47 Years and Still Going Strong!

Today, we celebrate our 47th anniversary!!   And just where did those years go??  We figured that we have spent two-thirds of our life together!  Unbelievable!  We really knew very little about each other when we got married....had been friends for over a year but had only "dated" for a few weeks before we decided to get married.  I guess something must have been right because we seem to be getting along pretty darn well!!

I was all for a small wedding with little "fal-de-ral" but my mom was all for the big formal wedding...well, as big as weddings in a small midwest town get!  We chose December so Dick who was in the service could also be home for Christmas, too....always being practical!  He was stationed in Reno, Nevada and I went out there in the summer of 1963 to try to get a teaching job....that was not to happen, but I stayed..working as a salesgirl in a JC Penney's...so my mom literally made all the wedding plans which was quite alright with me!!!

And now, 47 years later, we are still very low key on celebrations!  We are planning on going out NEXT week when all the kids are back in school...take in a movie and dinner..would like to see "True Grit" and we have a coupon from Red, Hot and Blue for dinner!!  Still being practical!!!

I can honestly say I would not change a thing...we have had (and continue to have) a wonderful life...terrific kids, grandkids, family and friends.  We love our home...our "car" trips...our "hobbies"...  Life is Good!!!

Christmas Eve Eve

        Scottie dog made for Kathleen while she was in the hospital.

 And this is a Scottie dog made by Dick's Grandma Shirley about forty years ago.  Grandma Shirley lived to be almost 102.  She had five grandchildren...and she made four Scottie dogs for the four who were married and had children.  She also made a little kitty for each of the great grandchildren.  My daughter found a pattern of a Scottie Dog Quilt which also had the pattern for the little stuffed dog.  I plan to make one for all the grandkids' kids...like the one I made for Kathleen.  I might be able to get them done for NEXT Christmas if I  get started right now!!  They are actually pretty easy to make once the 2 1/2 inch squares are cut.   Grandma Shirley's Scottie may be "only" forty years old, but the fabric she used is much older than that! A true vintage puppy!

And this is the 23 of December....making tomorrow the 24th!  I have finished all my shopping..and have everything wrapped and under the tree.  We are decorated and ready!! Dick found an old electric train up in the attic that belonged to our girls and has it set up on the dining room table.  Thought the kids might get a kick out of it.

Tomorrow, I am cooking...the Christmas menu is set...so I will do all I can ahead of time so I can enjoy Christmas Day.  Yesterday, I went to the kids' house with the sugar cookie stuff...they usually come out here, but because of Kathleen's surgery, I took it all there.  Had a big time as usual...I think I enjoy it as much as they do.  Decorating sugar cookies is an old family tradition.  When my girls were little, they would sometimes invite one friend over to decorate with us.

I didn't get this finished yesterday, so will continue with it today.  We had a wonderful day with the kids.  Andrea spent the night...Marti and family came over about 11:00..we did stockings and then presents while dinner was cooking.  After eating we played a couple of games the kids had gotten for Christmas.  Much fun had by all!!  Then, before we knew it, it was evening and time for them to go home...football game to watch and dog to let out!

So..Merry Christmas from my house to yours!!  and have a great NEW YEAR...2011!

Christmas Open House

Several years ago, we started hosting a Christmas open house for the neighborhood. There are 12 homes in our area...10 of the occupants and their families always come.  We all bring a dish to share, cookies to trade, and sometimes have a cookie decorating activity for the kids.   The past four years, other neighbors have taken turns hosting the event.  We will probably have it next year...we thought about having it this year, but because we wanted to be available to help with whatever Kathleen and family needed, we let some one else have it.  Great fun had by all!!!

Okay, six days until Christmas....I think tomorrow I will begin to wrap presents.  My poor little Charlie Brown tree looks a little bare!!  Colin helped me decorate it last Sunday and he thinks I need more ornaments and a bigger tree.  I just downsized last year...a large tree was just getting too difficult to get up and down from the attic, plus I wanted a pre-lit tree.  Hanging the lights was the one thing I really didn't like to do!!

