Ohhh, I Wish I were an Oscar Mayer Weiner... And Barbies & Kens Galore...

This is what Jorden and I saw on the way home from Milwaukee today ... and sang that goofy song most of the way home too..*L*


We had to wait about an hour and a half to pick up the Church Newsletter, so we visited a few Good Will stores.. and Jorden found a few new Barbies to add to her collection at our house... she decided they all needed to watch TV in Grampa's chair..*L*





Going to be a fun weekend...tomorrow all three grandsons come for an overnight with Jorden and Sunday's Pet Blessing at Church with Sunday School trip to Animal Gardens and Dancing Horses!

Gessoing & Spackling a Torso

The progress so far on a new torso art piece... preparing it, in advance, to finish it at an art show in 2 weeks....

Gessoed all over, and the spine spackled, to get it ready to decoupage stuff on it. I kind of felt like a spine surgeon repairing the back of this..*L* It sort of looks like John's scar from his back surgery ... more fill is needed, and then sanding before applying some of the various page parts and more seen on the table.



But for now... time to let it dry and go pick up granddaughter Jorden for the weekend!

Congrats to Son, John!!

About a month ago, I posted a photo of one of my son's giant pumpkins, one that was 700 pounds! He had to pick it early because it had split from growing too fast. Click on the link to see that pumpkin.





But he did have another super giant one that kept growing, and yesterday he picked it to take to a pumpkin competition in Milwaukee today. It took many of his friends to gently roll it onto a pumpkin blanket with handles and then lift it to a skidster to be loaded onto the trailer that would take his and a friend's to the competition.



John estimated his pumpkin to be over 850 pounds, and sure enough it WAS! It weighed in at 876.5 pounds... big enough to win 4th Place and a $300 prize!! CONGRATULATIONS JOHN-JOHN!!



The winning pumpkin at this particular competition was 1,258.5 pounds, and 2nd & 3rd place pumpkins were over 1,000 pounds too....so John has a few more pounds to try to get up to next year!

Compared to his last year's pumpkin, which we thought was huge then (weighed almost 300 pounds), this year's was almost triple the weight at 876.5 pounds! Look out next year.. John will hopefully be a contender with one over 1,000 pounds too we hope!

What are YOU doing on Monday Evenings for about 4 - 5 weeks?

We are resuming our seasonal Monday Night Book Club at Christ Episcopal Church, starting Monday, Oct. 10th, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. ALL ARE WELCOME!

"Almost Christian”, “What the Faith of our Teenagers is Telling the American Church.”
is the book we are using this time.

"Kendra Creasy Dean’s compelling new book investigates why American teenagers are at once so positive about Christianity and at the same time so apathetic about genuine religious practice. Dean states that ardent faith in American young people depends upon churches’ ability to recover a sense of mission and model ways of being Christians that go beyond self-serving spiritualities by embodying God’s self-giving love for others.

“Almost Christian” is a wake up call that no one concerned about the future of Christianity in American can afford to ignore.”
Starts October 10th, Monday Evenings 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., running for 4 - 6 weeks.

Our Book Club facilitator will be Chip Mornard, who led us in our last Fall’s Book Club in some great discussions. This book will also bring about discussions & viewpoints allowing us to experience others & ideas in ways we might not have considered before. All are welcome!

Hardcover book cost is $17 each - a limited supply are available now in the Church Offices.. If the cost is a hardship for you, please talk to Fr. Bill.
Please pre-register soon & get your book so we can order more books if needed.
Call 262-728-5292 for more info.

Adam's Rib Cook-Off - GREAT FUN!

Last night was the competition and dinner at our Church... Adam's Rib - BBQ Rib Cook-off and Dinner.

I made a lot of ribs the night before, testing different recipes to see which one was the best... John, Kasey and I did the taste-testing of each kind, the rest were saved to be reheated for the dinner on Saturday night. We picked the best recipe and I marinated them on Friday night and cooked/grilled them on Sat. morning/afternoon for the competition part of the event.

