BACK TO MEADOWS

I am fixing lunch at the Campus Center tomorrow (my old job) and may be working occasionally over there. Guess they just can't get along without me! The lady who works there is on vacation this week so I said I'd work three days.

I decided about 7 o'clock tonight that we will play Bingo after lunch so I whipped up these little party/prize bags for the winners. Some of the prizes are Special K bars, gum, individual kleenex packs, small can of pepsi, etc. I have 11 bags and just got too tired to do more. If there are more people, I'll have to "wing it" when I get there.

I'm fixing ground pork sloppy joes, cole slaw, jello, sun chips and a pina colada cake.

Train to the City

Nathan has been watching the train go by his daycare center every day for the past two years. Many times, we see it when we go over the Towanda Ave overpass. We always talk about it going to the city, and someday we would go too. Well, yesterday was that day. We rode from Normal to downtown Chicago, and took a cab to the aquarium where we saw a million fish, especially sharks. After as much city excitement as we could fit in, we rode the train back home. Nathan never stopped the whole time, til we got home. Then he fell asleep sitting on the couch next to me.

Sunday Morning in KC

I couldn't resist sharing a couple more photos since I just returned from 5 nights in KC. I know, this grandma is probably overdoing it. Carol

What are you reading these days?

So ... what are you reading these days? Any good books you found at a used book store, yard sale, Books a Million or is on your Kindle . . . or something you've finally gotten around to reading that's been on your shelf for years? Please share.

Some days...

And here's a picture of a day gone bad...Picture taken just after the boys unloaded 10 baskets of folded laundry into a big pile on the floor...Sorry, Shelley, I couldn't resist!

ANNIVERSARY

I believe today is Lynn and Miriam's 53rd anniversary. Happy Anniversary and best wishes for many more years together. I remember the wedding well. I wore a pretty blue dress with a big can-can under it and my first pair of heels (probably 1.5 inches). I was 13 and really thought I was cool. There's a picture of me someplace but I don't know where.

But I mustn't forget the Bride and Groom -- Mim was very pretty in her cream-colored suit and Lynn was quite handsome also.

A Random Memory

Today is laundry folding day. As I was working on my piles this morning I had a crazy memory pop into my head. I remember when I was about 6 or 7 years old playing over at Charity's house in the back bedroom (where the girls used to sleep). We made up some sort of a game that involved sliding or jumping off of the bed into some pillows. There was stacks and stacks of folded laundry on the bed but it was getting in the way of our game. So we pushed them onto the floor and into a big pile at the back of the bed (*gasp*).

After a while Aunt Carol came in to check on us and saw what we had done. I remember her being upset. Charity had a choice between a punishment or me being sent home early. She chose the punishment so I could stay and play, and I remember feeling very unworthy of her choice. I also remember knowing we shouldn't have messed up the laundry, but also thinking it wasn't really that big of a deal. I mean, couldn't she just refold the clothes? Now I look back and think that Aunt Carol handled the situation a whole lot better than I would if it happened to me today! Those stacks of clothes probably represented several hours of work that day. Isn't it funny the things that you remember?

P.S. I hope that I don't embarrass A. Carol by sharing this. I just remembered it today as a cute story and I can certainly relate now to her disappointment. I have lots of wonderful memories from playing at Charity and Elizabeth's house growing up, but I'll save those for another blog post.

Family Shots

Mom brought over a few pictures today and I chose a couple of them to share. These are of Christmas 2009 at Gloria's house. She hosted a fabulous open house. As you can see in this picture, everyone was having a good time.


This is the latest picture of our family, taken the same night.

SHOP HOP

I had a fun day Saturday when I went on a "Quilt-Shop Hop" with 18 women. It was quite a diverse group (as I told Jerry, it was a wild and crazy bunch of ladies) ranging in age from about 50-75. We left Bloomington at 7:30 am and I arrived home about 8:30 pm. It was a long day and I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to do it, but I stayed calm and just enjoyed the day.

We had breakfast at Woody's in LeRoy, then went to one store in Mahomet, another in Rantoul, and the last one in Danville. The Threads of Time in Danville was definitely the best one. If you're interested check out www.threadsandbedsretreat.com. It was an amazing place. After the visit there, we crossed the Indiana state line and had dinner at the Beef House -- notice there was no lunch stop and I was worried about that, but the bus fee included a large bag of treats for each of us as well as all the water or soft drink we wanted. Some of these women go on shop/hops several times a year, but this was the first time I decided to go with them. It was a fun day.

It was tempting to buy EVERYTHING, but I controlled myself fairly well and bought just enough for a couple projects. After all, I'm trying to get rid of "stuff", not accumulate more stuff.

My friend Mary Stalter and me on the bus.
Dinner at the Beef House.

My purchases.

It will be awhile before you see the finished products from this shopping trip!

. . . still more of Alice Caroline

Jesse, Anna & Timon meet their new sister. Daddy is also delighted (top photo). Grandpa Perry wanted you to see these pictures also. . . . Grandma Carol

more of Alice Caroline

Perry asked that I post these also. It is hard to believe that she is less than 1 hour old in these pictures. Her dimples are so cute! Grandma Carol

Alice Caroline

She was born today to Brandon and Maria. Anna, 5, Timon, 3, and Jesse, 17 months are the happy big sister and big brothers. Here, Alice is less than a hour old when she is still alert from the birth experience. She weighed in at 7 lbs 4 oz. We are thankful to God for a healthy, beautiful new granddaughter! Perry & Carol

MORE

Since my morning post, I made another bag - the little red tote bag. Also wanted to show you the green shopping bag that I made yesterday. I need to find something to put in the bottom to make it sturdy, and probably use a canvas fabric next time, but it is a fun pattern to make. Sorry if I bore you with my "projects"! Going to have some lunch now.

