Contemplating

my day as I finish my coffee this morning. I have already had one cancellation for the day which leaves only one student coming later this afternoon. 

Most of my projects this week remain unfinished, so I need to dig in and get busy. I need to pay bills, trim Suki, practice, make a menu and grocery list, work-out and write a couple of letters. After I finished typing up the history on my great-grandmother I had an overwhelming need to write my cousin. I haven't got started yet, but a letter arrived from her in the mail yesterday and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. 

It's also time to make my ATC cards for this month...the theme is nightmares. I'm trying to be creative here, yet I don't want to put in as much time on them as I did last month. 

When I opened the cable/internet bill, I saw that they raised the rates yet again. They now want $141.13 per month! Hubby keeps talking about discontinuing service - he took the bill with him to work today, he said he's going to call. The problem is I still want/need internet here at the house and if we cut off just cable service they will raise our internet cost since it will no longer be "bundled". All in all it's possible we will only save $20. or so. 

I long for fresh air and sunshine; I'm starting to feel very claustrophobic. I am sensing the coming of spring, however...the longer days, sun trying to peek through the clouds more often, etc. By focusing on my projects this winter, it really did make the time go faster. 

Coffee cup is empty...time to go.

Peering Out

From beneath a pile of snow? Possible, but no, rather from under a pile of family history research. 

This weekend I brought out my family history scrapbook and tied up some loose ends on my great-great grandmother, thus completing her pages and moved on to her daughter. I completed 20 scrapbook pages, mostly of typed out history as I have so few photos from that time. I also spent Sunday afternoon and evening typing up all the information I have on my great-grandmother and will now locate all the photos I have of her and set to work on her section of the album. Thank God for my cousin who has supplied me with some wonderful stories that she remembers from her childhood! I plan to write her today and let her know how I'm progressing. I'm going to work on those members I know and have pictures for, then I'm going to bite the bullet and subscribe to ancestry.com and see if I can find out more. 

I love working on my family album, but I must say, I do find myself missing my mother so much as I "spend time" with each of the family members that she knew and loved so much. I found myself so homesick for her and family that I dissolved into tears at one point yesterday. I long to see and hug those who share my blood lines, to feel a connection to someone...a sense of belonging.  

Plans for today include catching up on some housework, going to the bank and the scrapbook store, writing my cousin, making a loaf of bread and salmon patties for supper; Hubby and Suki both need me to cut their hair. My one student for today has rescheduled for tomorrow, making Tuesday a very busy day. I'm looking forward to seeing the second part of the anxiety filled season finale of Castle tonight!

Two verses that touched my heart from God's Word this morning: 

Joshua 22:5

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁵ Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Also: 

Joshua 24:15

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁵ If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Prayers continue for my two children currently without jobs. 

I had to laugh at Daughter #2's sweetheart yesterday. After lunch I made some cookies and Daughter offered him one (he's not one to eat many sweets) and he ate it. A few minutes passed and he asked me - "are those cookies for anything special?" Daughter answers for me "for consumption" - I said "I made them for you to enjoy." He then said, "so it's ok if I have another one?" I told him he could eat all he wanted and he had a couple more - stating how good they were, then when they were leaving, he went past the kitchen and took some more "for the road". 

Snowed In

Schools remain closed across the area, we haven't had a storm this bad in quite some time. You know it's bad if they cancel hockey around here!! Hubby left work early yesterday since his load was light and no one was coming in. He actually brought work home to do, but  took a nap in front of the fire instead and never did get anything accomplished. That's ok, he never takes time off. We spent the evening together in front of the TV watching Castle DVD's and eating snack food. I know I'll regret the eating part. 

This morning one of our large dogs, Mae, fell down the basement steps. She is quite old now and her hips are failing her, but she soldiers on. Today the steps got the better of her, but after some love and encouragement from Hubby, she was up with no visible injury. Hubby carried her upstairs where she has stayed. 

I had one student cancel yesterday and 2 others are rescheduled for today. I hope they make it. The weather isn't as bad as yesterday, but I think the schools closed because the road crews haven't had time to catch up. I guess the roads are quite bad and the snow continues to come down. So...if everyone comes, I'll be quite busy teaching today. The neighbor behind us has a 6 foot privacy fence and there is a section of it that I can no longer see due to the large drift (obviously at least 6 feet high) in our back yard. 

I still haven't decided on my next project to tackle. It's between sorting through photos and finishing my ancestry album. The latter will certainly take longer, but the picture sort is also quite a large project. 

Well, while typing this I have had 2 cancellations for today - there goes the budget. I have $60. left in my checking account, the first of the month coming and no idea if a payday is in sight. Must trust our Heavenly Father to meet our needs. Time to take advantage of the time off and get busy. 

Hunkerin' Down

It's blizzard conditions across the area this morning and all schools are closed for miles around except Daughter's university. I hate the thought of her out in this! Praying she stays safe. I will be amazed if I get any students today which means I'll be missing out on $67.50 in income for the day. Why oh why does it have to come down like gang busters on my busiest teaching day? 

Last night's episode of Castle did not disappoint. I'll be counting the hours until next Monday night. I have the strange feeling though that they will finish with a cliff-hanger as this will be the season finale. 

