Bet you didn’t know this about us….

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Sewfrench

Generally we do date days, but tonight Peter planned something extra special.

First out to dinner at Louis Benton.  I had bought into the Groupon deal that was recently offered, for basically, a half price dinner and it was about to be put to good use.  We used to love this place.  Actually, I think the last time we were here was with Ned and Erin, September 2006, before an Eric Clapton concert….  So it’s been a while.  I was so glad that we went with a discounted price, because they have seriously gone downhill…….. There appeared to be only two servers for the entire place and when you have a sold out concert, among other things, going on downtown, there should have been better planning on management’s part….  Of course, we may just be bigger food snobs, than in the past.  Always a possibility…..

When you are heading to the Van Andel Arena, Louis Benton used to be *the* place to eat. They offer free valet parking, for the evening.  Parking in downtown Grand Rapids, in the icy, snowy, winter, then walking to your event, is not fun.  Our event is a block away.  So yay for that!

When you stick around Michigan, in the winter, you have to get out of the house and have some fun, anything, anything at all.  That’s what I *think* Peter was aiming for when we arrived at our event.  Row 4, front and center, Kid Rock.  You heard me, right, Kid Rock.

Well, after all, he is a Michigan boy….. through and through.  And this is our economy we’re talking about…

We like music, all kinds of music.  Maybe adding Kid Rock to our ledger of front and center concerts didn’t surprise you, but maybe it did…..

Personally, I think Kid Rock’s new Seger-styled shtick fits him to a tee – better than his white-trash Detroit rapper guise of old, when he sometimes seemed to try too hard to deliver what he thought the music industry and fans wanted.

“All Summer Long”

It was 1989, my thoughts were short my hair was long
Caught somewhere between a boy and man
She was seventeen and she was far from in-between
It was summertime in Northern Michigan
Ahh Ahh Ahh
Ahh Ahh Ahh

Splashing through the sand bar
Talking by the campfire
It’s the simple things in life, like when and where
We didn’t have no internet
But man I never will forget
The way the moonlight shined upon her hair………..

He acknowledged and led cheers for several veterans, of the Vietnam War, who were given free tickets to the show, lots of cheers for their reunion group, finally able to get together with the help of Kid Rock.

The warm up band, Jamey Johnson, was really good, too.  …if you like country twang.  I guess I like, some, country twang….  This guy is an award winner for a reason….

Boy could he rock that sax and she hit every note.  It was especially fun to be so close to the action.

Well, until the action got hot.  And this was just about the time Peter thought we should leave.  The heat from all the fire and explosions was hot, very, very hot and the hearing damage from the explosions lives on.  Fear of a catastrophe and stampede was creeping into our minds…….

It was a very interesting night to say the least.  I was just glad we were not the oldest people there.  I’d do it again, maybe brandishing ear plugs……..

Posted in concerts, Date, Eating | 6 Comments

Sushi, sushi, sushi, that’s all I hear…

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Sewfrench

When will Peter burn out?  You know it’s coming….  He wants to eat Sushi twice a day, every day.  He’s decided he is on a new diet.  A Sushi diet.  It’s great because sushi rarely has dairy, unlike Italian or Mexican.  And since we try to avoid dairy…… it makes ordering a whole lot easier.  Just too bad we only know of two local Sushi restaurants….. It is really pretty low calorie and it really sticks with you…..  More importantly, I love it, too.

Chef's special. Peter can't even wait for a photo before he is digging in.....

Spicy tuna and a shrimp tempura rolls.  This was after the cup of some of the very best hot and sour soup and an egg roll, each.  One reason, I adore Ichiban, we can get such incredible variety!  LOVE that they now have a dedicated sushi chef and bar.

Hopefully we’ll be hungry for dinner, tonight.  We’ve got a special date night, can’t wait!! More about that tomorrow…..  Now I must get my hair done.

Posted in Eating | 1 Comment

Pay it Forward #2

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Sewfrench

I ♥ surprising people.  I do, I really do!

Sometimes I drag things out without thinking of what the end result will mean, to the person on the other end.

