Fluffing pillows and a little decorating!

The 1st week of Christmas, now nearly over, boy we are moving right along!
Our week was busy. Hubby had knee surgery this Wednesday. That all went very well and he is re-cooperating nicely. The last 2 days I have been tied mostly to home with him and that has had it's advantages as I was able to get a lot done with Christmastising the house!
Out came the totes and all of my favorite things! Just like the Christmas song, these are a few of my favorites I am happy to see each year!
Love the face of a nutcracker! At one time I had a large collection but I have now reduced that to just one, my Steinbach Irish Santa, he is so pretty.


The stockings were hung by the mantle with care..... here is Cleo's which hangs right next to Jon's, my 2 babies!


Hung all the ornaments on the tree. My tree is mostly covered with lovely glass ornaments is the German tradition I grew up with. But I have to say the ones that make me smile are those the children made. Jon made this cute little felt bear, don't you love the nose and Christmas vest LOL, just like the one his Dad wears every Xmas day.


And then there is Mr Gingerbread man, gotta just love that face. Oh those eyes LOL!!!! Gee, can you believe those raisins have to be at least 20 years old and they are still looking good.


I am a sucker for magazines with enticing covers during this season, especially the food and decorating ones. Picked this one up with my last grocery hull. Lots of yummy recipes in this one.
Looks like I will be trying a few next week when the baking begins!


And that has been my week in a nutshell people! I hope you find time to enjoy the little wonders during this hectic season.
XO Barbie Jo and Cleo

The day after!

The day after Thanksgiving and boy am I ever stuffed. All those leftovers, Turkey for lunch and turkey for dinner, pretty soon we'll be flapping our wings! It sure does smell wonderful while cooking though doesn't it. Nothing like the smell of that turkey cooking all day!
I allowed room for a special treat this year. Chocoholic that I am, I ordered a Mr Gobbles for each of us in the chocolate variety, from one of my favorite shops in PA, Sarris Candy. OMG, creamy and wonderful chocolate, and cute, they do such a nice job!

Here is a scene not unlike most off yours I expect, only on a smaller scale, my table was set just for 3. Nevertheless we had all of our favorites: mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole, rolls and pumpkin pie.

Here is hubbys plate, overflowing, because his plate is too small! He hates these Holiday dishes. I knew when I set the table he would mention it come dinner time, as he does every year, the plates are just too small! Not like you can't get a refill LOL! Last year I gave him the platter instead :)

While I spent the day in the kitchen the boys brought the tree up from the basement. And the wreaths for the windows. Cleo is getting excited as usual once the sparkle and glitter comes out, here she is "nesting".


Now the Christmas rush is on, full steam ahead! Yikes I can't believe this has crept up on us again! Did you go out in the crowds shopping today?
I spent the day doing a little decorating and sewing. I like to shop on the week days when the stores are a little quieter. I also do a lot of shopping on line and send gift cards as most of our gifts will be mailed.
I am glad you stopped by, hope all of you have an enjoyable weekend!

Flip flops to snow shoes

We're home once again! Jerry and I spent all day yesterday flying, 3 flights from Florida to Kansas, nearly 12 hours from door to door. We had a wonderful little visit with Jerry's Dad, sister Julie and brother in law Steve. Each year we try to co-ordinate our flights with Julie and Steve who live in Pittsburgh, to meet in Tampa where we all drive up to his Dads in Ocala together. We couldn't have asked for better weather, cool mornings and evenings, 80 degree afternoons. Golf for the boys, pool time for the girls. Dinners out and games in the evening, sooooo relaxing!
Each year we go to the huge, and I mean HUGE outdoor flea market. We buy sunglasses, fudge and silly stuff. This year we tried to outdo each others hat style for our Saturday boating adventure.

Julie and I got big straw Chinese hats, the boys, doo rags or visors with fake "hair" sticking out of the top.
Saturdays boat trip was so much fun. We drove to Homosassa Springs where we rented a pontoon boat for the afternoon.

Our Captain for the day was none other than our sea worthy experienced BIL Steve.

Thank goodness we had him along to navigate our way out to the gulf! What a sight the Gulf is when you live in a land locked state. Just beautiful!

Although the signs were posted we never did see a Manatee.

But there were plenty of sea birds, one on top of every marker.

And of course lots of Pelicans.

The Coast Guard seemed to be following us most of the way back, I don't know if it was our funny hats or what LOL!

We only saw one alligator, this little guy sunning on a log.
And now I am back home, where we have no sea birds or family close by. I do however have one very large bird thawing out in the frig, gobble, gobble, gobble, Turkey Day is quickly approaching. I am off next to make up my grocery list, a big feast for three!
Most of all I am thankful for my family and friends, both near and far, wishing all of you a Happy Thanksgiving where ever you are!

