Good Fences

I've been too busy running around to do much writing, so will just do this post for now and resume my efforts again later.

I may have posted it before, can't remember.  Oh the sorrows of growing old!

Long Live the Queen

Chores for the Cats

I decided it was time to make these cats earn their keep.  I mean, there's no reason they shouldn't do some chores around the RV....right?

George responded to the news by yawning, rolling over and going back to sleep.  That's my boy.

Gracie however is more hyper and always up for some action, so she agreed.

The laundry was done and we were busy putting it away.  Left Brain finished up and left the basket on the bed.

It appeared that Gracie jumped into the basket and it folded up on her, creating a cat burrito.

Long Live the Queen

Springtime in Wisconsin

One of the beauties of traveling full time in an RV is getting to experience springtime over and over again as we transition from south to north.  It's a bit like being in that movie, Groundhog Day.

When we arrived it was a balmy 78 degrees and I really felt we hit it right this time by not arriving too early.

Then the bottom dropped out and we woke to having no water because the hoses froze.  This was discovered unfortunately right after my morning toilette.

And the wind continues to blow at a sustained 25 mph and we watched the awning shimmy and shake and feeling the RV rocking.

But the worst part was enduring the sight of snow.  We are not returning to this area again until May 1st next year!

On the upside however, it does make for some very affectionate cats as they seek laps for warmth.

I guess it could be worse.

Since the weather is nasty we decided to head north to see the kids.  Maybe Minnesota is warmer.

Long Live the Ice Queen

Spring Decorating

When your house rumbles and rattles down the road, it's hard to add a lot of decorations.

But where there's a will there's a way.

I spotted this sign and loved the message it conveyed, plus the yellowish gold color goes nicely with the quilted chair covers I made for the RV.

With good cleaning (using rubbing alcohol) and Command tape you can attach things quite firmly to glass.  I still have a large, heavy photo in a frame on the bedroom mirror that's ridden with us for three years now without falling.

This sign just seemed perfect for the bathroom. If you knew Left Brain you'd understand. 

Then there was the day that Left Brain presented me with a flower he had plucked while out on his bike.  It spurred the idea that if I used the plastic tray put out by Command I could have a little color and place for more wildflowers.

The tray will hold up to two pounds and I found four little bottles that just fit so they can't crash into each other.  Right now they just have some plastic ferns for color....until I'm given more flowers. Hint hint.

The super nice part of this is that this is the area that always gets splashed from doing dishes and with this little arrangement in place it hides some of that mess.

The coffee mug was crafted by a potter friend named Joyce Diveley and she makes the most amazing things.  This is what holds the grass for George and Gracie to nibble on.  It's the only "house plant" I have and I like the color it brings.

Even the kitties got an upgrade with this basket I snagged at TJ Maxx.  It is so hard to keep their bedding clean, and this way I can wash the pillow case inside that is storing some of the extra quilted throws we always have on hand.

Note the yellow flower that adorns their boudoir now as well.

And then there's this.  Gracie likes to get into things and move things around.  I find money from our money cup on the floor and the garlic acts as a soccer ball for her.  Apparently she likes the way her toys look in the onion basket.  What can I say?  She's got an artistic eye.

See, there are many ways to add some color to a moving home without having to take things down or store them while in motion.

Long Live the Queen of Home Decorating

Time for some Photoshop Fun

I've been really lazy lately in using the computer for creative ventures, so it was time to get busy.

This anole was starting to look annoyed as I poked my lens closer and closer to him.  In my mind (a place you don't want to go) it seemed this is what he'd be saying.

I had taken this shot of an old building in Hamilton MO, but the sky was washed out.

So I replaced the sky with this one.  Much better, yes?

Then there was this lovely grouping of redbud trees in Kansas. 

I like to add a little text to help me remember where I'd found some of these treasures, and of course, I have to play with the filters a bit.

There, now I feel I've accomplished something.

Long Live the Photo Manipulating Queen

Fun watertowers

I've started a collection of water towers and some are more interesting than others.

