And So This Is Christmas..

Because of my work call schedule we had to gather today at the Pines for our Christmas with the family.  Summer noticed the blackboard in the kitchen was bare so she bid everyone welcome as she and her fiance, Brett, were the first to arrive. It's been a very busy and hectic week as Jack is recouping, yet still trying to do everything to help me with prep for today.  Yesterday we finished the last bit of  shopping and then I worked on food and wrapping those presents.  Everyone seemed pleased with the gifts and dinner was really good too. But hearing the laughter and watching the grown up kids and the grandkiddos enjoying the day was my best present!

Dinner was enjoyed in the dining room...

And in the kitchen!

Do you do Christmas "poppers"? They make a pop sound when pulled apart and small gifts pop out as well...and also crowns!

Nobody is too big to not join in! I'm not sure of the background about poppers but I do believe they are British in origin? Is that why there's a crown? You can let me know! Looking good Phil and Rae Rae!

Summer made me laugh because she was afraid to pop hers! It doesn't explode like a bomb after all!
After dinner the kids were looking forward to the plastic wrap ball game that we played last year and I decided to do again today.

A roll of  the dice, a pair of oven mitts, a huge ball of plastic wrap with inexpensive gifts inside is really a fun game.  I put lottery tickets in too but so far no big winners...darn it!  Lexi was the big winner today by unwrapping so fast and furious...Then everyone shared with those that didn't win much. Since everyone likes it I'm sure we'll do it again next year.

Watch out though...a pair of sticky people could end up on the ceiling! The weather was beautiful today. I know it's the beginning of Winter but the temps were in the upper 40's with sunshine.  It felt like Spring! We went outside and played with the dirt bike and just enjoyed being outside in the fresh air.  I didn't have a camera with me for pics however..too busy at times to click a pic.  But  I did capture some of the players inside:

Cameron..

Jack and our daughter-in-law Evelyn

Rae Rae enjoying her candy cane that tastes like oreos!

Son Phil just chilling

Brett, our almost Grandson in-law. The wedding date is August 28, 2021..seems far away but I'm sure time will pass quickly.  We've known Brett since he was about 16.  Summer and Brett have been together all these years and now even work in the same place.  Brett you are a sweetie and we're excited for you to be forever in our family!  And so this is Christmas here at our home. It was great and I'm so thankful for my family and for our friends that we were with this morning at Church.  We are blessed.  I'm bushed so I'm heading for a long Winter's nap...well, until 5:15am tomorrow anyway! Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight

God Bless Us Everyone

As the Christmas season approaches I sometimes find myself like old Scrooge, bahumbugging around the town.  We've had a little added stress with Jack's surgery so close to the holiday.  He's doing good but very sore and restricted with what he can do and that's difficult for him! Work is always a bit crazy this time of year, but we've got it surrounded as they say.  We made the trip to Chicago for our annual gathering with my family this past weekend.  I did the driving and managed not to kill us along the way.  Actually I've done this drive for the last 45 years when it was just Jack and I, Jack and I and assorted kiddos as they came along and many times alone or with just one or more of the kids.  I think I have it down! The traffic wasn't too bad and the weather cooperated so all was good.  As we gathered and greeted my siblings as they arrived by plane or car from all areas of the country I began to feel more like Tiny Tim. All smiley, full of Christmas cheer and ready for that wonderful holiday food and festivities!  All the sibs made it and we did have a great time together.  Mom was feeling good and it turned out to be nice weather too. What more could we ask for? Of course I have pics to prove it, sooooo...here's to another Arends family gathering:

 Friday night we had dinner at Mom's...see her reading her mail in the background? My sister had the table all ready for us.

Looking fabulous Mommo!

My brothers and my sister-in-law Deidra.  My brother Phil (on the end near Jack) came all the way from Panama were he lives most of the year.  The chilly Chicago air was a challenge for him!

Lots of laughter and stories to go around.  The next day had us all together at my niece's home for the big party.  She has a lovely, large home that can accommodate the big crowd of old and young.

She too had the table all decorated for us.  The theme this year was Nutcrackers.

She had many all over the place and she's a police officer/detective so you can see why she would have a police nutcracker!

Jack looking good!

Don't be frightened by the Butler...he has the jello shots to ease your nerves.

Let the festivities begin!

