HEADING HOME....

We left Orlando at 5:30am on Monday and drove to the East side of St. Louis. Stopped in O'Fallon and stayed the night. It was another long day, but we wanted to get home as early as possible on Tuesday because we know there's a lot of snow and not sure what will be waiting for us. It's easier to blow snow during the daylight hours.

Left this morning at 6 and will be making a quick stop for breakfast. Will also be making a stop in Iowa City to check in with our granddaughter, Kayla, Mike and Stacey's oldest. That will give us a chance to stretch before our last leg of the journey. Should arrive home by 1pm.

I am so disappointed every time I try to Blog when I'm away from home. Again I had trouble downloading pictures. And what fun is the narrative without a visual? I sent an email to those I thought might be trying to follow us to Florida and back to let you know that I had posted my pictures on my Facebook page. If I missed anyone, I apologize. Just go to Facebook.com and type in my name in the Search field. I have 3 Albums of pictures for our trip. If you're not familiar with Facebook -- just click on an album and it will open up all the pictures. I think I typed in a comment for each one to try give an accounting of what was happening.

I am going to rethink the value of my Blog. Pictures are much easier to load on Facebook. If I can find a way to do some journaling along with it, I may go that way. I have always been opposed to Facebook because I don't want to deal with all that 'Friends' business. I'll investigate some and make a decision after we get home.

We've had really good traveling, both coming and going. The roads have been perfect and we've not even encountered heavy traffic going thru Atlanta or St. Louis. It's been pretty fun with Mike and Stacey. They have such a good sense of humor. But, we're all tired and anxious for the trip to be over. It was amazing to see Brad and we are looking forward to their visit this summer.

Til later.....

CHRISTMAS VACATION-Christmas Eve

We woke up to a beautiful, balmy Christmas Eve Day
--65 degrees by noon. Walked to the near-by Starbucks
for a morning coffee and then headed to Brad's so as not
to miss out on one minute of the preparations. My
intention was to get my pies in the oven early before
other people started coming, but Brad decided he
wanted to wait until Christmas Day. There are some
traditional desserts they have so that was fine.
They were expecting 35 or so people and he was afraid
there wouldn't be enough pie for him!!

The backyard was already decorated for Christmas. The
tables were set and all the decorations were out. Lisi
really knocked herself out for this. The pool area was
very inviting, however the water was too cold for
swimming. Certainly made for a beautiful scene, don't
you think?

This is what was waiting for us when we got there. The 65 pound hog was strung up to dry after Brad prepared it for cooking. Once Frank (Brad's brother-in-law) arrived they moved the hog to the roasting box and readied it for cooking. The insulated wooden box has a metal tray in the bottom that the hog rests on. Another tray is positioned on top and then another grate on top of that that holds the charcoal. They pile on 2 large bags of charcoal and light it. Another bag is added every hour until the meat reaches 180 degrees. The heat radiates down from the top and the hog cooks inside like an oven. Every hour another bag of charcoal is added. There is a thermometer that tracks the temperature of the meat and when the temp reaches 180 degrees the trays are taken off and the hog is inverted for another half hour to 'crisp' up the skin.

The roasting process took about 7 hours. That time was spent socializing and catching up with people we had met 3 years ago. Lisi has a very close knit family. Most of the day consisted of cousins and friends streaming in and out of the house, checking out the roasting hog and catching up. Natalie has a friend that is living in Manhattan, going to school and auditioning for operatic parts. She treated us all to an opera selection. What a powerful voice! It's unbelievable to hear someone sing like that in person.

The hog was finally done and carried into the kitchen. Then the process of stripping the meat from the carcass began. The veterans were in charge of that process with Maria (Lisi's mother) at the head and Frankie helping her. Everyone gathered around as the ribs were separated and up for grabs. What a delicious taste. The marinade consisted of a Cuban mixture out of a bottle with Maria's special spices and sour oranges mixed in. Unbelievable!!! When all the meat was separated we sat down to typical Cuban fare. Salad with olive oil & garlic dressing, yuca (sp?) which is a fibrous root like a turnip-very bland but cooked with olive oil and bacon on top, and black beans and rice. To me, their typical menu is very bland. They don't add many other spices. It's very filling. The desserts, on the other hand, are all very sweet and varied. Lisi made flan, a custard with a burnt sugar coating on top and lots of candies, cookies, etc. Very different from the traditional Midwest fare. Everyone has large appetites and eats a lot; for me it was pretty heavy food and Chuck and I filled up fast. It was fairly late when we ate so a quick game of 'pass the presents' was played and then everyone broke up and headed for home. The cleanup took about an hour and we headed back to our hotel. Exhausted from the day.

I've have tried for 2 days to upload my pictures, but am having no luck. Somehow I must have changed the settings on my camera as the picture files are about 3x larger than normal. The loading process gets so far and then it just quits. If I can't figure it out, I'll have to post the pictures on my Facebook page. I've saved some space here to add the pictures if I get it figured out.

