Day Three Hundred Thirty Four 2011

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. ~Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book

Day Three Hundred Thirty Three 2011

Grand daughter Shelby was working hard on homework after school this afternoon. She is learning about what a monopoly is in her fifth grade social studies class. She Googled it and found a list of examples of monopolies that she needed. She also found a ton of links for the board game, which she didn’t need. But come to think of it, what better way to learn about a monopoly than to play the game itself. Owning all the railroads and utilities—doesn’t get any better than that.

Day Three Hundred Thirty Two 2011

Another rainy day with flooding in our yard. Some snow in the forecast, but no accumulation expected. We shall see. My one potted Geranium that I pulled up under the back porch to protect it from the frost a few weeks ago is still hanging in there, all pink and green in the dreary landscape of November. I guess it’s time to put away the Autumn decorations and pull out the Christmas things. How time flies!

Day Three Hundred Thirty One 2011

Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby. ~Langston Hughes

Day Three Hundred Thirty 2011

Grandson Elijah stayed with us this afternoon while his mom, dad, and sister went to see a movie. He played a new video game on the Wii, watched a few Pink Panther cartoons on Netflix, consumed some mini pancakes and a couple of Bomb Pops. And then he crashed. I guess the Thanksgiving holiday fun finally caught up to him.

Day Three Hundred Twenty Nine 2011

Ah, the leftover turkey.....hubby Neil asked me if I wanted any turkey with my mayonnaise sandwich. It was delish! It was such a gorgeous day today that we decided to go to the tree farm and pick out a Christmas tree. Daughter Kelly and son in law Kerry came along and helped us find a great looking tree. That's the only shopping we did on this Black Friday. We also savored some decadent Mae Pearl's frozen yogurt and (later) some yummy Mexican food for supper. Sure did enjoy this laid back TGIF!

Day Three Hundred Twenty Eight 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!                                                                                                                                 

"Give me the end of the year an' its fun
When most of the plannin' an' toilin' is done;

Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin' with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An' I'll put soul in my Thanksgivin' prayers."

~~  Edgar A. Guest, Thanksgiving

Day Three Hundred Twenty Seven 2011

My Street~So thankful to have a place to call home

Thank you, dear God,
for all you have
Given Me
for all you have
Taken Away From Me
for all you have
Left Me.
~~Anonymous

Day Three Hundred Twenty Six 2011

T hanks for time to be together, turkey, talk, and tangy weather.
H for harvest stored away, home, and hearth, and holiday.
A for autumn's frosty art, and abundance in the heart.
N for neighbors, and November, nice things, new things to remember.
K for kitchen, kettles' croon, kith and kin expected soon.
S for sizzles, sights, and sounds, and something special that about.
That spells THANKS for joy in living and a jolly good Thanksgiving.
- Aileen Fisher, All in a Word

Day Three Hundred Twenty Five 2011

"Ah! the year is slowly dying,
And the wind in tree-top sighing,
Chant his requiem.
Thick and fast the leaves are falling,
High in air wild birds are calling,
Nature's solemn hymn."
- Mary Weston Fordham, Passing of the Old Year

Day Three Hundred Twenty Four 2011

Each November, Neil and I try to attend Santa’s Workshop, a fundraiser for the Cookeville Junior Woman’s Club. Lots of homemade arts, crafts and goodies on display and of course for sale. I was drawn to this primitive Santa with his crazy real wool beard and his cute little sheep. He followed me home, along with some rocky road fudge. Sweet.

Day Three Hundred Twenty Three 2011

We enjoyed hanging out with grandson Elijah for a while this afternoon while his mom and sister attended a play and his dad worked. He slurped down a few Bomb Pops, batted a few balls in the back yard, found a nifty looking Poplar tree leaf that he took home, did a little squirrel watching (along with the neighbor cat Lily) and soaked up this beautiful windy November Saturday. That’s good stuff.

Day Three Hundred Twenty Two 2011

 
"November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.
With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.
The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring."   
~~Elizabeth Coatsworth

Day Three Hundred Twenty One 2011

Grandson Elijah shows off the Native American head dress and beads he made in his kindergarten class today as they learn about Thanksgiving. His Native American name is ‘Elijah Run A Lot’. He’s also stylin in his Bombs Away Angry Birds shirt. He’s been carrying around his new stuffed dolphin the last day or so. He named it ‘Willy’.

Grand daughter Shelby rocks in her latest cute T shirt. It’s no secret that she loves cats. This one is wearing big glittery pink glasses. But I’m pretty sure ‘Super Cool’ isn’t referring to the cat. She also rocked the grades on her progress report today—4 A’s and 2 B’s. Way to go, girl! Now that is Super Cool.

Day Three Hundred Twenty 2011

RANDOMNESS

Day Three Hundred Nineteen 2011

I didn’t take any pictures today, so I’ll share this nifty collage I made using a program called Microsoft Research Auto Collage 2008. You can download it for free, but as you can see, with the trial version, it watermarks the collage with the product name, so I ended up spending the twenty bucks and bought the product, because making these collages is lots of fun and I don’t want that ugly logo on them. This collage is a flashback to our beach trip in 2010. On a dreary November day like today, it’s fun to get lost in those Emerald Coast memories. And I think I’ll redo this collage, print it out, and stick it on my fridge—something warm to look at during the coming winter months which will be upon us all too soon.  (click on the picture to make it bigger--it looks so much better when you can see what it really looks like)

Day Three Hundred Eighteen 2011

"The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year,
Of wailing winds, and naked woods, and meadows brown and sear."
- William Cullen Bryant

Day Three Hundred Seventeen 2011

Have You Ever Wondered What The World Would Be Like If You’d Never Been Born?
Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?          
You see, George, you've really had a wonderful life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to just throw it away?
~~George Bailey’s guardian angel, Clarence~~  ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’

This is the only picture I took today. I was on my way to see my two nieces, Sarah and Julia Foy, in the Cookeville Children’s Theater production of ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’. Lots of rich life lessons in this classic story. The cast and crew did a great job with the play, and as always, kudos to Sarah and Julia. I always enjoy watching them perform.  

Day Three Hundred Sixteen 2011

HAPPY 35TH BIRTHDAY, KELLY!




















My daughter, Kelly, celebrated her 35th birthday today. She’s a mom-to-be and her due date is near, so we traveled to her house this year to party instead of her having to drive here. Her dad Neil, hubby Kerry, sister Holly, niece Shelby, nephew Elijah and her mom (that would be moi), enjoyed her yummy pizza birthday lunch at the Mellow Mushroom. On the way back to her house, we stopped at Julia’s Bakery and picked up an array of most awesome cakes and cupcakes for the occasion. Elijah lead the Happy Birthday Song. Kelly enjoyed all her presents, both flat and not-so-flat (sister Holly always makes sure she’s got an actual package to open—and that Teddy bear for Knox was precious!). We got to see the baby’s room (so beautiful and sweet) and meet Kelly’s kitty cats, Smoky and Frankie. It was a fun afternoon. Happy Birthday, Kelly! Your dad and I love you more than you’ll ever know. You’ve been a blessing to us ever since you arrived on that snowy November night!