Familiar Words

These two gangly ugly looking plants are from my front steps. They sat there all summer and into early fall full of blossoms and looking beautiful. When it was time to bring them in, I put them in the back room by the big picture window, and I have tried to remember to open the drapes every morning so they will get some sun every day. I have to water them like crazy....one or two days without a drink and they turn all droopy. Little by little, they have lost their blooms and just have leaves.

Just the other day,l I was sighing as I was picking up MORE dried leaves from the floor, and I had the thought that maybe it is time.....let them give up the ghost and start fresh next year, but I didn't do it yet, cuz trash day is on Tuesday.

So....then, we go over for a visit to see Mom and Bob. There by her back door is a plant about twenty times weaker-looking than these two guys. It was the Mother's Day azalea I gave her and there are two teeny, tiny green leaves on it. Otherwise, I would venture to say, it is a dried up dirt ball with a dried up stem in the middle of it. Well, I didn't say anything, but as we were getting ready to go, she pointed it out, and said something to the effect that she hates to throw it out....after all, it is a living thing! Oh my gosh....those were the same exact words that I struggled with inside my brain when I was thinking of throwing my plants. It's a living thing! It is scairy how much we pick up from our Moms.......Girls, watch out, I think you are doomed.

My HERO

Tom came to the rescue on Saturday. I have been trying to keep the back lot by the garage shoveled out so I can park in back during a snow emergency. I looked at it after doing the sidewalk (for the millionth time, it felt) and just couldn't bring myself to go back there and start it. Even though the snow was pretty light and fluffy, my back was already feeling it because of all the lifting to get it up and over the current high snowbanks. I saw a yellow truck pulling up in front of the house. Attached to it was a trailer loaded with a little tractor with a snowblowing attachment. Tom plowed me out in no time and even moved some of the big piles in front of my garage. What a great feeling that was to get that done!! The best part is that he loves his tractor and enjoys doing it.

Certified

For two nights, from 6 to 9:30 I attended my CPR and first aid classes. It was on the llth and 12th in the bus garage down on Randolph near West Seventh. Boring, boring, and long. We read the book, watch film clips, practice the skills on manniquins...both adult and infant. For someone my age, with all my aches and pains, it isn't easy bending down there on the floor on a mat, but has to be done to earn the card. Actually, I have to go through the CPR training once a year and the first aid every three years. I get paid for the time......seven hours total, but it takes up two whole nights and the room is small and close and cold! Judy Pierson and I went on the same night, so that helped....and she gave me a hard time cuz I know someone everywhere we go....and I walked in and there was Sarah Follmer and Ryan Paitich! Oh well....it happens when we walk, too. I guess when you have been around for sixty years and, especially, when you sub all over, you make a lot of acquaintances.

My biggest compaint was how nervous I feel about knowing I am certified, but feeling like I'm not sure I could save a life. I guess I could do chest compressions and give rescue breaths......30/2 for as long as possible until help arrives. I found myself thinking-Don't doctors have to go to school for about 8 years? How can I learn everything in two nights?

What I mostly learned: Call 9-1-1-!!

A Day at Grammy's House!

Hannah was a great help to me. I took down all the Christmas decorations and she took the ornaments off the tree and put them in little plastic bags to bundle them up for next year. Then, Kristin, Bob, and Jennie and I fought with the tree to put it back in a vinyl bag for storage out in the garage. I always feel like we are carrying a dead body out there.

I love it when Hannah asks me, "Grammy, why you have two houses?" I always tell her I am just lucky, I guess. Jenny told Amy she would watch the girls today and I was happy to volunteer my house so I could see them. Kristin stopped in, too, and even Mom and Bob came over later.

The girls were so cute and so sweet, as alway

Kari just blogged about Agus deciding he was ready to pose for some pictures....after all that time of never wanting to look at anyone holding a camera. And Hailey was posing for us all day Sunday, too. She was such a little ham for the camera. Hannah likes to pull down the couch armrest and they were sitting on it. When I grabbed this pillow, Hailey immediately let out a big sigh and just leaned back on it. It was so cute!

She was so cute! It almost looks like she has on a wig

Those are some amazing blue eyes....and cheeks!!!

FINALLY......!.

Well....I finally got brave enough to take the plunge and got my LONG hair chopped off. It was something I knew I had to do, but I just kept putting it off. Finally, on Saturday when Tom and I were at Har Mar's Antique Show, I got brave and went into Fantastic Sam's and got it cut. Even though it is dramatically shorter and very obvious, I still am hearing, "Miss Chris?!! Did you get a haircut??!!" Maybe I should give a redneck smart aleck comment back, and say, "No I just folded it."

Believe It or Not!

Amy bought me a new overnight bag for the lake. I love it. It has lots of fun compartments, and a telescopic handle if I want to pull it on wheels. It was something I asked for because the old bag I used was falling apart. ( I've had it forever and it sits on the closet floor, packed, ready to go to Pine City at a moment's notice.) So, I am so glad someone listened to my idea and bought me a new duffle bag.

The part that is hard to believe is that I actually put the other bag in the trash and threw it away!

Yep..I did. Honest. You wouldn't believe it, would you? That's why I took a picture. I really did do it. ( Although......now that I think about it, maybe I could use it for....NO! It is too late. Gene's has already picked up the trash and it is gone forever.) Yeah, I let it go! Shocker, huh?

Yum, yum!

