Here he is playing with  his sister.

Opening presents!  And more  pics of our dinner time.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Had a  nice family Christmas Eve with  brother and his family.  What is more fun than watching little children open  their gifts.   Has a lovely dinner and  then presents under the tree were opened.  Jon was so excited because the construction set he got he had told his mother weeks ago,  when he saw it in a store,  that was what Santa was bring him.  We had no idea he wanted it.  I saw it and thought he would love it. Glad I did because he just loved it.  He played with it  until they went home for the night.  He is so sweet.                    

these Christmoose cookies were really hard to move around, bake and frost.  Out of 8  I had 4 that did"t loose a leg or antler.  Frosting glue didn't help the repair  so I ended up with 4.

more cookies

With my neice and her children  visiting for Christmas Eve, I decided to do some extra cookies for kids only. Hope they enjoy them but will wait entil after  our dinner sto offer them.                                                                 

Here is the  finished look for  the family room drapery treatment.  We will drop the  long drapes when evening comes and the still  cold settles around the window.  This should warm up the room.

saving a bird!

This little bird got traped in our porch yesterday while brother Dick was visiting.   He went right over and captured the bird in his gentle hands and started petting it  to calm it down.  He  carried it out to the bird feeder still stroking its head and while it  sat at the feeder, Dick ask me to get the camera and take its picture.  I was  thrilled to see  he was still setting there when I came back and Dick was still talking to it.  It didn't seem to be afraid at all of us.  I  took this picture and one more from my cell phone and then birdy must have thought that was a big enough photo shoot because he flew off none the worse for the incounter with  humans up close.   What a lovely  experence that was for us.   You never know what  nature will offer you if you just give it a try.

We enjoyed the  tunnel of  hooped lights at this Christmas holiday display over the weekend. 
After passing through the tunnel,  you enter many  holiday scenes  one more beautiful than the other.  Then we went in town  and saw a wonderful display put on by one of the doctors in town.  It filled his  front yard and around the sides of his house.  As you can  see it was a real  beautiful gift to the community that he put up every year just for the community to enjoy.

On Monday  I spent all day in the kitchen  making cookies to give  away.  I think the new cookie press I got last week worked pretty good.   It was a long process of decorating after they all cool but well worth it .  They turned out real pretty I think.  And they taste good too!!!!

Monday was a rainy, cold day.  We decided to  hang our new drapes in the family room.  This will cut the draft from the  sliding glass doors come February and cold days here.  Hubby had to do some special handy work to get all the drapes up.  We have a vertical blind, a  regular  long drape and the valance over all of it.  He put on his thinking cap and came up with a plan that works.  Everything is up and looking good.

Tuesday was the nativity  debute.  I had been painting for a couple of  week to get it done for Christmas.  We  set up the lighting and then  up went the painted figures.  This is just  the first of the main charaters.  There are camels and wisemen, donkeys and a cow. Plus more lambs and a dummer boy yet to be painted.  Next year  maybe I will get the rest of the set done.  This is it for this year.  Merry Christmas!!

Also added a  couple of children by our little trees.  Just for cuteness!

kumquats

The other day a neighbor  gave us  some  kumquats.  I had  know idea what to  use them for and after getting  on the internet  and investigating, I decided to go with  the jelly  reciept.  Really downsized the quanity but here is the results.  So,  from about 20 of these little fruits  I got these  three jars.WALLA!!

Justin returns!!

We were plesantly  surprised to  have Justin , our neighbors son,  move back into the neighborhood with  his father within the last few months.   He is our  life saver in sweeping off the roof of pine needles.  This is a must because the people next door insist on using the burn barrel in their  backyard and we are afraid the stuff that floats up in the air from their burning might set the needles,  that lay on our roof from the pine trees,  on fire and burn down our house.   He is so kind as to climb the ladder and sweep all the needles off  every  fall.  We were afraid he was not going to be here this year and then , on Sunday afternoon , he just arrived at the door with a big smile and a great question.  "do you want those needles sweep this year?"  What a great kid!!  He visited for a while and then got to work.  Did a great job too.   He has extended his services this year  with  offering to do any odd jobs we might need extra help with around our house.  This  may come inhandy  in the real near future.   What a blessing he will be for hubby and his projects.

