Your Mother Should Know ...

A couple layouts ...

I haven't been quite as productive on my scrapbooking the last two weeks because I'm working on this CLEAR mini album.  It's a challenge, but fun.  Hopefully I can finish it soon and post here.  For now, I leave you with "Blue Moon" inspired by PencilLines.com sketch #45  This is definitely one of my favorite layouts.  I also love the glow around the moon in the photos.  Kinda wish we hadn't shot the photos through the window screen; but hey, live and learn.

and here's D is for Dog, inspired by PencilLines.com sketch #46.  I'm not all that wild about the finished layout, but I love, love the photos.

Mom ...

Here's the layout I finished tonight starring my mom -- well, she as her much younger self!  :)  This layout was inspired by OneLittleWord's word challenge #7:  seek.  I found the photos this weekend as I was going through some folders.  My mom allowed me to take them last year, begging me not to lose them.  She has less than ten photos of herself as a child, and they are precious to her.  As I was scanning them, I remembered my husband at a Christmas dinner years ago, listening to my grandfather tell stories about his heritage and his parents, who immigrated to this country.  He was even singing a bit of an old song in mixed languages.  My husband was more insightful than I knew.  He wanted a tape recorder so we could capture the stories. My grandfather is gone, and so are his stories. We must rely on the memories of his children; again, we have a chance to capture the pictures and the stories of our ancestors.

Grrr... I must find a different way of digitizing my layouts.  I am so disappointed at the color and quality discrepancies between the IRL and the scanned file.

A Tribute to Maxine Ehlers

My SIL lost his grandmother about a week ago.  A family lost a much loved member; friends and neighbors lost someone they cared for and who cared for them.  And, although we don't know it, the world lost a good one.

Robert and I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with her and her family about nine months ago. Then, yesterday, we gathered with her family, friends and neighbors to celebrate her life.  And what a life!  She was an ordinary girl, an employee, a wife and mother, a friend.  But what made her extraordinary was her spirit.  She shared what she had and gave of herself and her talents.  And, at 91, she still found joy in everyday living, and she was having fun. 

Maxine, you live on in your children and grandchildren.  You will not be forgotten.  Now, enjoy eternity!  I hope you're getting a real kick out of the physical limitations you've shed.  Thanks for being a good example and for showing me I still have much to learn.

"Well done, my good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share your master's happiness."  Matt. 25:21

Me Right Now

Here's my responses to Trendy Tuesday questions from A Fancy Word for Simple:

1. Right now, I would love to have a Diet, Caffeine-free Coke to drink.

2. Right now, I would like to have Ed McMahon with a  Publisher's Clearing House check show up on my doorstep.

3. Right now, I am listening to The 6th Target by James Patterson (book on CD) on the car radio/ipod/music player of choice.

4. Right now, I wish I could take back all the inconsiderate things I've ever done or said that hurt people I care about, but it is too late.

5. Right now, I am grateful for family, friends, health, and chocolate.

Happy Tuesday!

Thanks, guys, for the ride!

I'm glad everything worked out okay.

Today's adventure

It took us almost 15 years, but we finally rode the dinner train.  It was fun, we had a great time,  and met a couple women who were great dinner companions.  My only complaints were that we really couldn't get up and move around much, and they just kept feeding us. 

Here are pictures from our day:

Flowers from Robert to celebrate our anniversary.  He choose the three roses for our three kids.  I think he's a keeper!

This is what the dome car looked like:

Our first course was in the bread basket.  There were croissants, muffins, coffee cake, and scones.  Our second course was called Strawberries Devonshire and was delicious.  I looked up the recipe on the internet when I got home and was very surprised at the alcohol.  In fact, I was sure the recipe I found couldn't have been the same.  But I checked four different providers, and they were all the same!  LOL  If you'd like to try it -- and it was yummy -- here's the recipe.  And if you have a recipe that does NOT include the alcohol, please let me know.  I don't think I'll convince Robert to try it again once he knows what's in it!  :)

Strawberries Devonshire, Serves: 6 Servings
Ingredients:

• 1/2 c Sour cream
• 1 1/2 c Whipping cream; whipped until stiff
• 1 tb Brown sugar
• 1 tb Grand Marnier
• 1 tb Curacao
• 1/4 Orange; juice of
• 3/16 Lemon; juice of
• 1 qt Fresh strawberries; rinsed & hulled

Instructions:
Combine the sour cream, 3/4 cup of the whipped cream, the brown sugar, Grand Marnier, Curacao, and orange and lemon juice; combine thoroughly.  Place the strawberries in six compote glasses. Pour a little of the sauce over. Top with additional whipped cream, if desired, and pass the remaining sauce in a sauceboat.

