Now and Then by Nancy Kline: WHAT TIME IS IT? You don't have to ask that quest...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: WHAT TIME IS IT?  You don't have to ask that quest...: WHAT TIME IS IT?     You don't have to ask that question when entering our home.  There seems to be clocks all over the house. Mo...

WHAT TIME IS IT?

 

 

You don't have to ask that question when entering our home.  There seems to be clocks all over the house. Most overnight visitors are awakened several times during the night with the sound of chimes, cuckoos, and tickings.  If you stay long enough you do get used to these sounds and sleep right through them or else you just enjoy knowing what time it is all through the night. 

 

This old school clock once hung in a classroom at College of the Ozarks.  It is just as silent as the school rooms were after the bell rang. I hangs on the wall in our breakfast area to remind us that you are never too old to learn something new.

This little beauty adorns the mantle in the living room.  It has to be wound every week so we just let it go silent until we are entertaining.  It has a beautiful little ding to announce each hour and each half hour and of course it is Pink.  Comes in handy when guest are staying too long.  Just ask them if they noticed the clock on the mantle. 

This one has always been the favorite of all the grandchildren when they were small.  The little cuckoo bird jumps out to sing his little song and the miniature dancers go round and round to a beautiful waltz.  This one goes a whole month without winding. 

This little French clock runs on batteries and keeps us informed as to when to go to bed every night.  No ringing and no ticks from this one but it is pretty. It just quietly moves from one minute till the next.

Sitting on a table in the upstairs hall right outside the bedrooms you have no question about how much time you have left to stay in bed.  It chimes every hour and every half hour. 

Grandfather stays on the job to let you know every hour, every half hour and every quarter hour.  He has done a good job for over fifty years and is still very handsome and stately. You can hear him at any place in the house as he has the loudest voice of all the clocks.  Love those Westminster Chimes and the Moon Dial.

 

These are not the only time pieces around our place but the rest are mostly on appliances and are there just because they came on them.  I don't really collect clocks but I do love to have them around and the more noise they make the better.

                                               " Funny How Time Slips Away! "



Now and Then by Nancy Kline: LEMON POUND CAKE  This is an easy cake to do when...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: LEMON POUND CAKE  This is an easy cake to do when...: LEMON POUND CAKE      This is an easy cake to do when you are in a hurry or just don't want to spend much time in the kitch...

LEMON POUND CAKE

 



 

This is an easy cake to do when you are in a hurry or just don't want to spend much time in the kitchen.

 

Cake Recipe:                                                         Frosting Recipe:

 

1 lemon cake mix                                                  1 stick butter softened

1 small instant lemon pudding                              2 to 3 cups confectioners sugar

4 egg                                                                      4 to 6 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

 

Really refreshing dessert for the middle of summer.  Would be super good with a big scoop of ice cream!

  

First picture is taken at home and second is in the VHC Brands break room.  Someone must have liked it!



Now and Then by Nancy Kline: NAKED LADIES--UM! I never heard of these Naked Lad...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: NAKED LADIES--UM! I never heard of these Naked Lad...: NAKED LADIES--UM!   I never heard of these Naked Lady flowers until I moved to the Ozarks twenty five years ago.  Soon after we moved a...

NAKED LADIES--UM!

 

I never heard of these Naked Lady flowers until I moved to the Ozarks twenty five years ago.  Soon after we moved a delightful lady at church asked me if I wanted a start of Naked Ladies.  I didn't know what she was talking about.  She explained these Naked Ladies to me and when she said PINK I told her that I needed some of them for my yard.  She brought me some one Sunday in a brown paper bag and I immediately put them in the ground.  I will plant anything PINK.  And so, thus I got my start of these beautiful PINK Naked Ladies. 

