So Thankful Bucket

 This week has been a busy one with getting ready for Thanksgiving, working and just doing the usual "stuff"  that goes with this time of year.  We've had some lovely weather this week to put into our "So Thankful" bucket.  Yesterday is was almost 60de and I gave a serious thought to having dinner outside.  You see all the magazines that show beautiful table settings outdoors and I think wouldn't that be fun except it's too cold here for that.  Then we get a day like yesterday with blue skies, warm air, no wind, no bugs!  But alas, I decided it was a bit more work than I wanted to do to get it all set up out there.

So the dining room was the place to be.  We were only having 8 for dinner but my Granddaughter, Lexi,got off work early and was able to join us and my Daughter-in-Law's daughter and son-in-law were able to come by after they were done working.  So we did have a bit more than planned but we had so much food I was thrilled to see their faces!  Our other Grandkids were at their other Grandparents house. We trade having them every other year.  It seems to work out good for everyone although I do miss them! I didn't take any food pics this year. It was the same menu as always....turkey, dressing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and tons of other things and of course desserts.  Another thing to put into the "So Thankful" bucket...food, family and fun!  After dinner the guys decided it was pumpkin shooting time.  I had plenty of  pumpkins leftover from Halloween.

Jack and Phil looking very serious.

The victim.  I didn't take a pic of the after effects but I heard there was a lot of pumpkin goo and seeds  involved.  This pumpkin and about 8 others took the hits and eventually ended up in the creek for the animals to enjoy.  Here's a story that will illustrate what a knuckle head I am.  I texted my neighbor to tell her we would be shooting guns.  That way she can put the alpaca and horse in the barn.  She texted back and said her husband loves when we shoot.  She said he wanted to know what we were shooting.   Now my hubby knew what she meant but  I cheerfully answered...PUMPKINS!  She texted back and said...no, what guns were they using to shoot with adding a cheerful..LOL!  We have laughed over that all day.  I'll never hear the end of using  pumpkin guns!  It was actually a 16g shot gun, 9mm and 45 hand gun, 22 rifle, and 22 hand gun.  Yes it was loud and poor Annabelle hid inside until it was over. Speaking of dogs, my son brought his dog Kip.  Kip and Annabelle get along just fine and Kip is a cutie...a big cutie but cute non the less.  To illustrate here's a pic to show his true size.

He's a cuddle bug!  If he was red we could call him Clifford the big red dog! 

Finally, I got the boys to pose for a photo moment.  Jordan (in the middle) moved back to Ohio from California last month.  He missed a couple of  holidays with us and were glad he transferred back here with his job.  We missed him!  We miss having our son, Craig, being here with his family.  He lives in Oregon and it would be great to have all the boys together.  For now I'll put my boys...the ones that live here and Craig out west, in my "So Thankful" bucket.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot LIke

 My post title says it's beginning to look a lot like...you know...Christmas!  However, I don't want to rush the season just yet.  I like to wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate but Mother Nature has decided to decorate the area like a Christmas card. 

With snow flurries all week was had a little stick to ground on Friday.  This is a shot out the window from work.  Then it was gone.

Saturday just had a little sprinkling of powder on the deck.  The yard was clear.  Last night we had dinner with friends and when we were driving home it was a clear, cold night.  A few minutes after getting home the snow began to fly again.

Out the upstairs window  this morning I could see the ground was covered again. The temps today were only in the 20's.  But again with the sun today most of the snow has disappeared and with warmer temps heading our way this week it should be a green Thanksgiving.  That will make it much safer for travel. We're hosting Thanksgiving again and with a nice day the family will want to be outdoors and perhaps we'll have a pumpkin shoot this year.    To close this post I'll give a shout out to Jack for the beautiful roses he brought me this week.  Fresh flowers always make me smile!

Thanks Babe!

