Holiday Greetings

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! I am a day late and a dollar short! I had an e-mail this morning from an old friend and she commented about my blog. "MY BLOG!!  EEEEEK!! I DIDN'T DO ANY CHRISTMAS MESSAGE!! EEEK!!", I screamed at myself!
Christmas was spent by myself, which was perfectly ok. I have spent Christmas with friends, was with
Joan on her last Christmas, been with Jim and John in Aurora one year but this time I wanted to stay
here. I had a long talk with my sis, Susi. Talked with my son, Steve and talked to daughter, Rebekah,
the day after. I fixed a yummy chicken recipe, had fresh asparagus, and ice cream with chocolate sauce and cashews. Very good!
Today is New Year's Eve. I have no plans for this evening or tomorrow. I will start my third jigsaw. My favorites are Charles Wysocki's wonderful Americana and the Hometown Collection, featuring
Heronim's Americana paintings. These two artists feature horse drawn buggies, Amish people, quilts,
houses and barns, and.........always one or more American flags. Such fun to do and, as I do them, I
keep in mind that jigsaws, along with word puzzles and reading, keep my mind as sharp as it can be when the brain is 80 years old!
I promised myself I would do some blogs about my yearly visit to Jim and John's wonderful condo and pictures of my amaryllis in it's stages of blossoming. Hope to do that tomorrow.
Good night, readers. Again, may Peace and Joy prevail in this New Year!

FUN ON THE COMPUTER

People have said to me that they don't want a computer,
or won't use their computer, because they don't have time to sit there all day. Well, I have never been in front of my computer ALL DAY, EVER!!
BUT..............I have a lot of fun with my laptop.
I want to share with you some places I go and things I see.
(I use my treadmill 6 or 7 days a week. I do my laundry, clean my house now and then, cook meals, do my dishes so I have no qualms about being at my laptop for a couple hours a day. Notice how I'm
justifying??)
Ok. The sites I go to are:
redballproject.com - look at all the places an artist puts a BIG red ball. Makes you smile!
Google restaurants and enjoy reading the menus - makes your mouth water : element 112, Flemings,
Ruth Chris Steakhouse. Look at the prices! Woweewow!
Go to Youtube and check out these comedians : Jim Gaffigan (his "hot pockets" routine is a hoot!), Jeff Dunham and his weird puppets, George Carlin and Bill Cosby for LOL humor.
For those of us who are a bit older, empty your bladder before taking on the comedians.
If I went to all these sites at one time I WOULD be at this thing for quite a while. but, what the hell! I'm retired and allowed to use my time any way I want!
Ciao!

Heavy Heart

Tonight my heart is heavy. Today 20 children and 7 or 8 adults were shot to death at  a school in Connecticut. 20 children!!!! and because this country will not ruffle the feathers of the NRA and will continue to
allow people to purchase and own guns. The sad thing is that the killer in Connecticut had access to guns that he had no right to use. Hunters
need rifles to kill their prey - for sport - for food. That's ok. Men, and a few women, want their guns to
shoot for games - skeet, etc. These people should be allowed their weapons. But, if you look on Google at the A-15, this type of gun isn't needed to shoot game or clay pigeons. The Glock and Sig Sauer are hand guns. Used to kill deer, duck, bear? I doubt it. They are used to kill PEOPLE!!
I don't know what I can do to try to stop gun ownership in this country. Where can my voice be heard to make a difference? How many children, women, men, babies, pregnant women, older people, congresswomen, just simply human beings have to die before we wake up?  How many?????

Welcome December!! Bring us lots of white stuff to cover the brown earth and leafless trees!
This good-looking young man is my nephew, Ethan. He is my sis Susi's son. He is 34 years young.
Ethan lives in Tahoe, California. He owns a kayak, stand-up paddle board store. He traveled to Massachusetts to be with Mom, Dad, and brother Jody for Thanksgiving. (Brother Jody lives in
Berlin, Germany. he is a flight attendant for Lufthansa Airways.)
Ethan drove to his hometown and is now working his way west. I happened to be on his route so he is staying with me overnight and will leave tomorrow for Chicago to visit friends.

