Greetings from Idaho

In Idaho and having a great time. . . . We have had Judy's 2 grandchildren with us since Weds. Anders is 6 and Kate is 3. We brought them home with us so that their mom and dad could get some much needed work accomplished.
The weather is GORGEOUS to say the least.. in the high 70's to mid 80's .. just perfect.. Like Phoenix February weather.
Celebrated my BIG BIRTHDAY yesterday.. now the checks will start coming from Uncle Sam.. Had dinner at Judy's son Jeff's, then the grand kids put in show for us.
This morning we are going to go to the Farmers Market in downtown Moscow. It is full of booths from local merchants and farmers with goodies so sell. They always have live music there also.

As you grow older, you'll find

that the only things you regret

are the things you didn't do.

Zachary Scott

Waiting for Fed-X

I am waiting for Fed-X to deliver my new computer.. You know they say it is on the truck and I have no idea when it will show up.. so I am working on projects ie:

• Selected my papers for the cards for my August card classes..
• Composed an introductory letter for my "Say What In Home Craft Classes", and e-mailed it out..
• Put together my calendars for the rest of the year, noting dates for classes and special events.

Judy and Jim are over at their rental home.. They are almost finished..Wow what a job..

Here is a copy of the letter I sent out today for my in home classes..
Ladies,
I am excited to announce my “Say What In Home Classes”.
I will be conducting craft classes in my home starting in
September. I have been busy ordering wonderful things for our classes. My classes will be evening classes for 12 to 18 people, depending on the size of the project.

Classes will include some of the following:
Vinyl sayings & words on wood plaques
Vinyl quotes on glass blocks
Altered Books
Stylized clocks
2009 calendars
Gift packs of: bags, tags and toppers
Dry embossing classes: classes will vary
Technique classes : projects will vary
Wooden holiday theme door hangers
Plus
Many more fun ideas

Some samples

I will be working on my schedule while I am on vacation in Idaho, and will be sending it out, as well as a sample of the up coming class as soon as I return.

The classes will be first come..Pre-paid to hold your reservation. If you need to
cancel you will need to do so 48 hours in advance, since I have much preparation for each class.

Sunday - Sunday

Well it's Sunday already here in the hot southwest. Judy and Jim are still working on the rental house, getting it ready to re-rent again. They have put so much sweat equity into it these last couple days and are going over again this morning to finish up the things they have to do before the carpet cleaners and handy man come on Monday to finish up everything on their list. I helped on Friday clean and then yesterday I stayed home to meet Charlie and get my laptop back that her husband Carl had fixed. He really is a miracle worker with computers.. Mine is working like a charm now. She brought her little one, Zoey with her and she is such a sweetheart, busy and inquisitive. . . always on the go, but I did get lots of snuggles from her, near the end of the visit.

I had ordered metal modular 12x12 paper racks and they came on Friday, so I spent some time in the afternoon assembling them and stocking them.. I thought the first one was really easy to assemble and when I got it loaded with paper, I realized why it had been so easy.. I hadn't put the back braces in place and the loaded rack started to move like a slinky.. So I quickly had to unload it and take it apart and re-do it, but I finally got both completed and loaded and now my cardstock is all organized and I can see what I have. I will make it so much easier to work on projects, since I can readily see what colors of paper I have and not have to sort through each time a need a certain color.

I wanted to fix a good dinner for Judy and Jim since they had been working so hard all day. So I put green chili starter and chicken breasts in the crock pot. I shredded the chicken and served it over jasmine rice, along with tomatoes and corn. I fixed a fruit salad with poppy seed dressing and we had great cookies for dessert. Since Jason is batching it while Jamie and the kids are at her folks in Ohio, I invited him over for dinner too.
After dinner we watched "National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets".. I love that movie.. It was a fun evening.

Visitors from the great Northwest

Tomorrow my sister Judy and her hubby Jim arrive in Phoenix.. They are coming down to take care of some of their rental property. I am looking forward to their visit.. They never come in the middle of summer, I usually go up there.. which I will be doing a week from today.

