JOY TO YOU THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON

Things to be joyful for:

1. Having a loving family and good friends...nothing can be better than knowing there are people who know all your flaws and accept and love you just the way you are..imperfections and all.

2. Wanting not...looking around and realizing that you have all you need.

3. Feeling contentment...just to sit still and be filled with happiness.

4. Realizing how lucky you are. ..so many are so much worse off this holiday season .

5. Having the freedoms that living in the United States allows.

Until one feels the spirit of Christmas, there is no Christmas. All else is outward display--so much tinsel and decorations. For it isn't the holly, it isn't the snow. It isn't the tree not the firelight's glow. It's the warmth that comes to the hearts of men when the Christmas spirit returns again.

Happy Holidays

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Winter wonderland

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POND OPEN FOR SKATING

Isn't that sign adorable? Linda made it for me last year. I created a little vignette with ice skates and cotton snow on my baker's rack. I found some old black and white photos of me as a child in the snow and put them on display along with the ice skates. Most of my decorations this year are winter themed instead of Christmas oriented. Maybe I'll leave them up for awhile.

CHRISTMAS COOKIES

What is your favorite kind of Christmas cookie? Peanut Butter Blossoms are mine. Today I baked cookies to take down to Ryan's house on Thursday. Each year I knock myself out making many different kinds of cookies as treats. There are so many that we all get almost sick of eating so many sweets during the holiday season. The leftovers get put in the freezer since you can't give them away. (everyone else is sick of eating sweets too).

Nothing means more than family

Here is a picture of my family taken at Boiling Springs in November when we were down at Chris' visiting. Chris and Ryan are "cutting up" as usual. Scott is growing up so tall and is getting more handsome by the minute. Dan is a typical teenager. Jenny, my new daughter-in-law is so pretty and I enjoy having her in the famly. Don is my honey. We were getting ready to go to a TSO concert that day. We always enjoy being together.

BEST FRIENDS

Yrsa, Kay and I have been best friends since high school, 45 years ago. We've been through a lot together, the bad and the good. We've cried on each other's shoulders and howled with laughter at some of our antics. Today Kay had us out to see the new red couch she bought. The color is crimson and looks so nice in her living room.

Winter

Yeah, it worked! I am slowly learning how to get pictures from the web to my blog. This might make it a little more fun. I liked this picture because it reminded me of my childhood. We always loved to be out in the wintertime, regardless of the weather. I guess we didn't feel the cold back then. I grew up in such a super neighborhood. All the kids were friends and we couldn't wait for school to get over so we could get on our playclothes and run outside with our friends. There was a big hill behind our house and we went sledding there. Across from the elementary school there was a house back in the woods with a long paved driveway. We loved to sled there but at the end was the road. Then the tragic happened. A little boy slid onto the road and was killed by a car passing by. That ended our sledding there. I was so small at the time that it didn't have the huge impact on me that it had on my parents. I can't remember the last time I have seen kids out with their sleds. They don't seem to do that anymore.

TIS THE SEASON FOR GIFTING

tHIS is the season for the hunt for just the right present. The disadvantage to living in a small rural town is that the shopping is so limited. If you are content to buy everything at Walmart you will have no trouble shopping in Bradford. But there is a whole world outside with wonderful things to buy so yesterday Don and I went to Erie (about 90 miles away) for the day. We shopped in stores that you can't find around here...Best Buy, Lowes, Macy's, Gander Mountain, etc. Since it a Saturday in December there were lots of crowds everywhere you went. The lines at the counters were long and getting to a place where you could see an item was difficult. The traffic was also bad. Next time I'll remember to go on a week day when I don't have to put up with all of that. We did well with our shopping and even bought ourselves a Christmas present...a Garmin. That's a GPS locater for our car. Now I will be able to find all the malls in all the ciities. LOL We ate a Smokey Bones, a rib restaurant, for lunch.

