A real outing...

Today was a beautiful day and we decided to have a real outing.

We went to Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park. After driving through the park - we stopped for a LITTLE walk and a picnic. Here is Ray with his camera.

We were standing on a small bridge over this stream.

The sky was beautiful and the temps were in the 60s. 

For our picnic, I heated some potato soup before we left home and put it into a thermos. I also grabbed cornbread muffins and some veggie sticks. 

It was so nice to have a somewhat 'normal' day. 

The secret project is finished and I will share when it is gifted. I've been working on the quilt below. The top will probably be together by the end of the weekend. 

Ray is doing quite well with his new knee. Of course, his recovery is not going as fast as he'd like but he is progressing. He's been released from care by the gallbladder doctor so that is behind us. Ray is able to do more and I'm thrilled that he is doing some chores, especially ones that are hard for me. He still has Physical Therapy twice a week and I'm still his chauffeur.

The last appointment (I hope) related to my back is next week. I'm doing well although my progress got slowed a bit while Ray was out of commission. My stamina is slowly coming back but it is coming. My step count is growing every week and I'm stronger. 

It is so nice to be on the recovery side of the surgeries.

Sunflowers, quilting, and more

Does anyone else find it hard to blog these days? Life goes on but we don't have much excitement - maybe that's good! 

Last week we went to a sunflower maze at Straddle Creek Gardens in Lanark, Illinois. This is Ray's picture of the entrance to the maze.

There were just a few people there, early on a gorgeous day. The 'maze' was really a walk through the sunflowers. 

Whenever there was a fork in the path, a question was posted. Depending on your answer, you went right or left. We pursued all wrong paths and all right paths. 

The wrong paths were very short, maybe 20-40' in length and worked great if a group was coming; they could pass without being near us.

I've been playing with some Magic Star blocks. Joy of The Joyful Quilter fame shared a tutorial last March. Using two 10" squares, I quickly and easily made these two 9" blocks.

I had a plain orange layer cake and decided to use it with white. I played with a variety of layouts and settled on this one. 

I think I'll add a small white border and put this top in the to-be-pinned pile.

I don't have any quilt finishes but I have other finishes. First, I'll share the first Jesse Masks for DS1 and his family. The picture was snapped before I added ear/around the head straps. School is coming and kids need masks. These are custom-made according to each person's face measurements. Measuring and fitting long distance has been interesting. We'll know this week if the masks fit.

I finished this cotton/silk sweater for me. It is extremely comfortable and feels nice even in hot weather.

I also knit this hat from some leftover yarn I had. I'm not sure who will end up with it; I need to keep my hands busy so I made it.

Hopefully I'll have a finished quilt to share in a few days. Have a great day! 

#StaySafe #WashYourHands #KeepYourDistance #WearYourMask 

Something New on a Beautiful Day

The sun shone today! That is unusual around here lately. It was a great day to do something new so we went to Nicholas Conservatory and Gardens. Ray wanted to take pictures of the butterflies. They have a Simply Spring Butterfly Exhibit right now.

It was a fun day. Here are a few of my pictures from the day:

Some of the many butterflies

Beautiful flowers and colorful 'totem' poles

Gorgeous orchids

Kids loved the water features

Nothing is blooming outside yet but we were walking in the  gardens when Ray just started laughing.  He saw this sculpture...

so I asked him to pose with the resident photographer.

Was Ray their model???

A couple more photos from outside:

We talked with a lady working at the Conservatory and she suggested the Prairie Street Brewhouse or Octane for lunch. We headed to the Brewhouse, another new place for us. We enjoyed a great meal, some of their fantastic root beer, and a tour of the place - it is pretty phenomenal. Next time we'll have to check out Octane.

Then it was time to head towards home. We will definitely be returning to Nicholas Conservatory and Gardens when the flowers start blooming. 

Fall? and a Little Backtracking...

We took a little tour a couple of days ago. We wanted to visit  some of the small towns 'near' us so we traveled north and west.

Shortly after leaving home, we saw a flock of geese heading south! It does seem early, doesn't it?

Taken out of side window of moving car

 We saw this Amish fellow. It was a gorgeous fall-like day.

One stop was at an Amish produce stand. The pumpkins are already ready!

The corn stalks are drying out at the bottom; the soybeans are changing color; some of the leaves on the trees are changing. Can you see the red in the bushes?

Taken out of side window of moving car

We still have a few weeks of summer but it feels like fall and I'm loving our weather. The weatherman says summer is returning midweek however - the 80s and 90s are coming back.

