snowy bridge

I drove out to visit Dad this morning & ran into fog & fresh snowfall. I drove past this snowy bridge & turned around to take a closer look . . .











The highway was dry, fortunately. Dad & I had a good visit over homemade chicken noodle soup.

my houseplant

Mom had a green thumb. Whether it was in the garden or in the house. I have a houseplant that was a cutting from one of her plants. A hoya plant. Mine is growing just fine which means it thrives when it is ignored. I remember to water it about twice a month. If not coated with dust the leaves are a beautiful glossy green . . .

stamps

I love stamps. It's like putting a bit of art on a letter. Whenever I go to the post office I check out the selection of commemorative stamps. There is always something I like. The Bart Simpson & family collection has been great. One of those stamps is often the right expression I'm looking for to put on my letter. But the last time I was in the post office the clerk warned me that they are thinking of only printing "forever" stamps in the near future. It would be a way to save on printing. And the post office, like everyone else, is always looking for ways to save money. I'm sad about that news though. The "forever" stamps I've seen so far are a bit boring.



Many of these old stamps are some that Mom saved. She'd cut them off the envelope & store them in an old margarine tub. She thought the schools could use them for fund raiser. I don't know about that but I'm glad to have her stamp collection.

O street at night

I've heard that O street is the longest street in the world (urban legend?). It is the main drag in Lincoln & I love its lights at night.

baby shower

Nancy & I hosted a baby shower for DeLaina & Lola at my home on Saturday. DeLaina slept through most of it . . .



Lola invited her good friend, Tricia. Tricia is the daughter of my cousin, Mary. Tricia is due with her first child in a few weeks. (Tricia reminded me of her mother in her looks, her smile & her mannerisms. So I enjoyed getting to "see" Mary again too!)



We played a couple of shower games, of course.



Betty & her daughter, Lora, help each other out with questions.







Heather's boyfriend, Kevin, joined us & did a great job taking care of the youngest children.



Kyla holds her cousin, DeLaina.



I'm so glad Heather could make it. We did some good catching up.



Lora, twin to Lola.



Nancy.



Ashley, Nancy's daughter.



Andrea, aunt to DeLaina.



Elena. I couldn't resist.



Betty with her granddaughter, Elena (Heather's daughter).



Here I am with my niece, Jenny.





DeLaina.



Cate, Heather's oldest daughter.



Alexandra (aka Sasha), Heather's youngest.



Jenny's partner, Jeremy, came & brought his daughters.



Jenny with her daughter, Kyla.





Heather, Elena & DeLaina.



My niece, Angie, also made it to the shower. Unfortunately I neglected to get her photo. We had a good time visiting & watching the kids play. And celebrating DeLaina.

Interstate 80 at dusk

Dear Nancy,

I hope Amy & Hannah are getting over their flu. And I hope your family didn't bring it back home.

I started hand stitching my binding onto my quilt last night while watching American Idol. Some of the singing was a bit disappointing but I am enjoying putting the finishing touches on my quilt. I cut my strips four inches wide. And I used a half inch seam when I sewed it on. So my binding ends up being about 5/8 inch wide. I found this idea to use hair clips to hold the binding in place while stitching it down. Fewer sharp points to poke myself with.





I also found a new stitch for attaching my binding. I guess it is called a ladder stitch & it is less noticeable than my old way of doing it. I found some helpful photos here showing how to do it. If you sew yours on by machine you'll have to show me how you did it.





I'm looking forward to seeing you on Saturday. Hopefully the weather cooperates.
Your sister,
Lois