To Chicago we all went.....

February 16th was the 30th birthday for our youngest two.  So we surprised Matt and Little Jenny in Chicago on the 12th when we took turns knocking on Matt's condo door....one couple at a time.  LJ (Little Jenny) and her hubby, BJ went to visit Matt (who is the only one of us who actually lives there) to take her scooter for him to sell.  They were surprised for sure and we had a great day riding the train (Luke's favorite part), visiting the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), seeing the Bean, ice skaters and Pritzker Pavilion in Millenium Park in the dark.  Several of us ended the evening after dinner at the Rosebud in the Theater District and returned to our hotel.  The rest went on drinking to celebrate the big 3-0.  Fun was had by all and we were so glad we all went there to surprise them.  Nephew Chris and his wife, Bridget even joined us.  There IS something magical about that city.

 Little Jenny, Mark and Matt

Luke was so bundled up that you can't tell how much he's enjoying the train ride.

 Patrick loves Chicago

 Mark doesn't look so happy to ride the train

 Stef enjoying the day

 I am standing out in one of the glass extended boxes on the Willis Tower.

Millenium Park

So that's the story of our trip to Chicago....now on to a few other things.

Isn't it funny how kids like to talk about horses, yet when they get right up close to them they're afraid?  That's the situation we have with Luke.  He always asks his mom to play the video she has on her phone of Marshall, but when we go to visit him he's leary.  Luke would put his hand out, but if Marshall turned towards him, he would pull his hand back.  Marshall is quite a bit bigger than Luke, but he's a very gentle horse.

Now on to more things....like knitting:

The Upside-down Daisy hat I made for our newest grandbaby I told you about.....It's a girl!  I'll wait until she's born before I reveal her name, just in case LJ changes her mind.

 This is one of my finished Breast Cancer socks I made to wear to the James Sisters Stitching Day in April.  I thought it would be nice to wear pink socks along with all the other pink I wear on those annual events.  The other sock is almost finished....I'm working on the toe now.

 I'll bet you can't even guess what this is!  The yarn obviously does not photograph well.  It's the edge of the Ruffle Scarf I'm making with the Ritratto yarn Mark got me for Christmas.  It's a 3 x 3 rib, but that doesn't show well either.  This one is going to take awhile since it's knit lengthwise, but I did cast on less than the 450 stitches it called for.  I'll post photos as I progress.

I think March is going to come in like a lamb since the weatherman is predicting temperatures in the 50s next week......I wonder if that means it will go out like a lion?  Well, I don't believe in those old tales anyway, just like I don't believe a groundhog can predict when spring will come.  The official first day of spring is always around March 21st whether a groundhog sees his shadow or not.....and who in their right mind thinks we would have a February without snow here in Ohio?

We've had lots of snow, but I love it!

You'll see from the photos this time that most of them revolve around snow....even the dogs.  I do enjoy snow and like driving in it too.  After shovelling last year and hurting my back, we purchased a snowblower (Mark secretly has been wanting one for years now)....after all, we aren't getting any younger.  All I've had to do is use a broom a few times.  Mark is really enjoying his new job outside!

 Ivy is enjoying her job....patiently waiting for a squirrel to come down from the tree....

it doesn't happen.

 Lily enjoys eating the snow....

she would rather do that than drink from her water bowl in the house.



On Martin Luther King Day, we went to the zoo and met Anana, the new polar bear who was very entertaining.  Of course, there is glass between her and the kid.  She's chewing on a huge bone.....taking a break from swimming and jumping on a plastic barrel.

Mark with his 'manly' scarf I made him to keep his neck warm.

 

 Me in my purple 'Poppy' sweater from the Yarnplay book.  I never choose purple which was my mother's favorite color...so this is an homage to my mom.  This sweater is made from Noro Silk Garden and Cash Iroha.  It does have wool in it...so another warm sweater to wear in the snow.

 On the hangar....

The back!

The weekend of the 21st and 22nd was a girl's weekend for me.  My old buddies from my quilt guild up north and I, who took the Sue Spargo class, Magnolia.... like to get together every few months to work on our blocks.  It's lots of laughter, food and wine and of course, you can see we do get hand sewing accomplished.  The night before I drove back north for this fun weekend we had 6" of snow. 
Ohio does a great job of keeping the expressways cleared.

 Beth's block

 One flower from my block

 Linda Henderson's house block (the center of her quilt)

 ...another of Henderson's blocks.

