28 YEARS!!!!!!

28 Years!  That's how long it has been since I have seen 2 of my friends from grammar school...I have decided today that I am OLD!  (Actually I know I'm old, but now I know I am!)

The two friends I saw was Kristen Franklin Donovan and Penny Wong. And I met their friend Tia from their High School.  It was a great afternoon.  We went to the Vanilla Bean Cafe in Pomfret.  I had never been there (and I'm from Pomfret I must add). 

This is the inside of the Vanilla Bean Cafe.  It used to be an old barn.  For more info, go to http://www.vanillabeancafe.com/

I had a slice of the out of this world Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake.  It was absolute heaven!  But the best thing was seeing my friends and making new ones.

After the Bean, I went to Hazelwood Art Gallery on Route 44 in Pomfret.  Oh, the crafts in there!  A lot of glass.  (No I didn't break anything, thank goodness!)  Everything is handcrafted and beautiful!  I bought a Mother's Day gift for my mom, a book of Yankee Weather Lore (my dad's family were true Yankees) and a Moon Pill Box.  I love sun, moon, and star collectibles.  At least now I can say I've been to two places in Pomfret - the Bean and Hazelwood.  One of these days I want to go to Celebrations on Pomfret Hill.

Today I visited with my Uncle Alan and Aunt Connie in Putnam.  It was a nice visit.  My uncle reminds me so much of my dad (they were brothers).  It was good to see them both.

So it's back to work tomorrow.  Need I say more?  I'm already ready for another weekend!

by hook and granny....

Well, it's official!  I have started my Reynolds "Saucy Cotton" afghan!  I've been thinking about starting it for a long time now, (very, very long time I must add) and I've started.  I feel like celebrating and buying more yarn!  After all, my stash is down...

Instead of the regular crocheted granny squares, I'm crocheting hexagon granny squares....

The first one....it had to have purple in it! 

The second one....

The third one....

And the work in progress....

The pattern I was looking at from the Ravelry website (which is awesome!) called for 39 hexies...only 35ish more to go!

My Grandma Ericson was a big influence in my love for handcrafts...especially crocheting.  She did knit some, but the crocheting was easier for her.  Many afternoons when I came home from school, she would be making squares for another afghan while watching her soaps (Days of Our Lives and Another World).  When she wasn't crocheting, she was doing crewel embroidery.  My mom and I have a lot of her pictures she made.  Each one is special to both of us.  I think Grandma taught me to crochet when I was maybe 7 or 8?  (A long, long time ago, that much I know).  I felt so honored to go through her scrap yarn bag to pick out some yarns for squares.  She would also let me go through her old "WorkBasket" magazines.  I wish I had hung on to those.

There I go reminiscing again (I tend to do that alot).  But crocheting makes me feel "warm and fuzzy" I guess.

Tomorrow is going to be a different day for me.  I have been chatting with one of my old friends from Grammar School (Pomfret Community School) and we are to meet for a reunion with a couple of others from grammar school.  I have not seen these people since 8th grade!  That was 28 years ago.  God, am I OLD!  But I'm really looking forward to it.   

A sad day....

Got some not so good news this morning. My uncle, Louis Ericson, (my mom's brother) passed away at UMASS last night. He was 79. He went into the hospital this past weekend and never really recovered.

My uncle didn't have an easy life. He had two strokes 40 years ago, and has had his share of illnesses. But one thing about Uncle Louie, he never, ever complained. How he managed to continue life after those series of strokes....he was a strong man.

Uncle Louie worked and wrote for the Norwich Bulletin. Another person who recently passed away was Bill Stanley, another Norwich Bulletin writer. My uncle and Mr. Stanley were good friends.

They say bad things happen in threes: First, Mr. Stanley; second, Mervin Whipple (Mr. Christmas to people around here), and then my uncle.

So today was a hard day. I wasn't really weepy; just numb. And I was worried about my mom. Uncle Louie and my mom were close, even though there was a 12 year age difference. And with it being so close to when my dad passing away in 2008, I can't imagine what she's feeling.

It's hard to let someone go - I know I wanted my grandmother, my aunt, and especially my dad to be here forever. But then when I look back and see the suffering and pain they went through, I don't want to see them in that kind of pain. I rather see them happy and full of life: my grandmother working in the biggest flower garden ever, my aunt and my grandmother on the biggest shopping spree of a lifetime (and they could shop, mind you!) and my dad owning the biggest farm in the world, riding the biggest tractor and owning as many cows as he wants. No pain, no suffering. There has to be a heaven!

