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Monday, December 31, 2012

Year In Pictorial Review

2012 Year In Review

2012 has been a year full of ups and downs for me.  Ending last year convalescing from shoulder surgery, I had a lot of down time and it was then that I discovered Lisa Freemont Street's Youtube channel.  I had always been drawn to vintage clothing, antiques and all sort of kitsch and immediately fell in love with her channel and started to seek out others like it.   I already owned a few vintage dresses but hardly ever wore them-I was one of those ladies that feared being different.  But, after much soul searching and self discovery, I decided that I was a vintage girl at heart, so why not be who I truly was.  I decided to delve into the world of wearing vintage hairstyles plus started collecting more vintage, reproductions, and retro styled clothing.  My goal is to supply my complete wardrobe with said items and donate my modern clothes.   But, a downfall of convalescing is my diet began to get lax and I have put on weight.  This makes shopping for clothing difficult, or rather more depressing than joyful, so I have been very particular about what I have gotten and have held off on many purchases until I can get my weight under control.

So many things have happened over the course of this year.  Joyous occasions such as the birth of a new grandchild along with two of my other grandchildren celebrating first birthdays, my youngest sons,which are twins, graduated high school, and we finished off the year with the wedding of my second oldest son.  I went through some changes with my job and I also began my blog and have met many wonderful fellow bloggers.

Although most all of this year has been wonderful for me, I've also had some not so joyous occasions, most recently with the news that my father has a terminal illness.  This is a difficult time for my family but we are so thankful that we have had the privilege of calling him our father and grandfather.

In this post I wanted to share the things that have happened in my world throughout this past year, not necessarily a "best of" but more of a chronicle of the year, and what better way to do that than by sharing photos of the things that transpired.  So, without further rambling on from me, here is my year in pictorial review.

I started the year exploring vintage hairstyles and authentic ways to achieve them, plus some not so authentic ways.  Through a lot of trial and error, I have achieved some pretty good successes and learned from my failures.

Pin curls and scarf
Retro Gran learning how to pincurl her hair.

Hair extensions
I wanted to have the option of longer hair so I purchased hair extensions.

The year also brought some storms our way.  We really only had one major snow storm all last winter and it was late into the season, close to spring.  Then spring brought lots of flash floods and summer brought an extreme heat wave with severe weather, tornadoes, and power outages.  This year also brought us a Blue Moon and a Super Moon, both of which were grand sights to see.

Snow storm
The only real snow we had last winter was in March of this year.

Flash floods
Flash floods wreaked havoc on the mulch in my flower beds, not to mention my sons truck.

Super Moon 2012
View of a SuperMoon from our front porch

severe storms
This was the sight we saw while driving through a severe hail storm.  Poor quality picture taken with my phone but - Scary!

Within my family we saw the birth of a new grandchild, graduation for our sons, senior prom for my niece, a wedding for my second oldest, and the celebration of first birthdays for two more of my grandchildren.

High School graduation
Our boys graduated, so proud of them and so thankful that part of their and our lives is over.

Cousins
Two of my grandbabies achieved the milestone of first birthdays.   What fun we had.

Senior prom
I had the privilege of helping my niece get ready for her senior prom.

Newborn
The tremendous blessing of a new bundle of joy.

Christmas Eve wedding
The love and joy of gaining a new daughter and grandson - officially.

We also had the addition of a beautiful British Shorthair kitty to our pet family which we named Oliver.  It has been several years since we have had a cat in our house so we are enjoying his liveliness immensely.  Although, I must say that our English Mastiff, Tucker and our Rottie/Lab mix, Reaver could probably have lived happily without him.  

Lab and Rottie mix
Reaver is our old faithful family pet and the best dog you could ever want.

English Mastiff with Santa
Tucker is his mommy's baby.  He has truly captured my heart and I think Santa liked him too because he brought him a gigantic elk antler.

British Shorthair kitten
Our new kitty, Oliver.  He is such a ball of energy and joy.

My projects for the year were fewer than in years past, partly because of recovering from my shoulder surgery, but mainly because we have a toddler living in our home at present which I'm sure many of you know, its very hard to get things accomplished except during nap time, and being that I work full-time  I usually was out of the house during that precious time.  But I did manage to get some yard work done and we installed a new water line.  My sewing was very minimal this year but I did whip up a diaper bag for my son and his fiance and created a dress for my granddaughter.  I spent a lot of time socializing my grandson and mastiff together and still found time to create 20 cakes and 200 cupcakes.

Kubota tractor
Hey, I can operate a tractor with the best of them!

Water line ditch
Ditch for the new water line all the way through our front yard.

Baby and Mastiff
My grandson and Tucker have become the best of friends.

Hungry Caterpillar dress
My granddaughter loved her Hungry Caterpillar dress.

