Christmas and Sunday Sign

Christmas for us was low key. We didn't have any visitors. I went over to my nephew's for a little while, and we exchanged gifts. Then I came home and fixed a nice meal. My husband said he wanted a roast for his Christmas dinner. Actually I got a pork tenderloin. When I got to the grocery they had VERY little to pick from so that seemed the best choice. They only had 3 pitiful looking little roasts there. I guess since they were closing for Christmas they didn't want many extras leftover. Well, I can't fault them for that. Anyway, I cut x's in it and stuff those holes full of onion, garlic, and bell peppers. It turned out really good and tender. I made mashed potatoes, and I sauteed up some onions and mushrooms, and made brown gravy. For me it just doesn't get much better than those sauteed onions, mushrooms, mashed potatoes and then topped off with brown gravy! Yummy!! My husband enjoyed it too, so that was the important thing!

We didn't have a white Christmas. The weather has been mild and today was very nice. No jacket required. I took this pretty sunset picture just a few days ago.

Is everyone ready for the New Year? It's amazing how fast this one has gone. Hard to believe that 2008 is almost here.

SUNDAY SIGN

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!!!!!

As I think back to Christmas time when I was a child, I always think about the stockings being hung up and on Christmas morning they would usually have a banana, orange, maybe an apple or tangerine, a few pieces of hard candy, and usually some chocolate drops. It was so exciting to get that stocking and reach in there to find the goodies. I recall peeling the orange and eating it right away. They were always so good back then. I guess it's because that was the only time of the year we had things like that. It certainly was special. We didn't have the store bought stockings like folks have now. We had one of Daddy's work socks and it held quite a bit of stuff. Those memories certainly make me smile!

The Christmas cactus is blooming and it's so pretty. It use to bloom at Thanksgiving, which is the time of year it was given to me; so for several years it bloomed always at Thanksgiving. Last year I repotted it into a bigger container and it has grown quite a bit, so now it's blooming at Christmas time. You can see the little small bud in the picture below and then one that is budded out some more and then the final lovely bloom. I love the color of these!

I do wish everyone a very joyous and very, very, very Merry Christmas. May all your Christmas dreams come true!!!

SUNDAY SIGN

Gooseberry vs. Toilet Paper Roll

I caught Mr. Gooseberry with a roll of toilet paper having a grand old time with it! Thankfully it didn't have that much left on the roll.

Baking, Sorrow, Rattlesnakes, and Sunday Sign

A week since my last post!! Oh my goodness gracious. I have been busy with all this Christmas stuff, getting the gifts and getting them wrapped, cards mailed, making my lists and checking them twice, and goodies baked. Over the past two days I have made chess bars, divinity candy, sugar cookies, and 7 layer cookies. Now my kitchen is the color of flour again. When I cook, the 3 items in the picture below are some of my favorite kitchen gadgets. They certainly make it easier. Do you have a favorite kitchen gadget that you use alot?

I had my dog back to the vet this week for a procedure where they flushed out his sinus cavities. She said she got lots of nasty, stinky, sticky stuff out of there but didn't find any foreign object, which is what she thought it might be. She put him on stronger antibiotics. I have been able to get them down him most of the time. He is feeling much better now but still has spells where he wheezes really bad. It's kind of like a bad wheeze/cough kind of a thing. So he's been getting a lot of special attention. Not that he doesn't always get that, but more than usual!


I saw these ads in the paper recently.

Now I do sincerely hope that someone bought that sorrow mare and that she doesn't have sorrow anymore.



Anybody got a rattlesnake to sell this man?? Maybe it was one of those things on his list to do before he dies. You know like,

No. 45. Bungee jump.
No. 46. Eat rattlesnake.
No. 47. Get a belly ring.

Sunday Sign.

Saturday's Ramblings and Sunday Sign

I have been a lazy blogger. It happens sometimes. I'm not sure where the time goes, but it sure passes fast these days.

