I just saw this commercial on TV for the second time and both times I found it just creepy. When I went to youtube to see if I could share it with you guess how it was titled....."Creepy Tobasco commercial". I see that I am not alone. What do you think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhQONWClOjA
AND....I really can't figure out what it is that creeps me out about it!
AND....will I be able to look at pepperoni pizza the same way again, let alone eat it!!
click to enlarge.....
Rick and I set out this morning to see some fall leaves. The weather was bright and sunny, although a little foggy in spots when we started at 9:00 a.m. We went to the eastern part of West Virginia to a spot known as The Dolly Sods Wilderness Area.
This is a very interesting spot with an interesting history. Check it out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_Sods_Wilderness
Dolly Sods is one of my favorite spots in West Virginia, especially in the fall. The whole trip to and from is just gorgeous.
I'll just post a few highlight pictures, and if you are interested in seeing the rest you can check them out at
http://s374.photobucket.com/albums/oo181/quiltingmeme/leaf%20peeping%202009/
This picture above is known as "The Saddle". History states that Nancy Hanks Lincoln was born in the area.
The view from the top of the plateau.
I have no clue how many miles are
visible from this location....but it
seems like forever!
The dirt road up and through the Sods.
This looked like God made a quilt
and laid it out over this hill. The
bright red is wild blueberries.
OK, I have finished today's West Virginia
History lesson. I'll bid you goodbye!
Blessings,
Becky
(click to enlarge)
What fun!
I started at 10:00 a.m. which was 7:00 a.m. in Tucson where the hostess lives. The mystery was divided into quarters.
This is the outcome of the first quarter (on the left) and the second quarter (to the right)
Then I completed the third quarter....
I'm watching football in my sewing room so since we are calling these segments "quarters" I feel like I'm right in the game!!!
Then 2 of the above sections were joined to make a square. (I forgot to take a picture) Duh.
The blocks were then joined together and here is the finished product.....
I didn't sew on feet. That's Rick being my helper for photographs! I love how it turned out!!
This morning before I even got started my DIL Cole was here picking up the grands and wandered in to see what fabric I was using.
She got excited.
She asked me what I was going to do with the quilt.
I said I didn't know.
I asked her if she would like it.
She said yes.
Quilt is headed her way.
It all happened so fast!!!!!! :)
So that is my mystery quilt. It was an awful lot of fun. I'd do it again.
Blessings,
Becky
I have done all my preparatory tasks and I am ready for the big online mystery quilt in the morning!
Here are my 3 fabrics
Cut in squares
Marked to sew my half square triangles
Half squares sewn, cut apart, ironed and trimmed to size
I can't wait to see how it turns out!
Blessings,
Becky
....the face of the earth!
But, I've been totally out of whack for several different reasons. Kinda depressed, busy with the grands, traveling with Rick, just in a fog, I guess.
I have tried the last couple of weeks to change my attitude.....which is the only way any of the rest will change. I dread winter.....I suffer the winter blahs in the worst way and I just hate to see it start. Therefore, the attempt, with God's help, to short circuit it by going on the offensive before it gets here. We'll see how it goes.
I am so far behind on the Birthday block swap it is embarrassing. I have 2 made, but have not been able to make myself mail them. I apologize. I have the fabric ready to make most all of the others so since I will be home for the next 3 weeks I hope to get all caught up and mailed. Please know that you will get yours if I owe you one already.
I miss the quilting so much. I get so much enjoyment and peace from it.....but sometimes the effort to pick up the needle or walk to the sewing machine is more than I can handle. My butt print just deepens on my chair. New way of thinking...up an at 'em!
So in an effort to facilite this new thinking, I joined a mystery quilt event on an Online Quilter group I am in for this Saturday. I finally got my material cut last night and prepped a pile of squares to make half square triangles prior to Saturday. I'm hoping to carve out the time to do that tomorrow, then cut, press and square up after. I am excited...I have never done a mystery quilt before and I think it will be fun.
