Last Quilt Update for This Week (Probably)

On Thursday, Val, her adorable mother and mama's friend made it to the Event of the Season: Quilt Week. The big show happened in downtown Paducah Kentucky and apparently crazy people who play with fabric and those adjacent all made it to this four day event. We only went one day. But I assure you, there's enough to do and see to last four days. And honestly, one day was plenty for me.

By the way, I had better Mexican food in Kentucky than I ever had in Texarkana. I'm still letting that settle in. 

I'm tired, so y'all are just getting a few pictures. If you are the kind who doesn't look at the photos, I promise a few of these pictures are especially taken keeping in mind the three of you who read this. So, don't skip today. 

Sedona

RBG with the Dissent Collar
Can we please put our differences aside for a moment. Come on, isn't it cool a Supreme Court Justice has a quilt made in her likeness? 

The Paducah Tour

 On Wednesday, Valerie, her adorable mother and I headed to Paducah. Adorable Mama had some shopping to do at all the usual haunts--Hobby Lobby, T.J. Maxx, Home Goods. Valerie and I had another agenda. But first, we found the Wall. 

One of the mural pictures on the Paducah Wall

The Ohio River on the back side of the Wall. 

The Wall is an engineering marvel which spans about three miles along the confluence of the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers. It was put in around 1940 after the 1937 Ohio River Flood destroyed a good portion of Paducah. About thirty-ish years ago, someone painted murals on the wall, telling the story of the area. 

After the Wall, we found our way to our true destination, the National Quilt Museum. Yep. It's a thing.

 The place was interesting--think art pieces on fabric. And though these were lovely to look at, I prefer quilts for their history and journey into greatness (Great-grandmammy made this quilt from leftover dresses and great-granddaddy's dungarees. She wrapped my memaw and her three siblings in it during the blizzard of 1903.). All that said, I'm glad I went this one time. Would I go back? Maybe if opportunity and Fate ever collide. 

When we were done with the Quilt Museum, Valerie and I headed to Hancock Fabrics of Paducah. This is the Mecca for fabric. Known by quilting enthusiasts everywhere, Hancock Fabrics of Paducah is two mega-warehouses worth of every known 100 percent cotton fabric print. I did find fabric for the quilt I want to make my nephew. Our life is about to change and I don't know if I'm going to get this quilt done before his birthday in June or if the fabric is going to live in my bathtub for the time being. 

Oh yes, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the other purchase we made: Valerie introduced me to moonshine. Our flavor: Apple pie. It did not go down smooth, but I sure slept well Wednesday night. 

A few choice Quilt Museum pictures below. And yes, all quilts. 

Cats on a Hot Tin Roof

This was my absolute favorite piece.

Murray Kentucky

Though it fits my criteria of a suitable place to live because it has more than one Dollar General, I'm not moving here. Though I would. In a heartbeat. This place is cute. 

I'm currently sitting in Murray Kentucky. The town of about 20,000 and the closest metropolis is Paducah, about an hour away. The town is home to Murray State University and the Fighting Murrays? Fighting Murrs? Fighting Rays? I have no idea. I looked at the list of notable folks from Murray and the only one I half-recognized was the eldest sister of Michael, Tito and Janet Jackson. 

I sent this picture to Sherman, who is currently in Washington D.C., looking for housing.
He starts law school in the fall. I suggested he try here instead. 

On Tuesday I drove eight hours and passed through five states to Murray to join my pal, Valerie and her adorable mother. Mama lives in Murray. This is "Quilt Week" in Paducah. Quilt Week is BIG in these parts. Allegedly people come from hither and yon to look at quilts, discuss all things quilting and pick up copious amounts of fabric. 

A quick comment about the copious amounts of fabric. I was in a fabric store yesterday, on the phone with Marty who said, "You have a bathtub full of fabric. You don't need more." I shifted to plants--we were heading to a plant store after the fabric store. He pointed out I don't need more of those either. There seems to be a large Venn crossover between quilters and plant hoarders.   

