And, away we go. I guess I will put on my party hat tonight and celebrate. I haven't been in much of a partying mood, but hey - it's kind of a tradition. I am partial to the hat on the far left, myself. Very colorful.
I am finally getting my house back into some kind of mild chaos. That is normal for me. My refrigerator still needs cleaned out.
My niece and nephew and about three carloads are going here, tonight. My daughter and a bunch of her friends are going to a skate place in town, they have a get together from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. How cruel to make the parent pick them up at 7 a.m., but that's the breaks. I'll be there. Not sure if I'll be bright eyed and bushy tailed. I'll be bushy-something.
I will be partying with friends and family. The family member having this get together used to have a real doozy of a New Years Eve party. We started them about 25 years ago, and because of age and common sense have mellowed out quite a bit. I haven't been to their place on New Years eve in quite a few years. Should be good times.
I want to be like this picture today. Instead, I am the scrooge. Bah Humbug! Merry F*#king Christmas! Happy F*#king New Year! Oh, how I wish I could put a sunshine hat on and be happy. I always hated the song "Don't Worry, Be Happy". Shoot those people, would you? It could be the after the holidays blues.
Went to traffic court with my niece today. Nine months license suspension. $95 fees. I thought she was lucky. She thought it was too severe.
I have three more families I am supposed to visit for the holiday. They are all within a 20 mile radius of each other, but more than forty miles away from my house. I am sure that I am going to have to break them down into two days, because of work schedules.
Unseasonably warm for this time of year. I want to crawl into bed and sleep. Forget the visiting, forget the decorations, forget the New Year celebrations. Sleep. However, once I lay down, a million thoughts will start racing through my head. You need to do this, you need to do that. Where is that paper? Where is this paper? I am famous for losing important papers. And waiting until the last minute to try and find them. I hate this about myself.
How about that for a New Years resolution? To try and stay more organized about paperwork. Not more organized about everything in my life - that would be setting myself up for failure. But, just the important papers. Maybe that is why some people pay their bills as soon as they get them, because they lose them.
I want to go back to the video store and rent more movies. Then I can come home, make some hot chocolate and watch movies all evening. That is what I really want to do. Shut out the outside world. I have to force myself to be sociable. I don't think that is such a bad thing. So many people are too sociable. It takes all kinds to make up this crazy world, I am just not so outgoing. I like my down time.
I have been behind on the newspaper readings and haven't turned my television on except to watch a DVD. I have heard of the horrors in Asia and want to learn more. I found this web site today:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/savageearth/tsunami/
Sending a little warmth over.
Oh, I wonder what this arbor looks like at this time of year. I was there on Christmas day, but I don't mind telling you; I didn't spend much time outside. They had a severe ice storm. One time, I was moving my car so I drove around the block. One neighbor had his trees tied to his mail box. I asked my brother-in-law "Did he think they were going somewhere?" He said, "No. They had completely bent down over his driveway and he couldn't get his car in." Oh.
I was a wuss and did not take any pictures of the beautiful sun streaming down on the ice covered tree branches. It was awesome.
I rented The Terminal and The Day After Tomorrow. Two movies that I missed when they first came out on video/DVD. I really liked The Terminal, and was very disappointed in The Day After Tomorrow. Come to think of it, I didn't care for Deep Impact, either. There is just something about them that I don't believe. Oh, I know. They are science fiction! I can't put my finger on it, but there seem to me to be many holes in the story lines. As for The Day After Tomorrow; can you say The Poseidon Adventure? It just felt like I was watching that movie all over again. And, what do they propose to do after all that snow melts? Better build an ark. To quote Bill Cosby "How long can you tread water?"
...my daughter's boyfriend put this on his head. Heck, I may never know what these things really are. She got them for Christmas, a lime green one and a hot pink one. Not knowing what to do with them, this is what happens. Funnier still was when they put them over their hands and blew them up. No pics of that, though.
I received an email reading about Charlie Daniels' soapbox. Have you read any of it? He really goes off on some issues, I tell you. Sounds like my brother. He was all into that soldier of fortune stuff a few years ago. I don't know. Both sides have good points. I still don't trust the government. I am not sure I am a very trusting person at all. I don't want to be a trusting person when it comes to the government. I just can't be. However, I also want to support what is right. There has to be a middle ground somewhere. I just don't lean all the way left or right. I just can't be that undiscerning.
I try to stick close to the issues that will concern me personally, when I get information overload. What do you think about this? I don't know. I never was exposed to "this". How do you feel about abortion? Well, I never had to make that decision. I am not sure what I would do if I ever were faced with a dilemma. How do you feel about gun control? My brother hunts. I love my brother. He has helped me a lot. He is a wonderful person. He volunteers his time endlessly as a volunteer fireman and EMT. He literally saves lives for free. (soldier of fortune, brother.) I have another brother who wouldn't touch a gun with a 40-foot pole. He also, has helped me a lot.
For some people issues can be black and white. For me, no. I can always see something more into it. There are always exceptions to every rule. I'll get off my soapbox, now.
... my oldest sister and her husband. I recall the wedding day pretty well. I remember we all wore velvet dresses. Mine was a rich chocolate brown with white lace sleeves. My sister (the one who married that day) made all the dresses, I think. Her bridesmaids wore deep red and deep forest green velvet gowns. The flower was the white and red poinsettias of course.
My Mom never let me wear the velvet dress to school I never wore it again. What good was it just hanging in the closet? In order to realize that velvet was the material to wear, you must remember Bobby Vinton's "Blue Velvet" 'She wore bluoooooooohhhhh......velvet!'
