Another birthday!

Got home from the animals birthday party yesterday and it was time to prepare for hubby's. Cupcakes! Another birthday party! We had cheeseburgers on the grill, Julie's baked beans, corn on the cob from our local farmer and some good family time! Danielle helped grandpa blow out the candles, of course!

The Animals Birthday Party

Today was the animals birthday party celebration at The Children's Farm. Look at their beautiful birthday cake!

Everyone brought presents for the animals and then got to decorate a candle to pin on the big cake decoration. We brought bunny pellets and chicken feed!

Cluck! Cluck! The chicken coop was very excited!

"Bella" enjoyed all her guests and loved nibbling the grass inbetween.

"Cricket" got right in the spirit and donned his birthday hat!

And he was kind enough to give all the little guests a pony ride!

A hayride ended the afternoon and I am sure all the animals were ready for a nap after their party!

The "clean-up"

It's early afternoon and it feels like the rain is just hanging there, waiting to pour down. Still putting things back in order after the new carpeting episode. I am making a master list of rooms and where I put things because, every time I rearrange, I end up losing something by forgetting where I've relocated it. It'll get done... little by little.

Love a rainy morning! The coolness tells me it's almost Fall, the change of season, and that reminds me of school books, new pens and pencils, and crisp new paper to write on! Truly, this has always been my favorite time of year.

"The leaves fall patiently
Nothing remembers or grieves
The river takes to the sea
The yellow drift of leaves."
Sara Teasdale

Fear less, hope more, eat less, chew more, sigh less, breathe more, hate less, love more and all good things are yours. ...Swedish

Days of fun

Danielle seems to have made a visual journal of the last two days. Monday afternoon, while Daddy was working, we stopped by Aunt Julie's. It was a beautiful day and we laid in the cool grass looking up at the blue sky. Danielle and Aunt Julie even did a few somersaults. Then yesterday, Danielle went over to Aunt Julie's to help make supper for her and Daddy. Here, she thought about the table set with a vase of flowers from the garden, plates of spaghetti and meatballs, silverware and a glass of chocolate milk. In the bottom corner are the beagles, Missy and Abby, with their ears up listening for the food to go to the table. The little snail is just a visitor, I guess, as they weren't having escargot!

"French Bread"

I was worried that this color would have too much yellow in it. The sample almost seemed to. Now that it's here, it doesn't look that way. They are still working upstairs, so I will see when they are finished and check it out.

Actually, it does have a sunny cast to it depending on the time of day. I am happy!

Carpet Day!

"Someone" keeps hitting their tennis ball into the downstairs bathroom and knocking over my sheep! I'm sorry "Henri", there's no time to play ball right now. Later! As I continue to bring the last boxes of stuff down from the bedrooms this morning, the carpet layers will be arriving in a couple of hours. The new color is called "French Bread". Sounds yummy to me!

Busy this weekend with moving bedroom stuff and unpacking closets! New carpeting for the bedrooms coming tomorrow. Henri helped that idea along by chewing a couple of holes in the old stuff. I'm finding things that I forgot I had! My sock drawer is screaming with pain! (overstuffed!) I have clothes and I have shoes in boxes and shoes on the closet floor that I will never wear again. It's energy sapping. I need to feel a calmness here. I have forced this upon myself and it's good. I need soft lighting and to feel serene. When the weather turns cool and Fall approaches, this annual insanity hits!

Back to the drawing board!

Today is the deadline for the drawings for the art class calendar. Whew! Squeeking in just in time. The theme for 2010 is "Gardens" and the angel is from the garden at Camp Palos.

This is a "high bush cranberry" growing around another big tree in Sonya's garden. It was looking like Fall with the pretty red fruit and the green and russet leaves. A bug landed on my paper as I sat there drawing, and as he modeled for me, I drew him into the picture too.

Wednesday's Workshop

Marcia came with beautiful photographs and ephemera from Montana. Here she is creating her beautiful collage in blues and browns.

Jane also had lovely photographs to incorporate into her collage, remembering Alaska.

Claire had decided to use heirloom memorabilia of her family. This will be a treasure.

And here is Danielle's. Animals having fun in a splash of color!

Where's Lorraine! I didn't get a picture of Lorraine! I will and add it later.

"Memories of Summer"

When beginning my collage for today's workshop, I decided to use a black & white copy of the zoo map. We had visited the zoo a few times this summer and they were fun times to remember.

