My wonderful 'family'

Mom
Amy and Mike
Joey, Tom and Amy - "now you see 'em"
Joey, Tom and Amy - "and, now you don't"

Joey and Chelli
Bob and I

Last week I had a birthday ( a BIG one) and my wonderful family wanted to celebrate it. We all went to dinner at Francesca's Amicci, then Chelli and Joey hosted us for birthday cake and other goodies. Chelli baked a German chocolate cake and Joey frosted it. Kim and Tom contributed champagne, and we all had a wonderful time, specially ME. yeah!
Kim had to work late, at the last minute, and wasn't able to be with us. She was missed a lot.
Thank you so much everyone!

Family Christmas Tree 2010

You might have guessed by now that I don't have any 'work' pending, so - I'm playing. . . and having fun. I've made some pillows for gifts, and some jewelry, too.

Amy's birthday, part two

Some pictures of revelers, that I particularly like. I just got them off Bob's camera, and wanted to post them even though it was a month ago.

We all chipped in to get Amy some really warm waterproof boots she wanted, for dog walking of course.
This is Chelli, Joey, Glennie and Lindsey.
Tom and Kim are hat people.
So is Joey.

Christmas Trees, 2010

I decided to decorate for Christmas early this year. Last year Bob and I were on a cruise that returned just before Christmas and I never did put up a tree.

I put up some little trees this year, and my flying snow-guy, one of my favorite things. It's fun to see him, and the decorations. Helps to feel like Christmas. The snow-guy is bringing stars for the tops of the trees. He used to hang on the front porch, but I like having him inside.


This little tree is in the family room, where I can enjoy looking at it when I'm home. It is decorated with toys (replica toys, small size) and has Santa's from every decade of the 20th Century. Each Santa has a little card telling about events of the time, and his bag is filled with the popular toys of the decade.

November 2010

It's the end of November and I haven't posted once this month!!

Have to fix that. I apologize to my loyal followers. Part of the problem is that my camera is taking fuzzy pictures. I don't know why... It used to work fine - it's a point and shoot, with adjustments that I don't fool with. Somehow it has gotten out of adjustment. I've tried several times to get it fixed. Finally took it to the camera store on Spring road. A very nice young lady working there, re-set it for me. Voila!



So what happened in November?? My beautiful baby girl had a birthday. We won't mention which one, but we had a fun family party. I decided to have a little fun with the candles. I had a whole new box - why save them? It was impressive, tho difficult to get them all lit before others melted to the icing.







I have been working very diligently on our new web site, we had 2 Thanksgivings, I tried contact lenses (again) and perhaps for the last time, (I wore them for years and years and couldn't remember why I gave them up - it's all coming back to me now) and I learned to play Spider Solitaire on my computer (my mother made me do it!) I have always tried to stay away from games on my computer, because I find certain kinds of games and puzzles irresistible. Anyway, I'm hooked.

Pictures of pillows and key-chain are part of 'Lucy' order. Eyelet pillow was made for winner of silent auction. I donated a gift card to United Way Silent Auction.

So, that's November in a nut shell. My goal is to have the new web site up asap, and to finish my orders so I can take more. I'd like to go to the the One-of-a-kind Gift shoe next weekend at the Mart, and the Kristkringlemart and Daley Center Plaza, so I might take Friday off.

October events

Bob had another birthday! We thought it would be nice to have a cake at church. Judy Roch, a dear friend, has a cake ministry that is very popular! The parlor is always full when she brings a cake to church.

Last Saturday we went to breakfast at Rainbow and met Cindy and Lon who happened to be having breakfast too. We joined them for a very pleasant visit. Just as we were finishing our dear friends Barb and Don Miller from Austin, Texas walked in. Cindy and Lon had to leave, so we visited with Barb and Don for another hour - what a nice surprise!

Another DDP

Isn't this a beautiful dog? Pillow ordered for a good friend who lost her beloved dog.

The Flu, week 5 and counting . . .

I didn't fall off the face of the earth - it just felt like it! I was getting over a medium case of the flu, went to my Doc for my regular check-up, got flu and pnumonia shots, and got really sick! I'm told that the flu shot cant make you sick, but I'm wondering...
Anyway, my energy level is still low, I'm coughing some - but back to work. Just thought I'd let you know why I haven't been blogging or postting much.

