Catch up time!

Or in Pittsburghese that would be ketchup time!
I know, I know, I am bad...... at blogging lately. This summer is just zipping by. I am having a nice quiet morning here, Hubby is golfing and Jonathan went to The Lake Of The Ozarks for the weekend. Just Cleo and me trying to share the computer chair and I thought this would be a good time to gather my thoughts.
I snagged this picture from my daughters blog. My little munchkins, I just love it! So special because all 4 cousins were able to get together for the 4th of July weekend. Not always easy to do living in neighboring states, looks like the boys had a fun filled time together. Making memories.

I've been to Pittsburgh and back, it was a quick trip really, just 4 days. And they were wonderful,
laid back and very relaxing! I stayed with my sister, she always spoils me.
We spent 2 of our days here: at Mineral Beach.

I just love it here, so perfect on a hot summer day. We used to bring the girls here when they were small. Hard to get a good picture, but this is a very unusual pool. First of all it is smack dab out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by rolling hills, trees and fields. The pool is very old, built in the 1920s. It is unusual in that it has no defined sides, mostly shallow you can just walk in like a beach! You can also bring in all your floaty toys so children just love it. Spread your blankets out on the grass and have a picnic lunch, love it, love it, love it, and I also got a good tan!

I enjoyed lots of good Pittsburgh food and to tell you the truth isn't it always a joy to be away from cooking! I spent 3 nights with my Dad!

Now can you tell what these are? They are turkeys! We were on our way to the airport and I spotted these in their neighborhood, made my brother in law come to a screeching halt so I could take a picture! I know they think I'm crazy, but I've never had turkeys in my yard. Gobble, Gobble!

So here I am settled back in, home to the normal routine. I spent a better part of the week sewing and finishing pattern instructions for this sweatshirt, it will be on my web site tomorrow.
Enjoying the string of beautiful weather we are having, high 70s and windows open at night. Savoring summers fresh market produce, sweet corn on the cob is out, life is good.
Well I'm off to make my appetizer for tonight- couples Bunco- whoo hoo!

Can you do the chicken dance?

Da, da, da,dadada, bawk, bawk bawk! Hope you all had a great 4th weekend, it's winding down for most of us now but not over yet. I cooked way too much for just the 2 of us as usual, I can't get used to this holiday 4 two thing. Jerry made his famous beer can chickens on the grill. They look so funny standing up in a line on the grill, I guess it doesn't take much to amuse me lately does it! Anyway, this is a fabulous way to grill a whole chicken, cooks up very moist and yummy!
I also made a huge pan of 7 layer salad so it's leftovers for us today. As a matter of fact Cleo and I are munching while we type, no sauce on the keyboard Cleo!

We had worked up an appetite, Jerry and I just got back from a nice little Sunday drive. We drove to Weston, MO, a historic town established in 1850, it was once the 2nd largest port town on the Missouri River, St. Louis being #1. Lewis and Clark visited Weston and you can bike the trail if you wish.

The town was all decked out in their red white and blue, don't you just love it! Cute little shops, gifty as well as antique to browse which we did. Sadly it was very noticeable how many shops were empty and closed due to the recession, many of my favourites were missing. We sat on this bench and enjoyed some good old fashioned ice cream before heading home.

And now I am off to start laundry and begin packing. Leaving bright and early Tuesday morning for Pittsburgh. Going to visit my Sis and Dad, I so cant wait!! I'll be back with lots of pics and maybe some good stories, have a great week everybody!

The things you gotta do for Fathers Day!

Fathers Day, come and gone now, Jerry is fast asleep after a busy weekend of being Fathered.
Saturday he was up at the crack of dawn to go golfing. Oh how he loves his golf and I am more than happy to let him go do that with his buddies while Cleo and I get our beauty rest. Saturday afternoon we were looking forward to the Royals/Cardinals game. And wouldn't you know it decided to rain. Bummer, we had nice seats, I was looking forward to a ball park hot dog and a close up view of guys warming up to play. So we moved on to plan B.

