Thistle 4000, RED

This barn is located on I-70 near Pittsburgh PA. The photo was taken from the car, passenger seat.

Accepting delivery for the boat just inside the PA border.

Just looking her over...

Thistle 4000 !

She'll have RED spinnaker sheets...

Dan took all the hardware off to give her teak a fine sanding...

Tinker Dan....

RED will make her debut at the Strictly Sail Philadelphia Boat Show, January 18-21, 2007 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all!

The Ugly Quilt Winner

Did you ever make a quilt, or attempt to make it, and it just doesn't turn out how you imagined it would? Well that's what happened here.these are all Christmas fabrics, in an attempt to make a new tree skirt, however it just did not turn out how I thought it would. It is only half sewn, and really ugly. I will start over again today if I feel up to it after my long visit with the dentist this morning.

"Lucy" vs the PT Crusier

"Another one bites the dust"...so now all 4 of our kids have totaled a vehicle. Beth was rear ended last night while at a red light, which caused her car to hit the car in front of her. Thankfully no one was injured. "Lucy", our 1996 Eclipse, looks like she has more damage than she's worth. Underneath, there is a lot of damage to the frame and other parts.

Luke had a similar incident in a Toyota, Ben crashed a Lancer, and the best was when Danielle hit a fire hydrant in her Gallant.

Well, It's Official!

Today we said a sad good-bye to our Thistle Class sailboat, Madam II, #3818. We had this boat built in 1989, it has a custom teal blue color with a white "whale bottom" and teak woodwork. It is truly the most beautiful boat on the starting line! She now has a new owner that lives somewhere in Georgia, I'm sure they will enjoy sailing her as much as our family has.

Sometime before the end of this year, OK, within the next 15 days, we will be the proud owner of Thistle #4000. This special boat was offered by raffle and we purchased her from the raffle winner. So our new boat is technically a used boat. She is almost finished being built and we are all very excited for the upcoming sailing season. I was hoping for the name Madam III, but the new boat color is white and it will be named RED.

Our first Thistle was #2031, Madam.

Marathon Man Runs Again

Dan, a.k.a Forrest, ran in his 14th marathon over the weekend. We flew to Dallas, Texas for the running of the White Rock Marathon. While we were there we stayed with my parents who live in Garland. The weather was perfect for running,Dan had his personal best time too, 3:32.22 and placed 405 of 3322 finishers.

Next month see "Forrest" run Miami. After this one, he can officialy join the 50 States Marathon Club.

"October Snow of 76"

"October Snow of 76", 22 inches square, tone on tone off whites. I quilted circles free hand without my walking foot or a guide. I think the next time I do circles I will use thoses tools.

Marathon Man

On Sunday October 29th, Dan ran his 12th marathon since Philadelphia in November of 2001. This one was held in Washington DC, The Marine Corps Marathon. There were 34,000 entries, his time was 3:40.19 and his finish place was 1790.

It is very emotional watching the pageantry of the military and realizing the sacrifices that made by those who choose to serve our country. In some ways it makes me feel guilty. In my family there have been men who were in the service, but in peaceful times. My grandfather was too young for WWI and too old for WWII, my Dad was in the Army, just at the end of Korea. My brothers were too young for Vietnam, later they both enlisted in the Navy for a few years.

In March of 2001, my son Ben was a senior in high school, he came home from school one day and said his "buddies" were all joining the Marines and wanted to join them. My first response was No, then preceded to tell him I would not let him join. (He was 18 and didn't need my permission) I said to him back in March of 2001, that was world had been at peace for too long, and that I didn't want one of my sons at war. Who would of thought what would happen in September of 2001. All of Ben's buddies were in Iraq, thankfully they are all home now.



There's Dan, going through a water station, waving, bib #8942, with Forrest on his shirt. It's motivation for him, often he hears someone yell "Run Forrest Run"!

Folly Beach, Charleston, SC.... Eric, Danielle, Dan, Luke and Page. We visited Luke and Page in Charleston the first weekend of October. After dinner on Sunday night we went to the beach for a moonlit walk in the sand, it was low tide, there was an abundance of crabs running around too.
What's on your design wall? This is currently on mine. It is 22 inches square, scraps of white/ off white fabrics. I enhanced the photo to show the tone on tone texture. I am going to quilt circles on it, maybe in a metallic or twist thread, not sure what color I'll use, there is still an audition going on.

In case you may want know....

