thunder and rain

Woke up this morning to thunder and lots of rain.... there are large "pools" of water all over .
It is super gray out and the temperature hovers in the 50's.  Good day to stay home and sew bears... or knit.. or crochet.

More storms later today... tomorrow and Thursday ... and possible flooding.  Flood watches are out.

at work... bear parts in my lap!!

changeable weather

Yesterday my husband and I went to a juried craft show. It was held in Powell Gardens... a botanical garden about 40 miles southeast of Kansas City. A very neat place to visit. The co-sponsor was Missouri Life magazine. There were 100 booths with everything from glass beads to ceramics to soap making, black smithing, dyed wool, weaving, wood items and so on.  There were also food booths, winery booths, distillery booths, honey etc. We enjoyed looking and sampling.... it was warm and sunny but , oh so windy! There were moments when I wasn't sure I was going to stay on my feet!!
By the time we has seen everything, I was too tired to look at the gardens . Pity...

Today was another story... this morning was gray and cloudy and the temperature was in the low 40's. This afternoon we had thunder and a splattering of rain with more to follow overnight.

The violas , lavender, basil and parsley I planted in the boxes on the deck railings are growing like mad. Hope they get well established before we get the typical hot and dry Missouri summer.

Getting ready

Life has been its usual hectic self... helping our Daughter with Harper while she gets ready for her fundraiser event...

 and preparing my "site" for the Spring Stars online bear show coming up on May 10th. My sister-in-law is coming for a few days just prior to the show so want to have everything done. I have my bears listed. Copy written and PayPal buttons done. I have room for one more bear and one in the works; but, should I add it?? Or have it "ready" for the next show??

Friends of ours from Texas are driving through the area on their way to Mexico, Mo. where the husband is taking a week long class on airplane building (?). We will meet them at a restaurant for dinner and catch up. I am looking forward to seeing them both and hearing more about the class.
Added benefit... no cooking tonight.

Maybe I will save this post and add more details about the class later ??   

 We all enjoyed dinner and talking. They are both taking the class which is two days long. The company ( Zenith Aircraft) puts out 6 plane kits and the class helps familiarize one with building a kit. You also get to ride in one of the planes ( already built ! LOL) . The company sent him a copy of the plane he wants to build so he could tell whether the part they are building will fit in the car for the trip back to Texas.  BTW he will be building the plane in his garage...
 One their way out of the restaurant I nagged him a bit about pictures... it will be interesting to hear how it all goes!

Easter Sunday

Work up this morning to a beautiful sunny warmish day!! My neighbor's dogwood is in bloom... my lilacs are about to follow suit.
Bob and I spent yesterday adding plants and flowers to containers in front of the front steps and to those on the deck... He is still raking last year's leaves but he is "getting there".  He prepped the grill for everyone's burgers tonight and checked the propane.. plenty !!
There are things to do before everyone arrives....looking forward to relaxing on the deck afterwards...

busy week

It has been a busy week. My quilting group ( really a stitch and b**ch group) met here Wednesday night so that meant picking up and light cleaning and making refreshments beforehand. Managed to get that all done in time!!
My elder daughter's non-profit is having its annual fundraising event next week. Its called the "Ungala" and many of Phoenix Family's people and the board etc. wear costumes. Guess who made the costumes for my two daughters... yes... me. Finally finished them both except for the hem on elder daughter's. She wants to try it on first. So Easter Sunday will be try on time!!  I'm not wearing a costume though I have chosen an outfit and had it ok'd.

We are having an easy peasy Easter dinner ... grilled hamburgers and sides etc. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we can eat outside!! Not much work means a chance to talk etc.

 Dominic, Bob and I are the only ones who don't work... the rest are super busy. So an easy Easter is really appreciated.
BTW   eleven year old ( 12  in June) Dominic has grown again... He is now 6' 1 inches tall. Every time I see him he is taller!!  His 6' 4 inch father is feeling shorter and shorter!

Our lawn has loads and loads of volunteer violets ... and there are loads and loads of them!!

Notre Dame

My husband's great aunt left her upstate NY home to work for the Red Cross after WWI.  We have several  scrapbooks of her time in Europe... everywhere from Yugoslavia to Paris.  Page after page crammed with postcards , pictures and writing!!
She brought back this print of Notre Dame ... I've always loved the look of an older Paris that the print has!

I had to take the picture from an angle so that the reflection from light and flash was eliminated..
The artist was Georges Plasse and the print is signed and numbered.

Having this now is doubly wonderful!!

I posted the picture on Facebook as well  and have been told it's not Notre Dame... family stories are often incorrect. So.. even it if isn't Paris' cathedral it reminds me of it and I love it anyway!!

colder... but no snow!! Hooray!

