Know when to hold 'em

It's been a good day so far. . . .it's 8 a.m. ~ how can I mess THAT up? I've been tracking down an elusive $.09 on my checking account. Still no luck! I've added and subtracted until my fingers are numb from the calculator so I'm taking a break to blog.

Jennifer sent this pic yesterday in an email. The girls had a friend over and the house was TOO quiet. When she stepped to the door of the playroom this is what she found. They had brought out a game, set it up, and were happily playing. (now why would a mother worry????) Looks like they are having fun and each of them have "chips" and cards. I know they aren't playing Texas Hold 'Em but would you have read this posting if the title was "Three girls playing"?

Sarah ~ Felicity ~ Claire

Check this out!

Jakob is in the fourth grade at Lupton. Last Wednesday at church he was telling me he had to build a volcano by Friday! You know that means panic mode ~ hurry hurry. The next day the teacher had changed the due day to yesterday (Tuesday). Much better, yes? He constructed an under body of a bottle, some wads of paper, and duck tape (what would we do without it??) Then he put a layer of plaster on top of that and let it dry for a couple of days. By Sunday it was ready to paint and "landscape". The results look like an A+ to me!

The volcano with landscaping

(don't know what the signs have

written on them ~ maybe keep off the grass?)

Jakob and his finished volcano. What a cutie!

It's Monday

We had a "small" problem when Lisa got ready to leave yesterday. . . .she was stuck in the yard! We got a LOT of rain Saturday night and it's never been a problem like this before. She usually pulls in beside Buck's truck ~ on the grass.

Such an "innocent "face
She gave me a thumbs up because
she did such a good job of getting stuck?

Thank goodness Buck was still home
and could hook up to her truck with a chain.

Lisa watched in her side mirror

as Dad did his "magic"

Hurrah! She was out of the mud and
I didn't even have to push!

Now we have a nice "ditch"

gotta fix that today!

Once again Buck was the HERO!

Happy Birthday Buck

Happy Birthday today to my husband Buck and his twin brother Chuck. Today is a Sunday so I'm hoping you can spend the day relaxing and not working. Always remember: I love you more!

Happy Birthday Jennifer

Today is Jennifer's birthday. Wish we are there with you or you were here with us. I should bake a red velvet cake in your honor today, yes?? I hope today is a good day for you and that your birthday package arrived? I'm sure we will call you sometime today but I wanted to blog about you, too. I love you muchly, my sweet girl, and don't ever forget that.

Kiss Kiss Hug Hug

Two months

It's been two months since Daddy died. I miss him every day but I try not to wallow in my grief. I went to the cemetery and talked to him today. Is that weird? I am trying to get my life back together. After August when he had what we now assume was a stroke it seemed my days revolved around him and Mother and being there for them.
Since his death, my days have been full of helping Mother and Teresa cope with the lose of Daddy and getting on with their lives. People ask them all the time "How are you doing?" sometimes they even ask me "How are your mom and Teresa?" Isn't that funny? They don't ask me how I'm doing. I guess I must be doing okay. I cut my hair today. Nothing drastic ~ just a trim. It was starting to show some damage on the ends from blow drying and braiding so much. It's still long enough to braid (I hope). We'll see if anyone notices. I colored it two weeks ago and so far NO ONE has mentioned it.

This is my new ink. It is on my left shoulder. It is a pocket knife for Daddy because he always carried one. The purple coloring is for "dementia" and "Alzheimer's". I've had it two weeks today and very few people have seen it. Buck, of course, and yesterday ~ Mother and Teresa. That brings my tattoo total to eight.
Bye for now. . . .kiss kiss

A nice surprise

This morning when I woke up it was a regular day. I woke up before the alarm went off ~ as usual ~ but something was different. I looked at the clock and the alarm wasn't even ON! Did I forget?! I got out of bed and walked to the bathroom ~ as usual ~ but something was different. I looked in the living room and the TV was on MUTE! And where was my husband? I walked to the kitchen ~ as usual ~ but something was different. Buck's lunchbox wasn't on the table waiting for me to fill it. His jacket wasn't on the chair where he hangs it every evening. Was I DREAMING? I continued to the garage where I could look outside ~ but something was different. The truck was GONE! I found my phone and called my husband. He answered with "You were supposed to sleep in". HE turned off my alarm. HE muted the TV. HE made his own lunch. What a nice surprise. . . .think I'll go back to bed.

