Spending Money - Economy Be Damned!

I need to be careful about saying we are going to watch what we spend and no major purchased until after the first of the year. Economy be damned - new toys! I found myself knee deep in trouble when I attended the Quilt Show last weekend. I was having a good time and minding my own business when I started trying out the long arm quilting machines. Yikes! Now that I actually know how to machine quilt I could REALLY see the difference between the long arms and my Grand Quilter. Sooooooooooo I now am the proud owner of a Tin Lizzie 18 LS. It has so many advanced features compared to my old set up. 18 inches of throat space and the ratchet system to advance and retract the material is MUCH better. It actually has a larger bobbin! Not to mention that another bobbin winds while you are sewing so you are ready for a change when you run out (no loading a bunch of bobbins in advance and then not needing all of them). I am one VERY happy camper. I have been practicing with it and I am doing quite well. I think because I have been quilting it is coming easier to me, but I actually did a couple of pantograph patterns that turned out well using the laser. There is one small problem with the new set up and that is that it is bigger (deep) than my other one and space is a bit cramped in the garage. The plan at this time is to move the bed out of the extra bedroom and take off the closet doors and that will end up being my quilting room. It will also be nice to have the machine in the house and not have to deal with the heat in the garage. I don't seem to mind the cold, but the heat just makes it miserable. I was very reluctant to give up the day bed, but since we really do not have that much company, it is kind of pointless to not use the space (considering it will be something that will be used a LOT).

THEN . . . Max bought the new Sony notebook that just came out with the 19" screen and a screaming graphics and video card. The color and picture is amazing! She was thinking about the 20" Wacom and debating on the purchase of a Mac and ended up with this one. The new Sony actually has a better everything inside than the new MacPro. After much discussion and investigation, it would appear that 4 or 5 years ago the Mac would have been the best way to go to do photography stuff, but since the Mac's and PC's are both running the same stuff it has become somewhat of a "moo" point (as Joey would say). Interestingly, the new Sony can run all the different operating systems if one wanted to add them. Needless to say, now Max is a very happy camper.

We also just finished getting an estimate for new kitchen cabinets and we are going to have them installed just before Christmas. They will be a medium dark oak. We are getting pull out shelves in some and a lazy susan in the corner to utilize the space that is essentially wasted because you cannot reach back there without taking everything else out. We will have the little pull out drawer in front of the sink and also one in front of the stove (not sure what will go there).

Once we get the kitchen cabinets the only project left will be fine tuning the back yard and getting that extra step out of there. We still need to find the matching bricks to finish off the flower beds. We do need to purchase a new hot tub cover and that will be coming in the next couple of weeks. It needs to be replaced before the rain starts.

Sorry I have been so bad at keeping the blog updated - I just seem to loose track of the time and at the same time I am staying pretty busy.

Later . . .