That's it for now. Will recap Christmas Day next.

HERE WE GO.........

Our goal was to leave town at 5:00am Wednesday, but it was closer to 5:30 before we got 4 people and all our 'stuff' packed in the Tahoe. And we are packed!! When I travel I require a lot of stuff to keep me occupied in the back seat. Stacey too, so we have baskets of cross stitch projects, a quilting project, magazines, books, knitting, movies,etc. Of course, Chuck prefers driving without the radio on so that makes for some boring ride time. Stacey, however is able to sleep at will and did so several times throughout the day. Me I just change from knitting, to reading (got my book half done), to cross stitch. We watched the movie 'Precious' late in the afternoon, but for some reason the DVD player started skipping about 3/4 of the way thru so we'll have to finish watching it in the motel room tonight,

Chuck was determined to make only necessary stops, but Stacey is persistent and we got a few extras in there. Chuck is always focused on driving, not necessarily on the needs of the other passengers. Even though we stopped often, however, I had a problem with my feet. Sitting in a seat all day and not stretching my legs made it uncomfortable to walk. But, I got through it and did some good stretches this morning. Today will be a shorter day, and then we'll be in a location for 4 nights. We'll get some walking in and that will help tremendously.

We drove hard all day and reached our goal of stopping just north of Atlanta. Checked into our motel room at 8:30 - grabbed a bite to eat and were in bed by 9:30. A good night's sleep really improves your attitude. Not to mean that anyone was in a bad mood. Mike and Stacey have such a good sense of humor. (Stacey had been up since 2am Wednesday because she still had Christmas presents to wrap.)

Got up a little later this morning and took time to eat breakfast at the motel. Down the road he actually stopped so we could get a treat at Starbuck's. Today will be much more relaxed and we'll have a chance to shower, etc. before we go to Brad's. Brad picked up the hog this morning and is getting it cleaned and ready for the outdoor rotisserie. As soon as we can get ready, we'll be going to Brad's. He requested that I make a couple of pies for tomorrow so I'll need to get the crust done and in the fridge tonight. Of course, rendered lard is not available in FL so I brought along a box with my food processor, the lard, the butter, the spices, and the jar of homemade mincemeat. Brad thinks Elizabeth's family will be impressed with my pies. We'll see.

The sun is out today and the temperature is 40degrees. We always love driving thru Georgia. It's full of pine trees and the grass is green! That's it for now. I'll try to post every day. And I'll be taking lots of pictures so I hope I have lots to share with you.

For now......

'TIS THE SEASON

These pictures were taken Dec 12 after the
last snow storm. It was beautiful and truely
looked like a Winter Wonderland.











The wind really blew all of the snow around in the back yard and the garden. We literally had none in the front yard. Didn't even need to get the snow blower out, really. But the drifts in the backyard were 5+ feet tall and the wind resulted in a hard crust on most of it. We picked up 3 inflatable saucers in anticipation of a visit from our younger grandchildren.


This past weekend we had Christmas with our Iowa and Kansas families. They didn't get much snow so the kids really had fun once they got here.

Bailey, Olivia and Carson were out at least 2 hours digging tunnels and hiding from each other.
















Cheeks were white and fingers numb when they finally came in for hot chocolate and warmed up while they watched our many birds feeding.













Everyone was able to get here sooner or later. Kayla and Kelsey had to work until 5, but it was worth the wait.



We enjoyed soup and cookies, then spent a couple of hours opening gifts. After the gift opening everyone stayed up late playing yatzee. We have a very competitive group and all ages played. Jennifer told me that she played Yatzee with Bailey and Olivia every night after school so that they could "beat uncle Mike". There were screams and prizes and lots of laughs.













The Sunday morning run took place even though it was about zero degrees. But our kids have this tradition of running whenever they are together. Unfortunately, Mike had to work and missed out, but Jennifer and Angie headed right out for a 4 mile run. Normally they go further, but after that long they were having trouble seeing thru the frost on their eyelashes!!!



















Tomorrow morning we leave early for Orlando, FL to spend Christmas with Brad and his family. Mike and Stacey are going with us and we are all looking forward to being together. Our plan is to arrive in Orlando by 4 or 5 o'clock on Thursday. We will be heading home on Monday and arrive back in Waverly Tuesday in plenty of time to cheer the Hawks on!!!!

It is my intention to do blogging on the way. I will have my laptop with me and will be able to keep in touch via email. Hopefully I will be able to download pictures OK.

Merry Christmas to everyone. We'll miss the snow (at least I will), but I'm sure there will be plenty left for cross country skiing when we get back.

ALL IS WELL.....

I have to say, I have two son-in-laws with the greatest sense of humor. They both work hard at keeping me on my toes and reminding me that there's always a funny side to life.

The latest example is Wes. He is married to our youngest daughter, Jennifer. They live in Olathe, KS with their two daughters, Bailey and Olivia.