Plan B was definitely a let down, but something to do never the less. We went to the movies, Jerry's pick, being Fathers Day weekend and all, was you guessed it ......Star Trek!
Sheesh! I have the admit the young Star Trek crew was kinda cute and fun, but I fell asleep 1/2 way through it LOL! Jerry loved it of course, its a guy thing don't you think?
Today he was up at the crack of dawn again and once more Cleo and I rested up while he went to hit a few buckets of balls. Then Cleo and I got crackin' in the kitchen whipping up a storm of delightful foods to please our man. Grandmas cold German potato salad (a secret family recipe) and boy o boy is it awesome, Lazy Daisy cake, crab legs for Jer and Cleo, a steak for Barbie Jo. Phew, we were stuffed!
This past week was one where it rained and rained and rained some more. We are more than saturated and the grass is growing faster than the goats can keep up with. LOL, what goats my son says, is this a hint I need to mow again? I am staying dry working on 2 projects, my stitchery and some sewing. I switch back and forth between the two depending on what floats my boat that day. And then what arrives in my mail box to distract me even more but this amazing fabric- "Dance With Me", don't you just love that name, by designer Jennifer Paganelli. So many color ways to choose from, it was hard to choose just these few. I am sure you will be seeing lots of this in new pattern designs.

Well gosh, this Fathering stuff has worn be out! My son just popped his head in and said Mom U look tired, and right he is. So it's off to bed I am. Isn't this the 1st week of summer? Enjoy!

Hugs and Hisses

Hi, Cleo here! Well I'll tell you.... it's been 3 weeks since my Mother Barbie Jo posted and I told her to dig her head out of the sand and get after it. She gave me that look, you know that look. So I just said what the heck, I'll just surprise her and do it myself, I am CEO of this company after all. And you know it's not that hard but these pictures did take quite awhile to size and download. Here I am all set up at my Mac, I love typing!

Actually I think my Moms mind has been in the vacation mode lately, but physically her body is not going anywhere LOL! To tell you the truth she has been spending lots of time on Face Book, so if you want to join her friends list hop on over and do so! We are hard at work on a new pattern, a red work pattern. There are 9 blocks of stitchery and that is pretty time consuming!
I found this wonderful Christmas fabric for the borders and sashings.

I also help with the stitching and am also in charge of the floss basket, I just don't know what she would do with out me!

This is the backing fabric we chose. It reminds me of an antique postcard I once saw which had cats swinging on Christmas bells, I think that would be fun to try.

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me.... did you know this is my birth month? I am 10 years old now! Wow, these cat years are just flying by. I was hoping my Mom would buy me a new bowl for my food. I mean just look at this bowl I have now, it's so small I can barely fit my head in it. I know it's an antique, but it has Scottie dogs on it, sheesh. I would rather have a cute little bird design or some happy cats, and really, just BIGGER! I'm not a baby anymore.

I get the hint, I think they are trying to trick me. They think I need to diet. 5 years ago when we moved here I walked this shelf that surrounds part of the kitchen. My mother just about had a heart attack when she 1st saw me try it. She thought I would end up on top of the ceiling fan. LOL. Well, I thought it was great fun, something new to do. Today I probably can't fit on that shelf for sure! But really, it just doesn't interest me any more. I just want a bigger food bowl!

Hugs and hisses,
Cleo

He's Back.........!

Remember back in January when I felt a little blue when Jon went back to school? Well what ever was I thinking LOL! Here he is back again for the summer, along with several piles of stuff
scattered from room to room! I can't get near my washing machine, it's been running all weekend and were just finally making a dent! Ah well, laundry aside it is great having our boy home for awhile!

In between loading the washer I spent the afternoon pulling fabric for my next quilt. You may recall the brights I bought in Lawrence when Grandpa was here. I knew they would coordinate purrfectly with this cute kitty fabric.

This seriously CUTE kitty fabric by Michael Miller.

I hope to spend much of the week stitching.
I have to tell you I was really excited yesterday, I was on the Southwest site checking out air fare and lo and behold... summer fun rates are in full swing. I booked a flight to Pittsburgh to see my Daddy in July. He is going to be 92! I will miss his birthday by 2 weeks, but he is hoping I will be able to catch one of his softball games, yes softball! He plays on a Sr league and is the oldest registered member of Senior softball in the USA- you go Dad!
Well I am off to cuddle up with Cleo and watch Dancing With The Stars and then the new Bachlorette. Have a wonderful week!

