The Pink Scarf Project

I have this button on my blog to tell everyone that I'm participating in a year long project. It was the brain child of a wonderful blogger named Vicki at 2 Bags Full. Her knitting skills are unbelievable and her travel logs will make you feel like you are there with her.  So what is the Pink Scarf  Project? It involves making or purchasing pink scarves.  In October of 2013 the scarves will be given to 2 ladies who are battling breast cancer and they are going to distribute these scarves to other woman who are in treatment.  The scarves will go to the treatment centers and handed out to show support to woman everywhere who are going through this difficult process. Hopefully it will bring a huge smile to their faces and hope in their hearts that others care and are fighting with them.  I was invited to participate  because one of the lovely ladies is my best friend Donna. I've received 5 scarves so far. I have a knitting club helping me and even my super Mom is getting in on the act by making some cool scarves that are sure to be a hit!  If you want more info on what to do, where to send them or just read about it, go to Vicki's blog.  Here's a pic of the scaves I have so far:

They were knitted by the daughter and mother of a coworker (Thanks Becky!) One was the first one from the knitting club.  They are super and fun and I know they will be appreciated. But there is one more that I really must give an extra special thank you.

It's a beautiful silk scarf with lovely embellishments and sparkle. It was given to me by another coworker...Nancy.  With tears in her eyes she said it once belonged to her dear Mother who passed away from cancer. I met Nancy's Mom some years ago and a lovelier lady you would be hard pressed to find.  Her mom was also a nurse....who worked until she was 82...then got cancer a few months after retirement and passed away.  I couldn't believe she would part with this but she insisted that she wanted another woman who had cancer to have it.  I had tears in my eyes after that! I don't think "thank you"  is even the right words to say..I don't think there are any words actually. This brings me to my final reason for blogging tonight.  Yesterday Donna had her other breast removed.  I was honored to be with her in the operating room again but so wished she didn't have to go through another surgery. But with her usual spunk and determination and her good friends and hubby near, she did great.  Everything went well and she gave me permission to put this pic in here:

Acutally, she wanted this one:

But I was using my new camera and it was a bit blurry...or I was a bit shakey!  I love her chemo cap that was knitted for her by the surgeon, Dr. Mary McDonald.  She wanted to knit this instead of a scarf for the project and she wanted Donna to have it.  It is so cute and soft and I think it looks marvelous on her! You would never guess that she is less than 24hrs. post op in these pics!  What a classy gal!  I must add that this was taken very early this morning before I started work... to prove it I took a shot of her hospital room window that faces East...there's the beautiful sunrise just heading up....I  thinking it's a sign of great hope for a quick healing process and a complete remission....I miss her at work and frankly I think she needs to get back ASAP!!! Just kidding Donna!  Please rest up and I'll be seeing you soon!  Oh, and nobody should look so good that early in the morning...especially in the hospital!

Can you see the pink?...seems like even the skies are in on the project!

Stick It

I guess this would qualify as our first "Stick it" to the ground snowfall of this season.  It came in the middle of the night to rob us of our fall. But it's pretty.

Pretty on the porch rail

Pretty on the rhodedendron bush.

The Holly is just happy that it fits into this festive season!
As long as I have your attention, I thought I might add a little "stick it" comment about delivery times.  Today I'm home waiting for a new stove to be delivered.  I know I should be grateful that we can have a new appliance...and I am.  But seriously, can't there be delivery times that meet the customers time frame? I work during the day..so does hubby.  I work at the hospital and we have to make sure we're available 24/7..and even hubby makes evening hours available for his patients to come after work. But I've had to completely change my schedule (thanks to my work place for being flexible for me) and sit home in the hopes that I'll get an early call saying they will be here in a half hour.  I was hoping to be a first delivery of the day..silly me.  There are only 2 days in the week they deliver...sheeese...Ok, we also are putting in a new microwave but decided the next day to change the order to a different one....BAD IDEA!  Too late to do that. We now have to refuse the microwave when it gets here and then they will deliver the other one on Thursday..another day I would have to take off of work...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  Well, we decided that we would just have them deliver that to the store and we'd pick it up ourselves....we still have to refuse today's delivery....Oh, never mind. Thanks for listening to my whiney complaint.  I'm sitting very near the phone so as not to miss them. Why oh why do I have the sinking feeling that they will call at 11:30 to tell me I'm the 12 noon delivery time. (I was given...no choice here...that 4hr window..8-12). Sorry, I'm complaining again.  WAIT!!!! HOLD THE PRESSES!! They just called and will be here in 30min!  I'm "sticking" my whiney complaints in the trash! Hope your day is great! 

