Busy weekend! On Saturday we supported the White House, TN bowling team by eating a pancake breakfast sponsered by them. Thank you Sean Sabo! What a great start to the weekend! 

Then I rode to Bowling Green, KY with Julie to pick up groceries and go to Sam's Club. 

Then it was time to tackle getting the house cleaned and pick up the mess I have created over the past few months. I got about 50% done moving things around when I ran out of energy.... Now there is about 75% done. At least I have things where they need to be now. The last thing I need to do is get everything all cleaned off and put away. While I've moved things around I have come across 'stuff' that needs to go down the road. Some to the trash, some to sell, and some to go to a second hand store. 

While cleaning up I have found a couple projects I want to get done. After finishing getting everything cleaned and arranged we'll see how soon I can get them done and then I shall have more 'stuff' out of the house!

Until next time, 

Happy Quilting, Sharon 
Permanent "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2013

I'm BAAAAAACK!

It's sad, I think about my blog and remember how much fun I've had over the years posting things going on in my life. Then the next thought is the time it takes to think of things to share, the pictures that I want to put on that need editing, then I think of the time it all takes. That's where my energy gets up and goes, LOL!

Last year in July I opened a 'shop' at TN Flea Mall in White House, TN. It is a consignment shop that has several booths for rent. I was one of the lucky ones that got in the door when they first converted from a weekend flea market to a consignment shop. Then 2 months ago I also started selling just my kitchen hanging towels at Mama's Place in Goodlettsville, TN. Both spots are great outlets for me. I have my sister making cotton dishcloths, baby afghans and lovie afghans too!

I was just looking for some photos to grace this post with, but of course all my pics are on my phone. See, I haven't even taken the time to get those downloaded to my computer. I know I can post from my phone, but it is much easier to post from my computer, so my next step needs to be to download my phone pics......

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day in White House, TN. We are being invaded by the hordes for the eclipse. The town has been promoting this day for months so I'm sure that it will be a lot of fun getting around town. I'm just glad that I should be home and away from the hordes. I'll let you know how that works out!

Till next time,

Happy Quilting, Sharon Permanent "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2013

Catching up with life!

I couldn't believe that it has been 3 months since I have been on here pestering all of you. So I decided to get everyone caught up on what is going on in my life.

During the spring and our drives to the gym in Hendersonville we past many wild animals. One of our favorite sites are the vultures. Unlike the western vultures we saw in Arizona these bad boys are all black. They remind me of grumpy old men. In this picture they are sitting on a wooden fence waiting their turn at the deer dinner in the ditch. It was raining and the wind was blowing so they were facing away from the ditch. 

Carl tried walking up the other side of the road to get a better picture, but as he got closer they took off for the trees one by one to wait until they could go back to their dinner.

We've also seen turkeys all over the place. I wanted to see the 'turkey dance' and one day on our way home from church we happened on one. We sat and watched while this gobbler danced his way across a yard. The hen was just a ways in front of him and every time she wasn't watching he would do a quick 3 step to get closer. 

One of the 'visits' we made this last spring was to Johnny and June Cash's grave site. Both of them have a bible verse quoted and their signatures. It was funny because Carl and I kept talking about finding different grave sites of 'famous' people and we were driving right by Johnny and June every day we went to the gym.

I'm not sure how many people know that I have a true appreciation of our American flag and everything that it represents. I have probably told this story before, but I am going to repeat it here tonight. On my very first trip across this country with my in-laws I saw my first large American flag in Oklahoma, OK. I was sitting at the table in Mom and Dad's motorhome looking out the front windows at the new to me scenery. In the distance (it is very flat in Oklahoma....) I saw something moving against the sky. At first it was just a dot that looked out of place against the blue sky so I just kept my eye on it as we traveled down the road. Then I noticed that it was blue, next it had a little red mixed in with the blue and finally I realized it was an American flag. I had never seen a flag as big as that one in my life. I have seen many large American flags since that day and I am still just as amazed so when we first moved to TN and I spotted these flags I knew I had to share them with you. I have taken many trips to the area to take several pictures of this trio, but I think these are the best. They are flying over 3 auto dealerships on Rt 31E in Hendersonville, TN. The first picture was taken from a Wal-Mart parking lot right next to the one of the dealerships. The second photo was taken several miles east of where the flags fly.

