I really enjoy mowing and it’s something I can still do even if I’m not quite as mobile as I used to be. I’m enjoying a beer on the porch and looking out over a beautiful mowed backyard. The squirrels are busy gathering walnuts, I can hear a woodpecker in the grove rata-tat-tatting away and the orioles are still coming to the grape jelly feeders. It’s one of those few days in the year that there is no wind – highly unusual and greatly appreciated when it does happen.
After 3 hours of mowing this afternoon I was almost done when I did a zero turn and my tire spun off – Rick said it must have been going flat during all that mowing.
Of course when he takes it with him tomorrow to work to get it fixed he’ll embellish the story something like this – “she can tear up an anvil!” And I’m reminded of a story he loves to tell about an elderly farm lady who called her lawn mower dealer and wanted to order a new riding lawnmower. The dealer, not knowing if the woman was in her right mind, called the woman’s son and asked him if he should take the woman seriously. The son told him that if mom wanted a new lawn mower, to deliver the son of a ______ and don’t ask any more questions.
I told Rick to just fix the son of a ________ and let me finish mowing!
Denise and I installed a security program on the blog and it’s so secure it won’t let either of us into the admin page and it’s warning you that I might be an imposter! Well, better safe than sorry, I guess, but we are still working on it every day and hope to get it all straightened out in the next few months. There will be some changes made.
When Reed sewed yesterday we watched The Music Man. He had never seen it before and I had not watched it for years. It was so delightful and I remember when the movie premiered in Mason City at Band Festival. All the stars in the movie came to town and were in the parade. Every member of every marching band got a commemorative key chain that I’m still using to this day. That was in 1962 and Rick and I were freshmen. Such a sweet memory.
Reed and I promise to show you what he’s working on in the next week or so. School starts Friday already. Sad.
Today is Connie and Roy’s 47th wedding anniversary – she’s in Chicago with Grace and Rex but when she gets home I’ll ask her to show you the anniversary quilt we made her years ago.
Here’s a picture of Kathy from western NY who travels with the dogs in their motor home – which would be the only way I’d consider traveling. I loved the picture, Kathy!
And here’s a picture of a sweet little quilt that Mary H. made from a Country Threads Scrap Bag purchased just a few years ago.
I’m praying this blog post reaches you with no problems. If it presents problems, please know we’re working on it. I never know what’s ahead when I push the button that says “publish”. I always hold my breath until I start hearing from you.
Here we go!
It came through just fine! Sorry about your tire. I had mower issues, too…and I was only half done!
Yay! It did come through!
No pictures but the text was fine.
No pictures!
No pictures but loved the post!
Thanks for all the news!
I didn’t get pix or ads until I clicked on the “see comments”. Then they suddenly appeared. Strange.
Me too. Loved Mary H’s little quilt, adorable. Moved my two youngest back to college over the weekend. Missing them like crazy.
Linda, that happened to me too. After clicking See Comments I got the pics also
No pictures posted Mary 😢
Same for me
Closed 6 ads! Everything came through beautifully. I took a trip to Wisconsin all week to see friends and family and enjoyed your beautiful mid-western weather and quilt shops. Keep up the good work.
The Music Man was on Turner Classic Movies last month and I watched it for the first time. I still can’t get little Opie singing the song about Gary, Indiana, out of my mind!! He was so cute!! It is fun seeing our blog friends and their furry family. Happy travels. Email and blog came through fine. A number of ads but no X to close. Hopefully after I post the comment some X’s will appear. Enjoy your evening. I’m working on my binding and sleeve for project #3.
My husband was mowing our fields last week and the tractor broke a pin on the PTO, and the rotary mower decided to come apart also . he has been working on them every since. Old farmer with old machinery wearing out together 😉
I am working on a Raggy quilt with an FFA theme for the dinner/auction that our Alumni group hold every September to raise money to support the kids expenses, going to conventions and contests and to provide scholarships for those going on to college
Didn’t think I was going to get the pictures then they came. Love the quilt of scraps & looks like a fun way to travel. Planning on mowing tomorrow, hope my mower makes it, also been having problems.
Text came through fine but no pictures.
Text came through just fine. I clicked on comments and up popped the pictures. I saw that other had the same thing happen.
At first the pictures weren’t there, but moved to comments and went backwards and they appeared. We’ll all learn the tricks by the time this gets settled. Hang in there!
I didn’t get any pictures today, but I always enjoy the blog anyway. Thank you for sharing with all of us, Mary.
