Zachariah and Mary

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.
-Henry David Thoreau

Zachariah and Mary
Originally uploaded by mlj1954ohio

Zachariah and Mary. . . .

They are 15 months apart in age and are siblings. Dave and I adopted Zachariah. My sister, Jacquie and her husband, Mike, adopted Mary.

They are also half-siblings to our daughter Lindsey.
And they do have a great time together . . . most of the time. LOL.

so sad

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.
— Jawaharlal Nehru

In the past two weeks, Northeast Ohio residents have been devastated by the loss of two incredible women.

Fannie Lewis was a Cleveland City Council representative. She was feisty and incredible. She ran for City Council and won 29 years ago at the age of 54. The reason she ran was because she was tired of seeing her community being destroyed. These were some of the things that she believed and drove her to do her job:

• "You must plan your battles. Not everything is worth a fight, but if it is, fight hard. But don't let anybody pull you into a fight you don't want to fight"
• "If good things aren't coming in, it means you aren't giving any out."
• "Nothing supplied by Satan will ever last. Nothing supplied by God will ever fade away"
• "Never run away from a problem. Problems can run faster than any of us, and they'll always be there to greet us when we get to the next stop."
• "Negativity is like static on a telephone line. It interferes with your success and doesn't accomplish anything"
• "You can't stop someone from disliking you. They're allowed. But that doesn't mean you have to dislike them"
• "You're not going to lose unless you become negative."

When Fannie first came to Cleveland she had a deep-seeded hatred for white people. She saw things in Memphis and heard stories that made her hatred consume her. But due to the unlikely help of reputed gangster, Mickey Rini, she learned that her prejudice was unfounded.

When she was assigned to work for the Democratic Party at the Alta House in Little Italy, Mickey introduced her to his friends in Murray Hill as his friend and she has never forgotten his kindness.

She learned "The foot on the neck keeping a person down is the problem - not the color of the foot" She now believes there is no reason to discriminate and has created many strong friendships with white people and works side by side with whoever is willing to help her. "If help comes in a brown paper bag in a dog's mouth - you take it."

She was instrumental in getting the Ohio voucher program up and rolling. It took her 17 years but she succeeded. For her efforts, many Cleveland City students are able to go to the school of their choice. If you are interested, here is a great article about her.

Mrs. Lewis died on August 11, 2008.

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And yesterday, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, an Ohio congresswoman, passed away at the age of 58. Stephanie was such an incredible force. She was a black woman who stood up with Hillary Clinton even when many of the other black politicians were pushing her to back Barack Obama. She stood her ground and wouldn't switch her loyalty until Hillary dropped out of the race. She had been a prosecutor and a judge who refused to allow herself to be manipulated. An article about Stephanie can be found here.

While I not always agreed with everything she said and did, I had to admire the fact that she, like Fannie, were so strong and positive in their beliefs. Both of them came from poor backgrounds and succeeded due to their own determination and strength of character.

The cost to the community of the loss of these two women is incalculable.

Wednesday's musings

In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities.
— Janos Arany

Sarah and her boyfriend have decided to wait until she finishes school before wedding . . . good plan. Especially since it forced her to focus on what it is that she wants to do. So, she finally sat down with a counselor and really pulled all her stuff together and figured out that she needs about 18 months more of school. She is grossly disappointed but thoroughly committed to get it done, so much so that she is taking classes all day on Tuesday and Thursdays, Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings, leaving her with an opportunity also work. I told her that:

• the time will go incredibly fast
• in 18 months, she will only be 24
• if she doesn't finish now, she will regret it (learn from me . . . I got married and then finally finished school 27 years later)
• if he isn't willing to wait (which he hasn't said it is just something she is afraid of), he isn't worth it
• he wants to be in a stable job (the company he is working for is moving the work to Mexico . . . he has been there 14 years)
• save money . . . she needs to learn how to save money

What I was thinking, was now I will have time to:

• make a beautiful shawl/stole for her (and maybe me?)
• lose weight (18 x 4 = 72 weeks . . . I COULD lose a pound a week, really I can)
• save money . . . I know how to, but choose not to . . . LOL

And, as the quote above says, "in dreams and in love there are no impossibilities."

