11-29-2011 It's beginning to smell alot like Christmas

2 different fruitcake recipes in the oven...

 ginger cookie dough in the fridge...

I'm addressing a few (snail-mail)

Christmas cards this afternoon...

while playing a Christmas CD

and sipping cider.

11-28-2011 Wishing...

(my black cat)... wishing it could go out!

(neighbor's white cat)... wishing it could come in!

11-27-2011 Pretty In Pink

Fingerless gloves

and a new hat

that I knitted for

my beautiful daughter-in-law.

11-26-2011 Backyard Standoff

My black cat

getting to know the neighbor's white cat

in a backyard standoff...

11-25-2011 Stuffed Lamb

DD & S-I-L received their first official 'baby' gift yesterday...

a stuffed lamb...

so cute and VERY soft!

DD also thinks she felt the baby move for the first time.

11-24-2011 Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so thankful

for each and every person in my life

and all the blessings

that God showers on me in abundance!

11-23-2011 All Bundled Up

... at the Festival of Trees Parade this past weekend...

11-22-2011 I'm In Stitches!

...anklets in "The Keep" pattern for my DD...

...a Cincinnati Bengals (or Harley Davidson!) BSJ 

for a friend in Cincinnati

who is expecting a boy in December!...

... dog sweaters for my Chicago fur babies...

... and some fingerless gloves for Marla...

... and several Chicago Bears BSJs...

Next on the needles:

an alpaca cowl

and a Green Bay Packers BSJ!

11-21-2011 Surprise #2

This past weekend

at our family get-together

our son & D-I-L

surprised us with another bead

for my 'family & friends bracelet'!!!

Can you guess which one it is?!?!?

YAY!!!

11-20-2011 Set Up

This past weekend

while DD & S-I-L were here

we set up our little Christmas tree.

It was nostalgic

to see and hang the ornaments

from our children's childhoods.

11-19-2011 Family Night at Chestnut Street Inn

This weekend we had our holiday family get-together

at the Chestnut Street Inn

in Sheffield, IL.

http://www.chestnut-inn.com/

DH & I stayed in the Federal Room (above photo),

DD & S-I-L stayed in the Blue Room,

and Son & D-I-L stayed in the Rosewood Room.

Innkeepers Jeff and Monika are always so welcoming

and run a top-notch/5 star operation, IMHO!!!

And the food... is out of this world delicious!!!

Thank you so much for a fabulous weekend, jeff & Monika!

11-18-2011 Toga Night

Tonight DH & I attended Chef Monika's Greek cooking class...

hence the stylish togas!  :*)

 Dolmades (Stuffed Grape Leaves):

 Avoglomeno (Lemon and Egg Soup):

 Dinner is ready!

Clockwise from top of plate below:

Dolmades stuffing (green & red)...

Tzatziki (white)...

Pita bread (tan)...

Gyro meat (light brown)...

Dolmades (dark green/brown)...

 and for dessert...

Galatoboureko (Custard Pie):

Thanks for a fabulous class

and delicious dinner

and for all the recipes, Chef Monika

and Sous Chef Cathy!

11-17-2011 Popcorn, Anyone?

Today DH & I went to the local popcorn store

to refill our tin for the upcoming holiday season.

We got 'red hots/cinnamon' 

and 'caramel with cashews'.

YUM!

11-16-2011 Active Endeavors

Active Endeavors

Sporting Goods Store

built a new building and had

a grand opening this past weekend.

We bought some snowshoes for the upcoming winter!

11-15-2011 No Wonder...

...they need a big SUV!!!

11-14-2011 Omaha Grain Elevator

...someone had fun painting these!

11-13-2011 Go Big Red!

DH & I made a quick trip to Lincoln, NE this weekend,

to visit my M-I-L.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers were playing Penn State.

I came across this cute cheerleader!

11-12-2011 I Feel Safer...

...how about you?!?!?

11-11-2011 THANK YOU!!!

Thank you

to each and every Veteran

who has served our country

and defended our freedoms!!!

God bless America!

11-10-2011 BSJ#3

...is almost finished!

11-9-2011 And So It Begins...

...another long, cold winter in Iowa.

11-8-2011 BSJ in Stockinette Stitch

Using a pattern (from the www)

that modifies the original garter stitch pattern

I started knitting this BSJ in Stockinette Stitch

(for a baby due in December)...

~~~~~

and I've had to rip it out completely

and start over 4 times...

the stitch counts just don't work!

ARGH!!! I hate it when that happens!

Guess I'll just go back to knitting it in the original garter stitch.

Sigh.

11-6-2011 Turning Back the Hands of Time

It's that time of year again...

time to turn the clocks back from DST to standard time.

I wish it was that simple 

to turn back time

for real.

11-5-2011 What Is It???

What is it about art

that soooooo inspires my spirit?!?!?

This morning

DH and I visited

several (of the 500+) artists participating in the

Mississippi River Valley Art Drive

... a potter's yurt...

...a garage filled with multi-media arts...

(I did not take pictures of the art inside)

...and MY favorite...

365 Days on a Farm Yarn Shop & Boutique

in Eldridge, IA...

featuring wool yarns made in the USA

and many spun right in the shop!

They were kind enough to do a spinning demonstration

for us on this spinning wheel.  :*)

I am sooooo tempted to take a spinning class from them!

11-4-2011 Morning on the Mississippi

 Some pix of the I-74 bridge

(which connects

Iowa and Illinois)

from my walk along the river.

Saw quite a few water birds too,

ducks of various sorts,

sea gulls, geese...

11-3-2011 Made the Front Cover

Tonight DH & I

made the recipe

on the front cover

of the current "Clean Eating" magazine...

YUM!!!

11-2-2011 A Painting Class

that I spied

while on my walk

__________

...and finished knitting

Kyla's baby sweater!

11-1-2011 for Kyla

Started knitting a baby sweater for Kyla...

decided you use a Minnesota Vikings color:

PURPLE!

10-31-2011 I got the Sugar Pill

...and ended up a skeleton...

for Halloween!