Quilting In the Garden

I wanted to show you that even though I have been incredibly busy this summer, I was actually able to do a wee, tiny, itsy, Betsy bit of sewing. I had the components already cut out for this quilt and I was able to put this much together when my friends and I got together one weekend for a quilting day. Aren't the fabrics luscious? I can't take any credit for picking them out. One day Sweety and I took a drive down to the Clovis/Fresno area for some quilt and antique shopping for me and a visit to his favorite winery for him. I saw the quilt hanging in Quilter's Paradise in Clovis. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. I went back maybe five or six times and finally told myself, "Jean, for crying out loud, just buy the kit!!!" ( I sometimes have to be a little forceful with myself when I'm not co-operating!)

Here is the pattern and the picture shows how it will look when I'm done (cross your fingers everyone!). It was designed by their in-house designer Colette Belt. She has other patterns and kits available and I just love her work. I was a little stymied as to how to do the borders and I was able to call the shop and actually have her answer my questions. How cool is that?

If you are a quilter or a gardener or both or just like pretty things, mark your calendar for the annual Quilting In The Garden Show at Alden Lane Nursery in Livermore, California. You can read all about it here. It's September 26th and 27th and is a must see event. I'll be the one running around like a crazy person taking pictures with my little pink camera! Stop me and say hi!!!

For some reason my picture of the pattern is not enlarging and is showing a "Google error". Does anyone know what that is all about?

Well alrighty, then.....

Today was our grandson's first day back to school. As I usually do, I drive the 25 minutes to their house so I can accompany them to school. That is after taking pictures on their front porch......













Oh, right. There are no pictures! By the time I got to their house Redmond had already gone and walked to school (three blocks away). My daughter said that he was anxious to get going (a good sign) and didn't want to wait for us. We took Samuel to school and found Redmond in the playground. We could tell that it was off limits to make fuss over him. You know the look. The one that says, "Please, don't embarrass me!" Samuel, also, was making it clear that their would be no pictures. He was just too grown up for that!

So our summer of babysitting the boys is over. We had a great time with them and the days just literally flew by. There were so many things I wanted to do with them but just didn't get around to. Places I wanted to take them, projects I wanted to do with them, lessons I wanted to teach them.

But when all is said and done, I believe that Sweety and I did accomplish the number one thing on our "to do" list for summer. Let the boys know that they have grandparents that love them. After all, that is the most important thing we could do, isn't it?

Julie and Julia

Ok, I'm going to jump on the Julie and Julia band wagon. Sweety and I went last weekend to see it and we had a wonderful time. This movie is great! Everyone in the audience was laughing and thoroughly enjoying themselves. I highly recommend it. I give it a Five Scotties rating!

This is my copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Actually, I had given it to my daughter, but I have borrowed it back. There is a chicken dish in the movie I would like to attempt to duplicate. It was a gift from a friend and she wrote such a nice inscription in the front. Problem was, once I opened the book, there were a number of pages out of sequence and missing. The publisher had me return it and they sent me a new one. Fine, but now the sentiment isn't there anymore.

Notice the copyright of my copy? Yes, I've had it for years. I used to watch Julia's cooking show religiously. Sadly, her cooking prowess didn't rub off on me, but to this day I love to watch cooking shows. Sorta like, "oh, that is what the kitchen is for!" Tee Hee!


Watching the movie, I had no idea there was such an intricate and complex story behind the book. The years of disappointment and perseverance that it took to get it published is amazing. It got me to thinking. Every book that you read, every movie that you watch, every quilt pattern that you buy has a story behind it. Someone has had a dream of creating something worthwhile and they have put the effort into seeing that dream to fruition. In fact, sometimes the story behind the story is more interesting than the finished product itself.


What should we do? Well, for one thing, when I find an author whose books I enjoy, I write them a quick email and tell them. I have done this numerous times with authors and they always (always!) write me back and thank me. Most all of today's authors have web sites (and blogs) and have contact information. Artists (like the rest of us) all like to be appreciated and what they have done validated. Besides, it's the polite thing to do.

So go out and see the movie and then hop on over to Julie Powell's blog and say hello. Or finish that book you've been reading and let the author know how much you enjoyed it. Or just tell someone in your life that they mean something to you and you appreciate all you do. It's the easiest way I know to make yourself feel good, too.

Pink Roses

Beautiful roses from a beautiful lady!

Thank you, Dory.

I love you!!!

My Boys...

Sitting between them

on the sofa,

I read aloud

from their favorite books.

It's been a full day

for two tired boys,

and their little heads, heavy with sleep,

lean against my shoulders.

The story is only

halfway read,

when I know they both

have slipped away

to their dreaming place.

But I keep my voice low

and continue to read.

Should one or the other

partially wake,

as sometimes happens

when sleep is new,

I want them to think

that nothing's changed

in their little world,

so they'll feel safe.

Or maybe I just want

to lengthen the stay

of two small heads

leaning on me,

while I pretend

my world, too,

hasn't changed.

~Rae Turnbull

Lovely is as lovely does.....

The Lovely List is a new and unique blog dedicated to all things lovely. Read all about it here. Click on the "what and why" button at the top and Brandy will tell you all about what she hopes her blog will be.




And to make it even better, she will be giving away a cruiser bicycle once a month! How terrific and lovely is that?! Can you just see yourself tooling around town on this?

Lovely, indeed!

Pat Sloan's Apron Challenge

Pat Sloan of quilting fame is having an Apron Challenge. Read about it here. All you have to do is post a picture of your favorite apron, old or new, on her Flickr account. She'll draw a winner on August 10th.

