More gardening

Arthur has the week off, so I am on vacation as well. I was feeling very overwhelmed with two quilts to bind, the Mary Garden to plant, and my own garden needing weeding badly, so yesterday I spent the day outdoors. After morning mass, grocery shopping and breakfast I headed to Scenic Specialties in St. Joe to purchase flowers for myself, the Mary Garden, and my mom.

Scenic Specialties had not received any zinnias or snap dragons (although I found a tray of snap dragons hidden under a rack latter), two essentials for the Mary Garden, so I had to re-think my flowers. I went with colors that jumped out at me, orange and pink dahlias, orange-yellow marigolds, pink petunias, and a white vinca with a pink eye. I was not sure  that vincas had a Marian name, but I thought I would go with them anyway. The colors are very tropical, and beautiful. Turns out that vinca is the same as a periwinkle, which is Marian. The snapdragon colors which I saw later did not appeal to me, so I am much happier that I went with the periwinkles.

For my own pots I went with purples once again. Some of my blue petunias came up from seed in the pot, so I wanted something that would coordinate reasonably with them. I purchased three pots of African daisies for the first time. I also passed on the obligatory spike and chose an ornamental grass which the S.S. employee pointed out to me. Much more texture. I threw out the tag, so can't give the name, but the stems look like chives, and feel like the chive stems after they have flowered and become woody. They had a beautiful orange coleus which I would have loved for my shade bed, but they came only in single pots, and the price was quite prohibitive. Instead I settled for green and white coleus and red-violet impatiens.

For my mom's front yard I got the usual mix of impatiens.

All plants planted. At church I had to make several trips to the rectory to fill up my watering can, since the hose is not in place yet. I chalked it up to exercise. I should have had my pedometer on to track the steps. Of course, I forgot to bring my fertilizer in the car, so the bed at church which I so wanted to fertilize when I planted did not get done. After planting my pots at home, I dumped the rest of my potting soil in the tire and
put the coleus and impatiens in. It looks very good. I fertilized and weeded around my Endless Summer hydrangea, threw fertilizer around the rest of my perennials, and did a  bunch of weeding while digging out valerian, cat mint and daisies for my sister Janice. It was about 8:00 P.M. by the time I came in for my shower. Good timing, since my neighbor had started spraying his lawn, and the herbicide was more than I cared to breathe in. I abandoned all hanging pots this year.  I feel better for all of the work which I got done. The seedlings in the beds at church will just have to wait.

Oh, and some of my new grass seed has sprouted. Good deal. Now, to finish raking up acorns and dig up some dandelions!

After my shower I went downstairs to iron some clothes for the week. After three shirts my iron started spewing rust water. Two shirts are now  back in the laundry pile. The rust was leaking out of the  bottom of the sole plate, which means it must have rusted out somewhere on the bottom. The iron also stopped heating, just like that. The cats have not even knocked it over recently. Monday morning that means we have to go shopping for a new iron, and an alarm clock. I cannot even sew or stamp and embroidery pattern, which I had set out to do yesterday, without an iron. Of course, I do have that old cast-iron iron of Grandma's which I could use in an emergency, but not the wood stove top to heat it up with! The alarm clock will be for the spare bedroom so that if my snoring gets too loud, Husband can go sleep in there. Of course, it will also be handy for the times I have to sleep in there with Ariana.

Enough for now. Time to do my garden report for church. I have to do last year's report before I can start this year's.

How does your garden grow?

I had to do a yard walk again this evening. Status Report.

September Charm Anemonies up.
Lady's Mantle up. That is a first for me! I have tried Lady's Mantle in my garden a few times before, but have not been able to keep them alive. That this one survived the hot summer and very cold (normal) Minnesota winter is a great sign.
Patricia Geranium up. Other new geranium up.
Jacob's Ladder up.
Johnny Jump-Ups up and spreading like crazy, at last! I have been trying to get them established in my flower beds for years.
Daisy transplants from the St. Marcellus Mission Group garage sale also multiplying like crazy, just as I wanted.
Columbines thriving. The more, the merrier! I saw three or four in the back shade bed. Yippee! I'll find out soon enough if one of my McKana Giants survived.
Honey Suckle bush gone. Ripped the rest of it out a few days ago. I am sure I will be pulling up suckers for several years to come, but pulling out that mildew-infested shrub opened up my garden nicely.
Husband reports that the aparagus is also up. I told him the rhubarb was doing well, too, to which he responded that one of those two plants is edible. The rhu-barbs will continue for the rest of our lives, I am sure.

Tomorow I hope to do some raking and put down some grass seed. Then the weeding needs to begin again.

More Stampin Up



Designed and made by Mary Lehn

I had to share this fun  card designed and made by my friend and Stampin Up demonstrator, Mary Lehn. I saved it to remember her use of two colors for the background. I want to copy her technique. The stamp set is fun. I like Stampin Up's use of the patterns on the balloon and gift stamps, and on the owl's breast. The colors Mary chose are both cheerful and restful. The party banner balances the picture well. The leaves on the tree branch are so cool.

I started attending another monthly stamp camp series with Betty Weisbrich. Participants have to attend for four months, and are required to spend a minimum of $20 on products each month. During one of those months I receive the hostess benefits. I have so many SU products that I want that spending that amount each month will be no problem! Quite a change from years ago when the only thing I ordered was paper. (I am still using my stash.) I am hopefully shopping wiser now. For each stamp pad I order I am purchasing the ink refill. I did not do that previously, and my inks are drying out before my paper is used up. Most of the old colors have been discontinued, and now it is too late. I have also decided that if I buy a particular set for which there are matching pieces like designer series papers, roller stamps or punches, I may as well get the accessories to maximize the use of the stamp set. I had decided at my last party to forgo the purchase of the Big Shot and instead concentrate on punches. I might change my mind on that later! I might swing the scoring pad during my hostess month. A few more weeks and I will be able to tell.

I am making headway on my quilting. Maria's quilt, so called because I had her start it when she was at my house for a sewing day, is nearing completion. We had intended it for Catholic Charities, but it may be nice enough when finished to give to Quilt Bingo. The colors were mostly from my boxes of five inch squares, but they coordinate well, and with a border added, it will  be big enough for St. Anthony's. The decider will be some pieces which were printed off-grain, and some pieces which we could not tell which side was the right or wrong side while we were sewing, and so the colors look slightly different. I am really happy about how well the colors work together, though. It is a mixture of aqua blues and peaches.

Quilting

I finished my second UFO quilt this past week. I did a Disappearing Nine Patch out of my stash of five inch squares. I goofed in cutting a few spots, and sewed some of the patches in different orders so that the finished quilt had some seams which were flipped the wrong way. Nex time I will know what to watch for.  The colors were dull on this one. Next time I will choose  brighter, more coordinated pieces and sew them in random order,  or go totally scrappy. (I saw a scrappy done with red as the center piece instead of  black, and I liked it very much.) I ran out of fabric cutting borders because I did not pre-measure, so I did mix and match. I did not like that. I called it a practice quilt and donated it to Catholic Charities. I can come up with something nicer for St. Anthony's. After all, it is not as if I am out of fabric! 

One more top to complete, but I have been sort of cheating by pressing and cutting the laundry basket of scraps (old clothes) which Mary gave me. Those  fabrics are vintage, but because they are used, will go into something for Cathoic Charities, or for dolly blankets.

I purchased backs for some St. Anthony's quilts, so pieced those and cut and sewed binding. I was thinking that quilting is an awful lot of work by the time all of the piecing, quilting, and binding is finished. I cannot imagine the time it would take to do an entire quilt by hand, and with templates drawn on scraps instead of fabric cut with a rotary cutter. We are very spoiled today as compared to what our grandmothers had to do. The quilting ladies comment about how they used to have to quilt on both sides of a seam when they used wool batting, and how they had to periodically take the quilts apart,  re-card the wool and then re-quilt them.

