Merry Christmas!

Well, for anyone who was dreaming of a white Christmas. We've got it! Here it is! Now do you want some???
Rich has plowed the driveway twice (it was about a foot deep each time) and Josh shoveled off the deck this afternoon. I think we're between waves again but maybe the worst of it has passed. We've not had a need to go anywhere so it's not been an issue, but Dan said driving up here this morning was a bit of a challenge. We sent him on his way before it got dark.
Otherwise, we're pretty much recovering from dinner which was more than a little filling. Mom and I already finished one doozy of a jigsaw puzzle and I have to admit we're a little gun-shy about starting another one. Especially when you discover 3 pieces missing because the kitties absconded with them! Grrrrrrr..... It was a new puzzle too!
I'm not sure what we're doing tomorrow- as little as possible probably! Anyway, we hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas!
Hugs to all!
Toni

It must be December

Hello everyone!
Well, Jack Frost managed to find his way home this week. I admit we really have no room for complaint considering Fall really hung around for a long time and November was snow free. However, for all those people who can't seem to get their act together to drive in it, I wish you would just get off the road. Consider public transportation if you are so skittish about driving in the snow. Seriously. You live here don't you? Are you really surprised that we get snow every year? Okay, I'm done ranting now.

On a happier note, last weekend we put our tree up and got it all decorated. The kitties think this is wonderful of course because we've now provided them with a seemingly endless supply of breakables, roly-polys and beads to chew on, bat around and (hopefully) make that lovely smack-tinkle sound that makes mom and dad crazy. I am convinced that the pine scent is another form of catnip because the two of them have been positively psycho ever since we brought it in the house. I figure by Christmas they'll both be stoned out of their little minds and exhausted from tearing around the house.

Josh, who is now working at PacSun is finding out what the retail world is like during the holidays from the other side of the cash register. The benefits to this are that he has a much better appreciation for what the workers put up with from crabby shoppers, and he's also finally able to bring home enough money to make a car payment to the bank of Mom/Dad.

Christmas is fast approaching of course, and I'm trying to get in the spirit. Really I am. Other than the tree, I've only put out a few other decorations but I suppose I'll tackle the rest this weekend. At some point I'll head up to Fargo to get Mom for Christmas here with us but I'm waiting to hear from her as to when she wants me to come and get her. At any rate, we're looking forward to having her here for a few days. I have the week of Christmas off (Glory Halleluiah) so we should be able to pack in a serious mountain of jigsaw puzzles in that amount of time!

Well, I need to get a load of laundry done before I collapse in bed so I better quit for now.
Hope all is well with you and yours!
Catch you later!

Yummmmmm....Apple Pie fresh from the oven

Can't you just smell it???  I had to share this because it's probably the one and only fruit pie I have ever made that didn't bomb on me. Granted, I didn't toil overly much on the crust, but who am I to question ready-made? Besides, it looks better than anything I might have done! The pie itself is apple-cranberry, well Craisins actually, but I can attest to the fact that it tastes as good as it looks and the whole house smells like pie. Yum. Rich is off in pursuit of Vanilla ice cream because I killed the last of the Cool Whip when I had my slice.

The reason for this little burp of domesticity (is that a word?) is that we just finished peeling, coring, slicing and chopping three grocery bags of apples that I received from a friend of mine. We now have 26 quarts of apples in the freezer all ready for pies, crisps, cobblers etc. I thought about making apple butter with some of them but by the time we finished all the peeling etc I was happy to see them in bags. Wouldn't you?

Now, I'm going to enjoy the rest of my Sunday! Josh and Laura are on their way (he worked today and is picking her up on his way home) so I also need to remove the "hag" mask and pull myself together before they get here. Hope I have enough time...

A little snap of Winter

Hello all! Well it would appear that Winter is knocking at the door already. We woke up to an inch or so of snow yesterday morning and temps in the mid-20s. Friday we were in the 50s and I, for one, as perfectly happy with that. Unfortunately I didn't think to snap any photos before it all melted away, but I think I am happier that it melted away than I am disappointed. Sorry, but despite that fact that I spent the entire day and most of the night yesterday making our Christmas cards, I'm just not quite ready for Winter yet. Besides, we have a kitchen window to replace before the weather really turns nasty on us.

For those of you who are shaking your heads at me because "My GOD it's only October - Why in heaven's name would you need to worry about Christmas cards this early" I say: "Yada, Yada, Yada. If you've ever hand made a card, you know that it takes a little time, and when you multiply that by 80 cards, you know you need to devote a day to the project. Besides, I don't think any of you have ever told me NOT to send the card or expressed dismay at how they turned out, so I will assume you think it's okay that I am a bit "premature" in getting them done. : )

Last weekend we went up to visit Rich's parents. Usually we head up there over Labor Day, but we had some projects to work on here at home that required a long weekend so we postponed the trip this time. Unfortunately it was kinda rainy all weekend so we spent a lot of time watching movies and playing cards. It made for a quiet weekend but it was nice to see Rich's parents, his sister and her kids; Matt and Heather again. 

Well, believe it or not, I have a few more cards to make today, some laundry that's crying out and a dog who needs a walk so I'm going to quit here and catch you all again later.
Take care!
Toni

No, we have not dropped off the planet

Yes, I know I am truly pathetic about posting here regularly, and I apologize. If I have to make any excuse at all it's that I am generally pretty tired of computers when I get home at the end of the day, and at the same time I'm trying to limit how much time the cyber-monster eats out of my day.

With that said, I do have a couple new things to share. Well, one anyway. You already know that Josh now has his own car, and I figured it was probably time I shared a couple of photos, so... here you go!
Along with the car and subsequent mobility, he is also now spending a LOT of time with a certain young girl (Laura) who we all like quite a bit. Unfortunately, I have no photos of her, nor would I post them here if I did, but suffice it to say she's smart, pretty, and so unbelievably nice, you really can't help but like her. Honestly, I look at her and wish I'd had the poise and self-confidence that she does when I was her age. Since Josh has no shortage of confidence himself, they make a good pair. I have been advised however, that they are not an official couple yet- but they are dating. I'll let you know if that changes. ha!

