Christmas 2009

Snow in Texas. Snow in Texas in December. Snow in Texas in December at Christmas. Doesn't happen very often, and personally I'm glad for that. But, it's okay for the thrill the kids out of it.

The kids were over last night for our gathering, and Robert's 25 minute drive home took an hour and a half. And then they had to walk the last 1/4 to 1/2 mile because they couldn't get the truck up the hill because of the slipping. The kids were real troopers, and wrapped their blankets around them for the hike.

Speaking of the grandkids blankets, here are the happy recipients. Lily acted like she was sleeping under hers, Rhett was being silly, and Ashlynn just smiled sweetly.
We managed to get in a game of bowling on the Wii. I've only had it a short time, so it was fun to have everyone joining in. Lily beat the socks off everyone with her skills, but we all had a good time. The kids get a laugh out of my bowling technique, and I'll admit I came in last place, but it was fun. Gee, it's a shame I've run out of room or I'd post the picture. ;)

While it's still Christmas, I'll say, "Merry Christmas to all".

SSSS

Over on the HGTV boards there's been a Secret Santa Stocking Swap going on. Sign-ups were held, little lists were given of our interests and likes (as well as dislikes!!), and teaser pictures have been posted by some. Rather than open it as soon as it came in the mail, the instructions were to wait until December 21st at 10:00 p.m. EST for the grand reveal. As you can see, I was good and my package sat patiently waiting for me. It probably helped that there was a ton of tape and I couldn't sneek a peak if I wanted to!

Well, I'll qualify the above by saying that I did start taking some of the tape off a bit early so it wouldn't take so long when the party started!

I was concerned that I'd fall asleep on the couch just before opening time, especially when my eyes got realllllly heavy about 15 minutes before then. But I rallied, and I did open my package. My Secret Santa knew I have an interest in cq-ing (crazy quilting to all of you non-quilters), and she really took care of me. My stocking was the cutest little cq design, and tucked in all around it were little packets wrapped in fabric from her stash...all perfect for cq. Here's a picture:

So, what are some of the supplies a cq-er needs? Well, fancy fabric is nice (check), along with embroidery floss (check), silk ribbon (check), thread (check), beads (check), pieces of lace and trim (check), needles (check), ornate buttons (check), a pincushion (check), needle threaders (check), and of course a container to store it in (check).

And here's my stocking:

My secret Santa? None other than Tea Sea in Iowa! Thanks Tea Sea, for a nice kick-off into the Christmas season.

it's that time of year

You know how it is...hustle, bustle, shopping, cooking, visiting friends. And I wouldn't change it one bit!

Went to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the Rockettes Thursday night with Linda and Carolyn. (They were a couple of my traveling buddies back in the summer.) We went out to have some Mexican food first, though it was hard to believe this place didn't serve margaritas,but oh well. Then the show was really nice. I think my favorite parts were The Twelve Days of Christmas, and The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers, and the Living Nativity, and... well...you get the picture. Every routine was so precise and well choreographed.

I was out Christmas shopping, and found a cute little waffle grid. I really enjoy waffles, but chunked my waffle iron several years ago. It only made big ones, and was hard to clean since you couldn't immerse it in water. This was at Target, and makes 4 little waffles. You flip them over like you would a pancake to cook the other side. My first batch I pretty well burnt because the heat was too high. My next batch I cooked on medium, and they did much better. Yummo with blueberry syrup.

Also while shopping, I picked up the dvd Julie and Julia. I don't buy a lot of movies, but I enjoyed it when I saw it at the theater 2 or 3 months ago so thought I'd add it to my video library.

And in the spirit of the season, I stuck Santa in the front yard. I made him several years ago, but haven't set him out in a couple of years. Kind of startled me though as I pulled up last night and saw his shadow in the yard up by the house! I'd show you his picture, but I'm having problems with loading pics from my camera these days.

That's it for now. Got a house to clean, laundry to do, a quilt to bind, and some projects to work on.

Have a good week everyone.

Charley came to visit me

"We need a medic over here. It's Elsie. Yes, I said it's Elsie."

You know, it's a given that our division at work is expected to work the first Saturday of every December when our community has the annual tree lighting event. But requirement aside, it's a fun place to be. More fun when the weather cooperates, but still fun. Especially since this year one of the guys brought his propane heater, and we also had a "wall" to block the wind coming in.

We collected the toys and canned goods donations (which even with the poor weather and smaller attendance was still substantial). We were up and down, able to sit and warm our tootsies in between drop-offs.

The event came to a close, and after packing up, I headed to the parking lot with a co-worker. Well. There was a bit of a decline, and I found myself having to take it a bit slower since my calf muscle was jumping around a bit. I told co-worker, you might want to get the car and just pick me up here. Before I could get it all out, Mr. Charley Horse jumped up and caught my attention.

