City of Champions...AGAIN!!!!!!!!!

City of Champions...again!!!! 2009 Stanley Cup Champions...Pittsburgh Penguins! What a season!!! Way to go, Penguins!!!! This celebration photo was taken just minutes after the buzzer sounded....oh, my goodness...my guys were (are!) so excited! Ron is especially thrilled to have shared his love of hockey with his son...and the fact that Ronnie is as into it as his dad is! They play hockey together, watch hockey together, and talk and read about hockey together...they really do share a special bond thru hockey!
Poor Ronnie had a high fever all day today...so did Anna. He dozed off on the couch right before the game was over....woke up with less than 2 minutes left to go in the game! Here is his "Blue Bear" holding up his own "stanley cup" in celebration!

Tears of joy!

Look at these faces!!! A friend, brought this down for us last week....right now, it is hanging out the sunroof of Ron's car, as he, Sara and Ronnie are driving around a little bit, in celebration! My guys are SO excited!!!

~Congratulations to all of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the great fans in Pittsburgh for an awesome season and another Stanley Cup win!!!!! Way to go, Pens!!!!!!!~ Sue

Tis the Season...for Church Carnivals!

And, so it starts! Church carnivals....bring back so many memories from childhood! My sisters and I would always stay overnight (sometimes for days) at my grandparents house...my Gram would work St. Wendelin's carnival, we would get lots of free food and always meet our friends up there.

Ron, Meghan, Sara, Ronnie and Anna.....Ride tickets courtesy of Ron's Aunt Peppy!


Ronnie found a little canadian maple leaf "hockey guy" at the flea market....

Anna found ANOTHER stuffed dog....of course, her Daddy is a push-over for her big brown eyes!

Meghan found lots of things for her party and her hopechest. (right now,all of her things are in mine until she gets her own.) Sara didn't find anything exciting enough to make her part with her money! (smart girl!)

Then it was on to the rides....Ronnie and Anna were spinning on the cups...

flying on the helicopters....

Then it was on to the ferris wheel! We ran into Ron's cousin, Elizabeth , her husband Krister, and their daughters, Molly and Julia....I think Elizabeth had the most fun!

Even Meghan rode the ferris wheel! (Ronnie protected her!)

Sara and Anna on top! Ron and I were in the car behind them, and got a great shot!


One last ride for the little ones...then it was time for.....

DONUTS!!!!!!! Yes, these were fresh...hot off the machine! We bought a dozen to take home!

Anna's was covered with pink and purple sprinkles....of course!


Ronnie chose orange and black sprinkles...Bethel Park colors! We took them home to watch the hockey game!
THIS has been in my livingroom! A friend brought it home for Ronnie....hope it brings the Penguins luck! Tonight, it is do or die!

Ronnie is confident, though....he dressed his beloved "Blue Bear" in HIS Pittsburgh Penguins hockey uniform...complete with skates and his own Stanley Cup! Let's Go Pens!!!!!! ~Sue~

Sewing Sunday....

...and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

What a wonderful Sunday we all had! First, we went to a Catholic mass with my mother-in-law to honor both sets of great-grandparents. Alls the Great-aunts and uncles were there, along with some cousins....we all ended up back at Ro's house for lunch and chat. It was so nice seeing everyone!

Then, we headed home for a little rest....put some chicken and potatoes in the oven and worked on some sewing! The machine above, was given to me by a friend who had it sitting in her garage...the certificate is dated Dec. 1936....I love this machine! Nothing fancy, but it certainly does a great job!

Our favorite model, Anna, wearing her new white eyelet sundress.

Sara LOVES to model and get her picture taken! This is a pink/camo peasant skirt....and Anna has one just like it!

This skirt is cute, black with a blue and white design.

This pink peasant skirt is so pretty!

I had enough of this thin, denim material to make each of the girls a skirt, and myself one as well! All of this material came from the Salvation Army Fabric sale this year. These were already sewn, with elastic waists...all I had to do was measure, cut and sew a seam! For Anna's little dress, I made little sleeves. All of this came to around $5 ...how is that for creatively frugal?! (I am very excited!)

This is a quilt that I laid out to organize for our very special friend, Courtney, who graduates this year. (as she doesn't have internet, I'm not worried about giving away the surprise...anyone know Courtney....don't tell!) It is shades of blue, and white. In keeping with our goals of saving money, being creative, making things from scratch....and giving gifts that are homemade, I wanted to make Courtney something special. Long ago, it was considered 'proper' for a young lady to have 12 quilt tops pieced before she married...then a quilting bee would be held to quilt them together. I'm hoping to start Courtney with her own 'scrap' quilt.

Here is a closer view...you can see some of the patterns in the different fabrics.

And these are 2 double flannel large baby blankets. The one on the left is for Jeremiah Thomas Logan...born to our friends Chuck and Judy. And the one on the right is for Joel Thomas Nelson...for our friends in the state of Washington, Brett and Mandy Nelson. (Joel will be their 9th child!) I love making these blankets! They are fairly large, but very easy to make...and great to lay the baby on or for the cold days.
And, last but not least.....one bridal afghan done....one to go! This one is for Ron's cousin, Julie and her fiance, Jim. It is a rustic, loopy chenille done in cream with chocolate trim.

Here is another view. Julie and Jim are getting married on July 31st and our whole family is invited....all the kids are so very excited! We are too!

