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?

Thanks for stopping by!

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.

40 Years ago....

John graduated from Hollister High School in Hollister, Missouri. We attended his 40th reunion this past Saturday. There were a total of 25 students who graduated that year...and since then, 4 of them have passed away, leaving 21 still kickin'. 10 of those students gathered on Saturday nite at a lovely little establishment on the lake called Shorty Small's. I can not recommend them enough! They had a room available for us, overlooking the lake. They didn't charge a deposit, they provided us with nachos - gratis!. They have the most perfect waitstaff! The food was great and the company was outstanding. John was able to reconnect with some of the guys he went to high school with...and I got to hear some great stories!

It's fall here in the Ozarks...the weather has cooled down, the breezes are blowing, and the trees are beginning to turn colours. I love Autumn!

Thanks for stopping by.

Labor Day Visit

I spent Labor Day Weekend in northern Arizona, visiting my mom. It's been almost a year since I've seen her and my Mommy-meter was seriously low! I took a late flight from Springfield to Phoenix-Mesa airport. I'd not flown to that particular airport since it didn't exist when I lived there (100 years ago, at least). When Williams Air Force Base was closed, the airport portion was taken over and made into a public airport. To the best of my knowledge, only Allegiant Airways flies into that location. I got there at 10:30 at night, too late to get a rental car and they were charging a mighty premium for rental cars on the holiday weekend. My youngest brother picked me up and very graciously drove me the 2 hours north to Mom's house. He spent the night and then drove on home.


Mom and I spent the entire weekend talking..I don't think we turned the TV on the whole time. On Saturday we drove to the quilt shop in town. I picked up a couple pieces of fabric but nothing too expensive or heavy (I was not checking my bag since they charge a fortune to do so).



On Monday, we drove down to my other brother's house. Randy, Mercy, and their son, Scott, along with Mom, drove me down to Phoenix to catch my plane home. Scott is almost 5 and a real kick in the pants. He's not seen me since he was 2 and was very shy at first...then his exuberance for life kicked in. What a doll! I asked him if he would be willing to let me take his picture to show Uncle John. He dashed upstairs to get his hat! And then result is this:Is he not the cutest little cowboy you ever saw? And here he is on his horse.


And here is the whole family, plus Mom.
I totally forgot to get a picture of Bill...sorry!

It was good to spend so much uninterrupted time with my Mom. I miss her so terribly. And it was totally a bonus to get to see both of my brothers...it's probably been 4 years since I'd seen Bill and we had breakfast with Randy and his family 2 years ago when we went from here to Utah via Prescott, Arizona cause the weather forced us to use the south route.

I love you guys! Hope it's not so long between visits next time.

Hot Poppy and the Sleeping Cat

I read a lot of blogs each day. Recently, one of the girls described herself as an "episodic blogger". That struck a chord with me and I am unashamedly stealing her term. I AM AN EPISODIC BLOGGER! That almost sounds as though there should be a 12 step program, doesn't it? Ah well, those of you who know me well, you love me despite my being an episodic blogger, right?

Last week, we finally took the plunge and sold the Explorer! We got a great deal on a 2008 Ford Edge SEL SUV. It had a few more miles on it than John wanted but the deal was too good to pass up and we jumped at it. It is copper-colored. Now, if you ask John, he will tell you it's copper; me? I say it's orange. It's the same color as the poppies that grow along the freeway in California - added to a mettalic paint - and you have Poppy! My friend, Terri, called it Hot Poppy! Yesterday was a particularly sunny day, no clouds to speak of, and I decided to take advantage of the daylight to get a picture of my Hot Poppy. The first picture is a bit off - not as bright as she really is. The next picture shows her other side, and the fact that we live down a dirt/gravel road! And finally, my license plate - folks have commented on the license plate, especially when John is driving.

I took a workshop a couple of weeks ago and came home to unpack my bag. Never turn your back on the cat once you've unpacked a totebag, folks! This is what happens at our house. Gilligan loves to be in any bag or box that he can fit inside. Nothing is safe when he's around. I swear, I turned to put something on the counter and when I turned back, there he was, sound asleep already! He slept in there for over an hour!

Well, time for me to get some spaghetti sauce cooking. John came in the other day and told me there was NO spaghetti sauce in the freezer...time to make more.

I promise to try to do better at blogging on a regular basis. I know you've heard that before...but really, I will try!

Thanks for stopping by.

A Good Day for a Mow, Gilligan's Island, and Death by Socks!

John loves to sit on his Grasshopper and mow the dog run and the meadows around the barn and the house. Since he got his new hat, he loves it even more! And the noise doesn't seem to bother the cows anymore...Dolly is just munching away. I'm so glad he talked me into letting him have the Grasshopper. Where it took him over 8 hours on Saturday AND Sunday to mow before, now it only takes him about 4 hours to mow the same area. And he then he has time to work on other stuff around the property as well.

Gilligan has grown so much in the 2 years we've had him. The vet says he's not fat...but he sure does look it in this picture. That's my sewing table he has appropriated as his own private "island". He hates it when I am working at the table, or reading on the computer, or watching TV...He wants to be held and petted. So he sprawls out at big as he can get to get my attention! Silly cat!

I have finally been killed off in Sock Wars IV. Death came earlier this week in the form of slime green and black Air Raid Socks from Evee in England. These socks have made quite a journey to get to me. They started out in New York on May 15th of this year. When that lady was killed off, she sent them to her assassin in California, who sent them off to Michigan, then on to Florida, followed by a trip to England, forwarded on to North Carolina, back to England where they were finished and dispatched to me. So 7 people had a hand in knitting a pair of socks for little old me. I lasted until there were only 11 of us still alive in the competition and then the post office delivered my demise! I never expected to last as long as I did. I was the the last person standing in the Team Competition - very cool! And I've got a lovely pair of slime and black socks to remember the competition by. The picture above does NOT show the true colors...they are truly slime green and black. And there isn't any pink or purple in the sock at all! I can hardly wait for the start of Sock Wars V - January 15, 2010! And then Sock Madness will begin in mid-March of 2010. Those are the only 2 worldwide competitions I enter. There's a small local competition that might happen in February of 2010 and I want to enter that one, too. So, the winter will be taken up with socks again...a nice way to keep hands and brains active!

Well, off to finish the laundry and work on a sewing project.

Thanks for stopping by.