Trying to Catch Up From a Big Weekend!

<--Perry Monument on Put-In Bay Island

Wow. A four-day weekend camping trip at CedarPoint in Sandusky, Ohio; a day-trip to Put-In-Bay Island; and an evening at the 4-H Fair. I'm tired!

Rollercoasters, food, kiddie-rides, food, games of chance, food, golf cart rides around the island, a great live demo of musket loading and firing (War-of-1812-style) muskets, food, t-shirt shopping, food, old-fashioned carousel rides, food, goats, chickens, beef cattle, dairy cattle, goats, llamas, sheep, commercial exhibits, some ice cream and a longer-than-expected ride home.

Good times were had by all. And the weather? PERFECT.

Pictures coming soon. Blogger.com is giving me fits with uploading photos. Stay tuned.

Friday WIP (Work-in-Process)

Vintage-looking kitchen towels that will be transformed into tote bags.

I have all these ideas...but never seem to have time to sit down and bring them to life.

Must. Start. Creating. Things.







More cotton towels. Not sure how these are going to end up. Any ideas? The towels are much nicer than this photo shows. Blues, green, tan, cream. All waiting to become something new and different.







A baby bib in the making. Clean. Classic lines. Functional. Hopefully someone else will feel the same way and buy it once I get it finished and put in the (etsy) shop.









Materials for a bib. Yes, I realize the Fourth of July is over. But I'm trying a new size/shape...so this is going to be a 'trial run' so to speak. Besides, we should practice patriotism all year long, shouldn't we?

Summer is ...

...pots of impatiens on the patio.














...roses in the garden (doing execptionally well this year).



And when the day is done, the soft glow and sweet scent of a candle.

Dishin' and Fishin'

Dishin'












I found these at the thrift store today and could not resist. They have no markings on the bottom, but I thought the pattern was really sweet, so I bought them. Later, on eBay, I found some for sale...supposedly vintage 60's. Not sure if I'm going to sell them or use them as soap dishes for some homemade soap we'll be making as Christmas gifts this year. I'm thinking I'll keep them.





Fishin'













My uncle (on the right) had promised my oldest son (on the left) that he would take him fishing last summer. But like so many things....time got away and well...Nate did not get a chance to fish last year. So...this year, while we were at the cousin's birthday party last weekend, my uncle made good on his promise. Nate was ecstatic. He ended up catching 14 bluegills. Wow....what a great time! They were just baby fish, but still.....14 fish in about an hour. What a hoot!

A Great Weekend at the Lakes !

Another great weekend at the lakes. Yes, that’s the plural form of “lake”. My wife and the boys headed to the lake on Friday afternoon while I slaved away at work. Since I was scheduled to work on Saturday, I intended to go home after work on Friday to clean house and spend some quality “craft time”. However….my wife had a really good idea: I could drive to the lake, and get up a bit earlier than normal and make the 50 minute commute to work on Saturday morning. Since weekend time (any time with the wife and kids) is precious time, I decided it was a great idea.

Saturday afternoon was wonderful: the weather was perfect summertime weather. The boys spent time in the lake on their “hover crafts” (inflatable, motorized water craft toys) while my wife and I kept them from drowning each other. Boys! I don’t remember getting into so much “trouble” when I was their age…but I’m sure I did my share of goofy things. Oh well….

Sunday morning was spent cleaning up the cottage as we had to leave early enough to drop off the dog (Hershey the chocolate lab) at home so we could dash off for another lake-related event: cousin Kelsey’s 10^th Birthday. After lunch, gifts and cake, my uncle took the boys fishing. They have been begging for a chance to fish, and today was their lucky day. And indeed it was very lucky. Nathan caught 12 fish in about an hour and Matt came in second with a total of 4. Both boys wore smiles from ear-to-ear the whole time they were on the boat. (I have pictures to prove it. And will get them posted as soon as I have a chance – I promise!)

Fabric Finds at Lunch Time

A quick lunch-time visit to Wal-Mart today and I end up with some cool soccer-theme fabric for a quilited pillow for Matt and some very nice, very inexpensive print fabric (all from the blue family). Please don't tell my wife. LOL!

The blue prints will be combined with a solid periwinkle and might just end up as a throw pillow for the family room sofa. I'll post a picture of my $5.68 fabric find when I get a chance. Stay tuned.

Happy 4th of July !

The skies were dark and dreary this morning and threatening more rain. So...rather than stay at the lake, we decided to pack up and go home. And, of course, by the time we got home, the sky was turning blue and the sun was shining. We decided to spend the afternoon in Shipshewana. It turned out to be a beautiful day.

The boys decided they wanted to make a quilt (LOL!) so we bought some fat quarters at Lolly's Fabric Store. We've never made a quilt, so this should be a fun project. I told them it would take lots of time to finish a quilt, but they insisted. Perhaps we can make one or two and the boys can give them to their mom for Christmas. (We'll see!)

Here are two more pictures I took this afternoon:





Nothing says "summer" like a hanging basket of petunias.













Everyone was thirsty, so we took a "drink break". This little display was near the bench we sat on. (Birdhouses and pitcher-pumps seem to never go out of style.)