Thanksgiving day Wes presented me with a gift bag of accessories for my 'new wheels'. The presentation began with, "When a member of the family receives a new set of wheels, it's our tradition to provide that person with an assortment of useful accessories." I could tell that Wes put a lot of thought into what he bought for me and each item was useful, decorative and served a purpose. I received--

1. A bicycle cable with a padlock to prevent anyone from steeling my wheels.
2. Glow stick necklaces to wear when navigating in busy traffic.
3. Air fresheners to keep that 'old person' smell away.
4. A rear view mirror for changing lanes without causing a pile-up behind me.
5. And best of all a pink horn to announce to anyone within ear-shot that I NEED SOMETHING!!, or GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!!

I'm only sorry that I didn't receive these things earlier. These would have been beneficial in the early days after my surgery. Chuck could have used some extra help with being sensitive to my needs. There were times if he was far enough away that it was difficult to get his attention when I needed him.

But, I've never been one to waste an opportunity so Monday when I traveled to Iowa City to see my surgeon, I mounted all my 'stuff' on my wheels for what I expected to be my last outing with the walker.

First of all, Mary and I met our cousin Sandy for lunch at Granite City in Cedar Rapids. It was easy to get everyone's attention and I received VIP treatment in the restaurant. We got the table we wanted and our waiter was very accommodating. When I demonstrated the horn and told him I would use it to get his attention if needed, he laughed but we never had to honk for him. Doors were held, people moved out of the way. Same thing in the hospital. I'm not really the kind of person that tries to get the attention focused on me.......but it certainly had it's advantages. People were interested in the story and I could tell most were envious that I had such a thoughtful son-in-law. Thanks again, Wes. YOU'RE THE BEST!!!!!


My curiosity is peaked when I'm told not to do something. My foot had to stay bandaged for 2 weeks so I was very anxious to see what it looked like when the dressing was removed. I had seen it a couple of days after when I got the dressing wet and Mary had to change it, and it made an impression on me then. I told everyone it was a 3-4" incision when, in fact, it was about 2 inches. Nice job of suturing and I don't think I'll have much of a scar. The doctor explained that the probe was pretty deep to free the nerve that was causing the numbness, but looks like it's healing well.

I followed doctors orders yesterday exactly. Only 1 hour with my shoe on and the rest of the day wore my boot. I have no pain whatsoever in my foot, but after a day walking with that boot the tendon in the back of my calf was screaming. So, I've decided -- no boot. I'll wear the shoe and rest every hour or more often if needed.

That's the latest update for me. My life is pretty small right now. There's lots to do in the next couple of weeks to get ready for Christmas. Today I will finish my shopping list and do as much as I can via the internet. This weekend, Chuck and I will go and try to finish up what we can. We're going to look for an electric fireplace for the sun room to make it cozier out there. I decorated that tree yesterday and enjoyed the snow flurries a couple of times. I know it was cold outside in the afternoon, so I was glad I didn't have to go out.

Stay warm everyone and I'll be in touch.....

Over Half Way!!!!!

I hope I don't run out of room in the sunroom. I'm surrounded by my "stuff". Before surgery I collected projects in the spare bedroom to work on and as I finish, Chuck brings me another one. It's worked well, but there's barely room to get thru here. When Mary and Anne get here today, I'll have to have them carry some stuff downstairs.

Speaking of downstairs, yesterday (while Chuck was here) I "slid" downstairs on my rear. It was easy and I wanted to scope things out because tomorrow the top is coming for my cutting table. Somethings needed to be moved out of the way so under my direction, Chuck stacked here and there to make room for the carpenters. I tell you, I have seen a whole different side of the guy this past week. He's always more than willing to do stuff for me. Well, to be honest, he always had 2 jobs and we had the kids who could help out so I guess he never felt a need to be available. And I've never really been in a situation like this where I couldn't actually get where I needed to go. It's been a good experience. I do have to remember that the week nights are different than the weekends. When he gets home his head is full of work and he can be a little "short". I'm short too because I'm frustrated with my disability. It's taught us to be more tolerant of each other...and that's a good thing.

Back to downstairs. Chuck carried the walker downstairs for me to use. The coming up was easy and he brought the walker back up. But today, he's not here so he brought a short rope in the house for me to tie on to the walker so I can lower it and then pull it back up myself. Just being down there yesterday gives me itchy fingers to work on something on my sewing machine. Or even just a change of scenery. Those of you who quilt will understand; the rest of you will just be shaking your heads.

This week should go by fast. My sister is coming today, the carpenters will be here tomorrow, Wednesday I'll be getting birthday gifts wrapped and my pie started for Thursday. Thursday in DM, Friday home, Saturday we're going to Iowa City to see friends, Monday I go back to the surgeon and get my stitches out. Mary will drive me down - we may make a day of it.

