Tuesday Talk

The trees are down and put away in the basement. The outside lights are down and packed away in their bins and are in the loft over the garage. I guess that means Christmas is officially over. Some of my neighbors leave their lights up until after New Years but as excited as I am to decorate I am just as excited to get the house back in order and the things put away. I even gave away my poinsettias, they are going to the nursing home to brighten things up there. I am so concerned that my cats might get at them and get sick or worse so I was glad to see them go out the door even though I love their deep rich color.

The Snowbirds have flown the coop. Mom and Dad took off today in the midst of a small snowstorm and now are in the land of sunshine and warmth. They called when they landed and their driver had picked them up so they were headed to their home in Zephyrhills where so many people from Maine go in the winter. It was hard saying goodbye even though they will be back home here in Maine in April. We always have to shed a few tears, you'd think after all the years they have been going there we would get over it but being such a close family we still tend to snuffle a bit.

Speaking of snuffling, DIL, T and I went to see the dog movie Marley last evening. From the ads on television wouldn't you think this was a comical kids movie? Wrong...sort of. (If you haven't seen it and you are going to just skip the rest of this paragraph.) There is a lot of comical stuff about Marley the lovable yellow lab but there is some adult content and a little bit of language that I wasn't comfortable having my six year old grand daughter see and hear. Not that she probably hasn't heard the words on the school bus but that's not the point. I don't want to be the one taking her to see and hear things she shouldn't. DIL and I both put our hands over her eyes in a couple of places. Now this movie isn't awfully bad but the couple is trying to get pregnant so there are some love scenes. Also it is very sad at the end. Very. Good thing I had my tissues in my purse as I put them to good use. It doesn't advertise that it is going to be sad. Thank goodness for a potty break for T during the final moments of Marley's life as I think it would have been rather intense for a six year old. It was for me!

Just talked with my oldest sister who lives in western Maine near the town where Patrick Demp*sey grew up. One of my grandnephews is a waiter in a restaurant in Lewiston and went to work last night to work a banquet and guess who the banquet was in honor of??????? Yep, Dr. McDreamy. His mother has battled cancer several times so he has funded a cancer wing at the hospital there and they were honoring him for that. The waitstaff was instructed not to ask for pictures which I think is appropriate, let the man eat in peace. I love it when celebrities use their wealth and name to do such wonderful things rather then just waste it on who knows what.

Tomorrow night is New Year's Eve. I have ordered lobsters for me, Hubby, Son and D and bought a couple of steaks for DIL and T who don't like lobster. Lobster is at an all time low here in Maine so I am taking advantage of it. I have them cooked right there at the market as I don't like plunging them into boiling water, it kind of spoils my appetite, BUT if someone else does it I can eat like a pig. Go figure! We'll eat fairly early and just spend some time visiting or playing games and that will be the kind of celebrating we like to do.

These were the headlines last week in our local paper. The national news reported that we got 9 inches of snow but in actuality we got about 18! We have had some rain to take some of it off but it looks like more coming tomorrow and Saturday. I still haven't been out on my snowmobile but with the holidays and all there really hasn't been time.

We have a Saint Bernard at the Humane Society right now. He came in as a stray so is rather thin but they are working on that. He is just a sweetie, loves everyone and is only two. Each Tuesday morning we have a segment on one of the local tv programs where we spotlight a dog or cat that is ready to be adopted. This morning it was the Saint Bernard so I think he will have a home really soon. This picture reminds me of him.


I love this picture too. What a look of pure contentment on the cats face! What do you think the dog is thinking?

Guess that's it for tonight. Headed to the stable tomorrow morning to see the boys. They are just fat and fuzzy and enjoying their winter vacation.

Happy New Year everyone!!

Christmas Fun

It's over. After months and months of preparation it's all over. It makes me sad in a way as I love the Christmas holidays so much. To say we had a lovely Christmas would be a huge understatement. It was fabulous! We all got together, the turkey wasn't dry, everyone was happy with their gifts, hey, it even snowed on Christmas Eve! What more could you want? How blessed we are!

