Birthday Lunch!

Oh, oh, I was going to post this on Wednesday but I got a little busy and then I had to take a nap to rest up from all that birthday celebrating. LOL! On the day after my birthday, my friend Sue, sitting next to me, pulled off a big surprise. She had called me on Sunday and asked if I'd like to go out to lunch on my birthday or on Tuesday. I picked Tuesday and we were going to go north to the little town of Belle Plaine for lunch at Cindy's Kitchen. But.........just before we left town, Sue told me we needed to stop at the Henderson RoadHaus to see her daughter, Sammy. And guess what.........it wasn't Sammy that we needed to see. It was a surprise for me because there were two of my favorite friends, Doris and Arline. We laughed so hard because I had no idea that a surprise had been planned!

Doris is on the far left and Arline is next to her. These two women are so sweet. Both were teachers and I can tell I would have been happy to be a student of either one of them. :-)

I have a favorite that I order when I'm at the RoadHaus. It's the Chicken Quesidilla. Can you say Yummy? 

And for dessert, Sue had baked a raspberry/rhubarb cake. Yummy again! The candle is wee bit crooked.....she said she put it in the cake when it was still too hot. I thought it was crooked on purpose!

I love the smiles on Doris and Arline's faces. They make me and Sue and whole lot of other folk smile!

When I got home, I had my husband take a picture of me and Sue together. Her log firecrackers are very popular. She's going to be making some that will be for sale in HeArt of Henderson, the new shop I told you all about.

Oh, and there were more gifts. Doris gave both Sue and me the darling birdie canvas boards. Sue has hung her's in her office at church and mine is hanging right her by my computer desk.

 And Sue said she knows how much I love making quilt blocks (and that I make blocks but never quite make them into quilt tops, but that's another story) and I love vintage so she had to get these for me. I love it that she "had" to get them for me. ;-)

So, you can see why I needed to rest on Wednesday. It was a lot of partying for someone who's gettin' old. LOL!

Got one last thing to share and it's more bird eggs. My husband noticed that a little bird was flying into the little pine tree we planted next to our porch last summer. And here's what we found when he pulled back the branches............

They are tiny blue with black speckled eggs and it's a little wren that flies into the tree. This one is not so easy to take photos of as I fear disturbing the nest and causing it to fall down through the branches. I can see this nest from the window, though, so I can spy on Mama wren and family and she won't know it!

Okay, that's all for today. Big day of grocery shopping tomorrow and then our grandson is coming home with us to spend the weekend. It's fun to have him visit. Kids grow up so fast that we need to grab all the time we can with our children and grandchildren.

Have a great Friday!
Back soon. I have more wooly projects to share.........
Sandi

Wooly news.......as promised!

I promised in my last post that there would be some "wooly project" news and here it is............There is a new shop opening soon in Henderson. It's at the east end of Main Street, near Wagar's Grocery......

The new business is called "HeArt of Henderson" and it's a little shop that will be filled with arts and crafts items of local artisans. The owners of the shop are Lisa von Lehe and Serenity Meyers. I stopped in today to chat with them.

Serenity makes some lovely pottery pieces.....

 and Lisa enjoys many crafts including card-crafting......

 and crochet. Look at all these lovely pieces she's made!

 And I love to work with wool. I love to teach and share the enjoyment and relaxation that can be found in stitching. I'll be teaching some classes that will begin in early Fall.  But in the meantime........

 I'll be making some small items for sale like pincushions, needlecases, and also fabric covered journals, some clay jewelry and more. I just love it that there will be a place for those of us who love to create and want a place to share our creations!
I was so excited when I left the shop that I took a little walk along Main Street. It wasn't a very long walk because Henderson's businesses cover just about three blocks but it was a lovely walk. The temperature was mild and no humidity! This photo below is at the corner of Main Street and Hwy. 93/Scenic Byway. Resident Eileen Brandt takes care of many of the plants around Henderson, along with business owners and community volunteers. It makes for a beautiful town!

 That's the post office on the right, where you can see those gorgeous blooms in the hanging baskets and you can see the patriotic banner in the window. Postmaster Connie has a "green thumb". In the middle of the block is the Henderson RoadHaus and I had lunch there today. It was more birthday celebrating and I'll fill you in on that tomorrow.  :-)
On the south side of Main Street is one of Henderson's newest businesses.....Henderson Wine & Spirits. Looks very inviting, don't you think?

And then there's Toody's Sweet Treats which is "kitty-korner" from the Post Office. This is the former home of the drug store and it retains the soda fountain from many years ago. I just had to stop in for an ice cream treat.

And that's because this sign outside was just too inviting. I was already in a good mood, feeling pretty happy but I figured a little more happiness couldn't be a bad thing. Right?  ;-) So I sat down at the old-fashioned soda counter and ordered up a large Rocky Road ice cream cone.

