Loser Monday - Update!

I am finally starting up! Sharon at Red Geranium Cottage should be so proud of me - and I hope not mad at me for not starting two weeks ago. I am even biting the bullet and putting on a horrible BEFORE photo of me!!! It is about a year old, but I still look just as awful. :-D I have so many excuses for not starting Weight Watchers until today, but they are good excuses!! Last week we had a PTO meeting at school at the exact same time - and I am required to attend those. The week before the line was so long that I just left. It snaked across the room and halfway down the hallway of the community center, plus most folks in line were signing up as new members which takes forever. I am actually excited about getting started finally.
Now, Sharon, don't even THINK about whether I am going to post my weight. No, no, no!! Let's just say it is horrifying! Shocking! I am one of those old, fat people that I used to make fun of. Oh, sweet Karma!! I may find one of those gadgets to put on my sidebar that shows progress toward a goal. That might be motivating. Well, in half an hour I am off to my meeting.
UPDATE!!
To continue a trend, when I arrived at the Community Center it was closed due to Martin Luther King, Jr., Day - with no sign or anything saying what had happened to the WW meeting. Oh well, I went to the grocery store and am starting anyway. And I ordered a power juicer!!!
Julie

Facebook

I have been having the most fun on Facebook lately. Are you one of my blogfriends who is also on FB? If so, would you please look for me? I would love to be friends with you on FB. Mostly my friends are from High School days and it is a blast. Look for Julie Stewart in the Montgomery, Alabama network.

Tagged by Amy

Amy tagged me! I have to pick the fourth picture from the fourth folder and explain the picture. Well, this is a shot of a birdhouse on my carport. It had some of the cutest baby wrens in it. This is from last summer.
I am not going to tag anyone specifically. If you want to play along, then consider yourself tagged. This is a fun one - I usually hate being tagged when I have to answer a bunch of silly questions.
Don't forget about my giveaway. Scroll down to that post if you still haven't entered. I will do the drawing on the 21st.
Julie

I Won a Prize!!

I won a prize from T at Fiber Babble. After being told for years that being nosey is not a good thing, it finally paid off for me. I asked T a question about something on her sidebar. She told me no one had ever asked her about it before and so she was going to send me a little present. Well, let me tell you, it was NOT a LITTLE something. It was NICE!! I got fabric, chocolate, coffee, a pretty needle case, and a sweet little journal. I apologize for the terrible condition of the photos. I just wasn't having a good photo day. Thank you so much, T. I love my goodies. The edible ones are already gone. I did not miss the significance of the little quote you had marked in the journal! LOL.


This last photo is my very first punchneedle project. I still have to frame it, but isn't it cute? I am already working on my second one. These are addictive.

Also, please notice the icon for Kate's Housewarming on my sidebar. She has switched from Blogger to Wordpress and is sort of having a blog warming. She recently moved to a new house and is having a real life housewarming too. It sounds like fun and a good chance to get to know some new bloggers so pop on over and RSVP that you will attend!
Julie

Update!! A Solution for Tracker and Shooter has been found.

Here's the update on the dogs.
They will be adopted by friends of Cindy.
They are building a fence and looking for donations if one feels led
to do so...or food, drink, whatever.

Thank you all for your concerns and getting the message out!

This is the miracle we were praying for!
Julie

Do you know of someone who can help? Cindy's dogs will be euthanized Jan. 14th!

Hello, My name is Shooter Wall. I am a 12 year old Labrador Retriever. I have a 10 year old brother, Tracker, a lab and Chesapeake Bay retriever "combo." Recently our world was turned upside down when our mom, Cindy Wall, left for work one morning, and we have not seen her since. There was a lot of activity at our house for a while, with many people coming and going. They were very upset.
We heard someone say that Mom had died suddenly (we are not sure just what that means.) Our veterinarian, Dr. Mary Smith, came and took us to her office and we have been staying here ever since. We are very well cared for here, but it is not the same as being at home. (Who wants to live at a hospital?) Our friend Belle's mom is trying to find a family who are willing to adopt us and give us a new home....or even two families, each taking one of us.
We have been described as sweet, loving and well mannered. Dr. Smith does not know of any serious health issues. Tracker has some arthritis, so he likes to sleep on a cushioned bed; he takes medicine for his arthritis and thyroid.
At 70 pounds I have allergies that I take antihistamines to help; I also do not like thunderstorms, but have gotten more used to them... don't hear as well as I used to! (Just like my mom's friend Melissa! - the allergies, thunderstorms & hearing that is - she only wishes she looked like me!)
We miss Mom Cindy so much!! We want a family to love and share our time with. Please, if you know of someone who would like to adopt us, have them call Dr. Mary's office at 821-7810 and she will tell you about us. Thank you for any help you can give us.
---Linda Bayse, Shooter's Secretary
P.S. Cindy died in September and her dogs are boarded at the vet since then. Unless we can find a place for them, they will be put down on Wednesday, Jan.14th. Her brother can't keep paying the fee to board them ...... they have to go. Please, think hard. Cindy had such an impact on our community in so many ways, and I am certain that if we can just make more people aware of this situation, a home (or 2 homes) can be found. Perhaps someone can provide a foster home until an adoption can be arranged. Do you know of a foster home?
They do not have to go together; they can be fostered separately. These are such sweet, old dogs; we know that Cindy's wishes were that her dogs not be killed. Linda can be reached at 334-728-1500.
You may remember my friend Cindy who passed away last year. My memorial post to her is here. If you can help, or know someone who can, then please call Linda or post a comment to me. We are desperate.
Julie

Pay It Forward!