Here are a few more decorating pictures.

We got T, D and Cousin K all scooters for Christmas this year. I always like to have a few unwrapped things setting out so when they walk in they will see them. The scooters were a hit! You have to plug them in and charge them so I did that all day so that they would be ready to roll!

Even the some of the older ones got in on the scooter fun in the basement!

These three are the best of buddies plus they have two more cousins in the next town.

Funsize handed out the gifts this year so that I could take pictures.

Here she is with her Dad my baby brother.

I told T that this is her and Kipper.

D loved this game!


These are my three nieces that live right here in town. You all know Funsize and the other two are cousins A and A.

Christmas morning I got up and put the turkey in the oven and then we headed over to watch T and D open their gifts at their house.

You know how you pay a lot for the gift and they like the box better............

Well T just walked over through the woods so we will be busy doing who knows what! Cont......

Weekend Recap

My toffee arrived from Ron at the English Toffee Anytime Company. Let me tell you it is to die for! As I stated before in one of my posts, I am a toffee snob. I don't like the cheap stuff that you buy at the Seven 11. This stuff meets all my criteria for excellent toffee! I am trying to just eat a little bit each day to make it last but it is going faster then I would like. If you want to try something REALLY good click on the English Toffee Anytime logo on my sidebar and order some, you won't be disappointed! http://www.englishtoffeeanytime.com/ or 1-877-887-4978 toll free.

No, I don't own stock in the company or get any reimbursement on any sales generated from this blurb. I did win a free box by being one of the first 40 to put their logo on my sidebar and it was well worth it!!!! Slurp!!

I'm trying to get some more inside decorating done this weekend. I am cutting down this year as I want it to be a wonderfully stress free Christmas. Mom had surgery and I had pneumonia so it cut into my decorating time. BTW Mom is walking really well now. When she was using her walker Noodles liked to ride along with her being the lazy bones that he is.

Might as well take a bath while getting a free ride.

Mom has graduated from in home physical therapy to going to the PT place and having it there. They have more things for her to work with so it really is better. Mom and Dad are looking forward to going to their place in Florida after Christmas. I think they have had enough of this snow and cold!

My blogging friend Dawn over at Call Me Grandma Dawn (private blog) has given me a really nice Christmas Award! Thank you Dawn, it really made my day! A meme came along with it so I will do that now.

Here are the rules for the Christmas award.~~~~~You must be a true Christmas lover to receive this award. The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with Christmas. You must link back to the person who gave you the award. You must list 5 things that you love about Christmas. If you can't limit it to 5 things, then keep going till you run out of space! Pass the award along to as many people as you like. That can be 1 or 50. It's up to you! But, you must pass it on to at least one person in order to keep the Christmas cheer going! Let your recipients know that you have tagged them by leaving them a comment.

Oh my. There are just so many things I love about the Christmas season. It has to be one of my favorite times of the year.

1. Celebrating the birth of Jesus our Saviour.

2. Singing the old Christmas hymns especially Silent Night and Away In A Manger.

3. Seeing the children do their Christmas programs at school and church. Of course at school they aren't allowed to say anything about Jesus.......grrrrrrrrr.......but I digress, you all know my feelings about that whole 'happy holiday' stuff.

4. Seeing all the beautiful lights at night that people put up.

5. Decorating my home and making it look festive with the aroma of fresh wassail simmering on the stove.

6. Watching the Christmas programs on tv on the Hallmark channel, the Family channel, ice skating to Christmas music, Charlie Brown, the cooking shows on the Food Network and of course the Christmas decorating shows on HGTV.

7. Seeing the excitement in my grand children's eyes on Christmas Eve when they come to my house to open gifts and spend time with their cousins and a house full of family.

8. Getting up early Christmas morning to put the turkey in the oven and then the yummy smell as it cooks.

I guess I did a few more then 5 and I could go on even more but will make myself stop with 8. I know I'm supposed to tag some more people but because it's so close to Christmas I will just say if you have the time and want to do this fun meme go for it! :o)

Here are a few pictures of some of my decorating.

