Our 25th Wedding Anniversary!

Today I am VERY THANKFUL for the past 25 years of marriage with my best friend, lover, father of my children, and over-all great guy, Bill Tomoff.  It seems like the years keep going faster, but our bonds keep getting stronger.  A deep sense of family, focus and faith keep us marching on everyday through everything that life throws at us!  It is also our deep love for each other and hearty laughter that makes up for the rest of life's trials.....

I am going out on a limb today by posting not one or two photos, but five!  Bare with me, but I could not resist posting these as June 13, 1987 seems just like yesterday!

P.S. We celebrated this milestone last summer (August) with our wonderful Alaskan cruise!

Wedding Party

Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Cleveland, Ohio

Bill Tomoff

Terri Nolan Tomoff

Terri & Bill 

BSoleille!  The bright and wonderful world of wedded bliss!!!

terri

Back to Business

Lots of quilting projects to catch up on now.  Today I worked extra hard to complete the top of a T-Shirt quilt for a recent high school grad, and I'm thankful it's ready to hit the baby long-arm for quilting- hopefully tomorrow!  Good thing it rained today, kept me inside to finish it.....

My photo is the finished T-Shirt quilt top:

BSoleille!

terri

Wrap Up KI Photo

Traditionally, after the Kelley's Island 5K and 10K races, we take a group photo of the runners and the rest of the gang that did not run as well.  Since the photo was taken on my camera I was able to upload the photos to my computer, but could not post due to no internet access when driving home.  My "deadline" is midnight (home one hour after that) to count!  I am thankful for the great weekend and weather, a great kick-off for summer fun.

BSoleille,

terri

End of a Priceless Weekend at KI

Biked it, hiked it, liked it!

BSoleille, savoring the bright side of the long standing Kelleys Island tradition.
Terri

Day 2 at Kelley's Island

I am thankful that today was just as spectacular as yesterday and the fun continued all day!  A little run, a little trip to the Kelley's Island Winery and a little golf cart ride, plus a little swimming in Lake Erie rounded out the day.  I am including three photos today because I just do not want to leave anyone out that I know and on the Island.  They include my BGSU Cross Country team (5 runners including Jodie, Rosalie, Laura, JoAnn Wegert and me); BG girls and boys (including Tom, Scot and Chris Koehler) and of course, the Tomoff/Misencik/Godleski family and crew at the campground!

BSoleille!  The sunny side of "island time"!

terri

Kelley's Island, Ohio 2012

For many years the tradition was to go camping and run a race on Kelley's Island, Ohio, beginning in 1985 with my BGSU friends, then friends of friends and then families and more friends.  It's really a total blast, and last year was my family's first trip back after a 15 year hiatus!  So, I am doubly thankful to repeat it again this year!  Our day started early in Crofton at 5am sharp, but we made good time and got on the 2pm ferry over to the island!  Setting up camp, having dinner with a few Tomoff siblings and their families, then heading to the Smith's at the back of the island to enjoy some beach time and a beautiful June sunset-priceless!

My photo today is of the June sunset and my BG crowd:  Jodie and Scot Smith; Tom and Rosalie Franek and Josh (with friend Brandon); Laura Murphy, and my family as well.

BSoleille!  The bright side of the Island!

terri

I'm still making tote bags!

I have not mentioned quilting or sewing much lately, but I am, I am!  I just made these two tote bags in brown and yellow so I could give one away as a gift to Maureen Diaczok today at her retirement party from School Health Services.  Ms. Diaczok was a "pioneer" in our county in setting up school health programs in the public schools which now includes 117 in Anne Arundel County.  She has had a brilliant nursing career, and I was thankful that many people were invited to her party to wish her well.  She has spent 45 years as a nurse, with 22 of those with School Health Services.  Best wishes to a fine lady!

I'm including two photos:  the totes, and me and Maureen with her tote!

