Pottawattamie Park

We spent last Sunday at Pottawattamie Park in Grand Haven. It was a balmy day, great for a family reunion! Noel climbed up on top of the Tahoe to get a better view of the lake. I finished reading Randy Wayne White's new novel, Dead Silence.

Independence Day

It was slightly overcast all day, but in the late afternoon, just before the parade was to start, the sun came out. These beautiful maple trees provided shade for us as we watched the parade in Mason, Michigan.

The parade in Mason seems like a Norman Rockwell calendar event. Crowds always gather around the Ingham County courthouse. Families of all shapes, sizes and configurations bring their lawn chairs and blankets to watch the parade.

We set up our chairs on the corner of Barnes and Ash Streets. This point was nearer the end point of the parade (and much closer to the parking lot!) We were across the street from the court house. There were tons of people and twice as many mosquitos.

The color guard led the parade. It is, afterall, the reason for the celebration, right? My dad participated as a color guard through the American Legion for many years, both in my hometown of Harbor Beach and then in Fort Myers Beach during retirement. We learned from my parents, flag etiquette. It is really amazing how many people either didn't learn, don't remember or just don't care.

This is the truck that Beth bought three times! Noel loves the truck!

These ladies were having a great time! They were making rounds before the parade when I asked to take their picture. They said they had been complaining that there were no queens in the Mason parade and thought it a tragedy. Someone told them to change that---so they created their own float and became queens for the day. They were having a spendid time and people at the parade enjoyed seeing them have such a good time. In no way, did they take themselves seriously!

Thanks, Noel!

Noel was exploring in my jewelry box over the weekend. When he was done, I had a pile of stuff to junk....many of-of-a-kind earrings, the mates long gone; necklaces with broken clasps; old rings that had no meaning. There was a baggy full. M daughter suggested taking it to a jewelry store to see if there was any gold they might buy. OK, so I'm thinking maybe there might be enough to buy us lunch. It was a very interesting experience. The gentleman who waited on us Liberty Coin was very pleasant and taught us how they test items for gold. I left with $1368! I was astounded. I have probably pitched an equal amount in the garbage. Thanks, Noel, for exploring grammy's pretties.

OK, Mom, I'm Updating.....

OK, Mom, I know I haven't updated this site since April...but I have a basket of excuses...the memory chip from my Sony camera does not fit the slot of my computer (I fixed that by switching to a Canon Powershot - wonderful camera!), I've been working a lot, I'm just getting old.....but the camera chip is the major reason. I have been busy, though, quilting. I should say, piecing. I've finished the tops of these quilts and am now ready to actually quilt. The first one is a double wedding ring quilt. I started this at a Country Stitches Saturday class with Carol Forsberg. On all of the images, just click on the picture to enlarge it. This quilt top was made using the QuiltSmart technique for creating the rings.
The quilt below is made out of leftovers from the Vanilla Stars quilt I completed earlier this year. It is a series of nine-patches and squares. This will be my 2010 LAP Ele's Place quilt. LAP members donate quilts to Ele's Place so that each grieving child may choose a quilt. The backing will be flannel--all the better for snuggling.

I finished the tablecloth started at the LAP Edyta Sitar workshop. This used a foundation paper-piecing technique. I tried to hand quilt this piece but since it is a tablecloth, I didn't use batting. The lack of batting and the use of batik fabrics for both the top and backing made hand quilting it a bugger.

Aunt Millie's Flowerbasket pattern was used to create the machine embroidered flower baskets in this quilt. I used the "bluework" concept and all baskets are embroidered in a deep blue.

This quilt was on display at Country Stitches. I loved the idea but wanted to add my own variations in regards to color and layout. It's called Snowmen Through the Year. The blocks are hand appliqued. I had to draw the outlines on the fabric and then do the embroidery. In addition to the embroidery, there are fabric and other embellishments that made this fun to do.

Now if you can't say something nice, you probably shouldn't say it at all, but..... This quilt was made with a block of the month called "A New Twist on Old Favorites," by Daniel Burke. Unfortunately, the blocks did not come with directions for putting them together! Pam Henrys at Everlasting Stitches (my favorite quilt shop--Aurelius Road, Holt, MI) helped me choose the fabrics to put the blocks together. It is very colorful! The blocks were paper-pieced.

Two years ago, I saw this quilt (similar, anyway) on display at the Marshall House Quilt Shop in, well, Marshall, MI. I loved the use of batiks and the fact that it was made using raw-edge machine applique. I'm not sure why it took me so long to finish it!

"Wildflowers" is a machine appliqued quilt made of beautiful batiks. The machine embroidery pattern is outstanding; the blocks were great fun to make. Putting the various blocks together and picking out the coordinating batiks took way more time than creating the blocks.

Another Wonderful Day in Paradise

It was a balmy 84 degrees today with unrelenting sunshine. After a full day of chores, we were the guests of Kathy and Barney at Doc Ford's Rum Bar & Grille on Sanibel Island. The entire place was buzzing with people enjoying each other and the wonderful food. In honor of my birthday, I had the dry rubbed rib eye---yummy! It was perfectly grilled medium-well and served with roasted garlic and Parmesan smashed potatoes, carmaelized mushrooms, asparagus and roasted blue cheese tomato, surrounded by a shallot cabernet sauce. Add a couple of cool drinks and a crisp green salad and voila', the perfect meal. We were way too full for dessert, but the key lime pie called to us. It has been reported to be the best in the area. We opted to order the pie and took it home for a bed-night snack.

Thank you so much, Kathy and Barney, for the wonderful birthday dinner!!

You Sure Couldn't Do This in Michigan

Dorrie and Rich added an outdoor kitchen to their lanai. Rich is a wonderful chef and will certainly put this to great use. The bulk of the work is done and they are anxious to be able to use it. I can't wait for my next dose of succulent ribs!

Lovely Lavender

Dorrie re-created one of her spare bedrooms to be lovely lavender. This is the quilt I made her for Christmas.

Doc Ford's

Randy Wayne White is one of my favorite authors. Doc Ford, the main character in his books, lives in a stilt house in Dinkins Bay off Sanibel. The books include a lot of history and geography of south Florida's Gulf Coast. His newest book, Dead Silence, has had great reviews. My copy will arrive from Barnes and Noble on April 27th!

On Sanibel, one of my favorite places, RWW and others opened a restaurant called Doc Ford's Sanibel Rum Bar and Grille. Of course we had to stop for lunch. The restaurant was set up to simulate the stilt house described in the book.

On this trip to Fort Myers, we were able to participate in the grand opening of another restaurant, Doc Ford's Rum Bar and Grille at Fort Myers Beach. This restaurant resembles my eye's image of the stilt house wonderfully. We had a great afternoon enjoying the food, the great wait staff and the most wonderful view. For lunch I had the tropical salad with added grouper ($21.95). It was a wonderful salad with fresh baby greens, grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, mandarin oranges, sun-dried cherries, spiced pecans, homemade crispy onions tossed in their own secret balsamic vinaigrette dressing! The salad was the perfect companion to my Blue Moon! We watched the pleasure boats in the harbor, the shrimp boats docked in the pass, and the people!

Another perfect day in paradise.

Spring in Michigan Friday, April24, 2009

It was 80 degrees and the forsythia were in grand bloom on Friday. I almost felt silly leaving for Florida for some sun. I got of of town just in time!

Spring Vehicle Maintenance

Now that the snow and ice are gone, drivers of all ages are tuning up their vehicles for those lovely sunny, Sunday drives.