Bloging with a cat on my lap

Ah, a quiet afternoon, taking a few moments to send an update. Cleo is snuggled in on my lap, did you know it's hard to type with a cat on your lap? Especially when she takes up so much room lol! Sorry Cleo, not picking on you because you know I love you!
What a fun week we had. Wednesday night was Bunco, my turn to host. I had a lot of fun fixing my snackies, the big hit was the cream cheese penguins, they are so darn cute! The dice sandwiches are a nice touch for a card or dice party also.

Thursday my daughter, son in law and Grandsons arrived from OKC for a long weekend visit.
Alex is 5 and William 3, we can never get enough of them, so fun at this age! Uncle Jon was able to get away from KU for a quick visit, the boys just love their Uncle!

Cleo, my, my, my, her quiet little world is turned upside down when little ones come. She insists on being in the midst of it all though, no hiding for her! I had to laugh, she is in all my pictures of the boys. Here she is safely tucked under the table but lying on top of the train tracks watching them play with Lego's.

Such fun having them here.
And nowI had better get cracking and packing! Tomorrow Jerry and I are off to sunny Florida to visit Grandpa. Yeah! So hard to believe I am packing sandals, shorts and Capri's!
See you all when I get back, have a fun week!

I was abducted by Aliens!

I could say I was abducted by Aliens, beamed up, it has been so long since my last post. And that would be an easy peasy explanation for my blogging absence although I think most of you aren't buying it LOL! A lot has happened since my last post. I had a birthday in September, my 1st Grandson Alex started Kindergarten, and my baby Jon turned 24 yesterday! I spent a month sewing Batman costumes for all 4 Grandsons! Belts and fusible logos were also sent along to complete the outfits. And gee, I do not even have a picture of the boys in their outfits to show off as their Mommys have not emailed them to me yet, hint.... hint girls!
I have to also admit to spending much of my computer time on Facebook. A fun and easy way to keep up with friends and quilty friends daily, it's easy to get hooked on!

I have been adding to my fabric stash, one can never have enough. Especially more yardage of "A Sherry Berry Holiday". Love, love, love the vintage colors and designs!

Couldn't resist a few cuts of Love Notes by Faye Burgos. Adorable!

And then there are these pure and simple polka dots for backgrounds, the muted shades are all from Fig Tree Quilts "Mill House Inn" line. Perfect for some spring themed designs I want to start working on.

And last but not least, I'm always a sucker for Hello Kitty. Isn't she sweet here dressed in her little Christmas outfit.
I thought I would leave you with a picture of my little partner. Cleo sits in this child's chair (which you'll notice she barely fits in!) every morning checking out the outdoor action.

The next 2 weeks will be busy for me. Wednesday night is Bunco at my house. Which means a wild cleaning spree and goodie preparation for my girls. We always have such fun! The following day my daughter Erin and her little family are driving up from Oklahoma for a visit. A few days with my munchkins, can't wait! Then it is off to Florida to visit Jerrys Dad. And then home to thaw out the Turkey, my goodness gracious, we are on a roll!
I'm glad you stopped by, have a great weekend all!

I think I was in a time warp!

I'm baaack, I think I was in a time warp! This past month has passed me by in a big whooosh!
Labor Day weekend Jerry and I drove on down to OKC to visit our daughter Erin and her little family. Our daughter Melissa drove up with the twins to spend the day also, what a huge treat for us to be with ALL our Grandsons at once!! Such fun, with 3 boys who are 3 years olds, it was interesting to observe their very different little personalities. And Alex being 5 is the mentor to all! Erin and Ryan prepared a wonderful BBQ dinner for us, such a treat for me to be cooked for! Here are the boys are sitting down to eat, I think they were too worried about playing to take time to eat!

Erin is a part time art instructor at the Oklahoma City Museum Of Art. She took Jerry and I to view a new exhibit at the museum and check out her classroom. The museum also houses the most comprehensive collection of Chihuly glass in the world, the exhibits are breathtaking!

Back home again we rushed to get ready for company. You know the routine, cleaning and groceries, preparing to make our guests comfortable. Our good friends were flying in from Buffalo NY and we were really looking forward to their visit!
We had a wonderful 5 day visit with them. The weather co-operated, Indian summer at it's best!
The boys golfed, we ate dinner out quite a bit, we chattered and laughed ALOT!
One of our favorite spots to take company is the Plaza in Kansas City. I love having dinner sitting outside at the Cheesecake Factory on a pretty day by the big fountain. Feels so European.

The flowers were vivid and just beautiful!

We also spent an afternoon at KU, visiting son Jon and his cute girlfriend Carly. We all had lunch and toured the campus. I love to soak up the feel of a campus, such energy, so many young people LOL!

