Marianne's Musings

Art Journal

2011-11-10T17:46:00.001-08:00

I have finally gotten around to putting pictures of my art journal pages on my blog! These first two pages I actually drew and then colored in with Copic markers and Pan Pastels. The basic ideas for the pictures came from the very talented Joanne Sharpe. I absolutely love her work! She has been a real inspiration to us! The rest are different collages. This next picture of my "little stars" are six of my eight grandchildren. We had two babies added to our family a couple of months ago.

My mom, sister Carolyn and I have still been getting together every first Saturday of the month to make art together which I have thoroughly enjoyed. This is such a fun hobby for us!

New Babies!

2011-10-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to have two cute new grandsons in our family! Julie and Adams's little Evan was born on September 1st. (He is on the right in the picture.) Adam was in Army basic training so Amy and I got to be there with Julie for the birth. Amy got to cut the cord and I got to help give Evan his first bath. It was such a neat experience! He is such a little cutie!
Ten days later on September 11th, Jacob and Mary's little Scott was born. The doctor couldn't get him to turn around correctly so they had to take him C-section, but Mary is recovering very quickly. These two are so cute and we just love them!
We also found out this week that Danny and Courtney's baby who is due March 5th is a GIRL! That will be 2 granddaughters and 7 grandsons! We are so excited to get another girl!
Having grandchildren is just the greatest! Robert and I love children so much and it's amazing how much love we have for each of our grandchildren. Sometimes I really miss my children when they were little and could hold them and take care of them and know where they were all the time! But it is wonderful to know and love them now as adults too. It's just a good thing that we still get to have little children in our lives with our grandchildren!

Kitchen Table Memories

2011-08-11T15:15:00.000-07:00

It's amazing the memories that can come from seeing an old kitchen table!
Several years ago I was called to be a visiting teacher/home teacher with Robert. This is when I met a very dear lady named Lila "Jo" Wade and her family. Robert had been visiting her for probably about 15 years before that and had become very good friends with her. When I first walked into her living room I saw a table set up with a puzzle-in-progress on it. I kept looking at that table and realized it was the exact style of table that I had grown up with most of my childhood. What a lot of memories came pouring back! I remembered my family all sitting around it every night for dinner, eating my after-school snack of graham crackers and milk while doing my homework, seeing Dad sitting there paying bills every month, seeing mom working on her Relief Society lessons, etc. My sisters and I always hoped to be able to sit in the middle of the table on either of the sides so that we could put our feet on the bar underneath!
Last year I had the idea of asking if I could borrow the table for a night so that my mom, sisters, daughters, and I could have our Book Club sitting around it. Lila Wade said yes and it was very fun to have that night of memories with my family.
Well, dear Lila passed away last month after having been in poor health for many years. Robert and I will really miss seeing her every month. It is very sad to lose her, but we know that she is now able to walk around and do so many things that she couldn't do here anymore. We know that she is back with her husband who she lost many years ago, and with other family members. And that sweet family of hers said that they wanted me to have that kitchen table, which is so very generous of them. I keep worrying that other family members will want it, but they said no one did. What a kind gift for me to treasure!

Altered Book Pages

2011-06-02T13:38:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Pam Carriker and her new book Art at the Speed of Life, I have been having so much fun working on pages in my altered book. Pam has the greatest ideas and I love her style and colors.

I've been using liquid acrylics as well as Pan Pastels to do these pages.

James C. Christensen

2011-04-19T14:51:00.000-07:00

One of my very favorite artists for many years has been James C. Christensen. I absolutely love his magical fantasy paintings. He does such wonderful detail work with much symbolism which I love. What a great artist! These are two of my favorites: College of Magical Knowledge and Rhymes and Reasons. The words over the door of the College mean "knowledge is power". And how fun it is to pick out the different nursery rhymes in the second painting!

I don't have any Christensen prints other than glued together puzzles which are fading, but I have several of his books that are so fun to look through. What a great talent he is!

Hand Zentangle

2011-04-15T12:27:00.001-07:00

This is a new Zentangle design I made to add to my altered book. I traced my hand, wrote in the words, and then drew in the rest of the hand. Can you say "serious Zentangle addiction"?!

Zentangled

2011-04-06T19:30:00.001-07:00

Well, I have really gotten into this Zentangle that I didn't even know existed until a few weeks ago! It is so fun! I love the look of it on colored paper shaded in with white. I've gotten some great books on the subject and I'm having a great time trying out all these new patterns. There are many videos on Youtube.com that have been really helpful too.

These Hands

2011-03-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

These hands held me when I was just a newborn baby and played with me in my playpen. These hands built our house and dressers and little rocking chairs and my built-in room. These hands baptized and confirmed me. These hands gave wonderful hugs and strong handshakes. These hands operated the controls of airplanes both small and very large. These hands took care of the finances at home, at the bank, and at the Church. These hands took such good care of our yard and grew an amazing vegetable garden. These hands belong to my dear father who I love so much. Thinking about my Dad today.

Zentangle

2011-03-24T12:13:00.001-07:00

My new discovery and obsession! We made some of these stamped and doodled cards in my last ATC class and one of the ladies told me it looked like Zentangle, which I had never heard of. So I came home from class and looked it up on the internet. Wow! It's a whole new art form that is really fun!

Zentangle is the art of creating beautiful images with repetitive patterns and it is very relaxing while increasing focus and creativity. There are a whole group of people "out there" who are trained teachers and they do workshops showing how to make all kinds of beautiful patterns. And I just thought it was doodling! Little did I know what a great art form this is! There are several books on the subject, a couple of which I bought, and they are incredible! These ATC cards below are the samples I did for the class. The card at the top is called a tile- 3 1/2" square, which they make in their classes. Lots of fun!

Latest Creations

2011-03-24T12:06:00.000-07:00

These are some of the lastest cards and ATC's I have made for Stamp Club and the class I teach.

New Kitchen!

2011-03-16T11:54:00.001-07:00

Out with the old kitchen, and in with the new! After 31 years in our house, it was time to get a new and improved kitchen. The cabinets were falling apart. If you opened a drawer too far, you'd better watch out because it might fall on your toes! And the icky old kitchen carpeting (not a smart thing to put in a kitchen!) just had to go.

On Saturday, April 19th, Danny, Steven, Jacob, and Greg all showed up to help us with the demolition. Even little Mason and Gavin were helping to haul stuff out to the truck. Other than Jacob almost being electricuted, it all went well! We were just going to let our contractor, Dave Ridd who's my second cousin, do the demolition, but our boys wanted to come and do it. We were very grateful for that because it saved us a lot of money.

Goodbye to the old cabinets!

Our new kitchen only took two weeks to finish, which is really good. We were told it usually takes three or four weeks. Dave and his workers did a really great job. We ate a lot of frozen, microwavable food (yuck!) in our little make-shift kitchen downstairs and went out to dinner several times. We're very glad that it is finished.

We really love our new kitchen!

Christmas Quilts

2010-12-27T13:31:00.000-08:00

I did it!
I finished five pieced quilts for my kids and their spouses for Christmas that I had started at the beginning of the year! They are the first pieced quilts that I had ever made and it was very fun! I can't believe all the hours and hours I put into those things, but I sure am hooked on making them now!
For next Christmas, I want to make I Spy quilts for each of my six grandchildren. That sounds like such a fun project and I've already started collecting different, fun fabrics for them.
So many fun things to do and so little time!

Amy and Greg

Danny and Courtney

Steven and Katheryn

Jacob and Mary

Julie and Adam

I sewed lables on the back of each of them.

