It's A New Day

End Of The Month Rambles

Another month...and in this case, another year...in the books. Here are 31 rambling thoughts to wrap up December:
    1. We take some back country roads to the interstate when we head for Atlanta. This time of year the shoulders are covered with stray bits of cotton from the farmers' wagons as they haul their harvest to the cotton gin. I'm always surprised how much it looks like snow.
    2. One of the best things about the navigation system is if you stick with the side streets because you know I-285 will be a zoo at  5pm, it will eventually figure that out and help you get where you want to go.
    3. We quite possibly had the most fun in Atlanta at the Apple Store just checking out the iTouch and iPhone.
    4. Why do all my socks wear out at the same time?
    5. Kayla gets to pick where we go eat when we visit her for her birthday. It wasn't any surprise when it was Outback again this year. The girl loves her steak!
    6. But Grandpa fixed grilled shrimp with the steaks for dinner while they were here. She put one on her plate to taste, ate it, and promptly returned for more...twice. I think he'll have to grill shrimp on every visit now.
    7. That shouldn't be a problem as he has a new grill to cook on now. We retired the old one after years of faithful service. Here's a less-than-stellar photo of him with the shiny new one:

    8. Santa brought Wayne an iTouch for Christmas. I know he's enjoying it because, like a teenager, he's seldom seen now without earplugs.
    9. One thing that doesn't work with the iTouch...listening to it in bed. He went right to sleep and the podcast just kept going without him.
   10. Giving the wife a vacuum cleaner for Christmas is OK if that's what the wife asked for. I love my new little Dyson hand-held vac.
   11. I also love having friends that scrapbook. When I can't find a paper to exactly match what I'm working on in my stash, they let me go through theirs. Thanks, Charlotte!
   12. I'm not a fan of winter so I'm trying to stay positive. The days are getting longer and it's only 79 days until Spring.
   13. Brad takes after me and doesn't like cold weather either. While he enjoyed a round of golf with his dad while he was here, he didn't think much of the 50 degree weather they played in.
   14. And I thought Kayla was cold-blooded, too, but she's off with the church youth group on a ski trip. I'll bet she's dressed like the Pillsbury Dough Boy.
   15. They've started pouring the footers for the new Publix grocery store. I. can't. wait.
   16. Apparently I'm over my green phase...I've bought new clothes and they were pink.
   17. Christmas letters from family and friends are just a delight. The world stops as soon as they arrive so we can read them and catch up on all that is happening in the lives of people we care about.
   18. The Oreo truffles earned a return engagement on next year's cookie list. Yummy!
   19. We ate dinner on Christmas Eve by candlelight, a first for us. I loved the soft glow on everyone's face and how special it made everything feel. It was so relaxing...a welcome respite from the frantic days that preceded it.

   20. It was tricky getting all the Christmas decorations packed away, and I had to rearrange a couple of boxes several times trying to get it all in. The new things we bought at the big Christmas store in Michigan are now housed with all the rest of the decorations.
   21. All this week the papers have been filled with "year in review" articles. I've skipped every one. It's my way of still rebelling against the boring lecture we were forced to endure every year in high school when the local newspaper editor gave a similar summary in his gravely monotone.
   22. Chocolate doesn't make the world go around, but it certainly makes the ride worthwhile.
   23. January is shaping up to be crazy-busy. But then I've thought the same thing at this point for the last seven months...and I've been right.
   24. I'm feeling that new year urge to clean out and organize. Fortunately or unfortunately, I don't see me acting on it. See #23 above.
   25. I've been listening to the sound of fireworks in the neighborhood for quite some time. I swear we didn't shoot off fireworks on New Year's when I was growing up.
   26. I saw a little of Dick Clark on TV this evening. It made me sad. I grew up with American Bandstand and I think I'd rather keep that image of him in my head.
   27. I've revamped the mix of the blogs I visit daily...eliminated a few and added some new ones. New ideas and new perspectives are sure to inspire.
   28. And I am inspired by a cool photo book my friend Leslie did...through Snapfish, I think. I've already come up with about ten books like hers that I'd love to put together but again see #23 above.
   29. I started this blog as a means to keep in touch with family and friends who live elsewhere (and because Torm insisted.) I never expected it to be a vehicle to make new friends but I love that it has.
   30. In keeping with past years, we had dinner this evening with good friends. And as the last hours of 2007 ticked away, we talked about the good and the bad this year has brought and our hopes for 2008. What a great way to end the year.
   31. But our buddy Dr. Dale was home sick so we skipped the champagne. Why we drink it I don't know...no one likes it, but it's tradition. And it wouldn't be the same without him.
   Here's a toast to a great 2008...Happy New Year!

Must-Goes

Tonight's dinner menu consisted of "must-goes." You know, where you open up the refrigerator, look at the contents, and then say to yourself "this must go, that must go," and so on. It's left-overs that have been accumulating and were now reaching the end of their viable shelf life...either they have to be disguised as a new meal and eaten or tossed. I'm not sure how that term got started in our family but everyone knows exactly what it means when I tell them dinner will be must-goes.

So with a little help from things in the freezer and the pantry (and more importantly, without a trip to Wal-Mart), we had a delicious meal that tasted new and fresh...not recycled. I felt very gourmet-y when I turned the last of the boiled shrimp that had been hanging out in the freezer into Shrimp and Roasted Corn Chowder. A few ears of last summer's corn on the cob, again, from the freezer, went under the broiler to bump up the flavor while I peeled the last couple of potatoes left in the bag from Christmas dinner. I missed my favorite helper there. And the extra milk purchased for company went in the soup too...it was about to expire so this put it to good use.  Half a bag of lettuce in the crisper gave us a nice salad, and the stragglers from a loaf of sourdough bread got a fresh look with a little butter and fresh Parmesan cheese and a visit to the broiler as well.

