Not much to report

I think Facebook has ruined blogging! It's obviously been a long time since I posted here. On the other hand, there hasn't been a lot going on either, so I guess that could be a reason as well.

I have returned to "full-time" (anywhere from 30-40 hours) at Target while I search in vain for a teaching job. The extra income coupled with the fact that there are no more tuition payments has been nice but there are a lot of projects going on around the house as well. Seann has been busily working in the attic to add insulation to our walls up there in preparation for us adding some more blown in stuff. I guess the stuff that is up there has been pretty well trampled and has migrated away from certain areas. So Seann has been up there filling gaps, adding the rolled stuff to the walls and building a catwalk across the living room so it is easier to move around up there and get to things like TV cables and such. Hopefully it will cool down in a few weeks and we can get the blown in stuff going.

Seann also did some emergency repairs to our fence in the backyard as Oscar decided there was something underneath it he just had to get to. That coupled with the fact that the post was already rotted led to a hole. Luckily, it wasn't big enough for the pups to get through and there is a tool shed on the other side in the neighbors yard so nothing got into our yard either. Hopefully the fence will last another year until we can replace it. Not really looking forward to that.

In early August we went down for our annual camping trip on the coast. It was nice to see old friends again. Lots of good food, beautiful weather. Oscar stayed home and went to Double Dog Ranch where he cavorted and had a grand old time. Charlie came with us and proved once again that he is a great camping dog. There were a lot of dogs about but he took it all in stride. No howling, no wrestling. He did steal some covers at night but it was a little chilly so I guess I can forgive him.

Our traditional self portrait.

Almost sunset.

The cleaning station.

An absolutely ridiculous dog.

Meanwhile I have been busy quilting up a storm. Having days off in the middle of the week has been nice. I can sit down in the sewing room for hours at a time. I've completed several quilt tops and am getting lessons on how to use a long arm quilting machine at the local quilt shop. Pretty soon I'll be able to actually finish all those tops and get them to where they are supposed to be! I've also caught up on projects I bought four years ago (!). It's nice to get those out of the cupboard and completed. Also nice to have the extra cupboard space for new fabric!

A quilt I started ages ago. It's huge and I couldn't get a picture of the whole thing. The corners are red squares. I absolutely love how it turned out and can't wait to get it quilted.

Two kids quilts I made for two new kids. I'm a bit late on delivering them so I really need to get them quilted. I like the pattern and am thinking about how to make the blocks smaller so I can get more blocks on the same size quilt.

Double pinwheel for Miss Maggie, Mary Jane's newest addition. The theme in her room is ladybug. I couldn't find ladybug fabric I liked so I just went with the colors instead. I really like how it turned out. I also love the corners. This is something new I'm trying out--corner squares.

This is a strip club quilt I got four years ago. It still needs one more border. I love how it turned out. There are a ton of different fabrics in it and I love how bold it is.

My latest project. It also still needs borders. I love the colors and can't wait for it to be done. It is quite small, more for decoration than anything else. This is the first time I have done a quilt "on point" -- diagonal setting. All in all I think it came together quite easily. I did make one kind of big oops but I'm not worrying about it and am not going to fix it. Mistakes make quilts more charming, right?

I am also working on another Halloween themed quilt and another Christmas quilt. And I have plans for an adorable nine-patch with some kid's rocket scientist fabric. I really shouldn't ever go to the quilt store. Way too much temptation.

The pears have arrived. Our tree is covered in them. They are all out of reach so at some point I suppose we need to get a fruit picker. In the meantime they fall to the ground and Oscar gets a snack. I can't keep up with picking them up at the rate they fall. Unfortunately, the poor pup made himself a little sick the other day with his overindulgence. I'd like to think he has learned his lesson, but I know he hasn't. He is part lab after all.


Last night I made my first cherry pie. And my first lattice top. The trick is to freeze your lattice strips so they are easier to work with and then let them soften before you pinch the edge. I also used jarred Morello cherries which I guess are sour cherries. You can always sweeten sour cherries but you can't sour sweet ones. I'm not really sure about all that but I'll trust America's Test Kitchen. While I'm not a huge cherry pie fan myself, Seann declared it awesome.




