Happy New Year!

Okay, I am a little bit early. There are still more than 5 hours left to get through till then. However, this is the time that I am on the computer, and I don't know if I will be on again today, so here it is!

Happy New Year! My wish for you all is that this coming year is the best ever, that your wishes and dreams come true, that everything "gels", that it is happy, prosperous, and full of good things for you and yours!

I don't ask for much, do I?

We finally got our warm weather back today, definitely in the 70's. It was 74 at about noon or so, and sunny, with some high clouds. Lovely weather! I had hoped to get the tree taken down today but that didn't happen. I got the ornaments off it yesterday, and the lights off and boxed up. And then ran out of steam! I guess the tree will come down tomorrow and the nordic track will be put into "using" mode in its place! I will be glad to have it available for use again!

We went to a party this afternoon! A gal that Mike works with, and her husband, gave the party. It was really nice, Anne and I got to meet some of the people Mike mentions now and then, and we had a really good time! I had mixed up the ingredients for sausage balls yesterday and put it in the fridge, and today I rolled the balls and baked them--so I could take some for the party, of course! They came out fine, as usual. But, the sausage rolling, the baking, some time on the computer IM'ing with Brian, etc, ate up the morning, and so the tree didn't come down. I don't think it will happen tonight, either, so tomorrow it is.

Well, I am off to change and relax. I am sure we will have our usual low key New Year's Eve, and that suits me just fine! I hope you have a good time, where ever you are, and please have a safe evening! All the best in the new year!!!!

More Lazy Days

It has been a relaxing week! And there is still a bit more to come. I sure won't complain!

It was cloudy this morning, but the sun is out again, and that is almost always a nice thing! I say almost always, because when it is sunny for too many days in a row, it actually becomes tedious, and we start wishing for some clouds. I know that sounds really weird, but it isn't just us. Steve at pt says the same thing. I guess sometimes too much of a good thing is really too much.

We went and saw "The Producers" yesterday afternoon. It was really good! We liked it, anyway! It was really funny and we laughed out loud a number of times. The rest of the audience did too, so it wasn't just us! I have heard of reviews that questioned the casting, changes to the original movie, etc. I personally don't get it. I thought the casting was great, the changes were good and kept it from being "dated," and it was an all around good time.

Mike is out taking down the rest of the hurricane shutters. It is nice to have a totally clear view out the sun room windows again. I think the very best thing we did was to get the clear shutters. The view through them is a bit wavy and a little distorted, but the big thing is getting the light in. It was a very good investment!

I got through all the boxes in my bedroom yesterday! Not to say they are all unpacked. One is a wardrobe box full of Mike's uniform shirts, BDU's, flannel shirts, etc, that he doesn't need right now and that I don't have closet space for right now. That box is in the far corner anyway, so it is out of the way. I still haven't found Anne's elusive item, but all hope is not lost! I have some boxes in the dining room that were barely checked ages ago, before I started the search. It may be in one of them! Or, in a box in the computer room! Or in one of the few boxes still in the garage. I have accomplished a lot though, in getting through so many boxes, getting so many unpacked, etc! It is very clear though that we need to decide what we want to do about more bookcases! A lot of the still-unpacked boxes are full of books, with no bookcase space left for them.

Be sure to check Christine's blog! She put up the photo of Brian and Michelle in their "Old Block" and "Chip off the Old Block" t-shirts. Anne and I saw them at Cracker Barrel, and had to get them! The kid's t-shirt is a medium, way too big for Michelle right now, but it was the smallest they had, and she will grow into it! It was one of those things, if we hadn't gotten them then, we never would have seen them again. She also put up the baby snow angel photo! So cute!!!!!

The Birthday Surprise!!

This is what I found in the kitchen when I got up Friday morning! Anne, and Brian, Christine, and Michelle, got it for me for my birthday! It is so very realistic that my first thought was "how gorgeous" and my second thought was "I won't be able to stand the smell"---since I now seem to be allergic to the scent of all flowers. Then I realized I wasn't smelling anything, and moved in closer and saw that they were silk flowers!

