Happy Birthday, Disco Baby...

I was SO excited to come across this mirror-ball plant pot.

Kasey says that she hates disco, but being born in 1977, I call her my disco baby.  She is also about the least bling-y girl there is.  

When she and I went to visit my mother-in-law awhile back, there was a car in the parking lot with a rhinestone steering-wheel cover, and Kasey commented on her distaste for it.  I filed that away till we got home.  Then I set to work gathering every bling-y car accessory I could find and held on to it till her birthday.

While she and Beau were busy with prom stuff with Chloe, Carey, Caitlyn, and I set to work.  Carey put on the rhinestone-covered license plate cover.

There were also tire valve caps for him to put on all four tires.

Caitlyn and I did the inside with rhinestone drink-holder coasters, console cover...

...steering-wheel cover, ignition ring, radio-button rings,  and gear-shift cover.  There's one or two things that I don't think she will find for awhile, so I won't name them here in case she peeks.  

As we were working, Caitlyn said, "Mom is going to hate this."

I said, "I KNOW!  I'm SO excited!"

She has already texted me that she is on to me. .' She referred to her car as being 'bedazzled.'  LOL

This was a very satisfying birthday surprise for my disco baby!  I can only imagine that the majority has been or very soon will be dismantled, but it was totally worth it.  :)

 

What I'm reading Wednesday...

The Spanish Flu Epidemic and Its Influence on History

by Jaime Breitnauer

I have found myself thinking of my father even more than usual since the Covid-19 pandemic started...like every time I wash my hands.  My father was a very thorough hand washer, and he made sure we knew how to wash ours as well: soap and water, palms and backs, between each finger and above the wrist.  For my whole life I thought he just didn't like his hands to be dirty.

But since the pandemic started, and the constant reminders to wash our hands, I've wondered if his habit had roots in instruction he had during the 1918 pandemic.

My father turned 8 years old in 1918.  Now I can imagine that he might have had lessons on thorough hand washing in school.  It could have been at home, but I think a school teacher would make more of a lasting impression.  He also was never without a handkerchief...they were what I learned to iron on...but all men carried handkerchiefs, right?  

Here's a public health poster from that pandemic that might tell us why all men carried handkerchiefs:

Interesting reading.

 

Monday...

This is my normal view on a Monday through Friday afternoon, but I am not there today.  I took Friday and today off in order to travel to visit Carey's sister and b-i-l about 7 hours away by car.

They recently took Carey's mom home with them from her assisted living facility for a break from the monotony of her facility's lockdown during these pandemic days.  We so enjoyed seeing all of them, but the best part was just getting to hug my mother-in-law.  It has been hard to think of her alone and lonely since this started.  She will have to endure two weeks of quarantine in her room when they return her in a day or so, but she deemed it was worth it.

We came home yesterday, and today we had a WebEx appointment.  The person with whom we were speaking via WebEx has been to my office, and mentioned today that I had the most gorgeous view from my work window of anyone in town.  He's right!  And that reminded me that I had just taken this photo a few days ago, so I thought I would share it here.  It really is gorgeous.  The upper right section of the photo shows part of the golf course that we enjoy having so near.  Some days it is hard not to just sit and enjoy the view.

That is a crepe myrtle blooming outside the window.  This one bloom reaches up to my second story window. 

Today has been very relaxing...reading mostly...but I should go unpack and do a load of laundry to get ready for the rest of the week.

Merry Christmas...

...and wishing...

This is not the least bit reverent, but I received it today in a text from a friend, and I couldn't resist, since I had nothing better to blog.

We have had a quiet day, as we shared last night with the kids and had a wonderful time.  Out of the seven gift cards we gave to the kids and grandkids, only three of them found the gift cards without being coached to keep looking.

Beau got a jar of Snack Crackers with a gift certificate to a specialty meats shop in a Christmas envelope taped to the outside of the jar.  He thought the envelope was just decorating the jar.  :)

Kasey got a box of chocolate covered cherries, with a gift certificate for two 1-hour massage sessions taped to the bottom of the box.  I swear she would have thrown the box away when it was empty if I hadn't just come out and told her.  LOL

Chandler and Bobby both got grocery gift cards to help with their grocery and/or gasoline purchases since they are both in college.  Chandler's card was adhered to a canister of pancake mix with a container of maple syrup.  And Bobby's was adhered to a jar of Cheezy Snack Crackers.  They both totally overlooked their cards also.

The youngest three found theirs easily.  

