Bob was born and raised in Montana, and we go back as often as we can.  We generally drive, and one of our favorite little towns to stop in is Ritzville, Washington.  Unfortunately, in the last 20 years that I’ve been traveling through there, the downtown has lost many businesses.  We would always have a meal in one of the downtown restaurants, but they’re all gone now.

Our favorite was the Circle T, but even its sign is gone.  The Whispering Palms is closed, too.

As is the old theater.

I think the bar and grill is hanging on!

No gas today.  Most of the business has moved out by the interstate exchange.  Bye, Ritzville.

Well, you know you’re in Montana when the sconces in the restaurant look like cow skulls!

We stayed in Kalispell and had breakfast at Sykes.  Yep, 10 cent coffee!

We went with some of Bob’s family to Glacier Park for a picnic.

There’s a handsome bunch!

We were on the shores of Lake McDonald.  Breathtaking!

I love the tenacity of trees.

I think it’s so cool that they still have the red busses in the park.  (Yellowstone has yellow ones!)

This is the Conrad Mansion in Kalispell.  The grounds were the prettiest I had ever seen them.

Kalispell has some cool old buildings, like the fabulous art deco TV station.

 

And the very proper City Water Department.

The old theater.

We had lunch with Vernon and Thelma, now both in their late eighties.  On the wall was this picture of Vernon and Pastor Pete.  I think Vernon is as handsome as Marshall Dillon!

We had breakfast one day at Wheat Montana.  Loved the poster.

This is the view from Bob’s cousin Glenn’s house.  Talk about Big Sky Country!

Wheat fields in the front of the house and the Flathead River out the back!  It doesn’t get much better than that!

Another tenacious tree.  It’s a long ways from the river now, but I think spring floods have had a go at it a time or two.

A couple more old signs.

And a Beaverslide!  For those who don’t know, it’s used for stacking hay.

Next, our visit to the state penitentiary!

 

Did you know there’s a new American Girl Store in Seattle?  I started buying American Girl dolls for McKenna when she was small.  Then my mom bought me one!  She bought me Kerstin, the Swedish doll.  How perfect!  I didn’t really play with dolls as a kid, but I loved having Kerstin and her Swedish accouterments. Then, a friend bought a Kerstin for Sally, too!  So, we just all had to go.  I drove up to Seattle and spent the night with Sally.  Here are our Kerstin dolls waiting for the big outing.

McKenna and Tamara drove up from Albany to meet us.

It was so fun to see the displays in the store.

What’s this!?!  Julie is from 1974.  Oh, my god!  I’m old enough to be an American Girl Doll!

When I was in high school, my bedroom was hot pink and orange, just like Julie’s!

When I got married in 1974, I got a fondue pot exactly like this, except mine was Harvest Gold, not Avocado Green!  It’s all too much….

I had to move on.  McKenna liked the special doll for this year, Kanani.

We had to swing by the beauty parlor.  Look at all the choices you have for giving your doll a new hairstyle!

Elizabeth had to have a new ‘do.

Doesn’t it look pretty?

We had a lunch reservation.  McKenna and Sally.

Tamara and me.

The dolls each got their own chair!

And their own beverage!

The ceiling was adorable!

Some lucky little girl was having a birthday party.

We topped of lunch with decadent desserts.  McKenna had the brownie sundae (and so did I!).

Sally and Tamara had cake pops.

I have another granddaughter now, so guess who will be getting a Bitty Baby for Christmas?  Yep, Peyton.  And the whole family loves camo, so what could be more perfect than Bitty Baby in a camo outfit?  I’ll tell you what.  I bought a matching outfit for Peyton, too!

Oh, it’s fun to be a grandma!

Last weekend, we celebrated a Swedish Midsummer here at home.  I would rather have been in Sweden, but this was the next best thing.

The front porch was decorated with flowers, birch branches and Dala horses.

It all starts with the midsummer pole.

We had fox gloves and rhododendron blossoms adorning it this year.  Melissa and Matt helped!

And, for the first time, we had a rooster on top!  In Sweden the rooster is another symbol for the renewal.

