Fresh Greens

Since spring (officially) begins tomorrow, it makes me anxious to once again see green grass, green leaves on the trees, and a few other green favorites...

planting fresh veggies

no more winter boots

 

spending time out on the patio

a new piece of jewelry - this cute ring looks really fun and it's only $12.95! I love sea turtles.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61t7s4iKznL._SY395_.jpg

and wouldn't this be fun for getting around town!!

An *OFF* switch

If only it was this simple...

Sometimes I just want to turn RA off for a while,

One little switch could make me smile.

There are other things I need to do,

And other people who need me too.

I'd produce these switches and give them away,

To anyone suffering in any way.

Just turn off all pain and flip happiness on.

It's my perfect invention that can't go wrong.

photo.php from Giggles over Tears with RA on facebook

Wordless Wednesday

Cooking Lesson

Sweet Sean

Our beautiful Sean just turned 20 years old on January 10th.  My how the time has flown by!  

Baby Girl is all grown up!!
All of us who were there when she was born will never forget that Sunday night on January 10, 1993.  There was an incredibly awful snow storm that blew in, and we were all 'held captive' at the hospital. Roads were closed, lights were out, and it seemed like everything shut down for the big event. 

Talk about grandstanding ;)   

And Seanee still likes to be on stage to this day!!

We're all so proud of what a wonderful young woman she has become. Besides being an all-around fabulous and amazing girl, she keeps busy going to college, working as a receptionist, singing with her group, and teaching singing lessons to young girls!  

I'm a very proud Grandma!!! 

Just for fun, I found this excerpt from the Salt Lake Tribune regarding the storm on Seanee's birth day:

• The maximum snow depth recorded in the city was 26 in on January 11, 1993.  
• January 1993 was the snowiest month on record, with 50.3 inches. 
• The record single storm snowfall occurred January 10, 1993 with 23.3 inches. 

Baby it's cold outside

Not only have temps dropped below zero, but more snow has dropped this winter than we've had here for a very long time!

 The day after I took this pic, the snow level kept rising and we could no longer see the rock wall at all.

 Couldn't get out our back door. This little hill got a foot higher the next day!

 A deer out in the street with an eye on Brian.

 Eric, valiantly trying to keep the driveway clear.

 Charlie & Brian at the front door, braving the elements.

 Moguls in the front yard!

 Icicles through the window.

 In the hood.

Our next door neighbors' house. They're in Florida for the winter.

They are very smart people.

38 down, 1 to go!!!

I can't believe it's been nearly six weeks since my foot surgery. 

Individually, those 38 days have dragged on for what seems like f o r e v e r . . .

But now I'm down to just one more day, and the pins will be removed!!!  

And I'll be able to walk again.  

Or at least try.

Wordless Wednesday

Sifting through the past...

I received a special package in the mail today from my sister.  It was filled with old recipes that she had stored away in a box and just recently uncovered. It turns out that they were from our grandmother's sister, Ruthie, back in Minnesota in the 1940's.  

Our grandmother died when our Dad was young (I think about 13 years old) so unfortunately we never knew her.  In addition, we have very little in the way of any memorabilia from Dad's side of the family, so this is quite a treasure!  

Handwritten recipes from several different people

In addition to our Great Aunt Ruthie, some of the recipes were written by other women - possibly friends of hers and even other family members.    There is a reference to 'Marian' in one of the recipes...that's our grandmother!!  She is my namesake, as my middle name is Marian and I was her first grandchild.  

At first I thought there were also recipes from our great grandmother, but now I'm not so sure.  I need to organize them and do a little more geneology research to figure all of this out!

I plan to scan all of these and try to revive them, and then create a photo book so they'll be preserved.  I feel so lucky that we'll now have at least this little bit of history from Dad's side of the family.

Postcard sent to Aunt Ruthie on 11/26/47. No street address, just Marshall, Minnesota!  Ahh, small town America in the good old days.

Recipe on the back of the postcard, sent from Mrs Harry Berg. The paper is very worn & the writing is blurry, but it says 'Recipe for Kream Kake' across the top. :)

  

Evidently these cards came out of a recipe box, with category separators originally from Gold Medal flour.  The quotations for each section are a crack up!  This one says: The cake is a combination of highly nutritious food elements and holds an important position in balanced menus.

So Let Them Eat Cake!!!  

The Recuscitation

Considering that this is the start of a new year, and since it's been 7 long months since I've posted anything on this blog of mine, I feel it's time to breathe new life into it.  There are so many things that have happened around here which I haven't documented, and I'm afraid I'll forget about them if I don't. Oh, who am I kidding, I know  I'll forget!  Even though I post on facebook regularly, there are some things that seem more appropriate to share on a different platform, with a much  smaller audience.

Hmmm, where to start...

READING...

Confucius say...  So true!!!
 

Pain, Tears and Heartbreak...

Happy 80th Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my Uncle Benny, who turned 80 today ~ 

Here his is in 1968, having fun in Baja, Mexico

 Giddy up cowboy!!

Why yes, please!

Happy April Fools Day!

...and it's also my good friend Deb's Birthday!!!

This free greeting personalized with Smilebox

Cheesy Enchiladas, cha-cha-cha!

I tried a new variation of Cheese Enchiladas for meatless Friday, by adding mushrooms and green chiles to the standard recipe.

Turned out muy bueno! 

Ladies Who Lunch, in NYC!!!

Spending the day together with Vonya, Kirsten and Jenny 

in New York City... 

a real '3-hour Lunch' 

What a great time!

Summer Concert @ Snow Basin

Let the good times roll ~~~

  A beautiful hike, delicious barbecue, live band... September 5, 2011

dimples*dimples*dimples

I love this funny picture of Charlie, taken on 7-21-11.  

He was only 12 days old!

*Such a sweet bebe*

Sean's Graduation Dinner

June 28, 2011 - celebrating Sean's graduation from Green Valley High School in Henderson, Nevada. 

Sweet Seanee (the guest of honor), Melissa, Jim, Christian, Joni, Tiffany, Janelle, Eric.  Somehow we missed Zach in the photo!  :( 

Joni, Tiffany and Zach came into town from San Diego and we all stayed at the Sunset Station Hotel.  We went to the M Resort for a fantastic dinner after the ceremony at UNLV. 

Celebrating 60!!!

Returning from a holiday trip to New York City, Eric & I were greeted by Lady Liberty at our house!  Marty & Nyla had brought her over while we were gone and decked her out with a mylar balloon, as a surprise for my 60th Birthday. 

There's nothing like spending life's milestones with your BFFs!

For my 50th Birthday, they planted a life-size Wicked Witch in our front yard!!!  It was hilarious. 

note to self: I need to find the picture of that and post it.

Old Bones

Posted on Amy's fb page:  November 8, 2010

Happy 115th Birthday X-ray! Thanks for being discovered so I can have a job :)

— Amy Olsen with Anita Wahlstrom, Kim Leeper Parkinson, Janelle Carlson, Lucinda Crow, Sheila Feller, Jodie Harrop Thompson and Mike Sagers.