Halloween Cuties

2010-11-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

All of our grandkids except Sammy came over on Saturday night in their great costumes. Every year Mason and Gavin ring the doorbell and I come to the door and try to give them candy, but they don't have their bags. I ask them about that and they say "grandma" and then I know it's them. They get me every year! ( It doesn't help that they are always wearing masks!)
I sure love all my grandkids!
Mason and Gavin, the Grim Reaper and scarey creature with lighted eyes!

Logan the Jedi knight.

Cason the bear.

And sweet little Emma, our ballerina!

My Dad and Me, Part 2

2010-10-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

I feel very lucky that I was the firstborn of my family. I got to have my mom and dad all to myself for the first 17 months of my life! Then sisters kept coming every 17 months for several years. These are all the photos that I have of my Dad and me when I was young.

These photos were all printed from slides which my sister Becky was so nice to have made onto discs for us.

Don't I have a good-looking Dad?!

What a nice Dad to play with me in my crib!

This was at the Great Salt Lake.

I know I look like a little ghost! And this is my sister Laurie, who was lucky enough to be born with some color in her skin!

"Helping" my Dad shine his shoes. That kitchen table, which we had for many years, brings back lots of memories.

I sure love my Dad. He was just the greatest!

My Dad and Me

2010-10-27T15:20:00.000-07:00

I am so glad that I had this picture taken last year of my dad and me. It is a real treasure now. I miss him so much and still have a hard time believing that he is gone. The only other pictures I have of just Dad and me are when I was about two years old and younger. Why I didn't think to have more pictures taken of us together in all those years in between, I don't know. I just always thought that he would be here for a very long time like his long-lived ancestors before him. His grandmother, Elizabeth Jane Russell Day, lived to be 103 years old. I thought that my dad would live a very long time like her because he had always been in such good health. This is obviously a lesson that we need to more fully appreciate all the special people in our lives now, because we never know when they will be taken away from us.
My dad graduated with honors from this school of life on earth. He lived a wonderful life of service and was such a great husband and father to us 6 girls. After he passed away my mom was asked if Dad had ever expressed any words of regret that he never had a son. She said that he NEVER said a single word about that. He was happy with his 6 little girls. We are all very happy to know that.
In my prayers every day, I ask Heavenly Father to please tell Dad how much I love him and miss him.

Altered Books

2010-09-03T17:15:00.000-07:00

I have been having so much fun these last few months getting back into doing altered books. This is such a fun thing to do. The possibilities are endless when it comes to materials and techniques to use. It's great fun to use items that have been gathering dust around here for ages. The pages in this first photo were my sister Carolyn's idea. She did this in her book too. It's so fun that she has gotten excited about doing this! It's great to work (I should say play) on these together! In this book that I'm working on I decided the theme is sayings or thoughts that I like and then illustrate them however I want. So much fun and so little time!

The Latest ATC's

2010-09-01T18:04:00.001-07:00

These are the Artist Trading Cards that I have had people make in my classes for the last few months. I can't believe how fun these are to make and all the many ideas and techniques that can be used. It's very fun that I have several people come back each month for my classes.

My Dad

2010-07-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

I lost my dear, wonderful dad on July 13th. I still can't believe this is all real. My 5 sisters and I could never have asked for a greater dad to grow up with. I love him and miss him so much. I know that it must have been the time for him to go since we are told that no righteous person will be taken before their time, and I know that I will see him again someday, but that doesn't make my heart stop hurting right now to think of having to live the rest of my life without him here with us. And my heart just breaks for my dear mother to have to live without him and be alone after 56 years of marriage. At the funeral, the former bishop out at the State Prison where my dad was a counselor, said how much he loved watching my dad going from cell to cell talking to the prisoners and bearing his testimony to them. He must have been needed in the Spirit Prison to teach them there now.
My sisters and I have so many wonderful memories of growing up with our great dad. I remember him trying to teach me how to whistle when I was only about 4 years old. I remember going on the roller coaster with him, which he loved, and he had to hold up his hands the whole ride. I loved that he took us out to the airport and let us go in the big planes that he flew for the Air National Guard and go in the Operations building. It was great to sit in the car with my mom and sisters and watch him take off in his plane. He loved to fly.
I loved dancing with him at the "Daddy-Daughter Dates" at Church. He was a great carpenter. He built our house and the chest of drawers we used for years. He made the great bedroom with all the built-ins for Laurie and I. He always grew the most perfect gardens and loved to work in the yard which he kept immaculate. He was a really big tease with all of us girls. When we would ask for our allowance he always told us "I'd rather owe it to you than cheat you out of it". Being the banker that he was, he always encouraged us to save our money and brought home little covered wagon banks for us. I remember him chasing my mom around the house- through the kitchen, the dining room, and the living room- with all of us girls screaming and laughing chasing after them.
I'm really going to miss him calling me "Mary Man", which he did every once in a while.
"Gee cly!"
"Judas Priest"
"Put the board in the hole"
"I'm going to see a man about a dog"
I have a wonderful dad. I miss him so much and always pray that he will know how much we love him and cherish the life we had with him. I look forward to being with him again someday and getting that great big hug he always gave us. I love you so much dad.

Obituary:

Royal Duane Ridd 1931 ~ 2010 Lt. Col. (ret.) Royal Duane Ridd passed away July 13, 2010 of complications following surgery. Duane was born on April 11, 1931 to Heber Eugene and Etta Ridd in Hunter, SL, Utah. In 1954 he married Janet Meriam Holding in the Salt Lake Temple. They are the parents of six daughters, have 15 grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. He graduated from Granite High School and the U of U. After going through Air Force Flight and Gunnery Training he received his pilot's wings and returned to fly in the Air National Guard for 24 years. He flew fighter jets, cargo planes, and air refuelers to over 60 countries and islands in the world. In 1992 he retired from Bank One after a lifetime of working in banking. He was an active member of the LDS Church. He served in three bishoprics and had many other church callings, most recently serving at the Utah State Prison as supervisor in the Family History Library. He was also a member of the Murray Kiwanis Club. He is survived by his wife and daughters Marianne Nattress (Robert), Laurie Shaw (Paul), Carolyn Smith (Ken), Linda Herzog (Ron), Rebecca Hammond (Wayne) and Sandra. Each of his daughters is so proud to call him Dad and they always knew that he loved them. Duane and Janet spent 56 years of marriage and loving each other. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 17, 2010 at the Holladay 1st Ward, 2065 East 4675 South. Viewings will be held on Friday, July 16, 2010 at the Holladay Cottonwood Mortuary, 4670 So. Highland Drive from 6-8 p.m., as well as one hour prior to services at the church. Interment: Holladay Memorial Park.

Baby Emma

2010-07-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

FINALLY! Our first granddaughter was born on July 4th. She announced her independence by being born at 6:07 that morning. Her name is Emma Denai and she is a beautiful little girl! She weighed 7 lb. 11 oz. and was 20 inches long. She is the daughter of Steven and Katheryn. We are all very happy to have her in our family!

The Baseball Box Prophesy

2010-07-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

I just finished a great book called The Baseball Box Prophesy and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a long one- 550 pages, but it was great. It's about a boy who discovers he has special powers. The story was really interesting and the book was hard to put down. Apparently the writer, Bruce Newbold, wrote a screenplay of this story first and it's under consideration in Hollywood. It would make a terrific movie! Bruce has been on a lot of TV shows as well as acted in some LDS movies.