I think they turned out pretty good! Best ribs I've ever made at least. *S*




The dinner was a LOT of fun too! We kept busy selling tickets, keeping food out, greeting people, and running out of ribs! Eeek... with over an hour and a half left to go, we were almost out of ribs ... I ran to the store and got a few broasted chickens to carve up and serve...we still had plenty of side dishes and desserts, and ended up having chicken left over too... making a note of this for next year, so we have more ribs.



We are thankful to our rib judge, Chip Mornard, for his judging talents and for the ribs he brought to add to the dinner (not for the competition), his were DEEEELICIOUS!! Chip has judged rib contests all over the USA, so it was an experienced judge we were blessed with here! Thank you CHIP!



Also much thanks to all the competitors who entered and brought ribs and side dishes and desserts! To those who worked at the event, serving and setting up, cleaning, and more! (Isn't John "cute" in his apron we made the rib servers wear? *L*) A very great dinner was had by MANY, and a lot of fun too!




Pictured here are the rib contestants.. left to right: Patricia, Mike, Ron, Gary, Me, Chuck, Fr. Bill. Chellie and Joe. The winners were: Women's Category: 1st - Chellie, 2nd - Me, 3rd - Patricia. Men's Categlory: 1st - Ron, 2nd - Gary, 3rd - Chuck. And the winners of the Side Dishes were: 1st - Chellie (taco salad), 2nd - Barb B. (baked beans), 3rd - Barb B. (corn pudding). Desserts winners: 1st - Susanne (pumpkin pie), 2nd - Jo (fruit cake), 3rd - Me (apple crisp).



And the grand prize champ - overall rib winner of the $200 cash prize was Ron!! (and believe it or not, he did a lot of research and got his winning recipe off the internet, and hadn't ever made ribs before! So there IS hope for newcomers next year!)





And at the end of the night... this is what was left over... *L*



Look for this event again next September... talks of a Rib AND Chicken BBQ Cook-off then!!

Air Swimmers... Can't Wait to Get Them!

Okay...a friend on Facebook posted a short video about these awesome remote control air balloon fish things... they are SOOO cool... I looked them up and ordered two of them... it will be so much fun at Christmas with the grandkids!! (Shhhh, don't tell them!)

The shark one will be especially fun here for the "shark game" I play with the grandsons... *EG*



... I am thinking I will FOR SURE need to try them out waaay before Christmas...heh heh.

Contrary to what this may look like....

Contrary to what you may think, I am NOT dissecting this torso for the ribs for the Adam's Rib Dinner at Christ Church tomorrow. (Check it out and come on down!!)



But I AM dissecting it for an event in October.. Celebrating Brad – A Tribute to Art in Flux! 5-10pm, Saturday, October 15, at Flux Design, 811 East Vienna-Milwaukee.




Come, bid on art as it evolves (I have to evolve some of mine a little early, finishing it there), and support cancer research and scholarships to MIAD too!

More to come as it evolves....

Happy Birthday to our Youngest Son!!

Hard to believe that our "baby", Kaine, is 24 years old today! How time flies!

Here are some old photos from when he was younger ... and as he grew up... now the tallest member of our family!



We are proud of the young man our youngest son has become!! And the good Daddy he is too! xoxox








Love you ((((Kaine))), it was good to talk to you today...looking forward to the next time you get back home too!









Have a happy birthday celebration!! xoxoxxo

Missoni Schissoni!

I am not in the loop evidently as far as fashion trends go ... the recent uproar and surge on Target Stores yesterday, offering Missoni fashions, had me in the dark.... I've never heard of them before.... but then, I am not a fashionista either..*L*

BUT, I did recall having a blouse back in the 1970's that was similar to their zig-zag design. (shown here)




Everyone had these ... So, just maybe, I was in "fashion" back then and didn't even know it? *L*

I do recall wearing this a lot... and along with the paisley trend, grew to hate them for many years afterward..*L*

What Wonderful Friends and Family!!

