My favorite season

My favorite season, by far, is spring. I love the warmer weather; I crave the sunshine; I feel more energized; and I tend to get spring fever! It is a time of re-birth, renewal... or blossoming, if you will. I can feel myself starting to come alive during a warm March or especially in April.

I truly believe that I suffer from S.A.D. (Seasonal Adjustment Disorder) or just plain sunshine deficiency. My mother noticed it when I was a child. I notice it now. I'm not an outdoors-type of person, but there has to be a certain level of sunshine for me to function at my best. On a cloudy, rainy day, I just simply have no motivation.

"The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day

He created Spring." - Bern Williams

We need spring. We need it desperately and, usually,
we need it before God is willing to give it to us.
- Peter Gzowski, Spring Tonic

Another story to tell...

What attracted me to Tracy...

It was March 1992. I was 24 years old and living in Milledgeville. I had been divorced for almost a year. I wasn't looking for anyone. I was actually living as a hermit at the time. Working at the bank as much as possible, cross-stitching in front of the TV at night along with long hours on the phone with my best friend, Karen. That was literally about it.

Then I got a roommate. I knew Julee from doing volunteer work in Milledgeville. She moved in and immediately insisted that I get out of the house some. So she took me to the local country bar, Cowboy Bill's. The bar was in the middle of the club, and for whatever reason, the thing to do was just to keep circling the bar. I guess that way you could keep an eye on the dance floor, and then the pool tables, the restrooms, and the front door! We were circling the bar and happened to stop near the front door by the cirgarette machine. Suddenly a VERY good looking guy walked by. Julee looked at me, and I looked back at her with raised eyebrows. And then the guy stopped and asked me to dance!

So obviously the first thing that attracted me to Tracy was his good looks. It didn't take long for me to learn how kind he is. He fell for me hard, and that was attractive. He is easy going. He likes animals. He is patient. He had (and still has) a good job. He treated me like a queen. He bought me jewelry pretty early on! :)

He still has all of these qualities (except the jewelry has been replaced with scrapbooking supplies and bookshelves!). I guess that's why we're still together after 15 years!

(The picture of the younger, skinnier us was taken in June 1992.)

The Shelves are FINISHED!!

And here they are, in all their beauty...







I can't put anything on them until the end of the week. I can't wait! I don't know that I can fill them up, but I'll sure try!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Tracy!!!

Stories in Hand

I am taking a free online class called "Stories in Hand" by Jessica Sprague. It is about collecting our memories - our stories - and getting them recorded. So today I am going to do the first writing assignment here.

Prompt: What technology do you remember your family having?

This prompted the memory of getting our first microwave oven. Don't ask me why, but I remember the exact date: August 4, 1980. (I was 13 years old.) I also remember that it cost about $400!!! Of course, it was from Sears, because my father believed that was the only place to buy appliances. I don't remember what made him go buy a microwave, but I know it was a surprise for my mother. I also can't recall if I went to Sears with my father (which was almost 2 hours away in Augusta) or if he went and bought it without me. (I would have been out of school for the summer.) I just remember being in the den (or library) when Daddy brought the microwave in the house through the glass sliding door there. I remember being totally excited about this new technology. The microwave was HUGE. I think it was one of the top of the line cause it had all the electronic bells and whistles. It came with a temperature probe and a recipe book. I don't specifically remember my mother's reaction when she got home from work, but I do remember my dad and I being very excited. It wasn't often (if ever!) that we got something new when it first came out. For instance, I don't remember having a VCR until I moved out on my own.

This Sears commercial on YouTube.com is from that time period and I think the first huge microwave he pulls out of the box is very similar to what Daddy bought that day! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHqt1S40Oek

And this picture is from the 1983 Sears catalog (Oh, remember the Sears catalog?! More specifically, the Wish Book!!) That's a whole 'nother story to write!) is very similar to the one we had... just looks a little smaller. But the keypad is the same.

Oh! and here's the microwave cart we had! (Or do you still have it, Mom?!)

It's the top one (#1), but it's the one with the wicker looking doors (in the little inset picture)! How funny that I found these pictures!

Now, the interesting part... Mom, when you read this, how about post a comment and tell me what you remember about that day? What did YOU think of getting that first, new microwave?

I do know that now my mother nor I would even think of not having a microwave in our homes. It is a necessity just like a stove or refrigerator. We use our microwaves almost every single day!

A few finished layouts

I finally scanned a few layouts that I finished weeks ago...




Brandon when he was LITTLE and my sweet Mary-cat. One of the things I am most proud of the kids for is their love of animals.


I used the new Bazzill stitching templates to do the circles! I love those templates!




This is my GG Grandfather on my mother's side. The papers on the first page are various articles and forms I have found about him. He and his brother-in-law owned a sawmill in Michigan, and they were written up in several places as prominent businessmen in their town at the time.

Thanks for looking!

A WHOLE LOT of painting going on!

Well, the shelves are built and the painting has begun! But we had no idea that the painting would take longer than the building! An entire day of putting putty in nail holes and putting on primer and then another whole day putting the first coat of paint on. But it's SO going to be worth it!!







YEA, kind and hardworking hubby of mine!

Liz

Album storage

My dear, sweet, hardworking husband is in the process of building us (me!) a built in shelving unit in our living room... mostly for keeping my scrapbook albums. This is the second weekend he's been working on it (plus a couple of days off) and he just finished with the wood work. Now he has to putty all the nail holes and prepare to paint it next weekend.

So I thought I'd share where my albums are stored now and where they are going...


These are my albums in process stored in my scrapbook room. The left shelf is all albums and then the first album (the pink one) on the right shelf is another one. The rest of the notebooks are paper.




These two bookcases hold all my completed albums. As you can see, I am outgrowing them. There will not be room for the in process albums that are currently in my scrap room. So something had to be done. We've been remodeling for months, so these bookcases, which used to be side by side in the living room, are now split up... one in the living room and the other just stashed in a guest room. Yes, I need those new shelves!




And here they are in process! The large opening at the bottom is for my desk that my grandfather (Pop Pop) built for me. All of the shelves except for that one narrow set, is large enough for scrapbook albums. Of course, I'm also going to have pictures, books, and other knick knacks sprinkled in!



This view shows the awesome corner shelves he put in to tie it into the wall. Awesome! I'll definitely find some cute stuff to put there!

Thanks for looking!