Back Home from Family Trip

Rooms at Sproul Ranch

Beautiful Sunsets from the ranch over the Davis Mts.

Kathleen the horse whisperer!

    

Jeep ride around the ranch

Colin and Graham, Skeet shooting

Hiking above the Rio Grande at Big Bend

Horse-back riding out of Fort Davis

At the McDonald's Observatory

At Fort Davis

Colin, rock climbing near Ft. Davis

Sproul Ranch, a working ranch near Ft. Davis...great place to visit.

We went with our daughters, SIL, and grands to the Davis Mts. area in Texas.  We stayed at the greatest place, Sproul Ranch, just outside Fort Davis...near the McDonald Observatory, Marfa, Alpine, and less than two hours to Big Bend Nat'l Park.

After six days, the kids all headed back to Ft. Worth/ McKinney and Dick and I went on to New Mexico for a few more days....WE didn't have to be back at the end of spring break.

Zentangle #2 for me-Challenge # 12

Zen-Wave..."Something Blue"

I am still lovin' these Zentangles!  This the second challenge from the "i am a diva" blog.  The topic for this challenge is "Something Blue".  For some reason, Hokusai's wood block print of "The Wave" came immediately to mind....so in homage to Hokusai, my "blue" Zentangle is "Zen-wave"!

"The Wave" by Hokusai

After looking at the wood cut, I noticed that my Mt. Fuji was on the left of my pic rather than like on the right in the famous pic!!  My excuse...I didn't want to plagiarize!!!!  (Good excuse, huh?)

Zentangles

I have recently been obsessed with "Zentangles"!!!  I have been a prolific doodler all my life...all over college notes, meeting agendas, grocery lists etc.  but I did not realize there is an art form for this fascination with line!  Below is my first attempt at "Zentangling" (can it be a verb!)..created in my sketchbook while idling away the evening watching television.

I've also been looking at lots of other Zentangles... there is a website (it is also listed in my sidebar..."iamadiva") by that name on my sidebar.  And I discovered another site that names a weekly challenge for Zentangles with a specific topic.  So I decided to give it a try...this first week (for me) is "Monotangle" and here it is!

After my attempts at Zentangles, I discovered there are books out there and certified teachers to show you how to do it!!!  I love that!!!  But I think I will muddle along on my own for awhile so I can try to be original in what I do.

Try it ....it is fun!!!

studioQ meeting

Yesterday, my studioQ group met at the cutest little cottage where one of our members and her husband are staying while "between" houses...one sold/the other not yet purchased.  We had our usual great time...shared ideas and had a fun show and tell!!

We also had our challenge blocks from our last meeting to show...these were from drawings from our sketchbooks.  Here are a few:

 This is my block...I put a border on it because the edges were kind of wonky.  My original in my sketchbook is on an earlier blog.  I think I may add some beading to it and give it to the committee for the Silent Auction at our Show next fall.

            Wendy was a bit of an over achiever!  She enlarged her block!!

           Heather's block is very colorful....she really followed her drawing well!

Dyanna chose to do a part of her block which she found most interesting.  She said she like it so well she may make more to add to it...I agree!  Very nice!

Susan seemed to have many more pieces than some others...great job of replicating!

Bethany had a unique way to make her block.  She used a felt base and zigzag stitched each section to it.  Clever girl!

Our hostess, Beth, is quite an artist with beadwork on wooden thread spools.  She showed us how she does it...I would like to try, but it is really tedious!  I think I am going to have to wait until after my cataract surgery and new glasses before I try it! Here is a basket full of spools she had done!

A New Look

I've been playing around with redesigning the look of my blog...need a little more color in my life!!!  I have also added the "followers" widget so please feel free to join me if you are reading my blog....it will give me an opportunity to view more of other bloggers!  I also have added a couple of blogs to my list...one is "Zentangles"...something I just discovered recently...very cool!!  And "Sunday Postcards" which already has a huge following.  Both blogs have Flicker photo pages which are also note worthy.

