Mystic River

You already know we rented a van for our road trip to Connecticut...

And Lord knows I enjoy a good road trip as much as the next guy....

I loved John's Navy buddy, Pat McGovern -- and I could've listened to their submarine stories all day long...AND I DID...

Then, we were joined by the charming Joseph O'Hara -- and the same stories had a different spin -- funnier and with a more Irish point of view...

So it was another enjoyable day in the van,  listening to their Navy stories...and how things were way back at the turn of the century...

We drove...and drove...They talked...and talked...

AT the special Friday Night dinner -- in the basement of the SubVets Club -- they hooked up with yet another buddy -- Ken -- and they are eager to review some of the stories they've been sharing with each other for the last two days...

Clearly -- it was time for me to take a break. I threw the four of them out at the motel and then drove myself to Mystic Harbor, Connecticut.  It was almost dark by the time I managed my escape...

But that didn't matter.  It's an easy drive from Groton...and I was delighted to be IN THE VAN, BY MYSELF...

There is an old fashioned draw-bridge in the middle of town...

As it turns out, I never actually made it to Mystic River.  I was in EAST Mystic River when I parked the car and did a little walk about town.  The streets were crowded with people, and some of the stores were open late.

Right on the other side of the bridge, there was a charming ICE CREAM SHOP...and I bought a waffle cone with the flavor of the day...

This trip was all about John spending time with his Navy buddies and I totally get that.  No wife could have been more happy for him than I was.  But after three days and two nights in a van -- for just one hour...I really, really wanted to be alone.... 

Hey -- DON'T JUDGE ME.  For the record -- I lasted way longer on the Holland Club weekend than John would have ever lasted at a sewing show...

And THANK GOD for East Mystic River, Connecticut...

Who has 30 Minutes??

Lillian loves to cook. Last Friday, she saw a picture of "hand pies" in a Martha Stewart magazine.

Martha's version starts with homemade pie crust and a fresh fruit filling. Delicious, I'm sure. But, like most-things-Martha -- I always think WHO'S GOT THAT KIND OF TIME???

Honestly, Lilly is only 4.  I can get away with simplifying the recipe just a little.

I'm thinking a can of pie filling, with some refrigerated pie crust.

But, as it turns out, I didn't have either of those things on hand..

Looking in the frig -- I found a can of REFRIGERATED BISCUITS..Yippee Kayee...

For the filling -- WE ALWAYS HAVE JAM.  (come to think of it -- that could be a life-motto)...On this particular day -- we also have a jar of maraschino cherries and a snack-serving size of diced peaches.   It's good for Lillian to have choices.  That oughta do it...

Rachael Ray has made a fortune with her "30-Minutes or Less" philosophy.  I could write a cookbook called, "Never More than 10 minutes".

Lilly was delighted with our short-cut version of hand pies.  She loved rolling out the dough.  She loved spreading the filling, and pinching the edges.  The last step was sprinkling with cinnamon sugar....

Remember -- YOU CAN NEVER GO WRONG WITH JAM. 

Quilt Show FUN

It is so much fun to go to a Quilt Show.  I have so many great SEWING SHOW CLOTHES -- so it's always a treat deciding what outfit I'm going to wear. I got this shirt from a thrift store (Coldwater Creek) -- and my faux sister, Barb Enderson -- DID THE FABULOUS MACHINE EMBROIDERY. Of sewing machines -- of all things!! IT IS THE PERFECT lightweight summer shirt for Shipshewana...

Last summer, I went to our local Quilt Show with my book clubbers and I wore one of my new maxi dresses....which I still love....

You NEVER know what you're going to see at a Quilt Show....and isn't that the JOY OF IT??

Speaking of JOY -- whenever Rhonda Pierce and I get together -- we do some of our best work over a delicious meal...

AND WE ALWAYS SAVE ROOM FOR DESSERT....

Shipshewana Quilt Show

Today I'll be on the road -- headed to the Shipshewana Quilt Festival in  Shipshewana, Indiana.