Our Christmas party at my guild was Friday...much fun!!  We don't have a speaker at the December meeting, just a BIG Show and Tell!!  There were 62 people with quilts/sewing projects to show and many had more than one!!  And of course everyone brings FOOD!!  That seems to be what the holidays are all about!  EATING!!

And I had a glucose tolerance test last Wednesday, so I am trying to be better about the sugar intake!!!  Boohoo for me!!  I LOVE sweets...and that is probably why I have a little bit of a problem.  Am anxious to hear the results.

The other little "chore" I am going to work on this evening is addressing the Christmas cards I got last year to send out this year!!  And the needlepoint stocking I am making of a nephew's new baby is going to be a little late for Christmas, but since she isn't even one yet, maybe she won't miss it!!!

One of my New Year Resolutions is to become better prepared for Christmas next year!  Hmmm...after 65 years of NOT being very ready...do you think that can change!!!!  Well, being the eternal optimist, I am going to say "YES"!

I am watchin "60 MINUTES"...they are doing an episode on MEMORY...people who can remember everything!!!  Very interesting...I would love to have a memory like that....mine is very shakey!!

Update

Kathleen got home from the hospital yesterday...she is such a trooper! She is still pretty sore, needing to learn how to reuse some muscles, getting used to her new "shape", but every day she will be stronger and get to feeling more secure.

Last night, Colin had a band concert....he is a tuba player.  Auntie Andrea came all the way over from her house which is about 75 miles away to stay with Kathleen so all the parents and grandparents could go to his first concert.  I think we have such a great family...all pitching in together in a crisis be it little or big!  And I include the extended family also...we have become very good friends with the "in-laws".

And the concert was stellar!  It is just amazing how the directors can get so much out of these kids in band...to think that four months ago the beginner band kids had never played their instrument of choice before and now they are actually making real music.  These are seventh graders for the most part.  And the school has a jazz band that was really good..cannot believe they are just 13/14 years old!

We kept the kids' dog while the hospital event was going on so they wouldn't have to be concerned about her care.  Saturday, Colin came out to spend the weekend with us.  This doggie, who is an indoor dog, has the run of our yard and sleeps in Dick's shop at night.  When Colin was here, Sadie (the dog) was so excited to see him...when he put her in the shop later Sunday when he was tired of playing with her, she just howled!!!  She NEVER does that with just us here.  Then we took him home Sunday evening; when we let her out, she ran all over looking for him...once she was satisfied he was gone, she was OK.  Then today, the kids' mom came out to get her and take her home....she was just a mess...yipping and wagging...you would think we were abusing her!!  Just shows how crazy she is about her "family" and it is mutual!!!

Fifteen Days to Christmas

First the really good news!  Kathleen's surgery went very well.  She will still be in the hospital for several more days at it was pretty extensive and healing time will take quite awhile.  Her hospital stay may be from five to seven days..so that will get her home in plenty of time for Christmas.  We are going to go visit her tomorrow then bring Colin home with us to spend the rest of the weekend.

I do have a complaint about user manuals.  The computer "people" assume that anyone who has a computer has a working knowledge of the instrument...well, I know a little but certainly not enough to figure out a new (for me) system!!  The manual for my new computer is very vague!!!   I still haven't figured out several things and I am a big chicken when it comes to just punching buttons!!!  I am used to Windows which will ask you at every move "are you sure you want to do ???????"  But I am not sure that Apple will warn me like that!

The temperature today was nearly 70!! A little crazy for mid December!  But tomorrow it is to be COLD!!!  I don't think we will have a white Christmas...we may be heading for a drought time...we had such a great couple of years, but about every three/four years we have  a drought!

I am working on my kaleidoscope quilt.....I really like the way it is turning out...I have added another section...then after getting it on, have decided to add another section..it may get very large!!!

"Modern Family" is on right now....what a laugh!!  So...have to close.

