Chicago is an amazing city. Here are some photos from my 5/22/08 trip downtown (7 -9 miles from home).
The Standard Oil Building
Photo Taken while driving down Lake Shore Drive
Lion at the Art Institute of Chicago
Lehu got me a Dremel tool, so I can work on my dollhouses in style! With three nieces and a God-daughter, I have a lot of work to do.
This thing is amazing...it has its own tool box that holds everything including space for attachments (sold separately, of course). I am so excited!
Thanks, Lehu! This was the first of many very wonderful and fitting gifts for my birthday this year. I have not taken pics of all of them yet, so forgive the lack of visual stimuli.
This bloomed on my birthday. Isn't she spectacular?! I am so pleased. To me it looks like a ballerina - flowers are just magic. No two ways about that!
Note the Lilac behind, it looks like it's about ready to pop. Mmmm, lilacs.
Sarah made me a set of different knitting project bags (photos will have to come Monday), and a lace scarf which we are both wearing in the picture on the right. I have entitled this shot, "We're Closely Knit." Good friends are hard to come by so I'm holdin' on to this one. I especially appreciate Sarah's winks when she knows I'm annoyed with something. But what's more is that Chicago Sarah and her sweetie were VERY generous at dinner. All I know is that my step-father said, "wait, who gave me all of this?!" When they handed over a stack of bills. You guys are amazing. Thank you so much!! I'm so happy we got to celebrate our birthdays together. Let's do it again next year, and the year after...and the year after...
Everyone needs a Happy Birthday Flan duo. These were really good. We went to Frontera Grill and as we were awaiting our meals, Rick Bayliss came out and talked to a couple at an adjacent table. One of the pics of me (not shown) has Rick's white chef's jacket it it. Since we didn't really get him on film, it feels a lot like the fish that got away, but that's alright. We know we saw him.
I almost got away with no Happy Birthday singing, but when I started to ask if there were any "Singing Shenanagins" planned, my step-father and mom broke into song." I guess I deserved that ;)
This pic is especially for the Saucy Knitters, a Ravelry Hot Sauce and Yarn swap I hosted recently. Another swap will soon follow. Maybe this time I'll actually get in on the fun, instead of just coordinating...
The white behind me (I'm on the left) is Rick Bayliss, really!! Ask Sarah, she was there too. My friend, Gilbert (not his real name) took this shot.
And, since I mentioned Gilbert, here's a pic of him...his beau was out celebrating other May birthdays last night so we didn't get to see him. Soon, though, I think another night out is in order. This was FUN!
I am off to Kalamazoo to see Birdie and her Mama. I can't wait to see them, and I'm LATE in my plans to leave...I was going to leave the house at 10 am, but since it's already 9:45 and I'm not packed that ship has clearly sailed.
Have a great weekend!
I asked my sister and my mom to write about me (a narcissistic exercise with some level of emotional risk) and look at the greatness they created:
Mom said:
April 19 had come and gone and so had the Kentucky Derby three weeks earlier. That Thursday afternoon, I walked from room to room in our apartment scanning the empty living room, the stretch of carpet with no furnishings in the dining area, the den devoid of any objects, and the bare kitchen. Not even stale bread or spoiled milk in the refrigerator. Neatly laid out on the floor of the bedroom just where the bed had been for the last two years was a double sleeping bag, a couple of pillows, my novel on one side with a flashlight and Clyde the country cat nestled in the center of the sleeping bag.
Our belongings all were on a moving van rumbling to Philadelphia and everything was in order as planned except that the baby due on April 19 was still not born (but lively). Plans were set for a Friday (next day) afternoon flight to New Jersey, a waiting obstetrician and pediatrician thanks to an anxious grandmother and an appointment for a 6:30 am date with my regular obstetrician and distant cousin pediatrician at Louisville Baptist Hospital for Mom and expected and LONG-awaited baby the next morning.
5:30 am—awake reluctantly, but eager to see what adventure might be in store for us that day, baby sprung into action providing me with contractions about 20 minutes apart (okay, I am making that up because I don't remember). We headed out, stopped for a cup of tea—actually, a leisurely cup of tea, so I would be having closer contractions so I could tell my doctor I didn't need to be induced—and went to the hospital where at 1:30 that afternoon, May 23, (Not-so) Cynical Knitting Daughter a wailed into life—and she surely was worth the wait.
My sister (aka Teddy) said:
My big sister is my resource for hair and beauty tips, as well as sanity tips. She is my go-to woman when my two little girls want something done to their hair because I generally have no idea what they are talking about. She taught me how to put on make-up from Seventeen magazine - and I still do my make-up that way. She is also always ready to listen - and is quite good at it. She has an uncanny ability to read into what I am feeling and validate it, very few (if any) people can do that.
I guess that is what happens when you spend the first 5 years (maybe more) of your life following your big sister around.
Margaret Mead said - Sisters is probably the most competitive relationship within the family, but once the sisters are grown, it becomes the strongest relationship. So true.
Special thanks to my guest bloggers: Mom and Teddy ~~clapping and cheers~~
Giving a pass to the new father (my brother), he's got a lot going on these days with that new baby and pending visitors of the familial variety...
Happy Dogs on Thursday!
Due to technical difficulties, the recycled photo to remind us all that winter is hopefully over for a while.
Happy Spring!!
In a randomized, nonsequential order:
Cubby Bear Lorna's Laces, Sport Weight (on left)
Made with basketweave-type stitch, in the round for average sized head.
Dream in Color Gaia in Blue something. It's really amazing fiber!
Hats are super fast knitting for me. I likey!!
ID: CynicalKnitter
