CONFESSION IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL

Oh, my dear people, I do have a confession to make.  I have been unable to stay out of the fabric stores in this area, and I am almost to the point of being in serious trouble.  It all started with the big store, the Fabric Warehouse, two weeks ago.  I have been wanting to make a quilt with Civil War reproduction fabrics, and I've been carrying around a pattern called Simple Star, which was made just for the Civil War inspired fabrics.  Well, two weeks ago I bought the eight fabrics for the quilt.  They are kind of muted tans, reds, and blue prints.

Then last week we took half a day off and went to Alexandria, where I knew there were two quilt shops.  At the first one I was very good.  I bought a book of Schnibble quilt patterns that I've been looking for.  And some cutesy fabric for a pillowcase for a grandson, not too bad.  Then we went to the other quilt shop where I spied the exact fabric I needed to go with the charm packs of Frolic by Sandy Gervais, so I had to get that, and two more charm packs so I would be sure to have enough.

Well, then today I really did it up good.  I went back to the Fabric Warehouse and got the backing and binding for the triangle pieces quilt, Dessert Time Quilt, that is ready to be backed and quilted.  AND, I decided as long as I was there I might as well get the fabric for the backing, border, and binding of the Civil War quilt.

And this is how I justify my spending.  I figure that I'm way out here in the state park. miles from a coffee shop.  So, I've not had a good cup of coffee for two and a half weeks.  And I've not met any of my friends for lunch.  And I've saved all that money in gas that I usually spend running into town at least every other day.  Aw, shucks.  I guess those savings don't even put a dent in the amount I've spent on fabric.  I guess it's time to admit it.  I'm an addict.  A fabric addict.  I may have to go to meetings for  my addiction.

Hello, my name is Marge and I'm a fabric addict. 

BRENDA'S PURSE

You didn't think I'd leave home for a month without my Big Brother, did you?

Remember my last contest?  Brenda won a purse and she mentioned she liked browns.  I hope she also likes a bit of green and white mixed in with the browns.  This is for you Brenda.  Hope you like it!

Today we took the day off from our park sitting job.  We went to a town about 15 miles from here, and I did the laundry and bought groceries.  Now we are settling in for a weekend of rain.  Maybe heavy rain.  Our daughter Kari and her husband Mike  and the kiddos were planning to come for the weekend, but because of the all weekend long rain that is forecast, they decided not to come.  Bummer!  I haven't seen any grandkids for 2 weeks!  Wish someone would come visit!

INTRODUCING TILLIE

Please meet another of our new friends, Tillie.  Now Tillie is very shy and she didn't want to stick her head out too far.  Besides she was pretty busy.  After she had dug a deep hole, she was laboring to drop her eggs into the hole.  She then covered the eggs up with the dirt and left, trusting that in a few weeks her babies would hatch and find their way down to the lake where she lives.

However, this won't be happening.  Tillie won't be meeting her babies.  You see, where her eggs used to be, all buried beneath the dirt, there is nothing but a hole with some scraps of white rubbery shells.  Either a raccoon or a skunk found the nest and had a tasty snack.  We actually know of at least seven spots where turtles laid their eggs this past weekend, and we have found that five of them are now dug up and empty.  Isn't that sad?  Those aren't very good odds of survival, are they?
                                    
But I guess that is nature and how it works.  I haven't heard of a shortage of snapping turtles, so I don't think this is unusual, but it does seem sad.  Poor Tillie!

GRRRRRRRR

When we first arrived at our spot in the park, the cell connection was pretty good and I had no trouble talking to folks back home.  When I connected my computer, it was slow, but at least it worked.  Now things aren't going as well.  I've had to cut a couple of conversations short because of a bad connection, and I was dropped all together from two calls.  And now today Blogger isn't working right for me.  I've heard many have had a problem with Blogger today so I can't blame that problem on the phone connection!  I was able to read some blogs but couldn't comment or write my own post.  And the last few times I've tried to load photos, they sit there for at least ten minutes and won't load.  Of course I don't even know if this will even post.  Not happy!

However, we did have a wonderful weekend.  My sister Betsy and her husband Ross, and one of their sons came to visit for the weekend.  We had a very nice time, lots of good food and good conversations.  On Saturday Betsy and I went to a fun antique store and each came away with a treasure or two.

Now this next weekend, Kari and Mike and kids  are coming.  So that will be another good weekend.  My other two sisters are coming the last week of the month, right before we go off duty.  And with my brother being the park manager in this little park and a nearby large park, we will have seen all my siblings during our month here.  Isn't that neat?