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Today is Zachariah's first day of third grade. He is very excited. Very, very excited. His teacher is wonderful (almost as good as his first grade teacher . . . for those of you who do not know, Dave was his first grade teacher). His teacher is in her second year of teaching. She came from Poland about six years ago. She is probably about 40 years old. She came to Cleveland, went to college and loves teaching. Dave and I have been at several social events where she and her husband have also been in attendance. They are wonderful people. I just know that this will be a great year.

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Lindsey is also excited about school starting. She is taking AP U.S. History, Honors Chemistry, Honors Algebra II, Spanish III, Orchestra/HandBells (very cool), Theology, Honors English. Her school does block schedule (80 minutes classes, four classes a semester, except for AP U.S. History which is an all year class). So, for this first semester, she has History, Spanish, Theology and Orchestra/HandBells.

The biggest issue she has is that NONE of her friends are in ANY of her classes. Poor thing. I did point out to her that when she started at the Academy last year, she didn't know anyone.

She is also going to be on the Swim team and is toying with track. She had thought about cross-country but decided that she is more into short work than long work.

and Tuesday is here

There is nothing worse than aggressive stupidity.
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

So, I have decided that I need to stop WATCHING the Olympics. It is the only chance I have of getting any knitting done.

I thought the women's hurdle semi-final was fantastic. Goodness, they are all legs and incredibly graceful AND fast. And then the men's hurdle finals and the U.S. swept the race. WOW. And I loved the guy that wore the sunglasses in the race. How cool. They made it look so easy. And, they are so nice to each other. Very cool.

And can someone please explain these results:

Results: Women's Uneven Bars - Finals - Aug 18 6:46am ET
1. Kexin He 16.725 Gold
2. Nastia Liukin 16.725 Silver
3. Yilin Yang 16.650 Bronze

If you watched it, you will know that He and Liukin tied. He took a step on the landing. Liukin nailed it. The way the tiebreaking works is that they keep dropping scores until it is no longer even. DUH. It would be better if they told both girls to go at it again!

And in the Women's pole vault, Yelena Isinbayeva won the gold medal. I love the fact that the stadium is called the Bird's Nest because this woman looked like she could fly. She broke her world record and was so incredibly excited.

Jenn Stuczynski of the US won the silver medal with a vault of 4.80m, and Svetlana Feofanova of Russia claimed the bronze with 4.75m. Frankly, Jenn needs to dump the jerk of a coach who, for whatever reason, they decided to "wire" so that everyone could hear his stupid comments to her. You could just watch her shoulders slump. What a jerk he is. She has only been competing in this event for four years and is also awesome.

Ah well.

Simple Woman's Daybook~18

FOR TODAY - Monday, August 18, 2008

Outside my Window... it is darker in the morning as the end of summer is getting closer
I am thinking...it is good that the kids (and Dave) are going back to school this week. Very necessary!!
I am thankful for...my family and friends . . . we spents lots of time with both this weekend. It was a great weekend.
From the kitchen...fresh vegetables in all their glory, raw and cooked and dipped and sauteed.
I am creating...bags, felted bags
I am going...to take deep breaths this week instead of speaking without thinking
I am wearing...black slacks, pink shirt, white and black polka-dot jacket, comfy shoes
I am reading...The Last Templar, At Knit's End
I am hoping...to finish all of my Ravelympics projects . . . maybe
I am hearing...soft music and the beginning buzz of arriving co-workers
Around the house...Sarah needs to clean her room as Janet is staying at our home this week, Lindsey needs to figure out what it is that she is doing with her room and paint the garage door, I re-formatted the desktop computer and haven't heard any cries of anguish yet.
One of my favorite things...sitting on the back porch with Dave and relaxing
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...Janet comes tomorrow for two days, Zachariah starts school on Wednesday, Lindsey starts school on Friday, Sarah starts next Monday. I don't have to be so overly quiet in the mornings.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... the trees outside my office window . . . can't see them . . . that's because blogger isn't being nice.

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Men who never get carried away should be.
-- Malcolm Forbes

Secret Pal 12 - Questions of the Week #10

Question of the Week #10

Here's an odd sort of question...What Olympic event would best describe you knitting/knitting style?