And that's what I have been up to people! Gallivanting!
And now it is time to get back in my normal mode. I am sewing, and sewing. Just finished a design for little girls and EEEEKS is it CUTE I must say, can't wait for show and tell! Which means pattern writing is next on the list. And sewing FOUR Batmen costumes LOL!
Have a happy week!

Cinderella and an empty nest..... again

Hi everybody, Cleo here, thought I better take over as my Mother Barbie Jo has been slacking on these posts again..... not like she has anything better to do!
She did have a moment of weakness recently, and bought this cute Hello Kitty sewing machine.
See, it says "Sewing Pretty with Hello Kitty" and has a cute little kitty face and is mint green besides! Barbie Jo says It's time for me to earn my treats, step up to the plate, lend a hand and learn how to sew. Sounds to me like she's running a sweat shop here, just call me the sewing Cinderella! Truthfully I am afraid of that or any sewing machine and the only type of plate I want to step up to is one that has food on it! When I was a young kitty I would sit smack dab next to Barbie Jo and her machine while she sewed. It was so fascinating watching that needle go up and down, so much so that I couldn't control my kitten curiosity and fast as lightening stuck my paw out to grab it. Well.... you can probably guess the consequences from that little moment of madness. I screeched and wailed, Barbie Jo cried..... it was just awful, awful, awful!!!
So awful that I can't believe she is making me do this. She says like child birth and the terrible twos, one forgets these things after a while. Well I'm 10 now and I have NOT forgotten... Sheesh!
So today I worked on my 1st project, a cat doll...... bleech.... I don't think she's gonna really like this much. But you know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder don't you think?

Ok, ok.... Barbies back, Cleo has been removed from the computer. Sometimes she just gets a little out of control and did you notice she is such a tattle tale?!

Where did I leave off last blog visit. Oh, Jerry and I were going to spend a beautiful afternoon at the park and that we did, we sat our folding chairs up near the waters edge, soaked up some sun and watched the geese play. Isn't it interesting how they all line up follow the leader style to take their swim, I wonder why, anyone know?
After working up an appetite watching the geese lol, Jerry took me to Oklahoma Joe's for... you guessed it, BBQ. And boy oh boy is it ever some of the best!


Yesterday I spent the afternoon baking cookies for Jon to take back to school, Peanut butter and Oatmeal, yum!

And tonight he's off, quicker than you could blink an eye. Gosh it feels quiet all ready. :(
My little nest is empty once again, until next break. On the up side I can hear the utilities dropping, gas will always be in my car and there will be less trips to the grocery store. On the down side... I will miss my little Jay Hawk..... a lot!

XXXOOOO Jon, Mom and Cleo

Just buzzin' by.........

Hi there! Wow, can you believe it is the 1st day of August! Everywhere out there in bloggy land I am reading about Moms shopping for all those back to school needs already. I guess it will be here before you know it. Am I hearing a big sigh of relief out there? Lucky me, I don't have that chore to do any more. Jon is heading back to KU in 3 weeks though. As a matter of fact today he is moving stuff in to his apartment. All he wants from me is a stocked refrigerator LOL!

As for me I have been stitching away. So much so the dust bunnies are growing around my feet!
I love bunnies, just not the dust variety and they just don't seem to be going anywhere all by themselves. Don't you wish you could just wave your magic wand and poof...... house would be all sparkling! Well I guess the magic fairy is just isn't gonna appear so I am going to have to knuckle down and get after it this week. Gonna shut my sewing room door. And just do it!
I'll let you know next post how that goes LOL!

I finished pattern instructions for this pretty wool felt runner which is now on my web site. The colors are really beautiful and I included directions to make a smaller version as well.

And what blog post would be complete with out a mouthwatering picture of a scrump delicious
luncheon entree! Yum, I'm hungry all over again. Friday was girls day out with 2 of my Bunco girlie friends. We worked up an appetite browsing through some lovely shops in an area I've never been to; before getting to the really good stuff.... great food and fun conversation!
The sun is trying to stay out and it's not too hot today. Jerry and I are getting ready to go to Shawnee Park for a stroll and a bite to eat after, sounds good to me!
Hope your weekend is the best!

Catch up time!

Or in Pittsburghese that would be ketchup time!
I know, I know, I am bad...... at blogging lately. This summer is just zipping by. I am having a nice quiet morning here, Hubby is golfing and Jonathan went to The Lake Of The Ozarks for the weekend. Just Cleo and me trying to share the computer chair and I thought this would be a good time to gather my thoughts.
I snagged this picture from my daughters blog. My little munchkins, I just love it! So special because all 4 cousins were able to get together for the 4th of July weekend. Not always easy to do living in neighboring states, looks like the boys had a fun filled time together. Making memories.

