New Beginnings....

Today Jeremy, Julie and Claire should be leaving the hospital and going home...to start the new year as a family of 3. This is a special time for them.

When I talked to Jeremy yesterday he was full of joy and admiration for Julie and little Claire. He said she is feisty and try's to take off her hat.
She already dislikes being bundled up. She has a personality.
He said the nursing staff where so kind, thoughtful, knowledgable, patient and where angles. Julie's parents are with them in Vancouver sharing their joy of having Claire in their lives and giving them love and support.

Jeremy's Dad, Peter and his wife Evelyne will go see Claire soon..he too is joyful to welcome this long awaited baby into his life.

What ever your New Years Plans are..keep safe and Cherish your days!














I think she would be stylin in this hat and booties.I need to learn how to knit like this..maybe Frosso can teach me when I see her in Vancouver.
Will try to find the Etsy shop these were in.
Here is the website...http://www.etsy.com/people/SGardner?ref=ls_profile

Cherish

Of the many blogs I read and follow Kim Klassen's is the one I am the most touched by. She lives in Rivers, MB..she is Canadian, she is an artist. Her courses are inspiring and fun to take..one day I hope we can meet in person.

The word she choose for herself for 2011 was Build and she encouraged all of us to find a word that works for us and use it thru out the year..I made this for her and sent it off...her is her reply..







Subject: Re: Build

oh my word... you are so very sweet!! thank you for this!! i adore it!!

i love your one little word.... how exciting to have a new grandbaby!! Claire Anne...what a lovely name as well.....

I want you to know I appreciate you very much.... you are such a light.....
love to you and yours.....xxo, kim

in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. – Max Ehrmann
visit the Café, the inspiration~studio and the Photoshop Test Kitchen for all kinds of inspiration. kim klassen

Here is my word for 2011.Cherish:{ To treat with affection and tenderness; to hold dear; to cherish one's family; to keep fondly in mind; entertain: to cherish a memory; to care for tenderly; to nurture: to cherish a child; to cling fondly or inveterately to; to cherish a memory.}






Little Claire is doing well and they hope to take her home today. She is one of the reasons that my word for 2011 is Cherish..

Claire Anne Brown

Great news...we have a grand daughter!
Claire Anne born at 1:25 am this morning...8 lbs 6 oz!
Julie went into the hospital at around 6 last night.
Julie, baby and Jeremy are all fine!
Julie and Baby Claire will go home tomorrow from the hospital.

She is such a wonderful addition to our family. Planning my trip to Vancouver to see her soon.

Celebrating...

First of all, Happy Birthday Heinz..hope you and Marlene had some fun celebrating your birthdays so close together.

Isn't he so cute..he really loves the camera. Alexander will be 1 on
January 6-2011. His birthday party plans are well underway.









Still on hold grand baby wise here...maybe today or tomorrow or whenever the little one wants to make an appearance. :)

The Red Amaryllis

Happy birthday to my sister-in-law, Marlene! wishing you a happy and healthy 2011.

Look how beautifully this red amaryllis is blooming. 4 flowers on each stalk opened at the same time. What a great find at Frys grocery store for $8.99 each.

















Cold bit better, still have a headache and sore throat..but as my mom used to say "it is far from the heart."

Small Things...

Happy Boxing Day...we were going to spend and share Christmas with Karen but I got a terrible cold and had to cancel. It seems that this cold is making it's rounds. My dear sister Caroline has it in Bull River! As well as Shane and Alexander in Sri Lanka. I still have a killer headache and a sore throat...but I know I can kick this in a day or two.

Jeremy and I talked yesterday and if our little grand baby hasn't arrived on it's own by Monday night, they will be parents on Tuesday. I know they are definitely hoping for sooner than Tues...will keep you posted.



a textured vignette using photoshop elements.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our home in sunny Arizona.
Somehow thru all this, I have come down with the most terrible cold. So today our plans are up in the air..except I will be resting and trying to get better quickly, still waiting for that phone call!
Jim is taking excellent care of me. Ox

Christmas Eve Day...Excellent Adventure

Jim and I had a wonderful sunny day for our adventure. I packed up a picnic lunch, put in our folding chairs and off we went.

We drove towards Tucson on highway 79 on the Pinal Pioneer Road thru the Cactus Gardens which were beautiful in the morning sunlight. At the Oracle Junction we turned north on Hwy. 77 towards Globe (which is 79 miles north). We came across a (new to us) Robson Ranch golf course called Saddle Brooke Ranch. It has only been open for 2 years...we looked around the models homes and loved the high desert location right in the mountains..they have a huge recreational facility with swimming pools and a bistro which just opened.

