getting my elf on...

it has been a long, long day for me...

but after a bumpy start and middle...

we finished up pretty good...

this is the tree in the kitchen...

and the one in the living room...

got up with a sinus head ache that wouldn't go away...

we did check the canisters this morning and the mail for more donations...

then made a run to Newman to put the money in the bank...

came back through the country and I didn't even have my camera...

I knew I should have taken it...

before we left I took a dose of cold medicine...

and I was getting so sleepy, so we came home...

did lunch and I laid down for a nap...

and didn't get up until 5pm!

I haven't slept that long and hard in forever...

and my head was banging when I got up...

poor Craig was asleep on the couch...

he got off at 4...

got supper and then I decided to pop some ibuprofen and aspirin...

we drug some totes out and found the lights and the trees went up...

took longer finding the lights...

:)

but they are done and Patches, the baby...

loves it all...

too much...

its going to be a fun holiday with her here...

so off I go to find something else to get into...

everyone else is asleep and I am heading there in a bit...

toy set up in the morning!

If you need something to make you laugh and cry at the same time...

you need to go here...

http://gr8tfull.blogspot.com/2014/11/should-i-tell-anyone-about-this.html?showComment=1417243561933#c6481923448718711486

Great-full Dazeez is the name of the blog...

you won't be sorry...

promise...

so blessed...

this was shared on facebook yesterday morning...

DH's parents were standing up for the center couple at their wedding...

must have been in the late 40s...

the lady getting married was married the first time to DH's uncle...

but he passed away at 25 in a diabetic coma...

( pre insulin )

and left her a widow with a small child...

this man came along and married her and raised that child as his own...

so technically not family, they were always claimed as such...

DH had never seen this photo before, so on a day when you really miss those gone on...

it was so special for him...

and we are pretty sure his mom had a baby bump going on there...

pregnant with his big brother?

we had our dinner on Wednesday and the kids showed up at different times...

Doug had a job interview, so they ran a little late...

don't know how that went, but they said within a week or two they would try to have him a position...

trying to find something that would fit him well...

yesterday morning...

it was all about the ham and egg breakfast...

with the cherry glaze going on top of a hot, buttered biscuit...

going to do that again this morning...

we make a cherry glaze to top the ham with...

something DH's family always did...

and its so good, we are keeping that tradition...

yesterday, was a trip to the community thanksgiving dinner here in our little town...

do not have the numbers yet, but will have to check in with them to find out...

she was hoping for 200 this year...

pies and deserts are donated by locals...

most of them are homemade...

and so good...

they were pretty full, so got ours to go...

and here is what I brought home for lunch...

and it was very good...

so thankful for my small town and all the wonderful people who make it up...

thankful that we look out for each other and that we take the time to make this a better place to live in...

that we value each other...

that love fills our hearts more than hate...

and we fear God...

it doesn't get better than that...

pulling together, we make it an awesome place to live...

there's a peace in that...

and so much joy...

;)

hope your Thanksgiving was filled with good food, great people, but more importantly than that...

love...

just a little share...

its going on 10pm here and everyone is asleep but me and Daphne...

so thought I would do a quick post...

and share this family recipe...

its from DH's mom's recipe box...

I typed this up around 30 years ago from her original recipe card for my father in law...

as you can see, he used it a lot...

;0)

this is so moist and we just top it with cool whip...

its Doug's favorite thing ever...

DH and I ran to the little store here when he got home...

Craig brought subway home for supper, so after that, the real work began...

Craig cleaned and did his laundry...

DH and I made cole slaw, deviled eggs, pumpkin spice cheese cake and the apple cake...

we got it all cleaned up and are ready to start popping things in the oven in the morning...

so thankful for times like this with my family...

DH works half a day and will be home in time to eat dinner at noon...

prayers for those not able to be home for Thanksgiving...

and for the families doing dinner without them...

we are so blessed...

;)

another day closer...

to stuffing our faces...

;0)

I am going to start in tonight and get part of it out of the way...

like deserts and deviled eggs...

cole slaw and such...

the rest can be done in the morning...

I am looking forward to all the kids being here this year...

I may not be on here much toward the end of the week...

as we start setting up for the toy drive and begin our shopping for toys...

;0)

I will post photos when I can...

 I love these fallen trees...

its so cold here...

but the wind isn't like it was yesterday...

thankfully...

DH has 4 days off for Thanksgiving...

using up the rest of his vacation time before the end of the year...

;0)

got nothing really planned but staying out of the stores...

moving tables around at the fire hall...

hauling in what we already have...

one good thing about the fire hall...

we don't have to go in and scrub everything...

they keep it clean...

DH and I will make a store run tonight when he gets home...

to grab the rest of what we need...

but we can do it here in town so no need making a big trip...

wishing y'all a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving...

;0)

as the holidays approach...

our weekend was warm, but cloudy...

we got the outdoor Christmas lights and greenery up this weekend...

and I did turn them on Saturday night to check them...

and left them on...

with someone protesting greatly...

so he unplugged them Sunday morning...

party pooper...

what's a few extra days?

he did take me out for one last walk at the park Saturday afternoon...

can't you just see yourself sitting there with a rod in your hands?

we trimmed a couple of trees up on Sunday morning and by noon...

the rain had started in...

I so wanted to go for ride in the country...

but its deer season...

and we tend to stick to the highways until that's over...

just in case someone let a city boy or two hunt on their property...

you never know with them...

and then there is this wonderful surprise on the square...

someone actually decorated a building and they did it well...

this is where the newspaper office was...

and she moved down the street this fall into the old doctor's office..

and suddenly, there was someone painting the outside of this...

