Happy New Year and Happy Anniversary!

My Shug and I got married on New Years Eve 18 years ago.  We will be celebrating today/tonight.  I hope we don't get snowed in anywhere!!  Supposed to get 1-3 more inches of snow on top of the several inches we already have.  I watched out the window as our neighbor tried to make it up their driveway last night.  They did a 180, and that was after they went off of their drive and had to be pulled out yesterday afternoon.  It's slick out here in the country folks!

I will be back to real blogging in a couple of days.  I have lots of catching up to do, pictures to download, and I have decided this is going to be the year for change!  I'll share all of that with you...as soon as I make it up!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Cindy Bee

Merry Christmas

I'll be posting Christmas pictures and stories well after Christmas this year.  This is the last of the pictures I downloaded before my computer went completely out.  I'll be buying a new one the week after Christmas.

This year, living in one room in our basement of our new home, is quite different from decorating an entire house.  I have boxes and boxes of ornaments and Christmas decorations collected over the years.  So I had to pick and choose, and truth is, I had to use what I could find.  I'm missing a box somewhere that has an ornament, a pillow and our tree topper in it.  I know it's in "the" room.  The room FULL of stuff from the other house.

I decided to go with a lot of handmade, or 1950s-1960s type decorations.  This basement feels like a 1950's-1960's lake cabin...without the lake!  We do have a pond though, if that counts.

My little woodsy scene that my friend Mandy makes fun of.  Who cares that it doesn't have the right proportions. I don't!

I usually put up a real tree and an aluminum tree.  I didn't have room for both this year, so I used this table top aluminum tree and a real one, which you saw a few posts ago.  So far so good, it hasn't fallen over again!

I did find this picture amongst my boxes.  It used to be a sweatshirt.  We all used to wear matching sweatshirts on our shopping trip that we took the weekend before Thanksgiving.  (Gloria? you still looking for those pics or did you forget?)  One year my Mom had hers framed and gave one to each of us.

This is on top of the fridge....my tree of handmade ornaments.  I actually need to get a bigger one.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

AND

PEACE ON EARTH.

Cindy Bee

Nature's peace

We had snow last night. 

Not a lot of snow.  But the wind was howling outside our one room living area.  The snow was swirling outside our patio area. 

I couldn't sleep.  Woke up at 3:30 and I got out of bed several times to look out the window.  I felt so alone.  No neighbors across the street.  No Internet service.  We lost power twice, and the wind.....whooOOooOOOoooOo........

Now, during the day...it looks so peaceful outside. 

So quiet. 

I wonder how my bees are doing. 

My Shug wonders if the deer are in our valley, staying warm.

Somehow...for some reason...I can always find peace.... in nature. 

What about you?  Where do you find your peace?

Cindy Bee

Wooly Trees

Last week I had lunch with these people.  I used to work with them at Purdue University.  A couple of weeks ago I had the ladies I worked with over for brunch.  One thing about working there, we all cared about each other.  We were like family.  I don't miss the job so much, because I sat all day, but I do miss the people.  It was such a blessing in my life to have a job where I enjoyed the people so much that after 12 years of not working there, we still stay in touch.

After lunch I headed to Groovy Girl yarn.  I had a pile of wool that we were going to turn into trees!

The pattern came from the book Fa La La La Felt.

Lots of circles to cut out.

Of course, you can't make wooly trees without yummy drinks!

Taaa daaaahhhh!!  Aren't they cute?  "K" and I made a couple of itty bitty ones for fun.

And this...is a gift....so I can't show you the whole thing....but I'll show you a little bit of progress along the way.  Can you guess what it is going to be?

Cindy Bee

God help us....

I was talking to a friend on the phone and of course the school shooting came up.  Some of the things she was saying were exactly what I had written this morning.  I said, "yeah I had a blog post ready to go that sounds just like what you are saying...."  I read it to her, she  told me to post it.  So here ya go.  Like it or not...

We had four of my five nieces this weekend.  The fifth one is 29 years old and probably wouldn't want to spend the night with Aunt Cindy and Uncle Dave!  Actually, her daughter is one of them that spent the night.  We did our usual traditional stuff and when I get a new computer, pictures will follow.   We had a wonderful time. 