As Anne puts it, they are "hypo-allergenic" roses! They are more beautiful than they show in the photo. The color of the flowers is gorgeous! There is the full range of size, from fully open to rosebuds. It will be a lovely way to have flowers in the house!

Now, for a little plug! The arrangement was done by a business owned by the parents of Anne's friend Tandy -Fleurs per Mail - in Snohomish, Washington. I can attest to the beautiful work that they do, and it came through the mail in perfect shape!

My heartfelt thanks go to Anne, Brian, Christine, Michelle, and Tandy and her folks!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Peace and happiness to you all!

I know, I am slack. The birthday surprise still hasn't shown here. It will, don't despair! I got busy doing things and didn't get Anne up when I had planned. When she did get up, Mike took her and they went shopping. While they were gone I got started on baking pumpkin pie and making kolachi---our version isn't like what most people seem to call kolachi. This is a big roll of dough, filled with beaten, sugared egg whites and ground walnuts. Yummy, and a long standing family tradition!

I didn't finish all that till late evening, and didn't get another chance at the computer till the mentor was in bed, so the photos will have to wait.

So, for now, Merry Christmas to you all! I hope Santa brought you what you want, and your family picked up the rest! Best wishes to you all!

A Brief Respite!

Finally, after days of looking at the local temp online and seeing numbers in the 50's and 60's, I checked today and at 12.30 it is 73! What a nice change! I can't complain too much, yesterday was sunny and warmer than Thursday was. Still, as the sun gets lower in the sky the air really cools off. Thursday was cloudy and cool all day, and I wore my Disney Christmas sweatshirt in the morning, when we went for Anne's ACTH test. That was it's first time worn since in OH!

I had a great birthday yesterday! I will also blog again later, as although I took photos, I am not totally confident about getting them off the camera and into a place where I can find them and use them! I think I know how to do it all, but would rather have my mentor available to save me if needed!

So, I will just say that I came into the kitchen to find a lovely surprise! It really got the day off to a great start!

The final Christmas presents arrived in the mail and I got the last bits all wrapped, a box ready to mail to my sister Mary, some of the Christmas cards put out for the mailperson, and did some major decluttering in the family room! It looks so much bigger!

Anne had pt and that went well. Steve gave her a new thing to do, and before she finished, she did it better than he did when he demonstated what to do. He took full advantage of her self-taught ambidextrous-ness, and had her bouncing a ball off a trampoline type thing, with it standing to her side. I thought I would try to explain more fully, but I don't think I can without a long drawn out thing, and even then it might not be too clear! Lets leave it that her balance is improving greatly, with the challenges he is throwing at her!

We went out for dinner last night and had a good time! The food was good, and we had dessert---I find it is overkill to try to make a cake at this time of year! We brought home plenty of leftovers and I may not end up cooking tonight? I got some great presents this year, and have mad money to buy more things! What more could I ask for? One thing I got was a little tiny flash drive! It is amazing how tiny they are now, and how much memory they have. As Mike said, this has so very much more memory than his first disc drives had in the early computer years and cost so much less. Progress is a wonderful thing!

I talked to Brian on the phone yesterday! I also got to talk to Michelle, who tended to quiet down and stop "talking" when Brian put the phone by her. Isn't that the way? I could hear her while Brian and I were talking, so it was okay! She coos and laughs and makes all the cute baby noises! Brian says she isn't crawling yet, but does get on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth. I don't think it will be long. She does move around pretty well by scooting--Brian says she can scoot along on her front and on her back, can go along in forward and reverse, and gets around pretty well! They are looking forward to being back in the States, and we are all looking forward to them being back!

The Roof is Done!

Anne was so tired and icky feeling after her ACTH test at Dr. Dhruv's yesterday, that we came straight home and she went back to bed.