My Mom

2010-05-13T14:37:00.001-07:00

My mom has been my hero my entire life! When I was very little, I wanted to be with her all the time. When we went somewhere, I always wanted to hold her hand. I was so terribly shy and I felt very safe and secure being with my mom.
I remember how hard it was to even go to school. I just wanted to be home with my mom. I know that my sister Carolyn felt the same way- having major butterflies in our stomachs at the beginning of every school year.
I was always so amazed at how my mom was so confident and able to talk to people in all kinds of situations, such as with strangers in stores, doctors' offices, or anywhere we went. As I got older, I wanted to be more confident like my mom. In high school I tried really hard to be more outgoing and I decided to act confident, even though I wasn't, by smiling at people. I remember walking down the halls between classes with a smile on my face most of the time. It's funny that now, many years later, I read the writing of people in my yearbook and many mentioned how they liked seeing my smiling face at school!
I also discovered that acting confident actually makes a person feel more self-assured. I've definitely come a long way from that very shy, insecure young girl that I was. If someone had told me back then that I would someday be a Relief Society president, Primary president, Young Women's president, teach classes, and have my own business, I don't think I would have believed them!
My mom has had such a great influence on me in so many ways besides helping me feel more confident. She taught me how to cook, knit, sew, crochet, clean, organize, keep files, teach lessons, give talks, take care of children, do all kinds of crafts, and the list could go on and on. I feel like she taught me every important thing I know! I remember being very young one summer when mom had to spend a lot of time in bed for health reasons. I would walk back and forth from her bedroom to the kitchen getting instructions on how to cook things for the family like macaroni and cheese. That's how I learned to cook.
Mom even got me started on using rubber stamps, which I love. In the late 1980's mom showed me some rubber stamps she had bought. I told her they were cute and asked what you do with them. Well, I figured out quickly, loved using them, and started collecting them. Soon after that I learned how they were made and started my own business making and selling rubber stamps under the name Rubber Stamp Emporium. It was a great home business money-maker all through the 1990's and I have my mom to thank for that.
One of the major things I've learned from my mom is to have a thirst for knowledge. As long as I can remember, my mom has been taking classes to learn all kinds of things and has also been a constant reader learning everything from crafts and painting to writing, history, and archeology. She even ended up helping dig for dinosaur bones here in the Salt Lake valley and up in Idaho. We always said she should go on a television game show because she has so much knowledge about so many different subjects! I have loved reading ever since I learned how to read! I definitely got that from my mom!
And most importantly, my mom also helped me have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I remember many, many times seeing her sitting at the kitchen table with books and papers in front of her, preparing for her Relief Society lessons which she taught for many years. Quite often, I sat at the table with her and she would read me little stories and information from her lessons. She would get very emotional and I could feel the Spirit with her, which also became very strong and a great help in my own life.
Yes, my mom, Janet Meriam Holding Ridd, has been my hero my whole life and continues to be a huge inspiration to me. I love her so very much and feel very blessed to have been born to such a wonderful mother.

Latest Projects

2010-02-18T19:59:00.001-08:00

This is the Valentine card I made for our last Stamp Club exchange last month. I used a new Cuttlebug embossing folder for the background and inked it with white. The hearts are punches and the scroll shapes are a Spellbinders die. (All those Spellbinders dies are just amazingly incredible!)

These ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) are the ones we did for the class I taught last Saturday morning. We used some techniques from Julia Andrus' great book Paper Transformed, including her mottled paper, faux patent leather, and faux sea glass effects. There are so many great ideas in this book that it will keep us going for a very long time!

Taberncle Choir Broadcast

2010-02-17T15:49:00.000-08:00

On Sunday morning, Robert and I went downtown to the Tabernacle Choir Broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word on Temple Square. It was our Stake Conference that day, and we had gone to the adult meeting the night before, so we decided it would be a good day to go to the broadcast since he didn't have bishopric meetings in the morning as he usually does.

I had wanted to go do this for years because I love the Tabernacle Choir. When I was growing up, my mom played their music probably every Sunday morning. I love their harmony and all the wonderful music they sing. It was a thrill for me to sit there in the Tabernacle and listen to them. It had been many years since I had been in that beautiful building.

I have the greatest husband! He really doesn't like the Choir very much, but he took me anyway! That's just the kind of guy that he is and I really appreciated it and all he does for me! It was a great Valentine's Day gift for me!

Knitting Away

2010-02-15T15:49:00.000-08:00

My friend, Laurie, gave me several old pictures that she knows I love, including this knitting mother and daughter. It's from an old Ladies Home Journal Magazine. This picture really reminds me of my mother teaching me how to knit many years ago. It's not a real easy thing to learn, but I finally got the hang of it! I have always enjoyed knitting and crocheting.

Lately, I have been doing a lot of knitting off and on while I am tending these two cute little grandbabies of mine. I can pretty much do it without looking, so I can watch them and the TV too! I have been making these wonderful dish cloths that I love to use. I made a bunch for my kids for Christmas and now I'm making a bunch more for my visiting teaching ladies. I'm so glad my mom taught me how to knit all those years ago!

And the Winner is...

2010-02-15T07:25:00.000-08:00

The winner of my set of 12 handmade gift cards is
Miss Mary of Lillian's Stitches!
She was number 42 and was selected by Random.org as the big winner. She needs to send her address to my email so I can get them off to her.
What a fun several weeks this has been with people from all over the world visiting my blog and me visiting their blogs. There were people from England, Germany, Australia, Canada, Scotland, Israel, Netherlands, Phillipines, Mexico, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, and all over the United States. I couldn't even begin to have the time to visit all 1105 blogs that were participating, but I got to see many of them.
I will look forward to doing this again next year!

One World One Heart 2010

2010-01-24T20:25:00.000-08:00

Again, this year I am participating in the One World One Heart event. Bloggers from around the world can go to each other's blogs and enter to win gifts. This year I am giving away a set of 12 handmade gift cards. To enter, just make a comment on my blog and on February 15th the winner will be randomly chosen. I will let that person know and ask for their mailing address to send it off to them!
If you would like to participate or go to see the other blogs that are participating just click on the One World One Heart logo on my sidebar!
What a fun way to "meet" lots of new people and enjoy their creations! I had so much fun doing this last year, that I just have to do it again!
Everyone have a wonderful day and Happy Blog Hopping!

ATC Classes

2010-01-18T08:07:00.000-08:00

These are some of the Artist Trading Cards that we've made in my last couple of classes. We did embossing, mosaics, and punch art, among other things. Teaching this class almost every month keeps me on my toes looking for new ideas and tecniques. Sometimes it's a lot of work, but I really enjoy it!

Happy New Year!

Disneyland

2009-11-09T19:12:00.001-08:00

I finally got back to Disneyland a couple of weeks ago! We spent 4 great days there! Robert and I drove down with Amy, Greg, Mason, and Gavin. Jacob and Mary flew down and met us at the Hilton Garden Inn where we stayed for 6 wonderful nights.
I LOVE Disneyland so much! I am such a huge fan of the place and just can't get enough. I counted close to 20 times that I have been there since I was in Jr. High and went with my family. Yes, I know I'm very spoiled! That place has such great memories for me. As soon as I walk through the gates, under the train tunnel and onto Main Street, I feel like I have entered another time period. If there weren't all those wonderful rides, I could just walk around Main Street and enjoy everything all day!
This was the first time I have been there during Halloween time with all the fun decorations. It was great, but I also think it will be my last time going during this crowded celebration!
Robert bought us Annual Passes for the first time, so we will hopefully be going at least one more time in the next year! It was so fun to go with our cute grandsons for the first time. And it was also fun to go with Mary for her first time there.... a lot of firsts! What a fun place!

Fall is Here!

2009-10-02T06:44:00.000-07:00

I didn't used to like Fall at all because it meant school was starting again and Winter, with it's cold and snow, was coming soon. I was such a shy little girl that going back to school every fall was very tramatic for me. I would like to have just stayed home with my mom all the time. When my kids were going to school I felt that same scared feeling for them each year, but none of them had a problem with going back to school at all!

