Happy Birthday, Trilby!

Yes, today was Trilby's birthday and in all of the baby excitement I'm sure she felt like we had all forgotten. On a Labor Day weekend in 1975 Trilby entered the world.

She was the first grandchild for my parents and they were thrilled with her! (so were we) She was the perfect child--obedient, kind, caring, happy, cooperative, helpful, etc. etc. That pretty much describes her now too. We did have a few years of college we might not have described her in quite that way, but then don't they all act up at sometime?

Anyway, we hope you had a good birthday, Trilby! We love you!

Meet Chance Joseph

We spent the day cuddling, inspecting, and bonding with our newest grandson, Chance Joseph, born August 29th at 8:55pm. He weighed in at 8lbs and was 20 1/2 " long. His middle name is after a great great grandfather on Travis' side and a great grandfather on Kerry's side.He has a few marks on his face from the forceps and a scratch on his check which he did to himself. And he has the strawberry birthmark between his eyes and at the base of his skull which his mother, both grandmothers and two aunts and a great aunt also had. So, here's your first peek:

And here are the proud parents with their bundle of joy.

Look at all of that red hair! Yes, I was hoping for a redhead and he is one. Most of it is in the back, so I hope he doesn't wear it all away but that it stays red.

And we now have three generations of redheaded males in our family---Grandpa Bud, Daddy Travis, and CJ. Grandpa was especially happy to have a grandson to carry on the family name.

Trilby, Tasha, Trina, and Tanner came to cuddle as did my sister. He was just a perfect baby all day. He hardly made a peep, except when Tanner was holding him! I came to the rescue and took him off of Tanner's hands. :)

Being a grandparent is just such a joy!

Grandson #4 Arrives!

Chance Joseph arrived last night at 8:55pm. We now have four grandsons. We're headed to see him today. Check back tonight for pictures!! I'm so excited I could hardly sleep!!

Fall Table Runner

I decided to try my hand at making a table runner. I am in a fall swap, so I wanted one for that, and I want one for my house. Since fall is at hand I choose fall colors (or so I thought). I have a bad habit of not wanting to spend the money on a pattern, so I just did something easy and this is what I came up with.

There are six fabrics on the runner---the browns.

And the oranges.

I pieced it on the back, so you could really use it with that side up too if you wanted to.

As it often happens, the more I sewed, the less I liked the fabric. It just wasn't "fall" enough. It seemed too bright, and I'm not sure it really goes together. But I told myself to finish it and then put it away and maybe I would like it better later.

Well, I also want to learn to do machine quilting (besides straight lines!) so I thought I would try it on this runner. First I watched a video on utube, then I practiced. OH MY!! It was waaay harder than it looked! My stitches were all sizes and I just couldn't keep any type of pattern going. So, that plan was shot. I just did some straight machine quilting. It does add a little dimension to it.

So, I took it to school to show my critics and I got a variety of responses--from some who really liked it (or so they said), to some who said it looked 70's, and some who said they couldn't see it in my house, but it would fit in others.

So, what to do with it? I can't give it as a gift when it isn't something I love. I do think I could put it on my bench in the foyer where it would just peek out from under the things on the bench. The girls will be here tonight, so I guess I'll see what they have to say.

What do you think?

Back to School

Twenty-one new faces, smiling I hope, will be sitting in my room Wednesday morning! Some of them will be nervous, some oblivious, and some really excited to be there. We will get to know each other and learn to get along and learn together. We'll have a great year!

Quilt Finished--Baby Wanted!

I finished this quilt a while ago. I had Kerry choose between two quilts and she chose this one.

(Bear with me, again my photos aren't great. Does anyone want to give me lessons or buy me a new camera?)

It is made of yellow gingham flannel and another flannel with bears and bows.

Chenille makes up the white blocks.

The back is made of the yellow gingham and binding is the same. Again I tied the quilt.

It is soft and cuddly and now anxiously awaiting a baby. As you can see by the counter on the sidebar, it should be soon!

Too Much to Remember!

I'm sitting in a computer class relearning things Phyllis taught us in the fall, and this is the way I'm feeling!! Can anyone relate?

Grandchild #5 On the Way!

Yes, grandchild #5 is on the way!! Trina and Tanner told us with a photo and saying in a frame they gave Tasha for her birthday on August 3rd. So, I've had to keep quiet until they gave us the go ahead today. The due date is March 2nd. We are very excited! To find out more check out their blog--Rooster Tracks.

Happy Birthday, #1 Son!

Thirty-one years ago today we welcomed our #1 son into the world, red hair, long arms and all! Travis was not a cute baby....I know this is not the thing for a mother to say, but he just wasn't! He had long arms, red complexion, red hair and a scrunched up nose! I just didn't want one friend in particular to see him as I knew what he would say! Anyway, it didn't take long for him to get cute.....or I just got used to him!

Travis was just what big sister Trilby had ordered--a little brother. And she still tries to boss him around, he just doesn't listen as well as he once did! He in turn tries to tell his two younger sisters what to do....not that that works out well for him anymore either!