I should be able to finish my computer files project today, at least as far as I plan to go with it. I'm not sure yet what my next big project will be, I'm thinking maybe getting my heritage album back out, but there are other things needing attention as well. I'm doing my very best to stay productive this winter and making the most of the time I am shut indoors.

Prayer concerns remain the same - especially for Son's job situation.  I plan to help him out if I can come payday, but I don't know when that will be and I have to pay several bills myself. I'm trying not to worry and trying to leave it in God's hands, but truth be told, I am worried. 

Blessings today...I don't have to go out in this storm! 

Quiet Monday

Not much going on around here today. I have finished my morning chores and I'm planning an afternoon of computer file sorting. I used to be a better multi-tasker, but I'm finding more and more that I need to see my projects through to the end before starting another. I'm feeling better, just the congestion and nasal crud remains which is enough to wear me down before the end of the day. 

I AM looking forward to the start of a two part episode of my favorite show tonight...Castle. It looks to be a nail-biter and tear-jerker. 

Another winter storm is due - we're on advisory until Wednesday night. Thursday looks to be the only clear day this week. I'm so ready for spring. 

Prayer concerns: 
1. Son - that his lay off at work will be short lived and that God will provide for him in the meantime.
2. Daughter #1 and Hubby looking for God's direction in jobs.
3. Daughter #2 getting through the semester at school, and nursing a knee injury from broomball. I just hope she hasn't torn something. 

Blessings: Hubby is home from his weekend away refereeing a hockey tournament. He seemed to have a very relaxing weekend which I'm happy for. 

Down for the Count

I feel as though I have lost a week from my life. I have been wrestling with some sort of bug...cold, flu, I don't know but it's awful. I have run the gamut of symptoms and I really need to feel better and get my life back. I'm hoping to feel well enough tomorrow to catch up on some housework - this place is a wreak! 

Poor little Suki is having an arthritis flair up. She is so miserable and the baby aspirin doesn't seem to be working. 

Son called last night, he's been temporarily laid off from his job. He was told as soon as business picks up again he has a spot back on the payroll. He was living paycheck to paycheck as it was and now I have no idea how he is going to manage. He was doing so well and working so hard to pay off his school loans and now this. I really just wish we could catch a break somewhere.

I was so sick on Valentine's Day that we didn't do much to celebrate. I made him a card, he bought me flowers, we went to the grocery store for ice-cream and watched a movie. I'm not terribly disappointed, I don't feel comfortable spending a lot of money right now and I'm just happy having him with me and being in our home, together. 

Well, sick or not, I have some extra responsibilities this weekend so I'd best get to it. 

Celebration Report

Last night we drove into town to enjoy dinner with our daughter and her boyfriend to celebrate her birthday.  Our time together was nice, but not the drive down in the snow. I bit my nails most of the way.

We went to a new Mexican restaurant in town - the food was different but good...the service lacked a bit. It was good to have a nice visit with the kids, I took her gifts so we could watch her open them, I think I made some good choices, she seemed to really like them. I still can't believe she's 21. I can't believe where the time has gone - life speeds by so quickly.

The snow keeps coming down. Rumor had it yesterday that the road grader and snow plow were broken - after a snow storm and none of the roads were plowed. It was a nightmare trying to get around. Our street was one of the worst, because we live across the street from a "snow-dump". This is where the trucks full of snow come to dump their loads and they often make a mess in the middle of the street in the process. I had to have my students park a half block away, because they would have surely gotten stuck in front of our house. Fortunately this morning, all necessary equipment had been repaired and was back on the road. Our street is down to one lane, but at least we won't have people high centering out there. 

I got word yesterday that my mentor's father passed away on Saturday - offering up prayers for the family.

It seems I have caught my Hubby's cold, I was awakened at 4 a.m. with an awful sore throat. I got up and took an Ibuprofen and some Airborne. I think now at 8:30 the Ibuprofen is about to wear off. I never did get back to sleep and tried to go back to bed this morning, but once I'm up, I'm up. 

I think I'll lay low today and try to rest as much as possible. 

Special Day, February 11!

Today is my baby girls (daughter #2) 21st birthday! All my babies are now adults...boggles my mind! We are planning to head into town to meet her and her Hunny for a birthday dinner at a new restaurant. I'm just hoping the weather doesn't get in the way of our celebration.

Winter storm Orko brought wind and 8" of fresh snow last night and we're supposed to get another 4" today with winds gusting to around 40 mph. Schools in the area are on a 2 hour delay. The way the snow is coming down now, we won't have any trouble getting that 4".  

Last night's wet snow, freezing rain, and rain continues for Monday thanks to the winter storm moving across Upper Michigan. Advisories have been issued for the west half of the U.P. and some of them don't expire until Tuesday morning.

