Mask Making

 Recently a mask making tutorial displayed in my YouTube feed. I watched the video and really liked the pattern, it appeared easy to make and looked like a comfortable mask to wear.  Here is the link to the tutorial. 

A brown paper bag provided good sturdy paper to make the pattern. And I picked up a few fat quarters of fabric so  I could have a variety of cotton fabrics to use.

I made a whole bunch of masks for our daughter Emily. She is training to become a paramedic and is spending hours and hours doing clinical training and has to wear a mask the whole time. Now she will always have a few extra clean ones available.

In the video tutorial the lady uses little clips to hold the binding in place. I asked my mom if she has ever used them, she said she has a box of the clips and uses them occasionally. Yesterday a package arrived in our mailbox from Amazon, Mom had ordered me a box of 100 clips. Thank you Mom!

Here is my husband humoring me by modeling one of the newly made masks.

 I was amused the other day when grandson Patrick drew a picture of a Lego character wearing a mask. A sign of the times we are living through.

Quick Quilt Update

I finished piecing the quilt top together and am now working on the outer border. I think this weekend I will be ready to buy batting and the fabric for the backing and binding. 

Keeping Busy

For the past six weeks or so I have been occupied with a knitting project, four sweaters for our youngest four grandsons. Yesterday I finished the final sweater for Peter, he was very pleased with it. What a great smile Sweet Pete has! The other sweaters are pictured in an earlier post.

I enjoy knitting, it is handiwork that is portable, somewhat mindless unless at a tricky bit in a pattern, and satisfying as a project is completed. I think knitting teaches me patience, it is a calming activity.

I am now ready for a new project, one that does not involve knitting. Last April I popped down to Florida for a couple of days to visit my parents. While there my mother, who discovered the joys of quilting several years ago, gave me the quilt top pictured below for me to finish.  I will purchase a light green print fabric for the backing, a yellow fabric, solid or patterned for the binding, and batting for the middle. Once I have put the quilt together I will hand quilt.

Quilt top on the bed in our spare room, my childhood teddy bear Andrew, and Puppy Love keep a loving eye on it.

I find hand quilting to be very relaxing. I can work on the quilt most days, quilt for ten minutes or a few hours. I enjoy seeing my progress. I like to work out the quilting pattern, will I do straight lines, curves, shapes, what will I do in the borders, what color thread will I use, it is a creative process, one I enjoy, and one that I find meditative. Often when I am making a quilt for a specific person, they are in my mind as I hand quilt their quilt and I find myself offering up prayer for them, I like this aspect of quilting.

It is good to have things to do in the winter, and this month our weather has been atrocious, limiting outdoor activities. First we had snow, then extreme sub-zero temperatures, followed by a week of fairly nice weather. Then snow, then an overnight ice-storm, thankfully the ice melted the following day as there was a heavy coating on everything. The ice-storm caused a tree to fall on the power lines leaving our area without power for six or so hours, the house stayed warm enough but was getting quite chilly by the time the power did come on. Then in the evening the wind started, we were under a wind advisory all night, strong winds buffeted our house with gusts to forty-five miles per hour. Thank heavens the ice coating had melted or a lot of trees would have been damaged. It was a noisy night, and this morning it is still very blustery with snow. Oh, how we all are looking forward to spring.

How is it in your corner of the world?

Namaste,

Bean

Around The House

Almost two years ago our youngest child Emily moved back home with our grandson Masen. At the time Masen was just eighteen months old, they needed somewhere to live and we welcomed them into our home. Well fast forward two years, Emily is certified as an EMT and working full time on an ambulance for a local hospital along with going to school to eventually become a paramedic. Little Masen is now three and a half and goes to pre-school two days a week. At the beginning of this year Emily met a nice guy, they recently got engaged, he is a police officer and quite a bit older than she is but they seem to be a good couple. Joe just purchased a new house and Emily and Masen have moved in to join Joe and his children. So with all of this the sewing room I gave up for two years, and was happy to do so, so that Masen could have his own room is now mine again. 

