For All His Creations...yes I know Heavenly Father Loves Me

We spent Thanksgiving morning taking millions of pictures of my grandkids. Thanks Kristi and Shana, I can't wait to see your pictures!

Am I not the luckiest grandmother in the world!

Today was an absolutely wonderful day and the kids really did a great job (well, most of the time) of co-operating.

You will never guess what I am most grateful for. It's pretty hard to guess isn't it?

When we finished taking pictures, we stopped for breakfast at McD's and of course we had to get a couple more pictures.

What grandmother wouldn't be proud of these:

Yes, those are French Fries stuck in his ice cream cone!

Welcome to the Family, Danica

Danica's Baby Shower, November 22, 2008

Patty and Nikki

Beth and Aunt Charlene

Aunt Charlene and Anne

Wonderful luncheon!



Aunt Shirley displaying the levi bag made by Patty

Last Saturday we had a Welcome to the Family shower for Danica (Shanan was invited too!)

She is a beautiful baby and it was a treat to get to hold her for a few minutes. Cousins, Aunts and friends gathered to get to know her a little better and because we love getting together we got to talk and catch up. It was great to see everyone. Hope you had a good afternoon.

“Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother's image is the first that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child's mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world.”

-David O. McKay

One of My Beautiful Grandaughters

Meet the girl that made me a grandmother. She will soon turn 18 and I cannot tell you where the years have gone. She was born on December 21st, so she became our wonderful Christmas gift that year and she has been a treasure ever since.

Not only is she beautiful, tall and blond, she has the most wonderful sense of humor and loves to make all of us smile with her wit. She always has a hug ready for all of her family.

We are so proud of her. She is set for a full-ride, 4 year scholarship and plans to go to NAU to work towards her goal of becoming a teacher. This girl will be the best teacher that any child could want.

I love you Sonic Granddaughter and know that you can achieve anything you want.

Planning Thanksgiving Day 4

Note to self-no cowboy recipes this year!

Day 3-Preparing for Thanksgiving

Who needs Martha!

Preparing for Thanksgiving part 2

And you thought I had an attitude!

Maxine is my hero!!!

Does any one ever really buy anything from Billy Mays-the extremely loud huckster on those obnoxious TV commercials?

Do you know how much I hate to pack? Hate to move? Hate to unpack? In fact, I think there is a suitcase in my closet that still has clothes from my last trip to Vernon. Oh well, I guess that is less I have to pack, huh!

I think I need to get in a good mood soon or my family is going to shoot me. Part of my frustration is my inability to complete any of my many quilt projects. I think I have only sewn 2 or 3 days since August and that was to start something new-each time. My sewing room is overflowing with unfinished projects and they keep calling my name. If I take an extra Aleve before I go to bed, then I don't hear the voices of my undone work.

All this leads me to one of the big, really big reasons I hate about moving. It's that the unfinished projects get packed up and buried (as opposed to being part of the elephant that lives in the corners and closets of my sewing room.)

And then because I do this all the time, I see another quilt, bag, Christmas gift or whatever that I want to make, so getting back to the packed-up ufos gets harder and harder each passing day.

Have you seen through this diatrabe yet? You're right. I already have a new project that my hands are really itching to start and I can't do it now because of the water is over the levee in current projects. Do you want to see what I want to make now? I saw this bag on another blog several months ago and absolutely fell in love with it. Here it is.


Isn't this absolutely wonderful. I have started collecting fabrics for it and it will be on top of the box and the first thing I open after the move. I promise.

I also promise to finish at least 3 unfinished projects by Christmas. I wonder if a 60+ can live on 3 - 4 hours of sleep? Maybe I should unplug my computer-oh yeah, it can work without the plug.

My head hurts. I'm going to bed and plug my ears.

A friend sent this email to me last month. It is one of those emails that circle the world several times but I thought it was really interesting so I'm passing it on. Whether it is 100% accurate-only history can tell but it makes sense to me.

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s: Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water..

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying . It's raining cats and dogs.

