Oklahoma City National Memorial, February 2011



Ray and I drove to Oklahoma City yesterday to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial.  It was the first time for Ray and the second time for me to go there.  The Memorial is a powerful place.  It is quiet even when there are a good number of people there.  For me, it brought back all the memories of the pictures we saw on television after the bombing.  The ones of the children were the worst and the sight of the nineteen little chairs representing each child killed is wrenching.

Outside the Memorial is a chain link fence where people leave tokens.  Some were so personal I cried.  A baby bib, a birthday card for a child, photos, all of it tragic.

Visiting this place also reminds us that terrorists are not just people from other countries with different religious beliefs.  They are the men who live next door and mind their own business.  Evil is what is in people's hearts, not in a foreign country.

Basic Grey Curio Cards and Quick Quotes Mini Album

I will be leading the Basic Grey Curio Card Class on Tuesday March 22nd at Scrapbook Garden.  This paper is very attractive and has a great vintage feel to it.  The theme of this class would be fun with circles.  I used a lot of one inch punches as well as larger size circles to do these cards.  There are a couple of fun techniques to be learned with these cards.

The mini album from Quick Quotes is cute as is everything from these folks.  The album uses to artist canvases for the covers and then has an interesting way to bind the pages.  When the album is completed, it is a month by month record for a year.  The class will probably be scheduled in April.

Robins! Do they really know?

I saw a robin yesterday as I was going into to church to attend Presbytery.  I remember seeing robins in the yard last year and the weather truly did improve after that.  I am pinning a lot of the same hopes on this little guy.  The cold and snow and ice can pack up there bags and leave, I am ready for spring.

Back on track, literally

With all the cold weather the last several weeks, I have not been working out like I should.  Not running five days a week and attending my various classes has a direct result on my weight.  I am not gaining, but I have had a really hard time getting what I did gain a Christmas back off.  I know that working up to twenty miles a week will take care of that.  Losing weight was the primary reason I started working out seriously. 
Now, I am doing core workouts. I can't believe I am doing Core Workouts.  That means crunches, and other horrendous actions that I would never have believed I would even consider. Why am I doing this?  Because every part of me looks pretty good, for my age, except my stomach.  Years of weight gain and not doing my post natal exercises have come to haunt me.  Plus, I have a bad hip to waist ratio, this indicates your risk level for heart disease.  So core exercise it is.  I think I am making some headway. I sincerely hope so because I don't care for it at all.

Record Low

Just for informational purposes, yesterday's temperature of -17 was a record low for that date.  It doesn't beat the state low of -20, but that was up in the northern part of the state where it always is colder.  I don't like winter like this. 

Wyatt's Valentines Cards

I had planned to make Wyatt's Valentine cards for school before he asked me to do that.  When your grandson asks, how can you refuse.  The designs for these cards are from the current issue of Cardmaker Magazine.  They were described as retro cards.  I guess that means they are similar to cards we used to give out when we were children.  Three of them use the old style paper doilies.  I always loved them when I was a child, so the opportunity to use them again was irresistible.

Random Musings in Sub Zero Weather

Hmmm, for some reason my random thoughts all center around the cold weather. 

There is no such thing as a squirrel proof bird feeder.  We bought one that looks like a mini maximum security prison cell.  The squirrels clean it out.  The birds can't figure out how to get past the bars to the seed slots.  We tried setting out separate feeders of corn for the squirrel.  But they turn their little rodent noses up at corn and head for the sunflower seeds.  I am just going to put seed in the feeders and let it be first come first served.  I really do find the squirrels amusing, and the seed they toss on the ground is eaten by the nuthatches, jays and everyone else who drops by.

Little kids don't wear undershirts anymore.  Until I was almost big enough for a bra, my mother made me put on an undershirt every day in the winter.  Maybe it is because houses are heated better now, but I still think more clothes under their clothes would be better for kids.  I know it works for me.

Thermal underwear, I need a couple more pairs of long Cuddl' Duds pant and a long sleeve top.  I have had sets for years, but now that I dress casually all the time, they are a must for winter.  When the weather warms up, I am off to Kohl's to spend my gift card on that.  I also want more sweat pants.  They are warm, more than jeans and Cuddl' duds.  I bought a pair for wearing over my work out clothes, but I want more just to wear around the house.  The public has permission to point fingers and laugh if I wear them to do any more than get Wyatt at school though.

I have learned that you do get what you pay for when you buy gloves.  I have been wearing the little one size fits all gloves from Walmart for years.  At  a dollar fifty a set, you couldn't beat the price.  But even doubling up, my hands are freezing in minutes.  So I will also be looking at Kohl's for a good set of winter gloves.  The Walmart ones will be good liners.