My mom said that at home they sewed a muslin strip along the top of the quilts to keep them clean. My aunt said that other than hanging the quilts outside and letting the rain run through them, they did not wash their quilts. Given the delicacy of used fabric, possibly hand-sewn, I can sure understand why. I would not relish the thought of having to hand wash and rinse a quilt in a bathtub, and then having to haul the wet thing somewhere to lay it out until it was dry. As Anne would say, "Wheeeew!".

Mom's Quilt

Mom's quilt is finally finished. Now I can move on to other projects waiting for completion.

Mom started this quilt  before she got married, so that puts it before 1942. She was never able to finish it. It sat in her bedroom closet for many years. our cat, Midnight, had kittens in the box of all of the pieces one year. My sister Diane took it out to finish it after she had done some of her own quilting. She and Janice sorted through the pieces. They had to toss a few. One of them finished the applique on a few pieces, and I finished some of the embroidery. Then they purchased material for sashing and borders. I started the hand quilting several years ago, but was unsure of how to procede after doing the sashing, so I set it aside. A couple of years ago one of my quilting friends gave me some hints as to how to complete it. We were able to present it to my mom this month on her 93rd birthday.

I have to say that when I did the embroidery, I was just learning how, and it looks awful. Same with the first quilting that I did. My stitches were toe catchers! If I had known then what I know now....My sister Janice, who has since had much more quilting experience, also says she would have chosen different batting. And of course, reproduction fabrics came out after Diane picked out fabric for sashing. It is difficult to match fabrics from one manufacturer to another, let alone to try to match colors from a different year, or colors on fabric which has aged, so it was a challenging project.

Mom's original work was very meticulous. The fabric pieces used for the applique have their own charm, as do the embroidery accents around the appliqued figures. I feel bad that we did not get a history of any of the fabrics while Mom was still able to remember. I am very glad that it is finished.

Stamping

I have been trying to use up all of my old paper from Stampin' Up so I can buy some of the new colors. I am finding that I like the simplicity of some of the newest stamps. Here are some of my creations.

Quilt Shop Hops

Yesterday I did my first quilt shop hop on a bus. I said first because I am already planning on going again next year.

I have never wanted to spend the money to do the hop. I already have a sizeable stash, so I did not need any more fabric. Besides, I would have to get up early to get on the bus! However, after a bout of depression this fall, I decided that I needed to do more activities with other people. I also thought it would be a chance to see some of the quilt shops in towns which Arthur and I never travel through, or if we do, we might not stop because he would not want to, or it would be when the shops were not open. I had just gotten the newsletter from Gone to Pieces Quilt Shop announcing the Over the River Shop Hop, so I decided to spring for the $49 and go for it.

I was a bit nervous about deer on the road in pre-dawn November on the drive over to Kimball, but I was there by 6:30 A.M. I was the first one there. Penny, the shop owner, arrived a few minutes later.  The coach bus arrived at 7:00. Four of us got on. The Bus Mom (Now there was a new term for me!) introduced herself, and we were on our way. 

Our first stop was the Flying Goose in New London, first time I have ever been in that town. The shop was large, open and neat. I purchased a pincushion pattern thinking I could probably have figured it out on my own, but it was cute, and hey, why not support the shop and the quilter who designed the pattern, and why do the math when she had already done it for me? The tip on the back of the pattern about purchasing crushed walnut shells at a pet store was worth the price of the pattern. I passed on the Moda Candy - never seen a Moda print I did not like - figuring I would see more later. I did not. At this point I still did not have a shopping strategy figured out. 


Next we stopped at Gathering Friends in Bird Island. Gathering Friends had the equivalent of three shop fronts in one of their old stone downtown buildings. I was happy to see good use made of this historic building. Not knowing about the delicious lunch and dessert we would have later, I had a cup of hot apple cider and a pumpkin bar while I perused the store. I had to pass on a sumptuous quilt, cheerful placemats and some decorative soaps in the gift shop for lack of funds. (When we win the lottery I can go back and buy them.) The children's room was full of bright, colorful sample quilts and fabrics. I purchased a couple of fat quarters for Ariana's quilt.

From Bird Island we went to Quilt Haven in Hutchinson. Not sure if this has  been the only quilt shop in Hutch over the years, since I thought there was one on Washington Street. I was always looking for it on our drives to New Ulm and Sleepy Eye. If  this was the only one, I have been blind. It is right on the main drag, just a few blocks from the antique shops where we have stopped in the past. The husband and wife shopkeepers were both on hand to greet us. The quilt shop is in a building formerly used as a furniture store and mortuary. The store is two stories, with a magnificent wooden staircase gracing the center. They still have the original high, pressed tin ceiling. They have put in a kitchen and classroom area in the upstairs, and have left the rest open for work space. I was thinking this would be a great shop to go to for classes with all of the amenities. Loads of fabrics and  ~ charm packs! I saw some cute samples of a baby bib and burp cloth, but had to pass on the pattern book for the price. The bathroom which I used had paint worth copying; They alternated the same color of paint in flat and satin finishes in stripes on the wall, making it look like moire fabric. I felt bad having to leave the store empty-handed, but I did not see any fat quarters which would match Ari's quilt. (My strategy had emerged). On our way out the door we received our lunches, a delectible croissant with chicken salad laced with pecans, a strawberry lettuce sald with raspberry vinegarette dressing, and a gigantic slice of turtle bar dessert. I ate it all. Having eaten breakfast at 5:30 A.M., I was famished.

Our next stop was Eagle Creek in Shakopee. This shop is located in the former railroad depot, so it also had the historic feel. The decor accents this both outside and in. Bingo! I found a place that has wool felt in small pieces for purchase, so I picked up enough to do the pattern from Bittersweet which I had purchased at the quilt show at St. Ben's. I was elated. Shakopee also had a beautiful collection of Civil War reproductions and a display of vintage children's sewing machines. I also found a couple of fat quarters for Ari's quilt, and another juvenile print which I purchased just for fun. On the bus I decided that this piece also would look good in Ari's quilt, and would give it a whole new feel.

Our final stop was Quilted Treasures in Roger. Of all of the shops, this is the most easily accessible, given my trips to White Bear Lake every week. They also have some wool felt, though not all of the sample and patterns in wool felt which the Shakopee shop had. This store is in a modern strip mall, and though they use distressed furnishings, it lacks the ambiance of the shops in old buildings. However, they had a unique quilt done in lavendar, peach and turquoise prints which was refreshing to see.

Back at Kimball, I purchased my quilting needles from Penny. I will have to lust over her new fat quarters in pastel blue-grey-green shades until I have more funds. They are gorgeous, Penny!

The bus ride was a success. I did enjoy seeing the shops, and I very much liked the fabric pieces which I purchased. The colors have more intensity and vibrancy than those I have purchased at cheaper prices in fabric and craft stores. I talked with people on the bus whose names I did not even know, but with whom I shared projects, and stories and sentiments. I spent what I had planned, without feeling guilty for over-spending. I also finished a good portion of embroidery on the ride.

I leave with a little gem I overheard on the bus. A woman's husband gave her a placard which he had made, which had SABLE written on the front. On the back it said, "Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy."

Easy as Pie?

My husband loves his pie - apple, pecan, pumpkin, blueberry and banana cream.  His wife, however, never learned to make a decent pie crust. After the first crust has been rolled somewhat successfully, the second, third and fourth always seem to be too dry, or too sticky. I have tried many recipes, including those "never fails" recipes. I have rolled on a floured table, on wax paper, and on a pastry cloth. I have tossed more than one crust because it tore to bits as I was trying to lift it into the pan. I even helped with 4-H pie baking day. No go. Husband always just tells me to keep on practicing! I am bound and determined, too, that I can do it, and not have to resort to purchasing pie crusts.

After a recent failure which ended in tears, then laughter at my lack of success, I watched a couple of pie tutorials on the computer. They made it look so easy. I decided that I just need to relax instead of approaching it with so much intensity. I also decided that I would try a recipe with butter in it.
Imagine my excitement when I rolled out a crust yesterday which had spring in it, and rolled large enough for both top and bottom crust without breaking. I was thrilled. Nor was there any shrinkage.  I was so pleased that, as my husband said, now he might get a pie every week.