My agility is really improving. I got my shower this morning in record time and am actually going to style my hair today. That will be a huge improvement. During my down times I'm watching Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel. The way I see it; it's downhill from here.

Til later

WHERE THERE'S A WILL----THERE'S A WAY!!!

Week 1 is over finally and I think I am progressing pretty well. A few unexpected crisis, but I have been able to overcome them.

I finally figured out how to transport 'stuff' with me. I put this bag on my walker and I fill it up with whatever needs to move with me. I'm sure I look like a bag lady. It's worked pretty well, other than Wednesday when I put my phone and my water bottle with cranberry juice in it without realizing that the bottle wasn't closed tightly. Needless to say, my phone got sweet juice inside of it. I cleaned it out as best I could and left it open to dry out. It worked (with an occasional hiccup) the rest of that day. By yesterday it was OK. Imagine me in my condition and no way to talk to people.




The other problem I had was getting food. Of course, starting Monday, I didn't have Chuck to wait on me and I was trying to figure out how I could get food transported in a Target bag. Most of the time it didn't work well, then on Wednesday I came up with this ingenious tray on wheels. Well, ingenious to me. If you get hungry enough, you finally find a way. Now someone needs to invent some way to have a tray hook on to this walker. It's probably already out there; I just don't now it.


Don't know what the problem was, but I was able to finish downloading the rest of my project pictures. These are all things that I made about 10 years ago and finally had them quilted. Got the bindings all on and now I think I'm may sell them. If I can figure out Etsy I think that would be a good way to go. I really need to find someone to set an account up for me. I hate doing that stuff. I've decided I need to get serious about weeding out some of my stuff. After all---I don't plan to live forever and my girls have told me they don't want to have to go thru all that "stuff"!






This could be a small table mat or I put a pocket back on it so it could be used as a pillow. The star is gold wool. The size is 16x16.












This wall quilt is 33 x 40. It's very graphic and my quilter did a nice job of quilting on it.















This small wall hanging consists of 4" log cabin blocks. It's a little dark in the picture, but I applique'd a red candle in the lower right corner. It measures 23 inches square. It too could be used on a table.












This is a really early piece I did. It was part of a Thimbleberries Club Project that I taught in Des Moines. It can be used all year and has patriotic feel to it. Could be on the wall or on a table. It measures 25x29.


The pine tree table mat that I posted the other day measured 45x45inches. It looked really nice on my harvest table.


I'm practicing promoting these things for when I put them on Etsy. I have such a terrible time getting rid of my stuff. Even when I make something specifically for someone it's tough for me to see it go. I know I have a problem......


And Last: A couple more pictures of Braylon's birthday party.



Grandpa and Grandma Rice can't get enough of him!


The presents just kept coming......









But, he really wasn't that interested in the cake!

DAY 5...

Well, so much for the last 4 days. My surgery took place on Friday morning and I thought for sure I would spending my time since then stitching, blogging, catching up on emails and just having fun in general. In the past, outpatient surgery has been pretty uneventful and I've been able to pretty much resume my normal activities within 24 hours. The surgery went fine, it look several hours to come out of the anesthetic but I continued to be drowsy and nauseous for the next 3 days. On the plus side - I have had NO PAIN. Thanks to the pain meds, however, they were the reason I have been so drowsey. GOOD NEWS. I weaned myself off the meds and went to bed last night with out any. No pain so far today so I'm thinking good old asprin will get me thru the rest.



I did get a shower on Sunday while Chuck was still here to pick up the pieces if necessary. But, I felt like my plan for wrapping my foot and covering with a plastic bag would take care of any possibility of getting the bandages wet. I used my new potting bench to sit on and was able to wash my hair... and get some clean pjs on....oh my that felt good. However, I could probably have sold tickets to the feasco that ensued during the process. Anyway ended up right side up and that was the most important. I didn't realize, tho' that I had gotten my bandages pretty damp. I really didn't feel like doing much of anything except going back and forth from the couch to the bed to the sunroom for those days.



Yesterday was better. Kayla and Kelsey stopped for a couple of hours in the morning. Mary came about 10am. I told her about getting my dressing wet so she went right to work removing the old dressing, cleaning up my foot and getting a new dressing on. Anyway, I got to see the incision. 3-4" on the inside of my heel and lots of stitches. It'll probably heal pretty clean.



The biggest challenge for me is trying to manuever that walker. My arms are pretty strong from doing laps in the pool, but my palms are very sore. I'm able to get most everywhere, tho' (except for my sewing room) and have even mastered getting in and out of the sunroom. In fact, I told Jennifer this morning "I feel too darn good to be tied to that walker!"




Yesterday Mary stayed until almost 4pm and we worked on getting bindings on some quilts. She's finishing up a new baby quilt for her great-grandson and I finished bindings on 5 small pieces. I can't believe I made these 10 years ago when I still lived in DM and worked at a shop. They were shop models. I like getting these checked off my list.


