Happy Easter

The picture above is of my brother Dan and me. It was taken on May Street in Chicago, now the home of University of Illinois - Circle Campus. My Grandparents lived there before their home was torn down to make room for the campus. Oh! How I remember the cape I was wearing in that picture. I felt so very special in it. My father had been to a funeral in Mississippi. He brought that cape back, just for me! It was Navy blue, piped in red and I can see it today as vividly as I could back then.

Back then, we always dressed up for Easter. Today, Robin Mark and I have declared it Pajama Day. Mark will be in sleep pants all day, Robin in her jams. I'll probably throw on a pair of sweats, because I plan on baking today. Easier for me to work in sweats than a nightgown.





Today we're making Nancy Burgers, an old family favorite. Not your traditional Easter fare, that's for sure. We've found that non-traditional celebrations bring less sadness at being away from loved ones on Holidays. If I get a chance I'll post the recipe soon

Ahhh Spring

And in Central Ohio Spring = flooding. The top picture is taken 1800 feet West of the Scioto River. The trees you see in the background are woods that are about 200 feet deep from the River's edge. The "lake" you see is a field.

The bottom picture is taken from the bridge that crosses the Scioto River at State Route 665. You can see how close the water is to the bottom of the bridge. Scary stuff indeed! We live on high ground and are not worried for our property, however, travel becomes inconvenient.

The good news is I saw my first pair of robins today. I tried to take a photo, but they were a little too timid.

Today I am appliqueing the stars on the log cabin blocks. I'm tilting each star a little differently. It's difficult for me to do that. In my mind's eye, the stars should be straight, but I know they will appear to be twinkling if I tilt them.

On an administrative note, I've had to make those ugly little letters appear in my comments section. Some ass decided to spam my comments area and left java script which appears to have been a virus. I don't believe it was a virus, but you can never be too sure. I did an immediate virus update and ran a scan. So sad that people have nothing to do for fun in their lives but make trouble for others.

It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

Yeah yeah I know the correct Sgt. Pepper's lyrics are Twenty years ago today, but the title fit. You can thank me for the earworm in comments, if you so desire.

March 18, 1978 my life was changed forever. I was at a bar, Harlow's in Burbank, IL. I was at that bar often, but what made the night different, was that was one of the few times I was not the driver. Knowing I had a designated driver, and being the day after St. Pat's (always a three day celebration in the Chicago area) I decided I would get wasted, get loaded, become shitfaced,drink-myself-silly ummm....imbibe, yeah that's the word!

Three quarters of the way through the evening, my tolerance point had been reached, I could no longer dance, hell I couldn't even stand, so I decided I'd sit at the bar, something I never did. Harlow's was a hard partying spot and to sit at the bar, meant you wouldn't get asked to dance.

As I sat down, I smelled the unmistakable aroma of COFFEE. I love coffee! I couldn't imagine who would have the nerve to drink coffee at this bar that had a 4 AM license. I turned to my left and there he was. I asked him how he got the coffee and he told me he was a friend of the bartender. I figured it might be a good idea if I had a cup (youknow - the wide awake drunk theory) and asked him to please ask for a coffee for me.

Turns out Mark was a musician who just happened to have the evening off - very rare for a Saturday, much less St. Pat's weekend. AND, he didn't drink! What kind of man was this? We chatted for a long while and my driver decided it was time to leave. Mark asked if I would trust him enough to take me home when Harlow's closed and instinct told me to say "yes".

We went out for breakfast, he gave me his number (I never gave mine out, it was just easier that way) and he dropped me off at my house.

Two weeks later, he proposed. I asked if our marriage would be in the Catholic Church, would we have kids?He answered yes and yes We married in May 1979 and it's been butterflies and meadows ever since. (well not totally, but you know what I mean!)

March?

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Columbus, Ohio? Monday last it was 70 out. Today....

well just look!

And it's STILL coming down. have I seen a plow yet? Surely you jest!? Now mind you, I'm a Chicago girl, born and bred. At least in Chicago they know how to deal with this shit stuff .

Here's a pic of how far the neurotic dog made it out of the garage.

What happened?

seems all my sidebar stuff has disappeared. Will have to work on this later today. I just didn't want all of you to think I didn't love you anymore

Edited to add - all better now! - I think LOL

Building A Log Cabin

I'm making a log cabin. I quilted one other log cabin. Now I remember why it took 3 years to make another They are boring, tedious and messy. But.... they look so good when they're done!
This one will have stars appliqued in the center of every four joined blocks. I'm halfway done building the cabin blocks and need to take a break, but I'm afraid if I start something else I'll break my New Years Resolution of finishing what I start. I know some qulters can work on 3-4 projects at a time. I've done that over the years and always feel scattered. And.. I have the propensity to leave things unfinished. So my resolution was to start new quilts, but I have to bring them all the way through the bordering process before I can start something else. Hmm, maybe working on a UFO will allow me a break from the cabins, yet not make me feel like I'm abandonning this one. For now, though, I'm just gonna stop all sewing for the day and see how I feel in the morning.

I'm a diabetic, and I've been really bad about eating sugar the past month or so. This morning I tested (not that I don't test 4 times a day anyway)and I was 230.. way too high. Time to get back on the stick!