Actually, this year has already been fairly eventful for the kid. Classes are going well for him and he seems to like them all well enough though he's not all that wild about having to do a sculpture for his art class. I guess you could say his interests for art are pretty much limited to drawing which is unfortunate if he plans on doing anything with his art beyond high school. In the mean time, he's been asked to work on the school paper as their illustrator and his design for this year's Homecoming button was chosen so he earned a little notoriety for that. That news combined with having our front yard "decorated" for Homecoming made for an exciting week last week. Actually the last bit was sort of humorous in an "OH MY GOD" sort of way. The photo doesn't show it very well, but there were several bands of saran wrap stretched across the driveway between trees, Josh's car and the basketball hoop that I had to cut through in order to back out of the garage, and the lawn was littered with plastic forks. Oh the joys of having a Senior in the house!
Finally, I finished building a website for Josh so he can take orders for the charcoal drawings he does from photographs. He hasn't received any orders yet, but if you know anyone who might be interested, please pass the website along! Click here to visit the site.  I've also added the link to my list of favorite places for future reference.
On a closing note, I know I owe several people a phone call. If you see this before I call you- I'm SORRY I am so slow to return phone calls!!! Please be patient. I WILL call you back eventually!

Where, oh where did August go?

Hi everyone! August managed to whip right by us. Josh is now only 2 days away from his Senior year of high school and lamenting, just a bit, how quickly summer has gone. Of course weatherwise we've had another of those on again off again summers. August, for example was cooler than July overall and we even had a week or two where there was a definite nip of Fall in the morning air. Makes dressing for work a challenge!

Probably the biggest news we have for August is that Josh bought his first car. He finally managed to get a job over in Maple Grove at one of his favorite clothing stores but that meant he needed a car to get there. So, we did the usual searching and researching of various models until we found one we could all live with. He is now the proud owner of a 1999 Volkswagon Jetta. Navy blue, light grey interior and a trunk big enough to fit a couple bodies in. Seriously. The back seat folds completely flat and two adults could lay in there without much trouble. So far it seems to be running just fine; we can only hope that it won't give us any expensive problems down the road.
As for Josh's new job, he was pretty pleased to finally get in at PacSun over in Maple Grove. Panchero's, as you know, was giving him a bit of a hard time not to mention doing an admirable job of screwing up our holiday plans, so we're happy he was finally able to leave that job behind. Now he can say he's done his fast food stint! Now the challenge will be in reigning him in on his wardrobe spending. He gets a pretty substantial discount (actually we do too) so I'm sure we'll be having a few discussions about making sure we have enough moolah to pay for his new wheels, insurance etc. Ahh, the joys of automobile ownership!

School starts on Tuesday, and I think (hope) we are all ready. My credit cards are squealing a bit so I think that says it all. Anyone who tells you that boys are cheaper to outfit for school doesn't know Josh. Anyway, I think the only thing we don't have ironed out yet is his parking permit for school but that's a first day of school sort of thing. His class schedule doesn't look too terribly daunting and his tougher classes seem to be spread out pretty evenly so with any luck it will be a good year for him.

This weekend we're tackling a few of our leftover projects here at home before our weather turns ugly and we can't do them at all. Rich got the deck sealed a few weeks ago but we still have the pergola and the posts and rails to do so that was our project today. We finished the pergola except for a couple of outside boards and tomorrow we'll tackle the rails. Yay. I had hoped to paint the downstairs bath this weekend too but pitched in on the deck instead so Rich wouldn't have to do it all. This volunteer effort unfortunately included clambering up on top of the pergola to get all of the boards from above while Rich worked on them from below. I've never been a fan of heights but since I was the fool who suggested we do it that way I couldn't very well whine about it. I have a feeling my knees and back will be doing more than enough wimpering tomorrow though. Yeah, I know. Suck it up. On the up side (pardon the pun) it was a beautiful day to be outside in the sunshine as opposed to stuck inside painting the bathroom. 
At any rate, I hope you're having a wonderful Labor Day weekend wherever you are. Now, I'm off to soak my weary bones for a few minutes...

Manual Labor...is overrated!

Witness the weary homeowner...
After three days of working out in the hot sun in 90 degree weather, because of course the home repairs had to be on the South side of the house, I think Rich has just about reached his limit. Can't say as I blame him. I think he's sweated off about 10 pounds climbing up and down ladders, hammering and staining. He replaced the fascia board on the back side of the house and put a coat of sealer on the deck. The deck sealing isn't completely done yet- we still have some touch up on the deck itself plus the rails and the pergola to do but I offered to help with those. The point was to get it back to where we could use it this weekend.
We're going to have a full house as it turns out. Rich's parent's will be here tomorrow night and Mom is coming on Saturday so Josh and I have been working on getting the house cleaned up while Rich tackled all the outdoor tasks. With the heat and humidity being what it is I think Josh and I had the better end of the deal! In any case, the house is clean, the laundry is almost all done, and tomorrow we'll take care of the Mother Hubbard's cupboard problem.

Have a great weekend!
Toni

Happy Birthday to Me!

Hello! Yes, I know my birthday was yesterday but by the time things settled down here yesterday, I was pooped and just went to bed. Still trying to shake off the cold virus that I caught last weekend.
Anyway, I had a very nice birthday all in all. I took the day off from work so I was able to sleep in a bit, had a birthday lunch with a good friend of mine, got my nails done and called Mom and spoke with her for a bit. Dan and Twyla (my best friend) joined Rich and I at Granite City for dinner-unfortunately Josh had to work, and I wasn't able to get in touch with Brenda and Greg because the cell phone numbers that I have are apparently not working anymore. Not sure what is up with that, but it was a bummer not to be able to have them join us for dinner in any case. Guess I need to check Greg's Facebook page and see if I can glean any info there! For all I know they're off travelling already!

My gifts were pretty wickedly cool too! Rich bought me a new digital camera that also shoots video, Dan picked up a matching camera bag for me, and Twyla gave me some honest-to -God real French perfume that she picked up when she was in France with her students this year. It smells divine too. : ) Josh made me a card of course, and gave me an iTunes gift card so all in all, I was pretty spoiled this year! Nothing wrong with that... ha ha ha!

Today, Josh and I will be spending the day at a little carnival. He's agreed to sit outside our Optometrist's office and do charcoal sketches of people for the day, which should be very interesting. I asked him if he was nervous at all and he said "maybe a little", but I have a feeling he'll get over it quickly. I'm sitting with him in case it gets busy and he needs help. Yesterday we mounted up a few samples of what he's already done for display and I've made up some signs and postcards for him to hand out. Today, he's doing both complimentary sketches (paid for by the Optometrist), as well as more detailed ones for a small fee. The postcards are for people who might want a really detailed picture like the ones he did of Leonard Nimoy, Clint Eastwood and Audrey Hepburn. For those, people will need to prepay (through Paypal) and email him a photo that they want duplicated and then we'll mail them out. If he can do a few of these he could make a nice contribution to his car fund. Anyway, temps are supposed to be in the 90s today and mostly sunny. Right now it's raining so I really hope that moves off before 10:00 so we aren't dealing with that when we're setting up. I think we are supposed to have a tent to sit under so that will help, but the rain would still be a real pain. Charcoal and water don't mix all that well you see...
In any case, I'll be bringing my new camera along so maybe I'll have some photos to share later.
For now, I guess I should get moving. I need to make sure that we have everything we need for today plus do a little cleanup around the house here before we go.