BSoleille!

terri

First time at Washington Nationals Stadium

Taking in a ball game with the son and nephew on a beautiful Wednesday evening. Three tickets near a cool hundred bucks plus parking and eats for the crew adds up in a hurry; but the memories in the making are priceless!

BSoleille! The bright side of MLB in DC!
Terri

High School Senior Visitor

My nephew Brandon, class of 2012 from Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, flew in today for his post graduate visit to Maryland. Lots of fun packed into a few days beginning with his favorite restaurant - Fuji Steakhouse for dinner. Thankful to make this possible for him and the family. Fun as the chefs prepare your meal to "perfection". Love that filet mignon.

BSoleille!
Terri

The Power of a Healing

After hearing all the tragedies over the weekend with an automobile accident in Brunswick, Ohio, involving almost high school graduates, my heart and prayers go out to those families and that graduating class. Very. Sad.  On a positive note, the young lady, Katie, who I posted about her one-car collision a few weeks ago is healing nicely and doing well today.  She was finally able to get the skin graft from her foot to place on her hand, and except for extreme itchiness, it's healing!  Katie came to visit us today, hanging out with Ryan and Olivia and staying for a great dinner with the whole family!  Lovely.  My photo is of Olivia and Katie in the backyard this evening.

BSoleille, finding the bright side of good healing!

terri

How Can I Help You?

This will the question posed hundreds of times by Olivia in the coming weeks at one of the Dunkin Donuts in Crofton. It's her first job and thankfully, so far she loves it! And since she likes coffee and likes early mornings this job should work out to be a great fit for her. Maybe I'll even try one more cup of joe eventually!

BSoleille!
Terri

Chantilly Quilt Show to Fiddler on the Roof

It is not often that I attend other quilt shows, but today I am thankful to have gone to the Chantilly, VA Quilt Show with my 2Bee, Trish.  Once there, we really enjoyed seeing all the pretty quilts, plus the wonderful vendors to "help keep our stash(es) of fabric(s) alive and well".  And the fun did not stop there because we ran into other friends and guild members all there to do the same thing!

My photo today was taken by a nice lady quilter on Amy M's camera.  Seated L-R: Shelley and Cappy; Standing L-R: Amy, Linda, Trish, me, and Karen!

P.S.  I ended my day seeing the terrific "Fiddler on the Roof" play at the Bowie Playhouse!  A great show to add to the summer event calendar (if local).

BSoleille!  Finding super bright fabrics at the quilt show and singing (in my head) along with the cast, "Sunrise, Sunset"!

terri

Last Day as a Junior

Today marks the last "full" day of school for my son Ryan in his junior year of high school.  After finals next week, he will officially be a senior!  We are very proud of how far he has come, and can't believe he will be a senior soon!  Here's wishing all the best for our 2012 graduates, both high school and college, a bright future ahead no matter what is pursued!  Congratulations!

BSoleille, wishing for bright days ahead on all who are graduating in 2012!

terri

Back to T-shirt Quilts

After a little hiatus from quilting for a few weeks, these past few days I have been back creating a t-shirt quilt for a recent high school graduate. It's great to be back working on something I love to do!

BSoleille, finding my north star back to quilting.

For Sale

Today's post is about the photo I took for today.  Usually around the Crofton Parkway, people leave out on their lawn all sorts of items marked "Free", which I have seen to include computer armoires, weight sets, sofas, dressers, and patio furniture etc (all in excellent condition).  However, it was very amusing to me to see this "lawn item" with a for sale sign bigger then it is - a little kid's scooter!  How much does this go for?