Today's U.P. weather forecast details are available on our website:http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/weather/severe

Plans for today include a general clean-up around the Little Turquoise House and the finishing my daughter's birthday card and wrapping her gift. I have one student today, if the weather doesn't keep her away. She's a high school student and sometimes her mom won't let her make the drive since they live quite a ways out of town...understandable. I got quite a bit done on my computer files yesterday - I worked until I could no longer focus on the screen and my brain couldn't keep track of where I was in the sea of folders. I hope to get back in there and keep going before I forget where I was. I'm still not happy with the files section of this computer. Google has proven itself untrustworthy to keep my files safe. I lost all the pictures of my ATC's...I was in there, saw them and was preparing to move them into a folder when they all disappeared and I can't find them anywhere. I'm so upset! 

Blessing for today: My baby girl. 

Trade

A winter storm has arrived. I called to make sure Daughter #2 was safe in her apt. for the evening...good thing I did, she had no idea it was getting as bad as it was so quickly. 

I had a nice video chat with Daughter #1 today - so nice to have a computer that is video chat capable. 

Yesterday was my ATC trade. All my cards I made now belong to other traders and I came home with a handful of new cards created by other artists. You saw what I created, so I thought I'd share with you what talent the other traders have. Enjoy! 

Hunkering down for the night...

ATC's

I told you I'd be back to share more of my projects with you, so here I am. 

I attended a class at the scrapbook store just after the new year and got myself into a project; trouble is, I'm not sure I have the time to see it through. It's fun, it's creative and it's social, but it takes away from time I'd rather be spending on my scrapbooks. 

It's called Artist Trading Cards. If you Google it, you'll see all kinds of them. Each month a theme is given that must be followed, but other than that, the artist is free to create what they want on a 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch card. Each artist makes enough cards to trade with all the others that are trading, so if there are 12 traders, you need to try and create 12 different cards. I understand this to be kind of a big deal. You have to agree never to sell your cards - only trade. There are even groups that trade with other groups all over the world. We actually include a group from downstate.  

For the month of February, the theme is "felt" which means there must be felt on the card in some way. In looking for inspiration, my mind took the word "felt" and started thinking of feelings that are felt like love, sorrow, joy, kindness, which eventually was replaced with the Fruits of The Spirit and since it was February, and also because coincidentally, our pastor spoke that week on the Fruits of The Spirit and how they must come from the heart, I started each creation with hearts cut from felt. 

I had fun doing them and I'm pleased with how they turned out...so much so, that some of them I don't want to trade, but if I don't put them all out there, it spoils the whole Fruit of The Spirit idea and I won't have enough to trade with everyone. So here they are, my first attempt at artist trading cards. Theme is felt, my collection is The Fruit of The Spirit and the name of each card is the fruit it represents. There are doubles of a couple of them because I made one, then had a better idea. I hope you enjoy seeing them.

 Our trade is this Saturday at noon. Our theme for March is nightmares and the trade is scheduled for March 9th. I wonder what the seasoned traders will think of my contribution? The question is, do I continue to participate? 

A Glimpse of the Sun

I'm enjoying the sunrise with my coffee this morning. There is the lightest snow imaginable falling right now and it's so nice to see the sun - I don't know how long it will last, but I'm enjoying it while I have the opportunity. A bit of a late start this morning - Hubby and I have had a lot of late nights and haven't been sleeping well. 

Plans for my day include:

1) Some cleaning

2) 3 students from 2-3:30

3) Begin organizing my computer files

4) Blog about ATC's

I'll be back in a bit...time for more coffee...

Sewing and Mending and Hemming...OH MY!

As you all know, I have been MIA for most of the month of January. If you wanted to read back in my blog, you would read something about goals and an overwhelming list of projects to tackle. So one day...don't remember when exactly, it dawned on me that my projects were never going to get done if all I did was complain about how overwhelmed I was. DUH! I decided to limit my time on the computer, do my chores quickly and close my eyes when it wasn't done to my usual standard, then I took one project that has been haunting me and spent every waking moment available to get it done. The first project to attack was a 4 year backlog of sewing and mending. I never liked to sew, and the older I get the more I dread it, so much so that I had to literally unearth the machine from my studio closet and in order to get to it, I managed to clean out the entire closet on the way...day one and that's all that was accomplished. That's ok, that too needed doing, it just wasn't on my list. It took a little over a week - in between cleaning, laundry, cooking and teaching - but I managed to finish the following: 

1) Mended 4 tops, 1 pair pajama pants and 2 bags 
2) Hemmed 3 pair pants
3) Sewed buttons on a coat and a pair of pants
4) Made a new cover for a pillow I've had on my bed since I outgrew my crib and got my fist "big-girl bed". It's seen many covers over the years to match new bedroom decor, but it's always been on my bed...even in college.
5) Made a pillow for the couch out of an old embroidered dishtowel.  
6) Made 6 potholders to match my kitchen decor, two of which were just recovering existing potholders.

I still have one top for daughter #2 that needs some work, but she needs to try in on for me. As with all projects, I look back on the accomplishment and wonder why it took me so long to get it all done, but it does feel so very good to have one monkey off my back. 

I have missed you all and checked in with everyone and left messages (I hope I didn't miss anyone). For some reason, I am no longer getting notified of your new entries in my email. I hope to hear from you all soon.

Stay tuned for the next entry of what else I've been doing to keep busy. That's all for now from my snowy neck of the woods.