Good and bad..

Let me begin this post with some really cute photos of Jetta. I was gone most of the day so J and J spent it out working on the trains. Jetta loves the train yard and when the cars are running she runs along side looking in them. When it stops she barks at the engine to get going.

She picked up a screwdriver to help!

Doublechecking his wiring work.

Helping!

Helping to clean up his big mess!

Worn out from all the train fun and of course helping!

Jetta is growing like a weed and so full of energy...wish we had just a fraction of it! We are making progress on potty training which makes all the difference in the world. So much more to teach/learn!

I have been fighting the blues this last week and felt the need to nurture my soul in the sewing room.
I combined the colors of the sky and the sun and suddenly all was well in the world. This piece simply makes one feel happier looking at it.

I mounted it on stretched canvas and its about 20x26 so a nice size. I started beading the center and ran out of the triangle bead...went to 3 different stores and no one had it so I ripped them all out and began again. The best part is I usually only see what I have done wrong in my work and with this one I only see what is right. That's a good feeling.

This photo gives you an idea just how many beads I used...

As I told you previously we signed up to do the Tour de Palm Springs again...this time 25 miles.
Our friends from MN said of course so the 4 of us gathered for the big event. They had 9000 sign up to ride and honestly I thnk 1/2 of them were doing the 25 mile ride. It was pretty darn crowded and they changed the route placing us on some busy roads and riding with busy traffic.

We were at 16.7 of the ride when a biker in front of Jerry cut across blocking his vision of the road. He hit deep sand and lots control of his bike and went down...yes again. Poor guy! The bike and lower torso were on soft sand but his shoulder hit the road. He felt he dislocated or broke it and we had an angel in a bike suit stop to help. He turned out to be an EMT and made a sling out of my jacket and told us to get to the hospital. I called my mom to come get him but that left me stranded with 2 bikes. Fortunately a motorcycle policeman arrived and he called for a truck to come get me and the bikes so I could load them up.
We ended up driving to the ER in LQ because the PS one was jam packed with sick, coughing, mask wearing people and J cant do that exposure. So after an exray he has separated his shoulder from his collarbone and we will be calling an ortho dr tomorrow. Pretty darn painful to touch or move his arm and back in the lazy boy to sleep. Rande and I joked he would do anything to get out of the puppy night shifts!

 We are both so sad because this is the best time to be out and about in the desert. I guess the only recreation left for us is Happy Hour with friends. Bar stool jumping?!? I couldn't help wonder if the west nile balance issues were part of the problem but both accidents are ones that happen to anyone. He didnt see the sand and most do lose control of their bikes in it. I guess the silver lining is at least we are trying.
I  simply cannot end with J's shoulder pic so here's a beautiful sunrise we were blessed with this week. Thanks for dropping by~

Ah February...the month of LOVE

January turned into a fantastic month of good news and awesome changes.
Let's start with Ky flying to Atlanta for an interview with Delta. They are looking for danish speakers so it seemed like the perfect chance for him to begin a career. He was among 9 chosen out of 60 but the danish interview didnt go as well. They actually call Denmark to do the interview but it was a bad connection and he couldnt hear some of her questions. He felt he was completely qualified in fluency but didnt quite meet the benchmarks. They did however hire him as a FA and said he could retest for Danish speaker when he is in training. We are all over the moon excited for him and he begins training Feb 26th.

He will be perfect for this job because he loves to travel and use his languages, he is more than flexible about where he lives or flies to, he is charming and he is soooo ready for a new adventure. Go be amazing  Ky!
The other big news is we have a new baby and her name is Jetta! She is a 10 week old golden retriever and she is beautiful.

The other side of the story is how much attention a puppy requires...we have not had one for 11 1/2 yrs and have simply forgotten. We also had no idea how set we are in our daily routines and right now everything is about her. We feel blessed we had Rande around for the first 2 weeks to help out with potty training and not crying all night. I have struggled with giving up my early morning sewing and having a clean house. If you know me these are huge issues and I am so hoping I can at least sew again soon.  Everyday we see a bit of progress and she is so happy and loving, its worth it.
A few more photos just because she is so stinking cute!

