Birthday Week & a New Camera!

This is our "Week of Birthdays" week! Ben turned 23 on the 13th, I turned 5_ on the 15th, and Emily will be/is 20 on the 17th! No more teenagers in the house! Happy Birthday everyone! This was the week when we would all get sick of birthday cake by the end of the week, because you know how it is - everyone needs their own birthday cake! And at our house birthday cake is always confetti Angel Food cake. But this year none of the kids are at home for their b-days, so that is a new change that I am not sure if I like. Hmmmm.....change!

I got to go out to eat with the Birthday Girls last night and that is always lots of fun. We all have girls the same age, so we catch up on each other's lives and the lives of our girls. But since my camera has been broken I couldn't take any pics - it has been killing me, not having a camera! But I got the one I ordered today! Yippee - I can't wait to figure it out! I went back to a Canon, since that is what my old 35 mm was, that I had for about 35 years and it served me very well. (that was one of the ways I knew my husband of 30 years was the right one for me - we had identical Canon cameras!) So the next birthday get together I will get pics of the margaritas. And hubby made me my angel food birthday cake, and I will take a picture of that tomorrow, if there is any left!


I am having a hard time taking photos with the new style of photography! I have a hard time not centering the subject, and having space all around it etc., etc. But there is certainly a new trend with photos of just taking very close close ups and just partial pictures of items - and to take pictures of people without their heads - I can't do it! Anyone else have a hard time with that?

And tomorrow is my sweet Emily's b-d, and since she is at college only an hour and a half away, we are going to drive up and take her and her girlfriends out to eat at Olive Garden - then onto Cold Stone's, sounds like fun doesn't it?

Then today, one day after turning 5_ I fell inside the school building on the win in this morning! We have snow, of course here in Michigan, and the floor had just been recently highly polished, so what did I do? Did a knee dive/splits! And it always happens so fast, you don't remember exactly what went what direction - but I remember sitting there on the floor, just glad nothing hurt severly, so I was hoping nothing was broken. Then some great kids came and helped me up, and it wasn't too bad, but as the day wore on it hurt worse and worse. We only had a half day because of exams (I am a teacher aide to a freshman in high school), so I HAD to do a few errands in the afternoon (one was going to Goodwill - a birthday treat to myself - will show pics tomorrow of the goodies!) and by the time I came home my knee was really hurting, and my ankle was also all swollen. So I iced that down, and it looks better tonight, but have been keeping myself to my LazyBoy so haven't tested walking for awhile. The thing is, last month I had three Synvisc injections to my knee because I have arthritis so bad and I have bone on bone there and the cortisone shots just weren't doing it anymore. And I had been feeling so great, being able to walk without pain - and who ever knew your knee was involved when you got up out of a chair - I could do that without pain too, it was great - and then this. So if you are the praying kind - please remember my knee!

And THANK YOU to all who remembered me on my birthday - I really appreciate the well wishes!

And then - ta da - my new camera! I am so excited! I can't wait to start using it! I tried to take pictures of the dog we are babysitting tonight, but he doesn't like getting his picture taken anymore than the kids! He sees me get out the camera and the darned dog runs for it! (I think it is the flash he doesn't like) But the cat (Mozart or MoMo) has cooperated, and she obligingly opened her eyes a crack!)


And I was able to do a little crafting of late! I made this photo album for Emily for her pictures from working in Alaska this summer. It was my first try at something in a long time - it was great fun! And I think I do have a picture of that......I have been able to use my friend's camera, thank you Robyn!!!, so here is that......


Oh oh, I don't think you are supposed to start every paragraph with an "and" hmmm.... And oh yea, I can't forget handsome Ben's birthday.... he turned 23, is now in the working world, but what do you get for a 23 year old son who just buys himself whatever he wants if he wants it.....hmmmm, any ideas? He would like a car/jeep of course, ha ha..... so Happy Birthday Bennie!

