I Am Still Here!

I know it may seem like I dropped off the face of the earth, but nope.  Still here, thank God.  I have been missing due an accident.  I fell most of the way down a flight of stairs.  Yeah, pretty lame, I know!  Broke my left collar bone and ring finger on my right hand.  The shoulder is pretty good now.  My right hand is still in a cast, but I hope it will be off soon.

My stamping business has been on hold for a few weeks, but I am working on getting that back on track.  I even have a workshop scheduled for next month.  It will be really nice to stamp without this cast.

All of my children and grandchildren were home the weekend of the 9th.  We had so much fun!  We visited a local farm stand for pumpkins, Culver's for lunch (if you have never had a Culver's Butter Burger you are missing a wonderful burger), and then to the apple orchard by Baraboo. I will include a few photos here.

 Forgive me for not writing a whole lot tonight, but it gets tiring.

TTFN,
Ginny

High School Reunion

I recently attended my 40 year high school reunion. I went to Alameda High School in Lakewood, Colorado. There were about 40 classmates attending and it was AMAZING! I couldn't believe how I still recognized most of them. Some have hardly changed since we graduated! I had been corresponding with some people on Facebook, but it was nice to see them in person. 

I am the 3 person from the left in the seated row.  I was laughing so hard!  All the spouses were clicking away with cameras and making silly comments.

This week my dear daughter and the two youngest grandbabes are visiting.  They have been visiting various friends and relatives to pet lots of animals.  They have seen rabbits, sheep, chickens, horses, ponies and COWS!  They get so excited by it all.  We went to the town hall to play on the little playground, we have been to Madison, and the kids have had a chance to visit some of their "cousins" (dear daughter's cousins' children) to play.

My mom is in Arkansas at my uncles' home.  He had heart surgery about 3 weeks ago and she went down to help him during his recovery.  I got a call from her last night saying that my uncle is back in the hospital with a possible stroke or TIA.  He has been recovering remarkably well until last night.  My prayers are going out to him and his family.

TTFN,
Ginny

New Business!

Hi, everyone! I know it has been a long time since I posted, but I do have a bit of news to share.

Two of my favorite hobbies are stamping and scrapbooking. Once upon a time I was a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, but I had to give it up as I was working full time and wasn't able to devote the time needed. Well, now I am retired and I have oodles of time. So I am once again a Stampin' Up! demonstrator! I have a new stamping blog and the address is: www.inkorswim-ginny.blogspot.com. Come and check it out. I will be posting projects, Stampin' Up! specials and more.

TTFN,
Ginny

Threes

They say bad things come in threes. I always kind of believed this but I think it was verified for me in the last two or three weeks. First, my husband's uncle passed away. He had a long and happy life and was 97 years old. I was ready to go to the funeral when my daughter called. Her father-in-law had reached the last days of his life. I headed down to help with her small children. Her FIL passed away two days after I arrived. Then, two days after his funeral I received a call that my aunt had passed away. I ended up flying down south then. I finally arrived back home this past Wednesday. Okay, enough for bad things.

We are going down to DS the elder's home tomorrow for my oldest granddaughter's birthday. I can't believe she is 9! I am looking forward to her party. It will be fun to see everyone. I have so much fun shopping for her. She is a very girly girl and I love buying her clothes. Her younger sister has declared herself a tom boy and doesn't want anything "girly" looking.

Done for now!

TTFN,
Ginny

I think I have it!

I think I finally have enough novelty prints to make the I Spy quilts I have been planning for so long. When I started collecting fabrics, I never realized that it would take so long or be so hard to find enough different prints. At least the quarter yard I bought of each will be enough to do several quilts in different sizes.

Lately, I have been in a bit of a slump. I have turned really, really lazy; even worse that usual. Not sure how I am going to get around it. I don't feel especially depressed, but I do feel lethargic. When I leave home it gets better, but when I am here...ugh! Maybe I actually miss Mom more than I thought. If that is the case it will be better next month. Mom is due home on April 3.