Mom was looking great as always!

But she still will not be kept sitting for long...helping out where she can.

Or discussing important things with her Granddaughter, Vicki.

The littles finding mischief under the tables.

My niece's dog...Thor...big but loveable!

After a delicious dinner, out came the sweets...holy cow..but very yummy as well as pretty.

Pictures by the tree were many and the rest of the weekend was filled with the good times of family. We laughed at the slides I had made into a DVD to sit and enjoy.  We saw our lives pass in front of our faces as we watched and wondered where the time had gone, how young we all were, and how many of the Grandkiddos look like their Grandparents.  We talked of our lives now, some of us are retired or thinking along those lines. We shared photos of those in our own families who couldn't make it there and remembered with smiles, some tears, and great memories of those who have gone on ahead of us.  We left with hugs all around, a promise to make it not only next Christmas but sooner as the weather gets warmer. We prayed for those who are having some health issues and sincerely hope all will be with us next year at a time when we again will be saying: "God Bless Us Everyone!"

Surgery Update

A quick post to update on Jack's surgery.  All went well although it turned into a much longer surgery than anticipated. 3hrs later and he had 3 hernias repaired laparoscopicly.  So he's a bit sore to say the least.  He came home the same day and today is the first day that he's finally got an appetite back and feeling a little better.  He was sort of planning on going to work tomorrow but smartly decided he would wait until Tuesday.  Hopefully he'll be able to do that since he hates sitting/laying around!  We're also planning on going to Chicago next weekend.  We've got Christmas surrounded I believe. The decorating is done and most of the shopping is too.  Just those few last minute things to cover. I do a lot on line so that will get completed this week.  We have to have our celebration early because I"m on call Christmas day.  That makes the pressure to have it all done even more urgent I guess.  So I hope everyone is getting into the Spirit of the season. It's been a bit different this year but in the end we enjoy all the music and the general goodwill this time of year brings. Here's a few pics of our decorating:

Outside...done

Dining room ready

Kitchen done

I found these on LTD site and thought they were cute for my kitchen.

Tree up and sparkly.

Even our neighbor's dog comes to our place with a Christmas sweater on! He comes and barks until Arnie comes out.  They sniff each other and that's about it!

End of another weekend.  Night all!

And The Race Is On!

Good-bye to the quiet month of November and hello to the jam packed month of December! Actually, November wasn't quite as quiet as usual in our neck of the woods.  It sure flew by fast and ended with a weird Thanksgiving holiday. I had Friday off of work because we didn't have any surgeries scheduled.  Most of our Docs were out of town.  That's also a weird happening but I'm sure not complaining as Jack and I were able to do some shopping for Christmas and also decorating the outside of the house.  I started the inside today and just have a few things left to do.  We'll put up the tree tomorrow and I'll be doing cyber Monday shopping too.  We'll be celebrating Christmas with the kids early because I'm on call Christmas day.  That just means I'm pressed to get it done asap!  Jack will have surgery on Thursday so he'll be out of commission for a bit.  So I guess the race really is on!  One thing we did do this weekend was buy our Christmas gift to ourselves.  This is something we don't usually do but this "toy" is one we've looked into for a while.

You may be thinking that we're crazy for buying this bike but it's a good way to get around the Pines and up into the woods without taking out the Gator.  Sometimes we just need to check on some things and don't need to haul stuff up there.  Whatever the reason...it is fun to ride!

Woohoo! As long as I don't hit a tree or some other dumb thing!  In other news, Arnie is giving us some reason for concern. He's been limping very bad but not having any pain that we can tell.  He can get down stairs but not up them. He has a vet appointment on Tuesday for shots but I think more needs to be checked out.  He's had 2 surgeries on his right front side and the growth is back. We were told he couldn't have any more surgery on that side so who knows what's in store for him. Poor little guy.  So I'll be praying for him and for Jack this week!  Hello December...we're getting off to a fast start in this race!

