My Threads

A week to remember

After spending a week in the countryside in France, it's going to be very hard to get back to real life! I had the most amazing experience, met the most wonderful people, had terrific food and was in one of the most idyllic places I've ever been. I managed to take almost 400 photos, and it will take some time to go through them all, but I think I'll get started blogging about the first day or two of my trip, and as I sort through the rest of the pictures, I'll continue the story. I arrived in Toulouse, France last Saturday, a total stranger among 16 (or was it 18?) other women. Kaari Meng, owner of French General, (and the one who put this all together) met us at the airport, and we drove to the tiny town of Auty, France. We arrived at Chateau Dumas, and it was just gorgeous.

It looked exactly like the photo from Kaari's website! Kaari, and Lizzie (the owner of the Chateau), took us each to our rooms after we arrived, and mine was on the top (3^rd) floor, directly over the main entrance.

The buildings that are in this photo are the coach house, where Lizzie and her mom, MommaJo, stay. The section on the right houses the craftroom that we spent some time in. We had the opportunity to make some jewelry, do some wool felting, and made a cute hat pin over there.

My room was adorable. It had a slanted ceiling, very French styled décor, and I just loved it.

I didn't realize until I got home that I didn't get a good photo of the window area. (My suitcase, etc. clutters up the picture, but oh well…)

We ate on the patio for almost every meal. The weather was perfect. Lizzie's mom (MommaJo) did almost all of the cooking for us. She's brilliant. In this photo, it's not MommaJo, but Kaari's mother, Kick, setting the table for dinner.

The views were stunning.

After our first night's sleep, we woke up bright and early to get to a farmer's market in Saint Antonin Noble-Val.

It was hard not to buy everything. Cheeses.

Produce

Spices…

Well, I could just go on and on.

Next blog will be the flea market in Toulouse, and more peeks at the chateau and it's grounds.

Let the journey begin...

I'm packed, I'm excited (and a little anxious), and three flights, a few layovers, and one road trip, and I'll be here.

 

The Chateau that I'll be staying at in Auty, France.  (A short journey from Toulouse.)  I'll be back in a week with lots of photos!

Summer Fun

This morning we had a very sad, and somber day.  One of our dearest friends, John Dellisanti, passed away earlier this month, and his services were today.  He was such a happy, vibrant, man, and like a second father to me.  It was good to see old friends, but not under those circumstances.  After leaving the services, Andy and I get to have the grandkids for the rest of the day and night.  A perfect way to counter the sadness of the morning.

Today is one of the hottest, so far this summer, so the kids went swimming.

 

That's Grayson on the left, Noah and Lindsey in the back, and Chase in the front.

 

Lindsey, our only girl, is our little diva.

 

They wanted to make a big splash over Poppy.

 

His was much better.  I got all wet, and went indoors.

Another anniversay

 

Yesterday, we celebrated our 38th anniversary.  I still can't believe it's been that many years.  Here is a photo from a high school formal.  See, we have known each other forever.  This was in 1970.  We haven't changed a bit, have we? 

Birthday Boy

My son, Nathan is celebrating his birthday today.  35.  Wow - and he's not even my oldest child!  It's hard to beleive the time has flown by so quickly. 

 

This was Nathan a couple of years ago (I really need to update), and the one below was when he was about 3. 

 

Wasn't he a cutie?  (He still is).  We will celebrate tonight at our favorite Mexican restaurant - Pedro's.

Happy Birthday, Nathan! 

Ruby's First Birthday

It's hard to believe that Ruby is having her first birthday today!  She has thoroughly become a member of our family.  While she can be irritating (very!) at times, she also brings us a lot of laughs.  She's just the goofiest dog ever. 

Happy Birthday, Ruby!

 

She had her birthday bath this morning, and she's looking mighty fine!  However, she wouldn't sit still for a second to get her birthday portrait done.  We had to have a little help from Andy.

 

She does this really weird lip thing.  (Her lips are so flappy, they get caught up in her gums.)  She also graduated up to big girl food this week.  She loves it.  Heather, I'm sorry about the eye goobers.  At least we got the chewy bone goo crust off of her nose.

Perfect Pants...

I've had some light gray linen blend fabric for some time that I thought would make up into some great summer weight pants.  On Saturday morning, I had a pair of pants on that I made a couple of years ago, and I love the fit, so naturally, I decided that I would use the same pattern for my new gray pants.  It's an out of print McCalls 3740, the has a couple of different versions.  I want the classic fit, with side pockets, fly front, no pleats.  This pattern came together beautifully

 

Nice sharp creases (nevermind the wrinkles - they press out), a perfectly aligned waistband....

 

Side pockets that sewed in like a dream...

 

I couldn't have executed a better fly.  These were the perfect pair of pants.

Except, one thing I always say,

never

never

never assume anything.

 

Apparently, this wasn't the pattern of the perfectly fitting pants I was wearing on Saturday morning.

My sister's in town.

My youngest sister, Sally, is in town for a few days.  She lives in Oklahoma, way out in the middle of nowhere.  I got to spend some time with her, my cute niece, Carrie, and my mom.

 

She was upset because she didn't have her makeup on.  I don't think she needed any.

  

Of course, Mom always looks good.  (Why does she still have reindeer on her fireplace mantle?)

Time to myself

On Memorial Day weekend, we made the mistake of taking the travel trailer up to mountains, in a rain storm, and it got stuck.  Really stuck.  So stuck that it had to stay there.  In almost 38 yeas of marraige, it was the first time I asked Andy to "GET ME OUTTA HERE!"  He did.  He brought me and Ruby home (she was just a big muddy mop).  He went back up, did some fishing, and was unsuccessful in getting the trailer unstuck.  Flash forward to this weekend.  Andy and Nathan travel back up to the mountains to retrieve the trailer, but this time, Ruby and I are smart enough to stay home.  I don't think Andy was shedding any tears over this decision.

While they are away, it's a perfect time for me to head to the sewing room.  I had a couple of projects cut out that have been waiting for me to come back to.  I did, and I actually finished them.  Two T-shirt tops from Jennifer Stern.  I had made one a month or so ago, and liked the fit so much, that I decided these would be a good addition to my wardrobe.  The first one was out of a chocolate brown rayon knit.  I purchased some teal blue rayon knit when I got the chocolate knit at Joann's.  I also had a piece of hot pink bamboo knit that I got from Sally's Fabrics that would be perfect for this pattern.  I loved working with the bamboo knit. 

 

What was Ruby doing while I was busy sewing?  She was pining away for Andy.

A little project

As I start to do a little planning for my upcoming trip to France, the biggest thing on my mind is to travel light.  I'll be by myself, and I don't want to be juggling a lot of bags and luggage.  No laptops this time, and ideally, I'll just have my carryon.  (Right.)  The last thing I need is a big old purse to haul around.  In the past, I've used the "fanny pack", but I really don't want to go there this time.  Last week, when I was at Beth's working on my quilt, she was showing me a travel "bag" she was making.  I thought it would be perfect for my trip.  The pattern is called BB Bags from Brookshier Design Studios.  I like it because it has a shoulder strap, so my hands are free.  While Beth's bag was a pretty blue version, I decided to do this one very neutral.  I don't want to draw attention to it while traveling.  It has five pockets in it, two zippered areas, and I added a magnetic snap and some velcro for added security.

  

 

This one is the largest version on the pattern, which I'll use while in flight and in the process of actually getting there.  I'm thinking of doing the "traveler" size to use while I'm actually there (in a little bit more colorful version).