Tis the Day After Christmas

Tis the day after Christmas and the house is so quiet! We had a wonderful Christmas. Everyone seemed to enjoy their gifts. The grandchildren were precious. Kameren was excited to wear her new jumper with the matching outfit for her doll. Austin loved his quilt which he saw for the first time and Keegan was into his toys big time. On Christmas Eve the turkey got done hours before it should but Seth, the master cook knew what to do. Hubby's baked apples were wonderful. Of course after several holiday drinks no one really worried about any of it. I recieved 9 pairs of fancy socks! The kids also gave us a Wii .Christmas day we went to my Mom's place and had a fantastic buffet lunch put on by the Henry Ford Village. We had lunch with Mary and the Brain, Gretel and Tummy and Martha as well as my brother, his wife and daughter and his wife's parents. We laughed and had such a good time.

Today Amy is at her sister-in-laws, Martha is working, Mary and the Brain are back in Ohio, and Gretel is out with a friend and the Tummy is visiting his grandmother. So the house is very quiet.

I am Ready!

I am ready for Christmas! All the presents are bought and wrapped(except one). The menu made, Hubby shopped for food all day. He decided on Turkey and it will be grand. The girls will all be here. Unfortunately the boys will not but they are in our thoughts. Three of the six grandchildren will also be here. The house is clean I have all the sleeping arrangements done. This holiday Nina, the black lab, will be joining us. I don't think it will phase Arnold or Cleo but Fervor is still in shock because every time the postman brings a package and rings the doorbell, Fervor hides under the bed.

Mom is 92 Years Old

Today is Mom's 92nd birthday. Last night my brother and I, with our families, took her out to dinner. We had a great time. She has a real sharp sense of humor and we love to tease her and she gives it right back. Last we she had a stress test and a carotid Doppler but passed with flying colors. She worries that as she gets older she is more trouble because she needs to be driven places.(I wouldn't let her take the bus for a stress test at 92). I told her she just gets more precious.

Poems

Today Hubby and I were remembering some of the poems we were taught when we were young. My Mom taught me "O Captain, My Captain" and my brother had to learn "Under the spreading Chestnut tree the village smithy stands" From 6th grade I remember, "The sun that brief December day rose cheerless over hills of gray" Of course there were the others that I only remember loving like "Fog" by Carl Sandburg because fog creeps on silent cat paws. I also loved the "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" with "water, water, everywhere but n'er a drop to drink. " I wonder do kids learn poems like that anymore?

Packages

Packages are arriving everyday. Amazon.com does really well by us. Besides that our daughters have learned to send packages for their husbands here so they are not investigated. Gretel is sending all her presents by mail so as not to have to worry about airport security. They warn you not to wrap things. Since she is arriving Christmas Eve and we celebrate Christmas Eve there would be little time to wrap everything. It sure builds the suspense for us.

Fish City Up to Date

I finally finished pages 7-9 of the "Fish City" directions. According to my plan I must finish 3 pages a year in order to complete the piece in 5 years. This is a totally stupid project. It is fun to work on, but it is so big and I have no idea what to do with it when I finish. It is not the kind of art work one would hang in the living room. It is also not something my children will fight over when I die. I definitely will will it to John because he is the one who gave it to me in the first place.

Arnold Update

Since we were gone on our cruise for three weeks, Arnold has been very glad to see us. He has even become a lap cat. Of course a lot of his interest in being on my lap has to do with chasing the thread as I try to embroider "Fish City." He really makes it a challenge between trying to protect him from the needle and tring to protect my fingers from his claws.

Arnold has been fascinated with looking outside the windows and he is sure that Venetian blinds are part of a plot to keep him from seeing out. At night we raise the blinds in the bedroom because he plays with them at night and we can't sleep for the noise and for trying to keep him from damaging the blinds. The neighbors, I am sure, feel we are exhibitionists with the bedroom blinds up all the time. We keep the master bathroom door closed because he likes to jump up on the vanity and swipe at the blinds to see outside. The other night we were careless and Arnold managed to see through those pesky blinds.

Santa Claus is Coming

Sorry that I haven't been blogging. There is so much to do. I have the house pretty clean and ready for the Holidays. I figure I will have nine overnight guests for Christmas. I have the tree up. My snowflakes look spectacular. I could use twice as many. Tomorrow is the Lions Christmas Party and next week is the Quilt club party. I am not done with my shopping yet but almost, just the difficult ones left.

A Perfect Evening

Last night I sat in the living room working on Fish City and hubby sat next to me reading the Smithsonian Magazine. He would tell me some of the things he had read and then would look up more about them on the Internet or the encyclopedia. It made for a stimulating discussion and a just the two of us moment.

Home

We got in last night from Portland. Mostly, we are taking it easy today. I am washing clothes. Have to get the baby spit-up out.(Really I am just bragging. There was only one blouse with baby spit-up) The cats are so glad to see us and follow us around all day. I have been also starching the snowflakes I made on the cruise. Some of them are surprisingly beautiful, others are just surprising. Hubby took almost 400 pictures, digital cameras are wonderful.

This is the group of eight which we traveled with along with the Cruise event planner and his wife the cruise party planner.

These are the Akaka Falls on the island of Hawaii.

The Arizona Memorial inPearl Harbor.The Grand Canyon of the Pacific on the Island of Kawai.A Pool Party aboard the ship.Walking through a lava tube on the Island of Hawaii.