The Schmidt Girls

I am so doggone lucky. My two beautiful nieces -- Angie and Pati -- Harley chicks!!!

Chili

Went to neighborhood bar for dinner on Saturday night. Noah was spending the night and they have a great "hot wings" appetizer -- one of his favorites. Unfortunately we were told they were out of hot wings (now, how can that be?). Noah looks over the menu again and asks for the chili.

After server had brought his order he comments "wow". He ate nearly half though and left bar with a full tummy.

Pop

My grandpa was a "Harley" dude!!!

Generations ...

The youngest member of our family Cooper Dean (6 months) and the oldest Grandpa Larry (60+ years).

"Smart Car"

Spent last week in Ogallala with Michelle and family, going out on Monday returning on Friday. Ride out was very foggy -- nearly all the way to Kearney. Trip home was a slow go as I decided to stop at quilt shops in North Platte and Cozad, and yes I did find the fabrics I was looking for. That project will be in a later posting.

By the time I got to Lexington I was ready for a bathroom break and a bite of lunch. As I was nearing my exit I looked into my rearview mirror and noticed a peculiar looking vehicle approaching. I was going between 75-78 mph -- as vehicle got closer I realized it was a Smart car. That little puppy must have been going 80+ as it "whooshed" past me ... Colorado license plate and male driver with lots of stuff packed into all available space.
Interesting - didn't know they had such "power" ... don't believe I would take one onto I-80 though!!!

A Trilogy -- The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Just finished reading the final book in the Tattoo Girl trilogy. Read the first book while visiting sister in Alaska in mid-December -- I was hooked. Read "Played with Fire" in January -- another good read. When I received third book "Kicked the Hornet's Nest" and started to read it took me forever to get into it. Had it in Ogallala in early March -- but chose to quilt instead -- just couldn't focus on the reading. On second trip in March to Ogallala finished the book. Once I got past all of the "background", which was pretty in depth-- I was again hooked on Lisbeth Salander.

There are some pretty graphic scene descriptions and the language was rather rough at times. However, if it had all been sugar-coated the impact would not have been the same. I suggest reading the book(s)before seeing any "Tattoo Girl" movie. This trilogy is a far cry from any of the "Nancy Drew" mysteries I read in my youth!!!

If you like drama, action, suspense, mystery, espionage ... these three books are a good read. Unfortunately the author, Stieg Larsson, died shortly after delivering the trilogy to his editor...and I think his style of writing will be missed.

My "Challenge" quilt...

This photo is nearly a year old (and was taken at Michelle's). It is my challenge quilt before borders, which there are two. I love how it turned out. I have the backing, binding and batting. Have been debating doing the quilting myself...but am leaning towards having it "professionally" done -- it was such a labor of love AND a challenge at times -- I don't want to not like how it finishes up. Even with someone else quilting the layers together I will still need to do binding and affix the label. So, much of the work will have been done by myself and the other "girls" of the Sengstake family. (My block is the last in the row of three in upper left hand corner.)

You can see the raggedy quilt (flannel blocks) I made for Curt a couple of years ago laying underneath at lower left corner of photo (strip is bed sheet) .

Coloring Bag

This feels good...another project checked off. The chenille blanket posted earlier is for a newborn by the name of Carter. Carter has an older sister, Ella. My sisters and I celebrate our birthdays within a 28 day time period. I remember one year when grandparents brought a gift for each of us each time a birthday was celebrated -- I think that this was intended to keep all three of the granddaughters happy. So, to let Ella know that she is also special I made a little crayon bag for her.

I sure hope she likes it.

Tuesday Nights

Never a dull moment on Tuesday nights. Now that soccer has started we also prepare dinner for the big boy. He was laughing the whole time he was making these milk bubbles. He always entertains us (and Coop) ... a clone of his mom for sure.

Meanwhile the little guy will have his bottle and "do his thang".

It was a fun night.

Home - Safe and Sound

Nebraska March snow storms are not to be taken lightly. As I left Michelle's yesterday I could see the sandhills with a dusting of snow and what appeared to be sunlight. I was optimistic about my next four hours of road travel. I always fill up at Ogallala as I can make it all the way home on half a tank. County pavement between her house and gas station was pretty much snow packed ... but manageable.

As I headed east on I-80 it became abundantly clear that Mother Nature was in charge! Maintainers were doing their best to keep roads passable - so much of the travel through to North Platte was right lane only. Fortunately everyone on the road was driving cautiously. As I neared Kearney you could tell that much of the storm was centered there as roads were snow covered.

