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Big button and wonky flower

Remember the big buttons?
Fiddling with them and a wire wonky flower.

Making a happy little wreath. Remember that painter on PBS TV that always painted happy little clouds? Ross somebody or other? I love "happy little." Although I am often caught saying "'cute, little, old" also. Those make me happy...cute, little, old. 

Even if...........

One doesn't revere him as a Prophet of God...Gordon B Hinckley

(WHICH I DO)...he was a mighty man, a Christian in every sense of the word, visionary, a force for good the world around.
We mourn his passing.
It is bitter sweet, because we, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, believe in eternal life and that families can be together forever, we rejoice to know he is with his beloved Marjorie again. She died April 7th 2004 at 92.

Someone once wrote - "If people believe Mormons are not Christians, just have them look at this picture."
I personally will miss his optimism, the sense of calm and the 'okay-ness' I felt every time I heard him speak.
If you'd like to know more about the Church that mourns our beloved prophet. Go here. The video clips share answers to questions about basic doctrines.

We are having a snow EVENT.

Note the new snow overnight. Oh. MY. Our weather men are loving this winter. (In addition to this snow we haven't been above freezing for several days.) They have a lot to talk about. I wonder if Al Gore has looked outside? I don't see how global warming fits into this senereo. WHOOOOOOSSSSHHHH!

Do you even remember Dec 18th?

That was the last day Dear Husband and I had dinner alone together in our home. Oh. My. That was a loooonnngggg time ago. Since then, we have celebrated Christmas and all the family dinners, had cousies sleepover, then Mom-in-lay broke her leg on Dec 26th and after surgery came to stay. I am so happy I could take care of her. The day after she flew home to southern California, I moved to my Son's come across town to watch three above average-intelligent-capable-fun-witty-obedient-clever-silly grandchildren while their parents went to China to get their new baby girl....and just yesterday I took them to the OTHER Grandma and so now today...here I am...

Home alone. (Just me and MIss Pepper and these girls) Feels pretty unfamiliar to be here alone again. I have to admit there is a bit of sadness...but then I walked into the Magic Room. I haven't even been inside, except to mend a couple pair of jeans for the grands, in  six weeks. Oh. It. Feels. So. Good. I even savored the Magic Rroom smell, you know, old fabric, buttons, furniture polish, old-y smells.  I had forgotten how good this all is. Thank you little room for waiting patiently for me. Thank you for keeping all these things and ideas safe until I could return. Thank you. Thank you.

Fiddling with the angels today. Love the way the flour sacks have tea-dyed to look even - um - more vintage. Nice and wrinklely. Great word isn't it winklely?

Hello girls...today we will figure out your hair and wings so you will be ready to fly off to the The Farm Chicks show.

Our China Baby...with her Mommie

When I was a little girl and playing on the farm we would often dig in the dirt..you know, farm - play - dirt. Or when we were digging post holes for fences and it seemed like we were digging forever, Dad would always tease that we were digging all the way to China. Is that what every little kid thinks when digging those big holes? Well, we haven't dug all the way to China but we have a baby from there. I know everyone seeing this photo will be like be so insanely jealous to know that our family has the absolutely cutest most adorable little 'China Doll' ever born. Not only is she the most adorable, the first night with her new Momma and Daddy she slept through the night. She is content yet alert. She sucks her thumb, and looks her new Mommie in the eye. She is perfect in every way.  Please don't hate us for winning the "Cutest Baby Award'.

Now we wait TWO very anxious weeks for them to all come home? 

My Grandmother Made a Book

She was a tiny little thing. She is standing on a step and still much shorter than Grandpa. This photo makes me laugh out loud. Grandpa ALWAYS looked so startled in photos. Every. Photo. I don't have one of him that looks any different than this. Perhaps it was because in the early 1900's everyone wasn't living their live through a camera lens like we do nowadays and taking a photo was startling.

When only ten years old and Grandma and I stood 'bumsey' I was as tall a she. She never took off this necklace because she had a scar on her neckline from goiter surgery and this necklace discretely hid the scar. She was born in 1900 and lived until 1966. She always wore a jersey dress. Always. There were dress up dresses and everyday dresses. Everyday dresses were worn even when fishing with Grandpa. A dress. Always.
The book she made is newspaper clippings, hundreds of newspaper clippings, pasted into a Geography book.

