Stampin', Scrappin' and Sewin'

to name just a few of the things that have been keeping me busy since my last post. Just those three things make for a full and happy life.

Scrappin' & Stampin'

Last weekend was a weekend overnight scrapbook get together at a local inn. What a fun time. I spent most of the weekend working on my valentines. November and December were a pretty crazy time for Jim and I, what with Bruce and Shelly's accident, surgeries, etc. We felt privileged to be in a position to be involved in their lives and decided Christmas card were not a priority for us this year. We did, however, decide that we wanted to contact our friends and relatives so we decided we would send Valentine cards.

Prior to the scrap weekend, Jim cut and folded all the cards as well as used a die cut for the hearts. Still, it took a lot of time to put the cards together. I did like the way they turned out though.

When I finally finished the cards, I worked on our Grand Canyon scrapbook. We have been to the GC three times and I still don't have the scrapbook finished. I have soooo many pictures and I am stumped as to how to be really creative in scrapping them. Finally, I have decided, "It's the Grand Canyon. Let it speak for itself." So, simple is going to be the word from now on.

Sewin'

Although I bought a new sewing machine right after Christmas, 2008, I haven't seemed to find time to sew. Maybe I should mention here that sewing terrifies me. Had it not been for my angel teacher, I might have been the only girl at AHS to fail Home Ec. But I digress. When we redid our downstairs bathroom in the early fall I found a shower curtain I really liked. Alas, it did not have a window covering to match. After much looking, I decided to buy another shower curtain and create my own window covering. The project took less than an hour from cutting to hanging, so I'm not looking for accolades. I'm just saying....

pretty snazzy, huh?

And then there was the

Nursin'

Right after I returned from the wedding, my friend Heather, had some surgery and I was off to Buffalo to give a little TLC. While there, we engaged in a little more stampin'. I used a stamp of hers to create this. I'm ordering the stamp for myself tomorrow

Oh yes, I almost forgot the

Winnin'

My good friend over at Midlife Mom was giving away a copy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks, by Ree Drummond, and I won. I can't begin to tell you how excited I was.

And since cooking doesn't terrify me, I plan to be using this real soon.

So, that's the exciting life of Pamela Hippochick. Hope this finds all of my blogland friends doing well. Even though I haven't posting, I have been reading all your news and let me say, "You guys make me happy."

~Hippo Hugs~

Here's a P.S. - Bruce is coming along well, albeit slowly.

He is expecting to be transferred from the nursing home

to the spinal cord rehab unit at the hospital

very soon.

Shelly will have her second chemo treatment on Friday.

She is tolerating the treatments well and still hasn't lost

any hair. We are so grateful for all your prayers.

Please keep them coming.

Prime Time Wedding

At last post, one of the things I was looking forward to was Laverne and Cathy's wedding. Laverne is Jim's middle brother, and one of my favorite people in the whole world. He is more my brother than brother in law, and well, I just love him.

When he became widowed, nearly five years ago, we grew even closer. It was hard to watch his pain and loneliness. Three years ago, thanks to some Cupids in his church, he met Cathy. I don't know about love at first sight, but it was certainly great admiration and friendship at first sight. I think the love waited until about the third or fourth date. Anyway, Saturday, January 10, 2010, we celebrated with them as they became Mr. & Mrs. What a wonderful weekend it was.

The celebrating began with a pre-wedding party on Friday evening.

Although there was no rehearsal, Cathy is practicing her princess wave.



Cathy's daughter, Catie, was so happy for her mom.

The newlyweds.

Everyone said you could tell they were brothers.

The wedding party.

My new sister-in-law.

The wedding was perfect. They took a moment in their joy to remember Bonnie and Tom, a fitting tribute to their previous spouses. That was a bittersweet moment for many of us.

The reception was elegant, with delicious food, dancing and much merry making. All in all, it was a fairy tale weekend for those of us celebrating with these two terrific people.

Congratulations, Cathy and Laverne.

Grow old with me, the best is yet to be.

~Hippo Hugs~

Lookiing Forward on a Wintry Day

Winter weather is an understatement for what has been going on in our neighborhood since the first of the year. We were told, last Saturday evening, to expect a little Lake Effect snow. "Nothing too exciting," my favorite weatherman, Scott said. HA!! In the end, we had about 40" of the white stuff. Here is what it looked like around our house.

Having spent New Year's day and the day after as pajama days all snuggled in the house, I was ready and raring to go out to church on Sunday. Obviously, that didn't happen. But by Monday, we were out and about again even though the snow didn't officially stop until yesterday. Luckily, there was no wind or we would have been truly snowed in.

Being confined to the house because of the weather gives one a lot of time to think (and read blogs). Cheryl had a great post about what she is looking forward to. She asked her readers to reply in kind. I've been thinking a lot about that and here are some of the things I'm looking forward to:

~Laverne and Cathy's wedding this coming Saturday. I am almost ready to go. I am nearly packed, the card is nearly finished, not much to complete. We will leave bright and early tomorrow morning. This is a really special time for Laverne and Cathy who lost their mates and are so blessed to be starting this part of their lives together.

