Quilting and Family

Look who visited!

I am pleased to say that I have been able to work quite a bit on my numerous sewing projects thusfar this summer. Now even though the number of "completed" projects for the year isn't that impressive (yet!), I definitely have been learning A LOT about the actual process of quilting--including how to use my wonderful sewing machine and different sewing techniques. In fact, I just received a one-on-one lesson last night from a woman at the Husqvarna Sewing Center which is located within the JoAnn Fabric Store.

Can you see the rainbow trout?

This was the baby quilt I gave Tanna

My mom is my sewing inspiration. I still marvel at her handiwork; she makes the loveliest dresden plates and some of the wildest log cabins I've ever seen. Mom has a little addiction to prints...but I think I'm slowly admitting that I have the same addiction! We both like batik fabrics as well, but we can't seem to resist prints! Mom (and Dad too!) has been very supportive with my sewing endeavors and has answered a lot of the questions that have popped up over the past few years. THANKS MOM!!

Britches laying on Presley's baby quilt

Fanny observes from a large perch--the top of the fridge

Of course, I always seem to have "helpers" hanging around, particularly on days when I really need to have the project laying flat.

Hey, what's that big lump?

Ah, yes, it's Mr. Britches!

The Valaskey garden has been faring well. We just picked some green beans this week and have had garden lettuce salads, fresh basil for salad caprese, and zucchini. We are anxiously awaiting the tomatoes, cucumbers and sweet corn.

Mark & his mom (this picture is almost 2 weeks old now, so the garden has grown a lot more)

Mingo rolls on the ground while Lizzy & Lily look on. The dogs are not allowed in the garden.

Doggy dinner at the Valakey's is always much anticipated.

The big event of the past week was a really nice visit from Don, Hope and the kids as they traveled north to Rhinelander last Friday. Mark and I met them on the northwest side of Madison for lunch at a sister-restaurant of Captain Bill's called the Nauti-Gal (like "nautical"--NOT like an establishment of ill-repute). I'm so glad they made the stop. I can't believe how big those kids are getting!! They are such vivacious mint juleps!

Don & Hope keeping Stephen in line.

Beth!

It was quite entertaining to watch Kenny, Beth and Stephen play in the sand of a volleyball court that is on the grounds of the restaurant. They were completely satisfied to just dig around with bare hands and no toys. Apparently, they don't have a lot of just plain old sand in Arkansas (and I forgot what Don told me they did have. Clay?) Don and Hope also pointed out that the kids really like to go around barefoot too. This wasn't a particularly warm summer day in Wisconsin, but the gang didn't think twice about taking their socks and shoes off for romping around in the sand.

Look at that smile

Stephen brought his little trucks to the sand

Kenny

Thanks Don and Hope for swinging by; we were glad to see ya'll and look forward to seeing you again some other time.

Stephen & Kenny were interested in the water and the geese on the dock.

Little Man

Our Fifth Anniversary

5 Years Ago!

These guys haven't changed that much, have they?! (Kenny, Emma, Michael)

It is hard to believe, but Mark and I just celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary together on July 4. It seems like only yesterday! This also means that we have been living in our home for 5 years and that we've had our ever-delightful, always-charming, calico cat, Miss Fanny for that long.

Me skipping down a grassy hill

Mark and the dogs picking blackcaps

Although we did not get to spend our actual anniversary together because Mark had to work, we celebrated the next day. We began the day by driving to our friend's gorgeous property in Black Earth with the dogs. This is the same chunk of land where we harvested morels in the spring. Todd gave Mark permission to pick berries on his land too. I have to say, that Mark has become a little obsessed with berry picking--much like his obsession with the morels in the early spring. He has picked so many berries this past week that he and and his mom have made lots of jam. Judy has also been busy making her amazing berry pies.

Mingo before he goes out for his run.

Mingo and Lily after they have chased a turkey

After Mark picked some berries and I walked around with the dogs taking photos of wildflowers, we decided to take a little trip to Dodgeville and Mineral Point. One of our favorite things to do together is to drive and explore the backroads of southern Wisconsin. Like everybody else, however, our driving has been reduced as much as we can due to the cost of gas, so our explorations have been few and far between this year.

I've been to Dodgeville before, but never Mineral Point (at least that I can remember). I definitely will be returning to this community to do more sightseeing; the downtown was very scenic and had lots of interesting little shops and storefronts that were decorated for the 4th of July. There are also many historical old homes in Mineral Point, a railroad museum, and a place called Pendarvis that is, I believe, a restored mining community. Mark and I did walk the downtown, but a lot of the shops were closed due to the holiday weekend. We debated whether or not to go to Pendarvis, but decided against it since we still had our dogs in the car and it was getting pretty hot out.

