My Favorite Foto Friday Entry

While looking through some of my bazillion photos, I came across this one of Liesl that sort of reminded me of someone. Hmmmmmm--could be she looks a little like her Gramma did at that age, only cuter. I'm very lucky to have so many pictures of my family as this was not the norm in the 50's and 60's. My parents best friends owned a photo studio and took our pictures regularly. You should ask Emily to post her baby picture beside Charlie's and see what fun THAT is. Families are GREAT!!!

MY HAPPY WEDNESDAY

Little Miss Clara has decided sitting in a high chair is pretty big stuff. Liesl is her slave and must replace all toys chucked off the tray. Liesl does this with great patience and love for her baby sister. . . .for a few minutes and then she's done. They played with me while Becca took Owen to Charter school today and we had tons of fun. Miss Clara yuvs me berry much--Liels too.


So, Charlie arrives all excited with this greeting, "Gramma, are you just so glad to see me?"

Of course I am and after mom leaves we discuss our plans. He came with an alien costume to scare me--mission accomplished--then he decided we should make a different costume. We decided on the Ninja look below. Get a load of the lethal weapon.


He then spied some red fabric in my sewing closet and feels this would make a terrific Ninja cape. We cut, we sewed, he giggled with excitement. Then he spied a triangle piece of scrap fabric and said it would make a perfect Zelda hat. More weapons were stored in his Ninja belt. You may think this could double as a Little Red Riding Hood cape (Liesl's request for Halloween) but do not be confused. This is no Red Riding Hood--this is definite Ninja apparel.
He also felt he needed some decoration on his face to make him look more fierce. Notice the nutritious lunch with a back up sippy cup just in case.
Then the conversation goes like this: "Gwamma, how 'bout we have a Hayyoween Party for me at your house?" "Really, Charlie--how 'bout at your house?" "No sanks--yet's have it at your house. . . and we could have a scabenger hunt with cues and goody bags at the end. . . .and we could decorate the whole house. . .. and you could make Hayyoween cookies to decorate. . . . it would be great . . . . .and we could invite Yeesow and Owen and my odder new fwiend that I can't tell you his name. How 'bout that Gramma?"

And there you have it. This is how our play dates go.

I have questions for "Ask Memzie" and the "Domesticity for Dummies guru".

Question #1: Is it important to update and organize Cris' candy cupboard or should I just let the goodies flow in and out randomly? (I didn't even know we had those itty pack things until I took this picture.)



Question #2: Isn't it true that everyone has a junk drawer like this one or should I be ashamed?
BTW--that's Emily's radio shack calculator (under the stake directory) from her sophomore year in high school.



Question #3: How does one approach this problem---or can I ignore it since it's behind the TV, in the corner, up against the hearth where nobody ever goes except grandchildren playing hide-and-seek. Huh? Huh? I label this "media cord modern art". You can see that at one time I made an attempt to label them with blue tape. This did not work so I gave up. Now I just ask Sherod to come hook up all those cord thingies until we have sound and picture. Magic.


Question #4: I am a bit ashamed of this drawer. I call it, "How many Clinic lipsticks can you have in a drawer before it's called hording". I doubt company will be looking in this drawer anyway so I'll just keep them for my year's supply.

My contribution to Favorite Foto Friday

Landee's idea for Favorite Foto Friday is a good one and couldn't have come at a better time. Cris and I went to "The Great Kern County Fair" today for the specific purpose of gazing at the Photo Contest entries. Below is a sample of the very best we saw--all entered by our own Memzie. We also ate the once-a-year-fair-food and now have the stomach ache to show for it.

One proud father. "Riley in green won a 5th place ribbon.
"Luke at the beach" won honorable mention.
"Sand Boy" was just the cutest kid we saw.
Three handsome hunks. My favorite is in the middle.
This picture is one of mine--Liesl lost her 1st tooth at Gramma's house and we had to immediately make a tooth fairy pillow. It was awewome. (The dirty face is just pudding:)

Let's Change Things Up a Bit

So I decided to temporarily change the picture at the top of our blog. This picture was taken Labor Day 2006 when the family got together to gather strength and give hugs after Cris' ALS diagnosis. You can see we had a great time and accomplished our goal. I need to learn how to make a nifty collage like Tiff and others do--that will come. I decided to share just a few pictures today to illustrate how grandkids can make you smile.

#1 Liesl and Clara being the cutest sisters in California.

Tasha and Bella won the title of cutest sisters in Nevada.

Christine and Rachel took Oregon hands down.

Now the boys---Riley, Jack and Charlie and Owen tied for the California title. (That's my cute Mom, Gramma Decker)


Mr. Owen--big 1st grader.



Seth and Luke look like bestest brothers and along with Ricky won Oregon.
Ricky--Kevin and Tracey's #5.


So there you have it. Today's sunshine. Love to all, Carol

The Finished Garage!!!