Homemade Diaper Bag
Diaper bag - I have another one to make so maybe I will do a tutorial with it.

Lilies and Butterflies cake
I only make cakes for my family, but we have a HUGE family!  I created this one for my nieces 18th birthday.

Throughout the year, the Mister and I succeeded in escaping on several little getaways.  We hiked the trails of Gatlinburg, Tennessee and wandered the streets of Pigeon Forge several times this year.  We took a couple of the grandchildren to the North Carolina Zoo, survived a torrential downpour of rain on Grandfather Mountain, spent a week with my sister's family at the Outer Banks, and ventured out to Ripley's Aquarium.  We also visited my hometown and a local cemetery for Memorial Day.

Civil War veteran's gravesite
This is the resting place of a Civil War veteran.

In front of Old Mill Pigeon Forge
Walking the streets of Pigeon Forge, TN

Nature trails in Gatlinburg
Hiking one of the many nature trails in Gatlinburg, TN

View from Grandfather Mountain
Drenched from the torrential downpour but the view from Grandfather Mountain is breathtaking.

Victoria Crowned Pigeon
I love visiting the zoo and seeing creatures at the NC Zoo such as this Victoria Crowned Pigeon is well worth the visit.

Playing on beach Outer Banks
I could totally retire to the beach and do nothing but play with my toes in the sand all day, but call me weird, I did not like the Outer Banks.

Jelly fish
Jellyfish are so mesmerizing to watch and these beauties at Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg put on quite a show.

N&W Caboose
My hometown of Rural Retreat, VA has a caboose sitting smack dab in the middle of town.

All in all, I had a very full and wonderful year and look forward to seeing what 2013 brings my way.  I hope all of you have a very Happy New Year!





13 comments:

  1. I enjoyed looking at your pictures and reading about your year! It sounds like it was great :)

    Angelia

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  2. Thank you dear and I am following you back. =)

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  3. Wow you certainly have had an exciting year. I;m glad that you had lots of joy and happy memories. It's cool you can drive a tractor I can drive a forklift. I used to be pretty good better than my male counterparts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aren't women always the better drivers? ;-)

      How cool is driving a forklift, that would be loads of fun!

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  4. Happy New Years Eve! Thanks for popping into my corner of the world! I of course was happy to return the visit and so very much enjoyed doing so! You too have had quite the year! I was kept busy by three grown daughters, can not imagine 6 kids and grandkids too! Sadly not too many of the latter are in my future ( long story short only one daughter out of 3 wants children and she is waiting a couple of years).

    Seeing your bandanna'd hair and pin curls reminds me so very much of my 40's through 50's phase I went through in my 30's... I had a mix of vintage and reproductions and lived the life 24-7 ... miss those days... when I gained about 15 pounds due to health and moved to Texas where no one was dressed in anything but track suits I gave it all up.... kind of weak of me I know. I applaud you for embracing the inner you! This past year I did the same and began dressing with a nod to the 1920's and 1930's ...just a couple of the many era's from the past that I adore, and instead of going vintage ( so hard to find size and anything not falling apart or that I could afford) I simply bought a mix of modern items and blended them to create my own style... a style that once again cause of a weight gain hangs in my closet for the last few months... hoping as we get settled I can go back down and begin to wear them again. I too as you can tell, even if right now I am not dressed that way am a vintage gal at heart. So always glad to find another!

    Oh and that pic on the train... had very similar photo taken of me from time to time where I live.... don't you just love trains?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I totally understand the weight gain issue. I struggle with this myself and usually carry the bulk of it (pun intended) in my mid-section, which makes buying and wearing true vintage difficult.

      I love the 20s and 30s too, in fact I think the 30s is my favorite era, those long flowing gowns of the Hollywood starlets make me swoon everytime.

      Heres to a new year and new friendships!

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  5. What an action packed, busy year that teamed with definite highs and lows, you had. From the bottom of my heart, I'm truly sorry to hear about your father and can just imagine how incredibly difficult that must be on you and your family.

    On a cheerier note, I think it's flat out awesome that you've decided to embrace your inner vintage gal more! Yay! I'm a huge believer in the fact that anyone can do so at any stage in their life, and super proud of you for really embracing vintage this past year. You're an inspiration!


    From the bottom of my heart, I wish you a beautiful New Year! May 2013 be filled with as much joy, positivity, good health, prosperity, fun, and vintage treasures as possible for you!!!

    ♥ Jessica

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for your kind words, you always know just what to say. You are an inspiration to me and I cherish our new found friendship. I look forward to sharing 2013 with you.

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  6. Happy New Year Neesie! You forgot something about the 200 cupcakes... 200 DELICIOUS cupcakes! Love you!

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    Replies
    1. Nothing but the best for my girl! I love you too sweetie and hope to see you soon!

      Delete
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