Catch you later!
Toni

Free weekend - no painting!

Hello! I know it's been a bit since I put anything noteworthy out here but I was holding off until I had things wrapped up with the bathroom project. I now have photos of various stages of the project if you want to see.
I agonized over what to put on the walls to break up all the white and finally decided on a fern stamp set that I've had tucked away for a while. Sadly enough I think I originally bought it with this in mind... oh well. We're happy with how it turned out and the guys are pleased that it isn't too girly. Guess I can't blame them there.
I still have the ceiling in the downstairs bath to paint but that won't take all that long and I have a few vacation days coming up in August so I'll probably do it then.
Josh has a one day job coming up on the 8th of August to draw sketches of people at our optometrist's office. He's looking forward to it I think and has been practicing on various subjects. He steers clear of doing family though so count yourself lucky if he does one of you! Anyway we've been picking up art supplies here and there to get ready for this. I think I will probably go and spend the day with him so he has a helper in case a line develops. How cool would that be?

I just finished a box of about 80 cards for our dentist's office. They had called a few weeks ago asking if I would be willing to make an assortment for them (they're paying me of course) and I finally eked out enough time to get them done. I raided my box at work too just so I could do a little refresh there as well so my next project is to get that box refilled! Good thing I love stamping!

Other than that, we're pretty tame around here. Today was a beautiful sunny day so I've spent the better part of the afternoon enjoying it on the deck. Tomorrow it's back to the salt mines...

I'm going to leave off with a recipe for a salad that I've been whipping together quite a bit this summer. I think I finally have the kinks worked out (no cheese - Josh doesn't like it) but it's one of those that's open to interpretation. Anyway, I thought I would share it in case you're interested.
Have a great week!

Toni

Strawberry Chicken Salad
Serves 4

1 bag Romaine lettuce*
12 ripe strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup each: dried cranberries and pecans**
4 chicken breasts, cut into strips and cooked. Allow time for cooling slightly and divide into 4 servings.
Honey Lime dressing (recipe below)

Divide the lettuce into 4 bowls and top with sliced strawberries (3 per salad). Add cranberries, pecans and chicken. Serve with honey lime dressing.
*any sort of nut will work. I've used those nut, cranberry and raisin mixes from Target (Market Pantry)cashews or even peanuts. You just need something for a little crunch.

Honey Lime Dressing:
3/4 cup light vegetable oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup honey
1/8 tsp ginger

Dressing lasts for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.

The whiff of paint fumes

I've probably killed several brain cells this week inhaling primer, paint and varnish fumes, but I have to say, now that the end is in sight it's been worth it. I had today off so I spent the entire day painting and varnishing and then topped off the evening with the installation of a towel bar, TP holder and robe hooks for our towels. For those who have seen our bathroom, you know how limited my wall space is so I opted to use 4 robe hooks for our towels rather than a longer towel bar. Rich and I hung the new light fixture while we still had daylight to work with, and the new shower curtain is hung. All we have left is to finish the cabinets and get all the doors and drawers hung in place. Those are coming along though. A little more varnishing and we'll be ready to install the new hardware and get them back on the cabinets. Whew! I'm pulling photos of the project together and I'll post those either in a slideshow or web album link as soon as I get them all uploaded.
We're heading North for the weekend so tomorrow morning we'll be up with the chickens to get out of here early. Josh has to stay behind this time because his pain-in-the-A@#$@#% employer didn't feel the need to post his schedule until yesterday and despite his asking for the weekend off he's scheduled for both tomorrow night and Sunday. Nice huh? Besides treating him like crap they pull this. I'm officially boycotting Pancheros. Join me in my crusade... PLEASE!
My apologies for making this so short, but I still have to pack and do a couple of loads of laundry before I go to bed so I'll catch you later!
Happy 4th of July!

The bathroom project continued...

Hi again!
The bathroom is almost finished if you don't count all the painting I need to do. Yay! I think the final drywall/ceiling finishing and re-installing the toilet will be done tomorrow so we'll be able to use the facilities again. Double yay! I still have cabinet refinishing to get done but I'm not too worried. We've got a beautiful non-humid day shaping up today so I may get a little of that done later.
Yesterday, I spent the day with a couple of friends making cards for an organization called Cards for Heroes. We made 81 cards in all. It sounds like a lot, but we made multiples of 6 of most of them so with three of us it didn't seem all that bad and anyway, it was fun. We had a kinda rainy day so I didn't feel bad about being in the house.
This week I hope to tackle all the painting in the bathroom so I can call that whole project done. I'm working out the details on what I might stamp on the walls. They're going to be white this time with a stripe pattern but I think I need something to break up all that white and anyway, I have towels to match! ha! So, I guess you could say there's still a fair amount of work to do but most of it is on my shoulders to finish.
Guess I better get moving...
Enjoy your day!
Toni

Bathroom Saga part 3?

Okay, so I'm not sure what installment I'm on for this project, but the bathroom is coming along nicely. I came home yesterday to a fully installed tub/surround minus the faucet and spout. Those went on today along with new drywall , repaired ceilings in both bathrooms and the first layer of mud. I think the new tile floor goes in tomorrow along with some smoothing out of the drywall and ceiling repairs.
It is at this point where I step back and admit how deliriously happy I am that we hired someone to do all of this. It's not been without its share of glitches and snags and had Rich and I tackled it on our own I figure we would have finished sometime next December.
As for my cabinet refinishing project, I am off to start the sanding so I can get moving on the staining. It's a bit humid today so I'm limiting my project for tonight to the vanity since it's cooler in the house.

More later..

