Catching Up

I thought I would post about what has been happening in our neck of the woods since I have been so busy lately.

Unpacking/Decorating
The unpacking is all done...yay! Still a little bit of decorating to do, but almost there. I'm very happy with the way the house is turning out. :o) We LOVE our new home!

Visitors
After a day's flight delay due to snow in Chicago that was connecting with her Philadelphia flight to Florida, DD#2, Rachel, and grandson, Anthony, finally made it to Florida. To make up for their flight being a day late, they were upgraded to first class. They enjoyed that a lot! They are now permanent residents in Florida! YAY! We're all soooo happy! Now both my girls and my grandson are only 30 minutes away. :o) Rachel and Anthony are spending 2 weeks with us and then they will be staying with DD#1, Heather, and her hubby Jerry until they find a place of their own. They plan on residing in Titusville, so that works out great. Anthony starts school there on Tuesday, 1/6.

Christmas
WONDERFUL is the only way to describe it! It was awesome having the whole family together for a Christmas. It's been too many years to count since that has happened. We all spent the night at the in-laws and woke together on Christmas morning. It was exciting for everyone to see the look on Anthony's face as he saw the tree with all the presents that Santa left. Priceless. :o) Presents were passed around and opened and Santa was very generous. I must have been an exceptionally good girl this past year as I was shocked to receive a Viking Designer Diamond and Huskylock 936 serger with coverstitch capability and a freearm. Never in a million years would I have thought I'd receive such extravagant gifts! As for the meal, Heather and I cooked and everyone else pitched in cleaning up afterwards. Hubby's brother Jeff and his wife, Linda, arrived for dessert and that made Chris's family complete. I was so happy for him to be so excited, healthy and blessed after all he's been through the past two years. I truly praised the Lord that day.

Fun Stuff
We are enjoying our new community to the fullest and have been to the pool several times. LOVE IT! It's so funny to see Anthony in the pool. He would never leave it if he had his way. LOL! In addition, every Thursday from 1-4pm is a quilting/sewing get-together at the Clubhouse. I've met several of the wonderful ladies and plan on attending regularly beginning in the new year. I haven't been quilting or sewing at all since I really want to get the house settled before focusing on anything else, but I have big plans for the new year and hope I can accomplish my resolutions. I also want to utilize their fitness center and maybe even take some of their aquatic aerobic classes.

Well, that's it for now,
Suzy

Merry Christmas Everyone!

A joyous season to all!

Blessings,
Suzy

Just Checking In...

Just wanted to let everyone know we made it to Florida with no problems. Settlement on the old and new house went smoothly and are now a thing of the past and we are making progress with unpacking all the boxes. PODS was a great way to move and although I hope to never move again, I would definitely use them again. LOL!

We got our temporary tags for the car yesterday and will probably get our licenses taken care of tomorrow. Not to rub it in or anything, but the temps here have been in the 70's and 80's and I'm LOVING IT! Just too busy to really enjoy it with trying to get the house in order. I'm currently working on my sewing room and am quite happy with the room size. It is smaller than in the old house, so I was afraid that I'd either be cramped in so much I couldn't move or that everything would have to be stored hither and yon. Luckily that isn't the case and with the exception of the larger yardage pieces which will go on a shelving unit in our huge master closet, it looks like it will all fit with room to move. LOL!

I'm typing this on Chris's laptop on the dining room table because we still have to purchase new furniture for the office. We found desks, etc. we like and just have to measure the room and where we want to place them so we know if the arrangement will work and what pieces we will ultimately purchase.

TTFN,
Suzy

A Baltimore Christmas

Now that Thanksgiving Day is behind us and it is Black Friday, which officially kicks off the Christmas holiday season, I thought I would share with you a quilt I designed in EQ yesterday. Of course it is Christmas-themed. I call it "A Baltimore Christmas."

This will probably be my last posting for awhile. We hit the road tomorrow for my sister's and leave for our Florida journey early on Sunday morning.

