Friday, December 31, 2010

New Year's Eve 2010

Bryan got here late last night and since it was so late, we all just went to bed. This morning Dave and Bryan got up relatively early (compared to me!) and had breakfast ready when I came downstairs. The two of them took off for church to do some mudding in one of the rooms there. Then they came home and created chaos in our home! Actually, they were upstairs in the attic installing this foil heat barrier insulation. That sounds like a guy thing, doesn't it? That's what I thought and I couldn't see how that project would involve me!! Wrong again! After lunch, they called me up to the attic to make some decisions about some of the "stuff" up there! So now, instead of an attic full of "stuff", some of the "stuff" is now in the rose room awaiting my perusal! I have to go through those boxes that were brought down...I may see another garage sale in the near future! I guess if this "stuff" has been in the attic for more than a year, I really don't need it!! After moving some of the boxes downstairs, now the attic looks great! They were able to get all of the holiday decorations into one closet in the attic and they got the foil put down over most of the floor. Unfortunately, the attic was bigger than Dave anticipated, so 1,000 square feet of foil didn't cover the entire floor. Now he'll have to get another roll and do the rest of the job without Bryan! This foil is supposed to cut back on heat loss through the attic floor - I sure hope it does the job! We're one of the worst houses in our neighborhood as far as heat loss through the roof of our house is concerned.

Tonight Dave and I went to the club for dinner with Bob & Ann, Keith & Barb, Gary & Barb, Steve & Barb, and Steve & Marlene. We toasted the new year...not at midnight, at 7:30 instead! Bob and Ann are planning to get up at 4:00 AM to leave for Florida. I think the car is packed except for just a few last minute items! I hope they have a safe trip! I'm going to miss them!

Happy New Year you all. I hope that God blesses you and your loved ones in 2011 and beyond. More next year...

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Beautiful Day!

It got to almost 60 here in Iowa today - I think all of the snow in our yard if finally gone, unless it's down at the end of the drive where the snow piled up when the snow plow went by! It also just got through raining a bit, so that should take care of a lot of it! We went to the Tom Tom Tap to meet Bob & Ann, Steve, Rhonda, Cheyenne, Vicki, Allison, Barb, Gary, Barb and Keith for pizza and beer and we didn't even wear jackets! That being said, it's supposed to change tomorrow afternoon/evening some time! We're expecting a high of 50 and then a low of 10 and a high of 23 on Saturday - yuck!

I got some of the pictures of our new Florida home uploaded! Here's the front of the house...the living room is on the front right and the extra room is front left. There's a large carport on the right, as well as a screened-in lanai with a storage shed at the front of the carport. The shutters are hurricane shutters - I shudder to think we might have to use those!!As you come into the house, you either go straight ahead to the bathroom, to the right for the master bedroom, or to the left to the kitchen, then living room. In between the kitchen and living room is the doorway for the bonus room - it's the yellow room in the pictures. The wallpaper has been changed - the living room is darker now. I pretty much hate wallpaper, so it may become a honey-do!!! No picture of the master bedroom and I didn't include the bathroom either - sorry!

More later...

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Allison Christmas

We sure had a fun day yesterday! It was so fun that we didn't get home until midnight and slept in until after 9:00 this morning!!! We went to Bob's about 10:00 after both the ham and the rolls were cooked. Ann had a hair appointment at 10:30 and we weren't supposed to eat until about 1:00, so we helped Bob with the food prep. Ann had already set the table and had the side dishes ready to go...we peeled potatoes and got them on at the proper time. I was so anxious for the girls to get there that I was like I was when Bob and I waited for Aunt Helen and Uncle Bert to arrive at our place when we were just kids. At that time, Bob & I would sit on Mom & Dad's bed and watch out the window for what seemed like hours, just waiting to see who would see their car first. Of course, Bob always saw them first...after all, I was just a little kid and I had a short attention span!! Well, yesterday felt much the same - Bob and I both kept looking out the window!! Linda and her family arrived first, but not until about 12:15! Then Vicki's family and Rhonda's family and Ann all got there close to the same time! By the time we carried in packages and got all of our hugs, it was time to get serious about dinner!
After dinner and dishes, we opened packages. It seems we always have some kind of a tear-producing package and yesterday was no exception. The girls' mom had acquired a sign that was advertising J.W. Allison and Sons, which she gave to the girls to give to Bob. It produced lots of tears!! We figured the sign dated somewhere between 1945 and 1950. It had our Fairfield phone number on it and we moved from Fairfield in May of 1950. Dad didn't start trucking until 1945...thus our logic. Anyway it was good to remember all the sign stood for.

After presents and supper, the real fun began! We played games - Bananagram, 5 Seconds, Farkle, and Wild Card! We left there about 11:45 - it was a great day!!

Today, we worked on financial papers and taking clothes to Salvation Army. We also found out that we passed the background check with flying colors! So, now we can officially be owners at Holiday Ranch in Clearwater, Florida...actually, our home is in Largo, but the mailing address is Clearwater! I'll get some pix posted - hopefully tomorrow!! More later...

Monday, December 27, 2010

Eagles and Frost!!

This is the spectacular sight we woke up to this morning! The world was just beautiful! We had a hoary frost and every tree, every blade of grass, every fence and even every cobweb looked like this! It was beautiful. Since it was so beautiful, we decided to go down by the river to see the eagles today. There were dozens of them and thousands of Canadian geese! We watched the eagles dive to the water and snare fish - it was a wonderful sight! We 4-wheeled it up this hill and then walked across river on the footbridge that was just finished last year. It was really cold, but everything was so pretty that you didn't notice. So, Dave decided he was going to get the truck and move it to the south side of the river while I stayed where I was to take pictures. Pretty soon, he came back - walking! He was stuck in a snowdrift with a 4-wheel drive pickup! (I'm sure this was because he knocked over the salt shaker and spilled salt this morning!!) So, I ended up walking back across the river again. Some friends of ours from church were also there watching the eagles, so they brought me home while Dave waited for Larry Cofer to come with a scoop shovel so he could dig himself out of the drift!! We're always having adventures!! Anyway, I got some wonderful pictures and some really good exercise! I needed it because tomorrow is our family Christmas and I know I'll eat too much!!

Enjoy! More later...

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Pretty Day

It was cold here today, but the snow is still pristine and so white that it is beautiful. We went to church this morning. Pastor David had a wonderful sermon again. His son and family and his daughter and her family all participated in the service. He talked on the Christmas story again, but this time from Matthew instead of Luke. He tried some interesting technology out on us, but our sound system pretty much failed. While he was talking about the heavenly host of angels, Paul (our sound guy) was supposed to have Silent Night playing in the background...but all we got was a hum in the speakers. Eventually Paul got it working, but it was a little late for the impact David wanted to achieve. He's very innovative! Church was sparsely attended today, though...my Dave made way too much coffee!!!

We went to Bob & Ann's today for Sunday dinner, so we got to see Rhonda and her family. Cheyenne (10) is almost as tall as Ann! I know that Ann isn't very tall, but Chey has really grown since we were in Texas in September. After dinner, we just sat around and talked until they had to leave to go to Rhonda's mom's. We came home and Dave worked in his garage on his trailer. I think he's pretty much done now.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to get in with the chiropractor. My back has really been hurting the last few days...hopefully he can help! More later...

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas 2010

Christmas day has come and gone for 2010. We had a fun day. Since we didn't go to bed until late, we didn't get up very early today. Actually, though, I got up at 7:30 and turned the roast beef up on high so that I could be sure it would be done. Then I went back to bed. Unfortunately, about 20 minutes after I got back into bed, Dave woke up so there was no more sleep for me. We had lunch here with Bob and Ann. After lunch and after the dishes were done, we played "Wild Card" again. Ann ended the game with something like 16 points! She is so lucky - she gets wild cards all the time. She only had 3 hands where she had any points at all!!! After that, we played farkle and she won at that too! We're going to have to gang up on her next time!!

Bob and Ann are in Des Moines now. Rhonda's plane comes in at 9:00 so they're up there ready to pick them up. Cheyenne wanted a white Christmas and she's going to get it! We had a little more snow today, but nothing measurable...mainly just flurries! I know it's pretty, but I'm ready for the sun to shine now! We got our flights for returning to Florida...we'll fly out on the 24th. Our condo starts the 23rd, but we're going to be a day late! When you're flying Allegiant, you don't have a lot of choices!!

