St. Louis

My trip to St. Louis seems so long ago now. Still, I want to re-cap the highlights so I can always remind myself of all the people most important to me.

We arrived on Friday afternoon and went straight to Walter and Chris' where we were spending the weekend. Friday night, friends, Ed,  Jane, Walt, Chris, Butch and I went to Paul Manno's for dinner. Afterwards, we went back to Walt and Chris' for a few games of Sequence. Just like old times. With Ed and Jane in Minneapolis, we don't get to see them often enough. We really need to do something about that. Jane snapped a few cute pictures. I'll have to see if I can get a copy.

Saturday, Chris and I went to Macy's then watched Imitation of Life an old black and white while we stitched.

The whole reason we came to town was for a party at Helen Fitzgeralds Restaurant for Ronnie's 60th birthday and retirement. It was so much fun seeing everybody---old friends I haven't seen in years and family that I get to see pretty regularly. All of my siblings were in town.My brother, Matt tried to embarrass me by trying to get Butch and a couple of my old boyfriends to pose for a photo of me. Of course, I talked to the "boys"---one of whom I hadn't seen in at least 40 years. I barely recognized him---he probably felt the same way about me. Luckily, Matt just kept after Butch and me, but didn't approach the guys. I've requested some pictures from the party, but haven't gotten any yet. That's why I take my own pictures. I try not to rely on other people for the pictures I want. It just never works out for me.

Sunday Mass at St. Francis Xavier on the St. Louis University campus. It dates back to 1849.

 Then I saw this:

Seriously---talking on your cell phone in Church? Mass hadn't started, but still, I've never seen anything like this before. You might think it strange that I would pull out my phone to take this photo, but I was already taking photos of the Church. That's allowed. Once Mass starts, not so much.

That's Chris and me standing out front. You can see how big this church is. There are so many old, gorgeous churches in St. Louis. I told Chris, that from now on, when we visit, I want to go to a different one.

We had brunch right around the corner at the Triumph Grill---there was a motorcycle theme and a little museum attached. Afterwards, we took a tour through Forest Park---another half bigger than Central Park in NYC. There are so many things to do there including the FREE world class St. Louis Zoo.

We headed to Jeanne's for Superbowl. All of my sisters and brothers were there (7 of us) along with a few nieces and nephews. We played Tripoly, poker, bet on the game and ate.

Travis and Evie checking each other out. I carried them both around just to take in their precious-ness. But after about 10 minutes, my arm was about to break. I'm just out of the habit of toting babies around.

 The betting board. Matt was responsible for this. It was pretty amazing. I ended up losing $6.50 of my $10.00 bet.

Evie getting ready to leave. I've never seen either baby in a bad mood. Granted, I'm not around a lot, but in this family, you have to get used to the loud chaos fast. I think the babies are so enthralled with everything going on around them, they don't even think about themselves.

The party continued on in to the early hours of the morning. It was a lot of fun. People were camped out at Jeanne's everywhere. There wasn't a spare couch or chair around.


Monday we went down to Ronnie and Janets. I consulted with Ronnie on Janet's scrapbook room. Since he didn't really want my help, I won't send him a bill. We girls went to Steak and Shake for lunch before the movie. I love to go there whenever I'm in St. Louis. Jeanne smuggled my malt in the movie for me. We saw Silver Lining Playbook---it was really good---well, at least the parts I saw. I dozed off 3 times due to being up until 2 a.m. and then getting up at 6:30 a.m.

On Tuesday, Jeanne, Ronnie, Janice and I took a bucket of chicken over to visit Elmer in "the home." He's an old family friend and 92 now, but still as sharp as a tack. It's kind of sad---he said he was the last of his friends left. He said he's ready to go whenever...I'm just glad we took some time to stop by and see him. It's always fun to reminisce. He was the last person we could ask about what REALLY happened to our dog, Shadow. He didn't know (or wouldn't tell). Either way, it's a mystery we'll have to wait to find out. Believe me, I have a list---when I get to Heaven, I'm going straight to the "Answer Man."

 Jeanne and I stopped by for one last visit with Travis. He was full of energy and showed off for us. What a cutie! He's just about walking. Little half-pint...

 Here he is hamming it up for my camera with his mommy, Angie.

A final lunch before Janice had to leave for the airport. A crazy, fun, busy week. Such are the Zimmermann gatherings.

My friends, Karolyn and Pam arrived that afternoon for our scrapbook retreat. And you know all about that!

Finally caught up! Something new tomorrow. Head on over to the AYM Blog for a little tutorial on making "yo-yos"---an old quilting technique we're now using on scrapbook pages.