Somewhere the breeze is warm. Somewhere far south from here. Another time, another place. Why is January, February and March so long? I think it ought to be mandatory that everyone take a week or two and go South during those three months. I dread the long, dark days of January. No break from work until Easter or Spring break. Sure, a day here or there for President's day or MLK day, but no really long break. Who wants a Monday off when it's 2 degrees outside? Give me a break. Give us a week or two off so we can head south.
Some lights on my tree framed in sky blue. The Christmas day has come and gone. I sit here quietly looking at my tree in the soft evening light. The major mess is cleaned up and bagged for garbage. Carefully sorted through as only a Mother would do. Looking for lost gifts that slid off of the shiny paper into the melee on the floor.
Tired of ham sandwiches already, we have moved on to tuna and mayonnaise. Giving the oven a well-deserved rest. (Not to mention, Mom.) The younger generation still had the energy to go shopping and visiting. Mom chose to stay behind, clean and bask. More basking than cleaning. (grin)
Nope. Just a blue Christmas ornament up close. This was from the party on the 18th. Their tree ornament. I lost all my pics from yesterday at my sister's house. Bah humbug! I went to take a last picture of the huge cat, Dolomite and I received a "memory card error". Well, I knew what that meant. Poof! Up in smoke. It may have been static electricity. It may have been because I let the battery run too low on my camera. Don't know. Too sad.
I think maybe my daughter's favorite present is this one. Can't seem to get her away from it.
It is a cold Sunday morning here in Ohio. The cleaning up of the tornado continues. I have discovered (I think) the name of the storm that went through all our living rooms that evening. You can read about it here.
My sisters said they were hit with that same tornado last night. At least I didn't have to host a dinner for family the day after it hit. I can't see my carpet in the living room, yet.
I think my daughter's favorite gift this year was the mp3 player (shown above). My niece and nephew both have an ipod, I wanted something different. We are very, very happy with the Zen.
Add a pretty red cardinal to the fencepost in the scene. The one I wrote yesterday for Peace on Earth. When you think about it, I guess most birds aren't very peaceful. They are rather mean, ruthless creatures. But, for the sake of a painting or a picture, we will add one red bird sitting quiet on the fence. A bright contrast against the white background of the snowy field and dull gray/brown tree line.
Ha! Did anyone get the name of that tornado that hit my living room last night, Christmas eve? Anyone? No? Alright. I guess I'll just start the clean up. After I head north for an hour and visit with wonderful, beautiful family.
I am exhausted, but extremely happy. I butchered my poor ham trying to slice it for sandwiches with one of my knives from here. I kept saying, "I wish I had an electric knife". I got one for Christmas. It even has its own case! Fancy! I finished the rest of the ham with my new "toy". Not really a good idea after 4 Michelob's. But hey, that is about half of what I used to be able to down in an evening. Regardless, the knife works beautifully. We can have slices for our sandwiches now, and not chunks. But, chunks are good, too.
I have lemon bars, cookies, pickles, olives, mild peppers, deviled eggs, cheese ball/tray with trail bologna sitting ready to go north. We need to shower and then head out the door. Maybe we should let our hair dry first. It is like 10 degree Fahrenheit out there. Brrrr.
Stay warm and I hope you all have a wonderful, merry Christmas! Think soft, velvety snowflakes falling on a snow covered field. There is a tree line in the distance with deer peeking out now and again. There is an old wooden fence in the foreground. Maybe a wagon wheel leaning up against it. On the left are some tall, snow covered pine trees. A red fox darts out of the woods, his hopping makes a few dents in the white fluff before he heads back into the woods - into safety. Slowly dusk falls over the field giving it a blue, glazed tint. That is a scene I would like to look at while sitting by my fire drinking hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream. My cat curled up in my lap. My dog curled up at my feet. Beautiful Christmas music playing softly in the background. Ahh, Peace on Earth.
I like my steak, medium well. I was a short order cook in a restaurant in 1975. I cooked the steaks on a charbroiler. I still recall the customer who came in every Friday night and ordered his Delmonico steak rare.
In 1976 I worked at Ponderosa Steak House. For 30 years I have known what rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, and well done mean. I am taking the above picture with me each time I go out to dinner, now.
Cutting into my steak and having the juices run red all over my baked potato is NOT medium well. Damons! Each time I eat there, I swear I am not going back. Aside from them not knowing how to cook a steak, I get an apology from the manager each time I visit. This time it was because our appetizer (The sampler platter) came after the meal. They said it was because they were behind on the potato skins. (Which ended up being hard as a rock). And, they were out of the first steak I ordered.
My daughter loves to play the trivia game. (I think she likes to see how close to a screen name she can get without actually putting a curse word up there). My niece likes the fried onions. I must remember to stick to the ribs, there.
Yesterday, we went to the mall just for fun. Like I said, I go just to watch the people. They were getting so antsy. I try to spread kindness and cheer around me. I did get some people to chuckle last night.
Fresh out of the oven and kissed. I like to make them as small as possible. More kiss to the cookie dough. Well, I guess more cookies, too. That is probably why I get tired. If I rolled the balls bigger, I would be done quicker. Timer is calling, again. Off I go!
Here we are in the rolled in sugar/ball stage before baking. A bit lumpy, but they will taste the same. I was getting tired of rolling. The glasses are there - can't read the recipes like I used to. I think it's a conspiracy.
Here we are in the batch phase of Peanut Butter Blossoms. I had to start somewheres, so I chose them. I double the batch (of course) and away we go. At least I didn't dust my kitchen and myself with flour this time. That is a minor miracle in itself.
.jpg)
peru
...not much yellow, red and orange gets posted here. So, I decided to take one of my more colorful pics from a party on Saturday night and frame it in a goldenrod for a splashy effect.
At the party we had sloppy jo's (I had made them earlier for my crew on Saturday so I had them twice that day), but we also had shrimp cocktail. Mmmm! One of my favorites. As long as it is ice cold and served with a decent cocktail sauce.
