Tornado in Connecticut

that's right. last Friday. NWS reported "a tornado that knocked out power and downed trees lasted three minutes, traveled 1.7 miles, and packed winds between 80 and 90 mph". Jessica lost two windows with rain gushing in sideways across the room. Linda lost one large tree limb that landed and blocked road in front of their house involving wires. and a tree at Anna's almost landed on their car. they all live so very close to where the tornado came down. trees broken like toothpicks.we all knew the weather was going to be rough. but we had gotten used to the constant changes. Jessica came home from settling in at the beach to work one more day. my BIL rode his motorcycle home when he saw the darkening sky only to get soaked when he had to go around the block when he could not get into driveway the way he had come. my plan was to go to beach the next day. it had rained Friday morning but i had decided to go to park and take pics. it had rained so much in June and i was worried about the condition of the roses. well worried that there may not be any rose petals left to take a pic of. so raindrops have been included.i live in the city and even though i heard about it on t.v. Saturday morning i traveled through Hartford and then did the zig-zag through Wethersfield trying to get to post office before i jumped on the highway on my way to the beach. of course i knew but forgot the last road i use to cross town was where the badly damaged house was. that road was blocked. but i saw enormous tree roots that had been lifted out of the ground. and almost every house was busy making piles of broken branches that lined the sidewalks one after the other. the local paper posted a video and photos. and Flickr.

then i had a few days of summer fun. an assortment of water toys. the water in Connecticut in June is freezing. after some screaming you get used to it. it never really gets that warm.and while i was finishing up a birthday present for my niece.OMG. my friend Melanie had already mailed me a beachy present. here's a peek at what i got.i'm going to squeeze one more day at the beach tomorrow. although it's probably going to rain.
this is a video i shot Friday morning in the park.

Patiently Waiting

while i wait for the roses to bloom. i continue to take short visits to my local park.an amazing fragrance coming from the yellows.across the path from the rose garden there is more to see. i just call these purple pompoms.a small tree with loads of new buds.another small tree with these hanging yellow flowers.behind is the small greenhouse.in front of greenhouse.a beautiful mix of new buds and closed flowers and then the fully open ones with large petals and gold centers.and then i make my way back to this bench to do some knitting.i love to watch tennis on t.v. so for two weeks the French Open has provided me with hours of knitting pleasure. but then i have to get outside. i have stopped at Starbuck's to knit so much that it was time to check in with my knitting friends at the local shop. i missed last month's sale but went ahead and checked the mark-down-bins. here's a peek at my $4. scarf. i found two lonely skeins in different colors and mixed them in my favorite stitch.and $10. for yarn i was eventually going to buy anyway i was pushed to overcome my issues with crochet. it was so enjoyable sitting around the big wooden table listening to everyone as they each worked on their own special projects. i missed that.

Easter Dresses

1953, Dutch Point, Hartford. this is my Mom when she was in high school. she is the oldest of 8 children.in the background is the Church of the Good Shepherd. in the next pic she's with my Aunt Sue and Aunt Dotty and little Aunt Karlene.1961. my Mom Carole, Tommy, Bobby, Sue, Dotty, Karlene and Carl. Carl just turned 4. so i was about 3-1/2. Pamela would arrive in a few years. you can see Joanne who is married to Bobby in the background.1962, in front of our home in Germany. i'm on the right. my sister Linda just turned 3 but she is clearly digging that outfit.1964, Hartford. over the fence you can see the new development that my grandparents later moved into. over to the right across Stonington Street is Colts Park. a bit of info on Colts.recycled dresses. August 1967, on a bridge across from Buckingham Palace. my Mom had these made for Easter out of the most beautiful yellow brocade fabric. they were sleeveless. that's my brother Lenny in the middle.those glasses look pretty cool now. but i never liked them. bifocals. enough said. back then no lie they took pieces of glass in different thicknesses and put them together. definitely not seamless like they are today. the military selection was skimpy & i always said no to the pink ones. in junior high i got to go offbase to pick out what i wanted. the style in the 1970's were very large or John Lennon style. i later wore contacts 18 hours a day up until just a few years ago. even now when they can make them lighter and thinner i've never had lenses that did not stick out of the frames.

Eileen has a call out for Easter outfit pics. if you want to see more dresses visit Eileen and click on her Mister Linky box. and if you post your own pics add you name and we'll visit to see yours.

