Chicago Architecture Boat Tour

As far as I'm concerned -- THE VERY BEST THING you can do as a tourist in Chicago is to go on the architectural boat tours. On this day -- with temperatures of 100+ degrees -- Marion and I were DElighted to be getting on a boat, floating on the cool water...

One of the newest additions to the Chicago skyline is Donald Trump's new tower and convention center. It is stunning...

Although, apparently, the building is largely unoccupied -- and some of the floors haven't even been finished yet. I'm sure there won't be a telethon any time soon -- the Donald will figure it out...

As our tour guide explained the many stunning buildings -- I was struck by the reflection of other buildings on this mirrored beauty...wow...

Our boat was JAM PACKED. This picture is of the people sitting in front of us. We got there early enough to score a couple of seats right under the bright white canopy!

Here we are -- squinting into the sun...

After the architectural boat tour -- we headed off to see the new Angelia Jolie movie -- SALT. Yep. An air conditioned theater NEVER FELT BETTER...

Our visit to Chicago was a great time -- AND as always -- the real gift is spending time with a friend. We are two lucky girls...

love ya, Marion...

My favorite picture

Because of this blog -- taking pictures has become a big part of my life. Which is great -- because before digital cameras came along -- I was never any good at taking pictures. It's one of the biggest regrets of my life....because I have no pictures from that time -- it's like my boys' childhood never happened...

Clearly -- that won't happen to Lillian Claire. As I look at the many files and folders of her first year of life (all backed up on my external hard drive) -- I have many favorites.

But -- if I had to pick ONE PICTURE that would epitomize Lilly's first year -- this would be the one....

Thank you, Canon Super Shot...you are so easy to use -- EVEN I can take a great picture.

Walgreen's outfit finished

On August 25th, I posted a blog about a t-shirt I bought for $3 at Walgreen's...because the color was PERFECT for a splashy pair of pants I loved. Remember? It was a size small -- but I had big plans for it (yes, that was an intended pun)...

Here I am, at Baby Lock Tech, with my friends Kate & Judy -- and my new fringed shirt was a HUGE HIT...

Here I am in a booth with Mary Anne Griffin...of course, the real point of this picture is you can see the GREAT PANTS I wanted to wear...Mary Anne wanted to embellish them...

There is PRESSURE when you do these shows, people. You have to wear a different outfit EVERY SINGLE DAY -- and it would be good if it somehow involved SEWING...

Hey -- it's a tough job but SOMEBODY'S GOTTA DO IT...

Grandma Day's Butterfly Hankie Quilt

Here's what you may already know about my sister Deborah. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee and is a CRAZY MACHINE EMBROIDERER.

What you don't know is what a kind and generous person she is. And she is ALWAYS doing something thoughtful for other people. This is a picture of her with her favorite daughter-in-law, Stacy. (don't worry -- she only has one son)...They are standing in front of the very special butterfly quilt Deb made for Stacy -- using the special hankies from Stacy's Grandma Day...

From the moment Stacy married into the family -- Deb adopted Grandma Day. There wasn't a day in her life that Stacy didn't feel the full extent of her Grandma Day's love. She was THAT kind of Grandma...to everybody...

Grandma Day loved and collected butterflies and handkerchiefs. After she died, Stacy inherited her large collection of those two things. And one day -- Deb secretly removed some of the hankies....with the intention of making a special quilt for Stacy -- full of a Grandmother's love.

I'm going to let these pictures tell the story....















Women who sew are the most thoughtful people in the world. They are the biggest givers, the best sisters, most caring mothers, every child's favorite Grandmothers, the most loyal and loving wives...I don't completely understand it. And I can't exactly figure out if we are attracted to sewing as a hobby BECAUSE we are kind and generous? OR -- does the act of sewing have that affect on us...?

I'm just sayin'....

Great job, Deb, on Grandma Day's butterfly quilt. And Stacy -- YOU LOOK FABULOUS!!

As The World Turns

This is the last cast photo of my favorite soap opera, As The World Turns. On September 17, the last episode will air and I'm sure I'll adjust.

