Camping Trip

Hi Everyone!
We just got back from a few days of camping so I thought I'd share a few photos.   We went to Turkey Run State Park in Indiana - and boy was the scenery beautiful!   I didn't see any turkeys though - go figure.

We did see lots of trees though.   We've camped in a few places that don't have a lot of trees on the campgrounds and well - camping in direct sunlight all day is not fun.   The trees made it nice and shady.

We also met some interesting friends on this trip.   My girlfriend was talking to me this morning and stopped mid-sentence and said "You're not afraid of bugs are you?" LOL.   I turned around and found this little critter on my chair.   I have no idea what it is but as we inspecting it and photographing it someone wondered aloud if it could fly - and then it did.   I also made friends with a little butterfly who perched on my arm and wouldn't leave for about 20 minutes.   What an awesome experience that was!

This photograph is from a short hike we went on this morning.   I'm a wimp and only do the easy trails but this one was really cool.   We were in one area with large rock formations towering on both sides of us and it was just amazingly beautiful.   There's nothing like walking in the midst of God's handiwork on a Sunday morning - and in fact I felt like we were in a sanctuary He made instead of one with four walls.

We had a great time on this trip.   We got to see one of the big wind farms out in the cornfields on the way down, the scenery in the park was gorgeous and of course it was wonderful to spend time with friends - and bugs! :o)

I hope you all had a great weekend!
Hugs!
Sue :o)

Trip to Chicago

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to share some photos of my trip to Chicago last Friday.   My Sister in Law and my son and I took the train into the city and headed right for the Art Institute.   I just love those big lions out front!   Inside, we made a beeline for the Impressionists and spent quite awhile in those galleries.

Being the avid gardener, I always swoon over the Monets - especially the big ones like this iris painting.   I could literally sit and stare at these things all day which - probably makes me a little weird.   :o)

I had to get a picture of his signature too.   Don't ask me why.   Just seemed like a good idea at the time.

My second favorites are the Renoirs.   I just love the beautiful colors and all the little details in his paintings.

And of course I had to pay Vince a visit - since I was there.   A few years back my Aunt Jo and I went to the museum solely to see this painting and after searching for it for about an hour we discovered it was on loan to another museum.   He was there this time though!

This is also another favorite of mine by Berthe Morisot.  

This is my lunch - not art.  LOL.   BLT salad and a roll that we ended up feeding to the pigeons in the courtyard.   I wish I could post all the pictures I took but I don't think they give me that much space per blog - plus I'd be here all night downloading pictures.    We spent about 3 and a half hours in the museum and then headed across the street to Millenium Park which is TOTALLY AWESOME.   I finally got to see the big bean in person.

My reflection is on that bean somewhere LOL.   After that it was time to head back to the train and home to Indiana.   I love visiting the city and all the spectacular sights but .... I still love home best.

Well, I think I'm going to turn in early tonight as we had a rather late one last night.   My son and I went to the book store yesterday evening and when we pulled onto our street we found a little baby racoon that was injured.   A friend of mine has rescued them before, so I called her and she was nice enough to come over and get it.   But alas - the poor little dear didn't make it.   I've been wondering why God put that little critter in my path if it was just going to die - but then at church this morning I think He answered me when the word "compassion" just popped into my head for no reason.   I do believe that everything happens for a reason - even if it's just to teach a simple little lesson - so that's what I'm going to take from this experience.  

Boy - I'm really running at the keyboard tonight.  LOL.   Seriouly though - my Advil PM is kicking in so I'm signing off for the night.   I hope you all had a great weekend!
Hugs!
Sue :o)

Stormy Weather

Hi all!   I just wanted to share some pics of a "lovely" little storm that rolled through NW Indiana tonight.   I'm not usually one to take pictures during these things but I was intending on taking some pictures of my garden when I saw the clouds approaching.   Within about 5 minutes of this picture, this is what I saw....

Then it started getting a little scary...

This is the last picture I took before the tornado sirens started going off.   That's when I decided to go inside and get in the basement.

Pretty scary stuff, huh?   Thankfully there was no tornado, but when I saw that sky - yikes - I was worried!  My son and I went in the basement and prayed (hubby was upstairs watching - grrrr) and thankfully God kept us safe.  :o)

I hope you're all having a happy sunny week so far.   Thank goodness the forecast is good here for the next couple of days!
Hugs!
Sue :o)

Manic Monday

I might sound crazy for saying this, but sometimes I love it when Monday comes. We had a busy weekend. Saturday morning we went to the zoo with my sister in law and thank goodness we went early because by noon it was in the 90s and humid. I fit in grocery shopping and errands after that, and then my nephew came to spend the night and he brought a little buddy with him. LOL. It's amazing how late two little boys can stay up giggling. Unfortunately I had to get them both up early on Sunday so the little buddy could get to church with his family and I could get my nephew back to my brother's before we had to go to church, so I think their late night probably caught up with them yesterday afternoon. It caught up with me pretty early last night too. :o) We had my sister in law over for dinner and then I crashed.

I did get to spend some time in craft room today. I was finishing up an order for a customer and trying to clean things up a little. Tomorrow I'll be finishing up the order and then hopefully working on some new stuff for the shop before I have to go chaperone for a few hours at a youth group lock in at church. They're doing a photo scavenger hunt and needed a driver, so I volunteered. We'll see how that goes. LOL.

I don't have any new cards to post today so I thought I'd share a few pictures I took this weekend at the zoo. We were at Brookfield and they have a beautiful butterly garden that I love to visit. Not only are the butterflies beautiful but the place is full of flowers too! Now only if I could stamp in there... LOL

I hope you're all having a nice Monday! I'll be back tomorrow with paper creations!

Sue :o)