GOING HOME

I know one thing for sure.  I will be glad to go home in two days for at least one reason.........I should be able to connect with Blogger easier!  I can usually get to my dashboard, and sometimes even to a new post, but more often than not I can go no further.  I can try for fifteen to twenty minutes to upload ONE picture, and it doesn't load.  I often can't get anything to publish, so I hit cancel.  The cell phone signal just isn't that strong so I get nowhere.  In fact, I see that this post is also in danger of not publishing as I've lost the signal.

Oh, now it's back.  Anyhow, we are only here for two more days.  We leave for home on Sunday morning.  It's been fun and we will be back next year if they'll have us.

I will miss the Fabric Warehouse, but I will probably save a lot of money!  I actually had to make one last trip there today.  And I picked out eight nice soft pink, aqua, cream and soft brown fabrics for a  quilt.  I took pictures and tried to post one, but after twenty minutes I gave up.  I can post a photo when I get home.

I'll miss our little park.  And the birds.  And the trees.  And the silence.  And.......oh, maybe I should stay!
 

REDECORATING

I played around with a couple of new templates today, and I think I like this one.  What do you think?  And what about the photo?  I thought the sign "Minimum Maintenance" road matched the "roads less traveled" part of my title, so I made Ernie stop and let me get out to take a couple of pictures.  He told me that if a farmer saw me taking pictures of a dirt road with a minimum maintenance sign they would wonder if I was all here or not!  Well, I like it so I don't care what the farmers think.

Are you wearing Skechers fitness shoes, Shape-Ups?  I bought a pair today, and I think I like them.  My brother has been wearing them and his back pain is gone.  My sister-in-law just bought a pair, and thought she was going to like them, so I decided to try them also.  I needed new walking shoes as my last pair has not been comfortable since the day I bought them.  And if they aren't comfy, I won't walk.  I think I like them, but it's too soon to tell.  I got them for 25% off because they were last year's color.........as if that makes a difference to me!  I took a picture of the clodhoppers, but after waiting for 20 minutes for it to load, I decided to just forget it!  Besides, they sure do make your feet look huge!  I got a kick out of reading the information included in the box with the shoes:  Wearing these shoes may make your butt firmer, may firm your thighs, may firm and tone calves, may tighten abs, and may improve posture!  How about a guarantee, guys?

DONE, FINISHED, ENDED, COMPLETED!

I finally finished the quilt that I started this past winter down in Corpus Christi.  While we were there I put the squares together from the two triangles.  I laid it out and put together the rows going across.  When we got home I kind of put it aside for awhile and made a few purses and totes.  Then I put the rows together in May.  When we came to the park I put the top, batt, and back together and worked on the quilting.  On Saturday I put the binding on and it was finally done.  That's too long to spread out a project!  You kind of get tired of it if it takes too long. 

I think it's going to reside in  my bedroom.  Our bedspread is that pretty blue, just plain.  I think I could fold this across the bottom or put it on a trunk at the end of the bed.  I'll post a photo when it gets to it's place!

IT'S GOOD TO BE QUEEN

This morning I had to run to town........no that's a lie.  This morning I wanted to go to the fabric warehouse.  I really needed nothing, but they advertised a nice big sale so I thought I should at least look.  I found two pieces for purses, the tan and aqua paisley in the upper left of the photo and the dark black and green and blue swirly fabric in the middle.  The four fabrics across the bottom are soft cuddly flannels in soft yellow, green, brown and white.  (the colors are really off on this photo!)  I thought just in case anyone in our family would ever happen to have a baby..........................

But look at the fabric in the upper right.  It's a Mary Engelbreit print, and I just had to have it!  All the cute sayings are about being a queen: It's good to be queen, the queen of everything, and best of all, the queen has quilted!  I will be making something out of it.....don't know for sure what, but it will be in my sewing room somewhere!  The bright yellow (it really is bright yellow!)  print with the blue and red matches it, so it will give me some options. 

I LOVE YOU, MOM

Two years ago Jesus took mom home.  I miss her so much.