 Paula worked on a different Spargo quilt class we took.  She calls it her 'dark' quilt.  It's actually a basket block quilt and very nice.

 Linda Robb's handwork on a netbook messenger bag she's making.

Sue Elze's flower on one of her blocks.

It's so great to share ideas and you can see how creative everyone is!  We use wool fabric, velvet, cotton and beads to make our blocks. 
The weather won't stop me from having fun with my friends...it was so worth driving in all that snow. 
That's it for January. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Back to life as we know it......

The holidays are over.....so sad.  I love our family get togethers and the build up before the big days.  We had a really nice Thanksgiving here at our house as we gathered around the table.  The main theme this year seemed to be that we were all thankful for our health, having jobs and the fact that we have family to share our love with.  The events that had just occurred in Mount Vernon where the Tilmant's live was fresh in all of our minds.  The gruesome death of a mother, her son and her friend was almost too much to bear and was too close to home to believe.  I just heard on the news yesterday that the man who committed this crime will spend the rest of his life in prison.  Sometimes these things happen to remind us how we should appreciate what we have....and I sure do.  I love my family and appreciate them every day.

So....on to the next holiday.....Christmas!

Patrick came to spend the three days of the weekend with us.  I really enjoyed his help with last minute gifts to purchase on Christmas Eve and the making of our traditional lasagna.  The Tilmant's came on Christmas Day with Luke.  He always brings a smile to our faces.  They all stayed overnight too....the house was beginning to fill.  The 26th was the day of our big meal and gift exchange.  The Hicks family rolled in first, then Matt arrived and rounding up the tail end was the Swaggard Family with Taryn and Morgan in tow all the way from Texas.  All of the little girls got dressed up in pretty Christmas dresses....so cute.  The last three of our adult kids that rolled in on the 26th also stayed overnight with their families while Patrick and the Tilmant's did not.  It was so fun to have our Christmas holiday last for three full days this year!

Luke and Stef

Ivy and Lily with their Christmas outfits on.

Matt, Jenny and Mark having some fun.

On to some of the gifts I made and received.....

Joel was happy with the quilt I made him.  He's such a patriotic soul and loves to read about war history, so I chose these fabrics (the center block is the Declaration of Independence written out on fabric) some of which are Civil War reproductions, which is his favorite time in history to read about. 

This was the gift I made for Matt's girlfriend, Kathleen.  It's basically a moebius scarf that gets wrapped around the neck twice with a cable pattern knitted in.  Here's the link for the pattern if any of you knitters would like it:

http://ilikecake.org/?p=141

Look at this lovely gift I received from Mark!  He picked it out from Knitters' Mercantile.  It has 1,450 yds., is hand-painted with beautiful colors and is enough to do a sweater which I will chose from this book he picked out for me.  Please notice that just because someone has white hair doesn't mean they are old.

You can see how huge the skein is after having it wound, compared to the skein of Ritratto he also bought me.  Mark did a great job choosing my gifts this year.  I did not give him a list or ideas like I usually do.  Nothing makes a knitter happier than receiving yarn and books.

He bought me these 2 skeins of Ritratto, which are mohair and rayon, to make a pretty ruffle scarf with....

.....and Matt trucked all the way to a yarn shop in Chicago to buy me this luxurious skein of cashmere and silk yarn!  It's color is lavendar, but my camera thinks it's blue.  This one skein will be enough to make myself a wonderfully soft cowl to keep my neck warm.  This was a special treat because I wouldn't buy myself cashmere.  I was thinking about that book.... "I Feel Bad About My Neck" by Nora Ephron....I may wear this cowl as much to hide my neck as I will to keep it warm! 

I wish you all good health this year of the rabbit....enjoy your family and be thankful.

We are going to be grandparents again!

Our youngest daughter is having her first baby next June!  We are so excited!  She's been married a year now and was ready to add to their relationship.

I've been preparing for our big Thanksgiving meal.  All 5 of our kids will be coming plus 3 son-in-laws and 3 grandchildren.  It really is one of the best family events we are lucky enough to celebrate. 

I'll be sure to post photos after they all leave.

Look at this adorable little snowman marker I received when I ordered this sock yarn from KnitPurlGurl on Etsy.com.  It's her hand dyed watermelon sock yarn....very cool.

This photo of Luke is only funny to those of you with a sense of humor when taking photos of children.  This little guy hardly stands still and I'm always chasing him with the camera.  Many of my shots look like this where he'll be looking at me and then all of a sudden he's turning and going the other way and my camera is too slow to get him when he's looking at me.  He just makes me laugh.

