Memories and a Bit of Nostalgia From My Years in Shorewood, Wisconsin ~

My father had a radio and appliance shop in this building, and when I was in second grade, our family moved into an apartment above the store. This was the entrance and the shop to the right was a wonderful candy shop that specialized in fudge and caramels. 

Here is a view from Capitol Drive of our apartment, Dad's store and a barber shop. Above the barber shop you can see the back view where there was also a porch off the kitchen. We had a cat that once escaped from inside and jumped off down to the street!

Directly across the street is Atwater School and a view of St. Robert's church and school. The high school started in Atwater School long ago.

Around the corner of Murray Ave. on Elmdale Ct. was my grandparent's house, and my Dad and his siblings grew up there.

When I was a senior in high school, my parents moved into this house on Farwell Ave. I lived there until I graduated from the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin and left Wisconsin for a teaching job in Colorado where I met my husband!

We were married in the chapel of the Northshore Presbyterian Church almost 60 years ago! (My grandfather directed the choir and played the organ in the church until he passed away long ago.)

And here's Shorewood High School where I went along with my sister and a few cousins. My father and his siblings graduated from there, too. It will celebrate it's 100th anniversary this summer!

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In addition to seeing our family in Illinois and friends and relatives in Wisconsin, seeing these reminders of my growing up years was special and brought back lots of memories!

 

Finally Back Home!

We returned from Chicago last Friday with lots of nice memories. We attended Montsic's service, the first two days, saw friends and family that we missed last fall when we caught COVID, and we even got to see our oldest grandson who is studying art in Canada. It was a wonderful trip!

The wake and service were held at the Armenian church that is near Northwestern University and is within walking distance to Lake Michigan.

The church was built in the 1800s and is beautiful inside and out!

This is the altar, and you can also see a tiny bit of the casket. The stained glass windows are beautiful also.  The service  was a very nice tribute to our daughter's father-in-law, Montsic, who was born in Iran and came to the USA, where he became a good business man, husband, father, and grandfather.

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During the rest of the week besides visiting friends and relatives, we had a fun time taking pictures in Shorewood, Wisconsin, where I lived until we got married almost 60 years ago. More photos soon!

Another Barley Hat and an Update

Are you surprised that I made yet another Barley hat? This one is child-sized and will be donated to one of my favorite local charities, KidVantage. It provides clothing, diapers, and school supplies to babies and children through 8th grade. Years ago, I used to work with one of the directors at Eastside Literacy.

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Last month I mentioned that our older daughter's father-in-law had a second stroke, and we just learned that he passed away early Saturday morning. So we will be attending his service this weekend. We are sad, but happy that he's finally at peace and  in a better place. Hope you all have a nice week!

A Sparkly Hat

 Yesterday I finished another Barley hat; the medium size turned out a bit large. I love this yarn and hope I have enough left to make a small size.

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Happy Friday!

Three Finishes and a Nice Trip

I recently made 3 hats for our neighbor.  This one was for Mama.

This one was for the toddler named Gracie, and the last one was for the big sister, Olivia. The pattern is Barley and I used a worsted yarn plus some mohair.

Last weekend we decided to go to one of our favorite place, Cannon Beach, Oregon, because the weather was supposed to be nice. Enroute we got a great photo of one of our most famous mountains.  Can you guess what it is?

The weather on the way there the sun was out, but when we arrived, it was really foggy, so foggy that we couldn't even see any of the famous offshore rocks.  Eventually the weather cleared up just enough that we could see Haystack Rock and the other ones just a little bit.

We also discovered what happens when there is a high tide.  The walking trail down to the beach was totally closed! I am sure you can see why.  There are also steps that were open thankfully.

Then just before we left for home the weather cleared up a bit, and you can see that the tide was lower so people were able to walk on the beach.

On the way home the weather was very nice, and we were able to get this photo of Mount Rainier.  Kind-a snowy, isn't it?

I am working on several knitting projects now, but haven't finished any of them. Wish me luck!

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Enjoy what's left of the weekend!

Two Finishes and a Little News

We recently learned the new baby's name; it's Cormac. Since babies grow quickly I decided to make him a new hat and a pair of booties. These patterns I've had for a long time. The hat though I'd not done it before. The hat is a quick knit, but the booties are pretty fussy. I have made that pattern quite a few times, but not recently since no relatives or neighbors have had any babies lately.

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We've had some sad news recently. Our daughter's father-in-law, who was doing pretty well after his first stroke a few years ago, fell outside and hurt his head which caused another stroke. He's not doing very well right now, so prayers for him would be appreciated. His name is Montsic. He came to the US many years ago from Armenia. 

 

Good News! And a Bit of Nature

Hurrah! The baby hat fits!! His dad took him for a walk, and stopped by on his way home to show us. No photo, but he's sure a cutie.

Yesterday on my walk I saw this deer in someone's yard. I think it was enjoying lunch.

This photo is way better than the one I took this afternoon.  I think it's a Golden-crowned Kinglet, but it may be a different version of the Ruby-crowned one I saw earlier.

Dick caught this Varied Thrush in our backyard this afternoon. They only visit at this time of year, and we are happy to see them.

Happy Valentine's Day a bit early!

 

A Finish and a Beautiful Moon

This is what we saw early this morning, isn't it pretty? It's called the Snow moon and supposed to be visible for another night.  I wonder if you can see it where you live?

We just learned that the little girl we watched grow up has moved back in our neighborhood with her husband and a sweet baby boy!  I sure hope this fits since it's chilly and snowy here. Now back to work on another sock!

Have a great day!

Another Snowy Day!

 Here's what we woke up to today! The schools opened two hours later than usual, and our street which goes way uphill is still covered. It's supposed to get colder and snow some more tonight. We'll see! Have a nice day.

A Finish and Some Snow!

I just finished this pair of shorties with this pattern. I guess warmer socks are called for today!

A few minutes ago, this is what it looked like at our house, and now it's stopped and starting to melt!

Have a nice weekend!

Finished at Last!

I won't tell you when I started these socks, but they are done now! The pattern is called Mercury Socks, and I decided to make them shorties.

 

The other fun thing that happened today is that I saw this cute little bird for the second day in a row on my walk. It took a while, but I believe it's a Red-crowned Kinglet. It's very little and not terribly shy.

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Hope you had a nice day, too, as well as a fun evening!

Happy 2025!

 Happy 2025!  I have way too many unfinished projects, but in spite of that, I started a new one and even finished it, too!  It's a dishcloth that will soon have a new home.

Yep, it's just a dishcloth, but it's a fun pattern! (And it's finished!)

We've had some fun visitors in our backyard lately. The upper one is a nuthatch, and we don't see them very often. The lower one is a chickadee, and they are around all the time. The birds seem to be extra hungry lately because they emptied our bird feeder in one day recently!

Have a great weekend, and a blessed New Year!