When Sally, Kathleen and Kasi were here last weekend, we took a trip to Chez Monica. It is a quilter’s paradise. You could be in there for hours just soaking up mental image after mental image because everywhere you look there’s something to feed your soul. Photos will never do it justice, but here are a few snaps to share for your enjoyment.
P.S. I’ve added more photos to the weekend post, courtesy of Kasi, so even if you’ve read it, you may want to go back. Her photos are amazing!
We still had Sunday left, and, as promised, we started it off with a bit of a sleep in. That was followed by Orange Rolls and Quiche–and I forgot to take pictures!
But, can you believe they’d been here two days and we hadn’t even walked across the lawn to the Quilt Studio? I’m sorry they never got to visit Anna Lena’s, but this was the next best thing.
They were quite impressed by the rick rack holder Bob had built!
Kasi wanted to finish her wonderful Owl Quilt, so I gave her a quick lesson in stippling and off she went!
Didn’t it turn out fantastic!?!
Kasi intends for it to be a floor quilt. Some of the squares are Minky–so it will really be tactile for the baby.
While Kasi was quilting, Kathleen was busy trying on my aprons. Here’s the Saucy Circle Apron.
And the Lilly Apron made with my Butterfly fabric.
This one’s reversible, so she had to model both sides.
Kasi had seen my Garden Trellis quilt in Studio post, and had to bring the first quilt she ever made–a Garden Trellis quilt! She made it for her mom many years ago. It was easier to pin hers up than to take mine down!
Since she had only stitched in the ditch when she made it, we decided to put it on the long arm and quilt some flowers in it.
Won’t her mom be surprised!
Here’s Kasi getting a binding lesson. I wish I had a photo of what Sally was doing during this time–she was Swiffering the floor! Not that it needed it, of course!
Don’t you love Kasi’s embroidered jeans? Melissa, this one’s for you!
We had a great late lunch at Full Circle Cafe in Ocean Park,then drove through historic Oysterville. The old church there is so charming.
And here’s one of my favorite houses.
It was all over too soon,but, let’s check Kasi’s list and see how we did.
Kasi’s list.
Tour a cranberry bog ?
Visit the beach ?
Meet Monica ?
Meditate in that fabulous craft space ?
Meet Poppy (now Lola) Oh no, poor Lola!
Tour the little Swedish cabin ?
Sleep in ?
Stay up late ?
Drink wine – well, I think Lemon Drops count! ?
Eat yummy fun food at fun yummy restaurants ?
Shop all/any cute little stores in downtown Long Beach ?
Well, I guess it’s best to leave something undone–that way there can be a next time!
I know Kathleen and Kasi through my sister, Sally. They are both full of fun and crafty gals–and neither had ever been to Long Beach! So, we’d been planning a weekend to get them here.
Kasi had a list of what she wanted to do on the weekend:
Tour a cranberry bog
Visit the beach
Meet Monica
Meditate in that fabulous craft space
Meet Poppy (now Lola)
Tour the little Swedish cabin
Sleep in
Stay up late
Drink wine
Eat yummy fun food at fun yummy restaurants
Shop all/any cute little stores in downtown Long Beach
I tried to accommodate them. They arrived late Friday afternoon, and we started with a tour of the Swedish Log Cabin.
It’s mostly been winterized for the season, but they still had fun looking around.
I hope they appreciated that I was out in the pouring rain picking the last of my flowers for them!
Sally is more handy to have around than a Girl Scout (well, in our case, a Campfire Girl). She brought her professional martini shaker.
So before we went out for dinner, we enjoyed lemon drops!
Then we were off to Jimella’s for a fine dinner!
We stayed up late, as promised, and looked at Sally’s photo albums and Kasi’s latest quilt–a work in progress for a friend’s new baby.
Saturday morning we slept in a little bit, but not so late we didn’t have time to eat.
We had a quick breakfast of pecan sticky buns…
….and fresh fruit.
Then it was off to see cranberry harvest!
Kasi and Kathleen went to walk on the beach while Sally and I came back here to get ready for high tea.
They loved seeing Sid Snyder Drive, the street named for my dad.
My mom joined us. Our first course was Tomato Blue Cheese Soup for sipping.
That was followed by our sandwich plate–egg salad, tuna and cucumber/cream cheese sandwiches; carrot crudite and a currant scone.
And for dessert, a buche de noel. I know, it’s not Christmas–so we decided it was a buche de autumn. I made the mushrooms from almond paste.
While I did dishes, the others went to see my parents’ house….
… and the family grocery store, Sid’s Market (a highlight on any tour of the area!).
From there is was downtown Long Beach for some shopping.
Anna Lena’s Quilt Shop may be gone, but the fudge lives on–at Scrapuccino.