These guys don"t get together  very often but enjoy the times when they do. Although now they talk mostly about their  health and doctor appointments and aches and pains.  It is still good for them to be together for a few hours. We only live  2 hrs away but  work schedules keep us  apart for the most part.

Ben and his Mom  enjoy going over the ancestory books  to update their information.  Ben is starting his own book, so when he comes over he gets lots of copies of Uncle Dicks books and my pictures  of family from the past 100 years.  Some of my picture of relatives go back as far as 5 generations  in New England.

Here is the rug I got  at a consignment store here in town.  For only a few bucks it is really a good rug.  It will keep the chill of our feet this winter  from the tile floor  underneath.  It also tones down the echo in the room. Makes for a warmer atmosphers as well.  Also got a couple of wall pieces that I loved and could just not pass by as they go so well with  the room.

They  are iron with grapes and leaves entwined.  Now if I get my picture done of the Italian  wine  cellar to put over the fireplace that should pretty much finish the room.
Today we are going to try to get that dinningroom set.  I thought about it over the weekend and decided it was a good buy.  Now I hope nobody else thought so too and bought it before I  made up my mind.  If so,  then  it was not to be mine.  We will  know by thisafternoon.

Have been working on my paintings again.  I changed the backround of the big bird.  Now I 'm pleased with it.  There was to much going on in the backround before.  We have  hung all three and now the wall doesn't look so bare.

Uncle Dick and Bette  shopped last week for a new refrigerator.  They found one just like ours not stainless steel though) that they liked so well.  It had the  filtered water and  ice despencer in the door and the side by side  frig  and freezer. They had it delivered and call  me over to help  move stuff  from one  ref. to the other.  They will have to have someone come in and run a water line for the  ice and filtered water but they  are so pleased with their new  fridge! They came over to our house for Thanksgiving and an a exciting game of TRAIN,  we really do enjoy that game.  We have set  up a evening once a week to get together and play the game. Have ask the neighbors to join us after telling them how much fun we have  they  we in for the fun aswell!  Now there are six of us going at it every Friday night.( we enclude a light dinner party before the game with everyone bringing something to contribute).

This last weekend brother Jim came over from Jacksonville with his family.  We had a wonderful time eating the last of the turkey and fixings and caughting up  on the family news from a  long summer away.  Dick gave some more paper work to Ben about the  family tree and Ben  show us some of his  summer race car videos he took at the track.  Jim also told us some of  his Navy stories that we had not heard before.  He really saw the world those many years ago.  It was so facinating to hear where he had been and what he did.

Yesterday we went to town.  That was an all dayer!!  Got a lot of stuff done.  Went to Sam's and stocked up for the holiday and got the stuff to make for the Christmas Tea a church on Saturday.  Then we went to a  store I was anxious to go to.  A conseignment  store.   My kind of prices!!!  They had beautiful furniture and of coarse I could not pass up a deal to get at rug for the family room and some sconces for the walls.  This will cut down on the hollowness in the room for sure. Have not moved those pics  yet.  Will post them  next time.  Anyway I was thrilled with the  things I bought .  Also saw a dinning room table and  six chairs that I have my eye on that we  really need as we are  entertaining on a  fold up table that is really quite narrow to play train on as well as  have dinner guest  sit around.  I may just go back and get that table.  The price was right  but do I really want to put that money in that spot right now?  Like all my big buys,  I think about ot for a while and if it is to be mine it will still be there  if  I decide to get it  later.  We will see.......

So, I finally caught this little cridder right outside my kitchen window.  Munching on that sad stuff I call grass  or maybe he was digging one of his infamous holes to get at the meat of the yard.  Any way,  he was caught with his nose in the ground  doing the damage.  Hubby chased him into the woods to do his dining in a different venue.  Boy,  could he run!  Armidillo that is,  not hubby.  He doesn't  run anymore than he needs too.
On our way to shopping  we pass a large farm and I have  always forgotten my camera.  Yesterday  I remembered so got a shot of these llamas( at least I think that is  what they are!).  Some  had heavy coats of fur  just hanging from their  sides.  They must have been  very hot this summer  with all that fur.  Don't know what they are used for .  Suspect for the fur or maybe us the novelty of having llamas.  Total of five were there.
Hope  you enjoy the pictures....

