We Are Family....

My younger sister, Julie, is coming to visit! Well, she's actually coming to get her furniture out of storage. You see, she lived here in Madison for 6 years...in the same apartment building as I did. She moved to Durango, Colorado a year and a half ago...and has decided to stay out there.

She's flying in tomorrow night (Thursday) and we'll have the weekend together...she'll leave on Labor Day. We will be busy shopping and visiting family and seeing her friends and loading her truck. We will have some quiet time together, too...to sit and chat, hang out with the dogs, have pizza/watch a movie, etc.! Monday will come all too soon.

I'll be sure to take lots of photos. See ya soon!

Glenn E. Welter - My Dad.

Today, I am remembering my Dad.

There have been some smiles & some tears...

It would have been his 81st birthday.

Unfortunately, he died of a massive coronary infarction

just after his 51st birthday...30 years ago.

At 26 years of age, I was absolutely devastated.

My sons have no clear memory of him...

they were 1 & 3 when he died.

They were his first grandsons

(well, first boys in the family, really,

as I have only sisters ...no brothers)

Dad was so proud to be their Grandpa!

I was going to do an entire photo montage thing,

but just couldn't deal with it,

so here are a few of my favorite pictures...

not in any particular order.

My Mom & Dad on their wedding day.

Here's Grandpa playing on the floor with Matthew...

who has my Dad's name as his middle name.

This is my favorite formal picture of my Mom & Dad...

taken in celebration of their 25th wedding anniversay in 1974.

And, this is my favorite picture of Dad & I...

look how handsome he is in his tuxedo.

I love our expressions...

Dad loved to go camping...this was taken a year before he died.

Then, there is this adorable picture!

It's winter in Wisconsin...I must have been 3 years old.

He was a great Dad...poor thing, he was surrounded by girls!

But, he did the best he could....played ball with us,

took us fishing & to the stockcar races.

oh Dad, I love you...and miss you still.

Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis...AWESOME!!!

OHMYGOSH...this is too cool!!!

I can't wait to see it tonight,

but in case you won't be able to catch it, here it is!!!

A Journey...to the End!

I've been slow at finishing this and I'm not sure why,

cuz I didn't hook much in 2007!

This is 'Tag E. Butt'. This free pattern was in RHM

and I was smitten with it...

had to enlarge it and hook it!

I used #8.5 cut wool strips...

it measures ~22 x 29 inches.

One of my favorite rugs to date.

I made this 'Stretch Golden' for Kimmer. I think it measures ~7 x 26 inches.

I moved last year, and did several stitchings for Christmas...

and then made these pillows for my grandkids.

This is a chairpad from Wendy Miller that I made into a pillow for Jasmine.

This is 'Tag', my design...for Conlan.

This snowman is by Kelley Belfast...for Devin.

This Sheep Dreams pillow is Kaylynn's.

That's all!!! Thanks for taking this journey with me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROBERT!!!

Did you know...Percy is 60 years old today!

Happy Birthday, Robert Plant!

New Look...Again!

Check this out! I found another place to get FREE backgrounds! Oh, this is way too much for me! Click on the "Leelou Blogs" button in my sidebar and take a look!!!

That's all for now...been on the phone since I got home and need to eat supper and read for a bit.

You Won't Want to Miss THIS!!!

"David Beckham will star at the Olympics closing ceremony in

Beijing as the handover to London 2012 gets under way.

The spectacular event on August 24 will also see

Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page (YAY!)

performing a duet with pop star Leona Lewis."
This, according to the MIRROR.


I say, "Leona WHO????"

Well, where have I been? She is fabulous!

Get to know her on Wikipedia and here !!

(be sure to check my sidebar for Leona on YouTube)

This blew me away!!! Be sure to keep your eye on Simon...

And, in case you thought David Beckham was

just another pretty face...

Apparently, he's quite useful!

(okay, I admit it, I had a vague idea of who he is, but that's all!)

Dogs Playing and Dogs and Dogs and More Dogs....

Ahhhh...life is good!

Outside in the fresh country air and my warthog...

what could be better than this???

(Tag isn't chewing on his warthog, he's resting his chin on it.)

I heard something...

Me, too...

I didn't, cuz I don't hear so well,

but I'll look where you're looking, anyway...

Posing...

