Maggie May

Maggie May
Maggie May

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Preparing to Leave Lake Okeechobee Tomorrow

With bad weather predicted yet again today I got out early to take Maggie for her morning walk, and then Billy and I started to make preparations to "pack it up."  I'll be carrying laundry to Tampa since I didn't want to take another chance at the Seminole Reservation of getting black grease on our clothing.  I cleaned the camper on the inside while Billy gassed the truck, hooked up the boat and put away what was left outside.  Then I began sewing on Jackson's Easter outfit once again.  Looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.  Following are a few photos of Billy "packing" it up and the Twin Palms RV park that we have so enjoyed.  We would definitely return here.  Life is Good Today.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Windy Day on Lake Okeechobee

Woke up to a cloudy windy day so rushed out for my long walk with Maggie before the rain moved in.  The rain never came but the wind did not let up all day.  More wind and rain is predicted through the weekend so we changed our plans made in jello and will depart for Tampa on Friday morning instead of Saturday.  I will again be towing the boat so maybe the traffic won't be quite so bad on Friday and we will get to see Marianne, Kevin and Jackson over the weekend.  Caroline called today to say that Lincoln's birthday suit arrived.  She really liked it and the good part is that it fit him.  Phil liked his John Deere Tractor tee shirt.  Certainly would like to be there to share in Lincoln's first birthday celebration.

I fixed meatloaf in my "Easy Bake Oven" tonight for dinner with fresh green beans and mashed potatoes.  Billy liked it, and that is a good thing because he can enjoy it once again tomorrow.  Meantime, I spent the day beginning the embroidery on Jackson's Easter outfit.  I decided that since I put the Easter decals on the motor home windows for his Easter decorations that it would be fun to embroidery the decals on the reverse side of his smocked Easter train outfit.  Hah!  Hope that I can remember how I finally turned that John John suit right side out.  Must close up this blog quickly as our neighbor passed the word that we will have 45 mph winds early tomorrow morning and I have to check around our site for items that may blow!  Thanks for stopping in and Life Is Good Today.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Rainy Days and Mondays

We woke to pounding rain and thunder and lightning Monday morning.  I could have slept in but had to drive to Clewiston to get Lincoln's birthday suit in the mail early so that it would definitely reach GA by Friday.  I was able to find a monster truck John Deere tractor tee shirt for Phil there so I was happy.  After I returned home from the 60 mile round trip to the post office, Billy and the neighbor across the street went out to fish.  As soon as Billy got out of the motor home I commenced to cleaning and was just finishing up when he returned in a down pour of rain.

At noon today Billy and I went out to fish in spite of the 50% rain forecast.  Billy caught a beautiful bass which he is currently outside cleaning for dinner.  We had slaw dogs for dinner last night so the slaw is already made.  Yummmmmmmmmmm!  There were LOTS of alligators out and about today but I didn't take my camera for the close up shots.  Following are photos of Billy and Maggie May fishing. Also while we were out on the lake fishing we saw three airboats spraying weed killer on "water lilies."  Really now, that was A LOT of dollar weed to be killing!   Just so you know, I did catch some fish but they were not big enough to keep.  Billy "said" he had a big one on but "it got away."  Now, go figure when I do that he says that I "didn't hook it."  Is that right?  Life is Good Today.  Got to go out by the picnic table and cook dinner.  I'll be very careful.  Billy threw the dead bait off the back of the boat the other day into the pond.  He forgot about the gators back there and was surprised to turn around and see one coming up fast to eat the bait.  Last night I saw the gator sitting on the bank right outside our bedroom window.  He has been stalking Maggie ever since we arrived here.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Lincoln's 1st Birthday Yo Gabba Gabba English Smocked John John

