I wanted to let you know I managed to get Molly’s Coral and green/tan dress and coat set listed on Ebay. You can see it by clicking the picture at the right side bar or click HERE.
My daughter, Rebecca, and I, have been cleaning in our attic this week. It’s not really one of those dark and dusty attics, filled with a bunch of trunks and memorabilia. Kristoffer lived up there for several years before he moved to an apartment and he liked it. The bad thing about our attic is, there is no heat and no air conditioning up there. There is no insulation so it’s freezing cold in the winter and sweltering hot in the summer. I personally don’t know how he stood it up there all those years.
Anyway, Rebecca has been helping me sort through and weed out lots of junk this week… we’ve got our stuff, some of Kristoffer’s stuff, Rebecca has stuff tucked away up there, and recently we put lots of furniture and small items up there that were my mom’s. It looks like our very own store up there… a junk store, mind you, but a store.
I’m NOT kidding… see…
Rebecca and I were finishing up on Saturday, after having been up there most of the day. She walked past a chair and heard something… She stopped and said, kind of quietly, “Mom, I think there is a mouse in your sewing machine case.” (I have my machine upstairs sitting on a chair because it needs a tune up, so I was actually using my mom’s machine in my sewing room. She had the same machine as I did.)
I came over by where Rebecca was listening and didn’t hear anything. She said, “It just stopped.” I moved away and this time I heard it. She said, “I think a mouse is trapped in that little compartment where you keep your bobbins… he’s caught in the threads.” I came closer but it stopped again. So we got all squeamish and started squealing a little bit. I told her the plastic cover that went over the machine should be tight enough that she could keep the mouse from getting out…I told her I would pick up the machine and hand it to her and she could run it downstairs and outside in the yard and see if he would run out when she took off the cover. There was a little more squealing as we finalized our plan.
I leaned over to get the machine off the chair and there it was again.. He was having a grand old time inside my machine. I slowly picked up the machine and handed it to her… As she took it, and started to move, he was really making some noise… but as he was, I felt something pulling on my ankle… she felt it too…
Silly us, some thread from a bobbin had managed to find its way outside the machine and it had gotten wrapped around our feet… every time we moved, we “heard the mouse” and when we “stopped” so did he! We felt so stupid… but had the biggest laugh!
Hope you laughed too!
A day in the life of your illustrious seamstress!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Wow, you do have quite a lot of stuff in your attic. I’m sure, though, that it couldn’t hold a candle to my basement! LOL It’s bigger than your attic, so of course, that means More Stuff!!
That is too funny, about the mouse in your sewing machine!! I’ve had things happen, too, where it Seems like something really odd or eerie or scary, but turns out to be something quite innocuous!!
I hope you found the post office open; ours is still open, as so many of us get our mail there, but the clerks have been wearing masks and gloves for the last couple of weeks now.
Our governor (Wash. state) has now proclaimed a two-week stay-home order for all but essential visits (groceries, meds, etc.), starting Thursday, I think. So tomorrow I’m going to Half Price Books and JoAnn’s fabrics (although I consider them both essential!!), just in case. However, on the news tonight, they said that JoAnn’s is saying they should be considered essential, since they are teaching classes in, and providing materials for, making masks! So we’ll see….
Hi Charlotte,
Those 2 pictures are only 2 sides I’m showing you… I keep all my shipping boxes up there along with all our painting supplies…snd just about everything else that takes up room. We have at least 9 chairs up there, one adjustable bed, 2 dining room tables, 2 dressers, 2 chest of drawers, and lots more…
Our PO was open and I got the dresses mailed. Thank goodness.
I was hearing some news about those homemade masks and them not being quite up to snuff…but I bet they would be better than nothing…
Thanks Charlotte,
Blessings, Jeanne
A message came from Joann’s that they have precut pieces to be sewn for PPE masks that they will bring out to your car if you are a willing seamstress, you sew them and bring them back to the store and they will distribute them where needed. What a wonderful idea. I know where I’ll be this morning. I think it was sent through their APP.
Wrong again. It was on Facebook.
Hi Susette,
I’ve seen lots of ladies making the masks on a few of the doll forums…
Rebecca didn’t say anything about our hospital in town accepting them..she has been cooking up some treats for the workers checking the people as they come into the hospital through the ER.
