Good memories

I'm very sad because I heard that dear friend is in the last stages of cancer. This is my 3rd loss to this particular horrid disease. Friends are not replaceable and I truly miss them. Jan and I had so many great times together. She was the 'sister' that I never had. When she and her family moved in next door we found that we had so many things in common - background, interests, kids the same ages. Both our oldest were Toms, born Aug. 1961, our birthdays a week apart in the same year . . .
This is us around 1980. 

a 'sign'

Peach Lemonade, yummy!

Bob loves fruit and fruit juice! I know he's going to love this divine cooler! Let's set out the deck furniture. Spring came very early this year, like the beginning of March. We have had so many 80 degree days already, I'm a little concerned about how warm summer will be. If I'd wanted to live in Texas, I would have moved there!


I'm going to make some cute solar lanterns for the deck, too. BTW, I'm getting so many good ideas on Pinterest, including this recipe.Have you tried it?

Peach Lemonade Coolers
inspired by The Naptime Chef

2 medium sized, ripe peaches, peeled, halved and pitted
1/2 cup lemonade
1 ounce vodka of choice

Puree the peaches and lemonade in a blender until smooth. 
Pour vodka over ice in a rocks glass.  Top off with peach-lemonade puree.

Rules to Live By, a reminder to me

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully. 
TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other. 
THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want. 
FOUR. When you say, 'I love you ,' mean it. 
FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.. 
SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married. 
SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight. 
EIGHT. Never laugh at any one's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much. 
NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely. 
TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling. 
ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives. 
TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly. 
THIRTEEN.  When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?' 
FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.. 
FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze. 
SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson ! 
SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions. 
EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.. 
NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. 
TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice. 
TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone. 

Paper Things and Pinterest

This picture is of paper butterflies. I think it's really neat, but it makes me think of moths.

I'm spending waaaay too much time on Pinterest! I am having fun, though, and finding all kinds of cool stuff like this.

I have been saving stuff for years in my pictures, so this is kind of an off-shoot of that.

Lucky Cooper Ring Bearer

I know I already told you about Cindy and Lon's beautiful wedding, but I just got this adorable picture of Lucky Cooper.

Vacation Adventures January 2012

We got out of Dodge just as the first snowstorm of the season was arriving. Had a little trouble deciding just when to leave but settled on Wednesday morning, with a leisurely drive to Florida planned. In conversation with Kathy on Tuesday, Bob discovered that Stefan needed a ride back to SIU. He was hoping to go back on ...Wednesday! So, Wednesday morning we loaded up the Prius with our stuff, then picked up Stefan and HIS STUFF and took off for Champaign. It was a nice ride and fun to have Stefan with us. How often do you have your grand son captive for so many hours? I was very surprised when we pulled up in front of Stefan's Frat house - it is quite impressive on the outside! (Bob's been in Frat houses before, so he wasn't fooled.) Bob and Stef carried in all his stuff, then Stefan invited me in to see the house and his room. That was very brave of him. The guys in the house seem to have a tradition of leaving things for the next resident, and they move every six month. I don't think this is an efficient plan, but no one has asked me... I advised Stef to get some big garbage bags and a shovel. The problem is that the previous kid asked him to "put all his stuff in one corner" and it filled the whole room. Bob was concerned because the big, thick mattress was basically 'V' shaped and he wondered how Stef would sleep. After cleaning the room he was probably so tired he could have slept anywhere. We left him to his work and headed South.

Stefan Salzano in from of Frat House in Champaign, Illinois 1-2012

We often find our way to the Marietta Diner when driving to Florida and it's one of my favorite stops!

Friday was a beautiful day and we found Barbara and Charles, in The Villages, of Florida right on time. It is always fun to visit with them! We had a nice dinner, ice-cream and lots of conversation. Bob loves the non-dairy ice-cream in The Villages in all its delicious fruit flavors.

Late Saturday afternoon we arrived at Lake Bryan, Diamond resort. It is a beautiful place to stay. We had a cute two room suite with large, flat screen TV's in both rooms and HBO. All the appliances were top of the line. We loved the hammocks on the beach and it is just off 'World Drive' and all the Disney property. A great place to be.

I still love the Magic Kingdom. I probably won't ever out grow it, but I do have trouble remembering not to call it DisneyWorld as that is confusing to others...(when I first went there, it was DisneyWorld, and that was all there was. Don't they know it confuses old people when they rename things? We enjoyed visiting Epcot another day and decided to save "Universal" the next trip.

The sign said 'Don't feed the wild life' but Bob didn't see it!

Driving back, we stopped at a gas station/fruit stand for a unique shopping experience. First off - we went from pump to pump, looking for one that was working - the all had plastic bags over the spouts. Finally realized that they don't sell gas any more. We had to wait to purchase our Peach Cider while Bubba chased down Sissy to help us, so he could talk to his parole officer.

Smoky Mountains - Tennessee

The weather got colder and darker as we drove North, and we met up with the snow in Champaign. Visibility was terrible, but driving wasn't too bad, just slow. We decided against asking Stefan for a place to stay, and s.l.ooo.w.l.y  proceed home.

Caterina 'Rina' Salzano, budding artist and York HS senior

I'm a bit behind in my blog posts again. So, what else is new?

Rina and Julianna Christmas 2011

Anyway, in mid December we attended an art show at York High School to view works by Bob's two talented grand daughters, Rina and Julianna (a Freshman).
The show mainly focused on Seniors work, and they each made a 2 wall display to show their work. Other pieces were scattered around. Rina received several ribbons. She is considering art school, as well as other options..

Rina with one of her prize winners.
 It is a street scene in Italy. 

The friendly pink gorilla is her's too.

Street in Italy

Grand-dad Bob taking lots of pictures

When I entered the atrium I recognized Julianna's self portrait instantly. I was just glancing around and did not know what to look for.

It is a pencil skecch and I think it's quite good. What do you think?

Julianna's self portrait 2011

Major Excitement!!! John Williams WGN radio host talked about ME!!!

So, have I ever told you I love John Williams? I've been listening to him on WGN for years. He's this nice, down to earth, did I say nice? really nice talk show host who shares his opinions but doesn't insult or put-down others with differing opinions. Anyway, he's always getting his listeners involved in 'good work'. Most recently, he had a 3 day 'Peanut butter and Jolly' campaign because he became aware of a need for peanut butter in Chicago area food banks. He rounded up 4,500 jars from his fans and $1,000 in other donations.

So, I wanted to help promote his show and do something nice for him. I made a sign and hung copies around our building and in my studio window, took pictures and sent them to him with a little note saying I would like to make a john Williams doll. He replied immediately, and was very excited about it. So, that was Friday and we are leaving for vacation on Wed. morning.

On Monday, first thing on his show he talked about me, my doll business and that I could make portrait dolls for others. He clearly gave all my contact info!!!!

I had to sew fast, which I did. Doll is ready to send. I wish I had time to bring the doll downtown when he's on the air... oh well.

Here he is sans cape, with crown adjusted, holding roses for his wife Brenda.