I do have photos I want to share, so I will keep trying.  Maybe things will improve in the next few days.  If not, I will be heading to a coffee shop on our day off!

OUR NEW FRIENDS

We have some new friends that have started to visit us, many times a day.  They dive bomb in towards the feeder, sometimes stopping to sit on the perch, sometime just eating while still in flight, their teeny tiny wings beating thousands of times a minute, making a roar much louder than you would expect from a thumb sized bird.

Two at a time is becoming common, with a third one joining them a couple of times this afternoon.

My best spot was standing on top of the picnic table, camera pointed at the red feeder, and waiting for the precious little guys to appear.  It really didn't take too long before this little fellow appeared.  Don't you love hummingbirds?

JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT

Aren't Jack-in-the-pulpits just the coolest flowers?  Or is it even considered a flower?  Maybe it's only called a plant.  Anyhow, I think they are so neat.  I did have to attempt this shot several times due to the overgrowth of poison ivy surrounding the plant.  

NO MORE WORMS

Sorry about those worms.  Maybe this will make up for them.

THE REAL THING

Yesterday I said you had to use your imagination because I couldn't get pictures to load to Blogger.  Well, today you don't have to use your imagination.  Here is the real thing.  Ready?  Set?  Go!  Have a look at what we're seeing here.  This is the yellow wheel chock behind the trailer wheel.  Those ugly creatures show up really well against the yellow, don't you think?  Have I said that I despise those things?

Other than those unwelcome pests, things are going well.  We've been waiting until a bit after noon to clean the bathrooms and showers because they are so busy in the morning.  And we must be doing a good job because I've already been told twice by the campers that "you guys do a really good job.  The bathrooms are so nice and clean."  We aim to please!  Ernie has tackled some brush, and he's cleaned the shed, and the garbage/recycling area.  I've walked the roads and picked up trash and sold wood and ice.  So far we like our new home in the state park!

We are expecting rain today, possibly a thunderstorm.  They skies are gray and the temps have dropped considerably from the last two days.  Thank goodness.  90 is too hot for me!

USE YOUR IMAGINATION

You will have to use your imagination on this post because it takes f..o..r..e..v..e.r to load pictures to Blogger.  I had chosen a couple of pictures from this morning, but after 20 minutes of watching the little circle thingie go round and round and round on the first picture, I gave up.

The first picture I wanted to show you was of Ernie standing on the dock, looking for fish in the water.  All around him were little helicopters flying and dive bombing.  It was unbelievable!  There were hundreds of dragonflies in what looked like attack mode.  I snapped a picture, not thinking those tiny little things would show up, but I must have caught at least a dozen in the picture.  I'll try another time to see if I can show you the air attack.

I also took a picture of the tent caterpillars inching their way up and around the tire on the trailer.  They were  climbing on the yellow wheel chock where they really showed up well, black against the bright yellow.  Those things creep me out.  I know they don't hurt you, don't bite, don't sting, but they feel creepy crawly on your skin.  And hey, they must poop, don't they?  Probably on my head or arm or back.  Yuk!  I despise those things, and there are quite a few of them around right now.  And Ernie took my "inside the trailer broom" and swept the entrance to the shower/bathrooms!  Now I suppose I'll find them inside, too!

And then I snapped a shot of the view we have while sitting under the awning on the trailer.  It's woods.  Heavy woods.  With thousands of birds darting to and fro, back and forth, up and down, in and out.  Red flashes, bright blue flashes, and lots of yellow flashes.  The sun was shining through the spring green leaves, making for a colorful sight, and causing me to glance heavenward and utter a prayer of thanks to God for this beautiful world he created for us.  And there is not much that is more beautiful than Minnesota in early summer!   

I hope you all have a safe holiday.  Please drive carefully!

PRESENT AND READY TO WORK

We have arrived at our month long job in the state park.  We have a nice site, and the park is a lush green with the trees and poison ivy in full leaf.  When we stopped the truck and I opened the door, I was immediately aware that this is a great park for birding!  The birds were singing at the top of their teeny, tiny lungs!  They were darting here and there, enjoying the bright sunshine and nice, warm temperatures.  And I saw a flash of bright blue....... an indigo bunting I'm sure.  I'm sure we will have a great time here.  I snapped a couple of photos this evening and will see if there is enough of a signal to send one.  I'm connected through my phone, which is actually showing me no bars!  Hope I can get it to work for me!