Anyway, back to Tuesday. I'd no sooner stepped out of my car when Val, her adorable mother and me packed our dinners and headed over to the Calloway County Extension office where the Extension Homemakers had their meeting. Thursday's topic? Food preservation. Quilts. And if you feel like you've read that before, you have. Val dragged me to a different Extension Homemakers meeting earlier in the month where the topic was quilts. 

Back to this meeting. There were forty folks there--all members--and me. (Valerie is a member of this one AND the one in Texarkana Arkansas.) Members brought quilts they were donating for a variety of charities: Veterans, children in crisis, cancer patients, dialysis. Also, members brought personal quilts and told the stories about them (A favorite story: "I made this for my baby girl in 1963, my great-granddaughter now uses it"). Oh yes! There was some sort of quilt contest where members voted on the best one. Adorable Mama won! Honestly it was a no-brainer, though she was surprised. 

This is Adorable Mama's quilt (her head is peeking out).
This quilt is a testament to my poor photography skills, because this quilt is gorgeous. 

They Are Back

It's turtle season. That means Luna is bringing us turtles from the back yard. 

Per our usual routine, we take a sharpie and write the number on the back before we release the critter into the front yard or down the street. Luna is currently working hard to beat her 2023 record of 10 turtles in one season. 

But seriously, where do these things come from?  

Sunday Morning's Visitor

I post too much about critters because East Texas has their fair share and it's slightly more interesting than writing about the weather. 

Anyway, look at this guy, scurrying along my fence yesterday morning, coming home from a long night of doing whatever these creatures do in the middle of the night. 

The picture really doesn't capture the size.
He's bigger than Roosevelt, our 10 pound house cat. 

The only reason I knew he was there was because Luna was outside and started barking her "critter bark"--its a thing. I was the only one awake. When I went to investigate, I dreaded what would happen if I had been an armadillo (they carry leprosy) or snake (nope). Gonna go out on a limb and say, I did not sign up for either. 

So there I was... Luna was barking up a storm and pushing the fence so hard I thought she'd either knock the dude or the fence down. Neither option made for a pleasant morning. As soon as the guy saw me, he froze in place, ensuring Luna jumped harder and barked longer. After sorting everything out, I dragged her inside. Wouldn't you know it! The possum struck this pose for about ten minutes while I watched, facinated, from the window. 

Oh yes, possums will also eat snakes, so I don't mind him hanging around. Even if Luna has other opinions. 

A Nothing Post

I just want to put this out there. 

Marty has another interview with another company next week. This will be two interviews in three weeks. 

Now then. There was a third "interview" with a third company. However, it consisted of Marty staring into his computer's camera, making a video about himself and answering a host of provided questions. He never spoke with anyone in person. In his assessment, he said he came across as a first-time podcaster whose only subscribers were his favorite aunt and mother.  

Though we aren't hurting for food and shelter, the lack of employment is affecting each of us in a variety of awful ways. So, if in your charity, you could send positive vibes, juju, or prayers (Honestly, I'm not fussy) to your choice of places, I'd really appreciate it. 

I need this season to come to an end sooner than later.  

Diabetic Coma Week

Let me just say this: I love the people around here. They are amazing. Also, I'm not a diabetic. But this week I ate like I want to be. 

I had a birthday. 

Polly made blueberry cobbler for Easter/my birthday (not the same day, but close enough). The blueberries were the ones I picked a couple years ago in Fouke and froze for a special occasion. It was probably the best blueberry cobbler ever. EVER! She also made ice cream, but primarily she made the ice cream for Sherman, because he doesn't like cobbler. Or, he didn't like cobbler until he tasted Polly's. 

Peanut Butter Pie.
Even looking at it makes my
pancreas cower in the corner. 
But... nom... nom... nom...

On Monday, I met Deb and a boatload of other folks for dinner. Deb made me a peanut butter pie. I'd never had one before. And let me say, it was absolutely fabulous. For my birthday gift, Deb gave me the recipe because she doesn't want to make one ever again. There are probably 20,000 calories a slice and a portion of it is residing in my freezer. But if you ever have the chance to eat peanut butter pie, I recommend it. 

