What I found at the fabric store

Good morning on this cool fall day.  Tuesday was spent scouring the fabric store with this baggie of samples pieces looking for remnants.

All the samples I have

My search resulted in one remnant and two three yard pieces at a sale price as shown at the top of this post.   I was able to purchase a clown pattern but my old standby was no longer offered.  So the whole trip was a bit of a downer. I have spent the last two days trying to decide how all this was going to come together.

Wednesday I took Brandy to Doggy Depot for her bath and cut.  I had them leave the body hair a bit longer due to the change in temperature but she still looks great.

Today is Jay’s appointment with Dr. Ross so I guess it will be Friday before the first piece of pattern is pinned to material.  I’m thinking I’ll start with the peach (orange) print and the striped material first.  Wish me luck on this one.

I have a lot of purple  and blue material so those will probably be the next ones to use.  I’m afraid maybe my dining room table will be taken up for few weeks but we don’t use it daily anyway.

Have a good rest of the week and let me know what you are up to!

I

Sunday found us driving to Ann Arbor to visit second son Lesley and wife Anne at their home.  The last time I was in Ann Arbor I was marching in a parade and promptly got lost at the end of it.  I had a terrible time finding my hubby and my ride home.

Son Lesley known to you as SEB

Daughter-in-law Anne

This time with the help of Les and Anne I managed to visit one of the business places there without getting lost.

Jay and I had heard about the Zingerman Company and I was delighted to see that it was close to Les’ home.

Zingerman Bake Shop

Inside were several products from breads, to coffee cakes, to strudels, to candy bars, to cookbooks, and many syrups, flours. flavorings etc.

Inside the store.

A large window allows you to watch the bread dough being worked in the next room.   Les said that the whole end of that building was used to make the bread for the different location where you can buy it and also for their restaurant.

We also visited their cheese and creamery store and look through the many items there.

We visited the cake showroom with some very delightful creations there.

Just a sample of their designs.

I found the trip to the complex very interesting.  Unfortunately we didn’t get over to the restaurant because of the time and Jay wasn’t feeling well and had remained with Anne at the town house.

Melvin the SEB cat!

Of course no visit would be complete without saying hello to Melvin while we were there.  We had a bite to eat at the house, caught up on some programs I had missed  because they have a DVR  and then headed for home.  We got lost going out there so we were very careful going back home.    It was a very enjoyable visit!  Thanks for inviting us.

I spent the better part of today checking boxes and bags for pieces of material that I haven’t seen in some time.  I found one curtain from the house on Westlyn in Orion.   The others were made into a costume for Jasmine some time back.  Another good size piece is leftover from when I made my bedroom curtains for here.  I have a purple felt-like material that I made Poodle skirts from.  Actually enough to make a complete clown costume.  There is a medium blue piece leftover from the robe I made for Jay in the hospital.  I realize that the colors don’t all say Christmas but do say come smile with me!!!

12 different colors of a dickey type costumes

These  were used when all the clowns  rode in the back of the truck one year.  I have been trying to figure a way to sew them together for one costume and I think I got it!  Unfortunately I didn’t find the pattern for the sack costume but I’ve used it many times so I probably threw it away.  I’ll pick one up Monday because I need it for the size.

I still haven’t unpacked the costumes from last year’s parade so that will give me some idea of what repairs or alterations might be needed on them.  Oh well it is what I do every year they are in the parade and it is my way of participating.

I found a letter from a  committee person for the Pontiac, Michigan parade dated 1989 thanking me for marching in their celebration.  Yes I have been doing this since the mid 80′s.  I was forced to stop participating because of the feet and ankles but I continued to work on the costumes.  I hoping for a short part of the march this year because I miss talking to the children, shaking hands with the old folks (even though I am one of them now), and hugging the cops standing in the cold along the parade route.  It is a joy to make people smile and that is what I want to do!!!

Tuesday brought a surprise for me in my own front yard.

It fell from a tree!

The wind proved to be too much for the branch of one of the trees in the yard.  I called my eldest, Wes, to see if he could come and cut it up for me.  We have all the equipment but not the energy to do it.  He said he would be up in the next few days.  Then when I went down to get the mail and the paper today I found a vacant spot where the limb had been.  I discovered small branches and leaves on the burn pile out back and saw newly cut wood over on Steve’s wood pile.  Bless his heart he took care of my problem without saying a word.  So I called Wes and told him not to come up because the limb was gone.

Well between the rain and the somewhat high winds I have not been able to burn any of the burn pile these last few days.  Don’t know when we will get to it but it has to settle down soon.

Another sign of Fall showed up in the last couple of days.

The Fire Bush is turning now!

Certainly not all red yet but turning daily.  It use to be by the propane tank ( a kind of pun if you will) but since we got Natural Gas it is up in front hiding the meter.

Well my time away has been spent completing these babies.

I see stars!!!

I haven’t decided on what to do next but I have been looking for a box to store the finished ornaments in.  There are a few done now and I still haven’t decided what to do with them.

I know I do have to start readying the costumes for the Christmas parade the first week of December which means repairing what I have and buying material for a few new ones.  I’m hoping the remnant counter will hold some likely pieces so the expense won’t be too bad.  I have decided on clown sack costumes because they allow for some growth.  My troupe is aging and outgrowing what I already have.   I had hoped to walk at least a part of the parade myself but I don’t know if that is going to be possible yet.