Whenever possible, I like to experience the AREA I'm visiting -- and as soon as you google Shipshewana, Indiana -- you find a lot of information about the Amish community there -- as well as Yoder's Department Store. HEY -- THIS IS GONNA BE FUN...

Maybe 2013 will be my "Amish Year". Hummm...who knows? This could be my IMMERSION into the AMISH culture.

Last Saturday, I spent the whole day visiting Kalona -- now I'm headed to Shipshewana for the first time.

When John and I go to Pennsylvania to visit his family I could spend some time in Lancaster and Intercourse. 

My favorite summer television show is TLC's "Breaking Amish" -- and it is shocking to learn about the dark side of the Amish culture.  I would love to actually meet an Amish woman and have a real conversation. Maybe I could find an Amish woman who would swap places with me for a week...

I am curious and it is tempting.  But maybe it would be better if I went to Sarasota and looked up Mary.  She is the soft-spoken 300 pound Amish mother who followed her two grown children who went to Florida to leave the Amish.  She is still wearing her traditional plain dresses and muslin hats while hanging their clothes out on the make-shift clothesline.  But she has added going to bars and slogging back Vodka to her daily routine...

As my friend Marion and I always say....WHY WOULD ANYBODY WRITE FICTION??  The truth is so bizarre -- it never lets you down!!

Libby Lehman

This week, I'm headed to the Shipshewana Quilt Festival.  Gifted quit teacher -- and funniest woman I ever met -- Libby Lehman -- was scheduled to be the featured speaker.

However, Libby suffered a brain aneurysm in April, right after the Paducah Quilt Show.

I had lunch with Libby when she was in town with Ricky and Alex.  Anybody who has ever met Libby knows she has a personality that lights up a room...

 

Like many of Libby's friends and fans -- I have been following her progress on the Caring Bridge page -- and she is having a difficult, slow recovery. Libby had several brain surgeries and they removed part of her skull because of the prolonged swelling. On May 18, her sister wrote this:  

Because her home mailbox is small, we are asking you to send any mail to her husband, Lester's, work address:

Libby Lehman

StarTex Title Co.

617 Caroline

Houston, Texas77002

Lester has been Libby's biggest angel. He is a devoted, caring, and loving husband, and a true advocate for Libby in dealing with the many doctors, nurses and other caretakers. He has been with her a good part of every day. Libby sits in the palm of God's hand, but Lester has his strong arms around her as well.

Thank you, Lester.

Sincerely,

Cathy (Libby's sister)
*************
We'll miss you in Shipshewana, Libby -- and we're sending up prayers for your continued recovery.

Summer Day Trippin'

When Bert said, "Let's go to Kalona on Saturday." -- I was ALL IN...

Kalona, Iowa, is a small town south of Iowa City. It markets itself as the "largest Amish community west of the Mississippi". When you near Kalona, you'll see horse and buggy transportation.

It looked like rain when we started out -- but eventually the skies cleared and it was the perfect summer day.

We had breakfast at Gramma's, one of our favorite restaurants -- excellent ham with crispy fried potatoes...always a good beginning...

The drive was an hour or so. The time went fast, because we have our weekly DOWNLOAD to do. Just outside of Kalona, there was a simple farm stand in front of a large Amish farmhouse. Their sign said "Homemade Ice Cream"...Bert hit the brakes -- turned the car around and went back. Yes -- homemade strawberry ice cream!! WHAT A GREAT WAY TO START OUR KALONA DAY...

But -- wait -- $1.50 for the smallest scoop of ice cream I ever saw -- served in Styrofoam bowls with Styrofoam lids and plastic spoons??

What a disappointment. Not to mention -- what a rip-off.  What about the green footprint we always give the Amish credit for? I mean -- really? A simple cone wasn't an option?

It is a conundrum...that's all I'm sayin'...just my own minor observation.  And, since it's all about me -- nothing is going to ruin my good time...    

We had a WONDERFUL DAY in Kalona. As soon as I bring my bags-o-treasure in from the car -- there WILL BE PICTURES.

AND THE LUNCH RESTAURANT WAS AMAZING...

