Winter Project of 2010

Greetings to all...I have been very busy this past month...as many of you know...I have begun the big project of digitizing old slides, old pictures, and Super 8 movies.

I have taken some of my old Super 8 movies, of my children when they were young, and had those digitized. Due to the cost I take only eight reels at a time to be digitized. This is another project...once the Super 8 film is digitized I have to use a software program called DVD Ripper to move the data from one format to another (the DVD Ripper takes the data and puts the data into another format). Once the data is in another format I can take that data and put it into another program (iMovie) and edit the movie(s). This is a time consuming project...but it is a great winter project.

I have subscribed to a site called SmugMug to display my photos. This is a site where I will have unlimited storage and doesn't require visitors to register. The site is easy to get around for all ages. My new SmugMug web address is... http://www.moendm.smugmug.com/

Here are some examples of a couple of photos I have scanned...

This picture was taken in 1926 and is a picture of my mother.

This picture was taken in 1943 and is a picture of

my father and mother after they were married.

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As you may have noticed, the title of my blog has changed...I now am sharing my blog with Meggie. When I was in the Cities a few weekends ago I bookmarked my blog website and my SmugMug website for Meggie on her computer. She had her mother (thank you Jennifer for the photos) take a picture of her new red dress and asked her Mom to send Grandma Deb this photo so I could post it on "our blog". So, the new title of my/our blog is Grandma Deb and Meggie's Blog...works for me!

Meggie and Matthew looking at "our blog".

Meggie in her Valentine's dress...I love the socks!

Meggie and her friend Maron. They have
dresses alike and wanted to be "twins" that day.

Meggie and Matthew...I love the glasses Matthew is wearing!
Matthew's class celebrated the 100th day of the school year.

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Last weekend we got a couple of inches of snow...the trees were beautiful...I took these pictures from my front porch.

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My friend Kay (from Racine) stopped on

Monday for a very short visit.

She spent a week in Ecuador and had

some great stories to tell. Thanks for stopping Kay!

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Last month, on my blog, I posted this

picture with the caption....

this is how people in Florida spend their Christmas.

This is the Gnarly Adventurer...my brother Rockland.

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I have been under the weather this past week and home from work...I hope to be able to go to work on Monday...hard to believe, I know. I am thinking healthy and good thoughts AND THINKING SPRING...SPRING...SPRING...SPRING!!!

Meggie...I hope you are enjoying "our blog"!!!

The Christmas Snowpocalpse

December 24, 2009 - Christmas Snowpocalpse!

The forecast for December 24...Christmas Eve and Christmas day...was snow, snow, snow...worse than the last snow storm on December 9.....want a snow storm...don't want a snow storm...want a snow storm...don't want a snow storm.

We decided that we would not travel on the Christmas Eve day or Christmas day. So, we postponed our Christmas celebration until Sunday, December 27. The Cities received snow, snow, snow. We received snow, rain, sleet, rain, snizzle, snow, rain, sleet, trace of snow. Underneath our snow is ice. I did get to try out the new snow blower...works great!

My front yard.

My Mom's car.

Ice melting on Christmas day.

From Jennifer...Just wanted to share. Matt is feeding Baby Alive in one picture while Megan is showering. Megan tattooed herself up appropriately for Christmas....like aunt and grandma. Thank God they aren't permanent....ha ha! Megan got some paper dolls from Grandma P that she promptly decorated. Matt got a couple of star wars lego sets.

I also included a picture of Megan with her gingerbread houses she made at school. She made 3 houses..one for her, Matt, and Chris and I. All the kids in her class thought that was so cool...they had a short amount of time to make the houses and she managed to focus and make 3!

Sorry the weather kept us from celebrating the day, but it is better to be safe than "ditched!"

Will see you Sunday and it will be just as fun!!!!! :)...Jennifer

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Sunday, December 27, 2009...Fa la la la

I took this picture when I was in the Cities on December 18.

The second picture shows the amount of snow they received within a week.

One week later (with some snow melt).

The children each decorated a tree for their bedroom.

Meggie's tree.

Matthew's tree.

The family tree.


The children made a snowman with their Daddy.

The children received many nice gifts for Christmas...

game for the Nintendo DS...

Star Wars...

Yoda (Star Wars)...

pocket money...

cute jeans...

Chicks Rule! t-shirt...

school jacket...Forest Lake Rangers...

Touch n Brush for Meggie...as advertised on TV...

I don't watch "infomercials" but...this came with an electric toothbrush and toothpaste. You put your toothbrush in the slot and out comes the toothpaste (see red arrow)...

gift certificates for Julie...

eight quart pot for Chris...

French coffee press for Jennifer...

Which brings us to the annual "coffee sniff"...

Even Julie got into the "coffee sniff"...well...sort of.

Since it was Sunday and "game day"...

we had an informal lunch around the TV.


After lunch...while watching the "game"... some played cards.

Matthew and Dad putting together the Star Wars ship.

Auntie Julie with her favorite niece and nephew.

Great-granny with her favorite
great grandchildren.

Grandma Deb with her favorite grandchildren!

This is how people in Florida spend their Christmas day.
This is a picture of Matthew and his kindergarten teacher.

I went to work on Tuesday, since Monday was a MANDATED furlough day. I was sitting by my desk, talking on the phone with Jennifer...looking out my window...and...saw this big bird fly into the tree...a pileated woodpecker.

Several years ago we had a pileated woodpecker in our backyard...it made huge holes in one of our trees...since then I have been watching for a pileated woodpecker. I finally...now...have seen one (I just knew there was a reason I went to work today). They are about the size of a crow and look exactly like a woodpecker....cool!

About the pileated woodpecker...the pileated woodpecker is a large North American woodpecker. It is dark black with patches of white and the head which has a distinctive flaming red crest. They range from the eastern seaboard to the central part of the the US, north to Canada and down the Pacific coast from British Columbia to California. They generally do not migrate. Their diet consists of insects, mostly that of beetle grubs and carpenter ants as well as some fruits, berries and nuts.

A photo of a pileated woodpecker that I downloaded...

My picture of the pileated woodpecker...

(double click to enlarge the photo to see it better).

Christmas is over for another year. Next year the children will be another year older AND I will be one more year closer to retirement! Merry Christmas...Fa la la la!