Turned out to be a good thing, as the roofers came early in the afternoon! They were really nice, did all the work that Brian Alfrey (did estimate, is VP of the company) said they would do and more. Bob, the head of the team, went over it all, took a good look at the chimney and thinks he figured out why we still hear a drip sometimes, and it isn't something that will cause damage, just more to do with the way the cap thing is made. The stucco looks good, and when I asked if he could recommend a painter, he said they have a guy that works for the roofers that paints, and they will send him out to paint the parts of the chimney that need to be repainted after the stucco repairs that were done just before Anne's surgery. So, it was all good.

On the Christmas front:
No decorations on the blogs, and I don't see it happening this year. It will be something to aim for next year though!
I made caramel corn earlier in the week (Wednesday?) and yesterday while Anne was sleeping, I made mincemeat cookies. We took a plate of them to pt!
The neighbors' across the street brought over a little loaf of quick bread--it looks/smells like pumpkin!
I never did get much more put on the tree, but it looks pretty, and with the lights on the tree it doesn't matter hugely anyway. Next year I will get more done!

So much that I didn't get done, but this year I did manage some baking, which I didn't do last year. So, all in all, I guess I break even? There is always more to aim for!

The Tree Is Up!

So, yesterday was an amazingly busy day, and I got so much accomplished, it wasn't even funny. I doubt that I will manage to do as well today.

I got my bits done on the computer, got some bills paid, etc. Glad to have that out of the way and one less thing to worry about! Then I went out to get the Christmas tree. I was afraid it would be a job, getting the box with tree out of the garage, as the paths to the back of the garage had been pretty well cluttered with the big ladder, hurricane shutters, etc. However, when Mike took down some more shutters over the weekend, he rearranged the rest of the shutters that were already in the garage, and so there was a really nice path for me to use! Hurrah!

The tree went up in no time, and I continue to be thankful that it is so easy to put up, the easiest we have ever had! There is plenty of room for it in the sun room now, and it looks really nice. I got the lights put on and some of the ornaments. I still have more ornaments to put on, but the lights were the big thing---. I still haven't found my star for the top yet, I am not sure which box it got put in. Strange, as it is usually one of the first things I find, but it will turn up. I know it hasn't gone anywhere!

Anne and I had gotten a cute little fiber optic lit silver tree at Target a while back, and I got that out and got it put up. It is on the roll top desk in the living room, and is nice and festive in there. I have put my fabric "stuffed" Christmas trees on the desk with it and they make a nice setting. I think I will move my biggish snowman in there too, and make a nice little arrangement.

Anne had pt yesterday and did well. Steve increased some of her things a little, after cutting back last week when she was sick with the bug. She is really doing well. She isn't getting nearly as sore as she used to.

The weather was cloudy, cool and windy yesterday. Definitely light sweater weather. Only while out and about though. We are to have highs in the 60's till the end of the week, I think we had another cold front go through.

The mailman really has been having a time of it, I don't think the mail has been delivered in daylight for more than a week now. It was after 6.30 when he (?) came last night. I am glad for a fairly large mailbox, and I am sure the mail people are too---two small packages in the mailbox last night! I know the mailpeople must hate having to go up to so many houses this time of year to hand over packages! I changed gender, because our regular mail person is a lady, but our substitute is a man. The sub has been dealing with things part of last week and over the weekend, I am not sure who came by last night!

Well, I guess that is it for now. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year! (No, this doesn't mean I won't blog again till after the holidays!)

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas?

Well, not really! I still don't have the tree up, or any lights up---I got lights to put in the front arched windows---I figured putting them inside will be just as good, and easier to deal with plugging them in, unplugging them, etc. I got some of the lovely 3M hooks to put them up with, and just have to get busy and do it. I also have a string to put outside around the front door. I figure the little bolts for the hurricane shutters will help support them at the top of the arch, and I think all that segment of wall is smooth enough to use the 3M clips, and so will finish with them! Just a case of doing it!