Ican't do it. I can't eat a mushroom swiss burger at Smashburger without moaning with pleasure after each bite. It is kind of ridiculous, but these burgers are just amazing. I get it with pepper jack cheese for a little zing and it comes complete with garlic buttered mushrooms! Oh my....it is so delicious!!

JudyPierson and I have been walking around Har Mar and I introduced her to the Smashburger one night. She liked it so much that tonight (Thursday) her daughter, Tammy, and Tom met us after walking to eat there. Tammy liked it alot, too. We had a nice time and I chuckle when I think of it, because Judy and I are saying "ummmm's" the whole time. Seriously, if you haven't tried this, you might want to give it a shot. (A little pricey, though).

Hudson Animals

This is one of the reasons Tom loves having two dogs. They play tug with each other and he is "off the hook". The addition of Pink to the family has given Jackson a playmate. They grab one end of the rope and start pulling against each other, growling and tugging as hard as they can. It is actually kind of comical and very cute. They even do this with chew toys, like bones, and sometimes get real up close and personal with the object . For instance, if the bone is six inches long, they have a couple of inches in each mouth and only one inch in between. All in all, I think they are becoming good friends and enjoy each other's company.....when they are not being jealous and vying for adult attention. I know one thing. They love me when I come around and I, too, am glad I no longer am required to be a "tuggee".

Whenever Tom brings me to his home in Hudson, I can usually expect to see deer. The valley behind his house is full of them. They are usually in groups, sometimes as large as 20 of them together. It is usually more like 5 or 6. I love to look out the back windows to try to see shadows lying in the sumac where the does or their young are resting. There are always lots of trails in the snow and when they aren't in plain sight, it makes a person wonder where they are because you just know they are there. Kyle buys bags of corn from Fleet Farm to encourage them to stick around and they often come right up to their deck area to graze. It can be very fascinating.

Shucks, that was my idea......

Amy beat me to the punch. I was thinking about ideas for blogging the other day, and I came up with Bejeweled Blitz, since I probably play it everyday. It gives you a minute to connect colored jewels that explode and it is addicting!!! One minute?! Ha!! I play the one minute game for an hour or sometimes more, always trying to beat my highest score. I have had some good ones, but my friend, Barb Pierce, always seems to top me. Anyway, there was Amy's blog talking about the game she plays all the time. Oh well.

Then.....I went on to read Jen's post about the new 42 inch plasma TV at Mom's house. She nailed it, and did a much better job of describing it all than I would have. It was quite an ordeal shopping, bring it home, and setting it up when Bob has such a hard time changing his routine. He loves it now and probably would never go back to the dinosaur underneath, but there were times when Tom and I wanted to crank it back up just to prove a point or two when he was raving about how good it still was!! I had intended on posting that one, too. In fact, Tom and I were backing out of the driveway when, all of a sudden, I grabbed my camera with the intention of running back in for a picture. He teased me about it, so I gave up, deciding I would remember the next time....but Jen beat me to it.

Mall of America

It seemed pretty ironic to me that I waited to go to the Mall of America until after Christmas, but I wanted to get the movie Wizard of Oz for the Ecuador grandsons and I knew I could find it there at a store called FYE. So on Dec. 26, Tom and I decided to go to the MOA. Parking was a bear. We ended up on the top floor of the ramp and there were guys directing traffic, etc. Maybe most normal people would turn around and go home, but we trudged on with our plan. The Mall was full of people, too, although my particular store was a walk in-walk out type situation (whew!). The Christmas decorations and two giant trees were beautiful, so I took a couple of pictures. The other picture is about the technology that surprised me out there.

Guess I really don't know if I understand all the differences between mp3players, ipods, iphones, ipads, itouch phones (?), but anyway, while eating in the food court, I noticed this little kiosk for the first time ever. I didn't realize that if my regular cell phone battery goes dead, there is a spot at the mall where I can "hook up" for power. It was a SAMSUNG t-mobile plug in and that was surprising to me. I actually have a phone that fits that description, so if I am ever high and dry without power at the MOA, I have hope and shouldn't despair.

That is.....unless someone else has beaten me to it and there are no open spots. Sigh....

About the artist

Another wonderful Christmas present that I received was this art print by Hannah. She chose the colors and design especially for me and thought I would like a purple handprint in the middle of it.

Well, I do!! It is perfect!! I have it hanging on the wall above my computer so I will see it every day. How many three year olds are thinking of giving gifts to others at Christmastime? What a special little girl! We love you, Hannah!

(As we were opening gifts, one by one, it became apparent that people were receiving pictures painted by Hannah, I had noticed that most of them were wrapped in candy cane striped red and white paper, but I didn't have anything in that color....so I was really excited when I noticed that one of the last gifts I hadn't opened yet was the same size as all the others, and sure enough it was my picture from her. She made each one individually geared towards the recipient, so no two are alike. We each love the ones she made especially for us.)

2011

WOW! It's a new year again (and already!)

I hope that 2011 brings the best of everything to my loved ones. It is amazing to me that it is 11 years past the millenium.

I got a new scrapbooked calendar for Christmas from the grandkids......(thanks to Amy.) It is my favorite present! Every page is a treasure and I will enjoy it all through the year. I want Amy to know that it is appreciated and how much I love it. She did a wonderful job (as always!)

And then.....to give all the credit to the kids by putting their names on it alone....well that was very special, too. Amy, you are a gem! I love you!!