on it, I came up with what I think is some cute stuff. After looking at the picture of the tree, I realize I need to make some adjustments of the ornaments. I bought the glass egg 
shaped ornaments (Dave says they look like light bulbs) at Ben Franklin. I wanted to fill them with something different than what they filled their’s with, but wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. After much thought and deciding what I wasn’t going to put in them,…..I came up with these (there are twenty of them). Five of the eggs has shredded pastel blue, pink and yellow paper. Here is a picture o
f the shape the paper is after coming out of the shredder. I folded each piece of paper accordion style. It took 200 pieces to fill an egg. I doubt there are 200 in all of them (5), but this particular one I counted
. Second I decided folding the paper was crazy and took up too much of my time, so I bought the same three colors in Easter (non-messy) grass. The result was this. Next, I found some cute rubber Easter ornaments at Ben Franklin also and the other day when I went over to the store to see what else I could put on my tree, Ashley brought some cute little polka dot flowers to my attention. They were actually made out of flower shaped chip board, co
vered with scrapbook paper with a white button in the middle and placed on a stick that came out of the ‘party’ section. I was already to make me some of these flowers, but they didn’t have all of the supplies I needed. One of the nice employees sold me the whole bouquet and decorated can they were in for $5.99 !!!! I couldn’t pass that deal up,…..So the flowers got stuck randomly all over the tree. I have some other projects for Spring I want to do yet,…..so stay tuned for more.
of you might know, my office (HRL&E group) have been moved to a dif
ferent building on the VA campus. I haven't got all unpacked yet, BUT I have decorated one half of my cubby for Saint Paddy's Day. I also helped with advertising the luncheon M
ary and I decided to get put together in the break room. I helped her with decorating the front office and she's gone around and put shamrocks etc. on our name plates by our office doors. We have such a good time 
doing this. We had a big ta' do last year, and nobody had planned anything for this year, so I guess we 
are doing it. We have all been under alot of stress from the move so it's time to relax and have a good time. This is a picture of my tree at home with all the decorations on it. There will also be a picture of my cubby ( so you can see where I live 9 hrs. a day), and also the board I did in the break room and a picture of the front office we decorated. I posted these on Facebook because alot of people don't do the blogging thing. Also below is posted my 2010 St. Patrick's poem that is not on FB. It is on the board in my cubby with last years's poem, along with 14 Irish Blessings I printed out. People come in and check them out that I work with and have picked their favorites out. Enjoy!
My new cubbie in a room of four. My NEW computer won't be in until tomorrow. Also, this is before all my boxes were brought in. It's going to be another clean-out day once they get there and I start unpacking. PURGE, PURGE, PURGE ! ! ! ! I can't believe how much stuff I have collected over the last four years when we moved in to the building we've been in. I think I must of not thrown anything away before that move to have had all that I found I had over this past week. It will be nice to get settled again. Eight more days and I will have been at the VA for TEN years! Can hardly belive it!
I wanted to wish my son Nathan a very Happy Birthday. He is working down there in Arkansas on his 'day'without any of his family. Your Dad and I have you on our minds today, going back 35 years to the day you were born, January 20, 1975 in Concord, MA. You were born about 3 minutes after 1 p.m. (during my Soap Opera, All My Children) which was on the t.v. I don't know how you feel about poems,....especially those that are about you, but this is the way I express myself. I could have gone on and on with phrase after phrase about you, but the poem would have never ended. We love you N8!
My friend Mardell sent the below story in an email tonight. I love it! I'd like to give credit to it's author, but the author is unknown. This little story says so much! I tried to find a picture of burnt biscuits, but when I googled on burnt biscuits clip art, it came up with a Museum of Burnt Food web site. It's a real museum in Massachusetts. It had pictures of other burnt foods, but not biscuits. Here's a plate of non-burnt biscuits,....we'll pretend they are black and icky. Anyway,....please enjoy this story as much as I did.
