'Twas the Night . . . . .

From "The Night Before Christmas" by Clement Clarke Moore

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads………. 

Except . . . . .  it wasn't really the night before Christmas, there is always someone or something "stirring" in the house, there better not be any mice, the stockings were not hung yet, and if you look at this adorable picture closely you will see that they are nestled on someone's lap, not in their beds.  But really??!! What a great picture!  Love them!

Think happy thoughts, people, and stay safe!

Done!

Hey, all!  I hope Thanksgiving was good at your house.  It was a quiet one here.  I cooked and watched the parade during the morning.  We have always eaten Thanksgiving dinner as soon as the parade ends, so Golfer and I ate and then headed out to deliver food to Nurse J's. Just a "drop and run" type of delivery.  They are slowly getting better over there.  Did I mention that BeyB got sick sick, too??

I have been working on decorating the last few days. And I just finished!  Whew!  When I started pulling the boxes and containers out of the closet, I decided it was time for some of the things to go. So it has taken a little longer as I sorted while I worked.  I should add right here - don't worry, Nurse J and Bikini, none of it is coming your way this time!  I can hear their sighs of relief as I am writing this.  :)

Both trees are done and the outside decorations are finished also.  All is lovely and I will take some pictures later.

I have mentioned in earlier posts about our Star Trek collectible ornaments.  We love them and they bring happy memories.  But over the years it has gotten harder to keep them working.  They plug into the light sockets on mini light strings.  Those strings of lights have changed a bit over the years and the ornaments quit working with them.  Hallmark sold adapters and I bought those and that worked for a while.  Last year none of them worked and I discovered that for some reason LED lights did not work with them.  So this year, I hunted some "not LED" lights and purchased a name brand of better lights.  I have five or six of the ornaments working this year.  I suspect that over time they just wear out.  I looked at the boxes and the oldest one of ours is from 1992.  All the new ornaments have tiny batteries and do not plug in to light sockets.  If there are any techies out there looking for a project, please come up with a tiny battery pack for the older ornaments.  :)

The furry boys "helped" with the decorating.  During a break Angus and Finnigan were focused on something outside the kitchen window.  I suspect either a squirrel or blowing leaves.  It's been windy.

Along with decorating, there has been the cleaning and other normal chores to do.  Golfer has cleaned up leaves yet again.  They are still coming down.  But life is good!  Stay safe!

Happy Day Before Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a great day!

It is not going exactly as planned here.  Just about everyone at Nurse J's house is sick with various things and no one has been getting any sleep with two little girls being miserable and crying because they hurt and don't understand why.  And the grown-ups aren't well either.  I offered to mask up and glove up and go help but was told to stay away.  Nurse J doesn't want us to get sick, too.   So the decision has been made that Nurse J will try not to stress and worry about Thanksgiving and getting here for dinner.  I am still cooking and then we will take food over to them and pass it in through the door.  Hugs and kisses will come later when the germs are gone!

This is a year that Bikini comes for Christmas so they will be spending the day with Brief's family.

So, Life goes on.  I plan the haul out the containers with the Christmas decoration after dinner is cleaned up tomorrow.  During commercials on football watching, Golfer will set up the trees. :) Then on Friday I can take my time and do whatever I feel like decorating.

Today I am in the midst of some food prep.  The oven is never large enough for everything to be in there at the same time, plus it seems like everything needs a different temperature setting.  Today is sweet potatoes and pies!  I checked and the turkey is thawed.  I think this is the very first year I have not had to float it in cold water at the last minute and wrestle it loose.  So, yay me!

We have both spent time in the yard this week.  Lots of leaf clean-up and some pruning and cutting back of things.

Got to go check on things in the oven now.  Take care, stay safe, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Holy Crap, It Got Cold!

Yesterday it was sunny and got to 80.  A front came through last evening with some strong wind and this morning we were in the low 30's.  It isn't getting out of the 40's today and it is still windy.  Brrrrrr.

The winds are really bringing down the leaves.  Golfer cleaned up the yard yesterday when he returned home from playing golf.  Can't tell anything was done out there today.  Tomorrow is bulk pick-up day (every other Monday here where we are) and we have a lot of bags to set out.

