My 2nd place cake

I emailed my friend Rachel and asked if she had a good cake recipe. She sent me this carrot cake recipe and it was delicious! No wonder I won 2nd place!

RS Birthday dinner (and cake contest)

Tonight was our Relief Society birthday dinner and celebration which included a few games and a cake contest. We also collected party supplies for an organization that plans birthday parties for homeless children.

I must be on some sort of winning streak--my blog wins first runner up and my cake wins 2nd prize (aren't those the same thing?!?). The cake with the R.S. theme won first prize. And that one with the birthday candles should have won "most creative".

BIGREDEP: 1st Runner-UP

Click here to read about the Best LDS Female Solo Blogger 2010 Runners Up.

NYC water towers

Have you ever noticed water towers in New York City? Me neither---until my trip on Saturday when Kristen pointed them out to me. I took a few photos of water towers and framed this one as a thank you gift for Kristen.

NYC's got more Spring than Boston

I heart a NYC day trip

Saturday at 11:30am Kristen and I hopped off the train at Penn Station and walked to 66th and Park Avenue (that's 32 blocks!) to the quilt exhibit--through Central Park. It was a beautiful sunny sort-of Spring-like 40 degree day. After the exhibit we had lunch at the Shake Shack and then went to M&J Trimming which was like heaven for someone like me who likes to sew. I bought some big fat red ric rac and some curry ric rac (two things you probably won't find at Joanns). We had time to go in a few stores, walk around mid-town and then it was back to Penn Station. We were back in Boston by 9:15pm. It was a really fun spontaneous day in New York City! I smile every time I think about it. Thanks, Sister!!

My favorite quilt from the exhibit

There were 650 to choose from but I think this red polka dot quilt might have been my favorite. The quilts were beautiful and I'm guessing all hand sewn. It really was an amazing exhibit! I overhead one of the volunteer say, "Mrs. Rose started buying quilts in 1950 and she never stopped."

Infinite Variety Exhibit: My pictures

All aboard Amtrak

I love train trips; they are a great way to see the backside of America.

My day in NYC: fantastic!

Stay tuned for details.

Spontaneity

On Thanksgiving day about 15 years ago I invited a young couple in the ward (with a young baby) to join me the next day on a day trip to New York City with Katy and Nicole LaPierre. Kristy said, "We've never done anything spontaneous." My reply was, "Then start tomorrow!" And they did. We had a really fun time wandering around Manhattan and seeing as many sites as we could. We all still talk about that trip.

I recently heard about the Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts exhibit and was thinking it would be great to see but it lasts only six days and it's in New York City (about 4 hours away). And tomorrow would be the only day I could go and I already had three commitments on my calendar. But the exhibit is 650 red/white quilts--and I love red/white quilts! It is the largest quilt exhibit ever in New York City. All the quilts are from the collection of Joanna S. Rose (can you imagine?!?).














This morning my coworker draped a full page ad from the New York Times over my computer screen. I started thinking maybe I could go tomorrow and emailed a few friends with no luck. I would have definitely gone alone; there's a bus from Alewife (the closest subway station to me) to New York City that is $20/each way and I've done a solo day trip to New York City. I emailed my friend "Sister" (we were scheduled to meet up for burgers and lemon fries tomorrow night) and asked if she wanted to take the bus with me and go to the exhibit tomorrow. She wrote back that she didn't do buses and suggested we look into Amtrak. So early tomorrow morning we'll be on the train headed for Penn Station and we're going to see an amazing quilt exhibit! This is more exciting than Christmas!

Brain Tumor day

Fourteen years ago today my brother Robes was diagnosed with a brain tumor after complaining of changes in his vision, feeling nauseous, and having a metal taste in his mouth. A surgeon friend suggested he get an MRI and the next day he found out what had been causing his problems.


















This picture was taken the day he got home from Jackson Memorial Hospital after his first surgery--the day he found out the tumor was "malignant". That's Adrienne at only 22 months. He lived 18 months.

I miss Robes every day. Today I'd like to talk to him about BYU basketball. He was the Sports Editor at the Daily Universe for a few years. I'm pretty sure he would have been covering that game last night (he always covered NCAA playoff games) and would have been disappointed at the Cougars loss.

I'm thankful families can be together forever.

Mailboxes

I walked by this mailbox 4 times this week. I like stamps and mail and mailboxes.

Not so Sweet (16)

It's Spring Friendship Week

Click HERE to read about Spring Friendship Week. The first thing I got was these. Um, yum. Then these:

I've got the best secret people!

Deathwish Piano Movers

When I bought my condo I hired Deathwish Piano Movers to move my upright piano (which used to be one of the pianos in this chapel). My friends that I bought the condo from had a HUGE roll-top desk they offered to me but I wasn't interested so we hired Deathwish to move the desk out and the piano in (we each paid $250). One of the guys met me at the condo in advance to see if the piano would fit through my front door and hallways since a crane couldn't get close enough to my big window (lots of pianos are craned through windows in Boston). He looked around and said there was a 90% chance they could move it in that way. Adrienne was in town helping me get settled and the two of us sat in the window sill, waiting and waiting, listening to the guys give each other instructions, and hoping that the piano would fit. And it did! Once the piano was in place, three guys lowered the big roll-top desk to one guy that was on the ground outside my window. I remember them yelling to him asking him if he was OK. I've since recommended Deathwish many times.

And now they have their own TV show!

Today is...

...Grandma Pitchforth's birthday (she was born in 1898 and died in 1992) and the first day of Spring. Happy Birthday to Grandma! And because is SNOWED today, I'm calling it the Last Day of Winter.

New recipe for my repertoire

I made Pioneer Woman's Sour Cream Noodle Bake tonight. It was good; I'll be making it again.