The Greats

I try to have my Dad and Stepmother over a couple of times a month for Sunday Dinner.  We all enjoy it, and sharing a meal together encourages a lot more conversation that visits to Wellington. I took this picture of them and Wyatt yesterday.  Wyatt was named student of the week at school and he needed a poster telling about himself.
I am so pleased that my grandchildren have great grandparents to relate with.  I didn't have living great grand parents when I was a child, so I have no idea of what the dynamics are in the kids mind.  I know my Dad and Jaunita are viewed by Wyatt and Andrea a different.  They are actually treated with more respect, kid wise, than we are.  That tells me that they are special to the kids as well.
I am so luck that my Dad at 91 and Jaunita at 93 are still here and able to take active part in our lives.

Hero Arts "Take Time" Cards

We are offering this stamped card class at Scrapbook Garden on February 22nd.  There are a couple of interesting techniques going on with this class, primarily with card design.  The embellishment is based on the use of glimmer mist and Stickles which are two products some people are not familiar with using.  Take a look and sign up for the class.

An old sweater

I will be so glad when Wyatt works himself through the two stages he has been in for a while.  The first one is the insistence that he IS Spiderman.  This was cute last summer, but it is getting old now.  He may be getting past it.  We see glimpses of him accepting himself as Wyatt again.  We can only hope.
The second stage I will be glad to see gone is the cheesy smile period.  I am not sure how long it lasts, but I miss the real smiles I used to get from my cute grandson and want them back.  This picture is an example of both things.  He is "shooting a web" and smiling cheesily while doing so.  A grandmother cannot catch a break at times can she?
I actually took this picture to post of Face Book.  The sweater Wyatt is wearing was made by one of our Swedish exchange Students, Mia Larssen for Andrew about twenty three years ago.  Cedar chests make for wonderful storage of things.  You forget what is in there.  There is also a purple panda sweater for Andrea when she gets bigger that Mia made for Nicole.  I like seeing the grand kids wearing things that my kids wore.

BG Pyrus Cards

There are shadows on the first two photos, but the colors are very true for these Basic Grey Pyrus Cards. I will be leading this Class at Scrapbook Garden on February 26th.  This set focused on making different styles of paper flowers which is popular right now with both card makers and scrappers.
Since I have been leading classes at Scrapbook Garden, the offerings have all been kits from the paper companies. In the spring, we will start offering some classes designed in house. I think everyone will like those.  I won't be posting those for a couple of months though.

The Importance of Family

I have numerous friends, everyone does who don't enjoy getting together with their family.  I know I am blessed that is isn't the case for me.  Family gatherings are times of great enjoyment for me even when the reason for getting together is a sad one.  My Aunt Meta died last week.  She was my youngest aunt, only fourteen years older than me.  We had a history, I remember going to her wedding, she helped my mother out after I was born, even though my mother sent her home earlier than planned.  She was not supposed to be the next family member to die.  But then, what family member should have been the one?  In my view none!
My Aunt Mary came in from Arizona and my cousin Juanita flew in from Washington.  I was able to pick them up and have them stay with us while they were here.  I am so happy they did.  We went up to Topeka to the funeral service and then down to Amorita for the interment.  We visited all the way and got to visit with a large group of other Gerdes's and Hills as well. 
On Saturday we thought about going out, but ended up visiting the whole day.  I don't remember ever doing that before in my adult life.  We just talked and looked at pictures and memorabilia the whole day.  It was the best day. 
All of the cousins are getting older and we are recognizing that we must find a way to keep in touch.  Face book will be a help, but nothing can beat actually being together in person.  Love your family.

Boys and Their Toys

My brother in law Leroy has decided to get a self propelled snow blower.  Ray bought Leroy's current machine and brought it home on Friday.  The snow had been forecast, but no one knew how much we would really get.  By the end of the day, there was over six inches on the ground.  Just like fate, Ray and Wyatt went out to clean the driveway.  Wyatt got cold and came in early, but Ray did the entire drive and was quite pleased with his new toy.  Now, who knows when we will get enough snow to use it again.  Ray and Wyatt can only hope.

Canvas Wall Hanging

I have made several of these Creative Imagination Canvas Wall Hangings, but this one is my favorite.  It is also the biggest at 18" X 18".  There are a lot of fun elements on this one including a ribbon flower, the die cut tree and metal key.  I like the photos as well.  I used old pictures of Ray's Mom and Dad.  I did the same on the previous ones and have been giving them to Ray's brothers and sister.  This class will be Tuesday Evening on February 1st at Scrapbook Garden.

Basic Grey Max & Whiskers Cards

 I am going to be leading a class for these cards on Tuesday evening, January 18th at Scrapbook Garden. Like most of the Basic Grey card sets, I didn't start out all that interested in them, but by the time I was finished I really like the cats and dogs used to make many of these cards.  The cards will be great to give to children.  The processes of making them are a bit easier too, although there are a couple of interesting techniques to be taught.

Christmas Card Album

This is my first project of the year.  It is an album to hold the Christmas Cards for that year.  I got the idea from my friend Cyn who saw the project on Monica Coffman's website.  I love the album because we get all these great cards each year.  In the past I have always bundled them up and then tossed them after a few years.  Now they can be kept and enjoyed.

The album is easy to put together.  I used two 8.5 in squares of chipboard.  I covered the outside with Jovial paper from Basic Grey.  The inside was covered with green card stock.  I punched a hole in the upper right corner of the covers and the card and tied it all together with red twill tape.  Cyn used a binder ring, I didn't have one big enough, but will get one for next year. 

If you want to keep your cards in a pretty album try this.

The New Year is off and walking

A slow start to the New Year is all right with me.  I didn't have the grandchildren yesterday or today.  This allowed me to get the Christmas decorations down and put away.  I reorganized the storage, so hopefully, I will not have to spend so much time moving things to different parts of the house.  Putting the decorations makes the house look a little bare for some reason.  I have to admit that is odd because I don't lack of stuff in my home.
I have a friend from church who is dying from cancer.  It is really hard for me to get my mind around this.  She is my age, and stuff like this shouldn't happen to people my age.  She is handling it very well.  She is a practical person.  However, no one wants to die.  I am certain though, she isn't afraid though.  That is what having faith and trust in God will give you. 

Good Friends

I am backing up to before Christmas with this picture.  From the left is Sharon Yaussi, JoEtta Zabel, me, Toni Johnson and Diane Gieswein.  We all used to work together in the mortgage department at INTRUST.  In spite of several of us moving on to other things we have managed to keep in touch and occasionally get together for dinner.  I value all my women friends so highly.  There is nothing better for your soul than to get together for an evening with old friends and have a good time.

My goals for 2011

Last year I realized that resolutions are hard to keep but that I can set goals and with consistent effort reach them.  I set a goal of being able to run a mile and exceeded that.  My other goal was to do a Pilates sit up and that one was a lot harder, but I did reach it as will.
For this year, I want to be able to do the Teaser Pose in Pilates.  I also want to run a 5 and maybe a 10K race.  I will never to a marathon, but I want to meet the challenge of running a race to its completion.  I am going to start training now and should be ready by the spring.
I want to start being more creative in the skills I teach in my classes.  I have the kits to follow but now I know that I can expand them to teach more skills.