Friday, April 30, 2010

Graduation/President Obama

Today we leave for Ann Arbor. Brittany is graduating from U of M tomorrow. We will go to her kinesiology graduation tonight and the BIG event tomorrow. YES, President Obama is the guest speaker. It should be exciting. I will take pictures and fill my mind with memories to share.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

The day on the river

Erik made a quick visit to Michigan while we were in TN visiting. We missed him but Jessica sent some great pictures. Here you see Eva and Doug off in the distance while they were going down the river. Eva always gets the 'princess seat' in Doug's canoe. Jessica and Erik were right behind them. They went down the river on Friday. It looks like a fun day. I'm not sure of the story behind this catch but the caption said that "Erik still has his touch". I do see a fishing pole so I am assuming that it didn't just jump into the canoe. Good job Erik. Thank you Jessica for sending on the pictures. I know that many of you have already had a chance to see them but wanted to share them with those of you who didn't get them from Jessica.


Wednesday, April 28, 2010

LOTS of pictures

We had a wonderful visit in TN with Matt and Diana and the girls. We left here on Thursday evening and stopped in Grand Rapids to have dinner with Eva and Jessica. (Sorry, no pictures of that visit) We loaded up our car with a cabinet that we were taking to TN and continued to drive south that evening. We stayed around Ft. Wayne for the night. We arrived at Matt's house about 4 and Matt arrived home from his bicycle training ride shortly after. That evening we had burgers on the grill and just a fun evening of 'catching up' and such. This is the back parking area. I understand that Matt is planning to build a garage here this summer.
Here we have the dining room looking into the kitchen. Dinner is almost ready.


Brookelynn is good at being cute while we wait for dinner.


Hailey fixed a great dessert that evening. I have the recipe and am planning to try it some time soon.



After dinner the guys moved the cabinet upstairs. It will be a great place to store toys for the girls.


It fits and looks great.




I also delivered the OLD typewriter that belonged to Mom. This old typewriter now belongs to Hailey. I hope to hear about many great stories produced on this historic machine.








Everyone watched as she tried it out. It needs a new ribbon but otherwise it is in great shape.






That evening Bookelynn had a great time going through my purse and trying on my glasses and such. We couldn't resist the pictures and hope you enjoy them.




The next day we decided to go for a walk before the rain storm arrived. Brookelynn entertained us while pretending to text Gram.



We had a short walk because the rain did come. It was quite a rainy day but we managed to find lots to keep us entertained. After our walk was rained out the rain really poured down so we decided to go to Plan B. We went to a great bookstore and browsed for a while. After the bookstore we had a great lunch.


Here we are having lunch.

Brookelynn and I shared a nacho lunch.



After lunch we went exploring. We drove to a nearby lake/reservoir and checked it out. It isn't as big as Lake Cumberland but it has good possibilities. It was a pretty place to visit but the rain didn't allow us to go for a walk here. Maybe next time.

Matt cooked chicken on the grill that evening. Another great meal together with the family.


Then it was time for birthday presents. We celebrated Diana's birthday that evening and the next day at lunch too.

Brookelynn was a good helper as Diana unwrapped her gifts from Eva.



Matt, Hailey and Annika watched on.




Jewelry from Eva.

Other treats too. She did a great job finding wonderful gifts.


I made aprons for the girls. This is the same pattern that I used for the older girls at Christmas.


Annika treated us with muffins on Sunday morning. She looks great in her new apron.


Brookelynn did a good job of licking the spoon too.


Just a little of the batter made it to her face but it was good.

We had a wonderful visit but it did have to end. We went to church with the family and then out to lunch to celebrate Diana's birthday. Emily and Kevin (Diana's sister) and their two children joined us for lunch. We left about 3 in the afternoon and headed north. We needed to get closer to Ann Arbor because I had an appointment for my feet on Monday. We arrived in great time for the appointment and then met Brittany and David for lunch.


Brittany graduates this coming weekend. She is going on to medical school at U of M. We are going to the graduation ceremony. President Obama is the guest speaker. I am looking forward to the graduation and the ceremony. Brittany did a GREAT job in her 4 years of undergrad. We are all VERY proud of her. David just completed his first year too. He is doing very well too. GREAT KIDS.

SO there we are at the end of our trip. We did make one more stop on our way home. We had dinner with Leo in Clare. He is doing well but I forgot to take his picture. I loved the long weekend with family. It was good to see everyone. I hope you enjoyed my pictures. I love sharing them with you.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Spring

Spring is slowly coming. This is a lone trillium that is by our tree. There are more in the woods but it is too cold today for them to come out.
Today we are leaving again and will be out of town until Tuesday. We are driving down to Grand Rapids tonight and picking up some of Matt's things that he stored at Eva's house. We will have dinner with Eva and Jessica. Then we are continue a bit farther south until we get too tired. Tomorrow we will finish the drive. We will spend Friday and Saturday nights in TN. We will leave there some time in the late afternoon and drive north. I have an appointment in Ann Arbor on Monday a bit after noon. Then we will l have a late lunch with Brittany and David. On our way home on Monday we will stop and have dinner with Leo. I am getting to see a lot of family in a short time but it will be fun. Enjoy your weekend. I probably won't post anything until I get back.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