Meanwhile, Joey has been holding the fort and doing other things. Here's the evidence. LOL

Heeeer's Oliver

My Grand Nephew Oliver got his first haircut, in time for 1st Grade. He had beautiful ringlets. Here's the before and after, with my SIL Ani, his grandma. Is it just me, or are grandmother's getting younger?

His mom Janell is great about sending pictures, so I had lots to choose from in making a charm bracelet. Pictures start at left when he was just born, to 1st day of Kindergarten, last year.

World's Greatest (and coolest) Popcorn Salesman!

Sean, Elmhurst College Freshman and Bob's Grandson, is an active member of our congregation and willingly took on the popcorn machine for the afternoon. He sold a lot of popcorn!

Elmhurst Flea and Craft in the rain

I am sooo glad I bought a tent last year!! And it is waterproof! After a year of careful planning and excellent organization by our committee, it poured all morning... The Flea and Craft was supposed to run from 9 to 3, but the rain didn't let up until almost noon. It eased up and teased us a few times, but we weren't sure it was over 'til about noon. About 15 vendors wimped out, but the rest smiled through the rain. The good thing was that I had a place for my car right next to my space, so loading and unloading was easy. As usual, I brought more stuff than I have room to display. My plan is to pack those things that I want for Craft Fairs, and store them in the garage with the tent, tables and chairs. That will make it a lot easier. I can grab the little stuff, and new stuff when I need it. Sounds good - just need to DO IT.



Joey was having fun with Julia, wearing her purse as a hat. He's always been a hat person.

I spent a lot of time watching a young family 'shopping' across from me. Their adorable little girl, about 2 years old, zeroed in on a doll house and played with it for quite a long time. I was so worried that her parents wouldn't buy it - but they did! yea!!





Our neighbor in the building and at the event was Dr. Christy Matusiak. She was having one of her first outings with new baby Evan, only 3 weeks old. When Christy planned this, she didn't know that Evan would be 2 weeks late. She's a trooper, and Grandma Eileen came to help and cuddle Evan. He was a booth magnet for sure!

I'm not catholic but I enjoyed this a lot!

An old nun who was living in a convent next to a construction site noticed the coarse language of the workers and decided to spend some time with them to correct their ways.
She decided she would take her lunch; sit with the workers; and talk with them. She put her sandwich in a brown bag and walked over to the spot where the men were eating.
Sporting a big smile, she walked up to the group and asked: "And do you men know Jesus Christ?"
They shook their heads and looked at each other... very confused. One of the workers looked up into the steelworks and yelled out, "Anybody up there know Jesus Christ?"
One of the steelworkers yelled down, "Why?"
The worker yelled back, "'Cause his wife's here with his lunch."

My Sweetie

This is Bob, (my Bob). The picture was taken on our cruise last year. We aren't taking a vacation until after the Nov. elections*, so it's a long time between.

One of the ways cruise lines make lots of $$ is by taking pictures of you almost every moment aboard (and boarding, and disembarking) ship. They have photographers who follow you around constantly. Then they post the pictures on wall displays on a lower deck that you have to pass through to go to dinner. Of course they are for sale, and it seems to me that the prices have gone up quite a bit since our first cruise 10 years ago. All that is to explain why there isn't a picture of me here. It wasn't very good - so not worth buying. I love this one of Bob, so we bought it, and I scanned it so his kids could have a copy, too. (That might be why the cruise lines charge so much - you don't have to purchase copies to share. Most people have scanners, or family members who do.)

Anyway - Bob's philosophy of life is "Life is easier if you're nice." and he means it. He's one of the nicest people I've ever known and I'm happy to be with him.

*Regarding the Nov. elections, Bob's daughter Kathy Tracy Salzano is running for DuPage County Board. I do hope she wins - she would represent the needs of the 'little people' and not the big corporations that are taking over our country. Bob is her campaign manager. We hosted a 'meet and greet' last night. I'm exhausted, but it went well. Bob wanted to take a cruise this month, but we decided against it because of campaign demands. I think it was the right decision, but I would really enjoy a 'break', like a short car trip to Door County. Oh well ...

Oooops!

Got a purse order. It came out great. It was the wrong size... so now there are 2. I must have needed a new sample.