Now Travis awaits the birth of his first child. I'm hoping for a red headed granddaughter! We just hope he/she looks like his/her mother when he/she is born!

Happy Birthday, Travis. You will always be our favorite son!!

Rhubarb's Last Hurrah

As the warm and humid summer weather finally (yuck) arrived to Iowa, I knew it would be the last chance to use up the rhubarb before it gets too woody. So, I canned up some jam.

I ended up with 20 half pints.

They make great little gifts. Tie a piece of fabric around the lid, or cover the lid with fabric and tie it on with some fabric, maybe put it in a little basket and add a loaf of yummy bread. Most people appreciate the homemade touch.

Here is the recipe minus photos!

6 cups rhubarb

4 cups sugar

Mix and let stand 3 hours (Or as long as overnight)

Cook, stirring often. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 10 minutes.

Add a box of jello while cooking. (Whatever flavor you choose is the flavor of the jam along with the rhubarb of course.) I always use strawberry jello.

Pour into clean hot jars, put on lids and bands. Process in pressure cooker at 5 lbs. for 5 minutes. Makes about 7 half pints. Enjoy!

Another Quilty Finish

With the approaching school year looming I know my big blocks of uninterrupted time are coming to an end soon, so I have been sewing frantically! This quilt pattern is one I have made quite a few times.

It is made of flannel fat quarters and/or chenille and cotton batting. The seams are sewn on top and then snipped and washed to resemble more chenille.

Each square is machine stitched on top with either a big X or a teddy bear.

It is the same on the back as the front minus the seams.It's soft and cuddly and ready to wrap around a sweet baby!

Busy, Busy

I've been busy making these:

into these:

I've canned 42 pints so far. It just doesn't seem like much when I think about the canning I used to do when all of the kids were home! I always tried to have at least 50 QUARTS of just green beans. And they would usually be gone before the next summer and it was time to do it again. We ate them plain, covered with cheese, in casseroles (like tator tot because the icky picky sisters didn't like peas!), and especially with cream of mushroom soup and onion rings on top! Funny, but I mostly make them plain for just the two of us now.

Logically I think we could really afford to purchase these green beans since they really aren't very expensive, but I don't for several reasons; I know how these were handled and exactly what is in them, and I just THINK I should have a garden. I don't necessarily enjoy it, but I'm used to having it and canning to feed a family of six.

So, now I'm waiting for the second picking to be ready, tomatoes to ripen for salsa, and corn to freeze. I'm going to purchase carrots for canning at the produce auction since ours didn't get planted. Times are changing, but old habits die hard I guess.

Camping and a Tour

We spent yet another beautiful weekend of camping. Our weird summer weather may have some people upset, but I'm loving it! It's perfect for sitting around the campfire and hanging out in the outdoors. We were lucky enough to get our favorite spot on the river at Coralville Lake. We currently can't make reservations for "our" spot because they are supposed to be putting some rock in and working on the sites along the river because the flood really tore away at the bank. Here is a view of the overflow as we cross the dam. Our campground is in the upper right hand area of the photo.

We always see plenty of wildlife like the five deer munching on grass in this photo. (They're there, just look closer!) We sometimes have coon visiting us at night to scavenge through our trash or perhaps open Trilby's cooler and help themselves! Many birds are always around too.

Bud has about a 12 foot drop to water at the edge of the bank. Anyway, we can still camp there until they start working, so we made reservations for one spot and then moved to our spot when we saw it was open. The reason we like it so well is that it borders the timber area on one side which gives us privacy, and Bud has figured out how to catch some catfish there. This is where Bud spends most of his time. (Notice his Dish! Someone's spoiled!)

Here is the view out our back window.

I thought I would take you on a little tour of our camper today. It is a 2002 Yellowstone Fifth-Wheel trailer.

A view to the left as you walk into the camper. The blinds are usually up when we are at the res so we can see the view of the river.

A view to the right as you walk into the camper.

My kitchen area as seen from the couch.

This is taken from the steps to the bedroom. You can see the kitchen to the left, dining to the right, and living at the rear.

And our bedroom area is up two steps from the kitchen/living room. There is a pocket door for privacy. An accordion door can also be pulled to have bathroom and vanity area privacy separate from the bedroom.

The sink and vanity area are at the foot of the bed across from the toilet and tub/shower room.

These two spent Saturday night with us. They spent their time fishing, exploring the timber, and sitting around the campfire.

I would be remiss if I didn't show you the boys' favorite spot. The nearby dairy sweet is where Grandpa buys ice cream. Cael and Nate both got their first tastes of ice cream from Grandpa's cone at Funcrest. Yum, yum!

I hope you enjoyed the little tour of our camper. Come out and sit around the campfire with us sometime!

Happy Birthday, Tasha!

Twenty-eight years ago today we welcomed our little red-headed daughter into our family. Trilby and Travis were thrilled to have her join our family, although Travis got tired of her quickly. Trilby thought she was her real live doll to play with! We celebrated with supper last night with the food chosen by Tasha.

Hope you have a great day, Tasha, we love you!