From my house to yours...Merry Christmas, happy holidays, seasons greetings...
GE Christmas tree...
Nativity scene...Easton green near firehouse...
Easton Library and Silverman's Apple Orchard
Gazebo at Trumbull Town Hall
Easton Library and Silverman's Apple Orchard
Gazebo at Trumbull Town Hall
99 comments:
Hi guys...
Not much new, we are still having above
normal weather here...& no snow...& none in sight for the forseeable future...
It was a busy day around here, lots of traffic,
everywhere...
Christmas Eve is almost here, just a few of us
this year...stopped for the shrimp, clams early
today, that was busy place too...
Coreen, beautiful pictures.
Yes Coreen..very beautiful pics and those night skies were so clear.
I really miss not being able to blow up the pics even more like we could before. Sometimes when they make improvements in a blog they really aren't improvements.
I was looking for a kitkat and saw something that looked fuzzy under the tree in the third pic but it was white and you don't have any white kitkats.
Did you do all those decs yourself? I'm impressed.
Yes I do the decorating...This year I did less
than in past years...no kits under the tree in
that pic, I'll try to add one later if any of they cooperate...they have been batting the tree, not sleeping under it this year...
I always love seeing your fur babies Coreen.
So what are you having for Christmas dinner? I just put in a large turkey breast. I don't have to worry about finding somewhere for SF and I to go for Christmas dinner this year and I don't want to do the holidays with other people's families. I also like turkey sandwiches.
SF is now in a NH. I will go see him tomorrow. I haven't been up there since I broke my ankle..I stick to my limited traveling triangle of house..work..Walmart. That's tough enough.
Going to see a movie tomorrow. I think I did last Christmas but can't remember what I saw. My friend wants to go see War Horse but I don't. I know it's suppose to be a movie you can bring your kids to..I do like horses..I think the horse makes it but I don't want to see anything with war in it. Too depressing.
I want to see We Bought a Zoo. I need upbeat this time of the year so I guess I'll be going alone. No big deal since going to the movies is not really a social event anyway.
We've passed the winter solstice without a mention. Every day will be a few minutes longer.
I too am impressed Coreen that you do all your own decorating. It is a lot of work. I sort of miss going on a cruise at Christmas. Am I weird or what?
Carol, You and John have something in common. He marks time by the changes in season (winter solstice, etc) and what time the sun is going down and up. I never paid any attention to that before meeting him.
Carol, are you going to the NH to have dinner with SF or bringing him to your house? Everyone is coming here for dinner tomorrow. I am buying 3 roasted chickens and a fully cooked spiral sliced ham at costco this afternoon. I will prepare them for heating in dishes tonight and refrigerate. I am buying the turkey gravey at Cosco. I also bought some stuffing at Costco. Theirs is better than I can do. I am making the mashed potatoes. Someone else is bringing sweet potato dish, bread, salad and dessert. 14 people plus a 2 year old will be here. This will be an easy dinner.
Our dinner will be about 3 to 4 pm.
Monday morn we will get up, pack and head east toward OK. I will say hi to Amarillo for you Carol. So many times I remember our trip through there on our way skiiing and then back home to LOUisiana.
Carol, I can blow up pictures on the mac laptop.
Jan..when I hit on the pics they do blow up some but before you could hit again and they blew up even bigger.
Jan..when I do a ham..I make a thick paste with brown sugar with a little mustard in it..just enough to make a thick paste. Doesn't take a lot. I put that over the ham toward the end so it melts over the ham. It's really good.
I'm doing cornbeard dressing but I'm doing it the lazy way..using stovetop cornbread dressing. I use chicken broth instead of water and it's good enough.
I wanted turkey gravy..my favorite gravy but it has to be from the turkey juice. It looks like my turkey breast is yeilding some nice juice to make it with. Nuttin better than cornbread dsg with turkey gravy.
Oh..and that turkey gravy can't have any other stuff in it..like boullion.
I had a small miracle today...found one loaf of wheat bread at the convienent store. I don't know about you guy's neck of the woods but most convienent stores around here only have white bread. Are there still people who eat white bread?
