Monday, November 26, 2007

Thanksgiving Day

What a great day! My brined turkey tasted great - I will do it again next year. I had all the folks over for the feast and everyone contributed something. We had a great time talking and eating and, althought there were a lot of people in a small space, it wasn't that bad. Some folks were in the kitchen and others in the living room and it seems that we all just naturally rotatated and all was fine. The cats, of course, were not too happy with the situation because they don't like crowds of people so they hid as much as possible.

We all ate too much and of course then we had to sleep off the overdose of turkey but we had a great time visiting. JW, Mom, Erica, Erin, James, Toni, Larry, Olivea, and Vivian and, of course, myself were all in attendance for this holiday feast. Mathew and Mo were unable to attend as Mo's father was very ill and Mo was with him. Mo's father actually passed away later that Thanksgiving evening. My heart goes out to you Mo, my sweet son.

My sweet daughter, Erin Marie, aka: The Christmas Nazi, decorated my house for me the day after Thanksgiving! It was all I could do to keep her from putting up the decorations on Halloween! I finally relented and let her dig out the Christmas stuff from the shed and go to town. She had a lot of fun with Olivea as they put ornaments on the tree and sorted out Christmas stockings. It is strange to be passing the torch, so to speak, to the next generation for the Christmas morning festivities. All these years, my home has been the place that everyone has gathered at on Christmas Eve and stayed the night so we could all be together the next morning to watch the little one open her gifts. This year I am passing the tradition on to my daughter Erin and it is her home that everyone will gather at and party and then wake up the next morning to the laughing glee of the little ones. I am going to stay home and just go over in the morning but it does seem strange--however, it is the normal evolution of things as the children grow-up and establish their own families--it is a milestone.

This year my dad is coming for Christmas! He lives in Brunswick, Georgia and it has been a couple of years since I have seen him and it has been at least 10 years since he has been back to the Northwest for a visit. It will be fantastic to spend some quality time with him and introduce him to the great grandchildren he has never met!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

It's Been A While

Hello! Boy, it's been a while since I have posted but I have been down ill with pnuemonia and then I came down with a bad ear infection so haven't been up to writing much lately. I am on the mend now and back to work and feel'n like doing some writing today.

I finally gave the cats their flea bath and I came out the winner! Not that it did much good. They are still scratching like crazy but I am not going to give them another bath! I value my skin too much for that! Elliott tried to crawl over my shoulder and down my back but he didn't succeed in getting away, he did, however, succeed in giving me a good scratch as I pulled him off my shoulder and back. Hermoine was much easier but still no walk in the park. I will have to find another way to eradicate the little beasties other than flea baths - they don't work -- and are hazardous to my health! You know they just didn't appreciate the fact that they had a nice bath (Not Relaxing), had their coats brushed, and their nails clipped--I'm asking you where's the love! They didn't speak to me for two days!!

I got a phone call today from my daughter Erin, who is mother to my granddaughters Olivea and Vivian, who informed me that she and James are going to have another baby in July! Wonderful for them and boy am I glad they have their own place cause she is no picnic to live with when she is preggers! They are hoping for a boy because this is the last baby that she is going to have -- she is going to have her tubes tied after this baby is born.

We are just about ready for Thanksgiving - I have a smoked turkey coming from one of our line reps at work who have demo models of professional smokers and are, as a special service to our company, smoking our holiday turkeys for us. I am also roasting a turkey and for the first time ever I am brining my turkey before I roast it. Brining is supposed to make your turkey juicy and flavorful so I'll let you know how it turns out. I am having all the fam over to my house this year, which after my move last year, is quite a bit smaller so we will have a real up close and personal time ( I hope everyone showers and uses deodorant!). The rest of the dinner is being supplied by everyone else so my part is really pretty easy. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Oh No!

I finally got to talk with my boys last week and was able to catch up on what is going on in their lives. Unfortunately, they had their truck stolen a few weeks ago and, when I had talked with Matt, they hadn't got it back yet. We finally got to see each other at Vivian's birthday and he told me that they had found the truck but that it was a bit messed up. They are trying to decide wether to fix it or sell it as is. I think that they will decide to sell it - it will need a lot of work.

It was good to see the boys -- I don't get to see them much as we all have busy schedules but it is always nice when we do get together. Love you guys!! The guys are going to miss Thanksgiving this year as they have decided to take a road trip to Las Vegas! They are going with a group of friends to share the drive and have fun along the way. You guys better send me some pics from Las Vegas so I can share them with everyone here. Have a fun and safe trip!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

One Year Old Today!




