Horsemans Homestead

We drove along tree lined roads surrounded by spectacular horse farms on our drive to Middleburg, Virginia. President Kennedy and his family had an estate there prior to his death.

February, 2012

Bistro

Last week when we took vacation from work, we spent 2 days traveling around Winchester, Virginia. We love Old Towne Winchester and the Village Bistro is a very nice place to eat. That day we both got the feature "crab quiche" and salad.

To make the matching pop-up flowers, I first scanned the background paper. Then I cropped around the flowers and sized them slightly smaller than the original. I electronically pasted the flowers onto an inexpensive cardstock and printed them. I then used my scissors to cut around the flowers, added a button center and sewed them to my page. With hybrid scrapbooking, anything is possible!

Here are 2 old layouts with pictures from the same restaurant. It's a special place to go!

Heart's Desire

This week Bob and I took our annual February vacation. My friend, Debbie, says this is the best time of year to take a vacation because "you don't have yard work". (She meant that you truly have to relax!) It was especially nice to have a Sunday off with Bob. Last Sunday, he surprised me with a ride to a covered bridge "Dent's Run" right in our own county! So here's my layout with a portrait of him-my 'Heart's Desire' there!

2012

Holding a Fortune

Twenty five years ago today, our son Greg was born. Here he is sleeping peacefully in the newborn nursery. Here we are "holding a fortune that heaven gave to us".

Gregory James Gay
February 23, 1987

Ever After

We begin our February vacation by attending Pink 4 Kay with WVU Women's Basketball. We stop at the Student Union first for a stroll and pictures. On Sunday we take a drive to Dent's run Covered Bridge then to Opekiska Road where we see an Alpaca Farm. 2012

Lil' Henry

"J. Henry Fier was born in 1867. He was Grandma Marie's Father. His parents were Christopher & Anna Marie Hoffman Fier." On this layout, I tried my hand at folded doily blossoms! I loved the picture of my maternal Great Grandfather standing on a chair to have his portrait made.

This is a layout of J. Henry Fier as an adult with his family:

My Grandmother Marie is the beautiful young lady on the left.

This layout features a portrait of Christopher Fier, J. Henry's father and my Great Great Grandfather:

For the story of his beautiful love affair visit this link:
http://cindyspagesintime.blogspot.com/2010/02/beautiful-love-story.html

Unseasonal

This layout is modeled after one that appeared in last month's issue of Scrapbooks Etc. magazine. The background is "woven" with 1/4 inch strips of paper.

While I live in the hills of West Virginia, we have had an unusually mild winter. I have no complaints. When it snowed last Saturday morning, I took the opportunity to get out and take a few pictures. 2 of the pictures were taken on our health sciences center campus (I post these with my weekly intranet menu). The glimpse of the flag was on our home deck.

Journaling: "It was an easy winter, not too cold with little snow." 2012

Genes

In a birthday message to Chris, Mom told him that what she would like to do, now that she is "older than the hills" is to study genes "Because I had 4 kids who were alike in some ways but very different in others".
Photo 1975 (she was 50 years old)
Journaling 2012

You Make Me Bloom

Every year at the Mountaineer Week Arts & Crafts Fair, Bob buys me a card handmade by a local artist. Sometime during the year, he'll write ma a note inside the card. In the card from 2008, he wrote:

"Even on the darkest of winter's days, my love for you grows like the flowers of your summer garden. In the midst of gloom, you make me bloom." I feel the same about him.

Forever Love

In this season of love, I'm featuring Bob's parents whose love, long after their deaths, abounds in their children.

"Jim, the debonair accountant, marries Maxine, the friendly secretary, on October 6, 1946. He was 36, she 27."

Reprints X19

When the boys were little, it was not uncommon for me to get reprints made of their best pictures. I could be found dropping negatives with numbers marked X2 or more in the Superior Photo window early in the morning, then picking them up on the way home. Bob's Mom and my Mom each got copies. In the digital age, I send pictures as attachments, post some and my layouts where many will see. I still print copies for my Mom.

Chris will 19 tomorrow. You could say I've been making reprints for his entire 19 years!

Welcome Freya Rose

I'm in need of some printer maintenance, so today I created a digital layout! My nephew Steve and his wife Laura welcomed their second child yesterday. Freya Rose Michael was born at 1:41 pm. She weighted 7# 4 oz. and was 19 inches long. Pictured here is her older brother Oliver, age 2, held my Mother Laura. Photos by proud Dad Steve. 2012

Thank You for Greg

I cried in joy when I read the thank you note from Michelle for the shower, invitations and more. On the last page she wrote: "Thank you both for Greg. It is fun to hang out with you guys because I get to see where he gets many of the traits I love about him. He has Bob's sense of humor and Cindy's warmth." Pictures 1989 and 1990. Journaling 2012.

Window Shopping

"Two furry faced primates study each other." Como Zoo 2011

Thanks to Michelle for getting Greg's camera to take the picture of him and the curious monkey studying each other at the zoo's glass enclosure. Going to the zoo is one of their favorite activities.

The monkey had such lovely facial markings. I wanted to find some black and white fur to use on my layout.

Sugar said "no way"!

So I used black and white netting from food packaging:

Here's one more picture of Greg at the Minnesota Zoo photographing a monkey last summer:

Check out the fur on these monkeys!