Not every must-go found it's way to the table...some were just hopeless for the menu plan but are gone just the same. These must-goes, however, made a good and satisfying meal on a chilly, rainy night, and I sure like how clean the refrigerator is as a result.

Decadent Design

I'm a sucker for beautiful packaging. Put something in a cute little tin or pretty bottle and I, like most scrapbookers, am drawn in by that visual appeal. So when I opened one of my Christmas gifts and found an elegant, red textured box with a tasteful bow, I was immediately intrigued. It got even better when I opened it and found these:

Chocolate! Not just any chocolate, but rich, dark chocolate covering exotic fillings and topped with beautiful works of art. We all know how I feel about chocolate, especially dark chocolate...it's irresistible, but these are almost too pretty to eat. Well, almost.

Each piece is different...an individually painted masterpiece. My own miniature edible art, and I'm just amazed at the intricate detail on a chocolate canvas that can't be much more than 1" square. The fillings are equally impressive...
Champagne, Caipirinha, Lavender and Saffron, to name just a few. I've finally indulged and eaten one. Pure luxury! I will be rationing these out to make them last as long as possible.

I'm not accustomed to receiving fancy chocolates such as these. Heck, I'm a Hershey's kiss kind of gal...but I have to say I'm delighting in these. They are the ultimate packaging for little bites of decadence.   

And Then It Was Gone

Christmas, that is...we took down the tree today and packed away all the decorations around the house. They're safely tucked away in the closet for another year. It always amazes me that it takes two full days to put everything up and only a couple of hours to get it down and boxed back up.

But there were two sets of hands working on the project. Wayne has his limits of what he'll do in terms of decorating for the holidays. He always claims all that arranging is "artistic" and not his thing. But he's great help at taking ornaments off the tree and putting them back in the right containers. Getting all the blue balls in the same box is logic not artistry, I guess. We whipped through the tree in pretty short order, but the figurines and other decorations in the living room and around the rest of the house took a little longer.

The dirt, dust and cookie crumbs are gone, too. We cleaned house as we went about undecorating. The furniture that had been relocated to make room for the tree is back in it's usual spot, and the guest room is ready for the next set of visitors. After looking at all the Christmas stuff for several weeks, the house looks a little bare. But clean and uncluttered is good.

Even the backlog of ironing is gone, although not nearly as quickly as the de-Christmasing. With extra shopping, baking and other holiday activities, the ironing took a backseat for several weeks so there was quite an accumulation. It's nice to have it all caught up again. You know, the whole starting-the-New-Year-off-with-a-clean-slate thing.

All things Christmas are gone at our house but one. The kids bought us a digital photo frame that is sitting on my desk in the kitchen, and I loaded our photos from this holiday season on it. The pictures cycle through all day long...everyone opening presents, the house decked out in its holiday finery, and the little things that make this time of year special. I like being able to see those good times over and over as I go about my day around the house. Christmas 2007 is just a memory now...but it's a treasured one.

Doctor Mom

Nothing sends a mom on a mission like a health crisis in her child's life. Well, I suppose hiccups might not be life-threatening but they were far from amusing to Brad.

For two days prior to heading our way, Brad had been plagued by hiccups. They weren't just now and then; they were constant...he even kept Melissa awake at night hiccuping in his sleep. And while it was the source of much teasing at first, it had ceased to be funny, not to mention that his entire mid-section ached from the constant spasms.

He had tried the usual cures...drinking from the wrong side of the glass, drinking while bent over at the waist and breathing in a paper bag. None worked. He even stopped on his way to our house to buy lemons and bitters, an old hiccup cure from his days tending bar during college. The nasty concoction gave him a brief respite but didn't last long.

So it's Doctor Mom to the rescue! Thanks to Google, I'm now an expert in hiccups. It was little comfort to Brad to know he was no where near breaking the record for the longest hiccup attack...that belongs to a guy to hiccuped for 68 years! And I'll bet you didn't know March 16 was National Hiccup Day. But I digress.

Armed with a list of possible remedies compiled from several websites, we set out to find a cure. The spoonful of sugar dissolving on his tongue didn't do it, but the combination of antacids and chugging ice-cold water while holding his breath for as long as possible was the winning combination. We didn't try the suggestion of thinking of all the bald men you know. What that has to do with curing hiccups, I don't know.

Hiccups gone...health crisis averted. My work as Doctor Mom is done here for now.

Sous Chef Extraordinaire

Rachel Ray better enjoy her fame and fortune while it lasts. If the last few days are any indication, I've met the next Food Network star. In fact, I've been training her in my kitchen...Kayla Kay.

She has always liked fiddling around in the kitchen with me, but Kayla took the chores pretty seriously this time. So much so, in fact, that she passed up a shopping trip to stay home and cook...and if you knew how much she liked shopping, you'd appreciate the significance of that. At every turn, she was asking me, "What are we going to cook next, Grandma?"

And cook we did. With a little oversight and explanation from me, she made two kinds of pies, sweet potatoes, fresh green beans, and cranberry salad. She measured, stirred and whipped her way through the Christmas menu. Much to Wayne's delight, he was relieved of KP duties when Kayla wanted to learn to peel potatoes. Five pounds of skinned spuds later, she told her mother it was "fun." I might need to savor the help...her mom may put all this new-found knowledge to work at home and Kayla might not be so interested next year. It was such a treat to have her by my side in the kitchen and to see her face light up with pride at all she accomplished.