They are from the Amaryllis family and have some very strange habits.  In the early spring they crop up with only some tall dark green leaves.  In a few weeks the leaves dye down and you wonder what happened.  Just wait until mid to late summer and all of a sudden some tall green stalks jump up out of the ground with some unopened flowers on the very top.  Give them a few days and these gorgeous PINK petals unfold into the most beautiful things you have ever seen.  As pretty as they are they are completely stripped of everything but just the flowers on the very top,  NAKED as can be.  They require low maintenance and just keep on multiplying every year.  I could stand a whole yard full of these fabulous Naked Ladies

 

The foliage in first photo are from surrounding plants and not from the Naked Ladies.

 

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: FRUIT PLATE DESSERT Light , delicious, beautiful a...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: FRUIT PLATE DESSERT Light , delicious, beautiful a...: FRUIT PLATE DESSERT   Light , delicious, beautiful and easy to make.  Also you don't have a hot oven to contend with on these hot...

FRUIT PLATE DESSERT

 

Light , delicious, beautiful and easy to make.  Also you don't have a hot oven to contend with on these hot summer days. 

 

This platter of fruit consists of red apples, green apples, peaches, watermelon chunks, cantaloupe slices, green grapes, blackberries, boysenberries, strawberries, and bananas.  The beauty is in the alternating colors .  The flavor is in the fresh fruit. 

 

Mix up some soft cream cheese, sour cream, Cool Whip and a little confectioners sugar and you have a delightful dip for the fruit.

 

I truly believe in making food as pretty as possible so that it is a delight to the eye and the appetite!

 

                         Use fingers or toothpicks and enjoy !

 

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: HEN and CHICKS Son number two should have been cal...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: HEN and CHICKS Son number two should have been cal...: HEN and CHICKS   Son number two should have been called Nature Boy.  He always found something from the outside world to bring inside. ...

HEN and CHICKS

 

Son number two should have been called Nature Boy.  He always found something from the outside world to bring inside.  Snakes, birds, bees, wasps or any living thing that he found in his every day romps would end up in our home and several of the critters escaped and caused quite a ruckus.  Hard to go to sleep at night knowing there was a snake or spider or bumble bee on the lam. 

 

He also had a green thumb.  One summer we went on vacation and when we returned home the back yard was filled with gourd vines.  He had cleaned out several gourds to make bird houses and left the seeds  all over the yard only to germinate and spread while we were gone.  If you have never raised gourds you have missed a very unique stinky odor experience.  They really do smell bad.

 

He moved to Hawaii several years ago and left me his Hen and Chicks plant that he had nurtured going back to his college days which was probably thirty five or more years ago.  He moved it from Ruston, Louisiana to Shreveport, Louisiana, and then to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. He knows I love plants and since he couldn't take it with him to his new home across the ocean, he left it in my care.  The plant is still in its original container and has survived several harsh winters in the Ozarks sitting on my deck.

            It is still very productive and I have shared the Chicks with several relatives and friends. 

 

          Everybody needs to experience a son or two or three! 

 



Now and Then by Nancy Kline: CHOCOLATE CAKE Chocolate cake or anything chocola...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: CHOCOLATE CAKE  Chocolate cake or anything chocola...: CHOCOLATE CAKE     Chocolate cake or anything chocolate seems to be the favorite at VHC Brands.  I make cakes from scratch and also...

CHOCOLATE CAKE

 

 

Chocolate cake or anything chocolate seems to be the favorite at VHC Brands.  I make cakes from scratch and also from mixes.  If I use a mix I try to make a delicious frosting from old recipes.  This cake pictured is a $1.00 cake mix.  I baked it as a two layer cake and then made the frosting.

 

This is a delicious frosting but it does take a little more time and patience in case you are in a hurry.  But, it is well worth the labor.  Everybody loves it.

The recipe is from this old Good Housekeeping Cook Book.  The cook book is a wedding gift (over 61 years ago) that we received at a bridal shower.  I still use it but it is getting fragile and worn especially when you turn to the dessert pages.  For some reason there are a lot of drippings and finger prints on these pages. 