I'm excited!

Today I get a lesson in Wii. When the boys come to visit we play PS2 because that is the system I have. Everyone knows that PS2 games are being fazed out and it is hard to find new ones. The boys saved their money and bought themselves a Wii. I do not understand the controller of a Wii. I am "old school" and like the regular controller with the two joysticks and buttons.

Today I am going to Kim's house after they get home from school for my first Wii lesson. If I like it as much as they do . . . . I may have to buy myself one!!!!

Just a "little" creepy!
Jakob sits on the edge of the seat.
But Topher is much more "casual"

From a friend in Wyoming

After the last couple of days of "no school" due to snow predictions and icy conditions, I received this from a friend. Guess the author wanted to show how much tougher Wyomingites are than the rest of the world?

Cold is a relative thing.......BRRRRRR!!!

65 ABOVE ZERO
Floridians turn on the heat
People in Wyoming plant gardens

60 ABOVE ZERO
Californians shiver uncontrollably
People in Wyoming sunbathe

50 ABOVE ZERO
Italian and English cars won't start
People in Wyoming drive with the windows down

40 ABOVE ZERO
Georgians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves and wool hats
People in Wyoming throw on a flannel shirt

35 ABOVE ZERO
New York landlords finally turn up the heat
People in Wyoming have the last cookout before it gets cold

20 ABOVE ZERO
People in Miami all die
People in Wyoming close the windows

ZERO
Californians fly away to Mexico
People in Wyoming get out their winter coats

10 BELOW ZERO
Hollywood disintegrates
Girl Scouts in Wyoming are selling cookies door to door

20 BELOW ZERO
Washington DC runs out of hot air
People in Wyoming let the dogs sleep indoors

30 BELOW ZERO
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole
People in Wyoming get upset because they can't start the snow mobile

40 BELOW ZERO
ALL atomic motion stops
People in Wyoming start saying. . . ."Cold enough fer ya?"

50 BELOW ZERO
Hell freezes over
Wyoming public schools will open 2 hours late.

It's snowing

They said it was going to snow today and some of us laughed and said "yeah right". Well, it is snowing today and if it keeps this up we may have something to get excited over. They closed schools at 10:30 so everyone can get their children home safely. Teresa works 11 - 7 and she is supposed to take extra clothes with her in case the day shift can't make it to work tomorrow. Lisa even had to take clothes with her. I was glad to hear that because she thinks she knows how to drive in snow but she really only knows how to "ride" in it.

The pool is closed but wouldn't it be GREAT if it was heated and we could swim while it snowed on us??These are the apple trees in our backyard. Maybe by morning there will be more snow and I can get a starker photo. Here I am with my outside hat. You can see the dusting of snow on the top. I was out with the dogs BEFORE it gets any colder. . .brrrrr. This is Chloe ~ the oldest of our dogs. If the temperature drops into the teens I will put her in the shop. Kaycee is a better "poser" and looked right at the camera. She'll go inside also. This one is Stripe ~ he gets to sleep in the garage.
Riley is the "tough" one. He doesn't get the shop or the garage. He is on his own no matter the weather. He is a good dog and is learning to sit when I tell him. (Lisa thinks he belongs to her but I think he has adopted me)
And finally Mac ~ still a puppy and full of energy. He won't sit still long enough for a face shot. He gets to stay in the shop also. He is part Lab and part Rott? He goes CRAZY when I let them out to run.

This and That

Ahhhhh Olivia . . . .Wanda's four year old grand daughter. Can you see the mischief in that face? She "tested" the wax in Mother's candle that was sitting on a warmer. What do you think she is up to in this photo??

