Back in Business - Kyle Has Another Interview

Sorry to be gone for a bit, but life has just kept me so busy with other things (sigh).

Daughter Caitlin was home from university last week for Spring Break and we went to Michigan to visit my parents. Caitlin won't have the opportunity to see them again until she comes back from Greece in June. We had a nice visit.

Kyle called yesterday to tell us that he has another medical school interview at the University of St. Louis. He thinks that this interview will be one to decide if they will put him on the "waiting" list. He is really hoping that Rush University will offer him a place in their class. He'll be closer to home and I will get to see him when he feels the need of home cooking and other home-type things.

Kyle's Med School Interview

Well, Kyle stopped by before heading back to Urbana. He thinks that the interview at Rush University went well. Now, we wait. The Medical School admissions people said he would hear in about 4 weeks - either yes, no, or waiting list.

I need chocolate!

Chocolate wrapper wisdom of the day..."Love without rules."

Kyle has a Med School Interview - Yea!!!

Kyle just arrived to use us as a stop-over - free hotel service & free food & parental love. He is on his way to his interview for admission to medical school in Chicago. He will stay overnight with a student at Rush University tomorrow night and then do his interviews on Wednesday. I am excited and nervous for him. I sure hope that he is accepted!

Please say a prayer, cross you fingers and toes or whatever for him!

Adventures In Traveling

I had a great visit with my children this weekend and an interesting trip home with my husband (more on this later). This is a photo of Caitlin.

We arrived in Kirksville, Missouri (Truman State University) late Friday afternoon and had a short visit our with daughter Caitlin before she had to leave for the theater. Caitlin (assistant stage manager) wasn't going to be done until midnight because there was a photo shoot after the performance and our son Kyle wasn't going to arrive from Urbana, Illinois until very late (he left after work and dinner), so we were on our own for the evening. We checked in at the hotel and then had dinner and a nice quiet evening (read that - husband Tom surfed between basketball games and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on TV).

Saturday morning we woke up to rain - lots and lots of cold rain. The kids slept in because they were both up late. In pouring rain, we went over to pick up Kyle for lunch before Caitlin went to the theater to get ready for the performance and to pick up our tickets for the show. We had a nice visit with Kyle.

Then we went back out into the rain (I thought we were going to turn into ducks!) to see the play that Caitlin had been working on. It was The Taming of the Shrew, but set and costumed in the 1950's. It was fun and well enough done.

We had another chance to visit with Kyle while Caitlin helped tear down the set (it was the last performance). Then we went back out in the rain and picked up Caitlin and her boyfriend Gabe and went out for a wonderful dinner at an Italian restaurant. I had a wonderful Chicken Marsala, just perfect! Then it was goodbye time. Kyle was to stay the night with Caitlin and take her grocery shopping and we were leaving early to come home.

Sunday morning we woke up to find that the rain had changed to light snow. By the time we were ready to leave it had stopped. So we checked the local weather and found out about flash flood warnings across the north of Missouri. Of course, this was the route we had to take. The rivers were all way up but not yet flooding and we made it the the Mississippi River and across to Illinois fine. We got to Macomb and it was my turn to drive. Galesburg - must be lunch time. It was still my turn to drive as we headed north.

The snow started. My husband informs me that "there could be white-out conditions all the way home" across the whole state (we live near Chicago). I was ready to bang my head against the steering wheel. Yes, we were to try to make it home!

The winds start first as we head north and it's a struggle to drive as the wind hits us broadside and tries it's best to push us off the road. Finally, we are heading west with the wind coming from behind and we stop at Hillsdale. No power equals no gas AND no working toilets! (sigh) I was thankful that it was now Tom's turn to drive. The snow is coming down, blowing and not quite a white-out but bad enough. We manage to get gas at Rock Falls. So we set out again with a man behind the wheel who thinks it's just fine to drive at eighty miles an hour in the snowing, blowing, sometimes white-out! I began to wish I was driving! We did make it home in one piece, but Tom and his driving had added at least 50 gray hairs to my head and took about a year off my life.

I needed extra chocolate when I got home!

The chocolate wrapper wisdom of the day is "Spending time is a greater gift than spending money."

Off to Kirksville, Missouri

Tom and I are off to visit our daughter Caitlin in Kirksville, Missouri.

Caitlin is the assistant stage manager for the play The Taming of the Shrew that is running this week. Our son Kyle will also be joining us. He's coming from Urbana, Illinois. It will be a nice family get together.

Will blog if the opportunity presents itself. Have a good weekend, if I don't get back to this before Sunday evening.

Caitlin and Missouri Ice

We got an email from our daughter Caitlin, who attends Truman State University in Missouri. She included some photos of the ice in her area.