Cake was baked for VHC Brands break room but some in the family could not resist a piece the night before!  Nothing smells as good as chocolate cakes baking or taste as good while it is still warm.

HAPPY BAKING!

 



Now and Then by Nancy Kline: THE BIRD The Bird came to our home eleven ...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline:     THE BIRD     The Bird came to our home eleven ...:         THE BIRD           The Bird came to our home eleven years ago.  We took two toddler grandkids to the pet stor...

 

 

 

 

THE BIRD

 

 

 

 

 

The Bird came to our home eleven years ago.  We took two toddler grandkids to the pet store  just to take a look at all the critters there and somehow ended up bringing two parakeets home. One bird was a female and she was the most beautiful shade of lavender and the other was a light blue male.  The lavender bird lasted about three years and then suddenly without warning left us to go to the Promised Land.  The blue male still abides with our family. 

 

I have always loved having a bird around.  No telling how many have taken up residence in our home. We never got around to naming this blue parakeet though so he has just always been called The Bird.  Questions like: did you feed The Bird?, did you give The Bird water?,  Does The Bird's cage need to be cleaned come up just about every day.  Therefore, The Bird got his name.

 

My father introduced me and my brothers to parakeets.  He came home one day with a beautiful bright green one and we all loved him and he did have a proper name, "Polly" even though the bird was a he.  I remember my uncle coming to visit us from California and commented on the beautiful budgie.  I told him that it wasn't a budgie but it was a parakeet. 

 

Not very many members of our family like The Bird.  When my daughter comes The Bird usually ends up in the wash room with the door closed.  He loves to chatter and gets really loud sometimes and interrupts conversations.  He also sings out pretty noisily  when I practice the piano, especially if I play "A Bird in a Gilded Cage".  Maybe this is his way of telling us he needs a Gilded Cage to replace the old white antique he stays in.

  

 



Now and Then by Nancy Kline: BATH TIME AGAIN ? ...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: BATH TIME AGAIN ?
                                ...: BATH TIME AGAIN ?                                     Oh No!  Saturdays come around too often !     Bella definitely does not lik...

BATH TIME AGAIN ?

                                    Oh No!  Saturdays come around too often ! 

 

Bella definitely does not like bath time.  You can hear her all over the house when she is in the tub.  Actually, she starts shaking on the way up the stairs to the bathroom.  I have been accused of DOG ABUSE by different family members but when they watch how she acts they finally agree that it is not ABUSE but the fact that she just doesn't like to be wet.  She even gets suspicious when I shampoo my own hair and wear  a towel turban style.  She thinks OH MY GOSH, I could be next.

 

Bella is a Bichon Frise and is eleven years old.  She comes to work every day with us and has been doing so all her life.  She delights everyone with her one trick which happens to be rolling over for a nice belly rub.  She is very gentle and has never offered to bite anyone.  All the grandkids love her as well as the neighbors and VHC Brands employees.

 

Hopefully we will be graced by her presence for a few years more but she is beginning to show her age.  By the way, she's not fat, she's fluffy. We try to keep her on a diet but just can't resist those sad begging eyes.

 

 



Now and Then by Nancy Kline: CRACK CAKE I bake a lot of cakes for the break roo...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: CRACK CAKE I bake a lot of cakes for the break roo...: CRACK CAKE   I bake a lot of cakes for the break room at VHC Brands.  For a period of time a cake was consumed every day.  As of lately...

CRACK CAKE

 

I bake a lot of cakes for the break room at VHC Brands.  For a period of time a cake was consumed every day.  As of lately though two or three per week seems to satisfy.  I think this is mostly due to everyone trying to lose a few pounds this summer.  Chocolate is the best loved of all the cakes I bake but I still like to try different flavors every now and then.  This Crack Cake is one of the favorites.

 

It is a super moist cake and just melts in your mouth.  It is super easy to make.  The reason it is called "Crack" is simply because it is addictive.  Try it, you will like it.

