I Love Free

A few days before we left for Ohio last month, we were driving around the neighborhood and spotted this desk and etagere on the roadside. Both in perfect condition! Happily, we had my Escape. I had Mike and Nicky lug these into the back of the truck.
The desk is in perfect condition (for the record, the chair comes from my dining room). Mike set it up in the living room for me. So far I've used it to finish some scrapbooking pages. I hope to eventually be inspired enough to do some writing.
I used to have my fabric in boxes in the closet. I had the boxes numbered, and references pages in my family binder so I knew where to find things. Now everything is out in the open where I can see it.
It amazes me what people throw away!
What's the best 'roadside find' you ever came across?

Z is for Zealous

As in, too zealous. Did I really need to start yet another project with so many others in the works? But I was up in the attic today, getting out some fall things, and found this Vermont Teddy Bear up there. And I just got the idea in my head that she needed some clothes. I think a lot of us creative people might be zealous like this...forty WIPs and we get a new idea we just 'have to' start!

So here's the start of her outfit. It's going to have a full skirt and a petticoat...and maybe bloomers if I can figure them out.

To make the pattern, I used exam-table paper left over from the doctor's office where I work. Don't worry, nobody with the flu sat on this...it's the tail end of the roll that isn't long enough to use. I collect these for my pattern altering, tracing and creating. I fitted a piece over Teddy's front and then another over her back. It took some fudging, but I got it right. Actually, the front was too wide for some reason. So I put a pleat there and will sew some little buttons down the front. (She isn't going to be meant for a young child.)

I keep calling her 'she,' but she was wearing a toolbelt so I think it was a boy at first. Then again, she could have been a tool belt diva! Now she wants to retire to a quiet life of lovely clothes and tea with friends.

Oh, and the frugal aspect of this post, since I sometimes remember the blog is called "Sorta Frugal": I paid $3 for her! Can you believe that, for a Vermont Teddy Bear?????? And her outfit will be made with fabric on hand!

Sew Crafty Friday

Here is a pencil roll I made. The yellow fabric has little flowers on it. It's part of the stash I got from my mother's house. I had cut a bodice for a child's jumper out of it, and only had a smallish piece left. The outside is the same yellow fabric, and it has batting inside to make it cushy. I like the red fabric with the gumdrop trees, but have to laugh because 3 of the turtles are upside down. Sure, it's made to go in either direction, but if I'd paid attention I'd have made more turtles upright, LOL!

See how straight the lines for each pencil pocket are? I have to admit cheating...or maybe being resourceful. There was a very small pinstripe throughout the fabric that turned out to be exactly the right distance apart for a pencil!

I have just one more step in that I have to put a ribbon on it for tying it shut. I didn't happen to have the right color ribbon.

Please visit "Waiting for Him" (check my blog links list) for more great crafts--and why don't you show off something of your own, while you're at it?

Y is for Young

I'm still young, right? I mean, despite the arthritis, chronic back pain, ulcer, periomenopause, etc. etc. etc., fifty-one isn't old, is it?

I guess I have to admit to middle age. When we hit 40, my oldest and dearest friend said, "I am NOT middle aged." I used to say, "the middle of what?"

Well, 51 is the middle of 102. So there's no denying it.

It is said kids born these days could easily live to be 125 years old. That's not for me, unless I had the health and mental faculties to enjoy that many years. I don't want to be 90 and confined to a bed with Depends on.

Tuesday morning, I go in for an endiscopy for abdominal pain. It's one of those things were I had a twinge once in a while for a long time, and just chalked it off as typical aches and pains. But in the last month or so, it's almost constant. I don't feel sick at all (to me, sick means you can't eat or you have a headache), it just annoys me. My doc thinks it might be another ulcer, but we're checking. Whatever it is, I hope they fix it.

Then the next step is to see a pain management specialist about my back. What I have is called "Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction." That joint is where the base of your spine (the triangular-shaped bone) meets your pelvic bone. It hurts me almost all the time. Thank God most days it's only on about a level 2 or 3, but once in a while it hits a good 11. I have done everything for this--therapy, meds, shots, even a chiropractor. It has just become part of my life. I'm hoping the specialist will teach me some new 'tricks' to deal with it.

Oh, gripe, gripe, gripe. I really am generally a happy person. I learn something new every day and find beauty in a lot of things. I've gotten into a lot of blogs because I love to oooo and aaaah over the creativity out there, the beautiful babies and children, the generosity.