Because of the drastic temperature change, Golfer decided to not play today.  We went out for breakfast and then came home to read the paper.  Just been doing odds and ends so far today.  But we need to bundle up and go out to take care of a dead limb on the large holly tree.  He wants to cut it and get it out for pick-up.

Last we heard from Bikini, all was well at her house.  Bloomer was signed up for her first 5K race in December!  Good luck!

Things are not so good at Nurse J's right now.  Nurse J has had some sinus or cold issues and not felt well.  IT Guy had surgery for kidney stones and is doing okay after that but now has ear infections.  And Cutie Girl was taken to Urgent Care with a temp of 103.  She also has bilateral ear infections and possible strep infection.  As of last message, BeyB and Little Miss E were okay.  Nurse J was bringing out the Lysol and spraying things down.  I offered to help with anything and she said to stay away from the germs.

I remembered to take the turkey out of the freezer today, so Thanksgiving dinner preparations have begun!  It will thaw in the fridge.

I was doing some desk work and taking care of some emails and had help.  Here was my view earlier:

Finnigan was helping!  Here is the rest of him:

Stay warm and stay safe!

Friday Already?????

Well!  There have been thoughts and possible posts running through my mind all week.  Fortunately, I have a pretty good editing system in there, too.  So often there are things I write, that I just do not post.  I am all for peace and quiet.

Anyway, it's been a good week.  A busy one, but good.  There were some hugs and cuddles while I watched Cutie Girl and Little Miss E for a while.  That was fun!  And the leaf raking and sweeping is in full swing here.  Golfer has mowed and also used our leaf sweeper.  I've done some clean-up in the mulched areas and some raking there.

I've kept up with all the usual things.  Also made trips to the "Y", done errands, and worked on Christmas preparations.  Thanksgiving preparations don't usually take place until the day before, except for the shopping for the food.  :)  But with Christmas, you know how it is.... planning, gift buying, cards, wrapping, decorating, etc.  I don't shop on "Black Friday" but the decorating will be in full force around here then.

Golfer and I went to see "Inferno".  I don't know what the critics were watching, but we thought it was a great movie.  There are some other good ones we want to see, too.

Our neighborhood has been busy and the street has been full of trucks.  There has been work being done at several of the homes.  Some days it has been very loud with mowers, and jack-hammers, and carpet cleaners, etc!  But we're good here for now.

I hope everyone is well and happy.  Enjoy the weekend and stay safe!

BRRRRRRR!

We had our first frost yesterday morning.  Golfer and the guys had a frost delay at the course, but once they got to tee off, it was starting to warm up.  Turned out to be a beautiful day and was sunny and in the 60's.  However, today is dark, raining off and on all day, and I think it only got to 50.  I have been cold all day.

I did get out in the yard for a little clean-up over the weekend.  I had to take care of some of the decorating pumpkins and gourds I had put out.  I had hoped they would been nice until Thanksgiving, but that didn't happen.  Several were rotting, moldy, or nibbled on.  So I cleaned that up and made a little pile of the good ones around the Thanksgiving flag out front.  Also raked a few leaves and pulled a few weeds.  And used my new blower to clean off the porch, patio and deck!

The other big project over the weekend for me was to work on Christmas things.  Did some more "inventory", wrapping and straightened up the closet.  Worked on the cards, too.

I have an observation to express, so if you get easily riled up by election results and political talk, stop reading right here.  Before the election, the Trump supporters were criticized and  called all sorts of names.  There was speculation by the Democrats that after the election, when Hillary had won, the Trump supporters would not handle it well and would cause problems and protest. Well........if you've been watching the news you know how that turned out.  Personally, I do not think that Hillary supporters are setting a very good example with the protests, property damage, and violent behavior.  Hillary has said herself - on TV, in front of cameras - that everyone should work together and give President-elect Trump a chance.  Please listen to what Mr. Trump says, not how he has expressed himself sometimes, and hear the ideas. Things will get better.

Stay safe!

Happy Veteran's Day

To all Veterans, thank you for your service.  To Golfer, my Veteran, I love you.

I was looking through our pictures for ones of him in uniform.  I figured this one would make people smile.  Here we are at a Mess Dress occasion, with my big hair, our big glasses, and our party faces.  :)  Good times, really.

Merry Early Christmas to Me!