2 quilts are now finished

I was able to complete 2 quilts while riding down to Chicago on the bus. This is the companion to the other quilt that I posted a few weeks ago. It was an interesting pattern. When you made a square and cut it in half, you used half of the square for one quilt and half for the other one. I'm not too sure if I love either one of them. I don't think that I picked fabrics that were enough of a contrast to each other to really pick up on the pattern but it was an interesting experience. This is just a close up of the pattern and the back. This quilt doesn't have a home just yet. I am using the other one upstairs on the sofa. Maybe I will save this one and use it downstairs or give it away.
This is a quilt that I had in an exchange group. Sara "introduced" me to a group of ladies that wanted to have a "birthday quilt group exchange" which meant that you would make a quilt square each month and send it to a member of the group. It is called a 'birthday' exchange because you should receive 12 blocks on the month of your birthday. It was an interesting group of women of all ages and some of them were overseas. I enjoyed making the blocks and sending them out and checking to see what other people sent. I finally got this one quilted. This one doesn't have a home either but I am thinking of giving it to Sara. It is bright and colorful.



Monday, April 19, 2010

Chicago Quilt Show report

We left Traverse City on Wednesday and had a very uneventful bus ride down to Chicago. We arrived in the early evening but the show really didn't open until Thursday evening. I really don't know why we went down on Wednesday but that was just the schedule. SO Kathy and I decided to take the train downtown on Thursday and check out the city. It took about an hour to do the whole trip downtown but it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the day shopping and walking around. Kathy hadn't been downtown Chicago in many years so we just walked up Michigan Ave. to the Watertower Place. Kathy wanted to visit the American Doll store. We walked around there and had lunch. The flowers were out in full bloom and the weather was perfect. I took Kathy into Neiman Marcus just to look around. We didn't buy anything but it was fun to look around.

The flowers were beautiful.

We were back at the hotel by 5 to go to the evening preview. The vendors were open and selling things. As you can see I managed to find a few things at Crate and Barrel downtown and at the quilt show.



The quilts were spectacular. This was a charity quilt, not even part of the competition.




I liked the simplicity of this pattern so I bought it.


Our lunchtime speaker makes these very colorful quilts. The colors are really more vibrant in person but I thought this one looked very nice.





We also took a class about how to make rugs on a loom with scraps. We constructed our own looms and learned how to weave them.


We had a wonderful time. It was inspirational to walk around and look at all the quilts, talk to the vendors and see 'possibilities'. I felt that there are many avenues to take my hobby of working with fabric and different types of projects.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Chicago Quilt Show

Today I am leaving to go to the Chicago Quilt Show. I have signed up for some classes and am just going to enjoy the artistry of fellow quilters. I am going with my friend Kathy. She is my Ann Arbor Art Fair friend so we have traveled together often. We are traveling by bus so it will be a relaxing trip. I have a couple of books and 2 quilts that need my 'hand stitching' for the binding so I have lots to keep me busy on the bus. I don't think I will be able to post anything while I am gone but may try the hotel computers if I have time. I will take lots of pictures and share my experience with you when I return. See you next week.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Glen and his new toys

Glen thought he needed to send some better pictures of himself (Check the Florida picture of him with the giraffe hat) so I received these pictures today. He bought himself a new truck and a new Harley. I do think these pictures are a bit more flattering. That is his granddaughter, Caydee on the back with him. It is a nice looking truck but I am wondering how he will find in in the winter in N. Dakota. He will need to have a remote starter that lights up in the snow or he won't be able to find it in a a blizzard. Looking good, Glen.





Saturday, April 10, 2010

bowls on the road

Yesterday I took my bowls teaching on the road to Coleman. I stopped by to see my cousin Kay a few weeks ago and showed her the bowls I was making for Easter. She said that she would LOVE to learn how to make them so I went on the road with my class. It has been fun to teach others how to do this simple project. We spent a few hours working on the bowl and chatting until it was time for Leo to be home from work. I stopped in Clare and had dinner with him and was home before dark. It was a great way to spend a Friday. I also was able to make a stop at my favorite little quilt shop in Farwell and pick up some fabric for the back of the quilt I ma making for Leo and some fabric for my next project. Life is good.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

NPR Celebrity

Last night I had an opportunity to listen to Diane Rehm in person at the Traverse City Opra House. Some of you might not know who she is but she is a radio show host on National Public Radio. She is on every day for 2 hours here. I listen to her every day. She is the host of a call in show that discusses our American culture with many guests and who ever can call in to the show. It is always an interesting discussion of current events. I like to listen to her because she truly has a discussion with the guests and the public. I also appreciate the fact that her discussions involve 'active' listening and open discussion. The discussions are full of different points of view with a wide variety of views. The discussions are always respectful with all parties allowed to express their opinions. She doesn't allow people to shout over each other and try to get across just their point of view without listening. If you don't know about her, try to tune in between 10-12 in the morning on your local NPR station.

She was a good speaker, and I enjoyed the evening with some friends. I think she represents the best of public radio and does a wonderful job of promoting truly reasonable public discourse about issues that are important to America. I admire her ability to interview and keep a discussion current and interesting.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

April Showers

It rained here this morning. We really needed the rain. Spring is on its way.