Then it was a trip to Astoria (and a lesson in Lewis and Clark).
But, the real reason for our trip was a visit to Monica and a chance to see her studio. Ever the generous hostess, she had made Itty Bitty Poochie Bags for us–and filled them with m&m’s!
After filling our senses with all things good and wonderful, we were off to dinner at the Bridgewater Bistro.
Why, are those more lemon drops?
Our food was delicious–and we topped it off with tiny desserts.
Good food, good friends. Does it get any better than that?
Then it was back here for a late night of show-and-tell from my vintage linen stash and some 1930′s quilts.
To be continued…….
Last week I finally got my Halloween decorations put up–well, some of them!
Aren’t these just the cutest little trick-or-treaters ever?
I love the expressions on their faces.
Halloween hats on the armoire.
A windowsill of silly fun.
I’ve had this cat pillow for years–and still love it!
Pumpkin people.
Candles on the fireplace.
My BOO chair and the most adorable crepe paper nut cups. Do you remember nut cups?
The dining room table all decked out.
The centerpiece.
Towel rack on the kitchen butcher block (that came from my dad’s store).
Noise maker.
Candy, anyone?
Bring on the little goblins!
Well, I’d like to think so. I had the sweetest letter from Tamsin Harvey, the proprietor of Berrima Patchwork and Crafts in New South Wales, Australia.
In it, she says that she stocks a range of my fabrics and would love to put a piece on display that’s been signed by me! She included a piece of my Blue Swallow Print from the Sweet Pea line from Studio Anna Lena. She also included a Sharpie pen and a return envelope. Now sweet is that!
I just has to post a few more photos from harvest–and some of our grandkids who were here to help!
Justin got hip boots for Christmas last year. He’s right at home in the bog.
That paddle is really heavy, but at six, he’s ready for the task.
I never get tired of watching the totes fill up.
I gave up my hip boots years ago. I’ll cook and drive truck, but I stay out of the bog. Oh, there’s a “bogged down” joke here somewhere! But, I do have the most stylish boots of all!
This is 2-1/2 year old Carson, getting the feel of the leaf rake. We’ll have him shoveling before long.
He likes to ride on the tractor with his daddy, Doug.
I made the mistake of saying his boots were muddy, at which point he shook them off his feet and wouldn’t put them on again!
Megan, Kyle and Marie. Who says harvest isn’t fun?
Another trailer loaded and ready to deliver to the receiving station.
Knee deep in berries.
Here’s Marie with her paddle.
Here’s Marie after she stepped in the ditch!
Back home. We didn’t make Peyton work in the bogs–not this year.
And isn’t this cute of Carson on our front porch?
Another cranberry harvest is behind us. Bob can take a big breath and relax! He always stresses so during harvest.
One of our favorite things during harvest is having strangers stop by the bog to see what we’re doing. We love to share the process with them. Cranberry farming is so unique. We call our little talks Cranberry 101. I thought it would be fun to share it here, too.
Cranberries grow on vines in naturally occurring peat bogs. They are not under water except during harvest.
If you look carefully, you can see the berries growing in amongst the vines.
When its time for harvest, we flood the bogs with water from our irrigation ponds.
Once the water covers the vines, a machine called a beater is driven over the vines. It has a reel on the front with small steel bars. The reel rotates and knocks the berries off the vines. Cranberries are hollow in the middle, and they float to the surface of the water.
Once they’re floating, we use booms and paddles to bring them to one end of the field.
An elevator conveys the berries into totes on the trailers. There is also a stream of water washing away leaves and debris as the berries ride up the elevator.
Filling the totes.
There’s between 1000 and 1100 pounds of cranberries in each tote. That’s a lot of little red berries!
As members of the Ocean Spray Co-op, all we have to do is deliver our crop to the local receiving station, where they are cleaned and hauled off to freezer to await further processing. All of our fruit is used for processing (not sold fresh in little bags). Because we have good color, most of it will probably go for juice. So, think of us next time you have a glass!
Jayne, our live-in babysitter from 1956 – 1959, came to visit us in Long Beach in 1965. We had moved to a new-to-us house a short time before. When Jayne was here recently, she shared these photos she’d taken then.
Here’s our house.
I loved the big yard, and the first thing I asked for was a dog! You see, in the past, when I’d asked for a dog, my parents always said we didn’t have a big enough yard.
I was the only one in the family that was a pet lover, but my parents agreed. This is our dog, Cinnamon.
It was fun not only seeing photos of us, but of the house and furnishings, too. I had these chairs in my first home many years later, and Sally had them after that!
Ditto with this bedroom set. In fact, it was in Sally’s guest room until just a year or two ago.
The kitchen didn’t have a dishwasher, but my mom solved that problem. She had a portable one on the back porch. Nice curlers, Mom!
