Friday, December 28, 2012

Getting Ready

There was more back to school prep including the middle school open house for the youngest. Yikes! When did she get so big?

And middle daughter's college pile

This past autumn I noticed more yellow flowers than ever

And I had a fascination with milkweed.



A pretty display at the yellow store

And a charming small town on the way to the oldest's college

Monday, December 24, 2012

A Fair Day

We had a great time on the only day we were able to all go to the fair.  First stop--the cow barn including Moo-lette!



She won--on the Midway.




I do believe bumper cars will still be considered fun 50 years from now.

No visit is complete without mini doughnuts.

Some 4-H art work. Very cool!


Shows to watch.


An addition to the ketchup and mustard lip balm from last year.

Togetherness.

Friday, December 14, 2012

And then it was time

We took the oldest back to school at the end of August. No trip that way is complete without a stop at the yellow store.

These mobiles by the cookie cutters were cute.

Shelves full of bacon goodies.


Freshly baked items

The vast soda assortment

Japanese soda in a cool bottle that has a marble stopper built into it.

A gorgeous flowerbed by the road


Settled in

It is hard to believe that there are already only a few days to the end of the first semester. It will be nice to have the older two home for Christmas break.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Making Memories

One day in August, the older two and I went on a little adventure before college started. We had heard about a pop-up gallery just the weekend before so we went to visit it.  It was near downtown and had some of the work of Jack Edwards, a designer. For years there has been a department store on the same corner in downtown. It is now Macy's, but it used to be Marshall Field's and before that Dayton's. The Dayton family started the store and they have contributed greatly over the years to the community.  Every Christmas since at least the early 60's there has been a Christmas show in the store's 8th floor auditorium.  Each year there used to be a different theme.  Jack Edwards designed some of the manequins that were used. He also designed costumes for a prominent local theater. Above you see Snow White.

This is the evil queen who looks surprisingly like Joan Rivers.

Mother Goose

Characters from the Wind in the Willows

The White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland

The woman in the pop-up gallery made it interesting for us and also told us to check out this mosaic in the alley behind the gallery. I have no idea why this would be put in a place where it is somewhat hidden.

Then we went to the nearby sculpture garden after picking up some sub sandwiches.  This sculpture in particular is locally famous.


It was a fun afternoon and I hope the girls remember it in the years to come.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Remember

As we head further into what should be snow season, here are some more pictures to remember the warm sun and roses of summer.