I make a simple sauce with catsup and horse radish. That is how I made it when I was a cook in 1975 and that is how I still make it. I was supposed to add chili sauce, but that stuff just looked gross. It was all the way in the back of the cooler and looked to be about 50 years old. It was in this huge 2 gallon container and was all crusty on the edges. Nobody ever complained and the shrimp sold pretty quick. I always added a couple so I could have them, too.
My friends make wonderful cookies. There were all kinds of tasty treats. I tend to stick to the basics. Chocolate chip, m&m, sugar cookies, rice krispy treats, peanut butter kisses, and buckeyes. Have you tried the new Nestle Swirled chips? Semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate swirled together into a chip? I haven't tried them in cookies, yet. They have not made it that far.
My daughter had an appointment with a new dermatologist today. She said that she is going to remove some of a mole on her back, because it looks as if it is growing back. Then, we can be doubly sure. She said it is not unusual for them to grow back. They are rather persistent.
The only problem for me is, my insurance doesn't cover this doctor. They cover no female dermatologist. My daughter doesn't feel right with a male doctor. I plan to call my insurance company tomorrow to ask about this. I have to foot the bill, 100%. They will remove the mole in February - in the office. No la la drug, like before on September 3rd, when they removed 7 moles from her back. Not looking forward to this. But, it will only be as bad as the IV was for her with the la la drug. Some stinging will occur.
Had lunch with my sister and her husband. She always has a funny story to tell about herself. This one was so bad, I don't think I would have told anyone. The things she can get herself into! I wish there had been a video camera.
After lunch, my daughter did all her Christmas shopping in one afternoon. Wow! I wish I could do that. We had a wonderful time. I flung a vanilla coffee all over the shoe saleslady. I hadn't meant to. I was jabbing the straw into the lid trying to get the good part and all of a sudden it flipped out and ice cold vanilla slush sprayed all over her hair and sweater. She was attempting to lace up my daughter's new shoes at the time. I was horrified. I told my daughter, I bet the next time we go there they have a sign that says NO DRINKS!
I just cannot believe I am this far behind. I only decorated the tree yesterday. That is the absolute latest I have ever put up my tree. Yikes. It doesn't have ornaments on it. I told the girls they could put the ornaments on it. They decided they didn't want to. So, there the poor thing sits. All lit up and no place to go.
So, I am so far behind I just now got the other half of my cards out tonight. Double yikes. Some members of my family work for the US Postal service, I like to keep them hopping.
Friday was a busy day, Saturday was too. Sunday I slept until noon because of a late night party on Saturday night. I have plenty of pictures of lights from that party, too.
My daughter has another doctor appointment tomorrow - this time with a new dermatologist for her moles. I want them checked again, she wants a female doctor. That is expected for a 13-year old girl. I work Wednesday, then it is the Holiday bake-off. Thursday and Friday I will be running around baking, wrapping and cleaning.
Maybe I will make my first stop on Wednesday evening the liquor store. Big grin. I haven't drank the hard stuff in years. In fact, I have about 6 bottles of the stuff in my closet from the first year at my house. I tried to make Long Island Iced teas. I have a bottle of gin, vodka, tequila, rum, triple sec, and kaluha. All of them either half or 3/4 full.
What a light weight I have become. No beer, though. No wine. Maybe I should pick some up. I am lacking in refrigerator space. I need another unit in my basement or garage. I thought the garage would be nice, that way I can throw my groceries in there instead of carrying them into the house.
My, I am running on about nothing. Blustery cold and snowy. We were hoping for a snow day. Not to be. My niece's and daughter's school never runs on a one hour or two hour delay. They either stay open or close - never delay. Doesn't matter. Tomorrow my daughter and I go to a dr. appointment so we are taking the day off. Then, she is off for the holidays. I have one more day, and then am free.
If I don't get a chance to post before the blessed day, have a Merry.
I have been singing and listening to Christmas carols all week long. I am separating them into lively and melancholy. I especially like the ones from the Charlie Brown special.
Most of my daughter's friends have braces or a retainer. Why not have perfect teeth? My daughter only needs to wear a retainer at this time, I think we escaped the braces. Her friends above have braces, my daughter is not wearing her retainer.The girls spent Friday night here and carried on. When they karaoke, I sneak my recorder outside my bedroom door and record them. They yell at me, but when they get over it, they play the recording back in fast motion so that they sound like the chipmunks.I am listening to Burl Ives "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" plus many more holiday songs. I have separated them into jolly and melancholy. Hah! I am still a poet, don't ya know it! Oh, that is my Mom in me.My bird may not live until Christmas. She is healthy as ever, it is just that no one is giving her any attention (busy, busy) and she is so annoying right now. Chirp, chirp loudly. "Shut up!" Then, I feel bad, take her out of the cage and feed her all my Christmas shopping receipts. She is very particular about her receipts. She shakes her head if she takes a bit of one of the shiny store receipts. She likes the dull paper ones, similar to newspaper.I have tried to get her to eat all kinds of foods and treats. She will have nothing to do with them. Give her plain cockatiel seed and cereal. Oh, and mullet spray. When I give her a sprig, the little seed shells just go flying as she eats away.
My Precious did not appear to be amused by her new neighbor. My daughter's Emily the Strange rag doll. Precious didn't tolerate too many more pics, she left in a huff.
My daughter forgot her key today and stood outside in the cold for two hours waiting for me to get home. She argued that this is why she needs a cell phone. I argued that she shouldn't forget her key and if she would quit losing them, we may have half a chance of keeping the "hidden" key in it's place. As it is, she keeps having to use the "hidden" key and promptly loses that one, too.
