A Beautiful Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend out at the lake. I just came home this morning and haven’t even had a chance to read blogs yet. It seems everyone was at the resort this weekend, but it was relatively easy to keep a safe distance from people. We really only do things with Larry & Nita and Paul & Lori and we made sure to sit a safe distance apart when we were outside and no one went into anyone else’s trailers. It does seem odd not to be sharing meals while were there as we’ve done that for the past 9 years. But, we are all eating in our own trailers and not sharing any food.

I thought I would share some pictures of the trailer as I can’t remember if I did last year or not. I think I did, so please excuse me if you’ve seen this all before.

The living room. On the left is a set of recliner’s that have heat and massage in them!  The sofa makes into a queen size bed.

This fireplace will heat up the entire trailer, but we do have a furnace too. The pantry is on the right. I really enjoy having that.

The kitchen. After our last trailer that only had about 1 1/2 foot of counter space, I am really enjoying cooking in here.

The bedroom. Please excuse the chairs at the bottom of the bed. We were getting ready to go home when I took the photo and we always bring these inside so they don’t get rained on. Behind those mirrors is a huge closet with a washer and dryer inside, along with shelves and a hanging clothes bar.

It came with the TV in the bedroom and a nice dresser.

There is another closet on the opposite wall with some drawers and through the door you can see down the hall the table that I forgot to take a picture of. Please excuse the little bag of garbage by the door, as I said we were getting ready to go home!

I couldn’t get a good picture of the bathroom, but we have a nice size shower and a couple of storage cabinets in there too. I seriously could live in this trailer.

Look at this wonderful Mother’s Day card from Piper and Mandy. They drew around her hand...

And she came up with the idea of folding the paper to make it pop up. I always say this to the grandkids.  “I love you this much and I wrap it all up and put it inside you.”  And I spread my arms open wide when I say it. I love that she remembers that.

A couple of people asked me what pattern I use for my dresses so here it is. I like that it makes all sizes from size 8 to 18.   It is super easy.

A few people at our church had the idea to make up little packets and deliver these to all the mothers in the church this weekend. They had them in beautiful cellophane bags all tied up with ribbons. Wasn’t this a nice idea?

I got seven more pairs of mittens done.

And now I’m going to try to get online and read everyone’s blogs for today. Take care and stay safe out there.

Blessings,

Betsy

Dresses and Snakes

Wow, that’s an unusual title isn’t it?  I thought I would pop in and show you a picture of the dresses I made this week before I forget. Now mind you, I am not the seamstress that most of you are. These are very, very simple dresses. Shoulder and side seams and interfacing around the neck and little sleeves. A quick hem and it’s done. If I were able to sit at my machine and do it all in one sitting I could probably make dress in 1 1/2 to 2 hours. But since I have to take frequent breaks from my machine, it takes me quite a bit longer. I couldn’t find a place to hang them up, so here they are hanging on a curtain rod! See, they don’t look like much, other than sacks of potatoes hanging here!

I add a couple of tucks on the front because the necklines gape otherwise.

Waving hello!  Please ignore the box on the floor behind me. It’s the “camp box” where I put things as I think about them that I need to take to the trailer.

These are such comfortable dresses. I much prefer dresses over pants. I know a lot of people can’t understand that, but to me they’re cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. I have dresses made from the same pattern that have no sleeves, that I wear all summer long.

Another project that I had was my clothes pin bag that I’ve had for 41 years. It was completely falling apart. I looked on Amazon at new ones but I didn’t see any I liked and the prices were higher than I wanted to pay. And then it struck me. I have lots of scrap fabric and I still have the frame from the old one. It took me about five minutes to make a new bag and attach it to the frame.  That blue hanger on the left was purchased at the ¥100 store in Tokyo. It’s like the dollar store. It is the handiest little gadget and even though it’s plastic it holds more than you would think it would without breaking.

Some of these clothes pins are also 41 years old! Has anyone else noticed the old ones are a lot sturdier than the ones you buy now?