Bathroom remodel - the saga continues

Well, after a weekend of ripping and shredding, stripping and scrubbing, (Poor Rich spent most of the weekend destroying the bathroom and I spent it stripping cabinets) we were able to hand over the responsibility for putting it back together to our remodeling "crew". Okay, there are two of them, but they're already making progress. Tonight when I got home they had the sub-floor in place where a gaping hole had been this morning and were wrestling with the plumbing and the tub. It's not hooked up yet, but it's close and oh, how wonderful it is to see a shiny new tub there! Yay!
Thanks to Tim, we were able to figure out the puzzle that is the toilet drain in relation to the sub-floor- yes it sucked big time getting that all pulled apart - but we are thankful to have someone we could ask at that hour of the night. Sorry Tim! I didn't look at the clock before I called!
The dumpster was delivered this afternoon sometime and is waiting to be filled; a project I thought we might tackle tonight but then I was told to leave it as Johnny and Dan - our repair guys - said they would take care of it for us. How stinkin' cool is that?!?
Anyway, I'm gathering that the tub and plumbing connections associated with that are a major hurdle so I have a feeling they'll make some decent progress tomorrow. To be honest, it's tough sitting at work waiting to go home so I can see how much they've gotten done. Josh isn't paying all that much attention to what they are doing so pestering him for updates is pretty much a useless proposition. I don't think he quite grasps the importance of my knowing... oh well...

Well, I'm going to head off to bed as it's getting late, and my battery is dying anyway. Besides that, it's still 92 degrees out here (I'm on the deck) and I'm starting to wilt.
I'll be back with an update tomorrow if I can!

Bathroom demolition and other Summer fun!

We've finally taken the plunge and started demolishing our upstairs bath. Reconstruction begins on Monday morning so we have today and tomorrow to finish ripping out the tub (Can't wait to see what sort of disaster that brings unhooking the drain - yikes!), the rest of one wall which is surrounding various pipes, and the floor. I have a feeling today is going to be a dusty day!

Last weekend I went over to Lowes and bought all the new stuff we're putting in including faucets, towel bars, tile, tub and surround. Our credit card is squealing a bit but I'm so excited to have all of this under way finally! Given the state of the room right now- we've sort of passed the point of no return so we're committed now.

I've been taking photos a little at a time and am planning on doing that going forward as we get new stuff installed, so when those are ready I'll post them so you can see. The goal is to have the whole thing pretty well re-assembled by next weekend- barring any unforeseen disasters of course.

Josh wrapped up his Junior year Thursday and is now trying to work as many hours as he can so he can get a car. Unfortunately Panchero's (where he works) is doing their best to make him quit so they're making his life miserable at every opportunity. Part of me says- this is a learning experience for him (we all have to deal with crappy employers at one time or another) the other part of me says, "What the heck?!?!" Having been in his shoes, I can tell you it really sucks when your employer suddenly turns on you and everything you do is not good enough. Needless to say, he's looking for something better, but so far isn't having any luck. We keep telling him to hang in there - at least he has a job for the time being.
On the upside, his report card for 4th quarter showed up in the mail yesterday and he made the B honor roll again with two A's (Band and Advanced Art Studio), one B (Advanced Placement European History), and a C (Honors Chemistry). Whoohoo!!! Remember back at the beginning of the year when I said he had a tough year ahead? Well apparently I didn't need to worry. He's had darned good grades all year.
We had is Senior portraits taken last Thursday over in Anoka at the same photographer that we used for Dan. They really did a good job-I have a feeling we're going to have a hard time choosing again. I'm going over there later this morning to pick up all the proofs. Josh thought I was nuts to have them done this early, but we needed to get the yearbook photos in pretty early and the weather was good so I saw no reason to wait. I think he was concerned that his "look" might change between now and his Senior year or something. Yeah, whatever...

Well, my pal Twyla is headed over later this morning to stamp up some cards with me for a card swap we are doing so I better bail here and get the stamp room cleaned up for that. I did a little remodel project down there a while back too, and it made a world of difference in my storage space. Now, the perpetual problem is getting myself into the habit of putting my toys away when I am done! ha!

Oh, I almost forgot! Rich has his own blog now! We sat down the other night and I walked him through setting one up. So far it's kinda small because he just got started, but even I have to admit he does have some interesting stuff out there. Anyway, here's the link: Rich's Pocket Universe Hop on over there for a visit! I've also added him to my list of blogs/websites so you can find it going forward.

Take care! Catch you later!
Toni

Sunny Sunday

Hello again! Yeah, I know...two days in a row right? No, I am not sick. We just had a really nice weekend -two days of sunshine to enjoy and we finally cleared out the front flower beds. Grubby, tiring work, but at least the weeds have been beaten into submission for the time being. Of course now I have huge gaps to fill. Drat. Next on my list, a little walk with the Round Up! Of course, I have to wait for a less windy day, but hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate this week.

This afternoon the three of us went to the theatre to see the new Disney-Pixar movie "Up". It's pretty good, and I know it's getting all sorts of great reviews. It's in digital 3D which, let me tell you, is a far cry from the days of old when we had to wear those cheesy blue and red paper glasses. We still wore 3D glasses, but other than the Clark Kent styling, were pretty much like regular glasses. Anyway, it's a good movie in that typically Disney-good sort of way.

Well, since it's getting toward the dinner hour, I guess I'll quit here and get something started to feed the starving children. ha!

Have a good week!
Toni

Happy Saturday!

Hello again!
I'm so glad it's Saturday! I know we just finished up a "short" week, but why do these allegedly short weeks always seem so long?
Our Memorial Day weekend up with Rich's parents was blessed with good weather so we spent part of the day at the Shady Hollow flea market on their opening day, and found a few treasures to bring home. Well, I found some treasures... I guess Rich is just more selective because he didn't find anything he couldn't live without.
Sunday I headed into Fargo and spent the day with Mom. We took a drive out to the Horace cemetary, visited Dad's grave, and wandered around for a while. Interesting wandering through a cemetary trying to remember who all those people were. Mom, of course, remembers a good share of them and did her level best to help me conjure up a face to go with the names. I had to chuckle though, when she did the "You remember {INSERT NAME HERE}...they went to school with {INSERT NAME OF SIBLING HERE}" thing. When you are 14 plus years younger than all but one of your siblings, the chances you actually knew these people is pretty slim. Especially when they died young and you were four at the time. Oh well.
We went to a movie in the afternoon. It's a little tricky finding a show that doesn't offend Mom's sensibilities, but it's hard to go wrong with Disney, so we saw Night at the Museum-Battle of the Smithsonian and I think she enjoyed it. Other than it being a bit loud that is. After that we grabbed a light dinner (we both spoiled our appetites with a gargantuan tub of popcorn) and then I had to head back to Detroit Lakes.
Monday we headed home to a distressed dog who conveyed his upset in the most disgusting manner possible (I'll let your imagination work for you there). Needless to say, I wasn't a happy camper when we got home. Ahh, the joys of a long weekend...
The rest of the week was fairly uneventful though busy. In other words- pretty much the usual. Thursday I went to a friend's house and taught a quick little card class but otherwise didn't accomplish much. I've been teaching a monthly card class at work for over a year now but I haven't taken the show on the road-so to speak- since I gave up the whole demonstrator gig. I have to say it's a lot more fun just teaching than selling!

