Recycled With Love

Dad passed away in 1987 at the ripe young age of 52. I miss him all the time. I'm sorry my kids did not get to know him and he didn't get to be an influential part of their lives.

My sister had a pair of Dad's insulated coveralls that she had kept over the years. A while ago she gave them to me because she thought I could do something with them. They looked like this:(sorry, not a good picture)


One thing that made it hard to just get rid of them was this:


Getting rid of Dad's name, Gene, seemed like getting rid of just one more part of him. After giving it a lot of thought I decided to make something for my brother with part of the coveralls. So using the top front, so I could spotlight Dad's name I came up with this---rust spots and all--


It is an iPad case. I know Dean's isn't pink, but I put mine in it just to check the size. The pocket can hold the cord, and the side unsnaps and the zipper works.


I hope Dean enjoys it and thinks of Dad everyday when he uses it.
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February Birthdays

We have three February birthdays in our family.  We start with Grayson on February 13th.  Since we don't see him very often we decided to go take him out for some fun.  

Chuckie Cheese it was!

He was in awe of the animated figures.  

He was 2!

Nate's turned 5 on February 17th.  He gets two parties--one with his dad's family and one with our family.  Trilby hosted a party for Nate, Grayson, and me.  The theme was Pirates and Pizza.  She made wonderful pizza and we came as pirates!

These two were DANGEROUS with their swords!

My sister was there with her two grandchildren.

Trina, Tanner, & Grayson were there complete with the pirates on their shoulders!

And of course the oldest pirates showed up too!

The two birthday boys hamming it up for the camera!

There were others there, but they were party poopers and didn't dress for the occasion!

Thanks Trilby, we had a great time!

February Fun!

We attended the annual butchering session at my sister's place the beginning of February.  I volunteered for baby-sitting duty, so I was inside with the youngest kids all day.

Three of them are my grandchildren and two of them are my sister's grandchildren.  They had a great time playing together all day!

  Dakota is two weeks older than Clara, and she declared Clara to be the "baby"!!  She really wanted to take care of Clara all day, but Clara was having none of that!

The guys really enjoy butchering, and I love knowing we have our own meat--something you can't be sure of when it goes to the locker.  I had the best job inside with the kids!

11 in '11

 If you've been reading  my blog you know that I participated in  a challenge to make 11 quilts/projects in 2011 called 11 in "11.  This was a challenge put out by Kim from Kim's Big Quilting Adventure.  Here are the projects I counted for my 11 in '11.

Yes, there are actually a couple more than 11.  You can read about them under my tab at the top called--11 in '11.
              Here are some misc. projects I did in 2011, but didn't count toward my challenge.

                           Anyway, Kim graciously sent a reward for completing the challenge!

                     Yes, it is a Fat Quarter Bundle!! As you can see the fabric is Denim Winsome.

                             It came from the Fat Quarter Shop, and Kim included a nice little card.

What gorgeous colors!   I am so grateful, and certainly did not expect such a reward.  Actually, I was grateful for the challenge.  And completing it was reward enough.

                                  Thank you, Kim.  It was so not necessary, but so appreciated!     And to continue Kim's challenge I'm going for 12 in '12!  Thanks Kim!

MIA

ME THE LAST TWO WEEKS!


Work--Sleep--Work, that's about all I have done for the past two weeks. I did stay home one day last week and thought I was on the mend. But last weekend I slept and slept and slept! By Tuesday this week I couldn't take it any longer, and I went to the doctor. After declaring a raging sinus infection/virus, she sent me home with a Z-PAC. That led to stomach issues in addition to the headache, stuffy nose, and achy body I already had! I stayed home Wed., went in Thurs. for half a day, and spent the rest of the week in bed. This morning I finally feel like I've turned a corner.

Now I need to catch up on some posts!

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Do You HuHot?

Several years ago a group of friends were planning a dinner out.  They wanted to go to HuHot Mongolian Grill.  Another friend and I didn't really want to go there, so we grumbled about it together, but decided to go with the flow. (I can be flexible like that really.)

So....we went and I LOVED it!!  So much so that I convinced Bud to try it, and he loves it too!  But, we don't like the price and try not to go out so much.

Another thing I love is:

 Yes, PINTEREST!

Well the two came together the day I pinned this recipe.

Sesame Noodles
Adapted from:  The Pioneer Woman

1 16oz. package linguine pasta, cooked and drained
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
5 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon hot chili sauce
4 tablespoons canola oil

5 green onions, sliced thin

In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sugar, garlic, rice vinegar, sesame oil, chili sauce, and canola oil.  Taste and adjust to your liking.  Pour over cooked noodles and toss being sure to coat evenly.  Garnish with green onions.  Enjoy!

We add other things like we would at HuHot--shrimp, crabmeat, sausage, water chestnuts, etc.  

The sauce tastes like what I use at HuHot--the first basic recipe.  You can always adjust it to meet your tastes.  

So, I have killed two birds with one stone--actually using something I pinned on Pinterest & having something to make when we're hungry for HuHot.  

Try it--You'll like it!!