Guess that's it for tonight. Hubby and I just took a ride around some of the neighborhoods looking at all of the Christmas displays. One house was just amazing! It must have taken them a week to put everything up on their house, it was just beautiful! It won the award for best decorated house last year and I bet it will again this year.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Random Friday

It looks like a winter wonderland around here as we got about six inches of snow yesterday! Oh how I love snow at Christmas time! Having never lived in a warm climate I just can't imagine Christmas without snow. Up here in Tundra country as Mrs. Mom calls it we most always have snow for Christmas, but once in a while we have an 'open' winter without any and it is the pits. If it's going to be cold lets have some snow to play in plus the economy is helped by all the snowmobilers and the ski industry.

Dad and I are still fighting the battle of the Christmas lights. We were out in the storm yesterday working on them AGAIN and hopefully they will all come on at the designated time now. Evidently two of my outlets on the front porch are faulty so a call has been put in to the electrician but he said he may not be able to get here until after Christmas so we had to do some creative thinking to get everything working.

I took some pictures. They are a bit blurry. Sigh....... I tried using my tripod but for some reason my camera wouldn't work on it, I am very technically challenged you see. So I took it off the tripod and tried very hard to keep my hands still as the shutter speed is really slow at night and this is what I ended up with.

I love my little horse and sleigh. I'll try again to get some better pictures.

Funsize won a three hour limo ride on one of the local radio stations. Last night it pulled into the drive way as she wanted to pick up T and D for part of the ride. D bailed so DIL and T climbed in. This thing is HUGE! I think it is the Hummer version. You could live in this thing!

Funsize and friends.

T and Mom.

This is an imitation fireplace where heat really comes out.

They were treated to a drive to see all of the Christmas lights in the area. What fun!

Yesterday I had to go over to the Humane Society as the local Walm*art was donating $1,000 to us! That will feed lots of cats and dogs and we appreciate it so much! The Executive Director contacted all of us on the board to see if anyone was available to come over. Two of us showed up, the two on the board that are retired! We had to stand there holding the big check but thankfully didn't have to say anything. I would have keeled over if I had to talk on television! The Executive Director and the Rep from Walmart did all the talking but they did ask us if we wanted to say anything. Gulp. Nope.

John is new on the board as I am but has been volunteering there for years. He is so good with the animals and takes on some of the problem cases that need lots of patience and TLC. Here he is with Olive a lovely stray that come to us with a trap still attached to her paw!!!!!!!! Our resident vet operated, had to take off a couple of toes, but she will be fine. She is such a sweetie and I would love to have her for myself but I think I would be outvoted by Noodles, Munchie and Hubby!

This is Frannie. She is one of our resident cats. Her job is to lay on the counter and look pretty, she does it well don't you think? They did a calender with her dressed up in all different outfits that is a hoot.

I appreciated all of your comments concerning the Merry Christmas VS Happy Holidays situation. Nice to know that all of you prefer Merry Christmas!!!! I have to report and give kudos to a different restaurant that I was in last week. I quite often meet Hubby for lunch if I am out in area near his office. We decided on Ruby Tuesday's as I had things to do in the mall. After we had been seated I noticed the Christmas music was a combination of conventional songs and Christmas hymns!!!! When our waitress brought our check and said good bye she also said Merry Christmas before we even had a chance to say it first! Yea! I am going to send off a note to Ruby Tuesdays main office and tell them how much I appreciate it! :o)

We are expecting another snow storm this weekend. This one has the possibility of being a Nor'easter. Glad I got the ole' snowmobile in for it's yearly check up and it's ready to go! Like I said before, if it's going to be cold let's have some snow to play in!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Merry Christmas!!

