THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL, BUT THE FIRE IS SO DELIGHTFUL

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...only not until my kids all get home for Thanksgiving. Bradford had a lot of snow on the ground to begin with, but this latest snow really came down fast and deep. Just as Don was getting the snowblower out our former neighbor came by with his plow and did the driveway for us. It didn't deter me from going out first thing in the morning and having coffee with my friends.

25 DAYS OF SIMPLE PLEASURES

Simple pleasures...how they seem to just slip by us. From now until Christmas I want to take time each day to enjoy those wonderful moments that are so simple but fill my life with joy. Day one: Today's simple pleasure is getting ready for Thanksgiving. As I put the dishes on the table (my Mikasa harvest plates), place the rust colored cloth napkings in the fruited napkin rings, and fill a wooden dish with nuts to crack I am reminded that I get such joy from having a nice table to sit down to. My mother always made an occasion special by using the best china and putting a centerpiece on the table. As I arranged flowers for table I'm grateful that I am able to enjoy this holiday with my family.

TIME TO GIVE THANKS

At Thanksgiving time I need to stop and give thanks for all that I have been blessed with. My life has been one series of blessings after another punctuated with challenges. Thank you, my friends, my sisters, my family. Without your love and support I don't know how I'd make it through some of those problems which seems to drag me down from time to time. I appreciated all the talks, support and words of wisdom that you have given me. Thank you for being my friend.

IT's time to prepare for Thanksgiving. This will be the first dinner I have made for the family in a long time. All of our adult lives we have gone to both Don's family's house and my parent's home for Thanksgiving. Then we went to Don's stepmother's home for the last five years. But this year my family is coming home and I will be making dinner. I'm so happy that the family will be here. Today I started house cleaning and the Christmas decorations are up. Tomorrow I'll start baking the nut, pumpkin and date breads and plan the meal. Monday I'll buy all the groceries and get prepared. I want to make the day special for everyone.

NEW PICTURES OF SEAN

Mommy and Sean

Sean had a boo-boo on his head. They gave him a cold rag, but he'd rather put it in his mouth.

Sean has learned a new crooked smile. It shows his two teeth.

DID WE GET SNOW? YES, WE DID.

Did we get snow...oh, yes we did! Just look out the window. It's deep out there. A big snowstorm blew in last night with pretty white flakes that soon coated the ground and the trees. I feel like a split personality about it...I love it (It's sooo pretty and calming, and makes you feel cozy) but not when you have to go out in it early in the morning and the roads aren't plowed, it's slippery and a car stops suddenly in front of you...then it's dangerous to be out there. Of course, we don't let the weather stop us in western PA or we would be hermits. So I went to the dentist this am with my on-and-off achy tooth. He ground down the bite and we hope that was what was causing the problem. Keep your fingers crossed because the next step is a root canal and I'll have to see a specialist because of the unusual root structure down there. (Yes, don't be surprised. you know that everything about my health is strange. If it can happen, it will to me). meanwhile, I haven't had any pain all day. Anyway, enjoy the view.

A SHOPPING DAY

Today I took a day to go shopping in the nearby town of Olean. I wanted to get some done before the snow hit. I don't mind the cold...it was about 21 degrees. It seems warmer if it isn't blowing and snowing. And the roads are so much better. I can't imagine living in a place where you didn't have to look at the weather to plan your week. I went from store to store and had luck finding some gifts. I can see why online shopping has become so popular. You don't have to leave home and travel 50 miles just to find a store. Our little town doesn't have many places to find gifts and really nothing unusual unless you want to go country. I may turn to the computer for my shopping this year.

AIN'T IT PURTY?

Isn't this snow beautiful? At least I thought it was until l had to go out in it to get my mammogram at the hospital. First i had to take the truck since Don went to the Casino today with my van. I ran into a regular blizzard with snow coming down fast and sticking to the windshield wipers. By the time I was finished it had let up and seems nice now. A good day to stay in, for sure. Today I undecorated and put my fall decorations up in the attic. Tomorrow I'll bring out the Christmas ones.

"Lesson of life taught me to let go off the people who cannot treat you right, don't bother to waste time pleasing them and hold on to those who love you back because they are the ones who are much worth of your time..of your love." Just a little advice I found on the web today.

I didn't realize how much I work on the computer until today when it decided to crash! All of a sudden it started shutting itself down. Now I don't think about that too much because this computer with Vista seems to have a mind of its own. Sometimes the Windows does an update and downloads and then restarts itself. But today it wouldn't start back up. A window came on and asked me if I wanted to run a startup fix program...which of course I did. If my computer suggests something to me..I listen. So the program started trying to fix the computer so it would start and after 15 minutes a window came on and told me it couldn't fix itself. So what' s a girl to do? I just shut it down and tried to retstart it. And guess what? It did. But then my Mcaffe security program claimed that my computer wasn't protected anymore and i needed to download a new Mcaffee. Before I could start to do that, the computer took over and started the download all by itself. Then windows decided to update and download and restart the computer all by itself. I'm telling you..I felt like my computer was possessed!! It all worked out in the end. It came back on and has worked ok since. Whew! Dodged a bullet on that one. My very favorite saying about comptuers is: "Computers are wonderful.........when they work!"


Anyway, I found out that I will not be going to Don's family's for Thanksgiving so I will have it right here in my own home. It will be nice since I haven't done that in many years. So I need to start planning.

