Celebrating 40

I turned 40 on August 4. Although most of my friends are older than me, 40 still seems so much older than 39. We had a party in my backyard with homemade popsicles, taco salad and 2 amazing cakes: a 4 layer cake with strawberry filling and buttercream frosting from the bakery at The Red Brick and a Chocolate Mocha cake made by my sister-in-law. My friends, Christy, Kevin and Kate came from Kansas for the party. Rodney and Carmina came up for the party and to pick up their 2 kids who have spent the past 2 weeks up here with me and my folks. My aunt, uncle and cousin came from Ontario and an old friend came from Indiana. It's been an awesome 2 weeks off from work. Thanks to everyone who made it happen!

Check out this watermelon that cousin Suzanne and Aunt Gladys carved!

Beautiful Friends

Last weekend I went to Lancaster, PA for the 40th birthday celebration for my friend, Beky. We've been friends since college days. Actually, I'm pretty sure we were also in the same cabin at Camp Friedenswald when we were kids, but we really became friends when we lived next door to each other as Freshmen at Bethel College. Our friend, Christy, flew with me from Chicago. These are the kind of friends that feel like family. We covered just about every topic we might need or want to talk about in the 3 days or so that we were together. It is great to have friends who have known me for so long and for whom time and distance cannot separate. I hope each of you are lucky enough to have such friends, and I am grateful to have that type of friendship with others out there as well. Thank you, my friends.

Retreating

I went to Women's Retreat at Camp Friedenswald again this year. It was just nice to get away and to be with the women from Community Mennonite. They are my family. Here they are leading a song for the rest of the group.

Under the Kansas Sky

I am in Kansas for Spring Break! They have blue sky here. And sun!


















We went on a walk on the Sand Creek Trail. In college, we used to find our way through the tall grasses and trees, cross a bridge over Sand Creek and have parties. Guys with walkie-talkies would help us find our way. The bridge is still there but now a beautiful nature trail leads right past.




















I'm having a blast with my nieces and I drove to see Jacob and his Mom. Great fun!


























Here's a video for those of you not on Facebook. Why aren't you on Facebook?? :)

Reconnecting in God's Country

My folks and I drove to Kansas recently to visit Rodney, Carmina, Cheyanne and Ember.


It was much warmer there than in Michigan and we soaked it up. Those who live, or have lived there, lovingly refer to Kansas as "God's Country."

Our friend, Naomi, created an Ultimate Hopscotch course in the driveway. My nieces had fun figuring it out with their friend, Kate, the next day while I posed with my friend, Christy in our nearly matching outfits. She has a belt on, though, and we have this joke that if you wear a belt then you are dressed up. I'm much more casual.

Good Sport

Last Thursday we had snow day #3. I got the call very early in the morning and by 7:15am I was on my way to Chicago, listening to my new favorite song by Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet.

My friend, Ashish, came to visit me for a few days from Texas. We met up in Chicago and have been staying at my parents' condo while they are vacationing in Florida. He arrived last Thursday, on the coldest day in Chicago in a decade. Until the day before his arrival, he didn't even own boots, hat, scarf, and gloves. Friday morning when we were headed to Chicago on the Metra, it was minus 17F ACTUAL TEMP!

He was a real good sport, though, and we bundled up and headed for the city. First stop: Sears Tower.

Then we headed to the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Building for lunch. The view was phenomenal, but the food not so great. We loved the experience anyhow.


The next day we checked out the Field Museum, ate dim sum in Chinatown and went to a Jerry Douglas concert at The Old Town School of Folk Music. An amazing day!

We've been using the Metra and CTA buses and trains most of the time with one cab. I'm having fun getting to know my way around Chicago after a couple decades away.

I've Been Tagged! Are You Next?

I just realized that I was tagged by Angela in on 8/26/08 and have some questions to answer, so here goes:

