Look Who Found Us in KY

N/M/E's good friend from Cincinnati, Rose and her daughter Carol stopped by Missy M's house for a bit this week. What a nice treat that was! And don't those two octogenarians look fabulous in that photo on the left?

Mom and Rose have been good friends since the "West Tennessee Days," when Daddy and Rose's husband worked together in Covington. Mercy...that must be 35 years ago! As I've said before (and will hopefully say again), there's nothing like enduring friendships.

Carol, who does amazing counted cross-stitch work on linen, brought her latest project for us to see. Of course, I need a magnifying glass just to look at the eensy-weensy, teeny-tiny stitches. How she has any vision left is beyond me! She also brought along some tasty cookies...which I had no trouble whatsoever in seeing...and devouring...:)

Carol and "the Moms" headed off for a nice lunch at Applebee's, but I had to hang around the house to take care of some details with the contract on the NC house. Never fear...I put in my order for my favorite, Grilled Shrimp and Spinach Salad. Yummy! I think it's the dressing that makes me drool for that particular dish. Whatever...I know that if I haven't had one every couple of weeks, I start craving it!

New house update: I completed all the mortgage loan papers online last night...in just under 2 hours. I love Quicken Loans! Never heard of them? Well, I'm certainly one of their satisfied customers. This will be the third time we have used them (fourth, if you count when Missy M bought her house), and I believe it has gotten even quicker. You have one "point person" who makes sure the process goes smoothly, and then you do almost all of your "paperwork" online, by email, by phone, and/or by fax. Ah, technology. Perfect way to do business, if you ask me.

UFO update: Because I worked on the loan stuff, I didn't get to work on the previously-mentioned socks much. Maybe today, after all the laundry's done. How can 4 people (one of whom is only here on the weekends) generate so many dirty clothes? Never ceases to amaze me...

Weekends are Wonderful!

What a fun & busy weekend we had! On Saturday, Mr. T and I went to the Missouri Botanical Garden in STL for the GSLIS Iris Sale...with a lovely day in the garden as an added bonus. At the sale, we found several new irises, including "Titan's Glory, " "Bubbles Galore," "Rare Edition," "Yosemite Star," and "Patricia Claire." And, yes, the new babies are already planted (more on that later).

I would LOVE to show pictures of the pictures (!) of the irises we bought as well as of feeding the koi in the lake in the Japanese Garden and all the fantastical art in the park by Niki, but I forgot to take my camera. Needless to say, right after we went to the sale, we headed straight for the (fabulous) gift shop for a one-use camera. And as soon as I get it developed, I'll post some of our photos of the lovely day we enjoyed. Gee...remember what it was like before digital cameras? S-l-o-w. Oh well...I visited the MOBOT site and snatched this photo (right) of the Serpent Tree fountain by Niki, just so you'd know...

I cannot believe that it has taken us 5 years to discover this jewel-in-plain-sight. Founded in 1859, MOBOT is the nation's oldest botanical garden in continuous operation and a National Historic Landmark, as well as an oasis located in the area of STL known as The Hill. The Garden has 79 acres of beautiful trees, flowers and shrubs, including a rose garden, daylily garden, and iris garden; a (huge) 14-acre Japanese strolling garden with waterfalls, Tea Ceremony Pavilion (closed except for the Labor Day Japanese Festival each year) and a lovely lake, where we fed the (huge, huge!) koi; founder Henry Shaw's original 1850 estate home, where we strolled through the herb garden; and one of the world's largest collections of rare and endangered orchids (we saw some of those for sale in the gift shop, too). We rode the tram for a bit, which offered us a good overall view and gave us a little narration to learn more about the history, but we walked a lot...which allowed us to linger in the various gardens and enjoy things like the jumping fountains. When we have visitors, we will definitely add this stop to our tour: the Arch, a Cardinals Game (in season), Ted Drewe's Concrete Custard on Route 66, St. Charles Main Street and First Capitol Drive...and now MOBOT!

Speaking of visitors, we were fortunate to be on Cousin Wayne and Irene's route recently. They were "on a mission," returning to CA (where they've lived) from TN (where they are moving to) with a trailer for another furniture "run." Their lives have been so hectic lately with the move and with building a new house. Still, they were able to stay with us for a couple of nights, and we were hap-, hap-, happy to have them here. I remember visiting Wayne and his family in CA when I was about 10, and he took us to Disneyland...and "made" me ride on the Spinning Teacups...yikes!

In the photo (left), he is making friends with Gus...who truly believes that he is a lapdog, even though he weighs more than 60 pounds. Of course, before they headed out, we had to get the cameras clickin'. Here (right) are Irene and Wayne with Nana/Momma/Edith and Mr. T on the bridge in our back yard. Say "cheese!"

