Thursday, June 18, 2009

Making Headway





A couple days ago I decided that it was time I took the bull by the horns and organize my sewing room closet. At least I got the floor cleared. That stack of blue bags contain kits, 2 to 3 in each bag. I went through and pulled out 3 bags of fabric that I will donate to Project Linus.


Then I got busy and worked on my quilt. I now have the center and inner border sewn together. Now I have to concentrate on the outer borders.























I have also been working on my applique project and the needlework projects that I have in progress.






I really need to get some of these things completed. Do you ever feel that you are overwhelmed with works in progress?






More later!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Headed Home

Day 3

Friday morning we headed home. We made a quick stop at the wool shop and the Amish Market to buy noodles. On our way back we stopped at a roadside fruit market to see about Stonewall Peaches but due to a late frost in early April they lost 90% of their crops. We did get a few East Texas peaches and they were very good.

On our way back to Johnson City, the birthplace of Lyndon B Johnson, we stopped at his ranch. You can now drive through the ranch on your own rather than take the bus. We had been to the ranch years ago, but could not go into the ranch house. This time we were able to see three rooms inside, his office, the family living room and kitchen. We were not allowed to take pictures with a flash so I did not get any inside.















This is his birthplace and some interesting things inside and we were allowed to take pictures








This is the kitchen which is across a walkway from the rest of the house.



































Out behind the kitchen was the chicken coop
and in front was a garden.
















The home was orginally built for a family with three children and was small. There were ten living it when LBJ was a child.




































Entering the home from the front porch there was a narrow hall dividing the bedrooms from the sitting room.


The hall held a clothes tree with a glove box and a sewing machine. Laying on the sewing machine was a paper pattern for an elephant, which might have been appliqued on a childs quilt.























The family cemetery is a beautiful peaceful setting under huge oak trees.










President Johnson's grave is the tallest marker and the vase of flowers is where Lady Bird is buried. The stone has not been set yet. All of the graves are President Johnson's family and they are buried oldest to youngest.
















The ranch house is a large sprawling place. Unfortunately the pictures are not the greatest - we were holding up traffic taking them.











The ranch house sets on the edge of the Pedernales River. When visitors came to the ranch President Johnson would surprise them by driving into the river with his amphibious vehicle.















After we left the ranch we traveled home to Bedford. It was a very pleasant getaway. I hope you enjoyed seeing this little bit of Texas. If so leave a comment.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Continuing On

Day 2


After breakfast we started out for a day of sight seeing. First we had to stop at a wool shop that I heard about the day before. I bought some real yummy wool pieces, of which I will use some on the Tisket a Tasket Blocks that Bunny Hill is offering.




























We then traveled from Fredericksburg to Kerrville. At Kerrville we picked up a highway going west, headed to the town of Leaky the scenery was beautiful. I didn't get to take as many pictures as I would have liked as I was driving the entire trip. And unfortunately, the pictures cannot show the beauty of the scenery along this road following the Guadalupe River. You also drive through the Lost Maples State Natural Area, which is a great area to visit in the fall of the year.























When we arrived in Leaky it was time for lunch. We found this restaurant where we could eat on the patio. The food was very good and the setting was likewise very nice. Even though the temperatures rose to the high 90's it was cool with a slight breeze when you were in the shade.












After leaving Leaky we traveled on to Medina and Bandera onto Kerrville, where we stopped at Creations for me to do some stash enhancement.



When we arrived back in Fredericksburg we ate dinner at the Fredericksburg Brewery where we had German sausage, cheese and wonderful crispy onion rings along with one of their beers. We were stuffed and opted to take the Apple Strudel back to the hotel.

That's it for today as I need to get off this computer and clean up my desk, which is stacked sky high. More tomorrow about our trip home and the LBJ ranch.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Back Home Again

It was an enjoyable few days to be in the Hill Country of Texas.

Day 1
We traveled to Fredericksburg. On the way we stopped at Wildseed Farms where we walked through their beautiful gardens.



















After checking into our motel we strolled down Main Street. It had been several years since we have been here and a lot had changed. There are a lot of Home Dec shops and high end clothiers. In a lot of ways it has lost some of its charm. One of the more interesting things to do is a visit to the National Museum of the Pacific War

and of course the ever present 5 and 10 cent store
It was a very hot day but we managed to walk Main Street end to end stopping for an iced tea and Apple Strudel.
More tomorrow.