For the "Time Management Challenged"

Good morning Blogland neighborhood! Today our topic is "Time Management" .....OR....more precisely, the lack thereof. Oh sure .... on the outside we here at MBIAJ Headquarters appear to be on top of it all....completely in control and organized, but .........huh?......





....oh.....not really? you don't think so?.......oh......(sigh) FINE !!!


....ANYWAY, as I was saying, despite outward appearances, we here at MBIAJ are "TIME MANAGEMENT CHALLENGED" !!! ..... and we take comfort in knowing we're not alone! Author/illustrator Monica Sheehan had a fun cartoon in Real Simple Magazine a few years ago that we cut out and posted on the wall of the home office because we can TOTALLY relate !!! ENJOY !!

































Wasn't that hysterical?!?!?!! PLEEEEASE tell me that you all can relate too!!!!(and if you can't, don't tell me cause I'll develop an inferiority complex !)

Anyhow, on that note (of being "Time Management Challenged") I'd like to take a minute and say a group thank you to all of you nice gals who take the time to read these blatherings and ramblings and leave such nice comments ! (sorry the "Comment Answering Dept" doesn't always have time to answer each comment .... but they LOVE each and every one of them!!! )

....OH! ... by the way....Monica with the daughter at ESU ..... if you send me your email I can email you back about other quilt shops in this area that you asked about.

OK, time to zoom and attempt to keep this day on schedule !!!

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Carolyn's Quilt Shop ...... the new kid in town!

Well, good morning Blogland Neighborhood! It's a BEAUTIFUL day here in Pa ....sunny and not too hot .....and NO humidity (which we're very happy about since humidity makes us pretty darn cranky!) Not only are we happy about the weather here at MBIAJ Headquarters, we're also just tickled pink to tell you about the new kid in town.....a NEW QUILT SHOP that is !!!! Carolyn's Quilt Shop, located in my alma mater town of Tamaqua , Pa opened for business about 3 months ago. I'm thrilled to see a fabric/sewing business in this location again ..... when I was growing up, this store was "Nancy's Sewing Center". I took sewing lessons here on Saturday mornings when I was in sixth grade .......and look at the groovy outfit I made......




.....the one in the bottom left corner .... the skirt and vest ala Carol Brady or Shirley Partridge !!!













Anyhow, lets go in and take a little tour ....(feel free to "oooooh" and "aaaahhhh")


....oooooh!! pretty fabric and I LOVE those windows!


.......aaaahhhhhhh!!!!




......ooooh!!! MORE PRETTY FABRIC !!!!










.....and look!! the gang's all here! (and they're cutting my fabric) .....




......there's Janet (on the left), then Carolyn (the captain of the ship wearing the red shirt), Diane (we were in the same class at good ol' Tamaqua High), and Eileen. Let's listen in on their conversation shall we? Diane is saying "if she doesn't stop taking my picture, I'm gonna bop her over the head with this bolt of fabric!"......and Eileen replies "shhhhhhh! she's buying lots of stuff!" ...and Janet offers " don't you need more?" ..... and Carolyn is whispering under her breath "Cha Ching !!!" (just kidding .... these gals are as sweet as they can be!)

.....oh! and you HAVE to see the pretty bags they pack all of your goodies up in ...



...there's this one and ....


.....this one ....



.....and look at what was inside of those pretty bags ....



....all kinds of delicious fabric picked out by the MBIAJ Fabric Picking Out Dept!


....and the MBIAJ Sewing Dept has all kinds lofty ideas planned for all of these lovely fabrics but first they'll have to pencil in some time to get reaquainted with ....




.....Betty ...Oh Betty, it's been far too long ....(oops, got a little off track there for a minute.....)




So, listen friends and neighbors, if you can't personally visit Carolyn and the gang at her quilt shop in Tamaqua, Pa , you can still shop online !! How fun is that !!!!!!

.....and now we must zoom and get on with the rest of the day. Be back soon!!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Miss Firecracker 2009 !*!*!

Happy 4th of July Blogland neighborhood !!!! As you can see, Kitty has had quite the day .....she has been crowned "Miss Firecracker 2009" (according to her, it was her tap dancing while baton twirling routine that did the trick)......(now there will be no living with her!) She just wanted to pop in for her official photo opp for all of her adoring fans before rushing off to preside over the fireworks and other festivities at the park .

Hope you're all having a fun and safe day!

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare) ....and her highness "Miss Firecracker"

Pap's Lallapalooza of a Party!!!!

Hello out there Blogland Neighborhood! Yikes!!! Has it been a week (or more) since the last blog post ?!?! Well, we apologize, but we've been trying to catch our breath after a very busy couple of work weeks AND a whirlwind of activity this past Sunday ! MBIAJ Headquarters was the setting for big doings around here !! We had a doozer of a shindig !!! A surprise party for the patriarch's 80th birthday !!! (patriarch = my Dad, George aka "Pap").