~Going to Henderson, NV for two months this winter. We plan to leave here early next month, take a week to drive out to Nevada, spend two months there and take a week to drive back in mid-April.

~Being engaged in 2010. Dana posted about her word for 2010 the other day. I've never heard of that before, but began to think about what word I would like to have special meaning in the coming year. I chose engaged because I want to be truly engaged in life this year. I want to be serious about my relationships with people, be engaged with others and life. I'm really looking forward to making this word meaningful in my life.

~Of course, I am looking forward to travel. We have lots of travel plans for this coming year. I am hoping to join my daughter in Atlanta in May for her best friend's graduation from seminary. We are still planning on a trip to Ireland, if we can work out the details. And then there are all the short trips around the country that we hope to make to visit friends and family.

~Oh yes, then there's turning 65 in February. Am I looking forward to this? Have I any choice about it? As I say every year at this time, "I'm older than I ever thought I'd be."

~Hippo Hugs~

Pictorial Year in Review

New Year's day is always a lazy day at the Wolfanger house. Jim takes the tree down while I sleep in and then we watch the parade and just hang out all day. It's a pajama day and I love it. While Jim watched some football this afternoon, I played with pictures. Hence the following, Year in Review. I forgive you if you can't make it to the end, but I had a great time putting this together.

January found us struggling with snow and cold weather. The youth at church held their annual Ham Dinner to fund their trip to Snow Camp. The tree looked lonely, bereft of all it's beautiful decorations. I was able to schedule a breakfast with my buddies from the Walworth library. Of course, Jim had another hand surgery and I had my colonoscopy. On the fun side, we spent some time with the in-laws in PA and saw my sweet niece play basketball. I think I may have made a little mistake and put Super Sunday in February pictures. You can see Jason with his 3D glasses for one of the commercials. Before we left for warmer climes, the old library staff got together for dinner. We don't do that often enough. I also fit in one last scrapbook weekend before heading out. Then we were on our way to Henderson, NV. We left in a snow storm, but found beautiful weather in Chicago when we stopped to visit Paige. We celebrated my birthday and Liam's while in Chicago. The trip out is always fun, swimming in the motel pools, having great food and enjoying the beautiful scenery. Once there, we easily adapt to the warmer weather.

Jason and Linda visited us in March. We saw some shows, hiked, ate good food and generally enjoyed being together. March also found us in Joshua Tree National Park and Zion National Park with Brian and Gretchen.

We were in Henderson for Easter and had a lovely day with Brian and Gretchen. We celebrated Paige's birthday with wonderful cupcakes, but without her. We did make a sign for her though. Before we left, we had a day hiking and enjoying the Colorado river with Brian and Gretchen. We arrived home to a sweet sign made by the neighbor girls. Then the unpacking.

Poor Jim, May brought a fourth hand surgery in two years. Before the surgery, he was able to till the garden so that I could do the planting. Riding a horse has been on my Bucket List for quite some time so I took a riding lesson. Once was enough for me. A weekend in Chicago with Paige was a special treat for me.

June was a busy month. Bible school was fun both planning and executing. As with Paige, we celebrated Brian's birthday without him. We had a great weekend in Wellsboro, PA exploring the Grand Canyon of the East with Jeff and Jan. Two days at the LPGA were really fun. Oh yes, more gardening. Once it's planted, it needs weeded and cared for. UGH!!

July was crazy. As soon as Bible school was over, we were off to Boston and Martha's Vineyard for a wonderful vacation. Paige, Michelle and Liam joined us in MV for a few days. What fun. Kacy and Deb came for a weekend of shopping and then I was off to Las Vegas for camp with Gretchen. Total enjoyment. In between travels, I there was lots of time with friends here at home.

August was nearly as busy as July, I guess. We spent time with Kathy and Laverne at Lake George. Kacy came to visit for a week and we went to Darien Lake to ride the roller coasters. I guess I should clarify that I watched. Linda and Kacy did the riding. I momentarily lost my mind and had my hair cut very very short. We attended Deb & Jeromy's wedding and went to Bruce and Shelly's cabin for a week. Doing crafts and the flowers around our house were part of my leisure time here at home.

Can it possibly be September already? Oh yes! Bruce turned 60, and we had fun celebrating with him and his family. The Public Market is always fun and we spent a couple of Saturday mornings wandering among the stalls...and eating some yummy baked goods.
Kacy ran in a big Cross Country meet in Rochester in October, so I had to make tie-dyed cupcakes for the team. Also, Kacy had her best time ever. A weekend in PA enjoying the foliage and time with Mom and Dale and Carolyn was on the agenda too.

I have no November pictures. Bruce and Shelly had their accident on October 16 and we were pretty busy for the next eight weeks or so.

The first weekend in December was NYC with Kacy and Deb. Great weekend.

Back from NY, we celebrated Jim's mom's 95th birthday. What a wonderful occasion. Then we were on the road to Chicago for a fun Christmas with Paige and her gang. As Jim and I were having our dinner of roast pork and sauerkraut (for good luck in the new year) we were discussing the fact that in five weeks we will be on our way back to Henderson. Just where did this year go?

~Hippo Hugs~