Never did show you!

I was disappointed when I couldn't get in to see my afghan on display.... So when I went to pick it up, it was sitting in a dark room with the ribbon just tossed on top and a tag that had to be matched up with my receipt. I was very upset with the way the whole situation was handled and because of that I didn't take any joy in a job well done.

But now that I have had a chance to think about it.... It really doesn't matter, how the situation was handled... I took Second Place!!! See my pretty ribbon! This is my first one.... I am thrilled with that. I even won a $2 cash prize... WOO HOO! Grim, said he is going to build me a case for the ribbon because he thinks its the first of many!!!

Yart

Like I needed any more

While we were on vacation, I stopped in at a little thrift shop that I found in the Soo. I looked around found nothing. Then as we were leaving I spotted a box of patterns.... Of course I started looking. I found patterns for costumes, historical dress, modern dress, historical bonnets, 1940's & 1960's clothes, and historical undergarments! I ended up with 19 patterns... Some are the same pattern just both sets of sizes. They were .25 cents each.... I was absolutely thrilled.

Now who wants to come and teach me how to sew..... I'm still such a beginner. I can knit and crochet fairly well but the sewing thing still eludes me. I'm hoping that will change this winter. I found quilt blocks at Joann fabrics. They were on clearance so I picked up 10 - 6 of which are different and 4 are doubles. They each come with directions and templates and material. So I figure that I will try to do one at a time so then hopefully, I don't get to overwhelmed. (Like with Grims' shirt that I still haven't finished) Sorry honey!

I really do have high hopes.... I found a quilt in a picture of a glamped out camper. Isn't it so pretty! I have no idea why I'm so drawn to the star! But I am and I love it.....

Then I was lucky enough to find a magazine with the pattern (its a little more detailed)!!!! I will use all the material that I've been buying for years in hopes that one day I could do something like this! 

Yart

Blog Bling

Some of you might have noticed the new Blog Bling that I added to the side bar! Yup, its a facebook widget, for my newest business adventure. I'm selling Uppercase Living! For those of you that don't know Uppercase Living specializes in vinyl designs for anywhere and everywhere. Parties, Businesses, Schools, churches, photographers... the possibilities with Uppercase Living are endless!!!!

Here are a few things to show you the type of things we can make... Some are ready made and some are custom.

Come on over to my facebook page and like it! Once I get 100 followers I will hosting a giveaway! See you there!

Yart

At least it rained

Well, Monday came and we didn't get our car until the shop was closing. Yep, they had my car from Friday morning at 8am, when they opened to 4:30 Monday afternoon. They literally had to send someone to come and get us because the 2 cabs in town were out of town, minutes before they were to close. I was not happy. Tuesday morning we got up and got the camper ready to go. While we were putting down the top, we heard a loud noise and saw the top dropping, the crank spinning wildly out of control. Picky was the one doing the cranking... We were able to finish getting the lid locked down and on the road we went. It rained the entire trip home.

See how the ground cover and some of the trees have already turned... Mind you this was the middle of August. Winter will be here sooner rather then later. 

On a side note * When we got home we found that the camper was broken, can't get the lid back up. It wasn't until days later when we found out what had happened. One of the cables snapped. So that is going to cost a pretty penny to get fixed! UHHHHHHHG! This really was a trip for the books. Last year we lost all of our gear in the storm that came across Lake Huron and this year all this crap! But we are all safe, healthy and home! So no complaints on this end!

Yart

Island of Dreams (Picture Heavy)

Sorry half the pictures are sideways! This is a mess of a post. The pictures were taken in haste, the trip was a complete surprise!

As you know we were on vacation. 7 days into our 10 day trip my power steering went in the car. Then of course once its at the shop they find that the rack and pinion was also bad. Oh, and this is Friday morning at 8 am. So we were without a vehicle until late Monday afternoon. We even had to stay an extra day because of it.

(See the trees, Middle of August) 

Told ya winter is coming early this year!

