Here it is, December. Christmas month. I am done decorating and have one more type of cookie to bake. As for gifts, not nearly done! But my list is much smaller than when I was working full time so I should be able to handle it ok. I had a lot of little errands to do after work today. Had to make a small deposit at the bank. Stopped at WOW Outlet looking for something I did NOT find, but that’s ok. Then dropped off a few things at the Goodwill store. I like to keep cleaning things out. Now that I made up my mind to pass along the treadmill I’m impatient!

I popped into Westmoreland Mall and got a few bagels, and had one for lunch once I got home. But from there I went to Walmart and replenished some food items that were used up over the Thanksgiving holiday. I had a cinnamon crunch – it was fresh and crunchy and really good!

Here are a few more areas of decorations. I finished the tree last night and took a picture with the overhead lights off and one with them on. The only thing left to do it switch the bath soup from a bouquet to Piney Spruce for the winter.

Kathy and I are going to see I HEARD THE BELLS movie at Westmoreland Mall Cinema tonight. I’ll post comments tomorrow. Gen just called from New York to chat – it’s always wonderful to hear from my New York friend. Her newest grandchild is ‘due’ tomorrow, so Chris, Lauren, and Jack are very excited. Jack wants to name the baby Snow Shovel since it’s a winter baby. Not sure that will fly with the parents…

December 1 – More favorites: “Bible Verse – This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24. Also Philippians 4:11-13. Pastime – I like to read. I like to go to flea markets and garage sales. Flowers to weed and shrubs to grow & bloom.” I can see that I am indeed my mother’s daughter!

Calendar inspiration from Snoopy – So thankful for medical teams who take care of us!

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TOMORROW December 2nd is:

• National Fritters Day
• National Mutt Day
• Special Education Day 
• Faux Fur Friday
• National Bartender Day 

Tazz was a mutt. He was an amazing dog and I miss him often. Tomorrow Di is coming over for lunch and we are making a pizza and watching a Peanuts movie! Have a wonderful day whatever you celebrate. God bless…

I got up early for a Wednesday, and was totally done with cleaning and laundry by 3pm! I did take time out in the middle of the day to have an argument with a recorded line! I was trying to refill a prescription through an online pharmacy and it wasn’t working out. Finally went online through Aetna and figured it out. Whew. I wasn’t made for that kind of stress.

Before I forget (and I posted on facebook) I am parting ways with my treadmill. It’s a NordicTrack and in excellent shape! If you are interested just get in touch with me. Terms negotiable.

Last night before I went to bed I was able to set up and decorate my Williamsburg tree. All the ornaments are collectables from CWF except the pine cones and little gold bells. The thing was — grrr – that it’s a pre-lit tree and half the lights quit! I had extra so it looks great, but I’m sad that it quit working.

This morning after I cleaned the upstairs I put the linen tablecloth on the kitchen table – I bought that before I was married – probably in about 1969. I guess it’s vintage! I love it even though it’s retro.

Bible Study starts back up tonight so I’ll be done with chores and ready to go by then – on to heaven! (Or the study there-of!)

November 30 – More favorites: “TV Show – no TV when I was at home. Later in the 1950’s I enjoyed the Andy Griffith Show, Perry Mason (he was her ‘heart throb’!), and Day of Discovery. Song – 1) People will Say We’re in Love; 2) I’ll hold you in my Heart til I can Hold you in my Arms (Edy Arnold!) 3) You’re Something Special to Me. Color – Soft tones of brown. Now that I’m older I like mauve & deep pinks.”

Calendar Inspiration – Change is often subtle and hard to see. Awareness is key so pay attention!

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Random Photo – Talk about change!

TOMORROW December 1st is:

• Bifocals at the Monitor Liberation Day
• Day With(out) Art Day
• National Eat a Red Apple Day
• National Pie Day
• Rosa Parks Day

Tomorrow is the first day of the last month of 2022. This year has been a crazy ride but here we are. Have a great day and celebrate! God bless…

Work was light, so I came home before lunch and started on the window clings. I finished up before I ate, and then moved on to the tree. As customary, I watched White Christmas and The House Without a Christmas Tree while I decorated it.

I still have the icicles to put on, and the little Williamsburg tree to put up in the living room, but not sure that’s going to happen tonight. I find I can’t keep going all day and late into the evening with these projects like I used to! And it’s only the 29th, so I have lots of time.

Once the tree was up I set up the little snow scene. I love all those little pieces and houses and trees. I just wonder how many times a day I will have to set one of them up again after they wobble over!

Added just a bit of greenery to my little milk stool.