BLOGGING

Sometimes this blog isn't interesting even to me. There just are days, like today, that are quiet days just spent doing nothing productive. So I spend the day visiting the blogs of others and seeing how they live their lives and what they are doing. Don't feel bad for me..I've earned this time of just relaxation. I remember my younger years when there was never a moment for myself. It was always work, kids, and housecleaning that took up every moment of the waking day. Now I choose what I'd like to do and sometimes I just do nothing. And it's ok with me.

A LITTLE BETTER NOW

I wanted to post a more cheerful note. After a day of pain it's nice to feel a little better (or maybe it's just the Motrin talking). but anyway, at the moment, I feel better. I hope it holds because the dentist only works four days a week. I'd hate to interrupt his weekend on his horse farm. So I'm putting up a picture of the Buffalo checked jacket that I found at Coldwater Creek. They just opened a new store at the Erie mall. The other picture is of the square wreath I got at Julie's Potting shed.

achy, achy, tooth

It should have been easy. Today I went to have my permanent cap put on my molar. Yes, it should have been easy, but it wasn't. As soon as Dr. Volpe was finished and I was finishing up the paperwork my whole jaw started hurting like an icepick was being pressed into the center of my tooth. When I told the assistant she said that the gums probably would be a little sore for awhile. I told her it wasn't the gums, I was in pain. She said to take some Ibuprophen when I got home. I went to the elevator. By the time I got to the first floor my jaw was aching so bad I could have cried. I debated about what I should do, but at that point I knew this couldn't be normal. I went back to the fourth floor and walked in. Dr. Volpe said he never had a patient come back in pain after putting on a cap. Yes, nothing can be easy for me, can it? All he could do is shoot me with novacaine to numb the pain and tell me to take Motrin this afternoon. I was still in pain when I got home and despite the Motrin dose, still in pain. I doubled the dose and finally fell asleep with a heating pad on my aching jaw. When I woke up the pain had subsided. Now I'm waiting to see if it is going to last when the Motrin wears off. Nothing is every easy for me!

MORE PHOTOSHOPPING

I'm having a ball with Photoshop. These two I made this afternoon when I should have been housecleaning instead. Don is in Erie picking up his chair today. His friend, Bob, called him last night. He lives up in Erie and invited Don to come and see him while he was there. Don is so lucky to have such good friends. Bob is a high school buddy. Jim, our neighbor, is a friend from work. Tim, who would do anything for Don, is a great friend. Woody, a fishing buddy. Bill is a longtime friend from childhood. He is blessed with very good friends.

They'rrrrr done!

My new kitchen curtains are finally done. (Well, almost. I have to go back to Joann Fabric and get three more tassels to complete the look). The picture really doesn't show the true colors. The tiers are gold. I love the new look. And I did it myself.

I'M A LITTLE TEACUP

Isn't this a lovely teacup? In our town there is a teashop called "Grandma's House". They have a vast selection of teas and tasty scones. On Saturday a friend and I visited some of our local stores during their Holiday Tour of Shoppes. At Grandma's House I found these red toile teacups, just right for holiday tea. Won't you join me?

FUN WITH DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING

It's fun playing around with digiscrapbooking!

This is a page I made using one of the free kits I downloaded from Shabby Princess. It's a lot of fun to pull the various elements together to make the picture you want.

It's been a busy weekend. Saturday Don and I went to Erie for a shopping trip. We always love to eat out there. It was Red Lobster as usual. I found some things and we found a Christmas present for Don...a leather recliner chair. We are all about comfort at our age. LOL

Image for Victoria magazine

Ok, I give up. Remember how I was hunting for a picture of the heart in the snow that Don made for me one year. He swears there was a picture of it. I have searched all my photos and can't find it anywhere. So I finally decided to make another one using Photoshop (now that I kinda know how to do it.) This is the one I submitted to Victoria magazine to go along with the short essay that will be published in their Jan issue. I sent it this am and got a note back from the editor that she loved it! I am so excited about having something in one of my favorite magazines.

44 things

My "uncle" John Garthwaite sent me these 44 things in an email. We should all take a moment to realize all the wonderful little things we have in our lives.

1.Falling in love.

2. Laughing so hard your face hurts

3. A hot shower.

4.No lines at the supermarket.

5. A special glance.
6. Getting mail.

7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.

8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio.

9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.

10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.

11. Chocolate milkshake (vanilla or strawberry).

12. A bubble bath.

13.Giggling.

14. Seeing your grandchild's face.

15. The beach.

16. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter.

17. Laughing at yourself.

18. Looking into their eyes and knowing they Love you.
19. Midnight phone calls that last for hours.

20. Running through sprinklers

21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
22. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.
23. Laughing at an inside joke with FRIENDs
24. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.

25. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.

26. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner)
27. Making new friends or spending time with old one.

28. Playing with a new puppy.

29. Having someone play with your hair.

30. Sweet dreams

31. Hot chocolate.

32. Road trips with friends.

33. Swinging on swings.

34. Making eye contact with a cute stranger.

35. Making chocolate chip cookies.

36. Having your friends send you homemade cookies.

37. Holding hands with someone you care about.

38. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.

39. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you. 40. Watching the sunrise.

41. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.

42. Knowing that somebody misses you.

43. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.

44. Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.

SEan at 8 months

Sean discovered grass today.

He is getting so big and tall. How handsome!

The leaves are almost gone

The leaves are almost gone here in Pennsylvania now. My weeping cherry tree has turned yellow and is losing leaves fast. Now the hills are rust colored and gray with bare branches. It was sunny and warm today but soon it will be colder. I am celebrating my 400th post. Who would have believed that I would have so many posts on this blog?