Aquarium Today

There was a visit to the Newport Aquarium today. I love living only 2 miles away.

Nora getting her season pass -

On past visits, Nora declared that she'd pet a starfish when she was four. Today, she amended it to when she was five.

Aaron and Aunt Tina -

This little blue-eyed boy was timid about nothing. He had his fingers in the shark-petting tank, but his arms were too short to reach one.

Steph and Aaron -

Nora - the scales said she weighs 40 pounds. Aaron was 30 pounds.

In the gift shop, Nora declared that this was like Gatlinburg. She liked the gems there, too.

Friday Fill-In # 130

It's late for me to be doing the fill-ins, but it's still Friday. Answers are in bold.

1. She had a great way of growing lovely flowers. I've never been able to even get Bells of Ireland to grow, but hers were fantastic. And the strawflowers and zinnias, wonderful. My mother definitely had a green thumb.

2. Happiness is by my side, always. I always think that the human spirit is like a cork, eventually, it bobs back up.

3. I know this: I've been blessed in life.

4. Be still. Be quiet. Just be.

5. These words apply to me: I'm dreamy. I live more in my head than I'd like. It's hard for me to pay attention.

6. This morning the sun was shining through a lovely rain shower. Somewhere, there was a rainbow. There were storms in the night but I slept peacefully and was surprised to find a big piece of a tree down in my back yard.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to working on an Advent calendar (it's a work project, but in the end it will be mine,) tomorrow my plans include an unplanned day off so I want to find something fun (goetta fest, anyone?) and Sunday I want to read scripture in church and maybe (and maybe not) clean in the afternoon.

Happy Friday, everyone.

Bit of Happiness in a Red Box

Not too much conversation about this, since it's a bit of happiness for me that may not mean much to most of you. Maybe even in the "why do you need ANOTHER sewing machine" category.

But you should SEE to rolled edge and the four-thread overlock I did tonight. And this baby tells me how to set the tensions and adjusts for different fabric types. Tells me, as in I don't have to look it up in the book. And it's so easy to thread. Happy, happy dancing.

Camping Withdrawal

Mind numbing embroidery - but, hey, isn't this cute. Ok, I admit it, I'm still having camping withdrawal. You can click on the design to enlarge it and see the marshmallows and the lantern and the walking stick and the backpacks . . all right, I'll hush up.

June 21 Miscellaneous

Happy Summer Solstice to everyone. I'm always a little ambivalent about this day. I love the long day and the light, but after this it starts going the other way, and that seems sad.

Happy Father's Day to Mike. Great dad, great kids.

Nice ending to a frosting job - birthday cake for me.

Sunburned Aunt Tina with Nora.

Note to Grandma Janice and Pap - Nora's dress is absolutely great - so pretty.

Yesterday and Today

Yesterday at work, this truck was parked in the parking lot. Inside were sewing and embroidery machines and all kinds of samples, including that wonderful red dress in the Designer Diamond ads. Very cool. If you're interested in this kind of thing, you can read more on the Husqvarna Viking website.

Today after work I met Steph and Aaron at TJ Maxx. Aaron was full of all kinds of comments, like "it's pink," "it's pretty," and "it's a coffee cup." It's fun to go shopping with an 18-month old.

Next we moved on to Panera for dinner. Steph and I had really pretty salads and Aaron had his Panera favorites: grilled cheese, a yogurt tube, and organic chocolate milk.

Friday Fill-In # 129

Time for Friday Fill-Ins. Answers are in bold. Check out the site if you want to play along.

1. All children alarm their parents, if only because you are forever expecting that they might try what you used to do.

2. Show me a good loser and I will show you someone who has experience both losing and winning.

3. Eating any Graeter's chocolate chip ice cream is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs one at a time because Graeter's chocolate chips are really chocolate chunks. Yum.

4. Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy being business women and educators.

5. I have yet to hear a man ask for directions on how to combine driving and eating a Big Mac. It's innate.

6. It is impossible to think of any good meal, no matter how plain or elegant, without salt and pepper on it. Why do I have the feeling I won't be the only one to say that?

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a relaxing summer evening, tomorrow my plans include getting the soda ash ready for some fabric dyeing (probably won't actually do any dyeing, but this is the first step,) and Sunday I want to babysit Aaron while Steph and Mike go to a Father's Day baseball game, then eat birthday cake.

Happy Friday, everyone.