Emptyknitster

The NorDakPurl Gurl has been involved in Relay for Life for several years. In February her group has a silent auction to raise funds. This year The Purl Gurl called me, excited to have had a certain pair of sandals donated. "They're so cute! One pair of soles with several pair of tops to add!" "Switch Flops!" I hooted over the phone! I knew that very moment I needed them, and The Purl Gurl was instructed to buy the sandals at any cost. Last summer The California Dreamin' Gurl was visiting and we met her friend, Carrie, at Chico Hot Springs. Carrie's mom had sent her a pair of switch flops from Florida and we laughed until we cried over the name and sheer idea behind the shoes.The gal that invented them thought up the idea of interchangeable shoe tops to fulfill an assignment in a high school art class. She is now a millionaire so the joke's on us. Sure enough, I placed the high bid and the sandals were mine! It really wasn't much of a bat...

 All the families came into town Wednesday afternoon and the festivities began! The number one thing on The Pirate's list was for me to fix his b"LANK"et. "Lank" is the baby blanket his Aunt "Chick Who Flew the Coop" made for him when he was born. I had to resew the entire thing BUT I became a heroine! The grandkids were so happy to see each other, what a great reunion! They were pleased with themselves Thursday morning when they confided in me that Sadie Lou came up with the idea - if they got their pjs on and were in bed when the parents came to tell them it was bedtime, they could all sleep in the same bed just like they have always done! (It worked!) The carnival from last summer must have been a real hit with them, because they spent all Thursday afternoon planning another one. They added a chalk drawing contest and "The Crack Game" - rolling a ball up a crack in the driveway marked with  points at certain spots where the participa...

I have loved family stories and genealogy since I was a small child. I remember the day Mom and my Great-aunt Kit were cleaning out a shed in the back of Aunt Kit's yard in Boulder. Among other things it was filled with old, long, party dresses - my mom's prom dresses perhaps - and old photos. I asked, no really, I begged them to let me keep the old photos, but my mom thinking of the car trip back to Washington said no, they were photos of no one that either she or Aunt Kit knew and so they were thrown into the burning barrel. Later, when I began locating old photos on the internet including those of HER grandparents, Mom said she wished she'd listened and let me keep the old photos. The family lived in Lyons, Colorado where they owned an orchard. Years later - perhaps the same trip as the photo burning incident - I visited my Great-uncle John on the family place.  We walked back to the chicken coop and I was told that that had been the original home of the Jamison...

Grace, John, Alfred holding Katherine,  W. Fred, Sadie and Catherine (about 1897) This bowl and pitcher belonged to my Great-grandmother Catherine Jamison:

  The 2010 published edition has arrived!  I'm as happy with this year's journal as I was with last year's edition. If you haven't thought of publishing your blog you should...I used Blog2print . The cost is very reasonable, less than $50 and no shipping costs! This company also offers a softcover edition or a version that you can download. This is something that I will continue for many years. Hubby has even gotten into the swing of things and will often look at me and ask, "Shouldn't this be a Blogging moment?"

Aunt Betty, Bill and Cousin Linda Today was my Aunt Betty's funeral, last weekend my cousin Linda called to tell me that her mother had passed away on March 24th. Betty was my mother's brother's first wife. I may have seen my "uncle" three times over the years. He was a nice guest, but my Aunt Betty and her second husband, Uncle Ole - they were family. Gini, Linda, and Peg We were lucky to be able to have them as family. Aunt Betty may have wanted her girls to have extended family and Uncle Ole certainly was happy to have a family - daughters, nieces, nephews, and in-laws. It was with effort made by our parents that cousins, aunts, and uncles were not merely "related" - but became family. Visits were made back and forth over the years. Mom, Dad, Ole and Betty enjoyed at least one trip to Wisconsin visiting Aunt Betty's daughter, Gini, at her resort. Weddings were attended and grandchildren celebrated. Uncle Ole, Aunt Betty and Vicki ...