The last time my studioQ bunch met, we drew a "mystery" block in our sketchbooks.  It was a mystery because no one knew what they would look like when finished.  I had everyone draw a square...from 6" to 9" approximately.  Then we passed out sketchbooks..and then added a series of three vertical lines, passed again..draw three curved lines..passed again.  We did this for about six line instructions, passing each time, then we had four or five "coloring" instructions...for example, pick a colored pencil and color three areas, passed...then another color and amount of sections to color, etc.  The last challenge we had to do was to take the block drawn in our own sketchbooks and try to reproduce them in fabric!!  Here is what my block came out to be and the fabric I plan to use.  I had decided to create a paper-pieced pattern to make mine.  We meet again Monday so I need to get busy!!

"The Help", a novel

I just finished reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I highly recommend this book to all to read and, although it is a novel of fiction, I can promise you is based on reality.  We lived in Mississippi in the '70s for about seven years.  Coming from white bread Midwest, none of us had really experienced the Southern mentality.  Now, it is a beautiful state and we met many wonderful people there, but lying below the surface at that time was unbelievable racism.  A few examples:

• the schools in the small town we were living in had only been integrated five years.  When we dropped in to see the schools before we made a decision to move there, the principal there said "Well, being from the North, you probably want to know about our blacks"  (I wanted to ask if they still owned them!)
• I was getting my haircut....the guy who was doing me was chatting with one of the other hair dressers. He said that he just broke up with his girl friend because he found out she had kissed a black guy! (I quit going there!)
• the Baptist church in town cancelled a traveling choral group when they found out there was some black singers in the group
• when I took over the Girl Scout Troop, we had to move our meeting place to the Catholic Church because we had some new little black girls in the troop and the Methodist church would not allow us to use their facilities.
• out in the country was this little rundown private skating rink which my girls had been to, so I took some of my troop out there to set up a date to skate.  The lady who owned it got me to one side and told me we would not be able to use the place because it would really hurt her business...she didn't care but she couldn't take a chance! (my girls didn't go there again).
• I taught in the middle school which had been the old black school..1-12.   When integration took place, the town built an elementary...1-4. Had a middle school..5-8. The high school...9-12 had been the original white school...1-12.  One of my oldest daughter's friends' grandmother told me she could not wait until the girls got out of 8th grade so they would not have to go to that "colored" school any more!
• There was quite a big difference in the structures of the two schools but I am pretty sure structure was not what the grandmother was referring to...and she really was a very sweet little old lady...just that mentality thing!

Now we had some wonderful times there...it wasn't always doom and gloom but I did learn that it was a different world...one that I hope has changed drastically in the past 30 years.  It was a terrific experience, one I would not trade for the world.

The Best Laid Plans.....

Two/three weeks ago, I was lined up for many appointments....weather interfered one week/ everything cancelled and I stayed home.  This week, every day was booked with something to do.

• Monday-TVQG Board Meeting..check
• Tuesday-doctor appt. for diabetes checkup...kind of check (I went but didn't conclude appt.)
• Wednesday-Diabetes Education Class..(make up for a cancelled class)
• Thursday-scheduled cataract surgery (cancelled)
• Friday-post op checkup (cancelled)

When I went to my pre op at the opthamalagist's, I was told I needed to take a form to my doctor to have her fill out and sign that I am OK for surgery. So as I had an appt. today, I took it with me.  Then my doctor's people tell me that I was not scheduled for a physical needed for the form..the story is really boringly longer but to make it short, I had to cancel surgery, reschedule, cancel dr. appt., reschedule...I really blame the gal at the opthamologist as she led me to belief it was no big deal..

Ah, well..now I can go to my guild meeting Friday and hear our speaker....Bonnie Hunter... www.quiltville.com.
She has a very fun website...check it out.

Now This Is More Like Why We Live in Texas!!

