Halloween 2009

If you will remember yesterday was Jeremy's birthday and we were to take care of the kids.

Such a hard job, first you feed them, then you spoil them, and then they fall asleep.

















Well that is except for Brady. He will play computer games forever. Here he was playing PBSkids.org








Family photo for Halloween 2009. Elizabeth was very content in her flower pot. Alex is a skeleton, Brady is a prize fighter.










Then Elizabeth got changed into her sleeper. Hair bow and all!


HAPPY HALLOWEEN

32 years ago today . . .

. . . I gave birth to my first born. Jeremy came into this world at 8 pounds even.

We had been married over seven years. A whole new game was on for us now.

He has always bought us joy. (Well almost son!) Just kidding, he is a great son, husband and father.






So whether you're sleeping with that cute little daughter. . .








. . . canoeing with your oldest. . .






or teaching the boys the ways of survival . .








Have a Happy 32nd birthday.


We love you Jeremy!


P.S. We get to baby sit tonight while he goes out with friends to celebrate. It's a win-win situation.

My weekend

Wow! What a busy weekend it's been at our house. Friday night our daughter Sarah and boyfriend Rusty came in from Oklahoma City. We, along with Jeremy and his family, met them at El Jimador restaurant.

The 9 of us took up a rather large table. We had so much fun that when the bill came, 8 year old Brady asked Grandpa if he could see it. To which he exclaimed . . . wow that's a lot!

Saturday we had a wedding to attend. BT and I picked up the granddaughter and took her along. Her mother was the photographer for the wedding.

It was the prettiest day we've had in Mid-Missouri for some time. The sun was out, the sky was blue and it was just a little bit cool. As we pulled up to the church, Lori was taking "before" pictures on the front lawn. The fall colors outside with the navy dresses were beautiful. Little did I know, the decorations for the wedding were also fall colors.

Here is a picture of the wedding cake. Each layer was a different flavor.












Chelsay, the bride, had the ribbons on her wedding dress monogrammed. The monogram was a combination of both her and John's initials.










The youngest niece of the groom was the flower girl. She was so proud of her dress. She was adorable!










Here is a picture of our wedding gift to them. The pattern for the paper pieced pattern came from the Quilts with Style Magazine, that is no longer in publication.














Sunday, the weather was just plain crappy, rain, drizzle and cold. We all pretty much stayed inside. Lori had picture appointments and Jeremy had trapping duties so we got the kids! Lori brought me a beef roast and I made a great big pot of vegetable soup.

While it cooked, Rusty and Brady played Wii.







Sarah worked a crossword puzzle.











Elizabeth was asking me what the password was.










After she figured it out, she went to town on the computer. Kids these days! They start younger and younger.



It's now almost bedtime. It is still raining. Sarah and Rusty are about an hour from home. Hope you all had a great weekend with your family.


54 degrees 9:30PM

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today would have been my Dad's 96th birthday.

This is his family picture taken about 1918. My Dad is the little boy on his father's lap. The last member of the family, sister Faye wasn't born yet.

Dad was a hard worker. Most of the time he worked two jobs. It could have been tending bar, Tweedie's shoe factory, his brother's IGA grocery store, Missouri Highway Department, painting for Major Brother's construction company, or repairing bicycles in the basement.

I always hung around with Dad. That is until one day, while cleaning his paint brushes he painted my thumb with paint thinner. (Isn't that child abuse?) He was trying to get me to stop sucking my thumb. That might have been the year he built me a china cabinet for Christmas, of which I still have. My grand kids have tea parties with it now.

Dad is on the left in this picture. It was holiday time at Grandma's house. Always a house full in such a small space.

Here I am enjoying a dip in Busch's Lake, taken in 1953. Would you believe this lake is now where I live. Back in the 50's it was a resort. Mom gave me this picture and more after we bought the land in 1992.









Here is where I say Dad looked like "string bean". Did you watch Hee Haw? If so you know what I am talking about. This was my wedding day, 39 years ago.






Dad died 9 years ago. Just 2 days after his 87th birthday. Alzheimer's it's a terrible disease. I pray they find a cure for it in my life time.


Miss you Dad, and Happy birthday!

Love

Hope Missouri

Today we went to Hope, Missouri to help out fellow blacksmith, Joe.

Just south of Joe's drive way is this big majestic house. Cut limestone, something that makes my heart melt. This looks like it has been partially restored. So beautiful, why I'd almost trade my timber frame home for it. Since this posting, I have been told this was known as the Hope Mill.







