Sum Sum Summertime!

Wow, it has been a busy summer! We spent the 4th of July week with my sis in law and brother in law in Pittsburgh PA. They are such a fun couple to be with and we always have a great visit with them. It is our tradition to go out and have a big breakfast to start off our 4th of July morning.

We always go to a little spot in the country on a par 3 course called Chubs Place. 

How yummy does this look? That Pittsburgh Italian bread... OMG I can't get enough of it when I'm there!

We also spent time with our niece and her darling little family.

 It was a good week flooded with many fond memories of growing up in Pittsburgh. 

But all good things must come to an end and before you know it we were on the road heading home to our Daisy. Our cooler was packed with some of our favorite Pittsburgh foods. We stopped for lunch at a rest area along the road and had chipped ham sandwiches, Wise potato chips and cupcakes to celebrate our 45th anniversary!

Lots of wedding events happening as the big day draws closer and closer for our cute couple.

Here is our sons beautiful bride to be at the lovely Bridal shower her sister gave her. They are going to need a bigger kitchen lol. 

Once home it was time to pack my totes full of quilts models and goodies to take to Hutchinson Kansas. I spy a protester on my tote here! 

It was such a pleasure to present trunk shows to both the Heart of Kansas guild and Evening Star guilds in Hutchinson. Two wonderful guilds that share their love of sewing and also support their community with various projects. 

Before leaving Hutchinson Hubby and I took a unusual tour we had read about. The Hutchinson Salt Mine has a museum "Stataca" which allows you to go 650 feet below ground on an excellent guided tour. I was a little nervous at 1st, but my fears were quickly laid to rest and this was a unique and really cool experience for all age groups. 

Hubby collecting a salt rock sample.

Upon returning home again to a happy Daisy, I released my latest pattern"Harvest Moon"

This runner is just so pretty for Fall, made from wool it measures 12" x 34". You can find it now on my website at www.cleoandme.com and my Etsy store: Cleo and Me Patterns.

And now it's time to get running. Next week we'll have our Oklahoma Grandsons for a visit!

It looks like August will be another busy and full month.

Happy summer!

4th of July Fun

What a fun week we had with Hubbys Sister and Husband! They arrived bearing food gifts from Pittsburgh.... my favorite Italian bread and Sarris chocolates. Boy they sure know the way to my old Pittsburgh heart! Yummy!!!

The boys golfed, we girls did a little shopping, and we ate out a lot! The evening before the 4th we met our Son and his cute girlfriend in town (Kansas City) on The Plaza. The Plaza is known for all it's fine dining and shopping. We sampled apps at several restaurants...

ending a beautiful evening with a roof top view at the Sorella Hotel.

And then it was home to add the finished touches to our 4th of July dessert, aren't they cute! Only I put the cashew beaks on upside down, the sharp end should have been sticking out. What can I say... it was a long night!

We had an early picnic at our Sons new home... hash brown casserole, hot doggies  and treats! The evening ended with a beautiful local fireworks display.

Last night we went out for our last meal together, barbecue, a Kansas City must for all guests. As we left the restaurant the tornado sirens were blowing. My poor sister in law... it is a frightful situation and sound when you are not used to it. Rain came down in torrents with an impressive lightening display, fortuneately no tornado touch downs here! 
Today they are on their way home and back to their busy life, we will miss them.. until our next visit!
I will return to my normal routine for awhile and hopefully spend more time in my sewing room, until our next summer adventure!
Happy Summer!!

June wrap up!

After the quilt show Patty and I relaxed with some stitching. We each made a little picture from wool using a Lori Smith pattern, I chose cats of course and Patty made a snowman scene. Mine is framed and ready to hang. A fun little project!

Mid week we made a little day trip to Jamesport Missouri, a cute town in the heart of Amish country.

Our 1st stop was for lunch at Gingrich Dutch Pantry followed by some shopping.

I was on a mission to buy our son a mega 300 hour burning candle at the Farmhouse Collection shop, they hand pour 100s of fabulous candles on site. He had envied mine from last years trip and so I had to purchase one for his new home!

One of the most unique items I came across were these metal water fountains where water came out of the birds mouths.

