I took my dad to the airport at two o’clock on Friday afternoon and at three Steve was almost downtown Chicago, picking up our friends from the hotel where they had been staying…
Thanks to Alicja the house was ready and waiting for Gill, Graham, Emma and James when they arrived with Steve, having taken the scenic route home…
It’s always good to see old friends and we quickly picked up where we left off, just the children were now adults, all grown up. Strange how that happens?
The young went out for New Year’s Eve under the watchful eyes of Sarah and Joanne who were back in town. (I don’t think James was being very responsible) I was asleep by 10.30. It was 2017 in lots of places?
A crowd of people means lots of cooking. Not everyone likes Christmas pudding so there was fresh berries and squirty cream on the menu on New Year’s Day. Emma read the instructions on the can and made a super smiley face on her dessert!
Happy New Year everyone!
Rachel had returned from an epic trip in the Megabus to Cleveland so there were seven of us going to the Arboretum for the Illumination: Tree Lights show.We looked at the forecast and decided that we could cope with temperatures hovering around zero and no precipitation.
It was definitely worth the effort! My pictures were hopeless but here’s a couple of the not so bad ones.
Music and interactive displays were everywhere on the mile or so trek around the lake.
The blue lights came out best in the pictures but rest assured every color was represented.
We rewarded ourselves with a trip to Portillos for some traditional Chicagoland fare. Rachel and Gill enjoyed their hot dogs and fries…
Meanwhile I had been knitting.
Julia and family came in to see us again on Monday and modeled the messy bun hat I made for her on the car journeys. 
I made a littler version for Ruby but no pictures of her! It’s based on the Sideways Braid Beanie pattern from Katrine Hammer, available free on Ravelry. I used yarn from my monthly Fiberista Club selection. I get wonderful hand dyed yarns sent to me every month and it’s always good to actually knit with it.
I had a headband ready for Sarah.
I used the yarn I bought at Stitch Supply Co. before we left Wisconsin and made the pattern up as I went, just a cable with stitches picked up along the side. It’s good to keep your ears warm?
Tuesday was Emma’s birthday and we spent the day celebrating… A trek around Ulta, Kohl’s, Premium Outlets and Super Target, followed by dinner at The White Chocolate Grill.
Time to try some more pictures.
An okay selfie with Gill and a chocolate martini after multiple attempts from different angles.
Graham and Steve with their beer.
and the birthday girl with her siblings.
I warned James that if he didn’t keep his eyes open everyone would get to see him with his eyes shut! Never mind, the girls were looking good.
And then everything went quiet…
A final trip to the airport and more goodbyes and we were back to Steve and me and the leftovers! What a fun holiday season.
And amazingly, the wifi was back in the house… It’s still working today. We are due our upgrade on Monday. What do you think? I’m not holding my breath.
Sounds busy and lots of fun ~ ~ maybe your light photos didn’t turn out well enough for you who saw the actual lights, but I think they’re great photos and maybe there’s a quilt in there somewhere???? I might give it a try to see if I can find it 🙂 A very happy new year to you.