My little baby granddaughter, Vivian Fay, is one year old today! It doesn't seem possible that a whole year has gone by already. She started walking, on her big sister's birthday last month, by taking a couple of baby steps and now she is walking between the furniture and to the people she loves, soon there will be no stopping her and she will be running which is sort of what she is doing now but out of control. Vivian is adorable and full of energy and we affectionately call her destructo baby!! She is a whirlwind that leaves destruction in her wake. If she can reach it -- it's hers! Gosh, I love baby gates, need more!!
Vivvie has developed a taste for cat food--can't get enough of it! Every time it gets really quiet and we realize that she isn't in the same room with us all we have to do is go to the kitchen and there she is sitting by the cats dishes with her hands in the cats food, a mouth full of Special Kitty morsels and a smile on her little face. YUCK!!! I think the cats are getting a little peeved.

The other day Vivian and Olivea were at my house visiting and the girls were playing with some blocks and little containers, Olivea would stack them up and Vivian would knock them down and laugh so hard, it was so funny to watch, she was having such a great time just knocking down piles (I wonder if she is going to become a demolition expert-remember destructo baby!).

Time does not stand still and the years are flying by, it doesn't seem possible that Olivea is 10 and now Vivian is 1. I want to enjoy my grandchildren while I can, they grow up so fast. I love my grand babies!!

Monday, October 1, 2007

Well, Kinda!

I had the best of intentions! I planned to get all of these chores done and do some high quality, much needed, me time! Well, I sorta did . . . on Saturday I cleaned my computer/scrapbooking room and arranged things there, then I put back together all the pictures and their frames that I had taken apart so that I could make copies of the pictures, having procured the said copies I matched everything back up and put the pictures back in the places they belonged. I moved the living room clock and hung a picture then did some laundry . . . so far so good, right? That's where the chores stopped. I didn't make it the store to get the flea shampoo so I didn't have to do, and have yet to do, battle with the fleas and cats. This is still only Saturday, there is Sunday yet to come, right?.

Sunday, dawns another day! I get up early and get dressed and ready to go to the store to purchase that elusive fleas shampoo and some other odds and ends that I need and to make more copies of pictures I need for a project I am working on. I get to my favorite store (Walmart) and proceed to spend the next four hours there shopping and making prints of pictures. YES, I FINALLY PURCHASE THAT DARN FLEA SHAMPOO! I then leave Walmart and go to my Aunt's house to give her some old family pictures and then she invites me to go to dinner so, of course, I go! No, I never got the cats bathed and I didn't finish my chores. But, I did have fun and I guess that is what was important to me. It was my weekend to do what I wanted and that is what I did! I am sure the rest of the housework will still be there when I get home from work and I am totally sure the cats are not upset and will not be holding a grudge about not getting a bath --- like they care! Believe me they will probably be holding a grudge by the time I get through with them -- they probably won't look at it like a "Day of Beauty", getting a luxurious bath, having their coats brushed and dried, and their nails done too, how chic!! Yeah, right!!

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Finally A Free Weekend

I know it is the weekend but I never sleep in -- it is a rare occassion when I actually sleep longer than 5 AM. Today was no different -- I just got an earlier start on my chores. This is the first weekend in about a month and a half that there hasn't been something going on where I had to leave my house or that allowed me to spend time on things that I needed to get done! I don't plan on leaving the house today except to go to the store to get flea shampoo for the cats -- I will, later today, be risking life and limb giving the cats that long overdue flea bath.

Today is my day to get caught up on my chores and to watch some old movies that I have been wanting to see. I also want to work on a birthday gift I am making so today will be a good day for all of this then tomorrow I can relax and read a book and do some scrapbooking. A Weekend All My Own!!

Friday, September 28, 2007

Who Goes There????

Okay, so I am in the kitchen doing dishes, humming away to myself because self is the only one in the house--besides the cats. The cats are sleeping at my feet (where they can be sure to trip me when I turn to grap something-it is their Olympic sport and they love to train) and all is peace with my the world. Now, mind you, it is 6:00 in the morning (I do my best housework at wee hours) and I totally am engrossed in the task at hand. All of a sudden the front door bursts open, the cats run for cover (some protection they would ever be in a moment of crisis), I scream, drop a glass, splash water all over myself and start praying for guardian angels when. . . . . . are you ready? In bounds my grandaughter Olivea. Happy as a lark she throws her arms around me and says good morning Grammy!! I at this point am feeling very sheepish and hug her back and thank God it wasn't a home invasion!!! I call off the angels, thank God for them anyway and take big deep breaths to help my heart calm down! I forgot to lock the door when I let the cats in and also forgot that she was coming to go to school from my house. Olivea is who goes there-duh!!!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Tough Cookie Update