Any kind of sprint or short race (on land or in the water). I like short and sweet projects. Give me something long and it just bores me to tears and ends up slipping further and further down my "to do" list. Plus, races give you an end in sight.

You know summer is over when

It is dangerous for a national candidate to say things that people might remember.
-- Eugene McCarthy

Your 14 year old daughter goes to bed early so that she can practice before school starts . . . she is just too funny.

You go into WalMart and it has floor to ceiling school supplies.

Summer reading list . . . what did I do with that summer reading list?

Meetings . . . teacher meetings, seminars, sponges and cleaners disappear to the school . . . one of the (dis)advantages of having a husband that is a teacher.

Reformatting computer (I reformat our desktop computer at the beginning of every school year) . . . out with the old, in with the new.

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I love the beginning of school year. All summer I get up early (4:45a) and quietly get dressed and leave while they all snore away. All this week, Dave has gotten up with me because he has meetings to attend.

Lindsey has a meeting at her school today. She is an Academy Ambassador and actually is helping with the training of this coming year's Ambassadors. A real coup for her, as she is just a Sophomore. On the other hand, the woman that moderates the Ambassadors called me last year after open house and told me that in the five years she has run the program, she had never had anyone call to comment on what a great job an Ambassador did in their tour of the school. She had received a call about what a great job Lindsey did. When she was looking for someone to assist her with the training, she called and asked if it would be okay to have her "star" Ambassador help. Very cool.

Plus there are all the things that they all wanted to get done during the summer. HA! The only things that did get accomplished was that the garage and closets got cleaned. Dave did the garage during the week. But, of course, the closets were cleaned on weekends . . . when I was home.

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Totally separate item: I don't care what anyone says or what their passports say, the Chinese "women" gymnasts are not "women." They are girls . . . and probably no older than 12 or 13. Just my opinion, but seriously . . .

Yard Sale Swap, Wedding plans, Breathing Room

Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.
-- Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, in Irving Good, The Scientist Speculates (1962)

FINALLY, blogger and the internet finally let me add the package from Shelly that I received as part of Whoduknit's summer yard sale swap. This is a great package and the picture doesn't show the tea I received. The Last Templar starts off fast and is continuing that way. I highly recommend it. At Knit's End (Meditations for Women who Knit too Much) -- perfect, more about it later and the Cradle Will Fall . . . all designed to keep me away from my knitting. And many small skeins of things that will work well for my favorite one skein projects. Ha!

Thanks Shelly.

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After the initial rush of "let's get married" my daughter and her boyfriend have begun making plans, including the fact that they decided that my husband is an idiot . . . well, they didn't say that . . . what they decided is that she is supposed to be finished with school within a year. Also, his employer is closing and his job is disappearing. So, they have decided to wait at least until she finishes school (YEAH!). He is looking at his various options. His family owns a 250 acre farm and his extended family owns, as an incorporated entity, a 2800 acre farm. Kyle is actually looking at truck driving as a career. The biggest problem he has is that farming takes up much of his time. His family's farm is not big enough to make it a full time job, but enough to keep him relatively busy. His "paying" job provided lots of options, including insurance (health and life), 401k and pension. He also worked either evenings or nights which allowed him time during the day to help on the farm. He also took vacation time in the spring and fall for planting and harvest. It is such a different lifestyle than anyone else I know. Anyway, right now, the wedding is on hold for probably a year. A good thing. I think. The plus side is that Sarah has an appointment to discuss what classes she needs to take to be done. Nothing like postponing something you want to really get you to focus on an interim goal.

Anyway, this is breathing room. A shawl. A dress. Who knows.

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Getting back to At Knit's End, I was looking through it and came across this, on page 76:

"SWIFT: A twirling reel used to hold a skein of yarn as it is wound into a ball . . . To save time, sanity and my marriage, I will consider purchasing the right tools for the job."

Did I mention that my skein of yarn for MS4 is 1460 yards! So, yesterday, I ordered a swift and ball winder. Finally. I figured it was time AND my husband obviously never got the hint!