After a really brutal couple of weeks of weather, we had a really wonderful weekend.  This evening we were even able to sit on the porch and have a little adult beverage while cooking some 'burgers.  And last night we actually got out of our "Saturday Night Netflix and popcorn" comfort zone and went to a concert at the Ed Landreth Auditorium/TCU Campus.  It was put  on by the Classic Guitar Society of Fort Worth.  The guest stars were Sharon Isbin (guitar) and Mark O'Connor (violin).  We had heard them on NPR and decided to give it a try....it was fantastic!!!  Loved every minute of it!!  What talented people!!

And the rest of the weekend was spent finishing up my Christmas stuff...except for the quilting and binding!!  That won't take long as these pieces are for functional use, not "show"!!!

Table topper: 24" x 23"

Table runner: 50" x 20"

Eight Place Mats/ four of each pattern.

All of these started out with panels and quite a bit of fabric I had on hand for some time.  The large areas on the placemats were the focal of the panel and the other insets on the other pieces were borders, etc.  Any of the "striped" fabric was from my stash of other Christmas fabric....now I need everyone to remind me next December to get them out.

On an earlier blog, I showed the Mug Rugs I was sending to Canada for a swap.  I didn't know who had my name until my mats came in the mail this week also from Canada...not the same person and here they are.....

Laurel Burch and Batiks...a couple of my favorite fabrics!

Here we go again!!

Good ol' Texas weather!  Fortunately it was not as bad today as they had forecasted.  I think after missing the number of inches forecasted last week (said only a powder and we got 2-4 inches), they over predicted today.  It was icy this morning but the sun came out about 10:00 this morning and all the roads/walks cleared off....but after all the schools had announced closing!

I am big into "coincidences"...a couple of years ago I started keeping a list of them as they happened....like hearing a new word or phrase, or an idiom, tale, peculiarity...etc. that I have not heard before or for a long time...then I hear the same two or three times in the period of a couple of days.  For example, today I was talking to my daughter, Andrea this morning on the phone....in the course of our conversation, she said the phrase "drinking the Kool Aid" in reference to "buying into a way of thinking".  I had not heard that before so asked her where that came from...of course, after she explained the reference to Jim Jones' suicide events, I knew what she meant.  Now, the coincidental part...later in the morning, I was watching a show I had "tivo'd".  I am a big SciFi fan, and I was watching "V" (probably the only person in the world who watches it)...anyway, during the show...someone said something to the effect that "when they landed, everyone was drinking the Kool Aid"!  Now that is a coincidence!!  Twice in one day....OK..so that makes me a little weird!

I have been working on  my Christmas placemats...am just about finished....now if I can just remember to get them out next year at the holidays!!  I also decided to make a table runner and a table topper while I had all the fabric out.

Crazy weather!!!

And we were supposed to just get a dusting of snow...the bulk was to be South and East.  Goes to show what an inaccurate job it can be to predict weather...Mother Nature is really in charge!!

But I am getting quite a bit of sewing done.  I finished my "Mug Rugs" for a swap.  I am sending mine off to Canada.  And I am now working on Christmas placemats!  I am determined to have them ready for this year!!  I have had the fabric, some of it, for a couple of years and always wait until right before the Holiday Season to start them...so they don't get done...go to the bottom of the "to do" list...not this year!!  (Maybe!)

 My "Mug Rugs" for a swap! They are 10" x 6" and made with some of the fabric I won last year in the Quilting Arts drawing.

Br-r-r-r-r-!!!!

Texas is NOT supposed to be this cold!! As I mentioned before, the Fort Worth Stock Show is going on.  It runs through the coming Saturday; and there is almost always at least one week when the weather is just terrible!  This is the week...on Saturday when we were there it was 80 degrees..today it is barely 20 degrees with ice every where.