Eldest daughter Krystal signed up to be a recipient of my *Pay it Forward* project. She arrived home, today, to find a package at her front door.  How fun is that? A cosmetic bag to match a Christmas gift….

And the interior….  Pouches and a zippered pocket.  Dang, I added a really cute green and brown polka dot pull tab after the picture….

When I was quizzing Krystal for Christmas gifts, she’s not very good at giving ideas, by the way……  She asked for an overnight bag and such, things I had made others, in the family, but not for her, yet.  I jumped on it, even though I was quickly running out of time, like days…  mere days, I tell you….  She asked for blues and browns, but who knew that was *so* yesterday?  Not me.  So in a telephone conference, with the sister, pictures sent, live from the fabric store, we decided what with Krystal’s fascination with birds and bird calls, that *this* was the fabric to go with.  It was cool, it was hip, so very retro and she loves red.  And birds.  How could I go wrong with that?

When I got to the cutting table and realized it was called Pretty Bird, it took my breath away, I just about passed out and knew all was right with the world.

Pretty Bird was the name of pretty much every bird PaPa ever had, LOL! No wonder Krystal was so fascinated with birds.  PaPa lived next door, when she was a youngster, and raised cockateils, a Pretty Bird even came to live at our house… except we called him Tweety Bird.

So Pretty Bird it was.  She had received an oversized, overnight bag and a really cool tote bag, for Christmas (which I took pictures of neither) but then I ran out of time to make the coordinating cosmetic bag, I had planned……

Big brother Paul with our Tweety Bird in July 1984.

Cousin Christina in October 1984, with Tweety Bird.  This was actually at Krystal’s 4th birthday party.  Christina is still a freaky, crazy animal lover.  And cute, how much cuter can a 4 year old be?!  Seriously?

So when Krystal signed on to the Pay it Forward?  She got a *really* special surprise.  Wipe the tears, Pretty Bird lives.

Now Krystal…  It’s *your* turn to Pay it Forward.  Take your time you have another 11 1/2 months before the deadline!

Posted in Crafting, fabric, Pay it Forward, Sewing | 2 Comments

Quilts #2, 3 and 4

Posted on January 23, 2011 by Sewfrench

Okay, I don’t have a picture of #4, never did.  Just imagine it being a smaller version of #2 or #3.  I can’t remember that either….

Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam.

Krystal was being moved out of her crib and so bought them bunk beds, March 30, 1982. Not exactly sure why we thought putting a 3 1/2 year old in a top bunk was a good idea. What were we thinking???  But it worked out just fine. Falling out of a top bunk, at that age, before we knew better, was way less damaging than it is now.  Plus, they had way more floor space to trash.

Of course, once again, Grandma provided most of the fabrics and all of the instruction.  I want to say that Mam Maw provided the pattern.  I really can’t be sure of that because I don’t remember her quilting.  She sewed, she crocheted, but quilting?  Not sure.  Even if she didn’t, that’s not to say she didn’t have a quilt pattern lying around…..

Anyway… the fabrics were strictly scraps from Grandma’s dresses, projects she worked on, my leftovers, probably even some of Paul and Krystal and Heather and Christina’s outfits.  It’s been a while since I have seen these quilts.  If I saw them, I bet I could identify some of the fabrics.  These quilts have since been passed on to their rightful owners.  Right?

And as I zoom in, on this picture, I see at least one fabric that I can call Grandma’s.  It has been passed on, into many, many of my quilts.   It is the blue w/blue flowers, at the bottom of the picture : )  I wish I had added it to all my quilts….  I had a lot of it at one time.  Still have some….

The Koala bear pillow and the missing Strawberry Shortcake pillow were made and gifted from Grandma Ellis for Christmas’, #2 and #4, I believe.  That makes the kids just past the ages of 1 and 3. The pillow on the lower bunk was part of a crib set, that was a baby gift from…… someone.  Cousin Heather Moon, yes, it was.  Yup, I just ran down and looked that up and that is right and true.

