Winter

So much is been happening through the holidays and now into January.  I'm posting some of our favorite Crafty successes.

Karl and I made a bunch of boxes from pallet wood, I had fun decorating them for the various holidays

On Black Friday, Home Depot was selling garland for five dollars for a 15 foot length  , so I tied it up on the back deck, and I love how it turned out.

I dug out my old skates (that haven't seen ice in decades), polished them up and paired them with some of my Grandmothers woolen mittens from Norway.  I painted some fence boards and cut the tops to look like skis, wired them together and it's my favorite new decoration this year.

But, alas, Christmas is over and while people don't usually look forward to January, we sure did around here!

Natalie, Ella, Charlie, and brand-new baby Rex arrived on January 7!!!  Kenny, Wyatt, and Reese are due in just a few days as they drive their vehicles from Texas!  It seems like we've dreamed of this for so long...

Ella got out of the car from the airport, and wanted to touch the snow so badly! She has never seen or played in snow before.  It snowed the next day, and she and grandpa and Charlie made a little snowman and snow angels.

I am so looking forward to this chapter in our lives.

December hot and cold

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Karl  and I boarded a plane for Maui. 

It was a perk for advertising with one of the local TV stations. It was not a time of year I would choose to go to Hawaii, but who says no to a free trip?

I had to hurry and rip edown all the autumn and Thanksgiving decorations and get as much Christmas up as I could and go Black Friday shopping all in one day. Oh, and pack, of which I did a terrible job. The last time I was in Hawaii it was cool and I wished I had more jackets or sweaters.  So I packed light sweaters and it turned out to be hot!

It sure didn't feel like Christmas, even though they made an attempt with decorations!

(This is a tree made out of grass skirts, I know it's a lousy picture)

Karl and I each took a turn in this canoe. Karl jumped into the reef to explore despite recent shark attacks.

One day, while Karl was golfing I took a tour --teaching us about the native customs and flora and fauna.  I learned that a banana tree only makes one bunch of bananas in its lifetime, the tree can continue to grow but will never produce bananas again. But being resourceful, the Hawaiians have learned to use the banana trunk skins to wrap food in for luaus.

It was a lovely, expensive resort.

One of the best parts of the trip, had nothing to do with the trip. We got a new grandson!

His big sister LOVES, babies!  This is a wish come true for Ella!

The sunset in Hawaii causes people to stop and run to the beach to enjoy it....granted it is amazing most of the time, but I need to find an event like it to give me pause each day.

It was a memorable, and sad event --When we were on our snorkeling trip, the radio on the boat started broadcasting a shark attack.  The beaches were closed while they tried to sort out the danger.  Turns out the guy who was killed was Fishing in a kayak 3 miles from shore, with his legs hanging over the side, and he was "chumming" (throwing dead fish overboard to attract bigger fish).  He was pretty dumb -- got his leg bit off and bled to death.

Anyway they opened the beaches and we had a great time!  We came home to frigid temperatures and snow, but at least it feels like Christmas!