Sunday, October 28, 2012

Sundays Are For Winners!

 It's a beautiful Sunday in mid-Missouri and I almost feel guilty for such a nice day.  We had a good frost on the pumpkins this morning but the tomatoes are still alive and may last a little longer.  My counter is full of ripe, orange and green tomatoes- looks like a great week for more salsa.  I have been making a lot of salsa lately, mostly bean salsa and seafood salsa.  

My heart is heavy for those on the east coast, especially my BFF Barb in Connecticut.  She has all of her outside stuff packed away safely and they are well stocked on essentials already, anticipating the power outage.  I hope the storm downgrades soon and doesn't cause as much damage as they predict.   

I decided not to go to Quilt market at all this time with so much school work in front of me so here I am, at home on my anniversary for the first time in 18 years.  Imagine that!  I always joke that it is the reason we've been married so long- 34 years!
Quilt market was this weekend and I must say I am thinking about it, wondering about all of the new goodies being shown down there, including my latest fabric line.  I'm also wondering about everyone trying to go home tomorrow evening and Tuesday during the east coast storm.   

I will miss the restaurants in Houston this time!  The recipe above is one of my favorites at Goode Co. Seafood off Kirby!  Here's a great recipe- 
Seafood Salsa (like the Campechana at Goode Co. Seafood in Houston)

1/3cup olive oil
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup chile sauce
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1/4 cup lime juice
1 cup Clamato juice 
 1/2 teaspoon salt
Add:
1/2 cup tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1/4 cup white onion, diced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon chopped jalepeno pepper
1/4 cup green olives, chopped
1/2 pound shrimp, boiled, peeled and chopped
1/2 pound crab meat, chopped


Mix sauce ingredients well and set aside.
Mix vegetables and combine with sauce mixture. Delicately fold in the seafood mix.
There are more yummy recipes on my Pinterest page titled Yummy Stuff!  

Well, we had so many entries this past week that I decided to pick two winners for the fabric bundles.  It's my fabric, after all!  Winners are:
Diane in NH  and Mona in CO

Congratulations ladies!  I'll be sending you bundles this week.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

A Day Late & a Dollar Short...

"A day late and a dollar short" - That's how my wise old dad used to always say it anyway, seems like I am behind no matter what I spend my time on.  I think it's the custom of the times as there's just so much to do and I for one spend a lot of time on my computer.  Wasting time?  nah!  Surely email is not a waste of time, is it?

I've been up for two and a half hours and I'm still reading emails.  I tend to "piddle" as my dad would say.  No, that's not what you think- piddle means to waste time doing insignificant things.  The Merriam-Webster dictionary says it is  to dawdle or putter.  OK, it also lists the "other" meaning but that's not how I wasted my time this morning.  Another dictionary said it is to spend time aimlessly or "diddle"-  that's it!  I guess I aimlessly diddle my way through the computer at times.

There's just so much to do these days, first you check you personal email.  You never know who might send you one after all.  Then, there's the business email.  You know, the one where those orders come from.  Pretty important stuff.  Answering the ones that need it is another time issue.

Then there's Facebook.  You have to run down through Facebook to see everyone's pictures that they posted since you looked the last time.  It's a weekend and there's always parties and grand kids to check out.  You can spend a lot of time on there.  After that, it's Pinterest- you never know what recipe has been added and you might miss it if you don't keep up.  And Blogs- I seldom get time anymore but they are ready and waiting for me when I can read them.  Twitter is a whole other issue.  Who has time for it all?

I keep little notes laying on my desk of things to check out next time I'm logged on.  My desk is full of them.  All day long, oh yes, I need to search "that" the next time I'm on.  You can search anything you need these days, including the correct definition of piddle

I usually have my shopping list on my desk also and when I get those coupons- and I always get them- I am ready for a quick purchase.  After all, someone has to keep the economy going, right?  Anybody shop Staples?  They just sent, by email,  a $20 off a $50 purchase.  You can't pass that one up!  Penney's used to have great coupons but they have failed recently in my book.  See below.

I need to find a way to reduce my computer piddle or diddle time and get more done. The internet is great but it's suppose to save us time.  The time I save is in turn spent on the internet.  Somehow that just doesn't work out in my favor.  Anybody else?

On to better things- we have a winner this week (week 2 of fall fabric bundles) and it's


 Trish from Canada!  

Congratulations Trish- you are the winner!  I'll be emailing you about sending it so you hopefully don't have to pay a tax on it.


Next week:  the final FALL FABRIC BUNDLE


 A half yard cut of each of these fall leaves fabrics...

1.  Email me at PGPeddler@aol.com by Saturday Oct 27 midnight.
2.  Put "FINAL FALL" in the subject line
3.  Include your name and mailing address in the body.