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I finished one of the purses for the Ravelympics (The Clutch You Won't Give Up). I felted it last evening. I really forgot how fast that it would knit up. Seriously, if only I would do it right the first time!!! It is now drying and needs some embellishments (buttons or a pin or something). The bowl is coming along nicely (I work on it on the bus). It seems shallower than the last one I made but the thing with felted stuff is that as you knit, often it is difficult to visualize what it will be like, cause it is just too big and floppy.

Computer issues, knitting overload, yard sale swap

Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first woman she meets and then teams up with three complete strangers to kill again.
-- Rick Polito, Marin Independent Journal's TV listing for "The Wizard of Oz"
p.s. I love Wizard of Oz, just never thought of it as a murder/mystery

So yesterday I had problems getting photos loaded onto blogger. I did manage to add the Simple Woman pic but not the pic I wanted to share and today, again, I cannot load any pictures.

So, you might wonder what I want to load today. I received my yard sale swap package from Shelly (and if I can get it on Flickr, I'll put a link here . . . if not, the link won't work . . . LOL).

Anyway, the package was great, containing several balls of really nice yarn in colors that I don't have and will feed my one skein project drawer (yes, I have a drawer with one skeins in it AND it also has the One Skein book too). The package also included four packages of TAZO tea (Joy, African Red Bush, Passion and Zen), three books (The Last Templar -- I've started it and it has me from the very beginning, The Cradle Will Fall - by Mary Higgins Clark, and At Knit's End by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee), and a wonderful wool grey turtleneck sweater. Very cool stuff.

Also in yesterday's mail, I received my yarn from Yarn Country. Three skeins of Cascade 220 in two different shades of green for a Lucy Bag that I am making for a friend and also as part of Ravelympics and a skein white Baruffa Cashwool for the Mystery Stole 4 (yeah, and that's 1,460 yards of laceweight yarn).

Oh, and the Mystery Stole 4 will also double as a shawl for my daughter cause she did indeed happen to mention yesterday that she was getting married, next year. Uhhh, yep and she wants me to make her dress. Uhhh, yep, I told her we would go look at dresses and find something she likes and go from there. I did inherit another skill from my Mom. I can look at dresses, combine patterns and make it. In many respects, it is an illness. If she does find something that she really loves and price is reasonable (my niece found her perfect wedding dress on sale at David's Bridal for substantially less than what it would have cost to make), we may buy the dress. It all depends. The advantage to making it is that Sarah is all of 4'10". She has a curvy body and has a terrible time finding dresses that fit right in the boobs, waist and hips.

Of course, last night while my husband and I were talking about it (she wasn't home), he, in his infinite wisdom, told me that he had told her, "why wait?" Is he just out of his friggin mind???? Why wait? How about the fact that I have a shawl and a wedding dress to make. How about that, Dave???? Hmmmmm????

Simple Woman's Daybook~17

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

FOR TODAY
Outside my Window... it looks like Fall. A storm came through Saturday evening, dropping the temperature about 20 degrees. The sky is dark cloudy . . . not summer clouds filled with rain . . . but dark cloudy. But there is blue coming up from the West.
I am thinking...Fall is just around the corner. The cooling evenings is proof.
I am thankful for...living in an area of the country where we enjoy four seasons. It makes me appreciate each in its own way . . . the good and the bad of each.
From the kitchen... since it was cooler, we had barbequed pork for dinner last evening, along with a veggie casserole, you know the kind where you open the fridge and everything that is a veggie goes into the casserole (tossed with a little olive oil, italian seasoning, parmesan cheese and topped with mozzarella). Yum.
I am creating...two felted bags, one bowl and working on a purse that Lindsey designed and I am sewing
I am going...to spend my week in meetings... seriously, I am cancelling some meetings so I can go to other meetings.
I am wearing...navy blue slacks, white t-shirt, red racket, red/blue necklace
I am reading...Mobility . . . a magzine for my job.
I am hoping...that my internet connection will allow me to upload photos soon. Right now, it won't, hence no photos on this post
I am hearing...traffic and wind through the trees
Around the house... we are getting ready for the start of school. Uniforms? CHECK. Shoes? CHECK. Folders? CHECK? Ready? not a chance.
One of my favorite things... riding bicycles. It was cool enough yesterday to do so in the middle of the day.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...meetings, helping Lindsey cut out her sundress, sewing up her bag, spending time with Janet, my bestest friend (next to my hubby) who is coming up from Dallas, taking off from work on Friday to spend time with Janet, Zachariah and Rosemarie (a retired co-worker)
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... nothing . . . my internet connection will not allow it. Maybe later this week.