Grandma Cinema, Con't....

THIS Grandma Cinema thing IS SO MUCH FUN. I cannot tell you how bored I am by inane movies -- and it suddenly occurs to me that I HAVE BEEN MISSING THE BOAT COMPLETELY. Duh. Maybe I shouldn't be letting the four-year-old choose the movies!! Which will ALWAYS be based on the Saturday morning commercials...right??

SO -- THANKS FOR THE GOOD ADVICE. I already went to the library this afternoon to see what DVD's they had available...and here are some of the titles I'll be looking for...

Sue wrote: My grands and I love Ever After, starring Drew Barrymore. It’s the Cinderella story but the princess kicks butt and is totally NOT a “princess”.

We’ve also watched these together:

• Babe
• Charlotte’s Web, two they watch over and over
• Chicken Little – not my favorite but they liked it -- animated
• National Velvet with Eliz. Taylor -- It holds up well!
• The Karate Kid – the original with Ralph Macchio
• ET – my youngest found parts of it kind of scary until she was about five but I kept telling her it was going to be OK and she kept watching, loved it at the end.
• Blackbeard’s Ghost – Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones, actually any of those OLD Disneys
• That Darned Cat
• Herbie the Love Bug, etc.
• The Goonies
• Benji – the girls love dog movies!
• Where the Red Fern Grows – if you can find a copy, it’s a lovely movie

NO KIDDING...instead of rolling my eyes, or just plugging in a cartoon movie that bores me silly -- I am excited about our movie time now. Because YOU GAVE ME SO MANY WONDERFUL IDEAS....



Lillian is one of those kids who watches WAY TOO many videos. But I've decided if you can't beat ém -- join ém...and this movie thing could be AWESOME. With a little advance planning, Lilly and I will watch some wonderful movies together...and maybe have some interesting discussions or learn some life lessons along the way.

How old should she be before we get to watch To Kill A Mockingbird??

Grandma's Summer Camp

My friend Marion's three granddaughters will spend a week with her this summer. She calls it "Grandma's swimming and sewing camp". Marion is a big movie lover -- we both remember the hot day we were in Chicago -- thrilled to go into an air conditioned movie theater to watch Angelina Jolie in SALT...

Which started me thinking about the movies I watch with Lillian. She is only 4 -- and I must admit, we watch an alarming number of Disney movies. I think all that Princess bullshit may be damaging her personality -- and I have never been a fan of vacuous Barbie.

So I'm going to try to find movies that I CAN WATCH WITH HER...instead of plugging in a cartoon movie that bores me silly. Maybe something we can talk about afterwards...Movies can be a learning moment...or a bonding opportunity.

When I think about movies you can watch WITH kids -- my initial picks were all about sports movies -- because, of course, I HAD BOYS. So, I need to think about girl movies. Dance as a topic? Or is that also creating a stereotype? Hummm...

How about a movie that take place in NEW YORK CITY???

HOLY COW -- THIS IS FUN...

***************

• Hoosiers
• Wildcats (Goldie Hawn -- Ross's favorite movie -- we watched it a hundred times)
• Remember the Titans
• October Sky (true story -- about being poor, having a dream and launching a rocket)
• Bring It On (Cheerleaders instead of football players)
• Drumline (Nick Cannon's best (only?) movie)
• Center Stage (turn it up) about a dancer trying to make it in in NEW YORK CITY...
• Ghostbusters (all in New York City -- GREAT scenes in the NYC library?)
• Enchanted (okay -- it IS a Princess movie -- but Patrick Dempsey is real -- and there are GREAT New York City scenes)...
• The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
• 
• The HELP (great conversation movie -- right?) How old does Lilly need to be before we can watch this?

So -- ANY SUGGESTIONS? What movies would you recommend for  Grandma Cinema?

YOU have the power...

GIFTED Sewing

When I wrote my book, Life Is Not A Dress Size, (1996) one of the biggest challenges was to come up with the right words for fat girls. Myself -- I was fine with "fat". But that is not politically correct. Since the average woman in America is a size 14 -- I thought a size 16-18 should be "above average" and a woman who was bigger than that should be called "Gifted".

