Company is now gone :(

Since the weekend Jim and Nancy have been here. They are from Iowa, well recently from Texas, and then New Mexico, before that Arizona and somewhere in between was California.

You see they wintered out west. They have lived in Iowa all their life. That is until this January.

They took their 5th wheel and flew the coop.

We sure enjoyed their company. Jim threw the blacksmith out of the canoe on Monday. And we still enjoyed their company. Even if the fish still got away. While the guys were fishing Nancy and I took Elizabeth and shopped at Wal-mart.

Tuesday the guys went 4 wheeling. The girls went to the Lake of the Ozarks shopping. We first checked out Love to Sew Boutique. Nancy and I both bought fabric. You know the old saying: the quilter that dies with the most fabric wins! Our next stop was Marshall's, then one of us, I'm not saying who did some serious shopping. That person even bought a Christmas present.

BT showed Nancy how to weave her palm.

This was the Pork Loin with Pepper jelly I made for dinner on Monday night. My thanks to Pioneer Woman for the recipe.

You know some times pictures just don't tell you like it is. Nancy and Jim gave us the top package of marshmallows. The package on the bottom are the mini's. The big one are HUGE. The package is all in spanish, it is 840 grams which is about 1 lb and 8 ounces. I can't wait to surprise the grand kids with these.

We are sorry to see the company leave. But they have been away from their home for almost 3 months. Which means they have been away from their kids, daughter-in-laws, son-in-law and GRAND KIDS for 3 months. I know they missed them all.

I hope they come back soon.

Elizabeth and her birthday present!

Too cute for words.

Stover Gathering, day 2, with peeps group #2

The trip to Stover Missouri started promptly at 11:45 when I met 3 gals in a local grocery store parking lot. Nicole, aka Missouri Gal was our chauffeur. Marilyn and Brenda were her
co-workers. I was the new girl on the block.

It was fun to chat with 3 new quilting friends. The talk never stopped, or the laughter.

Our first stop was in Versailles Missouri at Shady Gables tea room. We did not have reservations, however they said they could take us right in. Our server before seating us asked if we knew about the tea room? (I could see mink capes on all the chairs in the dining room). She said it was not an order off the menu thing. I asked how long high tea would take and she told us 2 to 2 1/2 hours. We quickly opted out. After all we had things to do and places to go.

After we grabbed a quick bite at McD's (I know a far stretch from high tea) we arrived at the Stover gathering.

This was a two story building full of a quilter's dream. I counted 29 vendors. You could buy anything quilted related plus some wine, pottery or lunch under one roof.

I snapped a few pictures of things I really liked today.


This rabbit quilt, with the carrot borders was beautiful.

This was the booth of Quilted Oak. See the dress quilt on the wall. I so wanted it! The dresses were made from reproduction feed sack material.

Nicole found fellow blogger Katie aka Primitive Woolens. Katie had told us via email where to look for her. All three of us being bloggers had to take a picture with their respective cameras! Too funny!

This was Primitive Stitch's booth. They are from Warrensburg Missouri. I loved all the felt pictures.

This was the raffle booth. Don't the two ladies look thrilled to be sitting there? Anyway I took a couple of chances on the quilt and a few more on the sewing machine. Hope I win.

I think this was Patches Place of La Monte Missouri. I just loved all the embroidery items.

Now if I could have gotten this picture without the ladies, you could have seen the quilts better. It just goes to show you how crowded it was.

I even found a pottery booth with a butter bell I have been wanting. Unfortunately it was black pottery. I just can't do black.

The 4 of us all had packages to take home. We stopped at Stover Quality Quilting just a block away. So much to look at there, even a bargain back room.

It was time for some refreshments. So Nicole knew the way to Grey Bear Winery. The long winding blacktop lead us deeper into the countryside.

We arrived just as owner David was putting out his open shingle. It was time to sample some wine. We tried samples from many bottles. From Chicks and Tiggers, Bushwacker, Bear Claw,

Trail of Tears to Smoke Mountain. David was so much fun. With every sample he poured us, he would ask 'mind if I drink with you'? Sometimes he'd fill his glass and forget about ours.