Time for the ceremonious raising of the pole.

As you can see, our small one only requires two (strong) men.

Cole helped lock it in place.

The rhodies were a nice addition.

And speaking of nice, we had a really nice day.  Even my mom, who doesn’t usually enjoy nature, was comfortable sitting outside.

Dad was here, too.

And Melissa…

…and Matt.

Of course Sally was here, and so was Ray, but he was taking pictures and didn’t end up IN any pictures!

Cole was here.

We all danced around the maypole, even my dad!  That left no one to take pictures, but that was okay.  Dancing is always more fun than taking pictures.

Then we spent a little time in the cabin.

All seemed quiet around the troll house!

I have two new chairs on the porch.  They were made by Josh Blewett, who also made the stairs in the cabin.

I found a good supply of wild daisies to pick for decorating.

And Melinda shared some flowers from her garden.

Mom, Melissa and Matt enjoying the sofa.

Then Melissa and Matt had to check out the loft.

Here’s one of the weavings my Swedish cousin, Berit, has made for me.

And the corner cupboard I bought in Sweden in 2008.

This wonderful embroidery is new-to-me.  It talks about the red cottage with it’s weeping birch tree and remembering your childhood days.

This candlestick is a copy of one from the 16th century and it has a LOT of symbolism.  Rooster – Watchfulness; Three candles – the Holy Trinity; Two jagged arches – Christ’s Crown of Thorns; Ten holes – the Ten Commandments; Heart – Love; Twelve leaves – the twelve Apostles.  Whew!  You can see another beautiful weaving of Berit’s under it.

In Sweden the lupine is always blooming profusely during midsummer.  The best we could do were these wild foxgloves at the edge of our woods.

Inside I pulled out some of my Swedish souvenirs. The three dolls in the middle are dressed in parish costumes.  The blue one is from Transtrand where Melissa’s grandpa’s family came from.  The boy and the girl in the red dress are dressed in Nås clothes.  Nås is the town Anna Lena came from.

These adorable candle holding girls I bought in Sigtuna, Sweden–the oldest city in Sweden.

Of course midsummer isn’t just about a maypole, it’s also about FOOD!  My sister, Sally, loves dishes and has, shall we say, several sets.  She brought her blue and yellow ones, which were perfect because they are the colors of the Swedish flag.

There are two styles of plates.

And lots of adorable serving pieces.

Our meal consisted of hard bread.  One of my favorite Swedish finds is this Dala horse server.

The hard bread is a brand from Dalarna–my “home” province.  My grandma always told me Dalarna was the prettiest part of Sweden!

We had a variety of cheeses to go on the bread.

And, of course, pickled herring, served in a special herring boat.

It wouldn’t be midsummer without meatballs and lingonberries.  I made 150 meatballs for 9 people!

We had new potatoes with fresh dill.

Pickled beets.

And cucumber salad.

And, of course, we had TWO desserts.  I made a Princess Cake.  It’s my third one.  This year I wanted to do something different, so made a long loaf rather than the traditional round cake.

And we had to have a Strawberry Torte.

It was so much fun to be with family and sharing a bit of our Swedish tradition.  Maybe next summer I’ll be in Sweden, wearing my Nås dress and dancing around the may pole.

 

 

When I was at my parents’ house the other day, Mom had an old scrapbook out on the dining room table.

What fun!  It even had a package of “Nu Age” photo corners still tucked inside.

Doesn’t she look preppy?

This is her high school graduation photo.  I love the bow!

She graduated in 1941–just before the beginning of WWII.

She even kept some of the graduation cards she got.  The dimensions on them are very different that today’s cards.

My mom has always written poetry, and she wrote the class song for her class.

In case you want to read it, a typed version.

She had one of my grandma’s business cards.

And she saved her home economics notebook!

Don’t you love her Palmer Method handwriting?

I thought there might be some recipe treasures in here, but a recipe for hot chocolate??

The sugar cookies might be worth a try.

