Mum's Spring Fair

 I joined in with "Mum's Simply Living Blog" http://mumssimplylivingblogat.blogspot.com/ for a blogger spring fair then totally forgot that Friday was the day to post, BLUSH I was thinking Saturday, what the heck happened to the month of March? I want it back!!! I hope I am doing this right if not, so sorry. I am not only late but also not great at following directions.

Here is my first entry, a baby quilt I made for a dear friends first grand baby, I love how it turned out. BTW the black stripes in the quilt are shadows from the clothes line, I need to take photo's at a different time of day! 

 Here is an up close of the baby girl quilt, Lots and lots of free motion quilting

 This is one of 4 quilt tops in the works for Christmas gifts this year for our grown DD's, I still need to embroidery all of our names and of course get the quilting done.

 Another quilt from this year I made for DD#2 Birthday, young and hip just like she is

 The other stall I had was for food, this might seem odd but just add that to the list of failures I have had on the Spring Fair. I love to preserve food, lots of canning goes on around our house.

 Dehydrating is another all time favorite for preserving food.

 This is our garden a few years back, we haven't even turned it over yet this year. I like to grow as much of our food as I can, preserving it for the rest of the year.

Best of all we like to eat what we grow. This is Kara, one of our 4 grands helping me pull carrots from the winter garden.

Once again I am sorry for the late post :( I really do have a good excuse, its an age thing. Thanks for stopping in. This blog is all about everyday life, cooking, gardening, preserving, sewing, saving $$ when we can and most of all celebrating the time we have been blessed with to be here on earth with our family.

Happy Mail!!

 How cute is this hand made card I received from Carla over at 1/2 dozen daily!!

 And with the card she made me this super cute zipper pouch, perfect for all my coupons and savings rewards. Thank you so much Carla, I love it all!!!

 Karsyn is sporting one of the new dresses I made for the little girls, but her mood was not so great (All day I might add) The dress is really cute, the modle however was a hot mess.

 I have a new quilt started JUST FOR ME, using a jelly roll from "Strawberry Fields"

 The quilt squares are finished, now on the the assembly.

Karsyn thankfully was in a much better mood today. Thursday I thought I was going to pull my hair out!!!!

What the heck am I doing up tonight! I hit the sack at 8:30 PM only to wake up at 12:00 AM wide awake thinking about the mistake I made on My Very own quilt, grrr I think I have the problem worked out so I guess this middle of the durn night wake up is not so bad after all.

I am having a hard time getting back to reality after vacation. I miss setting around with the gals sharing coffee or tea in the mornings on the deck overlooking the stream, deciding what we want to do for the day. I miss adult speech!! I do love the grands to death but I have had a time of it getting use to the grunts, fussing, and such the past two days. I sorta miss hanging out with people who pee pee on the toilet, and don't get me started on projectile vomiting. I had to change clothes 3 times Thursday morning before 10:00 AM.

I finally have a handle on the pile of mail that was waiting on my return. SIL #2 got the lawn mowed today so our house doesn't look like we moved out 2 weeks ago. Phone messages and e-mails have all been answered (or deleted) The grands clothes, linens and my spit up clothes are in the dryer. I have 2 full days to myself  (I hope) to get my act together before the fun begins again next week. I have forewarned the adult children I need to chill for a few days, well see how that works out.

Tomorrow is devoted to errands, yuk! clean up on the deck double yuk!, and fixing the mistake I made on my quilt, crap. By Sunday all will be well in the world again but tonight I am missing my girl time!!

Home Sweet Home

 One of the goals I had for our girls weekend was to work on Christmas quilts for our DD's. While I didn't get the quilts pieced I did at least get the quilt squares done. I will have to set them aside for awhile to catch up on all the other ongoing projects but once I get some free time they will come together quickly! Ya me!!

 Photo's can't do justice to the beauty of the smokies.

 After dinner last night we heard an odd noise on the back deck, two racoons decided to stop by to  entertaine us for the evening.

 They had no fear of us, even peeked in the window now and then.

