mother's day

mother's day is here again- thanks to all my kids; shannon, katie, seth, jojo, nella and ryan for letting me know in their own special ways, that they appreciate me . i'm visiting with shannon and family this week and so we were treated to an early am (before church) breakfast by brian and the kids. we even had menus delivered to our bedrooms to give us something to look forward to and we each got a beautiful bouquet of roses and a bag of candy. shannon gave me a book that she brought back from women's conference and on sat. we received a fruit bouquet from katie,nate and josie.  my brother, doug sent flowers to the house  (enjoy them, back there!) and phone calls from all the kids rounded out the day.
  i have loved being a mom and am grateful for the blessings that have been mine because of this.  happy mother's day to all of you!

conference time!!!

once again, it's time for general conference and the creation of more "conference potholders". i love to sit and make these simple things while i watch our semi-annual conference from salt lake city. (i actually made one more after this picture was taken). i think of my kids who will receive these and hope they will think of the importance of conference when they use them.... "always a mother!"( this year it was harder to weave them as i had a finger injury from moving furniture. yow!!)
 i went into this conference with the topic of personal revelation on my mind, and how to better be able to receive it. there were many talks and hymns that were directed to that  subject. ... love conference weekend!!

64 and counting!

 wow! a surprise birthday party ....  for me!  nella and katie arranged with my friend, pam, to celebrate my 64th birthday at her home- complete with a gourmet luncheon and 2 cakes- one by pam and one by katie.

spinach, strawberry, hearts of palm and walnuts greeted us along with many other delicacies.

this was a sausage,cheese,apple quiche- omg!

ham with a few vegs. in a thickened broth which we ladeled into tiny pastry cups...omg

endive stuffed with veg. cream cheese... omg

table set with wedgewood plates, silver etc...omg

fresh rolls and beets with vinegar and grapefruit and grapes stuffed with goat cheese and pistacios....omg, omg!

3 layer cake with bits of peaches in the frosting...omg

                    katie's boston cream cake (my favorite cake)... omg

i look loopy after all that food. have i said omgosh enough???!!!  it was nice to have katie and nella there.

pat, me, holly and pam

the traditional" blowing out the candles " picture...

thanks for a great day ps. i got my hair cut after that ---yow!

more of the same...

nella and i went to the new" shop jr." yesterday and she snapped this shot-   whoo ooo! we then drove home in a snow storm... good times.

red squirrel jr.

hey!!! i have taken the leap and rented a small  area in kensington court- a cute antique boutique in new kensington, pa. this is pretty exciting for me because it's another creative outlet AND i will actually get paid for the things i sell!  i am official on march 1st.

  this is what greeted me last week when i went to start setting up.! as sally fields said... "they like me, they like me!"

 wish me luck (and check out the place if you're nearby). my original red squirrel shop will be reopening in april.

40 years and counting...

 the dreaded traditional "blowing out the candles" picture. this particular cake had 40 candles and put out quite a bit of heat.  think it may have singed her hair! (that's ellie in the background- she was a little excited...)

 

after cutting her cake, shannon discovered that it  wasn't any ordinary cake- it was  a smith island  cake, from smith island, md. these cakes were  made by the women of the island with multi-layers  and sent along with their fishermen husbands when they went out to  fish at sea. the thin layers separated by frosting kept the cakes moist for extended time periods as opposed to regular cakes. we were able to taste these cakes when we were traveling this summer down the east coast on our yearly trip.  



40 years and counting!

my first daughter turned 40 today!  where have all those years gone?  i think it was just yesterday when we lived in alaska  and were making that short trip to the airforce base hospital . what a  cold feb. day that was.  i remember getting into the elevator and having a contraction and wondering what was in store for me! we didn't know if our baby was a boy or girl, but i was excited to be able to hold her in my arms. the girls at my work place had given me gifts- a beautiful pink blanket and diaper service. (yes, we used real, cloth diapers back then!).  i was in a ward with 8 other ladies and we were separated by curtains. only one woman was breastfeeding ( that wasn't in vogue then).  we all thought she was a hippy because of that.
 i so remember the moment i bonded with my little baby girl. we were awakened every 4 hours to walk down to the nursery for feedings. i was sleeping and had a dream that my baby was crying out for me and needed me. i woke with a start and couldn't wait to get to the nursery room. i could see her little head from a distance as she had a full head of dark hair that stood up all over the place. she was the only one like that and the other women had all commented on her hair. i rushed over to her and felt a flood of love, protection  and relief to see that she was all right. i was truly a mother in that instant.
 when we returned home with our little bundle, we settled her down in the crib and my husband left for work. i needed to take a shower and that task took FOREVER, as i turned the water off every few minutes to listen for her.  it's amazing that all parties concerned survive their first born!
 well, 40 years have come and gone and shannon and i have experienced more than i could have ever imagined together. we started out as best friends and have ended up as best friends-- some rocky times in between, but i have a lifetime of wonderful memories with her.
 she has become a mother herself to 3 neat, interesting children and is doing her best to raise them as healthy, productive , sensitive individuals.  she is accomplished in whatever she takes on and always makes time to call me and be interested in my life.
 we look forward each year to a special trip and continue to make memories and enjoy spending time with each other.
 happy 40th birthday, shannon - life is good!