So Very Thankful

This week has been a blur of work, cooking, new dog, and of course family fun! I love Thanksgiving and sharing time with those I love the most.  I took no food pics this year but we did do a few things a little differently.  We cooked the turkey on Wednesday and then had it carved and in a roaster so my oven was freed up for the side dishes we all love.  Great idea Jack..that's how I'll do it from now on! I had most of the food prepared early so all that needed to be done was a few items.  We also ate a little later so my Granddaughter could be here after working.

It was nice to spend time with her and her boyfriend Matt.  She works at a nursing home and will start nursing school next year.

Wednesday was my son Jack's 40th birthday!  I can't believe it!  We had already given him his gift back in October.  We flew him out to Oregon to spend time with Craig and his family.  Jack didn't want a party, especially a surprise one, so that's what he chose to do instead.  I made one of my famous candy bar cards and he loved that!  Happy Birthday Jackie!  One of our traditions is to have a pumpkin shoot out.  Great way to dispose of those Halloween gourds!  We used to use a bow and arrow but my bow was broke so guns were the order of the day.  The guys enjoyed that more I think.

Getting set up.

I didn't know you keep your handguns in a Bath and Body Works bag....hmmmm

Aim...

Fire!

Change pumpkins....

Pumpkin pie anyone?   One of the changes around here had to do with our new four pawed friend...Chubbs....still haven't changed his name...probably won't!  He had to go for a little trim.  First the before pic:

First day at the Pines...

Sitting a little taller now! He's such a sweetie and so well behaved!  We love this little dude!

He seems to be finding his place here.  But Chubbs wasn't the only thing that got trimmed....our trees that line the road had grown so much that the neighbors had complained they were blocking the view from their driveway.  So we had the township come and trim...

Oh boy...Well, I hope everyone on our road is happy!  I also hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I'm so grateful for all my blessings!

How about that full "mourning moon" this week? 

 

Something In The Universe Has Shifted

It was pretty easy to guess my little secret on my last post.  For posterities sake I'll have to give some background info on this little secret...so scroll down to pics if you'd like to skip my narrative!  Here goes...A few months ago I had a dream.  In the dream Jack and I were retired, driving an RV, and we had a dog with us named "Ralph".  You'd think after this dream I'd be looking to do atleast 2 things from this dream...namely, to retire, and then to find an RV! Nope..I'm not anywhere near retirement and we look at RV's on the road and say either  "yay!" or "nay" when it comes to what we would want. But we're not anywhere near ready to buy one.  So that left "Ralph".  When I bought the Halloween skeleton dog I named him Ralph.  I'm not sure Jack was realizing that I was also scouring the internet about dogs that needed a home.  I wanted a dog that was small enough for travel, not shedding or having any reason to make my Grandson's allergies go crazy, friendly, a good walker.  He was surprised when I started showing him dogs in shelters around our area and even ones in other states.  When I actually put in adoption papers for one he was really surprised. Yep, the universe had shifted and I was looking for a dog!  In the mean time we went to Ashland's dog pound to see what was available..we went twice.  Although our hearts went out to the many dogs that were there, we didn't find a good fit for us.  I hadn't heard anything from the agency I sent inquiries to about a dog I saw there....a dog named "Chubbs".   I called the director and still didn't hear back. I was ready to just forget the whole thing when she suddenly called.  I sent her the adoption form and waited...and waited.  Then I called her again to make sure she actually received them.  She apologized because she hadn't had time to look at them since her rescue shelter was moving.  Long story short.....we went on Sunday to check out old Chubbs.   He sure wasn't the prettiest pooch in the pound but he was small, friendly, a poodle mix so no shedding, and he loves to walk.  We decided to adopt him and Wednesday night we picked him up. It was a very rainy evening and we had 2 detours to get through and lots of Amish buggies to avoid hitting on our way to Oasis animal shelter.  All the way there I kept wondering if this was the right thing for us...was I nuts to get a dog?  Well, we took old Chubbs home and he's doing great.  He's housebroke, very mellow, and adjusting to us and hopefully getting the idea that he gets to stay here.  No more kennels and barking dog buddies all day...he might miss his friends but not his kennel! He needs some good grooming and I'll be making his spa day appointment soon.  He did tolerate us giving him a good bath though!  I think the name Chubbs will stick.  He was abandoned and they guess he's around 8yrs old...I sure wish we knew his real name but so far he's answering to Chubbs! 

He's like a curly, puffy pillow...He looks a bit shell shocked here!

He was excited to see the kids tonight! And they loved him!

He's found a couple of dog walkers!

This dog walker lost a front tooth!

Chubbs is settling in and of course he'll get some blog posts of his own.  I'll do some "after grooming" shots too! Welcome to the Pines Chubbs. Yes, the universe has shifted....we now have a dog and gas prices were $1.81 today...maybe it's time for that RV!

Hoops And Hope

Saturday we went to cheer on our Grandson Cameron who's playing basketball.  His football season was cut short due to a fractured wrist but he's healed and out on the court having fun.  He was a bit timid his first game so his Dad...our son Jack...told him to take off his glasses.  He went on to score 10 baskets and even dribbled with his left hand since he still had on his wrist brace.  He did great on Saturday too and we had such fun watching these little 8yr olds learn how to play hoops.