I looked at my blog and realized I hadn't written anything since Saturday. Morgan wasn't feeling well on Sunday, so we had a sick day. On Monday I worked at WS in the morning and then took Morgan to her therapy and then dropped her off at home. It was so much fun to have her stay with me..

I have been having major issues with my printer and get so frustrated with it, when it jams all the time. When I print things for my classes I have to hand feed cardstock one at a time (and so many times it jams)..So it was very time consuming to say the least.. Well Judy told me about the new printer she got and loved it. It is a HP Officejet Pro K8600. I bought one yesterday. It prints 12"x 12" paper - YAHOO - I will be able to print on the 12 x 12 sheets for my classes and not have to always cut and paste .. can't wait to figure out how to do it..

My car was in the shop all day today..I had gotten a notice that a part had been recalled and I had to take it in to be replaced.. and have my 3 month service visit.. It's all fixed and my warranty covered all they did today..except the oil change.. Great news..I thought I was going to put out big bucks..

Well folks, I'll keep you up to date on the comings and goings of the next few weeks..that I get to spend with Judy..

"Say What" at home classes

I have been putting down ideas for my series of at home "Say What" classes. These are classes I will hold at my place for 6 to 12 people. We will be creating many different kinds of projects.
Such as, vinyl words on wood plaques, vinyl quotes on glass blocks, personalize and decorate clocks, mini albums, special technique classes, altered books, stamping and embossing, and a wide variety of card classes as well. I am putting together a schedule that I will publish upon my return from Idaho the middle of August. There will be several classes a month with a variety of themes. I have wanted to do this for a long time and I'm ready. I have been ordering great supplies for the classes.. and I am really getting excited for these classes to begin. They will all be pre-paid to hold your reservation. If you cannot attend you can pick up your complete kit with instructions after the class. Classes will vary in length and $$, depending on each project.
I have been organizing my craft room and sorting buttons, ribbons and stamps and papers to get them ready for classes and help me know what I have on hand.

Morgan and I have been having a great time: we went to see "Kit Kitridge".. I told you how much I love this movie; it was the second time to see it for me..I want to take Judy to see it also.. great values & morals and a wonderful history lesson. If you haven't gone yet, put it on your to do list. We have gone shopping and out to eat and just relaxed. Yesterday she spent the day at her hairdresser getting a "comp" complete treatment. She has been selected to be the model for all their advertising and they are getting her hair perfect for the photo shoot. She thought it was too dark, so she is there again today for a few hours while they lighten it up abit.
She had a babysitting job last night for a great friend Charlie & her husband Carl,and was sad that the girls were already in bed. She really loves children and wants to be a kindergarten teacher. She has worked for several years at pre-schools and just loves kids.
She asked me if I would make her favorite "Tuna noodle casserole" for dinner tonight.. you bet..

The last time I was at Judy's my new laptop was really acting up, it would overheat and shut down and I couldn't get it to connect to the Internet. S-O-O-O I called tec. support and the guy had me jump through all sorts of hoops to no avail.. In fact I couldn't even connect when I got home. So since I mainly used that computer for my sales rep. job and I didn't do that any more. It just sat on my desk.. Well I am getting ready to go to Judy's again and wanted to take it with.. I couldn't get it to do anything and was so frustrated.. Charlie said that her husband could probably fix it :-).. He is a miracle worker and a wonderful human being.. He is fixing it and I am so happy, will have to think of something special I can do for them..

Talk to you soon...

It's time for "All About Me"

Tonight is our monthly "All About Me" club. I have so much fun at these evenings. We are really building a great album centered around us and our lives. We are creating 4 pages tonight.. I am hosting tonight's club, and have made yummy desserts to share. A peach sorbet & vanilla ice cream pie.. and a toffee topped rich chocolate cake. So we will create, talk, laugh and indulge.
I will have a house guest thru Monday. Morgan is staying with me while Kristan goes to CHA in Chicago. So my house will be busy for a few days..She is so fun to have stay with me.. up for anything.. We stopped by Paradise Bakery for a take out lunch..our favorite chicken walnut sandwich & fire roasted tomato soup.. yum-o. She has PT this afternoon, so I will visit my favorite fabric outlet SAS.. and stock up on buttons and ribbons and goodies for my classes.
Next week Judy and her husband Jim are coming to Phoenix to take care of some rental property business and will be staying with me until we all fly back to the northwest together.. Fun times at my house for the next couple weeks.. I'll keep you posted.

