Summer "Bucket List" Check Off

Just a few days are left of summer, and the mental "Bucket List" of things to do is about to expire with the coming of Labor Day. We have had such a great summer going to concerts at Millennium Park, walking to get frozen treats at Yogurt Square, eating al fresco when possible, going to the beach, going to lovely weddings, getting to our cabin. The last on the list was getting Miss E on the train to have a downtown experience with her Papa and MeMo.
And, happily, that has now been accomplished!

We took her on the Brown Line to the Madison Wabash stop. Far more than the stops on the
train were her why questions...

Why was the train stopping? Why are the doors closing?  Why is the woman holding a bag?
Why, why, why?  She loved seeing the people get on and off and the doors opening and closing and the ding dong of the bell announcing the closing of the doors.

Once off the train, we walked over to Millennium park for a picnic by the Bean. (Otherwise know as Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor). She asked if she could eat the Bean. No, we explained, it is only shaped like a bean and is made out of shiny material one would certainly not want to eat!

Then we ate our picnic supper on a table near the Bean. Food finished! Off to the Bean, with a stop to change into her bathing suit and cover-up.

Then, at last, to the "Face Fountain" (Crown Fountain byJaume Plensa) for some splashing fun!
(Miss E is the running pink dot to the right of the mouth of the face.)

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We simply had the best time! Nothing like summer in the city with our grand-daughter - check and double check!!

Out with the Old and In with LITTLE RED

Had enough of all the old stuff I've been posting lately?  Me, too!  Let's get on with something new in our neighborhood.  That being a certain little girl who got a certain little outfit from her MeMo.

Quite a while back I spotted this Little Red Riding Hood outfit/costume.  It was cute.  I bought it.  It was way too big --- but not any more.



Over the weekend Miss E tried the costume on.

I told her a tamed-down version of the story in which nothing dreadful happens to the Grandmother, and the wolf runs away never to be seen again. No huntsman, that's for sure.

For the next couple of hours, we played out the story:  I was the sick Grandmother, she was "Little
Red" skipping (jumping, hopping, tip-toeing, crawling) through the forest with a basket full of goodies (fake foods including a lemon, pickles, a pancake, french fries, chocolate milk, eggs, bread, etc.) to feed Grandmother back into health.  Then I would I have bedtime song sung to lure me to sleep (her choice/my favorite was a repeated chorus from the benediction "The Lord Bless You and Keep You" ) and then a countdown to wake up.

Once up, the feeling-well Grandmother (requiring a stool upon which to sit as she's old and can't easily sit on the floor) would go for a picnic with Little Red spread out on the quilt I made for her birth.  And repeat. Repeat, repeat. 

There are merits to hot days when you are stuck inside!  But, please, be on the lookout for wayward wolves who aren't invited indoors!

Rockin' On

Not wanting to give to give away the exact age of Wes's baby sister, let's just say she was little a looooong time ago!  As Wes was quite a bit older, he was able to make this special rocking horse to present to her when she was just the right age for rocking in style.

Stored away as his sister grew older, the rocking horse was brought out of storage, painted and readied for own two little wranglers. Once again, this horse was much loved.

Now the much-loved horse is back in action! This time, the paint is chipped and dinged from all those years in the attic. One day Miss E was over and we had an inspiration to pull the horse out of the attic and she has been riding it ever since.

She rides it in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening. And when she has to leave the horse, she'll even say good-bye with a little kiss to the head. I'm so glad this three-generation horse is a part of our "stable!"

Is there anything you are saving for a future generation?

Miss E Crafts for Daddy

She very much wanted to make something for her
Daddy after having made something for her Mommy!

This time, it was a catch-all jar for nails, screws and
whatnots.  And this time, I outfitted her in an apron
just her size.  Every crafter needs an apron after all.

(Please ignore the picture of her standing on the chair, parents.)

Judging from the looks of the
father/daughter team, I'd say
the gift was a success!
(This happened on Father's Day while we were near the cabin.)

Pink Suitcase Chronicles #49: Older-saurus

Once again, we gathered in Michigan at the family cabin to
celebrate five --- five --- birthdays in one swoop: John, Jed,
Kari, Anne and Wes.  Because one in the group is crossing from
the twenty decade to the thirty decade and might be considered
to be a "dinosaur" the theme was obvious!

