Tea Party Monkey

Meet Tea Party Monkey. When I started making her for my niece's birthday gift, I didn't intend to dress her for tea. I had some leftover tulle and I knew I wanted to include that in her outfit some how. (My seven-year-old niece takes dance lessons and I thought she'd appreciate some tulle in her sock monkey's dress) I added the tulle to the skirt of the monkey's dress and as I continued to play around with it, a tulle hat also emerged. My original plan was to make a flower wreath for her head but after seeing the hat, I thought it was more fitting.

It wasn't until I brought her to my literacy meeting (to show my co-facilitators) that she was named, "tea party" monkey. One of my friends also suggested that I give her some pearl earrings. Not only did I make her earrings, I also made her a pearl necklace and bracelet too.

The final touch was this little teacup and saucer that I found at Ladybugs Gifts and Decor. Now she's all set to have a tea party with Miss Olivia.

Where in the world is Senator Obama?

Bloomington Of Course!

Obama has been campaigning in Indiana for the past week and we heard on Wednesday that he would be stopping in Bloomington. Then on Thursday we were somewhat disappointed when the local newspaper reported that a Bloomington stop wasn't a for sure thing. However, Obama had a scheduled appearance in Columbus Friday morning and one in Terre Haute Friday night so we had a good feeling that he'd stop in Bloomington since the easiest way to get from Columbus to Terre Haute is via Bloomington.

Today we followed our local newspaper's blog and read that after his speech in Columbus, Obama would make an undisclosed stop on the way to Terre Haute, and there were hints that it would be at the Little 500.

After the kids got home from school, Keith and I packed them up and we all rode our bikes down to Armstrong Stadium in search for the senator. On the way there, his motorcade passed us by, and the race was on for us to arrive there before he did. We made it to the stadium and luckily we were on bikes because we wouldn't have been able to access the entrance by car since the roads were barricaded. We had a very good view of the stadium and of Barack when he arrived. It was all very exciting until we realized that in our haste to leave we (that is I) left the camera at home.

Obama is spotted here in the white button shirt, just above the cyclist in the orange shirt.

After Obama arrived at the Little 5, he spent a good 20-30 minutes going around the track and shaking hands with people in the bleachers and then another fair amount of time actually watching the race,, during which Keith decided he would head back home to get the camera. Keep in mind that it's about a 20 minute bike ride back home. But Keith, being the speedy cyclist that he is, made it there and back in no time.

When we saw that Obama was getting ready to leave the stadium we hopped on our bikes and rode to the north stadium entrance, the one he was leaving out of. We arrived just in time and to our great delight, all four of us (Keith the boys and I) were able to see him up close and shake his hand, AND Keith got some awesome pictures! (Be sure to scroll down and check out the slide show below)

Barack is working his way towards us. I'm in the blue bike helmet.

Lots of Excitement!
Up Close and Personal

Even more up close!

Last week we all went to see former President Clinton speak at Assembly Hall and Mac and his grandma got to shake President Clinton's hand which was also pretty exciting. However, today after Barack shook Mac's hand, Mac said, "Obama has erased Clinton's handshake." Both of the kids were pretty excited by today's experience and I'm sure it will be one they won't ever forget.

After Obama left Armstrong stadium he was headed downtown to another undisclosed stop. We followed, and when we arrived downtown on Kirkwood Ave, the crowd was waiting. Sure enough a few minutes after our arrival, along came Obama and the men in the black suits. Second stop, Nicks Hut, a popular, local sports bar. On the way inside he walked along the street and shook hands with what seemed like, hundreds of people.

The Kids and I are watching the crowd as we wait for Obama to come out of Nick's. The crowd mobs the streets, Obama in the middle of it all, walking towards his bus.

Obama on the bus and headed out of town. Bye-bye Bloomington......until next time!

Shaking THE Senator's Hand!

Anniversary Celebration Final Element - Gift of Music

During our anniversary blessing, Mac and Ethan preformed a "gift of music," Pachelbel Cannon in D. They worked really hard on this piece, had many practices with Mac's violin teacher, and many rehearsals at home. At times it was difficult for Ethan to keep the same tempo mostly because his part was very repetitious, but Mac was a pro at getting them back on track. It was very important to us to include the boys in our anniversary blessing, and we were delighted that they willingly took time to learn and practice this piece together. It was beautiful even with it's little imperfections. As for their grandparents, the "gift of music" was definitely the highlight of the evening.

20th Wedding Anniversary Celebration - Part Two

After our ceremony the celebration continued with a very fun party. We had about sixty guests in attendance, and plenty of good food and drink.

