Oh, the calmness of after Christmas...

Yes. It's me. I'm back. I feel like I've been on a long, long journey...with so many people, going so many places, eating so much food! Food that isn't that good for me, but I figure I'll calm down when all the leftovers are gone. Which is pretty much now. There's a turkey carcass simmering in a big pot of water on the stove. It smells pretty good. Lunch for New Year's Day. (tomorrow)

I spent the morning taking down ornaments and figuring out what boxes they all go in to. At least I recognize the ones that are Paul's, and the ones that are mine. We had a full house pretty much all the time for the past two weeks. The day after Christmas, when we celebrated a family Christmas, we had 16 people sleeping here - on beds, on air mattresses. 24 people for dinner. Never had that many people in our house at once. Vincent "lost" his bed to Jeff and Dorothy, and he slept on an air mattress in his parents' room. As did Neenee and Brenan - air mattresses in their parents' room. They gave up their beds in the Kids Kamp for Alaina and two german exchange students who were visiting Jeff and Dorothy. DJ slept in the living room.

Little Vincent, as a three-year old, was overwhelmed by all the excitement. Too much company, too many places to go, too many things to do, not enough "alone" time. Nancy and Dan have the patience of saints. Plus they had the added burden of a sick car. Talk about stress...They arrived on Christmas day with a clutch that needed repair. The next day they headed off to Ithaca, where the only Honda dealer was. Dan driving the Honda, and Nancy, my Kia. They came back in the Kia - The Honda needed a new clutch, which the dealer had to order. It would be there this week. Dan starts classes the first week in January, and he needed time for preparation. They needed to go back on the 30th. (yesterday)(Wednesday). It all worked out. They drove straight through... The little guy was in his own bed last night.

Somehow I always have expectations of Christmas that need to be underwhelmed. I don't know if that's a word or not, but it seems to fit the situations we put ourselves in. No matter how hard we try, something will go wrong! That's where my current philosophy, which my dear husband often says - It is what it is - fits in. Unfortunately, those thought processes don't come by easily.

I could write more, and there's pictures to post, but I'll close for now. So...

What's happenin' in your neck of the woods?

Company Comin', Company Arrived...

Christmas is quickly approaching. I still have some presents to wrap, and if I sat down to do it, I would be finished. Of course, I'm procrastinating....
Greg, Noi, Neenee, Brenan all arrived around 1 AM Monday morning....I actually consider that Sunday night, as we waited up for them to arrive. Nancy and Dan should have left Chicago this afternoon. They'll be due at Neal and Judy's tomorrow, Christmas Eve, some time. I'm so glad they're staying overnight at a hotel. And will be here some time Christmas morning- late. In time for Vincent's nap.


It is Noi and Greg's 22nd Wedding anniversary tonight. They'll be going out to dinner, and we'll be enjoying Neenee and Brenan's company for the evening. Right now I can hear them downstairs playing ping-pong. Neenee loves to giggle. We also put up an electronic dart board which doesn't have sharp darts. For obvious reasons we prefer the dull kind. Of course it's harder to tell when they're playing it...

I talked with my friend Marcia in North Carolina and got all caught up on news from them.

I also talked with brother Bob and friend Marian. Good to hear their voices and know we'll be seeing them soon!

Pictures:

Our house is starting to fill up. As is our hottub! Can't say I was too enthusiastic about going in myself, as it was around 12 degrees again last night, and the hottub only can hold 4 people comfortably. So I was glad I couldn't fit...But Brenan, Neenee, Greg and Paul enjoyed it. Hats and all. You can see the steam rising up. The flash takes away the LED ten-strobe shifting colors lights.

I must start wrapping the rest of the small presents I still have, so I will close for now. Perhaps I'll continue procrastinating...anyway...

So - that's all the news from here for now....what's happening in your neck of the woods?

The Sunday Before Christmas...and all through the house...

I looked thru my pocketbook twice to find this camera. The third time was the charm.

We went to church this morning and enjoyed the last advent candle being lit, had a coffee hour so we had a chance to meet some more people. Sure wish they had one every week like they do at my old church.

These pictures are self-explanatory. The village and "red lit tree" is on the glass-doored bookcase.

Same problem as always with these photos - no flash - looks good on camera, but dark on blog. Flash - too light, and the color is all washed out. Oh, well.

Our huge tree that Paul is decorating is in the corner of the dining room. I'm sure we'll be taking numerous more pics during the next two weeks.

We called Greg and his family yesterday, (Saturday) and they got started from Gainesville around 3:00 PM. Not sure where or when they stopped to rest last night. We talked to them again today around 4:00 PM and they were stuck in traffic in Virginia. They missed the snowstorms in that area. Hallelujah! They expect to be here late tonight. Midnight? (7 hours from here) We baked chocolate chip cookies for them! The heat is on upstairs. Beds are made.

We both heard from our children that can't make it home this year. Each sounded homesick. We miss them too. One is half way around the world, the other is on the other side of our country. But...It is what It is. It's cold here, guys. Someday...

Guess that's all the news from here...what's happenin in your neck o the woods?

I couldn't resist this picture of Ella. Her tail is covering her mouth. One foot is missing. I'm sure it's somewhere...don't you think?

Blog #100 - isn't that a milestone, or something?

I am just about finished with my gift wrapping, envelope stuffing, general pre-Christmas time activities. In fact I say almost, because invariably - there's something I need to get, do, etc.
I know Paul and I have to sit down and make up a list of food we need to have in the house for everyone who will be here - either the.....permanent-Christmas-vacation-kind, or.... drop-in- for-a-couple-of-hours-kind. Both kind are very welcomed and looked forward to! We even have a brand new hardly used bottle of almost original Baileys brand liquor for egg nogs, decaffeinated coffeeor whatever.
Boy - if I ever read an unsettling paragraph...that was it. It's so wishy washy. Here, there, everywhere...
Christmas is quickly approaching. Greg and Noi should be on the road now - we're anxiously watching the weather reports, which aren't that great, for the south-mid eastern seaboard.
Paul has utter confidence in his son's decisions. We look forward to hearing from them while they travel. That's thestart of the holidays...knowing where they are, estimated day/time of arrival.

We're also looking at the weather reports for Chicago and Nancy, Dan and Vincent's trip for the 23 & 24th. It'll be good when everyone is here and accounted for...
Well, guess I'd better make our food list.

