Fallball

I will preface this post with:  I am not a sports fan.

But somehow when my grandchildren are part of the sport, I become a sports fan.

I become a yelling, crazy lady.

Football and Fall in Jefferson City, MO are synonymous.

Grandson, Travis, plays for the Jefferson City Jays Freshman team

He is number 60

He is awesome

The team is awesome

They won again last night.... 54 to 6.  Yep, that is definitely a win.

So I'll leave you with some football pictures. 

I'm embarassed to admit that I don't even know who they were playing.

But I know who number 60 is!

Together Again



I've had this utility cabinet for a few years now.  It first belonged to my grandma, then my mom, and now me.  It is kind of like a magic cabinet - it holds way more than anyone would ever think possible.  Canned goods, paper goods, canners, canning supplies and other odds and ends.  It is amazing!  And the best thing about it is that it has history... my family history.  Love it.





Utility cabinet with an endless capacity for holding stuff

 As I mentioned in my previous post, we spent Saturday at my Aunt Jane and Uncle Ivo's estate auction.  Imagine our surprise when Jim spotted a twin to our cabinet.  A twin!  I can only speculate here, but I am assuming that when this family of eight children divided up their parent's possession's, mom took one of these cabinets, and her sister, Jane, took the other.

There are two of them!

And now they sit side by side, with a concrete wall separating them - just in case there are any hard feelings or unsettled sibling rivalries still exist.  I did hear them whispering to each other last night after they thought I had gone to bed.  Something about "remember when..."

For $35 and a little heavy lifting, we were able to rejoin these two

Back seat of our truck after Jane and Ivo's estate auction

The reason all this junk is in the backseat of our pickup was because the bed was already full to overflowing.

The bed of the pickup - filled to the brim

So..... like it or not, folks, there will be more auction posts in the coming weeks. 









What a busy last few weeks it has been around here.  This weekend was certainly no exception.

My late Aunt Jane and Uncle Ivo's estate sale was this past Saturday.  My head is swirling with thoughts about that.  We did come home with some things that are treasures to me.  More about that in a post soon to come.  I promise.  Especially since I am pretty excited about some of my finds.

Sunday we went to the Heritage Festival in Columbia, MO.  Our friends, Bernie, The Osage Bluff Blacksmith, and his wife, Patti, the Osage Bluff Quilter, were there, demonstrating the almost lost art of Blacksmithing.

The Blacksmith had quite a crowd watching the embers fly as he hammered and pounded red hot mounds of iron into things like forks, dinner bells, crosses, and all sorts of things. 



Patti had her hands full answering questions and selling the wares.  I hope they had a successful couple of days.

 My mind is still boggling at the amount of work that goes into making the period costumes, setting up shop, working all day, taking everything down at the end of the day and dragging it home, only to return the next day to do it all over again. 

Patti & The Blacksmith

Jim bought this torture hook.  He claims he will be using it to turn meat on the grill.  Uh huh.

When we left the festival, we decided to head 15 miles or so up the road to Clark, MO.  Patti was telling us there is an Amish community there that sells furniture, wonderfuol baked goods, and stuff.  Even though we knew they would be closed on a Sunday, we decided to take the short drive before heading home.  We were glad we did.

Scenic drive to Clark, MO.
We must have hit the returning home from church services traffic.  Buggies were everywhere. 

I'm pretty sure Ida and Eula didn't know these grass mowers were on the wrong side of the fence. 
They didn't look like they planned on going past the green, green grass of home.

Children were playing in many of the yards.  It looked like they were all dressed in their Sunday best, but as far as I could tell, not a single child had shoes on.  I had to smile and shiver a little at this, since the high temperatures yesterday were only 65.

I'm pretty sure Mr. Stinkeye here is saying he hopes everyone has a wonderful week!

Webcam 101 for Seniors

You are never too old to learn new things... and have fun doing it!