I don't often eat that kind of bread but I needed to be prepared for those turkey sandwiches. My last loaf..almost a full loaf.. expired on Dec 4. The squirrels eat more of it than I do.
I couldn't go and fight a regular grocery store so I thought I'd try the quick stop and got lucky. I didn't even shower or dress yet today. Being a total bum.
Oh..and that turkey gravy can't have any other stuff in it..like boullion.
I had a small miracle today...found one loaf of wheat bread at the convienent store. I don't know about you guy's neck of the woods but most convienent stores around here only have white bread. Are there still people who eat white bread?
I don't often eat that kind of bread but I needed to be prepared for those turkey sandwiches. My last loaf..almost a full loaf.. expired on Dec 4. The squirrels eat more of it than I do.
I couldn't go and fight a regular grocery store so I thought I'd try the quick stop and got lucky. I didn't even shower or dress yet today. Being a total bum.
Oh..and that turkey gravy can't have any other stuff in it..like boullion.
I had a small miracle today...found one loaf of wheat bread at the convienent store. I don't know about you guy's neck of the woods but most convienent stores around here only have white bread. Are there still people who eat white bread?
I don't often eat that kind of bread but I needed to be prepared for those turkey sandwiches. My last loaf..almost a full loaf.. expired on Dec 4. The squirrels eat more of it than I do.
I couldn't go and fight a regular grocery store so I thought I'd try the quick stop and got lucky. I didn't even shower or dress yet today. Being a total bum.
Couldn't post my last comment earlier. There was some temporary clich in the system.
It's pouring here and is suppose to all day tomorrow. Still haven't gotten my roof patched so it may be pouring in there later.
Maggie and I both enjoyed our dinner. I was looking for something to get Maggie for Christmas but couldn't think of anything she needed. I think she was happy with her turkey dinner.
I could watch even more football if they had more of this. Check it out.
Jerome Simpson Touchdown: Bengals WR Flips Over Cardinals Defender For TD (VIDEO)
Another cute video. You can tell I've been housebound with nothing to watch on TV.
I thought the same way she did when I was a kid.
Pink Stuff: Little Girl In Toy Store Rails Against Gender Stereotypes (VIDEO)
And a suggestion Coreen of how to get the kitcats in your Christmas pics:
The Ornamental Cat
I loved the little girl video. She was so cute when she hit her hand on the box to emphasize her point. I wonder if someone coached her or if she came up with that herself.
Merry Christmas dear friends.
Merry Christmas to you guys also.
I see a Weatherford star flashing. I hope that means you guys landed safely Jan. How was the weather.
Our weather for the last several days has defined dreary and it has rained every day. I feel like I'm living up the the PNW. My SAD is is full bloom. I need some sun!
I saw that movie..We bought a Zoo..yesterday. It's was nice..no award winner. I didn't want to see War Horse because I knew it would involve tears. Hey..I even lost of few of those at the Zoo movie.
Living at the zoo would have been a fantasy of mine when I was a kid.
Tonight..something to look forward to..my Saints play the Falcons. We really need a win to cinch the division.
So far..so good. Exciting game. And Brees is closing in on Dan Moreno's passing record. I think he may break it tonight.
Yes, we are in Weatherford tonight. We were on the road 7-8 hours and I believe I slept 1/2 of that. I sleep best these days when I am riding in the car. I am regressing to infant-hood. Have not been sleeping well lately. I sleep best when I am out of town. I guess we could sell or rent the house and stay in motels or buy an RV.
I will have to check and see how the Saints are doing.
My boy just broke the record!
Geaux Brees!
It's the single season passing record of 5084 yards..it's been 27 years since the record has been broken.
And - your Saints won big last night. Congrats.
And Carol, Drew topped one of my favs...Dan
Marino was a great QB who never did win the big one...
Just finished giving Buddy Roemer a $100 donation..that's all he will accept from anyone. And it was a tough month to contribute to anything else.
I'm not sure I'd vote for him but I want him to be included in the debates. I'm totally sure none of the other politicians want him to be heard.
He addresses the most important issues in politics today..money and jobs and he stands by what he believes in. Yeah..that will probably assure he will be a loser...but I can dream..can't I?
