BEFORE AND AFTER - ALL GROWN UP

Oh, my goodness. A lot of time has passed again since my last post. Easter has come and gone, and now we are almost one week into April. The last two weeks of this month I will be busy with four appointments at doctors and clinics, two of them in Sioux Falls.

I finally decided on an orthopedic surgeon and made the appointment for a consultation about knee replacement. I hate to think of more surgery but the last couple of weeks have been torture trying to get around so it must be done sooner than later.

 Before

This little fat cheeks is my granddaughter.

After

She just celebrated her 23rd birthday March 28.

They grow up way too fast!

A GEM WITH NO STONE

 

My hometown is having its 125th celebration this summer and a Facebook group page was set up. People are posting old picture and telling stories of what they remember growing up there. Someone started a discussion on class rings and I remembered that I have my mother's class ring from 1927!

So I got busy and took a few pictures of this pretty ring. In the top picture I realized I had set the ring down upside down for the picture. The design on the top of the ring are supposed to be the initials of the school - OHS.

These two pictures show the year - the 2 on one side and the 7 on the opposite side.

                   The next picture shows off the filigree a little better. It is really quite a delicate ring compared to later years.                               

                                  

My mom had really small fingers compared to mine! I will admit that mine are bigger now than when I was in high school. As shown in the picture below, I could barely get it over the knuckle of my pinkie finger. And only that hand as it would not go over the knuckle on my left hand at all.

I apologize for the blurry pictures. I had an awful time holding the camera with one hand and be able to push the button to get the picture and keep the camera perfectly still at the same time. (That can't be age!)

MORE OLD THINGS

Some time ago I decluttered my jewelry drawer. I had forgotten about this small metal box and decided it should not be hiding in a drawer. It is actually darker than the pictures as I lightened them in order to see some of the design.

The above is just the lid. The lid was originally attached with a hinge to the bottom, but that broke apart at some time. I don't remember it ever being attached, so it must have happened before I came along. At least I am NOT taking the blame for this one!

Inside are a few pieces of old jewelry Mom had. I wish I knew more about the box and the jewelry. The could have been her mother's or maybe even a grandmother. I am also thinking the red brooch might have been her grandmother's, as well as the silver one. The red pin is covered with small garnets. The E pin is Mom's initial. I remember Mom getting the heart pin. This one of those 3D pins that were popular many years ago. I think Mom bought it at a home jewelry party.

My mom never knew either of her grandmothers. The only one she considered a grandmother is the second wife of her grandfather on her dad's side. Her other grandmother died when her mom was 2 years old, her dad remarried and then he died when she was 7. She was raised by the step mother and her second husband. Maybe  my grandmother was given her mother's box by her dad before he died? I guess we will never know. There are many mysteries. Some get answers if you dig long enough, but I don't think this one will.

There was another item in the box, but you will have to wait until the next post to find out what it is.

CHURCH AUCTION OFFERINGS

Our church auction was delayed 2 weeks because of a snow storm, so it might seem a little late for this posting this year. I could not find a special afghan pattern that I wanted to make so just picked this one as it is fairly simple, not so large, and quick to make since I got a late start. This pattern is called "Northern Lights". I think the colors and shading is very pretty. I didn't think it would bring in the big money like my afghans in past years, and it didn't. I was a little concerned that it would not sell for the price of the materials, but it did go a little higher. If it had not, I feel like I should just donate the cash instead of putting in all my work and time. I will work harder at finding a special one for next year.

Next is the piece I thought might be the pièce de résistance this year and I was right. This crocheted christening gown is the piece chosen to ask for $20 donations, and then people bid on it to buy. I understand that it made around $400, so this was well worth my time and effort.

My other donations were a trio of crocheted tote baskets in three sizes. I took the pictures on a chair to show the different sizes.

                                                        

The large one is the first one I made. It was a learning curve. Either I wasn't following the directions correctly, or else I just didn't like the way the directions turned out. So did things a little differently on the last two. I don't know if others can tell the difference but I am happier.  (The two pictures above are of the same basket.)

Each size has the colors arranged differently. The set of three came in one kit, so in order to have enough yarn of each color, it had to be done this way. But I did run out of the tan color so had to change things up a bit. It doesn't really matter, does it. At least I had enough of the other colors to finish them all. I did not hear what these sold for. The plan was to offer them individually rather than as a set. I think I need to make some of these for myself as I found them handy!

Now, to put my thinking cap on and pour over hundreds of patterns to decide what to make for next year.

WHO IS SADIE HAWKINS?

I didn't realize we had a Sadie Hawkins Day this year until the middle of February. A big deal was always made of this day in school when I was a kid. Do young people even know what that is? That is what we called February 29 since it only comes around every four years. In the three years in between February only has 28 days. No matter what year it is, February is always the shortest month of the year, and most of us living in cold and snowy winter country always look forward to the last day of February. That means temperatures are warming up and often feels like the beginning of spring.

