HAPPY BIRTHDAY, UNITED STATES of AMERICA !!!

 

 

And our continuing love and gratitude to those who have served, those who still serve, and those who wait for their return

 

Plum Nelly

Man-Of-The-House and I took a couple days for a shakedown and get acquainted trip with the motorhome. We drove to Ellijay, GA and stayed in a private campground. We searched for a campground that had sewer connections on site, because when I had my experience emptying the black water tank, I didn't want any witnessess!  Several friends who are more experienced campers than we are have had some truly yucky and embarassing things happen to them. Also, since The Lady Anne  is a used motorhome, we wanted to clean out the tanks with some equipment  a friend loaned us.  All went successfully, but I have to say that I am glad that I listened to that little voice in my head that told me to buy new sewer hoses and connections. A look at the hoses that came revealed some cracks and holes…what a messy time we would have had. Disaster averted! (at least for this time, I don’t want to tempt fate)

We also learned how to operate our awning-with the kind help of another camper who climbed all over the rig without a moments hesitation. It seems I had pretty much remembered what the dealer showed me, but when he put the awning back up, he let the pull down strap roll up inside, which meant we couldn't bring the awning down. The helpful camper and I moved  the picnic table next to the camper, he climbed on that and manually unrolled the awning as MOTH and I held down the side supports.

Anyway, we had a quiet couple of days, in the shade of trees and awning while the temps were in the 90s. We always had a pleasant breeze, and when we had enough of the heat, the a/c worked well. We became more acquainted with the motorhome and stored some of our gear, tested the different systems.

The campground is named Plum Nelly, and I think we’ll be back. It was quiet and our spot was rather private. Here’s a view of the mountains from our site:

The road traveled around our site, this is from the road, through the trees to our motorhome.

If you look carefully, you will see MOTH sitting against the camper, contemplating and generally enjoying the breeze in the 90 degree heat. The first night the temperatures were supposed to drop into the 60’s, so we turned off the a/c and opened the windows. By the wee hours of the morning, it had cooled off enough that we were chilled, and I had to put an summer blanket on the bed. HOORAY!

If you’ve ever been in the south, particularly Georgia, you may have been introduced to kudzu. It is an amazing plant and grows unbelievably fast. It was imported years ago from (I think) Japan to be planted on hillsides to prevent erosion. The down side is it covers everything in its path, trees, fences, buildings….anything that will hold still for a few hours. This stuff can grow up to 2 feet in a day. At the campground, it was used to make fencing and as a privacy barrier. Looking away from the back of our site, we wondered what the kudzu was concealing:

Well for goodness sake! That would be one heck of a fall. And I don’t think I’d want to end up in that catch basin, either.

And here’s one last photo, just because I like it.

On the crafty front

I haven’t been doing much. My quilting is pretty much stalled, no good reason, just no inspiration. I did begin another pair of socks (two at a time, toe up) and am almost ready to turn the heel. The yarn is  Blue Moon ‘s  Socks That Rock , the color is Storey-time. I’m using the Lifestyle Toe up Sock explained by Charisa Martin Cairn. She gives methods and procedures, you provide the measurements. I don’t have a link, but you can Google it.

Been keeping busy….

but haven’t been posting.  Our last camping trip (back the end of March) to Skidaway Island was revealing for us. While we have loved using our cute little Aliner camper, it became evident that Man-Of-The-House was having more and more difficulty moving about comfortably/safely in the confined space.  We began considering what other options would allow us to continue traveling and camping.  I’ll spare you the soul searching, research and suspense. We came to a decision, located what we felt will suit our needs.  Here it is:

We had to go to Texas to pick her up and then drive back to Georgia.  I’ve never been that far west before, so I enjoyed the trip, and it gave me a chance to get used to driving something this big. The hardest part for me was……all the darn bridges!!! I hate bridges, I have always hated bridges, I have had nightmares since childhood about bridges.  Yes, they are necessary and can be quite beautiful.  They are just fine if I can just look at them, but crossing them???? Not so much.

Now, the low, flat bridges I don’t mind too much.

This one was getting a little bit higher, my knuckles were getting whiter.

The really big ones with all the heavy metal superstructures- we didn’t get a picture of those. The photographer was too busy praying that I wouldn’t completely freak out and drive us over the side.

We made it home in 3 days and met some lovely people along the way.

How could I resist??

