Day Trip

 Bud had a little minor surgery last Friday and is off of work for a while.  He was getting a little cabin fever this week.   Since grandchild #6 could come any day we didn't want to go too far away, so we took a little day trip.  We started out heading south.  Our first stop was to check out a campground we had heard about but never been to--Lacey-Keosauqua.  It has a gorgeous shaded campground.

A nice playground for the grandsons.

They had cabins and a beach.

Our next stop was in a little town in southern Iowa--Cantril.  One of the papers that Bud reads always has an add for a store he's always wanted to check out.  And a friend has talked about it before.  It's called The Dutchman.  

It is quite a large store with everything from fabric to shoes to Bibles, dog food, candy, canning supplies, plants, and groceries among other stuff.  It is run by local Mennonite familes.  It has bulk groceries and a great fruit supply.  I spent my time among the fabric and bought a little plus a pattern and some preprinted panels to embroider.  It is very much like the Amish stores we have around here, but MUCH larger.
                                                   Driving through Bloomfield I couldn't help but snap a photo of this gorgeous Davis county courthouse.  I love old buildings, and this one looked well cared for.

  It has been raining continuously in Iowa lately, and Wednesday was no exception.  We drove through some hard heavy rain.  This photo of Lake Rathbun was taken as we were going over the dam and it had just quit raining.

We checked out one of the campgrounds and saw several "perfect" spots.  We like to be next to the water so Bud can fish without leaving our campsite.

Then around the lake we went to check out  Honey Creek Resort.  It starts off with a golf course, a campground, and then several groups of cabins.  Then next to the water is the hotel.  

The lobby is great with a huge fireplace.  The decor is mission style, which I love.  And it has a great water park.  

Finally, closer to home we stopped at Lake Belva Deer.  It is a small man made lake in Keokuk county. The cabins look nice and so does the campground.  I think it made the list for places to camp as we found some closer to the water.

So, that was our little day trip.  It got Bud out of the house, and we found some new places to camp. 

Fudge Bars

If you are hungry for some rich chocolatey goodness these bars are for you!  They are easy to make and so delicious! 

Fudge Bars

                                          1/2 c. shortening                                 2 c. oatmeal

                                          1/2 tsp. vanilla                                    1/2 tsp. salt

                                          1 c. brown sugar                                 1/2 tsp. soda

                                          3/4 c. flour                                           1 egg

                                   Combine and save 1 cup.  Press the rest into an 8 x 10 pan.  

              

                                          1 pkg. chocolate chips                         1 tsp. vanilla

                                          1 Tbsp. butter                                       1/2 c. nuts

                                          1 c. sweetened condensed milk                   

Heat until chips are melted. Then pour over crust.

Sprinkle the reserved cup of crumbs over the top and bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

YUM!!!!

I've linked this post to Colleen's Kitchen Recipe Swap.  Check out the other great recipes!

Quilts

I love quilts!  I like the fabric.  I like the patterns.  I like the quilting.  Unfortunately  I didn't come from a family of quilters, so I have very few that were owned or made by anyone in my family.  I used to believe the only worthwhile quilt was one that was hand quilted.  I still believe those are the best, but I have now crossed over to the machine quilted society!  I do understand that in this day and age, most of us just don't have the time to hand quilt things.  And I'm sure the machine quilted quilts are much sturdier than most hand quilted quilts.  I thought I'd share some of my quilts from time to time.

This is a quilt that I bought at a local auction.    (Please ignore the shadow of my quilt holder aka Bud).

I love the fabric in the dresden plates.

And I especially love the edging.

And the hand quilting is fantastic!

I like to use my quilts on my tables.  Right now this one is on my dining room table.  Of course we take it off when we eat!

There are only a couple of things that would make this quilt better--If I had made it! Or, if a family member had made it.

This 'N That

Skies like this and worse seem to be a daily occurrence in Iowa the past few weeks.  We've had flash flooding, thunderstorm warnings, and tornado warnings on a regular basis.  Already this morning we were told to take cover because of the thunderstorms and forewarnings of baseball size hail and thunderstorms in the state.  It's hard to find a time to mow the lawn, and it's hard to weed since the ground is saturated and the flowers want to come out with the weeds when you pull!  I feel for the people in CR and IC who suffered through the flood in 2008.  I'm sure they're getting nervous.  Enough already!!

Wow!  Another week has gone by since my last post.  Seriously, I haven't felt like I had much to blog about.  I don't want to bore you with the info from the workshop I had to take last week.  It was a week of four LONG days which left me mentally exhausted. 3rd-5th grades in my district are involved in a study done by the U of I.  We will be teaching science in a different way.  Now, on to putting it all into practice in the fall.