Just wanted to let everyone know how our tough little cookie is doing. Stephanie is out of the hospital and in a rehabilitation center. She has surprised all her doctors and health care providers. God is Good!! Stephanie is now able to stand for 2 minutes on her own. I know it doesn't sound like much if you take it at face value but when you know that she was completely bed ridden and that she almost died-it is wonderously miraculous!!! She is working very hard to get her strength back so that she will be able to move back home sometime in the future. She has to be able to stand, get herself dressed and into her wheelchair before she will be able to go home. Steph will however, permanently be on dialysis. She has to go to the treatment center three times a week and is doing great with the treatments.

Once Stephanie gets her strength back and is able to do for herself again I know she will do wonderful things -- she is the come back kid!! GO STEPHANIE!!

Friday, September 21, 2007

New Blog For Chatty Scrapers

I have added a new blog for all my Chatty Scraper gals. You can link to it from this site or go directly to it at www.chattyscrapers.blogspot.com. Enjoy girls!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Birthdays, Weddings, Holidays -- Oh My!

These last few weeks have been so busy that I have not had the time to catch up on my writing - what the heck is up with that! Well, to start off with we had Labor Day weekend and I had a wonderful relaxing time spent with family and friends doing garage sale-ing, visiting and BBQing. I had the opportunity to spend time with some special friends of mine whom I hadn't been able to get together with for some time. We had a great time telling stories on each other and going over the fun things that we used to do together. It is wonderful to me that these ladies and I go back almost 20 years and even though I don't get to spend as much time with them as I would like, we always fall right into an easy pattern with each other as if no time has past at all. I think that is what true friendship is about, being there for each other, knowing that if you call they will be there for you and having that comforting feeling when you do get together (without the guilty feelings about not being able to spend the time you used to). To my friends, God Bless You and I love you all. (Now that I have moved my children out on their own I hope to have more free time again!)

Now, we move from the holiday to the birthday! My little Livvie girl has turned 10!!! TEN! Where does the time go! It seems like yesterday that I was helping my daughter, Erin, give birth to this precious little jewel. Our Livvie has grown up in love and grace and is truly a loving, giving and caring young lady! I am so glad that she is in our lives. We had a family get together on her birthday and as luck would have it our Dee and her husband Eric were here from Boston for Dee's High School Class Reunion and were able to come and spend some time with us. It was so delightful to be able to see them and get our hugs and kisses in with them too! So, as it turns out we had sort of birthday party/family reunion and had a wonderful time.

On to the wedding! The day after Olivea's birthday party I attended the wedding of some dear friends of mine who I have watched grow from childhood to adulthood. This young couple has been together for 16 years but had never gotten married -- that is until this last Sunday!! That old saying "better late than never" really applies here! It was a wonderful wedding even though we all had to stand in the rain under umbrellas! The bride's sister gave her a wonderful reception in her home and everything was done beautifully on a shoe string buget! You don't have to spend thousands of dollars to have a nice wedding! It can be done tastefully and beautifully on small budget and her sis proved that! I was very proud of all concerned in the bride's family -- they were all there to support their sister and showed how much they love and care for her! A very touching part of this wedding was the little memorial to their mother they had set up at the reception--she was there in spirit!

Not another birthday!! Yep, last night I met my daughter Erin and her family for dinner at AZTECA (I love Azteca) for the birthday of my daughter's significant other! We had a large group of friends and family come and share a great time visiting and, of course, eating! Pho enjoyed his dinner, presents and family and friends! Happy Birthday!!

This coming weekend I have a scapbooking workshop to attend and can't wait! YEAH! It will be so much fun! I have alot to do and get caught up on -- birthdays, wedding, holiday!! Love, Jimie

Monday, August 13, 2007

Garden Hobbler

Well, just so you know, I did my best to get my front yard finished yesterday - and I almost made it, no thanks may I say, to my two cats. I did get all the cardboard boxes that had been left behind by my recent movers, cut up and put in the recycle bin, I crammed Olivea's two bikes into my tiny little storage area and got all the nasty butts that the smoker's,that used to live with me, left laying around all swept up. I rearranged some yard furniture and made a nice little seating area by my front window. Doing all this while stumbling over my cats who seemed to think that I could not do the job alone.

