Birthdays

My lovely daughter and I were able to celebrate our birthdays together the evening of my birthday.  It was a perfect way to end a great day.  My husband took me out for breakfast to Denny's (birthday person gets a free breakfast) along with my brother and his wife and son and my two sisters, Jen and Jan.  Then we went to an antique mall in Sioux Falls that I've been wanting to visit and another craft/antique mall here in Brandon.  Back home for a quick rest and then out to eat with Kurt, Amy and Chase and Peter's niece, Lavonne and her husband, Doug.  We laughed, had good food and just enjoyed one another.

Amy turned 40 this year and decided she would have a "week long" birthday celebration.  The night of my birthday, we gave her the Birthday Memory Book that included wishes from many of her friends and family.  On her birthday, the 26th, Aunt Jan, Aunt Sue, Mary (her mother-in-law) and I all traveled to Pipestone to have lunch with her.  There she received her Memory Book of all pictures and memories of her from the time she was born until high school graduation.  What a lot of memories it brought back to Peter and I as we worked on it.

 

This shirt she got from her aunts.

 

 When Amy was a little girl, her Uncle Rich came to the cities for a seminar and bought her a little Holly Hobbie doll by the name of Amy.  He remembered and bought her another one for her birthday this year.  Amy Jo remembered having one as a child but didn't remember the story behind it.

 Amy and her Memory Book.  Notice she has a red scarf on in this picture and not the one above - that was a birthday gift from her Aunt Sue.

A Birthday Luncheon



I'll share my birthday any time with this young lady who has become such a beautiful woman - inside and out.  Loads and loads of love to you, my dear daughter.

Love to all,
MOM and Gramma

More Projects

I've been working on a couple more projects yesterday and today.  I did a box for Grandma's birthday that we can put her special notes in.  I took a shoebox, painted it black and then decopauged pictures on it and now I'm painting the inside gold.  I think it's cute.

 

One of the sides

 and the cover.

Now, you may be asking why do John & DeAnn and my grandkids get one whole side to themselves.  Well, because first of all, I made the box and second of all, they are not on the grandchild picture that is on the cover.  Eric and Jay are on another side; a bunch of the grandkids on the third and Grandma and three of her great-grandkids on the fourth. 

 

It even has a couple of notes in it already.

 

The other project I started yesterday afternoon is a Princess Katie cape for my princess to wear when she's playing super heroes with her brother.  I had a pattern of sorts but had to freehand a bunch of it.  (It actually kinda looks like a huge bib.)  Want to make one more but have to make adjustments on the pattern.  Sure hope she will like it in her Christmas stocking.

 

I do have one other project to finish before I start on the second cape. 

 

I went shopping with Aunt Sue this morning to get myself a Christmas scarf - thought that would be easier than buying a Christmas sweater.  I actually ended up getting a snowman scraf and it is beautiful.   BUT going shopping with Aunt Sue is NOT good for me.  I ended up with a lot more but most of that will be Christmas gifts.  Some of the things I purchased are really neat.  Can't wait for people to open them.

 

That's it from the homeplace on this beautiful, sunshiney day here in South Dakota.

 

Love to you all,

Gramma and MOM

Projects

Greetings from beautiful South Dakota.  Today is a good day - supposed to be our last warm day for a while; the sun is supposed to come out; Uncle Rich and Aunt Henrietta are here for a visit and life is good.  I have a project lined up for today that I'm a bit excited about.  Making my sweet little Katie a new pillowcase with pixies on it.  I thought they were princesses but Uncle Rich said they were pixies but then what does he know.

Last Friday night we were invited to Lee and Kathy Schroeder's home for dinner.  We had a very nice dinner and a nice evening visiting with them.  They are both HUGE collectors - too much for me but they both enjoy it and love to show off their things.  I can appreciate their lovely things but have no desire to have them myself.

One of the projects I wanted to finish before going to Washington was to do some decorative throw pillows for my DeAnn.  I finally went to the thrift store and found the perfect pillows to cover.  I had a couple of pillow cases that I had sewn previously and needed some pillows to put in them.  I am not happy with the way the dotted pillows turned out and if I have time, I will redo them before I go.  The other two turned out very nice - sure hope you like them too, DeAnn.



