Sugar and Spice

 

Zzzzzzzzz

 

                          Don't you just love a sleeping, peaceful baby? 

One wonders as she sleeps what goes on in her brain.

With no rocky experiences (except for perhaps her birth journey) and her basic needs being met, she has yet to feel the pain of rejection, the sorrow of loss, and the daily disappointments of life.

On the other side, she has yet to experience a rainbow of colors, the sharing of laughter, the unexpected pleasure of a dip in the lake on a hot summer day. As her Grandmother, you know I wish for her life to be filled with sweetness and spice. Balance.

 

 

While she was "percolating" in her mother's warm, cozy womb, I wanted to prepare for her a little warm, cozy haven to wrap herself in as a protective armor.  A quilt.  A pink (sweet) and blue (spice)

quilt.  With blocks that I had found years ago that some other person - perhaps a Grandmother - made in  preparation for her little one coming.  Why the blocks were never joined together and assembled into a quilt will remain a mystery forever, but I set out to change that.

 

 

 

This is one of the 57 blocks I found while out "treasure" hunting.

The blocks I found closely resembles the vintage SHOO FLY pattern.



I got busy with my sewing machine and sewed 56 blocks together - rows of seven across horizontally and rows of eight vertically.  Then a batting and backing were added to turn the top into a quilt. And hand quilting to hold it all together!

When all the blocks are placed together, the pattern becomes quite integrated - you see larger stars and squares in squares. 

Photographed outside; the colors look more faded out.

Once the quilt was done, and there was one quilt square left over, I had to figure out how to use it in the expected book bag/tote for the newly born recipient.

Front of tote with her name.



The block became a hidden pocket inside!

See?  It's making me sleepy already!

On second thought, I think I'll check the world out for a little bit longer...

 

  There's so much out there to discover, Sweet Little One. 

May it bring you much sweetness and just the right touch of spice!

"Old Girl"

She and I have been together for over fifteen years now. I picked her out the year our daughter was a freshman in college - the first car ever my own! No hand-me-down status.  No minivan.  And, red?

Yes, please! We, like two girlfriends, have been on many adventures together: road trips, windows open and music pumping. Trips to buy groceries and supplies, trips to airports and train stations to reunite with family and friends, trips to get teeth cleaned and back on track with a cure of a park or garden visit.

She, like me, has shown some evidence of aging. Spots and dings, a quirky check engine light warning even when engine is fine. She shimmies when she reduces speed. She, like me, gets check ups and servicing as needed and keeps chugging away. But, there are times I think about getting her replaced. And I recently dabbled with life without "Old Girl."  She got side-swiped on her back bumper while parked in front of our City Nest by someone who kept going past.  Ouch!

Luckily I had rental car insurance on Old Girl for her spa at the auto body place.  And the chance to get modernized with a whole new crash course myself on how keyless ignitions, turn-dial gear shifting

and electronics work on a much newer model: the Chrysler 200.  Make that a black 200 to boot!

With this as a key fob!

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I ended up with "Young Stud" for close to two weeks.

When the call came that "Old Girl" was ready, I realized I was missing her more than I thought I would.

She was beautifully repaired.  Her check engine light was still aglow.  She still shimmied. But she was my old friend and just like the old broken-in shoes, she seems to fit me just right!

Surely this means I am an Old Girl, too.  

I hereby leave my  

"Young Stud" to someone else...for now anyway. 

Please watch out for my OG - we are a team that I

don't wish to put out to pasture just yet!

Outtakes

With our numbers increasing, it was apparent we could use an update in the family photograph department. A date was scheduled with our favorite - and brave - photographer from LCC, Nancy, with her capable (and also brave) assistant, Rachel. She suggested the nearby St. Mary's Seminary as our backdrop.  We had been watching the ever-changing weather forecast with much interest and lucked out with a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. 

Our crowd consisted of several rascals - one is a runner, one is one who likes to find any bathroom, one is two years of age (need I say more?) and two are unpredictable newborns.

Two were interested in water dousing from the lovely fountain nearby. 

Two were dirt absorbers from the grassy area near the fountain and were wearing white leggings. (The remedy from dirty knees was administered by their grandmother from said fountain.)

Two were stripped down to their newborn birthday suits for poses to coo over. Imagine the consequences. Did I mention brave photographer and assistant before?

Witnessing all of the action unfold was pretty entertaining. I can only imagine what was going on through the lens of Nancy's camera! I snapped a couple of candid outtakes with my cell phone to share with you here:

Oh, my.

Truly, though, isn't this the way real life works? 

Catching UP

These days have been quite busy and at times I feel like I just can't catch up!

Running here. running there.

But, it's all good.  Especially good as our family expands.

First with this little guy who makes the best expressions.

And then just about three weeks ago with this little (???) 10 pounds, 9 ounces bundle of joy!

Harper Muriel was born on June 23. We love her name and it's tribute

to her beloved paternal Great Grandmother.

Aside from spending time with the siblings of these babies, we managed

to squeeze in a little North Woods cabin time, celebrate some family birthdays,

go to a couple of parades

and

check out the new 606 trail.  As well as the new Maggie Daley Park, 

which even has places for adults to play!!

Oh, Summertime...please don't run away from me too soon! I'm trying to keep up with you!

Godspeed

Just a few hours old, and we wonder already what direction(s) his life will take...will he be one born to teach?  To solve mathematical equations?  To create with clay and paint? To discover what has yet to be discovered? 

