Jingle Bells and Peppermint

I  got this center piece for my table at Pier One year before last.  I saw it displayed on a table.  It was everything I wanted, and it looked so good all together.  I took my basket and loaded the whole display into it.  It was a whole lot easier than hunting everything down!

Happy Black Friday!

I am not one to shop on Black Friday, but I made an exception for some groceries we needed!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I made two pumpkin pies - a first for me.  I am not a cook/baker, but Pillsbury pie crusts are a life saver!

Our Thanksgiving didn't go quite as we had planned.  Kandy's dad, Leland, is now in rehab and in a facility close by.  We had the turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy and pear salad, just not all together.  Kandy and I ate some of it for lunch and took Leland a plate tonight for his dinner.  Beverly, Kandy's mom, ate some after she got home tonight from spending the day with Leland.  But, that is life, sometimes.  You do what you've got to do. Holidays are no exceptions.

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the people that work on holidays to take care of others.  Holidays are just not quite the same when you aren't home, or don't have your loved ones around, but there is always something to be thankful for, and I for one find blessings all around.

Thanking Him for His Blessings

I was looking for my mom's recipe for Pumpkin Bread today.  I have several recipes friends and family have written for me on cards or notebook paper in an old shoe box.  There is even a recipe written in pencil on a napkin.  There are other things in my shoebox besides recipes, a special "Thank You" note, a birthday card from an old friend, a picture taken at a cross stitch camp years ago, and this poem, hand written by my mother:

I talked to God this morning
He listened as I prayed,
He understood my hearts desire,
And heard each word I said.
I asked Him to be with me,
And help me through the day
To keep my loved ones in His care,
And guide them in His way.
I thanked Him for His blessings,
And prayed His will to do,
I told Him that I loved Him,
He said, "I love you too."

I was so busy around the house that the 70 degrees temperature was just too warm, so I turned the furnace down.  When I sat down to relax a bit, it was down right cold and I turned on the fireplace.  Seldom do I need to be warmed up!  But, it was so nice to relax by the fire, read my mom's poem and think of all my blessings.   That lasted about 5 minutes, so I took this picture to commemorate the  moment of being cold enough to have the fireplace on, then I turned the fireplace off.

My old shoebox is like stepping back in time.  Little things I've saved over the years are tokens of the blessings in life.  My mother was one of my biggest blessings.  But like the Kodak fireplace moment, life's blessings are here and gone.  Other blessings come along, but it's the ones I save things to remember them by that hold special meaning.  I love this little poem my mom wrote.  And I'm happy I found it in my old shoebox, just in time for Thanksgiving.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

My extent of Christmas decorating in my office

Homemade Chocolate Chips Cookies?

Today’s picture is of my friend Jil.  She works in the same office as I do.   She is the one I bought my first “real” camera from, and who inspired me to start scrapbooking, and quilt making, and card making and ……the list goes on as life does.  Our one constant thread that connects us has been cross stitch.  We always have to show each other our latest investment to our stash.  And often, because Jil is a starter and seldom a finisher when it comes to cross stitch, I get her rejects!  I tease her that she needs my approval before making any cross stitch purchases because it may end up being mine in the near future. 

Jil loves to quilt.  I tried.  I really did.  I started with a quilt of the month.  I worked on January’s block using my sewing machine.  I ripped out all the stitching on January’s block and tried again doing it by hand.  I ripped it out again.   I went back to the store and got more materials for January’s block and tried a third time.  That’s as far as I got on the quilt.  Donna, a mutual friend of ours, took pity and offered to put it together for me.  I couldn’t believe she would want to do that – but our friend Donna also loves quilting, has a passion for it.  I think she was more appalled that I would quit without even finishing the first month, but my motto is “If at first you don’t succeed, don’t take up bungee jumping.”  And I’m adding quilting to that statement!  Because the third time is not a charm, it’s just pure frustration.

Jil and I have known each other many years.  I remember her sons when they were in grade school/middle school.  I stayed with the boys when Jil and her husband were out of town for the weekend.  My fondest memory (and SO Jil) is when her youngest asked if I would make them homemade chocolate chips cookies.  I said, “Well sure!  Where is the flour, chips and Crisco?”  He looked at me strangely and informed me homemade chocolate chip cookies came in a tube from the refrigerated case at the store.  Not to disappoint him, we went to the grocery store and got the cookies in a tube, went home and made them.  They probably turned out much better than if I had attempted making them from scratch!   Jil has something there…..

As with long-time friends, we have seen each other through many good times and many bad times.  She can make me laugh (and isn’t that what friends are for?), and I have cried for her when her heart was broken.   She has seen her family through sicknesses and accidents, weddings, births and hauling her deceased grandmother in the back of a station wagon (that’s another story all its own).  She’s a storyteller, and she doesn’t even have to make up anything!!!  She is one friend I know I can talk to that will give a listening ear.  Our solution to most of life’s problems end with chocolate, another love we share.  And I can always, ALWAYS, depend on Jil to have tasted all the desserts at any restaurant within a 60 mile radius, tried out the latest Quick Trip or new grocery store that opened in town, and will know what flavor Sheridan’s Custard is promoting this month.  If you talk football, it had better be the Arkansas Razorbacks or Kansas City Chiefs, and her grandchildren are the loves of her life.  She thinks her husband is pretty special, too.  And her kids…..well, she just loves her whole family!!  She is one friend I have that God has blessed me with, over and over again. 

My Picture of the Day - It's a Keeper!

This is a picture of a long-time friend who is more like the sister I never had with her dad, who I call my adopted father.  Kandy and I have known each other since college.  When she decided to buy a little two-bedroom house with a HUGE yard, I moved in with her.  We have traveled to Europe, Williamsburg, Hawaii and all over Iowa with her parents.  On extended vacations like that, you get to know each other pretty well and are either the best of friends at the end of the trip, or want to strangle each other!  Fortunately for us, we found we were more like family!  Kandy and I have shared more than just trips, we have been there for each other in all of life's ups and downs.  When her parents decided to sell their home and move in with Kandy (in a bigger house!), I came along, too!  It's nice to feel like a part of a family.

You can tell from the picture, Leland loves his #1 daughter very much, as Kandy loves him very much! Is love always easy?  No, as you can see, Leland is in the hospital.  He has numerous health issues.  It's so hard to see your parents age.  I went through some of the same things with my parents.  There are things you just can't change, can't make better, but you can be there.  And at this point in life, being there is what counts.  I think this photo is a keeper.  It tells of a father and daughter's love that started long before the day Kandy was born and he got to hold her in his arms; to today, as Kandy now holds him, and will forever in her heart.