July 31, 2010
Day 212 - Purple spikes
Here's another wild flower growing in our restored prairie/wetlands area. I don't recognize this one. Can anyone name it for me?
July 30, 2010
Day 211 - Vacuuming
One nice thing about having my husband out of work is that he has taken over the vacuuming! Here he is vacuuming our 'guest' room. We still call it 'Kristin's room'. She's coming home from Haiti late tonight and will be at home for about 12 days as we await the birth of her first nephew (our first grandchild). I'm very excited about having her home to share this special time with us!
July 29, 2010
Day 210 - New moms
My daughter, who is just about 9 months pregnant, had lunch out with three of her good friends from high school. I met her at the end of lunch in order to do some shopping with her. It was fun seeing her friends, two are new moms and one is a new bride!
July 28, 2010
Day 209 - Grandbaby's room!
My daughter sent me this slideshow of the nursery tonight. She put the finishing touches on it today. She's been working on it all month and is very excited about how adorable it looks. The baby is due in about a week and now he has a room to come home to!
Today is their 3rd wedding anniversary. Happy anniversary Cheryl and Seth! May you have MANY more years of happiness! Love you!
July 27, 2010
Day 208 - Queen Anne's Lace
Here is another plant seen in the restored wetlands area on my walks with the dog. Unfortunately, Queen Anne's Lace (or wild carrot as some people call it) is not native to Illinois. It was originally brought over from Europe. Although it is pretty, many people consider it an invasive weed.
July 26, 2010
Day 207 - Lawn waste
As I've mentioned, we've had a lot of rain and the weeds have been growing like crazy. We pulled three bags of weeds yesterday. In our community, the village charges extra to have lawn waste removed. We have to buy stickers for $1.85 each to stick on the bags. We don't catch our grass clippings, so we don't go through as many bags and stickers as some of our neighbors. However, it does seem wrong to pay for disposing of weeds!
July 25, 2010
Day 206 - Sun bathing
Lucy is enjoying her nap outside in the sun! With all the rain we've had, she's been cooped up in the house a lot lately.
July 24, 2010
Day 205 - Rain
The rain has finally stopped. Our rain gauge measured the latest rainfall at 2.5 inches. The grass, trees, and garden plants really needed the rain. However, the weeds are growing like crazy too!
July 23, 2010
Day 204 - Sunset
We don't get a clear shot of sunsets where we live, but we do get some pretty sunset colors through the trees sometimes. This sunset is especially nice to see since we've had a lot of rain lately.
July 22, 2010
Day 203 - Hot dog!
It has been very HOT here this week. Even the nights are not cooling off. Lucy still enjoys her evening walk, but comes home a very HOT dog!
July 21, 2010
Day 202 - Prairie dock (top)
I saw this prairie dock while out walking with the dog this afternoon. They are a plant that is native to the Illinois prairie. They grow very tall and this one was over 6 feet tall.
The leaves of the prairie dock are very distinctive. When I taught 3rd grade, we did a science unit on the Illinois prairie and the kids had fun learning about the plants and animals that are native to our state.
The leaves of the prairie dock are very distinctive. When I taught 3rd grade, we did a science unit on the Illinois prairie and the kids had fun learning about the plants and animals that are native to our state.
July 20, 2010
Day 201 - Cone Flower
Even these yellow cone flowers look hot today, although because they are a native Illinois prairie plant they do grow and bloom despite the heat and lack of rain. Prairie plants adapt by having very long roots, often longer than the plant is tall.
July 19, 2010
Day 200 - Purple bloom
Last summer I planted three Blue Paradise Garden Phlox. Only one survived, but it is blooming this week. The stems seem very weak and I've had to stake them. I've never grown phlox before, the flowers are pretty.
July 18, 2010
Day 199 - Nursery2
Cheryl is still working on the nursery. Today she added the hippo decal to the wall above the crib. It is adorable! She has a real talent for finding great decorating ideas & items online. Her husband's favorite animal is a hippo, so this is a nice touch to the baby's room.
July 17, 2010
Day 198 - Bridal Shower
My sister-in-law and I threw a bridal shower today for our niece, Bekka. She'll be getting married in October and we are very excited! I love the cupcake rack I found at Crate and Barrel. These gifts were the prizes for the games we played. The shower was a lot of fun.
