Not Queen, but Most Photogenic

The Bureau County Fair Queen Pageant was held recently.  All the young ladies were so pretty and their confidence and poise were so awesome to watch!  My youngest daughter didn’t win Queen or any of the runners up, but she did win Most Photogenic!  I know I’m her mom, but I’ve always known she is beautiful and very photogenic.  My only complaint about the whole pageant thing is that the Fair Board allowed girls from surrounding counties to enter and the Queen was from a different county.  How can someone represent Bureau County when they aren’t from Bureau County?

17 Beautiful Ladies

Most Photogenic!

Refinishing the Dining Room Set

We started the process of removing the ugly brown paint from my Grandma’s dining room set.  The paint removes easily, but the stain underneath is a little more difficult to remove.  We’ve discovered that the wood is in very good condition.  Since the dining room set was stored in my parent’s basement for the past 30+ years, the veneer is separating in some areas, but for the most part, the heavy paint Grandma applied has helped preserve the veneer and wood.

Ugly brown paint.

Some paint removed

Nice wood underneath the paint and stain

Weather and Gardening

The weather has been PERFECT for the past week or so.  Cool nights, clear, sunny days with mild temps.  We had rain one day about 10 days ago, but that one day of rain dropped 3 inches on us in one hour.

Our tomatoes are finally turning red!  I love to take a fresh tomato, dice it up and toss it with lettuce, carrots, radishes and make a large salad for dinner.

The Resurrection Lilies are in full bloom.  Every year, they get more spectacular.  The blooms have always been snow white in color, but this year they are a beautiful pink with blue on the tips of the petals.  I don’t know much about these flowers, so I’m not sure why they are pink with blue this year. 

No Stitching Progress

I haven’t been stitching much since my last blog post.  There’s just been so much going on that I haven’t even had time to sit and relax for a few minutes.


Until next time,
Happy Stitchin!

Zits Comic Strip
I don’t read many comic strips, but Zits is one of my favorites.  I guess it’s because I can relate to it so well.  Today’s strip is so funny and true for me that I had to share it with you here.  My youngest, as sweet as she is, really knows how to push our buttons.  This daughter of mine is brilliant and witty, but is just like today’s comic strip.

Speaking of my daughter...
My youngest was invited to be part of the Bureau County Fair Queen pageant and has spent many hours preparing and practicing for the competition, which will be held this Sunday.  If you’re interested, you can see all the participants here - you will need to click on the small picture at the bottom to see my DD, Kelsey.

Orientation
Hubby and I spent Monday and Tuesday with our youngest DD at her college orientation.  For the most part, parents were not with the students, but both groups were kept very busy.  I looked around at the group of parents and their student and felt like I was in one of those college comedy movies.  

I wonder which parental group Hubby and I fall into and what about us made the students laugh.  There was the mom who was dressed in a bright purple pantsuit with huge white plastic jewelry, white plastic glasses, white sandals with matching white and purple purse the size of a suitcase.  Her hair was long and heavily teased and stuck into place with heavy hairspray.  Can’t forget the purple eyeshadow and white nail polish.

Then I saw a dad dressed like he just walked out of Miami Vice (think Don Johnson here, except he wasn’t as hunky and cute).  His wife was dressed in a fluorescent orange lace dress and matching orange floral heels with make up that made her look like she had been in the sun for years.

There was the mom and dad who were dressed in formal attire, looking as if they were going to a wedding, that kept asking when the sessions were going to end so they could go out on the town.

There were moms asking for kisses and hugs from their student in front of all the other students; dads with bad comb-overs wearing plaid shirts, shorts, black knee socks and white shoes; couples who each had a huge notebook, several pens and book bags for all their important information, and then there was us.  Hubby and I were dressed for comfort: shorts, shirt, sneakers and only carrying the folder of info we received at check-in.   All I know is that DD made sure she wasn’t spending any more time with us than what was necessary.

Grandma’s Needlework
While we were going through my mom’s boxes in cleaning out her house, we came across hand made items from my grandmothers.

One of Grandma K's potholders

Grandma K lived into her mid 90’s and she loved to crochet.  The thinner the thread and smaller the hook, the happier she was.  She made a 60 inch by 124 inch crocheted table cloth to fit her huge dining table.  She made many doilies and potholders just to keep herself busy and crocheted up until she passed.

Grandma L's stitching

Back side of Grandma L's stitching

One of the items I stitched when I was young and Grandma L added the drawn thread details and the satin ribbon on the bottom of the dress

Grandma L loved to sew and did embroidery too.  She was the first one to give me a needle threaded with a pretty blue floss and a flour sack towel to stitch on.  She had drawn a heart on one corner of the flour sack towel with a pencil and taught me to stitch the outline.  I’ve been stitching ever since!

Watercolor I painted a looooong time ago!

Another Find...
Also, while we were going through stuff at my mom’s house, we came across a watercolor I painted a hundred years ago.  I remember painting it for art class and am guessing I was probably about 14 (high school freshman) at the time.  My art teacher entered it in the high school art competition and it won 1st place.

Open Windows
We finally have a break in the hot, humid weather.  Hubby turned off the A/C and opened all the windows.  Oh, how I love the fresh air coming in!  The weather is supposed to stay in the lower 80’s through the weekend and into the beginning of next week.

Until next time,
Happy Stitching!