It was only fitting, then, that when we opened gifts on Christmas morning, I found this in a box for me.

A little reminder of my budding chef. It, like the whole holiday, just makes me smile. Treasured memories indeed.

Merry Christmas

                "Glory to God in the highest,
        and on earth peace, good will toward men."

How To Win Friends And Influence Brenda

Wayne definitely went to the top of the "Nice" list today. Well, he's pretty nice most days but I'd give him two gold stars for all he did today.

He started out by helping put fresh linens on the beds. It's not the first time he's done that but it's hardly a regular occasion either. He just knew it would go faster with two of us working at it, and it did.

Then he volunteered to go run the morning errands by himself so I could tend to some other chores. Another efficient use of our time and more brownie points. Lines at the meat market and bank, not to mention holiday traffic, made the errands take longer than usual but the extra time didn't throw us behind schedule because I was toiling away at home.

After lunch, we headed for the fish market for shrimp for dinner tomorrow. Having fresh seafood readily available is one of the really good things about living here. And on the way, my better half suggested we buy some grouper and he'd grill it for supper tonight. Man, I'm all over that...grouper is my favorite, and it was so good!

With errands behind us and the shrimp cleaned and boiled, we turned our attention to getting the house clean and ready for company to arrive. And it's Wayne to the rescue again...running the vacuum throughout the house.

He cooks. He cleans. I wouldn't go so far as to call him Super-Hubby but he is a darn good guy.

I Believe

Three days before Christmas and all the gifts are bought. We made a run to town after lunch today to pick up the last couple of things. All the way to town we questioned our wisdom, knowing how chaotic things would be at the mall...and they were. Fortunately, we were only going into Bed, Bath & Beyond and Best Buy which are right next to each other and connected to but not in the mall. Traffic was a zoo, but we were in and out with what we were looking for in fairly short order.

More importantly, all the gifts are now wrapped, and there are still three days left before Christmas. Go, me! That could be a personal best...I'm usually wrapping on Christmas Eve. But Christmas wasn't the real deadline this year...the kids arrive late tomorrow.

The to do list is getting shorter. I'm beginning to believe I might get it all done.

Looky, Looky, We've Got Cookies

Lots and lots of cookies. Holiday baking at our house means cookies, and I've spent the last two days turning out about 35 dozen of the tasty little morsels.

Most of the cookies are the same from year to year...traditional treats associated with the holiday. They are family recipes and individual favorites. Wayne always wants Raisin Bars using my mother's recipe, and Brad delights in Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip cookies. Melissa, our daughter-in-law, doesn't eat a lot of sweets but she likes the Cranberry Macadamia Nut cookies. With cranberries and oats we can pretend it's healthy...as long as we ignore the white chocolate that makes it extra yummy. And Kayla loves Grandmother Arnall's Chocolate Snowflakes. Well, we all love those cookies so that recipe gets quadrupled. The Best Ever Gingersnaps are for me, and Chocolate Chip cookies..I can't forget them as they're a universal favorite.

Every year I add a couple of new ones to the old stand-bys. It's a chance to experiment with a new recipe and introduce new flavors to the mix. A couple of the cookies listed above became favorites this way. This year's choices were Peppermint Sugar cookies recommended by my friend Leslie and Oreo Truffles. Both passed my taste test so we'll see how they're received by the rest of the crew.

The first plate is loaded and ready for Wayne to deliver in the morning when he heads up to the golf course for his morning walk. That's the real reason for the cookies...it's an opportunity to share a little gift of homemade sweetness and a big part of our holiday traditions.

I'm Sorry, Sam Walton

Dear Mr. Walton:

For months I've said unkind things about your store. I've whined to all who would listen (and probably many who'd rather not) about the fact that it was over-crowded and over-shopped, and my frustrations have grown with each visit as it seemed the items I needed most on my shopping list were out of stock. Bare shelves do not a happy shopper make. And I confess that those unkind utterances were just the start; I thought much worse. There...I feel better for having admitted that.

So today, when a trip to your establishment was mandatory, I was filled with a sense of dread. Visions of crowded aisles, empty spots and multiple stops at other food outlets were dancing in my head. There was nothing remotely jolly about it.

Imagine my surprise when we could actually navigate our way around the store without congestion. Apparently the hordes of shoppers we normally deal with were at the mall finishing gift buying rather than laying in groceries. Better still, we were able to find everything on the list...and a few things that weren't, too. I know you count on that! The crowning touch, however, was that when we pushed our overflowing buggy to the check-out area, we walked right up to a register as a customer was finalizing her purchase so we didn't even have to wait in line. Amazing!

I'm sure you must be looking down from the giant Wal-Mart in the sky with satisfaction. This was a happy shopping experience...I'm looking at it as your little gift to us in keeping with the holidays. But I'm enough of a realist to know Christmas only comes once a year. I won't be expecting this kind of treatment on regular basis.

Making Progress

Christmas is less than a week away now...the days are slipping by faster than I'm checking things off the to-do list.
    --Christmas cards mailed...check. Mine joined a bazillion other pieces of Christmas mail yesterday to help make it the largest day of the season for the USPS. The letter tucked inside helps keep us in touch with friends and family far away.
    --Gifts purchased...check, well, mostly. If last Monday was a good day to shop in Atlanta, this one must be a good one in Pensacola, too, so Wayne and I hit the stores yesterday. Just a few little things left to pick up and I'll be done.
    --Presents wrapped..not likely to happen before the last minute. I'd call it a tradition but I haven't given up hope that some year I'll tackle it earlier.
    --Groceries bought...still needs to be done. That was today's plan before I got sidetracked. I haven't figured out a way to bake and cook Christmas dinner without going so I guess it's mandatory. The list is made so at least that's a start.
    --Cookies baked...gotta have groceries first. This task, too, tends to be done right before Christmas so they'll still be fresh and tasty when the kids all arrive. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I'm making progress but there's still plenty left to do.

