Pennsylvania Wedding!!

John's sister Maureen raised three children on her own. This weekend, her baby, Marissa, now a full grown consultant for IBM, is getting married. I always say EVERYBODY has a story.

And Lord knows Maureen has lived a complicated, difficult, interesting joy-filled life. She is feisty, opinionated and direct. You would be lucky to call her your friend....and you should be afraid if you call her an enemy.

At the end of the day -- if she offends you -- that's too damn bad.  Maureen has never given a single thought to what other people think or say about her.  And I admire that in any person...

 

Maureen always makes her mother's halupkes for John...

Marissa with her husband-to-be, Zack

I made maxi-t-shirt dresses for Maureen, Marci (not here) and Marissa...

John, Maureen and her husband Roger.

I am SOO EXCITED about attending a Pennsylvania wedding. Just thinking about it takes me back to our own wedding -- way back in 1970. Wow. Where did the time go?? How is that even possible??

Remember -- I came from the land of midwest weddings -- white cakes in church basements. No booze, no real food -- mints and nuts was the most you could hope for.

But -- at our Pennsylvania wedding -- there was a sit down dinner (with 3 meats) -- an open bar (it was a Catholic church hall) -- a band and lots of dancing. (we paid $3.75 per person for the meal).  When everybody danced with the bride, they got a shot of whiskey, a piece of wrapped cake, and put a $20 bill in the white apron my maid of honor was holding by two corners...

OH YEAH...this is gonna be a wonderful, wonderful weekend!!

Congratulations, Marissa and Zack!!

Auctions, Art, and Ritaluck

Several weeks ago, I was having my usual FABULOUS SATURDAY -- junking around with my friend Bert. You know the drill. We start off with breakfast, and download our respective weeks...then, we could go in several different directions.

Sometimes, we end up strolling through thrift stores or antique malls...

Our FAVORITE thing to do is spend the day at an auction...

Our favorite auctioneers, the GMB team, recently retired from auctioneering. It is SUCH A BIG JOB...all that moving truckloads of merchandise. Soooo much heavy lifting...WE ARE REALLY GOING TO MISS THEM. Their auctions were so well organized, the audience understood where to sit, and in what order the room would be sold...

The DeWitt Fairgrounds is a great place to set up an auction...but we were worried about the "new guys" -- and the auction was very disorganized.

They had two auction rings going on at the same time...and nobody was sitting on the bleachers, so it was hard to see what was being sold. They would move down a table, then turn and go sell some random lamps. It was very difficult to know when to when to go where...

I bought a nice refrigerator for Elliott's garage for $100...

But I was trying to keep my eye on this large painting. There was some very interesting art. LOTS of art. Some of it was still wrapped in paper -- so it was hard to see what you were actually bidding on....(and you were afraid to take off the paper because then maybe everybody else would see what they were bidding on, too!)

When the day began, this large painting was wrapped -- both front and back...eventually, people tore bits of the front paper away...kinda...

From what I could see -- there were three women in this picture...maybe drinking coffee or reading a book?? I loved the colors -- and the topic made me happy. Women friends...

After a couple of hours, the auctioneer finally got to the painting...and I bid. But I quit at $40. (I know -- I am sooo cheap). The painting sold for way more than that...

So -- if I quit bidding -- how did the painting get into the trunk of my car??

Bert went over to get the painting. I didn't even realize she was bidding. I was happy she won the bid. Then -- she pushed the painting across the room....When she got to me -- she said, "Happy Birthday, Rita..."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

Yes, I know how lucky I am...

Cabin Fever Entertainment

IT WAS SUCH A LONG WINTER, PEOPLE. After months of being inside, we all had some level of cabin fever...and it didn't take much to amuse us. So imagine the delight at Uncle Melvin's house when his neighbors decided to do this...

It looks like a big pile of sawdust....but it's WAY more interesting than that!!

Yes -- that's right -- THEY HIRED A GUY TO CARVE A BEAR...

It was a walnut tree. The lumberjacks cut it down -- then, carved the bear and remounted it on the stump...(which has been cut away so it doesn't rot)...

That's Uncle Melvin's house in the background.  He built it with his own hands...brick by brick...

He has a gorgeous view of the Mississippi River...

Lillian thought the bear was WONDERFUL...

And -- hey -- Uncle Melvin did a meticulous restoration of this little camper.  It's for sale -- email me if you are interested!  (ritafar@aol.com)

Best Made Plans

Everybody's life is full of twists and turns. Unexpected detours...problems, blessings, challenges, opportunities...call them what you will. You NEVER know what's just around the corner....

And it is AMAZING to me how much my life has changed in the last year.

The company Ross was working for was sold, so he decided to quit gallivanting all over the world, doing the job of a wildlife cameraman -- and move back into our home to attend nursing school.

Elliott got out of the Army, and he and Emily moved back to Iowa (ten minutes from our house). Now these two wonderful newly minted little people, Lillian and Warren, are a big part of our daily lives....

Honestly -- I can't imagine doing anything else. I hope I make a difference in their lives, and I know they make a difference in mine...

If we are going "out" -- Lilly picks out her outfit AND mine.

