Empowerment

Gary and I love history! That is apparent, huh? Last year our oldest son took his family to New York and Fort Ticonderoga. He is a walking volume (reference) of how our country formed and what preceded our Independence and how fragile it really was before and after our forming. It was just an honour to visit this historical Fort. You could feel the that something "very important" happened there in the past.
Until late in the 19th Century the Fort layed in ruins, it was a shame, for the cradle of our birth was within those miles of thick woods, Lake Champlain and beyond. That generation started to restore the Fort and through the years that followed it became what it is today. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Ethan Allen, Knox had walked on those grounds. On one side of the fort the Canadian flag flys; Old Glory faces toward the Lake.
There are historical artifacts displayed in the Enlisted Mens' Quarters. It was wonderful. How do you list these things?...you just have to go there and see for yourself!!..I love drums and of course, i got to thinking of how could I make a appliqued quilts with a drum as the focus. There are even iron pieces of war fare brought up from the floor of the Lake from the ships that sank there in battle over 2 centuries ago.
The strength and tenacity that those men had to accomplish the victory that started our journey as a nation is just so amazing to me. There are no words to describe how that visit today has affected us....maybe in time we can explain it to you. With what is going on in our capital today and how they are squandering all that these men were fighting for is the reason why I just can't get my thoughts around it today....sometimes you just have to ponder things for awhile. You must go visit this area....our "cradle" of freedom....You must!!! Thanks for the visit...in a few days I will post again and we will see how my "thoughts of liberty" have found its' thread of cohesive thought! the word Empowerment is drifting into my thoughts at this point....I included the artists' interpretation of how Knox drove oxen pulling the tanks and artillery to Boston...through drifts of snow and ice....in two months time....at the top of the mountain scene you can see the Fort...our ancestors were just amazing...amazing!! Kari

Says IT ALL!

Can you believe how Irresponsible Washington has become?.....So much to say I can not even start!!!!.....The picture from Drudge Report says it all!! Kari

Some Days.....

Do you remember the little boy in the baby aspirin commercial decades ago?....he said, "some days are just kinda like that...yea, they are!" he broke our hearts soon after that when he passed away due to lukemia. I just thought of him...because some days are just kind of like that!!...We did our laundry and then started a short drive north into the beautiful to behold Green Mountains.
We are in need of a new campground, due to some closing before we leave, due to regulations, not the weather; it has been very warm here so far. So, we headed north....followed backroads...turned around and stopped and asked a man by the road State Rt 30 here in Vt...he makes to die for "like" the LLBean Adirondack Chairs (he has 50 made for sale, just so you know) oh, and they do really put red, purple, bright blue ones in their front yards here!...ok, I got off track...again... but we asked him for directions and he pointed to a road just 20 feet behind us, "turn there and follow the signs!"...haha...we had drove right past the signs!...ok! you know us, always sightseeing!
As we drove in, we came upon the most beautiful horse farm we have ever seen...well, it is the first one we have seen in Vermont that big, that is true, but WOW! Kirsten would be packed and ready to come. It was a rehab farm for horses with needs of that kind. It is just across the road from the lane that goes back to the Kinole Campground...I have to come to terms with no cell phone or computer here, we did see the Tv Dishes on some RV's...we will have to carry water to the RV when they turn off the water to the sights, due to freezing later in the winter...the showers are hot but you have to pay to use...so! hey, we will be roughing it a little...the cell picks up about 10 miles to the south on Highway 30. We would be camping near the peoples home that run the place..sweet reputation...so! how can you walk away from that beauty! that creation, and a river for Shi to swim in close by...I am not sure when we will move there....there is a HUGE Columbus Dad Heritage Festival in town in a couple weeks and a HUGE Pumpkin Festival that same weekend in New Hampshire...so, I bet we will be heading north atleast by the end of October. So, for now we are just the Urban Cowboys! God Bless You! and Please for your best of blessings plan a October trip to Vermont in your lifetime!!! Kari

Makes Us Smile!!!

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hugs!!!