Wasn't sure if I was going to incorporate some green, but decided to include the identification bands from the beer stand. Also, one day, Danielle had made me a little handwritten note and told me that I could use it in a collage, so I wanted to add that. Then began adding color.

Admission tickets and tickets to the special attractions made me steer toward the golds, tans and oranges. Then I found some painted squares that I had done that fit the color scheme.

The angel represents our summer art sessions. The moon for all the full moons I remember seeing in the early mornings. And, of course, couldn't leave out my mourning dove story and our visitor, Mrs. Field Mouse! Yes, it was certainly a summer surrounded with animals.

Bunnies here and at Julie's, and the wonderful trees and dragonflies in Minnesota at St. John's University.

Thousands of dragonflies! I also slipped in my school song in memory of my reunion last weekend, and a very special visit from the coyote.

Ended it with putting a wooden black frame in place. Now, I hope everyone coming today has lots of wonderful summer memories to put into their collages!

Dot, dot...almost done

A little more to go and I will be done.

Today, have to think about my collage workshop tomorrow. "Memories of Summer".
at The Center
1-4 p.m.

A thunderstormy morning. The trees in the back of my yard are getting a nice shower while they're fluffing their branches. Today, all day, I need to be finishing my drawings for the new annual calendar for The Center. Enjoying pointallism, with my lots of dots in this one, it's getting there. Then one more to finish. And I don't stay up late, so I won't be burning the midnight oil. And have all you other "summer artists" turned in your drawings to Sonya?

" Oh, the world is wide and the world is grand,
And there's little or nothing new,
But its sweetest thing is the grip of the hand
Of the friend that's tried and true." Anon

Here we are!

The reunion was a huge success! 160 graduates arrived and it was so great to see so many old friends. We all wore our name tags, which was extremely important. Looking at all the faces, you excitedly knew you knew them and then quickly searching for their name tag, it was exciting again to see who it was! With hopes of seeing them, here I am with two of my favorite friends, Pat and Susan, whom I went through grammar school and high school with!

Here are twins, Lucille and Louella, with my good buddy, JoAnn (one of my "club girls" of 54 years). She is actually a "party-crasher" who went to Maria High School, but she loved all the social things that went on with us Harperites, so she was always with us and knew everyone.

Here again someone I went all through school with, Marilyn, chatting with Carol and Susan.

Catherine is the one who first called me when this was in the planning stages. Her and her twin brother, Cliff, are also grammar school/high school classmates of mine. I think of them so often, wished I knew where they were, and when I had heard her voice on the telephone, "a voice from the past", I could not believe my ears! Where's Judy! Cliff's wife, Judy, also was a high school chum and I wish she was in this picture. We need to do this again!

Me again, with my dear friend, Carmella (also one of my "club girls" of 54 years) and Virginia.

Together again; Eleanor, JoAnn, Arlene, Carmella and me. We had many many pajama parties when we were teenagers. What memories!

Soon it was time to say "so long". Here are Susan, Viola, Eleanor and Gail, promising we will not let another 50 years go by and we will plan to get together!

We had a big group photograph taken. A wide panoramic one, and it reminds me of the photo that they took on our class trip to Washington D.C. except that one was in black & white. The committee also made up a very special CD of memories for each of us. Thank you, Committee!

Harper Victory March

We're true to you our own dear Harper High,

We'll ever stand for you and fight,

Your white and crimson bright we'll proudly fly,

So dear to every Harperite,

You stand for everything we hold most dear,

Faith, honor, love, and loyality,

With vim and pep,

Watch Harper step,

To fame and glorious victory.

It's here!

This is it! Today's the day. The class reunion. Here's me in 1959. Who will I see tonight? Will I know them? Will they know me? Where did those years go? I don't feel that old.

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. From the television show The Wonder Years.

a dilemma of a day

Dilemma, according to Webster's, says it's "any situation in which one must choose between unpleasant alternatives". That description fits my day today. Shopping! Clothes shopping! I am not a shopper. I put it off long enough and had to go. My high school class reunion is this coming Saturday. My 50th class reunion! Yikes! Well, I spent about four hours in Carson's circling the clothing department, trying things on, and finally decided on this, my first choice. A new pair of Alfred Dunner's black slacks. They are a forever staple in my closet and I just wanted a new pair. They are like "the little black dress" to me. The shell and top are Anne Klein and I love them. I hope that I wasn't seeing myself through "high school rose-colored glasses" and that it will look alright on me when the hour arrives. Suck it in, April!

