BACK FROM BREAK.....

We are back from our wonderful week over in Galena. I thought that I would do a quick update of what we did. Before I do that, however, I have to share the WONDERFUL tote that came to me from Anita who lives in Canada as part of the International Tote Exchange!!
















I was so overwhelmed by the bag and all of the wonderful goodies that she included in the package..... A knitting book; 2 boxes of Canadian chocolate; Noro yarn; Salt Spring French Roast coffee...and of course the wonderful tote that I know I am going to LOVE... and because it is a gift for me, I will not be tempted to give it away!

Thank You Thank You Anita!!!





I’ve been doing much less knitting this break than I had planned, but am very very ok with that. Because instead of knitting, I have been enjoying family and friends....including some new friends that we just made this week. (Which I will get to in a bit!) But, back to knitting. I finished and felted the bag that will be heading to Russia Monday. It’s a Sophie bag, knit double stranded with Paton’s Wool and Andes wool held together. I made the S-cord handle, which is one of my favorites. Now to just add the button and it will be ready for it’s trip around the world!








Back to our new friends; Mallory’s family came and joined us in Galena for a visit. It was so great to meet them and spend some time with them. As Kirstin said “It seems like we’ve known them for years”.







We had several birthday’s to celebrate this week, and so Kirstin baked a cake. It is the Snickerdoodle cake recipe from ‘The Cake Mix Doctor’ book. Kirstin has two of these books and every cake she has made has been a winner. With this cake, she added pirouette cookies around the edge...and also used little pieces of them as candle holders. It was a great cake.















Tim, (Mallory’s dad), Mallory and Aaron, the 3 celebrating birthdays, made wishes and blew out the candles. Hurray for birthdays! It’s a GREAT excuse to eat cake!!







Aaron taught us a new game this week... Settlers of Catan. It is a very fun game. Very interactive with every player taking part of every turn. I will admit that I am now addicted and can hardly wait to play my next game!!







And then we were off to CHICAGO!! We drove in Wednesday to finally see WICKED! (Kirstin and I have been trying to go since last summer!!). The first stop was BIG BOWL... Ok, I admit, this is my favorite restaurant, and I think I swayed the decision making to have this be top choice. I just LOVE the Chicken Pad Thai. The kids enjoyed it, although I know that it is a little different food than what Mallory is used to.








Before we left Galena, Ryan and Mallory made up sack lunches that they carried with them as we walked the streets of Chicago. When we met up with someone asking for help, they offered them a lunch. It humbled me to see them reaching out in such a way, when my biggest concern of the day was whether I would be able to safely drive in and out of downtown Chicago (It’s a big city!!!) .

















And then it was on to WICKED! It was INCREDIBLE!! If you ever have the opportunity to see it, I would definitely recommend it! I was thankful that we had been listening to the CD since last summer and knew all of the music. My only regret is that Steve was not able to come with us (He couldn’t get all of Spring break off, and had to work W-F).








Ok Aaron, What are you telling Elphaba????














We ended up staying over Thursday and coming home this afternoon (Friday). It was a great week. Now unpacking and laundry and possible a nap are calling out! So....


Until next time.......