Inside Joe's shop, drawn on his forge hood are chalk drawings from Joe's grand daughter Becky. Something her grandfather treasures.











Here is BT striking hot metal.











Here he shows off an almost completed hinge.





Here is another thing that I found interesting in Joe's shop. On his very organized shelf is a container of moon rocks. Moon rocks? Where did they come from, the moon or Hope?





To check out more of BT forging in Hope click here: Osagebluffblacksmith.

Quick trip

After 27 1/2 hours, 690 miles, 4 barn quilts, acre after acre of corn, fields of soybeans, and one over night stay, we are home. We left Friday afternoon to attend the Saturday morning funeral of BT's Aunt Mary in Jesup, Iowa.

It was always fun when visiting their house. Aunt Mary seemed to live in kitchen. She was well known for her green pickles. At the last family reunion several jars of her pickles brought high dollar at the fund raiser auction. BT was lucky enough to grab a few jars for himself.

It was only appropriate that her family had this arrangement made for her visitation. It features her wooden spoon, her granite cold packer, a jar of her red and a jar of her green pickles. It was topped with her hand written recipe card.

Aunt Mary will be missed by her 6 surviving children, her 24 grand children, 5 great grand children, and countless nieces and nephews. Her son, Tom, proceed her in death only 5 days earlier.

Rest in Peace Aunt Mary.

Gentlemen's wardrobe

Our bedroom is complete. Tonight, the son came over and helped his Dad move the gentleman's wardrobe upstairs. It was somewhere in that move up the stairs, that the son said, you could have built a ranch style timber frame!

In refinishing this wardrobe, I found the date of October 1918 stamped on the back of the mirror. Hard to believe it is 91 years old.



It looks good in the room. We now have three wardrobes in our bedroom.
See how it turns into a neat little desk?

I still would like to find something in oak to use for night stands. Otherwise I'm finished.

Now time to get busy filling the wardrobe up! I plan on using it for fabric storage.

Arrow Rock Missouri 2009

Look what I found in MISSOURI on the way to the Arrow Rock festival. It's a Missouri Barn Quilt. And to think I went all the way to Ohio two weeks ago to find them.

I'll have to admit, I didn't take this picture. (Thanks flickr). We saw it on the way in and was going to snap a picture on the way out. Darn if we didn't go home a different way.

This is Main street.

Some of the carved pumpkins on display.






This is the pottery I bought from Wolf's Point Studio. She uses lace to make the pattern. The piece is like a small cake stand.




We ate lunch at the 1834 Arrow Rock Tavern. The meal was pulled pork, mashed potatoes with the skins on, milk gravy and candied green beans along with corn bread with honey butter. As soon as I got home I had to google the recipe for the green beans. They were so delicious. Basically what I found, you make them just like candied sweet potatoes, a little bacon and lot of brown sugar.


It was a very cool fall day. We wore layers, some of which included cuddle duds! We saw many talented artists, viewed a quilt show, saw street musicians, watched apple butter being made, ropes being braided, yarn spun and ran into several old friends.

I took so many pictures, I felt this was the best way to share them with you:

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Tom Monat 1955-2009

Today we lost one heck of a cousin. His battle with cancer is over.

He is fishing in the great waters with God.

Rest in peace TOM

Per Tom's request, his body was cremated and he did not want services. If you wish to send a card, email me and I will get you an address. You can get my email by going to my profile. Patti

Terry's block

A few posts ago I told you I was making a block for Terry. I finished it today. Tomorrow, it will be mailed to Maine.







Sorry this picture is blurry (I wasn't the photographer). I just wanted to show you how Bentley has to check his email every evening after dinner.







I'm still working on Miss E's baby doll quilt. Here's a few more of the blocks. Most of them were taken out of the Quilts for Rosie book. Sarah gave me the book for my birthday. Great paper piecing patterns.

Finally I will leave you with a few pictures from our place. This is just a sampling of what 4 to 5 inches of rain can do.











It is 55 degrees and still raining, I just turned the furnace on. We have been A/C and furnace free since the 14th of August. The electric cooperative will love me now.

Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church Groom Texas

My MIL lives in Groom, Texas. The cross of the highway is located outside her kitchen window. Every day as she does dishes, hangs out clothes to dry, or walks through her dining room, this is her view.

Awesome!!!

This cross is located on Highway 40 and can be seen for miles when approaching from either the west or east side. To read more on the Cross ministries you can go here.






However, they were awaken Tuesday morning to the sounds of fire engines. Their church, Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church was on fire. To read more about it go here.

Our prayers are with all of the Groom parishioners.