Our latest decor....plastic prison walls. "hey can someone come play with me?"

She loves the trains and runs along side looking in the cars and barks at it when it stops! Shes a crack up! Need to work on how fast she can get off the tracks tho!

A girl has to have accessories! She empties the toy box daily!

Yep...she is a Kamolz dog for sure!

 Rande leaving on tour with Childish Gambino for a few months and saying goodbye to 'his' girl. We are wondering if he will be able to pick her up like this when he returns. She is growing like a weed and will only be a lap dog in her mind.

 We also had a wonderful visit from our Alexandria MN friends, the Ringdahls. We have been asking them to visit since we left MN and they finally came! Woohoo! We also had our dear friends Lynn and MaryKay arrive the same day for their winter getaway! I was in heaven to have two BFs at the same time and perfect weather thrown in! Thanks Ky for the great MN home shirt to wear!!

 I made dinner, J poured wine, we pulled out the Mexican Train game and topped it off with lemon meringue pie from our tree. It was a perfect evening and I think everyone had fun.

Cheers!

                         The next day we hiked the Palm Springs mountain...what a workout!

Then we all met up for a 25 mile bike ride thru La Quinta and stopped for lunch at SilverRock. Gorgeous day!The bad news is J caught a tire on a curb and got thrown to the ground on the way back. He was pretty cut up and his hand was swelling so we quickly headed for home. I do not know how he managed to continue but he is not a quitter and insisted on riding. Its been a show recovery but he just keeps on trucking! 

Yep. We ended up in urgent care getting his wounds cleaned and stitched. Just not how one wants a great day to end but when you do sports~ stuff happens. The cool thing is the dr came in and said "first let me congratulate you on being active and trying to stay young. Now lets see the damage!" We have managed to ride over 100 miles this month and feel ready to ride 25 miles in the Tour de Palm Springs this weekend with our friends. I am praying for no wind because we are riding east where its an issue. I ride like a snail in the wind and will have to meet them at the finish line!

I thought I would end here with this heart I found one summer...its made from corrugated metal found after hurricane Katrina and I just love it. Hope you all have a month of LOVE and good times. Thanks for dropping by.

Oh hey 2014..come on in and sit down

Another year has arrived and so far so good. I always love New Years not because of the parties or celebrations but because I find hope in a new beginning. Somehow a clean slate offers up the chance to be better, do more, make a difference, stop swearing..oh wait that one was personal! You know what I mean tho. Its not resolutions I can't keep but setting goals that are possible to attain.
Last year my main goal was to prove I am a serious artist and be somebody for a minute. I totally nailed it and 2013 ended with me feeling proud of myself for attaining that goal. This year I am striving to be a stronger happier person focused on the moment and less on dreams of what might be better. I want to be strong enough to recognize when something or someone is not good for me and walk away. I want to be strong enough to not let others words and judgements affect my decisions or how I feel. Its my life to live and I need to be in control of my future. Let go of my expectations of others and choose to be happy each day~find the positive in every situation. Life is about lessons to learn and grow from and we will continue to repeat the same mistakes if we do not learn the lesson. I truly seem to be a slow learner when it comes to relationships...

