Recipe for a Perfect Weekend....

1. Take one wonderful hospitable home that belongs to Eldest Son and Lovely Wife. Enjoy the peace and beauty of their brick bungalow nestled in a quiet area of Indianapolis...
2. Find a new pizza place nearby with New York Style Pizza. Order the 20" large, everything pizza. Make sure you order bread sticks and cheese bread because Eldest Son is a hard working man and Lovely Wife has had a long week with third graders. And Hubby and I haven't had a good dose of carbs in quite awhile.....

3. Get ready for two other sibs and their hubbies to come. Sleep well, eat a good breakfast, clean off the patio and get the badminton set out (you know the one; Jeansteffe gave it to us 20 years ago and it was OLD then! Make sure you get to several garage sales before Vivien and her parental units show up. Grab amazing deals at the sales and try not to fight over vintage towels....

4. Play hard. Relax and replenish at will. Make sure the young bucks are not picking on hubby and cheating at croquet. Make sure the games that Eldest Son and Vivien's daddy and Baby Girl's hubby makes up does not involve hitting croquet balls with badminton racquet's.

5. Catch up on some knitting and interacting on our wonderful Vivers. So, so good to have our Long Lost Landon from Lafayette visiting....New York was far away and the summer was different without him...Welcome back, Landon....

Take hubby to the fabric store quickly for some patterns, one that involves a new winter coat for Miss Vivie...

6. Eat well. Ciabetta prosciutto sandwiches on the grill made by Eldest Son. Tomato Salad by Hubby. Sweet potato fries by Landon. All on the patio. Beautiful day, wonderful evening. Ice cream and brownies made from recipe from a fellow blogger. Sit around. Chat. Catch up. Bathe Vivien. Make her giggle like crazy. Laugh, laugh, laugh.

7. Go separate ways, to all our respective homes. Some of us with agendas. Some of us meandering through the Indiana countryside on an unbelievable September Sunday. Maybe an apple orchard. Or two. Whose counting?

8. Wrap up with a one of a kind cherry apple cider shake with free popcorn.

Serve warm, serves many, lasts forever........

Bright and Shiny Day

Nature inspired art.
Vibrant colors and flowing design.
Almost overwhelms in it's beauty.
So you take a break. Go outside and take in the glorious September day.
There the colors, design and creation of it all, does you in again.
How can such amazing unique design from a simple, ugly seed, planted long ago in May, bring about such vibrant flowers in September?
Again, overwhelming at the Master Creator's artistry....

And if one cherry nasturtium isn't enough...

He gives me ABUNDANCE!

Thank you Lord!

The Bohemian

Another creation.

This one really spoke to me.

I could almost hear it's voice; it said, 'Man' a lot.....

It said, 'I think I want to go to Lafayette and hang out in a dorm at Purdue..Give me lots of pockets and some wild lining...I want to stand out for real....'

So The Bohemian Bag came to be on a productive, September day in my sewing room....delightfully off center and off beat and unique...Even the weight in the flap is a small ceramic incense burner....indeed...

I think it will go on grand adventures.......

Of Course, We Need a Grocery Cart Cover!

If Vivien needs a Grocery Cart Cover, then I think Grammy and Poppy should do something about it.
I can research it on the Internet.
I found a pattern. Jan Andrea at http://crafts/sleepingbaby.net/cart_cover.html.
But it needed interpreting. Not that Jan was complex, it's just that my mind seldom goes to it's technical side. That's where Poppy comes in. He immediately drafted a paper pattern following Jan's suggestions and then handed it over to me. Okay. It looks a little ghost like and even cutting it out, I still didn't know what I was supposed to do with it. I figured it would eventually hit me.

Eureka! The brain cells cooperated and the necessary sewing was figured out and a trip to the local grocery store for a fitting and off to Cincinnati it went! I read all the instructions and agreed with Jan that a little tote bag of my own design would be nice to transport it. And provide a little extra seating padding on the cart seat for The Viviers. We are ALL about her comfort....

And you can see why!

Here she is at a restaurant with Mama and Daddy, happy as a clam and cute as a bug.

Here's to sewing for grandchildren!!!

One More Time...

