Stocked

Well the girls and I are back from out visit with my parents, albeit a few days later than what we had intended. My Dad gave me the scare of my life while we were at the city pool with the girls. He was feeling a little "woozy" on his way up the stairs to the water slide and while we aren't sure what all happened before people got to him, the end result was him lying on the landing unconscious in my arms for several minutes with cuts to his head and lip. He obviously fell and hit his head, but no one saw it happen. He passed out once I was with him, so I know he didn't fall and hit his head at that point, although maybe he passed out more than once. Who knows. I know that I was scared. Very scared. And I know that I am so proud of both my girls for how brave they were. I am also very grateful for the people at the pool who help him (and I) and some very kind mothers who took my girls under their wings and watched over them while panic and chaos ensued.

The end result was almost four days in the hospital, numerous tests, a heart catheterization and still no concrete answer as to why. Thankfully, he is going to participate in a clinical trial of a new medication and will be more closely monitored by doctors than if he had been sent home with no commitment to the trial.

That's not really happy talk though, is it? So instead of dwelling on that, I am excited to share you what I brought home with me from our journey. Have I mentioned how awesome the Goodwill is by my parents? Well it is. So good that I'm afraid to tell you where it is...you might beat me to the good stuff. The middle pillow case in the above photo came from there. The matching set came from their Salvation Army. The were folded and looked like they'd been stored in a box somewhere very dirty. At $2.99 for the set, I decided it was worth the gamble to see if they came clean. I've soaked them in OxiClean, mixed an OxiClean paste to cover some stubborn spots and the results are pretty good. They need a bit more spot treatment and then I'll hand wash them and I'm sure they'll be just right by then.

The above stack all came from the Goodwill, although I did have to go more than once to score them all. The top piece is a tablecloth (I think.....well, it is now), the rest are sheets. I remember my Grandma having a set like the bottom one, so I was happy to find that. I also purchased my girl's school clothes for the next two years on Saturday, when kid's clothes were on sale for 79 cents a piece. I picked up several Gap tops and jeans amongst (many) other things.

And my awesome thrifting Aunt had left a box for me at my parent's that was full of goodies. This is just a sampling. Beads, buttons, sewing notions, embroidery floss, jewelry pieces, stamps.....a little bit of everything. I am hoping that once the girls are in school, I will have some new found time to put all of my goodies to use. Right after I make the house sparkling clean and have a delicious dinner ready and waiting, of course ; )

Weekend Celebrations

A word of warning, this is a picture heavy post. There isn't a lot to be said for our weekend. We visited our Georgia relatives, driving first to my in-law's house and spending the day and night with them and then heading on to my brother-in-law's to spend another day and night with his family before heading home weary from so much fun and sun.

Grandpa Mel had built a wishing well for the kids over the sight of an old well. The girl's loved it. They loved it even more when he gave them coins to wish on and then let them clean out the well the next day!

The business of wishing on your coins before throwing them in is very serious business. I loved watching them clutch the coin and whisper their wishes quietly enough so that I couldn't make out what they were.

There was so much for the girl's to do at their Grandparent's and they loved it all - playing in Grandpa's garden, wading in the creek, running in their big front yard, riding "pedal carts" (imagine a go-cart frame, but with bike pedals), climbing, jumping, being a kid......

At Uncle Dan's, there was lots and lots of swimming followed by sparklers at night. It took the little one several attempts to take control of a sparkler, but she came around in the end. Who doesn't love fire on the end of a stick?

How lucky we were to be able to relax, hang out with family, enjoy our kids and enjoy a gorgeous three day weekend. It's so seldom that we actually stop and just enjoy what's going on - really, it should be done more often.

Bessy sure is dressy

While Rachel was on Fall Break, I took the girls up to visit my parents. One exciting aspect of the trip was learning just a smidgen more about the castle I mentioned back here. I stopped at a gas station near by to inquire and was told by the woman working there that she had not lived in the area long, but had been told that an elderly woman in her 80's lives there by herself now. She and her husband had built the place a long time ago, before any of the other houses in the area had been built and that it was nothing but a residence. Curious. I was, in fact, so curious that I even found an overheard view of it on google. Now if I could just get its whole life history.



When the girls and I arrived at my parents, I was excited to see that Dressy Bessy had found her way out of their attic and into the library, where all the toys are. Bessy and a tiny piano were new additions. Rachel was mainly interested in the piano and in retrospect, I think I was the only one really thrilled about seeing Bessy again. I loved this doll. You could do so much with her! Did you have a Dressy Bessy? Or her "brother", Dapper Dan? I have asked so many people that question and gotten strange looks from them. How could a child of the 70's not have had one is what I want to know!



