I'M BAAAAAAAAACK!!

We have just returned from 3 weeks with Boyd's family

and it feels WONDERFUL to sleep in our own bed.(Below)This is my little scrapbook album corner of the lake house.

I bought a great small portable HP photo printer to take with us.

I love, love, love it!!

I printed photos each day and put them on a scrapbook page.

Therefore... I came home with a completed album

and don't have to spend time working on it now.


Here are some of the pages. There are many more!

The flag was a great marker on the mailbox so we

knew which driveway to turn in when we arrived.

That great cup of morning coffee!
Tastes even better at the lake!

Boyd's mom and sister in the lake.

His brother Dana... aka: King Neptune

Boyd with his creepy webbed swimming gloves.

Boyd's family.

Shopping was a regular part of the day. I loved this little

bookstore.

We put together lots of jigsaw puzzles. There was always someone

sitting on the sun porch working on the current puzzle.

My niece Annie. She is adorable and fun. I really

enjoyed my time with her.

Boyd's sister Mary is a great cook just like the rest of the

family. We ate some terrific dinners together... some at

restaurants and some at the house.

That's all for now... the Packer game is on and I need to support our

team even without Brett Farve.

~~~

I'm anxious to read your blogs and see what's new with everyone.

~~~

Love you,

Joni

SUMMER VACATION

Boyd and I are off to Green Lake, WI for 3 weeks.

Boyd's family used to live on Green Lake year round.

Now his parents rent a home there each summer so that we can all spend

some time together... his parents, Boyd and I, his brother Dana,

his sister Mary (& John) and their 2 kids Annie and Henry.

~~~

This is a picture of last summer's house.

This year's house is supposed to be "lovely" and huge.

OK... twist my arm... I'll go!

Green Lake is great for swimming, sunning, and lots of reading.

Great memories of this float!
Lot's of time is spent playing in the water.

Steps from the water to the house.

But the climb is worth it.

The town of Green Lake has wonderful shops and restaurants.

It's quaint and cute.

There's a big art fair while we're there.

This is the ice-cream shop that my diet won't allow this year...

well maybe once... a week?
~~~

And I've packed a bag of embroidery projects, a stack of books,

scrapbooking album and supplies and my NEW little

portable HP photo printer.

~~~

And my girls??

Never a wasted moment!


Wendy, Darin, and Kristin are headed to Breckenridge, Colorado

mid-August to spend some time in the mountains where

Wendy met Darin... and Kristin used to work.

They never lack for something to do or a place to go.


Wendy and Darin are on their honeymoon for a week.

They went to the Florida Keys to an island to do some scuba diving.

This is Wendy snorkeling... I don't have a diving pic yet.

So......... "GOOD-BYE!" until the end of August!

See you then...

Love, Joni

A TASTE OF KOHLER WISCONSIN

We like to take short day trips here and there.

Last week we went to the village of Kohler, WI .

~~~

The largest employer in Kohler is the Kohler Company,

a worldwide leader in plumbing products; the village itself

was created by the company as a planned community in 1912.

There are lots of covenants for homeowners (a bit like Stepford).

If you live there... you dance-to-the-tune of the Kohler Co.

~~~

Many people in Wisconsin refer to drinking fountains as "bubblers,"

because the first Kohler drinking fountain was known as "The Bubbler.
~~~

We had lunch at Cucina, one of Kohler's many great restaurants.

You can eat inside or outside.

Did you know that Wisconsin has over 10,000 lakes that are

greater than 20 acres in size??

This is a very happy Mr Yummers. He loves Cucina

because of their crusty bread.


And here it is... their bread from a family of artisan breads.
It's baked in VERY HOT stone-lined ovens.
Lots of air-holes inside & very crispy crust on the outside.
I didn't touch a single piece because of my diet but Boyd
had a feast...
...dipped in olive oil and sprinkled with
parmesan reggiano.

I sipped an ice tea while he explored the bread.

His lunch was a sandwich of more bread and lots of goodies inside.

My lunch was a picture!

A small pizza with their homemade mozzarella,

fresh basil,

sliced tomatoes,

and a balsamic reduction.

Now that's YUMMERS!

~~~

I didn't eat any of the crust (calories) but ate part of the

mozzarella, tomatoes, etc.

The flavor was incredible.

For dessert we went next door to the Chocolate Shop...

aren't these covered pretzels gorgeous?

I had a small chocolate truffle that was a

melt-in-your-mouth confection.

Then we were off to the Kohler Design Center to see

the latest in bath and kitchen designs.

YES... this is a wall of toilets! A sculpture of sorts.

I fell in love with this sink. The red design was perfect for our house.

One of many inviting bathing tubs.

I really liked this tub at floor level.

A yummy day... a fun day!!

And just a bit of Kohler.

There is so much to see and do there.

~~~

Hope you enjoyed your tour.

Check your fixtures... are they Kohler?

