This & That

Around Here This Week

Around here this week, I started out with cards I made during the time my husband was whooping it up at the big sportsmen's expo in Salt Lake.

I made them from some very old scrapbook paper I had sitting on my desk. Next came a project to work with a friend of mine. She is in charge of putting posters in some of our local church buildings reminding about the general women's meeting coming up in March. She called wanting input on how to make the posters "pretty" and she also had the concept that she wanted to somehow incorporate women of all ages. We tossed ideas back and forth and finally decided on a concept. 

So last Sunday I had this very fun group in my living room to sit for a picture. If the woman in the middle looks familiar, she should. She's a charter member of The Wild Bunch and will be 100 years young this spring. The youngest girl is 8, so I think we got a good cross-section and it was fun to visit with them. 

The next step for me was to print out multiple pictures and come up with a sample poster from the supplies my friend brought me. Then I got together with this fun bunch of teenage girls from around our stake (group of LDS congregations) to actually make the posters.

It was so fun to see their takes on the idea. They are a creative bunch.

Mostly as a result of seeing really old scrapbook paper on my table which was somehow frustrating for me to try and use in an actual layout, I got a bee in my bonnet to do a major clean out of my craft room, a large part of which included dismantling older scrapbooking kits, keeping what I wanted and getting rid of what I'll never use. 

This was a Project, because I always have anxiety about how exactly to reorganize and store things, and I had a lot of stuff, most of which I hadn't seen for, oh let's say a long while, shall we? It took me most of 3 entire days to accomplish it, but I can say that the room is much....lighter?

This also happened this week. I was invited to a program for the youth group girls at the church where I was presented with an award called an Honor Bee. My boys wanted to know if it was like earning a big scouting award. Yeah, kind of. It has requirements you have to fulfill and can be earned by young girls and the old girls alike. 

Got a few minutes of rain, which made me pretty happy. I would have loved more, but beggars can't be choosers.

On the grandchild front, my DIL texted me this very cute picture of Isaac all dressed up for Sunday.

She also texted me some of Isaac for a special project we are working on as a family for my daughter's birthday next month. I will show you the finished results when I get more than these pictures....which is a gentle reminder to the rest of my family that you need to send me some. 

Lost Arts

I have been thinking a little about this lately. When we had The Wild Bunch Lunch last week, one of the gals gave my friend Gail, and the other couple of ladies working with us, and I a beautiful tatted bookmark. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything that's been tatted in my whole life.

Isn't it so delicate and pretty? I was absolutely amazed that our friend Barb knew how to tat. Oh the things we can learn from these beautiful, talented older ladies!

I've been thinking about these lost arts, although I think some of them are having a bit of a comeback. Canning and knitting come to mind.

I wonder why it is that they get lost, so to speak. Are we just too busy? Or is the ease of being able to purchase these things just so appealing? And what would happen if we couldn't go out and just buy fresh fruit or even canned fruit at the grocery store whenever we wanted?

What if there WAS a zombie apocalypse and we had to survive by our wits?? See, these are the things I think about when I don't have grandbabies here to distract me. 

Cheetah Powers

Happy, happy birthday to this boy!! He really is awesome.

Frederick is 5 today, if you can believe it. I certainly can't.

I got thinking about this boy and his birthday last month. I really try to figure out something that really relates to my grandkids' interests when I send birthday things. This little guy is really into animals right now. For a while aquatic mammals were his favorites...whales were a big deal. He also likes to watch a program on the computer about animals where the kids on the program get the "super powers" of whatever animal they're talking about and for a while, cheetah powers were so cool. 

All this talk of powers got me thinking. He's a boy and is as enamored of superheroes as any of my boys were. I was thinking maybe he needed a superhero cape, because what boy doesn't need a superhero cape at some point? I found a free pattern online here, just in case you have a boy who needs a superhero cape.

It's reversible and I lined it with cheetah print....because those cheetah powers might need to come out every now and then.

Appropriate

What did I tell you?

Temperatures have headed back down. The "please let me bake my brains" crowd and whatever part of me is responsible for my hot flashes is whining that it's so cold. It's February! This is what's called an appropriate temperature, and if I'm lucky it will stick around for a while and keep those dang hot flashes in check, since mine seem to be somehow related to the seasons. I know, TMI. Maybe some rain or snow on the weekend. That would be awesome.