I just want to oooh and aaaah as if I really were still 31 instead of 51, LOL!

x is for...

xtra tired? Aren' t we all? I think it comes with the territory when you're a mom, no matter how old you are. I seem to take a nap every afternoon to recharge.

I can't think of anything for X! Haven't seen any x-rated movies lately to review--I'm just kidding!

Did you know there is no country in the world that begins with the letter X? If I had a country, I'd name in Xorange...so there'd be an 'X' country and something that rhymes with the word orange.

Sorry this is such a boring post today. Hope everyone out there is doing well!

W is for where we were

It's amazing how we can all remember where we were at watershed moments in history. I was in the second grade when Kennedy was assassinated, and I remember the principal coming over the loudspeaker to tell us. I also remember walking home with my best friend, and how she was crying. I didn't understand what was happening.

For 9/11, I was at home. I had just gotten up and took a look at the TV, where they were playing the film of the first crash...over and over. My first thought was some idiot pilot didn't know what he was doing.
Well, by the second crash, of course, I'm sure we all knew we weren't dealing with idiots. Narrow-minded monsters, but not idiots.
My husband was out on business, which sometimes takes him to the city. First thing was to check where he was--he happened to be on the East End of Long Island that day. Then I checked in with my then-agent, who lives in the city. She was okay.

Nicky came home early from school. He didn't know why he'd been dismissed so I explained it to him. I guess he was about 10 at the time. It shows how different things are--back in 1963, the principal thought nothing of telling grammar school kids the president had been killed. Nowadays, they leave it to the parents--which I think is the right way to do it.

Later, I took Katherine and went to the grocery. The biggest thing we noticed was that the skies were so quiet. There are usually a lot of planes. The only ones we saw were 3 airforce jets flying in formation. That scared Katherine, but I said they were there for our safety.

I'm grateful I didn't lose anyone in any of the horrible incidents. This past summer, I visited the site where the airplane went down in Pennsylvania. They have a printed copy of the exchange that went on. It's terrifying to read. What made me so angry was to see the terrorists saying things like "Allah is good, Allah is merciful." No matter what you want to call God, it is an insult to Him to call Him good and merciful while you are committing the ultimate sin of murder. (Well, as much as God can be insulted, since no one can know His mind.)

The only thing we can hope is that those who died that day, died so quickly they didn't feel anything. I don't even really think we can imagine the fear.

Two small things I remember from that day: a neighborhood kid driving around with his sunroof open, while another kid waved a huge America flag above the car.

And a visit from a strange cat. It was a big, puffy thing like a persian. I was sitting on my front steps and he came up and started rubbing against me. He was all matted and his nails were too long. I got out my pet brush and clippers and groomed him. It was something else to think about instead of the horrors of the day. He stayed for a while, then went on his way. The strange thing is that I never saw him before that...and never saw him again.

God bless everyone we lost that day, and all the people who did their best to help put this country back together again.

V is for...

...very favorites.

Very favorite author: Stephen King. No one can scare you like he does, but a lot of his non-scary stuff is the best writing I've ever come across. "IT," while terrifying, is one of the finest depictions of childhood ever written. The characters in "The Stand" (which I've read at least 8 times) are so real I feel I know them.

Very favorite food: lobster. Boiled and then dipped in melted butter. Too bad it's so darned expensive that I only get it once or twice a year.

Very favorite colors: red, purple and blue.

Very favorite flowers: red roses and purple tulips

Very favorite music: most Broadway stuff and the old standards...Ella rules!

Very favorite pastime: if I had to pick one, I'd put doing word puzzles at the top of the list.

U is for...

Unbelievable! That's how I describe the lovely box that Rebecca sent me as part of the "Shoebox Swap." Here's her blog: http://www.zeahrenaissance.blogspot.com/

And here are my goodies:

Becka had everything wrapped in pretty colors of tissue paper, with a note on each one explaining how it related to the box's theme..."Refreshed." What could be more refreshing than listening to Frankie, sipping Swiss Mocha coffee and either crocheting with the softest yarn ever, or reading a copy of "Cottage Living"?

See, I don't live in a cottage...yet. I live in a high ranch with my four kids and my daughter's boyfriend and various pets. But Mike and I want a little bungalow when we retire, and Becka said I could read the mag and dream of my 'future retirement cottage.'