Yes I did



I took time time to sit on the screened- in back porch to enjoy the peaceful rain we are blessed with today.
Soup,  rain and a good book on my Nook (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest by Stieg Larsson).  What a lovely combination.



Rain soaked Oak trees.  Are they really calling for temperatures to drop into the 30's tonight?

From the inside looking out.  My plants are soon going to have to find a home inside.  I could sit here all day.  What did I do with that sweater of mine?  I need it!

Comic relief

Six year old Grandson, Austin, posed for these pictures.

He proudly grinned when I showed them to him.

I wish I could be more like Austin, making silly faces and not caring whether my face is clean or dirty.

Coming full circle

My mom taught me to sew when I was pretty young, probably ten or twelve years old.  As I grew up a new store bought dress, or any other piece of clothing store bought, was a rare event.  Mom made everything.  Shorts, shirts, dresses,and jeans (which I hated because they just weren't cool!).

Kathleen, Tom, Deanna
How I wish I had this dress hidden away in my cedar chest!



Homecoming 1969.  I was dreaming of a "store bought" dress like all my friends would be wearing.
Lost on me was the fact that I was already wearing the dream mom had slaved over.



When I got married in 1972, I continued the tradition of making my own clothes, mixed in with store bought. 



Jim, Tessa, Deanna
Pregnant with Greg, I soon found maternaty clothes were a dream to "whip up"
No zippers and no fitting seams



The arrival of Tessa in 1974 gave me a reason to expand to children's clothes.  I was having fun!

Tessa - One Year
These little smock tops were easy and quick to make

Then Greg arrived in 1976.  I took a year  off work, so I should have had lots of time for sewing.  Hmmmm.  Boys clothing were not so much fun to make.  And boys clothes looked more home made for some reason.  But I continued making some of my own and Tessa's clothing. 

Then in 1977 I returned to work and discovered a time proven truth.  There are only so many hours in a day.  With a husband, restoring and remodeling a large old house, two kids and a full time job, I no longer had time to sew.  Nada!  The sewing machine was covered and stored, making an appearance only when a seam ripped or britches needed shortening, or to "whip up" a skirt or two for work.  But it was never far from my mind. 

This continued into 1980, when Julie was born.  By now we were designing plans for a new house and preparing to move.  My poor sewing machine was mostly lost in the chaos. 



Greg, Julie, Tessa
I'm not too sure where I found time to make Halloween Clown Costumes



Then something happened.  I hooked up with a friend, Rita, who was into quilting.  I was hooked.  I made a nine patch quilt, she and I took a class together and competed with who could piece together our "Trip Around the World" quilt quicker.  For the life of me I cannot remember who won.  Actually, we both did.  Rita and her sister spent one whole afternoon and late into the night helping me quilt the nine patch quilt.  It had become a sickness.  We couldn't quit. 

Nine-Patch Quilt in muted colors

Again, the sewing machine was never far from touch, but had become like an old friend that I could ignore, but would always be there for me.

When I retired in 2001 ( I think it was 2001...) thread and machines once again caught my attention.  Machine embroidery became my passion.  Towels, wash cloths, t-shirts, hats, bags... nothing was safe!

Recently I've begun sewing again.  I don't believe I'll ever return to the days of home grown clothing.  Bags, aprons, and quilt tops have become "my thing".


Earlier this week I was despairing about how to quilt this Irish Double Chain quilt I  pieced together.  But thanks to an evening of friendship and fun, I now know that I am going to having to dust  off my quilting frames and hand quilt  this one.


Double Irish Chain Quilt Top

 Here we are quilting away at Patti's.  It turns out my friends, Patti on one side, and Rita on the other, went to school together.  I still haven't figured out who half the people were they were talking about!  But what is said at a quilting bee, stays at a quilting bee.  We had a lot of fun visiting and adding some love to this beautiful quilt.  Patti's mom embroidered this quilt top.  What a special heirloom for her family.


Quilting with friends, Patti and Rita