Little Nothings

Well here we are almost at the end of January, it is cold, it is snowy, yet the mornings are crisp, still, icy cold and beautiful in a way only a January morning can be. We have had some warmer days giving us a glimpse of spring time, but are quickly reminded again that we are in the middle of winter. When the weather cooperates I like to get out and walk, I have really increased my speed and last Saturday did four miles in fifty-eight minutes. I need to slowly incorporate jogging, as I plan to run a four mile Turkey Gobbler Fun Run in November!

I haven't been very busy with crafts/hobbies this winter, I think I blew myself out after crocheting an extremely large bedspread for our queen size bed. The large, very warm, marigold blanket has been a wonderful addition to our bed and we stay warm and cozy all night. There is a picture of the blanket in an earlier post.

But all of sudden I have an urge to knit, I saw a lady on a tv show wearing a nice colorful sweater, obviously hand knitted and thought to myself why have I never knitted myself something in variegated yarn, and got really psyched up about knitting something. I went off to JoAnn's and found a lovely yarn by Deborah Norville, it is knitting up beautifully. I decided to use a pattern that I used several years ago to make a "barn jacket", the cardigan I knitted way back when, in a lovely blue is a favorite and I wear it often. I started my new "barn jacket" two days ago and cannot wait to finish it, it is good to be back in my knitting groove, or should I say row :).  Along with yarn for my cardigan I picked up some primary color, variegated yarn to knit matching sweaters for grandchildren, Alivia and Charlie, they are both two and are best friends forever! I think they will look very sweet together in their matching sweaters, they are just so cute, they always greet each other with a hug and they play together very well getting up to all kinds of shenanigans that generally include much giggling, so sweet.

Working on the back of my new cardigan

Last fall I started suffering a lot of heel pain in my right foot, I believe I was suffering plantar fasciitis, it was very painful first thing in the morning, or after sitting for any length of time. I did a bit of research and determined that the best course of action was to find shoes that provided excellent arch support and plenty of cushioning and support for the heel. I researched funky orthopaedic shoes, I didn't want anything boring, and came across a brand called Alegria. I ordered a pair of Alegria shoes, my first pair had a purple flower print, and I cannot tell you just how comfortable they are, I wore them pretty much every day for several months and my heel simply got better, so ordered another pair, neon heart pattern, and I will probably order more as needed. One issue I had with the Alegria shoes is that they squeak when you walk, it is annoying, a little more internet research and I found a remedy. Simply remove the insert, sprinkle some talcum powder over the bottom of it and then holding the insert upside down and the shoe, place the insert back inside the shoe. The upside down bit helps keep the powder where it needs to be. Well this simple remedy works a treat and resolved the squeak! Another treat for my feet, are my new Mahabi slippers that my sister Michelle gave me for Christmas, when we celebrated in November. They are simply the most comfortable slippers I have ever owned and they are my go to pair every day, light weight, well fitting, comfortable and warm, what more could I ask for?

Mahabis, best slippers ever!

My first pair of Alegria's

My second pair of Alegria's

I think the other things that helped heal my heel is regular exercise, a good weight loss, and a very healthy diet. Eating plenty of green leafy vegetables each day, lots of fiber, very little sugar, limiting coffee to one cup a day, drinking plenty of water, eating lots of fish, has definitely made a huge improvement in my overall health. Another discovery I made has to do with my rosacea, if you are not plagued by this problem thank your lucky stars, I now know what the biggest trigger for a flare up is, red wine! As I changed my diet last fall, slowly, yet surely I found that my rosacea began to clear up, it wasn't inflamed and was much less noticeable. I had some red wine over Christmas and New Years and suddenly the rosacea was inflamed and broken out and burning, I didn't understand why, then realized that the inflammation was at it's worst the day after drinking a couple of glasses of red wine. I eliminated wine from my diet and the rosacea cleared up beautifully. So no more wine for me.

Today I plan to make a new skirt, I purchased some denim yesterday, I have washed it and am waiting for it dry, I always pre-shrink denim! I purchased a three tier skirt at the Goodwill years ago, I wear it several days per week, it is one of my favorite skirts. Last year I took measurements off of the skirt and made one just like it in a dark blue denim. This past weekend I was cleaning out the pantry and while kneeling on the floor I felt my skirt give, my old trusty skirt simply gave out, the fabric split in several places, I will darn it on my sewing machine and still wear the skirt, but it needs to be replaced. The denim I purchased yesterday is a nice medium blue, probably the color old faithful was many years ago, and the new skirt should last for a long time. I like three tiered skirts, they are easy to make, they look nice, and they are roomy and comfortable to wear. I like to sit "Indian style" and the three tiered skirt is very accommodating.