After an all day trip to town last week I now have  some canvas to paint on.  Here are  two of the set of three that I have painted for the  bathroom wall.  They  are called egrets.  Various colors will be desplayed by the time I get the third one done.  It only took two days apiece to do the  two I  am  showing here.  Hope the next one is just as quick for I am  anxious to get started on the large one for the livingroom.  Now that's not saying I know just what that painting will be but  I'm  sure it will take some time to paint for it will be a really big one to do.  May  have it done by the end of winter.
It was warm this  morning so I planted my last  plant that I got  at the  Ag. center.  It is  called a Crinum.  Looks somewhat llike a lilly but will be a lovely pink.  Unfortunately,, I will be up north when it blooms.  Brother will have to send me a picture of it's beauty  while I am gone.   It will dress up the yard while I am not here  to do any yard work.  Got the lawn mowed again this morning as well.  Probably be the last time for the season.  We are  headed to town again tomorrow for Dad to give blood for testing again.  Then on Friday , we are having in some friends for homemade pizza and salad , plus , a  fun game of Mexican Domino Train Game.  Should be a fun night!!

Here is an other shot of the stairs finally in the pool.   Looks very refreshing but,  it has turned cool here and even with that said brother and wife got in to 

50 degree water to position the stairs.  They have to be nuts !  But they wanted to get them in and try them out after working on the project for over a month.  Can't blame them but really   50 degrees?  Today the temp.  will not go above 65 during the day.  Guess the swimming days are over for a couple of month here.

Here  are those stairs that brother bought for his pool.  It has taken quit some time to re-vamp them to accomidate his  not so flat pool floor,  but with some great minds of thought  he and hubby came up with a solution of adding more foot lifts to adjust the hight difference and wal-la   stairs that work  for them!  These steps will be much easier to use than the  steps that came with the pool.
So  these are the pictures for today.  Guess I'm on my was to communicating with family.  YEA!!!!!

Another pass time is my art.  I have been doing mostly oil painting but came across this daring picture in a wedding invitation from Colorado and could not resist trying my had at  a pencil drwaing.  It didn't turn out to bad so I framed it and put it in my diningroom to decortate my bare walls.  Choosing pictures for my new walls is a long proccess for me to get ones that are just right.  Sometimes it takes years of hunting to get just the right one.  This one  seems to fit right into that spot.

Our first  week here there was a plant sale at the Ag. Extention  Field, so brother and I  went shoping for new additions to our gardens.  As you can see we got a wagon full.

NEW BLOG HOME!

Well, thanks to my daughter I have a new Blog home to keep in touch with friends and family.  Coming soon  news and pictures. :)

frustration of trying to post

pictures from the past

While cleaning out Grandmas belongings we came across this picture of  her grandmother.  This would be her mother(little girl in front row) and her mothers mother(older lady on right.)  Along with the husband  and  three brothers of grandmas mother.  This was the first picture we have seen of  my husbands great  grandparents.  How wonderful to have this treasure from the past.

Last Thanksgiving we had our last big dinner with  Grandma C.  She past on a month after this picture was taken.  How nice it was to have her all  these years.  Her stories from the past and the memories over our years with her.  Her life of 94 years  had lots of wisdom to share with us.  Her faith to the end  was inspiring as well.May we all live such a fun and fulfilling life.

brothers hat

While in Florida last winter  I gave  my brother his had he brought  back from Singapore  years ago that he had left in his mothers house for safe keeping  maybe 35 yrs ago.  He  tried it on but being so tall it really didn't look like the people from that country that are rather short.  He was glad we had saved it for him to enjoy so many years later .

Back after a longtime!

after a long time away I'm back to blogging once again.  Going to try to download a pic of grandaughter at her last dance review.  It's off to college in a few days from today.  All grown up and ready to take on  higher education!