My youngest son and his lovely wife bought their first home and are due to move in at the end of this month. I am so happy for them!

They just did a report on the news about a driver killed recently. Turns out she was texting and driving and didn't notice the semi truck in front of her. Not a pretty sight and sad because it is so preventable.

I am getting over a really stupid cold. It really just affected my throat. My throat got scratchy; a little at first then quite a bit in the middle. It's so annoying because nothing helps it. But, it is getting better...I think.

Okay, just wanted to throw a couple of thoughts out here.

TTFN
Ginny

We're Home!

Herm forced me to get on the plane; darn it! I did NOT want to come home. We had the best time in Cancun. I love it there. We stayed at the Blue Bay Club Cancun. The resort is as far from the hotel zone as you can get. That means it was low key, peaceful, and perfect. I never knew I would like just laying on the beach so much. They have thatched roof umbrella shaped roofs that were perfect for me. I can't take the sun.

We liked it so well, we joined their vacation club. As members (actually the membership is with Premier by Original) we received VIP treatment and it was wonderful. I got so spoiled having someone bring me unlimited virgin pina coladas! I know, I know, I am a wuss! I don't drink, but they taste just as good without the booze. But, the bartenders kept repeating "no booze?" in stunned voices.

My right knee started acting up at the Cancun airport. We were in such long lines for immigration and customs. By the time we got to the hotel I was getting very cranky. They warn you about the time share people at the airport and Herm got pulled in for at least 45 minutes. I wasn't happy about standing around and there were no chairs or benches. But that was the only real bad experience I had.

On Saturday we went to Isla Mujeres; a lovely, small island near Cancun. You rent a golf cart there to see the whole island. They have the most beautiful colors on their homes. They were getting ready for Carnivale and there were floats loaded with dances everywhere. We had a great day.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week they have dinner theater performances. They were fun takes on Disney themes. Monday was Pirates of the Caribbean, Wednesday The Lion King and Friday was The Little Mermaid. On Saturday they had a special Tribute to Micheal Jackson show. We really enjoyed the shows.

The food was wonderful! I tried new things and found I liked them. For instance: jicama (not sure if I spelled it right). A Mexican food vegetable that's taste and texture seemed to be a cross between a water chestnut and a raw potato. Tasty!

Blue Bay Club is not a new, elaborate hotel. But the staff more than makes up for that. The service was super and we will be going back next year. Okay, now to post a few photos and I will stop boring you.

TTFN,
Ginny

My Dear Husband's 60th Birthday Party

What a fun evening we have had! All of my husband's brothers and sisters (along with their spouses) and all of our children and grandchildren gathered at a local restaurant tonight to celebrate his 60th birthday. He is the oldest of 10 children, so his reaching 60 is a milestone.

Our favorite local party place is the Dorf Haus. A German restaurant in the tiny village of Roxbury. The owners and their staff are wonderful and helped to make things special. Herm's brother, Paul (the baby of the family), got everyone there. Paul's wife, Tina, made adorable little favors of tiny wine bottles filled with M&Ms. Tina also ordered a cake from a friend of hers. It was so neat, a singing fish with gummy worm baits in Oreo "dirt".

I ordered the entertainment. If you live within 200 miles of Madison, Wisconsin and need a singing telegram I have just the person. Her name is Catherine and she is know as the Banana Lady. She came as Nurse Nancy to make sure Herm was fit to celebrate such a big birthday. Hilarious! She even made balloon animals for the grandchildren. Herm and our son, Mike, had balloon birthday hats, too. Catherine has a number of characters that she does and she incorporates information about the person into her performance. And, of course, she gets the birthday person very involved in it as well. I will attempt to post photos here.

Monday morning we leave for Cancun; weather permitting. So, I will be out of touch for over a week. I'm a little afraid of internet withdrawal but, all in all, it should be a good thing. Nothing to do for a whole week but read and talk to Herm.

TTFN,
Ginny