We had such a great Christmas! Most of my family was here; the kids,my Mom, both sisters, David's brother, even Dakota made it for dinner on Christmas day. Hap had sick family and couldn't come, but Allison and all of her family were here, along with Debbie and Kim. The weather was lovely, we had tons of food and everyone had a good time. I love my family! Gina and Nic made 6 pies- peanut butter pie, pecan, pumpkin. They also made cookies, pumpkin pie bars and a beautiful german chocolate cake. She also made orange fluff. Megan brought spiced cranberry sauce, ham, Allison made the best rolls ever, they brought salad and veggie tray. Deb and Kim brought more pecan pies- chocolate and regular. So even though I did a lot of cooking, everyone helped so much it was pretty darn easy.
Jared and Heather flew in last Wednesday, and Jared had to fly back on Sunday. We have Heather until this Wednesday. It's so fun to visit with them and hearing all their escapades.
I made gifts this year- fancy spa stuff. Men's Pine soap, Women's lavender soap, bath salts, bath fizzies, hand cream and even a few lip balms. They are made with almond oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter and/or olive oil, and essential oils. Everything turned out really good, if I do say so myself. I made the soaps the old fashioned way- lye, water, coconut oil, nice rich things. It was a lot of work, but fun, and everyone seemed to like them.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
And so it is Christmas
Well, here we are!~ I'm so excited that all of our kids will be home for Christmas, Mom is here and all my sibs will be here either Friday or Saturday, how cool is that!!! David's brother Jon is also coming with his fiance and her boys for dinner on Christmas. We have the gifts wrapped, the decorations up, whatever I'm cooking is done- mostly... I still can't believe it's Christmas and the end of the year already.
David and I picked Heather up at the airport at 4:30 today, and Nic and Gina are picking Jared up around 11:00 tonight from the airport. When I talked to him earlier, his layover in Baltimore was dragging on- they told them the flight would be an hour late, or so. I sure hope he gets in ok, I wish we could have picked him up too, but their flights were too far apart, and Nic graciously volunteered to pick his brother up. I think he's as anxious to see him as I am!
So here's the true and kinda sad reason I haven't posted for a while- I'm hooked on Farm Town, it's a game on Facebook. I get to farm and actually make money at it, that's how you know it's a game! It's much easier than real farming, and I can sit in my easy chair- how cool is that! I feel a little guilty though, so I'll try to update more often.
Merry Christmas!!!
David and I picked Heather up at the airport at 4:30 today, and Nic and Gina are picking Jared up around 11:00 tonight from the airport. When I talked to him earlier, his layover in Baltimore was dragging on- they told them the flight would be an hour late, or so. I sure hope he gets in ok, I wish we could have picked him up too, but their flights were too far apart, and Nic graciously volunteered to pick his brother up. I think he's as anxious to see him as I am!
So here's the true and kinda sad reason I haven't posted for a while- I'm hooked on Farm Town, it's a game on Facebook. I get to farm and actually make money at it, that's how you know it's a game! It's much easier than real farming, and I can sit in my easy chair- how cool is that! I feel a little guilty though, so I'll try to update more often.
Merry Christmas!!!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Woa! Christmas is coming!!!
Well, we had a good Thanksgiving-my sister-in-law Sandy and her family made Tday meal for us, Mom, and our cousins. Hap was busy outfitting a hunting trip for a group, but Sandy was home and willing to cook for everyone. Her daughter Franki loves to cook and helped, and I brought several pies. Marvin and Cathy came, they've just moved to Arizona from California, and it was fun to see them.
David and I went on to Benson Thursday night, stayed at the Best Western hotel there. It's a lovely hotel, and the staff was so friendly! The pool and spa were still open, so I jumped in that evening for a quick swim. Although it was a heated pool, to my old bones it was cold! A nice bracing swim, then on to the hot tub to warm up. We drove into Tombstone on Friday and took a carriage tour around town. I was sad to hear that the little shack used by Big Nose Kate and Doc Holliday had burned down in 1998, just a few years after we were there before. We wandered around town with Chica in tow- it's definitely a dog-friendly place. The Best Western there was so acomidating for dogs, and even many of the stores were fine with her coming in with us.
We wandered down to Bisbee Friday afternoon, what a cool place! It was so busy we didn't find a place to park, but enjoyed just driving around looking at the architecture and the mine there. We had lunch at a place called Bisbee Breakfast Club- what a great meal!!! It was the best hamburger I've ever had, and the cafe has a great atmosphere. I highly recommend it. There's a nice health food store next door too, and I was able to find some wheat-free snacks. Saturday we took the side road toward Safford, and stopped at the Chiracahua National Monument. It was so cool- literally, the wind was blowing and it was cold. But what a great place to hike and see some amazing country. We didn't hike, but there are lots of trails for the hardy folks. Saturday night we stayed with David's cousin Wayne and had dinner at a great little Mexican restaurant in Safford.
I missed spending the holiday with our kids, but since they are spreading out and setting up their own lives more, I have to accept that I won't get to have them every main holiday. At least I know they were enjoying the holiday with others and weren't alone.
Of course I got sick right after we got home, and I'm suffering through a nasty cold right now, which I got from David. For the past few days we have both been fighting it, trying to take care of each other. Luckily Nic and Gina are here, and they have been a big help too. I haven't been able to start Christmas decorating, hopefully I can start that this weekend. I can't believe it's already the Christmas season!