You can better see how they work in the little video I took. Loved them, I think I will regret not bringing one home with me for my summer garden.

And yes our son bought his 1st home! What an exciting milestone in ones life, we are so proud and happy for him! We look forward to many good times there. I could decorate the guest room "my room" ha ha, and of course bring dinners! 

Patty is now home again and getting back to her busy life. She brought me this adorable tea towel, the eyes need finished but the kittens look just like Daisy!

And speaking of Daisy, she is just as cute and fun as ever. Not a day goes by when I don't marvel at her funny little ways and cuteness :) She has easily accepted the comings and goings of our company, and if they play with her, well, they will be best of friends!

Speaking of company, we are getting ready for round two. My sister in law and her hubby are coming for the 4th of July weekend, all the way from Pittsburgh! We are so excited and looking forward to spending a fun long weekend with them. 
Wishing you all a safe and happy 4th of July and God Bless America!

4th of July Fun!

We're back from a little getaway. Hubby and I drove home to Pittsburgh for the 4th of July week. That's a little haul from Kansas, the roads were super busy, everyone was on the go!

!st time we left our little Daisy and as you can see she was not too happy for us to leave!

My beautiful home town! My heart always pitter patters when we burst through a tunnel and see this beautiful city on the rivers! 

A lot was going on during the 4th of July weekend, the Boat Regatta,

and Furries were everywhere downtown for the Furry convention.

We stayed with my brother and sister in law, they spoil us rotten and make sure we get all our favorite Pittsburgh foods and activities crammed into 1 short week! While the boys golfed, Julie and I went to visit the Sarris Candy store and factory in Cannonsburg Pa. I order this chocolate on line for holidays and have it shipped, so I was in chocolate heaven! This carousel is made out of chocolate, it is so large I could not get an entire picture of it.

A close up of it's chocolate cuteness!

After leaving Sarris we drove around Cannonsburg looking for a lunch spot. I had to take a picture of this house all decked to for the 4th. Streets were lined with chairs for the parade 2 days early. Cannonsburg has the 2nd largest parade in Pennsylvania.

We drove around downtown Pittsburgh doing some sightseeing and shopping. One of our stops was the fish market Wholey's in the strip district. Clams and other goodies were purchased for the big picnic. Lots and lots of eye candy in this store, so fun!

We ran in to Mancini's Bakery next door. Now... I just freak out over a real bakery!! We don't have that here, and Pittsburgh Italian bread is to die for! I had several loaves wrapped to bring home with me, they were so nice in there.

Our trip was made extra special getting to spend time with our nieces and nephew, babies and their dogs lol! 

I also spent an afternoon with my Daddy who turns 97 in 2 weeks! He had us so busy running all over   town I did not get a picture this trip. He took us to his favorite restaurant for dinner to end our day.

Hubby and I went kayaking with our brother in law and niece at North Park lake. Neither Hubby or I had kayaked before, it was so fun!! I think we may have found a new interest. The hardest part though is getting in and out of the kayak, believe me, that was not a pretty picture on my part lol!

And now after this wonderful trip full of family and fun we are home again. Daisy was so very excited to see us, she still is a baby after all. 

I introduced a new pattern this week: "An Apple A Day" If you love apples this runner is fast and fun to make!

Still catching up on laundry and all that comes with being away. 

Also writing instructions for the next pattern which should be ready soon, best hurry, Santa will be here before you know it!

Home again!

Hello hello, doing a little catch up here tonight, beginning with the 4th of July! Ours was pretty quiet, with the holiday falling in the middle of the week Jerry and I celebrated alone. However that does not stop Hubby from firing up his big old smoker and cooking way too much meat for the two of us! Beer can chickens, one of his specialties along with my Grandmas amazing potato salad recipe. We feasted well! 

I spent the next few days preparing trunk shows to go out to several quilt shops. July is a big month for many shops to jump start the holiday season with lots of great ideas and fabrics for you to start stitching up those Christmas projects! My adorable Merry Mrs Reindeer wall hanging and several table runner models will be on display at Byrne Sewing Connection during their "12 Days Of Christmas" event: July 21- August 3. If you live in the Doylestown PA area stop on by and view all the goodies they have lined up for you!