 

In August we traveled to New York to visit family and to go to the Voorheis' 75th family reunion. I took a picture of a picture of another family reunion many years before. Carl was just a kid in this picture. Not sure where he is, but Mom and Dad Voorheis are in the top row, right side.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Carl. I just happened to take it while we were at the reunion.

Here are a few of the clan standing around getting to know each other again.

A great picture of Carl with his oldest aunt, Ida Voorheis White.

Another great picture of Carl and his aunt Glenna Voorheis Berry.

It was interesting when we heard that Wayne, Florence, Orin and Chartina were making the trip from Utah to New York during the reunion time. Also, Elwin and his family made the trip from Conneticut so we got to spend time with a lot of family from all over the country on this trip.

Here is Kai, Elwin, Nikolai and Wayne enjoying the great weather and visiting with everybody.

The day after the big family reunion just the immediate family got together. We had good food, good conversation and a great time.

Here is Joyce, Carl and Wayne. I'm not sure what they were smiling about, but they were probably up to no good.....

I tried getting around to get pictures of everybody that was there. We had 2 tables surrounded with family.

Here is KiKi with the beautiful smile. She didn't want to talk with anybody until the camera came out. She sure is a cutie. Of course that is me in the middle with Meggin, KiKi's mom.

Carl and I stayed with my sister and brother-in-law, Lissa & Bruce most of the time we were there. On our first night in NY she had our brother and sister-in-law, Larry and Roxanne over for supper. There is only 4 of us 'kids' still living and we were hoping that we would all be together with this trip, but our oldest sister, Loretta couldn't make it. So this is the 'other 3' kids, Lissa, Larry and Sharon.

It was great getting together with both sides of our families to share special times and good laughs. The older we get the more special these times are.

Until next time, 

Happy Quilting, Sharon Permanent "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2013

Full house again!

This past Wednesday Carl's brother and sister-in-law, Mel and Judy made the trip down to visit for a few days. Nothing fancy, just sitting around visiting, spending time together and they spent time at the Hendersonville Farmer's Market at Indian Lakes. Then on Saturday Julie's mother-in-law and her sister, Sharon and Diane arrived for a few days when Jim returned from school in NY. They are off to see some sites and experience a little taste of Nashville. For me I need to get back behind my machines and get a few more items done to add to my stock. If anybody is in the Nashville, TN area come on out to the Hendersonville Farmer's Market the next 2 weeks on Saturday between 9 am to 2 pm.

Until next time,

Happy Quilting, Sharon Permanent "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2013

First day of school!

Getting fueled up for the day while checking out the tube.

 On the way into the unknown..... 

They survived the day, but like most first days they had glitches. Sure hope these glitches smooth out over the rest of this week so they have smooth sailings the rest of the year.

Happy Quilting, Sharon 
Permanent "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" 
Certified Instructor since 2013

A year after emergency room visits

As Carl and I were running around today I realized that it has been a year since he started his trips to the emergency room for his stroke. It has been an up and down year that is for sure. I'm just glad that he is still around being a smart alec! Love you, Sexy!

Happy Quilting, Sharon "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

Another new baby hanging around

I have a hummingbird feeder on my back porch and this decoration. This little fella kept going for a drink then going back to rest. As I was watching another bird came to get a drink and this one chased the second one away. Zoom they go flying across the yard and over the roof of the house behind us.

 

About 10 minutes later I saw the little guy back again. This picture isn't as clear because I took the picture through the window film to get a better shot. 

 

Until next time,

Sharon

 

Happy Quilting, Sharon 

"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

Driving home last weekend the moon was so cool in the sky. It was really dark out and you didn't realize that there was a lot of clouds in the sky until they floated across the moon. There was also a planet, but by the time I got the camera up the clouds had covered that too. It's hard trying to get a clear picture of things while driving down the road shooting through the windows. The camera focuses on the spots on the window instead of what you really want to focus on, but I did manage to get this clear shot.

 

Here is the moon just before it was hidden by clouds.

 

Here is the clouds moving in front of the moon a few minutes later.