And, speaking of our back yard...boy, howdy, it sure looks different today! We came back from MOBOT and wanted to get the new irises in the ground (as the instruction were very specific: plant right away...do NOT allow to dry out!). Well, where we wanted to plant them was overgrown with daylilies that needed to be divided. And, we knew we'd have so many divisions of daylilies that we needed some more space to plant, so we decided to move some azaleas on the side of the house (which were struggling to survive in too much mid-day sun). Soooo, up came the azaleas. Where to put them? Oh, I know...let's create a small "contemplative garden space" a la MOBOT's Japanese Garden, under the oak tree in a shady area. And, that's what we did! Then, we started digging and dividing the daylilies...and that job lasted until after dark. Well, to be honest, it's still going on, since...even after replanting the former azalea bed AND the daylily bed with some of the divisions...we STILL have a wagon-load of divisions left! I'm currently bargaining with Mr. T. to till under a grassy area near the vegetable garden space...but he's holding out, saying there won't be any grass left, if I had my way. (Well...:) As soon as we get it all sorted out and cleaned up, I'll take some photos to post.

Got to close for now...get some knitting done. My Ravelympics sweater is coming along just fine, but after working in the yard and pulling those daylily clumps apart all day yesterday, I couldn't even hold the needles last night, much less knit a stitch. Better today. Maybe I can finish the right front...and then I'll just need to do the sleeves. Knit, knit, knit!

Progress Report: Makin' a Moebius; Separatin' the Sleeves; Pickin' the Peppers; and Greetin' Our Guests

It's been a productive week for my UFO's. I took a class while in ATL last week, at my new *favorite* yarn store in GA, The Yarn Garden. Yvonne taught me how to make a Felted Moebius Basket, using Cat Bordhi's book "A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting," page 28-29. What an interesting technique, this so-called Magical Knitting! You start here, go 'round there, and end up back where you started...but with a twist that you actually meant to be there. I learned how to knit socks on two circular needles by reading Cat's "Socks Soar on Two Circs" book, which I checked out of our local library, and I've been knitting on two circs ever since. Admittedly, I would never have purchased this book, as some of the most prominent photos on the front look just plain silly to me (really, would you spend the time to make a Jester Tentacles Bag or Hat when there are so many sweaters that need knitting and baby blankets that need crocheting?) Ah, it would have been my loss, for sure. Check out my photo (above, left) to see the felted and finished Basket in a variegated red wool yarn (of which I don't know the name, since I failed to collect the wrapper after Y. rolled the hank for me before the class)! I even used almost all of my left-over in knitting an I-Cord to use as a decorate tie. I've got to get another one on my needles soon! Ooh, ooh...and a Moebius Scarf, too...I need one of those, like the one on page 14.


[BTW, the instructions in the book say to use a balloon to shape the basket after felting. Well, I didn't have a balloon, so I created a 'tower' of various sized bowls, topped with a wide-lipped cereal bowl...which is why my basket has a rather prominent rim, and the picture on the front of the book does not. We must add our own personal touches when we can, right?]


Meanwhile, back at my *favorite* yarn shop here at home, Knit n Caboodle in St. Charles, my Design Your Own Top-Down Sweater class continues. I am so very excited to announce that I've completed something on this project! I finished the collar (see photo, above), so now this mass of cobalt blue yarn is beginning to look like a sweater...finally. This is my problem with this whole "top-down" deal: when you knit a sweater 'normally,' you knit for a while...and have a finished back; then, you knit for a while longer...and have a finished front, or a finished sleeve. OK, to be truthful, you don't actually have a finished anything, because you are going to have to seam the 'finished' pieces together to complete the sweater (and that's supposedly the ta-da moment of a Top-Down, when you realize that you don't have to seam anything...and it's truly finished!). Oh well, it'll all reveal itself in due time, right? We got instructions on how to separate the sleeves from the main body in our last class, slipping those stitches onto some waste yarn. Check! Got that done yesterday. I've been knitting on the main body a little bit, using the expanse of stockinette to practice knitting in the Continental method. I'm told that is much faster than the English method (which I've been using for 45 years now), but you couldn't prove it by me. Faster knitting, especially on the boring bits like plain ol' stockinette (POS?), really appeals to me, but I'm so awkward...I get frustrated (surprised?) and switch to what I know for a row, then I calm down and switch back to practicing the Con. What does that say about my personality? That I love learning new things, but I hate learning new things? Oh well...there's probably something hidden in there about 'old dog(s) and new tricks,' too...but I digress. Stay tuned for more progress and pics on the Top Down Sweater project.


It's finally beginning to hint of Fall around here with cooler temps both day and night. The trees are turning...slowly...but I'm afraid that the main 'color' in the leaves will be brown. The Japanese Maple out front is really a strange brown-yellow-rust color, when we usually see lots more deep maroon-y red. The Oaks in the back are dropping brown leaves along with massive amounts of acorns...but haven't really 'turned' in color yet. Truly, about the only tree that is showing any color is the sassafras, where there is a bit of the usual red and gold visible.


The change in season signals the winding-down of both the roses and the kitchen garden. Mr. T spent a good deal of time last weekend tending each one, trimming the gangly growth back on the roses and picking the last of the peppers in the garden. The hot peppers will be good in vegetables (like green beans and turnip greens, just to name a couple) and chili in the coming months, so Mom put them up in jars of hot vinegar (see the photo, right). Mr. T also spread 25 bags of mulch to dress up the flower beds in front and fill out the garden paths in back. That means several check marks on his To Do list: (1) remove the pallet of mulch from the driveway; (2) dress the front beds; and (3) fill out the back yard pathways. Woo-hoo!

