Chatbug Karen

My nephew and his wife are expecting a baby, due in December. Friends of theirs gave them a baby shower which I attended. It was so much fun!

I noticed that most of my niece’s friends are pregnant which makes it really nice that their kids will have lots of friends the same age. The moms and dads can find comfort in each others struggles and triumphs. Now, at my age, I say, misery loves company but I am sure these kids are enjoying this stage in their lives.

The baby shower was low key with a few games and opening of gifts. I was impressed by the food. There were little chicken salad sandwiches, fruit and vegetable trays and of course the cake. The theme for the nursery is farm animals and so the hostess made a barn cake. Around the barn she had placed cupcakes decorated with a variety of farm animals faces. So cute!

Just wanted to let you know my thoughts after having watched The Help. This movie was terrific.

I had been spared the awful tragedies of racism endured and projected in the sixties. Never having lived in the south, I had no idea these things happened. Of course, it might have been my age. I was probably around the age of 10 when these injustices were happening and I was unaware. I was probably roller skating, playing softball and watching Gidget on television. I know that I rolled my eyes every time my parents changed the channel so that they could watch the news.

That said, this movie is not sad. In fact, it is amazing how the subject was brought to light in such an informative manner yet entertaining in a joyous way. I was cheering on the characters and hoping they would fight for equality. Boy did they ever!

I enjoyed this movie and learned so much from it.

I love getting together with friends to play a good game of cards. Have you ever heard of Hand and Foot? We played this fun game with two other couples and I have not laughed so hard for a long time. At first it was a bit like reading a manual for document management software but once I got the jist of the game, it was a lot of fun.

We played with 8 decks of cards! Yes, I said 8 decks. The object of the game is to get rid of cards from your hand (11 cards), and then from your foot (11 cards), by melding them. A Meld is a set of three to seven cards of equal rank placed face up on the table. A Meld cannot have fewer than three cards. Clear as mud? LOL

My friend, Linda, and I have visited the big craft festival at Amish Acres for nearly 18 years. We have only missed a few years and I’m sure that was only because of an emergency! We love to go down every aisle to see what the vendors have to show us.

This year, the amount of vendors seemed to be down in numbers compared to years past. There were a few vendors that we are used to seeing who were not even there this year. Beverly’s is a booth that sells the neatest clothing. Beverly’s wasn’t there. The wooden spoon lady, I never can remember the name of her booth but she makes spoons out of wood. There were no stained glass booths.

Do you think it was because of the economy? Do people have no expendable cash? Maybe it was the 90 degree temperatures we have had this month. I thought I might need the link to ROP life online after walking around in the heat. I don’t know why the vendor’s numbers were down. There seemed to be a smaller crowd of buyers too. Oh well, I did my share to help the economy.

Linda and I always meet after a few hours of shopping. This year we met at the ice cream barn. We look forward to eating the mint/chocolate swirl soft served ice cream. It makes us forget how sweaty and dirty we feel from traipsing around in the dirt laden aisles.

The Infamous vigilante organization know as the “Bald Knobbers” created hope, freedom, despair, and uncertainty among the people of the Ozarks.
Prior to the Civil War Taney County had only three murders, but from 1865 to 1885 between thirty and forty murders occurred. Failing economy and high taxes was hard on the landowners. Crime went on a rampage and few violators stood trial. Only Federal law officers could pursue criminals across state lines and the few that were tried, were acquitted by corrupt courts. It was after one of these acquittals that thirteen men met in secret and formed a Citizens committee to fight the lawlessness and to elect officials that would enforce law. From this meeting came the group know as the Bald Knobbers.

The Bald Knobbers got their name from the grassy bald knob summits of the Ozark Mountains in the area. The hill where they first met is called Snapp’s Bald, located just north of Kirbyville, Missouri.

We saw a very different group of bald knobbers last night. The Baldknobbers Jamboree show is one of the oldest shows in Branson. It is a combination of country, western and gospel singing and comedy that is very tasteful. Persons of any age would enjoy this show as attested by my 13 and 15 year old nieces. I was worried that they would be bored but whenever I looked over their way, I saw them laughing as hard as the rest of us. The timing of the comedy team was spot on as they made fun of the economy, disability insurance, and hair balls. Even a few jokes I had heard years ago had my sides aching from laughing so much.

