Wednesday 3-11-09 Art Card Donation

My card for this weeks Stampadoodle donation was a lavendar and purple handmade paper decorated with a black leaf ribbon and three copper birds. They saying on the inside reads: When you are out on a limb...you are alone, I'll be there for you.

Grace and Peace

Yellow Ducks at the Home and Garden Show

Sunday afternoon we went to the home and garden show in Lynden. Last year at this time we were looking at fireplaces and ideas to remodel the study. This year we were just window shopping and browsing.

We ran into quite a few people we knew who were also wandering up and down the aisles to see what to put on their wish list.

Ryan works for Bellingham Hot Tub and was working at their booth Sunday. We stopped by to say hi before we left and I became the proud owner of a yellow rubber ducky Ryan was handing out to potential customers.

And of course when we left it was beginning to snow and the temperature was dropping fast.

Happy Birthday Larry

My wonderful, sweet, romantic husband turned sixty-eight today. I made a card for him and included a list of 68 reasons why I love him. Happy birthday Larry.

Why I love you

1. because you love me, forever and ever, body and soul
2. because you love me more today than when we met
3. you are my best friend
4. you are romantic
5. you are always there for me
6. you are my hero
7. you are my lover
8. you are a great person
9. we are perfect for each other
10. I can talk to you about everything
11. you are faithful
12. you are trustworthy
13. you never give up on me
14. you love my children
15. you are a great father
16. you love my family
17. you give me freedom to be me
18. you encourage me to do whatever I want
19. you never give up on me
20. you make me laugh
21. you don’t laugh at me
22. you are my world
23. we share dreams for a future
24. I can’t imagine life without you
25. I love it when you call me
26. you let me sleep in
27. you fix me coffee
28. you love my cat (I know you do)
29. I love doing things with you
30. I love it when you hold me
31. I love it when you kiss my neck
32. you give me yellow roses
33. you go beyond the ordinary and give me gold plated roses
34. red roses for valentines, birthdays, and anniversaries
35. chocolates
36. I can just be me
37. you love my art
38. I can always depend on you
39. you defend when I need it
40. you take care of me when I am sick
41. you try to make me smile when I am sad
42. I love the way you kiss me
43. you like to hold hand
44. you are a great cook (when I let you)
45. you bought a Harley, not an airplane
46. you keep me from being scared
47. you have great dreams you share with me
48. you smile when I get silly and dance
49. you never stay mad at me
50. even when I am wrong, you are there for me
51. no one will ever love me like you do, and that makes me love you more
52. I come first in your life
53. you love me when I’m grumpy
54. you watch chick flicks with me
55. you don’t laugh at me when I cry
56. you don’t get mad when I have a different opinion
57. you understand me
58. you spoil me
59. you think about me when we are apart
60. you make a difference not just to me but everyone in your life
61. you helped me heal from my accident
62. you taught me to love
63. you showed me that real men are loving, kind, and gentle
64. you given me a new life, a second chance at life and love
65. you will never leave me
66. I can just be me
67. I found true love when I found you
68. I love you, just he way you ae

Rylee and Pedyn

Rylee is the newest member of our family. Holding her is big sister Pedyn.

Ode to Snow

How highs the snow Larry
One foot high and rising
The Canadian geese
Won’t come home to the coupe
They are staying down south
Where there’s sunshine and warmth
The snow is tickling the dog’s belly
I’ve got snow tires, studs, and chains
It’s snowing and I can’t get out
When the winds stop blowing
And the snow stops falling
We’ll be singing
How highs the water mama
And where did I put my goulashes

Wednesday Art Card Donation

My Wednesday art card donation was a photograph on a painting I did several years ago of a dachshund. Since I am not a card artist, I don't think about using my art as reproductions for other art pieces. It was well received and I am pleased.

Seattle Garden Show

I’m not a morning person but there are certain things, events, meetings, occasions that require me to get up early. Going to the Seattle Garden show is one of those occasions that I willingly get up for. I said willingly, not wide awake.

My friend Kim was the only member of our small group who was going to be able to go on Friday and Friday was the only day I could go. We were set to meet Kim’s mom Sherry in Mt. Vernon but she hadn’t been feeling well, so decided to stay home.

Kim and I were on the road by 7:45 AM. I left the house early enough to stop by my local Starbucks for a wake-up fix of a Grande, white chocolate, non-fat, two pump, peppermint mocha. We visited all the way to Seattle and in no time at all we had arrived. Kim knows her way around Seattle having grown up there but the most difficult part was finding a parking garage and then remembering what floor we were on.

We had already pre-purchased our tickets so we breezed right on in. The first major display was four outdoor rooms decorated with salvaged doors, windows, tiles, quilts, ironing boards used as tables, and clay tiles used in a checkerboard pattern with grasses to form walkways and patios.