This was Warren's first day out in the sun...(he loved it)

The kids spend Thursday night with us.,.it's an overnight...and we all love that time...(especially Elliott and Emily)

When Warren makes this silly new face, he looks like a little old man.

I can honestly say I do not remember ever enjoying my own kids the way I enjoy these two. But I know that won't be news to any Grandma out there.

For me -- a big part of the joy is that I SOOO LOVE THE DRESSING UP aspect that is our Lilly...

Lilly enjoys the dressy dresses

Anything with Tinkerbell is a big hit

The outfit she picked for her 5th birthday

Recently, when my clubbers came for breakfast...

As I am thinking about how happy all this makes me, I remember that I didn't plan any of it.

Hummmmm.....maybe that's the whole point.

Ronda's New Flannel Quilt Obsession

Part of Ronda's obsession about BUYING flannel is falling in love with those adorable baby prints. And she likes having a supply of finished flannel baby blankets on hand -- just in case there's a surprise birth in the neighborhood! (hey -- it happens)...

At the recent sew-and-tell -- she brought five or six of her new baby blankets...

Our sister Deena introduced her to this new technique -- it's called self-binding.

If you do it right, one print wraps around to the other side -- and the corners are BEAUTIFULLY mitered when you're done.

It was a little difficult to explain -- but Ronda recommended this video.

YOUTUBE IS AMAZING...it has changed the way we learn things. And you will LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this technique...

Trust me -- you are about to have an AH HA moment...

I would like to thank the Missouri Quilting Company for doing such an AWESOME job....

Ronda's Sew and Tell

Once again -- here's what I LOVE ABOUT THE HOBBY OF SEWING. We all do it differently...there is no right or wrong way...

Some of my friends are wonderful pattern makers, and they design their own clothes. Others have their favorite pattern companies, but garment sewing is their love. I enjoy a more free-form of sewing -- recycling old t-shirts is the name of my game. And I love mending blue jeans.

Quilters are in a class of their own -- whether they are doing ART quilts, or some great new Eleanor Burns or Ricky Timms technique. You know who you are --

My sister Ronda loves, loves, loves flannel quilts. The kind with the ragged edges...and she makes them for every and any occasion. For birthdays, or anniversaries, or Christmas gifts. She chooses the flannel to go with the person or the occasion. And she has made HUNDREDS of them...

Recently, she came to a Tuesday breakfast and I asked her to bring a "Sew and Tell"...

This is a flannel quilt she made for the high school auction. She took gray flannel to a screenprinting company -- and they printed the high school logo ($10 set up -- then $2 for each print). GENIUS...

Because Ronda has such a HUGE stash of flannel, it was no problem to come up with red and gray flannels for this quilt.

This is the full size quilt she is working on her her son, Cory.  Turns out -- his feelings were hurt because his sisters got quilts (years ago) -- but he never did. Way to go, Mom!!

Can you see her signature quilt block? She has been a pig collector for many years -- and a TRUE Ronda quilt will always have a pig square. Somewhere. For no reason at all....

Shopping for flannel is one of the big joys of Ronda's life. She gets the same adrenaline rush shopping for flannel that I get when I find a funny t-shirt at the Goodwill store on quarter day. Last year, on Black Friday, she stood in line for 2 hours at Joanne Fabrics to score 30 different pieces of 50% off flannel...

And now -- it is exciting to report that she has found a NEW TECHNIQUE for her flannel.  One that is almost as much fun as the ragged edge...

You ARE GONNA LOVE IT...

My Maddie Day

On the day I stopped in at the church to witness the gigantic-chocolate-Easter-Egg-making-operation -- Maddie was visiting her Grandma (my sister Deena). She lives a couple of hours away, and was on Spring Break. Hey -- it seemed like a good idea at the time!!

But, after a long night of being the only child involved with this hard-working egg making crew of adults, the prospect of another day and night was no longer thrilling to Maddie. (don't worry, Deena -- it will remember better than it lived!)

Maddie DID have everybody's favorite new movie -- FROZEN....But Lilly was on her way to school...

As we were getting ready to leave (I had both Warren and Lilly with me) -- Deena asked if I could take Maddie along. She could use a break.

NO PROBLEM. So, Maddie got in the car -- and asked if she could take a few pictures. I said sure -- and there were 30 selfies that looked something like this....

We took Lilly to school -- then Maddie went home with me. And NOBODY WAS MORE DELIGHTED THAN WARREN....She was terrific with him...he laughed and laughed. SUCH A GREAT BABYSITTER...

Warren went down for his nap, and Maddie and I got busy making the Duff Tie Dye cake.  This was one of the bonus items in the Hey Rita Tote when Rhonda returned it to me.  MADDIE WAS DELIGHTED...

The colors were so intense, the directions were precise -- and that cake turned out EXACTLY like the picture on the box!

After we picked up Lilly at school -- the four of us went on to the Goodwill Store. Maddie had NEVER BEEN SHOPPING at the Goodwill Store. I loved listening to Lilly explain Goodwill Shopping. She said, "here's how it works, Maddie. Anything you like, you put it in Grandma's cart -- because it's a possibility. At the end, you take everything out of the cart and line it up. Then you get to pick the ONE THING you really, really want the most -- and Grandma buys it for you. If you can't make up your mind, or pout about getting more -- Grandma will put everything back."