My Portrait

When I came home today, Danielle created my portrait. I think it's wonderful!

Today is the funeral of the husband of a dear dear friend of mine. This has been a busy time in both of our lives, and I don't see her often, but our friendship is one of those where, even if you haven't seen each other in a year, you can pick up the phone and start right where you left off. Our families grew. We are getting older. And I miss her. My kids miss her kids. Neighbors when our families were young, we were connected right from the start. What good times we had. Memories...

Out early

Out early this morning as it is Tuesday and "The Writing Diet" meeting at The Center. A nice time sitting on the big porch with nice ladies, fresh fruit and good things to eat. With the way this summer went, my two little pounds went off and on and off and on, but I sure did "write" about it! A good pattern to follow. To be aware. We are also learning how to accept compliments. Jane had some wonderful advice that she heard somewhere. "If you receive a compliment - swallow it. It makes it easier to say thank you."

Summer thoughts

Began working on my collage for my "Memories of Summer" workshop that will be taking place on Wednesday afternoon, August 19th. It has not been the most beautiful of summers in many ways, but I will try to think in the lines of a list poem to find the meaningful memories of my days. Reading on my Marjolein Bastin calendar this morning, "The true treasures in life are found in the simplest things." Let's see...

dragonflies

rain

day lilies

roses

mourning doves

chipmunk

field mouse

music

the zoo

paper tickets

birds

flowers

bugs

books

writing

painting

the pen

rabbits

Queen Anne's Lace

morning coffee

and...

Yoo-Hoo!

A special page in my journal.

When I opened the newspaper movie section the other day, a wonderful surprise stared me in the face! "Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg!" "The Goldbergs" was a television series that began in 1949 and I don't know why but it holds a special place in my heart. It is just so much of a memory of my childhood days. Gertrude Berg was such a comfortable mom/grandmother figure. You just had to love her. Anyway, the program would always start out with a neighbor in the same tenement calling out of her window, "Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg!" and the gossiping would begin. I will always remember that show and that calling out for attention between the ladies. It has stuck in my memory. When my grandson, Brent, was little and would be daydreaming when I was talking to him - I would say "yoo-hoo, Mrs. Goldberg". That would get through to him and he would look up and we both would have a good laugh. Now I do the same thing to Danielle, my granddaughter. If she isn't listening when I talk to her, I say "yoo-hoo, Mrs. Goldberg" and it gets her attention right away. I don't know of anyone else who remembers Mrs. Goldberg except myself. When I saw this article in the paper, it was like seeing an old friend. Now they have made a documentary about her! Good for you, Gertrude Berg!

It's 6:13 a.m. and here comes a downpour! I love the sound and the smell of rain. It came on quickly. So quickly, a surprised little bird just hit the back door but flew away again. Good! Now everything is getting a good drink. Maybe it won't last long, but the air sure feels good while it's here. I had just read Laura's post about sitting outside in the morning and listening and watching the birds. I was just about to do that, but now the smells and the sounds have all come in to me. Well, not the birds. Oooo...lightning and thunder. The trees in back of our house have grown so much since we moved in. We can' t see the next block at all. The tops of them are bobbling around with the wind; ladies with locks of hair tossing in the wind while they all talk at once excitedly about the storm!

It's been months since I have really really written in my journal. I guess a line or two of what's necessary, but not truly written. Once in a while this happens and I miss it so. And pasting in mementos and stuff. I love to do that. I am always buying books on journaling too. They very much interest me. Just came across one that I have started reading now. I must have bought it a while back and maybe that got me going again. "Keeping a journal you love" by Sheila Bender.

Beauty shop day!

And the beauty is pooped!

Riverside

Today was outdoor art class in Riverside. I sat outside the library, thinking this was a lovely little nook of the building. The direction of the stone was a challenge. I didn't get very far, but I have my photographs to go by to finish it.

It was a beautiful day in a beautiful town.

Below is the library. Our time was limited and choosing that one little spot was not the answer to finishing quickly.

The Des Plaines River. A lovely landscape adorned with Queen Anne's Lace.

And even a fisherman!