Family history for your WALL

Looking for ways to display your family history photographs on the wall.  Here are a few ideas I found online with links.

I love this modern take on the family history tree.  It's 16x20 inches and holds up to six generations.  

Or you might like this version of the family history tree.  

Check out My Tree & Me

Or check out Geneartogy.com if you want a chart to share photos.

Family History Charts for displaying generations of names.

Here are some  name charts:

Etsy Tree

Giveaway on Becky Higgins Blog!

The ever talented Becky Higgins is giving away a seat in Photo Preserves class today.  

Here's what she has to say: 

One reader will win a seat in Photo Preserves, taught by Laura Vanderbeek. This is a class to teach you how to digitize, restore, and display your old photos. Great idea, as I think a lot of us could use some guidance in this department. The class runs March 31 – April 13. Leave your name, a general idea of where you live, and maybe an idea of what your collection of old photos looks like right now. This is open to international readers as well (nothing to ship).  : )

So go leave a comment for a chance to win no matter where you live in this big world!

Gardening - Cold Weather Vegetables

I love Erin's idea in her Photography 101 class at ReneePearson.com of photographing through leaves, so I decided to experiment a little with the idea myself.  There aren't many leaves around here this time of year.  These are actually the cold weather vegetables I started indoors.  Yep, they are sitting in my window sill in my bedroom and the white behind them is actually snow.

I put this one first because I love it the most.  What do you think? 

Click on it to see it larger.

Romaine Lettuce

Columbia River Cabbage

Big Daddy Onions

Purple Kohlrabi

I can't wait to get these in the ground.  The lake has thawed. That means good things around here.  It snowed this morning but it's already gone.  The tulips are starting to poke up through the ground out front and I pray the deer leave them alone.  I cannot wait to see how the alliums do. I purchased 2 types of purple alliums and I know the deer don't like them.

Don't forget to get your cold weather vegetables outdoor hardy before planting them in the ground.  Don't know how? Find out more here...

(Registration for Erin's class ends soon and my class, Photo Preserves begins next week - giving you until the first week in April to get registered.)

Monkey Mask Close Up

The kids stopped for a moment to pose with their stuffed animals and monkey birthday masks.

And this is what my son handed out in preschool.  We invited his whole class to the party.  His teacher even came.  We love her! 

Now it's a hat!

And I love how my daughter's big eyes look behind the mask.  They wear them often.

Happy Birthday little Monkey!

My little boy recently had a birthday.  This birthday is a big milestone for both of us.  We are both blessed to be here.  You see, I was full of cancer when he was born.  To give you an idea, a large tumor is the size of a quarter.  My tumor was almost 14 inches long and 3 inches wide.  It's been 5 years.  He had his "Well Child" check up and he has the green light for school.  It's all very exciting.  One more kindergarten prep class and he'll be ready to go.  

My son helped me design the monkey on his invitations.  We then made Pin the Banana on the Monkey and also wall decor. Oh and we can't forget the masks.  Every child went home with a mask and a balloon.  

 The day before his party we found this cute monkey balloon at the grocery store.

And I made the cake.  Really it's off balance and I piped on the icing with a plastic bag because I'm too cheap to buy the real stuff that I know I would rarely use.  But decorating like this and making the cake for my child's birthday was a dream come true.  And I finally had the energy to do it. 

We even drew and cut out the monkeys for the cups. We served banana shakes in the cups.  My Dad loved the shakes! He kept commenting about how well everything was going which made me relax because I felt like the pizza was late and I was making a mess.  

You can see the masks on the wall waiting to be chosen by a lucky preschooler.

Here's a cousin taking his turn at pin the banana on the monkey. We liked it so much my husband suggested we laminate it.

 This balloon is almost as big as my son.

Grandma and Grandpa P drove up.

And Grandma V walked over.

I love this photo with my sweet boy.  He cuddled up on me at the Dr.'s office today - no shots - he finished them last year.  He was so happy about that. He got to hop around and share his coordination.  He has 20/20 vision.  We are truly blessed.