The last time I have felt this cold when I wasn't skiing was my freshman year in college.  However, I think that was probably due more to a young persons inability to dress correctly for the weather than actually temperature.

The weather is supposed to get better over the weekend.  We can only hope.

Snow, snow, snow

Kansans are not unused to cold weather.  It gets cold here in the winter and the wind chill factor is something even a ten year old understands.  However, snow has always been a mixed pleasure for me.  I love to watch it come down.  That is watch it come down from inside my house with a fire going and a hot drink.  Once the snow stops, I am good for a day and then it needs to melt.  A week of white is too long.

So no one, including myself, was pleased to have it snow again yesterday.  As a matter of fact, it snowed over twenty four hours, truly unusual in this part of the country.  The snow from last week had not completely melted away, so there we are. A lot of snow on the ground in Kansas, and cancellations galore.

I am so lucky to be retired now and not have to go outside unless I choose to do so.  I chose to go out this morning to take care of the birds.  I also had an idea that I might walk over to the park and try for some "arty" snow photos.  I dressed in layers, two pairs of gloves, the whole thing.  I was really quite proud of myself.  Until I went outside,  I was good for five minutes, it was seven degrees, with a wind chill of way below zero.  I got the birds cared forand took the pictures in the yard.  At that point my face and fingers were getting numb and stinging.  I realized that a walk in the park was not going to happen.  I went back in the house, made a hot breakfast and coffee for myself and decided to spend the day scrapping.  Oh, and light the fire.
With any luck at all, it may start melting by Friday.  None too soon for me.

You know, Kokopelli is from New Mexico.  It snows there, he should really know to wear more clothes.

Basic Grey Oliver Three Dimensional Wall Hanging

I was in the mood to do something for myself last night.  This is the result.  I saw this Basic Grey Max paper at Scrapbook Garden on Saturday and I just loved it.  The design, the colors and the little animals all appealed to me.  I also realized that I would want to cut the paper for a wall hanging.  I first did a cut paper picture in September with a Halloween project from Pine cone Press and Graphic 45.  It was so popular, and was done many times, that it is now easy to see which papers are best suited for these projects.
Doing one of these is simple, just sort of time consuming and requires a SHARP pair of micro point scissors and a good craft knife.  Start with three to four sheets of the printed paper.  I used four sheets on this one.  Cut out the elements you want to give dimension and attach to the base sheet with foam tape of squares.  Continue until you have reached the level that you are happy with.  It is that easy.
The picture will fit in a Scrapbook Page Frame that can be bought at Michael's or Hobby Lobby.  I am going to see if they have white ones.  Every frame I have at home is black.
My next project is school Valentines cards for Wyatt.  I have them made, I just want to tweak them a bit before posting them.

500 Posts

Just to be able to take notice of it.  This is my 500th post.  I had not thought about reaching this milestone and here it is.  I have been blogging almost four years too. I may not be the best, but I just keep chugging along.

Pinecone Press/Sassafras Options Kit

Here are the projects for the next Pine Cone Press Options class I will be doing at Scrapbook Garden on Tuesday March 8.  Sassafras provides the paper for this kit which includes an instruction booklet for numerous projects including cards and a mini photo album in addition to the photo journal and pages. 
The primary project will be the photo journal which covers a small legal pad.  It isn't all that difficult to make.  the hardest part for me was getting the photos small enough to fit.  But the photos are what make the journal.  I love the bright colors.  They are such a mood lifter in these cold winter days we are having right now.
The second journal is from a cover design I learned at a class when River City Rubber Stamp still had a store.  I used the remaining card stock in the kits and scraps left after the first journal and the page were done.  I have always loved the diagonal cut on the cover for the journal.
The page is a lesson on using small pieces to decorate a page while still leaving a large amount of white space.  The base is ivory card stock which was spritzed with glimmer mist.  This product is still a mystery to a lot of people, so I hope this will help a few toes get dipped in the mist.
As always with Pine cone Press, these are fun projects with lots of supplies to work with.

Happy Birthday Andrew

Andrew is twenty seven years old today.  He probably does not have any problems with that, but it just seems incredible that my baby is that old.  However, for the most part it is OK that he is grown up.

Happy Birthday Son!

Blizzard

We are in the middle of blizzard conditions right now.  It is eight degrees outside with a wind chill in the minus teens.  The snow is really fine but just keeps coming down and drifts.  It is supposed to go on until tomorrow sometime.  Places are closing, the local malls closed at 5:00 today.  Scrapbook Garden didn't even open, and my class tonight is postponed till Saturday.  All in all, not nice outside at all.
The bottom photo is of Nick and the snow blower.  Men love power tools and this was his opportunity to try it out.