Guess who turned 2 on Saturday? 

                                          

Charlie's Mommy and Daddy had a small party for him at lunchtime with some special friends and family -

                                         

                                         

                                         

                                        

                                         

                                         

                                         

 Joshua brought a model car that he was putting together -

                                          

Time to open presents!

                                           

  He almost climbed in the bag!

                                            

                                            

                                               

Then it was time for cake and ice cream!  Charlie didn't have a clue what was going on!

                                              

But he liked blowing out the candles!  It took a few times!

                                     

                                     

Megan napped for most of it; but afterwards she joined us -

                                        

Then it was time to play!

                                       

                                       

 Charlie and his friend were helping Grandpa look at the Thomas the Tank Engine paper that shows all of Thomas' friends and accessories -

                                       

They really had to look at it closely!

                                       

Megan and Aunt Suzanne -

                                       

What a fun day!                                                                               

          

This morning I went with some friends to a small local quilt show put on by the Peaks and Pieces Quilt Guild of Bedford, VA.  Suzanne went with me too.  It was very nicely set up with many beautiful quilts and things.  We walked in and got a paper ballot to vote for the best in each category.

Here is Suzanne chatting with the lady who was giving out the ballots -

                                       

Eileen looking through a book of photos they had out -

                                       

The other gals starting to look at the quilts -

                                       

The quilts were displayed on the 2nd floor of this lovely library -

                                       

                                       

                                       

And they included bags, clothing, and aprons -

                                      

                                      

                                      

Here are some I thought were very good - such creativity -

                                      

                                      

                                      

                                      

                                      

They had a quilt set up for anyone to sit and quilt on -

                                      

That was a nice morning!

This evening, my friend Gina and I met at Barnes and Noble to practice signing.  We try to meet every Thursday night when possible and we "chat" without voicing, or we work on some specific thing - tonight we were trying to put sentences into ASL from a worksheet we had gotten at that Silent weekend we had gone to.

Suzanne and Betsy went too, but they both brought work to do and sat at their own tables and got a lot done, I guess!  Suz was chatting with Gina a minute before we started -

                                      

                                      

And I told Betsy to look up and smile!

                                      

Betsy has two new things going on in her life - one is a new job!  She will be working part time in customer service at the mall.  Her job with the Roanoke Children's Theatre fell through as they had to let staff go because of finances (or lack of), and we are praising the Lord that she got another job so quickly!  She is very excited.  And it will give her time to work on another exciting thing - she has been named director of our local production of "Scrooge" that the church she goes to puts on every year.  She is thrilled about that!

So, that was my day!

Just a little more about the Botanical Gardens and then on to the rest of the trip!  They had a section called the Enabling Gardens where they showed all sorts of helpful gardening ideas for the physically challenged!  I was especially interested in gardening for the blind, as I was thinking of my sweet young xanga friend, Sheila!

                                       

                                       

They were particularly showing gardens that had these dividers so you could feel the sections, and using plants that had a lot of different textures.

And here are a few more of the day at the Botanical Gardens in Chicago last Saturday -

                                       

                                       

                                       

                                       

                                       

                                       

There were flowers and plants shaped into all sorts of things -

                                       

Here he is up close -

                                       

And look at this huge aloe plant!

                                       

On to the rest of the adventure!  We had our reservations on the Odyssey, for the evening fireworks dinner cruise, boarding at 7:00 PM.  We had a nice ride from the hotel to the Navy Pier chauffeured by Arne, who took us around a little of downtown Chicago.  We got to the Navy Pier early, so we had time to walk around.  So many people were there on this beautiful Saturday evening.

There were several interesting things that happened - and not all of them were pleasant!  First, we thought it was funny that we passed a wedding party in one of the local parks.  Then, a wedding party was getting off the Odyssey as we passed by - they must have had the wedding and reception on the boat!  And where did we see them again?  In the part of the Navy Pier where there are outdoor concerts and things - called the Beer Garden.

Then, we saw 2 or 3 more wedding parties - bride, groom, attendants, and families and friends - walking up and down in their wedding clothes.  Sorry, I didn't get pictures, but it was funny.  And there was another wedding party on the boat again!

