Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just a couple days away and I can't wait. I love the food and my favorite is oyster dressing. If I only got to eat one thing, that would be it. Karen and family are coming up for the holiday. Looking forward to that also.

Garth, Aimee, Dylan, mom, and dad came over and we put up lights. Poor Dane and I were freezing, but Garth was toasty warm. We will be ready for the lighting of the houses either Thanksgiving night or sometime this weekend.

I am sitting here waiting for a tow truck as my Rav would not start this a.m. I called at 7:00 and I was next on the list. It is 10:00 now and still no tow truck. This was not how I wanted to spend one of my last 2 days of vacation time. On top of that, poor Baby Girl (my cat for those of you that don't know) got sick all over everything. It has just been a great morning.

Everyone have a great Thanksgiving.

Flashbacks of The Blair Witch Project

A couple weeks ago Bren said she would go with me to take some fall pictures and knew a really good place. She had scoped it out previously. It was down a very pretty road and we found it easy enough. She thought it would run by the river. Needless to say after tramping around for a while, across bridges, up steps (what's with the steps), we found the river. We couldn't get down to it, but we could see the river. Trying to find our way back was a big of a challenge. At one point, I told Bren this trip reminded me of the Blair Witch project movie. I just needed a video camera, tears and snot running out of my nose. OK, maybe that was too much information, but if you've seen the movie, you have a good idea what I am talking about. We did find our way out.

Doesn't this picture look like something out of that movie?

No sooner did I get home, than my friend Mauna called and wanted to know if I wanted to go out and take fall pictures. We didn't get lost and I actually got some pretty decent pictures.

Last week I got the cutest poem in the mail telling me that Garth & Aimee are expecting a baby next June. I am so excited. Now I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl.

This was a short week for me. I'm trying to get in all my vacation days, so I was off Thursday, Friday, and then this coming Monday. Nothing big going on. I mowed for, hopefully, the last time, did some scrapbooking, and plan on doing some more.

Bonfire

Last Thursday (16th) was Dane's 24th birthday. In celebration, we had a bonfire. It is the first one we've had at this house. It was a great night for one. Not cold, but cool enough the fire felt good, slight breeze and a clear night. Entertainment was provided by Ethan who told very spooky stories about werewolves with big eyes and big teeth, haunted castles and an assortment of other entertaining things. Ethan gets very animated when telling stories. Dylan was totally enthralled. He just sat there and watched Ethan. I'm sure he had no idea what Ethan was saying, but was enjoying it it anyway. At one point Dylan did get up and was "telling" a story also to Aunt Benda (as he calls her). The layout shown is Ethan telling the story and Dylan listening. Jordan also played soccer with Dylan. At first, Dylan always keeps his distance from Jordan. In fact, he wanted nothing to do with Jordan at first. Later, Jordan was all he really wanted. Jordan could "kick big" according to Dylan. They played for quite a while.

I had Friday off to do a few things around the house, including getting the furnace serviced and making an appointment to get the fireplace (keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer) working so I can actually use it without opening a window and turning on the fan. That kinda defeats the whole purpose.

Saturday was a crafting day. I made several cards and got 3 layouts done and also watched Dylan for a few hours.

Today, hopefully, Bren and I will take a drive and I can take some pictures while the leaves are still on the tree.

Through the Eyes of A Child

Garth, Aimee, Dylan, and I went to Menards to check out new lights for the house. I was pushing Dylan around looking at the lights. It was neat to watch him admire the lights. He was so fascinated, but as you can see, he was not touching. It is so much fun watching him see things that are new. He kept saying "Come on Gamma, over there, let's go see." On the way home, we stopped and they picked up their pumpkins. Sunday Brenda and my friend Pam and I went to Joann's for a candy making class. It was not the best class we have taken, but it was nice to get out with friends. I did get a couple more scrapbook layouts done. I think I'm going to do another blog that has nothing but my card/scrapbook creations. I just need to take the time to create it.

