What to do with a Blog

I've been dinking around with the blog.  Went to Cute & Cool Freebies and other stuff...Here's a link to check her out: http://blo64rt.blogspot.com/. I never have figured out how to make a link that will come up blue and allow anyone to click and go there. I'm happy with copy & paste. Goodness, I'm 75 and still trying to catch up with the techno stuff going on! Needless to say, I only figured out how to change the color. I wanted some fancy dancy background to show how smart I am but that didn't work!

So I'm going to just post some pages I made today and leave it that!! If any one has a 1, 2, 3, way of doing this thing...please send it to me as a comment.

Here's some new pictures:

A good friend and her husband are visiting the National parks one at a time. Moe has a passport of the National Parks and she's trying to get a stamp from each one. Collecting the quarters wasn't adventuresome enough. Now they are getting the passport stamped. 

My little darling Olivia in 2006 giving me a serious look!

Olivia and I went for a photo shoot to the park just down our street. So here she is on the contraption with her little puppy!

This is Olivia enjoying the Nerd Festival named RADCON. Lucky those people are wearing masks. I would be really dumbfounded if I was a working stiff and saw my boss dressed up like this!

Olivia made her way through the contraption across the 'monkey bars' or whatever and had a real good time.

There are some really really big 70 foot trees in this park. This one has 5 trunks fused together which makes it have a neat spot at the bottom to sit in.

The same picture but I let her pick out the QP from Miriam's Scrap and just put some verbage at the top and Olivia's name & date at the bottom.

My cousin Wilma who lives back East changed her profile picture a few days ago and I liked the new picture so when it showed up on my news feed on FB I snagged it and turned it into this with another QP from one of Mariam's mini kits.

I didn't realize that I'd done so many since my last posting. But you'll enjoy them any way.  Time to get busy and play with my essential oils. I made a pet spot remover and I'm anxious to see how well it's going to work.

It's almost the "Ides of March"

I had to stop and change out the key board...didn't work so I sort of took this one apart and pulled out 1/2 ton of cat hair from the keys along with severl pounds of sand. I live in a desert area of Washington. On the coast is the green that gave it the state motto or whatever that is. Here on the Eastern slope of the Cascade Mountains it is desert once you leave the Yakima Valley. Gotta love the Yakima Valley cause that's where most of the 'hops' come from. So even with a triple pane window in the window here in the office, I seem to accumulate a ton of dust or fine sand, and I have a cat who sits in the window or on the desk in front of my keyboard.  You can imagine the amount of cat hair that flies around all the time. Anyway, the new keybord wouldn't power up so I was forced to clean up the other one and reuse it. All fixed now.

I finished reading the blogs that I follow this morning and then Miriam had the elements for her latest mini kit so I just downloaded them to go with the other downloads over the past couple of weeks. It's a beautiful kit and I've made a few QPs tht sdhe had already done and now I'm making gorgeous pages with all the other parts.
Like this one:

My Grand daughter ReAnna (aka Missy) when she lived in Alabama. Such a sweetie!

And here's a few others:

A QP by Linda kz shows off Amy and her Grandmother Geri!

My neice looks great in Miriam's kit Denim and Lace.

My lovely daughter Denise in 1982 in Miriam's QP from her mini kit 19.

A good friend Moe  looking good in Kyra's kit A Poet in the Afternoon!

Just showing off darling Olivia with a kit named 'Paw for a Cause' by Tooty Pup designs.

Last but not least is my youngest daughter Charlie (aka Danita) and her friend Wendy with another kit from Tooty Pup designs called "It's a Girl Thing".

That about does it for today. I've got more things to get done in this office and I've got a sore throat so I'm just hoping I'm not catching the nasty stuff Charlie and everyone else has had. Charlie is still coughing but I'm just sneezing a lot.

Until another day! Hugs from Sarge!

Where did the month of February go!

I woke up this morning and the month of February is gone! I know I didn't sleep through it so I guess I've been distracted and not posting. I apologize but then I know that I'm not an exciting person so it's probably boring to read it anyway.

My darling 10 year old Olivia has Pneumonia. Her Mom took her to the ER when the normal fixes didn't work. I haven't heard yet if she's home or not. And I don't want to call and wake them up. I know her Mom has trouble sleeping and she works nights so she sleeps daytime. But the maintenance men don't really care if anyone is sleeping and last week they had the leaf blowers out in her apartment complex. I'm really surprised she didn't go outside in her jammies and give them what for! She's getting better with age. They have a job to do and she can't complain since she didn't have to do her own yard (as little as it is). I do worry a lot about Olivia. She's survived H1N1, several bouts of Pneumonia so she's getting pretty strong but the toll on her little lungs will catch up some day.
Here's a picture of the darling!

This was the weekend of RADCON. A gathering of Nerds and she loved it.