One very disturbing thing happened - Julie and I made a stop at the Ladies' Room at the Navy Pier, and there was a baby in a stroller left all by herself outside the door.  Outside the door as in - left alone on the Navy Pier!  Julie saw her first, and by then there were several women who were asking each other, "Is that your baby?  Whose baby is that?"  It was a little girl around 1 yrs old if I remember correctly.  So, Julie and I stood and waited with the baby until her mother came out.   We certainly weren't going to leave her alone!  The mother, a young foreign woman, came out and we asked her why she had left the baby - she said her husband was right there - but HE had gone away and left the baby!  So, we told her she should never, never, never, never leave her child alone in a place like that.

Good grief.

Anyway, soon it was time to board the Odyssey -

                                

                                

And we were a little disappointed in the whole dinner cruise!  We had expected a nice, relaxing evening with good food, wonderful friends and conversation, enjoying our 4 hours together topped off by fireworks.  What were we thinking??  We did have wonderful friends -

                                

                                

And the food was good, and we had some wonderful views - which you can't see very well, but this is what I got!

                                

Otherwise, the boat was very crowded, the tables were packed in, and the live band was so loud that we could have no conversation unless we went up on the observation deck.  We did that for awhile, but it was cold up there!  The waiter kept dropping things, spilled Arne's coffee all over the table, and then caught his name tag on the edge of the table where it dropped off onto the floor.  It was chaotic in there!  Not the relaxing evening we had pictured!

We were all glad to get off the Odyssey and head back to the hotel.  But it was all worth it because we spent the weekend visiting with Julie and Arne, who are such special friends now.  We have so much in common, and the guys were talking non-stop about all of their common interests. Mostly politics, which can be fun when you are in agreement about everything!

Julie and I think that next time we'll all just go have pizza somewhere that is casual and quiet!

More about our weekend in Chicago!  Saturday was such a beautiful day!  Jim had to go to his medical course, which was right next door to the hotel we were all staying in.  Julie, Arne, and I spent the day at the Botanical Gardens.  They hadn't ever been there so it was new to all of us.  We left the hotel around 8:00 AM, and ate breakfast at the restaurant at the Botanical Gardens.  Then we spent the next 5 hours walking around, and we still didn't see all of it!

Most of these pictures speak for themselves without much comment from me!  Arne had the map and so was our tour guide.  Julie and I kept saying, "follow the man in the green shirt!"

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                       

                                       

We were still following the man in the green shirt!

                                       

                                       

                                       

This waterfall fascinated me as it started on one side of the path, then came out the other side -

                                      

                                      

                                      

We were having such a wonderful time!  It was so relaxing, even with all the walking we did!

                                      

                                      

More to come!  Adventures on Odyssey isn't over yet!

                                        

                                    

                                       

                                             

Jim and I went to Chicago for the weekend!    Jim had a work-related course to take there on Saturday.  And I went with him so that we could see Julie and Arne for the weekend! 

Almost a year ago, on another trip to Chicago, we had made plans for the 4 of us to take a dinner cruise on Lake Michigan.  At the last minute, Julie and Arne's granddaughter in Iowa became ill, and we canceled those plans and they went to Iowa.  We had a year to use those canceled dinner cruise tickets, so we went this weekend. 

Our dinner cruise ship was called "The Odyssey."  And so, over the next few days of blogging, I'll show you pictures of our VERY interesting weekend, where a few hours on Saturday evening was spent on this -

                                   

                                    

                                   

                                    

The city looked beautiful from the Navy Pier!

                                   

But first back to the beginning of the weekend!  We left Roanoke on a late-afternoon flight.

                                   

The view from the airport, as we waited -

                                   

And here is Jim, waiting to get on the plane -

                                   

And we arrived in Chicago, got to the hotel, and ate dinner there with the Paulsens who had already arrived -

                                   

I was so happy to see Julie again!  We met, you know, here on xanga, and have become such close friends!

                                   

The next part of my story will be about Saturday, when, minus Jim who was off learning something or other, Julie and Arne and I went to the Botanical Gardens on the most beautiful day we could possibly have had!

Stay tuned!

                                         

Tonight, Amanda, Sam, Charlie, and Megan came over for dinner, and Betsy was home too, so it was such a fun evening!  This Grandpa hadn't gotten to hold Megan for a long time - he is at work most of the time when the kids are here!

