This first week of December was a busy one as we were getting ready for the Christmas season to begin.  I got all the Fall and Thanksgiving decor put away and then the Christmas decorating began. Took me a couple of days as I went through each tub and thought to myself, "I'm not going to do as much as usual." Yeah, right.  Sometimes it's like finding good friends you haven't seen a while and just can't resist gathering them all together! 

Here's Mr. and Mrs. Santa that my sister made for me about 50yrs ago.  Still looking good! I love them but probably love them more because she made them.

The wreath above the kitchen fireplace is also pretty old.  I'm going to date it at maybe 35yrs. I got it at a craft show that used to be held at our Historical Society manor home each year.  They don't do that anymore, unfortunately. 

The dining room that I photographed with low light is ready for family and friends to sit at the table!

The kitchen cabinets get the red ribbon treatment. 

Outside is also done and I couldn't resist a new addition to it this year:

A snowman and a little white snow dog! Yes, I was thinking of Annabelle!  On Tuesday we got our first real snowfall.

Made it look pretty festive.  Jack had a patient that wanted to see him and I wondered if he would make it with the winter weather advisory.  He's Amish and a little snow and cold didn't stop him!

He parked the buggy and horse snugged under the pine trees and made the appointment on time! As he unwrapped all his winter coats and coverings he laughed and said, "You English have it easy.  Just a  coat and then jump into your warm car! I know it's a real process to get around in the winter for them and many times they hire drivers in bad weather.  I give him credit for making that trip! This week also brought us the last full moon of the year.

I clicked a pic while waiting for Annabelle to do her duty before bed.  I didn't think to take a photo of the backyard all lit up like daytime.  So, the week went on with me working just one day on Thursday, then gathering with friends for lunch on Friday and also helping our Granddaughter, Summer, get ready for her hot cocoa and parade watching party. She moved into a new place. An apartment upstairs from a business right on main street.  A perfect, cute little place to watch the parade in warmth!  She got some decorations from me and she did a good job of hosting her first little gathering.

Nice job Summer! The apartment is super cute and has lots of vintage charm. 

The little kiddos that were there enjoyed watching the parade from above! Our little town, voted best small town in Ohio, put on a fabulous parade that went on for over an hour and then the tree lighting and fireworks followed.

Good job Ashland!  It was a fun way to end the first week of December!  I know there's more adventures ahead this month along with more cookie baking, shopping, and events.  Good month for blogging! Have a good week everyone!

The Big Bang To End November

 To finish this supposedly "quiet month" as I always call it, we went out with a big bang with a week of celebrating and cooking, and eating, and did I mention celebrating?  First, our oldest kiddo Jackie had a milestone birthday.  He turned 50!  Seriously? How did that happen so fast?  I remember when I turned 50 and I thought for sure it was only a few years ago. Certainly not 22 years ago!  He was very adamant that there be no surprise parties and frankly he wanted no parties.  But his daughter, Summer, asked if they could please have a party for him.  He can't say no to his sweet kids so celebrate we did.  And we did it here.  Knowing I was also hosting Thanksgiving it was a bit busy!  Jackie was supposed to be born at the end of January but thought Thanksgiving week was better!  Weighing in at only 2lbs, 10oz 50 years ago, it was truly a blessing he wasn't born with cerebral palsy or any other problems that could have occurred. There wasn't the technology then that we have now for preemies. We even had to cut cloth diapers to fit! No pampers that small back then.  His first hospital pic was taken about a month after he was born. I thought he was adorable but he was super tiny!

 

But he grew up super cute too!

Wearing his vintage 1974 hat!  Happy birthday Jack III....yep, he's the third Jack!  After this gathering, everyone returned on Thursday for turkey day!

John (Lexi's boyfriend), and sister, Rae.

Jack, Phil, Jackie, and Jonathan, (Driana's hubby) eating pie later in the day.  In the background is Driana, also eating pie but she's eating for two! Yep, come Spring we'll be Great YaYa and Great PawPaw!  I didn't take any more pics and I really need to up my photo taking duties! We did have lots more family here.  Around 16 total so I'll try and do better at Christmas!  To finish up the week our boys came by yesterday and spent the morning helping Jack get wood in and get the wood burning furnace up and running.  