On Tuesday, I went to the Pike County Extension Homemakers meeting. When lunch came around, the potluck consisted of mayonnaise, mayonnaise* and rich chocolate cake. I was hungry. I'm not apologizing. The end. Afterward, Val and I walked around downtown Murfreesboro, where she surprised me with a birthday ice cream. I ate three bites and apologized for not finishing it. All the while I worried about my weeping endocrine system. 

Yesterday, the Thursday Lunch Bunch celebrated my birthday. Corona Jan brought cupcakes. I blew out my candle and passed on the cupcake, encouraging someone else to take them home. 

I must finally be a grown-up because I recognized I've eaten my quota of sugar for the week.  

*Someone bragged--BRAGGED--that the food they brought was "mayonnaise free" because she used Miracle Whip, as if that is any less gross. 

The Pike County Extension Homemakers Meeting

This past week, my pal Val dragged me to the Pike County Extension Homemakers meeting. I'll unpack this for you. 

Pike County is somewhere in Southwest Arkansas*. It's claim to fame is that it is the home to the Crater of the Diamonds State Park, the largest you-dig diamond mine in the US. Small cities named, Murfreesboro, Delight, East Delight, Daisy, Kirby and Hopewell reside in Pike County. The entire county has a population of around 10,000, so take the term, "cities" lightly.

Printed inside is the agenda and the
"Extension Homemaker" creed. 

The Extension Homemakers is a volunteer group focusing on family sciences ("home economics" is the term I heard in school). They meet to discuss such topics as food preservation, sewing, community involvement, cooking, gardening and whatever else falls into this category. Val has been trying to get me to join and I've begged off. Anyway, the Extension Homemakers is big around here. 

The Pike County Extension Homemakers held their meeting and opened it up to the area. And the area responded with a ton of people driving from all over to attend. Val and I drove about 70 miles. The day's topic was on quilting. 

Here's the great news. Many folks brought quilts and most told a brief story behind the quilt. One woman had been in a coma at the age of 37. She remembered nothing from before her accident. He daughter brought her a quilt and explained that the woman had made it for her. Another brought her baby quilt telling the story of her mother, finding out she was pregnant after her father went off to WW2. Her mother worked as a phone operator during the day and made the quilt at night. She didn't meet her father for four years and has memories of dragging it with her, out the door the day her dad came home from the war. Those kinds of stories.  

Here's the not great news. Our speaker, Mr. Sam Somebodyoranother, I heard talk two months ago when Val dragged me to a homesteaders conference. He gave the same talk, which he did not deviate from in the slightest. And dare I say, he gave the talk to the same audience. 

I did find out this time Mr. and Mrs. Sam worked for twenty years as school teachers in Fort Defiance AZ (on the Navajo reservation) and we spent a fun moment boring Val about all things Arizona. Fabulous fact: my father helped build the massive powerplant outside of Holbrook, AZ. The Sams and Val know this. And now you do too. 

Lunch was a combination of mayonnaise-based foods and super-sweet desserts. Though I would have had more than grapes, cheese and crackers (plus one of those pieces of cake) had their been more options, I would have been shocked if anything else had been served. Which brings me to this: if this is a group "dedicated" to food management and a better lifestyle, why couldn't the menu be more varied? Sigh... I guess I should be happy there wasn't a chicken spaghetti in sight. 

I am not going to inundate you with the thousands of quilt pictures I took, but these two are worth a view. 

A BOOK QUILT!!!! 

This is hand sewn. That means, a needle and thread.
Though this picture doesn't do it justice, there are so many intricate details.
It was by-far the most elegant quilt there. 

*The only reason this is a foot note is because I couldn't figure out where else to put my glowing adulation. Arkansas is one of the most underrated states. It is gorgeous. The people are wonderful. The vibe is terrific. Little Rock is pretty cool and has the metropolitan feel without being too big. And if there was work for Marty almost anywhere in the state, I'd be on board in a heartbeat.  

