Tis The Season!

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.

Black Sable

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.

Inside the box, Outside the box

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?

Dolomite

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.

Does this look normal to you?

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.

Sleepy Sunday Morning

My cat, Jasper seems to express how I feel this morning. Sleepy, lethargic, want to be left alone. Wasn't feeling well again yesterday. Took a couple of naps before I realized that I forgot to drink coffee that morning. Also went to a pancake breakfast and the food didn't sit well with me. I took my daughter and three of her friends and we went to the park next door after the breakfast. I swung on the swings. That could have contributed to the sick feeling.

Didn't get much accomplished after that. I rented two movies for the girls. Shrek 2 and White Chicks. I really have to tolerate the second one. I have mentioned before that I am not a big fan of "bathroom humor." This movie is full of that. I saw the Shrek2 at the theatre, so I slept through this running.

My nephew stopped in to visit. Took his sister to a movie. This is the first they have visited since she got her speeding ticket. Which, by the way I have not received in the mail, yet. We don't know when the court date is or anything.

After the movie, he and I talked technology. He is upgrading his computer again and building a server for home. He builds servers for work all the time, and he finally will get the chance to build one at home. He got a new toy, a Replay. He was showing me remotely all the stuff he can do with it. I am thinking about getting one. I want to be able to record movies and dump them to my PC for later viewing. My nephew is so far into this stuff. He is a true sci-fi fan. All his set recordings were sci-fi programs.

My Mom was a big original Star Trek fan. The original series from the 60's. I would sit and watch them with her. (I think she had a crush on William Shatner). I don't have a problem with that. We also watched Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Time Tunnel together. And, one of my very favorites: UFO. I think it was their snazzy cars with the doors that opened up instead of out. My Mom and I shared this twisted and strange dramatic interest. We also would watch some horror movies on Saturday afternoon together. This was as close as I could get to watching scary movies - on a Saturday afternoon with my Mom. How safe is that!?

This special time my Mom and I shared turned into eventually watching PBS together on Sunday afternoons. This was before cable television or just around the beginning of it. We lived in a small town where cable had not reached us yet. Our t.v. viewing was very limited. Two stations and a PBS station. I was deprived of the ABC channel when I was growing up because our antenna was positioned a certain way. Living in a huge two-story home, nobody was brave enough to venture to the roof to turn the antenna.

For those of you too young to remember before cable television, we had three major networks. ABC, NBC and CBS. And there was PBS. On Sunday afternoon the PBS network began playing Brideshead Revisited. My Mom and I began watching it because the scenery was so pretty. Horses and lush green grass. Then we became intrigued with the British accents. After that the story line hooked us and we became fans. I got the book by Evelyn Waugh from the library and read it. Evelyn is a man.

Omigod. Quizzilla even has a "What Brideshead Character Are You?" quiz. I am Lord Marchmain. Goodness me. I never would have guessed that one. But, then again...

nativity 6

nativity 5

nativity 4

nativity 3

nativity 2

nativity 1

upstairs view

white tree

ivy wreath

horse head

green and white tree

deer balloon

blue tree

Up Close and Personal

I moved my bird back into my room for the winter. I get her out more in the evenings when she is in my room, because she is right here by me. I chased her around my bed this evening trying to get a decent picture of her. She is camera shy.

Rainy, cold day. I wanted to sleep all day. At work we had our big Thanksgiving feast over the lunch break. It actually spread out over a 90 minute session because we had a retirement to celebrate. Such good food. I think everyone should put recipes by their dishes, so if someone likes it they can give it a try. Of course I cut up way too many vegetables, but was able to bring the surplus home. We can munch on veggies over the week-end.

Precious, our semi-Siamese cat received her second set of diptheria booster shots today. I almost forgot about it. I have scheduled Casper (the big, fat one) for Monday to get his first set for the year. Friday - this is the day we put the ear drops in. I have to get the skittish one (Jasper) first, because if he sees any of the other cats getting drops, put in the pet carrier, or a bath - he is gone like a rocket. Not to be seen for 24 hours or so. He hides in between the basement ceiling and the stairwell. I always do him first. I usually do Casper last. He is so fat and lazy, he just walks to the middle of the living room and plops down.

