What a weekend

Saturday was a whopper of a day.  I started off by having breakfast with a high school friend.  Then on to: an estate sale, a massage, running errands, the East Lansing Arts Festival and lastly the Capitol City Quilt Guild Show.

I enjoyed all if it.  It was extremely hot at the Arts Show.  I knew I only had from noon to 5 to do both the arts festival and the quilt show.  So I opted to only do the craft side of the arts show, which centers around the Union Building.  Lots of interesting items.  I, like Linda K, spent a lot of time looking at the yard art done by a welder who used everything from silverware to tools.  But the booth that got me was the one with concrete yard items.  Here is my beauty...

I'm thinking I need a chennile plant so she looks like she has a hat on.  But we'll see.

Then on to the quilt show.  I got there about 2:30.  We, CCQG, always to a nice show.  Here are a few of my favorites from the show.



This bug greeted attendees as they arrived at the quilt show.



Sunday was spent helping my brother prepare a house for an estate sale.  Although in rough shape, can you imagine waking up each morning with this cheery wallpaper?

A little more of Chicago

Since Anna is from Chicago that seemed the appropriate destination for the wedding.  Here are a few more pictures from the reception.

Fearless Miss Molly

Jason, Denise & Dennis





Managed to find one patchwork inspiration.





We noticed the interesting effect of the new Trump Tower in Chicago where the top part of the building and the horizon give it a ghost tower appearance.



Wedding Weekend

This past weekend was my nephew's wedding in Chicago.  My mother and I drove down on Saturday as the wedding was Sunday evening.  We had a rehearsal dinner on Saturday evening which was very nice and gave the families a chance to get acquainted.

The weather Saturday and Sunday was pretty cold and rainy.  We wondered if we could have a view Sunday evening as the wedding and reception, which was a fairly intimate affair, was on the 95th floor of the Hancock building.  But the weather cleared and it was a lovely affair.

We all stayed over Sunday night and came home Monday.  Following are a few photos.

Hurray

Back in April I joined the Playmaker's 50+ Get of the Couch womens walk/run group.  It's 10 weeks of training leading up to a 5K run/walk.  I will never be a runner but have been trying to add walking to my workout routine.  Tonight for the first time I walked 3 miles in one felled swoop without my cane in 55 minutes and 45 seconds.  Now I have a time to work toward reducing.

Nothing like a little "retail therapy"

Last week seemed like another one of those weeks from hell.  I'm a faculty secretary at a college and the first week of exams was crazy, but we got through it.  But it really, really seemed like a long week, but I wasn't the only one feeling that way.

I think the first auction I went to was with my dad, and I was hooked.  I used to spend whole days waiting for the one item I want to come up, only to be outbid by someone.  Slowly I made the conversion to estate sales, which means you only need to decide if you want to pay full price the first day, or gamble that it is still there the next day at a reduced price.

Ususally I'm a second day gal, but this week I had to change that.  I always check http://www.estatesales.net/ to see what estate sales there are in this area.  Last week I found a sale where the lady has a collection of antique child's/minature sewing machines.  I have always been fascinated with sewing related items.  Well this time I decided to go and to be willing to pay full price to get a couple of prize items.

I asked for and took 2 hours off Friday morning.  I was up at 6 am, at the address by 7 am to get my name on the number list, got my number at 8 am, yea #6, shopped the garage when it opened at 8:30 and then 6th person to get in the front door at 9 am.  Whoo hooo!!

I have bid on Casige child's sewing machine on ebay for years but have never won one.  These were made in Germany, British zone.  So that was one of the machines I purchased.

The second machine I bought was a machine that I think I saw and missed at an estate sale within the last 5 years.  It is a Willcox & Gibbs sewing machine  made in 1894.  I am intrigued by it's circular shape.

I also picked up these 2 cute sewing tins.  My mom had a similar one with pansies on it as a button box when I was a kid.



There were also a couple of nice smalls.  A couple of needle cases and a really expensive feeling paid of scissors.  They are Hofffritz scissors and I'll have to do a little research on them.

Then I got into work at 10 my coworker said she hadn't seem me in such a good mood in a while.  I guess not I know the benefits of retail therapy.