My dear sis, Joan, and NCIS

This is going to be words this time. No pics.
One of Joan's favorite TV shows was "NCIS". When she was in hospice she told me, "Leave the TV on all the time because, when i wake up if it's not on, I'll know I'm gone". How very dear!
The day before she died USA channel had a marathon of "NCIS". We watched it until she fell asleep, never to wake again.
Tonight I didn't want to watch a movie so I checked the TV lineup. Because of the vice-presidental
debate, a new episode of "NCIS" was being shown. It had been bumped from it's normal spot.
I got Joan's picture, that sits on my desk, where I can say "Good morning" and "Good night" to her,
and I put it on the table beside my chair. I said to Joan, "Okay. This is a new episode. Let's watch it together".
When the show was over I put her picture back on the desk.
Did Joan know I did that? I hope so.
I re-read this as a "spell check". If I missed something forgive the error. i can't walk on water either.

Bill's 70th Birthday on July 22, 2012

 What an awful picture! But it's the only one I have!  Billy and me in his backyard.

 This is Dr. Judy, a long-time friend of Bill's. They both went to Heidelberg College in Ohio.
Judy now lives in Las Cruses, New mexico. Bill and Judy are standing in front of his house.

Judy and Judi. Does Bill have a thing about ladies named "Judy/i"?

Bill, for his birthday celebration, had an open house in his lovely front and back yard. It was a
Muffin Party. A few of Bill's friends arrived and spent a lot of the day in the kitchen making muffins -
chocolate chip, bran, lemon, blueberry, raisin, and pumpkin. Very tasty! Coffee, tea, iced and hot, beer and wine was available. I don't know if anyone had a muffin with their beer or a beer with their muffin!
Jim, another Heidelberg grad and good friend of Bill, made his fabulous chicken salad (recipe upon
request) which was enjoyed by the muffin cooks and those of us who stayed way into the evening after the open house was over.

5753 North Main Street, Sylvania, Ohio 43560

 The lilac bush in the winter of 2012. This was the only measurable snow we had!

 The lilac bush in bloom way too early - in May of 2012.

The lilac bush, devastated by the drought, the summer of 2012. 

 This is my moonflower. It is absolutely huge! It has had over 50 blooms so far this summer.
I tell people it is planted in an atomic dump or this spot was the place where the cows shat way back when this was a farm. I like the "atomic dump" story the best.

If you go back a way in this blog, you will see the garden when we first planted it. Here it is now. The tomato plants are growing out of their cages, giving us lots and lots of tomatoes. Also have rosemary, basil and green peppers. In the background is Fran's convertible.

 Another shot of the garden and the lovely flowers Fran has planted.

 These are the steps up to Fran's apartment. She has lined the steps with potted flowers! It is such a
beautiful sight to behold!

 More of Fran's handiwork in the front yard. Fran said she does this because it keeps her out of trouble. I haven't the slightest idea what kind of trouble she could get into! Does she have a secret I don't know?

 Here is our lovely house, made beautiful by Fran's plantings. And below is.......

                      FRAN!! She potted some flowers from the garden to put on the front steps.
                      More beautification! I am proud to have Fran as a neighbor and love our Main St. look!

Chair Bombing

If you go to the Google and put in "Yarn Bombing" you can view lots and lots of pictures of yarn bombing. It simply means things covered with knitted and crocheted "fabric".
Joanne is a knitter @ Yarn Envy and she bombed a chair. She brought it in the shop so we could see it.
Every surface of the chair is covered. Neat, eh? I was going to say that the pretty lady in the picture was me but figured I wouldn't fool anyone.

Betsy Charlotte Sue

This is my octopus. Her name is Betsy Charlotte Sue which stands for Breast Cancer Survivor. She is
made of yarn, has a knit scarf and cap and has eight tentacles.
TOPS has a contest going right now. It runs for eight weeks. If you stay the same or lose, you leave
your octopus alone. If you gain or miss a meeting you must cut off a tentacle. The person with the most tentacles @ the end of 8 weeks wins. It cost 50c to get in the contest and that money is the prize. We have $14.00 in the pot.
I will take a pic of Betsy @ the end of the contest so you can see how I did.

