Caulk a Doodle

Jordan and I had a fantastic weekend!  It was the right amount of relaxation and productivity.  I got off work early on Friday and got some good words from my boss on my way out the door.  That's always a great way to start off the weekend!  Friday afternoon another fantastic thing happened; it RAINED!!!  For those of you who don't live in Texas, you may not realize how much we need the rain, but it was glorious and beautiful!  I love the smell of rain especially on top of freshly mowed grass.

Abby and I got started picking up the house and doing some laundry and light cleaning.    

Here is Abby nesting in the pile of bedsheets.  She loves that.
 
Saturday morning Jordan and I joined a few friends for breakfast at a nearby old town cafe.  Jordan and I have rarely go out for breakfast during the actual breakfast hour so that was a nice change.  It was also a first for us to meet friends for breakfast.  I have to say, I'm a big fan.  Having some good laughs and yummy food on Saturday morning really started off the day well.  It helped that we got there pretty early and beat the breakfast crowd.  I had a Tamale Sunrise special!  Tamales and eggs actually go pretty well together!
 
Jordan and I got home and started getting odd tasks done.  I pulled out a few projects that I've been meaning to work on and tinkered at a leisurely pace.  We opened the whole house up to let the crisp cool air in and let some music fill the house.  My project of choice was to make a new camera strap for my fancy camera.  I LOVE this camera.  I just need to invest more time to learn how to use it to the fullest. 
 
I started with a random scarf that I found for like a quarter.  The scarf is not the prettiest, but for my first experiment, I wanted to start with something that I could mess up.  First, I washed the scarf and ironed it up.  Next, I folded the ends and did a little stitching with my handy sewing machine.  I've never really been taught how to use a sewing machine so I sort of guess how to use that ancient contraption. (About 10 min in something flew from the machine and Jordan found a few pieces and a spring on the table.  I didn't notice at first, but apparently it was an important part.  For the first time EVER, I successfully loaded a bobbin with thread.  Baby steps people, that's a big accomplishment for me.)
 
Anyway, after I did the initial stitching I added the key ring to the mix.  I folded the scarf over to hide the stitching and got it ready for another round.  And before I knew it, I was finished!
 
Top Left: Ironing the scarf
Top Right: First stitches on the end of the scarf just to keep it from going all over the place.
Bottom Left: Second stitches with the keyring attached.
Bottom Right: The finished product in action!
 
Since the cool season is edging in on us, I decided to take on a sweater inspired camera strap.  I bought this cream sweater from our local Goodwill store (Old Navy brand) and realized it had some good potential.  I cut the neck portion off the sweater and with a little hand stitching, I attached a large key ring (found at Lowes).  The key ring attaches to a smaller key ring on the camera and presto, you have a winter inspired camera strap!  Below are some pictures of my progress.

Top Left: Camera, the sweater and the key rings.
Right: All the camera straps I made on Saturday.  Cream sweater inspired, Navy mens tie with tiny white polka dots, and scarf strap.
Bottom Left: Finished sweater strap.  I think that one is my favorite!

I also used the cream sweater to make some really cool set of boot socks.  I don't have a picture to share, but I'll be sure to post one soon.  They were really easy and turned out super cute!  Might need to make my Mom a pair.

I also thought I would share this idea with you.  If you have more than 1 camera and like to keep everything on 1 memory stick, use a charm to remind you which camera has the memory stick in it.  It is so helpful when I'm printing or organizing photos because I don't need to remember the date or when/where the photo was taken.  This little charm also helps to distinguish your camera from the crowd of cameras at parties. 
This is my little charm made from a purple bead and light green ribbon.
 
Meanwhile, Jordan was working on several projects of his own.  He has been caulking various things around our house for normal maintenance and repairs.  He's done an excellent job and it makes me feel so blessed to have such a handy husband!  He has re caulked our shower, 2 bathtubs, and 2 bathroom counter tops.  

Top Left: Re caulked counter top.
Top Right: Re caulked bathtub
Bottom: Jordan in action.  Neither of us can remember where we got this handy tool, but thank you to whomever bought it for us!  SO cool.
 
Sunday was beautiful too!  I mean, perfect temperatures with a lovely breeze!  So great!  I checked our storm glass thingy that we got as a wedding present and was excited to see the crystals growing. If you don't have a storm glass, I suggest this as a great nautical gift!  It's mostly accurate and such a fun piece to have in your home.

Here you can see the crystals blooming to the top.
 
To help you out, I've provided a picture of the cheat sheet:
We are on #4 (crystals all over).  This means it's going to rain.  I hope the rain continues!

I'm realizing I have a lot of stuff hanging from the wall or ceiling.  Geez.  With the sun shifting as the seasons change I've started to see a LOT of rainbows dancing on the walls of our bedroom and bathroom.  I've hung some pretty crystals from our bathroom window and as a result, rainbows show up everywhere!


 
Our weekend didn't stop there!  Jordan managed to fit in a little work and mowed the lawn.  He also cleaned out our hot water heater!  Apparently that is something you should do every year or every few years?  Well, it had lots of gunk so it was a good task to get done.  I hate to see all that water drain away so we gave our plants and trees a little drink. 
 
Left: Water hose from our house to our yard.
Top Right: Ugly water heater. (Jordan says I should bite my tongue since I love a hot shower.)
Bottom Right: Our water bill growing and growing....
 
 
Sunday night we watched a little of the Emmy's and played with Abby.  I'll leave you with a quick shot of these pals.  This is Abby 3 years ago as a puppy playing with Jordan.  She's grown up but is still the same rambunctious pup we brought home in August of 2010!

Top Left: Jordan and Abby Today - Sept 2013
Top Right: Jordan and Abby - August 2010
Bottom: Abby buried in bedsheets.




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