So much is going on, but I'm going to close for now...
what's happenin' in your neck o' the woods?

Wintry Morning...and other musings..

It's too Christmassy a day not to write...the snow is falling gently outside where it is 13 degrees. Okay. I'm not too pleased with the temperature, but it does look pretty. The snow on the picnic table at the edge of the woods, and the double seated chairs, also at the edge, are being lightly covered with the snow, reminding me of the warmer days when Vincent was here - playing in the mulch with his trucks. And I was sitting on one of the seats watching him. Sigh. Wish it were sunny though, like then. Could we have a rainbow if it was sunny? Or is that just in the warmer weather. The sun did come out. It still looks cold.



I have some medical news about myself.
I had a cardiac nuclear stress test a week ago. We got a call Tuesday, that the results needed an explanation by the head of the cardiology department at Robert Packer Hospital, Sayre, Pa. So we went there yesterday, Wednesday.
It seems they found what may be a blockage in one of the arteries to my heart. They can't tell where the blockage is, or to what degree, until they do a cardiac catheterization. They let me pick the date so I decided to have it done after the Christmas holidays. Why add more to our full schedule for this time of year? After all, they let me pick the date...a good sign. It will be done at the hospital on January 6th. Three scenarios: First: - not much problem - medication will take care of it. Home the same day. Second: - a partial stent needed. Stay overnight. Third: bypass needed. The surgeon seemed to think that the first or second scenarios fit best.
I had an EKG and an echo cardiogram while there, plus blood tests. (for the catheterization.) My heart is strong. There isn't much of a recuperation period needed. For five days, I can't lift more than 10 lbs., so Ella can still be cuddled. I can't lift Paul. We can go to Florida on schedule.

So - that's all the news from the woods edge for now - How're things in your neck of the woods?

You say Christmas is coming???

I had thought I was really really late in posting, but it was only last Thursday that I finished our trip to California...
I guess the problem is I really feel it's been a long time since I've posted an every-day, informational, newsletter. I just have not had time to work on it. The pre-Christmas season has gotten to me. Paul and I went out shopping yesterday after taking Brenda to the airport and I still had things to get today. It seems like it's never-ending.

Okay... For those of you wonder, why was Brenda here and why we were taking Brenda to the airport, I will explain.

Brenda's good friend, Joanne, from high school, died last Sunday after a long two-year battle with breast cancer. So...Brenda traveled from California, Thursday and got into Elmira Airport around supper time. She stayed with us til Sunday morning (yesterday). It was a very difficult time for her, of course, but at least we had a chance to see her, and we had the family members, (10) who could come, join us for a pork roast dinner Saturday night, so she could see them. She and her family can't be here for Christmas this year, which of course is the reason we went out there for Thanksgiving. It's their year to stay in California and celebrate with Eric's family.

We gave her the use of the Kia while she was here. Friday, Brenda took the Kia, while we went in Paul's car to go Christmas shopping. And as often happens, we seemed to meet up at various stores. She showed us a bathing suit at the checkout at Dick's Sporting Goods Store. Now, she could go in the hottub with her father. She did, that night. The snow was coming down quite heavily, so I brought hats out for them both. I would have gone in myself, but I had been fighting a cold.

The viewing and funeral were Friday night, (covering 4-8:00). The burial was Saturday morning at 11:oo, with a luncheon to follow at the local Moose Club. She brought along 11 pairs of hand and foot warmers that she'd bought at Dick's yesterday. (Before she left, I teasingly said - How're you going to decide whom you're giving these to ---only to people you like?) There certainly wasn't enough for everyone there. I heard that the Moose Club was packed, and the burial service was also. Joanne, was very popular. It really was a tragedy.

So - from Thursday til yesterday, you can see we all were quite busy. But, isn't that usual at this time of the year? It just wasn't the usual Christmasy things. Some were. Some weren't.

As I said in the beginning, I'm beginning to feel frayed around the edges. I have to check and see if I've gotten everything on my shopping list. Nope. My Christmas newsletter is written, printed out, some are in addressed envelopes. I think I'm up to the N's. I've ordered a lot over the internet. The postman delivered the first present here. Yeah!

I guess I'd better stop writing and begin addressing envelopes, etc. again. These days are getting shorter and shorter - not only in daylight time, as it's supposed to, but in hours left to get things done. Everything will get done, and all will be calm again (eventually).

Relax. Enjoy the season - my addled brain says. I will, I promise myself.

Got a lovely Christmas Card from the choir at my old church...and lots of people signed it. Oh. my. I. miss. them. so.

So... that's what's been happenin' here at the Woods edge. What's happenin' in your neck of the woods?

Post #4 - Trip out West - adventures in returning!

Our hotel had a fire. We were all evacuated. But let me back up a bit. Paul and I arrived at our hotel in San Francisco - the one we stayed at the night we arrived. We took our rental car back to the airport and took the shuttle bus to the hotel. When we walked in the door, the alarm was sounding. The front desk crew were on the phone to the fire department and they said the building had to be evacuated immediately. There was a fire in one of the rooms on the fourth floor. So we turned around and went back outside. It was cold, too. But - there was a McDonald's across the street where we and other hotel guests could watch the 12 fire engines arrive, with all the firemen in their gear and with their axes. Sorry the pictures didn't turn out well, but you can get the idea. I guess if you travel a lot, this can just be another episode in your travels, but to me it was rather exciting.

Then, the next day everything worked out okay - except we had a four hour wait in Philly. And that turned out to be five hours - because our plane had an electrical problem and we had to change planes. So we got home after midnight. Tired but happy to be home.

Post #3 - Trip out West - Napa Valley

If you get this twice - it's because I edited it. The town where the dancing statues were found is Clayton, not Clarion...Clarion is in Pennsylvania, not in California. It really was a gorgeous little town and deserves being recognized by the correct name!

Sorry about lapse between postings - I think December has gotten to me! But that's for another posting... Here we are in Napa Valley. All the pictures seem dark to me, but it was truly beautiful. I think we arrived about a week after all the colors had been at their brightest. Some leaves had fallen also, but it was just gorgeous. I talked to Nancy recently and she said a couple of years ago she had been at a wedding there in the valley.
The first picture is of the statue children I mention below.