And I know Uncle Louie is in heaven too. He's there with his wife and all his friends and family. After dealing with the after effects of his strokes for 40+ years, he deserves to be pain free and worry free. He is no longer in pain, and that is a blessing.

Dedicated to my uncle, Louis Ericson

A Day at Harkness....

On Wednesday, Scott and I went to Harkness State Park in Waterford, CT. The weather was gorgeous! The first time I went there was last year and I loved it. They were just starting to plant the pansies yesterday, so hopefully we'll go back in the late spring/early summer. Here are some pics:

Seashells, Seashells by the seashore....Yes, we collected alot of small seashells.  Scott's pockets were loaded!

Scott

me

Side pic of Harkness Mansion.  There are quite a few flowers gardens around the mansion that visitors can walk through.  It's absolutely gorgeous.

After Harkness, we stopped at Crystal Mall, walked around a bit, then went to Hank's Dairy Bar where we had our first Hot Fudge Sundae of the season. Not enough Hot Fudge for me, but it was yummy!

Vacation definitely went too quickly. They always do. Sigh.

Hoping and praying for my friends and family! God Bless!

Tuesday...

Today was an odd day. Scott and I did a lot of cleaning. Scott took care of the shed with all the equipment; I took care of the cellar. Stuff that I hadn't used since we moved in with my mom - out. Scott put up shelves in the shed for all the different machine bottles and things.

I like getting rid of things, but it's hard getting rid of the stuff in the cellar. My dad used to putter around in the cellar. He did woodworking and other things down there. Even now, I still get the feeling that he's there. Sometimes I turn around and it feels like he's there watching. I know nothing would happen, but just the same.

While I finished cleaning, Scott did some lawnmowing at the park where his mother lives. I ended up taking a nap.

Tomorrow Scott and I are supposed to take a ride to Harkness State Park in Waterford, CT. I went there for the first time last year. It's beautiful! Plus I love the ocean. So at least we'll be getting away from here for a little while.

Other than that, not too much new, which is good.

Still saying prayers for my friends...they are in my thoughts.

Doctor Day...

Today was a busy day for Scott and I. Scott had his dentist appointment at 8:00, I had my eye doctor's appointment at 9:30, then I had my dentist appointment at 11:00. Whew!! Scott had 5 cavities, I had none and my vision didn't change.

Didn't do much else exciting today. Laundry, laundry, laundry and helped my mom put up some curtains. She's short (5'3" on a good day) and it's hard for her to get up and down on a step stool (bad balance runs on this side of the family), so I did those for her.

Then Rudy (my mom's dog) and I took a walk outside in the field. Now I'm on facebook, just wondering about things. Nothing in particular. Just wondering.

Oh, I started working on my hexagon afghan. It's going to be crocheted, but it's got different colors of COTTON yarn (the reason why I call myself cotton girl) I want to use. When I actually have something to show, I will put pics on.

Other than that...not much is going on. Just thinking and praying for some of my friends who have received some not so good news over the weekend.

A Beautiful Sunday!

What a beautiful day outside! A little breezy, but sunny and bright...love it!

Scott surprised me yesterday and asked if I wanted to take a ride to Barnes and Noble. Of course I shook my head "yes!" Then I thought, hmmm, what does he want? lol. But we went today to the B&N in Millbury, MA. Then stopped at Morse's in Southbridge, MA to pick up some pansies. I love pansies! They all have little faces on them. My Grandma Ericson (my om's mom) loved pansies too, and she used them all the time when she pressed flowers for pictures she sold at craft shows in the area. Then we got Chinese at Jade Garden for lunch with my mom (it was the best thing I could come up with - we're supposed to share the cooking, but, geesh, it's hard!) After lunch, I helped my mom clean bird cages. God, they are slobs! But at least they look cleaner (for today)

Tomorrow is doctor day for Scott and me. Dentist for him; eye doctor and dentist for me; then he has to go to the vet with his mom and her dog. Then the rest of the week looks pretty quiet. At least the drs appt. will be done in one day.

Scott just finished mowing the lawn (I helped a little). It's definitely spring now. Pretty soon the garden will be rototilled and we can start planting that. Not that I eat many vegetables - I just like watching things grow.

Ahhhhh, vacation. Gotta love it! :)