And, why didn't she go to a neighbor's house and call my cell phone? I was at work for one hour and at the drug store picking up prescriptions for the other hour. That is how long it takes if you don't call them in ahead of time.
Then, this evening I went to a meeting for financial aid for my niece. Thats gonna be a lot of paperwork.
Not one thing done for Christmas tonight.
I've had a busy Sunday morning. I have arranged the holiday this year so that all my shopping is done and now all I have to do is make crafts and decorate and bake. No crowds. But, sometimes I am feeling really evil and I go shopping just to watch people get cranky. I stand in line and sing the 12 days of Christmas. Sometimes people are so cranky they let me go ahead of them.
Shades of Pink
Shades of blue and green
Grapes on a bench
I can't stop.
I have fallen in love with the color mauve this season. I had to do five wreaths for friends. I try to create as much of an ornament gift as I can for them. I did not make the snowmen, I bought them. I did not make the grapevine wreaths. I just put everything together. The idea is to use it for Christmas and when the season is over, pull the snowman ornament off and they can use the wreath all year if they wish or pack it away also.
My daughter and her boyfriend are back together. I figured as much. I threw this quick poem together for her in about five minutes. It is not all about her. It is a collection of my feelings when I was a teenager plus her experience plus life's experiences. It just comes flowing out and I have to write it down.
I wonder if it is cheating if I use a website for rhyming words.
http://www.rhymezone.com/
Dead Inside
I thought I was pretty
But I was just an object
I thought I was lovable
But I was just a reject
I thought I knew it all
But I was mistaken
I thought someone loved me
But they were just fakin'
I thought I was honest
But I was lying to myself
I thought I could love freely
But my heart remained on the shelf
I thought I was earnest
But I really didn't care
I thought I was giving
But I never really shared
I thought I was good
But evil burned inside
I thought I was happy
But every day I cried
I thought I was responsible
But I was careless
I thought I had good ideas
But they were just airless
I thought I was unbreakable
But I was quickly shattered
I thought my heart was healing
But it was seriously tattered
I thought I was popular
But I was forgotten
I thought my life was good
But it was just rotten
I thought I was allowed
But I was denied
I thought I was full of life
But I was dead inside.
Legal Notice
© 2004 Peruby mgwine@adelphia.net
All rights reserved.
Silly me. I forgot to mention. My daughter's boyfriend has already been dumped by his new girlfriend and my daughter came home from the dance tonight liking someone else. All is mended? We'll see.
I hate my Internet Service Provider. A while ago we had problems constantly. I was turning the cable/modem off and on about 5 to 10 times a day just to get re-connected. And, when you call them for service they were so lame. I run into a wireless router, so that I can connect more than one PC to the Internet.
Just like the cable companies tried to do years ago - charge you for each TV you wanted connected to cable, they didn't like people having more than one PC on the Internet. Well, screw you.
So, every time I call them, I have to disconnect my router and attach one PC to the cable/modem for troubleshooting purposes. I always tell them I have a router.
I talk to a lot of people in the Education field. There were about a dozen of us having the same problems with this IP. Finally, they got their act together.
Ever since the wind storm last week, I have been having connection problems again. I awoke early this morning, hoping to get caught up on email and other things before starting my busy day. I start my usual ritual. Anti-virus update definition files. It stops cold. My wireless connection icon states that I am connected to the router, but my Internet connection goes nowhere.
So, it is down to the basement I go to reset the cable/modem. Now, one nice thing about having the cable/router in the basement is - signal stops dead the second I walk out the door of my house. Not so good when I wanted to work on my patio with my laptop over the summer, but in reality it is good - as no driveby's can connect through me.
I did get nasty with my IP about 18 months ago. They told me to bundle my cable/modem up and bring it to the closest office. They had been having problems with that model. I do as they say and they hand me another box at the office. I take it home and there is no stinking power cord. Smoke starts coming out of my ears. The office closes in 7 minutes. I make it back there just in time and they treat me like a leper.
I get everything home and the unit itself will not boot up. Smoke long gone, I am turning bright red. So, I wait until the next business day and return the defective unit. They pull another one out of the cabinet. Mind you, I am taking time off from work to do this running. I get it home, and mercifully this unit works and I can connect. So, this resolved my problem for about a year.
Now, here I am. For one week it has been hit and miss. I have been pretty busy getting prepared for the holidays, so if the Internet was down I just moved onto something else. So much to do, so little time. Now, I am getting tired of it.
I have two brothers who are on a different cable network and they are never down. Or, so rarely they never realize it. I am fuming. My IP worked really well for about a year. It was sweet. Now, we are back to down time after down time.
It just sits there blinking at me. Maybe they are updating it. I don't know. I just wish they would hurry up. I mean, come on. People get up and start their day between 5 A.M. and 7 A.M. Why would you do the updates then?
Even the state updates their systems at 3 in the morning. Get with it.
I hate shopping. I went marathon shopping today. Craft/flower stuff. I love to make flower arrangements. My head felt like it would explode until I took my migraine medicine. Well, about an hour after I took the medicine. My eyes hurt, but I was able to continue shopping.
I am pulling my hair out from the drama. My daughter and her boyfriend broke up, she has been on the telephone constantly for the past three days with friends and with him, back and forth, back and forth.
Supposedly he is already dating another girl at his new school, but then why does he keep calling?! I give my daughter a little advice, she takes it - then he calls and it is blown right out of the water. I am trying very hard to sit back and let them work this out for themselves.
But, she won't eat. The trauma. The drama. I think they are way too young to be dealing with this level of emotions, but I cannot stop time. I cannot control other people. I can guide and I can advise. I can watch and pray. I can fret (which won't do me a lot of good).
