Quilts and Missions

So last weekend David was supposed to go to the farm while I went to the Brenham Friendship Quilt Guild Quilt Show "Spring Blossoms".  Originally about 5 of us were gonna meet up and go but life got in the way and it was just me and my friend Donna Lynn against the quilting world..   No Quilts were harmed and we survived. LOL.

Poor thing her back was hurting when she got there so she had to find a chair ever so often.  It was a small venue and they had it packed with vendors and pretty quilts.  
First person we saw was our friend Margie who runs the retreat now known as Hilltop House by Margie with minimum of 4 and a maximum of 6.

she hates her picture taken

It's a great retreat for quilters, crafters, scrapbookers and now she's opening it up to the Round Top/Warrenton Antiquers and the MS150 riders.
Last September was our last retreat in the big house that could of held up to 16. While talking with her we discovered that she still had openings in March for her Hilltop House so we booked an impromptu retreat for 6. Normally I plan for these things months in advance but with the sale of my home, the packing, Harvey, the move, on and on I didn't get one booked for the Spring.  On Monday after the quilt show I sent out the email looking for retreaters.  I think I have one spot open currently. It is short notice but it was an impromptu booking.

While there I also found the 2 quilt shops that are within an hours drive from the farm. Who would have thunk it? A quilt shop in the country. The first one is Country Living Quilts in Flynn but they're address says Marquez.  The owner Teri was really sweet. Can't wait to get a chance to go visit her shop. She'll hate me for this picture but the lighting put a glare on it. I'm sorry. I'll do better next time I see you, Terri.
Checked out some of the the quilts from the show.

This one is too cute. It got a first place and a Mayors Choice.

And this one cracked me up. Do you Get it? It took Donna Lynn a minute. Sorry Donna Lynn I ratted you out.

Then I met my second quilt shop owner Brenda of A Cowgirl Quilt Shop. She'll be at the Tri County Quilt Guild Quilt Show @ the Berry Center in Cypress on March 2-3. Anyway Her shop is on Lake Limestone. Now this quilt shop stole my heart folks. It's all about western. Anyone who knows me knows I love western and rustic. It's probably a good thing it's not any closer or I could be go broker. But she has fabric perfect for for the Rockin K house when ever it gets built and we move in. Brenda was really nice and fun to talk with.                                           

After going through all the quilts again and talking with Margie one more time Donna and I needed food so we headed over to The Longhorn Saloon & Steakhouse in downtown Brenham where shared the southwest burger with fries and onion rings.  Soooo good.  We sat and talked there for a while and then head over to Hermann Furniture.  We didn't look at the furniture but we looked at the antique booths. 

It was a very fun day.

Got home early and David was feeling better. 

Oh now don't think that by moving to the country one day that I won't have quilt shops near by... That's not the case at all and obviously I just found two more. Yippee for me. I could list them but I won't bore you.

So what did you do Super Bowl Sunday?

We went on a mission.      Before I talk about the mission left me discuss my furry friend pictured here. Ever since we moved into the rent house my daughter and I have heard things in the walls and the ceilings. Once a few weeks ago David finally heard something in our bedroom and then last Saturday while we were upstairs he got to hear the scratching in the wall behind my sewing cabinet. One morning I had heard a noise that sounded like Lilley when she plays with her chew stick on the laminate flooring only she was laying next to me in bed. awe oh.

So Super Bowl Sunday as we were pulling out of the driving I was looking up at the roof line when all of a sudden out pops the squirrel. Then he disappears just as fast.  AWESOME!  We let the landlord know right away. We'll see what happens. We have a squatter.

So back our mission (squirrel) I needed ink for our printer and David wanted to look for cushions for some chairs but our big mission was to look at various types of flooring. We have it in our minds that we want stained concrete when we build at the Rockin K. We've had 2 builders say "oh yeah" and two that say it's not a good choice because of the wear pattern and the up keep. UUGGGHHH. I think I still want stained concrete but I did put the question out there on Facebook and I'll put it out there to you who follow my blog .... 