PACKING AND OTHER IMPORTANT STUFF

Tomorrow morning at this time we hope to be on the road, heading to our month long "job" of living in a Minnesota State Park.  It's rough, I know.  We have to live in this quiet little park, miles from civilization, under the trees, with the wildlife, on a lake, in the middle of God's beautiful creation.  Hard work, but someone has to do it.

So, that means today we have to finish packing up.  But that means I have to do laundry before we can pack the clothes, right?  I have a lot of the food staples packed, but I need to do the fridge and freezer stuff.  I have to pick out the books I plan to read in June.  And the main thing, I have to pack my fabric!  The fabric for several purses I plan to make.  The fabric for a couple of table runners.  The 3/4 done quilt top and the fabric to finish that.  And several UFO's (UnFinished Objects) that I can hopefully complete.

On top of packing, there are a few other things that have to be done also.  Of utmost importance is the lunch date with two friends, Judy and Audrey.  I worked at the college with both of them.  Audrey is the receptionist, and Judy the dorm manager, but I call her the dorm mother because that's what she has been to hundreds of women over the past 19 school years.  Judy is retiring.  Audrey is still working.  (ha-ha!)  Then I have to give my sister, Lois, a ride to her haircut appointment this afternoon and maybe pick up a few groceries after she's done.

Then tonight is the college choir concert.  After graduation the choir goes on a 10 day choir tour and then gives what they call a Homecoming Concert when they return.  Eons ago, when I was a student at this college, I sang in the choir for four years.  We went on tour in the spring each year, and sang in such exotic spots as Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska and South Dakota.  We thought we were big stuff!  In the more recent years this choir has gone a bit further.  Like to Europe.  And other boring places like that.  Poor kids.  It was on a choir tour that I ate at my first McDonald's, and saw Mt. Rushmore for the first time.  And these kids have only seen things like the famous cathedrals of Europe.  I feel bad for them.  Not.

And here is the most exciting news of all!  Yesterday my wonderful, talented, techie grandson-in-law, Katie's husband Clayton, did my computer set up so I can get online through my phone if we have a phone signal at the park.  So, unless I mess things up, I will be posting photos from our little trailer in the little woods in the little state park.  I can't wait!

MY MINNESOTA

The new photo on my header is of the exact same road that the previous header photo was, only this one is now lush green in the May sunshine, whereas the other one was in April, right after the snow left us.  This is much prettier, don't you think?  We went out to the country, as opposed to our little town of 2000, last night and I took a few photos along the way. 

Another curvy, hilly road with the lush green growth of a Minnesota spring lining both sides.  I love this road!

A farmer's beautiful green pasture.

This is the grain elevator in the little town where my son and his family live.  Quaint, wouldn't you say?

A bright red barn surrounded by evergreens.

We returned home to the sun setting in the west.

As I walked back to the house, I looked up and shot this sight.  It looks like the moon has been cut right in half.

POTPOURRI

 No, the title of potpourri doesn't mean you're going to smell this post, although it may stink.....no, seriously, the number four meaning of potpourri is this:

4.  any mixture, esp. of unrelated objects, subjects, etc.

So be prepared.  This post is a bunch of unrelated stuff......

The first order of business is to wish my bloggy and IRL friend, Lisa, a happy 50th birthday!  Lisa hasn't posted very often recently, but I have talked to her, and she is okay.  She is dealing with a very ill dog, her wonderful Zoe, and that is weighing heavily on her.  Plus, she has a houseful of electricians and carpenters who are fashioning a brand new kitchen for her!  Hopefully she'll be putting her amazing photography skills to good use soon, and will post some photos of her new kitchen.  Hubby and I were privileged to stay with Scott and Lisa on our way back from Texas.  What fun to meet a blogging friend!

 I have something that probably very few of you have!  I have this box that is covered with Elvis photos!

Daughter Kari and her hubby Mike returned on Sunday from their quick trip to Alabama where Kari was the  speaker at a conference.  For fun on the return trip. they stopped at Graceland and after their tour, they purchased Elvis gifts for everyone.  Some got Elvis bobbleheads, Bean got an Elvis action figure (look out Barbies, uh?) and Latte got an Elvis and Marilyn puzzle.  What a fun, silly thing for them to do on their trip!

This is how I remember Elvis.  The young, innocent, country boy who loved his mama more than anything in the world.

I was quite the Elvis fan in my early teens, and now I have a box covered with his photos!  Kari suggested I use it for sewing stuff, scissors, seam rippers, marking pens, etc.  I think that's what I'll do.

Moving along to a totally unrelated subject, except for the sewing part, this is what I've been doing lately.

