Thanksgiving Travel

For the first time in at least ten years, family got together for Thanksgiving. Dan and I drove to Kansas City (a two-day trip) on Sunday/Monday, November 21-22 ((Why is it that every time we stay overnight in Paducah, Hancock's of Paducah is closed (Sunday and Monday)?!)) and stayed with our daughter until Monday, November 29. We returned home Tuesday evening, November 30. 

Being with all our grandchildren was wonderful! Our two KC grandsons were there, Celina flew home from NYC, and our two Texas grandsons flew in. 

Two second cousins came over the day after Thanksgiving, so it was a fun time for these kids. 

Austin and Luke played with dominoes. I helped with this one! 

Celina had an apple pie recipe she wanted to try, and spent much of the day before Thanksgiving preparing it!

Hubs and son-in-law were responsible for the 20-pound bird, and did a fabulous job with it. Not only did we have stuffing, but more dressed was served on the side. 

Being more of a baker myself, I made two pies, and these cinnamon rolls (an Alton Brown recipe) that were a hit the day after Thanksgiving.

These are siblings and me with our dad. He's looking good at 91 years young, isn't he? I was able visit with him four times during our week-long stay.

Of great interest to me while driving to/from KC, was seeing cotton country in Georgia, near the city of Donaldson. Fields and fields were ripe for picking, or had recently been picked. 

Every little bit of ground in the area was planted with cotton. Obviously cotton farmers are taking advantage of the high price of cotton to earn a profit. 

With hubs having worked at John Deere Des Moines Works, where all JD cotton pickers are built, he was knowledgeable about these trucks we passed on the highway. They were designed to haul cotton bails that at one time were rectangular-cube-shaped. 

The newer picker model bails cylinder shapes! Letters and numbers are identification codes.

Trucks were headed to or from this gin. The property was covered with these huge cotton bails. 

Cotton spilled out the ends of some bails, and bits of cotton were all along both sides of the highway.

As I said, it was really interesting to see. I'd love to talk with a cotton farmer to learn more. I certainly wondered whether this is stripper cotton - a more commercial grade of cotton (such as for upholstery) - or higher quality cotton like that used used in clothing and fabric.

As I mentioned earlier, we returned home Tuesday evening, November 30, and to my surprise, at 8:20 pm that I received acceptance and rejection emails from QuiltCon. I submitted five quilts into QuiltCon 2022 (in February, in Phoenix, Arizona), and learned that three of my five quilts were accepted. No surprise about the two rejects. If you regularly read my blog, you'll know that I didn't expect my Artisan challenge quilt to be accepted, and it wasn't. More in my next post. 

Book Recommendation

I had only travel time for listening to a book, but I sure enjoyed this one. 

The Island by Mary Grand was an intriguing story from the very beginning when Juliet returns to her family on the Isle of Wight (UK). She, her three sisters, and mother are at the hospital, awaiting news about their dad/husband since his recent car accident. On his deathbed, he gives Juliet several cryptic instructions relating to secrets that he refuses to share. His only warning is: "Be careful, you don't know them as well as you think. Remember - anyone can kill."

Returning to their childhood home, the four sisters - now all young-to-middle-aged women - find it somewhat unsettling to spend time together. The usual familial relationship is uncomfortable. Juliet determines to make the best of their sad situation, but after a family gathering, when another unexpected death occurs, everyone, including their mother, is holding back - keeping secrets. Juliet is determined to get to the bottom of each unanswered question/death, even if it means being suspicious of her own sisters. 

Though I found it somewhat difficult to keep track of individuals by name (I occasionally jumped back 15 seconds to re-listen to a particular bit of information), I was completely hooked on the story, and though I smugly thought I knew who-done-it, I picked the wrong person! 

Linda's score: 4.0/5.0

Worshipping virtually at Lutheran Church of Hope last Sunday - the first Sunday of Advent - I appreciated Pastor Jeremy's message about God... that through Jesus, He's calling each of us to believe in Him, and guide us through life.

In this annual season of reflection on the significance of Jesus's birth, let us each remember that we are His. Linda

Family Time in Kansas City, and Missouri

It's been a while! That's what happens when I take off to visit family.

Twelve days ago I flew to Kansas City to spend time with family. Then, Dan met-up with us at Jill's Missouri lake home where we spent four days. On Monday (yesterday) we drove home - 15-1/2 hours straight through from Wright City, Missouri to The Villages, Florida. To say it was interminable is an understatement. However, we endured it so as to accommodate 15-1/2 year-old Hogan. It's difficult for him to stay overnight in a motel - to climb stairs, and be where other dogs stay too.

Now I'm playing catch-up with laundry, housework, photos, and blogging.  

