Birthday Surprise, Totally!

To start this surprise off, let me start at a future point.  Corey, my son-in-law, is able through technology to get on my computer from his computer to help me fix any problems I may be having, etc.  A few weeks ago, he got onto my computer to load a virus protection program that I purchased through the Internet.  While he was on, I came in the room to look at my computer and saw that he and my daughter were going through my pictures.  I thought, weird, why would they be going through my photos.  When I called and questioned them, they said they just wanted to see my pictures.  OK, that was that and I never thought any more about it.  Now, here are where the pictures come in.  For my birthday, a few days ago, I received a calendar in the mail from Amber (daughter), Brittney (daughter), and Corey.  What a surprise when I opened the calendar to see that the cover of the calendar and all the months of the calendar had my pictures on them.  What a thoughtful gift.  My children know how much photography means to me and this is a treasured gift, for sure!  Displayed are a few pages of "MY" calendar so you can get a glimpse of what they did.  Love It!

Young Women Valentine Gifts

I just finished making some Valentine gifts for the Young Women in our ward.  We have but a few young ladies in our Young Women program but each and everyone of them are such a shining example to the Lord, our Savior.  I feel so priviledged to be working with such a fine group of young women.  They truely do strengthen me and help in building my testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I love creating handouts and other things on my computer and working with these young ladies gives me the opportunity to be creative.  And yes, I am a computer addict when it comes to working with my photography and graphics.  You can't really tell from the pictures but the heart necklaces I used have two sides.  One side is textured while the other side is smooth.  I just love them and I hope the young women will like them too. 

Smelter Bridge

I took the following pictures off of the Mine Hill Bridge (Smelter Bridge....I didn't know the actual name of the bridge was Smelter until reading another blog tonight where it was named).  It was later in the afternoon and it was cloudy so the pictures are not very bright but it shows you the amount of snow that we've received in the past few days, which isn't very much, but at least it's something.  You can see a little reflection in the water from the sun getting a little peek through one spot in the clouds.  I wanted to drive up the mine hill to get some pictures of the valley with snow but the road was really slick and my car was playing chicken so I didn't make the venture.

Eating Outdoors

Eating outdoors in the winter at our home is a 3-way process.  First, we get the cute little Cedar Waxwings that come in and eat off of our flowering crab tree.  They make a different little sound and are fun to watch.

Then, pushing their way in...along come the magpies, gorging themselves.  I think this one magpie had 3 apples in his mouth at the same time.

When the birds move out, the deer move in, eating all the apple pieces the birds leave behind.  I think there is some kind of pecking order going on here and I'm not talking birds and chickens.  Just watch these deer as another deer seems to get in their territory.

In Icy Style

I went back to the reservoir on Saturday and it looked like a city on ice.  There were ice houses strung from one end of the reservoir to the other.

In all actuality, the ice formations still intrigued me much more than the people sitting on ice fishing through a hole.  Maybe one of these years I will have to give it a try to see what it is all about.  The ice was gorgeous.  I went up mid-afternoon and the sun was shining at the right angle on the ice making it glow with beauty.

 

I thought this one was quite interesting.  It looked like an ocean wave coming to the beach, in icy style.  Makes you wonder if there was a strong wind that was blowing the water and it was cold enough to freeze it in action.  Whatever it was, it's fascinating to look at. 

 

One Down, One To Go

Remember a few blogs back when I talked about the cocoon hanging from my ceiling near my back door?

Today I was headed out the door to go to the reservoir to see if I could get some more ice pictures when I noticed a butterfly fluttering between the window and my curtain that hangs on my back door.  I got my stool to stand on so I could get a close-up look of the cocoon and sure enough, it was empty.  I searched it out on the Internet and as far as I can tell, our little house guest was a White Cabbage Butterfly.  I took a few photos then turned him loose outside.  I say him because the Internet stated that the males have one spot on each wing while the females have two.  One mystery down, one to go.  Odis is taking his old sweet time coming out of his cocoon.

Finding Joy in Our Divine Potential

I made this handout for the Young Women that I teach on Sundays.  This Sunday, my lesson is on "Finding Joy in Our Divine Potential".

In the lesson, it does not state that the Gospel is the key...................  It states that the gospel guides and blesses our lives by helping us understand our divine roles and potential as women.  I changed the wording a bit because it is how I feel.  The Gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is my "Key" and a big part of who I am today.  With that in mind, I bought some key necklaces and added them to my handouts.