November 29 – Tell your all time favorites: “Food – Dippy egg sandwiches, pizza, home made root beer, apple dumplings. Book – When a small child I loved the ‘old’ first grade reader. Now I read mysteries & inspirational books. I also love history. My favorite books and stories are the ones you write. Movie – Gone with the Wind; Sound of Music, White Christmas.”

Calendar inspiration – Imagination brings magic to the mundane and makes it special!

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TOMORROW November 30th is:

• Computer Security Day
• National Mason Jar Day
• National Meth Awareness Day
• National Mississippi Day
• National Mousse Day
• National Personal Space Day
• Stay Home Because You’re Well Day
• National Package Protection Day

Mason Jars have their own day? Hmmm. That’s ok; they are cool. Tomorrow is finish the tree and clean this really dirty house. Have a great Wednesday. God bless….

Jeannette did not have much, and Rege wasn’t there, so I took the time to decorate my little desk space. Barry said it was light-up night at Marge’s desk! Just added a little bit of ‘festive’ to the place!

I stopped to help Mike with something, and when I left there was a deer on the hill just watching me!

Greensburg had a few things to do, but I did finish in time to put up my little tree. The lights needed batteries so I’ll take them in tomorrow. I went through all the rest of the miscellaneous boxes, so other than a few window stickees all that’s left is the tree. I’ll work on those tomorrow and Wednesday.

I finally got the call about the pathology report – everything is fine and the tumor was benign. Good news! But I got a txt message from my PCP reminding me of an appointment for Friday that I had cancelled in September. It took me twice as long to cancel the appointment as it ever did to make one. But all good…

November 28 – Tell about the Thanksgiving traditions of YOUR youth. What foods were on your Thanksgiving table? “When I was still living at home we always butchered a couple pigs we had raised. Sometime around the end of November we all went to Grandmam & Grandpap Eakmans for a big meal. One year we ate one of their goats. Yuck!!!

Calendar inspiration – from Snoopy via Diane:

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TOMORROW November  29th is:

• Electronic Greetings Day
• National Day of Giving

As mentioned, tomorrow is tree day! Have a wonderful Tuesday. God bless…

I met Mary at church at 8:30am and we took down the old bulletin board and display strips. We worked for an hour and then the kids came in so we had to take turns finishing it up. Mary made little ‘Thankful’ turkeys with the kids out of baby food jars, and put M&M’s in them. They thought it was wonderful, and I did too. I got to eat a few of the M&M’s!

I worked all afternoon on the Christmas boxes. I still have 3 boxes of kitchen things, all the tea towels, etc, the window stickees, and the tree. So I got a lot done today. I am posting a bunch of Snoopy/Peanuts pictures!

Right in the middle of the afternoon the sun went in and it got very dark. Next thing I knew there was lightening, thunder, and pouring rain. It blew my neighbor’s newly displayed Christmas tree across his patio onto its side. There was water running down the hill in rivulets. Once it quit raining the sky was just layers of clouds. I just had dinner, finished cleaning up boxes, and now I am done. I have to work in the morning!

November 27 – Share a favorite Thanksgiving memory. “The year Aunt Blanch & Uncle Harry and girls spent the long weekend with us. The house was really crowded but we had a great time. I also liked going to stay over at Grandmam Eakmans. We didn’t do that too often.”

Calendar inspiration – courtesy of Peanuts!

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TOMORROW November 28th is:

• National French Toast Day
• Cyber Monday 

Tomorrow is back to work after being off since last Monday! I’m ready, though. Someone has to pay the bills! Have a great week and God Bless….

Charles Schulz would have been 100 today. There were little pieces of information all over facebook, the internet, and even on the radio. He was (in my opinion) a brilliant, creative man.

I changed and washed my bed sheets and the ones off the trundle beds. Got those rooms and beds done, had a shower and breakfast, then started in on the Christmas boxes. Even though I know basically where things went last year, sometimes I just don’t like last year’s choices 100%. Some are perfect, but many just need switched out. Still have a lot to do.

While I work I have ‘Three Wise Men and a Baby’ on in the background. I watched it last night but it always helps to see it several times because of missing parts here and there. The movie was ok but I wasn’t ‘wowed’ by it like I expected. Some parts were very funny, and I loved the end – unexpected!

As I was putting the inside lights around my windows, the neighbor behind me was setting up a Christmas tree on his back patio. I can see it from my bedroom window and it looks very festive! I believe it’s just bright, colored lights – no ornaments. I like it and am glad I can enjoy it.

That’s it for today.