The next two pictures are of vineyards, and it shows that the green leaves have turned yellow, and there is green vegetation below them. We also so rose bushes at the end of some rows. (I understand this is what they do in Italy.)
I also see that I repeat myself with duplicate pictures.

This is a picture of Paul's hand when we were on the cablecar going up the mountain to Sterling Vineyards. I have a better picture of him, but the colors were better in this one!

Here we are at the top overlooking Napa Valley at Sterling Vineyards.

We left Brenda, Eric and Emma on Sunday morning to travel a couple of hours through the mountains on a leisurely ride to Napa Valley. The weather reminded me of the beginning of October in our wine country. Magnificent blue skies.

We had lunch on our way through the mountains, to Napa Valley, at a beautiful little town called Clayton. The restaurant overlooked a little town square that had statues of 6 or 8 children in a circle dancing around. Neat. The trees are all yellow, orange, reds. I had thought we had a monopoly on autumn, but I was definitely mistaken.

We got to Napa late afternoon. After signing in at our hotel, which was at the top edge of Napa Valley in the town of Napa, we decided to go to Mondavi Vineyards for their wine-tasting. We had heard of their wine, so we thought we'd try it. We were in for a rude awakening - it was $25 a person! Everyone knows, who lives near us here in our wine country...that it may cost $3 to sample 6 wines here. Good heavens. But - it was late, so we continued on and had a dinner...which was also costly. We were a little discouraged, but the next day, everything turned around. We found a better place to stay. We found several wineries that had just beautiful grounds, cost little to sample the wine, and their tasting rooms, gift shops were very picturesque. One even offered to have us share a tasting for $5. Good. One winery had a delicatessen where you could buy a sandwich, paper goods, they'd open a bottle of wine, and you could sit at picnic tables by their vine-covered brick buildings overlooking their rose gardens, vineyards and live-oak trees.

We spent a nice time (two nights) at Napa and were sorry to have to leave. I could have spent another day there...perhaps some time again when we're visiting Brenda and her family.

Posting #2 of our vacation out West

This is still before Thanksgiving - but the pictures are in the wrong order. They're kind of self-explanatory...but in case you're wondering...I was kinda proud of myself...putting the pictures in first. Oh, well...
The next to the bottom pictures are of their dog, Daisy, who jumped into the trunk of our car when we were packing to go to Yosemite. Brenda is commiserating with her. We piled Daisy in the car with us and we took her to the kennel...where the next picture is of some of the kennel's boarders waiting to see who got out of the car. Unfortunately...previously, Daisy failed their test for good manners and congeniality, and wasn't allowed to join them. She had to be exercised on her own. The last picture is of Figaro - their cat.
Now, Ella looks like she's on her last legs (after seeing a 20 lb. cat vs. a 4 1/2 lb. one). Ella is due for a vets appointment, which was planned before we left, and not because of the weight discrepency, but I just didn't get to it.
But - I've gotten off the subject! Figaro guarded the house while we were gone overnight.

Happy Thanksgiving - Brenda cooked a great turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Emma is getting to be such a big help for them. She made an apple pie that was scrumptious! And she's a big help in the kitchen. Eric's parents, Cliff and Dickie, came up from Santa Barbara - an 8 hour trip, and Eric's brother, Forrest and his new bride-of-only-a-month, Kim, came from Reno - a three hour trip - to help us celebrate. We stayed at the house with the family. Due to space, the others stayed at a motel nearby.

Seated at the table are from L to R - Brenda, Emma, Kim, Forrest, Cliff, Dickie, Paul, and Eric. Cliff is a retired geology professor from UCLA, Santa Barbara. He's very interesting, to listen to. Cliff and Dickie are both interesting people. Dickie plays tennis regularly. She and Emma played.


Paul made the gravy. Eric carved the turkey.

That's about all for now. Will continue with Napa Valley soon...

Posting #1 of our vacation Nov. 22 - Dec 2

I always seem to write before I download pictures. Thus in about the middle, you'll find my beginning paragraph! At least I have the pictures in the correct order! - Picture #1 - This is Eric, Brenda and Emma's house in the San Jouquian Valley. (sp?) I understand this area is called the breadbasket of the United States. All kinds of orchards, dairy, and vegetable farms. The orchards are massive. The farms are huge.

After spending a night at their home, we all piled in to our rental car and set off for Yosemite National Park. This is two hours from their home. Our first stop was the giant sequoias.
All I could think of was the relationship between the words magesties and magestic - and how magestic and king-like these huge beauties were.
If anyone watched the recent Ken Burns special on our national parks, you may remember a statement he made: Europe has its magnificent castles, churches, and man-made monuments, but we have our magnificent and magestic, eons old, parks. And he was right about the comparison.

The picture of Paul and I was taken at El Capitan - one of the famous sites to view. The next one is of the famous Bridal Veil Falls.

Welcome to the beginning of my post!

Okay. I could say - where did the time go? I haven't written since when? Time does really fly when we're having fun!

As most of you know, and if not, you must have guessed we were somewhere, since I haven't posted in a while.

Paul and I spent Thanksgiving, plus 11 days before and after, in California visiting Brenda and her family, plus touring.... This is my third time in California. Each time we've gone someplace new to me. It's nice having a tour guide who can say - "now we're going to go......, because it is the most scenic route to....." and he was right - we did go to many beautiful indescribable places that even photos cannot do justice to. But we tried. And hope you enjoy them.

As the title to this post says - it's #1 - I'll add to this with some more postings, but the Christmas season, at this time, pleads for me to do other things at the moment. (like finding Christmas ornaments.) Or I will begin stressing out.

So...what's happenin in your neck of the woods?

Just Mostly Pictures...

The last picture is using a flash. It looked washed out, so I took the rest without one. The color of the walls are the same as our kitchen - so it's a color in between flash and non-flash. We're both so pleased with how it turned out. We love the floor especially.

I wanted to show you these pictures that I took this afternoon about an hour ago - to show you how the upstairs new room looks. Paul has done such a wonderful job and it's almost finished!

Thus the pictures.

Somehow...not much news...but leads me to random thoughts...

So - where is November going? We've had a good week of weather, and now it's getting to look cloudy and dark. I'll be glad when Dec. 21st arrives and the days will begin to stay lighter longer. And we can look forward to going to Fla. where sunset is later than here - by quite a bit. I look forward to cocktails on the lanaii and seeing the sun go down behind the palm trees.



