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Rain and wind......3 days straight now ! It's supposed to snow later this afternoon, but I'm really not encouraging it......Tess, Seth and Molly are driving to San Francisco for the day and I want Molly to be able to get home tonight and Dan and Anna are driving up this evening from Stockton .....hopefully they make it before the snow starts falling.
As you can see, Shasta.....our last remaining kitten....is not the least bit concerned. One of the advantages for being an "only" cat is that Jim takes pity and lets you in the house. She's a good girl so I don't mind......actually kind of like it !
Just about ready for Xmas....presents all wrapped, nuts all roasted and fudge all made. Sweet Anna is making lasagna for dinner when they get here tonight......so for me , a 49er's game to watch, a cozy bed to crawl into later....nothing much to do. Until I wake up tomorrow morning ! Morning brings......last minute house cleaning, camping stew to make for Xmas eve dinner and a big plate of homemade cream puffs.......sort of stacked like a Xmas tree !!!! My mom will come up early ,I hope,it wouldn't be Xmas Eve day without a last minute trip to Worton's , our little mountain grocery store. Kids will be showing up later in the afternoon......just in time for dinner !
So many cherished traditions this time of year.....I repeat them each and every year with such joy and anticipation. Merry Christmas to each of you .......enjoy each and every minute of the coming days.
Granny's annual Crab Feed was scheduled for last Friday, but, alas, the crabbers chose to go on strike !! No crab for the masses ! Granny went with menu option # 2 and after a trip to Costco on Thursday.....we were good to go. Shrimp Scampi for 12, along with Granny's world famous Caesar salad. All the "local" kids were there and Denny and Joan made it also. Actually, it was a going away dinner for them as they're headed back to Maui for the winter.
It was wonderful to spend time with everyone, but the star of the party was little Bryn. It had only been about 10 days since I'd seen him, but what a difference 10 days makes ! He's such a big boy now, full of smiles and unbelievably seems on the verge of crawling......he's not even 4 months old yet ! We all had a blast with him.......a much loved little boy.
Tess and Bryn came up and spent the night after the party and so the next morning Tess, Molly and I headed down for a little holiday shopping. We were pretty sucessful and had a lot of fun, as we always do.
Today,between football games, Jim and I were semi productive. I got the outside Xmas lights up and make some apple muffins. Jim painted the front door.......huge improvement ! Molly went down to see Ross last night and won't be home until after work tomorrow ........teriyaki and asparagus for dinner tonight!
Super wet weekend....12 inches of rain in the past 36 hours, with winds to match. Good thing it was such a warm storm or we might be buried in snow until Spring. Seems like it's starting to clear up and next week promises to be drier !
Dan and Anna braved the storm this morning to come up to watch the Niner's game with us.....I was so glad when they arrived safely. It was great ,as always, to have them come. The 49ers lost ,but we enjoyed the nachos and each other's company.
Yesterday I did a big craft show down in Roseville. I did really well.....maybe the economy is turning around ! Molly spent the day there with me and I couldn't have done it without her. It's pretty much a tradition for Molly to come with me, she's been doing it for quite a few years, at least 6 or 7......so sweet of her and so much fun.
Now that I don't have to be chained to the sewing machine I can start enjoying the season ! I'm meeting my mom for lunch tomorrow and hope to do a little Xmas shopping. My list keeps getting bigger and bigger.....I have lists on top of lists, on top of lists! Good thing I love to Xmas shop, I was born to do it !
Whewwww.......what a week ! Action packed and I wouldn't trade a minute of it !
Josh, Melanie, Taige and Tia came on Tuesday.....we were so excited to see them ! The weather was wet ,but it was a "warm" wet so no snow for them to contend with . Seth and Amanda came up to share dinner with us, a really fun night ! The next day I was knee deep in flour and sugar and it was a miserable day, weather wise. Everyone just kind of hung out......we did get in a few rounds of Mexican dominos and backgammon......Tia, you are an awesome player !!
Thanksgiving morning started ,of course, with Holiday fruit, smokies and french toast for eight. In order to work off a little of the breakfast, everyone headed out for a little basketball. It was a beautiful morning, although everyone was trying to stand in the sun ! Ross was the first to show up that afternoon, a welcome sight as his old truck, Blackie, made it up the driveway. Granny, Tess, Boyce and little Bryn were next to arrive......yaaaa, some hands on time with my Bryn !! Our friend , Phil, came just as the family band was getting warmed up.......and by the then the turkey was smelling pretty good !!
We ate around 5:00 and finally got up from the table around 7:30. We rolled into the family room to crowd by the fire and tried to stuff ourselves further with pie, cake, cookies and fudge . The party broke up not too long after, Tess and Boyce had a bit of a drive home. They also gave Granny a ride back to her house.....and yes, they insisted on taking Bryn too !
