With Friends and Family!

Well remember I said that we were meeting friend of ours from AZ?
We met at our favorite restaurant for lunch – always seem to choose this one because we know we’ll get a wonderful meal.

Emily and Joe were the perfect little lady and gentleman…they greeted Mare and Jim properly – which I knew they would even without prompting. I can always count on them!
Joe brought along his #2 Harry Potter movie so they could watch it on the ride to and from.
An hour in the car each way gets a tad long when you are 10 and 12.

Here they are in the car…not sure what Joe was doing with his tongue.
 

Won’t bore you with detail…so here’s the gang!
We had a super wonderful hour and a half lunch and caught up with so much from the past year.

When we headed back home we stopped for gas and who should pull in as well but them! I caught Mare off guard with the camera when I realized it was their car….I think I took her by surprise when I yelled her name…

 

So there you have it!

It’s pouring out right now…and badly needed. The grass everywhere looks like late Summer.
We’re heading back into Janesville today to meet my Niece Tina and her husband for lunch at Applebee’s.

She made a rag quilt for me for our daughter in-laws birthday so we’re picking it up…I wish Tina would make and sell these on the web because she’s fantastic at putting the right colors together but she said she likes doing it for friends and family instead.

I’ll take a picture of it later tonight and put it in my next post.
Till then take care, stay safe and be happy

Hugs, Karen

Barn Quilts

Morning Everyone…when it rains it pours…so they say! lol

As if it wasn’t hot enough outside and all you want to do is be inside…that’s not where I want to be right now – OUR AIR WENT OUT AGAIN but this time it’s really not the air, it’s the fan on the furnace – the air turns on but doesn’t blow any air out– so we tried the furnace and the fan isn’t working. Did all we could to find the problem but nothing!
So…a call to the furnace people…not for $150 an hour am I having someone come out…I’ll use fans!
Hopefully they will be here the first thing tomorrow but we have a feeling that parts need to be ordered…nothing more to say on this subject!!!

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Well I was treated with something special over this weekend…I found Barn Quilts…now I’m sure most of you have seen these but I never have…WOW, have I been missing something.

A couple weeks ago while driving up our highway I noticed a quilt square on a barn (the one above)…these are so huge you just can’t miss seeing them and what a glorious site…it must have gone up recently because I never noticed it before.

I was intrigued by it but never said anything to my husband but yesterday when he was reading the paper he saw an article on Barn Quilts and read it to me….WALLA…we have them right here in our own town!

So I proceeded to look them up on the internet and found a blog with all these links to Barn Quilts.

Here’s the introduction to the link I found for my county:
And the link: http://www.quiltsonbarns.com/

“Visitors traveling the rural roads of Racine County in Southeastern Wisconsin this Fall will see even more color than what Mother Nature is offering when they look for bright quilt patterns mounted on historic barns. Fifteen barns, starting in October 2008, along with six new barns in 2009, will be sporting 8 x 8 foot square painted plywood quilt patterns, all visible from the road, to launch Quilts on Barns-the Beauty of Rural Art. The ambitious project, cosponsored by the nonprofit Racine Arts Council in conjunction with the Racine County Convention and Visitors Bureau, will include 45 quilts on barns during the next three years.”

Now I’m not sure just how many more were added since 2009 but I’m sure there are many more.

I won’t bore you with any more ‘words’…just pictures and link so you can see these beauties for yourself and check out the links in her blog for a County in your area.
http://barnquiltmemories.blogspot.com/

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

So how’s that for beauty????  Aren’t they just gorgeous.

Well tomorrow we have the two little ones for the day and we’re going to Janesville to meet some friends from Mesa, AZ who will be traveling through on their way to their sons place in Wisconsin Rapids – we meet every year for this couple hour lunch and then they are on their way. One of these winters we’re going to make some serious plans to go visit them in Mesa.

Mare and Jim have been friends since I was in high school…she lived in Wisconsin Rapid, me in Janesville but we met through my 3rd cousin who worked at a hotel where her mother worked in Wis. Rapids and we were introduced one summer when my mother and I went up there for a visit….been friends since. We were in each other’s weddings as well.
Love ya Mare, can’t wait to see ya!

I can’t find the current photo from last July…this is the year before.

 

Well guys – not much else to add here.
It’s another hot day and supposed to rain.
I know it’s this way all across the US so we’re all suffering together (or loving it! But not me!).

Hey, I forgot to mention….I changed out the look of my Popular Selling Blog…it’s very Americana and works better with the header/logo…..go check it out.

I might have a short week here because on Friday we’re heading up north to a cousin’s reunion and won’t be back until Sunday night and no computer.

Oh….we get to see Billy ( from St. Kitts) he’s flying in a week from this next Friday to stay with us because it’s my husbands and his 50th class reunion so he’s staying with us through Monday….yeah!!!!
Linda isn’t making the trip because their house is up for sale and they don’t want to miss out on a hopeful buyer. We’ll miss ya kiddo!

I know….that’s information you needed to know, right?…sorry – you know me when I get rambling….things just come out, I can’t help myself.

Hugs, to all
Karen

A Wonderful Birthday and a New Look

I’m not really feeling much older but maybe a bit wiser!

So now after our huge weekend we’re just pooped
and relaxing – and I had time to revamp my Blog –
not sure if I like it because there are some areas
I don’t know how to change – tried but need help.
I can’t get the header to center…any ideas what to do?