What are your thoughts and opinions on stained concrete flooring?  

I already know it's cold and it's hard on the feet but what about wear and tear and upkeep?

After our search and finding some alternatives if we decide to go a different direction we came home to relax, cook, and have a drink or two prior to the super bowl. David makes a great Hard Lemonade served in my special Cowgirl Bling glass from my friend Nancy.

Oh and I won I won! I can't say I never win on the football pot anymore. I won almost enough money to pay for my quilt retreat I just booked. Yippee!

Well that's it for now.

Until then

Cuteness and Family Time

Can't get enough of this cuteness. Lilley was a tired girl and curled up with the stuffed long horn on the guest bed.
She was upstairs keeping Pamela company for a little while one night. 








A couple of weeks ago I was chewing on ice. Yes I know that's not good for my teeth but it's a habit I started back when I was a kid. Well this time it didn't end so well. I broke part of my molar off. Didn't realize it at first then my tongue hit the sharp edges of my tooth.  Awesome. Luckily I was able to get into the dentist a day later and got a temporary crown. Fun Fun. Permanent one won't be ready until Feb 20th.  The temporary crown feels weird but better than the sharp broken tooth.

I went and spent an afternoon with my Mom while David was at the farm. We were having fun with the snapchat app on my phone. I had her laughing. 

We were so silly.

Hated to end the day but I needed to get home so Pamela who had to come into town briefly could  swing by to pick me and Lilley up and take us to her house in Bryan. That way we only had on vehicle to drive home on Sunday since David was already up that way at the farm. We met him at Pamela's house and went out to dinner at Casa Rodriguez in downtown Bryan.  Yum

Lilley was like I'm tired. I'll just rest my head on this pillow and maybe everyone will leave me alone.

Sophie posed pretty for the camera.    Once Pamela and I leave for the farm is when these two will get to playing.  Usually after we leave them alone in the house, we'll come home to all the pillows from Pamela's sofa will be on the floor and toys laying around. These two little lovable fur babies can be wild and crazy.

Pamela wasn't in a picture taking mood so I took a selfie while waiting on David to holler for help. It was really sunny out but kind of chilly in the open. Just ever so often a breeze came across the Mini Mansion porch.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Do we have to go home? Can't we just stay and enjoy the country life?    

The Mini is getting close to being our home away from home sorta. 98% of the electrical is done and the AC unit is set, we have our Bubba heater I bought David for Christmas last year for heat, 80% of the installation is up on the walls and we started putting the tin on the ceiling. 

My boss Kim, now has a department.  It was just me and her but now there's 4 of us.  YAY. For her birthday I stopped and got breakfast tacos,

Samara got a cake and Michelle got a card and a gift card. The cake ended up matching Kim's attire. We're a team.






This closes out the month of January and we're into February. January went a little fast but I guess that's okay for now.

So that that that's all Folks as Porky Pig used to say

Until next blog...  “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities”
- J.K. Rowling

A Little Snow, A Little Fun with Love in the Air

Snow is a rarity in my neck of the words. David predicted it.  He said with a hurricane comes snow for us. And he was right. December 8th snow and ice were predicted and the school districts took notice and closed. They closed for 2 days because of the snow and ice. Lilley wasn't afraid of the white but sure was confused by it and her frozen water bowl.

Okay my northern friends I know it's no big deal up there but we're not prepared for that kind of weather and the road hazards. And we sure don't want an in-experienced driver driving our school buses with precious cargo.
 A co-worker Margaret and I both plan on retiring and moving to our farms. She already has a home built on her pretty piece of property and as you know we're working on finding a builder. In fact her floor plan is one David and I found on-line and really liked it. My retirement is pending until we get a feel for the cost of building but my sweet friend up and retired in December. It wasn't announced until her last 7 days. At that time one of her co-workers in her department came to me asking if I could think of something they could give Margaret before she leaves. 
Maybe something quilty. Margaret is a quilter but way better than I. Oh boy 7 days to make something quilty. After talking I got an idea to make a signature block. 
Jamay reminded me that Margaret loved her birds and quilting.