The city delivers a big dump truck load if you want, for a reasonable price.  Not going into the woods to cut our own is good.  But still, it's a lot of work with splitting, stacking, hauling, and stacking and splitting some more! You can't see it here, but the barn has stacked wood all around it on the sides that get sun.  We leave the north side open.  Anyway, many hands made quick work and they did great! I made them lunch, and we had fun as well as using up calories gained on Thursday!  So now I'm getting all the fall and Thanksgiving decor put away and the Christmas stuff will be next.  Whew! Busy time of year but I'm truly thankful for so many blessings.  My family, friends, blog buddies, and pets too!  Speaking of pets, today Annabelle went with us to ring the Salvation Army bell again this year. 

With her Santa "Paws" sweater on she was ready for the task! She received many pets from folks and this year we brought her stroller so she could get off the cold floor during the hour we were there.  The comments from people were "Spoiled"?  Yeppers, she is!  Bye Bye November!  This year has sure flown!

A Little Farewell

 I just wanted to post a little note about our granddog, Happy.  He joined the family 11yrs ago as 2yr old rescue of our granddaughter, Summer.  She took good care of that little dude but he started having some health issues this year.  Sadly, he passed away on Sunday.  My son, Jack, was also one of Happy's people that he loved.  Happy was one of our constant paw brigade at all our family gatherings.  I always joked we had the small, Happy, the medium, any of our rescues at the time...Chubs, Arnold, and now Annabelle, and the extra large, Kip! 

Summer and Happy on one of her birthdays.

Happy and Summer last November on a shopping day with us. So long little Happy.  You will be missed this year at the holiday gatherings.  We're having a little farewell ceremony for him on Tuesday as everyone will be here to celebrate our son Jack's 50th birthday.  Since Happy was such a big part of Jack's life too, he didn't mind doing that on his birthday.  Say hi to all our paw pals at the rainbow bridge.... Ferris, Eddy, Chubs, and Arnold.  We miss them all.

Home Again, Home Again

Midge and I made it back to Chicago last Friday.  Once back to her home ground we put together the things needed for her charity event on Sunday.  It was a pancake breakfast at her Church after Sunday Mass.    For a $5 donation folks got pancakes, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs and a fresh fruit cup.  Orange juice and coffee too.  Plus, everyone was encouraged to donate canned goods or dry goods for the food pantry. All the money received was also being donated.  My sister's company donated all the food that we made plus lots of canned goods.  We served around 90 people, and everyone seemed to enjoy the food! Not sure I want to eat or see bacon or sausage again for a while! 

 We set the room up with the colors of fall.

This table was set up to receive the donations of food.  It was a lot of work, but you felt good knowing that food would be provided for people in need.  These are tough times for families, and the shelters and food pantries really appreciate donations.  Once everything was done on Sunday we went back to the house for some R&R.  I don't know about where you live, but the weather was turning more Christmas than fall!   A big snowstorm was heading into the Chicago area.  I was scheduled to head back home yesterday and was a bit worried about the snow.

We woke up to this on Sunday with more on the way.  I watched the weather channel closely, but Monday morning came and the worst of it had passed.  I decided to go home and prayed the roads would be good.  They were a little dicey at the Indiana border but after that it was clear sailing all the way back home.  So, I was happy to have the time to be a help on that project but also very happy to be home.  Annabelle and Jack seemed happy to see me back too!  The cold is still hanging on today but a slow warm up is coming and by the end of the week we'll be in the high 50's.  That will feel like a heat wave!  Now on to preparing for Thanksgiving in a few weeks.  Not sure how many we'll have for dinner that day but on Tuesday before Thanksgiving Day, my oldest son will be 50!  Yikes!  We're going to celebrate with him and his family on the 25th.  It will be crazy to do two celebrations in the week but that's a big milestone birthday.  I'll blog more about our son Jack in a few weeks.  I hope all is well in your neck of the woods and you have a wonderful week!

