50th birthday party

My son is a fan of the 'Greatful Dead' jam band.  He probably has all the concerts he can get legally from the internet on CD's.  He has had very longtime friends, Jason and Robin.  Robin is a party giver extroidinier ( know, the spelling is not correct but I can't find the correct spelling for that word)  They decided they would give my son the party of party's.  Of course the whole theme was 'Grateful Dead'  Those that could remember wore tie died shirts (I of course didn't remember) and the whole theme was of GD.  The picture above is Jason and Robin.  The picture underneath this narrative is BB hanging lights.The picture right below is cupcakes baked by Robin herself.  Probably the best cupcakes I have ever eaten.  To the right is the honored guest himself.  My 50 y/o son.Bob, son-in law with his head cut off.  Below is Bob with a giant cheese curl in his mouth.

Master BBQ'er is BB.Coasters are throwaway CD's made by BB1#son enjoying some of the food.  We had enough to feed a church potluck    there was a Pinata filled with candy in the shape of a skull (Part of the logo of 'Grateful Dead.  AZ grandson can't wait to break the pinata.I cannot get this new format correct.  I guess you will just have to look at the pictures and imagine the good time we had.

90th birthday celebration

Last weekend I attended the 90th birthday party of my aunt.  She is one of two  still living of the six children my dad's parents had.  What a wonderful celebration!  My cousin Mary is an excellent party giver and hostess.  I have not had  frequent contact with these people in many years but I am planning on making up for that in the future.  Wonderful people all.  I am so blessed to have a family that loves me and loves each other.  My aunt is such an upbeat person.  Her most used phrase is:  "I can do that" and  refusing most help.  I love the "I can do that" attitude.  When I grow up I want to be just like her. 

For the life of me I can't figure out the new setup on the blog.  I will just show you a few pictures and give up trying to set it up the way I want it to be.  At any rate, it was all lovely.  The celebration was held in an old and beautiful Victorian  house which is located on the grounds where my aunt and cousin live in Redlands, CA.  The weather never got much above 90 degrees.  We had to go into the house one evening because it was getting too chilly to sit outside.  A very nice break from my desert weather. 

A Father's Day tribute

Many years ago, 15-16 years perhaps, our youngest daughter arranged with the church office of the church my husband and I were attending,( totally unbeknownst  to either of us) to put an extra page in the bulletin with a tribute to her dad.  Here it is:


THERE ARE NOT MANY MEN LIKE MY DAD.  WHEN I WAS GROWING UP HE WORKED HARD AND CONSTANTLY, BUT HE WAS ALWAYS HOME BY DINNERTIME.  CHILDREN NEED CONSISTENCY AND HE MADE UP 50% OF OURS.  HE WAS ALWAYS UP BY FIVE A.M.  (PROBABLY A HABIT LEFT OVER FROM HIS FIRST ALMOST TWO DECADES ON THE FARM).  ON SUNDAY MORNING YOU NEVER HAD TO LOOK FOR HIM.  YOU COULD ALWAYS HEAR THE TENOR FROM VARIOUS CHRISTIAN QUARTETS KEEPING HIM COMPANY AS HE SAT PREPARING FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL WITH HIS BIBLE, HIS PAD OF PAPER AND HIS GOLD PEN. 

WE ALL LAUGH BECAUSE HE'LL WATCH ANY SPORT BROADCAST.  (I'VE EVEN SEEN HIM WATCH FISHING!!)  BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT HIS HIGH SCHOOL YEAR BOOKS YOU UNDERSTAND WHY.  HE WAS IN EVERY SPORT OR CLUB HIS SCHOOL HAD TO OFFER (BESIDES CHEERLEADING) AND HE HAS A SMILE ON HIS FACE IN EACH PICTURE.  HOWEVER SINCE A FOOTBALL KNEE INJURY HE ONLY PARTICIPATED IN TWO SPORTS;  GOLF AND GARAGE SALE-ING.  HE WAS EVEN SUCCESSFUL WHEN CHOOSING A WIFE.  HOW DID HE KNOW SHE'D BE SUCH A GREAT MOM?  MARRIAGE CAN BE HARD AT TIMES, BUT IF THEY EVER HAD A PROBLEM...WE NEVER KNEW IT.  WHAT A TEAM THEY MAKE!  MY DAD WAS NEVER WHAT YOU COULD CALL A 'KID PERSON', BUT WE KNEW INSIDE THAT SERIOUS EXTERIOR WAS A TNEDER HEART...ONE THAT LOVED US.

