If The Wind Would Just Quit Blowing…..

The weather has been a little weird here lately.  It seems everyday is windy.  The temperature has been in the 70’s for a high some days and in the 40’s for a high other days.  The nights have been in the 30’s sometimes and in the 50’s others.  It just can’t make up it’s mind if it wants to be winter.


The Christmas shopping is finished.  The presents are wrapped and under the trees.  The stockings are hung on the bannister with care (just had to throw that in).  I have a big stack of boxes to get rid of.  I (we) bought a lot of things on the internet this year.  I hate to get rid of the boxes because they are so nice and sturdy, but I don’t know what else to do with them. 


The Christmas cards are written and mailed.  It’s interesting how times have changed.  Years ago when Jim and I lived in Cincinnati and we belonged to all these organizations, etc.  I would send at least a hundred cards.  This year I sent 25.  Of course, I don’t receive very many either.


My embroidery machine has been repaired.  I picked it up last week.  They had to replace one part, but other than that they cleaned and oiled the machine.  I haven’t had a chance to use it yet.  After the first of the year I will be embroidering t-shirts and sweatshirts for both Jana and me.  We have bought the shirts and picked out the patterns.  I watched several You Tube videos to refresh my memory on what stabilizers to use, etc.  I am ready!


Now Jana and I are just getting the house in order (that means dusting and running the sweeper) and doing our laundry.  Last night we went to Kevin and Renea’s for pizza and hot wings.  We only ate pizza.  Stephanie and Ray were there along with friends Patrick, Kara and their two children.  Had a really nice time.  Tonight is Mass.  Tomorrow is celebrating Ryan’s birthday.  His birthday is the 21^st of December and we usually celebrate a few days early. 


Last weekend Kevin and Renea were out of town.  Renea visited her Aunt Pat and Kevin went to Cincinnati.  They took the dogs with them.  I took their mail into their house along with several packages that were delivered.  It amazing how you get used to certain things.  I told them when they returned that going into their house and not being greeted by the dogs was very strange.  I missed them.


I’m not sure (or I don’t remember is more like it) how much I told you about Penny losing hair.  Both her sides were almost nude along with her tail, back legs and belly.  She was constantly licking and throwing up hairballs.  I took her to the vet and they were not sure what was going on.  Everyone thought it was anxiety over me being gone so long in the hospital and every time I left the house she thought I wasn’t going to return.  We got the hairballs under control, but she still was losing hair.  I got the bright idea that maybe it was the litter I was using for her.  I had been using the same littler from the time I got her, but they had changed it by adding fabreze and other ingredients to eliminate dust, smells, etc.  I bought her Tidy Cat Fresh and Clean.  It has no additives.   It’s been two weeks now and her hair is starting to come back.  Yea!


I guess that’s about it for now.  Just in case I don’t write another blog before Christmas….Merry Christmas Y’All!

Thanksgiving Plus

We had a really nice Thanksgiving.  We went to Kevin and Renea’s for dinner.  Ryan, Stephanie and Ray were there.  Renea brought her mom home from the Nursing Home.  It was good to see her.  We had turkey, ham, sweet potato casserole, candied yams, Renea’s family’s cornbread stuffing, the Althoefer’s stuffing (made by me), rolls and other goodies.  We had pumpkin pie, apple pie and pecan cheesecake for dessert. 


Friday I put the decorations on my tree with help from Jana.  We also put a few more decorations around the house.  Jana put all the empty boxes in the back of my car to be put away on Saturday.  I also decorated three small trees, one of which I designated Penny’s tree.  Of course, she hasn’t paid any attention to that tree.  She just goes to the big ones. 


Saturday Jana and I finished decorating.  We took all the empty boxes to the shed for storage.  Kevin and Renea went to the Iron Bowl.  For those of you who don’t know what that is that is the football game of the season (here in Alabama) when Auburn University and Alabama play each other.  This year Auburn won.  WAR EAGLE!  By the way, it was me that let the dogs out……before Jana and I went to church.  Yes, I did let them back in before we went to church.  Also let them out when we got home. When I let them back in I fed them supper, gave them fresh water, and gave them a treat.  Kevin and Renea made good time getting back home so I didn’t have to let them out again.


Sunday I fixed a turkey breast in the crockpot for Jana and me.  There were no leftovers after dinner on Thanksgiving, and Jana and I like leftovers so we fixed our own.  I also fixed mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing.  I had made some extra stuffing on Thursday so we had some left for us.  Tasted good as always.


I also did several loads of laundry.  I had several Christmas quilts to wash so we could use them since they had been stored in bins in the shed.  I also washed two lap blankets that we had been using, and I put them away until after Christmas.  In fact, I made the mistake of putting them on top of a bin in my bedroom and Penny has claimed them for her own.  I also washed my Christmas t-shirts. 


Monday we went to the post office in Opelika to mail a few things.  From there we went to Walmart and then to Opelika Sewing Center.  I have been having a lot of problems with my embroidery machine, and I have two years of service at OSC since I purchased it there.  I had to leave it since it needed to be cleaned.  They were also going to check some of the problems I have been having.  Two of the problems were resolved before I left.  I was using the bobbin thread that came with the machine.  It was not the right weight for embroidery.  I now know what to use.  They changed the bobbin and put in the correct thread.  The other problem was I had the presser foot too high.  They showed me how to fix that and that corrected another problem.  I am so glad I took the machine to them and getting the problems fixed.  I actually learned a lot in the short time I was there.


Leaving there we went to Arby’s for lunch.  What a mess, not our lunch but traffic.  We usually go out through Lowe’s parking lot.  However, they were repaving the lot and had quite a bit of it blocked off.  We did some maneuvering and managed to get across the highway to Tigertown.  Jana went into Target to get another Christmas plate.  I had bought three and she bought two when we were there the other day.  Now she has three.


Next we went Krogering.  Bought quite a few items.  Came home.  Unloaded the car.  Put the cold stuff away and collapsed.  Didn’t finish putting the groceries away until suppertime.  We had leftover turkey breast on croissants for supper.   Sure did taste good.  Spent the evening watching television.