And then I sat down on the park bench outside Toody's and watched the traffic go by and the motorcycles roll into town and the classic cars for the weekly Henderson Classic Car Cruise. It was a fine afternoon. In the photo above you can see the new business, HeArt of Henderson, where I started my little walk and shared my "wooly news". Granted, my news is not as exciting as what's in the real news but it made me smile just to think of teaching others the joy of working with wool, learning to do the blanket stitch, sharing tips on using old clothes for your projects and also new wools, too. So excited at the prospect of sharing so much stitching fun! 

That's all for today. Will share my last bit of birthday celebrating in tomorrow's post and who knows what else may come up during the day to share! 

Sandi

A fabulous birthday!

Today was my birthday. It was a big one...... the big 65! Actually, though, I don't feel any older or any different than yesterday.......except that I had a great day today. Got lots of cards, phone calls and good wishes from family and friends. Talked to my kids, Collette and Devlin, and then my husband surprised me with this......

I thought it was Christmas! There were two wrapped packages on the kitchen table this morning along with that envelope. He rummaged through my Christmas stuff to find the gift wrap. LOL!  I was expecting the envelope because my birthday request was for some "green stuff", you know......cash. ;-)  But when I opened the envelope, there was some "green stuff" but there was also a card. And he made the card!! Oh, my goodness, was I surprised! He had me unwrap the thickest package which I thought was a box of chocolates. I was sure the other one was a paperback book. Nope! I was wrong on both counts. It was this......

It's a Google Nexus 7, my very own tablet!! And the second package contained a case for it! I was really surprised. I've most of the day playing with it and reading Facebook posts. Did take time out to watch a good movie this afternoon........"Stars in my Crown" starring Joel McCrea. It's a great film from 1950. My husband set it up for me to watch but after watching a few minutes of it, he was "caught". There were lots of well-known actors from TV and the movies that we both recognized. If you've never seen the movie, check it out. It's a good one!
We had some pizza for supper. Last year on my birthday, we ordered pizza and it wasn't all that great and it was expensive. Today, Steve picked up a DiGiorno pizza for $7 at Wagar's Grocery and it was really good! We'd both try it again. :-)
Just as I was wiping off the kitchen counters, my friend, Sue, called and said she had a little something she'd made for me for my birthday. I was to just wait for her to place it by the door. Well, I got excited and met her on the porch and look what she surprised me with.......

FIRECRACKERS!!!

Aren't these cute? She saw something similar on Pinterest so she got some logs and painted up this trio for me because she knows I like patriotic things! Tomorrow we're going for lunch so the celebrating will continue.  :-)
That's all for now. Starting next Monday........."What's on the Line?" will return! In the meantime, I'll be back tomorrow with a little news about some wooly projects.......
Back soon.......
Sandi

Six Years of Blogging!!

Last night I was trying to fall asleep and, oh, so many thoughts were rumbling through my head. And one of them was the thought that I needed to make sure to post today about my dad and when I started blogging. I can hardly believe that it has been six years since I started this blog! If you go here...... My*FirstBlogPost! ..... you will find this photo of my dad, Melvin and my thoughts on my first day of blogging. Following my dad's passing, I needed to find purpose. I had seen other blogs and wished I could do one, too. My son, Devlin, encouraged me that it wasn't that difficult and gave me the help I needed and he was right....it wasn't that difficult! I took the "blogging leap" on Memorial Day in 2008. And here it is, just a few days after Memorial Day, 2014. The time flies so fast!

My dad, Melvin Linn, (2007) covered with the hand-stitched quilt 

that we named "The Puzzle Quilt" because 

we couldn't figure out how it was assembled. 

The "Puzzle quilt" is a favorite one that my dad bought at an auction in Dayton, Iowa. One of these days, I will share a tutorial on the quilt. My dad enjoyed going to auctions and garage sales to buy quilts, fabrics, and "pretties" for my mom, me, and my sister, Judy. And he'd buy car parts and tools for my brother, Doug, and for himself, too. And, of course, he bought treasures for the grandkids! He just loved seeing others smile. And I loved seeing my dad smile when he'd make others smile! He would have enjoyed this quilting blogging journey that I've been on. He would likely have read it as thoroughly as he did the daily newspaper. I still miss my dad. Always will. He was a really nice fella! My son, Devlin, wrote a lovely tribute to my dad and some of you may have read it, but if not, please go here and read his words about my dad, his grandpa. We were all lucky to have such a great dad, grandpa and great-grandpa!!
During this past year, my mother's health has declined. There have been lots of trips home to Iowa. I had some health challenges, too. I did a lot of volunteering at my church, at the library. I needed to share my talents. Life just plain got busy. Sometimes, I didn't have time to blog but other times, I just didn't feel like blogging, too tired and my thoughts just couldn't come together very well. But my "blogging energy" has returned and I see more regular blog posts in my future. Just want to say thank you to everyone who has stopped by to read my blog these past years. Thanks for your kind comments ....... in six years of comments, I can only think of a couple of negative ones that I received. Thanks for checking in to see if I was posting, and if I went without posting for several days, many of you sent me messages of care and concern. I am greatly appreciative of every reader and every comment. Very, very appreciative!!!  Some of you may remember that I used to do a lot of giveaways and that, too, sort of "fell by the wayside". I'm thinking that maybe there will be a giveaway on my blog very soon....just might happen around the 4th of July. Stay tuned. Have an awesome Monday!
Sandi

Remembering........