A sample of previous parade participants

As you can see it is a big and happy project to be a part of.

Well don’t let the wind blow you away if you are  in Michigan.  Any place else enjoy your weekend!

Today Jay and I worked with fruit.   We peeled, he cored and sliced the rest of the apples.  He then dehydrated them and has been sealing them for future use.

Drying the apples!

I on the other hand worked with the Cherry ornaments all day with the following results.

Fake but pretty!

That is four more for the done box.  I think I’ll go back to the stars because I have four more to finish them up.  I think I will have quite a bit of left over in the sequin, pin, and bead department when I’m through.  I just have to try to create something of my own.

It has been another good day weather wise and I hoping to see a couple of days of no rain because I have a large brush pile out back and the burn permit came in the mail yesterday.   Take Care!

While visiting with Wes and Deb Tuesday it was mentioned that a friend of theirs who is ill said he liked our Strawberry/Rhubarb jam and the Apple Rhubarb Chutney.  Not having very much of either of them I decided to remedy the situation so I could give a couple jars of each to him.

Ingredients for both!

A trip to the store and McDaniel’s farm market was all I needed to start work this morning.  There is now 15 half pint jars of Strawberry /Rhubarb jam and 15 1/2 half pints of Apple/Rhubarb Chutney sitting on my kitchen counter.   That pretty much deplete my frozen rhubarb supply for this year but I’ll buy more come next year.

The rest of the apples you saw in the picture Jay will prep and then put them in the dehydrator tonight or tomorrow.  They are a very tasty treat.

Another in the 70 degrees days today with excellent, cooler sleeping temperatures at night.  Otisville is having their fun days this evening and tomorrow but a bit of rain may dampen the festivities.  I don’t know if we will attend the doings or not.

Have a great weekend and let me know what you did!!!

Cake says it all!

We came bearing gifts yesterday for Wes and Debra’s 20th Anniversary.   We picked up some frozen Chinese dinners and pork egg rolls  to make for their dinner but they ended up cooking them.  I had taken along a jar of our home made Tangy Plum Sauce for dipping.  Every thing that appeared on the table Wes said, “I love that (whatever)”.   I think he was in a good mood because of the occasion.

This is our loving couple.

They do look happy!

Of course we have to have a picture of the off springs so here they are.

Jasmine Alexandra and Dakota Cree

Of course a picture of son and mother laughing their a** off seemed like a fitting end to a happy visit.

Yes it is good for the breathing and the circulation!

Happy Anniversary and many more to come Wes and Deb!

Snapdragons and Cosmos are still blloming!

I went out to deadhead the Cosmos today and found them still producing new buds.  Even the Snapdragons are still trying to bloom.  Daughter-in-law Debra said that next year we will use Snapdragons as a border in the berm.

Well my visit to Dr. Hemming’s office turned out to be a very good one.  I can now walk without a cane.  Which is good because that is what I have been doing a lot the last three weeks.  I asked if it would be alright to kneel and the answer was yes.  Oh great now I have no excuse not to scour the tub (which is good because boy it really needs it).  I do have a limp but it will eventually get better. I have a follow up visit in mid December.

Brandy and I had our second time in the swing together since the accident and it was a bit easier getting out of it this time.  I will be tackling the stairs next because I only been up and then back down four since I fell.  I know the 200 foot walk down to the mailbox will have to wait a bit longer but I’ll get there.

Tomorrow my eldest and his wife will celebrate 20 years of wedded bliss so I hope to get down there for a short visit.

Today is September 12th which makes it time to take down the purple hues wreath for something more ‘fallish’.

The colors of Fall

When you can take grapevine wreaths and create seasonal displays the cost is lower and they can be stored in garbage bags, hung up on a nail, and ready at a moments notice to change the message at your entry door.  Of course I couldn’t forget Mrs. Crow because she is needed to reassure guests that they are indeed welcome to our humble abode.

I found a new flag for fall.

It will be Fall soon

As I have said before that not owning a stone goose to dress I have resorted to flags instead.  The newest  does indeed represent Fall, harvest, and the vivid colors soon to adorn the trees around us.  I have watch some of the yellow leaves falling around the yard but the full color change has not started yet.  The Cosmos are still blooming, along with the Snapdragons,  on the berm but they too will be gone soon.

My next appointment with Dr. Hemming is on Tuesday and I’m hoping for a good report on this leg.  There are a few things like kneeling to look under the bed or clean the tub that I need to do but I don’t want to mess the healing up.  So I’ll see what he has to say.

Oh the White Trees are done.

Six more ornaments to add to the box!

They were fun and quick to finish.  Now what is next.  I’ll have to check the to do box.

Jay just read that the ‘I Hate To Cook Book’ by Peg Bracken is 50 years old.  I stated that was nothing because he has been living with the I hate to cook 75 year old woman for 36 years.

Well the sun is shining, the Cosmos need dead heading, the Finches and Chickadees need food, and I need some good old outside air so I’m outta here!

I remember this day as one of great disbelief.  I kept thinking that it can’t happen here.  But it did and the sanctimonious cradle of this country was rocked with a violent and costly hand.  Thousands of lives were lost that day and a great many more as a result of the conflict between our Nation and other human beings who believe differently than us.

I shall fly no flag today but I will keep the memory of these great  losses in my heart and hope that someday people will learn to accept and respect each others beliefs.