Back on the road we stopped in at Biosphere 2 run by the University of AZ..very very cool place..we didn't stop to take the tour but we will go back and look around.

This was our lunch stop...can you believe it..here is our picnic proof!!
Another successful excellent adventure day.
Will post the photos of Globe and Miami at a later date.

Merry Christmas, Alexander

Shane and Laurie sent these photos of Alexander's 1st Christmas. They flew back to Sri Lanka from Australia last week where they had been for 10 days.
Shane was busy working almost all that time but Alexander got to see his other grandparents as well. I know they were thrilled to see him. We sure miss him.
Merry Christmas Alexander!

The Amaryllis

The amaryllis is a tender, flowering bulb, originally from the Andes Mountains of Chile and Peru. The plant was named after a shepherdess in Greek mythology. The word actually means "sparkling" and refers to the attractive bloom.

The amaryllis was discovered in 1828 by Eduard Frederich Poeppig, a young physician from Leipzig, on a plant hunting expedition in Chile. Such was Poeppig's delight with his own discovery that he was, in the words of a biographer, "often compelled to relieve his full heart by uttering loud shouts of joy, to which his faithful dog and sole companion and witness of his delight responded with howls of equal delight."

This is what is blooming here at our house right now.They are so beautiful..2 stalks, each with 4 flowers per stalk..The red one is almost blooming as well.











Still no news on our new grand baby..the baby must want a Christmas day birthday!!!!

Tlaquepaque Pottery

(tell lack a pack key)

Tlaquepaque is a neat small town (now a suburb of Guadalajara), whose residents have long been artisans and craftspeople, specializing in ceramics and glassware.
This is some of the amazing pottery from 1920-1950 that Shannon has started to collect. It was great to be with her when she found this bright and colorful pottery.

The Tiled backsplash.

Jim did an awesome job tiling our kitchen back splash..he did it in 2 days.
After he had the tiles all put up, he did the grouting and I was the clean up
the grout girl. What a team! Now it we have it all done and the kitchen looks great.

Mittens

Who knew mittens could make such a sweet photo or gift...I think I will have to learn to knit...my first attempt was a small scarf...I am sure I could master something like this.

Happy 1st day of Winter & Julie's due date!!










Photos from country living magazine.

Last day of Fall....

Today is the last day of Fall...tomorrow the first day of Winter when the days get longer...and Christmas is only 5 days away.
Waiting for our little grandbaby to make an appearance. I am sure that Jeremy and Julie are even more excited than I..if that were possible?






























Found this lovely website...check it out if you have time.
http://whiteflowerfarmhouse.com

Good Things...

Presents that come in the mail are such a nice way to start your day...had to open this gift from Christa as I knew she sent cookies!! What a treat as you can see from the photo! Thank you Christa...Cindy's present is under our small tree...looking forward to opening that gift on the 25th.






Here are a few things I found on my Thrift Store Shopping Day on Friday..

A couple of old spoons..need a bit of polish..25 cents each..a good find.






2 dozen vintage ornaments in original box, wonderful condition and perfect additions to my glass ornament collection. $1.00 for 2 dozen!





6 little christmas plates...from 1991-1995... $2.00 for the set if six...




Update on the kitchen..Jim tiled the backslash...did a great job! We finished the grouting and cleaning up before Sue and Dave came over for dinner last night..it looks very upscale.

Christa's Big Tree....

Every year since 1986 Christa and Mike have put up a huge tree in their log home...no different this year even though they will be spending this Christmas with their kids and grandkids....they will come be together to see this beautiful tree the week after Christmas.
This is Christa..she is calm and carries on! After all she is the Marquesa of Mayook.





The 14 foot tree they cut......tied and and brought home...





14 hours later...(I would guess) and here is her beautiful tree..all I can say is
WOW!!!

Cindy's Woodland Photo

I asked Cindy last week when she had time to please take a winter photo for me...with some branches that I can use my textures on...what a sweet friend she is! oxox.
Here is what I came up with....

The original photo...




Warm vintage..



Heat map filter.


Noir...the classic black and white.


Blurred edge black and white.


Psychodelica

Found

I found this great new store called "Found". They have some lovely vintage treasures..here are some of the found photos...