And that's about all I have to report. I'll try and be a little better about blogging. Fall is coming and that usually means more time spent on inside projects. Halloween in almost here and we have fun plans for decorating. I'll definitely post pictures.

The Wall

When we moved into this house, with it's vaulted ceilings in the living room, I agreed to let Seann put in a climbing wall so he could practice with different holds and insets and whatnot. He agreed to buy muted colored holds instead of the bright florescent ones I'd always seen at REI. A few weeks ago the first section of the project was completed. It looks way cooler than I'd imagined and is actually kind of fun to climb.


Look--he even found these really nice wooden holds.


Now all we need is a bell at the top!

Elizabeth Arden

A couple weeks ago Seann & I decided we'd had it with our front door. It fit the frame poorly and was a pain in the tookus to open and was just overall not a good front door. So we decided it was time to get a door with a little more insulation. A little better fit. A little more ease of use. A little more...



red. Isn't it lovely?

Woo Hoo!

Date: July 17, 2009 4:03 PM
To: Megan E. Woolery
From: Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission
Ref: TSPC Issued License (1068746)
We have issued the following license or certificate:
Category: Teacher
Type: Initial I Teaching
Effective: July 17, 2009
Endorsements / Authorization Levels (*) Multiple Subjects Self-Contained / ECE Multiple Subjects Self-Contained / ELE (*)
Explanation of Authorization Level Codes:
ECE: To teach multiple general education subjects at grades pre-kindergarten through 4 in an elementary school.
ELE: To teach general education subjects at grades 3 through 8.
Thank you.

Good Times, Good People

Over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, Seann and I headed to Michigan to visit and celebrate the 28th wedding anniversary of my grandparents. We managed to get non-stop flights both ways which dramatically reduced travel time. Unfortunately, that's also a loooong time to be on a plane. On the way to Michigan they changed our plane and we ended up on one of those huge planes that has two aisles with seats in sets of 2-4-2. That plane had little TV monitors in the seat back in front of you so you could watch a movie or TV show or even play games. But on the way home we were back in the smaller plane that didn't even have overhead TVs. Nothing. For FIVE hours. It was excrutiatingly boring. Both Seann and I were exhausted. I tried to sleep but couldn't. We worked on crosswords, chatted and I finished my book. I was so ready for that plane to land.

But who cares about the flights, right? Let's get on with it.

Seann and I stayed with Heather. She apparently put her poor little daughter to work like a dog because the house and yard were sparkling. She even painted the front porch! Who does that? Her cute house and well-maintained yard put me to shame and has inspired me to get off my duff and make some progress on our own home decorating/yard landscaping. I've gotten so far as watering my wilting houseplants. These things take time, man.

After landing, Heather took us straight to Grandpa's house for a little pre-party party. Because when you travel all the way to Michigan you might as well make the most of it. And a lot of us were travellers. All 12 kids and many of the grandkids (and great-grandkid) were there. There were many people I hadn't yet met in person (but had met on Facebook!) and many who I hadn't seen in ten years. It was so much fun to chat with everyone and just hang out and feel all the McNamara/O'Donnell love.

We got to see lots and lots of Ally. She is so grown up! Time goes by way too quickly. She'll already be in first grade next year! She and Seann played Hangman on the front porch for a looong time. That kid can really spell! She also loves the iPhone. Stacy's boyfriend had his on him and by the end of the night, Ally was playing games while Judson napped, I mean, watched.

I am so glad I went and wish we could do things like this more often. Yet another bummer of having everyone live in different corners of the States.

There were lots of cameras flashing, as well as some semi-professional shots done. I don't have those yet, but here are a couple I do have. (I stole a couple of these off Kevin's & Nora's Facebook pages. So sue me.)

Stacy, Grandma Barbara & me

Getting all lined up for a huge group shot. This is only about half of us.

Judson showing Ally the ropes.

My sweet niece.

Mom and her girls.