I'm always glad to see that someone reads my blog and comments on its contents so that I don't feel like I'm talking to the wall. (Seriously... only kidding.) Jil wrote in his blog about reading my blog and commented on how I wrote about the brightness of the stars here, when we're in our hottub, evenings. He wanted me to know he'd read it, and wanted his followers to know about the Mindanao night sky, plus respond to my blog. Normally he would post a comment at the end of the post. He was comparing the stars in Mindanao, how beautiful they are - sparkly and bright - but he didn't think they were as bright as seen here near his hometown. I think, but am not scientifically positive, that it's because our air is clearer and colder. Or perhaps memory fools us.



Back to an aside from the above paragraph: Comments. I welcome them and have received several interesting of fun e-mails to that effect. If they're e-mails, I can't share them with you. BUT If you read my blog thru the blog site: The steps in the way my blog comments can be or not be viewed are as follows:
1. Someone writes a comment. It is posted as an e-mail. 2. I open the e-mail. Read it. Decide if I should post it, or not. 3. I click either publish or do not publish.
It is so comforting to hear from Jil, Epril, Nancy and respond to their response! And everyone can read the comments I've received so far about my posts. A lot of people responded to the one on cursive writing. Several people wrote. they were fun for me to read. But many only responded through e-mails. No good. Couldn't share them with you all. That - plus folding fitted sheets! That was another "popular" subject area. Good heavens I must lead a dull life. Not really.



If you would like to respond on my blog in the comment section or even just to check on what comments have been written: Here's what you have to do.
You have to get on the net.
On the address line you write: http://www.thewoodsedgecrew.blogspot.com/;
When you get in, read the posting, at the end there will be the comment section.
Follow the easy directions.
You can use the anonymous setting if you'd like. I've done that and put just my first name at the end of the comments or just left it blank.



That's enough for now. How're things goin' in your neck of the woods?

My father would have been 102 today. I guess the chances of him being alive, if he were alive, are pretty slim, wouldn't you say?

Life has been busy with normal life here at the Woodsedge. Paul continues to work on the room upstairs. He's busy "mudding." and comes down with very very dusty hands. It's not his favorite thing to do, he says. But...The room looks marvelous. Size: 14.5 X 15.

Last night, my friend Ruth called and invited me to come for breakfast this morning at our favorite spot. The weather has been sunny and unseasonably warm, so the trip was pretty. Ruth says Buffalo usually has had 11 inches of snow by now, and all they've had is a dusting. Wish we'd had this nice weather in the summer or early fall. It's almost like Mother Nature is saying she's sorry that she caused such unpleasant weather early on and is trying to make up for it...even if there's not much time before the snow usually comes. (That was pretty bad. Well. I tried.)

We've been going in the hottub after the dinner dishes are done. The night before last, the stars were so bright, it was like a fairyland. Of course, all the lights need to be off to see it all. Its surprising how much you can see. However, I've got to be more careful because I've stumbled over the stairs twice before my eyes adapted. (But I guess I should be looking down and not up...) Incidentally- the air temperature was 30. And it (the hottub) was a very comfortable 102. There's only a 5 second period of time where you might feel cold..., when the bathrobe and crocs comes off, and before you sink into the water. When you get out, there isn't any 5 second "uncomfortableness." You're still warm from the water, your robe and crocs are leisurely put on, then you're in the house. Voila.

So... as you can see... not much happenin' in our neck of the woods. What about yours?

This top picture is the item I mention in a paragraph below - as usual, I've been writing before taking pictures and so - my pictures don't exactly match the area which they're supposed to be. Does that make sense? It does to me. Anyway - the picture just below is the sheetrock jack that Paul got through the mail. Do please notice the tv - it's usually set to a football game, so it's not all work and no play...

The next picture is of course the ceiling that he's been able to sheetrock because of the jack.

The last picture is of the walk-in closet that still needs to be sheetrocked.

Okay - now we're where I began my post today...so let's begin!

Paul and I have been discussing where to put a Christmas tree this year. The space we had reserved for it, has been taken by one of my birthday gifts last Spring - a beautiful glass-doored bookcase (which I love). So - that space is taken. Looking at all the other spots where it could be placed, it seems rather an impossibility.

So...we've decided that this is the time to shop for a smaller artificial tree. Looking at the calendar, its certainly not too early to window-shop for one. We were thinking of putting it on one of our dining room side tables. It's possible to put a 5' one on the one in front of the window, or a 4' one on the one in the corner. My plan is to visit as many stores as possible and get a feeling for what's out there. As I said to Paul, I really want a spectacular tree...even if its small. As an aside: We have a small artificial tree that has ornamental-pictures of the grandchildren that we certainly can find a spot for. Perhaps on top of the bookcase, or on the half-wall near our front door. After all, some Christmas traditions will not be dropped!

Of course, another problem arises. Ornaments. Not as much room for them. Which ones do we put up, which ones don't we. Do we get new smaller ones. Do we begin thinking about which ornaments do we give away, and thinking along the lines...who would want them.

I went out this afternoon and window-shopped Walmart, Target, Hobby Lobby, Sam's Club and Lowe's. (How about that for walking! ) The trees I looked at weren't all that great. Except one at Lowe's...which had the largest selection. Perhaps I'm just early and the stores didn't have their full selection out yet. I will try on-line also. I'm looking for a potted artificial tree...
Instead of spectacular, I may have to settle for magnificent. :o)

My dear one has been so busy upstairs, UPS delivered a jack that holds a sheetrock in place, so only one person is needed to apply them to the ceiling. It eliminates having another person to hold them up there. I bet this means a lot less sore backs, shoulders. Also -hetoldme that he's taking it easy, stopping when he gets tired, spreading out the work load. Good. What a difference from last year when we had the Christmas season as a deadline to get the Kids Camp done...

That's all for now. How're things in your neck of the woods?

New Random Thoughts

Cousin Carol sent me an e-mail the other day about random thoughts in our lives. I thank her because it gave me food for writing and I'd like to share some of these personalized thoughts with you. There were many thoughts, but these three stood out to me personally. I am going to apologize FIRST... because these are certainly not HUGE problems to anyone. But as I said, they made me think. And I could relate. BUT... if the shoe fits...wear it.