The sun room is now as rearranged as it is going to get for a while! I finished the boxes I had planned on doing, and then realized that I wasn't sure what was in the ones along the inside wall--I might have mentioned this before? Anyway, I did go through them, and although I didn't find any of the things I was specifically looking for, I did find a number of things that I was wondering about, so it was all good. Also, that got more boxes out of the way, which is always good! A bunch of the packing paper got used up in getting boxes ready to mail (with Christmas presents inside!), and the rest is further back in the sun room, well out of sight. Mickey still enjoys playing in it, I think she likes to play "big kitty in the jungle" in it! So, I will leave that for a while! The rest of the boxes, etc, have been rearranged to allow/make the most room available for Christmas tree placement, so it is good. We had rain today, so I decided early on that it (the tree) will wait till tomorrow or Monday, whichever seems best later on!

A good bit of the afternoon was spent watching Mount Union College, alma mater of Anne and me, win the Division 3 football championship---the Stagg Bowl, in VA-- for the 8th time in the past 13 years! I did try to tape it, thought I had taped it, despite Mike's VCR/DVD player acting funny. I checked the tape at the end of the game, to find that even though I had stopped the tape and changed the channel, the VCR didn't change when I changed it, and so it taped the wrong programs. Oh well. I had hoped to have a copy, since they won and did a nice job. It makes me glad we watched most of the game. I don't know what the deal was with the VCR. It was like the whole thing was frozen, somehow--wouldn't eject the tape, couldn't turn off the machine, etc. I ended up changing the batteries in the remote and unplugging and replugging the VCR, and then it would behave again. Too bad I didn't think to do that before the game came on. Oh well.

Since it kindly didn't rain all day, Mike spent some time outside getting some of the hurricane shutters taken down and stored in the garage! It will be nice to have a clear view outside again---although they really are great--letting in plenty of light and letting one see well enough, if not perfectly. He will get those finished up another time.

The roofers were supposed to come today, but I guess because of the rain, they didn't. Not that I blame them. Even if it was a good idea to work on the roof in the rain, the steepness of the roof would have made it a totally unsafe project, and not one we would countenance. It would have been nice weather otherwise, I see that it is still 71 degrees at 7 p.m. Hurrah! We are expecting more 60's though. Still, I won't complain.

There is still a week. The only real progress I have made is having finished my shopping, having everything wrapped, and having some of my cards out. At least the room is fixed up for the tree, once I get around to it. I do want to do a little bit of baking this year, at the very least, Anne is pining for some Caramel Corn-- Jo's recipe-- which we love! I have all the things I need to make it, so will have to get with it! I want to make fudge, too. Well, it will get done eventually!

Really?

I took the quiz that Anne had on her blog. It says I should have grown up in the 50's. I guess that is about right, eh? I do have to wonder how 5-6 questions can give an answer. I know, I know, it is all just good fun, and not to be thought about too seriously! I did have the results posted at the top of this, with the link, but it pushed all my sidebar info to the bottom of the page, and I hate that, so I took it back out! Bad bad results!

Speaking of blogs, Anne has posted! On both of hers! That isn't including the Brain Blog, which she has not posted on. However, this is progress!

We never did get the rain they were predicting for yesterday. The weather was really nice, in the 70's I think, and sunny most of the day. I got up early, finished up some boxes to be posted, and took myself off to the post office. Three more boxes out of the way, out of the house, and being flown to their destinations!

I finished my Christmas shopping and did a medium sized shop at the commissary. I have everything I need for Christmas now--except the last minute produce. I even got my turkey, which I actually managed to fit in the freezer, thank goodness!

Anne was up by the time I got home, and we mostly had a quiet day, with just one trip out. Besides my trip out, I mean! We got home and took a look at the grapefruit tree, which is so loaded with grapefruit, it isn't funny. I held the bag (doubled up plastic grocery) and Anne picked grapefruit. We took the full bag across the street, and were able to give away the whole bag full! We picked some more and will take them to pt today. You can't really tell that anything has been picked off the tree. We really do need to get them off though, as the poor tree continues to lean further and further.

Well, I must go. The weather looks okay today--it is to be cooler though, more 60's and fewer 70's for a while. I can live with it! Anyway, have more boxes to get ready for the post office, and might go ahead and get them mailed this morning.