More later...I'm tired!! I hope Santa was good to all of you!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve

We had a beautiful day here...it snowed most all of the day. We probably got about 4" of snow - not too bad considering!! I must admit it is beautiful tonight especially. All of the lights are reflecting off the snow. It makes you think that Santa Claus is coming...HoHoHo!!!

I cooked chili this morning and made spicy oyster crackers. Dave "played" in his garage all day...he's rebuilding his little trailer. It's fun having him home all the time! This evening we went to Christmas Eve services at our church. We sang lots of carols and had a look back at our Christmas pageants of the past...remembering with Pastor David! The choirs did a wonderful job. PraiSing is VERY talented!! Melanie (who is 17) sang a solo while processing into the church!! The bell choir did a fantastic number called, "Fum Fum Fum"!! It was so impressive having a full church and all of us holding lighted candles, singing Silent Night without accompaniment!! It's always good to hear the real Christmas story!

After church we picked up the chili and crackers and went to Bob & Ann's. We didn't get there until 7:15 and I was pretty hungry by then! But, instead of eating right away, we each had a drink (Dave, Ann, and I all had margaritas whereas Bob had his spiced whiskey) and had cheese and crackers. Ann had fixed oyster soup, so everyone but me had both kinds of soup. After supper, we taught Bob and Ann how to play "Wild Card" and then they got out the Farkle set and we played Farkle. It's now midnight and we just got home!! We put a beef roast in the slow cooker for tomorrow...Bob & Ann will join us for dinner about 1:00. Since we're not having our family Christmas until Tuesday, there's no sense in us eating Christmas dinner alone - we may as well be together.

I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. I hope that you will all remember the true meaning of Christmas and that there will someday truly be Peace on Earth and Good Will to ALL! Merry Christmas and good night! More later...

Thursday, December 23, 2010

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas!!

Today was another gray day. I'm ready to go back to Florida. It's supposed to snow tonight and we have a possibility of 6+ inches of snow!! If it's going to be gray, it may as well snow! I've got all my shopping done and everything is wrapped. I'm still missing two packages, though. One was mailed from Ft Lauderdale on the 17th and the other I purchased online..it's saying it was shipped on 12/6 and it should have gotten here between 12/9 and 12/14! Don't know what I'll do about that! I've got the ham and fixin's for apple salad, as well as the frozen rolls...so bring on the snow!! We still don't know when we're having Christmas. We're at my nieces' mercy - they just have to coordinate everything and let us know.

Here are a couple of pictures of the largest privately owned yacht in the world - the Cakewalk. In this first one, you can see how large it is compared to the people on it. Both of the two boats on the left side of the picture are BIG boats...but this one is huge!

This is just a picture of its side. We couldn't get any closer, darn it!! More later...

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Busy Day

I didn't even get a nap today - we were just too busy! I made crockpot peanut clusters this morning - they take 3 hours! In the meantime, we were going through the whole basket of mail that we got delivered today. Wow! By the time we got all the Christmas cards opened and read, I didn't even get to most of the "other" mail! I also wrapped several packages. We had an appointment to close on our home refinance, and started filing the "other" mail! It was another gray day here and I can tell you that I need the sun to shine!! Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like much sunshine for the next few days. In fact, we're in an area that may get 6+ inches of snow by Friday night - I guess we're going to have a white Christmas here!!

More later...

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Tuesday, Dec. 21st

This was an errand day - I had to wait for Dave to go, though. I'm not sure I like having only one car!! We both got our hair cut and got our rings cleaned, went to Walmart, and finished the Christmas shopping! Oh, I also took a long nap! I guess I truly had jet-lag! More later...

Monday, December 20, 2010

We're Home

We made it home safe and sound! Our flight was about 3 hours non-stop and pretty uneventful! We had a bit of turbulence, so we had to fly at 32,000 feet instead of 30,000 but that wasn't a problem at all. When we got down to 10,000 feet it was pretty cloudy, but it wasn't even bumpy going through the clouds. Ann had no trouble getting to DSM to pick us up and we made it home just fine - no ice!!! We then went over to pick up Ann and met Bob at Courtside for dinner. He didn't get off work until 7:00. This is his 70th birthday, so we took them out to dinner! We went t HyVee and stocked up on groceries and came home and now we're going to crash! I plan to sleep in tomorrow morning - I sure hope that works!! More later...

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Flying Home

Tomorrow afternoon we get on an airplane and head back to Iowa. Don't know if we'll get to go home or not, though...the weather for O-town is calling for ice pretty much all day tomorrow. I don't want Bob and Ann to take any chances coming to get us. We've packed clothes for two days just in case we have to stay in Des Moines. Any prayers you can pass our way would be appreciated...for safe travel! We're to get into DSM at 4:00 Iowa time where it's supposed to be around 34 and rainy. Yuck. It'll be a rude awakening after having been down here.

Actually today wasn't very nice either. The sun peeked out for a little bit today, but it was only in the high 50's and windy...I guess it was God's way of getting us ready for Iowa! We went to church today here at Sun'n'Fun, then went out to dinner with the group to a Chinese buffet. This afternoon we went to Bealls and to SteinMart and then came home and made some candy that tastes like Butterfingers. Fun day!! I got a couple of pairs of capris and a couple of tops...Dave got two shirts. They'll still be new when we get back. We've got everything in suitcases to stay here for when we come back to Florida in January. More later...

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Sarasota

We're in Sarasota for the next couple of days. We got here this afternoon and will leave here Monday morning early for Clearwater. It only took us 3.5 hours to get here from Ft Lauderdale. It rained on us a lot of the way here, but we were still able to see lots of alligators on Alligator Alley. By the time we got to the big fences where you usually see the gators, the sun had come out and the big birds were drying their wings and the gators were swimming and sunning themselves! It's always fun to see them. Dave was even able to see them while he was driving - some of them were really big!!

We're going to church in the morning with Maury and Roberta and all their friends. After church, we'll go out to dinner with their group and then Dave's got a few daddy-dos to do around here. More later...

Friday, December 17, 2010

Last Day in Ft Lauderdale

We had a fun day today. After we packed a bunch, we sat outside and read until Sudi and Howard came to get us for lunch. We went to the Sands Harbor for lunch. The food wasn't so hot, but the atmosphere was great. We saw lots of boats while we were eating...and we saw a manatee!! After lunch, we were going to go to the beach, but we decided to go down to the 17th street causeway and see if there were any big boats in the Port of Everglades. When we pulled up, there were two diesel tankers where we usually park. One tanker was unloading into the other tanker, and it was loading diesel onto a HUGE yacht! A lady came off the yacht and told us it was the largest private yacht in the world!! It was called the Cakewalk and it was at least 4 stories high. It held a crew of 28 and her company had done all of the canvas on the yacht. She said we should see the inside of her! I don't know what the flag was on her, but it wasn't American. It was some British holding I think. If it wasn't so late, I'd look it up.

We also then enjoyed the "pretty" beaches of Ft Lauderdale before we came back to the condo to get ready for Cats tonight. Jami and the three kids, plus Dave and I went to the Broward Center for the Broadway production of Cats. It was really good. The girl who played Grizabella and sang "Memory" was wonderful! Danny almost made it through the first act, but he just couldn't keep his little eyes open for Act II. Kelly didn't have any problem and Megan only snoozed through about 2 songs.

Tomorrow we have to be out of here by 10 and then we're going to watch Kelly play soccer at noon. After her game, we'll take off on Alligator Alley for Dad & Roberta's before we head home on Monday. I won't be posting for a day or so because they don't have internet at Dad's place. More later...

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Thursday, Dec. 17th

It was another beautiful day in Paradise today! We went over to Jami's to get our laundry done and since her housekeeper was there cleaning the floors, we went outside to sit in the sun and wait for the laundry. It was beautiful! After we got done with the laundry, we came home and went to beach for some more sun time before we go home. Let me tell you, though, 73 degrees with the wind blowing is not a warm day on the beach! We were only there about an hour because it was just too cold! We thought we'd come back to the condo and sit by the pool out of the wind, but the sun was under a cloud, so we gave up!