Friday Fill In - 8/8/8

The greatest homage to truth is to use it.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

1. You know you're old when you look down and see your mother's hands working on your knitting (of course, the fact that I wear her wedding ring adds to the whole thing).

2. My heart is divided between chocolate and coffee. HA!

3. Coffee is what I need RIGHT NOW! (I guess it won!)

4. I have felt the joy of success, I have known the depths of falling flat on my face in front of a bunch of people.

5. Gah, won't these people get off their cell phones.

6. Hug your family as soon as you can!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to going to bed early, tomorrow my plans include going to the eye doctor, a wedding (just the ceremony) and working with Lindsey on her bag and Sunday, I want to do nothing!

and another thing

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.

-Erich Fromm

In case you missed it from Lime & Violet:

"Heads Up: Big Mitten Give
The good folks over at STC Craft are giving away the pattern for Alternating Current mittens. The pattern appears in Knitting New Mittens & Gloves by Robin Melanson. The mittens are worked in a bulky yarn, so they are a quick knit. The pattern lists instructions for a fingerless as well as a traditional mitten. The only thing STC Craft asks for in return for this pattern is that you knit a pair of mittens for someone in need. If we all did that, there would be a lot of warm hands this winter."

So, the challenge will be to make mittens. They make great Christmas presents (and from what I read about this pattern) are a relatively quick knit. I know in my area, many organizations would gladly take the mittens and I am sure most of you know organizations that would do the same in your communities.

SP 12 Question #9

Have you ever entered your knitting (or anything else) in the fair? Would you ever consider it?

I have not entered my knitting in our local county fair (were you reading my blog from yesterday?). I have entered apple pie and pound cake (won blue ribbons for both). My husband did the ultimate sacrifice and ate lots of apple pie and lots of pound cake.

I would consider entering my knitting or sewing. Our local county fair is relatively big (going on right now) and every time I go to see the exhibits, I am surprised at the amount of stuff submitted, some of which is just bad. Often, I am surprised at what wins also and have often regretted that I didn't submit something.

In real life, unlike in Shakespeare,

the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears.

Things are not only what they are.

They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be.
-- Hubert H. Humphrey

I've got nothing today. Seriously. My right arm from my wrist to my elbow has been throbbing (I wore a brace all day yesterday). I decided it probably had more to do with the cleaning and sewing that I did this weekend. We cut out and sewed most of the front and back of Lindsey's bag (4" squares and then cutting the pattern out of the sewed fabric). Seriously, I think it was doing all the cutting because I haven't knit anything since last week. Probably, knitting keeps the pain at bay and since I haven't knit, I'm in pain. What a sacrifice! I guess I'll just have to keep knitting!

I am thinking about going to the County Fair this weekend. I will look at all the knitting and sewing and grumble about the fact that I could have won a blue ribbon for the stuff I do compared to the stuff that people enter. I've never entered anything in the sewing or knitting areas. I have entered apple pie and pound cake and won blue ribbons for those. But honestly, some of the stuff that people enter in the sewing and knitting are just awful. The prizes are great though . . . generally a sewing machine and/or cash and/or gift certificates. For the baked goods, the prize is really small, enough to cover the cost of entering. So I will go. I will grumble. And, who knows, maybe next year . . .

SIX Quirky Things about me

I got this from Kathy and you can find her HERE.

The Rules
* Link to the person who tagged you.
* Mention the rules.
* Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself.
* Tag six other bloggers by linking to them.
* Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment to let them know that they’ve been tagged.

My Six Quirky Things
1. I hold my coffee ransom until I drink at least 24 ounces of water and drink it black at home and with cream at work.
2. I love slippers, even in summer, although no socks in summer
3. I keep my office at work neat and clean and the one at home is a dumping ground
4. I have three piercings in my right ear (two in the lob and one in the upper edge) and two in my left.
5. I get up at 4:45 every morning but the only morning I can roll over and go back to sleep is Sunday, but only if we have gone to Mass on Saturday evening.
6. I collect yarn because its pretty or soft and hate acrylic anything.