                                          

                                          

Then he played with Charlie, before dinner and after dinner, before pajamas and after pajamas got put on Charlie-

                                         

                                         

                                         

                                         

Here Daddy is spinning Charlie in the air -

                                         

                                         

Megan was watching it all for a long time.  Here her Daddy is holding her -

                                        

Then a little nap on Mommy's lap -

                                       

And with Aunt Betsy -

                                       

                                       

                                       

They were trying to get her to talk like she sometimes will, but this time, she just smiled -

                                       

Amanda brought blueberry pie that she made from the blueberries she had picked.  It was delicious!  And this is what was left -

                                       

We had a wonderful evening! 

Earlier today, Betsy and I went to an orientation for dog obedience training.  The trainer we will use and who is trying to find a dog to be trained as a hearing dog for Betsy, has her own dog obedience school.  She suggested we attend the orientation that is required before the dog starts training - the orientation is for people only!  It was held at the training center, a metal building on a very out-of-the-way property, that is currently undergoing construction.  We had to walk on a dirt road from where we parked our car, which was fine.  But while we were there, it rained VERY hard for at least 45 minutes, making all that dirt turn to mud!  Yuck!  We had to walk back to our car, stepping in ankle-deep mud.  We tried to scrape some of the mud off our shoes and then hose them down when we got home, but they will need some extra cleaning!

I didn't get a picture, but even if I had my camera, it was all I could do to stay on my feet in the slippery mud!

                                        

We had a very relaxing 4th of July weekend.  On Friday, Jim and I went to a nearby caverns called Dixie Caverns - we have lived here 14 years and we hadn't ever been there! 

Here is Jim walking up to the door with our tour group -

                                   

Here are a few pictures.  I didn't get very good ones inside the caverns -

                                   

                                   

                                   

But you all know what caverns look like.  And it is dark, wet, chilly, and slippery down there, and it has a millions steps!  But it was nice to see it.  We followed that up with a trip to Walmart and then lunch.

Every year our town has a Fair - rides and all - and an room of exhibits where anyone can submit things to be judged.  There are things in every catagory possible and for every age group.  In the past, when my girls were younger, we submitted several knitted and crocheted items, plants, food, etc.  We haven't done that in years, but every year I like to go see what all is there, what items won prizes, and who that we know put things in.  So, on Saturday afternoon, Jim and Betsy and I went over to the Salem Fair - just to the exhibit room.  I took some pictures of exhibits submitted by several people we know, young and old!

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

Otherwise, we were all very lazy and spent the rest of the day reading, napping, watching TV, and for me, working on an applique quilt - oh, I did go to the nursing home to see my mother.  And we cooked on the grill and ate on our porch, as we have been having very mild temperatures this weekend.  We could see fireworks from our windows, so we didn't even go downtown to the big fireworks display!    What a wonderfully lazy day! 

Today we went to church - Jim teaches one of the adult Sunday school classes sometimes, so that was first, then the worship service which, as I have mentioned before, I interpret from my pew for practice, and in the afternoon, I went, as I often do, to the Roanoke Deaf Fellowship, a Deaf church with a Deaf pastor.

That was my weekend!  I have some time to work some more on my applique now. . .
                                    

I really didn't get many pictures of our trip to Orlando.  I just wasn't thinking about it, I guess!  I even had my camera with me!  But no one else was taking pictures so it didn't jog my memory.  I did, however, get a picture of this bit of silliness - in the motel room - Betsy was staying up later than I was, sitting in the chair and doing whatever it was she was doing on her computer.  And her stuff was spread out all over our bed!  Including this adorable turtle, named Derby, that she made at a Build a Bear Workshop - yes, even 20+ year old girls enjoy that sort of thing.  Anyway, if I wanted to go to sleep, I needed to move her stuff, so every night I would gather it all up and fix Derby up on her pillow -

                                      

Isn't he cute?  One night Betsy had her glasses ON, but her keys were on the bed, so Derby was minus the glasses but was holding the keys.  Oh, my, we did have a good time!

Here's Betsy - I wonder if she thought that her mother was just a little crazy?

                                      

                                      

Last week I drove to Orlando, Florida, with Betsy and one of my sign language study group friends, Gina, for the "World's Largest Silent Weekend."  There were over 600 people there, and it was my 3rd year to attend.  It is wonderful!  It was held at a hotel in Orlando.

This was the first year I went to the advanced classes!  They have classes for every level from a novice signer - one who knows no sign at all - through beginner, intermediate, and then advanced.  Sign language interpreters can earn CEUs for the classes - maybe someday that will be me!