BSoleille!
terri

Bette Mock

Today I post in memoriam for Southern Comforter guild member Bette Mock who died peacefully on May 23, 2012 in Bowie, MD.  She was a great quilter and mentor, and a truly a remarkable woman.  She was always smiling and she loved life!  She was an inspiration to all who crossed paths with her, either as a high school biology teacher, wife, mother, friend, bell-ringer at her church and, of course, accomplished quilter and quilt teacher.  Bette's work has also been featured in quilt magazines and exclusive shows throughout the United States. The most thrilling thing for her though were the friendships she made along the way with other quilters who encouraged and shared their passions in helping Bette nurture her passion and her art.  I am a better quilter because of Bette Mock, and honored to be one of her quilting friends.  Rest in peace, my friend.

Photo of Bette during quilt demonstrations at the 2011 show.

terri

Let Freedom Ring

No doubt about this Memorial Day in thanking the many men and women in uniform for all their sacrifices in keeping our country safe. If not for our strong military I would not be able to blog daily. I am thankful for our 1st amendment right and the whole Bill of Rights and Constitution in this country's great democracy! We are lucky to be Americans!

BSoleille!
Terri

High on Summertime

The official calendar may say summer begins in June, but as the hot weather has ushered in the month of May, I'm loving the brilliant sunshine and "swimming" weather with temperatures in the 80's-perfect.

My photo is my friend Linda's pool in Crownsville, Maryland, and doesn't look inviting? So much so that I am thankful to have spent the afternoon in it on an inner tube just floating around!

BSolielle! Enjoying the bright sun by cooling off in a crystal clear pool.
Terri

Italian Ice to Cool Off

To end a hot day after refereeing soccer and shopping for "good used cars", the perfect dessert was a mango icee at Rita's.

Photo of Ryan, Olivia,Kaitlyn and me.

BSoleille!
Terri

Good News from Duke PBMT

Crazy as it seems, arriving in Durham, NC at 4:15 am this morning, our medical news was all good regarding Ryan's blood work. For this I/we are very grateful. Thankfully we were able to catch about 4 hours of shut eye before a day of tests and medical appointments with various doctors commenced. (Ryan is 7.5 years post Bone Marrow Transplant).

My photo is of Ryan celebrating with a dozen or so of wings from his favorite place in Durham, "Wing Stop".

BSoleille!
Terri

Getting ready for the weekend

I am posting a little early today, and I'm glad I was able to get the grass cut, clean up the house, and get ready for a ride down to North Carolina leaving at 10pm!  My son Ryan has appointments at Duke tomorrow, and he really wanted to work his high school's graduation ceremony tonight.  The things we parents do for our kids.  I am going to get in a little nap here this afternoon before we embark later this evening!

Photo of a bridge in Hinckley Park, Ohio from last week's visit.

BSoleille!

terri

Technology working in synch!

This evening I was able to provide a 21 minute slide presentation of my guild's March 2012 Quilt Show.  I worked dilegently on combining my photos and the photos taken by guild member Wendy Allen into a nice show that I believe all the members liked and enjoyed.  But the neat thing that was so great is that I originally did not add music to the presentation as I have in past years; but Wendy had her phone with some great Jazz music that we immediately hooked up to the computer and added to compliment the IMovie presentation!  (I brought speakers as well).   Music that worked on the fly where everything synched beautifully was the key to enhance the show.  This was a wonderful use of technology for the laymen!

Photo of my slide show being presented at tonight's guild meeting.

BSoleille!

terri

A Love of Reading

In the last couple years,  I usually read one book at a time; but the past two weeks, I have been enjoying reading two books at time and loving it!  Both are non-fiction books written by two strong women involving travel/hiking/and coming of age stories.  Thankfully, I should keep the stories straight, as "Wild" is about hiking the Pacific Coast Trail out West, and "No Touch Monkey" is travel in Europe, the Middle East and the Orient.

Photo of the two books, now on to the conclusion of each!

BSoleille!  Finding the bright sides of the stories.....

terri

A rainy Monday will not get me down!

I met my friend Marilyn for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory where the menu options seem go on forever, and all the meals seem so delicious!  I got the Cobb salad and was happy with my choice, but the best part was catching up with our busy lives.  She is a wonderful person and a great mentor of life and I'm thankful that she is so willing to share her "secrets" in keeping or trying to keep "it" all together for the common good of raising a family.  