This is my tree topper angel I cut out with the Crayola Cutter (battery operated) I bought for Diana a couple of years ago. It works amazingly well ! ! ! I posted the original angel on my sidebar last year. This one is smaller (printed on 5' by 7") where the original one was bigger (printed on 8 1/2" by 11"). The first one was all wrinkled from being put back in the Christmas decoration box unprotected. Anyway, I had Googled on FREE Christmas Clip Art and found this angel and thought there has to be some way I can display her. So I got an empty toilet paper cardboard roll and cut two of her out and hot glued the front and the back. The top of the tree goes up through the cardboard roll. Isn't she the cutest little angel?
Cheryl, I wanted you to know I was thinking of you on your birthday. Dave made plans to come down to St. George this weekend, so I missed out on any celebrations. We are sitting here in our room listening to the weather report for tomorrow and IT IS NOT LOOKING GOOD! Winter Storm Warnings All Over Utah. I was very limited to pictures on my little mini laptop, but did want to to say Happy Birthday and I hope you had a great day. Love you!
Christmas Is Coming
was also a picture of a woman wearing one of the aprons like my grandma Spencer use to wear over her calico house dress. She always wore dresses, even when she was canning and standing over the hot stove or oven, and I am 
pretty sure I never saw her wear pants of any kind. In my Thanksgiving poem I wrote last year which I posted then, I mentioned my grandma wearing her apron and this just seems like a fitting story to post especially this time of the year (during the holidays). There was alot of baking and candy making going on during this time all those years ago and it seemed like women were never without an apron. I remember my step-grandma, Mary and my great-grandmas also wearing their aprons. I usually don't wear an apron, but it sure would save on my clothes if I did, especially with the splashes from the stove wh
ile cooking, etc. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. "The History of Apron: Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees. When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds. When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner. It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ' old-time apron' that served so many purposes. REMEMBER: Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw. They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron. I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron".
November means the beginning of colder weather, and the transition of going from nice and warm to nice and cold, and that it is the end of another college football season and the time we start getting ready for the busy holiday season, it is still a favorite time of year to me. November is also a month of thanksgiving. I am so humbled by some of the things I have read about the word "thanks", and the giving of it to those who deserve it and those who deserve to give it. I have read on Facebook what some of my FB Friends have posted on why they are thankful this month. I have been lax in doing so but am going to give it a try here. First I am thankful for my mother and all that she continues to teach me even when she doesn't know she is doing it. I am thankful that I still have her to talk to and confide in even if it's about things she doesn't really want to hear. Just being able to tell her certain things gives me relief because I don't feel comfortable telling other people about those things. When I tell her something that I don't want anybody else to know, she keeps it quiet until I tell her I have told somebody else. She has been such an example of strength to me in so many ways. There is so much about my Mom that I am thankful for. Second of all, I am thankful for my family. Everybody has trials and tribulations to deal with at some point in ones life. My children have had their's at one time or another along with my husband. Granted, ..... there are other's in this world whose problems are much greater than our's and sometimes we all have to remind each other of that. But that is what brings us closer together when we need it. My family, everyone of them have been such a blessing to me. My grand daughter brought a brighter light in to my life when she was born in to this world. I thank God everyday for the blessing she has been to me. To my children and in-law children, my husband, my sisters and my sister-in-laws, my mother, my mother-in-law, my aunts and uncles, my cousins, my niece's and nephews and ALL my friends,....Thank you for all you do to make every day of my life days that I would not trade for anything. I am thankful for still breathing and being able to wake up in the morning no matter how stressful of a day I know I am going to be enduring. At least I am here to endure it, and that is what matters most. I have found out that life is about risk and sticking your neck out to try and better your situation. And even though everybody doesn't agree with the risk one is taking, the important thing is the word 'try'. If you don't try, it will not happen. I am very thankful that as I have grown older, I have been witness to just that all