More Christmas Present

A gift from my mother and father. I get lots of Santas as I collect them and have well over 150 at this point. Some are antiques and family heirlooms, some were found at yard sales, most were gifts from family and friends. Jen is going to take pictures of many of them in the future.

Christmas Present

A present to me from sister Nancy.

The hit of the family gathering last night at sister Nancy's - a pony tire swing to go in Nanny's yard for all the kids to play on.

My fiber-optic Christmas tree which is the only "safe" tree with 5 cats (3 of them just 6 months old now) in the house.

Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Past

Three little girls in the late 1950's. I am the older blonde on the left. Sister Nancy is the little blonde on the right. Sister Beth is at the bottom. And of course, the real Santa Claus is holding us.

Oh my aching back! Oh, the pretty lights!

DH and I restrung the lights on the back porch today. The temperature had moderated into the 50's (he denies it, though) so we did not freeze during the process. I rigged a telescoping light hanging pole from a duster handle that cut down considerably on the need for ladders and stretching precariously. However, the unaccustomed angle and precision required is already taking a toll on my arms, neck, and shoulders ... and my lower back is protesting, too. But the porch looks really nice! We have three strings of lantern lights with flicker bulbs and a long string of icicle lights that go along the porch roof and then strung a LONG string of colored mini-lights that goes all the way around. I tried to take pictures but was too lazy to get the tripod out and the pics are all fuzzy.

We were going to put more lights on the front porch where we already have LED icicles and colored lights but discovered the plugs on the motion lights we were going to use don't fit inside the light covers. We will have to come up with some short extension cords or something similar. From our slight height elevation I can look out over the town and see many decorated houses. I want to go out light-seeing and take photos too. In the meantime, I have played with wiggling my camera at my own lights. (Hey, why not take advantage of not being able to hold the camera still!)

Another Frosty Morning

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at Jen's on Thanksgiving Day. She and her husband have hosted Thanksgiving for several years now and we all enjoy it immensely as they do practically all of the cooking and then send leftovers home with us. We had 4 kinds of pumpkin pie - traditional, applesauce-pumpkin, layered pumpkin cream, and my sister Beth's sweet potato pie (which I counted as one of the pumpkin). The food was fabulous. The companionship and laughter were wonderful.

I have to go grocery shopping again today. Yesterday I avoided the Black Friday shopping (terrible what happened in New York) by not going out until the afternoon and then only went to one grocery store and the dollar store next to it. No crowds, no rush, but awful "modernized" Christmas music playing both places. What have they done to my carols and classics? (Getting old and crochety here.) Today I have to hit the larger store for the things I did not find in the smaller grocery and I need pet food - again, still, for ever. I have been working on photo Christmas crafts and need some supplies for those, too.

Myste is going outside on her own without a lift but I go with her everytime. She cannot do steps and there are two places she could find herself trapped in our yard. One is alongside the house from the back to the front. This is a very tempting place for her as DH comes home the front way. If I put her out the back and she even thinks he may be coming home several hours early she manages to go down the two steps but then cannot get back up and sits at the bottom and barks and barks until I come with the belly lift and help her back up to porch level. The other steps are next to the garage and at least there are grassy ways around them but I watch carefully and try to keep her from attempting those steps also.

Happy Thanksgiving

It is bright, crisp, and cold this morning and there has been a water main break in town. We have very low pressure right now but at least we do have some water. It always seems to happen - cold weather on a weekend or holiday often means a water break. The poor guys were supposed to have today and tomorrow off ... now they have to work in the wet and the cold. I am thankful for them being there as well as all the other things I have to be thankful for. This year that includes so much.

Thank you, Lord.

Happy Bodacious Bonza Bottler Day

Many, many years ago I gave a program for our church's woman's group that included a listing of special days of the year including famous birthdays, etc. In my research for special days I found Bonza Bottler Day. My family has "celebrated" this invented holiday sporadically ever since then.

Bonza Bottler Day occurs every month when the day of the month and the number of the month match. When the number of the year matches also it is a Bodacious Bonza Bottler Day. So today, August 8, 2008, is a Bodacious Bonza Bottler Day.

I called my sister at work this morning and sang her the celebratory song -- Its Bonza Bottler Day! Its Bonza Bottler Day! I just called to say - Its Bonza Bottler Day! (sung to the tune of Howdy Doody). My niece Jen called me at work and wished me Happy Bonza Bottler Day and I got to sing the song to her also.

There is even an official website for this holiday - www.bonzabottlerday.com.

So, to all of you, I send this greeting. Happy Bodacious Bonza Bottler Day!