Mothers Day On The Road

If you read my last post you know Jerry and I drove to Oklahoma City this weekend. Now that is one really boring drive, I35 all the way, 5 hours of non stop interstate. If the wind is blowing in the right direction it gets you there fast. Miles and miles of flat land, brown grass dotted with little scrubby trees. There is one scenic exception, the beautiful Flint Hills in southern Kansas. Grassy meadows as far as the eye can see, little tufts of hills, mesmerizingly beautiful and I always look forward to this part of the drive.

We rolled in our daughters driveway shortly after noon, William was peeking out the window saying "they're here, Nana & Papa are here", I imagined by the look on his excited little face. We spent the afternoon catching up then drove to Okarche Ok for a special treat, dinner at a favorite spot, Eischens. Established in 1896 it claims to be the oldest bar in Oklahoma. We noticed a sign on the door stating they would be closed on Tuesday while filming a Food TV episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. So as you can imagine this is an immensely popular spot and you better get there real early if you are hungry!

Their specialty is none other than........Fried Chicken!

As a matter of fact fried chicken is about all you can order here, besides some awesome fried okra, you wouldn't want anything else, except maybe a pitcher of red beer.

After dinner we went to our son in laws parents where Jerry & I were spending the night.

Cute little William was baptised during the Mothers Day church service. His Mommys only concern was how he might react if he got water in his eyes because he hates getting water in his eyes! She needn't have worried, Father was wonderful and William flew through his baptism like a pro. He was adorable in his little white suit and grinned from ear to ear all day, I think he knew he was pretty special!

After service we had the wonderful brunch Granma Marilyn had prepared. It was so nice to be with all of the family and friends on this special day.
Then it was time to change and hit the road and 5 hours later here we are home again, almost like we had never left!

Still kicking!

Well my goodness, you turn around and here it is May already! May in our house is one month that sticks in our minds for several reasons. And while we are under a tornado watch here reason number 1 comes to mind. May is a really big tornado outbreak month here in the Midwest. I don't know why and I don't worry about it because just what are the odds of ever being in an actual tornado. We moved to Edmond Oklahoma in the summer of 85. As our 1st spring approached so did the active weather warnings flashing across the TV screen. We questioned our neighbors as to what we should do or expect and our neighbors thought we New Yorkers were pretty silly! Well they said, when the bad weather rolls in, why we go out on the porch and watch or get up on the roof and take pictures! Tornadoes don't come to Edmond, they always make a loop right around us. On May 8th 1986 we were under a big tornado warning. You can probably guess where this is going LOL! Hubby of course was out on the porch with our girls and his camera, all our neighbors were waving at each other and looking at the sky, at that big rotating wall cloud. I was in the house holding my 5 month old baby boy. Then the TV went poof, along with the electricity and in comes my family screaming to get in the closet for gods sake! A funnel had dropped, right smack in our neighborhood. All 5 of us squished in that tiny closet, plus our little dog too (this was way before Cleo!) And there we waited in the dark, just waiting and listening, like forever it seems. Well anyway, our home was not one of the ones hit. Our tornado made National Geographic Magazine. I also saw footage of it on Utube and tried to download that without any success, but oh well, I'm sure you've seen one tornado you've seen them all!
Mothers Day in our house is also the day our 1st daughter Melissa was born, how special is that, every 7 years we get to celebrate together! I also have to add, that tornado hit the day before her birthday and she made sure her presents were in the closet with us LOL!

For those of you who read my daughter Melissas Texas Twinadoes blog, you know that this Mothers Day marks 2 years of our Grandson Brandon being cancer free. The gift Brandon received on that day, is one more precious and powerful than any gift you could probably be given, a new lease on life through organ donation.
As for me this Mothers Day, Jerry and I will be driving home from Oklahoma City. Our Grandson William is being baptised Sunday morning! You all can think of me driving right on up tornado alley road on my way home LOL!
Have a wonderful weekend, may you be spoiled and pampered this Mothers Day!