September Odds & Ends

Goodbye summer and hello fall!  Hard to believe we are in autumn and another warm summer is but a memory.

Been plugging along with my unemployment duties each week, which involves training, resumes, reviewing job openings, etc. Early last week I applied for two local job openings. Good news is one of them scheduled me for a virtual interview. The set up was different - no real people just responding to questions and scenarios in writing and recorded verbally.  

Apparently, I passed that test as they called me for a 20-minute phone interview. The local contact then set up an on-site interview for next Friday. Things are moving quick!!  It's an in office job so, if selected, will have to brush off my dresses and drag out my heels!

We are thankfully coming to an end with Manny's intravenous chemo treatments which stop the end of October. OHSU has taught me how to flush and remove the chemo pump so this will eliminate the 15-minute trips to the hospital on Wednesdays following his chemo treatment every other Monday. 

Other recent life events have included the following:

We were recently in the oral surgeons office to set up extractions for Manny. They had a large, beautiful rug that reminded me of my abstract paintings. I took a pic then tracked down a similar rug on Amazon. Ended up purchasing a rug for the living room along with a smaller one to lay in front of the fireplace. Love the look!!

Found a huge bag of Scrabble tiles at Goodwill so snatched them up for a discount. Scoured Pinterest for ideas then decided to decoupage a few, added 3D clear Mod Podge for a resin vibe, attached a jewelry bail and bead words, and finished it off as a dangler.   Thought they may be nice to add to wrapped gift packages.

Discovered a couple of black and white beach photos buried in a craft drawer so decided to paint and embroider them. Here's one that had just the right number of girls to represent my sisters - I added thread to each top then watercolor painted the rest of the scene. 

Over Labor Day weekend we celebrated little Hazely's 2nd birthday. Here's a pic of mom Lexi with her cutie. 

Manny and Sam

Due to the fires in Oregon and Washington,  we had a very smoky sunset a couple of weeks ago.

For some strange reason, decided to strip and launder the covers of the couch yesterday. This turned into the biggest clusterfu*k idea of all time.

Unzipped and removed the sitting cushions with no problem. Began to remove the back cushions and what do I see? An absolute gawdawful ton of feathers stuck to the inside of the fabric! I knew the cushions were feather filled but didn't expect that mess.

Took the cushions and pillows outside to remove and pluck each feather from the inside of the fabric. This process took so long I began to feel like Ma Kettle cleaning a hundred chickens!

With the cushions defeathered and the yard filled with assorted brown, yellow, and white tufts, it was time to wash. Two loads to clean then more time to place the covers back onto the cushions.  (At one point I mistakenly chose the wrong cover for a seat cushion. Spent a good 20 minutes wrangling the larger cushion into the smaller cover, sweating a storm as I shoved and punched and pushed with all my brute force until I was able to close the zipper. Upon realizing the seat cushion was not meant to be shaped as a basketball, spent another 10 minutes releasing the foam padding from its binding and covered it with the correct cover.) 

The sofa looks great but we've decided it's time to get rid of the feather couch and replace it it with something much more user friendly!

Shout out to sis Julie who turned me on to the Washington Department of Revenue claims, which showed I may be owed money. Checked it out, submitted my claim, and about six weeks later received $109 in the mail!  Whoopee!

And finally, a big Happy Birthday to my sis Eilene on 9/21/24!!  Love you and hope you have a beyond fabulous day! 🥳❤️