I also managed to weed out the two flower beds that run along my sidewalk. This turned out to be a major accomplishment because Elliott and Hermoine decided that they wanted to sleep right where I was weeding. I had to constantly move them out of the way. So, when they weren't sleeping in the flower beds they were sleeping on my gardening cushion (old, thick couch cushion I use to sit on when working in the garden). I'd push them over and sit and they would snuggle up close to my backside and sleep and then have the gall to get miffed when I had to change positions. Finally, without their help, I totally cleared the beds of all the weeds and moved the flowers that were there to a different location. It looks really nice and is now ready for some new plantings of the low growing variety, however, the cats are mad because there are no cushy weeds to sleep on now!

By the time I was finished I could hardly walk and it took me a few minutes to make it up off the ground but I did it!! Yeah, and the crowd goes wild!! Lucky for me that my cane was near by so I could use it the help pull myself up -- I did keep my cell phone by me just in case I had to call one of my daughters and say "Help, I've been gardening and I can't get up!" Today is another story -- I can hardly move right now and I still have the flower bed that runs along the front of my place to finish! Yikes!! I think I will put it off a day or two - wadda think!

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Guard Cat

Last night I was invited to dinner at some friends house, now, these friends just happen to live right behind me so it is nothing to just run over and spend some time. My cat, Elliott, a beautiful black, grey and white striped tabby, follows me where ever I go and last night was no exception. He followed me all the way over to my friends and sat out side on the patio until I was ready to come home and then followed me back home again. He is so funny he even follows me to the street when I take out the garbage or pick up the mail. If I am outside doing gardening he will lay beside me in the grass and move to where ever I happen to move next. I love this cat!!

I don't love that he seems to be a very good hunter by the evidence he leaves on my back deck for me to find--birds beware -- so far the squirrels have outsmarted him! But, cats will be cats! I have had Elliott for about seven years now, my daugther, Erica, found him in our front yard in the pouring rain just a speck of a kitten. When I got home from work she showed him to me and he captured my heart right away, of course, it helped a lot that he immediately curled up under my chin and lay there purring his little heart out--who can resist that! Erica was a more than a little miffed that Elliott took to me rather than her since she was the one that rescued him!

We also have another cat whose name is Hermoine (yes, after Hermoine in Harry Potter)who is a pretty little calico / tabby mix. Hermoine is more independent and tolerates the household -- she will occassionaly allow us to sit and pet her but when she is ready to vacate the area there is no stopping her. She and Elliott get along famously and usually where you find one you will find the other, which means usually curled up in chair together! She is definitely the princess of the house!

Erica, the daughter that still lives at home (but is hardly ever there), called me yesterday just so totally miffed. She is a nanny for a family of five children and one dog. Well, she was sitting outside with the children when she had to go inside to let the father of one of the extra children she had that day in to collect his child. While she was distracted taking care of the leaving process the puppy got a hold of her cell phone, which she had left on the table outside, and chewed the heck out of it -- she'd only had the phone for a couple of months and it was quite costly. Needless to say that puppy is on her list!

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Special Time With Olivea

Olivea and I got to spend some special time together this weekend and we spent it by going to the movies together and by just spending time talking and cuddling on the couch. Livvie and I checked out a new feature of a movie theater in our area that has gone to $2 movies. They charge $1 on certain days of the week and $2 the rest of the time. We saw Nancy Drew and Olivea really loved it - I love hearing her laugh! I think we will go to this place again--can't beat the price.

I have posted some new pictures--not just to show off my grandchildren--but to show off my daughter, Erica's, improving camera skills (I am talking about the pictures of Vivian)! Erica has always been interested in taking pictures and loves natural settings. I have a beautiful picture of Livvie that she took that just takes my breath away when ever I look at it. I will see if I can post it later.

I also spent some time with my daughter Erin this weekend. We had a little visit then I left her to babysit Livvie for me while I went to lunch with my Mom and sister (before Livvie and went to the movies). It was great to see Mom walking so well on her own. She is really doing great with her walking and didn't even use her walker - although she should just to help keep her balance a little. Sis is doing great and we had a good time talking and visiting with an old family friend that met us at the restaurant. It was good to see her and we made plans to get together soon with our kids and grandkids. Erica and I went to dinner at a local Mongolian Grill on Sunday . . . I should have taken a bib, I could have borrowed one from Vivvie! I love their noodles . . . but they don't love me much. You know what happens when you slurp those noodles, yep, all over the front of me. I told the waitress that next time I am bringing a bib, she told me not to worry, she has long apron in back! She was so cute and right on!