So raise a glass to everyone's birthdays - cheers!

Diane

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve! We went to Ken and Dianne's house for a wonderful Swedish Supper! (sorry-I don't know how to spell smorgasboard!) and would love to share a few photos of the family that I took before my batteries ran out! So here you go...



We had a great time - and the kiddies played a fun scrabble game called "Take Two", and here are pics of our kids, and their kids - and of Grandpa, who turned 96 this month!



Lots to be thankful for!!!
And here are pictures of our family and their family (minus one spouse)! Have a great Christmas tomorrow everyone!

Miles to go before I sleep

Well, we had a wonderful time up in Houghton, MI for Ben's graduation from Michigan Tech! We are so proud of him!!! And wow was it ever cold up there - minus three degrees at one point. So we enjoyed the pool and hot tub, as the snow and wind swept around the three glass sides of the pool area. I also picked up a lovely cold/laryngitis with cough while there! So now we can get started on Christmas. We put up our tree last night, (in the stand I mean)(it didn't pay to put it up before we left for Houghton, and have to have someone come in and water it), got the lights on tonight, and maybe, that is maybe, tomorrow the ornaments. We will also be driving to Lansing (a two hour trip one way) to pick up our son and may as well begin our shopping while we are on the way there. Our decorating is going very slowly - we had a new roof put on a few weeks ago, and when taking the five layers off, the last one on our 150 year old home must have been the next invention after thatch roofs, because it had one to two inch gaps between each of the roof boards. So our tiny crawl space we call our attic had everything covered with an inch of soot/grit/dirt - and everything is needing to be painstakingly cleaned. Hubby is doing a fantastic job doing that, but the soot got in everywhere, inside of boxes and inside of ornaments wrapped in tissue inside of boxes! Unbelievable! Our Christmas lights had also been wound around a board, and were also covered, so we spent two nights after work, looking for new LED Christmas lights - looked in six stores the first night, and three the second - no luck. So the old lights were dusted off, and put up one more time. Next year..... And gift lists just came in recently, so presents need to be bought - I do have one or two hidden, if only I can remember where!. And in order to try and recover from this cold, I am trying to take it easy, ha ha! BUT this year is WAY better than last year!

Last year in December, the 13th actually, I had a heart stent put in, came home, and then had a heart attack the next day, and spent 8 days in the hospital, and on the 22nd of December same son above had surgery to repair his ACL tear on his knee - so this year is just splendid, as far as I am concerned! I am going to enjoy every last minute of it! (I think hubby is enjoying it more too!)

So today was our last day of school, and what gets done gets done, otherwise, who cares! (dagnab those Christmas cards!) I just have to try and focus on what is important, not the long to do list! Deep breath in, and what is the yoga mantra? hmmmmmmmmmm - all is well! And I sure hope I get to do a little crafting somewhere in here, but it doesn't look good, but if I do, I will include pictures! Merry Christmas to you!

Hugs - Diane

Graduation Day!!!

No pictures yet - but we are off for a few days to go to our number one son's graduation from Michigan Tech. in the Upper Peninsula! I am so excited - a few days away from all the things that need to be done (haven't started Christmas anything yet!) AND we get to stay in a hotel!!! (which we never do - but even we can't camp in December in the UP) And our family will all be together for a couple days, somehow I feel that this will be happening less and less. I am hoping number one son will be able to come home with us, (it is a ten to twelve hour trip) because he doesn't have a car up there. We live in "Southern" Michigan, which always sounds so strange, like it should be balmy and warm or something - ha ha! He is graduating with a degree in STC - Scientific and Technical Communications, I think it has to do with computers and websites, I think. And thank you Lord, he already has a job at Monte Consulting, in Houghton, where he worked this last summer, and also through the school year! We are SOOO proud of him. I am just hoping he will let me take more than one or two pictures, because he tends to not enjoy that too much, to say the least! I will see what I can do.