Christmas presents for the grands are ordered and most of them have arrived. Rick's gifts are mostly complete as well. I like to have my shopping essentially done before Thanksgiving....I am not a holiday crowd person. Well, actually that is not true. I don't necessarily mind the people, I just don't want to shop and try to check out among them. Does that make sense? Milling around and looking at decorations and listening to singing.....stuff like that, I have no problem. But pushing and shoving and rudeness that bubbles to the surface this time of year is just a pain. So I try to do a lot of online shopping (with free shipping) and only wade into the crowd at my leisure and pleasure.
I leave you with some new pics of the grands.....they are growing sooooo much.
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I'll try to be a better blogging buddy and will post my mystery quilt!
(Click to enlarge!)
We are having a great time "vacating" here at Deep Creek Lake. We love the efficiency we rent. The owners have really made it feel like a home and we always request it when we make our reservations. It's on the first floor so we can just walk out to the beach. Rick uses the beach a lot.....me, not so much. I hate sand. But I use the patio space to read, stitch, etc.
Libby & Joe brought their parents down for the day today. Everyone had a big time. I even went down in the sand to take pictures!
I took a dozen pictures of Joe and this was all I could get that wasn't the top of his head. He was sooooo busy and focused on the sand. Corey looks entertained, too, doesn't he. Joe demolished an Oreo after lunch!!
Libby ate her supper really well so she could dive into the bag of candy Pappy bought her at Candyland. She got candy necklaces, M&M's, lollipops, and all sorts of goodies. Candyland in Oakland advertises they have 700 kinds of candy (I didn't count), but we put Libby in the buggy, gave her a bag and she and her Mommy picked some out. They also have a vegetable/fruit side in the store......so we ended checking out with all kinds of candy, sugar free and real......and one tomato. The clerk said as she checked us out....."well, at least here's something healthy" . (Hang head in shame here.)
I have been knitting along on my scarf. I did find the pattern......
Here's the progress so far
I may get it done in a year or two......
So, that's it for now. Will report back in a few days.
Blessings,
Becky
We've arrived at the Lake for our last week of vacation. The weather is very sunny and we're supposed to have nice weather until Tuesday....and then only isolated t-storms of the typical summertime variety. Everything is unpacked and I'm getting ready to make the grocery list.
I brought my electric fan quilt to work on, and also a knitting project. I started a scarf for myself at the end of winter/early spring, then put it away when it started warming up. It is still warm, very warm, but I would like to get it done before I need to use it. I have to find the pattern again. I know it's bookmarked on the computer....along with a few dozen others, so I hope I can recognize the pattern by looking at it and match it up. I'll let you know how it goes. :)
One thing I am not going to do this time is put the cushion behind my back for support. I haven't totally recovered from the last time!
Before I forget....I had a few comments on my sister-in-law's quilt in her bedroom.
It is very pretty....it is a JC Penney model made in China. Still pretty.
I'm headed for my knitting bookmarks.....talk to you all later.
Blessings,
Becky
(click to enlarge)
We went to Rick's sister's home to have a welcome home cookout for our nephew, Brandon. He went for a 5 week trip (class) to Ghana and he had some great stories to tell. There was a great group of folks there. All of our (Rick & Becky's) family was there, and several members of Danny's (BIL) family. I forgot my camera.......:( but Cole saved the day and we got to take a few pics before her battery went south.The girls playing with magnetic paper dolls with Nancy and my niece Brittany.
Joe being happy, and building a rock pile on the wall. He went full tilt and wore himself totally out.
Mia, Nancy and Chris enjoying the cupcakes.... especially Mia....it was all over her and the patio! :)Libby and Aunt DeeDee found a cat that would let her pet her....Libby's cat hisses and runs. She enjoyed this!
We had a wonderful time, great food and a nice visit. Hope we can do it again soon.
Blessings,
Becky
I hate to be home without Rick.....but occasionally it does happen. I make myself find things to do that I enjoy that I won't/don't wanna do when he is home. This week I have found myself going to bed fairly early to read in the quiet (except for the fox).