It was great that our Texas family traveled to Kansas City too. 

Brent and Lyn

It was the first time in several years that all five of our grandchildren were together. 

KC time means a trip (sometimes more than one) to Krispy Kreme. The four grandsons liked watching the donut-making process. I just like eating those freshly-made, warm donuts. Nothing beats them.

On Saturday, June 29, Jill hosted a get-together of the whole family, and it was the best! For me, it was a chance to see siblings and spouses, nieces and nephews and their spouses and kids, and catch-up - very briefly.

My brother and sister have recently been in Ohio to help clear out our (maternal) grandparent's farmhouse and outbuildings. They brought back a lot of items: photos; books; papers; even a war uniform; and more. We spent time looking through pictures together. Susan brought back Grandma's fabric and four quilt tops. More about those later.

Alan, Susan, and me

The cousins (except for one in Iowa) brought their children. It was pretty cool to see all the second cousins together (except for one). In this picture, 11 kids are lined-up in age order, including the newest, a 16 week-old girl. I can't help but think how much my mother would have enjoyed this moment - her great-grandchildren together. 

Luke brought "Dapper" from Texas to have his ear mended.

This was the extent of my "sewing" in the past 12 days! A little bit of handwork, and Luke was a happy boy.
Afterward he said, "Thank you for fixing my Dapper." 😊

Some of us (me!) thoroughly enjoyed our time at the Missouri cabin in the woods. I'd been there before, in August 2017. It's a charming, one bedroom/one bathroom, stilted A-frame on a small lake. Though, being in the woods comes with the requisite ticks, insects, and resulting bug bites that I unfortunately experienced! I'm pretty tasty.

However, we weren't deterred from having a good time.

Cousins Austin and Tay with Hogan

Bapa is famous for "Bapa Pancakes," and did not disappoint his grandchildren.

Celina

Everyone enjoyed the lake.

Lyn and Luke

Luke and Austin kayaked for the first time.

Luke

Austin

Another reason to appreciate the cabin is that it's "off the grid." No cell phone or Internet access. Only a hand-held game and an iPad movie were available to entertain the boys.

On Saturday night, we watched fireworks, and let me tell you... they were absolutely fantastic! Innsbrook does them right! I've never seen such an incredible display, and it was set to music too!

For the first time I tried the "fireworks" setting on my Canon S100 camera. Not too bad.

I also tried the "night scene" setting while the fam was watching fireworks. It's pretty good!

Jill, Lyn, Celina. Tay in forefront.

It was just fabulous to spend time with our children, their spouses, and my five grandchildren. I love them all SO much!

And it's good to be home again too. I have some quilt-y things wanting attention, and will be sharing pictures soon. 

On the plane to KC and at bedtime, I listened to my audio book. I finished "Where The Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens. The book reminds me of Barbara Kingsolver's lush nature-writing style, as in the "Prodigal Summer." (If you haven't read it yet, you must!)

"Where The Crawdads Sing" begins with the death of a local boy, but it's really Kya's story - about "the marsh girl" who grows up alone in North Carolina. Mostly it's a captivating story of living with nature, and living with neglect, hurts, wrongs, and survival - even success - against the odds. I could easily read this book again.

Linda's score: 4.8/5

While in Kansas City

I get to spend time with grandchildren only a couple times a year. For me to visit them, I most often have to fly. I detest flying! I'm not sure when or where my fears began - possibly when seeing and being near the edge of the Grand Canyon for the first time, as a teenager - but pre-trip anxiety is enough to spoil any happy anticipation of a visit.

During take-off, I always pray for the pilot and people in the air traffic control tower - that they've had a good rest, and are clear-headed. Whenever there's turbulence, my mental picture is of God holding the plane in the palm of his hand.

You see, my 2010 experience during a United Airlines take-off from Sydney, Australia haunts me. I blogged about it here.

Once I'm back on terra firma, I pray with thanks, and gratefully return to my more normal resilient self. Very early Monday morning, I flew home from Kansas City to Orlando, after spending eight days with family.

Celina is home from college having completed her sophomore year at Colorado State. In this picture she's ready to head to her summertime job at a technology company. She's also taking two on-line classes this summer. Such a lovely young lady she's grown into after joining our family at the age of eight.

For the two boys, school finished May 24. Tay will be in the fourth grade this fall. For dinner one evening, I mashed an avocado and seasoned it for Jill and I to add to our salads. The boys tasted a some of it and went nuts, asking if I'd make guacamole for them. So, after dinner Tay and I went to Hy-Vee to buy ingredients, and he proceeded to help me make a big batch, chopping and mashing four avocados.