This week my dog, Pup, has been sick. He has been sneezing like crazy. I don't mean just sneezing like regular, but really slinging his head and a sneeze that goes on and on like he just stuck his head in a barrel of pepper. The vet said it was allergies. I noticed him having some drainage from one side of his nose and he didn't act like he felt very well so I took him back on Monday. When I sat down to wait he sneezed and blood came flying out and that scared me half to death. I'm glad he did it there and not here. I got paper towels and cleaned him, me, and the floor up. After the vet saw him she said he might have a sinus infection so she gave me some antibiotics and told me to give him one twice a day along with a Benadryl. He only sneezed blood out one other time and that was Monday night after I got him home. Thankfully that was on the kitchen floor and no trouble to clean up. Wednesday he wasn't eating much and then on Thursday he ate even less, so yesterday I took him back and she gave him a shot of antibiotics. If he's no better by Monday then she says she will run a scope up his nose to see if he might have a foreign object up there. That is possible I guess. She said they have had animals who have blades of grass up their nose or any number of things. Today he has felt better and tonight he ate 2 hotdogs!! He has been acting really pitiful though and wants me to break the food up in tiny bites and feed it to him. Of course I do this! But he ate that last hotdog pretty much like his usual self, so I know he's feeling better. I was able to give him all his meds today broken up and hidden in bits of hotdog.

Going to the vet is like us going to the doctor. I mean they are so busy and you have to wait sometimes for a long time. Monday when I was there, there was 6 people with their critters waiting and 4 exam rooms full. I was the 7th one waiting. Yesterday when I went back I had to wait a long time because the vet Pup sees was in emergency surgery. I don't mind the waiting. It's always interesting to see all the other critters that people bring in.

The weather has changed so much this week. Wednesday night we had snow flurries and actually a little on the ground before it stopped. It was very windy and cold. Today it's been raining and is not nearly as cold. Tomorrow is going to be in the 70's.

My husband was confused on Wednesday and when he is confused you can't get anything done. Some of you know and some of you don't, but my husband has had 2 strokes and is in a hospital bed and I take care of him. In June I will have been taking care of him in a hospital bed for 3 years. Normally he stays in bed 99% of the time. Wednesday he woke up and thought we were in Knoxville. When he gets like that there is no way you can convince him of anything else. I had to get him up and take him in the living room and after looking out the window he decided that he was wrong and I was right and we were at home. Next he thought that he had driven a semi home and he wanted to see it. (He is a retired trucker.) Nothing doing but he had to get up again and this time I took him out on the porch so he could look for the semi. He could not see it. I pushed him to the other end of the porch (in his wheelchair) and he looked across at the neighbor's house (He is also legally blind), but couldn't see a semi. After putting him back in bed he was very upset about the missing semi. He wanted me to call the neighbors and ask if they had seen it. Then he said he would go to jail for that truck being missing. Then he said he wanted to call the State Police and report it missing. I told him it would be okay, that he had worked for that company for so long and they knew he was a reliable employee, and they would understand, and perhaps it might show up again. So this discussion went on and on with me reassuring him and telling him to just not worry about it and maybe it would be returned overnight, etc. Then around 10 p.m. he wanted up again. This time simply because he wanted "out of that bed!" So he sat up for a few minutes and then was ready to go back to bed. I think all the getting up during the day tired him out because he went to sleep very soon after going to bed, and I was very thankful for that. The sound of his snoring was music to my ears!

Normally he is very quiet and doesn't talk much and won't talk hardly at all if someone comes to visit. If he gets confused he won't shut up. Usually he will get confused about every 2-3 weeks and this will usually last a day and night, more or less. If he were confused all the time there is no way I could take care of him like I do here at home. I will take care of him here as long as I can though. He is a wonderful man and if I were in his place I sure wouldn't want to go to a nursing home.

Do have a wonderful Sunday.

Sunday Sign

Saturday here in the park I think it was the 4th of July!

You are probably wondering about my title. Well, that just popped into my head and I went with it. Some of you may remember that song. It has absolutely nothing to do with my post.

My lands! It's been a week since I posted. Well, some weeks are like that. I haven't been able to make the rounds of the blogs that I like to visit and comment on lately. The weather has gotten a little cooler and I get in the baking mood when that happens. These apples bars pictured below I made for a church function. I have also been experimenting with yeast rolls. Everytime I do that my kitchen has a new main color...the color of flour. I get it everywhere, on me, the floor, the cabinets, the stove, and oh what a mess I create! I tried two different recipes and they both turned out pretty good but I liked the second batch the best. They were pretty near perfect, if I do say so myself. Very yummy!! Definitely the best I have ever made and a recipe I'll try again.

Hard to believe that this is the first day of December. Christmas is almost upon us. Time to get those decorations up, cards sent, presents bought and wrapped, and newsletters written and sent out! I got out a wreath and put it on the floor to see if the lights still worked on it. Munchie decided that it was a great place to lay inside that circle. Unfortunately the lights don't work, but that's okay. It's still pretty without the lights. I don't decorate inside the house for the holidays due to lack of space, but I will decorate my porch!

SUNDAY SIGN