Well, I guess ALL of us have grown up now and I've gotten over that scared feeling. Also, the older I get, the hotter I get! The heat of the summer is just too much!

So,I love Fall now!

The apple trees in our yard have tons of apples on them this year. Robert thinks we're going to can applesause and apple butter this year, but we don't have any canning supplies any more. We quit doing that a long time ago. Our smooth-top stove won't handle canning either. But I'm going to see if we can freeze some instead.

I'm loving the cooler weather! And I'm excited to go up into the canyons to see all the colors.

Sister and Me

2009-08-25T08:29:00.000-07:00

My sister, Carolyn and I are starting a business together making items and selling them to gift shops. We decided to name our company Sister and Me. We have started making lots of cards that will be sold in sets as well as some other items. We have been having so much fun together that even if we don't sell a thing, it will be worth it!! All of these cards we have made into sets of 6 each and are putting them in decorative boxes. The other items we want to sell are still in the planning and experimenting stage, but we are very excited about them! So much fun!

I Love to Read!

2009-07-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

Ever since I learned how to read, I have loved to read! I'm sure my mom was a very big influence on me because she has always been a very avid reader. Even back in elementary school I remember reading a lot after school and on weekends. I absolutely loved summers because I could do a lot of wonderful reading then. I don't remember much about what I read back then other than the book Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. I don't know why I only remember that one, but I found a copy of it at Deseret Book in the discount section a couple of months ago and thought it would be fun to read again.

In Jr. High, my friend Susan and I read lots and lots of Nancy Drew mysteries and traded them back and forth. Since then I have read many mysteries and all kinds of books. I think I have read most of Agatha Christie's books. I have read many series such as The Work and the Glory, Prelude to Glory, Harry Potter, and Twilight. I have read many Church books, romance books, historical fiction, art books, and I love Dan Brown's books, including

The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons. He has a new one FINALLY coming out in September that I can't wait to read.

My motto has always been "So many books, so little time"!

One of my favorite books that I read last year was The Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews. It is an excellent book that I would recommend to anyone. It is about a man who has everything go terribly wrong in his life and he thinks about ending it. He ends up in a car accident and when he wakes up he goes back in time and talks to many different famous people who give him great advice for his life. He talks to Abraham Lincoln, Christopher Columbus, Anne Frank, and a few others. It is great to "go back in time" with him as these famous people "come to life". The advice they give is wonderful for all of us whether we are struggling or not. Great book!

Card Experiment

2009-07-13T15:56:00.000-07:00

These are some cards I made as an experiment to see how many different ideas I could come up with using the Tim Holst stamp set Nature's Discovery. This was so fun to try out different things. As you can see, I was on a red kick!

The Yellow Bowl

2009-07-09T10:10:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up my mom used this yellow Pyrex mixing bowl all the time. She used it to mix cake and pancake batter, to mash potatoes in, and make big salads among many other things. When my grandma moved out of her house many years later I was able to get her big yellow mixing bowl, which I remember her mixing bread in. I used it for a long time until a crack started in the bottom of it and I put it into storage because I didn't want it to break all the way and I was very sentimental about saving it. Well, a few months ago there was a commercial on television that showed a grandmother in the kitchen making cookies with her granddaughter and they were using that same mixing bowl! It made me want to find another one to use. My sister Carolyn and I were at an antique store a few weeks ago and she found one there! I was so excited about it and had to buy it! I probably payed three times what it used to cost years ago, but it was worth it! Yes, I'm a very nostalgic person!

Steven's Wedding

2009-07-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

Friday July 3, 2009 was Steven's wedding day at the Draper Utah Temple. It was a wonderful day from the Temple ceremony in the morning, to the lunch at the church, to the reception that night. Steven and Katheryn are such a great couple and they look so happy together. Steven has a cute little package thrown into the union- 3 year old Sammy! He is her son from a previous marriage and he is such a cutie! That means that we have 5 GRANDSONS now! Someday we might get some granddaughters! We are so happy for Steven that he has found such a great love. We love Katheryn dearly. She is such a sweetheart and is very beautiful! We hope their life together will be wonderful. They started it out the right way- sealed for time and eternity in the Temple!

ATC's

2009-06-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

These are the Artist Trading Cards that we made in the class I taught a week ago.

You can't tell that I love birds and trees, can you?! I have so many tree stamps that I decided to do a series of tree ATC's with different tree quotes that I have collected. I also love old movie stars, so I'm going to do a series of those, too. And, yes, that is a RUBBER STAMP of Elvis! The third photo shows the inside of the second ATC which opens up. These were very fun to do and we had a big class making them.

Roses

2009-06-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

I love the climbing rose bush in my backyard! The ROSE has always been my favorite flower. And even though our rose bush is terribly overgrown, I love it. The only bad thing is the roses don't last very long and then we just have the green leaves for the rest of the summer. I decided I had better take pictures before they are completely dead and gone!

I love summer! I love to be able to sit out on my back deck at night and listen to the birds, enjoy the fresh air, and see my roses!

A couple of days ago, Steven found a dragonfly on our front sidewalk not moving. He picked it up with a stick, which it managed to cling to. It was barely alive. We had to take some photos of it because the wings were so pretty. I took the first photo and Steven took the other one with his really good camera.

Stamp Club Card

2009-05-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

I actually finished 10 of these cards a few weeks ago for Stamp Club which is tomorrow morning. I did them early before I started tending an extra baby since I didn't know how much time I would have to stamp!

I'm starting to figure out watching two little babies at the same time! It hasn't been too bad. Thank goodness for the swing-- I would never survive without it!!!

Baby Duty

2009-05-11T12:33:00.000-07:00

Today is my first day to watch TWO grandbabies! Cason is now six months old and Logan is about 7 weeks old. This morning they ate at different times and both slept a lot. This is Cason's dad's day to come home early so I only have Logan until 5:00. I should survive today! We'll see how the longer day tomorrow is! I love these little guys lots! Hopefully we'll get a good routine down taking care of both of them. Robert keeps reminding me that I wanted to do this! When they get a little older they'll have lots of fun together-- we just need to survive til then!!

Stampscapes Inchie ATC

2009-04-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

Well, since I had my mind on inchies, I decided to see if I could get some good little scenes out of my Stampscapes stamps and put them on an artist trading card. It's amazing that you can find a nice little 1" scene in these big stamps. The background is a glossy black cardstock. So fun!

Inchie ATC's

2009-04-28T08:50:00.008-07:00

I decided to participate in an ATC challenge with the Inchie by Inch blog for the first time. The challenge this week is "bling". Inchies are 1" squares decorated in any way you want. I have put 6 inchies on each of these two artist trading cards. You wouldn't think you could get much on a 1" square, but you really can! These are very fun to make!

Interactive Artist Trading Cards

2009-04-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

These are the Artist Trading Cards that we will be making in my class in a couple of weeks.

The first two are interactive. One has a wheel to be able to change the dress colors, and the other has a pull tab to see the owl peek out from the tree stump. These are so fun to make! The third card has an embossed velum overlay. The fourth card is double embossed and colored direct to paper. The last card is made with the Spellbinders die cuts. These dies are absolutely beautiful and I'm having so much fun using them. I wish I had discovered them sooner!

So many fun things to make and so little time!

Nancy Drew

2009-04-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

When I was in Jr. High School my friend Susan and I read lots and lots of Nancy Drew books. We loved them and traded them back and forth. I loved mystery stories and still do. I loved trying to figure out "who done it" and how the story would end. I enjoyed reading about the small town that Nancy and her friends, George and Bess, lived in. I could be sure that nothing TOO drastic or gory or scary would happen. And everyone always lived "happily ever after". I still have a few of my old books, but wish I had saved them all. Every once in a while I look in thrift stores to see if I can find any more old ones, but they are hard to find.

