ADVENTURE 2008 - PAGE 9

As lovely as the outside of Mom's home is, the inside is equally charming. Here are some photos of her space....somewhat cluttered as there were several of us staying with her. In addition, my sister Kathleen and I both brought art projects to work on and our "ephemera" seems to spread out as we create! These beautiful windows look out at the forest behind the house where those very tall trees are.

The staircase going to the upper level has painted tiles on every riser. Most of them were painted by Mother, with a few contributed by family members. You can see a small portion of the wall showing joyful dancing ladies painted by Kathleen.

Beautiful quilts decorate the walls and are frequently changed out as she has many of them.

ADVENTURE 2008 - PAGE 8

Now we get to the good stuff! Here are photographs taken around my Mother's home. Northwestern Pennsylvania is so beautiful in the early summer. This is the town where I was born and grew up so the green and the wet smells and the scent of flowers and the bird noises in the early morning are all sensory delights that make me quite nostalgic. The slightly wet and freshly mown lawn made me want to get down and roll in it! Enjoy!

And the trees are so very very tall...

ADVENTURE 2008 - PAGE 7 - PLACES WE DID NOT SEE

Just a short post to mention those places we did drive by but decided not to investigate. I am sure there were many more! We passed the opportunity to visit Hooker, Oklahoma, proud home to the Hooker High school Horny Toads (at least that is what the sign said). After much debate we also passed the sign inviting us to visit Bucksnort, Tennessee and Toad Suck Park, Arkansas. Perhaps we were too hasty? Ummm...nope.

As an aside, I do love bridges. Here is a photo of one I took through the windshield. Again, I have no idea where we were (a condition that has plagued me my whole life). Fortunately Roy has a wonderful built-in compass.

MORE PHOTOGRAPHS FOR PAGE 6

Opps! I found some additional pictures of that wonderful pottery place and thought you would like to see them. Enjoy!!

ADVENTURE 2008 - PAGE 6

While on vacation we had the great good fortune to visit a charming pottery store and gallery. It is housed in a large, airy barn originally built in the mid 1800's. At the time we were there, they were also hosting a fantastic fiberarts show! You know I was all over that one! Do check out their pottery at www.campbellpotterystore.com. We bought two beautiful coffee mugs and a serving dish. We also bought a small oil lamp as a gift for the lady who watched over our house and plants while we were gone. It was a wonderful sensory experience!

ADVENTURE 2008 - PAGE 5 (ON THE ROAD STITCHING)

I took several pieces of "hand stitching" journal pages with me to work on in the car as well as while at Mom's house. I finished one of them yesterday and am posting it for your viewing. It measures approximately 14" X 19". It is all hand stitched and has a few shiny bead things because you just can't have too many shiny bead things! It says" Be yourself, you are magic".

ADVENTURE 2008 - PAGE 4

One of our lunch stops on our cross country adventure was in a sweet little town park with a running stream and ducks all over the place. It was called East Park and was established in 1889. I think it was in Yates Center, KS. We sat at a picnic table under a big tree and ate lunch and watched the ducks. Kinda hated to get back in the car!

Here are photos of the two of us at the park, and a photo of some of the ducks.

ADVENTURE 2008 - PAGE 3

I took this photograph from the car window as we stopped at a traffic light in this little fairytale town. I don't know the name of the town, or even which state we were in! I just know I might like to live here!

BOOK RELEASES ACROSS THE COUNTRY - ADVENTURE 2008 PAGE 2

During the past four weeks I was able to release 19 books into the wild. I left several of them in restrooms and one in a telephone booth; one on a church pew outside a restaurant and one on top of the air hose box at a gas station. I left them in hotel lobbies ( on planters and on chairs) and in booth locations in restaurants. I left one in a coffee house and one in a kitchen of a VFW picnic park area.

Here are 2 covert photos of book release locations. What a fun hobby this is!

ADVENTURE 2008 - PAGE I

Those of you who know me know I am a list maker. For several months prior to leaving on our trip I had lists and lists and lists! Most of the "take this" decisions were really easy; take my closet or take my studio. Well, the studio of course! I carefully selected fabrics, paints, brushes, glue, papers, pins and needles, threads and several pieces I had started with the intent of finishing them on the road. I also packed 3 quilts to be presented at the 90th birthday party for my Mother; the party being the "official" reason for the adventure!

Here is a photo of a well packed vehicle the morning we left for Pennsylvania. And yes, we did have room for some underwear and a cooler. Stay tuned for more information on Adventure 2008.

ALMOST THERE !

We are in a lovely motel someplace in Oklahoma and plan to be back at Straw Mountain tomorrow. We are tired but had a wonderful time. As I recover in the next few days I will blog some items about our trip and the attached adventures! See you soon!!