Sooooo many are!

~~~

Joni

PS Boyd lost weight at Weight Watchers last week,

despite the bread.

His secret: He swims laps EVERY DAY!

CROSS-STITCH

I've become fascinated with cross-stitching.

I thought it was a 'thing of the past'

until I got on some French blog sites and saw the

level they had taken it to.

Absolutely beautiful!

~~

With my love for anything whimsical

and bright-colored, I headed down that path.

~~

This is a digital scrap page I did this morning for

my personal scrap album... to record my new interest.

The "Just Married" piece needs to go to the

framer to be pressed, padded, and framed.

The Santa is a St. Nick's day gift... at

least it will be when it's completed.

"Ghouls night Out" will be a Halloween gift.

The small framed "I love you" was a gift to me

a long time ago from a dear friend.

I haven't been blogging very much or commenting on your blogs.

Have been so busy editing and organizing wedding photos...

and dealing with a sinus infection (sleeping a lot) that I

have just run out of time.

I promise to do better... really!!

~

Love you,

Joni

WORD BUSINESS!

I found this fun word site on Thimbleanna's blog.

It's called WORDLE and provided me with lots of

distractions from tasks I was supposed to be doing.

DON'T YOU JUST LOVE TOYS??

This looks a bit fuzzy but printed clear & sharp on

my printer. Go figure!

~

I'm using it for the first page of a mini-album I just

started working on called "SUMMER IS..."

~

I did print in colors too! But sharing a black and white

version with you.

~

Click on WORDLE and have fun!

We're taking a fun day-trip tomorrow to historic Cedarburg WI.
It's all stone buildings converted into quaint shops

and tea rooms.
Photos to follow soon.

Happy weekend!
~Joni

CONTENTS:

1. "Project Runway"

2. "The House of Eliott" DVD

3. Rehearsal dinner photos

~~~~~~~

1. PROJECT RUNWAY begins tonight, in the US, on Bravo TV.

It's my favorite show!!

It's soooo inspiring... and fun!

Nicolette told me that it's called "Project Catwalk" in the

Netherlands. What about your country??

~

This is a photo of the new cast

2. We've been watching the BBC series "The House of Eliott" .

Even Boyd seems to be enjoying it.

Summary:

Evangeline and Beatrice Eliott, daughters of a prominent doctor

must support themselves after their profligate father dies

and leaves them penniless. They have no education

or training, just a passion for fashion design.

As suitors try to woo them and scoundrels try to trip them up,

they make independent, exciting lives for themselves

and the women they employ in their house of haute couture.
~

We are getting it from Netflix but I know that Amazon.com has

new and used copies.

3. The Rehearsal Dinner

Darin's parents, Barb and OZ, chose Fratellos on the Fox River

for the dinner. Because there wasn't a rehearsal, they

invited everyone... all 150 people who were invited to the

wedding. Really sweet of them.

Oshkosh is surrounded by water... and lots of bridges.

A wonderful small Midwest town.


Kristin and Wendy with their Dad... my ex husband.



The 2 mother-in-laws... Barb and I.
I couldn't have hand-picked better people to be a family with.




Emma made a new friend at the dinner... Audrey. Her mom is one of the
girls' stepsisters.

Kristin and her new brother-in-law.

Wendy and her best friend Jennifer.

Allison, Laurel, and MaryRobyn are the girls' stepsisters.

They have 7 adorable little children between them.

I've know them since Allison was a little girl and the

twins were just a dream.

I think they are just beautiful inside and out!

Wendy was born laughing!

She's finally relaxed and ready for the

BIG DAY!

PS The food was FANTASTIC!!

I had cinnamon crusted pork tenderloin

with butternut squash ravioli

with a ginger/cinnamon sauce.

YUMMERS!!


Joni

I'M A MOTHER-IN-LAW !

A few pics of Wendy and Darin's Wedding.

I'll post more during the week.

These are a few of the hundreds of candid shots from friends and family.

I haven't ordered

from the photographer yet.

This is my wonderful new son-in-law Darin, watching Wendy

walk down the aisle with her dad.

Check out Darin's pink and green Lily Pulitzer bow tie.

And this is Wendy after they exchanged vows.

Kristin is holding Emma, the flower girl's hand.

The other girl (mom of two) is Wendy's best friend Jennifer.

They've been friends since they were little

and Jen hit Wendy in the head with a golf ball.

Happy... what else can I say?


Emma's dad took this photo of her from where he was sitting.
I think it's precious!!



Wendy with Jen and Kristin.
It poured and poured before the wedding.
But it stopped, the sun came out and there
was a beautiful light breeze.
Just enough wind to dry up the water
and blow Wendy's veil in the air.





The cupcakes were made and designed by a lady who
made my wedding cake and will be on the
TV Food Network in the Fall.


OK Boyd-o, where's your pink and green bow tie ??
In your pocket??


Lisa (Emma's mother) dancing with her son Matt.
Wendy went out to DC to be Matt's nanny when he was 6.
He's now a sophomore in college.


~~

The wedding was beautiful and fun!
That's because of the wonderful people that came to
celebrate with Wendy and Darin.
~~
I'll share more photos throughout the week...
1.The rehearsal dinner for everyone who was coming
to the wedding... as there wasn't a rehearsal.
2. Behind the scenes at the salon with a
winged fairy.
3. The food!! Fantasic!!
4. The morning after when the mother-of-the-bride
couldn't walk due to excessive dancing.
~~~

Jenny Craig report:
Even though we stayed at a hotel for 3 days and ate
all of our meals out, I lost 1/2 pound
due to the hours of dancing.