It's Starting to Look Like a Sun Room!

More progress has been made! I have continued my recent practice of setting my alarm and getting up early. I have so much more time to get things done, and can always have a little nap later if I want/need it! I spent a good bit of the morning working on a Christmas newsletter to go in with the Christmas cards, talked to Brian on IM again, got to watch Michelle on the baby cam, etc.

Anne woke up and felt like death warmed over. To say the least. She hadn't been feeling well yesterday, and she has chills today, is achy, etc. No fever though, thank goodness. I called and rescheduled her pt for the day, as there was just no way she could make that. I also called Dr. Dhruv's to check about the ACTH test she is to have on Tuesday. No go if she is sick, and they have rescheduled that for next week. We did wonder, since it measures the cortisol, and illness can affect those levels. I hate that she is sick, but figure that I would/will make the most of it.

I got back to work on the sun room and made some good progress. The second desk, Mike's old desk, has been freed from its imprisonment in the corner, standing on end, and now has its shorter legs reattached, and is sitting upright as it was meant to sit. It also now has things sitting on top of it, but that is part of its purpose, right? Most of the boxes still in the sun room are full of books. I have gone right around the outer wall and am rechecking a few boxes against the inner wall, which haven't been touched since I don't know when. One was full of fabric, which I was able to put into the fabric bookcase. One is full of Mike's books, and so will wait for resolution later on. I still have a couple more there to check and then the sun room will be ready for its intermediate arranging!! Hurrah! I got two loads of laundry washed too! In the interest of preserving my back, I also took "back-resting-time", and read during those down times. It is so nice/fun/relaxing to read in the daytime!

There are still things I am looking for, so if I don't find them in any of the two or three remaining unchecked boxes in the sun room, that I will be tackling tomorrow, all is not lost. I will start in on the boxes in my bedroom! Hurrah! I am thrilled to be to this point! Can you tell that I really am excited! I expect that the washing machine will see a lot of action again, as I still have things that turned up in boxes in the sun room to finish washing, and I know I will find more and more and more in the boxes in my bedroom. Hopefully, I will also find the elusive items that are resisting being found! They can not hide from me forever.

I figure that the tree will go up this weekend, at the latest. The newsletter is just about in shape, I just need to get Mike and Anne to look it over and make any changes they want. Then I can start getting Christmas cards finished and in the mail. The shopping is almost done, and the wrapping is pretty much waiting on things coming in the mail. So, progress is being made all around. I do have one bit of Christmas up! I had bought new ribbon last year for the grapevine wreath my mom did for me ages ago----after several moves the ribbon and bow were a bit ragged. I never did get around to doing it last year, but last night I got myself organized and re-did it. I had picked up some poinsettia stems at Joann's recently, and I worked them in too. Looks pretty good, and I have it up on the fireplace now.

On the weather front, it was very sunny today and chilly. More of the same predicted for tomorrow!

Will Wonders Never Cease....

Well, as hoped, I got back to the sun room today! But first, I had a chance to spend some time on the computer and talked to Brian on IM. Michelle was napping, then woke up and Brian was giving her a bottle, so I didn't get to see her on the baby cam. Still, it is always good to be able to talk to Brian!