 

Recipe:

 

1 box yellow cake mix                                  2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar                                      4 eggs

1/4 cup white sugar                                       3/4 cup vegetable oil                                             

1 box of vanilla instant pudding                    1/2 cup white wine

 

Prepare a bundt pan with coating and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour

 

Melt 1 stick butter, 1 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup white wine in small pan and bring to a boil

Pour on the cake immediately after removing cake from oven

Let stand a few minutes before dumping 

 

 

One afternoon after I got home from work I baked the "Crack Cake" and left it on the kitchen counter to cool before covering.  I went upstairs to do a little sewing and I heard the boys talking and playing in the kitchen.  The boys include two grandsons and two neighbor boys ages nine through twelve who get together every day like some kind of gang.   One of the kids came upstairs and wanted to know if they could have a piece of cake.  I said sure. 

 

When I went downstairs later this is what I found of my cake.  Seems they took their pieces right off the top!  Anyway they all said it was delicious.

 

 

 

 

 



Now and Then by Nancy Kline: WINECUP This little flower has been showing itsel...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: WINECUP  This little flower has been showing itsel...: WINECUP     This little flower has been showing itself off in my front flower bed for over ten years.  It is a sprawling perennial {P...

WINECUP

 

 

This little flower has been showing itself off in my front flower bed for over ten years.  It is a sprawling perennial {Poppy Mallow} that comes back every year with no effort on my part.  It is sometimes listed as a wildflower. You don't even know it is working overtime to perform until one morning you look down there close to the ground and there are all of these beautiful wine colored cup shaped beauties. 

 

 

    

 

 

 

Winecups overflowing front sidewalk! 

 

The flowers are very delicate and open for the daytime as if saying "Good Morning" and then close in the evening to get a good night's rest after a good day's work. 

 

 



Now and Then by Nancy Kline: PINK BONNETS Everyone knows that I keep a lot ...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline:


PINK BONNETS  Everyone knows that I keep a lot ...: PINK BONNETS     Everyone knows that I keep a lot of stuff that others would get rid of.  Against all the rules saying you need to...

PINK BONNETS

 

 

Everyone knows that I keep a lot of stuff that others would get rid of.  Against all the rules saying you need to get rid of things, I opt to keep most all the things that I have enjoyed in the past .  Every now and then I get rid of stuff and usually regret that I don't have it anymore.  My philosophy about keeping things is that you might want or need it some day and if you keep all your treasures neatly and orderly stashed in a reasonable fashion you can keep all the stuff you want.  My walk in attic is proof you can keep a lot of treasures. 

 

Among the things I have kept is an assortment of patterns.  People that know me  also know that I have been a seamstress most of my life.  My love for sewing crops out all the time.  I have gotten rid of a bunch of old patterns but will never give up all the children's clothing ones.  Making baby and children's clothing has been a life long love of mine. 

 

A church shower was coming up recently and it was for a baby girl.  One of my favorite things to make is baby bonnets.  So, going to the attic in search of bonnet patterns I found one that I have made several times. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

This one is probably from the late 50's  as that is when my first two babies were born.  You can tell from the price and style that it is old. 

 

After searching through my stash of pink fabrics I came across the perfect piece for the bonnet that I wanted to make.  The pieces of the pattern were so worn and fragile that I had to make copies in order to use them.  In a large box of lace I found the perfect trim for the bonnet.  It was a beautiful piece of white lace just right for the bonnet. 

                                                          This is the finished project. 
 
                             BEAUTIFUL !

 

Now and Then by Nancy Kline: BLACK-EYED SUSANS Saturday mornings for me ar...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline:     BLACK-EYED SUSANS  Saturday mornings for me ar...:         BLACK-EYED SUSANS     Saturday mornings for me are getting out in the yard before it gets too hot up here in the Ozar...