My newest little hat for someone.  Luke won't leave it on, so I think it needs to go to my next grandchild.

I don't think this photo really needs an explanation.  Ivy is just in love with her chew toys.

Mariah Midgley, 9 yrs. old, drew this of my horse Marshall who she became attached to at the Willow Ridge Therapeutic Riding Facility.  I thought it was very clever of her to draw his knee up like that because he has an injured knee and she wanted to show that.  Don't you love the detail kids put in their drawings?

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones!

Fall makes me happy.....

This is my favorite time of year and I'm enjoying the cooler temperatures so much.  I sat on our patio lastnight until after dark enjoying the 60 something degrees which felt very warm.  It was nice to sit around because I went with Mark in the afternoon to shop for a used car, which is more exhausting than you would think.  He's been driving his car for 5 yrs. now which has to be a new record for him.  He would rather change cars every 2 yrs. so he's long overdue.  Thankfully, he doesn't want to change his wife like that. 

Last month Mark and I drove to Jumonville, PA where his parents met as church camp counselors.  We had been there before and found it to be quaint and full of places where we could imagine that they sat and talked or possibly stole kisses.  It was Mark's father's dream to have his and Mary Esther's ashes spread together after their deaths so they could be together again at the place where they met.  Bruce was such a romantic and Mark was so pleased to be able to fulfill his father's last wish.  If you look closely at this photo of the 100' tall cross on the hill at the church camp you can see the ashes blowing up in the wind with the cloud in the background.  Some people don't really like the word, closure, but fulfilling his dad's wishes brought closure for Mark and he felt this was the best way to honor their lives together.

Did you know there is an awesome Military Museum here in Groveport, Ohio?  I was not very thrilled to go to it, but thought Mark (who reads every WWII book he can find) would enjoy it..... so off we went.  It was really fantastic and informative with artifacts dating back to the Spanish/American War, Civil War, WWI and WWII.  They will be opening a new wing that will have information about the Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan.  There is a replica of the Eddie Rickenbacker house (full scale) plus military vehicles in the fenced in grass area in the back of the museum which includes one of the six still existing "Higgins Boats" that pulled up to Normandy Beach and dropped it's front to let all the soldiers off.  We found it very interesting to talk to Warren Motts, the owner, about stories he shares with people.  My favorite story was about General Paul Tibbets, Jr. who was the pilot of the Enola Gay which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.  Gen. Tibbets was on the advisory board of the Motts Military Museum and lived here in Columbus until his death in 1992.

http://www.mottsmilitarymuseum.org/

For my birthday in October we flew to Missouri to visit with some friends.  They took us to Eureka Springs, AK which is such a great artistic town.  We love going there when we visit Scott and Arlene.  This is just one of the cute buildings that houses specialty shops and galleries.

They took us to Branson, MO one evening for dinner and we enjoyed the fountain show there.

We drove to Oklahoma City, OK after our visit in Missouri.  Our friends over there showed us a great time too.  We went with Karen to the Murrah Building Memorial which brought tears to my eyes.  It is so beautiful and is such a wonderful tribute to the lives lost there.  Here are a few photos from there.

 These brass and glass chairs are engraved with each individual's name who lost their lives that day in the bombing.  They are located on the land where the Murrah Building stood.

 This reflecting pond is where the street used to be where Timothy McVeigh pulled the Ryder truck up in front of the building.  The wall at the end there has the time 9:01 which is the time right before the bomb went off.  There is a wall at the other end that has the time 9:03 which is the time that lives were changed forever in just 2 minutes.

This is the outside of the new Murrah Building that was erected a block away.  The protrusions on the windows are to represent crosses for the lives lost.

Off we went to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.....

www.nationalcowboymuseum.org

which I like to call the Cowboy Hall of Fame.  Did you know that there are 8,000 different types of barbed wire???  Who knew?

See the vertical slide out drawers under the photo?  They had about 1-15 different kinds of barbed wire in each of them and those surrounded the room.

 Clothes worn by John Wayne in the movie True Grit.

The End of the Trail statue

Then dinner at Larry's, who is Karen's boyfriend, and a great cook.  He made lamb which was scrumptious.

We drove back to Kansas City, MO for the flight home, but had time to visit that city for a night and day.  We liked it and would recommend if you ever travel to there you must eat at Garozzo's for the best meal in the city!

 The canal offers gondola rides.

Pretty tile design.

When we got home I finished the dragon outfit I made Luke for Halloween.