An Easter Tale of Two Churches

Let me put this out there. 

Sunday, I went to Easter mass at the Catholic church. I arrived early enough to find a suitable place to sit. In the lobby and even after I sat down, I smiled and said, "hello," and "happy Easter" to a handful of folks. NOBODY responded. 

Nobody! 

Not one! 

Nada!

NOT EVEN PEOPLE WHO KNOW MY NAME could be charitable enough to say hello. 

Given this is the South, this must have killed these folks not to be friendly. 

Also, nobody originally sat next to me. I had 95 percent of a pew to myself. I saw Sherman across the way, holding a seat for his girl* but he was too far away for me to make any kind of polite acknowledgement. 

With five minutes to go before mass, a father of a family of four came over, asked if I was holding the pew and proceeded to sit him and his family next to me. As the family walked by, I said, "Hello," "Good morning," and "happy Easter." No acknowledgement. Sheesh. 

Polly ran in and slid next to Sherman right before mass started. I looked at the time. If I hurried I could make service at the Church of Christ.  

So, I did. 

As soon as I arrived at the Church of Christ, I met Corona Patty at the entrance. She said hello, good morning AND happy Easter. I met up with Ms. Judy** and chatted with her for a bit before Corona Gail slid in, grabbed both of our shoulders and declared, "Two of my favorite people." And I'm certain she meant it. 

Ms. Jane (her first name is "Ms.") greeted me with an, "I heard you..." and then proceeded to tell me the latest bit of gossip about me. I also corrected her while being in too good a mood to hold a grudge against Little Miss Hates Me for spreading such things--I know she was the source, bless her heart. And honestly, I don't care.   

At the pew, Corona Joan gave me a hug and I whispered, "Just fled mass." Corona Joan is also Catholic, whispered back. "Good move." Her Majesty, Deb, Queen of The Everything came in and sat next to me. That is, until she smelled a new person, jumped past Joan and myself, greeting the newcomer and inviting the unsuspecting woman to six upcoming events. And this is all before the service started. 

I sat in the pew during service with a light heart, genuinely happy to be there. This was a mass of loving folks all living in communion. 

*I explained to Sherman that day at Easter lunch, he could have a girlfriend with long beautiful hair or he could have a girlfriend who arrived anywhere on time. 

**Someday I simply must write a blog post about this beautiful soul. 

A Trip to Carthage Texas

The Texas Country Music Hall of Fame

Carthage Texas has a rough population of 6000 folks. When I started working on my current book, I ended up doing a deep-dive into Carthage. However, none of my deep-dive made it into my book. 

For those of you unfamiliar with Carthage and dying to know where it is, head south of Texarkana until you reach it. It should take you about an hour and forty minutes. The city (I checked, it's a city) is twenty miles from the Louisiana border. It qualifies as a place I would consider living if Marty found employment because it has two Dollar Generals. I believe it also has a hospital and a Wal-Mart Supercenter. The downtown also has a charming park, surrounded by old, musty buildings  which appear to be boutiques, thrift stores, eateries and--I'm not making this up--two Edward Jones investment houses. Yep, you can stand in front of one Edward Jones office in the downtown square, look across the park and see the other Edward Jones office. 

I've wanted to visit Carthage for a while now, because I discovered the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame is located there. It isn't that I'm a huge Texas Country Music Hall of Fame kind of girl, but because of so many summers spent with Bonus Dad looking for obscure small-town museums, I was intrigued. So, after Marty finally gave in, he drove me to Carthage. 

I'm ready to go back. 

Let me first say, we ate at the Texas Tea Room.* It was the BEST food I've eaten in East Texas. Ever! We brought leftovers home, but others who live here absconded with them and also expressed their appreciation and admiration to what good food tastes like. I suggested they open a franchise in Texarkana, but I'm not sure the owners are that ambitious. Probably for the best. The zucchini I had was grilled. In Texarkana it would have to be fried. 

I made this picture large so you might have a better view. This is an old-time a safety deposit box sitting in the lobby of the Texas Tea Room. 

