OK.  I am going to give this another try.......in a year and a half, they have certainly made this easier!  At any rate, I am sitting here with my blog consultant, Krista, and she can lead me thru this!!!  If you never hear from me again, I left Utah and didn't learn a thing about how to do this.......

I won't even try to "catch up", but will go on from here.  We have done a fair amount of traveling this last year, but my pictures have not made it to any place I can draw from at this point.  In May we enjoyed a Baltic cruise, summer trip to Wyoming, Minnesota, Iowa to visit friends and relatives and now a quick trip to Utah to see Krista and Andy with a short stop in Alburquerque and Santa Fe.  We were able to spend one morning at the Balloon Festival in ALB to view the special shapes.

                 

Later this week we will head back home and prepare for Christmas.  The kids, grandkids and granddogs will all be with us in Texas!!  Before that, Don and I will be going to Europe for the Christmas Market river cruise.  We will return Dec. 21 and the kids all appear on the 23.  JETLAG!!!!  We may be nuts, but will never be any younger, so pack it all in!

A year later......

A LOT of things have happened this year!  Blogging was not one of them...sorry.  A quick overview....

We had a fabulous trip to Southeast Asia, visiting Katie, Mike and family in Manila, a few days in Hong Kong, a week in Bali.

Unfortunately, that trip was cut short because we lost Don's mom, Martha, two days after Christmas.  So there was the hasstle of trying to fly back here on really short notice...not easy, but we managed....and that is a whole other story!

Then is February, we lost my aunt Leona at 103 years young.  What a trooper!

More travel to MN and back as my mom was failing, breaking her other hip last fall and then having to move into the nursing home.  We lost her on June 13.  It has been a brutal year so far, but there are good things too!


We had a great trip to New England and eastern Canada in May/June.  I walked the Boston Avon Walk with my dear friend and then we spent the next 3 weeks playing. 
We have been home for about 3 weeks and in that time, Don has finished my studio!!!!  I still have touch-up painting to do, but he has pronounced it "DONE".  It is wonderful!!

Katie and family have returned to the US this summer and are now living in New York.  They had a rough move from CA and not all things turned up on the New York end.  Hopefully, they will be tracked down.  Welcome to the world of moving!  We are excited to have them much closer.

We will be back on the road again in about a week.  Furniture to deliver in Utah, folks to see in Wyoming, my aunt's burial service in South Dakota and then reunions and estate details to see about in Minnesota.  After this trip, we hope to stay put for a few months!  Maybe then I can get some pictures organized and post again before next July!

....4 months later.....

Life at breakneck speed!  We have accomplished a few things in the last 4 months.....finished (except for a few more cabinets) the studio and moved in, painted the rooms upstairs in the house that I moved out of, redid the landscaping in the front of the house, had a wonderful visit from old friends and family.

I am soooooo enjoying my new studio space.  Our quilt group meets here weekly and we get so much done now that we can all spread out and sew.  This summer we are working on quilts for the people in Joplin, MO who lost everything in the devestating tornado.  Quilts and sheet sets to match will help them rebuild their households.

We were thrilled to have Ann and JV Torgerson visit in April.  We did absolutely everything together during our time in the Army in Germany.....even had our first kids a week apart!  It was so good to see them and catch up.  We had not visited in person for 35 years!  Didn't miss a beat, they walked in and we picked up right where we left off.  Great time!

Krista, with dog cousins, Sarah and Sadie, Mike, Katie, Logan, Ivy all came to visit in June.  We had a fun week and then invited a few friends to join us for a party before Krista, Mike and Katie had to leave.  Grandpa Don came from Casper too!  Don rented a water slide for the kids and what a hit that was! 

       

Grandpa Don really enjoyed the visit.  So much fun to watch the little ones with all their energy!  We were so glad he was able to make the plane trip down to Texas.  It was the first time he had visited us in Magnolia.                                       

Logan and Ivy had a great time with their dog cousins, Sarah and Sadie.  A little love....a little rough-housing....all in a day's play.

 

So great to have the girls "home" at the same time.  That doesn't happen enough anymore.