Similar To Last Year

 November in Ohio can be a  mixed bag of goodies...or a can of worms!  I went back in blog time and noticed we have had the first snowfalls around the 12th of November.  This was our day today.  We didn't get any that accumulated but the chilly winds blew and the snow did fly!  I can't complain because we came off this week with gorgeous days that hit the 70's.  That's not usual for here either.  So here's a few pics of the snowy show incase you live someplace warm and sunny without a can of worms!

Snow falling gently on the pumpkins by the pergola.   While the snow fell today Jordan finally got his new truck delivered.

Snow all over the new ride! We've been sharing cars since he moved back to Ohio and I'm as happy as he is to have my car back full-time!  Now he just needs to find a house in the country that he would like and hopefully it will have a garage to house this red cutie.  One thing today I tried to do that is similar to past Novembers is going to a craft show at a near by high school.  When Covid hit it was cancelled and I missed it last year but I decided today that I would get back in tradition and go.  So after Jack and I delivered some food for a funeral luncheon we hit the trail to the craft show.  When we pulled in I was stunned at how crowded the parking lot was.  Holy Cow! Not a spot in sight unless you wanted to walk through a field to get there.  No thanks!  We left and went and did our usual Saturday shopping.  I know Jack was probably doing a happy dance in his head because craft shows aren't on his to do fun list!  So shopping got done, errands got run and we headed home for lunch.  Then we had to complete our assignment of cleaning the Church.  Everyone takes turns doing that and we share it with another couple.  Once home I took Annabelle for a quick walk, made a take and bake pizza for dinner, blogged and now will hit the couch for some R&R and reading my new magazine that came today.  One final pic to end this post:

I stopped by the pergola to see how the roses survived the first snowfall....still beautiful!   They have hung on through the hard stuff but still keep on blooming.  We can learn a lot from nature.  Have a good weekend everyone!

Quiet Time?

Hello November! I always called November my quiet month but looking back I realize it's always been a month that gave more unwelcome adventures than quiet times.  When I was a child of 10 we had a house fire that completely took out the second floor and did much damage to first.  I was babysitting my 3 younger siblings that night while Mom and Dad ran out to run a quick errand.  In about 30min. the fire was roaring. It was an electrical wiring problem in the storage area of the house.  I was able to get all my siblings and myself out safely and I never let them forget that they owe me big time!  That was November 6th, 1963.  The same month and year that President Kennedy was assassinated.  November 25, 1975 our oldest son, Jack, was born....2 months early!   He spent 2 months in a NICU and we found out our insurance didn't cover the baby.  It took us 6 years to pay that bill.  I thought Jackie would have to get a paper route to help out! Ha!  The next year on November 18th, 1976 my Dad passed away.  It was unexpected and shook us all to the core.  In 2020  My hubby, Jack, had quite a time of it in November .  He spent 3 weeks in the hospital and we missed Thanksgiving that year. Thankfully he's good now! (knocking on wood and all fingers and toes crossed!)  So you can see that November has yielded some not so great times but we got through them and I think stronger for the wear and tear...or tears!  You never know what life will send you but I'm always just a little leary when November comes along.  It's a full moon tonight, although our calendar says it's tomorrow.  

I took this shot that didn't come out as bad as some of  my moon shots have.  Hmmm...a full moon and it's November.  Now that's scary!  When I took call for surgery any time it was a full moon it was a scary time!  I do hope this month does become a nice quiet time until the craziness of December and the Christmas season is upon us.  I'm going to just count my blessing every day because even when bad things come along, I know God is with me and has always gotten me through them.  Very grateful every day!  Here's a few pics of our beautiful day we had today.

The trees are mostly leafless and we had quite the winds on Saturday that blew most of the fallen leaves away. I always say that God raked the leaves for me when this happens!

Annabelle was enjoying the warmth of the sun today.  She's all better now and back to her old self!

Even the alpaca felt the need to sunbathe.  I believe this one is pregnant and due this month!

 I can see where all my leaves blew to!  Well, time to hit the hay.  This time change is a killer for me.  For some reason that extra hour of sleep just doesn't justify the dark at 5:30pm!   Fingers crossed everyone for a nice quiet November!