The recipe which I had such success with was from King Arthur Flour. (Perhaps it was the name that did it!) You can find it at:

ttp://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/a-thoroughly-reliable-and-tasty-piecrust-recipe

Tooth Paste as Silver Polish

The Shaklee Corporation does not, of course, recommend  or advertise their toothpaste as a silver polish. However, Shaklee's Scour Off, my beloved cleaning paste, explicitly states that it should not be used on silver. Which Shaklee products might I be able to use in its place?  After seeing another blogger's picture of a silver platter polished with Shaklee's New Concept Organic Dentifrice, I decided to try it for myself. I was impressed with the results, although it did not remove all of the tarnish. It also required a great deal of time and elbow grease. On the plus side, the silverware rinsed clean immediately, unlike when I have used store brand polishes which remained in crevices even after washing. The toothpaste is also non-toxic, so there was no need for gloves, and no concern about spilling or spotting on other surfaces. Here are the pictures to show you the results. Bear with the less than perfect lighting which does not quite capture the silverware either before or after.

Shaklee New Concept Organic Dentifrice is fluoride-free, which is why I like it so much for my teeth. To place an order, go to www.dianac.myshaklee.com. Enter Patricia Becker, Shaklee ID #WN00277 as your sponsoring distributor. You can also contact me by e-mail, or by commenting on this blog.

My next Shaklee challenge is to see if Vivix will reduce the age spots on my arms, and lighten the mask on my face. Another Shaklee customer has insisted that Vivix has made her age spots vanish, although again, the Shaklee Corporation does not market Vivix for this purpose. I have been very pleased with my skin after two years of using the Enfuselle skin products, but the light/dark coloration between my face and my hair line persists. I started Vivix in the middle of this month. I'll keep you posted!

Before

After

Running with Scissors

     Yesterday I attended the St. Cloud Heritage Quilters Show, Running with Scissors, at the College of St. Benedict. The quilters hold the show once every two years. I'm not a member, and not even really much of a quilter, but I like to attend. Once again I went by my lonesome, since none of the quilters at St. Anthony's were able to go with me. Had to give my husband a full report when I got home just to relate my adventure. Good thing he did not ask how much money I spent, although I did not hide my bags of vendor purchases. More on that later.

     The time for submitting Viewer's Choice Awards entries was over by the time I arrived, but I would surely have nominated the Grandma's Fower Garden hexagon quilt and bed runner (Bed runner! Great idea for people with cold feet, or people with white bedspreads who need a splash of color in the room, or who have smaller amounts of fabric to use up, or less time or patience!). I think the quilter had actually named this her "Forever" quilt, since it took forever to make. She had taken up the project when her youngest child went off to college, so that she would have something to worry about. It was completely hand-pieced and hand-quilted in gorgeous pastels. The green used was very spring-ish, fresh and restful.  The hand quilting was a nice 1/4" away from the seams in all of the hexagons.  I also drooled over Barb Kuklok's machine embroidered and embellished quilts. I have been to Just Sew! Studio (formerly Associated Sewing) where Barb works, for a few classes and trunk shows, and I always enjoy the beautiful machine embroidery. It has such a polished, finished look, besides being well executed. I was thinking that Barb's quilts would hold together for a very long time.

     I had planned at least three hours for viewing, so I was able to read many of the stories accompanying the quilts.

     One woman submitted several quilts made from her mother's fabric stash, quilts which would be shared amongst 11 siblings. Two of her commnents brought tears, her saying that her mother was afraid that all of her fabrics would end up in a dumpster, and also that the daughters making the quilts wanted them to become lumpy and fuzzy like the well-loved quilts that their mom had made for them.

     I marveled at the frequency of comments on the stories such as, I got frustrated and had to put this project aside for a few years, or, I did not know what to do with this fabric so I set it aside, or, I decided I needed to finish old projects before starting something new, or, I found this while  cleaning out my closet. These sentiments are sure familiar to me, and I am sure to many other crafters. Two weeks ago when I got to St. Anthony's for quilting, I looked at the new quilt on the frame and asked where it had come from. One of the quilters had found it in her closet about twenty years after she had put it there. The other comments which struck me were the candid confessions of difficulties and mistakes, even from the experienced quilters of the guild.

     I purchased a new pattern book from Barb at the Quilts on Broadway table. I told her I had to, since she made me laught twice that day! I also bought a Bittersweet wool felt pattern which I can use for projects with my mom, and another bag of walnut shells for stuffing, because they are hard to find without having to stop at the Crow River Mercantile in St. Michael.

     For inspiration I also have to check out the book, One Block Wonder, which some of the quilters used. I am tucking into my memory the vintage sheet quilt made simply of squares, much prettier than those which I have seen on Pinterest. I also saw a quilt with large design motifs cut apart and appliqued onto the fabrics. Good idea. I also have to look up the terms "prairie style", and prairie architecture.

     Oh! Two of the quilts used Downton Abbey fabrics from Andover Fabrics. I had to laugh when I saw those.

     Last but not least, I won a quilt in the small raffle drawing.

Mary Garden at St. John Cantius Church, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Mary Garden, St. John Cantius Church

Looking at the garden from the sidewalk on Third Street

The cornerstone from the former school

The Mary Garden at St. John Cantius Church, St. Cloud, sits on the site of the former grade school. The church is located to the west.

Flowers in the Mary Garden are:

Alysum - Mary's flower, or cross flower
Aqilegia - Mary's shoes
Cat Nip - Mary's nettle
Daisy - Mary loves
Gailardia - Mary's face
Iris - Mary's sword of sorrow
Liatris - Mary's drops
Lilac - Ascension flower
Marigold - Mary's gold
Petunia - Our Lady's praises
Peony - Mary's rose
Potentilla - Jesus' footprints
Rose - Mary's Emblem
Rudbeckia - Golden Jerusalem
Russian Sage - Mary's shawl
Snapdragon - Infant Jesus' shoes
Spirea - St. Peter's wreath
Tulip - The Woman, or Mary's prayers
Yarrow - Our Lord's back
Zinnia - The Virgin

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chips Cookies

As I mentioned in my last blog, I brought a few recipes from Mary, the cook at Captain Wohlt's Inn, when we came back from Missouri. One was from the back of the Hershey's Cinnamon Chips package. I made a batch yesterday, substituting dried, sweetened cranberries for the raisins, as Mary did. These cookies are very sweet. Here is the recipe.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chips Cookies


https://www.hersheys.com/celebrate/halloween/recipedetail.aspx?id=6197

Enjoy!

Missouri Musings

Our two weeks of vacation is coming to a close.

We started with our annual, four-day silent  retreat with the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross and Opus Sanctorum Angelorum. Besides the annual retreat resolutions, the talk which will stick with me the most is Fr. Matthew's talk on the power of the rosary. He said that while it sounds overly simplistic, the rosary is the solution to the ills which beset our country ~ the threat to religious freedom, abortion, same-sex marriage and military involvement with Syria. He  gave a number of instances in which other countries have had miraculous intervention and resolution after Catholics had launched rosary crusades. It left me feeling very hopeful.

After a stop at home to do laundry and check on the cats, we headed south. Our first stop was in Decorah, Iowa. Decorah has both a quilt shop and a yarn shop, but we left bright and early in the morning, and so I was spared the temptation to violate my "one project at a time", and "No more yarn/fabric until I reduce my stash!" rules. Next stop was Gutenburg, where we stopped to look at their facsimile of the Gutenburg Bible. No chapter and verse marked in that baby. It is Latin, of course, and printed in script. Gutenburg has wonderful limestone architecture in the town. It also has a cat which apparently hangs around the post office waiting for customers to come by and pet him! We knew he was no stray by the collar and tag, so I had to do just that. After all, my two kitties were sitting at home alone. As we walked away the cat had to follow us for a couple of blocks.

On the way through Iowa we discovered the shrine at St. Donatus. We saw a sign on the road which simply said, "outdoor way of the cross", and decided to stop. The stenciling in the church reminded us of St. Mary, Help of Christians in St. Augusta. It had the traditional carved altars and statues as well. The stations were on a trail above the cemetary. I was not ready to climb the hill, but I went for it anyway, since Arthur was walking it. The stations lead to a small chapel with the Pieta. The setting was very European, with the shrine looking down over the church, the cemetary and the valley. Sheep graze the hill, so we had to watch where we walked to avoid the droppings. Because the stations were outdoors and up such a steep hill with the shrine at the top, it was a pilgrimage walk. I would highly recommend it to everyone.

