Awesome weather and other distractions...

I have to say that summers in the midwest aren't always very nice.  There are a couple of months when it gets awfully humid.  And I don't much care for that kind of weather.  But this year... it's been remarkably, beautifully dry!  Okay, so while I'm writing this I've closed up the house and I've got the wonderful A/C running.  But for nearly three weeks, we've had the house open!  As a matter of fact last week we had a day that was a record low!  It hadn't been that low since 1886!  

So, today, it's supposed to get muggy, but tomorrow the cool trend is supposed to be back again and let me tell you, I'll have the house open once again!  I love, love, love having the windows flung open and the door open and seeing my sheers wafting in the gentle breeze...  I haven't put up any lace curtains yet.  When we moved from our old house the buyers wanted to keep the lace curtains so I left them behind.  Fully intending, mind you, to replace them and make new ones for this house.  Well, I haven't done them yet.  I am Queen of the Procrastinators!  

Speaking of which... I am still working on the baby blanket.  It's nearly done... I just have to

tack it with some yarn in various spots.  If I wasn't so crunched for time I'd quilt it a bit, but... me being the Queen of Procrastination...  I'll be beginning my first leg of my mini-vacation on Monday.  I'll be heading out to Seattle to visit with my first born and his adorable wife.   I'll be spending three days with them and then going on to California to visit with my parent's and my nieces and going to our (my honey's and my) 30th high school reunion.  So, I figure I've got from now until the 30th of July to get those yarn tacks put in and have the blanket wrapped and ready for gift giving.  So, what have I been up to instead of completing this blanket?  Well, I clean the house, do laundry, Oh, I did some shopping!  Like clothes shopping.  You know a girl has to have some new clothes to go visiting in!  I've also been enjoying this lovely weather and going for walks.   Speaking of which, once again... On my last walk, I noticed that there were wild plums growing along the trail.

And these are mulberries.  There are trees all along the Mopac Trail and I find it interesting that some trees yield better tasting berries than others.  I know this because I stopped and picked from, at least, 8 trees along the path.  This particular tree had some of the best berries of them all!

In this photo below, I want you to see the Red Winged Black Bird.  Not because he is beautiful, but because he is MEAN!  I am walking along, enjoying the spectacular weather snapping photo's here and there when suddenly this THING comes out of nowhere and swoops down at me!  And it's SHRIEKING the WHOLE time!   It was dive bombing me!  Seriously, I was waving my arms around and screaming, ducking and swaying trying to avoid being seriously injured by this devilish bird!  I'm sure there was someone, somewhere watching this and laughing hilariously!  

Anyhow...  Even with that crazed bird, I had a wonderful walk and got some great pic's and some yummy snacking done.  What a good day.

The other thing I've been doing is working on my crocheted table cloth.  I should have been doing just about anything else (since there is a boat load of stuff I should do) but instead, I started on the second row of the table cloth.  I still have 10 more rows... but let's not think about that.

So, there you have it.  I have done everything except the things I should be doing.  Today, I plan to continue doing the same.  And then tonight, my honey and I, along with our good friend and her daughter will all go and have a wonderful picnic out at Soaring Wings Vineyard and listen to some great live music.  And the best thing is... once again... good food, good friends and good times!  I hope you all have this as well!  Enjoy your weekend and I'll write again when I return, or you can keep up with what I'm doing through Twitter!

Have a great weekend!

Weekend relaxation...?

Hello everyone!  How was your weekend?  Mine was quite relaxing.  My honey came home on Saturday afternoon.  Then Saturday evening a friend of ours invited us over for a birthday dinner and she invited our other friends as well.  It was a wonderful evening full of good food and laughter.  And as luck would have it, we had a spectacular fireworks show to watch from her deck!  The fireworks was put on by a local man who does this every year.  He's a professional pyrotechnician (?) He does this for the 4th of July but evidently it was too wet on the 4th here (we were in Kansas over the 4th and it wasn't at all wet there) or something so the display was postponed until the 11th.   I'm not sure what the rest of the story is, apparently there is more to it, but I don't recall what it is.  So anyhow, there was this spectacular display that probably lasted about 30 to 40 minutes.  It was amazing!  What a way to end the evening with friends! 