Back To The Museum

who is Anna Tuels? even the museum doesn't really know. but her quilt was made by her mother in 1785. marking items with names or initials was important as "legally, married women had no right to own property". this quilt was quite worn but made from fabrics only a well-to-do family could have obtained. named "Hourglass".made in 1794 using fabrics from "her wedding dress, family dresses, and dresses of famous women". of course we all know that this pattern came from England. but it may be the oldest American one on record. named "Hexagon Mosaic".made in 1842 and received a silver medal. initially women were reluctant to show their homemade items at agricultural shows. named "Star of Bethlehem".made 1885-90 by two sisters. plenty of inexpensive American printed cotton made "charm" quilts and fussy cutting popular. named "Broken Star".made 1860-70 from beautiful silks that her sister brought back from New York City. she traced a tin template on paper which she removed before assembling. named "Tumbling Blocks".quiltmaker in family is undecided. date is inaccurate. but "synthetic dyes" were not used until 1856. this led to the "jewel-toned" shades which make this quilt exciting. named "Sunburst".ooooh. a sad bit about the crazy quilt i showed you here. designed using 1,047 pieces it took 4 years but was to remember all of her 3 children which died very young. the other crazy quilt which was too dark to photo was made in 1888 by a dressmaker using silk scraps and gave to her son as a wedding present. although he divorced he donated to the museum just prior to his death in 1924.museums are so clean. i think i left some dust or threads in there before i left. mostly my own words came from information provided in a Labels and Gallery Guide i purchased from the museum. i will post pics of full size quilts later. but if you have any questions i will try to answer. i assumed that this was a traveling exhibit but was pleasantly surprised that most were made in or very close to Hartford and are part of the museum collection.

Tea Pics

i had to get one of these. no flash. no tripod. no commercial use. apparently blogging is o.k.the two small rooms were quite dark. so no complaining.i could have spent all day looking at these two beauties. but i would have needed a chair and extra batteries to snap every patch i wanted to.i did promise tea pics didn't i.the teapot was on the right side and i rotated once to the left. the teacup was high up and upside down.a simple web amongst all the fancy stuff. did i say simple. shame on me.this is for our friend Eileen.and this one too.i have pics of the other quilts. but that's enough for today. our museum is lovely and my friend treated me to Sunday Jazz Brunch in the museum cafe. the wine and the salmon cakes were delicious. thanks J.

Yummy Food and Yummy Yarn

last week we did it again.gathered at Terry's for new recipes. see here and here for my other posts on her Clean Food cookbook. she had really fantastic news but i can't give you any details. so on with the quiet. on with releasing the day. on with the tincha clearing the bad energy. and on with what we really came for. really yummy food.

this time she made Veggie Fries(not pictured), Pan Seared Tofu with Ginger Lime Glaze, Bok Choy Stir Fry, Sesame Forbidden Rice, and Peanut Butter Balls. yummm. yes. this i really wanted to do and needed to do.

i also went to the yarn store with Jessica. right in town is the loveliest shop. website pics do not represent the old time feel of the shop. located on the second floor of the Comstock, Ferre & Co. building.you can also buy your xmas greens there.yummm. yes. but this i really did not want to do until January. it was annoying to walk around all those yummy yarns knowing we were just there to pick out a few needed things. but she treated me to lunch a few doors down at The Spicy Bean Cafe. so i did not grumble too much. they really give you spicy green beans with your order. we took it to-go so we could get back to our needles.

Take 20 Minutes For 7 Days

quiet steps down Kenyon Street.after the bazaar down Scarborough Road.running into Echo while window shopping.ducks at Cedar Hill.memorial in West Hartford Center.chilly afternoon in the Rose Garden.rainy day at Elizabeth Park.just a few images from my walks this week.this one was my favorite.

So Many Things To Do

quilt exhibit at the city museum.visit famous people loved ones in neighborhood cemetery.no really it's beautiful there. & they even have a blog to document special events.craft bazaar at a church.stroll in the park.on right is the new entrance to back of park. on left across the street is overlook where view is spectacular.possibly three movies at fancy-schmancy new shopping center.oh. you thought i meant sewing things.

will have to stop sewing to do some of these things. only a few minutes from where i live in several directions. as they are on roads needed to get from one place to another i drive by them all the time. i really want to stop at every block and take pics. the trees are in full color and absolutely beautiful.