Our ultimate destination was Hermann, Missouri. We entered the city via the Christopher Bond Memorial Bridge, paid for in large part by your federal tax dollars. The  bridge was beautiful, but it could have been scaled  back a  bit given the size and condition of the city which we were entering. Herman had wonderful red brick 19th century German influence architecture, but we saw many for sale signs, and weedy sidewalk gardens which made it appear as if the town no longer cares whether or not the tourists come. No quilt or yarn shops in town, nor a shop with German imports, like the former Domeier's in New Ulm. Many antique and second-hand stores, but we bought only a few small foodstuff items. We attended a fish and chicken fry at St. George's Cathholic Church on Friday evening, and were a bit surprised to see how the stewed tomatoes and bread which they served was relished  by diners! I came home with some recipes from Mary, the cook at Captain Wohlt's Bed and Breakfast. I did not get her recipe for the orange cranberry scones, or the wine-poached pears, so will have to do some research and testing on the internet for those. Brant Wilkins, the inn owner, hinted that they may have to do a cook book. I'm all for it!

We did only two winery tours while in Hermann. We came home with no wine. However, we found another pilgrimage sight where we spent an afternoon, Our Lady of Sorrows Shrine and St. Martin's Church and Museum at Starkenburg out of Rhineland, Missouri. St. Martin's Church is a now closed Catholic parish. The building is on the National Register of Historic Buildings, and is intact, with paintings, altar and side altars, and statues. The shrine has the first built, tiny wooden chapel with a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, and a much larger stone church above it. Outside it has a shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes, a statue of Jesus and the Angel with the chalice in the Garden of Gethsemane, a way of the cross, and a crypt with a statue of Christ lying in the tomb. We were able to make our Passio at the shrine.

I think we also discovered the cat lady of Hermann. On our walk home from church one day we saw six cats and their beds and carriers out on a porch. I still wonder why my cats cannot get along so well!

We spent our last night on the road in Galena, another town with great architeture, but way too many night time carousers. The town was packed as we went to find a place to eat on Saturday night.

New Rule

This week I implemented a new rule: Only one project at a time. This applies to one project in a category, that is. Only one quilt at a time, one knitting project at a time, one embroidery project at a time. Yes, I am still hell-bent on  busting my stashes. And yes, I still think smaller projects are better for me. And yes, one thing done is one thing less to do.

The last of my Smart Bags is almost done. I had purchased 30 of the interfacng patterns at one time. Most I gave away as gifts. I just might have to buy more in the future, since I enjoy picking out coordinating fat quarters and buttons for them. Many of the recipients of the bags have used them for church because they are the perfect size for missals.

Vandeberg Family History

I found this on my computer this morning, and thought I would share it. I originally wrote it for my mom's birthday a couple of years ago.


Snipppets from My Childhood
February, 2011

Mother's work schedule:

Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays were wash days. Tuesdays were changing beds and washing sheets and towels days.. In the early years she changed only one sheet on each bed every week. The top sheet was thrown into the wash, the bottom sheet was moved to the top, and we got a clean bottom sheet. Wednesdays were bathroom cleaning and floor scrubbing days. Fridays must have been for ironing.

Food:

Fridays were always meatless, of course. On Friday evenings we got popcorn, served in the big dish pan. On Saturdays we had broiled hamburgers, baked beans and potato chips. We never had dip to go with the chips, but sometimes I used cottage cheese as a dip, and sometimes even the beans! I hated washing dishes on Saturday nights because I hated scrubbing the broiler pan. On Sundays after the 9:45 mass we always had bacon and eggs. I still cannot make a decent fried egg, not like Mother could make. We went to mass in shifts, with my dad taking the boys who were serving to the earlier mass. We had beef roast almost every Sunday, as well as a homemade cake. We had dessert every day after supper, ususally cake, bars, or ice cream. In the summer sometimes we had popsickles. We got a sandwhich, two cookies and an apple every day in our school lunch bags. Some meal combinations which I remember were salmon loaf, creamed peas, potatoes, and German chocolate cake ( I just about died when we had the same exact combination at St. Ben's a time or two. Coincidence, or a German tradition?); homemade baked beans and carrot/pineapple/jello salad and johnny cake; meatloaf made with oatmeal instead of bread crumbs, and baked potatoes; and toasted cheese sandwhiches, tomato soup and cocoa. I have several of Mother's cake recipies in my collection, crumb cake, starlight cake, black devil's food cake, fruit cocktail cake, spice cake, and oatmeal cake. The two recipes for which she is probably most known are chow mein hot dish, and Tollhouse oatmeal cookies. I think I was probably out of high school before I ever tasted a chocolate chip cookie made without oatmeal. We always got a layer cake for our birthday.

Nicnames:

Mother had nicnames for some of the younger kids. I was Patwissa. Robert was Bobby Boy. Ed was Eddykins, and Peter was Peterkins, or Mamma's Little Lover Boy.

Stories:

As one of the younger kids, I always heard tales from Mother about some of the older kids. Her favorites seemed to be when Tim got stuck in a snowbank when he was little, and when he threw the cat in the toilet, and how that cat became Mother's best friend when she rescued him. Then there is the story about how Gerard thought Janice was just the most wonderful baby in the world, until Mother asked him if he would go get a diaper for her. Gerard's response was, "That baby is getting to be too much work around here!" Then there was the time that Janice got sick, and Mother had to give her a bath, wash her hair, and change the bed. Then Gerard got sick, and she repeated the process. Then Gerard looked at Janice and said, "We're both sick", and they started laughing. Then there was a naughty brother who cut up some beautiful fabric which Mother had bought for Janice for an apron for 4-H. Everyone knows about the pot Bob got stuck on his head, and that Joe was always crawling on top of the table while she was trying to feed Bob, that Bob was a fussy baby, and that he kept his blanket until it disintigrated, and that he would take that blanket and go crawl behind the couch and sleep for hours. I was always reminded that I took hours to feed as a baby because I was a preemie.

Shaklee Expo

Yesterday Goddaughter Maria was here for a sewing day. She finally finished the ribbon bag from Made  by Me (See previous blogs for bibliographical info.) She was thrilled to have her own purse, "not Grace's", and something which was homemade. We adapted the pattern to add a flap with a button so she is less likely to loose things. She could not find her cross stitch project, known as "MPO" for her initials, or, as Godfather thought, "Main Post Office".  She had two yards of a beautiful blue and purple floral print challis fabric with her, however, so we rummaged through my patterns and cut out a skirt. I even had an appropriately colored zipper in the right length in my stash, so we are ready to sew next time she comes over.

Last evening we also had a Shaklee Expo. It was the first time I tried the Enfuselle Calming Complex, and I have to say that I looked like a different person this morning. My skin looked so young and fresh. I am so tempted to keep a bottle on hand for special ocassions. I also won two bags of the new Cinch Crisps. I had one today as my lunch. The crisps are about the thickness of Fritos, and I have to say they have kept me well satisfied. I am now keeping a box of Cinch Meal Bars in my car for meals on the run. I heard several interesting testimonies. One of our "users" has improved so much in the heart health department that she no longer needs her pacemaker! Another woman from the Cities was able to reverse her macular degeneration, which had gone from dry to wet, by using Vivix and Omegas. I also heard of a couple more two year olds who swallow their vitamins and supplements as Ariana does. Another wonderful story told about MRSA reversal with high doses of the Shaklee Garlic. I do not think I knew Heidi when she was at her heaviest weight,  but she said last evening that she has lost 110 pounds on Cinch. It must be over the course of three or four years, which is incredible, since most people will have been on several diets in that amount of time, and will have experienced the yo-yo diet effect, lose, gain back even more, lose, gain  back even more.  Impressive. She still has a few pounds to go to get to her wedding weight. I have work to do to improve my health with more exercise and less food, but I know I am on the right track with the right nutritional supplements, and the right company.