I also received the cutest Mary Englebreit notecards, a cute mousepad, a delicious smelling candle and an even more delicious smelling roomspray. Hey, Becka...I love the roomspray because it doesn't make me choke like other sprays. It's so light and delicate!

And I confess...I broke out the knitting needles and decided to knit myself a scarf instead of doing crochet. I've been wanting to try my hand at knitting, something I haven't done in ages, and you've inspired me. And...the color of the yarn is a great match for a coat I'm making. Maybe now I'll get off my lazy duff and actually hem the thing...which I started 2 years ago!

The lovely and sweet bloggers who started this fun swap are:

Monica, at http://thehomespunheart.blogspot.com/

And Carrie at http://www.watibg.blogspot.com/

Thanks ladies, it was so much fun. And many, many thanks to you, Rebecca! Hugs and Kisses, too!

T is for...

http://sortafrugal.blogspot.com/2007/06/when-my-son-is-bored-at-work.html

My Third Son. I had to figure out where to put him in here, LOL! James will be 21 on November 1st. That will make him my 3rd adult child. He's in his junior year at college and is studying automotive engineering. I hope that it will give him opportunity to create things with his hands, because he's really good at that.

When Jamie (as we call him) was 7 1/2, he was riding his bike one day and got hit by a car. The bike went one way and landed on the soft grass. My son went the other way and landed on the street. What followed were some of the worst times of our lives. He had a skull fracture, dislocated elbow, dislocated shoulder and broken femur bone. He was in a coma for a few days. We knew from the emergency room he would live, but the femur bone had him in traction for the next six weeks. In the beginning, the damage to his brain (a very bad contusion) kept him in la-la land for a long time. There was talk of possible seizure disorder and personality problems. One doctor said I might have to take him to Delaware for therapy...me, with a 3 year old, a 9 year old and an 11 year old!

But little by little he got better. I kept a journal about his hospital stay. People were so generous, sending him gifts and food. He was the star patient in pediatrics and got special attention...especially when it came to using their Nintendo. By the time he left the hospital...in a body cast, btw...he was completely normal mentally. The kid even learned to walk up and down stairs in his cast!

Once that came off, two months later, he went to physical therapy. The therapist was amazed at his fast progress. My incentive to him was that he could go trick-or-treating if he could make himself strong enough to walk. And he did!

I think sometimes James has doubts about where he's going with his life. But after what he went through, I know he can do anything!

Oh, and btw...there was a lawsuit that's now paying for my son's education at a university!

Sew Crafty Friday

Here is yet another baby dress I made. Since I found my buttonholer, I have been able to finish a few things. The way this is hanging, you can't really tell the shape of the dress, but you can see it from the back view. It's all one piece .

I'm not crazy about the bonnet. I didn't use stiff enough interfacing in the brim and it's too floppy. I cut it out the size to match the dress, but it looks humongous to me.
There's no baby in mind for this just yet. There are matching bloomers, but I have to wait to see what size the elastic will be to finish them off.

The fabric has tiny red roses on it. The lining is white muslin. This was a very easy pattern to sew! It is McCall's 5353.

Please visit "Waiting for Him" and share your own crafty goodness today!

S is for Sonogram

Warning: medical stuff in here!

S for Sonogram. Not the fun kind you have when you're pregnant. Trust me...at 51 my baby days are long behind me.

No, this one started when I had a CAT scan of my stomach because of weird abdominal pain. They found 'something' in my pelvic area and my doctor said I had to have a pelvic sonogram. The doctor called me with the results this morning. I'm happy to say there was only a small cyst and nothing to be concerned about.

I've been hopeful. The last thing I need on top of my stomach problems and chronic back pain is more trouble. So at least I can put this behind me. If I never had another sonogram, I'd be happy. Why do all these tests involve things that are uncomfortable, like drinking a quart of water and holding it in? Well, at least they took me pretty quickly the other day, LOL! And they actually have a bathroom outside the ultrasound room that has a sign on the door that says, "for ultrasound patients ONLY!"

Okay, so the weird pain in my abdomen. It's on my left side, just a bit under my ribcage. I don't feel sick at all. I just ache. I'm having an endiscopy on September 18th. My gastro doc thinks I might have another ulcer.

Oh, great, wonderful. I can't take ibuprofen for my back (and damn, the stuff does work) because it gave me my first ulcer. Now I suppose I'll be told to knock off the coated aspirin I take. Which leaves Tylenol...which does nothing for inflammation.