I've put 5 of her pictures together so you can see what a great time she had.

I like doing Then and Now pictures and this is my Olivia. She's my oldest great granddaughter at 10 1/2, and then there's Kaddie at 7.

I've been trying to do up the older wedding pictures of mine for the kids. Not that they really care but it's something to preserve the Time.

I've told my friends that this is the skinny person I've been hiding from them! This was 1962 in Long Beach Naval Chapel in California.

Neither one of us had parents in attendance. Just the people from our work and some of TC's friends from a base up the highway in Point Magoo Naval Air Station. I had some of my fellow waves from the Navy base who came.

 And that's about it for today. I'm heading to a birthday party this afternoon so if I get dressed now, I'll be ready by 12:30 in time to leave.

Winter is Brutal

One of my blogger friends says she has "Seasonal Affective Disorder" and I can surely understand why. She's in Michigan, and my brother is in Minnesota so they are right in the path of every Arctic Blast that comes down into the USA. What is it they say to order a drink of whiskey?? Give me 2 fingers Sam. Well that's all the snow we had this winter and this week it's supposed to be 57 to 59 and sunny until next Sunday. Of course this is all subject to change if the Jet Stream changes directions but so far it's looking good.

I found an item on Pinterest for growing potatoes in a garbage bag if you don't have a lot of spaces for a garden. Thought I might give them a try!! It may be the only way I can manage to garden with my long hose of oxygen. I call it my short leash. I can get to the back porch but that's as far as I go unless I'm brave and take off the hose. I can usually last about an hour if I'm not walking or exerting myself.

I've been fixing up some old pictures I found and I turned some of them into Sepia's because they look so nice in a couple of kits I picked up from Studio Manu Scrapgraphics. When she has a bundle sale it's great. Anyway, some are from my wedding back in 1962 and I'm not married to him since 1976. I am pretty pleased with the "skinny me" that's in the pictures so I made them to pass on to the grandchildren. My list of favorite designers is starting to grow.

We have turned the every Thursday night potluck into a once a month potluck and those having a birthday during the month get to choose the menu.  In March it's "breakfast for dinner" and we always have a big group shot to show how we are all aging or the babies are growing up!

Here's the pages from Feb. Not all today but some.

This was Kaddie's 100th day of school so she dressed up.

Feb. pot luck was Chinese and this is Charlie & Kelin as they cook the bag of pot stickers I found at the Cash n Carry.  Yummy

Charlies two dogs. Chazz & Chazz Junior.

My daughters, Dani, Denise & Charlie when I got them Kimonos in Japan. It was a very interesting 3 years living in Japan. First year in a typical Japanese house with Tatami floors, & Shoji doors to separate the rooms. I left Mamasan with 6 large rolls of Shoji paper to repair the walls my littlest one had destroyed.

My Wedding in 1962 and for the life of me I can't remember the name of my shipmate who gave me away. We were all in the Navy then and the Navy Padre did the ceremony. 

Skinny me and the new husband.

A group shot of the Thursday nite potluck.

Another wedding picture.

My father, Harry Shirley in the group that went in for WWII from Warren, PA. Dad's DD214 reads time in Germany in 1945. He was a 'cannoneer' in a tank so he got to ride across Germany and his platoon was part of the Brigade that liberated Dok Chou (sp) Prison camp.  Something he never talked about and I never knew about till I sent for his records a few years ago.

That's about it for today.

Nasty Groundhog

Yesterday was groundhog day and by all reports on the East Coast it's going to be 6 more weeks of winter. I'm not sure if there are any climate predicting groundhogs on the West Coast but I'm hoping for an early spring and a late arriving summer. Then follow by a lengthy Fall and short Winter. I think that would be ideal. Too bad I'm not in charge of the weather.

Went in for a CT scan. Not the best of answers. Emphysema with some Bronchiolectasis (whatever that is). Interstitial Lung disease of uncertain etiology (I had to look that one up). It means they don't know what the cause of the honeycombing in the lungs. Guess I'll wait for the Pulomonolgist that I see on Thursday this week. Maybe she will have a better explanation of the pictures. I have a cd with all the pictures on it. All I can see are white spots hear and there in the lungs. Oh well, as long as I can still breathe it can't be too bad. At least I'm over the Bronchitis that started early in January and went all month long. But I did hear myself wheezing last evening so I got out the inhalers.

Thursday night is the monthly Pot Luck-birthday celebration and the Birthday Girl asked for Chinese so I went down to my favorite Cash n carry and got a large bag of pot stickers and the makings for the dipping sauce. Got a really good sized bottle of Hoisin sauce and medium quart of soy sauce. I'll probably make the sauce today and let the flavors blend together better.

