Where does the time fly to?! It seems like it's always Thursday before I can post here. This week we stopped at a wagon on the roadside, and bought a bushel of sweet potatoes for $15. They are huge. So far we've made sourdough sweet potato dinner rolls and a sweet potato coffee cake...and eaten lots of baked sweet potatoes. I'm not a huge fan of this veggie, but my children love them.
Our paw paw tree is finally ripe. Paw paw trees are actually the largest edible fruit indigenous to our continent! I've heard so much about missionaries eating them that I figured they were native to South America. Anyhow, the paw paw is a large berry that tastes like a mix of banana and mango. Yummy! I don't like mangos, but I do like paw paws.

This week my 24 year old Viking sewing maching (the 990) finally kicked the bucket. So many little things are wrong with it that it would be unwise to spend any money getting it fixed. Boo hoo. Mike bought my machine in Hong Kong, and brought it home on the ship (the USS Carl Vinson...an aircraft carrier). What a wonderful surprise that was!

It is a terrible thing for me to be without a working sewing machine. It is like not having a Bible or a toothbrush. I feel so strongly about having a sewing machine that I even have a treadle machine that I bought during the Y2K scare. Anyhow, I've narrowed down my search for a replacement machine to two machines. Either the Babylock Quilter's Choice (pictured above), or one of the Viking Sapphire series machines (pictured below). If you have opinions on either of these machines, please leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you.

I wanted to stay with the Viking (Husqvarna) because I thought I could use my same accessories, but that isn't true. Viking has enlarged their feet so that none of my accessories would work. Bummer.

The one requirement I have is that I need my new machine to do a rolled hem. This is the hem that you find on linens and tablecloths. I make a lot of basket linings for holiday gifts that require this special hem. Unfortunately, the Babylocks don't have this feature, but all the Vikings do. But I really like the way the Babylock works. I also like the Babylock dealer, whereas the Viking dealer is a deadbeat. Decisions, decisions!

I'll let you know which machine I end up with.

Thank you all who have been praying for Ruthie. The orthopedic dr said she definitely broke her upper humorous (arm), and maybe her elbow (tricky to tell). Nevertheless, the treatment is the same...immobilize the arm and keep it in a sling that is wrapped next to the body. Ruthie (and I) are already tired of it. Five more weeks to go!
For those of you who enjoy listening to conservative christian bluegrass (meaning music that follows biblical principles), try the new CD from the Stewart Family. You can listen to samples on their website. I found this CD while looking for the sheet music to one of their songs, This Blessed Old Book. Didn't find the music, but I sure bought their CD!

So much to enjoy...the weather, my family, my salvation, my health, and my God. What a wonderful way to live. Many blessings ~ Kathie