Nature just out my window

I have been under the weather for the last couple days and have been looking out my windows toward the golf course. Since we have had rainy weather and a little cooler temps. many small animals and critters have been very visable just outside my condo, in the space between my patio and the golf course. Every time I look out, I see something else, many baby rabbits, running and playing and having a great time; a parade of quail going from one bush to the next. Gecko's running through the gravel and darting in-between bushes. Cute little prairie dogs darting about. I even hear the coyotes in the evenings after the sun goes down. It's wonderful to see all the action just outside my windows.. Well I'm back to lay down again on the couch.. I'll talk later.

It's Thursday again. . .

I was dreaming so hard that I really did sleep in this morning.. Weird dreams that had me so involved that I didn't want to wake up. I usually wake up around 6:30 or 7:00 and love it.. but today, I am really off my schedule with sleeping so late.. I was on call for at W.S. but they called and I don't have to go in.. Whew..

On Tuesday evening I attended the Dive Meet for 2 of my grandkids.. Tyler and Taylor. It was held at the Paradise Valley pool. It started at 6 with the 5 to 10 year old's diving. There were about 50 kids and they each dived 3 times.. I was amazed at how tiny some of them were and they were so brave to dive off the board. Tyler is in that group and he did great. He thinks he is in the same category as the Olympic divers and has great style. This is his first year in dive since he just turned 5. On his back dive, he was standing on the edge of the board and took a DEEP breath and raised his arms up over his head and was off.. trouble was, he didn't arch his back enough and he did a back flop..OUCH.. He popped up out of the water and you could see he really wanted to cry, but looked over at all of us cheering him on and just smiled.. Taylor is in the older group and has taken dive for a couple years.. She did great. The older divers that are 11 to 17 are so good I am amazed at their flexibility and style in their dives. The day had been 109 degrees outside, but in the evening there was a breeze and we had water mister bottles, so it really was a pleasant evening.

Yesterday I had my card classes, both were full and I had a great time. The gals in my classes are so much fun and I really do love teaching it. I am working on the samples for August classes today.. Want to get it all ready before I go to Judy's.

Tonight is the final swim meet for the kids and this one will be fun because it will be cousins against cousins. Kristan's kids and Jason's kids are on swim teams at 2 different pools and they are the 2 teams in tonight's meet.. should be fun..

Maddi

Tomorrow my grandaughter Maddi will turn "12". She is such a special girl with so much love in her heart. She is so very talented musically both singing and of course on her cello. Since she has swim team and a meet tomorrow, I took her out to the movies today.

She wanted to see "Wall-e". She is my next to the youngest grandaughter and will be in the 7th grade this coming school year. I have a great time with Maddi she is up for anything. . . which makes it fun to be with her.

All of my grandkids are growing so fast, Wow so this year I will have 2 grandaughters in college, 2 grandsons and 1 grandaughter in high school and 3 grandkids in middle school. That only leaves 5 in elementary school.. Time is flying by so fast..

Today I worked on my class samples for my up-coming "All About Me" class next Weds. Our topics are; Things I "treasure", Who has "Influenced" my life the most, and "Everyday", & "Someday"..pages about what you want to do everyday and what you want to do someday. I'll give peeks later in the week..

Time with Alli

This holiday weekend several of my grandchildren and their parents went to the Grand Canyon to give service to the Indian tribe that live in the village at the bottom on the canyon. The older boys that are in high school hiked down to the bottom on Thursday night. (the thought scared me to death, but I was assured it was safe and it is done all the time). Everyone else in the group of 4 families hiked down in the morning on Friday. They had prepared a full day of activities to share with the families who live there to make the 4th of July celebration fun for all.