Today I got up around five, I am always awake around four-thirty in the morning, came downstairs for my cup of coffee, vitamins and bowl of oats, worked on some crosswords and then headed out for a five and half mile run. I returned from my run, it was quite cold out, twenty-six degrees, freshened up and left for Mass. I popped into Kroger on my way home to pick up a few items I forgot to get on yesterdays shopping trip and headed home. Today Dave and I have the entire day to ourselves, how delicious, it rarely happens so is very, very enjoyable when it does occur.  Dave has spent the day outside, enjoying the cold but sunny weather while cleaning up the vegetable gardens, putting away lawn furniture and generally puttering around at a leisurely pace enjoying himself immensely. And me, I cleaned out the last bits and pieces from Masen's room, moving them into the room Emily used while she lived here, and moved all of my sewing and craft items back to my reclaimed sewing room.

One of the hymns we sang at Mass this morning really spoke to me, Lord Of All Hopefulness click here to hear . What a beautiful hymn, the words are very comforting. And as Father Mark told us, as long as we have Faith and Love in and for Our Lord we will always be okay.

Dave has plans for the room Emily used, he likes to make wine but hasn't done so for several years, once Emily and Joe move the rest of the stuff out of there it will become the Dave's "winery" and indoor craft room.  Boy do we ever sound like a couple of empty nest middle agers LOL. And, now our guest bedroom is back to being just that rather than a guest room with a bunch of my sewing things crammed in to every available space. 

So here are some pics:

Looking into the sewing room from the door, Masen's little bed will remain at house.

Three of my sickly and/or on the mend house plants will enjoy the sunny window.

All my sewing things back in their place.

A view from the doorway of the guest bedroom.

Another view of the guest room, my yellow and white teddy bear, Andrew who I have had since I was five is hanging out with Puppy Love a Snoopy stuffed animal my Dad brought home from America when I was fourteen.

Do you like house plants, apparently I do as I seem to have amassed a whole slew of them and have told myself enough is enough. They are kind of like pets, a few of them have names.

The succulent who keeps me company while I wash dishes.

The kitchen table crew, including Penelope Poinsettia II.

My Wandering Jew in the macrame hanger my son Ben made for my birthday.

A re-potting of a plant from my father-in-laws funeral in the cookie jar that always sat on the counter in my in-laws kitchen. 

The family room crew enjoy this sunny location. Doreen the Philodendron is on the right, I have had her for around fifteen years.

My orchid, will it ever bloom again, a Christmas cactus and an Aloe Vera plant hang out in the dining room.

 .

Another re-potting of plants from Ralph's funeral earlier this year.

Fern 1

Fern 2

The accumulation of bits and bobs on my family room wall.

Some Memories From My Mother

Recently I was listening to an interview on BBC Radio 4 with author David Lodge. It was an interesting interview and David sounded as though he is in his thirties rather than in his early eighties. Anyway, I thought to myself if the author is so interesting what must his books be like? I did a quick search on our local library website and wowsers they own many titles by David Lodge. I left work that day and headed to our fabulous downtown library, (we truly have a most wonderful library service in our county, I think one of the best in the country), I quickly located David Lodge in Readers Services and selected four of his books to read.
 I am reading the first of the four David Lodge books, I am most of the way done, I seem to have very little time to get reading in, but it is very good. In fact, I thought to myself, self your mother would really, really enjoy this book, so I emailed good old Mumpy and said you have to read this book. Wow, when I speak Mumpy jumps and she looked the book up on Amazon and ordered it. Mumpy read the book in about two days flat, she sent me email updates, to say she enjoyed it is a bit of an understatement.
The author is five or so years older than my parents, but they all grew up while World War II waged on, and all were impacted by rationing and the austerity of 1950's Britain. In the book the author is lucky enough to take a trip to Heidelberg, Germany and to experience the American way of life at an American military base, my parents moved our family to America in the late 70's. For the author, and for my parents, the American lifestyle was something unimaginable in England and life changing for all of them..
By now your are wondering to yourselves what has all of this to do with the title of my post, well a lot. As I mentioned my Mom emailed me several times as she read the book, it so resonated with her, it resonates with me too and I was born way after the end of World War II. So below I will, with my Mom's permission share her memories she emailed to me. I just loved her emails and want to keep them forever, and posting them on my blog is a great way to keep them available for many years to come.