When Rick is home I enjoy staying up with him in the den....even if we don't talk. I know, it's weird.
I also got an urge for Taco Salad and just took off yesterday evening to Taco Bell to satisfy that urge. So I drove 15 or so minutes to the nearest Taco Bell and the same distance back.....and set down to stuff my face.
I went to spend some time with my Aunt Bett today. She is in town (she lives about 25 minutes away) to sit with one of her granddogs. I buzzed over with 2 green tomatoes and her promise to fix me her wonderful fried green tomatoes. She kept her promiseand we chowed down. Yummy!!!
We also talked about quilting, I marked a little on my dresden plate top, and miraculously we solved all the world's problems with our jabbering!!! :) Now y'all can rest!
My Aunt Bett is one special person. She loves me when no one else will/can. She
still calls me her "little Becky". Gotta love that one!!! She has 4 children of her own, but they realize I'm the 5th one. We were all very close growing up, and even though I don't get to see the cousins very often, it's just like picking up where we left off when we do see one another. Aunt Bett is one of the only folks that can "exhort" me when I need it. As I told my mom when I was 4 after I stayed with them for the weekend......"Aunt Bett and I had a heart to heart talk". (I needed more like my butt smacked).
She is working on a quilt-as-you-go project for her new great-grandson. I quilted a few of the squares for her to help her out, but I think she can do the rest. Then we'll get together and haul out the Georgia Bonesteel book and assemble it. Another fun day.
Rick comes home tomorrow afternoon and Libby and Joe will be over after their naps to spend the weekend. That will keep us hopping! Then he will be on the road next week Tuesday-Friday. More reading for me!!!
Also, my dear sweet friend Molly gave me a friend award. Awwwwww, how sweet!
Blessings,
Becky
Thanks to Auntie Em I have solved the mystery!!!!
She sent me looking for the cry of the Fisher Cat. At that site, there was also a recording of the screech of the RED FOX!!!!! THAT'S IT! Exactly. Whoopee! I'm
not losing my mind!
I do know we have foxes in the area, so that makes good sense, too. Listen to that thing.....doesn't it sound horrific????
Thank you so much Auntie Em. My internet family comes to my rescue again!
Blessings to all of you,
Becky
Well, I can't sleep, and it's no wonder!!!!
Rick is away on a business trip and I didn't go with him this time.....but that is not the reason.
I was in bed reading about 10:00 tonite....no TV.....windows open as always..... when I hear this horrid shrieking!! We live in a subdivision with 2 acre lots, so neighbors are around but not close. We are 10+ miles out of town in the country, lots of woods, pastures and undeveloped land surrounds us. So there is no noise of any kind out here. Well, as I pried myself loose from the ceiling beams, I kept hearing this sound. It is very loud! Coming from probably 15 yards away from the house in the wooded area. For awhile I couldn't tell if it was animal or human. The only thing I could compare it to was a mountain lion I remembered hearing 40 years ago off at a distance....but I thought that seemed highly unlikely. We do have a bear around here, and turkeys, and foxes, and skunks and opossums, and raccoons.......the usual wildlife. The sound kept on fairly steady for about 10 minutes, fading and coming closer, like it was moving.....but no rustling, no twigs breaking,no voices or noises, nothing but this screaming!
I happened to have my computer with me so I started looking up animal sounds....beginning with the mountain lion (so I could start breathing again when I could rule it out). Well, you got it.......the closest sound I could find was the Florida panther scream . I don't know whether West Virginia panthers make a similar sound or some poor southern panther's GPS is all screwed up.
I can't wait till tomorrow to ask some neighbors if they heard it.....and hopefully they can identify it and it will not be a mountain lion!!!!! I honestly think I was the only nut that had my windows open, but if anyone was in bed with the tv off they would have to have heard it!!!!! LOUD, I'm tellin ya!!!
