Mother's Day & the hot water tank saga

Guess what I got for Mother's Day this year?
A shiny, new, hot water tank!!! LOL
How funny is that?
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Ours went out so we had no hot water on Sunday. We went out to eat with my parents and had a really nice day with them. Then just relaxed the rest of the day.
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Dan took Monday off work to fix the tank. He got the old tank out and bought a new, bigger tank. Got it all installed. The pilot light wouldn't light. He determined it wasn't getting gas. He called Lowe's and talked to a manager and worked it out with them to just get the part needed instead of taking the whole thing out and returning it. He got the new part installed. It was now getting gas. Now the ignitor was bad! He was fit to be tied!!
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He called the manager back they had a nice discussion. Dan told him if he had to uninstall the tank and bring it back for a refund, he was NOT going to buy his new one there. He'd take his business elsewhere. He wanted them to send a technician to fix it. They said they couldn't send a technician for free, even though it was under warrantee?? But that if he returned it and bought a new one there, they'd give his $150 off the new one. Now tell me who it wouldn't be cheaper for them to send a technician out to put an ignitor on instead of giving us $150 off a new one??
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Made no sense to us. But it did made it worth our while to not take our business elsewhere, no matter how disgusted Dan was at the time. So he told the manager he would do it the next day because if he went down to uninstall it at the moment, he would end up beating it to death. LOL
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So no hot water on Monday either. We packed up and went to my parents for hot showers. And then visited out there all evening. Tuesday morning I took Danielle to school while Dan started draining the new bad tank. Then he called his brother to help get it out of the basement.
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Now his brother had to yesterday off work so it was easy for him to help then. But today he had to work so he had to leave work to come help with the tank this time. So he and his partner had to drive the fire truck to the house to come help. But we needed them for more than that. The gas line in the basement had gotten hit (not really sure what happened but that's what Dan said) and he wanted them to check the connection since it was old to make sure there was no gas leaking from it. So they brought their tool to check for a gas leak. You can't be too safe with those old lines. We even thought of just switching over to an electric hot water tank but we love having hot water when the electric goes out. lol
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Anyway, the second new tank is here. Dan is in the basement now installing it. Fingers crossed that this one works. If it doesn't, I'm packing my bags and moving back in with my parents!! LOL So if you're reading this Mom and Dad, you might want to start getting some room ready for me....
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Happy Mother's Day to everyone!!! Hope it was wonderful for all!!!!

Quilting Retreat

I just returned from a quilting retreat in Amish Country.
Oh it was just beautiful there!
We had so much fun, and it was very relaxing there.
I didn't do a lot of sewing but I visited a LOT!!
There were so many lovely quilts that people were working on.
Check out my pictures if you'd like.
http://community.webshots.com/user/nursekdmc

Danielle's Confirmation

The day of Danielle's Confirmation at Church. April 6, 2008
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Danielle and I after the ceremony. I stole her away from her friends for a few moments of pics.

This is a picture of the front altar of our church. I decided to take a pic of it since I rarely have a camera in church. lol

Danielle looks absolutely beautiful!!

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Grammie got her a diamond cross that she is wearing.

This is the Confirmation group with the Bishop and Fathers. Danielle is in the white dress in the middle, down in front of the Bishop.

Softball

Softball season has started. This is keeping me quite busy. Driving her back and forth to practices. Of course, she's still having to go to cheer/tumbling and sometimes those practices are clashing with the softball practices so it's all quite a challenge. Sometimes we're even running from one straight to the other. It's crazy! Or I'm crazy. I'm not sure which!!

They've had their first game(s). They had a double header last weekend. They won the first game and lost the second game, but it was close. Danielle had a really good game. You can tell that her playing ASA ball last year really improved her game. She's playing second base this year and she did really well. She had several outs and good plays, etc. I'm really proud of her. It will be exciting to see how the team improves as they get a little more cohesive as the season goes along a little more.

When life catches you off guard...

