Lunch And Show & Tell ART With Girlfriends

It is always so much fun to get together for lunch and show and tell with my talented friends.

Beth has challenged herself to do a project with 5 different ideas. I really wish you could see this in person as there are so many special ways she has used her materials and the way she has created the picture. She has experimented with so many different techniques and materials and this shows how she has mastered them.

The elephant used a batik method.

Robbie has been taking a color and design class on line from a lady in the UK. They work with paper. The class sounds excellent and a lot of fun. This is one of her pieces.

This was an exercise where they learn to use tints, tones, shades, etc.

They are doing layering of paints and dyes. They also are using finishes on them.
Another part of the class is learning to design, cut up and make your own compositions.
The class is a year long and from what I have seen of Robbie's work and what she has told us, I would consider it a master class.
Unfortunately this was our last get together as Robbie and her DH will not be returning to Florida next season. I treasure getting to know her and spend time together. We still will have email, Facebook and our blogs.

Ladies Who Lunch At B D Beans

It is hard to find time to get the girlfriends together as retirement is so much busier than when we were working! Pat Brodsko, Marilyn Kosmider and Lynn Maher. Sorry Lynn, I couldn’t get a clear view to take the picture.
Today was a beautiful day so we ate outside in the garden.
The food here is delicious and unique. The decor is the funkiest.

Remember I said the décor was funky. This is one corner of the ladies room, The décor of the entire restaurant is constantly changing to keep it up with anywhere from the 30's to the 50's! 

Ladies Who Lunch After A Long Absence

Gina Skillings and I met in a fiber arts class about 7 years ago taught my Linda Dawson. It was a wonderful class and we kept in touch until about 2 years ago when all of a sudden she didn’t post on her blog and her Etsy store was closed. I kept checking and about 2 weeks ago I found she had posted again on her blog.
Imagine my surprise when I found out she had moved very close to where I live. So today we got together to catch up and have lunch. We had lunch at our clubhouse and sat in "my" booth. Even without any reservations they always save it for me! and everyone there knows which one it is when I ask if "my" booth is empty!
What a special day getting to see her again. Of course we still have a lot of catching up to do and hope we’ll see each other again soon.
She is an artist who works with both clay and fiber and I have purchased several things from her and I love them.
 
She brought me the greatest little notebook she made to keep in my purse that closes with one of her hand made buttons and also one of her little hanging ornamental pieces similar to ones I had also bought from her previously.
I am hoping her Etsy shop will be up and running again soon. Her work is so special, heartfelt and so unique.

Such Great Friends

Since I knew my cowls looked better on a person I had them each model one and took a picture. They loved them and I loved how they looked on each of them.
Robbie and Beth were here for a visit…first Beth showed us some of her latest work and I am so mad at myself for not getting any photos of the wonderful work she has been doing. But I have a secret I will share in time.
We were able to have lunch on the lanai. Quiche, fruit salad, and croissants. Dessert was cookies from Betty’s Cakes.
After lunch Robbie shared some of her wonderful work.
Robbie stenciled the back ground fabric. She used metal, Untrasuede and a lot of watch parts in this piece.

This was a challenge for a group Robbie is in. The theme was “In the style of Andy Warhol”.

I think the theme of this was Medieval? I grew up on fairy tales and I was at least 12 before I realized unicorns weren’t real.

The quilting design on this piece is the same design she used on our cooperative quilt. It is all done by hand.
If you would like to see more of Robbie’s work her blog is:
http://robbiespawprints.blogspot.com/
Lastly I shared what I have been up to with my Olympic quilts and dyes.
They also enjoyed looking at so many of the unique items in my house and hearing stories about them.
It was a beautiful day made even better with the company of friends.

How Long Does It Take To Arrange Lunch With 2 Friends?

The answer is somewhere between 2 and 3 years!
Kathy Cray and Teddy Pruett were here for a visit and lunch.
With my crazy busy schedule it took me that long to make it happen.
It was so great to see both of them.
So many fun things to share and talk about.

Kathy brought along this wonderful sampler quilt to show us. It is amazing and her own design. The blocks are very traditional. She used fabrics that she has spent years collecting which gave the quilt the look of an older quilt. The construction is perfect.
After lunch I shared some of the ice dyed pieces I am working on, then dessert and a little more socializing before they each had to leave for their long drives home.
I am so glad we finally got this chance to get together and hope we will meet again without waiting two more years.