After lunch, we headed off the city center about 300 feet to the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame. The place was more interesting than Marty feared. I thought the history was fascinating. It consisted of a gift shop and two rooms with displays. There was a conference-center kind of place as well--probably for live performances. A working (and free--the docent in the gift shop promised me) juke box sat in the display rooms and we were able to pick out a few songs to liven the mood as we walked around. We spent about two hours in there, soaking up the history and music. Time well spent.  

Photos below, but first, a couple of notes:  

To be inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame one must have been born in Texas. Except the Oak Ridge Boys. Only one is from Texas so the governor at the time made the others honorary Texans so they would be able to be inducted. 

Eagles' Drummer Don Henley is from (and rumor has it, currently lives) in East Texas. He's been "invited" to be inducted. But so far (according to the docent) he's had schedule conflicts. 

This one surprised me. I thought Buck (former owner of KNIX in Phoenix) was from Arizona. 

Dale Evans

I wish I would have taken a better picture of Buddy Holly's display. It was rather large. 

Marty is a HUGE Roy O fan. 

The Gambler Himself

We've got Willie, Waylon, and Kris Kristofferson
 (and a few others) in this display.

*For those who aren't familiar with the term, "Texas Tea" means oil. There are tons of brownfields (oil fields) near Carthage. 

Before and After

Before

Ta-Da! A black Sharpie was used for the "Welcome." 

Snake Stories

Every day this week, I've thought of writing a snake blog. Well here I am. Let me just start with this: snakes around here are as ubiquitous as sunshine in Phoenix, palm trees in Florida and winter snow in Canada. Essentially, yep. They are here. The topic of snakes and anything adjacent is part of polite conversation. 

In the last four years, I've learned to co-exist with the thought of snakes. I don't do well co-existing with the actual critter. As young children, my siblings and I had a traumatic experience with a rattler. My brothers are the exact same way about snakes. I cannot go to the reptile house at the zoo. I cannot look at a picture of a snake. After finding one in my greenhouse last fall, the floor in there is now covered in sulphur. I am who I am. The end. 

Snake story 1: 

My pal Joy wanted to see a movie this week. We saw Zootopia 2, which happened to be about a poor, misunderstood snake. Just no. We were the only ones in the theater at the matinee showing of a kids' movie, so we ended up chatting more than watching the movie.  

Snake story 2: 

My hairdresser, Crystal, lives on 800 acres, south of Fouke, Arkansas. Though, I wouldn't expect y'all to know where this is, think of it next to the Sulphur river, about 10 miles from the Arkansas-Louisiana border. About here. 

Around that red star. Kinda. 

Anyway, Crystal grew up on these 800 acres. This is woods, wilderness and boonies. There is more poison ivy per square foot in this area than anywhere else in the state of Texas--that level of "boonies." Last weekend, Crystal found a snake in her front yard. And this has upset her. Her front yard! "Why couldn't it be in my back yard?" she asked me. I hate to tell her this... 

Anyway, the snake slithered into a hole and she put a concrete block on the hole. I didn't point out there's probably a second hole. Hopefully it's in the back yard. 

Snake story 3:

Deb lives in a normal neighborhood. The neighborhood was established around 1980. Because it's East Texas, there are ponds everywhere. But please note, it isn't a wildlife kind of neighborhood. It's just a regular suburb. 

Driving back from her house this week, I found this sign. 

This isn't a lake. It is the size of the retention reservoir
found at the end of my former street in Mesa AZ.
Maybe 1/4 of an acre? Can we please stop normalizing critters? 

Snake story 4: Today I visited a friend who lives outside of Texarkana in an unincorporated part of town. She showed me her green house and millions of awesome plants she has. She then told me, oh yeah! She found a snake inside her green house yesterday. It got away. She also found a copperhead closer to her children's swing set last weekend. That one is now dead. Neither of these two locations are near each other, so this is two different snakes. 

We then went on a county-wide hunt for sulphur: the magic ingredient which is supposed to repel snakes. On our third stop, we found a 50 pound bag of the stuff.