And our number one daughter is also home from college, yeah Christmas time! -doggone it--my computer is being VERY crochety (not the knitting kind!) it gives me the hourglass of death and then clickity clacks at me for let's see, this time it was 15 minutes! I always joke my computer is trying to teach me patience, but enough already! Anyway - number one daughter is home, she was able to finish exams early so she could come with us to the graduation. We all love our road trips.

Wanted to get one picture in here tho - it is of my Birthday Lady friends. One Friend is missing, so it isn't all of us, but nearly. We all have girls the same age (second year in college) and have been friends since they were a couple of years old - a long time. We get together for each other's birthdays and always love spending time together and catching up on each other's lives. It is a wonderful group of women!

And here is Flori's lovely home - this is her family room, and through that window there on the right, you can see Lake Michigan! Fantastic!

Well it is off to do laundry and packing! See ya later! Diane

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!

I have been so negligent about posting - sorry! I just so enjoy reading the blogs I can't think of anything clever to write in my own. But I do love to show pictures, so will do a bit of that! And besides, if I talk too much on here, I would probably get in trouble with someone for saying something that I shouldn't! But my kids tell me I have to write more often so more people will comment, cuz so far it is mostly only my two kiddos that are commenting.

So first we had to go pick Bennie Boy up from Lansing, where he hitched a ride with his three friends/brothers, who all go to Michigan Tech - such goofs! - oh,.. I meant nice guys!!!! He got to be home for a whole week. (and I am trying really, really hard not to use the exclamation point after every sentence, although that way what I say seems so bland! And not filled with enthusiasm, like I usually am!) And we took Grandpa out for supper one night, then Emily got to come home Wednesday night in time for church, and then we had family over for Thanksgiving day. And that is my dear husband spending the morning in the kitchen, cooking away! I must say tho, that since the nephews and nieces are all grown and or married, I really miss the big family holidays together! It seems like once they are grown up, we don't see them nearly enough! We missed you Rad & Ilona, Holly & Pete, Erin & Paul and Brook!!! And John and Janet too!!!

It was great having everyone home again! Come to think of it tho, our kids were gone a lot of the time too. That is good too tho. And we got to spend time with some friends. And I got to make some caramel apples too! Here is our dear friend Robyn, whose camera I have been using lately, since mine no longer works-GRRRR! the lens won't come out. So I am finally able to take some pictures again - I HATE being without a camera! Could you tell I ran out of battery juice on Thanksgiving day? My family was SO happy for that, they get a little sick of my picture taking! But it nearly killed me not to be able to take any more pictures on Thanksgiving Day! So here is Robyn - she is like a sister to me - a dear heart! Usually after church on Sundays we go out for a bagel and coffee. We are babysitting her dog while she is in Grand Haven helping her sister who is sick. But the darn dog runs everytime a camera is pointed his way, so will have to work on getting a picture of Bruno.

And then we got to see our "old" friends Gail and Bill from Chicago. I have known Gail all my life, as my mom and I worked for her dad at the Corner Store in good 'ole Cedar Grove. Had a great time catching up with them too! And it was great getting to spend some time with Emily too, it was the first weekend she was home since August, so loved being able to tuck her in at night again too!

And then lastly, be sure to click on the tree picture, they all look so much better up closer, don't know why tho?! But the colors this fall were just fantastic! What a beautiful display God gives us every fall! And I want to be sure to say a few things I am ever thankful for - my family, my friends, our home (with a new roof-to boot!) and our health (which I promise to try and never take for granted again!) our church, and the loving care of my God!

And oh yea, we had enough snow on Thanksgiving day, which was just enough to make everything look pretty, and Ben and Fran went out and made a snowman! But since the batteries weren't working that day, it didn't include them in the picture, so just so you know, that snowman is about three of four feet high! Which is pretty darned good I thought!

So we had a great time, and hope you enjoyed the pictures - and please be sure to leave a comment or two!

Hugs, - Diane