Birds and a Baby Bird

 I put some pictures of the birds @ the feeder in an earlier blog. I have added these to show you how
much they love the feeder. When I come out to the kitchen in the morning I very quietly open the back door. I will find the feeder packed and some are sitting on the railing, patiently waiting their turn.
In these two pictures there are eight birds inside the feeder!

 Another shot of a busy breakfast bar.

This picture has quite a story. Knitters knit lap robes for people in wheelchairs. Knitters knit lap robes
for people in nursing homes. A group of ladies meet on a Wednesday @ Yarn Envy and knit chemo
caps and preemie caps. People knit scarves, caps and mittens for the homeless.
Then there is my dear sister, Susi, my nutty-crunchy organic-living gentlewoman farmer, hiker, walker, swimmer and biker who knits liners for cups that hold baby chicks who have fallen from their nests.
Who would have thunk it??? Love you, Susi!! judi hollyhock

Clayton, adored grandson of Karla

 Dane, Jamie, Karla's daughter, and Clayton @ a Canadian resort in July, 2012

 Clayton @ the resort.

An earlier picture of this cutie! I put this one in here to show how much he looks like his daddy.

This picture, the earliest of them all, caught Clayton when he first learned how to pull himself up.
Moms, remember when we said we wanted our children to walk. Then wished they would "sit down an stay out of that"! Also wanted to hear them talk and then wished they would just be quiet!

Karla and Jerry have two children. Jake and his wife live in Seattle, WA. They have decided not to have a family. Jamie and Dane weren't sure they could have children because Jamie is a diabetic. But, lo and behold, along came this chunk and Jerry and Karla are doting, loving grandparents.

A birthday cake for Yarn Envy on June 2, 2012

Because I was gone on my actual birthday, I asked Bill, the bistro owner, to make a chocolate cake that I could serve to the ladies who come to knit at Yarn Envy. Pictured above are some of those ladies. I know Candy, co-owner of the shop and Linda.

 Here are some more ladies. I do not know the names of all of them but I recognize Ginger, LuAnn, Pat and Shawn.

 The birthday girl and her balloon.

 Bill, the baker, the cake and the birthday girl.

 Isn't this a pretty cake?  It was a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

Here's Colleen again. June 2nd was HER birthday so we got a pic of her with the birthday balloon. Linda is sitting next to her. Linda was a customer @ the cross stitch shop. She, too, has moved on to knitting.

Bill is coming next week to celebrate my birthday. We were not able to be together on the 27th or near the 27th. I will take a couple pics and they will most likely end up here.

This is the end of my 80th birthday celebration. It was a wonderful time and I plan to have another big bash on my 90th, if I'm not drooling.

I think this is the last but..........maybe not

 I must tell you what we had to eat for breakfast @ 932 Penniman. Saturday morning we began with a parfait glass, layered with greek yogurt, granola and fruit. That was followed by French toast made with croissants! The syrup was made by Carey ~ apple cider, spices, sugar and thickened with a bit of cornstarch. (By the way, Jon was the chef). Sunday's breakfast, pictured above started out with a poached pear with a dollop of greek yogurt. Next came a spinach cheese quiche and slices of tomato with grilled grated cheese on top. As you can see the serving dish ware was all very lovely. Need you ask why there is a candle in my quiche????

 E-mails I received - from Karla..............

 ......from Susi??.......

 .......from Susi.........

......and from Bill. I think there are 80 explanation marks on this one.

I went to the Google and looked for information about May 27, 1932. This is what I found.
We were in a depression. FDR was the president. Corn flakes cost 25c for three boxes. A new house cost $6500.00 and a car was $610.00. Gas was 10c a gallon. Hamburg cost 10c a pound and a loaf of bread, 7c. 10#s of potatoes cost 18c, oranges 14 for 25c and bananas cost 19c for 4 #s. Unfortunately, I didn't look for the middle class yearly income.
People born on May 27th: Henry Kissinger, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Dasheill Hammett, Julia Ward Howe, Rachel Carson and Wayne Williams, who murdered 29 children in Atlanta, GA. ~ the famous and the infamous.

Two More Yarn Shops

 This is Pat who works @ Old Village Yarn Shop, also situated in Plymouth. I have been in this shop three times. It isn't as big as Michigan Custom Boutique, or as fancy but they have a lot of very nice yarn, and books and the clerks treat you like old friends. This yarn shop has been in business for over 30 years.

