My Tie Die Dress

Remember our Tie Dye Party on Sue's Farm?

Me, Sue and our four grands -- had a wonderful time tie-dying EVERYTHING.

I provided a giant laundry basket with over 30 things-to-dye...

We had a great time that day. One of the projects was a favorite dress of mine...

TEN years ago, I was visiting my friend Marion in Canada. We were on an island, parked in the line-up to drive on to the Ferry.   I can still see the little shop where I bought a wonderful, simple tie-dyed cotton dress...which I have nearly WORN OUT...

Marion and I -- in Canada last year.

After a decade of laundering, the colors of my most-favorite-tie-dyed dress had faded to a pale yellow...so I took it along to the Tie Dye party at the farm.

I thought it could use a freshening...

This is what happened...

I was wearing it last weekend, when the kids were here. I made the comment that, after the new Dye job, it kind of looks like I might have witnessed a bloody murder...

Lilly took a look,  "that's what I imagine Hippie blood would look like..."

*****

Even though it looks a big strange -- now this dress has double good fond memories for me.  I find myself wearing it OFTEN...

LeClaire Iowa Freedom Rock

In LeClaire, Iowa -- where the Twilight is parked -- the park along the river has the pavilion (where Sandy had her party) -- and, at the end -- the Scott County Freedom Rock.

The kids and I walked over to the Freedom Rock.

I've written about The Freedom Rock Project before -- it is a very unique undertaking by one extraordinary young Iowa Artist.

From his website:

The Freedom Rock (established in 1999) is a large (approx. 60+ ton) boulder located in rural Iowa that is repainted every year with a different Thank You for our nations Veterans to honor their service to our country. The artist, Ray "Bubba" Sorensen II, was inspired by the movie Saving Private Ryan, as well as, wanting to give Veterans a unique recognition on Memorial Day. 

Sorensen paints The Freedom Rock on his own with the tremendous support of family and friends. Sorensen is not commissioned to paint the rock but is able to do so each year with the generous help of donations. While painting murals across the country Sorensen had the idea of spreading the message of The Freedom Rock to other small communities across Iowa. 

Sorensen has painted about 80 Freedom Rocks so far in the State of Iowa...

Every rock is different - depicting the veterans from that specific county.

He tries to represent each branch of the service -- and the various eras, as well...

It has been a unique undertaking -- and he should complete his Iowa Tour in 2020.

It is a remarkable story. And the Iowa Tour has been so successful -- I believe he is launching a 50-States-Mural-Tour.

Sandy's 75th Birthday

On the VERY DAY we went on the Riverboat cruise -- my friend Sandy was having her 75th birthday party. IN THE SAME PARKING LOT...there is a City Pavilion.

I figured we'd get there in time for cake!

Sandy and her sisters.

Because it had been raining all morning -- there were LOTS of puddles

Which, of course, the kids wanted to JUMP in...

My friend Sandy is 75 years young. Instead of "gifts" -- her daughters requested that people bring books they enjoyed...

The last time she saw Lilly, she got a Hamilton concert!

We tried to get a selfie -- with the Mississippi River in the background.

But this is my BEST PICTURE OF THE DAY...Really.  Lilly and Warren jumped and jumped in those puddles...their shoes were soaked, their clothes were all through and through. I can't tell you how much joy this activity brought...

After it's all said and done -- I believe THIS moment is what they'll remember when they're having their 75th birthday party...

Our Twilight Mississippi Scenic Cruise

Exploring the boat itself was thrilling...

For example -- there is a gigantic stained glass kaleidoscope

That was pretty popular.

Seeing our hometown from the RIVER side was exciting

The main lounge, inside, was very ornate and 1800's looking...

Luckily, once we got out on the river, the rain and thunder stopped

The Captain talked local Mississippi history, Buffalo Bill, Mark Twain, etc.

We saw a dredge working to clean out the channel.

It was interesting to see Princeton, Iowa from the river view

Boll's Community Center, the library, Go Fish the restaurant...

And we had some BIG FUN the minute we got OFF the boat...

Twilight Sightseeing Cruise

Okay -- how cool is this...

Princeton, Iowa is right on the Mississippi River...and about five minutes down the road is the scenic little town of LeClaire, Iowa.   Most famous for being the home of the American Pickers.

It is ALSO  the home to the Twilight Riverboat....(click here for the website)

We often see the Twilight as it cruises up the river to Galena. 

The Twilight has been docked in LeClaire, Iowa for about 25 years...

Two years ago, I took Lilly on the Saturday morning 90 minute sightseeing cruise.