After work one evening soon; a group of us gals are going shopping to Berlin, Ohio. Last year a group of us went to 'Tis the Season and out to dinner afterwards. I think about twice as many are going to go this year. It should be fun. This 3-story round chalet offers just about any Christmas ornament, light, tree, trimming and Nativity scene you could imagine. I get mesmerized by the beauty of it all. They don't mind me taking pictures at all. I did last year. I'll have to post them.

Yikes!

While putting Halloween decorations away, I ran across this one I wore last year to my niece's wedding. This is my daughter wearing it this evening. We were scaring the dog with it. Now the dog will probably have nightmares.

She is wearing a jester hat on top of it. It normally has bright orange pig tails or twin pony tails sticking out of the head. And goofy orange bangs. I always thought that was a funny word for the hair covering the forehead. I looked it up once and I read that it means the hair cuts off quickly like a bang from a gun. Okay. If you say so.

Shortly after this we began an argument. She was doing something on the Internet I did not approve of. Corresponding with an unknown. I became angry and made her shut the computer down. She became angry and sassed me. I told her she couldn't go to the dance tomorrow night. She tried a few more barbs at me until I threatened to take away next week's dance also. Then she proceeded to sulk the rest of the evening.

She started me off on the wrong foot this evening by leaving her science book and graph in her locker at school. I just made it in time to retrieve the homework before they would not allow anyone in. I couldn't get her locker open, had to have the custodian unlock it for me. I was fuming. This is the only time I have had to do this for her, but it put me in a foul mood.

Then, I went grocery shopping. I am making a vegetable and dip tray for tomorrow's work luncheon. We are having our Thanksgiving meal. I cut up vegetables for two hours. I had purchased a full chicken already slow cooked at the grocery store, so I didn't have to fix dinner. It came with mashed potatoes, rolls and cole slaw. There was just enough. The girls loved the chicken. I guess I won't need to bake or slow cook it any more. This was much easier and quicker.

After that I had to clean the kitchen. What a mess it is cutting up all of those vegetables. Wash a load of clothes and turn around - it's 9:00. My sister calls and talks for about 20 minutes. We are trying to plan the holiday feast for the family. I take the dog out, feed the cats, load the dish washer, fold the clothes and bam - 10:00. I have the next hour or so to spend by myself quietly in my room, answering e-mail, blogging, and updating virus programs, spyware programs, etc...

No reading magazines or the newspaper tonight. I can't recall the last time I read a book. I think it was the ones I got to help me deal through my work problems back in September. And, I meant to do some Christmas shopping online. Oh, my. Then I am up at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning to start again. I do not get enough sleep. If I fall alseep right away and stay asleep I can get 7 hours. That is not enough for me. I need 7 1/2. I rarely fall alseep right away, I do better when I listen to Belleruth.

I find it quite amusing that the spell checker for this site stops at the word blog and blogging. You would think, but then again....

Peek-A-Boo

Here is Casper peeking out from the coats he was hiding in. Some sort of game he was playing. He stayed long enough for me to get a picture. He was probably waiting for one of the other cats to come along and he would unsuspectingly jump out at them. One of their usual games. I've never seen him hide in the coats before.

Met my friend tonight. After 25 years, we had a lot of catching up to do. We talked for 4 hours until the restaurant closed up on us. Her Mom is a trooper. Seventy and going as strong as ever. My friend is a social worker at a nursing home. She is the one whose house slid down the hill 8 inches with that last rain from Ivan. There are all kinds of coal mines running under our area in Ohio, but the mining company said, "No, it isn't the mines fault." Insurance says an 'act of God'. She showed me pictures. How heart breaking.

We promised to get together after the first of the year. I used to visit my friend and her Mom on their farm. Her Grandmother was also living at the time. She was from Czechoslovakia. (I guess that would be former, now.) They were like the army. They did more work before 9 a.m. than most people do all day. I remember that I got physically ill doing that much work out in the hot sun. I certainly was not used to it. I was like, "Can we eat breakfast, now?" Good thing I didn't join the service.

We tried to catch up on what classmates were doing. Our class didn't have any reunions. Or, none worth going to. She went to the tenth one, or fifth one. She said it was sad. Pathetic.

We don't live that far away, maybe 40 miles or so. We can get together often enough to reform our friendship. She has not changed at all. She is still the warm, friendly, funny, outgoing farm girl she was back in the seventies. She was loud and outgoing, I was quiet and shy. We made a good pair. Still do.

