Thanksgiving at Nanny and Poppa's

Welcome to the Thanksgiving photo journal for 2008!

It was a fantastic time, Aidan's first Thanksgiving at Great Grandma and Grandpa's house! Nanny and Poppa just returned from Ireland and brought everyone wonderful presents, but I think the bestest one was the soft and cuddly sheep that they brought for their #1 Great Grandson.

Aidan spent lots of time exploring the house, the yard, and playing with his sheepie. I managed to teach him that his sheepie says "Baaa" and he was toddling around the house while people were arriving for dinner saying "BAAAAA!" IT was nearly overwhelming for the little guy with about 30 people there for dinner.

Laura got the girls all tee shirts which the tie dyed the night before Thanksgiving. They had fun and the shirts came out fantastically! You'll see them up at the top of the page. :) Each of the girls had a different color and they wore them Thanksgiving evening.

Poppa cooking and helping to supervise the apprentice cooks in the kitchen

Nanny and Poppa with Nanny's world famous stuffing as she gets ready to finish making it for her adoring family.

Jenn outside playing with Aidan who very much enjoyed being able to get out in the yard and explore and run. He's still not wild about having to wear shoes and a coat, but it was pretty warm for him to play outside.

Michael and Aidan and Sheepie. :) Note the little U of Hawaii Warrior tee shirt on Aidan.

Allie and Aidan making friends. Aidan spent time with just about everyone at least for a moment. He especially enjoyed the time spent with Aunt Rosalie. She even taught Aidan some Polish words!

Nick was even back for the holiday from Okinawa where he's based with the Air Force.

Meghann in her "Hug a Pineapple" tee shirt from the Dole Plantation on Oahu.

Matt in a thoughtful pose. :)

Meg and Poppa pose for their picture. Note the ice cream for the traditional Bananna Hoppers which everyone enjoyed.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

more animals
To all of my dear family and friends, wishes for the happiest of Thanksgivings!

Calling in Sick

Cat Lover or Not, this is Hysterical! This was sent to me by a dear friend and animal lover and I thought it would be fun to share. :)

We've all had trouble with our animals, but I don't think anyone can top this one:

Calling in sick to work makes me uncomfortable. No matter how legitimate my excuse, I always get the feeling that my boss thinks I'm lying.

On one recent occasion, I had a valid reason but lied anyway, because the truth was just too darned humiliating. I simply mentioned that I had sustained a head injury, and I hoped I would feel up to coming in the next day. By then, I reasoned, I could think up a doozy to explain the bandage on the top of my head. The accident occurred mainly because I had given in to my wife's wishes to adopt a cute little kitty.
Initially, the new acquisition was no problem.

Then one morning, I was taking my shower after breakfast when I heard my wife, Deb, call out to me from the kitchen.

'Honey! The garbage disposal is dead again. Please come reset it.'

'You know where the button is,' I protested through the shower pitter-pa tter and steam. 'Reset it yourself!'

'But I'm scared!' she persisted. 'What if it starts going and sucks me in?'

There was a meaningful pause and then, 'C'mon, it'll only take you a second.'

So out I came, dripping wet and B utt naked, hoping that my silent outraged nudity would make a statement about how I perceived her behaviour as extremely cowardly.

Sighing loudly, I squatted down and stuck my head under the sink to find the button. It is the last action I remember performing.

It struck without warning, and without any respect to my circumstances. No, it wasn't the hexed disposal, drawing me into its gnashing metal teeth. It was our new kitty, who discovered the fascinating dangling objects she spied hanging between my legs. She had been poised around the corner and stalked me as I reached under the sink. And, at the precise moment when I was most vulnerable, she leapt at the toys I unwittingly offered and snagged them with her needle-like claws. I lost all rational thought to control orderly bodily movements, blindly rising at a violent rate of speed, with the full weight of a kitten hanging from my masculine region.

Wild animals are sometimes faced with a 'fight or flight' syndrome. Men, in this predicament, choose only the 'flight' option. I know this from experience. I was fleeing straight up into the air when the sink and cabinet bluntly and forcefully impeded my ascent.
The impact knocked me out cold.

