Life's little blessings...

It was 24 degrees here today...for our high! On my way to work it was 3! But I am not feeling sorry for myself, not one little bit. Nope! It's sunny and dry here, albeit frigid. My daughter, who has occasionally teased me about her warmer weather in the
great Northwest, has been dumped on by "snowmageddon".  Where as her normal annual snowfall is less than 4 inches, they had several inches, close to a foot this week. She lost power at her house last night. Thankfully it came back on in the middle of the night. She is about 4 weeks from delivering our 1st grandchild, a baby girl. Last week they had a plumbing issue in the (old) new house they bought and she was unable to shower for a couple of days. She's a trooper, is thankful she works from home and that no one sees her unshampooed, and slightly disheveled. So anyway, my life is pretty darn good. Very little snow, all the electricity I need, and I'm NOT having a baby!
I have to admit, I was worried all day about her, picturing her cold, alone (husband at work) and without phone, as they are like so many folks now who have no land line. No power, no way to charge those phones. So when I got the news that power had come back on in the middle of the night and all was returning to "normal", I was relieved.
I also realized today that now, not only do I still worry about my adult children, but I have a grand baby to worry about as well! This parenthood thing is perpetual, never ending...
Thank God for the opportunity. Thanks for the kids, and now the grand kids. I will glady worry and fret over them, as I also get to love and enjoy them. Nothing is easy or free! The trade off is PRICELESS!

View from her office window.

61 fantastic degrees here today in the middle of January. Love It!!!!
After work I went to Wyuka cemetery and took some photos. It's a beautiful place, right in the heart of Lincoln.

I just had to be outside. Tomorrow reality hits as actual winter temperatures are predicted. But today I played outside.

I am 55 years old.
Happy, content, not ever wanting to be a younger age.
Especially when I come across a gem like this.
What was my mother thinking...why would she have let me out of the house with this hair, and on picture day?
 Did we not own a comb?

When you have an embarrassing or humiliating incident, and some well meaning person tells you "one day you will look back on this and laugh",

                                                                  You really will!

I've been scanning old family photos with the intention of getting everything digitized and making cds for everyone. It's slow going because frequently I stop and reminisce... or just laugh out loud like I did when I saw this vacation shot of 2 of my brothers.

Camera practice

I got a new camera almost a year ago. Finally decided to read the users manual! It's amazing how much can be learned by reading! Lots of stuff I had no idea I could do, or was doing incorrectly. 223 pages of info. Lots to learn. It's kind of like going to school! Here are a couple of pictures I took using some of the settings I just learned about. Makes Christmas look a lot different.

Christmas biscuits

Bede Sr. and Jr. cooked Christmas dinner. We had a roast, green bean casserole, potatoes, gravy, and biscuits! Bede Sr. made the biscuits all by himself. The dinner was fabulous...the biscuits needed just a little help. Here is a picture of them before we added a little more dry ingredients! We also enjoyed a delicious cake sent from Texas from Brittany's mom,Penny. It was so good.




Thanks for cooking guys! That was one of the best gifts ever. I just had a glass of wine, well, maybe two and sat out in the sun while dinner was prepared. I think we may have started a new tradition!

Christmas 2011

Great Christmas Day here in Lincoln.
Lots of interesting gifts. Andrew gave Bede Jr. a vintage rotary telephone.
Bede Sr. and I felt vintage ourselves as we grew up with these phones!
Kelly came over bright and early to join in the festivities. We all enjoyed the great basket of coffee goodies from Brittany in Texas.
Even the doggies got treats from Santa.
Treats that were reduced to pieces of fluff on the floor within minutes.

Hello! Hello! Hello! Can you hear me now?


New sweaters for the boys!






To make the day even better, the weather was fantastic. Warm, sunny, nice enough to sit out on the porch for a while in the afternoon.


We missed Joanna and Andy. Hopefully next year we will all be together for baby's 1st Christmas!