four years later

It's been almost four years (February 1st to be exact) since Nancy & Mike made a long trip to Lincoln & Bryan West to see Jason after he'd been in a car accident on Showboat road. So this weekend they are back in Lincoln visiting people & places that supported him during his recovery. (Unfortunately Dr Burton was out of town.) We were happy to be on the list & today we had lunch with them at the Isles in Havelock & reminisced about those days when we didn't know how things would turn out. Jason works in Hastings now. Making a life of his own. And we are all grateful.

new view

When driving back from Hastings on Saturday I decided to find a new spot to photograph the railroad tracks that run parallel to highway 6. I chose this location because of the foliage flanking the tracks as I looked west. But I made sure to turn around and photograph the eastern view also.

Bill

We observed another anniversary this week . . . Mom passed away four years ago. I drove out to see Dad today & we took time to visit her grave. Then of course, we stopped for lunch at Dick's Place. While Dad & I dined on sloppy joes & chips we talked about Mom. Dad said that before they were married she took sewing classes in Hastings. He thought maybe she took a few more classes after they were married. It certainly helped explain why she was such a good seamstress. Marge, Dick's wife, heard us talking about her & stopped by to tell how Mom went to Dick's home when he was born to help out. (Dick's father is a first cousin to Mom.) A tradition back then. On the drive back to Hastings Dad told how when Dick was born his father tried to get through a snowstorm with horses & a wagon to his folks place but they couldn't get through the drifts & Dick was born at home with his father delivering him. So some new (to me) stories told today. I brought my camera along & asked Dad if I could take a few shots of him. He's even let his hair get a bit longer. For the winter he says.

more money

fusion food

Austin pointed me in the direction of a recipe for steamed pork buns. A Chinese recipe. I checked out this recipe & decided I didn't care to steam my buns so instead used the filling recipe for a batch of runzas. I used the spicy sausage from Super Saver (1 1/2 packages) & I ended up with a bit of leftover filling. They turned out great. I'll be making them again.

a new home

When Dad had his sale I knew two things for sure. I didn't want him to sell Mom's sewing machine. And I wanted it to go to a good home. It didn't have to be my home necessarily. Nancy said she already had a sewing machine (as do I). Connie doesn't sew much anymore but did want the machine at one time. Betty is too busy to sew . . . a perk of being a grandmother. So I happily ended up with it. I first took it in to be serviced knowing it had been years since it had been cleaned & oiled. And it did need some care. Finally I have it back & it shares space on my sewing table with my own Bernina. It doesn't have all the bells & whistles but it sews a straight line with good tension. That's just about all I ask of my own machine anyway. But I do have a plan for this machine.  I've put cotton thread on it & I will use it for piecing quilts. I still have a big stack of remnants from sewing all those "Lola bags" a couple of years ago & slowly I am turning them into quilts. (And buying more fabric along the way of course.)

I finished this quilt & gave it to Yizhi for Christmas. It even sports a Lola tag like the bags did. I tried out this tutorial for binding the quilt & liked it well enough. I only had to rip out one mitered corner & redo it.  I cut my strips 2.5" wide.

the money plant

I was walking in my neighborhood a few weeks ago with my neighbor, Pam, and we stopped to visit with a woman about the house that had sold next door to her. I noticed these interesting dried plants in her front yard & asked if I could pick a few. She said it was called a "money plant" and gave me permission to take some. Pam took some too. I love their delicate beauty.