An Everyday Thing

Here we are back into our week. Gary is working 12 hour shifts and i am creating some quilt tops. I enjoyed a visit to the New England Fabric Store and also was able to find discount fabric there also. They boast 17,000 bolts of fabric. It was a quick visit because the fabrics were all great and all I needed to find was bright and whimsical pieces for my coming quilt tops. Gary is a very good man! He even came in to check on me and I quickly got his help in carrying the bolts up to the cutting counter. The sales lady was great and of course, as quilters' go we bonded and shared our latest projects. It's easy to fit into the quilting world! I am hoping younger gals are gaining interest into the haven of quilts! They have matching fabrics now and precut for easy use, NO EXCUSE!!! and it is all just perfect together!.. Gary is praying about buying a crafting mill works machine that we could do fancy work with and add to our business at Old Glory Quilting. I, of course, have come up with the idea of painted quilt blocks in 3-D! also, the idea of the barn quilts just fascinate me! The best of both in quilt design and painting. Does it get any better? Well, Gary will be getting home soon and I have to run to do the laundry and get groceries, so we can be clean and fed for another day!! He has a bunch of hours to work yet this weekend and then next week we may try a train trip through Vermont and New Hampshire and also get to the coast to see more lighthouses. Will keep you posted! We prayed today for our daughter in laws' cousin in Nebraska and God was merciful and she is doing fine now. May your journeys be light and safe. Love, Kari

Our Day At Sturbridge

Traveling into the past with my Gary does find his history RICH! His paternal and maternal roots anchored down on our eastern shores at the beginning of this great land, America. His last name being Flick, may have been involved in carding wool; or his maternal roots of Ingall and Jewell take him to the ports and passages of our eastern shores in the early Massachusetts Colony.In one picture he is standing by a the mechanism of the local sawmill; the man-made damn near the water wheel was 200 years old. Interesting, to say the least.
Of course, textiles are my burning interest and love. Doing things with my hands brings me peace and joy. My dream is to have a loom someday. Gary would be so patient as to help me load the threads he assures me.....:) Early quilts abound here.
Do you want to farm? Didn't everyone back in the beginning of our settlements? A day at Sturbridge is traveling back into the lives of those who worked so hard to settle our land...setting up our laws...clearing the fields....bearing the children that were so all important in their work.
We just had a wonderful day! The air was a little crisp and the leaves just hinting it was about time to break out in all the colors of Fall. I will share more portraits of the Village in days ahead. Get in touch with your past if you like. Travel to where your roots began. It is a great experience and time well spent! A day out with Gary in the area where his ancestors lived and died was just awesome! God Bless!! Kari

Light It Up!!

History was the subject for our day. We planned to go to Deerfield Village in Mass. Which we did do but realized when we got there that it would be a whole day event to see all the homes that would be open to step through. We did drive through and I admired the New England Homes that I truly love and could move into anytime! The added onto home is so common here, some are even joined to their barns (winter protection?). The favorite home we saw to day is from 1675, burned by the Indians and abandoned. It was resettled in 1705 until they were attacked again in the French and Indian War when 116 were carried off and 60 people recovered and returned.

After eating lunch in Greenfield at Wolfies', a sought after place to catch a bite to eat. OH MY!! the clam chowder here is the real stuff and the Haddock is FRESH!!..yes, we ate a bit, enjoyed the New England free spirit that abounds here and away we went just up the road to our surprise was the Yankee Candle Museum and store. The factory was just up the road. Gary and I told them we had helped support their jobs for years! ha Of course, we got the deal of the day. If the kids were here we could have dipped candles and also make forms of their hands in melted wax. Fun!

There were so many candles and holders and rooms of candles, it was overwhelming but fun for the day. Then we headed back to the RV and enjoy our evening of relaxing. Sewing my quilt top together and shoot some hoops! God Bless!! Come and See us, we can explore it together! Love, Kari

so sorry! my story and pictures run backwards!! HELP ME INFORMATIC SON!! OR WIFE!!!!