As I finished my first pair of socks, my grandson immediately noticed the small quantity of leftover yarn. He wanted to know what I was going to do with it. My mistake was to pause to think what I would possibly do with such a little bit of yarn.  “You could make me a hat,” he said.  ?????? He actually wanted me to make him a hat, a homemade-my-grandmother-made-if-for-me-hat? In Spring? In Atlanta?   A few hours later he was back, looking around and wanted to know if I had made it yet.  Sure, all beginning knitters are speedy!   I explained that it would take me a bit to make the hat, so maybe it would be finished the next time he visited.  In the meantime, we had some renovations and family visited for the weekend. On Saturday I took my sister-in-law to the local yarn shop.  She had brought a needlepoint project with her to work on in the car, but was running out of yarn. That gave us the perfect excuse to run to the knitting and needlepoint shop here in town.  While they fixed her up with what she needed, I ran to the knitting section to find some extra yarn for the hat. I knew there wouldn’t be enough with just the sock leftovers. Today the sorry little hat was finished. (The wide green stripe in the center was the extra yarn-doesn’t it match well? I was so pleased, especially since I didn’t think to bring the sock bits with me, it was a total guess)  Grandson put the hat on and hasn’t taken it off yet. Have I mentioned that it is warm enough that we had the air conditioning on yesterday? its been in the 80s for the past few days, and he is wearing a wool hat!  I’m very pleased that he is so pleased, but look at that face, could you have said no???

 

Spring Break

began even before we returned from our camping trip. We had the grandchildren for the duration. Again the weather was mostly nasty, so we didn’t get to do the things I would have liked to do with them. One day it finally stopped raining, was sunny and even reached into the 70’s. We headed out to some local parks to do some walking, then to a playground to burn off some steam. Here are some of the spring blooms we encountered along the way.

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And here we have the socks,

Finally finished. These are the ones that I made so much progress on while we were camping...in the rain. A while back I ordered a kit that included yarn, two Addi turbo circular needles and two videos on how to knit socks on circular needles. One video was how to knit one at a time and using a gusset heel. The second was two at a time with a dropped row heal. I did the two at a time. I'm thrilled to have finished a pair of socks and to be actually able to wear them. I do have a few issues that I need to get straightened out before I make another pair. There were one or two places in the instructions that were not clear to me. If you are a knitter and looked at the socks, you could probably guess which part of the instructions I mean.{no, I will not show pictures of those parts) I will talk to some more experienced knitters and get this straightened away. Can't wait to start another pair with yarn that I have picked out.

By the way, the twins are fraternal, very fraternal....yes, I know (in theory) about starting at the same place in the yarn. But I didn't know the yarn was self striping. The yarn was center pull, I started each at the beginning and they both started with a blue and white effect, so I thought it was all good. Turns out that one was the reverse order of the other. Well, darn! Anyway, they are done and I am mostly happy with them, and I will wear them.

Skidaway Island camping trip

We recently spent a week with some camping friends at Skidaway Island State Park, here is our trip:

Going to Skidaway we encountered some of the worse rain I have ever driven in- and we drove for about six hours! We arrived during a lull in the storm, and were able to set up in the dry. We did all the outside setting up, left the inside for later, and drove over to say hello to the rest of the group. Tow of our friends had picked out one of the handicapped sites for us, I think that it must have been the best site in the park, and of course, it was close to the bathrooms. The only down side is that it was so far from the rest of the group, too far for DH to walk. It was a large, large site, a lot of brush before any neighbors, quiet and without mud. The rest of the group was closer to the swamp, had noisy frogs and a lot of mud with all the rain. It certainly was perfect for us.
Anyway, we drove over to visit the group. Jack, a yellow lab, thought DH had brought him the neatest new toy, it was hysterical. He saw the tennis balls on the walker and just wouldn’t leave them alone. He kept digging and pawing at them, determined to get a ball to play with. Oddly, none of the other 13canines were interested. We only had a short visit before the rain started again and everyone headed for their campers. Not much later, the TORNADO siren sounded, and we headed for the restrooms

.DH made his first visit to a ladies room, where we sat on the seat in the shower and waited for the all clear. We were in a different restroom than the rest of the group; we had fewer people-and much fewer dogs. I don't think all of the other campers realized what the siren was about. Spring time sirens in GA-if the weather is bad, you know what it means-tornadoes in the area, take cover. I slept in my clothes that night.
Sunday was one of God's more beautiful days, as was Monday. Sunday a pair of friendsgrilled burgers and franks for us. They picked up salads and such and we all chipped in to cover the costs, the athletes among us got in some practice for Washers, trying to determine who will represent us at the Olympics in London. (Washers is a game similar to horseshoes, the group joke is that we will send a team to the 2012 Olympics we even have uniforms planned)
Monday we ordered pizza and we also had a round of washers. This time the festivities were at our site, complete with laughter around the campfire.
Tuesday was overcast, but DH and I attempted one of the trails. The ground was hard packed, but rocky. It was not easy with the walker, so we didn’t get very far, but we tried!

The weather stayed dry long enough that one friend, DH and I went into Savannah a bit early so that we could walk the riverfront before meeting everyone at Paula Deen's restaurant. The friend did the walking, DH and I mostly sat on the benches watching people and boats and listening to the street musicians. We found that the cobblestones and old, cracked sidewalks were not walker friendly at all. To push the wheelchair would have been impossible. I’m glad we left it in the car.
Wednesday it rained, and rained. We all did our own thing. A small group of us drove out to Tybee Island to have dinner at a place one gal remembered from past visits to the area. If you ever go to Tybee, visit the Crab Shack. Don't be put off by the kitsch and tacky (surely the tackiest place ever seen by human eyes!) the food was great. Yummmmmm.

