I'm back....again!

Okay....this time I really am back! Wow, what a few months we've had! First the surgeries this summer, then a looooong trip in September to spend time with my hubby's mother, who is not well at all. Then, when we got home, it was time again for doctors' appointments, and then my husband had a mini-stroke, or TIA, so now more doctors. Then I found out that I have diabetes. I've been borderline for about 25 years, but I finally crossed over the border. So a big lifestyle change is coming up. I have an appointment with my doctor on the 30th to discuss what those changes will be and how we will handle all this. That's not all, but it's enough! But I am back and I will stay back.

To start anew, I am posting some pictures of the September trip. Crackers went with us, and since it was the longest trip she had ever been on, she had to ride on the dash all the way there!

We headed due south into California to end up at my sister-in-law's home in Menifee, in southern California. We stayed two weeks with them, making daily trips to visit Thelma, my husbands mother.

My husband, Chuck with his mother,

Thelma, and Crackers, too.

This is my great-niece, Taylor, in front of her

classroom at school. With Crackers, of course!

We went from southern California east to Southern Nevada to visit our youngest daughter and two grandsons, along with two other grandsons who live with their dad, my husband's brother and family, and my brother-in-law, whose wife was in California with her mom.

Our daughter's apartment was bat-attacked!

 

Rafferty and Cyric in front of their school.

 

Isaac in his classroom. He is the son of my oldest daughter, Deseret.

 

Our youngest daughter, Amanda, with

 her dad and her best friend, our "other" daughter, Shelley.

Shelley's kids Shaylee, Brighton and Wesley. They

call us gramma and grampa, and we love it!

Crackers with Aunt Lois, one of my sister-in-laws.

 Her husband, Calvin, is my husband's brother.

Crackers with Uncle Jim, a brother-in-law.

His wife, Debbie, was in California with her mom.

Deseret's oldest son, Hal.

We stayed there a few days, went to soccer games and a barbecue and then went north to Elko, Nevada, where we have our two oldest children and their families.

Crackers with Cody and Jason,

my oldest son Dale's stepsons.

Hannah and Crackers at Hannah's soccer game.

She is Deseret's oldest daughter.

 

Hannah had a sleepover after the soccer game.

 

This is our youngest grandson, SJ. He's really a pistol!

 

Madison and Kacey, the daughters of

Deseret's boyfriend, Dustin.

 

After a few days there, another soccer game and the start of the balloon festival...........

....we finally headed home. We arrived tired and very happy to be home. We did have a good time, but it was good to be home and be able to sleep in our own bed!

Just one more picture I have to show you. It's sooooooo me!!!

So that's the trip in a nutshell! A lot has happened since then, but that's another story. I hope you all had good summers and are enjoying the fall.  Love to all.

A trip to the post offiice and the library

Crackers is learning about the world around her. I am a member of an internet site called Swap-bot, where people with similar interests swap stuff. I swap crafty things and pen pal letters, and papers and that kind of thing. It's a lot of fun! And it keeps me busy and happy, too. Sometimes too busy, when I sign up for a lot of swaps at once. Anyway, this gives me a lot of mail, both to send and to recieve, and I love mail. Real mail, not bills and advertisements and junk mail. REAL MAIL! And I make a lot of trips to the post office, so I decided to take Crackers along with me to see what the post office is all about.

The letter weighs a lot more with Crackers on the scale! The lady at the post office was really nice and Crackers had a good time.

Next, we went to the library. I showed her the books I like and the computers and the magazines, and then I took her to the children's book section. She loved that! She picked out a book and sat on the shelf and looked at it for a while. (She can't read, so looking is what she does.)

Then she just sat on the shelf and watched everybody. It was Children's Reading Hour while we were there, so there were more kids than normal, and Crackers even talked to a few. They thought she was cute. Then it was time to check out our books. The librarian let Crackers help!

When we were all done, we walked back home. I wish I had taken a photo of Crackers in my back pack. Her legs are so long that they wouldn't fit inside, so I zipped her in with her feet and legs hanging out. We got some very strange looks. It was a good day, full of learning and new experiences for Crackers. She wants all the kids out there to know how much fun the library is, and to tell them that they should visit their libraries often. And grammas, read to your grandkids. They will treasure those times forever, as will you. And now, if they live far away, it's still possible to read to them with one of those recorable books! I think those are wonderful. It helps keeps us in touch with those we love but can't see all the time.

Maybe we'll have to make some books of our own. And you could record a CD of you reading the book for your little ones far away. How cool would that be? We'll put that on the list of things to do. Goodbye and love to all,

Tuesday Treasures

Happy Tuesday to all of you out there in bloggerland. I hope you are having a great week! Crackers and I are just as happy as 2 little birds with french fries. We are starting a new feature on this blog called Tuesday Treasures. We will feature things that we consider "treasures" that other people might just pass right by. Especially since Crackers treasures tend to be close to the ground (or ON the ground :) ). But today's treasure is mine, and it is.....ta duh! Crackers! She is a treasure all by herself, and I thought you might like to see her birth. She doesn't think you will be interested, but I think you might enjoy it.

She started out at Joanne's Fabric store, where I picked her out and brought her home. I then had to make a pattern for her, and re-make it several times until she looked just right! Here is her first prototype.

She was too square, or I guess I should say too triangle-ly, and she didn't look right. So I started over. After a few more tries, she looked like this.

Then I got to work on her feet and legs. Her big feet and very un-duckly legs were a bit unwieldy, but I managed to get them done.

Next I made her wings and her bill. Both the legs and the wings have wire in them so she can be posed.

Now it was time to put her all together. She originally had hair to match her tail, but it made her look like a rooster, so I got rid of that Quick!

This is what she looked like as she emerged. Her wings and bill had to come out first, so there was room to turn the rest of her. Doesn't is look like she's hatching? I had to sew her legs in after she was turned, because they are so long, there was no room for them inside as I stitched her.

And here she is, all ready for the finishing touches, like eyeballs and a tongue. I also gave her a little embroidery floss hair that looks more like duck hair (if there is such a thing) and stuffed her bill. She is so excited to get to know all of you and to show you the things she likes.

Well, that was the birth of Crackers. If you enjoyed seeing it, drop us a comment a let Crackers know.

That was my Tuesday Treasure for this week. Next week, you will get to see Crackers' first treasure. She is looking hard for something that will please both you and her, so come back and find out what it is. For now, we will say good-bye and love to all from....