 This is Nancy, owner of Center Street Knits in Northville. It is the smallest of the three shops we visited but, again, carries nice yarn and Nancy treated us like royalty. She has owned the business for 2+ years. She gave me a tape measure for my.....well, I needn't say more, right.

 A nice view from the back door to the front.

 The feet belong to yours truly. In case you can't read the cartoon, The book says "Anyone Can Knit" and the caption says "Leonard was hopeful". Cute!

I took a picture of the calendar because of the date.

....and on with the Birthday Weekend

 Here we are on the big front porch @ 932 Penniman. It was Saturday evening, we had been to 4 yarn shops and were sharing a "Show & Tell". Also drank wine, ate cheese and crax, petit fours, and cookies. We stayed up until after midnight having a wonderful time! I couldn't have picked better people to share in my birthday, 80th, that is!  :-)

Let me just say we ate @ a restaurant in Plymouth that was highly rated but we had terrible, terrible service from a waitress who was not nice at all!  In this picture
Heather, a sweet, friendly young lady, waited on us in Rebecca's in Northville, MI, just north of Plymouth. We talked with her and found out she lives in Toledo, teaches @ Woodward Hi and lives in Northville during the summer. Her boyfriend manages Rebecca's. I ordered an ice cream cone for dessert and it was delivered with a lit candle stuck in it and all the staff sang Happy Birthday to me for my ~ are you
ready? ~ 80th birthday.

                  Ready to chow down on our yummy, fattening food! Rebecca's is known for their sweet potato fries because they serve them with a small cup of melted butter and brown sugar mix! I had the fries and macaroni and cheese. Yum!

 Maybe, when I'm 90, I will get this straight! I had two pics from this shop and only one shows up! Where the hell did the other one go? Okay, this is Greta, the clerk @ Michigan Custom Boutique in Plymouth, MI, the biggest yarn shop we visited. Are any of you "The Big Bang Theory" watchers? Greta's daughter is a bit player in the TV industry. She played a Goth girl in an episode when Howard and Raj go to a Goth bar and pick up two Goth gals. Sarah, Greta's daughter, plays the thin one.

 932 Penniman is the name of the lovely B&B where we spent 3 days and 2 nights. It is at the end of a residential street and on the edge of the downtown area. Plymouth has a beautifully laid out downtown with lots of shops for the ladies, eateries, and a big town square. (There may be shops for the menfolk but why would we have noticed them!!)

These are the owners of 932 Penniman, Carey and Jon Gary and their dog, ??  They are retired schoolteachers who bought a tumbledown house and turned it into a gorgeous B&B. Look for them on the Google to see more snapshots. Just put in 932 Penniman.

P.S.

This is such a nice picture of Mary Lea! I couldn't leave it out. She is standing in the Knit Around shop.

Birthday Weekend in Michigan

 Paula, Karla, Mary Lea and I celebrated my 80th birthday in Michigan. We started out by hitting a yarn shop in Ann Arbor ~ Knit Around. Paula makes a silly face as Mary Lea looks on.

Here we are all smiling because we are surrounded by yarn ~ Paula, Mary Lea, Judi and Karla.
After leaving the yarn shop we moved on to Zingerman's ~ a huge deli in Ann Arbor ~ for coffee
and rolls.
The next blog finds us in Plymouth, MI.

First Birthday Party

 May 15, 2012 ~ Colleen, Karla, Shawn and I went to the Elephant Bar for dinner. Colleen bought my dinner. Got a big lettuce wedge with diced hard-boiled egg, finely diced tomato, bacon crumbles and yummy, yummy bleu cheese dressing. Entree was a chicken dish on brown rice. That is my favorite dinner at this restaurant. Picture above ~ Karla and Colleen.

From left to right: Colleen, Judi, Shawn and Karla. A fun evening!
I had dinner with groups of friends on May 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6. These gatherings were "Happy Birthday, Judi" dinners because I wouldn't let anyone forget that I was going to be 80 years old May 27th! I even told that to strangers!
There are more pictures coming. Hope this works for me today.