The first was:

Bad decisions make Good Stories.

Okay. The other day I received an e-mail from a Card Club friend, Dayle, inviting all the women to come for lunch on Tuesday at the local restaurant in town. She and her husband were leaving this coming weekend to spend the winter in the southlands near their children and grandchildren. Knowing this would be the last time to see her before she left, it was fun to say yes and have a last visit with her. The other ladies are always good company so a good hour or so was planned for the visit. Five of us ended up going.
When I left in the morning, I decided to wear my good brown "company" sneakers. They're really very nice looking and comfortable. I even wear them to church. Years ago I bought my first pair. I liked them so much I bought them again when the first pair wore out. I drove to the restaurant and as I got out of the car, I noticed I had a brown shoe and a white shoe. Apparently half way through the process of putting on my shoes, my mind neglected to remember I'd changed my usual white for brown. But - my wonderful mind remembered that the white sneakers I had for my Curves exercise are kept in my car. No problem. I just put them on. The ladies had a good laugh with me.
Ruth said - you could have kept them on - your feet would just be under the table. True. But she wasn't the one wearing a white shoe and a brown shoe. That shoe's on a different foot. Or if the shoe fits wear it. And...It's slightly different from a navy sock and a black sock.

The second random thought was:
How the Hell Are You Supposed To Fold a Fitted Sheet?
It's not a major problem of course. I thought about rarely, but was always alone when I put the wash away. So frustratingly, it came to mind then. Once, however, the first time I moved in Bath after my divorce, a friend and I were putting sheets away in my linen closet. They always seemed to bunch up and not fold neatly so that the linen closet looked good. She showed me a way to do it, but I still wasn't satisfied. It still didn't look as good as I'd like. A couple of years later, in Florida I asked my cleaning lady, Debby, the same thing. She put the fitted sheet inside the folded top sheet, along with the pillow cases. Good thoughts. Looked good. Everything was together. Now, just a couple of weeks ago, I had an aha moment in regard to it all. On my guest bed: After I washed the sheets, I just added the fitted sheet onto the bed, underneath the spread! I was so proud of myself. The rest of the set - top sheet and pillow cases are neatly folded in the linen closet. Now - that works for guest room fitted sheets. Not for our bed, of course. So - I'm still wrestling with the way to fold a fitted sheet. Meanwhile I let my present cleaning lady do it. I'll have to ask her how she makes the linen closet look so neat. I really appreciate it.

The third random thought was:
Was Learning Cursive Really Necessary?
Okay. I know...This is not top priority for most people's thinking. BUT - Let's not forget... I was a reading/writing teacher in my former life. I knew this cursive writing was something the kids looked forward to immensely, because it meant they were growing up. Only babies printed. The second half of second grade, first half of third were the times picked for this occasion. But somewhere along the line, cursive fell away and the kids began printing again - seventh, eighth grades? Teachers would demand that they do their papers again in cursive. The reason for cursive? Well...Teachers said that you can write quicker joining the letters together. So - It made sense to do it that way. Now, of course, so much is written on the computer - one can kind of justify not learning to write cursive. The keyboard is certainly quicker. Once you learn it. Most fingers fly over keyboards as kids text messages back and forth. But that's another posting another time. I can foresee a problem of future generations not being able to read cursive. What will happen to all the writings done by our forefathers? Old correspondence? Journals? Will they be able to read them?

All done. How're things goin in your neck of the woods?

I had a list of things to accomplish this morning...and got most of them done. Got home later than usual - which meant a late lunch!

We've been getting a lot of mail from Princess Cruise line. They all look good. Especially the 107 day World Cruise. Yeah, right. Can anyone lend us each $37,850? Of course that would be for a mini suite. But we couldn't manage going on a 107 day cruise and not have a little more elbow room.
Well, we appreciate the thought. Thanks anyway.

We definitely have a November sky out there this afternoon. The sun can be seen behind the clouds as bright spot beyond our bare trees. I tried to take a picture of it, but it didn't turn out. The sun doesn't show up. Paul is upstairs gathering more sheetrock that he got this morning from Lowe's. I can hear his movements.

We had company for dinner yesterday - Lue, plus someone most of you know, whose 50th birthday is today! I'm thinking that getting the numeral-candles for 50 and 75 is certainly a lot easier than the single ones for the "blow-er" or is it "blow-ee?" Perhaps birthday person is a more fitting title.

Later on Sunday night, we soaked in our hottub. It was one of those spectacular nights with millions of stars in the sky. There wasn't any moon, so all you could see were the stars. Friday night, we bought navy "croc' rubber shoes" to use to go from the house, across the deck, down the stairs. Lots of people wear them all the time, and love them. They. are. so. ugly... but they're also so comfortable and easy to slip into. I love mine!

A new restaurant opened up near the mall, called Texas Roadhouse. I didn't remember, but I'd been to one before because when I talked to Nancy Sunday night, she reminded me we went to one a couple of years ago, when I'd visited her. So...I stopped by our new one (opened Monday the 2nd.) Friday at lunchtime, to see what hours they had, and if you could call ahead. They weren't open for lunch, but a cute young employee was outside giving out free bags of peanuts and a copy of their menu, with the call-ahead number.
Paul and I wanted to go Friday night, but there was absolutely no parking left, and people were outside waiting to get in. He said it reminded him of Florida, and I said - Nope. At least in Florida you can "call ahead". When I tried calling ahead at T.R., (from 4:00-5:00) there was no way to get through. They'd literally taken the phone off the hook...really. We ended up going to TGI Fridays and had a glass of wine and an excellent dinner. We weren't disappointed at all. Guess we'll wait a while to go to Texas Roadhouse. And I'm sure we'll enjoy it then.

That's all for now, folks. How're things goin in your neck of the woods?

Monday. I got up late this morning (8:30) and of course it seems like my day is just starting at a much later time than usual. Because it is. I should be headed for Curves, but instead - here I am, drawn to writing.

Everyone knows my love of animals. Paul had been talking with Brenda just before bedtime last night. Brenda, Emma and Eric have buried their beloved little Papillion, Sammy. Eric was riding his bike with Daisy (their other dog) running at his side. Sammy joined them and somehow got entangled in the bike spokes. Brenda said he didn't have a heartbeat as they raced him to the vets. She was inconsolable. I didn't sleep well. My heart goes out to her and her family. Sammy was three.