TTYL from the Sunshine State,

Suzy

Happy Thanksgiving!

There are many things for which our family is thankful. Much too many to enumerate.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful and memorable Thanksgiving. Enjoy not only the food, but each other.

Blessings,

Suzy

Killing Time

Ok, ok. So I'm a bit bored in this empty house with nothing but a mattress, two TVs and two computers (hubby's lap top and my PC). I thought I wouldn't have time to blog with cleaning and all, but we got a phone call from our realtor yesterday informing us that the buyers are having professional cleaners come in to clean the house before they move in. Yeah, I know it sounds like I'm a slob or something, but I'm really not. In fact, some who know me would say I'm obsessive compulsive about my home and its cleanliness. However, the wife is pregnant and due in about 5 or 6 weeks and is now on complete bedrest, so I guess they just want to do it their way. Which is fine with me, because I was going to sparkle up the place, but hey, it's all good!

So what am I doing to kill the time? Well, since I'm really not into TV all that much except a few shows during the evening hours, I decided to play around with my EQ program again. Here is the result of today's fun.

I actually came up with a name for it already, too. I call it "A Butterfly In My Garden." If you have a minute, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Echoingly yours,

Suzy

Decorated in Early Empty

...also known as I'll be MIA for awhile.

The house is empty, the furniture and boxes are packed and loaded in the PODs (which are being picked up today) and cable and other utilities will be shut off shortly. Our last day in NJ is Friday, we drive to my sister's home in PA on Saturday for a Thanksgiving/Farewell get-together, and plan to leave from there early Sunday morning. We are very excited for our next adventure (driving to FL) and you probably won't hear from me until we are set up down there. I don't know how long that will take, but if I get a chance in between the chaos of setting up the new house, I'll be sure to update you all on our progress.

Onward to the next adventure,
Suzy

Takin' A Break

Notice anything different? Uh, yup. I redesigned my blog with the help of "The Cutest Blog on the Block." Figured I needed a break from all the packing, so this is the result. So whatcha think?

Suzy

(*Sings*) Oooohh, I'm Packing My Life Away

Eddie Rabbitt may have been driving his life away, but I'm packing mine away. My house is now in official chaos. We are also putting out furniture at the end of the driveway with for sale signs on it, as weather permits. So far we've sold our kitchen dining set. We have plenty more where that came from, though...but the weather has not been cooperating. In fact, as I type this it is POURING outside! Ugh!

We are hoping to have a moving sale this coming Saturday (with a raindate of Sunday) and our POD is being delivered on Monday, the 17th. YIKES! Where is the month going??? *running around the house flailing her hands in the air*

If you're wondering about the nicely lined up boxes in the picture's foreground, let's just say that they are there to keep out our cute little, loveable doggie. She has a weird fetish for all things paper -- newspaper, toilet paper, xerox paper, magazines....she just loves to shred it to pieces. Love her, BUT! Let's just say I've had to rewrap a few things... Not to mention the one time she stole a toilet paper roll from our bathroom and our bedroom looked like a toilet paper blizzard! *chuckles* Gotta love her! :o)

Amidst all the chaos,

Suzy

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Graphics

So Far, So Good

First, I want to thank everyone for taking the time to leave such sweet messages on my blog. It feels so nice to have you all beside me as we take this journey. Hugs all around!

We had the inspectors come out to the new house today. All went extremely well and nothing needs attention. So far, so good. :o)

We will spend the rest of our time in Florida just enjoying our family and soaking up the sun. We return to NJ on Wednesday when the real craziness will begin -- sorting, packing, selling, donating. I'm definitely not looking foward to that step in the process, but it's a necessary evil. LOL!

Wish you were here,

Home Sweet Home!

We did it! The sellers accepted our offer and we have bought ourselves a house. We are now under contract with a closing date of December 4. Happy Birthday To Me! What better present than a beautiful new home!