If you look back at my blog last year and I think the year before, you will see pictures of my blooming Thanksgiving cactus.  It's blooming again this year and is so pretty.  I love it because Chase and Amy gave it to me for my birthday one year.  It's been telling me that it would like to be repotted so I think I may try to do that before I leave also.  Isn't it pretty?

That's it for this week.  By the way, I have to take some space here to tell the world what an awesome, wonderful granddaughter I have (actually I have two but I'm talking here about the older).  Holly, you are the sunshine in so many of my days.  How I love you and how proud I am of the beautiful young lady you are - inside and out.  The devotion you wrote for Boyfriend Bears reminds me again of how blessed this world is because you are in it.  I love you to the bottom of the bottomless hole in Carlsbad Caverns and back up again.

Love to all,
Gramma and MOM

It's Finally Open

We've been watching the building progress of our eastside Panera all summer and it opened on Monday.  We decided to give them a few days to get things in order.  Aunt Sue and I were there for lunch today - the tomato soup and my sandwich were wonderful.  Then later I met Amy there for some iced coffee.  Amy had an appointment in Sioux Falls and couldn't eat before she went so by the time 2:15 rolled around, she was ready for lunch.

So, DeAnn and Holly, we will be waiting and anticipating the time next summer when you can go with us.  Until then, sorry but we'll just have to go without you.

 

Hope you're all having a great, wonderful, awesome week!!

 

Love to you all,

Gramma and MOM

 

PS:  DeAnn, note your sister's scarf.  Doesn't she look nice?

New Ulm

This was the third year that Amy and I have gone on a Girl's Weekend in New Ulm, MN.  Usually we bring Chase with us and meet Brian there for the "weekend exchange".  Maggie and Aunt Sue have gone with us for two years now and we have a great time.  We go to a Mexican restaurant for a lovely dinner on Friday night.  Last year Aunt Sue ordered this humungous margareta and Amy had to drive from the restaurant to the motel.  This year we told her she had to abstain because we were going shopping after dinner. 
One of the stores we really like is called Lambrecht's - it's kind-of a department store.  Has lots and lots of very nice Christmas ornaments plus a wall of scrafs and nicer clothes and some kitchen stuff and other neat "stuff" that everyone needs.  They also have samples of wine slushes that are really good.  Both Aunt Sue and I bought a box for Christmas this year.
Off to the motel which was very "interesting" this year.  Amy and Kurt had tried this small motel in the past and said there room wasn't anything fancy but the guy was refurbishing all of the rooms and it was clean and nice.  Well, I don't think he got to the other side of the motel - enough said!!!
Saturday morning we went to a local cafe for breakfast and off to Herburgers where I had a good time.  I think Amy bought the most - several things for work.  I bought a new pair of blue jeans and I LOVE them.  Maggie and Amy said they had to "approve" of them for me - no old-lady jeans.  They both decided I don't have a butt which is the reason I have a difficult time finding jeans that fit well. 
Then we were off for coffee and carmel rolls - can you imagine our surprise when we found our little coffee shop is now a primitive shabby-chic little home decorating store.  They had lots of neat furniture that they have done up with milk paint - I plan to do some endtables with it once I finish my other projects which will be in five years and then I won't want to do them any longer.  DeAnn, would you like to come and do them for me?   So we decided to just go to lunch.  Lola's is famous for their  gouda mac and cheese which is what Amy always orders and their chicken pot pies which is what Aunt Sue and I ordered.  Here's pictures:

 Dessert - almond pastry

 "What are you doing?  Taking a picture of my dessert?"

 My favorite New Ulm shopping partners!!!!

Last week Tuesday I showed you pictures of the snow we got - it was just a sprinkling.  Guess what happened yesterday, which was Tuesday a week later - only this time it was 5" according to dad.  Here's a picture looking out the living room window and the deck.

Another picture out the living room window this morning -- beautiful sunshine, no wind - a nice day so the snow should be gone in another day or two. 

Heard that Holland, MN got 8 inches of snow - sorry about that Amy.  Enjoy!!!

Have a good week and love to you all.
Gramma and MOM