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Monday, December 31, 2007

Happy New Year, 2008

Atop the Arc de Triomphe,
with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Jan 1, 1972


Tulierres Gardens, Paris France

Dec 31, 1971.

I spent the weekend at my Mother's house. We went through her photo albums and I relocated two pictures that were taken New Year's Eve 1971 in Paris . I am no longer married to Larry, and in fact he died in 2003, but that was on HELLACIOUS New Years weekend. We danced down the middle of the Champs Eleysee (??) with a magnum of champagne! Parisians definitely know how to celebrate the new year.




My christmas cactus is in full bloom.






Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Merry Christmas

I have had a very low key Christmas this year. I intentionally withdrew from "Commericialized Christmas" and made charitable contributions in my families names (with a few gifts for my nieces). I got all of my obligations fulfilled without setting foot in a mall! (My sister is the shopper in our family and makes up for my mother and I...).

I worked Christmas eve to let my co-workers have the day off with their families. It was a very low key day, as almost no one was there, so work was not that bad.

Since I had to work and could not go to my Mother's house, I was able to attend the Christmas Eve service at my church First Unitarian of Albuquerque. I assisted with the Children's service at 6:30 (I was the head candlelighter in charge of about 20 little candle lighters!). The Children's service was charming and chaotic, as only a church full of children can be! The adult candlelight service was very nice, and much less chaotic.

Then this morning I dragged myself out of bed to go to Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge to see the birds. If you get there before dawn, when the sun comes up, the birds, en masse, take off. It is very thrilling, and they fly almost overhead.


I discovered that bird pictures MUST be taken with a telephoto lens, but here are three that will give you an idea of what it is like.

A huge flock of snow geese taking flight just after sunrise.



Believe it or not, the small black speck in the top of the tree is an Eagle!




Three Wise Cranes? Taken from my car.

I saw four eagles, three deer, lots of ducks, geese and sandhill cranes.

Now to finish off this day, I will attend a Christmas potluck at church.


Sunday, December 23, 2007

In the spirit of the season, here is some a beautiful renditon of Pachabel's Canon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGrhzCgy_bg

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Three things

Pokey Bolton of Quilting Arts asked for you to send in a picture of something homemade that you had made for Xmas. I sent in a picture of the collage that I made for my friend Marion, and it is on the Quilting Arts blog. (Of course it is on my blog too, but this is almost like being published.)

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I hid out at home today and found this great story in some of my genealogy stuff:
Grandma’s Apron


When I was a little child, grandma’s garments made little impression on me. Her apron was a big affair of dark printed cotton, slow to soil, and edged around with bias tape. It’s uses were limitless.
The apron made a “basket” when she gathered eggs from the hen house late in the afternoon. If there were fluffy, yellow chicks to be carried to the back porch during the sudden cold spell, they made the trip peeping contentedly in Grandma’s apron.
When those same little darlings grew into henhood and liked to peck and scratch among Grandma’s flowers, she merely flapped her apron at them and they ran squawking to the chicken yard. And I can see her yet, tossing cracked corn to the hungry flock form her apron.
Lots of chips and kindling were needed to start fires in the big ivory colored cook stove in Grandma’s kitchen. Sure she carried them in her apron. Vegetables and fruits, too-lettuce, radishes, peas, string beans, carrots, apples, peaches, all found their way to the kitchen in Grandma’s carryall.
While things were cooking, it was a handy holder for removing hot pans from the stove. IF the men working in the field weren’t too far away, the apron waved aloft was the signal to “come to dinner”. At threshing or company time, when the long dining room table was crowded with hungry folk, Grandma hovered about passing aromatic dishes and flipping the big apron at pesky flies. When Grandma came to visit the apron stood ready to dry childish tears. IF the little ones were shy, it made a good hiding place in case a stranger appeared unexpectedly.
The apron was used countless time to stroke a perspiring brow as Grandma bent over the hot woodstove or hoed the garden under a blistering sun. In chilly weather, Grandma wrapped the friendly garment around her arms while she hurried on an outside errand or lingered at the door with a departing guest. Hastily and a bit shyly, it dusted tables and chairs if company was sighted coming down the lane. And in the evening when the day’s work was done, Grandma shed her garment of many uses and draped it over the canary’s cage.
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I got a strange call from my son today. I was expecting that he would receive his christmas present today. He did get the box,but the present was for a friend in Florida. I had them in identical boxes, and just put the wrong address on the boxes. She and my son have had "issues" in the past. so it may have been a freudian slip! Anyway, he was very puzzled over why I had sent what I did! Can't say much more or the secrets will be out!
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Snow may descend, so I don't know if I will make it to my Mother's house this weekend, may have to postpone until next weekend. Either earley or late, Christmas is still Christmas!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Sue's scalloped corn

I took a dish to our "Non-denominational Seasonal" pot luck today. It was from a Weatherford family reunion, and I loved the way it tasted. Somehow, it got put away, and I found it the other day (I have not been a Weatherford since 1999, so that shows you how long it has been rattling around). Anyway I found it and decided to take it today. It was a great hit, so I am posting the recipe here.

It was given to my by Donna Enger.

Sue’s Scalloped Corn

1 Can Corn, undrained
1 Can Corn, cream style undrained
2 eggs
1 Box Jiffy Yellow Corn Bread Mix
1 Stick Butter (melted)
8 ounces of Sour Cream (I did not have sour cream so I used cream cheese instead)
2 cups shredded cheese of your choice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Mix the first six ingredients together with 1 cup of the cheese
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, the remove and top with remaining cheese (for the potluck I did not top with cheese until I got it to work)
Bake for another 30* minutes

*(to take this to our potluck I only put the casserole back in for 15 minutes, let it cool and then spooned it into my crock pot. When I got to the office I put the cheese on top and turned the crock pot on low until lunch time!)

The funny thing about it is that I copied it onto the back of a family tree for the Weatherford's! So I was able to flesh out that limb of my family tree without contacting my ex-husband! Winner times two!

Christmas Tree and Christmas Cactus

This is the closest my furry aliens (a.k.a. Fuzzy Bucket and Baby Cakes) will allow me to have. This is in my studio, so note the iron, covered server and sewing machine). I love the fairy lights and may leave them up all year round.
I am so excited! I have had this Christmas Cactus for years ( I just CANNOT trash a living plant, have to wait until it dies!) and it has never bloomed. And now that I have moved it into the jungle window (see above) it has buds on almost every branch! It looks like it is going to be pink.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Beginning to look a lot like Christmas


I have started a revolt against "Commercialized Christmas"! I have decided that only kids under 12 are going to get Christmas presents from me this yerar (well, there are few exceptions and they are not getting purchased gifts...). I just finished capes for my nieces, black with the hoods lined in pink with silver stars! They should love them, as they are both very DRAMA QUEENish! The photo above shows my latest creations, left: Goddess of the Frozen North, middle St. Frigidita, right, St. Floridita. Fun and easy to make from Sardine tins!

I am also making my christmas cards this year.


Saturday, December 01, 2007

December Countdown for Free Downloads

Go to this site and get a download of images after you put a link on your site! 25 days of downloads, you can't beat that.

http://countdown.tentwostudios.com/