GRANDCHILDREN ROCK!!!

This is my darling Nala,  GGchild. I love how this picture shows the joy of a child at Christmas. 

 She is an extraordinary tent maker.  She disappeared for a day after she built the tent:)

GG are fun but exhausting. Even at age 11.  She takes the school bus to our house every Monday and is here until 8:00. She is always hungry. I can hardly keep enough on hand to satisfy her.

Boy is it cold here. We didn't get out of the 40's today, which may not sound that cold, but there was a stiff breeze blowing all day. We've got a nice fire going and our Christmas tree brings warmth just by the look. I've got a nice ham in the oven. It still has to  cook for 2 more hours. I can't wait to eat some.

So how has your day been? Have you done much Christmas shopping? I've done a bit - all online. I can't wait to start wrapping them and getting them under the tree. 

Thanks so much for stopping by. Tell me how your day is going!

THE PUPPERS

The puppers love the fire. Especially Arie, the lab. As a matter of fact, in these pictures I think she's a little put out by Dizzy who claimed the prized spot on the sofa. Arie will rest with her head on the arm rest, like a nice big pillow. 

These two get along great....until they don't. Play, play, play, then growl, fight. They sound pretty scary when they fight. Heck, they sound pretty scary when they play. Sometimes it's hard to know the difference! They like to play tug of war with a rope toy they have. Surprisingly the little one can hold his own - he's a tank. A mack truck.  A holy terror. But boy is he cute when he wants you to chase after him. That's his favorite game. Arie is well behaved, except when she is outside. Then she is stubborn and gets in trouble every time she goes out. She tries to sneak over to the neighbors yard, or down the bank to the street. But all we have to do is call her "bad girl", and she slinks back to the house with her head held down, looking pitiful and sorrowful. 

 When they get excited it's a sight to behold. Arie will practically jump in your arms...and she's a load! Dizzy jumps on your legs and shakes his little curly tail. 

Today is cold, but no wind. I can handle the cold as long as there is no wind. Shortly I'll be going out to do my mentoring at a local elementary school. So fun. I have a little 2nd grade girl who is precious and seems to love the special attention she is getting, and I love giving it!

I hope you are having a lovely day. Thanks so much for stopping by!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

 Hello! Looks like were moving away from Thanksgiving and heading steadily towards Christmas. Yikes, Thanksgiving was so late this year and there is little time left for shopping and decorating and all the fun things I want to do. We always get our tree the day after turkey-day. We found a beauty this year and she is all decorated and shining so prettily in the living room. When I was growing up we always lived in houses that had a living room and a den. The Christmas tree was always in the living room and we spent all our time in the den. I have always appreciated that our tree is in the family room, to be seen all day/night long. 

I love getting out the ornaments every year. So many have precious memories. This picture below is of the Wizard of Oz ornaments my dear mother crafted. Every year I like to remember her making these. They are the favorite of my daughter - they were the only thing she wanted after mom passed away. 

 A few other favorite ornaments:

The Bald Eagle from our first sighting of one in a nearby neighborhood. So beautiful!

We were so enthralled with Hamilton and just had to honor it with an ornament.

And of course, Barbie. 

Hope you've had a lovely day. Thanks so much for stopping by.

BACK WHEN I WAS COOL AND AWESOME

 Friends, there was a time when I made cute things. There was a time when I didn't mind going outside. There was a time I did noteworthy things. There was a time I had creative ideas. Alas. those days are apparently gone. So lets take a trip back to when I was cool and awesome!

Here is a little mosaic of a leaf wreath I made. I love it so much. Too bad leaves don't stay. It wasn't long before the leaves died and turned brown, But I thoroughly enjoyed it while it lasted. I made it on a little homemade honeysuckle wreath . 

Here is another little wreath I made out of fallen leaves. This one I just strung the leaves on a wire and fastened it off with a twist of the two ends. You can see the leaves are already drying out a bit. But I love the colors that are showing and the simplicity of the wreath. Can't get much easier than stringing some leaves!