And our brunch main course:

Then we rolled off the train for a 45-minute stop at the Columbia Winery:

   

When we reboarded the train for our return trip, we were served dessert.  We shared a delicious apple crisp and an okay chocolate mousse:

The weather was perfect, the food was good, the company was outstanding, and I'm glad we finally rode the train.

He spent Father's Day working ...

Yes, folks, it's true.  My children's father worked on Father's Day, and the kids helped him. 

I wanted a waterfall in our backyard.  He agreed to make it.  Over the winter we talked about placement, design, materials; we read what we could find online; and we began to formulate a plan.  Spring came, and we walked around water features we could find in town and talked some more.  Then he went ladder diving, and our focus changed to "healing".  He'd go out in the backyard with our son, work a couple hours, and then be sore and in pain.  So progress is moving slowly and cautiously.

I'm okay with letting it take all year.  He, however, is not.  He wants to see the water trickle down the rocks; he wants to finish the task and move on. 

So for Father's Day, he asked the kids for gifts of labor and time.  Come in work clothes with shovels, concrete, and muscles.  I thought he was crazy!  I think the kids were praying for rain!  LOL  But they showed up ready to work, with giving attitudes, and worked on the water feature; I prepared food for everyone and cleaned up the kitchen.

So, was it a gift for him?  Yes.  Was it a gift for me?  Well, yes, that, too.  I'm not totally sure of DH's motive, but I "think" he wants to get it done so he can move on to other, and probably more enjoyable, pursuits.

Happy Father's Day, you crazy guy!  I still would have picked door number two.

 

It's a Dare and a Test!

Okay, I couldn't resist -- and it also helped that I could easily put my hands on this photo!  The dare came from Fancy Simple, and it asked who was brave enough to post a junior high photo.  Well, ladies and gentlemen, here's one of mine from the junior high years.  And I thought that hairstyle was quite the thing.  Looking at it now I think it needed a good trim and some styling!  LOL

Here's the TEST.  When you view this photo, you must leave a comment.  That's just the way it is; you gawk, giggle, stare, peek or just scroll past this picture, and you must leave a comment on this post -- even if it's a year from now!  After all, I should be able to get some enjoyment out of my own embarassment!  Then again, who's embarassed?  It's not like I'll ever have hair that dark or be that thin again in this lifetime!

Oh, and there's a RAK for the first person to guess the year correctly!

She's Got a Ticket to Ride!

Woohoo!  I bought our tickets to ride the Spirit of Washington dinner train today, and I'm pretty excited.  We'll take the Sunday brunch ride in July.  This is just one of those tourist things I've wanted to do for years but didn't get done for a variety of reasons.  Now it's time.

Bought this picture frame for my mom as part of her birthday present, and filled it will black and white 4x6 photos that should make her grin -- I dubbed it the "grin strip".  I made one for myself and love it.  So that's on it's way today.

I heard on the radio last week, that we have 80+ degree heat 32 days a year.  If that's the case, then we only have 29 days left, and it looks like two or three of those days will come this weekend.  I LOVE sunshine, long summer days, and warm weather.  But "warm" and comfortable for me is below 80! So, the curtains are shut during the day, the fans are running at night, and I'm thankful for a back yard that's on the east side of the house.  My den, unfortunately, is on the west side, and it gets HOT in here.

The sun is setting, and I'm headed out to the front porch to watch it and enjoy the cooler temps.  see ya.

Oops!  almost forgot to tell ya.  I updated three photo albums tonight -- the "year to remember" now has the March and April pages; the Choosing Joy is complete as I'm not adding the journal pages; and I added a finished layout to the recent album.   I definitely need to be more productive!

Amber Waves of Grain

We were out early this morning and eating breakfast by 7 am.  What, you say?  Were you working today?  Nope.  Just wanted to enjoy every minute of my day off!  :)

After breakfast, I wanted to take some pictures for my class, so we visited the World War II memorial that was erected about seven years ago.  Kinda interesting, isn't it, that when you take pictures of something, you actually see more?  You can learn more about it here.

There are 4000 metal stalks of wheat representing Washingtonians killed in WWII; the stalks are made of old torpedo railings.

The five tall blades you see above have ghost images of servicemen etched into the bronze.  These images are formed from the names of the fallen.  The light was good this morning, and I was able to catch the images in the bronze.  Very moving.

I don't often share how much I love my country, how blessed I feel to be an American, and how proud I am of those who step up to defend this country and what it stands for.  Without these brave men and women, the world would be a different place.  My heart weeps at those currently in harm's way, and it breaks for those, like these 6000 men and women, whose lives are sacrificed.  May God bless you and your families, and keep you safe.

The images on the bronze blades reminded me of the HBO series I've watched a couple times.  If you haven't seen Band of Brothers, I highly recommend it.

On a lighter note, here's another photo I took this morning of my man and his best friend.  :)