Zoo

I had a great week. On Monday, I took Dylan to the zoo along with dad, mom, and Brenda. We started out at the playground where Dylan played for a while and I did a bit of refereeing and trying to keep up. We had some lunch and then made our way over to the zoo. It was a really great day. Weather/temp were perfect. We wondered around the zoo. Dylan wanted to ride the Merry Go Round and the "sish" (fish) is what he picked out. Doing a ride that goes in circles is not something I tolerate very well, but for Dylan, I would do it. He was so excited to ride, but about 30 seconds after getting on the "sish" he wanted off and go very upset. So before the ride could start I moved us back to a bench that we could ride on. He kept is face buried in my shoulder and then looked up and saw the Puma behind us and decided that is what he wanted to ride. Needless to say, we did not change seats. From there we wondered around and got a Popsicle which was almost as big as Dylan. We rode the train and then ended up in the gift shop. The rest of the week was very quiet. Dane had a wisdom tooth removed on Friday and I went with friends up to Plymouth to a scrapbook store and then on the way home we stopped at Lakes of Winona and ate at the Boathouse restaurant. Today Bren and I went to Jefferson Point and had a nice lunch, walked around there a bit, and stopped to visit Mark/Mary Tuttle to look at his photographs. Someday maybe I will be able to take photos like that. That is one of the things on my "Bucket List."

Mom & Dylan

Oz Fest

Well, it was really the Wizard of Oz festival in Valparaiso, IN. I had seen it in a book and as I love the Wizard of Oz, Mauna and I decided to check it out. It was a bummer. Not much going on. A few characters walking around that you could have your picture taken with. Mauna took my picture with a group of them. Check out the blonde Dorothy with red streaks. Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion were there, but those darn little kids took up all the room and wouldn't let me close enough for a picture. I mean really, you would think they would have made room for the old lady jumping up and down and screaming "I love you Tin Man." We also stopped at a couple scrapbook stores which was fun. One was having a 70% off sale. We were suppose to spend the night, but the electricity was out at our hotel, so they let us cancel our reservation and we just came home. We did stop at The Boathouse in the Lakes of Winona for a great meal. I found out today that I won a $25 gift certificate to the scrapbook store. Now I'm going to have to go back.

Thought: Memories are like keepsakes, always to be treasured. (Author Unknown)

Labor Day and Beyond

Karen and her family came home for the Labor Day weekend. We met for breakfast on Saturday a.m. and then most of us headed back to mom & dad's. I kept Dylan with me so he could play with his cousin Kaille who is 6 mos. older. It was fun watching them interact. For the most part, they did pretty good, but it's funny that a toy can sit without anyone playing with it, but as soon as one picks it up, the other one wanted it. There was a lot of "you have to take turns" and "it's my turn" said that day. One cute thing that was said, among many, was the "take it, take it"..........Grandpa made Kaille and Cole chocolate milk. Kaille was blowing bubbles in her's and Karen (Kaille's mom) told her to stop or she would take it. Out of the mouth of Dylan comes "take it, take it."

On Sunday we went to Bren's for supper, swimming, and fishing. Some people caught several and then there were others that caught nothing. We need to get the fish for Christmas a.m. Bren also received instructions on how to fillet a fish.

On Thursday of this week, I met my cousin Nancy at the mall for a visit. It was the first time in many, many years that we visited. We were very close growing up and then everyone goes their own way after school and we grew apart. It was great fun to be able to visit. Don't think she has changed a bit.

This weekend I had Dylan while Garth & Dane went golfing. We visited with Papa and Gege for a while before coming home.

November 12 "Menopause the Musical" is coming to Ft. Wayne. Three friends, mom, and I are going to go. Should be a great time.

Thought for the Day: Maybe it's true that life begins at 50, but everything else starts to wear out, fall out, or spread out. (Phyllis Diller)

This is her second piece, you should have seen the first one. Didn't have my camera at that point. It was probably half the size of this one. I do give her credit for doing it though. We would never have fish if I would have to clean & fillet them. Way to go Bren!!!