My Tough Work Week Is Over Finally

I have a tough job when I am in Florida.
It is called Ladies Who Lunch and this was the official Ladies Who Lunch Week so I worked Monday through Thursday!

Monday I met with my Free To Be Surface design group and we each bring out own lunch. A great group..Nancy, Robbie and Beth.

Tuesday my friend Carol Brum Gordhamer and I had lunch at our community clubhouse.

When I had lunch Wednesday with my long time friend Jean we were so busy talking, laughing and reminiscing we never got a current picture..So I am sharing this one from New Years many years ago. Jean is on the left and Ione is on the right. That was the year of the big snowstorm and all 6 of our friends had to spend the night at our house as there was no way to get anywhere. What a fun memory.

Thursday Lynn, Pat and I had lunch at B D Beans, an annual tradition for the 3 of us. Lynn and Pat and their DH’s are the inspiration for our decision to live here in Florida. Lynn was a local friend in WI and Pat and I were high school classmates in Racine.

And since I never remember to post food pictures anymore I had to share my Summer Salad with you. It has artichoke hears, walnuts, shopped tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, coconut and fresh greens. I am a creature of habit and I order it most of the time I eat there.

February Ladies Special Visit And Lunch

Yesterday I had a great visit with my friend Carol Brumm Gordhamer.
We met on FB when I saw a picture of her and her husband in Green Bay Packer gear at Silver Springs.
And as they say “The rest is history!”
We talked a lot after that and finally met in person at a quilt show in Mr. Dora, Florida Quite a few years ago.

She loves handwork and working small. She brought me this very special Teddy Bear she made by hooking very narrow strips of fabric to a base and them creating this absolutely  darling bear.  She knew my colors even though this was the first time she had actually been to my house from following my blog! I absolutely love it and really appreciate the time and thought she put into it.

We were so busy talking we never even got a picture together so I “borrowed this one” from her Facebook page.
She is the kind of friend I can talk to for hours.
BUT, the things you probably don’t know is we grew up about a mile from each other in Racine, Wisconsin and our paths never crossed there….maybe because we are “quite a few years apart” in age.
Those years mean nothing now and we have so much in common it would be hard to even begin to tell you all of it.
We ended up at the clubhouse for a great lunch.

Ohio Florida Small World

We have a community online group here in Florida. Susan is on the right in the photo. Somehow I found out she was from Sylvania, Ohio. Nancy (on the left) and Sally (in the center) are from Sylvania.
I mentioned to Susan that I had a good friend here in Florida who was from Sylvania. (Sally and I met when we both lived in Edon, Ohio about 54 years ago). One thing led to another and somehow we found out that Susan had met Nancy when they both volunteered at a golf outing in Ohio. Nancy had told her she had a sister who lived in Ocala and raised Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and gave her Sally’s information as Susan was considering getting one. They never did connect but somehow she realized that my BFF Sally was Nancy’s sister.
When Sally and I realized Nancy would be in our area for an extended visit we decided to get a lunch arranged with all of us. Nancy had no idea that Susan would be there so that was a surprise for her. It was also the first time Sally and I had met Susan in person. If you had been a mouse listening to our conversations you would have thought we all were well acquainted for years.
We had lunch at our clubhouse and then came back to my house where they got to see what I have been working on and also see my welcoming quilt and my unique home.
I know Susan is someone I expect to see more of. We have enjoyed many of the same parts of the country and I enjoyed visiting with her. When we were setting this up she made a comment about how it is so good to make new friends and I certainly agree.
Who would have thought that when Sally walked across the street in Edon to welcome me this friendship and all that it is would be so strong today?

My New Friend Gail

Quilters have a way of finding each other. Gail and I have been “talking” on line for some time. Today we met in person.
She came over and brought quite a few of her pieces for me to see. She considers herself a “beginning” art quilter. I saw someone who has a lot of talent and is doing some very creative things. She works with various mediums in her work and has the eye and soul of an artist. Her workmanship is also excellent. I will be following her as she continues her journey.
After she shared her work I shared the few pieces I have here and some of the fabrics I’m creating.
We had a late lunch at Toppers Tavern and the food was great. We never ran out of things to talk about. I'm looking forward to seeing her again.

