Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Road Trip to Northwest Arkansas

Last weekend I got in my car all by my little old self  and drove 6.5 hours to Springdale, Arkansas, where my wonderful aunt Lana lives.  She had a very special sewing cabinet for me there.  It belonged to my grandmother so it was well worth the drive!



On the way there, I tried to use my new Roadside America app for iPhone to find quirky things to look at.  But after passing several without seeing them, I decided it would be better for the way back when not under a time constraint.  But looking for them made me notice a sign for a thing that called itself an Amish Store.  That sounded fun, so I kept looking for the signs.

I was trying to guess what kind of building an Amish Store would be in.  I thought it would be in the most functional type of building and least decorative type I could imagine, so I guessed it would be in a pre-fabricated building or trailer.  I was right!  Alas, I do not have a photo to prove it.  I should.  I'm sorry.  I wasn't thinking.

I was too worried about my attire to think about the blog!  Because the Mid-West/Mid-South is trapped in something I heard called a "heat dome," I was driving in a hot pink, strapless dress.  (My catchphrase for the summer is, "It's too hot to wear anything else!")


I didn't know if I would encounter actual Amish working in the store, but I didn't want to be asked to leave (a la the woman in Oregon shopping in a bikini) before I snatched up my share of their home-baked goodness.  So I rummaged in my suitcase for a little sweater (YES, it was too hot for a sweater!) and put it on in the parking lot.

The nice lady in the store (she wasn't Amish) offered me a bucket.  I thought she was trying to sell me the bucket so I declined.  I tried the mystery fudge but couldn't guess what it was.  I ended up buying three kinds of popcorn kernels and something called F-R-O-G jam.  Fun!


I had a great time with Lana and she also did something else amazing.  She bequeathed to me ALL of my grandmother's unfinished quilt blocks, along with her scraps of fabric and some other cool things to remember her by.  I showed it to my mother and had to give some of it up, but that's ok.  The little red fingertip towel with the squaredancers on it she wanted so I couldn't say no.  I kept the weird egg-utensil crafty thing made by one of her children in Vacation Bible School.  It had hung in her closet forever with diaper pins on it.  Apparently, you just never know when you're going to need a diaper pin.  <3 

I am so touched to have been given these things.  I can't wait to learn how to finish quilts.  I know just the place to figure it out, one of my new favorite stores, The Berry Patch in Fort Worth.  Also, my other favorite store, The Cabbage Rose has a hand-quilting class that I want to try.  Can anyone please give me the gift of more hours in the day?  That would be great.  


Those things alone made the trip worth taking, but I also have a dearie friend who lives in a town nearby, so on Saturday I hopped on over to her house.  She's about five months pregnant and she's the one I made the nursery mobile for.  The nursery is still an office at the moment, so we hung the little birdies in her bedroom window.  I'm glad they have a home, but when I got back I missed them hanging from my ceiling fan in my little loft apartment! 


I have to give credit to Stephen for tying the darn things to the hoop.  I just knew they wouldn't hang straight or would give me an anxiety fit if I did it.  He did a great job.  No, he's not eating the bird!  Thanks baby!

Oh yeah, on the way back I did find those quirky things!  One I even stopped for, AND got a photo.  It was in Oklahoma, and it's a barbeque grill that looks like a revolver.  But of course!

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