Okay and taking a page from Kathy, I am not tagging anyone. But while she is having a contest, I am not so, if you want to play along, please do so and let me know. If not, that's cool too.

Simple Woman's Daybook~16

FOR TODAY
Outside my Window...are trees . . . and I forgot my camera so I could take a pictures of my new view . . .
I am thinking... I am really in need of a cup of coffee and our coffee pot's electricity was off all weekend so I have to wait for the water to warm up. Sigh.
I am thankful for...a wonderful marriage, mostly good children, great friends and a good job.
From the kitchen... brocolli, t-bone steaks, GRANDS biscuits, fresh strawberries
I am creating... a bowl, still; a bag with Lindsey (pieced work front), lots of sewing
I am going... to get my office organized. I am still moving things around and around and around.
I am wearing...navy blue slacks, white t-shirt, red jacket, multi-colored beaded necklace, red drop earings
I am reading...Mobility (the magazine published by the Worldwide ERC)
I am hoping... that Sarah likes her new job. I believe she will but????
I am hearing... traffic and the radio . . . it is still quiet in my new space. Give it an hour and the chatter will start.
Around the house... organized my area upstairs, including all the scrapbooking and stamping stuff, had Zachariah organize his toys, replaced a zipper in a pair of slacks, hemmed jeans and slacks, replaced buttons and helped Lindsey with her bag.
One of my favorite things... sunshine and laughter while sitting on the back porch enjoying time with Dave while the kids run through the yard.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...finish Lindsey's bag before she makes me nuts
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Isn't that exciting? I spent a good part of Saturday with my sewing machine while I fixed hems, buttons and zippers and on Sunday while I was helping Lindsey with her bag. She is designing it, I am sewing it.

Today's quote:

The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any use to oneself.
-- Oscar Wilde

Friday Fill In - August 1, 2008

One of the indictments of civilizations is that happiness and intelligence are so rarely found in the same person.
-- William Feather

1. If I could travel back in time, I'd go to when my grandmother was a young girl in Ireland.

2. Give me yarn or give me roving . . . I will be ohhhhh so happy!

3. I am listening to Il Divo.

4. Somewhere, someone is thinking if I hit the snooze alarm one more time, I just won't get out of bed and not go to work today and have a really wonderfully long weekend . . . . ahhhh.

5. I'll always be a packrat.

6. My idea of a good time includes relaxing with friends and/or family.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to spending one-on-one time with Zachariah, tomorrow my plans include mammogram and fasting blood sugar test, 4:30 Youth Ministry mass (drums, violins, flutes and wonderful voices) and a cocktail party with the teachers from my husband's school and Sunday, I want to do nothing (it is supposed to be in the mid-90s on Sunday . . . we will be spending lots of time in the pool)!

Question of the Week #8?

What is your favorite supper for a hot summer evening?

Anything grilled . . . but if I were to really want to savor flavors and textures, we would be having:

Grilled Kielbasa, served on buns with honey mustard.


along with fresh, crisp coleslaw (I really like Marzetti's slaw dressing and with a bag of coleslaw mix, this one whips up really quickly).






and of course, we would also be having Sangria, make it a day ahead, put it in jugs in the fridge, serve over ice while you are grilled the kielbasa. Lovely, simply lovely!









of course, the only thing the kids will eat would be the Kielbasa, along with glasses of cold milk and probably chips or pretzels, followed up with popsicles.

Dresses and fish

Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh.
-- W. H. Auden

Not the best pictures but . . . Sarah needed a dress for a wedding. She found one but wouldn't model it for me. We also found these two dresses for Lindsey for homecoming and winter formal. The black one actually has ruffles that run up and down the dress. She already has jewelry and shoes to go with it.














The cream dress is actually very pretty. It has a "balloon" bottom, which I generally don't like nor does Lindsey. However, she put this on and all three of us decided that when you wear a size 1, a balloon dress is okay! LOL.















A good friend of my family moved from Cleveland to Texas this past January.