I talked to Mathew on Friday and he was going to be out of town over the weekend. He went to Vancouver and spent some time with some friends. Mo stayed home to watch Earl, their dog, but will go next time. I talked to Matt just yesterday and he said that he had a good time and was really relaxed. Our Mo has been going through some rough times as his Dad has just been diagnosed with prostate cancer and it has become invasive and there is nothing that can be done. Mo has been going home to spend time with his dad as much as he can, while he can. It is so hard to lose those you love--our prayers are with the family.

God Bless . . .

Monday, August 6, 2007

Great News

Our little friend Stephanie is one tough little cookie! She has gone from having to be revived by CPR and being shocked by those cardiac paddles to being taken off life support on Saturday and is now able to give us all a thumbs up!! Ya have a tendency to think the worst is going to happen when doctors are giving instructions to get to the hospital as fast as you can if want to see her before she dies, but they don't know our Stephanie like we know her. She is a fighter and if anyone could pull out of the circumstances she was in she could. She has a strong will to live and she has proven that to us--big time. She has a hard road ahead to total recovery but she is going to be okay - eventually!!! Praise God for his goodness in answering all our prayers and I thank all of you who prayed for Stephanie and her mother -- prayer is a wonderful thing and God answers prayers everyday!!!

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Sad News

We have had sad news this week and we need all the prayers that we can muster for a very close friend of ours. One of my very best friends daughter, Stephanie, is on life support as we speak. She has had many health issues over the years of her young life and they have brought her to this point. She has childhood on-set diabetes, full blown osteoporosis, and an eating disorder. Her bones in her legs have been breaking often and she had just recently broken one of her legs again. She had then developed a sore on her other foot and it became severely infected and she has been in either the hospital or rehab center for the last two months. Last week the antibiotics that she was being given to fight the infection in her foot caused her to go into paranoid schizophrenic phycosis. It was horrible and it seemed that she was just being continually tormented by horrible hallucinations. Monday night she went into full body shut down and was put on life support.

This is a young woman (27) who has grown up with my children and is a part of our family.. this is hard on all of us. Stephanie is also the only child of my friend who has been a single mother for most of Stephanie's young life, which means of course that they are very close and did almost everything together. Mom's have this thing that we are strong during a crisis and break down when the crisis is over. This is how my friend Laurie is right now -- being very strong. Our prayers have to be for her too -- to give her strength and peace and rest so she can be there for Stephanie. This has been devastating for all of us . . . my heart is aching.

The last report that we had from last night was that she is opening her eyes when her mom yells at her. She didn't focus and closed them right away but she did voluntarily respond, she also was able to squeeze her doctors hands, both right and left when commanded. She has also started to develope a slight gag reflex and these are all good signs even though she is still in a coma. She has only a low level of brain activity right now. Let's pray that her doctors have wisdom and insight for Steph and that she continues to improve. And, to give her mother the strength she needs not only for Stephanie's sake but also for her own. Lord, please watch over both of these women and meet their needs as only you can do Lord. In Jesus name Amen. Please. . . pray for these women . . . thank you!

Monday, July 30, 2007

I Finished The Book!

I finally got my hands on Deathly Hallows and just finished it. Way to go JK! I found it fast paced, fun, emotionally heart wrenching and warming and so totally well written. It couldn't have been a better ending for the Harry Potter series. Many of my theories didn't pan out of course, but a few of my ideas as to what would finally happen did. I had always thought that Neville, Luna, and the whole DA would be a part of the final battle and they were. I also always thought that RAB was Sirius Black's brother. I can't say enough how great I think book seven is. It is more than worth a second, third, fourth read. Book Seven made me laugh and made me cry -- what more can you say!!

I am finally getting my house in order. It has taken a while and I am not quite done yet - with the HP movie and book seven coming out and all -- there are priorities you know. But, I should have my scrapbook room ready by this weekend. I am so ready! I have really been enjoying my peace and quiet and really cherish it. I did have my little Livvie girl this weekend and we went to the Seafair Torchlight Parade in downtown Seattle and we had a great time. We had ice cream, kettle corn, cotton candy, soda etc.(at least Livvie did) . . . by the time we got home we were exhausted and went right to bed and went right to sleep . . . good times!

The Blue Angels Air Show is this Sunday and we are making plans to have a picnic at a nearby park so we can see the air show without having to actually be in the midst of all those people - I don't do well in big crowds. The park we usually go to gets really good flybys as the Blue Angels set up their runs for their maneuvers. I will be taking Livvie with me to this also.