My photo today is one I took a week or so ago in Annapolis.  I could not help notice this kitty-cat in the window of a wonderful old home not far off Main Street.

BSoleille!

terri

Sunday Simple Pleasure

After officiating three soccer games as the center ref and climbing into the car, my thoughts turned to "what am I going to make for dinner" once home.

Thankfully, and much to my surprise, my kids surprised me/us (hubby was also refereeing) when we walked in the door and a fully prepared meal was on the table ready for us to sit down and eat. A wonderful Sunday surprise and I loved it. (I was happy to clean up)!

BSoleille! Finding simple Sunday pleasures.
Terri

PS: photo of Cleveland's Terminal Tower

Fun Trip to Ohio Ends

I am very thankful I had a wonderful time in Ohio bopping around with family and friends. The warm sunny days there made it even more special for all to enjoy.

My photo is my high school alma mater, James Ford Rhodes (class of 1980)! It's been several years since I rode by it and I had the chance this trip. The funny thing I remember is "shoeing the school". If you notice all the wires and electric lines in this photo, my senior years prank had hundreds of shoes thrown over all those wires! It sure was quite funny at the time......

Oh, I need to make a correction to a recent post on a spelling error of having a massage not message.

BSoleille!
Terri

Last day for my Cleveland trip

First thing this morning I had my very first EVER cup of coffee. I must admit it was not too shabby, but I'm not sure if I will continue with drinking it.

By 9:30 I met up with my former co-worker Patty and we headed to downtown Cleveland to go to the just opened Horseshoe Casino! Between the two of us we managed to "gamble" away $15 in about 1.5 hours. It is located in the old Higbee Department store where I was also employed with over 25 years ago. Our goal was to win enough $$ to pay our lunch - haha!

Photo is of me and Patty on the first floor of the casino.

BSoleille, finding the bright side of a little gambling fun!
Terri

Whirlwind Day

Anytime I make a trip back to Ohio for a visit sans family, I try to pack a lot into my day. It began waking up at my sisters house, breakfast with two of my in-laws across town, a stop at my favorite bakery, Michael's near where I grew up, a few garage sales on the West side of Cleveland, lunch with a sister and nephew at a great deli called appropriately, Mom's, a few more yard sales and a visit to Hiram,Ohio to visit college friends from Bowling Green State University.

The day was sunny and bright but the best part was a 9 mile bike ride, a great dinner and to top off the night, my first ever total body message compliments of Rosalie Franek. I loved the message and wonder why it's taken me this long to give in and have one. I am one relaxed chica at this moment!

BSoleille, finding the "wonderfulness" of a message.
Terri

Photo of me totally relaxed on the message table! (I think my husband will be a little jealous of this).

In Cleveland Ohio

Had a nice flight over to Cleveland this morning. I am here to visit my mom, friends and family and thankful I was able to make this trip on a beautiful spring morning.

My photo is of me and my former college roommate,Rosalie Franek, at the Hinckley Reservation. We had a great walk and talk around the lake catching up with our lives.

BSoleille!
Terri

Garage clean up!

I guess it is officially spring for me as I spent the wad cleaning up the outdoors for the past two days. I think that's going to be it for me for the summer. I may plant some marigolds to add a little color but thankfully my family is quite easy going and they really don't care about all that stuff.

My photo is taken at the Anne Arundel county "dump" or recycling center. I love going there and had a decent amount of stuff to "recycle" after the garage clean up!

BSoleille,
Terri

The Opposite of Quilting is...

Cleaning the gutters, of course.  Thankfully, I'm not afraid of heights, muck or swinging a big ladder around the yard to do a thankless task of being a "gutter-girl" today!  I know I called this a thankless job, but it is the kind of job that remains silent because only me and the gutters know they were cleaned.  Now it can rain all it wants and hopefully the spouts will all work and not clog up!