Thursday it rained some more, with warnings of the possibility of more tornado activity at night. That evening we all went to a restaurant a few miles from the campground. Oh, WOW! Wonderful food with humongous windows overlooking the waterway. Some great lightening moments, too. Back to the campground to spend MORE time in our camper.--you know how the sound of rain on a tin roof evokes images of lazy summer days and quiet moments???

Not so much!

This rain pelted us mightily for days, sort of an amplified Chinese Water torture, when it finally stopped, the silence was almost painful. I slept in my clothes again that night. I stayed up until about 1 pm, waiting out the storm, prepared to drag DH from bed into the shelter if need be. Our nice, ‘high’ campsite became lakefront property- if it had rained much longer it would have been an island! Here’s a shot of our lake it is between our camper and the road.

I must say, the bad weather had an upside; I made progress knitting my socks! Only have the toes to go. Will have to remember in the future that knitting is so much more portable than my quilting. I have toyed with the idea of bringing some along, but this is so much more compact and 'do-able'.

Friday was very nice. DH and I went back to Tybee Island to visit Fort Pulaski and the Tybee Island Lighthouse

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We tried stopping back at the Crab Shack for lunch, but the parking lot was full up. One of our friends cooked a pork roast for dinner and everyone brought a side. She also made a key lime pie for dessert and provided a beverage she is quite a cook and entertains frequently.

Evaluation- People, dogs and food were great; rain, mud, bugs were awful ( I look like I have the measles, I'm so bitten up) You can tell the weather was bad when the best part of a camping trip report was the restaurant reviews!

Ready for the next step….

               

                                      Here is the latest step of Bears in the Farmhouse, the current Quilt Along by Judy L. That outer border is not black, but a very deep purple with lighter print on top. I love the fabric, just wish it showed up better in the photo.  Judy will be sending out the last set of instructions tomorrow. It is so nice to be all ready to go, for once.

We take our research seriously around here

As you can see by the photos, there isn’t much left of our Butter Pecan ice cream! These are the first round of possibilities. Any opinions on which one to use, or should I keep looking for a better match?

Research

Ah, the sacrifices we make for our art! Melinda has issued a quilt challenge, and I have joined in. This is an ice cream challenge. Melinda assigns each person a flavor of ice cream and the color of the ice cream is the color you use in your quilt, plus (possibly) two others. My flavor is Butter Pecan. Now, I haven't had Butter Pecan in quite a while, I'm more of a vanilla girl. So I don't remember exactly the shade of Butter Pecan. Wanting to be correct in my color choice, I have to do some research. So here is my research: a newly opened carton of Butter Pecan, see the color. Then, a newly scooped carton, observe the difference the disturbed texture of the surface makes to the color. Aha! the color of a DISH of Butter Pecan.

You know, I think the artifical light of the nighttime kitchen is not giving a true representation. But I will pull some fabrics that are in this range and then, tomorrow, in daylight, ...I'll do more research! I just love a challenge!!

Bear blocks are done!

Here we are, up to date on the latest step of Bears in the Farmhouse. My guess is that the next step will be the sashing and perhaps a border or two. One is more of those HSTs; they look great but are time consuming to do. I really hate the squaring up process. I may try another HST technique this time.

Quilt Along progress

JudyL is sharing another of her designs with online quilters. This one is a bit different than others she has done in that there was a sign up with a cut off date. Sign up was to send or post a picture of your fabric choices by the deadline. Once that was done Judy emailed the first step, which also has to be emailed/posted by a deadline in order to receive the instructions for the next step. Here are my fabric choices and the half square triangles for the first step. I'm waiting to see how these look when in position, I may need to add more of some colors to liven things up, or even throw in an additional color to spice things up. The color in the hst photo is a little off the lavendar looks a little grey and the two mottled purples look too blue. If we ever have a sunny day, I may take some of these outside to see if I can get a photo with accurate color.

Hello again

It has been quite a while since my last post, but I haven't had too much to show. Hopefully I will have more to share and will get back to being regular with my posts.

Yesterday was my grandson's birthday. He and his daddy baked cupcakes so that he could have exactly the cake and frosting he wanted for his birthday.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah

The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get......

That old Pennsylvania Dutch saying rings way too true, especially these days. We had the grandchildren for the weekend, which means we didn't get much of our stuff done. Miss Thing and I did work on her quilt blocks, but this time we didn't quite finish, so no pictures of them yet. I still haven't gotten around to putting borders on the two quilts I assembled at retreat. I'm trying to catch up on some chores around here, however, I did get some sewing done. Back in the spring I showed some pictures of Fabric Art Postcards that I am doing as part of a birthday swap. Well, we are down to the final two people, one in November and one in December. I decided while I was making one, I might as well make the second, because this time of year I may just never get the chance again! Here they are.