Happy, safe, New Year to everyone!

Raise your hand if…you have de-Christmased your house.  Sadly, I have, but in my defense, my husband has today off from work and I can’t get the tree outside without his help, so, out it went.  I’ll miss that heavenly scent, for sure. I still have the Nativity set up, though; can’t quite put that away yet. 

I am guilty of not quieting myself down and focusing on what this season is all about, so maybe seeing the manger will help me do so. 

I am truly envious of those of you who are able to center yourselves, remove yourselves from the everyday noise and chatter, and go inward to connect with God.  It is something that I have begun craving more and more lately.  Perhaps it’s my age, perhaps it’s the times we’re in…whatever it is, I intend to work at it until it’s my reality.

I love reading Mountain Woman’s blog entitled Red Pine Mountain. She is so inspiring and one of her latest posts started me thinking about actually taking action towards a deeper connection to God.  Do I ever have work to do, though. 

I hope that everyone is staying warm and safe.  Onward….

Merry Christmas to everyone.  May your day be filled with family, love, warm memories, laughter, hugs, joy and peace. 

Three days before Christmas and what was I doing? I can tell you what I wasn't doing..I wasn't doing my grocery shopping, wrapping any of the 4,137 gifts and I wasn't baking any of the treats that I wait all year for! No sirree Bob.

Rather than tell you, I'll show you...


My close friend Nina has this wonderfully talented husband, Tom, who likes to build furniture for a hobby. He built me this beautiful bookcase, distressed it, then painted and stained it for me. It came to live here last week after we got the new carpet installed and has been sitting there, empty, all this time. Well....



...it isn't empty anymore!



And that's what I was doing today, three days before Christmas!


Anyone feel like helping me wrap presents?

Hi Ho, Hi Ho…it’s off to finishmyshoppingbeforeChristmasactuallyarrives I go!  Wish me luck…I’m braving not only the elements but the other crazy people like me. 

Raise your hand if…you JUST finished all of your Christmas cards, just this minute!!  Yippee!!  Wanted to get a jump on it you know.  (I know, I know…Christmas is only a few days away…whatever!)

And so we begin our TWO WEEK Christmas vacation from work and school. Thank You God.

T.
G.
I.
F.

Raise your hand if... you ran out of lights for the Christmas tree with only about THREE FEET LEFT TO GO!!! If I didn't have an obsession about getting it "perfect", then I'd leave it til tomorrow...hi ho, hi ho, it's off to the drugstore I go.

Miscellaneous Photos

Snow day today! There's something so special about the first snow day of the winter...and about watching my daughters (not me, thankfully) digging the cars out of the snow.


I got pretty productive a couple of weekends ago and made a batch of blueberry jam and a batch of triple-berry jam. Talk about a sweet-smelling kitchen that day!



I wanted to share a few photos from Thanksgiving with you which I couldn't do before since our computer was hospitalized.

Here's Mom, making and tasting the gravy. It doesn't matter how much of a "grown up" I am, I still need Mom doing her thing close by.








Here's Bob and I, celebrating our 31st Thanksgiving together. Sheesh...that long??






"Ok everyone, group photo!" It's amazing how we all fit into our ridiculously small cozy dining room, isn't it? Our son and his family came later for dessert and we all managed to squeeze in.




And lastly for now, here are the three girls, four if you count the dog, hanging out with each other on this greatly appreciated snow day. Hope you're having a good day wherever you are. :)

Raise your hand if... your brother celebrated his 60th birthday surrounded by family, friends and love this past weekend!

In this photo is the birthday boy, my brother Kenn, who just turned SIXTY! I know, I know...he doesNOT look it, damn him. There's my mom (she'll be 89 in March), me flapping my lips, and my younger sister Karen. This photo helps me remember who I was long before I was a wife or mother...these are my roots. And I'm pretty sure that if I look real closely, I can see my father's loving smile shining down on all four of us. :)


And this photo helps me remember who I am now...Nona to Mackenzie Marie!





I love this one of my mom and my brother, her firstborn.

It was one of those times that you look around at everyone there and realize that the room is filled with love, and life is good.

Allelulia!

Hi there. Just checking in to say hi and that the computer arrived home safely, although it did not arrive home unscathed. The viruses managed to wipe out, among other things, all of my "favorites" that I have been saving over the years! Damn viruses. They did not get my photos or Word documents, though, which I'm very grateful for. I've installed Norton Security 2010 and hopefully, it will do its job!

I hope everyone has a nice Friday tomorrow...peaceful and uneventful, just the way we like them.

Oh by the way, was I supposed to have started shopping yet? Just wonderin'! :)

Hi there. Our poor computer came down with a virus, more like 159 viruses, and has been trying to recuperate at the computer clinic since last week! As much as I like not having it occupying my time, I do miss visiting with you all, so I snagged the laptop of daughter #2 and here I am!