Pearl Harbor Day

This is the day when America was forced into WWII...and my grandmother's birthday.  My dad served in the Army.  He drafted when he was 30plus with two little girls..he could have gotten a deferment but felt an obligation to serve.  I don't remember his leaving..I was two when he left and he came home right around the time I turned five.  He was probably home on leave before he was shipped overseas...the European campaign...but I don't remember that either.  I do remember when he came home...my mom borrowed my grandma's car (we didn't have a car while he was gone; we walked everywhere and milk and groceries were delivered back then) and drove to St. Louis to get him.  When he came home, he was in uniform; we lived just two houses down from where my big sister was in school...second grade.  Daddy lifted me up on his shoulders and we walked down to get Judy at school.  The kids were all out for recess and started shouting.."your dad is home!" We walked up the stairs of the school to go tell her teacher that we were taking Judy home early.

My memory from that date on is very vague until I was starting first grade a year later.  I know we still lived in a small, one bedroom apartment for that time period; I think Judy and I slept on a pull out couch in the living room.  So I think I blocked out that time because this strange man had displaced me...mom, Judy and I had all slept together in the bedroom before then!

I do remember a trip to St. Louis...that was the largest city near our little town in Illinois...and I remember riding the escalator...the magic stairway!  Escalators were very new then...a friend of my mom's gave me a  book entitled "The Magic Stairway" which is about a department store with an escalator...I still have it...a real antique now as it would be nearly 65 years old!!!

Tomorrow is Kathleen's surgery...hard to think of anything else for now.  We are all on schedule for getting Colin where he needs to be...school, home, swim practice.

I am loving the new computer but have a lot to learn...nothing like windows at all!!!  I have downloaded some pictures, but haven't figured out how to post them here.  Will need a little daughter tutorial on that process, I think!!

New Computer!!

Santa came early for me this year... I have an Apple laptop which I think I am really going to like!!  It will take me an age to figure it all out, but so far so good.  I have heard Mac's are really good for graphics etc and that is what I like to work with mostly so we will see what fantastic things I can come up with...right now just trying to get the basics down.

My daughter, Andrea has a Mac so I am hoping for some very good tutoring from her! (I can hear her groaning already over that!)

We finally are having some cold weather!  But it is sunny so doesn't feel so bad...we are keeping our grands' dog while they are "off schedule" with Kathleen's surgery and she doesn't even want to get out!

I am going to try to get some pictures downloaded in the next couple of days so I can get some posted on here.  I have been working on a couple of things for my Guild and for grandkids, nieces, etc. that I need to photograph.

Is Christmas really this month???

Well, here we are...five days into December and this is my first blog of the month!  I do have a couple of excuses...we are down to one computer as the Dell with the tower went blue screen and died!  And the laptop which I use, had a virus....we now have everything on this one cleaned up and am looking for a new one for Christmas so we will be back to two.  Amazing how quickly we got used to having two around to use whenever!!

And we have had a couple of social engagements...it was our turn to host poker last week.  Had a great time with our buds; I lost pathetically but fortunately I don't play to make money just to have a  fun time which we always do...a bunch of ol' dudes like us just sitting around getting really silly and laughing our hinies off!!!

Then we also had a Christmas open house Saturday night...that would be last night.  This is couple who really decorate their house...it is a true Winter Wonderland and we always enjoy going to see everyone and eat their delicious food.  And speaking of decorating...I guess it is time to put my Thanksgiving things away and get out Christmas stuff....and perhaps do a little Christmas Shopping???!

Wednesday of this week, my darling granddaughter is going into Scottish Rite for her back surgery.  She was diagnosed with scoliosis and worn a brace since she was seven years old.  Now that she is 16 and considered "mature", they are having the surgery done to straighten her spine.  She has a double curvature which was not going to go away without the surgery.  She is such a strong spirit..I call her my little hero...and she is surrounded with so much love and encouragement from family and friends that I know she will get through it all with flying colors!!

Scottish Rite is a remarkable hospital...they are the experts in children with osteopathic concerns so we feel very fortunate to be living in one of the three areas where they are located in the United States.  They are one of the most worthwhile non-profit organizations I know of.