DAD, THANK YOU FOR FAITHFULLY TAKING US TO CHURCH AND FOR SERVING THE LORD.  THANK YOU FOR PLAYING BATTLESHIP, PLAYING CATCH AND WORKING SO HARD FOR YOUR FAMILY.

NO, THERE ARE NOT MANY MEN LIKE MY DAD...KEN PRATT. 

P.S. HAPPY FATHER'S DAD.    DAD, DO I STILL HAVE TO BUY YOU A CART?
                                                                     LOVE, BETH.


Memories.  Good ones.  Often found between the pages of Bibles.  My husband has been with the Lord for over 10 years now.  Memories are good.

ME day

Today turned out to be a ME day.  I am not sure I deserve a ME day but I took one.  The whole (almost) of last week I spent doing things for others.  Not noble.  Not to be lauded.  Just did things for others that needed to be done...by me.  When I said (almost) it was because the first thing I did last week was to finish crocheting a shawl, perhaps for myself, that I started about a year ago.  It is made from heavy crochet thread.  It was fun to do.  The rest of the week I spent finishing a trunk for BB's motorcycle, making MC a case for MC's new iPad, making a dress for my sis-in-love (Karen, I am going to have to modify it, it almost reaches the floor on ME) patching yet another pair of jeans for grand kids.  I didn't cook much, hardly at all last week.  After #1 son's birthday party, there was enough food left over so that when ever I got hungry I went to his house and said, "Feed me"  That was nice.  So today...a Me day.  I took someone to the airport, took my Baby Lock Surger sewing machine for yet another repair and ended up trading it in on a new one.  Score one for ME.  I have had that machine for many years and several repairs, the most recent one costing over $100 so...it is GONE.  The next reward was lunch @ Macaroni Grill and then on to Cold Stone Creamery.  I think a nap is in order for more of my ME day.

Till next time............stay well and keep on keeping on.....................Connie

My desert

I love my desert.  I hate the cold that is anyplace else.  I wouldn't want to live anywhere except right here in my desert but...it does have occasional drawbacks.
     My AC is not working well right now.  I have someone coming to look/repair it on Friday!   The temps have been well over 100 degrees for about a week now.   I have 20 windows in my house.  I love those windows.  So bright in my house.    I have small rectangle windows high above my regular kitchen windows.  Kitchen windows that face South and West.  A whole lot of light, (Summer sun) coming in those windows.  HOT, HOT, HOT!!  I have double accordion shades AND old fashioned roller shades in those windows.  Nothing in the rectangle windows above.  Some of the roller shades have disintrigrated (my little word dictionary can't even help me spell that word correctly) over the seven years that I have lived here so I had to make do with some stuff I had in my sewing room stash.  For the windows over top, I have many Fry's Grocery Store bags.  Can't wait for the AC man to get here.
     Another problem:  Several times over those seven years my desert spews forth different kinds of little bugs, by the hundreds!  It has happened overnight.   So far not many of them have gotten into the house...so far.  They are tiny elongated golden fly type bugs.  AND they bite!  A time or two in other years they have gotten into the house.  Had to vacuum them off the walls, out of the light fixtures and off my bed before I could crawl in.
Other times the bugs have been teeny tiny hard shelled beetle type bugs that can hardly be squashed.  None of those  this year...yet.
   I still love my desert.  I think I will lie down and read.  Cooler that way.  
                                   HEY!  AC MAN.  YOU WILL BE WELCOME HERE.  

Just for fun

A few weeks ago my oldest daughter and I spent a week in Palm Springs.  I believe I may have told you about that already.  Becky and I enjoy going to yard sales when we are on vacation with only us.  No one else in our family enjoy that as much as we do.  While we were there, we stopped at a sale where the people were already closing up shop and packing all the boxes to take inside.  Good timing  :-)  "Take it away, almost free".  I bought a box full of very nice books on quilting.  In one of the books there were two pages of examples of Victorian quilt squares.  Just for fun I started playing with small  pieces of  material and lace and also the embroidery stitches on my Bernina Sewing machine.  As the pieces were coming together I thought, "I think I would enjoy this being the top of a dress.  The pictures above are the pictures of the final result.  I wore the dress to church yesterday.  It was so comfortable I wore it all day and then to church again in the evening.  I am thinking, "More dresses similar to this one"