Yesterday, we received a box from Frontgate which contained two of these fish. They are battery operated "blow fish." Even though it was soon to be Zachariah's bedtime, we added the batteries and went back out to the pool. He had a blast.

These are pretty awesome things and he just had such a great time.

By the way, he has actually gained weight this summer. Lots of sunshine and he has been eating like a horse . . . well maybe a very small horse, but substantially more than he usually does. He had been to the endocronologist earlier this summer and weighed 38 pounds (no weight gain for three years) but grew 2 inches (the first time in two years) up to 45 inches. Yesterday, he weighed 41.5 pounds and is 46 inches. Woo hoo . . . and he doesn't look like a war orphan any more either!

Cleveland . . the tour

Our tour will start WAY WEST of downtown Cleveland. (By the way, if you click on the pics, it should link you to the website of where we are visiting . . . "should" being the operative word here).

We are going to trek out to Birds of a Feather in Avon, Ohio. Birds is a grand place. The downstairs is a quilt/rug hooking area and the upstairs is yarn . . . lots and lots of yarn.

are you all done drooling . . . great. We will stop for tea at the little tea shop just to the left of Birds. In fact, when the weather is lovely, the knitters sit in the patio area between Birds and the tea shop and knit.

Now we will head downtown:

For our tour, we are going to use several modes of transportation. First and foremost we will be using Lolly the Trolley. Lolly has been doing tours of Cleveland for 20 years.

Later on, we will board the Goodtime III for a sunset dinner cruise. The Goodtime III has been part of Cleveland for years. It is a great time and it does other tours besides dinner tours. A favorite with gradeschool children.






The first place that Lolly will drop off is at the West Side Market. The West Side Market is a combination open air market and enclosed market. It is the American Dream of owning and managing your own business. There aren't any franchises allowed in the West Side Market. When my Mom was a girl, she would
work shelling peas and beans at the West Side Market for $.05 a pint. That is a lot of peas! While there, we can pick up some homemade pastries and cheeses, along with some fresh fruit, the pears I bought there last week were delicious!

Our next stop will be Browns' Stadium. While the Browns are getting ready for the upcoming season in Berea, we can have a grand time in wandering the field.





Oh, and lets not forget the Cleveland Cavaliers. They are currently playing down the street at the Quicken Loans arena. Of course, Lebron isn't in residence right now because he is getting ready for the Olympics.

Maybe we will catch up to him next time.




Since he isn't there, lets go back to the lakefront and visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Cleveland is considered the birthplace of Rock and Roll so it is only right that the Rock Hall would be built on our lakefront. Phew, we could spend DAYS there. It is amazing the history and fun stuff that can be found at the Rock Hall. Maybe someday we will even host the induction ceremonies on a regular basis . . . .


Severance Hall is probably considered the jewel by many Clevelanders. It is the Winter Home for the world famous Cleveland Orchestra. The summer home is at Blossom Music Center (south of Cleveland).



This is my library. It is about 2 miles from my home and is only four years old . . . of course, they are already beginning to remodel . . . go figure.





We are fortunate in Cleveland that we have TWO major libraries. There is the Cuyahoga County Library which is the one closest to my home and has branches all over the county except within the City of Cleveland limits.

The City of Cleveland has its own library. This is the downtown branch. Fortunately after years of dispute, the two libraries started working closer together about ten years ago and developed an interlibrary loan service. If one of the libraries doesn't have a book, chances are pretty good that the other one will (of course, neither has Plains Crazy . . . go figure).


And before I forget the Cleveland Museum of Art has reopened. After years of remodeling and limited exhibitions, the museum finally reopened on June 29, 2008.



And as we cruise along on the Goodtime, enjoying our dinner and a glass of wine or two, we can watch all the bridges light up . . .

As my husband has said on more than one occasion, if we didn't have kids, we would live downtown. There is so much to do and all of it is relatively close.

So, there you have it a very brief visit to Cleveland and I didn't even touch on many of the other things you could go see. We have the Botanical Gardens and Cuyahoga River. There are fabulous churches and synagogues. We are lucky to live in an area where medical services are abundant and some of the best in the country.

If you want to learn more about Cleveland, you might want to start at Cleveland+

Thanks for visiting and I look forward to visiting your home too!