Hear's some scrapbook pages that I made for the "Tiny Human" that comes to stay with me for 5 nights a week. My grand daughter works the graveyard shift at one of our hotels. It's the shift that pays more and being a single Mom she needs all the hours @ better pay that she can get. She got her daughter (our Tiny Human) an adorable hairy Chihuahua puppy. This little girl is adorable with her eyebrows that stick up and the beard that is starting. Charlie says she's homely so I'll let you decide. Personally I adore her but I love all puppies.

These are the permanent residents in our house. Chazz and Chazz Junior.

This little lady is named "Serenity" from some movie that the kids have seen. Doesn't make any sense to me but I don't go to movies much anymore.

It was Ann's birthday and the annual January Luau. Pictured is Ann with her grand daughter Amyah.

My youngest brother George with his dog "Bing". Lives in St Bonifacius, Minnesota. Lots of snow.

A picture of me on our Patio when we lived on Midway Island. The Northernmost island in the Hawaiian chain.

My oldest brother Harry (Bud), may he rest in peace.

My two oldest grandchildren. David & Bridgit (now 30 & 31).

Newly discovered picture of my father Harry Shirley during World War II. He was stationed in Germany in time for the liberation of Dok Chau prison camp. Dad got to ride across Germany in a tank as the cannoneer (got to shoot the big guns). Thank you for your service Dad. You'd be proud of Bud & me. We went Navy! 

Pretty long post. Now I'm going to check out my newest acquisition from my favorite designers. One is Happy Moments in Box by Kyra of Russian Dutch Heart Designs. and another one is Dog Lover by Raspberry Roads Designs. And I also have been picking up a new kit from Miriams Scraps and some thing from Arlene at Baby Bear Designs. These 4 lovely ladies have filled up my files so now I can create Pages. See you all later.

It's been awhile

It's been awhile since I've posted anything. And it's been awhile since I've managed to be creative.  Seems the Bronchitis took away my creativity too as well as my stamina. For 3 days I only got out of bed for bathroom trips. Finally on day 4 we got me to the doctor and she gave me a "super shot" in the posterior which she said would hurt but didn't. Then it was 2 weeks of antibiotics  which I just finished last night.

I'm still waiting on the new software. I found that in my stupor of Bronchitis I had forgotten to even order it. When the fog finally cleared from my brain, I ordered it and it's been 6 days so any day now it'll get here.  Then I can maybe get back to normal. Of course with my daughter's new job I have to make room in this office for another desk. She can't keep spreading everything out on the dining room table. So I have to get busy and pack up some of my junk that is actually archiveable but I'm just too foggy brained to get it all put away.

Have received another denial from the claims people so the advocate is filling another appeal. I think I'm going to have to get another CT scan to satisfy them that there is actually 3 spots of asbestos on the lungs. We shall see what she thinks.

I did manage to get a couple of pages made using the old software but it doesn't play nice with window 8 so it's too frustrating to keep using it. Takes almost an hour to get it to quit flashing and make one move I've told it to do.

Trying to preserve the old memories. That's me in 1943 and the top picture is circa 1951.

This one is 1950 on the front steps of the Orphanage where I lived.

Mrs Beasley is definately a diva in her mind.

a picture I made for a young friend of her two dogs who enjoy a nap together.

Signing off to make something to eat.

Happy New Year 2015

I watched the new year arrive 3 times before it got to me. I guess that makes it official for me...it's 2015.  I did miss the station (if any did) that had a 'big band' doing the Guy Lombardo version of Auld Lang Syne.   Times Square in NY was really loud. I couldn't find another station in the Central time zone doing anything special so they showed NY over again. My Gr-grand daughter and I had popcorn and she had punch while I had diet root beer.

Grand daughter Bridgit had to deal with the people at the hotel where she works. She's 'security' and 'night audit'. She confiscated an industrial size "blow torch" and let the man know that she was aware of all the fireworks he had stashed in a suitcase hidden in the corner. She did not return the blow torch since that would mean calling the police and reporting the incident. It is illegal to take a blow torch into a hotel room so if he didn't want to go to jail he left in the morning without his torch. Let him explain that one to his boss. And she herded more than a few drunks to their rooms. It was a pretty rough night for her.

Here's the few scrapbook pages I've managed to get finished in 5 days.

Daughter 'Charlie' with her friend for the New Years Party. He's in the band that was playing at the establishment they went to for a New Year's bash.

We managed to have 2 inches of snow on the 4th of January so Olivia and Chazz went out to play in it. This is the 5th and there isn't a smidgen of snow left on the ground. I did cut her and the pooch out of the picture I took of them in the snow by the tree in our back yard.

Party goers on New Years Eve. This is Greg, Charlie & Connie. They had a good time and saw the new year arrive in style!!

I'm feeling a bit haggard due to an air inversion in our area along with a stagnation alert. I'm off to my room for another breathing treatment.  See y'all later in the week.