So on Sunday after church we (my honey and I) sat around and relaxed. He played with his new lens filters (I bought him some fancy filters for his fancy digital camera) I found for his birthday.  And I crocheted!

And crocheted.....

and crocheted.

It was soooo nice.  At one point I had Ricky (dog) and Ethan (cat) both sitting with me and we were all quite comfortable.  Ethan took off after a few shots with the camera.  Can you tell he looked annoyed?  Ricky is quite content to have his pictures taken so long as you don't ask him to move.  Then he begins to make faces and no matter what you do, he'll look icky in every shot.  I'm not kidding!  It's a talent he has!

So what I am making is a table cloth.  And what is cool about it is that the motif's go really quickly and it doesn't really take too many of them in order to complete the table cloth.  AND this pattern is actually one that allows you to put the motif's on as you go.  So you get to see it actually take shape as a whole.  Usually you have to make a boat load of these little squares before you can begin putting them together.  But not this one!  I really like that.    And it's the pineapple design which I really like too.  Once you get all the motif's completed and put together, you then go around the whole thing and put on a final edge.  It's really quite pretty.  So, if I can keep the momentum up, I should be done with this by... let's say... a few weeks?  But, I know myself pretty well.  I'll be lucky if I can get it completed by the end of the year!   So far I've only gotten 5 squares done.  But, I've done enough now that I pretty much don't need the pattern so that makes it go even faster!  So this is what I've gotten done so far!

That is about a square a day.  I know, I know!  So I'm slow and I don't have as much time as I'd like!  For example...  I could be crocheting right now... but I'm doing this instead!  So...  maybe by the end of the year!  It would help if  Ya'll would ask me about the progress every now and then.  ;-)

Okay, so I need to get busy.  Did I mention that I'm going to begin making a little patchwork baby blanket for my niece's baby?  Yup, the "sewing" thing is my friend Corinnea's fault!  She got me "inspired" to sew something.  I mean, how hard can it be to sew a bunch of squares together?  Did I just say that out loud?  OH MY GOSH!  QUICK EVERYONE KNOCK ON WOOD OR SOMETHING!  I think I may have jinxed myself!  Aw man.  Well, wish me luck!  I'm gong upstairs to the sewing room and I'm gonna do this thing.  

I'm going...!  (sheesh)

African gifts update...

Hi Everyone!  This is a note from baby girl and it is a much better explanation of the photo's I put up in my last blog.  I did attempt to post a better photo of the sculpture but I just can't seem to get it!  But I tried REALLY hard!  

So, enjoy my baby girls writings!

"Hey Momma...and everyone else too!

I realized that I didn't answer all of your info questions in my hasty email the other day...sorry! 
So, the bushman carving (which I think you should post a better photo of; I personally love the fact that his hat and shoulders remain in a natural state and you can see that it was truly carved from a chunk of wood) I bought from a street vendor in Gabarone, Botswana. I am not sure what the wood is, unfortunately.

The basket was from a place in Maun, Botswana (up in the Okavanga Delta). The shop had amazing baskets ranging in size from tiny things to huge grain and water baskets. The best part about purchasing from that shop instead of some craft center was that when we walked up there was actually a woman weaving on the porch. She was also kind enough to let me weave a few passes...um, amazing. The baskest are made from palm leaves collected from the bush. The darker sections are palm that has been dyed by boiling those leaves with a special root found in the bush. This pattern is the flight of the swallow. 

The 'mat' is from the Oodi Weavers in Oodi, Botswana, a city just oustide of Gabs. These women weave amazing stories into tapestries using just their memories and raw talent. Their final products are amazing. Unfortunately, they have been discovered, which is good for them resulting in wonderful revenue for those deserving ladies, but I could only afford small, less ornate weavings. (http://www.botswanatourism.co.bw/attractions/oodi_weavers.html)(PS, I think that yours is a weaving of a tree :))

And lastly, the springbock sandals...I have better photos of these guys that I should have sent you. And the video of them bouncing around. The males show off by bouncing around for meters at a time, hence the name spring bock. It is amazing to watch. Its as if they have springs for hooves just effortlessly bouncing along. They are fun.
Ok, long winded update. (I could have added more to it too!)"

Love you!

Out of Africa...

Yay!  Baby girl is back from Africa!  She went to Botswana for three weeks with several people from school. 