Check it all out here:

The House (Specs: Brand New -- Never Lived In; 4 Bedroom (Master has large walk-in closet w/pocket door); 3 Bath, Eat-In Kitchen w/Nook and Breakfast Island (and largest pantry I've ever seen), Laundry Area, Great Room (huge!), Formal Dining Room, Screened-In Patio (that we are going to make even larger), 2-Car Garage. All exterior yardwork and maintenence -- including painting, mulching, fertilizing, weeding, replacing dead/damaged shrubbery/trees, etc. is done by Association! We also back to an empty park-like area and have the sidewalk walking path next to our home that meanders across 3 miles of walking bridges, waterviews, lakes, fountains, beautiful landscaping, etc.)

The Community
http://www.lennar.com/New-Homes/Florida/Melbourne/Heritage-Isle-Estates?WT.mc_id=YAHO_SEM_Corp_PaidInc_&WT.srch=1

We are overjoyed as we did not have to compromise on any of our dreams. God was truly looking over us helping us find this amazing place within our budget and timeframe. :o)

Looking forward to our new life and lifestyle,

Florida House Hunting - Day 2

I'm a little late with the update, but we have been busy with family and also crunching numbers to actually make an offer on a house. Yes, we're to that point!

It was another crazy day on Friday in the land of house hunting. However, it was much more productive than the day before and we actually have "THE" three to choose from (none of which are from Thursday's jaunt, although 2 are in the same "Disney-Style" resort community). LOL!

We are gathering at the clubhouse in Heritage Isle at 11am tomorrow where we will give our family a tour of the private 21,000 square foot clubhouse (largest in Brevard County) and will lunch at the restaurant there overlooking the resort-style pool. Then the realtor will take us back for a second walk-thru in the two houses in there and then shoot over to Plantation Point to show the family the home we are considering in that community.

I'll update later with the three homes and some links to them.

TTYL,

Florida House Hunting - Day 1

We had a busy day today. We spent 6 hours in the world of house hunting, concentrating in the area of Viera, which is only about 25-30 minutes from our daughter. We looked at 10 houses today; two of which we really, really liked. I'm going to list them in order of preference:

House 1 - ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS HOUSE! Not only is the house to die for, but the community (55+ and gated with an actual manned gatehouse) is like a freaking Disney resort. The clubhouse is H.U.G.E and has everything in a grand scale -- a community gathering room where THERE HAPPENED TO BE QUILTERS QUILTING (yes, I spoke with them at length and it was so nice to meet like-minded gals and one was also head of the genealogy club which is perfect for hubby!), a fitness center, a ballroom, a game room, a pottery room, a library, a beautiful restaurant (where we actually ate lunch), a billiard room, the most immaculate restrooms I've ever seen, and a resort-style pool! OMG! The pool alone was to die for! We both fell in love with the clubhouse before we even saw the house there. LMAO!

Now, the house -- beautiful! Athough bank-owned and in "as-is" condition, it has never been lived in! New everything -- appliances (except we need to buy a fridge and washer/dryer), carpeting, stone flooring, huge 42" cabinetry, 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 2-car garage, living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen with eating island area and the family room was a huge extension to the kitchen (which we would make the office area). The master bedroom was a really nice size with 2 (count 'em 2) closets (a large walk-in for me and a double side-by-side for the hubby). The mater bath was gorgeous with two separate vanity areas, a deep garden tub and a separate shower.

The only drawback was the lanai wasn't screened in and the neighbors behind us -- well lets just say I hope we become good friends because we are in CLOSE proximity to one another. LOL! However, we can rectify the situation by extending and screening in the lanai and putting some nice shrubbery (no fences allowed) behind the screened patio. Problem solved.

House 2 - Really liked this house and the floorplan layout. The flooring and appliances were all in really good condition, it was on a U-shaped street with nice landscaping and the community had a nice community pool area with parks and picnic tables, tot lots, tennis courts and basketball courts. The overall area was beautiful.

