Five for Friday ~ Finally!

It has been AGES since I last participated in the fun Five for Friday linky!  In fact, my little ole blog has been neglected.  So, with that, here are my five ~ that have nothing to do with school!


1.  I recently visited a dear friend who lives in Illinois in a very old house.  Her kitchen is the original house that was built in the 1800s.  Over the years it was additions were built.  The balcony below was added to the 1930 portion of the house.  It was originally on a hotel that was a stop on Abraham Lincoln's campaign tour.  It can only be accessed by climbing through a window...  Yes, I climbed through a window.  (I'm on the left.)

2. Little readers.  The teacher in me loves the fact that my darling granddaughters love books.  Olivia & Isabella are looking at magazines in the waiting area of our favorite salon.  Amelia picks out books from her personal library.

3.  Our downtown hosts a wonderful Trick-or-Treat event.  It was chilly, but fun.  My talented daughters sewed costumes for their little sweeties.  My mother always sewed my costumes, I sewed costumes for my daughters, and I'm happy to see the tradition of hand-made costumes has been passed down through the generations!

4.  A couple weekends ago we went to Fair Oaks Farms with Sarah & her family.  It's an interesting & educational place rural Indiana where dairy cows are raised.  Olivia & Isabella sat with me on the bus to see the new pig farm.  In addition to learning about cows & pigs, we sampled wonderful cheese and ate the best grilled cheese sandwiches ever.

5.  Last week was my sister Debbie's big birthday.  She lives in Chicago, which is close-by, but far enough away that she doesn't get a lot of Indiana family visiting.  It took some planning, but we surprised her with a fun family dinner in Chicago!  I told her that my husband & I were coming to town to take her out for lunch.  She was very surprised when we walked into the restaurant & found a large group of family waiting.  After a very filling dinner we had a fun evening together!

From left to right: Gabrielle, me, and Debbie.  Gabrielle & me.  Me & Sarah (that sounds like terrible English...)  Front ~ hubby & me.

Now, hop over to Doodle Bugs Teaching and add your own Five!