Alli my youngest grandaughter was lonely, being left home all alone with her dad. On Friday eveing the 4th the rest of her cousins were all involved in going to the Diamondback baseball game and she was bored. I decided to have this opportunity to spend some time with her one on one. I called and ask Steve if he and Alli wanted to go out to dinner with me and they both agreed. We went to Islands at Desert Ridge and then walked around the marketplace. A HUGE storm was approaching so we headed home, to wait for it to blow over and the fireworks to start. They can be watched from Steve's front yard, since the fireworks display is just a few blocks from their house.

On Saturday Alli and I went to see the new movie "Kit Kitridge"..such a fun movie. We both loved it and laughed and I learned so much about living during the great depression. The cast of characters is so fun in the movie, they teach several great lessons on bigotry, being humble and on being honest as well as the struggles that the people endured living at that time in the United States, all the while making it such a fun movie to watch. You fall in love with Kit and her family .

The movie is a great one for all ages and there were more adults my age in the theater than children and everyone loved it. Alli had a fun weekend and I know I did. It was fun to be able to spend some one on one time with her.

God Bless the USA

The United States Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, announcing that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration was a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The birthday of the United States of America—Independence Day—is celebrated on July 4, the day the wording of the Declaration was approved by Congress.

The 1776 Declaration set forth evident truths that have been embraced by peoples of other nations – that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, especially the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that it is the duty of government to protect these rights, and that, failing to do so, it is the right of the people to seek an abolition of such government. The Declaration spurred many other movements worldwide to bring an end to colonization and other forms of government that had become unaccountable, repressive, and abusive.

As we set this day aside to spend with family and friends, I want to remember why we do celebrate on July 4th. The history of our country is very interesting to me and I love reading about our forefathers and their struggles and triumphs in creating this great country we live in. When I hear the Star Spangled Banner or God Bless America or other beautiful music that celebrates our country I am so proud that I get to live in this nation. I really don't know how to explain how I feel when I see the beautiful landscape throughout our country or hear a patriotic song or see the planes fly over head at an event, the things that make me humble and proud to be an American..

I think the song by Lee Greenwood "God Bless the USA".. states my feelings perfectly;

If tomorrow all my things were gone,

I’d worked for all my life.

And I had to start again

,just my children and my wife.

I’d thank my lucky stars

to be livin here today

‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,

and they can’t take that away.

From the lakes of Minnesota,

to the hills of Tennessee.

Across the plains of Texas,

From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,

and New York to L.A.

Well there's pride in every American heart,

and its time we stand and say.

That I’m proud to be an American,

where at least I know I’m free.

And I wont forget the ones who died,

who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,

next to you and defend her still today.

‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,

God bless the USA.

I just get a feeling inside me and usually tears flow because I am touched by the beauty of it all.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Independence Day.

It's Official !

Well it's official.. I have hit the age of, well lets just call it the Golden age.. This morning I renewed my drivers license and although it was relatively easy to do, I had to have the eye test and at my age they only renew it for "5" years and not forever, but that's OK. My picture even turned out quite good on my new license. My next stop was the U. S. Social Security Office to get set up for "Medicare"..(oh my goodness) and get my Social Security Benefits set up.. I have been so anxious (nervous) about this process and not looking forward to it at all. But again, to my surprise it was fairly easy. I worked with a fantastic young lady that was so patient and answered all my questions and was so helpful. She made the process a piece of cake. I had to answer a few questions and she did the rest. She gave me great advice and lots of answers.. So I am now an official Oldie but goodie.. My next step is to set up my benefits through Kent's retirement account.. that comes tomorrow.. It seems that for last few months I have stewed over this upcoming process but the people I have worked with so far have made it so pleasant. The waiting time at both offices this morning was very short, so if you need to go to a government office, go on the first day of the month.. shorter lines and not the long waits.

So as of August 1st..the magic age; this all goes into effect.. I'll be up in the great Northwest visiting Judy and her family..that's why I wanted to get it all mapped out early..

My quote for today:

Be Brave

Most of our obstacles would melt away if instead of

cowering before them, we should make up our minds

to walk boldly through them.

Orison Marden