Brother and Sister 

And Daddy!

We had a room full of preschoolers but I decided to honor their privacy and not share those photos.  We did take a photo of my son with each friend and each gift so we'll be using those as Thank You cards.

Last day to get discount!

Last day to get $5 off Photo Preserves by Laura Vanderbeek.

 Discount ends midnight ET tonight.

Go HERE to register for class!

Fix cracks, tears, dust spots, fading, and discolored photos with this easy to understand class by Laura Vanderbeek.  Want to know more, just email her at laurav@reneepearson.com

BEFORE

AFTER

Cathy Zielske - Photo Preserves Class Giveaway!

The ever amazing Cathy Zielske is giving away a seat in my Photo Preserves class.  You have only today to enter so go check out her blog and learn how to enter!

Presenting ... Photo Preserves

Check it out! I'm sharing my Photo Preserves class once again at ReneePearson.com

It's a 2 week online class taking just an hour or so a week for those of you who want to know how to begin preserving your old photos.

This is for color and black and white photos.  Extra help for those tricky photos available during live chats.  

Garden therapy - even photos help.

I just love these colors! Although the plant is a bit unruly and you never know how the seeds are going to do each year, these are gorgeous and I am grateful to have them in my garden. Wish I could tell you the name.  My goal this year is to keep better track of what I'm adding in my yard.  Trees hopefully.  It's almost time to make the chicken wire cage for my poor apple tree.  Hopefully the deer didn't kill if off entirely last year. 

As much as I love snow, it's just so nice to get outside and run my hands through the soil.

We love snow

We got some really nice snow this past weekend.  You wouldn't believe it but there was no snow in our yard about 3 weeks ago.  NONE! We live on a private road too so thankfully there are a few people with snow plows on their trucks. It's not only our driveways we plow.

Driveway view - yes, it's that steep.

I don't usually help with the shoveling.  But this time I actually wanted to.  I have this terrible cold and so does my husband.  My throat felt a million times better while cold. And I don't think my husband could have managed to clean off the driveway and the front walk feeling so bad.

 This pile of snow is almost as tall as me!

So what do you do when you feel awful and your yard is knee waist deep in snow?

Let the kids go sledding with the neighborhood kids.

and work on a great Americana puzzle - the whole family helped on this one. Even my son helped to place the pieces we gave him. And I can't believe we didn't loose a single piece.  I'm ready to start another one...

Gardening Cabinet

Click on any of the images to see them larger.

My mom's neighbor is moving to England.  She joined my mom and our family for Christmas Eve dinner because her husband is already over there.  After stuffing ourselves with snow crab my Dad asked if we could see her house.  It's like a museum with gorgeous pieces from all over the world.  When we walked into her office and I saw this piece I gasped and said, "This is gorgeous!" 

 I immediately envisioned it on my covered back porch filled with my gardening supplies but didn't say anything except, "Where did you find this?" My jaw was hanging open as I looked at it.  She must have decided right then that piece was going to be mine.  My parents showed up Wednesday with it in the back of their pick up truck.  I squealed! The movers were packing her container to ship to England and there just wasn't space.  It's in my garage for now.  I need to build something for the bottom to protect it from the elements if I move it outback.  It will be back against the wall where the wind and snow are not likely to reach it. But for now, I love driving into my garage while staring straight at this beauty.

Can you see the old beadboard in the back?  I know it needs 3 pieces of glass but that's do-able.  

Organization and space for everything

I've had these glass bottles tucked in a cabinet since we moved in.  They just look so much better in a lighter colored space unlike the dark window area in my kitchen.

And this basket it perfect for this space - until I start transplanting stuff.

Cool Hardware

And it's about as shabby chic as it can be.  My husband would never pay for something like this although I really adore the style.  It has it's place and it's the perfect gardening cabinet for me. Every girl needs a great space to work in and I now have mine.  Thanks again Pat! You're a sweetheart.  Travel safe.