The Gathering Place

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Meet my new chair….(and fighting winter doldrums)

It’s snowing.

Again.

We haven’t seen the ground since Christmas Eve.

Our Christmas lights are frozen in place.

Our Sunday dinner group was pretty sparse today since only Andrew and Irene, (and kids), and Robbie made it here. They probably would have stayed home if the snow hadn’t been delayed getting to them. The roads were slick and covered with ice and snow and many cars were sliding off the road.

At school, my students haven’t had an outside recess the whole month of January. Spending almost every minute of the school day with twenty-four restless children at your side is right up there with cruel and unusual punishment (for them and me)!

The air quality in Utah has been on high alert due to inversions, keeping the bad air on the ground and the good air up above the cloud cover.

So,

since I haven’t had much to blog about, I thought I’d introduce you to my new chair.

I had wanted one more chair in our family room to finish up the space. At first my husband thought a chair was an expense we didn’t need, but as we had rearranged some furniture to get ready for a Christmas tree, we realized that the big triangular middle section of our sofa was not worth the space it was taking up (it only gave seating for one person) and limited the furniture arrangement. Maybe we needed a new direction- a sofa and a love seat?

We did some looking, but couldn’t find anything we liked (that didn’t a small fortune),

I had dragged a chair up from a bedroom and had accepted things as they were. It would do.

While Ken and Liz took some fabric samples back to the furniture store, I was home content with my new arrangement.

(Why am I telling you this, you ask?)

Since I have been the restless one wanting things to decorate our house, I guess I want it on paper that this chair was not my doing.

Liz spotted it from clear across the store.

They called me on the phone and asked if they could bring it home.

What could I say?

They forced me.

The colors in the chair included every other color in our room.

It tied the whole room together and gave it a fresh “punch”.

(“Punch” is the go-to word on decorating shows!)

And compared to buying a new sofa and love seat it was a bargain!

(I need to remember this tactic next time I want something new.)

Liz talked the salesman down a bit, too, saying she wasn’t sure if I would be too happy since I had been looking for a sofa and love seat.

And yes, I love it!

So there you have it.

I thought you’d want to know about the chair.

JoAnn

P.S. Did I mention that is is snowing and I have the winter doldrums?

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Messes, mud, and a laundry room makeover

(Heidi and Michelle playing in the mud.)

Dirt goes back a long way at our house.

(Apparently, even before gardening skills were developed.)

When my children were young they all loved playing outside, and that included digging in the dirt, making water features, and combining the two for an extra special punch.

I’m not one to have suggested such mess-making adventures, but over the years I have seen my share of dirty children.

We’ve had cooking disasters,

science projects gone awry,

egg tosses,

saw dust/sheet rock air-pollution-fall-out,

spills,

cosmetic make-up experimenting,

grass stains,

mud pie bakeries,

and the list goes on!

Our grand-daughter Aubrey continues the tradition by eating her first birthday cake.)

Which brings me to my laundry room.

Yes, I’ve spent a lot of time there!

We retired our old washer and dryer right after Christmas. (It qualified for hazardous duty!) While we had the room empty, my husband put in some new floor tiles and painted the walls.

I found a cute, bright new rug at Target.

I also picked up a few “decorative accessories”. (We deserve to be happy where we spend so much time, right?)

A flu bug derailed the finished project, but I will share pictures soon.

“Life is made up of marble and mud.”

-Nathaniel Hawthorne

Don’t we all have laundry nightmares?

JoAnn

Sunday, January 13, 2013

A picture speaks a thousand words….

I’ve mentioned before how I was helping my Aunt Mardene put together a life history book. We were finally able to get it finished and printed just before Christmas.

We put in a lot of pictures.

Some fun memories.

And

A little history.

We published some of them as hard-back books through a company called Lulu. The second part of the book has colored photos and they just look so much better in color.

We also used a company in Logan called Watkins Printing to make some black and white spiral bound books. We made enough copies for Mardene to give one to each niece and nephew as a Christmas present. Mardene is the only surviving child left in her family. (She does have one sister-in-law left.) We also included a computer disk with each book if they want to make more copies for their own families.

Below is a picture of some of the older cousins.

Here is another picture of the later cousins (which includes me).

That is a lot of cousins!

Mardene has been blessed this Christmas to have had visits and phone calls from almost every one of her nieces and nephews. (She excitedly calls me on the phone to report, every time she gets a new visitor or call.) They were excited to receive her book. Many expressed joy at the memories brought back to them and were so thrilled to get photos, many that they had never seen before. (I’ve even benefited from some notes and phone calls, too!)

The old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words is really true. I’m sure each photo means something different to each person who views it, and sometimes the picture can bring back a different memory each time it is looked at.

I am so grateful that I was able to help Mardene with her history. She has done so much for me and for all of our extended family. Hopefully, this will help bind our family together.

After all,

Families can be together forever!

JoAnn

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Baby it’s cold outside! (And a few safety precaution tips)

Boy, has it been cold in Utah!

Last week at our church we had a little demonstration/lesson on being prepared for the “unexpected”, which could include severe weather, natural disasters, and other safety concerns. Our country has certainly had a fair share of disasters during this last year, and we do live in earth quake country (right along the Wasatch Fault line!), so we’re kind of targets for something.

I realized that while I have some supplies on hand, I’m pretty unprepared for anything “big”.

So…

I decided this would be a good January project for me-getting more prepared.

Since it is a huge task to undertake (and Christmas decorations are only partly put away), I decided to do it in stages.

Don’t you love how his hat makes his little ears stick out?

Project Number One: The car

I decided to start from an article from AAA.com entitled,

“Your Car….Winter is here. What’s in your trunk?”

Here is a list of items to keep in your truck besides the spare tire and jack (naturally)

1. A change of clothes

(Socks, gloves, hats, long johns, old shoes or boots, etc.)

2. kitty litter

(A handful around each tire can help with traction if your car gets stuck in snow or ice. Non-clumping kitty litter works best.)

3. Food and water

(At least a gallon of water and packages of high-calorie dried foods, such as energy bars)

4. Emergency Kit

(Include things like a flashlight, batteries, utility knife, bungee cords, a first-aid kit, and other items)

5. Blankets

(Thick wool ones are best. Even garbage bags can help trap body heat and are waterproof. I pulled out a few old sleeping bags to keep in our trunk.)

6. Collapsible shovel

(If you need to dig yourself out, it could come in handy.

They reminded us that if we get stuck in a remote area to remain in our vehicle. Search and rescue will start looking for the car first.

Another good tip our teacher shared was to always keep your car filled above the half tank line. In a real emergency, lines at gas stations could be huge, and if you needed to leave the area you would want to have gas!

It would also be helpful if you had some cash stored. They suggested small bills because large bills might be hard to cash.

I found a big plastic tub on sale at Shopko and I have been filling it with some of the items listed above. I’m not finished yet, but I do have a good start.

As I get more organized I’ll post some pictures of my project.

I love this scripture:

“…but if ye are prepared ye shall

not fear.”

D&C 38:30

JoAnn

P.S. What items do you keep in your car?

Check out this link to AAA.com:

http://exchange.aaa.com/safety/roadway-safety/winter-driving-tips/