Well, I'm hoping to clear out a couple of flower beds this weekend so I should probably get going on that. I'm going to leave you with the link to a really cute video someone shared with me this week. It's of a 90 year old couple - married 67 years- doing a little impromptu show at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Believe me, it's worth watching. Here's the Video.

Cruisin' into the Holiday Weekend

Hello all!
Well we're headed toward a three day weekend - yay! I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a little R & R. I'm not sure why but weekends seem to disappear in a blink lately. Maybe we're trying to fit too much stuff in but Monday mornings sure seem to slide into view quickly!

I still haven't finished with all the flower beds but I guess there's still time. Our temps have been swinging between extremes lately too - 60s one day and 90s the next. It would seem we're skipping Spring again this year. What the heck is up with that?!

Last Sunday Rich and I drove down to Redwing for the day and that was fun. We had a beautiful sunny day to poke around. We'd hoped to find some antique treasure to bring home with us (our anniversary gift to each other) but all the really quirky, hole-in-the-wall antique places that we used to like are gone now unfortunately. Actually, there's a really beautiful antique store right downtown Redwing that's full of furniture. I think I had just commented to Rich how the recession didn't seem to be affecting them when he spotted a coat hook. I'm sure you're thinking the same thing I was - What in heaven's name would we need a coat hook for? So I asked the question. Rich's reply was, "I didn't say we needed it - it's just that it's the only thing here we can afford!" Sadly, he was right so we came home empty handed. Oh well... them's the breaks I guess!

Well, I've been tagged to call Dan and work my motherly "charm" on him to convince him to go along this weekend to see Rich's parents. We'll see how charming I am I guess. ha!

Anyway, have a great weekend everyone! Enjoy the extra day and hopefully a little warm and sunny weather along with it.

Sunny Sunday

Hello again! Just thought I would toss out a little update before I head for the shower and my hiking shoes respectively.

Rich and I are treating ourselves to a day down in Redwing, MN for our anniversary. 24 years tomorrow already. Even I have trouble believing it sometimes. Anyway, we thought we'd toodle around down there, hit a few antique stores etc, have lunch at the St. James Hotel maybe, and then head home again. We used to go down there and stay at a B&B but we haven't done that in quite a while. Anyway, I'm happy to see the wind has finally died down and the sun out so if our temps hit the mid-60s like they were predicting it should be fun to walk around exploring.

Yesterday we tackled a toilet repair so this trip comes as a welcome reward! Why do plumbing repairs always take so darned long and do they really need to be so frustrating?? Honestly, I've never met a plumbing issue that didn't piss me off and make me crabby. Anyway, after an entire morning of fighting with corroded bolts, Rich finally wrestled them apart and we made some headway. Now I just have one really small drip from the water line connection that I need to solve but at least the toilet doesn't run constantly.

Josh is wrapping up his last quarter for the year, and brought home another great report card from the last quarter. Considering the difficulty of his classes landing a spot on the B Honor roll two quarters in a row is pretty darn good I think so we're very proud of him.
We're also pleased to report that all three of his drawing projects this year are being featured in the art show at school. He has one more Advanced Art Studio project for the year to finish; this on is a theme-driven deal. His chosen theme is movies - big shocker there, I know - but he's got a really cool concept going that I think will be great when he's done. I'll post photos when I can but right now it's still in the designing stages.

Dan joined us for dinner for Josh's birthday a couple weeks ago and again on Mother's Day for brunch so we're feeling pretty privileged to see him twice in one month! He's doing pretty well though and we're happy about that. Bryon and Crystal do a good job of dragging him out of his shell and into group activities. I know he thinks the world of both of them so their living arrangements must be working out pretty well. No girlfriend on the horizon it would seem, but not for lack of trying. I think he's become a little used to not spending a fortune on a girl and all her little whims. Can't blame him I guess, but it would be nice to see him get out a little more again. Oh well, all in good time I guess.

Well, I should probably hit the shower and get a couple other things done here at home before we head out, so I'll close for now I think.
Take care everyone! Have a great day!

We've Got Mailbox!

Whoo hoo! We're happy to report that we now have a glossy new mailbox in place of the formerly dilapidated, sad thing we had.

I can now meander out to get the mail or paper without shame! Well, maybe as long as I don't go out in my bathrobe...

I'm sure the mailman is thrilled considering he can now both reach the box without leaning halfway out of his truck and the door actually stays on when you open it.

So anyway, now it's up to the rest of you to fill it up! ha!

Actually, the mailbox was more or less the start of my Spring outdoor cleaning. Once Rich got it installed I figured I better get going on the rest of the yard. We finally had a sunny day today so I started tackling the raking. A word to the wise: it's a really good idea to rake your leaves in the Fall when they fall. Winter snuck up on us last year though and we didn't get the yard cleaned up like we should have. I paid for that today. With Josh's help I was able to clear out most of the front yard, one side of the house and part of the back yard before my arms gave out and Rich took pity on me to finish it up. Three Ibruprophin later and I think I may live. Good thing because tomorrow I need to finish up the rest. Yay.

I've decided to devote a little more time to my flowers again this year, hopefully with the help of my pal Lynn who actually knows what she's doing in that department. Last year I let everything slide so I have a LOT of weeding to do again. Drat. I am counting on Lynn to steer me in the right direction for what to plant to fill in the rather large gaps in my garden plan. Why all the stuff I've planted in the past can't just cooperate and grow like it's supposed to, I have no idea. Apparently I didn't inherit Dad's gift for gardening.

Well, I'm off to a comfy spot on the couch where I can rest my aching bones before I crawl off to bed.

Catch you later!

Summer was on Thursday this year

Hope you enjoyed it! That's it for this year. So sorry. Well, okay maybe we'll get one more day of Summer this year. Maybe, but Wednesday it was 60 something, Thursday it was 83 and the last 3 days have been in the 50's so I am sure you can see my point. (sigh) On the upside, and yes, this is the upside, today it's raining which means that the ground will thaw enough to start gardening again and hopefully we can get our new mail box installed. Someone said they were going to do that this last week, but...hmmm. Not sure what happened there. : )

Josh did a great job of entertaining us last weekend. The dinner theatre at our church was great. It's delightful how a group of people of all ages can put together so many different skits.

Most of them are take-offs from Saturday Night Live but there were a few from Mad TV and The Tonight show plus some game shows. They're all cleaned up for the church-going crowd of course. Anyway, we enjoyed our spaghetti dinner and the show, and believe it or not Josh does seem to have an affinity for the stage. Gee, who called that one? ha!