After we purchased a couple of bottles, we made our way to the bar. There he served samples of beer. He was even into adding liquor to beer. I passed on them all. I'm not a beer fan.

We decided it would be nice to eat again. So we purchased a sampler platter and found a table for us. It was my first time to have breaded fried pickles and breaded fried cauliflower. The beer battered onions rings were the best I've ever eaten.

It was about 4:45 when we left there. We would make one more stop at Linda's Cotton Patch in Versailles. There I finally broke down and bought 4 yards of fabric. The girls were so glad I finally gave in.

We arrived back at our parked cars about 6:00. What a great way to spend a day in the country with fellow quilters and bloggers.

Thanks, Nicole, Marilyn, Brenda and Katie!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth

Look who's 1 year old today!

My how time flies.

We love you ELIZABETH!

Lunch with Peeps, group #1

Today I met fellow bloggers Betsy and Becky at Arris Cafe for lunch.

Lunch was wonderful, both with friendships and food.

The B's had Nachos,which had tortilla chips, jalapeños, diced tomatoes, scallions, melted cheddar and Jack cheese, fresh guacamole, sour cream, and pica de gallo. Covered with a lime-marinated chicken.

I had Fijian Salad, which was grilled chicken, layered with mixed greens, cucumbers, green onions, red and green peppers, tomatoes, macadamia nuts, sesame seeds, cranberries, parmesan cheese, shredded carrots, and crisp wontons. Tossed in Arris’ Creamy Vinaigrette.

We the blogger girls have decided next time to skip lunch and go straight for the dessert. They have 2 jam packed cases full of desserts. From Red velvet cake, to tiramisu and even baklava.

Thanks girls it was great!

Stay tuned tomorrow for peeps, group #2!!!!??!?!

Gardening yesterday

I see that the lilac bush that Tammy from Flat Creek gave me last year is surviving. Now if I can just watch for the little white rod when mowing. I can't wait to smell it's lilac blooms. I will be able to see them out my window when I sew.








We got the first of the garden put in yesterday. Here is row one of the potatoes. The ground worked nice for being a first time garden spot.











Thanks to this new guy that came home with us Tuesday night, the soil became more workable.







After we finished gardening, we cleared off some more woods.





Today is girls day. I am meeting some blogger peeps for lunch. More on that tonight.



Rain, 46 degrees.

AND the weiner is . . .

Jackie from Embracing My Blessings.

Jackie if you will email me your snail mail address I will get it mailed to you this week.

Congratulations!

Happy Birthday Bentley

Someone had a birthday on Monday.

In fact it was Bentley's 5th birthday.

He has gone from this . . .

to this. . .

What a lucky dog he is to have us!

Right Sarah?

Are you a true follower?

Here's the deal. I am once again offering some Wade collectibles for my giveaway.

Why a give away? I just survived the flu and I really feel like rejoicing.

You must be a follower to win. A true follower. You must also check back to see if you win.

I will chose a winner from those that leave me a post. The winner will be announced Sunday evening.

After you have been chosen, you must contact me with your snail mail address.

Good luck followers!

Times a changing

It's time to change . . .

The clock in what Alex calls his room.

The Bose clock on the piano.

My Dad's antique clock.

My Mom and Dad's grandfather clock.

My kitchen clock.

The living room clock.

The alarm clock on hubby's side of the bed.

The alarm clock on my side of the bed.

The alarm clock in what I call the Noah's Ark bedroom.

The clock on the stove. (Notice my antique Salt and Pepper shakers from my aunt June)

And if I have any time left, I will try to finish the last row of my quilt.

Remember spring forward!

You gotta love the son who . . .

loves his kids enough to put them in ink !!!

Does anybody do Cross stitching anymore?

If you will remember from my last post, hubby and I cleaned out our bookcase. In it I came upon these cross stitch magazine and instructional booklets. I have 37 in all.

I use to love to do the stitching. I've now decided to part with these. My eyes will thank me.