We moved into the mail hall to see the large garden room displays. The vast heights of the convention center were unnoticeable because the lighting was centered on the displays and all overhead lighting was dimmed way down low, almost like looking up at a dark sky with tiny stars overhead. It felt very intimate looking at the plants, the furniture, ponds, and garden structures, even when standing next to hundreds of people.

Kim’s sister Lori arrived with two of her friends and we sort of wandered together, exchanging comments and snapping photos of our favorite displays. Kim’s mom called and said that she felt better and was driving down to meet us and shortly she arrived.

There were vendors selling every type of garden ornament, flags, sculptures, statues, jewelry, clothing, and furniture. The next hall was filled with vendors selling systems that water the garden, fertilize the garden, lights for the garden, garden sheds, ponds, baskets, gloves, and more. On the other side of the room was the main course. The plants and bulbs, the baubles that make a garden come to life and give it bling with color and bloom. I bought red crocosmia masoniorum (lucifer – montbretia) and foxtail lily for my garden. I was looking for voodoo lily - Dracunculus vulgaris but the one vendor who had them, had sold out. Kim bought some dahlias for her growing collection or is that addiction.

When we had walked up and down all the aisles, assured that we hadn’t missed anything, we headed back to the main vendor area near the front entrance. A small artist from Portland had decorative garden lights made from recycled tin cans and hanging garden art pieces that were cut from steel. Kim bought a really cute teapot, cup, and spoon to hang in her garden. Smith and Hawken designed a wall around their display with clay pots set into the walls from floor to chest high and windows to look in. On the other side were benches built into the wall with turquoise and cream fabrics. The upper parts of the walls were filled with a patchwork of grasses in different colors. On the opposite was a matching display to form the room boundaries. A large work table made out of wood and surround by chairs made a beautiful vignette with a tall back wall of large wooden boxes designed to house garden accessories and lit with copper globes and copper down lights. With an unlimited budget anything is possible and I know what I want when I win the lottery. Through in an outdoor fireplace, a waterfall, and a warm weather climate and I would be good.

It was a great day to wander and see what creative minds could do to inspire us to garden. This was also the last year of the Seattle Garden show so now we will only have our local garden show and private gardens that open to the public for special events to encourage us to garden.

Kim and I stopped at The Red Robin on the way home for dinner and the arrived home about fourteen hours after we left that morning. A full day of exposing the minds to color, whimsy, imagination, ideas and goals of what we can do with our own gardens. Yes it was a very good day.

A Care Package From Home

Anyone genuinely knows me, understands that I am really all about my family. Living in Washington with my husband Larry and only my son Michael living nearby means that I am far away from everyone else that I love.

I go to California a couple of times a year to visit my mom, my sister Mary, my oldest son Jim, nephews James, big Michael, Mick, and nieces Haley, Melissa, and Samantha. I go to Vegas about once a year to see my daughter Kelly. All this is good but I still miss them more than I can say.

I also miss the homemade goodies that my mom is famous for, her fruit cobblers, fried apricot and peach pies, cakes, cookies, the casseroles, and southern sweet tea. Well today I received a package in the mail from my mom and sister. A care package for me! Okay I shared it Larry and Michael, but only because I had to. When it has been months since you have had mom’s cookies and then find three varieties packed in a box, you kind of get protective of your stash.

There was a book to read about sisters, and readers digest with an article marked to read, and at the very bottom of the box was a Harley-Davidson white hooded sweater trimmed in faux fur. Whoooo Hoooo! I wore the sweater to the Mt. Baker Chapter HOG meeting tonight.

This is what family does. They knew how much the grey winter days have gotten to me this year and decided to cheer me up and it worked.

Thanks mom. Thanks Mary. I love you both.

My Wednesday Art Card Donation

I am not really an orange person, even though orange is one of the trademark colors of Harley-Davidson and we own one. I'm more the black and silver girl. Any way I tried using a color outside my comfort zone and it was the perfect color for Hooters pin attached to it.

So I have a stash of Hooters pins from Las Vegas and gave all the Ladies in the Harley group their choice of pins several months ago. So what do you do with a bag of Hooters pins? Make art of course.

I used variegated ribbon yarn woven on the front of the card with a double thickness of felt to raise the pin up and make it more prominent. I used an owl image from my art files for the inside of the card.

The outside of the card reads: Mild, Medium, Hot.

The inside of the card reads: If you're hot...who cares how old you are.

Valentines...roses, chocolates, a romantic getaway

My wonderful, sweet, romantic husband surprised me early on Friday with two dozen red valentine roses, chocolate from Chocolate Necessities, and a card with a note that we are going to spend valentines at Semihamoo.