I believe that if the 99% could hear him debate..there's a good chance his message would resonate. It certainly should with the OWS crowd.
Well another Christmas has gone by...it was a
quiet one in the end...happy to say...
Tonite it is pouring, it has been in the 40s
all week...so different from a year ago when
we had the 2 feet of snow & then snow every week for 2 months...Just Fantastic we are
going to get out of December with no snow...
And the weather guy again said there is no
really cold weather about to descend on the Northeast...its all bottled way up in Canada
so we are getting spurts of warm (well relative warm) & cold, but no sustained cold &
then big snow...at least for a few more weeks...he said something about there is no
blocking mass around Greenland that would cause
the cold to drop down & stay around...leaving us susceptible to a lot of snow...
Roemer could get me passionate about politics again. I lost my passion for politics because with the rest of them...we're doomed.
If we are stuck with Obama again..I can only pray that his hope and change will finally show up.
Roemer has demonstrated that if a politician doesn't sell his/her soul to the devil..he/she can't get heard...unless there is some kind of miracle.
Last night at the Saints game one of the guys who made a touch down pulled this little bow out of somewhere and took the sticky cover off and tried to attach it to the touchdown ball. It wouldn't stick. It was probably a little sweaty. He had to just hold it on and he gave the ball to some older woman in the stands. Turns out it was his mom. He might have forgotten to get her a Christmas present.
The team got a 15 yard penalty for delay of game or excessive celebration but they still won and I got a kick out of it.
Some things Buddy tweeted:
"I believe climate change is real, and we must address man's role in it. I also believe we need the EPA."
"In a healthy democracy, politicians make decisions based on evidence and argument. In a Corporatocracy, policy goes to the highest bidder."
I can't argue with either statement.
Coreen..I didn't see you slip in. That happens sometimes when I'm writing something.
Nice to hear from you and happy that your weather is a little milder. I've noticed that on occasions the weather here is colder than up there.
We finally got some sun here today and I felt the mold starting to lift.
Since I broke my ankle I've closed off my big room looking down on the river. I'm trying to avoid any extra stairs. Don't want to press my luck.
I spend more time in my bedroom with my TV. Being in here forces the Magster to hang out in the bed with me. In the big room..she has one couch and I have the other. Even when I call her over she just looks the other way like she doesn't hear me.
When we're in the bed she is much more affectionate. Now that we're forced to spend more time together in close quarters she has been tapping me on the arm when she wants something. Only thing is..I don't know what the tap means and she refuses to let me ignore her.
Her taps could means..I want to go out or I want a cookie..or did you forget to feed me or I want to dive under the covers so please lift them up. This tapping behavior is getting real irritating. I can't wait to get back to our respective couches.
If believing in Buddy R & his message inspires you, lifts your spirits, whatever, thats good, but hope that you aren't disappointed & bummed, since I know you know that in the end there is none, zero chance he could ever get beyond the fringe of politics...
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't support him...not sure I would send him or any politician $$$ though...
As far as I'm concerned there is no politician
that inspires & they all play the game, sooner or later, because they all want to 'win' to have that power that comes with winning, so in the end they wind up just like all the others...
Work turned out to be pretty reasonable for having 4 days off. I was actually glad to be back to doing something besides channel surfing.
Even the inmates were pleasant but maybe it was because I was more pleasant today. They do often mirror my mood.
After being stuck with the TV for a good part of my day..I can see why people watch the Ks and those other reality shows. Of course..even with no one watching.. I wouldn't be caught dead stopping at any of their programs. I don't want anyone who monitors our behavior to list my activity on their ratings.
You're right Coreen but I can still dream. Maybe something magical could happen in 2012. Maybe there will be an apocalypse. Maybe people will wake up from their ignorance.. break out of their pods and realize that we..the people..are the only ones who can fix this mess. If we just let the rich corps pick our politicians then that's where their loyalty will be. It's not rocket science.
I've caught a little of the cable news lately..not much.. and I just can't believe that anyone would waste a minute talking about those idiots running for office. The more insane..the more attention they get. I think they compete in their insanity.