The models for my "Christmas Sampler" tea towels will be on display at Pacific Fabrics and Crafts during their fabulous "Christmas In July" celebration: July 13-27. If you live in the Seattle area you won't want to miss this event!

Saturday I took a little break and flew down to Dallas to visit our daughter and her little family. Grandma arrived with a suitcase full of puzzles, paints, paper and goodies to keep the boys entertained. My twin Grandsons Aiden and Brandon are 6 and very very busy LOL! We crammed a lot into our 4 day visit, we spent 2 afternoons swimming, went to see the very cute movie "Brave". We shopped and I let the boys pick out new sneakers for 1st grade next month which was fun. We went to Ikea as I had never been to one, we had Swedish meatballs there for lunch! We colored, we painted and put the puzzles together, the boys read books to me to show off their reading skills. I met the new 4 month old kitty with no name who is very VERY active. It came into my room to sleep with me the 1st night of my visit and proceeded to hop up on the bed and wildly begin jumping around on top of my legs! Well I'll tell you that lasted all of 5 seconds before I picked up kitty and placed him elsewhere and firmly shut my door LOL! Next Growly the dog wanted to sleep in my room, but on the floor beside my bed. That was okay until it wanted out at 2am.... and then back in a few minutes later (through my closed door to keep kitty out) sheesh! Thank goodness Titan (the sheltie) or the hampsters had no desire to share my room. We had a great visit and it really went way to fast. I flew home this afternoon on a plane packed in as tight as sardines, 1 pack of peanuts, a Diet Coke and in a flash here I am again!
And now this Grandma is tired and ready for bed! Night all, enjoy your week!

A road trip with my Son

Well lets see... where did we leave off last post, oh, coming up on a really boring 4th of July weekend. And that did not disappoint, as predicted it was pretty darn boring. But Hubby made it through his oral surgery and that was a good thing because he still had to finish painting the dining room he had not completed. I puttered around the kitchen making water melon boats and red, white and blue angel cake for dessert. We watched the Nathans annual hot dog eating contest and the spectacular NYC fireworks on TV. Ho hum :)

Soooo... this past weekend I was invited to go to OKC with my son, I'm kind of like driving Miss Daisy down I-35. He felt I needed a getaway and some girl time with his sister Erin. So thoughtful and sweet of him don't you think? Jon has been running back and forth in-between Oklahoma and Kansas for months now. It seems this is the year of the wedding for his age group and he is now a professional groomsman on the weekends LOL! After dropping me off at my daughters, he gave his nephews a quick hug and squeeze and headed off to his next pre wedding event. The boys just love their big Uncle Jon!

Alex is 7 and William 5, they are a riot!

Saturday Erin and I had a girls only afternoon. But I'm going to tell you, it was HOT!!! Every temperature sign we passed was climbing higher and higher, 110 degrees was the high. OMG, I forgot how hot Oklahoma can be in the summer!

Our first stop was Oklahoma Quiltworks where we browsed and bought some fabric. Most of the Christmas fabric is out now and it was a tough choice to choose from just one line.

Next we hit up several antique shops and malls and Sonic for a blueberry slushy, can't beat Sonic drinks on a hot day! We stopped in a tiny bakery which was next to one of the antique shops, what an unexpected treat! Adorable cookies to take home to the boys, and I have to say they had the best tasting bakery cookies I have had in years! "Full Cup" Bakery in Bethany- loved them!

Today I released 2 new patterns, always such a nice feeling to go from start to finish!

First is "Pumpkins All Aglow" A wool table topper, fast and fun to make. Love the Fall colors, those plum berries add just the right touch of color and make my heart pitter patter :) Button teeth add some extra fun!

Next is "A Fall Sampler" 4 tea towel designs to stitch up for Fall. Stitch them by the lake or on your next road trip, you'll have them done before the leaves change color!


Now it's time to get back to my chores, you know how things pile up when you're gone a few days. And I'm anxious to start my next sewing project! I can tell you though, I won't be sitting out side stitching this week, looks like 98's most of the week.

Have fun and stay cool!

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!