Tonight we fixed bacon and eggs for supper and then went over to Jami's. Tom started a fire in their chiminea so we all sat outside around it, enjoying the ambiance! Tomorrow is our last day here in Ft Lauderdale until we come back in January, so we're planning to be outside a lot!! More later...

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

I Feel Much Better!

I finally feel much better. Dave and I went to Sweet Tomato's with Sudi and Howard. It felt really good to get out of this condo and it felt really good to eat real food! I'm glad that I didn't go overboard in eating, though. Although Howard would probably say that I ate way too much ice cream!! This afternoon, we went to Jami's to watch Megan while Jami went in to work for a while. She stayed home with Megan today because Megan still wasn't feeling the best. So, we watched "Willy Wonka" with Johnny Depp. What an interesting movie! Johnny Depp does a wonderful job. He is just fascinating. He adapts so well to any role he's asked to play. It's hard not to stare at him in movies like this. If you didn't tell me that it was Johnny playing the part of WW, I would have a hard time believing it...the makeup was fantastic!

Tomorrow it's supposed to be back up in the mid 70's here . I can hardly wait. It was 60 today and I was able to wear shorts, but 70's will be better!! I hope we get in some beach time tomorrow! More later...

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

I'm Better, But ...

I feel better today, but not much! My stomach just hurts so badly. I finally ate some crackers and a cup of chicken noodle soup tonight, but other than that I haven't felt like eating. Dave went with Jami and the family to Chili's tonight, but I stayed here. I sure hope I feel better tomorrow. I'm tired of this condo and need to get out of here!!

All I've done today is read, upload some pictures to the computer, lie down, take some Pepto, drink some 7-Up, and feel miserable! More later...

Monday, December 13, 2010

I'm Sick

I came home from Jami's last night and didn't feel very well. Today I've had a touch of the flu or something. Dave had to go out and buy some Pepto Bismol and some 7-Up. My stomach is still hurting something awful!! I hope it's gone by tomorrow. Dave went to the doctor this morning. He got some more medicine - steroids and Afrin. He has scarring on his eardrum from ear problems in the past. He was given a pressure test on his eardrums. His right one hardly registered because there's so much water behind it. Poor guy!

Sorry, I don't feel like blogging...more later...

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Great Day

Today was another beautiful day in this beautiful place!! We went to church at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and it was a long, long sermon! There for a while Dave and I thought that Pastor Tullian had turned into Pastor Jongewaard! His sermon was based on 3 verses of Job 42, but he told us what it meant, then he told us again, and he told us again!! They also installed 13 deacons today, which took a while. I wanted to stand up and ask where the women were - in this division of the Presbyterian Church, women are not allowed to hold any offices...no women pastors, no women elders, no women deacons. Hard to believe in this day and age...hard to believe that women put up with this too! I hope you get a kick out of this, Pastor Sara!!

We had a great lunch outside in Bru's Room with Sudi and Howard. I think Howard and I would love to sit there all afternoon and watch all the football games at once! It's pretty cool to have all those tvs! After lunch we went over to Jami's. Tom had been vomiting all night, so we pretty much stayed outside all day. Dave and Jami washed our car and her car, while the kids entertained me. Tonight Danny let Jami cut his hair without a whimper...of course, she bribed him. She told him he could watch Harry Potter if he got his hair cut first. He said, okay and sat there like a big boy while she cut his hair. Tom had taken him to the barber shop to have his hair cut yesterday, but he started crying and screaming, so he brought him home. Today was a different day. We also celebrated Megan's birthday today - it's really tomorrow, but we may not go over there tomorrow.

I talked to my brother tonight. He said that we had 5.5" of snow and 50 mph winds yesterday and last night. He also said it was supposed to be -8 real temperature tonight. Yuck. Somebody asked Bob if he hated to leave Florida to come home and Bob told them, it's harder to stay home than it was to leave Florida! I know what he means...I'm not looking forward to being cold! Oh well...more later!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Christmas Pageant

Today's Christmas Pageant at the 1st Baptist Church in downtown Ft Lauderdale was truly a spectacular production. The first hour or so was all production numbers with many, many different people participating. In fact, in one number a little girl, who couldn't have been more than 4, came out and sang a solo. She obviously stole the show!! The costumes and choreography were fabulous, as was the singing! They even had an ice skating rink and pyrotechnics!! After intermission, everything became very serious as they presented the story of Jesus' life from birth to resurrection. Wow! It was amazing how realistic they can make the various parts of the story. They use real animals - horses, camels, donkeys, sheep, goats, and even chickens!! It was great - the girls really enjoyed it this year. The only bad part was that it was about 60 degrees in the church. Thank goodness Jami and the girls had jackets.

More later...

Friday, December 10, 2010

Very Slow Tonight

I'm going to try to post, but may not get it done - the connection is waaaay slow tonight. We had a beautiful day today! We went to Butterfly World this morning. This is a wonderful place for anyone wanting to take pictures of butterflies, birds, or plants! It's a research facility with over 10,000 butterflies and I don't remember how many birds! This is just one of 307 pictures I took today!! It was so fun and a perfect day for visiting outside aviaries! Tomorrow is a busy day for us. We're going to be with the kids for most of the day. Should be fun, though. Hopefully I'll have pictures of some camels tomorrow!! Stay tuned...

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Icky Day Today

This was a downright icky day! It was rainy, drizzly, and chilly! The ocean was still beautiful though. We went down to Sunrise to the camera shop today. I needed to get a photograph blown up for a Christmas present, and they do a great job. I wish you could see this picture - it's beautiful. I had it blown up to 24x36. This is the photo:I think it will be appreciated!! It's a picture of the bay at Clearwater. I love it.

Tomorrow we're going to Butterfly World to take some pictures. I sure hope I get to see some butterflies and birds!! It's 10 acres of tropical gardens and aviaries, so it should be fun!! More later...

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Warmer Wednesday

We sure had a beautiful day today, even though we had to run the furnace earlier this morning. We even sat out by the pool this afternoon and soaked up some Vitamin D. It was a little too windy to go to the beach, but by the pool we were protected from the NW wind. We got most of our Christmas cards ready to mail tomorrow. To get them in the mail will really feel good! Tomorrow we have no plans - I think it's supposed to rain here, so no beach time tomorrow either. I think we're going to try to go to Boca to have lunch with Jami on Friday. She's working so many hours that we don't get to enjoy her much.

This weekend is going to be a busy one. We've got tickets for The Christmas Pageant for 2:00 on Saturday, then we're hoping to see the boat parade Saturday night. Church on Sunday and Kelly has a soccer game, plus the Pompano boat parade. Busy, busy, busy!! More later...

Monday, December 6, 2010

It's Cold Again

Next year we're going to go to Alaska for the winter!! We may as well, anyway. Tonight we're supposed to break the record for low temperature in South Florida. There are even freeze warnings around us. I'm sure the price of oranges and strawberries will go up tomorrow - just the threat of freeze seems to raise the prices! Speaking of prices, I read that the price of gas would be $3.00 a gallon before Christmas. Guess what - it went up to $3.05 yesterday here in Fort Lauderdale.

We stayed here at the condo today. We got up kind of late, so we fixed bacon and eggs for breakfast. We didn't eat lunch and tonight, we just ate leftovers. I was able to get the rest of my Christmas cards done today and Dave put the address labels and stamps on them. Tomorrow while we're at Jami's, we'll print out our Christmas "letter" and should be able to mail them by Wednesday! That would be a record for us. Usually we don't get our Christmas cards out until about the week of Christmas. We really cut back on the cards we send...we used to send out 75 and this year we're only sending 54. So, if you don't get a card from us it doesn't mean we don't love you, it's just that we're cutting back!!

Tomorrow we're going to pick up the kids from school and fix supper for the family. More later...

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Super Sunday

It was another beautiful day in paradise! We went to church at the New Presbyterian Church today. Some of it was really wonderful, like the choir! The speaker, however, left a lot to be desired. I'm hoping Dave doesn't want to go back there, but he probably will. He seems to like it better than Coral Ridge. I like Coral Ridge better, even though I'm not sold on the contemporary services.

