Gone Fishing!

Gone fishing the sign on the door says. It seems we have been out to sea for a long time, this summer has been full speed ahead and here it is September 1st already! 

August was a very busy month. We had the pleasure of having our Oklahoma Grandsons for 9 days! 

Each day with them was full, from swimming to a Royals baseball game and countless other activities in-between, we enjoyed our Nana and Papa time with them, it went so fast!

Later in August Hubby and I drove to Western New York to visit my Sister in the pretty little Village of Warsaw. While there we spent an afternoon at Letchworth State Park. This park won USA Todays Readers Choice award for best State park 2015. Also referred to as the Grand Canyon of the East, the views are spectacular and we enjoyed them on a beautiful sunny NY day! Sissy stuffed us full of home cooking before we continued on our journey.....

into Buffalo where we stayed with long time friends. The 1st thing we did was go to Andersons for a Beef On Weck. Food of my dreams lol, it was so delicious!!
The next day my friend Patty picked me up and we had lunch, Buffalo style pizza (the best!) and then off we went antiquing. After working up our appetites once more, we drove 
to the village of Lewiston NY. The drive along the Niagara River is dotted with lovely vintage homes and lush gardens, an enjoyable afternoon trip. We bought goodies at a wonderful bakery followed by a fabulous Italian dinner before heading back to Kathys.
The next morning we were up and at em, and off to Niagara On The Lake Canada for the day! While the boys attempted to get some golf time in, Kathy and I enjoyed high tea at the Prince Of Wales Hotel.

I'll tell you, this is one special spot for high tea, elegant, so pretty and delicious. Here are a few items from our tea.

And don't you just love scones with clotted cream and jam, I had to show you!

Heading back towards Niagara Falls we stopped at the whirlpool gorge, we were going to take the cable car across but changed our minds lol! We bravely moved onward to the Casino for a bit before dinner at a Greek restaurant, and it was fabulous, the best I have ever had!

We spent 2 afternoons on their sailboat, sailing of course.... wheeeee! 

After sailing another food wish was granted.... a haddock fish fry right on Lake Ontario. Oh my gosh, it was so fabulous. Living in the midwest and being pretty land locked, we don't get anything like this. You must be thinking all we do is eat lol!

Only in Buffalo do they turn old grain silos in to beer cans, we enjoyed another fun dinner here by the water.

Our last night was spent at one more fine restaurant... Chefs, Italian food at its best. 

Our dear family and friends made sure all our favorite Buffalo food wishes were granted, they call it getting "Buffaloed" lol! Our time spent with everyone was precious and so enjoyed. The next morning we rolled home on our two day journey swearing off food for at least a week. 

We were anxious to see our little fur child again. And here she is, does your kitty beg lol?

Back to work here, new pattern coming later this week! 

Vacation Fun!

Warning... this post is picture and labor intensive. But so was our vacation! Jerry and I were gone 16 days, the most time we have ever spent away from home. Hubby and I drove 1/2 way across the country to visit family and friends in 2 different states. 

Our 1st stop was Pittsburgh Pa, my home town, where we stayed with Jerry's Sister and Hubby 4th of July week. 4th of July morning we started the day off  with breakfast at this neat little country diner.

Julie and I wearing our red white and blue! I have to tell you and interesting fact about the two of us, we both were pregnant at the same time and delivered our boys on the same day!

Our yummy breakfast has arrived. My favorite part is the Italian bread! Pittsburgh has the best Italian bread ever, I could eat a loaf all by my self.

Julies life this year has been filled with babies! Our Niece had twins who we were so excited to meet. Here are 3 months old Ben and Sam. They were just the best babies and adorable as you can see. Here's Hubby enjoying some baby time.

Also present was our cute as can be Great Nephew James, now 2. He was just so funny! James took to Hubby right off the bat but not me. Whenever I said anything to him he gave me the exorcist look LOL! We finally made friends by the end of our stay though and I got a hug and kiss so all is good :)

They kept us busy. The boys golfed. We girls shopped and lunched. We went downtown several times. 

A view of Pittsburgh at night from Mount Washington, a breathtaking view full of sightseers on a beautiful evening.

Hofbrauhaus, German beer hall and garden on the river. Fun downtown spot with a great view.

A very special part of this trip was to visit my Dad who turns 96 this week. He is an amazing man still living on his own. We had dinner out at his favorite place- The Outback. 

Well, we have been coddled and pampered, time to move on before we wear out our welcome. 

Next stop... my Sis in Warsaw New York. 

Me , Sis and my Niece Amber who drove in from New Jersey to see us! Oh, and also Maggie the dog LOL. Spending time with my Sister is always a treat. Once again people just think we want to eat. Lordy, lordy, you should have seen the massive amounts of food Darlene and her Hubby fixed for us! They made sure we had all of our NY favorites and then some! Super nice relaxing visit here, happy to also spend time with our nephew who will be deployed overseas this fall. 