Diego received a big stocking filled with 52 ounces of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing.  I tucked a prepaid credit card inside the box, as he is saving for a new laptop.

Caitlyn had been the only one to actually tell me what she wanted (a new phone case) and sent me a link to the exact one.  Now THAT'S the way to get exactly what you want.  :)  The case didn't cost as much as what the others received, so I tucked a prepaid card inside her box as well.

Chloe is our primper, and she had added "Sephora gift card" to her Christmas list.  I wanted to 'personalize' it by adding something, so Kasey suggested she needed a makeup bag.  I tucked the gift card into the bag with sample-sized face wash and masque.

After panicking a week or so ago when I had only nailed down two of their seven gifts, I am pleased with how things turned out.  I managed to keep all gifting fairly equitable, and personalized the cards/certificates by adding them to items that each person really likes.

Oh, and I didn't mention what we gave Jared.  He got a stockpile of sandwiches from a favorite sandwich shop in our hometown.  Since we now live three hours away, they are a rare treat.  I placed a BIG order, and Carey made the trip to pick them up.  They are now all in the freezer, and Jared is as happy as a clam to have them to look forward to over the next couple of months (or weeks depending on how hungry he is).  :)

Making it Monday...

We went to see Carey's mom today.  I wanted to take her something.  She writes notes to family and friends often, so I made some cards last night.

I used the August 2018 Paper Pumpkin from Stampin Up.  Paper Pumpkin is a monthly subscription that comes with everything you need to make a number of projects.

I thought of Carey's mom as soon as I saw this set, and as usual put off until the visit was imminent to make an assortment of cards. 

I finished in the wee hours, so the lighting is really atrocious, and the colors look washed out, but the colors in this kit are actually so vibrant.  

I added other cardstocks to make card bases and layers to stretch the number of cards I could make.  On most I used MS Publisher to design and print the interiors of the card bases with Bible verses.  I also used various sentiment stamps from my collection that are from other companies.

 

There were enough supplies in the kit to make duplicates of some of these, plus I have quite a bit of the vellum leaves, twine, glue dots, and dimensionals left over.

 I included a couple of books of floral postage stamps so she would have everything she needed.

We had a great visit and lunch out.  Carey and I got home about 8:00 p.m.  It was a long day, for sure, on how little sleep I had.  

Over the river and through the woods...

We had such a great day yesterday.  We had a trip scheduled to see Carey's mom.  I didn't know the kids had the day off from school.  Caitlyn asked if she could spend Sunday night with us.  I told her sure, but I would have to take her home really early Monday morning unless she wanted to go with us to see her great-grandmother.  She didn't want to spend the majority of the day in the car, so she begged off.  Her sister, however, quickly accepted even though I told her she would have to be up and ready to go at 7 a.m.  

So Caitlyn spent the night with us, and early Monday we took her home and picked up Chloe.  Kasey said Chloe was already up and ready when Kasey went in to wake her.  :)  Smart girl brought a pillow for the car and promptly used it once we got on the highway for the four-hour trip.

Upon arrival she was well rested and 'on' for her day with great grandmother and great uncle and aunt.

She wasn't expecting lunch out at Red Lobster, but was thrilled when she got to order crab legs.  Aunt Carla was sitting next to her.  She had also ordered crab legs, and they bonded as Aunt Carla taught Chloe exactly how to make the most of the rare treat.

Then we went back to Kevin and Carla's house, and Chloe had a ball playing with their adorable Yorkie who knows lots of tricks and isn't shy of performing.  Sadly my phone battery was too low to get photos of the two of them, but Chloe was in seventh heaven, and I wouldn't be surprised if she begins campaigning for a Yorkie of her own.  Aunt Carla also had lots of fun things to do, and poured attention Chloe's way...and she gifted her with a chair(!) which luckily just fit in the back of my car.  Those two became fast friends!  And there is no better way to endear oneself to me than to love my grandchildren.  :)

We got home about 9 p.m.  Just in time for bedtime on a school night.

A day with boys...

We stole Diego (right) away for the day for a little road trip.  We went to the coast to visit Bobby (left) who is loving college life.  He was done with classes by 2, so we picked him up and made a tour of some family spots in towns near where he is now in school.

We took them to visit my grandfather's grave.  Most of my family (parents, all other grandparents) are buried in Nebraska.  All passed away before the boys came along.  I hadn't visited my grandfather's grave in years, so I thought we should let them come along so they are aware of the location.  

