The African American and African exhibit is done at last. I'm so pleased with it! Here are some of the items on display.
Finally, today, I got the damned Museum budget done, for better or worse. We will have to dip into reserves for about $24,000, less if I can work it! I'm getting really pumped about this new African exhibit and anxious to get the stuff and get it installed. I'm going to Springfield Sunday and pick up the artifacts on Monday.
I'm off work tomorrow and that will feel good as I am having an arthritis flare up and hurt all over! Might be this miserably cold weather.
None of my friends have left any comments, so maybe I don't have any friends. Facebook is kind of fun. I have lots of friends there.
Wow! Is it ever cold here! Minus 23 degrees this morning and minus 17 degrees yesterday morning. Today I was very, very glad to not have to go to work since Friday is my day off.
I've been really busy at work since it is budget crunching time and we will have a whole lot less money to work with next year. Will have to go into reserve for a couple of years and hope things pick up later. Been working on a special exhibit for Black History month and I'm way more pleased than I thought with the result. Thank you to the Illinois State Museum, we will have some dramatic and wonderful African artifacts on display. We will also have 13 2 ft x 3 ft panels titled "A Celebration of Achievement." It shows leaders in art, literature, music, entertainment, sports and business, featuring African Americans. I'm trying to show that AA have achieved many things since living in America, but the artifacts will show that they had a deep sense of art, music and culture in Africa. It wasn't like they had to come to America, be enslaved, set free, educated and noticed in order to have had a fulfilled life. I am really anxious to get this baby up because I want to see it myself. I go to pick up the artifacts Jan. 26 and maybe I can post some photos when we finally get it up.
Other than work and the cold weather, there isn't a lot new around here. Eric starts playing hockey again this Sunday night and it is always fun to go and watch. He hasn't played for a while so will probably be sluggish the first week or so. Meghan continues to be really happy to be married to Arturo. She has really struggled with the cold as she has to walk 3/4 of a mile to get to the train to go down into the Chicago loop to work.
Hope all of my friends are doing well and not suffering too much with weather.
Oh, no! Vacation is over. Tomorrow is back to work. I can't stand it! Budget to work on and that will be a sad thing this year!!! Today i worked on putting away Christmas china and decorations. Still have about a day's worth of work to do on that. I made a polarfleece shawl to wear while sitting around at home. Very prett and very warm. Much better than paying the electric company for heat! Tuesday and Wednesday I'm going to be in Chicago, so that will be ok. We are taking down touching on traditions. so the staff will be pretty busy for a couple of weeks. I'll work there tomorrow doing the textiles and then again Thursday and Friday probably.
Hope everyone is having a good new year.
Damned Blackhawks! And that TV is a 42, not a 32
Our television is giving up the ghost. Alan has been dieing for a new one, but I kept saying no. Finally, today, I said ok because everything looks green on ours. So...just in time for the hockey game, we will have a flat screen, plasma, 32" screen. I hope that game is being broadcast in high-def!!! Now if I just had a Black Hawk's jersey to wear while I munch chips and watch the game....................
i can scarcely wait for January 1. The Chicago Blackhawks will play the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field in Chicago. I won't be going to the game. Too cold and too expensive, but I will be watching every second of it on television. Our TV is trying to die and Alan wants to buy a new, big one. If he does, I hope it is before then and that the game is in Hi Def. I may have to go to the Reebok store and buy an official jersey or hoody to wear which I snack and watch the game. I am a shameless hockey freak. The BH are my fave team, followed by the RW, so I can't lose!!!
At last. Christmas is over. Lots of snow, lots of cold, now warm and raining. Miserable weather in Illinois. Christmas Eve was nice. I did the Swedish routine. My two children and their significant others were here along with some friends. We really enjoyed it. i got a new Cuisinart stand mixer, a slow cooker, various framed photos, smell good bath stuff and other routine good things that I need and can use readily. Everyone seemed happy. I gave each kid a Coleman camp stove and they were pretty happy about that. I gave them a number of camping gadgets in their Christmas stockings and Arturo went nuts over the tick puller. Thought it was just the best thing! Christmas day we had mimosas and egg souffle, played some games, went to friends and then to dinner at another friend. Too much food and wine! Today the last kid left here at 1:00 and I sort of collapsed. Tonight we were trying to figure out what leftover to have when a Chinese food commercial came on. We grabbed our coats and went through the dense fog to get a non-Christmas Chinese dinner. It was just great. And now I am going to bed and get rested up again. Hope all of my friends had a great holiday.
Since I lasted posted, I still haven't bought presents or anything rash like that. The tree is up but that is about as far as I have managed to go. We are knee deep in lovely white powder. With more expected today. We had six inches already on the ground and got an additional foot Friday morning. More headed in this afternoon. Then the real bummer comes......temperature plummeting Sunday with wind chill of MINUS 25 on Sunday night. Ruins my plans. We are planning a winter solstice program at the museum, outside, complete with a yule fire. Obviously it will be too cold so it will have to move inside and it won't be so much fun. I thought all of the snow would make a gorgeous solstice, but not with that cold!
Yesterday I sewed all day long. I have a friend with a severely challenged grandson who must wear pull up pants with elastic waistbands. He is getting kind of big now to find any except sweat pants and his mother wants regular pants. Yesterday i made two pair of winter camo (didn't come in pink, Star) and a bear of Chicago Bears warm up pants. Mom and grandma were both way pleased. Today I might actually sew some more, bake some more and go to a party tonight. It is just achingly beautiful here when looking outside at any window. The birds are here in abundance as everything else they might eat is well-covered with snow.
My daughter and her husband and my son and significant other will be coming Christmas Eve and I'm so grateful to have children nearby so we can get together at holidays. While none of us are into the Christmas myth, we do like the spirit of the season and enjoy good food, good friends and getting together. Happy Solstice.
I'm waaay behind on this and everything else I should be doing. Can't seem to snap out of whatever and get on with it! Nowhere near ready for the holidays. Have done absolutely nothing, not even the tree. Not one present bought, zip. I no longer do cards, so that isn't a problem. Going to a cookie exchange on Sunday, so guess I'll have to do something for that. Maybe fudge. It's easier. Hope everyone else is way ahead of me!