For some reason I'm stalled again with downloading pictures. I'm going to go ahead and publish this post and see if I can go back in and that way.


Wanted to show a pic of Braylon at his first birthday party. That was last Saturday in Cedar Rapids. He was really good considering all the people and all the gifts. He wasn't interested in playing in his cake, so mom disappointed that she wasn't able to get some of horrible messy pictures.

WHERE TO START???

I have to say, This year has turned out to be the most bizzare year of my life. I have never felt so unorganized and disoriented. It seems like eons ago that Chuck and I made the decision to buy this acreage. And since that day I feel like it's been one situation after another. But I'm holding fast to Chuck's comment over the weekend "Are we in heaven?" We truely do feel that way the biggest share of the time and believe that if we just keep working in that direction, we'll begin to feel 'settled'.

For those of you that have never lived in a rural environment, it's important to remember that there are lots of things that must be handled differently than if you live within the city limits. Fortunately, we have lived in both worlds, however it's been awhile since country living for us and you forget about the obstacles that must be overcome.

Back in the 'old days', we didn't have to worry about being connected to the internet. That might not be a problem for most people, but when you've had the convenience of instant and high powered internet connections, it takes some getting used to. I thought that a connection thru my Blackberry phone would be the answer, but turned out not to be an option because I wasn't able to download pictures to my blog. So we decided to go with a satellite connection, but had to wait for the providers to get us on their schedule. It's done now and I'm ready to go.

Speaking of country living, our garden produce was just awesome this year. Everything got planted in a hurry and then afterwards I wasn't sure what was growing where, but here's some of our crop of Butternut squash. The green beans were awesome, just not enough of them. The tomatoes were so,so - but I'm motivated for next year as I've reading up on mulching, etc. to prevent blight.

Last weekend I was busy traveling to Kansas City to visit our 'little girls'. Bailey played in a powderpuff football game (middle school) and Olivia (second grade) cheered at their last football game. It was a busy weekend. We always cram a lot into those visits. I went alone as Chuck had an Iowa game to go to.

This weekend I'm feverishly working to get things ready for my 2 week 'sabbatical'. I will be in Iowa City on Friday for a scheduled foot surgery. It will be an outpatient procedure, but I will not be able to use my foot for 2 weeks. In preparation, I'm organizing all of my unfinished projects to work on. I have high hopes that when the two weeks has passed, I will have the bindings sewn on 3 large quilts and 6 small quilts, the applique' completed on my Blackbird table topper that we received in Spring Green, and a couple of cross stitch projects finished.

I expect to post often on my blog because now I have a laptop. I will be able to keep up with emails and do some internet Christmas shopping. After the first week, I should be pretty mobile with my walker, but I won't be able to go downstairs to my sewing room. I look forward to having some 'found time' to go thru the files on my PC and get things cleaned out and maybe even figure out how to make my Blog look more appealing.

Anyway, I must go for now as I have a big day planned with lots to get done. Want to get a couple kinds of soup made so that I don't starve while I'm laid up. Chuck will take good care of me, but his idea of cooking is throwing a pizza in the oven or opening a can of soup. I'm sure I'll have lots of funny things to relay to all of you in the weeks to come.

Thanks for sticking with me. Bye for now.

STILL NOT READY

I tried to post this morning, but wasn't able to download pictures. The download just keeps processing without over completing the process. I think there must be some kind of filter that needs to be turned off, but I haven't found it yet. Our local technician downloaded all my old files, but they aren't necessarily where I expect them to be. Still don't have a printer driver so he's coming out one of these nights to get that installed. I can have him check out the problem with my picture downloads then. Just wanted to let you know that I'm on working on getting used to my new laptop. I consider myself basically technical. That means, I know enough to look around in there, but it takes me awhile to get things figured out. I hate to post without including my pictures.

Boxwood and Berries was so much fun. For those of you that don't know, I picked up a bug while I was there and ended up coming home a day early. The last day of classes I woke up at 3:00am sick to my stomach and all the symptoms that go along with those viral things. Layed in my hotel bed until 9am and then decided I might as well head for home. It took a long time with multiple stops at the convenience stops to unload my stomach. Was in bed the rest of the day Tuesday and all day Wednesday. Head ache lasted off and on thru Thursday. I just tried to stay away from people. In fact, to tell you how terrible I felt, all my stuff got unloaded on Wednesday morning and I never even got downstairs to go thru it all until a week later. Yesterday I got it all oranized and put away and prioritized as I only got one of my projects finished.

Won't elaborate anymore. I'll be working on my PC today - email is up and I'll be trying to go thru the 170+ emails I have. Hopefully, I'll be ready to post by Monday......

SHORT AND SWEET

Just a quick post to let everyone interested know that my PC has died. Of course, I've been putting off doing this post until my room downstairs was done. Well, it's finished and I'm moved in, but the only PC I have is my husband's work laptop. No photo capabilities, so it's boring. I ordered a new laptop on line but it won't be shipped for probably 10 days. So, I'll have to beg some time on Chuck's laptap at nite. If he remembers to bring it home.