After church, we went to Bru's Room for lunch. Sudi & Howard came over too, then Howard, Dave and I went to the beach for our required time of wonder! Unfortunately, the sun went under a bunch of clouds, so we didn't get to soak up a lot of sunshine today. It was still pretty, though. Tonight we cooked hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill and the kids came over here for supper. Tomorrow it's supposed to be colder so we probably won't get to go sit on the beach. We'll have to wait and see. I did get my Christmas shopping all done online today, so that's a plus!! Now if some good fairy would just wrap it all for me...can't fault a girl for wishing, can you?? More later...

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Another Great Day

It was another great day in Paradise today! We had to be at Jami's by 7:00 this morning to help her load her jewelry because she had a table to set up at Breakfast with Santa. Last time we helped her with this she didn't even sell $40 worth of stuff. Today was a little better. The tables were allowed to start selling at 8:00 and by 8:10 we'd already made back her cost for the table! She sold quite a few earrings and charms, all of which she had priced at $5.00. She didn't get rich, but she did get rid of some inventory and made a little bit besides!! We then went over to their house for lunch and to help her get ready for Megan's party this afternoon.

While the party was going on, we went to the beach. It was another perfect day for being on the beach. I'm sure that the beautiful Fort Lauderdale beaches were packed today and will be again tomorrow. Monday there's supposed to be a cold front come in with 60 degree temps for a few days. So, we plan to spend tomorrow afternoon at the beach again. It's just been so much fun to go there and just watch the boats and the people!!

More later...

Friday, December 3, 2010

Great Day


This was a great day! Dave and I went over to Sudi & Howard's to see their place - they're just upstairs from where they were last year. Their condo has been redecorated recently and it is really pretty...very spacious. It was kind of chilly this morning and again tonight, but today was lovely. After we left Sudi & Howard's we came back here, ate lunch, and then went to the beach! It was so gorgeous - we sat there (one of us slept...can you guess which one???) for over an hour just absorbing the sun and the beauty of this place!

Tonight we ate here at the condo and then went for ice cream at Razzleberry's! The day couldn't have gotten much better!! Tomorrow we have to be at McNab Elementary at 7:00 AM - we'll be having breakfast with Santa!! More later...

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Thursday, Dec. 2

We finally got to go to Aruba's!! It is still the best place to eat in Fort Lauderdale, in my honest opinion! We got the front table outside today because we got there about 20 minutes before 12:00. The ocean was absolutely gorgeous today - very aqua! It is aqua when there aren't clouds in the sky...there were beautiful sail boats out there too. I got some pictures and as soon as I get them uploaded to this computer, I'll let you see what I'm talking about. The colors are just so vivid!

This afternoon we picked up the kids from their schools and took them home early. Since we were there about 2:15 and their dad didn't get home until 6:00, we watched a movie (Marley & Me) and then fed them about 5:15. Marley & Me had both of us teary-eyed!! Megan says, "Are you crying, Grandma? Is Grandpa crying?" Tomorrow we're staying here - we've got leftovers to eat and we'll be with the kids for the entire weekend. Dave helped me with Christmas cards today - he even ran the Cuttlebug. I think he actually had fun! We've got to finish the cards - hopefully tomorrow. Then I can get the "letter" written and get them in the mail!! More later...

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Wednesday the 1st of December

This was another beautiful day in So. Florida! We went over to Jami's to do our laundry and theirs. Sudi and Howard came over and the four of us went to Shooters on the intercoastal for lunch and complimentary key lime pie! They have the very best key lime pie in the south...or anyway I think so! After lunch we went back to Jami's to finish the laundry. We didn't get done with all the laundry until 10 minutes after 5:00 - it took us all day to do five large loads!! Tonight we've just been hanging out!

Tomorrow we're going to pick up the girls early - they get out of school at 2:00 but they don't get home until 4:00 if Nicole picks them up or 6:00 if Tom get them. They love being car riders because they get to come home and play for several hours before their folks get home. We'll also pick up Danny early, so this should be fun. We'll fix supper for the family and then come home when it's bedtime for the kids!

Dave is feeling much better and so am I, so hopefully we averted a sinus epidemic! More later...

Here we go again

We spent 2 and a half hours in the emergency room Monday night. Dave had a pain rating of an 8 in his ear and couldn't get past it, so he woke me at 12:30 and we went to the hospital at Imperial Point (right by Jami's house). Of course we weren't the only ones there, so about 2 and a half hours and one code blue later the doc told Dave he had a middle ear infection, gave him some medicine and 3 scripts and we were on our way home. It's pretty funny that there is no traffic on the streets of Ft Lauderdale on a Monday night at either 12:45 or 3:00 AM! In fact, it's so weird that it's hard to figure out the streets you turn on!!

Anyway, we got home and went to bed again. When I woke up about 8:00 I had a sore throat and my ear was feeling full! So I went back to bed. I basically slept away Tuesday, as did Dave. He went out to get his prescriptions filled, but I didn't go outside until about 5:00 PM when I just went outside to sit. I feel better and so does he. I'm hoping my throat doesn't do anything more! More later...

Monday, November 29, 2010

Lazy Days

Today started out pretty intensely. We got up at 6:15 so that we could be ready by 7:15 when Bryan was getting here. By the time he got here, we had all cleaned up and were ready to go. We took two cars and took Maury and Roberta out to I-75 and then we came back to the airport to take Bryan to his terminal. I595 was pretty much at a standstill when we were going out to 75, but by the time we came back, we only hit one snag where we waited for a couple of minutes before moving again. The traffic here is ridiculous!!

Dave and I both came back to the condo and read for a while, then took naps. We even went out to the pool for a while this afternoon, just to get some sun and read. Tonight, we cooked pot roast and had Sudi & Howard over for dinner and cards. Maybe some day they'll let me win!! We played with Maury & Roberta for the last 2 nights they were here and Maury won both of those nights. Maybe I need to take up another game.

Yesterday we went to church at Coral Ridge. Dr. Sam Lamerson delivered the sermon. I really like him! The church service was pretty much contemporary...the choir wasn't in robes, there was a guitar, drums and praise music...but the church was pretty well full with mostly younger families. Interesting - Dr. Sam talked about the passage in Luke that describes the 10 lepers healed by Jesus and the only one who was thankful was a Samaritan. Since he's an instructor and expert on the New Testament, it's always good to hear his viewpoint.

Tomorrow we're picking up the kids early and fixing supper at Jami's. More later...

Friday, November 26, 2010

Live from S Florida

I writing from beautiful Fort Lauderdale. We've been here for 3 full days. Two children have been sick - one threw up. Kelly had strep throat so she's on antibiotics. Danny threw up because he was so hungry, and Megan is bouncing around like a little Mexican jumping bean. Right now we're in their house - 3 kids, 9 adults, 1 bull terrier (large) and one little chihuahua mix dog (small). The noise level is high as is the energy. Tom was outside putting up lights on the palms, but blew a fuse in the first set of lights...therefore no lights at all. So now Dave and Bryan are outside trying to fix the problem and prevent it from happening again.

We're really had a lot of fun having Bryan and Jami together. They giggle a lot. More later...

Saturday, November 20, 2010

This will be short!

I just wanted everyone to know that I had a blast in Ames! So many guys and so much fun!!! I was able to get all my pictures up on Facebook, but just don't have time or energy to do any more tonight. I'm exhausted. Last night was the first of the reunions and it cost us $40 to get into it - ugh! Dave says he got his $$ worth - he drank lots of beer and ate lots of food!!! I, however, didn't have time for any food and I drank about 1/3 of a bottle of water - I was too busy hugging and getting hugged! Today we shopped - got lots of Christmas shopping done! Then we went to Hickory Park for BBQ with Kyle and his girlfriend, Cassie. After that we just drove around Ames, looking at all the new housing developments! Ames just continues to grow! We went to the stadium around 2:00 and sat in the car just watching people until 3:00 when we took off walking to the new indoor facility, where the second reunion was being held. Again we had to pay $40 and Dave wasn't allowed to drink that much again, but he did eat a bunch and have a couple of beers. I also ate today and got to see even more of my guys. I got my $$ worth, just seeing them! They even gave me one of the reunion shirts!!

Tomorrow morning we're taking off early for points south. Hopefully we won't be as cold tomorrow night! You won't hear from me for a day or so! More later...

Thursday, November 18, 2010

One more day!!!