The next day Granny treated us to In&Out , and an afternoon at Chucky Cheese......the kids had a blast !! My Taige and Tia are such joys......so much fun and so sweet. I've gotten to spend more time than usual with them this year......we've loved every minute.
Leftovers for dinner......Yay......everything always tastes better the second night.
Yesterday we all drove to SugarPine Lake......including Seth and both dogs, Callie and Josh's awesome dog, Timber. The hike around the lake is about 4 1/2 miles.....it felt wonderful to all of us...until about that last 1/2 mile....even the dogs were dragging. The turkey soup had been simmering all day while we were gone, the highlight of Thanksgiving. I made some homemade pizza to go with it and we had a most enjoyable dinner. Everyone turned in around 9:30, full of good food and fresh air.
Josh and his family left early this morning.....we all wish we lived closer to each other. They are such a wonderful family...I love you all so much....thanks once again for making the long journey.
This has been quite a week !!! On Wednesday, my love headed off for his "day away" and returned that afternoon with a complete set of vintage Pyrex mixing bowls ! I've always wanted a set, but it's difficult and expensive to find an actual complete set. My mom had .......and still has a couple of these bowls....and they certainly are nostalgic for me. And, now that I have the actual bowl my mom uses for her macaroni salad , I will, at long last, be able to make it taste as wonderful as hers !
Now, for the sad.......Tess called that Bryn had been vomiting a lot with some blood mixed in. The next day she took him to the pediatrician, he said nothing to worry about. Somedays he seemed better, some days worse. On Saturday she called me that she was taking him to the emergency room in Paradise. I hopped in the car and drove up to meet her. Eight hours later , after invasive tests, ultrasounds and consultations they told her to take him imediately down to a large hospital in Sacramento. The three of us, Tess ,Boyce and myself hopped in our cars and took off. We hit some insane road construction and a trip that should take ,at most, two hours.....took us almost four. Very nerve racking as we still didn't know what was wrong with Bryn. At last we arrived at the hospital, by now it was almost 11 at night. Bryn was checked in and examined by a doctor and we found out they thought for sure that he had Pyloric Stenosis......a narrowing of a valve in the stomach, not uncommon in newborn boys, but Bryn was 2 1/2 months and thriving, not the typical profile. Anyhow, more tests in the morning, meetings with the surgeon, diagnosis confirmed Pyloric Stenosis.......Bryn wheeled into surgery about noon.
Now the relief.......Bryn came through the surgery like a champ....the "old" Bryn is already back ! Smiling, kicking, adorable Bryn ! Poor Tessy....she handled it all like a pro, but the look on her face when the surgeon came in with good news.....that look told the story of all the stress and worry she'd been dealing with, her face and whole body gave a visible sigh . Brynnie will be headed home tomorrow....good as new, even more precious.
Must be Halloween....I caught this black cat out on our front porch......pretty sweet looking , but you never know !
It's a cloudy , cool Halloween......hoping the rain holds off until all the kids around here collect their loot. However, when we lived in Idaho, even a few feet of fresh snow didn't deter the kids !
Today is "my day alone". One day a week Jim goes off for the day, doing errands, checking out record stores, stocking up on Guiness ! So.....I get the house and the day to myself. Not that I don't enjoy Jim, but "alone time" is an actual place for me that I need to go once in a while. Anyhow.... thanks, love, for being such a loving, sweet husband.
Guess I'll up to Worton's to get a little candy in case some lost soul wanders up our driveway......if no one shows up, we'll have to struggle through the candy ourselves !
With the best of intentions, we got up sort of early, got our butts in gear and headed up the road for a load of firewood. After we'd driven a few miles we were surprised that the road was becoming narrower and narrower as the snow became thicker and thicker! We had no idea the snow line was already so close and we realized we were not going to be able to get to our Deadwood hangout. We were barely able to turn the 4-Runner around, but finally we were headed back toward home. We found a little pine on the way back and so we stopped and pretty much filed the back of the truck.....not the best wood in the world, but it'll work until the real cold weather gets here.
While we were cutting wood Callie had her first introduction to snow and it was a match made in Heaven !! She is so good at entertaining herself and the snow was certainly a plus......she was hilarious !
We got home and warmed up some soup left from last night and I got started on the Halloween cookies. I looked out on the deck and found Callie snoozing on her favorite napping site......one of the picnic tables outside !
Tomorrow Tess is coming down to attend a friend's wedding and so Molly, Mom and I are meeting her first for lunch in Auburn.....it's been two weeks since I've seen Bryn.....I can hardly wait !
