Happy Labor Day

We grew up on a farm just outside of McCausland, Iowa. On Labor Day -- people come from miles around. There's a Fireman's Breakfast...

The fire station is JAMMED with hungry visitors...

My sister Deena is working with the church -- selling chances....

On some pretty snazzy baskets...

There's a very extensive car show (that's another post)...

AND -- there is always, always, always -- THE PARADE...

My sister Deena has her entire crew here -- the kids have their plastic bags -- waiting for the candy that is about to come raining down on them...

And we've cooked up a little surprise for Kelcy's husband, Andy...who came home on THAT DAY...from the Army. For good. Finally.

Kelcy and I painted the banner in my basement -- it was Deb's convertible...NICE SURPRISE, EH?

Have SCRAPPLE Will Travel

When Pat visited Iowa this summer, I took her on a Pork Tenderloin tour.  And I just realized that when I go to Pennsylvania, I take my own Scrapple Tour...and I can hardly wait...

This morning, looking for a picture of Scrapple...I discovered this post I from three years ago. 

This week might be the first time I miss my smart phone.  (sigh)...I really did enjoy Google Maps...

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Even though I live in Iowa and we are famous for our love of all-things-pork...WE DON'T HAVE SCRAPPLE HERE... So, having scrapple for breakfast is a treat I only get when I'm visiting Pennsylvania...and it is QUITE a special occasion.

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On this day -- I was headed off for an adventure all by myself. My friend Kathy was in the hospital, recovering from her appendectomy...so I went to a local restaurant, based solely on their scrapple reputation...I had some tourist maps and books -- so I enjoyed my scrapple and planned my bonus day!!

With the help of my trusty cellphone navigator -- I WAS OFF...

I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of my ACTUAL rental car. I had reserved an economy car -- but they didn't have one in stock. So I got beautiful BIG, nearly full size ALTIMA...it was such a pleasure to drive over all those Pennsylvania mountains...

One of these days, I'm going to post ALL THE TREASURE that ended up in the trunk of that car!! Really, really amazing...

Potty Boot Camp, Day #1

Potty Boot Camp was a RIP ROARING SUCCESS. OMG.

Elliott & Emily had a weekend event -- so Lilly and Warren will be at my house for three days. (also, their two dogs, Sophie and Bella). My niece, Kelcy, recently did the boot camp with her two year old daughter, Aspen -- and she made it sound easy.

When Warren arrived Friday morning -- I took off his diaper. From now on, he'll only wear a Pampers when he's sleeping...

Warren is crying. Frankie is being sympathetic...

Some morning activities...playing in the yard with Uncle Ross and Frankie. Warren enjoyed the freedom of NO DIAPER RUNNING...

There are tricycles to ride...

We went to YouTube to watch some potty training videos...

Lilly finished her day at First Grade, and came to help...

Warren did some dog training with Frankie...

To keep him sitting on the potty, there were some sticker activities...

More playing with Frankie...

I thought the "Big Boy Pants" would be an incentive to pee on the potty...but, right after I took this picture, he peed on the green Lazy boy...

Cutting up an old plastic Christmas Tablecloth was an excellent idea. Too bad I didn't think of it sooner...

I put a towel over the tablecloth so it wouldn't be so slippery.

The potty chair moved around. When I was cooking, Warren was in the kitchen with me.

He sat for long periods of time...stickers, buckets of toys, a fleet of cars...

When I was not in the kitchen, I moved the potty to the living room. From this position, Warren can watch television, I can work on my computer...

Frankie was always right there...by his side...being sympathetic AND supportive...

And, of course, there were a dozen "B's"...(Warren's army of flannel blankets)...

By that night, I'd set up a potty-side table.  A popcorn snack seemed in order...

After his first VERY EXHAUSTING DAY...Lilly and Warren deserved a break...

End of the day. Bath, pajamas, ready for bed...one more wrestle with Uncle Ross and Frankie...

It was a long day, Buddy...

By Friday Night, Warren had accidentally scored a little bit of pee in the potty four times. He'd also accidentally scored pee in the living room, on the Lazy boy, and in the kitchen.

My Buried Treasure

During my recent treasure hunt in the basement -- I found the corduroy quilt my Grandma Dodds gave me in 1967 for my high school graduation. OH MY GOD.

