Outside Lights

 

It was a really beautiful Thanksgiving Saturday, so Mike and James took the opportunity to put up the Christmas lights. They decorated the big tree next to the front door. They used a rake to push the lights up as high as possible.  I put out some candy canes and other decorations. It looks very festive and cute!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at John and Nor's house. I gave John Joseph the giraffe I made for him, and he loved it. He said, "I never had anything like this!" He is so cute and such a nice kid. He's 6 now.
Somehow, I forgot my camera so I have no pictures. It's all the same thing every year, anyway. Candid shots of the kids watching TV or playing with J.J. or helping set the table. Shots of people eating or cooking.
Pictures of Christmas, I promise!

What's New

I am not very good about keeping up with this blog. What is new is this:

I went for my second set of  'trigger point' shots which are supposed to help my back. I had five of them! Dr. L says the muscle where I have pain is smaller and weaker than the other side. I believe it.

Good news! I am up to 14.5 pounds of weight loss! Hopefully I won't gain much over the weekend, since Noreen and family put on a great Thanksgiving spread--which happens tomorrow.

I gave Dr. A a bootie and hat set for the baby. She just loved it. The hat was lavender with a white flower on the side and braided ties, with matching lavender booties with braided drawstrings. It was a lot of fun to make, but now I have to concentrate on Christmas projects.

Michael comes over every Sunday, but recently he went shooting with Mike and Jamie. Mike is very happy to find out the old WWII-era rifle he has from his father is worth over a thousand dollars! They had a good time shooting, although they weren't fully aware of the rules when they got in. It was a cease-fire and the guy got mad because they were opening their cases. They weren't going to shoot, of course! But I supposed safety is such an issue they don't even what you to THINK about your guns.
They've never done this before and it must have been a great father-sons moment. I wish Nicky could have gone. But I'm very glad about Jamie, who doesn't get out as much as I wish he would.

On another Sunday, I taught Michael how to play cribbage, which is one of my favorite card games. Michael picked it up very readily and won the game.

Jamie's news is that his big lawsuit check came in. He put it in the bank until he can decide what to do with it. I wish he and Katherine and Erick could get together on a home!

Katherine's wedding gown is hanging on the back of my office door. I told her to check with Davis Bridal because I'm afraid that hanging it for a year will make it stretch out of shape. Nothing at all else is ready regarding this wedding, but we've got the gown!

Nicky got a group of his friends together to 'finish off' cleaning the downstairs. They went out and bought a futon, so now he has a nice little gaming area. I like it when they come here to play their video games. I especially like that they no longer 'take over' our upstairs TV!

Mike went to jail today. Ha, ha, just kidding. His insurance company is one of the ones involved in the building of a new jail out in Yaphank. He visits once a month to check on their progress.

We went to a cousin's child's wedding last week. I didn't think I'd enjoy myself, but I actually did. Except that you can't hear when the band is playing! I haven't seen the groom since he was a baby. Danny is about Michael's age. His bride was adorable.

I'm sure there is more news but this is getting too long!

Cribbage

Michael came today, as usual, for Sunday dinner. We sometimes play Scrabble or Jeopardy on the Wii. Today, we played Cribbage. It was fun teaching him something new. It's possible we played it years ago when he was a kid, but he had forgotten it all. Despite me being the teacher and him the student, he won! I'm glad to have a Cribbage partner, as it is a favorite game and no one else I know plays it.

Mike's brother John gave him a HUGE container of big, fat cashew nuts. I put two quarts' worth in the freezer and vacuum-sealed four more quart jars of them. I have put some aside to send to my mother and have two ready-to-use jars, too. I'm going to have to come up with a cookie recipe or two to use some of these! It was a nice surprise, and I read today that  people who eat nuts five times a week tend to live longer. 

Whoopie

When I went to Ohio last month, the one thing I knew I had to bring home was Whoopie Pies. It's all Katherine wanted, and I did find them at a little Amish store.

My mother called me tonight to tell me my Aunt Mary (that would be Katherine's great aunt) found a whoopie pie pan in a catalog and bought it for her. It's coming in the mail this week.

The conversation went like this:

"Sorry I missed your call, I was at work last night."

"Well, the main reason I called is to tell you Mary bought Katherine a whoopie pan."

Me, thinking of a whoopie cushion: "a what?????" (Why in the heck would my daughter need a whoopie cushion? Is this some kind of weird mid-western wedding tradition?)

Mom: "A whoopie pan! You know, those things Katherine wanted!"

Me: "OH! You mean a pan to make Whoopie Pies!"

Mom: "Yes!"

And we're both cracking up. My aunt got all excited when she saw it in the catalog and ordered one. I'm not going to tell Katherine about it so it's a fun surprise when she opens it.

At least it isn't a whoopie cushion...