Human Trafficking in Central Minnesota

     I often pick up copies of the complimentary magazine, Central Minnesota Women to see what is new in our area. The October/November 2012 raised my eyebrows a bit. I would like to share a few statistics from the cover story, "Trendsetters Boutique: Battling the Oldest Oppression". First note the title words: "oppression", not,"profession", indicating that prostitution is not really a profession of choice. That is certainly a change from the attitude most of us have held about prostitution in the past. Then look at the statistic on the following page that says 95% of prostitutes use drugs or alcohol, because they are more easily controlled by their pimps if they are addicted. Hardly a matter of choice. Further down you see the estimate that a girl entering into prostitution at the age of 13 will probably only live five to seven more years. According to the article, the FBI says Minnesota sells about 10,000 women and girls into sex slavery every year, with the metropolitan area accounting for the 13th largest center for child prostitution in the country. Further yet, a 16 year old woman had been prostituting out of an unnamed St. Cloud hotel 80 times in one year. That's St. Cloud, folks.

     The article hit home with me as the mother of a foster child who attempted to run away. Said child had been sexually abused in her birth home. Her counselor revealed that she had undergone "grooming" with one of birth mom's boyfriends. At the time that she reappeared at our door after running (Looked like she had made a path in the snow out to the road, then retreated to hide in a car in the garage) the police officer at our home warned her of the dangers that await girls out on the street. After three disrupted adoptions, at the age of 18 this young woman moved into her own apartment. Within days she had moved out of the apartment and in with a young man. When she broke up with him she immediately moved in with another man who had a prison record and a pornographic photography business.  She is a mother now, but sees pornography  and exotic dancing as perfectly acceptable occupations. Last we heard her three youngest children had all been removed from her home. She had already surrendered her first child. How does one begin to penetrate the years of abuse to re-educate her on what a real relationship, and a real family, look like?

      Stop the johns, and prostitution necessarily stops. But how does a person convince men that prostitution is immoral? The  same can be said for pornography. If no one bought it, no one would produce it.

     The sexual revolution and the Pill have done nothing to diminish the problems of sexual abuse and prostitution,  not even replacing them with masterbation, homosexuality (We'll not even address homosexual prostitution here!), adultery, or fornication, which one might assume would happen now that anything goes. Why not? Could it be that feeding the appetite really makes it stronger and more difficult to control, rather than easier to manage?

     Dear Lord, help us to know You, love You, and serve You. St. Michael, pray for us.

Sew Simple

     My latest project book purchase was Sew Simple (Gooseberry Patch, Delaware, OH, 2008). I found it at Jo Ann's, and went back and purchased a second copy, their last, for my Goddaughter. I was captivated by the cute pictures, simple projects, and recipes. So far I have tried two of the recipes, and four of the projects.

      I loved the Tickled Pink Drink made from strawberries and yogurt.   It is a great way to use the frozen strawberries we have from our spring garden,  much more appealing and appetizing than our usual frozen strawberries and ice cream. I throw in whatever amount of strawberries we have in one bag, so I usually get about six cups in a batch. I am the only one drinking it unless we have company, so I freeze the leftovers in glasses and pull them out for breakfast or breaks as desired.

     The Chewy Chocolate-Caramel Bars were entirely too sweet for me. If I use that recipe again I will make changes. I am thinking of trying it first in a 9"x13"  pan. Other options are cutting the chips down by half, and using only white sugar for the crumb mixture. 

     The Sling Bag was the first project I tried. I decided to add a lightweight interfacing for extra body, and this might have been the cause of my difficulties. I found it very awkward getting to the seam at the bottom of the bag. I had rumples in the seam when I was finished. I had planned and purchased supplies for two bags before I even started, so to be fair, I will do the next one without the interfacing. If that does not go well, I will give up on that pattern.

    The Drawstring Bag from the tea towel turned out well. I skipped the felt flowers on the handle, and instead added the fabric flower from the Gift Bags onto the front of the bag. I made a second bag with an old cloth napkin using fancy buttons on the tie. I added rick rack to the top of that bag, but I thought it looked a bit odd. I left both my tea towel and napkin whole, instead of cutting them, as the book recommended. The bags could be used as gift bags, panty hose bags, rag bags, knitting bags, anything that needs containing.

     I made several of the potholders, using leftover heat reistant fabric and quilt batting for the insides and backs. I added expensive buttons, but the buttons and ties gave the potholders added cuteness.  For a practical person they could be omitted.

     I have fabric, trims and twill tape to complete the Knitting Needle Roll and Tote Bag, so I will do those projects next.

Made by Me, Take 2

I wrote about the book, Made by Me (Jane Bull, Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2009) when I first purchased copies for myself and my Goddaughter. Maria's assignment for our next sewing date is to complete sewing the ribbons on her purse (Bags of Ribbon, p. 34 ff.) She is having a bit of difficulty sewing the ribbons on evenly, my guess is because some of them have a suede nap. She has been using a combination of machine and hand sewing. She also started a cross stitch design (pp. 20 ff.), but I was unable to find a fabric larger than 16 point, so that also is a challenge. I, on the other hand, am going to town on the Hanging Softies ( pp. 30 ff.)! These are so cute that I had to try one, and one has turned into several now that I have purchased felt in many colors. I have been letting my 91 year old mother help with cutting pieces and picking colors as she is able, so that she has some sort of diversion. I am using acrylic felt to economize, but if I were to do a large gift item, I would love to try wool felt. The felt is easy to sew, and I am  getting the hang of starting and ending blanket stitch once again. I have done the hearts with flowers, the chick ornament in a couple of different colors, and hearts with buttons. I had circles cut,  but decided I wanted more traditional designs, rather than mod. A couple small bags come next. Oh, Maria, you've got to try these!

My stash busting continues in the basement. That blue latticed quilt meant for Catholic Charities will now be enlarged to go to Quilt Bingo at St. Anthony's. A few hotpads to go, and I will be finished with as much as I can get done for the Prolife Kids Club bake sale this Sunday. The hotpads have used very little fabric, but I got to try the coordinating pieces I got from a stash someone gave to St. Anthony's, and colors from my stash that will not be usable for anything else that I can imagine.

Alfalfa

     My daughter and granddaughter were here for an hour this morning. My granddaughter, who is 21 months, spotted my bottle of Shaklee Alfalfa on the table again. She HAD to have some! Once in awhile she spits it out, but most of the time she eats several tablets. Her mom thinks it the weirdest thing. Grandma is pleased, since I know it is good for her allergies. Only thing is, she is using up my supply. After skimping for several weeks, I know I have to maintain my regular usage of about 30 a day for my own sinuses. Otherwise I feel pain. Alfalfa has been my Sudafed replacement for the past three years. 
    
     I am on a roll with my blue scrappy quilt. This top will be given away, but I am very pleased with how well my lattice stripping is turning out. I ripped out the first few rows and trimmed my squares, and am very happy that I did. The seams match perfectly now. After this I get to finish the four patch to practice corner triangles. I must confess that I did add three yards of Mills End fabrics to my stash last Friday, but three yards for $5 is a great bargain, and two of the fabrics were solids. Otherwise I progress towards my one project policy. The excesses have got to be used up so that when I die, I will not leave boxes and  boxes of fabric behind for my poor husband to have to distribute. I am learning.

Shaklee Independent Distributor

Shaklee Independent Distributor

Flowers

I remember one of the things I was so anxious to comment about the other day. First, my St. Pauli African violet has another bud on it. It has been about six months since it last bloomed. Second, my brother Bob gave me a slip from Mother's Christmas cactus plant which he had rooted last fall. Mother's new cactus planting at home had an impatiens growing in it from seed from the flowers growing nearby the cactus, and as my cactus grew, so did an impatiens sprout up. The cactus bloomed last month. It is finished, but I now have a few flowers on the impatiens. What a way to add splash to winter!

I purchased some close-to-sell-by-date thistle seed, and will put some out today to see if I can attract any finches.I still see the blue jays and northern flickers at the sunflower feeder.