As far as I can tell there are about four other friends involved in this mix-up. My daughter went to a dance on Friday night. Her (then) boyfriend wouldn't go - too boring, he said. She and her friend invited two boys over to our house on Saturday. Her (then) boyfriend found out and went through the roof. Although, he had girl friends over to his house countless times when my daughter was not there. I am trying to teach her about the old double-standard. Not much luck.
You know what I really want to do? Tell them to "get over it". But, that is what my Mom would have done. No sympathy. I want to comfort her, but I also don't want to baby her and exaggerate the situation. I want her to be healthy and wise. I am trying to explain to her that this is part of life's experience. A step in growing up. Another move toward becoming an adult. And another push for me over the parental edge. (grimace).
It's raining. It is cold. It is cloudy. It is not sunny. It is not bright. It is blah. It is yuck. At one point in time I was here taking this picture on a sunny beach in Florida. I want to be there, now. Maybe I'll start a fire in the fireplace and fix some hot chocolate.
Ah, this is blurry, but colorful. I was trying to walk the dog and take pics at the same time around my neighborhood. Many came out way too blurry. I should get the camera book out and read it.
I found a site that was judging the tackiest Christmas lights. The author chose the house because they had all different colors with all different characters. He said that he only decorates in white, showing class and style. I kind of like color myself. I don't care for the all white lights. Boring.
At my small apartment I used to keep a string of all color Christmas lights up in the living room all year round. I used them in the evening. (migraines, remember?) No bright lights. Hurts the eyes. It also gave me a calm, peaceful feeling. Until I read that you shouldn't use the lights for more than 90 days straight. Bummer! Then I figured I only ran them in the evening, so I could still keep them up all year long.
Once I moved to my house and had the rooms re-painted I didn't have the heart to pound too many nails in the walls. After three years, the house is beginning to get scruffy and strands of lights are not far away. I wish I had known about chair rails. Never needed them in my Mom's house. It was huge.
Find out your political compass. I am at the exact same spot on the scale that Gandhi was. Wow!
Economic Left/Right: -6.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.31
Also in my corner are Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama. I am in good company, I should think.
I'm a poet, don't ya know it. This is my sister's tree from last year. I think I made everyone a bit nervous with my picture taking. When my Mom was alive we used to go to her house on Christmas eve and open presents. I have opened my Christmas gifts on Christmas eve for as long as I can remember. Way back. But, since my Mom died, my daughter, niece, and nephew open them on Christmas morning.
My Mom said she had too much to do on Christmas day with getting the dinner ready and all. Because we were such a large family, it takes hours to open the gifts. So, she moved the opening of gifts to Christmas eve. Well, that was real hard to convince kids to open them the night before NOT! So, a tradition began.
It was nice also because we could have better food. Personally, I hate breakfast food like pancakes, etc. On Christmas eve we could have all the goodies, cookies, cakes, meatballs, cheeseballs, cheesetrays, sloppy jo's, Italian sausages, barbecue ham, creamed chicken, relish tray, veggie tray, veggie pizza, oh the list goes on and on.. Oh, and alcohol. :)
Since I was the youngest and the smallest (well, we are talking years ago), I used to sit under the tree and hand my Mom the gifts. She would announce the name and hand them the gift. The later years, we didn't buy each other gifts anymore, just bought for the kids, and 90% of the gifts ended up being for my Mom. It became very tedious sitting under that tree. Especially after I turned 35. I tried very hard to hand the job over to a niece, but the family wouldn't hear of it. I think they just liked to torture me. I fumed because I kept spilling my beer.
Oh, memories. We would try to begin opening gifts at 7:30. It usually ended at 11:30 or midnight. My Mom insisted that only one person at a time could open a gift so that we could all see it before moving on to the next gift. Then when they were all for my Mom we just sat and watched her open them. Every once in a while a kid would have one to open. My Mom always hung stockings for each grandchild with a little money in it. My sister always bought lottery tickets for the kids. Get them started gambling early! Yeah!
My middle brother would sit on the steps.From there you could see down into the living room and the gift opening. My Mom would decorate the stairs every year with garland that had little plastic red berries on it. Over the years, my middle brother would throw those berries at us down below in the living room, so as the years went by, the garland had less and less berries. He is such a clown.
I miss my Mom and the Christmas eve's. It just isn't the same. We all do our own thing on Christmas eve, now. And, on Christmas day we all get together at my eldest sister's house for dinner. If we can make it. The sister's usually get together. Except for my niece's Mom. The niece that I have custody of. She is usually out of the picture around the holidays. Oh, well. Things change over the years. My Mom liked for things to stay the same. She was very stubborn.
In reality, the Christmas shoppe was very overwhelming, as you can see here. If you don't allow yourself much time, then there is no way to look at the place properly. I plan to return between January and March - they should have great sales going on. Before the tourist season starts. The Amish area is a great tourist spot for the summer months.
I never was a doll collector. I couldn't resist Miss Purple, here. She was so elaborate.ACK! I don't mean I bought her, I just couldn't resist posting her picture. Heaven knows how much she cost. I didn't even look at the price tag.
Red Hot Pepper Wreath from, well, you know where. It is a little blurry, though. Sorry. I have many more wreaths in my stash, but I am growing weary of them. I plan to travel around my neighborhood and take pictures of the holiday decorations at night. I'll try not to blur them.
My daughter and her boyfriend are having beaucoup problems. Strange, I always thought that was two words. I was the supporter, advisor, listener, arbitrator, mediator, coach, parent, friend, cheerleader, and all around sounding board last night. I was wiped out by bedtime. The drama of a romance going sour for 13 year olds. Oh, he is 14 going on 2.
