Scrapbook Retreat

Life doesn't get much better than this - 48 hours of non-stop scrapbooking. OK - 39 hours - I did sleep a total of 9 hours all weekend.

The surroundings in Shipshwanna were perfect and the group of croppers were AWESOME!!!!

Having the shops in Shipshewanna so close made for a fun afternoon excursion - gave our brains a chance to revive from scrappers block.




It was great to have the chance to spend the weekend with my daughter Carrie and my sister-in-law (Patty) who came ALL THE WAY FROM IOWA to scrapbook. She's definately an addict!


















And then there's my DT buddy Frieda - what would a scrapbook retreat be without Frieda and her sister-in-law Brenda??!! It's just a great weekend to spend with friends - old and new. Most of these gals come back year after year and we're all definately looking forward to the next one!

Mighty Pujols at the Bat

Mighty Pujols At The Bat

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Redbird nine that day,
The score stood four to two, with but one inning left to play.

With the season on the line, the manager makes the call
Lidge trots out from the pen, and confidently takes the ball.

His fastball clocks at a hundred, his slider can't be hit
And Redbird fans do cry and swoon, as his warm ups hit the mitt.

The Stroville faithful dance and scream, as one they raise their cheer,
their closer need but three more outs, for this to be their year.

The first two batters took their cuts, but Lidge just mowed them down
And the building rocked and strangers kissed, anticipating the crown.

But one more out was needed, and the top of the order now due
As Eckstein walked up to bat, the fevered pitch just grew.

Lidge pounded Eckstein with two strikes, he had his good control.
Then out of nowhere something happened; Ecky swung and found a hole.

He took second without a play; all that mattered was at the dish
"One more out" the fans cried out, only this their prayer and wish.

Jimmy Edmonds now dug in deep, his jaw was clenched and tight
And an edge crept into the stands; for they sensed they had a fight.

But Lidge glared in and took the sign, his stuff was such a lock
His pitches flew till the count went full; Jimmy finally coaxed a walk.

Eighty thousand eyes looked on deck, and there saw a famous number
For Pujols, mighty Pujols, stood there ready with his lumber.

He strode easily to the plate, and clenched his mighty fist
The first pitch flew and broke away; Mighty Pujols swung and missed.

And now Lidge gets the sign and now he winds and lets it go
Oh how the cheers are shattered, by the force of Pujols blow.

The silence becomes deafening, the air is all let out
For there is no joy in Stroville, the Mighty Pujols hit it out!

Copyright 2005, Dennis Denby.

Rooting on the Red Birds!!!

Can my Cardinals do it?? They've got a tough road ahead of them, but they've returned to the friendly confines of good old Busch Stadium.

I'm feeling pretty sentimental about this - and showing my age too. Bob's and my first date was a St. Louis Cardinal baseball game in that stadium - at age 16. In a few short weeks, the demolition will begin.

As a teenager and young adult, I saw a lot of the "greats" play there - Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith to name a few. I still remember the day that Lou Brock stopped on the walkway to the parking garage and gave me his autograph.

We now live in the middle of Cub territory, but my roots are still in St. Louis and my loyalties will always be with the Cardinals.

Flat Stanley Visits the Windy City

In August, I visited my family in Florida and my little nephew sent me home with Flat Stanley. According to the instructions, he was supposed to select the most fun-loving and creative relative to send Stanley to visit. Is that really me???

So, on Saturday - we left all of the hoopla of the ND/USC game behind us and headed in the opposite direction - into Chicago for the day. (OK - we DID sit in the hotel room from 2:30 until 6:30 watching the game).


We met some of our St. Louis family at Navy Pier for lunch at Bubba Gumps and of course to pose Stanley with some Chicago sites.

We finished our day at Northwestern, watching our niece Annie play volleyball for I.U. She had her own little cheering section in the midst of those Northwestern Wildcats!!


Aside from the Notre Dame loss, we had a great day - beautiful weather, a family reunion of sorts and time for Bob and I to just get away. We need to do that more often!!