Football Night in America!!!!

 Maybe I should say it's "High School" Football Night at least in Iowa and Missouri!  And yes, I'm wearing my only Greene County Rams Football shirt today.  Maybe I'll get another one this year????  I'd like a red one so that I can combine my Greene County support with Chief's Wear Red Friday!

And I'm ready for some Friday night sewing!  I have the project all picked out.....

I'm planning to do this quilt called "Once Upon a Memory".  I had started cutting it last year and I pulled it back out  and finished the cutting this week so that it could be my Friday night Football project.

I may have to get this project finished up first...........

It's been "Under the Needle" for awhile now and I'm really wanting to see it completed.  And since I'm very tired of little 1.5" squares, I'm scared that if I put it aside, it might not get to see Halloween until next year.  Do you think fabric jack-o-lanterns can rot if kept too long?

I did take a break from little squares to put these together...........

This set of 6 placemats, napkins, and a wall hanging are going to be my sister's Christmas gift.  Everything is pieced, and the napkins are cut and just have to be serged.  Still have to cut binding (which will be the black stripe), backing and batting.  I thought they turned out pretty well.  The red and black fabrics were purchased on the "semi date" at the first quilt shop we stopped at.

And if you're worried that my sister might see her Christmas gift because of this blog post, worry not!  She doesn't have time to read it and today is the first home football game in which both of her boys, Carter Morton, Senior, and Jackson Morton, Sophomore, will be starting varsity together.  And her hubby is one of the assistant coaches, and she is the athletic trainer, so it will be a family affair on the field.  

Can't wait to listen tonight!

Christi

Travel Time

We made the trip to Rolla on Saturday to visit DD.  

Actually, the trip was mostly to deliver this lovely lady, Dory.  Yes, Dory is going to college.  Nemo wasn't too sure about why he was left behind.  Dory didn't think a whole lot of the trip, and was very happy to be there and not in the carrier in the car.  I think things are working out.  We did get a frantic phone call at noon on Sunday to say that Dory had "disappeared".  After asking several questions, we suggested that DD search under her bed (which she says had already been done at least twice), so we suggested looking up under the box springs...............and, lo and behold, there was a small hole in the fabric, then a sneeze was heard from the box springs.............and, what do you know, there was Dory!  I'm pretty sure a lot of duck tape was used to block the hole!

We did get up to Bethany the last weekend in July..........once 41 Highway was finally open (we drove through water, so I don't know who "open" it really was).  We celebrated DD's 22nd birthday early since she was going to be in Utah the week of her birthday.

It was a lot of candles!

On the way up, we stopped at H&M Country Store in Jamesport.  There were a few seasonings and spices we needed.  They almost always have some type of small animal to sell or give away in the front yard..........this time was no exception.

This adorable little border collie - blue heeler mix was the last puppy in the pen.......marked down from $40 to $20!  Clearance Puppy!!!!  Now, I have been looking for a golden retriever puppy, and the mom of some of my piano students keeps sending me possibilities (way too expensive possibilities!).  So, we texted this photo to her and I said I thought Kody, her youngest needed this.  His red heeler puppy had disappeared earlier in the summer.  While I was shopping, my phone started going bonkers with text messages back.  So, I purchased  Clearance Puppy, and he rode on my lap to Bethany, spent the weekend at my parents' house (my Dad probably would have kept him), and then he rode on my lap all the way back to Marshall.  Kody's older sister Kaitlyn brought him out and we handed him a puppy!  

Love at first sight!  So now Clearance Puppy's name is Teddy, and he gets to herd goats with Kody.  

We also went to St. Louis at the end of July.  The Hubs was attending a Purina Seminar, and DD and I tagged along.  We did some shopping at a great outlet mall.

We also had box seats at a Cardinals game............against the Cubs!  It was a Tuesday, so DD had a NASA online class that she had to listen to that evening.

Here she is eating ball park food, watching the game, and listening to a NASA lecture.  

I also attended basket convention............just to look and shop............the first weekend in August.  I took another piano student (same family that got Teddy), and her mom with me so that she could pick out some 4-H basket projects.  She had a really difficult time deciding and ended up with some interestingly challenging choices.  We'll keep you posted on that.

Here were some baskets that caught my eye to make.............

I didn't purchase anything for myself as Kelsey had picked a couple of complicated things that I think I will just try to make along with her.