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was peaceful, relaxing and spent with those you love. Ours was...family, no hurrying, good food, music, and much love. It was just what it was supposed to be, not to mention the desserts!

I have a wonderful potpourri simmering on the stove right now and thought I'd share the "recipe". Take the peel of one to two oranges (I'm using the peel of 3 or 4 clementines), three to four cinnamon sticks, and about 12 whole cloves and put them in a small saucepan. Add about two to two and a half cups of water and simmer gently. The smell is heavenly...but DON'T forget to turn it off when you go out!

Ok, I'm off to read my latest Country Sampler magazine and dream. :) Hope to be back online soon with photos of the alpaca farm my husband brought me to this past weekend as a surprise!

TaDa...Pumpkin Trifle...courtesy of a recipe from my good friend ConE (pronounced Kon EE).









She wrote/illustrated this adorable little trifle cookbook which everyone at school is buying! :)

ConE's always bringing in delicious concoctions to share, so we finally convinced her to put some recipes together in one place. Voila...a trifle cookbook with a recipe for each month of the year! She also did a caricature of herself which can be found throughout the entire book. She's doing labels for my jam jars, too, which I can't wait to see. :)

Speaking of my jam jars, I'm hoping to spend time this weekend making two batches of jam--blueberry and triple berry. I personally love homemade jam, so some will be for here, some will be for gifts, and some will be for sale to the teachers at school. I did that last year at this time; I'm working on making it a Thanksgiving Weekend tradition.

How about you? Do you have any traditions for after Thanksgiving?

OkeeDokee. Time to get moving again. Happy Day tomorrow. :)

I hope every one of you is able to spend time with the people you love the most, re-connecting, laughing, eating, playing and most of all, loving.  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. :)

And now…LET THE DESSERT-BAKING BEGIN!

 

 

Hi friends. I have been so negligent with blogging lately and I feel guilty about it, but work has been so mentally draining. Case in point, four different boys that are in my classes were suspended this week; three of them for sexual harassment and that in itself drains the heck out of me. It takes a lot out of me dealing with these kids who just do NOT belong in a regular classroom, but are there anyway.

I've been daydreaming about living a different life, too; one where alpacas and chickens play a big part, as does making homemade jellies and soaps, writing a book and being able to live off of that income. Talk about a really different life!

I hope everyone is contented and happy.

This little granddaughter of mine just fills my heart...can you see the twinkle in her eyes?!

Raise your hand if...your husband got out of his jammies and into his real clothes at 6:45 the other morning in order to grab these cute little treasures out of someone's trash!!











Both pieces are in need of some serious TLC, but they are quite cute! The table has a metal top and a glass drawer pull. Any ideas on colors, finishes, etc? I'm open to anything. :)



Last year, our son designed and built this cupola for his barn using four salvaged windows, as well as a salvaged chandelier. I tell you, when that thing lights up, you could land planes it's so bright! So when we heard that there was a little cupola being thrown away, Bob got right on it. (Ok, let's be honest...he needed a little prodding as it was only 6:45 a.m., but off he went.)



On a separate note, did you ever see a truck so orange?!? Bob bought this crazy plow truck from an "old-timer" in the hilltowns to use strictly for plowing us out. There is a brighter-than-bright orange revolving light on top, as well as a "deer light" mounted on the door. Actually, it used to be a town truck in its prior life.

Gee, I wonder why this yard feels so crowded all the time?

A 100-calorie pack of Twinkies and a small glass of cold milk. Contentment. :)

PS-I'm down eight pounds from being hypnotized and haven't had to give any favorite foods up, just eating differently.

Yes, indeed.

Hi there. Not a great day at school today. I was the teacher for one of my 8th grade classes and at one point, I could feel myself snap just a tiny bit...no yelling, no anger, just a tiny little snap inside my head. I had had enough of the disrespect, the rudeness, the sexual harassment between students. I made it through the class and ended up "writing up" one particular student.

I was blessed that my husband just sat and listened to me when he came home, he didn't try to fix it, he just listened and hugged me, which is precisely what I needed! :)

Right now the dishes are done, the laundry is in the dryer, supper is put away, I've played a board game with the girls, a hot shower awaits, the healing rain is falling steadily, and my family is close by. Home sweet home.

Raise your hand if...one of your babies turned 22 years old today.

♥Happy Birthday to our Chelsea♥

Just for today...I will try to smile, no matter what.
Outside my window...darkness is settling around us.
I am thinking...about a small, satisfying meal.
I am thankful for...a family day spent celebrating Chelsea's birthday.
Something I liked this past week was...playing backgammon with Bob.
From the kitchen...quiet.
I am wearing...black shorts, black/white striped top, warm slippers.
I am creating...a better "frame of mind", hopefully.
I am reading...nothing right now; not good!
I am hoping...to continue to lose weight.
I am hearing...a Tina Turner impersonator on TV.
Around the house...my three girls hanging out together.
One of my favorite things...seeing my Mom looking as wonderful as she does.
A few plans for the rest of the week...a primitive crafts home-party Wednesday.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

I love birthdays!