Then we went to my and Carey's home town and to a favorite sandwich shop for a late  lunch.  In the past, we have occasionally bought sandwiches and packed them home to share with the family, but the boys had never been to the shop before.  

Then we drove the couple of blocks to show them the house I grew up in, and then across town to see the house Carey grew up in.

Then we drove Bobby back to his dorm.  His campus is on the coast, and this view of the bay is right across the street from the dorms. 

Probably not a massively fun day for them, but Bobby hasn't been home yet since school started, so they hadn't seen each other for a few weeks.  And it's always important to impart some family history, and hugely important to make sure they know we love to spend time with them.  And feed them.  :)

Eclipse 2017...

This is just one of the reasons I love living around the corner from the kids.  We ran over right at the height of the eclipse to share it with them.

They had made viewers from cereal boxes.  We took over the sheets of paper with pin hole.

They had one pair of eclipse glasses that we all took turns looking through.

And I pointed out that the light filtering through the leaves show the crescent of the eclipsed sun.  

Being handy to drop by for ten minutes of life experience at a time makes me so happy.  :)

Graduation 2017...

2017 graduating class (center in blue)

Today was high school graduation day for Bobby and Chandler.  How did it get here so fast?  The ceremony was held in a neighboring town at a university arena.  The graduates were seated on the floor of the arena in blue caps and gowns...571 graduates I believe.

Chandler accepting his diploma

Chandler was close to the front of the group.  Why, oh why, didn't I take some test shots of classmates ahead of him to practice the timing?  The photographer there at the front was taking photos of each graduate, and the school is supposed to send them to the parents, so maybe we will get a better photo of him then.  The photographer's flash went off exactly when I took this, and it really washed out my photo.  They had them moving pretty fast, so I only had one chance.

Bobby accepting his diploma

 Bobby's turned out better.  Pretty fuzzy...but then I was about 40 yards away...at least you can see his happy smile.

Bittersweet.  So proud of them both, but such a big step into their future of being out on their own.

Bobby and Kasey

We took Bobby and the family out afterwards for lunch.  (Chandler was with his mom today.  Ah, the trials of modern families.)  Tomorrow they will both be at a barbecue in their honor at Kasey and Beau's house, but Carey will have to be at work, so will miss it.  I told Kasey I would bake some cookies...or cookie bars, actually...so I'd better go get started.  Kasey is just hoping the rain will hold off.

Happy Mother's Day...

I was going through an old deed box this week.  In it were some bank and tax records, dating from as far back as the 1800s, from the family of a great-aunt by marriage.  She and my great-uncle had no children, so my mother 'inherited' a lot of their household items, and somehow I ended up with this box.  It was somewhat interesting to see what the notice, and subsequent conclusion, of an IRS tax audit from the early 1900s looked like.  (Incidentally, after the audit the IRS refunded $34 that had been overpaid by this individual.)  What does one do with this stuff?  It surely has no relevance for anyone, but its history...  

Also in the box were lots and lots of canceled stamps torn off from the corner of their envelopes.  One of which caught my attention with its very appropriate message for today...a three cent stamp from 1934 'in memory and in honor of the mothers of America'.  

As long as I can remember, my mother would say, "You'll have fun going through all this stuff someday."  Hmmm...  So I imagine her patting my shoulder as I slide the box, with all of its content, back on the shelf.  I guess I do it in memory and honor of her.  (Note to daughter: you can dispose of of all this one day.  I promise not to haunt you.  I cannot, however, promise that your grandmother won't.)

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers around the world today!

Happy Birthday to my baby girl...

Today is Kasey's birthday.  It's one of those monumental ones.  One of those that may make the birthday girl feel old, but it makes her mother feel ancient!

I delivered a quilt (along with a favorite pie) for her birthday.  It's one Carey's mother pieced in the '90s. She actually made two tops...this one is a throw size that she never had quilted...the other is a full size that she had quilted and used on her bed for many years.  They are both in the same fabrics and pattern.  Carey's mom cut and pieced each hexagon by hand.  I believe she bought the pink background fabric, but the prints were from a friend's scrap stash.  Did I mention that Carey's mother had never quilted, or even sewn much before?   Did I mention that she has never quilted or sewn since?  :)

When she was moving out of her house and downsizing, she gave me this unquilted throw-sized top.  I had it machine quilted last year.  I decided that it would make a special gift for this special birthday, so I took it to the quilt retreat in February to work on the binding, and finished all but the hand sewing.