Friday Bud had a little minor surgery, so I've been playing nursemaid while he relaxes and takes it easy.  I even had to feed the cows since he can't lift the buckets.  Any of you who know me know that isn't my choice of activity for the day!

Sunday and Monday we had a nice visit from my aunt and uncle from Texas.  We did a little shopping, eating, gambling, and baby holding as we went to see GS Grayson and my newest great niece, Dakota.  It was nice to see them.

I have done a little sewing, but I don't have anything completed.  Hopefully that will be coming soon. Here's a sneak peak at a little embroidery I've been working on.

I hope to be released from nursing duties long enough to get some serious sewing done one of these days!

WHEW!!

WARNING:  LONG POST FULL OF PHOTOS!

Time has really gotten away from me!  I've been busy, busy, busy!  What have I been up to you ask???? Well, not sewing, that's for sure, but lots of other stuff.

Friday, June 4th was the last day of school for the kids.  It was a little bittersweet as we had a good year (give or take one or two students), and let's just say I'm hoping for a lot of maturing over the summer for next year's class!!  This was followed by the obligatory refreshments and meal at Carlos O'Kelley's!:)

Monday, June 7th was my last day.  It started off with community service in our building, meetings at the high school, and lunch at the superintendent's home.

Saturday, June 8th found Trilby, my sister, Kathy, and GS Grayson traveling to Onawa. We were a little unsure of this trip, and Bud packed earplugs because Grayson is known for NOT liking car rides and crying a lot when in the car.  However, he was a trooper!  Trilby and Kathy entertained him and he may or may not have watched a couple  videos of fourth grade plays with Michael Jackson music on the laptop!

While in Onawa we attended my niece's bachelorette party.  They hired a party bus to take us to a variety of bars in small towns around Onawa.

 I won't go into details, but a good time was had by all!!  Sunday we attended a bridal shower for her, then headed home.

Fast forward to Tuesday and Wednesday, my first "free" days of summer--I baby-sat with GS Grayson while Tanner was still in school and Trina returned to work for the second week since February.  We had a great time together.  He really liked  his thumb while I was there!

I hurried home Wednesday to attend a party for two co-workers who have retired. :(  It was a fun party, but we will certainly miss them!

Thursday I spent the day at UIHC with my sister and BIL as he had a chemo transfusion.  Please pray that this is the last one and that the scans they take in July show that he is free and clear.  Later in the afternoon we headed to the campground for the weekend.

Trilby, Mike, and boys, Kathy, Dale, and Clint all joined us on Friday with their campers.  Friday evening Travis, Kerry, and Chance stopped by.  Chance spent the night with us.  We awoke to LOUD thunder, wind, and rain about 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning.  Bud weathered (pun intended) the rain to change our awning a bit so the wind wouldn't take it.  Kathy and Dale lost theirs and Trilby and Mike's fell, but was fine.  Chance slept through it all and was ready to play by 7:00.

All of the kids were there at one point or another along with my niece, her husband, and son Evan.  

We celebrated Cael's 7th birthday.

                                               

What do you do when it rains and you're camping????

Play cards on Nana and Grandpa's bed, of course!

A few board games at the table also passes the time.

     This week is full of classes for me.  I hope to be back this weekend with a little sewing to share!

Tea Time!

Another thing I have been working on is my sister's birthday gift.  I've had it finished for a while now, but I didn't want to share it until I gave it to her since she reads my blog.  I had previously given her this table runner.

So, I used the same fabrics to make her a wall hanging.

I just couldn't get a good picture!  The handles on the cups were appliqued.  The last time I appliqued I was young and thought I did a good job.  Most of what I do is self taught.  In this world of blogs where I see the wonderful things others do, I realize how little I really know about this quilting stuff.  Nevertheless, I thought they turned out fairly good, but I have room to improve. I hope she enjoys it.

A Little Sewing

Besides final grades, report cards, curriculum mapper, and packing up my room for the summer I have been busy working on some things.  One thing I made recently was this ipad sleeve.

My friend, and former teaching partner, received her MA and one of her new "toys" is an ipad. So I thought she thought a gift was in order.  I was excited to be able to embroider her name in the left hand corner with my new sewing machine!  If you click on the photo twice you should be able to see it. I followed the tutorial I found at Moda Bake Shop.  Click HERE to go look at it.
I also sent off a new baby quilt to the quilter.  I have a couple of other projects I'll show you soon.