Da U.P.

We went up north this past weekend. It was VERY fun. We went to visit Tim and Belinda, some CG friends from Astoria that are now living the retired life. We hadn't seen them in about 11 years! It took about 6 hours to get there, but it was so worth it. We went exploring, visited Belinda's very cute parents and their chickens, dogs, and turkey, we shopped a little and even visited a haunted school.

They live on a river in Upper Michigan and it was beautiful! The water up there is so nice and clear and all different colors of blues and greens. Here are some highlights of our trip....

This is the Mackinac Bridge. It's the 3rd longest suspension bridge in the world and THE longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere. It's total length is 26,372 feet which is about 5 miles. On one side is St. Ignace, MI and on the other is Mackinaw City. The Straights of Mackinac run under it and connect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. It also connects Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas.





This is Mackinac Island. The only way over is by ferry/boat. Unless it's winter. Then IF conditions are right, they use an "ice highway" to get on and off the island. There are no cars on the island other than the fire truck, ambulance and a tractor used at the landfill. Horses and bikes are used to get around. You can see the Grand Hotel. In the summer, we plan to make another trip and go over to the island. The weather wasn't all that cooperative this trip.




Here is the Old Mackinaw. Tim was stationed aboard this big red beast 2 times. His first and last stations. This ship is now decommissioned and there is a New Mackinaw. They are Ice Breakers/Bouy Tenders, and they are beautiful.









So, I'm thinking this might be where Madonna goes shopping. Have you ever heard of pasties? I was thinking, "WHAT??!!". That isn't an appropriate sign for the children to see! But these pasties aren't the kind Madonna likes to wear. These are actually little meat pocket thingies. They have meat, potatoes and onions inside. We didn't try them on this trip, but plan to someday.





Now that I'm on the subject of food, did you know there are still Big Boy Restraunts? Well, here's proof. Here's the Big Boy himself! Larger than life. :)










This is one of the beaches on Lake Michigan up north. There are sandy beaches and they are really pretty. I'm still going back to the ocean eventually, but these were nice to look at! :)










The trucks that normally drive up north have big ol' HONKIN' grills. We figured it was because of all the elk, deer and moose they hit on the roads.











Here are the chicks goofing off while we were playing and shopping in Mackinaw City. We were being Fudgies. That's the name they give tourists who visit there because the fudge is very popular there.









And this final picture is us dreaming. :) I keep saying that we need to buy a teardrop trailer for Anisa to tow with Foxy and we won't all be crammed in Traily. I'm not complaining, mind you. I don't mind being squished into my little trailer, but it would be nice for Travis and me to have privacy. :) Doesn't Foxy look cute??



I hope you enjoyed looking at our trip pictures. It was very fun and we are looking forward to our trip in the summer. :)

Brown and Aqua

Here is my latest quilt. I have been getting quite a bit of sewing done, and that makes me happy.

This is an Atkinson's Design Pattern from one of their latest pattern books, Happy Hour. The quilt is called Picture This and it was a fun one to make. It's very easy and goes together quickly (my favorite kind). The blocks turn out to be big 15" blocks, so you don't even have to make that many to get a decent sized lap quilt. I had something different in my head when I started it, and I'm not as thrilled with it as I thought I would be, but I do like it and my girls liked it when I finally got it done. I want to make this quilt in some other colors.

My next quilt is in the machine right now. It's my Not Ugly, Just Different 2 quilt. A little explanation......I made a quilt out of 4x4 squares that a friend had given me years ago. She had all the squares cut in a ziploc bag and the package was a garage sale item that didn't sell. The fabrics were pretty ugly, with the exception of a few. So, I sewed them together thinking that I could throw the thing outside in the grass and it wouldn't matter. Well, I got it together and really liked it.....it is very scrappy. I showed it to my friend and told her it was my Ugly quilt and she said, "it's not ugly, It's just different", and that stuck. Anyway, fast forward a few years and I found a ziploc of 4x4 squares at a thrift shop a few weeks ago, and I'm making another NUJD quilt. :) I'll be posting soon. It's raining today, and I have bible study this morning, but I plan to get some sewing done later. Yippee!! :) I hope your weather is to your liking where you live! :)

Ta Da!

Wow, thanks chicks for helping me vote on your favorite setting. There was a tie with 2 and 3 being the winners. I had to see which looked better with the border fabs, and this is the finished project. I finished it minutes before I had to go to the baby shower! I'm happy with it. What's up with the blue strip and the bone in the border, you ask? Well, yeah. I ran out of fabric, and since I live an hour away from Joann's (where I bought the fabrics), I had to make due with what I had. I like the bone on the border. It looks like I MEANT TO do that. :) The blue strip, eh, well, it looks ok. I quilted little swirlies in each of the big blocks.

And now on to cleaning my house and the NEXT project, if I don't die from heat stroke!~ It's supposed to be another hot day in the 80s with HIGH humidity. I'm sitting here in 66 degrees and the air is WET! ewww. I hope everyone has a comfy day! :)

I NEED HELP! :)

I am at a loss. I just cannot decide which way I like this quilt, so I'm asking for your vote. Please vote for 1, 2, 3, or 4. I need to get this done by Sunday! URGH. :) Thanks chicks!

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