Email #1
It arrived in the mail today.  Good golly does that not bring back 
memories.  Of course, I was five years younger being born in 1939 - But
I surely remember the anderson shelters, the mickey mouse gas masks and
the morrison shelters. And, just when I thought he had forgotten about
shrapnel collecting, there it was.  I remember so well, going into the
street after an air raid and finding the warm twisted pieces of metal
laying in the road.   Just got as far as the buzz bombs!   It is
extremely readable and brings back a lot of memories.  House across the
street from where my mom and I lived was bombed just after we left to
stay at Auntie Edna's for the rest of the war.

Email #2
How well it resonates.  I am in Heidelberg now.  The visits to the
American stores reminds me of when we first came to America.  We were
overwhelmed by the variety of goods, food, et al and the inexpensiveness
of it all.  Not that we had any excess of money by any means as you will
well recall.  But we did eat a lot better and it certainly was reflected
in the waistline. Our very first bedroom set I believe is the one that
you and Dave sleep in was on sale of course. Unbelievable. You will
remember how we rushed out to every sale at 25% off. Sales only occurred
in Uk in January and August and then it would only be 10% off.  When I
worked at Clement Jocelyn in Bury they would trot out the remnant fabric
and offer it at 10% discount and any that did not sell went back into
the store room to be trotted out six months later at 10% once more.
Also  I remember Jim Miller here, in America. We were invited over for
July 4th, he placed an enormous steak on my plate which was great and
when I was half way through and struggling he threw another steak  on to
my plate.  "Oh no I cried, thank you but this is great and is far too
much".  He did no more than lift the steak from my plate and put it into
the dog's dish.  The dog really appreciated it. I had not eaten steak in
at least three years......I was horrified. Also, I had not had a glass
of wine in three years either!

After Marika was born, things went downhill fast in UK. Inflation went
to 28%.  Our mortgage was linked to the bank rate. That went to over
17%.  Every month a letter came indicating that we could pay the same
which would mean we would never ever pay off the loan because it would
go to infinity or, we could pay the stated amount and stay on track.  We
agreed we would stay on track. Each month we had to pay more money which
meant less money for other things like a bottle of wine on a Saturday
night and a steak.  That was why we invested in the digging machine and
were planting potatoes and growing green beans.  We severely rationed
our intake of meat. The reason I knitted everything and made as many
things as I could was because that was the most inexpensive thing to do.
Clothing was expensive.  I saved the family allowance for your new
school uniforms each year - I did not dare spend it on day to day stuff
because the start of the school year was expensive and I did not want
you guys not to have new stuff for the new school year.
America was a wonderful opportunity for us and I remember when I was
first in Fort Wayne, all be it in the blizzard of 78, I felt a sense of
freedom more than I had ever known.  It was down to us. We could sit on
our behinds and starve, or, we could stand up and make a life.  Our
choice.  It was a great feeling.  And, by golly we sure faced a
challenge when Pete lost his job at Bowmar. Thank goodness for the $2000
rainy day fund I stored in the bank.  Thank goodness for my sewing
machine in the basement - I think I shortened every guys pair of pants
in the neighborhood at $4 a go. It was a tough three years.  Pete, lived
out of his car in Florida since we could not afford for him to live
anywhere.  He could not get a job in his field of expertise because he
was not a citizen and had to take what he could.  But you know all of
this and I am chattering on.  But, not once did we want to return to
UK.  We were determined one way or another we will make this work and we
did.