Got it including pictures! YEAH👍
I had at first no pictures. But same happened to me went to comments to read and then the ads and pictures showed up. Crazy. Right!!!!
Pics came on Page 2 with Comments. Still no “X”x for ads, though.
Love your first, descriptive, paragraph. We can all enjoy it with you. Thanks for posting.
Everything came through fine…….pictures and ads. Thank you again for sharing with us. We all enjoyed it so much.
No photos, just little squares that did nothing. Great text though!
No pictures but the text came through fine.
I was a blank box in the picture area when it was in my email but when I clicked to comment and went to the internet, the pictures showed up. How funny. Glad you got the picture of us with our rescued doggies. We were on our way out to dinner to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary that night with our family so don’t think I go camping wearing a dress my friends! Ha!
Thanks for working so hard to keep us all in touch with your blog postings.
Glad you had a good day with Reed and the movie !
Happy 50th, Kathy. We were married 50 years ago in December in Western NY. Remember the blizzard that year? 36 inches of snow in 24 hours. All the roads were closed and my groom almost didn’t make it to the wedding!!
No pics at first, but then they showed up.
Thank you Diane. Isn’t it funny that events stick with us on special days? Yours was a blizzard and ours was Woodstock.
At first there were no pictures, but after clicking on comments then the pictures and ads appeared. Thanks Mary for all the work you put on the blog, we all appreciate it!
Ditto with no pictures in the email version but they appeared in the comment section. It all looks so good! Thanks, again, for all your work to get this back on track. I am really looking forward to seeing what Reed has been working on. He is amazing!!
Got all the pictures just fine. I love the little quilt, I have several hanging all over the house. I used to belong to Jo Morton club and had such fun making them. Sorry to hear of your mowing problems, hopefully it’s a quick fix.
All the pictures looked good. Only 3 of the 6 ads had an X to close.
Sorry about your mower tire. You’re going to have to keep it under 50 mph!! 😆
Looking forward to what Reed’s next project will be!
I am moved to Minnesota! Now waiting for a call that an apartment is available. In the mean time I am at my brother’s. Hope my body recovers soon and I will be good to go. I need to get a floor mat to go under my chair so I can move when I sew.
I love all of the green and the start of the turning leaves. The smell of freshly mowed lawn is good too! My sister-in-law started cutting back some plants in her garden tonight. Fall must be close behind.
I didn’t get pictures until I clicked on Comments. I have a place where there might be an ad, it says Google something but no ad. I love the little blue quilt.
Hope you got your mower fixed without too much hassle!!
The original text didn’t have photos til I clicked on the URL at bottom. Then great photos.
Thanks for enduring all these computer headaches!
Mary, after seeing many comments on different days I wonder if some of the difference aren’t at the receiving end. Some see pictures and/or ads, some don’t. If I open by tapping on the url I see pictures and ads. if not, I don’t see either. Always enjoy reading your blog wso please don’t give up. Judy
I always have to click on comments before I see pictures or adds. Funny how everyone’s systems are so different. We are getting ready to leave for 2 weeks in Maine in the Winnebago. I agree, it’s the only way I want to travel so our dog can go along. We both love that kind of travel and dread getting too old to do it. Enjoyed the picture of Kathy in Western NY also on the road with her rescued dogs.
Pat, I know what you mean about dreading as we get older so enjoy it now. As my 92 yr old grandmother said the day we bought our first Winnie motor home many years ago, to “ go while you can go. “. Have fun traveling to the beautiful state of MAine with your puppy dog next to you.
Everything came though perfectly, except there was only 1 ad that I could close. None of the others had the “X”.
Everything came through beautifully for me. So glad you have persevered and can continue to share with us. You have such a special way of highlighting your everyday events and giving us glimpses in the pictures. As always, thank you.
Got both text and pictures. Enjoyed “meeting” Kathy in Western NY on the blog today and putting a face with a name! Looks like a really nice setup they have. That small quilt is very pretty. I just received the pattern for the Halloween/autumn checkerboard small quilt today from you in the mail and am looking forward to putting that together.
Everything came through this time….pictures and ads. Yaaaaa!!! Thanks for hanging in there!! Love the little quilt. I’m with you, the only way I would travel is in a motor home. What fun.
Everything looked perfect to me. Always something to fix on the farm! Pictures look great. I closed several ads. Enjoy this beautiful weather, Mary.
No pictures until I clicked on comments! Yesterday I couldn’t get in.
