Happy New Year!

We wish you all a very Happy New Year!  May 2019 be peaceful and safe!

God Bless America!  Life is great!

Hey!

Just checking in.  I've been busy doing odds and ends here.  I did get the un-decorating done and we got everything packed up and put away.  And the subsequent cleaning was done.  To be perfectly honest, I over-did it a bit and pushed myself to get it finished and had a couple of achier days where I slowed down just a little.  And achiness is not helped by our up and down temperatures.  We've had 70 again and then 40 and back and forth.  Today is 40's and I've been cold all day.

Another project that I've finished was cleaning out our file cabinet.  After sorting through paperwork I started shredding.  I have a huge bag of "bits" to put out for garbage pick-up.  And that is another job done!  The end of the year reports we need for a couple things for taxes have been done, too.  I'm glad to have those finished!

Yesterday morning we went to breakfast and then Les went to do errands and the Commissary with me.  He had decided to not play golf because of the additional rain and mud around here.  Not raining today but we do have the puddles and mud.

I forgot to post this picture of the Junior's, (NYC) cheesecake that Les ordered for us to have with Christmas dinner.  It tasted as great as it looked!  We discovered Junior's when we had our NYC Amtrak trip a few years ago.

And here is a picture of Angus and Finnigan with their Christmas toys.  😊  I tried to get all three of the furry boys but Cecil was playing elsewhere.  The picture looks  like they are just lying there being lazy, but this is actually mid-roll. 

So, life is great!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Rest Time

I think I am done for the day and it is going to be a pizza night.  I've been un-decorating, carefully wrapping and packing up ornaments and decorations and cleaning. I am tired.  I started this yesterday morning; finished today.  I especially wanted to get the outside things put away before the rain starts again.  There are still a few small cleaning chores to be done but those will wait until tomorrow.

Les played in a charity golf tournament yesterday.  Today he had the last PT session and he has exercises to do at home for his shoulder.  He has helped with some of the un-decorating and I get the impression he is glad we are finished.  😊

It was cold again today and started out sunny; getting pretty cloudy right now.

One of these days when the weather is just right, we will go outside and set up a target to practice with for one of my Christmas presents.....

The instructions say "treat like a real gun" and "practice until you are sure you will hit what you are aiming at"  It promises to not splatter the bug, but there might be residual salt.  I think outside use, but may try it in the garage for the slugs that have been showing up out there.  It's really creepy to open the door to go out into the garage and see a slug hanging there on the door frame.  Ick.

I browsed through the clipart to find one that showed resting.  This popped up on the first page.  It seemed appropriate.  (and obviously someone out there can read my mind!)

Stay safe and God Bless America!  Life is great!

Merry Christmas!

(picture is from a few years ago)

Les and I wish you all a very Merry and Peaceful Christmas!

Stay safe and God Bless America!  Life is great!

The Things We Put Up With Because We Love Our Children

We were "Elfed" this morning!  Actually, I probably should say Les was "Elfed".  There is a long, on-going "thing" between Les and Jacquie about Will Ferrell.  There is much teasing and laughing.  I think she buys him every DVD he makes and Les does not watch them. So now we have this on our porch.

She says that Will is lighted and we will find out tonight when we turn on the lights and he inflates.  I can hardly wait.

In other news.... it's sunny and 50's today.  Still have mud in the yard though.

Tomorrow I will be doing some food prep for Christmas dinner.  Les found a delicious sounding recipe for twice baked potato casserole.  If you need me, I'll be frying and crumbling a pound or so of bacon.  🎅  And then scrubbing the kitchen.

I hope everyone is well and happy.  Stay safe and God Bless America!  Life is great! (even with a big ol' elf on your porch!)

Happy First Day of Winter!

It sure doesn't feel like the first day of Winter here though.  It has been almost 70 degrees today.  The good news is that the rain stopped and the sun came out for a while.  And while I was out doing errands I think I saw someone's daffodils' leaves poking up out of the ground!  Our back and forth weather can be very confusing to plant life.

So, anyway, First Day of Winter....and it should hurry up and get here if it is coming.  Most of you know that on December 26th I am ready for Spring, sunshine, and warm weather!

I totally know that won't happen, but I can dream.

Stay safe and God Bless America!  Life is Great!

The Countdown Is On!

Christmas is a week away.  Most of the preparations around here are done.  I need to make one more trip to the commissary for a few things and hope to do that Thursday morning.  I say "hope" because we expect another "rain event" as one forecaster calls it and I hate grocery shopping in the rain.  Right now they say it will be starting mid day on Thursday.  We'll see.