A dear friend of mine lost her husband this week.

He passed away unexpectedly.

Such a complete shock.

I'm still reeling from the news.

He was too young.

Now the healing begins for Tippy & Georgie, and the rest of the family.

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I guess it just goes to show that you never know how much time you have.

Time is too precious and you shouldn't waste it.

You should cherish each moment and make the most of them.

Starting now...

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Winterplace Ski Trip

We just got back from a ski trip to Winterplace in West Virginia.
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What a fantastic time we had!
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Here's Danielle as she's coming off the slope to head inside, after being soaked in the downpour of rain that hit. LOL

Flying Geese

I got back from a quilting retreat this past weekend. It was a much needed break after everything that's been going on. We were snowed in at a beautiful cabin in the woods. Couldn't have asked for anything better if you ask me. We had good food and great friends and more UFO's then anyone could finish!! LOL
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I worked on a new Homecoming Queen cape for the high school. Got it made. Not bad at all if I say so myself. Which reminds me, I need to get a pic of that.
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This photo is me with my Moose Quilt I'm working on. I put a flying geese border on it at the retreat.

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I also worked on a Jean Rag Quilt which is turning out darling. I'm putting a flannel moose print on the back of it. Love Moose!!

Shooting at Danielle's school

We are still in shock over the shooting at the school Thursday. For those who may not be aware, Mrs. Layne, a 5th grade teacher was stabbed 13 times and shot by her husband in front of her students at the elementary school. I won't go into all the details here but I will say through the grace of God, she survived, came through surgery and is talking today. She is in critical but stable condition. Mr. Lane ended his own life after being cornered a few minutes later in his home by the police and swat teams.

No one ever expects anything like this to happen at their school, and we are no exception. We are a small, private school and to say our community has been "rocked" is an enormous understatement. Counceling was begun immediately for the students and is continuing. Everyone in the school, church, and community are just pulling together to begin healing.

Danielle is at the high school building so she was never in any danger. Of course, that didn't make the initial fear any less. I was an hour away from home driving on the highway (albeit wayyy too fast!!) and nearly wrecked when the announcement came over the radio. Terrifying. She is such a sweetheart though. She said she wished it would have happened at the high school instead because at least they were all old enough to handle it better than all the little kids. She is so protective of the little ones. She loves so many of them sooo much! I know it was scary for her to think of any of them in danger. We have so many close friends with kids still at the grade school, many of which witnessed the attack.

I do fine talking about it but when I start thinking about the "what ifs" and all that could have happened it takes my anxiety through the roof. You just wish you could protect your child always. I just have to keep reminding myself that God is watching over her every second of every day and He is her ultimate protector. You can't ask for more than that.

To everyone who has been sending prayers, I can say they are very much appreciated. God is answering prayers as Mrs. Lane continues to recover. She, the children, etc. will need prayers for quite awhile so if you are inclined to pray, please do so. The families and friends of Notre Dame Elementary and High School thank you as we begin to heal from this horrific tragedy.

Check out my Slide Show!

The Let-Down

Jayne has left

The let-down begins

LOL

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We had such a glorious time while she was here. We had party after party with all the family members. So many we hadn't seen in years. It was wonderful!

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The cameras were out in heavy numbers, so there are LOTS of photos to check out. Many, many memories have been preserved. I don't know who had more fun, the adults or the kids!!

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Just be sure to read the captions under the photos is all I can say. Just wish I had photos of the kids when they climbed out on the icy swimming pool room roof at Angie's house, or when they were playing in the Dippity Doo at Dale's!!

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Now back to life as usual...laundry, housework, cooking!!!

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I miss you Jayne!! Love you!! Hurry back soon!!

Your dear sister,

Nancy

Jayne is home!!

Jayne is home for a visit!

This is Teisha (in the green) and Jayne (in the brown).

Her schedule is hectic with all the parties and get-togethers.

It is so wonderful having her home and we are trying to make the most of every moment we have. lol

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2008 is here!!

