Visitors and Travel

Well I thought I had a post started.... about a week or so ago.... but alas... must have been snatched by that pesky computer gremlin, (which I hope has been excised by taking a very old copy of Photoshop off).

I have been busy!!! Very, very busy. And I will be busy for the next week or so... and then I hope things start to settle down and I can begin a routine that has me focusing on "I Have a Notion" as my primary goal. So what has kept me from it?

On September 2 I collected 2

friends from South Africa at O'Hare International Terminal and then the fun began. We spent the next 3 days playing in the Chicagoland area. A ''quilt store" (only one of my friends was a quilter), and the rest of the stops were landmarks and traditional touristy things. We did not make it to Willis Tower, aka Sears Tower (birds eye view was not high on the list), but we did the North Shore south bound driving in, visited Navy Pier, took a 

Lake Cruise, the Chicago Cultural Center, Cloudgate, Buckingham Fountain, considered the Field Museum, walked along the waterfront, some of Michigan Avenue, and a bit of the downtown area streets as we walked everywhere after parking the car (about 6 miles). The following day we took it very easy and went to the Chicago Botanic Garden for a day of tranquility, (although many others thought to do the same thing as well).

On our way back to N Kentucky we stayed on the
smaller highways and avoided the Interstate. There is a small well established Amish town called Arthur, which we also stopped in. Once home we spent a few days.... visiting around town. Since I live on the Bourbon Trail of Kentucky, we made a trek over to the Makers Mark distillery for the the tour and to see the Chihuly Art Glass exhibit. We explored quilty things and some golf things... One of the quilty things was a visit to New Albany IN to see the "Form not Function" exhibit at the Carnegie Museum. One word Spectacular!!!

On September 12 we headed over to Paducah for the first annual Fall Show! We arrived after a meandering drive through the Land

Between the Lakes with enough time to beat the crowd at Hancocks of Paducah Fabrics!!! We spent a few hours looking and choosing just the right fabrics. I brought
some home too!!! We spent the next 3 days looking the quilts, visiting vendors and exploring Paducah. It was my first time with more than one day so I was able to see all the venues and antique stores, along with the Museum and the waterfront.

After Paducah we parted company, me for home and they were heading to O'Hare via the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains. From the pictures they have posted, Mother Nature has given them a glimpse of fall color too.

I had a blast hosting and returning the favor to visitors that showed and shared so much of their South Africa with us. Can't wait to do it again...Travel home safely my friends I will miss you.

Next.... a few pictures of the Fall Paducah show. As Always, more later!  Beth

Love and it's Many Forms

Sometimes love is expressed with gifts to a friend.

Sometimes love is expressed by claiming what is loved.

Sometimes love is expressed with the amazing gifts of nature.

Other times....it is expressed in the pleasure of Flamingos!

And Flamingo Parents watching their children play in the leaves.

How ever you find Love today....embrace it!

With Love,

Kelly

More about my trip to PA

As we pulled out of Eleanor's driveway I snapped this photo. Interesting sky's!!

After visiting Eleanor's house, we went to Pizza Hut to meet Anya and Susan for lunch. Susan won the giveaway (bag tags of course) for guessing who's shirts my boys were wearing in the picture a few weeks back. So I took them to give to her. This was the first time I had met Susan. Oh we had fun. I knew I was in for some fun when I saw everyone with their handmade bags.

Mary Jane, Susan, and Anya

Susan with her bag tags.

" Bloggifers" or "Blogologists" or "Blog-on-an-on-ists"

After lunch, we went to Needles Quilt Shop in Wellsboro to visit Mary and Katie. If you've not been to Needles in Wellsboro, you need to go. You'll be greeted warmly and treated like you have been coming for years. They'll help you out with anything they can and if they can't.....they sure do know someone who can. I bought some batiks to make an apron for my daughters wedding shower. I'm in charge of bringing the tea towels and apron for the kitchen gadget basket. We could not stay long because Bill put dinner in the oven early (MJ's hungry husband)....so we ran back to the house for dinner.

I got to meet "Betsy" (Bernina 820) for the first time. This is MJ's new baby girl. Oh this machine does everything including thread the needle and cutting the thread when it stops. I was waiting for it to start talking but it only beeped. I was afraid to really play around too much.....what a nightmare if I jammed it or somehow it stopped when I was sitting in the chair. No problems though.....she just purred and purred.

Sorry this pix is so blurry. This is a pix of a miniature quilt MJ put into the frame I had given her. I really like these frames and I wanted her to have one.....what a beautiful wall hanging....shame the pix is blurry. Guess if you had several glasses of wine it would look clearer? Well....you might not notice as much or even care :)

MJ had made this apron and I had admired it before. She offered it to me and I did not hesitate....I had it in my hand in a heart beat. It is so colorful and fun. I think you are supposed to tie aprons around the smallest part of your waist? Well, I could not that so I just tied it around the middle. That will have to do!!!

Being the nutcase I am.....I had to give it multiple uses.....it can't be just an apron.....it is also a beautiful head wrap. MJ cracked up laughing when I put it on my head. I told her she would have to wait until she sees Rick in it too. We're all a bit "odd" if you will.....we do silly things all the time.

Me in the "Walk like an Egyptian" pose

Rick with his "Lawrence of Arabia" head dress

Zach with his "Laundry Day" head wrap

Aaron looking like a gift package

I'll keep looking for more uses for my lovely apron. I hate to say I really think it would be great to keep the sun off your neck when you're in the yard doing yard work or gardening. Then you just pull it off and tie it around your waist and wahhhhh llllaaaahhhhh....you have an apron ready to go.

MJ and I spent most of Wed afternoon and evening writing a tutorial to be published on my blog. I can't say what it is exactly.....but keep your eyes and ears open :)

Smiles,

Kelly

Great Week

What a great week. Zachary and I both earned our advanced white belts in karate. Aaron earned another stripe on his advanced orange belt. My family came to visit , I met lots of nice people and got some great deals at garage sales. Can't beat that with a big stick!!

I went to some garage sales on Friday morning and Saturday morning. I got some great buys.
I fell in love with these dishes the minute I saw them. They have never been used and there are 16 place settings, two platters, two serving bowels, two sugar bowels & creamers. Guess what I paid?

Then I found this quilt stand in the box....unopened. It had never been opened and it required assembly. The stand is made of oak. What do you think I paid for it? I checked on line and it would be 49.95 plus shipping if I were to order it.

There was a high school reunion (small gathering at a restaurant) on Saturday night. This was my first gathering with "kids" from of high school. Rick and I both had a ball and I'm really glad I went.

Rick's birthday was Sunday and we spent the day discovering some lakes about an hour from our home. We ate lunch at a cozy restaurant and took the boys to play in a park. Later we grilled steaks and had cake and ice-cream.

Ok.....I guess I better tell you what I paid for those items so my phone does not ring in the middle of the night. The dishes were $35.00. They had them priced at $45 and like the nut I am, I asked (with a straight face) will you take $35.00. I could not get to the van fast enough with those dishes. Best yet, Rick really likes them too!!!

I paid $5 for the quilt stand. Woooo Hooooooo!!!! I also got a brand new Creative Memories Picfolio Album (something I wanted) brand new in the box.....for $1.00. So needless to say....I am a thrifty shopper and I love a bargain.

Have a great day! Come garage sale with me soon.....it is so much fun :)

Kelly

6/14/09 8:15 AM update....this was written on Sunday night....I'm not predicting the coming week.... LOL. The cake did not come with the dishes....it was Rick's birthday cake. The winner of the Giveaway is still unknown....I'll get to that soon :)