Back to Sadie Hawkins. That is a "holiday" when the tables are turned and women and girls get to ask the guys out, and even propose marriage, especially if the guy is dragging his feet. In today's society and women's lib, women are more apt to do the asking anyway. Some places would have Sadie Hawkins dances and only the girls could ask a boy for a date. Girls looked forward to that day unless they were shy like me. The shy girls feared asking a boy so often stayed home.

I couldn't remember why this day was called that so I had to google it. And I found several sites that talked about Sadie Hawkins Day is November 13, 2016, or some say it is November 1, 2016. WHAT?

It all started with Al Capp and his comic strip Li'l Abner, and talk of Sadie Hawkins Day was first published in November 1937. The comic strip ended in 1978 so there must be a whole generation  who have never even heard of Li'l Abner. Li'l Abner lived in Dogpatch, USA, a hillbilly community.  Sadie Hawkins was 'the homeliest gal in the hills' and nobody wanted to date her, so the only way she could get a date was to have one day a year when gals got to do the asking.

So was Sadie Hawkins day only talked about in November in the comic strip? I only remember it was on February 29. Is that what you remember, too? Or do you remember it being in November? Well, I will continue to call February 29 Sadie Hawkins Day anyway.

Do you know why we have an extra day every four years, also known as Leap Year? Leap years have 366 days, not 365. We use leap years to sync our calendar with the Earth's orbit around the sun because the actual orbit is 365.24 days each year. So we need the extra day every four years so that our calendar keep up.

Okay, I have finished teaching for today. I even learned something!

WEDDING BELLS

Now backing up to end of August and my granddaughter's wedding. It all went well, was very pretty and fun.

I went down to Omaha the day before so I could get situated in a hotel room with my oldest daughter. Then we went to the rehearsal and supper. I am so thankful my other daughter (mother of the bride) was able to get a wheelchair for me. My oldest daughter had the 'privilege' of being my driver, both to and from venues as well as pushing the wheelchair wherever I needed to be.  That wheelchair was a lifesaver for me because I would not have made it with all the walking and standing around. The morning after the wedding we went to the bridal couple's new home to watch them opening their gifts with some of the rest of the family and their close friends.

I so enjoyed getting to know my new 'grandson-in-law' (?) much better over the weekend. Even though they had dated for many years, and I saw him a few times, he was pretty quiet and I really didn't know his true personality. My granddaughter found a great guy!

Here are a few pictures of the big event.

 Can you read the sign next to the cake? 

"The best things in life are meant to be shared, especially cake."

 

What is a wedding without cake face smashing?!

They were nice about it, not like some that you see on Facebook where they can get a bit nasty.

The first dance

Grandma (moi) and bride

I guess I forgot to take a picture of the cross stitch I did as part of their gift. This one is the same design I did for someone else. Granddaughter teared up when she opened the box.

I NEED SPRING!

While it is true that we have not had as much snow as the eastern part of the country did last year, we have had a lot more in my area this year than in many years past. We have had at least 2 big snowstorms receiving a foot or more of snow each. They have also been called blizzards because we had some very strong winds a couple of times. They were strong enough to blow some semi trucks off the road.

One of the prettiest snowfall we received was on November 20. We did not have wind with this storm which is very rare here on the prairie. I cannot remember ever seeing the views like in the pictures below, below, taken from my kitchen window and back door, at least since I moved to this house 10 years ago.

 I thought the higher bumps on the high fence rail are interesting, and wonder why it formed that way. The rail is flat. The snow on the lower rail gives a better picture of how much snow we got, as well as the high, round top of the tub behind the table.

 I love the 'loaf of bread' in the wire planter. This was a 'wet' snow as you can see how it sticks to the pickup. See the piles of snow on top of the bumper?

 I took this photo because of the amazing snow sculpture that extends from the edge of the garage roof.

 You can really see the big snowflakes falling here, as well as the lower visibility in town. It would be much worse in the open country. The main reason I took this picture was trying to get the snow piled up on the neighbor's picnic table and benches, but it is a little hard to see distinct lines.

Since it was still snowing when I took these pictures, we did get about 2" more snow by the time the storm was over.

The most recent storm we had did not leave much snow but the wind was 30-50 mph all night long and just blew what snow we did get into drifts. The highway that runs through town was blocked between here and the next town to the east. Snow plows were pulled off the roads around 10 pm so no travel advised.

We are told we can thank El Nino for all this snow, plus all the dense foggy nights and mornings. One day last week it was so dense that I could not see the end of my block so visibility was less than a quarter mile to zero, and that was in daylight. I am so thankful I did not have to go anywhere, and feel sorry for those that did.

Spring, come soon!