Now, if you've had a charley horse, you know how painful that muscle spasm is. Poor co-worker, she really snapped to when I grabbed her shoulder and gripped for dear life! To make a long story short (only a few minutes, but felt f-o-r-e-v-e-r), it was no time and some of my guys were there. I could hear it going on the radio "that's right, it's Elsie". Then there were some more of my guys and a medic. Fortunately by then the spasms were easing up, but the medic was great in doing a deep rub into the muscle for relief (thanks, Steve). And thankfully we were able to disregard calling an ambulance.

The last tree-lighting event of my career, and I made it a memorable one (for me at least). Wouldn't you know.

What caused this you say? Generally it's from letting yourself get dehydrated, maybe low on potassium. And looking back over the day, I didn't drink enough water. At home I try to keep Gatorade on hand, it helps to drink it right after the episode. Yes, I've had Charley visit me before, though it's been a few weeks since the last time he called. Back off, Charley. I don't like your visits.

Has Charley been to see you?

another vacation is history

It's been a really good week, and I've loved being off. Not much longer, and being off will be the norm! I checked my work's email the other day, and it was a bit strange to read the internal posting about my position coming available. Sigh. But not strange enough to make me change my mind!

I got to keep this little cutie two days while her momma went to work. She got in a little quality Grams time. :) A lot of her quality time was spent sleeping, but that's okay.

And of course there was Thanksgiving (see previous post), and it's always nice when I can be with everyone.

I finished this quilt top for Ashlynn. I'm really pleased how it came together, and think she'll like it. I'll be tying it off for the finishing. This takes care of the older grandkids' quilts for Christmas, and for me, three quilts in 3 months is doing pretty good.

I mentioned in an earlier post about the Secret Santa Stocking Swap I'm in over on the HGTV quilting forum. I even got that boxed up and mailed yesterday! I know December will be busy, so better to get it out in plenty of time than to wait and fight the crowds at the post office. And since it will take a week or so to get there, I didn't worry about sending priority mail since it's plenty early.

Another birthday has come along as well. I don't think you'll ever see me complaining about that, I like to see them keep on coming. One of my presents was Julia Childs cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". Now when I issue an invitation, everyone will really be asking "what are you cooking" before they give an answer...

happy Thanksgiving

"How did you make that corn dish, David?" and "alright Mom, what did you put in that cheese ball??? are you trying to sneak something over on me??? oh wait, it's not bad." "I'm so full" and "show me the tv and a couch, and I'm good for the day".

Yes, another Thanksgiving dinner has come and gone. Fortunately for me my preparations were relatively easy this year, since Robert and Angela hosted the festivities at their house. Good company, good weather, good food. A nice day indeed. The cousins had a good time playing in the back yard, including the age-old favorite of hide-and-seek. Little Elise got to celebrate her first Thanksgiving, but she did end up sleeping through at least part of it. :)

This morning I did one of those little elf videos, using pics of me and my brothers and sisters. It made for a nice little family portrait, didn't it?

I also had some fun with my geocaching today. Last weekend Robert and I hid a cache in his vicinity, and today was the "first to find" on it, meaning someone was the first one to find it and post their entry. This cache is full of orange items, asking people to trade out with other orange items. I like having a variety of things in the cache, and will usually include a couple of toys, some fabric for a quilter who might come along the way, as well as something to appeal to adults. In this case, there was a sudoku puzzle book and a carabiner, among other things.

Yes, I'm thankful. I've got many blessings in my life.

getting ready

That magical day is fast approaching, and I've got to be ready. Yes, retirement is around the corner. I've come a long way around the block, and almost to the home stretch. March 31, 2010 is my target date, and that will be here before I know it. So...

My plan when I bought my little Hyundai Tuscon almost 3 years ago was that I would trade it in about now, and start out fresh with a new vehicle. I didn't go with a brand new one, but last night I got a 2008 Toyota Highlander (check this link for a shameless plug for where my son works). Woo hoo! It's a bit roomier, the gas mileage should be comparable to the Tuscon, and will be a comfortable ride for my trip to Idaho next summer, as well as any other excursions I set out on. No pic today, maybe one of these days.

And, it will be able to pull a little travel trailer. My thoughts right now are that I might get a little trailer, and be part of the Sisters on the Fly community. You've got to check out the gallery of trailers that these women have. I've got my eyes open for a vintage trailer that's in pretty decent shape, and reasonably priced (meaning cheap!). Sherry, do you know of any in east Texas??? I've posted a notice at work looking for one, putting the word out. Nolene and Joe suggested I look at a dealership that sells small travel trailers with an eye towards a new one. There is something to be said for electricity and water. And, um, other amenities.