Well, the rain seems to have abated so I'm going to see if I can light a fire under that whole mail box project...ha!

Catch you later!

Blueberry or Cherry?

Well, Easter dinner came together almost like I planned it...he he he! We had a nice afternoon with Brenda, Greg and Dan here, and I now have enough leftovers to feed us for the rest of the week. Whoo hoo! We'll all be heartily sick of ham by Wednesday, but them's the breaks. (evil laugh) So, what's with the blueberry or cherry thing? I made little individual parfait cheesecakes for dessert. Sorry, no leftovers...

I think I may have mentioned a while back that Josh was taking a Drawing II class and was working on some challenging projects. Well, lo and behold we've actually SEEN this marvel for ourselves! He had two projects back to back that I just had to shake my head at because at no time in my life was I ever capable of drawing like this. Steve and Bruce could probably do it and Tim has been known to create some extraordinarily cool stuff too, but I can't lay claim to being the cause of Josh's talent. Actually I think he gets a little from both sides, because Rich's mom paints some beautiful stuff too and I just try to be in line when she decides to part with it!
Anywhoo... below are a few shots of the latest art projects. Yes, I know I am boasting, but cut me some slack; I'm his mother.

This first one was a combination of three separate images that he pulled off the Internet. They're all from that Watchman movie that came out a while back. It's done in pastels and graphite. The photos I have here were taken just before he finished it so there are a few details- mostly on the girl's face and her hair that he hadn't quite finished yet- but you get the idea anyway.


The second one is also a combination piece but is done entirely in charcoal and chalks. His assignment was to combine an inanimate object, a musical instrument, a piece of fruit and a flower all in one drawing. He started with the saxophone, lily and dragon fruit (the pink and green spiky thing) and was also going to work in a rocky shoreline. I'm not sure what happenned to the latter, but partway into the assignment he mentioned to the teacher that he thougth the saxophone was going to be really hard and wanted to change his musical instrument to the guitar instead. His teacher responded with "I think you should leave the saxophone in but you can do the guitar too." Josh's response was something along the lines of "Oh, gee. Can I?". I think that's where the shoreline disappeared actually. Anyway, the perspectives on this one are kinda strange because it really doesn't seem like there's an "up" side, but the saxophones are on the bottom.

Now that I've finally left you with something interesting to look at, I'll close and head toward my laundry room.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Wow, I have really been a slug lately with news of what's going on with us. I'm blaming our crappy weather on some of that, but I think I really need to get over it and move on. So, here's hoping you're all having a happy Easter weekend!
I popped into Bruce & Beckie's website earlier and realized I am REALLY behind on keeping up with what they (and probably everyone else in my family) are doing. I'm thinking I better get on the phone and quick!
Today I am pondering what to do about dinner tomorrow. I left everything to the last minute again so grocery shopping is on the to-do list for today. Yay. Me and every other fool who didn't plan ahead and I hate grocery shopping anyway! I've been a horrible sister there too as I haven't called Brenda and Greg to see if they have plans either. Yes, I AM hanging my head in shame. Should probably call Dan too huh??? Hopefully I can redeem myself and pull it all together today.

On a humorous note, Josh is participating in the annual dinner theater show at our church next weekend. He's in a skit that mimics the American Idol / So you think you can dance sort of show and he's the host - a Ryan Seacrest sort of guy. His character name is Jackson Riverstone. Catchy huh? Anway, I need to get tickets so we can see his acting skills on stage again. After all, he WAS the LEAD role in his 2nd grade production. He played Freddy Fish. lol!

Otherwise there isn't really a lot new going on here. I took Buster to the vet for shots and a checkup last week and found out he has a thyroid problem so now he's on meds for the rest of his life. We're blaming some of his weight gain on that, but we're ramping up the exercise program (God knows my hips can use the help!) and cutting his food back a bit too. He's considered a senior dog now- which seems crazy in a way, but sort of drives home the need to keep him in shape too. The kittens are a couple of maniacs but they provide a fair bit of entertainment as well. Just not a 3:00 in the morning. Why is it that animals can tell time so darned accurately and never seem to oversleep the alarm?

Well, Josh needs to pick up a couple of things for his costume and I do have groceries to pick up, so I'll close here for now. Have a great weekend everyone!

Oh, I almost forgot! I'll leave you with a really cool show- just in time for spring! Check out the slideshow below. It's called The Daffodil Principle. Enjoy!

Thank God for Volunteers

Hello all! I'm sure most of you have been following the news about the Fargo flood and I know some of you are either dealing with it directly or know someone who is. Our prayers go out to those people. The reports today are that the river has crested at 41 feet and appears to be dropping but the colder temps are partly responsible for that so it's not over yet.
I spoke with mom earlier this week and she's fine. West Fargo isn't threatened really but she is heartily sick of snow and weather. They were "blessed" with another blizzard last week. Apparently it was 44 and sunny one day and blizzarding the next. I picked up more than a little disgust in her voice when she called to give me the update. Can't you just hear her?
Here in the Twin Cities we're enjoying a balmy 46 degrees with lots of sunshine. Unfortunately we're supposed to get another 4-6 inches of snow on Mon-Tue. Yay. So glad I live here.

On another family-oriented note, and for those of you who may not know, Sarah (Nathaniel's wife) has had a rough time of it lately. She had surgery for a brain tumor on the 18th which went well. She has a difficult road ahead of her but apparently has a positive attitude about the whole thing. Daniel was here yesterday and mentioned that Bryon and Crystal had been spending a fair amount of time visiting with her along with, I am sure, volunteering to stay with her while she recovers. So, our thoughts are with all the Kemmers on the south end of town as they deal with the challenges ahead.

Here at home, things are pretty much running on an even keel. Our bathroom project hasn't, as of yet, gotten off the ground but I am hoping to rectify that soon. It all starts with a call the the contractor who was recommended to us so we can see what it might cost. That's also the biggest hurdle to get over- you know, that gasping of air when they give you the estimate? Anyway, more on that as the project progresses.

Lots of prayers going out to flood victims and surgery recoverees! We're thinking of you!

Sleet outside - Warm Fuzzies inside

Well, today started off fairly normal, but Josh forgot his art portfolio at home and needed it for 3rd hour and we're projected to get hit with more of that white CRUD that seems to be the constant norm around here so rather than drive to and from work, home, school,work and home I bundled up some transportable projects (not all that easy when you work in a Mac world and live in the PC world), and came home. I'm currently taking a break from the delights of script writing but will have to get back at it pretty quick here. The upside to all this is, of course, while the masses are fighting sleet and snow later today - if it turns to that, I'm already home with the cats and dog for company. Two of the three are curled up right nearby and one is "sunbathing" under the desk lamp. It's a tough life. At least she's not walking all over the keyboard. I'm also getting a few loads of laundry don, dinner is defrosting, and with any luck at all I'll finish everything so I am that much farther ahead tomorrow.

