When Irish Eyes Are A Smilin'

I am daft. I completely forgot about it being St. Patrick's Day! No wonder people were staring at me today so bolding wearing PURPLE! I am out of the loop right now folks. Anyway, a big salute to my fellow Irishmen and my great-great grandfather Patrick Hagan who migrated from Ireland in 1944. You can read about him here. As a side note - Hagan Hall that is pictured in this old newspaper article has burned to the ground. How unfortunate we live among those who want to destroy history.

Top O' the evenin' to ya then! And Remember: "There are only three kind of men who can't understand women - young men, old men, and men of middle age."

My Halls Are Decked!

What a busy weekend I have had. My Saturday was spent decking the halls without boughs of holly, as I have none; but the lovely two-inch snowfall we received while decorating Saturday did make the occasion more festive and Christmasy.

My Sunday afternoon was spent sewing. I usually nap, but I am making an amplifier cover as a Christmas gift for my Much Older Brother. Not only am I making a complicated three-dimensional cover with piping trim (that would have been way to easy and much less time consuming), I am hand embroidering a decal onto the front! I have been covered in metallic gold thread all afternoon. I love it and am totally in my element with a needle and thread in my hand.

I realize I have not posted anything lately about recently read books. That is because I have not recently read anything. Actually, I did finish The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. It was a charmingly good read (made me want to learn to knit) and all about women friendships. Women need women friendships. MDH is my very best friend ever, but sometimes I need to complain to another woman about PMS. Men just do not understand this subject.

Then there is The Death of the Grown-Up: How America's Arrested Development Is Bringing Down Western Civilization by Diana West. Doesn't that sound all warm and fuzzy? I told you I wasn't all fluff. The topic is weighty, but if you want to understand why today's culture is what it is, you might find the answer in this book. It is probably not what you think. Verrrrrry interesting (said with a German accent).

If you have not entered my apron giveaway contest, you still have a couple more days. I will close entries Tuesday evening, December 9, at 8:00 p.m. EST. The winner will be announced Wednesday morning, December 10. Thanks to all who have entered so far and for all the sweet comments. You make me blush.

My dad got through another round of chemo treatments last week without any problems. He continues to be abundantly blessed and without some of the really nasty side effects chemo can cause. Of course he feels weak and tired, but otherwise, he is doing great. Thank you everyone for your continued prayers for him and my mother. I know it because of your prayers, they are doing so well. We feel the prayers everyday and are thankful for your covering him daily with blessings so numerous. Please continue to remember them.

Thanks for reading, Rosie.

PS: Someone mentioned today that my site was hard to read with the black on red coloring. Therefore, I am making the font coloring lighter. Please let me know if this is better or worse.

Day #25 - Thanksgiving Is Thanksliving

Live your life in such a way that when people watch you they think, "Now there is a thankful person!"

Have A Blessed Thanksgiving Day, Rosie!

Day # 17 - Simple and Personal Christmas Gift Idea

I am trying to cut back on Christmas gift expenses this year simply because overspending for gifts seems ridiculous to me. Simple and personal are my gift goals this year.

One of the best gifts my Mom ever gave me was a recipe book with her family recipes written in her handwriting. I love that book! I cherish that book! My daughter's-in-love will not receive that book! They can fight over it after I am dead! Sorry, I am getting off topic. Anyway, this is what I am doing this year for several women in my family.

First I went on a search through Hobby Lobby and found this little photo album. It holds 4" x 6" photos or in this case 4" x 6" recipe cards. It was on the markdown aisle for $1.99 and they had it in a variety of colors. I bought a few.

Next I bought a pack of card-stock paper for $3.99. It has 50 sheets in pastel colors. You can get brights colors, neutral colors, etc. The most important thing here is to put your blinders on when walking down the paper aisle. You can easily get sucked into the scrapbooking vortex with all the beautiful scrapbook accessories and spend more money. The purpose is to save money, so determine beforehand not to look!

Next, pick out several of your best recipes. Although the album will hold twenty-four, I only picked twelve of my recipes. Some are holiday favorites, some are everyday recipes. Type them up, add personal comments, add some clip-art, print them onto the card-stock paper, cut them and slip into the album. Be sure to save them and you will have them available for later if you need a quick gift idea.

This alone would make a cute gift to a friend, niece, teacher, co-worker or your local librarian :) But if you want to add a bit more, you can pick up a spatula, whisk, or other kitchen gadget (really cute ones at Target), or maybe a kitchen towel, etc. and you have a simple personal gift for less than $15.00, maybe $10.00 if you catch a bargain. Because I am an obsessive compulsive over achiever, I did make an apron to go with the gift, but I still have less than $20.00 involved.

There, I've prepared a nice gift that involved my personal effort and also personalized it to the individual. It worked for me!

Check our more "Works for Me Wednesday" ideas at "Rocks In My Dryer." Thank you Shannon for making this link available. It is a nice resource in the blogosphere!

Thanks for reading, Rosie.

Day #9 - Veterans Day 2008

In the spring of 2006 we took our boys to Washington DC to see our nation's capital. The cherry blossoms were blooming and it was a gorgeous week. We spent several days on The Mall visiting the Smithsonian buildings. We pre-arranged a personal tour of the Capitol Building. We ate lunch overlooking the Potomac River. It was the best vacation we remember as a family to date. Of all the sites we took in, our visit to Arlington Cemetery was the standout.

We sat in respectful silence as we watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was riveting, emotional and life changing.

"Here Rests in Honored Glory An American Soldier

Known But To God"

My Papaw served in the Army during WWI;
MDH's Papaw served in the Army during WWII;
My Dad served in the United States Air Force;
My Brother Served in the United States Navy;
We presently have an uncle serving in the National Guard.

Thank you Veterans for your service to our country.


Thanks for reading, Rosie.