I lifted it out of a wicker trunk...and held it to my face. I closed my eyes and the tears were instant. This quilt was an important part of my daily life for decades. It was on my bunk bed at Wartburg College, and it went with me on the plane to Washington, D.C. when I got a job with the CIA. (9/9/69)

The day they fired me, I went back to my apartment and covered up with this quilt. (2/4/70)

When John and I got married, this quilt lived at the end of our brand new beige sofa. Five years later, both the sofa and the quilt were in the living room of our first house in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania...

This quilt was that perfect hot/cold cover. In the summer, I'd take a nap with this quilt, and it would keep me cool. In the winter, it would keep me warm.

Years later, when Ross would fall asleep on the floor after a big day of riding his tricycle up and down the gravel lane, I'd cover him with this quilt.

I don't remember putting it away. I certainly didn't realize it would be 20 years before I'd see it again. But, at the time, it was so worn out and damaged...it couldn't take one more laundering...and I didn't have the skills to fix it...

When we were small, Grandma Dodds made leopard corduroy robes for all five of us girls...

The quilt had so much damage...there were big holes...

It didn't have batting. Just the pieced corduroy on the front, and a brown plaid barkcloth on the back...

The last time I washed it, the machine ate a big chunk out of one side...

The edges are shredded...

My first repair was to cut off the tattered edge, and add a new t-shirt binding...

I was afraid to cut the edges off all at once -- so I did 12 inches at a time...

Rolled the t-shirt fabric over to the back, and stitch in the ditch...

Trim away the excess (here you can see the back of the quilt -- pretty ugly, eh?)

The new edge totally stabilized the quilt...so now I was ready to move on to the other repairs...

Here's the best thing...somehow, since the last time I saw this quilt -- I've acquired the skills I need to fix it. I'VE GOT THIS...

Do I have extra?

Every now and then, my stash comes in handy for OTHER PEOPLE...

This fall -- Emily's sister, Hannah, is getting married in Wyoming. Emily and Lilly are excited -- it will be Lilly's first airplane ride.

Emily's parents are driving out in advance because they are setting up the actual venue. They rented a big home for the occasion and will be hosting a party in the yard of that property. There may be more guests than chairs -- so Emily asked me if I had any extra blankets or throws that could be used in the yard for casual seating.  Her parents could take them out in their van...

Here's the thing about me. Once I decide I like something, I soon have LOTS OF EXTRA...I simply cannot stop it from happening...it's how my life works...

I went into my basement to begin the treasure hunt. I went right to my gorgeous stack of wool blankets. Yellow, blue, red, plaid, Buffalo stripes...they have all been washed, and then lovingly placed on a dry shelf, covered with a sheet. Perfect. I can see them now...

Then, I started to dig a little deeper...I have dozens of holiday throws...wait...I could have some very interesting seating. What's that? Is that a queen size quilt with a horse on it? Wow...here's another trunk, FULL of quilts and throws...doesn't Hannah have a thing for zebra stripes??

This pile has some zebra throws, a woven wool throw, some hanging quilts, a queen size quilt with a horse motif (it lived in my trunk -- the perfect picnic quilt)...

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A hummingbird throw...

Twin size yellow matelasse, zebra throw, a patriotic quilt

My pile was getting bigger and bigger...

There are two quilted pillow shams to go with the double bed size quilt..I wonder if there will be any children there?

This flower quilt also has two pillow shams -- that would make for cute seating, right?

Do I have extra??? and she laughed....

AND -- here's the thing. While conducting this search -- I discovered a bit of buried treasure...

Free Lunch -- Mending Jeans

I rarely see my friend Barb from high school. Recently, we were meeting for lunch and she asked me if I still enjoyed mending blue jeans. I said, yes, it was actually one of my preferred sewing activities. She insisted on buying my lunch.  Now, I have NINE pair of jeans to work on....I am excited!!

My secret is to do a lot of IRONING ON THE PATCH -- long before there is any actual sewing. In this case, the patch underneath was a pretty good match to the jeans fabric...(often, I use t-shirt fabric instead)

And you know my secret for adding a little t-shirt hem to the bottom of worn-out jeans...

In the long run, the t-shirt hem will wear out, too.

I just cut off the worn out bit -- and added a NEW t-shirt hem. Of course, it makes the pants 1/2 inch shorter each time...but there seems to be some magic happening. Because they are still John's favorite jeans...and I think he wears his belt lower...so the shorter length isn't a problem...lol...

I recently repaired a BACK pocket on John's favorite pair of jeans -- which is nearly impossible.