I loved the dog scultpure on this building


Old dolls next to an antique metal train set

We debated about going to the movies or not, but decided that we should just rent a movie and relax with the hounds in our cool and cozy basement on our couches. Yes, probably not the most exciting option, but it sure felt great to relax for a couple of hours. The movie we watched was also VERY good. It was "Gran Torino" with Clint Eastwood.

Loungin' with the dogs

After our movie, we freshened up and went out for dinner at Samba Brazilian Grill in downtown Madison. We had some good things there and enjoyed the live entertainment, but we also weren't very impressed with a lot of other stuff. It was nice getting out and experiencing a new restaurant (go locals!), and we also were able to use a gift certificate, so the cost was pretty reasonable.

Mom and Dad visited this past weekend and we had a lovely time together. I think we all were enjoying the beauty and serenity Wisconsin summers can have.

Britches LOVES the summer because we can keep our patio door door open and he can be "outside" on the screened-in porch.

Brewin' while Watching the Brewers

Happy 4th of July to everybody! Once again, our weather forecasters were incorrect with their predictions. We do not have a lovely, sunny day but one that is overcast and rather dreary. Ah well, what can you do? The first picture of this blog is not recent, as it was taken on our Christmas trip to South Carolina (at the Fort Sumter Museum), but it is the most patriotic image I have in my photo files right now. Happy Birthday, America!

Mark, Van & Greg in front of Miller Park

Tailgating

Recent events for us have included attending a Brewers' game and going to a Sunday cookout at our friends' house.

Our spot on the pavement

This was Mark's first game at Miller Park!

The Brewers' game we went to was at Miller Park and was a belated Father's Day treat from Judy to Van. Mark and Greg provided and cooked the food for the tailgate portion of the festivities. The Brewers played the Minnesota Twins and this was the game that Milwaukee actually won; apparently the Twins had throttled the Brew Crew in the rest of the series. Don't quote me on that though, 'cuz I'm not really sure.

Renee & Greg are both avid Brewer fans.

Judy & Greg

Although it was really fun to tailgate and be with the family, this was an extremely HOT day in southern Wisconsin. When we arrived at the park at 5:00 PM, it was 100 degrees. Of course when you tailgate, you are picnicking on pavement and EVERYBODY has a little mini grill with brats and hotdogs cooking. We were lucky enough to borrow Bobby's canopy (thank you, Jim, for dropping that off!), which provided some relief, but it was still awfully hot.

I think Mark and Greg did their best to battle the heat by drinking as much cold beer as they could, but this brilliant idea ended up haunting Mark later. Upon entering the stadium and getting to our seats, we immediately knew that we would have to succomb to the vendors hawking their wayyyyy overpriced beverages. Miller Park is very bright and full of colors and movement inside, but if the air is not moving and it hot and crowded...I found it can be pretty miserable. Thankfully, Mark didn't continue with the beer-drinking method for cooling down, but opted for water and lemondade instead.

My pick, the Italian sausage, lost in this race. The German weiner in the green lederhosen won.

I wondered how hot the poor sausage guys were while they were walking around and then running their weiner race. Same for the other mascot with the mustache (Barnie? Bert? Bart?).

Billy Howard holding one of his many catches!

Ducks on Howard Pond

The second event for us was a Sunday get-together with some of our good friends. The Howards (Dan and Jill have a daughter, Syd, who shows horses. I went to one of her competitions several weeks ago and featured that in a previous blog) hosted at their lovely home in Middleton. They have a big backyard and grilling area, as well as a stunning pond complete with ducks and various fish. Dan, Jill and their 3 kids are HUGE animal lovers--of all sorts--they have 3 dogs, a cat, fish, ducks, a chameleon, 2 rabbits and some other critters I can't think of right now. There is always activity going on there!

Mark with Nina, the chihuahua

Titus, the Neopolitan mastiff

Millie, the Weimaraner puppy

This particular day was also pretty warm, but really windy, so the heat was not as stifling as it had been a few days prior. It was great seeing our friends and just taking a few hours to relax and be social. While we ladies were cooing over Marko and Liz's 3-month old daughter, Tanna, the guys were admiring this 1957 Dodge Power Wagon that our friend, Ron, has fully restored. I believe this is the second Power Wagon that Ron has done. This particular one may be sold to a Hollywood actor who has a large ranch somewhere in the southwest. The actor? Val Kilmer.Ron with the Power Wagon