The garage reno is complete and the pictures don't do it justice. It's clean, organized and much cooler (insulation). Now that I look at the pictures I see my next project should be to re-do the floor--paint, rubber tiles, etc. We'll see. Notice the clean white walls--this is new for us.

Notice the nicely stacked shelves with labeled boxes. OOOhhhh.
The washer/dryer and fridge are so happy together.
Can you see the smile on the Outlook's face?
A good day's work deserves a reward. . . .that's alls I'm sayin'.Especially since after I finished the garage, we took Gramma Rogers and her two compadre's out to dinner. They are officially called the Three Mousketeers. After loadin' them up--I must belt each one of them in and then unbuckle them upon arrival. I'm trying to rack up some good karma for when I'm old.

Rachel's happy day.

The finished princess quilt.

The package arrives.
It's the PRINCESS QUILT!!
And here's the princess on it.

Let's just say. . . . this is what being a gramma is all about. . . fun, fun, fun.

GHETTO GARAGE NO MORE!!

I just had to share some good news with everyone. Our garage is experiencing a reno. Yup, after 29 years at 1812 El Portal Drive it's time to upgrade the garage. Why have we not done it before? There was always something more important that needed our attention/money. It is now time to be rid of the ghetto garage look and embrace a new, clean, insulated, organized space in which our Saturn Outlook can be happy. Today you're getting the "before" pictures. The after pictures will come soon. . . . very soon. Painting begins tomorrow and then the putting-away-all-the-stuff happens. It's gonna be great people.

At first glance you might think--that's not so bad. Look closer.
We consider this our "attic" storage--boards up in the rafters. I'm not even sure what's up there.
OK, I just threw this one in because Clara is incredibly cute. She loves to laugh and smile.
Studs against the wall, no insulation, tar paper walls. Yup--pretty sad looking. In my defense, we don't have THAT much "stuff". And it's mostly labeled.
This is our guy Earl on stilts mudding the drywall. Completed pictures will arrive upon completion. And you guys didn't think we had any excitement in our life. Psha! If you want excitement I could tell you stories----sorry, not for blogging.

PARKS PALS TEAM--Walk to Defeat ALS

Walk to Defeat ALS 2006
Thought I'd share these cute pictures of some of our munchkins supporting Papa in the ALS Walk in 2006. We were actually on a trip with Em and Sherod and could not attend the walk but Becca rallied her troups (her generous heart volunteered to watch Em's boys so we could have this special trip together) and participated in the walk.

This year we are all fired up. PARKS PALS is our name--raising money for research and services to those affected by ALS is our game. We have been the recipient of services and medical equipment and we can't tell you how much it has helped. There IS hope--we just have to find the answer. In the mean time the services we receive improve quality of life and sometimes even extend it.

Here's a link to our webpage is you're interested in having a looky-loo. Please don't feel obligated in any way. We just wanted you to know what we're up to.

http://web.alsa.org/site/TR/Walks/GreaterLosAngelesWalk/1773420735?px=1566440&pg=personal&fr_id=4260

Charlie's cooking day with Gramma

Today was Charlie's day to bake with Gramma and he of course chose cookies. He loves to crack the eggs and is getting more in the bowl than on the floor.
After the eggs he wants his hands wiped cuz they're slimy.
The best way to mix in the chocolate chips is with your hands. Spoons are not as much fun.
Mixing, mixing, mixing. Let me know when you're done Charlie.

The finished product. Yum, yum, yummers. Chocolate chip and stinkernoodles (snickerdoodles)

What I did on Labor Day

Rachel and Christine. Look at that face--now that little girl needs a princess quilt.
Quilt 3/4 complete. It takes math skills to make one of these babies.
Princesses all over the place.
Now that's what I'm talking about.

Our Labor Day was full of accomplishments and fun. We/I cleaned house, did 3 loads of laundry, did grocery shopping, had lunch at Leo's with Becca and family and then. . . . . . .I really had some fun. I've been learning how to make quilts the way my mom does. This is all done over the phone so sometimes things get lost in translation from verbal to actual. Here's the deal: at the kids auction at our reunion Rachel disolved in a heap of tears because she lost the bid for "The Princess Quilt". Now I cannot stand when my grandchildren are sad and I know I can fix it. So I hug and kiss her and tell her "Gramma will make you a Princess Quilt". "Gramma, do you know how to sew"? "Yes dear, I know how to sew". "Do you have a machine"? "Yes dear, I have a machine." So, I call my mom and ask her where she got the princess fabric and lo-and-behold----it's Walmart. Score the very next day. Here are pictures of my yet unfinished quilt. Another couple of days and it'll be ready to mail. Rachel has the memory of an elephant and KNOWS it's coming.

Tomorrow is Charlie's day for cooking with Gramma. Yes, there will be a report.