And so far, so good. Alright, so we're only a few days into it but hey, they've been a good few days. lol I still have all my decorations up. I love them and have no desire to take them down. I wonder how long it will take the neighbors to start talking if I leaves the decorations up outside and keep turning those lights on every night?? **evil laugh**

I was a good girl and ate my cabbage on New Year's Day, so I am hoping for prosperity for 2008. I also made my resolutions for the year. Keeping my fingers crossed that things work out. Must stay positive! :-)

Happy New Year everyone!!

2007 Winding Down

Only a few days left in 2007. Wow! Where has this year gone? All in all, I guess it's been a pretty good year. Nothing real remarkable, but okay. I would have liked to have had better health, felt better and have been back to work but I'm thankful that I've felt as well as I have. Tomorrow is a new day, and almost a new year!!

We have a friend of Danielle's visiting with us from Texas. What a sweet girl. I am really enjoying her visit. We also have another friend of theirs staying with us too while she's here. It's so nice having a house full of girls again!! I love it! We take her back to Columbus tomorrow though to meet up with her parents. We're going to do some shopping at Easton Mall first. LOL Girls have to shop, right!! We are talking about letting Danielle fly down to Texas over the summer to visit with her. Just talking though, cause it makes me nervous thinking about it! lol

Let's see, New Years' Resolutions.....get healthier, eat better, lose some weight, work on quilting UFO's (un-finished objects), and get the house more organized (always a constant in my life lol.) I'd like to start walking again so I will start that again as soon as it warms up a little bit. I can't take the cold anymore. There are probably some more but that's all I can think of off the top of my head. The first three I listed are also in the hopes of me going back to work. I miss Nursing.

What New Year's Resolutions have the rest of you made?

Happy Birthday to ME

That's right, it's my birthday! 29 again!! lol
Danielle and Dan are in the kitchen right now fixing me breakfast. Is this the life for what?
Danielle is fixing it and Dan is supervising her. Then this evening we are going to my parents for dinner, then opening presents there with them. All in all, a very relaxing day for me I am hoping.

Christmas is tomorrow. I am finally all ready I think. I thought I have been ready many times but keep thinking of "one more thing" I need to get. lol Then all those little things I've put off till the end that only take a few minutes to do, I finally started working on and it took a long time to do them all. Not such a great idea to put them all off till the end now that I think about it!! LOL

Merry Christmas everyone and blessings to all.

Catching up again

Hmmm, catching up is all I seem to do anymore. lol I have been a busy, busy girl. Doing what you ask? Nothing much worth noting. LOL

I took Danielle and her friend, Erin, to the Easton Mall in Columbus on Sunday. My friend, Pat, went too to keep me company. We all had a good time. We had some bad weather on the way there and did some scary sliding across some bridges, right past 2 cops and 3 separate head-on collisions. The last thing I wanted to do though was turn around and drive BACK over those bridges to return home, so we continued onward and had no further problems.

We shopped in the beautiful falling snow. We laughed, shopped, and ate all day long. It was wonderful. And thankfully the drive home was completely uneventful. Whew!

The next day I started coming down with the classic winter cold. By now it is full force head congestion, sneezing, etc. The whole 9 yards. I got a Z-pack of antibiotics from my doc yesterday, and started them today, so hopefully this will calm down. And no, I wouldn't have gotten antibiotics for just a cold, in case that is what you are thinking. I had the signs of a sinus infection so that's what I got the Z-pack for. lol It's handy sometimes being a nurse. lol

I have almost everything done that needs done for Christmas so that is good at least, but there is still quite a bit more I would like to get done. Mom and I were going to get together to make cookies this week. Now we have put that on hold, waiting to see if I get to feeling better in enough time. Argh! I just have a few presents left to wrap...maybe 5. Then only have stocking stuffers left to buy. Not too bad. Still though I'd like to be out doing that right now!! Oh well...

