My (Very Organized) Sewing Basket

Today, I put together a quick take-along project, and needed a few things I thought were in my sewing basket. After shuffling through the all the stuff I had squirreled away, I finally found what I was looking for. But before then? What a mess! Just look at it!




This is what I found........ the case I keep my rotary cutter and machine quilting stuff in. Not too bad, huh?? Those white quilting gloves were lost for about a month. Then my niece returned them. I had loaned them to her while she was finishing a quilt. I really like them. Good thing for me she's very honest!!

A cookbook. My sewing basket is the perfect place for a cookbook. I would hate to think it was on a shelf somewhere, mixed in with other cookbooks.



Needles and safety pins. That makes sense!


Uhhhhh, I don't even remember why this one is in my basket. It's a ratchet strap for cinching down things in the back of our truck. They're great for just about everything, but I can't see that they would be good for sewing.



And of course, the ever-present odds and ends in the bottom. There's an incredibly tiny pink knitted hat with a cute pom-pom, eye drops that have never been used, lots of thread, pens, pencils, fabric, a cardboard quilting template, and a paintbrush. Please tell me I'm not the only one that does this. Please???

My Guys

I was looking back through some of my older pictures, and came across a bunch from a fishing trip we took a few years back. Here's one of our oldest. He was fly fishing.


We went to a lake, and Hubby got in one of the float tube thingies. These things are pretty cool. But, if you decide to get one, make sure you use sunblock on the tops of your feet. Just a thought!


Then Michael got his floaty thing out in the water. This one is a little different. In order to steer, you put these little fin things on your feet and kick, while going backwards. It's pretty funky until you get used to it.



This is David. He's our youngest. David and Dozer were down by a little creek, tossing rocks and sticks. They were both having a great time.


Dozer was after a stick that David threw for him. He's in heaven!


And he's waiting again! "Throw it! Throw it!" He could do this all day long. It's totally psycho!


This is one of my favorite pictures of all time. Dozer is after a stick, and absolutely flew into the water. Such fun to watch.

How To Dismount A Horse

We have some friends that live right under the flight path of the local Air Force base. Each year during the air show, our friends put on a major soiree and invite all their friends and family. It's quite the big doin's! It's also lots of fun. Anyway, when we were waiting for the planes to show up, a few of the kids kept busy by riding the horses. I thought maybe you'd like to see how these folks can dismount. Pretty cool!!

First, Michelle showed the kids how it's done. See her daughter right behind her? "Don't worry Mom, I've got your back!"

Uhhh, Step 1: Sit sideways and hitch up your britches!


Then, you simply grab both the front and back of the saddle, lean over backwards, look at the ground, flip your feet over your head and...........


land on the ground!! Yeah, I was quite happy to just take pictures.


So then, Michelle had her first victim, um, I mean student. "Hop on up, my young padewan learner!"


"Uh, Mom, are you sure about this??"



"Don't worry, I've got your back.... " Scooch forward..... hang on........



And, lean back.......


Like, waaaay back!!


Look at the ground, girlfriend!!!





Feet up.......


Flip those feet!



and over!!!!


Dismount!! A perfect 10, wouldn't you say??


Then, not to be outdone by the girls.....


Look at that smile, folks! He's on top of the world.... well, ok, he's on top of a horse, but you know what I mean!


He knows what to do. Sit sideways, scooch forward, grab both sides........


"Uhhh, Mom? Hello? You there???"


Yeah, ok. Lean waaaaay back!


Hang on!! Legs up!! Look at the ground!!

And then??? Aggghhhh!! I ran out of space on my card. Can you believe it??? But he did a great dismount! It was awesome!

P.S. Thank you, Red, for being the most patient, awesomest horse ever! And, not to forget the human, too! Kylee spent the better part of her "off time" that day with many kids, giving many rides. To say nothing of saddling and then unsaddling more than one critter. She was so patient, and so considerate of each and every person she took out. I think she made the day for more than just the kids.