Day 188 1st Row by row block and new fried chicken

Beginning July 1st and going through September, the quilting community is having a row by row shop hop. I (Lynn) heard about it from my sister, Marian who heard about it from some of the vendors at our guild's quilt show. There are thousands of shops nationwide participating. What you do is go to the participating shops and pick up a "row" they have designed. Each shop's row must be based on a season. There is a website where you can view the stores by state and each store has a Facebook page. I have gone to two local stores and gotten a row and Taylor picked me up one (see day 184). Tonight I made my first row.

Still needs some embellishments but it is cute. 

Tonight I (Taylor)  managed to get josh to wash dishes AND make dinner :-) he made his usually fried chicken nuggets but this time he made them with a new recipe. He put almost 1/2 cup of Texas Pete hot sauce in the batter. Now if you know me you know I don't do hot stuff so he was terrified I wasn't going to like it. Thankfully you couldn't taste the hot sauce. Turns out he was supposed to put a full cup! I definitely don't think I would have enjoyed that chicken. I love that I have such a talented chef of a husband!! 

Day 187 phone holder and apple cinnamon pancakes

A couple of weeks ago some friends and I went quilt shop shopping. While we were there, we saw these really cute telephone holders. They could be used for sewing also. They were only $2 and included the fabric and the pattern. The pattern is actually an interfacing that you press onto the fabric that has the sewing lines on it. My friend Carol got one for her soon to be daughter in law. She has not sewn much so she asked for my help. I needed to make one before I could show her how. That is trying for me. I have a hard time following directions. I think it is because I read so much and when I read I skim so I tend to do that with directions. I have to make myself concentrate when I am reading directions and not skip ahead. Here is what I made. I think it turned out cute.

My (Taylor) first was a bit of a flop. I was really craving some pancakes before church so I went pinterest-ing and found an apple cinnamon pancake recipe. The recipe called for applesauce and I had recent bought some. Well apparently some things on the top shelf of our fridge freeze. And that's what happened to my applesauce. So I just had cinnamon pancakes that were made with whole wheat flour and almond milk among other things. I've decided no matter how many different ways I try, I just can't stand whole wheat flour. It's awful in my opinion. So my breakfast wasn't very successful. 

Day 186 The Normal Heart and Sky High

I was trying (Lynn) to find something to watch while I continued to work on the scarf I am trying to knit. I came across a movie "The Normal Heart". I had never heard of it. It is about the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City between 1982 and 1985. The main character is Ned Weeks the gay founder of a HIV advocacy group. It was powerful! It was originally a play by Larry Kramer. I cannot tell you how moved I was by this movie. It is a shame that many people had to die before something was done to fund research on this deadly disease. It really makes you see how a group can be ignored just because people are small minded and afraid.

After a late night I was exhausted. Didn't been want to get out of bed at 8am! But we had plans for some fun this morning. We headed to Sky High Nashville with Brian, Ashlee and Bryson. Sky High is an indoor trampoline park. An absolute blast for sure! 

This is one of my favorite pictures. Bryson was jumping to josh into the foam pit. 

Josh was like a little kid! He's doing a front flip into the foam pit! 

 

Day 185 July 4th

Happy July 4th!!!

I went to Norris, Tennessee today. The local quilt guild, Bits and Pieces, has a show on July 4th every year. I know several members of the group since they belong to my guild. The show was in a church right on the square downtown. The quilt show was small but there were some lovely quilts. After that we wandered down on the square. The first thing we saw was a slip and slide for the kids. Then lots of awnings under which local politicians were vying for votes. We got to see tons of kids on their decorated bikes racing for blue ribbons. We stopped by the library where they were selling off old books. It was stepping back in time. What a great way to celebrate the 4th.

Today was a fun filled day for Josh and I. We got to spend the afternoon with his brother and sister-in-law and our nephew, Bryson. We had some delicious food and lots of laughs. After some time with them cooking out and some fireworks with them we headed to Nashville to see the 2nd best firework show in the states. Little did we know we would be among a lot of other people trying to head downtown. We ended up being stuck ok traffic for 3 hours and we had to watch the fireworks in a dead stop on the interstate. Definitely a first for me! 

Day 184 Dickson, TN and new license plate

I (Taylor) had a lot of errands to run today. I had a few for work, and Mom had asked me to run to Dickson to a little quilt shop that is participating in a thing called the Row by Row experience. I've never been to Dickson, and it definitely wasn't what I expected. I was expecting this small southern town with not much of anything. That's definitely not what I got! There was so much traffic there I was a bit overwhelmed! And it was the middle of the afternoon! But it was a nice little trip. Here is a picture of the pattern I got to pick up for Mom to complete. I think it's pretty cute!! (It's a guitar!)

Something weird happening here...I wrote my first for today and it disappeared. First let me say thanks to Taylor for getting me that block. I cannot wait to make it. Now on to my first. I had a super busy day at work so my first had to be easy. I was stumped until I got home and saw the mail. My new license plate had arrived. So I put my new plate on my new car. Now I have to try and memorize it which get harder as I get older.

Day 183 Bravo! and Jamberry Nails

I was stumped for a first today. (Lynn) I settled for a new restaurant. We'll it isn't new, but I have never been there. It is an Italian place.

I had the pizza. Marian had the lasagna. The food was pricey but delicious. We will return but I think next time we will split an entree and maybe get some dessert. The creme brûlée looked yummy and is a favorite of mine.

I held off on my first until really late. Which wasn't very wise for the project I did for my first. In preparation for the 4th of July, I decided I would try my Jamberry Nail wraps that I purchased last month. It wasn't the most difficult thing I've done, but it definitely wasn't the easiest. I'm hoping that with more practice I'll like them more, but I'm still not 100% sold. I think I would rather just have my nails painted. 

Day 182 Knitting lesson and Rita's Italian Ice

Today's first for me (Lynn) was a knitting lesson. I have tried in the past to teach myself to knit and failed miserably so I decided to actually take lessons. I had a great time and I felt like I learned a lot. Here is what I did in class.

Once I got home I ripped that out and started over so I could make sure I remembered how to cast on. Purling is still a challenge but it is getting easier. 

Today's first for me (Taylor) was having some Italian ice at Rita's on Market Square. I've passed by the place many times, but I've never actually stopped in and had any. Mom got done with her knitting class early so she and I went downtown to eat and did a little shopping. It was a HOT day so we stopped for some Italian Ice. I had the Chocolate Chocolate Chip. It was DELICIOUS!

Oh, and I got my very first pair of Chacos!!