Seagull Crime

Click on the picture to activate video. What a hoot!

Homestead Ohio 2007

Jerri Anne and I in Longaberger Country.

Cool Sunglasses!

I love these pink shades!

Smokey Bones Restaurant

Yep, we're having a beer at the bar & watching NASCAR.

Is there a Doctor Kinne in the house?

Hanging out in Patty's office at the hospital.

Louisville Kentucky September 2007

Enjoying dinner at Lynn's Paradise Cafe, a retro, kitschy 1950's diner. We loved it!

My New Pink Bicycle

Me and my new pink beach cruiser! I got it for my birthday and I love it! It was ordered from Orange County Cycles in California via the Internet. My nephew Patrick put it together for me today. I haven't rode in over 30 years, but I just got on and started riding again. I'll admit I was shaky. Did I say I love it? Thank you!

Happy Labor Day Weekend Everyone!

Burgers and Hot Dogs

New Windsor Rodeo

Wow! Mom and I enjoyed crispy shoestring onion rings created by the local boy scouts. Yum!

Yep, that's me in my cowboy hat enjoying the rodeo. This was my first one. Wahoo!!!

Summer Storm of 2007

The storm struck Galesburg on the southeast side of town about 1:07 p.m. on Thursday August 23rd. I was on my way home from work when it hit. I sat in my car in the driveway because I couldn't get out. Debris was flying all around me. I later learned we had 70 mph straight line winds. My car received extensive damage. The storm sucked all the chrome off the back end.

The roof on the house will be replaced. The damage was too much to repair. We also had leaking inside on Mom's bedroom ceiling. The ceiling is going to be replaced too.

The front storm door and some windows were blown out and mangled. It's been replaced. Patrick and Aunt Madge did the work. The porch was soaked from all the rain and littered with leaves, twigs and branches. Jerri Anne and I took the furniture cushions to the laundromat and washed and dried them. Charly loved the fresh clean smell.

Here's all the wrecked stuff we gathered after the storm. We had scavangers going through it within an hour of picking it up. Note we also lost the Rubbermaid shed too.

Potter Mania

I haven't read the new book yet or seen the new movie, but I took a quiz on sorting-hat.com and discovered I'm a Ravenclaw. I'd rather be in Griffindorf with Harry, Ron and Hermonie...

July 24, 2007 - I'm 51!

It's my birthday! I'm fifty-one today... really, it's a good thing.

St. Patrick's Church Mexican Fiesta

Gorgeous, colorful, big paper flowers decorated the fiesta giving it a Mexican flair! As usual, the food was great - ole!

Day Trippin' in Galena

Mom and I stopped at our favorite restaurant on Highway 61 for breakfast. They have great Flapjack potatoes in addition to Flapjack pancakes! Good coffee too.

We arranged to take two trolley tours of Galena. The first one was a two hour tour that included three properties, such as Dowling House, the oldest house in Galena 1826, the Belvedere House & Gardens and President Ulysses S. Grant's home. Our next tour was of the city. Our guide drove us around and pointed out beautiful architecture indicative of Galena, Illinois.

After our tours we went shopping in downtown Galena. This town is packed with all kinds of shops, like antique and book stores and of course, coffee. I found a fabulous Laurel Burch tote bag and a book on Galena architecture.

2peas Challenge:

If you could take a drive to anywhere, where would you go? Niagara Falls!
This photo just takes my breath away. Someday I'm going to experience the majestic beauty of these falls.

Welcome Kiwi

This is Kiwi. Denver adopted her from the Knox County Animal Shelter this spring. What a beautiful, energetic little kitten. She's a keeper!

Little Bit

Aunt Madge's new dog, Little Bit. She adopted her early this spring. Welcome to the family!