Tomorrow I go to Ames to see some of my old guys! I can hardly wait. I sure hope I can sleep tonight!! When I get excited about something like this, I sometimes have a really hard time sleeping. I talked to Randy Richards today - can't wait to see him. He is my all-time favorite of my old guys. He probably wouldn't like being called old - he's 46. Dave and I will go to the reception tomorrow night and then to the tailgating party on Saturday. We don't get to stay for the game since the game doesn't start until 6:00 - bummer! But, on the bright side, it's supposed to be in the mid-30's at game time!! At least we'll be warm and we can listen to the game on the way home. I've told Dave that he has to take lots of pictures for me.

Speaking of pictures, tonight I had my photography class. A lady was there who had gone scuba diving and learned how to take pictures under water. She had some wonderful pictures, but to hear her describe how tricky it is to take pictures 25-45 feet down almost made me motion sick! I could actually feel the ocean moving while she was talking.

I think I've got most everything ready to leave for Florida too. We've got tomorrow morning to do the majority of our packing...we won't leave for Ames until about 3:00. Dave has made his "list" of things to pack...I'll just pack without a list! I still have to get my Christmas card labels printed and get my card elements put together so we can do cards while we're down there. It's pretty fun working on Christmas cards in 80 degree weather!

My brother called me today to tell me that Terry Carroll had a heart attack and had two stents put in. I guess Terry is getting along well, which is wonderful news. Bev S also got good news on her son's tumor and Amanda's mom had 1/3 of her lung removed (lung cancer) today. More prayers are needed! Thanks!! More later...

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Another Productive Day

I got lots done again today! We're now in the final mode for preparations to go South! Dave finished at work today and came home and announced that HE was in Florida mode NOW!! I made cookies both yesterday and today - about 12 dozen...so the freezer is stocked and we'll even have some to take with us in the car. I made a few more cards today too, plus I got the oil changed and the tires rotated!! I also stopped the mail and the newspaper! Tomorrow I'll be making labels for our Christmas cards and writing our Christmas letter so that when we get to Ft Lauderdale Dave can help me finish up the cards and get them in the mail.

Here are a couple more cards I made. This first one is just using different papers with a Dasher stamp featured in the raised panel in the middle. Both the sentiment and Dasher are from SU, as are all the papers. I like this one, but not as well as some of the others.
This particular card, I LOVE!! The wreath is made with a snowflake stamp!! There's just something about it that I think is great! I could never imagine using a snowflake to make a wreath. I wonder what else you can use a snowflake stamp for. Again the stamps, the paper, and the ribbon are all from SU. I went to choir practice tonight, just so I could get a start on some of the Christmas Eve music that we'll be singing. Plus, I wanted to sing "Blessed Assurance" one more time! This choir can really sing that song!! It will be beautiful! At choir practice, we found out that an old friend who had been a member of our church several years ago and now lives in Colorado, was just diagnosed with a brain tumor. He has just recently gone thru having a hole in his heart repaired. Please keep Terry in your prayers. He has gone through a whole bunch this past year and continues to need our prayers. Thank you!

I'd better quit for tonight. I hear Dave stirring from sleeping in his chair, so I'll be off to bed shortly. More later...

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

I can't believe it!

I just can't believe it - Bristol is going to the finals on Dancing with the Stars. These people who keep voting her in don't have any idea what they're doing to us loyal fans of the show. We like to see good dancers, not people who keep missing their steps week after week. Now, last night she did remarkably well. However, she didn't do well enough to be in the finals. I'm afraid this will really hurt the show's ratings because lots of us are pretty upset about the voting. Wetpaint has a DWTS facebook page and they talk about Operation Bristol, where Palin supporters can vote for Bristol without even watching the show. OK - enough, Peg. Stop obsessing!!

I had a great morning. I actually found my diamond necklace this morning. It was in the deep recesses of my little suitcase. I've looked in it multiple times and not found it, but today it was there.

Here are a couple more cards that I made this week. This first one is really pretty in real life. It's just a plain white card with an ornament punched out of it. Where the punched out part is, I put in a piece of Christmas fabric and a cotton ball to push it out a little. The card stock and the sentiment stamp are from SU, as is the punch. The fabric is from my stash!! I just drew the "string" on with a silver Sharpie. This card is the opposite. I punched out a stamped ornament and adhered it to the card...so we've got a positive and a negative image in these two cards. Again the ornament stamp is from SU and is done in Melon Mambo. The string is just some Christmas cord I had lying around. I embossed the white card stock with a Cuttlebug folder. Today was Allison's birthday. I called her. She is such a delight to talk to!! I asked her if she got my card. She told me she hadn't checked the mail, so she carried the phone to the mailbox..."Nope, no card from you, Aunt Peg." She's just the coolest kid!! Speaking of cool kids, I tried to call Danny tonight, but no one answered. He's to little to be out on a school night!!

Dave just got home and is going to bed, so I guess I'll go with him. More later...

Monday, November 15, 2010

Another Monday in O-town

Today was another beautiful day. I didn't have to wear a coat, so as far as I'm concerned it was beautiful! I was the demonstrator today at PMS stamp club. These are the two cards I demo'd. This first one is just a piece of white SU card stock, scored randomly. I then applied ink directly from the ink pad (Going Gray) to the paper, which made it look like a barn board door. I then attached a wreath and bow (made from a Cuttlebug die and embossing folder) along with a circle of gold for the door handle. All papers are from Stampin' Up. I also used Stickles to add the berries to the wreath. My second card is another door, only this time the door has raised panels. Again all the paper is from SU except the wreath is made from self-adhesive DWAV paper. The wreath was punched from a Martha Stewart punch and the ribbon is just some I had lying around. I thought these were cute cards that could be used for other occasions - welcoming home a new baby, Valentine's Day, etc. Inside each card I stamped "Welcome Christmas into your heart" from SU. I thought it was truly an appropriate sentiment.Today was Danny's 3rd birthday. I got absorbed in Dancing with the Stars and forgot to call him. I guess we'll get to see him in about a week and at 3 he probably doesn't care that we didn't call. Since tomorrow is Allison's birthday and she'll be 9, I mustn't forget to call her!

I'm so glad that Sudi & Howard made it safely to Florida. I'll be glad to join them! Dave is still working and it's 9:15. He probably won't be home until around 10:30 or so. I think he left here at 6:00 this morning, so he's had a really long day!

Speaking of Dancing with the Stars, I forgot to say that I thought Bristol really danced well tonight. I still think she's the weakest of the 4 dancers remaining, but she did a great job tonight.

That's all for tonight. I'm going to go read. More later...

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Sunday, Sunday

This was another beautiful day. It was a little chilly, but then I guess that's to be expected the middle of November! We sang a song at church today that none of us in the choir liked - "Stranger, Share My Fire"...but it turned out to be beautiful! It was perfect with the sermon today which was all about caring for others - feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving something to drink to the thirsty, from Matthew 25. Once we read the scripture, the choir all understood. Pastor David called his sermon, The Final Exam...and it has nothing to do with reading the Bible, praying, going to church, etc. It was very thought-provoking and challenging.

Tonight Jami called. She told us, among other things, that Megan lost a tooth and that Kelly scored the winning score in soccer. She had Kelly get on the phone and tell me about it. She said she really likes soccer. I'm so glad to hear that, because Jami was very athletic and I was hoping Kelly would be too. Tomorrow is Danny's 3rd birthday and Tuesday is Allison's 9th birthday. November is a busy birthday month for our family...Jami, Kelly, Ann, Danny, Allison, and Kyle! I guess I've got another card to make - Kyle's birthday is the 24th...he'll be 23!! Oh my, where did the time go??

More later...

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Sad Saturday!

I was so excited for the football game today. I just knew that ISU could beat Colorado...but then there's that Colorado curse...the rarified air. I have always said that our teams go out there and just look at the scenery - for some reason we play awful in Boulder! Colorado hadn't had a conference win all year...and now they have one. That means we have to play lights out Saturday against Missouri in order to be bowl eligible. That one-point loss to Nebraska looms ever larger! The Hawks got beat by Northwestern too. That's one they should have won also. I guess neither team wanted it bad enough to win. We also may have lost our starting QB...he went down with a knee injury late in the game. I hope it's nothing too serious!

