Off to College

We are in the midst of a whirlwind of activity. Moving our baby girl off to school has proven to be a whole lot more work than sending our first-born off to the local university.

So here's the scoop. I am sitting outside of a little burger shack called the Polka Dot, at a picnic table under the shade trees and I actually have internet reception! I am also covered in little green bugs and yellow jackets, but the 2 little babbling creeks that run through the dining area sort of make up for it. And, I say dining area because that is what it is. There is only outdoor seating here!

Anyway, my guy is down at the college with Becca trying to get her financial aid problems worked out. She had received a very helpful little award, which was pivotal in her decision to come to this school. But now that we are here, it has been canceled.

That's right, CANCELED. Now that she has quit her job, relocated, rented a place to live, turned on the utilities, settled her horse in, started classes, and made this big giant commitment, now they cancel her financial aid. You can bet that I have plenty to say about this! Plenty. So, I have been banished to the Polka Dot where the only people I can talk to are my fellow bloggers. And the little green bugs.

Ok, on a lighter note.....

What does it take to move a little cowgirl and her pony off to college? A LOT, that's what.

First of all, you have to load up all of her earthly possessions....

Ok, almost nothing actually fit in her truck, but it was a start.

Then you load up the pony, which means you need a horse trailer.

Now, it is essential that you bribe her with plenty of food because you already know that she is going to hate this long trip.

And you have to have a vehicle to pull it with.

Now, she is gonna need a place to live for 10 days because there was a glitch with her rental.

And a vehicle to pull it.

And, most importantly, a vehicle to transport her guy who is definitely not ready to say good-bye.

I really wanted a picture of the whole caravan, but this was the best I could do. The other 2 vehicles headed back up the hill to get the 2 bags of rice bran that we forget to load up. Thank goodness we were a mere mile from the house!

Also of note, was a sobbing sister, whom I did not get a photo of.

Ok, off and running like a herd of turtles.

Lots of scenery. Or a lot of nothing as the case may be.





Then a little big city driving. Always fun with trailers!

Then a lot of beautiful.






And a horse who wanted OUT!

And time was passing....

And we were still driving....

And we were still driving...

And we got pulled over by the Fuzz...No front license plate on the Miata.
And it was really hot.
And there was the pink fruit stand fiasco.
And finally we were there.
Tired, and grumpy, and hungry, and sad, and tired.

And that was just the beginning....

Falling for Fall

Over the weekend, Melanie and I attended a mariner's compass workshop. It was fun, and we both got a lot done. We may have even learned a thing or two!

This is my little compass. It is made with some of my all-time favorite fabrics, Sweet Potato Pie by Sandy Gervais. Isn't it just yummy!

I am down to just little bits of the lime, and I don't have much more of the purple either. But, I do still have a goodly amount of the orange. So, I should be able to make at least one more quilt out of these fabrics. Lucky me!

Now, working with these fabrics got me thinking about autumn, which is my absolute favorite season. I love everything about it. The weather, the smells, the colors, the holidays, the way the sky looks, the food, the traditions, my collection of fall quilts, saying "Happy Fall Y'all" to people. Everything. I just love it!
Then, to make me even more fall-crazy, Melanie was drinking this chai tea at the workshop that smelled exactly like autumn. Exactly. And when I say she was drinking it, what I mean is that she made herself a cup of it and then because I was ohhhing and ahhhing over the smell of it, she sat it down by my sewing machine so I could smell it all day. She even reheated it to keep the smell coming all afternoon. Isn't she the best!!
Then on Sunday afternoon, I was still feeling fall crazy, so I dug out my favorite candle (Harvest, by Yankee Candle) and sat it down by my sewing machine while I worked a little more on that compass quilt. Then, that put me in the mood to bake a pumpkin pie. Yum. And that led to a big pot of homemade potato and green chile soup and cornbread. Double yum. And there was even a chill in the air last night, (no big surprise since the weather has been weird all summer). So, it was a perfect little autumn afternoon.... in early August. Lucky me!

And, lucky you, here's the recipe for the soup. It was inspired by the soup they serve at Taco Temple over in Morro Bay. Yummy

3 lg anaheims (or 3 cans of chopped green chiles)
1 lg onion
5-6 lg potatoes
2 carrots (lg, of course-I shop at Costco!)
2 lg cloves garlic
6c water
1c half and half
1t pepper
2t salt
1c (or more) jack or pepper jack cheese.

Peel and chop all veggies. Add water to cover, (you may need more or less than 6c), and spices. Cook til soft. Smash it all up with a potato masher, (you will get small chunks, not a puree). Do not drain off the water. Add the milk and the cheese and heat through. Enjoy.

Little Notions

Little Notions
August 6, 2010

I believe that I really hate this lousy economy!

I hope it changes some time in the near future. And while we are at it, I am really hoping for a different President and a few new Congressmen, too. And what is up with our INSANE legal system??? Aargh. Yesterday, I heard some lady call into a talk radio show and say that she thought that Californians were "stuck on straight-up stupid". And I really wanted to call in myself, in our defense. But I didn't. So, if you are that lady, and you are reading this VERY popular blog..... No we're not!!! ..Really....... We aren't, are we?????

