A Week of Giving Thanks



Brr.....who turned down the thermostat? It is cold and blustery here, though thankfully the sun is shining. I so meant to get this post up over the weekend but a migraine came at me out of the blue
and knocked me on my keister for the weekend. Blah!




Snow outside my work office
 

It snowed last week. Only an inch or snow, but enough to remind us that winter is here once again. It makes me want to hibernate and plan my garden for next spring. I am such a dreamer. To me winter is a beautiful, magical time of year with warm fires, cozy blankets and cups of tea and cocoa. It means baking cookies, knitting, and reading or movies. All of course, as along as I can stay inside and watch the snow fall outside the window.  I believe I would make a fantastic hermit!

Honey and I have been working hard to get ready for Thanksgiving dinner. We will be hosting 8 total with several others coming later after visiting other relatives first.  I worked on pumpkin pies (though I did cheat on the crust this year) and found all my Mama's beautiful china dishes. I love bringing them out every year and running my fingers over them as memories rush through my mind. How many times I'd set the table with these exact dishes as my Mama cooked up feasts in the kitchen. Laying the silverware just so beside the blue and white plates. Making sure the napkins were straight and the crystal cut glasses were in just the right place. Taking pride in the fact that my Mama trusted me with her most beautiful dishes.

 

Honey worked so hard making all the wonderful foods that go along with Thanksgiving feasts. A turkey in the roaster, a crockpot full of mashed potatoes, meatballs and gravy and sweet potatoes. There were homemade rolls, rice and cherry salad, and fresh cranberry sauce. Delicious....so grateful he is such a fantastic cook! :) 

 

Unfortunately I was so swept up in the delicious food and visiting with family, I didn't take any pictures. My Aunt Lynda and Uncle Alan were here with their son Brian. They go to Florida for the winter and Brian lives about 4 hours away. We don't see any of them much and I guess I wanted to sit and visit rather than take pictures.  I was able to knit while we visited and was able to finish a pair of mittens intended as a gift for one of my adopted children.

 

There is so much to be thankful for. And even though I find myself feeling down in the dumps and fearful on the future, I am thankful for all my many blessings....my family, my friends, my home, my job, and My God.

 

God's blessings on all of you this Holiday and as we get ready to celebrate the Savior's Birth!

Happy Thanksgiving...

Busy Time of Year!




My Desk at Work...

Eucalyptys Shower Soothers



Stacks of Fabric!

Hanging Towels...

So it's that time of year again.  You know when the cold,  dreary weather weather forces everyone inside.  We have been keeping very busy with many projects and activities.  I have been busy working many sewing projects, among other things.  I made hanging towels for our kitchen, some eucalyptus shower soothers, and these crazy rice filled owls to warm on the microwave.  The owls were such a hit that I am now selling them in a local store with another store interested in having them. How exciting!


 

My Owls...Lots of Colorful Characters

Princess Pea and her buddy R at Dance!

Cookie has been working 2 jobs, trying to get his car fixed and figure out what he is going to do in life.  I so wish I could help him more and I wish I had guided him better as a young child.  But what's done is done and I can only go from here trying to guide him and give him advice as I can.  

 

Princess Pea is active as usual.  She finished up her volleyball season and headed straight into dance.  She is also busy with FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America)  and Forensics.  She is on the color guard squad and in choir and jazz choir.  She also plays flute in the concert band and saxophone in the jazz band.  Whew... I get tired trying to keep up with her.  

 

Making Beautiful Music



Smiles

Last night she played in the District Honors Band.  This organization takes a few musicians from several local schools, gives them music to learn and practice.  Then they pull all the students together for a day to play the music together under a guest conductor. After a full day's rehearsal, they perform a concert.  It is an incredible experience for the kids.
 

Emma!



Getting in on the Selfie Craze! LOL

One of Cookie's friends has an opportunity for a wonderful job within the state corrections department. I am so happy for him, but during his seven week training, he needed someone to watch his 3 month old golden retriever/german shepherd puppy. Yes, seven (7) weeks and yes 3 months old... Meet our house guest - Emma! She has the sweetest temperament and disposition. She is gentle and loving and playful. She does however think she is a lap dog and deserves ALL attention leaving sweet Luna to feel a bit jealous at times. Mostly they play well and we laugh at them. She is learning manners slowly and has found great fun in a game of fetch (as long as Luna also plays). I'm not sure what the two of them will do without each other when Emma goes home...

Enjoy a cuppa!

  

We are also planning for deer camp this weekend. Rifle season for deer opens on Saturday morning at day break. It's a tradition in our family that everyone gathers at my home on Friday night(since it was previously my parent's home) to swap stories and look at trail camera pictures and plan strategies. Some stay at our house, others go home, but they all wind up back at my place for breakfast around 5 AM on Saturday morning. This means up at 4 to start cooking! :) Then they all traipse off to the woods leaving a mess in the kitchen and me to start the chili and chicken noodle soup. And then I spend the day making cookies and treats as they filter in and out to warm up and eat. Some spend the night again on Saturday night and more of the same (minus a 5 AM breakfast) on Sunday! :) It is really a wonderful tradition that I truly look forward to every year. To me it starts the holiday season!  Check out this post about last year's Deer Camp to see just what I mean!

So tonight will be a night of planning, taking inventory of groceries, making more owls, and doing some laundry.  I hope you all have a wonderful day and I will check in with you later!