The morning we were leaving Warsaw Darlene and her Hubby took us to a local Amish store/diner for breakfast. What a treat, the best breakfast ever. They also sold a lot of bulk foods such as all these tubs of cake decorating sprinkles (there were rows and rows more on the other side). I could love to shop here for Christmas baking!

Bye bye Sis, time to move on down the road, two more stops to make to see our friends Patty and Kathy and Wink. Patty took us to Art Park to see the Doobie Brothers concert. An open air venue on the Niagara River and a pretty night, who could ask for more, very fun! 

A day spent in Canada at Niagara On The Lake. What a beautiful town, the boys golfed and we girls had lunch and shopped. So lush, pretty and green here, the hydrangeas and flowers were at their peak.

On our way back to Buffalo Wink let Jerry and I out to run take a look at the falls. If you have ever been to the falls you no doubt know this spectacular spot on the Canadian side, right at the edge where you can almost touch the water pouring over. Mesmerizing, scary and beautiful all at the same time.  I hope my video shows up!

A pretty shot of the Maid Of The Mist.

We toured the Darwin Martin complex, a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Buffalo built in 1905.

Great tour with lots of interesting information and the house is just beyond amazing.

As you can guess, much of this trip leaned towards food. You gotta eat right? After living in Buffalo many years ago we still miss and dream of our favorite foods and that list is longer than your arm! Our wonderful friends and family made sure our dreams were fulfilled.

Teds charcoal broiled hot dogs. 

Roast Beef On Weck, to die for.. my personal favorite!

Duffs Wings!!

And a cod fish fry to name just a few.

So when Jerry and I rolled out of Buffalo heading home, we just looked at each other and said...
I'm never going to eat again LOL! 

A little Fun In The Sun

Home again after a little vacation time. Each year Hubby and I make our annual trek to Florida to visit his Dad, I think this makes year #24! We were more than ready to leave behind the chilly weather here in Kansas. And leave it behind we did, our week was glorious and full of sunshine. Afternoons were spent lazily soaking up rays by the pool. We ate out nearly every night and came back to play cards. Grandpa loves cards and he is a master of all games. We so enjoyed our stay with him, and at 91 years old it is a joy to see how blessed he is with good health. 

Next we drove farther south to visit my sister who retired in Sarasota a few years ago. The boys golfed and we sisters enjoyed girl time, something I never seem to get enough of. A little shopping, sight seeing and lunch, perfect! One of our stops was to visit Laura, owner of Cotton Patch Quilt Shop.

The day I visited was Laura's birthday, they had cute cookies for her customers. I was happy to have the chance to see her beautiful shop, and meet her doggies in person! 

At the shop I had the pleasure of meeting Suzi who was working that day. Suzi is an avid stitcher and shared with me one of the blocks she had stitched from my "Annie Loves Christmas" pattern. Well the funny part is she changed the cat in the block to a chihuahua (her pet), we laughed and laughed! Suzi has an Etsy shop called Oh Suzanna. A very pleasant shop visit, stop by if you live in the area!

I have a new pattern release, the "Three Scarecrows" table runner pattern is fast and fun to make with easy piecing and fusible web. It is now available on my website at CleoandMe.com.

I am still catching up from being away, you play you pay they say! Finishing laundry this Memorial Day weekend. Hubby loves to cook out, he made his famous beer can chicken for our picnic of two! 

I sat outside sewing the binding on a wall hanging, another new pattern to write. 

Thankful to those who serve and have served our great country. I hope your weekend was fun!

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!

Vegas Baby!

Good morning! Still catching up from a busy whirlwind week. Last week I had the pleasure of making a quick trip to Vegas with hubby. He was there for a convention and I was able to tag along. I was ready to leave the cold behind for a few days, when we left KC it was only 8 degrees! Vegas was only in the 40s and 50s but it's amazing what a little sunshine can do for you.
We stayed at the hotel Paris.


Such a pretty hotel with the replica of the Eiffel Tower. You can actually ride to the top of the tower and have dinner however we did not.


I was able to attend one of the convention functions, a special opening night where George Bush was the guest speaker. He talked for 1-1/2 hours, I was really excited to be able to hear him speak!


And what hotel lobby is complete without lots and lots of slot machines. This one caught my eye right away lol!

Lots of walking in Vegas, so many places to go and see in such a short time. So much eye candy!
Would you like some ice cream, can you believe this is ice cream?


We walked and walked, visited several of the hotels near by, they were all decked out for Chinese New Years and the displays were all so stunning. The next few pictures are from the Bellagio lobby and atrium, pictures just don't do justice to the beauty of it all.


Health and Prosperity.

Year of the Tiger.

Topiary Pandas at play.

Home again, home again, more snow and cold, as I said the brief reprieve was lovely. Full swing into preparing for my Valentines! I spent all day Saturday in the kitchen. Making cupcakes, cookies and goodies for my boys.


Did you have a nice Valentines Day? Mine was wonderful. Jerry and I drove down to Lawrence, to have lunch with our son Jon at KU. Lunch with my boys, it doesn't get better than that!

Wishing you a wonderful week!
X0 Barbie Jo and Cleo

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!