I’m in love with this simple drawing on Mom as Daisy May.  Unfortunately, she can’t remember who drew it, but I think that it’s an incredible likeness.

Mom had gone to a costume party dressed as Daisy May–I’m sure many of you are too old to know who that is!

At the end of WWII, my mom and Lil moved to Los Angeles.  A big adventure for small town girls!

Now mom was collecting matchbooks from places like the Polo Lounge…

…the fabulous Rotisserie…

…and The Pirate’s Den!

Cocktail napkins were also a popular memento to collect.

Ooh, here’s one from the Palladium.

Of course you have to have pictures of your friends–and yourself in front of the famous Garden of Allah Motel!

In the scrapbook were programs from plays.

I love the ad on the back cover!

And this How to Dunk booklet cracked me up.  Bob will have to read it!

She dined in China Town…

…with her sister-in-law Gloria and friends who were visiting from home.  Those were the days when everyone dressed up to go out.  The ladies even have corsages!

She had a menu from the Fred Harvey restaurant.  I thought it was especially interesting because it has cover art by Thomas Hart Benton.

It’s worth taking a minute to look over the menu and prices.

Mom also saved birthday cards she got from home…

…and friends.

And this very special telegram she got at work.

No, it wasn’t THAT Roy Rogers, it was my cousin Jimmy, who always signed letters to her as Roy Rogers!

He also sent her this bear he’d colored.  My mom was always known as Beeb or Bebe to her nieces and nephews.

She may not have gotten a telegram from Roy Rogers, but she did get Frank Sinatra’s autograph when he came into her workplace once!

He was every girls’ heartthrob then and Mom got to see him perform at the CBS Radio Playhouse.

She was still writing poetry–usually about finding a guy…

…or this one, about exercise.  Cute cutouts around it.

But then she came to Long Beach for vacation, met and married my dad, had three kids and her scrapbooking days were over!

It’s taken me a whole year to get this post posted. I know some of you are very familiar with camo, but if you’re not, here’s your introduction!

The whole Hamilton family visited Cabella’s in Olympia.

Cabella’s is an outdoorsman’s paradise.

And home of everything camo.  Do you see our grandson, Carson, in the photo below?  No, not the boy in purple, that’s Cole.  If you can’t find Carson, that’s the camo, aka camouflage, doing its job!

If Justin didn’t have that great smile, you might not see him in the photo below.  He already has quite the camo wardrobe.

Bill’s looking stylin’ in his camo pants and backpack.

He probably should have these boots, too.

You didn’t think they only came in one style, did you?

Oh, you don’t need rubber boots?  How about work boots?

If you don’t want anyone to see your hands–and you want to keep them warm at the same tie–you’ll need these gloves!

Justin had some money to spend, but it was a hard decision what to spend it on.  Hmmm, maybe  this camo wallet???

Perhaps we’re spending too much time shopping. Time for a wresting break.

Wow! Not only can you be entirely clad in camo, you can get a camo ATV, too!

JJ found one that’s just the right size.

But, seriously, how about home decor?  Surely if we can outfit our bodies in camo, we can do our homes, too.

Clock, anyone?

Or a camo game table for just $99.00?

Of course, you’ll need somewhere to relax.

Pink and blue bean bags?  Is that pink for girls and blue for boys?

Ooh, here’s a comfy TV chair.

And McKenna modeling the latest in camo coffee mugs.

Now that we’ve furnished the living room in camo, how about the bedrooms?

Not only can you get the perfect comforter, you can get camo valances.

Don’t think this is just for the boys.  There’s pink camo bedding for the girly girls in the family.

Oh! Oh!  Bathroom accessories, too!

Aw, even dolls dressed in camo.

There were even kid sized chairs, as McKenna discovered.

Justin and JJ found them a good fit, too.

Carson had to give them a try.  Note the mini loves seat, too!

The top half of Justin just about disappears in this chair.

Is it Justin or a bear???

Justin or a deer???

I’m speechless!  All in all, it was a great camo day.

There’s got to be a rhyme in here somewhere.  That family that wears camo together…….  Well, you’l have to finish it.