Hi there and a happy Saturday afternoon to you. And may I say I am mighty glad it's a weekend. :)

Been feeling very blah and uncreative this past week, so I stayed away from posting. Today is much better, as it started with my sweetie of a granddaughter and her daddy coming by...he's putting the leaf box on his landscaping truck and she's hanging out with us girls. She was going to come to the mall with me, but her aunties won out and they all hung around playing Wii. She's presently winning at Slap Jack and darn proud of it!



So, we have this gorgeous maple tree out front (a Japanese maple maybe?) and when it turns red in the Fall, it is amazingly brilliant. I tried to catch its brilliance with my camera, but it doesn't do it justice. Here's a shot of it anyway.



We're celebrating Chelsea's 22nd birthday tomorrow, so I should stop lollygagging and get this house in order. Have a fun Halloween!

TGIF..."to infinity and beyond", as Buzz Lightyear would say.

Last Sunday we were experiencing a snow squall; today, I found this little blossom on the back porch.  Ah, New England weather, if you don’t like it, just wait a minute.

 

A glorious burst of Autumn color.

This is our fountain which honors all of the people we love that have passed on.  Sadly, we added another person this summer, our beloved friend Tommy. ..but in the true sense of loving someone, he will never leave our hearts.  It’s time to tuck it safely away for another winter.

Onward.

Raise your hand if...you're taking a personal day tomorrow so that you can have some mental health AND so that you can get yourself beautified in time to go to a wedding at 4:00 p.m.! Cool! Me too! :) I guess that makes today our Friday!

So I was "the teacher" again today. Twice a month, I cover for one of the 8th grade teachers I work with as she's the school's literacy coach; on those two days, she coaches the other teachers. Well, she's had a rough time personally this year and last, so I find myself being the teacher more often than twice a month.

These kids are, well, hmm, let me see....hellacious. I don't even like half of them, which is not typical for me. I can usually find something endearing about 99% of the students I work with, which isn't always easy. But this crew...not so much. I spend way too much time disciplining them and not enough time teaching them. The office is fed up with most of them, too, so it's not worth sending them there. It's the worse 55 minutes of my day. Hence...my need for chocolate tonight. :) Aaah, well, could always be worse.

I hope you're all comfy and snuggled in for the night. Have a good Friday. :)

Nice Autumn weather here in New England today...chilly, grayish, splashes of color everywhere--good day for a small bonfire.

This afternoon, my crazy husband and my crazy son decided that they should have a tractor pull of their very own. My reaction was "Huh? A what? Are you two nuts?!" Evidently they are. I took a video of it, but here are some after-pictures of the two nutcases.




















And here's our little pooch, Lucy, wondering what on Earth her humans are doing.

Raise your hand if... 9:00 p.m. on a Friday night used to find you thinking, "What should I wear?" Now it finds you thinking "Is it too early to go to bed?" Once upon a time, it was when the short weekend was just starting. Now it's when the long week is just finishing.

:D

Hi there. Yay for Friday Eve!

The temperature here is hovering between 29 and 30 degrees with icy rain sprinkling down outside, clicking against the windows. I am toasty warm inside, planning on a nice, hot shower soon...I love Fall. :)

Well, last weekend was truly wonderful for the two of us. We heard the loons calling and watched them dive, watched the Canadian geese fly overhead, had coffee on the dock in the early morning, saw more stars than seems possible, caught a trout and a perch, filmed a snow squall, walked in the (chilly) sun, visited with our friends who are old-time Vermonters and ended up with homemade crabapple jam and a quart of their maple syrup. I even let Bob play with my camera for awhile and he did quite well!

The photos tell the story better than my words can, so sit a spell and enjoy. :)





On the highway heading north.










I think this is the smallest library in the country...t's the size of a small bedroom, for heaven's sakes!





































A typical back road "speed bump"...we had to wait a bit for him and his tractor to finish up.






A one-room schoolhouse from around 1799.










This is one of Bob's favorite views, looking toward Mt. Mansfield and Stowe.







This is my favorite view, heading down into the village with a peek at the lake.







Snow on the distant peaks as we headed for home.

Hi there! We're (reluctantly) back to reality after our wonderful Vermont weekend. I don't have much time to sit right now, but I'll share a photo or two with you.





The dirt road on one of our country rides.








These "girls" all came running to the fence when we stopped. Talk about a noisy bunch!







We had our coffee on the dock one morning...talk about serenity. It was sure cold, though; we had a snow squall Sunday evening!