We have a wonderful family and we built a successful business - what
more could anyone want.  Even today, apart from visiting there is no way
I would want to live in UK. Our, "out of the shelter" is definitely here.

I just love these emails, I remember our life in England in the 70's but never realized that my parents were pinching every penny until it screamed, I remember a pleasant childhood, a wonderful garden, cool dresses my mom made for us, and one time some really cool pink fur parkas, and lots of lovely knitted items. I certainly have no negative memories of this time at all, because as an adult, I sew my own clothes and sew for my grandchildren, I knit all the time for myself and grandchildren, my husband and I keep a large garden. One of my favorite shows from the 70's is  The Good Life, a show about a suburban couple who decide to become self-sufficient in Surbiton, a suburb of London, I liked it because my parents kind of did the thing, except my Dad worked and did everything else in his spare time. Maybe a lot of people in England did this sort of thing in the 70's, even if they didn't, it was a great experience for our family and has given me many good memories.

Anyway if you want to read a good book check out, Out of the Shelter by David Lodge.

Blessings to you,

Bean

Little Nothings

Well here we are almost at the end of January, it is cold, it is snowy, yet the mornings are crisp, still, icy cold and beautiful in a way only a January morning can be. We have had some warmer days giving us a glimpse of spring time, but are quickly reminded again that we are in the middle of winter. When the weather cooperates I like to get out and walk, I have really increased my speed and last Saturday did four miles in fifty-eight minutes. I need to slowly incorporate jogging, as I plan to run a four mile Turkey Gobbler Fun Run in November!

I haven't been very busy with crafts/hobbies this winter, I think I blew myself out after crocheting an extremely large bedspread for our queen size bed. The large, very warm, marigold blanket has been a wonderful addition to our bed and we stay warm and cozy all night. There is a picture of the blanket in an earlier post.

But all of sudden I have an urge to knit, I saw a lady on a tv show wearing a nice colorful sweater, obviously hand knitted and thought to myself why have I never knitted myself something in variegated yarn, and got really psyched up about knitting something. I went off to JoAnn's and found a lovely yarn by Deborah Norville, it is knitting up beautifully. I decided to use a pattern that I used several years ago to make a "barn jacket", the cardigan I knitted way back when, in a lovely blue is a favorite and I wear it often. I started my new "barn jacket" two days ago and cannot wait to finish it, it is good to be back in my knitting groove, or should I say row :).  Along with yarn for my cardigan I picked up some primary color, variegated yarn to knit matching sweaters for grandchildren, Alivia and Charlie, they are both two and are best friends forever! I think they will look very sweet together in their matching sweaters, they are just so cute, they always greet each other with a hug and they play together very well getting up to all kinds of shenanigans that generally include much giggling, so sweet.

Working on the back of my new cardigan

Last fall I started suffering a lot of heel pain in my right foot, I believe I was suffering plantar fasciitis, it was very painful first thing in the morning, or after sitting for any length of time. I did a bit of research and determined that the best course of action was to find shoes that provided excellent arch support and plenty of cushioning and support for the heel. I researched funky orthopaedic shoes, I didn't want anything boring, and came across a brand called Alegria. I ordered a pair of Alegria shoes, my first pair had a purple flower print, and I cannot tell you just how comfortable they are, I wore them pretty much every day for several months and my heel simply got better, so ordered another pair, neon heart pattern, and I will probably order more as needed. One issue I had with the Alegria shoes is that they squeak when you walk, it is annoying, a little more internet research and I found a remedy. Simply remove the insert, sprinkle some talcum powder over the bottom of it and then holding the insert upside down and the shoe, place the insert back inside the shoe. The upside down bit helps keep the powder where it needs to be. Well this simple remedy works a treat and resolved the squeak! Another treat for my feet, are my new Mahabi slippers that my sister Michelle gave me for Christmas, when we celebrated in November. They are simply the most comfortable slippers I have ever owned and they are my go to pair every day, light weight, well fitting, comfortable and warm, what more could I ask for?