Warren KNEW Lilly went without him...so when I told him I'd booked the trip, he was thrilled.

It was a cold and rainy day...But the weather did not ruin our trip

We explored all three levels of the Riverboat.

Then, settled on a nice corner table (INSIDE) -- where we set up some games.

Warren is learning how to play King's Corner. (he's new at it -- so, of course, he is losing...)

The Captain gave a nice talk during our trip...about the Mississippi, etc.

There was some fun shopping.

The kids sat in the outside rocking chairs for a time.

Dolly Parton

I love my Sunday Morning routine. When I get up, I make a pot of coffee -- and then, I settle in with my laptop and the CBS Morning Show.

I LOVE this show. It is very well done -- and they do in-depth stories about people and places I've never heard of.

This show is where I learned about the Hudson Yards VESSEL, in New York City.

Years ago, they did a story about North Platte, Nebraska -- and how they fed thousands of soldiers during WW II.

I always learn something...in the most pleasant way imaginable. For me, the CBS Morning Show is about the BEST of America. Their stories are uplifting.

Last year, they did a wonderful story about Fred Harvey and how his fine dining restaurants all along the Santa Fe Railroad changed America. The story was so interesting, that day, I ordered the book, Appetite for America

Some of the Harvey Hotels still exist (maybe in California?)...there is no doubt that the way he did business CHANGED the world.

Recently, they did a profile of Dolly Parton. I don't pretend to know much about Country Music, but I have always loved Dolly Parton. I admire her talent, of course, but her story is so inspirational...how she's figured out ways to give back to her family, and her community. She built an entire theme park in Tennessee to provide commerce and jobs.

But, without a doubt, the most remarkable thing Dolly Parton has done is to create her Imagination Library

From the website:  In 1995, Dolly launched her Imagination Library in Sevier County, TN, where she was born and raised.  Inspired by her own father’s inability to read or write, she determined that there had to be a way to help children fall in love with books.  The program sent free books to children from birth to age five and helped inspire a love of reading in the lives of the children in the mountains of her youth.

Great ideas and unselfish dreams always have wings to fly, and such is the case with Dolly’s Imagination Library.  It spread from one county to the entire state of Tennessee.  The excitement and results of the program kept growing until it spread all over the United States.  From there, it expanded to Canada, Great Britain, Australia and most recently the Republic of Ireland.

So far, Dolly has mailed out over 125 MILLION books to children all over the world.

During the Sunday Morning interview, Dolly had this to say about music....

Music my therapy...my guitar is my friend...when I'm writing or singing a song, I'm in the zone, I call it my God Zone...I just love that time...

I count my blessings more than I count my money. I don't count my money, I never did...playing, picking and writing is my happy place...it's my therapy.

I love the sound of music...I love being able to create something...
***********

When I watched that story about Dolly Parton, I listened to what she was saying about music...and I realized I feel the same way about sewing.

Farming in the East Village

The truth is -- most things in life REMEMBER better than they LIVED. I especially find this is true of dead husbands. (that's another topic altogether)...

But it's also true of some Grandma Camp events. I hope.

Because sometimes -- we head off to an event that has been promoted, or heavily advertised -- and we have BIG EXPECTATIONS..

Take, for example, the recent "Farm Days" in the Village of East Davenport...

Free family fun for all ages. Petting zoo, rope making, pedal tractors, tractor ride around, wagon rides, games, entertainment, Dynamometer, kids "drive a tractor", working farm displays, kids tractor pull, rock crusher, arts and crafts, learn to milk a cow, and more.

That sounds WONDERFUL, doesn't it?  And it was a beautiful weekend...the end of summer...

There were many big tractors to climb on...

Old and new -- the street was lined with tractors.

When I was a kid, my Mom had this model -- and she drove it every morning to feed the turkeys. Four of us would straddle  the hood of the tractor. YIKES...

I told the kids that story...

They were not impressed.  But, as it turned out, that was gonna be the highlight of the day...

The "petting zoo was a disappointment..."

The promised "games" were pitiful...(this is an 8 piece jigsaw puzzle -- there were four of them)

But the WORST activity was the advertised "crafts".

A local high school FFA group had a booth with three teenagers sitting in chairs (all on their phones). There were no children standing in line...I should have taken that as a sign...When I cleared my throat to get their attention, two of the girls stood up. One girl used a scoop to put some trail mix into a baggie...while the other girl explained that this concoction (Cheerios, mini-marshmallows and raisins) was the same basic ratio of fat to carbs that farmers use for pig feed.

 I tried to get a picture of the look on Lilly's face.