And that was pretty much it for the summer travels.

Christi

Quilting and Kittens!

This should have appeared in the "Wacky Wednesday" post, but I never got photos taken.  The Hubs was mowing the yard, and I was checking the flower beds around the house for weeds (just to make sure there were weeds there, I guess, since I didn't pull any of them), and found kittens!  These are the boys of the litter, all yellows.............one is a little lighter than the other 2.

And these are the girls!  I just love the coloring on the face of the one on the right.  I moved them to a box in the shed since it was going to rain (a good thing, since we've had a lot of rain since then).  They belong to Elsa and are the third litter she has had this summer.  She simply didn't feed the first batch, and we tried to move a couple to a mother at the farm, but they didn't make it.  We never saw the second litter, so she must have had them out in the elements and lost them.  Maybe "Third Time's Charm" will be the key this time.  Anyway, she is taking care of them for the time being and they are very fat.

My neighbor, Karen, and I are working on t-shirt quilts for our pastor.  Her husband passed away earlier this year and we are making 3 quilts from his t-shirts........one for her and one for each of the kids.  We spent Friday working out a layout and trimming the t-shirts for Pastor Sandy's quilt.  There will be sashing and cornerstones to bring it all together.  We had a good mathematical system going........Starting at the bottom row, each row above was cut 3" shorter..............this worked until we got to the top row, then the math changed.  We might have gotten more done, but we took a break to drive to Glasgow for lunch with some other quilters at The Rolling Pin.  It was a nice day and we ate outside next to the waterwall.

We had a great time just visiting for quite awhile.  

We did get together again on Sunday afternoon to layout and trim the blocks for the other 2 t-shirt quilts.

This will be Kathy's.  She is a pianist, so we will be making a piano key border from leftover t-shirts to fill in the gaps that you see around the quilt and there will be sashing in between the shirt blocks.

This will be Bill's.  There will be sashing between the blocks on this one as well.

It was definitely an interesting collection of t-shirts.  Now we just have to go fabric shopping to get the stuff to finish them!  Darn!

Christi

Quilting Catch-Up

Some sewing and quilting did happen this summer.

I just love this quilt.  You can see that Cici finds it rather mesmerizing too!  Someone in quilt guild made one, and I got the pattern and did it in blue and neutral batiks.  The hubs had the fun of crawling around on the floor to arrange the pieces.  It's hanging in the "to be quilted" closet.  I have the backing and binding made, but haven't done batting yet.

This top also got completed.  This was Bonnie Hunter's leader/ender project from last year called Jewel Box Stars.  All of the interior blocks were pieced as leaders and enders between other projects last year.  I added my own borders.  I found the piano key pieces in my orphan block box.  There were left from another project.  I still have about 40 of those already cut for another project.  This one is hanging in the TBQ closet too.  I have binding made, but don't have backing or batting for it done yet.

This is my Summertime Sampler that I did as a block of the month starting last September.  I had never done a block of the month before and it was fun.  This is another one now hanging in the TBQ closet.  I don't have backing or batting for it, but have the binding strips cut.  I have quite a lot of the fabric scraps leftover, and would like to make some of the blocks again and maybe make them into bags or pillows.  It doesn't show up on my neutral carpet, but it is very pretty.  The binding will be black.

This was the last thing I quilted on my longarm.  The lady who purchased it had been to look at it, and I thought maybe I should try quilting again before I sold it.  I was so successful at this, that I put a Halloween wall hanging that I'm making for my sister on and started quilting, and after the machine messed up the 3rd time and I had to rip it out the third time, I was finished quilting.

The popsicle pattern and fabrics were purchased in Paducah last spring.  I changed it from a table runner to a piano runner.

Not to rush the seasons, but the Elf Hats are ready for Christmas.  I purchased this pattern and some of the fabric in Paducah as well.  Pam R. quilted it for me.  I think I may add little bells or something to the ends of the hats.

And this is our guild's opportunity quilt for this year.  It's called Midnight Stars.

It was beautifully quilted by Mary D.

Check out the quilting on the back!

That's the sewing/quilting update!  I did make DD a little zipper bag for her makeup before she went with the satellite team to Utah at the beginning of August.  No photos though and she's already taken it back to school.