Stuff I Know #7

Wow...I looked at this topic in the archives and it's been nearly a year since I've added to this category. It must be time again. As always, I will start with a disclaimer that all my blog posts are mostly for my kids...sort of a family history if you will. This particular group of posts especially, are specifically for my kids and grandkids. All others are, of course, welcome to read and get whatever you want from them, but I'm not trying influence anyone other than them.

I don't know how many times my husband and I had this lesson/discussion with our children while they were still in our home. We had it in a structured Family Home Evening setting as well as countless let's-just-chat-on-mom-and-dad's-bed-on-a-Sunday-afternoon times. They already know what I'm going to say, but I'm getting it written down...for the record. Today's installment can be said a couple of different ways...Choices Have Consequences, or perhaps as a quote take directly from the current president of the LDS church, Thomas S. Monson, "Daily Decisions Determine Destiny."

Because it's all about your choices. Life is made up of choices. Every day you make countless little choices...What am I going to wear? Which way am I going to drive to work/school/the store? These are choices we all make over and over again. They are little things, but they add up to a life. Of course there are mega-huge-uber choices that get thrown in just to make life interesting. Things like who you're going to marry (and we've already discussed that it's ALL about who you marry), what you're going to do for a career, where you'll raise your family. Yeah, kind of big stuff like that, but really, there aren't all that many life-altering choices you have to make. 

Most of them are the smaller variety and each one you make takes you closer to, or further away from what you envision you want to become...the kind of person you want to be, and you will make them over and over again until they become second nature to you. Will I be kind? Will I help or serve when asked? Will I be compassionate or judgmental? Will I wind myself up in knots over things I can't change or save it for the big things? Will I give people the benefit of the doubt and assume they're trying just as hard as I am? Will I express gratitude or feel entitled? Will I develop a work ethic?  Because it's all about choices and choices add up to a life. 

There's an interesting caveat that goes with making choices. When you make the choice you also pick the consequence...for good or bad. Envision a stick, like a dowel and on one end is written the word "choice" and on the other end is written the word "consequence." If you grab the dowel by the "choice" end and pick it up, the "consequence" end automatically comes with it. You can't get one without the other. One of my very favorite movie lines is from this clip from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

 

"He chose.....poorly." Understatement of the year. Don't choose poorly, because choices have consequences and the choices you make become your habits and ultimately your destiny.

Butterscotch Brownies

This was one of the things I made for the recent quarterly cooking activity. One of the girls has a chocolate allergy, so we needed to have some things she could eat. This was another recipe I found in my Betty Crocker cookbook and it was delicious. As an added bonus, the whole recipe is mixed in one saucepan. One word of caution, though. Be really careful not to overtake them. I tried them initially in the cabin oven for 25 minutes and they were perfect. (They are the ones pictured here.) When I baked them at home for 25 minutes, the were somewhat overdone, so start checking them at maybe 20 minutes.

Butterscotch Brownies

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (opt.)

Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. When it's melted, remove from heat and stir in brown sugar. Let it cool slightly. Stir in egg, vanilla and milk. Add dry ingredients and nuts, and mix well. Pour mixture into an 8" square pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cut into squares while warm. Makes 16, 2" brownies (when cut 4 x 4).

Around Here This Week

Around here this week there was party prep for the Wild Bunch luncheon, which I documented yesterday.

One last picture of Irene in the process of blowing out her candles. It was the moment right before the black and white photo yesterday.

We are having to give in to spring yard prep, even though I know without a doubt that we are going to head for the basement again before spring is officially here. My guess is that the above-normal temperatures will continue for a few more days, then March will come in like a lion and we'll have snow. Of course, since it's Idaho, we may see snow off and on into June. It's happened before, but I really can't see this weather lasting much longer. These are some of my roses that have been pruned. You can see how the bulbs are well underway and the daffodils are getting big buds on them.

I worked a little on my daughter's mission album. You can see parts and pieces here. This weekend my husband has flown the coop and is at a big sportsmen's expo. This is a bit of a double-edged sword as he may come home with some hunt to somewhere I can't pronounce, but on the up-side, I should gets lots of uninterrupted paper-playing time.

My girl also checked in with this picture. Her companion right now is Korean and spent 4 years at BYU, so they don't have too much trouble understanding each other. They are getting along really well, although my daughter says she has to laugh every once in a while when Sister Kang (pronounced Kong, as in King Kong...yeah, I said it wrong in my head for the first week, too) does something really "Asian." She didn't elaborate on what that might be, but they seem to be doing well.

