Singer Treadle Machine

A few months ago, I came across this old Singer Treadle Sewing Machine.  I know that there is one in every attic and that most people's grandma's taught them to sew on one of these, but that wasn't the case with me.  I've always been fascinated by them, but have never owned one.

This one was a STEAL.

Of course, it doesn't work, and needs refurbishing, but it's a beautiful piece of furniture regardless.  

Maybe one day, when I have some spare funds, I'll get it into working order and try it out.

Do you have an old treadle machine?  Have you ever used one?

AMW

Rental Property

I think I've mentioned on this blog before that I own a rental house.  And that it's not been an easy road...

This past tenant was the worst tenant I've ever had.  She moved in in May, and left in October.  I think I MAYBE got a total of 3 months rent during that 6 month period.  And when she left, she left a mess.  One of the worst messes I've ever seen in a rental property....  See for yourself:

She spilled two candles down the wall onto the carpet.  And left trash everywhere.  I had to replace the entire carpet.

There are cigarette butts and ashes all over the bedroom carpet, blue smeary stuff on the carpet, and even a carseat in the bathroom.

She broke a window.

The kitchen was a site all it's own.  Food everywhere, and really disgusting.  The food in the refrigerator was left in there with the door shut and the power had been off.  All spoiled to say the least.

These bags were after two hours of ONLY picking up trash.  This doesn't count the bags outside.  It was just awful.

UGH!  It's finally cleaned and ready to re-rent.  So I can do it all over again...............

AMW

Halloween Bandana Quilt

I'm fully aware that halloween was weeks ago.... And that I'm just now getting around to posting pictures of this quilt that was finished right around then.  Apparently the blog police are out in full force (you know who you are, SHAY) and virtually DEMANDED requested that I share this with you.  So now that I've refueled with leftover halloween candy (hey, don't judge...), here you go.

Our local Wally world had bandanas on sale for $1 each.  And lots of different colors and patterns.  With all of the halloween patterns, we thought it would be a fun one to do.

So, we snatched some up, I pieced it together pretty quick, and then it was left to decide how to quilt it.

I thought it'd be fun to try something a little different on this one since I didn't have a ton of money invested in it.  My friend with the long-arm had just learned how to use the computerized portion of her machine, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

If you look really close at some of the blocks, you can see a spiderweb pattern quilted into them

When it was done, my roommie snatched it so fast, I didn't even get to wash it before she started using it.    It didn't get it's initial wash for all of the shrinkage and crinkly goodness for almost a week!

It was a ton of fun, and I can't wait to do another one of these.  Just maybe not in a seasonal pattern....

AMW

Corn Maze

It's been years since I've gone to a Corn Maze.  I remembered that I got really lost had a ton of fun, and wanted to go again.  So when I found myself going to an event that was very near a corn maze, I decided to go and torture myself have some fun when the original event was over.  I conned talked a couple of friends in to going too, so I had witnesses,  accomplices,  people to find get me out of there.

Here are three of the four of us.  Lori was taking the pictures.

Here's Lori!

But first, there was some other fun to be had.  There were pedal cars to test out.  Chip offered me $5 to test it out.  Little did he know, I would have PAID to do it...

But, it was BROKEN!  The chain was off...

So, Chip provided the manpower! I laughed and laughed.  We had a great time.

Then it was time to tackle the maze.  Lots of rules to follow.  That won't be a problem, right?

RRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGHHHTTT!

Here's the start. 

Here's what the layout in the corn looked like.  Keep in mind, you can't see over the corn.

There were stops along the way and tasks to perform.

 And funny looking glasses to see the maps.

 Oh, and huitelacoche.   Or Corn Smut.  A fungus that's actually a delicacy in Mexico.  Don't believe me??  Read about it HERE.  

 Yep, still wandering around trying to figure our way out.

Whew - we can finally see the finish!!!  It only took us about 2 hours and a little over 2 miles.

Finally, the sun was setting as we wandered out.  I took this picture through the "red" glasses, but thought it looked pretty cool.

Have you ever been to a corn maze?  Would you do it again?

AMW