Just a few more photos of the rest of our day....Anna HAD to pose with "Mr. Froggy". Ron painted the poor thing, and he turned out so great! He was purchased by my grandparents in 1952 from somewhere in New Jersey....he looks pretty good for his age!
The girls took turns on the riding mower.


With Meghan getting her drivers permit this summer, we are letting her 'drive' around the yard, just to get the feel of controlling the machine.

Of course, NO ONE drives this car but Ron! Ron's baby is a 1968 Plymouth Fury III hardtop. I drove it once, about 21 years ago....he and now Ronnie LOVE this car....tonight, the two guys headed out to a large car cruise near here to show it off and see hundreds of classic and antique cars.

~Off to bed now! The girls start their summer babysitting job tomorrow, I HOPE to finish the laundry and get it all put away...and a special friend is coming for 'burrito/taco' night...then we'll take her home later on. Hope you all had a blessed weekend! ~Sue~

Crocheting-a small facet of my "productive times"

Long time no see! :) It's been awhile but as we're finishing up my sophmore year and the paperwork and editting, it's been a little crazy here. Hopefully I'll be able to post more than the occasional one but here's a short update of one facet of what has been occupying my time of late.


I absolutely love to crochet! A dear, dear friend once tried to teach me how to crochet granny squares and I grew so frustrated (which is an understatement) and vowed never to try it again. A few years later Mum introduced me to crochet again but this time without the granny squares. Granny squares are very pretty squares that are crocheted by working in rounds and for me, years ago, were very challenging. Mum taught me the basic stitches again and I soon found that I loved it! Since then I've crocheted a few baby afghans and many scarves, slipper socks....the scarves, at first, were for my dolls and were oh so curly and difficult to use. Oh well. As my tension (a crochet term for how tight or how loose you hold the yarn) evened itself out, the scarves grew smooth and straight. :) But then came the horror of uneven sides which, to this day, are still a pain and rather tricky for me to get right. Sometimes my sides went in and out...I had to start a dear friend's purse over many times because of the uneven sides. :) I made a baby blanket for my cousin Ty that turned out rather well and I think that was the first that looked really nice and I felt turned out the best so far on my crocheting journey. :)

My most recent project that has been completed is yet another baby afghan. I think this baby afghan is only my fifth. You've heard Mum talk about her Philipino friend-this afghan is for her new baby! He was born right around Mother's day but we all, as a family, have not been able to visit him yet. Which gave me more time to finish it. :) Looking back I realize I should've used a larger hook to make it easier and quicker on me....but I learned my lesson! The pattern I used is a baby blue and cream ripple. I just followed the instructions from my wonderful fiber arts/hand arts book to create a ripple. This is the second ripple afghan I've made and the first for a baby boy. The first was for our pastor's newest baby, Evie, who is now almost a year old. She is SO sweet! I had fun doing this one but I think my favorite baby afghan I've crocheted thus far is Evie's, which was done in baby pink and baby yellow. It was SO sweet! :) On that one I did a ruffly edge around it whereas in the one I just finished, I did a more subtle edging....ruffles don't really work for boys. :)

Here are a few pictures I took of my latest creation and underneath is a preview of what I am now beginning to create. :)

Me-triumphantly holding it up.....I had to creatively figure out how to make it wider without ripping the whole thing out and starting again when I realized it wasn't wide enough. That's where the few rows of edging came through. :) (Please excuse my disheveled apperance and my sleepy face....I had not yet shocked my face with cold water)

This is my favorite picture! The lighting was rather weird but oh well...

Here's the whole thing! I'm so glad it's done. I did enjoy making it but berated myself for not using a larger hook to get it along faster! Again, the lighting is rather weird but in real life those yellow-ish stripes are a delicate cream. :)

I have quite a few new projects planned-not all of them crocheted...many celebrations are coming up soon and I have almost all of the projects planned out. :) I can't give away too much because some people that I am making them for read this blog. :) My newest crochet project I've started is one I've never attempted before but one that I hope will turn out nicely. I hope to work on two projects at once but may have to put off one to quickly whip out one for an event that is coming up soon. :)

That's all for now folks! Now I'm off to finish my 2,500 word report (required here in PA), print out some schoolwork, do some chores and enjoy this beautiful day.

Friday night fun!

We had a little 'potluck' picnic yesterday with 2 of our favorite families! I see Rhonda and Linda frequently, and all the kids get together, but it was a nice treat to have all the hubbys with us as well!

This is my dear friend, Rhonda and her husband, Dave.....and......

my sweet friend, Linda and her husband, Rick

There was lots of hockey being played...even the 'big guys' played for a little while!

Of course, there is always hockey being played around here!
Our head honcho, Ron!
Meghan had a great time with her friends and her sister, Sara!
Sweet Annie! Typical Annie! (Rick and Linda's daughter)

I LOVE this picture!!! These two are 2 of my very favorite people! And....I love the identical expressions on their faces! (Dillon and Danielle belong to Rhonda and Dave)

There was lots of tree climbing......(this is Aaron and my Anna)
And secret forts.....
Sweet Hannah! ( she is Rhonda and Dave's youngest daughter)....She told me that sometimes, she just needs to "be alone".....

Annie and Dillon.....

Then the older kids played a game inside while all the little ones played outside....and us "old folks" gabbed outside on the deck!

~ I think a good time was held by all! It was fun to just relax and chat, and like I said....it was really nice to have the guys with us......just a simple, fun time at home on a Friday night! ~Sue~