Oooh, remember that?  I Know SHE does?  Almost Killed her but she did it!

but I Digress....

Look See....

 A Gum/Mint Dispenser!!!!

My Grandson used one of these to hold odds and ends from that mystery toy box  behind my couch.  You know which one I'm talking about.  We ALL have one or HAVE had one at some point if children ever cohabitated (MY spelling)with you...THAT toy box with the infinite number of legos, lego people, puzzle pieces, doll parts, cars, car wheels, lips from Mrs. Potato Head, Barbie shoes so tiny I need a magnifying glass to see them, random sizes of blocks, game pieces, plastic dinosaurs the dog chewed last fall, one magic marker with cap off (of course), a Nerf Gun Bullet, an M&M or two, a stash of REAL Bubble Gum *hidden* from Grandmama's DeSugar Bug Radar, and the elusive train track part that allows Thomas The Train to switch rails...THAT TOY BOX!!!

ANYHOO.........

I thought, "What a Great Thread Holder!"

I tried it and have been asking anyone I know to PLEASE save their gum/mint containersand give them to Me Me Me!  Look how perfect the thread comes out of the little spout.  Great for portable stitching projects like to the Dr.'s office! The plastic cover peels right off and 'Voila!"

Now my next hint isn't very glamorous but probably THE most used item in my sewing room.  I'm a messy sewer.  If a trash can is beside me, by the time those tee-tiny little threads or fabric bits *float* down to the floor they usually don't hit the actual trashcan.  Now I know some of you have those beautiful weighted thread catchers all quilted and ready to sit nicely beside you as you stitch.  I plan to either make one or Buy one...whichever comes first or when I have the extra cash.  Until then, My empty Tissue boxes work extremely well.

Check out my cute little Fabric Arrow!  I made that for my tutorial on Sew We Quilt next week!  Come see me March 5th or 6th...can't remember which day for certain.

 Here I've TAPED the box to my cutting table.  Not very pretty but extremely FUNCTIONAL! I may have missed the lesson on *cutting a square EVENLY out of a cardboard tissue box*

This thread catcher tissue box 

is taped 

to another work table in my sewing cave.  Don't you love the Duct Tape?  I could rule the world with Duct Tape...I keep a roll in most every room of the house especially the kitchen, laundry room, bathroom, and sewing room. When full I simply empty into large bag for my weekly Trash Can removal Every Monday.  

BTW

My New and Improved House Cleaning Schedule is working quite nicely!

Many thanks to DawnMarie in Georgia for sending me her Chore Chart on Excel Spreadsheet.

I tweaked it to fit me and I'm "cookin' with gas"

Hope you enjoyed my sewing room tips! 

GIVE-AWAY

Do you have some tips to share?

Let's Hear from you!

Leave your Sewing Tips in your Comment

TWO WINNERS will be chosen from MY FOLLOWERS

I GREATLY Love and Appreciate all my Followers 
If you are a NEW FOLLOWER, PLEASE TELL ME IN YOUR COMMENT

I'm destashing and have doubles of some NEW Fabric so You are the winner

I like to put a few tuck-ins to make a nice gift! I haven't had a Give-Away since last Fall so I think it's time. 

*** Psst...Gene B., You're getting some new fabric because those Ghastlie coasters didn't turn out as well as I would have liked and I would NOT pass those on to anyone. 

Ok, send me your Sewing Tips and I'll Pick a winner Saturday, March 3rd in honor of my sweet Mama's Birthday who passed away in 2003.  Ms. Mary would have been 96 yrs. old.

 I will Post the Two Winners on my Prayer Request Sunday post.

BLESSINGS

PRAYER REQUEST SUNDAY

PRAYING FOR EACH OTHER

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.

Plans to prosper You and not to Harm You

Plans to Give you a Hope and a Future.  NIV 

Jeremiah 29:11

I don't know if you've ever noticed but in the New International Version of this scripture, there is ONE two letter word that does not appear in any other translation.  I've wondered about that word and thought about how or IF it changes the meaning in any way.