 After snacking on our trash the biggest one needed a bath.

Peek A Boo, is this little guy cute or what!

It was so nice to walk in the door this afternoon when arriving home, dust and all there is no place like home. We had an amazing long weekend, good home cooking, a few meals out, sightseeing, lots of sewing for me crafting or reading for the others. The weather was perfect, warm and sunny during the day with cool/cold nights perfect for some hot tea on the deck enjoying the sounds of the stream out back. We only had phone service when we went to town, another added bonus HA. One of the messages I had was a call from Kara, DD told me Kara needed a kiss from Nanny, I then heard Kara say Nanna, babble, babble, then a large smacking noise when she blew me a kiss over the phone. How sweet is that, can't wait to get my hands on the grands tomorrow morning!

Another cool thing about our trip is how economical it is each year. The cost of the cabin for each of us worked out to be $250.00 per room. If the ladies wanted to share their room they split the cost, we each take a turn cooking for the day, more money saved and a chance to eat some yummy home cooking. We are all at the age where hitting all the "outlet savings centers" is not our cup of tea we have more stuff (crap) than we need. Sightseeing is just that, getting out and enjoying the sounds, smells and beautiful scenery God has provided all for free. I didn't keep up with the exact totals I spent but it was around $325.00 including everything except gas which was a little over $100.00 GRRR. Works out to be a little more than $60.00 dollars a day, for the whole kit and caboodle, very doable for just about any ones budget.

Looking forward to catching up on all my favorite blogs for the next couple of days, getting the next projects lined up to work on and sorting scraps from the vacation. I  believe I made a error when cutting out the Christmas quilts, once I get things in order I will be giving away a precut Christmas quilt kit along with the pattern. Let me know if any of you would be interested in reciving it.

Last Night

 Picnic Lunch on the Parkway today.

 We ate along a trout stream, all we needed was a hammock to take a nap.

 Finished the table runner I had hoped to get done!! Looks like spring to me.

Baby girl quilt is ready to go. Thanks Val for being my handler for the day.

Last night in the cabin before heading back to real life. What a wonderful extended weekend we have had. One of these days we are going to find the time to spend a full week in this magical place.

 Our lunch spot for today. Over the top good, real home cooking.

 The back side of the mill where we ate.

 Two fella's singing mouintian Hymns, beautiful.

 Covered bridge going into our cabin area.

 Twin/full quilt top finished using "Reunion" by Sweetwater.

Also finished two of these purses for the little girls.

Another great day in the mountains. I am not getting nearly as much done as I expected but we are having so much fun hitting some of the spots we have never visited. Tomorrow we are headed to the parkway for more sightseeing then back to the cabin for our last day of crafting. I have 1 more project I really want to get done. Right now one of the baby girl quilts is on the machine waiting for an hour or two more quilting, then it's on to whatever else I can fit in. Our time is going to fast :(!!!

A little sight seeing

 Mama bear and her baby

 Brooks and waterfalls around every corner

 Lots and lots of deer

An old grain mill

Not a lot of sewing going on today. After breakfast we did a little sight seeing at Cades Cove, beautiful old farms, lots of wildlife even a Mama bear and her cub. The weather is just too nice to stay in sewing. I am working on Christmas quilts tonight, another gal is reading, one is cropping photo's, and one is snoring to beat the band. Love hanging out with my friends!!! 

What a Sound

Look what we have in the back yard of the cabin. Hard to see but it is a wonderful brook with little waterfalls all around. Oh my what a sound, nice and cool with hot tea on the deck and lots of tinkle breaks, why does running water make ladies have to pee

Friday Fun

 The little girls were full of life Friday! Here is Kara chasing Karsyn around.

 After naps is reading time, that is until they get their motors running again then they are on the move/

 Tyler is at the ripe old age of 5 now, he thinks he is too big to take pictures at the cherry tree each year :(

 Of course I couldn't get Karsyn to look my way when her big brother was running around like a wild man.

