My Next Big Project.

Almost ten years ago -- I blogged about THIS CAR...

Bert and I were having breakfast at the Village Inn -- and this car was in the parking lot.
Luckily, I had my camera in the Hey Rita tote...

I LOVE THIS CAR...ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

Doesn't everybody??

See -- Art is everywhere...

You just have to be on constant alert, people...

And I have one more thing to say about this car. I admire your talent, but mostly I wish I had your nerve...
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So -- now -- here's the big question.

My Hyundai has over 150,000 miles on it.  I refuse to get rid of it because, at 100,000 miles -- they had to put in a new engine.

So, this car doesn't cost me a nickel.  I consider it almost FREE to drive...the insurance is cheap, and so are the tags.

Because, clearly, it ISN'T WORTH A NICKEL...

So -- should I paint it??  Wouldn't that be fun??  WHY NOT?? 

Lilly's Emerging Style

So, Lilly is 10 now. Goodness -- where does the time go? When she was born, I was thrilled to be able to clothes for this little girl.

After raising two boys, I was ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED to think about making some frilly little dresses...

Of course, VERY EARLY ON -- I realized this child had a mind of her own...

As it turns out, she wasn't all that fond of frilly dresses.  She made that VERY CLEAR...

The key to my happiness is A.C.C.E.P.T.A.N.C.E....So -- instead of forcing her to wear things she DID NOT LIKE -- I encouraged her to go her own way.

Lilly has, over the years, developed her own sense of style...and I had very little input...

A skirt was a rare thing...

But this happened a lot...

She ALWAYS LOVED wearing a hat...

I always gave her encouragement, of course...

She soon started picking her own hats...

She also loves decorating her shoes...

And it's interesting to see the words she picks...

At this point, she LOVES going to thrift stores with me -- and she picks out women's jackets. They are usually too big for her -- and sometimes, she lets me shorten the sleeves.

She LOVES this jacket!!

But most of the time, she likes wearing them oversized

And -- oh, boy -- this girl STILL LOVES A HAT..!!.

BEST DEAL EVER..!!

Okay -- here's a story I haven't told yet. Mostly because I lost the PICTURES that went with it. But I found them now -- so we're gonna go back a few months...

Remember when I found that FIRST KENMORE for Carrie? Here I am with that machine, and Carrie's daughter Elizabeth -- who REALLY, REALLY WANTED to learn how to sew.

At the time, Ronda was envious of that machine, because as much as she loves her Featherweights (she has 3 of them) -- she occasionally wishes she had a machine that could do a zig-zag stitch...

So, of course, eventually led to our big discovery of Kenmore #2 --

BUT -- before that happened -- Ronda and I were talking about the very different sewing we do.

As you know -- I AM STRICTLY a Frankensewing kind of girl.

And Ronda's sewing love is all about the ragged edge flannel blankets.  She does straight-stitch sewing 98% of the time...and FASTER is the name of her game.

Then, I remembered I had this sewing machine sitting in my upstairs closet.  Buried, really.  For over 20 years. And HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? WHERE DID IT COME FROM? AND WHY DO I HAVE IT??

Hummm...I wonder if this might be a good machine for Ronda and her flannel blankets..??

It's an odd, kind of trapazoid case...

In doing a little internet research about the Kenmore #158 -- I was once again sucked into some Singer websites -- and I learned that the Singer #301 was considered then (and still today) to be the finest straight-stitch sewing machine ever manufactured. Singer built a factory JUST TO MANUFACTURE this revolutionary new, slant-needle, straight stitch sewing machine...and it will stitch 1500 stitches a minute..!!

Wait...they talked about the unique trapazoid suitcase it came in...

Could it be....

Is it even possible??

Why didn't I know any of this 20 years ago??

YEP.  In perfect condition -- this is the famous Singer #301.  The finest straight-stitch sewing machine ever invented or manufactured.

AND THIS SUCKER REALLY DOES FLY..!!

Ronda said the speed is unbelievable. Although she loved sewing on her Featherweight -- making an entire blanket would take about 20 hours.

But now??   She's doing it in 30 minutes...

Our Day at Kelcy's House

The summer IS ALMOST OVER..!! How is that possible?? Everybody is scrambling to do those last-minute summer vacations and activities..and before you know it, the kids will be BACK IN SCHOOL.

My niece Kelcy moved into a beautiful new home last spring. She has four kids -- and a great swimming pool -- and, every week, I think we're going to go there to get a tour of the house, go swimming, spend a little time with her clan...I have a beautiful set of Ralph Lauren king-size sheets for her bed as a housewarming gift...

But -- TIME FLIES -- and every time we made plans, something happened. Then, Kelcy went to work full time -- so now there's a babysitter at the house.

Last week, I realized Kelcy's family is leaving for vacation for a week. Ugh. Okay -- I JUST NEED TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. None of these kids will have a memory if we don't DO THE THING I WANT THEM TO REMEMBER...double ugh..

So, it was decided that on Thursday -- we'd spend some time with the kids and their babysitter...lol...

Dawson is her youngest. And when he said, "how do you know my name?" I knew, FOR SURE, that I hadn't been spending enough time with Kelcy's kids...

They LOVED the swimming part of the day!!

Rachel, the babysitter, watched them swim while I was inside making lunch.

Dawson, my capable assistant, would rather cook than swim.

Really!

He Tom Sawyered Aspen into watching his pizza sizzle...