around me. I am thankful for the "turtle" and all that I have learned from it's example. I know that when I was a younger person, I liked to listen to the story about the tortoise and the hare and how the turtle just kept plugging away, not looking like he was going to make it anywhere, much less get to the finish line. I still love the story. In fact, I pull different stories up about the "turtle" often because of one speech that was given at an oil and gas conference I had attended while working for BLM and going to Billings, MT to attend it in the late 90's. The speech on the first day of the conference was given by the Lt. Governor (Judy Martz) at that time. She had such a profound impact on me when she told us the story of why she had been wearing a turtle pin on her lapel everyday since a certain time in her life. She gave us an example of why she was telling this story which had everything to do with the fact that a turtle doesn't get anywhere without sticking it's neck out. I have collected some turtles over the years, including a zipper pull, knick-knacks, a necklace, a sterling silver turtle ring, etc., etc. And now, my latest turtle item is a huge ring with different colored stones in it. It is so big that it will be hard to wear,.....BUT, it represents so many things to me. So here is another of my "thankfuls",...to my hubby, Dave. Thank you for buying this gaudy looking ring, something that you do not like yourself, but at the same time you know what it means to me. And 'thankyou' Judy, for bringing the 'turtle' in to my life. I am thankful for having my job at the Department of Veterans Affairs. It is no secret how stressful the job is, but it is what gets me out of bed everyday, and a reason to appreciate what I do have. Another very important part of my job is our "Veterans" by helping them and showing them the appreciation that every single one of them deserves to get from me and everybody else that works at the VA. I am also very thankful for Dad and the example he was to so many, especially his children and grand-children and their families. Even tho' he has passed on, like my niece Kadie once said in her comment to one of my blog posts about him, "he lives on in each of us and that the beautiful thing is we will meet again!" This coming Thanksgiving will be the third one without him, but my Dad will forever be in my heart, and for that I am so very thankful. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
So, my Mom is having a contest on her Blog to see who can come up with the best or funniest.opinion about her Thanksgiving background. If you want to participate and possibly when a prize go to her link. It is: http://ns21931.blogspot.com/ or you can go over to my sidebar and click on "Deenie's Space". Whitey and Sioux have already made their opinion known and put it in the comment section on Mom's Blog. See if anybody can out-do their's. And remember, the winner will be posted there on Mom's Blog Sunday evening (Nov. 22nd), and will win the PRIZE! Good luck to all of you! MOM IS THE JUDGE! No bribery is allowed. Let's make this fun for her! Let's try and get everybody involved. Thanks to all of you! And Good Luck!
At this time I want to wish Stephanie, my first niece a Happy Birthday once again. Her birthday was a week ago today. She is teaching in China, so of course we don't get to see her very often. All our love goes to her all the way over there. I'm still confused as to the time difference tho'. I guess she needs to educate her ole' aunt a little bit.
Also my two younger sisters share the month of November for their birthdays. Denice on the 7th and Clydene on the 22nd. Cheryl, Mom and I were down in Grand Junction this past Saturday which was Denice's birthday. Mom had called her while we were still on the road and sang Happy Birthday to her. Later on that night after leaving Aunt Florene's, she called us on the phone and told Mom that Marilyn Monroe had called her to sing to her. Mom had a hard time convincing Denice that it was her that had called and sang to her and not Marilyn. Denice was on her GPS up in Wisconsin trying to direct us back to our hotel in Grand Junction from Clifton. It was a lot of fun talking to her. Happy Birthday NeeNee! Love you a lot!
And to my youngest sister, Clydene (Whitey), I hope you have a grand day on your "Day" and a very Happy one at that. With the loving family that you have, I know they will make sure your birthday is a very special one. And "may your special day be filled with memories and flowers, friendship and happy hours". Love you little Sis!
Happy Birthday to Tracy on the 15th (my second niece) and Jase on the 23rd (my first nephew). They both live in Montana and I don't get to see them very often, but I would like to wish them a very Happy Birthday and to let them both know that your Aunt NaNa loves you very much!
There's lots of pumpkins on the ground,
There's at least one gory body part,
What would it be without our Tootsie Rolls, 
Oh goody, a little chocolate bar,
Look there's a cute Halloween gunball,
If you look really hard you will see
Don't be surprised if I sneak up and say BOO!
Here is a picture of the pumpkin filled with treats and the poem on two sides of the paper I wrote to go with the pumpkin.