Time Warner...and back again. (Time and Again)

Pictures of the upstairs guest room.

Paul said today that it's beginning to look like a room people might want to stay in. The first picture is of the entrance to the room from the game/media middle room.

He invented a gadget that helped him move the sheetrock upstairs without extra help... The second picture is of this. I asked him what he calls it - and he smiled, thought for a moment and said - my helper. What a guy. Now he can load up a sheet of sheetrock downstairs in the garage, and with pulleys and cables, hoist it up, roll it across the attic floor, and get it situated in the new room so that he can continue working without any outside help. Neat.
The third pic is of one of the two windows that has been finished (note the heating duct underneath - it works! ) The window is ready for blinds. He'd done the work on the perimeter of the window this morning. The fourth picture is of the door to the walk-in closet. To get your bearings: The window in the third picture is to the left of this fourth picture. The door to the right is the door into the guest room.

This morning was busy. I had intended to write in my blog, but things took longer than I thought they would. Those things happen, as you know. Time and again.

Paul and I set off early to go to Time Warner and pick up a HD DVR (Digital Video Recorder). We had seen the value of them when we visited Nancy, Dan and Vincent. Paul had to stop viewing a Penn State football game because we were going somewhere. We recorded the "live" game from where he stopped watching , and when we came back, he could begin looking at it from where he'd left off.

We got a special offer from Time Warner recently. For $5 a month for a year, we could rent a HD DVR. From the offer, it looked like they would have to come and set the box up. So, off we went, to begin the process. When we got to T.W. they said we needed to trade in the old box for a new one. Home we went. Paul unhooked the cable box and I took it back to exchange it... leaving him to his upstairs fun and games. The man at T.W. wanted to know if I knew what colored plugs we'd used. Yeah. Right. Anyway - got the new box. And Paul's set it up. Paul's recording The Bees' Story an animated movie. We'll watch it tonight.

So - from Time Warner, I went to Curves. And then on to Walmart to pick up some prescriptions I'd had called in yesterday. They were ready - and it cost me nothing! My yearly alloted payments had been completed. I love the end of the year. Of course, when January comes around, I have to pay full price for a month and then it starts going down again. I have a great health plan, thanks to my school district.

That's all for now. How're things in your neck of the woods?

Not much going on...but you'll be the first to know...

It was supposed to get cloudy this afternoon, but for now at 9:30, the sun is out periodically and then hidden by clouds. I guess they'll get more numerous around lunchtime.

Now that November is about, our calendar is filled up with doctors' appointments...AGAIN. We've got too many of them. A lot of these end up being mostly follow-ups for doctors whose consultation could have been done over the phone. If we were feeling poorly, then it would seem right to go. But...They'll say - "lookin' good. See you in (three, four, six) months." One thing I must add: I don't count Paul's prostate cancer follow-ups. We would go every day, if need be, for that. Anyway - Last month was so pleasant...it's nice to look at a whole calendar page with mostly just fun items added. Plus of course Paul's secret birthday celebration which added a lot in spirit. And that was fun!

Yesterday was my five-week treat to myself of going to Bath to see my hair dresser- remember the saying - only her hairdresser knows...and visit with some old friends for lunch. Shirley, my hairdresser, keeps me "up" on a lot of the news of my old home town. I try to make my appointment for mid-morning and then get done by noon. This time Ruth's mother, Emily (age 93) was with us. If you remember from my posting a while back, she joined us for lunch then. She's quite remarkable for her age. There's even a picture. Spry, and certainly sharp as a tack. She's shorter than I am, so that is reaallly short. Also thin....no...no...no. I don't mean like me. She said when she was young she always walked wherever she needed to go. I guess that's true of someone who lives in a city, (near Buffalo) everything is nearby and it's easy to just get up and walk to wherever you need to go. I know that's true of Nancy, Dan, Ivan and Vincent. And to think of it...Jil, Epril and Tyson.
Yes. I am walking a bit now - trying to add to my short walk every time. Today I'm due to go to Curves also.

We voted yesterday for the first time here in our new hometown. We're lucky that we can just get in our car, and coast down the hill - the voting booths are within a quarter mile of our house. Now - as Paul said, we could have probably walked. Well, yes. But getting back up would have been tricky. It's quite a steep hill. Anyway - they didn't have the new voting machines working, so we used the lever kinds like before. Not much to vote on - just some statewide propositions. Everyone was running unopposed in our county. We wanted to say, by voting - "We're here...look for us again next election day."

My friend, Carol, told us, at lunch, that she is so excited about coming to Fla. this February and March. She's been wanting this and wanting this for so long. I'm really happy for her. She'll be taking the auto-train down and back which is very exciting in itself. Her sister is coming down with her and will be staying a couple of days to help her get settled in to her rented house. We'll of course be happy to see them both down there for dinner or whatever, and help out whatever way we can. And to see her on a regular basis. Plus...To make it extra nice for all concerned, the house she's renting is from the grandmother of the lady who cleans for Paul and me. I've know her - the cleaning lady - (Debby) for almost 30 years so she's like family and we feel Carol will be in such good hands. Carol has talked on the phone several times to Debby's mom who is handling her mom's (Debby's grandmother) house rental, and feels a bond with her. Neat.

Okay. That's all folks. What's happenin' in your neck of the woods?

Don't know why I couldn't get these pictures up last time...but here's Ida minus her big big red clown shoes that Sharon stuffs with newspaper. Sharon said she was surprised that she wore them all through her trick or treating in her home town. She'd had enough of walking in them. It was too hard to do. Also - she said the wig was getting itchy. Sorry it's sideways - it's because of my photographic amateur status.

Charles' birthday was finally celebrated last night. Charles' real birthday is the day before Halloween. Note the pie rather than cake. He loves pie - thus the 6 + 6 on it...due to the lack of a 1 + 2. Which reminds me - got my grandson Vincent a counting book with sliding puppies on it - 5 on top, and 5 underneath. The book tells the child to move the puppies - like an abacus, and they learn adding. Guess V. just loves that book and has grasped the idea of adding and wants to have it read again and again. I hope Santa Claus can find some other books like that at Sam's Club or elsewhere. We'll have to see.