When I awoke, my wife and the paramedics stood over me.

Now there are not many things in this life worse than finding oneself lying on the kitchen floor butt naked in front of a group of 'been-there, done-that' paramedics.
Even worse, having been fully briefed by my wife, the paramedics were all snorting loudly as they tried to conduct their work, all the while trying to suppress their hysterical laughter......and not succeeding.

Somehow I lived through it all. A few days later I finally made it back in to the office, where colleagues tried to coax an explanation out of me about my head injury. I kept silent, claiming it was too painful to talk about, which it was.

'What's the matter?' They all asked, 'Cat got your tongue?'
If they only knew!

Why is it that only the women laugh at this?

Remembrance Day 2008

Remembrance Day dawned cold, in fact, I've been cold before but this was REALLY cold! It was in the low 20's as we dressed and headed out to our unit meeting and then to the parade. I have on just about every piece of Civil War era warmth that I could think of and I was still cold. My feet never feel warm in the cold weather, coupled with my legs being cold and the wind whipping my wool collar and hood off of my bonnet, I was fighting a losing battle!

As you can see, Mark is ready for his march in the Parade...notice how small he's getting, we're doing weight watchers again and he's doing fabulously with it and losing like crazy. He looks great! As for me, I'm having challenges but I'll get back on track eventually. For now I'm just being happy and eating what I want within reason.
We posed for our picture right before the parade, and I will admit that it was freezing and I hadn't been feeling great the night before so I kept warm in the car for the bulk of the parade. My friend Linda and I were able to get to the street just to see the Confederates passing by, and spotted our guys and the beautiful Maryland Flag they were carrying. We'll look forward to another day in Gettysburg, hopefully when it's warm again.
Mark had purchased an outfit of Civilian Clothing from a great Seamstress in Gettysburg for his Civilian Impression. I wore my gold ball gown in the evening (you've seen it before) and we headed out for dinner and the ball. With the Paletot on top, he looked very handsome, don't you think?

Visit to Boyds Bear Barn in Gettysburg

The pictures kind of got scrambled in this blog entry, but they are all of our "field trip" on Friday up to the Boyds Bear Barn outside of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Aidan's Birthday was Monday so his mom and dad and grandma and grandpa took him to build a bear and generally enjoy the great place.
They have all kinds of bears of every size and description, and it's a fantastic place to go and look...but be warned, there is sure to be a new friend that will want to come home with you.
Aidan got to go to the Boyds Build a bear Workshop and he got his very own hard hat and time card and got to pick out a bear with his mom and dad's help.

The barn is 4 stories tall with a cafeteria in the lower level and 3 other levels of bears and rooms of animals and other neat things. This is a view down the big entry hall near where you go upstairs to the build a bear area.

Rosie's post

Hi, it's me, Rosie the kitten with my very own blog post. I hope you like it. This is me (Rosie) and my sister Belle when we were spooning and sleeping on the dresser in Mom's office. It's nice and warm on the pad on the dresser, and we like sleeping up there. Usually Belle isn't so nice to me when I want to snuggle with her but she was in a good mood that day. Belle was sleeping up there when I jumped up there too, but I think she was too sleepy to kick me off.

Mom was working on her family tree and I came over to watch her. She put this really cool website on for me to watch, it had dancing badgers, mushrooms, and snakes. It really caught my eye but I didn't like the sound so mom turned it off again for me.

I was so mad when my mom dressed me in this ridiculous costume for Halloween. Do I look like a Sailor kitten to you? She didn't get the hint that I wasn't happy even when I glared at her with evil in my eyes. I hope she doesn't try to dress me up next year.