Glad to see you are getting things worked out. Side note: my husband’s funeral was on Sat. It was beautiful. We have 9 children and I asked each of them to share some memories of their dad. Our oldest daughter did the life sketch and she did a great job. A middle son did the gospel message and through in alittle John Wayne quotes. He had gone to Barnes and Noble with his family. His children love to read and so while they were reading he walked around and found this book, Everything I Ever Learned I Learned from John Wayne”. He read some to his dad the day he died and dad found it very soothing.
Nancy Norris – I know what John Wayne book you’re referring to and I would imagine the funeral was perfect and I admire anyone who can speak at their parent’s funeral. I think you’ve raised some great kids. How old was your husband and where do you live? I can’t believe you even have the presence of mind to check on someone’s blog!
Nancy Norris, so sorry for your loss. It sounds like a lovely funeral, it’s so nice when the family is able to get up and speak about their loved one. I love that your son read to your husband the day he died. Such a good memory for him I’m sure. Jan in MA
I’ve got pictures. I had tears in my eyes after reading your lawnmower story!
Got a kick out of what you said would be Rick’s story tomorrow! That’s great!! Always something, isn’t it??
Love the little quilt, looking forward to seeing what Reed it sewing now. What fun to Watch The Music Man – i suspect that he really enjoyed it too! Happy Anniversary to Connie and Roy!
Got your blog post and enjoyed it immensely. As always!!!
Great story! I got all the pictures and ads but none of the ads were closeable-no x’s. You and Rick sound alot like my husband and me-too funny! I need to use the wheel barrow and it’s tire is flat and he refuses to fix. Says he will buy a new wheelbarrow before he fixes the tire again-go figure.
One of my quilt guilds had our show this weekend and I found a treasure in the 2nd hand shop. Your pattern Singing with Grace from 2004. It is a beauty that I had never seen before and it is in brand new condition. I love the colors and this will probably be my next new project.
I too only got pictures and ads after clicking on “comments” and was amused to see that two of the ads were for lawn mowing services. Big Brother is watching.
I always hit comment and get your full blog. It did start out with no pictures but comment brought everything out clear, Loved the little quilt also.
I am sorry to be one of those who got the story written out BUT NO photos AND No Ads …Don’t quite get it how some of us get things and others don’t…not sure I would get it even if someone showed me..
But enjoyed the story…thanks…
Everything came through fine. I made fried green beans for my crew tonight and not one little slice of anything left in the bowl. They were yummy. I added a splash of white wine vinegar to them. I was using low salt bacon and thought they needed a touch of something. Those will be a regular on the ranch menus. Thanks for the idea and the how to.
I got your pictures and I closed 6 ads! Yay! Love your blog!!
I love Mary Hs little quilt. Great job, Mary. Its very farmhouse style looking to me, anyway.
Nice photo of Kathy, husband, and dogs. I’ll bet they have fun traveling all together in their motorhome.
Sorry about the flat tire and hope Rick got it fixed. We have to let them have their little say now and then, since they think they are in charge. lol
I got pics and the blog. Hugs,
I marched in the Music Man Band Festival too. It was my first band festival to march and it was so exciting. I don’t remember getting a key chain though.
Gwen – hmm – I’ll take a picture of it – you might remember it but then we were kids and it was a very small inconsequential token. Do you remember the premiere? We always got to spend the day in Mason City and then we bussed to Roosevelt Field to march in and play a tune together – all 100 bands assembled on the field. Four years later I was band queen which was also a very memorable day.
Yes, I remember the day very well. It was so exciting to have all those stars from Hollywood in Mason City. I have such fond memories of growing up in Nora Springs. Our family lived on an eight acre farm at the edge of town much like yours. My father was an electrician for his “real” job. I came to Pittsburgh right out of college with my husband in 1971. This has been a good life but I still miss small town Iowa and love to read about it on your blog.
Ok, I will tell you that I couldn’t see the pictures, but when I went to comment, it showed me the pictures.
Hi Mary,
Happy anniversary to Connie en Roy.
Pictures etc. All came through, and no security warning when I clicked on the e-mail today.
Came thru for me. Boy that tire is totally gone.
Love the quilt to.
That’s the way to travel with your fur baby’s.
Have a great rest of the day.
My sister and her hubby travel with their dog Lucy and bobtailed kitty Maynard. Lucy has been going with them from the day they got her but Maynard is a fairly new member of the family, but has taken to traveling pretty well.
