crocheted stones

I learned how to crochet when I was in grade school. The nuns taught us. We made doilies. I've picked it up off & on since then. Made more doilies. Even crocheted a sweater for Austin when he was a toddler. Now I knit more than I crochet. But when I ran across this pattern & idea for crocheting a little doily over a rock I thought it looked interesting & kind of cool. So I've made a few. I use them for weighing down my pattern pieces when I'm cutting out fabric. I found the rocks at a local landscaping company; Mexican river rock I think. If you want to try it yourself check out the pattern here. The author also has more at her blog Resurrection Fern.

winter

The rhododendron bush that sits outside my picture window seems to be somewhat of a weather barometer. When it is freezing cold outside the leaves curl into themselves more & more. On Sunday I ventured out in the twenty degree temps to photograph their brown beauty.

Christmas birthday

My older brother, Roy, turned 60 on Christmas Day. Someone sent me this photo of his festive looking birthday cake. Today is Don's birthday (my oldest brother). They are less than a year apart . . . barely. When I look at photos of them as toddlers they look like twins (just not identical twins).



Mom even dressed them like twins . . .



Happy birthday, Don & Roy!

Merry Christmas!

We have stayed home with Austin & Daniel for Christmas. I hope you've been able to spend time with your family as well!

George Harrison has arrived!

My niece, Becky, and her husband, George, announced the arrival of their first boy on December 21! He is named George Harrison (his father & grandfather are also named George). 6#14oz & 21" long. Baby George has big sister, Audrey, at home too. We were all thinking (hoping?) that George Harrison would be delivered on the birthday of his grandfather, Don (my brother), but he wasn't having any of that. I guess he wanted his birthday to be separate. He is a cutie! Congratulations Becky & George!

Capitol Christmas Tree

The Capitol decorates a real tree every year for Christmas & displays it in the rotunda. This year the tree came from the home of Dale Janssen of Lincoln. The news reports said it had a handmade ornament from every county. I checked out this tree this past Saturday. It's an impressive tree. Beautiful shape. I had to crane my neck to see the top. I was disappointed to find the ornaments are from the past several years though. I was hoping for some new ones.

it's all (my) relative(s)

I made a calendar of my relatives also. Dad made the cover with this photograph of him with his truck.



He also made it inside the calendar. Of all the photos I've taken of him, I love this one the most. Dad was the oldest of seven.



Marie is the next oldest. Here she is photographed with her husband, Everett.



Eleanor was married to my uncle, Bud, who has been gone for many years now. Bud & I shared the same birthday.



Geri is the next youngest. I love it when she & Dad get together & tell stories.



This is my uncle, Len, with his son, Bob. Len was married to Kate, the youngest girl in the family. Len is now married to Jonece.



Butch & Elaine. Butch is the baby of the family. Fifteen years younger than Dad.



My aunt Norma. Some of us call her Lorene. She is one of Mom's older sisters.



Velma is Mom's younger sister.



Bill & Butch (aka Agnes) are my cousins from Missouri. Bill's mother, Evelyn, was Mom's sister.



Rod is another cousin. His dad, Herb, was Mom's only brother.



This photo came to me by way of my brother, Don. Connie, on the left, is the daughter of Mom's sister, Elvira. The middle woman, Becky, is a twin to the woman on the right, Roxie. Their mother was my Mom's sister, Rita. Seated next to Roxie is her husband, Jimmy. Sitting next to Connie is her husband, Roger.



A new year starts next month, which means I can start working on the calendar for 2012. If you would like a print of any of my photos contact me through my email that's listed when you click on "view my complete profile".

Christmas cards

I'm spending the afternoon working on Christmas cards. Zeke is supervising . . .

it's all relative

For the past few years I have made calendars for my side of the family & on Don's side. I thought I had my theme for the 2011 calendar all decided but changed my mind early on. I decided to focus on our aunts & uncles. Unfortunately many are already gone & it became a struggle to fill thirteen slots for photos. But in the end it was a year filled with getting to know some family & certainly visiting people I hadn't seen in years. And I'll give Don some credit. He was with me when we visited all of his family members. Besides, he's the one they really wanted to see. The first photo is of Don's father & stepmother, Art & Carolyn. We visited them in Houston in May & I took this photo in a restaurant by the beach in Galveston.



This is Herb, Don's stepfather.



This next lady is Claudia. She is Herb's sister & I believe is 91 years old.



Etta is a sister to Mavis, Don's mother.



Joe is a brother to Herb. They live in the same town.



Lois was married to Ken, a brother to Art. Ken has been gone for several years now.



Don made the cover of the calendar. I took this photo in O'Hare airport in Chicago.



This is Nancy. Her father was a brother to Herb.



Inez & Russ. Russ is a brother to Art.



Mardene & Delane. Mardene was married to Mavis' brother, Jim. Jim is deceased & she has since married Delane. They joined us one evening for supper at the ranch during deer season. We had a great time telling stories around the table.



Mary was a sister to Mavis. I took this photograph of her in May. She passed in November.



This is Esther. She is a sister to Don's mother, Mavis. I took this photograph of her at Mary's funeral dinner.



Terry is Don's brother. He got included because I had an empty space.



This year I used Apple to print my calendars. They did a great job.