For those who might be following our latest home improvement saga- this past weekend Rich and I went shopping for tubs, showers etc to replace the current problem children. We've pretty much decided to just rip it all out (minus the toilet and sink) and start over. We know we have water damage on both the wall and the floor and we don't want to contend with mold issues so we're going to bite the bullet and just do it right. This means manual labor of course, but I hope it won't be too bad. I think we're going to do all the demolition ourselves and then hire someone to install the tub and shower. I'll do the tile too now that I more or less know what I am doing thanks to Nathaniel's guidance with the downstairs bath. Anyway, with any luck we'll have a new bathroom sometime in April.

Well, I better get back to my script. On the clock you know...

Spring Ahead - coming up!

Hooray!!! We set the clocks ahead this weekend so that means all the snow is going to go away and the flowers are going to start blooming and the grass is going to get green... yeah, well a long winter really kills the gray cells you know?


We really don't have a lot of new stuff to report. Josh is off this week on Spring Break, so of course Rich and I are really jealous. On the other hand, there is a fair bit of laundry getting done. : ) Rich and I are both busy at work, which given the economy and all the layoffs happening around us, we are grateful for. I'm learning a new software program at work and that's kind of fun but at the same time it adds a little more to my already full plate, so squeezing in the time to go through the various tutorials and play around with the program is a challenge. If I can get a handle on it I'll be able to create Flash files though which is pretty cool. Makes me wish I had the software here at home! Oh well.

Rich is part of a dwindling department so his desk never really gets cleared off but at least he's still employed. All in all it's been a rough year for various family members so we're glad for our good fortune.

Josh is doing well in school. He has another challenging quarter going with Honors Chemistry, AP European History, Drawing II and Band. The first two are probably the most difficult but he's pulling through. Drawing II got slid in to replace an extra math class this year and he's happy about that because, FINALLY, he has an art class again. I have to laugh though because Josh has a definite, and I mean definite, preference for pencil on paper drawings. He rarely, if ever, uses color and if he does it's usually a single color on plain paper. Like when he picks up a green Sharpie in lieu of a plain lead pencil. Get what I mean? Well, this drawing class requires a little more variety in what he uses and what his subject matter is, so he's having to break that mold a bit. I can't wait to see what he's done but I suppose I'll have to wait til the end of the school year. darn it.



On the home front, we are looking at some bathroom repairs again. Do you ever wonder why the home improvement stuff that pops up as part of the joy of home ownership is never the cheap variety? I swear, if I have to repair the ceiling in the downstairs bath one more time I'm going to scream. This would be attempt #3 and I detest doing drywall. Maybe because we've fixed this particular ceiling twice already in the last 2 years. (sigh) The upstairs bath is actually the cause of our problems downstairs, and unfortunately also involves repairing drywall. It also probably means a new tub and surround, and paint. The latter actually makes me a little sad because it means painting over all the flowers I stamped along the ceiling. Again. : (

Are we done yet?

Honestly, will Winter never end? I don't know about you, but I was perfectly content with the 30s and 40s we were inching toward just last week, and then this morning we woke up to a miserable 2 degrees. I guess I should be happy it was ABOVE zero, but still. The ice on our driveway, which as most of you know, faces North will probably be there until June at this rate. I've decided I'm going to become a meteorologist. I figure it's recession proof. Other than politics, what other job can you have where you can be consistently wrong, and still get paid. I maintain that most of them just search the Internet for the least offensive forecast they can find, hedge their bets a bit and viola! Crummy forecast = paycheck.

Thank you for listening. Just needed to get that off my chest.
I hope that those of you who are lucky enough to be somewhere warm are enjoying it. I also hope you won't tell me how hot it is where you are because if you do, I have one word for you. WAAAA! Yes, I'm jealous and I'm happy to admit it.

Well, I'm off to bed. One more day this week to wrap up and the weekend is here! Yay! Hope you all enjoy that too!

Snow Days - The Good Kind

It's been a while since I posted anything interesting here- my apologies. I've been preoccupied with stamping lately and the other blog I have going for that but I thought I would share a photo of Josh from last weekend's Snow Days Dance. He went with a group of friends, and as you can see, a very pretty girl whom he claims is just a very good friend. I have to hand it to the kid- he sure knows how to attract pretty girls! In any case, the dinner with his friends and the dance were a lot of fun, and he spent the rest of the week lamenting the fact that it went so fast. He's already pondering who he's going to ask to go to Prom and I'm wondering why he doesn't ask this one! Oh well, I imagine he will figure it out.

DC Photos

As promised, here's the link for the photos from Josh's trip. I've also added the link at the left side of the page.
There are roughly 200 photos in the album- which is about half of what he actually took. I've weeded through them to post the cream of the crop.

Enjoy!
http://picasaweb.google.com/5InkyFingers/2009DCInaugurationTrip#

DC 2009 Through Josh's Eyes

Cool! This one little word pretty much sums up Josh's trip to DC. He came home Wednesday night safe and sound, souveniers in hand, weary from his travels. We didn't get to talk to him while he was gone, but texting seemed to work fairly well for keeping in touch. The trip was jam-packed with memorials and museums, and of course, the inauguration ceremony on Tuesday. Josh was one of the lucky ones who got a ticket to the seated area for the inaguration so his place in the mobs of people was considerably nearer the Capitol. Something along the lines of 300 yards away directly behind the reflecting pool! The only real downside to the experience was the cold that day. The temperature was in the mid 20s, but there was a 10-15 mile an hour wind out of the Northwest so it felt more like 10 degrees. Brrr... Good thing we packed those hand warmers! Other than that, he said it was all pretty awesome. Despite the crowds, the general mood was friendly and excited, and Josh did get to see Senator McCain briefly riding in his car.

I now have somewhere in the neighborhood of 375 photos to scrapbook- only a portion of what he actually took. I was delighted to learn he's got a great eye for photography but this also means its harder to pick and choose which ones to use. I'm including a small handful here, but I'll also post a link to the rest so you can peruse them at your leisure when you have time.

All in all, it was a great trip. Josh wants to go back again sometime to see some of the things again during daylight or when the crowds aren't so heavy. Understandably, there were a few things on their list that they didn't get to see because of long lines or delays, but for the most part they seemed to hit the high spots on their tour list. He had a good time and that's really all that matters. For my part; I'm just happy to have him home again.

