My first sewing machine, The goat walk & a hike.

The captain may have the look of toughness to him but he is a real softie when it comes to me. One example is how I acquired my first new sewing machine. It was the Winter I was pregnant with Panda which was the year 1998. The captain, after many beers hanging with the guys, stopped off on his way to pick me up and bought me a sewing machine. (tsk tsk-he was chastised for his driving under the influence & I drove us home.)This is the one the sales lady at Wally world recommended. Very basic. No special add ons. No chimes or whistles. But it worked great for my home sewing and it was NEW! Here it is the winter of 2006 & a new one is a must very soon. There are a few little glitches but at the moment, the big one is the thread dial. I cannot fix the dial myself which is the thread tension dial (all the way to the left). To have it repaired would cost 1/3 of a new machine. So I am hoping The captain will go for another one of those guys nights, drink his beer and have me drive him to the local Sears for my second, new, sewing machine.






~ Today was a day filled with walks. After dropping Panda off at her bus stop this morning, the younger 2 children & I decided to go for a walk. Not just any walk. But a walk up & down the road with The girls.
Frog rode in her wagon while the girls were on leash's. Lil' man held Cleopatra's leash while I held Chia's. They munched on all the green pine clusters they could reach along the way. Of course as soon as we got to the dead end, they practically dragged us back to their pen. Chia is very strong despite her misleading flabby waist line. She really looks fat to me. Her stomach still bulges on the sides and sway side to side when she runs down the hill. So the walk was good for her and will need to become more regular for them both.
After locking the girls in their pen yard, we loaded the wagon into the car & drove to our most favorite State Park. Which still remains a secret to secure the safety of our Blackberry patch.
We went in search of pine cones and herbs for the fire starters I previously mentioned. I hoped for small pine cones but could only find the long and slender kind. I was able to harvest a nice bunch of lavender plus a small clutch of rosemary & thyme. I need to let them dry out, but hopefully they make a nice addition to the winter fires.
~ I do apologize for such horrid pictures lately. We have a Nikon cool pix 2200 which is about 2 years old. The lens cover has come off leaving the glass exposed constantly. It is very temperamental on opening/lengthening too. I have to hold it at an angle just to get it to work when it does get in the mood. It has seen better days. When asked by my in laws what we would like for the holidays( despite my "nothing, just a nice day", they squeezed out of the captain our need for a new digital. Fingers crossed, my pictures will be better after the holidays.
I am off to flip through my Pine tree seed catalog, (their site is a bit quirky on downloading if it even opens.) which arrived a few days back. I know its early but that just gives me more time to dream & perfect the the outcome. Any one know a good source/variety for Mustard seeds?
~Sweet dreams
Tammie