AN INVITATION TO ALL

 Dear bloggy friends,

You are all invited to campsite number 20 at the Minnesota state park where we are living again for the next few weeks.  We are hosting a sauna, right here at our campsite.  A sauna is a small room or hut, heated and used for bathing or mental and physical relaxation.  The sauna is Finnish, but has close relatives in other cultures: the Russian banya, the Native American sweat lodge or inipi, the Turkish hamam, even the Japanese onsen.   (My info for the proper names of these steam baths came from  http://cankar.org/sauna/)

 We just decided that temps in the 90's and humidity in the 80's should be good for something, and we decided a sauna would be the ideal activity.  However,  everyone is to be clothed.  No nudity allowed! BYOBST.  ( Bring your own beverage, soap and towel!)  The sauna will be right in the great outdoors of site 20, no hut needed,  or fires to attend......just sit and sweat.

And, if you get too warm, we just had the air conditioning fixed in the trailer, so we can come on inside to cool off and relax.

Hope to see you soon.

Marge

WHAT'S IN THE BAG?

I

Oh my!  I didn't realize this picture was so blurry!  Sorry about that, but I can't redo it as all the stuff is unpacked and put away.
I went to the Farmers Market today and we are going to eat like kings and queens this next week!  I was so excited to find these treasures:

I have: Green beans and Romaine, green and yellow zuchs, new red potatoes, beets, and a loaf of  honey whole wheat and a loaf of sunny oatmeal bread.  Whoo Hoo!  Fresh veggies!  My favorite meal is a bunch of fresh veggies grilled in my holy bowl (bowl with holes in it) with a bit of olive oil and dill sprinkled on it.  Nummy!  Guess what's for supper?  You got it!  A pork chop and grilled fresh veggies.  And maybe a little slice of honey whole wheat on the side!

We have had plans change a couple of times because of weather and other things, but now the plan is to leave tomorrow morning to go back to the campground for the rest of the month.  They are expecting severe storms up there tonight so we saw no need to hurry back for that!  It may be stormy tomorrow too, but we'll wait until it passes through the area where we need to travel.  I am really looking forward to going back for a few more weeks.  It's a nice little park, quiet, peaceful, and certainly a pleasant place to be.  So the next update will be from the campground through my cell phone connection.  See you then!

OUR WEEK AT HOME

 

We've been busy this week we were home from the campground, and now our time here is coming to an end and we're ready to head back to camp.  Ernie and a young mechanic are installing the new air conditioner as we speak.  Yes, new.  The old one was not reparable so we had to spring for a new one.  Didn't really plan on spending that kind of money, but what ya gonna do?  Can't take 90 degrees and high humidity in a small trailer so we really had no choice.  I'm sure we'll appreciate it the next time the temps soar.

On Thursday we ran out to a nearby lake where Ernie's brother and sister-in-law have a small cabin.  Neil took us for a boat ride on the quiet lake, and then he had to take a few casts before we went out to dinner 

 at a nearby restaurant.  We enjoyed our visit and hope to get out there again this summer.

On Friday morning my sister picked me up, we then picked up another sister, and we headed off for our weekend in Brookings at the art festival.  We met the other sister and her husband, and our brother and his wife there, and we had a very nice weekend.  See all those white tents in the background?  There were over two hundred vendors in those tents, selling jewelry, paintings, photography, pottery, wooden items, metal items, and other art objects.

This was the food area.  We had tacos in a bag, egg and sausage wraps, kettle popcorn, mocha smoothies, strawberry smoothies, lemonade, donuts, etc.

These two little sweeties were walking in front of us when we left yesterday morning,  I got a kick out of their hats!

We stopped at a beautiful flower garden on Saturday night.  The skies were turning pretty dark as there was a hefty thunderstorm on the way, so the lighting was bad, but I had to snap these gorgeous lilies.  Aren't they lovely?

This teeny tiny cottage was just as cute as it could be.  I could see it sitting in a huge yard of flowers, and being used as a fun little hideout furnished with a couple of comfy chairs and bookshelves and a coffee pot and some lovely china cups!  Or it could be my quilting room!  It would not be appropriate as a hunting shack or an ice fishing house which I'm guessing my hubby would have suggested had he been with us!

