Sandy's Dino Shirt

At a recent clubber breakfast -- Sandy surprised me with a dinosaur shirt for Lillian. SO adorable...

Here's a close-up of the little neck zipper detail -- which made it SO EASY for Lilly to put on and take off. (remember, this little girl is NOT about changing clothes!)

This is my favorite picture of my recent visit. Lillian was simply DELIGHTED with her new pink dino shirt!!
We were getting ready to go shopping -- and she has about 12 dinosaur "babies" in her little Easter purse...
SOO CUTE, Sandy!! And such a sweet, unexpected gift. SANDY recently became Grandma for the second time. I am green with envy...and if your little girl gets into dinosaurs, Sandy -- we'll SAVE SOME SHIDRTS...

Emily's Sewing Lesson

For Christmas, I gave Emily a very basic, inexpensive Bernette sewing machine.

Remember - Mr. Bernina (Mr. Ueltschi) actually AUTOGRAPHED the machine...(he actually said, "why don't you buy a REAL sewing machine?")...lol...

Anyway -- during my recent trip to Wisconsin -- a "sewing lesson" was at the top of our list of things to do...In this next picture, you can see that both Emily and Lillian were anxious to get started.

After repeatedly "threading" the machine -- we got started. Emily made a dinosaur pillowcase, and hemmed a pair of pants, as we worked our way up to the BIG PROJECT...

It started with a little blue tank top. Then, with some new dinosaur yardage, Emily gathered up a little skirt to sew onto the bottom. To create a summer DRESS, of course...

We were doing our sewing class after Lilly went to bed. But - FIRST THING in the morning, we were eager to have Lilly try on her new outfit. This is my best photo...

It still needs to be hemmed -- but it turned out GREAT. Emily did a wonderful job, and I think she had a pretty good time....

It felt pretty good to pass it on...this hobby I love...

Morton Arboretum

Hey -- I just cannot say this enough -- NEXT TIME YOU ARE IN CHICAGO -- YOU MUST VISIT THE MORTON ARBORETUM...

And it is a wonderful example of what really, really wealthy people USED to do with their money. Really. Whenever I am in New York City, I'm struck by the legacy of the Rockefellers and the Carnegies...they endowed libraries, for crying out loud.

Doesn't it seem like nowadays -- the really rich people are mostly interested in avoiding taxes and hiding their money in offshore bank accounts?

Anyway -- in Chicago -- there was the rich Morton family...(yes, of Morton salt). 1700 acres of the most beautiful trees, plants, they have a large Maze...a wonderful playground for children...

And -- this year -- they will have THIS art installation...

This little girl was just as fascinated as we were...


Rhonda took this picture of me -- leaning against the crocheted tree...

Don't you think this is something we could do in our own yards??

Kim's Salad Recipe

We were invited to Easter dinner at my niece Nicole's house. I wanted to take a salad -- and I got this recipe from my cousin Kim, one of the best cooks I know. It is AWESOME:

Kim's Sunny Vegetable Salad:

5 c. broccoli florets
5 c. cauliflower florets
2 c. shredded cheese
2/3 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. raisins

1 c. mayo
1/2 c. sugar (if you use Splenda, dissolve it in the vinegar first)
2 T. cider vinegar

6 strips of bacon (fried crisp and chopped fine)
1/4 c. sunflower seeds

Mix mayo, sugar and vinegar. Pour over salad -- toss. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Overnight is fine. Add bacon & seeds right before serving...

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I also took the deviled eggs. The real key to beautiful deviled eggs is to have them PERFECTLY BOILED...if you overcook them, the yolks get rubbery.

Perfect hard-boiled eggs EVERY TIME is easy...

Put room temperature eggs in cold water. Bring to a boil. Immediately put a lid on the pot, and remove from the heat. Set the alarm for 10 minutes. Test one of the eggs -- peel under cold water...a perfectly boiled egg has NO gray discoloration around the yolk.

If your test egg is perfect -- pour the hot water OFF -- and quickly put the eggs in cold water, with ice cubes -- to stop the cooking.

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AND -- here is my new tradition. If one of my nieces invites me to a holiday meal at their home -- I'll buy them a board game!!

To kick off this new tradition -- I bought "Attack UNO"...and it was a huge hit! We played in "teams". Each team had one grown-up and one kid. Amy & Memphis, me & Cash, Ronda & Landon and Nicole & Garrett. The kids LOVED this game...they got to push the button on the Attack UNO machine. We laughed and laughed.

Warning: it takes 3 "c" batteries.

Sandy GOT A GIRL!!

This is a picture of me and my friend Sandy -- at one of our book club porch events. We all enjoyed our get-togethers so much, last year we decided to do it WEEKLY instead of monthly....



And we often do a "sew-n-tell". Sandy has enjoyed sewing for her grandson... remember the beautiful Thomas Train quilt she made for him?



Well -- the good news is SANDY GOT A GIRL!! The four of us went to see the new movie"Water for Elephants"-- and as we were leaving the theater, Sandy got a text message from her son, telling her their baby girl had been born!! He immediately sent a cellphone picture of the new baby. Ain''t technology great??

Congratulations. What good news!! It is sooo much more fun to SEW FOR A GIRL...you have noooo idea!!

Nancy's Sewing Weekend

Today I'm leaving for my annual trek to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin for the exciting 2011 "Sewing Weekend".

Last year, Mary and I did a very unique version of the Midwest Ya Ya Sister's act -- one that involved shopping at the local Goodwill store. Were you on our bus??

I took some of my treasures over to Nancy Zieman's private sewing studio...and made some very quick samples for our evening performance.

Laura is helping us to set up the stage...and we had a GREAT TIME.

If you're going to be in Beaver Dam this weekend at the show -- give me a call. My cellphone is: 563 529 5438.

IT IS ALWAYS AN AWESOME SHOW...

I'm looking forward to the Thursday night event - "Four Bitchin Babes"...present Hormonal Imbalance.

I am sooo excited!!

Westby, Wisconsin

I love, love, love a nice little road trip. The day before my trip -- I gas up the car and go to the library to select a few good books on tape. The morning I'm leaving, I make a fresh thermos of coffee. My favorite roadside convenience store is Casey's. Their bathrooms are usually clean, their coffee is always fresh, and I love their pizza. At some point during every trip -- I end up buying BBQ Potato chips. (My cousin Jackie's snack of choice...and we have gone through A LOT OF CHIPS in our road-trippin-career.)

Elliott was away for a week of training -- so I planned a visit to Emily & Lillian in Sparta, Wisconsin. It should be a four hour drive... but, because there are so many great places to stop and do a little thrift shoppin' -- I always manage to turn it into a six-hour treasure hunt.

This trip was no exception.

No matter what state you live in, there are charming little towns just a short drive from where you are. Bert & I do a lot of day-trippin on Saturdays.

I was looking forward to this road trip. And -- although I have driven through it many times -- this was the first time I've actually stopped in scenic little Westby, Wisconsin.

I always admire their regal Viking when I drive into town...

Westby has a vibrant little downtown -- with many shops and restaurants....

And who could resist the ACTUAL Ole and Lena Kaffe Hus???

On the road to and from Sparta -- I filled my back seat with treasure of all kinds...and it was a wonderful trip in every way.

But I have lots of BIG TRAVEL coming up in May. So, after just two nights, I came home...and was greeted by John's Yellow tulip...with it's rogue red petal...

The best part of any trip is pulling in your own driveway...