~ Bah ....

.... Humbug!

 

First, can I just say how excited I was to get an e-mail from
Nancy @ A Rural Journal

telling us that Random 5 Friday is back!!!

Happy Dance!!!!

Really missed you Nancy and your fantastic meme!

 

1.  On Tuesday we got a third snowstorm in one week!

Yup, you read that right!  #3 storm in 7 days!

The first storm dropped 3.5 inches. 

The second dropped 8 inches.

And the third dropped 3 inches.

Not major storms .... but dang!

Enough is enough already.

And the kicker is ... it isn't winter yet!!!

Humbug!

 

2.  This is how my living room looks ....

and will continue to look until Christmas Eve.

One big mess. 

Wayyyyyyyy in the corner at the top of the picture are Tom's gifts to me!

I do not peek.   Never have.  Never will.

The mess up front and center are my gifts to Tom.

We use blankets to hide them from each other.

Our old legs just don't permit us to go up and down the stairs

numerous times so for a few years now we just keep them

in the living room/dining room.

Like I said ... one big mess!

 Humbug!

 

3.  Instead of acting like Scrooge when it was snowing

I decided to stay inside and catch up on my wrapping.

Set up my wrapping station on the kitchen table ....

made a cup of mocha cappuccino ....

turned the t.v. on and wrapped away.

Did I tell you that I.HATE.WRAPPING?
Anyhoo.....

 I kept hearing this strange sound as I was wrapping.

Very distracting.  

I turned the t.v. off ... trying to figure out what the sound was
and where it was coming from.

I went from room to room

and the sound followed.

What the ....?

I finally figured out what the sound was ....

it was coming from me ....

I was actually humming while wrapping!

Don't tell anyone!

Humbug!

 

4.  By late afternoon ....

...things were starting to look a little better in my corner.

Can't say the same for Tom.

He's usually way ahead of me with wrapping.

This year, I'm the winner!

Can you believe those are all for one person!

We spoil each other rotten for Christmas.

I'm not complaining.

But we've discussed cutting back .... spending less ....

it's getting harder and harder to come up with new things to get.

A lot of time spent running around and getting nothing done!

Humbug!

 

5.  Yesterday I had some last minute crap stuff to pick up.

One was a cake to bring to Tom's brother's house tomorrow.

As I was deep in thought .... deciding which cake to pick up,

I heard someone close by whistling ....

loudly ....

"Jingle Bell Rock"

as he was also deciding which cake to purchase.

When he finished his whistling masterpiece,

I stood back and applauded his talent!

"Very good!", I said.

At first he looked surprised.

Then we both laughed,

said "Merry Christmas"

and went on our separate ways.

 

Humbug?

Nah!

Merry Christmas to all ...

and to all a goodnight!

♥

 

~ It's beginning to look a lot like ....

... winter!

Yup, winter!

On Monday we had an ice storm.

 

Ice everywhere ....

 

And on Tuesday we had a snowstorm.

Nothing drastic ....

We got around 3.5 inches of the white stuff.

It was wet ... and heavy!

My arms are sore and my back is killing me from shoveling.

How can something so annoying be so photogenic?

 

The local weather forecast is for another storm ...

potentially a Nor'easter ...

for Saturday afternoon into Sunday!

Just what I need this time of the year.

 

I have barely put a dent in my Christmas shopping.

Anyway, I stayed in during these two storms

and caught up with wrapping what stuff I had bought

and decorated.

The tree is up ...

and the stockings are hung.

I didn't go overboard with the decorations this year.

And I'm okay with that.

But I did put up a few trinkets.

 

 

 

Today I went shopping.

Got about another 40% of it done.

Tonight I'll wrap what I picked up today ....

and hopefully finish up the pocketbook I am crocheting.

And maybe have a cup of vanilla eggnog

with a splash of Amaretto.

 

Would you care to join me?

♥

 

PS  If you haven't already, you need to head over to see

Kelly and her awesome holiday shots!

~ December . . .

. . . already?

There has been frost on the pumpkins

so I guess it's time to bring them in

and start getting the Christmas decorations up from the basement.

 

But first,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

We headed up to New Hampshire and spent Thanksgiving with my family.

It was noisy, loud, crazy, hectic and wonderful.

Let me introduce you to my siblings.

Meet Annette.  She's the oldest of the bunch.

Since my Mom died she's kind of like the matriarch of the family.