Random questions

Were you named after anyone? Yes, my mom said I was named after a friend of hers

When was the last time you cried? Last Saturday I woke up with the saddest feeling. I was missing my dad who passed away last February. This wil be the first Christmas of my life without him.
What is the first thing you notice about people? Their mood

Red or pink? Definitely red. I went through a pink phase once and hated it.

What is the last thing you ate? Sugar free chocolate frozen pop

What music are you listening to? Trans Siberian Orchestra's christmas music. We went to a concert of theirs at Hershey in November. Amazing pyrotechnics and laser lights.

What kind of movies do you like? I love a movie that makes you think, surprises you, is visually stimulating, has a twist ending, and resolves.

What book are you reading now? I just finished a book on identity theft. Pretty scary.

Rolling Stones or the Beatles? Even though I remember swimming in a river while attending summer school at Clarion University listening to "I can't get no...satisfaction" I love the Beatles better.

What is the farthest you have ever been from home? Frankfurt, Germany

So you have a special talent? I like to be creative..decorate, make arrangements and vingnettes, play the piano.

Where were you born? Elberton, Georgia

Hugs or kisses? Definitely kisses.

What is your favorite smell? I like the fall scents...cinnamon, pumpkin spice, tuscan scents

BRRRR

Put on your gloves and scarf because it's still cold out today. I walked this morning with my coffee friends. Thankfully we walk inside the fitness center at the University of Pittsburgh. Sometimes I think I'm crazy for getting up every morning so early and going out in the frigid weather. But then I think that is a good thing because not only do I exercise every day but I also socialize with my friends.

When I got home from coffee, there sat Don with a bleak look on his face. He was planning on going deer hunting with a friend a few hours south of here. After he loaded up his truck with all his hunting gear he discovered his truck wouldn't start. He looked under the truck and a pool of gasoline lay in the snow. He had a gas leak. Into each life some rain must fall. He took the van today. He will have to take it to the garage to have it fixed. He used to be able to fix anything on four wheels, but in his later life he gets dizzy and sick at his stomach every time he lays on his back under a car.

At our house we try to take the bad with the good. We know life isn't perfect and there are going to be those days when things don't go right. Life is like that. We have so much good in our life that we are thankful for it all. When something like this happens,we just say "It could have been worse".

What, no tree?

Every year we put our tall tree in the living room. When we build the addition I knew that the perfect place for the Christmas tree this year would be right in front of the large back window. But when it came time to put up the tree I decided to put a topiary tree in a golden urn on my library table. It fits perfectly. I took down my curtains for give the room a more open feeling. I also brought in some of my blue and white china.

The computer is up and running! Hurrah!!

The new Verizon connection is finally working on my computer. After talking to a fellow in India one day, a girl from the Phillipines another..it took a good old American girl from Verizon (who just happened to be a grown-up neighbor girl from down the street ) to visit the house and tell us that the phone line from the modem to the box needed replaced. After that now I can get a signal that is stong and won't go away on me like it has been doing this week. Hopefully all my computer issues are solved.

The snow was so beautiful this morning and was glistening. I had to take this shot of the bench. Several deer wandered down into our yard last night (as we could tell my their tracks in the snow). They went over and sniffed the three pumpkins that I had thrown up behind the shed. Don is going to break them open and give the deer a treat for tonight.
Isn't Mr. Snowman darling? My father made it for me a few years ago. He was so clever with his woodworking. He would see an idea in a magazine and make a copy for all of his daughters. Last year he made us a wooden tabletop sled. I cherish the items in my house that were crafted by his hand.

Little Chicago

These are two of the "old fashioned" stores on Kennedy Street that were created for the movie "Little Chicago". Filiming continued over the weekend despite some unforgiving weather.