Well, at least I can still use my heat pads. I hope!

R is for Really Nice Surprise!

Look what I got in the mail from my Pay It Forward swap partner, Betty at "She's So Pretty." The most adorable, cheerful apron ever! You should see the workmanship in this...it's breathtaking. Especially that scalloped hem! And don't you just love the way she embellished the pocket with a vintage handkerchief?

The apron is lined with the same strawberry fabric as the pocket, so it is reversible...but I think I prefer to wear it with that cute pocket showing!

Thanks, Betty! Thanks, thank, thanks for making my day! I loooove it!

Q for Quiet

Here's a picture I took of Sunken Meadow Beach at sunset last night. It's on the North Shore of Long Island. That's the Long Island Sound there...and Connecticut about 14 miles across the water. It sure doesn't look like 14 miles, but the curvature of the Earth fools your eyes.

Despite living on LI all my life, I don't like beaches. At least, not in the daytime. Maybe it is because I'm not a sun worshipper, and I detest crowds. But the beach at night...that's another story. Mike and I took a walk along the boardwalk. Most of the people who'd come to enjoy the holiday were gone by then, and it was so peaceful and quiet.

Looking out at the water, whether it's the Atlantic with its waves or the Sound that barely ripples, I get a sort of weird feeling. I think about how much life is teeming under that water, life you can't even see. Imagine if the waters were as clear as an aquarium! What a cool sight that would be from an airplane, huh?

Maybe the reason I don't like crowds is because I don't like noise. At least, not too much. I have to have a fan or heater or a/c humming in order to fall asleep. But one of my most favorite times of day is the very early morning, before anyone else is up. Even when my kids were little, they knew to give me that bit of quiet time. Weekdays, my husband is up before me, so my quiet time is to sit in bed and read while he's doing his work (his home office is our dining room).

There's enough noise out there for all of us, most of the day. But around 6:30 a.m.--that's quiet time for me.

Unless I'm lucky enough for my husband to ask, like he did last night, 'want to go to the beach?'

P is for Pets!

Meet my current furbabies!

This is Austin the Ferret. He's about 4 years old.

Here is Shadow Dante, dressed up like a prisoner last Halloween. This year, Katherine wants him to have a little cop costume!

These are my pretty kitties. Nutmeg is the black and white one, Melody is the tortoise-shell tabby. Somehow, they managed to fit their fat dupas on the back of a chair to sleep!

And here is my youngest baby, Rocky! He is about five months old. He's chubby and cuddly. Still going through the teething/biting stage, but not too bad about it. He is the first ferret I've ever had who comes when I call him!

All of my furbabies get along great with each other. You should se how happy Shadow gets when I take the ferrets out to play! Shadow is also seriously in love with Nutmeg. No kidding...if a dog and cat could have babies (pittens? kuppies?), they would. What a strange animal that would be!

O for Opinions

I generally keep my opinions to myself, unless I'm talking to my husband or one of my kids. They know how I feel about things like politics. (For the record, I'm just to the right of the middle of the road). I'm just not a confrontational person, and if a friend and I are going to disagree on something, I'd rather just leave certain topics alone. Besides, I'm not good at debate. I don't retain facts very well so even when I believe I'm right...it would be hard to win any argument on almost any topic. In other words, I was never "Captain of the Debate Team," LOL!

Sorta Frugal is a blog about my little ways to try to save money and get myself out of debt. It's about fun things like my crafting or my family. It isn't a political forum. But since I'm talking about opinions here, I'll throw one out to my few and faithful readers, anyway:

Being a child is a right. Being an adult is a privilege.

Parents who dress their kids like miniature adults, or put them into stressful situations (think 'out of control soccer parent yelling on the sidelines') rob their children of their God-given right to childhood. Let kids be kids! It is their right. It is their right to be sweet and innocent, and not have to worry about grownup things.

Oh, my gosh, the pushing adult things on kids starts early, doesn't it? I babysat a four-month-old who had a bib that said, "I'm too sexy for my diaper." Uh...yeah... (Giving the young mother credit, she didn't like it either, but it happened to be what she had clean and ready to use. Me...I'd have ditched it.) I've seen people give young children tastes of alcohol. In yesterday's paper, there was an article that stated there are fourth graders who've already started experimenting with drinking!