Fourth of July

Group picture taken in Oquawka July 4, 2007 (left to right): Denver, Renee, Erin, Patrick, Nichole, Lara, Mom, Cindy, Aunt Madge, Aunt Ethel, Jerri Anne, Jean Murray. Not pictured: Little Bit & Kiwi

President Clinton at Knox College

President Clinton surprised everyone when he popped out the east door of Old Main at Knox College. The crowd exploded giving Clinton a rock star welcome! His commencement address was peppered with humor and wit. The crowd loved hearing him talk about his antics with Stephen Colbert, Rush Limbaugh and George Bush Sr. Colbert threatened to burn his honorary degree, so Knox sent him a fireproof, steel diploma!

Bill Clinton is no stranger to Galesburg. While president, he came to Carl Sandburg College on January 10, 1995, to announce his Middle Class Bill of Rights. Me, George, Mom and Jerri Anne saw Clinton at Galesburg High School in the gymnasium. It was similar to a pep rally. That was my first experience in meeting a president and the secret service.

Clinton will be the latest in a line of current, former and future presidents to visit Knox College: Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush. Maybe we'll see Hillary Clinton in 2009...

Knox College's commencement was one of the hottest tickets in town. We were able to tote our lawn chairs and listen to his speech. Nearly 6000 attended. Knox provided President Clinton's transportation but didn't have to pay anything for the speech. What a guy!

Vacation Time?

I am so ready to go on a vacation. Sit on the beach in my lawn chair buttered up with sunscreen. Read my favorite book. Enjoy my favorite beer, MGD. Sink my toes in the warm sand. Life doesn't get any better than this! OBX is calling my name - maybe in 2008?

Yep, that's suppose to me - just fooling around.

Sit, Relax, Enjoy Your Life

Occasionally, you need to take some time out for you. Sit, relax, daydream, just enjoy your life. I found the following in Body and Soul. It's a keeper. Feel free to copy and post.

Ten Thoughts on Whole Living

1. Your home is more than the sum of its walls. Make it a sacred space.

2. Creativity is a lifestyle, not simply an activity. Let is expand you.

3. True forgiveness springs from love, not regret.

4. Learn something new. Emphasize the trying, not the succeeding.

5. Spend some time in the dirt. You'll be amazed at what nature can inspire.

6. You don't have to have a perfect body to feel great in it.

7. Define yourself by who you are, not the roles you play.

8. Find rejuvenation in five minutes of silence.

9. Contribute to abundance. If you no longer need something, pass it on.

10. Find direction in your life by looking where you want to go, not where you don't.

Eagle Watching

We spent last Monday, President's Day, eagle watching on the Mississippi River near Gladstone, Illinois at Lock and Dam 18. American Bald Eagles. Our national bird. Our symbol freedom. Oh, what majestic birds they are!

This eagle is fishing. That's why the eagles head for areas where the ice has broken up so they can find food. We saw several eagles spot their prey, dive for it and take it back to their nests in the nearby timber. One eagle dropped his fish, a foot long carp. Apparently, it was putting up quite a battle.

Felt Purses by Cathy Zielske

Little Felted Bag - Cathy Zielske

you need:
1 skein of chunky wool (140 yds)16- to 24-inch size 11 circular needles4 markersyard needle
Guage: in stockinette, roughly 12 inches and 18 rounds, four inches
Finished measurements: after felting, purse is roughly 6.5 to 8.5 wide by 6.5 to 7.5 tall, depending on how long you felt.

To make bottom of purse: loosely cast on 13 stitches and work back and forth in garter stitch (knit every row) for 38 rows (19 ridges). Do not turn.

Begin main part of bag: Without turning, knit 13 stitches on needle, place marker and pick up 19 stitches along the long edge (1 stitch for each ridge), place a marker and pick up 13 stitches along cast on edge, place marker, and pick up 19 stitches along second long edge, place a fourth marker to mark the beginning of the round; 64 stitches total.
Note: you will be working in rounds from now on. Be sure to keep moving markers as your work.

Begin knitting every round (stockinette stitch) until purse measures 10.5 inches, measuring from pick-p round, ending at beginning of round marker. (Mine was 9.5 inches. I was running low on the yarn!)