 

 

 

 

BLACK-EYED SUSANS

 

 

Saturday mornings for me are getting out in the yard before it gets too hot up here in the Ozarks.  The humidity has been really high lately but my flowers seem to get along with that very well and have been absolutely beautiful this year.  The bee balm did its thing so we deadheaded the plants Saturday morning hoping to get another blooming this summer.  Then we moved on to the usual weeding in flower beds and garden, a place where the weeds do better than the veggies, and hauling the unwanted to the woods behind our lot.  It is a pretty steep hill to climb back up so we try to get as much in each load as we can.  Our house actually sits on top of a small mountain right in the middle of Branson, Missouri. 

 

Right now the gorgeous black-eyed Susans are in full bloom.  I got my start of black-eyed Susans from a fellow who was doing some yard work for us.  He is from Maryland and his mother had an abundance of black-eyed Susans in her beds so he brought me a bunch when he went back home for a visit and they have fared well in their new home and have multiplied over and over.  

                                          

                                         Black-eyed Susans are Maryland's state flower. 

 

 

 

Black-eyed Susans in my front bed

 

 

I know they are not pink but you do sometimes need a contrast (lol) and the yellow does look beautiful in front of my white gingerbread porch. 

 

Maybe someday there will be a true Pink-eyed Susan. 

 

 

This group of Susans is

 in a bed by the street in front of our house. 

 

The bees and butterflies have been enjoying the abundance of flowers and so have we. 

 

Happy Yard Days to All !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Now and Then by Nancy Kline: Rose of Sharon or Althaea ? I call all of min...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline:   Rose of Sharon or Althaea ?  

I call all of min...:     Rose of Sharon or   Althaea ?     I call all of mine Rose of Sharon because that sounds so sweet and they are all p...

 

 

Rose of Sharon

or

 

Althaea ?

 

 

I call all of mine Rose of Sharon because that sounds so sweet and they are all pink of course.  Rose of Sharon comes in other colors such as white, lavender and different shades of pink. Pink is my favorite color so most of my flowers just seem to happen to come up pink.  These plants grow into beautiful small flowering type trees.  I have even seen them trimmed and shaped up for hedging.  I like the flowers too much to do severe cutting.  They reproduce as fast as rabbits so be careful where you plant one. 

 

I have let a few of them remain where they have volunteered so I have several in my back yard. 

 

 

The hummingbirds and bees especially love them and the beautiful cardinals come in to eat the seeds left on the branches in the winter.  Gorgeous sight in the snow.  Someday I may add some white ones.

 

HAPPY GARDENING







Now and Then by Nancy Kline: 43 YEAR OLD CAT This cat has been hanging aro...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline:   43 YEAR OLD CAT    This cat has been hanging aro...:     43 YEAR OLD CAT         This cat has been hanging around in yards for 43 years.  We had one cat that lived 21 years (Su...

 

 

43 YEAR OLD CAT

 

 

 

 

This cat has been hanging around in yards for 43 years.  We had one cat that lived 21 years (Sugar Foot) but this one outlasted her.  I made her for my mother and she  kept the mice away in my parent's yard for many, many years.  After they passed away, I went back to their home and found this cat sitting in their flower bed.  We moved her to Branson and now she keeps the mice away in our flower beds.  She is beginning to show her age but still is so pretty.  Love the green eyes.

 

                                               This is the underside with my name and date. 

                                                       Hope she last a few more years.

 

 

 

 

 





Now and Then by Nancy Kline: Oops, There Goes Another Bottle Tree Plant I ...

Now and Then by Nancy Kline:   
Oops, There Goes Another Bottle Tree Plant  I ...:     Oops, There Goes Another Bottle Tree Plant      I dearly love Bottle Trees!  This one is my favorite one though.  The br...

 

 

Oops, There Goes Another Bottle Tree Plant

 

 

I dearly love Bottle Trees!  This one is my favorite one though.  The bright cobalt blue bottles glitter in the sunshine and are also beautiful when it rains on them.  