Words to live by

BALANCE (thoughts + words = actions) HARMONY (in all forms) COURAGE (do what brings the above) GENEROSITY (give to others and yourself 50/50) HAPPINESS (no spending unnecessarily) BEAUTY (inner strength, confidence) WISDOM (make good choices) CLEANLINESS (no clutter)

I'm having fun

This is a new product I'm adding to my jewelry line. My biggest challenge in making jewelry is working with the split rings and small jump rings that hold everything together. Many of them 'fly into oblivion' when I'm trying to attach them. They are all over my studio.
The little kids on the bracelet are my grand nieces Janey and Lauren, and my grand nephew Oliver. They are all adorable, sweet little kids and I love to use their pictures on my samples. Their mothers and grandmother keep me supplied, thank you very much Hilary, Janell and Ani.

Did'ja ever...

Did'ja ever have a day that started out so good, but somehow just couldn't keep the momentum? This is that day. I was looking for something to wear, and found a pair of chinos that didn't used to fit, and - guess what? They fit! (That yoga must be working.) But, wait... I'm scheduled to attend a C of C luncheon. Oh well, it's just a brown bag lunch - I'm OK. There isn't a dress code. Tried to work on 'something', 'anything' - just to be productive. Wound up moving stuff around. No progress. Tried to order group tickets for our Church Fellowship group, but can't because one couple hasn't responded. grrr. All of a sudden it's time for the luncheon. Closed up and rushed over to the Community Bank on Butterfield. The notice said the luncheon was in the Community Bank Board Room (The last was held there, too.) Got to the bank a few minutes late, to find 'no meeting' in board room. Went to inquire downstairs. Was told "It's at the new chamber office" they have named their board room - you got it - 'the Community Bank board room' grrrrr. I could have rushed back, parked and ran over there, but I would have missed half the program. I gave up and decided to go to JoAnn's to pick up some stuff I need for my jewelry that is on sale. Since I was way South at this point, I decided to go out to Geneva, see Amy, bring her an egg salad sandwich and chocolate doughnuts, and shop at the JoAnn's on Randall Road. Half way there, I changed my mind and turned North to go to the JoAnn's in Bloomingdale instead. (I guess I didn't feel like driving to Geneva.) By this time, I'm starving. Did my shopping, with my lunch bag in the cart so it wouldn't cook in the car, came back to my studio and ate at 2:. Ordered coffee for the church 'Flea and Craft' (I sell Fair Traded coffee as a small mission.)but my favorite Toffee flavored coffee was sold out. I have three purses to make, and I think all of the above was to put off starting on them. I'm not is a sewing mood. There is a Zoomba class later that I am, was, am, planning to take. We'll seeeeee

Another picture of my mom

Isn't this adorable. My Aunt Grace is on the left. When we celebrated mom's 75th with a big surprise party, I outlined mom's picture and made a lot of Little Vi's that we hung from the strings of helium balloons. It was really cute.

When we celebrated Bill's birthday I did something similar. There weren't any baby pictures of him, so I put his adult head on a baby picture I found and made a baby picture of him. It was pretty funny.

Flooding in Elmhurst July 24, 2010

Picture from the Elmhurst Independent Newspaper

This is the railroad tracks underpass in down town Elmhurst the day after we had 7" of continuous rain. Many homes were flooded as well. We've had so much rain this year, and broke a record for hottest summer ever - and still counting! Last year we didn't have 'summer' at all, but we did have a very warm February. How can people not believe in global warming??
BTW the little white square in the upper right portion of the picture is the speed limit sign, so you get an idea of just how deep the water is!

Two Great Pictures

I love these pictures. They look so happy!

Mystery Man

I found another picture I want to share. I'm not going to tell you who this is. You will be able to figure it out, but I think there is a strong resemblance to someone else. What do you think?

Mother's Day continued

Sean Allen, Bob's grandson, with Pastor Rick, after Sean joined our church. Sean is off to Elmhurst College this fall, so he'll be able to continue participating in church activities. We love having him with us.

Some of my family, on Chelli's front porch.


Some of Chelli's family in this picture. Look who's peeking.

I finally took the time to go through all of Bob's recent pictures, at least that was my goal. I was looking for specific pictures, which I just realized I never found. I got involved in all the great pictures I found. This one is from Mother's Day, as promised back in May. We had such a nice celebration at Chelli's.

Necklaces

These are two of my new samples. I've been working on some new necklace designs - Antique silver with photos, of course. I like the way they are turning out. They are similar to my wedding tree ornaments, but smaller and more wearable.