Lotsa Chocolate

We attended a fund-raising dinner for our favorite local ministry a few weeks ago.  What a blast!

It starts with a dessert auction and here are a few of the choices….

These were won by our table…

Raspberry Torte, Cookie Dough Cheesecake, and Cappuccino Cupcakes in mugs with cream filling (bottom 2 photos).

After the auction, our prime rib dinner is served.  Once each table is done with dinner, dessert is whatever you bought at the auction.  Just great fun for a great ministry!

Then after the winning table has what they want, the desserts are shared among all the tables so no one goes hungry.  I even brought home a few pieces for JP & took a piece to K’s that weekend since I only had a few bites for myself there.

I didn’t keep track of all the bids this year but the first bid is for your choice from the 27 or so desserts that are donated.  This year that honor was sold for $1300.  Following that bid, the other desserts are auctioned off in the order they are listed on our menu/program.  Most go for several hundred dollars each. 🙂

 

A nice dinner out with my husband —

And sharing the table with my sweet friend —

Delightful!!  🙂

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More Birthday Fun

As part of Phil’s big birthday month, we spent a weekend near Chicago with Miss K.  She drove out about 1/2 hr after work and we had driven in to meet her.

In an effort to post a quick catch-up, here are some photos and short (LOL!!) commentary!

Phil’s FANTASTIC birthday dinner out (Chicago Prime Steakhouse – ohmyword!!) was topped off with desserts to-go (back to the hotel) for Phil & K.  She chose cheesecake with a teeny bit of raspberry drizzle.  (She would have preferred more drizzle!)

Phil had Apple Purse!  I think this was 8″ across!!!  Pound cake, apple pie slices, walnuts, wrapped in phyllo dough and baked.  Not wanting to have ala mode on the hot apples to-go, we stopped across the parking lot for a cup of Culver’s ice cream to go as well.  He was delighted!!

We shopped on Sunday…. IKEA (love having K’s help there!!), Nordstrom’s outlet, Ulta, Whole Foods, and finished with a salad buffet late lunch.  Getting photos in a sunny & windy parking lot was an interesting endeavor!  Of course, the practice one of Phil & Keturah (the camera was perched on the front of the car near the wipers for me to test the timer) got me good smiles but folded hands!  🙂

On Phil’s actual day he had a few friends over (and their wonderful wives!!).  I was busy with baking pizzas and visiting and giving studio tours 🙂  so we didn’t get photos OF the party.  I splurged and channeled my inner Miss K and actually decorated the table a bit!

Hot pizzas lined the left side a bit after this and I had spinach artichoke dip with the chips.

Phil was SO thrilled that his whole list of guys was able to come.  It was HOT that day, one of our first 80’F days (unheard of in March!!) and I wasn’t prepared!  I felt bad it was stuffy in the house but midst all the cooking & cleaning only washed one screen from storage.  We had the front & back doors open but that wasn’t enough.     Who would have thought!!  His mom delights in telling the winter storm story on the day he was born.

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Phil Is Fifty!

Today I’m baking cookies, making snacks, and getting out a black tablecloth for Phil’s birthday!  His sister’s box came the other day and is FULL of “over the hill” confetti so I am sprinkling that around too.

Someone left a sign like this on each side of the lane today!   HILARIOUS!!  Phil had left for Dan & Brian’s and called back to say, “Nice signs”.   Not me… I had to take the drive to go see them.    I’ve not heard any extra noise tho.

I’m working (slowly) on an album of old (& new) farm photos for him.  His mom supplied a lot of photos that I scanned.   Last week, I finally knew I wouldn’t have them all fixed by today so just ordered the prints of the ones I had done.  That is his present for today.  The rest of the assembled album will have to come later.  I know his favorites will be photos of his grandpa & grandma at a Threshing Show in Iowa… late 1930’s I think.

Here are some classics!

This is 1974 with some fair ribbons!

His mom’s notes on this photo: Philip, 1970, after 3rd grade, Debby made this horse for his school play.  This makes me giggle!!

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Happy Birthday, Phil!

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Another Sewing Saturday

I can’t remember if I’ve blogged about it before but there are 3 of us that try to get together every month just to sew & chat & have time together.  We keep trying to invite others but they just. don’t. come.   🙂

I guess it has been a week and a half since our last Sewing Saturday.  We were even missing one of our regulars so just Sue came to my house.  We still had a blast.

Sue put the binding on 3 placemats.  She was going to borrow my walking foot and then I remembered I had just gotten a new edge following attachment for the walking foot so she took that on its maiden voyage!

Seriously, she sewed 2″ and was in HEAVEN.

I’m thinking that another Sue that needs binding put on 14 placemats might like this.

I worked on my Sedona Star block of the month from The Quilt Show.   I was ready to applique around lots of circles and got that part done.

After I stitched around all the circles, I pieced the rings together for the center.  Then I left my sewing machine upstairs and pieced the first set of star points on Sunday.

I didn’t trim the star points yet.  I’ll wait until I’m ready to join them with the next step.  So imagine that you only see the outer edge of purple.

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