Get With The Plan

***Edited to add: The 2010 version of the planner is available here. The 2009 version of the planner is available here.

Don't you just love something that's free? I do, and I also love planners. There's something about all those orderly pages designed for specific purposes that makes me feel organized, whether I am or not. So I was thrilled when the January issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine contained an article titled "The Perfect Planner" and included free downloads for some pages created by Jessica Sprague. A two-fer...planners and free. You can find the free CK downloads here.

The colors and artwork just called my name, and I knew I wanted to do something with them. But the downloads were designed for a standard 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" planner and I don't have such a planner. I do, however, have a Bind-It-All that has become one of my favorite new toys. I can create my own planner! And since I had so much fun doing mine, I want to share it all with you.

I covered both sides of two pieces of chipboard for the front and back covers, using papers from KI Memories (blue), Collage Press (flowered) and Cloud9 Design (green). Then I printed out multiples of the CK downloaded pages and with a little creative play, I modified some of Jessica's designs to create an inside cover and some calendar pages to match.

I cut an opening in the front so most of the design on the inside cover would show through but you could skip this step if you like. And the second page is a calendar of the entire year, although the months are quite small in order to make them all fit. These two pages print out together. Click this link to get the inside cover and yearly calendar page:  Download cover2.zip

Each month has a short quote about happiness, everyday life or creative inspiration. These will also print out two months per page. Click on these links to get the sets of monthly calendar pages:

Download Jan-Feb.zip
Download Mar-Apr.zip
Download May-June.zip
Download July-Aug.zip
Download Sept-Oct.zip
Download Nov-Dec.zip

   

Since I'm being so organized about this, I also created a separate page for reminders, notes or just a place to jot down information so it would all be in one spot. Like the others, this prints two per page. Click on this clink to get the "Remember" page:     Download Remember.zip

Each monthly section in my book has the calendar sheet, the "Remember" sheet, and the "To Do" and "Must Make Pages" sheets from the CK download. The "Page Planner" and "Shopping List" sheets from the CK download have their own sections in my planner. I made page dividers from cardstock and created tabs like these:

These are all .pdf files in zipped format so you'll need to upzip the files after downloading them and have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer to view them. A free version of the Acrobat Reader is available here. When you print the pages, have the "Page Scaling" set to "None" and check the box next to "Auto-Rotate and Center." You should then be able to cut down the center of your printed sheets and bind them all together. If you don't have a Bind-It-All, this would be the perfect excuse for you to get one, or you can punch holes and use some ring binders.

I'm not the talented computer guru that Jessica is and I've never tried anything quite like this before, but the downloads and printing all worked as expected in our test runs. If you have any problems with them, please just e-mail me using the link under my photo or let me know in the comments. We'll see if we can figure out where the problem is. It's my hair-brained idea so I'll be the one coming up with a solution. Well, me and my own personal computer guru (a/k/a Wayne).

It seems like every issue of CK has some great downloads, and if the original idea doesn't do it for you, try thinking of how you can use the concept in a way that will, like I did with these planner pages. Have a little fun with this...make one for yourself or to give to a friend. Nothing feels better than getting ready for the clean start of a new year, especially when it's all free. Enjoy!

Superfood

Well, that was the newspaper's claim in the article on pomegranates published several weeks back. Loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, potassium, folic acid and iron, the fruit was being touted as the newest rage in healthy food to fight off cancer, heart disease and aging. Aging? Hmmmm, that got my attention...I can use all the help I can get. Anyway, the article went on to list all the products that now included pomegranate juice or flavorings in an effort to capture this market. Green tea and red wine are out; pomegranates are in.

So all this was floating around in the back of my brain when we were doing our grocery shopping. We had collected our usual stash of fresh pears and Granny Smith apples for lunch, and as we were heading for the check-out, we passed this big bin of pomegranates. Ruby-red and looking ever so exotic, we were drawn to them...and on a lark we picked one up and brought it home.

I know nothing about pomegranates. I take that back...I knew they had lots of seeds. I was assuming you cut the thing open, tossed the seeds and ate what was left. Good thing I Googled "pomegranate" before cutting into it because it's essentially the other way around.

I'm not sure the recommendation to cut it into sections was a good one as you lose some of the juice that way, and the juice was the best part. But I got the hang of removing those little juice-filled sacs as I went along. Pop those succulent little babies in your mouth and they explode with juicy sweet-tart flavor. Reminded me a little of cranberries and was quite appealing. The seed inside each of those sacs, however, was not. While they're edible too, that just seemed like an lot of seeds to consume.

Overall, I'd say it was a good experiment; I loved the flavor. And I'm sure, given the super powers of the pomegranate, I'll be filled with youthful energy tomorrow. Who am I kidding...with all that's going on at this time of year, it's going to take a lot more than a piece of fruit for that to happen.   

Good-bye AC, Hello Heat

There is no word other than weird to describe the weather. We gave in the other day and turned the air conditioning back on. The house was hot. Well, let me be more specific...Wayne was hot. And since he was in the middle of assembling my cabinet and helping re-arrange my room, I was eager to keep him happy...and working. So on went the AC, and I'll admit it felt pretty good.

Today brought heavy rains. Dr. Dale had 1.5" in his rain gauge, and from the looks of the water level in the pool, I'd say that was about what we got, too. Apparently as much as 3" fell in some parts of Pensacola. I looked out the back windows and saw the rings the rain drops were making in a puddle on the pool deck and couldn't resist photographing them.