The conference begins on a Thursday night with a large meeting, where we meet the teachers, hear the schedule, etc.  There are so many choices of classes to go to all weekend that it can be confusing.  There are over 100 different classes to choose from!  Then, at the end of that meeting, the silent weekend begins, and we are suppose to remain "voice-off", using only sign language everywhere we go, including our hotel room, shopping, restaurants - everywhere!  We actually started our own "voice off" as soon as we left home.  We did, however, allow ourselves to talk in the car - Gina and I aren't good enough at sign language skills to drive, sign, and pay attention to the other person's signing at the same time!

I took several classes - most of the ones I took were 2 or 3 hour classes, so I didn't get a lot of different ones in.

Here are the ones I went to:

Introduction to Legal Interpreting - not that I want to do legal interpreting, but much of it does come up in other interpreting situations, and I think it is a fascinating area of interpreting.
City, State, and Country Signs - many, many US cities, and most of the states have their own signs for their names and are not just fingerspelled, and so many countries have signs for their name. 
Theatrical Interpreting
Developing Receptive Skills
Trilingual Interpreting
Religious Songs

Also, I went to 2 different ASL storytelling shows that were lots of fun and very interesting!  Many of the teachers and the storytellers are Deaf themselves.

Some of the other classes offered for the different levels included fingerspelling, numbers, ASL idioms, Deaf culture, ethical situations in interpreting, and quite a few classes on religious signs and interpreting.  Many classes are repeated year after year, so I have taken some of the others in the past.

It was a wonderful weekend!  We did very well remaining "voice off."  Sometimes, Gina and I would forget and we would need to remind each other.  It can be quite a struggle to think of what you want to say, then think of how to sign it, and then actually sign it correctly!  I bought a few DVDs of some of the things I want to continue to work on.

One night there was a show called, "ASL Idol" where the audience can compete in several storytelling situations, using ASL features, and it is all improv.  So, there are stories using alphabet handshapes, number handshapes, classifiers, personification, and more.  Betsy was in it, and she won a prize for her story!

The whole experience is very worthwhile and a lot of fun, and every year I have come home with my skills having improved.  The classes are all taught in sign language, so I am working on my receptive skills the whole time I am there.

For anyone reading this who is interested in this Silent Weekend next year, the website is www.drsign.com.  And for my local sign language and interpreter friends, there is a reduced group rate and reduced rates for registering early, so do let me know if you are interested!

Today, Amanda was teaching piano lessons and I babysit the kids when she does, up in the main part of my house.  The piano is downstairs.  I love these days of playing with Charlie and Megan and listening to the piano music from
downstairs!

So, here are a few pictures from our morning!

Megan looking cute in blue -

                                         

                                         

                                         

It has been awhile since Charlie pulled out all of my plastic containers from my bottom drawer that he knows he can play in.  He is into building things tall these days, so here is what he did -

                                         

                                         

                                         

                                         

                                         

Oh, my - then they toppled!  That didn't faze him a bit!  He just started right in again!

                                        

                                        

More of Megan -

                                        

Then it was time for lunch -  Grandma, not another picture!!

                                        

                                        

                                        

Meanwhile, Minuette has to stay in her crate during piano lessons.  If not, she would bark at the children as she heard or saw them go around the house to the back door.  And she is actually very happy, at age 13, to not have to deal with an almost-2-yr-old!  And I feel much safer.  She just sleeps in there but she did manage this mournful look for the camera -
 
                                       

I have been working on a few handwork projects.  One of them was this stamped cross stitch pillow case that I finished, for Charlie -

                                       

Sometimes you need an easy project, and that was it.  I am also working on a quilt that has some piecing and some applique, and for the past week or so I have been doing applique by hand using the freezer paper method on this cute little bear who will make up the center of the quilt -

                                       

His face and some other additions will be embroidered on.  Here is the picture of the pattern -

                                       

I am still working on my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt, but I don't have another flower together to take a picture of!

The last thing, before the kiddos all left, was my piano lesson!  No pictures of that!!  Good thing you can't hear me!  Remember I am the one who doesn't practice the piano when any of the hearing members of my family are home!  But Amanda is a very kind and gracious teacher, and, since I am doing this for my own enjoyment and not for anyone else to hear, it is quite relaxing - no pressure at all.  I am currently learning Canon in D, which I think my girls had mastered sometime before they were 11 or 12!