5 Of My Ice Tapestries

I hung these 5 of my Ice Tapestries on my design wall today.
I had a guest who I wanted to show them to.
She also got to see the rest of them.
She was impressed!
We went out for lunch at Seibert’s Pub built in 1880. It still has the original crooked porch, etc.
She loved the vintage ambiance.
Didn’t get a picture of the two of us as we had so much to talk about since we hadn’t seen each other for a long time.
 
I did get a picture of this sign that was hanging above the booth we sat it. Pardon the glare but I think you can still read it.
I have no idea of the date this sign is from. You can see it had  other names over the years.

Hooker Lake Hotel (now Siebert's Pub). Notice the Corner entrance to the bar area (which at the original build was probably NOT A BAR, since Salem downtown was a DRY town) and the center entrance to the main room and the staircase to the rooms. Siebert’s Pub is located in Salem, WI. Siebert’s was established in 1880 and has created a lot of history over the years.The building has gone through numerous transformations from being an ice cream parlor, hotel, insurance and real estate office to a local tavern that is known by many…to name a few. The building still holds a lot of character and is now a friendly, small pub with great food and staff and mostly great patrons. Siebert’s has offered a great fish fry for many years and is also known for the Reuben sandwich.
This is what it looks like today.

Another Beautiful Day At The Beach!

Eaton’s Beach that is! 82 degrees today!

A perfect day with my BFF’s Robbie and Nancy! we had a little sharing of what we’ve been up to and then went to our favorite beach for lunch.

The view from our table! Look at that gorgeous sky and the fluffy clouds. What more could anyone ask for?

Robbie took all these pictures and I am just borrowing them from her!

Ladies Who Lunch At Eaton’s Beach

I had heard what a neat place this was and was so impressed.

This is just a small part of the restaurant and the graphics on the wall feature feature Jersey Champion Cyclist Jay Eaton.

Wonder if he ever raced at the Velodrome in Kenosha?

I didn’t expect anything as large and open as it is.

One long wall has overhead garage doors installed and they were opened to the lake..must have been 6 or 8 of them.

Even though we ate inside we felt like we were outside on the patio.

There really is a huge sandy beach and a place to dock if you come by boat. I never realized how large Lake Weir was as my previous visits to the lake were to Bird Island.

The large bar area featured these pictures of MY team and my favorite quarterback.

There also is a beach bar on the lower level but we did not venture down there.

Loved their Christmas trees!

The food is excellent and although almost all the tables were full it doesn’t feel crowded. Our server was excellent.

Sally and I each saw someone we knew which always makes it even more fun.

After lunch we came back to my house and I helped Sally get started on her first ever quilt.

Another perfect day in paradise

A Food Adventure!

Today my friend Jean and I headed out for a little ride to visit a new to us restaurant.

When you want to know a good place to eat ask someone who has lived in an area most of their life.

I asked my friend Winston and he recommended our destination.

I’m sharing this picture of myself and Debra who owns this with her husband.

Not only can you get food to eat or take out, but next door they sell the freshest fish from north, east, south and west.

You can read more about this here:

http://www.simplyseafoodllc.com/

I have lived in Florida now for 10 years and this is without a doubt the very best seafood I have ever eaten here.

Everything is prepared to order.

It is a small restaurant with only a few tables…clean and bright….not fancy….but the food is what it is all about.

We started out with salads which were crisp and tasty with our choice of dressing. We took our time and when we had finished our salads our food was ready.

I ordered a Shrimp and Clam Provencal……..I can’t even begin to describe how delicious it was. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and plentiful and it also included a very generous amount of clams in the shell. The portion was so generous I could only eat about a third of it so I will enjoy it again this evening and even tomorrow.

It was served over angel hair pasta. Everything was piping hot and perfect.

My friend Jean had grilled mahi mahi with vegetables on the side. She also gave her meal rave reviews.

And she too will be dining on it again tonight!

We then each went next door and brought seafood to take home.  Everything looked so tempting.

It is just slightly over a half hour from my house and an easy drive. The link I provided includes their menu, hours and details.

