One year ago today...

...the driveway broke my ankle*.


Today, we break the driveway looking for a water pipe leak.

Some kind of crazy justice? Fate's expensive joke? sigh...

(*Actually it broke when I stumbled but I was walking on the driveway!)

Thinking About Thanksgiving

As I mentioned in my last post, I need to think about Thanksgiving. It will be a busy time for me as my Mother will be here for 2 weeks. That's in addition to having my Mother-in-law, and of course, my daughter. So I think this will be the last post until December.

A friend did a meme about Thanksgiving and it seems appropriate for here since I have nothing to mention regarding knitting.

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving is as special as our's will be.

1. Which do you like better: Cooking at your house, or going elsewhere?
While I prefer cooking at my house, visiting family/friends is good also.

2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen bird?
Typically frozen turkey breast. Any other part is wasted in our house.

3. What kind of stuffing?
I'm from the south. Cornbread dressing with loads of sage. ;)

4. Sweet potato or pumpkin pie?
Normally neither. We always do a sweet potato dish that doesn't include crust. However, my daughter has discovered a love of pumpkin pies so I am making one. My Mother, however, wants sweet potato pie and she can taste the difference in the two. I'll probably buy one since I have never made one before - or Mom has to coach me. :)

5. Do you believe that turkey leftovers are a curse, or the point of the whole thing?
That's the point!! After all that work, there should be something left to show for it. haha

6. Which side dish would provoke a riot if you left it off the menu?
Green beans. I have no idea why that is a tradition for my husband's family but he makes a point of mentioning it if I forget to do them. And deviled eggs. That's a must have for him too.

7. Do you save the carcass to make soup or stock?
I don't buy the whole turkey so no carcass.

8. What do you wish you had that would make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier?
Talent for cooking! That would make it much easier. I mean, I'm a fine cook but I have no "sixth sense" for it. Luckily I have a husband who does and can "fix" anything I mess up. :)

9. Do you get up at the crack of dawn to have dinner ready in the early afternoon, or do you eat at your normal dinner hour?
I do not like "crack of dawn" for anything! But I do if I have to. Normally I try to get some of the work started the night before. But I do like having dinner ready early afternoon that way there's plenty of time for a 2nd helping before bed.

10. If you go to somebody else's house, what's your favorite dish to bring?
In the past, I have made cheese cakes to take to friend's house in California. I know, not traditional. But we're the folks who have been known to BBQ ribs for Thanksgiving so our tradition changes year-to-year. haha

11. What do you wish one of your guests wouldn't bring to your house?
That darn green bean casserole. It's been overdone IMO.

12. Does your usual mix of guests result in drama, or is it a group you're happy to see?
When either my or my husband's family gets together, there drama of some sort. Sad really. But this year, it should be Mothers only. Small and intimate gathering of elderly where the worse problem should be lack of hearing aids. haha

13. What's your absolute favorite thing on the menu?
Pecan pie! I don't care if we're having sweet potato and pumpkin....I want pecan pie!! And I'm the chief cook....so there.

14. What are you thankful for this year?
This year, I will count all my blessings from 2009 - looking on the bright side and not necessarily in order...

• Husband and daughter top my list of blessings always.
  
• No surgery was needed for my broken ankle
• Our house survived the April wildfire
• Mother-in-law is healthier now that she is in assisted living
• I met the deadline for my next publication
• We've reconnected with extended family now that we live closer
• My Mother is coming to stay with us for two weeks during Thanksgiving
• Many things I haven't thought of yet.
  

I am especially grateful to all the men and women who serve our Country. They have been on my mind a great deal with the news of Ft Hood shootings. Being a veteran, I know how stressful it is to serve overseas but that was during peace times. I can't imagine the stress of serving during war/conflict. Thank you.

Norman Rockwell

When life gives you lemons...

I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade. And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party

Ron White

Here's my lemon...

Anyone out there got vodka?