These quilts were my very first venture into machine quilting.  I had bought my very own sewing machine when I was pregnant with Paul.  It was a White, guessing early 70’s or late 60’s model.  It was portable and had a burlap looking, covered wood lid that clamped down over it, so you could carry it to Grandma and she could teach me all about it.  It cost me $50 which was a *huge* amount, at that time, but within the week we had curtains for the living room windows : )  I bet Bonnie (?) was glad about that!

Thank you Mrs. Davis for something.  You may have been a fabulous math/algebra/geometry teacher,  but I more appreciated you for selling me your hand offs.  It was a great machine, it was a workhorse.  I started sewing for $$ on that machine. Most of my early customers had something produced off that first machine. It easily paid for itself and my next machine, a brand spanking new Kenmore, in the work it did.  I do wonder what ever happened to it.  I also wonder what happened to all that knowledge Mrs. Davis tried to cram into my head………

The wallpaper MawMaw picked out.  It was blindingly bright.  Yellow was supposed to make children smart.  It worked.  I had the smartest kids around.  PawPaw must have installed the wallpaper.  I know, I didn’t.  I was very, very pregnant when we moved into this house.  I did make the curtains.  Notice they match the back of the quilts.  Sheets are/were the least expensive fabric around.  Pretty sure we didn’t even have a Walmart back then….

And not only were my kids the smartest, they were the cutest, too.

You were thinking the same thing, right?

Posted in 1982 completes, Crafting, fabric, Family, Quilting, Quilts and their History, Quilts with history, Sewing | 12 Comments

What’s for dinner tonight

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Sewfrench

This is no 30 minute meal, but for a frosty, blustery, blizzardy kind of day…

It is *so* worth it!

Chicken and Dumplings

Start with a pot of vegetables and a chicken.  Simmer all day.

Onions, celery, carrots, parsnips, a head of garlic, whatever you have. Anything but potatoes and tomatoes.  Add in some bay leaves, parsley, dill, peppercorns, thyme…  Whatever sounds good and lots of it.  Add water to barely cover.  This is a fine way to use up odd bits of chicken in the freezer or rotisserie carcasses, we always save those in the freezer for more stock. Remove 1/2 the chicken, after an hour or so, or when it’s done, continue simmering the rest… until you can no longer stand it.  Chop or shred the chicken you pulled out. Hopefully it still has lots of flavor and benefits to it.  The rest of the chicken will not really be fit to eat.  Its purpose has been served.  Stock.  Mighty fine stock.

Dig through the family treasures…

Mix ‘ up, roll ’em out, and let them dry.

Saute up some fresh vegetables.  Onion, celery and carrots play nicely together.

Strain that big pot of chicken broth, you just want the broth, once again, the rest has served it’s purpose.  Add the freshly sauteed vegetables and the reserved chicken to the broth and bring to a boil.  Add the dumplings, salt and pepper to taste and simmer for bit, while you throw a pan of cornbread into the cast iron skillet and into the oven.

Get your napkin tucked into your shirt front and prepare to be wowed.

Oh yeah, now we’re talking.

There’s nothing like home cooking on a cold and blustery winter day….

Posted in Cooking, Dairy free, Eating, Family, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

A day in the life…….

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Sewfrench

This is for Tara.

Especially for my friend Tara, in Greece.

Have you ever experienced snow?

It’s totally not what it’s cracked up to be….

Just so you know…..

It's started, you just can't see it. A winter snow warning. Warning means it's coming. Snow is really hard to photograph, no matter the setting.... Out the kitchen window...

Still can't quite appreciate it.... Out the sun room window.....

After shoveling a path to the grill, DH grilled up some beautiful sliders and we had some oven fries….  From this you never know what’s happening outside.  Lisa, my Tapping friend, warned me it was time to look outside……….

Peter's famous 1/8th pound sliders. Equal parts ground sirloin and chopped onion. Cooked on a steaming cast iron skillet on the grill. We needed the fuel for what was to come.