A scene from Little Chicago was filmed Saturday night on Chestnut street wherein three men were gunned down in front of the "Bradford Men's Club". Many Bradfordians braved the below freezing temperatures to watch the filming. Crew members for the gangster movie "Little Chicago" set off a fiery fake explosion in a home at 10 Howard St. Monday night amidst a very real snowstorm.After several takes and multiple hours of preparation in blizzard-like conditions, an actor successfully lobbed an "explosive package" - which in reality was filled with potatoes - into a half-open window at the house, giving the "bombs away" cue for special effects experts.
In the scene, Bradford native Buddy Crappio's character was driven up to the target house by an accomplice in a 1920s vehicle. Crappio exited the car, threw the bomb and got back in the car for a hasty retreat.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Just yesterday Don hung our old wooden sled

in the breezeway. I got the idea from Jan Williams a florist in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Every year when I visit my sister Linda we always make it a point to go into her shop to see what new ideas she has. THere are some people who just have a special knack for that kind of thing. WEll, the storm is over for today, the roads are plowed, my presents go wrapped, and the crock pot barbequed pork is ready to eat. All in all, it has been a great day.

Did I say beautiful?

It just keeps on snowing! Yesterday it snowed all day, but today is a major winter snowstorm. It keeps coming down faster and faster and the plows can't keep up with it. I went out today as I always do in the morning to workout, but I had to drive so slow because the roads weren't adequately plowed and I had to keep the tires in the ruts. Don got out the snowblower and cleaned off the driveway, but at this rate he might have to do it again before the day is over. This will be a great day to just stay in. I have presents to wrap and decorating to finish. It's so nice to just look out the window.

Snow is here again

Isn't it beautiful! The snowstorm that came today really got me in a holiday mood. Everyone wants a white Christmas. Right? My to-do list is filled with holiday preparations...addressing cards, completing the door decorations...along with the mundane, such as getting the oil changed in the car. I think I'll be doing more of my shopping online this year since it is such an easy way to do it. Later today I'll inventory the presents I have already bought and try to get them wrapped. Seeing the snow reminds me of when my dad bought an ice rink for us...yes, he did. It was plastic sided and he put it on our concrete patio. Then he filled it up with water. When it froze we put on our skates and thought that it was the best present ever! Such happy childhood memories we had. Don always talks about the neighborhood boys going tobogganing on a hill near his house. They would steal oil (remember we lived in the oil capital of the world) and make homemade lanterns which they would set at various places as they climbed the hill with the toboggan. Then they would use the light to slide down the hill all evening. We really knew how to have fun when we were children! What is your favorite childhood memory? Leave a comment and tell me.

It's a boy!

Ryan and Jenny make the cutest couple. How happy I am to have a girl in the family finally. She's such a super person and a great addition to the family. This picture was taken in November when we were all down to Chris' house for Ryan's birthday. Jenny is pregnant in this picture although you really couldn't tell too much then. Now she is beginning to pop out and they have found out that they are having a boy! It is the first child for both of them and they have waited a long time to become parents. They will make the best mommy and daddy because they are great with kids. Jenny is a second grade teacher and Ryan works with kids and aquatics. Their humerous attitude and calm nature will see them through any of the experiences they will have. I am so thrilled to become a grandma again!

Like lightening!

I fnally feel like I am in the new computer age. I got a DSL fast line. And is it ever fast! This makes working and playing on the computer so much fun. No more waiting and waiting for a page to come in. This works like magic. speaking of magic that is how I had to hook onto the computer. Michelle from the Phillipines actually took control of my computer remotely and helped me get all hooked up to Verizon. That was a lot easier than muddling through it with the guy from India yesterday that I couldn't understand. Now I will be able to keep up my blog each day....when I get time. I'd like to challenge myself to post one entry per day. I don't really have a pic for today so I'll use one of my old ones from this summer. This is the sisters at Cape Cod.

Soccer mom (grandmom)

On Saturday I had a chance to go to my grandson's soccer game in Boiling springs, PA. He is a defender and he never let the ball get passed him. He ran all over the field and played his position so well. Many scores were diverted because Dan controlled the ball and got it away from the players. I was so proud of him!