The gym has a ginormous screen that shows each kiddo individually and when the announcer shouts out their name the player runs out onto the court just like the pros do! With the music and crowd clapping for them it's pretty cool! Go Penguins!

Shoot the ball Cam-Man!

Looking less serious than the one guarding you!

Of course the after game the awards and snack aren't a bad deal!

Having an older brother there for support is great too! It was a really fun time and I Hope we can get to more games this season...and Hopefully no broken bones!  That's not the "Hope" I'm implying in my header however.  I'm going to show you a photo and you can guess what's going to be happening here at the Pines starting tomorrow....

Hmmm....Hope it all comes off OK and I'll post more about this mystery and show some pics of perhaps a new family member.....To Be Continued!! (Hopefully!)

For Our Freedom

A small post with a big thanks to all who serve our country to keep our freedoms intact, and to all who served in the past and gave the ultimate sacrifice.  Thanks to my family members who answered the call, when they were really just kids, to fight and to come home and live wonderful lives and raise their families and be the best Dads, brothers, friends, and citizens I've ever known.  Love you all!

Dad, I miss you every day.  You were the best! Love, Kathy

Plan B

Jack and I were up before dawn this beautiful Saturday.  We jumped in the Jeep and headed down to Columbus to attend the Temple.  Our session was to start at 9am and we had clear roads, skies and plenty of time.  5 miles before our exit the traffic came to a screeching halt.  We creeped slowly along and made 1 mile in 30min.  We also weren't going to make our Temple assignment time.  I called while we sat in diesel heaven and they said there were many calls saying the same thing.  After another half hour and only going 1 more mile we had to exit as the rest of I71 was closed down.  We couldn't see any signs of an accident and wondered what had happened.  Anyway we decided to go to plan B....head for home.  I called my BFF Donna and told her we would be able to attend an art gallery Christmas open house much earlier than planned!  And that's just what we did.

The Creative Chateau had recently expanded and opened up the renovated barn for all kinds of events.  It was a beautiful venue and many nice vendors too.  Plus freebie food and drink..gotta love that!

Those beautiful doors led you into a fun experience.

Like sitting by the fire with a good friend!

Enjoying the designs of local businesses.  There was live performances going on also from local musicians.

Here's a view from the loft of the barn....no barnyard animals here!

However, a very docile, sweet cat that just loved being petted had every one's attention.

On the property there's this sweet bungalow on the pond where they hold many events like yoga and meditation sessions, and you can rent it for small personal parties like baby or wedding showers.  It sits on stilts...

Here's my good buddy Donna on the cute bridge and in the background you can see the party house on stilts!  We had a fun morning and even though we didn't buy tons of things I was pleased with some beautiful handmade clay ornaments for my family. Donna found a cute little outfit for her Grandbaby Jax.  Thanks for the fun morning Donna!   When I got home Jack and I headed over to our local animal shelter that was having an adoption day.   I've been kicking around the idea of getting a dog and have been looking on line for a small to medium breed.  It's so sad to see the dogs in the shelter looking like they have lost their best friend and all hope of happiness.  It's a shame so many of the dogs are pit bulls.  They get a really bad rap and unfortunately they are hard to place.  We found one cute little guy who was kind of strange looking.  His daddy was a dachshund and mom was a yellow lab. He had a little body and a big head!  But he also had a big heart that loved all the attention.   I played with him a bit and was contemplating about adopting him when a family approached with a couple of little kiddos.  Opie went right to the little boy and seemed to really like him.  Jack said he felt that Opie and the little boy could really be best buddies.  We backed off and decided to head back home with hopes that he found a "furever" home with them.  Next weekend is another adoption day at another location.  If Opie is still there we may think more seriously about him. I still feel bad for all the others hoping for some love and a good home.  If it's meant to be we'll find the perfect one for us one day.    The leaves are pretty much gone for this season but the other night the trees seemed to be on fire. I grabbed my camera and took a few shots.

Our Creepy Woods was looking more glorious than creepy!

My neighbor's trees looked pretty impressive too.  And the reason was this going on across the street:

The sun setting quietly in the West.  Within minutes it was dark...the time was 6pm...I do hate the time change!

One Extra Hour

It's November and I like to think of it as my quiet month.  A lull before the crazy hustle and bustle of December.  A month to think of our blessings.  A month to take a deep breath and enjoy the final warmth of Fall....warmth that can feel like September!  Today was that kind of day.  The weekend wasn't too shabby either!   Sunday we were given an extra hour. An extra hour to sleep, or work, or just enjoy the day.  I used mine to go to Church, to make some homemade soup, and to spend some time outdoors.  Phil and Addy stopped by to spend their extra hour with us.

They hopped on the gator that was recently fixed to take a test spin around the Pines.

Fun!  It works great!

Where's Addy?

Hiding in the back?   After her ride she wanted to take some pics of her own.  She loves to use my camera and she does a pretty good job of capturing her favorite things.  Here's how she used her extra hour.

Taking a shot of the owl wind chime.

A pic of her favorite doll.

Her shoes.

Some flowers.

Wind chimes.

The sky.

Her Daddy.  I guess those are the important things when your 7!  Well, the month of October flew by.  It was fast and furious and fun in many ways.  So I'll let my friend close this post and say bye-bye for this season.

Whew! He's exhausted.

But with the help of family and friends, all the celebrating was worth it!  Hope you spent your hour doing something you love or spending time with someone you love.