And then we headed out………  for our annual snow hike.  A couple of miles, creating the first tracks out there.  It has to be snowing pretty hard to have no prior tracks.  No cars, no dogs, nothing but us and the stars….  It was wicked.  Wicked cold, wicked fun, wicked romantic.

Traditions are like that……..

The wind was blowing so hard we could hardly keep our eyes open! Or stop giggling.

Also…….  I’m pretty sure it’s the same as having your face professionally sandblasted, only cheaper.

Looking back………  Apparently we can’t walk straight, but at least we weren’t driving………….

Traditions are like that………

Posted in Eating, Family, Fitness | 8 Comments

Granddaddy Sam

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Sewfrench

..would have been 99 years old today.  Can you believe that?
Hard to believe he’s been gone almost 20 years…

Marshall Cameron's store, Grandaddy Sam is, the butcher, on the left.

Christmas 1969. This is the year everyone was there!

Nap time in the summer was in the backyard, in whatever shade he could find before he headed back to work. 1970.

This was the day we left, to move to Michigan, April 1987.

Notice Uncle Sammy’s quilt on the back of the sofa. Funny how I just mentioned that yesterday and so quickly it has turned up.

Grandaddy Sam with Amanda summer of 1989. He loved those grand babies!

I am pretty sure none of us Taylor kids would have graduated High School without Granddady taking us to school at least 30 minutes early and picking us up before classes were finished.  He always wanted to beat the traffic.  I never recall hitting the ditch heading out to East, but I do know there was not a trip out there, that it didn’t cross my mind.  I’m sure I’m not the only one.  Whether you were in his car or the one coming toward him.  And if you remember this you know I’m *not* being disrespectful.  Just telling the truth, as we all know it.

And the gardens he grew!  Wow.  We’d never have all the recipes and food memories if it wasn’t for him bringing 5 gallon bucket after bucket in, from the garden, everyday.  The strawberries, tomatoes and okra were always my favorite.  And let’s not forget the corn…  Probably why we all have an interest in good wholesome locally grown food…  It’s what tastes like home….

Once he retired and Grandma was still working, we learned he really could cook, too.  Hot breakfasts everyday.  Couple of fried eggs with a side of bacon and how about some homemade biscuits, with that, too.  And never gained a pound or had heart issues…  And he always did the dishes.  Always.

Early morning paper routes and chocolate milk.  The smell of fresh ink, red naugahyde and leaded fuel still haunts my dreams, but we all took turns and pitched in.  That’s what we did.  And I don’t drink milk to this day.

The only time I remember ever getting in trouble, from Grandaddy Sam, was when I said something disrespectful to Grandma, don’t even remember what it was or was about…  Then I told him he couldn’t catch me.  Boy was I wrong.  He chased me up and down the drive and around the garage.  He eventually snuck up behind me.  Those switches hurt like the dickens, I never talked back to Grandma and I think I turned out just fine.  I was his favorite ; )

Thank you, Grandaddy Sam.

Posted in Family | 4 Comments

Quilts, the early years…

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Sewfrench

I wonder if I can post most of the quilts I’ve ever made….  And considering I’ve given most of them away….

Not sure, but I will give it my best shot.  Some of you may need to help me out.

Grandma Ellis had a quilt on the back of her sofa for all the years I can remember.  She called it Uncle Sammy’s quilt.  It was wool squares, about 6 inches each, crocheted together with black yarn and all different colored pieces of wool.  Not your traditional quilt, but more of a coverlet.

When Paul was a youngster, about September 1980, just under 2 years old, and about to be forced out of the family crib because his little sister was due to be born and he got his own *big boy* bed.  At this point in time, we visited and spent a lot of time with Grandma Ellis and Granddaddy Sam. Oh, how Granddaddy Sam loved the little kids.  He also loved his afternoon naps.  Always.  Whether he was working or retired, he needed naps, not unlike other family members, I know….  In cooler weather, there was always a quilt draped over the back of the sofa, ready and willing for Grandaddy Sam’s naps.  He also got a big kick out of dragging that quilt over his head and scaring Paul.  Paul called it the Boogie man.  He was scared to death of the Boogie man.  But when introduced to the idea of moving into a *big boy* bed?  He wanted a Boogie Man quilt.  Why?  I don’t know, not a clue.  Because this was something he was scared to death of, I’m talking serious crying fits scared….

