Good-bye 2010

Ah, the end of another year. Usually it's just another day to me. But today, I've been thinking about all the ways that I'm closing out 2010.

1. The kitchen floor and my bedroom floor are clean. The rest of the house, meh, not so much.
2. Clean sheets on the bed for our first sleep of 2011. It will be 2011 before we go to bed.
3. Wonderful dinner and conversation with friends.
4. Dirty clothes are almost all washed - they should be all done before we leave tonight.
5. All my hand-knit socks are washed and ready for 2011. There are a few I am going to try to repair because I cannot yet bring myself to part with them. After all that work, shouldn't they last forever?
6. Yarn has arrived for a special project for my MIL and another for my son.
7. Santa's workshop is closed for now.
a. There was knitting - sweater for Bubba for which I don't have a picture; socks for Wayne which aren't quite done yet, and, for the Ladybug...

b. there was sewing - and knitting for the Princess and the Peanut...

And thus ends 2010....

Fall and Santa's Workshop

The other day Chris raked up a lot of the leaves around our house. Turned out to be a perfect photo opportunity... We had to be diligent to keep her from "eating" them.


The neighborhood children had their first opportunity to play and jump in the leaves and their enjoyment was delightful.

Santa's famous workshop at the North Pole has a new satellite workshop in Maryland. Work has commenced and moving full speed ahead. I had to sharpen a few of my skills and practice a few new ones so that I could complete the items for this year's holiday. Very pleased with how it's going so far. No pictures yet since some recipients will be checking in here from time to time. Check back for an update after the big gift opening day!

Prematurity Awareness Day

Today is Prematurity Awareness Day. Medical research and health care today has advanced to the point where babies born younger and younger are surviving and are healthy. But still preemies are born and the United States has a very high rate of prematurity for such a developed country. We need to do more to prevent prematurity.

Why, you ask, is this my post today when I have not posted anything for a couple months. Because today I celebrate the life of my granddaughter, McKenzie born 13 weeks premature and weighing just 1 pound and 12 ounces. It amazes me just how tiny she was and how strong was her will to survive.


This is the first picture of her with her mother - yes, that's Susan's hand touching her arm. She was 13 3/4 inches long and just a few hours old. Can you imagine an arm the size of your finger? The second picture gives me a better perspective of just how tiny she was and she was just 12 days old then.

In two weeks, McKenzie will celebrate her fourth birthday. YEAH! Healthy and perfectly normal in every way. Totally awesome!
You can tell she lives in Texas 'cause she's got the big Texas bow...LOL!

If you want to read the whole story in Susan's words, you can find it here .

I Love to Travel

so when I spotted this clever map, I decided to see how many states I have yet to visit.


visited 40 states (80%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

and of course, some of of these I want to visit again... and again... and again... and again...

As for the rest of the world...


visited 12 states (5.33%)
Create your own visited map of The World

there's a lot of the world yet to explore!

It has come to my attention that my grandson does not appear on my blog. I will remedy that right now.

INTRODUCING...

Michael Joseph Hammert, Jr
born July 24, 2009

today at Grandma and Grandpa's house

and on Wednesday playing with Kayla

He's fun to have around and loves go outside on a walk with Grandpa.

Out for a Walk

A little late with the updating; nothing much new about that. Last Wednesday K was 4 months old. The time has surely flown by. It was a lovely day here so we took a walk to the mail drop to mail a Mother's Day card to Aunt Susan. First time sitting up in an umbrolla.

One of my favorite photos...

Snow, Snow, and More Snow

The blizzard of 2010 has come and gone. It left a lot behind for us to remember it by though.



Winter Wonderland...


Lots of work...

The dark strip in front of the house is Chris' car.

We are shoveled out in front of our house. Major roads have at least one lane open. Secondary roads still need to be plowed. The Federal Government, schools, and many places of business are closed. We have ice dams and water dripping into the house.

Judging from the old pictures I have, I may have been in a snowstorm of this magnitude as a child. In those days, we definitely had accumulations of this much (25-30 inches) or greater before melting. The biggest snowstorm I remember is when we lived in Chicago in January 1979. That was less than 20 inches of snow. Wayne was in Texas for work and I was home with a three-month-old and and seven-year-old. That's the winter Chris learned to shovel snow!

I'm Crafty

At least I am if I can get this link to work...



Not that anyone really reads my blog, especially since it has been months since I have posted here. But I wanted to share this in case anyone wanders by. Thanks to my friend, Colleen, for alerting me to it. And now I must get to doing some crafty work - a few cards to make and a baby sweater to knit are on the agenda for today.