2 days ago she made some banana pudding cups, yesterday she made some strawberry yogurt and granola parfaits and today she took my banana bread recipe with her. Shes hoping to make a banana cake and cut it up…
They aren’t serving the public and visitors so they are trying to use up some of the perishable stuff for the workers and health care command center people. I’m very proud of her…
Thanks Susette,
Blessings, Jeanne
I won’t be making the masks as the hospitals here aren’t accepting them. They’re not made of the right materials. I’ll donate to a cause that’s helping in other ways. You’re right to be very proud of Rebecca. She takes after her mother. ❤️❤️
Well, your mouse story really made me laugh! Very glad Mrs. Mouse wasn’t trapped, but sounds like you and Rebecca were. 🙂
Seeing your attic reminds me of the attic at my parents home. I really did try to clean out stuff, but there is so much more to do there. Not sure if we will be allowed to drive up there during the next few weeks, but if so, seeing your attic photos will remind me that should be next on the list.
It is senior day at Costco, so we’re going to try and make a run there as long as we have to take the car in for essential servicing at the dealership. We’ll see what the day brings.
Hi Joy,
It’s way too hot to clean up there when the temps get higher, so tackling it while the weather is a bit cooler makes sense. I hope we finish this week.
We are out going a few errands..PO stop, Auto parts store, farm store, and finally Wally World…
I’m glad you enjoyed my mouse story, Joy!
Blessings, Jeanne
I wish my attic was half as nice! Ours has rafters that you have to duck under and I always bang my head. One corner is everything we had for our son, from baby onward. Clothes, equipment, toys, until I stopped saving things. I feel overwhelmed just thinking about doing something with all that.
My husband works for a John Deere dealer and they will stay open as an essential service. I just keep sewing and crocheting so nothing much has changed for me. My doctors appointment I had for today got rescheduled for May.
I appreciate this little corner of the internet and virtual friends here. The blue couch is always welcoming! ♥️🛋😊
Hi Julia,
The walls were pretty crummy when we bought the house 16 years ago. And Kristoffer wanted that space…500+ square feet…for his room. So we painted it a blue and then sponge painted it with white. It actually camouflaged lots of the bad drywall sections.
I’m glad you’re sitting on the couch with the rest of us!
Blessings, Jeanne
That poor little mouse! I am sitting here wondering how in the world he or she got underneath the top! I also have a portable sewing machine, but when you put the cover on it locks. No way a mouse or anything could get inside. Well, it turned out just fine, but what if you weren’t there and the mouse had died inside? Your nose would have said it all!
I see the coat and dress are now listed, and they look adorable on Molly!
Hi Linda,
We didn’t “actually” have a mouse inside my sewing machine…we just “thought” we did…wanted to make sure you knew that!: o)
I think Molly was a perfect little model for this bright set. She sure feels special in it!
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a funny story about the “mouse.” It’s wonderful to have humor in our lives these days!
Your attic is really a nice space, Jeanne. There’s a lot of potential there for various ideas and it surely made a cozy space for Kristopher back in the days he used it.
Hi Paula,
I was almost happy that it happened… it was nice to share a lighthearted story in the midst of everything going on…
I think there is 500 or 525 square feet up there… of course it has those sloped ceilings, but the middle can be used pretty easily.
Thanks Paula,
Blessings, Jeanne
Molly’s dress and coat are sweet and colorful for Easter. With all this “at home time” you have plenty of time to sew.
You have a neat attic. My great aunt’s attic was fantastic. It even had a stained glass window, was wall papered and had lots of fun things including a Victrola. I loved to go up there and look around. Her whole house was filled with neat things. My German Dresden Blue Onion coffee set came from her as well as a few other treasures.
Glad that there wasn’t really a poor, little mouse caught in your sewing machine. I’m not at all afraid of mice, in fact, I think the wild brown ones are adorable! Now, thousand leggers that get in the basement are another matter.
Hi Laura,
It seems like I would be in my sewing room 10 hours a day, but I’m finding there are do many other things that need to be done. I’m hoping to get back in there more each day soon.
Your aunt’s attic sounds like a great place to poke around it. I bet you did have a great time up there!
Camel crickets give me the willies!! You never know which way they are going to jump!
Thanks for your compliments on Molly’s dress set.
Blessings, Jeanne
Dear Jeanne, that is the “best” type of mouse to have, a mouse who isn’t there (chuckle).
I am dealing with flies (I wish they weren’t here) and I don’t know how they are getting in. Yuck!
I find myself looking at more and more doll photos online now, not that I am going to purchase any of the dolls. It’s just a nice diversion.
Dorothy, you know you are tempting fate! There will be that one doll you come across that you just know you need to provide a home for. If not, you are a stronger person than I am. As for flies, one time we came home from vacation and our house was full of flies. After swatting spraying and trying to shoo some of them outside, we discovered that a bag of potatoes had been left out on the shelf of the kitchen cart when we left. They rotted and – well you get the picture. Another time we had an infestation of flies that came from a mouse that died under my washer in the utility room. Have no idea how we didn’t smell that. I feel your pain.