She moved in with her boyfriend of 24 years, and her Mom moved in with her boyfriend of 29 years. I couldn't imagine being uprooted like that after your home sliding down a hill. Her Mom lived in that house for 70 years. Too sad.

Jell-O Shots in Motion

Proof Positive that I was drinking root beer on Saturday night. I wanted to take a picture of the last three jell-o shots, my daughter decided to poke them right when I snapped the camera. Somehow I missed her finger, but got the stack of shots leaning over. They did not fall.

The board game of Win, Lose or Draw used phrases and sayings. It is funny how some people have never heard of a saying before. I was also amazed at how many of them my daughter knew.

Have been under the weather the past couple of days. Probably too much food and running over the week-end. My stomach didn't hurt as much today, I think I can return to near normal status tomorrow. I am meeting an old school friend that I have not seen in 25 years. I believe it was 1979 that I saw her last. She came in to where I was working and we chatted a little.

Strange how you can be such good friends in school and once that cap and gown come off you just don't see them any more. They vaporize into thin air. Only to reappear 25 years later. A lot of catching up to do.

Beautiful Chandelier

This is my friend's chandelier. From the party on Saturday night. I asked her if it was a bitch to clean. She said they have a spray now. Figures. My Mom had a teardrop chandelier when I was growing up and I had to remove each teardrop glass piece and wash them and then rehang them. It was like piercing 60 ears. I counted them. Maybe that is why I never got my ears pierced.

I did the shopping thing Sunday evening. I was ready for some marathon shopping. After business hours at the mall from 6:30 to 10:30. I never thought I would make it, but I barely covered half the mall. I was mad because I had to quit. The stores were closing up. I bought my daughter a leather belt and was using that to gather all the shopping bags together and slung it over my shoulder. It did okay except when I kept bumping into people and racks of clothes in the more crowded stores. I looked like Santa with his sack slung over his back. I let the load slip through my hand and promptly got a leather burn on my hand. Ouch!

And today I paid dearly for the late nights with a horrible headache. Actually my stomach hurts more. It could be the food they served at the Pure Romance party on Friday night. They had an appetizer of bacon-wrapped sausages called heartattacks. They also had BBQ ham sandwiches, french bread with sour cream and cream cheese dip, and chips and dips.

I made pancakes Saturday morning. Another party on Saturday night consisting of Stuffed Green Pepper soup, pigs in a blanket, my famous cheese ball with crackers, pumpkin cookies, chips and salsa. Finish with my sister's peanut butter rice krispie treats iced with chocolate chip icing.

Out to eat at the all-you-can eat Breakfast bar at Shoneys Sunday morning and dinner at Steak 'n Shake before the shopping spree. Oh my God! No wonder I am sick. I am getting sick just typing it all out. Am I out of alka-seltzer? Yes! Damn. Okay, it's bicarbonate of soda in water, like my Dad used to drink.

STUFFED PEPPER SOUP

2 lbs ground beef
1 lg onion chopped
5 green peppers, chopped

Brown the above ingredients and drain well.

Now add:

6 cans of Tomato Soup and 5 soup cans of water
1 can of beef broth & 1 broth can of water
2 tsp of Brown Sugar
2 small cans of Tomato Sauce
3/4 cup of uncooked white rice

Simmer on low until the rice is cooked.
You may eventually want to add about
another cup or so of water, if the soup
gets too thick.

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PEANUT BUTTER RICE KRISPIE TREATS

Melt together--(Do Not Boil):
1 cup Karo Syrup
1 cup Sugar

Remove from heat. Stir in:

1 1/4 cup Peanut butter and mix.
Add: 6 Cups Rice Krispies

Spread in buttered pan, cut treats into squares while warm .

(optional) Top with:
Melt together:
1 pkg. (6 oz bag) chocolate chips with 1 pkg. Butterscotch chips, spread on top.

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CHEESE BREAD DIP

(1) 6 oz. jar Dried Chipped Beef
1 pint Sour Cream
8 oz. Cream Cheese
(1) 2 1/4 oz. can Green Chilies
(1) 8oz. jar Salsa
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 loaf of French or Italian bread.

Carve out the middle section of the bread and cut up the removed pieces for dipping.

Mix up the ingredients.

Put them in the hollowed out bread and bake at 350f for 1 hour.

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My Pancakes:

Get a box of Bisquick and follow the directions on the back. :)

Serve warm with maple syrup. If it is my daughter (NO BUTTER!)

My eyes!