Occasionally one will accuse another of having a touch of humanity or caring about something and the one accused will be indigent about it. It's also a competition of who can be the most evil.
Even on TM they just complain about those idiots but I don't see them looking at any other options. RRenee is the only one who I ever saw mention Roemer. I think she might even vote for him in her primary.
Oh..I finally found something interesting to watch on TV tonight. It was a program on Sasquatch.
Now..I'll go to bed with C2C and listen to a program with this.."medical intuitive and psychiatrist Dr. Judith Orloff talking about how dreams can provide psychological healing and valuable insights for the future." I can use a bit of both. Jan might also find it interesting.
Jan..anyone in your dream group ever mention Judith Orloff? She's really into dreams and she mentioned the same things you have talked about here.
Carol - I think I have seen her on TV. Not heard of her in dream groups.
We are in Little Rock. Tues I spent some time with my sis in tulsa.Yesterday we drove to LR and met John's son. He drove in here from Houston. Last night had dinner with John's bro and SIL (and son) and will see them again today and John's sis and husb. tomorrow will drive to town where Steve (my youngest son) lives and spend 2 days there and then start home. It is great to see family but the moving around is tiring.
John got hearing aids a week ago. Yesterday they were not working. I don't think he likes them.
I have been trying to keep up with GOP stuff, but such a mess, it is hardly worth it.
Gasoline prices on our trip are varying as much as one dollar.
Jan..sounds like a fun but busy trip.
If you want to keep up with the GOP..just wait for Saturday Night Live. You'll get everything you need.
Where did you find the cheapest gas?
The cheapest gas is in Alb NM. It was as low as $2.60 there (With our Smith's gro card we got gas for $2.40. Highest was in Texas $3.50 . Tulsa was next lowest $2.99.
Jan.. the last gas I got here was $3.09. It's been there for several weeks now. Since we have lots of refineries here and produce some oil I can see why we should have some lower prices. Wonder why it's so low in NM.
I heard last night on Maddow that there is one political poll that has included Roemer. He begged them to and they agreed to. It's the PP poll and Roemer is polling at 2%. That's with no one hearing his ideas. If he could just get his message out...
This morning I was listening to a Texas talk show that I will only listen to early or late because during the day they have on those RR radio clowns..ie Rush et al. Late at night they have C2C. Early in the morning they have some local guys..most likely conservative but fairly normal anyway. Strange diversity.
I think someone there must have interviewed Roemer and the two morning guys were very impressed and couldn't understand why he couldn't get into a debate. They said that none of the others will even discuss the important issues but Buddy will. Glad I'm not the only one who feels that way.
Here's a place you can go to sign a petition to let Buddy debate. You don't have to like him or vote for him but he needs to be allowed to debate. It certainly would make for an interesting and entertaining debate!
Let Buddy Debate
Interesting interview. Harvard law school professor interviews Jack Abramhoff. Member him? This interview is an eye opener.
Lawrence Lessig interviews Jack Abramoff
He said so much of what is corrupt in the area of lobbying is totally legal.
Jack is a very interesting guy and quite likeable.
He makes recommendations of how to fix the system. Yeah..like they would fix anything.
Happy New Years eve day. I have not been on computer for 2 days. We are in AR in Steve's town. Spent lots of time visiting with both John's and my families. It has been good. We will be here tonight and then head towards home tomorrow morning. I am ready to be home. I am sleeping much better. I think I have caught up on sleep.
Carol, I watched some of Abramoff tape. Very interesting. I had no idea how corrupt, yet legal, the system was. Wonder if any chance even some of it can be fixed. I have little respect now for our public officials in DC now.
What are you guys doing tonight?
We are going to a movie this afternoon. The girls are going to see "We ....a zoo" and the guys are going to see "Sherlock Holmes." Both are at same theatre in Hot Springs and start and end at same time. How convenient is that? John's son is with us also. He drove down from Houston and is with us. So it is nice to be able to spend time with these sons (and Steve's family) that we don't get to see often. John's son is a single guy and not involved with anyone currently - so has the time and space to be with us.
Sounds like fun Jan. Y'all didn't want to see War Horse or did the thought of war turn you off like it did me. I know it was good but I just couldn't do the war part.