 



I really love seeing all the natural wonders around me. You never know when you'll see something so cool again. There is a Morton Salt mine that I pass on my way to work that I want to get pictures of. For so long I never paid any attention to it and didn't realize that they mined salt there. There is a section of the block wall that has fallen and when driving by in the van I can see that they have 'ponds' that they get the salt from. Maybe tomorrow I shall get down there and get my pictures.

 

Until next time,

Sharon

Happy Quilting, Sharon "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

Good afternoon one and all!

Well, lots of excitement around the old homestead this past week..... Carl decided he really wasn't feeling well after we went to Kanab, UT for the Western Round-up to see all of his western actors and ended up in the hospital. Scared me silly! While he was working he had a problem with talking and I ended up calling 911 for him. Now, mind you we were 60 miles apart and I had no idea where he had parked the car and had scared all of my co-workers as I was yelling at him over the phone :(..... I need to thank the young man at CVS who went out into the parking lot to look for Carl, the 911 operators that patched me through to Wickenburg 911, the police and emergency squad that found him in the parking lot and transported him to the hospital and all of the medical personnel that took care of him after he was admitted into the hospital. All of the tests came back 'normal' and they figure he had a TIA (mini stroke), which put him on a ton of medicine. The problem he is having right now is the headache and tinnitis that usually happens after this type of episode. The doc this morning said that the headache usually last between 10 days and 2 weeks, but I sure hope it lets up before then. Having a headache that bad for days on end would make anybody crazy..... At least he is here to tell the tale and have me laugh at his misunderstanding of conversations..... 

Until next time, 

Happy Quilting, Sharon 
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

August Already!

Seven months of the year 2012 is gone, gone, gone! I can not believe it! It seems as though it was just yesterday that we went to Sea World in California!!!

Oh well, onward and upward.... Onward in time and upward in age.... LOL!

I updated the progress on the Temple this past week....

Last weekend we ended up getting 2 dust storms in 2 days. On Saturday we were at a church function and decided to get home a little early and it was a good idea that we did. We were just about to the car when we looked up and saw this---

 Then we drove through this to get home.

Then this is what we saw coming towards us the next day at the house.

And this is the storm marching right along.....

So, what do you think about our storms? Yeah dirty!

I'm just glad that the garage sale was over when these hit. This weekend I finished getting all the stuff cleaned up in the garage and Carl got all of the left over stuff hauled away. We actually have both of our cars in the garage tonight! Yahoo!!!! I still have totes to go through, but it is much better than it was a couple weeks ago.

Now I am off to post some stuff on Craig's list. I have posted on Freecycle already, so maybe a few more items will go down the road before next weekend! One can hope LOL!

Until next time, 

Happy Quilting, Sharon
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way"
Certified Instructor since 2009

Happy August!

Here it is almost the end of August 2011. I have been sitting here the past hour or so trying to get my photos downloaded. If it isn't one thing it is another. I am trying to keep things sorted on my SD card for the Temple pictures and also trying to sort and label the pictures that are in my computer already. What a task I have started for myself! On to the fun stuff!

Last weekend we went to Kanab, UT for the Western Legends Round-UP. We met a few new stars and got their autographs. That also reminds me that I need to find the October western Festival information that goes on down here in the valley for one of the actors we met.

Well, Carl got signatures from Ruta Lee, James Stacy, James Hampton, Paul Peterson and Cathy Garver this year. I took pictures of all of them at the booths they were in, but didn't realize until later that I had my camera on video instead of pictures. So I will need to get them downloaded and try and capture a couple stills. What a cool bunch of  actors! Ruta Lee knows how to smooze! We went to 'Breakfast with the Stars' (as usual) and she was out talking with everybody and just having a grand old time! All were friendly and talkative.

Here is Carl with his outfit. Ruta told him that he looked 'comfortable' as a cowboy......

This was after breakfast. We were standing outside just 'chatting' with the stars. James Stacy, Ruta Lee and Paul Peterson

James Stacy played in, 'Something Wicked This Way Comes', Carl's favorite movie with James. James had an acting career then had a motorcycle accident. He lost his lower left arm and leg because of the accident and still went on to play in the above movie. 

