~A Visit From Pittypat~

~Pittypat & Pat at All About Home~

Pat arrived, late Monday afternoon. It has been wonderful seeing Pat again, after 2 years. She was our guest, at the lake, during our 45th high school reunion, in 2006. Aunt Ruth was our other dinner guest, Monday evening. We four had a great time sitting around the dining room table, enjoying dinner and lively conversation.

We spent the last couple of days, sitting on the back porch talking and eating and talking and eating etc etc!

Tuesday evening we drove through Cuivre River State Park, before having dinner at Stefanina's.

Today, just before Pat continued her journey to her sister's home, we had lunch at Oddfellows, shopped at All About Home and took the tour of the old IOOF hall, on the upper floor of the building, where Oddfellows and All About Home are located.

Lunch was fabulous, as usual. Pat and I made a little purchase at the shop, naturally.

Aunt Pittypat's name has nothing to do with Gone With the Wind. Her sister began calling her Pittypat, many years ago. When she became an aunt, the name evolved.

Above, a couple of Fall vignettes at All About Home.

A daytime shot of Stefanina's, formerly Sacred Heart Church. This building was constructed after fire destroyed the original church in the 1950's.
During the 1990's the building was sold and a new church building was constructed, nearer the highway, in 1996.
A portrait of Stefanina.
J and Pat looking at the first communion photo, seen in an earlier post. When the restaurant opened, the owners asked for photographs and other Sacred Heart memorabilia. We donated the photo of J's first communion class. The photos and other things are displayed throughout the establishment.
A collage of the restaurant. The "chef" is standing in what was once a confessional. A few of the many donated photographs can be seen on the wall to the right.

We're making a quick trip to the lake, early tomorrow (Thursday). I'm looking forward to catching up with all of you, when we return.

Have a wonderful weekend.

~Company is Coming~

Fall officially arrives in a little less than a month. However, I've chosen to begin Fall, at our house, today!

Our friend Pat is coming from Wisconsin, for a visit with us, on her way to a family reunion.

Pat and I met in junior high school, 1955. We were in band together, both playing French Horn. My friend, JoAnn, also played French Horn. Since Fall was an extra special time of year, when we were in school, I've decided to "rush the season", for Pat's visit.

In 1955, September brought the beginning of the school year, the day after Labor Day. Falling leaves rustled underfoot earlier in those days. We enjoyed football games on Friday night, performing in half time shows. Coney Islands at Vern's Malt Shop and other memories come to mind. It seems September air was cooler and crisper, then.

Pat signs her comments, here at the back porch, Aunt Pittypat. I've heard the story behind the name and will have Pat refresh my memory, while she's here, so I can tell you all, how she became Aunt Pittypat. I'm not certain, but there may be a connection to Gone With the Wind.

Our home seems to sing, when dressed for Fall.

The menu is planned. This table setting and center piece will be used.

One evening we'll have Maureen's Linguini with Clam sauce and Miss Mari-Nanci's Peach Dump Cake, with vanilla ice cream.

A lunch at Oddfellows is on our list and Pizza at Stefinina's. We'll show Pat our town and countryside, sit on the porch and patio, with oldies playing in the background and reminisce about the "old days". We'll also talk about our grandchildren, of course.

Pumpkins everywhere!

Including a red one, too!

A comfortable chair, a good light for reading, and a soft throw for the knees. Aunt Pittypat's room, awaits.

A couple of books and an apple.

A Catherine Holman notecard, framed and sitting on the small oak desk beside the bed.

J thanks you all for the birthday greetings! He's enjoying the day!

A Note:

Clicking on the underlined names in this post, will take you to those bloggers' posts for recipes and artwork.

Click photos, to enlarge.

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Design Alert!

I'm adding this note, because I've just returned from a visit to Designs By Gollum blog.

I've been reading "Gollum's" blog, since she began publishing, earlier this year. If you haven't visited, I encourage you to do so, as soon as possible. She writes an amazing blog and has a design sense out of this world! Just wait until you read where she finds many of her furnishings. You won't believe it! Fabulous!

~Happy Birthday J~

The cute kid in the second row, second from left, is celebrating his 63rd birthday, Saturday August 23rd. This photo is from 1952/53, when J made his first communion at Sacred Heart Church.

The above photo shows the school, J attended, during the time of the first photo. The church building burned, in the 1950's. The new church was built on the site of the school. During construction, J and his brothers walked three miles to town, then boarded a bus for an 8 mile ride to a small town where they attended school, until the completion of construction. The building is now Stefanina's Restaurant. I'll write more about the restaurant in a future post.

Baby J, at left and his bride, Baby Patty Ann, below.

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I had a very good report at our routine medical check ups, yesterday! J, on the other hand, gave Dr Z something to make his day a tad more interesting, as usual.

J's medical history is a story, in itself. He fell out of the hay loft, at a young age, which resulted in a cracked scull and a slight stammer to his speech, that stayed with him, until he met me. Do you suppose all that was needed was the love of a "good woman"? In any event, it disappeared around about the time we celebrated our 1st or 2nd anniversary and only reappears when he is flustered. That fall from the hay loft was the beginning of J's interesting medical history, which includes, a chain saw to the foot, bullet wound to the shoulder (accidentally self inflicted), cow stomped feet and various surgeries for this and that.

With this history, it came as no surprise to us, when we noticed J's amazing shrinking arm! A couple of months after his cancer surgery, last April, J began to notice his wedding band no longer fit properly. We chalked it up to weight loss, due to the surgery. But then, we began to notice a marked difference between his left arm and right. J has had surgery on both shoulders. He wondered if that might have something to do with the muscle atrophy.

