Don’t ever touch my machine again!

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by machines.  My Dad tinkered with motors and machines and was always taking something apart and putting it back together again.  So, when my Mom left her sewing machine up, I really couldn’t help it. 

I turned all the knobs.  Without paying attention to where they were set to start with. 

She had to take it to the shop to have the tension professionally set.

And, I never touched her machine again.

Until now.  Mama, I’ve had my hands all over your sewing machine.  I’ve touched it in places you probably never saw.  I touched it again and again.  And, I re-set the tension. 

My Mom gave me her machine, a Singer Stylist 534 a couple years ago and it sat in the garage.  I was actually kind of intimidated by touching it, even after all these years. 

Actually, I’ve been surprised by the machine.  My Dad gave it to my Mom when my youngest sister was born.  That would have been 1976, I think.  I expected it to be all nylon gears and rubber belts inside.  But, it’s not.  it’s mostly steel, with just a bit of nylon.  And, it’s powerful.  It was pretty tight when I first started to sew with it.  But, a bit of oil and the top parts of the machine were moving smoothly. 

I sewed for about a half hour, making adjustments while I sewed a bunch of four patches, and then the feed dogs stopped.  Not sure what’s up with that, but it felt like maybe my Mom was getting even for me touching her machine again.  I’ll try to take the bottom plate off this weekend and figure out what’s up with the feed dogs.  I can’t find anything in the instructions about dropping the feed dogs, so we’ll have to see what there is to see when I get inside.

In other news around the home front, the garden is making me want to spend the day sitting in the swing outside.

There was another Bernina daylily.

 

And, the orange are putting on a show.

Sydney is becoming quite the gardener and this is her hibiscus.  She chose well.

And, she is also growing a pomegranate.  Have you ever seen a pomegranate bloom?

 

It’s made up of a bunch of flowers, just like you’d expect.  Hopefully, soon she’ll have two flowers open at the same time and she’ll get a fruit. 

Yesterday, I gave credit to some important people that said things that helped me get through my colonoscopy.  But, I forgot a couple of very important ones that I’d like to mention.

The therapist reminded me that courage isn’t the same thing as not being afraid.  Courage is being afraid and doing it anyway.

On the way to the office on Wednesday, Rob thanked me for having the test.  I couldn’t really reply appropriately at the time…I was kind of self focused that morning.  But, it really meant a lot to hear him say it, even if I couldn’t respond at the time.  And, as we walked into the office, I looked at him and said, “in a couple hours, everything could be different.  Or, it could be the same”.  Rob’s reply was “In a couple of hours, everything will be different, because you will know.”  Thanks dear.  You know how much those words meant.

Okay, so that’s it for me today.  All work, lots of play, and a three day weekend ahead to see how much trouble I can get into.

Have a great friday and a great Memorial Day weekend.  Remember, it’s not all about the steak and potato salad.  It’s really about remembering the soldiers that fought; those that died and those that came home.  We can’t forget what they did, and we can’t turn our backs on them and we must figure out how to give them the services they deserve after they return, even if it means we have to sacrifice.  We can’t let the selfish dictate our actions and we can’t let them undercut our service men and women. 

Take care.  Lane