We Gathered Together

I'm a bit late in my Thanksgiving posting.  A small issue with the blog had to be solved but all is good.  We had a fun and very beautiful day.  The temps were in the 60's and the sunshine was marvelous! 3 out of my 4 boys and their families came.  We missed having Craig and Amy and kiddos because they were having their Turkey Day in their new home in Portland, Ore.  We missed you! But the table was sort of set....we decided to do a buffet style this year.

Let's not forget the "children's table"...they seem to be having a deep conversation!

Plus it's a great place for Sisters to whisper secrets!

Everyone filled their plates and grabbed a seat and enjoyed the meal.

Yes Jordan, the green bean casserole was made just for you!

Dessert was an assortment of pies and a new jello concoction that was awesome! It's a "make again" recipe that I know my family in Chicago will enjoy when we go for our annual Christmas trek in a few weeks.  However, the grandkiddos decided that what they really wanted after dinner was this:

Popsickles on the deck railing! Addy cracked me up because she insisted on wearing her coat, but no shoes. Whatever floats your boat!

After dinner we had our annual "Pumpkin Shoot" event. It started out a few years ago when I used my bow and arrows to practice on left over Halloween pumpkins.  We've had a contest every year since. But my bow broke last year so the guys decided that guns work just as well.  I'm sure the neighbors loved the noise during their dinner...ooops..sorry! Anthony was allowed this year to participate with his Dad's help. Here are the targets:

I only had one pumpkin this year so my recycle bin was raided for plastic bottles and of course an empty kitty litter container was good too!

Then my son Phil and his wife Amanda and some of the kids and myself headed into the Creepy Woods for some exercise.

There was some tree hugging involved! This is Lexi...

Some tree leaning also! Addy had all smiles!

A quick game of football helped burn off more energy...and trying to get the ball out of the tree was another sport of the day!
But the sun set and the families were ready to head home. We had a nice day and it brought all the truly important things together to remind us what we have to be thankful for: FAMILY

 Driana.....the oldest Grandkiddo

Anthony....

Summer...

Cameron...

My son Jack and daughter-in-law Stephanie...
All these faces make me smile and give thanks every day.  I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving Day!

Goodbye Bessie

I mentioned to Jack that I hadn't posted anything this week.  He said, "Well, you could talk about your DVD thing you did for work."  Oh yeah...well, I did this DVD thing for work.  I put all my pics of my coworkers (and a few of me) together and added music. All with the help of my friend Stacy of course! Then I showed it at our weekly inservice meeting. Donna made a really delish breakfast and we had fun looking at the great people I work with and seeing how hard we work, but also how much fun we have and how we manage to keep smiles on our faces even when we sometimes want to choke each other! Everyone seemed to like it.  It got a ton of laughs and more than a few requests for copies. But we had another event that I need to talk about.  The passing of our dear Bessie....or snake as I have been known to call her. No, "she" isn't a snake...or even a real "she".  So, before you get all misty eyed, here's our dear "Bessie"....

 This was our 1996 van.  We've had many great trips in this van...many Boy Scout hauls, Church youth and adult activity trips, shuttles to Chicago, and all the tons of items I pick up here and there that required the removal of seats! These last years have been a bit rough for Bessie.  I called her "snake" because of the funny rattle (as in rattle snake)  that let everyone know she was coming.  Then the telltale smell of gasoline was the final giveaway that made our decision easy.  I was afraid if someone was smoking in the car ahead they might throw out a butt and blow us up!  But it was time for a new mode of transportation.  Also a new era in our life.  We've had full sized vans since before Lincoln was elected, but we decided to go smaller....so this is the new kid on the driveway block...

I won't be hauling much in this puppy...but Jack really likes driving this JEEP. It only seats 4, or 5 if you're really little. No name has been given yet.  Jack's Mom always named their cars and I'm sure one will come to us soon. When the van was being towed out of the driveway, the tow dude forgot to put it in neutral.  He was literally dragging it down the drive...tearing up the gravel as he went. I figured he would realize it when he hit the road since he didn't hear us yelling. I couldn't help but think old Bessie was just dragging her tires because she didn't want to leave us. That  made me sad.  My son brought me back to reality when he said. "Mom, people who think objects have feelings become hoarders...snap out of it."  I'm much better now!

Weekends Just Fly!

This weekend passed quickly as they normally do.  Trying to cram a ton of activities into 2 days.  We had such nice weather that I was glad I was able to go out and finish up some yard cleanup.  But before I tackled that I went with my friend Stacy  (Crawford Clan Weekly) to a craft show that is held every November.  I don't always make it every year but I love to go when I can.  I bought just a few little items but it was fun to see all the people and the crafters and see what is new and selling.  Wool items are big! I spied some really lovely mittens but they were a bit out of my price range. I did nab a couple of cute kiddo hats that will find their way onto some Grandkiddo's head.

