Road Trip!

After a week (or more) of gray skies that dripped occasionally and I had had ENOUGH!

Time to get out on the road again.

Quinn and I loaded up and headed for Hamilton, Missouri.

Home of Missouri Star Quilt Co.

We hit the highway headed north.

Through Lees Summit,

Through Independence,

Over the Missouri River on the Liberty Bend Bridge

The north bound lanes travel on a narrow historic bridge.

I think MDot wanted to tear it down and build those plain boring ones when they widened the highway to four lanes but folks put up such a fuss that they built the south bound lanes to echo the older side.  I've always loved this bridge so to still have it is great.

Once across the river we turned east on Hwy 210 towards Missouri City and eventually Richmond.

My Father build a house for my Great Aunt Pearl and Uncle Jimmy on their truck farm on the River near Missouri City ca 1962.

So we went often that year and several times in later years.

It was where I first learned to asked which bowl of mashed white stuff was potatoes (yum) and which was turnips (Yuck).

I have great memories of walking the watermelon patch (like 5 acres maybe) all of us kids following along behind Uncle Jimmy and Dad.  Uncle Jimmy would cut open a watermelon, offer my Dad a taste of the heart, we kids would get a taste and then it would be on to the next one leaving the first to rot in the field.  I always thought it a great waste of watermelon!

It's been years since I was there last and the farm passed out of the family ages ago so I couldn't find it.

They've moved the highway north of the river more too so it won't flood when the river does.

The grass along the route was quite green and close up the trees and shrubs are showing some green but not enough for the ridges and hills to show more than the usual bare gray of winter.

I know spring is coming.

I've seen the Great Blue Herons flying lately, trailing their long legs behind them!

Back to the trip.

We headed north again towards places like Polo and then Hamilton.

Little, near dead towns.

I read the other day that more people are dying than are being born in many counties in this part of the county. (Others too) Plus folks are moving away looking for work-if you don't own a farm there's not much else.

Almost to Hamilton on a two lane road I was passed by three cattle trucks.

Not really remarkable except that the second one ran me off onto the shoulder!

He started drifting my way as soon as his cab cleared the front end of the truck.

I've had this happen before so I'm always extra alert around semis.

The rest of this story is that for once there was law enforcement at that exact place in the road!

(That never happens!)

The sheriff pulled off, turned in behind me and at the next passing lane passed me to pull him over!

I was still shaking but I cheered!

In Hamilton, Quinn and I took a walk and checked the place out.

When I was last here several years ago they had one store now they fill nearly all the historic downtown.  There was no place to eat and now there are several!  Big changes.

That said I bought very little, although I did wish I had gone up there when I was buying the fabric for Ethan's quilt-so much conversation fabric.

A few photos of Hamilton. 

On the way home we took the Interstate as far as Liberty and then down 291 again towards home.

When we arrived Quinn and I checked the mail to find a lovely surprise!

A package from Ann at A Good Yarn!

Inside were goodies all the way from Australia!

Ann and I have been emailing back and forth for at least 6 years and I've learned so much about life in Australia!

I often email her a question about language differences-we may all speak English but we do not speak the same language!

Australia has always been on my bucket list of places to visit~ I hope to meet Ann when I go!

Such a BAD blogger!

I know, I know, I have been a very bad blogger!  

Just really haven't had anything to say.  

The end of winter when will Spring finally get here blahs, I guess.

Second check on the eyes showed them improving and healing nicely.

I still have trouble reading small print or things without great contrast, but I am able to read smaller print and do some things without a magnifying glass.

Progress!

Daylight sayings time set me back,

as it always does. 

 Disrupts my sleep SO much I have a hard time resetting the body clock.

I have been busy in the studio though.

I finished both the red and black flannel rag quilts-thank goodness.

Such a slippery mess.

I love using flannel for quilt backs.

Just adds that extra punch of comfort,

but I don't ever want to do another full flannel quilt.

I also pieced the "H" blocks in the top photo.

Tomorrow I hope to lay them out there are multiple blocks in each color.

I've also made a few more blocks on the Splendid Quilt.

I want to do one each day-all blue and white.

Lastly, I finished an "I Spy" snowball quilt for Ethan.

Apparently, he is quite taken with the jet planes!

He did tell me that there were "kitties" on it though.

It was fun and quick to make.

I spent this afternoon cleaning and re-arrangling the studio.

I have both sewing machines set up now!

Plus things are orderly.

It had gotten so that I couldn't find anything-including space to work!

I nearly have the garage organized!

It won't really be finished until after the city-wide garage sale the first of June.

Anything that doesn't sell gets given away after that.

I have been looking at everything with a view to meeting my goal of a

fifty percent reduction in the stuff I own.

I sorted out quite a bit when I unpacked but I'm looking at things again.

When I leave this house I want no more than will fit in my truck!

Traveling light from here on out.

Not much of anything.

Naan

The past couple of weeks have been slow.

I had the catacts removed from my right eye Feb 20th.  They are doing quite well. Last week was pretty much a wash though.  Distance vision is getting really good, middle and close are better but it's not there yet.  Had a bit of a pity party yesterday over the vision-I mean really "it should be all good now its' been FOREVER."  Then I looked at the calendar and realized it had only been 2 weeks, sigh. All the literature they gave me said it would be months before my eyesight had stabilized so no more pity parties!

I made a chicken curry on Sunday which was quite good but needed a bit to go along so on Monday I made Naan (also quite good.) In all likelihood, neither of those dishes resembles anything actually eaten in India but I liked them.

White bread

Then because I was out of bread and didn't want to go to the store I made a new white bread recipe.  It's tasty but I didn't like the stiffness of the dough and it didn't rise well.  Won't be making that one again.

Monday night we were visited by storms.  A long line of thunderstorms with enough punch to spin out 14 tornados!  The biggest an EF3 in Grain Valley.  My little town of Greenwood was in the warning for one so Quinn and I spent about an hour in the basement laundry room.  A tiny little space for the washer and dryer but surrounded on all sides by cement, just the door.  We didn't lose power, had only small hailstones and didn't get that much rain.  The storm was traveling at highway speeds  so it only took a little while for the whole thing to pass over.  Exciting!  But it blew in this gorgeous blue sky the next day!

After the storms

It also blew the grand boys to my house as their school district was closed for the day due to power outages from the storm.  We went to IHOP for International Pancake Day!  Then we played a new to us game Ticket to Ride-well we think we have it figured out now,  we'll play it again next time they are over.

I've worked a bit on Ethan's quilt but am adding a border of four patches using the conversation prints as it just didn't seem quite finished with only the color block  border.

I haven't had much interest in anything lately.  Hope that changes soon!