July 16, 2010
Day 197 - Mari's Gift
A gift arrived in the mail today for Cheryl's baby. My very dear friend, Marianne, made this afghan and little critter. They are adorable! Mari has been my friend for over 40 years. She was my maid of honor when I got married. I'm very lucky to have such a kind, creative, and loving friend!
July 15, 2010
Day 196 - Poop!
Today I got to attend a baby shower for my daughter that was given by her colleagues from school. Her friend gave her a package of diapers and a book called "Everyone Poops". Cheryl has always made jokes about poop, so this gift was perfect!
July 14, 2010
Day 195 - Waiting
Lucy brings smiles to our face every day! She is such a creature of habit. At about 5:20 every night, she sits patiently and stares at Scott until 5:30 when he feeds her dinner. How does she know what time it is?
July 13, 2010
Day 194 - USB Hub Man
I love my iMac! However, one thing it lacks is enough USB ports for all the peripheral devices that I often have plugged in. I found this great USB Hub Man at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It works great! I can now plug in my camera, iPod, external HD, and printer without having to unplug anything!
July 12, 2010
Day 193 - Preschool
I got to sub in a special education preschool summer school class this morning. The kids are so cute! Their summer school teacher taught preschool for many years, but recently moved up to 2nd grade during the school year. I'm sure she is enjoying her time with the little ones this summer!
July 11, 2010
Day 192 - Rose of Sharon
Our Rose of Sharon is in full bloom this week! It is a beautiful bush, about 10 feet tall. Unfortunately, we planted it on the side of the house. I wish we had planted it in the back where we could enjoy it more.
July 10, 2010
Day 191 - John Deere
Today we attended a reunion of staff members I worked with about 20+ years ago. One of my colleagues and her new husband built a home out in the country. Her husband collects antique vehicles. This John Deere tractor still works and many of us took it for a spin around the yard!
July 9, 2010
Day 190 - Fall?
We have had very little rain this summer! This looks like a fall photo, but it is early July and our poor birch tree is already losing leaves.
July 8, 2010
Day 189 - Billy Elliot
We had a fun afternoon/evening today! Two friends and I took the train into Chicago. My daughter, Cheryl, met us there. Then the four of us went out for dinner and saw Billy Elliot at the Oriental Theatre. I loved the show!
July 7, 2010
Day 188 - Lunch out
Our Summer Lunch Bunch had a nice lunch out this afternoon. The food was delicious. Unfortunately, this restaurant will be closing at the end of the month due to the poor economy.
Our group goes out for lunch every Wednesday during the summer. We go to a different restaurant each week and always enjoy trying new ones!
Our group goes out for lunch every Wednesday during the summer. We go to a different restaurant each week and always enjoy trying new ones!
July 6, 2010
Day 187 - Nursery
My daughter has been working very hard to finish decorating the nursery in her home for the baby. I love the teal paint she used for the walls. Our Grandson is expected to arrive around August 5th!
July 5, 2010
Day 186 - Happy birthday!
I had a very lovely, low-key birthday today. I spent the day with my husband and oldest daughter. During the afternoon we relaxed at Arlington Park, watching the horses race, and then we went out to a nice dinner at a favorite local restaurant. I've always enjoyed having a summer birthday and celebrating during the 4th of July holidays has always been fun!
July 4, 2010
Day 185 - Celebrating the 4th
We enjoyed celebrating the 4th of July with friends today! These two cuties were having fun with the cooler full of water balloons.
July 3, 2010
Day 184 - Dog tired!
We picked Lucy up from the Doggie Playhouse where she stayed for a week while we were in Denver. She came home, plopped onto her spot on the couch, and fell fast asleep. I think somebody played hard while we were gone!
July 2, 2010
Day 183 - Good-bye
This is the house our daughter is renting in Denver. She's locking it up as we get ready to go to the airport to fly home. I had a fabulous week in Denver, attending ISTE and spending time with Kristin! Tomorrow, she'll be saying good-bye to Denver as she heads of off to Haiti for a month.
July 1, 2010
Day 182 - Denver Botanic Gardens
ISTE has ended. We are spending a couple of days with Kristin before leaving Denver and heading home. This afternoon she took us to the Denver Botanic Gardens where she has a membership. I thoroughly enjoyed wandering the gardens and of course took MANY photos! A slideshow of my photo set can be seen on Flickr.
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