David and I went on to Benson Thursday night, stayed at the Best Western hotel there. It's a lovely hotel, and the staff was so friendly! The pool and spa were still open, so I jumped in that evening for a quick swim. Although it was a heated pool, to my old bones it was cold! A nice bracing swim, then on to the hot tub to warm up. We drove into Tombstone on Friday and took a carriage tour around town. I was sad to hear that the little shack used by Big Nose Kate and Doc Holliday had burned down in 1998, just a few years after we were there before. We wandered around town with Chica in tow- it's definitely a dog-friendly place. The Best Western there was so acomidating for dogs, and even many of the stores were fine with her coming in with us.
We wandered down to Bisbee Friday afternoon, what a cool place! It was so busy we didn't find a place to park, but enjoyed just driving around looking at the architecture and the mine there. We had lunch at a place called Bisbee Breakfast Club- what a great meal!!! It was the best hamburger I've ever had, and the cafe has a great atmosphere. I highly recommend it. There's a nice health food store next door too, and I was able to find some wheat-free snacks. Saturday we took the side road toward Safford, and stopped at the Chiracahua National Monument. It was so cool- literally, the wind was blowing and it was cold. But what a great place to hike and see some amazing country. We didn't hike, but there are lots of trails for the hardy folks. Saturday night we stayed with David's cousin Wayne and had dinner at a great little Mexican restaurant in Safford.
I missed spending the holiday with our kids, but since they are spreading out and setting up their own lives more, I have to accept that I won't get to have them every main holiday. At least I know they were enjoying the holiday with others and weren't alone.
Of course I got sick right after we got home, and I'm suffering through a nasty cold right now, which I got from David. For the past few days we have both been fighting it, trying to take care of each other. Luckily Nic and Gina are here, and they have been a big help too. I haven't been able to start Christmas decorating, hopefully I can start that this weekend. I can't believe it's already the Christmas season!
Monday, November 16, 2009
It's a beautiful Autumn day
Well the weather is clear, and this is a great week! We watched Dean, our niece's dog, all weekend. He loves to visit and play with our dogs, but he sure misses Megan while she's gone. The girls get so jealous of each other while he's here- it's pretty funny. Within a few minutes Cara will growl and attack Sunny, because Sunny and Dean get along really well. It's kinda like a 'cat' fight, but with dogs!
Tomorrow I plan to grind a bunch of flour from garbanzo beans, rice and whatever else I can find. That's what it takes to make bread, cookies and such for wheat-free baking, and it's so much cheaper to grind it myself than buy the flour, plus it's fresher and tastes better. I'm also going to make liquid laundry detergent. I haven't done that before, so it should be interesting. It calls for Zote soap, borax and washing soda, and costs pennies on the dollar compared to store-bought detergent. So, we'll see how it goes.
Tomorrow I plan to grind a bunch of flour from garbanzo beans, rice and whatever else I can find. That's what it takes to make bread, cookies and such for wheat-free baking, and it's so much cheaper to grind it myself than buy the flour, plus it's fresher and tastes better. I'm also going to make liquid laundry detergent. I haven't done that before, so it should be interesting. It calls for Zote soap, borax and washing soda, and costs pennies on the dollar compared to store-bought detergent. So, we'll see how it goes.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Fibro haze, Autumn days
We finally got some rain yesterday! It took a week of bleak, cloudy weather to finally get a little moisture, so the anticipation was allowed to build for days. Well, that is, if I could move. Weeks like this kick my ____. It's hard to explain the grogginess, weakness and fatigue that hit me before and during a strong weather change. We had a busy weekend, friends over on Saturday, then 3 hours of church Sunday morning, followed by a visit by other friends. Doesn't seem like much, really, but I couldn't get out of bed on Monday. I figured it was because I did too much over the weekend, but there's a strange 'brain fog' that I usually only feel before a storm. I kept looking outside, to a clear blue sky. Hmmm, maybe my barometer isn't working right.
Tuesday we woke up to bleary, cloud covered skies. The whole sky was covered with a high, gray blanket, and my barometer was redeemed. It didn't help the 'walking thru molasses' feeling I had for days, but at least the barometer still works.
My sister Debbie stopped by on Wednesday. She was here to go over some business with David, Jon and Best by Farr. She has a handful right now; Shurell just had elbow surgery and is still in the Valley for physical therapy, so Deb has her two kids, Rachele is still struggling a little with her health issues. Mom drove up on Monday to help out in St Johns, and spend some time with her great-grand kids. Debbie has 4 of her 5 kids living there, with their kids and all the activities they're in. Should be a busy week for all! Debbie only stayed here a brief time, but we had a nice visit.
We are watching my niece Megan's dog Dean. He's a timid, beautiful collie. He has Cara and Sunny to play with, but he gets lonely for Megan and Taylor when he's here. He has the classic symptoms a child have, they love to play and visit, they just want Mom and Dad close by. Sometimes you can't have everything!
Tuesday we woke up to bleary, cloud covered skies. The whole sky was covered with a high, gray blanket, and my barometer was redeemed. It didn't help the 'walking thru molasses' feeling I had for days, but at least the barometer still works.
My sister Debbie stopped by on Wednesday. She was here to go over some business with David, Jon and Best by Farr. She has a handful right now; Shurell just had elbow surgery and is still in the Valley for physical therapy, so Deb has her two kids, Rachele is still struggling a little with her health issues. Mom drove up on Monday to help out in St Johns, and spend some time with her great-grand kids. Debbie has 4 of her 5 kids living there, with their kids and all the activities they're in. Should be a busy week for all! Debbie only stayed here a brief time, but we had a nice visit.
We are watching my niece Megan's dog Dean. He's a timid, beautiful collie. He has Cara and Sunny to play with, but he gets lonely for Megan and Taylor when he's here. He has the classic symptoms a child have, they love to play and visit, they just want Mom and Dad close by. Sometimes you can't have everything!
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