It's "NO" vember

 I read that it's NOvember and we should say NO to whatever doesn't bring us joy.  Like cleaning? Like dieting? Like people who make up crazy things like NOvember?  Well, my fave month of October came and went in a big orange flash.  It was full of beautiful weather.

The colors on these trees are amazing and this photo doesn't do it justice.

The barn is red and the trees are complimenting it!

Orange as the sun goes down. The dry weather was broken up with some rain, thankfully, and a mix of mild as well as chilly days.  The kiddos here in Ashland had trick or treat on the Thursday before Halloween.  It did rain and was pretty chilly.  Many of the little burbs around here changed the trick or treat to November1st but the kids here are tough, I guess.  Of course, some folks were not happy, but the kids didn't seem to mind!  After my Halloween trip to Chicago, Midge and I headed back to Ohio and she was able to spend the week with us. We didn't do anything really crazy but we did enjoy just hanging out together and visiting some shops around town.  We took some nice walks with Annabelle and hiked through the Creepy Woods enjoying the crunch of the leaves, the colors of the trees and peace and quiet of the day.  However, one bad thing happened after those hikes.  Midge got a tick on her neck! It was pretty embedded, but we did get it out.  I really hope no problems happen because of it. It's been a bad year for ticks and I feel awful that she had to experience it.  This morning we took off early and headed back to Chicago so she could be home for an event at her Church on Sunday.  I'm helping her with that and then I'll head for home on Monday.  That's the day our area is supposed to get our first snowfall.  Figures, I'll be driving in that!  No good deed goes unpunished!  I'm still enjoying being with her though so no worries.  I do miss Jack and Annabelle as they stayed home.  So that's about it for the first week of our November.  One thing I failed to mention last week.  Midge and I didn't just dress up for some Halloween fun.  We also took a pic for the Sunday Today Show for their Mug shots segment.

We don't know if we'll make the cut for the show but maybe if you watch it this Sunday you'll see us in all our glory! Ha!  Wish us luck! Have a good weekend everyone.

Halloween Wrap Up!

 October 31st...it's here and now almost over.😔 I went to Chicago and did the trick or treat fun with my sister, Midge and her family.  My niece, Amy, did makeup for us and turned us into the bewitching grannies!

Make up? Check

Add costume...Check

Mix in a sweet sister witch! Check!

Combine niece, Amy, and her hubby, Eric for more fun

Put us all together and you have a witch trifecta!  It was a beautiful day for trick or treat.  A bit chilly but we had a blast with our suped up witch mobile.

Everyone loved our set up as we handed out candy from a cauldron loaded with candy and magic!  I hope everyone had a fun Halloween day and a wonderful, best month of the year, October! Over too soon.  Booo all!

Ghoulish Fun!

 This gal is excited! 

Why?

Because she's riding shotgun with YaYa on her way to Chicago for some treats and a few witchy tricks! Stay tuned! Happy Hallows Eve!

I'm Not The Only One

If you've been a follower here at the Pines, you know I love October and Halloween and decorate crazy for the holiday.  Maybe I'm weird to do this but I find it fun. Until I have to take it all down anyway! Well, I know I'm not the only one.  Driving around town has shown me there are crazier people than me! I'm already planning for next October when we have a family reunion here and have some wild things in store.  Last week we drove down to Mohican State Park to visit my friend, Kim, who's family goes camping there every October for 2 weeks.  They, and all the other campers, put up elaborate decorations for the annual contest.  Kim's done some pretty crazy ones and has won many times too.  We noticed the other campers have upped their game this year.  It was fun seeing what people dream up!  Kim's family did an Egyptian theme.  We saw it in the daytime, but I saw a pic of it at night, and it really was pretty cool. Here's a shot of it during the day:: 

They built a pyramid!  Skeleton mummies abound!  At night it's all lit up with a black light inside the pyramid.

The skeletons were pretty cool!  I'll find out next week at work how they did with the contest.  She said I could borrow a few of here decorations from past times and I might take her up on that!  One year she had a castle with a fire breathing dragon!  Do you decorate?  Living in the country we don't get trick or treaters, so my outside is more sedate:

A few ghosts hanging around.  Ignore the green giant garbage can!