 

Autumn Bucket List

Hello Dear Friends....

I hope that God and the weather have been treating you well. It has been hot and steamy here in the Western Wisconsin, forcing many of us to retreat indoors as much as possible. We have had temperatures near 90 degrees with heat indexes over 100 and humidity at 80 - 100%. So much for my natural curls behaving themselves! (Like they ever do!)  Face it, us Wisconsin-ites aren't cut out for 100 degree days! :) Especially us Norwegians!

All this hot, steamy weather has me longing for the cooler days of Autumn. I know, don't rush it right? I mean we have 6 months of winter here, I should be enjoying these hot, sticky days. And I do, but Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year! There is Football and Hot Chocolate, Pumpkin Patches and Apple Orchards, Cozy Sweaters and Warm Fires - What's not to love? The colors are beautiful, the temperatures are perfect and it's a season of thanksgiving and gratitude!

There are really only two things I am not big on in the fall. The first is Halloween, not the scary part at least. I love seeing the littles in their cute costumes and I have nothing against other's who participate in the "scare-fest." I have just never liked being scared so I have no desire to go to a haunted house or watch scary movies. The other activity I don't take part in is Oktoberfest. I am not a drinker (and let's face it that is what Oktoberfest is all about) and I do not like huge crowds. We have a local Oktoberfest that draws tens of thousands of people and I can't go. Again, nothing against people who partake of either drinking or the festival. It's just my personal choice.

With all that being said, I have decided to make a Bucket List for Fall...I have a life bucket list of places I want to go, activities I want to do and things I want to accomplish before I die, but this is different. As I said in my last post, while I am feeling more hopeful, 2014 hasn't been the best year for me. So I thought, to battle the yucky feelings, I would come up with a ; list of things to do this Fall; activities that I enjoy, places I want to visit, all related to this season of the year.  And hopefully things that don't cost very much money....When winter rolls around, I am  hoping I will have made lots of memories and can look back on the Autumn of 2014 with smiles and fondness instead of the way I look at the beginning of the year. So, here goes...my 2014 Autumn Bucket List...

1. Have a Picnic in the Park
2. Try New Pumpkin Recipes (Done!)
3. Volunteer at the Community Thanksgiving Dinner
4. Knit Something Cozy for Someone (One done...more in process)
5. Decorate Porch and Front Yard for Autumn (Done)
6. Hike at Kickapoo Valley Reserve
7. Go to a Football Game (Go Norse!) (Done)
8. Make Gratitude Stones for my Garden
9. Collect Acorns, Leaves and Pinecones for Decoration
10. Jump in a Pile of Leaves
11. Make and Eat Apple Cider Doughnuts
12. Go Apple Picking at an Orchard
13. Make Chili
14. Go on a Fall Color Drive (Photo Safari)
15. Go to the County Fair (Coming up this weekend!)
16. Be Thankful (Ongoing)
17. Go on a Hay Ride
18. Plant Flower Bulbs for Spring Blooms
19. Donate Food to the Food Pantry
20. Go to the Pumpkin Patch
21. Read Books - Lots of Them
22. Go Wine Tasting
23. Write in my Grateful Journal Every Day
24. Light Candles Every Night
25. Wrap up in a Blanket and Sit on the Porch with Tea/Cocoa/Cider
26. Have a Bonfire with S'Mores
27. Invite the Family over for a Packer's Game
28. Have a Garage Sale
29. Roast Pumpkin Seeds
30. Make and Eat a Caramel Apple (Done)
31. Make Apple Crisp (Done)
32. Make Glycerin/Wax Leaves
33. Visit a Corn Maze
34. Make Leaf Shaped Sugar Cookies
25. Have an Adult Girl's PJ Party (Planned for Dec. 6th!)
26. Make Homemade Apple Cider
27. Go to a Craft Fair
28. Create a Thankful Jar
29. Run the Turkey Trot 5K (Planning with a good friend!)
30. Make a Scarecrow
31. Organize my Home Emergency Binder (In process)
32. Can and Freeze Veggies/Food for Winter (In process)
33. Press Leaves in Books (Done)
34. Make Fairy and Gnome Homes
35. Keep an Updated Prayer List (In Process)
36. Autumn Pictures of my Kids
37. Have a "Mexican Movie Night" with Cookie and His Friends
38. Start Making Homemade Christmas Presents (Started)
39. Have a Pedicure Night with Princess Pea
40. Finally Master Knitting Socks!
41. Put Gardens to Bed for Winter (Done)
42. Write Thank You Notes and Letters to Those Who Mean the Most to Me
43. Star Gaze
44. Go to the Farmer's Market
45. Watch "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown"
46. Make Homemade Cocoa Mix
47. Make a Fall Banner
48. Make Goodies for the Neighbors
49. Make Pinecone Birdfeeders with Peanut Butter
50. Make new Hat, Gloves, Scarf, Cowl, Hood, Snood for me!
51. Buy Halloween Candy and Hand Out.  *This one didn't get done this year... :(
52. Bake Homemade Bread
53. Make Beef Stoup

Wow! Look at that List...I'm going to have a fantastic Autumn this year! And many of these items require little to no money! Most of them include the kids, Honey, family or friends. What better way to spend time than with those I love most. Check back often to see how many of these I have checked off and the pictures that will most likely accompany my adventures! :)  

Sending you all God's Blessings!