BSoleille, finding the bright side of home upkeep!

terri

Great Mother's Day

I hope Mother's all over the world had a wonderful day.  I am thankful I did as well.  The best things were sleeping in, going for a bike ride and a salmon and broccoli dinner made by the family.  Feeling the love was present throughout the whole day!  The end of the day included a phone call to my mother  to wish her well!   The above quilt shows the colors of love I felt today....

We also snuck in a visit to University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore to see Katie Gitlin (Freestate Phoenix teammate of Olivia's). She was involved in a one-vehicle car accident this past Wednesday badly injuring her left hand.  Her car actually rolled over, and thankfully, she was wearing her SEAT BELT that saved her life!

Olivia and Katie enjoying a light moment.

BSoleille!
terri

Caps! Caps! Caps!

Even though the Washington Capitals NHL team lost tonight in Game 7 of their series against the NY Rangers, they certainly gave us exciting and fast-paced hockey throughout the year!  This series was quite evenly matched, and unfortunately, it just was not meant to be today for our home team today.  Looking forward to exciting hockey later this fall!

My photo was taken before the game with three excited Caps fans that live with me!

BSoleille!  Finding the bright side of NHL Hockey....

terri

A Great Day in DC

Once my family was on their way to work and school this morning, it was time for my friend Debbie and I to walk the Crofton Parkway with the dogs, then home to shower and get ready for the day.  We decided to head down to DC to do a tour of the outdoor monuments, something Debbie has not done in a while. On the top of her list was to see the WW11 Memorial, and since I can never get enough of being down there when I can (visitors are great for us to be tourists as well), it was a great excuse to do so.  We luckily found parking near the Sculpture Garden and started there.  We snaked our way across the Mall and toward the Washington Monument on our way to the WW11 Memorial.  I must admit these beautiful displays of architecture and grandeur are both awe-inspiring and impressive and the picture perfect blue skies made it a great day to take in the scenery!  We finished the tour by going to the Lincoln and Vietnam War Memorials before hi-tailing back to the car by 4:00pm.

My Photo is taken at the WW11 Memorial...

BSoleille!

terri

St.Michael's, MD

I am thankful to have spent the day in St. Michael's, Maryland with my friend Debbie.  She flew in this morning to visit for a few days, and we couldn't have decided on a prettier spot to spend this breezy and sunny day in this quaint little town on the Eastern Shore.  One of the highlights was having lunch in town's "famous" restaurant called the Crab Claw.  Not too many boats out today, but one of the tall "ships" came into the little marina near the restaurant as seen in the background of the photo!

BSoleille!  

terri

"Beauty Queen" Award Winning Table

Today is the reveal on the "secret" sewing project I have been working on with my 2Bee, Trish.  It was our guild's 30th Anniversary Party, and we volunteered to be table hostesses for 8 seats.  Our immediate thought was to use daisies, and as the photo tells the story, everything was coming up daisies!  I made the centerpiece topper, and Trish made the little tote bags that had candy inside tied with a green ribbon and daisies.  We had stiff competition, because all the table hostesses did a terrific job with the 30th anniversary theme (there were three categories).  In addition, we dressed alike in white and green to match our table (like being back in 8th grade, but who cares?), and to top it off, Trish made a dessert in the shape of a daisy!  I'm thankful it was a fun night with lots of surprises and happy camaraderie among the guild members.

BSoleille!  Enjoying bright and happy colors of May!

terri

PAB

PAB stands for the Parent Advisory Board at Georgetown University Hospital that I have been a part of for the past 7 years.  I am thankful that through this forum I have been able to give back to that community in helping children and their families cope with severe illnesses and diseases, for example, to  simply bring a meal to the hospital for a break from the routine hospital food!  I also delivered approximately 30 quilts to the Pediatric Georgetown Hem/Onc Clinic for the social workers and doctors to distribute to newly diagnosed cancer patients compliments of the Southern Comforters Quilt Guild outreach program of Community Quilts.  They always say it's like Christmas when I bring such a large load of them, and they will sort them by age of the kids and the sizes of the quilts for a later selection by a child.  

