Beginning to look...

...a lot like Christmas. Put the tree up all three feet of it. Only found a box with some old bulbs in it and another with some of my angles in it. Heaven knows where the rest of the decorations are - hope I didn't accidentally donate them when I was cleaning things out earlier in the year.
Well, if we ever have a big tree or I pass this on to my daughter the tree skirt I made will be big enough - there is a lot of it folded up behind the tree. I think it looks nice. Maybe I will see if I can find the other ornaments - it is just in order to get to the closet I have to move stuff then move it back. My spirit is waning now. Where is Dawn - she said we needed to start wrapping presents that Elosie brought from Miami then she disappeared - to the neighbors.

Survied

Another Thankgivings gone - they seem to be coming faster and faster now adays. Little Marisa wasn't worried about turkey she was fascinated with the tags on her blanket and kept chewing on them.
Left overs waiting for more people to stop by. Told everyone I was not cooking Friday and I didn't it was left overs or fix something on their own. It worked out fine for me. Discovered a wonderful thing I am going to remember for next year - no one goes to the post office on Friday after Thanksgiving. Went there to mail a package for my son and expected to be waiting in a long line - there was only one man mailing something and another clerk came out of the back to wait on me! Everyone at the post office just seemed to be kicking back and enjoying the slow day. The clerk said everyone was out shopping.
Cobie wasn't shy about wanting turkey. Steph is fixing him a plate. All in all it turned out better then I thought it would. I know you are suppose to get up early on Thanksgiving to cook but I slept in till eleven and still had time to roast the turkey - came out fall off the bones tender and moist in one of those bags you roast turkeys in - no basting. Fix all the side dishes - cheated with the pies bought thaw and eat. As I get older the easier it is the better - less worry.

Now Christmas - figured out a place to put our small tree. Had to move my small stereo but it fit on the shelf at the bar - thought it was going to be too big - only now I have to find an extension cord to plug it in because the plug won't reach. Dawn and I have all those Christmas presents that Steve's sister brought from Miami - still don't know what is in all those bags. The only thing I gave away was some jeans and a nice warm coat that no one could wear to the Faith House for Women - with this cold weather I thought they could use them.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - of course stores have had Christmas stuff out since October but I think I am getting into the spirit a little now.

Panda Sneeze

My daughter sent me this site and it is really cute - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8922875251875301807 - I copied and pasted into my address bar. Don't forget to turn you sound up so you will get the full impact of the video clip.

Saga of the Squirrels

Well it looks like I may have to stop feeding the squirrels - it is like I put a sign out for all the neighborhood cats - LUNCH. You can see one cat's eyes shinning right at the base of the tree. Oh well, I'll finish up this bag of corn and the poor little squirrels will have to forge for themselves.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. May we all be thankful for the many blessings we have.

Moocher -EEK!

If you look real close in the shadow of the tree you can see of little bit of white - that is Moocher waiting for a squirrel. Guess what I saw him run up the tree and almost catch one. I do believe he figered out it was a bit much for him to handle - see following picture.
Moocher decided that hanging around those old squirrels just wasn't his thing - he retreated with as much dignity as he could.

Squirrels

We are feeding the squirrels. I bought corn on the cob but couldn't find a feeder station so I wired some together so the squirrels wouldn't just carry them off.
I don't think they have the idea that those corn on the cob is food yet. They keep checking the corn out - I am sure once they get the idea it will be a free for all.
This is the feeder after a few days.
This is the feeder full.
This little fellow chased off the rest and is eating his fill. Some of the food falls to the ground and we have had a couple of blue jays find it. Now Moocher has found the tree. He thinks he is going to get a squirrel but I think the squirrel would win.

No Manatees

Steve and I took his sister and her grand daughter to the Manatee Viewing center. We didn't see any manatees - the water isn't cold enough for them to seek the warm water from the power plant.
Yes, it is me. Brandi was kind enough to take a picture of me to prove that yes I do go places sometimes. I took a picture of her and printed out when we got home so she could prove that she went somewhere too.
You can see the power plant in this picture. One of the few I got of Steve and guess what he is pointing at - fish! Great big fish. I think we saw jacks and some of the biggest sheep's head I had ever seen. Too bad they don't allow fishing. Steve was more excited about the fish and didn't mind missing the manatees. Us three girls left him out side while we went into the Manatee Museum which is new since the last time I was there. It was interesting with a life size manatee suspended over your head - it was big.
Thank goodness we all stayed on deck and didn't need the life preserver - though it was a close call with Steve wanting those fish so bad.

Sisters

Steve's sisters are here one came up from Miami with her daughter and the other came down from Leesburg with her grand daughter. Steve is haveing a lot of fun with them. They have all gone off to the mall right now. My legs are hurting too bad for the mall. They love to shop. Dawn drove one car while Steve took the rest in his truck. This picture is of Dawn, Brandi - Carolyn's grandaughter and Carolyn. Steve kept putting his hand in front of my camera when I was tring to get a picture of him and Carolyn.
My room has exploded. Elosie, Steve's older sister is a shopper, she buys a lot of things when they are reduced so she brought a lot of toys and clothes down with her. It is going to be up to Dawn and me to sort out what goes to who. We already found out that no one can wear the jeans she brought and a nice warm jacket so she told me to give them to the abuse shelter I was in or the Faith Home for Women - they can always use good clothes.