I'm convincved that my house is haunted and the ghost must hang out in the electric box.
A couple of years ago I had a breaker flip off that powered my newer bathroom ceiling lights and since it was a ground fault breaker it must have powered my whirlpool tub. I had an electrician come out, he couldn't find anything wrong but changed the ground fault breaker. That visit was expensive. It went off again a week later. I saw a few ants around the box so I sprayed around it and the breaker stayed on a good while but still occasionally snaps off.
I told you about my hot water heater, a relatively new one. A friend came out and checked it and never could find the problem. x-roomie's boyfriend changed both heating elements, the thermostats and the breaker. When she moved out, the breaker had gone off again. I hadn't bothered with it since I'm not living there.
Then, a couple a weeks ago my breaker to the dryer went off. A friend's husband came out Saturday and couldn't find anything wrong with it. We ran the dryer for almost an hour and it stayed on. He then worked on the hot water heater. It's a double tank heater and the top tank takes a while to heat up so it was difficult to check to see if when the bottom heater came on, it would trip the breaker. He wired around the top tank and sure enough when the bottom tank came on, it tripped the breaker.
He took out the heating element that looked almost new but I bought a new one and a new thermostat just in case it was that. He hasn't been back yet to put them in.
Since the dryer was working Saturday, today I went to do my clothes and when I got there the dryer breaker was off. The dang thing wasn't even running when it went off, it must have snapped off when we left. It worked while we were there. I did turn it back on and stayed at the house for most of the time my clothes were drying and it stayed on.
My friend's husband doesn't understand what's going on because all the reading in the box are good. I think it might very well be a poltergist.
Jan..what Abramoff had to say was very enlightening. I found that video linked on Roemer's site. It was a lot more interesting than anything else I could find on TV that night and most every night.
I know Abramoff was a crook but he's a fairly likeable crook and most of what he did that we would all think is criminal was totally legal. That's what's scary and yes, most Americans don't have a clue what's going on in Washington.
Since Abramoff can't get a lobbying job I guess he will put his skills and talents to work in educating us on what's being done and what needs to be changed. All the money from his book will go toward the restitution he owes.
Some of what I found the most interesting was close to the end of the video. He talked about how the new kids on the hill are corrupted. That was very interesting.
As long as the system is set up like it is..there is no other way to play.
It was obvious that Obama learned that before or while he was running for pres.
The MSM is not going to educate us. They work for Corps that profit from the corruption.
The politicians aren't going to fix it.
We, the people. are the only ones who can and that is by educating one another and screaming for change. And by letting a candidate with this message get into a debate.
I'm staying at home tonight to protect the Magster from those big bad fireworks. Last night it sounded like World War III out here but it didn't last too long. Tonight..I'm sure it will be worse and there's lots of vehicles out in the hood tonight.
If you don't drink..going to a big party with lots of drunks is not that much fun.
I did Walmart today without a motorized cart. I carried in my one crutches but just used the basket for some support. I covered some distance too..from milk to birdseed and that's on opposite ends of the store.
I can walk..not real normal..but walk if I have a perfectly flat surface where I can evenly distribute the weight on my foot. I can't do grass because it's too lumpy.
I had to go get all my New Year's food for tomorrow. Can't forget your cabbage and black eyed peas. I don't know if it helped this year but if it did..I'd hate to see what it would have been like if I hadn't had my health and wealth foods. I'm not going to chance it.
Happy New Years Eve guys...
Not much happening here...staying in...
another nice day to end the year...
Coreen..do you cook anything special on New Year's day?
Something Abramoff said the other night..
that the politicians are basically lazy. Their staffers do most of the work. The staffers read the bills and write the bills. He said that most politicians haven't even read the bills. They spend most of their time chasing the money it takes to get reelected.
What makes it really bad is that K Street seduces those staffers, who do all the work, with promises of big salaries as lobbyists.
This was also reported by that Harvard Prof interviewing Abramoff, in his new book, Republic, Lost.
No Carol, don't cook anything special for New Years Day...never heard of that until I met you...& I forget why you cook cabbage & black eyed peas...good luck, health & good fortune?...
All of the above Coreen.