On another note...I read and see on tv how so many families are becoming multi generational due to circumstances. Everything from laid off work, health issues, losing a house etc. You cant help but consider if that could happen to you and the answer has always been no. Our boys have never been rich but have always worked and had their own lives. Even when Ky could not find work in PHX it never occurred to any of us as a solution that he move home. It was merely a big bump in his journey he needed to work thru. Well...Rande's career choice is to be in the music business and that mean touring on the road. When his house in Denver was no longer available for rent it did make sense for him to put his things in storage while touring. Why pay rent if you are not home much? So it was decided he would pop in here and his brother's in SD between jobs. He arrived 12/31 with the rest of his stuff from Denver and got a storage unit here in the desert. At least its close and he can get at things he might need and much cheaper than Denver. I helped him unpack the Penske truck and it was kind of fun to see so many things we had given him over the years return. The BIG AH HA moment for me came when I was unpacking his spices and putting them in our pantry. Not only was I taken back he has spices I have never used, (yes he is a better cook!) but I realized we were becoming one of those families. We are three now. He is leaving in a few weeks on a tour that will most likely go for a year but then what? Just another band right?  He is easy enough to have around so its not a problem but we had also become comfortable being just us. The point of this is how seamlessly we became a multi generational family...dont you suppose most began with someone saying its just for a week or two? Life is always changing and constantly surprising me with how it unravels my story.
J has been having some serious pain with a pinched nerve, (we think) and unable to do a lot of things he likes. We have friends coming to visit next week so I hope it is healing so we can get back on our bikes etc. I am back on a more regular schedule with yoga and continue to improve my strength. Again I feel good when I can reach a pose I couldnt do 3 months ago so I cant imagine stopping ever. Maybe a few child poses or stretches would help his pain? Sure helps mine.
We have been keeping track of the weather in MN and its suppose to be freezing cold and -60 w wind chill. One year when we lived there we also dropped into a serious deep freeze. Everything closed and school was cancelled for about a week. We had that wood stove going 24/7 to keep the house cozy and us warm. Everyone is talking about the cold like its the worse thing that could happen. I remember it as a lego marathon,  endless movies, farms set up everywhere, reading, puzzles, candles lit and wine at the end of the day. Life is all about how you choose to live it.
Thanks for dropping by!

Happy Christmas and a day or two

I find myself simply amazed how quickly this month of December has gone by. J and I decided maybe saying yes to everything was the culprit..not enough down time to simply sit and enjoy the lights and decorations. We did have a lot of fun so its wasn't all bad...just disappeared too quickly!
We had about 50 people show up for our big annual Christmas party and most said it was the best yet.
I tried to do too many last minute hordourves and found myself still working when the first guests arrived. Fortunately it was my Canadians bfs and they went right to work helping me. J had spent weeks getting the train far enough along to run during the party. It was wonderful because he lit up some of the cars with tiny xmas lights and a tree. He also decorated some trees with lights and the backyard looked great.  While it was a big success I don't think we will do it again next year. Maybe take some time to help others and volunteer. If you look up Snowball Express its a wonderful program put on by American Airlines for families that have lost a parent in the war. It is such a worthy and noble cause I am hoping to have J and I volunteer our time to it. We have been so fortunate it would be a good thing to pay it forward. I cry every time I see a commercial asking for us to help wounded warriors. They come home so broken and yet so many find ways to continue on and be amazing. True heroes.

Here are a few pics of the party so you can feel like you were attending. I know it looks like J wasn't there but I am pretty sure I saw him at some point.

SOOO many people and yet such a perfect house to entertain in!

Food galore and almost everything was GONE by the end of the evening.

Gdma and Rande

I told J about 4 days ago I could not imagine having to take down all the decorations so soon and thought I would wait until I felt ready. Yesterday my brother Ron left, my mom went home and I took Ky to the airport. Today Rande flew to Denver to move the rest of his stuff back to CA. For some reason having everyone leave left me craving a return to normal. I still had a cup of coffee in my hand when I started taking down this morning. I didnt get it all done but a very good start. Isn't it crazy how much more spacious one's house feels with no xmas clutter? I am always surprised by the starkness of normal.
T and J decided they didn't want to come over this year but we had R and K plus my bro who is usually in Mexico by now. The most difficult part of Timothy not coming is how many have asked why not, he lives so close.  At the same time we all want our kids to be happy so if staying home was impt, so be it. Being the parent of adult children is so different from what I expected. Our 3 boys are all so different I am amazed and bewildered they had the same parents and upbringing. I was hoping we would all be grownup friends and look fwd to spending time together sharing adventures.  "Life is a box of chocolates and you just never know what you are going to get." So true.

Uncle Ron and Ky

Vetterlis

Ky and Grandma

Cannot have a Vetterli get together without a little Mexican Train. I lost and Ky won.... as usual.

