Adding Some Culture

I recently had a fun evening.  After work I went to our local artist guild's gallery for a talk by none other than our talented son-in-law, Eric.  He currently has a showing up of some of his photographs. He has published a book to go along with it as well.  In fact, today I was told he was at a book signing. Doesn't that sound cool?  And to think, I knew him before he was such a big deal.  No, that's not true. He's always been a big deal to us.

So, I went a little early to watch the girls while Eric did the meet and greet thing. Maria was teaching an art class elsewhere but arrived soon.  The girls feel very much at home at the facility. They used up some energy in the back room first. Cordelia explained to me that she needed to do that so she could be good during her Daddy's lecture.

Maria came soon enough to enjoy Eric's lecture as well.

Like I said, the girls feel at home there.  I set them up with stickers and paper. I enjoy this photo as Cordelia was trying to cooperate for a photo but she couldn't quite take her eyes off the stickers.

 And here is Eric nearing the end of his lecture.  I felt proud to be his mother-in-law.

After the lecture we went to the other side of the building and shopped at a Turkey Trunk Show!  Ha ha! I just read what I wrote.  Anyone else picturing a turkey with a trunk?

No, this was a show of items a young artist brought back from Turkey, where she now lives.  She had some beautiful items and served interesting and delicious finger foods.

I feel oh so very cultured!

Art Show!

Maria's Art opening...  "Almost Home"

Little Girls and Easter Dresses

I had a very busy weekend, as usual... In a good way. I took a lot of cell phone photos!  I won't dump them all on you at once but you may want to prep yourself for a week of  photos.

So, let's start with Friday. I often work long hours during the week but am allowed to leave early on Friday if I am caught up. So, I started off by enjoying mall lunch with Mike, Eric, Maria, Cordelia and Elise.  

I don't suppose our funny little mall lunches look like anything special to anyone else, but I think we are making memories for our granddaughters... And ourselves. These little girls probably think all families meet at the mall almost weekly for lunch. Like most traditions maybe, it didn't start out as something we planned to do regularly. In the winter it was a place where we could eat and then let Cordelia run around, before Elise was even born. Somehow along the way, we realized we had ourselves a quirky little family tradition.

It is a weird little tradition, but it is our precious little weird together.

After lunch it was girl time!  It was our afternoon to shop for new Easter Dresses! No I don't think an Easter dress is an essential thing for Easter. I think Easter would come in all its glory no matter what we were to wear. However, our little granddaughters love dresses and I love any excuse to see them twirl and dance around in all their girly cuteness.

In the past, Elise was quick, very quick to choose her dress. She was very decisive and wouldn't be talked out her choice. Well, she now likes to take her time. She and Cordelia both pretty much wanted to see all their choices in most of the stores in the mall. They even enjoy trying them on, something I find a bit annoying for myself. It makes hair so full of static. Elise didn't care.

We shopped until I was about to drop. Admittedly, I do not have very good shopping stamina.

This is not the dress Elise finally chose, but it was my favorite.

I love Cordelia's expression here. This was the dress she chose but it was not available in the proper size.  As you can see, that news did not please her. No one can look as crestfallen as this little girl. Not to worry; she recovered quickly.

No, no spoilers here. Next week I expect to show photos of these sweet girls in their Easter best. You just have to wait! 

Sleepover Gone Awry

It has been a weird few days in these parts. I went to have a sleepover with Maria and her girls Friday night while their Daddy was out of town.

It was a beautiful evening so I took a few photos. I have been so lax lately, I feared I would be kicked out of the Grandma Club! 

At home Elise added a pretty new rock to the nature table at the end of their hall. I love that idea. They are always on the lookout for pretty things in nature.

I had a snuggly night with the girls. We watched little girl things on Netflix, enjoyed snacks and simply had a lovely time. At bedtime Cordelia wanted to go to sleep quickly so she could get up and enjoy more time together in the morning. Elise was a different story. She held my hand and chatted. And chatted. And chatted, pretty much up to the moment she dozed off. Sweet.

Maria and I enjoyed mother-daughter time the rest of the evening. It was wonderful. We just don't get enough of that anymore.

In the wee hours, though, things went awry. Elise woke up sick. I don't think she or Maria got much sleep.

In the morning Elise rallied a bit and tried to play outside with the glitter chalk but it soon became apparent she was not yet recovered.

We weren't outside long, though. The wind was bad enough we started worrying about tree limbs falling. I had read predictions of up to 60 mph winds, although I don't know if that really happened. It was really windy

I ended up staying another night. Eric want returning until today and Elise was pretty sick so I just stayed. I was glad I did as Elise needed all of her Mommy's attention as well as a little trip to the ER. (She is much better now. Maria may tell you more about that adventure in a day or so at littlethingsarebig.blogspot.com so check it out then. It isn't my story to tell.

Cordelia went to church with me this morning, even sat up front with the Worship Team. She was so sweet and cute and absolutely angelic. By our last song though, she was really scratching her tummy. As soon as we were done I took a peek at her tummy. Hives!

Yep. She was having a reaction to the antibiotic she was on for an ear infection. Good grief! Instead of going to Sunday School, she and I made a hurried trip to Walgreens for Children's Benadryl.  I dreaded telling Maria, with all she'd already dealt with.  Thankfully, Cordelia asked me to let her tell her Mommy about this herself. 