Blog was perfect! closed several ads 🙂
Text was fine but very tiny blank boxes where pics should be😢
No pictures in my email but I got them when I click on the comments and went to the blog.
And it still says not secure in the address bar.
Love your blog! I look forward to getting your emails everyday.
Text and photos came through! Yay! I was a sophomore in 1962. I’ll have to watch the Music Man again, I don’t think I’ve seen it in years.
Wonderful newsy blog but no pics. Boo hoo and hiss! The pics are the best.
Sadly, I did not get the pictures but everything else was great.
I have a question though; why us it that many days there are no ads?
Thank you again for not giving up on the blog.
Sandy
Happy Anniversary Connie and Roy married in 1972 like Ron and I were o my to make it to 43 years😩.
Music Man is the best and Mason City is forever remembered with that story. All kids need to see that show and know its story and music . Reed is so fortunate to know you Mary.
My sympathies to the woman whose husband passed and they raised 9 children together. Much to be thankful for.
Big Hint: I found out, some how, some time back… that if I click (Once) on the BLUE name of the Blog, that the Picture will pop up, more often than not! Works for Me!!! Freda
Everything came thru just fine! All this variation is so frustrating! And dealing with all the security and passwords is enough to drive one nuts!
Ellie – I agree with you 100%!!!!
Our town just performed Music Man for it sesquicentennial. It had a huge cast and they did such a good job. It helps that we have a very big dance studio here so there are many kids who are willing to perform.
I think the person that mentioned that it may be how a person opens your post may be on to something. I only get pictures if I click on the title for the day’s post.
Thanks for the share of my little quilt. I’m not sure why I get such a reward out of making something out of bits and bobs and scraps. I’m much more apt to grab my scraps than my fabric on the shelf.
sorry about your crumpled tire- ack!
Mary Hawk – were you in the Music Man production? Hubby? I had forgotten how much I loved that show – music, characters, storyline. Everybody loved your sweet little quilt!
Bill and I were in the audience! I don’t think I’ve been on stage since high school. But I did spot a gal wearing a dress I donated! Gunnie Sack style with rows of lace. Remember that phase?
Mary Hawk – I do remember those dresses!
Didn’t get pics either till I clicked on comments. Then I got them and I closed 13 ads 1/2 for ride on lawnmowers lol
Love the Music Man!
Pictures showed up on blog but not in email! Loved all the blog today!
This is the first time in a few days I was able to open your blog without getting a warning that it wasn’t a secure site. Although, it still says “not secure” in the header. Happy Anniversary to Roy and Connie! Thanks for continuing to blog Mary. It’s so enjoyable.
Closed seven ads, I couldn’t see photos until I tapped your headline at the top of the page but, yea, got photos! Couldn’t post a response, so I tapped the headline/logo again I got to post!
So August 17th was our 47th anniversary as well, 1973 was a good year!
And Mary, you sure know how to shred a tire!
I was glad for the photo of Kathy in WNY because I’m for WNY as well (Orchard Park, the Buffalo Bills play in the stadium in our town) and I keep seeing her posts. Now I have a face to a name, I bet we’ve been in a few quilt shops at the same time!
And the little blue quilt, sweet!
So glad you explained the message about your site being not secure, I had not opened a few posts because I saw that. Now I can go back to them.
Carol at Pin Oak – I am stumped as to why the photos are connected to the headline – no clue!
I”m from Western NY, too, the small town of Cuba:) I was happy to see Kathy’s face and hubby so now I can think of her face when she writes.
Carol – your Buffalo area has some really good quilt shows and shops!
I would love to meet you sometime there is one in your area. It’s only an hour drive for me to get there.
Kathy from WNY, that would be great! My 89 yr old mom is going for surgery (major issues) on Monday, and she lives with me, which means September is unknown territory for me, but I will keep that in mind.
You could come here and then I would drive… a shop hop! Have you been to Patchwork Garden in East Amherst? Something for everyone there, modern to reproductions to wool… Aurora Seeing Center, two locations, Carriage House, Quilt Farm … we’re lucky!
Mary – loved your Music Man story! I played the flute in band, and at the Band Festival in 1959 Meredith Wilson directed the mass band at Roosevelt Field. He walked by the bleachers where our Thompson band was sitting, grabbed my flute and sat down next to me for a picture. The picture appeared in Life magazine!! My 15 minutes of fame. LOL. My husband was from Mason City and parked cars for the celebrities at the Music Man premiere!! Congratulations on being Band Festival queen!! Something all of us dreamed of.
