Our new house!

I have decided to blog about our new house for you. I am not going to do it all at once! Today, I am showing you the front of our house, the front door, and the entrance or foyer.

Our house sits right next to the school. I counted that it takes us about 26 steps to get from our back door to the doors of the school. That will be great in the cold weather! Our house really isn't like many of the others in the neighborhood. You don't see many houses around here made of Indiana Limestone, and it is not tall...unlike most in the area. As you will see from the posts to come, it is a lot bigger than it looks like from the outside.

I love the leaded glass door! I think it is so pretty. It brings me much joy to have such a pretty door! I suppose that sounds silly, but it is true.

As you enter our house you see the chest that belonged to my grandfather. On it I have a beloved Longaberger basket :0) I also have a beautiful vase given to my by my cousin Amy. It didn't have a place of honor in our former house, but it sure does here! Last, but not at all least, is the painting I have of three sunflowers done by my dear friend Brian Oberdieck. I will not go into the fact that I had to BUY this painting, and still don't have my Christmas painting from years ago....oh wait, I just went into it. Oops.

When you turn right after entering our house you will enter our living room. Pictures of that will come soon!

Fun Friday

This past Friday we decided to take a break from the unpacking and organizing and had some fun. We started our day by having a picnic at a park about 5 miles away. It was a lovely day. I loved the Gazebo! They have an indoor Olympic sized pool that is free for Ben to swim in. We may have to look into that!

Our next stop was a very large Chicago Public Library that was across from the park. I took two pictures before being told that I couldn't take pictures! LOL! We will be getting a card soon. A Chicago public library card also gives you access to the museums downtown! Gotta love that! There are also many programs to look into. To be quite honest, I haven't had time to read all of the fliers I picked up! We will focus on that getting involved in the community stuff soon!

Our final stop was our favorite place downtown, Ed Debevic's. We had a great dinner. Our waitress, Tina Latina, was a hoot. Ben loved the chocolate shake and I dig their cream corn! (See Sherry, it isn't mushy and gross!) We wanted to bring home the large blow up ketchup bottle, but couldn't swing it :0) We even got to see the staff dance on the counters! Fun day! Love this city!

Installation

On Sunday, August 9, Rich was installed as the new pastor at St. John's Lutheran Church, Chicago. Oh the day was lovely, even though it was blistering hot. (Nope, no air conditioning in the church!) We had many friends from college who are in the area come to attend. We also had friends from our former congregation in Chicago come to attend. My mom was there, along with Rich's family and our dear friend Davie. Rich also had a crowd from Higher Things in attendance. George, Rich's friend from Higher Things, and an amazing pastor in Texas, delivered the sermon. It was amazing! Rich can give you a link to read it. It was fantastic!

Our friend, and father of my godchild, Naomi, is the first vice president of the Northern Illinois District, so he was able to actually install Rich. That was so nice.

The music was SO wonderful. The church rang with beautiful organ music, trumpet, hand bells, and a lovely choir. Oh, I cannot wait to join in! It was so lovely.

The evening ended with a reception in the gym. It was the most delicious cake I think I have ever eaten, and I am still eating by the way! They rushed us through pictures a bit because the butter cream on the cake was melting in the heat! It made it though and so did we. Despite the heat, it was a great day!

Exploring!

We've safely made it to our new home in Chicago. After discovering where all our missing items were, we set out to have some fun and discover the area! Our first stop was with the Higher Things crowd. We went to the Chicago Brauhaus. YUMMO! Best German food I have had except for in Germany itself! We had some great German wine and enjoyed a fun night!

On Tuesday my friend Carol, a member of Mt. Greenwood Lutheran, our first parish, took us out for some sight seeing. She worked at the Ravenswood Hospital for many years, so she knows our neck of the woods quite well.

Our first stop was at Lutz's Austrian Bakery. Oh my!!!! We had a lovely lunch outside in their garden area, I so felt like I was back in Austria. I had a cheese and ham pie. Quite good. For dessert a lemon butter cream cake. It was difficult to decide what to have. Everything was so yummy.

Next stop the Paulina Meat Market. This was a German meat market and the smell as you walk in is about enough to put you over the edge. I ended up leaving with a smoked pork tenderloin and some sharp cheddar that had aged for 10 years. It was amazing! This is a place we will frequent for special occasions! Very good...a bit pricey.

Finally she took us to a cemetery. I cannot remember it's name for the life of me. I must look it up. It had many famous people from Chicago buried in it. The Pullman Family had a huge monument as did the Kimball family of Kimball pianos. Really pretty interesting. I could have done without the statue of Death, but still interesting just the same.

Thanks Carol for a great day! We enjoyed every bit of it! Cannot wait to see what we find around the next corner!

Cha-Cha's

Sorry I have not put anything up for so long. I have been putting in more hours at Ozzie's. It is keeping me on my toes. That, along with VBS crafts, which I am in charge of, and of course jewelry making! I am having so much fun, but yet I am still very busy!

Ozzie's is about to bust open their new online store. http://www.ozzieltd.com/ !! My cha-cha bracelet's will on the web! You will be able to buy them online! I thought I would post a few samples for you to check out! Tell me what you think!

Check It Out!

We have started a new blog for the boutique that I work at! Check it out! www.ozzieltd.blogspot.com
Soon they will be starting a website where you can do some online shopping. If you cannot make it into the store, because you live in another state maybe, you can still see the store, and even order some of the treasures it holds!
Thanks for taking a peek!

Ozzies!

I LOVE my job! Just a year ago I decided to take a break from teaching and become a pastor's wife again. I just didn't have to time to do it the way I wanted to while teaching at St. John's. It also seemed like the best thing to do for our family. I had my jewelry business, and decided to focus on it as my source of income, along with teaching piano lessons.

In the summer I began working one day a week at Ozzie's, LLC, a local boutique that carries my jewelry. My one day a week has turned into 3 days a week right now, and it is looking like possibly more. I am decorating the store, and I just LOVE it!!!! The ladies I work with have become some of my closest friends. They are so fun and so thoughtful. I also love all the people I am meeting working in the store. It seems as though we are not just a great store to go to to pick up a great gift, it is also a place to go to get away from your troubles. Many people come in to be cheered up on a bad day. I love being able to listen to their woes and possibly help cheer them up!

If you have never been into the store, and you are in the area, you should check it out! We specialize in accessories and garden items. We have great jewelry, purses, scarves, and shoes! The garden items are original and so darn cute! It is hard to work there and come away with a paycheck!

I am posting pictures of the store at Christmas along with the girls I work with. I will post spring pictures when the flowers are blooming! Stop in and see the "Ozzie Girls" sometime. We are located in downtown Corydon in the old Branham Tavern on Capitol Ave. We are about a block from the old capitol building.