My two daughters love Nancy Drew, too. But they like to play the computer games, which are pretty amazing. You can travel from room to room and building to building, clicking on things to open to try to find all the clues to the newest mystery. They are both very hooked on the games and are always excited when a new one comes out. They trade them back and forth, too!

Nancy Drew has been around for a very long time and she never even ages! She always gets updated to the present and still always solves the mysteries!

Stamp Club Card

2009-03-29T19:05:00.001-07:00

This is the card I made for Stamp Club yesterday. The background is double embossing which I learned how to do on the Cuttlebug Challenge website. I love that technique! The punched edge is my new favorite border punch from Martha Stewart.

New Blog Site

2009-03-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

I started a new blog site to tell the stories and show photos of my ancestors. Thanks to Colleen and Shaunasee for the great idea! The first ancestor that I chose to spotlight is my great-great-grandfather, Ephraim George Holding. This is a photo of him standing on a spire of the Salt Lake LDS Temple. He was the first electrician in Utah and installed all the electric lights in and on the temple and many large buildings and homes. This photograph is hanging in the South Visitor's Center on Temple Square. If you would like to read more about him you can go to Windows in Time.

Logan James is Born!

2009-03-23T07:07:00.001-07:00

Julie had her baby last night! Logan James was born at 6:01 p.m. at St. Marks Hospitol. He weighs 6 lbs. 11 oz. and is 19 inches long. He is a cutie and we're very glad he got here safe and sound. I can't believe my baby has a baby! They are both doing great!

ATC Greeting Card

2009-03-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a full size greeting card with one of the ATC's that I made for the class on Saturday. I added layers of cardstock and printed paper, ribbon, and pearls. The punched circle border is a Martha Stewart punch. I don't know why I go for pink so much lately!

Artist Trading Card Class

2009-03-14T19:15:00.000-07:00

These are the ATC's that we made in the class I taught today at Stampin' Happy. We had a full class and it was lots of fun. These classes sure keep me on the ball in finding new ideas and techniques to try. I really enjoy doing it!

The Improvement Era

2009-03-09T07:30:00.000-07:00

The other day I ran across an old Improvement Era magazine that my mom gave me many years ago. It is dated March 1955, which is my birth month. This is the magazine that the Church published before the current Ensign. It has been neat to read through it. There are articles by David O. McKay, Joseph Fielding Smith, and the incredible Hugh Nibley. There are Richard L. Evans' The Spoken Word messages from his weekly broadcasts with the Tabernacle Choir. This magazine has poems, recipes, and most incredibly- advertisements! Our current Church magazines have no advertisements at all. It is like a blast from the past to see these old ads!

Oh, Postum! How sad it is that they don't make it anymore! We drank this a lot when I was growing up and I still have been drinking it over the years. I have a little bit in the bottom of a jar which I have't wanted to use yet! Lucky Julie has a whole jar of it at her house! Apparently they still sell it in Canada, but I won't be going there any time soon!

Cars have come a long way since 1955!

Can't you just picture your mom wrapping your sandwich up in waxed paper? What would we do without good old ziplock sandwich bags these days?!

It's fun to look at the titles of those old TV shows.

The Red Dress

2009-03-03T07:37:00.001-08:00

About 13 years ago my oldest daughter, Amy starred in her high school production of Hello Dolly. She was so good in it that a lot of people thought that she was a professional that the school had brought in to perform with the students! Her voice was and is just amazing and I will never forget sitting in that auditorium watching her perform. I was SO proud of her.The number where she comes down the stairs singing in that beautiful red dress at the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant and then dances with all the guys was so terrific. That was a moment in my life I will never forget. A friend of hers actually bought the red dress from the school and gave it to Amy as a gift. She wore that dress a few more times over the years- singing in a couple of pageants and in a couple of plays at the Off Broadway Theater in Salt Lake City.

I made this collage for her and also reduced it and made a pendant. I gave them to her yesterday for her birthday. Yes, we have the same birthday! She was a wonderful present for me on my 23rd birthday. She is a wonderful person and I'm so glad she is my daughter. I love her very much!

Fabulous Award

2009-03-02T08:29:00.000-08:00

Wow! I got my first blog award! What a nice birthday present! This is from Christine at her Change of Heart blog site. Thank you, Christine!
I am supposed to list 5 of my favorite things and pass the award on to 5 of my favorite bloggers.

My Favorite Things:
1. My wonderful Family
2. My dear friends
3. My Church
4. Books
5. Paper crafts

My Favorite Bloggers:
1. Jessica and The Howard Six blog- she is the one who inspired me to start a blog and told me it was really easy!
2. Sharon and her Clark Mills Family blog- she has such an inspirational site and has given me so many great ideas.
3. Keron and The ColourGuru blog- her art is amazing, the service and love she gives to so many others is incredible and it's good to read about things that are happening Down Under!
4. Becca and her Amazing Paper Grace blog- she makes some of the most beautiful cards you have ever seen and tells us the supplies she used and how she did it!
5. Rachel at Papercrafts by Rach blog- more remarkable cards to give us lots of inspiration!

Punch Art

2009-02-24T07:30:00.000-08:00

These are pages from my art journal- my experimenting!

This is part of my punch collection!

Besides having collected rubber stamps for over 20 years, I have also collected paper punches. I have used them so much for scrapbooks, cards, and all kinds of other projects. It's amazing how many different shapes and kinds of punches there are out there! I have had lots of fun with them and I love to lend them out to friends!

I made this card and 11 others like it for Stamp Club this week. The theme for the month is using machine embossing and die cuts. The background and house are embossed with Cutttlebug embossing folders, the trim on the roof and corners are die cuts, and the rest were made with paper punches.

I Fly Video

2009-02-20T14:37:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Julie's expertise, here's part of the video when we went to the I Fly wind tunnel. You get two 1-minute sessions with the instructor. This video is my second time where he takes us up high flying around. The first minute is just learning how to position yourself to fly.

You can read more about this down on my February 12 blog post. This was really fun!

Blue Hawaii

2009-02-19T18:30:00.001-08:00

Speaking of Hawaii... one of my very favorite movies is Blue Hawaii starring Elvis Presley. The scenery in the movie is absolutely beautiful, it has a great story, the music is wonderful, and Elvis is... well, what can I say- I am a HUGE Elvis fan and he is great in this. The wedding scene at the very end of the movie when they are floating on a raft down the canal behind the Coco Palms Hotel is SO romantic and beautiful.

Well, one of the biggest thrills for me when we were in Hawaii in December 2007 was taking a Hollywood in Hawaii tour on the island of Kauai. We got to see many places where they filmed movies and TV shows like Gilligan's Island, South Pacific, Fantasy Island, Jurassic Park, as well as many others. But what I loved the very most was going to the old Coco Palms Hotel where they filmed Blue Hawaii. The hotel is now closed down and abandoned, but the lobby is still wide open- there are no doors at the entrance. And behind the hotel, the canal and guest cottages are still there. It is still lush and green and beautiful. The tour guide pointed out the cottage that Elvis loved to stay in when he visited quite often. It was so neat to be there- I didn't want to leave. I'll never forget that experience! Are there any other Blue Hawaii fans out there?

This is Elvis in front of the Coco Palms Hotel. No, I didn't take the picture- I wish!