My head spinneth. I have not received the court papers for the 17 year old and her speeding ticket, yet. She plans to tell the magistrate how the cop followed her for two miles before pulling her over (as if it was his fault). I advised against it, so we will see.
I saw for the first time, The Mummy with Brendan Fraser. I can't believe that I had never seen it before. We like Mr. Fraser. It was funny, and I am sorry I waited so long to watch it. One of my very best friends (who I don't see or call nearly often enough) told me to watch it years ago, and thinking it was a horror movie, I never did. Silly me. Now, I will have to get the two sequels and watch them as well.
I caught this fiber optic tree in the middle of changing colors at Tis The Season. I had to touch up the photo's arch, because there was a big sign that said something about grabbing a shopping basket in the middle of the left arch. Can you tell where I patched it over? I am not an expert by any means. My daughter can do so much better than I. Of course she has a much more expensive program on her pc. I didn't purchase it for mine.
Such a lovely day and I am sick. Headache and sore throat. I wanted to sleep all day. I worked on my sister's 98 machine. A few years back she had a Tandy from Radio Shack and wanted me to get her on the Internet. Now she is stumbling along on a 98 Gateway with 64MB RAM, no anti-virus. She said she never needed it before. All she wants to do is check her email and look on eBay. Her son used to get on, downloaded Kazaa and Napster, ICQ and AIM. I cleaned it up for her, told her to get an anti-virus put on and keep her son off the machine. I also loaded Adaware from Lavasoftusa.com.
As I was helping my sister load the pc back into her car a friend called, wanting to know how to set her daughter's 98 machine back to it's original state. Wasn't there a button that could do it? How I wish. I told her to get the setup CD and reboot her machine from that disc. I am expecting her to call back, unless that was her way of asking me to come over and look at it. I have had enough of computers for a month.
A little Dr. Seuss at Tis the Season. The American Heritage Dictionary credits Dr. Seuss as the originator of the word nerd. He also wrote a book called Boners, and another called More Boners.
Certainly you didn't think I was going to pass up a chance to display another wreath!? Okay, enough blogging for today. So many pictures!
I noticed a couple of years ago, the Christmas shop had an upside-down Christmas tree decorated in all Wizard of Oz stuff. The upside-down tree represented a cyclone. It was quite unique. This year they had many upside- down trees. Above is one seemingly decorated in white and clear icicles.
They were very pretty. A friend I was with said her Mother-in-Law had hooked a tree upside-down into her ceiling for the holidays one year. Wow. What a novel idea. If you get a tree and it just doesn't look right, flip it over and decorate it upside-down. Okay, six upside-downs (and now, seven) in one blog is quite enough.
I caught Santa napping while at Tis The Season. No doubt this is how we all feel about now. Stuffed from Thanksgiving and wore out from shopping. I dragged my butt off to the stores early this morning to catch the specials. I had specific gifts I needed to purchase. I was appalled at the lack of help and the amount of unopened boxes in the aisleways. Thinking I would shop early this morning and avoid the people crowd, I found myself stumbling over and knocking over merchandise that had not been put out. And, by the looks of it - was not going to be put out any time soon.
I am not a big shopper, so is this normal? Is the economy in such a state where retail could not hire seasonal help? I was miserable. But, I usually am miserable while shopping. I am glad I did a lot of mine on-line. I noticed a sinus pressure while shopping in one store. It went away once I got outside in the clean air. Darn those spicy cinnamon, pine and berry sprays! Ugh!
Maybe it has something to do with him costing $124.99. Ouch! If memory serves me correctly, he was just over two feet tall. He was cute, but out of my league.
I had my car window crank repaired today (another ouch) and while in the lobby waiting, watched the news with another lady. On the news, the anchor lady mentioned the movie Closer. The lady in the waiting room with me piped up how ugly she thought Julia Roberts was. That her mouth was big and ugly and she just kept on about it. I'm like, Okay, I get the picture. Why do women need to put other women down so much?
I started out good on my working vacation, but ended on a sour note. A headache that won't respond to ibuprofin and a sore throat. I kept wanting to fall asleep. It could also be attributed to the fact that I awoke at 5:00 a.m. and stayed up after retiring late last night. I attacked the kitchen today and baked a big pan of pizza lasagne. The kids like it with pepperoni instead of hamburg or sausage. I set one of my CD players in the kitchen - something I have been wanting for months - music in the kitchen. The drawer for the CD's is a little sticky because the player has been outside on the patio since early summer. But, it worked fine. Ahhh, music.
A senseless killing. In a town close to where I grew up, a 20 year old male kidnapped and murdered a 25 year old female. Motive? Appears to be robbery. He is in jail. She had a 5 year old little girl at home. My niece's former best friend used to date him. It seems that she also gave him a ride to the gas station where he committed the crime. She was not involved in any sense, she had long left the area to travel back home. She stated that he seemed fine. Was not acting strange in any unusual way. So senseless. The victim lived long enough to explain what happened. She did not know her attacker. She died 45 minutes into surgery. He had shot her 10 times.
My heart aches for her family (and his). There has already been a fund established for the little girl. This happened on Tuesday night (11/30). It may seem hard for big city people to understand but I would venture to guess that a lot of people in that small community still do not lock their doors at night. We never did growing up. That is how seldom crime occurred in our area. Small town country. We didn't have a lot of perks the big cities had, like art museums, concerts in the park, exposure to the world, but we didn't have the crime, either. The people in that area cannot comprehend such a hideous crime. Something this brutal happens only every twenty years or so.
I can recall when I was young hearing a story about a man who went stark raving mad and murdered his family with an axe. This happened in our small town. It was the horror story for thirty-some years. The incident has left the town reeling with shock and grief.