So my adrenaline is running high for the next few hours. Of all times for Rick to be gone. Not that I'm afraid....but I'll wonder if I'm losing my mind if no one else heard it! :) When I was looking out of all my doors, I couldn't see that any other neighbor even turned a light on! What was really weird was that none of the neighborhood dogs barked or anything! No sound but the screaming and the faint ping of my hair curling!
Sweet dreams to all,
Becky
Ok, y'all......I'm done.
I'm done with the pity party I was having for myself yesterday.
Sometimes I get so full of myself I can't stand myself! Thank you for all your kind, encouraging words....they did help more than you could know. I came to realize in the middle of the night that I needed to snap out of it....the depression. I can't snap out of the back stuff (would that I could!), but I can have a better attitude than I have had.
I woke up with the idea I would do the max of whatever it is that I can do for that day. I know I can't run a race, or lift much of anything. But I can move and I think more movement (in the right way) will probably make my back looser (does that make sense?) and each day will be better.
I decided to go to church even though that meant a fair amount of walking and sitting. I didn't stand the 30 minutes for the worship part....I sat down when I started spazzing. We have great comfortable padded theater seating, so the sitting wasn't so bad at all. And of course, the whole experience completed my attitude adjustment....God has a way of doing that. :)
So, thank you all for letting me a brat and still loving me. I've got my big girl panties on and I'm dealing with it. I'll be batching it this week....Rick has to go to New York and I am not going....his boss is going. So I'm gonna do some hand stitching, watch my "Upstairs, Downstairs" dvds, and play music really LOUD!!!
I may even dance a little bit.
Love you all,
Becky
A quick note to let you know I am improving with my back woes. I feel like I'm 85% where on Monday I was 25%. My biggest problem is the back spasms all over my back from where I am starting to loosen up. The best place is bed and I'm am waaaaay over that, let me tell you. But when I stay up too long, I'm happy to get there! I went to get my hair cut this afternoon and did a little go-round Wal-Mart and now I am all "spazzed". I spent a couple of hours in bed, got up for awhile and now am thinking my nest is looking pretty good again. Ugh. Let's just say the most I can do about quilting is thinking about it! also reading about y'all quilting!
I am starting to get very depressed about this whole mess.....very depressed.
Becky
We are now at home for awhile. We have another week booked in mid-August. Sometimes we skip out on this next one to go somewhere else. We'll see. We really enjoyed the rest this week.
Yesterday it rained. That was OK. The rain is really needed. We drove up to Grantsville, MD for a little day trip. We had a delicious lunch at Casselman's Restaurant. We both had hot roast beef sandwiches (homemade bread) with mashed potatoes and gravy. YUM! This is a big Mennonite/Amish area. The restaurant is run by the Mennonite folks....hence the delicious food and the shoo-fly pie on the menu. It always gives me pause when I eat there......they play instrumental hymns over the stereo system. That doesn't bother me at all, but I have to admit I felt kinda awkward eating coleslaw to the strains of "Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me". I felt like I should be praying instead of eating!!! :)
We went across the road to Four Seasons Stitchery, one of my favorite "sorta-local" (1 1/2 hrs. away) quilt shops. As usual when he travels to a quilt stop with me, Rick takes a nap in the car, then comes in to take care of the $$$$. This time my total was $85.49. I tell you this only because when we got back in the car, he looked over at me and said, "Where's the rest of it?" Very brilliantly (I thought), I answered, " Huh?" He said, "There's $85 worth of stuff in that bag?" hehehehe
It isn't very big, is it.
This is what it contained.........2 quilting stencils,ruler, 2 thimbles, 3 packs of betweens, a presser, a pattern for a table runner, and the 5 fabrics to make it. $85.49 Eek! I was only intending to get the all the notions...no material or anything else. BUT, I saw this fabric and fell in love with it. It will make a great table runner for a log home decorated with blues and tans. Y'all know all too well how that goes, doncha.
We rested throughout the evening, got up this morning, packed up and started home. We stopped by the local farmer's market to see what treasures we could find there.