I went to Cantril today to get some tender white Troyer's popcorn for our trip south. It is so good...it's the little white hull-less popcorn that I like so well. The Dutchman's Store was packed today. It was even hard to get up and down the aisles. I ended up leaving my cart in one spot and going down each aisle shopping. On the way home I saw about 12 turkeys in one field and about 5 miles on up the road, I saw a group of probably 30 turkeys!! It was such a miserable day weatherwise that it was fun to see wildlife.

I got all my cards uploaded to my Facebook page today. I hope you'll go on and enjoy them. I'm particularly proud of several of them. Tomorrow is church, Sunday School, the race, a Vintage Cruisers club meeting, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters!! Plus I've got to pack everything for Monday morning's PMS card club. Whew!! No nap tomorrow!! More later...

PS - I forgot to tell you what we had for dinner tonight! My friend Amanda has some wonderful ideas on her blog. One of the things Amanda says is just throw things together and try it. So tonight Dave wanted chicken and rice. I took some frozen chicken breasts and baked them for about 40 minutes. Then I took them out, threw away the fat, put some water and diced tomatoes w/chilis and some rice in the dish. Then I stuck the chicken breasts back on top of the rice mixture and baked it some more. It was really good! Thanks for inspiring me, Amanda!!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Busy Friday!

I don't know if I told you about these two little guys or not...and right now, I'm too lazy to go back and look. I want you to meet Gabriel and Dickens (L-R). Aren't they ;just darling? These are our pastor's two puppies. When I went over to meet them, Gabriel sat on my lap and fell asleep, whereas Dickens was ornerier than the Dickens!! I think they match their names pretty well. However, Pastor David and Liz both say that Gabriel is ornery too. I think they're just darling.
This is what I finally ended up doing with Spiderman. I don't know if you can see them or not, but there are webs scored into the front of the card...and I didn't like the "for you" stamp, so I covered it up with a dialog box with just Danny's name. Sue tells me that Spidey doesn't talk, but this one does!!

I didn't get any more cards uploaded to the computer today. I had a full day. I went to Fairfield for lunch with some of my classmates. Sudi & Howard are taking off in the morning for points south, so this was just a little get together to say goodbye for the winter. They aren't leaving any too soon, because they're now saying that parts of Iowa could get between 6-10 inches of snow tonight and this weekend. I hope it stays up north!! I like snow, but I'm not ready to see any of it yet!!

I also had a couple of errands to run in Fairfield and I went to see my Auntie Mae today. That's always a challenge. When I stopped at the bank in Libertyville, they told me that she might not know me. So I called her before I knocked on her door. She knew me - no problem. After all, I am her namesake! We had a nice little chat, with her fretting over my being out in the rain all by myself. She was also worried about the fact that she talks to herself just to make sure she doesn't lose her voice. The whole time we talked, which was about an hour, she twirled a chunk of her hair around and around her finger. I worry about her. She also doesn't get around quite as well anymore. Her legs are pretty bowed and she's not very steady on her feet...but she told me as I was leaving that we'd have to do this again sometime soon!!

A visit with Mae always wears me out, so I came home and took a nap. Dave got home about the same time I did and he also took a nap. Now he's asleep in his recliner. Bless his heart. He's so tired...90 hour work weeks do that to you! The rain is going to keep him from working tomorrow, and when I asked if he was working Habitat tomorrow he said maybe for a short while. He's going to take it easy this weekend and rest up for our trip in a week!! More later...

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Veterans Day 2010

Today we should all take time to remember the veterans of our country. The service men and women who have fought for our freedoms should be thanked every day of their lives instead of just this one day. Many times they leave their families and friends to go to some God-forsaken country and fight for our right to be free. God bless them all!

I got up this morning and promptly put out the mail, forgetting that it was a holiday. I had a dental appointment scheduled for 11:00, but they called me and could get me in early, so I went. When I got home, I noticed the mail hadn't gone yet and thought that Rick was running late today. About noon I realized that there wouldn't be any mail because this is Veterans Day! Sometimes I'm a little slow!

Sudi and I went to the Club today for lunch. I hope she liked it. Mine was sure good. She brought me over a bag of dog food to take to Florida. Their car is much fuller than ours because they go for the whole winter, whereas we only go for a month at a time. So, we take a bag of food down for Missy!! No wonder she likes her Aunt Peg! Tonight I went to a stamping class where we made 10 Christmas cards. I'm too tired tonight to scan any of them, so that'll have to wait for another day. Some of them were really cool!

Well, Dave's asleep in his chair and I'm tired, so I think I'll wake him up so we can go to bed. More later...

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Another Beautiful Day in Iowa!

Today is November 10th and it was 72 degrees in Ottumwa today! It actually may have been higher but that's as high as I saw. It was just gorgeous! I wish this weather would stay around, but tomorrow is supposed to be icky...a high about 61 and rain and wind. So, today was shorts weather and tomorrow we'll have to wear jeans and a sweatshirt!

I get my new bridge tomorrow. I hope I don't have to have Novocaine, but I probably will. Sudi and Howard are coming over around lunch, so I'm hoping I can eat with them. If not, I'll just go along and drool while they eat!!

Choir practice went really well tonight...we got to ditch one song, so we only practiced 5 different songs I think. I sure wish I was going to be here for our version of "Blessed Assurance". It's going to be really cool!

Dave just got home, so I'm going to get off of here and talk to him. More later...

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

I can't believe it!!

I can't believe that Bristol Palin is still on Dancing with the Stars! She has absolutely no rhythm!! Kurt Warner went home tonight and he can dance circles around her! At this rate, she'll probably win the whole thing. Come on, people, wake up...this is a dancing show, not a political show! Ok, I feel better now!!

Wasn't today a gorgeous day? It was over 70 here today. When I went out to Walmart this morning, my car said it was 70 then. This afternoon, I went outside and sat on the steps to read the paper. It was so nice, the lady across the street had her 2 year old boy outside, so I went over to talk to them. He was playing in the dirt with his little backhoe, so he kept giving me a scoop of dirt and I had to put it in the dump truck for him! He's so funny!!

I had a list of things I needed to get accomplished today and I am very happy to say that I got most of them done! I'm still working on paying the bills and reconciling our accounts. Dave got home about 8:30 and went to his chair. He's getting exhausted. These 14-15 hour days are finally getting to him. I think he'll be glad for a rainy day!

More later...

Monday, November 8, 2010

Another Gorgeous Day!

It's really hard to believe that it's November 8th. We had a beautiful day here...shorts weather again!! At 5:00 it was still 65!!

As promised, I've attached a couple of pictures of the cards I've been making. This first one is one of the Christmas cards using Dasher, a stamp from Stampin' Up. In fact, everything on this card, except for the ribbon is from SU. I used gold embossing powder to do Dasher and the sentiment and the background is the snowflake folder from Cuttlebug. This picture doesn't really do this card justice...it's much prettier in real life!
Here is the Spiderman card I made from my grandson. I think I'll cover up the "for you" and put a dialog balloon with Danny's name in it instead. This paper is just scraps I had lying around. I used Stampin' Up punches and CASE'd a card I saw on SplitcoastStampers! Hope he likes it.

I haven't felt very well this afternoon...must have been something I ate. I hope I feel better tomorrow. I watched Dancing With The Stars tonight. It was very interesting. I loved the concept of the dancers not getting the music for their second dance until after they performed their first dance...I think it really evened the playing field. Again, I thought that Bristol's marks were too high. She got a 7 and 2 8's. Kurt Warner got 3 8's and he did much better than she did. I went to the ABC website and voted. I hope she goes home before Kurt does. More later...

Sunday, November 7, 2010

What a Wonderful Day!

Today was an absolutely beautiful fall day! I even put my shorts back on today!! Dave worked though, so it wasn't quite perfect - although he did get home about 5:30, which was a bonus!! Church this morning was great. Pastor David illustrated Jesus' gathering of disciples. Mary Demorest read the scripture, and Pastor David had "planted" disciples in the congregation. As Mary read each name, the disciple stood up and said "Here I am, Lord," or something similar and Pastor David went to pick him up. When the second one was selected, both went to pick him up, etc., until they got to Judas. Since Judas betrayed Him, Jesus then selected another disciple and again David and the other 11 went to pick him up. It was very dramatic. After church, David started a class which is going to explain some of the special things about the Presbyterian religion. I went - I think it'll be really interesting. Unfortunately I'll only get to attend two classes - this week and next.