The kids got out of the pool to come in for lunch. I made Daddy's Noodles (our classic lunch dish), with some kielbasa, watermelon and Dawson's pizza. After lunch, we did some table games. Bingo is always a favorite. We also showed them how to play PIT (a wonderful farm trading game I thought they should take with them on vacation.)

The big Finale was A SCAVENGER HUNT..!!  This is the girls team...

The boys team will be Warren, Dawson and me.

Of course, we never had a chance...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CALVIN..!!

Today is my brother's birthday.  He'll be 72 years old. Time flies when you're having fun, eh? Well, the truth is -- time flies even when you're NOT having fun.

Two years ago, Cal went into the hospital for a heart surgery. It went badly. He had a stroke...and was in intensive care for over 50 days.

Here's thing. His life will never be the same. But he has accepted his "new normal" in a very brave and gallant way. He and his wife Jeanne live just up the road from us -- and when John was having so many issues -- Cal always came in a hurry. He had my back every single day, and I don't know what I would have done without his help.

Cal and Jeanne moved into our neighborhood about 20 years ago. So we've been neighbors for a long time -- but the only time we really visited with them was Calvin's birthday. August 5th. Every year, on that day, I'd invite them down for a steak dinner.

My favorite picture of us. Maybe from 2013?

Ross was living here at the time (so we had somebody to take this picture)

But, at this point, we see Cal every single week. THANK GOD.

He often comes down to check on us, to help John with a project (last week, they fixed the clothes lines in my basement)...or just to visit over a cup of coffee.

One Saturday, he dropped in just in time for breakfast on the porch.

Lilly took this picture of us.

And, today, at 5:00, I'll be on the porch with my brother -- and he'll be enjoying a giant Porterhouse steak dinner.

We'll be eating our first sweetcorn of the season!!

Here's what I want to say on this day. I am most pleased that Cal's birthday dinner became a "tradition". It wasn't a conscious decision on my part -- it just happened. But that's the way it goes. With traditions, I mean...

It's the history that make them important.  The fact that you do that one thing with somebody or for somebody....over and over again...year after year...it's what tells people you really care about them.  It's like a body of work, y'know??

You can't go BACK and make a memory that didn't happen...

I'm not saying this very well...but I think you know what I mean...

2019 Spinach-Artichoke Dip Tour

This summer, a big part of Grandma Camp has been eating at different restaurants, which turned into Lilly's 2019 Spinach-Artichoke Dip Tour.

Really -- it's been fun to compare this dish at restaurants all over town.

Lilly was maybe 5 years old the first time I realized she loved Spinach-Artichoke dip. I ordered it at Applebee's -- and was surprised she liked it.

So, at this point, she has become a real connoisseur....

This summer, we have eaten Spinach-Artichoke Cheese Dip at the following restaurants:

Applebee's:  still a favorite, but not the best dip
Red Robin, a disappointment, small portions, cold chips
Chili's, the thinnest, BEST chips, but not enough cheese
Olive Garden, their pasta chips were delish, but the dip looked better than it tasted.
Hy-Vee,  Rated #1 for overall cheesy goodness, served with warm pita chips, big portions.

At one of their favorite places, HyVee!!  (I always have a card game in my purse)

On a recent Saturday, Warren was invited to a birthday party, so Lilly and I went to the Olive Garden.

I ordered the soup and salad, and Lilly, OF COURSE, ordered their Spinach Dip.  It looked delicious, and the Parmesan coated fried chips were great...but Lilly thought the dip didn't have enough cheese...

It was late in the afternoon, and the restaurant wasn't busy.  The noisy table behind us had two women, and four children.  One little girl was sitting in a high chair....when this happened...

There was a loud sound...something dropped to the floor...

The mother said: (yelled)  STOP IT, DANIELLE...that's the third time you dropped your sippy cup.  All the Mountain Dew is running out -- and you're wasting it!!

Lilly said, "if that baby could talk, she'd be saying, PLEASE GOD,  tell me I don't have to take orders from a woman who would put Mountain Dew in a sippy cup."

Mom's Summer Chicken Salad

I can't believe I've never posted the recipe for Mom's chicken salad. Almost every porch luncheon starts, of course with POPOVERS...(recipe always on the side of this blog)...

Because NOTHING IS EASIER than popovers!!

With my Mom's chicken salad and some fresh fruit...it is the PERFECT summer lunch

Last year, the MDF came for lunch -- along with my sister Ronda.

The STAR of the luncheon was Mom's chicken/macaroni salad. DELISH..!!

Here are the main players in Mom's chicken salad:

1 whole rotisserie chicken, picked off the bone and chopped (thank you, Costco, for coming to town)...
1 box of elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
1 whole stalk of celery, chopped
1 cup of green grapes, halved
1/2 cup of sweet gherkin pickles, chopped
1/2 cup of walnuts, chopped

Toss all these ingredients with the following dressing:

1 cup of mayonnaise
1/2 cup of sugar
3 tb. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup of milk

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As I reviewed this recipe, I realize the amounts are approximate -- and, of course, you may choose to leave out the pickles or the walnuts.  And it makes a HUGE quantity...which is what I'm always going for.  I actually think it's better the next day, after the chicken and macaroni have soaked up the dressing.  Sometimes, at that point, I make a half-batch of dressing to re-dress the salad. 

But, of course, it is so delicious, you may NEVER have to deal with leftovers..!!