And this hibiscus too that took a pretty good beating despite the fact that it's inside the screen enclosure. I'm not sure it will show up on the screen, but I can see the streaks made by the raindrops falling all around it.

The rain sheets on the screen when it's coming down hard and blowing like it was this afternoon. And when the sun came out just before sunset, I was struck by how the golden-orange light reflected in the water on the screen. Less than ten minutes after I took this picture, you could see the fog forming over the green and fairway. We stood and watched, and you could literally see it growing and moving...almost like smoke from some invisible fire. Cool and weird at the same time.

It was 75 degrees today...and it's only going to be 58 tomorrow. Now I know that won't get much sympathy from those dealing with snow and ice, but I for one am not happy about the forecast for 30 or lower tomorrow night. We'll have lost 45 degrees in 36 hours. The heck with that air conditioning...I'll be turning on the heat.

zzzzzzzzzzzz

I sat down on the couch this evening, intending to work the crossword puzzle while the news was on....and I fell asleep. I never do that.

Maybe the brain was tired as I gave it a good workout today. Some layouts come together easy and others are more of a chore. This one is finally taking shape, I think...just a few problems to solve before glue-down. And it's always good to let it sit overnight. Some design decisions made at midnight cause me to wonder what I was thinking in the morning light.

Maybe the body was tired. We did a little socializing this evening...the annual members Christmas get-together at the golf club. While we spent the majority of the evening with good friends who are our weekly dining companions, we also had a chance to visit with others in the neighborhood we see less frequently. Always a pleasant evening.

Maybe it's a reflection of the season. Cards, baking, shopping...lots still left on the to-do list. Makes me tired just thinking about it. And just like every year, Christmas will be here before I'm really ready.

I'm not sure falling asleep at 11pm can be considered a nap but whatever it is, I must have needed it.

My Epsonality

Encouraging my attempts at poetry might not be wise...it could result in more entries that may or may not rhyme. That's what can happen when the brain has time to free-wheel while the hands are loading and unloading file drawers.

So what printer did I bring home from Atlanta that caused a day's worth of uproar?

This mack-daddy printer/scanner combo...an Epson RX680 to be exact. We've spent today getting to know one another, and I think we're going to be friends.

I wasn't in the market for a new printer until Wayne forwarded an e-mail he received from Epson advertising a sale on the RX595. He listens to a number of podcasts where photography and technology are the main topics, and Epson's new ink system was getting high marks. I've been printing all my photos at home now for a little more than a year, and while I like the convenience that comes with that, I didn't like the extra effort needed to keep the picture in perfect condition for projects that would appear in print. The new inks promised to be waterproof, smudge-proof and scratch-proof. Throw in a sale price and I was sold. While the plan was to simply investigate them in Atlanta and order from Epson when we returned, we found a better price at Fry's Electronics and one came home with us. I really like how today's prints from it look...they're devinitely smudge-proof. I'll have to put the other claims to the test later.

While I was researching printers online, I came across this test to determine my "Epsonality." Instead of checking some boring boxes to answer questions about your printer needs, Epson has used some off-beat humor, videos and interactive methods to enter your answers to help you find the right printer. I knew I was at the right place when the introduction included several references to scrapbooking. Maybe that's a sign we scrapbookers have arrived. The test was kind of fun, especially when they informed me at the end that I was "highly creative." Silver-tongued devils...they probably say that to all the girls. Were Wayne to answer the questions, his test results would say, "You don't really like us, but you're a great guy to buy one for your wife."

Not Exactly Mother Goose

This is the printer that Brenda bought.

This is the desk that's far too tiny
To hold the printer that Brenda bought.

This is the cabinet, shiny and new,
To sit beside the tiny desk
To hold the printer that Brenda bought.

This is the guy who knew just what to do
To put together the cabinet, shiny and new,
To sit beside the tiny desk
To hold the printer that Brenda bought.

This is the sofa that's moving, in inches a few,
By the guy who knew just what to do
To put together the cabinet, shiny and new,
To sit beside the tiny desk
To hold the printer that Brenda bought.

This is the little file that had to go
To make room for the sofa that's moving a few
By the guy who knew just what to do
To put together the cabinet, shiny and new,
To sit beside the tiny desk
To hold the printer that Brenda bought.

This is the big file that must shift...sorry, it's so.
It stands next to the little file that must go
To make room for the sofa that's moving a few
By the guy who knew just what to do
To put together the cabinet, shiny and new,
To sit beside the tiny desk
To hold the printer that Brenda bought.

This is the stuff scattered to and fro
That came from the big file that shifted just so
And from the little file that had to go
To make room for the sofa that's moving a few
By the guy who knew just what to do
To put together the cabinet, shiny and new,
To sit beside the tiny desk
To hold the printer that Brenda bought.

This is the lamp that gives a soft glow
That sat on the little file...although
It doesn't work well on the big one, you know.
Let's move them again and the little one will go
Back next to the sofa that's moving a few
By the guy who knew just what to do
To put together the cabinet, shiny and new,
To sit beside the tiny desk
To hold the printer that Brenda bought.

This is the room all ready for show.
The lamp is much better sitting down low.
The stuff is all tidy with space to stow...
A little purging is good, don't you know.
And even the picture's re-centered just so
Over the sofa that's moved a few
By the guy who knew just what to do.
He put together the cabinet, shiny and new,
To sit beside the tiny desk.

All for the printer that Brenda bought.

Hotlanta

We're home from the big city, and it definitely lived up to it's nickname. Record high temperatures while we were there...not that I'm complaining, mind you. I'd so much rather be hiking the three miles from the parking lot to the mall in 78 degree weather than say, 38 degrees any day. But it's a little hard to think Christmas thoughts when you're perspiring.