.....and all too soon, the Brethour family heads back to the Philippines for another year of work, adventure and learning.  The kids love their school there, Katie's job is very challenging and Mike is taking advantage of his time to be with the kids, help at their school, get his scuba certification.

Tune in again soon for the RV trip with the Grandkids!  I have done as much as I can handle in one night!

Winter musings......

What? The very last days of February? Time does get away from us.The landscape is pretty bleak. What the deer didn't eat, the freezing weather took care of. I do wonder what one does with pointsettias in March? They still look pretty good through all the neglect, but I don't think I will push it to next Christmas!We have been busy in the studio. Don has been building and installing cabinets. I get to paint!Actually, things are looking very nice. Countertop should be in this week, bathroom tiling and backsplash are next.......and of course, more painting! There are things in the closet patiently waiting to be installed. Can't really put up that TV or no work will get done!We hope to have lots of things finished before we take off to visit Krista and Andy in Utah. More projects on the agenda there, but it will be a great break from what's happening here. When we get back, I get serious and get this thing done and move into it! All the kids are coming this summer, so I need to get out of the guestrooms upstairs. Never a dull moment around here.

Back to some quilting projects. This cute barn quilt is destined to be a "Binky" for some lucky little guy. Cheryl is so generous to make this wonderful quilts to give away.Then, we had to visit a quilt shop that is unfortunately going out of business. Quite a few good deals to be had! This really is only a fraction of what I hauled home.....Don was not impressed with how much money I "saved". Oh well, it will all find a proper home one day in a great quilt.

That is what is happening at the ranch. Stop by when you are in the area................

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

The new year finds us in snowy Minnesota. We weren't planning to be here now, but my mom had other ideas. She fell and broke her hip on Dec. 22, had surgery to replace the ball and stem the 23rd. To everyone's surprise, she did amazingly well with the whole ordeal. On the 28th she was transferred to Olivia hospital for rehab. Doing really well there too. She is moving well and the main concern is her memory. She can do things for herself but has to be prompted to do them. We are hoping some of that is from the drugs associated with the surgery and recovery and that will improve.

So here are a few pictures of her new apartment at Prairie View. Yes, there are two the same and I do not know how to get rid of one. If I want them, they disappear, but if I want to get rid of it??

We have about had our fill of winter. Today's high is 12 and it was 15 below zero last night. More snow is predicted for this week. If we were playing in it, that would be another matter.

Short post, but we have much to in a short time. See some of you soon....we will be on our way home next weekend we hope!

Holiday Happenings......

We are taking a break from construction and getting on with some holiday activities. We certainly will miss this wonder of Christmas as we have experienced in the last 8 years with Logan and Ivy. We have photos to bring back the memories......


Along with the shopping, packing, shipping and card writing, there has been a little bit of partying. I enjoyed a great time at our quilt group Christmas/birthday party lunch yesterday. What a great group of gals we are!! A little food, a few gifts and lots of fun.

Then there is some work going on too. I have some catching up to do on the quilting front. I had promised a few quilts by Thanksgiving and a couple of the gals will have them by Christmas......Oh well. Brenda's Christmas quilt turned out quite nicely and she is pleased. That is always the payoff!

Don has been catching up on the neighborhood work that had slipped also. Meeting with water people to get a hydrant installed in the area so the pumper trucks can fill close to any fire we may have, working with the landscape crew to whip things into shape and lots of other jobs he has taken on. We did enjoy our community Christmas party last Saturday and even won a door prize!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I'm off to finish another quilt and make another friend happy........

Happy Holidays!

We have come a long way! From this.....in late April.....










To this .... in early December!
We have many people to thank for all their help to get us to this point. Gail Yarrow, showing up every day to help wire lights and tile the floor (although I think we are too old for this activity!), Shawn Robinson and his wonderful crew for the amazing landscaping and there are many more.

The house is all decorated with help of good friends. Enjoyed a

wonderful PEO Christmas party last Sunday. Lots of work, but now we can relax a little and enjoy the season.

Christmas will be very different for us this year. It is the first Christmas we have not spent with the grandkids. Quiet will be the order of our day. We will miss the excitement that the children bring to the day.

We hope that you all have a great time with family and friends at this special time of the year. Remember......Jesus is the Reason for the Season!