R and I made fresh spinach pasta one night and it was one of my favorite nights. I thought I simply had to have a pasta maker and yet managed to talk myself out of putting it to use for 2 months. R said lets do it and we were off...Yes it is quite a bit more work than picking up a package at the store but oh man it was heavenly! Really light and airy tasting...kind of pleased there is some in our freezer for another go around!

Next time I will clear and clean the island for this part...who knew it made so many?

Oh so delicious!!

Here is a cute little pillow gift I made for a friend who has a scottie dog. I could probably start a business making pet pillows right?! Everyone LOVES their pets.

I still have 2 trees and 3 dept 56 villages to take apart today and I am finishing this post on day three of take down. Who the heck thought 3 trees and xmas villages in every room were a good idea!?!?! lol... me of course!
It was so weird last night as I was removing ornaments from a tree I had the strongest sense of deja vu I would not be here to put them on next year. It was so strong it brought tears to my eyes and this feeling of doom.. I know, I sound crazy. I choose to believe it was a sign for me to let go of the unimpt conversations in my head and make a difference in 2014. Make every day count kind of thing. We dont know the future so live each day gratefully and continue to follow dreams. I will end here with yet another adorable photo of the coolest kitty ever!

Buster practicing not peeking at Santa or his gifts!

 Love this boy so much! Thanks for dropping by and I wish you all blessings, joy and love in the new year. Lets all go make a difference...

Its beginning to look like Christmas...

We have had a week or two of really nice winter temps! Even had to cover the citrus and pots because it dropped to freezing! I love lighting the fireplace, candles, and wearing thick fuzzy socks...even if its all short lived.

Gracie enjoying the ambiance!

Today was a balmy 61 degrees when Grace and I got up and its already 70 at 1030 am. Not complaining mind you...our morning walk was heavenly.

I have spent most of my free time the past two weeks working on Emily's stocking. It was a big sigh of relief to pop it with some gifts into the mail and be done. Now I am free to do some fun projects and no pressure.

It really did turn out cute!

If you see the other two you will understand why I had to make one more.

Now Philip's girls having matching (yet different!) stockings made by GrammaCher. I hope they treasure them always and one day know me well enough to understand I made them with love.

 I feel ready for Christmas, shopping done, house completely decorated, wine rack full and a few treats out. I just cant help feeling like Christmas is just not as much fun without little kids. The magic of believing and all the sweet programs, projects and parties truly made it amazing for me. As I said before I am saying yes to everything but its just not the same. Christmas is family and dreaming of Santa wish lists...I think this is where grandkids come into the mix. You can continue on with the fun and yet take a nap when you are tired! I am going to have to give up FB again because everyone posts these big happy holiday family scenarios. You have to know its not perfect but still looks like great fun to me. We will be having a sweet low key holiday and its just fine.  It just doesn't feel like Christmas to my heart.

I have had a couple of things happen this week and I am trying to process them and learn the lesson being taught. I had a friend I have known since 3rd grade decide something I said or did a couple yrs ago was not worth staying friends over. I guess I dont care enough to ask so we have just let the relationship go into the trash bin. She has made a point of emailing me to let me know she was here visiting friends which I have not understood. Why tell me if you are not wanting to see me? Well I received a Christmas card this week telling me she went to the LQ Museum with friends and saw my work.  She was complimentary in her words but why did she go to the trouble to send me a xmas card to tell me? Did she have to drive by my house to get there? Yes. Is she trying to hurt me? I still dont understand.
So last night I was just getting ready to curl up on the couch and turn on a Christmas movie. The doorbell rings and its a neighbor I know casually but we are not bfs or anything. She proceeds to tell me another neighbor I invited to our xmas party is not a nice person. Last year she asked this neighbor if my house was decorated inside as tacky as it was outside. She continued to tell me more bad news and said she just thought I should know. Hmm...let me think about this. Who is worse in this scenario, the messenger feeling a deep need to tell me someone talks trash about me, or the person that supposedly did the dirty deed?  I couldn't wait to close the door, pour a glass of wine and remind myself I am 60 and no longer in high school. I dont have to play this game and basically dont feel a need to be friends with either.  Just cant help wondering what is the truth here but also reminded myself not to get involved in neighborhood catfights. I forgot how much I dont enjoy living in tight hoods. As for my other long time friend I decided the best reply to her is nothing. She will simply have to wonder if I received it and how I felt reading it. I am only sharing these because it made me feel sad that with so much going on in the world there are people that need to hurt others to feel good. I now feel like I cant trust either one enough to be friends and really wish I didn't feel so disposable as a person. That's life I guess.
On a brighter note I just had a neighbor deliver a big glass bowl with holly, cranberries and a floating candle. For every mean spirited person out there you will also find someone that is a blessing to you. Look for them. They are people of worth and we all need to surround ourselves with joyful hearts.