And it is Super Bowl Week...Oh, the hype!!!  The Packers and the Steelers are in town with all their fans who probably think we Texans are real pansies because this kind of weather is right up their alley!  It is too bad that the weather will curtail some of the planned activities though as I know a lot of time, money and effort have gone into them....not that I planned to take part...I am more of a passive observer of the festivities!!!

My kaleidoscope: "Totem" 

My studioQ group met yesterday...when the weather was still nice!  What a creative bunch of ladies!  And my kaleidoscope quilt was pieced enough to show. Here are some of the various works from some of the gals:

The front of Beth's journal...we are encouraging each other to keep a journal of ideas.

Bethany has been experimenting with stamping with fruits and veggies...this is her Mushroom print.

Susan had several things to show...this is a mini made from leftover scraps.

And Heather showed one of her quilts from her Nancy Crow class.

Needless to say, I have not gotten out of the house today, so all the activities that I had planned to do this week are dwindling...not that I am complaining!  I love staying home and now have an excuse to do so!  In fact, I am pretty sure I am going nowhere tomorrow either!!

A Great Family!

Our first born on her first birthday-1966

Today is our oldest daughter's birthday...and she got to celebrate by staying home from work because of the weather!  We had gotten together to celebrate over the weekend, so the bad weather allowed her to spend the day with her immediate family!

National Honor Society Induction..Kathleen, second from right

Last night we attended Kathleen's NHS induction ceremony..what a gal!  Less than two months ago, she was having back surgery and today, a lovely young lady all dressed up entering a prestigious organization. There were 60 inductees..a great looking bunch of kids!  Most all of her family fan club were there...both sets of grandparents, her mom, dad, and brother...probably one of the largest cheering sections there.

Kathleen with all her grandparents

Fort Worth, A Great Little City!

Yesterday, we went to the rodeo with all the family....we have been going as a group of 12 to 18 for over 16 years now.  We used to go out to eat all together after the matinee, but all the restaurants have gotten so busy it was hard to seat a large group without waiting forever.  And since our oldest daughter's birthday is February 1st, we have been coming back to our house and having dinner here for a few years...celebrating her birthday and our rodeo tradition at the same time...seems to work out really well!

The Fort Worth Stock Show used to be the Fat Stock Show...meaning the big, beefy cows and hogs, etc.  But with all the emphasis on healthy eating the past few years, the powers that be changed the name to just Stock Show...and the look of the calves and all being shown have taken of a different look from when we were kids....very straight backs, lean bodies as opposed to big, thick chested animals.

Yesterday was really warm!!  The temperature was at least 80 degrees...and the Stock Show grounds, the midway and all the exhibition halls were really crowded!  I had been having some allergy problems and being around all the dusty, hay-filled barns and then the rodeo arena didn't help much...this morning I was a mess with stuffy nose and sneezing fits, but by now I am quite a bit better.  If it wasn't so much fun to go and be with everyone I would skip going!

But according to the weather...we have worse winter ahead....possible ice/snow/wind...yuck!  And it is to be the coldest yet...below 20 degrees!  I guess I need to change my "out my window" picture!

This and that!

I have been working with all the pictures I have downloaded to my new Mac laptop...For some reason, many of the folders of pictures that I had put on the external hard drive for storage were duplicated...sometimes more than once. So I am trying to get them all straightened out on this computer.....there are literally  thousands of them!

This picture from an old slide was taken when we lived in Alaska in 1964-66...we had only been married a few months when Dick was transferred there courtesy of the Air Force.  And then we made a return visit to the area a year ago...46 years later.  Since the quilt I am now working on is from the fabric  I got in Juneau, and has totem poles on it, I thought this was appropriate.  I have the kaleidescope  nearly finished...just need to put all the sections together, then add some sides and get it quilted.  I haven't decided whether I want to add beading or not...will see.

Busy week coming up...Friday night we are going to dinner and a concert with our daughter's in-laws, Saturday we are all going to the big Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo, there will be about 12 of us, then out here for a BBQ dinner to celebrate my oldest daughter's birthday and other daughter will be spending the night as she lives about 80 miles away....a little far to drive back home late;  it is always good to see her for a long visit anyway.