A Turkey Sat On A Backyard Fence

I don't have any turkeys sitting on fences here at the Pines.  My title is the first line of a Thanksgiving song Jack always used to sing to the kids when they were little.  It's about a turkey who sings a "sad, sad song"...Thanksgiving day is coming, gobble, gobble, gobble, and I know I'll be eaten soon....whoa, that sounds so morbid now that I write it down! Ha! Poor kids! Anyway, we had our Thanksgiving dinner with the kids yesterday.  I prepared everything on Saturday and just had to pop the sides into the oven.  Even the turkey was done the day before, sliced and then put into a roaster and warmed up yesterday. All the food turned out great and we gathered together as planned minus a few kiddos who couldn't make it because of work or were out of town.  I took a few pics but somehow I managed to lose them somewhere in my files.  Oh well.  The weather yesterday was great and after dinner we gathered in the living room to look at some photos and talk and laugh.  My son Phil noticed my hubby wasn't around and wondered where he went.  I found him upstairs.  He was in excruciating pain. It appeared to be an incarcerated hernia.  Jack had complained of some pain earlier in the day but it went away and all was good. After dinner all wasn't good!  So he got up to go to the hospital but then proceeded to lose all the dinner he just ate..poor guy!  I took him to the emergency room where he was checked out.  Yes, he had an incarceration but thankfully it reduced itself while we were there.  After some lab work we headed for home.  He sees the surgeon tomorrow and we'll see what happens next.  So turkey day didn't turn out the exact way we planned.  The kids were great and stayed and cleaned up and put all the food away and Jordan stayed with Arnold until we got home.  A little disappointing but still we had lots to be thankful for.  A great family that we did get to spend some time with yesterday and their love and support for their Dad and me as we dealt with an unusual turn of events. Today is our oldest son's birthday.  We had an usual Thanksgiving when he was born 44 years ago.  He was 2 months premature weighing in at 2lbs, 10oz....15in. long. To have a baby that little 44 years ago and have a good outcome is amazing.  Just like Jackie is!  Happy birthday son...we love you!

Then

Now...Time does go by fast! So we'll have a quiet rest of this week, hopefully, and who knows what we'll be doing on Thursday. Counting our blessings? For sure!  I wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving and hope you're counting all your blessings too.  And if you see a turkey on a backyard fence....well, just let him go!

Germs And Things

This past week I picked up a germ somewhere along my travels.  I can pretty much pin it down to one of our Docs I had the misfortune of working with the previous week.  She was sick, but worked anyway, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who was the recipient of her germs.  Even wearing a mask all day didn't save me. However, I would really love to blame it on the flu shot.  I'm not one to get sick often but since I've been forced to take the shot I've been sick more than usual for me.  I know, I know, the shot doesn't make you sick...blah, blah, blah.  I just hate being forced to do things I guess!  But I also continued to work so I guess I'm just as bad as her in the germ spreading business.  I was trying to think of some things to blog about this week.  I'm on call this weekend so my travels were limited to a certain radius around Ashland.  That didn't stop us from going to a new orchard we discovered.  The ones in Ashland have closed so we had to seek out another.  This one's about a 30 minute drive from here and it's a honey of a place.  I love a good, crunchy, sweet and tart apple and I think the 2 we found fit the bill.  Ever Crisp and Gold Rush are delicious if you have them in your neck of the woods.  We love the charming little store that I didn't bother to take a picture of...silly me!  We left with our arms full of apples, apple butter, some treats and even an apple cider slushy!  Throw in some fresh popped corn and it was a win win. They even had a fire in the fireplace.  Next trip I'll snap a few pics for sure!  On another front, my sweet Momma was in the hospital for a few days.  Her heart rate was high and she also had a bladder infection so after a few days and some antibiotics she was sent home.  We'll be out there in a few weeks with the rest of my siblings so hopefully she'll continue in good health.  The weather has warmed up to the 40's and I even washed some windows yesterday.  When the sun shines it just makes you smile.  Speaking of smiling...I have to have a root canal done on Thursday.  I hope this silly cold is done by then. I get a bit claustrophobic in that chair while they're working on me.  Jack would probably say I get anxious because I'm not able to talk for a while....He might be right! Anyway, it's not really something to look forward too. Instead  I'll look forward to next Sunday when all the kids come for our Thanksgiving.  We're going to celebrate early because other family members have places to go.  Maybe on the real turkey day Jack and I and anyone who wants to come with us will go out to dinner.  Sounds good to me! Hope everyone has a great week and maybe I'll even have some pics for my next post.  Just wipe off your computer screen so you don't get my germs!

