4'th of July...

Originally we had planed on camping in Show Low at Fool Hollow. Mostly because Fool Hollow has full hook ups, that way we didn’t need to worry about the 90 degree weather that was being predicted, yea… our pop-up has AC. We arrived to the camp ground at 10:30 AM to find that we were 3’rd in line waiting for a spot to open. 45 minutes later we were informed that there was only going to be 3 sites opening and all of them were in the tent area. (no hookups) With only a few seconds to decide, we declined and headed for Big Lake.

Thankfully we had cell phone service and so I QUICKLY called the ranger station for the Apache and Sitgreaves National Forests area which is were we were heading . Big lake was also full but there were openings at Rolfe Hoyer. Tom and I were beginning to wonder if we were really going to find a place to camp at all this weekend. Thankfully, we found a great spot, #6, in the very first loop and we all set to enjoy our weekend or so we thought. We still had a few problems to overcome. First was a leak in the tube that connects the propane tank to the trailer and second the trailers battery was dead but a trip into Pine Top the next morning took care of everything. The weather was wonderful there was a light rain on and off most of the weekend, just enough to keep the temperature 70’s during the day and high 50’s at night but not too much so that the campground was muddy.
We even found a great place to let the dogs run (shhh without a leash.) The worse part of the whole trip was coming back home to the heat of the desert. Still it is good to be home.

Empty nest

Since Tom and I are now empty nester's, we decided to transform our daughter Kasandra's old bedroom into a guest room. It has taken me almost a year to pull together everything to achieve the look and feel that I wanted. It was important to me that we go "green" and try to buy more items that were recycled (used) and not new. My thought was that with our current economy, one needs to spend money wisely and try to keep it in America. Therefore most of the big items have been bought off of craigslist. (http://www.craigslist.com/) The room has slowly evolved into a quiet retreat for visitors and family alike. Many of the items are from my parents or grandparents. The crochet doilies, were handmade by my grandmother Lois Watenpaugh. The Chenille bedspread was my parents bedspread in the 70's. The clothes hanging above the bed were worn by parents when they were little. The eyelet curtain have been stowed away for years in hopes to someday use them. My favorite photo of my grandma Josephine Ramsey sits on top of the desk. All these things help give the room a familiar warm homey feel. The metal bed, Secretary, and armoire from craigslist. Some items of course had to bought new, the mattress and a feather like mattress topper for one. I am still on the hunt for a hobnail milk glass lamp. I have to admit that it takes a little more effort to buy used items since there isn't a showroom to pick from, overall I am very happy with how it has turned out.

Hey Kasandra.... do you want to spend the night?

June Calendar photo

June
See Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May,

The box in the back of the garage.

The summer between 7 Th grade and 8 Th grade, I went to visit my older sister and her husband who was stationed at Fort Amador, Canal Zone. I flew from Chicago to Miami then to Panama, alone somewhat scared and very awe stuck. After the summer was over I asked my parents if I could stay in Panama and attend Curundu Jr. High School for my 8Th grade year. I'm not sure if it was the place or the time but I made friends that year that have impacted me for the rest of my life. My best friend name was Kathi Gersley, she was a giggly, short, skinny, blond with braces and a smile that remains in my memories even today. Throughout that short year we shared our secrets, fears, dreams and joys most likely the same as most 14 year old girls do. When it was time to return state side Kathi was scheduled to leave first. We met in the hotel lobby where her parents were staying the last few days before school finished. I remember we hugged and cried and we promised each other to stay in touch.

Within the next few days she was on her way to Tennessee and a few weeks later, I went back to Illinois. We manage in an age before cell phone and email to stay connected the 4 years though high school. The summer after high school, Kathi married and I went away to college. After my first year of nursing school was completed I too married. Inevitable, we lost track of each other. Many times over the years I thought about my friend and wondered what had happened to her.