Mahabis, best slippers ever!

My first pair of Alegria's

My second pair of Alegria's

I think the other things that helped heal my heel is regular exercise, a good weight loss, and a very healthy diet. Eating plenty of green leafy vegetables each day, lots of fiber, very little sugar, limiting coffee to one cup a day, drinking plenty of water, eating lots of fish, has definitely made a huge improvement in my overall health. Another discovery I made has to do with my rosacea, if you are not plagued by this problem thank your lucky stars, I now know what the biggest trigger for a flare up is, red wine! As I changed my diet last fall, slowly, yet surely I found that my rosacea began to clear up, it wasn't inflamed and was much less noticeable. I had some red wine over Christmas and New Years and suddenly the rosacea was inflamed and broken out and burning, I didn't understand why, then realized that the inflammation was at it's worst the day after drinking a couple of glasses of red wine. I eliminated wine from my diet and the rosacea cleared up beautifully. So no more wine for me.

Today I plan to make a new skirt, I purchased some denim yesterday, I have washed it and am waiting for it dry, I always pre-shrink denim! I purchased a three tier skirt at the Goodwill years ago, I wear it several days per week, it is one of my favorite skirts. Last year I took measurements off of the skirt and made one just like it in a dark blue denim. This past weekend I was cleaning out the pantry and while kneeling on the floor I felt my skirt give, my old trusty skirt simply gave out, the fabric split in several places, I will darn it on my sewing machine and still wear the skirt, but it needs to be replaced. The denim I purchased yesterday is a nice medium blue, probably the color old faithful was many years ago, and the new skirt should last for a long time. I like three tiered skirts, they are easy to make, they look nice, and they are roomy and comfortable to wear. I like to sit "Indian style" and the three tiered skirt is very accommodating.

Well I guess that is it, a little nothings update, but it is the little nothings that make up the days of our lives.

Peace be with you,

Bean

And Now For Some Sewing.....

Lately I have been in the mood to do some sewing. Several weeks ago I made myself a new three tiered skirt. I did not purchase a pattern to make the skirt instead I took measurement from another three tiered skirt I purchased at the Goodwill a number of years ago.

Today Alivia and I went to JoAnne Fabrics, I have been wanting to make a vest but first needed a pattern. I looked through a bunch of pattern books before opting for Butterick B5359. I wanted a vest that was long as I think it will be nice with a skirt and dress up a t-shirt. I am going to make the green vest in the picture but in a pinstriped gray/brown linen, I think the neutral color will allow me to make good use of the vest.

Next we went off to look at plaid flannel so I can run up a new work shirt for my husband, the picture makes the colors look red and blue, but it is actually orange, brown and blue, I picked out blue buttons.

I am knitting Alivia a sweater, I am not keen on the yellow v-neck collar and will interchange the pattern with another in the book to get a crew neck instead.  With the crew neck I will position the sunshine higher up.

Last month I finished knitting myself a bag, it is lined with a cotton print material making it very functional, it is in use daily.

Soon to be Dave's new shirt

Soon to be my new vest

Alivia's soon to be spring sweater

My finished bag

So Many Little Things...

Names of Jesus, stitched by Michelle at Ozark Stitching.

I have been very busy with knitting and crocheting this winter and cannot believe how many things I have made. Currently I am working on a couple of projects for our granddaughter Alivia, a Ruffled Topper, and once that is finished a spring time sweater will be in the works. I recently purchased a knitting book called,  Pick the Pieces , it has a nice selection of patterns for boys and girls from six months to 6 years and gives the option to mix and match pattern pieces so you can create your own designs.

I recently celebrated my 50th birthday, my children surprised me with a party, and they really did surprise me as I had no idea anything was going on until my husband tried to pull into our driveway and there was almost no room to park. What a great evening with family and friends, and how sneaky my children are :)

I have been attending a non-Catholic church since the beginning of the year, this is a big change but one that  is good for me. I have learned so much this year and have really enjoyed the teaching, I know that I am growing in my faith and  know that I am on the right path.