I am not a smoker. I never have been. Both my Mom and Dad smoked. Four out of eight of their children smoke. At the party last night all my friends smoke or have smoked and quit. Now that the weather has turned colder we started having our parties indoors. In the summer we have them at the lake. Outside.

I am finding it more and more difficult to attend the parties. The cigarette smoke is killing me. In my house I have people go outside to smoke. I just can't handle it anymore. My eyes were so red last night you would have thought I had been drinking and smoking whatever I could find. Even this morning my eyes are still bloodshot red and watering. I drank root beer and ice water. I have patanol for my eyes, and I put drops in when I came home. They feel better, but they are so watery this morning. The major stinging is gone, I just have to keep wiping them in order to see anything.

I took my book from the previous night's party of Pure Romance. We had a time with that book. A couple of the boyfriends were at the party and they were looking at the book. What is this? What!? You do what?! We had a good laugh at their expense.

We played Win, Lose or Draw which turned into a wry form of Dirty Pictionary because of the topic that evening. I laughed harder tonight than I did the previous night. Of course, these were my friends. The night before I was with people I don't see very often and some I was meeting for the first time.

I didn't drink because I was driving, but damn if I don't feel like I drank all night. What the heck is up with that? I feel totally washed out. I guess you could call it "Getting old." Not fair. I figure if I don't drink, then I should feel good the next morning. Not so. Maybe the cigarette smoke is affecting more than just the eyes. I imagine the lack of sleep takes it's toll, also.

Stuffed Full to Two.

Well, this is what happens when you have a busy week. I was checking my email but not taking care of it. Answering properly, deleting, saving, etc... So, I ended up with a stuffed mailbox and had to face it this morning. It went from stuffed full to two. I can't deal with those until I have an answer for the sender(s).

Slept in today until 9:00. That is really late for me. Too late. I will probably be whacked out all day. I have another party to go to tonight so that will be another late night out. And, tomorrow evening am Christmas shopping with sisters after mall hours, another evening out. By Monday, my sensitive system will be screaming. Maybe I'll take the day off from work. Rest.

As I look at my calendar it looks like another whacked out week. Two doctor appointments, one dinner out with a friend, furniture company picking up my easy chair (kids broke it), and the big parade on Saturday, along with my niece's key club from school is having a pancake and sausage breakfast Saturday morning. I work 40 hours. And, in between all that there is the laundry, dinner, dishes, clean house, yardwork, pet care, and any other crisis that arises. Counsel daughter on boyfriend problems, work with niece on restrictions because of the speeding ticket. Try to influence both girls in a positive (no matter how tired or sore I am) manner.

My nephew is coming in this week-end. I hope he lifts his sister's spirits up a bit. She is quite depressed. He got a ticket doing 91 mph. My older brother told me that he tried something similar when he first got his license, but didn't get caught. Two friends told me that they tried similar antics, luckily didn't get caught or have anything catastrophic happen. I can't get past what could have happened to my niece and her friends had an accident happened. It could have been such a horrible, horrible ordeal.

A Beautiful Pine Tree

One night last winter we had a heavy, wet snow. I took this picture pointing the camera straight up into the sky and focusing on the tip of my neighbor's pine tree. The snowflakes were big and I was trying to be careful so as not to get my camera wet.

I don't mind the snow so much now that I don't have to drive in it. But, I hate the shovelling. And the wet, heavy snow is the worst to shovel. Maybe this winter will be a light one for snow.

The sky sure was beautiful tonight. The stars were out shining bright. I thought it was supposed to be cloudy. But then it is getting pretty chilly here. In the mid 20's, I think the weather report said. A clear sky would make it colder.

I just returned from a Pure Romance party. I have been to this type of party before. They are a blast. However, the hostess did not serve any alcohol. I find that this type of party really needs the alcohol. I am not very inhibited so I made quite a few jokes to get the party rolling. But, the cigarette smoke nearly killed me. I think me and 2 other ladies were the only ones not smoking. That plus all the different scents of the lotions and powders really began to take a toll on me. I popped a migraine pill early in the evening.

I am not telling what I ordered. That is private. However, I will tell you that some friends are getting some pretty funny gag gifts in their stockings this year. I love a good laugh.

I want to scream...