She has 3 children, 8 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

 

Meet Terry.  She's the third of the bunch.

She likes to laugh and have a good time.

She has 3 children and 6 grandchildren.

 

Meet Irene. 

We worry about her.   She has severe asthma and COPD.

She's rushed to the hospital at least every couple of months because she can't breathe.

But she's a trouper.

She has 2 children and 4 grandchildren.

 

Meet Robert.   The "baby" of the family.

Spoiled rotten by 5 sisters.

He makes me laugh so dang hard that I pee my pants.

Sometimes we just look at each other and burst out laughing.

I worry about him because he's not married and I hate that he's alone.

He doesn't seem to mind.

 

The pictures aren't the greatest ... we were all just goofing and laughing and

just whooping it up. 

The older I get ... the more I miss them.

I moved away when I was 19.

I miss never having the opportunity to just

stop by for tea or coffee ...

to call them up and say "hey, let's go shopping".

**Sigh**

 

So, them there are the folks I spent Thanksgiving with.

♥

 

Christmas is in a little over 3 weeks.

WHAT?????????

I break out into a sweat just thinking about all the things that I have to get done.

I haven't started decorating yet.

I haven't started Christmas shopping yet.

I am trying ... really hard ... not to stress out.

Arrrrrrgggghhhhh!!!!!!!

 

One thing I love about December

is the beautiful sunsets it presents.

Looked out to see this .....

and was in awe.

Absolutely beautiful.

Calmed me right down.

 

So,  I'm headed to the basement to drag all of the Christmas boxes up

to get ready to start decorating tomorrow ...

... after I go to the bank, to the market,

start some Christmas shopping, pay some bills ...

 

Now, where did I put my list?

♥

 

~ "Delicious Autumn! ...

... My very soul is wedded to it

and if I were a bird

I would fly about the earth

seeking the successive Autumns."

~ George Eliot



1.  I can't help but be giddy in Autumn.  It has always been my favorite season.

September is the beginning of it's lovely being ....

October is just filled with Mother Nature showing off her awesome wardrobe

of golds and reds and yellows and burgundies ....

and November ....

ah! November is wrapped in shades of browns. 

 



 

2.  Of all the times to get out and about ...

autumn has spring and summer beat.

We won't talk about winter.

I just love the crispness of the weather ...

the clear blue skies ...

Sure, nature is turning brown and some may even say dying.

I like to think of it as nature is just taking a nap ...

getting her beauty sleep.

 

3.  I interrupted a bird snacking on these berries.

 

 

 

4.  This almost reminds me of a snowflake.

Note to self:  Go back in the spring and find out what this looks like.

 

 

 

5.  But the day wasn't all autumn brown.

We headed to the shore to visit my brother-in-law who is recovering nicely

from having surgery last week.

The special treat when we got there was his grandson was visiting.

So, let me introduce you to Tom's great-nephew

 Jackson Ferris Chapps.

We all call him "Captain Jack"

He'll add some brightness to anyone's day!

 

Playing over at Nancy's

 

Ahoy, matey!

♥

 



~ "Only from the heart ....

.... can you touch the sky."

~ Rumi

 



 

Most of the trees are bare. 

Some still have a few leaves clinging on until the last possible moment.

And then the leaves fall from the branches and scurry along ....

like children jumping from their parents' arms to run and play.

This week it has been colder than a witch's you-know-what!!

30 degrees during the day and it got down to 15 degrees at night

 .... uhhh excuse me, Mother Nature

but it's only November .... not January/February!

But last week we were blessed with 60+ degree weather.

I went out for a walk.  Not far.  Actually, just across the street.

There's a piece of land that belongs to the town.

Most of it is weeds.

I've walked by there hundreds of times .... but this time I noticed

the milkweed pods.

 



 

 

 

I stayed in this area for the longest time .... completely captivated

by the beauty of these pods releasing their seeds.

I've seen these fuzzy things floating around

but I just didn't realize what they were.

 

 

**sigh**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now for my Random 5

 

1.  Christmas is in 39 days!

SHUT.THE.FRONT.DOOR. 

Let the stressing begin.

 

2.  I went to Jo-Ann Fabric & Crafts this week.

I had three 60% off coupons, one 50% off coupon and two 40% off coupons ...

they let me use them all in one transaction!   Score!!!!!!