My grandparents must have driven down from Raymond to see Jayne. Here’s Grandpa with “my” car.
And Grandma. She always wore dresses in those days.
Here I am with our neighbors (who were like grandparents) Nanny and Mr. Reisner.
My Aunt Evelyn and cousin Jim.
Butch Jasperson was a high school boy who lived with us. I remember the big thing for the high school boys then was to have their pants pegged–the legs narrowed. The school administration didn’t like the tight pants, so they passed a rule that the boys had to be able to drop a golf ball down the leg of their pants! Oh, and the girls had to kneel on the floor, and the hems of their skirts had to touch the floor!
I mentioned in the last post that I think Jayne had a crush on my cousin, Jim. Here they are again–and Jayne with curlers in her hair!
When Jayne was there, Mom and Dad had just returned from their first trip to Hawaii.
They brought leis for everyone!
Sid and Sally are checking out the kissing Hawaiian dolls.
And I’m trying on my grass skirt!
I’m so excited about our upcoming retreat. There are six spaces left, so if you could use a little uninterrupted time to work on your projects (as in Christmas is coming!), won’t you join us?
Days – You have the option of a three or four day retreat. The four day retreat is an additional $75.00–but think of what you can get done! THREE Day Retreat – Friday, November 6-Sunday, November 8. FOUR Day Retreat – Thursday, November 5 – Sunday, November 8.
Place – The retreat will be at the Falls Creek Retreat Center. The Retreat Center is 35 miles west of Chehalis on Highway 6. I taught there a few months ago, and it’s a lovely facility. We will be sewing in the gymnasium, so we’ll have plenty of room to spread out.
People – There will be 64 of us, including three “staff” members. Staff members are Robin Anderson, Monica Solorio-Snow and me!
Meals – The 3 day retreat includes 5 meals–dinner on Friday night, three meals on Saturday and brunch on Sunday. The 4 day retreat includes 8 meals–dinner on Thursday, three meals on Friday and Saturday and brunch on Sunday.
Accommodations – We will be split between the Creekside Lodge and Cedar Lodge. Each lodge has a lovely sitting room as well as the bedrooms. Everyone will have their own bed. Bedrooms have between 2 and 5 beds. Each bedroom has its own bath.
Structure – You are free to do your own thing at the retreat–work on UFO’s, start a new project–whatever you desire. The only thing we ask is that you not bring embroidery machines and have them running continually. I will also be offering a mystery class to those who would like to participate. Email me if you’d like details on that. The Anna Lena Staff will be there to offer assistance with your projects. These often lead to impromptu demonstrations.
Cost – THREE Day Retreat – Friday, November 6-Sunday, November 8 – $199.00
FOUR Day Retreat – Thursday, November 5 – Sunday, November 8 – $274.00
Click here to sign up. We’re going to have a blast!
In 1956 my parents advertised in the Portland, Oregonian for a live-in baby sitter to help with their three children–my brother, then called Bobby, was 4, I was three and my sister, Sally, almost 1. In those days, Portland was a world away. Now it’s about a two and a half hour drive, and it probably wasn’t too much more than that back then, but we just didn’t take those kinds of drives! And this is what Long Beach looked like! Probably quite a shock for a city girl.
Anyway, the ad was answered, and Jayne, who was starting her sophomore year in high school, came to live with us. Today we’d call her a nanny, but not back then. Here she is, holding our cat, Fluffy Mayonnaise.
Jayne stayed with us for the next three years. She was like a member of our family, even going to Disneyland with us! She made a whopping $10.00 a week. After high school graduation, she moved back to Portland She visited once or twice when we got older, but then we completely lost track of her. Surprise of surprise, she just came back to Long Beach for her 50th class reunion! We had a great visit, and she brought some wonderful old photos with her.
Here we are in Disneyland. Sally was too little to come–and still hasn’t quite gotten over the fact that she was left home.
Jayne still refers to my grandparents as “grandma” and “grandpa.” Here’s my Grandpa Kennedy in his garden.
She had several photos of my cousin, Jim.
I think she may have had a crush on him!
Oops, Jim with a broken foot.
Jim holding my brother and me.
Jim and I share a love of horses, but here he’s giving my brother a ride.
Not only did he have a horse, he had a nice car, too! Actually, I think it was the family car, and not just Jim’s.
This is Jim’s mom, my Aunt Evelyn. See the car in the garage. That’s my grandpa’s 1954 Dodge. He gave it to me in 1970 and I still have it!
This is my favorite of all the photos. It’s my Grandma and Grandpa Kennedy and all of their grandkids. On the left is Jim, holding his dog, Dukey, then my cousin Cheryl and me. On the right is my cousin Susan, my brother, Bobby (today known as Sid) and Sally, my sister, is on Grandpa’s lap.