Stay tuned.

Sharing

I dunno about you all but I needed the laugh that showed up in my email today. So I'm sharing with you. (And it's all I have to blog about that would be remotely interesting to anyone.)






No time for knitting or much of anything else as I am the primary care-giver to my elderly MIL right now. She isn't doing well and has to live with us...at least for now. Please send patience and good thoughts my way. Thanks!

E.V.I.L.?

How evil am I? Here's a little blog thing I saw on Isela's blog and Denise's blog.

It would appear I'm not as evil as my daughter thinks I am. And what is the "C" word anyway? I know what the "F" word is but "C"???

You Are 20% Evil

You are good. So good, that you make evil people squirm. Just remember, you may need to turn to the dark side to get what you want!

How Evil Are You?

Wordless Wednesday

Looking forward to getting....

Release date is next week. Even though I thought the movie could have been better(read the book!), I am looking forward to seeing it a second time.

Plus the anxiety of getting hubby off on his trip while I stay behind (medical appointments) make the smallest of pleasures even more pleasurable.

Now where did I hide put the chocolate?

Remembering Veteran's Day

Thank you to men and women serving in the Armed Forces everywhere.

The below picture is of me about 30 years ago.



I was stationed in the Philippines where the weather is either hot, or hot and wet. Hence my excuse for the tight braids in my hair. The big glasses? Well, they were stylish - I suppose "geek" was "in" then (lol)

Talkative Thursday

I missed posting this photo yesterday for Wordless Wednesday. So let's call this entry "Talkative Thursday" and I'll tell you what the photo is.



Is it a UFO? hehe Nope. This was our view of last week's full moon. It was red from the haze of smoke generated by the fires in Southern California. Strange site.

Not so strange is the horrible quality of air we're left with. Between the Santa Ana winds and the smoke, we're all sneezing and wheezing - also referred to as "blowing and puffing" (blowing nose, puffing on inhaler).

It's always something.

The view this morning

We live in the foothills above Palmdale, CA - outside the city limits and in a rural area (which is why transportation while my car was in the shop was such an issue last week...grumble).

We've got a wonderful view when the air quality is good. And the view of the mountains this morning included snow. Yep - SNOW! And I thought the rain this past weekend was a novelty.

I quickly snapped a picture - before it melts. ;-)

What a week it was!

This past week was filled with trials and tribulations. One problem was lack of internet for half of the week which is why I haven't blogged recently. Then once it was "up and running," I still could not access email. Today it appears the WiFi provider has solved their problem(s) completely and I can access my email account(s) again. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it holds.



Things I heard myself saying this past week:

Monday
"No, I am not entered into a 'who can stash away the wildest sock yarn' contest. This is your daughter's taste!"



"Well, we must have enjoyed the camping trip. Look at all the dirty laundry we came back with."

Tuesday
"Her hands are red and itchy? The gloves were latex???? She's allergic to latex...I'll stop and pick up cortisone cream. She'll need latex free gloves for the volunteer work. Should I pick those up also?"

"I have how many students in Thursday's class?"

"Enjoy the fact that I cooked dinner tonight. It might be the last time until the weekend with this week's schedule."

Wednesday
"Are you able to connect to the internet?"

"uhhhh....whatz with the water pouring out from underneath the car?"



"A replacement for the cracked radiator costs how much!?!??"

"I need a ride home."

"I really need to fold the last three loads of laundry....and put the load just washed into the dryer....and start another load....How about peanut butter sandwiches for dinner?"



"Ouch...Darn that hurt!!! And now the finger is turning purple! sigh"

"Calgon! Take me away!"


Thursday
"I might be a little late this morning. I'm dependent on Dial-A-Ride for a couple of days."

"The WiFi is down again!!!???"

"Honey, I need your car tonight....the class is too full to cancel it."



"Look, only about 4 loads to go!!!"

"Oh goody...the yarn order is here."



