Well, gee!

I have known about this for several days, but Simple Scrapbooks is ceasing publication. I just didn't know how I felt about it. I liked "Simple" the best of the remaining scrapping magazine subscriptions I had. The pages published there most closely reflected my personal style, and I would refer to the magazine for starting points more than anywhere else.

I know that this is just an indicator of the deteriorating economy. I get enough of the bad economy in my foreclosure counseling at work. I don't need bad things to happen with my hobby. That is silly of me of course, scrapping is a hobby of disposable income and when things get bad, people will stop buying stuff. I read where paper companies are cutting back and some have closed. I don't know where any of this will end.

Baby Pages

Here are some pages I have done for a class which will be offered in February at Scrapbook Garden. The kit is from My Mind's Eye Laundry Line. This is my new favorite paper. The pages weren't too complicated, but looks really cute. It was perfect for the baby pictures I have taken and for the ones we ordered from the hospital. Decorated chipboard is being used quite a bit in the kits right now, as is using foam dots for depth. I really like the dimension this adds to the pages. It doesn't hurt that I have the most adorable subject in the world to work with either.

Before we all get too comfortable

I am the wife of a retired military man. I follow the military blogs because I have learned more about what is going on in Afghanistan and Iraq, than I ever have by reading the newspapers. It is just another of example of having to be there. Today, I was directed to a blog "The Yllescasfamily." This young woman is the widow of an Army Captain who was injured by an IED in Afghanistan and who died of his injuries on December 1, 2008. He left behind his wife and two small children.

This young woman writes so clearly about her grief and her struggle to get through each day. War has it costs and I think we need to know more clearly what they are. The results of the war are not just what happens on the other side of the world. It is also what happens to people whose lives are torn apart when their husband and father are killed.

I am not talking about right or wrong here. I am talking about pain, grief, fear and loss. None of us want to experience these feelings, but we need to face them to realize the effects war has on the lives of the people left at home.

This is the blog, http://yllescasfamily.blogspot.com

Andrea Eleanor

We have a new grand daughter as of 8:59 this morning. Andrea Eleanor arrived very quickly and easily. Her mother was only in labor for 3 hours and nothing unusual happened the whole time. Andrea, Mommy and Daddy are spending the night at the hospital and will be coming home tomorrow. Brother Wyatt is spending the night with us. We are tickled to have a little girl.

We want to go back to Georgia!

When we were visiting Andrew, it got down to 61 degrees. I was complaining about it being cold. I knew I had it good, but coming back to Kansas just proved it. We were driving up and through Oklahoma City with the temperatures in the 70's. North of Oklahoma City, it started dropping and was in the 30's when we got home.

I called Andrew and told him how cold it was here and he just laughed. Once I retire we may have to spend a month down there in the winter to miss the worst of the cold