We did our share to heat up the Atlanta economy, too. Things were checked off the Christmas shopping list right and left, although a few took a little in-depth searching. I've discovered I do have a shopping gene after all...it just isn't for apparel. Put me in a computer or art store and I can wander the aisles with the best of them.

Monday is clearly THE BEST day for shopping. The traffic was light (relatively speaking), the crowds were small and we breezed around from one side of town to the other in great time. Today was not quite so good but it was primarily the location of the camera store and when we needed to be there. We fought rush-hour traffic delivering the cameras for cleaning and again when we picked them up and started for home. It was a good reminder how glad we are that we don't have to deal with that traffic on a daily basis.

And that's what Atlanta is for us...a great place to visit. Lots of choices for shopping and the chance to dine at a couple of our favorite restaurants. At dinner Monday night we were talking about how many people we had encountered during the day who had gone out of their way to be nice to us. It's easy to get a little cynical this time of year because it often means inconsiderate drivers, pushy shoppers and rude salespeople and wait staff. And while we might have encountered one or two, they were more than offset by the number of people who were kind and generous and helpful. Genuinely friendly and downright warm. Great representatives for the city of Hotlanta.

Breaking News -- Geeks Set to Invade Atlanta

This just in...a pair of geeks from Northwest Florida are poised to invade Atlanta Sunday night. Confidential sources have reported the two will be armed with presents as they rendezvous with the youngest family member to celebrate her recent 13th birthday. While the extent of her geekiness remains unclear, her addiction to text messaging indicates that she too will turn to a life of techno-babble.

Authorities warn the duo will likely pose as Christmas shoppers but a stake-out has been set up at Showcase Photo after sources working undercover reported the pair will attempt to have the sensors on their digital cameras cleaned at that location. Past experience indicates it's always a dangerous situation whenever these geeks visit that store. There is evidence the two may also be spotted at Micro Center, Fry's Electronics, and even Ikea as surveillance has revealed recent Internet activity involving a new printer. Authorities believe one of the suspects may try to smuggle some sort of a stand to hold said printer back to the State of Florida. Atlanta residents who frequent Dick Blick and Archivers should also be on the look-out for these geeks who may well be armed with photo paper and computer ink at that point.

Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.

An Unexpected Gift

Wayne and I were given the gift of time today. Two days, actually. We had planned to travel to the other side of the state with Hiram and Bonnie today. The guys were going to attend the high school playoff game in Ponte Verda Beach, and Bonnie and I were going to see a movie, shop or do just about anything except go to the game. Plans changed though, all for good reasons, and we had time we weren't expecting.

We spent a part of it running errands...birthday presents to buy, some gift cards to redeem, and other odds and ends to attend to. They were things we would have fit in somewhere somehow, but it was nice to be able to accomplish all of them at a leisurely pace, especially given the increased holiday traffic.

And the extra hours let me get lost in the project on my desk...I don't know where the evening went other than it was fast. I'm not far from wrapping it up then I'll share.

It isn't often that we find ourselves with "free" time. In fact, it always seems to work the other way...we lose time and don't get done what we expected. While I was disappointed at missing some extended time with Hiram and Bonnie, I did enjoy the day. The gift of time was much appreciated. Now if I could figure out how I could buy more for myself, I would.

Here Comes Santa Claus

The Christmas decorations are all up. Yesterday was devoted to the tree, today the rest of the house. I've done a season's worth of fluffing artificial greenery, stringing little lights, and arranging everything from a centerpiece for the dining room table to a long stretch of figurines and garland on the entertainment center. And there's not a true red/green thing in the bunch.

When we moved into this house in 1991, we started new with many of the Christmas decorations. We had always used the traditional colors for the holidays but red and green just weren't going to work with the pastel colors found in this house so we collected ornaments and decorations in aqua and peach/pink/terra cotta. And when in doubt, we chose white or natural, like the straw angels.

Then there are a few special Christmas decorations that were made specifically for the house, like these Santas.

My mother created these one-of-a-kind little guys, and they always have a place of honor among the decorations. They are essentially stuffed dolls made from artist canvas and stand about 9" tall. Most of the details are painted on with her own design. I love the personalities she gave them. The paint on each Santa's beard and fur on the robes is very textural and dimensional, and each has one real "extra"...the tiny bell that actually rings, the little wreath with a bow and the miniature tree.

Earlier tonight I headed out of the scrapbook room for a drink. The timer on the table lamp had already shut it off but it was far from dark. There was a soft glow of twinkling light coming from the tree, the garland on the mantle, and the one over the front door. The work is done...now I can sit back and enjoy the decorations. At least tonight...I'll worry about the cards and the shopping and the wrapping and the baking another day.

O Christmas Tree

    ...1,000 tiny twinkling lights, making everything glow with the magic of the season.
    ...192 glass ornaments in aqua, terra cotta and white, with a few in periwinkle thrown in for good measure.
    ...72 birds, Santas and other assorted additions, many reminders of the trips on which they were purchased.
    ...48 shiny snowflakes, sizeable enough to nicely fill some bare spots.
    ...36 straw angels in several sizes and designs.
    ...5 hand-crocheted ornaments, two made by Grandmother Arnall.
    ...3 huge bows of ecru mesh ribbon, clustered together to top the tree.
    ...2 hand-made weavings of Kansas wheat created by my mother.

One very pretty tree.