During our exams we always share an appointment and we are always in the same room. Yesterday, we had a great discussion with Dr Z, who is a wonderful physician and has an interesting story of his own. It is his theory J has a pinched nerve in his left shoulder or neck, which is causing the atrophy. During the surgery, last spring, J was on a table, with his feet elevated, his head down and arms outstretched and secured. We believe this is when the pinched nerve occurred. J has an appointment with a neurologist in September, when we hope this mystery is solved and he recovers the muscle in his left arm, soon.

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We're busily preparing for the visit, next week, of my old school friend, Aunt Pittypat, from Wisconsin. We're excited at the prospect of our friend spending time with us, in our home!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Just a note:

Lana at Honeysuckle Lane is having a fun giftaway. Click on the picture at the top of my sidebar for details.

~Festival of the Little Hills~

Lewis and Clark Statue, Frontier Park, on the Missouri River, Saint Charles Missouri.

J and I spent a lovely evening, last Friday, enjoying Festival of the Little Hills, in Saint Charles Missouri. We stopped at Bradden's on South Main Street for a cold drink and homemade chips with ranch dressing, on the patio, before continuing our walk.

We sampled delicious Greek pastries, as we strolled along the brick streets.

Folks walking along in front of Homestead Shop. A few years ago, during the Festival, I purchased a carved swan, at Homestead. The large swan now sits on the mantel in our hearth room, beneath a print of Jon Pils' South Main Street (Saint Charles).

We were accompanied by friends, JoAnn & Jim and Gwyn & Charles, that year. We took turns carrying the heavy swan, from one end of Main to the other and back again! We and our friends, especially Charles, still talk about that day and the swan!

Saint Charles Veterans Memorial, near the riverfront.

Above photos are scenes around the festival.

Bob Culbertson, at left, provided lovely sounds of an acoustic instrument called a Chapman Stick. We sat at the gazebo and listened for awhile. The instrument and soothing sound intrigued us, so much, we purchased two CD's. We listened to Cafe San Francisco (jazz), on our drive home. The other album, we bought, is A Moment in Time, featuring acoustic rhythms of Spain and the ancient sound of Celtic lands.

More about the instrument and the music of Bob Culbertson can be found here. Music can be heard at the link, by clicking CD's.

Festival visitors arriving as we were leaving.

A beautiful sunset on a perfect day.

~Dining Room Update~

Dining Room After

Dining Room Before

The painters finished by noon, Wednesday. Today, we put things back together and hung the botanical prints.

The paint color, for the walls, is Sherwin Williams Interesting Aqua. The ceiling color, Topsail, is on the same Sherwin Williams chip card.

We ordered a new table and chandelier. It will be a few more weeks before the table is to be delivered. The chandelier should arrive by next week. I'll post update photos when those are delivered and installed.

This photo shows the clearest representation of the paint color.

I looked online for botanical prints and was about to bid on several, on e-bay, when I remembered a 2005 Redoute calendar from Barnes & Noble, I had tucked away.

I measured and figured and figured and measured, then went to Michael's in search of frames. I had in mind what I wanted. It was just a matter of finding them. I saw 5 wood frames, I thought would work well, but needed 10. The price was around $22, with 40% off that. Not a bad price. Another store was contacted. There were only three at that location. While browsing the store, I happened to stumble upon a rack of frames, marked $12. Mats were included. Since we hadn't found 10 of the other frames within a reasonable driving distance, I decided to give the $12 frames a try. I loaded them in the cart and proceeded to checkout. I thought I was seeing things when I saw the total! Those frames were marked down to $4.99! Did I mention I got that Barnes & Noble calendar half off, about three years ago? The cost of the calendar was $6.50. I've used two of the pages in frames for the hearth room. Total cost of 10 matted and framed "botanical prints", approximately $5.50 each! Bargain botanical prints!

I'm very happy about how the prints turned out. The wall is just as I visualized it. I kept the plant stand, switching out the silk fern, for a living pothos plant. We're leaving the wood floor bare.

A view into the foyer, from the "new" dining room.

The new chandelier is two tiered, in a candle style. I plan to use the chandelier without shades. I have a centerpiece, in mind, for the new table.

~Historic Jefferson Street Homes~

A home on Jefferson Street, Saint Charles Missouri.

Saint Charles is a small city, situated along the Missouri River, just west of St Louis, along I-70. St Charles County is one of the fastest growing counties, in the country. It is also one of our favorite places to visit.

Exit I-70 at 5th Street. Follow the markers to Booneslick and turn right to find your way to Historic Saint Charles. Entering South Main Street is like stepping into another time. We plan to visit South Main, this weekend, during Fete des Petite Cotes (Festival of the Little Hills). More about this event in a future post.

Last weekend we visited North Main Street, Historic Downtown Saint Charles. After visiting Framations Gallery we drove to Jefferson Street for photos of the old St Charles County Courthouse.

We could not leave the area without a drive along Jefferson Street. The architecture, of this historic Saint Charles street, represents late 18th century thru early 20th century.

Many of the homes have markers with information concerning the structure. We want to go back during Autumn, for a walk along this street.

The following photos are a small sampling of the architecture.

The west facade of the old Saint Charles County Courthouse. See the previous post, for photos of the east facade of the courthouse and a home at the corner of Third and Jefferson Streets.

***Dining Room redo progresses. Painters are here today.