Winding down 2008!!

This is where I can be found for the last 2 days. Walking at the park. I need to get out and do this more - might have to make a New Years resolution on this one. Since Annie isn't able to go anymore I just don't seem to get out there walking anymore but I have to!! I sit all day at my job, I sit and knit, I sit and watch TV. Too much sitting!! We have had beautiful weather for the past several days, record high on Saturday and sunny, sunny skies - which is an oddity in northern Ohio in the winter. Amazing what that sun does for your disposition this time of year. The pictures below are from my walk yesterday.

I am hoping you all have a happy and safe New Year's. Tom and I will be having a quiet celebration, probably falling asleep before 9:00 p.m. I have to work on New Year's day - so no staying up late for me.

Wishing you health, happiness, prosperity in 2009!! See you next year!!!

Apron Christmas??

Seems like there were lots of aprons given as gifts in our family... This is one that Kris made for Matt's girlfriend Bethany - she really liked it. She is a great cook so I'm sure this one will be getting lots of use. This one Sara made for me - plus she made me a full apron with a chicken on it. So cute. You will have to look on her blog to see a picture of that one.

All in all we had a great Christmas - lots of food, laughter and family time but not forgetting the true meaning of our celebration.

The last 2 days we have been enjoying the weather here. Yesterday it was in the upper 60s and sunny and today even though it was cooler that sun was just shinning away. I hope it sticks around for a couple of more days.

I joined a Pay It Forward back in I can't remember when, probably early summer and my gift arrived on Christmas Eve. It is a gorgeous counted cross stitch of what else but chickens. She did such a great job - I was speechless on opening it. So sometime shortly after the New Year I will be looking for 3 people who want to play. I'm not going to post the picture of my gift until after that as I see many people are away or just taking blogging breaks during the holidays. Keep it in mind and check back if you are interested.

I'm off to do some knitting - Sara's cropped cardi needs to be finished and her son Tom asked for a hat.

Hope you are all stilling enjoying these days....

Happy Birthday Tom!!

Yep - we are also celebrating a BD today. Tom, Sara and Rich's oldest is 14!! We had a great time at Kris and Todd's last night. Jessica and Tyler got a Wii so we were all trying it out. Everyone was having fun with the boxing and bowling games. We are even thinking we have to have a Wii party with all the families.

Matt's girlfriend Bethany came last night - so we had a fun time opening up presents, trying things out and now eating chicken wings that Matt made. They were really, really good.

This afternoon we are going to Sara and Rich's after they get off work and celebrate Christmas and the birthday with them. First we do Christmas and then we do birthday with ice cream cake.

What can I saw about Tom?? He is a good hearted grandson - funny, talkative, video loving teenager. He is a sport lover and I think if it were possible he would play every single sport. Basketball and baseball are usually the teams you will find him on. He's a good team player. He is always ready to help his Grandma and Grandpa and actually this past summer did a lot of the little extra chores around our place for us. He drove the tractor, helped stack hay, would run the weed wacker, helped stack wood and generally did whatever was asked. (Wait until he sees what I have planned for this Spring and Summer.) One other thing about him is his ability to eat. When he would come over to help out I knew I had better be stocking up on Powerade and goodies. That kid can polish off a 9x13 pan of brownies in one sitting - which always makes a Grandma happy that one of you grandkids like what you bake so much they just sit down and eat it all!!

I'm hoping you and yours are enjoying your day as much as we are... I had better get going - I still have presents to wrap...

Holy Night..

Just wanted to take a few moments to wish you all a very, very Merry Christmas. Hope you enjoy time with family and friends and just enjoy the day....

I justed wanted to show you a picture of our manager that was made by Tom's grandmother in 1956. We have heard that she made 3 of them, one for herself, one for his aunt and one for his mother. She did all the ceramic figures and his grandfather made the stable. It is one of our most cherished Christmas pieces and I hope someday our children's. How did we get this piece you ask??? We found in the garage sale pile when Tom's mother was moving...

Tonight we are celebrating with Kris and her family. Tomorow night with Sara and her family - not only Christmas but her older son Tom's BD. I will be back with a BD post for him tomorow.

Merry Christmas to you all!!!!!

Friday - ice, rain, wind, fog, snow....

These are a few pictures from this morning. It seemed like we were going to have a really good ice storm but then it started raining and getting warmer. By late afternoon it was wind and fog - by this evening we were having a light snow. That sure is a lot for one day. Hopefully tomorrow will be better - we have to go get another load of wood.

Disregard this next picture, seems I uploaded the same picture again and can't seem to get rid of it.

I actually finished up most of my Christmas shopping today. Of course I did cheat a little bit. The fingerless mitts for Kris are not done yet, but then again she is making me a sheet quilt that is not done - so as we were talking about another project that we saw on a blog we decided those 2 projects are not getting done until the first of the year and we might make some of those cute little birds on Philgry's blog. We want to try them in wool though. About 7 miles from us is a little one stop light town that has a really nice primitive shop. Its called the Chairmaker and Friends. (The chair maker was actually featured in some primitive magazine that I see in the side bars of some of the primitive blogs and they have that magazine in the shop). The last time I was in there they had all this wool for rug hooking and making penny rugs, etc. I don't have any red so as long as I was going that way I thought I would stop in. Most wool pieces that I have seen have been somewhat expensive but they sell some nice big pieces for $5.00 to 10.00. Today when I was in the store the wool has taken over one small corner of the shop. There were large old baskets just stuffed with all types, colors and sizes of wool for 25 cents?? As I was sorting through the baskets I came up with several pieces that are probably 12 inches by 6 feet for the quarter. It was kind of hard to believe. I see table runners in their future. That was my deal of the day - what about you??

Take time to enjoy the season this weekend - by next week we will be talking about the end of another year!!

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday

I meant to post this yesterday but things just kept happening so no post for Wednesday. This is the top part of my little tree in the living room with some of my favorite ornaments (especially the border collie one). Annie is still hanging in there. Some days she does great, others not so great, but none of the bad days are like the bad days of 2 months ago. She is still really, really thin and so I go to great lengths to get her to eat. Her new favorite is eggs and french toast. Eggs we have plenty of so she gets an egg on a regular basis. She's eating the dog food better so that is a plus. I don't think she will ever get back to the walking in the park but she still is a good companion and most days you will find her in front of the fire or under my desk while I'm working.

Hopefully I will be back soon with another picture or 2. Right now I'm off to do some quick errands. We have winter storm warnings out, the freezing rain and ice variety which will be nasty. Enjoy these days before Christmas...

Christmas choir concert

Tonight Sara's boys had a choir concert. The pictures below are of Joe, the youngest. Tom ended up having the flu, as well as Rich so they missed it. It was a great concert, 7th and 8th grade with lots of serious and funny songs. Joe is the fifth from the right in this picture. They separate the 7th graders into a boys and girls choir and the 8th grade is mixed.

It was a fun evening.

Its getting late so I'm off to do some knitting before bed. Still have a pair of fingerless mitts and a hat to get done. Lots of other things I would like to be making but as usual Christmas seems to sneak up on you.