So, I finally pried myself away from the computer, and got to work on the sun room. About 3 hours later, I had made a good bit of progress. Brian's old computer desk is against the wall now, with the carpet beneath it nicely vacuumed! The sewing machine is once again in a cleared area, where a person could get at it to use it, if desired! More and more boxes have been unpacked. Keep in mind, this does not mean that everything from those boxes is nicely stored somewhere. No, that isn't part of the deal. There are piles of things all over, but there were before too. Some boxes were opened, checked for elusive items, closed back up with further comments on the top, and placed in a more useful location in the sun room. Some boxes were examined, curses were called down upon the heads of the stupid movers---how could anyone possibly pack a box of books in such a horrible way---and with so much waste of space. This kind of box called for repacking, and sometimes the addition of random bits of previously unpacked but unshelved or unplaced books, etc added in. Still, more than 10 boxes emptied. One box, the most amazing, revealed a sadly crushed photo box (photos okay, however). The wonders of this box were not limited to something so mundane, however. I had noticed, on maneuvering this box to find the number on the sticker, that it made a funny noise. A metallic noise, with over-tones of faint sloshing, which my brain immediately discounted, as how could that be??? So, I removed the mangled box of photos, checked beneath books, looking for paper wrapped items that could be elusive, and found. . . . . part of a case of beer. You might, perhaps, be able to imagine my reaction? Beer! How stupid! The things in the box were from the dining room. There was no beer in there. I was sure I gave away beer! How in the world? Mike's response, put some in the fridge! There are/were 10 cans of beer in the box. I counted. Two are now in the fridge. Go figure. I am so very very glad that none of them exploded. Especially since the books in the box were MINE! I would have hated to lose any books, but especially mine.

So, at the end of the day, or at least the afternoon, the sun room looks immensely better. The end is in sight---well, at least the immediate end, as that still won't be the end of the boxes--still too many boxes of books, etc, that will take time and more bookcases to deal with! However, I will soon be to the "immediate" end, which will mean that the tree can go up, and it will look better than ever, as there will be more room for it. I feel very confident that the elusive item will be found soon, more items that we have been wondering about will turn up, and once things calm down after the holidays, and as Anne continues to heal, I will have the time to actually get the room whipped into shape! Hurrah!

I guess next weekend, we will have to think about getting the hurricane shutters off the back and side windows. Through the shutters, I noticed today that there are some grapefruit on the ground, so I guess they really must be ripe? Or perhaps they fell off because of the wind the other day? Or both? The branches on the far side are so loaded, they are getting closer and closer to the ground. I have to start finding people to give grapefruit to.

I don't remember if I mentioned having to put the heat on? Well, I did that last week. Then it got warmer again, of course. I really did resist putting the A/C back on. I resisted as long as I could. But when it got up to 81 in the house on Saturday, I gave in. The ceiling fans are great, but they don't keep meds from getting too warm. The house does retain heat pretty well, so it is still nice and comfy in the house today, despite the cooler temps outside. There is some worry of frost in the central interior parts of the state, but we are to stay above 40 so will be fine.

Nicer Today, Cooler Tomorrow...

That is about the size of it! Yesterday was so very dark and dreary. So many people said it looked like it was going to snow--that comment was always heard inside, of course! When you know that it is about 70 degrees outside, you know there is no chance of snow at all. Thank goodness! We got just shy of 3 inches of rain in the gauge. I was mostly glad that so much of the rain fell in the morning, when Anne was sleeping.

Anne and I got some shopping done yesterday--finished up Brian and family, and got a few other things, in addition to getting her new glasses. I think I wrote about that in the Brain Blog? Despite getting home way later than usual, I got things wrapped and all the rest of the things to go to Germany boxed. Three boxes, of various sizes, and it was done! They were ready to mail!

So, today was a huge change, with continuing nice temperatures, and some blue in the sky. We did get a pounding rain while Anne and I were in Kohls shopping this afternoon, but fortunately it was down to the odd drip or drop by the time we got out. Just a very quick shower, thank goodness!

I was up early this morning, and out of the house early--off to the post office. I made amazingly good time--in just two hours, I got to the base, got the boxes mailed at the post office, did a big shop at the commissary, headed for home--stopping at CVS to get Anne's aciphex refill on the way---and home. I don't think I want to ever do a big shop again, not this big anyway. The buggy wasn't even totally full, but the weight really gets to me. I can feel the hip and the feet too, now, with that big a load, and they do not like it. I figure if it makes body parts hurt to try to get the buggy around corners, etc, it isn't doing me any good at all. This was a rare occurrence and will be rarer yet in future! On the plus side, I got a lot of the things we will want for Christmas-time eating, Christmas dinner, etc, and won't have to worry about that as the big day gets nearer.