The party wouldn't have been a success without the help of our friends. Amy, Heather and Steph provided most of the savories. Between the three of them they made smoked salmon sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches, chicken satay, antipasto kabobs, a fruit and cheese platter, humus and pita, guacamole and chips, meatballs, and stuffed mushrooms. And all was absolutely delicious!

Antipasto

Cucumber and Smoked Salmon Sandwiches

Stuffed Mushrooms

The desserts were made by yours truly. They are my specialty and what I enjoy making the most. Over the course of a few weeks I made cupcakes, chocolate almond bars, lemon bars, chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate eclairs, cream puffs, cutout cookies, turtles and vanilla creams. I made things in steps and somethings could be made ahead and frozen and others were prepared at the last minute. My mom was in town for three days before hand and she was a great assistant. She let me do all the prep work, baking, and decorating as she went behind me cleaning up every mess that I made. Everything went very smoothly with the exception of one little or should I say big mess that occurred when Mom was taking the glass pitcher off the blender and the bottom came off and spilled the punch mixture of strawberries, lemonade and cranberry concentrate all over the counters, cupboards, floors and her.

Punch Mess

Cupcakes on stand

Cupcake Variety

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Cookies and Bars

Dessert Table

Our Friends Helene and Jerry also provided champagne for a toast.

The traditional 20th wedding anniversary gift is china. As a way to tie that in to our celebration we decided to use china plates instead of paper. Amy, Steph and I pooled all our china together in order to have enough for everyone. It was also a way to keep our party more "green" by not creating as much waste.

We also participated as best we could in Earth Hour. It just so happened that "earth hour" was taking place during the height of our party. So without compromising anyone's safety, we turned off as many lights possible and spent the hour in candlelight. We also placed 24 luminaries outside on the walkway and steps. It made for a very nice ambiance and I don't think anyone minded.

Homemade Chocolates and Party Favors

For party favors the kids and I made seed balls. My friend Steph told me about these and I fell in love with the idea and knew I had to make them. They were relatively easy to make and the kids had fun too but they had more fun making clay figurines than they did actually making the balls. If you'll notice in the picture below the kids are nowhere to found and that's because, for them, the seed ball making got old really fast.

I found several recipes on the web and decided to use a combination of two recipes. The recipe I used was:

9 cups of dry red clay
6 cups of compost
2 cups of native wildflower seeds

I mixed all the ingredients a bucket and then added enough water to make the mixture wet. This recipe yielded about 300 seed balls. The only problem I had was finding the dry clay. I couldn't find it locally and ended up ordering it from a ceramic supply store. The recipes said it would take about 48 hours for the balls to dry. However, I was drying them in cool and damp temperatures and it took mine about 3 - 4 days before they were completely dry.

20th Wedding Anniversary Celebration - Part One

Keith and I have many blessings in our lives, one being our marriage of 20 years. We felt a strong desire to celebrate this 20th wedding anniversary with our families and friends. In addition to having a party (I will write more about that in a later post) we had a very intimate "anniversary blessing" ceremony that preceded our party. Our parents, and a handful of our dear friends attended the ceremony that was officiated by our minister. For us it seemed like the right time to rejoice in our marriage and to celebrate our commitment to each other over all the changes that the last 20 years have brought into our lives. Sharing this blessing with our friends, family and minister honored our marriage in a very special and meaningful way.

The ceremony took place outside, on the deck of our friend's beautiful home in Bittersweet Woods. On this cool spring evening, we were not only surrounded by friends and family, but also by the beauty of magnificent budding trees and flowers.

Our ceremony was beautifully written by our minister and it reflected what is dear and important to us. The ceremony included a family blessing, a Wendell Berry poem, and blessings written and read by Amy and Stephanie. Mac and Ethan also shared a beautiful gift of music - a piano and violin duet of Pachelbel Cannon in D.

Below I posted only a few excerpts from ceremony.


Family Blessing written by our minister:

Keith, Kim, Mac and Ethan,
May the home you’ve made together continue to be the kind
That helps to make this world more home-like.
May it be a place of virtue and honor
Of hospitality and peace
Where all who arrive in peace are welcome
Where both adults and children are nourished.

Above all, may each of you always find such fulfillment there,
That you never cease to reach out in love and concern for others
So that those who have cause to follow your lives
Will rejoice not only in your success and happiness
But in your brave and generous living.

As this anniversary blessing brings a new meaning to love,
So allow this love to enrich the meaning of your life.


Excerpt from The Country of Marriage, by Wendell Berry


Sometimes our life reminds me of a forest
in which there is a graceful clearing
and in that opening a house,
an orchard and garden,
comfortable shades, and flowers
red and yellow in the sun, a pattern
made in the light for the light to return to.


The forest is mostly dark, its ways
to be made anew day after day, the dark
richer than the light and more blessed,
provided we stay brave
enough to keep on going in.