The temperatures have dropped but we are still dry - no rain and NO SNOW. All of that went north and then east. It may rain a little sometime this weekend. We will have to make sure to bring in the deck chair cushions.
We went out to dinner with our daughters last night (Thursday). We all did loads of talking, catching up etc. Very enjoyable... great food too. Our daughters' choices must have been super popular...since they were out and they have to choose something else.... lol
Back to the bank today for more discussions etc. Then off to the Twilight Stitchers ( local quilt group) for their annual show. Had fun choosing my favorites . You are handed a small clipboard with a voting sheet - you fill out your favorites in about 9 categories and hand it back in on your way out. There were quite a few vendors as well. Found some colorful wool felt ! We talked to the husband of a quilt shop owner who was selling and showing off vintage Singer machines. Also talked with someone who dyes her own fabrics... love her stuff!! Especially the ice dyed and batiks!
I grocery shopped on the way home... Bob left me at the store while he went and washed the car.

cont'd     Laurel's fundraiser is coming up quickly. The theme is the 70's. She is coming over to help me sew something ( costume) for daughter #2.
Daughter #2 and I found a pair of shoes for the event. Our local Payless is closing as are all the others but ours is one of the biggest. Found loads including a wild pair of red and black sneakers for my 11 year old grandson --- a huge 6 footer with size 13 feet! And a silvery clutch purse with silver chain for the prom my granddaughter is going to tonight!! Everything either 30% or 50% off!! Loved that!!

weatherperson said hard freeze last night... wrong again!

Spring ??

We have been ridding our lawn etc. of last year's leaves. With as many trees as we have... and there are lots. We have oaks, maples and a gum tree which leaves lots of little prickly balls.
Bob brought out the deck cushions and we had dinner out there last night. The temperature was over 80 degrees!  Our neighbors dogwoods, bradford pears, redbuds and magnolias are blooming. Lots of pollen in the air. ... oak and maple pollen will follow shortly!!
The weather person talks of snow and rain this weekend, but we are hoping that  this is further north. The Dakotas to Minnesota have snow already which means more water flowing into the Missouri River and its tributaries.  More flooding can be expected.

Bob has plans to take Harper for a walk to the park this afternoon. Our daughter will be home late so Bob's walk etc. will tide Harper over till our daughter  arrives home.

My next online bear show is getting closer. I have finished enough bears for it and just need to add PayPal buttons.

back home... still busy

Friday morning we left for Bob's ham radio convention in Branson, Missouri. The trip is about 2.5 to 3 hours long by car. Even after 30 plus years in Missouri I am surprised at how much area is still rural and undeveloped. There are some towns and we did go over arms of the Truman reservoir... and there are even small towns that died when the reservoir was developed.
Then there is the super hilly area around Branson... amazing how much the road builders cut into the hills for the road!
We arrived early enough to be "tourists" and went to the old part of Branson... The Landing area down on Lake Tanycomo. Cruised through an old-type Five and Dime... just like the old Ben Franklin and Woolworth. There lots of pre-printed pillow cases, table runners etc... ready to be embroidered and huge amounts of the old penny candy ( but they sure didn't cost a penny any more!). The place was huge and we didn't see everything ... partly because there were SO many people.
We went to a winery for a tasting and bought bottles to bring home.
We also went to Hollister - the next town south - where they were having a "chalk walk".  Artists and children were doing drawings on the sidewalk... a fund raiser to raise money for the town's summer time art programs. Each artist had a tip jar some of which we donated to.
Bob had fun at his convention. Helped the kit builders make their radios. All of them finished and were successful and Bob made it back to our room around 11 pm! He won a small raffle prize and I talked with conventioneers from Texas to South Carolina.

The weather was warm and sunny and in the time we were gone the forsythia bloomed, red bud trees bloomed and the dogwoods were budding.... and here in Blue Springs the magnolias are blooming too.





Here's one of the Hollister chalk drawings..

You'd think after all this we would settle in at home and do nothing on Sunday. Well, that's what Bob did. I joined my daughter at a fundraiser for her non-profit. We had fun... ate bratwurst, huge 14 inch pretzels and drank craft beers !!

What a day

You'd think that my birthday would be a quiet one but we ended up in the car doing errands for most of it. We started out at the bank ... giving them our daughters's official names and social security numbers.  And to make decisions on how best to handle our retirement funds.
Then off to the square at Independence ( President Harry Truman's home town) for a birthday lunch at Ophelia's. I had a wonderful cauliflower and curry soup followed by large pan seared scallops with risotto . Bob had crab cakes and a HUGE burger all sorts of stuff on it - spinach, pork belly, pickles etc. Too full for dessert!
Then off to Knitcraft/Angelika'sYarn ... first time visit. Two different yarn stores in one place... also in Independence.
Then off to Home Depot to finish the paperwork on Lili's new bedroom carpeting. We found we weren't 100% sure which sample she preferred so we'd have to go back later.
Then home to wait for Lili's return from school  so she could text us her preference...
Then back to Home Depot to finish up and pay (!).
Home for a sandwich.... then Lili dropped in for a talk about her "future".
Time to pack for our trip to Branson tomorrow and for birthday cupcakes...
I think I am just about ready for bed!  Definitely feel all of my 74 years.