Dear Barbara, hello my friend. I am always trying to get you to come to PA, well under other circumstances, I would go and stay with you until these stupid flies move out (laugh). I think now that they are getting in through the air vents.
I do know that I am tempting fate. I decided this afternoon that I would create a folder on my computer of “Dolls That I Would Buy If I Had A Million Dollars.” I saw one already. She was an older doll who needed some TLC. I am not good at that so I would have to send her to a doll doctor. So she will go on the “list.”
Dear Dorothy, you know you are always welcome and so would any dolly visitors you would like to bring. Do you like to read? If so, and you haven’t already, you should read the Dearest Dorothy series by Charlene Baumbich. They are wonderful books.
Hi Dorothy,
I totally agree with you…no mouse is a good mouse!!
Flies are the worst…when we first got married, we had a bunch hatch out of some flowers my hubby had bought me. We left for a weekend trip and when we came home there were hundreds and hundreds of them. It was awful.
I’m still dealing with ladybugs here…I did tape up every corner and crack in my master bathroom window. I thought it had worked, but they are still coming in from somewhere… like you, I don’t know from where.
I like your idea of a folder that has pictures of dolls innit that you’d buy if you had a million dollars. You better put the prices with your dolls pictures…”just in case.” :o)
Blessings, Jeanne
The story about the mouse in the sewing machine was hilarious. I spent a lot of time checking out the picture trying to figure out how he got in there. Definitely a story worth telling over and over. I know I’m going to share it. It reminds me of my story about the cockroach, only it was real. When the kids were still home and we went on trips we always took hard candy along for snacks. It was satisfying and didn’t fill them up. We all had our favorite flavors. David liked Cherry, and Sean liked Root Beer, Andrea liked Lemon and my favorite has always been Horehound. Well I put my hand in the bag of horehound drops and pulled one out. I looked at my hand and I was holding a cockroach. It looked just like a Horehound drop – until it move. I had no idea how that got in there but somewhere between home and Tennessee that thing got in my bag. Yes I did scream and flung the cockroach somewhere on the floor. David stopped the car but we could not find it and so we went on. I remember stopping for dinner in Nashville and when we returned to the car, there about a foot from my car door was a smooshed roach. I’m sure it was my roach. David and the kids have never let me forget that. Sean and his family went to Indiana over spring break. When he got back he came to the house and gave me something he bought just for me. A bag of Horehound drops. He promised me there was no roach.
I’m with Laura on the Thousand Leggers in the basement. I was helping my mother clean the basement when I was pretty young. I moved a bag and those things scattered everywhere. Totally creepy!!!
I love your attic, Jeanne. With proper heat and a/c that would make a wonderful, cozy space for anything you wished. We have some friends who have a house with “quarters”. They don’t use it for that and it sits empty. It’s two rooms and bath. I would turn that into my space. One room for sewing stuff and one for everything else. I would definitely have room for it all.
Finally got the lawn mowed today. I tried to do this a week ago. First the belt broke and we couldn’t find one locally so we had to order one (actually two) and then it kept raining for about four days. It is a partly cloudy day so the sun was not too hot and there was a cool breeze. I had to go slow because the clover was so dense and wet. But it felt good to get some sun. I tend to be a bit reclusive normally so I need to have a reason for getting out. A stay-at-home order itself is not too difficult for me. Sometimes the car does not leave the garage for several days except for church or chorale, but having restaurants closed is my stressor. We have a good restaurant here in Sealy that has home-cooked meals and we sometimes eat there and at the neighborhood barbecue restaurant. The BBQ place is drive-thru only right now but the other restaurant closed because they have such a large and diverse menu it’s hard to do take-out and they don’t have a drive-thru. No delivery of anything but pizza out here. Everything else is fast food which we try to keep to a minimum, maybe Saturday lunch. But we can do pizza.
Our church has been doing online services for the past two weeks but our priest wanted to get some music back in the service so he asked the organist to come and then asked for volunteers from the choir. We can’t exceed ten people in the church so we thought we might have to alternate volunteers, but our choir is small and only four of us volunteered so that doesn’t appear to be a problem. We can only do Morning Prayer rather than Communion like we usually do, but it will be nice to return to the church. It’s the place I like to be when life becomes gnarly.
Hi Barbara,
What an awful thing to find in your candy!!! I probably would have jumped out of the moving car!! Those bugs are awful!
We are hoping to get a new roof on our house in the Spring and my hubby wants to insulate the side portions where the roof is slanted. It should cut down on our heating bill…
We had online services from our church too. I do miss seeing everyone, but I’m trying to make the most of this time at home.
Thanks for your comments, Barbara,
Blessings, Jeanne