November 26 – Share your favorite funny story of me as a child. “You were old enough to climb up on chairs. I was doing dishes when Mary Jane called me. The phone was in the living room. I heard the kitchen chair being pushed across the floor & went to check on you. You were washing your hair in the dish water. You never liked to get your hair wet so why you did such a funny thing was a mystery!”

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TOMORROW November 27th is:

• National Secondhand Sunday
• National Bavarian Cream Pie Day
• National Craft Jerky Day

Tomorrow I am meeting Mary at the church early and we are going to get the classroom transformed from fall to Christmas/winter. Then I’ll come home and get at the boxes again! Have a great day! God bless…

I forgot to post yesterday morning’s sunrise pictures. I was THANKFUL for that beautiful start to my day!

Kelly & I – after breakfast – went searching for all the window stickees. I never find them all on the first try, and will probably find the missing one(s) when I put the Christmas ones up. But she went to work on ordering shirts for her business account and I bundled up and went outside. I got all the fall decorations, lights, and flags pulled down and packed away.

Next I set up the spot light for the deer, changed all the flags to Christmas, strung LED lights on the deck, and put the projector in the front. Also have little trees with bows lining the front walk and candy canes on the steps under the deck. Took me almost 3 hours but it’s all done now. I just hung out with Kelly and the boys until they left. She is on her way home, I’m posting this, and I will start going through Christmas boxes tomorrow morning. I need a refuel til then!

November 25 – What were my other childhood addresses? “When you were 3 years old we built our new house on a piece of ground we bought from your Grandfather Lloyd Steiner on what would be later named Shady Lane. You lived there until you married.”

Calendar inspiration – Snoopy!

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TOMORROW November 26th is:

• National Cake Day
• Small Business Saturday

I’ll pass on the cake, but take the time to shop at the small, privately owned businesses in your community. They are your neighbors and friends and they appreciate your business! God bless…

We didn’t even have to set the alarm! We knew we’d have plenty of time to prepare everything. And as Nate txt us at about noon, they were always ‘fashionably’ late! We had SO MUCH FOOD!! Turkey, beef tips, two kinds of noodles, mashed potatoes, gravy, French fries (for Jen!), deviled eggs, Aunt Joan’s corn, homemade bread, Hawaiian rolls, potato chips with homemade dip. For dessert we had fudge, brownies with ice cream, two kinds of cookies, and M&M’s. We were all super full!

Jen did a fabulous job with the turkey – it was moist, tender, and tasty; and made super yummy noodles with the broth. Sherree was (as always) a huge help in the kitchen cleaning up – not sure what we’d do without her! Kelly washed the dishes, Sherree dried them, and then her & I deboned the turkey and put it in ziplock bags. We had everything cleaned up and put away before 4pm.

Our next chore was to make room in the shed for Kelly’s dresser, which meant taking out the mowers, moving the deck table and chairs, and putting the reindeer out in the yard. Which in turn meant finding the Christmas box with the outside decorations for the long pegs to secure the deer so they wouldn’t blow or fall. Nate and Kelly were then able to get the dresser out of Kelly’s van, and they carried it down to the shed. I carried the drawers down.

We took all the Christmas boxes off the shelf and piled them in the garage, so I can easily get to them without lifting! Then Kelly, Logan and I put away all the fall decorations except for the window stickees – that’s a morning chore. I also plan to put up the 2 sets of Christmas lights I have, and the projector in front yard.

Today was a wonderful day, and I was so happy to have family here. Peyton & Matt didn’t make it up – Peyton had to work and Matt was trying to finish their bathroom project. Autmn was at her Mom’s. But it was still great to be together with precious family, and to get so many posts and txts from people who were thinking of me today! I feel thankful and blessed!

November 24 – What do you remember most about my first month of life? “Dad & I were so proud we showed you off to everybody we knew. It was so very hot the summer you were born & Doctor Blackburn told me to take off all your clothes but your diaper until 10pm. I would take you to our basement with a fan going. It was 10* cooler down there!”

Calendar inspiration courtesy of Snoopy!

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TOMORROW November 25th is:

• Blase´Day
• National Parfait Day
• National Play Day With Dad
• Shopping Reminder Day
• Black Friday
• Buy Nothing Day
• Flossing Day
• Maize Day
• National Day of Listening
• National Native American Heritage Day
• You’re Welcomegiving Day

Tomorrow is also one month until Christmas day! The kids filled out their Christmas request lists so I’m set. Hope you had a wonderful day, and if you plan to go Black Friday shopping tomorrow, be safe and sensible! God bless…

I knew today would be a full day, but it wasn’t that hectic. Normal start with showers, breakfast. We dove right into chores. Kelly had some planning to do for some home-schooling, and a few committees she’s on. I boiled the eggs and then made up the deviled eggs.