Well I guess that is it, a little nothings update, but it is the little nothings that make up the days of our lives.

Peace be with you,

Bean

WOWSERS 85 Years!

Yesterday we celebrated my father-in-laws 85th birthday. Ralph was born in 1930 when America was in the depression, he is the oldest of seven children born from 1930 - 1938. Can you imagine 7 babies in 8 years!  Life was hard for his family, his father worked in the WPA, a program that was part of the New Deal to get Americans back to work.
Ralph's mother, Nellie was one of many children, she had an older brother Bob, known to Ralph as Uncle Bob, who was a lawyer and worked in Hollywood, CA for RKO Studios. Uncle Bob was well off, never married, a strong Christian and made sure his family back home were taken care of. He purchased a home for his sister Nellie and her family. Ralph remembers well the day they moved to their very own home, he said it looked a bit like a small barn, but was roomy enough for a family of nine.
Times were hard, life was a struggle, but the memories are all good. Ralph remembers his father coming home in the winter, his clothes that had become damp during the day and slowly frozen, were hung over the wood stove to thaw and dry overnight ready for the next day of hard work. His mother's hand so raw and chapped from hand washing the family's clothes that she would smear them with grease and bandage them each evening to bring some relief. Ralph and his brother Don would hang out by the railroad tracks and men would toss chunks of coal down for the children to collect and take home. Memories of Christmas morning, all of the children sneaking downstairs to see what Santa had left beneath the tree and their Dad yelling that they all needed to get back upstairs, and little sister Delores, who had polio, hadn't yet made it down the stairs as all the children charged back past her on their way back to bed.
Ralph graduated high school, for a short time he worked a wealthy man called Clarence Schust, who owned a farm and raised champion cattle. Ralph helped take care of the animals and enjoyed his time working for Clarence, he left to join the Marines. He went to Korea, he came back and married Sharon. Ralph and Sharon had eight children, Christopher, their fifth child, and second son, died in a fire when he was two, and their last baby and fifth son, Philip was still born.
Ralph and Sharon worked hard to support their large family, all six grew up, married and started their own families, grand children, eighteen in all started arriving in 1973 and continued to arrive for the next twenty years. Those grand children grew up, married, started families and to date there are around thirty-four great grand children, the oldest is fourteen, the youngest is one month, and three more are on the way.  Sadly Sharon died in 2002 after a courageous battle with leukemia, we all know if she were alive today she would be amazed with all of her great grand children and she would be loving on all of the babies.
Eighty-five years is a long time to live, and Ralph lived an ordinary life, no different to the lives lived by many others, and yet it is an extraordinary life too, because it is his own story. Because he and Sharon fell in love so many years ago there are a whole bunch more people in this beautiful world and it was wonderful that yesterday so many of them were able to come together to celebrate with him on his birthday.

A good handful of the many, many great grandchildren

Twelve of the eighteen grandchildren

Three of the six children, Angie, Mike and Cindy are missing.

Christmas 2014 in Pictures

A wonderful day with family, good food, and fun times. A long game of Monopoly, Autumn cleaned up with an almost total monopoly. An entertaining game of Taboo, and a few other games. Movies, music, snacks, laughter, fun, made for a wonderful day.

Merry Christmas

Well the big day is almost upon us. The busyness of the season is now behind us, shopping is done, decorations hung, the tree selected and decorated, gifts wrapped, groceries purchased. And ahead of us the anticipation of tomorrow, the sheer pleasure of watching the little ones enjoy the magic of this wonderful time of year.
Our older two grandsons, 6 and 4, are really into Christmas this year, they have been counting down the days, they wonder if they will hear Santa land on the roof this evening, they dream of what gifts they may be getting, they are giddy with excitement, and it is so FUN to watch.
Little Charlie is two and is constantly singing Jingle Bells, the four older grandchildren are obsessed with the Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer movie, we have watched it several times. Another favorite is the Little Drummer Boy.
The fun with the advent candles, the earnest discussion at supper time over who is going to blow out the candles. The fun with advent calendars and opening a little window each day, although a few of the grandchildren got a little carried away with opening the windows and got way ahead of themselves, oh the anticipation.
Memories being made at every turn, As I watch my grandchildren enjoying this time of year I feel the magic rekindled in me from my own childhood. The excitement of my grandmother coming to stay, we called her Nanny, and aunts and uncles visiting, family walks after indulging in a scrumptious turkey dinner, working puzzles together on Boxing day, mince pies for breakfast, stuffing and turkey sandwiches for a few days after Christmas. I don't really remember many gifts, a few, some fantastical paisley pajamas from Nanny, a knitted jumper made by my mother, a curling iron, but what I do remember is the coziness, the love, the wonder, the joy of Christmas, all brought about by the adults in our life that loved us. So it is with joy that as a grandparent myself I can help create this wonder, and I see my children creating it for their children, and one day my grandchildren will be the adults and they will pass along the joy and wonder of this season too to the next generation.
So to all I wish you a Merry Christmas, wonderful memories, and the ability to feel the joy and magic of the season as you did as a child.