Kay Crandall – I think being in Life Magazine with Meredith Wilson is really quite spectacular! Wow! I hope you have it framed somewhere – maybe you’d like to take a picture of it and send to me and I could post it. I was our band queen in 1966 – I hated it really. It was very windy that day and my teased sprayed hair took a beating! I also had bad acne and remember that it was especially bad that day – stress adding to the problem. That summer our band marched in 23 parades meaning I was riding ahead and hated having people stare at me. Do you know how quiet it really is along the parade route if no band is playing? Almost silent and to this day I always try to holler out to that poor band queen who is trying to smile and wave. It is torture for someone who is very self conscious – I wish I had been strong enough to refuse to do it ! Arg! Those are bad memories.
Blog showed up but no pictures.
Pam – try what others have done and click on the heading.
Hi Mary, thank you for all the hard work on the blog. I really enjoy it.
I did not see any pictures ( just thaw the text of the blog) until I clicked on comments. Then the blog with pictures appeared.
Happy Anniversary to Connie and Roy!
Happy Anniversary to Connie and Roy! It’s been a long time since I’ve watched Music Man as well–think I’ll look that up and watch it as well some evening. My mom who grew up in Belmond, played saxophone in the band and as a 5th grader marched in the Mason City parade–can you imagine marching that long of a distance as a 5th grader??!!!!!!! I’m so glad that you share those wonderful movies with Reed–most kids his age will never see those classic movies. And Reed, your quilt was beautiful for the 4-H fair. Don’t be disappointed on not going to the State Fair–just keep making quilts and sending them!!
Julie DeBower – don’t you think I should pursue a conversation with that judge so we will know what they’re looking for? I simply can’t imagine!
The blog came through just fine, pictures and all. Only 3 ads, and only 1 with an X to close it.
I, too, remember the band festival with Music Man. Although I wasn’t in band, it was a big deal to watch the news and see all that was going on. I’m thinking the queen that year may have been from Britt.
Beryl BC – you are so right! Her name was Vickie Ross from Britt – how did you know that?
Vicki was several years older than I. I do remember her as well as her brothers.
Beryl BC – but did you grow up in Britt?
Mostly, I think you know me. The last house we lived in was your grandmother’s.
Beryl BC – what? I thought you lived in Ohio. Can’t remember your last name but I can see your face. You should have told me before – and of course that’s why you knew Vicki Ross was band queen in 1962! But what were you doing in Montana? And now Owatonna? Your parents owned the Coast to Coast store In Britt, right? I just cannot remember your last name
But can see your face. I am truly embarrassed, Beryl, that I did not know you. Please forgive me – your address threw me off. It was your sister’s home you were living in out west and she had intended to start a longarm business. Now you’re living with your brother in Owatonna? I have to make sure I’ve got the facts.
What a great post today and the comments, too. I loved your story about the tire. My sympathy to Nancy Norris on the loss of her husband.
I clicked on the title of your post A Mowing Day, and everything appeared as usual. I can sympathize with you and the flat tire. I went to a hardware store a couple of weeks ago. We received a notice online that we had a flat tire. Sure enough it was flat as a pancake. I had picked up a screw. My son-in-law lost one tire off his mower and then lost the other last week. Trouble came in threes. Love the colors in the blue quilt. I was able to close some ads also.
Blog post great. Only 2 ads were closable. (Yes, I made up that word 😉😅). The others were blank yellow spaces—no ad, just blank space, about 3 of those.
The kids in TN started school 8/5/19 & the school football season is about to begin. I believe more importance (too much) is place on football here in TN than grades & I just think that’s sad. The Friday night late news ends at 10:14pm (not a typo!) during high school football so they can devote the remaining 16 minutes to high school football stories, games, scores, etc. Lead stories on the local newscasts here START with football stories, usually college, but sometimes high school too regardless what may have happened of importance in the County, country or world. It’s a bit too mucho for me. 🙄 sSorry, off my soapbox. 😉
Your husband sounds like all men. Lol
I have several of your Country Threads patterns. Need to get busy making some wall hangings.
I always enjoy your blog and the photos.
Received here in KY but no ads to close. Paula in KY
When I receive the email saying there’s a new post, I have to click on “see all comments”. If I click onthe link in the email, I receive a warning that says, “this connection is not private” and my only option is to go back. Weird, but whatever works for me to see your awesome blog is what I’ll do! Pictures came through fine!
Sorry, didn’t receive any pictures! You are extremely patient, I would just give up.