The Hawaiian

2009-02-16T13:58:00.001-08:00

My favorite place to go out to eat when I was growing up was The Hawaiian restaurant on Highland Drive in Sugar House. I remember our family going there many times, usually with my Grandma and Grandpa Ridd. I loved the big murals of tropical scenes on the walls and the Hawaiian plants, flowers and music. I especially loved the lighting and sound effects of the tripical storms with "rain" coming down along the walls. There was a very small stage where they had Hawaiian dancers to entertain us. Besides the main restaurant, there was also a seafood buffet upstairs that we went to a few times, but I loved the atmosphere downstairs. I almost felt like I was on vacation when we went there. I don't remember much about the food, other than that I think I usually ordered chicken- I wasn't real big on seafood then. Robert and I went there once after we were married, but then I was very sad when owner Johnny Quong closed down the restaurant. Such great memories there! Do you remember The Hawaiian?

The King's Singers

2009-02-14T09:42:00.002-08:00

Last night Robert and I went to see the King's Singers with the Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall. I have been a big fan of theirs for many years. I love their great harmony and the variety of songs that they sing. It was a very fun night.

This whole week has been very busy and fun with something going on every night! Monday night we went to Highland to see my niece Macy star in her high school play The Curious Savage. The play was great and she was really great! Tuesday night I went to a Grocery Smart party at my daughter Amy's house. Wow, did I learn a lot- it's a great program to save lots of money. Wednesday night we went flying in the I Fly wind tunnel in Ogden which was really really fun! Thursday night we went to my sister-in-law Pat's house to set up her computer that Danny was able to fix for her and save all her photos and family history. Then last night we went to the King's Singer concert which was terrific!

What an eventful week full of exciting happenings!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-13T17:26:00.000-08:00

Well, I never got my Christmas cards sent out a couple of months ago. (Yes, I even had several of them made!) So I decided I would make and send Valentine cards to my family. I had fun with embossing and punching and stamping them. I made about 16 of these cards and actually got them mailed yesterday. Miracles do happen!

I Believe I Can Fly!

2009-02-12T14:04:00.000-08:00

Last night I went flying! No, not in my dreams, which I have done many times. But I went flying at the I Fly wind tunnel in Ogden. My son Jacob and his wife Mary took Robert and me- it was their Christmas gift to us along with dinner before. At first, just the thought of doing it was very scary! But I saw the video from when they went before, saw the video and read about it on the I Fly website, and then it didn't seem TOO scary anymore- it actually looked like fun. So we went with them last night and it was REALLY fun! All night I had the song in my head:

"I believe I can fly,

I believe I can touch the sky.

I think about it every night and day,

Spread my wings and fly away..."

What a fun experience. I think that's about the bravest physical thing I have ever done- I'm not much of a daredevil to say the least. I think I would actually go again sometime!

And the Winner is...

2009-02-12T08:26:00.000-08:00

Drumroll please..... The winner of the set of handmade cards for the One World One Heart Giveaway is...

Sandra Hyler!

Congratulations! I hope you enjoy them!

One World-One Heart

2009-01-26T08:05:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

I am joining the One World-One Heart project with bloggers all over the world. We are giving away art by random drawing to someone who posts on our blogs. I am giving away this set of 12 handmade cards to the winner. All you have to do is post a comment on this blog by Feb. 11 and make sure you include your email address so I can let you know if you win. I will draw the name of the winner on Feb. 12. The purpose of this project is to encourage people, visit other blogs, and enjoy the art of others.

If you would like more information you can click on the logo. Have a great day everyone!

Stamp Creations

2009-01-22T09:12:00.000-08:00

These are the Artist Trading Cards (2 1/2" by 3 1/2") that we made in the class that I taught last Saturday at the Stampin' Happy store. The class ended up being three hours long, but we had lots of fun! I really enjoy teaching these classes.

Amazingly, yesterday I finished my cards for Stamp Club that is this Saturday. Ususally I'm still working on them the day before--actually, I'm just starting them the day before! The theme for this month is to use a "virgin stamp"--one that we haven't used before. I didn't have any problem finding stamps that I haven't used yet since I have so many of them! I made 10 of these cards to exchange.

The Wizard of Oz

2009-01-20T12:13:00.000-08:00

One of the highlights of my growing up years was watching the annual broadcast of the Wizard of Oz on television. Back then, of coarse, there were no videos or DVD's to watch anytime we wanted, so we didn't want to miss it. My sisters and I would watch it every year and sing along with the songs. We had those songs and much of the dialogue memorized after many years of watching. It's always been one of my favorite movies. In fact, as an adult, I started collecting all things Wizard of Oz- bells, figurines, globes, books, door stops, magnets, greeting cards, dolls, rubber stamps, and I even have a door mat on my front porch that has the legs of the Wicked Witch sticking out and says "Ding Dong". Many of these items have been given to me by my family and friends who know of my obsession with the movie.

I've thought a lot over the years about why I like the Wizard of Oz so much. I think it is because of all the symbolism that is so prominent to me. "There's no place like home", the need of friends along the way, good overcoming evil, and never giving up even though the going gets rough are all themes in the movie. The characters are all very memorable (I love the Scarecrow!), and the songs are all wonderful with tunes and words you can't forget. The main song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, was an Academy Award winner and Judy Garland, with her beautiful voice, made the song and herself famous. What a great movie! When was the last time you saw it?!

My Sister Carolyn

2009-01-09T14:40:00.000-08:00

This week we celebrated my sister Carolyn's birthday. I made her a collage on a wood plaque. This is the first time I have attempted such a thing. There is a photo of her when she was about two years old and then things she likes around her. I painted the wood with acrylic paints, then stamped, colored with chalks, and glued pictures on. I worked on the collage for two weeks, alternately liking and disliking it in the process. But I do like how it turned out. You can click on the photo to see the details better.

I have 5 younger sisters and Carolyn is the 3rd oldest. She and I have a lot in common and I love her dearly. She is a wonderful, caring person and a great friend as well as sister. I am very blessed to have all the terrific sisters that I have.

New Career

2009-01-08T17:56:00.000-08:00

I started my new "career" this week- tending my cute little grandson, Cason, who is now two months old. It is so fun to be home. This is where I really like to be. Cason is such a good baby and it has been fun to take care of him. When he is sleeping, which is quite a bit still, I can get all kinds of things done. I've been crocheting, reading, writing, drawing, and working on art projects. I really do miss the wonderful ladies that I worked with at the school and MOST of the kids! I'll just have to go visit them every once in a while.

Life is good!

Stampscapes

2009-01-03T12:21:00.000-08:00

I have been making rubber stamped cards for almost 20 years. When I have shown them to Robert he has always made nice comments about them. But about a year and a half ago I bought some scenic stamps from a company called Stampscapes and started using them. When I showed Robert the results he was REALLY impressed. In fact, he would keep telling me to show them to family and friends! They are very detailed stamps so it is very fast and easy to make impressive scenes. The artist and company owner, Kevin Nakagawa, is very good. It's so fun to make these. My six year old grandson, Mason, loves to stamp and amazingly these are the stamps he usually goes for! Rubber stamping is very addicting!

Snow, Snow, Snow!

2008-12-27T12:21:00.000-08:00

OK, I think we have enough snow now! It snowed most of the day on Christmas and most of the day yesterday. Now the sun is shining and it is really beautiful, especially since I don't have to go out in it today! The streets are finally cleared. The news said our area got about 20 inches, which is a lot of snow! Yes, we had our White Christmas, and if it were up to me we wouldn't have any more snow (at least not this much) for the rest of the winter. But I know it's not up to me and we do need the water!

More Christmas Village

2008-12-27T12:14:00.000-08:00

These are the overflow village pieces that we put on the top of the piano. I really like these houses, too! And yes, like my sister said, I would like to shrink myself down and walk through the village! Wouldn't that be fun?!

