Thank you

I am very grateful to all of you who sent congratulations about finishing my Dear Jane top. Each and every one is appreciated and means a lot to me. Thank you for your kindness. I'm still kind of floating on clouds here, but need to get back to my projects today. Where has the summer gone?

I DID IT!!!

The last stitch making this a complete top was taken tonight at 7:24 p.m. I am so filled with emotion as this has been a part of my life since March 7, 1998 when I made my first block, J-6. As I sewed the last few stitches, I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. I may just need to have a good cry now, but they will be tears of happiness.

Thursday at Comerica

Jim, JJ and I left yesterday for Comerica Park in Detroit to see the Tigers/Indians play baseball. We arrived early in order to get the give-away of a Tiger cap with velcro attached Magglio hair. There were Magglios everywhere! It was so funny. We baked in the sun all day until the ninth inning when we finally got some shade. It was an oven out there!!! The game went into extra innings with the score 0-0. The crowd went nuts when Joel (Zoom Zoom) Zumaya came in to replace Nate Robertson who had pitched 8 2/3 innings of absolute masterful baseball to no avail. Cleveland outscored us in the 10th inning and went home the winner. We went home sunburned. It's always a great day being at a Tiger game, though, even if they lose.

Tote bag

No new pictures today so I'm sharing one of the tote bag I made a couple of years ago using 3" Jane blocks and the Rumbleford tote pattern. My sister, Connie and I made one for our friend, JoAnn, when we visited Minnesota and stayed at her house. Of course, we had to make our own when we returned home.

Getting there

I'm stitching the fourth triangle border on my baby Jane quilt now. One of these days I'll surprise you with a picture of the completed top. It isn't difficult at all, just tedious work. And I am often and so easily distracted. I have an urge to start a new project, but so far, I'm resisting. The stitcheries of the ladies posted on several blogs are calling my name for sure. Then there's all of the Jo Morton patterns I want to do, also.

I've received my name for the SSCS on Chookyblue's blog. There are eighty participants from around the world. I need to read through the blog of the name I've been given for her likes and dislikes in order to get an idea of what to make for her.

On Sunday, Mike, Simone, Jim and I went to Greenville to watch JJ and his friend, Tim in a talent contest that was part of the Danish Festival. They did great and were presented with 2nd Place and $100 prize money. Camp Tuhsmeheta is done for the summer, so JJ came home with us to visit for a few days before heading back to Kalamazoo.


I'm trying to link my Webshots to the side of my blog, but it won't work for some reason. I keep getting an error and the URL showing up instead of a clickable link.

.Happy Anniversary

It was a mere thirty-nine years ago (August 17, 1968) that Jim and I each gave our "I do" answers to the "Do you take this...?" questionS at the altar. When I look at us in this old, faded, not so great photo, it seems like two different people standing there in church. Maybe that's because we were a lot different then. Our ages were eighteen and nineteen, just like the picture suggests - not even old enough to vote, drink or have a credit card. During the years, we were blessed with three beautiful children, Kari, Michael and Jason. They continue to bring us love, laughter and the thought that maybe we did something right. Our numbers increased with the addition of son-in-law, Craig and daughter-in-law, Simone in 1993. Then the icing on the cake - the grandchildren, Abigail and Ian. Every happy and sad event through the years has shaped us into who we are today. It hasn't always been easy, but I wouldn't change a thing.

Hibiscus blooms

I see many homes in the area with beautiful hibiscus plants full of pretty blooms of pinks and reds. This year I bought a couple of small plants from the sale table during the Bay City Garden Walk. They have bloomed! Okay, it's just a flower or two at a time so far, but I have high hopes for these plants. The flowers are huge. The first bloom was spotted last Friday just before dark. The second photo is from today.

Quiet House

Abby and Ian are back in Wisconsin. The house is quiet again. We really enjoyed having them visit us and did so many things that even they were tired when they got home. It should just go without saying that both Jim and I were ready for naps. Here is our good-bye picture along with the family reunited for the trip back home. We are squinting some as it was a very sunny day.

I was pretty much a slug today except for a little machine sewing this afternoon. My friend, Val, is putting on a quilt show in Canada the last week-end in September to raise money for the rec center which was burned down. There will be a 4 Sale Table so I made a few zippered screen bags to send to her. These make up really quickly once you remember how they go together. That part took me longer than the actual sewing.