Beautiful mauve wreath from my trip to the Christmas shop. I wanted so much to get green wreaths and purchase all sorts of mauve decorations and try to make this wreath. Maybe after the holiday. I shouldn't be spending money on myself. :(
My vacation day was pretty much a bust. I cleaned up my daughter's PC for most of the day. During downloads and scans I cleaned the living room. Am ready for a tree, now. I ran to the store and bought six totes. For my Halloween decorations that are sitting in an old beat up box. And, for extra stuff I have around the house that I want to store away.
Then, out with the decorations. They are in the root/fruit/wine cellar. I don't keep any roots in there. (That I know of). I don't keep any canned fruit or vegetables in there. And, I certainly don't keep any wine in there. I don't think I have purchased wine in years. Last Christmas I drank a little bit of kahlua with half and half. I had Yoo-hoo on hand, so I added that. I loved it. Not an egg nog person.
I don't like spice, either. Maybe I will try some wine this year. I did have some sparkly on New Years day. It was a gift from my niece's wedding. And it tasted pretty good.
Am planning a trip to see the Festival of Lights this year with family. I want to take a Bus tour and have dinner there. There is also a laser light show. I hate the traffic of driving. I can't enjoy myself. Let someone else do the driving.
I received my first Christmas card today. From my cousin out of state. She was telling me that she lost a grand nephew. Hit by a train at 17 years old. He was the same age as my niece. It brings me memories of the speeding ticket and what a nightmare I could be living. I need to get my cards started.
My daughter is having a friend stay overnight. I usually do not allow this on school nights, but I am getting the impression that there is trouble at home for this one, so I said it was okay. As long as they can get up and going in the morning. They are preparing for bed now. This friend is not a giggler or trouble maker. She is quiet and very, very funny.
I have an early appointment tomorrow morning to get the window crank on my car fixed. It popped off track a couple of days ago. I have been noticing it getting loose and kept forgetting to tell the service department about it. I will be driving along and hit a bump and my window will just roll down about two inches. My daughter thinks it is funny. It is, unless it is raining and I have to leave it parked outside. For the most part it stays rolled up, but it has rolled down and inch or two. At night I keep it in the garage. I had them make the appointment early so I could get my butt up and moving. Another vacation day, and I don't want to waste it. I was supposed to call them this evening to make sure the part came in - I forgot. Oh, well.
I have to shop for two more things for my nephew yet. And my sister gifts. We sisters try to get each other something or make something. I was making crafts for them each year, but I think they are getting tired of my crafts. I tend to be redundant in that area. There are some nice Sister stuff, but I can never find enough of the same item. I have four sisters to buy for (I usually like to get myself one of the same so that makes five) and two sister-in-laws. I'll think of something.
This was one of my favorite wreaths from my trip to Tis The Season. I am drawn to dusty rose shades. I tried to post last night, but had problems and was just too tired to fight any more. But, I am ready to go this morning. Mucho connection problems on my daughter's PC, and somehow I blew up my Firefox. I am off work for two days, am supposed to be decorating - but I want to iron out these glitches, too. I hate glitches.
Went to the baby shower last night. Was very nice. Mom-to-be got lots of nice presents for baby. She was wearing slippers because she said her feet went from 7 1/2 to size 9. Ouch. I can't believe all the cute baby stuff they have out now days. I was strapped financially when my girl was small, so I didn't go overboard and I didn't need to. I would be in serious trouble today, though, if I had a little one to spoil. (I'll gladly wait for grandchildren!) She's only 13.
My bird is wanting attention this morning. She loves to have her head and ears scratched, but every once in a while she will just turn her head and peck at me. Now, it doesn't hurt - not unless she is really perturbed, but it is the element of surprise that gets you. Sometimes when she is mad she just attacks me, but not in a painful way. She more or less rubs her beak all over my hand, but she does it so quickly it appears that she is pecking at me. But, when she means business watch out. I am used to her and it doesn't bother me. She is my pet. I love her. I say her as if I knew what sex she is. The lady we purchased her from said female, she had been raising cockatiels for 40 years, so I'll go with what she says.
Back to the Chalet tonight for 3 stories of Christmas decorations galore! This arch pictured here had purple, rust, green and golden hydrangeas, large white daisy-like flowers, white doves, and green foliage. Flecked with iron rust butterflies. The crystal white snow globe hanging in the center set it off just right. This began the labyrinth of the enormous selection that they have.
I was drawn to the blue tree section. I would guess there were 50 different blue ornaments to choose from on that tree. And about 10 different strings of lights, and 10 different strands of garland. All in hues of blues. This theme was repeated constantly around the main floor. Greens, pinks, purples, golds. Not to mention the enormous snowman and Santa sections. This year for the first time I saw the Red Hat lady section. Wow, that was vibrant.
I took 200 pictures tonight, but I couldn't get it all. I was very surprised they let me take pictures at all. I asked first, they said "sure". I was able to get snowman gifts I have picked out for someone in mind. I couldn't find an angel I liked though, for someone else. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of angels, they just didn't catch my eye. There were cowboy themes, football, firemen, roosters, fruit, bears, fish, Victorian, ballerina, jalapeno peppers, oh - the list goes on.
The atmosphere was bright and cheery inside, but outside it was a cold, drizzly end of November rain. It was coming down in sheets, seeping into our bones. We ate at a wonderful Amish restaurant where the noodles, mashed potatoes and sweet potato fries are home made. The Amish would never serve a dish without noodles. I don't like noodles. I had no problem finding other delicious delights, though. And, the desserts! Red raspberry cream pie, grape pie, peanut butter silk pie, coconut cream pie, pumpkin pie, on and on...
With my tummy full, my shopping bag full, my wallet (not empty but dented) I headed home through the steel cold to a nice, cozy, warm, glowing home. I am so very, very blessed.