Thought that I had a few weeks to complete the two Easter John John's and Lincoln's birthday suit until Caroline told me on Thursday that she is having Lincoln's birthday party next Saturday.  I went into high gear with my sewing and had the Children's Corner Jeffrey pattern complete with the exception of sewing the lining to the suit.  It is a completely reversible suit so this step was very important.  I sewed it together and left openings in the front and back crotch and no matter how I turned it, it came out in a knot.  After a frustrating few hours I woke Billy from his nap for him to give it a try.  Long story short we both picked up the suit off and on for the entire day yesterday and tried to turn it.  Each session ended with our throwing it down and saying we would mail it in a knot and Lincoln could wear it if Caroline and Sam could figure out how to turn it.  Finally at 11:00 pm last night I was successful and the suit is in the mail.  It was a challenge to create the Yo Gabba Gabba theme on the smocking and to come up with a cute reverse side while living 2 hours from the closest sewing center.  On Friday I was at a crossroads of not having any ideas or notions to adorn the reverse side.  While sitting at the kitchen table and contemplating my dilemma I saw the Easter bunny decal on our window.  (I know, we decorated for Easter just like we decorated for Xmas).  Bingo - I snatched that decal down and embroidered a like bunny on the leg of the John John.  When I completed the bunny it was cute but it needed something else.  While washing the dishes I noticed the Easter egg decal on the kitchen window and bingo, we have an embroidered Easter egg on the chest.  Going to take a day of rest and begin the Easter outfits tomorrow.

Billy and I have been going out fishing and catching lots of bass, but none are keeper size.  It is soooooooooo beautiful out on the lake, and we are going to miss it here when we leave next Saturday.  Closing for now and I think Billy is going out fishing with the neighbor if he can fix the air conditioner that he believes is frozen.  Life is Good Today.  You can double left click on the photos to enlarge them.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Running With Scissors

On Monday I got real busy and dug out my sewing machine and scissors.  Cut out the three John John suits (http://www.heirloomelegance.com/merchandise/patterns/childrens_corner/4.php) and finally began to bring the two Easter and one birthday outfits together.  We had planned to go out fishing and gator watching Monday night but the wind was blowing, so we went out last night.   Wow!  It was beautiful.  Caught lots of undersized bass and saw lots of gators.  As you can see by the photos the sunset was just beautiful.  Plan to do some more sewing today and hopefully wrap up these outfits in a day or two.  This Easter sewing so reminds of the days long ago of frantically trying to get Caroline's Easter dress sewn in time for the Easter bunny.  Have a great day because Life is Good Here Today.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Birthday Week at Lake Okeechobee

Been rather lazy this week about keeping up with the blog.  The first part of the week I was sewing like mad trying to complete some hand smocking.  Then the boat repair place at Lake Placid finally called on Wednesday, Billy's birthday, to tell us our boat was ready for pick up.  Happy Happy Birthday Billy.  We drove straight there after Billy made a stop for me to pick up a few sewing supplies.  We went out fishing on Thursday and really enjoyed finally getting back out on the water.  My there were lots of alligators out there.  We were only about 1/2 mile from the dock and I had counted over 20 alligators close to the boat.  We caught lots of bass, but all too small to keep.

After making another trip to the Reservation to catch up on the laundry, Billy and I drove in to Wal Mart for groceries and I cleaned the motor home for Kevin, Marianne and Jackson to come Friday afternoon.  We picked up some wings at Chappy's for dinner and sat around the motor home and played with Jackson.  Early Saturday morning, my birthday, Billy and Kevin got up at O Dark Thirty to get on the lake for some bass fishing.  Marianne, Jackson and I snoozed a little longer then lingered around the motor home and enjoyed breakfast in bed.  Kevin and Billy returned around lunch time and handed Marianne and I some "fist money" to go to the Seminole Casino to play the penny slots.  We did last a bit longer with our funds this time (3 hours) and we had a few wins, but left empty handed.  I do not intend to give them another cent of my money.  Kevin and Marianne treated us to a birthday dinner at Sherry's Hideout (http://www.sherryshideout.com/).  Wow, it was good!

Sunday morning we lingered around the motor home again and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast after which Billy, Marianne and Kevin went out on the boat for a little fishing a gator viewing.  Jackson and I had great fun playing around the RV park and in the yard until we saw an egret next to our motor home trying to kill and eat a water moccasin.  I snatched up Jackson and Maggie May and we ran to the safety of the motor home.  We were really sad to see them leave and the house is quiet once again.  After a short break today and tonight I plan to complete my Easter sewing this week.  Now is the time to bring out the sewing machine.  Thanks for stopping by and thank you for the birthday wishes.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Sunday Air Boating in the Everglades

Billy has been laid up with his toe all week and I have been sewing like mad.  Almost have Lincoln and Jackson's Easter outfits finished.  Phil celebrated his birthday yesterday and we miss him terribly.  Can hardly wait to see him in June.  The parts came in for our boat so we are hoping that it will be repaired by Wednesday and we can drive to Lake Placid to pick it up.  Hope to stop at a fabric store on the drive to pick up a some buttons for the little one's Easter suits.