Anyway, Friday I'm leaving for Spring Green, WI to Country Sampler's Boxwood and Berries Retreat. Meeting up with Jean Elliot from Brown Deer, WI. It will be four days of fun, fun, fun. I promise to have lots of pictures and stories to share. Until then, thanks everyone for wondering about me.

I'll be back in business in a couple of weeks.

Where To Begin.....

It's been 3 weeks since my last posting. Honestly, every time I think I'm going to be faster at getting postings done, but everything else seems to take priority. There has been a steady stream of contractors, claims adjusters, and decorators thru this house for the last 3 weeks. It seems like forever since I had a quiet day to myself. But, we have a plan now and people to make it happen. This week the drywall got repaired and tomorrow the painter is coming to start repainting the room. The floor has been ordered and will be installed next Thursday. Yeah ! I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have also made plans to do some work in the sunroom while the painter is here. And I'm looking at some flooring samples for that room also. (Waiting for the samples to actually get to the decorator so she can show them to me.)

Jean and Betsy were here on August 31 and we had so much fun! Spent the next day on a road trip to the Woolen Needle in Williamsburg. Neither had been there before so it was fun to show them. It's a cool shop and was chosen to be featured in the Quilt Sampler magazine this fall. I had just been there 2 or 3 weeks prior so I tried not to buy much.


We had a fun Labor Day weekend. Jennifer and family from Olathe, KS were here. The girls are always so much fun. Lots of energy. Lucy the miniature poodle was a farm dog for a couple of days and really seemed to enjoy all the wide open spaces. She ran and ran and was so tired Saturday morning Jennifer had to wake her up to go outside. We had one tense moment when we couldn't find her. Bailey freaked out thinking she may have gotten on the road, but as it turned out, we found her in the basement. Apparently she followed someone down there and while she was snooping around, they come up and shut the door.




Chuck had an opportunity to show off his mower and trailer. Anyone interested got a ride all over the yard and up and down the ditch. Of course, Jen, Bailey and Olivia were eager to try it out!!









Mike and Stacey were here and we spent Sunday outside playing lawn games. Had a pit fire both nites and roasted some of those huge marshmallows. They turned out to be kind of a disaster. Olivia had trouble getting them off the sticks and some ended up in the drive. Anyway, it was way too much marshmallow for a s'more! Told a couple of ghost stories around the campfire and just enjoyed being outside. It was a beautiful weekend.








Jennifer and Wes













Bailey



The garden is about done. The zinnias were really pretty this summer and they are the last color I have except the squash and pumpkins. My tomatoes did get blight, but I keep picking a few small ones occasionally. Enough to have on salads, anyway.

The beans didn't do as well as I expected. Oh, well, next Spring when it's time to plant garden we'll be here and can get things in earlier. Waiting for the next rain so I can dig my carrots. They are ready and I just have to decide what to do with them. I've never canned carrots; maybe I'll try that this year.


We've started cleaning off the garden. Removed the supports for the peonies and cut them back. We have a couple more things to remove. There's a bush that looks like it's on it's last leg. Just need to have someone tell me what it is because I really like the shape of it and would like to replace it with another. Of course, I haven't been very diligent with the weeding this last hot month. So there are lots of weeds to get pulled. I will be transplanting my poppies. And we need to get started preparing for a new raspberry patch. We're going to move it out into a sunny spot in the yard so I have more room for 'row crops'.

That's going to be it for now. Til later.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

I've had a birthday since I last blogged and wanted to show you my birthday gift from Chuck. These wonderful clotheslines are what I've been wanting for the last 5 years. There just wasn't a good place to put them at our old house - so I've been waiting until the most important stuff got done here. It's the best gift ever and I am thrilled. It's really the pick-me-up I needed after all this other @#$#@!! stuff.

I don't hang everything out but the sheets, bedding, towels - that kind of stuff are just wonderful to smell after a day of drying in the sun and wind. The ultimate for me is crawling into the sheets at night. You know what I mean.

And now that I have the clothesline I'm going to work on updating my Blog a little. Make a little more interesting. I have some ideas if I can just figure out how to do it.



There's not a lot to report on the water disaster. The last of the contractors have been thru and it looks like we can expect them to get started on repairing the drywall next week. We have a nice guy to work with and he doesn't have a lot of other jobs going right now. Best of all, he lives just up the street.

In the meantime, I've moved my machine and stuff back downstairs. I spent a couple of days cutting and laying some extra carpet in another area just outside of the family room. I'm hooked up and working a few hours a day.

It's not perfect, but works for me.







The lighting isn't the best. But with the help of extension cords, lamps and an extra long cable cord I have everything I need to be productive.