We had already planned on having dinner at Packers at Semihamoo and listening to our friend Marks duo play music that evening, so now we will have a totally romantic evening to ourselves and not have to rush home. Larry arranged for Michael and Ryan to come pet sit Ally the cat and Deuce the dog so the babies are in good hands and will be well taken care of.

We haven’t had a trip away from home alone, just the two of us, no family, no friends, no business, in a couple of years.

God blessed me with a loving husband that I cherish.

Peppermint Valentines

I discovered a wonderful artist Anne Hayward at: www.stampingwithbluemooncreations.com

I used her idea to make my own valentines for family and friends.

Please vist Anne's website to see her other creative ideas.

The valentine card was created at: http://stories.scrapbooksetc.com/

Ryan

Art Card Donation

On Wednesdays I attend an art demo class at Stampadoodle in Bellingham. They demonstrate new techniques, new products, or new ways to use existing products, materials, and tools.

Those who attend can donate handmade cards that are sold and the profits are used to buy art supplies for programs helping youth at risk within our community.

My card was inspired by one I saw on Martha Stewarts website.

Aunt Elma

The first picture is of my mom on the left, my brother Jerry, and my aunt Elma on the right.

The second picture is of my mom Clella on the left, my grandmother Maggie, and my aunt Elma on the right.

Aunt Elma

On Saturday morning I received an email from my brother Jerry letting the family know that my Aunt Elma, who has Alzheimer’s, was very ill and Hospice had been called to help provide care in what is now her final days. From the prognosis, she may not make it through the weekend.

So after the shock, after the tears, and checking on my mom to see how she handling the news of her sister, it was time for prayers.

All I can do now is look back at the childhood memories of visiting my cousins at my aunt’s farm. From the time we moved from Missouri to Oklahoma to California, my parents and I would usually take two weeks in the summer and return to Missouri to visit the family. My dad was from Dadeville/Greenville, Missouri, and my mom is from Ozark, Missouri.

When my dad couldn’t get time off, mom and I would take the Santa Fe Chief train to Kansas City and then ride the milk train down to Springfield where someone in the family would meet us. It was a two day trip by train but it was fun spending time with my mom and exploring the train, sitting up in the dome car watching and wondering about all the small towns we went through, and who would live in some of the remote places we passed through.

I always wanted to stay with my aunt because my cousins Carl Jr., Rita, and Johnny were closer to my age. We played hide and seek in the barn, brought the cows in for milking in the afternoon, caught fireflies at night, played button, button, who has the button, and slept on feather beds.

My grandmother, when she was alive, lived with my aunt for many years. Sometimes when I stayed, I would sleep with my grandmother in her bed. I would lie in bed in the mornings watching her bend her head over and comb her long grey hair, then twist it up into a bun on top of her head. She always wore a simple muted calico day dress with buttons up the front.

Whatever my cousins did, I wanted to do also. It may have been chores for them, but for me it was fun being down on the farm. Trips to the county fair, my first what-a-burger that was a half pound and considered a really big burger back in the early 60’s, and custard ice cream at the local drive-ins. My favorite place was the town square in Ozark and the little drug store with old fashioned booths, a drugstore counter, and a small wooden dance floor with a juke box. Going to town was a big deal for everyone. Occasionally my aunt would stop near the top of the hill on our way home at a little burger place to get Fritos with ground beef and cheese, always one of my favorites.

Mom and I would always go to the little wood shop in Ozark to look for souvenir items to take home with us. I still have a little wooden box for the diary I kept, although the diary is long gone. I also have a wood and glass lazy Susan serving tray that my aunt gave me years ago from the wood shop.

My aunt loved Coke, and she keep the little pantry off the kitchen stocked with it. For me having a Coke was a treat because we didn’t drink soda at home. Mom always had a pitcher of southern sweet tea at home which I love, but when you are small it is the little things that you only have on special occasions that bring back memories.

After the cows were milked in the morning then it was time for breakfast. My grandmother would be mixing the dough for the rolls from a starter she kept on top of the refrigerator. It was always a typical farm breakfast plus cold cereal for anyone who wanted it. My grandmother loved to eat cornflakes but she didn’t like milk, so she would pour a little black coffee over her cereal and she was happy.

One winter when my mom and I were visiting for Christmas, my mom bundled me up in warm clothes and my aunt had one of my cousins saddle up one of the horses so I could get out of the house and ride in the snow covered pastures. I don’t remember being cold that day, just sitting up on that big shaggy haired horse whose body radiated heat and how much fun it was to ride through the thickly covered fields of white powdery snow.