So since we were just about a block away from the docks. We thought we would go were not having a car wouldn't matter in the slightest! We went to Mackinac Island! Cars have been banned since 1898. That was because the trolley drivers were loosing business to the taxi's. So they approached the powers that be and got cars banned from the island. Grim and I splurged a bit and got a private tour for us and the two monsters! It ended up being a great learning lesson for all of us!

I bet you didn't know but the island was actually the 2nd ever national park! Yep, right after Yosemite national park. It held that distinction for 20 years. Then the government wanted to save money and decided that they didn't want it anymore. The state then asked for it and was able to get it and make it our first state park. Today 80% of the island belongs to the park!

As you can see the weather was perfect. Not to hot but not to chilly either. We all had jackets but as the day wore on we didn't need them. The trip back our shirts were needed. But then they came off again because we no longer had our wonderful traveling companions and had to hoof it out of town back to the campground. Where we were then stranded for 3 days.

The only good part was that there was a grocery store and family dollar only about 2 and 1/2 city blocks away. So you know what we did. Yep, hoofed it to family dollar and bought a cheap backpack, so we could go grocery shopping each day. Just an FYI, the reason we had to do that is because when we took UN-Monster to school the back of my SUV was packed with all her stuff and I crammed what I could into the trailer... It wasn't near enough room or stuff. I had to buy a lot of stuff that we had forgotten to pack!

Yart

Camping Dinners

When we would tent camp the only thing I did out of the ordinary was make a big breakfast.... Other then that we ate hot dogs, burgers, canned stew or ravioli, soup and sandwiches. I know very top of the line... Nothings to good for my crew... LOL!

Well having the camper has allowed me to have the ability to actually cook. What you see in this first picture is steak. I have never cooked steak over an open fire... What I found was that I could use the stove to cook all the extra's and the meat on the fire... LOVED IT! I can say that it did take some getting use to heat. 

It went so well that the next night I marinated chicken and cooked it over the fire! Who knew having all these gadgets and the inside of the trailer was going to be so nice... Here we just thought that it would be nice not to be on the ground. Little did I know I could cook like we were at home! I do need to make sure I get double on the spices so I have all I use at home in the camper.

Sorry for this one being blurry... But it was the start of spaghetti! One night when I wasn't feeling well, Grim made Brats with onions and green peppers... I didn't get a picture, trust me they were delish!!! We ate like Kings!!!

Yart

State Park Love

This was the first time I had stayed in a State park since I was a kid... Mainly because I remember the State parks being really seedy... You know lots of drug use and violence. I'm here to tell you my opinion has been changed. We ended up being gone for a total of 10 days. All of which were spent here! Well, not every minute but close :)

As you can see I had a hand decide to photo bomb this lovely picture of the potty and trees! I even know who's hand that is... LOL! I guess my memory isn't all that bad!

Since the first picture was corrupted.. LOL! Here is how close we were to the potty's! Yeah.... I love having a potty that close! Especially since I have been told by my family that I have the bladder about the size of a walnut! 

Since we weren't allowed to bring wood from home we had to purchase it. It wasn't a bad deal and they had soft and hard woods available. They even had it right in the park so the days when we could drive at least we could still get wood.

This is actually the second area the camper sat in. The first was closer to the back of the site but it was to un-level so the door wouldn't close right.... And we were to GREEN to know that so after 4 hours of up and down, front and back (lots of tears and swearing) ....We left and headed for town to get something to eat as it had been morning since we had last eaten.... We looked a wreck, I know this cause the waitress asked if we had run a marathon or something... I told her what the problem was and she said she would say a prayer... After we left and got back, we were able to look at the situation and figure it out. We pulled the trailer up about 7 feet and that did the trick!

This was the back side of the spot... What you can't see is there are trails right behind us... LOL! One night we are sitting by the fire and a girl on a bicycle popped out of the bush and scared me to death...

Here is a side shot of our fire pit and the site next door. Like I said not a bad place to stay at all. Grim and I have already said that until the property is ready we will be going here to stay when we are in the area.

Yart