We worked together on the brownies and got them out of the way. I also dug the soup bones from Beef Day (and some stew meat) out of the freezer and they are in the crockpot. We will make gravy and noodles from both the beef broth and the turkey broth for tomorrow. Nate & Jen (well, really JEN!!!) is doing the turkey!

Yesterday Kelly had seen a dresser at the RAVE antique store that would work perfectly in their planned renovation (bathroom) so we took Logan and went back up. The owners were able to get it loaded in her van, and tomorrow Nate will help us get it tucked into the shed until she’s ready for it – probably spring or summer if all goes well. Do things every actually go well with those things?

Kelly was working on a 4H project after lunch, and once the kitchen was cleaned up I started cleaning, dusting and sweeping. I just love having a clean house, but especially freshly cleaned bathrooms and kitchen. Washed up two loads of towels and a load of blankets and sheets. We are working on supper right now, then I plan to iron while we watch a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving!

November 23 – What was the address of my first childhood home? “Depot Street Extension, Youngwood PA

Calendar inspiration – As you go from one chore to the next, take a deep breath to pause before you begin something new.

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TOMORROW November 24th is:

• National Sardines Day
• National Day of Mourning
• Thanksgiving Day
• Turkey-free Thanksgiving

“Hurrah for the fun, the pudding’s done, hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!” – Those are not entirely the correct words, but think happy thoughts about great memories. Have a wonderful day of blessings with family and friends! God bless…

Where were you (if you were born by then) when JFK was shot in Dallas, TX? I was in 7th grade study hall, and the principal broke in over the P.A. system to announce that the president and the governor of Texas had been shot. We all wondered who the president of Texas was! That was the days before TVs in classroom, cell phones, internet, fast communications. We were glued to the TV at home for days. It was a very traumatic time – something one doesn’t ever forget.

This morning we started the day – after breakfast – by making fudge. It’s my mom’s recipe and it’s very tricky. In recent years I have not had it turn out, thus having ruined perfectly good chocolate! But today Kelly and I (trembling in our socks!) followed the recipe ingredients and instructions EXACTLY. It took about 2 hours to accomplish his amazing feat, but we did it! The fudge set up and hardened properly. Once it was ‘beat’ until it ‘cracked’ (noise), I poured it into the buttered pan and soon was able to cut it into squares. I put a few pieces in Mom’s precious pink dish (where it always went when it was ready) and put it in the living room (where it was supposed to go!). We put together a little baggie of it for Aunt Cordelia and are awaiting her critique of our attempt! Sweet chocolate fudge! Whew!

While I waited for the fudge to harden, Kelly rounded up the boys and they went outside to get started on the yard. I had two blowers, two rakes, and a box of bags. It took us a little under 2 hours to get everything cleaned up and bagged. Logan mowed the front yard for me, and now the leafing and the mowing are done for 2022! What a huge accomplishment. I’m so glad that’s off the radar!

When I put the mower away, I noticed the reindeer are getting antsy! They are ready to get out of that shed and romp around in the yard for a month! I’m excited for them to come out!

We made quesadillas for lunch, then Kelly & I took the fudge over to Aunt Cordelia then stopped at the RAVE antique store where the old Schaller’s bakery used to be. After a trip to the Dollar Tree to get a few decorations for my Sunday School class, we came home and made supper. Logan (who slept until about 11am) is playing video games in the flag room. Chase (who was up about 8am) is sound asleep on the couch. Kelly is working on lesson plans, and I’m posting this!

Kelly and I both had bids on items in Ninth Life Online Christmas Auction, and have been watching the bids as the deadline (8pm today) approaches. I think she won the bid on her item, and I think I made 3 out of 6. We’ll find out officially tomorrow. This is the item I really wanted and I think I managed to be high bidder…

November 22 – What were you doing when John F Kennedy was assassinated? “Your grandmother Steiner & I were shopping at Davis Super Market. Everyone was talking about how sad it was. I watched every TV program about it for days.”

Calendar inspiration – When you can’t avoid change, it’s wise to embrace it.

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TOMORROW November 23rd is:

• National Cashew Day
• National Eat a Cranberry Day
• National Espresso Day
• National Jukebox Day
• Tie One On Day 

Tomorrow will be cleaning and food prep. That will be enough! Have a great Thanksgiving Eve and God Bless…