I haven't been in a place to be able to take Vivian yet. I have had so much to do and Vivian has so much energy and I do not!! As soon as I have finished my scrapping room and get the floors all done then I will be able to devote all my time to her when she comes over. I am going to start out slow with her and only keep her for a couple of hours at a time and see how that goes -- if I can handle it I will go for longer times but I have a condition called fibromyalgia snydrome and I just don't have much energy to run after a little one -- especially a goer like my little Vivian, who is 10 months old now. Olivea is easy for me to have over because she really takes care of herself and one day as Vivian gets a little older it will be easier for me to have her over too! I do miss my girls . . .

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

THEY MOVED!!!

It is so liberating I can't begin to tell you. The peace the quiet! I am in heaven or will be shortly when I finally get my scrapbook room together. I am so happy -- I will be even more happy when I finally get everything in order the way I want it to be. My other daughter, Erica, who is still living with me is so quiet I hardly know she is there -- actually she hardly ever is. We are going to get along just fine the two of us on our own. The move went off without a hitch, by the time I got home on Friday they were pretty much moved out - their room was empty. Erin came over on Sunday and cleaned the room and took all the garbage out and vaccumed the carpet.

Erin had an odd situation happen to her on moving day and it gave me such a laugh. She was loading the dishwasher and running it to get all her dishes clean before she put them away. Well, evidently she had left the room for something and when she came back there were suds pouring out of the bottom of dishwasher door, panicing she turned off the dishwasher and cleaned it out then called me saying how upset she was that she was going to have to call maintanence already because her dishwasher was broken. I asked her if anyone had been left alone in the apartment (their moving buddies) and could one of them have poured some dish soap in the dishwasher when they weren't looking. I asked her if she had noticed anything odd in the dishwasher before she ran it and she said that she saw some blue liquid but thought it was some spilled jet dry. I told her she better ask her honey to check to see if one of the guys pranked them. They had! I knew it. Her honey and his friends have this thing going on that when ever someone gets left alone at one of their homes they always seem to mess with things -- like loosen the tiolet seats, take all the switch plate covers off, hide the remotes to the electronics,etc. etc., and her honey was the best at the prank stuff and he was warned that once he got his own place he was due!!! To me that is not funny (well, sort of--but not on a constant basis like these guys do), boy, she is going to have to watch them all like a hawk when ever they come over - and for heavens sake, don't leave them there and go to a store or anything - you'll never find anything again. All I can say is that I am enjoying my space and peace!

I SAW THE NEW HP MOVIE . . . it is fantastic. I really, really liked it. I can hardly wait for the last book to come out on Saturday -- it will be so awesome.




Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Monday, July 9, 2007

Astonishing Discovery

This last Sunday, July 8, 2007, I went over to spend some time with my Mom going through old pictures and identifying people in some old family photos. As I mentioned earlier I am gathering information for my personal memory book and wanted to start going through the old family photos to choose those I will want to use.

Mom and I made a lot of head way on our project and in the process I gleaned a great story about a house fire my mother was in when she was a little girl when we discovered an old photo depicting the aftermath of the fire. I made sure that I got as many of the details of this horrible event that she could remember and learned in the process that it had been an arson fire and that several houses close to them had also been set on fire. It was a miracle that anyone in the house had survived and with exception of one of my uncles most were unhurt. My Uncle Bud was injured when the staircase fell with him on it - he was severely burned on the back and had also injured his back in the fall. I had known about the fire as my Mom and Great Grandfather had mentioned it before but I didn't know that it was an arson fire -- the things you learn when you sit down and listen and write!

While going through the photos that I was taking over to Mom's with me I discovered my hospital birth certificate. What a treasure to find! I also came across a couple of post cards that my Dad had sent my Mom when she had returned to the lower 48 that depicted (I was born in Ketchikan, Alaska) the small coastal town and waterfront as it was the year I was born. What a blessed woman I am -- not only do I have pictures of the town I was born in but I have my Dads loving words to my mother about me to boot! It's going to be a great book.

Great finds and great stories -- what a wonderful day spent with Mom!

Monday, July 2, 2007

Moving Day is Coming!

I am so excited, the kids got the okay on their apartment today and will be moving the weekend of July 14th. It is a bittersweet move. I am a firm believer that adult children with their own families should not live with their parents. I don't mind giving a hand when one is needed but when it is time to go it is time to go! I will miss them but I will get over it especially when I will now have a room to dedicate to my scrapbooking and computer. I love them dearly and they can come and visit me anytime, but, they will now have a home to be in of their own. I am so happy. My stress level declined about 90% today!