I want to hide. This is very hard. The above is not a picture of me. But, it is how I feel this evening. I have a 17 year old who got a speeding ticket last night doing 110mph. One hundred ten miles per hour. What!? And the 13 year old wants to end it all because her boyfriend moved to another school. Oh, the drama. Oh, the horror. I am going to give the new Belleruth Naparstek CD a work out tonight. I will listen to the one for stress. Scream....hide....scream... cry.

Up a Tree ...

...without a paddle. Here is a photo standing underneath a big oak tree at the park near my house. Back when it had leaves in October. And the sun was shining.

I got a call from a relative who had a printer problem. Seemed this important letter she was printing kept getting a smear on the left margin. She had done everything the printer manual said to do - cleaning the cartridge, etc... I mentioned changing the printer cartridge. She had bought the printer because it was cheaper than the printer cartridges for her last printer. Wow.

Okay, so a new printer cartridge is probably out of the question. Okay, how about a different texture of printer paper? No, she didn't have any - this paper is what she uses at work. It probably came from work. It was probably copier paper. Okay, what next? In the mean time she had to read me the two page letter. She was disputing a bill. She also mentioned that her picture prints were coming out without smears.

Aha! A light bulb went off in my head. I walked her through how to change the color of the print out to blue. Edit, select all, format font, choose midnight blue and voila~ no smear. She was happy, I was happy, the company that is trying to collect the money will not be happy. Oh well. My part was done. Next problem?

No Spoiling

One of the hardest things for me as a Mom is to not spoil my child. I chose to have one child - that was all I figured I could afford to raise on my own. My choice. I am so glad I have that kind of choice to make.

Anyway, my daughter came to me after school and said "Mom, I need a hat and we need to go to the library and get a book." The library I would do, but the hat was a "no." She didn't need the hat, she wanted it.

I said that I needed to go to the grocery store, she could come and see if there were any hats there. She was fuming when I left, and over it when I returned.

Is it harder for a Mother who has no money and isn't able to get her child things, or is it harder for a Mother who has the money but knows that she shouldn't get her child things? It would have been so much easier for me to take her to the mall and let her get whatever hat she wanted. Then, I would end up with an Angelica on the Rugrats.

Think about that before you answer that. And, it does make a difference as to whether the child actually needs the item or just wants it. If there are other children in the home and the family is on a tighter budget, then the Mother may find it easy to say "no." But, if there are no other children and there is some funds available, I have to be strong and say "no." There is no reason other than the fact that I don't want to spoil her. She never offered to earn it by doing extra chores.

I don't always make the right choices, but tonight I think I did.

Seven on a couch

We say couch. We don't say sofa. We don't say davenport. There are seven of us on this couch with various Christmas gifts. Circa 1964. I am wearing blue. My oldest brother is not in the picture, he is always behind the camera. Now, I am the one behind the camera. That way I am never in the picture any more.

Also, my one brother is not cross-eyed, he must have been hamming it up for the photo shoot. My sister said that orange sweater was mohair. A white telephone was the bomb!

Notice how my legs are all bruised up. I could be mean and say it was my brothers and sisters always beating up on me, but more than likely it was my own doing. I was a bit of a tomboy. That is probably why I was so glad when they let us start wearing slacks and jeans in school. Cover up those scrapes, scars and bruises. I was nicknamed "monkey girl" by my brother's friends.

Which had nothing to do with the monkey my other brother is holding on his lap. I think the photo was to have only dolls or something similar in it, no trucks or such on our laps. The monkey was called Dinkey.

I think it was the Amish

My paper said the Amish turned out in record numbers to vote this election year. The person they interviewed would not give his first name, only his last. The Amish usually tend to stay out of the English lives, but the issue on gay marriages was too strong for them to resist. So, that could be the reason Ohio swung over to the Republican side. Although, four years ago, it was a Republican win in our state, also.

The Amish are a quiet race living amongst us. I have no issues with them. They do pay taxes, unlike some rumors that they do not. They do not pay into Social Security, and they do not collect on Social Security.

The Lighthouse

I met one of my wonderful friends here tonight for dinner. This is from my visit to the Lighthouse on October 11th. The day I went to the lake and took 200 some pictures, and proceeded to lose them in my computer fiasco.

The food was delicious, the company was wonderful and the scenery was spectacular. As we dined we looked out over the lake. We thought how neat it would be to watch a storm brewing over the lake. It was windy and rainy, but no thunder or lightning. She brought her 2 year old grandson with her. He was adorable. Very shy, but very articulate. When he did talk, he used full sentences. I was very impressed.