Christmas Day was a Very Merry Christmas at our house.

The mantle is filled with my Christmas village.

Despite Bob’s concerns that all the heat will go up the chimney, we have a roaring fire!

Here’s the tree…

…with lots of blown glass ornaments collected over the years.  It’s so fun to think of the places I visited and who I was with when I got each of them–like New York, San Francisco, Colonial Williamsburg and the Hotel Del Coronado.

For years I collected vintage looking boxes.  I hadn’t used them in over 15 years.

But this year I dug them out and discovered I still love them!

We did brunch here, with fresh Dungeness crab legs, barbecued pork, gruyere potatoes, my mom’s homemade potato salad and her homemade cheese–along with some Cougar Gold.

I baked cardamom bread…

and pecan sticky buns and orange rolls.  We love our carbs in this family!

Sally, Ray, Dad, Mom and Cole.

Cole (hey! how did he get in there again!?!), Melissa, Matt and Bob.

A very Merry Christmas indeed!

We always celebrate Christmas Eve at my mom and dad’s house.

Mom has a penchant for poinsettias.

She uses them liberally on her tree…

…up her stairway…

…and all her gift-wrap features them.  If you look outside the windows, you can see the ocean!

We didn’t get a group family photo, so here we all are, individually.  My beautiful mom.

My handsome dad.

My skinny sister Sally.

Her husband Ray.

Our nephew  Cole.

DH Bob.

And me, obviously ready to get the opening of gifts underway!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday.  The best part is being with family and friends, but the food wasn’t bad, either!

The table was set…

I splurged on new linens this year.

The dough for the Parker House rolls was smooth and silky.

My goal is always to have the rolls come out of the oven just as we sit down to eat, and I managed the time just right.

The turkey was a beauty.

22 pounds!

My mom brought a pumpkin pie.  I baked an apple but it was camera shy!

And Melinda brought a cherry pie.

Doesn’t everyone have an orange gingham tablecloth for fall!?!

Yes, I actually did it.  Bob and I took Lola, our 1972 Airstream, on her first camping trip.  Well, her first camping trip with us and my first camping trip EVER!

We went to Stub Stewart State Park in Oregon, only about two hours from home–perfect for a first outing.  And, a beautiful campground, I might add.

Son Doug and his family met us there.  I’ve mentioned before that I have cute grandkids.  Well, here’s the proof!  This is Carson.

And Peyton.

Carson thought the gravel parking spots were perfect.

And the play area was really neat!

We had a beautiful day on Saturday.

On Sunday it began to mist.  But, we decided to do a hike through the woods anyway.  I’m not sure this was the best trail to take!

I love the forests here in the Northwest.  They’re so dense and lush.

And I love the odd shaped trees.

Or this one, that has dozens of “arms.”

Multiple trunks are always interesting.

Crooked AND moss covered!  What could be better?

There were lots and lots…

…and lots more ferns.

And giant clover.

I mean GIANT!

I find old snags cool, too.

As well as old stumps.

Even rotting stumps!  Notice how dark it was in the woods.  My camera flash went off!

“Grandma, look at me on this big stump!”

Have you ever heard of “disk golf?”  It was a first for me.

There’s a course and these baskets for catching Frisbees.  Who would want to throw a Frisbee in the woods?  Wouldn’t all those trees get in the way?

From the highest part of our hike, we could see the campground.  See Lola there in the mist?  Doesn’t she look beautiful?

Way back in 1974, when I was 20 and my Grandma Ikey was 90, I was getting married.  Grandma Ikey had two Nine-Patch quilt tops that she had made several years before and tucked away.  One was supposed to be for my brother when he got married, and the other for my cousin Jim when he got married–her two grandsons.  However, I was the first to get married, so Grandma gave one to me as a wedding gift.

This quilt became very special to me, because my other grandma, my Grandma Kennedy, and the members of her Ladies Aid Society, did the quilting on it.  I slept under this quilt for years, had it dry cleaned a few time–I didn’t know any better–and have always treasured it.  My brother did get the other one, also finished by the Ladies Aid, and his is in pristine condition.

