Bedtime snack!!

It wasn't my Monday Starbucks chocolate mint chip but it sure was good. Allan and Bettie and Jerry and I feasted on these every night while they were here. If you are reading this and it is about 11 p.m. maybe you should just head to your freezer. Be sure to add the caramel (or chocolate) sauce and some good salted peanuts. Or toasted pecans..that would be great too.

As with many things that have to end, this snack has to stop now. The weather is getting cooler in the evenings and early morning so it's time to get walking again. Maybe I can counteract some of the damage done!!!!

Farmer's Market

I brought Bettie and Allan to our Farmer's Market Sat. There are so many wonderful vegetables and fruit to buy. It is really hard not to purchase too much. Bought green beans, tomatoes, corn, blueberries, peaches, cheese, bread and a hunk of cheese.


We went back yesterday and Bettie bought 20 pounds of blueberries and half a bushel of peaches to make jam. I bought 10 lbs of blueberries to freeze. Need to get more. They were very sweet. I don't know if it was the high sugar content but they didn't freeze like little stones. They are more like a Popsicle...they don't kill the teeth!!!






Bought 3 pots of Mums, more delicious corn, a muskmelon and beets to pickle.

Haven't touched the sewing machine or any kind of needle in 10 days. Haven't done any weeding in weeks. Hmmmm, what should I tackle first?

Family from Minnesota

My brother and sister-in-law arrived last Thursday. I enjoy their visits so much. And they come bearing gifts from their big garden! They brought 4 kinds of potatoes and 3 kinds of onions. Bettie does so much canning and brought jam and jelly...raspberry, gooseberry, triple berry, strawberry/rhubarb and grape. Yum

Sunday we had a brunch with the family. Didn't get many pictures taken. Guess I was in the kitchen! I like to do brunches because the casseroles can be fixed and put in the refrigerator over night....made three 9/12's....egg, potato, and baked french toast. They all can go into the oven at the same temp. when I get home from church. This is me with my younger brother.


Marcos was very intent on putting the Ikea magnets into the round slots in the pull toy.


I think this was a 2 year old discussion about who was to ride and who was to push the garden cart!



Benjamin is leaving this weekend for Korea. He is really looking forward to his year adventure. Next week he has 5 days of Korean culture immersion.

Frederik Meijer Gardens

Last Thursday 2 friends and I went to Grand Rapids for an event at the Frederik Meijer Gardens. For those of you from other states the Gardens are a "must see" if you ever get to the western part of MI. There are acres and acres of trails through wetlands, woodlands, shade gardens and theme gardens. There are 70 bronze sculptures scattered throughout the grounds and buildings. The 27 foot horse using Leonardo da Vinci's design is so majestic...you can walk under it. We only had time to go through the tropical conservatory before our event but enjoyed the orchids. There is a wonderful display of orchids in the spring. Here are some of the ones that were blooming now.










The event we were attending was to raise money to create gardens in the memory care unit at Maple Creek...a 5 tier senior living...run by Lutheran Social Services of MI.
It was fitting that we were meeting at a garden to raise money for a garden and then had a real master gardener as a speaker. Peter Hatch is the director of all the gardens and grounds for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. That is the 2,400 acres of Monticello. He was very interesting and had a slide show along with his presentation.
There was a reception before the program and dessert after....wine, cheeses, veggies and crackers and then lots of gooey caramel and chocolate bars. Don't you think that was a good meal??!!

Baby quilt finished and delivered.

Finished the quilt about midnight last night. I always seem to go back to a variation of an I Spy quilt for baby showers. This time it was done with the Disappearing 9 Patch pattern. Was fun and quick to do. I always enclose some sheets of instructions for the games to play on the quilt.

The baby shower was so very nice this morning. It started at 10:30 with a lovely brunch and the weather was nice enough to be outside. Then a few new games. We were each given a small container of Play Dough and had to make what we thought Nicki's baby would look like!!!I'm thinking she hopes her baby doesn't look anything like our creations. Was fun though. There was a great variety of gifts..my quilt was the only quilt and was well received.





Happy Anniversary to us!!!! Jerry and I celebrated our 54th anniversary yesterday. Well, not really celebrated. Now Jerry has pneumonia so has been in bed the last few days, gets up to eat and then is all worn out and has to go back to bed. Guess rest is the best thing though. This on top of his back pain has been hard on him.

We saw a surgeon. The pain fits with what the MRI showed but there is one area that fits more with the hip so next to an orthopedic doctor and then back to the pain clinic.

About the book club last week. There were 8 of us and only one gal kinda liked the book. It was Quaker Summer and won an award last year for best Christian novel or something. The main character wasn't liked, her husband let her spend all the family money and the 15 year old son spoke all these wonderful words that no one of us had ever heard come out of a 15 year old boys mouth!. There is a lot more in the book but in the end we weren't even sure how serious Heather about was about changing her life around. Read some great reviews about the book though so guess it just wasn't our cup of tea.