1. FIRST NAME? Marlene
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? I don't believe so...
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Watching a movie
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Turkey
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Just my blog
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Yes, but I would to skydive first
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Frosted mini wheats
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I'm in pretty good physical condition, weak upper body strength
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Turkey Hill Chocolate peanut butter cup, yum yum
14. SHOE SIZE? 7
15. FAVORITE COLOR? Red or yellow.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? weight
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My grandmothers.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Yes, please
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? jeans, tan sandal's
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? A banana
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? TV is in the background
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? burnt umber, cause it has a cool name
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Macintosh Yankee Candle burning
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Dan
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? attitude
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yes, although our connection is through our blogs, and we will probably never meet in person.
27. FAVORITE DRINK? don't really have a "favorite"
28. FAVORITE SPORT? Baseball
29. EYE COLOR? Brown
30. HAT SIZE? don't know
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Just one...
32. FAVORITE FOOD? too many
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? Happy endings
34. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? yellow
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? don't really have a "favorite"
38. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Listening to "Between Georgia"
39. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? this mouse pad has the logo where my brother works
40. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Didn't watch TV last night, we played dominos
41. FAVORITE SOUNDS? the ocean
42. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Both
43. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Athens, Greece
44. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? needlework and sewing
45. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Rochester, New York
46. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Saw it on other blogs
47. NEWEST THING YOU'VE TRIED? Corel Paint Shop Pro
48. ONE THING YOU'D CHANGE ABOUT YOURSELF: I'd be less of a procrastinator

Over the weekend. Dan ran the US Airforce Marathon in Dayton, Ohio. This is the 13th marathon for him and will run 2 more this year. His time was 3:40.19. Better than his average, he also finished 8th in his age bracket. While in Dayton, we stayed with his sister Sue and family.

We arrived home around 7pm Sunday, just in time for me to repack. Monday morning I flew to Dallas, Texas area to visit with my parents till next week. Last month my mother fell and broke her hip, she is back home now after a several week stay in a rehab nursing home.

I fortgot to bring the cable that connects my camera to the computer, so I will post photo's later.

New Banner

I've been playing around with adding a jpeg to my banner, thanks to some advice from Deb, I finally figured it out. I don't know why the font looks blurry? Any suggestions???

The Last First Day of High School

I have always taken photos of my children on their First Day of School. Wednesday, was Danielle's Last First Day of High School... the "little one"...my how time flys!

Below is Danielle at age 5.

Isn't She Beautiful!!!

Danielle had all 4 impacted wisdom teeth pulled this morning. We tied the ice bags around her head using an ace bandage. Now she can chat with friends without holing on to the ice! Hope you feel better Little One.

The Summer of 2006...and so it goes...

Beth's Graduation Day...in a thunder storm...

Every summer in our neighborhood, we attend a Phillies game together...

Watched Danielle Swim... this was the first time in over 30 years the team has won the League Championship...Way to go Whales!!!

Local 4th of July Parade...

I visited Luke in Charleston... (above) College of Charleston, Luke graduated from here in 2003.
(above) House on Campus...
On the waterfront, Charleston, SC.

I visited the Outter Banks, North Carolina...

Cape Hatteras Light House, North Carolina

Thanks all for the Birthday sentiment.

I'm off tomorrow for the week, a solo trip to Charleston to visit Luke. It should be a great time. I forgot to mention about the computer, it's a Dell XPS400, a bit upgraded. I think this computer knows it's being replaced as it has been behaving lately. LOL

Happy Birthday to ME

Well, another has year has past which makes today July 6, my Birthday. I'm not the usually the one to make a fuss or tell the world but you know the way I look at it now, as the big 50 is just a few years away, why not shout it out... Hello World it's MY Birthday!!!

I am getting a new computer in celebration of this memorable event. I've been doing a lot of on-line window shopping which will make the process easier. For Mothers day, I wanted a new Digital Camera, so I purchased a Nikon 50D SLR digital camera. It is wonderful!!! I haven't uploaded any of my new photos yet, I will when the new computer arrives. For now they all still reside on the memory card.

Happy Birthday wishes also to Michelle.

Computer Woes!!!

Computers, sometimes you Love them, but know I strongly dislike mine. Hopefully I'll get to finish this post before it crashes again. Just thought I'd let you know I'm still here.

Lilac Festival

2006 Highland Park Lilac Festival, Rochester, New York.

Below is Beth, our families newest college grad! On Saturday she graduated with a BSBA from Kutztown University. Can you believe I forgot bring my camera to the ceremony? Luke took several with Page's camera, he said he would email them to me. I will post a few when I get them.
"Art in the Park" these chairs were painted by children, and are free to take home on the last day of the festival...but they ask you give it to someone who does good things for others.

Pansies...
White Lilacs...
Oh, and new additions to my stash, for a special anniversary project.