I made this table runner that I am completely embarrassed by!  Oh, the sewing is fine, but I tried my hand, with the help of my Big Brother, at machine quilting, and I discovered that I really need to practice!  The instructions say to just lower the feed dogs and position the piece to be quilted, lower the presser foot and take off, making graceful loops and jigs and jogs across the fabric.  Ya, sure.  Easier said than done!  I made only a few loops in the squares, and there is not a single decent loopy line.  I have more wiggles and bumps and mistakes than good parts.  Oh, well.  I am not ripping the quilting out.  It will remain as is and can be used as a comparison to later projects to see if I have learned anything!  Keep your fingers crossed that I do learn something!

And this is what I'm working on now.  I'm putting white borders on this quilt top, then a row of half squares, or rectangles of the quilt block fabrics, and then a row of narrow white binding on the edge.  I do love my new machine.  I'll just be glad when I can make it do what I know it can do.  It's me who can't do it!  Yet.

And, yes, Brenda.  I remember that I need to make the purse that you won in the blogiversary giveaway.  It's on the list.  And you remember that you will have to come to the park to pick it up, right?

The park.  That is my last piece of potpourri for today.  We are beginning to organize things to take along on our June job.  We are going to be campground hosts at this state park a couple of hours northwest of here.  We are really getting excited to get going.  Should be some great photo ops with the woods, trails, lakes and the rest of God's wonderful creation surrounding us.  Can't wait!

GET THEE BEHIND ME, SATAN!

This was a very difficult Sunday worship service for me this morning.  Why?  I don't know.  It was just so hard to keep my mind where it belonged, on the Pastor's words.  The sermon text was John 14:15-21, and it begins with the familiar words  " If you love me, keep my commandments."   Now, we have a very good Pastor, a good speaker, a wonderful kind man, and usually I sit eagerly awaiting his learned words.  But this morning, Satan was working overtime, at least on me.  It seemed that every word that Pastor said was echoed by Satan, and turned around, and twisted, and contorted.  And that nasty old devil took my mind down paths that had nothing to do with the sermon.  I found myself thinking of all the things I needed to remember to pack for our month long campground hosting adventure.  I thought about a child of mine who was being mysterious and the unknowns were worrying me.  I thought about daughter and son-in-law's return trip from Alabama, and prayed for their safe return.  Each time Satan introduced one of these thoughts to my mind, I would physically shake my head and attempt to return to the Pastor's words.  I would succeed for a moment or two, and then there he was again, leading me astray.

And once I was off the track, it was easy to be distracted by the beautiful baby, my grand nephew, snuggling in his grandmother's (my sister's) arms at the other end of my pew; and by the cute young teen girl with the fashionable white and brown dress a few rows in front of me; or by the mischievous little boy right in front of me who was delighting in putting his toy car down his brother's shirt.

As I left the sanctuary and headed to the Bible study, I silently cursed Satan for robbing me of the Word.  The Word that I wanted to hear.  The Word that is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.  The Words of eternal life.

And I am still bothered by Satan's total insistence this morning that I turn from the Word and follow him.  And I am disgusted that he was able to make my mind wander so easily. I need to work extra hard this week to keep him at bay.  Get thee behind me Satan! 

A VERY NICE SATURDAY

Yes, this was a very nice Saturday, weather wise, and company wise.  You see, my four siblings and the three spouses and hubby and I met in town for lunch.  Now, we don't get to do this often because my brother (my little brother as opposed to my Big Brother who lives in my sewing room) lives over two hours north, one sister is about an hour east, and another sister is almost that far south.  The baby sister and I live only about five miles apart.  So, after a delicious lunch in town, I had them all out here for coffee and dessert.  And I served 10 pound cheesecake.  Do you know 10 pound cheesecake?  The recipe is from the allrecipes site, and daughter Kari has made it several times.  Let me tell you about it.

It is made in a 9X13 cake pan with a simple graham cracker crust.  That's the healthy part!  The cheesecake like filling is 3 packages of cream cheese, 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk, and whipped cream, with a little lemon juice and vanilla thrown in for good measure.  You pour the mixture over the crust, refrigerate for awhile, and serve with fruit on the top.  I used fresh strawberries.  It is very good, very filling, and very fattening.  It's not as heavy as a regular cheesecake, but I'm sure it will make you heavier!  Probably by about 10 pounds!