 Then Monday, I have the studioQ bunch here...that is my art quilt group..Monday night is our granddaughter's National Honor Society Induction.  Tuesday there is a Diabetic Support Group meeting which I may attend..not sure.  Wednesday, my third class for Diabetic Education...Dick has been going with me which is a big help to have an extra set of ears to hear all about it.  Thursday is our poker bunch, meeting for dinner and card playing. And I think that is all for awhile...so maybe I can get some really constructive quilting going!!!

Cold!!!!

We are having our first really cold weather this year....it is now 32degrees at 9:00 AM and I know that may not seem really cold to some, but to me it is COLD!!!  It is also very gray out which makes it feel even colder...fortunately, I am lucky enough to be able to stay home and just feel sympathy for those who need to get out!

I am listening to Diane Reames on NPR as I write...the discussion is about the lack of civility in politics...perhaps instrumental in the craziness of the Arizona shooting tragedy...I personally believe there is a definite connection....we all need to realize that our words can be heard by all...the crazies and those who are sane, and it is an obligation of those especially in the public eye to be very careful of how they voice their opinions to incite others to their way of thinking!

And now on a happier note!  Work on my Kaleidoscope continues!

                                   Phase I of my Kaleidoscope  

                                      Phase II of Kaleidoscope
                                      

                     Layout of paper piecing for Kaleidoscope with phase III on paper!

Each phase I complete seems to create the need for another phase.  I am working now on phase III.. I design on paper first, then break it all into a paper-pieced project...so I think phase III is going to be the last!  Most of the fabric I have used is from our trip to Alaska last year...2009.

Good start to the new year!

Kathleen hasn't gone back to school yet, so on the days her daddy isn't working from home, either I or her grandad have gone in to spend the day with her.  I was there on Monday, and we had a great day catching up on the first season of "Glee".  We got through about the first six...will finish next week.  That is really a cute show...I especially like it because I KNOW the music!!

I have a new toy...for my birthday, Dick had gotten me a little arm band radio with ear plugs to listen to while at the gym working out and walking.  It didn't work very long so I took it back and upgraded to a SanDisk little clip on called a Sansa....it is about 11/2 inch by 21/2 inches...unbelievable!  It plays FM radio and will hold up to 1000 songs!  It is so tiny, it just clips on to my sleeve...so light I hardly know it is there...I am in awe of today's technology!!!

While sitting in the doctor's office yesterday, waiting my turn, this little ol' lady struck up a conversation with me.  She is also in awe of technology, but not in a good way!  I think it is too bad when people won't even give it a chance...but there will always be those who do not like change!!  A definite sign of OLD age!! (but not always....I do know of a few much younger than I that don't handle change well!)

A New Year!

2011!  Wow..if it goes as fast as 2010, I may just spin out of control!  My main goals are similar to my birthday goals of my 70th birthday...and so far...one day into the year I have been working on completing a quilt design...my kaleidoscope. It is a growing concern!!  Every time I finish one phase, I decide to add another!  But I am liking it...it is fun to work on something that one really likes!

Spent New Year's Eve with family...eating and playing games..we played "Taboo"...a very fun game that is very good with a crowd and all ages.  Then today, talked to my bro in Illinois and my daughter in McKinney...so all in all, a very good start.  Kathleen is doing so wonderfully after her surgery...will still be home from school for a couple of weeks.

And the TCU Horned Frogs won at the Rose Bowl, beating out Wisconsin!!! yahoo....go Frogs!!  Very good game!!!

47 Years and Still Going Strong!

Today, we celebrate our 47th anniversary!!   And just where did those years go??  We figured that we have spent two-thirds of our life together!  Unbelievable!  We really knew very little about each other when we got married....had been friends for over a year but had only "dated" for a few weeks before we decided to get married.  I guess something must have been right because we seem to be getting along pretty darn well!!