Sweet Grandma Ridd

2008-12-26T12:24:00.000-08:00

Even though she has been gone for many years, I think about my Grandma Ridd quite often and I found out that my sisters also think about her often. At her funeral, I found things out about her that I hadn't known before. I found out that she loved trees like I do and that one of her favorite poems was "I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree..." I love that poem, too. I wish I had known that while she was alive and that I could have talked to her about it. I also wish I hadn't been so shy growing up and had talked with Grandma more and gotten to know her better.She and Grandpa lived just a few houses down the street from us, which we loved. What a wonderful, talented grandma she was! I love her dearly.

I made a collage with a photo of my grandma when she was in 8th grade. The background is a painting that she did in her 70's and the collage includes items that represent her trees and gardening that she loved. I reduced this on the computer and made necklaces for each of my sisters and my mom for Christmas. Fortunately, my sisters' and mom's necklaces don't have a bubble in the resin right over grandma's forhead like mine shown here!

Christmases Past

2008-12-22T11:42:00.000-08:00

Robert and I have talked about how much we miss Christmas when our 5 kids were little. We always woke up before the kids did on Christmas morning and just lay in bed waiting for them to come in and get us up. When they finally came in and tried to pull us out of bed to go open presents, we got up, pretending to be very reluctant to leave our nice warm bed!

One year we got out of bed when we heard the kids start to stir. Robert put pillows under the covers to make it look like we were in there, and we hid on the floor on the other side of the bed, waiting for the kids to come in and try to find us. They were surprised to find only pillows in our bed and it didn't take them long to find us on the floor. We all got a good laugh about it!

Another year, Robert and I did the same thing except that we hid in the closet. It took the kids a little longer to find us that time!

A few years later we added on the garage and family room to our house. Our Christmas tree was then upstairs. One Christmas morning after Robert and I woke up we tiptoed as quietly as is possible on our squeaky floors down the hall and up the stairs before the kids woke up and listened to them wandering around downstairs trying to find us. They eventually figured out we were upstairs where we had turned on the Christmas tree lights. It was always tradition that Robert and I had to go up first and turn the lights on before the kids came up in age order- youngest to oldest. Each child picked a spot to sit on the couch or a chair with their stocking and then Robert passed the presents to each of them. They each ended up with a big stack of presents by them. Then the youngest child got to open one gift of their choice while everyone watched. Taking turns, they each opened their gifts so everyone could see what they got. After the kids had opened all their presents, it was mom and dad's turn. We know lots of people who just let their children start tearing into all their gifts at the same time, which is what Robert and I did in each of our families when we were young. But we liked the idea of doing it one at a time so we could enjoy the moments longer, otherwise Christmas is all over in a couple of minutes!

It's very fun to think about those great Christmasas we had in years past, but we also love our Christmases now with our grown-up children and our sweet grandchildren. We love them all so much more than I could ever say. They mean everything to us and we are so glad that we have the gospel in our lives and the great blessing of being a "forever family".

Christmas Village

2008-11-28T14:37:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Village is all up now and I didn't even have to do it! Robert and Steven took over this year and they did a terrific job! I just added a few extras. It was so nice to let them take over because it is a lot of work. (I'm sure I'll have to take it all down and put it away in the boxes as usual in a couple of months!) It's always so fun to have up. When I went up to see it for the first time, there were a few new pieces that I hadn't seen before. Robert just can't stop buying them off of Ebay! I keep telling him we have plenty now, but he doesn't stop. I love the Christmas villages so much. It reminds me of a Christmas many years ago.

When I was a senior at Olympus High, one of my seminary teachers challenged us to do something nice for someone that Christmas season-- preferably something anonymous because it is more fun that way. I had been working at ZCMI in the Cottonwood Mall as Christmas help in gift wrapping so I had a fair amount of money to spend on my family with some left over. I decided to buy several little gifts like lotion, cologne, bubble bath and chocolates and take a gift each night during the week before Christmas. I chose to take them to an older widow who lived alone in a house around the corner and down the street about four houses from me. I knew her name and where she lived, but had never met her before.

The first night that I went, I waited until after dark, but I felt perfectly safe in my own neighborhood. And the fact that I was on a "secret mission" made the trip very exciting. I remember so well walking down the street looking at the Christmas lights decorating my neighbors' homes and the lighted windows and the stars shining in the clear sky. It seemed so magical to me and I think that is why I love our lighted Christmas village so much.

I arrived at Carrie's house and started walking down her long driveway. Her lights were on so I was pretty sure she was home. I set the first little wrapped gift down on the step in front of her door which was on the side of the house, rang the doorbell and knocked hard a few times just in case the the doorbell didn't work. Then I ran as fast as I could back up the driveway and hid behind the bushes, breathing hard and peeking to watch for her to open the door. It took a minute or so for her to open the door and call out "hello?" She then looked down, saw the package, picked it up, looked out again, and then shut the door. With a big smile on my face, I walked back up the street and around the corner to my house. I had such a good feeling inside and decided this "anonymous giving" was very fun.

The next couple of nights, I repeated this, sneaking out of my house each time. I waited until no one was around the front door, put on my coat, and went quietly out. And each time she came to the door a little faster, so I had to run faster!

Then the next night, with snow flakes lazily falling down, I put the gift on the doorstep, rang the bell and knocked, then ran up the driveway. But when I was only about half the way to my hiding place I heard the door opening behind me and a little voice calling out "who are you?" a couple of times. I had been caught! I kept running, though, and turned behind the bushes, but then I felt like I needed to go back and talk to her. So I walked down the driveway back to her door. I told her my name, where I lived, and told her that I thought she knew my grandmother who also lived in the neighborhood. She was very nice and invited me to come in and sit down, which I did. We talked for a few minutes-- about what I really don't remember. She thanked me for the gifts and gave me some candy. I wished her a "Merry Christmas" and walked back home, again with a smile on my face.

I found out that Christmas how fun it is to give, especially anonymously, but I was also glad to be able to meet Carrie and talk with her, too. Then she didn't have to keep wondering who her secret gift-giver was.

Looking at our Christmas Village now brings back memories of that Christmas which really stands out in my memory because it was so magical to me.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T14:24:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I have so much to be thankful for. I love my family and friends dearly and I am so thankful to have them all in my life. I'm thankful for my home and church.

I'm thankful for my eyes. The fact that I have very terrible eyesight has always made me appreciate the fact that I can see at all. There are many people that live in total darkness. I am so glad that I can see this beautiful world that has been created just for us. I love the trees and grass, flowers and mountains, and all the wonders of nature. I also love art and architecture that men have made. I'm thankful for the amazingly fun hobby of making art of different kinds. It is so great to have that creative outlet.

I'm thankful for my ears that can hear the wonderful sounds of nature: the birds, crickets, thunderstorms, and the ocean waves pounding against the beach. (I wish I could see and hear that a little more often!) I'm also very thankful to be able to hear music which I love so much. I enjoy so many different kinds of music. My CD collection is quite an eclectic assortment as you can tell from my playlist here. I have a little piece of heaven when I am working (really playing) in my craft room listening to music!

I am thankful for this time of year when we think about other people a little more than ourselves, when we can enjoy the excitement of this magical season, and remember what is really important in our lives.

There are many crazy things going on in the world today, but life is great when we count all our many blessings and be happy with what we have. Yes, I'm very thankful today.

Sweet Baby

2008-11-26T14:07:00.000-08:00

Cason is 3 weeks old already and he has changed so much since the day he was born. It's great to have those sweet newborn baby sounds in the house again. Even his crying isn't very loud. He really is a good baby.

Baby Cason

2008-11-07T10:34:00.001-08:00

Cason Daniel was born on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at Alta View Hospitol. He weighed 8 lbs. 3 oz. and is 21 inches long. What a cute little guy! Danny and Courtney were supposed to call the hospitol that morning at 7:00 to make sure they had room for them to come in so they could start her labor since she was 10 days past the due date. But at 2:15 that morning her water broke and labor pains started, so they got to the hospitol at about 3:00 and Cason was born at 12:51 p.m. that afternoon. We are so glad that he is finally here! How great it is to have a newborn in the family again! They came home from the hospitol on Thursday afternoon, and this grandma loves to hold him!