This last weekend I went down memory lane with my aunt. I am starting to do the research and gathering of materials for my personal memories book. As a young girl I grew up in Buckley, WA, a little town in the foothils of the Cascades. We first lived out of town on a small farming plot with a small farm house, barn and chicken coop then moved into town to a small quaint little house. My aunt and I took camera's in hand this last weekend and went to Buckley to photograph the old houses that I lived in for my memory book. Well, they say you can never go back -- you can, just don't expect things to be at all the same! The old high school was still there but the elementary school had been torn down and a new modern building was in it's place. The farm house was there but had been built onto so dramaticly that it didn't really look the same at all. The house in town was still there and did look pretty much as it had back in the day so I did get pictures of it and the high school. I also got pictures of the police station and a restaurant that were still there from my childhood. We also made a stop at the library and found some books on the history of the town and the fire department. The book on the fire department was a treasure of pictures and information on some long time friends of the family and I was so lucky to find it. All in all it was a great trip because I got to spend time with my aunt but it was bittersweet as respect to our memories of the old homestead. We consoled ourselves by going scrapbook stuff shopping, we felt much better when we left Ben Franklins and Wal-Mart, packages in hand!

Love, Jimie

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

First Tooth

Vivian's first tooth finally came through! My daughter, Erin, called me at work and was so excited that she had gotten her first tooth. Vivvie had been so fussy lately that we figured that was what was happening, however, you never really known sometimes, if that is what is really bothering them or do they just want to be held all day.



So, teething is in full swing and so is the crankiness! Thank goodness the little family is going to be moving soon--I can handle the baby's crankiness -- it's the mommy's that gets to me.

Although, I must say that I understand her frustration-it's hard to be at home all day with a crying baby.



Olivea has two days of school left and is really excited. Today was read aloud day at school and she got to go to school with her pj's on and take blankets and pillows. This is one of her favorite days because they get to lay around all day and read from their favorite books and eat snacks. Tomorrow is Field Day so she will be outside enjoying the sun, playing relay games and a BBQ lunch then she only has a half a day on Friday then it is out for the summer! Livvie has already been enjoying swimming, on the few nice days we have had lately, down at our community pool.



Summer fun on the way!!

Friday, June 15, 2007

Thursday, June 14, 2007

I FIGURED IT OUT!

I am so excited - I think I figured it out and I did it all by myself-that being adding pictures to this site. Not too bad for an on-line challenged grandma. I hope you all enjoy the pictures -- I will update the slideshow from time to time. I had a lot of fun doing it and will be adding some other pics to my blog as soon as I get them copied to a CD so that I can.

The girls are growing so fast it won't be long before I will have new pictures for everyone. Have a great day everyone!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Total Veg Night

On my way home last night I had to make several stops, one of which was to make copies of some pictures that I want to send to my Dad for Father's Day and that I want to use for scrapbooking. They all turned out great and then I was on my way--I still didn't get home until after 6:30 pm and I was really tired as I had been up since 4:45 am- since little miss Olivea needed to have her hair ironed for her concert at school that day. When I arrived home, Olivea and her little friend Laria, were eating dinner and getting ready to go the school for the evening concert for family and friends. I was so tired that I decided not to attend the concert and just veg for a while, have dinner then go on to bed. Olivea was so sweet and assured me that it was okay for grammy to stay home just this one time--as she and friend dashed out the door to go to the school.

It was nice to have the house to myself, almost, Erica was home but she is so quiet most of the time you hardly know that she is there. When everyone was finally out the door she came out of her room and fixed us dinner, we had wide noodles with brown gravy and some of those great meatballs I mentioned the other day. She is such a great cook. I love it when she does dinner. We had a relaxing dinner and talked about how we were going to arrange the furniture when her sister and her little family finally move to their own place (soon)--we have great plans! We watched a bit of TV together then I did finally get to bed but it wasn't until after everyone returned home from the concert.

It was a very relaxing night and I enjoyed it very much. I do have pictures from the concert but again - I need to take the time to learn how to add them.

Love, Jimie

Monday, June 11, 2007

Scapbooking, Etc.

Hello, everyone! I had a great time scrapbooking this weekend, I got 11 pages done! I am currently working on Vivian's, my 8 month old granddaughter, book. I am doing an 11 1/2 x 12 inch album for her so I'm not getting as many photo's to a page as I would like but it does give more focus to the pictures and layout of the page which is what I like for this kind of album.

