Day Three Hundred Sixty Five 2013

COUNTDOWN TO 2014!

Granddaughter Shelby was ready to celebrate the new year all decked out in her Happy New Year hat.

Daughter Kelly and son in law Kerry hosted our New Year’s Eve get together at their new/old house. Kelly made some awesome salsa. We pigged out on that and a lot of other delicious goodies.

Grandson Knox had a great time playing trains with his Aunt Holly.

We all enjoyed a great game night while we counted down the minutes to the new year. Uno was lots of fun. The Five Second Rule was a blast.

We counted down the seconds to midnight and raised our blue Solo cups of sparkling cider as the ball dropped in Times Square and we toasted in 2014.  Good time with my great family.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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Project 365 was a challenge to me when I started this little blog. I wanted to see if I really could take a picture a day for a year and share it with family and friends and whoever might stumble across my tiny corner of the universe on the world wide web. I can’t believe five years have gone by [whoosh! just like that]. At the end of each year, when day three sixty five finally rolls around, I always ask myself if I want to continue the challenge. This year it has been a real struggle for me to keep up. It has become less fun and more of a chore. I’ve been very torn about letting it go, and I didn’t decide until today that letting it go is what I need to do.

What I want to do is continue snapping those pictures and sharing them with you, just not every day. I enjoy combining photography with blogging, so if you’re interested in following me to a new blog, I’ve created one that is very much a work in progress [just decided this today!]. Other than the way it looks, it won’t be any different than this blog, except that I won’t post every single day of the year. I know I have some faithful followers here, and I appreciate all of you who have stuck with me the past five years, checking in each day or week or whenever you can. Thank you so much for letting me share a piece of my every day life with you ~ 1,826 days!

My new blog  [for the time being and maybe forever] is called Hunky-Dory, which is a slang word meaning perfectly satisfactory or fine. You can find it here:  http://krhunkydory.blogspot.com/                                                             
The new place will probably go through lots of changes as time goes by.  I hope you’ll follow me over and hang out with me there.
Three Sixty Five signing off

Day Three Hundred Sixty Four 2013

“Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool!”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Neil and I took grandpeeps Shelby and Elijah to the movies this afternoon and immersed ourselves in the lives and times of Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, Orcs, and the occasional human or two.

A bucket of popcorn is a must for a movie like The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug, which runs for nearly three hours [not counting commercials and previews of coming attractions].

Shelby found this piece of popcorn shaped like Mickey Mouse, so I had to take its picture. She said she couldn’t eat it because it was too cute. And then she accidentally dropped it between our seats. I attempted to retrieve it for her, but there was too much ickiness under there. We all enjoyed the movie. All the “ring” movies are fun, especially if you like Hobbits. Looking forward to part three.
“May the hair on your toes never fall out!”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Day Three Hundred Sixty Two 2013

Some people never grow up. Grandpa was having fun building towers with grandson Knox’s blocks this afternoon. An episode of Thomas The Train was on in the background. And notice that grandson Knox wasn’t  paying attention to either of these things. He was having his own fun [playing with his trains, most likely]. Good times on a lazy Saturday. [thanks for the pic, daughter Kelly]

Day Three Hundred Sixty One 2013

It’s easy when your cup is full of boiled custard and whipped cream.

Grandkids Shelby, Elijah and Knox hanging out at my house today ~ finally went outside this afternoon ~ I told Shelby to jump into the picture, so she did

Beautiful day for a stroll in the neighborhood ~ Knox is loving his new car that his Aunt Holly and Uncle Jerry and cousins Shelby and Elijah gave him for Christmas ~ it’s fun to ride when somebody is willing to push.  Happy TGIF, everyone!

Day Three Hundred Sixty 2013

Grandson Knox [a.k.a. The Bachelor] hitched a ride on Thomas The Train this afternoon. He has a fierce passion for all things trains right now. And since 90% of his birthday and Christmas gifts were train-related this year, his mom and dad are hoping this passion lasts for another year or two or maybe ten. Chugga Chugga! Keep on chugging, Knox!

Day Three Hundred Fifty Seven 2013

Grandpa and grandson Knox having fun with Knox’s Thomas Trains on the train table we got him for Christmas. Neil put the table together this evening, and we decided there was no reason not to go ahead and let him enjoy it now. We loaded it in the truck and took it over to his house. When we left, he was playing with his trains on his train table, having more fun than pint sized human beings should be allowed to have two days before Christmas.

Day Three Hundred Thirty Seven 2013

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY, KNOX!

Grandson Knox celebrated his 2nd birthday with a Thomas The Train party this evening.