I have to tell you, this entire weekend I couldn't help but think of the Newtown, CT tragedy.  I hugged my nieces a little more this weekend.  I complained less.  I didn't try to make sense of the tragedy.  There is no sense in it. 

But I did wonder ...what happened to this kid...this kid that felt compelled to kill innocent people before taking his own life.  I wondered if he had mental issues, and why do so many children and young adults have mental issues now. 
Is it the vaccines? 
Is it the drugs they are on?  I'm not talking street drugs, although I realize that is a problem too.  I wonder about these mind controlling drugs that are prescribed for 'mental' issues. 
Is there something in the chemicals in the fake food in our grocery stores, that turn these young adults into murderers? 
Too much sugar maybe?
The moral breakdown of our society? 
Is it because so many children are being raised by violent video games and trash tv.  This summer I turned the tv on, during the day, and there was a man in bed, naked from the waist up.  A woman came to him, started crawling in bed with him, and started biting his nipples.  This was on tv, during the day, in the summer when kids are home, many alone.  The other day I saw two men in bed together, on tv, during the day.  (and we only have an antenna by the way, no cable)
Do we really need to see all of this? 
Must we always have the shock factor? 

OK then...I'll give you shock...
So many children have two sets of parents, three incomes, yet they get less attention and even less love than I did growing up, in a two parent home.  We didn't always have a two person income. We didn't always have the stuff, but what I do have are wonderful childhood memories. 
I'm sure there were times my parents would have liked to separate...they didn't.

Or here's a shock....imagine if you can...
We got four channels on tv growing up.
It was enough.
We didn't have video games.
We used our imaginations and played with other kids in our  neighborhood.  I still have connections with those kids.

Here's a shock.....
I BELIEVED in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and God.  Still do.
I said the Pledge of Allegiance every morning in school.
In 6th grade the teacher made us recite the 23rd Psalm after the Pledge of Allegiance, every morning.

Not shocking enough....how's this?
My Dad was an outdoorsman.  He would hunt and fish.  A few times our entire family went to the shooting range and we all shot at targets.  We learned to respect guns. When I was single, living in an apartment all alone, I had a window peeper.  I was scared.  After that, I took a class on guns and learned to shoot.  I had a gun.  I had a permit to carry.
I wish that principal at that school had a gun.  Maybe her and several others would be alive now if she did.  Oh you can ban all of our guns, but then these same people who are killers, are not going to stop killing.  We just won't be able to protect ourselves.

And THIS  might be too shocking for some of you.....Two summers ago, an eleven year, his boy scout buddy, his Dad, and the boy scout leader were walking a trail, trying to earn their hiking badge.  A mentally ill 20 something year old sliced the neck of the boy scout leader.  He bled to death on the trail in front of those boys while the Dad tried to stop the bleeding.  His jugular was sliced...so the boy scout leader died...on the trail...  I know this story first hand.  I am close with one of those boys and his father.  That killer didn't need a gun.  So don't even get me going on gun control.  (If I sound a little mad, I probably am.)  Killers do not follow the rules.  They will have a gun whether it's allowed or not. 

Why is it, as a nation, we keep avoiding the real issues?  (I'm sure I'll probably lose a lot of blog readers over this post.)

One time my Shug and I were sitting in a lawyer's office and the lawyer said, "See all of these law books in here? Not one of them can make someone be nice." He was right. You can't make someone be nice.  There are no rules that can make someone be nice.  A judge can't order someone to be nice. 

But you know what.....I've never seen a mean baby. Ever. 
WE ARE NOT BORN MEAN.

In our town there is a medical center that offers counseling for children and young adults.  I've been there many times, and the waiting room is always full.  ALWAYS FULL.  What is causing all of this trauma and mental anguish to our young society?

People.....
You can't legislate common sense.
You can't legislate morals.
You can't legislate values.
You can't make someone respect people, or things.
You can only take time to teach your children and lead by example.
It's up to parents, it's up to Aunts and Uncles, it's up to Grandparents. 
It's up to adults.
As a nation, as a world, we keep numbing ourselves to things that are wrong.  We see something over and over, and we become desensitized to it....things that in my parents younger years were shameful and appalling. 
I always wonder what's going to be next. 
What will we numb ourselves to next....
God help us.