The excellent adventure to Dulles

Today, after many days of anticipation, we got to drive to Virginia to pick up our very favorite Hawaiian relatives who will be visiting for a few weeks and going to Thanksgiving festivities in Moline with us/ Here's the 777 that brought Jenn, Michael, and Aidan, pulling up to the gate.
Michael was making a funny face for the camera, and right behind him follows Jenn with Aidan
Of course, Aidan charmed everyone...and tried to walk all over the place at the airport in the gateroom and then again while we were getting baggage and getting ready to go to the car.
Aidan was telling grandma that he didn't understand the whole concept of wearing shoes and coats and hats and things like that.
He enjoyed his trip on the airplane but he was ready to go to the car and drive home to grandma and grandpa's house. Aidan moved in pretty quickly and explored the house. He decided that Rosie was pretty fascinating. Belle hid as she normally does but Rosie came out and was very curious about Aidan. Aidan thought Rosie was much more fun than any of his new toys. :)

I've been craving pizza

more animals And I couldn't resist...but I'm back on track again today, I think!

A new week

A WOMAN'S WEEK AT THE GYM


Dear Diary,

For my birthday this year, my daughter (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me.
Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.

I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Belinda, who identified herself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear.

My daughter seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary t o chart my progress.

____________ _________ _________ __
MONDAY:
Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Belinda waiting for me. She is something of a Greek goddess - with blond hair, dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!

Belinda gave me a tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which she conducted her aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!

Belinda was encouraging as I did my sit- ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time she was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!

____________ _________ _________ __
TUESDAY:
I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Belinda made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then she put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. Belinda's r ewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT! It's a whole new life for me.

____________ _________ _________ _
WEDNESDAY:
The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.

Belinda was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. Her voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when she scolds, she gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.

My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Belinda put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Belinda told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. She said some other shit too.

____________ _________ _________
THURSDAY:
Belinda was w aiting for me with her vampire-like teeth exposed as her thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late - it took me that long to tie my shoes.

Belinda took me to work out with dumbbells. When she was not looking, I ran and hid in the rest-room. She sent another skinny b!tch to find me.

Then, as punishment, she put me on the rowing machine -- which I sank.
____________ _________ _________ _
FRIDAY:
I hate that b!tch Belinda more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic little cheerleader. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat her with it.

Belinda wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the damn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.

The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

____________ _________ _________ __
SATURDAY:
Belinda left a message on my answering machine in her grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing her voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel.

____________ _________ _________ __
SUNDAY:
I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my daughter (the little sh!t) will choose a gift for me that is fun -- like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

A friend sent me this and I just had to share it with you all!

49-10

Enough said? It's Great to BE a FLORIDA GATOR! Poor Dawgs...worst loss by their coach EVER! Sorry, Michael, but your Dawgs Suck. Love, Mom :)

Happy Halloween

I've become a spectator lately as I slowly work through the work still remaining on the family tree project. I sit at my desk and as I type or verify or check off the names still remaining to be linked (what a problem it has become!) into the program to add the several thousand people that are somehow connected, I get to see the girls playing or fighting or just hanging out seeing what I'm doing. I took this shot after watching the two of them groom and then bite and fight and wrestle on the top of the dresser in my office.

The tree has become challenging because I'm still missing so many names, I can access them but there are 3 very large families that I haven't been able to get linked up and it's making me nuts looking for the links. I'm comparing the website's index to my own and adding people that are linked in as I can, but these families just don't seem to link in anywhere. They must link or they wouldn't be on the website, so I keep plugging away trying. I'm trying to get this done prior to the kids coming to visit so that it's done and not hanging over my head.

Keeping busy

Rosie immediately took to the new quilt, in fact she and Belle sleep on the bed now that it's colder in the house at night. Here's Rose with some of her favorite things, her feather mousie and some extra piping that I had left over from one of my Civil War dresses.

As you can see, there is a parrot in my hair. Jon had just given him a shower and he decided to sit on my shoulder and wipe his wet feathers in my hair. I was trying to work on putting my quilt together...it's the next project to go on the hand quilting frame.