Then we went to a Pow-Wow at the reservation near Fredonia. What beautiful Regalia! The feather and bead work was amazing! We had to get permission or as they requested a 'blessing' to take and post pictures of the individuals. I took several, but will only post a few with the participants 'blessings'.

These two warriors had fantastic Regalia and you could tell they spent a lot of time and thought making them. This was a music and dance competition. I couldn't tell much difference with the music as it had the same beat and was mostly drums, but each dance was unique.

This outfit caught my eye right off. For 2 reasons. First because of the color and second because of the dance itself. How this man was able to keep dancing around and around and not loose track of his feet was amazing!

Here is great picture of the back. They stopped and were waiting for the next drummers to start.

Here is the same man with his niece. They were both out dancing together. 

Here is another that caught my eye. When I first noticed this man he was sitting right in front of me and I could not miss it. Look at all the feathers and ribbons!

Here he is dancing. 

Here is a little girl. Very simple outfit with bells and beads. Her hair was french braided and she was so cute. 

All ages were out there dancing. There were 3 young men that must have either been close brothers or friends. They were dancing together and having a great time. There was every color of the rainbow from feathers to ribbons. Most everybody had bells on, some only a few but others to numerous to count. Some of the outfits were elaborate and others very simple. One little guy just had a bead breast plate, brown pants and a yellow loin cloth on. He was working so hard to keep his feet straight and doing what he wanted them to do. You could tell that his dance was a work in progress.

Of course this is what our boys liked the best at Western Legends...... The bounce house, the slide and the rock climbing wall. 

At least we got some 'get up and go' to 'get up and go'.....

As usual we had a grand time up north. We just wish it could have been longer. Carl got vacation all week and I couldn't. So, we only went up for the weekend. As usual it was jam packed with things to see and places to be.

Now I'm off to update my quilting and Temple areas, so if you feel the need to see the quilts that were on display and also to see how the Temple is progressing hop on over!

Until next time, 

Happy Quilting, Sharon

 "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

Picnics!

Several weeks ago Carl & I started going on Sunday picnics. On our way back from Wickenburg on our first time out and about we returned the 'back' way. It is interesting to see this silver 'dome' so far away. Where I took this picture we were about 1 to 1 1/2 hours drive from this 'dome'. The 'dome' is the home of the Cardinals, our football team. The 'dome' is the stadium. You can see that silly thing for miles and miles. Check out more pictures of the stadium here.

Then this past weekend we wanted to go to Lake Pleasant, but they charge just to go in and we decided we didn't want to spend the money just for an hour or two. On our journey finding all of the entrances to the lake we ran across a pull off and that is where we ended up having our picnic. We were glad that we did. This is the second time that we have seen a wild burro on our travels. If you remember our anniversary trip to the Hoover Dam last year we came upon a burro. This young man sure did look nice. We didn't notice until I downloaded the pictures that he has a sore on his left front leg. He sure didn't walk like he had any problems.

He just walked across the road watching us to make sure we didn't want him for anything. After he disappeared into the cacti and brush I figured we wouldn't see him again. We were sitting in the back seat of the car eating when I happened to look into the rear view mirror and caught a glimpse of him again. He just did a detour around us to get where he was going. If you look real close in the center of this picture you can just about see him. He kept right on walking and we never did see him again after this. I really like to see the wild life when we are out and about. You can't imagine the number of things that you miss when you are just zipping down the road. Several vehicles sped past on their way to the lake while we were there. All I could think of was that they didn't know what they had missed. Of course not many would have cared either.

It is so nice to be able to enjoy the small things in life. Our picnics only cost us time and a little bit of gas, but we are seeing some interesting things. Sometimes we manage to see nothing but desert and other times we see one of God's creatures. Both are beautiful in their own way.

While you are here check out the new Temple pictures. Slow, but steady progress going on each week.

Happy Quilting, Sharon
"Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

Happy Sunday!

How is everybody today? I am doing fine. Still hot, but know that it's on the way out! I have pictures to download for the Temple and a link or two to find and share. When I get them done I'll be back and post for all to see.

Until then, see ya'!

