Auld Lang Syne

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne?

I want to remember the good times. . . a reason I scrapbook.  Here's 12 pages from 2013, featuring treasured family and friends.  I love all my pages, so these are among several favorites!  Another reason I scrapbook-to keep my mind from worrying!

Some of my international blogging friends have already celebrated the new year!  Happy 2014 to all of us! Your comments always give me a smile.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

One goal I (might) act on this year is to work on my upper body strength (flabby arms).  I bookmarked a page of exercise, perhaps I'll give them a try.

Last year I started creating new recipes at the house.  I do this for a living in my work as a registered dietitian where I create meals for 1400 customers a day in a major medical center cafeteria.  At home it's more fun, and I needed that.  

Here's breakfast for today:

 

I call it breakfast pizza, with yeast dough, feta, vegetables and an egg.  This recipe is from an Australian magazine by Donna Hay.  Since many of the scrapbook magazines no longer provide print versions, I'm loving the food magazines.  This one has awesome photos and recipes.

Have a great year!

Home Again

All of my kids are home again.  Greg and Michelle arrived Friday night.  Bob's brother David is visiting too.  Chris joined us later for a fun(ny) gift exchange and dinner.

I can't tell you how happy it makes me to have all our kids home again!

Michelle's gift of her beautiful handmade tatting adorns this layout:

 She tells me this was popular during the late 1800s.  

I still have a butterfly and flower to use on a later page!  Have a great week! 

Traditions

Every Christmas, just before work vacations, one of my family joins me in the HSC kitchen to pack fruit bags for my staff.  On Christmas Eve, we go to the Post after the early press run to get a copy of the Christmas Day edition.  We also string and hang our Christmas cards from the ceiling in our great room.  We always get a live tree. I give all my change all season to the Salvation Army basket at Giant Eagle.  I visit home before the day and David visits when the kids are here.

All my kids will be home today and I'm taking next week off.  Remember when I said, I'll be ready when the holiday arrives!  I'm ready!  

Stop Ahead

The first day of winter was unseasonably warm-in the 60s-here in West Virginia.  I ditched the winter coat and we took a ride to nearby Opekiska Road.  Riding along, by the back waters of the Mon River, we stop and go, taking pictures of nature and relics of the past.

Merry Christmas to all!

Victorian Christmas

When friends ask if I'm ready for Christmas, I answer "I will be", as it takes every day leading up to the actual holiday to do everything I want to accomplish before then!  Our Saturdays still hold together time.  The first weekend in December we went to the annual Victorian Christmas at nearby Pricketts Fort in Fairmont, WV.  The fort was built during the late 1700s as a barrier against Indian attacks.  The Prickett House was built in the late 1800s.  On this weekend, there were Civil War reenactors and an artisan village.

I used the back of a K & Co. die cut paper (the second time I've used this same piece) as a stencil for inking this pretty Christmas design:

  I love my new Jenni Bowlin wheat stamp I got on her Black Friday sale:

 I added a little inking to the Studio Calico wood veneer before adding it to my page:

I loved the beautiful pottery made by Tammy Zettlemoyer:

Especially this fish bowl (I'm a Pisces!) I used at dinner that evening:

To view my Meal Planner boards, visit my Pinterest page.

That's the first days of Christmas.  Hope you're enjoying yours!
 

Calm

On Thursday, Chris told me "Calm Down Mom" after I asked him the same question twice.  Through the week, I'm regimented and wound tight.  On Saturday afternoons, after house cleaning, I'm calm and relaxed as I spend time with Bob.

Now to finish my housekeeping!  Happy Saturday!

Believe in Santa

Chris makes me proud.  He's always willing to help others.  Not a great picture, but he back tracked to help the lady with the cane when he saw her heading down the sidewalk.  Pictures from our two day adventure at Oglebay Park.  November 2013

The digital elements are from Bo Bunny's "Blitzen" collection.