Never Complain About The Hot Weather

I was looking through some older pictures and came across this one. The bad weather will be upon us soon enough. I promise to not complain when it gets really hot! No complaining lately for sure because our Chicagoland weather is simply gorgeous! I love the warm weather and wish we could just do away with winter.

About two weeks ago we took a drive out to Kentucky again to visit with my cousins. We had the twins with us and they would have my cousin's eight year old daughter to hang around. One of our friends had recommended we visit Natural Bridge State Park while in Kentucky. We configured our GPS and off we went. The first thing you do when you arrive is get your ticket for the skylift. You can purchase one way or round trip. Since we are brave souls, we opted for the one-way because we were going to hike down. Here's the view as we started up....doesn't look so intimidating, right?
We moseyed along and then all of a sudden there was a sharp ascent! I am terrified of heights but seven-year-old Jack was alongside me and I needed to remain calm so he wouldn't get scared. I looked straight ahead and just snapped some pictures.

This is a perfect view of the sharpness of the incline while standing at the top of the bridge.

Natural Bridge State Park is named after the nature-made stone arch that sits high above the tree tops. There are several hiking paths for the adventurous down to the bottom from easy to expert hiker. We chose the easy path. Well, there was a nicely cut stone stairway down to the path but this was our first obstacle. Easy for the kids but suck in your gut and scoot sideways for the adults!

A view from on top of the bridge. It reminds me of Starved Rock State Park, here in my own backyard of Utica, Illinois!

Here's some interesting trees and their roots that seem to grow out of the rock. This was definitely not an easy trail! I don't know what they were thinking when they labeled this route. At times the path was so narrow, one false footstep and you'd be tumbling over the edge. Several times I had to help the kids down steep sections which were slippery with no good footholds. I was praying that I wouldn't slip and take one of them down with me!

We made it safely to the wooden staircase. It took us about an hour and 1/2 to climb down from the bridge. It was hot, hot, hot (not complaining...see above) and we were not only tired, but sweaty. I wonder how many people fall walking down these paths. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a little....but really, I was surprised that they labeled it "easy" because I surely wouldn't have!

When our visit with the cousins in Kentucky was over, we headed home through West Virginia. I have never been through this state and wow, it is one beautiful countryside!

Finally, back on I-80, heading home to Chicago, we stopped for a quick dinner at Panera. Now what was I thinking?!!! I know better. I've been down this road before. See this blog post. I had a taste for a nice, light salad since I had been eating picnic fare for the last several days. I walk into the restaurant and this sign greeted me.

Mmmmm, perfect. I love this salad! Those strawberries are luscious and those blueberries.....I could pick them right off the picture. So, I go up to the counter and order the Strawberry Poppyseed and Chicken Salad. The cashier says to me, "We're all out of chicken." Excuse me????? How could Panera be out of chicken? She asked if I'd like another kind of meat. I toyed with turkey but I only eat turkey once a year on Thanksgiving. The other days of the year I can do without it. I ordered steak strips. It was a big disappointment. At Panera. Again. Never stop at this Panera. Ever. Again. Two strikes and you're out! No third chances! It was a miserable dinner and we still had about six hours to get home. I was happy to get a latte at Starbuck's and that satisfied until my head hit the pillow.

I hope you all have a wonderful Fourth of July!! Eat some watermelon and wave your flag! I think I'm going to a waterpark. Maybe I'll have some fun pictures to post!

Of Fins and Feathers

Last weekend, my DH and I went to Bass Pro Shop. Not to shop for a new boat or sporting accessories, but for dinner! I had heard nice comments about the restaurant so we decided to give it a try. The atmosphere inside was serene and lodge-like. Fish were mounted on the walls and there were various framed artwork of fisherman-in-pose with the catch of the day, but the scene-stealer was the enormous aquarium filled with all varieties of fish. The food was excellent and the prices reasonable. We both had a cup of clam chowder soup and I've never had this soup before with so much clam in it! DH had the Sportsman's Platter with Fried Shrimp, Catfish and Alligator. Yummy! I had the catch of the day, Snapper, and it was served on a bed of rice pilaf with fresh vegetables. Outstanding! We chose not to have dessert but they all looked great. If you're ever in the area (or check for other locations), I would highly recommend this restaurant.




On my way to work yesterday, I was driving down the frontage road and what do I came across? Just waddling free and easy, right down the middle of the road.