Unfortunately I only had a quick shot at this from inside a moving motorhome, so it's not great, but I still love it.

I have to admire the sense of humor to label the town's water towers as Hot Cold and Warm.

Long Live the Queen

Good Fences Thursday

We've been busy setting up our new home for the next couple of months, but I don't have any photos yet to share, so I was glad to see it was once again Good Fences Thursday.


This is one of those decorative overpasses that we seem to go under all the time.

Long Live the Queen

Why is the Queen knitting baby caps?

I have a hard time sitting still, so during travel times it is helpful to have something to occupy my mind and hands.

I started out knitting dishrags and have quite a supply of these, even after giving many of them away.

Then I learned about the baby caps groups knit to donate to hospitals for use in the neonatal unit.  So I decided to expand my knitting skills from just knitting to knitting and purling.  It's amazing what you can learn from books and You Tube.

These are harder for me than the dishrags as I have to pay a little attention....not my forte.   But they are kind of fun to create and it's nice knowing I have any number of places to distribute them.

Now I can knit, purl, increase and decrease...could there be booties in my future?

Hmmm, would George and Gracie enjoy wearing these?  Nah.

Long Live the Knit Picking Queen

Rubbish Tuesday

I keep missing these posts - can't seem to remember what day it is.  But we're in northern Missouri now and the cold morning must be stimulating my brain enough to look at the calendar.


This is another shot from the Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins.

I love the way that nature will reclaim its own space when left alone, forcing their way out of the rocks to create ferns and lichen.

Long Live the Queen

Left Brain and I Go Our Separate Ways

Since our next campground was 200 miles away and the quilt shop I wanted to visit was 100 miles away, we decided not to hook the car on for this trip.  We would each go in one of the vehicles and meet up later in the day.

So, this morning the Queen took the wheel of the car joyfully heading to the Missouri Star Quilt Company to do a little shopping and fondle the fabric I hold so dear.  All quilters are fabric gropers.  It's impossible to "oh and ah" without lovingly caressing the bolt.

Hamilton MO is known for its abundance of quilt shops and being the boyhood home of J.C. Penney.

When I initially entered the shop I was enthralled with all the goodies to see and touch, but it didn't seem all that special...it was just a nice quilt shop.  Nothing wrong with that...but I was expecting more.

What I hadn't realized is that this building was just one of many within the Missouri Star Quilt Company.

In Penneys you will find all the solids, blenders and transitional fabrics that are the basic elements found in quilting.

In this building you will find "Sew Seasonal".  A store chock full of fabric for all the seasons.  Next door to it is Batik Boutique and yes, you guessed it...it has nothing but batiks.  Sigh.  So much fabric...so little time.

I neglected to photo the building housing all the novelty fabric and licensed prints.  Let's just say it was all very overwhelming.

I loved this old ad painted on another building in this charming town, but the day was so grey and dreary I just had to add some blue skies and play with some filters on it.

I purchased the pattern and template to this scrap happy quilt and then bought rolls of 2 1/2" strips in Fourth of July theme fabrics and in Halloween fabrics.  I can't wait to get set up for an extended stay and get out the machine!

While I was having a little "Me Day", Left Brain went on his way on to Eagle Ridge RV Park in Eagleview MO and got everything set up for my arrival. Oh, the things I will do to get out of the set up process!



Long Live the Queen of Quilts

Kansas City....Here I Come

We stopped in the Kansas City area for three days on our way northward and settled in to the Walnut Grove RV Park in Merriam KS.  The sites are a bit close together, but the location is good.

Our first stop was to visit Camping World about a half an hour away to pick up a couple more items we learned about.  There's always something I want from there.

Then we found the Library Parking Garage, another find from Roadtrippers.com.  It is a large public parking area, but when viewed from 10th Street, it appears to be a collection of many of the literary greats.

This was even more special than I had anticipated and I'm glad we were here when the trees were not leafed out or the view would have been obscured.

Kansas City is an artsy fartsy kind of town and we spotted several great murals as we drove around.