That's What Friends are For

     In good times
     And bad times
     I'll be on your side for evermore
     That's what friends are for.
                --Stevie Wonder

A little girlfriend time...that was what today was all about. Every year in December we treat ourselves to lunch at a nice restaurant to celebrate our friendship and the season. And while the surroundings are posh and we indulge in a rich dessert, it's the relationship that is truly special.

Carol, Bonnie, Charlotte and I took off for downtown Pensacola today for lunch at Eat! It's one of those restaurants that women love and men roll their eyes at...a little too frou-frou for the guys in our lives. But the food was good and the company even better. And just like last December and the December before that, we vow that we are going to do this more than once a year. It's not that we don't spend time together otherwise...we eat out as a group with our husbands at least weekly. It's more the "girlfriend" aspect to the time. We sympathize over the problems of aging parents, lament recent illnesses, and decry the fact that life just seems to get busier and busier.  In past years someone has always brought a camera to record the outing but that didn't happen this year. We just enjoyed our time together and the memories we made.

With most of our families elsewhere, the four of us have formed close bonds. We know we can speak our hearts to one another...share our struggles and celebrate our successes without the worry of being judged. We are family by choice, sisters of life. And even if we only step back from our crazy routines one time a year to celebrate that relationship, I know I can count on it being there every day. That's what friends are for.

 

He Broke The Internet

Tsk, tsk, tsk...here I go and let him post on the blog and look what happens. Within an hour we had no Internet. Not a bit (as opposed to a byte...groan). Now Jane might say it was because he professed his allegiance to the Jayhawks vs. her beloved Hokies, but in reality the problem belonged to AT&T. Regional outage...I know because Wayne called to inquire. He was, to say the least, a tad lost without it.

It's amazing what you can do in four or five hours without the distraction of the Internet. The ironing is done, the plans for tomorrow's outing with friends are all made, the news from the USA Today is thoroughly absorbed and the project on my desk is nearing completion. A productive evening...although I did miss a lap or two around the Internet. It doesn't surf itself, you know.

In all seriousness, I'm glad my other half chimes in now and then and shares his perspective. There are side benefits to that as well. He was looking back through older posts and asked why he couldn't see them all. I knew that was the case but hadn't a clue why so off he went to research it. Turns out a simple change from the default setting lets all those old posts be displayed. So he fixed one thing and broke another...it all evens out in the end.

From the Other Half

It's been over a month since I made a post on B's Blog - there are a couple of reasons why: Brenda mentioned we have been homebodies for more than a month so no trips to blog about. More importantly, I have been wanting to talk football for several weeks (now is the time for all the scrapbookers to jump ship), but I didn't want to jinx the teams by blogging about their success.

I'm a graduate of Wichita State University that no longer has a football because of a terrible plane crash in 1970, killing almost half of the team. They were en-route to Logan, Utah, when they crashed into a Colorado Mountain. So when it came to football, I adopted Kansas University where I had attended one semester before transferring to Wichita. Prior to KU I graduated from Butler County Community College, so I follow them as well, mostly through the alumni magazine. And finally, I have adopted the local high school team to keep me out of Brenda's hair on Friday nights in the fall.

As I blog, the three teams are a combined 36-1!! Boy, have the stars aligned this year.

The Grizzlies finished the regular season undefeated and ranked #2 in the nation for junior colleges. As a result, they were invited to Salt Lake City to play the #1 Snow College from Ephraim, Utah. Butler County won easily 56-27 and without a doubt will be named national champs next week. I watched the video replay and the first half was played in a blizzard. I remember some of the CK folks saying they don't get much snow in the city - - sure didn't look that way in the video!

The Jayhawks are 11-1 with a loss to their arch rival Missouri  - - In fact, that rivalry goes back 115 games. They even argue over the past record. KU claims 53-53-9 and MU claims 54-52-9. Top that off with KU ranked #2 and MU #3. I was disappointed that MU prevailed in the game, but in a crazy bowl season KU came out with a spot in the Orange Bowl on January 3rd. Missouri will play in the Cotton Bowl and feel they got the bad end of the deal. Rock Chalk!

 

And finally the local high school team is 13-0 and two wins away from the Florida 4A State Championship. Gee, it's hard to be humble when things are going your way! Go Patriots! W.

Farewell, Old Friend

There will be a funeral at our house this week. We'll be burying this poor old sweater.

It's served me well for more years that I can count. Cold-blooded that I am, it's been my constant companion, warding off the chilly air that Mother Nature or Father Air-Conditioning put forth. And it's seen it all, too. There's more than one color of paint on it from late-night scrapbooking sessions. Stains abound...it's spent its share of time in the kitchen, too. Those frayed sleeves have been soiled with plenty of newsprint as well, transferred in reading the paper each morning and doing the crossword puzzle most nights. We've been through a lot together, and if it could talk, it would have stories to tell of travels, everyday life and all that it has seen in the years it has wrapped its arms around me.

Sadly now it's just...well, sad. It became a "shut-in" two years ago, confined to the house as I began the search for its replacement. Roomy pockets, a great weight, the perfect length...this sweater had it all so finding something that met all those requirements proved harder than I expected.

This weekend I finally located what I think will be an adequate substitute. I've been wearing it for two days now, trying to be sure. The real test will be whether I can truly say good-bye to my comfortable old friend.

Playtime

I'm in love with a new toy. Well, it has made its home in my scrap room for several months now, patiently waiting for me to find time for it. And that has finally come...I'm having a blast with my Bind-It-All.

Before we even left on our trip to Michigan this summer, I knew how I wanted to scrapbook the trip. I wanted to create a mini album from envelopes and use the maps, brochures and other papers we always seem to accumulate on vacation. It was the perfect excuse to purchase the Bind-It-All. OK...I really wanted one anyway but that is how I rationalized it.