The clippings cover a wide variety of homemaking topics. I find them fascinating and informative. They were printed during a time when everything wasn't disposable. 

I always thought that one day I would glean from them - then test in my test kitchen each entry  and publish a new book. A really wonderful one that would look vintage and have delightful calligraphy and nice little whispy vintage drawings in the corners. The paper would be quality smooth paper, with a few blotches and stains to give the feel of authentic, tried and true, trustworthy advice.
Until that book is put together and published, I am sharing bits of wisdom from it. I will post them under the category "Grandmother Made a Book", so they can be easily found and read.
Oh, and her name was Mary Ivy which is such a beautiful name, however, she was always called Hilda. *see my puzzled look?*
"Save Apple Parings for Jelly" (exactly as written with no correction for spelling or grammar - like I could correct the grammar?)
When paring apples for pies or dumplings cover the parings with cold water, puts them over a slow-fire with a few grains of salt boil until soft, then mash or break them up with a spoon; when tender put into  a fine strainer and let drip until all the juice is out of the skins; then strain through a piece of cheesecloth and to each half cupful of juice add a half cupful of sugar that has been heated in the oven on a plate; stir until the sugar is dissolved and boil for eight minutes. If the apples are red-skinned the jelly will be a deep red. It takes little time and trouble provided it is done while getting a meal, and it can be done at any time of the year.
Peach parings are used in the same way, but if peaches are very ripe the parings will not make a stiff jelly, unless mixed with apple parings. They will make a good bottle of sirup to be used for hot cakes, waffles, or sauces for puddings.

The rescue trip finally begins

This amazing family....

decided 2 1/2  years ago (that is a lonnnnggg time ago)  to rescue a baby girl from China.
Today Mom and Dad finally left for Beijing....to bring our baby girl home...

I have the chance to help out by being Grandma to the three anxiously awaiting siblings. There are many emotions associated with this rescue...one of those emotions is the overwhelming feeling...that we can only rescue ONE. We are remembering the story of the man walking the beach tossing stranded starfish back into the water - a fellow beach comber commented, "There are 1000's what difference could it make tossing a few back?" The tossing savior said, "It matters to this one." Indeed
We're praying for a save journey and joyous return,  and don't worry, us Grandmas will be hugging the waiting siblings.
God be with you 'til we meet again.

Re-purposed jewelry to bauble's

Doesn't that word sound fun in your mouth. Baubles. Like Wenatchee or giggles or pickle, some words just feel good to say.

Just adding a bit of re-purposed jewelry to bags. I have a big tub of - like a really big tub - of this gathering of jewelry parts and pieces that aren't good for like jewelry to wear - they are like kind of big - can anyone imagine wearing THIS lady bug around a neck? I guess it would be okay if one wanted to like build really big neck muscles so they could look like Arnold or something. (Did you notice the work 'like' in the above sentence? I just got off the phone with someone who used like, like 20 times in our 2 minute conversation and so like like is like really in my brain and I am having a like like attack of thoughts.)

I like like  ;)  the wrappy knotty twisted wire thing...

And attaching them with a big over-sized safety pin

Three - the simple three

Simple little rules for making and following through on resolutions. Oh, I know there are books, like 500 page books, and seminars and lectures on setting and achieving goals.
These are the "SIMPLE three" key things that work for me.

#1 I must OWN the goal. I has to be one I make. That doesn't mean I don't still find myself making them for others, i.e. husband, even grown children. BUT, in order for real success in making goals, resolving anew, the person must have ownership. As much as I would like the goal for my husband to be that he fill my car with gas every time he drives it, it just isn't going to happen until HE wants it to be so.
"A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still."

# 2 The goal must be specific. So specific, I can measure it and know if I am actually succeeding in the new resolve. For example in the previous post on my new resolutions....I didn't write all the specifics but here is an example of good and achievable goal - and not so good.
Not so good first:
Live the Golden Rule. Like I said, not real measurable except in my heart.  How can I tell if I am doing better? How can I measure or realize if I am really succeeding?  I want to keep in mind that - success begets success.
Better said:
When I get in the car to run errands - think about, as I drive,  how I will be courteous to the people I encounter when I am out. Think ..."I will use the three little magic words that will open any door with ease. "
When I feel myself become hot under the collar irritated, or preoccupied and self absorbed in my 'all important' world, I will stop and take a deep breath and literally think, "How would I want to be treated?" and then act according to the answer in my head.
To carry it even a step further, I could put a little check in the corner of my calendar each time I 'did better',  was kinder and really lived the Golden Rule. Now that feels good. I could even set up a small reward system for encouragement and to keep me going...for example, as soon as I have ten checks in the corner of my calendar I allow myself a reward,  a trip to Barnes and Noble,  a wander through the thrift store, a guilt free leisurely trip to the library.
(A little side note here, when all our children were at home, I found myself being more of a screamer than I wanted. I then read that:

"Screaming at your children is like trying to stop the car by honking the horn."