Cindy Bee

Names

I did get my nieces this weekend and we had a wonderful time.  We went on with our traditions. 
I will post pictures when I get a new computer.  Mine is done.
I had a post to go, about Newtown, CT.
I decided not to bother...who wants to hear it? 
It's my opinion, and nothing we don't already know.
Everytime I hear our President say their names....I cry.

Cindy Bee

Shopping and Dance Recital

Last Sunday my cousin, Vickie and I went shopping...and look what I found.

The cutest mugs to drink our hot chocolate in...or do you call it hot cocoa?

And this batter bowl.  My husband asked why I'd want a batter bowl, I already have one.  "uuumm...it's red....and cute."

Then we went to my niece's dance recital.

I guess the dance instructor said if they didn't smile big,

she was going to speed up the music!

cute.....

Tomorrow...I'm getting all of my  nieces, well not the 29 year old one!  But the three nieces and the one great niece, and they are spending the night with my husband and I.....in our ONE ROOM!  Yes, I know it's crazy-ness.  But here's the deal.  It's tradition.  I've blogged about this every year since I've blogged, and I've taken them way before I started blogging.  We always go to the parks with the lights, we do crafty stuff, or decorate cookies, and they always spend the night.  If I wait until this house is done, they will be too old and not want to hang with their Aunt Cindy.  And I can't stand not keeping tradition.  I just hope WE (my Shug included in that WE) keep our patience!

Cindy Bee

Family Reunion

On Saturday, I attended a family reunion.  Here's a picture of the family....I'm guessing about 55-58 years ago.   The lady standing in the back and the man holding two kids on the right started this family.  They had seven children.

And all but one of those children, have children....who have children....who have children.

Here is that family in a six generation picture.  There are several four generations right now, but no six.

Here is a picture of  the children of the man and woman who began it all...and their spouses.  (Minus one couple) This picture was maybe taken in the 1980's or 1990's, not sure which.  

Here is that family now!  This was the reunion I attended on Saturday.  When growing up...as you can see in the above pictures, this family has always spent time together.  My cousins were my friends....still are!

My Dad and My Brother...

We rent a place now instead of going to someone's home.  

Food line!  

This little guy patted me on the leg and wanted me to take his picture.  I have no idea who they belong to!

Guess who these kids are waiting on?

Yup!  And Ava was not about to sit on his lap.  This is Ava with her Grandma, my cousin Gloria.

This man is the oldest person on this side of the family, and the little girl being fed a bottle is the youngest.

The women always play a game at the reunion, which includes gifts.

The men always play poker, which includes money!

My niece on the right, no idea who the kid is on the left, but they had a blast walking on these plastic buckets.  (use old person voice here....back when I was a kid.... we used cans and string...now they gotta spend hard earned money at the store...blah blah blah...can't make anything...blah blah...no imagination....blah)

When is the last time you saw a puppet show?

This is Uncle Ike and Aunt Betty.  The oldest child of the original couple and his spouse.

Now this....is my cousin Clint and me.  And we were all very happy to see him.  He is in the Navy and stationed in Japan.  (Master Chief if you must know...bragging just a bit)  I did a post on him and his wife a couple of years ago.  Remember the earthquake...he'd be the guy.  He was telling me he hasn't seen his wife in three months.  She has a blog (Koala's Krafts- on my side bar).  And Koala.....that package he is holding is a present for you from me.  I told him you can decorate the brown paper bag however you want and NO I did not make that tag.  I bought it.  His wife makes amazing cards and such out of paper.  So good to see Clint.  I'm guessing he is safely home in Japan right now.  They will be moving back to the states in a few months.  And he retires in four years.  And his Mom, Gloria (above pic with Santa) is ready for him to be back here in the states.  

And this was hilarious.  This is my cousin Johnny and his Grandson.  His grandson is crying his little eyes out because....from what I gathered....he wanted to take one of the rockem-sockem robots home with him.  The child's cousin got the rockem sockem robots from Santa and he decided he wanted it.  Johnny is very relaxed, texting someone on his phone and at the same time having a very serious conversation about why he cannot take one of them, but that maybe he'll get one for Christmas.  If I know Johnny, these kids get what they want. 

And this is my niece and my Dad (her Grandpa) playing hopscotch!

Hey...spend some time with family this Christmas.

Cindy Bee