The Branson family entertainment phenomenon began over 50 years ago in 1959 when the four Mabe brothers, known as the Baldknobbers, began entertaining visitors on the Branson lakefront. Last night, we enjoyed hearing 2nd & 3rd generation Mabe family members sing, play instruments and entertain us with quick witted comedy. Everyone should see the Baldknobbers show.

I was not compensated for writing this post.

I was sewing all day on Memorial Day and while I sewed, I listened to music using
Difinity. They list a little tidbit about each performer and I would glance up at the beginning of each song to see what was written.

I was surprised to see that James Blunt, the singer/songwriter who wrote the wonderful song “You’re Beautiful”, was attending college before he began his professional singing career. He was studying Aerospace Manufacturing Engineering! I’d venture to guess that his parents were sick when he said he was going to be a singer!

It just goes to show that whether you aspire to make porcelain dolls, sing and write songs or be the best mom you can be, if you try hard enough, it will happen.

Hey, just wanted to let my blogging buddies know, my husband and I have gone fishing. This picture was taken on our first day on the water.

What a great name for a bed and breakfast!

My friends and I met for breakfast at the Inntiquity Inn. We do that once in awhile to catch up on each other. We thought it would be nice to try someplace different. Little did we know we would get a tour of this beautiful inn.

The Inntiquity Inn is a family owned and run business that has been established for over thirty years. Mrs. Naftzger herself served us breakfast and then took us on a wonderful tour of the establishment. She gave us so much history about the renovation of what had been a working barn that my head was spinning. I wish I could recollect all the history and details of the renovation. I remember her saying something about President Fillmore, the 13th President of the United States, and a toll road that ran in front of the barn. I love stuff like that! You can read more about the history of the business at www.inntiquityinn.com.

Each room is a treat in itself. Headboards made from Victorian era couches are just some of the novelty items in each room. The silo holds a jacuzzi bath! What was amazing to me was the amount of rooms this building had. I would not want to be the one dragging the Miele vacuum cleaner from room to room. Scrubbing bathtubs and sinks would be a daunting task. I would like to stay at the inn and be pampered with delicious meals and huge comfortable beds with antique linens. The grounds are beautiful as well. There is a small lake, herb gardens and gazebo to enjoy as well.

I am so glad we discovered the Inntiquity Inn.

I had to laugh at my husband. He rented the DVD, Stone, three times before we actually found the time to watch it. Usually I tell him we should have bought the movie but in this case, I am glad we didn’t. Stone was a terrible movie. With great actors like Robert Dinero and Edward Norton, we thought it would be an intriguing movie. Not so. It was weird and the ending was so odd and abrupt that we found ourselves looking at each other with that huh? look on our faces.

It is funny how we each have different opinions on what makes a good movie. That is why I rarely take someones opinion about a movie as the deciding factor of which movies I watch. I can’t tell you how many times the gal working at the video store has said a movie was the best and we hated it!

I do trust the opinion of my niece when it comes to which movies to let small children watch. She not only gives out the best advice when picking out an ergo baby carrier, she is adamant about not filling her kid’s minds with junk. I was surprised when she mentioned that the new movie, Rondo, is full of cuss words. Why does the entertainment industry push a movie as kid friendly but have things in it we don’t want our kids to see and hear? It boils down to greed. I’m glad there are parents who care and don’t buy into the entertainment industry’s ploy.

Oh my! I have not written here for a while! My son and daughter in-law and my daughter all came for a fun visit. We cooked, shopped and ate out. We watched tons of movies on DVD. I’ll be highlighting those later. My two dogs are very lonely now that our house is quiet. I am too.

Before company invaded, I was sewing. I made a few more chicken table runners.

I can’t wait to start machine quilting. Unfortunately, today was spent getting tax stuff ready to take to the accountant. Tomorrow is earmarked for sewing!