There was beautiful produce, flowers, herbs, jewelry, soaps, lotions, baked goods and jams. If our car wasn't so stuffed I would have bought more goodies. As it is, we got sweet corn, green tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, 2 pecks of green beans, zucchini, summer squash and ripe tomatoes.
The best surprise was meeting up with my baby brother and sister-in-law in the parking lot. They live half an hour away from the market and we live an hour away so it was certainly a chance meeting.So now we are home, sweet home and I am getting ready to string beans.
Blessings,
Becky
The weather continues to impress us, although it is a little humid today and cloudy...anticipating some rainfall this afternoon and overnight. I think everyone needs rain, so I don't mind having some showers around.
I spent yesterday afternoon reading. I completed "Keeping the House" by Ellen Baker, which was recommended by Nancy-Rose, I think. It's loosely based around quilting, but I like the 3 generation story woven in. I couldn't put it down, so I was turning off my Kindle at 1:00 a.m.
I also read the book written by my dear friend, Barbara Marshak."Hidden Heritage" is a biography of Paul LaRouche, a Lakota Indian and his impact on the Native American music scene. Good read, Barb!! Molly....your copy will be in the mail the first of next week when I get home and can get to the P. O.
Also, I read "A Single Thread" by Marie Bostwick, and recommended by Erin (Vesuvius Mama). It was very good. I'm gonna download the sequel...hopefully I can read it soon.
This post is kinda bare, without any artwork....so I think I will just decorate with a vintage splash.Blessings,
Becky
(Click to enlarge)
We are enjoying a week at Deep Creek Lake, MD. There's no pressure to do anything, see anything or anyone (we've been coming up here 10 years for a least 2 different weeks a summer and some long weekends throughout the year. It's our getaway spot. It's only an hour away from our house. We rent a ground-floor efficiency apartment at Will-O-The-Wisp .
This is the view from our patio.
I set up my sewing station out there yesterday morning and stitched on Leatha's Electric Fan for several hours. It was perfect weather.....high 74 degrees and low humidity.
My sewing station......
We have company today. Libby and Corey came up to play.
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Pappy, Corey & Libby soaking up some rays >>>>>>
I'm currently stitching while Libby naps in the bunk bed in a tee-tiny bedroom. (I'll post pics of the apt. next post.) Rick and Corey are beaching and riding the Sea-Doo on the lake.
Talk to y'all again soon!
Blessings, Becky
I'm a few days late, but better late than never, I guess.
We left the Adirondacks and headed back to the Fingerlakes region and beyond.
We got to Niagara Falls about 1:00 p.m. and checked in to our hotel. Rick splurged and got us a suite on the 33rd floor with a view of the falls.
We were entertained with the Sunday night fireworks display.........and the lights of the city
So we slept with the window open listening to the falls all night.....very soothing.
Now we are home, and I am scrambling about with laundry and keeping grands and going to Bible Study and packing for our vacation week up at Deep Creek Lake, MD next week. We also jammed in a surprise birthday party for our son Chris, and Libby will celebrate her third birthday on Saturday. We'll head for the lake from there. This is always a time of being a slug. I read a bunch of books, stitch some quilt stuff and sometimes knit. Just. a. slug.
Blessings to all,
Becky
as always....click to enlarge!
We slept in a little bit, then ventured downtown to do a little shopping. We didn't buy a thing. Who was that person.....surely not me!!!!! :)
We had a bite of lunch at a cafe, then headed out to visit the Vanderbilt's. Their
Grand Camp, Sagamore, is nearby. If you were as nutty as I was about A&E's American Castles, you have seen it. Very interesting, for sure
This is the dining room on the left and the play room on the right. Both free standing buildings where guests and family gathered as community.
Here is the family dwelling.....small little shack, isn't it. hehehe
This is the common room and it's fireplace.So we had a great tour.....had a wonderful Italian dinner at Frankie's. Stuffed to the gills!!!!
Next we will travel to Niagara Falls. More later,
Blessings,
Becky