I've been to Pittsburgh and back, it was a quick trip really, just 4 days. And they were wonderful,
laid back and very relaxing! I stayed with my sister, she always spoils me.
We spent 2 of our days here: at Mineral Beach.

I just love it here, so perfect on a hot summer day. We used to bring the girls here when they were small. Hard to get a good picture, but this is a very unusual pool. First of all it is smack dab out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by rolling hills, trees and fields. The pool is very old, built in the 1920s. It is unusual in that it has no defined sides, mostly shallow you can just walk in like a beach! You can also bring in all your floaty toys so children just love it. Spread your blankets out on the grass and have a picnic lunch, love it, love it, love it, and I also got a good tan!

I enjoyed lots of good Pittsburgh food and to tell you the truth isn't it always a joy to be away from cooking! I spent 3 nights with my Dad!

Now can you tell what these are? They are turkeys! We were on our way to the airport and I spotted these in their neighborhood, made my brother in law come to a screeching halt so I could take a picture! I know they think I'm crazy, but I've never had turkeys in my yard. Gobble, Gobble!

So here I am settled back in, home to the normal routine. I spent a better part of the week sewing and finishing pattern instructions for this sweatshirt, it will be on my web site tomorrow.
Enjoying the string of beautiful weather we are having, high 70s and windows open at night. Savoring summers fresh market produce, sweet corn on the cob is out, life is good.
Well I'm off to make my appetizer for tonight- couples Bunco- whoo hoo!

Can you do the chicken dance?

Da, da, da,dadada, bawk, bawk bawk! Hope you all had a great 4th weekend, it's winding down for most of us now but not over yet. I cooked way too much for just the 2 of us as usual, I can't get used to this holiday 4 two thing. Jerry made his famous beer can chickens on the grill. They look so funny standing up in a line on the grill, I guess it doesn't take much to amuse me lately does it! Anyway, this is a fabulous way to grill a whole chicken, cooks up very moist and yummy!
I also made a huge pan of 7 layer salad so it's leftovers for us today. As a matter of fact Cleo and I are munching while we type, no sauce on the keyboard Cleo!

We had worked up an appetite, Jerry and I just got back from a nice little Sunday drive. We drove to Weston, MO, a historic town established in 1850, it was once the 2nd largest port town on the Missouri River, St. Louis being #1. Lewis and Clark visited Weston and you can bike the trail if you wish.

The town was all decked out in their red white and blue, don't you just love it! Cute little shops, gifty as well as antique to browse which we did. Sadly it was very noticeable how many shops were empty and closed due to the recession, many of my favourites were missing. We sat on this bench and enjoyed some good old fashioned ice cream before heading home.

And now I am off to start laundry and begin packing. Leaving bright and early Tuesday morning for Pittsburgh. Going to visit my Sis and Dad, I so cant wait!! I'll be back with lots of pics and maybe some good stories, have a great week everybody!

The things you gotta do for Fathers Day!

Fathers Day, come and gone now, Jerry is fast asleep after a busy weekend of being Fathered.
Saturday he was up at the crack of dawn to go golfing. Oh how he loves his golf and I am more than happy to let him go do that with his buddies while Cleo and I get our beauty rest. Saturday afternoon we were looking forward to the Royals/Cardinals game. And wouldn't you know it decided to rain. Bummer, we had nice seats, I was looking forward to a ball park hot dog and a close up view of guys warming up to play. So we moved on to plan B.

Plan B was definitely a let down, but something to do never the less. We went to the movies, Jerry's pick, being Fathers Day weekend and all, was you guessed it ......Star Trek!
Sheesh! I have the admit the young Star Trek crew was kinda cute and fun, but I fell asleep 1/2 way through it LOL! Jerry loved it of course, its a guy thing don't you think?
Today he was up at the crack of dawn again and once more Cleo and I rested up while he went to hit a few buckets of balls. Then Cleo and I got crackin' in the kitchen whipping up a storm of delightful foods to please our man. Grandmas cold German potato salad (a secret family recipe) and boy o boy is it awesome, Lazy Daisy cake, crab legs for Jer and Cleo, a steak for Barbie Jo. Phew, we were stuffed!
This past week was one where it rained and rained and rained some more. We are more than saturated and the grass is growing faster than the goats can keep up with. LOL, what goats my son says, is this a hint I need to mow again? I am staying dry working on 2 projects, my stitchery and some sewing. I switch back and forth between the two depending on what floats my boat that day. And then what arrives in my mail box to distract me even more but this amazing fabric- "Dance With Me", don't you just love that name, by designer Jennifer Paganelli. So many color ways to choose from, it was hard to choose just these few. I am sure you will be seeing lots of this in new pattern designs.

Well gosh, this Fathering stuff has worn be out! My son just popped his head in and said Mom U look tired, and right he is. So it's off to bed I am. Isn't this the 1st week of summer? Enjoy!