Our daughter Amber and her husband Brad are expecting their fourth baby in August. The due date is on Brad's birthday, which is exciting.  This past week we found out that we are awaiting the birth of a grandson, this will make a fourth boy for B & A!!  Our little granddaughter Alivia is very outnumbered!

One of my birthday gifts was a gift card to Amazon, so I purchased some more seasons of The Waltons, and the pilot movie of the show, The Home Coming. When I knit I like to have something to listen to, and The Walton's fit the bill nicely, the slow pace of the show doesn't require that I have my eyes glued to the TV, and the gentle story unfolds and always has a lesson to impart.

I am still reading Alexander McCall Smith books, I like the Scotland Street series very much, but am not so keen on the other series. I tried the Sunday Afternoon Philosophers Club series, but found the characters to be very similar to the Scotland Street characters, and I just couldn't get into it.

I have received a couple of things in the mail from fellow bloggers. I "won" a crocheted lap blanket just for posting a comment on  Lynda 's blog, and was the recipient of a beautifully crocheted blanket that is perfect on a chilly winters evening. I chose the lap blanket pictured at the bottom of Lynda's post. I then received a beautifully cross-stitched piece from Michelle at Ozark Stitching. See picture above. I have hung the piece over the fireplace in our family room, and I love looking at it and reading all of the names we have for our Savior.

A Day in My Life

A peaceful fall day, a high of eighty expected with rain moving in this evening. The leaves are changing, last week it was barely noticeable, this week the colors are really coming out, lots of yellows and golds and so lovely to look at.  The summer insects are having their last hurrah, doubtless we will have a hard frost in the next few weeks and gone will be the chirp of crickets and the summer chorus.

Later today the grandsons will be over, the house will then be full of life and energy, and funny conversation. The other evening they were here late so we watched Old Yeller, what a wonderful movie, I enjoy it each time I watch it and the boys enjoyed it too.

This evening Ben will be home, he is driving up from Muncie and will stay for dinner, I haven't seen him since he went back to university in August, so am looking forward to a big hug and some catching up. Ben has requested that we have pancakes for dinner for some reason, so I ran out this morning to get some good bacon to go along with them.  We like to do breakfast for dinner once a week, usually we do breakfast casserole made with sausage.

Today is my daughter-in-law Traci's birthday, she is now a quarter of a century old :)

Another bread baking day, I am making oatmeal bread today, I made some on Saturday but it is all gone now, when the little boys are over we go through a lot of bread as they love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. As the boys ate lunch the other day I was amused that they were eating peanut butter and jelly  sandwiches made with homemade bread and homemade grape jelly, followed by homemade apple sauce made with apples from our trees.

My sister stopped by last Saturday, she came to get more kale and apples for juicing, we had a good visit and my niece Caitie came along too which was nice. When Marika and Caitie left they had a large bag of kale, a bag of apples, a jar of homemade apple butter, a dozen brown eggs from our chickens, and a homemade crochet topped kitchen towel to hang in the kitchen, we laughed at all of the homemade goodies they were taking with them, and it was very satisfying to be able to share our bounty.

I purchased some material the other day to make a new blouse, I hope to cut it out a little later today, it will not take too long to make as I will be using a pattern I have used many times over. As far as knitting I am making my self a raglan cardigan in a nice brown with flecks of rust and gold, I have the back finished and am now working on the left front, so far so good. I am also crocheting the hanging kitchen towels and magic hot pads, they are quick projects and nice to turn to when I get tired of knitting.

Well that is all for now.

Thoughts

The little boys are over today and Alivia will be here in about an hour, so a full load of grand babies to entertain.  Little Charlie has a cold and is taking a nap, Pat is playing with the train set on the floor and Henry is doing school work.  I think a little later today we will bake some oatmeal raisin cookies.  I find that the day goes very well with a bunch of kiddies if there are plenty of things to keep them occupied, and cookie baking is always fun.