I have decided to join the "Pay It Forward" fun with Carol at Cornfield Quilter, so if any of you would like to join me, the first three leaving a comment on my blog wanting to join are in. Below are the rules and the button to copy and put on your blog is above. Come and join the fun!!
Here are the "Pay It Forward" rules.
The first three people will be chosen to participate if they leave a comment on this post asking to join. They are agreeing to post a similar announcement on their blog, and Pay It Forward to three more people, who will in turn agree to Pay It Forward etc. What does it mean?

Carol is going to send me and her other participants one handmade item sometime in the next 12 months. I, in turn, will send one handmade item to each of the three participants who signed up with me, withing the next 12 months. You, in turn, will send one handmade item to each of your participants, and so on.

I can't wait to find out who wants to play with me.

I have been blown away by the people who have entered my 100th post giveaway!! Thank you all so much and it is not too late to sign up. Just go down to my previous post if you would like to win a nice chunk of Valentine fabric and a little something else.

100th Post Giveaway!! Lookie Lookie

I wanted to do a giveaway for my 100th post, but I noticed that my last post was actually the 100th, I had forgotten to count the one post I did in 2007. OOPS. Also, Blogger says I have done 105 posts. I don't know how that is, but this is why I don't teach math. LOL. This would never happen to Amy. I am having a giveaway anyway! I shouldn't punish my readers for my inability to add. What about this cute St. Valentine's Day fabric? I uncovered it during my recent efforts at clearing out the quilt studio. I think that, with St. Valentine's Day coming up, this would be a perfect giveaway item. There will be about a yard and a half of it (I can't stand to give it all away - I am keeping a yard.) I will also include a small, handmade (by me) item. So, if you comment on this post you are entered in the giveaway. If you are one of my "Followers" (in my sidebar) you get entered twice. I will draw the name of the winner in two weeks, January 21st!!
Some of you may know that I have been working on organizing my quilt studio (sewing room LOL.) Above is showing some of the progress I have made. I put some of my sewing machine collection on the top shelf. I have THREE Featherweights!!
This photo is the table I am working on as I fold and sort the smaller pieces of fabric.
This is a good example of what the shelves looked like before I started, only it was worse!! Everything just jumbled together. I would love to get rid of the ugly white paneling in that room. I guess it is better than that dark paneling. At least the white makes the room lighter.
I have a friend with a new blog. It would mean so much to me if you would pop over and visit her and leave her a comment. Heck, I will even enter you a third time in my giveaway if you comment on her blog!! Her name is Oma and her blog is Alabama Jasmine. She is a member of my quilt guild and a good friend. She even dug up a pomegranite sapling and gave it to me this past weekend!
Thanks for visiting my blog. Until next time,
Julie

Happy New Year!

I would like to wish my readers a Happy New Year. I hope that 2009 will bring us luck, happiness, prosperity, and good health.
Today I cannot do laundry (will wash all the luck away for the whole year), and I must eat black eyed peas (good luck for the year), and collard greens (lots of money for this year.) I have baked a ham in my crock pot overnight to take to my mom's house. She has the black eyed peas, collards, potato salad, and a cake.
Do you have any traditions for New Years Day?
Julie

My First Christmas Stocking

This is my childhood Christmas stocking. My Mama made it from a material that was called Lantuck. The Lantuck plant was just a few miles from my house. It is what is used for interfacing. I still want to call the stuff Lantuck. My hometown, Valley, Alabama, where I still live, was a mill town. Everything was run by "The Company." This referred to West Point Pepperell. We made towels, sheets, blankets, comforters, everything textile. Thanks to a couple of corporate raiders who, as far as I'm concerned, are damned to the deepest pits of Hell, the company went out of business. Bill Farley came in, bought everything, sold off the assetts, and ran away with the money. The company tried to make a go of it after that but was further raped by another raider, Carl Icahn. All the jobs are gone, although the company still limps along with mills in other countries. This is the kind of thing that has led to the financial crisis we suffer from today. It is sickening to see Carl Icahn in the society pages or magazines where they go on and on, gushing about his extravagant lifestyle. Oh yes, he owns houses all over the world. Goodie for him. Meanwhile, people here struggle to pay their bills and can't afford health insurance. Bill and Carl - two of the devil's henchmen. I think Mick Jagger sang about them in Sympathy for the Devil. Well, I didn't mean to get off on that tangent! LOL. Maybe I am a little bitter.
Anyway, I love this pitiful little stocking. I plan to duplicate it in wool. I just need to buy a good bit of red wool. The lantuck one will still be cared for and loved, because my Mama made it.
Julie