It has been many weeks since I posted to my blog. Lots of things kept me away but finally today, I thought......I'm going to post to my blog!  After I finished up the laundry, I decided to go out and plant some flowers. I did my porch boxes last weekend and today, I filled pots for my little red wagon. And I added a bow to this awesome vintage lawn mower that my brother brought me in late April. I love the sound it makes! Takes me back to the days when I was a kid and neighbor, Harry Harrington would mow his lawn, and then my Aunt Bell's grass. She lived next door to us. Harry also had a big garden and wonderful flowers! I only wish that I would have a bit of his "green thumb"!

I've really enjoyed an event that began several weeks ago when I had my husband hang our spring wreath next to our front door. It wasn't long before a Mama and Papa Robin moved in and began making a nest. This is the photo when I discovered the eggs! The next day there was a fourth egg!

And here's Mama sitting on those babies...........

And here are those hungry babies today, just waiting for McSnacks provided by Mama and Papa Robin!

It was such a lovely day that I got that craving for ice cream so I made myself a treat and one for Kaiser, too......

He ate his in about three quick bites!!

And so, it's the end of a lovely day and hopefully tomorrow will be much of the same. I will head out to Lehigh, Iowa, my hometown so that I can help my brother with the Memorial Remembrance serve on Monday. Kaiser and my husband, Steve, will be holding down the fort here and won't even miss me. My husband will be watching racing non-stop. Probably won't even know I'm gone. ;-)
I've been doing a bit of stitching and drawing some new block designs for a Christmas project. Also doing a lot of volunteering and church projects. Will share some photos in the coming days. Have a lovely weekend!
Sandi

A pleasant side-effect from surgery.......

and that "side-effect" is.......time to stitch!!!  Actually, I finished the two wool stitcheries in the photo below at least two years ago. Some of you may recognise them as they are from a free BOM designed by Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill designs. I "sew-enjoyed" stitching the first two designs and then.....life got busy and I put the project aside. 

Then last fall, I gave it a try again. Got out my wool fabrics and choose the wool for each of the ten remaining baskets. I began stitching the Halloween block right away because it was October and I was stitching this while I awaited the Trick or Treaters. I almost finished the block that night and just have the leaves at the top to finish. Again, I set it aside when life got busy.

Well, life got even busier/crazier when I learned I'd have to have hernia surgery but I got smart. In the two weeks before surgery, I decided to round up some of these projects that always get set aside when life gets busy. I prepared two blocks that I could stitch on during my recovery. Yesterday, I added little white flowers to the shamrock design and only have to add the bunnies eye and a bow. It will be finished by tomorrow. The little basket with the chocolate bunny is all ready and waiting for me to start stitching on it when the first of March comes.

In the remaining days of February, I'm going to stitch a little on another project that has been set aside.  A year or so ago, I stitched this pretty block from from the pattern "Twilight Garden" designed by Jeanne Prue. She offered it as a free BOM a few years ago. This first block is called "Lady Slipper".

And so........prior to my surgery, I gathered wool for this project, too. Tucked pieces of the colors I needed in my wooly basket and this week, following my surgery, I would rest........read.......watch old movies.......and cut out the pieces for the next three blocks! The February block is "Colombine" and that's what I'll be stitching on this week. The second block is for March and is "Poppies". The third block in this photo is for April and I can't remember the name but I think it's something about "Trumpets". I am loving this opportunity to work on my wool projects. I love hand-stitching and simply have not done enough of it the past couple years. I've said it before ......... I love hand-stitching better than machine stitching and that's the truth!

My friend, Sue, brought me a pretty bouquet of carnations and I've received cards from friends and family. I love getting cards in the mail. :-)

This afternoon, our daughter came over and we chatted while I worked on another hand-stitching project. Will share that one soon. Collette and I worked together and fixed a yummy chicken and noodle hot dish with green beans and some homemade biscuits I took from the freezer. My husband has been doing the cooking the past week and he welcomed someone else doing the cooking. That meant that he and grandson, Jacob, could stay focused on racing. They spent the weekend watching everything NASCAR. The only hard part was the rain-delay that meant Jacob had to go home before the race was over. But, it's on tape, so he can enjoy it later. Tomorrow, son, Devlin is coming out and going to lend a hand moving some stuff about and I'm thinking he might be the one cooking tomorrow night. :-)  I think it's time for a cup of cocoa, accompanied by a little more hand-stitching........
Have a good week!
Sandi

Valentine's Day 2014!

Wishing you all a lovely day! Thanks to those who have sent well-wishes for my upcoming surgery. Having surgery on Valentine's Day isn't quite the treat I might wish for but I do wish for good health and so I'm okay with it. I have a stack of books and magazines to enjoy as I recover and a pile of wool quilt blocks to work on so I am prepared. Oh, and the laundry's done and the house is clean and my husband will be doing the cooking for a couple of weeks. Love it.  :-)  

Sandi