Well hello December!

I have continued to say yes to every invite or event I possibly can this month knowing  how I get overwhelmed without down time. I feel a need to make new friends and broaden my life by stepping out of my comfort zone. I have joined a book club and a local womens art group. We are golfing more with new people and I joined a women's putting group. I didnt want to because I am a terrible putter but I ended up winning the money! Go figure!  I am still going to yoga and loving it. I had an instructor ask in the beginning if I was allright and yesterday an instructor passed by and said beautiful Cheryl. I feel I am improving and gaining flexibility, strength and confidence.

My form definitely needs improvement but I was so excited to be strong enough to do this!

 There is such a calming peaceful feeling when I get done I wish I could bottle it. Our instructor told us to take the feeling with us to share with others...by the time I got home I had already lost it. WTH! I dont know why but J and I have had the cranks this week trying to work on our Christmas decorations. I am hoping to finish the villages today and sit back and enjoy the joy of the season and feel the love. Well and have another eggnog!
Remember us making our xmas tree last year? Well we had bought everything we needed to make one more and ended up stuffing the branches and walking away. So this week I decided it was time to be a tree maker again. Honestly this one is soooo pretty! I have been given a crystal ornament from my aunt since 1998..sometimes two. I have always wanted to do a tree just for them and now I have.

Speaking of trees....check out our lemon trees!

Can you say lemon meringue pie over and over?! We are loaded! No oranges though so maybe next year. I am also hoping they all get taller and offer shade to our train yard.

Before I forget here is the latest photo of newest granddaughter Emily...

While she definitely doesnt look like a Kamolz she is one adorable happy baby! I am working hard on making her a Christmas stocking to match her sisters. I hope the next one I make is for a grandbaby I get to enjoy, spoil and love endlessly. Jerry just said the other day we would really be good at being grandparents. I am so envious of all my friends that get to enjoy their grandchildren. I haven't given up hope but have begun to entertain the idea it might not happen. That's life~ we are not in control!

We had a nice family gathering for Thanksgiving at my mom's. Way too much food and I made 3 pies people were too full to enjoy. When will I learn? They were really good the next day tho so no worries!

Shawn, Stacie, Kaleb, Zackary, and Jacob!

My nephew Shawn and family came from Sacramento area and it was a delight to spend time with them and get to know their boys. A wonderful family for sure and we hope to see them more often.

The boys deep fried a turkey and grandma baked one. We had enough leftovers for an army!

Timothy and Jammie...we got to try some home brews and beers from Timothy's work.

Shawn and Gdma

Rande, Timothy and Jammie spent Friday at our place and the boys worked on the railroad. It was so fun to talk to Timothy about it because his mind was overflowing with creative ideas of what he thought would look good. The sad part is he rarely has the time or desire to come over so they probably wont happen. We continue to grow and improve the set up so who knows where it will go.

Timothy adding rock base and cleaning tracks

The train team!

I had to include our inside train and Buster holding down the track waiting for Santa...

 

I will try to post again in 2013 but meanwhile go out and enjoy the day~ find that calm peaceful feeling one gets from being loved and having a grateful heart. Thanks for dropping by. Love you!