CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS TREE

 A few of you asked about my Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.

Yes that was my intention.  The branch hangs in a shadow box on our family room wall.  I felt that the tiny green ball was the perfect accent on the stark branch.

A friend made the shadow box for us a few years ago and I really enjoy the character of it.

Here's the side of the room that shows the shadow box.

Ignore the folding chair in front of the fireplace.  I forgot to remove it.                         I had things set up for our small group coming over for dinner.

No outside lights this year, but I do like how the tree shines through the window.

I fixed some little goodies for our guests to take home.

Tasty

Getting ready for our Christmas Small Group dinner.  I put those goodies in little bags at each place for our friends to take home.

I didn't get any photos of our group.  There was some heavy duty conversation going on and it just wouldn't have been appropriate.  We did have lots of laughter along with the yummy homemade chicken enchiladas Debra made for us.  We always eat GOOD at our get togethers!

So there you have it ... 

A bit of a tour of "Some Christmas" at our home.

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 Wordless Wednesday

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

FAMILY CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

 This last Saturday was our annual Family Christmas party.  It is mostly our daughter in laws side of the family that live fairly close.

Its always lots of fun and a Norwegian Feast for the tummy.  We were missing some kiddos and cousins this year.  Its difficult to plan a time around everybody's schedule.

We did end up with about 40!  Steve and Sigrid have a big enough place to host the crowd.

This year's shot of the set-up.

Last years from the opposite direction.

Lots of fun catching up on life.

Dave and Sigrid's brother.

Dave and Sigrid's cousin.  She's like a daughter to us too.

Candid's aren't aways flattering but I find these times precious.  Our granddaughter chatting with Dave and her aunt which I didn't get in the photo.

I can't seem to upload the rest of my photos.  My poor computer is dying.

This may be the end of this post.  We shall see what I can figure out.

Yay, I think whatever was the problem is ok for the moment.

We had the crazy gift exchange which really was fun.  As I said before candid  photos sometimes make everyone look bored or all I get was the back of heads.  Its for my memories any hoo...

We did have Santa and the Grinch visit again this year.

Sometimes its a bit raucous, but all in fun.

I'm so grateful for the memories, and thankful for all of the family times together.

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

SANTA COMES TO TOWN

 Last night Christmas officially started in our neighborhood.

Dave and I had finished dinner and we were all cozy in our recliners, sneakers off and my snuggy blanket around me.

All of a sudden we heard sirens and some music.

Santa is Coming!

I couldn't get my shoes tied fast enough so I put on Dave's work clogs which were by the front door.  They are 10 sizes too big for me, so I looked like an accident about to happen.  Thankfully IT Didn't.

The Tulle Fog had begun to roll back in.

At least we could see down the street.

By the time we got out in the front Santa was all the way down the street.  I grabbed one photo with my cell and hurried ( or should I say shuffled back in side)

Baby it was cold and dampish out there ...

Not such a great photo but it is a fun record shot of our wonderful neighborhood.

I am so thankful we live here.  

We are truly blessed.

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind.

NOSTALGIA AND TRADITIONS

 Nostalgia and Traditions

I was reading Debby's post on My Shasta Home about all the things that bring memories up during this Christmas time of year.

I know I have posted these before but Tis The Season ... 

Here's one of my favorites way back in 2007.

Santa visiting at our Family Christmas and one of the cousins talking to him.

Our tree is finally up and decorated.

I keep it lit all day so I can enjoy it while working in my "Office".

These Trees are always a Must every year.

My Mother in Law made them for us 60 years ago.

I love them and appreciate all the hard work .

Our Nativity set brought back from Kenya in 2009 always is placed in a spot of honor.

This nativity set was bought the first year we were married.

Now its 61 years old, almost 62.

I love seeing it every year.

Made by our daughter in law Sigrid back in 1989.

Made by our daughter in law Kellie in 2008.

Of course our Santa has to have a place of honor too.

He's about 55 years old.

There are many more goodies which never made it out of the boxes and tubs this year.  They are still sweet memories in my heart.

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

AFTER THANKSGIVING

 Hi Friends,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

We did !  Terrific food, great conversation and family time ... what could be better?

I didn't take a single picture!  What's with That?  Too busy enjoying I guess.

Friday Dave and I prepped for a Hallmark Christmas Ornament "garage sale".

We have TOO MUCH STUFF and thought this would be an ideal time to make a chunk of change .  We really didn't think it through since we had been dealing with health issues lately.  First of all it was Black Friday Weekend and secondly the temperature on Saturday only was 46F.  That's far too cold to sit in a non insulated, cement floor garage ... 

Basically we FROZE... sold $10.00 worth of ornaments ... and talked to some wonderful people out walking their dogs.

This bouncing "baby" 9 month old Great Pyrenees was something else.

Absolutely sweet to the bone.  He is a show dog and at this time is rated #6 in the up and coming show world.