I made several Christmas cards today. Dave's sleeping right now, or I would scan them into the computer and share them with you. Maybe I'll get them done tomorrow. I was upstairs finishing up a card when Dave came home. He came up to say hi and my Ott light flickered off. That was strange, but I just assumed that the bulbs burned out. Dave went outside to mow the leaves (in the dark). Within minutes after he went outside, he called me to tell me that there was going to be an ambulance pulling up outside...a motorcycle had wrecked in our yard!! He evidently came around the corner too fast or hit some loose gravel or something - anyway he hit the curb and then the electrical pole (that's why my Ott light went out!) He was lying on the ground with a broken arm. So, the ambulance came, along with three police cars and the first responders. All of this drew a crowd, obviously! The motorcyclist turned out to be someone we knew, so he had Dave call his wife. By the time she arrived, there were lots of emergency vehicles, including Alliant Energy! She followed him to the hospital and was going to call his office manager so she could cancel his appointments for tomorrow. He's an eye doctor here in town, so she knew he wouldn't be seeing patients tomorrow. Once the ambulance took him to the hospital and the police all left, Alliant moved in and shut down ALL of our electricity (about half of the house was out) and fixed the lines. They got us going about 45 minutes later. Our house is really dark when there's no electricity in the house!!

Since the electricity was off, I didn't get to see the end of the race today. I had to look up the results online once the electricity came back on. It was sure an interesting race! Jeff Burton wrecked Jeff Gordon. Jeff Gordon took a swing at Jeff Burton and had to be restrained by two NASCAR officials!! Kyle Busch flipped someone off and had to sit in the pits for two laps!! Good race! Lots of fun!!

Oh, I also learned how to tie a beautiful bow for my cards!! Not a bad day! More later...

Saturday, November 6, 2010

I'm Sick!

I got physically ill after the Iowa State-Nebraska game. We came back from a 2 touchdown deficit to tie the score and go into overtime. The kids played their hearts out!! In OT Nebraska scored a TD, so we had to to remain in the game...we did!! Then, Coach made a gutsy call - we went for 2 and the play was there, the pass just wasn't a very good one and it got picked off by Nebraska. Too bad - I thought ISU deserved to win the game (of course, I'm a bit prejudiced!!) I feel really bad for the kids. Coach Rhoads said he has no problem with grown men crying and there were several grown men in the dressing room crying. I guess we'd better beat Colorado next week in the rarified air!!!

I went to Chris' folks' auction today. When I walked into the auction house and saw all the hayracks filled with "stuff", I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the auction house had combined a couple of auctions with theirs...WRONG!! All of that was the Evans!! Oh my gosh, it was a huge auction!! I'm sure Chris is relieved tonight that it is over. Hopefully she is happy with the results. Some things were bringing good prices, while others weren't. You just never know at auctions.

Tonight I went to the choir party at Becky's house. Dave wasn't home yet, so I went alone. It was fun - lots of us made it!! Before we go to bed tonight, we have to remember to turn our clocks back, so we'll get a little extra sleep tonight - yay!!! More later...

Friday, November 5, 2010

Friday Highlights

I had a very busy day today! My day started out at a PEO meeting. We had 26 members and one guest today. Good meeting!! Our program today was called "Off the Wall" - we shared something from off our walls at home. Not everyone brought something, but those who did had great stories about their item. After PEO seven of us went to the Club for a post-initiation lunch with our four newest members. They asked lots of questions and it was a good time for us to get to know them better too! I didn't get home from that until 1:00 and we started at 11:00!!

When I got home, the cleaning lady was here. I had a really bad headache, so I went into the spare bedroom and took a short nap. I got up just as she was leaving, but that worked out really well. Tonight, I went over to Juliene's where we made some Christmas cards and such! When I got home, Dave was here and he "yelled" at me for not doing his laundry and for not getting the groceries...he didn't really yell, but it's my story!! Tomorrow I'm going to go to Mt Pleasant to Chris' sale for a while, then I'll come home and make something for tomorrow evening's choir party. I'll be glad to go to Florida just to slow down! More later...

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Thursday Again

Time sure flies when you're having fun!! I had a massage today so as far as I'm concerned, I had a great day. I really needed the massage. I've been having back spasms today. I think it's from sitting all day at the polls. When I'm at home, I'm constantly getting up from my desk and moving around, going upstairs, etc. While I was an election official, I didn't get to move much - we had a constant flow of people all day. I think that did it!

Today I made a couple of Christmas cards, using my Dasher stamp. I'll show them to you when I get them scanned into the computer. I've also got to show you Spiderman, but I'm trying to figure out what Spiderman says. Do you know? Does he say, "Pow" or "Bam" or anything like that? I wanted to put something other than Happy Birthday on the front of the card along with Spidey, but I don't know what to put on there. This card is for Danny and speaking of Danny, I got to talk to him tonight! I called to wish both Jami and Kelly a happy birthday. I got to talk to Kelly first and then Jami, but Danny took the phone away from her to talk to me too. That was fun!! Can't wait to see them!! Won't be long now.

My brother called today to tell me that there was a place for sale in his park...$6,500 completely furnished. I'd hate to say yes without having seen the place, so I'll call him tomorrow and explain that we want to come down and rent a place there to see if we'd like living in the Clearwater area before we buy there. He said the price was really good since you couldn't furnish a place for much less than that. It's a 2-bedroom, 1.5 bath, living room, dining nook, kitchen with natural gas, which is unusual in their park. Wish we were headed down there now!

Tomorrow is PEO and a PEO post-initiation luncheon. Then tomorrow evening, I'm stamping at Juliene's! More later...

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

I'm So Tired!

I am so tired!! It's 8:00 and I'm thinking about going to bed! Today was such a beautiful day, but I just haven't recovered yet from yesterday, I guess. I had to run some errands today and I've been doing laundry. I also attended a meeting at Indian Hills and made a Spiderman to put on Danny's birthday card. Other than that I haven't done much. Dave went to work very early this morning and doesn't plan to be home until after 9:00 tonight, so I may as well crash. Sorry - perhaps tomorrow I'll be creative or something!! More later...

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Long Day Today

Today was a really long day! I worked as an election official today. I had to be there at 6:00 and didn't get home until about 10:00 tonight! Sixteen hours - wow! I'm really tired, but it was a lot of fun. I really enjoy my part of the process. I pretty much greet everyone who comes to vote. I get their names and then direct them on where to go next. I work at a very small voting site...Dahlonega Township. However, we had 169 voters today and we were only figuring we'd get about 100. We were busy all day. Had several times when people had to wait because all of the booths were full! Then when everything was done tonight, we were the first precinct to report in!!! I think we're finally getting the hang of it!

More later...

Monday, November 1, 2010

Another Beautiful Day!

I sure do like these beautiful fall days. The sun is bright and it's warm enough that you don't have to wear a coat! Tomorrow, however, I won't even see any of the daylight - except from inside the lobby of the Video Conferencing Center at IHCC. I'm an election official and I have to be at work at 6:00 AM! I probably won't get home until about 10:00 PM...but I'm doing my civic duty. I really do enjoy it. I get to see some people that I don't see except when they come to vote. I do, however, wish that I could be at a busier precinct. We probably won't have 100 voters at our poll tomorrow and that makes for a long day! Since Dave is hauling anhydrous and is gone from about 6:00 to 9:00, I guess it won't matter if I'm home or not! I've got some magazines to go through and I'll take some coloring supplies again. When you're in one spot for 16 hours, you may as well have things to do!! All I'll have to do in the morning is make my lunch and get some water to take with me.

I worked in my craft studio today - I figured out the card I am going to demo for PMS card club on the 15th. It's a Christmas card and I think I'll be making it en masse for my Christmas cards this year. I'm not going to post it because then Juliene wouldn't be surprised on the 15th! More later...

Sunday, October 31, 2010

What a Day!