I found a small gift for him before he left. He took a liking to my keychain. It was a bright metallic purple snap that I had for a few years. It cost me all of 50 cents about four years ago. I invited him to my house to visit my dog, three cats and bird. I hope he comes to visit.

I had to have my furnace fixed today. It is a Trane. It was here when I bought the house. My records indicate that it is nine years old. The repairman said it was 11 years old. He said I should start looking at purchasing a new one. Is this normal for a furnace? To last not longer than 9 or 11 years?

My Mom's lasted over 30 years. It was not a Trane. I don't know what brand it was. Hers was installed in 1968 and still running when she passed away in 2000. It was on its last legs, but it was not replaced. It was oil. Mine is gas. I will have to look into this. I purchased the house because the previous owner had all new fixtures installed, and a new roof. I thought that is less stuff I will have to worry about for a while.

Took my dog, Sable to the vet's today for her allergy shot. She had rubbed a raw spot on the part of her tail that meets her back end. I also gave her and all three cats a dose of flea medicine. I was not real popular with the kitties after that. The dog didn't care. She loves me no matter what. The cats ran away in a tiff, as if saying "How dare you!" But, they are very loving, now. My big one (Casper) is curled up at my feet and about an hour ago, Jasper came up to cuddle with me. The newer one, Precious goes tomorrow for her annual exam and shots.

It is time to start thinking seriously about Christmas shopping. It will be here faster than a freight train. Let me be the first to say it. 50 shopping days until Christmas. Out of that 50, I will spend about 30 working, 3 at doctor's appointments, 2 out with migraine or other malady, 3 out visiting and such for the Thanksgiving holiday, 5 visiting and socializing with friends - so that leaves me with about 7 good days to really shop. I think I will do more on-line this year. As long as I can find free shipping. That is the killer, the shipping costs.

Perhaps Jim D says it best.

http://jddblog.blogspot.com/

This is what I wore

My daughter was curious as to what type of clothes I wore when I was 13. I told her that the school finally let us girls wear pants! I was so-o-o happy. Mostly jeans, but I had smock tops, crush velvet, knit turtlenecks, I never wore corduroy, but I did wear yellow stretch polyester. (wince).

Everyone I know did not want Bush to become President. Every blog I read, seemed to support Kerry. I like what Tabor said about Bush didn't seem like he wanted four more years. And, what Ani said about people making nooses at their work desk. Yikes. And Stacy's Mr. Bill. And Darren's Sometimes the bad guy wins.

Did you vote today?

Amazing. I know of someone who is out of state this week in training. I asked him, "Did you get an absentee ballot?" He said, "No, I don't vote." Last year my co-worker asked me to get her an "I voted today" sticker so she could wear one, too. I didn't. I wear mine proudly every year. I try to vote as early as possible so I can wear my sticker all day. One of my friend's registered this past summer, and a relative finally registered to vote at 60.

I have been registered and have voted since I was 18. Even when I moved out of state, I registered there. I try to learn as much as I can on each candidate. I consider an uneducated voter a loose cannon.

Back to the television, I go. I tried to watch something light this evening, a PG movie. My daughter is the one who wants to watch the Election news. So be it.

The picture above is from my drive on the 25th of October. It was very rainy today in my neck of the woods. Not worth taking pictures.

A Green Field

The beauty of the changing leaves creates a picturesque backdrop for this green field. I imagine that it would contain cows or horses, but they were no where in sight on this bright fall day.

My head feels like a mined coal field. As if someone had taken a pick axe to the inside of my skull. I barely made it home for lunch without being sick. I tried to heat up some chicken noodle soup, but even that smell made me nauseous. It took my medicine about three hours to finally take away the intense pain. I carried with me all day and now a deep throbbing stab. My left eyeball feels as though someone took it out and played golf with it and popped it back in the eye socket.

No matter. Time change. Lack of sleep. Anytime my schedule gets uprooted, I usually end up with one of these. I imagine it is a combination of things, really. Mostly the weather, and sleep disruption.

I wear my sunglasses inside and sometimes driving at night. (wince). I know that is not wise, but if I absolutely have to go somewhere after dark, I have to wear my sunglasses during a migraine. Car lights kill me. It is like a laser stab in the eye. I drove my daughter to the store and she did the shopping for me. She said it made her feel important. I gave her a list and everything.

What will the morrow bring?