About noon today I left and came home. Their Daddy was on his way and things were looking up. The girls weren't yet well but all was under control. Still, it felt weird to leave. That is one of the crazy things about being a Grandma. I still feel very much like a mother and as a mother, would not leave my children when sick. But these are my grandchildren and they have a mother who is nearly super human in her ability to stay strong for them. It was time for this sleepover too end.

Get well soon, sweet girls.

Almost Home

As promised, I have photos of the next piece of art I purchased.  It will be included in a show Maria is in this coming Spring, entitled Almost Home.  I wanted to be certain to lay claim to it now. 

I want to be sure you know that both Maria and Sara offered me their paintings as gifts. They are sweet to me! I just wanted to be a grown up and purchase art that I wanted so I insisted. 

Maria's painting is also a Wyoming scene. I love the colors.

I took a close-up so you could get a feel for the deep textures and details. 

If you are interested in Maria's gallery go to her website where she has lots to see.

Now, don't you feel all cultured up this week after having seen some new art?

Girl Time

I love it when I get off early in a Friday. We meet our men for lunch and then it is GIRL TIME!

Nativity and the Farm

I am kind of proud of this photo. I started out taking photos of the Nativity Set that Mike grew up with when he lived on the farm. It has a cardboard stable but we can't quite make it stand up anymore so we have the characters set up like this. 

As I was photographing it, I realized that hanging above it is the painting our daughter did of the farm. Mike grew up there and we lived there for about four years early in our marriage. It was also Maria's first home and I love that she painted it.

Anyway, I hope you all had a lovely Christmas Day. I will post photos of our's in a day or so.

Mother and Daughter

There is something so beautiful to me in these photos. It was just a few simple moments between mother and daughter, a few silly laughs. It speaks volumes, though, doesn't it? Our first relationship is with our mothers.  These photos captured all that can be good and beautiful about that sweet bond. I enjoyed the moment.

Jazzing Things Up

After hearing the Kid Symphony (see previous post) Cordelia was still interested in musical instruments. I got out my saxophone and let her give it a try. I really didn't expect her to be able to make much noise with it but she turned out to be a natural!

I really like saxophones and so was happy to see her enjoying it. Terry B., do you recognize that saxophone?

I've done all I could to save her parents from needing to buy the big harp that Cordy's so admired. I even told her she could have my saxophone if she still wants to play when she is a bit older. She seemed pretty happy with that plan!

I never became much of a musician myself. I started with the violin in 6th grade but when we moved to a small town in Minnesota, there was no orchestra and no violin teacher. I took 2 years of piano lessons after that. My teacher was a high school girl and I really enjoyed piano with her. When she graduated and went to college, I did not restart lessons with anyone else. I have only a few regrets in life and that is one of them.  

When my family moved to Turner, MT I decided I wanted to join band. The instruments were owned by the school and my first year I played the bass drum as that was what was available. It was a good place to start, especially as I had zero band experience.

My junior and senior year I got to play the baritone saxophone. I really liked that, but I didn't usually get to play very interesting musical parts.

Years later I purchased an alto saxophone from a dear friend. I was so excited to get to play it! By then, though, I was having some problems with my jaw, TMJ problems, and playing the saxophone became very painful. Now you know how I came to have a saxophone available. Maria played it awhile in her younger years but did not keep up with it either. She does look good with it, doesn't she?

Do you play an instrument? More than one? 

The View From My Sickbed

When I was hospital-hopping with my Mom last week we both noticed there were a lot of sick people around us. It was almost like sick people were drawn to places like that. Anyway, I prayed that I wouldn't get ill. I washed my hands and used the alcohol gels so much my knuckles started to bleed. That wasn't so bad as it gave me an excuse to run to Bath and Body Works for yummy lotions. I knew that in order to be helpful to Mom I needed to stay healthy, and I did. For that, I was very grateful. 

Today is a different story. Tuesday night I felt like I was developing a sinus infection but by last night I was sick all over. I had to take today off so I don't share this with coworkers and patients. I have taken up residence in our guest room, trying not to share this with Mike. People need him, you know. 

So, what to blog about when you are sick in bed? I looked around me this morning and was enjoying the art in this room. I may have shared some of these with you before but if so, they are worth the repeat.

My mom painted this first one when I was a teenager. I loved how she used a palette knife, giving it a lot of texture. I don't think she actually ever gave me this painting but I pretty much just claimed it. It was probably the first piece in my now extensive family art collection. Possession is 90 percent of the law, right?

This piece is a photograph taken by our son-in-law. I purchased it way back when he was not yet our son-in-law because I loved it.  I still do.

This is another of my Mom's paintings. I expect I borrowEd it and just didn't give it back. She painted it from a photograph of my Grandma Rose. Grandma always, always kept her hair pretty but she really outdid herself when she was wearing it like that. Mom did such a nice job as this looks just like Grandma, right down to that dimple on her cheek. Below the painting is a plate I found in a thrift store in Denver. I just felt happy when I saw it so now it is mine.

The last wall in my sick room is this watercolor by our daughter, Maria. I think she produced this when she was in high school. I was drawn to it! I make up stories about this lady. She is a young singer, still kind of nervous, who is wondering if the audience can tell she is in early pregnancy.  By the way, she has a tremendous voice, sweet but powerful.

So, there you have it, the view from my sick bed.  Now, I need to rest.