Here is Sable being ambiguous. She really doesn't know what to think of me. I call her name, she looks at me and sees a blinding flash of light. And I do it over and over again. Maybe this is the look of patience.No school or work today. Leftover day off from the holiday. I did take my daughter to the doctor for antibiotics. She has strep throat and an infection in her ear. There was a long line at the drug store at the Pharmacy counter. And, there were a lot of people coughing and sniffling.Speaking of babies, I caught part of one of my favorite movies the other day. Raising Arizona. I didn't realize it before, but Frances McDormand is in the movie. For some reason that movie just makes me want to hold a baby. Not have a baby. When people say they want to have a baby or another baby, I don't think they mean they want to go through labor again. I like bonding with little babies. I like to see them smile at me. I like to win them over. It dawned on me a while ago why politicians hold babies. It is a matter of trust. Well, I have about two dozen blue satin Christmas balls to hang this week. I will probably get a live tree this week-end. I hate to put it up too soon. It seems like it dries out, even though I keep it watered well. I have mostly blue lights. I am just a blue sort of person. The color relaxes me. My living room is chrome, blue and light oak. Kind of like this. I hope I can get the kids to decorate the tree. I did so many at my Mom's house, I really don't mind turning that job over to other people. I recall one of my daughter's little friends always helping us decorate our tree. Her Mother had to have the perfect tree. No child was allowed to help decorate it. One year it was purple and gold, one year red and gold, one year blue and gold - you get the picture. Every ornament strategically placed on the tree. Nice, but at least let the kids decorate one for themselves. One of my favorite Christmas carols, Christmas Was Meant for Children.
Here is another of my sister's cats inside the box I brought my goodies in, and another picture of him outside the box. I had sat the box down and I don't think it was more than 30 seconds and he was curled up inside. Snap, snap went my camera. Or whirr, whirr. Whatever noise a digital camera makes.
I fixed a complete Thanksgiving dinner on Friday and did not go shopping. I spent Friday afternoon cleaning up the mess that a complete Thanksgiving dinner makes. My crew went shopping. I guess they couldn't resist the specials. And, from what I heard there were some. Oh, well. I also resisted shopping on Saturday, but I am not sure I can hold out much longer. I sorted through all my purchases yesterday and took inventory and hid them. Now, I am ready to hit the stores for more.
My nephew found a great deal on a home theater system. I can't recall the exact model he said, but I think it was this one. When he left Saturday evening to return to Columbus, I asked him if the stereo would be connected first or would he get his week-end chores of changing the oil in his car, first? He laughed. I may never know. I am thinking he watched the recordings from his new Replay.
My daughter had her friend overnite last night and I watched the younger sister, who is six years old. I forgot how bored six year-olds get. They must be entertained every hour or so. Drawing, cartoons, and Nintendo. I participated in the drawing, but I don't do Nintendo. I did enjoy a good run of Spongebob. At one point I laughed outloud and the kids just gave me this strange look. It has been a while since my daughter wanted to watch cartoons.
Okay, she is bored again. She is standing here leaning on me twirling her hair. How did my Mom manage eight?
Remember the fake picture that went around on the Internet a couple of years ago, with that guy holding that huge cat that looked to be as big as a dog? I think I found the cat at my sister's house. Did he swallow the turkey? Maybe.
He is a very shy cat, my daughter finally snapped him during a repose. She has other cats, not as large as this one. My big cat (Casper) actually lost some weight. He is only 11 pounds, now. He used to be 13 pounds.
What a beautiful, wonderful Thanksgiving I had. My niece came up to visit from Louisiana and she brought her friend and her two daughters. This is the first time they saw snow. We had a dusting this morning, but it was wet and stuck to the trees. I met the 10 year old. She was very excited.
Most of the family was present at my sister's house. Out of the 8 children only one sister and one brother could not be there today. Out of 12 nieces and nephews, 4 were absent. And various friends came with all of them, making for a joyous houseful. My daughter has been ill with a sore throat and congestion. She had aches and pains yesterday. I am keeping her stocked up with popsicles, ginger ale and apple sauce. She prefers ibuprofen over acetaminophen.
Watched Stuck on You last evening. Now, I used to work in a hardware/automotive store so I have seen a paint shaker. I thought that was funny. I know - this from someone who doesn't like bathroom humor, but I don't mind a dirty joke now and then if it is approached delicately. Not in your face, raunchy humor.
The kids are watching the third Harry Potter movie. Prisoner of Azkaba. I might watch it later this week-end if I get the chance. I fix the turkey and trimmings tomorrow or Saturday. Depends on my energy level. I liked the idea I read about tomorrow being "Buy Nothing Day." What a concept. Does that count purchasing on-line? Of course it would. I guess in the U.S. it is held the Friday after the Thanksgiving holiday and in the U.K. it is on the last Saturday in November. We'll see how I do. If I buckle down and fix the dinner, I should be okay, since I purchased all the items a few days ago.
I hope this season found all my readers safe and warm for the holiday. Cheers.
I don't know. I was shopping on-line and looked at hats. This is a picture of a Garbo hat. When I saw the model's hand, I was like, "huh?" Has the picture been touched up? Elongated? It just didn't look normal to me.
I went home for lunch today. Yes, I finally found a job that allows me to take a full hour for lunch! Not 30 minutes. Not 45 minutes. An hour! Have I made the big time? Anyway, I was late getting back to work. I am in my house, thinking "where is my purse? Maybe I left it in the car." I walk out in the rain and look in the car. No purse. I wheeled around on my foot, turning to go back into the house when something heavy struck me on the thigh. My purse. Huh. Hanging on my shoulder all along. Bad purse!
Remember the old Mad magazine? "You know you're getting old when..." That is about how I felt. Geesh.
.jpg)