 

They are easy to plant and to take care of with no watering, no trimming, no fertilizing.  I found this empty tree at a florist on my way to work one day.  Then the search began for the cobalt blue bottles . Lots of dead ends everywhere until I finally found them at the Humane Society Thrift Store on Business 65 in downtown Branson, MO.  They were $3.00 each.  I bought a few extras in case I needed replacements. 

 

The blue bottles look beautiful behind the Stargazer Lilies and also the abundance of orange daylilies that are in full bloom this summer. 

 

There is another bottle tree in my old garden in Kirbyville, MO.  I gave up this garden two years ago and now have a small vegetable garden in my back yard.  Anyway, the bottle tree in Kirbyville, MO is larger and loaded with all colors of bottles that my husband and I found on the side of the road in front of our warehouse.  Some of them are clear, some amber and some green.  I need to get a picture of it some day when it is not so hot.

 

Bottle Trees are so much fun!  Just ask my husband!

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEA TIME

 

 

You should see my tea collection.  After many, many trips to China and many, many visits from the Chinese, I have accumulated boxes and boxes of tea.  Most of it is in beautiful containers as the Chinese love pretty packages. 



 

Although I love to sip on green tea I never enjoyed the loose tea leaves floating around and ending up in my mouth so I didn't drink the tea as much as I wanted to.  Then this Spring we took a trip to Texas to visit husband's two sisters.  They love to go to garage sales and I join them when I am visiting. 

 

They always have a SURPRISE pile of wonderful stuff for me to take home and it always includes canning jars because I do a lot of canning in the Summer.  Well, in this assortment of things for me to take back to Branson was a strange looking contraption that had us all puzzled.  It was a canning jar with a green sippy lid and a strainer type thing attached.  I  kept hunting and searching for the answer as to what it was that they had found. 

 

Turned out to be a quart Ball canning jar with a green lid that had an attachment that you screwed on  for making and drinking loose green tea.  The attachment is a cylinder with holes that you fill with loose tea.    Chinese think of everything. 

 

Now, I fix my green tea every morning and take it to work and sip a quart by noon. 

 

 

 

 Beautiful Box of Green Tea

Strange Container

Finished Product

 

 

Over the weekend my jar was put in the dishwasher.  I found the jar and the green lid but not the cylinder with holes.  No one in the family knew what I was looking for.  Finally found it among items that belong in the basement.  So happy to get all the pieces back and not having to spit out green tea leaves anymore. 

Busy!

Busy, Busy Weekend!

 

Some Weekends need to be "Weeklongs" especially in the summer when there is so much to do in the yard and garden.  I cut these yellow glads, pink and white cone flowers and stargazers to take to the office of VHC Brands.  Stargazers are the smelly lilies that I love and some people can't stand.  They were developed from some lilies that hung their heads down.  Just wondering why they are not called "Sungazers" as they love the sun and keep their flowers looking up and they fill up a room and garden with their sweet aroma!


 

 

 

 

Saturday I dug up some of the pink iris and also some bee balm to send to my cousin who loves flowers almost as much as me.  She is Owner and Designer at "Out of the Box" in Waxahachie, Texas.  If ever in that neck of the woods drop by the shop.  I promise you will not be sorry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHOCOLATE RUM CAKE

 

 



 

Baked last night to bring to VHC Brands break room.  I bake several cakes each week but this one is a favorite and the recipe is easy.



 

Mix together:

Chocolate cake mix

Package of instant chocolate pudding

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup milk

4 large eggs

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Fold in:

package of semisweet chocolate bits ( I use whatever there is in the pantry, sometimes not a whole package)

3/4 cup slivered almonds

 

Bake in Bundt pan at 350 for an hour or until done

Cool in pan 10 minutes

Dump cake out and punch holes with fork or end of wooden spoon

 

The secret is in the glaze

 

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup rum

 

Melt butter in water then add sugar.  Boil 5 minutes then stir in rum

Pour or drizzle over the cake

Yum, Yum

 

Enjoy!!!