This year was different than other years when we celebrated at
the White Stag in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.  This time, the kids
wanted Lou Malnati's pizza from Chicago and wanted to have
the party right at the cabin with their grandparents.  Lucky for
me, we live in a town with a Lou's take-out and the pizzas were
frozen and ready to pack in our cooler.  The cakes were purchased
and personalized in Iron River and ready to go.

Ellie was the inspiration for our main activity of watercolor painting:
it was her idea to do this as a party activity!  Quite fun, actually.

The dinosaur heads/hats were found at Dollar Tree. The volcano
was made ahead of time at home with a tutorial found online that
suggested using plaster of paris.  None of that was found in the
basement household supplies but there was powdered grout and it
worked pretty well as a substitute.  I painted the volcano with
acrylic paint and sealed it with a glazing compound.  After the cake
was served, the volcano ingredients were mixed and then the
eruption took place, much to Ellie's delight.

Finally, it was time for gifts. Even Ellie got one...check out what
her MeMo made at the end of this post! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
YOU FIVE
AGELESS WONDERS!

 

Patriotic Remembering

Today is Memorial Day
and the time to remember
those who have served
our country.  We think of
our fathers,
Elom and Elder,
who left loved ones
behind; thankfully
both made it home
from the
war and went on to
raise families of their
own.
Thank you!

We think of those who
made it home, but have
had injuries to deal with.



We think of our young
neighbor, Benjamin,
who is currently
recovering from gunshot wounds
recieved just a short time
ago in Afghanistan.
Thank you, Ben.

Knowing that there was a parade in our town honoring and
remembering those who have served and those currently enlisted,
we knew it was the right thing to go to show our support. 
Even Miss E got into the action by waving the flag and
clapping for the guests of honor!












Following the parade,
we headed home to make
an impromptu lunch with
hot dogs, potato salad
and the typical holiday fare.

But there had to be cake
with the patriotic colors of
red, white and blue. 
And Miss E had to help with
the decorating of said

cake.  The beauty of being
a grandmother came out
when she wanted the
strawberries to go where
she wanted them to go

and going with that
instead of in rows
like the flags' stripes
might be placed. 
She also insisted that
there be candles on the

cake, so we went with that, too.

And what song
to be sung with
the presentation of the
patriotic cake?
To the tune of
"Happy Birthday to You,"
we sang:

Happy Red, White and Blue,
Happy Red, White and Blue,
Happy Red, White and Blue,
Happy Red, White and Blue!

Thank you, again, to those of you who have served

to make our country safe and strong, past and present.

The Crafting Gene?

I've had my hunches for quite a while now that Miss E just might

have the crafting gene that I seem to have been born with.  She asks

for crayons, paper and play-doh whenever she visits. She knows her

colors and has her favorites.  (Not white, that's for sure - she always

wants it taken out of the pack and placed away from the other colors.)

Recently, we had a just-the-two-of us Girl's Night
and there was a secret plan of making her Mommy a gift.
I purchased (at the local thrift shop) an 8 x 10 white picture frame
and brought out the bin of pom poms.  Miss E had fun sorting
them into pastel colors, sorting out the reds, greens and bright
blues to the side.  Then out came the glue - she couldn't wait to get
going with that!

All around the frame went the pom poms.  I put the glue down
and she stuck the pom pom on the glue.  And so on until the frame
was covered.  Yes, I thought to myself, she is keeping going until
the project is complete!  This took about 20 minutes, and she
was still ready to craft more...so we moved on to the wrapping
paper for the gift then and there.

Two flower-shaped cookie
cutters were used to print
on the white paper.   She
wanted purple, so I mixed
together the red and the blue
paint.  A cork was used to
print the flower centers. 
The paper was ready, but had
to wait overnight to dry.

The first thing we did after
breakfast the next day was
to put the picture in the frame,
then into a box and then came
the wrapping.

It's ready for giving to Mommy now, and Miss E was pretty

excited about her secret gift even though her glance looks a

little ??? in the picture.

Can't wait for more adventures in crafting with Miss E,

that's for sure!