Ice Fishing and Cool Ice Formations

I drove up to the reservoir to look at all the fisherman's houses.  I haven't quite figured that one out, yet.  Why anyone would want to go and sit on the ice and fish from a little hole, is beyond me.  I do, however, Love fish.  A friend brought us some fish last week, as a matter of fact.  I dipped it in beaten eggs, then potato buds, and fried it, using lime juice and sea salt.  Sure was delish!

Around the edge of the reservoir by the loading dock, you can see a lot of ice in cool formations.  I don't know if the edges started melting and other ice pushed it up, or what, but it was pretty interesting looking.

I drove to the other side of the reservoir along the dam to get another view.  Where we haven't gotten much snow, you could see bare spots all over that looked like part ice and part water.

But, upon taking a closer look, you can see that it is all ice,  You can also see tracks all over the ice where people have driven, what I assume, is their 4-wheelers.  I was going to get out of the car and go on the ice to get some different pictures but it was super windy and COLD.  When I got up this morning and checked the thermometer, it was only 2 degrees.  I don't know what the temperature was later this afternoon when I was at the reservoir but it wasn't warm enough for me.  I'm a total wanny when it comes to the cold.  Who knows, maybe......and maybe being the key word, if it's not too cold tomorrow, I can try for some more pictures.

House of Refuge

I think I'm starting a butterfly/moth house of refuge.  Remember "Odis"?  Well, we have another little visitor in our home that decided to make his little cocoon and hang around for awhile.  My husband and I noticed this cocoon about a month ago hanging from the ceiling by our back door.  I'd forgotten about it until yesterday when I looked up at the ceiling and once again noticed our little friend.  I don't have a clue what lies inside but I'm sure it pretty small.  The cocoon is only 3/4" long.  Hopefully, I'll be around when Odis and what's his name decide to emerge from their secure little hiding place.  With my luck, they will emerge when all the other moths seem to make it in the house during warm, summer nights and I won't know who is who.  Although, Odis, I will recognize because I do know that he is a leafy spurge hawkmoth.

No Ordinary Cheesecake

Last night we had company for dinner and in that process, I made a large packet of raspberry jello to which I added a frozen package of mixed fruit.  For dessert, I made a cheesecake but I didn't put anything on top of it.  When we were ready to eat the cheesecake, I opened up the usual can of cherry pie filling for those who would like it as their topping.  This is where the good part comes in...........I am not a big fan of cherry pie filling on my cheesecake and I was going to opt to just having my cheesecake plain.  When we were dishing up our cheesecakes, the gentleman, who we had invited for dinner, plopped a big spoon of jello on top of his.  What insight...................here we come Jello!  I gave it a try and was not disappointed.  This is definitely a new taste bud enhancement!  This morning, after eating two, small multi-grain rolls (left-over from dinner last night), I decided to have me some more of that cheesecake jello combination (it's was that good).  I did, however, add one more little thing.............I topped it with a few spurts of whipped cream from the can.  Heaven!  Did I mention Heaven?  The below picture is not one I took, but I borrowed it from the Internet, as it did not have a copyright on it and it looks just like the ones I usually make.  But here is my point.  Think about this ordinary cheesecake the next time you make one for yourself or company and picture in your mind the souped-up cheesecake with fruit jello and whipped topping.  Give it a try.....I know you'll LoVe It!  You can tell your hips and thighs sorry, later.

Genealogy Christmas Card

My niece, from my husbands side of the family, made the most wonderful Christmas cards this year.  I've never seen anything quite like it.  I was totally amazed when I first opened the envelope and pulled out this card.  The front cover alone has 4 different layer of paper/card stock, then it is embellished with jewels, ribbon, and jute.

As you open the card, there is a message from my husbands brother and his wife.  On the opposite side, a snowflake and a pull tab.  When you pull the tab, there is a Christmas message stating...The greatest blessing of all is knowing these family ties are eternal if we do our part.  How grateful we are for the gospel of Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate this time of year, etc.   Throughout the card, I have blurred out messages and faces, not knowing if the family would appreciate  their images plastered on the Internet, but still, I think you will notice the time, effort and talent that went into making this card.

Upon turning the pages, you see a family photo on each side, along with a pull tab for each family.

When you pull up on each tab, there is a message about each family, where they live, what they do, how many children are in the family, etc.  Kind of like a genealogy Christmas card. 

 

There are a total of six pages with family pictures and information about each.  What a treasured card this is and will continue to be not only for Christmas, but throughout the year.  You can be guaranteed this card will always be in easy access, and not stored with other Christmas cards.  After all, this cards has a lot of history, and memories!