I was all for a small wedding with little "fal-de-ral" but my mom was all for the big formal wedding...well, as big as weddings in a small midwest town get!  We chose December so Dick who was in the service could also be home for Christmas, too....always being practical!  He was stationed in Reno, Nevada and I went out there in the summer of 1963 to try to get a teaching job....that was not to happen, but I stayed..working as a salesgirl in a JC Penney's...so my mom literally made all the wedding plans which was quite alright with me!!!

And now, 47 years later, we are still very low key on celebrations!  We are planning on going out NEXT week when all the kids are back in school...take in a movie and dinner..would like to see "True Grit" and we have a coupon from Red, Hot and Blue for dinner!!  Still being practical!!!

I can honestly say I would not change a thing...we have had (and continue to have) a wonderful life...terrific kids, grandkids, family and friends.  We love our home...our "car" trips...our "hobbies"...  Life is Good!!!

Christmas Eve Eve

        Scottie dog made for Kathleen while she was in the hospital.

 And this is a Scottie dog made by Dick's Grandma Shirley about forty years ago.  Grandma Shirley lived to be almost 102.  She had five grandchildren...and she made four Scottie dogs for the four who were married and had children.  She also made a little kitty for each of the great grandchildren.  My daughter found a pattern of a Scottie Dog Quilt which also had the pattern for the little stuffed dog.  I plan to make one for all the grandkids' kids...like the one I made for Kathleen.  I might be able to get them done for NEXT Christmas if I  get started right now!!  They are actually pretty easy to make once the 2 1/2 inch squares are cut.   Grandma Shirley's Scottie may be "only" forty years old, but the fabric she used is much older than that! A true vintage puppy!

And this is the 23 of December....making tomorrow the 24th!  I have finished all my shopping..and have everything wrapped and under the tree.  We are decorated and ready!! Dick found an old electric train up in the attic that belonged to our girls and has it set up on the dining room table.  Thought the kids might get a kick out of it.

Tomorrow, I am cooking...the Christmas menu is set...so I will do all I can ahead of time so I can enjoy Christmas Day.  Yesterday, I went to the kids' house with the sugar cookie stuff...they usually come out here, but because of Kathleen's surgery, I took it all there.  Had a big time as usual...I think I enjoy it as much as they do.  Decorating sugar cookies is an old family tradition.  When my girls were little, they would sometimes invite one friend over to decorate with us.

I didn't get this finished yesterday, so will continue with it today.  We had a wonderful day with the kids.  Andrea spent the night...Marti and family came over about 11:00..we did stockings and then presents while dinner was cooking.  After eating we played a couple of games the kids had gotten for Christmas.  Much fun had by all!!  Then, before we knew it, it was evening and time for them to go home...football game to watch and dog to let out!

So..Merry Christmas from my house to yours!!  and have a great NEW YEAR...2011!

Christmas Open House

Several years ago, we started hosting a Christmas open house for the neighborhood. There are 12 homes in our area...10 of the occupants and their families always come.  We all bring a dish to share, cookies to trade, and sometimes have a cookie decorating activity for the kids.   The past four years, other neighbors have taken turns hosting the event.  We will probably have it next year...we thought about having it this year, but because we wanted to be available to help with whatever Kathleen and family needed, we let some one else have it.  Great fun had by all!!!

Okay, six days until Christmas....I think tomorrow I will begin to wrap presents.  My poor little Charlie Brown tree looks a little bare!!  Colin helped me decorate it last Sunday and he thinks I need more ornaments and a bigger tree.  I just downsized last year...a large tree was just getting too difficult to get up and down from the attic, plus I wanted a pre-lit tree.  Hanging the lights was the one thing I really didn't like to do!!

Our Christmas party at my guild was Friday...much fun!!  We don't have a speaker at the December meeting, just a BIG Show and Tell!!  There were 62 people with quilts/sewing projects to show and many had more than one!!  And of course everyone brings FOOD!!  That seems to be what the holidays are all about!  EATING!!