Happy Quilting, Sharon "Quilting the Kaye Wood Way" Certified Instructor since 2009

Goofing off again tonight!

Last weekend I was able to start working on Carl's shirt. Of course it isn't the same easy pattern I used last time..... I would have had it done if I hadn't had to re-work the whole thing. I guess the sizes on these patterns are a little small......... I sure hope the pants work out better, at least I made practice pair out of other material to check the fit. Time will tell. I was going to work on them today, but the sewing room was way to hot and I was just lazy. I'm lucky I managed to get the wash done (grin)....

I have been selling off some of the books I have collected over the years and never use. It is a slow and at times confusing process. I need to just post them on one site instead of getting in a rush and posting them on 2 different sites. Of course each one has a different set of rules and I sure am having a hard time keeping them straight. One you can't post more than 1 item in each category every 7 days, the other I can't find my listings easily. Just as long as I don't send the wrong book to the right person, or some such thing.......

Anybody interested in any of these? If so just drop me a line and I'll get back to you.

Quilting with the ladies at church this morning. I almost didn't go, but decided I had better so that I can at least get in a little service for this month. Then, on the way home I was thinking about digging out some of the blocks I have swapped over the last few years and putting together some lap quilts for Hospice of the Valley. Awhile ago Carl asked me if I would be interested in doing these types of quilts for people that are wheelchair bound. I have several blocks that are ready to be put together, just need the ambition to do them. I can't wait for the heat to go away. I can't take any walks or sit and dream in my sewing room. I don't want the year to hurry any quicker, just the heat. And, yes sister, it is a DRY heat!

Well, I guess I had better get to bed. Tomorrow is the last day for me to work this week and I need my beauty sleep LOL!

Happy Quilting, Sharon

Goings on Past and Present

It is funny how many things can go on during a short week or two. Last week on Monday it seemed like a regular start to another regular week. Boy, was I ever WRONG!!! Monday was fine, I spent it in the sewing room. I don't remember what it was I accomplished at this point, but I did accomplish something. On Tuesday it started out as any other Tuesday except my DH went off to the doctor's office to see what they could do about a pain in his belly. They found out what they needed to do and we then went off to the emergency room about 2 PM. Now the wait begins. About 8 hours later they let us know that 1) he has an umbilical hernia which needs surgery and 2) he has an 11 mm kidney stone just above the bladder with an slightly inflamed kidney. The kidney stone was a surprise, but the hernia just decided to start bothering him after he pulled a client up in bed on Monday. So off we go to a room 'upstairs' so he can go into surgery 'probably' tomorrow. On Wednesday he calls me and tells me that he will go into surgery at 2PM for umbilical repair and a stint for the kidney stone. The surgery went just fine and now he is home for awhile. This time he is on a restricted 15 pound weight limit for 6 weeks. With his work 15 pounds means he can't even deliver supplies to clients so that means he will be spending time in the office again. The girls down there are going to love having him around!!
The good news about all of this is, I am getting a new man!!! Now, all I have to do is keep up with him.

Here are the last few pictures I am going to post from our visit to NY. We really had fun taking the kids to the Alpaca Farm. Carl took some neat pictures. Here they are:

This is Maddi being brave and feeding the Alpacas that were in the barn. Boy, we sure learned alot about Alpacas that day.

Here is Ella feeding the Alpacas in the barn. This kid is fearless around animals when she gets use to seeing them!

Here are a couple year old Alpacas that the owners wanted to get use to being around people. They fenced them in the yard so that whoever came to visit could be up close and they couldn't run to the other side of the pasture. They still managed to get far enough away that the girls couldn't pet them.

This is a picture that I really like. I just wish Maddi had been in it too. This is the 3 day old cria that the owners brought out from the pasture. You can't see it, but Mama is crying on the other side of the fence wondering what we are doing with her baby. This little one was so very soft and his coat is going to make great yarn. The more it has 'crinkles' in it the better quality of yarn it makes. That's just one of the 'tidbits' we learned that day.

Now I am off to get some training done so that I can go to work giving flu injections next month. That will be fun!!

I'll post a few more wedding pictures the next time I get on. I just have to get them into my albums first!!!

Happy Quilting,
Sharon

www.coyotequilts.com