On the road again……

Spring has been a huge disappointment to me so far. I’ve been waiting and waiting to get some dirt under my fingernails. I’ve done some spring cleaning and – ta da! - there’s the dirt under my fingernails I’ve been wanting. I feel I’ve been blessed.  A-huh, right.

The refrain I keep hearing is getting very old “I’m so sick of winter”.  We got another 6 inches yesterday and we haven’t melted all the winter snow yet.  “They” are talking snow again – tomorrow I think.  I know we’re not alone in the whole “winter situation” so what do you say we get a petition started to #1, find out who “they” are and then, #2, line ‘em all up and throw snowballs at ‘em!  I also saw someone had built a snowman and then stuck knives in him but that’s so violent and really, why take our anger out on the poor snowman when we’re really fed up with Mother Nature AND Old Man Winter?  We need to take action!

So I was thinking – while twirling around the old dustcloth – which is not a good idea, by the way. Then you have to wait for the dust to settle and start all over.  I wish I still had children at home so I’d have some free slave labor.  Oh, wait, that didn’t work back then either.  As the Little Red Hen would say, “well, I’ll just do it myself”! 

Nothing too exciting in my spring decorating but I moved some small pieces around:

 

There was a reason for the major “clean everything in the house except the dog”.  I hosted Loose Threads in March and about 10 days later it was the Woolies turn.  Apparently, it’s been a busy and unproductive month as there was very little show & tell.

Ms. Denise is making 4, 30’s print quilts for the little girl’s room at the lake. Not all of them are finished but she’s getting close.

 

    This little wool project is Ms. Jean’s.  The background stays the same but there are different seasonal scenes she can use interchangeably on the background.

The 1st weekend in April brought the annual “Garden Day” that is put on by the Master Gardeners in our area.  I realize it’s not an extremely creative name but I assure you it’s an outstanding event.  It’s the largest of it’s kind in the state of Minnesota.  Attendance was lower than some years but there were a wonderful 550 attendees with over 45 speakers/teachers.  Plus we feed them very well all day long. 

Only one week later was the Tour of Tables fundraiser.  This is one of those things where I can let my creative juices flow.  So much fun – and so much work.  Our theme this year was – See the USA.  Each table was to choose a state to use as inspiration for decorating.  We started last fall with Save the Date cards:

Since we were traveling the USA, I thought our raffle quilt should be a patriotic one.  The Loose Threads got together for a sewing day to make a “stash” quilt from my design.  How did we do?

We ended up over-flowing this suitcase and moved to a larger one later:

Ticket to attend: 

Our programs were 8 1/2 x 28” and folded so they opened like a map.   We packed their lunches for their road trip in boxes. 

Their suitcase menu was:  Pedal to the Metal Chicken Salad, served on a Hub Cap.  (My first suggestion was road kill chicken but I was voted down.  Huh.)  Miles to Go fruit salad; red light, green light broccoli salad and Cadillac kettle chips.  Each table hostess served a dessert at her table that matched her theme.

We also have waiters every year who generously go along with our crazy ideas.  This year they wore police uniforms and were called “traffic enforcers”.  They actually brought our box lunches to us and kept our water & coffee filled.  Great guys!   

So, ok.  My state was New Jersey.  Why?  It’s the garden state!  An obvious choice for me:

 

 

 

 

 

 

You might notice the paper bags on each plate.  Those were my table favors.  Each lunch bag had a vintage seed packet picture and inside was some homemade Gardener’s Hand Soap and a little chocolate treats in burlap:

My dessert?  Naturally it had to be Dirt Dessert.  Sorry, no picture but I served it in individual flower pots and since the New Jersey state flower is the violet, I used real purple pansies to adorn the pots. 

We needed to set the scene as our guests arrived:

Everyone’s favorite Chevy:

I know it’s always fun to see tablescapes but I think I’ll mosey on down the road and hit the rest of the states next time.  Hopefully real soon.

My slightly skewed highway.  Is a job with the Highway Dept. in my future?????

Ms. Faye