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.

A Classic Klop Photo

I remember seeing this picture at Grandma Klopfenstein's (wasn't it framed?) years ago. Not bad considering there was no such thing as photoshopping back then! What is the story behind it?

No Food "UPDATED LINKS"

Retta, Adrian, Christian and Amber are all participating in a 30 hour famine this weekend. This the second year their youth group has done this activity, but this year, the information leaked out and they were discovered by a local Birmingham news stations. The links are to new articles and videos about the event this weekend. When it was over, Retta and the kids went to Zaxby's for a chicken sandwich!

Retta said the event shifted a bit during the night/day as they got the news about the earthquake and the possible tsunami. They spent a lot of time in prayer for both events as they learned about them.

There are a couple more videos that have not been posted yet. Adrian is interviewed in one of them. I'll add them when they are released.

CBS42 during event
ABC3340
CBS 42



I'm having a lazy day in southern IL. I came in to work to check on a project (because I had nothing else to do) and plan on "resting" most of the day.............

EDK

VANCOUVER

As we have been watching the Olympics on and off this week, I have been reminded of our two days in Vancouver before going to Alaska several years ago. The Today show has also been broadcasting from there and it is fun watching Al, Ann, Merideth, Matt, etc. as they explore the main attractions of the city.

One day they were at Granville Island - a quaint shopping area, and a place we visited. Another day they were visiting Stanley Park; I have many pictures of us in the beautiful flowers gardens there. And yet another day they were taken by airplane to Vancouver Island to the city of Victoria to visit the beautiful Empress Hotel - they actually went inside and had tea and scones. This is another place we visited although we did not fly, we took the ferry, and we did not have tea and scones.

It was so fun watching all this and last night I just had to get out our scrapbook and look at the pictures. I also read the daily diary I wrote about our cruise to Alaska. It brought back so many good memories of our lovely trip in '06. I would recomment this trip to anyone who wants to try a cruise.

As for the Olympics, my favorite thing is the figure skating. What's your favorite?

Hello From the Sunny South

Thought I would catch you up on what I've been doing. A single friend asked me to drive to Florida with her and stay for two weeks. Two weeks! Of course, I said I couldn't be gone that long, but when I told Dave about it, he nearly insisted that I go, so here I am. We are staying with friends who have been very gracious hosts and the weather has been wonderful. Lots of laying out by the pool, eating out, and simply relaxing. He, on the other hand, has been up for the last 2 nights pushing snow. Thinks he'll have to go again tonight. Heading home this weekend. It's been a great trip and I appreciate my hubby sending me down.

St. Louis Week-end

Perry, Preston and I met Brandon, Maria & family in St. Louis this week-end. We enjoyed a couple days together before her baby is due to arrive March 20th. An especially amazing and memorable event for me was listening to Timon read to me a whole Dick & Jane book and Anna read me a whole book about Curious George! Timon is 3 years old and Anna is 5. Timon figured out how to write his name at age 2 (much to his mother's surprise) and now uses his phonics skills to read beginning books at age 3. He will be 4 in May. Anna is 5. ---Carol

Steffen Happenings

Our boys participated in the Cub Scout Cake Bake this past week. They had to make and decorate a cake from scratch with the help of an adult male. I got all the ingredients around for them and then watched them work their magic. It was hard to sit back because it looked like so much fun.

Thad won 1st place in the 'Cub Scout Theme' division. He made his cake with his Uncle Dennis. Will won 1st place in the 'Judges Choice' division. Sam helped him with his cake. They were all pleased with how well they did, but also relieved that they don't have to do it again for another year!

Staci graduates

Congratulations, Staci. It's been a long, tough pull but you succeeded and we're happy for you.
Now take a breather and enjoy your family. A friend of mine has written on the flyleaf of her Bible: No job is as important as that of being a good mother.
We look forward to seeing you at the reunion. Uncle Lynn and Aunt Mim