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance way. Hence the saying a thresh hold. (Getting quite an education, aren't you?)
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas> porridge in the pot nine days old.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.



Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a ...dead ringer..

And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was> boring ! ! !> > Educate someone. Share these facts.

As I left the office tonight, I warned my boss that I had started bloging so I could complain about him. He laughed and that became a dare. So here I am, trying to think of something to complain about. Darn it, I keep coming up with nothing, in fact, he's really a great boss, very enthusiastic and upbeat. He's easy to talk to and encourages all of us to push our boundaries. And even though we didn't agree about who to vote for, he does agrees with me about Ms Pelosi.

He's fun to watch when he gets onto those long, long phone meetings though. It's like watching a tv show with no sound. He hates to sit for a long time so walks around his office, sometimes coming out to check to see if anyone is alive. But his favorite thing to do is turn his chair around, knees on the seat, and hang over the back of it. I have learned to judge what kind of a phone call he's on by his physical gyrations. Thanks for the show, Frank, keep smiling and yes, I am really taking Tuesday off!

Then on the way home, DD1 called to complain about the use of "DD". She says it could mean the opposite of dear or darling daughter, depending on my mood!

Boy, I didn't raise any dummies, did I? Oh, and the McD and Sonic GD's didn't think to much of my tags for them. Okay, I've acknowledged their issues, let's move on.

While was taking pictures of the girls at work on Saturday, DD1's mother-in-law got her camera out and started taking pictures too. Here is a picture of her taking a picture of me taking a picture of her taking a picture.... anyway, you get the picture!

Goal for tomorrow: Start packing books for the big move next month (maybe 2 or 3) and sew!

First let me apologize to my friends and family the incorrect information that I sent out this morning about this blog. I had intended to call it Silver Threads and Golden Needles from an old country western song. Due to several factors including my ICRS status in life I messed up.

The song was written in 1956 by Jack Rhodes and Dick Reynolds and originally recorded by Wanda Jackson. Linda Rondstadt recorded it again and here are the lyrics:

I don't want your lonely mansion with a tear in every room.

All I want's the love you promised beneath the haloed moon.

But you think I should be happy with your money and your name,

And hide myself in sorrow while you play your cheating game.

Silver threads and golden needles cannot mend this heart of mine.

And I dare not drown my sorrow in the warm glow of your wine.

You can't buy my love with money cause I never was that kind.

Silver threads and golden needles cannot mend this heart of mine.

Here is the youtube video of a very young Linda Rondstadt performing in concert. Check out a very different kind of concert audience than we see at today's concerts. Hmmm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FiKHaSRMeg

So, when I was creating this little blog, I got the adjectives reversed but that's okay because the original wasn't available.

Next on the list-

Our book discussion group just finished Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture.

I resisted reading this for a long time-primarily (I think) because it was on Oprah's list but I am glad I overcame that hurdle and read it anyway. If you have already read it, I hope you enjoyed it because there is a very powerful message for all of us in it. If you have not, I hope you do so soon. If you are not sure you want to read it, go to this link to hear the actual Last Lecture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

His zest for life and challenges as well as his ability to take advice and grow from it were inspiring.

I think this would make a great Christmas gift for my older g-kids.

Today was the Twisted Sister's first annual bake-a-thon. My dd1 got a shiney new black Kitchen Aid mixer for her birthday last month so she invited dd2 to bring her shiney red
Kitchen Aid mixer over and they spent the entire day creating wonderful treats and goodies.

They baked these wonderful ginger cookies-

Some fudge (with nuts and without) and the nut playing with it is my McDonald Gdaughter. Sonic Gdaughter was at work and missed the fun.

They baked awesome Orange Rolls-

Dinner rolls -

and terrific Cinnamon Rolls.

They did a great job (I taught them well) and while they baked I ran away to a great class at my favorite quilt store to learn a new technique so that I can create my own version of this -

Now that I have announced that I am attempting to make this, I hope it will encourage me to finish it. It is really not hard and once the pieces are cut out and the layout looks good, it is really easy to put together. My very talented friend Lynnita designed this and I was excited to get to learn how to do it.