auction--scored some socks

My quilt brought in $400. And I scored some great socks knit by my friend Marcia Knudsen. I had to bid several times in order to get them.

And we dined on pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, and banana pudding!

up on the roof--2140 North Elston

Looking south towards the Loop

up on the roof--1550 North Kingsbury

Another in a continuing series of views from atop parking ramps.
Looking south along the North Branch of the Chicago River, towards the Willis (Sears) Tower.

up on the roof--3000 North Halsted

Looking northeast.
Up on the roof. A continuing series of rooftop parking ramp views.

an extravagent welcome: they all show up

All 147 children have shown up and are too many to fit on my wall, so they are on the floor.

Easter 2012

The daffodils came home with us.

courthouse log cabin

I made this top last June and finished the binding this morning. Quilted by Suzette Fisher with a scarlet thread.  Made from deconstructed shirts and bound with 4 pieces of leftover green binding from other projects.
Donated to our church's youth auction to raise funds for their work trip planned for this summer.

The back is a selection of 7 lights.

twisting pinwheels

My small group has been experimenting with the twisting pinwheels patterns. I used thirties reproductions on this 19 by 22 inch piece.

church ladies

Women from the 1st Reformed Church Guild assisting in the kitchen at my Grandpa Jurrien and Grandma Cynthia Dykstra's 50th wedding anniversary, Hull, Iowa, 1970.

grandparents

Janna and me with our grandparents, Grandma Cynthia and Grandpa Jurrien Dykstra and Grandpa Jan Scholten. About 1960.
Photograph taken in the Little House on the farm--with the BEST CURTAINS EVER in view.

the neighbors come to pick corn

My Uncle Joel Dykstra lost his arm in a corn picker accident. The neighbors came to finish his harvest. Mid 1960s.

grandma

My Grandmother, Cynthia Meerdink, age 9 1/2 months, 1898, rural Hull Iowa.

on my parents' bed

Bonnie Hunter is having a link-in with photographs of "what is on your bed". I am at my mother's this week and this is her bed. I made the framed nine patch in 2004 for her 75th birthday.

cousins--Gerald and Carol

My oldest two cousins--Gerald and Carol.

my Aunt Betty's third grade class photo

My Aunt Betty's third grade class. Hull Christian Grammar School in the late 1930s. Aunt Betty is the adorable dark haired beauty third from the left in the third row.

Ready for more from the archives?
My sisters and I have been in Iowa this past week dealing with the taking apart of the house and having a household and tools and equipment sale.
Watch for more photos to come.

red velvet muffins

They make a pretty decent red velvet muffin at the Jewel, so I went online to see what recipes were out there to try to replicate it.
Erin at Dinners Dishes and Desserts had a recipe I thought I'd give a go.

http://dinnersdishesanddesserts.com/?p=1225

They turned out pretty good. I don't use liners because I like a bit of crust on muffins.

I followed Erin's recipe with these alterations:
I used cider vinegar because that is what I had in the house
I replaced the red food coloring with vanilla because I am too much of a '70s child to trust red food coloring. Any others of you missing the tan M&Ms and still leery of the red ones?