I love the bright yellow door...

and this moose...

so now I need to find out who bought it...

who fixed it up...

and what they are planning on doing with the building...

like maybe a fun shop that sells this kind of thing...

wouldn't that be grand?

I am sure these guys know all about it...

they live just down the street...

so we asked them to tell us all about the pretty new building...

they were just too busy to give us the time of day...

so I guess I will have to do it the old fashioned was and make a few phone calls in the morning...

someone has to know...

small towns are like that...

so- that's the weekend in a nutshell...

get it?  pun snuck in there...

are you going bonkers getting ready for the big dinner???

got your house cleaned?

floors scrubbed?

bathrooms up to par?

got your turkey thawing yet???

well, we are having our dinner on Wednesday, since Craig has to work Thursday and Friday...

and the we will be setting up the toy drive on the weekend...

am I ready?

nope...

do I care?

nope...

because it will happen whether I am ready or not...

so I am going to skip the whacked out part this year and just let it happen...

;0)

just have the kids coming and their girlfriends...

a whole whoppin' 6 people...

I can do that blind folded...

;0)

so thankful...

Thursday night, in the middle of the night...

this happened in our little town...

the bus garage for the school buses caught on fire...

the bus garage and one bus were a total loss...

2 other buses had severe damage to the front ends...

it was not a big garage, just large enough to pull one bus in at a time...

with a work area...

but you can see the propane tank that was right behind it...

and here are 2 gas tanks so close...

just so thankful that they didn't blow...

there were 4 buses here yesterday morning...

the first 2 are the ones from the other photo with the front end damage...

so maybe they can be fixed...

I couldn't see any damage to the last one...

this is across the street and mid block of the school...

and our district contracts the bus service out, so they don't belong to the school anymore..

the bus service sent buses down to cover the morning pick up and even though I am sure kids were wanting a day off...

school began as usual...

thankful that we have a most awesome fire department here...

and that they train extensively and were prepared...

that the power line that fell missed four firemen by just a foot...

and no one was hurt and the fire was contained to the bus garage area...

there are homes close all the way around it...

our fire fighters, all volunteer...

prove themselves to be true heroes over and over again...

;0)

isn't this the cutest thing?

I know, I get excited about little toy John Deere tractors...

its a farm girl thing...

we found this in one of the donation boxes yesterday...

along with all of the new toys donated...

so I posted on facebook...

and thanked the little guy who donated his gently used, probably much loved, little toy tractor...

and promised him, whoever he was, that we would help Santa make sure that this wonderful toy would find just the right little boy...

;0)

you know, if we all gave from the heart...

what a wonderful world we could create...

its been rather boring around here...

been cooking...

fried potatoes here, with apples, onions and sausage...

been bird watching...

the junipers are back with the sparrows...

been watching clouds go by...

and been watching the snow melt...

see, nothing happening here...

got up this morning to a fire here in town and will drive by later to see how bad...

the bus garage for the school buses caught fire around 2:30 am...

it was engulfed and one bus...

we slept through it...

its on the other side of town...

been helping out here and there...

made this flyer...

I helped a friend start this community dinner several years ago...

and its still going strong..

we worked it the first three years...

had it at the VFW when we started...

now its in one of the cafe's downtown...

and they do such a good job with it...

120 last year attended...

and Shirley is hoping for 200 this year...

we are doing our dinner on Wednesday this year...

Craig has to work Thursday and Friday...

so we can just graze the rest of the week...

the old man and I might even wander up town to the community dinner since we will be all alone...

you never know...

we have got freezing rain coming in tonight...

and then next Friday, long term says it could get fun...

like 5-8 inches of white stuff fun...

really?

been wearing my long johns...

and boots...

with 2 pairs of socks...

ear muffs...

(the only ones I have right now are my sock monkey ones)

you just can't find them anymore...

if it gets any colder, I will trade them in for my sock monkey hat with ear flaps...

(seriously, I have one)

and my sock monkey mittens...

we did find the snow shovel...

and bought ice melt...

so guess we're ready...

NOT!

have a great weekend...

going to be a fun packed time grabbing groceries for dinner next week...

if we can get out of the driveway...

;0)

PS:

mammo came back clean...

I am good to go for another year...

;)

can you believe it?

we are having January weather in November...

I didn't order this or pray for it or nothing...

it just happened...

it was so pretty last night...

it was stuck on everything...

but the sun came out early and it started melting off of the limbs...

well, tomorrow is the big day...

breast exam with my primary first thing in the morning...

and its supposed to be 12 degrees...

I am so not looking forward to freezing my buns off...

and I am hoping that the squisher machine is open, so he can send me right over to get my mammo...

and I don't have to go back or hang around an hour or three...

Christmas donations are piling up around here...

we don't set up until the after Thanksgiving...

ok, now for the good stuff...

got this at the open house last Friday...

and its a gift for someone else...

cute, huh?

its got one of those flickering lights in it, too...

and this...

I got Santa, too...

found these are the Dollar Tree on Saturday...

picked up 3 of them, but thinking now that I need to go back and grab a lot more of them...

I found this at Habitat for Humanity...

that was our first time in there, and will be going back...

some things are cheap and some aren't...

guess it depends on who is doing the pricing that day...

I am not planning on store hopping tomorrow in the cold...

I would freeze in the chair going across the parking lot...

I don't have a handicapped thingy...

so sometimes(most of the time)...

we have to park so far away from the door...

and the chair doesn't get through the ice and snow very well...

so will probably get squished and grab something at a drive up window and head home...

I am so grateful the van has a great heater in it...

;0)

I thought about taking my camera tomorrow...

but thought you might not want to see my flat boobs...

so leaving it at home...

now, you can be thankful, too...

;0)