 

VHC Brands never knows what cake will be next and customers never know what new quilt will be in the next catalog. 

 

 



 

 

BI-CENTENNIAL QUILT

 

 

1976 Found me and my BFF, Twyanna Wallace, thinking about how we would celebrate the Bi-Centennial of the USA.  We got together at least once a week in the evenings and did hand sewing while the husbands played checkers. 

 

I decided to make a Bi-Centennial quilt.  A decision had to be made as to what pattern I would use for the red, white and blue dedication.  Although a little weird, I picked the Sun Bonnet Sue.  Somewhere in the back shadows of my mind I remembered going to my grandparent's home every summer and picking out a quilt to make a pallet on the floor along with my two brothers.  Every year I picked the Sunbonnet Sue quilt from the quilt box to sleep on.  We didn't need anything but a quilt for the floor as it was always so hot in the middle of Texas in July and you didn't need any cover.

 

Well, I started the quilt in 1976 but didn't finish until 1978 according to the date I embroidered on the corner of the quilt.  The only fabric I had to buy was for the background.  At that time unbleached domestic was real chap at the TG&Y, maybe 30 cents per yard, so that is what I used.  For all the patches I used scraps from my sewing piles left over from making little girl's dresses.  Just about every piece of scrap was left over from my daughter's little dresses.  I made all of her clothes so there was a good supply of left overs to use.  Each patch is made from different fabrics just like any scrap quilt. 

 

Intentions were to get the quilt made before July 4, 1976 but I had a husband, four kids and a father-in-law to take care of every day.  Anyway, I did finally get the project finished sometime in 1978.

 

The quilt got stored after a few uses and showings as my décor never was too much on the red colors.  I mostly have used pastels so it never fit in. 

 

For some reason, I remembered that quilt this year on the Fourth of July.  After searching a few hours I found it tucked away underneath a mammoth stack of  quilts in a closet that has so many quilts it is hard to get the door closed.  But I did finally found it and sat for a few moments remembering matching all the sunbonnets and dresses for the dolls in the patches and wondering if my grandmother would be pleased with my choices.  

 

A decision had to be made as to what to do with the quilt.  This year we were invited to our daughter's to celebrate the 4th.  I took the quilt with me as well as a gallon of homemade vanilla ice cream and gave the Sunbonnet quilt to my daughter.  Believe it or not, she remembered some of the fabrics from her dresses that I had used.   

 

Some things are worth keeping and this was one of them. 





 

 

ANOTHER FOURTH OF JULY

 



Seems like we did this celebration just last week but it has been a whole year.  Lots of things have happened in every phase of our lives.  Uncle Sam was put in his usual position though to watch over the Kline's house for the 28th year.  He looks like he could use a cosmetic update but on second thought will leave him to age just like the rest of us. 

The flowers are outdoing themselves this year in spite of the heat.  Bouquets to give and some to keep are in abundance.  The bees and butterflies are enjoying the bee balm so much this year.  Love to watch them buzzing around all day, working so hard to get a little taste of nectar. 

Homemade ice cream was on the list of my to dos.  Vanilla of course is the best so you can add any flavor of topping you want.  We celebrated the afternoon and evening with our daughter's family.  There were 11 of us gathered to eat from the feast that could have fed 50 or more.

Nancy Alice enjoyed the celebration most of all.  She was delighted to get to indulge in so many sweets that she doesn't get every day.  Cookies with sprinkles, pop cycles, chocolate candy, strawberries with whipped cream, mostly whipped cream and finally homemade ice cream. 

Well, most of the decorations and fireworks are put away for another year but Uncle Sam gets to keep his position until Labor Day. 

Now it is back to work to create new quilts and beautiful things for the house at VHC Brands.

Summer is in full swing here in Branson Missouri.