out of the big chill in Texas!

After a few freezing days, we've warmed up to the 50's and 60's.  That's the nice thing about living here in the South West. We get a break.  A few days ago, when we "skyped" with Mark and Courtney in Minnesota, we caught the view outside their windows -- lots of snow, a dark wintry sky, a frozen pond in the background--brrr.  My winters used to be like that, growing up in Rhode Island. Back then, you couldn't keep me out of the snow. In this picture, the big blizzard of 1956 had swept through the day before. School was cancelled; the snow plow had just come through. Here I am, diving into the pile of snow created by the snowplow.  I was in eskimo heaven, making my little igloo under all that snow.

the Big 60!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to my brother Charlie, born on Friday, the 13th!!! I can't believe you are such an old guy now. You were the first baby brother to arrive in our family. When you cried, I'd say, "Don't cry Tarley. Nancy's here."  When you were taken for your doctor's visit at 8 weeks old, I warned the children in the waiting room, "Don't touch Tarley, that's mummy's Tarley".

You grew up to be such a fun brother to go bike riding with, throw snow balls at, laugh together at silly things. 

You grew up to be president of your senior class, quarterback of the football team, and after high school,  helped establish the LaCross Team at BYU. Then you married sweet Sun Mae, had great kids, and achieved your dream of becoming a medical doctor, and an accomplished sailor.

 But the thing that makes you the happiest is being a grandpa. I know you are having a great day today because those precious grand daughters are there with you eating birthday cake. Love from us in Texas!

final quilting projects of 2009

These are the last two quilts I finished prior to the holidays.  Evan and Avery share a room, so I made them in matching colors. I livened up Evan's quilt with an orange inner border. These two quilts were very fast and easy to make.  My first 2010 quilting projects will be a  quilt for Mark and Courtney's baby girl who is expected the end of March, and a quilt for Aiden.  I had never gotten around to making a baby quilt for Aiden, and thought he'd never even notice or mind, until he was watching me finishing up Evan's quilt. I was shocked when he asked, "Is that my quilt Grammy?" He feels sad he never got one, and reminded me again when he was buckled in the car ready to go home,"Remember to make my blanket." So does anyone have any ideas for a fun (but fast and easy) quilt for a lively 5 year old?

pa and I settling down for a long winter's nap

Thanks to an Arctic Blast, it's so cold here in Texas that...

• our teenage son wore long pants to school this morning instead of his usual shorts.
• a church social  was cancelled for this evening.
• birds are trying to peck through frozen bird baths to get a drink.
• -- not kidding you -- since the cold snap (Thurs. night), grandpa and I have been wearing these caps to bed.  Grandpa refused to pose for the picture, so I had to enlist Mr. Baloon. (I've grown soft living here in Texas. I'm the kid who used to play out all day long in the ice and snow back east, til my hands and feet were frozen.)
• the only one who believes in Global Warming is Al Gore.

announcing.....

My new blog!  This will be of special interest to family members. Visit me at storiesofthenyefamily.blogspot.com to learn a little of our family history.  There will be photos and all the stories I have about our family.  Enjoy.

visiting our favorite teacher

One of the nice things about being retired is we can take off whenever... so today we visited Jessica at the HISD magnet school near Rice University where she teaches kindergarten. The kids were still on holiday break, so only the teachers were in for a work day.The school was built in the 1940's and is nestled among lovely and very expensive homes, with ancient oak trees lining the street. The classrooms are huge. (And this is only 1/4 of the room.) The windows of Jessica's room look out onto it's own outdoor patio. Here is one of the patios in the center of the school. The school has a lot of character and charm, lacking in modern schools.
We were impressed with all Jessica has done to make her classroom a fun learning environment. We might be a little prejudiced, but we'll say it anyways, "Jessica, you're the best little kindergarten teacher that we know!"

A fond farewell to 2009

Good-bye to Christmas 2009....Good-bye to the very last of the Christmas cookies...Hello to New Year's day... And Grammy is still in the kitchen, working on her final holiday pie. After staying up til the wee hours New Year's Eve, this Grammy was beyond tired and had to get a lot of help from her good friend, "Cooking Show Grammy." "Cooking Show Grammy", with her fake southern accent and crazy ways, took over, and taught Kyla how to make a pie. Kyla loved doing some commercials for the cooking show,which will soon be aired on the Fools Network.Well after all that work and all that fun and all that family, it's time to take a deep breath, and contemplate the New Year. I think about time and how it passes too quickly. What if in this new year, I make a resolution to treat each day as if it were my last and take the time and make the time to do something that means something in that context?

Here's my childhood friend, Carol, who in this picture is wearing a wig because she is bald from chemotherapy. Her cancer was incurable. She died within a year of this photo taken in 2001. She lived life to the fullest, while dying. She took the time to visit me for a week --that's when this photo was taken. We packed a picnic lunch every morning and in spite of her fatigue, we saw the sights, shared memories, laughed and had the best time. She took the time to take wonderful trips with her husband. Evey night, they took the time to say "I love you" and "good-bye", because that night could be her last.

Make the time and take the time each day. Appreciate those precious moments and be grateful for the gift of time -- every second, every minute that's packed into the year 2010. Have a Happy New Year! Don't ever take the precious gift of time for granted.
That's my New Year's resolution. How about you?