I always said that someday I’d be a quilter.  About 1993, I got a free quilt pattern in the mail.  It was from Oxmoor House and was for a Grandmother’s Flower Garden.  I thought, “I should make this.  And I should make it king sized so it will fit my bed!”  Ah, ignorance was bliss!  I also remembered that my mom had given me some old fabric and blocks from my Grandma Ikey after she passed away, and that among them were some Flower Garden blocks.  Amazingly, I opened a drawer in my storage room, and there they were–16 Flower Garden blocks, or at least the components to make them.  I knew I wanted to use them in my first quilt!  It took me 2-1/2 years, but I finished that king sized top.

As I was working with the blocks that Grandma Ikey had made (I had to take them apart and re-cut them as they were a different size than my pattern) I began to think that some of the fabrics looked familiar.  I was pretty sure they were the same as some in my Nine-Patch.  So, I got it out and started to compare.  Sure enough, there were some duplicates!  Like this yellow and green flower print.

There was also this cute little blue flower.

You can see it’s more faded in the Nine-Patch.

Sometimes there were only enough hexagons for a half block, but that worked great for the edges of the Flower Garden.

Well yesterday, Bob and I and my parents visited our cousin Betty, whom we rarely see.

She had two quilts that our Grandma Ikey had made!  This star quilt.

And this fan quilt!

I was thrilled to see them, but even more excited when I started recognizing some old friends among the prints!  The white daisies on this pink background really speaks to me–I’ve always loved daisies.  Here it is in Betty’s star quilt….

…and in my Nine-Patch quilt…..

…and in my Flower Garden quilt!

This very abstract blue print was in one of the stars…

…and in my Nine-Patch.

The other print in this star was also familiar.

It’s not only in my Nine-Patch….

…Grandma Ikey made my baby doll a dress from this print!

And here it appears with a blue paisley…

…which is also in my Nine-Patch.

This fan blade had lots of matches to my quilts.  The center blade with the little Lemoyne Stars print….

…made its way into my Nine-Patch, although it’s much more faded here.

And the dark brown with the aqua flowers….

…is REALLY faded in my quilt.

Did you notice the little tulip print in the above block?  It turns out Dolly has a dress made from that print, too!  I love her rick rack!

INSERTED 8/3  My sister emailed me last night.  She had gotten her dolls out to check out their dresses, and here’s what she found–and said.

Here are Chatty Baby and Chatty Cathy all decked out in their tulip dresses.  Please note that my dolls can stand up by themselves, because they are not missing any legs.  Chatty Baby is upset, because she can’t find her scarf.  (I suspect the reason Chatty Cathy is looking away from Baby is because Cathy lost her own scarf and stole Baby’s.)

Then this morning Sally emailed me this….Chatty Cathy has a headache this morning from wearing the scarf too tight. Serves her right, I think.

How do you like the blue gingham sundresses?

I love the pink gingham — wide rick-rack for Cathy and narrow rick-rack for Baby.

Does the white fabric with yellow roses look familiar, SW?

As a matter of fact, it does.  It’s in my Flower Garden quilt!  Thanks, Sally, for sharing!

The dainty blue flowers, next to the bottom blade…

…make an appearance in the Flower Garden quilt.

And the last blade, with it’s wild pink, red and black combination…

…shows up in the Flower Garden quilt.  I think Dolly had a dress from this, too, but I don’t seem to have it.  Maybe my sister does.

And one of my favorite prints, which I remember is in my brother’s quilt too, is the gray and red one.

It’s in both of my quilts….

…and Betty’s fan quilt.

It’s amazing the connections among these four quilts–five if you count my brother’s.

Yesterday my mom told me that Grandma Ikey once said that when she and her niece, Elsie (who was two years older, but that’s another story) would buy fabric for a project, before they even cut into it, they were planning what they’d make from the scraps!  Spoken like a true quilter.

And I have one more quilt to show you that’s from Grandma Ikey.  This is the crib quilt she made when my brother was born, and that Mom used on all three of us kids.