.......and here he is with Mom (Nancy) and their 8 grand-children






...and here are some of the characters who came to wish Pap a happy day .....












Now, friends and family ..... if you do NOT see your picture here it's because you promised to pay me NOT to put it on the blog ...... we take personal checks , money orders and cash ......

Anyhow, speaking of characters, guess whose birthday we're celebrating on Saturday (as in the 4th of July) ......




....none other than the Moonbeams Matriarch ... Mom/Nancy/Gimma (who informed me that if this picture showed up on the blog , she would disown me ..... good thing she doesn't have a clue how to work a computer !!!!!)

Be back soon!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Where's my quilt ???

Hello out there in Blogland! This past weekend we had some company here at MBIAJ Headquarters ...... our old college pal Beth and her hubby and daughter. Now Beth tells us she came to visit and catch up ......but it seemed pretty apparant that she also had an underlying mission .....that mission being to check on the progress of a certain quilt that was started last September for a significant birthday that she was having ....





......and here's Lucy .... I mean Beth (in her Lucy hair doo and apron) happily posing with the finished quilt top (notice the difference here between finished quilt TOP and finished QUILT ..... in other words, the quilt is NOT finished yet !!)





........and here's Lucy .... I mean Beth having a hard time giving the quilt back so the Sewing Dept can finish it (Beth knows the Sewing Dept well and is reluctant to let go of the quilt because she knows pigs may fly before she actually holds that finished quilt in her hands ...... she even said "I'll just take it now..... really..... you don't have to finish it!!!) But, no .....we couldn't let her leave with an unfinished quilt ..... so after we pried it out of her hands, we did let her take home that fabric scrap left over from the quilt top that she has her hair tied up with ....she says she won't take that out of her hair until the quilt is finished !! .....AND if that isn't pressure enough, she also bought ......









....this very cute sign that says "Happiness is spending the day with friends" !!! She bought one for me and one for her .... so we each have one to hang in our kitchens .....





.....above the sink !!! Thanks Beth !!!!! it's PERFECT !!! (you were right .... better than that other dinky little sign!) ..... and every time I look at it, I'll send a memo to the Sewing Dept to get a move on with that quilt of yours !!!!

Be back soon!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Birdie update ......

Good afternoon Blogland Neighborhood. We're sad to report that the little birdie in our last post died this morning. The mama bird didn't come back this morning and before we could dig up some breakfast worms or take him to the environmental center, the poor little thing died.

On a more cheerful note......just about an hour ago when the "Plant Watering Dept" went out on the front porch to water the hanging geraniums, lookie what they found ...







....another nest in the geranium plant with 2 pretty blue robin eggs !!! We're hoping these eggs/baby birds stay put in that nest until they're big enough to fly and fend for themselves !!!!

OK , speaking of flying ..... time to fly away from this computer and make some dinner!

Be back soon!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Are you my mother ? ? ?

Hello out there in Blogland !! We've had a bit of excitement here at MBIAJ Headquarters ...... this little bird has dropped into the midst of the usual chaos going on around here ..... fell out of his nest and has been chirping up a storm.....









Evan has taken a particular interest in the little guy ..... and this little guy looks at Evan expectantly chirping Are You My Mother? (isn't he cute ?!?!!! .... thanks to our cracker jack photography dept it's hard to tell from this picture, but the little bird is perched right in the center of that stick that Evan is holding .... if you click on the picture to make it bigger, you'll be able to see it better)






....and here he is all snuggly on a towel in a box in the garage for the night after being fed some delectable chopped up earth worms on a stick by our neighbor and Evan... tomorrow we'll figure out if we should take him to the local environmental center or see if Mama bird will take care of him.

......and speaking of baby birds learning to fly ......



.....this past Wednesday we celebrated Matt the college boy's 19th birthday !!! ....and guess what he's learning to do ......FLY !!!!... as in a small airplane !!! So far he's had 1 ground school lesson (he and his instructor weren't able to go up in the plane because it was POURING !!!... 2nd lesson had to be rescheduled because of fog ..... and this picture was taken this past Wednesday, June 17th, on his birthday at a "Fly In" where many small planes were supposed to "fly in" for a picnic/bbq ...... well, it was practically a hurricane, so all of the planes were grounded and the pilots all drove to the picnic instead ....at this rate of weather UNcooperation, Matt will be celebrating his 90th birthday before he actually gets up in a plane for his lesson (which is OK with his Moonbeam Mama who is going gray fast enough from the dirtbike racing he and Evan do ....and the flying lessons will definately expedite the whole graying process ...... probably cheaper to just decide to live with the gray .......)

Well, time to go check on the baby bird then hit the hay ..... I'm guessing we'll have to be up early digging up some worms for breakfast.....

Be back soon!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)