Ten years ago, Old Friend and I were at an Estate Sale.
Under a table was a box of assorted fabrics which included several pairs of bark cloth draperies.
It was at a time when bark cloth was just beginning to make a comeback from it's 40' roots so my friend and I held our breath while we took the battered box and it's jumbled contents to the check out.
No price was anywhere to be found and given the condition of the box and the fact that it was shoved under the table, one can surmise that it was doomed to extinction.
Until Old Friend and I rescued it.
We laughed maniacally as we searched the contents of the box once we were safely home.
We divvied up the loot and proclaimed the day a success.
I have used these curtains everywhere.
I have patched them. Rearranged them so that their weaker side was hidden.
I have used them in my living room, library, spare room.
After inspection following a last careful washing and air drying, I proclaimed the old girls fading and reaching the end of their long run.
This past week, I spread them out, checking all the holes and tears and formulated a way that they could be used one. last. time. With the magic that comes from the Sewing Wizards and gods of thrift and by Almighty's good grace, I was able to make several sets of valances for two sets of windows in my dining room.
It was amazing to see that the holes would fall in just the right spots. A little creative license in a few areas and again, after six decades, these marvels of 40's engineering have once again lived to decorate windows for another run.

Call it Repurposing, Recycling, Renewing if you want. I call it Blessing......

Okay.
This is what I woke up to this lazy, family Sunday.
I know you gotta be jealous.
She is, after all, the most entertaining, delightfully charming, enormously wonderful 6 month old ever.
Who else could cause perfectly normal adults to scoot around on their butts on the kitchen floor, following this little girl around, as she just learns to scoot around on her own tiny butt, playing sweetly with her wooden blocks?
Yes, a lovely short visit to Cincy to grab some Vivietime, her parental units and her wonderful Auntie and Uncle...

Fun, Fun time...
*sigh*

Porch Time

Nothing I like better than some porch time.
Been that way since I was very young and my grandmother had this tiny, tiny house that had one awesome front porch. She had this mission oak type porch furniture, and to this day I can still smell the summer that clung to the chintz cushions on that lovely furniture. Sitting in this shaded, screen covered room, with huge hydrangea bushes on both sides, I would sip on my 7 up sherbet float that she made just for me and dream, perhaps, of the day when I would have my own wonderful Porch World.

Since that time, I have accumulated porches and memories along the way.
Even our first apartment has an enclosed porch that I immediately wanted to set up like Grandmas. Our first house had a nice little porch with a swing that brought my first two babies bliss on hot summer days.

Our second house was the porch that remains in my children's memories. A small screened in porch became host to innumerable visitors. Every space was covered with a comfy spot to perch with a neighboring table to lay the inevitable snacks brought out to entice guests to stay longer. The porch evolved and had themes each year. New paint, a ceiling fan, small lamps, many cushions. Lots of naps. How in the world could such a small area host such memories, I have no idea, but I can still picture myself with friends, laughing till way late, while our children played kick the can or flashlight tag.

Now I have my grown up porch. Wide and comfortable, it can accommodate the size of my growing children. We do not have to stumble over each other's feet or risk walking on someone to get around. Wicker collected from many years, finds a home on my porch. I have a wicker porch swing from many years ago thanks to an auction, a rocker from a garage sale, and a small dining set from an estate sale. The one thing my heart has always longed for, wicker-wise, was a chaise lounge. People do not usually let go of those things. They keep them till they are done or they end up in an antique store, out of my range.

Then this happened:
Baby Girl's Mother in law asked me if I wanted a wicker ottoman. I NEVER say no to anything wicker. I gave her an affirmative and a few weeks later, she showed up in her truck with her amazing chaise lounge! The look on my face had to have startled her because she told me quickly, if you don't want it, you don't have to take it! She mistook my awe with crazed disgust. (I'll have to check to see how similar those looks are! :D)
I was speechless.
She had no room for it in her recent downsizing and knew I owned a home for Unwed Wicker. She knew where to take it. Even if she had trouble with it's name, it mattered not....I was going to own a wicker chaise lounge..For my grown up porch!

Last Friday, Faithful Friend, tried it out and proclaimed it very adequate and terribly addictive and stayed till way late while a storm raged outside of the porch.

I love porches.