I'M A LOSER

I stopped at the grocery store this morning after Bible study.  All I bought was asparagus.  When I went through the checkout and paid for it, the cashier asked if I wanted a game card.  Sure, why not?  I'll take one.  Maybe I'll win something.  I was instructed to take the game card over to a scanner and run the bar code on the card through the scanner.  I did as I was told.  Then from the depths of the scanner came a booming voice informing me, and the whole store, that "sorry, this card is not a winner!"

I do not appreciate being told in front of all the shoppers that I am a loser.  Couldn't the voice be changed to a sweet whispering voice stating "sorry, try again!" or "sorry, not this time!" instead of the loud machine yelling what sounded to me like:  Na na nana na, you are a loser.  How insulting.  Hard on my self esteem. 

AND THE WINNER IS.......

........someone I've known for a long time. In fact, I've known her for over thirty years!  She lives in Minnesota.  Let me tell you something about this person that will give her a hint that she won.  Back in the day, when we lived in North Dakota, this person and my daughter went out daughter's bedroom window onto the roof overhang  in back, down to the shed roof, and down to the patio. In the middle of the night.  And they thought I didn't know!   Let's see.  She has three daughters.  She lives close to the park where we will be campground hosting this summer so I can deliver her purse then.  And she blogs once or twice a year at this spot.  In fact, she is due to post any day now!  Congratulations Mom in MN!  I'll see what I can come up with!  And I expect you to come visit when we're hosting at the park.

Our quick road trip went fine.  We delivered the trailer to a beautiful spot in the Northern Wisconsin woods,  several miles from civilization.  Looks like a great spot to have a vacation home.  Then we got right back into the truck and headed south again.  We went as far as our son's home and stopped to spend the night with him and his wife and two boys.  We hardly saw Joe as he is on the golf team at his school, and they were playing at Hazeltine golf course.  We talked a bit when he got home late, and he was gone when we got up this morning.  But we did get to visit with Justin, and he had dinner with us before heading to do his homework.  They are two busy talented boys.

Just after we got on the road yesterday morning I had a call from daughter Kari telling us about this accident.  Fortunately, they are all okay, although stiff and sore.  The van didn't make out as well.  It is totaled.   The Lord was watching over them for sure.  Thank you Jesus.

The weatherman said a naughty word on the news tonight.  I hope they fire him!  He said the S word.  Yup, he said snow.  Don't want to hear it Mr. Weatherman!  Not in May!  I'll let you know in the morning if we have beautiful green grass or that nasty white stuff.  

QUICK ROAD TRIP

Tomorrow morning we are leaving for Wisconsin but will be back on Friday.  Our friends bought a new camper that they are going to park at a campground in northern Wisconsin.  We are going to pull it over for them with our truck.  The plan is to drive over and drop the camper at the campground, then come halfway back and stay the night at our son and daughter-in-law's home.  And we'll be back home on Friday and will keep my promise to draw a name for the purse giveaway.  See you then!

ME AND P-DUB: BFF's

Do you know Ree? The Pioneer Woman?  Well, Ree and I have something in common.  She lives in Oklahoma on a ranch, I live in Minnesota in an apartment.  She is a writer, I have fun writing.  She is a photographer, I am a photographer wanna-be.  She has 4 punks, I have 7.  She's tall and slim, I'm tall and not slim.  She may get 35,000 comments on a giveaway day......I get a few less.   But what we have in common is this:  we both started our blogs the first part of May in 2006.  Doesn't that pretty much make us BFF's?  Ya, I thought so!

So, in honor of  my fourth blogiversary, I guess I should have a giveaway.  You have until Friday high noon to leave me a comment answering this question:  "If Marge was to make me a purse, I would want a (color) one."  And I'll put all names in a hat and have hubby draw one out.  The winner will receive a purse, like the one below, in the color of their choice. Made by me with lots of love.   Okay?

Ready?  Set?  Go!

MY BLOOMIN' NEIGHBORHOOD

I can't recall when I have seen the blooms so thick on the flowering crab trees.  Yesterday when hubby and I ran into Menard's and passed by these trees on the way, I just had to yell "stop!"  I needed a picture!

You cannot see through the trees, the flowers are so abundant.  What a beautiful sight!

Now last night and this morning we have high winds.  Wonder if the trees are as beautiful this morning, or if the ground beneath them is pink with petal snow?

What are these light pink fluffy marshmallow looking flowers called?  They almost look light a very full carnation and they grow very close to the branch.  Reminds me of A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation ......shows how old I am, uh?

The sun was bright and warm, the sky was blue, and the flowers were breathtaking.  Life is good in the neighborhood.