I was up all night last night putting a label on it and finishing the binding by hand...because that's just the kind of procrastinator that I am.  Now I get to mark another quilt off my goal list for the year.  Woohoo!

Chicken Fried Steak...

I hadn't seen Jared all week, so while I was picking up a few things at the store yesterday I got everything needed for his favorite dinner.  I figured I could lure him over with the right incentive.  :)  I made him help with the preparation...you know...teach a man to fish.  LOL

Actually I just got everything started, and left him to it.  Turned out beautifully.  

And it tasted delicious.  Carey is still at his "brothers' weekend," so he missed out, but I made him two plates for the freezer to go to work with him.

The recipe is at What's Cookin' 4 Miles North of Nowhere.

Happy St. Patrick's Day...

These aren't exactly Irish shamrocks, but since the word shamrock comes from the Irish word meaning 'young clover or little clover', I guess these are Texas shamrocks.  They're not exactly proof of a well-kept lawn, but their appearance in the spring always makes me smile.

Happy birthday to my Mom.  Today would have been her 101st.

To remember from this Thanksgiving meal...

This may be one of those stories where you had to be there for it to be funny, but I'm going to tell it anyway, because it tickled our funny bones, and I don't want to forget it.

So as everyone had feasted to the max and people started leaving the table, Caitlyn (11) stretched out on the bench used as seating on one side of the table.  She groaned, and declared, "Oooohhhh, I think I'm having a turkey BABY."  Kasey and I got the giggles, because it was just so unexpected and descriptive of an over-full tummy.

Whereupon Jared returned to his seat at the table with his dessert, which forced Caitlyn to move suddenly, and she wailed, "Aaagghhh, my GRAVY broke!"

And that is one example of what I am so thankful for:  family and fun, love and laughter, that we share around the table and throughout the year.

Sunday family dinner...

I roasted two chickens on Friday.  We had roast chicken for supper, and then once the birds had cooled, I took all the meat off the bones and stored it for future use.  I put the bones and pan drippings in the slow cooker, added some vegetables and bay leaves, covered with water, and cooked on low overnight.  It made beautiful stock, which I had intended to store for soup, but just seeing it made me want to make chicken and dumplings.

I have gone on record as being a firm believer in the superiority of the drop dumpling, but my son-in-law favors the dreaded rolled variety.  So today while I was making my yummy, fluffy drop dumpling recipe for the rest of us, I made an alternative recipe as well which involved rolling and cutting some of the other kind out just for Beau.

First bite...carefully considering flavor, texture, chicken-to-dumpling ratio...

...and the verdict is in.  All I can say is he had better not get used to the special treatment.  That was a lot of work!  :)

Silly boy!  Did he eat too much?  Or did he learn too late that when the mother-in-law makes one meal for the family and a 'special' meal for just you, there could be a nefarious plot in the works?  ;)  

Sunday family dinner...

As we were playing 5 Second Rule after dinner tonight at Kasey's, we had a heavy rain shower.  From the windows we noticed this rainbow, and I stepped out the front door to snap a picture and heard Kasey say, "Oh man!  Why couldn't it be at the end of my driveway?"  LOL  The driveway on the left belongs to their next-door neighbors.  

Except for cropping, this is straight out of the camera.  I have never been able to actually see the end of a rainbow this close and unobscured by trees or hills.  I'm thinkin' there should definitely have been a pot of gold there!

Chloe's ten...

This one turned ten last week while I was gone.  Last year she gave me specific criteria for her present (a particular style and size of Beanie Boo), and I was still off a little.  She was very sweet about it, but this year, she asked for the same thing she had asked for last year, so I figured it must be pretty important to her.  So I suggested that we should go shopping for it together.

Last night she spent the night, and we hit the road this morning on the hunt.  It took six stores, but she came home happy.  

I tried to buy her the gray wool fedora while we were out.  She has a perfect face for hats.  I know this because I look ridiculous in hats...always have.

She reminded me that she already has a fedora (below).  

I countered that the one she has is a summer hat, and today's find is a winter hat.  She couldn't be swayed, which was a frugal decision.  

It made me look through the old photos I have of her in hats, and I ask your patience while I share some taken through the years.

Her 'newsie' look.

 

Her beret gives her a bit of the Hyacinth Bucket vibe.

Love the demi veil.

Hamming it up in a hand-knit.

A real Kentucky Derby fascinator from the other Kathleen.

And when it comes to sleeping caps, she has a style all her own.   *Ü*