The drawbacks were some of the rooms, although freshly painted, were wild colors like lime green, bright orange, and bright, bright yellow. So we'd definitely need to paint, but no biggie. Also, there was only one sink in the master bath and while the one closet in there was a walk-in, it was pretty small.

Tomorrow we are off again for another full day of house hunting. Stay tuned....

Heading South

Well we're off to Florida tomorrow for two weeks of house hunting. I'm really excited. I love looking at houses and it's even better when it's for real we're going to actually decide on and purchase one! The realtor has a lot of them lined up for us to see and she is picking us up bright and early on Thursday morning to begin just one of what could be many days of house hunting. Hope I still feel this excited about it all when it's all said and done. Who knows -- I may just regret admitting I love house hunting after seeing 50-100 of them. Yikes -- I hope it doesn't take that many to find "the one." LOL! :o)

Nothing much quilty going on here. I imagine there won't be much quilting going on until we are settled in Florida. We won't be back to NJ until two days before Halloween and then we will spend all November packing (Y-U-C-K!). Did I mention how much I HATE packing and the actual MOVING process. ACK! Then settlement on this home is December 1 and who knows when settlement will be on our Florida home. All I know is that we will be "moved" to Florida on December 2 and either have settlement soon thereafter (as in days/weeks) or more. God, please don't let it be the "more" part. In the meantime, we will be camping out at the in-laws. We are using a POD to move and store our items. It was the best way to go for us given the circumstances.

P.S. The home inspector, et al., were here yesterday. The house was a whirlwind with all the people coming and going. But, we passed with flying colors! Both the buyer's realtor and our realtor admitted they wished all their home inspections went as great as ours did. WooHoo!

Excited and stressed,

SOLD!!!

Well glory be! Our house is SOLD! After only 3-1/2 months, we can't complain at all considering the market. YAY! We have a Dec. 1 settlement date, which means we will be in Florida before my birthday on Dec. 4, Chris's birthday on Dec. 15, and Christmas. Who knew? :o) It also means that in the next two weeks or so we will be flying down to Florida to find us a new home. Exciting, nerve-wracking, scary -- and a whole host of other adjectives are being felt by us right now. Keep your fingers crossed for us. The good thing is - Florida is overflowing with choices for potential new homes. So why am I feeling homesick already? :o/

Mystery Project Revealed

Yay, me! I finished the quilt top! Yet another flimsy to quilt . . . but I won't think about that right now. For now, I'm basking in the fact that I TOTALLY LOVE THIS QUILT TOP! The colors are so pretty. And, even better, all the fabrics are from my stash! I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

So, by now you've probably figured out that this is my "Summer's End" quilt that I designed in EQ. Hopefully, I'll get to making "Autumn's Welcome" (sooner rather than later). I know I won't be using much of my stash for that one, as I don't have enough oranges in my stash. Just some FQ's here and there. But, hey . . . an excuse to buy more fabric, right? LOL!

So what should my next design be? "Winter's Chill" perhaps? Teehee. I'm sensing a theme here...

Anywho, hope everyone had as productive a weekend as I did. I'm going to take my new quilt top to work tomorrow and run it by the gang. Hopefully it will be well-received. I'll also bring it to my quilter's girls' night out which is this Friday. Fun, fun, fun! :o)

Quilty hugs,

The Big Giveaway

What happened? There were no guesses? Did I have you completely stumped, or is no one reading my blog? *sobs* I sure hope it's not the latter. LOL!


Anyway, I think the (crappy) picture totally gives away the mystery project (it's on my blog somewhere if you just tuned in). :o) This applique center is the progress I made today. It was a lot of fun to hole myself up in my sewing room for the whole day and really dig in to something quilty. I haven't done that in awhile. Many thanks to Judy for getting me motivated by hostessing one of her infamous Quiltathon Weekends. Thanks, Judy!

Have a great quilty weekend! I plan to have more to show tomorrow -- like hopefully a completely pieced top. Stay tuned!

Who's Been Paying Attention?

Okies, blogging friends. Who's been paying attention? This is a test, this is only a test, do not pass GO!, do not collect $200. Whoops, got a little off track there.... LOL!