I have been sewing a little recently and have made the boys each a pair of shorts in a fabulous super-hero print fabric and Alivia now has a matching sundress. Last summer I cut out a fabric to make Dave a shirt, then kind of lost my sewing mojo for a while, (like a year), but this week I put the shirt together and am pleased with it.  Dave really likes the animal print, the more you look the more you see.

 am pleased to say that Angie, Dave's sister, responded extremely well to her treatment for lung cancer and she is now cancer free.  TRULY CANCER FREE - isn't that an amazing blessing from the Lord! 

I

Emily and her boyfriend Skylar are expecting a baby next March, this will be our fifth grandchild! I think there will be a wedding in January.  It is always exciting to have a baby to look forward to, I wonder what it will be? 

Lately I have felt rather unsettled and restless, I think about my next birthday, not until March, and the fact that I will be fifty, and I wonder how on earth that can possibly be.  It makes me feel very strange when I think about it, fifty???  how bizarre!  

I am continuing to read my bible each day, I have a little booklet that gives me an old testament and new testament reading each day and after one year I will have read the entire bible.  I like the Kings James version of the bible, it makes me slow down when I read and I have to think about what is written. I am continuing to do a bible study program with Lamp and Light out of New Mexico, it is a correspondence course, I enjoy it. I started last year, kind of ran out steam, but picked back up earlier this summer and am going strong.  I think God brings things to me in the season that I need it.  

I have done a lot of reading this summer, all books by Christians who have faced adversity with a grace only possible because of their strong faith. I have enjoyed the books, they really show me how to live a faith filled life, and I am learning to turn all things over to the Lord. 

Recently I made some little signs and hung them on the cabinets by the kitchen sink, I find them encouraging, and since I am in the kitchen a lot it is nice to look over an see a little note of encouragement. 

String Theory and Contentment

Well if you give two little boys a ball of yarn (string) my theory is that they will be kept busy for some time as they make a master web and wait in excited glee for their Aunt Emily to come downstairs to be caught in their trap!!!!  There are frequent mutterings of, "I'm stuck", or "Help me Grandma", but all in all web building and trapping is great fun!! We will need to de-web the family room before we leave for story time at the library.

Trapped in their own web

Monday was Labor Day, Dave spent the day working in the yard, mowing, cleaning up the vegetable gardens, cleaning out the cow shed, and generally enjoying himself driving the tractor around and putzing.  I did some household chores, sewed a new skirt, and then Emily and I decided to go into Fort Wayne to enjoy the River Greenway paths.  I walked the Greenway for two miles, Emily jogged most of it. We decided to return to the car by a different route so we walked back through the West Central historic neighborhood and then downtown back through Headwaters Park. It was a warm day, but so pleasant to stroll along the Greenway by the river.  Here are some pictures of downtown Fort Wayne:

The former Electron Building, now offices for a group o f  attorneys.

The former City Building, it also housed the police department and had holding cells in  the basement,  it is now home to the Historical Museum.  Today school children enjoy a trip to the basement to check out the kind of spooky jail cells. Isn't a lovely building? very gingerbread. The museum does host an annual gingerbread house competition each December.

The Allen County court house, a beautiful building.  Inside is more that 15, 000 square feet of scagliola - faux marble, there is also a wonderful rotunda to gaze up into.  The court house is well worth a visit to enjoy the sites, perhaps not so much fun if you have to appear in court, although the court rooms are pretty spectacular too.

The former Lincoln Tower, now Star Bank, a great example of Art Deco architecture, it was built in 1929 and opened for business in 1930.  The main lobby is rather awesome, again worth a quick visit.

After returning home from our walk Dave decided it would be nice to roast a chicken over the fire pit, I can tell you the chicken was very good, I enjoyed a leg with some butternut squash and brussel sprouts, Dave had potato salad and creamy cucumber salad as his sides.

The chicken chef

Me, enjoying a later summer evening!