Here's just a small example of the crowd and wares and of course Stacy! After the show we headed back to her place so she could help me with a video I'm doing for work.  I've compiled a few pics over the year and even some old ones I dug up...like this one:

I'm the one on the left...Donna on the right...in 1983.  She was pretty close to delivery with Chelsea and I  was about 3mo. pregnant with Jordan.  There were 6 of us pregnant in surgery that year! Crazy! I put together the photos and Stacy helped me to put them to music and add some text and hopefully everyone will like what I did and get laughs,  good memories,  and an appreciation of what we do on a daily basis.  I wanted to get it done last week but ran out of time.  Last week was perioperative nurse week.  It's also the 100th year anniversary of our hospital . I'm presenting it this week at our weekly inservice and I'm serving breakfast too...so everyone is welcome to come!  A big thank you to Stacy for taking so much time and effort to help me out and I have your "thank you" gifts Stac!  The rest of the time was spent running the usual errands and Church time on Sunday that involved an hour drive to Stake Conference.  Before we left we caught Eddy the boxer in this pose:

Looking wistfully with his paw under his chin no less! What was he wishing?

To go outside I think!  That's the backyard and he was intently gazing out there until he realized he was being photographed.

Then I got this look...it says "Please can't we go for a walk into the Creepy Woods?"  That had to wait until much later!
Before the weekend is truly over and this special day ends, I want to say another big THANK YOU to our Veterans.  This is Veteran's day and I'm so thankful to all who have served our fantastic country.  Men like my brothers Phil and Greg who served in Vietnam and super cool men like my Dad who served in WWII.  I sure wish he was still here so I could tell him in person.  I miss him everyday. Dad, you were always my hero!

Hot Coals On A Cold Night!

What better way to shake off the political jibberish and tension than a nice outdoor fire in the fire ring.

Throw in a  juicy hot dog....can you see it? Can you smell it's deliciousness?

Maybe toasted marshmellows are more your style?....Add a Hershey bar and graham crackers...yummmo!

Mix in some 11yr old Scouts...and one leader/helper....(Thanks Jack  for all your fire knowledge you gave the boys tonight!)

Oh, and don't forget me! The temps were pretty chilly and the sky was crystal clear with tons of stars. The fire was warm and the boys had a fun lesson on fire safety and how to start a fire with various mediums....like cotton balls and vaseline...or Pringles potato chips or even Fritos.  My fav way?  Good ol' firelogs and lots of dry wood! And it helps to have one handsome nice hubby to do it for you! Shhhh..don't tell my Scouts!

Fame Is Fleeting

       This picture was taken this morning in New Hampshire....nothing new to see a politician kissing babies..except when those babies are related to you.  This little guy, Levi, is my great nephew.  His Momma, my niece Carly, is the one smiling in the gray sweatshirt....unhappy because she had to be there so early she didn't get her hair done. Oh well, the price you have to pay for 15 seconds of fame!  I'm thinking she may want to frame that shot...unless Mitt loses then it will just be a fond memory...           

I Lied..Forgive Me

I promised no more Halloween posts but yesterday our Hospital had it's annual costume judging.  They always have a little gathering in the afternoon of Halloween and invite any employees that want to enter to dress up and get judged. They serve cute cookies...free...so that always draws a crowd! I just had to show what a few of the operating room gals put together. Some even won prizes! Like this little hippie gal:

This is Becky....peace!  She works at the scheduling desk in surgery.  I will also mention this amazing girl has lost about 115lbs. since January.  She has reason to celebrate a fun Halloween!

Here is Becky's coworker...Judy (on the left) and I know I don't have to mention this, but that's her twin sister on the right, as the Burger King.  But you could probably tell they're twins..right?

This is our crazy supply gal who is also named Becky.  Becky is a popular name in our department.  Anyway, she's Tinkerbelly...isn't she lovely? I believe she won first prize....but the other Becky won something too so I could be wrong.

Here TinkerBelly is being accosted by 2 surgery employees who just felt the need to straighten out her boobs.  Working in surgery makes you a bit anal..have I ever mentioned that?

We all crammed into the elevator to head to the cafeteria for judging.  Ever been crammed in an elevator with the Burger King, Tinkerbelly, and a hippie? Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke doesn't it?

I think Donna looks a bit uneasy next to these crazy characters! After all the judging was over we headed back upstairs full of cookies and lots of laughs.  It's a fun tradition and way to blow off steam.  I wonder if you can tell who these ladies are in their costumes....Give up?

Ok, I'll tell you.....drummmmmmm rooooollllll.....FIFTY SHADES OF GRAY......Now I promise...no more Halloween posts until next year!