My photo today is one of Lucky the poodle mix resting on the dog bed I made for both of my pups!  She is sprawled on the image of Lucy-Loo, but left his image to admire!  Haha....

BSoleille, finding the bright side of "giving back"!

terri

Castle

One of my favorite shows now that "The Oprah Show" is off the air, is "Castle".  I was glad to finally see the two main characters of the show, namely Castle and Detective Beckett, come together as a couple!  I know it's only TV, but the show at first reminded me of the show "Moonlighting" without all the slapstick  of Willis and Shepard. It has a great story line of NYC cops/detectives with great writing and development of the characters, plus a good fit it seems for the supporting cast.  After a disappointing Caps loss tonight, it was great to tune into what I think was the season finale of this show with a cliffhanger, of course.  I certainly hope it will come back again next season.

My photo does not correspond to my post, but I took it over the weekend when I noticed my tall grass "bush" was all "smooshed" down, and now I have the culprit!  Lucy......

BSoleille!

terri

Don't pick the daisies!

On the soccer pitch today no one was picking daisies. It was fast paced play on all three games, though the two fields where my games were played the field conditions were in very poor condition. The grass was so high you couldn't tell if anyone was wearing cleats but everyone persevered and I had fun!

BSoleille,
Terri

cinco de mayo

The fifth of May and all is well on this wonderful Saturday.  I'm thankful to finish the quilt I've been working on, and it will be sent to Chicago on Monday.  Made a nice dinner for the family and then Olivia and I went to the grocery store so I could make a new recipe with fresh vegetables: "Mexican Gazpacho".  It's chilling to eat tomorrow.  My photo is all the veggies cut up before I put them in the food processor!

BSoleille!  Ciao'

terri

Project started and project finished

I started to machine quilt a tshirt quilt yesterday, worked on it today and should finish it tomorrow. That's a god feeling.

On a side note, my hubby passed his Access class today and is now certified in this Microsoft application. I am thankful because he's finally done since that is all I heard about from him over the past 5 months!! So that little makeshift desk in the middle of our living room did the trick I believe.

BSoleille, finding the bright spot of finishing a project from quilts to class.
Terri

Precious moments

Thankful I am in some kind of shape to hang with Olivia on a 10 mile bike ride this beautiful afternoon. She is home for a few days so we got out to do a few things together and topped it off riding around the parkway.

BSoleille!
Terri

Rockin' the Red

It's 11:35pm as I write this entry, still rockin' the red as the Washington Capitals are still playing against the NY Rangers in NHL hockey!  I was hoping to write a win here (Caps), but I want to get this in before midnight.   The game is going into the 3rd overtime and I would be cutting it close to getting this in so I am posting anyway (it will take another 15 minutes now just to Zamboni the ice).  I am thankful that this has been a very fast-paced fan frenzie game thus far, but the players are getting tired and there will be a winner soon (maybe after midnight though).  Go Caps! Caps! Caps! And I plan on staying up to watch the entire game......

My photo is one more of downtown Eastport, a lovely entry way with beautiful blooming roses!

BSoleille!

terri

Pretty boats in Annapolis

Today was my "hump" day while working Eastport  this week.  I was thankful to get out on my 1/2 hour lunch break and take a walk to one of the yacht clubs to admire all the pretty boats parked in the water waiting patiently for their owners to get them out on the Chesapeake Bay!  In the distance is the Naval Academy chapel dome.  Only a little sprinkle of boats floating around downtown Annapolis this afternoon.

  

BSoleille!  A walk in the bright sunshine to admire pretty boats!

terri