Anyway, can anyone out there guess my current project? Below are the fabrics I pulled for it last night. Do the colors look familiar? OK, my photography skills are a bit lacking and the colors are a little off, but besides that. C'mon gals, wrack your brains!

Need another hint? OK, check out today's progress in this latest pic...

Hmmmmm.......

Mysterious quilty hugs,

Autumn's Welcome

Well, here is my latest design using my trusty EQ program. I call it "Autumn's Welcome" taking a play off the name of my last design. Susan suggested "Summer's End" for that one and I thought it was such a great name!


I really love this one! I'm usually not an orange fan, but it just seemed to make this quilt pop. I'd love to know what you think...

On another note, I've gotten a part-time job at a local quilt shop. I'm enjoying it immensely! It's a lot of hard work, but I enjoy fondling and looking at all the beautiful fabrics and goodies each day I'm there. Today we got a new shipment in, which I unpacked. Portobello Market by Moda. IT IS GORGEOUS! The pictures just don't do it justice. I just hope I don't spend all my paycheck there. LOL!

Have a great quilty day!
>

EQ Fun on a Rainy Day

Just wanted to share the EQ project I worked on today. It's blah and rainy out, and I'm feeling a bit blah myself. My sinuses are really acting up. My sister said it's probably the ragweed, cause 'tis the season, she says.

Anyway, here is my project. I don't have a name for it, so maybe ya'll could help me out with that. It will measure approximately 31 x 31 once bound and is designed using all Jo Morton fabrics. They are soooo pretty. Yet another future quilt I need to make. LOL!


Wishing for sunshine,

Watch Out Kindergarten -- Here He Comes!

Today is my grandbaby's first day of school. His mother said he was very excited and even woke up without any problems (Hallelujah!). As he boarded the school bus for the very first time, Rachel said she cried. I think that's every mother's right, don't you? I cried, too, when my babies started school. They grow so quickly.

I can't wait until they call tonite. I'm sure Anthony will have a lot to say about his first day. He's such a cutie, don't you think? :o)

Wait until mom sees all the paperwork she's going to have to fill out tonite. *evil laugh* Those of you who have been there can relate to that, right! LOL!

Suffering from growing pains,

Here's to New Friends!

Hello blogging friends. :o) Last evening was fun for all! It was so great to meet Carolyn in person and we had a great time. She also got to meet several of my quilting buddies and everyone got along famously. Unfortunately we weren't able to play "strip" poker because only three of us brought our strips. But there was still food, fun, gabbing, stitching. Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout! LOL! I even showed her my quilting/sewing room. If I remember correctly, she said she "now has another place to shop for fabric." *giggle*

Here's a pic of me and Carolyn. Carolyn's on the left and I'm on the right. It's so much fun to have another friend and stitching buddy. We're planning on keeping in touch with each other and hanging out. Isn't quilting great! You meet such wonderful people through common interests.

Thanks, Carolyn, for joining us! I'm so glad we met and I hope you had as much fun as I did!

Hugs,

I'm Meeting a Blogger Friend!

Well, tonite's our monthly quilter's night out. I'm hostess this month. And guess what?!? I'm gonna meet Carolyn from Lakeside Quilting! Come to find out she lives in my area and, of course, I invited her to join our happy little group and will finally meet a friend I met while in bloggerland! I'm so happy, I'm doin' the happy dance. LOL!

I'll talk to you all tomorrow and give ya the scoop. Can't wait!

Quilty hugs,

Typing Fun

I took this typing test via a link on Bonnie Hunter's blog. Try it, it's fun!

90 words

Speed test

It's nice to see that even though I haven't been working since the end of March, I've still got it. I also had 100% accuracy. Go me! :o) And yes, this was my first try. Hmmm...maybe I should practice it more and see if I can get it back up to the 116 wpm I used to be. LOL!