It's The "S" Word

Well, the "S" word arrived last night.  We knew it was coming and were not surprised.  It came in big flakes and piled up quickly.  I thought it seemed a bit early for the "S" word but looking back at last year's blog I see that it arrived on November 9th.  So, here's some pics just so that next year when I think we get the "S" word early I can look back and go....Oh yeah, now I remember! It's just the way things roll up here in the North.  However, it's rolling down to the South this week too and I know my blog buddies are preparing.  At least I hope so!  Dear Shady friend in Florida...better break out the York, PA woolies!  Hope it doesn't damage the fruit trees however.  If you don't get any "S" down there, here's a few pics to send your way:

Down it comes!

Front porch this morning before work..

So pretty...even in the dark of early morning.

Same tree after work...

The sun has started to melt it even though our temps didn't get out of the 20's and tonight will be around 9de...wood stove is rocking!

My toothless Arnie...he doesn't mind the "S"!  Stay safe and keep warm this week! I'm off to a bread making class tonight.  That should warm us up too!

Quiet Times

As this weekend was approaching I was looking forward to my brother and sister-in-law visiting.  Greg was coming in for a special Vietnam Veteran recognition dinner that's held here in Ashland.  My sister-in-law has been going through some health issues but was really hoping they could make it up here from Kentucky on Friday.  Unfortunately, it wasn't to be.  So plans changed and it turned into a very quiet weekend but also one that had us getting lots of things done around the Pines.   We're expecting some pretty cold temps along with snow this week so all the deck furniture was put away, the lawn was mowed last week for the last time this season.  Planters were emptied and the gardens were cleared.  Jack got the wood stove up and running and it will keep us snug this week!  Jack and I went to the annual craft show at a local high school that really starts the holiday season for me.  Now, I'm not one to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving, but I do like to find gifts for those on my list,  I envy those folks who shop early and are probably already done.  I just never seem to be able to accomplish that but it does always get done so no worries!  Here are just a few of my favorite activities from this weekend...

A new magazine to browse...

Saturday night pizza to enjoy...

A favorite blanket to wrap up in.....

A cup of hot cocoa to enjoy!  But don't be fooled....

Yep, it's still just cocoa but calling it witch's brew makes it more fun!  Tomorrow we honor all our Veterans for their service and sacrifice.  Thanks to all who are serving and have served.  I especially want to thank my dear Dad:

My Dad passed away in 1976 at age 56...much too young. I think of him and miss him every day.  He'll always be my hero.  I also want to thank my 2 older brothers for their service They too are my heroes.  I'm so glad to have them in my life.  Hug a veteran tomorrow or say a prayer for those who fight today for us.  Hope your week is a good one!

It's November But What About Halloween?

Those who know me...and that would be whoever is reading this...know I love October and also Halloween.  We had our family Halloween gathering earlier in the month and that was a lot of fun. I decorated my house as usual for this time of year.  I even bought a couple of new things when I was in Chicago a few weeks ago.

Who could pass this cutie up? Oh I hear the snickers...yes, I know most would but I'm not most!

And these by the fireplace were perfect! HeHe!  Yes I do love this little holiday.  So when Thursday rolled around I was excited to see Rae Rae dressed up for trick or treating and also seeing all the other kids in town.  But Mother Nature threw a fast pass in the way of high winds and rain and cold. Many towns around us cancelled and moved it to today.  Not Ashland....we're tougher I guess.

Many kids, including Rae, took to the sidewalks for candy and fun.  The rain stopped but it was still windy and chilly.  Not as bad as my sister in Chicago had it.  They got 4in. of snow! They are super tough out there!  But I was thrown another fast one by work.  I told them I couldn't stay late on Thursday like I had the previous days last week.  But when push came to shove they told me I had no choice.  Nobody else could stay and they said I was not allowed to leave.  I was there until 7pm.  Missed the trick or treaters and was mad as.....well, you know.  Anyway, I feel a bit cheated and never did see the kids but I know they had fun and life goes on.  You probably think all I do is whine about my work days...and it seems lately that would be correct!  So no more whining today.  It's November and now I will be thinking about Thanksgiving and putting all the Halloween stuff away.  The temps have dropped and Cleveland had snow but so far we've been getting just rain and even a bit of sun earlier today.  So all's well.  Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!