And I had a glucose tolerance test last Wednesday, so I am trying to be better about the sugar intake!!!  Boohoo for me!!  I LOVE sweets...and that is probably why I have a little bit of a problem.  Am anxious to hear the results.

The other little "chore" I am going to work on this evening is addressing the Christmas cards I got last year to send out this year!!  And the needlepoint stocking I am making of a nephew's new baby is going to be a little late for Christmas, but since she isn't even one yet, maybe she won't miss it!!!

One of my New Year Resolutions is to become better prepared for Christmas next year!  Hmmm...after 65 years of NOT being very ready...do you think that can change!!!!  Well, being the eternal optimist, I am going to say "YES"!

I am watchin "60 MINUTES"...they are doing an episode on MEMORY...people who can remember everything!!!  Very interesting...I would love to have a memory like that....mine is very shakey!!

Update

Kathleen got home from the hospital yesterday...she is such a trooper! She is still pretty sore, needing to learn how to reuse some muscles, getting used to her new "shape", but every day she will be stronger and get to feeling more secure.

Last night, Colin had a band concert....he is a tuba player.  Auntie Andrea came all the way over from her house which is about 75 miles away to stay with Kathleen so all the parents and grandparents could go to his first concert.  I think we have such a great family...all pitching in together in a crisis be it little or big!  And I include the extended family also...we have become very good friends with the "in-laws".

And the concert was stellar!  It is just amazing how the directors can get so much out of these kids in band...to think that four months ago the beginner band kids had never played their instrument of choice before and now they are actually making real music.  These are seventh graders for the most part.  And the school has a jazz band that was really good..cannot believe they are just 13/14 years old!

We kept the kids' dog while the hospital event was going on so they wouldn't have to be concerned about her care.  Saturday, Colin came out to spend the weekend with us.  This doggie, who is an indoor dog, has the run of our yard and sleeps in Dick's shop at night.  When Colin was here, Sadie (the dog) was so excited to see him...when he put her in the shop later Sunday when he was tired of playing with her, she just howled!!!  She NEVER does that with just us here.  Then we took him home Sunday evening; when we let her out, she ran all over looking for him...once she was satisfied he was gone, she was OK.  Then today, the kids' mom came out to get her and take her home....she was just a mess...yipping and wagging...you would think we were abusing her!!  Just shows how crazy she is about her "family" and it is mutual!!!

Fifteen Days to Christmas

First the really good news!  Kathleen's surgery went very well.  She will still be in the hospital for several more days at it was pretty extensive and healing time will take quite awhile.  Her hospital stay may be from five to seven days..so that will get her home in plenty of time for Christmas.  We are going to go visit her tomorrow then bring Colin home with us to spend the rest of the weekend.

I do have a complaint about user manuals.  The computer "people" assume that anyone who has a computer has a working knowledge of the instrument...well, I know a little but certainly not enough to figure out a new (for me) system!!  The manual for my new computer is very vague!!!   I still haven't figured out several things and I am a big chicken when it comes to just punching buttons!!!  I am used to Windows which will ask you at every move "are you sure you want to do ???????"  But I am not sure that Apple will warn me like that!

The temperature today was nearly 70!! A little crazy for mid December!  But tomorrow it is to be COLD!!!  I don't think we will have a white Christmas...we may be heading for a drought time...we had such a great couple of years, but about every three/four years we have  a drought!

I am working on my kaleidoscope quilt.....I really like the way it is turning out...I have added another section...then after getting it on, have decided to add another section..it may get very large!!!

"Modern Family" is on right now....what a laugh!!  So...have to close.