I am thankful for such a nice day today ... for the beautiful flowers (in the photo are some from Kasey, but also some from other friends too!), the nice cards, gift cards to my FAVORITE store! (Yes, Good Will! *lol*), and other awesome gifts! So many nice wishes on FB too! A great time and fun gathering at Randy's, and then dinner at Tubby's! Yummmm! What a special day everyone made for me! I am in awe and so thankful for friends and family!... (and what a nice surprise when everyone sang Happy Birthday too - great voices, btw!) *S*

Thank you Lord for them all!!

Another day older... and deeper in debt....

"I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
And the straw boss said "Well, a-bless my soul"

*L* My Dad used to sing this song, that was popular way back when I was a small child .... thanks to Tennesse Williams Ford ... I hope the sun was shining the day I was born, and I think my parents thought they were blessed that day... I know I was! *S*

So, today, I celebrate the 30th anniversary of my 28th birthday! ... OMG, I am OLD!!! *L*


Hoping to still have a fun day and later, support group and dinner with friends!

9/11 Installation Memorial & Peace Walk - In Action

Today was the tribute to 9/11 and the victims, survivors, and prayers for peace, and more. I was a little nervous about the tribute I set up at Christ Church over the weekend for today ... because we had just renovated our building (it is nice, and new and clean), and then I came and brought in a load of "junk" to create this installation assemblage memorial... so, I wondered what some people might think, even though it was done in a spirit of remembrance, prayer, and hopes for the future.

Our priest, Fr. Bill Myrick, had a great sermon too, which made me stop and think ... when do we stop with retaliations? Fr. Bill had a rolled up scroll of paper when he started his sermon today ... He talked about the first reading from the Old Testament ... the death of the Egyptians at the Red Sea ...(from Exodus 14:30)... "Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the Egyptians.."
But were the Israelites really saved, he asked? ("What/WHO does save us all?", that thought floated in my mind as I listened.) Are we really saved? Were the people in NYC, the Pentagon, and in the field where flight 93 crashed, saved by the retaliation and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people following the terrorist's acts on 9/11/2001?

He unrolled the scroll of names he had found on the internet, of the military from the USA killed in Afghanistan alone ... it was a loooong scroll... then he told of how many more were killed in Iraq ... and how many innocent civilians, men, women and children were killed as well in the middle east....HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE!

Not to discount the horribleness of the events of 9/11, or dishonor the dead and their memories... but, the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people following 9/11, the deaths that are STILL continuing in our wars, is that what we are about?

"...there has to be a better way...", Fr. Bill said.
I agree, but what, how, when do we change things for that better way?

His sermon sure made me think even deeper about our world, my self, what my reactions should and would be. Remembering too the Gospel lesson from today (Matthew 18:21-35)...
... 70 x 7 (I have this on a plaque hanging over the door in my dining room) ... how many times should I forgive? Continually!! Lord, help me to do so, help us, as a country, as a world of humanity, to do so!




I was not prepared at how much this Memorial (and I'm sure Fr. Bill's sermon prior to them viewing it) touched people's hearts, minds and memories... but, I am thankful that those who experienced it maybe found some peace, some closures, and offered prayers for the victims, and the future.

It was a comfort, and interesting as well, to hear the shared stories and experiences of where others were on Sept. 11, 2001, ... a time, when, wherever we were, we were all connected, even though we might not have realized it.





It was a blessing to have children experience the "Peace Walk" on the Labyrinth, which for them, was a more joyful occasion (these children were not even alive when 9/11/2001 occurred), but their joy in life, is what we bring forth in hope despite the losses and changes from 9/11.




And I am especially thankful for the help in taking down the memorial ...thanks Carol and Susannne!! xoxoxxo


So, it's back to the present, since I think the electricians will be needing their scaffolding early in the morning tomorrow!