On the Road Again

Our bags are packed and we are ready to go...

We've thrown in a bone or two as well...

We can hardly wait to meet our new granddaughter...

Unexpected Trip to the Midwest

On January 14, Hubs and I loaded the dogs and a suitcase into The Tank and headed west to St. Louis.  An unexpected trip back to Hubs' boyhood home was in order as his mom had emergency surgery.  We stayed on for ten days until Hubs' brother could come to stay with Maxine the Great.

Genealogy is one of Hubs hobbies.  He took the opportunity to scan some pictures of his ancestors.   

This is a picture of his maternal great grandmother, Irene Jane Collins.

She lived from 1868 - 1949.

Maxine the Great wanted me to look for this quilt that Irene Jane, her father's mother made.  It is not known when she made this quilt, but it is thought to be about 100 years old.   

A close up view shows that the appliqued pieces were created by folding the fabric in fourths then cutting out a quarter of the pattern.  While the applique was sewn on by machine, the quilting was done by hand. 

 Here is a picture taken just before we left Hubs' mom's home.  Maxine the Great is moving a little slower and still gaining strength, but she is doing well.

It has been a while since I have joined other vintage lovers for Vintage Thingies Thursday.

File Under "Bizarre"

Hubs has a pair of shoes he wears outside.  He leaves these shoes at the back door on the porch.  When he went to walk the dogs first thing this morning, this is what he found.

Just the left shoe...

Is there a one legged person on a crime spree?
Maybe an animal carried it off?

What do you think happened to the right shoe?
 

Things to Do at the Beach...

...when it rains more than twenty inches in less than two days.

 

 Play Pop Up Pirate...

 ...while dressed like a pirate.

 Make and eat Krispie treats.

 Go incognito to local restaurants and cause a ruckus.

Make the dining room table an internet cafe.

The family that connects together, stays connected.

Play in the Jacuzzi...

 ...or the hot "pool".

 Watch cartoons while lying in Grandma Bea and Papa's bed....

...or watch PBS' Super Why on a laptop.

Wait until dark and play with glow bracelets.

 

Hope for a rainbow...

Honey, I'm Home!

My trip back to Kansas was great.  It was so nice to see my mom, two daughters and my old friends.  After ten days, I was ready to sleep in my own bed in my own home.  I missed Hubs and he missed me. Little did I know he had been rather busy while I was off having fun.

When I left, my kitchen looked like this:

Notice the lovely plastic covering this wall?

My laundry space is in a corner of the kitchen under the blue, star filled ceiling with the lighting from a bare bulb.

More broken ceiling and bad lighting.

Hubs hired some child labor

and now my kitchen looks like this:

OMG!  I could not believe it!  

We have more work to do, so stay tuned.

PS - Is Hubs not the BEST?!

There's No Place Like Home

After clicking my heels together three times, 

I arrived in the Land of Ahh's.

I will be visiting family

And friends

Back to regular blogging when I return.

Finished for Friday - HURRAH!

Say it like a Marine...WHO-RAH!

After several weeks of the inability to muster up the energy to get anything done, I am so pleased with my accomplishments this week. After getting the Christmas stuff put away last week, I was ready to get our house back in order. I am ashamed to admit that it had not been cleaned since December 23. EGAD! Almost an entire month of dust and dirt! Tonight, the house is clean and every thing is back where it belongs. Laundry is done as well.

I rearranged my studio as I needed to make room for a "new" sewing machine.

While I was rearranging, I decided something needed to be done with my fabric stash.

All the fabric was put into piles according to color...

...then repacked into plastic totes.

All of these bits and pieces of fabric were gathered from hither and yon and now have a plastic tote of their own.

Another accomplishment this week was filling out adoption applications with two boxer rescue groups. The first step in finding a sister for these two. Rough life, eh?

Since I've worked so hard this week, I think I need a reward. Tomorrow I am heading to the "big" city. I will do some thrift shopping and some major smooching on these little cheeks.

Next week? We've got some packing to do as we will be heading to Milwaukee next Friday.

Milwaukee in January? Are you crazy?!

Yes, we are! Crazy about this little guy who will turn two next Friday.

What have you accomplished this week? Big or small, share it with us at Lit and Laundry.

Happy New Year 2000!

Remember when every one was worried about the havoc that would be caused when the new millennium would begin? Y2K. People were concerned that the Y2K bug would shut down everything.

Not me. I was only concerned with finding someone, anyone who would perform a wedding ceremony on that day. That is the day Hubs chose to marry me. I did find a minister and we have lived happily ever after.

Happy Anniversary, my love!


Happy 2010 to you, my blog reader! I hope the new year and the new decade are all that you want.

Home Again, Home Again

The beach vacation is over. Everyone is back in their own homes except for the youngest daughter who will be with us until Friday. Our dogs are back from the kennel and Quade is barking at the front window letting everyone know he is back on guard duty. Everything has been unpacked and put away. Hubs is back at work in his office upstairs.

The memories will last a long time.