We enjoyed a 6 hour air boat trip with friends through the Everglades this morning.  We left Maggie in her kennel in the motor home and she successfully chewed herself out for the third time, so I assume we can't lock up "Houdini" anymore.  As always we air boated with Ray Freeman and "Froggy" (of Little Rascals!! fame).  This trip Moose and Lovely and Chuck joined us.  We boated out to our own little private sand bar in the middle of the  swamp and enjoyed our usual picnic.  You can double left click on each photograph to zoom in on it..

Closing for now so I can begin my sewing once again.  Life was certainly Good on this beautiful day.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

French Hand Sewn Booties, Troubadours, and Other Trivia

After four days I have finally completed these little French Hand Sewn booties.  Surely hope they look cuter on those little feet than they look stuffed with paper towels.  I have sewn booties before but never a pattern that stumped me like this one did.  If not for my neighbor Wilma's help they would have found their way to the trash can.  Now on to my next sewing project!  Life is Good Today!

While sewing these last few days I have been listening to my folk music and the new Simon and Garfunkel XM channel.  I like folk music and if a "hippie" that makes me be than "Let It Be."  One evening last week Billy and I enjoyed watching a program on the Public Broadcasting Station featuring Carole King and James Taylor.  They were fantastic!  The broadcast was filmed at the legendary Troubadour Club in West Hollywood.  The Troubadour has helped launch some of contemporary music's most talented performers such as Elton John, James Taylor and Tom Waits.  It continues to be destination for cutting-edge acts from around the world. It is a popular venue among serious music fans who enjoy listening to live music in an intimate setting.  Yeah for Coffeehouses. Call me uninformed but I have never heard of the Troubadour Club until now, but it is added to my Bucket List of things to do.  Meanwhile, Billy and I looked up the word "troubadour" and found that a troubadour was a composer and performer of Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100-1350).  Since the word "troubadour" is masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz.   In modern terms, troubadour/trobairitz translates to mean singer/songwriter of which there are many that we enjoy!  Sing on John Denver!

Guess you can tell that we are on Lake Okeechobee with our boat still in the shop.  Life is Good though because it gives us time to enjoy the small things.  Sometimes it is what you DO NOT see that describes a place.  We have noticed that we have not seen one stray or unleashed dog in Glades County since we have been here.  Can you say "Gator Bait?"   Speaking of gator bait, Maggie continues to love and make us laugh each and every day.  She has learned to limp on three legs if it is too hot when we are out walking and I will pick her up and carry her home.  She has also forced us to do some things that I we said we would never ever do again.  After my Shih Tzu Duke's obsession with Mighty Dog dogfood I assured myself that I would never buy it again.  Maggie enjoys a can every day.  I learned  that a powerful German Shepherd on the end of a retractable leash could have the power to amputate a finger.  Maggie drags me around every day on her retractable leash.  Billy said that he would never be an old man with a little dog on his lap.......and......... well you can see the photo....  I would further add that Maggie just about has us trained the way she wants us.

We weathered the wind and storms coming through the area a few hours ago, so now I will begin my new project.  Thank you for visiting.



Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Got My Mojo Back

As I previously blogged I am in a sewing frenzy, but hit a three day "road block" while constructing the embroidered  booties  on Chery Williams Heirloom Patterns Baby Layette (http://www.smockingstore.com/cherywilliams/cwbbylaybk.jpg).   I was prepared to throw my work into the trash and buy a pair of white lacy socks!   I must have flunked "following directions" while in elementary school because I failed for three long days to correctly make these booties look like a bootie.  Yesterday I finally took my failed project two sites down to 81 year old Wilma.  Wilma and Bo are both in their 80's and from Savannah, GA.  Wilma is an accomplished seamstress and proudly showed me the small scaled and large picture cross stitch that she has recently completed.  I asked Wilma if she used a magnifying glass to cross stitch and she assuredly told me "no!"  As we both studied the directions on the little booties I was attempting to thread a needle to baste.  She took the tiny heirloom needle away from me and threaded it on the first try.  Oh my!  I was so impressed.  That dear sweet Wilma showed me how to sew and turn those booties so they would fit on a little foot.  Thank you Wilma!  You're the best.

Today's schedule includes cleaning the motor home, a long walk, finishing up the booties, and going to the Reservation to wash and dry my newly arrived material before I cut out the patterns.  It's a beautiful day, and I hate it that Billy's poor foot still hurts.