And Now for Some Cute Baby Pictures

As I mentioned in an earlier post we added two grandchildren to the family this year and I am now grandma to a half-dozen splendid little ones, what a blessing they are all are.

Little Peter Ray joined the family on August 8. His birth date is special for our family as he shares a birthday with our son Ben, Uncle Ben to baby Peter, and with Grandpa. Dave and I thought it was so cool when I had Ben on Dave's birthday twenty-three years ago, and to say Dave was pleased that a grandson was born on his birthday is the understatement of the year. How exciting to have three generations in our family share August 8.  You can bet in 2015 we will be celebrating big time the fifty-seventh, twenty-fourth, and first birthdays of our August eighters!!!!

Peter Ray weighed in at ten and half pounds!


And just last Wednesday evening our little half-pint, Aubrey Lee was born, she weighed in at seven pounds, six ounces and is just a beautiful little doll baby.  Aubrey was born on December 3, and three is special birthday for our family too.  Dave's mom's birthday is October 3, Alivia's (Aubrey's big sister) is November 3, Aubrey is December 3, and Dave's dad is January 3. I like that we have four birthdays in a row each exactly a month apart.

All our grandchildren are growing up fast, Henry is six and started kindergarten this year, he loves it and his favorite part of the day is riding on the school bus.  Patrick is four and he started pre-school, he has three best friends, Bam, Boone and Logan. Charlie and Alivia are two and as I watch them frequently they are BEST FRIENDS FOREVER, and get up to all sorts of shenanigans. If they are out of sight and there is a lot of giggling you better go investigate immediately! And of course the new babies, Peter is four months and loves to snuggle, and little Aubrey is a week old and just so tiny and precious and she loves to snuggle too.

Well here are grandmas brag pictures of the half-dozen splendid grandchildren:

Little Half-pint baby Aubrey

My little Dumpling Alivia

Sweet Pete, baby Peter

Charlie

Patrick

Henry

The whole gang!

A Very Large Project

A year or so ago I was at a church rummage sale, the kind of sale I love. The sale is run by some very elderly ladies and they price the stuff to move! Most of the stuff donated to the sale are things that people have owned for decades, someone has cleaned out their craft room and donated patterns that they intended to use one day and never did, odd ball assortments of pyrex dishes, old coffee urns, and lots of books, you know the type of stuff. At a cursory glance you may just see junk, so you have to proceed slowly, pick through the items and at some point you may hit gold.
So on a fine spring morning my husband and I stopped into the church rummage sale, we went our separate ways seeking gold. After going through several tables of books I found a wonderful Betty Crocker cookbook, Cooking for Two, from the 1960's, there are some fabulous pictures in it. Then I came to the craft table, the sweet spot of the sale, for there were tons of patterns for crochet, sewing, quilting, all kinds of dribs and drabs of left over ribbon, yarn, fabric, odd little tools, knitting needles, crochet hooks, and everything was a quarter or less, what a deal. I started going through the patterns and picked a fair number of crochet booklets and quilting booklets and was pleased with my finds. Satisfied I had found my treasures I went off to find my husband, he was at his dream table, the mans corner where all the tools and bits and bobs from cleared out garages were put, he found a very cool spot light still in the original packaging, probably dating back to the seventies. We went to pay for our treasures and the ladies told us we owed three dollars, we rounded up and made a small donation to their cause and left pleased with our findings.
Well the crochet pattern books disappeared into my sewing room and there they waited. In fact I forgot all about them until one afternoon in August when looking for something else I came across one of the pattern books for making throws with flower motifs. I liked all of the patterns but the marigold pattern stole my heart, and I had a bunch of left over yarn that could be used to get started. So a mammoth project was started, the throw was not big enough for me, I wanted the blanket to be a bedspread for our queen size bed. I ended up making one hundred and forty-four squares, each approximately six inches across, and now have a thick, heavy, super warm, colorful, one of a kind, bedspread for our bed.
So the moral of this story is be careful what you buy for a quarter because you may end up crocheting your arm off for 8 weeks making a very large project!

Very Quick Post

This evening we became grandparents for the sixth time. On August 8 we welcomed grandson number four, grandchild number five, with the arrival of Peter Ray and today we welcome granddaughter number two, grandchild number six, with the arrival of Aubrey Lee. I will post pictures in a day or two. All I can say is I am so excited and feeling very blessed.

We will go visit our newest granddaughter tomorrow, I can't wait!!

Bean