Cute Saturday

We have visitors - the cute newlyweds are in town for their friends', W and T, wedding. Here they were Friday night coming back from the welcome dinner.

This is a really cute guidebook I assume the wedding couple designed. I found it on the coffee table when I was up early before my 6:30 a.m. coffee server donut shift (Andy did the 3 a.m. donut captain shift).

After donuts and a shower, I went to Allison's and we went to a few garage/estate sales. Maybe because it's a holiday weekend there weren't many sales. Two of the things I found were this Avon turkey votive candle holder and this music box nativity. I think the nativity is handpainted; I found similar ones on ebay with different paint schemes. Cute holiday decorations.

After yard sales, Andy and I finished up the grocery shopping for the week and picked up tortillas for the kids to take back to Seattle.

E had been in the city since 9 a.m. getting ready for her role as a bridesmaid so we drove D to the wedding/reception location at Schuba's/Tied House. Looked cute from the outside. I didn't get a picture of that but I did snap one of this interesting "green wall" of a Whole Foods store. Chicago's neighborhoods are full of interesting things to see.

On the drive back home we came across Suncatcher Brewing (at Chicago and California) so thought we should stop in.

Perfect weather (sometimes a bit chilly with the breeze) to sit on their patio and enjoy a beer. How cute is this building? It's a former service station. I like the Art Deco-looking entrance.

Stronger than I thought

This was a first. I was pushing on the Coke case to take off the piece of the carton that opens to make it a fridge pack and apparently my nail poked a hole in the side of the can and it started spraying everywhere. Who knew that was even possible?

Neighbor’s puzzles

One of my neighbors set a bunch of puzzles out on her porch and posted on FB they were free for the taking. I walked over with the intent of just getting the heart puzzle but then found a couple of others I thought I'd enjoy. I hope others take her up on her offer. I did my part, but she has about a dozen left to get rid of.

Hitchhiker

I went to move my car at work yesterday and noticed a praying mantis on the window. It rode with me around the block until I found a new parking space, then went onto the roof of my car. I read that seeing a praying mantis means good luck, inner peace and divine protection. And I didn't just see it, it stayed with me. I'll take that as a good sign.

Mahjong win

I've been on quite a mahjong losing streak but finally won one Monday night.

Yay, me!

Another duck to add to our collection.

Allison's picture of the big turnout Monday. She had 19 players.

Candy cat puzzle

This cat puzzle is so cute and so easy to do. When I took this picture there were two pieces missing but I found one on the floor. What are the odds I'll come across the last missing piece?

A good human

Apparently when Allison and I were at garage sales Saturday my credit card slipped out of my wallet. I didn't even realize until I received a FB message from a stranger. She had the card and said I could stop by Sunday and retrieve it, which I did, of course. It's instances like this when it's good to have an uncommon name that makes me easy to find. Restored my faith in humanity.

Road trip prep

In a few weeks, Darla and I will be on our Southern Illinois belated birthday road trip. We've tasked her husband with making us a playlist for the drive and he enthusiastically accepted the challenge. She said he's having a lot of fun outting it together. Can't wait to hear it!

I prefer the old Uno cards

On one of our "at sea" days on the cruise, Cindy and I were playing Uno with the kids when I had to ask what this green card was. I was told it was the "skip" card and when I said the "skip" cards have an S on them I was told no, it's always been this symbol.

Well, here's my easy-to-decipher Uno cards, with the S on the "skip" card. I read that distribution of the game was scaled nationally in 1981 and I'm pretty sure I first played it in high school, which was a few years ago.

Neon sign puzzle

This is a puzzle Cindy bought at a Goodwill when we went thrifting before our Alaskan cruise. I figured I can get it done before she comes to pick up the rest of her shopping finds or before I go visit her and drop them off. I was a little disappointed to pull pieces out of the box and find many still together. You can bet when I give it back to Cindy every one of the 1,000 pieces will be separated.

Ruby kept coming over, wanting to be petted and eventually settled in this sad position on the back of a chair (her favorite place to sit).

And it's done and complete. The edge pieces on this brand (Springbok) are so hard to find. The interior pieces are weird shapes too.