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
Hmmmm...1998? I think I lived part of the year in the little A-frame house in North Newton, KS until I bought my first house all the way across town in Newton. I was working at Youthville as a Placement Coordinator for children in the foster care system. I think that was also the year that Kristin gave birth to Naomi and I became "Auntie Bonita." I'm sure I spent a bit of time doting over that adorable baby.
2. What are 5 things on your to-do list?
Buy a cake for Cheyanne's birthday.
Buy fruit fly traps.
Take some clothes to Goodwill.
Get some warmer clothes out of storage.
Find a place to put all of the full canning jars.
3. What are some snacks you enjoy?
Dark chocolate covered almonds
Popcorn
Luna bars
4. If you were a billionaire, what would you do?
Pay off my credit card.
Hire a financial advisor.
Make sure the kids in my life have money for college.
Pay off any family debts.
Buy the beautiful house next to the cottage.
Set up a foundation to give away a ton of money!
5. What are 3 of your bad habits?
Making snide comments that I wish I wasn't making.
Staying up late, but not near as late as Christy! (Is that a snide comment?)
Waiting until company is coming to clean, and sometimes not even then.
6. What Places Have You Lived?
Markham, IL
North Newton, KS
Newton, KS
Mt. Horeb, WI
Red Wing, MN
Lawrence, MI
7. What are 5 jobs you have had?
Food Service at Bethel
Nanny
Ski Shop Cashier
Placement Coordinator
Early Interventionist
8. What are 5 things many people don't know about you?
I have a thing for office supplies, especially plastic sleeves.
Sometimes I stay in my pajamas all day and change into clean ones at night.
I like to watch dumb, yet creepy, reality shows like Rescue 911 and Forensic Files.
I like to sleep under my fake down comforter, even in the summer (with the A/C on, of course).
I love podcasts, especially from the BBC and NPR.

Whew! That was harder than I thought. Now I get to tag some of you and you can respond on your blogs if you wish.

Consider yourselves tagged:
Kristin N. E.
Christy S. S.
Beverly B.

We're Happy Together

We threw a 4th of July party weekend here at the cottage. Besides me, 14 people came and stayed for varying lengths of time. 2 sleeping tents, a shower tent and a porta-potty were hauled in. We grilled, ate s'mores, listened to someone play a guitar by the camp fire, picked cherries, went to the flea market, bought 50 pounds of blueberries, and played hard! Some people went tubing or water skiing. 3 of us women even swam across the lake! Thanks for coming! For those of you who couldn't make it, you're welcome anytime!

Feeling the Love

I am in Xenia, Ohio this weekend for a graduation party. When I lived in Wisconsin the year before I went to grad school, I was a nanny for 3 kids, ages 6, 4, and 4 months. The oldest graduated this year and asked me to come for the celebration. It has been quite an honor to be welcomed back into this family that I haven't seen for many years. The mom and I felt a bond from the moment we met 13 years ago at my interview. Her daughter didn't tell her I was coming and worked together with her dad to make it happen. She was so excited to surprise her mom and it was so fun to be the surprise. I am definitely feeling the love. It's like being at a family reunion with people I haven't seen for a few years, but some of them I've never met until now yet they have welcomed me like family.

It has also been fantastic to be in a city with stores all around. I spent my Saturday morning going to Target, a pet store, Half Price Books and a Salvation Army store. It can't get much better than all this.


Here is a picture of me with the "kids."

Sometimes The World is Too Big

I called my friend Christy tonight. She wasn't home so I talked to her husband instead. He said she's partying at Kristin's house. Sometimes I feel the world is too big. I wish that everyone I love could live nearby. I want to be partying with Christy and Kristin in Kansas.

But then I wouldn't be here. I would have missed the paddleboat ride with Ember, catching minnows for my nieces, looking for toads, watching turtles run through the grass, playing Outburst Junior with Cheyanne, resurfacing the driveway with the grown-ups in the family, a dip in the lake with the girls, sleeping 3 people in a tiny room, and being reminded of how much my nieces love me:f


I guess Cheyanne wishes the world was a bit smaller too.

I Think They Fit

Here are my friend Carin and her beautiful baby, Mae, wearing the sweater and booties that I sent. Adorable!

Happy Feet

I love to send little surprise packages to people. They often include something knitty. Today I received a surprise package of my own. A pair of Knitting Girl socks. Thanks, Sher!









I am working on a secret knitting project right now, but I can show you something else I made. What used to be a wool sweater is now a felted handbag.

Kinda Fishy

My friend Christy is visiting from Kansas. We're having a great time catching up. She'd never walked on water before, so we walked out onto the lake and checked out the fishing holes. When we spotted a long crack and heard a popping sound we ran the other way and we lived to tell about it.


I tried to measure the depth of the ice with a long stick. It was at least as long as the distance between my hands in the photo, and probably thicker.

We went to the beach in South Haven, where a surprising number of people were exploring the ice and snow. I had no idea that so many people go to the beach in the winter.

Christy has been trying to emulate the photographic techniques of our friend, Kristin. Can anyone figure out what this is a picture of (below)? I'll give you a hint. It was taken on Sunday.

Of course, it was great to see Ember and Cheyanne again.

To see the entire slideshow from our trip, visit the Emerald Inn website.