Last Month, Tom and I started to clean our garage out. In the far corner was a box labeled year book, papers, junk. Tom pulled down the box and Kasandra and I started to go through it. It had my year books from High School, baby books for Chris and Kasandra and a old scrapbook from my first marriage that contained pages of cards, photos, and journaling of a young bride first few married months. I started to throw it away when Kasandra noticed several old wedding invitations from friends that I had grown up with in the very back of the book. In that box, in a long forgotten wedding scrapbook, in the back of my garage, all this time was the wedding announcement for Kathi Gersley. The key that I needed to find Kathi after all these years, because it had her married name and her parents name too.

It took 2 days of searching on the WWW to find her father's phone number. 5 minutes of explaining who I was, and why I wanted to talk to his daughter to get him to give me Kathi's cell number. 5 seconds for me to call and leave a message, hoping that she would remembered me as much as I remembered her. 1 hour for her to call me back and tell me she was at work and would call me when she got off. Not only did she remember me but she remember stories of what we did that year much clearer than I had.
And you know what???? She sounded just the same as she had almost 40 years ago.

Kathi and her husband Ric

Retired????

In May I decided to retire from Rusty Pickle as part of their design team known as the "Rusty Pickle Chefs." It was a hard decision. For the last 4 years I have been part of this awesome team of scrapbookers. The owners Tasha and Lance Anderson are giving, kind and sweet.

Even though I will not be part of their team, we will remain friends and isn't that the way it is meant to be?

This little lunch box is published in the spring 2008 issue of Make it Mine magazine,

http://www.makeitminemag.com/mim/default.aspx?c=a&id=45

May Calendar photo

May

See Jan, Feb, March, April

Afternoon Tea Party

I served the food buffet style so that the guests could choose what they wanted and then seat themselves outside on the patio.

After weeks of research, planing, cleaning and two days of cooking, the afternoon tea party was a sucess! And my mother was thrilled.

April Calender photo

April

See Jan, Feb, Mar,

What missing?

It's hard when you last child leaves home. I have read books about it, talked to friends about it and watched TV shows about it. It seems to be something that every mom must go through. I thought it was hard when Chris our oldest son left. In fact, after he left I got my first cold sore. Who says I was stressed? But having Kasandra leave was even harder. When Chris left I still had 3 other children at home and they occupied much of my time. Now with Kanandra gone, her dad and I are for the first time alone. So today as I was sorting photos that are stored in my computer, I found this one . The memory of her sleeping on my bed with Gabe is bittersweet. I found myself missing her all over again.

I think I bit off more than I can chew....

My sister Lynda and I recently went to lunch at Chantilly tea room. The ambience was adorable and soothing to both of our souls. The display of tea cups delightful and sweet. The food, well lets just say it was so-so.

As we sat and sipped our tea, we discussed plans for what we were going to do for our mom on her birthday and for Mother's day , both being in the month of May. With Chantilly's as inspiration, we came up with the idea for me to have a Afternoon tea party on my front patio. So began the pursuit of mismatched tea cups and china.

First let me say, it wasn't as easy as one might think. I didn't want to pay a lot of money for what I might only use one time. I also didn't want them to be cheep looking. So my sister and I began to haunt ebay, yard sales, Goodwill and Savers. I even placed an ad in the local classifieds.

You know..... I think I bit off more than I can chew!

I would like to thank Jenni Gillmore, who answered my ad and gave me several beautiful cups, saucers and plates.

March Calendar Photo

March

See Jan, Feb, calendara photo

For the love of Raffie

It's hard to believe that just 3 years ago, I was not a dog person. In fact I found people who made a fuss of their dog a little strange. Currently, we are a two dog family. Our first born Gabe, who is so cute and smart that I learned that loving a dog wasn't as weird as I thought. Then came Raffie who quickly became my dog. She is so different from Gabe, much more sensitive and clingy. Look at her beautiful brown eyes, how could anyone not love her. So as strange as it may seem, it is for the love of Raffie, I now carry photos not only of children..... but of my dogs.

February Calendar photo

February :

See Jan calendar photo