So I asked my friend Donna Marie to help embroidery some little birds and some wording on the block and I did a scrappy block alternating with white for her department to sign on. Each little bird holds something quilty. I think it turned out okay on short notice. Margaret recently sent me a note for my part in her retirement present from her department. Her farm is about an hour away from my farm but we have a pending quilting date whenever I'm out her way. 
Recently I had a weekend filled with Wedding activities. My hair stylist/friend recently tied the knot with her true love. We started off with a couples party at Painting With A Twist in Tomball.  What!, we're doing sunflowers? Not at all what I expected from my Tim Burton movie loving friend.

Here's the happy couple. Love is in the air I tell you.  Brittany Bunch and Jordan Tunstal. Just a couple more days of the single life.  ;o)

           

 Joyce caught me taking pictures over her shoulder.  Nice start Joyce.

What a better way to spend my Friday evening. Painting, drinking wine, and laughing. Time went really fast and before we knew we were done. 

 Not bad for a "Bunch" of amateurs. After painting they headed to Molly's Pub just down the road for a few more adult drinks while I headed home. I needed to be able to drive home safely.   But I had fun.

Then it was time for a wedding on a Sunday evening in Katy at Multiplicity. It's a really cute venue. The wedding and reception was held outside. While the sun was up it was a little chilly but after the sun went down it got down right cold. There were fleece blankets in baskets and heaters to keep warm. I have to share pictures of the pretty bride, venue and decor. 

Everything was as beautiful and unique as Brittany. I was honored to be included on her special day. She's my hairstylist and friend. She's such a sweet young lady and deserves all the happiness that Jordan and life can give her.

 Her table themes reflect her love of Tim Burton movies.

 

This is the one on the Bride and Grooms Table. Too cute. 

 I even ran into an old friend from quilting bee. She went off and moved to Round Rock for a new job and be closer to family. Barbara T. looked great.

Pamela had to have a selfie with Brittany.
 
 Oh and guess who caught the bouquet?! Yep Pamela. Shortly after catching it Pamela hollers to Brittany...... "Where's the man, I thought it came with the man?"  LOL Only my kid.





This was a fun wedding. The bridal party were so cute.

Well that's it for now but I'll have more to share later. You know it. Well what can I say there's always something to do.

Until next blog.... New love in bloom now fills your life/ As you (Brittany and Jordan) become husband and wife

2017 went out with a Pop and 2018 arrived

I was able to be off the whole week of Christmas but it went too fast. Didn't really get a lot accomplished during that time but did spend time with my family. Poor David spent the time fighting a sinus infection or cold. Not sure which but it's still making him miserable. In fact he's still fighting it but not as bad. I've just been trying to stay away from everyone here at the office that was sick before Christmas and David at home. I don't want to be sick. NO NO NO. 

To end 2017, Saturday the 30th we had a date night and were able to take in a music event at Main Street Crossing in Tomball. 
One of my favorite Texas Rockabilly's Jesse Dayton was opening for a Reverend Horton Heat. We knew we wanted to see Jesse so we got tickets and in the process we found another artist we like. Reverend Horton and Jesse rocked those guitars. The Reverend Horton had some great stories and songs. Great evening.





Nice way to end the Music year.








For New Years Eve we went by the farm to make sure the water was turned off to the tanks and then on to Groesbeck, TX to hang with the Harper's.  It was freezing outside.

A balmy 27 with a wind chill factor around 15. 
I pulled out a hat that my sister Barb bought for David while she was on tour in Afghanistan. All the men there wore them. It kept my head nice and toasty as long as it didn't blow off with the strong winds.