I just love Marty Robbins and Eddie Rabbit. Old school, I know, but I just love their music.

I am inspired by fabric, of course!

I am creating a mariner's compass in blue, red and tan. And, tomorrow I am going to a mariner's compass workshop where I am going to start another one in fall colors. I just can't wait!

Outside the weather continues to be crazy. Melanie sent me this link, which explains what is going on in our little weather-world. It is pretty good, so check it out.

In my kitchen is a little box of micro-greens that a dear friend gave me. We have never had any before, so I have been looking forward to trying them. So, I made salads for me and my guy for lunch today. (BTW, my guy is NOT a veggie person. He will eat them, sometimes he doesn't even complain about it, but he is a meat lover. MEAT.)
It was the worst salad ever!
When my guy came in for lunch, he was a little sad to see those in his salad.
"Is that sprouts", he asked.
"Nope. It's micro-greens".
"Good, because I really hate sprouts".
Pray. Chew. Chew. Grouchy look.
"These are going on the sprouts list".
Chew. Chew.
"Do you like these"?
"Not really".
"Geez, you know it's bad if YOU don't even like them. The jalapeno ranch dressing is the only reason these are even tolerable".
"There is another container of them in the fridge".
Grouchy look. "I bet chickens just love micro-greens".

A photo thought about my daughter, 2 cute little boys and 2 cute little quilts.

Welding and Woodworking

What else was on display at the fair?

Well, the local high school kids made a lot of wonderful things from metal and wood. And this year was particularly fabulous. I would love to own all of this stuff myself!

Three fabulous wooden benches and a rocker made of horseshoes:

The third bench was made by my friend's son, Spencer.

A great little chicken coop, made by another friend's son, Everett.

A great outdoor fireplace.

How about a giant bbq/smoker on wheels!

This super beautiful candle holder, which would look great ANYWHERE!

And this table with a built-in place to ice down your drinks and chairs made from t-posts.

Aren't they ultra talented!

One Flower Wednesday

I have finally made a decision! And here is the first little flower. That would be 1 down and 99 to go. Oh my.

To recap this project: Back in 2003, while on a road trip, my daughter and I saw a GFG hanging outside a quilt shop in Winslow, Arizona. It was made in 30's fabrics and we just loved it. It inspired us to make one for ourselves. So we went right inside the little shop, called Canyon Rose, and bought our first fat quarters. Then we continued to buy 30's fabrics from all of the states we traveled through over the next few years. We don't have fabric from all 50 states yet, but that's ok because we have not gotten very far on this project!
This pink fabric came from Country Stitches in East Lansing, Michigan in October of 2003.

Fair Days

Do you love your local fair? We do. It is such a hometown kind of thing. Sort of like parades. Lots of anticipation, people and fun. But, our fair is not small, like you would expect a hometown fair to be. Actually it is the "Biggest Little Fair Anywhere", so I guess that it isn't small at all. But, there are so many community members, friends and neighbors involved at every level that is seems small and hometown-ish.

We have all of the usual suspects:
pigs, sheep and Cattleman of the Year,
corn dogs, candied apples and simply amazing mops,
the DARE police car, the Marines and a hypnotist
balloons, glow-in-the-dark bracelets and toe rings
musical groups, rowdy young people and WAY to much booze for sale.
BTW, when exactly did alcohol take over the fair?? Remember when there used to only be 1 place to buy beer? That was it, just beer, nothing stronger. And you had to drink it inside the place where they sold it. And there were lots of security guards around there to make sure you followed the rules and didn't get to rowdy. Now it is hard liquor in flashing glasses being carried all over the place and consumed in massive quantities by people who look too young to drink. But I digress.....

I have a few photos to share with you of some of this year's favorites. But, let's start with my least favorite.
This is The Barn. In years past it has had ag-type stuff and shops in it. But this year it was the Reptile Barn. Yuck. Among other things, one could see hissing cockroaches, skinks, legless lizards (isn't that a snake?), alligators and poisonous frogs. Yuck. I do not heart reptiles. I think it must be the dry-scaley sometimes wet and slimely skin, the flickering tongues, the feet with the long sharp claws, the weird eyeballs and the poison thing that I don't like. Yeah, if it wasn't for that I think I might like reptiles.......

I waited on this bench and did a little people watching while my family went inside.

Ok, the Home Arts Building. There was a lot of great stuff in there this year. How about these quilts:

This was the Best of show winner. A lot of work went into this quilt. And, the photo that it was made from was amazing.

I was so moved when I saw it. The photographer captured such an authentic moment in time. Just amazing. I met the mother of the person who made the quilt. She told me that a few years back her daughter had made the same kind of art quilt about George Bush. And she sent it to him as a gift. Can you imagine, just deciding to do something like that. It would never occur to me!

Fabulous.

This one was made by a friend.

So was this one.

I love pumpkin quilts.

Isn't this cake fun!

And this one is so pretty.

And 2 beautiful sweaters.

I will show you some more stuff tomorrow.
TTFN