Pumpkins and mums.

I thought this mum was cute!  In a final note, I finally got my 2024 blog book printed!  I've always used the blog to print or share book company.  However, they don't do it anymore and I went with Pixie books.  

They did a great job, and the photos inside really came out nice! I highly recommend them.  I have been blogging for 17yrs and have all the books that are my way of keeping a journal.  Not sure what to do with them but I figure my kids may want to read them after I'm in heaven...if I make it to heaven! Ha!

Continue to have a fun, happy, beautiful, October!  Make some silly treats! Enjoy!

Hocu Pocus

 No, I'm not talking about the movie.  We saw the Hocus Pocus house when we were in Salem, Mass this past Summer.  Believe it or not that movie isn't a favorite of mine. 

Hello Hocus Pocus house!  So why the title of this post?  Well, yesterday we had the family over for our annual Halloween/Fall gathering.  I mentioned before that our Chicago group would not be here, but it was still fun with just our gang.  The weather was fabulous and I'm praying that God will keep this weather in his YaYa files for next year when we have a family reunion here in October.  So here are some familiar faces of the day:

Our son Phil and his girls, Alexis and Rae.  Yes, dear Phil is our grayest haired kiddo...our silver fox! Ha! His girls are getting so old now too! Lexi, 19, Rae 17.

Jordan and Phil.

Jordan and is girlfriend, Britteny watching the Ohio State game...which Ohio State won.

Jack, Jackie, Cameron, and Anthony and who's the witch with the green face? No, not me but our good friend Bryn! She had another party to go to but we were glad she was able to come here first.

This little vampire is our little Hazel.  She's my daughter-in-law's daughter's daughter...huh? Well, I could say our son's step granddaughter and our step great granddaughter.  But I really don't like the step part..they are all our grands!  Great and really great! Ha! And we just found out our oldest granddaughter, Driana and her hubby Jonathan, are expecting their first baby!  They've been trying for a long time, so everyone is super excited for them.  They couldn't make it yesterday so hopefully we will see them in November. 

Our son, Jack, with Hazel's little sister, Tatem.  Or Tato as we call her. She's enjoying her finger sucker!

Daughter-in-law, Evelyn with the girls and of course, grand dog Kip. 

Anthony and Cameron throwing the football around.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect with cool and dry and so comfy out!

I had a few little crafty things for the littles to play with. Hazel was coloring her masterpiece!

This is Lexi's boyfriend John with Rae on the other side for a photo moment.

We had a table set up in the living room so whoever wanted to watch the game could also eat and enjoy it. Worked out great! Britteny liked it! She's a big Ohio State fan!

Everyone eventually made it outdoors and enjoyed playing with the littles,

Catching a football,

Eating on the deck,

The gang made it up to the fence to pet the neighbor's alpaca, Beano. This was Hazel's first alpaca pet and she thought he was sooooo soft!  The day was fun, and the food turned out pretty good if I do say so myself!  We had my special Greek chicken, sloppy joes, pasta salad, mac n' cheese, witches' fingers..aka bread sticks, fruit salad, chips, chocolate cake that turned out so cute, but I forgot to take a pic of, apple dessert, and then some brains for good measure:

Pumpkin brains anyone? (actually, orange Jello, not pumpkin but it was tasty anyway!) So that's a wrap for this year.  We still have a half of a month left and plenty of time for more fun.  Our trees haven't reached peak color because of our earlier warm temps and the drought that still holds us hostage.  I was sure that having an event here at the Pines would break the no rain time since it usually does when I try to have an outdoor activity.  Well, I'm grateful for it being so nice.  I hope everyone has a good week. Go out and crunch in some leaves, carve a pumpkin, see something spooky, and get that candy ready for trick or treat! We don't get trick or treaters out here in the country so I'm going to Chicago in a few weeks to spend it with Midge. We have some treats and a few tricks that hopefully will be blog worthy.  Might have something to do with a golf cart and a couple of witches....stay tuned!