8-31-2014 A Fairy Came to Visit!

Fairy Charlotte Webglimmer

came to visit last night

and as the morning mist dispersed this morning

I could see her handiwork

all across my back deck!

She is such an amazing sculptress

and can only be seen 

under the light of the harvest moon.

Charlotte had a busy night!

8-30-2014 Last of the Bunch

My day lilies...

the very last of the bunch

has bloomed today (sigh).

I'm sad to see them finished blooming for the summer.

They always brighten my day

as I enter (and exit) my front door each day.

Now it is time to pull out the dried stems,

get out the hedge trimmer

and cut them off at the ground...

then prune down the bush next to them

(in upper right hand corner)

and pick up/dispose of all the clippings.

Think I will wait for a nice cool day to do that.

8-29-2014 Gymnastics

 Gymnastics class...

more fun

than a barrel of monkeys!!!

GD#1 bouncing on the trampoline.

8-28-2014 Achew!!!

Ragweed is in full bloom.

These plants along our walking path

are 8-10 feet high!

8-27-2014 Bourbon

Am I mistaken that

"Bourbon"

must come from Kentucky?

(And Champagne must come from France?)

8-26-2014 Re-Knit the Bindweed Fairy Skirt

Today I re-knit the skirt on my Bindweed fairy

so that it would more closely resemble

the blossom of a bindweed...

(white at the waist and

pink at the hem)

I'm much happier with it now

than when the color way was reversed:

8-25-2014 Resident Fairies

I just saw one flying around my house...

and her little sister fairy is trying to flap her wings and keep up!

8-24-2014 Party Crashers

DH & I 'crashed' a family birthday party last night

while in Nebraska visiting my M-I-L...

it was wonderful to see most of the family again!

Guy on the left is leaving for Italy tomorrow...

Godspeed!

The birthday girl in blue on the left.

8-23-2014 Special Delivery!

Remember this Lapghan I finished crocheting recently?

Well, today I got to deliver it in person

(to my 100 year old M-I-L)!

What a special delivery!

DH is showing her pictures on the iPad

of her most recent three 

great-grandchildren.

8-22-2014 Another Wallaby

 I finished knitting this today...

GD posing in her new Wallaby sweater...

8-21-2014 Fave New Toy

This is my favorite new toy!!!

A cherry pitter!

Making popsicles

from fresh cherries

was easy peasy today!

8-20-2014 Stayin' cool in the Shade

With outdoor temps in the mid 90's

we spent our outdoor time in the shade today

(and playing in the water).

8-19-2014 Fun times in the Kitchen

Making a 'cake' from sand

(does that qualify as a mud pie?!?!)...

...while baby sister eats Cheerios.

8-18-2014 Tomatoes

Helping Papa in the garden...

picking, de-stemming and eating the tomatoes.

8-17-2014 Grandsons

Today, DH & I finished our drive

to see our family in Chicago.

Here is Opa and Grandson #1...

best buddies because Opa rough-houses with him!

Grandson #2 will be 2 months old tomorrow

and already needs a haircut!

Wow, he has got a ton of hair!!!

Opa and Oma love you boys!

8-16-2014 Top 5 In the USA!!!

This weekend

DH & I spent a night

in the Rosewood Room

at the Bed & Breakfast

( the Chestnut Street Inn )

of our favorite chef, Monika Sudakov

and favorite innkeeper, Jeff Sudakov!

It was published in the Chicago Tribune last week

that their B&B was ranked in the top 5 in the USA

for culinary fare.

(They have also been ranked

in the top 10 worldwide!)

Congratulations, Jeff & Monika!!!

This weekend, Chef Monika 

was celebrating the birthday of Julia Child

with French cuisine.

It was DIVINE!!!

This is the dining area on her patio

where we enjoyed our meal.

8-15-2014 Bindweed Saturnfly Progress

I can't decide if I want to re-knit the skirt...

this one is pink at the top and white at the bottom...

I wanted white at the top and pink at the bottom

to match the bindweed flower blossom...

8-14-2014 Lapghan

...for my M-I-L...

8-13-2014 OLPR K1-P2

Another beautiful lunch

by the sisters at Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat

(from their home-grown organic fruits and vegetables!)

during today's Knit One, Pray Too Retreat.

I worked on finished a Lapghan for my M-I-L.

8-12-2014 Moonstruck 3D Fiber Lashes

Dear Daughter

gifted me with some new mascara

by younique

called Moonstruck 3D Fiber Lashes.

This product has a bit of a learning curve

so I'm hoping this old dog can learn new tricks! ha.

Thanks so much, DD!!!

I love trying new makeup things!

8-11-2014 Cappuccino Potato Chips?!?!?!

Saw these in the grocery store today

and was sooooo intrigued

I had to get some and try them.

For you coffee lovers out there

all I can say is "YUM!!!"

The other 3 flavors up for voting

(vote here)

1)Cheddar Bacon Mac & Cheese

2)Wavy Mango Salsa

3)Kettle Cooked Wasabi Ginger

8-10-2014 Super Moon

Tonight...

I plan to go outside and check it out

if the clouds would just go away!

No... no such luck.  :-(

Had to wait until the next morning

to get a shot...