Road into town was miserable - had to put it in four-wheel drive to maneuver through snow. Drive thru for a Runza burger/drink and back on the road again. Getting to GI was also an "adventure" ... but again maintainers were out in full force. At one point I was following a Seward County pick up with crop-duster (broken down of course) on flatbed trailer -- so as I drove through blowing snow from passing semi's I had the planes tail fin to focus on ... how often does one have that as a guide?

Road finally became clear and drier as I drove into York. A stop there to fill up for gas and I was home free.

Other than the tail fin the highlight of my day was upon leaving Michelle's. Beth had brought her bedding up to be laundered -- it was in a basket in laundry room. Trixie took the opportunity to snuggle in for her morning nap...

Chenille Project - Completed!

This quilt was quite a challenge. Five layers of flannel can be very difficult to manage. Laying the fabrics out and keeping them entact became taxing at times. My shoulders and arms became tense and I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat. Once everything is sewn together, cutting done, and binding on - you wash and dry. That's when the fun begins. A 42" square made up of five layers of flannel takes forever to dry!!! But, I like the way the quilt finished up and already know what I would do differently next time!!!

Before

After

Thank goodness this is finished and I can move on to another "challenge"!!!

Lazy Saturday morning

This morning, although it was a Saturday and I intended to sleep in, Champ and Trixie had other ideas. I'd left my bedroom door open last night so they could roam around during the night. With "mommy and daddy" gone they might get really lonely in the empty master suite! It was around 6:30 when I rolled over -- causing a little stir -- which let them know I was semi-conscious. Within a nano-second they were in my face breathing on me with their morning doggy breath...nothing else to do but to get up and let them out!

It was a beautiful morning and I think they really enjoyed the time outside to bask in the early morning sun.

Now that they are inside -- this is what they will do the rest of the day until the next trip outside. I was watching them and it appears as though they breathe in unison when lying close to each other, interesting.

Champ and Trixie

Chenille Quilt

Nothing like being away from home to accomplish unfinished projects~ I'm even using a sewing machine that does not have all of the bells and whistles that mine has and I'm really making progress!!! I'm so impressed.

Yesterday I cut flannel pieces 42" square to "create" a chenille baby blanket. It's for a baby boy born mid-February and I am quite confident that I will be able to finish it before he starts college!

I already had the blue train fabric so purchased additional to compliment it. By layering correctly it should, after washing and drying, have a nice "color hue" and be cuddly soft. It will also be very warm!!!

Doing chenille is a laborious process. I looked through mags, books, patterns and online quilting sites. All described similar preparation process ~ so I know I am on the right track.

You might be able to see where stitching rows are - 1/2 " apart - that's the laborious part. But I've got two beautiful chocolate labs and HGTV to keep me company.

I sure like my big brudder...

Larry and I help the "carp" teachers on Tuesday nights by watching "dah boyz". We get to pick Noah up from school and Cooper from day care. Anyway caught a rare moment when Coop was really watching his big brudder ver-r-ry closely...

The boys just light up when they see each other.

Brown Bear...Brown Bear

I love to project, I like to create "stuff". I enjoy the solitude when knitting, doing needlework, or sewing. Now that the hip is working right and I have full mobility I have particularly enjoyed spending time in the sewing room. Most recently I completed a quilt for granddaughter Esmé. It is titled "Brown Bear" from an Eric Carle book.

There was enough fabric to make her a pillow case for her big girl bed.

Esmé is now three years old, where did that time go?

Road to Ogallala

Had the opportunity today to see a multitude of birds. I had heard and read that the Sandhills Cranes were on their migratory route early and was hoping I would get to see them. They did not disappoint...there they were west of Grand Island - had to be tens of thousands of the buggers. They are so beautiful to watch -- they make flight look so easy. Of course being the solo driver this trip I was careful not to become to distracted. In the Kearney area there were thousands of Canadian Geese and Snow Geese -- many stay in the area but it sure looked like more than usual. Either way I got the feeling that we would be seeing some spring like weather soon, right?

We make several trips to Ogallala every year and each trip we always see small flocks of turkeys. This trip was no different. Near Brady - in an open field - there looked to be three families of at least 8-12 birds each. Very interesting.

While it would have been nice to be able to post personal pictures: 1.) I didn't have the camera and camera phone would not have done them justice and 2.) I was solo - and I've tried the click while driving - very distorted pictures. So downloading on-line will have to do --