THE BAG LADY'S BACK

Since we are cleaning out our basement, I decided that instead of selling all my excess material I would just try to make something out of it. So on Monday and Tuesday I made these bags and will probably put them on my garage sale. On Saturday when I went to my monthly embroidery/quilt club meeting in Bloomington, they showed us how to make flannel pillow cases to be donated to the children's wings at local hospitals - and of course the children can take them home. I may make some more for that purpose but I also think they would make nice gifts. They are sooo easy and fun to do. I made this one in about 30 minutes.

Just thought I'd throw in my latest quilt tops for you to see. The pink one is twin-size, the purple one (my favorite - with triangles instead of squares - moving up a step!) is either a baby quilt or wall hanging, and the green one is full size. I should put another strip or two around the two larger ones if I can find matching material. I still have one other set of blocks to make a queen size quilt. Want to have them done by next fall for the comforter blitz.

It's 10:15 am, the fog has finally lifted, the sun is shining, Jerry's off to a routine Dr.'s appointment, and I'm heading to my "sweat shop" to see what I can create today.

Unfortunate Situation

My boy is somewhere in eastern North Carolina, sick with the stomach flu, and the rest of his drama team had to go on without him tonight, as they had a presentation they couldn't miss. He is at the home of the family that hosted him last night, and they are taking good care of him. I think it's something that they will take in a stranger and care for him like one of their own, and as a mother I deeply appreciate it. Mike's brother is a doctor and he has called to check on him.

The team is only about a half hour away from where he is, so tomorrow they will come back to get him and they will continue on with their schedule. I hope he's better by then, and would appreciate your prayers for him.

Wade's Cub Scout pack visiting Woodford County Sheriff's office

Casey practicing his head first window bail out during fire training
Wade and Mara playing video games with friends - so much for imaginations

Conversation with Ben:

Ben: I know why you're my grandma.
Me: Why?
Ben: Because you're my mom's...you're my mom's...because you're my mom's...
Will: She's Mom's mom.
Ben: Yeah, you're my mom's mom. And her hands are real smooth...and your hands are...popping out.

A Thought

For all you hoarders - and non-hoarders out there --

A few years ago a friend said to me, "Did you ever think about the fact that life consists of moving piles from place to place?"

Think about it - (Actually, maybe don't think about it - it will drive you crazy.) :-)

HOARDERS #2

You have some neat pics and thoughts about stashing stuff away. Mim and I have lived in this home for nearly 41 years and we are practically wall to wall with "we might need it in the future!"

About 4-5 years ago our single car garage was so full we bought a backyard 10x20 building and cleaned out everything in the garage. End of the story: today the garage is full again--and the building, too!!! Pray tell where does all the stuff come from? Mim thinks we should buy another building inasmuch as some homeowners in the area have 2-3-4 backyard buildings. Advice needed.

0 2 B Y A

Senior Picture - 1961
Bridal Shower in Morton hosted by Eleanor Kelly and Jean Klopfensetein - 1965

Our children with their cousins -
Thanksgiving 1981

Such a nice family on Easter Sunday 1982 in Morton

Twenty-Fifth anniversary surprise party -1990

Can you translate the title I chose for this post?

HOARDERS

Have any of you seen the show Hoarders? It is about people who can't throw anything away and they become buried in their homes with years of accumulated junk!! As every closet, cupboard and drawer in our house is packed to the gills, we've decided we're becoming about as bad as some of those shows!! So, today we started in the basement and here are some pictures of our junk/throwaway piles.

Some is going to the dumpster, some will be saved, and some will go on a garage sale next month. We got about 2/3 done with the basement storeroom when we wore out - and were no longer able to agree nicely about what should go and what should stay. The room does look much better and it gives us hope.

Cooking and Baking Today

I've been using the Klopfenstein cookbook a lot lately. It's my only source for some recipes, including some of my own where the originals have been thrown away! Anyway, the banana bread recipe on p. 85 has gotten a lot of use here lately, and I'm going to be making three loaves of it today - one for Mary Lee, one for a family that's had a death, and one for us. I've been resisting Judy's caramel nut rolls recipe for about six weeks now, and so far have been successful.

So, even though this was discussed a year and a half ago, thanks to Shelley's post here, have you been using the cookbook lately? Or cooking or baking anything else of interest?

Winter Weekend for Lindsay

Super Bowl night Joey, Mary's husband, called to say that for Lindsay's 25th birthday she would like to go ice fishing. If they got her to Michigan would I be able to do the ice fishing thing with her. I happened to be at a Super Bowl party with one of the two people I knew who ice fished so I put the phone down and said, "Denny, what do you charge to be an ice fishing guide?"

Friday Lindsay and Joey flew in (arriving 10 hours after they were due, but that's another story), and Saturday we headed out with Denny, his wife Kim, and my friend Renae to the gravel pits to ice fish. Before that Lindsay tried snow boarding on a small slope in Renae's side yard. And Saturday night after dinner we went sledding at the local sledding hangout, Charlie's Dump.

Lindsay was quite enamored with the falling snow on the drive home from the airport Friday night. She asked if I ever get tired of snow; I don't think she understands the concept of "snowbirds" yet.

Unfortunately Joey was sick with a sinus infection but he was quite the trooper through all the activity. The only other thing to make the trip any better would have been for Mary and the other girls to get to come as well.

Here are some pictures from the weekend.