For lunch we went to Danny Edwards Boulevard BBQ.  They had a lunch special of a pulled pork sandwich with a side and half an order of (real, home-made) onion rings.  

Sweet find!  

I need to get my Yelp review done up next. 

Another fun day in the city.

Monday we leave for Missouri and I have no idea what kind of internet we'll find again on the road....so if you don't hear from me, that will be why.

Long Live the Queen of Kansas City BBQ

I Love Paris in the Springtime

Well, Paris Texas that is.  It's probably the closest I'll ever get to the real place.  When I saw in Roadtrippers.com that there was a replica of the Eiffel tower in Paris TX, I added to our itinerary.

It's not exactly a true replica, since this one has a red cowboy hat on the top.  I'm pretty sure the one in France would be sporting a beret, if it were to wear a chapeau.

We first spotted this cell tower and wondered if this was the Eiffel Tower.  It would have saved a lot of money to just add the cowboy hat to the cell tower.

Well, I guess that wouldn't have been quite as attractive.

The 65 foot tower is lighted for nighttime viewing and there is a Veterans Memorial under construction next to it.  It is located next to the Hope Civic Center, so there was easy parking for any size vehicle.

Finding it was a bit of a challenge, so I contacted Roadtrippers with the actual address for future searchers and it has already been corrected on the site. It was a nice visit and fun photo op.  

Viva La Queen!

Creating the Perfect Cat Toy

When I saw this on Facebook I knew I had to make one for George and Gracie.  I even had the perfect little quilt to use inside for the bed.  After careful choosing, I went with the 
wedding t-shirt from our friends Vern and Lorraine since their anniversary is in March.

The pattern is quite simple and only needs a 15" x 15" piece of cardboard, two wire hangers, tape and a t-shirt.

Wire hangers have been long banished from my home in place of the nicer plastic ones.  Hmmm.  Where can I find some old fashioned hangers?

Aha!  At the Activity Center in Livingston there was a rack of donated clothes. I'll bet they have some.  So I took some of my less than favorite hangers with me to trade up...well, trade down.

Cardboard.  Rats!  We just tossed out these nice boxes from Left Brain's new laptop and they would have been perfect. Where am I going to get my hands on some cardboard?

I was on my way to the dumpsters to see if they were still in there and within reach without doing a complete dumpster dive, although I was prepared to do just that.

Lo and behold there was a man on his way to the dumpster with a bag of trash and what was that in his hands?  Cardboard!

I called out to stop him and ran over waving two wire hangers in my hand, still dressed in my sweats with the pajama top hanging out.  I must have been quite a sight.  Did I brush my hair this morning?  Couldn't remember.

He stopped apprehensively...actually he looked a bit frightened, as I would have been.  When I asked if that was cardboard (with a gleam in my eyes) he cautiously said yes.  People always speak slowly and carefully to those that appear deranged.

I just couldn't tamper my excitement, he had what I needed ...right there in his hands!  After asking if I could have it, he basically thrust it at me as he slowly inched away.  It was a little embarrassing to have accosted a perfect stranger for a flattened wine box, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

With the last of the needed materials I ran into the RV and began construction.  I was so excited.  It didn't take any time at all before my own personal cat tent was completed.  I proudly showed it to Left Brain.  He rolled his eyes.

I set it down on the floor, expecting George and Gracie to dash in and play.  They rolled their eyes.

I tried to entice them with tossing cat toys inside.  They looked suspicious.  

I tried shoving George inside.  He ran away. But Gracie stuck around...she's always been the curious one.

It wasn't until throwing cat treats in that Gracie reluctantly entered to get them.  She ate the treats and walked away looking disgraced at having sunk so low for a quick snack.

I can't believe I sunk so low!

Apparently I was the only one excited about the project as nobody will even look at it.  I'm giving it three days and if there's no interest it will be dismantled and Left Brain can have his shirt back.

Oh well.  I tried.

Long Live the Queen of Failure at Cat Amusement

Good Fences Thursday

This is the fence and gate around the Visitors Center in Lake Havasu City AZ. 

The London Bridge is seen in the far background.  

Long Live the Queen