Anne's therapy went well today. She hasn't been getting as sore and that has been wonderful for her. Steve did a quick strength check, etc, and she is really improving. He is pretty amazed by her progress! She doesn't much enjoy the work, but she has a good time with the people-- they are all nuts there and love to joke around, etc. She fits right in! She has a German "word of the day" for Steve each day, and they both enjoy that!

Now that the weekend is sort of here, I hope to get back to the sun room tomorrow. There just hasn't been time the past couple of days. I will be really glad to get that desk moved--that is something I will finally get done tomorrow. Hurrah! Then it is mostly going through the rest of the boxes looking for the elusive item for Anne, and getting things rearranged nicely so the tree can go up! So many of the houses are decorated, and we aren't quite ready yet. Oh well.....

Boxes, Boxes

Well, first a quick weather update! It is just going on 10 a.m., and Mike's weather thing on his blog says it is 70 degrees out. It is quite windy today, and was yesterday too. We are close to the projected high for the day, so I don't imagine it will warm up much more. I didn't notice if it is cloudy or not.

I got more boxes done last night in the sun room! I have a space for Brian's computer desk now. I haven't moved it yet, as I want to vacuum that empty area first, and there just wasn't enough light in there to do it last evening. I still haven't found the elusive item, but did find Mike's binoculars so that was nice! Speaking of binoculars and thinking of stars and planets, Venus has been huge for several days--a couple of weeks?--or so. It is fun to see it when it is so very big!

Mike's boss from work came late last week to get some boxes. We still have a huge store of them in the garage! He didn't take enough to make much of a dent, but did take some! I think the deal was that they had some damage from last years's hurricanes, and since they had to have big repairs anyway, they went ahead and did major remodeling too. I could be wrong on this, I think that is what I was told ages ago. Anyway, the house is done now, except that the power still isn't on. They have been getting things moved back into the house. I am not sure where they have been living all this time. He says most of their things were still in boxes, which is why he didn't need more boxes. The remodeled house sounds great, from what Mike has been hearing about it!

I am still thinking about what to put where as far as Christmas decorations go, etc. Sometimes I think I spend too much time thinking about these things, and not enough just doing it? I know I did that with Michelle's Halloween costume! I am still getting Michelle's things organized and ready to mail. That is almost done, thank goodness!

A Week Already?

I can't believe it has been a week since I blogged on this. It has been busy, with getting Anne to physical therapy 3 times a week, etc. I am finally getting a little more organized though! I got my list of addresses printed off the computer, and have actually emailed overseas friends to verify addresses, in some cases. I have actually addressed some cards! Can it really be?????

Yesterday I spent some good quality time in the sun room. I am looking for something Anne needs, that is still in a box somewhere. In the course of looking for it, I have emptied 3-4 boxes! That never hurts! The item I am looking for it rather small--smaller than a breadbox, anyway!---and will be wrapped in paper, so I have to pretty well unwrap anything in the boxes that is wrapped, to make sure I don't miss it. I think if I can spend some equally productive time in there today, I will finally be able to move Brian's computer desk to its projected spot along the wall, and get the hutch put on it. That will lead to being able to move more stuff further along in there (and/or getting more and more boxes unpacked, as I search for the elusive item!) and that will result in the nice open spot I am anticipating, for the Christmas tree to reside in. Progress is definitely being made!

The weather continues nice here. I had to put the heat on late last week. I think it only came on at night. It warmed up enough outside in the daytime to be comfortable, so that was nice. We had a few nice warm days again, and now it is supposed to get cool again.

I think Anne envies you your snow, at least a little bit, Jo! The photo is really pretty, and the first snow is always fun. It does always look so pretty coming down. I have to confess to being happy with warm weather, palm trees, and grapefruit hanging on the tree--not that I really care to eat it! Mike had one over the weekend, and says they are really good again this year. We have a ton of them to go through--I really should have culled out more of them.

Well, nothing exciting to write about that I can think of, so I will go ahead and stop! Take care all!