Too Many Photos

I just spent most of the morning looking for a picture I didn't find. I found lots of other photos though, and sorted some of them. I am overwhelmed by the sheer number of photos. And those were only the pre-digital photos. What will I do with them all and what will happen to them? Some will be scrapbooked someday, I hope. That is why I was looking for the particular photo in the first place. I had a whole page made in my mind and wanted to actually put it on paper. Without the picture, I just lost interest. Photos and memorabilia are so disorganized in my studio. I really can't get my brain around somehow making it accessible and usable. That's a project for another day... for several other days actually.

I decided today would also be a good day to upload pictures from my camera, organize them on the hard drive a bit, and share a couple here and on a knitting site.

Sunday we celebrated the Ladybug's birthday with a party for her (local) family and friends. It was low-key and fun; just right for a one-year-old.

She had yet another cake to explore... and is probably wondering why this keeps happening to her...




And a big pile of gifts...



I'll end with a photo I love because of the joy on her face...



Mirrors are so fun...

Three Birthday Girls

December and January bring birthdays for our three granddaughters. What a happy time!

The Peanut turned 4 and celebrated with a Minnie Mouse party.




The ladybug celebrated her first birthday with lots of cake.




The princess will turn 7 this week and we had an early birthday celebration in December.

Intentions

Did you notice there is no mention on my blog of resolutions, New Year's or otherwise? I've never been much for resolutions. As a child they didn't make much sense to me. This year I've been thinking a lot about what I intend to do. Semantics, maybe, but it works better for me. So, here's a few...

I intend to...
* post here at least monthly or at least 12 times in 2011.
* use my right brain more and get some of the scrapbook layouts and ideas that in my brain onto paper.
* work at organizing my digital photos and other digital files. If I can get to it, scan some of my older photos.
* manage my food consumption for better control of weight and diabetes.
* continue to build my personal cookbook.
* spend more time with the people I love, savoring all of the small, special moments in life.
* enjoy regular knitting and crafting dates with my friends.
* knit, knit, knit

We'll see how it goes...

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!