So for you bloggers one there, if anyone is interested, they all can be yours for $40. That's about $1.00 a piece and a little left over for postage. This is quite a bargain, had you bought them brand new.

The first one to raise their hand can buy them. If you have questions about more particulars, just let me know.

It's awful quiet around here now

It all started last Thursday when we needed to get the house ready for company.

Here the Blacksmith and I clean out a much over loaded bookcase. Our local library has a sale once a year. They sell donated books for the A.B.L.E. program (Adult reading program). Needless to say we made a very generous donation.

Friday I set a batch of cinnamon rolls. See my recipe here. After I stored it in the refrigerator I met the school bus and picked up the two grandsons. DIL was on a sister's weekend shopping trip.

6:00 pm daughter Sarah and Rusty arrived from Oklahoma City. Hubby and I start on dinner, fried bluegill, hand breaded shrimp, homemade onion rings and french fries. Oh lard help us! I did throw in ramen coleslaw. Son Jeremy showed up just as we were setting the table.

Jeremy and the boys left about 8:30.

Saturday morning, I was up early to set my 2 pans of rolls.

A little butter never hurt.

Lots of brown sugar can't hurt either.

Rise baby rise!

A light drizzle of icing. Never too much.

Jeremy arrived with the boys about 8:00, he would be butchering hogs all day.

The cinnamon rolls were done about 10:30. Alex was disappointed we weren't having fried eggs for breakfast. It makes me think, fried eggs would have been a whole lot easier.

Saturday was beautiful. I delivered Brady for a birthday/swim party. Rusty played Frisbee golf. Sarah and I went to T J Maxx, and Grandpa took care of Alex. It was then time to BBQ.

Brady and Alex stayed all night with us Saturday night. Sarah attended a double bridal shower.

Sunday turned out to be just as beautiful. Rusty played Frisbee golf with the boys in the yard. They played catch, rode the 4 wheeler, rode the 4 wheeler again, and rode it again.


Lori came over after her weekend shopping trip. She caught Sarah and I making egg rolls. We also made Mongolian beef.

For the first time I had to add a table in the dining room. Even with Elizabeth in the high chair, 8 was too many for our dining table. A card table made just enough room for us all.

Elizabeth is enjoying her appetizers.

Jeremy, Lori and the kids left Sunday evening about 7:30. Sarah and Rusty would leave Monday morning, after I had gone to work.

Tonight we moved the quilt frame back to the front of the living room. The company is all gone now. Quilting will give me something to do this week. Rain is to set in tonight and is predicted for the next 4 days. If my fingers hold up I should have it out of the frame in 2-3 days.

Speaking of quilts. Several weeks ago I bought some pretty pink fabric. I cut it into 4 1/2 inches squares and mailed it to Valerie for Granny. Granny makes wonderful quilts every week. In this post you can see the quilt she made from my fabric. Feel free to send squares to Valerie.

Time for the recliner now.

Cloudy, 61 degrees, 9:34 PM

To Barnett and Versailles Missouri and back today

BT and I left the house before 9:00. It would be an early start to a long day.

Our first stop was to pick up his mother, at his sister's house.

The next two stops were in town for some banking for Mom.

We then headed about 20 miles west of Jefferson City to Zimmerman's harness and shoe shop.

Mom and I stayed in the car, while BT went in and purchase a piece of leather.

Just a mile further we stopped at Top Stitch to pick up my sewing machine. My how I would have loved to take you all inside for a view. They sell Berninas embroidery machines there. As we opened the door there were at least 3 young Mennonite girls sitting at the machines embroidering away. They were all wearing white caps, calico dresses and tennis shoes with colored anklets. A CD of religious music was playing away on a laptop computer near the door.

Oh how I would have loved to have played with one of those machines, but I knew the hubby would hog tie me and drag me out immediately.

I picked up my machine, a new see through sewing foot, and a package of #90 ball point needles and headed out.