Pearl Harbor Day

This is the day when America was forced into WWII...and my grandmother's birthday.  My dad served in the Army.  He drafted when he was 30plus with two little girls..he could have gotten a deferment but felt an obligation to serve.  I don't remember his leaving..I was two when he left and he came home right around the time I turned five.  He was probably home on leave before he was shipped overseas...the European campaign...but I don't remember that either.  I do remember when he came home...my mom borrowed my grandma's car (we didn't have a car while he was gone; we walked everywhere and milk and groceries were delivered back then) and drove to St. Louis to get him.  When he came home, he was in uniform; we lived just two houses down from where my big sister was in school...second grade.  Daddy lifted me up on his shoulders and we walked down to get Judy at school.  The kids were all out for recess and started shouting.."your dad is home!" We walked up the stairs of the school to go tell her teacher that we were taking Judy home early.

My memory from that date on is very vague until I was starting first grade a year later.  I know we still lived in a small, one bedroom apartment for that time period; I think Judy and I slept on a pull out couch in the living room.  So I think I blocked out that time because this strange man had displaced me...mom, Judy and I had all slept together in the bedroom before then!

I do remember a trip to St. Louis...that was the largest city near our little town in Illinois...and I remember riding the escalator...the magic stairway!  Escalators were very new then...a friend of my mom's gave me a  book entitled "The Magic Stairway" which is about a department store with an escalator...I still have it...a real antique now as it would be nearly 65 years old!!!

Tomorrow is Kathleen's surgery...hard to think of anything else for now.  We are all on schedule for getting Colin where he needs to be...school, home, swim practice.

I am loving the new computer but have a lot to learn...nothing like windows at all!!!  I have downloaded some pictures, but haven't figured out how to post them here.  Will need a little daughter tutorial on that process, I think!!

New Computer!!

Santa came early for me this year... I have an Apple laptop which I think I am really going to like!!  It will take me an age to figure it all out, but so far so good.  I have heard Mac's are really good for graphics etc and that is what I like to work with mostly so we will see what fantastic things I can come up with...right now just trying to get the basics down.

My daughter, Andrea has a Mac so I am hoping for some very good tutoring from her! (I can hear her groaning already over that!)

We finally are having some cold weather!  But it is sunny so doesn't feel so bad...we are keeping our grands' dog while they are "off schedule" with Kathleen's surgery and she doesn't even want to get out!

I am going to try to get some pictures downloaded in the next couple of days so I can get some posted on here.  I have been working on a couple of things for my Guild and for grandkids, nieces, etc. that I need to photograph.

Is Christmas really this month???

Well, here we are...five days into December and this is my first blog of the month!  I do have a couple of excuses...we are down to one computer as the Dell with the tower went blue screen and died!  And the laptop which I use, had a virus....we now have everything on this one cleaned up and am looking for a new one for Christmas so we will be back to two.  Amazing how quickly we got used to having two around to use whenever!!

And we have had a couple of social engagements...it was our turn to host poker last week.  Had a great time with our buds; I lost pathetically but fortunately I don't play to make money just to have a  fun time which we always do...a bunch of ol' dudes like us just sitting around getting really silly and laughing our hinies off!!!

Then we also had a Christmas open house Saturday night...that would be last night.  This is couple who really decorate their house...it is a true Winter Wonderland and we always enjoy going to see everyone and eat their delicious food.  And speaking of decorating...I guess it is time to put my Thanksgiving things away and get out Christmas stuff....and perhaps do a little Christmas Shopping???!

Wednesday of this week, my darling granddaughter is going into Scottish Rite for her back surgery.  She was diagnosed with scoliosis and worn a brace since she was seven years old.  Now that she is 16 and considered "mature", they are having the surgery done to straighten her spine.  She has a double curvature which was not going to go away without the surgery.  She is such a strong spirit..I call her my little hero...and she is surrounded with so much love and encouragement from family and friends that I know she will get through it all with flying colors!!

Scottish Rite is a remarkable hospital...they are the experts in children with osteopathic concerns so we feel very fortunate to be living in one of the three areas where they are located in the United States.  They are one of the most worthwhile non-profit organizations I know of.