I was so long-winded in my last post, I don't have a lot to add, but...
I just ordered myself a Christmas gift. Thanks for the idea, MK! I saw this on your list of favorite books and I hope it's as good as the description sounds. What could be better than a childhood in an old castle in Tuscany! I'm looking forward to reading it! :)
I'm heading over to Micah's soon. I'm going to give her my left-over wrapping paper. (I'm all done!) Dollar Tree had some cute paper for $1 per roll, of course. But watch the labels! Some are 20 sq/ft and some are 50 sq/ft. All the same price. I got the bigger ones, so I have lots left over. :)
No internet all day! Finally, it kicked in this evening, so here I am. :)
I got a visit from a pileated woodpecker a couple of days ago. They are one of my favorite birds! There were actually two of them, but I only got photos of one. They're kind of fuzzy, but it was exciting to see it so close!
I wish I had been able to catch him in flight. He's much larger than he looks here, but my camera isn't capable of catching anything moving.
My son-in-law, Adam, and his dad have been working evenings and weekends on a new house for my kids. I promised my step-dad some photos and finally remembered to take my camera along to my daughter's house! This may prove boring for some of you. Sorry! It's kind of confusing with all the wall studs, but hopefully it shows something about their progress.
This is the front of the house, facing south. The two windows on this end are Sully's bedroom (left) and the girls' bedroom on the right.
The back of the house, north. There aren't many windows on this side. Just the sliding glass doors to the dining room area and a small window way at the other end in the mud room.
This is looking through the big back door into the living/dining area.
This is the door into the mudroom on the east end of the house. See the small north window on the right? They're eventually going to attach a garage on this end.
This is looking in through the mudroom door. There is a pantry and laundry room on the left, I think. (I get confused about what's what with all the little stud compartments, but I have a copy of the plans below. Hopefully you can see what's what there.)
Here I'm standing in the living room with the front door to the right. Straight ahead is the master bedroom The ladder is blocking the doorway. That's the front door frame leaning on the wall. It has the glass on both sides of the door. They paid $15 for it at a garage sale! Micah and Adam have a walk-in closet and bathroom.
Here I'm looking the opposite direction at the kids' rooms. There are two bedrooms and a bathroom in that end. The living area is right in front of me. There will be a fireplace to the left.
Here I'm standing by the front door looking out the back door. (See the barn?) The dining area and kitchen will be over there.
Here I'm by the back door. The kitchen and mud room will go down that hallway to the rear. Part of the kitchen will come out around this corner.
This is looking out the front living room window. The fireplace will be to the right of the window.
I THINK this is looking through the walls at Micah and Adam's bathroom and closet, with the bedroom in the background.
Another view from the front door to the back door.
Front of the house to the left.
As for the "procedure" part of my post, I have an appointment tomorrow to see my doctor in preparation for a colonoscopy next week. I'm a couple of years overdue for one. Just routine. I'd appreciate prayers that all will go like clockwork. It's always a little strange to be put under general anesthesia, so prayers for skill for the anesthesiologist and the doctor would be great. And a good report! My doctor is 73 years old, but seems to have steady hands and lots of experience. ;)
It's getting late so I'd better sign off for now. Thanks for reading all of this!
Everyone keep on enjoying Christmas preparations!
Shalom to all! :)
Our Chinese dinner didn't pan out. Apparently, the folks at the Super Buffet decided it was about time they gave their employees the day off on Thanksgiving! Well, good for them! :) We ate at Country Kitchen instead and the kids loved their pancakes with a chaser of Oreo sundaes. Can you say sugar high? Well, it was a meal they all approved of.
So, now I'm rushing onward to Christmas! I don't intend to do a lot of extensive decorating. I think my tiny dwelling needs some scaled down decor. I've been collecting creches for a few years. I don't have a huge collection, but maybe just enough to fill some space on my counter. So, I'll be doing some decluttering to make room for them.
Meanwhile, I'll put a manger scene in my header...and here!
Happy Thanksgiving, gang!
We're planning a non-traditional meal at a Chinese restaurant, but I will bake a pumpkin pie at some point because we can't do without that. I'll probably also make myself a turkey dinner one day so I'll have some leftovers to enjoy. It's my favorite meal!
I've posted this picture before, but it's a favorite. :)
(Correction: It was Christmas dinner, but it still works!)
I've watched this video a couple of times because I think it's such a good example of making do with what you have and friends getting together for a holiday meal. If you think you don't have room to make a Thanksgiving meal with all the fixings, check this out! Their resourcefulness is mind-boggling! And the Englishness of the whole thing is a lot of fun, too. :)
Those of you who follow me on Facebook have already heard about my encounter with Rocky the flying squirrel, but I'm repeating the high points here for family members who aren't on Facebook. Sorry! Ha ha!
Well, in the wee hours of this morning I heard loud scratching noises coming from underneath my trailer house, right below my bed. At first I didn't pay much attention. The wind was blowing ferociously outside and I figured a branch was scraping against the house. Then I realized there are no branches in that location. So I banged on the floor and wall to try to scare off whatever kind of critter it was. I think it was trying to get out but couldn't figure out how. Then the scraping sound traveled up the bedroom wall. I went back to sleep figuring there was nothing I could do anyway. A while later I awoke and heard little noises from the kitchen. I got up and went to the kitchen and turned on a light. I didn't notice anything at first but then saw a little squirrel halfway up the wall, frozen in place, staring at me with big eyes. See the little wall to the right of the stove? That's where he was hanging. (I know it's a he because his name is Rocky.)