Since I had moved away and lived in what my aunt called the city, she didn’t think that I could cope with going down to the barn one summer to watch a cow give birth. It didn’t matter how much pleading and begging, she made me stay up at the house. My aunt forgot that the front steps to the house faced the barn door and that is where I perched, watching the whole birthing process. I was so excited to tell her I watched when she got back to the house and she just laughed. I guess she hadn’t even thought about the front steps, because like most farms you use the kitchen door or the back door, to come and go and the front door is for guests and salesmen.

It has been ten years since we held a family reunion in Missouri and that was the last time I saw my aunt. It seems like such a long time ago and yet those childhood memories of the times I spent on the farm are so close to my heart, just like my aunt.

My aunt Elma passed away today, January 11th, 2009, at 3:00 AM.

My mom was one of four children. My uncle Ted and is wife Ida, Uncle Leonard and Aunt Faye, Aunt Elma and Carl are gone. My dad H.O., his brother Jack and his wife Dot, my uncle Paul T are all gone. Now only my dad’s sister Juanita remains in my mother’s generation and she also has Alzheimer’s. Please, God, give my mother strength to deal with yet another loss of one of her loved ones.

bye bye 2008 hello 2009

Larry and I spent New Years Eve day cooking.

Larry has been busy slow roasting about twenty-five pounds of pork tenderloin that he will turn into barbeque pulled pork sandwiches. I have been simmering almost four gallons of tortilla soup since Monday afternoon. We are expecting anywhere from twenty to thirty people for lunch on New Year's day.

I was going to try a new soup this year but heard so many positive comments from last year, and the fact that the two gallons I fixed last year were gone before either Larry or I could sample a bowl, helped us make decision for this year’s menu.

New Year's evening we went to Patti and Mike Hoelzles home for a party with a lot of our friends attending. We took shrimp with a red cocktail sauce, and egg rolls for appetizers, to share with the group. Lots of laughter and good cheer with people you care about is the best way to celebrate any occasion. Patti and Mike set up the Nintendo wii and several of us tried to hula hoop and quickly realized that we weren’t kids with unending energy levels any more. I haven’t seen it but know there is a picture of me on someone’s camera phone swinging my hips in simulation to using the wii hula hoop. Wonder what it will cost me to buy it back? Next several of the group played a friendly game of bowling. Patty Price said something about not being good at bowling and then proceeded to bowl a 226 game with five straight strikes. Looks like Mike and Patty P. will be shopping for a new game system soon. Larry says we will be, too.

On New Year's Day the Mt. Baker Chapter Harley Owners Group arrived at our home for the 3rd annual Frosty Fingers ride for a hot home cooked lunch about 11:00 AM. When I got up about 5:30 AM to check the tortilla soup that had been simmering for two days, I looked out the kitchen window to see a white blanket covering the backyard. Three inches of snow by morning and while most of the county was dry and clear, there was no way the bikes would make it up our road and driveway.

Everyone on bikes headed home to switch to a cage (car or truck) and soon the house was full of friends. The coffee was hot and ready and all the group had to do was serve up their food and find a place to sit down and eat. Most of the guys headed off to the newly redecorated study with the big screen TV to watch a football game. The dinning room table was full and those who really wanted to relax, kicked back in the living room. We had several kinds of cookies, chocolate covered cherries, and M&M’s for dessert, and soda for the non coffee drinkers.

What a nice way to start the New Year with good friends and good food. My new year’s resolution is really a wish, a wish for good riding weather, warm weather to ride in, and more memories of rides with friends...in nice, warm weather!

Help! Whatcom is Frozen and I can’t get out. Send the sun.

December 26th and it’s still snowing. Now some people can hardly wait to see those little white flakes begin to fall and dust the ground in a glistening white blanket. Me, I see frozen roads and days stuck in the house. I’ve been housebound for one week and it is taking its toll on me. My one excursion out was Christmas Eve to attend church services.

No rushing around at the mall before Christmas for last minute gifts or window shopping because I couldn’t get there. The after Christmas ads in the paper were pretty skimpy I think because why advertise if it’s snowing so much that people can’t get to the stores.

One of my favorite days of the year is the day after Christmas shopping but again I’m stuck in the house with the newspaper predicting rain to wash away the white stuff that continues to float steadily and softy to the ground as it builds up a thicker winter layer of white.

I’m ready for the grey gloomy skies of winter to go away and feel the warmth of the sun melting away the frozen landscape. I’d rather this white stuff be up on the top of Mt. Baker and I could look at it from a distance and think it looks there.

Kelly's stocking gift from Santa

Turn off the sound on the music player at the bottom of the blog before playing the smilebox greeting.

Make a Smilebox greeting

2 Corinthians 9:15

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!