We've been enjoying the cards that have come in.  Always good to hear from friends and family.  There used to be some Christmas letters, but since most of us use Facebook, the letters have stopped.  (ours included)  (been a few years since we've written one)

Les and I have been watching Christmas movies.  We had watched "Christmas Chronicles" when it first came on Netflix.  And we've watched the two "Die Hard" Christmas movies.  We just finished the "Santa Clause" trilogy.  Not sure what's up for tonight, we have a stack to watch yet.  🎅

A couple posts ago, I included a picture of  Cutie Girl with Santa.  Just to show that she and Little Miss E are not alone in her opinion of visiting Santa, here are a couple more pictures.  I know Jacquie and Pam will be thrilled.  Love you, girls!

note the expressions

really, really not happy

When I was a little girl, I got to visit Santa at Mom's work party.  Nickles Bakery always had a large Christmas party in the school gymnasium for employees and their families.  Lots of dressed up people, music, food, and fun.  As each child visited Santa they were given a wrapped gift.  And not just a coloring book or candy cane, but a toy, game, or doll or something.  Good memories. I'm sure they don't do that now, times change.

So, as always, life is great!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

P.S.

The wrapping is done!  The desk "stuff" is done!  And Angus' and Finnigan's nails have been cut!  It's a productive day.

Still Not Done

In my last post I said Les had gone out to clean up leaves and do yard work.  He needed my help for a bit and since I was out there and already getting "schmutz" on me I just did a few other things outside.  It was another case of "one thing leads to another".  But we got things cleaned up and have at least twenty big bags of leaves for Les to get out to the curb.  While he was mowing and doing things I was cleaning up the mulched areas, filling the bird feeder, and other assorted chores.  Les also got the outside water lines turned off and drained and the hoses put away.

One day was filled up with grocery shopping, errands and a trip to the "Y".  And yesterday we gave the bathrooms a good scrub.  Les got the shower head off and I soaked and cleaned it and he got it back up.  While I was cleaning the bathrooms, he was tightening door handles.  And then I was on to other cleaning and even straightened up the garage shelves a little bit.  You know, just usual home maintenance stuff.

So, some of those things I wanted to finish did not get done.  But I am hopeful!

It has been raining again for the last couple days.  Sometimes just a drizzle, other times raining harder.  Our quantity of mud has increased.  Our neighbor had some work done in her yard that we are all hoping will help with the drainage issues on her side.  Work on the other side is scheduled for next Spring for us.

I was browsing through my clipart again; just sharing a cute one.  It's the reason for the season.

Life is great!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Just Some Thoughts

So, I have been doing some errands this week.  Had to go to Lowe's for a large jug of commercial grade Windex.  I use Windex for a lot things and have found this version is the best.  I figured while I was there in the store I'd walk through the Christmas area.  They were just about cleaned out and everything was marked down for clearance already.  It was two weeks until Christmas at that time.

Then yesterday morning I got an email and ad from A.C. Moore saying they were having their Christmas clearance sale and everything was discounted up to 70% off.  I had a hair appointment yesterday morning so I went by A.C. Moore when I was done with that.  Lots of empty shelves and everything marked down.  I have been planning to do some shopping after Christmas this year because we needed new garland for the porch for next year.  They didn't have much but I found some I like so that is taken care of. 

Which brings me to this - - - - - aren't things really being rushed a lot this year??  I feel sorry for the folks who do their decorating and shopping in mid-December.

Another thought to ponder..... why is under the Christmas tree on the tree skirt the best place to hack up a hairball???? Both tree skirts are in the wash this morning.  The boys are fine.  😊

Les is outside cleaning up leaves.  There are still soft spots and mud in our yard but it is supposed to rain again starting late tomorrow.  I just saw a report that said our area is about 20" over the normal for yearly rain amounts and it isn't the end of the year yet.

I have plans to finish wrapping a couple things, and finish the laundry, and finish some desk "stuff"....

Life is great!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Another Sunny Day Here!

It's nice and bright today; the temperature is in the mid-40's as I am writing.  Les layered up and went to play golf. 

I've been busy around here with the usual "stuff".  It was one of our Starbucks' mornings so I enjoyed my Christmas blend coffee.  Just returned from getting my hair trimmed.  And I will be heading to the "Y" after I get some lunch.

I did a little bit of clean-up work in the yard yesterday.  I hadn't really planned to, but when I went out to fill the bird feeder there were just so many leaves on and around the deck and patio I  had to do something.  Ended up with three large bags full of leaves that I cleaned up.  Looks better.  When the yard firms up a bit more, maybe we can get the rest of the leaves bagged up.  Some areas of the yard are still very muddy and soft.

We are having dinner tonight with two of our friends at Salsa's and we're looking forward to that.  And we'll get to see the decorations in City Center.

I've been trying to catch a picture of Finnigan under the tree but he seems to sit on the back side of the tree when he sits under it!  So here's a picture of him relaxing in Les' chair.  🎅

 Life is great!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

The Sun Is Shining!