Friday
"@$% &%! I really need to check e-mail."

"Really? The parts finally came in? I can pick up the car tomorrow morning?"

"Can dogs be taught to wipe their feet?"



"I really need a vacation to recover from the aftermath of the last vacation."

"I want credit on my bill for the time your internet service was down."

"Pizza sounds great to me considering I haven't been able to run errands - including the grocery store - since I have NO CAR!"

Saturday morning:
"Finally! WiFi is up!!"

"Laundry is finished!"

"I'll pick up a few things at the grocery store on my way home from the mechanic."

"I love my car."

"Surely next week will be better."

Camping and hubby's hobby

Tomorrow, we're heading out on a camping trip. We'll be gone for a little over a week without access to the internet....so this is my last blog entry until we are home.

I'm taking a book and have plans to enjoy the cool breeze at Lake Tahoe (a welcome relief after the heat wave in Southern California). Of course, I'm taking knitting too.

And I'm not the only one in our household with an obsession a hobby. Hubby takes his metal detector out once or twice a week. Typically he find things like wheat pennies or junk jewelry.



It's a little like treasure hunting. One of his best finds is now on the website of the manufacturer of his detector - here He is really proud of this find. I agree....it's a beautiful ring.

In the news

This Yahoo! article caught my eye yesterday - One in four read no books last year. There are actually people that do not read!??!!? How can anyone resist the call of a new adventure while sitting in a comfortable chair? Or the enjoyment of family time spent reading out loud?

I believe that books are food for the soul. So it surprises me that there are people who do not appreciate the rise in heart rate when entering a book store or library. My house is filled with bookshelves and everyone has at least one book they are in the process of reading. And a Christmas wish list from any of us will always include books.

Some of my favorite reads (other then Harry Potter series):
Dean Koontz is read by the entire family so we purchase his books sight unseen, as a new hardback. Odd Thomas is my favorite character. If you enjoy paranormal/suspense type story lines, I highly recommend this series.

During the twice-a-year Friends of the Library book sale, I always look for a book by an author I've never read before. It's an inexpensive gamble. At the sale this past March, I picked up "A Woman's Place" by Barbara Delinsky. It was OK...not great, not terrible...but good enough to try another title by the same author. So I checked out "Three Wishes" from the library.



I love this one! It's a little romantic (yeah, mush) with a little paranormal, and very uplifting (spiritual). I'll definitely be reading more by this author.

Then there is historical fiction. I fell in love with the writings of Gwen Bristow in high school. Celia Garth and Calico Palace....it just doesn't get much better then those two. Of course I read Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. Epic novel! (And yes, the mini-series was good too.)

Obviously these are just a few of my favorites but there are so many other possibilities. So why do people not read? I don't get it.

Just turn off the boob tube, open a book, and let your imagination loose!

Crayons - not just kid stuff

Have you always thought of crayons as kid stuff? Perhaps this will change your attitude...



Amazingly, this art is with crayons. The artist is Don Marco. Check out his other works here.

Remembering Elvis

Hard to believe it's been 30 years since I sat in my car crying after hearing the radio broadcast with the news that Elvis had died. No matter what your taste in music, you cannot deny his voice was like velvet.

RIP

Wordless Wednesday

Pigeons in the front yard

Pigeons?



A rare sight in the desert. And they're tagged....




...but since they aren't extending a claw for me to read the numbers, this is as close as it gets.

I wonder how long they will vacation here?

Wordless Wednesday

7-7-07 not so lucky...

...for us. First there was flood...



...when our waterbed mattress sprang a leak.

Then there was smoke billowing from this fire...



...and invading our house. It had us watching the news to see where it was headed. I am thankful it was out quickly and we didn't have evacuate like we did during the Crown Fire in 2004.

I sincerely hope the newlyweds who rushed to the alter to have 7-7-07 as their wedding date have better luck with it. ;-)

Happy 4th of July

May your day be filled with cold watermelon