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This was  a very full birthday weekend to say
the least…we haven’t  been home much
at all since early Friday morning.

We left here to head to Janesville on Friday to pick up
a few needed items at some of the big box stores which
we do not have close to us…it’s always a jaunt
if we need anything major.
After shopping most of the morning and through
lunch time we ate lunch at Red Robin.
We only had appetizers and walked out of there after
paying a $24+ tab! Yikes…
But it was good!!

We then called my brother to see if they were
going to be at my aunts place
because we wanted to visit her and thought it would
be nice if we all were there at the same time.
As it was he was just on his way there to
visit her so our timing was great.

Well, as usual she had made a dessert and
offered us some – trying to be
nice guests we naturally said YES, thank you!!!!
It was just carrot cake but very, very good.

Headed back home in time to do a couple chores
and decided we just weren’t hungry so had a pizza and
chips…sometimes that’s our ‘don’t know what to have’
meal but it works.

So on to Saturday – we got up early to walk
so we could beat the heat but it beat us…very warm
at 7 a.m. and got humid very fast…the walk
was an hour and I was beat by the time we got
home but cleaned up and headed out to
Menards for some lawn materials and then
I got kind of a dizzy feeling and a bit sickish
feeling too – I know it was the heat and also not
having anything to eat so we went to George Webb’s
for breakfast – only ate half my meal but it did help.

On to home, did some cleaning, laundry and then got
ready to head to Janesville to go out to eat
with my brother/wife and my sister.

A great meal was had as usual and the company
I couldn’t ask for better…my siblings are my best friends!

They sky was horrid when we headed out and
fortunately we pushed all the screen room furniture into
the center anticipating a good rain – and sure enough –
as we headed back into town around 9 p.m.
we saw branches, twigs, leaves and other items strewn
everywhere…there was a huge storm that went through shortly
after we left with wind, rain and then tons of hail…even when
we got home there were piles of it on our porches
in the corners and a couple of our tomato plants were
battered as well as the plants in the garden.
The man next door said he never gets concerned
in a storm but this one was huge
and the hail came so fast and thick.
Glad I wasn’t here.
Here’s what the sky looked like as we were leaving
doesn’t look too scary but it was only 4 p.m.
Lots of lightening in the light cloud

But here’s what we saw on our way home at 8 p.m.
Still stormy but a great sunset

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Then today (Sunday) our middle son held a brunch
at his home for my birthday with all our family –
it just keeps going and going!

He made bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, toast,
fruit and the most wonderful new red potatoes he fried
with onions/green peppers/garlic cloves and
seasoned with ‘Famous Dave’s’ seasoning.
I’m wanting more!

Oh and a wonderful fruit tart with ice cream
for dessert – perfect!
I took over fixins’ for Mimosa’s –
oh I have a headache right now!

So that’s my weekend.

So now that I bored you with all this chatter –
here are just a couple photos from today…
wish I had some decorating photos but
haven’t purchased anything or tweaked anything lately.

 

Husband was in charge of the camera both days
so we don’t have many interesting photos!
He doesn’t like to take pictures

Today at Brunch

Alex brought me a bunch of flowers
She stopped and picked them out
one by one before coming over…
she’s just the sweetest granddaughter!

 
Didn’t get pictures of Mary Ann or Jamie…not sure why…
Sorry girls…love ya!

Thanks so all my family for a wonderful birthday weekend
I needed it more than you know.
HUGS!

Karen and Mom

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Did it change the look of the bedroom!

Did it change it at all?
I’ve had my Tobacco Cloth panels for some time now and was waiting until I got my bedroom repapered….well, the
old paper isn’t off yet so it became a thorn in me waiting
for the panels to go up….I like the look but I think I
do need to get the old paper off and some new darker up… (just a bit darker though).

What prompted me today was ‘boredom’ and needing to
wash my curtains so I started taking off the valances and
I liked what I saw. It seems that over the years my brain said ‘you need valances’ so they went up – I liked having them off so that got me thinking – I’ll put up the panels and see
how I like them as long as the windows were going to be
bare anyway….and walla….new curtains and I also put
on my woven bedspread I bought last year at
Family Heirloom Weavers – it didn’t sell so now it’s mine….I have the plaid one just like it so I can change off if I want to.

This is the original look:

Here it is just now after taking down the
valances – brightened it up somewhat didn’t it:

Now here it is with the panels up and bedspread on
I know it darkened it again but not real bad:
 

Yesterday Darren and MaryAnn stopped over after Darren’s MRI…yes, he’s having even more difficulty – not only does he have limited use of the right arm but the left is getting numb again plus he’s having tremors and forgetting things or not relating to things and his balance is off a bit…PLEASE PRAY FOR HIM…he really needs Gods help right now!

Oh, and as things go like they do…his job was terminated because of his problem and can’t do any of the jobs – but they did say even though they had to file the ‘routine’ paper work…his job will be reviewed after everything is settled….
I DON’T SEE IT SETTELING!

I’m angry over the whole situation with that horrible Dr. and I pray he gets his lawsuit going quickly before the insurance company drops the Dr. fast.
Sorry – I get all worked up about that!

And while they were here Dan and Jamie stopped by, they’re both on vacation and were heading out to the lake with their boat  so wanted to say hi to all of us.

Can’t think of anything else right now….guess I’ve
been really bored to post three in a week!

Doug will be home tomorrow afternoon but we don’t
have any holiday plans and that’s just fine – hope you all have a SAFE AND HAPPY 4th

Karen