I need my creative muse to come back and steer me back to days of playing with nature in creative ways. I feel it's not far off. Blogland can be a great encourager. 

I hope you're having a great day. Thanks for stopping by! 

FRIDAY MUSINGS

 Hello! How did your Thanksgiving go? Mine was the just the very best of days! Two of the grandchildren came to celebrate with us and both my children were home too. Can't ask for much more than that. The preparations went smoothly and dinner was served with no fuss.

Today we got our Christmas tree. We had a huge selection, but the second one we looked at went home with us. It's beautifully shaped and smells so good. Probably won't get it  decorated until tomorrow and I can't wait to see it in all its glory. 

I hope your day has been restful. I'm just vegetating in front of the TV watching the Hawks play the Cavaliers. We're winning  so all's good in my world. Thank you for stopping by!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 The day broke with heavy gray clouds and sprinkles. Nice. Some of my favorite weather to prepare a Thanksgiving meal!  I am right on schedule. Everything is ready except to cook the dressing and set the table. Yeah me! Well, yeah me, Sally and Don. I had lots of help this year. I hope the dressing is good, it didn't look like I remember it looking.  I guess we shall soon see! 

I am very thankful this year for my family, friends and church. I hope your Thanksgiving is running smoothly. Thanks for stopping by!

 Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I hope your preparations are coming along. It's mostly been a clean up day around here.  I have done a little prep work today, mostly getting the dressing started. This afternoon we took care of some kitties whose owner went out of town. Honestly, the cats couldn't have cared less if we were there. The air has a nice crispness to it today. I really enjoy the colder weather, love those fireplace fires and cozy quilts.  Looking forward to eating big tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by!

 

Looking Backwards

 I love this outdoor kitchen area we made for our great granddaughter, she loves it too!

Ahhh, the joy of childhood!

 I've been retired for a year now, and it's taken me this long to figure it out...sort of. I miss work and have been volunteering two days a week at my school, but it doesn't take the place of a job I loved. I think I'm beginning to feel like I'm coming out of the fog I've been in. In 2019 we visited the Christmas Inn in Pigeon Forge, NC and have all agreed it's one of our favorite places. My daughter and I have reservations in February for another visit. Can't wait! We got a new dog in 2019 and she has been quite a trial. She's much bigger than we were expecting and so full of "puppyness" that our days generally consist of us running around trying to stop her from destroying things and making a mess. We also became the owner or a beautiful Maine Coon cat. I love our animals, but gosh, I sure hope there are no more in my future!!! Here's to a great 2020!

Fall Arrived

   

Autumn!  How I love Autumn. Cool, misty mornings. Leaves that glow when the light is just right. Gusty winds that bring down a flurry of leaves. The  garden going to sleep, looking perfect in it's leaf-strewn blanket. It took it a while to feel like fall, but now it's wonderful in every way.

I'm out for Thanksgiving break. I plan our Thanksgiving dinner down to the minute. I draw pictures of my stove and record what goes where and when. Time lists and food lists and temperature lists. Diagrams and a slew of stained and tattered recipe cards and recordings of previous years notes. And yet, the final moments are spastic and frantic and midway through the meal it is always, "Good grief, I forgot_____"... Always. This year it was gravy! Thankfully, our smoked turkey and ham were so moist and tender that the forgotten gravy wasn't missed too much. I made a devils food cake, which was always my request to mom on my birthday. My husband and children had never had one (which I didn't realize). I cheated and used canned icing. They fell in love with the cake. Now I wish I had gone to the trouble to make the 7 minute icing. It makes the cake so much better. Looks like there will be another one in the near future.

Have you seen or read the book Mouse Mansion? It's a children's book. That last picture is of a few of  the mansion rooms. It's incredible. There's a cute little story about two of the mouse children.  I'm now planning my own mouse mansion, but much smaller. My little one will love it.

https://www.amazon.com/Mouse-Mansion-Karina-Schaapman-ebook/dp/B00INIXQ0W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543158469&sr=8-1&keywords=mouse+mansion