I also did the almost impossible these days and did an actual paper layout which documents Gwen's 3rd birthday while her family was visiting with us some 3 years ago. I'm still getting back into the scrapbooking groove. I'm also trying to use up old stash, but I'm even less successful with that and will probably end up using the rest of the papers from this older kit in cards. The design here is a 12/2007 CK sketch.

On the grandchild front my DDIL #3 texted me this picture of James who is thinking he's a pretty big boy pushing up like this on his tummy. I had a birthday earlier this week and James and his family Face Timed me. When the picture came up James was on his back with a sign that said, "Happy Birthday, Grandma!" Then he tried to grab the sign and eat it. 

Here is the birthday card designed and executed for me by DDIL #1. It has advice on it for me from each of their family members...who are wearing disguises. Her husband, my eldest son, called me on my birthday. You might not think that was a momentous thing especially, but as we talked we determined that it might be the first time he's ever remembered to call on the day....ever, so atta boy! I took Edward's advice and didn't eat my birthday candles, so I didn't turn into a salamander, and I would sure like to see the dancing bugs Frederick has. By the way, Evan, I don't think you have to ever worry about me shooting "him" or probably even looking at his antlers.

I snagged this milestone photo of Isaac off Facebook...the before and after first haircut shots. He is walking all over the place now.

And to just put the frosting on the cake, so to speak, I had to renew my driver's license this year. It's been 8 years since I've had to do that. To start with, I couldn't read the eye test letters with both eyes. I had to go one at a time and since I had one good eye, apparently, I was able to pass, which is ironic considering who I'm married to.  Then I got the picture back and was trying to figure out who the old lady was on my license.  Happy birthday to me.

Lastly, I needed to post the handmade card I got from my friend Julie. The inside says, "OK, light the candles!" and I literally laughed out loud when I saw it. The benefits of having a friend who is similar in age. :) She gets it.

98 Years Young

February is the birthday month of a couple of my favorite people. Frederick's birthday is next week, and if you can believe it, he's going to be five. Don't ask me how that happened. It's also the month for my sweet friend Irene's birthday. The actual day was last week, but our annual Wild Bunch luncheon didn't happen until this week. 

If you have followed my blog for a while, you are very well aware of my feelings for Irene. She is one of my favorite people ever, and my church visiting partner/friend, Gail and I look forward to doing this luncheon every year. We love getting these beautiful women together and listening to them enjoy being with each other.

We do this at Gail's house. She has a beautiful home, with no dead things, and always makes it so lovely for the ladies.

Another friend, who has a catering business, always makes some kind of fun dessert, and this year it was carrot cake. No, those aren't real carrots, but aren't they cute on the cake?

I actually love this picture because not only is it a nice shot of the cake, but you can see the ladies visiting in the background.

The birthday girl. I love her.

One of my favorite pictures of the day, just because I love the expression on Irene's face as she's just blown out her candles. That's Gail there with her.

Irene is beautiful both inside and out, as are the other members of the Wild Bunch. This group of widows support and care for each other, and it's an amazing example to me and others of true friendship. 2 1/2 years ago we lost one of the charter members and this group gathered in the entrance to the mortuary. They waited until every member was there and then they walked in as a unit to say goodbye to their friend. I love them and  I want to be like them.

Spring Is Marching On

...and there's not a lot anyone can do about it, apparently.

While we haven't had the crazy warm temperatures from the last couple of weeks, we are still riding above normal. All my daffodils are at least 6 inches high. For my kids, the ones in the triangle are more like 10 inches tall and some even have buds forming.

 

The single little crocus group has turned into multiple groups partying on with the clumps of snowdrops.

But this is what worries me the most. This is my peach tree, already starting to bud. My son, Collin, planted this tree and another several years ago and we have all babied it along until last year we got the first buds on it. Then a late frost in early June killed them. I think this year it's possible they get killed off before they even bloom. Treacherous faux spring....

 

 

Sending Cards Out To....

First off, as I was rummaging in my card stash, I accumulated enough for 4 little bundles of cards, so I had random.org generate me four numbers instead of 2. I'll be sending out cards to Heidi, Lynne, DDIL #3 and Jana! Thank you all for livening up the blog and participating in the drawing!