And I don't think I ever posted a picture of my 'fabric room'. The original owners intended to finish this area as a bedroom, but Chuck lined all the walls with shelves. It was just enough (barely) to hold all of my stash of quilting fabric, wools, dye materials, patterns, etc. I am one lucky gal to have that guy!!!










My friends Jean and Betsy are coming for a visit on Tuesday. I am so excited to see them again. Last time they were here, I was so inspired with all the projects that Jean has going on that it took a couple days before I could settle back down to reality.

Jean and I are going to meet in Spring Green, WI in October for the Boxwood and Berries Retreat. We're going to the second session so we may miss a lot of the girls that were there last year, but we'll get to meet an entire new group. Can't have too many friends!!! The projects sound fantastic. I know it will be 4 days of nonstop work, laugh, share and eat. I can't wait.



Then, Labor Day weekend our Kansas City family will be here for a couple of days. We haven't seen much of our kids this summer so we're really looking forward to some down time. The girls have been on 2 vacations - Cancun and Disneyland so I know there will be lots to talk about.

Well, gotta go. Have lots to do to get ready for Tuesday. Lunch needs to be special for those two. And they are seeing my 'farm' for the first time. Jean thinks I should name it so I hope she can come up with something that we can go with.

Til next time.

DIFFERENT TOPIC!!!!

I was going to give you an update on the sewing room situation, but honestly, I'm tired of thinking about it. Last week was filled with people in and out looking, estimating, recording, etc. Today the guys got the floor out and now I'm just waiting until someone can start replacing the drywall. Things will move slow as we have been told that the recent wind and high water situations between here and Cedar Rapids have a lot of their staff booked for a couple of weeks.



In the meantime, I've setup a little sewing area in my kitchen. My machine on my old teacher's table and a make-shift design board made of 2" styrofoam and started working on the quilt I wanted to make for the sunroom. I just needed some creative time. Improves my whole outlook.




Do you have Japanese Beetles in your garden?
I didn't know what they were when I first saw them, however, they were making short work of the leaves on my raspberry bushes. When I visited our local nursery they informed me that the beetles could do major damage and there were only a couple of ways to kill them. Burning or drowning in dishwater. The alternative was this 'beetle trap'. Sounded too good to be true.



I wasn't in favor of spraying or trying to catch them. So we put this up at the far end of the garden. The beetles are drawn to a scent and fly in the bag, go down thru the trap, and can't get back out. The bag fills in about a week and they live thru it. It's creepy, but this is the 3 rd bag of beetles that we've trapped. I rarely see any on my garden - they were getting very fond of my green beans that were just starting the blossoming stage.

Speaking of green beans - here's mine. I planted pole beans this year. They are heavy producers and easy on the back as you can pick them while standing. I picked 3 yesterday and there are 100's of tiny ones, so I'm hoping for a bumper crop.


My squash are all over the place. It's hard to see them here, but I planted the yellow butternut and I have dozens. I'm excited as they are our favorites.




The carrots really aren't ready yet, but I couldn't resist pulling a few. My sister was here yesterday with her 2 little grandsons so we pulled some up for them to take home. The soil here is perfect for root vegetables; more of a sandy loam so the carrots are growing nice and long. The ones I pulled yesterday were about 6-7 inches.




Just for fun I planted a hill of several different gourds. Here's a little bumpy one that is growing up a rake handle and covering this little bird house. I have 3 or 4 different kinds so far. The other vines are my Sugar Pie Pumpkins. I always use fresh pumpkin for my pies in the fall. There is such a difference in the taste. The ones specifically for pie have a finer texture and are sweeter than jack-o-lanterns. Other years I have had to go as far as Des Moines to find them. I'm excited that I'm going to have in my garden this year. I have found 3 so far. One of them is on vine that has climbed up one of our arborvitae so it's hanging about 6 feet off the ground!!


And look at these!!!! I didn't realize my garden was home to these lilies. I first became acquainted with the Naked Lady while I lived in Des Moines. A friend of mine pointed them out to me one day when we were walking in her neighborhood. They are actually an Amaryllis - Belladonna Lily. The excitement is that they are a huge surprise if you don't know that they are there. The bulbs come in the Spring and look very similar to other lilies. The difference is the leaves all die down and are gone. Then, in early to mid August within a couple days, bare flower stalks shoot up about one and half feet with these beautiful trumpet shaped flowers. They are a pale pink. I cut one stalk and put in water in the house and it lasted for 5-6 days. Believe me - I have the area surrounded with sticks and labeled. I'd like to move them this fall so they are by themselves and I can watch for them. They are pretty lost right now in all the other lilies in the back of the garden.

Well, that's about it for now. Tomorrow I'm off to Iowa City for a routine check on my feet, and Wednesday, The Club is meeting for a birthday lunch in Cedar Falls. Can't wait. I haven't touched on the picnic we went to last weekend. I took pictures, so maybe later this week, I'll have a chance to get those out.

Isn't this weather great!!!!! Until Later!!