After all of my fuss over the two knitting books I could not find, and discovered that I had indeed loaned them to Anne, and then forgot to pick up  when I was at her house, I have found a new pattern to use for my second purple gift scarf. I am moving out of my comfort zone little by little. One stitch at a time is bringing me to new levels of ability.

Grandmother

Going over to see my little granddaughter again today. Nothing more snuggly than having a baby sleeping on my shoulder with her head next to mine. Kitties are very warm, but babies fit better. On Wednesday I could hardly bear to leave Anne's house because Little Girl was content to be in Grandma's arms. 

We are having snow, snow, and more snow. This must be closer to what Laura Ingalls Wilder's family had in The Long Winter. It is closer to the winters that I remember as a child, absent the cold temperatures. I can remember one year that the St. Paul Pioneer Press gave Mother Nature the cold shoulder award for so many days with temperatures below zero. That was the year steering wheels were breaking off in Alaska because of the extreme cold.

Off to work. I cannot remember the things I was so anxious to blog about yesterday! Senility is upon us.  I need to pick up some provisions for Anne, and get a Shaklee package out in the mail.

Grandma and Grandpa!

We are now Grandma and Grandpa Becker. Anne had her baby on my birthday. Baby Girl has silky-soft dark blonde hair, a double chin, and itty-bitty fingers and toes. Can you hear Grandma cooing? Today we sang songs together, played pat-a-cake, played This Little Piggy Went to Market, counted to five on her toes, and took a walking tour of the apartment. I also got to change my first diaper in many years.

I stopped at Michael's to use my Christmas gift card today, but I did not have any knitting patterns with me and could not find a particular yarn, so I will hold off until I have more time to look.

I saw a bald eagle flying near our house as I headed into town, and a male ring-neck pheasant as I drove home.

Happy Thanksgiving

Only Rush Limbaugh can turn the first Thanksgiving feast into a meal of free-range turkey and organic vegetables. Thanks, Rush! I needed the laughs this morning.

We had a couple short periods of freezing drizzle before the snow started. I hope my husband makes it home safely from work. We will decide tomorrow whether it is safe to drive to my sister's house in the Cities for Thanksgiving dinner. I will wait until tomorrow to prepare my bring-along food.

I have fallen off of the band wagon on my retreat resolutions, and have even taken a step backwards from the progress I had made earlier. Blessed Mother, help me out of this slump. I am persevering in my reading of The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori, in spite of its length. In another month I will need to start my annual review for my consecration to Mary. But I am so lazy....

I started some breads today. I need to take something to the Becker Thanksgiving on Sunday, and also need some extra loaves in the freezer. The house is cold, and bread baking is a good way to warm it up. I hope to  get some knitting and sewing done in between kneading and rising.

Wouldn't ya know, Janet Nepolitano has announced the possibility of using the new high-radiation full body airport scanners in bus terminals and railroad depots. The new American Police State is now in full swing. No thought of strengthening our borders because the  real goal is subverting the American people, not preventing terrorism.  Why else subject them to the degradation of the TSA pat-downs and body scans? Don't believe it? Experts say the new scanners probably would not have caught the underwear  bomber.

Six of One

I am embroidering simple cross stitch quilt squares. As I work to untangle my floss for the first five crosses, I think of all of those who scold the long string users. The theory is that quilt thread, embroidery floss, and hand-sewing thread should never be longer than 18 inches, so that it does not tangle as it worked. Us long threaders prefer them long even if we have to deal with tangles, so that we do not have to make so many knots. We are just as correct.

I can think of countless examples where there are not the absolutes sometimes attributed. Women can make beautiful quilts out of cut up clothing and cardboard templates as well as out of pricey quilt shop fabric and the latest cutting tools. Eggs can be eaten runny or hard. Toilet paper can roll from the front or from the back. Cats can live in the house, or in the barn. A person can be comfortable reading from a book, or off of a Kindle. There is no disputing taste.

It looks as if I will have to head to the veterinarian with Gracie, if not for her shots, at least for a look-see at her eye. There is no pus, but I do wipe blood away daily from her tear duct, and her eye is quite red. The fur around the eye is now darkening, as if bruised underneath.  I do not like the thought of spending money on the cat just now.

I am making headway on several different quilt projects. Can' have just one going at a time. No Sirree! Last night I did restrain myself to window shopping at JoAnn's for fabric that will match some of my future quilt pieces. If I get too much piled up my stress level increases.

Garden of Weedin'

I spent the afternoon working in the Mary Garden at St. John Cantius. Yes, Gerard, I realize now that I did not take any pictures of the garden when it was in full bloom. I cut down some perennials, pulled out the annuals, and worked on edging the patio blocks. Tomorrow I may not be able to move. I am looking forward to a cozy evening embroidering.

I finished the book, Looking for the King (Downing, Ignatius Press). It kept me interested enough to have to finish it. I would not, however, rate it as one of the best mysteries of all time. I had planned on moving right on to Rachel's Contrition, but I side-tracked into Pearce's Tolkien: Man and Myth. The later appears to be an easy read, and suitably follows Downing's book with guest appearances by the Inklings. I am on my second chapter just reading on my lunch breaks at work. Arthur has expressed interest in this book, too, since he has watched all of the Lord of the Rings movies with me. I read those books down at the lake in my youth. I am paying for those  bad sunburns now with skin discoloration and moles.

Time to prepare supper. Fried potatoes and fish. It's Friday.

Time

I got a hair cut today. As I looked into the barber's mirror, I noticed a very prominent silver hair near my cheek. One of these years there will be too many to count.

Gracie still has a scab on her tear duct. I hesitate to  wipe it off as I usually do. It looks as though she had a claw catch her there. Not my fault if she fights. It was probably with Blackie. In the picture below Gracie is displaying the quilt which I won at St. Anthony's last week.  







Gracie Girl



Blackie



Long Time No Write

Anne started her own blog, so I guess that means I need to get back into the swing on mine!

My latest news is that I won a quilt at St. Anthony's (St. Cloud) Quilt Bingo. This is about the fifth year that I have gone, so it was mine time. I am proud to be one of their new quilters, as well. The quilt which I won, as are all of their quilts, queen size. It has embroidered patches alternating with maroon patches, sashing and backing. The amount of work put into the emroidery alone is incredible.

My quilting is improving in speed, if not in stitch length. At one time at a quilting afternoon at Gone to Pieces, I was advised by another quilter to use a smaller needle and shorter thread.  So far that has not given me smaller stitches. Mary B. has impressed upon me the need to use a thimble. I laugh with the other ladies at St. Anthony's about using longer thread so that I tie fewer knots, even if it means running the risk of tangles. Half of them do the same.Helping the quilters has energized me in the completion of the quilt top I started for them two years ago. It was supposed to be done in summer months while work was slow. Never happened. Now, however, I am on a roll.

Baby Mark's afghan is still unfinished.

Today I am baking cracked wheat bread with millet and flax seed thrown in. I also started some oatmeal apple bread, a good bread for breakfasts. Dinner tonight is pork chops and potatoes.

Now off to do laundry.

Eat Your Vegetables, or Else?

Have you noticed that when politicians talk about reducing health care costs by making healthy choices, they limit their targets to obesity, cigarette smoking, and seat belts and bike helmets,  the politically correct sins of the new century? What if they mentioned studies about how abortion can cause breast cancer, or about how the Pill can cause heart trouble?  What about the diseases picked up through sexual promiscuity? What about AIDS, which is still a disease acquired primarily by homosexual activity in men? What about the mental illnesses caused or exacerbated by abortion, sexual promiscuity, divorce and  infidelity?  What about drug users? What about people who refuse to eat their vegetables, or fiber, or protein? What about using organic products as opposed to junky white bread, apples sprayed with pesticides, and milk containing growth hormones? What about people who refuse to believe in God, or pray, or go to church, when studies say these things make people happier, and healthier? Ask the centenarian why he has lived so long, and you will be told everything from drinking and smoking to having a beer and bacon everyday. The list of things which the government would have to include if it wants to "protect our health" would be endless.