Do you see it?

It's right in front of HOPE...the word "a"

Most translations read "Plans to give you Hope"  but in this version it reads "Plans to give you A Hope".

When pondering it's significance it occurred to me that the difference between "having Hope" and "Having A Hope" is monumental.  It's like the difference between someone saying "I'll pray for you" and someone saying "How can I pray for you?"  In the latter, you are made to feel the person saying it is tuned into you personally.  Thus it is with the seemingly insignificant two letter word "a".  The Lord has plans to give ME a SPECIFIC HOPE.  A Hope tailor made for ME that only my Sweet Lord could know.

What specific HOPE do you need today?  Do I Need today?

I already know my answer.

As you Rest and Pray Today, may the Lord of Heaven reveal to you "A HOPE"

Prayer Requests and Praise

Baby Max turned 3 months this week and Patricia reports he is doing so well he was taken out of the NICU to a regular room!!!!  He has come a long way from death's door to "in a regular room" and breathing on his own after SUCCESSFUL Open Heart Surgery.  

Josie:  Aunt Rita and husband Bob are going through very troubled times with both having serious life threatening health issues, one Granddaughter, Jennifer (mother of 2) diagnosed with brain tumor.

Praise: Another Granddaughter is 8 weeks pregnant after 5 miscarriages in 3 yrs.  A Miracle!

A very good friend and her daughter had to deal with the heartbreak of the 1 yr. anniversary of the death of Everett, stillborn and no apparent medical reason.  The daughter just had a baby daughter Ellie.

I have an UNSPOKEN request that is heavy on my heart.  God knows and that's all that needs to know but you can intercede in prayer for me.  Thank You!

Please share your needs if you feel led to do so.

Blessings

 

I NEED A WEEKLY CLEANING SCHEDULE

DO YOU HAVE A WEEKLY 

HOUSE CLEANING

SCHEDULE ?

 

I could REALLY use your input!

I've been retired for almost 3 1/2 yrs. and I can't seem to find a cleaning schedule that works efficiently.  I have to admit, I was spoiled because when I was working, I had a housekeeper that began with monthly cleaning, then every 2 weeks, and toward the end she was coming weekly.  Therefore, I only did the laundry, cooking, and straightening up.  The more labor intensive chores were thankfully done by two of the sweetest friends on the planet.  They became friends over the years and I never had to feel afraid to give them a key to my house.

THEREFORE...

Now that I'm retired, I can't really justify paying someone to clean my house since I'm home every day and the biggest reason of all ... my retirement pay is significantly less than what I was paid on my teaching salary.

I need to put my Big Grandmama Panties on and Relearn how to "keep house" as my mother used to say.

I want a weekly chore schedule that will work for me as well as blend in with my babysitting responsibilities.

I like to do all my wash plus change sheets on Monday.  I clean my downstairs bathroom on Mon. as well but am flexible on everything but Mon. wash.  From there, it gets all "Wonky"...my new favorite word!

I have 3 bathrooms, upstairs has 4 bedrooms, downstairs has a half bath with large kitchen, den, and dining room.  I need to work in sweeping porches since I'm a little OCD about my front porch looking good.

I want to do most of my chores in the morning to leave time for sewing while Sidekick naps from 1-3:30.

 I don't set aside time to iron...my method is to iron as needed.

Help, me PLEASE

ICE CREAM BREAD???

ICE CREAM BREAD???

I"m not kidding!  I found this on PINTEREST, my newest addiction of choice.  With only TWO ingredients, I HAD to try it.  Lo and behold, it's the best thing since "sliced bread"...a little play on words.

  Here is a picture of my FIRST loaf of Vanilla Ice Cream bread.  Recipe calls for ANY flavor ice cream.  I only had Vanilla so that's what I used.  2 cups of softened ice cream, 1 1/2 c. self-rising flour, Mix together, batter will be very thick, pour into a prepared pan (I used generic brand spray oil and flour ), place into pre-heated 350 degree oven and bake for approx. 40-45 min. 