Christi

Wacky Wednesday

Yesterday was quite a day.  I didn't have to work, but managed to get my hair cut between storms in the morning, did major grocery shopping at Walmart (I just hate going there)

At least I didn't have to waste a lot of time choosing bananas as this was all they had....

And I simply chose not to purchase green onions because these were too wilted to even attempt to breathe life into!

I was looking for a couple of things DD wanted that her Walmart in Rolla didn't have, but there must have been a run on lasagna hamburger helper and Stouffer's chicken fettucini alfredo frozen meals because Marshall didn't have them either.  At least she has 2 other grocery stores to shop at.  I have set the limit of FIVE!  If there are FIVE things on my list that Walmart is out of, I simply leave my shopping cart, go to my car and drive to the little town of Slater and shop at their grocery store.  They usually have everything I need!

DD called us at lunch time to request a visit this weekend and for us to bring her a kitten for an "audition" to living at college.

Nemo (the orange one, just like in the movie) and Dory have been living with us all summer (outside mostly), and now Dory is going to go to college.  We'll see how she likes it.

I also got my dining room carpet restretched to get some of the big lumps and wrinkles out of it.  This meant moving all the dining room furniture out.  Fortunately, I don't have that much, but had to take all the china and glassware out of the corner cabinet.

It is really nice to have the carpet flat now.  I put everything back in the cabinet and cleaned and shined as I did it, so everything is just sparkling.  I really need to use the china more.  I have 4 sets that have been handed down.  Sarah is the only granddaughter, so we seem to get the dishes.  The only one she is really appreciative of is the blue willow, which has been used the most and has the most damage.  

Cici watched all the happenings.  After everything was back, she kept trying to roll around where the wrinkles had been.  She used to snuggle into them and now they're gone.  The table and chairs are even back to their straight position in front of her bay window.  I had angled them oddly to cover up one of the larger wrinkles.  I just told everyone I was trying fung shway.  

Christi

Dates and a Wedding!

The hub's oldest nephew, Elliott, got married in July this summer.

They had the ceremony in the historic Church of St. Mary on the Westminster campus in Fulton, MO.  The church is the site of the Churchill Memorial and the museum is in the basement.  

It was such a wonderful place to see and to have a wedding except for the fact that there was NO AIR CONDITIONING!  And this was a JULY wedding!  Even though it was a little sticky, it was fun.  And they did give out hand fans!

So, that takes care of the wedding part of this post, now for the dates!

We had a couple of family movie dates this summer.  The first was to see Aladdin and the second was THE LION KING!

The Lion King has long been DD's favorite movie.  We pretty much all have it memorized word for word.  The live action was so much fun!  Of course, we have also seen the Broadway adaptation a couple of times and nothing beats live music!

And The Hubs took me on a date recently.  He picked me up in the cab of the semi and we drove to Nevada, MO where he picked up the new (used) trailer he had purchased for it. 

On the way down, we stopped at a quilt shop along the way.

It was an interesting shop.  I picked up a couple of small pieces of fabric for a project for a Christmas gift.

Don't you love the candy vending machine full of spools!

Traveling through Warsaw on the way home, I pointed out At the Lake Quilt Shop.  Let me tell you, when you back your semi up to the quilt shop, they get a little excited!  Yes, I could have fit the entire contents of the store in my trailer and all I purchased was a pattern and a half yard of fabric!

They did give The Hubs directions to a good restaurant for lunch...........one with enough room for semi parking.  We had delicious catfish and hush puppies!

So, those were our summertime "dates".  We traditionally have a date on any Friday the 13th (in honor of our very first date which was a Friday the 13th), and there is one coming up in September!  Our date may be a trip to Iowa to see my nephews play football that evening.

Christi

Good Eats!

My dad came to visit for Father's Day.  This was quite the challenge due to all the flooding that had closed several road options.  I fixed fried chicken since both my dad and the hubs enjoy that.  We ate outside on the new patio.

At the beginning of July, DD and I met my cousins and aunt at the Amish produce auction by Versailles.  

 We bought tomatoes, sweet corn, blackberries, and peaches!  (with enough pain medicine for the jaw pain, I managed to eat my fill of sweet corn!)