On our day together - just the two of us - we visited Uncle Evan's store - Olathe Pet Shop. Evan's always great about letting kids hold a variety of critters - lizards, turtles, snakes. I just like to take pictures. 😁

Aesa will be in the third grade. He's really interested in plants, so after choosing perennials at Home Depot, he and I planted this small bed of lilies and lantana. He also helped his mom plant a few veggies - tomatoes, zucchini, pepper, cantaloupe (?!), and strawberries.

For our day together, Aesa and I visited Scheel's! The store has a variety of indoor things to do. Aesa is up front, (lime green shirt) on the Ferris wheel. He also bowled, and did some laser shooting in the gallery.

A visit to KC isn't complete unless I spend most of a day with Carla. We met through our blogs (She's www.LollyQuiltz.blogspot.com) about ten years ago. This time we met for coffee at Starbucks. Two-and-a-half hours later we lunched at Pot Belly followed by a visit to the relocated Prairie Point Quilt and Fabric Shop. I love spending time with Carla! Our quiltmaking interests are very similar, so we never run out of things to talk about. The last time we met-up was in February, at QuiltCon Nashville.

The quilt shop I really wanted to visit while I was in the area was The Fabric Chic, a modern quilt shop that opened about a year ago in Parkville, Missouri. Right now, the Missouri River is so high that parking access is rerouted, and threatening Fourth of July festivities at English Landing Park.

Jill took me here, and we found fabrics for a quilt Jill has requested - Moroccan Tiles by Anka's Treasures. She chose Kona Waterfall and Painter's Palette Gulfstream as her main colors. I'll be sharing more about that quilt in the days ahead.

The first thing I did upon returning home was prepare to share English paper piecing with members of Big Cypress Quilters, a 70-member chapter of Quilting Guild of The Villages. I was pleased to see 15 quilters in attendance who hadn't tried English paper piecing. They each had a small grandmother's flower garden kit with which to try hand stitching, and I invited them to take some of my 1" hexagon papers, and fabric hexies I'd cut using a borrowed AccuQuilt.

I shared information about needles (I gave away two sample packs of Jeana Kimball straw needles) threads, thread conditioner (I gave away two Thread Heaven) methods for basting, showed various clips for holding pieces while stitching (Wonder Clips, Sew Tites) and whip stitch and ladder stitch piecing stitches. I suggested they watch a YouTube video to see the "flat back" method of piecing, though I personally don't care for it.  

I also showed some of my EPP books. My favorite is English Paper Piecing by Florence Knapp @FlossieTeacakes. All this EPP talk has me re-enthused to finish my TulaNova quilt - a quilt I renamed LindaNova since I chose stash fabrics and don't generally like or use Tula fabrics. I think I'm due to post an update on that project! 

The only stitching I've done lately is this. While I was traveling, I thought I'd fill this 8" X 12" piece of linen with random stitches in a style called Wabi-Sabi stitching. I loftily thought I'd be able to completely fill a second piece of linen too. Ha! Great expectations!

I'll complete this, and once I have two stitched pieces, will turn them into a wristlet. I'm making as an this example of several types of hand-stitching that I'll share with Central Florida MQG on August 12. My program that evening is "Big Stitch Quilting." (See tab above: "Programs and Workshops") Everyone will get a little kit to stitch using a variety of sample threads. If you're a Central Florida MQG member, I hope you'll come!

I always travel with an audiobook for listening while hand-stitching. On this trip I finished "The Silent Patient" by Alex Michaelides. It's a well-written physiological thriller, in a style similar to my favorite 2018 read, "The Woman in the Window." This story is about a happily married couple, Gabriel and Alicia - she's an up-and-coming artist - her descent into silence following a traumatic experience, and a psychotherapist's determination to get her to talk. The spellbinding story had me guessing until the end.

Linda's score: 4.3/5

Linda

Feeling Sentimental

This past Wednesday, August 16, grandsons Tay and Aesa started school in Kansas City. It still seems too early to me, but here in Florida, local children returned August 10!

Tay began second grade.

Aesa began first grade.

What's tugging at my heartstrings is that this young lady is starting college, and those boys are gonna miss her.

Jill took Tay and Aesa out of school on Thursday and Friday, so all of them could load up a rented Nissan Qwest and drive Celina to Colorado State.

It was nice to see the family pictures loaded to the iCloud, so we could share their experiences setting up the dorm room.

Ahh. I remember those days... In 1994, taking Jill to Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois.

Move-in day was very hot!

Jill and my Dad

And then we left her there! I know I cried for nearly all the six-hour drive home.

Jill and her roomie, in 1994.

Saturday, that's what the family did. Left Celina. And said their goodbyes. 

 

I'm praying for everyone who will miss her at home. And for Celina's college success. 

I'm sure that was a long drive back to Kansas City. Linda