Charles' family party had his cousins from Odessa to help celebrate. Their mom, his Aunt, however, stayed home with the H1N1 virus. She didn't want to infect anyone.

We have two windows in the computer/guest room...one overlooks the backyard and the trees, and the other - the end circle. I just saw two of our neighbors walking and reminded myself that I am going to walk a little further each day - to increase my stamina. I tend to NOT write these things down so I don't have any truth in advertising...can't think of the word, but I think I've gotten my meaning across. It's like Weight Watchers. If people know you're going, then it's harder to cheat. Paul did hide the candy that was left from Halloween...bless him. However, he says that there's only one piece left. He's so truthful and honest. Where has all the candy gone??? He says his belly is getting big because of all the candy he ate. I don't think so - he looks pretty good to me. We're now back in control of our eating habits. Good for us!

Okay, animal lovers... A tale of stress. Lue's 11 year old Bernase Mountain Dog, Maggie, was hit by a car yesterday afternoon. She injured a leg, and was traumatized so much, they couldn't begin to examine her completely. It could have been a lot worse, but she's spent last night at a veterinary hospital in Ithaca. They got her heart beat to slow down (I guess it was really racing) and she stopped trembling. She's in ICU where there's a person who stays with her all night. She ran across the street, and realized she'd done something she shouldn't have when Lue called to her. She turned around to come back, and that was when she was hit. We stopped by Lue's on the way back from Charles' birthday party to see Lue. Our pets are a member of our families...need I say more?

I have done my chores this morning, and now I am due to go to Curves, and the supermarket to get some more healthful foods in the house. Hope you all are still well, as we are. The Chicago relatives have been vaccinated with the H1N1 vaccine, but it's hard to find it around here. Nancy said V. has to have a booster shot yet. Her blog shows Vincent having a wonderful time going trick or treating and playing in the leaves. If anyone would like her blog address or Jil's, just let me know and I'll send it to you. I'm sure they'd love for you to see them and hear what they're doing.

So - that's all folks. What's happening in your neck of the woods?

Think Orange and Black.

These are neighborhood kids - no one you know, but they looked cute...thus the picture. Had a hard time getting it printed, but glad it finally appeared.

Happy Halloween! The weather has been pretty damp lately, but tonight at the Trick-or-Treat time, it turned nice...at least the kids could come by with their costumes on - without coats! That's quite a "treat" because I can remember a lot of Halloweens up here when it was snowy, blowy, and yucky. Please...Imagine the background of this post to be orange. The print is already black. Not sure how to do make the background orange...but create it in your mind.

I don't know who was more excited about seeing the little ones in their costumes - Paul or I. They sure looked adorable. We have six on our street that came with their parents before dark. Ages: 2 through 7. We got them some extra special treats since we know them.

I bought much too much candy, as usual, which are in a big wooden bowl near the door. That's not good...I'm hoping most of it will be gone, but since we don't have any idea how many kids will be here, we have a plan... Luckily Charles has a family birthday celebration coming up tomorrow - at which we'll distribute our candy to them. This is the first year that Charles and Lee haven't gone Trick or Treating. They feel they're too old. Now, I'm not sure if it's Charles and Lee who think that, or Dave and Sharon. It doesn't matter - I imagine they'll be giving out treats with Dave while Sharon takes Ida out.

And Sharon did - they both stopped by and Paul and they went around to our neighbors. I took a picture of Ida, but somehow I can't seem to print it. If I can, I'll post it another time. She was in a very colorful clown costume and wig that her Grandmother Donna made for Sharon or her siblings long long ago. She must have been a wonderful seamstress. Sharon still has many of their old costumes.

Sharon said Dave wasn't feeling well...so perhaps we won't be having Charles' party after all. She's going to call us tomorrow. This N1H1 virus seems to be inhibiting a lot of plans around here. Dave's father is also sick. One of the Corning clan had it - but a very light case and is fine now.

I gave Sharon a lot of the candy, and Ida snuck a few (?) more pieces into her trick or treat bag along with the special candy I got her.

Incidentally, we're both feeling fine. We were two of the lucky ones that had our flu shots on Columbus Day before they ran out. I'm talking about the regular shot. And we're supposedly immune (let's hope so) to the N1H1 virus. But even so...we've been washing our hands more than usual to be on the safe side. I hope you all are doing the same and staying healthy.

I called Nancy tonight to see how Vincent made out for Halloween and because we got a one-ring call from her shown on our TV as a call waiting. She thinks it was V. playing with her phone. She says he has a knack for calling grandparents...it seems Jane received one also. At least phone calls don't break the bank any more. Even the Philippines is quite inexpensive - our last one was $4.00.

Okay - that's all for now, folks. So...how're things goin in your neck of the woods?

It can't be Thursday...

So....? What happened to this week? I think my life is going by too fast. This week is a case in point. I'm not complaining, mind you.
Thank you, Bob, for the beautiful weather you brought with you from Florida! I don't think we've seen that much sun in a long time. It conveniently lasted til he left early this morning. Actually, it was yesterday that began the rain. Bob's plans to return to Florida yesterday were sabotaged by weather in Philly. The plane that was to leave Elmira was delayed getting here and that meant he couldn't get his connecting flight back to Tampa. So...he had dinner leftovers with us last night and watched a stupid movie with us.
A little aside: I've been looking at companies to invest in (my meager piddly change) and discovered Redbox. Redboxare video rental boxes that are found in grocery stores. They charge a nominal $1.00 a night for videos. Actually $1.08. Pretty cheap. So, last night we rented one - called "Adoration". It seemed like a good flick but when it was done we all looked at each other and said "Huh?" I had to google it to help us understand the whole thing. That made it easier. The other one we rented was "The Caller". This one had kind of a plot. It was another one I googled after we saw it. So...if these are the kind of movies you get, I don't think I'll be buying stock in it. Of course you could argue it was the movies we picked. They had two hundred titles.
Paul and Bob got up at 4 AM to get him to the airport by 4:45, when it opened - for his 5:40 flight to Philly. I got to sleep in. Bless them. I have to thank the Powers that Be that we found this lot and built this close to the airport...15 minutes. We haven't heard from Bob and he's supposed to be landing in Tampa at 10:30, so I guess all went well. (It's 10:15. )
That's all for now, Folks. How're things in your neck of the woods?
Thank you Cousin Carol for writing and telling me all your doings down in Fla. Take care.