I tried some new salsa recipes.  One was a canned salsa, and I have several jars of it.  The other was a fresh salsa that only made a small batch.  We really liked it.  I have made it several times this summer and have put some in the freezer.  Of course, we have consumed quite a lot of it.  I have tweeked it a little each time and really like it with the Roma tomatoes I have been getting from my garden.

Fresh Salsa
2 1/2 lbs. tomatoes (I like Roma's because they are meatier)
2 jalapenos
1/4 medium red onion
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I am generous with this)
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 t. salt
1 t. liquid smoke

I core the tomatoes and cut them in half, then slice the jalapenos in half lengthwise, removing the stems and seeds.  I drizzle them with olive oil and put them on the BBQ grill about 10-20 minutes or until the jalapenos have plenty of black on them and the tomato skins begin to come off.  Let them cool.  I like to put the tomatoes in a colander to let the extra liquid run off, then remove the skins.  

Run all the ingredients through the food processor.  Puree on high for 10 seconds or until it's the consistency you like.  Chill several hours or overnight before serving.  It makes around 2 cups of salsa.

I also made 2 batches of black raspberry jelly, and put a few peaches and pizza sauce in the freezer.  We did several containers of peaches for my in-laws as well as a batch of peach preserves.  I made one batch of sweet pickle spears and sent about half over to my father-in-law.  I'm still getting tomatoes, so will probably make salsa again and maybe some spaghetti sauce.  We didn't put sweet corn in the freezer because we were still stocked from last year.  It was pretty good with a BLT sandwich and some fresh cucumbers and onions this summer!

This is probably my favorite summertime meal!

Christi

Summer's Over!

Yes, summer is over.  Today is the first day of DD's senior year of college at Missouri S&T!  We are also hosting the teacher meetings at the community center where I work today.  So, summer is OVER!  And, I'm ready.  It hasn't been the greatest of summers.  

It started with the root canal I had in the middle of May that created constant pain in my right jaw and side of my face.  I can honestly say that I have not been without Tylenol, Ibuprofen, or Aleve for the entire summer.  It took multiple trips to the dentist to get the crown on (due to some mistakes in the molding process.............yes, they broke the mold on me!).  I just want to spend a long period of time without anyone putting their hands in my mouth to let my jaw heal.  I even postponed my regular teeth cleaning appointment until November.  I'm just happy that I have finally weened myself down to just one Aleve in the morning and a couple of Tylenol at bedtime.  Sometimes, you just don't realize how much not feeling good affects you.

Then, remember that wonderful Longarm Avante quilting machine I purchased (used)?  Well, I just wasn't having much success with it keeping the tension the same.  Some real frustration with quilting set in, and I was going to just totally quit altogether.  It didn't help that no one I contacted seemed to really want to help solve my issues.  I made an appointment with one quilt shop that seemed like they might help, but had one of the worst experiences of my life there.  So I cleaned up the longarm, and Bitsy, my featherweight, and Lizzy, my 201, (somehow, purging was going to make things better) took great photos of them, and listed them for sale on Craig's List.  Believe it or not, I sold Bitsy (for more than what I had paid for her), and I sold the longarm (for what I had paid for it).  So, I decided to keep Lizzy.  She's still in the basement and I did some more sewing on her last night.

The worst thing of all this summer was that last Wednesday morning, DD had to have Jason 2.0, her best buddy cat friend, put to sleep - the day before she was heading back to school.  He had some bladder blockage issues which might have been solved (only a 50% chance) by some expensive surgery, but in the end, she decided not to put him through that.  Believe it or not, we all really miss the obnoxious beast.

The Hubs and I had just gotten used to both DD and Jason being around and now they are both gone again.  I think even Cici misses them.

Here he is helping to hold down my main UFO project for this year.  With his help, I was able to get the binding on and it's ready to go for the September guild meeting.  

 My friend Mary kindly quilted it for me.  We are donating it to the Tiny Homes for Veterans project in Kansas City.  This is one of my guild's charity projects for the year.

And this is the last photo I took of Jason 2.0.  He was hanging out on DD's bed the week she was gone to Utah.  

So, with school starting and summer ending, I hope to feel better and be more positive about everything.  I am also going to try to do more regular blogging.  I know I've said that before, probably as part of some New Year's resolution, but now I'm doing it as part of the New School Year's resolutions!  And, we are coming up to fall, my favorite season of the year.............leaves turning, air crisp and cool, combines running, football games.........life is looking better!

Christi