But it is sad. For me -- soap operas represent the rhythm of my childhood and days gone by. My mother would tune in every day -- and in the summer I'd sit with her and we'd watch the show together. As The World Turns came on at 1:00 -- and it was Mom's only break during the day. The younger kids were napping, Dad was still at work, and she didn't have to start supper yet...


When I was a kid, I believed every house in America took a break at 1:00 to sit for 30 minutes and relax as they watched Bob, Lisa, Kim and their glamorous life in Oakdale.

But things aren't like that any more. For one thing -- near as I can tell -- a daily "official break" is a thing of the past. Thanks to full time jobs, cellphones, high speed internet, computers, Blackberries and IPODS -- nobody I know gets to relax for 30 minutes every day.

Isn't there something wrong with that?

Shouldn't all these "modern conveniences" be IMPROVING our lives?? Instead of making them more hectic??

Goodbye Kim, Bob, Chris, Katie, Henry, Lisa, Barbara, Lucinda, Lilly, Holden, Luke, Carly, Jack, Craig...et al...I will miss "As The World Turns".

I always knew you were not real people. And I never believed Oakdale was a real town. But I will miss watching you and it feels like I'm losing a friend.

*************

P.S. During his recent visit -- Ross and John were actually watching As The World Turns. Ross hasn't watched it for a couple of years -- and he didn't realize there was a "gay couple" storyline. As Luke leaned in to kiss Noah -- Ross blurted, ,"DAD, WHERE'S THE REMOTE?? John -- panicked -- scrambling -- said 'I DON'T HAVE IT -- YOU MUST HAVE IT...HURRY ....CHANGE THE CHANNEL...."

Really...I wish I'd been in the room...I'm sorry I missed it...

Charlotte, Cathy & Mystery Guest

Here I am, wearing my FABULOUS SWEATER COAT -- in one of the classrooms... hamming it up with one of the students. Although, why was I posing? I can't remember what I thought was picture-worthy...

THIS is a picture of me and the beautiful Cathy Swanson...she was wearing a great jacket -- I remember commenting on that -- but the picture didn't really show her jacket...altho I love my little purple t-shirt fringe scarf. I have worn that thing A TON this year...

And here I am with Charlotte -- who I know from YEARS AGO -- I first met her at the Michigan Bishop Sewing event. She is an active member of the Creative Sewing Machine newsletter -- and we recently enjoyed visiting on that newsgroup...

That's one of the best things about Expo. Getting a chance to see the people I only see ONCE A YEAR. Judy, Chris, Marilyn, Bonne, Jan, Cathy, Mary, London, the CTA's, the vendors -- I LOVE EXPO..!

Cleaning My Bra Drawer

It took me only 5 minutes to clear out ALL THE BRAS I DO NOT WEAR...

Here's my latest epiphany. By cleaning out your underwear drawer, you may get insight into how you've been living your life. Really. It is stunning to me how many bras I had in that drawer that fit into these shocking categories:

A. Bras I should never have purchased in the first place. (the tags are still on this itchy, lacy PADDED bra...)

B. Bras that have not fit me for at least 5 years....(the underwire in this one caused a blood blister)...

C. Bras I wore out when Jimmy Carter was President....



Yes, my name is Rita and I hoard bras. Today I am throwing way 20+ bras that were taking up valuable drawer space in my life. And I think it's a metaphor...

20+ bras I never wear. 20+ bras I've been shuffling around every single morning -- for years!! Why did I keep them? Why didn't I stop to consider what was in the drawer? To think about what I was doing?

The morning shuffle in my underwear drawer was an unconscious act for me...and maybe leaving all the useless bras in there gave me the delusion of plentifulness...or was it nothing more than a bad habit? Caused by my laziness...

So now I'm wondering. What other things in my life are unconscious bad habits. What have I been hanging on to for WAAAAAY too long?

2010 was the year I cleaned out my old office (now Lillian's room), and I've been working steadily on clearing my basement.

Of course, my motivation was mostly to avoid being nominated for an episode of the A&E "Hoarders" show...but...for whatever reason...

Like most things in life -- the hardest part was MAKING THE COMMITMENT. Cuz, at the end of the day -- it took 5 minutes to clean out that bra drawer.

Shocking.