This wasn't a large, bushy tailed squirrel, but a smaller squirrel of the flying variety. It stayed there frozen, thinking it was invisible to me (ha, ha!) while I tried to figure out how to get rid of it. I'm not one for bludgeoning small, cute animals. I asked myself, "Do I try to throw a blanket over it?". But I figured it was too quick for that. Then I decided to close the bathroom door (on the left, below) and the bedroom door (straight ahead) and force it to run out the front entry/door (to the right). I was standing by that light switch on the left of the picture while staring down the squirrel.
It went according to plan, except that on the first try it ran right under my bedroom door. I forgot that there's quite a space under it. So, I stuffed a blanket in that space and tried it again, chasing it with my broom to encourage it along. It ran out the door, across my deck and dove through the air, landing on a nearby tree trunk and running up it. Tah-dah!
I've been warned to have someone check out the entry points under the trailer. Yes, I've lived with mice and varmints all my married life, living in the country with lots of grain storage nearby, etc. In our log house we would even have the occasional bird or bat get in and fly around in the 20 foot high ceiling. So, this is just a minor annoyance. This old trailer must have hundreds of little holes a mouse could get in. I've told my young landlady (she's a good friend of my daughter's and in her 20's). She said she would let her hubby know, but he might not be able to check it out until after Thanksgiving. I'm fine with that. I don't think that squirrel wants back in, and I've got a trap set for any mice. I also try to keep vulnerable foodstuffs in either the breadbox or the fridge, so there's not a lot around to snack on.
I learned a lot through this experience...about flying squirrels. They're nocturnal and they don't hibernate. They usually sleep in a hole in a tree, sometimes several of them together to keep warm. They are interesting little beings. Sure made my day more interesting!
I'm still reading An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L'Engle, but I think I'm reading it more out of some OCD need to know I've read all five books in the quintet. I think I've overdosed on her books, lol. I also just started reading Beth Moore's book Jesus, The One and Only. I'm really loving it! Beth Moore has a special way of bringing you right into the story.
I spent some time at Micah's today doing laundry and some dishes and generally picking up while she and the kids were gone to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). Then I borrowed her Netflix and watched a few episodes of Father Brown. It made for a pleasant mixture of work and fun. I really do sit around too much at home, which I suspect has something to do with my neck and backaches this week. Gotta keep moving!
Have any of you seen the trailer for the new movie "The Man Who Invented Christmas"? It looks really good. I may break down and actually go to the theater to see it. I think it comes out tomorrow. It's the story of how Charles Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol".
I think I'll do some reading and make a cup of coffee. I hope you will all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm enjoying all of your holiday posts. :)
It seems like just as you get over one bout of having a cold, another is waiting in the wings. Not really sick; just enough to kill all ambition!
So, I've been napping a bit, drinking lots of coffee, tea and hot chocolate and reading and watching YouTube. I managed to go to church to help with AWANA and help Micah out with the kids a bit, but artwork isn't appealing except for dreaming up things to do "some other time". Just sort of a scratchy throat and being tired. Of course, I've caused some of this by making unwise decisions like staying up late watching movies, lol. That hasn't helped. Anyway, I'll stop whining.
I'm off to watch the grands while Hazel has her last night of gymnastics. It's parents' night, so Micah and Adam will both go along.
I just started the fifth book in Madeleine L'Engle's quintet-An Acceptable Time.
Here's a little artwork I did in the last couple of weeks.
And some out of focus pics of a blazing sunrise over my neighbor's house the other day.
Gotta run! I'll check in on everyone later. Shalom! :)
Today would have been my mom's 85th birthday. But instead of a celebration here, she gets to celebrate every day, being in God's presence! Happy youthful eternity with Jesus, Mom! I'll see you there when the time is right. Love you!
Voila! I have a whole extra hour to stay up. Well, I'll probably regret it if I do, but...
I just wanted to post a movie suggestion for all of you anglophiles out there. I just watched a 2004 movie called Carrie's War. It's based during the blitz of WWII. It follows two children who are sent to the country. It was pretty good! It looks like there was a series by the same name in 1974. I'll try to link the movie below, if all goes well. These links don't always stick.
Then, in the right-hand column I saw Goodnight, Mr. Tom, which I believe was good. I watched it a couple of years ago. I probably learned of it from one of you. It's the same basic theme. Child evacuees during WWII.
Son-in-law, Adam, bagged a buck deer this morning! Sounds like deer are abundant this year, so he got a bonus tag and will try for a doe tomorrow. I hope he gets one. The venison in the freezer really helps with their big family. In this area whole families go hunting because they really need the meat, not just for sport. It's a real blessing when the hunt goes well. I'm in awe of the teen-age girls and little old ladies who go out and do their part. I've never hunted myself, but Bob did when we were first married. Praying that everyone stays safe.
Yeah, I think I'm ready for bed, ha ha. Goodnight all and shalom!