Time Flies

Where has August gone? Seems like it just got here and now it's more than half over. Before you know it, Autumn will be here and we'll be saying "where did the Summer go?"

I've been busy with various things this month, including the highlight -- a visit this past weekend with elder daughter Heather. She and her hubby flew up from Florida on Friday for her girlfriend's wedding. We picked them up Friday morning at the Philly Airport (and got a parking ticket as a bonus, ugh). That aside we had a great day on Friday, and the household increased as the day progressed. We started by picking up younger daughter Rachel and grandson Anthony, who stayed here to await Heather's arrival (not enough room in the car for all of us. LOL!), then Heather and Jerry's arrival made 6 of us. Then I invited my Dad over . . . and my brother Dave called while dinner (Lasagna) was cooking and I invited him and his girlfriend, Paula (whom I love like a sister) for dinner as well. There was plenty. Plenty of food, plenty of fun, plenty of laughs and plenty of games. It was a truly wonderful evening spent with family. I haven't enjoyed myself like that in awhile.

Saturday found me ironing dresses and suits for daughter and son-in-law and my hubby running Heather and Jerry hither and yon for wedding-related stuff -- Heather to her girlfriend's to dress and prep. Then Jerry to another house for him to dress and prep. Then a 2am field-trip to pick them up after the festivities. :o)

Sunday arrived too quickly and we spent a nice morning together before their flight back to Florida. I miss them already. . . .

So how has your Summer been?

Color My World

I was feeling a little bored today. It's not like I don't have anything I can or should be doing, it's just that I wanted to do something different. So I opened up my EQ6 program and played. What fun!

Behold -- I bring you "Color My World."

In case you might be interested, below is a little info on how I came to the final product:

First, I drew the pinwheel flower using the applique drawing tools and clicking the drop down menu to make a diamond and rotated it to the position I wanted.

Then I used the "wreathmaker tool" to make it look like a pinwheel flower (a little trial and error time here to get it the way I wanted it to look).

Next, I used the drop down menu to draw a circle for the center.

And, last, but not least, I tilted the block 70 degrees.

Of course, in between all of that, I clicked the requisite "center to block" and also resized it to my taste.

Then I had a blast coloring it and adding borders using the "auto border" tool. This program is so user friendly and fun to use!

BTW, if this is all Greek to you non-EQ6 users, then I hope you just enjoy looking at the end result. :o)

So what do you think? A future quilt, perhaps?

Hope you have a fun day, too!

Happy Birthday, Meggie!

Sisters Heart-to-Heart

From the time that we were little,

I knew you'd always be

Not just a loving sister

But a caring friend to me.

A shoulder I could cry on,

A helping hand in times of need,

A cheerleader to lift me up,

My angel in both word and deed.

We told each other secrets;

We giggled and we cried.

We shared our joys and sorrows --

We were always side-by-side.

We have a very special bond;

I knew it from the start.

You'll have my love forever --

We're sisters, heart-to-heart.

~Joanna Fuchs

Love ya!

Oh Happy Day!

Well, the big breath we've been holding has now been let out in a big sigh of relief. Yes, my hubby's cancer has increased in size but nothing significant, although the activity level is much higher. However, it HAS NOT SPREAD! So we're as happy, happy, happy as we can be while living in this land of cancer. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers! They are working! :o)

Hugs all around,

Finished Quilts

In going through some of my photos on my computer, I came across a quilt I had done back in January 2007. I've been wanting to add my finished quilts (the ones that I have access to anyway) to my blog for awhile now, just never got around to it as of yet; simply because some I have pictures of somewhere in this mess and others I have yet to take pictures of. So, I will start adding them one by one as I can. Below is "Redwork Flowers." I had a fun time making this as it was all out of stash fabric and I got a chance to use my embroidery machine for the flowers. I used my EQ program to design it. It measures 26x26.



They will eventually all be listed to the right of my blog under...wow...imagine that..."Finished Quilts." LOL! I originally wanted to do a slideshow, but I can't figure it out. Duh...

Quilty hugs,