While she is hurting from a fall on the ice yesterday, she is making it to class and took these photos today. Fortunately, the ice in Northeastern Missouri has not been as bad as it has been further south. Caitlin says that the sun managed to come out and melt things just a bit.


Caitlin tells us that when you shake the fir trees the iced needles sound like wind chimes.

Two of Caitlin's stuffed animals, Tipsy and Snibbly, have their own blog. Mostly it is about life at college with Caitlin. They are currently in a puzzelment about the ice.

My worry has been relieved! I need chocolate to help me recover. (Don't you love the process of rationalization!) The chocolate wrapper says "Send a love letter today." I should send one to Caitlin - Mom loves you, hopes you feel better, and hopes you don't fall again. Maybe I should have another piece of chocolate in sympathy for her pain. (Rationalization again.)

Thanks For The Support

I have to say thank you to those who have posted comments and emailed me offering encouragement and support.

My hearing aids will arrive next Wednesday. Tom, my gadget happy husband, is impressed with the technical information and is very curious about how they work (typical). I am getting hearing aids made by Siemens, the Centra model. I do know one person who has these and she is very happy with them, so I am encouraged.

Yes, Susan, due to the coming Valentine's Day holiday, there is still plenty of chocolate on the shelves for everyone else in Naperville! But I have to admit to eating plenty of chocolate in recent days.

Speaking of Chocolate... Today's Chocolate wrapper (yes I restrained myself and only had one!) wisdom is "Laugh uncontrollably... it clears the mind." Oh yes, I needed that!

Life Has Been Chaos

Well, life in 2007 has been chaos. A horrible virus knocked me flat over the New Year's weekend and was very difficult to recover from. Part of that was my own stubborn fault. I was determined for several days to "get back to normal and get things done." This just led to total exhaustion and secondary infection (ear and sinus infections) that were not nice and put me back to bed. A one week recovery became close to 3 weeks.

Somewhere in all of that, I managed to complete Aiden's baptismal gown (see post on December 2, 2006). I forgot all about taking a photo of it before I gave it to his parents, so I am waiting to see if anyone got a nice photo that shows off the gown.

Also, as a result of recent (and not so recent) problems, I just spent several days with the hearing specialists and the audiologist. The end result of that experience was being fitted yesterday for 2 hearing aids. To be very honest, what little vanity I have was terribly offended at the idea of having just turned 54 and needing 2 hearing aids in order to have a life resembling normal. Basically, I'm just not old enough to be in this situation!

My more practical side has begun to kick in and be more reasonable. I am beginning to wonder if I remember what normal hearing is like. If my life is improved, it will all be to the better and my vanity will recover.

Now, I am two weeks behind with "Take A Stitch Tuesday" and my UFO project is sitting here making me feel guilty for not starting on it yet and my block for the Crazy Quilting for Newbies Round Robin is sitting here waiting to be sent out. Tomorrow, I begin my life again at the slower speed with lots of naps that my body is demanding.

Needless to say, coping has required copious amounts of CHOCOLATE! The chocolate wrapper wisdom of the day tells me to "Go to your special place." Getting back to that special stitching place in my mind and my life will be good.

Unscheduled Blog Vacation Caused by ISP Problems

I hope everyone had a great New Year's!

My birthday on December 30 was good, if you ignore the fact that I turned 54! Daughter Caitlin cooked dinner and I got books to read, DVD's to watch and clothes to wear from my family. I also got the unintentional gift of a very nasty cold from my son Kyle. It laid me real low for about a week. I do wish he had left that cold down at the University of Illinois!

With the New Year came problems with my Internet Service Provider that had me very frustrated! Things seem to be getting back to normal (cross your fingers Teresa), so I can get back to posting.

Happy New Year!

May you all have a safe and Happy New Year!

Back From My Christmas Trip - Camera Left in Michigan

We just got back from a Christmas trip to visit my parents in Michigan (Hi Mom!). We had a great time. My sister Julia was also visiting from Shreveport with her family. Brother Jon (he's local) was also around one of those days. We filled up all the beds, so today after we left, my other sister Laura and her daughter Sarah (from Galveston) and Sarah's family moved in to fill the void and spend New Year's with Mom and Dad. Quite the game of musical beds!

Anyway, we talked a lot, played cards, handed around Christmas gifts and ate like little piggies. I never found peace and quiet to do some tatting but, oh well, the family doesn't get together often because of the distances involved. A great time was had by all.

Unfortunately, I did a really dumb thing. I left my digital camera in Michigan. So I am sorry to say that my blog may be without photos until after New Year's when my camera arrives from it's own trip home from Michigan. It was one of those "I put the camera down because I remembered something else that needed to be packed and forgot to pick it back up again." (A senior moment maybe? Tomorrow is my birthday, so it is possible!)