Golfer gave me an early gift last evening!  Something I had been wanting!  A new blower to use for  outside clean-up.

It has already been charged up and used. I cleaned off the patio, deck, and the porch this morning.  Works great!  It's a little heavier than the old one, but I can handle it.

In other news the garage door is working great - smoother, quieter, and I think faster.

Golfer is at his dental appointment getting two new crowns.

I will be leaving soon to go watch (play with and hug) Cutie Girl and Little Miss E.

Life is good.  Stay safe!

The Day After

I am blessed, pleased, optimistic, encouraged, and thankful.  I am hoping that people will stay calm and get to work and be responsible.  President-elect Trump has plans to correct a lot of things and I wish him well.  After the last eight years there is much that needs to be done.

And in other news.... It was supposed to be a golf day for Golfer.  And Starbucks for us both.  With the seasonal later tee times now, I was ready to leave before him and couldn't get the garage door to open.  I came back in and got him and he managed to wrestle the door up, we got both cars out, and then he closed it.  When I got back, I spent a big chunk of time on the phone, being transferred, being on hold, and getting annoyed.  But I finally ended up talking with the right person and someone came this afternoon to replace the big spring that had broken.  Sigh. The door is quieter now than it had been and works fine, but was over $700 to fix.  But it is done now.

The quarterly pest control visit was this morning, too, and I was trying to prep for that and get ready at the same time.  And after both service guys had left there was clean-up to do. And it started to rain, so there was no golf.  Everything is calm now.

Golfer has a dental appointment in the morning and we are watching Cutie Girl and Little Miss E for a couple hours.

Life is good!  Stay safe!

Civic Duty Day

Golfer and I have voted.  We went at different times but the wait and lines were not too bad.  Our voting place is in the elementary school.  This time they were keeping all the lines inside the building when we were there.  I voted and then did errands.  He went to the "Y" and then voted on the way home.

It was in the 30's this morning, but no frost for us here yet.  It has warmed up into the 60's and is sunny now.  Really quite nice out.

If you haven't already, remember to go vote.  If you don't, you really have no right to complain.  So be responsible, stay calm, and stay safe!

What Time Is It??

I hope everyone remembered to change all their clocks.  You never really realize how many things keep time until it's time to make sure they are all changed!  I think Golfer and I got all of ours done.  I do know that this was the first Sunday in a really long time that our newspaper was delivered early!

It has been a very busy week here.  Cutie Girl had eye surgery on Monday.  Other than a post-op infection, she is doing well and we are all hopeful that this has corrected the problem.  Little Miss E spent Monday morning with us.  She has been in the throes of teething and has not been happy, but she was very good for us.  Nurse J has cheered her up by getting a bouncy seat set up.  Little Miss E loves it and wears herself out bopping all around and playing with the toys.   BeyB had an allergy attack but is now better.  And IT Guy had another kidney stone that required a hospital visit.  Golfer and I helped out with the little ones and again, they were very good.  Nurse J is exhausted, but I think things are calming down and getting better.

We've talked with Bikini and she's been busy with work, various quilting related projects, and everything else she does.  Boxer's end-of-the-season baseball party is today.  Bloomer is still making beautiful pictures in art class.  All is well.

The landscaper finally (!!) got here to take away the dead holly tree and plant a new one.  So we have had an extra chore of extra watering for a while.  So far, so good.  It looks better out there.  I was just out doing a "walk around" to see if anything needed attention.  Things are under control, leaves are falling down, it will be time to rake soon.

It's been almost record breaking hot for a few days and is now cooler again.  The heat is back on.

We've been keeping busy with all the usual things around the house, going to the "Y", Golfer playing golf, and I've been working on the Christmas shopping and wrapping and other prep.  Also preparing for Thanksgiving and the pantry is filling up.

I don't remember if I mentioned we saw the new Jack Reacher movie.  It was very good.  I also just finished reading the book that the movie was based on.  There were some differences, but it was very close.  Next on my reading list will be several Christmas related books that are in my "stack".  They've been there for a couple years.  First, I forgot about them, then I got too busy, and then  Christmas was over.  I am reading them this year and getting them out of the stack!

I am sure this will be a stress filled week for some people.  So stay calm, stay happy, and stay safe!