 Mason as always just loves to be played with, ahhh sweet babies!!

They finished up the day with a little time in the swing, then Nanny hit the couch!!!

I should be up finishing things that need to be done before we leave in a few hours for the mountains but here I set messing on the laptop. Friday nights and Saturday mornings are my slow time, as in my body doesn't want to move. After having the little guys all week I need some recovery time!! The car is packed for the most part, just a few odds and ends to throw in. The house is as clean as it needs to be but I do need to do some banking and pay bills before I hit the road. I am not sure if I will be posting while we are away, you never know if the cell phone/internet service will work in the mountains. If not I will post next Wednesday when we return with what I hope will be lots of projects I completed. For sure there will be more laugh lines on my face, more calories eaten than should be allowed, and sweet times with my buddies.

Have a great weekend and do something nice for yourself, we deserve it!!!!

Still Getting Ready

 This is one of the quilts I really wanted to get done while on our girls trip. I had everything cut out in case I could find the time.

 Yesterday since I only had Mason man I started stitching up a few squares, 72 to be exact.

 Then moved on to trimming them all up.

 What the heck, might as well put a few of the whole quilt squares together.

 Tonight I finished the last of the quilt squares 24 in all. This quilt top will for sure be done over the weekend!

Now on to the clean up before bed, UGH

I was so into making quilt squares after Mason left yesterday I just kept at it....until WAY past my bedtime. I paid dearly for that late night today I can tell you. After dropping off  Mason and Karsyn today I jumped in to finish the rest of the quilt squares then packed them up. I am afraid this quilt is going to turn out a little to white for my tastes but until its put together I won't know.

My food basket is ready to go along with all the recipes, laundry is done and clothes are packed. In the morning I hope to finish packing the car so we can get on the road Saturday morning bright and early. 

I am keeping track of the time I have put into this quilt, so far 19 hours. I have had many ladies ask how long it takes me to make one of the larger quilts. I have no idea, maybe I can remember to track the rest of the time it takes so I have a better idea of the time involved.

Off to sweep the floor then on to bed at a reasonable hour tonight. I have all 3 little ones as well as pick up and delivery since SIL #1 is out of town. Nothing like fighting morning rush hour traffic then back at it in the afternoon Friday night rush hour. I HATE DRIVING!!!

Time to Pack

 Mason and I worked on packing for my weekend girls trip today.

 I have had this purse pattern and fabric put back for awhile, maybe I can work on it this weekend.

 This table runner and four square quilt are also on the list of would love to do for ME with Strawberry Fields fabric.

 Mason fell asleep in this position.  I think all the fabric decisions might have overwhelmed him.

 I pulled out some of my stash to possibly work up purses for the little girls.

Then it was on to cutting our this super cute reunion fabric that will someday be a Charming Old Maid quilt. I had forgotten I had some charm packs stashed away.

Mason and I had a nice, quite, relaxing day pulling together projects to take to the mountains this weekend. Tomorrow I hope to finish up then do any odds and ends that need to be taken care of before the little girls join us at the end of the week. I know I am taking WAY more than I can possibly get done but I'm not sure what mood I will be in so I am taking a variety of things to work on. 

Each of us will take a day to do the cooking while we are away. I think I have come up with my menu for my day. I need to pull it all out of the pantry and put together a basket of condiments and such we might also need. We do hit the grocery for milk, eggs and such when we arrive but the rest mostly comes from home. Not only are my girl friends all pretty darn crafty they also know their way around the kitchen, some yummy food is for sure going to be eaten if nothing else gets done!.

Do you ever take the time for a girls getaway? We started doing it once our girls were all grown and out of the house (also off the payroll) I try to do a mountain trip once a year unless one of our DD's are ready to give birth (lots of that lately) Hubby also has his mancation once a year, pretty much a Harley Rally someplace. Having our Christmas/Vacation fund in place this year is an added bonus, that is if hubby could have stayed on budget, grr. I know I will come way under budget so it will all work out in the end but the man really needs to learn how to handle money better!!!