Monday, Monday

These are pictures of our winery trip described below. Note the Birthday Boy having fun over a wine barrel! I am the shadowy figure in the dark of the picture of four. (Good!) The picture just above the bottom one are of Mark and Bob at the place where we could see the grapes being pressed.

Still celebrating Paul's birthday. I had forgotten to give him a small present that I'd gotten him - a dvd of 100th anniversary of Victor Borge. So he got it at breakfast. We are still enjoying Bob and Mark's company today.

We had a chance to visit three wineries on Seneca Lake's east side. The first one was Wagner's where where Bob took us for lunch. The day was gorgeous - the colors were not as vivid as a week ago; the yellows were brilliant however, but the reds were turning brown. We sat at a table overlooking the beautiful blue lake. Someone helped us out by taking the picture of the four of us. After that we had a tour of the winery. Paul suggested we go further down the lake to a winery that was noted for their special view of the lake. Well - it was spectacular. We stayed there for a while. This is the season for picking the grapes, squeezing the juice, and beginning the winemaking process. We could see all this below us because we were at an open porch area above them. (It was obviously done outside at this winery. During our wine tour at Wagners, it was inside. ) The last place we went to, was Hazlitt's which is our favorite winery. Paul and I got a bottle of Shiraz.

That's all for now folks. How're things goin in your neck of the woods?

We had quite a weekend - and celebration for Paul's birthday. It seems like such a long time since I've written - but its only been since Friday. I've been just too busy!

These are pictures of the Big Day - Glad Bob could come up for the occasion.

Charles had some lovely blue braces on his teeth that matched his shirt. Wish you could have seen them!

Lee is getting to be a charmer. He sat across from us in the private dining room we had for the dinner.

I had fun surprising Paul about his birthday. Saturday around noontime I informed him that we had to go to the airport to pick up my brother, Bob. I guess I really surprised Paul - he wanted to know how long I'd been planning this (since mid September), who else was coming, where were we going, when were we celebrating? I told him he'd learn on a needs-to-know-basis, so I could keep the fun going on...It really was fun surprising him, although it needed a bit of ingenuity at times.

Bob's (and our) good Toronto friend, Mark, who visits every year in Fla. and usually stays at our house there, found out Bob was coming and asked if he could come and help celebrate. Fortunately, we had the futon available in the computer room and gladly opened it up. Paul didn't know for whom it was done, but surmised it. Mark knew we were picking Bob up mid-afternoon, and just as we were coming back to the car from the airport, he drove up! So - we drove back to the house in two cars.

Sunday was a gorgeous day - so Mark and Bob took a ride to look at the hills. Our color is past its peak, but still the hills looked lovely. Bob has a new camcorder and I'm sure he enjoyed getting all sorts of shots, including the hills, during his visit. He used it a lot.

Our dinner was at our favorite italian restaurant and we all had a good dinner in a private room. Originally there were 17 of us going to be there, but at the last minute, three couldn't attend:

Lue called with a horrible cold Saturday and said she wouldn't be spreading germs among us all. I called her Sunday and the cold was in full force. She didn't sound too good, poor thing. She had made some soup for herself and was lying low. Then, Sharon came in - minus Dave and Ida. In church that morning, Ida had developed a earache. She was in such pain, Sharon took her to the emergency room. Ida was diagnosed with a very painful earache (no surprise there) and had some medicine prescribed. Dave stayed home with her. I suggested Sharon get take-out for Dave, which she did.

So - anyway - we all had a wonderful dinner. Jeff's family, The Corning Relatives, and Charles, Lee and Sharon all came. Sharon, in midst of all the fiasco at home, was able to bake a delicious carrot cake with cream cheese icing - note the picture. My contribution was the 7 and 5 that was added. Paul wanted it to be 5 AND 7. How we wish.

The Falling Leaves

Ah. Yes. The leaves are coming down fast and quietly. There is a gentle rain outside which means Paul can't pick up the leaves. They need to dry off. Our deck is covered, our hottub is covered (the cover is keeping them out - thank goodness...can you imagine how the water would look? That's one of the advantages of a hottub over a swimming pool up North.) We've been keeping the temp at around 100 degrees which seems to be comfortable.

Paul spent Wednesday gathering leaves, bringing them into the woods. The driveway was pretty clear. Well, now he has a holiday from them, and I can hear him happily hammering upstairs. Things are coming along at his own pace...when he needs some more materials, he puts the car on autopilot and it drives him to Lowe's. There isn't the urgency of last year's work on the Kids' Camp upstairs. There's time to dwell on what's been done, what being done, and what needs to be done.

Paul and I had lunch yesterday, Thursday, with Lue, her sister Sharon and their good friend, Ruth. I left my glasses at the restaurant there. Now... don't you think I'd realize I didn't have them on, when I left? Nope. Paul drove all the way home, I had a nap, woke up, looked for my glasses. Couldn't find them. Looked all over. I called the restaurant this morning, and they were there. The reason for this tale: it's amazing to me that my eyesight was such that I could travel back to Woodsedge and not realize I didn't have them on. Plus travel back to the restaurant to get them without my contact in. Has there been that much improvement? That remains to be seen. Haha.

Last night we finally got to go to Charles' football game. Unfortunately, the score was pretty bad in favor of the other team. Charles got to play quite a bit, however. And he did quite well at what he was supposed to do. This is his first year in Junior High. It seems like just yesterday we were watching Lee doing the same thing...I mean as a youngster in Junior High. Or is it called Middle School now? Not sure. Because it was a night game, it seemed like a Friday night. I was all miscombobulated.

We tried to get tickets to the East-West Game tonight with the Corning Relatives. They were sold out. That means that we've been to three out of four grandkids ball games this year. Not a perfect score for us, but we'll try for 100% next year. We don't particularly like to sit in the rain anyway. Sometimes we can use our age to advantage. Which reminds me...

My Dear One is reaching the 75 year mark on Sunday. At this stage of the game, we need to celebrate these milestones. Not sure what we'll be doing yet, but he's been directed to tell me where he'd like to go for dinner. That's the only thing he has to do. I'm in charge of all the rest, driving the car, paying the bill.

That's all the news from this end, Folks. How're things in your neck of the woods?