Karen, the host for the workshop for the summner months, gave us all copies of the pictures from one of our previous scraps where we all scrapped the same pictures. It is great to see how even though we all had the same pictures, each and every layout was different and unique. She had taken pictures of us at a previous scrap all busily scrapping and chatting away then gave us all copies so we could scrap them and see how they would turn out. (If I can get my daughter Erica to show me how to put the pictures on this blog you will be able to see the results we all had). Our groups name is "The Chatty Scrappers", sometimes I think that we chat more than we scrap but we all have fun and that is what it is all about; fun, new ideas, sharing fun new tools and relaxation!!

Good News Of The Highest Importance! My daughter Erin and her little family are getting ready to finally move to their own apartment!! I love my daughter dearly, but there comes a time when, at least in my life, when the children must finally leave the nest. I enjoy my grandchildren and love them dearly also but it will be nice to just be Grandma again. This will all transpire, hopefully, by the end of the month--and I will at long last have a scrapbooking room. I will keep you all posted. I am really excited.

Yesterday, my daughter Erica, did the grocery shopping then came home and mixed up a big batch of Scandinavian meatballs. When she does this it is a family affair. We three gals, me, Erica and Erin all sit down together and roll meatballs until I don't want to see a bowl of raw meat mixture for a long while. It was, however, a great time to visit and bond with my girls and it made the job a lot faster and fun with the end result being a freezer full of meatballs for any occassion (and of course we had some for dinner, um, um good!). There were a lot of ball jokes being tossed around too!

Little Vivian is at the stage where she is pulling herself up on the furniture but learning that she isn't quite steady enough yet to do all she wants -- she had a couple of little mishaps yesterday where she fell on her little nose. These are the trying times --!

Olivea is doing great and having a lot of fun playing with her little sister. It is fun to watch her and Vivian together. I will miss them being at the house all the time but I will get over it as I sit in my new scrapbooking room working away on their albums!!!

Love, Jimie

Friday, June 8, 2007

My Very First Posting

This is my second attempt to post my first blog. I have never done this before and wouldn't you know I hit a wrong button while attempting to show someone what I was doing. I had said in my first post that I was nervous about doing this because I might hit a wrong button or something and mess it up (I am very prophetic). Well, they say that you can't teach an old dog new tricks but this grammy is going to give it the old college try, again!

Today is Friday, thank God, and I have scrapbooking tomorrow. Things at my house are all in an uproar right now so I am very glad to be going scrapbooking. Scrapbooking is fun and I love it. It is very relaxing for me and helps to soothe my nerves. I belong to a group of ladies that get together once a month to work on our projects. Aunt Fay is part of our group and that gives us some quality time to spend together. I am currently working on baby Vivian's book. I have Olivea's all caught up and am now free to concentrate on Vivvie's book.

Olivea is such a great kid and she is so funny. Yesterday, when I got home from work, she came dancing out of back bedroom singing a little ditty about a really horrible substitue teacher they had that day. The little ditty goes something like " U.G.L.Y. (spelled out) you got no alibi, you ugly, you ugly! Over and over again -- I am thinking she didn't have a really good day with this sub, ya think!

Vivian is growing so fast! She is crawling and pulling herself up on the furniture already. She was caught standing up in her bed the other day so we had to finally take out the insert so she wouldn't fall out on her little head. She is so beautiful and a very good baby! She is much loved by her big sister and she loves her big sister right back - especially when it comes to pulling her hair (or anyones hair for that matter).

I think that the big kids are starting to get excited about the end of the school year and the opening of our community swimming pool. Last week we had some really hot days (I got sunburned) and they were saying that they can't wait to go swimming --our pool opening has been delayed because we had to have new sand filters put in but it should be open by next weekend. I tell ya, after the winter we had around here I am looking forward to some nice warm weather--not too warm mind you but warm.

Last month I went on a trip to San Diego to a conference for the coop I live in. I am on the Board of Directors for Homewood Terrace Cooperative and am the board secretary. The conference this year was, as I mentioned, in San Diego and besides the conference classes that I took I was able to go to Seaworld and tour Old Towne San Diego. I really had a lot of fun and also learned a lot for my coop too! Next year's conference is in Las Vegas! I have been to Las Vegas before but it will be nice to go back again--hopefully I will be able to see somethings that I wasn't able to see before, like the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam.

Well, I will sign off for now. Keep checking out my blog for more fun, family news.

Love, Jimie