His Sister is older and rated #1. ( we only met this one and I can't remember his name)

I love the way he posed for me.  He was so soft and fluffy and is learning all the commands really well.  He was huge and oh so powerful.

I went out in our front yard this morning to check out the "Shrooms".

Looks like we have a bumper crop under the tree.

Our Camilla bush is going crazy.  I think this is the most buds and flowers ever.

This is as far as I have gotten on my Christmas decorating.

Tree is up and the lights are on it.  Yay, so far they are all staying lit ... 

I changed out the Fall wreath for our tinier Christmas wreath.

At least from the outside it looks like Christmas is coming.

Today's project is to get the ornaments finally on and get the "do-dads" up around the house.  I guess slow and steady wins the race.

Okay, I'd better get busy.

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

WEDNESDAY WISHES

 Wednesday Wishes for ALL  of You, My Wonderful Blogland Friends.

Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart.

I am thankful for all of the good memories of serving others.

Dave and our 2 granddaughters served dinner at a homeless shelter way back in 2008.  It was a wonderful thing to do on Thanksgiving Day.

Another precious time of enjoying family on that special day.

Papa and even Snicker getting into the fun.  Oh so long ago !!

My so homely they are cute decorations for the DAY.

And so my Friends, I love you all.

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

Monday ... Monday

 My Goodness ... Where did that week go?  Its Monday again !

I guess having a husband with health issues has occupied a lot of my time.

I have tried not to whine since so many of you fellow bloggers are experiencing such serious difficulties with family members.  I really am trying to keep a Thankful Spirit throughout the holidays.

So ... that being said, I continue to pray for all of you and will get on with the daily living.

We are so thankful for the sale of two items on eBay.  The moola is really coming at a good time for us.

I'm going to say that I am also thankful for the low fog this morning.  It feels like the Holidays.  It reminded me of a photo I took several years ago.

Fall in the Fog

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

ONE DAY AT A TIME

 ONE DAY AT A TIME 

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

RAIN DROPS KEEP FALLING ON MY HEAD

 Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head.

I went out in our yard this morning when there was a break in the dripping rain.

I tried to capture some of the drops with my cell phone.  Not too bad for not knowing what I am doing ... 😊

This is one of my favorites.  You need to enlarge these to see the detail.

What I like about this one is the puddle on the leaf that produced the drop at the end of that barren stem.

All of the drips looked like diamonds to me.

Another puddle on the crepe myrtle tree caught in the "Drip"

Update on Dave ... 

His Diverticulitis is getting a bit better but he had a severe reaction to the Amoxicillin this time.  His lips have swollen and slight blisters on them.  Poor guy is so miserable.

We had to change his medicine to 2 others and added an antihistamine.

Thankfully we both slept like rocks last night.  Praying the swelling will go down and not affect his breathing or swallowing.

If its not one thing, its another...

Prayers appreciated.

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 Wordless Wednesday

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

NOT THE WAY WE PLANNED

 Well, our Saturday turned out a bit differently than we had planned.

Dave just hasn't felt quite right for the last few weeks.  Everything came to a head yesterday.

 He was feeling just "off" and then began to experience very sharp pains in his left side.  It kept getting worse so I drove us to our "second home" ... ER ... 4 hours worth !

They took the usual labs and then a C scan.  The conclusion was what we thought it would be, Acute Diverticulitis.  No surgery but good ole Amoxicillan to the rescue.

We both slept fairly well last night and are just taking it easy today, after all Sunday is suppose to be The Day of Rest.  Never a dull moment around here !

So, the skies are Dribbling and its gray and blah..a perfect setting for us.

On a different note:

Here is our Bounty of produce from our yard this year.  I didn't think we got any but there was one oh so tiny lonely pear on our tree.  Now it sits proudly above our sink just defying the odds. 😇

That's all I got today folks,

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

YES !! WE DID GET RAIN ...

 We got 24 hours of steady rain yesterday.  We are very thankful for it.

I believe the total was 1.5 inches..not gobs but enough to water everything and OF COURSE drop more leaves on our freshly cleaned up lawn and driveway ... HaHa ...

Our backyard is showing its colors too.

Everything is too wet to sweep up.  

Oh Phooey ... can't work out there today ... 😂

One really nice thing about working out in the front yard is the people that we meet and visit with.

We met a new gal who was out doing her daily run around the neighborhood.

In the process of talking with her she said she was enjoying being able to run on such a lovely day.  She said that where she had been serving she couldn't do that, especially in shorts and a short sleeve shirt.  In asking further we found out that she had just returned from 4 years in Iraq with the organization Samaritans Purse.

What a beautiful woman with a soul to match.  Found out she lives several blocks away from us and attends a church which is across the street from the church we attend.  Small world ... we talked almost an hour about everything, church, humanitarian work, mission trips and everything in between.

Both Dave and I felt so invigorated after our time with her.  We were blessed .

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind