Happy Honeymooners

For our 25th anniversary we stayed at the GrandStay Hotel in Parkers Prairie. We had checked out a few bed and breakfasts in the area, but the GrandStay had the best prices. Fergus Falls was our preferred location, but WeFest was scheduled for the following week-end. It was a quiet stay.

The down side of staying in Parkers Prairie is that there was only one place open for eating in town on Tuesday evening. Many of the area cafes and supper clubs are closed until Wednesday, or even the week-end. We had dinner at the bar, both of us choosing burgers. They were good, mine a close second behind a Culver's cheeseburger. But we were  glad to have options the other evenings. Burgers and fries the whole trip would have been fattening. After dinner we drove to Adley Lake Park. It was isolated, quiet, and very peaceful. Cows grazed across the lake. It would have been a wonderful place to sit and read a book.

On the first day of our vacation we went to Alexandria and met Fr. Joe for lunch at the Travelers Cafe. The three of us took a walk in the city park along Lake Carlos and Ole. After wards I stopped at Dawn's Quilt Shop. I bought precisely 3/4 of a yard of solid fabric to match some previous purchases. Now I am able to sew the apron for Anonymous for Christmas or for her birthday. Dawn's shop has doubled in size, but I did not enjoy it. I felt overwhelmed with prints. The center of the store was as packed as the outer edges with fabrics and counters and quilting machines. I did see one cute cat print which I had to leave behind, since my goal is to deplete my stash, not increase it. After that we made a stop at Carlos Creek Winery for some taste testing. I sampled the sweet wines. Samples were $10 for five or six samples out of six different categories of wines. We made no purchases, but I was  tempted by their Hot Dish Red and the Minnescoto, which the sommelier  recommended with orange juice for a mimosa. On the way back we hiked to Inspiration Peak, stopped at Our Lady of the Hills,  and then ate dinner at The Peak Supper Cloud

On Thursday we went to Glendalough State Park and hiked for two hours. I so wish that I had had my swimming suit with. The beach looked wonderful, sandy and clear. We could have gotten in some free fishing had we planned better.

We stopped at Vining to look at the talented and comic sculptures of Ken Nyberg. We also stopped at a little shop called Old Sweet Song. I could have dropped a bit of money on proprietor Ruth Hanson's paintings at the shop had I had the money to drop! She had some very nice farm scenes. Other items which caught my eye were some photo note cards done by her brother, and a cute Viking ship votive candle holder.

Here are some of our pictures.

Baby Alive Cloth Diapers

I have two granddaughters who love the Baby Alive dolls which eat and drink and go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, the disposable diapers made to accommodate these activities are incredibly expensive, far greater than the cost of actual baby diapers. I have planned on making my own diapers for the m for a long time. I finally sat down to do the work this summer.

My first plan was to use layers of flannel held together with a decorative stitch from my new Pfaff machine. The water poured straight through the prototype.

My second plan developed after looking at the internet. I read Debbie Chapman's blog for help. I thought to myself, duh, avoid the time spent stitching around the edges and turn it inside out! I did not like the way she put the velcro all the way across the front of the diaper. I also wanted something waterproof, so I chose not to use fleece. I had leftover waterproof fabric from JoAnn from sewing my mom's wheel chair cushion cover, so I decided to use three layers of flannel, the waterproof fabric, and sew-on velcro. The waterproof fabric is not supposed to be machine dried, so I made it clear to the granddaughters that they would be responsible for hand washing the diapers!

I must confess that I experienced considerable joy while sewing the diapers. However, in spite of the joy and the nice snug fit which I achieved, the water still ran straight through when the doll was bottled lying down. We had better results when the doll was sitting upright, but I made Maja take the diaper off after one bottle to avoid leaks. I am sure those bottles hold at least an ounce of liquid!

Here are pictures of the flannel prototype, the pattern dimensions, and the completed diapers.