It is still cold here, but it is much brighter today.  And while we did not get the direct hit of the storm, just up the road in Williamsburg they are covered in snow and ice.  And there has been some damage from the wind in areas, too.

I've been keeping up with things around here.  We've been getting to the "Y".  Not getting much done in the yard because of the cold and mud, but I'm keeping things done out front for "curb appeal".  This last storm brought down a LOT of leaves and when we can we'll need to get those cleaned up.

The last of the gifts that I had ordered have been delivered and I need to get those wrapped.  The freezer is stocked up with cookies.  Les has ordered our traditional cheesecake from Junior's in NYC.  I've already bought a Sugardale ham roast for Christmas dinner.

The girls say their families are well and they are all keeping busy.

As I have said many times, life is great!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

And here is another kitty picture 🎅

Cecil

Most of you know that our Cecil is rather reclusive.  He has always been this way ever since we adopted him when he was around six weeks old.  Poor little boy seems afraid of just about everything.  But he does love Christmas and especially our trees.  💕

Still Cold, But No Snow Here

Yesterday we had alternating snow and rain.  Nothing stuck here, but it's been cold and windy.  And now it is more muddy.  Today the sky is gray.  Areas not too far from us did have some accumulation of snow though, and there are closings and delays around.  Cutie Girl's school is one that was closed for the day.

Les and I have been doing some odds and ends around here and we went to the "Y" after lunch.  Now the laundry is going and dinner is in the oven.  I just caught up on email and it will soon be time to watch an episode of "Deep Space 9". 

I wanted to share this picture of Cutie Girl.  Santa was a great one!  Wish I knew what they talked about.  😊

Life is great!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Santa

It is a dark and nasty weather day here.  Cold, raining, and right now we are on the line between rain and snow so it is a mix.  The forecast is saying that we will not have any snow accumulation, but it sure is messy out there.  And yes, I know it could be worse.  Good luck to those in the path of the big snowfall.

The Autism Society deserves a big thank you for having a session with Sensitive Santa.  Visits were by appointment and well planned and organized.  He was a wonderful Santa and deserves a medal!  Jacquie had gotten an appointment for Cutie Girl this morning.  She held up well.  Little Miss E was to "visit" too, but she was way less thrilled and would have nothing to do with him.  I said maybe next year.  But it was good to get to be there.

In other news, Les saw his orthopedic doctor for his shoulder and had a cortisone injection and has started PT.  Seems to be doing okay.  The weather has not been great for playing golf, but he did get out yesterday and play. 

We've been keeping up with things around here.  I'm still working on baking cookies.  This is another thing that I used to do all of in one day ......not now.  I spread it out and take my time.  Going to bake a batch after lunch today. 

We've started watching our Christmas movies and this morning we enjoyed "Die Hard" while we had breakfast.

Life is great!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Another vintage card 🎅

Just Some Thoughts and Pictures

Just wanted to share some pictures of things that make me smile and always bring good memories.

We've had this Hummel Nativity since we lived in Germany.  Mom bought it for us.

And the "antique" Coca-Cola Santa is also from Mom.  She had cut around his fingers holding the bottle and used to stick a Christmas card in his hand.

Les' Dad made Santa and Mrs. Claus.  The wooden tree was a gift from Pat.  The antique side-by-side was handed down to us by Les' Mom.

Fat Santa was also made by Dad and is a family favorite!

Another antique :)  This card has a picture of me with Scooter Kitty.

It's so nice to hear from friends and family.  

Life is great!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

There Be Snow!!!

It didn't stick but sure was pretty for a while! 

Life is great!  God Bless America!

Made Me Smile!

A friend shared this on Facebook.  Too good to not share!

It's cold and gray here today.  The weatherman on Channel 10 said there were flurries this morning but I did not see them.

Stay safe and God Bless America!  Life is great!

Not Holiday Related, But Funny!

It's another dark and raining day here.  Although it looks like it's more of constant mist really.  Either way, it's wet and making more mud in the yard.

We're having a quiet day, doing some computer and desk stuff, the usual morning stuff, watched a movie, did a load of laundry, etc.  Then I straightened up the pantry and made a couple batches of cookies that are now packed and in the freezer.  I decided to run the self-clean program on the oven and the dishwasher is also running now.

Les is watching football.  I'm going to go read.

Stay safe and God Bless America!  Life is great!

Another Vintage Card

Recently at Kroger I walked through the live trees they are selling.  They had small ones in holders.  They were very pretty, fresh, and only about three feet tall.  I've never seen small ones for sale before.  Nice!  A lot of people want a tree but don't have room for a large one.

It's a gray, cloudy day here, temp was 47 last I checked.  Les layered up and went to play golf.  It is supposed to rain later today.

I've been doing the usual morning stuff and some odds and ends and desk chores.  May make some cookies later and get them in the freezer.  We'll see. 😊

Stay safe and God Bless America!  Life is Great!