Circling Tag & thinking about getting him...

Getting Tag...

A great day was had by all!

Beijing 2008

The Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics have started...
did you see the Opening Ceremony?
Pretty awesome, though long.

I am not too interested in many of the sports

of the summer games, but I do check

in from time to time to see what's going on.
There are so many interesting and inspirational

stories surrounding these events

...the people, the host country, etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are some fun websites....

Cheer for the athletes by posting your video, photo or text...

there are some really fun ones here already!

America's Cheer!

Connect to an athlete...

Amazing Awaits!

Here is the NBC link...

Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games!

oops...

I'm sure you've wondered if I've completely lost my mind. The background is not music, as it says in my last post. I changed it and didn't say anything...oops, sorry. Just trying different ones out.

A New Background!

No, I am not reinventing myself...though now, there's a thought! I could be Irish instead of American...I could have long curly hair, instead of short gray hair...I could be an international movie star...well, okay...enough of that! ha!

Okay...so, if you're reading this, you may have noticed that my BLOG has a new background! Shame on you if you didn't notice it! I was checking out some of my favorite blogs and saw a post that led to this... The Cutest Blog on the Block!! I clicked on the link and got this FREE background! YAY! There are all kinds of cute backgrounds and they are FREE!! Easy to use, too! The directions are all right there on the blog, so go and check them out!!!

I thought the music one was appropriate, as I am such a rocker! (No, I'm not referring to a rocking chair, but to rock music! Aren't you the funny one!) Some of them are too cute, if ya know what I mean, but there are lots and lots of them! Try one out!

Tag & the Easy Chair...

Sometimes, I just shake my head in wonder.

This first photo was actually taken AFTER the second photo...you'll understand as you keep reading.

This is how I leave my big easy chair when I go to work or to bed...or whenever my big butt will be away from it for awhile. With the plastic container, or something similar, on the seat to prevent the dogs from laying in my chair.


Last night, as I was on my way to bed, I noticed that one of my tag-alongs wasn't tagging along. Yup, you guessed it...TAG! I went looking for him and this is what I found.


Hmmmm...someone looks pretty comfortable! In comparing the two photos, you will notice that the magazines are now on the floor, the back cushion is up above the back of the chair, the plastic container is pushed forward...and there is the Tag Man...asleep in MY chair! I told him, "off!" and he looked up at me, but did nothing. I reached toward him, and he looked up at me...his big brown eyes saying, "but, Mama!" Then, he got up and off.

As I said...sometimes, I just shake my head in wonder.

A Journey...Part 4

Here is another chair pad that was hooked in 2005...

'Sun/Moon', a 12" chair pad was hooked for my sister, Joyce.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moving on...continuing my journey, here's what I hooked in 2006...

'Mr. Snow' is a pattern by The Rughooking Store. Originally, there was a feather tree where I inserted 'winter'. My plan back then was to have a mat to hang on the door for each season of the year. Somehow, winter is the only season I've finished! Measuring ~15 x 16 inches, he is hooked in 8.5 cut.

Bren Thompson, of Hey Diddle, Diddle Woolies! challenged me to do a rug by values, not colors. Here's my result. Measuring ~12 inches square, I worked very hard on this and I am happy with how it turned out.

I was so proud of my achievement (the above mat), that I decided to hook this log cabin design table runner for my good friend/vet, Claire (now also landlady). It measures 13 x 43 inches and is done in 8.5 cut. I dyed the plum colors to match her walls using a paint chip. The match was spot on! I am happy to say that I absolutely love this rug (and so does Claire)!!!

I made this mat for Joanne...part of the hit n miss swap that year.

And, here's the infamous naughty puppy...Chase. 'My Name is Chase ~ Catch Me...If You Can!' This is my own design...note the red fingernails and the shoelace. Apparently, naughty puppy doesn't want to go to training class. I am very pleased with how this rug turned out. Again, I used 8.5 cut wool strips...this rug measures ~23 x 31 inches.

That's all for 2006...more to come!

Sunday Ride...

FINALLY!!! I got a chance to watch Claire ride Twist today. She needs a step-stool to get up on him (which is actually the better way to mount, anyway)...

She put him through his paces in the pasture...

Say "Cheese!" (oats? hay?)...

Bye...have fun riding on the trail!

Have a great day!