Scrappin' at Mel's

It has been a LONG time since I sat my butt down to do some scrapbooking. It's not like I don't want to - it's just that there never seems to be enough time to set up alllll my tools and then pick the project to do, and then do it, before something else interferes.

But yesterday, my friend Melissa had an all day crop at her house. Mel is a Creative Memories Unit Leader, and has a great workshop downstairs in her house. The crop ran from 9:00 to 9:00 - wow - can't use the "no time" excuse!!

I arrived around 9:30, and was still the first one there, besides her beautiful mom who lives right behind Mel in an addition to the house. Got right to work, because I had the project - the album I promised my Aunt Joyce. All the pics from the party will fit quite nicely in the yellow Kaleidoscope album I picked for her. All the pages, for the most part, will be in yellow, Joyce's favorite color.

I had everyone who came to the party write birthday wishes to her on scrapbooking journal boxes, and will combine their messages with pics of the at the party. Some were serious, some, not so much!

I really like the kids' notes - they took this assignment very seriously and showed off some mad art skills.

The pictures were taken with my digital camera and with some Kodak disposables. My cousin Sue also forwarded the ones she took. So yes, I actually end up in some of them - blech. Isn't it funny how scrapbookers never actually like to be in the picture?

So back to the workshop - about 10 more people came over the course of the day - some stayed just an hour or two, others were in it for the long haul. And guess what? Miss Lisa was able to tear herself away from the family long enough to come up and play with me!!


Deb B. was a great surprise - hadn't seen her for at least a year, probably two.


(Mel is checking out Deb's album page, here.)

Deb brought her friend Beverly, who immediately made great friends with Nora, Melissa's youngest. She was absolutely adorable in her Cinderella nightie (Nora - not Bev!!!). And wouldn't you kill to have that hair?

Melissa has a gorgeous pool, and it was so humid today that I wish I brought my suit. But, we did sit out by the pool for a bit and watch the guppy - I mean Claire, swim like she has scales and fins. Can she be any cuter?













I actually got quite a bit of work done, but Lisa and I left a bit early - it was just too warm. Figures - every other day in the past week has been cool and crisp - perfect. But anyway, a nice air conditioned dinner at Pizzeria Uno was a great end to a great day. Sangria - yummmmm.

OFF the Needles - for a change...

I am celebrating. Last night, after busting my fat ass on stuff for work all day, I decided I deserved to FINISH something. Anything. So, I finished Mark's scarf. He picked the two colors, a cranberry and a forest green, from a wonderful vendor at the NH Sheep and Wool Flood - er, I mean, Festival back in May. Of course, I can't find the vendor's labels, so I can't give much deserved credit where it is due - yet. I will definitely update this blog once I have the info!

Anyway, this is just a plain garter stitch scarf, but as you can see I knitted it the long way, so the stripes are vertical rather than horizontal.

My model is a bit on the skinny side, but the colors suit him, no?

Don't be fooled - this is only the tippiest tip of the unfinished project iceberg. From the half done Knitted Babe to the never even started Knit Pick lace cardigan I was supposed to start back in January, there are too many things to work on and not enough time to do them. Don't even mention the Cheetos sweater from hell - I'll start growling.

The Reunion, Part II

The guys from Grand Rental Station came over to pick up the tent and the chairs and the tables and the grille today. I kinda liked having them in the yard - it felt like we could have a party at a moment's notice if we wanted. But, reality is setting in, and we go back to work tomorrow. Blah.

Here are more pics.


Three generations of beautiful blondes joined us - do I remember their names? Nope. Do I have any clue who they are related to? Nuh-uh.

Thanks to Sue for the much needed fill-in-the-blanks!

"(this is ) Jill, her daughter Amanda, and her niece (Jill's granddaughter) Brianna. Brianna is the daughter of Jill's oldest son David who was white water rafting. Jill is my mom's sister Sharon's second daughter. "









This is one of my favorite pics. This is Wayne - I remember Wayne from when I was a kid his daughter's age - and now he has two beautiful girls, Hannah (pictured here) and Abby.












This is Sue's lovely daughter Michelle - way cool, too cool to be in pictures while she is scarfing mud cake. At least that's what her expression is telling me. Wayne called my mud cake "Sugar Stew." He wasn't far from wrong. But damn is it GOOD. I think I will end this for tonight and go scare up some. Maybe with a banana - health food, doncha know.

The Reunion (subtitle: Pics of People You'll Never Meet)

Well, after much effort cleaning and prepping for the party, it went off without a hitch on Saturday. It's over. Phew. I think everyone had a good time - it seemed like the kids did, anyway. My cousin's son Nick never left the pool - he had fins by the time they got him into the car to go home!

So, for those billions of you who weren't lucky enough to attend, here are some pics...

The real reason for the party was my Aunt Joyce's 70th birthday. She thought it was a Brown family reunion right up until she saw members of her side of the family in the yard. Actually, except for my sister Lisa and me, everyone attending was from Joyce's family. The Maine folk weren't able to come down, the Florida folk weren't able to come up. Oh well, they missed a great time! (And there was SOOOO much food!!)

This is cousin Sue, Joyce's oldest daughter, with her daughter Amanda.

And these two babes are cousin Karen (Joyce's daughter) and Lisa, my darling sweet and oh so elegant sister. Aren't they purty?

And the sausages look GREAT, don't they? Emeril's chicken and apple snausages. Yum.

I wish this didn't come out so dark, but here are all Joyce's kids with her - the requisite family shot. Karen the carrot-thrower (only one had to be retrieved from the pool) on the left, Sue ("I'm in my bathing suit!!") hiding in back, and Jeff better-late-than-never-and-I-already-ate-before-I-got-here on the right.

More in the next posting!

Totally Off Topic - My New Bathroom

Just had a family reunion this past weekend - in preparation for about 40-50 people coming to my house, I managed to whine and nag enough to get my DH going on some long awaited projects. My favorite outcome was the new look in the downstairs bathroom. Here are a few pics from the BEFORE and DURING(blech):



The floor never looked clean, even after those few and far between times I actually washed it. The wallpaper was blah and BORING. The only cute thing in the whole room is Abby. At least the wallpaper was cooperative - I peeled it off fairly easily, in big sheets.

Now, the after. Are you sitting down?




The new floor looks like tile. It still has brown in it, but so much more that even if it is filthy no one will know. But I like it so much I Swiffer it like a mad woman, so that won't be likely!









The new wall color is Honey Toast. My oh-so DH calls it piss yellow, but it's HONEY TOAST. A nice, warm yellow that really brightens up the room without being too obnoxious.









And, above the toilet, instead of the blah wall paper, I hung these shelves and added the candles and bottles. Again, Mr. No-Taste thought the African art belonged in the bathroom - it was removed from the shelf before the reunion so that the children would not ask embarassing questions all day. And no, it's not going back in there - not even as a toilet paper dispenser. NO.