So that night at supper time I asked the children to help me with a new resolve. Their eyes lite up...we get to help Mom be better? What is the catch? Then when I said it was that I wanted to quit screaming at them. SO QUIT DOING THINGS THAT MAKE ME SCREAM AT YOU!!! Oh, they were more than a little suspect, but as I explained further that everyday I didn't raise my voice - and they could be the judge each night at supper time on how I had done, I could put a check on the calendar. Then as soon as I had ten checks in a row, I had a night out - just to wander through the store with no littles tagging along. You know it only took about two months to be a NON-screamer. Huge benefits. My children are not 'screamer' parents. Isn't that the best?)
"The best way to get somewhere is to know where you are going."

#3 It must be written down. "An unwritten goal is just a wish."
Write it down, put it someplace you can read it and then read it. The mirror in the bathroom, front of your day timer, on the fridge with one of those magnets....you know.
There you have it "the simple three."
And remember: What we get by reaching our goal is not nearly as important as what we become by striving.

If you think you can, if you think you can't - you are right.

(Three little gals on the way to becoming 'flour sack' angels...and becoming an angel is a worthy goal for anyone, isn't it?)

I make New Years Resolutions

To resolve is to aim, decide, determine, declare, have intention, live with purpose. These words are also associated with resolve: persevere, purposeful, relentless, staying power, tenacity.
Today in visiting with someone, she commented, that she just doesn't make goals or plan or work on things like 'you do'. (referring to me)
I was so taken aback by that comment that I have thought about it all day long. That is as foreign to me as trying to imagine living my life in black and white instead of Technicolor. 
I can't wrap my brain around living without striving, without learning new things, without trying to improve myself, without the simple satisfaction and feeling that comes from doing something and then the joy of crossing it off my  list.  Oh - now, don't get confused - there are plenty of things I put on lists and never accomplish. There are days when I am so lazy, distracted, preoccupied with the mundane  I walk mindlessly from room to room  like a zombie and when the day is done it is imperceptible that I have accomplished a thing.  Some days I feel like I am living this little phrase to the fullest extend..."When in confusion or doubt, run in circles, scream and shout."
But to not even write something down, to not even think about what I want to do to improve my life - I guess I just didn't know it was optional.
One of our families favorite times of year is the annual New Years Resolution family meeting. It is a time we share accomplishments from the previous year and make resolutions for the new year. Sometimes we have only walked a tiny step on the path we had great plans for the year before. Sometimes we only 'hung in there' until March when we became sidetracked or kicked off course by something. But we still meet and clap and encourage and cheer one another on the path to improve - do better - try harder.
I was raised with the motto, "Good - better - best...don't let me rest until my good is better and my better best."
My resolves for  2008
1. Keep the kitchen counter cleaned off, you know that place where everything gets dumped? All those things we don't know what to do with and don't really have a place to put them? I may have to have a box to scoop everything into and kick under the bed, but the counter will be clean in an attempt to feel the sense of, "At least the kitchen counter is clean" so I can tackle my day with better vigor and vim.
2. To be more attentive to living the Golden Rule. Not a measurable goal, except in my heart. Am I treating others like I would like to be treated? The checker at WalMart? The lady that slips into the parking place I thought was mine? My husband when he feels out of sorts and just needs everyone to be quiet and leave him alone? The receptionist in the Doctors office - when I FINALLY get to her after being on hold for 10  minutes?
3. Commit something to memory. Note: I have not decided the length of the 'something'...but something. I am going to  start small to gain courage and then do something longer after I find success with that simple little ditty I have memorized.
4. To not be weary in well-doing..to  have continued and even renewed enthusiasm for the things I already do to serve others. Just to keep on keeping on with a little bounce in my step.
5. To continue to work at ways to develop a little business. To enjoy making and creating things and develop a market to share them with others.
Do you "do" resolutions?
What are they?