Guess I will get off the computer for now - seems blogger is in a bad mood today and it has taken me several tries to post.

Adventures in Babysitting

We had the pleasure of watching the two little ones the other day. It took a while for the baby to warm up to me but once I showed her that my glasses came off - she looked at those things - she warmed right up to me. Grandpa had fun playing peek a boo with her with her blanket. This is a picture of her favorite toe - she likes to suck on it.
This is Jasmine, she is four today, the 11th, and she just loves her baby sister. She is really careful around her. Jasmie for some reason is really good with me and Grandpa - she gives everyone else trouble. Maybe it is because we pay more attention to her.

Mini Vacation

My sister and I tried to stay up and sort through her crochet books. Her hands hurt when she crochets so she is giving it up. There were more to sort through but we just gave out. I still brought a lot home with me.
The pictures are out of order here. The picture of the lake should have been first. My sister lets her little doggie out on a long leash to take care of business - the sign says why.
My sister's art work. This is the first time she has painted and she is so talented she just took to it like a duck to water.
This is the picture of the lake behind her house that should be before the gator sign.
Here is my sis letting Cody out on her long rewinding leash.

I had some wonderful pictures of going with my sister to her art class but as I was trying to remove a picture of my shoe I deleted all the pictures. I could have just cried. Sis said we will have to do it again so I can get some more pictures.

We really enjoyed the couple of days and nights together. Think Steve was happy to see me go but also happy that I came back.

My sis and I went to a few thrift stores. I picked up a really nice basket lined with cloth for next to nothing - it will be great to keep in the living room to hold projects I have going. Also found a brand new cowboy hat for Dawn - she is seeing a cowboy who rides bulls at the moment and I thought she needed a cowboy hat too.

Snoring

Tried to leave TUFFENUF a comment but blogger doesn't seem to want me to make any more comments this morning.

The subject was sleeping and snoring - I am going to go buy me a little travel pillow and try to keep my mouth shut. Heaven knows I have tried every thing else. Well except duct tape - the all round fixer upper - to keep my mouth closed. I am a LOUD snorer - always have been. I start snoring if I just nod off for a minuet. No joke when I was in the hospital to have my son some twentyseven years ago the other two ladies in the room couldn't sleep because of my snoring!

I remember one time waiting for a doctor's appointment and nodding off - I woke myself up every time hearing my own snoring - people were looking at me but I was tired and sick and didn't care but they must have thought it strange because after a while gee no one was sitting around me.

I think I would sleep better too if I didn't snore. Oh well, I will try anything - except maybe the duct tape - not a good idea to have my mouth taped shut though lately I have been so cranky I bet the people around me wish they had some duct tape.

remember this project from last year? Xmas rolled around and it was set aside to work a little at a time on. It is for us to keep.

This is what it looks like at the moment. I had made a mistake in my tuning and it was getting smaller and smaller - which would be OK if you liked pointy afghans. I will try once more - maybe I will get it done this year but Xmas is coming fast and I want to get back on some projects I had started in the summer.

Rodeo

This is John waiting for his bull. The pictures are out of order I meant for the one below to come first but you get the idea - the youngesters had fun.

Dawn got to go to the rodeo with a new friend. She had a lot of fun. All I know in the picture is Dawn and her friend John next to her.

Tuesday

At last the big day - Steve got to go back to the doctor to see how things were doing in his arm. This time they took exrays and everything looked fine. By the time we got home he went to Cora, the therapy place to get the stack of papers they want you to fill out and I went in the opposite direction to get his prescription filled.

Steve had some stiches coming up through his skin. First the doctor's assistant tried to cut them off but didn't get any where. When the doctor came in he just took those tweezers grabbed hold of those stiches and pulled them up far enough to cut them off and the rest went back inside.

Steve's spirits are up as are mine now we begin over again but we are hoping for the best this time. Where ever this path leads us I guess we need to follow it.

I checked those papers over carefully and even asked the doctor if he was going to put Steve back to work - he laughed and said no - not yet.

As for me I have doctor's coming out of the wood work wanting me to go see them. I have COPA and when I went to the clinic for my sore throat they took exrays to see if I had pneumonia - well they saw something on the exrays and wanted me to come back in - it took some explaining to get through to them that I already had a pulmonary doctor and I had just seen him - all the time I was talking to her she was relaying what I was saying to some one else. We got it sorted out. The doctor I saw that day at the clinic was not my usual one. She knows what is going on with me.

La, de, da, de, da - that was suppose to be singing - I get to spend a few days with my sister next week. A mini vacation. She is going to pick me up and we are going to have lunch. Everyone has been telling me how good the new Chinese resturant is in Riverview and how cheap it is - buffet style so I am going to suggest that.