 Start checking at 35 min because oven temps vary.  One batch was ready in 40 min while 2 other batches were ready in 45 min.  I tried Butter Pecan Ice Cream but wasn't as thrilled with the flavor and neither were the grandpeeps.  I also added about 1/8 t. extra vanilla to my vanilla ice cream bread batch.

A little butter on warm ice cream bread...YUM!

You HAVE to give this a try!

(the plate is a $1 thrift store find.  I only have 2 and think they are so pretty)

ICE CREAM BREAD

2 C. ICE CREAM (any flavor) softened

1 1/2 C. SELF RISING FLOUR 

VANILLA OR OTHER FLAVORINGS (ADD TO TASTE, OPTIONAL)

Pre-Heat Oven to 350 degrees.  Mix ice cream and flour together till forms a stiff batter.  Scoop into 8x4 greased/floured loaf pan.  Bake for approx. 40-45 min till golden brown on top and toothpick comes out dry or with few crumbs.  Remove from oven, release bread from pan, allow to cool 10 min, before slicing (IF you can wait, I could NOT).

HOPE YOU ENJOY

I finished my LAST WONKY HOUSE BLOCK &

Mailed all 12 Blocks plus 12 signature blocks Tuesday

SUNDAY PRAYERS

SUNDAY PRAYER TIME TOGETHER

Today is the Day that the Lord Has Made!

It is a cold, rainy, blustery day here in North Alabama. My House is very quiet on this early Sunday morning.

I'm thinking of those of you who have prayed for Baby Max this past week.  Good News, Patricia sends us the following PRAISE!

1)Baby Max Update:

"48 hours after Max' open heart surgery and he is doing well.   He still has a long road ahead so if it is not too much to still request prayers, I would like to do so.

Is James and your daughter coming home this week?  I have been keeping them in my daily (sometimes several times daily) prayers, too."

love,

patricia  (We are STILL Praying, Patricia)

2) Jannette reports an exhausting week with her ailing mother and asks that we pray for strength. We love you Jannette

3) JAMES UPDATE:  

James and his mother have ONE MORE WEEK of Therapy Boot Camp!  Whoo Hoo!  James has made astounding progress and here is a picture of him pushing a grocery cart.  This is a HUGE accomplishment so let me hear CLAPPING!!

4

 James pushing a Grocery Cart

4) How many of you have faced a storm this week?  Or perhaps are anticipating a storm to pass your way? 

My God is an Awesome God and can meet your every need.

Also, I noticed something yesterday that may or may not have anything to do with Prayer Request Sunday but over the past 2 weeks, I've lost 5 followers.  Just like that...and it made me wonder if somehow Prayer Request Sunday had offended someone?  I don't plan to stop Prayer Request Sunday because I don't blog for popularity.  I do, however, want to be sensitive to those who have chosen to take the time to read my blog. I am human after all so when I look at that "number" it makes me sit up and take notice.  It also makes

 me painfully aware of a need most of us have and that is the need to be liked.  I admit it...I want you to like me.  I don't however, want to be someone I'm not just to make people "like" me.  After all, we are a bit past High School, aren't we?

 The people who count the most are my family.  Am I doing everything I need to be doing to meet the needs of my family.  My role has changed over the years as have the needs of my growing family.  Grandchildren are now my primary focus although my adult children still seem to "need" their Mama.  I've retired the "yellow hairbrush" that meted out correction from time to time.  No more "grounding" or taking away the car keys.  Now, I spend much more time in PRAYER for my family because prayer is my main source of guidance these days.  Prayer SHOULD have been my main source all the time but time, age, and wisdom have taught me that sage advice.

So...I will continue Prayer Request Sundays until I feel led to do otherwise.  If you have any comments on my thoughts I'd love to hear them.  Continue to send me your prayer needs and I will covenant with you to pray.