Far better that the government gets out of the health care industry altogether, and lets individuals control their own health and seek their own happiness in their own ways.

Police State

Tornadoes ripped through the state of Minnesota on Thursday. The city of Wadena was particularly hard hit. By late evening we were hearing reports that the police had barracaded their streets so that only residents could access the city. I find that rather alarming. I can understand the possibility of gawkers and looters. What I do not understand is closing off the citizens from outside assistance by family and friends. What if you had elderly parents living in the town, or a single mother with young children. It is the natural response to want to check up on them. It is also common to call on friends and family for assistance. This one might have a chain saw, or a pick-up. That one might want your fallen trees for firewood. Why should the police department be able to say you cannot enlist their help?

The more I hear about the oil spill, the angrier I get. Why would we refuse the assistance of foreign oil skimmers just because the ships were not built with Union labor? Why not let BP burn the oil, or use chemical dispersants, so that the oil does not reach land. Why not let the state of Louisiana  build sand berms when and where they want? Why send the Coast Guard out to disrupt clean up for an entire day because the clean-up crews might not have life jackets? Safety is well and good, but there is a time and place for everything. Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater by being so tied up in regulations that we cannot move. 

Who in our congress is willing to stand up and tell President Obama that he is acting way out of constitutional bounds by placing a moratorium on gulf drilling and by demanding that BP use a third party settle damages?

Yesterday I did a long overdue scrub-down of the bathtub. It is my least favorite cleaning job, and the one most easily left undone. Left undone, it grows into a larger task as each week of soap scum clings to the walls. It requires major elbow grease to cut through the grime. Now it is done, and I wonder what happened to that young bride who set aside one day every week to clean the bathroom, dust, vaccuum, and scrub the kitchen floor. I think she has gone knitting or something.

Christian Mothers

http://www.fatherangelus.com/The national office of the Archconfraternity of Christian Mothers now sends out semi-monthly e-newsletters. They can be reached at christianmothers@consolidated.net, or at http://www.fatherangelus.com/.

Long Time No Blog

Since my last blog I have finished numerous knitted dishcloths, sewn three more Smart Bags and cut out several more, finished reading Andy Adam's Campfire Tales, become a Shaklee distributor, traveled to New Ulm, planted several annuals, and done some much needed weeding and thinning in my flower beds. I hop to figure out our new camera so I can add some pictures of my work.

Campfire Tales was a light, easy to read book. It was broken into three to four page stories, or tales, so I read one or two at a time. I found this book in one of the national park gift shops out west (probably Theodore Roosevelt Nat'l Park), and purchased it with the intention of reading it with Anne for school. We never used it as such, and in retrospect, so much the better. While the stories are told by cowboys around their evening campfires, it seems a book better read to oneself than read aloud. I enjoyed the simplicity of expression, though I did not know the meaning of all of the horse lingo, nor the geography of the trails from the 1800's.

Our annual trip to New Ulm took us to the Holiday Inn New Ulm for a first stay. We visited Domeier's, and while Papa did a tour of Schell Brewery, I paid visits to the two quilt shops and a second-hand bookshop in town. I enjoy the small quilt shops very much. I am not overwhelmed by too many fabric choices, and I feel like I am helping the local economy by my purchases. We discovered Turner Hall with its late 19th century paintings on the walls. Perhaps we will try out their lunch menu on a future visit. We drove past the Wanda Gag house, but it was not open for tour. We did a run through the Minnesota Music Museum, Arthur looking at Whoppee John, Sherwin Linton, and a few other familiar faces. The museum guide had lake cabin connections around central Minnesota, so I am sure his long chat with Arthur made his day. I looked for F. Melius Christiansen, music professor at St. Olaf who probably formed much of Mr. Engen's teaching at White Bear, but I found only the display from his induction ceremony into the Museum. I looked for more on Margie's old favorite, Johnny Holm, as well, but could not find his display. Arthur was not happy with his ribs at Wiegel's Kaiserhoff, so next time we will try Otto's restaurant at the Holiday Inn. Mama will probably like Otto's better, too, since they serve all my favorite German sides with their meals - red cabbage, German potato salad, and sauerkraut.

Marriage makes for truly strange bedfellows. I am hankering for a good pasta salad. Papa prefers potatoes. I like the pumpernickel bread, rosemary bread and popovers when we eat out, and he prefers the white bread. He usually orders the same thing, I usually try something different. He was raised on fried lake fish for Fridays,  I was raised on tuna. I like green beans, while he prefers peas and corn. I like cooked carrots, while he prefers his raw.

I have a sparrow in one blue bird nest box, and a wren in the other. I put oriole nectar and grape juice out again this morning, but I may give up if we have another rain, or if the humidity brings on the mildew again. My new oriole feeder does keep the wasps out, but ants are still an issue.

Warm Up

I am supposed to be typing my overdue Christian Mothers newsletter right now. My internal (Patrician) calendar is always late, and in my mind I had another week to work on it, until a phone call made me realize it had to be in the mail today. I am still the student handing in late papers.

A glance out of the window showed my pussy willow in full catkins. After years of stagnance the branches are lengthened to a couple feet, and pulled toward the sky. I am trying to imagine my bush at the 20 foot height it will become. Although I saw no tulip tips in the Mary Garden at church last Sunday, I see two remnant tulips about five inches high in my flower bed in the side yard. I may not get blooms, since I dug out most of the bulbs last year, and what I see now is either a damaged or stray bulb.

One of the blogs which I follow is Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. (http://www.foothillsofthegreatsmokymountains.blogspot.com/)  I first found this site in a search for a dishcloth pattern from http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/.  Foothills has a gorgeous header photo of the Smoky Mountains. Recently she posted pictures of some of the projects she has knitted. I enjoy her pictures, often done against a backdrop of nature. I enjoy the vibrant colors she has used in her projects. When I looked at her site a few days ago it felt like spring. I was also intrigued by her participation in a Christian knitters group.  When I have more time I can investigate that group.

Lion Brand had an article on picking up stitches in their latest e-newsletter. I scanned the article thinking I would get tips for a shawl pattern I plan on making. I am beginning to see why people who use the internet need to bookmark things. I cannot use the information from the article immediately, but I might need it in the future. Better save it! Then, just as our houses collect stuff that needs to be weeded out, every once in awhile we need to go through our computers and get rid of the things we do not need. How many computer storage sheds do you have?

Knitting

I decided I would take the plunge and join Ravelry, an on-line knitting group. Once again I am spurred on by seeing a new knitting pattern on another member's web site, which I simply must have!

St. Augusta was filled with spring today. The sun was out, and the neighbor's cat was on the prowl. The black labs next door were having hissy fits when they saw the cat walk through our yard. I had to go out and investigate when I did not see the meter man's car, or the mail man, or the UPS truck, or a garbage truck, or the  other neighbors working at their shed. I forced Gracie Cat to stay in the house when I left for town later on. She gets nasty when her territory is invaded, and the other cat was larger, and probably male.

I purchased some wool yarn for a prayer shawl this afternoon. I am under the weather, and my mind is half gone, so I am thinking that I probably needed two more skeins than I purchased, since I am using a different yarn than the pattern called for. I did comparisons in the store, but who knows what I was really doing when I did it!

Friday

Yesterday I finished a baby bootie using a pattern from The Knitter's Bible. I successfully used the M1 increase from both the front and back, and did a simple turn. Today I will attempt to stitch the seam. Next I think I will start a beret from the sport weight pale blue Brown Sheep wool that I purchased years ago from The Weaver's Cabin. May as well use it up while I am trying something new. I found a shamrock dishcloth pattern from http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/, but decided not to buy the green yarn yet.

This week PBS did a rerun from Frontline on Dignitas, a group which promotes assisted suicide. The program included footage of an actual suicide from their "suicide apartment" in Switzerland. For a suicide, the man certainly required a large number of people to give him assistance. Surely, with that much support, it would have been just as easy to help him to live. The man choosing to take his own life did not appear to be in great pain or disability. Nor did the death seem very dignified as I watched the man call for apple juice to wash down the apparently unpleasant tasting sedative cocktail. His wife wished him a good journey before she left the room, and I kept thinking, a journey to where? He did not believe in an afterlife, only that we reamin alive as long as someone remembers our name (sic). There is no journey between life and death. We are only living, or dead. When we are dead we face God for our judgment, heaven, hell or purgatory and then heaven.