And, saving the best for last, we may have welcomed our final house guests for the season last week. Cousin Cyndee and fiance Ken from AZ stopped by for a short visit as they connected the dots from Memphis to Kansas City. Although I was a poor host (heading to my knitting class right after they arrived, then off to the airport before they even arose the next morning), we were thrilled to get a call that they wanted to include us in their itinerary. Mom introduced them to O'Charley's in O'Fallon, and then to St. Charles Old Town. Don't they take a great picture (left)?

A Warm Welcome!

Hello again! It's been a couple of weeks since my last entry, and lest you think I've been idle (or simply sitting in my chair knitting sock after sock after sock...:), please know that it's been a hectic fortnight, for sure. We've had visitors from far and near, along with a few projects reaching the finish line. The photo at the left is a big TA-DA, especially for Thomas. We got a new front door and sidelight installed a few months ago, but hadn't been able to brave the excessive heat to finish the project with paint...until now! In addition to painting the door, sidelight, and its exterior trim, Thomas also painted our faded [wrong-color-green] shutters a beautiful, high gloss black. [He also painted the interior side white to match the other trimwork inside.] As Maredith said when she saw the new door and matching painted shutters, "it changes the whole front of your house!" Oh yes, we're pleased with it. Check that one off the To Do List for 2007!


I've used this photo of the front door to represent how busy and blessed our August has been. We've welcomed brother Terry from KY; friends from New Jersey, formerly ATL (photo, right); cousin Ann & Roy from AZ (photo below, left); and, for only the second time this year, daughter Maredith with Charley Dog. And the trend is continuing into September...as brother Jack from TN arrives on Friday, followed by friend Amelia from NC on Sunday!


I'm always happy to have visitors, most especially the ones who stay long enough to do some tourist-y stuff, like A&R did. They've actually been here before, doing the usual sites, so we decided to go a little further afield for some of our sightseeing, and checked out the Abraham Lincoln museum in Springfield, IL. Mom had been before, so she became the designated dog sitter for the day. What a fabulous place! Having come lately to respecting Lincoln (that was not a given for a school child of the early 60's in West Tennessee, whose great-great grandfather was a cavalry officer with Nathan Bedford Forrest and named his son after Robert E. Lee), I was quite impressed with how well his life is presented in this special place; check out the photo, below, of the Lincoln family as we saw them in the plaza of the musuem. If you ever get near enough to Springfield for a day, do not hesitate to put this stop on your itinerary! A word of warning though...you cannot do it justice in less than a day. I would probably still be there, reading and absorbing the exhibits...and we still didn't make it to the Lincoln house (photo, above/right) in time for a tour (last one starts at 4:30). Oh well, just means I get to go back, right?


Ann, Mom, and I also had a fun time at Dierberg's Cooking School's "Let's Do Lunch!" We got to enjoy Spring Rolls with a spicy Thai-influenced Shrimp Stir Fry. Yum!!


Never fear, I haven't completely turned part-time tourist and sometime B&B host. I've been making progress on several projects, and I'll blog about that next time. Stay tuned!

March Madness!

"Where has this month gone???" I find myself asking that question more and more often. I had thought I'd get more done this week than I did, but the week zigged when I had planned to zag!

First, Thomas had to return to the hospital for another GI test to determine why he's anemic. This time he had to swallow a camera! Yep, that's right...a camera. It's called PillCam, and it's just fascinating...or as John Denver would have said..."far out!" We don't have the results yet, as his doctor is out of town until Monday. Fingers crossed...toes, too!

On a more pleasant note, the rest of my week was centered around a visit from one of Mom's friends, Rose Liming. She and her daughter, Carol, motored over in Carol's new Murano (neat car!) from the Cincinnati area for a couple of days. Rose and Mom have known each other for many years, dating back to the days when Daddy worked his "second job" at Clopay in Covington. Carol is a skilled and enthusiastic cross-stitcher, and she had already Googled the shop in St. Charles (Stitches, Etc.), so we headed to Main Street for a wonderful day on Thursday. We also "hit" the quilt shop, Patches, where we oohed and ahhed over the amount and variety of fabrics as well as buttons. This photo is in front of the fireplace at Canoe restaurant, where we enjoyed a nice lunch before heading back to the shoppes. I, of course, had to show them the new yarn shop (Knit 'n Caboodle), where I'm already on a first-name basis with the shop owner, Connie! A good time was had by all!!

Thomas surprised us by heading home from Wisconsin last night...he had said he'd be gone until Friday (today). So he's in his office, toiling away. Hopefully, he'll surface to help us cheer on the Tigers in about an hour (11:30 a.m., Central DS Time).

Yep, the University of Memphis made it into the field of 65 teams in the NCAA Basketball Tournament for 2007! We've got our brackets set, so now it's up to them to go all the way...to the Final Four in Atlanta!! Go Tigers Go!!! (Click for the Fight Song!)