That was such a happy, uplifting day, despite the fact that Dave wasn't there to share it with. Church service was great. Pastor David talked about Jeremiah this morning. He just brings the Bible to life! It's pretty amazing. We sang a beautiful song this morning too - it was a different version of Amazing Grace. We even got applause!! The bell choir rang a wonderful song! Then this afternoon we had the Installation Service for Pastor David. It was a beautiful service. Lots of ministers were featured in the service. The sermon was given by the Phil Barrett of the Des Moines Presbytery of which we are apart. Pastor Sara gave a great charge to the congregation and Pastor Brian gave a great charge to David. We sang two different anthems, both of which were wonderful. PraiSing, which is a group of young ladies in our congregation (ages 14-17) sang too - they have the most beautiful voices! Again it was so uplifting and it's wonderful having Pastor David with us.

I came home after the Installation service and crashed! We sang about 10 songs and that wore me out! Plus, it was so hot in the church that I struggled. I was glad to get home and change clothes! I read for about an hour and then I was refreshed!!

Now I'm watching Desperate Housewives - I wonder how these writers think up some of this dialogue? I can't imagine having an imagination like this. Dave's already gone to bed. He has to be at work at 6:30 in the morning!

More later...

Saturday, October 30, 2010

I'm Lost

I don't have a clue what to do with my day now that I'm not playing Zoo World. I've got all this extra time!!

I did get Kelly's birthday card done. I hope you think it looks like Eeyore! He's CASE'd from Splitcoast Stampers. I didn't have all the punches I needed though, so I had to improvise. I think he's pretty cute and I hope Kelly will too. The papers I used for him are just scraps. I used some chalk at his joints to make it look like shadows. Pastor's wife, Liz, tied the little bow for me. There was no way I could do that!! The sentiment inside is simply "Happy Birthday" in a wonky typeface! I won't be making another one of these - they are rather intensive to make!!
Actually, I didn't really have any problem filling in my "extra" time today. The Iowa State football team played at 1:00, so I ran out at halftime to get groceries. Now that Dave's taking his lunches again, we need more food! Then I listened to the second half of the game, hooting and hollerin' all by myself! That pretty much wore me out, so I read for a while before the little ghosts and goblins came tonight.

For the longest time, I didn't think we'd have any trick-or-treaters, but we ended up with 9. The popular costume this year was a skeleton costume..of the 9 kids who came to our door, 3 of them were skeletons. We also had Bob the Builder, a mime, a cat, a dragon, and 4 kids that were as tall as I am or taller! I think maybe this should be their last year!! Anyway, we now have some candy in the house - Yeah!!! More later...

Friday, October 29, 2010

Ok, I Did It!!!

I finally quit Zoo World. I've wanted to for a long time, but when you're addicted to something it's really hard to give it up. I almost did it early this morning, but it took me until this afternoon to actually block the applications! I've worried about feeding my little zoo animals for so long, that this is really going to be different. Now I wonder if I can give up Farm Town or Mafia Wars. I probably will give up Mafia Wars before Farm Town - I think I'm really a "closet" farmer at heart! I like having all that acreage and growing those crops - all without getting dirty!

Dave worked Habitat today all day. The kids from Wartburg are here thru tomorrow, so he was with them all day today. Then tonight, we had dinner with some very dear friends. There were 9 of us and we had a great time! Great food, great laughs, great friends! Hope we can do it at our house sometime soon!

Tomorrow Dave goes back to work pulling tanks. I'm going to watch football...and if the Cyclones aren't on tv, I'll be listening to the radio. Go 'Clones! More later...

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Uneventful Day

I had a very uneventful day. It was cold enough outside that I didn't want to go anywhere, so I just stayed home. I'm working on a birthday card for Kelly, my granddaughter. It's going to be an Eeyore, anyway that's what it's supposed to be!! I think he looks like Eeyore. I should finish it tomorrow, so I'll post it and see if you think it looks like Eeyore! The kids love Disney characters, so thought this would work for her. Danny's birthday is the 16th, so I'm also working on a Spiderman for him. Then Megan's is the 13th of December and I think I'll try to make her some kind of cat or a princess...she loves both! She's our fashionista and loves anything made with cheetah fabric!!

Dave worked at the Habitat house all day today. The kids from Wartburg College got here, so he worked with them. He'll also work there tomorrow and then Saturday and Sunday he's going to be hauling anhydrous!! We were going to have Bryan come down and help insulate the attic, but that got put on hold until after anhydrous season now! This evening I went down to the church and ate supper with the Wartburg contingent. This year they were all science majors - at least 3 were looking into medicine, 1 into nutrition and the others were undecided at this point. Very interesting group...3 girls and 4 guys.

I was called by the Nielsen Company and asked if I'd participate in a week of writing down what tv shows we watch. I'd done this before and thought it was kind of fun, so I'm doing it again. It started today and so far I haven't turned a tv on. Dave, however, is watching a very educational show on TLC called Police Women of Dallas!! I almost hate to write that down!!! Since I'm not watching tv, I'm going to go upstairs to read. More later...

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Wild and Windy Day

This was a really windy day! In fact, I think I just saw a guy from Missouri fly by!!! He was trying to hold on, but the wind just took him flying away!! Tomorrow is supposed to be windy again tomorrow...so whatever pretty leaves we had will be gone after tomorrow!

Tonight I had choir practice. We're singing about 8 songs on Sunday morning and then another 7 Sunday afternoon! My voice is shot! We had a really long practice.

I'm reading a GREAT book. It's about 1,000 pages so it's not a quick read, but it's wonderful! It's Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I can't believe that I hate to put it down, but I do. In fact, I have to force myself to go to sleep at night - it's that good!!

I guess I've rambled enough, but this is "Ponderings by Peg"!! More later...

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

DWTS

Len said it right tonight - this is ludicrous! I can't believe that Audrina and Tony are going home tonight. It's a travesty. Bristol Palin is still there. I think they need to change the rules to where the judges can overrule the public vote sometimes. For Bristol & Mark and Kyle & Lacey to still be there and Audrina & Tony going home is awful!! Totally ridiculous!

Dave and I went to vote today. After we left the courthouse, we talked about our votes. We canceled each other's votes several times. It was funny because sometimes I didn't want to vote for either candidate just because of their negative campaign ads. Since I'm on a soapbox tonight, I'm going on record as saying campaign reform is needed. I know that negative ads are part of the campaign reform, but if we had limits on the amount of $$ being spent in campaign ads, perhaps we would have to subject ourselves to so many negative ones!!

Let's see...what else can I spout off about? I guess I can't think of anything, so I'll just say more later...

Monday, October 25, 2010

Trip to the Dentist

I had a dental appointment today to prepare for a bridge. This was going to require prep for two crowns and then a 3rd tooth bridge. However, Dr. W. decided to do a cantilever procedure instead, which means only a 1 tooth prep - the other one already has a crown so he didn't really want to mess with it. That also means a savings of about $900! Thank goodness for little favors!

I also made a card today. I needed one more Halloween card for the kids, so this is what I did: This card is made from SU's very vanilla cardstock, distressed with Close to Cocoa. Then I used the label dye and cut it out. I also used a circle punch, an oval punch and a tab punch for the various features of the mummy's face. Then I added a bow becausee I wanted this to be a girl mummy!! I saw these done on Splitcoast Stampers and thought it would be fun to do for one of the grandchildren!

That's all I have for tonight. I just finished watching Dancing with the Stars. I was very disappointed that Jennifer & Derek didn't do well tonight. Again I thought the judges gave Kyle & Lacey and Bristol & Mark scores that were way too high. I thought the judges were a little unfair with Kurt & Anna and Audrina & Tony. It'll be interesting to see who goes home tomorrow night. I think it should be Bristol, but tonight she had pretty high scores...two 9's and an 8. You just never know! I don't have anything on for tomorrow night, so I guess I'll watch and see! More later...

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Hornets

This is what fell out of the tree into our yard this morning! It's a huge hornets' nest! There were still a few hornets around it, so I was a little leery about getting too close. These are really works of wonder when you consider that they are made from saliva and chewed wood fiber! Look at the swirls in the paper-like exterior of this nest. It's beautiful!!

Here's a close-up. I used my zoom to get close to the entrance of the nest. I think it shows the swirls really well. Why, they are even different colors! We had one of these on a corner of our house a few years ago. We paid an exterminator to come remove it. He didn't get stung, but there were tons of hornets around the nest.
I hope you enjoyed looking at this up close and personal! More later...

 My blog has been hacked so I am suspending blogging for the immediate future.  Sorry!  More later...