So that's it from me. I am just sitting back in the recliner for a few days. Drinking OJ and taking it easy, trying to get plenty of rest.

One down, 26 to go

I finished one of my UFO's. If you check my huge list to the left, under my picture, I have them all listed. I started with 27 but finally finished one of them. Just 26 to go now!! Woo hoo!! Some are really close and some are barely started. I'm hoping with not being in any swaps or anything that I can focus all my sewing on those. Alright, those who know me are really laughing right now!! I'm just hoping to FOCUS so I can keep on track and SEW. ROFL

This was our first snow from November. lol But hey, at least it was a little bit. I finally got around to loading the pic. Thank goodness my Jeep is black so it at least shows up well!!!

We did get another snow in December that amounted to a little more, around 3 inches. I didn't take pics of it though. Figures, huh? I'm waiting for that BIG snowstorm that will hopefully come and dump a ton of snow on us.

End of November

The end of November is here already. Wow! The year is coming to a close so quickly. We had a very nice Thanksgiving. I fixed dinner for just a few family members and everything went smooth. Way too much food, as always, but I like having a lot of choices instead of just a few dishes. The leftovers are just as good as the dinner that day too!

The Christmas tree is up and I finally got all the zillion lights on it. We don't plan to start putting decorations on it till maybe Tuesday. It is so pretty with just the lights on it so we enjoy it just like it is for a few days first. Most of the outside decorations are done too. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. lol

Now comes the shopping!! I'm doing most of mine online this year. I'm not feeling much like battling it out in the malls. What's wrong with me? I'm an avid shopping type...usually. It just seems like I've been finding bargains online so I've been getting them. And before I knew it, I had a lot of my shopping done. There's still some to do but it feels good to have the bulk of it out of the way before December actually gets here.

We got our first snow over the weekend. I took some pictures. I'll have to get them downloaded and post one later.

Jayne & her gang

My sister and her family that all live in New Mexico.

Todd (her hubby), Jayne (my sis), Chelsea (Michael's girlfriend), Michael (older nephew), Crystal (Quinton's girlfriend), Quinton (younger nephew).

Family members

Uncle's Scotty's family from New York.

This is Cousin Tommy, Aunt Kim, Baby Liam, Uncle Scotty, Baby Aiden.

November already

Can't believe it's November already! Once school starts, the rest of the year just flies by. I shouldn't be surprised because it happens that way every year. lol Thanksgiving and Christmas are knocking on the door.

I was fooling myself to think things would slow down once volleyball season was over. We seem to be busier than ever. Doing what you ask? Beats me! It seems we are always having an appointment to go to, or school function to attend. The cold weather makes me want to stay inside so maybe it's just me feeling like we are always on the go. LOL

Couple quilts I've made

Here is Danielle's quilt.

She picked out the pattern
and then helped me find the
right colors she wanted.

I did this one in 2003.
It is a full size.
This was the first quilt I
used a machine to make.






Dresden Plate Quilt --super king size!

This quilt is all done by hand. This included tracing each piece using a template and then hand cutting with scissors. It was pieced together by hand, and then hand quilted.

It spent a lot of time in the closet, as I got tired of working on it over the years. It was started in 1990 and I finally finished it in 2003 when the quilting bug bit me hard again.

Wedding quilt finished

Pinwheel Quilt

This quilt was made by me and a friend for her son and his fiance who are getting married tomorrow. I just finished the binding a few minutes ago. I did most of the sewing, she did most of the ironing and ALL of the machine quilting.

It turned out really great! A lovely wedding gift from us. The top is done in all Kansas Troubles fabrics by Moda....my favorite fabric line...ever!! lol

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In search of sewing motivation.

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Lots of projects need to get completed

and are just sitting collecting dust...

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If you think you have the ability to

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Fall decorations

I started putting together some outside decorations for fall today. Here's a photo of what's done so far. I'm going to get some other types of gourds and some potted mums to further dress it up.