And now for the story of the snake.  Last weekend our friends Kevin and Lana, were hiking in Riverside State Park which is on the outskirts of Spokane. Lana had walked ahead about 20 feet further on the path to read a sign while waiting for Kevin to catch up. All of the sudden he heard something and he looked down and there was a rattlesnake that was approximately 8 to 10 feet long!  That was a shocker! Lana had just walked past it and since she’s hard of hearing she didn’t hear the rattle.  He sent us photos but do you think I can find them on my phone? Nope. Suffice it to say that they had one scary encounter. It took them about 20 minutes to figure out a way to maneuver around the snake. That’s the first I’ve heard of rattlers in the park. I wonder if it’s because there are so few humans out and about now. It seems that the wildlife is getting much braver.

This was a meme that our son Jamie sent to our family chat group.  It cracked me up because it’s so true.

Yesterday I made my first trip to Costco since all of this isolation stuff began.  I had to pick up Chloe‘s prescription or I never would have ventured in. I thought as long as I was there I would buy a package of paper towels and toilet paper and Clorox wipes so I wouldn’t have to go back again anytime soon. Nope. They were completely out of stock! I couldn’t believe it. After over two months people are still buying everything up as quick as it hits the floor? It’s insanity. I was able to buy laundry detergent and dishwasher tabs and that was it. People were loading their carts up with meat while I was there. I didn’t even go in that department. If people would just buy what they needed, as they needed it, there would be plenty for everyone. At least I would hope so. I know they’re saying there will be shortages of meat, but when people go in and buy everything on the shelves and leave nothing for anyone else it seems so selfish to me. End of rant!

On that note I will close my mouth, stop complaining, and say goodbye for now.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend with no snow!  

Blessings,

Betsy

Rainy Days

It’s been a beautiful week...until today.  Yesterday it was in the mid 70s and today it is only 42 outside right now at three in the afternoon with rain and wind.  Such a big change!  I harvested the first batch of rhubarb yesterday and gave it to a couple ladies at church.  I took it over and left it in a bag on Nita‘s deck and they picked it up from there. I know I will have a lot more coming from this little patch. It’s quite prolific.

I have been busy sewing this week. Meredith sent me interfacing and I was able to begin putting the dresses together right away, as I already had them cut out. I finished the fourth dress about half an hour ago and they are now in the washing machine. I use the same pattern all of the time because I like it so much.  They are easy and comfortable.  They don’t look like anything special, but I will take a picture for you for my next post.  I’m not sure, but I think my back did a little better. I still had to take frequent breaks away from the sewing machine which is why it took me two days to make these very simple dresses.

I also finished six pairs of mittens since my last post.

Sweet, sweet Meredith sent me the interfacing for my dresses and also in the package were these three gorgeous skeins of buttercream yarn.

I have to find a very special pattern to make with this. Thank you, thank you Meredith. This was so very sweet of you.  I think these colors are fantastic.

Alex sent me some pictures of a walk he took last week near his home in northern Japan. He lives in Towada.  Isn’t this gorgeous?

Cherry Blossoms in bloom.

So pretty.  I had hoped to be visiting him for the cherry blossoms this spring. Obviously that was not to be the case.

This is the art museum in Towada. Alex does a lot of work with them.



Below is a photo Brad’s brother Bill who is an avid bicyclist.  He takes part in Ragbrai every year, which is a bike ride across Iowa. Piper called him last week and told him that she was riding her bike without training wheels now.  So he rode his bike 16 miles from his house to theirs and took her on a 3 mile bike ride and then rode back home. He is such a great uncle to Piper. He has taken her to the College World Series several times. He is definitely what you would call a doting uncle. And just look at Piper’s outfit. From the helmet to the necklace to the bike bag and pink shoes. She is definitely her own girl and couldn’t wait to tell me about the big bike ride.

I hope you’re all hanging in there. I can’t believe that two months have passed by since we all began this strange odyssey that we’re living in.

Blessings and love,

Betsy