I was in a local restaurant last week with one of my sisters having lunch. We had a nice waitress and when we got ready to leave we wished her a Merry Christmas. She whispered back Merry Christmas. We asked her if she was forbidden to say Merry Christmas and she said yes we are supposed to say Happy Holidays so that we won't offend anyone. My nice lunch just turned in my stomach.

Since then I have asked each sales clerk and waitstaff that I have encountered if this is the case and so far 99% of them have said yes. What is wrong with this picture?! We have gotten so politically correct that we are offending ME and many other Christians in this country!

Today Funsize sent me something about this very subject and I have to pass it along to you all.

*Twas the month before Christmas*
*When all through our land,*
*Not a Christian was praying*
*Nor taking a stand.*
*See the PC Police had taken away,*
*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*
*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*
*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*
*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*
* December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.*
*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*
*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*
*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*
*Something was changing, something quite odd! *
*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*
*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*
*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*
* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*
*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*
*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*
*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*
*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*
*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*
*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*
*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*
*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*
*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*
* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*
*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*
*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*
*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*
*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*
*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*
*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,
not Happy Holiday !*
Please, all Christians join together and
wish everyone you meet during the
holidays a
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Christ is The Reason for the Christ-mas Season!

Thanks for listening! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Want some toffee?

My friend Mrs. Mom told me about some super wonderful toffee over at Swamp Suburbia so I had to go over and take a looksy. Now, I am a toffee snob. I hate to admit it but I am. The stuff you buy in the grocery store or the 7-11 just doesn't cut it. This toffee looks delicious and I hope I got in under the wire to get a free box to try out! I know if I have one bite of it I will be hooked and want more, my jeans are screaming NO but I am just not going to listen to them! So if you want to check it out click on the Toffee box on my sidebar!

We have had tons of rain and ice the last couple of days. Parts of Maine are still without power especially near the coast. Luckily this area hasn't had a problem but I sure feel bad for the thousands that are going into their second and third days without power. We put in a generator last year and I love that thing! After the ice storm of 1998 we were without power for a week in the middle of the winter. Not fun. We finally moved into a hotel until it came back on but I spent days here at the house with one of the fireplaces on to try to keep warm. It wasn't warm but took the edge off. Now when the power goes off the generator kicks on within a minute or two and voila' we have lights and heat again!

We had our Sunday School Christmas program last Sunday night during the evening service. I love seeing all of the little ones up there saying their parts and singing the Christmas songs. T and D did well and Funsize did the piano music for everything.

One of my sisters did a part in a play and did a really good job. She always likes to tell people that she is my MUCH YOUNGER SISTER as she is 7 years younger! haha! I was the baby of the family for 7 years until she came along and I wasn't thrilled. Then two years later my brother came along after four girls and we all were really excited about that! I think I was supposed to be the boy. I was a tomboy, does that count? Now we all live in the same town and are very close as we are with the rest of the family.

Last night I was going down to the barn to feed little stray barn kitty and it was VERY dark. The dusk till dawn light on the front of the barn is on the blink so it makes it very dark down there. Due to my run in with the irate hunter earlier in the week I was a bit nervous going down there by myself, the wimp that I am. I got about half way down and a huge buck let out a big snort and scared me half to death! I turned around, went back to the house and sent Hubby down when he got home from work! He said sometimes when he walks over to his Dad's next door the same thing will happen and take him right out of his boots practically! So is the life out in the country, but I would rather it was a buck then the nasty mouth irate hunter.


Got lots of decorating done yesterday. Both trees now have ornaments on them and lots of my snowmen are out. I will take pictures soon but I left my camera on and the battery is deader then a doornail so it is charging. I tend to do that quite often. If you want to see some fabulous decorating go over to Ruth Ann's at Warm Pie Happy Home. She has such a nice touch and decorates her whole house with tons and tons of stuff. It must take hours and hours but is sure worth it.

Guess I'd better get back to working on Christmas cards. Also need to run up to the stable and see the boys as it was too cold this morning. I found socks with horses on them for all my stable friends so need to get little bags to put those in and hang them on their horses stall door.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and enjoy this season of joy!