There was no yellow bus and no flashing lights, but I stopped anyway. :) Too cute. As I sat and waited in my van, momma or poppa, not sure which one, came up close to the driver's side and started honking at me, probably to warn me away from the babies.



This morning I noticed the family sleeping next to the pond of the subdivision next to mine. Maybe yesterday they were enroute to their new home.

Happy Memorial Day! I'm going to my cousin's graduation party in Kentucky. I'm looking forward to the drive where I can stitch and a couple days of R&R. Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Cathy

More on Celebration

If you have the opportunity, check out Celebration of Needlework. This was an event I attended at the end of April for the fourth time. However, this year was to be much different as I was not just attending as a consumer, but as a vendor. I snagged two friends, Debbie and Pam, to come along with me to help in the booth. I don't think any of us realized just how much work it would be to set up and tear down the booth. I have definitely learned a lot this first time out. It was fun meeting new stitchers and reuniting with others that we had met in previous years.

One of the big highlights of the festival was the Saturday Evening Event. Owner and designer of Olde Colonial Designs, Pam Reed, puts on the Celebration Festival every year. She said she loves to play games with her family, especially her grandsons, and she incorporates games into the Saturday Evening Event. Each table of guests had to assign a captain. The captain then assigned participants for the upcoming game. There was a "Wheel of Fortune" at the front of the room that the captain of each table spun. This is based on an existing game show, but having never watched it, the name escapes me. Maybe those of you out there might be able to help? Here's Master (Mistress) of Ceremony, Susan Greening-Davis, at the Wheel, calling up the next team member.


There were many different "tasks" that were on the wheel and when our table's captain spun the wheel, we were assigned, "Separation Anxiety". Our four team members had to go to the front of the room and stand in front of a table with six jars. They were each given a bag of M&M candies and required to separate them by color and drop each color into the appropriately labeled jar. Sounds easy, right? Well, in order for our team to "win" this task, two of the four team members had to do it in under one minute! It was fun and a great kick-off to the other hysterical "tasks" that were yet in store for us.

In this photo, the task was "Ping Pong Shake". Each team member had to tie a kleenex box filled with ping pong balls, covered with a pair of pantyhose, around their waists. When the clock was started, they had to shake, shake, shake their booties to shake all the ping pong balls out of the kleenex boxes! Do I even need to add that we were all doubled over with laughter and crying?!


You might have read in my newsletter that the Silent Auction for Breast Cancer takes place at this Saturday event. The prizes were all wonderful. One was a chart of Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House, the fabric, the threads and a Larsen-Juhl frame. I know that prize brought in a nice sum for the auction. Another prize was a hand-stitched sampler by Susan Greening-Davis on some linen imported from Germany. That prize brought in over $2000. You can see pictures of the urn that was donated by Inspired Needle in the newsletter.

Here are some additional pictures of our booth. We did have a lot of fun. If we go again next year, we'll definitely have to attend the Saturday Evening event and plan in a few more hours of down-time!

Thanks for reading!

Primitive Needle Trunk Show

Hi, those of you out in blogland that happen upon this blog....I just wanted to let you know I added a slideshow of the Primitive Needle trunk show that is currently on display at Inspired Needle through May 3, 2010 to the blog sidebar. If you live within driving distance of Chicagoland, come on out and see it for yourself. The models are amazing. The framing is amazing. The sheer number of models in this show is amazing. The pictures do not do it justice. We'd love for you to come and ooh and aah in person!

I hope everyone is having a fresh, Spring-y weekend!

Cathy

Angel Train is at the Station!

Woohoo! I don't get to do the happy dance too often, but I have been dancing all day. I finally put the last stitches in Angel Train. I love this piece. Even though the border boxes took forever to stitch I really think I would do another "train"....maybe not for a while, though. Here are a few pics. As soon as I pick out a frame, I'll have to do an update.



For shop news, The Primitive Needle trunk show arrived today. I popped in the shop today to do a few things (I'm not open on Mondays) and found all the boxes. Luckily, I share a building with the florist next door and she will accept my packages when I'm not there. There were FOUR huge boxes so I'm sure it will take all morning at least to unpack and hang on the wall. I can't wait to see the models. The Primitive Needle is another favorite designer....sigh, there are a LOT of favorites!

Thanks for reading and for all your nice comments!