What kind of life are you facing when you're doing adult things at nine? Assuming kids today could live to be 100...that's 91 years of adulthood. Ugh. (Frankly, I think even 80 years of adulthood is too much. What's the rush?)

Adulthood is a privilege. When does it start? 18? 21? I don't believe in magic numbers. We all know 40-year-olds who act like pre-teens and eight-year-olds that are already world-weary. It's an individual thing. But I'll end this with a plea: moms and dads, let your kids be kids. Don't let adult things touch them too closely. Childhood is short enough as it is, and oh, so precious!

Sew Crafty Friday...scroll down!

I wrote it yesterday. Put the pictures in today. Published it today...and it came out as if it was published on Thursday. Please scroll down for today's Sew Crafty Friday!

N is for...

Nicky! Better known to his friends as 'Nick.' Nicky is 17 years old and about to enter his junior year at high school. His number one most favorite topic is "Halo," the video game. He even put a counter on my desktop that counts down to when Halo 3 comes out. I already reserved him a copy...almost a year ago! He says he should be able to stay home from school that day (a Tuesday) because he won't be able to concentrate anyway, he'll be so excited. I told him...ha, ha, ha.

Nicky has a great sense of humor. He takes very little seriously. Even as a kid, he hardly ever got upset. Not to say that sometimes he doesn't get snitty. He's a teenager after all. But he's never gone overboard with that whole teen angst thing. Yay! He will actually sit and talk to me...athough it's usually about something unpersonal like Halo, or the military, or some movie, or something funny he saw on line. None of my boys get personal with me...heaven forbid one of them would tell me if he had a girlfriend.

Nick's ambition is to join the Marines. Mom's ambition is that he finds something safer to do with his life, but I'd be proud of him if he did volunteer to defend our country. He could be a ballistics expert...he knows a lot about guns and ammo. Too much. He has a nice Airsoft gun (I have no idea what kind) which shoots soft plastic pellets. I told him as long as he lives here, he ain't getting a real gun. What is it with boys and guns?

Just to let you know he isn't all about guns, he's amazing with animals. You should hear him talk gooey baby talk to our dog, Shadow! He takes Shadow into bed with him every night, and onto the couch with him when he lays down to listen to his MP3 player.

So...that's it about Nicky. I'd post about my cat, Nutmeg...but this is long enough, LOL!

Oh...and lest we forget where this whole ABC Meme started, here's the link again!

http://belladia.typepad.com/bella_dia/encyclopedia_of_me_meme/index.html

Sew Crafty Friday: Tote Bag

This is how I make a fat quarter mini tote bag. I am no expert, LOL--I'm just fudging it. So...you can fudge along with me!

1. Start with two coordinating fat quarters. Actually, for this I used 2 'quarter flats' from Joann's. They measure 18x22 inches.


















2. Cut the pieces in half so you have 2 9x22 inch pieces of each. (I just clip at the 9 inch mark and tear--fabric always tears along the straight grain.)















3. Using one 9x22 inch piece as a pattern, cut a piece of something that will give the tote bag 'body.' I used some leftover quilt batting. It isn't thick, just a little heavier than felt.

4. Baste the batting to the wrong side of your lining fabric, close to the edge. Trim off any excess batting.

(This is folded to show the lining side and the batting side)

5. Fold in half lengthwise, right sides together, and stitch about a half inch from either long side.

6. This part's a little tricky, so I hope I'm clear about it. You want to fold the bottom of the bag to make a point, with the side seam running up the middle. Measure 1 1/2 inches in from the point and mark a line across. Sew across this line. (This is going to make a square bottom on your tote.)

7. Trim away the excess fabric on the point. (Sorry, my camera wouldn't take a clear picture!)

8. Repeat steps 5-7 with your outer fabric. At this point, if you're ambitious, iron your seams flat.

9. Slip the outer layer inside the lining, right sides together. Pin along the top, matching seams. Stitch around the top, with a half inch seam...leaving about 5 or 6 inches open for turning.

10. Trim away about half of the lining and batting seam to reduce bulk. (Don't trim the seam of the outer layer. This 'grading' of the seam will help it lay nicely.)

