Week 31 & 32 - I am such a Slug

I don't know where the time goes...I had every intention to blog each week during this year...and I was able to do it - until last week.  I missed last week....for some odd reason, that really bothers me. So I am blogging for both weeks today and will try very diligently to make sure I don't miss another week for the rest of the year.  

Week before last we celebrated our 43rd wedding Anniversary.  John and I both worked that day, as usual. So we, along with mom, went to dinner at the only decent Mexican food joint near to us.  As celebrations go, it wasn't much, but it sure worked for us.  

The annual Webster County Fair was also held week before last.  I entered items in several categories...Quilts, Knitting, and Counted Cross Stitch.  Here you can see my quilt entitled American Dream.  It's a pattern by Pickled Pieces - now retired, I'm sad to say.  I started it back in 2002, right after the attack in New York on 9/11.  It took me till this year to complete it...frankly, the idea of making 50- 3 inch stars and 13 - 3 inch log cabins was quite daunting.  I finally set my mind to "get 'er done" and this is the result.  The second photo shows how folks received it at the fair.

The docent for that section of the fair told me that the judges were blow away by it and wanted to give it an unprecedented award but the Fair officials said it was, indeed, unprecedented and there were no funds in the budget for it. Evidently there was a huge appreciation for it from the public as well and it was displayed fully - not folded - for the public during the entire fair.  I'm pleased with it.

The other items I displayed were a pair of sock from Sock Madness and a tiny Biscornu...only about 2 inches across.  Each of them won a blue ribbon as well...and the socks had a notation from the judge on the back of my entry.  She said, "Just beautiful", Your Judge.  

This week has seen rain bursts each day...just sheets of water coming from the sky.  Thunder rumbles across the entire sky and the rain, while not gentle, is falling at a rate that allows most of it to soak into the dry soil without flooding...at least here where we are.  Other areas of the Ozarks are having flooding alerts.  

Today is another day of rain bursts and thunder...I love those kinds of days.  The heat is up, and so is the humidity. But the rain is welcome.  

I'm off to finish the laundry and pack for a short trip to St. Louis with mom tomorrow....More next week.  Thanks for stopping by.

Week 30 - Reflections

 Now, the above is just my kind of meme....I honestly don't think I'm a witch, fictional or real.  I am opinionated, and fairly sure I'm right most of the time, but I try to be careful how I present myself and my opinions.  However, I don't suffer fools well, nor do I associate with people who are deliberately cruel and unfeeling towards others.  In fact, associating with kind people tends to make me a kinder person myself.  That being said, I think the above is funny!

This meme has been going around Facebook for some time and I totally agree with it.  With an exception - children are entitled to a safe environment to grow and mature. Whether in their parents' home or a foster home, children deserve and are OWED safety.  Above that, there is nothing owed to us.  The generation coming up behind mine is a cell-phone dependent, money-grubbing, self-absorbed, entitled group and they are going to find out that soon, the world is NOT their oyster - they are actually going to have to work for what they have, just like the rest of us - unless this country becomes socialist, that is.  While I love the idea of free health care, I wonder if waiting months or even years for a knee replacement is worth it. (No offense intended to those of my readers who have national health care).  Getting a free education might sound fine on paper, but who is really paying for it?  Why, the taxpayers, of course.  I already paid for my education; I don't necessarily want to pay for the education of the kid down the street.  And those on welfare who repeatedly fail drug tests and are not working?  Don't get me started on them.  Suffice to say, We've worked for everything we have, so has our son, and frankly, so will our grandchildren since their parents are raising them the way they, themselves, were raised.  There is nothing wrong with working to earn what you want.  In fact, there is everything right about that concept.  Sadly, there are more folks with the Gimme attitude than those with the I'll Earn My Own attitude.  Hopping down off my soapbox now - and knowing that if I step wrong and break a hip, I can have it replaced tomorrow instead of waiting a year. 

Hoping you have a wonderful week, stay cool, see you soon. Thanks for stopping by.

Week 29 - Celebrating our Nation

Besides getting much-needed water for the fields and crops, rain also brings rainbows...after one such storm earlier in the week, we looked out the window to see this amazing rainbow...it was huge and quite colorful.  It was almost a full rainbow...mom reminded me that rainbows are signs of God's promise to never flood the earth again.  That rainbow was quite impressive!