My sewing skills are marginal. I don't know the first thing about tailoring....or sewing beautiful pleated draperies. Buttonholes always seem like more trouble than they're worth -- and I can't tell you the last time I installed a zipper.

But there is one thing I am THE MASTER OF -- HOW TO REMAKE ready-to-wear for the Gifted woman. Remember this maxi dress?  I started with an orange top, size medium -- and added some fabric at the side seams...

Recently, a friend told me she could not buy a decent nightgown. (HEY -- isn't it delightful that she is feeling the need??) Since I sleep naked, I was unaware of this gap in the market -- but I WAS SO EXCITED. This is the perfect excuse to start MINING T-SHIRT MOUNTAIN. You cannot know how thrilling it is for me to FIND A PURPOSE for all my compulsive collecting of 25-cent t-shirts...

And -- HOW MUCH FUN IS THIS?   Starting with any shirt that had an interesting neckline -- I am mere minutes away from a BEAUTIFUL NIGHTIE...

I don't keep track -- but in the last two weeks -- I have given her many nightgowns. She HATES sleeves  -- so the first thing I do is cut them off, creating a facing with the old sleeve. Depending on the style, the side seams is a good place to add some extra fabric. (like my maxi dress above) But that always requires resizing the armhole so you don't have a lot of side boobage exposure...

Depending on the style of the shirt I'm starting with -- sometimes it's better to add an extra panel in the BACK of the garment -- which is so easy....

Hey -- this is one of those places where a picture is worth 1000 words -- I'm gonna go take some!!

Life-altering changes

My Grandparents lived from 1900 until about 1970. Grandma used to say that her generation went from riding a horse to flying in a plane. For them -- the biggest changes in their world were about transportation. When they were kids, they traveled by horse and buggy...

As young adults, they learned how to drive cars (at least, the men did).

And they lived to see their children get on airplanes to fly to Europe to fight in a war -- mostly won by more airplanes.

 

Those changes were ASTOUNDING.

But for my generation -- transportation hasn't changed that much. The Jetson's were wrong about space travel -- and even the Concorde didn't work out...

So -- what have been the biggest changes for MY generation? I think it's how we get information. Holy Cow. When I look back at how we used to learn things...it is mind boggling. In 1996, I was writing the book, "Life is not a Dress Size" -- and I had to physically go to a library to do research to look for facts or figures. Now, any fact, any story, any odd ball thing I want to learn about or verify -- I just Google it on my PHONE.

I've gotta say -- I didn't see it coming. It strikes me that the changes that affected my grandparents were about very BIG THINGS. Automobiles and airplanes. But the changes that most impact my life -- computers, cellphones, the capability to communicate and get information no matter where I am or what I'm doing -- at all hours of the day and night -- would fit into the palm of my hand.

Even more amazing -- the thing that makes it all possible -- the internet -- isn't something I can see or hold. It's not even a material thing...

I do wonder about the changes that will most impact OUR children's lives... 

Schmetzneedles.com on Pinterest

As you know -- I am ADDICTED to Pinterest. It is chock full of good ideas and new things to try -- and a great place to get inspiration. There isn't a day it doesn't come up in my conversation. (this morning, my cousin told me about a homemade remedy off Pinterest that will ward off mosquitoes).

Schmetz Needles has been putting up some great boards -- I got this picture off the Schmetz Sewing For Children board...(Kelcy is having another baby girl -- isn't this adorable?)

This picture is from the Schmetz needles Fashion board...

And I love, love, love this quilt from the Schmetz Modern Quilts board...

If you get a chance to check out the Schmetz Pinterest -- look for Lillian on the Sewing for Children board. This is one of the posters from MY Pinterest. It is a philosophy I completely share with Lillian...

No matter what your personal sewing philosophy or style -- YOU WILL FIND INSPIRATION on Pinterest -- maybe I'll bump into you on the Schmetzneedles.com boards!!