Is this a happy face or what?!

A new family!

Halloween Dept. 56

2008-10-16T17:37:00.000-07:00

We got our little Halloween houses set up on the piano. We have a haunted Train Station, a haunted mansion, and the Wicked Witch's castle from the Wizard of Oz. They all light up and the train station and the haunted mansion make spooky sounds. The monkeys fly around the top of the castle. It's fun to have it up and our two grandsons, Mason and Gavin love to watch it. Happy Halloween!

Artist Trading Cards

2008-10-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

These are some silly ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) that I made using photos of me and some stamping friends- Fontella, Bonnie, and Ashley. I'm teaching another class this Saturday and thought I would make these to give out. They are mostly made with rubber stamps with a fence die cut and some background paper. Lots of fun!

Department 56 Obsession!

2008-09-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

Several years ago I got interested in the Department 56 lighted Christmas Village houses. I had seen them in a few different stores and took Robert to one of them to show him and see if he might be interested. He liked them too and I suggested that maybe we get one a year and start setting up a village for Christmas. I think that first year we bought a couple of houses. There are many less expensive village houses you can buy, but we really liked the quality and collectability of the Department 56 houses. They are so detailed and well-made. Well, it didn't take long for Robert to get obsessed with our collecting! He started getting on Ebay and buying at a discount (sometimes!) We have so many pieces now that we don't know where to put them all! I keep telling Robert that we have enough, but does he listen? No, way! It was so sad to put the Christmas houses away since we love them so much, so a few years ago we bought a few pieces of a springtime set of houses and trees so we could keep them up on the piano the rest of the year after we took down the Christmas village.

Well, this year we did what I didn't want to do-- we got into the Halloween collection! We have a few pieces that we will put on the piano. So, today I took down the Spring set and put it all away. It's always a little sad to take them down (and a whole lot of work), but it is time. As soon as I get some fabric that will look good to set it on, I will put the Halloween houses up. I have never been a real big fan of Halloween, but, for some reason this year, I thought it would be fun to have some decorations for the holiday. These are photos of our spring houses. I guess it's a good thing this series in discontinued so we can't buy any more! I'll post photos of the Halloween pieces when I get them put up!

The Magnificence of Nature

2008-08-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

A few years ago we planted these hibiscus plants in our front garden area and they grow back big and beautiful every year. They are HUGE! We have neighbors a few blocks away who come over just to see them every summer. I'm glad the blooms last a long time. I love these flowers and I love this beautiful world that we live in. The magnificence of nature has always thrilled my soul. I love to sit on our back deck and look at the different trees and hear the birds singing and watching them fly around. A couple of days ago, Julie and I were sitting in the living room and a humming bird came right up to the window and flitted around for several seconds. It was a thrill to us. I hadn't seen a hummingbird in our yard for ages. It made us remember a few years ago at my sister, Becky's house when we stood still with our hands around the base of her hummingbird feeder and several birds came flitting around our heads and landed by our hands to drink from the feeder. That was one of the neatest experiences of my life! I love birds and because of my terrible eyesight I can't see them in detail unless they are "up close and personal". So these experiences when I can see them closely mean a lot to me!

Little Houses

2008-08-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

I've always loved houses, windows, doors, fences, etc. in art for some reason. I decided to make a series of little house ATC's (Artist Trading Cards, which are always 2 1/2" by 3 1/2") These have been so fun to make. I'm making a whole little neighborhood of them! We are going to make one in the class I teach this Saturday morning along with several others. These are a combination of stamps, magazine cut outs, and stickers. The lined background of several of them are actually the bottom of a flip flop which has that brick pattern on it. It is inked up in an ink pad and stamped on the cardstock! I read about that idea someone had in a stamping magazine. Pretty tricky!
Well, we got the whole family room in the basement painted and the new carpeting will be installed next week. It will be nice to get our house put back together and have a nice fresh room downstairs for Danny and Courtney.

I have a little over 2 weeks left before I have to go back to work, but I have a meeting at the district office tomorrow morning and one the next week and one the week after, so I'm getting back into it gradually! All good things must come to an end! But I will definitely enjoy it while I can!

Fun with Grandsons

2008-07-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

In the past couple of weeks I have gone to Hogle Zoo and the Ogden Dinosaur Park with Amy and her two cute little boys, Mason and Gavin. They had so much fun and it was lots of fun to watch them. It was hotter than hot at both places, but well worth it. I love those little boys so much! I dream quite often that I am holding and taking care of a baby. And they always look different. I love babies and children so much and I really miss my own 5 kids being little. My sister, Carolyn and I have often talked about this, and we decided that it's a good thing we have grandchildren to love and help take care of to help these baby cravings we have! It's very exciting that we have another grandbaby coming in October and another one in March! We know the one in October is a boy and we are hoping that the March baby will be a girl, but if it's another boy that's great too!

In the Summertime

2008-07-17T18:45:00.001-07:00

I love summer! The biggest thrill for me is being able to open my windows and hear the birds singing, the lawnmovers, the sprinklers, and children playing in the neighborhood. I also love to hear the crickets at night. I especially love that I don't work in the summer. Being a teacher's aide at a school has lots of advantages! But now it's the middle of summer already. The summer is half gone and I haven't done near all the things I wanted to. I guess, instead, I should say I still have half the summer ahead of me to enjoy and do all that I can. Let's enjoy it while we can!

Feeling Puzzled

2008-07-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

In a recent issue of The Stamper's Samper magazine, Carol Quance had several pieces of art made from giant puzzle pieces. These looked so fun to make, so the next time I was in a store with puzzles I looked to see if they had these giant ones, but they didn't. I thought I would probably have a very hard time finding them. A few days later I went to the DI, a local thrift store, and looked through the toys and puzzles and found a box of 48 of them! I was ecstatic! These are about 5" tall. I followed her basic directions of lightly sanding the puzzle piece, covering with gesso, painting with acrylic paints, and using stamps and clip art images, and embossing. They were so fun to do. I have other themes already in my head for more. So many fun ideas, so little time!

The Hills are Alive...

2008-07-14T09:15:00.001-07:00

I went to see our oldest daughter, Amy perform in The Sound of Music a few days ago at a very nice ampatheater in Herriman. She played Elsa and sang two songs that are in the broadway play but not in the movie. She did wonderfully as did the whole cast. They all had amazingly wonderful voices. I was so impressed with the quality of that production for a small town. We're going to see it again next Monday night. Parents just can't get enough of watching their children perform!

Once upon a time...

2008-07-10T11:35:00.000-07:00

I never thought that I would ever do such a thing as have my own blog, but here I am! I have read so many great sites that I decided to join in on the fun! I love to write, but it has been a long time since I have written in my journal. TIME. So many wonderful things to do and so little time! I have said that so many times in my life. A wonderful friend, Joy, even gave me a t-shirt with the words "So Many Books, So Little Time" on it when we were in a book club together. She must have heard that from me too many TIMES! There are so many things I love to do. I love to make cards, ATC's (I teach a class once a month at a local store- Stampin' Happy}, mixed media projects, scrapbooks, and punch art. I also love to read, knit, crochet, work on family history, take photos, and do fun projects with the Young Women in my church, not to mention spend time with my wonderful family. Yes, so many wonderful things to do and so little time. But, I know that we make time for the things we really want to do.
Lately, I have wanted to write about events that have happened in the past that I don't ever want to forget. I have already written about a few of them, but I will write on my blog some that family and friends might be interested in. I will also share projects that I work on.