Three hours later:  And I am venting.  As I waved good-bye to Billy and left out the door for the Reservation laundry mat this morning I said I hated to put my four pieces of new Imperial Batiste into their washers and dryer.  Famous last words.  When I removed the Batiste from the dryer there were huge black grease marks on three of the pieces.  At this point I was fired up and ready to take on the entire Seminole Nation; however, discretion being the better part of valor I carefully folded my laundry and left in peace.  Now to the task of trying to spot clean and scrub the stains out before I return once again to the laundry mat.  Blah!  Blah!  Blah!  Life is NOT good right this moment.  It promises to change though because Marianne, Kevin, and Jackson are returning to spend another weekend with us.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Happy, Thankful and Stitching at Lake Okeechobee, FL

I have been expecting two shipments of "sewing supplies" that I ordered; therefore, I have been steadily trying to complete the little heirloom booties before the arrival of more patterns.  Thankful?  I am thankful and so happy to be able to sew until my heart's content in our motor home.  When I lived in a "sticks and bricks" home I felt like the housework, yard work, and laundry needed to be caught up before I could start and complete a sewing project.  Yes, I have "OCD" (Obsessive, Compulsive, Disorder), and Billy will tell you about it every chance he gets.  What a pleasure to be able to sew with the knowledge that all the housework is complete!  Yesterday I began the enjoyable task of organizing the material, lace and patterns for the new projects that have been floating around in my head.  I admired, fondled and handled all of my stored lace, edges, ribbon and trim to come up with the designs for the new outfits.  Fun, fun, fun.   While searching for the embroidery instructions to refresh my memory of how to make a "petticoat" or is it "scallop" stitch, I discovered sewing blogs by people that I have long admired.   When Caroline was young and we lived in Washington, DC I saw children wearing the little English smocked and heirloom dresses.  I knew that I wanted Caroline to have these special outfits, but had to take classes to learn how to sew them.  Shortly after that we moved to Hawaii and I began teaching Smocking and Heirloom sewing classes to support my habit.  This was before the arrival of internet shopping so I had to order supplies for my class from the "mainland" and by telephone.  Today, I can enrich my creative ideas by reading heirloom sewing blogs and I want to create almost every project I see.  Think I will be busy for a while.

In an earlier post I mentioned that Billy and I stepped over a ready to strike moccasin while we were walking.  With that in mind, Billy dreamed early yesterday morning that a snake was slithering out of a turtle shell and he gave it a swift kick.  The powerful kick hit our bedroom wall and his toes and foot began to swell and knot.  Off to the emergency room we went to learn that he had a horrible bruise but thankfully no broken bones.  It seems we are making a habit of visiting a local hospital at each RV stop we make.  After the hospital visit I informed Billy that we were only an hour away from a Michael's store in Port St. Lucie.  He wasn't happy about it but I drove us over to the east coast of FL to pick up a wooden dowel to use with the pleater and a few additional skeins of DMC floss.  He doesn't get it!

After lunch on Friday Billy and I went over to the Casino on the Reservation so I could play my $19.00 of winnings!  Boo!  I played the penny machine and lost my $19.00 in about 30 minutes.  Remembering that I had played with the same $20 the entire week we were in Vegas I knew "when to fold 'em" and Billy and I had lunch at the Casino and returned home.

Thanks for stopping in for a visit and I will close to go for my daily walk alone.  Think it will be a while before Billy can walk with me again; however, "Life is Good Today!"

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Relaxing on Lake Okeechobee

Billy spent the day yesterday "piddling" with his "stuff" outside while I stayed in most of the day and sewed.  Attached are photos of some of my sewing projects thus far.  I do believe that she is going to be a bit pampered.  I truly enjoyed making heirloom sewing garments for Caroline when she young, but I must admit that sewing for grandchildren is much more enjoyable.  I have more time now than I did when Caroline and Brandon were toddlers.  You can double left click on each photo to enlarge it for more detail.

We are lost without our boat that remains in the shop, but we are better able to stick to our plans of taking a vigorous walk every day.  On Monday while we were walking we both stepped right over (naturally I am wearing flip flops) a ready to strike water moccasin.  Neither one of us saw him until we were standing over him.  Oh my!  May wear my hiking boots on future walks.  Quick post...."Life is Good Today"