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME

Monday evening we headed out to attend a major league great sporting event.  You know, the famous 10 year old going into fifth grade baseball league was having a game!  An out of town game at that!  So we braved the coming storm, and

drove the few miles to the stadium ball diamond to watch grandson Nicolas play.  First of all, he really looks cute in his baseball uniform!  And secondly, he did a great job!  Here he is, getting a nice hit,

and here he is, scoring a few minutes later.  After about four innings the skies opened up and the rain dumped on us, and they called the game.

Nicolas has another game tonight.  Storms are expected.  We'll see if we can make this one, too. 

HOME IS WHERE THE LAUNDRY IS

We are home.  Oh, we're going back to the park, we're just home for a week to get the air conditioner on the trailer fixed.  Saturday afternoon when the temperature hit 94, with the humidity almost as high, we were told we should just leave then to get the air conditioner fixed.  We were going to come home today anyhow, so we just pulled out a little early.  Ernie has been on the computer, researching replacement parts for the ailing cooling device which he hopes to have fixed before we head back up to the park next Monday.

And I am sitting in my chair, reading blogs and totally ignoring Mt. Washmore piled in the corner!  What a luxury to have a washer and dryer in my own home!  I've spent the last month having to transport each week's worth of dirty clothes to a laundromat where each load cost me a half a month's Social Security check to wash.  Today I can cook as I do laundry, I can clean the house as I do laundry, or I can actually leave as I'm doing laundry!  And my clothes will actually get clean, and the hot commercial dryer won't ruin them!  Or, I can sit here and continue to ignore the mountain of sweaty stinky clothes......no, on second thought, that's not an option.  Best I put this laptop down and start scaling the heights of that eyesore in front of the laundry closet.  I am home, but so is my laundry.

TWO MEALS AND A PRAYER

We had a garbage can dinner last week when my sisters and brother-in-law came to camp to visit us.  This meal is Ike's signature meal, and everyone overeats every time he fixes it!  What you see here is only half of the meal.  He puts corn on the bottom, and then whole potatoes and onions.  He adds carrots and often green beans, then tops it off with ring sausage.  Cook over the fire for an hour or so and serve to the ohs and ahs of all the dinner guests.  Oh, and serve the left overs cut up and fried in a big cast iron skillet in the morning for breakfast!  Ummmm, good!

So then the next night we fixed this meal.  Pork tenderloin chops, asparagus, potato slices, and carrots in the foil package.  Another ummmm good!

Now the light has gone away

Father, listen while I pray,

Asking Thee to watch and keep

And to send me quiet sleep.

Jesus, Savior, wash away

All that has been wrong today.

Help me ev'ry day to be

Good and gentle, more like Thee.

Let my near and dear ones be

Always near and dear to Thee.

O bring me and all I love

To Thy happy home above.

ELH 570 1-3

I'M STILL HERE

I have been trying for the last fifteen minutes to post a couple of pictures of our recent campfire feasts, but the connection is too weak to do so.  I'll just have to put them up next week when we're home for a few days.

We had three days of absolutely wonderful weather, sunny cloudless skies, a slight breeze and temperatures in the 70's.  Now that's what I call a beautiful summer day!  Yesterday was nice, but a bit on the warm side, and today is hot and humid again.  And guess what!  We're going to get storms again!  Sounds like tomorrow and the Fourth will be a bit soggy, possibly clearing late in the afternoon of the Fourth.

We had company this week for the gorgeous weather.  My middle sister Ruth and her husband Ike and my youngest sister Lois were here for four days.   Seems all we did was eat.  Or plan what we were going to eat next.  We did a little sightseeing in the area, but for the most part we sat and visited around the fire, or hiked the trails here in the park.  We had a good time, and I'm so glad they came up!

Monday we will pack up and head home for the week.  Ernie has to get the air conditioner fixed.  Yes, we could have used it today!  Then next weekend I am going to Brookings, South Dakota with my siblings and a couple of spouses to an Art Festival.  Ernie isn't into art and culture too much.  He gets his culture from Ice Road Truckers or The Deadliest Catch!  I'm looking forward to the trip and to spending the weekend with my siblings.  Then the next Monday we will head back up here for the rest of the month of July.  We've grown to love this little park and are looking forward to the second half of our summer job!