As for J C Penney's... I always loved Penney's.  I was the best customer it had but lately- it is horrible.  I went there last week to shop and they have rearranged the store, again.  The bath and bed department is missing half of its stock.  There were 2 checkout stations per floor.  These are HUGE floors.  One was for the entire home section and the other was for the entire clothes, kids, lingerie and shoes.  The only good thing was that no one was in the store so there was no wait.  I guess others are confused by it all also. 
When I finally found the house shoes on a different floor, they no longer carried normal brands like Dearfoams to my horror and what they did have, was bright and animal-ish, more for teens.  I searched and searched and only found one nightgown in my size, (and I bought it) everything was geared to the younger crowd, the things girls wear at a pajama party or too old for me... my first thought was, "am I in the right department?", but yep, I was- there was no other.  I have to say I am looking for a new alternative.  Maybe it's online (think piddle here), maybe somewhere else but until Penney's snaps out of this new way of doing business, I'm not going back.

OK, off for more coffee!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

One More Sunday Post- Pumpkin Contest Winners

Remember the pumpkin contest?  OK, so I 'm a little behind in announcing the winners......and the winners are........

There were two categories- Best Pumpkins and Clever Finishing.


 This was submitted by Vicki in MN.  She used a mottled orange felt and she stated that the small 6x14 dimension was perfect to sit on this bed spring! She added moss and orange sprigs to the spring, pumpkin stem is a cinnamon stick and then some silk fall leaves.  Clever!




This was finished by Linda in IL.  I think Linda owns every pattern I have ever designed!  She did a great job on these little guys.  I think both of these pictures  fit into both categories, don't you? 


Great job ladies!  I'll be sending you both  bundles on the Rustling Leaves fabrics 
and thank you for sharing with us.


Today's Fall Fabric Winner

I got up early to choose a winner this morning!  It was a short contest for sure but I actually had a lot of entries regardless.  This is a bundle of my Rustling leaves fabric from Benartex.  I will have another drawing next weekend for a different bundle from the same line, we'll call it Part 2.

Today's winner: Lola from VA.

Congratulations Lola!  I'll be sending you a bundle of fabric this week.

Thank you all for such sweet emails and I wish I could answer them all.  I do love school and when I'm done (yes, in 4 more weeks) there will be a void in my life for sure but I have already talked myself out of continuing for an MBA.  I think I will enjoy some reading again in my spare time.  That's what is really missing- spare time!  I have a huge stack of books just waiting and a little Toto girl (my Yorkie) waiting to snuggle while I read.  Sounds like a great combination, don't you think!

We have been doggie sitting for my son's Boston Terrier this weekend and I think we are ready for another puppy!  It's hard sharing Toto with my son- we fight over her!  It might be time to consider a new addition.

Quilts have been on a back burner for 2 years and I admit I need to step up.  Cross Stitch has suffered also.  I have a ton of ideas just waiting to get out.  I think I'll have plenty to do to fill the void after a bit of down time.  

Meanwhile, I have been listing fabrics, a little at a time,  on eBay for several months and I love the feeling of cleaning out and letting go.  I have so many plastic tubs full of craft supplies and older fabrics that I will probably never ever use again.  If you haven't looked at eBay for fabric- you should.  What bargains!  Last week I sold sold some fall/ acorn/ and Moda pieces- about 2 yards total for $1.25.  It's a deal and there's a LOT of auctions on there.

Next week-  A new bundle of fall fabric from Benartex:
1.  Email me at PGPeddler@aol.com by midnight Saturday night, Oct 20.
2.  Put "Part 2" in the subject line. 
3.  Include your name and address in the body of the email- if you don't- I can't choose you. Them's the Rules!

 I promise not to share this important information- it just makes it easier for me to send you your goodies without having to track you down later.  I'm impatient- I like to move things out fast!

The fabric is another group from the Rustling leaves line.  There is one more group we'll have for the week of Oct 21.  

Someone will win- will it be you?

Thursday, October 11, 2012

It's Fall Y'All!

Seems like I'm getting farther and farther behind in my blogging and I can't believe it is October already!  I have about 4 weeks left in school and it's crunch time between homework and papers I am just beat.  I'm still at 4.0 GPA, and I have a huge final capstone paper (about Starbucks) due next week which I finally got it done.  It's 65 pages.  It has literally taken me about 2 months between all of the research, writing, editing and graphics- presentation is everything!  I am done and breathing a sigh of relief. 

Now I have to do a 45 minute presentation for the paper to give in my final class.  I have done many powerpoint presentations but this one needs to be a PREZI - something I have never done.  I'm up for the challenge though and plan to tackle it this week.

Quilt Market is in 2 weeks and I have not found any time to design at all. This college stuff really takes up the time.  I am planning to go to market but must finish all of my school work before hand as I have my final class when I return.  I haven't slept much in the last few months and hope to have a breather when I get done.

I think it's time for a drawing for a bundle of fall Rustling Leaves fabric and I'm so sorry I am delayed! 
How about this-
Email me at PGPeddler@aol.com by midnight this Saturday, Oct 13 - put FALL in the subject.
Include your name and mailing address in the body and I'll choose a winner this Sunday.