3 a.m. Wake-up Call

We saw Josh off to Washington DC this morning at the unholy hour of 5 am and not without a little motherly worry to accompany him on his journey. Now, while I fully comprehend that he is 16, highly capable of watching out for himself and not a stranger to airline travel, you have to remember that this is a new experience for all of us. Shipping him off to the Boundary Waters in July with a group of church friends is entirely different. For one, there's no plane involved. I won't even go into the whole Security Level Orange thing that will undoubtedly follow him everywhere he goes. The fact that there's a need for that sort of thing is the worrysome part. I hope he has the time of his life. I hope he soaks up as much history, travel excitement and fun as he possibly can. But, I'm still going to worry until he's safely back home again.

With that said, without a doubt he is in for a wild 4 days of historically relevant and exciting sights. His flight this morning includes a layover in Indianapolis so as I write this, he's milling about the airport there waiting to catch the connecting flight to DC. When they finally arrive, sometime just before 2:00pm, they'll promptly dive into a sight-seeing tour that includes Arlington National Cemetary-Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Changing of the Guard, Kennedy Gravesites, the Challenger and Iwo Jima Memorials, and finally, a stop at the Pentagon City Mall. All before 6:30 pm! After that they're headed toward the hotel just long enough to check in and dump their bags before they head off to the Inaugural Dance. They won't return to the hotel until 10:30. End day 1! It's a good thing he's young and resilient because personally, that whole itinerary wears me out just thinking about it.
The rest of his trip is essentially more of the same until Wednesday when they come home. Tomorrow they'll spend the day at the Sept 11 Pentagon Memorial, Capitol Hill (they may have a tour of the interior if our MN Representatives come through for us) but if not they'll have a tour of the grounds, the Supeme Court, and Library of Congress. After lunch they'll hit the National Archives, the Holocaust Museum, and the White House for a picture stop. After dinner they'll go to Lincoln Memorial, the Korean Memorial, Veitnam Memorial and finally Kennedy Center. This is probably their easiest day because on Tuesday (Inauguration Day) they have to be up and out of the hotel by 4:30 am so they can get over to Capitol Mall where the ceremony and parade takes place. Nothing actually happens until 10:30 am and the parade doesn't start until 2:00 pm. Now here's the fun part. Everything is outdoors, temps are supposed to be in the low to mid-30s. DC is expecting some 4 million people to this event. We were informed last Monday that (at that point in time) they had one porta-potty for every 7000 people (yuck!) and that there are no tents, sheltered areas or refreshment stands anywhere. Hold your water everyone! Predictably, the general plan is to try to get as close to the ticketed areas as possible but really, regardless of where they end up, as long as they're along the Mall, the Jumbo-trons should afford them a good view. I guess we'll find out when he gets home how good it was. I would imagine that by the time they get back to their hotel that evening they'll all be more than a little chilled and tired. Thankfully their evening is pretty much free from that point.
Wednesday is their last day but they are scheduled to see Mt Vernon and their choice of one of the museums in the Smithsonian Complex before they head for the airport and home.

Josh has been duly tasked with collecting postcards everywhere he goes (for that scrapbook I need to start one of these days) and taking lots of pictures. Hopefully I'll have photos to post when he gets back. Other than that all he really needs to do is enjoy the experience. In the mean time, I'm going to be the typical Mom, and worry about him until I see him again. Keep him in your prayers won't you?

Back from the Land of the Nearly-Dead

Well, I can say with certainty that we are thoroughly sick of being sick. Rich caught this season's CRUD the Friday following Christmas and passed it along to me a week ago Wednesday. It's nasty stuff and really puts a damper on vacation. Today, I am finally starting to feel somewhat normal although my nose is still a war zone. Rich seems to have finally slogged his way through it so I expect that I'll be fine by the middle of next week. Josh, bless his healthy little heart, seems to have dodged the bullet this time around which is good since he'll be getting on a plane in another week.

The upside to being sick, if you're looking for one, is that lying about watching movies can be pretty entertaining when it takes all your reserves of energy just to crawl to the bathroom once every 3 or 4 hours. Thankfully, we signed up for Netflix over the holidays so a steady stream of entertainment is at our fingertips whenever we want it. If you aren't sure what it's all about, zip on over to their website (the link is in our list at left) and check it out. They've got OODLES of movies, TV shows etc to choose from, and many can be downloaded right to your computer. Rich figured out how to hook up his laptop to the tv so we can "project" on the bigger screen, which eliminated the need for extra equipment. Otherwise, for the movies we want that aren't included in the Instant View list, we just request the DVD. It's pretty darn cool and has the potential to save us a bundle on movie rentals! Anyway, there's my commercial for the day...

Hope everyone is healthy on your end... Catch you later! My Nyquil is calling...

Happy New Year!

We hope that you all had a very merry Christmas! All in all, I'd have to say our holidays were pretty nice. We had the pleasure of having Mom here for a few days over Christmas, several days of vacation all bunched together, fairly decent weather, and Santa was good to all of us. I think the only downside - other than having family members scattered hither and yon- is the cold virus that both Rich and I managed to catch. Not sure why that is, I certainly didn't have my hand up! Anyway, we're slogging our way through it. Lovely way to spend the last few days of your vacation, let me tell you.
Tomorrow we're wrapping up the last of our Christmas gatherings with friends and after that the tree comes down. It's pretty crunchy so it's definitely time for a walk to the boulevard. The rest of the decorations will follow suit though, I didn't put as many out this year as I have in the past so it won't take long. Lois and Lana will no doubt be wondering where their prickly friend has gone, but to be honest, if I have to chase them out from under there one more time I'm likely to go ballistic. Thankfully, we've only had 2 casualties which was a surprise considering how determined they are to play with the ornaments. I saved everyone the joy of cleaning up kitty uck by leaving the ribbons off all the packages. We'll see if I can graduate to bows next year.
Monday we're all back to work and school for (gasp!) a full 5 day week. I figure by Wednesday I'll have waded through all the crisis projects that have arisen in my absence, and will feel like I might accomplish something useful by Friday. I made the mistake of checking my email last night so I already have an inkling of what awaits my return. Likewise, Rich knows he has over 100 emails to sift through when he gets back (he decided to join us for a week off this week) so I am sure he's as thrilled about Monday morning as I am. Oh well... that's the price you pay I guess.
Well, my dust bunnies are calling so I'd better start chasing them. Important guests coming tomorrow you know...
Happy New Year everyone! Here's hoping 2009 is a little brighter than all the predictions!