Back To Square One - The Renovation!!

I have taken lots of new pictures of the garden and some sewing projects I've finished in the last couple of weeks and had planned to share those with this posting.

We had a family reunion picnic today in Charles City and my plan was to come home and write up a new post. By the way - we had so much fun and saw relatives I hadn't seen for awhile - but anyway, when we got home, Chuck needed to leave right away to the mow the yard in town so we grabbed up the picnic basket, etc. and darted in the house. Of course, I had to go the bathroom right away.....On my way there I thought I heard water running and wondered to myself if I had left the faucet in the bathroom on after getting ready to go. I stepped thru the door and into WATER, WATER, WATER. The water was gushing - I mean gushing out thru the lavatory doors!!!! The water line under the sink had burst and apparently for 4 hours or so water had been running wide open..... Need I say more -- the bathroom is directly above my sewing room. I called out for Chuck. He shut the water off and we went directly downstairs. It was raining!!!!
These are small pictures but if you click on them they will enlarge and you will be able to appreciate the story more.







Ceiling tiles had dropped onto the furniture, water standing everywhere, furniture soaked, books and audio tapes wet, and on and on and on. I won't go into detail anymore. I finally got someone to come - the first guy got here at 8:30 - the second guy @ 10:00. The have ripped up all the trim around the edge of my new floor and are still working to get things dried out down there. They are certain the floor will have to come up. The water ran into a heat run from the bathroom; heat runs aren't intended for water so it leaked out at every connection. At least one wall and the soffit will have to be replaced as there are huge water bubbles coming out. Oh, it's not all bad. My sewing machine was not affected-no water leaked in the part. And my fabric was safely stored in the other room - so that was ok. The painted cupboards wiped off easily, however - my nice oak buffet looks like it will have to re-veneered...It could have been worse - it's just not a convenient time.







Things look sort of like they did when we first moved. I had almost everything in the storage put away - now all the sewing room stuff is moved in there. Looks like it's back to square one for me.

Not sure when I'm going to be back on. I'll try to keep you posted. It's going to be a hot muggy week coming up so I'll probably just stay down stairs and muddle through. Go figure..... My next post will be my garden pictures and the sewing projects!!!! It's 2am an I need to get to bed. I think the guys are loading their trucks up.

More of the Same

Just more of the same here....load it up - drive 4 miles - unload it -
pile it up. Well, it feels that way anyway. If you walked in my front door, things would look pretty good. Open the basement door and it's a big mess!! Funny how the stuff in your old home just doesn't look right in the new place. Slowly but surely, tho' I'm finding a home for most stuff. We have more furniture that we have room for, but I'm having anxiety about getting rid of any of it. After all, I bought it because I loved it! Yikes!!



One thing that seems to keep changing is my sewing room! The setup I had for a cutting table just took up too much room. This old painted cupboard was in the basement when we moved here. I found out from a relative that this was part of the cupboards in the original farm house. It works perfect for a cutting table. It's half the size and has lots of character! The Oak Tree in Plainfield is making a back and ends for it and a maple top.



And all work and no play makes for a dull life, so no matter what, I make a point of doing some kind of sewing every day. During this move it's been cross stitch. This little pincushion and scissor FOB is the first project I received for joining the Chessie and Me Club. Linda (cross stitch designer) does small sewing accessories and some reproduction samplers. I like her projects because she uses many different stitches in her projects in addition to the 'x'.




This small needle rollup is also a design from Chessie and Me. I bought the pattern and kit when I was in Spring Green, WI in March and finally got it done. The linen has a tea-dyed finish which gives it an aged appearance without having to dye it.

This is the third sampler in my series honoring the women in my life. My grandmother Justena Erickson was born in 1900. Her parents immigrated to the United States from Norway when they were young. She lived a long life and I remember spending time on their farm when I was little. She became a widow in her late 40s I believe. My grandfather left her with 2 boys still in high school and a rented farm for income. She never seemed very happy to me and my mother talked often about how she favored her sons over her daughters. Times were tough for her, I know. My mother and her 2 sisters were older than their 3 brothers and I know the girls were expected to help out a lot. My mother had to quit high school when she was 14 or so because Grandma was expecting another baby. Times were tough for everyone then. The interesting thing about this sampler is I'm not absolutely certain of the spelling of her first name. There is a wedding book in existence that was completed by the minister on the day of her wedding and her first name was spelled with an 'e'. However, when visiting her gravesite on Memorial Day this year, I realized that her name on the marker was spelled Justina. Still trying to find out for sure, but have not found anyone that has a copy of her birth certificate. So, I'm going to hold off having it framed until I know for sure.

Well, that's it for today. My friend Jeanne from Waterloo and husband are bringing Miss Natalie to see my 'farm' tomorrow. We haven't had a chance to visit much lately so I'm really looking forward to an off day.

This weekend we have a family wedding which means several hours of visiting with my family. Doesn't get much better than that!!!