Back on the road, we traveled only about a mile or two before turning onto a gravel road. We were looking for Pleasant Valley Quilt shop. It had moved from the last time my MIL was there.

We found it behind a big farm house, marked with small signs at the entrance.

As I opened the door, I saw bolt after bolt after bolt of fabric. A Mennonite mother and her two little ones were sitting behind the counter. It was almost over whelming all the fabric. Most of it was about $4.00 a yard. Over in the corner we spied quilts for sale. They were hung from the ceiling, folded to about 18 inches wide. Quilt after quilt, after quilt lined the wall. As we turned around there was a bed, stacked full of more quilts. These were all queen bed size.

We then walked into another room. There the MIL found king sizes quilts. She loved a green one in this first picture. I felt sure she was going to take it back to Texas with her. In the end she left it. The queens were priced about $495, king size ones were $595.00.

In this room I did take two pictures.

I found some Watkins products for my friend Diane and these two handkerchiefs for my someday handkerchief quilt.

Back into the car, we proceeded on down the gravel road only to find the next shop had also moved. It was then that we came upon these buggies. They were parked in front of County Road surplus. We stopped in there and looked at their bargains. BT found some work gloves.

Back in the car and up the muddy road where I met a road grader. It was then necessary to shift to 4 wheel drive. Now the car really gets muddy.

We stopped at Weaver's Market. MIL bought some sorghum and spices. We found smoked cheddar cheese and a big package of salted sun flower seeds. The Mennonite girl checking us out told me where the other fabric store had moved to. I say oh shoot, I'll have to go past that road grader again. She told me I could go the opposite way and go around the block to get there.

Around the block . . . in their terms, it was a 1 mile square block. 1 mile for every right hand turn. On a road the road grader had just completed.

This is Excelsior Fabric shop we had been looking for. Now I thought the last store had lots of fabric. I was wrong. Did I tell you I was wrong?!! Oh My Gosh, her fabric was cheaper and there were many more varieties. She had the old fashioned double knits, bolt after bolt of gingham checks in any size, calico, flannels, cheater quilts fabric, Mennonite clothing, including baby bonnets, straw hats, felt hats, suspenders, buttons, books, patterns, thread. And so much more. If only I could have taken a picture for you.

And what did I leave with? Quilt batting. (Picture at the end of this post) The price is unbelievable!!!! It is enough to make 9 full size queen quilts. The price? $45.20 tax included.

Do you know what a bargain that is? I mean, I pay $14 to $18 for one bed size at Hobby Lobby.

As the Mennonite lady goes to get the batting out of a trailer outside the shop, MIL and I find a new thimble for me. When she came back in, I paid for the thimble and asked if she got it in the car. She said he's working on it.

When I got to the car, I had to laugh. This huge pink bag took up the entire cargo space of my Jeep Cherokee. It blocked my rear view mirror. All I could see was the blacksmith's face outlined in pink plastic.

By this time it was 1:00 and we were famished. We headed into Versailles where we found Lehman's Mennonite Restaurant.

As we walked to our table, we had to pass a counter of baked goods for sale. There were pies; apple, peach, pumpkin, shoofly, coconut cream, and chocolate. Then I saw cinnamon bread, angel food cakes, and cookies. BT and his mother had tenderloin sandwiches with onion rings, I had open faced roast beef on homemade bread with real mashed potatoes.

When we finished our meal, MIL asked if we wanted dessert. BT said he'd pass. She asked me. I told her if she would, then I would too. Okay she said, but I want one of those donuts I have been looking at the entire time I've been eating. So she ordered us each a donut and another cup of coffee. If only I could have taken a picture. It was the biggest and the best donut I have ever eaten. 65 cents of heaven! If they would have been calorie free I would have bought the entire case out. Thanks for buying our lunch Mom, it was so good!

We then headed back towards Jefferson City to the bank. MIL had to pick up some completed papers.

MIL leaving the bank.

Here is my bag of batting. Now you get the picture of just how big this bag is. That's a yard stick stick next to it!

Now I have to find a closet to stuff it in!

Just another fun day in Mennonite country.