Grandma Ellis provided me with the fabrics for this quilt, my first. It was machine pieced and hand tied.  Looks like I probably used a white cotton sheet for the backing and purchased *silky* for the binding.

Silky was a favorite of Paul.  Yes, that was back in the day when we all wore slips…  It never took long for the women in his life to learn that they could not wear slips and be modest, at the same time, when Paul was around.

I actually had totally forgotten about this quilt until I came across this picture, while looking for a photo, of what I thought, was the first.  Obviously, photos make for the better memories….

Now, who knows what happened to this quilt or Uncle Sammy’s???

Posted in 1980 completes, fabric, Family, Quilting, Quilts and their History, Quilts with history, Sewing | 7 Comments

Miss you Mom….

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Sewfrench

Christmas Day 1981. Seems like yesterday..... Mom, Lisa, Kim, Todd, Tina, Ray, and myself.

Time passes, in the blink of an eye.  Hard to believe it’s been 6 years since Mom has left us all..

It’s fun hearing everyone’s different memories……..

I remember this picture as being the year of Strawberry Shortcake and the first battery operated motorcycle, for my kids………

And yes, Gloria Vanderbilt cords were hot, really hot, that year.   You are jealous aren’t you….  you should be……..

Yes, Chips was very hip that year, too.  And to have a real helmet, that was the ultimate cool.  And to have fruit wallpaper and gold flooring, we were really with it.  Really we were.  You remember, right?

Yes, that really is a handmade Strawberry Shortcake blouse Krystal is modeling, for real.  You are jealous, aren’t you, I know you are,  it’s okay, I am, too.  Grandma Ellis did good things, always.  And just look at that really cool table you got for Christmas.  It will show up in photos, for years to come!

You two kids were too hip!  Love the sweatshirt, curls and sunglasses, LOL!  Papa’s truck was never too shabby either…

 

Good times, good times….  Memories are everything.

Posted in Family | 11 Comments

New Placemats…

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Sewfrench

Finally.

I have been thinking about doing these for an entire year.  I rarely make things for myself, no aprons, no makeup bags, no pot holders, no napkins, you get the idea….Okay, I may have a quilt or two, I made, but for everyday living, not so much….

But when I opened my Christmas present, from Peter, commissioned especially for me, from a favorite *up North* potter, Benjamin Maier. Christmas 2009, **new dishes** I was beside myself.  Love, love, love them!  I couldn’t have designed them, shape, style and/or color, any better myself.  Surprise, surprise, he is good, always, and he did good, once again.  And apparently we took very few pictures that year….  Well, anyway…..  I knew I wanted to make placemats, for sure.  I had some that worked, but what fun to design and create…  You know?  Anyway, I got two finished sometime before Easter and quickly realized I did not have enough ideas ready to complete what I needed, for company, so I put them on hold.  Then I put a rush on it, thinking for Thanksgiving, finished another and then realized we would not be hosting Thanksgiving…. Finally, in a lull between projects, a friend created a new quilt, in a pattern I had been contemplating, and I decided that could be #4.  I could double dip.  Double dipping is good.  I could test the pattern for a quilt, as I made me #4 placement.  After than one, I quickly decided 4 was good enough, for now. Heck there are only two of us and who needs company to set a nice table?  Not us.  Ever.                                                        I can always do more as the creativity strikes…….

Kona Cotton Solids Placemats

With a Kona Color card and over 200 shades to choose from there is always the exact color available.

What do you think?  If I had only used the ruler and square to level this photo a little more accurately, for photography purposes???   Very Type 4 of me……  I know, I can’t help it….  I am what I am….

Whatcha think?  Any additional drawings/style or ideas out there???

Posted in Crafting, fabric, Quilting, Sewing | 13 Comments