a piece of history

Liberty Belle - B17 bomber from WWII







We got to see this piece of history on Saturday, the Liberty Belle was parked at the Cherokee airport in Canton. Mechanics were scurrying around trying to get it ready for this season of shows. According to the schedule, the plane was scheduled to be at Peachtree-Dekalb airport.

have your cake and sew it too

I never was good at matching fabrics, but no worries, now the fabric companies do it for you with all sorts of coordinating fabrics cut into small sizes - they started out with fat quarters and 5" charm packs.

I admire the marketing strategy - if they don't buy it by the yard, cut it up and sell it in bundles of matching colors and prints.



I love the latest gimmick, getting our attention by using food - there are jelly rolls and honey buns and candy bars, guilt-free ways we can indulge our sweet tooth!

My latest discovery is layer cakes - 10" squares of 42 different coordinating prints, all ready to make into a quilt!

I am using a layer cake pack to make this quilt called mom's bouquet. It is supposed to be super fast and easy, after cutting out the pieces you are just supposed to grab pieces at random and sew together into a square. I have a problem with the 'random' part, so I had to lay them all out and make sure everything looked good before sewing, but it is definitely going together fast!



I was a little worried about all the different colors and prints, is it too much? So I asked for advice from the teenage girls next door and they all liked it! All this talk of sweets makes me hungry, hmmm maybe I should make a really layer cake?

coming soon

Construction is underway, coming soon - The Varsity in nearby Dawsonville!

The hot dog stand that originally opened in 1928 in Atlanta grew to be a favorite institution with generations of families (ours included). No longer will we have to drive an hour to get a good chilidog, the new location is just about 25 minutes from home.

Whether you like your dogs naked or all the way or sideways, you might need to brush up on your Varsity lingo to make sure you have your order ready in your mind.

Folks are driving by to check on the construction progress like us, and even dropping from the sky, like this plane that had just landed in the median on Sunday when we were checking out the new store, maybe they just couldn't wait either.

Local Varsity fans will be happier, belts will be tighter, arteries will be more clogged, but at least we will be saving gas with the closer location!

sarah

My name is Sarah Scott.
My nickname is Scotty-too-hottie.
I go to school at Gilmer High School.
My favorite class is Psychology.
My biggest accomplishment so far has been lettering in Cross Country.
This summer I will work toward college!
My dream vacation is to go to Spain.
My dream job is an orthodontist!
My all time favorite movie is Ratatouille.
I love to listen to everything!!
My favorite website is FACEBOOK!!
I love to shop at American Eagle.
My favorite TV show is Cougartown.
The person I'd like to meet the most is Jesus!!
My favorite possession is my cell phone.
I never leave home without my ....cell phone.
A random fact about me is I love to DANCE!!!



Granddaughter Sarah, enjoy high school, too soon you will be out there with the rest of us minions working away!


more photos HERE and HERE

photos by Crystal Photography

big heart

I am knitting little things in pink…

No, not that. Or her either, no new babies or grandbabies on the way. No, not that either - no greatgrandbabies!

Carrie looked at me (with that one eyebrow arched) and said, "Seriously, mom, now you are making teddy bear clothes?"

Carrie is my monitor of all things grandma. While shopping she steers me away from grandma purses and clothes. She critiques my decorating style - OK, Mom too much grandma stuff in here, let's lose some of the quilts and bears. I ask her advice on what the teenagers like. I trust Carrie to always tell it like it is!

But back to knitting.

I just read how Julia Roberts knits while making a movie - between scenes she is knitting away. On the set of her new movie with Tom Hanks, he played a prank on her:

Julia would knit on the set–scarves, hats. One morning, Tom thought it would be hilarious if everyone was doing it. So she walked on set and saw 50 people knitting.

Ok, back to why I am knitting.

In December my granddaughters lost a special friend and I thought maybe they would like something to remember her by - so I came up with an idea of a breast cancer teddy bear - lord knows we have enough teddy bears around here to share.



So, I converted some of the bears around my house - made them breast-cancer-pink sweaters and a BIG heart (just like Robin's). My embroidery is a little rusty, but you get the idea.



I don't know if the girls really want one or not, maybe they are just humoring their old granma, but it keeps me busy. You know what they say about idle hands… no, I don't remember either, but I think it is bad.



Hey, me and Julia Roberts have something in common, us Georgia girls have to stick together!

life on the farm

I am reading about the body farm. I first learned about the body farm when visiting there with Patricia Cornwell's character, Kay Scarpetta back in 1994.

Now I am reading about it again in Carved in Bone by Jefferson Bass, who has written a series of crime thrillers (6 so far) featuring the body farm.

It was even mentioned in the movie The Blind Side - Kathy Bates' character Miss Sue tells Michael about what is under the football field at the University of Tennessee...

Miss Sue to Michael: You like Tennessee? That's a good school. Not at the academic level of Ole Miss but they have an outstanding science department. You know what they're famous for? They work with the FBI, to study the effects of soil on decomposing body parts. When they find a body, the police wanna know how long it's been dead. So the fine folks at Tennessee help them out. Oh, they have lots of body parts. Arms and legs and hands, from hospitals and medical schools. And do you know where they store 'em? Right underneath the football field. So while it's fine and dandy to have 100,000 fans cheering for you, the bodies you should be worried about are the ones right under the turf. Set to poke up through the ground and grab you... Well, it's your decision where you wanna play ball. Don't let me influence you.

So is this a real place or just the overactive imagination of crime fiction writers?

This question was answered when I looked up the bio on writer Jefferson Bass. The author is not one but two people collaborating on the novels:

Jefferson Bass is the writing team of Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson. Dr. Bass, a world-renowned forensic anthropologist, founded the University of Tennessee's Anthropology Research Facility -- the Body Farm -- a quarter-century ago.

So I guess it is real and, according to the book, there really are skeletons stored under the football field at UT! You can even donate your body to be a part of this famous farm.


I am enjoying the book, Carved in Bone.

It is not gruesome, but more about the science of forensics and working with the colorful local authorities in rural Tennessee.

Looking forward to reading more from this author, or authors!

covered up

Patchworked and quilted and all covered up!

Thanks to Sometimes Crafter for the great tutorial.