On the way out of town I stopped to say Hi to my friends Sue and Joan. It was SO good to see their smiling faces.

So thanks Winston for recommending this, and thanks Debra for making us feel so welcome and providing one of the best meals I have ever had.

You can bet I’ll be back often.

First Friends Lunch

 

Today I had 3 special friends visit for lunch.

Each one of them was the first person I met at different parts of my life.

You have seen them all on my blog at other times, but this is the first time each of them has met the other two.

From left to right:

Donna Dempsey Lee was my first college roommate

Sally Rue was the first person I met when we moved to Ohio.

Jean Antes was the first person I met when we moved back to Wisconsin.

I can’t believe how fortunate I am to have 3 such lovely special friends that I met my chance.

I can still picture and relate the details about the first time I met each of them.

We had a really nice visit and had so much to share.

I “lost” Donna and Sally for many years but found them again within the past few years.

I never lost Jean even though she moved to Florida about 20 years ago.

Since I couldn’t figure out how to use the self timer on my camera AGAIN and couldn’t figure out how to do a selfie with my phone we couldn’t take a picture of all 4 of us together.

Sally was nice enough to take the picture of me with Donna and Jean.

It was a great day with wonderful friends.

What makes this more exciting for me is they all live less than 15 miles from me in Florida. What are the chances of that happening?

Today Is International “Ladies Who Lunch Day”

I started celebrating early with my friends on Wednesday.

The weather was perfect for a lunch outside at our clubhouse restaurant.

Not only was the weather perfect, but the food was delicious and the company was superb!

I intend to continue to celebrate today with a late lunch with another girlfriend.

If you haven’t planned your celebration for today it’s not too late to call a friend and enjoy lunch together.

Ladies Who Lunch Meet A Man!

Robbie Payne and I had lunch on Friday at one of my favorite places…B D Beans!

It was so much fun to share what we both have been up to with our fiber art.

We go in different directions, but we each tend to be perfectionists. She loves hand work and I prefer the machine,

Wait until you see a photo I took of her work!

She had this beaded butterfly professionally framed. It does justice to her fantastic beading.

The frame has a metallic finish – gorgeous.

I had to share this close up of the butterfly so you can appreciate her intricate beading.

You can see more of her work at:

]http://www.robbiespawprints.blogspot.com/

She brought along a lot of her work and also the quilts from her groups projects. What amazing artists, one and all.

Of course we had time to catch up on what else we were up to and our schedules. We had a hard time setting up a date for lunch but I am so glad we made the effort. We had a wonderful time.

Ladies Who Lunch Are Back!

The reason I haven’t had Lunch Ladies posts recently is I forget to take pictures.

Today was a very special day with long time friends.

Bev (in aqua) and I taught together for many years at our local Technical College. I think we started teaching there the same year.

Lyn (in red) is Bev’s daughter and I have known her for years too.

Lorrie (in purple) is someone I have known since I was twice as old as her. I am now only about 1 1/3 times as old as she is.

She was one of my youngest ever students and was definitely one of the best I ever had. She took many classes from me and also worked with me.

We all have sewing and quilting in common.

Before we went for lunch I gave them a tour of my studio and some of my quilts.

We had years to catch up on and we’ll need to get together again before long to do some more catching up.

This definitely was the highlight of my week. There are no friends like long time friends!

Rolling Toward the Dye Buckets!

You never know what direction our projects will take.

Yesterday was not really a project day.

We visited the Yarn Lady and Suzie was introduced to the glorious yarns in the shop. Her suitcases will be a little fuller on the trip home.

Then we went to lunch at B D Beans in Belleview. They always add something new to “the décor”!

We sat at my favorite table in front of the fireplace and I took this photo of what was currently in the fireplace. Eat your heart out as I know you’ll be jealous when you see this!!!!!!!

After we came home we both finished our slice quilts and packages them to mail today. The mail lady just picked up the package 10 minutes ago so they are on their way to Tommy Fitzsimmons.

Our evening agenda consisted of wrapping poles for today’s mini shibori dyeing session.

These are our poles ready for the dye buckets. There are also two scrunchies – one for each bucket so we will have a sample of the colors of the dye we used.

The poles are currently in the buckets and have been for 1/2 hour. Only 45 minutes to go until rinse out and wash out.