11. Top stitch along the top, encasing the raw edge.

12. From the remaining fabric, cut 2 strips 2 1/2 inches by 22 inches. Cut a piece of batting the same size.

13. You can baste the batting to the wrong side of one strip. But this time around, I just layered the two fabrics right sides together and put the batting underneath them. I stitched all 3 together with a half-inch seam, leaving one end open for turning. (Actually, I would have been better off basting the batting to the lining...it was a pain trying to get them to turn 'together.')

14. Grade the seams of the handle the same way as step 10. Trim the corners.

15. Turn the strap right side out. Turn in the raw edge.

16. Center the ends of the straps over the side seams and pin. Stitch in place with a strong seam. I used a saddle stitch and made a 'square'.

17. Enjoy! You can probably do this in less than an hour, not having to stop and take pictures and blog about it.

Hope you enjoyed my tutorial and that it was somewhat clear and fun to follow!

Please visit Shereen at "Waiting for Him" (over there on my links list) for more "Sew Crafty Friday" goodies!

M for...

Michael...my favorite boy's name. My husband's name, my son's name, my late fil's name, my late youngest brother's name. My husband and fil are Michael James. My son is Michael William--the William comes from my oldest brother and my late father.

My husband is a safety consultant engineer for a major corporate insurance company. That means he goes to job sites and makes sure the 'insured' is doing all they can to keep their workers safe. His recommendations can either make or break a risk's policy. He knows all about stuff like OSHA. He often works at home on a computer, but his job also takes him to many different places and types of businesses.
Mike, my husband, keeps our yard trim and beautiful. He does most of the really heavy duty housework. He makes a mean pasta sauce.
He looks better at 53 than most guys do at 33. He works out or runs 6/7 days a week. He can bench press nearly 400 pounds.
I'm the animal lover, but he's the one who buys peanuts for the squirrels!

My son is a computer programmer for an educational software company. He's absolutely brilliant. He's the first one to help when help is needed. He's like me...not particularly sociable, but very friendly in the right situation. He's like my dad was...sharp witted, impatient with dumb people, but generous.
Michael is amazing with little kids. They bring out a side of him rarely seen...patience and silly humor. I sure hope he marries and has some of his own someday! (He's only going on 25. I'm in no rush.)

My fil was a good man, a decent guy with a kind sense of humor, very dedicated to his wife and kids. He worked as a construction worker until his retirement, then was involved in everything you could think of. It was a great loss when he died of a heart attack a few years ago.

I already posted about my brother Michael, who died back in 1971. He served in Vietnam. When I was in Ohio, I went over some pictures of him. He was a real cutie with a headful of curly hair. Now I know where my son Nicky gets his curls, LOL!

So that's my letter of the day!

WFMW: K is for Kitchen & L is for Laundry

http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/2007/08/works-for-me-ju.html

I haven't done a "Works for Me Wednesday" in a while. It just fell into place with the next letters of the alphabet: K & L.

K is for Kitchen: I love my kitchen. It is the heart of the home, IMHO. We don't eat in there... it isn't big enough. But if food is love, then a lot of my love for my family happens there. I love to cook. I don't have a fancy 'working kitchen' with a 12-burner stove, and I don't have an island and I don't have much counter space. I have enough.
I have 4 kids and a husband who were nice enough to take down the ugly wallpaper and paint the place a pretty shade of green. I have a husband who was willing to shell out to replace the hideous Brady Bunch orange counters for clean white ones. And to shell out for a decent floor!

One thing that 'works for me' in there is to keep heavy, but much-used, appliances out on the counter. I used to have to call one of my family members to lug out my Kitchenaid mixer whenever I wanted to use it--which was often. I got smart and traded it out for my much-lighter bread maker. Now the Kitchenaid sits on the counter all the time, on a pretty, vintage, crocheted red-and-white doily. The doily makes it easy to slide the big thing back and forth as I need it. There's another tip: put your heavy countertop toys on a piece of felt, a towel, or a doily to make sliding around easier!

L is for Laundry. I have divided mine up into 2 categories each day. My washer can't really take much more than that...well, the drywell it drains into can't, I mean. The washer is practically new and great. And two loads leaves room for the kids to take care of their own washes. Example: on Mondays, I do lingerie and socks. Tuesdays are for tops and ironing (if I remember to take them right out of the dryer, LOL!) Wednesday is bottoms. Weekends are catchup washes. I will never, ever catch up to all of it, though. But at least we all generally have something clean to wear each day, LOL!

I'm off to work in 10 minutes. Too late to do my morning load of laundry...but I actually did get my kitchen cleaned up!