Return to Reality, Part Deux

See that little 'x' on the left side of the dark circle? And there's another little 'x' below it. That distance is only 1.19 cm in length. That, folks, is our newest grandchild! He or she is 9 weeks old as of today, due to embark on his or her journey on earth approximately May 31, 2010. Lily Mae Knotwell or Hewston Matthew Knotwell is a much-anticipated and already very-much loved child. Jill and John as so excited about this newest addition to their family. And so are we! Nana is already planning on going out to Utah to help for a week once the wee one is born - work has already ok'd my vacation! And Jill and I have already talked about the quilt for this one, too. They don't want to know the gender but will have an ultrasound done at 20 weeks. They plan on taking an already addressed and stamped envelope with them, have the technician write down the gender and slip the note inside the envelope and seal it. It will be mailed to me so I can start on the quilt for this child. Dragonflies and lady bugs or trucks.... your guess is as good as mine at this point. I've got the batting and backing ready so far!

There, now, wasn't that worth the wait?

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Return to Reality!

John and I left a week ago last Friday and drove to Tupelo, Mississippi where we spent the night. No, folks, we didn't spot Elvis wandering the streets...he had evidently left the building!

The next morning, early, we left Tupelo and began the second leg of our journey to Hilton Head, South Carolina. We were spending a week with our son and his wonderful family at a resort there. The nine hours it took to drive from Mississippi to Hilton Head went so fast! This was a wonderful sight to behold, nonetheless.

We parked the car and went up to the suite the kids has reserved...they were already there, having arrived the day before. We walked in the door and there was a rush of little feet running and little voices yelling, "NANA...PAPA..." and little precious arms wrapped themselves around our knees and wouldn't let go! Oh, my goodness, that just about melted our hearts altogether! It had been 8 months since we'd seen the kids and the grands and we were so looking forward to spending a week with them all. We were NOT disappointed. There were bike rides with Daddy and Papa....(Mommy and Nana used the car - we're no dummies!)

There was painting ceramic pieces to remember the trip.

After all that painting, it was good to rest a bit!

There was some beach to run on and collect shells - Oh, my, did they collect shells!

There were lovely tree-lined street to drive upon...we followed them that day!

Finally, Friday came and we all departed for our respective homes. They went to the airport and flew to Salt Lake City. We got in the car and drove straight thru to home - 16 hours. What a beautiful drive it was, too. Of course, I failed to take any pictures. But driving across the bottom end of the Cumberland Gap in Tennessee, along Interstate 24 to Paducah, Kentucky was absolutely spellbinding. The colours rivaled those of my beloved New England. No we didn't stop in Paducah so I could shop at Hancock's of Paducah - sadly, they closed at 8 P.M. and we got there right at 8 P.M.! It was straight on to home! Gilligan was sure glad to see us - he wanted to play when we got home and we only wanted to crawl into bed and sleep. Saturday was spent unpacking the car and getting the house back to normal.

Tomorrow is back to the old work grind...but here is one more reminder of our lovely vacation with the Utah Knotwells.....Miranda, Emily, Jill, John, Charlotte and William (Weewum). We love you so and we can't thank you enough for inviting us to share in your vacation!

Oh! There's one more thing to tell you about our trip.....tune in tomorrow to find out what it is...

Thanks for stopping by.

Silver Dollar City

One of the highlights of our autumn is the Festival of Craftsmen at Silver Dollar City. The festival has been renamed several times - I think it's called The Harvest Festival - but we call it by the name John always knew it by. They bring in all kinds of craftsmen - silversmiths, blacksmiths, coopers, quilters, basket makers, candle makers, saddle makers, sorghum-makers, jewelry makers, potters. And I'm sure I'm forgetting more but my brain can't recall them. John and I spent yesterday at the festival. What a wonderful time we had! We wandered thru the park and picked up a few Christmas presents, dreamed a few dreams about times gone by, and before we left, went back to the cooperage and picked up this little darling. It's a bucket made from woods indigenous to the Ozarks. Each stay is a different wood. The cooper wrote on the bottom what each stay is...I think there are 3 repeats of each wood. It's waterproof and quite substantial. John asked me what I was going to use it for and I told him I honestly don't know...but I really wanted it and he indulged me, as usual!

John had charge of the camera this time and he took a mountain of photos of me...I deleted most of them since they were pretty awful - not because of the photographer, because the sun kept creeping in and out from behind the clouds and the shadows made me look quite ill. I'm not ill, just pale!

And then we went over by the lumberjack camp and saw John's favorite waterfall...he began snapping photos of me and frankly, they were all just hideous (my opinion, not his). I took one of him and then a nice couple came over to us and asked us if we wanted our picture taken together - and then would we take one of them? Here we are with the waterfall behind us through the trees...one of my favorite photos of the two of us!

We are off on vacation next week. A week in Hilton Head, South Carolina. John III and his wonderful family are flying there on Friday, we will drive there and meet them on Saturday for a week . It's been 10 months since we've seen them and we are so homesick for them all. We can hardly wait. John III has some great day trips planned for us - I'm hitting a quilt shop and a yarn shop and Paula Deen's restaurant for sure! I'm hoping to be able to blog while we're gone...keep your fingers crossed!

Thanks for stopping by.