Labor Day weekend Staycation

It's been a good Labor Day weekend. Technically it's still going, but I'm off to teach a few lessons this morning before lying around again all afternoon (hopefully getting a little more quilting done).

On Saturday Nate the Great and I walked on over to Lenscrafters to get him new glasses - his first new pair in the whole 7 1/2 years I've known him. Then in the afternoon I was off to Ikea with Jenny (photographer of this pic of Ikea carts) where I picked up a red bookcase for my piano music and new towels and a shower curtain for my guest bathroom. I also got some new pots for my indoor plants, which are growing quite nicely, but I have to drill some holes in the bottom before I can actually use them.

Saturday evening was spent on Dan and Katy's roof deck enjoying the sunset, a few beers and each others' company. We had a little mustache theme going for the night - both real and sharpied. Later, when it got colder and we gathered inside, I discovered a wonderful Ripley's Believe It or Not coffee table book they have and had a great time reading about people's funny names. Did you know that Iccolo Miccolo played the piccolo in the LA Philharmonic?

Sunday was spent baking lemon ginger cookies, watching The Sound of Music, and putting together my new bookcase. Around 6 we headed over to Karla's where she stuffed us all full of spring rolls - her family's warm weather Sunday tradition. I can't wait for dumplings in a month or so!

Thank God it's Hugh-Day

Yesterday I kicked it (back) into high gear with some crafting. After whipping together some cookie dough for an upcoming get-together and throwing a sweater into the washer to felt, I finally got to quilting my Colgate quilt. It'll be a long process because I'm doing the quilting by hand, but it's easier than the previous Hotchkiss quilt I did (will post pics at another date) because I have made up templates of the images I'm quilting into it that I can trace each time. So now I just need a lot of time and a less tense back and I should get it done before you know it.

And keeping me company the whole day was Hugh Grant - I had a mini-marathon of "some absolute classics" - Music and Lyrics, Two Weeks Notice and Notting Hill. Aahh Hugh.

dotted rhythms, dot dot dot

Tonight I was teaching a Beethoven Sonata to a student and almost corrected him on a rhythm. Luckily I double-checked before I actually said anything because it turns out that he was playing the right rhythm and I was the one who had learned it wrong - so many years ago!

So am I a good teacher because he knew to play it right, or am I a bad student because I had learned it wrong in the first place?

obligatory post-antiques market post

first, a quick side (front?) note: the previous post was #100!

So I'd lapsed into a rather un-crafty summer, but now that I have my craft-space back and I'm back on the afternoon teaching schedule, things should get moving again.
Last weekend was used up by some activities with Nate the Great. Errands mostly; a new phone for the boy, then eye exams for us both and new glasses as well! Nate finally got some prescription sunglasses, and of course he went with the classic Ray Bans. On Sunday, we went down to the Museum of Science and Industry to see the Harry Potter Exhibit, which wasn't quite up to our standards, but was entertaining for the 1/2 hour or so. I was pleasantly surprised in the chick hatchery - they had a baby turkey mingling with the chickies.

Oh right and Saturday night was girls' night. All the ladies met up at Anna's apartment for some drinks before venturing out into Wrigleyville and enjoying the 2 videos on an apparent loop (No Doubt and Michael Jackson - for real?) at Rockit.
Today, Jenny, fresh off of her first full week of Architecture schooling at UIC, came to the Chicago Antiques Market with me. Of course it was another full afternoon of ogling and haggling (not so much). Jenny found a great book on Architecture which was written by my fave Robert A.M. Stern. I bought a great little owl-shaped pillow from Blue Thimble Designs and some old books for some of my boys :-) This antiques market is really catching on too - they have a Goose Island food stand this year which obliged us with some much-needed bloody marys.

After the market we made our usual stop at JoAnn Fabrics, where they've put out the Halloween merchandise, so of course we had to try on some masks.

Tomorrow we're off to Evanston to warm up the new home of our buddy Pete who is starting Northwestern Business School this week. Go Pete!

Little Trip Home

Last weekend I went home for some quality family time. It really was about 4 days of being at my parents' homes and helping them out. Also, my sister's birthday was last Tuesday, so after she picked me up at the airport, we went out to lunch (that's becoming our tradition - she picks me up then we go to lunch at the Olive Garden) and exchanged birthday gifts.

There isn't much to say about my time at home, other than that both of my parents were doing better when I left than when I arrived. (They were both recovering from some very different health issues.)

But, since I was at home, finally, with my American Girl dolls, I got to try on their new Cubs jackets that Nate had gotten me for my birthday. I think they look pretty good in them, don't you? Unfortunately, it seems that American Girl has starting making their dolls skinnier (?!) because the sassy pre-faded jeans I got for Molly were near to impossible to get on her - I had to take off her underwear to get them on. I don't think that's sending the right message.

When I go home I fly in and out of Providence Airport (which is really in Warwick RI), so usually when mom takes me back to the airport we have a little excursion first. Often it's a trip to Newport (I love touring the mansions - I've probably seen them all over the years, but once is never enough) but this year it was a quick lunch in Watch Hill, RI and a little shopping (not that I could fit anything new in my bag - I had already stuffed it full of old sweaters that we felted). Watch Hill is a darling town, though, much like Mystic, a total nightmare to drive in during the summer due to all the tourists and beach-goers.

After a 90-minute delay, my flight took off and as usual I had scored a window seat. This is the second time that the sky looked so awesome I had to take pictures of it. The cute guy sitting next to me probably thought I was weird but if he ever reads the blog, he'll understand. Actually, he probably won't, since I've just posted pictures of my dolls, haven't I.

Summer Road Trip Part 4 - The Adirondacks

After Cooperstown, we took the scenic route up to Schroon Lake in the Adirondacks, where Nate's family has a cabin.

The last time Nate was at the cabin was the last (and only) time I was there - 5 years ago. But of course, not much had changed in that time. Still no running water or electricity - not my ideal vacation, but very conducive to relaxation - although we kept pretty busy while we were there.

On the first day, Nate and I went on a hike up Severance Mountain, 1 mile up, 1 mile down. We did it in about an hour, plus some time at the top to catch our breath and enjoy the view. We followed this up with some shopping in "town" mostly at the Schroon Lake town store where I found lots of excellent Christmas Gifts for my step-mother, who is a woodsy, animal-appreciating person. Hopefully when Christmas comes around I'll remember I already got her a gift!

Back at the cabin (which is only accessible by boat, across the lake from town) Nate, his dad, his sister and I took turns churning our homemade coffee ice cream. It was delicious and creamy and the perfect end to the day, along with the swim we took in the cool lake.

Day 2 at the lake was an excursion to Fort Ticonderoga, 45 minutes or so west, with Nate and his sister. We spent the morning at the Fort listening to the fife and drum corps and looking around in the barracks. There is a huge "King's Garden" on the site which was my favorite part of the visit. We got to see some very nice flowers, including some crazy large thistle (pictured).

Day 3 we had planned to go to Lake Placid, but got caught up at the cabin instead helping to put in the new dock (a momentous occasion at the old cabin where things rarely change). Well, Nate helped and I watched and took pictures. Nate's grandmother kept calling me the official photographer. Nate and I also went on a short kayak trip and I fell in love with some lily pads (shown).

We played a lot of games at the cabin (Monopoly, Boggle, Scrabble, and an American Trivia game which we bought at the Fort Ti gift shop), and did lots of reading. It was such a nice break from city life - so quiet! I hope we can make it all the way out there next summer too, although we might not drive the whole way again; more likely we will fly in to Albany and drive from there. Either way, a wonderful, long, relatively restful vacation.

And so ends the recap.