Happy New Year girl. You lead us into the New Year. Let me know how it is.
And Happy New to you Jan and anyone else who may fall in the Swamp.
I pray the New Year will bring some wonderful changes..and good health and happiness for all.
Happy New Year Carol and Coreen and anyone one else out there who is looking in here.
We are on last leg of journey home. We are in Weatherford. Is the star there?
Had a nice time with Steve and family the last 3 days and with John's son too. I am ready to go home. Back to work on Tues.
I did enjoy Abramoff's video. He does seem like a very nice guy. Maybe he can have some impact with the education. Hope so.
Carol, so glad you can walk in the supermarket again. That is progress. We have not eaten any traditional foods as yet. In NM the traditional food to eat on NY's is posole with the "e" emphasized on the end and both o's pronounced too. po-so-lee. It is a stew made with hominy, green chilis, and tomatos. Same significance as black eye peas- good luck for coming year.
Can't believe Coreen had never heard of those lucky New Year's foods. I saw something about them online and they include lentils, black eyed peas, most types of greens, pork and fish. Hope you got something from that group Coreen.
I went over to a friend's to watch the Saints win and had my black eyed peas, cabbage and cornbread over there. I don't know about health, luck and wealth but I do have gas so I'm lucky I'm still off work tomorrow. It's difficult to limp and clinch at the same time.
I don't eat those lucky foods too often due to the side effects.
I just finished one of my CEU programs. Still playing catch up. It was about taking at least one of your Bp meds at night. Studies found improved Bp control and reduction of cardiovascular events when at least one Bp med is taken at night. If you take Bp meds you might want to think about that.
John takes his chol-lowering med at evening meal. He is very compliant with it too.
Ready to be home.
Jan..cholesterol lowering meds should always be taken at night but it's surprising how manyb people don't know that.
I bet you are ready to be home. Nice to visit family and friends but...there's no place like home..
We are home and so glad to be. Everything has been unloaded. Now to unpack. I left my laptop charger at the last hotel. Just called them and they said would send it to me. I hope they do. I have tried to always put it back in my bag when I unplug from my computer after charging. The thing costs $80. to replace. Fortunately John's and mine are interchangeable, but it makes me sick to have left it.
By the time we get to the last leg of the trip, I get forgetful. I need to have a list that I check.
Welcome home Jan. You've left that charger at a motel before..didn't you? I keep my laptop plugged in all the time except when there's a storm a brewing so I wouldn't be likely to leave it anywhere.
I was wondering what they would replace the Joy Behar show with..it's a rerun of Nancy Grace's show which is impossible to get thru once. The only thing I can figure from that is this country has a serious drug problem. Actually from most of what I see on TV..I worry that something is wrong with people if they can find something interesting to watch these days.
Yes Carol (what a memory) - I did but remembered about 10 miles from the motel.
The commercials are more entertaining than most of the TV programs.
I'd suggest not unplugging it when you are not home.
That is a good idea. What I had been doing is never leaving the thing plugged into the wall after unplugging it. Last night, I got careless.
Wow - there is nothing on tv for someone who is not into sports.
I agree Jan. I've been forced to watch more sports. I've got to find a hobby.
I fell asleep last night listening to a 2012 prediction show from the night before on C2C. Can't say there was anything interesting to report.
I taped a movie on DVR a few weeks ago and decided to watch it tonight. When it started, it said a 2 hr movie. About 1/2 way through, there was no more of the movie. A bummer. Name of movie was Serendipity.
A major discovery - found my watch in the washing machine - I have a front loader - when I opened the door of WM it was laying just inside the door. I must have had it in a pocket. I always check John's pockets before washing - seldom check mine. It is a timex - oh well - I may try a new battery and see if that will work before buying a new one. I liked that watch.
Where have all the bloggers gone?
Carol, I just watched Modern Family - had taped it. Did you catch the part where Cameron was staring at the Columbian guy. That was at the end and pretty subtle.
Carol, I posted some pics on FB of Steve and his daughters and John and his son that I took on our trip to AR. New years.
Sorry Jan..I just found these comments. I put up a new post two days ago but forgot to mention it on this one.
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