Then thanks to my friend Torm, I was invited to be December's Guest Designer at ScrapSupply. Such fun...Wendy and the members of her talented and super-nice Design Team made me feel right at home. And when I was paired up with Kim Kesti and asked to work with scrapbook products that mimic office supplies, it was a match made in heaven for me and my new friend.

You can see a handful of pages from the travel mini album here. The brochures, etc., are cut and/or folded down to the size of a standard business envelope to fit in the album, but then they fold out for reading. And envelopes form the base of the album pages so I can print out our entries about the trip from the blog and put them inside. There are all kinds of sizes and shapes so it's very interactive, and while there's plenty of new product, I used a lot of older supplies, too. About 25% of the album is done and more pages are in the works. I don't see this as the only scrapbook pages that will come from this trip as the mini album doesn't have a lot of photos, but it's a fun way to save some of the odds and ends we collect on trips...and play with my little toy.

There were several clever projects using the binding machine in the ScrapSupply November newsletter, including Torm's Christmas card binder. And Wendy is the queen of fast shipping if you don't have one of these fun little guys yet. OK, I'll quit now...I'm beginning to sound like an infomercial, but it's hard not to be excited about it. In addition to the travel mini album, there's also a layout and a bit about me as Guest Designer in the December newsletter, if you're interested.

This cute little machine is really easy to use, and my head is swimming with additional projects I'm itching to do using it. In fact, I'm going back and forth between two projects...far from the norm for me. It's amazing what can happen when you have time to play.

30 for November

It's the end of another month...time for 30 random and unrelated thoughts to wrap up November.
   1. We've had some cooler than usual weather. Cool enough to build a fire in the fireplace. I don't know which I love more...the warmth or the smell of wood burning.
   2. When I realize that some of the wood we burned came from trees downed in the hurricanes two and three years ago, I think we need to build fires more often.

   3. The flowers are loving the cooler weather, especially the geraniums. Roses, hibiscus, begonias, dianthus are still blooming...lots of color remains in the beds.
   4. When one of those cold fronts arrived, it set off some big storms. Rain makes for good sleeping unless you get 2" of it in about 30 minutes, accompanied by lightning and loud bangs of thunder.
  5. All that rain beat a lot of the petals off the camellias, leaving a pink carpet underneath. There's a white one up at the golf course, and it looks like it's surrounded by snow.
   6. The electric blanket is now keeping me warm at night. If it were up to me, I'd leave it on all year...I hate cold sheets.
   7. Last Friday night the guys headed for the football game at 4:30pm for a 7:00pm game. It's only a 10-minute drive but going early was the only way to get a seat for the playoff game with the perennial rival. When Pace won, the long hours in the cold seemed worth it.
   8. Tonight's game was in Jacksonville. How cool that Wayne could watch streaming video of it on the Internet.
   9. However, he was frantically searching stations on the radio when the server crashed with Pace ahead by 2 points in the fourth quarter. They've promised to get that fixed by next week for the State semi-finals.
  10. Wayne handled the Jayhawk's loss to Missouri well. The team has far exceeded his expectations this year. We're watching to see where they're heading for a bowl.
  11. I have three really close friends, and their birthdays are November 21, November 30 and December 2. While I think they're all quite different, there must be something to the time they were born that draws me to them.
  12. I'm scanning the ads for a good price...we're about out of Diet Coke. 
  13. I heard the coyotes howling back in the woods the other night for the first time in a long time.
  14. We've become a regular at Chic-Fil-A on Thursday nights. It makes for an easy dinner and we're home in time for Survivor.
  15. And as much as I liked James, how foolish to get voted out when you hold two immunity idols.
  16. Brad seems to have inherited his mother's fondness for dark chocolate. I bought extra so we'd have plenty.
  17. Man cannot live on chocolate alone...but woman sure can.
  18. Kayla wants a mint chocolate chip pie for dessert at Christmas. Anybody got a good recipe?
  19. Speaking of Kayla and pie, it's entertaining to watch her eat pumpkin pie. She creates a work of art, frosting the pie with whipped cream before digging in. I think the pie is only an excuse for her to eat the whipped cream.
  20. I experimented with a second dessert at Thanksgiving...sweet potato bread pudding. I won't be making it again.
  21. An early Thanksgiving is a good thing. It's nice to have a few days to breathe before jumping into the Christmas rush.
  22. I was in the mall today (all those birthdays, remember). The lady shopping near me was singing along to the Christmas music playing in the store. Not just humming...but singing, and not softly either. She obviously was into the season much more than I.
  23. Kayla gave me her Christmas/birthday list over Thanksgiving. Then she called me as soon as she got home on Sunday evening to add something to it. That's why there were blank pages inside.
  24. The science fair project received an "A" and is going on to the next level. The metallic cardstock mats probably blew the judges away.
  25. I've spent most of this week right here at the computer. But it was so pretty outside today, I escaped. A little yardwork in the morning and errands this afternoon.
  26. Our car has a mind of its own. When I started it up, the radio was on the comedy station. Neither of us ever listen to the comedy station so I don't know how it got on that station. It's possessed, I tell you.
  27. Several of those computer projects involved Photoshop. The more I learn on it, the more I realize how much I don't know...and wish I had the time to learn.
  28. I just wish I had more time period. I'm feeling really inspired right now, with three projects in progress or about to be. Figures...it's December and time for playing will be at a premium.
  29. After all the traveling we've done this year, we were home in our very own bed every night in November.
  30. It's hard when people who are important to you are experiencing some hard times. The love, kind words and moral support I can offer can't fix things but I hope they know how much I care.

And now it's December.