Of the 4 sorority sisters that were always together 

during college it was just me and Sheryl that night. 
Gigi and Tim were out of town and Kathy and Mark had to take care of their animals because of the freezing temps. So the wine was all ours. Okay so maybe we shared some with Sheryl's daughter in law and future daughter in law.

This was a new wine from Fiesta that came in mine and Pamela's wine club shipment. Pretty tasty.  Didn't take long to polish it off.

David and I didn't stay till midnight since we weren't sure what the roads would be like. It was sleeting on us on the way up and we wanted to take it slow and easy on the way back home which was about a 2 1/2 hour drive. Thankfully the Road Gods were with us and the roads were dry. 

Some how we ended up in stair step order for our picture. Thanks to Richard Sheryl's son for taking. Ross and Sheryl on the outside with David and I in the middle.
Great friends and conversation to end the year.







Pamela was going to come up with us to

Groesbeck but we were gonna get back to late so she stayed home to feed the dogs and then went to her long time friends house to bring in the New year. 
She was a smart girl and stayed the night at Marlaina and Josh's instead of being on the roads after midnight with all the other drunks. To be honest she might have had her share of adult beverage and didn't need to be driving.

My nephew Zachariah recently sent a picture on snapchat commenting on the weather in my hometown Trenton, Missouri. Wow! That's not gray in his beard, that's frost.
I don't miss that kind of cold at all. 


David headed to the farm last Saturday 1/5 and said "Why don't you go hang out with Pam for the day" mmm maybe, well okay.. Of Course I didn't remembered that there was a reunion luncheon  for WTS, the company I worked for many moons ago. Didn't cross my mind until I saw a post of all my former co-workers. Geez. But I did go up to hang out with Pamela. We drove up to the farm and took David some lunch and on our way up we texted my friend Sheryl to see if maybe she'd want to meet us at a new winery we found called the Dancing Bee.

Love that name. 

Unfortunately Sheryl couldn't make it so after hanging out with David for a while and checking out where we think we'll build the house Pamela I headed out to find the Dancing Bee Winery on our own. It's part of the Walker Honey Farm. It's located on 190 between Rodgers and Temple. They have a patio to sit on and enjoy your wine but it was a little too chilly to sit outside that day and if you're hungry they have a food truck to order from. They said their pizza was awesome.  Maybe next time we'll have some wine and pizza..  After the wine tasting Pamela got a glass of their sangria. I abstained and just looked around the shop. It was very tasty.  Can you see the dancing bee on the glass?

Well we definitely liked the place and our hostess was 
awesome. 
Dang it I forgot her name.She was funny, informative and cute. 
Maybe it was Kara. 
Something 
with a K I think. Anyway the other gals there were really nice too. 
Pamela posted on FB about us being at the winery and my brother-in-law came back with "I think you girls have a drinking problem"
to which I reply something to this effect.
People say I got a drinkin' problem
But I got no problem drinkin' at all from Midland Country song
We have no problem we just enjoy our wine when we can.
We hated to live but it was time to head back to Pam's and meet David for dinner.

He hadn't left the farm as we came back by so we stopped and we decided to meet at Sodolak's in Bryan on Hwy 21 for dinner.  Can you say Yummy? I ordered Fried Pork Chops. I haven't had fried pork chops since I was a kid and that was a long time ago. Holy cow they were huge plus with 2 sides. I should have taken a picture but I was hungry and the idea of taking a picture went bye bye. I ate one chop and took the other one home along with part of my loaded mashed taters. I finished off my okra though. Then the worst part was when I left Pamela's Sunday morning I forgot my left overs. Uggh so Pamela had a nice lunch or dinner on me.  
This week started off with me feeling bad. It wasn't a cold or the flu but I definitely was in a funk. I set me up a doctors appointment for Friday but now I'm feeling better. Oh well may go anyway just to make sure.
So this is it for now. I'll be on more adventures this coming weekend.

Until next Blog... 

Happy New Year Friends and Family