Roamy's last day in Mid-Missouri

Today the Blacksmith and I took Roamy to visit the capital city of Missouri,

known as

Jefferson City.

You can read all about our journey at The Roaming Gnome.

You've heard of a talking horse, of course, but have you heard of a talking gate?

I sat Roamy on the gate and all of a sudden,

I hear "Can I help you Ma'am?"

and

there's not a person in sight.

I said "No thank you, I'm just taking a picture."

"No problem then", the gate said.

Oh security these days!

I would bet the Governor wasn't even home,

I saw him on television later in the day.

I then went to the

Governor's garden behind his house,

(public area of course)

just to see if the tulips were talking to me.

But sadly, it's time for Roamy to move on.

His time here is up.

He was a great guest to entertain.

He eats little, and sleeps soundly.

Safe travels.

Roamy visits the blacksmith shop

Roamy went down the lane to visit the Osage Bluff Blacksmith shop today.

With any luck he will get to Jefferson City tomorrow.

Don't forget if you'd like to have him visit your town, drop me a line ASAP.

I've got COMPANY

Look who I found in my mailbox!

It's Roamy. This week I plan to show him the capital city of Missouri known as Jefferson City.

If you would like to host him, I am open for suggestions. He can arrive in your mail box too. Just send me an email to tappelatembarqmail.com and I will pick a destination for him.

Check out Roamy's icon located at the top right of your screen.

Back home

This past week was a sad week. My step father in law passed away in Texas. We left Wednesday for a 10 hour drive. We arrived two hours before the evening prayer service. C.L. was 84 years old. Let me tell you a little story about him. He and my Mother-in-law had dated in 1943 when they were both 17 years old. Things didn't work out for them and they went their separate ways. CL went to the panhandle of Texas and got involved with custom harvesting. In 1951 he married Ludeen McAdams, together they had 8 children, 4 sons and 4 daughters. My mother-in-law stayed here in the area and in 1948 married Henry Tappel, together they had 8 children. 5 girls and 3 boys. CL's wife died in 1995 and my father in law died in 1986. In 1999, CL was back in Missouri and found out that my MIL was a widow. He decided to stop and visit. The rest is history. So at the age of 71 (just the opposite of when they were dating) they were married. And she moved from Missouri to Texas. They had a good 10 1/2 years together later in life. The funeral was the coming together of two large families. After the prayer service on Wednesday, the parish prepared a wonderful evening meal. It was held in the parish hall, as no house was big enough for 16 married children and their spouses, 17 grandchildren, 18 step-grandchildren, 7 great grandchildren, and 18 great step-grandchildren. Plus C. L. was one of 15 children. This picture shows us having a toast to C.L. with his favorite wine, hosted by his children. The funeral was held on Thursday. The church was packed, not only with family, but lots of friends. After the service the parish not only prepared lunch, but invited us back for evening meal.

Friday night most of the family had headed back home. It was quiet time for my MIL and three of her children who stayed to help her out. The girls all pitched in to do 4 or 5 loads of bedding and towels and to assist her with a wonderful meal.

However, no one can make pies like her. She made apricot and cherry and, as usual, they were picture perfect and delicious.

Rest in peace C.L.

This is the view they have out their back windows. It's the Cross of the highway at Groom Texas.

And this video is to show you what it's like when a bunch of the Wiebergs and Tappels get together!

What a difference a week makes

Missourians always say, if you don't like the weather just wait it will change quickly.


This snow is what we woke up to last Monday. Five to eight inches before it was over with.

Then there is today. My pansies that were buried under that snow and many more inches all winter are blooming today.

So in 7 short days we have come to this. From snow to planting in the garden.

But wait, the Farmer's Almanac is still predicting one more doozy this month, a record snow fall!

Bring it on Ms. Mother Nature!!

The cat's out of the bag

Remember when I started on this back in January? Well it took me 40 days and 40 nights to completely hand quilt it all by myself.

I think it turned out beautifully. The squares were from a charm pack I won from Lori at Mountain woman at heart. I had to buy another charm pack and I purchased it at either Etsy or Ebay, I can't remember which one.

You see, it was a gift for the newlyweds. I couldn't tell you before now because they left on their honeymoon less than 12 hours after they were married. They returned from Hawaii yesterday and opened gifts last night.

I hope they have many warm nights under the quilt!

The kids at the wedding

Here are the kids waiting to get the show on the road.

The two nieces compare notes on their uncle and aunt respectively.

Elizabeth waiting patiently.


Here they all are trying to occupy their time.

Are you ready for a game of hide and seek?

Alex is getting excited.

You lookin' at me???

Daddy's little girl.

Grandma's little girl.

The bride with her flower girls.

Just a swingin'

She did it! Now she makes a fast dash for it.

Colten break dancing!

Can I have this dance?

Ready, set, go!

The party is over for one.

Thank goodness for DS games.

The Rehearsal

We arrived in Oklahoma City at 1:30 the day before the wedding and we hit it running.

It took an army of family and friends to get the room decorated. The Civic Center Music Hall was the place to be, more importantly, the Hall of Mirrors located on the second floor. A description of the hall from the Civic Center web site . . . "This grand historic ballroom on the Grand Tier level of the Civic Center Music Hall boasts original 1930s architectural styling and elegance. The 5,000 square foot room, with breathtaking views of the downtown skyline, makes for an inviting and functional space for weddings. Parquet wood floors throughout the room allow for flexible seating models, and a built-in stage with staircase is the perfect place for presentations or entertainment."

Son Jeremy would place the ribbon on the chair and the women would finish the bow.

Daughter in law Lori tied her fair share too.

Kealey, the maid of honor and her mother Sandy, (who came from Iowa) helped to tie some on too.

In the end the tables were beautiful.

Sarah and Rusty were now ready to get this party going.

After a great Italian dinner and some awesome Tiramisu it was gift opening time.

The flower girls were given the book bags I had made. They each got their own initial charm bracelets too.

Brady was excited to find a DS game in his bag.

And I'm pretty sure Alex was excited too, he just didn't show it.

We were given a Flip video camera. This was a complete surprise to us and something we didn't expect. However with that said, we will have a ball with it for blog entries. We can now video the Blacksmith's demos, the craft fairs, the dog, the camping trips in our little Casita, and of course, the grand kids.

We locked up about 8:30 and headed for the hotel. However, the partying got started there again. The bar was open and the drinks were rolling. We crashed about 11 and left the fun to the younger ones. After all, mother of the bride needed some beauty sleep.

More to come!

The Bride

More to come!!!!

The wedding cake

Oklahoma Bound Friday March 11th 2011

This was the scene as we drove to Oklahoma City on Friday. It started with white smoke . . .

and soon turned black.

49 homes were destroyed. Here is one article I found: Oklahoma wildfires.

How to make a lotus flower

For the wedding last week, I made cloth napkins. Some one else did the presentation.

So for my daughter's up coming wedding I gave it a stab. Actually just google napkins folding lotus and you will see a much more explained method. But I will give it a try.

Wash and iron it flat, using spray starch on the wrong side. That is damp spray starch you see, not stains!

Fold the corners into the middle making sure the points are very crisp. Once again spray starch and iron.

Darn spray starch wasn't ready for another photo this time either. But fold the corner in one more time. Iron crisp with starch.

Flip it over, turn the corners in one more time, you know the routine, starch and crisp. You are now ready to pull the petal up from each corner. Trust me I know, I did 24 of these today!

It's less than 48 hours until the wedding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm getting nervous now.