New projects.

I'm going to a baby shower Saturday morning so I've got to make a baby quilt. Haven't decided on a design yet but I'll use this new fabric I bought last week and add some of my stash to the pile.
Can't believe it but I'm ready for the church quilters on Tuesday. These are the quilts that were tied last week so I'll do the binding on them.

Here are 2 tops ready for the gals to tie. I have cut squares for another and laid them out for one of the gals to sew.

Tuesday is Jerry's appointment with the surgeon so I'm going with him. The door will be left unlocked for the gals to come in and start working. We should be home at lunch time....and it isn't my turn to furnish lunch!! That is always nice!!

Friends from church have been asking me to join their Book Club. I've never gone to one before. Love to read though. Well, I read this months book and didn't like it at all!! The group meets tomorrow night at Panera. Will I dare voice my opinion on my first visit? I'll let you all know what happens.

Looks like I've messed up the pictures again. It is just too late to try and make things look better...I'm going to bed!

Finished and delivered.

Today was an Open House for Michael...for graduation from Jr. college, getting his green card and heading off to college with a full scholarship. He is so excited to be going to Western and was smiling all afternoon. Can't blame him.
Finished the rail fence binding last night during the opening of the Olympics. It was awfully hard to keep my eyes off the TV though. Wasn't the show spectacular?

Remember my sparkling clean dryer filter from the last post? You should have seen it after I dried the flannel used for the backing. The lint was 1/2 an inch thick. Hope not much got below the filter! The flannel was really nice so hope it keeps Michael warm this winter. Don't think he has gotten used to our cold winters yet.

Just like new!!

Well, 8 years old but very clean! Hadn't planned to clean the clothes dryer today but as many times, things just happen. After cleaning the filter I thought it had been awhile since I had cleaned the space beneath the filter...about a year. The cleaning instruction paper says to call an "authorized repairman" to clean that area every 18 months. WHAT??!! Don't they realize it costs $75 to $100 just to have one of those persons step into the house and that doesn't include any work that may be done. All it takes is to take out 2 screws. Of course I do have some bruising on my arm from the metal ledge I had to work around to get at the lint. Small price to pay though. The only reason I read about the authorized guy was because I was going to take a back panel off and vac the space and thought maybe should check instructions. There was very little lint there but oh my the lint below the filter was awful. Too much for laundry for 2 people. Most of the donated fabric I get for the Lutheran World Relief quilts has not been washed so my washer and dryer really get a workout. The filter has to be changed midway through the drying with some of the fabrics.

Have 3 tops ready for the quilters tomorrow. No pictures because of blogger.

The rail fence is about 3/4 pieced. No pic!

Jerry finally heard from his doctor. He has bulging disks in the lumbar spine, S1 to L2. An appointment is being made with a surgeon. Sure hope he can get pain relief soon.

New home for the old Swedish trunk.

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The trunk we brought back from MN has reached it's new home in AZ finally. We brought it to MI and our granddaughters' husband picked it up and brought it to our daughter in Phoenix. Linda met up with her cousin last night who was bringing it to her Mom (Jerry's sister) today. Hope all the glassware packed in the trunk arrived in good condition.

We had lots of company the last 2 days and was that ever great. Anya spent a few hours with us yesterday. She had her tonsils and adenoids removed on Wed. She was very active for a couple of hours and then got very tired looking...just before her Mom arrived. She was ready for a nap. She ate well too, she had french toast and lots of blueberries. Soren mowed the lawn.

This afternoon 3 grandsons stopped in...and a girlfriend. Two of the boys head back to U. of MI before too long and B is going to Korea to teach English in an elementary school. That will be quite an experience for him.

Tomorrow a granddaughters husband is going to redo our deck. Of course Jill and little L will be here too. L is just beginning to do her kind of lopsided crawl. Hope I don't forget to use my camera. Soren will help too.

I finished Stephens graduation quilt. Now I'm working on one for a foster grandson. I'm making a red, white and blue rail fence. The pattern is from maryquilts.com. M is from Africa and just got his green card. He has completed 2 years at a community college and will start W. U. of MI as a Jr. At the time I bought all the fabric we didn't know he would be able to finish his schooling so no school colors for him I guess! He wants to be a doctor. Isn't that amazing what these fellows can do. He has only been here 4 years and only had formal education in the U.S. Another foster grandson will be a Jr. at W.U. of MI also. He already has his flying licence and is working on his instrument license.

The boys finished off the banana bars this afternoon so I made peanut butter gheridelli cho chip cookies tonight for the working fellows tomorrow.