Even while still in his mother's womb, I pondered what his future life might look like as I began stitching a welcoming quilt for him. Of course I wanted to give him the moon and stars. And wishes for a life full of adventure and smooth sailing.  A Mariner's Compass quilt seemed so fitting, so I got to work cutting and stitching.

This pattern is a bit complicated, to say the least. With 32 points on the compass "rose" and 8 "fussy cuts" with sailboats positioned to make a circular ring inside, it took a bit of time.  Luckily, freezer paper foundation-piecing made the project so much easier. (Pardon the quilter's lingo here.).  Good thing I needed to only make four of these blocks!  

I also made ten sailboat blocks using the same paper-foundation piecing technique. Then it was time to put all the blocks together and use the tried-but-true-but-painful method of basting the quilt top, batting and backing together on the floor. Thank you, bones, for allowing me to get up from the floor afterwards!!!

Once the basting was completed, it was time for the hand-quilting to commence.  However, the

recipient of this quilt made it to the finish line first!  Carter Nelson Lindahl was born two weeks ago and he, his mother, his father, his big brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins are all doing well.  They look forward to where this life journey may take him and wish for Godspeed along the way!

Yes, here we see Carter's wonderful parents. And, yes those are unfinished edges on the quilt.

Godspeed [god-speed]

noun

1. Good fortune; success (used as a wish to a person starting on a journey, a new venture, etc.)

origin

Middle English: from God speed you  'may God help you prosper'.

Our Week of Culinary Conquests

While we were on our vacation to Hilton Head Island, Diann and I enjoyed using our official Biltmore Estate cookbook. We are finding it's a lot of fun - and quite efficient - to share the kitchen and actually cook instead of dining out!! (Though we did this, too.)

With two of us working together, we tackled recipes that we'd probably not attempt on our own.

Like Beef Wellington. It was sooooo good!

We made individual

Wellingtons instead of a whole tenderloin as it wasn't available in the local grocery store.

 

On the side:  oven-baked corn on the cob and oven roasted asparagus spears.

Another meal, we brought back the Salad Pizza recipe from last year's trip to Myrtle Beach.

Scones?  Yes, please!  We made these to go with breakfast one day. Warm out of the oven!!

Pre-baked scones

Another recipe from last year, made by Diann, is the Amaretto-glazed Peach Slices.

 

 

 

As we had no amaretto, a few drops of almond flavoring worked just fine!

She also did most of the work on the Rustic Apple Tart.

 

 

The smell of this baking was heavenly!

There were a couple of times when we got online recipes, too, with Paula Dean as inspiration for the Key Lime Pie meringue and the Baked Brie with nuts and brown sugar and a puff pastry crust.

Ooey, gooey cheesy goodness!

Towards the end of our week, the reserved ingredients (we only grocery shopped once!) went into the delicious Vanderbilt Mountain Strata.

 

 

This was one of the easiest, tastiest stratas I've ever made!  In fact, it was made again for my family after we returned home. 

You can obviously tell we threw calories, low carb, no sugar out the window for our week of culinary conquests and I have absolutely no regrets about it - and as for my waistbands, they have learned to keep quiet!!

Downton Detour

Road trips are always an adventure!

Here in the Biltmore Estate garden, we met up with the most delightful floral belle!

My sister and I have just wrapped up a wonderful trip to Hilton Head Island...spending hours in the car together on the way through Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and finally arriving at our destination in South Carolina.  Along the way, we witnessed/experienced traffic jams, detours, winding mountain passes and a terrible accident.  Hotel reservations for two overnights were made as we travelled:  Asheville, NC was the first night and we arrived there later than my usual bedtime.  What really piqued our interest as we approached Asheville were prominent billboards advertising Dressing Downton at the Biltmore Estate.  What??? We knew a detour in the morning was coming!

 

This picture appeared on the billboard and also in the commemorative book purchased on location.

Early rising was a snap!  With no advance tickets purchased, we knew we had to be there even before the Biltmore Estate gate opened.  Our plan worked and we made it in time before tickets were no longer available. How very jolly we were --- pip pip Cheerio!

Front entrance

No photography was allowed once inside the Estate.  (This really allowed full concentration for full observation.  The pictures below have been "lifted" from the web and the book I bought.)  There were about 45 wardrobe masterpieces in the collection worn by the cast of this beloved PBS show. In person, these outfits were stunningly beautiful with every attention to detail: hats and jewelry included. The outfits were placed on mannequins and parked in appropriate mansion rooms.

Lady Mary and Matthew (not shown: the soon deceased Turkish diplomat) in Season 1.
 

 

Earl of Grantham wore this to the Charity Concert  in Season 2.

Tom's Chauffeur uniform Season 1-2.

Mrs. Hughes - Season 1.

Some of my favorites:  Earl of Grantham, Cora and Dowager Countess in their Garden Party attire Season 1.

Lady Sybil, Earl of Grantham, Lady Mary Season 2.

Lady Rose on the right in Season 4.

Lady Edith in her "boyish" look in Season 3.   This dress was one of my faves!

Cora's Garden Party hat.

Did you know that this is a travelling show? After leaving the Biltmore Estate, these garments will make their way to Wisconsin, Virginia, Chicago, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee. You might need to take a road trip detour yourselves to see this
show if you are a Downtown Abbey fan!