Bringing in the New Year.......... 2020!

A gender reveal party is a celebration during which parents, friends and family find out the sex of a baby. 
This year Tim and I will celebrate bringing in the new year learning the gender of our fourth grandbaby!
We have been asked to wear the color that represents what we think baby Gartmann is.  

• I will wear blue 
• Tim is wearing pink

Hope to add pictures of our party here.

Tim was the only one that wore pink!

40

We are in Kauai Hawaii celebrating our 40th year of marriage.  Wow, can it really be that long?

Enjoying the crashing waves

 View from our condo

yum yum Poke

Kauai Coffee farming

Luau time

Beach time....incidently I cut my bangs with a nail trimmer to keep them

out of my eyes after this visit to the beach...

Pool time on the last day....the sun was amazing.

Moving and Mandalas

Fast forward  five months.  It's already November and we've been in the new house almost as long.
Things are unpacked and at their first resting place.  I'm sure I'll be tweaking where things belong for quite some time.  After the move we enjoyed a Gunflint Trail vacation to the scenic Clearwater Lodge.  I had a hankering to try mandala rock painting so I brought along some acrylic paints and dotting tools. We stopped along Lake Superior and found some nice smooth rocks to bring to the lodge.

 Notice the splash

Breakfast and rock painting...and oh yeah and the whiskey (from the evening before)

The mandala's purpose is to help transform ordinary 

minds into enlightened ones and to assist with healing.

I can't say that I needed healing, but I do know I was ready to just sit and concentrate on one thing that was not electronic. 
My first rocks were a challenge.  Dotting a rock is harder than you'd think. I practiced and practiced.  At times just stopping on a poor rock that deserved better.  Those few rocks are dotting the snow covered forest near Clearwater Lodge with fresh acrylic hieroglyphic dots. 

I've been practicing....tonight I turned out a pretty neat little gem.  Next rock is magentas and purples!

The sled

Many years ago I bought this sled.  I really didn't use it much because it blocked part of the subject in images. It went in the garage rafters til January.  Today I got a text from SIL Joe.  Now this is the best way to be used for the old sled prop!

Millie and LOUie

Kiss a frog/toad to find your prince

Stopped in on the girls Monday.  Nice 70° sunny afternoon.  Funny how that temperature in April makes you want to wear shorts. These two did!  The yard was free from snow Monday and look what they caught...(with a bucket)!  The winter glove came out to pick the rather large toad up to pose for my camera.  I told the girls "you have to kiss a lot of toads to find your prince charming"  giggle giggle. 

Springtime fun!

 Lily and friend Reese

Plugged in

Tomorrow I'm working at our Wellness Expo.  

• What is digital wellness?

Everyone can examine how they use digital media. It is a healthy thing to do... to take time and reflect on how you spend your time online "plugged in".

I am very thankful that I raised my children on the cusp of the digital age. Parents today have a challenge to not only keep up with technologies but guide their children into making wise choices and growing into being a well-rounded person NOT just one being plugged in being swallowed by the myths of reality.

One of the hardest things I had to do is limit landline phone times. My oldest child could not use the phone past 10pm My second child was/is a digital pioneer....he gravitated toward the world of computer programming. He is self taught in languages I never dreamed of when he was born in 1984. The home built computers absorbed him into a word unknown to me. Well roundedness is important...so we forced him to take up a sport. He did and we all benefited. The third child had her own computer at 14. Pretty unheard of in 2001. Of course it was a hand me down, but it worked just fine with DSL and IM. This is a girl smart enough to save all of those precious junior high conversations to a floppy disk : )

Last week I had the pleasure of spending some time with my lovely grandgirls. They have a very limited time allowed to them online. So even though I'm "Gramsie" my presence was 2nd best.

12 years old

10 Years old

Old Man Winter

He's blowing in tonight, Old Man Winter

From the National Weather Service:

...HISTORIC COLD EXPECTED TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING...

Wind chills are expected to fall to 25 below to 35 below zero
today. Dangerous wind chills of 45 below to 65 below zero are
expected for most of the period from Tuesday night through
Thursday morning. This is a life-threatening situation for those
spending any prolonged period outdoors without proper clothing. A
Wind Chill Warning is in effect from Tuesday through Thursday
morning area wide.
Record low temperatures are possible in the Twin Cities Wednesday
morning and Thursday morning. The record for Wednesday is
30 below zero and the record for Thursday is 27 below zero.
In addition, brisk winds today will lead to areas of blowing snow
across western and southern Minnesota. A Winter Weather Advisory
is in effect in these areas from 6 AM to 6 PM today.