I'm thinking that if I use what I learned from the Black Apple tutorial for a basic doll, and also gave Bessy a good study, I could come up with a cool new version that might make a good Christmas gift for one or two of my nieces. Of course, I would either have to make some alterations or finally learn now to put a zipper in. Wouldn't she be cute with a little heart tucked into that zippered pocket? And I guess, unless I stumble upon an eyelet setter soon, I would have to do something different for the lace up vest, but you get the idea. I'll put it on my to do list. Right there with the two quilts that I was going to have done for when it turned cold (oops...that would be right now), baby quilts for twin girls due some time in December, a quilt for our newest niece and all the other ideas for Christmas rumbling around in my head. Seriously. I have got to find a way to get more time!



I've been putting the twirly skirt tutorial to good use, but the pictures are on Jim's computer, which is threatening to die (and take YEARS worth of family photos with it), so I am trying to remain calm and just trust that all will be well with that.

On a completely different subject, while I was sitting here at the computer, not too long ago, I kept hearing a weird noise. I would say (and did) that it almost sounded like an owl. And it was very close to where I was sitting, albeit outside. I finally convinced Jim to brave the cold with me to investigate. By the time we got out behind the house, it had moved, but sure enough, we found it in a tree behind our neighbor's house. I wanted to stay outside and watch and listen longer, but Jim declared it too cold and also said that you have to be careful about shining bright lights at people's homes late at night. Really? Still, it was pretty cool.

The trip North

Before it is too far in the past, I wanted to share some pictures from our trip to Michigan. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves, so have a look. First we stopped in Saline to see my friend Anne. Rachel and her son Owen became instant buddies. Owen's working on becoming a rock star and I think Rachel might dig his rock 'n roll style.

There was fun had on the beach by all.

Time to play with cousins.

Giant ice cream cones to be eaten.

Snuggles to be had.

And a party to celebrate this man and his 90th. birthday.

We had a great time and feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to be able to get together with all of our family and celebrate such a special birthday with such an awesome Grandpa. If you want to subject yourself to more trip photos, you can check out this shutterfly album.

Off the road

We're finally home from an almost two week trip that took the girls and I first to my parent's in Indiana, and then on to Northern Michigan to visit my grandparents. The trip was good, the weather was decent and while we had lots of fun, I'm glad to be home for a while. I feel like this summer vacation will be over before we know it. That might have something to do with the fact that Rachel starts kindergarten August 12, which feels entirely too early for me. I guess I don't get a say though.

I got in as much thrifting as I could, which included two trips to my parent's Goodwill, on to the Goodwill nearest my grandparent's and a frantic trip through the Bargain Barn on the grounds of St. Joseph's Orphanage in Louisville. This store was the best, but sadly was only open from 9-12 and it was probably 11:30 when I got there. I know there were so many more treasure to be had in there and I'm already kicking myself for not buying more buttons. They had a whole room that was just sewing patterns, notions and costume jewelry! Thinking about it just makes me short of breath. I did score these great buttons, as well as a really nice white vintage sheet that will probably be cut up and used in some quilts that are rattling around in my head.

This dress became mine as well. My Grandpa had a box in their basement filled with random things (old wallpaper, a pair of socks, a sheet that I've never seen on one of their beds and I can't even remember what else) that he told me to go through and take what I wanted. I felt like I'd hit the lottery when I saw this dress. I'm guessing that my Grandma must have bought it while they were in Hawaii at some point. The tag reads "hoaloha". I am loving in. I'd really like to turn it into something for the girls to wear, but what? The colors are just too good!

There were more treasures along the way, but I have to save something for another day! One of my biggest surprises though, was the discovery of this. Part of the road from my parent's house into Louisville was closed and my Dad showed me his secret mystery detour instead of the one indicated by the big orange signs that read DETOUR. I'm so glad I got to take his route, as how else would I have learned that this exists in Southeastern Indiana?

A castle? A secret site for Knights of the Round Table to rendezvous? The place is huge. I have never been to a medieval dinner theater thing, but I would guess that it's about the size of one of those places. There are no signs, no indications of what it might possible be used for, no sign by a mail box that says, "the Joneses'". Nothing. Lots of grass, no paved parking lot, no obvious front door, and also no drawbridge or moat. I am very eager to get to the bottom of this mystery, but a google search of "southeastern Indiana castles" turned up nil. This one's going to haunt me!