Nana's Nook

i had to take a pic of my flowers, i have kept these alive since alyssa gave them to me on mothers day!!! this is amazing for me:)

if i don’t write on here all the time, i can’t remember from one day to the next, what we did! i guess it’s age:)

last saturday, mom was here for a bit, before we headed up to shelby for a party. she shared some addresses of places she had lived and schools she had gone to, it was interesting to do a search on some of the places she mentioned and even get on google street view to see what these places look like now! one of the lutheran schools she went to, was 7 blocks from comisky park!

saturday night we went to shelby lions hall,

the same hall we had our reception 35 years ago!

for wayne and francis haydens party…

susie and mike……….look like they could be twins!!!!

i was impressed by the hall, i thought nicer than the vfw halls we have been in. i guess it was pretty new in 75 when we booked it, i think it was completed in 1970

i didn’t remember the beamed ceiling

then on to findleys in shelby, i would say “backstreet america!”

before heading back to lafayette, then up in the morning to have breakfast at church, confirmation service and then on to hebron again for the 2nd float trip. these are the little ones that went, some of the “vanderbrandtmeth kids!” (vandercar-hildebrandt-nemeth)

i stayed home with tam and levi and gram.

levi had got hurt the day before and his finger was all bandaged, he thanked me over and over again for that little pez dispenser:)

poor little guy, what a trooper he is though:)

as i sit here in a house built in 1903, i look around and see many of these things on my list…..i think in life you should surround yourself with your favorite things:) these are some of the things in my life that i embrace and love. some of which i possess, others of which i would love to possess! to me, most of the things on my list speak to a much simpler time…. i always thought i should have been born in a previous era! i am happiest when the things surrounding me are simple, it seems i am always compelled to search for things that call be back to a simpler time. these are a few of my favorite things!!! enjoy!!!  simple, simple, simple!!!

apple pie,

fall leaves,

front porches with swings,

polka dots,

pink things,

old wood floors,

old rocking chairs,

boat docks,

kites,

stained glass,

old quilts,

white picket fences.

old aprons,

a day with soft rain,

rainchains,

old player pianos,

victrolas,

fireplaces,

weeping willow trees,

garden gates,

beadboard ceilings,

book shelves filled with books,

picnic baskets,

lace curtains,

dogs laying by my side,

window boxes,

red barns,

my mom’s windor chair,

nanny’s blue willow plate,

old hand-written letters,

cast irons,

tea-cups,

popcorn strung on the Christmas tree,

candlelight service on Christmas eve,

a man in uniform,

sailboats,

log cabins,

50’s kitchens,

lighthouses,

rag rugs,

hat pins,

a bicycle built for two,

daisys,

queen anne’s lace,

campfires,

UA playing the guitar,

the beach,

tin ceilings,

general stores,

covered bridges,

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter
And those who matter don’t mind.
~Dr. Seuss

it’s a dog day afternoon… a lot of those around here lately:)…….mike just read these to me from face book and i love them, i think having dogs around is so healthy:) can you tell I LOVE MY DOGS!”

LESSONS FROM MANS BEST FRIEND:

when loved ones come home always run to greet them

never pass up a joy ride

take naps

stretch before rising

avoid biting when a simple growl will do

on hot days drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree

be loyal

if what you want lies buried, dig until you find it

when some one is having a bad day, be silent and sit close by their side

the night of the pig roast, levi fell asleep on my lap:)

while “little bit” entertained us:) she sang her little heart out, all the songs she learned in vbs, she made my heart happy that night, just remembering all the vbs’ we had experienced

emma was part of her audience! already being modest….why do they have to change so fast!?!?!

mike clicked these while skyping:)

the other night she was entertaining us while talking to shel, i love the funny face one…whenever we would say hello…she would put her hand up to her ear…….i think she was enjoying being silly for us:)

i got these on my camera,

she was squatting down and then standing up

look nana and papa….no hands!

since dav and whit put it out there, i figure it’s ok to announce………………#6 grandchild on the way!!! sometime in april enola will be a big sister!!! we are so excited and blessed:)

peg, hope you don’t mind i used one of your pics from morro bay

sitting here at stephs, bears game on, moms in the bedroom…. i can hear her moaning every so often, mike just left to go back to lafayette after a very tiring day… a welcome visit from some camp friends from fort wayne… a break from a day with mixed feelings…. i told mike after today, i wanted to rent a dumpster and throw out “stuff” …

toss this, this goes in the pile for church sale, this is garbage, this is good will …do you want this, no, yes, toss it, after 7 hours with help from my older brother and his wife,  and son….yes chris and peg and matt, i don’t know what we would have done with out your help, 5 of us working all day and every drawer emptied, banana boxes filled:)…. the house is empty, ‘cept for love seat and chair….and everything that needed to be looked at… yet another time, packed. so tiring, physically and emotionally… chris and peg and matt, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for realizing this was something that needed to be done and not left up to 2 people:) seriously thank you thank you thank you…mike thanks you!!! now that it is out of the house, our goal today to empty the house, which we did, but now it needs to be gone through box by box………………………..

Contentment is not by addition but by subtraction:  seeking to
add a thing will not bring contentment.  Instead, subtracting
from your desires until you are satisfied only with Christ
brings contentment.

– Jeremiah Burroughs

wow, i thought this was good, if we could only live this way, with this in mind! and there’s another one….contentment is destroyed by comparison…something like that

both profound

in laporte at luke and tammys….celebrating evia’s baptismal birthday and lukes birthday:)

it was a beautiful cake, i found a new cake decorator:)

the guys cutting up the pig

some of the party goers………

lots of friends from their church came

helping grandma:)

the kids had lots to play on

and loved the snow cone machine!

kailynne’s 1st pig roast! 2 weeks old

keeping cool in the shade

friends from lowell, marching band days!!!

more friends from church