The Grandchildren are here!

Yesterday Jim and I spent most of the day in our car on the road because we were meeting Kari, Abigail and Ian in New Buffalo. It was one of the hottest and muggiest days of the summer so far, so being in an air conditioned car was a good thing. After meeting at the Michigan Welcome Center, we went to Redamak's to eat before each car headed back home. After driving a couple of hours, we decided to stop in Greenville where Uncle JJ is working at Camp T, a camp for blind and visually impaired children and young adults. The campers and counselors were lined up for an outdoor dinner. We found JJ in the pavilion working on the music program for the week-end. He was definitely surprised that we were there and even more so, that we had Abby and Ian with us.



One more stop at The Farmer in the Dell for an ice cream treat before we reached our house. Is Grandpa trying to eat from Abby's ice cream, too?

My prize package from Finn arrived, too. It contained some beautiful red work blocks along with some feed sack fabric, a couple of vintage hearts, a beautifully written card and a CAT! A Cat! How did Jasper get into that picture again? I just laid the items together and went to retrieve my camera. He is so fast. I do think he approves of the choices Finn made. Thanks again for drawing my name!

My Birthday

Today's my birthday! Ta da da da dum! I can hear the music in my head. Hope you can, too. My kitchen table contains a pile of birthday cards from my family and friends and I've also received many online wishes and phone calls. Thank you everyone. Calico Cat asked for the recipe of the banana cake that Simone made for Mike and me. The recipe is one from my Great Aunt Emma who was a sister to my paternal grandmother. Aunt Emma lived with my grandparents for most of her life. My grandma loved to work outside on the farm and Aunt Emma took care of most of the household things including the cooking and baking. She had most of her recipes memorized, but in her later years, she did write down some of her favorites in a medium sized Collegiate notebook. Usually only the ingredients were listed so the oven temps and baking times were discovered by trial and error. Here is her banana cake:

Aunt Emma's Banana Cake

2 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup soft shortening*
3/4 cup sour milk
1 1/4 cups mashed bananas
2 large eggs

Cream the shortening with the sugar and then add the eggs. Mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda and add to the first mixture alternating with the milk. Add the mashed bananas and pour into a greased and floured 9 x 13" cake pan. Bake at 350 for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool and frost with a cream cheese frosting.
If you like nuts, add about a 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the batter.
*I usually use Crisco.

Birthday Cake!

Today is Mike's 37th birthday! We celebrated with them (Mike and Simone) yesterday and today with lots of good food, including a delicious banana cake with cream cheese frosting and Hershey's ice cream. Jim grilled NY strips for dinner tonight. Simone made a wonderful potato salad as well as the cake. And we also had sweet corn from the farmer down the road. No get-together is ever complete without several games of Euchre. We keep a running total on the refrigerator at Mike and Simone's house of who wins how many games. We're not competitive at all. Jim has the badminton net set up for when the grandkids come later this week. After Mike and I were beaten silly in cards, we did manage to win the badminton game. I probably won't be able to walk tomorrow. Which reminds me, you may notice the writing on the cake says Mom & Mike. That's because tomorrow is my 57th birthday. We've been able to celebrate our birthday together the last few years since they moved back to the states. It makes getting older a bit easier when you can share it with someone you love. Happy Birthday, Mike! Hope you had a great day.

Pincushion arrives

Beep! Beep! The mail carrier usually pulls into our driveway and beeps her horn when she has a package or box for us. Today's surprise was the beautiful pincushion that I won over at Darlene's blog. She used the prettiest fabrics to make this and I just love it. Thanks, so much for offering these gifts and for drawing my name.


Jim has been up and down the stairs all day moving some of his unused "treasures" to his van. Tomorrow he will set up tables at Immanual Lutheran for an outdoor garage sale/flea market event. I hope he comes home with an empty van and a full wallet.

Here's a picture of the sixty-eight log cabin blocks that make up the outer border for the wedding quilt in my last post. Today I am trimming and tying off threads on the back of the top. Thank you to everyone for the lovely comments you left. I really appreciate the encouragement.

Abby and Ian will be visiting us next week! We are really looking forward to their stay here.