Here's my entry. It's a promotional apron from Kellogg's Cereal Company of Battle Creek, Michigan. I was raised in Battle Creek and it seems like my entire family at one time or another worked there. My Mom and I like to collect Kellogg's memorabilia and she recently gave this apron to me.

Look closely, ladies. It's PLASTIC!!! Hilarious! I'm sure that Mrs. Cleaver, Beaver's mom, didn't wear a plastic apron.

See, I told you! An apron of heavenly, plastic loveliness! The back of the envelope the apron came in says:

With bib up it's practical in the kitchen - tuck bib down and it's smart for serving

Embossed Pique Texture!

Smart Floral Pattern!

Cleans with just a damp cloth!

I'm guessing that this is from the 1950's. Look at the address on the envelope. All they needed was a name and city and it was delivered! I wonder if Mrs. Chester Webb of Taylor, Arizona or her family know that I have her apron!

Now all I have to do is figure Flickr out and I'll post my entry! Easier said than done.......

Happy Anniversary

Happy 41st Anniversary, Sweety!!! Here's to 41 more years together!!

Is this heaven?

No, it's California!

Actually, if you've been reading the papers about the economic crisis in California, we are far from being anything like heaven.

But I love the little town I live in.

Except for the heat.

In the winter we have horrible fog and you can't even see the house across the street. You can go for more than a month without seeing blue sky.

We have a few glorious weeks in the spring and the fall when the weather is perfect.

We have no traffic and I can go months without getting on a freeway and drive on all country roads. We have wonderful produce stands where we can get all the fresh fruits and vegetables we want.

Sweety and I can go to the local diner and sit at our usual table and order our usual breakfast and the owner and waitress know us like we are friends.

I can go to the local antique shop and not get around to looking because I spend all my time talking to the owner because she's a friend.

You can drive less than an hour and see the beautiful sky and the Sierra Nevada mountains. Go a little further and you are in Yosemite National Park.

What am I getting at? What do you love about where you live, but what do you dislike? No place is perfect for sure. But what pros outway the cons for you? I'm interested in hearing from you.

Food, Glorious Food!

As I promised you in my previous post, I want to show you some of the wonderful places we were able to eat at while on our trip to Monterey. Our first stop was lunch at Casa de Fruita and as always, the food is very good. Good old diner food. Nothing fancy but great. Oh, don't forget to order dessert because they have some outrageous pies!

Our first dinner was at Louie Linguini's. They have Italian food but I always order the fish and chips. One thing I always try to do when booking motels is to get one that has a free breakfast. Even if it's something small it saves money and time as well. Redmond especially loves to go down and eat as many muffins as he wants.

Thursday we had a wonderful time exploring Old Fisherman's Wharf. Samuel and Redmond just love sea food.

Samuel eating shrimp.

Redmond eating his first of two cups of shrimp and clams with spicy cocktail sauce. Did I ever mention that he doesn't eat hamburgers or pizza or any kind of sandwich? He has a very sophisticated palate.

See what I mean about Redmond? We went to Domenico's on the Wharf for lunch. It's a really nice restaurant with marvelous views of the bay. He ordered a plank of all sorts of smoked fish. Not only a sophisticated palate, but an expensive one!

Thursday night we ate at one of our favorite restaurants in Monterey, Willy's. According to my husband, they have the best bar-b-que ribs of anywhere and he has eaten bar-b-que ribs from coast to coast and all over the South. There is nothing on the menu at Willy's that isn't great. From their brisket to the macaroni and cheese to the grits. Simply wonderful. Also, they have some of the best employees of any restaurant we've been in. A must if you visit the area. It's in Cannery Row next to the Imax Theater.

AAAhhhhhhhh, sweet bliss!!!

This is some serious food here! Check out that mac and cheese.

When we were taking the boys to the My Museum (see previous post) I noticed this bakery across the street. It is called the Paris Bakery. After the kids had played at the museum we all went over and ate. The baked goods are wonderful, such a great selection. They also serve lunch and have quite a nice selection of sandwiches, soup and salads. I had what they called a Paris Croissant(I believe I have the name correct). O - M - G !!!!! It was thin sliced ham and Swiss cheese on a croissant, covered with bechamel sauce (BECHAMEL SAUCE LADIES!!!) and heated. You Monterey-ites have it so lucky with this place. I would be there every single day if I lived in the area.

Sweety and I have decided that we want to go to as many of the featured restaurants on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives as we can. So on the way home we stopped at Duarte's in Pescadero, which is on the coast highway between Monterey and Half Moon Bay. Sweety ordered their Abalone Sandwich which is one of their signature dishes. He loved it. They are also know for their Artichoke Soup. I had high hopes for it, but didn't care for it at all. Just being real there folks.

After Pescadero we pulled into Half Moon Bay and spent the night. Then it was further up the coast a little ways to Pacifica. After Pacific it's just a hop, skip and a jump and you are in San Francisco. In Pacifica is another restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, Gorilla Bar-B-Que. It's literally in an old train box car and is take-out only. They open at noon and people start lining up early. The hours are Wednesday through Monday from noon till sold out and closed on Tuesday. This is one serious bar-b-que joint!

If you happen to have been driving up Highway 1 in California last week and noticed two little boys sitting and eating ribs on a fence by a parking lot, it was Redmond and Samuel! Sweety and I were there too. Making pigs of ourselves eating pork.

There you have it folks. A sampling of some of the restaurants we ate at on our little adventure. Eating isn't all we do on vacation. But oh, what fun it is to find great restaurants!!