Begin handles: On next round, k13, slip marker off, k3, bind off next 13 stitches, k3, slip marker off, repeat to once more, leaving only beginning round marker.
On next round, k16, cast on 25 stitches, k19, cast on 25 stitches, knit to end of round.
Work 4 more rounds, bind off all stitches. Work in ends.
Felt.
Done.
Fabulous!

I found this photo at Wikipedia and loved it! It reminds me of summer (note the corn in the background) and I surely would like to see some warmer weather here in Galesburg. This weekend they are predicting lows of -5. Brrrrrr

Campaign 2008? Already?

Hello everyone! As you can see, Mom and I are already on the Presidential campaign trail for 2008. We went to Davenport, Iowa, Sunday morning and met Senator Hillary Clinton. What an experience! We left Galesburg about 6:00 a.m and arrived at the Hickory Garden Family Restaurant around 7:30. There was press and secret service guys all over the place. Hillary arrived about 8:30 in a black Chevy Blazer. She toured the restaurant, stopped at each table and shook hands, visited and pictures were taken. Lots of pictures! Mom and Hillary really hit off - she's Mom's new best friend. We then went to the Mississippi Valley Fair Grounds for a press conference. What a crowd! I barely got in the building, but it was worth the stop. I got the new campaign buttons, bumper stickers, posters and stickers. Yep, as her campaign motto states: I'm in it to Win!

2peas Challenge - Pet Names

If you have/had any pets in your life. How did you decide on their names?

I've had the joy of having three extraordinary felines in my life. The first was our Sassy Cat. And yes, she was sassy, stubborn, opinionated, definately her own cat. She would be held when she wanted to be held. She wanted to eat when she wanted to eat and it better be now! She was quite a talker too. Meowed and sometimes yowled for whatever suited her at the time. We lost our Sassy after a long illness in February 1995. It broke my heart when we had to put her down. She's buried in a flower garden under a cement cat sculpture of her likeness.


My dear Jessi Anne was named after one of my favorite Carly Simon songs titled Jesse. Remember that one? Her middle name is after my friend Jerri Anne. Jessi was a beautiful shelter cat we adopted in 1995. She was a short-haired gray tabby with big tufts of white fur coming out her ears. Instead of a meow, she had this crazy little trill when she talked. She was the love of our lives; a family member. My niece and nephews treated her as if she was their cousin. Jessi died unexpectedly in 2005 of a massive heart attack. My nephew Patrick buried her under the burning bush in the south yard. My Aunt Madge bought her a custom-made tombstone with her name on it and a image of a cat. I still miss her. She was the best cat ever. Everyone loved Jessi Anne...

My new kitty in Charly Anne. She's a little orange tiger and yep, she's named after my friend Jerri Anne again. Her first name comes from my deceased husband, George Charles Andrews' middle name. He would of been crazy about this cat too. Charly is a shelter cat too. Like my Jessi, she appears to be forever grateful that I picked her to adopt. She has a wonderful personality, rarely meows and gives kitty hugs generously. She's my baby girl!

Happy New Year 2007

Again, welcome to my blog and happy new year. It's 2007! Unbelievable. When I was a child, I couldn't imagine living to see the year 2000. It seemed so far away. I would be really, really old if I lived long enough to see it.

Anyway, like everyone else, I've been doing an inventory of my life. What do I want to improve, what do I want to eliminate, what do I want to achieve this year? I'm a big believer in making affirmations instead of resolutions. I like the idea of making a positive change to my behavior. I want to improve my health. I want to improve on my scrapbooking and stamping. I want to improve in my job performance. I want to eliminate time-wasting. (This is going to be really hard for me. I watch a lot of television.) I want to eliminate my debt. I want to eliminate my lousy attitude toward myself. (Again, this is going to be really hard for me. I know my attitude is related to me being overweight or vice versa.) I want to achieve a new scrapbooking class based on faith journeys at my church. I want to achieve a healthy weight and increase my energy. I want to achieve reading at least one book per month. Some of these goals seem pretty easy, but I know they aren't. It's going to take effort. And prayer. Here's to wishing everyone a happy new year and good luck with your goals!