I've been working on this by hand, it's my Baltimore Album quilt that I started about 13 years ago...I'm finally ready to hand quilt it. I love it, it's all hand appliqued and I appreciate it more now that I can no longer see things that small to do that kind of work. I've been keeping busy between the family tree work and projects...trying to keep my mind occupied until the Lightners get here. :)

Something little to make you think

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat = down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.
Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. = I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me. =
'Chicago - to Great Lakes Base. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Iraq '
After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be a couple of hours before we reached Chicago, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time.
As I reached for my wallet, I overheard soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to Chicago '
His friend agreed.
I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'
Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to = where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, = 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'
'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she = asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class. 'This is your thanks.'
After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.
Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, and said, 'I want to shake your hand.'
Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.
Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.
When we landed in Chicago I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!
Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.'
Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a sandwich.
It seemed so little...
A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'Up to and including my life.' That is Honor, and there are way too many people in This country who no longer understand it.'

How Cats and Women are Similar

Cats vs Women (At least SOME women)



1) Cats do what they want.

2) They rarely listen to you.

3) They're totally unpredictable.

4) They whine when they are not happy.

5) When you want to play, they want to be alone.

6) When you want to be alone, they want to play.

7) They expect you to cater to their every whim.

8) They're moody.

9) They leave hair everywhere.

10) They drive you nuts and cost an arm and a leg.



Conclusion: They're tiny little women in cheap fur coats.

Jon's visit

Jon and Michelle are home this week visiting from Greensboro and brought their Bird whose name is Ceasar. Ceasar is a Caique (prounounced Kai-eek) and has quite the personality, he's very friendly and he loves attention from people. Our younger kitten, Rosie, doesn't seem bothered by him, she just sniffs him and doesn't particularly think of him a feathered meal. At least that's what she wants us to believe. I still wouldn't let the cat and the bird be alone together.
Here is Rose looking at Ceasar while he is in his travel carrier on the sofa. Rose spent quite a lot of time patiently looking at him but never did anything agressive. Belle, on the other hand, has been hissing whenever the bird makes his noises and has been hissing at Jon as well. She didn't like Jon during his last visit either. Belle is a "scardy-cat" and has been hiding under the bed rather than coming out like Rose to visit and play, especially when Jon is around, so I've been leaving her in her hiding places so she'll relax. As the days go on, Belle is getting better about coming out a little bit, but she's just not very social to Jonathan at all. I don't think she's ever going to be the social butterfly of the two of them.
When I go out and then come home, the girls sit at the door and look out and wait. If we have the wooden front door closed then they sit on their perches in front of the front window and wait and look for us. If we're gone too long they tend to fall asleep waiting, but the sound of the car pulling in wakes them right up and then they watch as we come up the walk to the house. Then they get "loves" and sometimes even treats.
Of course, their favorite napping spot lately is in front of the window in my office. I love how Rosey is asleep here with her head right on top of Belle. The futon that Jon sleeps on when he's here is in my office so Belle hasn't been coming in for her window seat naps this week, but she has been in to sniff around when Jon's away spending time elsewhere.
Belle has discovered our Aloe Vera plant, and we've had to move it to prevent her from chewing on the ends of the arms of the plants. She knows she isnt' supposed to be on the table, so she has to be pretty stelthy and pretty quick when she decides to try to get the things on the window shelf. Succulents are poison to cats but I can't find Aloe Vera listed seperately. We moved it so that no arms of the plant are accessible just in case. I can't believe how big the kittens have grown and how much trouble they can find to get into!

The new quilt

On Saturday our reenactment unit attended an apple festival in a small town in Pennsylvania in which several of our members live. It was a nice day, a nice living history chance to just dress up and eat the yummy apple things that were available there, and to chat with each other and the spectators. I took my quilt with me which I had pretty much finished by had to apply the binding to by hand and then cut off all the strings on the back.
I managed to get it finished and now it's residing on my bed...the batting is a 100% wool comforter batt and it's really squishy unlike period quilts, but the fabric is all Civil War era reproductions, this is the one that I tried to do dark backgrounds and light sashing which is the opposite of most other quilts I've ever done. I like it and it's very cosy. There is an entire row of blocks on either side that hangs off the bed so you really can't see the whole thing at once...I love the blocks...I'm thinking of making one with different colors in the same block pattern using Civil War era prints but that'll have to wait until I get some spare time, there are other things I'm going to work on first.