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I finished quilting another quilt. I had a lot of trouble with the last quarter which was disappointing because I thought I was getting back in the groove of free motion quilting. I sewed the binding on and then I went to hand stitch the binding down on the back and ugh! Can you see the tension issues?

The bad news is that I had to tear out 1/4 of the quilting and need to redo it. It was easy to remove! The good news is that I knew the machine didn't feel right when I was quilting. Of course I thought it was me. Next time I'll do what I should have done - stop and look at the back of the quilt. Maybe I really am getting back in the groove...

A Day at Sauder Village

We stayed at the Heritage Inn on the site of Sauder Village near Archbold, Ohio, so when we got up Tuesday morning, we just had a short walk to enter the Village... along with 1200 school children! It was a big crowd but extremely enjoyable. These people can handle a crowd!

The Sauder Village Mission:
As a destination of choice, Sauder Village offers guests experiences rich in history, hospitality, creativity, & fun.

They lived up to their mission statement!

What is Sauder Village?

In 1934, local farm boy Erie J. Sauder (1904-1997) with plenty of vision, determination and God-given mechanical ability, founded the Sauder Woodworking Company, today a world leader in ready-to-assemble furniture.

Although he was always a forward thinker, Erie was well aware that the past had paved the way. He was particularly partial to the stories of his ancestors who had been among those who settled NW Ohio's Great Black Swamp in the mid 1830s.

That's why, in the 1970s, he had dozens of structures, built by hand a century earlier, moved from locations throughout NW Ohio to create the Sauder Village.

The Village consists of the Historic Community and Craftsmen, the Natives and Newcomers, and the Pioneer Settlement. There is also a welcome center, a gift shop, a cafe, a museum, and a very nice QUILT SHOP! There were craftspeople working everywhere and every building/area had a guide to explain and answer questions.

We saw The Basket Shop, The Cabinet Shop, The Barber Shop, The Tinsmith's Shop, and The Cooperage. I especially enjoyed Anna's Spinning Shop where this volunteer was spinning wool from the sheep that were sheered four days earlier.

We visited the Herb Shop - what a wonderful aroma! Ray went back later for one last smell! We spent some relaxing time at St. Mark's Lutheran Church listening to this lady play a foot pump organ.

We visited the Elmira Depot. Any idea why this bench has armrests? Because the hobos used to come in for naps and the railroad personnel didn't want them there!

After the Doctor's Office, The Sweet Shoppe, The Printing Office, and The Glass Works, we went to the Broom Shop. It appears that making a broom is hard work!

We went on to the 1910 Homestead, The Pottery Shed, and bypassed The Ice Cream Parlor. We think all 1200 children were in that line at various times. At Barbara's Weaving Shop, this lady was weaving mug rugs. She answered my many questions about looms.

The man at The Grist Mill was grinding corn. We saw the mid-1800's Settlement, the Log Schoolhouse with the oil paper windows, and a home where the lady was cooking chicken with vegetables on the fire. I was getting hungry. We went on to a Cabin where the lady had just made an apple butter pie. Oh my! Then the Jail, the Farm, and the Holdeman Church where music wasn't allowed. 

We headed for the Cafe and had a nice lunch. All refreshed, we headed back to see the rest. Many of the children left between 1 and 2 PM so it was a little easier to see things and much quieter! 

We met these 4th graders at the Blacksmith Shop. They were enjoying giant jawbreakers on sticks and thought it was wonderful that I wanted their picture!

On to the Tiffin River Woodworks with its many wooden toys and the Cider Mill. Then we backtracked to the Village Trader and the General Store which we couldn't get close to earlier in the day. 

In the Museum I had a lesson on tatting! I've always wondered how and was surprised it is just making a lark's head knot! The volunteer was so kind and patiently explained the procedure.

The Quilt Shop with its many hanging quilts - all hand quilted - was our next stop.

A group of volunteers quilt the quilts on this frame in the back of the store. They were very friendly - when I went looking for Ray, he was back there visiting with them! They are periodically tested on there stitches. At least 9 stitches per inch with great consistency is required!

When I walked in the door, I fell in love with this bolt of fabric. Can you believe I didn't buy it?! I couldn't figure out what I wanted to make so I left it behind! Looking back, I KNOW I was tired!

This is a great shop which lots of fabric and inspiration. I'd love to come back!

I think the only thing we missed was riding the train. On the way out of the village we visited the Gift Shop and met some really nice people who were telling us what to get at the Bakery which was our next stop. Then on to the Sauder Store and Outlet. It was a short walk to the Inn and time to sit down!