Happy Birthday to John!

Last weekend, John celebrated his 60th birthday. And what a birthday it was!

John III, along with Jill and Hewston, flew in secretly to surprise John at his office on Thursday. That was so cool to see his face when he thought I was walking in so we could go to dinner together...instead, John and Jill walked in with me following holding Hewston. We all went to dinner and John was so happy to see them.

Then, on Friday, we all went to Silver Dollar City for the day. Oh, my goodness, was it cold! Luckily, they'd brought a camo snowsuit for Hewston. He looked like a Yeti but he was warm!

On Saturday morning, John III took his dad to the movies since Jill and I had 'girl' things to do. Little did Big John know that we were setting up for his surprise birthday party that afternoon. They got home to a houseful of his friends wishing him a happy birthday.

I gave him a 2012 Kawasaki Mule for the farm. I must say, in the 40 years I've known him, I've never seen him speechless - till that day. It took him a full minute to understand that the Mule on the front lawn was his.

All-in-all, the weekend was a continuous surprise for Mr. Wonderful.

I love you, John. You are my hero...

Knitters!

I have been teaching beginning knitting at the library since this past spring. I've taught 2 classes of beginners, 1 hat class (to learn knitting in the round) and one sock class. My friend, Meggie, offered to design a simple pair of anklets so my students wouldn't have to knit that interminable leg...let's face it, once you start knitting in the round, that leg goes on forever. And the idea of knitting socks is to learn the anatomy of a sock. So she designed The Two Wild Redheads Simply Vanilla Ankle Sock pattern for me to teach with. I cast on for the sock using Spunky Eclectic sport yarn in Attack of the Killer Tomatoes colourway. I finished my pair last night.The director of the library is a new knitter. She took my beginning knitting class, my hat class, and the sock class. She finished her first sock last week and here it is! She did an amazing job and has already cast on for another pair. She's an avid sock knitter now.

Finally, I began another session of Beginning Knitting yesterday. I've got 7 ladies in that class and when they left at the end of the first 2 hour class, they were all KNITTERS! They have homework to complete by next Wednesday and every single one of them are so enthusiastic!

I love my job!

Thanks for stopping by!

Farewell Mom!

So yesterday John and I drove Mom to the Branson Airport so she could fly home. We spent an amazingly lovely 4 weeks with her before we had to send her home. This year we went to a show in Branson, painted pottery a couple of times at Firehouse Pottery in Springfield, went to the movies twice, had lunch in town with John a couple of times, and spent so much time talking and knitting. And the Ozarks put on a lovely show of colours for her this year.
When we got to the airport, Mom was met with a wheelchair to take her to her gate. Drew was her driver and we were so happy to see him. You see, Drew was also her driver when she arrived here 4 weeks ago! He remembered her and promised me he would take special care with her and make sure she got on her plane without incident. There they are awaiting Security clearance.
When we left the airport, John and I decided to take advantage of the fact that we were near the Outlets in Branson and do a bit of shopping. We went to the Chicago Cutlery store and got John a knife for chicken processing. Then we went to the Harry & David store - oh, my goodness! Such yummy concoctions they have there. We got several bags of soup mixes and some yogurt pretzels and a jar of Pear & Cranberry pie filling. I made the pie this morning....here it is! It smells great and I hope it tastes just as good when we cut into it this evening.Mom called yesterday to let us know that she had arrived and that my youngest brother had met her at the airport and they were on their way up the mountain to her house. John and I agreed last night that the house feels so empty now...we sure do miss you, Mom!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Mommy and Me Class

So Mom is still visiting. I can't believe it's been 3 weeks already. She goes home next Saturday and I really don't want her to go. But she has several things planned for when she gets home and I wouldn't want her to miss them. She is so excited cause she is having cataract surgery on her eyes next month, the first one 3 days after she gets back.

In the meantime, we've been having such a great time. My previous post showed you the pictures of our evening in Branson with Ann-Margaret and the Lennons. We have also gone to Firehouse Pottery in Springfield 2 times to paint pottery. I'll post pictures of the pieces we've done when they are finished being fired and glazed. And last weekend we began classes in Beginning Crochet. Both of us can make a chain but neither of us really know how to crochet. The library was offering a series of 3 beginner classes and we decided to enroll. We both struggled a bit during the class (I really think there were too many people enrolled and the teacher wasn't as prepared as she should have been) but we didn't give up. We came home and on Sunday, in the quiet of my studio, we both worked on another square. Here is the result of our efforts. Mom has smaller hands than mine and, while I could use the larger hook that the teacher recommended, Mom needed a smaller hook to be able to manipulate the yarn. Didn't she do great?
Sorry there's not more to tell. Will try to tell you more next time. Thanks for stopping by.

Monday Visit with Mom

Mom and I are having such a great time catching up and talking and laughing. I can't believe she has been here a week and a half already. Only 2 and a half weeks left till we have to send her home. Yesterday, Columbus Day, Mom and I drove down to Branson to see a show. We had a light supper at the Moon River Grill and a lovely rainbow appeared out the window while we were waiting for our table.

We finished our supper and walked across the street to the theater. This is the curtain on the stage. All along the top of the screen are moons in various phases. Really pretty.
We were supposed to see Andy Williams with Ann-Margaret but on Saturday I got a call from the booking agent telling me that Andy is ill and has cancelled all his shows for this coming week. However, Ann-Margaret was still going to perform and they had brought in the Lennon Sisters and the Lennon Brothers to make up the other half of the show. Would I like to go anyway? Well, sure I would! So we sit down, in the 2nd row!, and the show begins. Two of the original sisters are still performing and their baby sister makes up the trio. Janet, Kathy and Mimi did a wonderful show! They did a number from the 40's and wore white carnations in their hair. At the end of the show, they threw their flowers into the audience. I caught Kathy's flower - a fragrant white carnation!

Ann-Margaret puts on a lovely show. She is still quite beautiful at 71 years of age. She's vibrant, and funny, and has an amazing attitude. Mom and I had a lovely date with Ann-Margaret and the Lennon Sisters and the Lennon Brothers providing the entertainment.

Ten on Tuesday

This week's Ten on Tuesday is 10 Things You Did This Weekend.

Since the weekend started on Friday and went thru Monday, Columbus Day, I'm including that day:

1. Watched Harry Potter 7.1 with my Mom who hadn't seen it yet.

2. Worked 4 hours at the library on Saturday.

3. Knit.

4. Laundry.

5. Knit.

6. Took Mom to see Harry Potter 7.2 at the theater.

7. Knit.

8. Photography a Wee Tiny Sock test knit.

9. Went to Branson to see Ann-Margaret and the Lennon Sisters.

10. Knit.

I suppose you can see a trend here with all the knitting. But I look at it as keeping me off the streets and mostly out of trouble. That should count for something, shouldn't it?

Thanks for stopping by.

TEN ON TUESDAY

Today's topic for 10 on Tuesday is 10 Things I Do Everyday:

Here goes:

1. Drink one cup of coffee.

2. Take my medications.

3. Check my email, catch up on Facebook, Ravelry, and Twitter.

4. Play several of my FaceBook games( I know, it's a huge time waster - so sue me!).

5. Get the mail at the mailbox.

6. Talk on the phone to my friend, Meggie. Yes, every single day, sometimes more than once a day.

7. Knit...not a day goes by without at least one row of stitches being done on any given project.

8. Pet the cat - he demands attention each afternoon around 4:00 p.m.

9. Talk to the dogs...they also demand attention, just not on my lap.

10. Tell my darling husband I love him...I don't miss a day...at least once a day and most of the time, I tell him several times a day. It's a good thing!