 We went to visit her in KS last weekend and saw lot's of pictures that she took and I kid you not... they looked like the kinds of pictures you see on the Discovery Channel!  Lot's of photo's of wild animals and bugs.  Unfortunately I don't have any of those pictures but, I do have a few that I took of the gifts she gave us and one that she sent me in an e-mail.

So this is a statue that she brought back for her daddy.  The wood is the coolest looking hardwood.  Not sure what kind of wood it is carved out of but it's got lovely graining through it.  

This is the bowl she brought back for me.

And this is a small woven mat.

And this is a pair of Sandals that she picked up there

And it's made from these....

I just LOVED the sandals.  I know, these animals are so cute and all, but the sandals are sooo cool.  Okay for those of you who are into NOT wearing leather or wearing fur or eating meat... I'm sorry.  But I like all those things! And if you don't hold it against me I won't hold it against you.

Boy I wish ya'll could see the pictures baby girl took, they are just spectacular!   

Well, I need to get some more things done today.  Still trying to work on my glass studio, can't seem to get motivated.  I think it's because I don't have any shelves yet.  I can't get organized without those shelves!  (That's a good reason isn't it?)    ;-)

Be happy!

Fourth of July 2009

Hope you all had a fun, yet safe 4th of July!  We went down to Manhattan, KS to visit with baby girl and my honey's family.  We try to go there every year at this time since many of my honey's siblings live nearby and those that don't make a pilgrimage out for the pyrotechnics.  When you get all those "boys" together it can get rather dangerous...!  This year was rather tame though, thank goodness.

 

 

This is my In-laws home.   I call it "quietly Patriotic".   They have the flag hung up all the time.  Unlike us, they remember to take the flag in at sundown.  We always forget and we don't have lights for it so...  We only put our flag out three times a year.

And here is my house.  Not so quietly Patriotic. Yes I am a bit more "flamboyant" and I'm okay with that.  Besides, we live on Main Street AND this is the first year that this house has looked "lived" in for over two years!    I was making a statement.  ;-)  Hmmmm, I should probably go back to the store and see if I can't buy some more of the bunting to put on the sides of the porch.  I really think the porch needs them on the ends as well!  Yup, I think I'll go check out the stores...

Hope ya'll had a fun filled 4th!  I'm going shopping!

N.U.M.B.

Hello everyone!  My honey is home!  You know, every time he tells me that he'll be gone for a short period of time, I am excited by the very thought of having a neat and tidy house, the whole bed to myself and eating what ever I want!  But, the reality is, the house becomes boring, the bed feels empty and the food isn't quite as delicious as I thought it would be.  And it's like this EVERY time he tells me he'll be gone for a few days!  You'd think by now I'd have learned this lesson.  But, I haven't, and I get excited every time....!  This time was no exception.  My honey went to Ogallala for the N.U.M.B. ride sponsored by the United Methodist Men.  Numb stands for the 4 projects that the money from this ride will help support.  "H" is for Heifer Project International.  "U" for UMCOR: Nigerian Hunger Project.  "N" is for Nebraska Food Banks.  And "B" is for  Bread for the World.   It is a ride of 270 miles going through the Sand Hills of Nebraska.  Unfortunately, there are not too many photo's to show just how lovely this area of Nebraska is because...  my honey was too busy riding and trying to catch up to the person he saw in front of him!  He's so competitive, even when he's just going for a ride!  Anyhow, these are some of the photo's he did manage to remember to take.

This is a church in Arthur, Nebraska and it was built entirely of  bales of hay.

Pilgrim Holiness Church

This is how everyone slept after a day of riding 60-70 miles!

Personally after riding long miles like that, I would fully expect a nice clean bed and definitely a full body massage!  NOT a tent on the ground!  But, my honey had a great time and it was for a great cause so... perhaps... maybe... I'd like to think... NOPE, I would not be able to do it ever! But I'm glad my honey can!  And enjoys it too!  

So, this is my post.  Now you know, my little bit of running that I talk about is nothing compared to what  my honey will do,  AND for a great cause.  Not because he wants to eat more ( like me).  ;-}

If you'd like more information about the NUMB ride you can go to www.numbride.org

And that's it for now from good 'ol Nebraska!  Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their summer so far.  Talk to you soon and have a fabulous weekend!