That's Claire in the "pillow fort", Sarah, Jakob, Topher, and Olivia. Not sure what they were watching on TV but LOOK they are all still!

Sarah is an artist. She is in kindergarten and loves crafts, writing stories (even though we aren't always sure what they say) and coloring.

Had to get one photo of Lisa in here

(this one's for you Caroline)

This is Lilly ~ Wanda's middle grand daughter. She is an ice skater and Claire is her number one fan. They'd never met until Daddy's funeral but bonded immediately.

Jakob is ten and wants to be a teenager SOOOOOO bad.

These three girls got to know each other recently. They are Hannah (Will's fiance's daughter), Sarah and Claire. They played Barbies and 'restaurant' (until Hannah fired them) and just had a good time together.

How do you resist posting a cute photo like this? Claire was fresh out of the tub and Jennifer was snuggling her in a hooded towel. Nothing smells sweeter than a grandchild all nice and clean.

These "gentlemen" are Micheal Wells and Archie Best ~ they are brothers-in-law. Archie is Wanda's son. We don't see them often so enjoy this photo. Archie is Lilly's dad.

I took this one on the way to church. Buck was driving and Jennifer was sitting behind me. I sort of held the camera up and snapped without really being sure I was going to get a photo. She's a cutie, yes?

So, that is the last of my recent photos for a while I think. I am going to try and scan a couple of black and white ones onto the computer for sharing. Of course if we get a BIG snow or some other extraordinary occurance ~ I'll be back with pics.

2010 ~ wow!

Does this NEED a title?

Sometimes sisters are friends. Sometimes they are strangers. My sisters and I are somewhere in between. We know we are family and most of the time act like it but there are things about each of us the others do NOT and truthfully probably don't want to know ;-) The next three photos feature Teresa ~ I'll have to get back to you with pics of Wanda. This is Teresa (the baby of the family) and she is my tattoo buddy. We have matching tats that show our sisterhood. Some would say she is the "favorite" and that would probably be true. . . . to some. I like to think each of us is SOMEBODY'S favorite.

Most of the time Teresa looks like she just

stepped out of the proverbial "bandbox".

This was her homage to Mother.

Mother is famous for her "pose"
(nice try but lack of "boobs"

makes this pose NOT QUITE as impressive)

In case you didn't already know, we have some wonderful grandchildren. Two boys/two girls making me Magra 50/50. I love being a grandmother and I must say our daughters and their husbands are great parents. Sometimes I just marvel at what great parents they are and what wonderful children they are raising. Babies are blessings and cuddly and cute but older grandchildren are more fun, I think, because they are real people with opinions and ideas all their own that have nothing to do with the next bottle or diaper change.

Not sure what Mother was telling Claire but

she seems to be listening intently.

Mother was THRILLED because Claire

usually won't sit in her lap.

Boys ~ creatures I'm learning more about every day. I know boys, I like them, but I had NO idea what raising one was like. They smell ~ they fart and think it is hilarious ~ they fight ~they love me (I play PS)

Topher and Jakob with their "kill"
What handsome young men they are!

Our four grandchildren get along quite well for boys and girls living so far away from each other. The boys are careful around the girls ~ not too rough. And the girls would probably try anything they suggested simply because if the boys can do it why NOT?

Youthful abandonment in the leaves.

A celebration of sorts.

I know more about girls ~ they will sit and read or color or do a craft. They may "toot" but it isn't as funny, they like to smell nice and get their hair and nails done. They love me even though MY hair is turning gray. Girls are mean also, just not physically. (beware the sister with a grudge)

Sarah and Claire are beautiful.
Sarah was happy to jump
in the leaves and laughed a lot that day.
Claire appears lost in thought
as she hugs her pup.
And on to other adventures.

Happy New Year!

As you go forth into a new year with your resolutions and good intentions remember:

Every day is a good day

when it includes cake.

If it is tall, dark, and chocolate

it's a win ~ win.