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday!

My Boy Scout Son's 3 Seconds on You Tube

My son Kyle got an e-mail from a friend that gave us a pleasant surprise. Kyle is in a Boy Scout Promo video on You Tube! At 1:12 into the video is a young man in his Boy Scout uniform (my Kyle) pushing a young scout on a tire swing and laughing. I wish you could hear his laugh in the video instead of the music - he has a great laugh.

I just had to brag. Kyle worked at Owasippe Scout Reservation (Chicago Council) for 8 years - from counselor-in-training as a freshman in high school to Health Officer this past summer. Now that he has graduated from university and moved into the real working world, he will only be able to volunteer during his vacation time. I am sure he is going to miss working with all the scouts

Christmas Greetings to All!

Merry Christmas to all! May you have a peaceful Christmas in the company of your loved ones!

Please say a prayer for the families of our soldiers who cannot be together for this year and a prayer for the safe return of all our soldiers.

Peace be with you

and

Joyful Stitching,

Teresa

Life Catches Up with Me!

Life has caught up with me and kept me so busy that I am not sure if I am coming or going! Now the gift shopping is finished, Christmas dinner is in the fridge and ready to cook, and much of the housework is done. Time to take a deep breath!

Our daughter Caitlin (our youngest) celebrated her 21st birthday on Wednesday. How did she get so old!?! I am sure that I am not old enough to have a daughter that old! It seems as if time is moving much too fast. Time for a piece of chocolate (the basis of all life). One of my friends calls them "chocolate fortune candies'"

The chocolate wrapper wisdom of the day - " Smile before bed. You'll sleep better."

Thanksgiving

I hope everyone in the States had a great Thanksgiving. We went to visit Mom And Dad in Michigan and had a quiet Thanksgiving. Well, quiet if you ignore the noise from the football on TV. The men in our family have a strange way of watching football. As you can see, my son on the couch, my dad in the lounger, and my husband holding his head up to disguise the closed eyes. Despite the snores coming from the room, you can be sure that, if we had turned off the television, they would have been very upset.

It was different this year with the family scattered all over the country. Christmas will be a bit more lively with part of the Louisiana contingent and the Texas crowd coming to Michigan for the week between Christmas and New Year's.

A Wedding - Adding to the Family

It was a wonderful wedding! Here's a photo of the family members who were able to attend. That's me in the red dress. Kurt took this photo for me. Thanks Kurt!
I didn't get any stitching done, but managed a little needle tatting at the end of each day. It was a relaxing thing to do at the end of each hectic day. I'll post a photo of that tomorrow.

Off to the Wedding

I am off to New Orleans to attend the wedding of my 50 year old confirmed bachelor brother Jim to his lovely bride Jane! Things will be a bit subdued due to the recent death of Jane's father, but we will still celebrate the happy occasion and welcome Jane into the family.

The chocolate wrapper wisdom of the day is "There is no excuse not to dream." If my brother can finally meet "the woman", anything can happen! Keep on dreaming!

I should be back on Sunday!

Block 1 - Miss Carole's Influence

There is a little story to go with this motif. Last night, Miss Carole, as she will on occasion, emailed me about some eye-candy on eBay (a circa 1880-1900 crazy quilt). Several seam treatments caught my eye and I did some rough sketches. Then I noticed this motif. Having studied Miss Carole's Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches and having purchased her marvels of artistic engineering, the Dream-A-Seam Templates and the workbook that accompanies them, I got brave and decided to try out my newly learned techniques! I got out my graph paper and managed to draw out the motif. I got so excited that I stitched it before breakfast! Thank you Miss Carole!

Sorry about the fuzzy photo on this, but this little heart applique must be shy - it didn't want it's picture taken! I back stitched around the heart in 2 colors of Perle Cotton 5. The seam to the right is a stem stitch in Perle Cotton 5 wrapped in silk buttonhole twist.

The chocolate wrapper wisdom today reflects a part of my philosophy of life (oh doesn't that sound pretentious)! "Smile at yourself in the mirror." I believe that we must be our own best friend and remind ourselves that we like ourselves. I also believe that, no matter how rotten a day you expect to have, if you start smiling at yourself first thing in the morning every day, a positive thought process is set in motion and will soon be carried with you all day.

Successful Dress Hunt

There has been no time for stitching the last 2 days (sigh). I decided that I just had to find a dress for my brother's wedding! I finally met with success at Carson's big mark-down sale. My husband actually liked the dress and and was even happier that it came at a very attractive price. The wedding will be in New Orleans on November 11. Now, if only Mom and sister Julia would find their dresses...