Thanksgiving...Still Celebrating!

Autumn is finally here!  The leaves are turning and helping us celebrate Thanksgiving!  What a great week we have had!  Still eating leftovers, turkey and all....now it is not just the turkey who was stuffed!  Andrea and I have been sewing like fury....she (at 11:00 PM ) is still in my studio sewing away.  She is working on a really cute Christmas pattern.


My turkey wall hanging is one I made several years ago from fabric I bought at Keepsake Quilters' in New Hampshire.  That was on the first big trip Dick and I ever took...East for the Fall colors.

Andrea posted this picture of me from 1965 on her blog, so I thought for those of you that don't see hers, I should put it on mine.  I was 25 and that was probably my first (maybe second) turkey.  We were living in Alaska on a shoe string, so having a big ol' bird like that was a real  treat.  He was baked in an oven that would barely hold him...a small apartment stove.  The sink in the back ground was an ugly double sink with the removable wooden cover for one side.  I remember that I didn't know the giblets were in the turkey, so they got baked inside...in the little paper sack!  Those were the days...this looks like a perfect "Betty Crocker" moment!

A Mystery Solved!.....and......

A couple of days ago, Dick went out to get the paper and noticed that something had been nibbling on my begonias.  They have been just gorgeous 'way past their usual decline time.  The next day, he came in with the paper and stated that the mystery was solved!  Not only did we discover that DEER like begonias, but that they also love pansies!  So while we lay sleeping, those beautiful creatures that I love to watch, were chowing down on my flower garden!!  Apparently they don't care for geraniums or kale so I will know next year what to plant more of and what not to plant at all!!

And....what a nice weekend we had...our kids took us out to lunch on Saturday.  We all met Andrea halfway in Arlington and had a great time together.  We made our plans for Thanksgiving...really looking forward to having everyone here.  Andrea is going to spend nearly a week with us....she and I are going to have a "sew-a-thon" all weekend, then go with me to my studioQ meeting on Monday.

I purchased my turkey today...the ol' boy is in the fridge as we speak just thawing out!  Actually, it is a "young turkey"...and I also will have a ham and all the other stuff!!  I plan to cook tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday, then  I will not have to cook again for at least a week!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to All if I don't get back on here before then.!!

I Have a New Interest!

Just what I need....a new passion!  I really enjoyed the workshop and hearing our guild speaker today and yesterday.  The artist is Larkin Van Horn and I love her work!  She really goes beyond "beading"; I am very interested in trying some of her techniques to embellish my works.  The workshop yesterday was great...I learned so much...and had a terrific time with all my fellow guild members who were there.  Then today at the guild meeting, Larkin lectured and showed slides of even more of her work and the beaded art of others who have learned from her.  She lives on Whidby Island, WA. We visited there about four years ago...beautiful spot.  I could go back there for a visit!

Larkin asked that we not post any of her works on blogs, etc., pictures taken were just for our own private interest. She has a lot of her art on her website www.larkinarts.com if anyone would like to look her up.  We are hoping to have her back sometime to do maybe a two day workshop, because yesterday, we just had time to get many of the basics down. 

Tomorrow, lunch with all the kids to celebrate my and Dick's birthdays.  We were heading for Alaska when Dick had his birthday, and mine was in the middle of the week...and all these kids and grands have jobs and school.  Looking forward to seeing all of them.

Great Day!!

I am ready for bed but wanted to comment on what a great day I have had!!  The weather is perfect...I have been with my best friends including Dick,  playing poker and eating...and I acutally came out ahead!  I have either talked to  or heard from my girls and grands!  I am going to  a guild workshop tomorrow to learn more about embellishing quilts/beading.  And I am celebrating my birthday, so today is the first day of the rest of my life, which I plan to live to the fullest for a long time to come!!

And one more thing...

I did forget to mention that while we were at the Kemper Art Museum in Kansas City, we were very excited to see an exhibit titled "Three Generations".... an exhibit of the three Wyeths...N.C., Andrew, and James.  These are a few of  my most favorite artists.  Most of the painting there were by Andrew...his work is so realistic.  Because it was a traveling exhibit, I wasn't able to take any pictures of it. 

There had been a three generation collection in Dallas many years ago, but not any of the same pictures.  The Dallas one focused on N.C. Wyeth's illustrations for books....Treasure Island, Kidnapped, etc.  The originals were enormous...larger than life. Our first big trip after retirement was East and the Wyeth home/studio at Chadd's Ford, PA was one of our stops.  Such a thrill to actually stand where the masters stood and lived!

Tomorrow a Guild Board meeting then lunch with an old friend.

Visit to Missouri

This past week, Dick and I went to Missouri to attend the funeral of an elderly aunt and to visit with family.  We made better time driving than we thought we would so we had time to stop by an art museum in Kansas City on our way through.  The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art was new to us as it was built after we were in the area....a lovely gallery...located right across the street from the Art Insitute of KC and next door to their ceramic building....all a very pretty area with lots of older buildings as well as some ultra modern ones...a good mix!
 
Wouldn't this painting make an interesting quilt?

This is a wall sculpture at the Kemper.  The attendents were setting up for a wedding reception to be held there.  I was impressed with the nearly mirror like floors!

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The Kemper is very proud of their giant spider outside the entrance and on the right is a sculpture on the inside entrance.

The Crying Giant is also a very favorite of the Kemper, outside also on the grounds.

On the right is the Nelson-Atkins Art Gallery of Kansas City.  When I lived there, the new, modern buildings were not there.  They have been added, to much controversy I am sure!  We didn't have time to visit there, too, so will have to plan to do that another visit.

On the left is the entrance to the Art Institute and the ceramic department building at the Institute on the right.



We had wonderful fall weather as you can tell.  Kansas City is a beautiful city....very classy!  A wonderful mix of old and new.  I think in my next life, I will attend the Art Institute there...wish I had known about it fifty years ago!

We also came home with a bushel and a half of Jonathon apples which we can not get in Texas so I am busy peeling and freezing...making pies and apple butter!

One Very Lucky Lady!

   My studioQ group met last Monday...had a great time...and great inspiration from all.  I am lucky to be with such a talented group of ladies.  Our recipe word for the month was "Magical"; I thought about doing an optical illusion (also suggested by my quilter daughter) but couldn't find a simple one, so I chose to do a take off of Carol Bryer Fallert's Flying Geese, something I have been wanting to try anyway.

      

I also have a couple of other reasons to fee lucky...on the trip to Houston, our bus guide held several drawings to keep us entertained.  One of my two buddies and I both won the drawing for a $25.00 gift certificate from a local Fort Worth quilt shop, Berry Patch.

And my last "lucky" occurence...at the show I had put my name and "blog" about the show in a drawing at the Quilting Arts booth.  I wasn't there for the drawing on Saturday night and as I hadn't heard anything from them, I just assumed someone else had won so thought no more about it.  Then when I got home from my studioQ meeting Monday, I had an email congratulating me on the fact that my name had been drawn!  Was I ever excited!  Yesterday this big box from Cloth, Paper, Scissors came UPS...and inside were so many marvelous things!  There was for starts a large "craft" bag with many pockets, etc.  Inside were: two calendars from the perspective magazines, misty fuse, steam a seam, warm and natural batting, three magazines, and a package of fat quarters from Moda fabrics!  Forty-four fat quarters in all!!

I am still on cloud nine!!!  Now, I really have a reason to get busy and use all these wonderful gifts!!