Black tie-ing it

Sorry...No quilts in this post.

Murray and I attended a black tie wedding. 

It was a blast. 

My friend Susan was MOG.

Having just been a MOG myself, I felt for her. 

The nerves, not being in control of anything, what will the best man say, will everyone have a good time, etc etc etc.

She came by in the morning and had her makeup done by one of Aurelia's friends. 

All the fellas were at her house getting ready. 

She was a tangle of tenseness, a mimosa helped. 

She looked gorgeous!

Too bad I didn't get a picture of her in her dress.

Truth is, Murray took all the pictures. 

I was too busy watching everything. 

Thanks, Murray. 

The ceremony was in an old church in Pompey. 

The bride was stunning. 

These 3 looked so sweet, and turned into dancing machines at the reception. 

At the church, we had champagne & sushi on the lawn following the ceremony. 

It was Jimmys first bartending gig.

I didn't get a pic of that. 

I also didn't get a pic with Miss Mary, my favorite bridesmaid. 

Ugh 

The reception was at the newly renovated Hotel Syracuse Grand Ballroom. 

They have a very romantic story.

The groom sang a love song to the bride...not a dry eye in the house. 

Such a beautiful couple!

More than half of the guests were from Australia. 

It was interesting to see the different customs.

Aussies love to drink & make speeches. 

We had a great time!

Brrrrrrrr

Home again

Home again

Jiggedy jig. 

What is that from anyway?

The only good thing about leaving this...

Is this...

And I'll see my loves...K,J,J & J. 

We had a nice week+ together, my Murray & me. 

Murray golfed EVERY SINGLE DAY, which kept him happy. 

Lucky for me, this hot granny came to keep me company. 

We did lotsa chatting, shopping, decorating, eating and wine drinking. 

We walked a bit, too.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect. 

The last night, we got our Art on. 

Wine & Canvas at FMBrew. 

Move over, Leonardo!

S&M are on the scene. 

The Nadeaus are always a delight. 

I swear Mike was there, too. 

But he was golfing with my Mur.

And buying dinner. 

Obvi, too busy for photos. 

BTW, I'm freezing. 

***kindness***

Labor Day

We had a real nice weekend. 

Barb & Tim & Lexie came up.

(No Lexie pics, she had her head in the candy dish all weekend...trust me, she's still adorbs)

The guys golfed everyday. 

B & me hit Slaneateles on Friday & Mission Rose on Saturday. 

I may or may not have acquired some new textiles.

Mission rose is getting good again...thank you Quilty gods. 

We spent some time in the studio....I finished a flimsie & longarmed another Christmas flimsy.

We ate well...very well.

2 nights here...one night at Francescas thanks to B&T. (Seafood Riggies for me..oink...oink)

Sunday, we were joined by our newlyweds. 

Murray grilled steaks perfectly, & the grill potatoes were yummy.

Jenn brought a strawberry pie...😋

As if this wasn't enough....

Look what Tim made for me!

My very own quilt rack...I wuv it!

I still squeal every time I see it....

He fashioned it after a quilt rack we saw in our Brucefest rental....

I've wanted a display for my quilts for so long....

To have one handmade, specially just for me....well...

****SQWEE****

He even hung it for me!

Here I am, posing with Gepetto, aka Tim, and his creation.

Thanks, Tim.

I'm thrilled!

Stay tuned for some REALLY BIG (non Quilty) NEWS IN THE NEXT WEEKS!

***spread kindness like confetti***

It's me again

For assorted reasons, I've been a bad blogger. 

Here's what's been happening.

Florida was the place to be this winter, for sure!

I thoroughly enjoyed avoiding the cold.

Here's a picture recap of a bit of it.

Some flimsies were constructed & I've used almost all of my Christmas stash!

Here are a few...

I hope to post more when they're all done!

I spent time with some of my favorite peeps....

 

I love Florida. 

This didn't happen...

I'm still a little sad about it.

But, I'm sure there will be another baby for me one day. 

I took a class with Pat Sloan at Barbs guild in PA. 

I didn't think I was going to like it.

I was wrong.

Here's my WIP from it...

I also bought a few of her books. 

When she comes your way....take her classes. 

This happened, too.

Herman tied the knot!

Our family is growing & we're all thrilled that Jenn has joined our clan!

We went to Michigan and celebrated the newest Kissells...

As you can see, a good time was had by all!

Brucefest happened....

Bruce is a Yankee Doodle Dandy so I made him this quilt...

Claire was there, too!

After Brucefest, I headed to the beach for more Claire time.

We made drippy castles, hit the boardwalk & had lotsa pretending. 

Claire does not disappoint...she's a blast!

Syracuse had its first ever Quiltweek!

But that, my friends, needs a separate post. 

I'm hoping to get back to more regular blogging, so, stay tuned. 

In closing, thanks to all of you who have reached out to me to say you missed me or were worried. 

Your kindness means a lot!

Mimi & Pat's Excellent Niagara Falls Adventure

Pat has never been to Niagara Falls. 

Mimi & I hadn't been in a while. 

So, off we went. 

We stayed at the Fallsview Marriott on the recommendation of a friend. 

We arrived late in the afternoon. 

We grabbed a bite at Outback.

Then sat in the lobby bar and played cards. 

The other guests were fascinated by this. 

We signed up for a tour at 9 the next morning.

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. 

Tony was our guide. 

He took us....

Behind the falls. 

The hallways are kinda spooky and very damp.

You can go outside if you want to get very wet. 

The falls are so powerful.

Then a nice view from Table Rock.

A restful and informative driving tour.

Our hotel

A stop in one of many gorgeous Niagara Falls parks.

These parks are all maintained without tax dollars!

The rapids at the gorge...the fastest rapids in the world. 

Hard to see how beautiful it is!

We saw the floral clock, but only from the bus. 

That was enough. 

Then went to the Butterfly House. 

My sister loved it and so did I!

Pat, not so much. 

Over 2000 butterflies!

In a house in the middle of the most gorgeous botanical garden!

After returning to the hotel, we got in the car and headed to Niagara on the Lake. 

What a gorgeous spot.

We ate at an Irish Pub.

Mimi wanted a salad, but ordered liver & onions, of course.

What is it about my sisters and ordering food?

Clam bellies..now liver & onions?

Oy.

We even took a spin on the WeGo bus.

There were lotsa laughs going thru customs on the way home. 

Actually, there were lotsa laughs the whole time. 

There is always lotsa laughing with Meem.

Its true, there's nothing like the laughs you get with a sister. 

I've learned...Niagara Falls is a lot more fun with my contemporaries than it is with school children. 

And, I think Clive might enjoy a long weekend at Niagara on the Lake. 

They say the Christmas decorating is exquisite up there!

Hmmmmmm.....