Knox loves all things Thomas The Train.

The Birthday Song made him smile.

He couldn’t wait to blow out his candle.

Yummy!

Time for presents!






Knox received all sorts of fun gifts – blocks and trains and clothes and a cool roller coaster – and he loved all of it. It was fun listening to him laugh and watching him have so much fun turning 2 years old. Happy Birthday, Knox! We love you!!

Day Three Hundred Thirty Three 2013

What’s the opposite of Thanksgiving food? Mexican food at El Tapatio, where grandson Knox amused himself with his trains. And, of course, wearing a napkin on your head is always a hoot. It’s Black Friday. Did you hit the sales before the sun came up this morning? I did not. Sleeping late is so much more fun. Happy TGIF!

Day Three Hundred Thirty Two 2013

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

Daughter Kelly and son in law Kerry and grandson Knox hosted Thanksgiving today in their new/old home which is graced with high ceilings and large rooms. Kerry sets a lovely table, doesn’t he?

Kelly ~ our hostess with the mostess. Thanks to you and Kerry for making it all just right.

We are blessed with good cooks in this family. Our yummy menu included turkey and dressing, ham, sweet potato casserole, broccoli and cheese casserole, garlic grit casserole, fried corn, green beans, peas, mashed potatoes, gravy, deviled eggs, frozen cherry salad, cranberry sauce, rolls, sweet tea, and for dessert chocolate pie, pumpkin pie, and cupcakes.

Kerry lights the candles on the table for a little turkey day ambience.

Eleven family members gathered around the table this year. Front and center is granddaughter Shelby, to her left and around the table are grandson Knox, daughter Kelly, brother in law Terry, sister Ann, hubby Neil, son in law Kerry, son in law Jerry, daughter Holly, and grandson Elijah. We all enjoyed this good time fellowship and marvelous feast and a lot of laughter.

I guess this says it all. We are so rich with blessings. Too many to count. Thanks to God for all of them and especially today for loving family and full bellies. Happy Thanksgiving!

Day Three Hundred Eight 2013

“Never jump into a pile of leaves with a wet sucker.”   ~Charles M. Schulz

There is not a child on this planet who can resist jumping into a pile of Autumn leaves. Grandson Knox had a great time this morning doing just that. Mostly, he liked slogging through the pile and picking up armloads of the leaves and throwing them. No wet suckers involved. Just a ton o’ fun.

Day Three Hundred Four 2013

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

No guts, no glory.


Grandson Knox was Thomas the Train, his most favorite thing in the world right now.

Because our Middle Tennessee town is in the path of some potential stormy weather tonight [rain, high winds, tornadoes], door-to-door trick or treating is postponed until this Saturday. Our church moved its annual trunk or treat into the church building tonight so kids in the community could have a safe and dry place to trick or treat in spite of the wet windy weather. There was a huge turnout, and although we didn’t stay for the meal, I heard over 50 pizzas were served.

This is Knox’s first year to trick or treat. He was a little intimidated by the large crowd and all the costumes, although he did get excited when he saw Batman.  He hasn’t learned the joy of collecting and eating all that candy yet. Maybe next year.



Grandson Elijah and granddaughter Shelby came to collect some treats. Elijah was Robin Hood. Shelby was the Queen of Hearts.






I’m so glad my niece Sarah still loves getting into the spirit of Halloween. This year she was Frida Kahlo, who was a Mexican self-portrait artist and is still admired as a feminist icon. [I didn’t know this until I Googled her, just so you know.]

My niece Julia also enjoys getting into the Halloween spirit. She made a lovely witch.

Daughter Holly got in the Halloween groove with this great orange jacket, black top with silver skulls, and a silver skull necklace she made.

I’ve been making chili for supper on Halloween night every year since my kids were little, so it’s become one of my fave traditions. This time I added white chicken chili to my menu.



Brother in law Don was feeling a little witchy tonight. He usually hands out my candy to the spooks who come by my house on Halloween while we take the kiddos trick or treating around the neighborhood [which I appreciate] but the spooks got rained out.


My sister Jane made these awesome treats ~ Nutter Butters dipped in white chocolate with chocolate chip faces.

They were totally deliciously decadent! And cute, too. Thanks for sharing, Jane!

Halloween was a little weird this year with no trick or treaters begging for candy at my front door. But that didn’t matter. We had a blast anyway. This is the most wonderful time of the year for me. Halloween, in my book, trumps Turkey Day and even Christmas with the fun factor every time. I hope the spooks come by this Saturday, or I’m stuck with two huge bags of candy. Happy Halloween, America! And sad farewell to October, my favorite month of the year.