Cathy

Next Station, Finishville

We drove this weekend to go see the twins so that means time to stitch in the car! I will give you a stitchy update in just a bit. First I want to tell you about a cemetery we drive past each trip. The area in PA where we go is pretty hilly. Imagine you are climbing and descending, twisting and turning for about 30 minutes once exiting the interstate. You're driving up a hill and just as you reach the top, there is a small cemetery on your right. There is a huge, iron gate opening the way to the center path and just inside the gates, several hundred grave markers. Passing this small cemetery each and every trip, I always wondered what the gravestones looked like up close. I persuaded my husband to stop the car so I could take a look around. Some of the stones were a bit older, but I was hoping for at least a hundred years or more. No such luck. Regardless, there were a lot of veterans buried here and those stones had an additional metal marker beside them. This is a view from near the front entrance.

I walked around for about 15 minutes, reading the inscriptions, wondering about the lives of those buried beneath the ground, playing out my own story in my head.

One of the things the twins like to do is go to the zoo whenever we're in town. My sister-in-law and her kids came along with us and we enjoyed a breezy, but warm day in the sunshine. Here's Daddy and his little girl playing music for some of the animals. The instrument in the picture is a huge xylophone.


All aboard! The Angel Train is heading out. Next stop, Finishville! I am getting excited because this past weekend I finished stitching all of the box border of Angel Train. There are just some motifs left inside the border to finish in the blank area at the top of the design. Don't get me wrong. There is a lot more stitching to do, but I can see the finish line! I have been working on this piece for well over a year. It is stitched on 40 count R&R 18th Century Brown with one strand of DMC. I really love how this is turning out and can't wait to see it all finished! In case you're interested, the designer is Prairie Moon. They have also designed other "trains", "Spring Trainin'", "Ghoul Train" and "Freedom Train" if you like the look but are not into Angels or Snowmen. I also spied another design, similar but not a "train" called "Holiday Farm" that looks very interesting!


A newsworthy note...at the end of the month a trunk show from The Primitive Needle will arrive at the shop. If you're local, be sure to stop by to take a look at all the awesome models!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope your needle is not only inspired but smokin', too!

Cathy

I Scream, You Scream

Hi, last time I promised you a post about the world's best ice cream. I mean, it might be possible that there is a more creamy, delicious ice cream out there, but in my experience, this is the best I've ever had.

My husband and I were returning home from Tennessee after Market and it was getting to be late afternoon. I usually enjoy a nice cup of coffee around 3pm every day to perk me up, so I started watching the road signs for a Starbucks. We were driving through Indiana and saw a sign for Fair Oaks Farms. My DH had stopped there in the past for coffee and said there was a small gift shop, too. That's all I needed to hear! I'll take any excuse to shop. Hey, I've hit the jackpot at truck stops! So, we exited the highway and pulled up in front of the place. Fair Oaks is an operating Dairy Farm so there are tours of the birthing barns, cheese factory, fun activities for the kids (jumping pillow, rock climbing wall) and of course, the gift shop. They make their own ice cream on the premises and my husband decided to get a small cup. I had to try a spoonful and wow, it was the most buttery, creamy, dreamy, silky, "you can feel 10 pounds attaching themselves to your hips" kind of ice cream you'll ever want to eat. I wanted my own cup once I tasted his, but after a couple spoonfuls, he was finished, saying it was so rich, he couldn't eat anymore. I helped him out :) If you could imagine a stick of butter, softened to room temperature, that was like the consistency of the ice cream. Not hard at all. My spoon just swished through the cup and rich, yummy goodness was on my spoon. Ahhh, I can't wait to go back! The coffee is not bad, too! They do brew Starbucks brand. Fair Oaks is worth the stop if you happen to be driving on I-65 through Indiana.


No stitchy reports to tell. I've been working hard getting my paperwork in order to take to the accountant today. Don't you just love tax season? Well, at least that is over with. I have a bit more paperwork to catch up on and then maybe I'll sit and stitch for an hour tonight. I'm working on one of the Little House monthly ornaments. I took a break from Angel Train to do something quick and easy. The easy part is true. I'm just having a rough time with the quick since I rarely have more than a few minutes to stitch. But this weekend will be all mine! Woohoo. I'm going away with a group of friends for our annual retreat. I am so looking forward to sitting and stitching and chatting with friends. Some I see all the time; others once a year at this retreat. It will be fun!

I hope everyone has a stitchy week! Thank you for reading and commenting!
Cathy