This issue lead me to a conversation I once had with Fr. John Mary Burns, O.C.D., regarding the existence of God. Father said somthing to the effect of, "Why not give God a try? If He is not real, you have nothing to loose. Do you want to take the chance of denying Him if He is real?" We have been presented with many proofs that God exists in philosophy, in miracles, and in Christ's coming to earth. On the other hand, who can proove that God does not exist? We are so busy trying to discredit the proofs for God, that we forget about the proofs against Him, and the "What if He does exist?". Just in case He does, I wouldn't piddle around with assisted suicide.

"At the end, forever, you and I will be in Heaven or Hell, period." Fr. John Corapi

"But the master of a slave has by law the right of life and death over him...." St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin.

The Saga Continues

Since I am still trying to deplete my stock of U.F.O's, I started another scarf out of the Homespun yarn. Just when I think I have the hang of it, I discover added stitches, and my dislike of the yarn is renewed. It is impossible to find mistakes because the rows are not as sharp and even as with regular worsteds.

Last week on our trip to Alexandria, I made a stop at Dawn's Quilt Shop on Broadway. I had attempted to stop there when we were in Alex previously, but the store was locked. Dawn said that they were in fact just opening  a couple of years ago. The quilt shop that was across the street is now closed. I did find a few fun things at Dawn's. She is obviously a  cat lover, and has ceramic and fabric cats all over the store. Next time perhaps she will have a live mouser to keep in the spirit of things. I picked up a fat quarter cat print which I hope to put into a Smart Bag. She also had a set of sewing themed cookie cutters that came in a box: a sewing machine, spool of thread, and I do not remember what the other two cutters were, but a cute gift  for someone who is gaga on sewing or quilting. I would have purchased a set had I had extra cash.

I actually had a successful day of shopping in St. Cloud on Friday. I have a tough time buying clothes because I am both petite and large, and big in the hips, but not on top! I hate to buy a new skirt and have to cut four inches of fabric off to get it the right length. I did find a new skirt and two tops at Christopher and Banks. I was able to order a second skirt from their on-line store. I plan on going in again next pay check to try another blouse that will match one of my skirts, if not both.

The vinyl is peeling off of my nice white tennis shoes. I only paid 50 cents for them at a garage sale so it is not such a horrible loss. Still a disappointment, though. I tossed out my expensive Munro work shoes last week. They still had good soles,  but the buckle straps were stretched out and worn almost through, and did not hold my shoes on as snuggly as needed. I should not cry over those, either, since I had them for ten years. Nevertheless, they were expensive to start with.

Repeal the 17th Amendment

We had an interesting discussion on the repeal of the 17th Amendment at our BPOU convention on Saturday. The more I think about the idea, the more I like it. I like it first of all because we are a republican form of government, not a democracy. This would remind people that it is so. Secondly, it would reduce the amount of money and time spent on campaigns because we would eliminate the need for a senatorial election. Third, and perhaps most important, it would renew interest in our local elections, because our state house and senate members and/or governor would be responsible for appointing our U.S. Senators. Fourth, as Jim Knoblach brought up, it may remove the need or desire to impose term limits, because our local elected officials change office more frequently, and therefore our appointee would change more frequently. Since our local officials already reflect our local desires, at least as close as we  can get out of those who choose to run, I do not think there would be a drastic difference in whom the state would choose, over whom the people would vote for.

My resolution on eliminating primary elections was tabled before it could even be discussed.

More from The Imitation of Christ

I am re-reading the preparation prayers for the total consecration to Mary in anticipation of my anniversary in February. It is as if I am reading them for the first time. The following quote fits perfectly with our Schoenstatt Mothers Group study on temeprament. I need to remember this Oh! So Well!.

"We are quick enough in perceiving and weighing what we bear from others; but we think little of what others have to bear with us. He that should well and justly weigh his own doing would find little cause to judge harshly of another."  Imitation of Christ Book 2, Chapter 5

What Makes You Tick?

I went shopping at both of the local craft stores today. I have a marked preference for one over the other. One has an easy to open e-mail ad. The other's e-mail ad might be easy, but I am not accustomed to it, and the layout does not appeal to me. One store has bright lights and broad aisles, which makes it easier to choose which colors of yarn, or beads, or paper, or flowers, or ink, or buttons I would like to purchase. One store always asks for my zip code when I am checking out, which is always a turn-off. One store has a much larger variety of yarn and knitting needles. One is easy to get to from both sides of the road; the other requires ocassional u-turns at a busy intersection. One has fabric; the other one keeps a few fat quarters on hand. One has a gigantic selection of rubber stamps. One is locally owned and operated; the other is a chain. One always has sales flyers at the door; the other expects me to check the paper. One rewards me for spending money at their store; the other does not. Can you guess which is my favorite?  

Suffering from Mens' Errors

"But what great matter is this, if you who are but dust and a mere nothing, submit yourself to man for God's sake, when I the Almighty, and the Most High, Who created all things out of nothing for thy sake, humbly subjected Myself to man."        Imitation of Christ, Book 3 Chapter 13

Birds

I refilled my bird table and hanging feeder with black oil sunflower seed. I also put out an orange and the last of my homemade peanut butter suet cakes. The birds usually get fed on the days that I empty the cat boxes. The sun is out, bright and beautiful. The temperature, I am guessing, is around 28 or 29 degrees, so it was a great day to be outside. I decided that I would soak up more vitamin D by staying out for a bit, and so I emptied out my bird houses from last year. Unlike my father-in-law, I am not observant enough to always tell when my bird houses are occupied, or when each particular brood has left the nest. As a result I usually do not clean out the houses until well past bird migration. Imagine my surpirse today when I found a house containing not only tons of sticks, but another round nest of grasses and feathers, containing a frozen but whole egg, about 1/2 inch long. It is a pinkish egg with brown speckles, but after more than two months of freezing temperatures, I wonder if that is the original color.

I am reading Robin Kane: The Mystery of the Phantom, 1966. Robin's father draws the comic strip, "The Family Scene", for which he uses his own children as models for his characters. Sounds just like Bill Keane's Family Circus to me, although my guess is that the book was written first. Funny!

"There is one thing which keeps many  back from spiritual progress and fervent amendment of life; and that is: dread of difficulty, or the labor which must be gone through in the conflict...It is a greater task to resist vices and passions than to toil at bodily labors."                             

Imitation of Christ, Chapter 25

Off Day

I have the day off from work, and I feel like doing nothing. Some tasks cannot be ignored, though. The cat box must be emptied before rebellion occurs. The compost has to go out. The dishes from last night's dinner have to be washed. 'Til we meet again.

Christmas Gifts

I prepared Peter and Karin's package for mailing today, since we were snowed in here for Christmas day, and did not get to see them. I was reminded that while I am still enjoying sewing Smart Bags, I have yet to complete the sewing projects meant for last year's gifts. I'll let you in on what they are after Christmas next year.

Happy New Year

Today we purchased a new bed frame to replace the teddy bear bed in the spare bedroom. I purchased the teddy bear bed (so called because the head and foot boards resembled the beds seen in story books) at Wolfgrams' garage sale in WBL when I moved into my little apartment on Cedar Street 18 years ago. The mattress supports were broken in enough places that I did not feel comfortable offering it for guest use. The new mattress and box spring also made the bed higher than I wish for the times that I sleep in that room. (It is my snuggly place to go when I cannot sleep, and need to move where I can read while Papa sleeps.)

I made another run to the Foley quilt shop for more interfacing for Smart Bags. I am enjoying sewing them very much. I did sneak some Moda Christmas print fat quarters into my purchase, too. I have been eyeing those prints since I first saw them at Barb's booth at the St. Cloud Heritage Quilt Show in October. Really cute. Vintage looking. They are petite prints.

John William Dando Vandeberg, I am still laughing at your antics. I am proud to be your auntie!