Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Bad news/good news
We are going to Minnesota in August. No, that's not the bad news. It's actually really good news because we get to see our friends, go to Mark's class reunion, and I get to meet in person someone I've been getting to know via email and I'm really excited about that.
No, the BAD news is this: What is up with the air miles you earn on your credit card and seat availability? We have lots of air miles. We wanted to cash them in to make our flight to Minneapolis/St. Paul. We wanted to fly for FREE. That's why we HAVE a card that earns air miles. So when I tried to make the reservation the other night, there were no seats available. Correction: there were no air mile seats available for the days were wanted to travel, nor the day before or the day after. There were first class seats available on a flight coming back, but not at a time we wanted to fly, and we were not about to bankrupt our air mile account anyway by using it to fly home first class. There were a lot of seats available on the flights we needed, just no air mile seats. When I asked about this, the reservation person said, "Well, it IS summer, and it IS Minneapolis." Don't get me wrong. Minnesota is a beautiful state and I love going there. But August in Minnesota? Hot, humid, mosquito-swatting August in Minnesota? A popular destination in August? Really?? So we had to fork over hard cold cash, ahem, credit card, which will earn us more air miles...that we probably can't use when we need 'em.
Now the GOOD news:
While we are there, we get to go to the Fairmont County Fair and see these guys! Phenomenal musicians! Never thought we would get to see them in person. And the price for this stellar entertainment? Free with paid admission to the fair...a whopping $6/person! Woo hoo! Almost makes up for having to pay for our plane tickets. Almost. Not quite.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Our boots went boot-scootin'...

Saturday, April 25, 2009
I've Been Bitten--The Party Edition








I'll be happy to co-host a party at my house with you any time, Jessica!

Thursday, April 23, 2009
Color Therapy Thursday: Earth Week Green
REUSE:
RECYCLE:
Monday, April 20, 2009
My favorite quilt
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Lines are open and operators are standing by
In this era of web-based sales, we realized that just having a website was no longer sufficient. Etsy sellers and sales have risen exponentially in just the last year and we knew we had to jump on that bandwagon as well.
So we hope you will take a few minutes to check them both out. As more items are added to etsy, we'll keep you posted.
Website, check. Blog, check. Etsy, check. Facebook, check. Is Twitter coming next??
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Color Therapy Thursday: Mellow Yellow



Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Tequila Mockingbird
Monday, April 13, 2009
You get what you pay for...or when Murphy's Law takes control
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sold!
And it definitely ranks as one of my favorite weekends of the whole year. It starts late Friday afternoon and runs through late Saturday afternoon. During that 24-hour period of time, you can eat some of the best food there is, visit with friends you maybe haven't seen since the previous year, bid on quilts and antiques, run or walk the 2 or 10K. When you see the following pictures, you will definitely know what captures my heart. But I ate lots of really great food, too, and now wonder why I didn't take a picture of any of it. Soooo yummy.
Friday night is set aside mostly for the antique auction and then bright and early Saturday morning the quilt auction gets going. For the past five or six years, my friends and I have sat in the same section of the special events center where the auction is held. I stay in my seat all day Saturday, and I do mean all day, only leaving for bathroom breaks. Really. Mark even delivers lunch to me. Listening to the auctioneers, gazing at each quilt, being with my friends, I just love everything about it.
There were well over 200 quilts, comforters and afghans up for auction this year. Oh so much to choose from.
This one was made by friends, Maggie and Sue, and I have watched them working on it for over a year. The picture really doesn't show what a gorgeous quilt this turned out to be.
Loved the colors in this one.
And did I buy anything? Well, let's just say I was completely focused, with one goal in mind.
This quilt was started by my friend, Jennifer, several years ago, each block completely original. I have been wanting this quilt ever since I saw the first block. How happy was I when she said she was donating it. My chance to own it! I was so nervous when it came up for auction because there could be someone else who wants it just as much. I had to give my bidding number to my friend, Tanya, told her my dollar limit, and turned the whole buying process over to her. It's a weird thing when you are bidding on something you really, really want, at least it is for me. My stomach starts turning flipflops, I get all shaky, cold and clammy. It's hard to even concentrate enough to know whether you are the current top bidder or not. So thanks, Tanya!
Isn't this too cute?
And close-ups of some of my favorites, although it is really hard to determine which are actually my favorites. Right now it is on the floor in my family room and I keep looking at it and trying to decide. This is what I came up with: I love them all !
And who is this adorable child? She came to say hi to her quilt-lovin' Grandma. And no, she's not up for auction. No one could afford to bid that high anyway, because she is completely priceless. Sold!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Ahh.....
This morning, I made a brief tour of my house, admiring my clean carpets. Went outside and got in my car. Less than 24 hours and it is already completely covered with a film of yellow pollen. Ahh....choo!