 

3.  I started to crochet again .... making a handbag for my niece-in-law for Christmas.

 

4.  I refuse to put up any Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving.

Some years I go crazy .... some years I put up as little as I can get away with.

And then I want the decorations down by New Year's Day!

Wonder what I'll feel like this year?  Hhhhmmmm!

 

5.  Tom has been asking me what I want for Christmas.

Specifically camera stuff.

My mind is a blank.

What would be on your "Wish List"?

 

Checking it twice.

♥



~ I Won ...

... the giveaway at Timewashed

 

Back in September, Becky at Timewashed had a giveaway.

All we had to do was leave a comment on her post and a winner would be picked.

When I checked her blog a few weeks later ....

whoop, there it was!

My name.  Announced as the "winner".

I was ecstatic! 

And you'll see why.
 

 I won this gorgeous wire-basket filled with her handmade fabric pumpkins.

Are you sighing as deeply as I am? 

I fell in love with these the second I saw them on her blog ....

never thinking that I would be lucky enough to win them!

(She does sell them in her Etsy shop).

The basket alone would have been the grand-prize in my eyes

 but she filled it with not one, not two, not even three!

She filled it with four gorgeous fabric pumpkins.

Each pumpkin wearing its own little jewel on its stem!

Dang!
 

 

Makes me ooohhh and aaahhh!

 

 

I want to keep them out ALL.YEAR.LONG!!!!!

And then....because she's awesome.... she added this little beauty

 

 

A jute pear!!!!  Holy fall foliage!!!!

I was absolutely giddy!

If you get a chance, please hop on over to her blog.

Be prepared to be stunned!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

And now, it's time for Random 5 Friday.

 


1.  Daylight Saving Time.   Phooey!  Why must we keep doing this?
Fall back ... Spring forward.
Who the heck came up with that?

2.  It now gets dark by 5:00 p.m. .... soon it will be pitch dark by 4:30 p.m.!

3.  I'm also not fond of the time switch in the Spring.
I don't mind it staying lighter later ... but when it's still bright as day out
at 8:30 p.m. .... well, I'm not a fan.
I like it when August hits and the sun sets around 7:00-ish. 

4.  This year I remembered to put all of our clocks back one hour.
I was so dang proud that I remembered all of them
and that I didn't complain once!
I was actually humming while completing this task.

5.  And shortly after I finished resetting the last clock .... the power went out.
It came right back on but it was out just long enough so that I had to go and reset all the clocks.
Again.
Just my luck.

This time I wasn't humming.
This time I pissed, whined and moaned.

Tic-toc!
♥

~ My Heart ...

... is heavy ...

for Kelly.

Some of you know Kelly and what she's been going through this year.

On Tuesday evening, October 29, 2013,
Sally Ann Crooks, Kelly's Mom,
lost her battle with cancer.

Kelly was there by her side.

 

I am going to dedicate my Random 5 Friday 

to Kelly.

 

1.  Kelly, I understand your pain.

I lost my mother ... back in 1984 ...

sometimes it feels like yesterday.
I am so sorry.

 

2.  It felt like it took forever before I could think of my Mom and not cry my eyes out.

I felt lost without her in my life.

I felt empty without her in my life.

The sense of loss was overwhelming.

But you will survive the grief.
And there will come the time when you will think about her
and you will smile.

 

"When you lose your parents,

the sadness doesn't go away.

It just changes." ~ Judi Watson

 

3.  Do not fight the grieving process.

Do not let anyone tell you that enough time has passed.

Or even that not enough time has passed.
Some days you may feel perfectly fine ...
other days you will feel like you are being shook like a storm.

 

"Life Lesson #3:  You can't rush grief.

It has its own timetable.

All you can do is make sure there are lots of soft places around -

beds, pillows, laps, arms."

~ Patti Davis

 

4.  Kelly, keep doing the things that you love to do.

Keep life going ... as difficult as it may feel at times.

KEEP.LIFE.GOING.

It's what your Mom would want.

 

"Grief is love turned into an eternal missing."

~ Rosamund Lipton

 

5.  I spoke with Kelly yesterday.
She is my idol.  She is such a strong woman.
She told me how she held her Mom's hand through this journey.
She told me how she watched as her Mom took her last breath.
Her Mom was at peace.
Kelly was at peace.
Heaven has a new angel.

Kelly, I am here for you.
Whenever.  Whatever.  Forever.

 

 

Much love.

♥