A Sad Farewell

I heard today about the sudden death of a friend in Minnesota, Jane Bowman Nigen. We knew her as the joyful and energetic singer, song-writer, and musician from The Back Porch Band. We always tried to catch their shows at The Blue Moon in Red Wing, MN. Jane loved kids and would often try to get Cheyanne to go on stage with her. Cheyanne wasn't sure how to respond to Jane's boundless energy and enthusiasm and preferred to draw pictures that Jane proudly displayed on the front of her keyboard during performances. We'll always have fond memories of Jane, and we've played the Back Porch Band CD so much we wore the first one out. To learn more about our friend, Jane, click here. Goodbye, Jane. You'll be missed.

Yes, I've Still Got the Baby

Although my last 2 posts were not about the baby I am supposed to be taking care of here in Minnesota, I am still taking care of him and here is a picture to prove it. Okay, so I'm not in the photo but that's because he's cuter.

3 Kittens and a Yarn Garage

Another great day in Minnesota! 2 friends went with me today to check out 2 yarn shops in the Twin Cities. First stop was 3 Kittens Needles Arts where I bought some patterns and yarn I didn't know I needed.

Guess I'd better get busy since some of the projects are intended for Christmas presents.

After yarn we were hungry and ate at a fabulous Italian restaurant called Buon Giorno Italia where you can choose your ingredients and they toss 'em up for you. I, of course, chose pesto...because it's the besto. From there were were ready to tackle the Yarn Garage.

Here we are in a picture taken by the owner as we were in shock from all the yarn:

Trains, Music Videos, and Friends in Pajamas

I spent Thanksgiving Day travelling by train from Chicago to Minnesota where I am taking care of a 10 month old baby. I arrived about 9pm and planned to walk the 2 blocks to their apartment but was instead greeted unexpectedly by a knitter friend. You know who you are, and THANKS! As we were getting in the car, the friend I am babysitting for came running down the street with her daughter, both wearing their slippers and pajamas! What a great surprise welcome back to Minnesota.

The baby and I are getting along well on this, our first day alone. We'll be hanging out all of next week while his mom and sister are out of town. They tried to fill me in on what he likes, including the online video by Timbaland called "Apologize." Okay, so it's not a kid-friendly video but he just likes to dance to it and it's familiar while I am not. Here he is gettin' down:

Love and Loss on the Prairie

The scarecrow sighed. "Of course I cannot understand it," he said. "If your heads were stuffed with straw like mine you would probably all live in beautiful places, and then Kansas would have no people at all. It is fortunate for Kansas that you have brains."

- L. Frank Baum

I just got home from my Kansas vacation. Have you noticed that people don't usually vacation in Kansas? They drive through it or around it, or they've heard of it but haven't spent any time there. I won't bother to explain the beauty there. You have to experience the sky, the open spaces, the people, for yourself. I just returned from my trip to Newton, KS where I saw many old friends and met some new ones. It was simply wonderful to be around people I've known for so long. I let my friend Christy take care of me while I was there. What a gift!

We had a Happy Adoption Party on Saturday for the little boy I used to have in foster care. He will turn 11 years old in January. His new mom is amazing! She has high expectations for him and he is rising to meet them. He can walk, albeit unsteady, while holding onto one of her hands. His therapist says he may be able to walk unassisted within 6 months. Unbelievable!! I wish I could post a photo, but since the adoption isn't finalized I will have to wait.

While we were there a very dear friend, Larry Voth, died. He's been very sick for almost 7 years and was really suffering, so I'm grateful his suffering is over. What an honor to be included as part of the family for his last hours and in the planning of the memorial service. Larry was the pastor at Community Mennonite Church in Markham, IL when I was a child and their family has remained an important part of our lives. They moved to KS in 1973 and he became the Director of Development at Bethel College and successfully recruited me to attend college there, which shaped the course of my life.

Now I'm home in Michigan again and will be going to Cadillac, MI for a training next week. Life goes on.

To the Prairie, the Forest and the Bluffs

Wow! Since I last blogged I have made plans to drive to Kansas at the end of the month to see my wonderfully awesome friends, the little boy I used to have in foster care and to meet the woman who is adopting him. AMAZING!!

I have also agreed to take care of my godson in Minnesota for a week while his mom and sister go on a trip. He will be 10 months old by then so we'll surely have a blast!

This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving and lots of family is coming to celebrate here at the cottage. I'll be sure to post some Thanksgiving pics at the end of the weekend.

Getting Your Hair to Grow

Okay, so I finally got to a computer with high-speed internet and was able to view the following ADORABLE video on my friend's website. Please check it out, but only if you like cute kids: Eliza, What Did You Do?