 Mom mentioned that she likes pineapple upside down cake...that reminded me that I do, too.  Rather than make a huge one - that none of us would be able to resist and none of us need all the extra calories - I chose instead to make individual ones.  All the recipes I found called for Pineapple cake mix or yellow cake mix and I just didn't have those...so I got out the trusty Betty Crocker cookbook that mom gave me for a bridal shower gift all those years ago and found the recipe for making the cake from scratch.  I just put them in a large muffin tin and about 25 minutes later, look what I had!  They were yummy.  And there wasn't a huge cake in the fridge that just called to be eaten every time we opened the door!

 It's rare that the G-Man sits still long enough to take a decent picture of him, but the other day, he was visiting the studio on his daily rounds and John came in to ask a question...you can see that Gilligan adores John...I quickly grabbed my cell phone and snapped this 'portrait' of him...I think it's the first time ever I've gotten a really good picture of him.  He's been keeping mom company lately...Mom said she has found that she can sit in her chair with a cat on her lap and pet him with one hand while holding a book in the other hand and turn the page with a finger.  

We are suffering thru a typical summer here in the Ozarks.  It's sunny one minute and stormy another and then you blink and the sky is clear again.  The heat is hovering around the mid-90's with the humidity also in the 80's to 90's...the air is soupy, to say the least.  Makes it pretty miserable during the day. But we can look forward to a fairly dry autumn and spring and that keeps us going.  Winters around here are iffy as far as predicting snow or just rain.  We just take it a day at a time.

Hoping you have a wonderful week. Thanks for stopping by.

Week 28 - July 4th

 We want to wish all our family and friends a most wonderful 4th of July.  Even with all the problems that this country has, even with all the haters, even with the mess our government is in, this is the greatest country in the world and I would not want to live anywhere else.  Yes, our election year choices suck big time.  Yes, there are terrible people out there who hate us and want to kill every last one of us.  Yes, we seem to have priorities a bit askew.  But even with all that, this is a great country and we have endured for over 200 years and will continue to thrive and endure.  I truly believe that.  So Happy 4th of July to you all.  Have a hot dog, munch on some watermelon, wave a flag.  

It's raining here in the Ozarks...gentle constant rain since before the sun rose.  And we can use it.  We are over 8 inches below our yearly average and the farmers sure are worried about hay production this year.  This rain will go a long way toward getting the hay high enough for a cutting in August.  

Last year for Mother's day, John got me two rose bushes.  One of them didn't survive but the other did.  It's called Easy Peasy and the colors are a lovely blend of apricot, pink, and yellow.  We went to the nursery earlier this year and I replaced the one Julia Child rose that didn't make it with Mr. Lincoln and another Knock-Out rose whose name I can't remember - it's white and this is the first version of one that actually has a fragrance.  Both of those roses are thriving along with Easy Peasy. Last night, John brought me in one of the Mr. Lincoln blooms.  It is lovely and I truly wish this blog has Smell-a-Vision so you could smell the rose - amazing!  Soft and yet still strong.  I've never been fond of roses - I didn't even carry them in my bridal bouquet - but these sure are pretty!  Thanks, Mr. Wonderful.

This year the 2016 Row by Row Experience is again upon us.  Most of you who were part of my posse last year can rest easy.  The theme this year is Home Sweet Home and there are over 3600 shops participating.  This is the first year that some of the European shops are also part of the program.  I must say, there are probably only 8 shops that have presented rows and patterns that I would even like to have.  A friend from Georgia (the state, not the country) mentioned that she had found about 13 shops that used the them of Home Sweet Home and went with a Wizard of Oz theme.  I am trying to get 8 of those 13 rows so make an Oz quilt.  If any of you know anyone in or near Brighton in Michigan, Montgomery in Minnesota, Stow or Cincinnati in Ohio, Endicott in New York, Fargo in North Dakota, Murphy in North Carolina,  Baldwin in Kansas, Appleton in Wisconsin, or Essex Junction in Vermont, let me know...I might have a mission for them.  

Again, I want to wish you all a Happy 4th of July.  Have a hot dog, eat some watermelon, and wave a flag!  

Thanks for stopping by.